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By F. R. Hensel

PURE silver and silver-lead alloys have been studied as to their suitability for bearings.1-8 A review of the properties of thallium and the silver-thallium constitutional diagram was made by the author to analyze the possibilities of silver-thallium compositions for antifriction materials.† The silver-rich end of the diagram as reported in the literature9-11 was found to be sketchy and it was necessary to carry out considerable experimental work to arrive at definite conclusions. Some of the results of this work are reported in this paper. TEST MATERIALS In the beginning of the work, only fused alloys were investigated. Later, research [TABLE I. Composition of Fused Silver thallium Alloys Tested for Antifriction Properties PERCENTAGE ALLOY No.OF THALLIUM 15330.48 153406 231 HT2.04 2312.10 232 HT3.83Balance 2324.07Silver 233 HT5.86 2336.38 2349.84 234 HT10.07] was carried out on electroplating methods and diffusion processes. In preparing the fused alloys, care was taken to exhaust the toxic fumes caused by the thallium content. The compositions of the series of fused alloys are listed in Table I. The silver-thallium alloys were melted in clay-graphite crucibles and cast into preheated steel molds of 3/4-in. diameter. In the cast condition, they showed a cored structure, as indicated by the micrographs of Figs. I to 3. The etching reagent used was a mixture of 2 grams K2Cr2O7, 8 c.c. H2SO4, and 100 c.c. H2O. The cored structure is unsatisfactory for the type of corrosion resistance required for bearing applications, and homogenizing experiments were carried out at various temperatures, the results of which are shown in Figs. 4 through 8. The alloys with a lower thallium concentration, which were heated for 2 hr. at 525°C. show an almost completely homogenized solid solution type of structure. With higher thallium concentration, the homogenizing temperature was dropped to 475°C. to eliminate the formation of a liquid phase. It is evident that heating for 2 hr. at this temperature did not result in complete elimination of the cored structure. As would be expected, cold-working of the cast structure is an expedient in establishing equilibrium conditions. The fine homogeneous grain structure shown in Fig. 7 corresponds to the cold-worked area under the Rockwell ball penetration when the hardness was taken before heat-treatment. A detailed structural study was made on a cast silver-thallium alloy containing 3.67 per cent thallium. Three micrographs (Figs. 9, 10 and 11) show the transition

Jan 1, 1945

By AIME AIME

ON the morning of Monday, Nov. 9, 1936, two motorcycles, with sirens screeching, - escorted a procession of 70 automobiles from the Colonia Railway Station in Mexico City to the Hotel Geneve. Riding in' the cars were just over 200 visitors- members of the A.I.M.E. and their guests. They had come, via St. Louis, in two special trains from 24 different states for the 146th General Meeting of the Institute. During the morning they and 200 others, who had come from the United States by automobile or from various cities and mining camps in Mexico, duly registered with !efficient Mme. Irma Ordoiiez de Obregon and her assistants. Then started a week of strenuous but delightful activity that will never be forgotten by the participants. They were to cover more than 500 miles by automobile, always with a motor escort, and often

Jan 1, 1937

By I. Lowthian Bell

THERE has been probably no improvement introduced into the manufacture of iron which created more surprise in the minds of practical smelters and of scientific men than Neilson's discovery of the hot blast. In 1829, Messrs. Dunlop & Co. consumed at the Clyde Works, near Glasgow, nearly 79 tons of coal to make a ton of pig iron, of which about 20 cwts. was employed under the boilers of the blowing engines, leaving nearly 7 tons for the consumption of the furnace itself. In the year 1833, by heating the air to 612' F. (322' C.), they redoccd the 79 tons to 3 tons by the mere burning of 8 cwts. of coal in the apparatus for raising the blast to this temperature. The statenlent just given is strictly true in a commercial sense, but when we come to consider the question as one of physical science, it is necessary to eliminate some of the conditions which conduced to so extraordinary a result. Anterior to Neilson's time the fuel employed in smelting iron was coke, and it was supposed at that period, erroneously, however, that coal in its raw state, when burned with cold air, was totsally unfit for the purpose in question. This mineral, as it was obtained from the Lanarkshire coal-field, contained about 35 per cent. of volatile matter, but the process of charring it was performed in so unskilful a manner that instead of receiving 88 cwts. of coke from 135 cwts. of coal, 60 cwts. only was the product of the operation. Again, the reduced colisumption of carbon in the furnace itself was accompanied by a corresponding diminution of blast, and this was followed by an economy of half a ton in engine coal. After making a proper allowance, however, for all these collateral circumstances, we are within the mark when we admit that in actual coke, which is really the form the fuel has to assume before it is burnt in the blast-furnace, not less than 30 cwts. was saved by heating the blast to 615° F. (322° C.). This unexpected economy, be it remembered, was obtained by the combustion of the 8 cwts. of coal, somewhat wastefully applied in the hot-air apparatus. Numerous have been the opirlions advanced by different authorities in the scientific world to account for the apparent anomaly, bat none,

