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By David R. Maneval, H. B. Charmbury

At the turn of the century, iron and coal were the keys to industrial prosperity. At that time, Pennsylvania was the leading mineral producer in the Country, producing 200,000,000 tons of coal in a typical post-World War I year. Close to 90% of the Nation's energy was generated by coal. Today, coal accounts for but 22% of the energy generated, leading to a drastic reduction in Pennsylvania coal output. In contrast with the post-World War I days, 1964 figures showed a drop in production to 93,846,480 net tons. This huge decrease has created a serious economic problem in a state so much dependent on the coal industry. Along with the reduction in coal production, employment has dropped considerably through these years (the number of miners alone has gone from 280,011 to 43,149), thus causing a heavy burden of supporting the unemployed on the taxpayers. As far back as 1939, coal operators and economists saw the problems on the horizon and the need for improvement. Realizing that research was a way to improve and stabilize the industry they demanded legislative action. The Legislature reciprocated with a small grant to The Pennsylvania State University with the provision that each State research dollar be backed with one from the industry. This initial grant laid the foundation for the further growth in coal research.

Jan 3, 1966

By H. O. Hofman

(Canal Zone Meeting, November, 19]0.) THE sudden decease, April 1, 1910, in Chicago, of Dr. Franklin R. Carpenter was a shock to his- many friends. He died in his sixty-second year, of heart paralysis. To most fellow-members of the Institute who have followed the progress of the. last twenty-five years in the mining and treatment of non-ferrous ores, the work of Dr. Carpenter in that line is familiar ; but very few, even of those who knew him well in the later years, are acquainted with his earlier struggles to satisfy an inborn hunger for knowledge. The story of his life resembles that of the pioneer who opens up new country; overcoming hardships with indomitable courage, meeting doubts and difficulties with an alert and open mind, and exercising in the face of reverses an unconquerable perseverance. It seems appropriate to place on record in the Transactions a brief outline of the life and work of this eminent engineer. During the past 15 years of his life Dr. Carpenter was much interested in genealogy. In the pursuit of this study as an avocation, he traced his own ancestry to the time when ?Hugh," called "le Charpentier" on account of the dexterity with which he had swung his battle-axe as a crusader, settled in Sussex on lands received from William the Conqueror. The Carpenters came to this country with William Penn. A prominent member of the family was Joshua Carpenter, the founder of Christ Church, Philadelphia. Dr. Carpenter's branch of -the family moved from Pennsylvania into that part of Virginia which is now West Virginia, where his grandfather settled in Harrison county, while the grand-uncle went further west, and built the first iron-furnace at Hanging Rock, Lawrence county, Ohio. In fact, since early times, the Carpenters appear to have been iron-masters. Franklin R.. Carpenter was born, Nov. 5, 1848, in Parkers-

Aug 1, 1910

By D. C. Jackling

I BESPEAK your indulgence for a brief expression of the views of a patriarch in the field of mineral industry technology relative to young men's problems in that sphere of education and endeavor. Wherever hereafter I employ the terms "technical education," "engineer," "technologist," or similar expressions, these are intended to be understood as relating to the broad field of the sciences and arts applicable to the mineral industries. First, the usefulness of technical education to either the possessor of it or those to whom its services may be made available industrially depends primarily upon the quality of the education and the capabilities of the educated to put his talents to effective and constructive employment in his chosen field of applied science.

