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By Edward W. Parker

At the Seventy-sixth meeting of the Institute, held in New York, N. Y., February, 1899,I presented a paper on this subject entitled, Coal-Cutting Machinery,' which has become somewhat out of date, in view of the decade's development in this feature of the coal-mining industry. It should be explained that the present paper is limited to the use of mining-machines in bituminous mines. Practically all of the anthracite mined is "shot from the solid," no undercutting being done. Anthracite-mining is therefore not considered in the statistics or other references. The statistical record as compiled by the U. S. Geological Survey shows that in 1898, the year preceding the presentation of my former paper, there were 32,413,144 short tons of coal undercut by the use of machines. In 1907 the machine-mined coal-product amounted to 138,547,823 short tons. In sympathy with the general decrease in coal-production during 1908, the output of machine-mined coal decreased to 123,183,334 short tons, but the proportion of machine-mined coal to the total output, nevertheless, showed an increase, from 35.1 per cent. in 1907 to 37 per cent. in 1908. In 1898 only 19.5 per cent. of the total product was unclercut.by the use of machines. The number of in use in the bituminous mines of the United States has increased from 2,622 in 1898 to 11,144 in 1907, and to 11,569 in 1908. The total production of bituminous coal in the United States in 1908 mas almost exactly double that of 1898, while the machine-

Jan 1, 1911

By W. Robert Power

Dimension stone is considered by many the premium material for beauty and durability in institutional and monumental construction. Nonetheless in the United States it commands an ever decreasing share of the total market. At the beginning of the century dimension stone accounted for more than half the stone produced in the United States, but by 1974 it accounted for little more than 0.2% and the number of producing quarries and finishing plants had greatly reduced. This decrease in use is accounted for in part by competition from cheaper materials, but another factor seems to be the demand by many designers for uniformity and exact repetition of modular units in construction. Even where stone is used in large buildings modem architects want blandness of pattern and uniformity of color in the stone. Because most natural stone contains variations in color and pattern great strain is put on the quarriers to overcome this and produce a uniform product. This results in increased costs, increased waste at the quarries, and consequently increased price in the market. In spite of this, stone is still looked on as the most prestigious of building materials and its aesthetic appeal is born out by the many simulated stone patterns found in synthetic materials. End Use and Specifications The principal uses of dimension stone are in building construction and monuments. Other uses include flagging, curbing, paving, mill-stock slate, roofing slate, laboratory furniture, and refractory brick. Because many of these uses overlap, an orderly classification of dimension stone uses is most difficult. Various classifications have been used by Cumer (1960), Barton (1968), the U.S. Bureau of Mines yearbooks, and the Building Stone Institute (Anon., 1972).

Jan 1, 1975

By Richard T. Newcomb

This paper considers the many problems involved in estimating rates of technical change via productivity indexes. In mining, declining ore grades complicate the measurement of progress considerably. The estimates discussed in this article were made for the United States iron mining industry by means of two techniques: a simple model of production with two inputs, and multiple regression. The results can be used to explain the relation existing on U.S. iron ranges between rates of exhaustion, technical change, output per man and the increase in capital proportions observed since World War I. Similar ob-servations can be made on the mining sector trends in the United States, Canada, and Japan. Formidable problems confront the economist attempting to estimate the influence of technological changes on the progress of mineral industries. Peculiar to these industries is the problem of how to adjust any measure of technological progress for the offsetting influence of exhaustion. Exhaustion has long been recognized in the mining industry as a critical dimension. Empirically, it is usually treated as a problem of declining grades of ore either in production or in reserves. There are studies of the trends in mining industries attempting to relate changes in input requirements to changes in grade and technology over time. Most frequently, the measure used to indicate technological progress is average labor productivity, e.g., output per man-hour. However, although such an approach has the merit of being simple and direct, it ignores the influence of other important factors of production such as capital. Without defining both the nature of technological change and of production, it can be very misleading to identify increases in labor productivity with tech-