By W. A. STERLING

IN the opencut iron mines of the Mesabi Range in Minnesota, the trend in mining is in the development of mining equipment and mining methods which will move surface overburden and ore-bearing materials with less labor and at a cheaper cost. This is a must for most of the independent operators. Their reserves of direct-shipping ore are extremely small and their operations are being conducted in small, or intermediate pits, with a high stripping ratio in the outer fringes, or shore lines of older pits. and in ore bodies passing from direct shipping to the washing and the intermediate, or retreat ore state. The trend is toward deeper stripping, longer and steeper hauls, and the necessity of moving a total of from three to five or six tons of overburden and ore material for each ton of shipping-grade ore produced. This naturally calls for greater production, with larger shovels, or draglines. cheaper drilling and blasting costs through the drilling of larger-diameter blastholes, and cheaper haulage through the use of trucks of larger capacity and more extensive use of belt-conveyor systems. This trend is notable both in stripping and mining.

Jan 1, 1948

By Robert Linton

SPECIFICATIONS for clays serving raw materials in the ceramic industry usually contain the following items: (1) Chemical analysis, sometimes with mineralogical structure determined by microscopic investigation. (2) Maturing temperature and firing range, usually expressed in terms of pyrometric cone equivalent. (3) Shrinkage (drying and firing shrinkage separately). (4) Degree of plasticity. (5) Color after firing. Clays may be classified, according to the purpose of the classification, in several different ways, based on (1) Geological occurrence-transported, altered An place, indurated (shales). (2) Physical properties-plastic (bonding clays, ball clays) and nonplastic (flint clays, kaolins or china clays, bone clays). (3) Color. (4) Use. A common classification of clays for commercial designation, and one fol-

Jan 1, 1936

By G. Derge, Lo Ching Chang

The chemical and physical propertties of slag systems are of special interest to metallurgists, for nearly all metals are in contact with molten slags during the primary reduction from their ores and then during the subsequent refining and alloying processes that determine their ultimate use. These processes are carried out at high temperatures and involve such complex chemical systems that funda-mental scientific knowledge of the Properties and behavior of these slags is inadequate. Various hypotheses have been Proposed to explain known slag characteristics. The commonest of these regard the molten slag as constituted of compounds that are dissociated in varying degrees into their constituent oxides, as illustrated by Schenckl and the recent Papers of Chipman and co-authors. Another proposal is that these compounds dissociate by com-plete6 or partial ionization, the evidence for which has been reviewed by Martin and Derge.? whatever hypothesis is favored, the exact formulation of these compounds is incomplete. It is based on three principal types of information: 1. Studies of solidified 51% samples by X ray diffraction, petrography, and similar methods that can be used at room temperature. The correlation of this information with the high-temperature properties of the molten slag is uncertain. 2. Studies of slag-metal equilibria, which have the advantage of providing observations on the molten slag at high temperature. However, even these data present problems of interpretation because they require a complete knowledge of the metal phase. 3. Direct measurements of properties of molten slag at the temperature of greatest metallurgical interest. Viscosity, electrical conductivity, specific heats, and similar properties have been measured, but the data of this type are widely scattered and frequently difficult to interpret. Additional direct measurements of properties of molten slag that can be interpreted in terms of chemical behavior are required, and this paper shows that the standard physical-chemical measurement of reversible electrode potentials, which measure the activity of specific constituents, is a fruitful source of such information. The purpose of this investigation, therefore, was to find an electrode combination that would yield reversible electromotive force measurements when dipped into the molten slag to be studied. Slags of the systems cao-sio2 and cao-120,-SiO2 were chosen for study because graphite containers could be used and the data could be correlated with those for viscosity, conductivity, and other proper-

