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By Blandford C. Burgess

Mica is an orchid among minerals. It is formed in pegmatites, one of the most bizarre of igneous formations, and is exceeded by few other minerals in the perfection it may attain as to size, color, and cleavage. First used for window glazing, as an ornament and article of trade, it has become one of the most essential insulators of electricity, heat, and shock. Most internal combustion engines use mica condensers or capacitors and such machines of war as planes, tanks, and submarines are immobile without it. The original manuscript of this guide was written in April 1943 at the peak of war emergency. It was not used be- cause shortly thereafter a decision was made to buy on a one price basis eliminating differentials for both quality and size. This is now presented with the thought that from the standpoint of preparedness we can only consider an- other war imminent and every effort should he made to set up in usable form the experience gained during the Second World War. Colonial Mica Corp. was set up by Metals Reserve Co. as a wholly owned government agency to encourage production of domestic mica and to purchase it. It soon became the exclusive buying agency for such mica. The writer as Southern Manager called on all the private agencies buying mica to assist in formulating buying policies, methods, and prices.

Jan 1, 1949

President MRS. HARRISON SOUDER south Paramus Road Ridgewood, N. J. First Vice-president MRS. ROBERT HURSH New York N. Y. Second Vice-president MRS. RICHARD LLEWELLYN LLOYD Great Neck, L. I'. N. Y. Third Vice-president MRS. PERCY E. BARBOUR New York N. Y. Fourth Vice-president MRS. E. P. MATHEWSON Tucson Ariz.

Jan 1, 1937

By Allen Garrison

A PREVIOUS paper1 reviewed some of the properties of clays and shales and presented some data on the nature of the gelling phenomenon. It included a brief discussion of origin of clays and shales, their com-position, structure, retention of water, ionization, base exchange, and the nature of the gelling of water suspensions, Other publications of the Institute2-8 have discussed the properties of clays and their relations to drilling-fluid behavior and control. It is the purpose of this article to present some new data obtained and arranged in a different manner and making possible a better understanding of the chemical reactions involved in the control of drilling-fluid characteristics during the normal drilling operations. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The difficulties involved in the measurements of the flow character-istics of plastic fluids are too familiar to recite, The possible applications of some of the well-known instruments to this problem have been ade-quately discussed by Hobson9 and he has given an excellent bibliography. Although there are many viscosimeters of varied design, none of them appear to fulfill the most obvious demands of accuracy in the measure-ment of clay or shale suspensions, Since the fluid characteristics are dependent on the rate of flow of the fluid, and the viscosity usually falls off very rapidly as the rate is increased, it is clear that the first require-ment is that the instrument shall be capable of a wide variety of speeds. The viscosity of the fluid at any fixed and constant rate of flow is also a function of time, so that the second demand is that the instrument shall be capable of a constant and continuous motion for a prolonged period of time.

Jan 1, 1939

CONTENTS PAGE Ross, J. M. and WAYLAND, R. G.-Mining Methods at the Homestake. Discussed by Benjamin F. Tillson, R. M. Raymond, I, H. Barkdoll, Arthur Notman 1 EMMEL, RUDOLPH.-Mining Methods in Zaruma District, Ecuador. Discussed by Rudolph Emmel, George A. Packard, Fred Hellmann, R. M. Raymond, Arthur Notman 2 MISHLER, R. T. and BUDROW, L. R.-Methods of Mining and Ore Estimation at Lucky Tiger Mine. Discussed by Fred Hellmann, Benjamin F. Tillson...4 PARK, JOHN FURNESS.-Mining Methods of Jarbidge District. . Discussed by R. S. Lewis : 5 Mining Methods at the Homestake Discussion of the paper of A. J. M. Ross and R. G. WAYLAND, presented at the New York Meeting, February, 1925, and issued, as Paper No. 1408-A, with MINING AND METALLURGY, February, 1925. BENJAMIN F. TILLSON, * Franklin, N. J.--It requires a good deal of timber to operate, especially the caving systems. An important function in mine operations now seems to be forestry and to operate a timber tract in order to insure a supply of timber. By depleting the timber resources of your section, you only increase your costs later when timber must be brought in from the Pacific Coast or the East. Our experience has been that any square-set method of timbering is the most expensive. Timbering for stoping systems, top slicing if you will, although it uses a large volume of time does not require as expensive timbering as the square-set method; also it does not require as long a life for-the timber, so that such wood as birch and maple, which have strength but not long life under the fungus conditions in the mine, may be used. All the drifts in the orebody are thoroughly timbered, and it has required a lot of timber. If we had it to do over, we would spend a lot more money in the development of rock drifts; as a matter of fact, we must ultimately come to that any way.

