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By Raymond E. Birch, Oscar M. Wicken

THE mineral magnesite, formerly the source of nearly all magnesia, now shares this role with brucite, dolomite, and the world's natural and artificial brines. The mineral magnesite is the normal carbonate of magnesium, MgCO3, composed when pure of 47.6 pct MgO and 52.4 pct CO2. It is one of the calcite (CaCO3) group of rhombohedra1 car- bonates, which also includes dolomite, CaCO3.MgCO3, and siderite, FeCO3. Magnesite does not form an isomorphous series with calcite or dolomite; consequently, these lime-bearing carbonates commonly present in magnesite deposits are there only as mechanical mixtures. Magnesite and iron carbonates form a continuous isomorphous series and therefore are inseparable mechanically. The variety of magnesite known as breunnerite is an isomorphous mixture of iron and magnesium carbonates. Magnesite may be either crystalline or amorphous (cryptocrystalline). The former, which includes breunnerite, is often termed spathic magnesite. Crystalline magnesite varies from finely to coarsely crystal- line in texture and has a hardness of 3.5 to 4. The color is white, yellowish, blue-gray to drab, red, pink, black, or mottled. It is seldom found pure but usually contains variable amounts of iron, lime, silica, and sometimes manganese. The color cannot be used as an index of purity. The cryptocrystalline variety is perhaps the more common type but the crystalline variety usually occurs in larger deposits. The amorphous type is fine grained and compact, showing no cleavage. It is usually snow white but sometimes is light to pale orange yellow or buff, owing to impurities. The fracture is conchoidal to uneven and the hardness 3.5 to 5. Silica may be present as inclusions of serpentine, quartz, chalcedony, or other minerals. The lime and iron contents are usually low. In general, amorphous magnesite is somewhat purer than the crystalline variety. The specific gravity of cryptocrystalline magnesite is 2.90 to 3.00. Pure crystalline magnesite has shown a specific gravity of 3.02 but iron

Jan 1, 1949

By Joseph Pogue

THE writer visited the Muzo emerald mines in July, 1915, and spent six days in their study. This paper embodies the results of his observations, plus information personally communicated by Robert Scheibe, FIG. 1.-SKETCH MAP SHOWING APPROXIMATE LOCATIONS OF ALL IMPORTANT EMERALD MINES AND PROSPECTS IN COLOMBIA. (Data in part supplied by Robert Scheibe, July, 1915.) Professor of Geology in the Mining Academy of Berlin, who at the time of the visit was completing a detailed field investigation of nearly a year's duration of the emerald deposits of Colombia. An elaborate account of this valuable work may be expected at a future date from the pen of Professor Scheibe.

Jan 5, 1916

By Albert Sauveur

(New York Meeting, February, 1913.) IT is delightful to read a technical paper like that of J. E. Johnson, The Effect of High Carbon on the Quality of Charcoal-Iron, presented in October, 1912, at the Cleveland meeting of the American Institute of Mining Engineers.1 The clear, simple, and straightforward manner in which he describes his experiments and results makes you feel as if you had been, so to speak, at his elbow during the course of his investigations, while his method of procedure is so rational that you can fairly anticipate each step in the logical sequence of the tests performed. The following notes suggested by Mr. Johnson's paper are presented here in the hope that they may help, if only a mite, towards the final solution of a problem of considerable scientific and industrial importance.

