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COMPARED with the equipment used in most industrial processes, the open-hearth furnace has a relatively short life. The most important quality of an open-hearth refractory, therefore, is its rate of failure. This discussion of the physics and chemistry of the individual refractory materials will keep upper- most the question "Why, how, and where does it fail?" CAUSES OF FAILURE The principal causes of failure of open-hearth refractories are, in their order of importance: 1.Reaction with iron oxides. 2. Reaction with slag. 3. Flow and failure under load. 4. Melting. 5. Spalling. 6. Mechanical breakage. Reaction with Iron Oxides and Slag. Reaction with iron oxides and slag is by far the most important cause of failure. Liquid iron oxide comes near to being the "universal solvent" sought for by the alchemists. Among the materials commonly used in the open-hearth furnace, magnesia has the greatest resistance to this liquid and fireclay the least. The relations of iron and oxygen at high temperatures are illustrated in Fig 14-18. The liquid iron oxide that forms wherever iron is in contact with air or combustion gases cannot be given a definite formula. The percentage of oxygen at steelmaking temperatures may range from 21 to 28 (iron 79 to 72), depending upon the temperature and the oxygen pressure and also upon whether or not the liquid is in equilibrium with metallic iron. Oxide mixtures exist not only in the solid and liquid phases but also in the vapor phase, for metallic iron and its oxides have

Jan 1, 1951

By William P. Mason

FoR reasons unnecessary to enter into here, I was called upon to contradict the statement that " closed metallic vessels, partly filled with water and heated, do not become shattered by violent explosion, but simply rupture by over-pressure;" and the following experimental results were obtained in support of my position : A piece of drawn brass tubing (telescope-tubing) 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 15 inches long was closed at both ends by screwing on heavy caps of bronze. Before closing the second end the vessel was half filled with river water, the cap was then screwed on, and the closed vessel was supported upon two iron anvils, and heated in the interval between the supports by a large Bunsen lamp. The resulting explosion (which was doe to over-pressure only and not to any more occult cause) was exceedingly violent. No small damage was done to the room in which the experiment was undertaken; and the noise was like that of a cannon. Those of the pieces which could be recovered are shown in Fig. 1. Upon examining the wreck, it was noticed that one of the heavy bronze end-caps had preserved its circular section and still contained that portion of the barrel of the tube which had been screwed into it, while the other end-cap contained no portion of the tube, and was moreover sprung into a shape more or less elliptical, as if from excessive lateral strain. It was also observed that the large pieces of the shattered boiler predominated towards the end which had been closed by the un-sprung end-cap. The reasonable explanation, in view of the facts, was, that over-pressure had caused the boiler to yield through the screw-threads at A B, Fig. 2, and the righthand end-cap had blown off, thus leaving the boiler half filled with water, greatly super-heated for the new (atmospheric) pressure to which it was suddenly reduced; that this water had consequently sprung instantly into steam with dynamite effect, shattering the tube and springing the remaining end-cap. The large pieces would be expected at the open end of the boiler, as at that point the "tamping "would have been that of the atmosphere only. This explanation assumes a rupture to have been caused by gradually increased pres-

Jan 1, 1893

By A. M. E. Eilers

No one who has visited our Western mining districts, and studied the economical part of the beneficiation of the ores occurring all over that vast extent of country, can underrate the high importance of the above subject. By far the larger number of the districts which contain smelting ores, i.e., argentiferous and auriferous lead, or copper ores, are situated in the Great Basin, that great plateau between the Rocky Mountains on the east, and the Sierra Nevada on the west, almost the whole of which is comprised at present in the boundaries of Nevada, Utah, and part of Arizona. This region is essentially a barren country. The extreme dryness of the atmosphere permits but a scanty vegetation in the plains ; and even in the detached mountain-chains running through it-generally from N. to S., or from N. W. to S. E.-there are no trees found except dwarfed pines and mahogany, at the head of sheltered ravines, and a few cottonwoods and willows, which fringe the insignificant streams, before the water sinks in the arid plains. Nearly all the mountain-chains in this region are rich in silver ores. That class of these ores which is adapted to amalgamation, and rich in silver, has been worked with profit for more than ten years. But before the advent of the transcontinental railways, mining was restricted to these ores alone, and the consumption of fuel could be met with the scanty supply of forest trees in the immediate vicinity of the mining districts. Since, however, the Union and Central Pacific Railroads have brought the Great Basin nearer to the commercial centres of the East and the Pacific coast, thus reducing the expenses of freight and labor materially, other silver deposits, containing poorer ores in greater abundance, have been rapidly taken

