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The following is an incomplete list of members and guests who called at Institute headquarters during the period Feb. 10, 1919, to Mar. 10, 1919. R. H. Allport, Cleveland, Ohio. R. R. Landon, Philippine Islands. I. H. Bergstein, New York. Alfred 0. Law, Cambridge, Mass. Capt. R. S. Burdette, San Antonio, Tex. James M. Little, Towanda, Pa. William R. Chedsey, State College, Pa. F. E. Marcy, Salt Lake City, Utah. L. R. Clapp, Philadelphia, Pa. H. F. Nash, Bartlesville, Okla. J. Murray Clark. L. S. Panyity, Columbus, Ohio. E. H. Claussen, San Francisco, Calif. W. C. Ralston, Reno, Nev. George E. Collins, -Denver, Colo. T. A. Rickard, San Francisco, Calif. George L. Collord, Sharpsville, Pa.. W. A. Rigby, Mt, Vernon, Iowa. William M. Corse, Mansfield, Ohio. H. H. Rowatt, Ottawa. Frank R. Crampton, Los Angeles, Calif. P. H. Royster, Pittsburgh, Pa. Capt. E. 0. Daue. Alan B. Sanger, Dorchester, Mass. A. E. Eddy, Butte, Mont. J. S. Shaw, Pittsburgh, Pa. N. H. Emmons, 2d, Lynchburg, Va. S. B. Shutts, Lynchburg, Va. E. W. Engelmann, Hayden, Ariz. Henry B. Smith, New Britain, Conn. F. A. Fahrenwald, Cleveland, Ohio. W. C. Smith, Roselle, N. J. 0. S. Finnie, Ottawa. Harry M. Spoor. John T. Fuller, Honesdale, Pa. D. M. Stackhouse, Johnstown, Pa. Major C. C. Griggs, Eureka, Utah. F. D. Stay,. Cleveland, Ohio. H. F. E. Gamm, Rutherford, N. J. D. B. Sterrett, St. Cyr, Que. A. W. Hackwood, Butte, Mont. R. H. Thayer, Yonkers, N. Y. C. L. Horne, Roanoke, Va. Kirby Thomas,. New York. B. B. Hood, Chrome, N. J. Henry Traphagen, Toledo, Ohio. R. E. Hore, Toronto Ont. H. D. Trounce, San Diego, Calif. Ross B. Hoffmann, Oakland, Calif. Henry J. Volkin, Ossining, N. Y. G. A. Joslin, Salt Lake City, Utah.. A. T. Ward, Bellefonte, Pa. John Johnston, Washington, D. C. Major L. W. Wickes. Paul S. King, Wilmington, Del. Horace V. Winchell, Minneapolis, Minn. E. William Kohl, Jr., Philadelphia, Pa. Fred L. Wolf, Mansfield, Ohio. W. H. Landers, San Francisco; Calif. J. Carson Adkerson, of the Stockwood Realty Corpn., Inc., of Woodstock, Va., writes that they are discontinuing their operations in Virginia on account of the conditions in the manganese market following the end of the war.

Jan 4, 1919

By Bieniawski, Z. T.

The importance of understanding the phenomena associated with rock fracture has long been fully appreciated in rock mechanics. This is clearly apparent from the special attention paid to rock fracture in the comprehensive papers published within the past four years. These papers present a picture of how the knowledge of brittle fracture of rock was gradually enriched and also show that what was often taken for granted three or four years ago is no longer considered as valid today.