Jan 3, 1913

Jan 1, 1881

IN CHAPTER I it was shown that the approximate market value of the copper produced at the twelve big Porphyry mines from 1905 to 1931, inclusive, was $2,821,300,000. This represented the refined metal ready for shipment to the consumer. In addition, at least $50,000,000 worth of gold and silver had been produced, more than $30,000,000 coming from the Utah mine alone. Consequently, the revenues totaled about $2,871,300,000, as shown in Table 58. Society paid this sum for a given quantity of metal that it wanted for industrial use. Where did the money go? Who were the direct beneficiaries of the creation of this new wealth? These questions this chapter will answer in a general way. Because some necessary data are not available, an exact tabulation in detail can not be made, but Table 58 is believed to reflect with reasonable accuracy the disposition made of the aggregate income from the twelve operations. The word "operations" is used advisedly because the complexity of corporate relations precludes the possibility of picking out companies, as could be done if each enterprise were an independent entity such as Miami, for example. Some explanation of the table and some elaboration of the items under "Outgo" is desirable. In the first place, it is assumed that the sum of surplus current assets existing in various treasuries at the end of 1931 was substantially equivalent to the “new” money that actually was put into the enterprises as a group. Less than $20,000,000 in new capital was realized from securities sold by the Utah Copper Co., the remaining funds coming from earnings. In respect to some of the others, such as Chuquicamata, Inspiration, and Andes, the amount of new money was much greater. However, of the two items-total new capital invested and total current surpluses-the former

Jan 1, 1933

By Alan Morris

SEASON cracking of brass has received wide attention and there is a wealth of technical literature on the subject. Its causes are fairly well understood and means for its prevention are inexpensive and effective, .so that the frequency of failures from this source has diminished of recent years. But its sister phenomenon, the failure of annealed brass by reason of applied tensile stress plus a certain type of corrosion, has received less attention, though it has been responsible for occasional more or less troublesome cases of cracking of brass in service. The work described in the following pages was undertaken about two years ago to determine the relative resistance of various commercial brass mixtures to stress-corrosion cracking, and to learn something of the controlling factors. By stress-corrosion cracking we mean the cracking of brass free- from internal stresses by reason of applied tensile stress and simultaneous attack by certain corrosive agents. Rogers,1 in discussing a paper by Hatfield and Thirkell, says : "He had also applied a solution of mercuric salt to tensile test pieces of brass whilst they were under stress in the testing machine. At very moderate stresses such test pieces cracked, and very readily broke." Moore, Beckinsale and Mallinson2 subjected test pieces to simultane-us corrosion and tensile stress. In order to determine the minimum stress detectable in brass by the mercurous nitrate test, tensile samples were placed under stress and treated with mercurous nitrate solution. They found that brass stressed below a minimum did not crack.

Jan 1, 1930

By Lewis A. Smith

Chromium is one of the new metals, but considerable research has been required to determine an approximate record of its production from 1827 until the present. Its use in the form of pure metal is not extensive; of the chromite mined, about one-half is required for making ferrochro-mium, about two-fifths goes directly into refractories and the remainder is absorbed chiefly by the chemical trades. The industries that demand chromite for such uses are mainly in countries that produce little chromite, while the important chromite-producing countries are not generally consumers. The international flow of chromite is therefore of interest, as well as the political and commercial control of resources of the metal. World Production The first mining of chromite is said to have occurred as early as 1820, at the Roros deposit in Norway, but the first well-established output came from the Reed mine, in Maryland, about 1827. Thereafter the United States led the world in chromite production until 1860, when Turkey took the lead. Russia in turn became the chief producer from 1897 to 1902, inclusive. From 1903 to 1909, New Caledonia held first place, but alternated with Southern Rhodesia from 1910 to 1917, inclusive. In 1918, 1919 and 1920-1921, the United States, India and New Caledonia led, respectively. In 1922 Southern Rhodesia assumed first place and has since continued to be the world's foremost producer by a large margin. Fig. 1 illustrates the production of the leading countries from 1890 to 1929, inclusive. Fig. 2 shows the world production of chromite from 1890 to 1929, inclusive, in long tons and Table 2 gives the production by countries for the same period. The total world production for the 103 years, 1827 to 1929, ipclusive, is estimated at about 7,100,000 long tons, distributed as shown in Table 1. World Trade in 1928 In reviewing the figures for the flow of chromite in 1928, it is evident that the six countries that produce most consume little chromite and

