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By Dewitt T. Ring

Lack of reliable detailed production figures for earlier years, together with the loose nomenclature in reference to producing horizons and the application of the term "field" without any definite meaning or restriction, has made it impossible to gather statistical data suitable for the Institute's form. In common with all other producing areas in the United States, Ohio has felt severely the economic ills of the entire industry during the past year. With overproduction, not only of crude but also of refined products, going on throughout the country, the price structure as a direct consequence has weakened on Ohio oils. Valuable crude is being sold at a big loss today because producers arc willing to, and do, sell more than the market can absorb. The axe hangs heavy over the heads of Ohio producers, and will until something constructive is done to keep supply in proportion to demand. This not only applies to Ohio but to the entire industry. Production of Pennsylvania grade in Ohio was under 50 per cent proration, which has been in effect since Oct. 1, 1937. Three price cuts since February have lowered the posted price from $1.70 to $1.18, a 30 per cent reduction; other grades were less drastically reduced. Pipeline storage facilities were limited; many producers were faced with the problem of providing their own storage or the risk of ruining their wells. If they wanted to pull and abandon wells, there was no market for junk equipment. Many employees have been cut to half time and in a number of instances their services entirely dispensed with. Summary of Production and Drilling Both oil and gas production in the state during 1938 showed a definite decline over the previous year. (A table showing production by years from 1876 through 1937 was published in Vol. 127 of the Transactions.) The total production of crude oil in the state for 1938 was 3,357,914 bbl., as compared with 3,654,000 bbl. in 1937, a decrease of 7.1 per cent. At

Jan 1, 1939

By Dewitt T. Ring

Lack of reliable detailed production figures for earlier years, together with the loose nomenclature in reference to producing horizons and the application of the term "field" without any definite meaning or restriction, has made it impossible to gather statistical data suitable for the Institute's form. In common with all other producing areas in the United States, Ohio has felt severely the economic ills of the entire industry during the past year. With overproduction, not only of crude but also of refined products, going on throughout the country, the price structure as a direct consequence has weakened on Ohio oils. Valuable crude is being sold at a big loss today because producers arc willing to, and do, sell more than the market can absorb. The axe hangs heavy over the heads of Ohio producers, and will until something constructive is done to keep supply in proportion to demand. This not only applies to Ohio but to the entire industry. Production of Pennsylvania grade in Ohio was under 50 per cent proration, which has been in effect since Oct. 1, 1937. Three price cuts since February have lowered the posted price from $1.70 to $1.18, a 30 per cent reduction; other grades were less drastically reduced. Pipeline storage facilities were limited; many producers were faced with the problem of providing their own storage or the risk of ruining their wells. If they wanted to pull and abandon wells, there was no market for junk equipment. Many employees have been cut to half time and in a number of instances their services entirely dispensed with. Summary of Production and Drilling Both oil and gas production in the state during 1938 showed a definite decline over the previous year. (A table showing production by years from 1876 through 1937 was published in Vol. 127 of the Transactions.) The total production of crude oil in the state for 1938 was 3,357,914 bbl., as compared with 3,654,000 bbl. in 1937, a decrease of 7.1 per cent. At

Jan 1, 1939

By William H. Spice

Drilling activities in South Central Texas for the year 1945 continued the steady increase over the past two years, while new fields discovered for the year included four new gas fields and one field extension. In the 30 counties included in this area, which comprises district No. 1, Oil and Gas Division, Railroad Commission of Texas, 141 exploratory wells were completed, compared with 61 drilled in 1944 and 29 drilled in 1943. Of these 141 tests, 55 were field well and 86 were wildcats; 38 were completed as oil wells, S as gas and gas-distillate producers, and 95 were abandoned as dry. Atascosa and McMullen Counties were the most active in the district, accounting for 73 of the wells drilled.