Jan 1, 1972

By Jerry Tien

Mine regulators are normally used for proper air distribution in underground mines. They are deliberately introduced resistance in the regulated airway, and by altering sizes, they can distribute specific air quantities to regulated splits and free splits (4, 5). The enactment of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977, and the regulations adopted by the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration (now called the Mining Safety and Health ministration) prompted greater discussions of optimal mine regulator locations because of the Act's stringent ventilation requirements (2, 3). For example, by requiring the separation of the air used in the belt haulage entries from the intake and return airways, the regulations required the creation of a third type of airway---the neutral airway, as opposed to the intake and return airways, adding to the complexity of a mine's ventilation network. It is the intent of this report to show that panel regulators should be located in intake airways at the neck of a panel for a blowing fan system and in return airways at the neck of a panel for an exhausting fan system in order to achieve optimal air control. A computer simulation model is used to determine optimal mine regulator location.

Jan 1, 1983

I-institute of Metals Division S. SKOWRONSKI, Chairman ZAY JEFFRIES, Vice-chairman WILLIAM M CORSE, Secretary Executive Committee J. R. FREEMAN, JR, Local Section G E JOHNSON R S ARCHER, Non-ferrous Data Sheets P. D. MERICA EDGAR C BAIN, Journal Committee L W SPRING SAM TOUR, Papers Committee F. L. WOLI H. C. JENNISON, Membership Committee Local Section Committee J. R. FREEMAN, JR., Chairman R. J. ANDERSON, Cincinnati R L. DOWDELL. Minneapolis R. S WILLIAMS, BostoI G. H. CLAMER, Philadelphia W. A SCHEUCH, Chicago R. F. WOOD, New York

Jan 1, 1923

By Arnold Hoffman

A RESPONSIBLE steel executive recently declared that scrap shortages, despite fantastic prices reaching up to $50 per ton, are responsible for the loss of 140,000 tons of steel a month and that in March 1947 alone 25 more steel furnaces could have been operating were it not for scrap scarcities. His answer to this serious situation was to ask for a speedier flow of scrap and also abolition of Government control over pig iron distribution. It would be more logical, perhaps, if an answer to this growing problem of scrap deficiency were sought within the steel industry itself. As long ago as 1933, L. B. Lindemuth, a consulting steel metallurgist, warned the steel industry that a shortage of scrap was inevitable and that beyond 1938, adequate supplies for open-hearth furnaces could not be expected. The outbreak of war, with consequent phenomenal demands on the industry, accelerated production of steel and further worsened the scrap situation. Today we are suffering from a condition which could have been prevented had the industry been more far-seeing and provided for an inevitable contingency. However, better late than never, and measures can now be taken to alleviate permanently scrap shortages in the future. This can be done by greater utilization of heavy sinter which experience proved is an excellent substitute for scrao and lump ore.