Jan 6, 1925

By R. B. Fuller, E. T. Casler

MANY changes were made in the methods and equipment used in the mining of pebble phosphate rock in the generation immediately preceding the present World War and it would be extremely interesting to note the improvements that will be made during the next generation. Literally, much water has gone over the dam since the days when we used local cordwood for generating steam and drying pebble phosphate rock. belt-driven centrifugal pumps operated by steam engines. and floating dipper or centrifugal dredges; when we removed overburden by small steam shovels and transported it by dinkey locomotives and six-yard cars; when washing machinery was installed on wooden structures the washers being replaced every four to six years. Those were the days when men were plentiful, and 47 different mining companies were selling their products, based on .decidedly meager information; and. like so many mining operations, little thought was given to conservation. As the importance of phosphate rock has become more prominent in the thoughts of our economists, a more intelligent approach has been made to mining problems. Vast improvements have been made in the technique and processing of the phosphate matrix and stripping of overburden, which, in turn, have brought developments in machines and equipment and a more

Jan 1, 1944

The John Fritz Medal is awarded from time to time for notable scientific or industrial achievement by a board composed of representatives from the four engineering Societies. The members of the Board of Award for 1917 are: A. S. C. E. A. S. M. E. George F. Swain Ambrose Swasey, Charles Warren hunt, John, A. Brashear, Charles D. Marx, Frederick R. Hutton, Clemens Herschel. John R. Freeman. A. I. M. E. A. I. E. E. Gybbon Spilsbury, C. 0. Mailloux, Charles F. Rand , Paul M. Lincoln, Christopher R. Corning, John J. Carty, Benjamin B. Thayer. Harold W. Buck. The John Fritz Medal was awarded in January, 1917, to Dr. Henry Marion Howe, for his "investigations in metallurgy, especially in the metallography of Iron and Steel." The presentation ceremonies were held in the Auditorium of the United Engineering Societies' Building, New York, on Thursday evening, May 10. Mr. Ambrose Swasey, Chairman of the John Fritz Medal Board of Award, presided, and addresses were delivered by Dr. Rossiter W. Raymond, Secretary Emeritus of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and Dr. Ira N. Hollis, President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Professor Albert Sauveur, Chairman of the Board at the time the award was made, presented the medal, and the ceremonies concluded with the response of Dr. Howe.

Jan 7, 1917

By Frank S. McKenna, Myron A. Pugacz, Clarence E. Jackson

THE notched-bar impact test has proved worth while in certain applications as a test for control of the quality or the heat- . treatment of steel. In view of the serious thought that even so simple a test as the tensile test, has evoked during the past years, it is not surprising that the notched- bar impact test should have inspired much experimental work. The correlation of the great number of data has not been successful, although steady progress has been made toward a better understanding of this test. Progress has been made, especially, in the isolation of the effects of the many variables that control the results. The stress system imposed on a specimen with a notch is so complicated and un- predictable that no simple evaluation of the test has been possible. Because of this uncertainty, many engineers hesitate to use the notched-bar impact test, and this attitude may well continue until a better understanding of the effects of the variables in the test are available. Without doubt, any additional data that may be presented should be accompanied by as complete a description of the details of test as possible, so that it may be added to the general fund of information that is to serve as the basis for the theory of the notched-bar impact test. The many factors that may control the test results have been pointed out repeatedly. The importance of the effect of the type and dimensions of the specimen has been recognized. Most of the work reported by American investigators has been limited to small- size (Charpy) specimens tested as a simple beam; two types of notches (Fig. I) have been commonly used. Considerable data have also been presented by many investigators using a small specimen tested as a cantilever beam; this commonly being called the Izod test. Here, however, a shear component of stress makes the stress system even mare complex than that present in the simple beam type of test, hence a critical analysis is difficult. Much work has also been reported by investigators using the tension type of specimen. A second variable that must be con- trolled is the testing temperature. An indication that the tests were performed at room temperature is not sufficient, since in many steels a variation of a few degrees in the actual testing temperature may be sufficient to give an entirely different range of results. Other factors. such as the com- position and condition of the material being tested and the speed of test, should also be considered. Many investigators have contributed data and theoretical discussions on the problems encountered in notched-bar test-

