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Theo. B. ComstocK, Los Angeles, Cal. (communication to the Secretary*):—Mr. Blake's recent paper upon this topic undoubtedly partly explains the rationale of a part of the known facts bearing upon discolorat'ion and encrustation of rocks. His quotation from Humboldt, with reference to certain South American examples, may be questioned in the light of further facts, which do not appear to bear out the great traveler's theory of causation. There is no available evidence that the waters of the tropical rivers referred to by Professor Blake contain dissolved organic matter in the varying proportions required to demonstrate Humboldt's guess, nor do the concomitant facts in any manner bear out the hypothesis that the blackening in one case and its absence in the other may, perhaps, be traced to differences in the chemical reactions of the respective waters. Careful consideration of Professor Blake's illustrations, in connection with numerous personal observations extending over widely-scattered areas, convinces me that elements of

Jan 1, 1905

F. E. Bachman, Port Henry, N. T. (communication to the Secretary*):—In discussing Mr. o.o.Laudig's paper, the Action of Blast-Furnace Gases Upon Various Iron-Ores,' I took the ground that Mesabi-ore explosions were entirely mechanical; but more observation and later experience has caused me to

Jan 1, 1905

By F. Louis Grammer

The rapid advances on the mechanical side of blast-furnace practice have not always been accompanied by a proper appreciation of the metallurgical requirements. This is illustrated occasionally by the improper use of automatic barrow chargingdevices and bins (introduced at the expense of accuracy in weight), with ores of irregular composition or ores that have been poorly graded. The 100-ft. blast-furnace has not always been advantageous, and in many instances the increase in the number of tuyeres, from 8 or 12 to 20, has resulted in decreased output. The data pertaining to this division of blast-furnace practice are now sufficiently complete to allow inferences to be made. The use of fine ores has indicated the manner in which large outputs could be obtained, as it has emphasized the fact that intimacy of contact. between gases and ore, and coke and air, were more important than the time of exposnre. It was reasonable to suppose that if more points of contact were made between the air and the coke, their union would occur in a shorter period of time, and the coke would be burned more rapidly in the same-sized hearth, and an increased output thereby obtained. In consequence of this theory, many furnace men upon relining a furnace increased the number of tuyeres from 8 or 12 to 20, or even more, frequently with unfortunate results. If the number of tuyeres in an old furnace is

Jan 1, 1904

By Halbert Powers Gillette

In every chemical reaction heat is either developed or absorbed, and this plus or minus heat of formation is as definite in quantity as the weights of the reacting elements. In this paper I shall show that each chemical element and each chemical radical has its own definite heat-valency,—a fact which, so far as I know, has hitherto escaped the attention of investigators, but, I feel sure, will be admitted after the demonstration here given, and may lead to some practical conclusions of value. When Berthelotys " law of maximum work " was found to have so many inexplicable exceptions, the pendulum of a scientific theory swung away from a recognition of the truth underlying that proposition; and this reaction went so far that not only has thermal chemistry been relatively neglected by recent investigators, but it is not uncommon now to find textbooks on physical chemistry which practically ignore all that Thomsen, Berthelot and others have done. To this temporary tendency of thought I attribute the failure to recognize the principles herein announced and explained. Not long ago, while studying tables of the formation-heat of various salts, I noticed that in this respect all potassium salts in solution differ from the corresponding sodium salts by 9.3 cal.1 I found also that similar differences exist between other salts, not only when the basic radical is varied, while the acid radical remains constant, but also when the acid radical is the variable. Thus chlorine salts in solution differ from bromine salts in this respect by 10.9 cal. Upon further study, I found that Thomsen had noted similar constant differences, but, so far as I can ascertain, he appears to have attached no great significance thereto.