Jan 1, 1969

By R. W. Raymond

In my former paper (Bans., xii., 410) I quoted the ruling of Judge Hallett, of Colorado, in the "Iron-Smuggler" case, tried before him in June, 1882. Under his charge, the jury in that case found for the defendants, practically declaring that the deposit on the outcrop of which the Iron Silver Mining Company's claim was located was not a " lode," or else that the portion of it within that claim was not the apex. The case was appealed, and the decision of the Supreme Court, given in February, 1886, is reported in 116 U. S. Reports, p. 529. It simply declares that there is nothing in the charge of Judge Hallett to warrant the setting aside the verdict. The definition of a legal lode given in that case, and quoted in my paper at the page above-named, is perhaps the best of several which Judge Hallet has pronounced. That is to say, his earlier definition, that " a lode or vein is a body of mineral, or mineral-bearing rock, within defined boundaries in the general mass of the mountain," is here accompanied with further explanations, which relieve it from the requirement on one hand, that the body shall be continuously ore-bearing if it he only well-defined, and, on the other hand, that the boundaries shall be well-defined if the ore-bearing body be proved to exist. So far as this particular case is concerned, the approval of this ruling by the Supreme Court merely prevents any re-hearing as to the face. Undoubtedly, the evidence was conflicting; and the jury chose to believe, for the purpose of that occasion, the " experts " who

Jan 1, 1887

By Charles V. Riley

While the late 1960's are known as the years of the public recognition of impending environmental crises, the 1970's will be known as the decade of public concern for improving the quality of that environment. One of the major environmental concerns is the temporary disturbance resulting from coal surface or open cast mining. Increasing energy demands in the U.S., a doubling of electrical power consumption each decade during the present century and the projected needs for the remainder of the century are indications that coal surface mining as a major extractive industry will continue. Coal and lignite, prime energy resources and extremely abundant in these United States, in the face of seemingly limited gas, oil and uranium reserves, are both destined for expanded future use. Presently some extremely serious technological and environmental problems are associated with the development and use of nuclear power. It is true that the extraction and use of coal as an energy fuel poses disruptive problems for the environment, but the solutions to many of the problems are known or can he solved within a reasonable time framework Certainly our national well-being and continued survival as a free nation within the world community automatically dictate the continued use of the coal resource for energy. Concurrently, those engaged in coal surface mining, with the temporary disturbance of the land and water resources, must also realistically conclude that public concern for maintaining and improving the quality of the environment will not diminish. Although as ecological, economic, social and aesthetic elements of cost-benefits and human desires are more adequately understood, a more rational and reasonable public and governmental attitude hopefully will result.

Jan 3, 1973

By Edward W. Parker

This plant was built in 1907 at the Bankhead mines to manufacture briquettes by the Zwoyer process under license from the Zwoyer Fuel Go., of New York, N. Y. The building was constructed to contain two units, each of a capacity of 10 tons per hr.; one unit was installed at the time the building was constructed, and the second unit is now being built. The coal used is an anthracite, which is more friable than that of Pennsylvania, and, as a consequepce, a larger percentage of dust or waste is produced, which was formerly thrown upon the slack-pile as waste, but is now passed to the " dust-bin " in the breaker, from which it is conveyed to the briquette-plant. An average analysis of the coal, published by Lewis Stockett and 13. R. Warden,' is as follows: Per Cent. Moisture,.........0.50 Volatile,..8.00 Fixed carbon,... 83..50 Ash,.......8.00 Total,.100.00 Sulphur,.........0.40 per cent. Specific gravity,...... 1.40 Color of ash,.white Heat value,.......14,000 B.t.u. The plant is run under two 12-hr. shifts, the force consisting of 1 superintendent for both shifts, 1 engineer for each shift, 1 briquetter for each shift, 1 helper for each shift, 1 laborer cleaning up for each shift. In the pitch-melting house, 2 men are on duty for one shift. The steam for the engine is furnished from a central boiler-plant, which also supplies steam for the breaker, the electric light and power-plant, machinery-shop, and boiler-shop. During March, April, May, and half of June, in 1907, the