Jan 1, 1944

By J. M. Locke

BRÜCKNER's revolving cylinders for roasting ores, etc., are now used at a number of the mills in Colorado and New Mexico, for the purpose of roasting and chloridizing silver ores, with highly satisfactory results, even from those cylinders of small size, erected before the many improvements of recent date. As examples of the larger improved cylinders, reference can be made to those erected at the Tennessee Reduction Works, Silver City, Grant County, New Mexico, and those which were built, in 1871, at the celebrated Caribou Silver Mill and Mines, Colorado, a mining enterprise which has proved so satisfactory as to have been lately sold to a Holland company for an enormous amount. These cylinders, as now constructed by Messrs. Lane & Bodley, of Cincinnati,, Ohio, are shown in Plate III, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation in perspective, Fig. 2 a longitudinal, and Fig. 3 a trans¬verse section. Fig. 4 is a sketch of a mill, with Brückner's cylinder. The exterior of the cylinder is a shell of boiler iron, 12 feet long by 5 feet 6 inches in diameter. The ends are partially closed with similar material, leaving in the centre a circular opening about 2 feet in diameter, bounded by a flange projecting several inches.. Upon one side is placed an opening closed by a hinged door. Upon the outside of the cylinder are bolted three bands, as shown in Fig. 1, in which the section of the first is square, and that of the third semi¬circular; the second, or middle band, is a strong spur gear. Passing through the cylinder are six pipes parallel to one another, in a plane at an angle of 15° to the axis of the cylinder; these pipes also lie in this plane at an angle of from 30° to 35° to the longitudinal, axis of the plane, as shown in Fig. 2, where the internal arrangement of the cylinder is seen, a perforated diaphragm being formed through part of the cylinder by means of perforated plates placed between

Jan 1, 1874

By Thos Gibson

THE object of taxation is the raising of a revenue. Unless a tax accomplishes this, it is a failure. The right to take for public purposes a part of the moneys obtained from the carrying on of private enterprises is an attribute possessed only by a lawful government, and may indeed he called the supreme attribute of government. In free, democratic communities this power must of necessity rest upon the consent of the governed. Power implies obligation, hence it is obviously the duty of a government, in framing a system of taxation, to provide one which, while effective in producing a revenue, is also just and impartial. It will be conceded that mines and mining property ought to bear a fair share of the public expenditure. The question is, upon what basis taxation should proceed. Two separate taxing principles are usually contended for: Taxation should be proportionate to the benefits received by the person or property taxed; taxation should be based on ability to pay. A third is sometimes added, taxation should have reference to the extent and value of the natural resources enjoyed. As applied to mining taxation, it is pointed out by those who support the first mentioned basis that, mines being usually situated in rocky and hence sparsely peopled regions, mining companies are frequently obliged to construct roads, railways, telegraph and telephone lines, schools, water and sewerage systems, and many other amenities and conveniences of civilization, the cost of which in regions better suited for agriculture and consequently more thickly populated, has either been defrayed locally, or can be spread over a sufficiently large taxable group of people to materially lighten the financial burden on the mine. The mining com¬pany, it is argued, having made these outlays, should receive credit for, them and be relieved of taxation to a corresponding extent. There may be some force in this contention, but the situation is capable of relief without attempting to place taxation upon so unworkable a basis as the value of benefits received. Who is to be the judge of these benefits, and how are they to be valued? The very existence of a mining company and its ability to carry on business in peace and security, depend on the prevalence of law and order, which is a result of good government. The state provides protection against violence, and courts of law for