Jan 1, 1904

By John Langton

In determining what kind of pourer should be adopted for the works of the Moctezuma Copper Co. at Nacozari, Sonora, Mexico, certain considerations imposed by local conditions had to be taken into account. Water.—During most of the year the water-supply is abundant for all purposes, but it dwindles rapidly when the dry season sets in, reaching a minimum flow which is entirely undergrouad. It was evident, that with the greatest care in keeping down the unavoidable loss of water in milling and smelting, these operations and hence the capacity of the works mould ultimately be limited for about two months of the year by the small watersupply available at the period of minimum flow. Transportation.—The nearest railway terminus was in Arizona, at the international boundary-line; and the price of supplies at that point would be enhanced at Nacozari by the additional cost of a 90-mile wagon-haul. During the rainy season, transport to Nacozari was much impeded, and at times made impossible, by the condition of the roads. Hence, to insure continuous operation at the works, it would be necessary to provide for hauling the year's supplies, including fuel for power and coke for smelting, in less than eleven months. In other words, the average freight delivered daily at the works should be at least 10 per cent. more than the average daily consumption. For moderate quantities of freight, pack-carriage by burros is astonishingly cheap. But it has a capacity-limit which is generally very soon reached. A 200-lb. load, and 10 miles a day, 5 with and 5 without load, is the full capacity of a burro. This means one burro per ton-mile of the round trip; and,

Jan 1, 1904

By Edwin A. Sperry

In 1892 I tested an ore, which was peculiarly difficult to treat, on several concentrators then in general use, including t,he Frue-vanner, the Luhrig table and the Cornish buddle. Owing to the character of the ore it had to be crushed- to a very fine state of division, and the results obtained were far from satisfactory; a large proportion of the values was lost in the slimes, which indicated the necessity of a very careful sizing before dressing. Even after reworking some of the slime-tailings, the results, in my opinion, were not as good aa those which might be obtained on a table designed more especially for the handling of slime. Although the subject of slime-concentration has occupied the attention of many engineers who have threshed the field quite thoroughly, the results obtained in my work led to a careful

Jan 1, 1904

Jan 1, 1904

By W. B. Clarke

It is the purpose of this paper to discuss briefly some of the recent developmellts in connection with the use of electrical apparatus for the mining of coal. For several years electricity has been employed extensively for the distribution of power, primarily for the operation of mine-locomotives and chain coal-cutters, and secondarily for motors driving pumps, ventilating-fans, rope-haulage, conveyors, crushers, auger-drills, coke-oven larries, etc. The severe and peculiar conditions which attend the development and distribution of power for the operation of coalmining machinery constitute a field to which the electricmotor seems to be especially adapted. The underground use of steam-engines, to any great extent, is impracticable for obvious reasons. The much higher efficiency of the electrical system is a potent argument in its favor as compared with compressed air, which, under ordinary circumstances, should only be employed for the operation of rock-drills and coal" punchers." The conditions in many mines prohibit the under-cutting of coal with a chain-machine; and the compressed-air " puncher," with its very low efficiency, is extensively employed. There have been no recent important improvements in the design and construction of the chain-machine, although, of course, minor changes are continually being made. More time and attention are being paid now than ever before to the details of mining-machinery, with the idea of eliminating the weaknesses which have been developed, and especially of facilitating repairs and renewals. Electric mine-locomotives are very extensively employecl for the haulage of coal on the main entries and the branchheadings; but in the majority of coal-mines the cars are still

Jan 1, 1904

By George Smith

ChillaQoe is situated in latitude 17" S., about 138 miles from the port of Cairns, with which it is now connected by rail. A township has been established on the banks of Chillagoe creek, a perennial stream of irregular volume crossing the field almost at rightrangles, nearly midway between the mining-camps of Calcifer and Mungana, which have been formed at the southeastern and western extremes of the field respectively. This situation was selected because of the water-supply and its proximity to the site most suitable for the erection of reductionworks. By its central position it commands the whole of the mines. The altitude above sea-level is about 1200 ft., whereas that of Calcifer and Mungana is 1400 ft.—a difference sufficient to account for a materially higher temperature at Chillagoe. The surrounding limestone bluffis add by radiation to the heat, and, at the same time, prevent the cool breezes from passing freely through the town; consequently, the temper* ture, which is high throughout the year, and especially so during the summer months, is here ge~ierally very oppressive also. The general trend of the field is southeast and northwest, and its length about 18 miles, with an average width of 5 miles; the approximate area is thus 90 sq. miles. The surrounding mineral-district is, however, much more extensive, and numerous other mines, sprcad over wide areas and producing a variety of minerals, exist in the same or parallel belts of mineralized country, of which Chillagoe proper covers but a very small portion. Immense bluffs of limestone, wollastonite and conglomerate, rising in places to nearly 300 ft., and so~netimes nearly a quarter-mile across, give the field a very picturesque and interesting appearance. The limestone has been classified as Devo-