Jan 1, 1909

By M. van Swaay, C. E. Birchenall

A. S. lBrling (Johnson, Matthey & Co. Ltd., Laboratories)— Because of its initial emphasis upon the production of membranes by powder metallurgy and by normal casting and rolling techniques, this paper is of considerable interest to those concerned with the design and application of industrial diffusion units. As the subsequent performances of the three grades of palladium were not compared in detail, it can perhaps be concluded that specific permeabilities were very similar. A short table in which the absolute diffusion rates obtained by the Authors with their three grades of palladium were compared with those of other investigators18-25 would, however, have been of particular value in view of the very variable results obtained with this membrane material. The Authors state early in the paper that the permeability of the thoriated samples decreased in much the same way as that of the nonthoriated samples. Later, they emphasize that sintered palladium without thoria was very susceptible to poisoning and did not respond as well as the other materials to the decontamination treatment. These results, which suggest that sintered membranes are less effective than those produced by normal methods, have considerable industrial implications, and amplified experimental details would be very welcome. The results of the Authors differ in one important respect from those of other investigators. Thus, no "bleeding" was required to maintain a constant rate of diffusion, although Davis, Darling, and De Rosset found this to be necessary. Davisz3 found that "bleeding" was necessary even when the hydrogen had already been purified by diffusion through a palladium tube, and it would be of value to know the purity of the gas stream emerging from the purification train shown on Fig. 1 of the Authors' paper. The Authors show that diffusion rates varied according to the square root of the pressure difference providing that the palladium membrane was not contaminated in any way. This finding is in agreement with the results of those workers2,18,19,23,24 who diffused their hydrogen through the membrane into a partly or completely evacuated system.Those workers who did not find this square-root law dependence did not have a partial vacuum on the downstream-side of the membrane.'' The difference between the two experimental con- ditions appears to be significant, as the absolute diffusion rates per sq cm of diffusion area are lower when the square-root law dependence is not observed. While the effect could be attributable to poisoning of the membrane it is conceivable that a positive pressure on the downstream side of the membrane might influence the mechanism of diffusion. In view of the capricious behavior of palladium, factors of this type, which are likely to influence its industrial significance, should be carefully considered. M. van Swaay and C. E. Birchenall (authors' 9-eply) — Our Eq. 191 may be compared with several others for hydrogen diffusion in palladium: D = 5.95 x exp (-5770/1)' D = 3.55 x 10"3 exp (-5550/)' D = 4.3 x 10"3 exp (-5620/1')' Other values are given in the literature, but in many cases surface poisoning may have affected the results. No analysis was performed on the hydrogen gas stream after purification. It should be noted that the presence of liquid nitrogen traps near the heated membranes may have set up convection currents and provided the equivalent of "bleeding." The question of whether a partial vacuum existed on the downstream side of the membrane is not clear. Does it imply that there is something unique about the permeability measured near one atmosphere pressure? We do not believe that there is. When square root pressure dependence is not observed, diffusion rates are not measured. Is "absolute diffusion rate per sq. cm. of diffusion area" equivalent to permeability? The terminology is new to us. In any case we doubt very much that pressures of the order of several atmospheres can affect the mechanism of diffusion.

Jan 1, 1962

By J. D. Sudbury, J. E. Landers, D. A. Shock

The external corrosion of casing is one of the most important problems facing the present day production man. A 1953 NACE report' estimated the annual cost of casing corrosion at $2,200,000 in 22 fields studied. The fields represented only 10 per cent of the wells in the United States. It was significant that 77 per cent of the failures reported were due to external corrosion. A variety of means for combatting the casing corrosion problem have been discussed in papers such as the NACE survey' mentioned previously. No attempt to revicw these will be made in this paper. Thc scope of this paper has been limited to a discussion of the following major items: (I) an instrument for studying external electrolytic corrosion; (2) use of this instrument to determine the quantity of protective current required to prevent corrosion of casing; and (3) problem of accelerated external corrosion of the oil string at the base of the surface string. ELECTROCHEMICAL MECHANISM OF CORROSION It IS gcncrally belleved that one major cause of external corrosion is the existence of electrolytic cells operating between various formation waters. A theoretical discussion of the role of earth potentials in casing corrosion has been presented by L. de Witte and F. J. Radd.2 A brief picture of the electrolytic corrosion action between two differcnt formations (A and B) is presented in Fig. I. This picture is a review to many but is given to insure clarity. In the anode area, oxidation takes place as iron ions go into solution in formation A as a product of corrosion. In the cathode area. reduction takes place and hydrogen atoms are formed at the boundary between the pipe and formation B. The flow of electrons. as indicated. is into the pipe at the anode or corroding area and out of the pipe into the formation at the cathode. In order to conform with regulations of this journal, the flow of a conventional current (I! is also indicated in this sketch. All subsequent references will be to this so-called conventional current flow and will be indicated by the symbol (I). As this action takes place the layer of hydrogen developed on the cathode offers a resistance to the flow of current in the cell. It is said (hat the cathode has been polarized. This polarizing film can be rcmoved by addition of a so-called dcpolarizing agent which reacts with and removes this hydrogen film. Such an agent must be present in ordcr for this corrosion reaction to go at a rate sufficient to cause a severe corrosion problem. The two common depolarizing agents are: (I) oxy-sen. which readily reacts with hydro gen to form water, and (2) certain bacteria which use atomic hydrogen as part of their life process. It is not difficult to explain the presence of these agents. Oxygen may be present in some very shallow formations. Sulfate reducing bacteria are found to exist in nearly any ground where mud pits might be dug. THE CASING POTENTIAl-PROFILE Instrumentation A sketch of the equipment* uscd in determining casing potential profiles is shown in Fig. 2. The tool is run in the hole using a hoist truck with a three-conductor cable. This tool must be run with tubing and rods out of the hole and should be run with the flow line disconnected. By proper choice of electrode size it can be run in any size casing. The electrodes must be run in an open hole or a hole filled with oil. Measurements cannot be made while immersed in water. The tungsten carbide-tipped knives serve as the electrical robes and arc spaced 25 ft apart. The potential difference along a 25-ft section of casing is measured with a potentinmeter to an accuracy of about 5 mv. Current flowing in the pipe can then