Jan 4, 1919

By Thomas Read

AMONG the large number of deep mines in the world there are several which do not differ much in depth. The St. John del Rey mine, in Brazil, has reached a vertical depth of 6726 ft. below the top of its shaft; miners enter it, however, through an adit which intersects the shaft 324 ft. below its top, wherefore it might be said that the mine is really only 6400 ft. deep. In the Kolar gold field of India there are a number of deep shafts, one of which reaches to a vertical depth of 6140 ft. below surface. In South Africa also there are a number of deep shafts, the Village Deep being 6100 ft. early in 1921. The City Deep, Ltd., proposes to sink to a depth of 7000 ft. but pre-sumably by the time it does so the St. John del Rey will be deeper than that, since it has been increasing in depth at an average rate of about 150 ft. per year. The deepest shaft in the United States, the Tamarack No. 5, although it is only 5308 ft. deep, actually approaches nearer to the center of the earth (4100 ft. below sea level, as against 3958 ft. , at St. John del Rey). The deepest workings in the Calumet & Hecla go down to 4600 ft. below sea level. The St. John del Rey is not only the deepest, mine in the world, but it also is worked by the oldest registered English mining company, which was organ-ized in 1830 to work a mine at a considerable dis-tance from this one. That mine proved unprofitable, and in 1837 operations were transferred to the. deposit now under discussion, where operations have been prac-tically continuous ever since.

Jan 6, 1923

By W. Chubb

By measuring the hardness of metals at temperatures just above and just below their allotropic change point, it has been established that crystal structure has a real effect upon the strength of metals. The DPH of cobalt, iron, titanium, uranium, and zirconium have been measured at temperatures up to 1000°C. It was found that the body-centered-cubic crystal structure is always the softer structure when it is involved in an allotropic transformation. The close-packed and more complex structures are inherently harder, and may be expected, therefore, to be better base materials for high strength alloys. IT has been observed that for metals with nearly the same melting point (i.e., tin and lead, magnesium and aluminum) the metal with the more complex crystal structure has a higher tensile strength and hardness. It might be asked whether this effect is really caused by the difference in crystal structure; and, if so, just what is the contribution of crystal structure to the strength of these metals. A qualitative answer to these questions can be obtained by measuring the change in hardness produced by the change in structure in metals exhibiting allotropic forms. The evidence for changes in mechanical properties during allotropic transformations is rather meager. In 1909, Rosenhain and Humfrey' observed that "ß" iron showed much less deformation at the transformation temperature than a iron. By means of a torsion test, Lee found that iron bars were "critically plastic" at the a-7 transformation temperature. Sauerwald and Knehans have shown that the dynamic hardness of iron increases between 900" and 1000°C. In 1930, Albert Sauveur' presented data on the hardness, tensile strength, and torsional strength of pui-e iron up to 1000°C. He concluded, "At 900°C, the a iron transforms into y iron, and this is accompanied by increased strength and stiffness and decreased ductility." The same year, Schischokin" obtained data on the hardness of thallium at temperatures above and below its transformation temperature. His data are replotted on semilogarithmic coordinates as Fig. 1. The fact that his data fall on straight lines in this type of plot is believed to attest to the purity of his metal and the accuracy of his results. In 1941, Nadai and Manjoine" obtained tensile data on pure iron with an indicated increase in strength at about 900°C. These experiments make it quite evident that changes in mechanical properties occur when a metal transforms from one crystal structure to another; but, except for Schischokin's data on thallium, none of the measurements seem accurate enough to determine the relative magnitude of the mechanical property change. Materials The metals that have been examined for changes in hardness during transformation include l—as- deposited commercial electrolytic cobalt about 99.7 pct pure, 2—Armco ingot iron, 3—are-melted iodide titanium of a purity in excess of 99.8 pct, 4—uranium of a purity in excess of 99.5 pct, 5—are-melted iodide zirconium of a purity in excess of 99.8 pct, 6—annealed, 0.08 pct C, rimmed steel, and 7—commercially pure RC55 titanium. While the purity of the first five of these materials leaves something to be desired, it will be noted that the observed hardness discontinuities occurred at the accepted transformation temperatures. (These temperatures are indicated by vertical arrows in Figs. 1 and 3 through 7.) The last two materials are commercial alloys introduced to show the effect of minor alloying elements upon the hot hardness curve. Apparatus Hardnesses at elevated temperatures were determined by means of a vacuum hot hardness machine. A diagram showing the basic features of this machine appears as Fig. 2. This machine is essentially a deadweight hardness .machine in a furnace within a vacuum chamber. The sapphire-tipped indentor