Jan 1, 1948

By Raymond B. Ladoo

NONMETALLIC minerals (excluding fuels) arid their primary products produced annual in the United States have a value in excess of one billion dollars, or more than that of the metals, yet the lack of expert knowledge of some of the fundamental technical and economic aspects of this most important and complicated business is astonishing. This paper will deal with the economics of this non- metallic mineral field-the business of making money from producing these minerals. The incentive behind all business activity in a capitalistic economy is to make money-to plan so that each dollar invested in property, plant, equipment, services, and so on will return more than a dollar plus simple interest. Of course, business has social, civic, and national duties and responsibilities, but the fulfillment of these is largely dependent upon financial success.

Jan 1, 1939

By D. L. McElroy

SAFETY in coal mining received especial attention by the public in general and the mining industry in particular during 1940 and early in 1941, owing primarily to the six explosion disasters which occurred last year with a total of 276 fatalities. This was the largest number of fatalities due to explosions in bituminous coal mines since 1928, when 347 lives were so lost. But facilities due to explosions have had a definite decreasing trend since 1907, in spite of bad years such as 1917, 1924, 1932, 1937, and 1940. Although the upswing in explosion fatalities in 1940 is lamented by all, none will admit it represents a trend and it will serve mainly to stimulate ways and means of further reducing these disasters.

Jan 1, 1941

By F. C. Bond, J. T. Wang

H. J. Kamack (E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc., Wilmington, Del.)—Rittinger's law usually is stated to the following effect: "The work (or energy) consumed in particle size reduction is proportional to the new surface area produced." The law has been stated substantially in this way by Taggart20 Berry21 Dalla Valle22 Coghill and DeVaney,23 Richards and Locke," Gross,25 and many others, and, according to Gaudin,26 was originally expressed by Rittinger in the same form. Consequently there can be little doubt that this is the understanding of the law among most workers in the field of particle size reduction. Bond and Wang, however, express the law in the form "the useful work accomplished . . . ." (italics theirs). The distinction is critical, for in the form used by Bond and Wang the law becomes, as they themselves remark "merely a more or less arbitrary definition of useful work," while in its usual sense the law expresses a physical hypothesis which has been verified experimentally within certain limitations. Considering the way the law has been used, it might be stated more explicitly as follows: "In a given machine operating under a given set of constant operating conditions, the work consumed in the particle size reduction of a given material is proportional to the new surface area produced." Or, as Coghill and deVaney have said,27 "the (Rittinger) law holds only when the tests being compared are made under analogous conditions." There are occasions when the law transcends these limitations; for example, the surface area produced per unit energy consumption for a given material in a ball mill does not vary much over a fairly wide range of operating conditions. But by and large, the surface area production per unit energy consumption will vary with the operating conditions, the type of machine, and the material. The essence of Rittinger's law is that the surface area production per unit energy consumption is independent of the particle size, and this has been verified experimentally by numerous workers for numerous materials, within certain limits. An important limitation is that when one grinds to very small particle sizes, agglomerative forces may tend to interfere with size reduction so that the surface area increases less rapidly than Rittinger's law would predict. Within such limitations, Rittinger's law can be regarded as empirically established. The law has, however, certain theoretical implications, and it seems to be chiefly against these that Bond and Wang direct their criticism. Solids are believed to possess surface energy which is proportional to surface area. Thus, Rittinger's law implies a proportionality between surface energy produced and mechanical energy expended (for a particular material in a particular machine). It does not imply that all or most of the mechanical energy is transformed into surface energy; in fact it is known that most of the mechanical energy is transformed into heat. Bond and Wang assert that most of this heat arises from the damping of elastic vibrations of stressed particles. This may possibly be true for crushing (with which they are chiefly concerned), although in grinding it is probable that much of the heat arises from friction between particles. However, the fact that the surface energy is small compared to the heat energy does not invalidate Rittinger's law, which implies merely that they are proportional. The authors also criticize Rittinger's law on the grounds that "this theory cannot be justified mathematically, since work is the product of force times distance, and the distance factor is ignored," and "energy input must be the product of force times distance, and the Rittinger theory completely ignores large variations in the distance (strain dimension or deformation) throughout which a force must act to produce breakage of different materials." However, the quantities force and distance as such are irrelevant to Rittinger's law, which considers energy input as an integral quantity. The fact that different materials require different forces and strains (hence, different amounts of energy) to break them is incontrovertible but again is irrelevant to Rittinger's law, which, as mentioned before, applies -only to a single material. Even in theory, it would not be expected that the surface area produced per unit energy consumption would be the same for different materials, because the surface energy per unit area is presumably specific to each material. Bond and Wang advance another argument of a