Jan 1, 1956

By B. M. Bird

DURING the past four years the experimental work in coal washing carried on by the U. S. Bureau of Mines and the University of Washington has been devoted mainly to the development of special methods for the tabling of fine sizes of coals that are difficult to wash. One important outgrowth of this investigation has been the application of hindered-settling classification to coal tabling. Although used for many years in ore dressing, the term "classification" as used here may be new to many readers. It may be defined as the separation obtained when a bed of particles is held in a uniform state of suspension in an upward current of water, either continuous or pulsating, just sufficiently strong to keep the bed in a mobile condition. A common example of this type of separation is a jig in which there is no suction stroke. When the hindered-settling classifier is used with the coal-washing table, the fine-size raw coal, instead of being fed direct to tables, as is the prevailing practice, is first fed to the classifier and grouped, according to the rate of settling against the upward current of water, into perhaps six separate products. After dewatering, each of these except the sixth, a refuse product, is elevated to a seperate feed bin and washed on a separate table. This paper gives a brief discussion of the basis for the use of hindered-settling classification of a table feed; a description of the experimental work; a comparison of the results obtained with and without classification; and a discussion of the application of the classifier in commercial coal washing.

Jan 1, 1928

By William Griffith

THE purpose of this paper is to make public record of new information in regard to the sustaining power of artificial mine-roof supports (not timber props) the result of investigations recently made in the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania. First.-By the "Scranton Mine Cave Commission," appointed to investigate the mining conditions under the City of Scranton. Second.-By the "Pennsylvania Mine Cave Commission," appointed by the Governor to investigate the general subject of mine caves in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania. Third.-By the personal researches and tests made by the author in an effort to secure a better artificial mine-roof or surface support. During the progress of the work of the Scranton Mine Cave Commission, the Engineers for the Commission, Messrs. Conner and. Griffith, being aware of the general lack of exact information in the engineering profession as to the strength of the ordinary artificial mine-roof or surface support, and particularly the stronger kinds, such as mine cogs, rock piers, etc., had tests made at the. Fritz Engineering Laboratory at Lehigh University, to determine the sustaining power under various compressions of the several kinds of artificial mine supports in use in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania. A report of these tests was included in the report of this Commission, which was published as Bulletin No. 25 of the United States Bureau of Mines, Washington. A similar series of tests, more extensive and more elaborately-planned, were subsequently made for the Pennsylvania Mine Cave Commission at the U. S. Government Testing Laboratory at Pittsburgh, Pa. The report of this Commission was made to the Governor, but has not yet been published.