Jan 1, 1956

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 Michel David

One of the most important questions that arises in ore estimation can be stated as follows: What is the error when one extends the grade of a sample to a certain volume? The theory of regionalized variables, with the concept of extension variance, provides a response to that crucial question for any kind of sample extended to any volume. For the usual "extensions" encountered in current mining practice, some simple results can be derived from that theory which was initiated by Dr. G. Matheron. These results have been applied to a stratiform lead-zinc deposit for which several estimations of grade, tonnage and related precision have been made for a series of grid sizes such as might be used in a progressive exploration program.

Jan 1, 1969

Discussion of the paper of Frank H. Kneeland, Safeguarding the Use of Mining Machinery. By B. F. Tillson and Arthur Williams. 1073 Discussion of the paper of Howard N. Eavenson, Safety Methods and Organization of United States Coal & Coke Co. By William H. Grady, Thomas W. Dawson, C. W. Goodale, J. Parke Charming, B. F. Tillson, George S. Rice, Arthur Hovey Storrs, Harry H. Stoek, Lawson Blenkinsopp, Arthur Williams, and Howard N. Eavenson. 1075 Discussion of the paper of J. Parke Channing, Enlarging the Worth of the Worker and the Perspective of the Employer. By Fred H. Rindge, Jr., S. A. Taylor, Elmer L. Corthell, and Philip W. Henry. . 1095 Discussion of the paper of Walther Mathesius, High Blast Heats in Mesaba Practice. By Joseph W. Richards, W. A. Forbes, J. E. Johnson, Jr., H. P. Howland, and Walther Mathesius. . 1100 Discussion of the paper of W. R. Shinier, Effect of Finishing Temperatures of Rails on Their Physical Properties and Microstructure. By William R. Webster, Henry M. Howe, A. A. Stevenson, G. K. Burgess, and Samuel L. Hoyt . 1107 Discussion of the paper of George K. Burgess and Sir Robert A. Hadfield, Sound Steel Ingots and Rails. By Albert Sauveur, Henry M. Howe, Henry D. Hibbard, Joseph W. Richards, F. W. Wood, and George K. Burgess. . 1112 Discussion of the paper of Henry M. Howe and Arthur G. Levy, Are the Deformation Lines in Manganese Steel Twins or Slip Bands? By J. E. Stead 1116 Discussion of the paper of F. C. Langenberg and R. G. Webber, Structures and Hysteresis Loss in Medium-Carbon Steel. By Henry M. Howe. . . 1117 Discussion of the paper of Charles H. MacDowell, German and Other Sources of Potash Supply. By George S. Rice, Charles H. MacDowell, and V.C. Grubnau . . 1118 Discussion of the paper of Joel H. Watkins, White-Burning Clays of the Southern Appalachian States. By H. Ries 1120

Jan 5, 1915

By Ta M. Li

How do you convert a copper-zinc resource into a viable economic mining operation? This problem, unlike most, was complicated by the additional presence of a sub-arctic climate, highest labor costs in the world, low-grade copper-zinc values, depressed market prices, and a complex mineralization.

Jan 12, 1977

By Dan White

Stress measurements taken at Climax, El Teniente, Henderson, Lakeshore and Urad mines indicate that the deposits cited are generally subject to an inclined stress field that can be highly anisotropic. The horizontal stresses vary significantly between deposits and exceed the measured vertical stresses at Henderson and El Teniente mines. Experience at Henderson, Lakeshore and Urad mines is used to suggest a relationship between cavability and the premining stress. In poorly fractured, high strength rock masses, high stresses can assist the caving process. In well fractured, low strength rock masses, caving is ensured by breakage along fracture planes. The relationship between ground weight and the premining stress is also investigated. Ground weight problems appear to be most related to the competence of the ground rather than the magnitude of the premining stress as supported by experience at Climax and El Teniente mines. Recent developments in block caving favor the extraction of poorly fractured, high stressed rock. Accompanying the development of these deposits are new problems such as rock bursts. These pose particular problems to mine designers in that no experience currently exists in combatting rock burst problems at block caving mines.