Jan 1, 1873

By Robert H. Richards

OF the several professions-the chemist, the civil engineer, the mining engineer, the mechanical engineer-the courses of instruction, as arranged at the scientific schools, differ considerably as to the amount of practical information which the student is able to gain. The analytical chemist has facility for a very thorough review of the processes which he will be called upon to perform. The student in civil engineering by his field practical learns the use of his tools and the art of taking field-notes. The mechanical engineering student is in the vicinity of machine-shops, which he can visit, and at which . he can work. The student in mining engineering has no such advantages. The mines are at a distance, and the railroad fare to get to them is oftentimes an insuperable difficulty. The aim of these laboratories is essentially to give to the student in mining and metallurgy a chance to study on a small scale the practical parts of his profession. We cannot, in a small laboratory, build a mine to timber, to work, and to survey; we cannot make artificial quicksands and other impediments to mining. In short, we cannot study exploration; but we can study the mechanical preparation and the subsequent smelting of ores. Before presenting the plan of these laboratories it may be interesting to indicate the progress of the idea from its beginning. During the summer of 1870 President Runkle visited the mines of Colorado, and while there, conceived the idea of making an expedition with the mining students to some of the Western mining regions. He talked over the scheme with many railroad and mining men, and everywhere received encouragement. In the summer of 1871 the Institute party visited the mines of Colorado, and spent six weeks in taking notes of them. President Runkle here conceived the idea of building up a mining and metallurgical laboratory ; and by the aid of Booth & Co. of San Francisco, a stamp-mill was obtained, with the Washoe silver-working apparatus. During the year

By John Birkinbine

A RETROSPECT of the growth of the production of pig-iron for the past half century would be the history of the invention and introduction of heated blast as applied to the smelting of iron ores. As the apparatus employed was improved in conception and construction, the economical operation of the furnaces to which it was attached was the more marked, and the production correspondingly increased. To compare the original iron box placed over a coal fire with the modern hot-blast stove, with its combustion-chamber, gas-burners, and air-regulators, would be as unfavorable to the former as to contrast the product of the little Blauöfen with the yield of the improved furnaces of to-day. But, as these little Blauöfen were the germs from which the larger plants have grown, so from the crude apparatus invented and applied by Neilson has grown, in the face of great opposition, the more economical hot-blast stoves now in use. It is not surprising that an innovation like heated blast should have received a large amount of attention from metallurgists, nor that men of recognized ability should formerly have been found both among its champions and opponents, but it is remarkable that, at the present day, with the results of careful research and thorough experiment compiled in convenient shape for perusal, there are iron¬masters who still consider it economy to allow the products of combustion to escape into the atmosphere, rather than utilize them in heating the blast, because of a supposed injury to the quality of the product. In the present state of knowledge and practice, it is proper to express as an axiom, that a well-constructed hot-blast apparatus is essential to the economic operation of an iron-producing plant. Of the interpretation of proper construction there is of necessity a variety of opinions, and, with the view of solving the problem, the apparatus for heating blast has from time to time assumed various forms. Boxes, cylinders, and pipes, placed horizontally, vertically, inclined, or in circles and spirals, have been tried ; there have been pistol-shaped pipes, double pipes, divided or diaphragm pipes, siphon pipes, and as much variety in the mains, connections, flues, and setting. It is probable that, to the introduction of the bell and hopper in