Jan 10, 1917

By C. Upthegrove

DURING the past year considerable work dealing with physical properties of cartridge brass was done at the University of Michigan in cooperation with the Ordnance Department of the U. S. Army. This paper gives some of the data bearing on the effect of the anneal, previous to the final reduction or rolling, on the physical properties, particularly the hardness. Various phases of the subject of physical properties of cartridge brass have been presented by different investigators. Mathewson and Phillips1 refer to the work of Grard, in 1909, as the first systematic presentation of the relation between temperature-and time of anneal; changing of physical properties and microstructure, and the previous reduction by cold rolling. They discuss the relation between time and temperature of anneal and the previous reduction by cold rolling also; the relation between physical properties and grain size of annealed brass. The degree of deformation previous to the annealing was found to determine the temperature at which recrystallization and corresponding changes in physical properties would take place. Bassett and Davis,2 in establishing the relation between grain size and Brinell hardness; found the hardness for low-temperature annealing to be dependent on the previous degree of reduction, while for anneals above a certain temperature the hardness after the anneal was independent of the degree of reduction. Actual differences in hardness, due to the degree of reduction, disappear only on annealing at 600° C. or above; though the differences for metal subjected to different degrees of reduction and annealed at temperatures between 350° and 600° C. were found to be relatively small. In their determination of the relationship of grain size to Brinell hardness, Bassett

Jan 5, 1922

By Fred DeVaney

THE coercimeter, as its name implies, is an instrument for measuring the coercive force? of magnetic substances. It was developed by Davis and Hartenheim in the Special Studies Section, Metallurgical Division. A detailed description of this apparatus may be found elsewhere.2 The coercive force determinations of magnetic materials are inter-esting because of the relationship established by Gottschalk,4 who showed a linear relationship between the magnetization coercive force and the specific surface of comminuted particles. The value of this relationship in determining grinding efficiency has been shown by Dean.3 The determination of the surface contained in the subsieve sizes has always been a difficult problem for investigators. They made approximate measurements of the surface of coarse materials by sizing on screens, but for the determination of the surface of the sub-sieve sizes it was necessary to make detailed grain counts or, elutriation tests, or to study dissolution rates. The technical literature contains many references to other methods for determining these surfaces, either by some special apparatus or by mathematical calculations based on distribution lines. Many of the methods are long and tedious, and the results of some, at least, are questionable. The turbidimeter gives quick results on ground cement. By using magnetite as the material to be ground, a simple determina-tion of its coercive force by the coercimeter, requiring 10 minutes or less, can be transposed directly and accurately into units of relative surface. This subject has been pursued further by the U. S. Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, Rolla, Mo., and the following is a description of the results.

Jan 1, 1938

By R. G. Stickney

INTRODUCTION The Basalt Waste Isolation Project, conducted by Rockwell Hanford Operations under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy, is assessing the feasibility of the disposal of commercial radioactive spent fuel/high-level waste in deep geologic formations in basalts beneath and within the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State. The Basalt Waste Isolation Project mission is to identify and characterize a potential geologic repository site in basalt and to develop associated facilities and technology required for the potential permanent isolation of radioactive wastes in basalt formations. In support of the Basalt Waste Isolation Project, a laboratory testing program was conducted to evaluate the performance of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research's "Doorstopper" biaxial strain cell. To support site characterization studies and the design of repository openings, in situ stress measurements will be conducted within the reference repository horizon (~970 m). The Doorstopper is one of the instruments being considered for use in these measurements. It was selected because it requires only a small volume of work to achieve stress relief, which is important in a closely jointed basalt. Also, test durations are short, permitting a large number of measurements to be made within a given time to increase confidence in the results. Within the reference repository horizon, temperatures are expected in the range of 40º to 60°C with a humidity of up to 100%. For this testing program, test conditions were selected to closely resemble those expected within the repository horizon. The Doorstopper test, mainly developed by Leeman (1964), is a strain rosette relief method of measuring rock stress in situ. The Doorstopper consists of a four element, 45º strain gage rosette