Jan 1, 1984

By William R. Barton

It is generally conceded as axiomatic that the aggregate producer and the average urban resident have mutually incompatible goals. The producer wants to be near his mass market and the average resident wants him as far away as possible. The traditional economic decision to mine local material to avoid transportation costs is increasingly challenged by zoning and planning bodies and by citizens' groups. This conflict generated much written and spoken word and offered opportunity for great flights of rhetoric. The pressure on the producer also has forced re¬appraisal of the need for the classic confrontation with indications that much of the conflict is more apparent than substantive. In New England several factors combine to increase complexity of the siting problem. It is a region of high land values and population density. Due to the proximity of metropolitan areas, even rural communities have experienced a prolif¬eration of environmental groups with concomitant enthusiastic regional planning and critical watch over land use. In New England where there is little public understanding of the necessity for, and the realities of, mineral production a sophisticated approach to aggregate production site location is required.

Jan 1, 1975

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES OF LOCAL SECTIONS New York LOUIS D. HUNTOON, Chairman. ARTHUR S. DWIGHT, Vice-Chairman. THOMAS T. READ, Secretary, Woolworth Bldg., New York, N. Y. E. MALTBY SHIPP, Treasurer. GEORGE F. KUNZ, W. DE L. BENEDICT. Boston ROBERT H. RICHARDS, Chairman. ALBERT SAUVEUR, Vice-Chairman. AUGUSTUS H. EUSTIS, Secretary-Treasurer, 131 State St., Boston, Mass. TIMOTHY W. SPRAGUE, HENRY A. WENTWORTH.