Jan 1, 1876

By Alfred F. Brainerd

Some fifty years ago, iron-ore was discovered near the town of Sheldon, Franklin County, Vermont, in a vein out-cropping on a knoll near Black Creek, which empties into the Missisquoi River a couple of miles away. A short time after this discovery, the owners, Mr. TV. 0. Gadcomb and Hon. Lawrence Brainerd, both of St. Albans, commenced mining (mostly by open cut), and also erected a Catalan forge, from which iron blooms were produced, most of which were worked into bar-iron and used in the neighborhood of the forge, while some were shipped by Lake Champlain to Troy, Albany and New York. But by reason of the lack of any railroad connections, and an insufficient demand for the blooms, this forge was subsequently abandoned, and the material used in its construction removed to other places. Mr. Keith, of Sheldon, used for many years a mixture of this ore with bog-ore from Swanton, in a charcoal blast-furnace, the product of which he consumed partly in his own foundry, shipping, however, a considerable amount to Troy and New York. Accurate data as to this enterprise are not at hand. The same vein has since been traced for some 20 miles, and some prospecting has been done 011 its outcrops at Berkshire, Enosburg and a few miles east of St. Albans; but the vein being small, only a few car-loads of ore were taken out from these places. The commencement of the St. Albans Iron and Steel Works in 1872, and the erection in 1877 of a ten-ton Siemens open-hearth furnace for the manufacture of steel rails, opened a new use for this ore. The furnace-charge consisted of pig-iron, old mils, steel scrap, and magnetic iron ore, added towards the close of the heat. The ore

Jan 1, 1885

ON FEBRUARY 4, 1952, the Phelps Dodge Corporation signed Contract GS-00P(D)-12068 with the United States Government. This interesting document dealt with the "Bisbee East" project as part of the Government's program to increase the supply of needed copper by encouraging private enterprise to expand production. The ore deposit involved was a relatively small body of low-grade ore lying east of the remnants of the old Sacramento Hill deposit that was exploited with indifferent success from 1923 to 1931, as related in THE PORPHYRY COPPERS. Planning for the entire enterprise had been directed from the start by Harrison M. Lavender, who in 1945, succeeded Percy G. Beckett as vice-president and general manager for all of Phelps Dodge's Western mines and smelters. The untimely death of Mr. Lavender in 1952 prevented him from seeing his plans brought to fruition; but in his honor the mine was fit- tingly named "The Lavender Pit" and was so dedicated on August 7, 1954. The Copper Queen Branch operates under- ground mines at Bisbee (production in 1955 was 28,000 tons) ; but, as this volume is concerned only with Porphyry operations, this chapter deals only with the Lavender Pit project, or as the Government knows it, Bisbee East. My reason for going into some detail regarding the floor-price contract is that it is fairly typical of contracts made by the Government in connection with a half-dozen other copper-expansion projects; and, incidentally, with various projects involving other strategic metals. Phelps Dodge did not seek a loan or other financial aid. The only encouragement asked consisted of (a) the privilege of a five-year write-off (commonly called rapid tax amortization)

Jan 1, 1957

By Howard Eavenson

THE eleven mines of the United States Coal and Coke Co. in the Pocahontas coal field are situated in McDowell County, W. Va., which is a mountainous region. The valleys rarely exceed 200 ft. (60 m.) is width, the hill sides slope from 25° to 33°, and the tops, from 600, to 900 ft. above the valleys, carry practically no level land. At least 80 per cent. of the area is covered with timber. All the workings are drift mines; and while the average grades of the seams worked are ample for drainage, local dips and swamps necessitate, the use of a large number of local pumps or of numerous drainage ditches to keep the mine free from water during heavy rains. The water handled in any mine is not great, compared with the coal output, and usually causes little trouble except during extremely wet periods. In hew workings, the water encountered, except in rare cases, is trifling; it is only after rib drawing has started and the surface has been broken that water troubles begin. The strata overlying the coal are sandstone, shales, and slates; as the soil is thin and sandy, it does not tend to puddle and stop the cracks, which remain open for a long time. As mining progresses and the robbed area increases, the broken area becomes larger, increasing the openings into the mined territory. The cover over the robbed portions of the mines varies from 30 to 750 ft. (9 to 228 m.). When the ground is saturated, considerable water finds its way into the mines the day after a heavy rainfall and for three or four days it tends to fill the low places, wash the tracks, etc. and. unless from three to four times as many pumps are installed as are normally needed, considerable', output is lost. In most cases the water will .flow from the mines, so the obvious solution is to provide drainage .ditches of ample size to carry the maximum flow expected, so that the inflow will have no opportunity to flood the working places.

