Search Documents

By Severn P. Brown

Search for ore continued at a feverish pace-as can be attested to by anyone who has tried to arrange for extensive diamond drilling. The stakes are high, and so is the cost as was indicated by Selco Exploration Ltd. when they announced discovery of base metal sulfides at Uchi Lake in northwestern Ontario. It was apparently their first commercial find after 15 years of exploration at a cost of more than $10 million. For the first time in many, many years the big exploration news has come from east of the Mississippi River. In January, the New Jersey Zinc Co., in an unusually worded press release, stated that they had made a major zinc discovery of 13-50 million tons of ore averaging 5-10% Zn. New Jersey's holdings are said to embrace 500 sq mi. The ore was discovered in eastern Tennessee in the upper part of the Knox dolomite of early Ordovician age. Reportedly the mineralization is at depths of 900 to 2000 ft. Currently about 20 diamond drills are working the area for New Jersey. At least nine other major companies are prospecting the region, which now includes parts of Kentucky. Five hundred thousand acres are said to be under lease. Greatest activity is clustered around Carthage, Tenn. In Missouri, the St. Joseph Lead Co. announced plans to develop a new mine in the Brushy Creek area of the "New Lead Belt." copper and zinc concentrates will be by-products.

Jan 1, 1970

By David B. Reger

The year 1935 was mostly quiet in West Virginia, and devoted to routine drilling in old pools and extensions. A notable exception to this general rule, however, was the further development and proving of a field of gas discovered in 1930 in the deep Oriskany sand (L. Dev.) in Kanawha County, as later discussed. No new pools of oil were found and little or no attempt was made to search for them. No new pools of gas were recorded but various extensions of old pools were made. There were no new pipe line extensions of consequence, either for oil or gas. Operating technology was much the same as in recent years, there having been some further advances in repressuring oil wells and in the use of acid for treating small wells in calcareous formations, and some change in the technique of shooting gas wells. Financially, there has been a full market for all crude oil produced and a fair market for gas. There have been occasional transfers of producing oil or gas properties, mainly between established companies. Most of the attempts made to finance mergers and new developments have failed largely because of difficulties encountered under the Federal securities act. This situation has prevented the normal turnover of properties by small operators who frequently desire to sell partly developed interests and then step out into new ventures. New Development In 1935 the State issued 569 permits for drilling and records the same number of completions. One trade journal records 533 completions and another 483. A running record kept by the writer accounts for 713 completions, with 156 oil wells, 417 gas wells and 140 dry holes (Table 3). Some of these completions may be old wells drilled to deeper sands. Some, apparently, have been drilled without legal permit. Extensions of Producing Areas Ritchie County has again led all others in new drilling, with 137 completions as compared to 74 in Calhoun and 61 in Cabell. This Ritchie County drilling was done mainly to extend or further develop old pools

Jan 1, 1936

By David B. Reger

The year 1935 was mostly quiet in West Virginia, and devoted to routine drilling in old pools and extensions. A notable exception to this general rule, however, was the further development and proving of a field of gas discovered in 1930 in the deep Oriskany sand (L. Dev.) in Kanawha County, as later discussed. No new pools of oil were found and little or no attempt was made to search for them. No new pools of gas were recorded but various extensions of old pools were made. There were no new pipe line extensions of consequence, either for oil or gas. Operating technology was much the same as in recent years, there having been some further advances in repressuring oil wells and in the use of acid for treating small wells in calcareous formations, and some change in the technique of shooting gas wells. Financially, there has been a full market for all crude oil produced and a fair market for gas. There have been occasional transfers of producing oil or gas properties, mainly between established companies. Most of the attempts made to finance mergers and new developments have failed largely because of difficulties encountered under the Federal securities act. This situation has prevented the normal turnover of properties by small operators who frequently desire to sell partly developed interests and then step out into new ventures. New Development In 1935 the State issued 569 permits for drilling and records the same number of completions. One trade journal records 533 completions and another 483. A running record kept by the writer accounts for 713 completions, with 156 oil wells, 417 gas wells and 140 dry holes (Table 3). Some of these completions may be old wells drilled to deeper sands. Some, apparently, have been drilled without legal permit. Extensions of Producing Areas Ritchie County has again led all others in new drilling, with 137 completions as compared to 74 in Calhoun and 61 in Cabell. This Ritchie County drilling was done mainly to extend or further develop old pools