Jan 1, 1946

By D. S. Flett, D. W. West

The solvent extraction of chromium 111 has been studied for the system Cr 111, H,SO., H,O/RNH/RNH., xylene, where the primary amine used was Primene JMT. Rate studies have shown that extremely long equilibrium times are required, ranging from 1 hr at 80°C to 20 days at room temperature. Heating the solution prior to extraction increases the rate of extraction. The variation in the amount of Cr 111 extracted is an inverse function of the acidity of the aqueous phase. Thus, the slow rates of extraction appear to be connected with the hydrolysis of the Cr I11 species. Extraction isotherms for the extraction of Cr 111 have been obtained for two sets of experimental conditions, namely at 60°C and for a heat-treated solution cooled to room temperature. The separation of Fe 111 from Cr 111 and Cr 111 from Cu 11 in sulfate solution by extraction with Primene JMT has been studied and shown to be feasible. A survey of the literature relating to the solvent extraction of chromium showed that, although many systems exist for extraction of Cr VI, only a very few reagents have been found to extract Cr 111. The extraction of Cr III by di-(2-ethyl hexyl) phosphoric acid has been reported by Kimura.' A straight-line dependence of slope —2 was observed between log D,, and the log mineral acid concentration at constant extractant concentration. Since the slope of this plot reflects the charge on the ion extracted, it must be concluded that a hydrolyzed species of Cr III is being extracted. Carboxylic acids generally do not form extractable complexes with Cr III but di-isopropyl salicylic acie does extract Cr 111. Simple acid backwashing of the organic phase, however, failed to remove the chromium. Similar difficulty in backwashing was found by Hellwege and Schweitzer8 in the extraction of Cr I11 with acetyl-acetone in chloroform. The extraction of Cr 111 from chloride solutions by alkyl amines has been reported4-' but the maximum amount of extraction achieved in these studies did not exceed 10%: From sulfate solutions, however, Ishimori" has shown that appreciable amounts of Cr I11 were extracted by amines. The amines used were tri-iso-octyl amine, Amberlite LA-1 (a secondary amine, Rohm & Haas) and Primene JMT (primary amine, Rohm & Haas). The efficiency of extraction with regard to amine type was primary>secondary> tertiary. Appreciable extraction of Cr I11 was recorded for Primene JMT as the aqueous phase acidity tended to zero. The major difficulty with Cr I11 in solvent extraction systems stems from the nonlabile nature of the ion in complex formation. This accounts for the slow rate of extraction generally experienced and the difficulty encountered in backwashing the Cr I11 from the organic phase in the case of liquid cation exchangers. Consequently, the possibility of extraction of Cr I11 as a complex anion is attractive since the backwashing problems should be minimized in this way. From published data, it appeared that the extraction of chromium from sulfate solutions of low acidity by primary amines afforded the best chance of success for a useful solvent extraction system for Cr iii This paper presents the results of a study of the extraction of Cr I11 from sulfate solution by Primene JMT and examines the application of such an extraction procedure for the recovery of chromium from liquors containing iron and copper. Experimental Chromium solutions were prepared from chrome alum in sulfuric acid and sodium sulfate so as to maintain a constant concentration of sulfate ion of 1.5 molar. Solutions of Primene JMT were prepared in xylene and the amine equilibrated with sulfuric acid/sodium sul-fate solutions, of the same acidity as the chromium solution, until there was no change in acidity between the initial and final aqueous phases. The solutions of Primene JMT conditioned in this way were then used for the equilibration experiments. Equilibrations at 25°C were carried out in stoppered conical flasks shaken in a thermostat; equilibrations at all other temperatures were carried out in stirred flasks in a thermostat. After equilibration, the phases were separated and analyzed for chromium. In the tests on the rate of extraction, small samples of equal volume of both phases were withdrawn from time to time and the chromium distribution determined. The chromium analyses were carried out either coloi-imetrically using diphenyl carbazide, or volu-metrically using addition of excess standard ferrous ammonium sulfate and back titration of the excess iron with potassium dichromate. The oxidation of Cr 111 to Cr VI in the case of the raffinate solution was effected by boiling with potassium persulfate in the presence of silver nitrate and, for the backwash solution, by boiling with sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide. Results Preliminary experiments indicated that extraction results were effected by the age of the chromium solution, higher distribution coefficients being obtained with solutions which had been allowed to stand for some time. Consequently a stock solution of chrome alum, 10 m moles per 1 Cr I11 in 1.4 M Na,SO,/O.l M &SO,,

Jan 1, 1971

By B. M. Larsen, T. E. Brower

In an earlier paper1 we discussed a simple, rapid method of taking samples of liquid steel and analyzing them for oxygen, which, though possibly not absolutely accurate (as is likewise true of all other methods), certainly yields results that are satisfactorily consistent. Accordingly, samples from hundreds of heats ill different shops were analyzed for oxygen, with results sufficient in number to be handled statistically and permit estimation of some general trends. Measurements were made in acid as well as in basic open hearths, throughout the refining period, to learn how stirring, blocking, adding ore or lime or sand, affects the oxygen content of the bath; we also followed the changes brought about by tapping, teeming, and deoxidizing. Some of these results, discussed in an earlier paper,2 bring out the dominant role of the carbon-oxygen reaction in regulating degree of oxidation both of metal and of slag, also the marked variability of concentration of dissolved oxygen [0] in excess of that which would be in equilibrium with carbon and with carbon monoxide at a partial pressure of one atmosphere. As a logical beginning on this complex problem, we take up in the present paper the variability of this excess oxygen, A[O], when other factors are as constant as they ever are in open-hearth operation; namely, toward the end of the refining period, when the bath may be regarded as in the comparatively steady state it approaches in absence of disturbing factors. This condition was chosen because by that time the significant reactions, except carbon oxidation, between slag and metal have come to substantial equilibrium; this facilitates interpretation of the complex situation and thus perinits more definite conclusions to be drawn. This excess concentration of oxygen, A[O], in the metal is needed, of course, to make the steelmaking process go at a reasonable rate; alternatively it may be regarded as a measure of the virtual pressure increment above one atmosphere, or of the degree of supersaturation, of carbon monoxide in the metal. According to our measurements, the excess concentration A[0] in liquid steel varies from about 0.009 to 0,035 per cent oxygen by weight. It is quite sensitive to change of conditions, being altered temporarily by operations such as stirring with green poles, additions of ore, lime, or sand; but as the disturbance works itself out, it resumes a level within the intermediate range characteristic of the steady state. The conditions most common in average furnace practice are covered by the following: i[O] Usual Per Cent Oxygen by Conditions Weight 1. Vigorous lime boil........... o.oog-0.01s 2. Steady state................ o.or;-0.025 3. Working of ore.............. o.023-0.035 Thus when the bath can be regarded as in a reasonably steady state—that is, when it is boiling normally, is at proper temperature with a well-shaped slag, and has been free from disturbing effects during the preceding half hour—A[0] returns from