Jan 1, 1940

By H. M. Morse

This report on oil and gas development in Mississippi covers the period from Jan. I, 1944, to Dec. 31, 1944: Salt Domes During the year six salt domes were drilled for sulphur, but no commercial sulphur deposits were found. One salt dome, the Bruinsburg, in Claiborne County, has produced gas- at 935 to 940 ft' in Moody's Branch marl. The Stringer salt dome in Smith County and the Ruth salt dome in Lincoln County both had a slight showing of heavy oil. Other salt domes have been dry. In addition to the Bruinsburg dome, the Allen salt dome, in Copiah County, and the Richton salt dome, in Perry County, were discovered in 1944; also the Sumrall dome, in Covington County. New Oil Fields Baxtemille Oil Field.—The Baxterville oil field was discoveredby the Gulf Refining Co, in sec. 7, T. I N., R. 16 W., Lamar County. At the end of the year this field had one oil well, with two active operations. Production for 1944 was 1047 bbl. of oil. GwinvilLe Field.—Gwinville field was discovered by S. W. Richardson, in sec. 24, T. 9 N., R. 19 W., Jefferson Davis County. This discovery well was a gas-distillate well, the oil being crystal clear. At the end of 1944 there were two gas wells and one oil well in the field. The oil well is approximately 2 1/2-miles from the gas- distillate wells. Gas production was 55,801 M cu. ft. and the distillate production was 2644 barrels. Heidelberg Oil Field.— The Gulf Refining Co. discovered the Heidelberg field in sec. 30, T. I N., R. 13 E., Jasper County, in January 1944. This field has by far exceeded the other 1943 and 1944 discoveries, having approximately 56 oil wells, 7 dry holes, and 10 active wells at the end of the year. Production to Jan. I, 1945 was 1,441,192 bbl. of oil. Mallalieu Oil Field.—The california Company discovered the Mallalieu oil field in set. 10, T. 7 N., R. 8 E,, Licoln. County. At the end of the year there was one well in the field with three active operations. Production was 32,303 bbl. of oil. Old Oil Fields Brookhaven Oil Field, in Lincoln County, has one oil well, which produced 2590 bbl. of oil during 1944. CarY Oil Field, Sharkey County1 has only one producing well, which produced 11,818 bbl- of oil during the Year- In Cranfield Oil Field, dams County, II oil wells and two gas-distillate wells were drilled in 1944 and there were five active wells on Dee. 31, 1944- The total production for the Year was 5251422 bbl-of oil. The gravity of the oil is 40" to 54.9'- In Eucutta Oil Field1 Wayne County1 34 oil wells were completed during 1944. There were five dry holes and six active wells at the end of the year.. The field produced 454,332 bbl. of all d the average gravity is 25" Flora Oil Field, Madison County, pro-

Jan 1, 1945

By George S. Koch

Since 1882, world zinc production has increased. In contrast, US zinc production rose until about 1915, but since then has remained nearly constant, with a slight tendency to decrease. Production from the Tri-State district, the largest early source of zinc in the US, has gone down steadily; this decline has been balanced by a growth in the rate of other districts. These changes in US production are due to economic, not geological, factors. Recent exploration has located large minable ore bodies: additional deposits will undoubtedly be found in the stratabound carbonate rock and volcanogenic environments. A statistical analysis of the exploration effort in the Middle Tennessee district indicates that new discoveries can be expected there. Thus, the US is in an early stage of the production cycle for zinc. Of major mining districts in the US, only the Tri-State is exhausted under current economic conditions; large zinc resources of low-grade material, which would repay mining at higher prices or improved technology, are known to exist in that district .

Jan 1, 1982

By W. B. Plank, A. C. Callen

WAR and normalcy do not walk hand in hand, whether it be in industry, the educational field, or in the daily lives of individuals. Schools and departments offering curricula in mineral engineering have been seriously disrupted, beginning with 1942 and reaching a low during 1944. Selective Service regulations and voluntary enlistments have effectually stopped the flow of college-trained men into the mineral industry, and the flow into the colleges is little more than a dribble. The year just closed has been a most serious one for our institutions. Until March many of our faculties had been kept reasonably intact because of the large training programs of the Army and Navy. Although the number of

Jan 1, 1945

By C. M. Smith

HOWARD N. EAVENSON, acting for the last time as president of the Institute, presided at the annual business meeting on Tuesday afternoon at 4 o'clock. He spoke briefly of his visits with Local Sections last fall, and read a scholarly address on "Mineral Fuels and Civilization," scheduled for early publication in these columns. Karl Eilers presented the Treasurer's report, showing last year's income to be $134,967.44, compared with expenses of $133.266.51. Comparable figures for 1933 were $121,689.90 and $115,462.60. The Institute's peak income was in 1923 about $208,000. Newell G. Alford read the report of the Membership Committee showing 750 new members elected and placed on the rolls in 1934, compared with 328 in 1933. Losses by resignation last year were 81, compared with 262 in 1933; and 691 were suspended for non-payment of dues, compared with 747 the year before. Total membership, including 579 Student Associates, was 7742 at the end of 1934. Applications for membership have been coming in freely the last few months.

