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By E. J. Lintner

CLAY mining in the 'United States is by no means a small industry for approximately ten million tons of shale and clay are recovered yearly. The bulk of this tonnage enters into the manufacture of paving, building and refractory brick, draintile, pots, sewer pipe, stoneware, and wall and floor tile. This group of manufactures is commonly known as the heavy clay products industry. The winning of the raw materials for this industry constitutes merely a step in the manufacturing process because the manufacturer usually owns and operates his own source of supply. The mining of kaolin and the whiteware and chinaware claps, however, is usually a separate industry.

Jan 1, 1936

By Bjorge, Guy N.

MINING method improve through the gradual process of evolution and in 1340 there were no marked outstanding innovations. On the other hand refinements of detail and betterment: in equipment design continued to progress. Among the most important changes have been the increased application of trucks and highway equipment, including tractors and bull- dozers, to open-pit mining as exemplified by Phelps Dodge's Morenci operations; the Mesabi iron range; and the Tri-State district. Mass or bulk handling contributed its part underground with slurhers and conveyors at Consolidated Coppermines and slushers at Climax; and in open-pit mining. conveyors found increased use on the Mesabi range.

Jan 1, 1941

By AIME AIME

MOTHER example of the broad field that is covered by the mining industry is the recent erection by the Phelps Dodge Corp. of a modern hospital building at Douglas, Ariz., and an identical one at the rejuvenated mining town of Morenci. Managers of even small mining properties are often called upon to build schools, houses, stores, maybe a jail, and provide sanitary arrangements, possibly the while acting as mayor of the town. Those who direct larger properties may have to build hospitals, as in the present instance, construct sewage disposal plants, and sometimes even build and manage railroads. A mining camp achieves its reputation among mining men not entirely by the grade or amount of its ore, or the skill of the operating staff in mining and milling it at a profit-the operation soon acquires a reputation as either a desirable or an undesirable place to live, regardless of its remoteness from what is euphemistically termed civilization. Such a community is indeed fortunate if it can boast of a good hospital.

Jan 1, 1940

By H. C., Weed

THE Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co., located in the Globe-Miami district at Inspiration, Ariz., became a producer of copper in 1915. From 1915 until 1948, 116,278,000 tons of ore were produced from underground workings by the block-caving system of mining. In April 1948, open-pit ore production from portions of the ore body was started and earlier plans for block-caving in these areas were abandoned. The change was due to economic conditions. Prior to the war years Inspiration's costs of mining by block-caving methods were comparable to, or even below, the costs of some open-pit operations. By the end of the war these conditions were completely changed. Underground costs had risen steadily for labor and supplies. Difficulty was being experienced in finding competent underground men and underground development was almost hopelessly behind schedule. On the other hand, open-pit costs had been sharply reduced through the development of modern earth-moving machinery and plenty of labor was available for surface work.

Jan 1, 1950

By J. O. Betterton, W. K. Noyce

I~JTI HE work on the indium-zirconium system is part A of a larger investigation of zirconium-phase diagrams with solute elements, silver, cadmium, indium, tin, and antimony, which is intended to provide information about the metallic valency of zirconium. The system is an ideal example since the sizes of indium and zirconium atoms are nearly the same, and the solute and the solvent occur in the same row of the periodic table. The only solute from Group III B which had previously been added to zirconium was aluminum' and it was of interest to determine whether indium would dissolve appreciably in alpha zirconium and stabilize this phase in the same manner. Experimental Procedure The experimental methods used in the indium-zirconium work are similar to those described earlier for the silver-zirconium system.' Reactor Grade 1 iodide zirconium of 99.95 pct purity* and indium of 99.99 pct purity were arc cast, and then annealed in silica capsules with protective foils of zirconium and molybdenum. Annealing temperatures and times varied from 1 day at 1300°C to 43 days at 550°C. The compositions of the alloys were detcrmined by an individual chemical analysis of the actual metallographic specimens after two or more sides were examined to insure the absence of solute segregation. Calibrated thermocouples were used throughout, and the uncertainty in the temperatures reported, owing to calibration error, furnace control, and measurement of the small temperature gradients near the capsules, is believed to be well within ±2°C. Typical impurities in the alloys were found by a neutron-activation analysis of four different alloys. The results are given in Table I where the ranges of values will be seen to compare favorably with the usual values for iodide zirconium. With respect to oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon the absence of any unusual amount of these elements compared to iodide zirconium was indicated by the alloy hardness values, since hardness is increased sharply by the presence of these elements. The value for 0 pct In, obtained from the alloys by extrapolation, is 58 2 7 VPN which is in the low part3 f the normal range of hardness found in iodide zirconium. Results of the Experiments The zirconium-rich portion of the indium-zirconium phase diagram from the annealing experiments is shown in Fig. 1. Indium was found to

