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By Walter S. Weeks

IN this paper the effect of natural ventilation pressures is considered a part of the mine resistance and it is shown that their effect on the mine resistance is not the same as the total natural ventilation pressure of the shafts if the mine has several levels. It is shown that increasing the fan pressure causes the division of the air to approach the condition that would obtain if there were no natural ventilation pressure present. It is shown that if an appreciable difference in pressure is maintained between the beginning and end of a group of splits, the value of the integrated effect of the natural ventilation pressures on the individual splits does not change substantially with moderate changes of this pressure. A method is outlined for determining the resistance factor of the mine and the value of the effect of natural ventilation with the fan operating; also a method for determining this factor when circulation is caused by natural ventilation alone. NATURAL VENTILATION PRESSURE Natural ventilation pressure (N.V.P.) is caused by the difference in weight of the air in two similar columns between two horizontal planes, and the difference in weight is caused principally by the difference in temperature of the two columns. The fan pressure causes some variation in density, but, since it is usually small and affects both columns, its effect is relatively unimportant. It has been suggested that "N.V.P." be called "stack effect"; but, since the term N.V.P. was used in a previous Institute paper,' applied in exactly the same manner, the term will be used. FRICTIONAL RESISTANCE The frictional resistance to flow in a mine without natural ventilation may be expressed as RQ2 where R is a constant for a given air density and Q is the rate of flow. This frictional resistance plus the effect of velocity changes will be called the F pressure (F.P.) and a curve of F.P. against Q, the F characteristic of the mine. If a pressure is applied to a mine by a fan, the air flow so adjusts itself that the drop in pressure through any path from entrance to exit of mine, due to frictional resistances and velocity changes, is the same as that in any other path. The mine resistance varies as the square of the quantity. The air distribution without N.V.P. will be called "normal." NATURAL VENTILATION PRESENT When N.V.P. is irregularly distributed in a mine, it is more convenient in analysis to consider the N.V.P. as a part of the duct resistance. If it is so considered the resistance no longer varies as the square of the quantity, and if N.V.P. exists between levels the distribution of the air is no longer normal. The total N.V.P. of the mine is the pressure caused by the full length of the shafts. If a mine has several levels, N.V.P. exists

Jan 1, 1944

By A. R. Denison

Several productive areas in the Mid-Con-tinent are broadly and briefly examined with respect to the present depth of drilling on productive structures, and the thickness of sediments remaining untested. Evidence is offered to show that a vertical mile to two miles of untested but prospective formation remain within reach of the drill. In no case would a well deeper than 15,000 ft. be required, and in most cases to no greater depth than 10,000 ft. Recent outstanding success of deeper prospecting in West Texas demonstrates the merits of deeper drilling on known structure. Introduction New fields discoverd during I942 equaled or exceeded the number in any preceding year. The total amount of oil found by these discoveries was less than in any previous year, for which accurate records are available. This means that the pools now being discovered are much smaller than in past years. This is to be expected, since the prospects available during 1942 were largely those overlooked in the earlier years and therefore represent a second or third order (in quality) of structural feature. This failure to find pools of good size and quality raises grave doubt as to the security of our future oil supply. With military needs rising almost daily, and the period of heaviest con- sumption in our war effort still in the future, there is even a growing doubt as to our ability to supply the amount needed for our ultimate victory. This does not mean that our reserves are inadequate, but rather that our "capacity to produce" may be inadequate. Lacking large fields with flush production, our capacity to produce is rapidly approaching our current needs. ,Since the industry is unable to find the large new fields necessary to keep a safe margin of "capacity to produce," other means are needed. It seems obvious that one of these should be deeper prospecting on the large, proven, productive structural features now known. The exploratory wildcat is drilled primarily in search of a trap and the reason for failure to find oil and gas in nine out of ten cases is due to the absence of a suitable trap under the drill site. Therefore, deeper drilling on a known structural feature that is productive largely eliminates the greatest hazard in wildcat drilling. While by no means all the oil known today is found in structural traps—in fact, some have estimated that less than half is so located— the fact remains that structural traps are far more commonly the oil fields that have multiple horizons of production superimposed one over the other. Outstanding examples are the Eldorado field in Kansas, the Tonkawa and Cushing fields in Oklahoma, the Louden and Salem pools of Illinois, and the richest and most prolific of all structural traps, the Long Beach, Ven-tura and other similar fields of California.