Jan 1, 1931

By C. Wert, D. Keefer

The results of this study indicate that sudden increases in aging temperature lead to reversion phenmena in carbon in the a, iron system. These phenomena are thought to be associated with the dissolution of carbide precipitates. Reversion is studied with respect to three variables: 1) Specimen grain size, 2) the initial amount of carbon in solution, and 3) difference between initial and final aging temperature. It is found that of these variables the initial carbon concentration has the greatest effect on reversion. THE solid solution of carbon in n iron has been the subject of numerous investigations throughout the past few years. Despite the great amount of effort which has been put forth toward understanding this system, however, there persist a number of interesting aspects of the system which are open to further research' Studies Of the precipitate which forms as a result of aging a supersaturated solution of carbon in a, iron appear to be particularly interesting. The present work is an attempt to determine certain

Jan 1, 1960

In introducing last year's Industrial Minerals Review, Stan Lefond accurately predicted that the 1974- 75 period would be quite difficult and frustrating. Although 1974 demand and prices for most industrial minerals were exceptionally strong, operating costs also rose rapidly-while shortages of supplies and equipment, symptomatic of an overheated economy, occurred from coast to coast. Thus, at the end of 1974 recessionary forces were accelerating-and the minerals industry will soon be facing falling demand as a consequence of sharp declines in auto production, housing, appliances, and other consumer goods. Moreover, when sales weaken, the high-volume, low-prices industrial minerals will incur sharply increased unit costs. To maintain adequate profit margins under these conditions will require cautious and perceptive management.

Jan 2, 1975

By C. F. Nagel

This paper is written primarily for those who are familiar with the processes mentioned but who desire a further insight into some of the fundamental principles. It does not give a complete description of the various practices employed in the working of aluminum and its alloys, but presents a few illustrations of the essential respects in which aluminum differs from other common metals, and emphasizes the controlling factors of the processes under consideration. Heat Treating Certain aluminum alloys are capable of having their mechanical properties greatly altered by a heat-treatment process. The degree of this irnprovement may be illustrated by some typical properties of dura-lurnin (Table 1). It is essential that the material be in the wrought condition in order to obtain rnaximum heat-treatment effects. In the case of duralumin, the process consists of heating the metal to a prescribed temperature and then quenching it. Immediately after quenching, the material is relatively soft though not as soft as in the annealed state. If allowed to stand at room temperature, the material changes, increasing in hardness and strength without loss of elongation, but at the expense of the plasticity. This action is very rapid at first, gradually diminishing in intensity and to all practical purposes being completed in about four days. This process of hardening is termed

By F. F. Frick, Frederick Laist

In a leaching process, having obtained the copper in solution, the choice of the precipitation method is influenced by the following factors: 1. Availability of precipitant. 2. Adaptability to the leaching process. 3. Final product desired. 4. Regeneration of leaching solutions. 5. Fouling of solutions. There are three general classes of precipitation methods: 1. The use of iron, scrap or sponge. 2. Electrolytic deposition. 3. The use of some gas or reagent by which the copper is obtained, usually in the form of an intermediate precipitate which requires further treatment. For example, the precipitation of, the copper as Cu2Cl2 from chloride solutions; with SO2 gas. The use of iron is adapted to almost any process. It has the great advantage of extreme simplicity, and the recovery of the copper and any values present in a highly concentrated, easily treatable form. The disadvantages are the cost in isolated places, the uncertainty of the scrap-iron market, and the fouling of the leaching solutions. The latter is a serious factor, when a reagent such as salt is used in them, which makes necessary their re-use. Where applicable, electrolytic deposition is very attractive. The copper is obtained in a form directly marketable, there is a regeneration of acid and no fouling of solutions. Unfortunately, chloride solutions do not lend themselves to electrolysis. An entirely satisfactory anode material has not yet been discovered, although magnetite, apart from being rather brittle, seems to answer the requirements fairly well. The use of a method of the. third class is involved in many special