Jan 1, 1904

By Herbert E. Field

The study of the condition and action of carbon in iron and steel is singularly complicated, because one has to consider, also, many contemporaileous reactions foreign to the one under investigation. Great difficulty is experienced in studying iron in the melted state, or during its various treatments in a solid condition, hence such an inquiry must be confined chiefly to a study of the original substance, of the conditions surrounding its treatment, and of the finished product. From a knowledge of these three things, we must form our own conclusions as to what takes place during the transition-period. Inasmuch as it is impossible to determine quantitatively the changes which take place in iron during the various processes of treatment and alteration, we are forced at once into the field of theory for an explanation of many of the phenomena for which we have to account. A recapitulation of the recognized properties of iron and carbon, and of the conditions in which they exist in iron and steel, may be useful as an introduction to the discussion of the subject. Chemically pure iron is soft, malleable and easily welded. It carmot be hardened or tempered, as these terms are understood in relat.ion to steel. In contact with a magnet, it becomes magnetic, but loses this property when the magnet is removed. It is unfitted for castings on account of its lack of fluidity. Those properties of iron which render it valuable as a commercial product must, therefore, be primarily due to foreign substances contained in the iron; and the great variety of these properties is attained by changes in the amount and nature of these impurities, and by the physical treatment of the iron while it contains them. The following properties of carbon make it a prominent factor

Jan 1, 1904

By Anson G. Betts

A solution of lead-fluosilicate, containing an excess of fluosilicic acid, has been found to work very satisfactorily as an electrolyte for refining lead. It conducts the current well, iseasily handled and stored, non-volatile and stable under electrolysis, may be made to contain a considerable amount of dissolved lead, and is easily prepared from inexpensive materials. It possesses, however, in common with other lead electrolytes, the defect of yielding a deposit of lead lacking in solidity, which grows in crystalline branches toward the anodes, causing short circuits. But if a reducing-action (practically accomplished by the addition of gelatine or glue) be given to the solution, a perfectly solid and dense deposit is obtained, having very nearly the same structure as electrolytically-deposited copper, and a specific gravity of about 11.36—that of cast-lead. Lead-fluosilicate may be crystallized in very soluble, brilliant crystals, resembling those of lead-nitrate and containing four molecules of water of crystallization, with the formula PbSiF,,4H20. This salt dissolves at 150 C. in 28 per cent. of its weight of water, making a sirupy solution of 2.38 sp. gr. Heated to 60° C., it melts in its water of crystallization. A neutral solution of lead-fluosilicate is partially decomposed on heating, with the formation of a basic insoluble salt and free fluosilicic acid, which keeps the rest of the salt in solution. This decomposition ends when the solution contains, perhaps, 2 per cent. of free acid; and the solution may then be evaporated without further decomposition. The solutioi~s desired for refining are not liable to this decomposition, since they contain much more than 2 per cent. of free acid. The electrical conductivity depends mainly on the acidity of the solution. My first experiments were carried out without the addition of gelatine to the fluosilicate solution. The lead-deposit con-

Jan 1, 1904

Jan 1, 1904

By Albert Arents

This test is based upon the fact that metallic copper will precipitate gold and silver upoil its surface from acid solutions. Of course, the fact is not new, but its application is probably so. I have used the method with success; it recommends itself by the rapidity and ease with which it may be carried on. An auriferous cyanide solution, if made acid with sulphuric acid and boiled with finely divided, pulverulent, metallic copper, will, within a short time, deposit its gold-content on the copper. Any silver in the solution is also precipitated. If this mixture is now filtered, the filter and contents may at once be subjected to a crucible assay treatment, and its lead buttons cupelled and determined. If, instead of taking cement-copper, or any metallic copperpowder, a solution of bluestone is used after acidification, and a few small pieces of sheet aluminum are added, and the solution boiled until all the copper has come down, the result as to the precipitation of gold and silver is the same. This modification takes more time and attention in boiling. If aluminum has been used, it should go into the crucible with the filter and