Jan 1, 1936

By R. W. Diamond

THREE mills are now operated by the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Co. of Canada, Ltd:: (1) The Sullivan concentrator, Chapman, B. C. (near Kimberley, B. C.), (2) the St. Eugene concentrator, Moyie, B. C., and (3) the Tadanac (customs) concen-trator, Trail, B. C. Differential flotation is the only concentration method employed in all three plants. Tables are used for pilot work only. Flotation equip-ment and control are similar in the three mills, and the flow sheets at the St. Eugene and Tadanac mills, while much simpler, are modeled after that of the Sul-livan concentrator. Successful differential flotation of Sullivan ore com-menced in the spring of 1920, in the pilot concentrator at Trail. During 1920, 193,804 tons were treated by this process. This operation continued without interrup-tion and with steady growth. For the first 7 months of . 1923, which concluded the pilot plant operation, ap-proximately 1100 tons were treated daily. I believe the Sunnyside plant of the United States Smelting &. Refining Co. was the only successful and large scale operation practising differential flotation prior to 1920. in North America. The Sullivan ore, because of its high iron content, was quite a different problem from that at Sunnyside. The entire tonnage of Sullivan ore had to be separated into three sulfide concentrate products-lead concentrate, zinc concentrate and iron concentrate. The choice and arrangement of equipment, and the original flow sheet for the Sullivan concentrator were controlled by the results of the exhaustive pilot mill test. These covered a continuous period of 3 1/2 years and involved the treatment of 1,076,368 tons of Sullivan ore. Satisfactory recoveries are made from feed; 11.0 per cent lead and 7.5 per cent zinc in the form of lead concentrate containing 69 per cent lead, 4.5 per cent zinc, and zinc concentrate containing 3.0 per cent lead and 49 per cent zinc. (The pure zinc mineral in Sulli-van ore is marmatite, 'containing approximately 54.5 per cent zinc and 10 per cent iron. It is apparent, there-fore, that 49 percent concentrate is high grade for this particular ore.)

Jan 8, 1927

By P. G. Shewmon, W. M. Robertson

The derivative of the surface tension with orientation, ??/??, for copper has been measured over the entire unit triangle. This derivative or torque term was determined from the variation of the dihedral angles at the intersection of twin boundaries and free surfaces. High-temperature anneals in graphite with a hydrogen atmosphere gave torque terms of 0.097 at (111), 0.066 at (100), and 0.0257 at (110). A variation from -36oto +23oC in the dew Point of the H2 had no effect on these values, nor did a change from 99.98 to 99.999 pct Pure copper. The removal of graphite from the system decreased ??/?? slightly. Considering the surface near a low-index plane to be smooth except for occasional steps, the free-energy increment per cm of step is calculated, and it is shown that the observed variation of ??/?? is consistent with a random distribution of steps and an interaction energy between steps. Integration of ??/?? gave the relative values of y at (100), (110), and (111) as comPared to ymax: (Y111/Ymax) =0.974, (Y110/Ymax) =0.996, (y100/Ymax) = 0.983. The ratio of the surface tension of coherent twin boundaries to the surface tension of the free surface was found to be (yT/ys) = 0.027 * 0.011. In a crystalline solid the surface tension y (surface free energy per unit area) depends on the orientation of the surface relative to the crystallographic axes of the crystal. Measurements of this variation of y with surface orientation have been reported for metals only within the last few years. Consider the grain boundary groove shown in Fig. 1. Here the three surfaces are all normal to the plane of the paper, and each has a different surface tension, y1, y2, and y3. If the system is at equilibrium, the total surface free energy must remain unchanged for a slight vertical displacement of the intersection (points A, B, and C are kept fixed). As shown by Herring,' the following equation is obtained:

Jan 1, 1962

By Leroy U. Gardner

EVERY reader of this paper is well aware of the fact that the prolonged inhalation of large amounts of free silica dust results in fibrosis of the lungs, and that other inorganic dusts, except those of asbestos and the mineral poisons, are thought to be relatively harmless. But probably few have had opportunity to visualize the effects of silica, asbestos and other minerals upon living tissues. The ideal demonstration would be based upon sections of lungs from human beings that had inhaled com- parable concentrations of different dusts for a unit period of time. Such material is generally difficult to obtain and in some instances is of questionable value because the subject has been exposed to more than one kind of dust. A demonstration could be prepared from the lungs of animals. However, so many months or even years are required to complete the exposure to each kind of dust that enough material has not been accumulated. For a general survey of the action of different types of dust, I am therefore compelled to use the tissues of animals that have been injected with suspensions of dust particles. The injection method offers certain advantages. The quantity, the particle size and the state of dispersion can be controlled with sufficient accuracy so that the tissue responses to different minerals can be accurately compared. The method insures contact between the tissues and the mineral particles; protective mechanisms, which may prevent the inhalation of certain types of foreign body, never come into play. If the pathway of injection be one that minimizes nonspecific injury, the tissue responses may simulate those produced by inhalation but they develop somewhat more rapidly. It should always be remembered that injection methods merely demonstrate the capacity of various kinds of minerals to provoke reaction in the tissues; whether the same substances are inhaled from atmospheric suspension and accumulate in the lungs in dangerous quantities can be demonstrated only by inhalation. The reactions that I shall discuss first took place not in the lungs but in the liver. For the purpose in hand this is quite immaterial for we are merely seeking to discover whether these minerals are capable of produc-

Jan 1, 1938

By C. A. Stetefeldt

Metallurgical processes cannot be conducted successfully With out the aid of analytical chemistry. The great perfection of Iead smelting in the West, for instance, has only been accomplished by the analysis of ores, fluxes, slags and all products of the furnace. Ores are mixed and fluxed to obtain a slag of desired composition. Account is even taken of the composition of the ashes obtained from the coke. The " muscular " smelter has left the field forever! This state of affairs has been induced by sharp competition, i.e., by a com plete separation of the industries of mining and reducing ores, not by the liberality and wisdom of directors and stockholders to pro vide laboratories and engage chemists, or by their love for scientific investigation. It would be considered absurd, at present, to run a lead-smelter, a blast-furnace for pig-iron, or a Bessemer plant without the assist ance of a well-equipped laboratory and a chemist; but it is con sidered quite sufficient to provide amalgamation- or lixiviation works merely with a crude assay-office, and an assayer who is paid less than a laborer in the mill. In my opinion, this will change in the near future. By the ex clusion of Mexican lead-ores, and their growiring scarcity in the West, smelters have been forced to raise their charges on so-called dry silver-ores, and cannot handle the latter now in such unlimited quantities as formerly. The inevitable result must be that the sur plus of these dry silver-ores, especially those of low grade, will be reduced by processes cheaper than smelbing; and here the introduc tion of lixiviation has an excellent field, provided the muscular lixiviator has an able chemist for an assistant. It is to be regretted that so little analytical work has been done in lixiviation. We know almost nothing of the composition of roasted ores before and after lixiviation; of the constitution of the first wash water and of lixiviation-solutions after prolonged use; of the chemistry of sodium and calcium sulphides; of the col-hposition