Jan 1, 1915

By R. W. Raymond

[NOTE.-This paper was presented at the Pittsburgh meeting in a partially completed form, and I fully expected to obtain, before the period of its publication, both the data and the leisure required for its completion. The hygiene of collieries was to have been separately considered, and the sanitary conditions of various metallurgical industries connected with mining were to receive an extended discussion, while at the same time the points treated in the paper as presented at Pittsburgh were to have more ample illustration from American and European sources. Delay in obtaining expected information, and the continuous pressure of professional work, have prevented hitherto the execution of this plan ; and I can now publish only a portion of what I had designed to contribute to the subject. In the meantime this portion, but slightly changed, has been included as a chapter on the Hygiene of Metal Mines in a work entitled Hygiene and Public Health, edited by Dr. A. H. Buck, of New York. An excellent chapter on the Hygiene of Coal Mines, contributed to the same work by Mr. Henry C. Sheafer, of Pottsville, affords me an opportunity to supply one of the deficiencies above alluded to. Mr. Sheafer's chapter contains much material in the way of explanations not required by professional readers; and he moreover devotes a considerable space to the explosive gases, falls of roof, and other causes of accidents to life or limb-a branch of the subject not belonging strictly to hygiene. I therefore make extracts only from his treatise.-R. W. R] IT is convenient to divide mines, with reference to this subject, into two classes, collieries and metal-mines. Subterranean quarries, rock-salt mines, etc., present no conditions requiring them to be separated from the latter class.

Jan 1, 1880

By Paul Tyler

STRATEGICALLY situated in almost the heart of the leading fertilizer-consuming area of the United States, Tennessee long has ranked second only to Florida as a phosphate-producing state. Since 1932 its share of the national output of phosphate rock has increased steadily, and in 1937 its production mounted to an all-time record. More significant even than the increase in tonnage are the forward strides in technology. The Tennessee Valley Authority's research program has led to quasicommer-cial operations using hydroelectric power to manufacture concentrated phosphatic fertilizer that is used to further the farmer education program designed to streamline the fertilizer business and halt the appalling waste of farm land by soil erosion. Even more stimulating to chemically minded imaginations is the production of elemental phosphorus by a private company that not only has succeeded in extracting it from the phosphate rock in electric furnaces but actually has contrived to capture it and to transport it safely in tank cars. New values have been created for low-grade phosphate deposits, and the economic life of reserves has been lengthened while the waste of former years goes back into the mills for recovery of its values by modernized methods. Tennesse's phosphate-mining industry dates from the discovery of blue rock in Lewis County in December 1893. Its known reserves are of the order of 101,500,000 tons, which compares with the production of 825,099 tons in 1937; that is, 21 per cent of the phosphate-rock output of the whole nation. The total output reported from 1894 until July 1, 1938, was approximately 19,000,000 tons. Official estimates of reserves are overly conservative and evidence submitted before a joint Con-gressional committee in November 1938 places "probable" reserves at more than 6,000,000,000 tons.

Jan 1, 1939

"It shall be within the discretion of the Board of Directors to establish a medal to be known as the Charles F. Rand Memorial Medal to be awarded at such a time 'and under such rules as may be determined by the Board of Directors, for Distinguished Achievement in Mining Administration." The establishment of this medal was announced at the annual meeting in February, 1932, the term "mining" being defined in its broad sense to include metallurgy and petroleum. The members of the Charles F. Rand Foundation Award Committee, of which J. V. W. Reynders is Chairman, are listed on page 12. In both 1938 and 1939, the Committee gave consideration to the question of choosing a medalist but in each year the decision was reached to give financial help to other projects as an alternative. In 1938, publication of a monograph on "Struc¬ture of Ore Deposits in the Continen¬tal Framework" and of a booklet en¬titled "The Call for Endowment" was financed; and in 1939, a special appro¬priation was made to defray the ex¬ penses of special speakers for Affiliated Student Societies of the Institute. In 1940, the Committee elected to nominate a candidate for the medal and unanimously selected Robert, Crooks Stanley, Chairman of the Board of the International Nickel Co. This recom¬mendation was approved by the Board of Directors and Mr. Stanley became the first recipient of the medal. Citation for Award to Robert Crook,, Stanley. "For His Pioneering Leadership During a Period of Active Growth and Development of a World-wide Enterprise Involving the Mining of Nickel Ores, the Metallurgical Treatment Thereof, and the Expansion and Diversification of World Markets for Nickel Products. "For His- Able Direction of the Corporation Encompassing These Activities, Which Has Established an Enviable Record in Its Relations With Employees. Stockholders and With the Public."