Jan 1, 1904

By F. L. Ransome

The following paper aims to present in a much condensed form the salient results of a detailed geological study of the Bisbee quadrangle, Arizona, carried on during the latter part of the year 1902. It is essentially an abstract of the final official report which will shortly appear in the series of professional papers of the U. S. Geological Survey, accompanied by maps, sections and illustrations. I. Geography. The Bisbee quadrangle, which includes the Warren mining district, lies in Cochise county in the southeastern part of Arizona. It is inclosed between the meridians 109" 45' and 110" 00' and the parallels 31" 30' and 31" 201, the latter being locally the Mexican boundarg line. The area of the quadrangle is about 170 square miles, and includes the southeastern half of the Mule Mountains, one of the smaller of the isolated ranges characteristic of this part of Arizona. The Mule Mountains, while less markedly linear than the Dragoon, Huachuca, Chiricahua, and other neighboring ranges, have a general NW-SE. trend. They may be considered as extending from the old mining town of Tombstone to the Mexican border, a distance of about 30 miles. On the northwest they are separated by the broad, flat floor of Sulphur Spring Valley from the Chiricahua Range, and on the southeast by the similar broad valley of the Rio San Pedro from the Huachuca Range. The maximum width of the range is about 12 miles, and its greatest elevation attained by Mt. Ballard, west of Bisbee, is 7,400 ft. above sea-level. An index-map, showing the geographical position of the Bisbee quadrangle, is shown in Fig. 1. The town of Bisbee (Fig. 2), with an estimated population of 6,000, is crowded into a few narrow confluent ravines near the

Jan 1, 1904

By S. E. Bretherton

Mr. AllaW Gibb, of Mount Perry, Queensland, Australia, in an interesting and instructive paper,* describes fully the great difficulties metallurgists encounter in seeking to produce marketable copper by smelting refractory ores containing arsenic, antimony and bismuth. After reading this description, I prepared a paper for the Institute, which was, however, through a misunderstanding on my part, published in the San Francisco Mining and S'cie~ztiJic Press of April 4, 1903, after its acceptance by the Council, and without credit to the Institute. Consequently, it cannot be reprinted for the Transactions of the Institute; and I can only here summarize its contents and conclusions, referring the reader to the article above named for further particulars. In that article I omitted the col~sideration of bismuth, which we do not encounter in our smelting at Val Verde, and added lead and zinc, which Mr. Gibb had not discussed; and I undertook to shorn, by the record of a year's practice of the Val Verde Copper Co., Arizona, that copper-ores containing arsenic, antimony, lead and zinc may be successfully smelted, without preliminary roasting, in an ordinary blast-furnace with hotblast, making a normal slag, such as one would aim to make under ordinary conditions with cold-blast, so as to produce a marketable matte, containing not less than 45 per cent. of copper, free from arsenic and antimony, and below the limit in lead and zinc penalized by the refineries.