Jan 1, 1947

The following is an incomplete list of members and guests who called at Institute headquarters during the period Oct. 10, 1919, to Nov. 10,1919. Carl A. Allen, Salt Lake City, Utah. W. G. Mitchell, Montreal, Canada. M. M. Altmayer, Paris. Henry S. Munroe, Litchfield, Conn. A. E. Bellis, Major Ord., Springfield J. S. Negru, New York, N. Y. Armory, Springfield, Mass. Edmund Newton, New York, N. Y. R. S. Botsford, New York, N. Y. A. W. Newberry, Cleveland, Ohio. Henry S. Burnholz, Monterrey, Mexico. C. C. O'Harra, Rapid City, S. D. D. E. A. Charlton, New York, N. Y. Fred S. Porter, Philadelphia, Pa. C. C. Colburn, Denver, Colo. Donald A. Powell, Columbus, Ohio. C. V. Corless, Coniston, Ontario. Thomas T. Read, Washington, D. C. I. N. Daily, Seattle, Wash., W. L. Remick, Chrome, N. J. E. V. Daveler, Butte, Mont: Hallet R. Robbins, San Francisco, Calif. John Davis, Fairbanks, Alaska.' Milnor Roberts, University Station, E. W. Engelmann, Salt Lake City, Utah. Seattle, Wash. M. E. Erdofy, New York N. Y. Thos. S. Roberts, Lakehurst Proving W. F. Ferrier, Toronto, Canada. Grounds, N. J. H. A. Fisher, Pittsburgh, Pa. George B. Rodgers, Dobbs Ferry, N. Y. Walter Fitch, Sr., Eureka, Utah. John C. Rogers, Copper Cliff, Ontario. C. D. Grier, New York, N. Y. Joseph L. Rosenmiller, Bethlehem, Pa. A. Hibbert, London. . C. J. Saville, Portland, New South Wales. John E. Hodge, Minneapolis, Minn. W. A. Scheuch, New Jersey. W. E. Hopper, Newark, N. J. S. B. Shutts, Lynchburg, Va. M. R. Hull, McGill, Nev. E. W. Smith, U. S. Army. A. W. Ibbett, Trinidad, B. W. I. S. J. Speak, London. A. O. Ihlseng, Joplin, Mo. John. B. Stewart, Santiago de Cuba, Sherwin F. Kelly, Lawrence, Kans. Cuba. R. G. Knickerbocker, Logansport, Ind. S. A. Taylor, Pittsburgh, Pa. .M. H. Kuryla, Eureka Colo. Karl Thomas,' New York, N. Y. F. G. Lasier, Detroit, Mich. F. L. Torres, Eureka, Nev. David Lasuer, Elizabeth, N. J. Henry Traphagen, Toledo, .Ohio: H. H. Lauer, Allentown, Pa. W. D. Van Doren, Ottawa, Canada. J. Whitney Lewis, Care First Nat'l Bank, J. A. Vernon, Newport, R. I. Tulsa Okla James Wilding, San Francisco, Calif. James W. Love, Knoxville, Tenn. D. J. Williams, Butte, Mont. Dorsey A. Lyon, Washington, D. C. Harry J. Wolf, New York, N. Y. M. E. Martiner, Boston, Mass.. Dwight E. Woodbridge, Duluth, Minn. Benj. L. Miller, Bethlehem, Pa. Percy E. Wrighn, Seattle, Wash. W. G. Miller, Toronto, Canada. F. Yamada, Tokyo, Japan.

Jan 12, 1919

By Hugh S. Spence

IN MAY, 1930, G. LaBine and E. C. St. Paul, prospect¬ing round the southeastern shore of Great Bear Lake, in the North West Territories of Canada, discovered pitchblende at what is now LaBine Point. At the same time, they also found native silver in a small sheared break on an island lying off the point. Late in 1930, samples of the pitchblende were sent to the Mines Branch, at Ottawa. The material consisted of several fair-sized slabs of botryoidal pitchblende banded with a brownish quartz. A small amount of chalcopyrite was visible as small particles and fine veinlets, and the pieces were rather heavily stained a yellowish-green by secondary copper-uranium salts. Analyses were run in the Mines Branch Ore Dressing Laboratories on two samples, and small-scale concentration tests were made on one of them. The results of this work were published in a Memorandum Series report (No. 48) of the Mines Branch, in March, 1931.

Jan 1, 1932

Addicks, L Ambler, J O Anderson, F B Armstrong, T Allen, L M, Jr Arnold, C E Adams, C E Adams, R E Anderson, A J Booth, E L Bernhardt, D I Boyd, W S Browning, W C Blake, D E Black, T B Bergman, Julius Bowen, H P Beckett, P G Blickensdefer, F C Bond, Josiah Butler, P P Bondlas. Y