Jan 1, 1921

By A. B. Stevens, C. J. Coberly

The absolute porosity of a rock or sand may be defined as the volume of the interparticle space expressed as a percentage of the total rock volume. The effective porosity as contrasted with the absolute porosity is the volume of the interparticle spaces which intercommunicate with passages of sufficient size to permit the entrance or recovery of gas or oil, also expressed as a percentage of the total rock volume. A knowledge of effective porosity is of prime importance in estimating the ultimate recovery to be expected from oil and gas-bearing formations. The determination of the effective porosity of a rock includes the measurement of two values: (I) the volume of the rock as a whole, and (2) the volume of the grains and sealed pore space. This paper deals with a new apparatus which has been called a "hydrogen porosimeter" for determining the volume of the grains and the sealed pore space. This volume is determined by means of the pressure relations established in the instrument by the introduction of a known quantity of hydrogen. The Hydrogen Porosimeter The apparatus used in this work consists of an upper chamber for measuring the gas, a lower chamber for holding the sample to be tested, a gage for measuring the pressures, a tank of hydrogen, and the necessary connections. (Figs. 1 and 2.) Of the several gases that might be used for this work, hydrogen has been chosen for three reasons: (1) it deviates less from the gas laws than most gases; (2) it readily penetrates the sample; (3) it is absorbed less than most gases by the solids and liquids with which it may come in contact. Method of Operation After placing the sample to be tested in the lower chamber, the apparatus is thoroughly flushed with hydrogen to remove all air from the system, which is then brought to atmospheric pressure Po. The valve connecting the two chambers is next closed and the pressure in the upper chamber is brought up to a pressure PI by admitting gas from the tank.

Jan 1, 1933

By R. A. Wagstaff

The method of charging a reverberatory furnace has changed many times since smelting was introduced in this country from the old smelters of Swansea, England. The cause of the latest change at the Garfield plant has been the excessive fineness of the charge due to fine grinding in the concentration of the crude copper ores. The many desirable features of deep-bath smelting as now used at Garfield have been proved. The old method of dropping the charge through holes in the arch (known as center-feed method) causes excessive dusting which makes heavy slag and flue-dust losses, also rapid deterioration of the silica brickwork of the furnace through fusion with the iron oxides from the dust. The purpose of this paper is to describe a gun feeder that was designed to overcome the disadvantages of the older methods of center feeding and still maintain the good features of deep-bath smelting with the hot finer charge. A gun feeder was designed to introduce the finely divided hot calcines under the moving gas stream of the combustion zone and still have them spread in a uniform blanket over the highly heated matte bath. The temperature of the furnace was so great that it was impossible to maintain a stationary feeder, so a movable feeder was designed that could be introduced into the highly heated zone and be withdrawn after the charge had been dropped. It was necessary to protect the nozzle of the gun with a water-cooled coil. Many different types of protected nozzles were tried, such as air jackets, water jackets and heat-resisting steel alloys, but none proved satisfactory. The angle of inclination of the feeder was found to be an important factor in spreading the charge evenly over the surface of the bath. An angle of 34" to 37" was found to be the most advantageous. To allow a continuous flow of ore from the charge car to the point of discharge inside the furnace, the feeder was made with telescopic connections. The pipe leading from the car is stationary and forms the inside part of the telescope. The outside section of the telescope is movable, and is