Jan 2, 1914

By L. D. Jaffe, R. K. Pitler

IT would clearly be advantageous to produce molten titanium, suitable for alloying and casting, directly from the relatively inexpensive tetra-chloride, without using a metallic reducing agent. Accordingly, a preliminary investigation has been made of the production of titanium by hydrogen reduction of the tetrachloride in an electric arc furnace. For the reaction: TiCl4(g) + 2H2(g) ? Ti(s) + 4HCl(g), Lockhart and his colleagues' have calculated equilibrium constants at 800" to 1500°K, based on tables of Brewer.' Extrapolating these data on the assumption that the heat of reaction varies linearly with temperature, and using Brewer's value for the heat of fusion, there is obtained for the reaction: TiCl4(g) + 2H2(g) ? Ti(l) + 4HCl(g) an equilibrium constant at 2100°K (100" above the melting point) Kp = (PHCl)4/pTlcl4 (Ph2)2 = 0.167 atm. If this is correct, starting with hydrogen saturated with TiC14 at 25°C, where the vapor pressure of the latter3 is 12.6 mm, and maintaining the overall pressure at 1 atm, 99 1/4 pct of the TiC14 would be reduced to Ti at equilibrium. An arc furnace designed for the melting of titanium and lined with water-cooled copper was used for the preliminary experimental check. Its inside diameter was 2 7/16 in. and height 6 in. The water-cooled electrode was tipped with 3/4 in. diam tung-sten. In the one run carried out, the furnace was charged with a starting batch of 293.35 g of scrap titanium,' analyzing 99.24 pct Ti. After the system was twice pumped out and flushed with argon to remove air, the arc was struck in argon and kept at 400 amp dc, electrode negative, for 1 min to melt the starting batch. Commercial tank hydrogen, dried by passing over silica gel and bubbled through technical grade TiC14 at room temperature, was then admitted to the furnace. The inlet tube directed this gas downward toward the arc and melt; the gas outlet was at the top of the furnace. The quantity of gas passed through was not measured accurately but is estimated to be about 50 liters per min at a few mm of mercury above atmospheric pressure. The arc was held in the H2-TiC14 mixture at 400 amp with little difficulty. After 10 min the arc burned through the copper lining above the melt, admitting water and ending the run. (This had happened frequently in straight melting runs under argon, and is not thought due to the atmosphere used.) In the furnace were found an ingot, several small pieces, and a little metallic powder, evidently formed when water entered the hot furnace. Some titanium also clung to the electrode. The portions were weighed and separately analyzed for titanium. Their total weight was 321.76 g of 94.82 pct overall purity. Much of the impurity consisted of tungsten broken off when the titanium was removed from the electrode. No detailed impurity analysis was made because the starting materials were impure and flooding the furnace introduced further contamination. Thus, the metal recovered contained 305.08 g Ti, as compared to 291.12 g in the starting batch. Titanium could not have been carried over from previous melting runs in the furnace, as the interior was sandblasted and the electrode ground clean before the run. Evidently at least 13.96 g of Ti were produced from TiCl4. Since this would require complete reduction of 430 liters of TiCl, gas at 12.6 mm of Hg, the efficiency of the process must have been rather high. Experimental work is continuing. No reason is seen why the process could not be scaled up to the size of a 30-ton steel-melting arc furnace. In a large unit there would be a large molten pool from which liquid metal could be withdrawn for alloying and casting. The problems of electrodes and power supply are similar to those arising in arc furnaces for melting titanium. Unreacted TiC14 and the HC1 in the exhaust gases could be recovered; unreacted H2 could be dried and re-used. The melt would be saturated with hydrogen, whose solubility in liquid titanium is unknown. Small amounts of hydrogen seem to have little effect on the properties of titanium.5 If the amount introduced was so large as to impair properties or cause casting difficulties, it could be reduced by holding the melt under an inert gas or by pumping on it, prior to casting. Acknowledgment The authors would like to thank I. Preble and M. Goldman for their valuable aid in the experimental work and the thermodynamic calculations, respectively. References 1R. J. Lockhart, J. J. Ward, M. J. Hussey, and J. W. Clegg: In unpublished report, "U. S. Air Force Project Rand. Titanium and Titanium Base Alloys." Battelle Memorial Institute (1949) 37-44. 2 L. Brewer et al: Chemistry and Metallurgy of Miscellaneous Materials—Thermodynamics. Ed. by L. L. Quill. pp 13-39, 60-192. (1950). McGraw-Hill Book Co. 3 K. Arii: Scientific Reports. Tohoku Imp. Univ. (1933) 22, 182. 4 R. S. Dean, J. R. Long, F. S. Wartman, and E. L. Anderson: Transactions AIME (1946) 166, 369-381; Metals Technology (Feb. 1946) TP 1961E. * R. I. Jaffee and I. E. Campbell: Transactions AIME (1949) 185, 646-654; Journal of Metals (Sept. 1949) TP 26813.

Jan 1, 1951

William M. Courtis, Detroit, Mich. (communication to the Secretary*):—I have a few items to add to the history of the Lake Valley mines. In December, 1879, I was sent to the Bassic mine of Colorado and then to Lone mountain, near Silver City, N. M., and to various copper-camps in Arizona. I staged from Glorietta, N. M., to Tucson, Ariz., stopping at Silver City to see the Cosette mine. This mine led to the opening of the Lake Valley mines, and is a deposit of similar formation. New Year's day, 1880, found me crossing the Rio Grande above the Jornado del Muerto. At Aleman, Victorio's band crossecl four hours ahead of us. We picked up four wounded soldiers to take to Fort Bayard, for during the day the colored troops under General Hatch had been driving the Indians back through the San Andreas mountains. The traveler of to-day little realizes the dangers of these trips, when over very rough roads we made about 100 miles in a day and a night. I subsequently made this trip six times, up to 1882, and each time I missed an Indian attack by from one to four days. The day I arrived at Silver City news had come of the massacre of 75 women and children at the San Francisco ranch. The fighting-men of' Silver City had gone to rescue others. I was the only passenger from Socorro, N. M., until we picked up the soldiers. The next day we came suddenly on 5 of Victorio's band, but we had picked up several miners, so our stage bristled with guns, and we mere let alone. At or near my stone quarry, 6 miles from Socorro, 9 men, were killed by the band that, a day or two after, killed George. Daly, Lieutenant White, and all their men. During this raid, our miners and women at the mine slept in the tunnel. At the Cosette mine I had 35 men at work. These Indian raids had

Jan 1, 1910