Jan 1, 1959

By John A. Emery

The Pea Ridge iron ore deposit near Sullivan, Missouri, is a dike-like mass of magnetite enclosed in Precambrian porphyries. The ore body tops at the Precambrian surface at a depth of 1300 feet below the present surface and extends to an unknown depth. It dips nearly vertically, intersecting the dip and strike of the enclosing porphyries at an extremely sharp angle. Faulting, both pre- and post-ore, appears to be of minor consequence, and present knowledge indicates that no preferred structural conditions existed prior to emplacement. The ore body is composed of magnetite with specular hematite, quartz, apatite, and pyrite occurring as accessory primary minerals. Specular hematite in appreciable quantities occurs on parts of the cap and the footwall of the ore body. Fresh porphyry breccia is enclosed in the magnetite along the hanging wall and in the western portion of the ore body. Hanging-wall quartz-amphibole and footwall quartz-hematite occur as replacements of certain porphyries. Further alteration has caused sericitization of parts of these zones. The ore deposit is interpreted as having been formed essentially by a single injection of a magmatic differentiate with hydrothermal end phases forming the quartz-amphibole and quartz-hematite portions of the deposit.

Jan 1, 1968

By J. Chupak, D. J. Salley, G. L. Simard

Radiotracers were demonstrated to be of considerable value in a study of the interaction of dithiophosphate with galena. The interaction had characteristics of both chemisorption and chemical reaction, being complex because of the nature of the galena surface. Sorption was rapid and markedly reversible, and flotation occurred at relatively small amounts of dithiophosphate sorbed.

Jan 1, 1950

By R. W. Heckel

A method is described whereby the relationship of both the "at-pressure" powder compact density and the "zero-pressure" compact density to the applied pressure may be obtained from continuous measurements of punch movement during a single compaction operation. The rate of density increase with applied pressure for the metal powders is found to be proportional to the volume fraction of pores for pressures exceeding a lower limit which varies from 15,000 to 30,000 psi, depending on the powder. 1 HE compaction of powdered materials is carried out primarily to increase the density of the material. If the ultimate goal of the over-all process is the attainment of minimum porosity, compaction is responsible for most of the densification. For example, loose powdered metals have porosities of about 65 to 75 pct. Axial loading in a die or hydrostatic pressure may effectively reduce the porosity of most powders to 20 pct or lower with pressures of 50,000 psi and greater. The relationship between the density of a powder compact and the pressure needed to achieve that density is most commonly obtained by pressing several compacts, each at a different pressure. Measurement of the densities of the individual compacts when they are removed from the die then provides the density-pressure relationship. However, this method suffers from several disadvantages. Because a large number of compacts and pressing operations are required, it is inherently slow. Furthermore, since density measurements are made after the specimens are removed from the die, data obtained refer only to pressures greater than those necessary to form a coherent compact. The third disadvantage is the inability of this method to provide information about the compact density at the applied pressure in the die. Because the determination of density-pressure relationships has been a slow, tedious process, investigators have sought to express the compaction behavior of powders by other means. The general terms "comparability" and L'compressibility" have been used to rank powders qualitatively according to their compaction characteristics. To restore a quantitative nature to the subject and to prevent confusion, Schwarzkopf1 has proposed that compac-tibility be defined as the minimum pressure needed to produce a given green strength, while compressibility should be used to indicate the extent to which the density of a powder is increased by a given pressure. Probably the most widely used of the compaction parameters is the "compression ratio,'' which is generally defined as the ratio of the compact density obtained by pressing at a given pressure to the apparent density of the loose powder.2 However, the description of the compaction behavior of a powder by these parameters provides only limited information about the process because of their applicability to just one specific condition such as a given green strength or a given pressure. The method of obtaining density-pressure relationships which will be described in the present paper was designed to eliminate the shortcomings of the previous techniques while maintaining equivalent accuracy and precision. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES The general principle employed makes use of the fact that the linear movement of the punch during a