Jan 1, 1934

By George A. Guess

The increasing demand for greater speed and more accuracy, in making daily assays of ores and products from mills treating material containing but very small quantities of lead and copper, has caused the older analytical methods to be supplanted by new ones devised to meet the needs of modern work. For " control" work in copper-analyses, I had, previous to the present equipment, introduced in my laboratory the ordinary electrolytic method, using hollow cylindrical electrodes; and with these I began a series of experiments in determining the lead-content of daily mill-samples and controls. The results, proving accurate and satisfactory, I then devised, with Mr. H. E. T. Haultain, a cheaper electrode than the ordinary jaCket-electrode, which costs from $15 to $20,—the expense of the older form making the installation of many units very costly. The form of cathode finally adopted as the most satisfactory, shown in Fig. 1, is cut from 0.001-in. platinum foil. It is 12.5 cm. long, and is divided into a blade 4 cm. wide and 6.25 cm. long, and a tongue 0.7 cm. aide and 6.25 long, the immersion area being 50 sq. cm. and weight 1.5 grams. The blade is first sand-blasted and then corrugated lengthwise, in order to impart the necessary rigidity. Strips of platinum foil 0.001 in. thick, 12.5 cm. long and 0.5 cm. aide, having a median corrugation, form the anodes. Three electrodes are used in each cell; one anode in the middle and one cathode on each side of the anode. These electrodes are connected to slotted aluminum terminals, in which they are held by contact pressure. The terminals are 5/16in. rods, projecting 2 in. horizontally in front of the wall of the cabinet; at the back the middle electrode (anode) is connected with one pole of the current, and the two outer ones (cathodes) with the other pole.

Jan 1, 1906

By Edwin Ludlow

THERE has been so much misinformation sent out through the newspapers, and I find so few people who are really acquainted with the true facts in regard to the coal strike, that I feel it would be advan-tageous to present the facts as I have been able to gather them. One of the great points that the miners are now mak-ing is the fact that the operators of the central competi-tive field, consisting of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, have refused to meet them in a joint conference such as has been customary in previous years. There are two reasons why the operators de-clined to hold such a meeting. In the first place, the last time they held a meeting of this kind they were all indicted under the Sherman Act for making an agree-ment in restraint of trade. In the second place, the miners at their convention did not authorize their dele-gates to negotiate a new contract, but instructed them that nothing less than a scale based on the present wage, with the addition that there should be a six-hour day, a five-clay week, time j and a half for over time, and double time for Sundays, would be accepted. These additions would very much increase the cost of coal over the present wage scale. The operators could not consider renewing a contract on the present scale, as it would mean ruin for them, and as the miners were not authorized to negotiate a new scale on a fair basis that would enable the operators to mine coal in competi¬tion, with the open-shop mines the operators did not feel that there was any use in meeting the delegates. Thirty per cent. of the output of bituminous coal comes from the open-shop mines of West Virginia, Alabama and Pennsylvania. During the strike, in 1919, this 30 per cent. was increased to 50 per cent. and it has affected the operations of the union mines to such an extent this year that they have been able to run only 15 to 30 per cent. of their time, while the open shop mines have run from 60 to 80 per cent. as the wages in these mines had been reduced to the 1917 scale.