Jan 1, 1892

By G. A. Merkt

THE Isley furnace control, here presented as a novelty in furnace construction, is, in principle, one of the oldest methods of maintaining furnace heat for industrial purposes. Records unearthed in Egyptian tombs and the primitive methods of melting metal practiced by African tribes today indicate that fanning the fire and forcing the furnace by bellows have been an effective means of regulating heat for man's work during thousands of years. Even today, these cruder forms of mechanical draft production are still nn use within the borders of this most highly developed industrial land. Stacks, as we know them, are of com- paratively recent historical age but their attractive simplicity and seeming effectiveness have made them exceedingly popular. And so we find one of the most important types of furnace the world has even known, the open-hearth furnace, duly and more or less properly equipped with a chimney. The regenerative, or reversing, type of furnace, how-ever, required another mechanism between its hearth and the stack to provide a means for alternately con-necting one side and the other of its system of regen-erative chambers and flues to the stack and to a source of fuel and air supply respectively. Various types of reversing valves were developed, some of which are re-markably well designed for maximum efficiency and ease of installation as well as operation. However, this combination has a number of inherent faults which are so difficult to correct as to make efforts in the direction of improving over-all efficiency almost futile. These inherent difficulties are as follows: (1) The necessarily high temperature at which the gases must be delivered to the stack in order to make it operative. (2) The great temperature difference incidental to the reversal of flue gas and air and consequently the large variation in preheated air and fuel delivered to the furnace dur-ing the cycle. (3) The leakages and resistances created by the reversing apparatus and the complicated flues necessary. (4) The inadequate range of control af-forded by the natural draft system, especially under adverse atmospheric conditions.

Jan 12, 1927

By M. C. Udy, P. C. Rosenthal

THE use of minute boron additions to steel has been given considerable attention in recent years. Comparisons made between boron-free and boron-containing heats of otherwise identical analysis have indicated, beyond a doubt, the potent effect of boron for increasing hardenability. The actual hardenability increase has been expressed as a multiplying factor, or in terms of the percentage of other alloying elements boron might replace, The present study presents the results of a systematic survey of. the use of boron as an addition to two types of alloyed steels and as a replacement for various percentages of molybdenum in these steels, Both cast and wrought steels of the two basic compositions were prepared. Molybdenum, because of its scarcity at the time the investigation was started, was selected as the element to be replaced by boron. Attention was also given to the effects of boron on other properties of the steels, particularly their notched-bar toughness, to investigate other advantages or limitations of this element as an alloy addition. EXPERIMENTAL WORK Steels Investigated The two basic compositions used in this survey of boron as a replacement for molybdenum are given in Table I. The cast steels were higher than the wrought steels in silicon content to improve the casting quality. [ ] Each of these base steels, both cast and wrought, was made with molybdenum contents of o, 0.10, 0.20, 0.30, or 0.40 per cent, the total comprising 20 steels. In addition, each of these 20 compositions . was prepared with boron additions in amounts of 0.0015, 0.003, and o,006 per cent as ferroboron; and in amounts of 0.002 and 0.005 per cent as two com¬mercial intensifier alloys, designated alloys A and B. The boron-treated steels totaled 100, and the entire series 120, Test Procedure Each steel was melted as an individual heat in a 50-lb., magnesia-lined induction furnace. Ingot iron scrap or mixtures of ingot iron and steel scrap were used for melting stock. Deoxidation was carried out in the furnace with o.10 per cent aluminum. The aluminum addition was

Jan 1, 1946

By Ernest F. Burchard

(Pittsburg Meeting, March, 1910.) IN connection with the work of testing structural materials for the use of the U. S. Government at the laboratories of the technologic branch of the U. S. Geological Survey at St. Louis, Mo., from September, 1904, to April, 1909, and since then at Pittsburg, Pa., large quantities of sand, gravel, and crushed stone have been needed from time to time, besides samples of building-stone, clays, and other quarry-products. In many instances it has been necessary to obtain single samples of sand, gravel, or crushed stone in lots of a car-load or more. For obvious reasons all these collections have had to be made by a representative of the Survey. As the work progressed it was found essential that numerous geologic data should be gathered regarding the materials collected, in order that they might be properly classified as to kind of material, source, geologic age, etc., and that they might be rated according to quantity available, accessibility to transportation facilities, approximate costs, suitability for special purposes, etc., and that notes might be taken regarding undeveloped deposits of possible value. Furthermore, it was desired that the selection of materials for tests should be made broadly, so as to cover, first, the representative types of material, and later, if possible, the typical materials of the more important building-centers in the United States. In order to insure a certain degree of uniformity in this work and economy of effort and expense, it was decided that as much of the sampling as was practicable should be done by a member of the. geologic branch, whose regular field-trips could be combined conveniently with those necessary for procuring materials for the laboratory. During parts of the last three years I have been engaged in field-work of this sort.