Jan 1, 1962

By E. V. Kleber, V. F. Novy, R. C. Vickery

The constitutional diagram has been determined for the system gadolinium-nickel. Nine intermetallic compounds have been found at compositions corresponding to the following gadolinium-nickel ratios: 3:1, 3:2, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 2:7, 1:4, 1:5, 2:17. The GdNi and GdNi5 compounds have congruent melting points of 1300' and 1500°C, respectively while the remaining compounds melt in-congruently. Eutectics exist at 15 wt pct Ni, 31 1/2 wt pct Ni and 87 wt pct Ni with melting points of 6703 8803 and 1220°C, respectively. IN a continuing investigation of the properties of rare earth alloys, a study has been made of the gadolinium-nickel system. Previous work encompassed the iron containing alloys and a subsequent paper will deal with the constitution of the gadolinium-cobalt system. Vogel,1 examined alloys of nickel with lanthanum and cerium. R3Ni, RNi, RNi2, RNi3, RNi4, and RNi5 compounds were found. Endter and Klemm,2 Fulling et al.3 Heumann,4 and Nowotny5 found the 1:2 compositions of this series to exist in a C-15 (face-centered cubic) structure, and the 1:5 compositions in a hexagonal system. Jepson and Duwez6 more recently examined these 1:2 and 1:5 compositions and generally confirmed earlier data while Wernick and Geller7 most recently have given additional data on the GdNi5 compound. Comparisons with our results will be made in the appropriate section of this report. EXPERIMENTAL Methods of alloy preparation, annealing procedures, and experimental techniques have been given in our earlier paper.8 Chemical analyses of the alloy samples were made by dissolving the specimen in nitric acid, precipitating the gadolinium as hydroxide and the nickel with dimethylglyoxime. Both precipitates were ignited to oxide and weighed. RESULTS Microstructure— Metallography of alloy specimens in this series has been conducted on both arc-melted and annealed materials. Etchants used have been 5 pct nital with approximately 10 pct distilled water added, for high gadolinium samples; Carapella's ferric chloride solution for intermediate compositions; and Marble's (copper sulfate) reagent for high nickel content alloys. Because of difficulties encountered in the grinding and polishing of specimens containing 40 to 75 wt pct Ni, no photomicrographs were made of such specimens. The microstructure of an arc-melted 5.3 wt pct Ni alloy is shown in Fig. 1. Light etching primary grains of gadolinium are embedded in an eutectic matrix. The microstructure of an alloy of 9.55 wt pct Ni alloy, Fig. 2, annealed 50 hr at 700°C, consists almost entirely of the intermetallic compound Gd3Ni. The structure of an arc metal alloy of approximately 19 pct Ni, Fig. 3, consists of grains of the compound GdNi embedded in the Gd3Ni2-Gd3Ni eutectic. The arc-cast structure of the 38.7 wt pct Ni alloy is shown in Fig. 4. Large primary grains of a compound rest in a matrix structure of coarse GdNi-GdNiz eutectic. Because of the occurrence of several peritectic compounds in the central region of the diagram, identification of the primary structure in this alloy is not certain. As has been indicated above, microstructures of alloy specimens containing between ca 40 and 75 wt pct Ni have not been photographed. These specimens were highly brittle, and macro- and micro-cracking were impossible to control in the grinding and polishing procedures. Prolonged annealing did not alleviate this condition. Visual observations in small specimens did, however, provide evidence for a multiplicity of phases and peritectic dissociations of compounds although rationalization of structures was not possible.

Jan 1, 1962

By TRUMAN S. FULLER

THE GREAT INTEREST in decomposition and trans- formation, so evident in the study of alloys during the last two years, was reflected in the many papers on this subject, presented at the first session of the Institute of Metals, Tuesday morning. Dr. F. A. Thomson, of Montana State School of Mines, presented the first paper by C. Wilson, H. F. Silliman, and E. C. Little, "Rate of Precipitation of Nickel Silicide and Cobalt Silicide in the Hardenable Copper-nickel-silicon and Copper- cobalt-silicon Alloys." Dr. R. F. Mehl, in discussing this paper, stated that the title was somewhat deceptive, as it indicated that the rate of precipitation is determined; the method used is a measurement of electrical conductivity and hardness, neither of which is suitable for a quantitative measurement of rates of reaction or precipitation in the solid state. Hardness is also uncertain because it depends so much upon particle size. Of the various methods proposed for the study of rate of reaction and precipitation the evaluation of volume of reaction produced from the area of photomicrograph is the best.