Jan 1, 1935

By C. P. Melloy

INTRODUCTION Ventilation practice at Isa Mine has been evolving since underground mining began in 1931. Much fundamental work has been conducted and reported regarding the primary ventilation system [Mathews K.E. et a1 (1967) and Brown J.R., Fisher T.H., Gibson K.L. (1979) 1. However, ventilation networks for subsystems such as open stopes, have evolved with experience. This paper outlines current ventilation practice for open stoping. Mount Isa Mine The mine is located in semi-arid North-West Queensland, Australia, and currently produces 20 000 tonnes of copper ore and 10 000 tonnes of silver-lead-zinc ore daily in each five day working week. Mining extends over a north-south strike length of 3.5 km with a maximum width across dip approaching 1 km, and is to a depth of 960 m (Figure 1). At present approximately 90% of the mine's copper production is from the 1100 Orebody, which contains ore reserves of 121 million tonnes of 3.2% copper. Open stoping is currently the mining method employed, and is used for primary stoping and pillar recovery adjacent to cement fill walls. The development of stoping methods in the 1100 Orebody has been documented by Kirkby R.W., Blair J.R., and Hutton R.C. (19781, Hornsby B. and Sullivan B.J. (1978), and Alexander E.G. and Fabjanczyk M.W (1981). As many as thirteen open stopes may be producing concurrently in the Orebody (Figure 2). The multiple silver-lead-zinc orebodies containing reserves of 54 million tonnes of 150 g/t silver, 6.4% lead and 6.5% zinc, are mined by open stoping, and cut and fill techniques. These methods have been documented by Goddard I.A. and Bridges M.C. (1977 1, and Goddard I. A. (1981 1. Only the ventilation of the 1100 Orebody open stopes will be discussed. However, the same ventilation philosophy is employed in open stope design in the lead orebodies.

Jan 1, 1981

By John R. Wynnyckyj

Results of correlations between strength-development and sintering shrinkage occurring during induration are presented. A mathematical treatment of the shrinkage kinetics is, next, given and is based on the use of semi-empirical equations. The discussion stresses the significance of kinetic constants and activation energies in the assessment of iron ore concentrates for pelletizing and induration. Next, starting with the assumption that there is a need for parameters to characterize the iron-ore concentrates and relate these parameters to shrinkage-kinetic constants and balling behaviour, results of compaction measurements and pore structure characterization (mercury porosimetry) are presented and discussed.

Jan 1, 1977

By G. B. Gould, F. M. Gibson

IN DECEMBER, 1934, the joint Committee on Fuel Values, of the American Institute of Minim and Metallurgical Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, submitted a preliminary report, which briefly stated its conclusion that it was not possible to devise any formula for the valuation of coal, based upon the various physical and chemical properties, that would be generally applicable. That report also listed those chemical and physical properties of coal that are generally recognized to have some effect on its use in steam plants, and those physical characteristics of steam plants which affect, in one way or another the relative importance of the properties of coal used in them. Since then, the Committee has considered and discussed in greater detail the interrelationship of the properties of coal and plant characteristics. The conclusions of the Committee are summarized below, with certain recommendations regarding engineering procedure, which will promote the collection of more easily correlated observations with respect to this subject, and thus advance more rapidly the accumulation of data capable of general application.