Jan 1, 1944

By John W. Bell

IN the introduction to an excellent pamphlet, John Gross1 makes the following statements: Although marked progress has been made along mechanical lines, the theory and conception of underlying principles have not advanced so rapidly. This lack of advance in theory may be attributed to the unfortunate situation resulting from the controversy as to whether the Rittinger or Kick law is applicable to crushing. Many pages of the technical literature are burdened with theoretical discussions in favor of one or the other of these laws, which have tended to cloud rather than to clear the atmosphere. Realizing the situation, the Milling Committee of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, through its secretary, E. A. Hersam, studied the milling industry and, because of the apparently hopeless lack of agreement in the Kick versus Rittinger dispute (5, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 30. 34), concluded that a foundation for the theory of crushing was of primary importance. The numbers in the paragraph quoted refer to papers listed by Mr. Gross in his Bibliography on Crushing and Grinding.1 One is obliged to infer that these papers show "hopeless lack of agreement in the Kick versus Rittinger dispute." No. 22 is a paper by Arthur O. Gates2 and No. 23 is one by the writer.3 Employing the subject matter contained in papers Nos. 22 and 2323 the writer will show that their authors formulated identical conclusions, based solely on experimental evidence. Exactly the same defect in the Stadler hypothesis was described in each of the two papers, although entirely different experimental methods were employed in uncovering it. Both of the authors, independently, formulated the conclusion that Rittinger's was a. true hypothesis and Stadler's false. The evidence in a third paper4 will be employed to prove that Stadler's hypothesis, when examined experimentally, is worthless. STADLER'S HYPOTHESIS WORTHLESS It is the writer's opinion that the evidence available in 1915 and the corroborating evidence in 1916 was amply sufficient to eliminate the need for any further consideration of Stadler's hypothesis. Certainly the evidence produced in 1918 dealt this hypothesis its coup de grace. It follows, therefore, that in the year 1918 there was only one credible hypothesis left-the Rittinger hypothesis. Gates' Opinion What information is available in Mr. Gates' paper?2 His conclusions are not consecutively summarized, none the less they are perfectly clear. On page 876, Gates says, and it is a very significant utterance: But my results show, among other things, that many more of Stadler's energy units are obtained per foot-pound-applied in coarse than in fine crushing. This suggests a doubt as to the correctness of his unit, since one would expect a foot-pound-applied to produce the same number of "energy units," whether the feed and resulting product were coarse or fine. When Rittinger's theory is applied, the number of mesh-tons (my unit of surface produced) is

Jan 1, 1942

By G. R. Rubly, H. J. Steele

LOCATION AND HISTORY THE San Manuel property is in townships 8S and 9S, range 16E, Gila and Salt River Base and Meridan, State of Arizona. This area is in the Old Hat mining district, southern Pinal County, and is about 3;2 miles southwest of the town of Mammoth on the San Pedro River and one mile south of the Mammoth mine at Tiger, Arizona. The property consists of over 150 contiguous lode claims. The Old Hat district was prospected prior to the Civil War, but there was little or no production until 1881.1 The chief producers have been the Mammoth and Mohawk mines, now consolidated and operating as the St. Anthony Mining and Development Co., Ltd. Production to 1936 was $5,200,000, of which 83 pet was gold.2 Since 1940 the production has been chiefly lead and zinc, and some molybdenum and vanadium. There are a few small properties in the vicinity that have produced very minor tonnages of copper ore. In the San Manuel group there are claims which have been held continuously from 1906 to the present time, and at least two churn-drill holes were put down on or near the outcrop in 1917. No logs for these holes are available, but it is assumed that the grade of copper encountered was not sufficient to encourage further exploration. A small amount of ore has been shipped from open cuts on the San Manuel outcrop area, but there is no record of the tonnage or grade. It is estimated that not more than 5o tons were mined. These cuts, plus a few shallow shafts and some short adits indicate limited and unenthusiastic prospecting at San Manuel. In 1942, through the efforts of James M. Douglas, R. B. Giffin, Victor Erickson, and Henry W. Nichols, owners of the San Manuel group, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and War Production Board authorized the United States Geological Survey to investigate the property, and by their recommendation, the United States Bureau of Mines was authorized to put down a limited number of churn-drill holes. The Bureau of Mines carried on drilling from November 1943 to February 1945. Seventeen holes were drilled, varying from 305 to 1990 ft in depth. The property was brought to the attention of Magma Copper Co. in June I944 and an option agreement was made with the owners. Subsequently, a group of claims lying north of the original group and held by the Apex Lead Vanadium Mining Corp., and a group to the east held by the Quarelli family, were optioned. A drilling program was laid out to conform to the Bureau of Mines pattern, and drilling started in December 1944. San Manuel Copper Corp. was incorporated September 1945, and has carried on the exploration program to the present time. GEOLOGY General The mineralized outcrop, chief copper mineral of which is chrysocolla, is a tri-