Jan 1, 1933

By Leonard B. Gulbransen, John R. Lewis, W. Martin Fassell, J. Hugh Hamilton

T. E. Leontis (The Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich.)—This paper is of particular interest to me because of my own work with F. N. Rhines on the oxidation of magnesium and magnesium alloys a few years ago. The authors are to be complimented on their development of an accurate and reproducible technique for measuring ignition temperatures and on their comprehensive study of the many variables that affect the ignition temperature of magnesium. It is indeed gratifying to see that they have obtained a good correlation between ignition temperatures and the oxidation rates reported by us. The correlation is valid not only with composition within one alloy system but also between alloy systems; that is, alloying elements which effect the greatest increase in oxidation rate also produce the greatest decrease in ignition temperature. There are a few points upon which I would like to comment. In attempting to correlate ignition-temperature data, one must be sure that the same definition of this quantity is used by all investigators. It does not appear to me that such is the case in the authors' comparison of their data with the theoretically calculated values of Eyring and Zwolinski. The equation derived by these investigators defines the ignition temperature, To, as the temperature at the gadoxide interface, whereas the present authors use the metal temperature as the criterion for ignition. The contradiction in the effect of oxide-scale thickness on ignition temperature between the predictions of the Eyring-Zwolinski equation and the observations reported in this paper indicate that some variable has not been taken into consideration. Could that be the geometry and size of the specimen? There is a marked difference in the type of specimen used in this investigation and that used in our work which formed the basis of Eyring and Zwol-inski's theoretical treatment. Another factor which plays an important role in ignition is the vapor pressure or the rate of vaporization. Combustion can safely be assumed to take place in the vapor phase by the reaction between vaporized magnesium and oxygen. Thus, a more accurate theoretical analysis may be made on the basis of the rate of vaporization which may be the controlling rate of the process. The effect of a large number of alloying elements on the ignition temperature has been reported in this paper, but beryllium was not included. Practical experience dictates that beryllium markedly decreases the burning tendency of magnesium. I was wondering if the authors plan to study the effect of beryllium in their future work. The authors predict that concentrations of sulphur dioxide in the furnace atmosphere greater than 5.8 pct would be expected to increase the ignition temperature to values still higher than those they measured. I would like to mention that large concentrations of sulphur dioxide markedly increase the rate of combustion of magnesium once ignition has started. Although it has been shown in the paper that the ignition temperature of magnesium in oxygen increases with increasing sulphur dioxide content up to about 1 to 2 pct, in practice relatively low-melting commercial cast alloys (AZ63A and AZ92A) are being continuously heat treated at temperatures just below the melting point in air containing 0.5 to 0.75 pct SO*. In regard to the change in color of the oxide scale observed on magnesium and magnesium alloys just prior to ignition, I would like to mention that in our work alloying elements were found to color the usually white magnesium oxide even though ignition did not occur. For example, the oxide formed on Mg-A1 alloys was gray, increasing in intensity with aluminum content in the alloy. Finally, I might suggest that the authors indicate their source of the value of 0.8 g per cc for the density of MgO as it is formed on magnesium upon oxidation at elevated temperatures. W. M. Fassell, Jr. (authors' reply)—The comments by Dr. Leontis are very excellent ones and I will attempt to answer them in order. First, the problem of ignition of magnesium is a rather difficult one since many factors are involved. Concerning the comparison of the To in the Eyring-Zwolinski equation, eq 4, with the experimentally determined values, it will be noted that the calculated and experimental values of the ignition temperature in Table I are not self-consistent. In the case of the 1.78 pct A1-Mg alloy the calculated value is 49°C below the experimental value; for the 3.81 pct A1-Mg alloy, 122°C below the experimental value; for Mg with 5x10-' cm film, 19°C above the experimental value; for Mg with 2x10-I cm film, 28 °C below the experimental value. Thus, if it were merely a matter of difference of location of temperature measurement the calculated ignition temperature would always be below the experimental value, the difference being due to the thermal gradient through the oxide film. The possibility of a thermal gradient in the magnesium metal must be considered. From Carslaw and Jaeger,'Y t can be shown that the maximum temperature gradient that could exist between the oxide-metal interface and the center of the sample is of the order of O.Ol°C. The geometry and size of the specimen could certainly have some effect on the ignition temperature. The equation for ignition that has been proposed in reference 14 is of the following type containing terms to account for this and other factors: M dT AHv(T) =Cp--------------\-J(.T—TB) + ZAHl-M A dx where AH is the heat of reaction, v(T) is the velocity of the reaction at temperature, Cp is the heat capacity of sample, M is the mass of sample, A is the area of sample, t is time, J is the total coefficient of heat transfer outward from the reaction zone, TR is the temperature of the bath or furnace, and AH,, is the heat associated with any phase change involved. Prior to the instant of ignition, the vapor pressure of magnesium is of no special significance. After ignition, neither eq 4 nor the above equation is applicable. The actual combination of magnesium cannot safely be assumed to take place in the vapor phase. While experimental data is lacking to support a hypothesis that ignition does or does not occur in the vapor phase, some observation on the pressure ignition experiments may be of interest. At high oxygen pressures, once ignition has occurred, the reaction of magnesium with oxygen approaches near explosive violence, the entire sample being consumed in probably less than 1 sec. At atmospheric pressure it usually requires 15 to 20 sec. Thus it appears that the oxygen concentration becomes the rate determining factor. Further, if burning magnesium is observed through darkened glass (Lincoln Super-visibility Shade No. 12) the magnesium sample is very much hotter than the "smoke" and the outline of the sample is retained perfectly. No "flame" is visible above the metal. No work was done on Mg-Be alloys. We do, however, intend to study this problem in the near future.