Jan 1, 1984

By F. W. Osterwald, C. R. Dunrud

A continuously recording seismic network was constructed in 1962 by the U.S. Geological Survey to locate epicenters and record incidence of bumps (bounces, rock bursts) that occur in the bituminous coal mines of the Book Cliffs coal field near Sunny-side, Utah. The coal is mined because of its value as coking coal, although these bumps may be a hazard to life and property. Daily records of tremors caused by bumps for 1 3/4 years indicate that a seasonal pattern, as well as a daily pattern, exists for the number of bumps that occur in a given period. Maxima occur in May and June and November and December. Marked increases at 5-day to 9-day intervals are superimposed on these seasonal maxima. The largest bumps commonly occur during seasonal maxima when the rate of occurrence suddenly decreases and the amplitude of the individual bumps increases. Knowledge of this pattern may lead to prediction of general locations and periods of increased hazard from bumps. Experience to date has shown that prediction of precise times and locations of hazardous bumps is not possible, and may never be; primarily because even a small bump can be a hazard to life and property. Some bumps or bump sequences are actually composites, consisting or two or more discrete bumps a few tenths of a second to a few seconds apart. Violent and spontaneous releases of coal and rock from faces, ribs and roofs of mines (termed bumps or bounces by miners) are a common hazard to life and property in the coal mines located in the Book Cliffs near Sunnyside, Utah (Fig. 1). These bumps

Jan 1, 1965

By J. D. Miller, R. J. Smith

The hot water process for Utah tar sands differs significantly from that used for Canadian tar sands due to inherent differences in respective bitumen viscosities and the nature of bitumen-sand association. These differences have led to the identification of certain design criteria necessary to achieve satisfactory phase disengagement during digestion (Sepulveda and Miller, 1978; Misra and Miller, 1980). Subsequent flotation of digested tar sand is a subject of current attention and is considered in this publication for the Asphalt Ridge deposit. Although contact angle measurements of solvent extracted Asphalt Ridge bitumen indicated moderate hydrophobicity, air bubble attachment to the bitumen concentrate is not possible. This surprising result suggests that flotation separation is dependent on air bubble entrapment rather than on air bubble attachment due to surface hydrophobicity. The entrapment of air bubbles in the bitumen was apparent from examination of the bitumen concentrate, especially at lower flotation temperatures. A factorial design of the major operating variables in flotation separation indicated that the quality of separation was significantly dependent on the flotation temperature and to a lesser extent on the degree of agitation. For a flotation temperature of 77°C a recovery of 96.7% was realized at a grade of 61.0% bitumen. The improved separation at higher flotation temperatures was found to be due to the decrease in bitumen viscosity resulting in more effective rejection of coarse sand from the concentrate. This research effort, which has been sustained for the past six years at the University of Utah, is being continued to provide necessary design data for the construction of a pilot plant to treat Utah tar sands.

Jan 1, 1982

By Eugene P. Pfleider, Claus Freyberger

Generally, the different methods of financing new mining projects are not well understood by the engineers and supervisory personnel. Nor are the effects of these alternatives on depletion, taxes and profitability readily apparent to even the sophisticated management personnel without the aid of cash flow studies. Fortunately, with the advent of the computer it is possible now to simulate many different combinations of 1) equity, 2) loan and 3) production payment financing with little effort. A general computer program for cash flow analysis of mining ventures has been developed and applied as a case example to a 1967 feasibility study of the Underground Mining of Minnesota Taconite. The effects on profitability as measured both in rates-of-return and present value are presented for various financing combinations. In addition, percentage depletion rates were altered so as to measure the impact of this statuatory allowance. Based on the cost data as presented in the aforementioned 1967 feasibility study, and assuming 7% loans, the rates-of-return vary from 9. 9% to [00] % on equity variations and from 9. 9% to 11.4% on total invested funds.

Jan 1, 1969

By Earl R. McMillan

Though much has been written during the past several years about the Russian success in using hydraulic jets for coal mining, little or none of the published information, in so far as this writer has observed, has been of any use or practical application in this country. It is true, according to their published reports, that the Russians were pioneers in the use of high-pressure water jets in the mining of coal. They report the use of water jets for this purpose as early as 1936. However, according to a survey of foreign literature on the subject made by the U.S. Bureau of Mines1 a few years ago, water jets in the USSR, as well as in other nations including New Zealand, Poland and West Germany, were used principally to sluice the loosened coal after it had been previously drilled and blasted, rather than to cut or break it from the solid face. The interest of the Northern Pacific in the potential application of a high-pressure water jet to the actual extraction of coal, particularly in steeply dipping beds, originated in a visit by this author to the operations of the American Gilsonite Co. at Bonanza, Utah, in March 1958. After seeing the extraction, on a commercial basis, of gilsonite from a 22-ft wide vertical vein of this solid material with a 3/8-in. diam stream of water under approximately 2200 psi, it was felt that, with some modifications, water jets were the solution to the problem of economically mining the steeply dipping (i.e., steeper than 20º) coal beds in the State of Washington.