Jun 1, 1910

By A. Eilers

A number of the copper refineries in this country have lately separated some of the rarer metals from the slimes in the refinery tanks. One of these has furnished me the following table of recoveries from given amounts of blister. I publish this to show the proportions, to gold and silver and to each other, in which these rarer metals may be expected to occur in copper from certain localities. GarFIeld, Utah :—The blister copper comes principally from the Bingham porphyry copper mines. Steptoe, Nev. :—All the blister copper is produced from the Nevada Consolidated mines. (Also porphyry deposits.) Omaha, Neb. :—Blister copper comes principally from concentrated copper-lead mattes shipped from the different lead-silver plants of the Rocky Mountain region to the converters at the Omaha lead refinery. Mountain, Cal. :—Ores occur in connection with diorite (?).

Jan 1, 1914

By AIME AIME

ONE hundred and eighty-three A.I.M.E. members, W. S. Morris with an excellent technical program, John Suman, "oil" President of the Institute, and a Texas norther blew into Dallas for the fall meeting of the Petroleum Division at the Adolphus Hotel, Oct. 16-18. and the most successful result will give future meeting committees a high mark to equal. People were still talking of the terrific heat the week before and it was quite noticeable that with the lowered temperatures, the members were in fine fettle for the technical sessions. The total attendance on Friday noon was

Jan 1, 1941

By Jose J. Alvarez

INTRODUCTION Three major plant processes control the operation of an uranium in-situ mining plant. The three pro- cesses can be categorized under the headings termed - loading, elution, and precipitation. All other plant processes can be subcategorized under the three. In summary, the major plant processes in an in- situ mining plant are: 1. Loading - The pregnant lixiviant from the production wells flows through anion exchange resin. The loading of the uranium on the resin is controlled by various factors, such as ionic strength, valence, functional groups, etc. 2. Elution - The uranium-loaded resin is eluted or regenerated by a high ionic strength solution. The effluent from this process is de- fined as the pregnant eluate. 3 . Precipitation - The pregnant eluate is chemically treated to attain the ideal conditions for the selective precipitation of uranium. Hydrogen peroxide is an ideal precipitating agent under URI conditions. This paper will focus on two of the major processes: Elution and Precipitation. For the most part this relatively young industry has grasped the theory of liquids in continuous flow for the operation of the plant processes. Likewise, URI initially operated the two processes of interest with the continuous flow concept. Through laboratory experiments, URI has abandoned the flow concept and operates the eluting and precipitating stages with the concept of "batch" processes, whereby only one container, filled to a specified liquid level, is chemically processed. In the proceeding sections, each of the two pro- cesses will be discussed in detail, from their original concept to the present operation. Only minor modifications were made to the existing circuits for the conversion with results revealing a greater level of efficiency. ELUTION The elution of the loaded anion exchange resin can be achieved by different high ionic strength solutions. The selection of constituents is dependent on both chemical and economic considerations (i .e., efficiency and operating/restoration factors). The regenerant presently used is a pH 9.5 solution containing 7.5% NaCl and a mixture of Na2C03/NaHC03. expressed as 2.5% NaHC03.