Jan 1, 1952

E. E. Olcott, New York City: Prof. Kemp's valuable description of the Lancaster Gap mine is in line with many other able contributions on the origin of mineral deposits that the Institute has lately brought forward. The splendid contribution that Prof.

Jan 1, 1895

By W. A. Tiller, W. C. Johnston

A high-temperature electromagnetic stirrer is described in which heating and stirring are accomplished by independently controlled power sources. The appavatus is suitable lor use at temperatures up to 1700°C in a variety of ambient atmospheres. Some typical examples of the homogenizatimz capabilities of the system are given. THERE are few processes in solidification that are not markedly affected by motion in the melt during freezing. In many instances, the mechanisms are diffusion-controlled, and the transport in the melt may be greatly accelerated by deliberately stirring the melt. In zone-refining, stirring1 assists the removal of rejected impurities from the interface, so the process proceeds at a faster rate. The transition from a planar to a cellular interface is caused by constitutional undercooling in the melt ahead of the interface: and stirring delays its onset. Stirring is valuable for homogenization of melts: and chemical reaction with sluggish kinetics may be accelerated. Finally, it has been observed that grain refinement is related to motion in the melt. Fine grain castings are usually produced by the addition of catalysts to the -melt,' catalysts which are thought to act simply as hetereogeneous nucleation centers. Even here motion is important. Richards and Rostoker 5 applied ultrasonic vibration to a solidifying A1-Cu alloy which had been innoculated with a catalyst and found that the grain diameter fell linearly with the amplitude, the peak acceleration and the power input to the melt from the transducer. Finally, mechanical and electrical stirring alone have been used to generate a fine-grained structure.6,7 Johnston ef a1.' have carried out a series of systematic investigations of grain refinement by electromagnetic stirring in a number of low melting point alloys. They found, for example, that the number of grains per unit volume in Pb-Sn alloys could be increased several orders of magnitude by stirring an undercooled melt at the moment of recalescence. In general, a relation AT .H = constant prevailed for a given grain size, where AT was the undercooling of the melt and H the field strength. In more recent work, deliberate homogeneous nucleation of slightly undercooled melts established that the mechanism of refinement must be one involving crystal fragmentation and subsequent multiplication, rather than a "shower" of nuclei effect.9 It is the purpose of this note to describe a stirring device suitable for use up to 1700°C. At low temperatures mechanical stirring and direct-current methods are feasible, but at high temperatures the problem of a protective atmosphere and of electrode corrosion rules out such procedures. The most convenient method for high temperatures is to use externally generated ac fields for both stirring and heating. With rf induction heating alone, considerable stirring and agitation can be achieved, but in general the penetration of field into the melt is small, and the stirring cannot be controlled independently of the heating. In the present experiments, separate power sources of different frequencies for heating and for stirring were used. A susceptor design was chosen so that the 450 kc rf heating field was completely absorbed in the susceptor. The stirring frequency, 400 cps, hereafter called the af field, was chosen so that a high penetration of the melt proper was achieved. EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS The apparatus, Fig. 1, consists of a quartz tube and end plates, surrounded by an rf induction coil and six equally spaced af stirring coils, four of which are shown in full and a fifth in section. Each af stirring coil is a transformer of which the secondary is a single-turn water-cooled copper loop and the primary is composed of two 10 amp-117 v Variac cores as shown. These cores are cooled by forced air, as each of the six pairs will carry maximum currents of 15 amp for short periods. Each set of Variac windings are connected in series, but opposite sets are connected in parallel with a three-phase 400 cps 400-v source. By properly phasing the coils in this way, a rotating field is produced. Capacitors C1, C2, and C3 in Fig. 2 are used to match this inductive load to the generator. Fig. 3 shows a cutaway view of the quartz tube. The sample (1 in. diam by 1 in. high) is placed in a tapered alumina crucible. An axial W-26 pct Re thermocouple, enclosed by a protection tube, is provided. The cruci-