Jan 6, 1962

By Russell Paul

THE Wisconsin zinc district, also known as the Upper Mississippi lead and zinc district, is an area of about 2500 sq. mi. in the southwestern portion of Wisconsin and adjacent parts of Illinois and Iowa. It includes Iowa, Grant and Lafayette counties in Wisconsin, Jo Davies County in Illinois, and an irregular strip of Clayton and Dubuque counties in Iowa, parallel to the Mississippi River. During periods of high metal prices mining has been quite active in this district, but recently the lower metal prices have caused many companies to suspend, so that at the present time there are only a small number of mines operating. The short life of these mines and the low mineral content of the zinc deposits limit the investment in development and equipment, and necessitates the operation of this equipment at maximum running time and maximum capacity. The tonnage of rock handled (locally termed dirt) is large in comparison with the tonnage of concentrate produced. Moreover, the zinc content of the concentrate is low, varying from 25 to 40 per cent zinc, and the value per ton is correspondingly low. The life of the mines varies greatly. An exception-ally good deposit may produce 2,000,000 tons of rock during a period of ten years, market value permitting, from which will be obtained 100,000 to 150,000 tons of concentrate. One property which might be con-sidered as fulfilling the requirements of a profitable operation was developed and equipped in 1925, oper-ated continuously for a period of two and a half years, produced 484,292 tons of rock, from which was obtained 37,659 tons of zinc concentrate, 34.4 per cent Zn, and 1155 tons of lead concentrate, 67 per cent Pb. During the war period prices of ore permitted the mining of lower grade ores than has been possible in the past few years. The maintaining of a higher grade mill-feed has resulted in reducing the size of stopes formerly carried in the old mines and confining the workings within narrower limits.

Jan 7, 1928

By Peter Beardmore, Michael B. Bever

The effects of the temperature of deformation and the degvee of deformation on the annealing spectrum of a Au-Ag alloy have been determined by vesistance measurements. Specimens were deformed in torsion at 4°, 78K and room temperature up to strains nd/l of about 1.0 and were isochronally annealed. Discrete annealing stages similar to those found for pure metals were observed. Stage A occurred below room temperature; the decrease in reszstance associated with this stage increased as the temperature of deformation was lowered or the strain was increased. Stage B manifested itself as an increase in resistance; this is attributed to the restoration of short-range order promoted by vacancy or vacancy aggregate migration. At temperatures above 48S0K, recrystallization or Stage C occurred. Stages A, B, and C in the annealzng curves of this alloy may be considered to correspond to Stages II, Ill, and V, respectively, in the terminology used to describe the annealing spectrum of pure metals. ThE annealing behavior after deformation below room temperature has been thoroughly investigated on pure metals, in particular gold and copper. The occurrence of several discrete stages in the annealing spectrum of these metals has been established, but the interpretation of some of these stages in terms of specific mechanisms is still controversial.' The annealing of alloys deformed below room temperature has been the subject of only a few investigations. In the investigation reported here, a Au-Ag alloy was annealed after deformation at and below room temperature. This continues a research program on the deformation and annealing behavior of Au-Ag alloys.2-8s EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE An alloy rod of composition 82.6 wt pct Au-17.4 pct Ag was reduced to wire, 0.0428 in. diam, by swaging and drawing. After a recrystallization treatment, the grain size was 0.031 mm, as obtained from the average linear intercept.7 The ends of wires about 6 in. long were flattened and sealed into short brass tubes with cold setting cement to form the grips of the torsion specimens. The equipment used for deformation has been described elsewhere.6 The specimens were deformed at room temperature, 78", and 4°K to various strains nd/l, where n is the number of turns, d the diameter of the specimen, and 1 its length between grips. The strain rate ?max was 0.1 min-' at the sur- face of the specimen except where noted otherwise. The specimens were annealed isochronally for 30 min at intervals of approximately 30°K from the temperature of deformation to approximately 800°K, except that after deformation at 4°K the lowest annealing temperature was 78°K. A potentiometric method was used to measure the resistance: all measurements were made at 78°K with the exception of some measurements at 4°K mentioned below. Data obtained with a single specimen yielded a complete annealing curve: in several cases duplicate specimens were used to confirm the reproducibility of the curves. Since the surfaces of the specimens were rough after deformation, their diameters could not be measured accurately. The resistance increments after deformation and annealing are therefore reported as percentages of the resistance of the same specimen measured after completion of the annealing, that is, after full recrystallization. The corresponding resistivity values can be calculated by obtaining the effective diameter of a deformed specimen from the ratio of its resistance after recrystallization to the true resistivity, which was determined with a smooth specimen of known dimensions. This method of calculation was used to obtain data shown in several of the figures. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The isochronal annealing curves after deformation to various strains at 4", 78K, and room temperature are shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The resistance increment of the as-deformed specimens as a function of strain is shown in Fig. 4. For the specimens deformed at 4°K. values measured at 78°K are plotted with the exception of those for the as-deformed