Jan 1, 1904

By Charles W. Dickson

Jan 1, 1904

Jan 1, 1904

By Francis L. Bosqui

The following paper embodies a report which I made on the filter-press treatment of slimes at the Liberty Bell mine, Telluride, Colo. At the time this report was submitted, the management deemed it wiser to defer the installation of so costly a plant as the one required, in the hope that some of the many investigators in the field might soon evolve a cheaper and more perfect method of slimes-treatment, and one better suited to the conditions at Telluride. The Liberty Bell ore consists essentially of quartz and clay, with iron pyrites disseminated through the quartz in very fine particles. There is considerable iron and manganese stain in some of the ore, the latter especially in the clays, which are sometimes quite black. Occasionally particles of galena, zincblende, gray copper and a few other minerals are seen, but they are comparatively rare, and not in sufficient quantity to affect considerations of treatment. Free gold is occasionally seen in the quartz, and one or two instances of mire silver have been observed. The milling-plant consists of an 80-stamp amalgamating mill which crushes through 20-mesh screens; 20 Wilfley concentrating tables, taking out, in iron sulphides, about 2 per cent. of the total ore crushed; and a cyanide plant consisting of two tiers of 33 ft. vats, five in each tier, fed by revolving pipe-die tributers. The slimes overflow from the upper settling tanks through gates with adjustable outlets, and thence to a large canvas-plant, which efects only a small saving. This slimes product, of which about 100 tons escape per day (or 38 per cent. of the total ore crushed), contains about 3 per cent. of dry solids. Of this approximately 93 per cent. will pass a 200-mesh screen. The slimes range in value between $3.90 and $4.87 per ton, the values being about equally distributed between gold and silver. The actual averages for ore and slimes during the years 1900-

Jan 1, 1904

By R. W. Raymond

The tidings of Mr. Hewitt's death, cabled to me at Rome, Italy, brought me a great shock as well as a sincere sorrow. I had left him, a few weeks before, not indeed in vigorous health, but still quite able to command recognition as a continued power in public affairs; and I thought him destined to enjoy for many years that final stage of a long, active and honored career, in which, having passed beyond the struggles and rivalries of business and of politics, his life and character could be justly appreciated by all men, like some noble work of art, already crowned, and marked henceforward "hors de concours." Moreover, he was, and would be to the end, not merely the passive recipient of admiration and esteem, but the source of iuspiring appeals, effective warnings and wise counsel. His rich and varied experience he had placed at the service of his fellows. His lightest word was weighty, and those who contradiEted him only injured their own cause thereby. Great trusts (true " trusts," in the old and proper sense of the term), like the Cooper Union, the Carnegie Institution, and others, still commanded his disinterested services. Great principles of liberty and of justice continued to be reinforced in perilous crises by his powerful advocacy; great measures were daily receiving from him a decisive impetus. No wonder it seemed to. us that this happy period of reward so well earned, and of beneacence so welcome to innumerable recipients of its blessing, must continue yet awhile. We did not expect the night instailtly to engulf the full-orbed sun. Nor, indeed, has this been our experience; in this instance, the sunset has left an afterglow more luminous than many a noonday. For the principal data contained in the following brief sketch of Mr. Hewitt's life, I rely upon memoranda personally approved by hirn, some months before his death, for my use in

Jan 1, 1904

By Louis Katona

The practical execution of the design for rolling-mills presented by the writer at the Paris meeting* of thc Iron and Steel Institute in 1900 involves the determination of some questions not yet discussed, among which is the determinatioir of the amount of power required to perform the rolling of pieces of iron and steel of given dimensions. It is necessary to know this factor if we would put motors of proper capacity to the respective pairs of rolls, or, rcciprocally, if, having standard motors at our disposal, we would design grooves to suit them. Moreover, this factor is involved in giving right dimensions to every part of the rolls and housings. Expert designers of engines for driving rolling-mills of the present type receive very indefinite directions, such as: that the motor is to drive a light, medium or heavy train; that it must work with fly-wheel or reversing gear; that the number of revolutions per minute should not exceed 40 or 60, and that at a given speed the power developed should be from 100 to 200 H. P., or from 1,000 to 2,500 13. P. It frequently happens, however, that an cngine of 200 H. P. is forced under the circumstances to press or develop as much as 300 H. P., while, on the other hand, the ,1,500-11. P. engine may be rolling-stock which could be worked with a maximum expenditure of 60 to 80 H. P. Of course such variatior~s as these do not permit the best adjustment of parts or the best economy of power and fuel. The design of roll-trains is even more vaguely limited. Every part of a train, from the point where it connects with the engine to the last groove in the rolls, bears evidence that there are no rules for calculating even approximately the dimensions of the main-shafts, couplings, pinions, gears, rolls, trunnions,

Jan 1, 1904