Jan 1, 1952

By W. N. Poundstone, G. R. Spindler

A comprehensive report on extensive experimentation in degasification of the Pittsburgh Coal seam is presented. Detailed accounts of the procedures and results are given for permeability tests, vertical bore hole tests, measurement of gas flow from sealed drainage areas, horizontal rib hole tests, and water infusion tests. The removal of methane gas from coal seams in advance of mining is not a new idea with mining men—much attention has been given to the possibility for many years. In other parts of the world, a principal concern has been in the recovery and utilization of the gas and a number of successful projects have been developed in Europe and elsewhere. In this country, the principal motivation has been related to the safety aspect with some possible side benefits concerning costs and efficiency in mining as secondary objectives. To date, experimental work in this country has been largely or entirely exploratory to determine bed characteristics with respect to the liberation of combustible gases to investigate or establish the possibility of degasification in advance of mining and as an aid in projecting mine ventilation systems to provide for safe, effective and economical handling of combustible gases liberated during mining. With these objectives in mind, the School of Mines and Engineering Experiment Station at West Virginia University, in cooperation with the Christopher Coal Co. of Osage, W. Va., initiated some experimental work in May 1952 and the project has been more or less continuous since that time. The work has been centered entirely in mines of the cooperating company in Monongalia County, W. Va., and Greene County, Pa. LOCATION AND GENERAL CONDITIONS OF THE AREA The principal mining in the area involved is in the Pittsburgh coal seam which lies at the bottom of the Monongahela series of the Pennsylvanian. The Pittsburgh coal in the area is generally uniform in its structure and physical characteristics. The bed thickness averages about 7 to 8 ft and the coal has a characteristic blocky structure as the result of pronounced face cleats and definite, but somewhat less pronounced, butt cleavage. It is a medium volatile coal, averaging about 37 pct, and is marketed principally as a steam fuel and for metallurgical purposes. The Pittsburgh coal outcrops along the Monongahela River and dips gradually, but not uniformly, slightly north of west (about N75°W). The westward extensions of the bed, from the areas contiguous to the Monongahela River which have been heavily mined, constitute the principal reserves and are all well below drainage with the depth of cover increasing with the distance from the river. In general, with deeper cover, it may be expected that methane liberation will be more of a problem in future mining as compared to areas mined previously; therein lies the interest in possible de-gasification in advance of mining. Fig. 1 shows the Pittsburgh coal area in the vicinity of Morgantown in Monongalia County, W. Va., and Greene County, Pa., in which the experimental work discussed is located. Fig. 2 shows the contours on the Pittsburgh coal in the test area. It will be noted that the first two bore holes for the experiments were at the edge of a bench or terrace with considerable change in the gradient in the immediate vicinity of the test holes and that the same general condition applies to later test areas. Mining is intensively mechanized in the area and in the mines involved in the experimental work with corresponding rapid advance of working faces a typical characteristic. In the areas now mined the total methane liberation ranges from moderate to relatively heavy, but the actual face liberation is extremely variable and may range from practically