Jan 1, 1947

By H. S. Cannon, F. N. Rhines

The application of a static load to a copper powder compact during sintering at an elevated temperature accelerates the rate of sintering in such a way that a given load induces the same proportional increase in rate for all times of sintering. It is shown that sintering under a load is like creep under a fixed load in that the stress required to accomplish a given degree of densification is proportional to the logarithm of the sintering time. VIRTUALLY all of the theories of sintering that have been put forward within recent years have contained the assumption that the chief driving force of the process is the surface tension resident in the exposed surfaces and internal pores of the compact, or powder mass. An externally applied load might be expected to provide a somewhat equivalent driving force for sintering. It is known that the application of a compressive load, during sintering, hastens densification, but it is by no means clear whether sintering under the influence of surface tension alone and sintering under an applied load are fundamentally similar processes. The present study was undertaken in an effort to obtain an answer to this question and with the hope that the answer may contribute to an understanding of the mechanism of sintering. It has been found that there is a close relationship between sintering and creep processes. Copper powder compacts were sintered in hydrogen at 1000 °C under dead loads of 0 to 165 psi and the progress of sintering was observed by means of density measurements. Using a commercial reduced oxide copper powder, see Table I, cylindrical compacts Yz in. x x in. high were made at a pressure of 12,500 psi. For sintering, these were placed in a cylindrical graphite container into which they fitted snugly. A compressive axial load was applied to the compact through a graphite rod of similar diameter, which rested upon the upper end face of the compact; iron weights, in suitable amount, were placed upon the graphite rod to provide the load. This assembly was encased in a vertical silica tube within a resistance-type furnace capable of maintaining a substantially constant temperature within the working zone. After various predetermined times at temperature, the samples were removed from the furnace and their density was measured by conventional means. The heating-up and cooling-down times have been included in the computed sintering time, using the assumption that the sintering rate doubles for each increase of 10 °C in temperature. The experimental results are presented in Table 11. Upon metallographic examination of the specimens, it was found that there was no apparent change in the shape of the pores as a result of loading, i.e, no flattening, Fig. 1. Substantial contraction away from the container walls was observed in all samples sintered with loads of 10.5 psi and less.

Jan 1, 1952

Discussion of the paper of E: D. Gardner, presented at the Salt Lake meeting, August, 1914, and printed in Bulletin No. 91, July, 1914, pp. 1467 to 1471. H. V. WINCHELL, Minneapolis, Minn.-There are two questions I should like to ask: First, does the Department still adhere to the decision made in the East Tintic case? Second, does the Department require placer ground to he of such value that, in the opinion of the Forest Service employees, it will pay to work, before admitting the location to be valid? T. C. HOYT,* Ogden, Utah.-With reference to the first question: the Department does not hold to that decision, as it was reconsidered by the Secretary Of the Interior, and the Department is governed by the decision of the Secretary Of the Interior, on those points always. The Department of Agriculture makes no decision as to what constitutes a sufficient discovery. The mineral examiners simply report their findings and Opinions. These are transmitted to the chief of the field division of the General Land Office, who in turn transmits the reports to the Commissioner Of the General Land Office, who decides whether the report raises an issue requiring a hearing. If a hearing is ordered, expert testimony is given on the question of the discovery, as well as the evidence of practical people who operate in the vicinity of the claim in question. As to the extent of placer values considered sufficient to justify a location, my answer will need a little amplification. I couldn't answer it directly for the reason that sometimes people resort to placer claim location as a means of acquiring land for Other purposes than placer mining, which makes it absolutely necessary that the government give close attention to the question of whether good faith has been shown, as it is the evidences of good faith that largely determine whether a report adverse to a claim shall be made. That is a difficult point to cover sometimes. For instance, in the region I have recently visited there are some 17 miles of a valley, from ¼ to ¾ mile in width, all covered by placer locations. It is valuable stock-grazing land, and is stocked at the present time. It also contains a stand of timber, and is on the watershed of an important stream-important from the fact that it furnishes the water supply to government storage reservoirs, and to pending reclamation and Carey Act projects. In this case the placer claims will not be disturbed as mere locations. They will simply remain there, and there will be no action with reference to them until the claimant asks for patent or, before patent, begins to denude that watershed and remove that timber. Then the government would direct that the mineral experts go on to the ground, examine it, prospect it, and submit their report, with a view to seeing if