Jan 1, 1936

By N. Parlee, V. C. Kashyap

The solubilities of nitrogen in liquid iron and liquid Fe-Ni, Fe-Mo, Fe-V, and Fe-Mo-V alloys were measured by the Sieverts method. Measurements were made at 1600° to 1800°C on binary alloys up to 20 pet Ni, 10 pet V, 10 pet Mo; and on ternary alloys containing 0 to 3 pet V with 0 to 5 pet Mo. The results on liquid iron confirm that Sieverts' law is obeyed in the range 50 to 750 mm pressure. The measured solubilities and their temperature coefficients are in general agreement with other modern authors. The logarithms of the activity coefficients of nitrogen in the binaries are approximately linear functions of the pet of alloying element. A method suggested by Wagner, Chipman, and others for predicting gas solubilities in complex alloys from solubility data on binaries was applied to the Fe-Mo-V alloys. Reasonably good agreement was obtained between calculated and experimental solubilities. NITROGEN'S solubility in liquid iron has been studied by a number of investigators. It is reasonably well established that the solubility of nitrogen follows Sieverts' law at least up to 1 atm partial pressure and that the solubility increases gradually with temperature. The solubility of nitrogen in Fe-X binary liquid systems has been investigated in only a few cases. Only the systems Fe-Cr,3-5, 7 Fe-V,3 Fe-Mn,3, 5 Fe-Ni,3, 5 Fe-Si,B, H Fe-C, L, H and Fe-P4 appear to have received any study. The only work on liquid Fe-V was done by Brick and Creevy.3 This was limited to 13.5 pet and 26.5 pet V, but no exact temperatures were recorded. No work whatsoever appears to have been done on liquid Fe-Mo alloys and even work on Fe-Ni alloys is rather scant. The work on liquid ternary systems is still more limited, and the only publication available appears to be that of Wentrup and Reif,7 who studied the Fe-Cr-Mn and Fe-Cr-Ni alloys. Rassbach, Saunders, and Harbrecht17 have reported work on the solubility of nitrogen in stainless steel but this was not a systematic study of any particular system. Commercial alloys usually contain several alloying elements. Thus, it often becomes important to be able to predict the nitrogen solubility in systems containing two or more added elements without the necessity of making measurements. Wagner,14 Chipman," Darken and Gurry," and Morris and Buehl 14 have suggested means by which this may be accomplished, and Langenberg14 has recently applied one of these methods to nitrogen solubility in complex liquid alloys. This paper reports the results of nitrogen solubility determinations on Fe-Ni, Fe-Mo, Fe-V, and Fe-Mo-V alloys and compares calculated and experimental solubilities in the ternary alloy. Attempted measurements on Fe-Cr alloys were not successful by the experimental method employed. Experimental Method The general method of solubility measurement was that of Sieverts.' The apparatus and procedure were essentially the same as used by Liang, Bever, and Floe."' The equipment consisted of a small vacuum furnace heated by a 6 kw induction unit, gas measuring apparatus, and a gas purification train. The crucibles used were Norton Alundum with alumina sand around them for insulation. The crucibles were charged with 100 to 200 g of material, about 180 g or nearly filling the crucible being found most satisfactory. Hot volumes were determined with argon and ranged from 95 to 130 cu cm (stp). Temperature measurements were made with a Leeds and Northrup optical pyrometer which was calibrated periodically against the melting point of iron in the same apparatus."-'* Good quality nitrogen, hydrogen, and argon gases were further purified and dried in standard purification trains. The sources of the high purity iron and other alloying elements used were as follows:

Jan 1, 1959

By J. W. Evans

ONE of the most important and frequent calculations that the extractive metallurgist is called upon to make is that of the standard free energy change of a reaction (?F°). For many reactions of metallurgical interest, the lengthy arithmetical calculations have been eliminated by the use of free energy-temperature diagrams which have been constructed by Ellingham,1 Richardson and Jeffes,2 Kellogg,3 and Osborn4 (e.g., for oxides, sulphides, halides) from critical surveys of existing data. The speed and simplicity of making calculations with these graphs make them of great practical value and, this should be stressed, in the majority of cases no greater accuracy is obtained by the individual calculations from specific heat data, entropies, and heats of reaction. With the increasing industrial application of vacuum methods to the winning of metals, notably at present magnesium and the alkaline earth metals, it is necessary to calculate low metal vapor pressures above reaction mixtures. The existing free energy diagrams usually give values where the solid and liquid metals are at unit activity. To obtain the free energy change associated with the reaction Metal (solid or liquid) = Metal (gas) it is customary to calculate this from either vapor pressure equations or from the appropriate free energy functions. This paper presents graphically the free energies of vaporization of a number of metals of economic importance which can be used in conjunction with other free energy diagrams. Certain metals have been excluded on the following grounds: titanium, tungsten, molybdenum, and platinum have very high heats of vaporization and boiling points and the uncertainty of these values arising from difficulties of high temperature measurements makes free energy values of doubtful accuracy; the data for cobalt, vanadium, and zirconium are uncertain; finally, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth could not be conveniently included. because of the presence of mixtures of polyatomic and mona-tomic vapors in the temperature range considered. Free Energy Diagram In Fig. 1, the standard free energies of vaporization per mol (?F°T) have been plotted for the temperature range 0" to 2000°C for the reaction M (solid or liquid) = M (gas) The data have been obtained from the free energy functions — (F-H298)/T for the solid, liquid, and gaseous elements and the heats of vaporization at 298°K, i.e., ?H298 (vapor). The values of these functions have been taken without change from the recent critical survey by Brewer;' the bulk of this data is from Kelley7 with adjustments in the light of more recent work. Values of the function — (F-H298) /T at T = 298°, 500°, 1000°, 1500°, and 2000°K were employed. Where possible, a further independent value was obtained by using the boiling point, i.e., where ?F°T = 0. All calculations are based on the assumption that the metal vapors are monatomic and that the boiling points refer to those temperatures at which the partial pressure of the monatomic vapor above the metal is 760 mm. For the alkali metals, e.g., sodium, potassium, and lithium, diatomic gas molecules are present as minor species; details of these are discussed by Brewer." On the basis of the above values and allowing for the change in slope at the melting point, straight line graphs were constructed and extrapolated to 2000°C. The deviation from a straight line did not exceed ±500 cal, which in all cases appears less than the probable error in the ?F°T values.

Jan 1, 1954

By C. R. King

Most of the acid volcanic glasses such as obsidian, perlite, pitchstone, pumice, and pumicite (volcanic ash) are susceptible to some expansion if suddenly subjected to a suitably high temperature in a properly designed furnace, and subsequently suddenly cooled. Expansion results from the action of chemically combined or dissolved water expanding as a vapor within the softened heated rock particles. This expansion forms countless minute bubbles within the pasty mass of the natural glass particles. If the particles are cooled before these bubbles can escape, the resulting products are cellular, more or less spherulitized glass froths or hollow glass spheres of many types. Chemically, they are essentially aluminum silicates containing about 70 to 75 pct silica, 10 to 16 pct alumina, and 2 to 7 pct sodium plus potassium oxides. They are relatively resistant to attack by acids or alkalies, are resistant to heat up to over 1000°F, and are completely inert to insect or fungus attack.

Jan 1, 1949

Edward Halse, Puerto Berrio, Colombia, So. Amer. (communication to the Secretary*): The Taviche mining-district is generally known as " Taviches," being named from the two villages called respectively San Pedro Taviche and San Jero-nimo Taviche. It is so called by Jose G. Aguilera, in his paper on the Geographical and Geological Distribution of the Mineral Deposits of Mexico;' and in published reports by the late N. W. Rudston Read ;2 and by Juan de Dios Villarello3 The region is a large one, measuring about 24 miles long and 7 miles wide. Dr. Chance, in his interesting paper, tells us very little about the nature of the ores, and, with regard to the geology of the district, contents himself with observing that " the country, as a rule, consists of eruptive rocks; and no evidences of sedimentary strata appear near the mines." The latter part of the above statement is hardly correct. The formation is mainly

Jan 1, 1906

By Olin M. Hart

Uranium ores occur in the Lower Cretaceous Inyan Kara group of heterogeneously stratified fluvial and fluvial-marine sandstones in the Black Hills of western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming. There are three principal mining districts, each in the ancestral and present drainage area of a major river partially responsible for stripping the region to its present topographic form. Primary minerals in the deposits are coffinite and uraninite with minor amounts of paramontroseite and haggite. The ore minerals coat sand grains and fill interstices of complexly cross-stratified sandstone along solution fronts similar to "roll" type deposits of the other districts. Minerals of oxidized deposits are typically carnotite and tyuyamunite with different proportions of secondary vanadium accessory minerals. Ground water was the transporting medium and deposition of primary uranium and vanadium minerals occurred in reducing environments produced and controlled by physio-chemical characteristics of the sedimentary rocks.