Jan 1, 1961

By Maurice Ewing, J. A. Peoples, J. W. Peoples, A. P. Craby

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the application of the earth-resistivity method of subsurface investigation to the problem of locating seams of anthracite coal beneath a mantle of soil and subsoil. Details are given of the successful use of this method in locating the outcrops of anthracite seams in actual prospecting. The presence of the outcrop of an anthracite seam is indicated at points where electrical resistivity tests showed relatively low readings. The reason for this is that in some localities the resistivity of anthracite was found to be about 0.0001 megohm-cm. compared to 1 to 200 megohm-cm. for shales and sandstones. For two reasons it is believed that the data summarized in this paper should be of particular interest. In the first place, most of the interpretations of the resistivity survey have been checked by subsequent drilling and some by the removal of the overburden and the exposing of the anthracite seams. It is infrequent that the opportunity for checking results so thoroughly is given. In the second place, the fact that recent commentatorsl,2,3 on the application of geophysical methods to mining have concluded that direct prospecting for anthracite and other types of coal is not promising makes the good results obtained more significant. So far as the authors can learn, the only previous experiment with electrical methods in the Pennsylvania anthracite field was one made by Sherwin F. Kelly in 1921, when he used the self-potential method at Wilkes-Barre4. The profile he made does not show a very marked correlation with the geologic cross section. Kelly points out that stray currents from electric motors in the mines undoubtedly affected 'his results, but the experience of the present authors with stray currents from mining machinery suggests the possibility that the potentials measured by Kelly were due almost entirely to this effect.

Jan 1, 1936

By Maurice Ewing, A. P. Craby, J. W. Peoples, J. A. Peoples

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the application of the earth-resistivity method of subsurface investigation to the problem of locating seams of anthracite coal beneath a mantle of soil and subsoil. Details are given of the successful use of this method in locating the outcrops of anthracite seams in actual prospecting. The presence of the outcrop of an anthracite seam is indicated at points where electrical resistivity tests showed relatively low readings. The reason for this is that in some localities the resistivity of anthracite was found to be about 0.0001 megohm-cm. compared to 1 to 200 megohm-cm. for shales and sandstones. For two reasons it is believed that the data summarized in this paper should be of particular interest. In the first place, most of the interpretations of the resistivity survey have been checked by subsequent drilling and some by the removal of the overburden and the exposing of the anthracite seams. It is infrequent that the opportunity for checking results so thoroughly is given. In the second place, the fact that recent commentatorsl,2,3 on the application of geophysical methods to mining have concluded that direct prospecting for anthracite and other types of coal is not promising makes the good results obtained more significant. So far as the authors can learn, the only previous experiment with electrical methods in the Pennsylvania anthracite field was one made by Sherwin F. Kelly in 1921, when he used the self-potential method at Wilkes-Barre4. The profile he made does not show a very marked correlation with the geologic cross section. Kelly points out that stray currents from electric motors in the mines undoubtedly affected 'his results, but the experience of the present authors with stray currents from mining machinery suggests the possibility that the potentials measured by Kelly were due almost entirely to this effect.

Jan 1, 1936

By Charles M. Rolker

The main tin-producing regions of the world are known to be England, Australia and the Dutch East Indian possessions, chiefly Banca and Billiton. During recent years, the tin of the Malay Peninsula, exported from Penang and Singapore, has been coming prominently to the front. France, Austria, Hungary, Germany, Spain, South America, Russia and China still present insignificant figures. The conspicuous part which the Dutch possessions in the Indian Archipelago have taken in supplying the world with tin, is well known. Tin was discovered in Banca as early as 1710, and has been produced there ever since; but the supply has been most important since Banca came fully into the possession of Holland, in 1821. In Billiton and the adjoining island of Singkep, the existence of tin was known prior to 1822.* The Lingganese knew of its existence in the valley of Embalong, from creeks and streams in the neighborhood of Tima and Simper hills, on Billiton and also on Singkep island, but the prevailing superstition that tin-mining brought misfortune, influenced them to let this industry lie idle. The attempts of the Dutch government to test this question were lukewarm, perhaps by reason of the fear of reducing, through new discoveries, the price of Banca tin, and the island was abandoned in 1826, leaving only a military post. In 1850, Dr. Crookewit, a chemist and naturalist, was sent out to verify the rumors that tin existed in Billiton. His report was unfavorable; but in 1851 Mr. C. De Groot, a mining engineer, found tin readily, and the active work on Billiton dates from that time. Less than 600 tons were produced during the first ten years, and 3000 tons in the next decade. Billiton tin-mining is done by