Jan 11, 1914

R. H. Sweetser.—Mr. Reinartz spoke of slag containing 18 per cent FeO. I think he expressed the iron as oxide. I should like to ask at what point, in iron contents, it is usual practice to quit sending that open-hearth slag to the blast furnace? L. F. Reinartz.—NO problem is involved in disposing of open-hearth slag to our blast furnaces because, on account of the grades of iron and steel made by our company, the iron oxide in the slag is sufficiently high to make it very acceptable to the blast-furnace operator. I have been told that if the total iron oxide in the slag is under 18 to 20 per cent, it is not economical to use such slag in a blast furnace. J. T. Mackenzie,* Birmingham, A1a.—Mr. Reinartz mentioned sulfate in the limestone. I wonder if he did not use the wrong word. We always have assumed that the sulfate sulfur is practically harmless. Most limestone carries some pyrite (sulfide sulfur) which we thought was what gave the sulfur pick-up. L. F. Reinartz.—I have had no experience, personally, in the use of limestone high in sulfates. I have been told, on several occasions, by other open-hearth men, that the sulfates will be reduced and increase the sulfur content of the metal. We have never found any pyrite in our limestone. A. Hayes,† Middletown, Ohio.—I should think that sulfates would be readily reducible to sulfites, and possibly to sulfides at various distances through the slag layer, from the top down to the interface between the bath and the slag, because reducing conditions are certainly sufficiently strong next to the bath in the slag to reduce sulfates to sulfides. A. L. Feild,‡ Baltimore, Md.—What is Mr. Reinartz's theory as to the effect of silica in the slag on the iron oxide content of the metal? L. F. Reinartz.—I have no particular theory as to the effect of silica in the slag on the iron oxide content of the metal. I know from practical experience that it does have an influence on reduction of iron oxide in the metal. We know that if the silicon content of the charge, and, therefore, the silica of the slag is increased, the iron oxide in the slag will be decreased. Based on Dr. Herty's work, we assume that the iron oxide is correspondingly decreased in the metal. C. H. Herty, JR.,§ Bethlehem, Pa.—In the theory of iron oxide control, we have tackled the matter from the physical standpoint, rather than the chemical standpoint or from the slag itself, and we worked on the basis that the change in iron oxide content in a slag—that is, whether the slag increases or decreases in iron oxide—is due to the simple fact that if you put more iron oxide into the slag from the gas than you put oxygen from the slag into the metal, the slag must increase in iron oxide;

Jan 1, 1935

By John W. Bell

In the introduction to an excellent pamphlet, John Gross' makes the following statements: Although marked progress has been made along mechanical lines, the theory and conception of underlying principles have not advanced so rapidly. This lack of advance in theory may be attributed to the unfortunate situation resulting from the controversy as to whether the Rittinger or Kick law is applicable to crushing. Many pages of the technical literature are burdened with theoretical discussions in favor of one or the other of these laws, which have tended to cloud rather than to clear the atmosphere. Realizing the situation, the Milling Committee of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, through its secretary, E. A. Hersam, studied the milling industry and, because of the apparently hopeless lack of agreement in the Kick versus Rittinger dispute (5, 13, 14, 16, 18. 19. 21, 22, 23, 24, 30, 34). concluded that a foundation lor the theory of crushing was of primary importance. The numbers in the paragraph quoted refer to papers listed by Mr. Gross in his Bibliography on Crushing and Grinding.I One is obliged to infer that these papers show "hopeless lack of agreement in the Kick versus Rittinger dispute." No. 22 is a paper by Arthur 0. Gates2 and No. 23 is one by the writer.3 Employing the subject matter contained in papers Nos. 22 and 232,3 the writer will show that their authors formulated identical conclusions, based solely on experimental evidence. Exactly the same defect in the Stadler hypothesis was described in each of the two papers, although entirely different experimental methods were employed in uncovering it. Both of the authors, independently, formulated the conclusion that Rittinger's was a true hypothesis and Stadler's false. The evidence in a third paper4 will be employed to prove that Stadler's hypothesis, when examined experimentally, is worthless. Stadler's Hypothesis Worthless It is the writer's opinion that the evidence available in 1915 and the corroborating evidence in 1916 was amply sufficient to eliminate the need for any further consideration of Stadler's hypothesis. Certainly the evidence produced in 1918 dealt this hypothesis its coup de grace. It follows, therefore, that in the year 1918 there was only one credible hypothesis left—the Rittinger hypothesis. Gates' Opinion What information is available in Mr. Gates' paper?2 His conclusions are not consecutively summarized, none the less they are perfectly clear. On page 876, Gates says, and it is a very significant utterance: But my results show, among other things. that many more of Stadler's energy units are obtained per foot-pound-applied in coarse than in finc crushing. This suggests a doubt as to the correctness of his unit, since one would expect a foot-pound-applied to produce the same number of "energy units," whether the feed and resulting product were coarse or fine. When Rittinger's theory is applied, the number of mesh-tons (my unit of surface produced) is