Jan 1, 1923

By A. J. Williams

THE province of Saskatchewan, situated in the center of the Great Plains region of Canada, has, like most prairie areas, an essentially agricultural economy. Most of its population of about 860,000 is located in the southern half of the province in the farming and ranching areas. To the north of the prairie is a broad forested belt supporting a considerable timbering industry, and the northern one third of the province is glaciated pre-Cambrian rock formation. This latter area is relatively barren of vegetation, but the presence within it of a considerable variety of radioactive, noble and base metals, and industrial minerals has been shown by prospecting in recent years.' Glacial Geology The Keewatin ice sheet, considered to have accumulated in the country to the west of Hudson Bay in Pleistocene time, covered at its maximum advancement almost all of Saskatchewan and extended south of the international boundary. Only in the Cypress Hills in the southwest and around Wood Mountain in the south central portion of the province did the preglacial formations escape the action for this glacial period. The bedrock of the plains and forest areas therefore is overlain by moraines and modified glacial drift, which vary in thickness from a few feet to 400 or 500 ft.' Glacial action in the pre-Cambrian area of the province was largely erosional, most of the more recent formations and some of the pre-Cambrian rock being transported out of the area to the south and west. It has been estimated that about 13 pct of this area is composed of lakes and rivers not too adaptable to rail or water transportation, so that until the use of aviation for exploration purposes became general, development of the area was slow. To the south, the heavy mantle of glacial drift has to some extent deterred the discovery of industrial minerals in the bedrock underlying the forest and prairie regions3 At the same time, this drift contains numerous deposits of those most elementary and necessary industrial minerals, sand and gravel. Sedimentary Basin The major feature of the sedimentary deposits underlying the plains regions is the basinal structure known as the Moose Jaw syncline, which runs from the southeast corner of the province in a northwesterly direction. To the west of this syncline the formations curve upward, then have been faulted and further upthrust to appear at the surface in the foothills of the Rockies in Alberta; to the east and north they curve upward into Manitoba and northern Saskatchewan, but the surface contacts are covered mostly with glacial drift.238 The axis of the syncline dips to the southeast, so that there is also an upward trend of the formations along the axis to the northwest. In illustration of the regional structure underlying the province, the pre-Cambrian basement has been logged in drillholes at the following depths in several locations: Ogema (south central), 9390 ft; Gronlid (northeast), 2599 ft; Vera (northwest), 4422 ft; Big River (north northwest), 2348 ft. Fig. 1 indicates the general surface geology of the province, ignoring such glacial overburden as may overlie many of the bedrock formations. Also indicated is the approximate location of the axis of the Moose Jaw syncline.' Industrial Minerals Clays: The province is fortunate in possessing a widespread distribution of clays of ceramic value, ranging from those used for heavy structural products to the high grade pottery and china clays. Shales suitable for brick and tile production are found in the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary formations across the south of the province where the glacial drift is thin or nonexistent. Many deposits of glacial lake clays suitable for such wares are found scattered over the rest of the province south of the pre-Cambrian area. The Whitemud formation of the Upper Cretaceous is a narrow sedimentary band of secondary clays found intermittently at points across the south of the province where glacial action did not disturb or remove them.' In the southwest corner of the province, around Eastend in the Frenchman River valley, the refractory clays of this formation are contaminated somewhat with iron compounds or other alteration products of basaltic rocks. This eliminates the use of those clays in true whitewares, as they fire to creamy buff shades at the lower temperatures and to a blue-specked grey at cone 8 to 12, (2280°F to 2390°F), the range commonly used in firing whiteware. However, for use in the production of colored artware, caneware, stoneware or crockery, and sewerpipe, this type of clay makes an excellent body that requires little or no addition of flint, feldspar, or other fluxing materials such as are required in the higher class of ware.' It is not a grade of clay that can be shipped great distances to the manufacturing centers, but a market for considerable tonnages has developed at nearby Medicine Hat, where cheap natural gas is available for the firing of the ware. Farther east in the south central portion of the province, the clays of the Whitemud formation are generally more refractory and white burning. The formation is divided into three zones, consisting of white clays, brown shale, and white sandy clays.