Jan 1, 1892

By AIME AIME

ALL sessions of the Mining Geology Committee at the Annual Meeting this year were held jointly with other groups, a plan that seemed to work out to the satisfaction of every one. Certain of these sessions are reported in this issue by others; the ones held on Wednesday are covered here. Ten papers, as published in the February M&M, were on the program for the Wednesday morning session, held jointly with the Society of Economic Geologists. Mr. Eckel made a brief presentation of his paper, on which there was no discussion, and Mr. Peoples presented that of which he was a joint author. D. M. Fraser then discussed a gravimeter survey for chromite in Cuba, which blocked out some 50,000 tons of ore, and F. G. Wells told of work on chromiferous sands in Oregon.

Jan 1, 1943

By Robert T. Gdagher, Allison Butts

EDUCATIONAL trends as reflected in curricular changes are of interest and importance in engineering educa¬tion both as matters of record and as considerations for the future. The data on which the evidence of this report is based were obtained by sending questionnaires to all schools in the United States granting the undergraduate degree in mining engineering, metallurgy, or metallurgical engineering. The questionnaire had two parts, one inquiring as to the general nature of revisions made or planned, and the other asking for information on specific courses added to or dropped from the curriculum, or given more or less time than formerly. The frequency with which curricular changes are made, even in normal times, is notable. Although it was expected that the period since 1939-40 would show numerous revisions, it was somewhat surprising to find that of 62 mining or metallurgical curricula in existence in 1939-40 and reported in the present survey, 58 had been revised or are shortly to be revised, 52 having already been changed during this period. Moreover, approximately half of the mining schools that have already revised their curricula, and probably a similar proportion of the metallurgical schools, are about to make further important changes.

Jan 1, 1948

By John Dasher

Getting spodumene to float quickly and cleanly can be a problem. The author has presented an excellent account of a valid and useful approach to the scale-up of such problem floats. This indicated advantages for doubling retention time, i.e., buying another set of flotation cells. The author states that 21 pct of the spodumene floated in 2 min in the laboratory cell, that the grade of the rougher was about 75 pct spodumene, and that the final tailing contained 4 to 12 pct spodumene in different sizes with the present cells and 1 to 9 pct spodumene with twice as many cells.

Jan 6, 1959

By Thomas T. Read

AT this time of the year, engineering schools are releasing a group of young men who probably are, on the average, in much the same attitude of mind as a person arriving at the terminal station of a railway journey; namely, of having a general idea of his objective, but having to make a decision as to just where he is going and how best to get there. The man leaving the train can at first follow the crowd, but it soon breaks up, as one goes one way and one another, until he has to choose his own course. The recent graduate may do the equivalent of following the crowd by accepting the first position offered, but this only postpones a decision as to where he is going and how best to get there. So many young engineers ask for advice as to what to do that the following statement has been prepared as an attempt to make a general answer to such queries. The engineer taking his first job should realize two fundamental relations. The first is that in electing to be an engineer he has elected to be a hired man. A consulting engineer has more freedom than a man on a regular pay roll, but he is also a hired man; hired for briefer periods at a relatively high rate, but under the necessity of simultaneously doing his consulting work and developing new retainers. There is nothing derogatory in being a hired man (all doctors, lawyers and clergymen are hired men), but the tardy realization that he is one seems to give many an engineer a mental jolt that can be avoided if he accepts it from the beginning.