Jan 1, 1943

By S. F. Ravitz

In his excellent book on the Principles of Flotation, Warkl makes the following significant statement concerning the theory of flotation: Two questions of first-rate importance must be considered . . . First, it must be decided whether the sulfide minerals require a collector in order that they may float, or whether as has been claimed, they possess an inherent float-ability and need no collector. Second, it must be decided whether the xanthate type of collector can react with or be adsorbed by the unchanged sulfide minerals themselves, or whether, as many claim, reaction with the collector is dependent upon initial oxidation of the mineral surface. In the theory of flotation there are no two questions of greater importance than these. Ravitz and Porter2 presented evidence that galena can be floated without a collector, and even without any reagent, provided oxidation products are thoroughly removed from its surface. They found also that thoroughly cleaned galena floated faster when xanthate was used than when a frother alone or no reagent was used, and that, without a collector, the recovery decreased gradually upon exposure of the mineral to air. Their work, however, has met with considerable criticism.l(127).3-6 This paper is presented to answer the objections that have been raised, and to present additional data that confirin their results. The apparatus used to provide oxygen-free conditions for flotation has been described in detail by Ravitz and Porter. An atmosphere of purified nitrogen was maintained within the apparatus; all water and solutions used were freed of dissolved air, and could be transferred where desired by the use of nitrogen Pressure; nitrogen was used as the gaseous medium for flotation. The flotation cell was essentially a glass cylinder 15 cm. long and 4.6 cm. in diameter. Near the bottom was sealed a fritted glass filter, which broke up the gas into small bubbles, and 6 cm. above this filter was a side arm through which the froth overflowed. The pulp was agitated by a glass impeller, which entered the cell through a mercury seal. For each test 17 grams of galena and 75 ml. of water were placed in the cell, after which the speed of the impeller and the rate of gas flow were adjusted. Water was added gradually during the test to keep the froth level at the proper height. The mineral was prepared and cleaned in the following manner. Exceptionally Pure galena was crushed by hand on a clean bucking board, screened to —I50+ 200 mesh, and deslimed on a 200-mesh sieve with a fine spray of water. It was then boiled on a hot plate for a number of hours with several changes of the desired cleaning solution, after which both the solution and the mineral were placed in the "mineral flask" of the apparatus. The cleaning solution was drained off, and the mineral was boiled with oxygen-free water

Jan 1, 1943

By C. F. Seaman, R. G. Clay

The mines of The Tennessee Copper Co. are in the Ducktown Basin, in southeastern Tennessee. The ore is a heavy sulphide consisting principally of chalcopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotite and in places running as high as 95 per cent sulphur and iron. Operating mines are the Burra Burra and Eureka. Development ' of the Boyd ore body was started in 1940. Late in 1939 the decision was made to change from fuse and cap to all electric blasting and at the same time electric cap lamps were installed to replace carbide. These changes were made to improve the safety and working conditions in the mines. Both the Bureau of Mines and explosives manufacturers recommended electric blasting as a safety measure. Until that rime, electric blasting had been used only for shaft sinking and in places where it was absolutely essential for safety. Very few men had had experience in this type of blasting, as the places where it was required were those that also required direct supervision. It was necessary for the mining staff to work out methods, procedure, and equipment to be used. In this they were ably assisted by representatives of the explosives manufacturers. Many mistakes were made and it is the purpose of this paper to describe the original plan and installation, show the major difficulties encountered. the remedies applied, and present the practices now being followed. Comparison of costs of the two methods will also be discussed. About six months were required to make the change and eliminate fuse and cap blasting entirely. The first electric blasting stations were installed in November 1939 and the last fuse was taken underground in May 1940. A very unusual condition forced the use of fuse for a short time in one heading after May, but that will be discussed later. Original Equipment and Installation A power line is generally recommended as a source of current where permanent blasting stations are used. The plan worked out for electric blasting was to tap 220-volt alternating-current lines when they were available and use 250-volt direct current from the trolley wire at all other places. A blasting machine would be available at each shaft for places where there were no regular blasting stations and could be used if a regular station should fail. The equipment decided on was No. 16 duplex reinforced lamp cord for lines to within about 50 ft. of the working place and No. 20 lead wire from that point to the shots. An open double-pole, double-throw switch with slate base was put in the circuit, so connected that the down position would close the line to the shots 2nd the up position would connect it to the Iine from the power contactor. This switch was located in the circuit as close to the blast as was safe (should the shots explode when it was placed in the shooting