Jan 1, 1968

By Dilip K. Das, Douglas T. Pitman

ONE of the major uses of barium in metallic form is as a getter material in vacuum tubes. Because of the high chemical reactivity of the metal, Ba-Al alloys are extensively used. Numerous methods for the preparation of Ba-Al alloys have been published, a few of which1-4 are cited here. Most of these methods were found to be quite elaborate, involving the reduction of BaO, and not too well adapted for the close control of the final composition of small amounts of alloys prepared for laboratory use. A simple laboratory method for the preparation of Ba-A1 alloys in small batches starting from pure metals was devised, so that it was possible to control the desired compositions to within 1 pct. The pertinent features of the alloy system Ba-Al5 are 1) an intermediate compound BaAl, with the melting point of 1050°C, and 2) a eutectic between aluminum and BaAl4 at 98 pct Al. The accompanying sketch shows the experimental arrangement for the preparation of the alloys. Weighed amounts of aluminum and barium were placed in an alumina and a stainless steel crucible, respectively. According to the supplier's specification, the purity of the metals used in the alloys is as follows: a) aluminum rods—99.9 pct Al, and b) barium rods—99.5 pct Ba. The stainless steel crucible, tapered at the bottom and having a 1/16 in. diam hole, rested on top of the alumina crucible. The assembly was placed inside a graphite sleeve which rested on a refractory platform. The platform moved the assembly up and down through the field of a radio frequency coil. A glass bell jar was placed between the crucible assembly and the radio frequency coil to maintain a steady flow of helium around the melt. A small window was cut out on the wall of the alumina crucible to observe the progress of the re- action and to record the temperature with an optical pyrometer. The platform was first raised high enough to move the barium out of the radio frequency coil field in order to allow only the aluminum to melt. The assembly was then lowered so that the barium began to melt and flow out through the small orifice into the molten aluminum. In order to keep the violence of the exothermic reaction under control, the rate of flow of barium was carefully regulated by raising or lowering the crucible assembly. All the samples prepared by this technique were examined by a Norelco X-ray diffractometer using CuKa radiation, The diffraction specimens were prepared by placing the finely powdered samples in flat specimen holders. The Ba-Al alloys prepared with a high barium content were found to consist mainly of BaAl4. The structure of BaAl4 has previously been reported by Alberti and Andress.8 They found that BaAl4 was body-centered-tetragonal with an a0 = b0 = 4.530Å and c0 = 11.14Å. An alloy whose composition was found by chemical analysis to be almost 100 pct BaA1, was used to determine the relative intensities. The d-spacings were obtained from the same alloy to which a small amount of tungsten had been added as a calibrating material. Accurate values for a, and c, were calculated according to the method proposed by Taylor and Floyd.' The calculated values are: a, = b, = 4.566Å and c0 = 11.250Å. The measured d-values for BaAl4 are shown in Table I along with relative peak intensities above background and hkl indices. Acknowledgment The authors are grateful to L. J. Cronin, the head of the Techniques Dept., for suggesting the problem and for his constant interest. References 1Froges and Camargue: German Patent No. 809107, 1951. French Patent No. 935324, 1949. 2E. Bonnier: Annales de physique, 1953, vol. 8, pp. 259-312. 3M. Orman and E. Zemhela: Prac Institute of Metals; 1952, vol. 4, pp. 437-445. 4E. Fujita and H. Yokomizo: Reports Gov. Chemical Industrial Research Institute, Tokyo, 1952, vol. 47, pp. 291-297. 5E. Alberti: Ztsch. fur Metallkunde, 1934, vol. 26, p. 6. 6E Alberti and K. R. Andress: Ztsch. fur Metallkunde, 1935, vol. 27, p. 126. 7 A. Tnslor and R. W. Floyd: Acta Crystallographica, 1950, vol. 3, p. 285.