Jan 1, 1926

By W. E. Ruder

IT has been pointed out by Stead 1 that grains of considerable coarseness may be developed in steels containing from 3 to 5 per cent. of silicon, and in a previous paper 2 the present author has shown that under the proper conditions of annealing single grains having an area of 50 sq. cm. may be obtained. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss in more detail the conditions, promoting the growth of these grains, in the hope that the experiments described may throw some additional light upon the general problem of grain growth in metals. These silicon steels lend themselves particularly well to such experiments because of the ease with which the change in structure may be followed and because of the fact that the effect of the carbon present is largely obliterated by the high percentage of silicon. This forms a solid solution with the iron, which acts very much like a pure metal. This alloy has been found to have but one critical point, viz., Are. This point, determined by Roberts-Austen for Hadfield's 4 per cent. Si alloy, was found to lie at 703° C. Vigouroux3, in working with pure Fe-Si alloys, finds this point to rise from 750° C. for 0.5 per cent. Si to 860° for 6 per cent alloy, with a flat region in the curve from 3 to 4 per cent. Si. No accurate determination of this point has been undertaken by the present author, but it has been roughly determined to lie between 730° and 750°.

Jan 12, 1913

By E. Horton Jones

CONTENTS I Page Introduction ....:......................... 3 Chapter I. Unit Costs. . ...................... 4 Chapter II. Comparative Costs ..................... 20 Chapter III. Composite Costs..................... 32 Chapter IV. Wage Scale....................... 36 Chapter V. Raw Material Prices................. 37 Chapter VI. Description oF Costs ................... 64 Introduction We have endeavored in the following "sheets" to give the unit construction costs derived from 'the building of the Arizona Copper Co.'s new smelter, Clifton, Ariz., starting in February, 1912, and completing February, 1914.l In Chapter I—Unit Costs—are to be found the most elementary total unit costs which the accounts provide for. They are usable in the Clifton district. Here too are found the percentages to be added to an estimate for Engineering and General Expense. In Chapter II—Comparative Costs—these elementary costs have been classified, averaged and reported as labor and material unit costs. In such form the labor unit costs, when properly applied to similar conditions as these under which they were derived, are usable anywhere. The material unit costs are better disregarded for more accurate estimates and replaced by a newly priced bill of material. In Chapter III Composite Costs are given. They are unit costs built up from several elementary units, and likewise units of larger dimensions and simpler application, valuable for

Jan 1, 1915

By Archer E. Wheeler, Milo W. Krejci

The Boston & Montana Reduction Works at Great Falls, Mont., was formerly the reduction works of the Boston & Montana Consolidated Copper & Silver Mining Co., and continued as the reduction plant for the independent company until June 1, 1910, when the consolidation of a large number of the operating companies of Butte was effected. It then became merged in the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. as the Boston & Montana Reduction Department of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. The history of copper converting at this plant, while not covering the entire period of the commercial use of the process in this country, does cover by far the larger part of it, and as the operation of and appliances for the process have undergone many changes during the time, it may, perhaps, be of some interest to put the record of these changes into permanent form. The plan followed in the preparation of this paper has been to give first a brief chronological record of the principal events and changes and then, even at the risk of some repetitions, to give more detaild accounts of some of these changes under separate headings. The headings for the complete paper are as follows: 1. General. Chronological Review. 10. Development of Different Classes 2. Mechanical Manipulation. of Converters After Class I. 3. Casting of Finished Copper. 11. Basic Lining. 4. Tamping of Linings. 12. Number and Size of Tuyeres. 5. Early Acid Linings. 13. Cast Copper Tuyeres. 6. Acid Linings With the Use of Ore. 14. Efficiency of Air. 7. Introduction of Flux Through the 15. Size of Converter Mouth. Tuyeres. 16. Height of Converter. 8. Bottom Blast. 17. Summary. 9. Disposal of Converter Slag, General Chronological Review. Ground was broken for the general concentrating and smelting plant in the spring of 1,891. The first departments to start operations were the concentrator in March, 1892, and the Brückner roasting and reverbera-tory smelting departments in April, 1892. The converter department

Jan 1, 1914