Jan 1, 1943

By Walter S. Weeks

In this paper the effect of natural ventilation pressures is considered a part of the mine resistance and it is shown that their effect on the mine resistance is not the same as the total natural ventilation pressure of the shafts if the mine has several levels. It is shown that increasing the fan pressure causes the division of the air to approach the condition that would obtain if there were no natural ventilation pressure present. It is shown that if an appreciable difference in pressure is maintained between the beginning and end of a group of splits, the value of the integrated effect of the natural ventilation pressures on the individual splits does not change substantially with moderate changes of this pressure. A method is outlined for determining the resistance factor of the mine and the value of the effect of natural ventilation with the fan operating; also a method for determining this factor when circulation is caused by natural ventilation alone. Natural Ventilation Pressure Natural ventilation pressure (N.V.P.) is caused by the difference in weight of the air in two similar columns between two horizontal planes, and the difference in weight is caused principally by the difference in temperature of the two columns. The fan pressure causes some variation in density, but, since it is usually small and affects both columns, its effect is relatively unimportant. It has been suggested that "N.V.P." be called "stack effect"; but, since the term N.V.P. was used in a previous Institute paper,' applied in exactly the same manner, the term will be used. Frictional Resistance The frictional resistance to flow in a mine without natural ventilation may be expressed as RQ2 where R is a constant for a given air density and Q is the rate of flow. This frictional resistance plus the effect of velocity changes will be called the F pressure (F.P.) and a curve of F.P. against Q, the F characteristic of the mine. If a pressure is applied to a mine by a fan, the air flow so adjusts itself that the drop in pressure through any path from entrance to exit of mine, due to frictional resistances and velocity changes, is the same as that in any other path. The mine resistance varies as the square of the quantity. The air distribution without N.V.P. will be called "normal." Natural Ventilation Present When N.V.P. is irregularly distributed in a mine, it is more convenient in analysis to consider the N.V.P. as a part of the duct resistance. If it is so considered the resistance no longer varies as the square of the quantity, and if N.V.P. exists between levels the distribution of the air is no longer normal. The total N.V.P. of the mine is the pressure caused by the full length of the shafts. If a mine has several levels, N.V.P. exists

Jan 1, 1946

By S. F. Urban, G. Derge

AT the time this investigation was initiated variations were observed in the quality of different heats of basic electric-furnace steels, although they had been made under purportedly similar conditions. This indicated that these variations were related to normally unobserved variations in the character of the bath, especially during the "refining" period. Although the slags used for this operation are commonly referred to as "reducing" slags, and are regarded as having a "deoxidizing" action on the bath, no reliable measurements of this action were available. It was decided, therefore, to study the behavior of oxygen in the metal for a large enough number of heats to learn its normal variations and to relate these variations to regularly observed conditions [f] operation. The most important general conclusion reached was that the time a heat is held under a reducing slag should be reduced to a minimum, which was about an hour and a half under the conditions studied. Beyond this time no observable beneficial effects are obtained from the reducing slags, insofar as oxygen and sulphur content of the bath are concerned. It is likely that added time may increase hydrogen content as well as heat costs. The oxygen content of the bath is never reduced below the amount in equilibrium with the carbon. Concurrently with this work, J. S. Marsh1 presented data that supplement and support many of the results of this paper. PROCEDURE The work was done in two different electric-furnace shops of the same plant. The selection of heats was made primarily with regard to the convenience of heat schedules. Companion slag and metal samples were taken just prior to slag-off and throughout the refining period for an initial set of 17 heats, and before slag-off and near tap for an additional 13 heats. Slag sampling presented no particular problem; a spoonful of slag was poured onto a metal plate and when sufficiently cool was sealed in an airtight container. Sampling the metal for oxygen presented a more complex problem. Because of the lack of previous experience in sampling electric-furnace baths, a number of methods were compared. Chilled Wedge Samples2 An unkilled metal sample is removed from tie furnace in a well-slagged carbometer spoon and poured immediately into a heavy copper mold designed to provide rapid freezing. Three different types of molds were used to determine the optimum for electric-furnace heats. The Big Wedge Mold (a) was a 4 by 4 by 4-in. split copper mold, yielding a wedge-shaped casting 1 in. wide, 1 ½ in. long, and ¼ in. maximum thickness, and was finally adopted as the most satisfactory design. The Long Wedge Mold (b) was a 2 by 2 by 5 ¼ -in. split copper mold, yielding a wedge-shaped casting 1 in. wide, 2 ¾ in. long, and ¼ in. maximum thickness. The Small Wedge Mold (c) was 2 by 2 by 4-in. split copper mold, yielding a wedge-shaped casting 1 in. wide, 1 ½ in. long, and ¼ in. maximum thickness.