Jan 1, 1948

By B. M. Larsen, T. E. Brower

In an earlier paper1 we discussed a simple, rapid method of taking samples of liquid steel and analyzing them for oxygen, which, though possibly not absolutely accurate (as is likewise true of all other methods), certainly yields results that are satisfactorily consistent. Accordingly, samples from hundreds of heats ill different shops were analyzed for oxygen, with results sufficient in number to be handled statistically and permit estimation of some general trends. Measurements were made in acid as well as in basic open hearths, throughout the refining period, to learn how stirring, blocking, adding ore or lime or sand, affects the oxygen content of the bath; we also followed the changes brought about by tapping, teeming, and deoxidizing. Some of these results, discussed in an earlier paper,2 bring out the dominant role of the carbon-oxygen reaction in regulating degree of oxidation both of metal and of slag, also the marked variability of concentration of dissolved oxygen [0] in excess of that which would be in equilibrium with carbon and with carbon monoxide at a partial pressure of one atmosphere. As a logical beginning on this complex problem, we take up in the present paper the variability of this excess oxygen, A[O], when other factors are as constant as they ever are in open-hearth operation; namely, toward the end of the refining period, when the bath may be regarded as in the comparatively steady state it approaches in absence of disturbing factors. This condition was chosen because by that time the significant reactions, except carbon oxidation, between slag and metal have come to substantial equilibrium; this facilitates interpretation of the complex situation and thus perinits more definite conclusions to be drawn. This excess concentration of oxygen, A[O], in the metal is needed, of course, to make the steelmaking process go at a reasonable rate; alternatively it may be regarded as a measure of the virtual pressure increment above one atmosphere, or of the degree of supersaturation, of carbon monoxide in the metal. According to our measurements, the excess concentration A[0] in liquid steel varies from about 0.009 to 0,035 per cent oxygen by weight. It is quite sensitive to change of conditions, being altered temporarily by operations such as stirring with green poles, additions of ore, lime, or sand; but as the disturbance works itself out, it resumes a level within the intermediate range characteristic of the steady state. The conditions most common in average furnace practice are covered by the following: i[O] Usual Per Cent Oxygen by Conditions Weight 1. Vigorous lime boil........... o.oog-0.01s 2. Steady state................ o.or;-0.025 3. Working of ore.............. o.023-0.035 Thus when the bath can be regarded as in a reasonably steady state—that is, when it is boiling normally, is at proper temperature with a well-shaped slag, and has been free from disturbing effects during the preceding half hour—A[0] returns from

Jan 1, 1948

Henry Louis, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England (communica, tion to the Secretary): I have been much interested in Mr. Schmitz's description of the copper-ore bed in the Permian formation of Texas. He compares it with the Mansfeld Kupferschiefer; but it seems to me to present closer analogies with a small deposit on the same side of the Atlantic, in Nova Scotia, which I examined in 1877. I quote entirely from my fieldnotes, made then, and from specimens still in my possession. These copper-deposits are known in several places; but I examined them at the village of New Annan, on the banks of the French river. This district has been determined by Sir J. W. Dawson as being of Permian age, and this determination seems to have been confirmed as recently as 1891 by the operations of the Canadian Geological Survey. The following is the section, very imperfectly exposed in a few shallow levels, described in ascending order: Red sandstone, moderately fissile and markedly false-bedded. Lower nodule-bed, 1 inch to 6 inches thick, of fissile mica, ceous sandstone, containing obscure plant-remains converted into anthracite, chalcopyrite, chalcocite and iron pyrites. Very coarse grit or, in places, red sandstone; thickness and character variable. Upper nodule-bed, 6 inches to 2 feet thick exceptionally, generally about 10 inches. Soft, gray, friable shaly sandstone, with nodules of copper-ore. Red sandstone. All these strata lie flat, in places quite horizontal, in places dipping towards the river at 5° to 10°.

Jan 1, 1897

By R. S. Hooper

In attempting to describe recent mining developments at the Bunker Hill mine, it may be well to recall first the old days of hand mining when holes were laboriously drilled by hand to a maximum depth of three feet, and were shot one or two at a time, in order that the miner could take advantage of every slip, crack or bedding plane, and so save as much drilling as possible. Broken muck, of course, was loaded by hand shoveling into wheelbarrows or small cars, and heading advances or stope tonnages were governed by the number of men that could find room to work in any given place. The first big improvement over these old methods was the introduction of the reciprocating type of air-powered rock drill. This innovation, crude as it was, enabled the miners to set up a machine and drill a complete round of holes in one shift; but broken muck was still loaded by hand, and the size and rate of advance in headings were limited by time required to remove the broken rock. The next improvement of consequence was the appearance of the hammer-type rock drill, which greatly increased drilling speed over the reciprocating type, and made possible the completion of a full cycle in one shift, by the use of crossbars in headings, and permitted drilling and mucking to be carried on at the same time. Rock drills continued to improve as time passed, and finally the smaller and more efficient mucking machines appeared on the scene, and it became possible to muck out a round of broken rock and have a clean setup for one or more drill columns and machines. A complete cycle of mucking, drilling, and blasting was completed in one shift with an average advance of five feet. These conditions prevailed for several years, but as the mine grew deeper, the distances to transport the workers grew longer, and this fact together with the shortening of the working day, soon presented the problem of attempting to complete a cycle of operations in a shift of only six hours at the working faces. Anticipating this condition, the operating heads at the Bunker Hill had started an intensive study of more and better mechanization, and over a period of comparatively few years have adopted and placed in service methods and machines that make it possible for a three-man crew to consistently advance headings seven by nine feet in cross section, at the rate of eight feet, and more, per shift, doing all the mucking, switching, drilling and loading. These improvements consist of the following major items: I. The development of a light, flexible, easily transported jumbo equipped with pneumatic columns (Fig I), that has decreased the "setting up" and "tearing down" time an average of 11/2 hr per shift, Or 25 PCt of the available working time. These jumbos were developed at the Bunker Hill mine by members of the staff and consist of two pneumatic columns attached to a suitable carriage. They fold