Jan 5, 1922

By Charles L. Harness

MINERAL pigments give color, opacity, or body to paint, stucco, plaster, mortar, cement, linoleum, rubber, and similar materials. They must be finely divided, substantially insoluble, and generally inert for such uses. Inorganic pigments may be grouped somewhat arbitrarily as follows: A. Natural mineral pigments dug from the earth. 1. Those consisting mostly of iron oxides, such as hematite and Limonite. 2. Those containing large amounts of clay or noncoloring matter, such as ocher, sienna, umber, and colored shales. 3. Those whose color is not due to iron oxide, such as Vandyke brown (including sap brown, an alkali extract of Vandyke brown), graphite, and terre verte. B. Synthetic pigments. 1. Those containing iron oxide as the essential coloring matter, such as "pure" reds, yellows, and blacks, and Venetian reds. 2. Those not containing iron oxide, such as lithopone, zinc white, titanium white, ultramarine, Prussian blue, and the like. Only groups A and B-1 are discussed here. All the pigments in those two categories, except Vandyke brown, sap brown, and some of the carbonaceous slates, contain, as their essential color constituents, one or more compounds of iron; namely, an oxide-Limonite (2Fe203.H20 to Fe203.4H20), hematite (Fe203), or magnetite (Fe203.FeO). Man's first permanent coloring materials were earth pigments- the ochers, iron oxides, and various iron-stained clays. The caves occupied by prehistoric man and the arts of the ancient Chaldean, Egyptian, and Cretan civilizations bear mute witness to this and also testify to the beauty and permanence of earth colors. As the Roman era developed, earth pigments were pushed from their pre-eminent position by white lead and red lead and in the Middle Ages by zinc oxide. Today, of course, the number of acceptable pigments is very large and on a value basis the group of natural and synthetic earth pigments stands

Jan 1, 1949

By Waldemar Lindgren

CONTENTS. [ ] I. INTRODUCTION. THE precious metals, gold and silver, are the basis of the monetary systems of the world. It is, therefore, natural and inevitable that widespread interest should be manifested in their production and in the various classes of deposits in which they are contained. At times a great scarcity of the precious metals has prevailed; at other times the production has seemed so abnormally large that fears have been entertained regarding their ultimate retention as standards of value. Since most nations have adopted the gold standard, and the remaining ones appear likely to do the same in the near future, the question of available supply of gold for the present and future very naturally arises. This necessarily involves a consideration of the characteristics of the gold-deposits. After the absorption of the gold treasures of the New World by the conquistadores, the gold-placers of Brazil and Russia

Jan 1, 1913

By N. S. Keith

It seems proper, before describing the plant which has been erected in Rome, N. Y., for the purpose of demonstrating the practicability of my process of refining and desilverizing lead by electrolysis, to state in a few words the principles that govern the process. They are well known to those who have studied electrical science, and to the practical electro-platers of the country, and are briefly these: If we take a plate, or other form, of metal (impure lead in this case), and immerse it in a bath consisting of a solution of the main metal (that which contains the impurities), and also immerse another plate, which shall be a conductor of electricity, in the bath, but separated from the first by the solution, and connect the former plate with the positive pole of the source of electricity, and the other plate with the negative pole, an action will go on in this bath which is called electrolysis. There is first a decomposition of the solution constituting the bath ; then a solution of the metal at the positive pole (called the anode), and a deposition upon the other plate connected with the negative pole. which plate is technically called the cathode. If the bath is properly constituted, and the current of electricity which is passed through the bath is of the proper strength and electro-motive force, the dissolution of the anode and the deposition of the metal upon the cathode will be exactly equivalent. The analysis and synthesis are opposite and equal. If, on the other hand, this solution (called an electrolyte) be not properly constituted, decomposition will go on, but there will be these effects: a superoxidation at the anode and a liberation of free hydrogen at the cathode, which free hydrogen escapes finally in bubbles through the liquid to the surface, and into the atmosphere. In the electrolytic treatment of metals simply for their purification and recovery, it is