Jan 1, 1953

By V. E. Christensen

AT most smelting plants, forced draft, induced by high stacks or fans, is used to carry the gases away from the furnaces, roasters, or sintering plants. Gases moving under forced draft carry varying amounts of solids in the form of dust and fume. Where the weight of the solids is material, and the metal content high, it is usually profitable to treat the gases to recover these solids. Baghouses, Cottrell treaters, and settling chambers are the common forms of plants used to recover solids from gases. To check on the efficiency of these plants it is necessary to know the volume of gas leaving the plant and the amount of solids carried by the gas. As the volume of gas is equal to the product of the velocity of that gas and the cross-sectional area of the flue, the determination of the volume includes the measurement of the area of the cross section and the determination of the velocity. The velocity is generally measured by means of the Pitot tube and Ellison differential pressure gage, although low velocities are best determined by means of an anemometer. The dust concentration is determined by passing a measured volume of sample through a filter and weighing the dust caught. From this the dust concentration per unit of volume may be calculated. It is necessary to assume that the gas is homogeneous or that each cubic foot of the gas contains the same weight of dust as every other cubic foot. Having the volume of gas passing through a flue per unit of time, and the dust concentration of the gas per unit of volume, the amount of solids may easily be calculated.

Jan 1, 1935

By Henry Mackay

THE interesting paper recently submitted by Messrs. Tobelmann and Potter' shows that chemical problems have developed which are of great interest in this new and important branch of metallurgy. Those who realize what a process of this kind really involves will agree that it deserves a better name than "leaching process." The word leaching conveys the idea that the copper is simply leached out of the ore with acid and then precipitated on iron; the chemistry of such a process would be of little interest. As, however, during the first year's operation of this plant 24,400,532 lb. (11,067,837 kg.) or about two-thirds of the produce, was electrolytic copper, while 7,992,033 lb., or about one-third, was cement copper, it would seem more appropriate to term the process electrochemical. It further appears, from the particulars given, that efforts have been made to have the entire production in the form of electrolytic copper. -This could be done if the chemistry of the problem were kept in balance, so that it would not be necessary to discard any solutions that carried copper and acid of commercial value. A process, such as that under consideration, in which the copper is precipitated from solution by electrolysis, the solvent being at the same time regenerated, is one that requires special chemical and electrochemical knowledge and experience if all the -copper in solution that has been extracted from the ore is to be successfully and economically produced as electrolytic copper. The object of this paper is to discuss, from the practical and theoretical standpoints, the chemical and electrochemical problems involved in the working of a process of this kind, and' which must be solved to keep it in chemical and electrochemical equilibrium. In such a process, if the chemical balance is maintained, a solution can be used alternately as a

Jan 9, 1919

By Albert Hill Fay

IN giving a sketch of the geology and mining of the tin-deposits of Cape Prince of Wales, a short description of the geographic and climatic conditions may be of special interest on account of this being a part of the world of which very little is known, even by the reading public. As shown in Fig. 1, the location of the Cape is lat. N. 65° 35' and long. W. 168°. It is bounded on the north by the Arctic ocean ; on the west by Bering strait and on the south by Bering sea. It is the western-most point of the mainland of North America, and to the west, across the strait, one can see East Cape, Siberia, which consists of a rugged, steep coast of granite cliffs. The climatic conditions are of interest because of the part they have had in the surface geology, and also because they affect mining from an economic standpoint. In connection with the climate and geography, it does not seem out of place here to quote a few lines from the prologue of The Wandering Jew, written by Eugene Sue, under the caption '1 The Land's End of Two Worlds."