Jan 1, 1949

By O. K. Miniato, L. Massé, K. Nobe, J. S. Aronofsky, W. F. 213-000-000-016 Seyer

MUCH work has been done dealing with the effect of mechanical stress on electrode potential in an electrochemical system. The contradictory nature of the experimental results indicates the complexity of the problem although thermodynamic considerations show that a simple relationshir, should exist. In those systems where a gas was the electromotive active substance satisfactory agreement between theory and practice has been found. Des Coudres' found this to be so even when the active substance of the electrode, in this case mercury, was in the liquid state. In contrast, attempts to correlate theory and experiment for the solid state have met with a very limited success. The early workers in this field, Andrews,2 Walker and Dill3 used iron, certainly one of the most reactive of metals. Others have made use of less active metals such as copper and nickel. Recently Fryxell and Nachtrieb4 investigated the electrochemical behavior of gold and silver under both tensile and compressive stresses and concluded that it was doubtful whether true stress potentials could ever be measured. Much of the lack of success to measure the thermodynamic stress potential can be ascribed to the presence or formation of a complex film on the metal surface in contact with the electrolyte. Further, the theoretical stress potential is very small and therefore difficult to measure directly. Thus the calculated emf between a 24 B & S gage cold-drawn copper wire stressed with a weight of 1 kg and an unstressed portion of the same wire is only 2.60 X 10"7 volts. This is very small compared to that which can be produced by chemical reactions at the metal electrolyte interface which in turn can be so large as to mask completely the stress potential. Hence in this type of measurement all chemical side effects must be eliminated or reduced as much as possible. It was for this reason that the system copper-sodium chloride solution was selected for study. INSTRUMENTATION In the many preliminary experiments conducted, two major difficulties were encountered. The first was to measure the small electro-potentials to be expected and the second to obtain a suitable electrode surface. The conventional potentiometric method was found to be unsatisfactory for measuring the small emf expected. However, by using an L & N No. 2290 galvanometer having a resistance of 915 ohms consistent measurements were possible. The reference electrode was always the unstressed one made from the same sample of wire. The steady current flow was approximately 10-8 amp. Lewis and Randell5 have stated that for currents of the order of 10-8, if there is no sensible polarization, the measured emf may be taken as a reversible one. To check the galvanomenter readings an alternative method was devised to measure the potential difference between the wires. This involved a Liston-Falb d-c breaker amplifier model 10, an L & N k-2 potentiometer and a moving-coil galvanometer having a sensitivity greater than 0.1 µv (microvolt) per mm. To increase further the output voltage of the amplifier a d-c amplifier, model B. L.-932 was introduced into the circuit. This amplifier was in turn connected to a Brush recorder which had been calibrated previously by the test signals from the Liston-Falb instrument. These test voltages employed took into account the impedance of the input current. Unfortunately, this method had too low a sensitivity for measurement below 10 µv. Above this value the voltage agreed reasonably well with those obtained directly by the simple galvanometer method. The main advantage of the amplifier setup was that one did not have to wait until no deflection occurred on the galvanometer in the circuit when first exposing the wires to the solu-

Jan 1, 1959

By L. C. Raymond

Valuations in the mineral industry differ from those of other enterprises because mines and oil wells have a definite life so cannot be considered a perpetuity. This requires that in any mineral-property evaluation the recovery of invested capital is necessary during the life of the property. Capital writeoffs for nonextractive industries are assumed to be continuously plowed back to sustain the operation and produce yields on the capital invested. The extractive or mineral industry, however, generally attempts to return to the investor both interest and principal during the life of a property. Normally this is done currently and the dividend includes both items. Where the mineral properly possesses large reserves and the life factor approximates a perpetuity, the return on investment is generally comparable to that of industrial stocks. The valuation of a mineral property, at best, is based on educated estimates and judgment factors. This is particularly true as it relates to estimating selling prices over a long term or assessing the quality of management. Also, it is possible to make various assumptions as to rapidity of working out the deposit, varying time for start-up of operations, varying earning rates, so as to obtain different results with the same basic facts. Thus it is not surprising that two engineers, irrespective of their abilities, may not agree exactly even when given the same facts, but their results should be close enough to be used in establishing a fair value for trading purposes. The valuation is no better than the source of basic data and the soundness of judgment factors. Fundamentally the basic principles of mineral valuation are similar for base metals, sulphur, oil, or any other mineral. Each mineral, however, requires an engineer to have a knowledge of such factors as its occurrence, distribution, mining and processing methods, and marketing problems in order to gather and analyze all the facts and data that have a bearing on the earning potential of the property. PRESENT VALUE OF A MINERAL PROPERTY In essence the present value of a mineral property is a sum of money in today's dollars that future earnings from the property are worth. It differs