Jan 1, 1980

By Arthur F. Wendt

The following experiments and researches were originally conducted by Dr. Heinrich Rcessler, chief of the German Gold and Silver Parting Establishment at Frankfort-on-the-Main, for the sole purpose of abating the nuisance created by the discharge into the air of the sulphurous and sulphuric acids generated in the process of parting bullion by sulphuric acid. The results achieved have, however, an important bearing not only on this process, but are of value in the manufacture of sulphuric acid and sulphate of copper from sulphurous gases derived from any source. It has now been in successful operation for a term of years at Dr. Roessler's own works, and has been lately introduced with satisfactory results at the royal mints of Kremnitz and Munich, and the well-known establishment of Johnson Mathey & Co., of London.

Jan 1, 1884

By E. R. Kaiser

COAL research during 1941 had a marked increase in activity on problems bearing directly on furthering the increased and improved use of coal in homes and industry. Coal producers and fuel engineers expressed a greater interest in its practical possibilities and the coal laboratories have shown an increased interest in applied research, of value at once or in the near future to industry and the public. A large volume of accomplishment in mining, coal analysis, and the fundamentals of coal constitution and coal chemistry also continued to fill the storehouse from which applied research and fuel engineering of the future can draw valuable data.

Jan 1, 1942

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 AIME AIME

AT the meeting on Engineering Education on Mon- A day afternoon E. A. Holbrook, of the University of Pittsburgh and chairman of the Committee, presided as chairman with W. B. Plank acting as vice- chairman. About sixty members of the educational fraternity were present. Dean Holbrook, after a few introductory remarks, introduced the first speaker of the afternoon, Charles Y. Clayton, who then presented his paper, "Why Do So Few Elect Metallurgy?" in which he stressed the fact that ,one of the things the study of metallurgy ,now needs is publicity and public education on what metallurgy is and 'does. Another thing he brought out is that the study of metallurgy has been looked on for many years merely as a branch of other departments. He gave tables showing past and present enrollment in the course of metallurgy in various schools.

Jan 1, 1930

By R. S. McClellan

DURING the last year or so, with higher prices for gold and silver, many old properties in the West have come back to life. Almost every profitable producer in the old days has been considered, and the reasons for its shut-down investigated. If it seems likely that modern ore-finding, mining, and metallurgical methods, and S35 gold can again put the property on a profitable basis, someone can usually be found to back the venture. Methods of rejuvenation vary with the property, of course, but the following outline of what has been done with one group of mines in Idaho is fairly typical and may be suggestive to others. The Golden Chariot gold-silver properties, near Silver City, consist of seven old mines, working a vein system striking north and south, which had a productive length of some 3500 ft. The vein is a quartz-filled fissure with granite walls. Gold occurs in native, and with silver in the form of electrum which is the natural alloy of the two metals. Silver also occurs in a variety of sulfides. From 1064 to 1876, these old properties were worked intensively to an average depth of about 700 ft., through seven shafts which range in

Jan 1, 1934

By Philip D. Wilson

WHEN the United Nations win the war and the decision has been made to control future armament in the Axis countries, plans for the extent and operation of such control must have been prepared, to be ready to put into immediate execution. Such control to be effective must be premised upon complete military occupation of the two countries for a substantial period, with an arrangement at the end of such occupation for continued supervision of these industries into an indefinite future.

Jan 1, 1944

By V. C. Rogers

ALTHOUGH surveying at mining properties is fundamentally the same regardless of the method of mining, at Climax, due to the nature of the ground, the policy of advance development work, and extremes in climatic conditions, surveying practice has had to be revised to meet the specialized conditions of this particular type of mining operation. The company's mine is one of the largest underground properties in the United States. It has proved ore reserves of 275,000,000 tons, 60,000,000 tons of which have been broken. To date, 109,000 ft. of development drifting have been driven, as well as 40,926 ft. of development raising, 10,000 ft. of ventilation drifting and raising, 16,000 ft. of exploration drifting, and 206,000 ft. of diamond drilling. Normal production varies between 1.2,000 and 15,000 tons daily. Development work proceeds at a rate of 11/2 tons developed for every ton milled and with a development of 18,000 to 20,000 tons per day, the following crew is required to take care of mine and surface engineering

Jan 1, 1946