Sep 1, 1907

By R. D. Rubright, Owen J. Hart

In the Bingham district over a span of more than 90 years, 43,947,104 tons of "non-porphyry" copper, lead, zinc, gold, and silver ore have been mined from a folded and faulted alternating series of Pennsylvanian and Permian limestones and sandstones and from some Tertiary intrusives. This ore came from six major mine areas located east, south, and west of the Bingham stock, site of Kennecott's porphyry copper deposit. The sediments were affected by varying degrees and types of metamorphism within 2000 feet or more of the Bingham stock. The intrusives consisting of the mineralized Bingham and the unmineralized Last Chance stocks and numerous dikes and sills of granite and monzonite were intruded into the asymmetrical northwest-trending and plunging Bingham syncline. Extrusives, although present, contain no ore. The bulk of the non-porphyry ore in the district was found above the Midas thrust. The primary ores are found in three major types of deposits: concordant bedding fissures, crosscutting fissures, and replacement deposits. These deposits consist of both copper and lead-zinc ore bodies that contain various amounts of gold and silver. These are in places roughly zoned both laterally and vertically and have been mined for up to 10,000 feet outward from the center of the Bingham stock and up to 5000 feet vertically below the surface. Secondary ore was of minor importance and was found in and under the oxidized zone at shallow depths. Genetically the Bingham stock, the ores, and related phenomena have had a common source.

Jan 1, 1968

By Open-Hearth Steel

We have a very high-powered organization up here this morning, headed by Kenneth C. McCutcheon, general superintendent of the Ashland Division of the American Rolling Mill Company, and L. A. Lambing, superintendent of the open-hearth and Bessemer departments of Jones & Laughlin Steel .corporation of Aliquippa, Pa., representing the open-hearth men. Also, we have P. F. Dolan, assistant general manager of the Maryland plant of Bethlehem Steel Company, of Sparrows Point, and Harry E. McDonnell, superintendent of blast furnaces of Weirton Steel Company of Weirton, W. Va., representing the blast-furnace section.

Jan 1, 1940

By John Hays Hammond

Discussion of the paper of John Hays Hammond, presented at the Chattanooga meeting, October, 1908, and published in Bi.-Monthly Bulletin., No. 24, November, 1908, pp. 1171 to 117S. PROF. HENRY Louis, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, En j. (communication to the Secretary'`) :-I welcome Mr. Hammond's paper as an. attempt to give definiteness to the best modern professional practice. Such a codification of our professional ethics is urgently needed, seeing how widely the views of mining engineers differ on some of the point-,. raised, for example, I have no hesitation it) performing a class of work, as to which Mr. Hammond seems to entertain some doubts, and, on the other hand, I strongly condemn a practice which he appears to recommend. I have not the least hesitation in making reports for vendors of mining properties, and am constantly doing so; . the best justification for this practice may be found in the fact that such reports have been repeatedly accepted by buyers as giving a correct representation of the facts of the case, which is all that should be demanded from any report. On the other hand, Mr. Hammond advocates that mitring engineers should take payment for their reports tin shares of a company to be floated upon the basis of such reports. I hold that this is ethically wrong, as even the most honest of men is liable to be unconsciously biased under these conditions. Indeed, I go much further, and maintain that a mining engineer who re¬ports or advises upon mining properties should never hold any-mining shares at all, or be himself interested in any mine,' and this has been my consistent practice for many years. A man who holds shares in a mine, and is called upon to report upon a neighboring property or a similar mine, can never be wholly unbiased, and even if lie could be, he would always lay himself open to the suspicion that he was giving a favorable report so as to-enhance the value of the property in which he himself is interested, or an unfavorable report so as to stifle competi-