Jan 1, 1947

By Alfred Brooks

THE only oil produced in Alaska in 1923 was obtained from a dozen small wells, one of which was drilled during the year on the single patented tract of petroleum land in Alaska, in the Katalla field. These wells are owned by the Chilkat Oil Co., which finds a ready local market for its product in the form of gasoline produced in its own refinery. The search for oil has been continued, but except in the Cold Bay field there has been no drilling in new fields during the year. Drilling was in progress during 1923 at Pearl Dome, 18 miles from the coast. Here the Associated Oil Co. sank two wells, about 500 and 950 ft. deep, but suspended drilling in June. The Standard Oil Co., drilling on the same structure, reached a depth of 300 ft. by August and is reported to have reached about 700 ft. by November. The company began the, installation of a second drill in August. George C. Martin, who hastily examined the Chignik region, south of the Cold Bay field, reports that what is known of the geology near Chignik is not favorable to the presence of petroleum. Kirtley Mather, who made a geologic survey of the northern part of the Alaska Peninsula, reports that some of the structures and the formations are favorable to the presence of oil. A small seepage has long been known in the region near the mouth of Douglas River, which flows into Cook Inlet. Sidney Paige last summer made an examination .of the oil seepages which have long been known near Cape Simpson, 50 miles southeast of Point Barrow, the northernmost point of Alaska. He reports that there are two very large seepages emanating from small ridges about a mile apart and several miles from the coast. These are marked by flowing petroleum, and cover many acres. There is a very large accumulation of petroleum residue at these seepages. The surface exposures consist of clay shales with hard thin partings of calcareous shale which lie nearly horizontal, and are probably, of Jurassic age. Mr. Paige and his two sub-parties explored a large area inland from the Arctic coast between Cape Beaufort on the south and Point Barrow and Cape Simpson on the north. He himself ascended the Meade River for 150 miles. These surveys indicate a wide distribution of what is believed to be the formation from which the Cape Simpson seepages emerge, which is probably of Jurassic age. These rocks near the north Arctic coast are little disturbed, but are increasingly folded to the south, toward the mountains. No other seepages have been found, but what is known of the geology is not unfavorable to an oil field. This entire region lies in Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4, and it was examined by the Geological Survey at the request and expense of the Department of the Navy.

Jan 3, 1924

By John W. Bell

In the introduction to an excellent pamphlet, John Gross' makes the following statements: Although marked progress has been made along mechanical lines, the theory and conception of underlying principles have not advanced so rapidly. This lack of advance in theory may be attributed to the unfortunate situation resulting from the controversy as to whether the Rittinger or Kick law is applicable to crushing. Many pages of the technical literature are burdened with theoretical discussions in favor of one or the other of these laws, which have tended to cloud rather than to clear the atmosphere. Realizing the situation, the Milling Committee of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, through its secretary, E. A. Hersam, studied the milling industry and, because of the apparently hopeless lack of agreement in the Kick versus Rittinger dispute (5, 13, 14, 0, i8, 19, 21, 22, 23. 24, 30. 34), concluded that a foundation for the theory of crushing was of primary importance. The numbers in the paragraph quoted refer to papers listed by Mr. Gross in his Bibliography on Crushing and Grinding.1 One is obliged to infer that these papers show "hopeless lack of agreement in the Kick versus Rittinger dispute." No. 22 is a paper by Arthur O. Gates2 and No. 23 is one by the writer.3 Employing the subject matter contained in papers Nos. 22 and 23 2,3 the writer will show that their authors formulated identical conclusions, based solely on experimental evidence. Exactly the same defect in the Stadler hypothesis was described in each of the two papers, although entirely different experimental methods were employed in uncovering it. Both of the authors, independently, formulated the conclusion that Rittinger's was a true hypothesis and Stadler's false. The evidence in a third paper4 will be employed to prove that Stadler's hypothesis, when examined experimentally, is worthless. STADLER'S HYPOTHESIS WORTHLESS It is the writer's opinion that the evidence available in 1915 and the corroborating evidence in 1916 was amply sufficient to eliminate the need for any further consideration of Stadler's hypothesis. Certainly the evidence produced in 1918 dealt this hypothesis its coup de grace. It follows, therefore, that in the year 1918 there was only one credible hypothesis left-the Rittinger hypothesis. Gates' Opinion What information is available in Mr. Gates' paper?2 His conclusions are not consecutively summarized, none the less they are perfectly clear. On page 876, Gates says, and it is a very significant utterance: But my results show, among other things, that many more of Stadler's energy units are obtained per foot-pound-applied in coarse than in fine crushing. This suggests a doubt as to the correctness of his unit, since one would expect a foot-pound-applied to produce the same number of "energy units," whether the feed and resulting product were coarse or fine. When Rittinger's theory is applied, the number of mesh-tons (my unit of surface produced) is