Jan 1, 1941

By Charles Behre

THIS paper deals with recent geologic studies in the slate belt of Northampton, Lehigh and Berks counties, Pennsylvania. The work was conducted under the auspices of the Pennsylvania Topographic and Geologic Survey. Three years have now been spent in detailed consideration of the economic geology of this region. In the field, particular attention was paid to the bearing of geology on quarry development and property valuation and the object of this paper is to summarize the results from that viewpoint. Excellent studies of a somewhat similar nature have already been carried out by Bowles,1 but with the emphasis upon the details of quarrying and fabricating methods, rather than upon the geologic relations. THE NORTHAMPTON-LEHIGH-BERKS DISTRICT Location The region here discussed lies in east-central Pennsylvania and extends southwestward from Delaware River, on the New Jersey line, to the Schuylkill in north-central Berks County. It is an elongated belt occupying the northern sections of the three counties mentioned and lying along the southern edge of Blue Mountain. Its length is about 50 miles and its average width five or six, though in places it attains a maximum of 10 miles.

Jan 1, 1928

By G. Koves

The behavior of case-hardened AISI C-1213 free -machining steel under complex impact-fatigue -wear load conditions was investigated. The inherently poor dynamic properties of the steel are mainly affected by the stress distribution in the case, component shape, and tempering. Cold-riveted components showed unexpectedly high dynamic strength compared to basic parts. A compromise beatment—which provides good dynamic properties, reasonable wear resistance, and fair riveting characteristics—zuas developed. A number of mechanical components in data-processing machines are made of free-machining carbon steel. Although, selected primarily due to manufacturing requirements, components made of these grades frequently undergo complex heat treatment and must sustain impact-fatigue loads. A typical free-machining steel is the AISI C-1213 grade, which is a resulfurized and rephosphorized open-hearth steel. While the undesirable effects of sulfur and phosphorus on the mechanical properties are well-known, data on dynamic properties are scarce.1"3 Rapid rotating or oscillating motion while carry- ing a high cyclic load requires a combination of wear resistance with high endurance limit and impact toughness. The inherently poor dynamic properties of the free-machining steel are further degraded by the machining, which introduces local stress-concentration areas. While the heat treatment (usually case hardening) improves some mechanical properties, it necessarily impairs others. Another problem arises when components, such as studs, must be fastened by riveting. The high crack-sensitivity of the free-machining steel, especially in the presence of a hardened case, makes this operation difficult. In view of the preceding considerations, it is of interest to investigate the behavior of a typical component under complex impact-fatigue-wear loading conditions in order to explore the effects of material, machining, and heat treatment, to obtain specific data on the dynamic characteristics of free-machining steel, and to arrive at a process which would adequately utilize the inherent qualities of this material. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE To simulate actual service conditions, a typical component was selected, based on frequency of application, complexity of load, and processing difficulties. The dimensions and shape of the component—a stud used in many electromechanical document-handling machines—are shown in Fig. 1.