Jan 1, 1968

By H. J. Struth

In these trying times of proration and low oil prices, it is decidedly necessary for all branches of the petroleum industry to accord full recognition to the economic phenomena that contribute to its varying state of welfare. Perhaps no other single factor has a more important bearing upon the general oil situation than the supply and demand of gasoline. Year after year, the records have shown that the degree of prosperity or depression accompanying the industry's developments has been to a large extent influenced by the degree of balance maintamed between the supply and demand of gasoline. More and more it is being realized within the industry that equilibrium between the supply and demand of gasoline forms the basic structure of crude and product market values and, consequently, the deciding factor in the financial results of the industry as a whole. The influence of the gasoline situation upon the market and financial structure of the petroleum industry was effectively demonstrated during 1930, when excess accumulation of gasoline undermined not only the refined oil market but the crude market as well. In fact, it was a top-heavy gasoline situation that defeated the realization of benefits that might have accrued from an otherwise favorable statistical position in the producing branch of the industry. Indicative of this is the fact that crude oil production was curtailed to the extent of 98,323,000 bbl. last year, while refinery runs to stills were maintained at an excessive rate until late in the year, creating an excess gasoline production of 6,663,000 bbl. above actual requirements. Nevertheless, the movement to curtail refinery operations during the closing months of the year prevented a far worse situation, although it came too late to turn the ebbing momentum of the general oil market. Despite the severe depression of the market values that accompanied 1930 developments, it can be said that the results attained during the closing months of the year, in the direction of production control, marked a decisive turn in the industry's economic affairs. In fact, a review of the oil situation from every angle points definitely to a better general understanding and recognition of the workings of the economic law of supply and demand. As a result, the year closed with crude production in

Jan 1, 1931

By Don Masson

MUCH has been written and many prophecies made on the subject of plastics as a replacement for metal, and the extent to which these materials will compete with each other for peace- time markets. (Metal is used in a broad sense to include all types.) But although certain synthetic resin materials have made considerable headway in war production, this change to plastics can hardly be regarded as a serious threat to the mining and metallurgical industries. Even today, the total yearly tonnage of plastic materials is approximately only 1 per cent of that of steel, and only a small fraction of this might be considered as actually replacing steel. However, these figures must not be taken as indicating that the importance of plastics in fields hitherto considered exclusively the territory of metals is negligible-far from it. Considering the comparatively minute tonnage of plastics now being produced in comparison to the output of metals, the number of applications where plastics have augmented or aided the sale of metals is considerable.

Jan 1, 1944

By Leo Wolrnan

IN the relations that exist between capital and labor in this country, there is a bright as well as a dark side. After many years of distressing conditions of labor and a plentiful supply of propaganda, it is doubtful that the doctrine of the class struggle, however defined and stated, has been embraced by any influential and numerous elements of our population. Extreme and uncivilized methods of conflict, whether they be the labor spy as used by the employer or the sit-down strike by organized, labor, have come to be abandoned as the result of the pressure of sober and distinterested public opinion. Unwise terms of our law of trade unions and the unbridled zeal of its administrators show some slight signs of being revised in the light of 'experience and the protests of the law's own beneficiaries. At the point where labor policy touches economic conditions, the two powerful factions in the American labor movement appear to look with a less friendly eye on the bewildering succession of economic experiments and to have a deep nostalgia for a simpler and more prosperous economy.