Jan 1, 1964

By Robert Sisselman

If we are lucky," says Hollis M. Dole, Assistant Secretary of the Interior, "coal, uranium and hydropower will provide us with maybe a third of the energy we require in 1985. The other two- thirds will have to be made available in liquid and gaseous form." Luck, however, may have run out, for if the facts and figures relating to supply and demand of natural gas over the next 20 years prove accurate, the United States may fall short in its attempts to bring the energy crisis under control. By the year 1990 the world will need to consume a minimum 150 quadrillion Btu of energy with gas requirements running as high as 42-43 trillion cu ft. By 1990, the U.S. alone will require 45-46 trillion cu ft. To meet anticipated demand, this country will have to overcome a deficiency of about 20 trillion cu ft since, by all pragmatic estimates, it will produce only 15-20 trillion cu ft of gas. The importation of natural gas into the U.S. will help but will not solve the problem. Adequate gas supplies will have to be supplied domestically. The Arctic, with its predicted huge reserves of gas, combined with imports of liquid natural gas (LNG) may provide as much as 15% of the 45-46 trillion figure, however, such reserves will not come into play as quickly as originally thought. The Alaskan gas fields, for instance, will provide a substantial supplement to domestic gas needs, but only after 1976.

Jan 10, 1972

By AIME AIME

No democracy such as ours, can ever be prepared for war, because we could never conceivably be the aggressor. The aggressor prepares in secret, designs his new tactics, and invents and makes new equipment and selects the time to strike. If a democracy prepare done year and the war came later, all that it had one would have to bed one over. All that England has today in the way of effective armament has been invented, designed, made, and the crews trained since the war began, because the totalitarian aggressor introduced new types of equipment and new techniques.

Jan 1, 1941

By H. W. Meyer, H. N. Lander, F. D. Delve

A method of calculating the changes in blast-furnace performance brought about by burden and/or blast modifications is presented. Essentially the method consists of three simultaneous equutions derived from materials and heat balances. These equations can be used not only to evaluate quantitatively the effect of changes in process operating variables on furnace performance, but also to provide a useful means of evaluating changes in process variables which cannot be measured directly. It has been customary for a number of years to use simple heat and materials balances as a basis for assessing blast-furnace practice. A good example of the method used to set up these balances is that proposed by Joseph and Neustatter.1 This approach to process assessment has limited utility, however, in that it cannot be used to predict the furnace coke rate or production under new operating conditions. Using an approach based on multiple correlation of blast-furnace variables, R V. Flint2 has developed an equation which may be used to predict the change in coke rate that will result from some changes in operating conditions with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Although this equation has useful applications in production planning, it cannot be used to study the relationships between the operating variables and the fundamental thermochemi-cal characteristics of the process. In attempting to analyze the blast-furnace process quantitatively, the idea of dividing the furnace into zones3 may at first appear attractive. In our present state of knowledge, however, it is not possible to define with any accuracy the physical limits of such zones in relationship to their temperatures or to the reactions which may occur in them. Although its application is restricted, the zonal approach to blast-furnace analysis is useful in some instances. For example, the change in the calculated flame temperature in the "combustion zone" caused by injecting steam constitutes information which is helpful in understanding why the addition of steam to the blast is best accompanied by an increase in blast temperature. The zonal approach cannot, at the present time, be used to establish the relationships between process variables and process performance if the whole process rather than part of it is to be considered. One of the earliest approaches to the problem of relating blast-furnace operating variables to pro- duction and coke rate was that developed by Marshall.4 Essentially Marshall's work showed that it was possible to estimate the performance of a furnace by solving three simultaneous equations which consisted of rudimentary carbon and heat balances plus a further equation relating the production, wind rate, and the carbon burned at the tuyeres. Although these equations did not include all of the chemical and thermal variables of the process, their derivation and application seems to be the earliest attempt which achieved any success in relating prior furnace operating data to the calculation of furnace performance under different blast conditions. Work carried out in Germany has been directed mainly towards prediction of coke rates using material and thermal balances rather than statistical methods. wesemann5 used prior furnace operating data as part of the basis for predicting the change in coke rate accompanying a change in burden composition. This author employed a method of successive approximations to estimate the secondary changes in slag volume and stone rate brought about by the change in coke rate. The most recent analysis, which seems to have been developed concurrently with the thermochemical model presented in this paper, has been described by Georgen.6 This author has succeeded in improving on Wesemann's approach by expressing the total changes in the slag volume and stone rate in terms of the change in coke rate itself. This is accomplished in a manner similar to that used in the thermochemical model described in this paper. Although Georgen makes use of a calculated furnace heat loss, he does not relate the heat loss per unit of hot metal to the production rate as is done in the present work. Georgen's approach may be used to calculate the changes in materials requirements accompanying changes in furnace operation; it cannot be used to assess the resulting changes in production. The fact that blast-furnace behavior can be interpreted by consideration of the heat requirements of the process was demonstrated by Dancy, Sadler, and Lander.7 In the analysis of blast-furnace operation with oxygen and steam injection these authors showed that it was possible to account for the changes in production and coke rate