Jan 1, 1970

By D. K. Bose, C. K. Gupta, K. U. Nair

A new approach to processing an indigenously available low grade molysulfide concentrate by chlorination with elemental chlorine in presence of oxygen is reported. Recovery of nickel and copper values associated with the sulfide concentrate by suitably treating the residue obtained after chlorination is also reported. In the chlorination process, a gaseous mixture of chlorine and oxygen in the volume ratio bf 2:5 has been passed at 1.66 x 10- 5 m3/s for 1800 s over a 0.01 kg batch of molysulfide concentrate at a temperature of 573°K. Most of the molybdenum has been volatilized as molybdenum oxychloride which has subsequently been extracted in water. The molybdenum value from the aqueous solution has been recovered in the form of calcium molybdate (CaO.MoO3) by treatment with calcium chloride (CaCI2). In an alternative processing scheme, the molybdenum rich solution has been treated with an oxidizing agent (K2S20f.J) and allowed to boil to recover a major portion of the molybdenum value in the form of molybdic oxide (MOOS). The spent charge obtained after molysulfide chlorination has been mixed with about 1 wt % sodium chloride and heated at 773K under an oxygen atmosphere. The reacted mass has been water-leached to yield a nickel-copper bearing solution with limited iron. The process liquor appears to be well suited for further processing by known hydrometallurgical recovery processes for nickel and copper. In the conventional process of molybdenum extraction, the molysulfide concentrate (-59% Mo) is first subjected to roasting to produce molybdic oxide. The oxide is then further processed in sequential steps involving vacuum distillation, ammonia leaching, and calcination to higher purity prior to hydrogen reduction to metal. In India there is at present some small tonnage production of molysulfide concentrate from a byproduct recovery plant of the M/s. Uranium Corp. of India Ltd. (M/s UCIL), Bihar. Efforts are being made at this laboratory to process the low grade fraction of the concentrate which contains sulfides of copper, nickel, and iron; quartz; and chlorites. Here, the conventional routes involving roasting and vacuum distillation appear unsuitable to produce an acceptable quality of molybdic oxide at high recoveries. Formation during roasting molybdates of some of the impurities present in the sulfide concentrate make subsequent vacuum distillation less efficient. In view of these problems, in earlier work reported from this laboratory the low grade concentrate has been processed hydrometallurgically to P. produce calcium molybdate. Starting from this molybdenum intermediate, processes have also been developed for the production of molybdenum and ferromolybdenum. Chlorination as an alternative to roasting for metal sulfides has been drawing considerable interest. The high reactivity of chlorine, the relatively low temperature of operation, the suitability of application to low grade resources, the convenience of recovering sulfur in non-polluting form, and the purity of chlorides which are separated by distillation all favor chlorination. In recent years, considerable work has been reported on the chlorination of common metal sulfides. In the field of molybdenum extraction from its sulfide resource, use of chlorination technology has been rather limited. Senderoff and Labrie3 were the first to chlorinate molysulfide concentrate with elemental chlorine at about 823°K to molybdenum pentachloride for use in the electrolytic preparation of molybdenum. The only other reported work, by Haver, Uchida and Wong, involved reaction between molysulfide and chlorine at 673°K to recover sulfur. The reaction products were, however, identified as molybdenum pentachloride and sulfur monochloride.

Jan 1, 1979