Jan 1, 1885

By C. E. Shoenfelt, E. W. Krampert

The major oil discovery in 1938 for Wyoming was the General Petroleum Corporation's So. 1 Government, C.NW.SE. of sec. 21-35N-77W, on the Cole Creek structure in central Wyoming, 14 miles northeast of Casper. This well found commercial oil production in basal Cloverly sand (Lakota) at 7978 ft. and was completed on May 28, 1938, at 8019 ft., 3 ft. in Morrison shale. It had an initial produrtion of 10 bbl. of oil an hour but at the end of a 7-day test made 336 bbl. of oil in 24 hr. During 1938, the well produced a total of 23,161 bbl. of oil. It has been agitated about 10 days out of each month to provide fuel for lease and drilling operations, the balance of the time it has been shut in pending the completion of the second well on the structure. The Cole Creek oil is of intermediate base and has an A.P.I. gravity of 32.7". The record of the well contains the "tops" listed in the accompanying tabulation. Tops in General Petroleum Corporation's No. 1 Government Well Feet 2210 Top of the Mesa Verde (Teapot sandstone) 2960 Top Steele shale 4500 Shannon sand; good show of oil and gas 6740 Top Frontier sand; some oil saturation 6840 Halliburton test of Froutier did not show much oil, but at 6878 ft. the oil showing amounted to 50 barrels 6878-7051 Shale 7051-7062 Sand with some oil saturation 7062-7920 Shale (sandy phase of Thermopolis shale 7779 to 7788 ft.) 7920-7926 Sand (Muddy); oil-saturated 7926-7974 Shale 7974-7979 Hard, coarse, limy sand (Dakota); some oil saturation 7979-7997 Soft sand; high oil saturation 7997-8002 Shale with pyrites 8002-8016 Sand (Lakota) 8016-8019 Variegated Morrison shale 5600 Elevation Lance Creek Field.—Important extensions to the Lance Creek field in eastern Wyoming were made in 1938 by the completion of a number of

Jan 1, 1939

By A. S. Learoyd

The Anthracite Division, Bureau of Distribution, of the United atates Fuel Administration, came into existence about Oct. 20, 1917. There had been no definite policy determined upon and the distribution had been carried out by the producers and distributors of this fuel as under normal conditions. The domestic sizes had been shipped from the beginning of the coal year on Apr. 1 in about their usual proportions to the various sections of the anthracite consuming territory of this country, which, in a general way, extended as far west as Nebraska and Montana, and in the south along the Atlantic seaboard to Florida. With the advent of cold weather, about the middle of November, acute shortages commenced to develop all over the northeastern section of the country, due to largely increased demand by the public in general, to enormously increased population in centers where industrial war activity was concentrated, and by the needs of the war industries themselves. Commencing with the early part of December, this demand was aggravated by extreme low temperatures and heavy snow; and the production decreased for the same reasons. From that date until the change in the weather, about the latter part of February, it was simply a question of getting coal into communities as emergencies occurred, to take care of individual cases. No definite plan of distribution could be followed. The coal mined between Apr. 1 and Nov. 1 had been distributed as mined and therefore only current production was available for distribution. The Anthracite Division, during this period, consisted of a Director, two assistants, together with an office force .of seven or eight clerks and stenographers. The trying experiences of the winter of 1917-18 had, however, shown a ready willingness on the part of the anthracite operators and distributors to cooperate in every way with the United States Fuel Administration. It was realized that if a definite and comprehensive plan of distribution could be formulated to become effective Apr. 1, 1918, determined on the actual needs of each state and community, the producers

Jan 1, 1920

THE Mining Methods Committee during the past year has spent much of its time developing the interest of members of the Institute in the work that comes under its direction. The response on the part of the membership has been most encouraging and in order to give a concrete form to the program which it hopes to develop, an "Outline for Papers on Mining Methods" has been drawn up and is herewith submitted for consideration. This outline has slowly taken shape until it now represents ideas contributed by a great many men, and it is hoped that it will be suggestive and helpful in the preparation of papers. This program can be used for the preparation of papers covering single large operations or, preferably, as the basis for a description of methods and the presentation of results obtained either in different districts or in different branches of the industry. The Committee presents this outline for the consideration of the various Sections of the Institute with the request that they will endeavor to interest the members of the Sections in covering comprehensively the mining operations with which they are connected. It is not the plan of the Committee to publish a paper on every mine, giving all the details outlined, but rather that an engineer familiar with a district prepare the general information and engineers of each important mine in the district compile the specific information of the mine with which they are connected. The general information and the specific information shall be sent to the Committee, and with this information the Committee will prepare a paper on the results obtained under the various mining methods in the different districts. The Committee requests that all papers shall be compiled under the direction of the Chief Engineer of the company and then submitted to the General Manager before acceptance for publication or compilation and tabulation with other similar data. Where the study of this subject approaches the fields of other standing committees of the Institute, the