Jan 1, 1962

By G. Baralis, P. Gondi, I. Tangerini, G. Scandola

The precipitation behavior of Zn-0.5 pct A1 alloy single crystals was studied by means of electrical resistivity measurements and by optical and electron microscopy. The single crystals for the resistivity measurements were prepared by an original method in - 100-p -thick sheets. The order of the precipitation kinetics ranged between 1 and 1.5. The dislocations play a relevant role in the first-order kinetics. Precipitation always occurs both on dispersed particles and on dislocations. Statistical examinations have shown that the first-order kinetics can have two different activation energies; i.e., the precipitation can have dz;fferent mechanisnrs which could not be identified, however, in the course of the research. During the tnetallographic exanzination of the precipitation structures a specific process of dislocation decoration was obsereed. The main purpose of this work was to study the contribution of dislocations to the precipitation. A number of authors have observed precipitation on dislocations and reference might be made to several monographs on the ubject.'' The possibility that dislocations also accelerate precipitation has been considered by Turn-bull3 and Fischer et al.4 The studies described in the present paper were carried out on zinc, chosen as a base metal owing to the ease with which dislocations can be introduced into it and because of the absence of excess vacancies after quenching in conditions where phenomena of accelerated precipitation still occur. Aluminum was preferred as alloying element because of the accelerated precipitation phenomena that resulted in a preliminary reearch. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS The observations refer to a Zn-0.5 pct A1 alloy. The zinc was 99.995 pct pure; a typical spectroscopical analysis is given in Table I. As a rule the alloy was subjected to homogenization, quenching, or slow cooling and annealing. Homogenization was carried out by heating at 390" to 410°C for 24 hr. From the homogenization temperature, some specimens were quenched and some slowly cooled at a rate of 2°C per sec. At this rate no precipitate was detectable under the optical microscope just after cooling. Quenching was carried out simply by dropping the specimens into water, aqueous ethylene glycol solution at -30" c, or liquid-nitrogen baths placed close to the homogenization oven. Vaseline oil baths were used with a thermal stabilization of 10-20 for both the aging treatments and the measurements; aging was generally carried out at 90" or 130°C. To avoid oxidation phenomena during heating, the vaseline oil baths had to be frequently renewed. The precipitation kinetics were studied by means of electrical resistivity measurements, using ans potentiometric method (reproducibility ± 5 x 10 5 v, that is 0.5 pct of the total voltage decreases on the specimens during precipitation). First, various types of specimens were tested, i.e., polycrystals, single crystals grown in capillary quartz tubes, and thin single-crystal sheets prepared by means of an original method requiring no container except for the natural oxide. Even if fully annealed, the polycrystals and the capillary grown single crystals showed resistivity in -creases, most probably due to dislocations introduced in the course of the measurements. Similar resistivity increases in pure zinc were noticed by another author. Only the single-crystal sheets showed no resistivity change; thus they were chosen for the subsequent tests. As already mentioned, these single crystals were obtained by using, as a container, the natural oxide on the zinc surface; the oxide strength is sufficient to maintain the original shape during melting with sheets up to 500 p thick. An initial zone melting and subsequent zone leveling, which led also to formation of the single crystals, were thus carried out on rolled sheets of the required thicknesses (- 100 p) and shape, lying on a flat silica surface. The resistivities were first evaluated by measurements at the liquid-nitrogen temperature. This method gave poor reproducibility, however, and this was attributed to the thermal cycles which had to be operated. To avoid cycles and handling, it was therefore decided to make measurements directly in the annealing oil baths; this required thermal stabilization at ilo-' "C. In this way only the resistance changes were measured. Specimens of pure zinc and of completely annealed alloy were always examined as controls together with those under consideration; only those measurement runs were taken into account where the reference samples showed no resistance increases. Again, the main inconvenience was due to oxidation and this was avoided by renewing the oil baths; even so data reproducibility was poor and the observations were therefore carried out on a large number (many hundreds) of specimens so as to provide indications of statistical value. For the transmission observations under the elec-