Jan 1, 1958

By CHARLES SIMENSTAD

COAL preparation, or coal washing, is not a new subject to the Pacific Northwest. Most of the coals mined in this state smaller than lump, and nearly all such sizes mined on the Pacific slope of the Cascade mountains, require washing before marketing. A large proportion is being put through some washing process, but coal washing in this state, has not reached the efficiency it is practicable to obtain. In fields where the coal, as mined, contains less impurities, where working conditions make it practicable to eliminate some of these impurities under- ground, or where a large proportion of the run-of-mine coal is lump, coal preparation does not present the problem it does in our local field. Here the coal is associated with considerable impurities and the slack, or steam sizes, aggregate about 80 per cent. of the output. Therefore, approximately 80 per cent. of the coal mined must be washed to become a valuable fuel. Washing then becomes a major operation, as hand picking of the 20 per cent. of lump is a standard and comparatively simple operation. Some coal beds here are so interstratified with bone, of a more or less massive nature, that hand picking of lump is not economically efficient. In such cases the coal must be crushed fine enough for it to be freed from the bone, so that the two may be separated. Coal cleaning in this field, therefore, must receive skilled attention to purify this fuel and raise its stand- ard. Without greater efficiency in cleaning, the importation of coal from outside the state will be even greater than in the past.

Jan 1, 1926

By John R. Lotz

DEVELOPMENTS in Iran currently arousing interest in a considerable portion of the world, particularly on the part. of that country's immediate neighbor on the North and in our own country, an inseparably related to and largely dependent upon the government's attempts to strengthen its economy and improve the standard of living of its people. These efforts are encompassed by provisions of the Seven-Year Development Plan recently enacted and not, in the process of implementation. It is a fine example of what one financially sound but extremely backward and poorly equipped country has undertaken to do on its own account and with its own resources. This Seven-Year Plnil was formally authoriztld by an act of the Iranian Parliament in February 1948. Its stated objects are to carry out such plans for the development of the country and its economy as ail1 raise the standard of livinc: and standard of education of the people, and re- duce the cost of living. A seven-yrar program for carrying out the work within the limits of appropriations was assigned under the law. The total amount to be expended during the seven- year period was fixed at the equivalent of $670 millioil at current rates of exchange.

Jan 1, 1950

By R. J. Mechin

Top-slicing was introduced in the Pachuca district in 1917 by T. C. Baker, at that time mine superintendent of the Santa Gertmdis mine. There then existed 1200 ft. below the surface, lying between the fourteenth and eighteenth levels (a vertical distance of 354.2 ft.) a block of ore having a length of 295 ft. and an average width of 82 ft. and dipping at an angle of 65°. This block lay in the hanging wall of the vein and consisted of highly altered and fractured andesite, cut through with mineralized quartz stringers. On the foot-wall side, 26 ft. of old filling, left by former operators, was of payable grade. Stoping therein was first undertaken by the square-set filling system, but because of the extremely heavy hanging wall and loose dry filling in the foot wall, all square setting had to be accompanied by spiling, which made the operation exceedingly slow and costly. A system of mining was sought that would eliminate the difficulties inherent to the square-set system in heavy ground and that at the same time would effect the desired economies in mining. After several years, top-slicing has met all the conditions most satisfactorily, so that when similar conditions presented themselves in El Bordo mine, this method was adopted with necessary modifications. El Bordo mine is operated by the Santa Gertrudis company, and is situated about two miles north of Pachuca. Because of the diversity of the orebodies, a number of different mining methods are in use, among them top-slicing. Description of Block of Ore Former operators, when mining the original vein, left in the foot wall ore of too low grade to be profitable at the time; also, considerabe low-grade material was sorted out and stored as filling in the stopes. Some pillars were left in place, either for support or because they were not payable. All this has formed a body of ore that can now be exploited