Jan 5, 1922

By N. A. Zeigler, T. D. Yensen

Aging is a term that connotes a slow change in properties under ordinary operating conditions. It can be accelerated by increasing the temperature and by mechanical straining. The magnetic properties of iron and some of its alloys have for many years been known to be subject to such a change. But the cause of the change was not recognized until a few years ago after mechanical age-hardening in non-ferrous alloys of the "duralumin" type had been definitely shown, by means of solid solubility curves, changes in electrical resistance and microanalysis, to be caused by slow precipitation of one or more constituents from the solid solution. The similarity between the solid solubility curves of such alloys (Fig. 1) and those for iron-nitrogen (Fig. 2) and iron-carbon alloys (Fig. 3) below the A1 transformation point suggested at once that magnetic aging of iron might be caused by a similar process; namely, by the slow precipitation of carbon and nitrogen in the form of Fe4N and Fe3C at ordinary temperatures because of a cooling rate that had been too rapid to permit complete precipitation according to equilibrium conditions. This suggestion has since been amply confirmed, particularly by the comprehensive work of Köster1 on the effect of nitrogen and carbon. Typical curves are shown in Fig. 4 for the relationship between aging temperature and coercive force. Previous to the establishment of the precipitation-hardening theory it was thought that the effect of nonmetallic elements like C, N, O, etc., on the magnetic properties of iron was greatest when these elements were retained in solid solution, atomically dispersed throughout the interstitial spaces of the iron lattice2. Based on the theory that magnetic properties are intimately connected with the regularity of the lattice, it now follows quite logically that a greater effect on this regularity may be obtained when the above impurities are precipitated as very fine particles of Fe3C, Fe4N, FeO, etc., more or less uniformly dispersed within the grains. But if this is the case, it follows also that there must exist a relationship between the size

Jan 1, 1935

By F. C. Newton

RefineRs of lead by the Parkes process have always been solicitous of recovering the zinc used in the desilverization, and justly so, as the loss in zinc constitutes one of the heavy costs in this method of refining. Part of this loss is due to the absorption of zinc by lead, and in the present state of knowledge is not recoverable as metallic zinc. The remainder of the zinc, which finds its way into the precious-metal-bearing crust, is recoverable and naturally engages the operators' most exacting attention. Careful elimination of the impurities in base bullion has enabled the refiner to produce a zinc crust better adapted to retorting, which reflects favorably in the zinc recovery;- and to produce a richer crust, thereby lowering the zineking cost, as the increased efficiency of the zinc results in less of it being in circulation. It is obvious that if the ratio of concentration be increased, a lessening of the amount of crust formed will ensue, throwing less work on the retorts and diminishing the amount of retort metal sent to the cupels, thus making an actual money saving in all these operations. In the effort to obtain a rich crust, the metallurgist has increased the heat to a considerable degree, upon the assumption that at the higher temperature the zinc-dver alloy could be squeezed free from the adhering lead. A further possibility for improvement suggested itself in the freezing-point curve of Prof. H. C. Carpenter, upon zinc and silver. Study of this curve disclosed the existence of a definite chemical compound, Zn3Ag2, with a freezing point of 665" C., a promising compound for practical application. In the experiment undertaken it was endeavored to force this compound into the crust, hoping thereby to obtain a higher concentration than formerly. It was recognized that in bringing a large kettle of lead to such a heat, more fuel would be used, the life of the kettle would perhaps be shorter, and other disadvantages would be experienced. AS a commercial operation, the project would have to stand on its own feet,

Jan 1, 1915