Jun 1, 1909

By Robert F. Mehl

Jan 1, 1944

By Robert F. Mehl

Jan 1, 1944

By W. J. Romanow

RECENT papers by Williams, Sherwood, and Boothby,1 Seybolt et al.2 Heikes; and Roberts4 attest to the increasing importance of the hexagonal ferromagnetic compound MnBi. Since the magnetic properties of MnBi crystals are highly anisotropic, it is useful and necessary to have appropriate aids for determining their orientations—a (00.1) standard stereographic projection and a corresponding table of crystallographic angles for this structure. The tables of crystallographic angles for the hexagonal system available in the literature5 are computed for c/a ratios greater than that of MnBi and cannot satisfactorily be used to find the crystallographic angles of MnBi. A table of angles between the crystallographic planes (HK.L) and (hk.1) was calculated for MnBi from the formula0 F=are cos Hh+Kk+ 1/2(Hk+hK) + 3/4 (a/c)2Ll/v(H2 + K2 + HK + 3/4 (a/c)2L2) (h2+ k2+hk + 3/4 (a/c)2l2) on an IBM Type 650 Magnetic Drum Data Processing machine. The lattice constants used are listed in Table I and are those determined by Willis and Rooksby7 at 20°C. More recently published values obtained by both X-ray and neutron diffraction"' show no difference from these significant to the calculation. From the crystallographic angles between the basal plane (00.1) and the general plane (hk.1) in Table I, an (00.1) standard stereographic projection was made for MnBi which is shown in Fig. 1. Acknowledgments The author wishes to thank R. G. Treuting and J. N. Hobstetter for their technical assistance, and Miss D. P. Booth for programing the IBM machine for the calculations. He appreciates the opportunity to read the paper of B. W. Roberts of General Electric Co. prior to its publication. References 1H. J. Williams, R. C. Sherwood, and 0. L. Boothby: Bulletin Amer. Physical Soc., 1956 vol. 1, p. 132. 2 A. U. Seybolt, H. Hangen, B. W. Roberts, and P. Yurcisin: AIME Trans., 1956, vol. 206, p. 605: Journal oF Metals, May 1956. 3R. R. Heikes: Physical Review, 1955, vol. 99, p. 446. .B. W. Roberts: A Neutron Diffraction Study of the Structures of Manganese B.W.Roberts:ANeutronDiffractionBismuthide, Physical. Review, 1956, vol. 104, p. 607. 5 A. Taylor and S. Leber: AIME Trans., 1954, vol. 200, p. 190; JouRNal of Metals February 1954. « C. S. Barrett: Structure of Metals, 2nd Ed., p. 635. McGraw-Hill Book Co. New York and London, 1952. 7B. T. M. Willis and H. P. Rooksby: Proceedings Physical Soc., London, 1954, vol. 67B, p. 290.