Jan 1, 1925

By Truman Aldrich

THE Clinton group of the Silurian holds the red or fossiliferous ore; its outcrops have been mapped by the State or U. S. Geological Survey. This group is from 100 to 500 ft. thick in Alabama. There are places where it is entirely missing (doubtless islands in the Silurian Sea). In Etowah County, in part of Greasy Cove and vicinity, the upper seam is a coral reef impregnated with the red ore; in this same county, step, faults bring up the ore in three or four separate ridges practically parallel. In Blount County and on Raccoon Mountain, the ore runs under the carboniferous rocks and outcrops in the valleys. In examining some bore holes made in drilling for oil, the writer found the Clinton group continuing under the Warrior coal field wherever the drill has gone deep enough. It demonstrates the possibility of a source for red ore not seriously thought of until lately. The following bore holes made principally for oil, given in Bulletin No. 22, Geological Survey of Alabama, show the presence of either ore or red rock, and suggest vast resources yet to be outlined and developed for ore in the future. The locations are given by number on the map. Hole No. 1 was drilled 6 miles southeast of Russellville, Franklin County, by the Woodward Oil & Gas Co. It passed through 160 ft. of Clinton, but only a small show of red ore was found at 1280-1400 feet. A test well, No. 2, drilled near Atwood, Franklin County, in section 26, township 8, range 14, penetrated the Clinton at 1608 ft. and found 38 ft. of limy red rock, also 8 ft. of some blood red ending at 1820 ft., making 46 ft. of red rock in all. It is reported that some good ore was cut through but this work was done by a churn drill. The hole was continued by diamond drill from here. At least 400 ft. of the formation was classified as Clinton.

Jan 10, 1924

By OWEN H. PERRY

One of man's primary tools is the ordinary screen. Whether of mesh or punched plate, it is fundamental in principle, primitive in its origin, and common in its application through all the world; and yet the screen goes only a part of the way toward the completion of its job of separating materials according to size. It will give a practical and continuous separation according to "size," as generally understood (accurate according to the breadth), but the accurate and continuous separation as to thickness is not a practical function of the screen. Still, all through history, the thickness of particles of material must have been important to many people; therefore, one would expect that some standard method of sizing for thickness would long since have been evolved and that equipment applying that method would be readily available to any in¬dustry. This, however, seems not to be so.

Jan 1, 1949

By E. H. Dix

The work of Merical and other investigators indicates that the phenomenon of age-hardening in alloys of the duralumin type is primarily dependent upon the variation in the solubility of copper with temperature. In addition to copper, however, these alloys contain small amounts of magnesium, silicon, manganese and iron, which may affect the age-hardening either directly or indirectly. The effect of these elements on the solubility of copper and on the manner in which this solubility varies with the temperature is of considerable interest, therefore. The effect of magnesium is of especial interest because apparently it exerts a marked effect on the natural or room-temperature aging of alloys of the type described.2 A series of investigations3 has been in progress in the research laboratories of the Aluminum Company of America to determine the functions * Metallurgist, Aluminum Research Laboratories. f Metallurgical Division, Aluminum Research Laboratories. Formerly with Metallurgical Division, Aluminum Research Laboratories. 1 P. D. Merica, It. G. Waltenberg and H. Scott: Heat Treatment of Duralumin. U. S. Bur. Stds. Sn. Paper 347 (1910). 2 M. Gayler: Constitution and Age-Hardening of Alloys of Aluminum with Copper, Magnesium, and Silicon in the Solid State. Jnl. Inst. Met. (1922) 28, 213. W. Fraenkel: Vergutbare Aluminiumlegiengen. Ztsch. Melallkunde. (1920) 12, 427. E. H. Dix, Jr.: Note on the Microstructure of Aluminum-Iron Alloys of High Purity. Proc. Amer. Soc. Test. Mat. (1925) 26, Pt. 2, 120. E. H. Dix, Jr. and H. H. Richardson: Equilibrium Relations in Aluminum-copper Alloys of High Purity. Trans. A. I. M. E. (1926) 73, 560. E. H. Dix, Jr. and W. D. Keith: Equilibrium Relations in Aluminum-manganese Alloys of High Purity. Proc. Inst. Met. Div., A. I. M. E. (1927) 315. E. H. Dix, Jr. and A. C. Heath, Jr.: Equilibrium Relations in Aluminum-silicon and Aluminum-iron-silicon Alloys of High Purity. Proc. Inst. Met. Div., A. I. M. E. (1928) 164. E. H. Dix, Jr. and F. Keller: Equilibrium Itelations in Aluminum-magnesium Alloys of High Purity. Proc. Inst. Met. Div., A. I. M. E. (1920) 351. E. H. Dix, Jr., F. Keller and R. W. Graham: Equilibrium Relations of Aluminum-magnesium Silicide Alloys of High Purity. Trans. A. I. M. E., Inst. Met. Div. (1931) 404. W. L. Fink and K. R. Van Horn: Constituents of Aluminum-iron-silicon Alloys. Trans. A. I. M. E., Inst. Met. Div. (1931) 383.

Jan 1, 1932