Jan 1, 1938

By C. K. Gupta, P. K. Jena

Niobium (columbium) metal in the form of a button has been produced by calciothermic reduction of niobium pentoxide using sulfur as the heat booster. In these experiments with 50 g of niobium pentoxide per batch, the influence of percentage of calcium in excess of the stoichiometric, the percentage of sulfur by weight of the niobium oxide, and the outer-wall temperature of the bomb on the quality and yield of the metal has been studied. The maximum yield on this scale was 78 pct using 50 pct excess Ca and 20 pct of S and at a bomb-wall temperature of 600°C. In experiments conducted on 500 g of niobium pentoxide, reduction with 40 pct excess Ca and 20 pct of S, and at a bomb-wall temperature of 500°C, the.yield of the metal improved to 82 to 84 pct. Some of the reduced-metal samples have been electron-beam melted and the button melts thus obtained have been observed to be extremely ductile and capable of cold reduction to 98 pct without intermediate annealing. NIOBIUM, because of its high melting point (2468oC), its ductility, its resistance to corrosion especially in liquid metals, its high-temperature mechanical properties, and its relatively low capture cross section (1.1 barns) for thermal neutrons, has potentialities as a structural material in the field of nuclear engineering. Niobium and its alloys are also gaining importance in high-temperature technology as components in aircrafts, jet engines, and missiles, electronics, chemical engineering, and surgery. In 1904 Weiss and Aichel 1 produced niobium by reduction of its pentoxide by misch-metal. Since then a large number of investigations have been carried out for the extraction of niobium from its compounds. The various routes through which the metal niobium has been extracted from its compounds can broadely be classified into the following groups: a) reduction of its halides, oxides, and fluo-salts with metals like calcium, magnesium, sodium, and aluminum;2-10 b) reduction of its halides with hydrogen and oxides with carbon or carbides;11-18 c) electrolytic winning from its halides and fluo salts;19-25 and d) thermal decomposition and disproportion ion of its halides26-30 Among the processes in commercial use at present are sodium reduction or fused-salt electrolysis of potassium niobium fluoride, carbide or carbon reduction of the oxide, and hydrogen or metallothermic reduction of the chlorides. In 1907 Von Bolton2 prepared niobium by reducing niobium pentoxide with aluminum. Dennis and Adam-sona attempted reducing the oxide with magnesium powder in argon atmosphere and the resulting metal contained as much as 5 pct O. Mondolfo8 claimed a method for the reduction of the oxides with aluminum. In the case of both magnesium and aluminum reduction, it has been stated31 that by-product oxides such as MgO or A12O3 would involve a major separation problem. Further, in the case of alumino-thermic reduction, the solubility of aluminum in niobium and intermetallic formation have to be reckoned with. In 1922 Bridge3 produced niobium by calcium reduction of niobium pentoxide. Dennis and pdamson' obtained the metal by a similar method with an oxygen content of 0.2 pct. In most of the cases of metallothermic reduction of niobium oxides mentioned above, the metal niobium is obtained in the form of powder. In an attempt to produce massive niobium metal, lock' used iodine as the thermal booster in the bomb reduction of niobium pentoxide by calcium. Massive niobium metal was obtained with a maximum yield of 75 pct containing 0.1 pct 0. Joly32 carried out experiments on calcium reduction of niobium pentoxide on a 2-kg scale using sulfur as the heat booster in a sealed bomb filled with argon. In his experiments, the reaction was initiated by passing a current through niobium spiral wire embedded in the charge. In a typical run consisting of 2000 g of niobium pentoxide, 3100 g of calcium, and 800 g of sulfur (S/Nb2O5 = 3.3), he obtained massive metal in the form of a very uneven mass with a yield of -57 pct. With lower amounts of sulfur and calcium, powder niobium mixed with small metal globules was obtained and the yield was also poor. From these experiments he concluded that this method is not a suitable one for industrial development considering the quality and yield of metal obtainable and the possible hazards with higher ratios of sulfur to niobium pentoxide in the -~charere. In the present work, a detailed investigation on the calciothermic reduction of niobium pentoxide in a stainless-steel bomb in presence of sulfur as the heat booster was undertaken on a laboratory scale.

Jan 1, 1964

By Barry S. Epstein

Financing the acquisition of a going coal mine operation has not had the exposure other finance-oriented projects have had. Therefore, C.I.T. feels that coal mining people and financial people should improve their understanding of the factors involved in this important type of acquisition. The discussion consists of two major subjects: analysis of the acquisition of the property, and sources and terms of funding the acquisition. Source and Terms of Funding There is a need to keep the competent medium-sized independent operator in the coal business, especially in these times of energy shortage. The creation of a resale market for coal mines encourages new investment in the coal mining business by medium-sized operators and their financial backers. Who provides debt and equity financing to acquire going coal mine operations and on what terms?

Jan 9, 1975