Jan 1, 1969

By B. M. Larsen, T. E. Brower, J. W. Bain

A mass of circumstantial evidence is presented to indicate that the main source of alloy losses in open-hearth tapping is oxidation by air, with the steel apparently reacting with an amount of oxygen equivalent to about 30 times its own volume of air. The effect is erratic from heat to heat, depending largely on turbulence and distance of free fall of the stream of liquid metal. THIS paper reports another phase in a general study of oxidation in the open-hearth, various aspects of which have already been discussed in previous papers.1,2,3 It is based on experiments conducted on commercial, basic open-hearth furnaces at various times when opportunity offered, beginning about 1938, in an attempt to determine the mechanism and measure the amount of air oxidation during the flow of the tapping stream through the air into a ladle. This effect is closely connected, not only with alloy losses and control of chemical analysis, but possibly with various questions regarding inclusion content and steel quality and with a true picture of the deoxidation of steel in general. Thus it is believed that discussion of a large part of the results to date may be of assistance to others who are studying problems related to deoxidation or to steel cleanliness and quality. The literature reveals that strangely little attention has been devoted specifically to the effect of pouring steel through open air. Bardenheuer and Henke4 in 1939, in a paper devoted largely to overall losses of manganese in the basic open-hearth, reported that for a number of heats tapped into a tilted ladle held just beneath the runner so that the maximum distance of drop of the stream through the air was held to less than about 30 in., there was in most cases almost no loss of manganese from furnace to ladle. Hultgren,5 in 1945, showed that in high-carbon basic electric steel deoxidized in the furnace and containing no large inclusions as it left the furnace, large silicate inclusions, often rich in manganese oxide, were present in samples dipped from the pool in the ladle; also that the rise in content of large inclusions (above 0.01 mm dim) was greater when the metal stream was made to spray or flow in a turbulent manner. Our interest in this phase of oxidation in the open-hearth was first aroused by a study of alloy efficiencies on ladle additions. The frequency curves of manganese efficiency (net recovery of metal added in ladle) given in fig. 1 are of interest in this connection. Lowest, and also most variable (47 to 95 pct), recovery was in low-carbon heats having no coal additions to the ladle, progressing upward to a maximum average and least variable (82 to 97 pct) recovery in high-carbon heats killed with aluminum and silicon. Both coal additions and higher carbon contents in the tap stream, as well as additions of silicon and aluminum, help to lower the amount of manganese loss. But the most interesting point is the amount of manganese oxidized in many heats tapped at 0.50 to 1.06 pct carbon. It has been shown in a previous paper3 that the amount of oxygen in the tap stream in such heats is very small, usually below 0.01 pct, too small to oxidize any appreciable amount of manganese. Also, the fact that manganese should be oxidized at all in a metal solution containing such more stable oxide-forming elements as aluminum and silicon is an indication of some rather intense oxidizing effect such as could be caused by reaction with the air during ladle filling. Oxygen Balances from Tap Stream to Teeming Stream: Data in the form of alloy efficiencies, such as those shown in fig. 1, are not a proper measure of such a general oxidation effect. Having available

Jan 1, 1951

By G. C. Bateman

THE Workmen's Compensation Act of Ontario was passed in 1915 and Miners' Phthisis was added to the list of compensable industrial diseases in 1916. Under this provision of the Act only about two cases were compensated per year. In 1924, The Department of Public Health made a survey of miners in the four principal camps-Sudbury, Porcupine, Kirkland Lake and Cobalt-and the survey indicated that an alarming proportion of the men exposed to dust had silicosis in one or other of its several stages. A number of conferences were held between representatives of the Department of Mines, the Department of Public Health, the Compensa-tion Board and the mine operators. The operators were advised that in the earliest stages of silicosis there was no physical disability and if men in that stage were removed froni underground there would be little danger of permanent disability. They were further advised that if active steps were taken at once to compensate men that had some real disability and remove from the mines men in the early stages of silicosis, the first cost would be the greatest and thereafter their liability should decrease. As a result of this advice, and having at that time no reason to doubt the findings of the survey, the operators agreed to do all that was asked of them and cooperate with the Government in the steps believed neces-sary to meet the situation, and to provide compensation for the men affected.

Jan 1, 1937

By R. S. French

The purpose of this paper is to present data that have been obtained during the past two years concerning the effects of prior cold-work and temperature and time of anneal upon the recrystallization and grain growth of 70-30 cartridge brass. It was desirable to study certain of these phases so that an accurate picture of the principles of the subject could be shown. The work is not intended to provide explicit annealing data, but to provide material examples that may help to clarify analogous problems concerning this alloy. Specifications often set limitations upon the grain size of annealed materials because of the importance of grain size upon subsequent manufacturing operations. It was, therefore, worth while to study the variables that affect the recrystallized grain size of this material. C. H. Mathewson and A. Phillips,l W. R, Webster,2 and others have presented annealing characteristic curves of this alloy. A recent typical curve presented by R. S. Pratt3 is shown in Fig. I. The tensile properties and grain sizes are shown as functions of the annealing temperature. Such curves serve as a useful guide in determining the physical properties of annealed material, but as they are made generally under carefully controlled laboratory conditions they do not indicate the performance of metal annealed in a mill muffle, where such conditions as amounts of metal, heating time and temperature may differ. Study of the effect of time and temperature upon grain growth and subscquent recrystallization was made with a coil of metal having the following analysis: 70.04 per cent copper; 0.007 lead; 0.007 iron; 0.00 tin; 0.00 silicon; 0.001 nickel; 0.000 phosphorus; balance zinc. The sample coil was obtained from metal that had been rerolled from hot-rolled mill stock, and was received at 0.228-in. gauge, soft, with a grain size of 0.125 mm. This material was then rolled 43.5 per cent to 0.129-in. gauge and annealed to a 0.053-mm. grain size. In this condition, samples were cut and used in all of the experimental work reported in this paper. Time The first study was of crystal growth at a constant temperature over a moderate length of time. Material was cut from the stock coil at 0.129-in. size and rolled 75 per , cent hard to 0.032-in. gauge. From this piece small samples were cut M by 2 in., suitable for grain-size determina.tions. Twelve samples were placed in an electric furnace uniformly across the width, approximately an inch from the floor. A thermocouple was wired to the center sample, so that the approximate metal temperature could be followed. At various