Jan 1, 1958

By Subhas G. Malghan

Feldspathic deposits occur widely throughout the United States, but North Carolina, California, Connecticut, and South Carolina accounted for over 80% of the total domestic feldspar output for the year 1973.1 Pegmatites and granites constitute the major feldspar reserves of the United States, 2 and in addition, feldspar is produced as a byproduct by firms whose major products are spodumene and mica. 3 Feldspar flotation is practiced in the United States, Mexico, Finland, Norway, West Germany, Japan, and the USSR. According to the US Bureau of Mines estimates, the production of feldspar in the United States and rest of the world were 704,000 and 2,514,000 t, respectively. Feldspar is principally used as a flux in making glass, pottery, porcelain, enamel, tile, and other ceramic products. In recent years, the domestic feldspar industry is faced with a number of problems. As a result of increased cost of energy and the introduction in 1972 of new legislative programs relating to air, water, and noise pollution, land-use restrictions, and mined-land rehabilitation, the production costs have increased. Apart from the increased cost of operation, an operational problem exists with the feldspar producers in North Carolina, especially those in the Spruce Pine area. This problem is concerned with the use of hydrofluoric acid in the feldspar flotation. Feldspar producers in Spruce Pine, NC, have been discharging process waste water into the North Toe River. The mill waste water contains active fluoride ions. Fluoride in excessive concentrations is undesirable in waters used for drinking. It is stated that water containing 0.9-1.0 ppm fluoride will seldom cause mottled enamel on children's teeth; and for adults, concentrations less than 3-4 are not likely to cause endemic cumulative fluorosis and skeletal effect. Although the literature on this subject is rather confusing and inconclusive, the inference that concentrations over 4 ppm may affect bone structure is clear. According to the recent Federal Register,4 maximum fluoride level of 1.4 ppm at 79°-98°F is considered to be adequate and safe for the protection of health of the consumers. The EPA and state environmental agencies have accelerated their drive to reduce water pollution on a faster schedule. By 1977, the EPA specifications for maximum contaminant level of fluoride ions in the discharge waters of feldspar milling operatins is expected to be reduced to 2.0 ppm. The other problems of using hydrofluoric acid are the following: toxicity, hazards of handling and storage, and high cost as compared to other inorganic acids (almost 16 times the cost of sulfuric acid). In order to reduce fluoride levels in mill discharge waters, mining companies have taken the following steps: I) Recirculating a part of their mill water. Even though recirculation of mill water seems to be a novel method of reducing fluoride contamination of the discharge water, there are certain operational and handling problems. 2) Conducting research on the treatment of fluorides in mill waste water. The technology of treatment of fluoride ions has received considerable interest in the recent years. A recent research report5 estimates that the cost of fluoride ion removal to meet the present specifications in the feldspar industry is approximately $0.25/t of ore processed, and about $0.50/t of feldspar produced. At the request of the feldspar producing industries in North Carolina, the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Minerals Research Laboratory has taken up a research program directed towards overcoming the fluoride ion pollution problem. After a close study of the operational, technical, and economic aspects of feldspar flotation, it was decided to attempt to replace the conventional hydrofluoric acid process. Conventional Feldspar Flotatin Using Hydrofluoric Acid Since the inception of the feldspar flotation process using hydrofluoric acid by O'Meara2,6 the process has achieved a great commercial success. In the conventional flotation separation of feldspar-quartz, hydrofluoric acid is used to suppress quartz and activate feldspar, and a long chain amine salt (acetate or chloride) is used as a collector. The bulk of amine collectors used in current feldspar operations are applied as the water-soluble acetates of the free-base amines. These products are pastes or waxy solids which are available in a range of acetic acid neutralization levels generally 50 to 100% neutralized. In spite of the problems mentioned in connection with the use of hydrofluoric acid, this process is extremely stable with respect to changes in the process variables. With the exception of a few operations, alaskite and pegmatite are the major sources of feldspar.7 In the flotation treatment of a pegmatite that contains iron-bearing minerals (heavy minerals), mica, feldspar, and silica, a logical order of removal presents itself considering the following:8 1) Mica is readily floated by an amine collector in a pulp pH 3.5. Some iron-bearing minerals will usually respond to amine collector in acid circuit with the mica concentrate. 2) Since iron minerals tend to occur invariably in the feldspar concentrate, it is desirable to remove most of these prior to feldspar flotation. A fatty acid or a petroleum sulfonate collector used in this flotation step in acid circuit will float iron-bearing minerals. 3) Using hydrofluoric acid to maintain pH of 2.5, an amine collector employed in a final step will float feldspar away from silica, usually leaving the latter in the tailing as a high-grade silica concentrate. The problems connected with the flotation separation of feldspar-quartz arise due to the similarities in their chemical structure. Therefore, any reagent system that is likely to succeed in feldspar-quartz separation should have adsorption affinity towards one of the minerals and depression effect towards the other mineral.

Jan 1, 1979

By H. V. Flagg

OPERATION of a modern steel plant presents a curious anomaly. Large-scale operations, in which large volumes or heavy weights of materials are involved, are not usually subject to close control or narrow specifications. On the other hand, operations that call for a high degree of precision are usually carried out under carefully controlled conditions with delicate, precise machinery and tools, and production is made secondary to quality. In a modern steel mill both extremes are taken as a matter of course. A strip mill making auto-body sheets must supply its customers with sheets that all come within a tolerance of plus or minus 0.003 in. in gauge at any point from side to side or end to end, and without blemishes either of color or surface. Sheets that were considered par excellence as recently as ten years ago could not even find a market today. Such exacting requirements have made necessary a nicety of control that approaches the watchmaker's art. Notwithstanding this necessity for precision, the scale of operation is stupendous.

Jan 1, 1940