Jan 1, 1964

By J. T. Berling, J. B. Conway

MANY studies have been devoted to the correlation of low-cycle fatigue behavior. Several of these have also been concerned with the identification of an effective approach to the prediction of low-cycle fatigue behavior from short-term tensile data. Perhaps the first such approach was that reported by coffin1 in the form: where is the plastic strain range, Nf is the number of cycles to failure, and c is a constant characteristic of a material. In this analysis by Coffin it was reasoned that in a short-term tensile test the value of Nf could be considered as equal to a , in which case the value of c is interpreted as the tensile ductility, f, measured in such a test. If, therefore, the Coffin equation is assumed to be applicable to a given material, it is a simple matter to predict the low-cycle fatigue behavior. Once the tensile ductility is known, this point is located at Nf = 1/4 on a log-log plot of vs Nf and a line is drawn through this point with a slope of to yield a prediction for the fatigue life. Actually, while this equation is quite useful it is not generally applicable, for experiment has shown that the value of —$ does not reflect the relationship between and Nf for all materials or even for a given material over all temperature ranges. An equation similar to the Coffin equation was prepared almost simultaneously by Manson.2 This expression had the form: In this case the exponent on Nf was not assigned any particular numerical value in accord with the various values of this exponent which had been observed for different materials and at different test conditions. Because of this characteristic it will be recognized that little use can be made of this expression in predicting low-cycle fatigue results. A fairly effective expression for use in predicting fatigue behavior was proposed by Manson3 based on a study of numerous sets of experimental results. This relation (Method of Universal Slopes) makes use of modulus of elasticity, ultimate strength, and tensile ductility, and assumes an exponent on Nf equal to 0.6 in representing the plastic strain range contribution to total strain range. While this equation of Man-Son does not yield completely accurate results it must be recognized as being the best means available at

Jan 1, 1970

AT the fall meeting of the Iron and Steel Division, Oct. 4, 1934, in New York, a symposium was held on Slag Control in the Making of Iron and Steel. The chairman was J. H. Nead and the vice chairman, G. B. Waterhouse. The latter presided at both morning and afternoon sessions. The papers and discussions were presented in the order in which they appear on the following pages. To meet space requirements, much of this material has been considerably condensed. CONTENTS [ ]

Jan 1, 1935

By R. E. Cech

Particles -3 to 30 µ diam of a 29.5 pet Ni, 70.5 pet Fe alloy after being melted and solidified while falling through a hydrogen atmosphere were found to contain a distortion-free body-centered-cubic phase. In most particles, the amount of body-centered-cubic phase approaches or equals 100 pet. It was shown by a series of experiments that this phase forms directly from the liquid. It is pointed out that a mechanism previously suggested in recent papers on the theory of the liquid-solid transformation can account for the solidification of body-centered-cubic phase in a temperature range where face-centered-cubic is the stable phase. IN the course of an operation to produce powders for a study of the martensitic transformation in Fe-Ni alloys, an unexpected phenomenon was observed. Powders of a 29.5 pet Ni alloy, which has a subzero M, temperature, were found to contain considerable amounts of a body-centered-cubic phase at room temperature. The experiments to be described were designed to elucidate the mode of formation of this unexpected phase. Experiments and Discussion An alloy containing 29.5 wt pet Ni, balance iron, was vacuum melted from high purity electrolytic iron and carbonyl nickel shot and solidified in the crucible. The metal was converted to oxide, ground to 100 pet <37µ, pressed to a cake, and homogenized 20 hr at 1350°C. To insure homogeneity the grinding, pressing, and homogenizing heat treatment was repeated a second time. The oxide was then ground to 100 pct <37µ and hydrogen reduced at 500°C. The reduced powder was given a spheroidizing treatment to produce spherical cast particles. The treatment consisted of dispersing the particles in hydrogen and allowing them to drop through a vertical hydrogen furnace set to a temperature higher than the liquidus of the alloy. This operation, commonly known as shotting, has been described more fully elsewhere.&apos; The powder produced by this method was found to contain approximately equal parts of body-centered-cubic and face-centered-cubic phases. A magnetic separation technique, previously described,&apos; was applied, and it was found that particles were either completely face-centered-cubic or nearly completely body-centered-cubic. The microstruc-

Jan 1, 1957

By L. A. Wright, H. L. McKinley

PINE Creek mine of Union Carbide Nuclear Co. is some 23 miles northwest of Bishop, Calif., in the Sierra Nevada Mts. Office and mill are 7800 ft above sea level, the 1500 level portal is at 9300 ft, the A level portal at 10,800 ft, and the 3050 portal at 11,500 ft. Original claims were located in 1916, and the mine worked intermittently until 1936, when it was purchased by Union Carbide Corp. Since then the property has been operated continuously, except for two brief periods when operations were suspended because of manpower shortages. Mine production through 1956 amounted to 2,792,425 dry tons of ore.

Jan 10, 1957