Jan 1, 1944

By R. S. French

The purpose of this paper is to present data that have been obtained during the past two years concerning the effects of prior cold-work and temperature and time of anneal upon the recrystallization and grain growth of 70-30 cartridge brass. It was desirable to study certain of these phases so that an accurate picture of the principles of the subject could be shown. The work is not intended to provide explicit annealing data, but to provide material examples that may help to clarify analogous problems concerning this alloy. Specifications often set limitations upon the grain size of annealed materials because of the importance of grain size upon subsequent manufacturing operations. It was, therefore, worth while to study the variables that affect the recrystallized grain size of this material. C. H. Mathewson and A. Phillips,l W. R, Webster,2 and others have presented annealing characteristic curves of this alloy. A recent typical curve presented by R. S. Pratt3 is shown in Fig. I. The tensile properties and grain sizes are shown as functions of the annealing temperature. Such curves serve as a useful guide in determining the physical properties of annealed material, but as they are made generally under carefully controlled laboratory conditions they do not indicate the performance of metal annealed in a mill muffle, where such conditions as amounts of metal, heating time and temperature may differ. Study of the effect of time and temperature upon grain growth and subscquent recrystallization was made with a coil of metal having the following analysis: 70.04 per cent copper; 0.007 lead; 0.007 iron; 0.00 tin; 0.00 silicon; 0.001 nickel; 0.000 phosphorus; balance zinc. The sample coil was obtained from metal that had been rerolled from hot-rolled mill stock, and was received at 0.228-in. gauge, soft, with a grain size of 0.125 mm. This material was then rolled 43.5 per cent to 0.129-in. gauge and annealed to a 0.053-mm. grain size. In this condition, samples were cut and used in all of the experimental work reported in this paper. Time The first study was of crystal growth at a constant temperature over a moderate length of time. Material was cut from the stock coil at 0.129-in. size and rolled 75 per , cent hard to 0.032-in. gauge. From this piece small samples were cut M by 2 in., suitable for grain-size determina.tions. Twelve samples were placed in an electric furnace uniformly across the width, approximately an inch from the floor. A thermocouple was wired to the center sample, so that the approximate metal temperature could be followed. At various

Jan 1, 1944

By Louis S. Cates

At the annual meeting of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers in February, 1923, the Chairman of the Committee on Ground Movement and Subsidence appointed a sub-committee to work out a form of questionnaire and to collect data on subsidence and ground movement resulting from underground metal and coal-mining operations, and on ground movement and safe slopes in connection with open-cut metal-mining operations. The author was requested to take charge of the collection of data and the preparation of a questionnaire in connection with the Committee's studies of open-cut metal-mining operations. This paper is a summary of the work carried on and information received therefrom up to February, 1924. The first approach to the problem of safe slopes is to gather all information that pertains to finished slopes; in other words, the steepest economic angle from the horizontal that will stand in order to uncover the ores to be mined and be safe while the extraction of the ore at the base of these slopes is in progress. Whether or not this angle is 35" or 45" depends on many factors. The number of benches maintained to take care of falling rock and their height and width are direct functions of this overall slope. The slope is here taken to mean the angle from the top edge of the pit through the edges of the respective lower benches to the bottom of the pit. If we accept this definition of the slope, it might save some confusion as there would be a difference if one took the line from the top edge of excavation to the toe of the bottom slope. This latter slope would not be constant, but would vary with the number of benches. The depth of the various ore faces will vary, of course, depending on the deposit; Table 1 shows this to range from 50 ft. to 1100 ft. The geology is an important factor, as are the climatic conditions under which one is operating. A saturated condition in some rock structure causes rock flows; in the Panama Canal excavation, slides have run on a ratio of as low as one on ten, which is a 10 per cent. grade, or a slope of less than 6' with the horizontal. Slopes as steep as 60' have been noted in the Utah Copper operations, so that a wide divergence will possibly be met. The work of securing data that will be of value to the operator or estimating engineer will be difficult and will mean little unless a detailed

Jan 1, 1927

By Arvid E. Anderson, Frank K. Cameron

The weathering of copper-bearing ores with the formation of a water soluble salt and the recovery of the metal by leaching and evaporation precipitation, are processes long known, which have at various times been utilized with more or less commercial success. It is commonly assumed that the technical principles involved are quite simple and their application to a particular case easy. If these assumptions were true, we should anticipate a long list of uniformly successful leaching operations, which is not the case, and one would be justified only in calling attention to either unique or peculiar features of any particular enterprise; whereas, in studying the problems of the recovery of copper from the old workings of the Ohio Copper Co. in the light of available descriptions of other leaching projects, we have not found the assistance hoped for to guide us to the best realization of our own opportunities. It appears desirable, therefore, to call attention to these guiding principles, together with a description of the facts of accomplishment. Justification lies in the fact that the leaching and precipitation of copper at the Ohio Copper Co. mine in Bingham Canyon, Utah, is successful. This success is measured by an average monthly production of 600,000 Ib. of copper at an average operating cost, to date, of 3.85 cents per pound at the company's workings, or 6.32 cents per pound after paying shipping and smelter charges on the finished copper. A total of 17,076,099 Ib. of copper had been shipped to the smelter from the beginning of operations, August, 1922, to April 1, 1925. Probably these results can be bettered with further study and realization of the factors involved and the devising of methods of meeting them. It is now an assured fact that the enterprise will have a relatively long and continuously profitable life and that its reserves will not, nor cannot, be suddenly and permanently depleted. It is particularly noteworthy that the financing of this enterprise has been entirely from its earnings. The few hundred dollars necessary for the first experiments and production were obtained by the sale of used, and no longer needed, equipment from a mill belonging to the company; and all funds since required throughout the growth and development of the enterprise, from a few troughs with a production of 2000

Jan 1, 1926