Jan 1, 1942

By John W. Bell

In the introduction to an excellent pamphlet, John Gross' makes the following statements: Although marked progress has been made along mechanical lines, the theory and conception of underlying principles have not advanced so rapidly. This lack of advance in theory may be attributed to the unfortunate situation resulting from the controversy as to whether the Rittinger or Kick law is applicable to crushing. Many pages of the technical literature are burdened with theoretical discussions in favor of one or the other of these laws, which have tended to cloud rather than to clear the atmosphere. Realizing the situation, the Milling Committee of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, through its secretary, E. A. Hersam, studied the milling industry and, because of the apparently hopeless lack of agreement in the Kick versus Rittinger dispute (5, 13, 14, 16, 18. 19. 21, 22, 23, 24, 30, 34). concluded that a foundation lor the theory of crushing was of primary importance. The numbers in the paragraph quoted refer to papers listed by Mr. Gross in his Bibliography on Crushing and Grinding.I One is obliged to infer that these papers show "hopeless lack of agreement in the Kick versus Rittinger dispute." No. 22 is a paper by Arthur 0. Gates2 and No. 23 is one by the writer.3 Employing the subject matter contained in papers Nos. 22 and 232,3 the writer will show that their authors formulated identical conclusions, based solely on experimental evidence. Exactly the same defect in the Stadler hypothesis was described in each of the two papers, although entirely different experimental methods were employed in uncovering it. Both of the authors, independently, formulated the conclusion that Rittinger's was a true hypothesis and Stadler's false. The evidence in a third paper4 will be employed to prove that Stadler's hypothesis, when examined experimentally, is worthless. Stadler's Hypothesis Worthless It is the writer's opinion that the evidence available in 1915 and the corroborating evidence in 1916 was amply sufficient to eliminate the need for any further consideration of Stadler's hypothesis. Certainly the evidence produced in 1918 dealt this hypothesis its coup de grace. It follows, therefore, that in the year 1918 there was only one credible hypothesis left—the Rittinger hypothesis. Gates' Opinion What information is available in Mr. Gates' paper?2 His conclusions are not consecutively summarized, none the less they are perfectly clear. On page 876, Gates says, and it is a very significant utterance: But my results show, among other things. that many more of Stadler's energy units are obtained per foot-pound-applied in coarse than in finc crushing. This suggests a doubt as to the correctness of his unit, since one would expect a foot-pound-applied to produce the same number of "energy units," whether the feed and resulting product were coarse or fine. When Rittinger's theory is applied, the number of mesh-tons (my unit of surface produced) is

Jan 1, 1943

By R. G. Clay, C. F. Seaman

The mines of The Tennessee Copper Co. are in the Ducktown Basin, in southeastern Tennessee. The ore is a heavy sulphide consisting principally of chalcopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotite and in places running as high as 95 per cent sulphur and iron. Operating mines are the Burra Burra and Eureka. Development ' of the Boyd ore body was started in 1940. Late in 1939 the decision was made to change from fuse and cap to all electric blasting and at the same time electric cap lamps were installed to replace carbide. These changes were made to improve the safety and working conditions in the mines. Both the Bureau of Mines and explosives manufacturers recommended electric blasting as a safety measure. Until that rime, electric blasting had been used only for shaft sinking and in places where it was absolutely essential for safety. Very few men had had experience in this type of blasting, as the places where it was required were those that also required direct supervision. It was necessary for the mining staff to work out methods, procedure, and equipment to be used. In this they were ably assisted by representatives of the explosives manufacturers. Many mistakes were made and it is the purpose of this paper to describe the original plan and installation, show the major difficulties encountered. the remedies applied, and present the practices now being followed. Comparison of costs of the two methods will also be discussed. About six months were required to make the change and eliminate fuse and cap blasting entirely. The first electric blasting stations were installed in November 1939 and the last fuse was taken underground in May 1940. A very unusual condition forced the use of fuse for a short time in one heading after May, but that will be discussed later. Original Equipment and Installation A power line is generally recommended as a source of current where permanent blasting stations are used. The plan worked out for electric blasting was to tap 220-volt alternating-current lines when they were available and use 250-volt direct current from the trolley wire at all other places. A blasting machine would be available at each shaft for places where there were no regular blasting stations and could be used if a regular station should fail. The equipment decided on was No. 16 duplex reinforced lamp cord for lines to within about 50 ft. of the working place and No. 20 lead wire from that point to the shots. An open double-pole, double-throw switch with slate base was put in the circuit, so connected that the down position would close the line to the shots 2nd the up position would connect it to the Iine from the power contactor. This switch was located in the circuit as close to the blast as was safe (should the shots explode when it was placed in the shooting

Jan 1, 1943

By S. F. Ravitz

In his excellent book on the Principles of Flotation, Warkl makes the following significant statement concerning the theory of flotation: Two questions of first-rate importance must be considered . . . First, it must be decided whether the sulfide minerals require a collector in order that they may float, or whether as has been claimed, they possess an inherent float-ability and need no collector. Second, it must be decided whether the xanthate type of collector can react with or be adsorbed by the unchanged sulfide minerals themselves, or whether, as many claim, reaction with the collector is dependent upon initial oxidation of the mineral surface. In the theory of flotation there are no two questions of greater importance than these. Ravitz and Porter2 presented evidence that galena can be floated without a collector, and even without any reagent, provided oxidation products are thoroughly removed from its surface. They found also that thoroughly cleaned galena floated faster when xanthate was used than when a frother alone or no reagent was used, and that, without a collector, the recovery decreased gradually upon exposure of the mineral to air. Their work, however, has met with considerable criticism.l(127).3-6 This paper is presented to answer the objections that have been raised, and to present additional data that confirin their results. The apparatus used to provide oxygen-free conditions for flotation has been described in detail by Ravitz and Porter. An atmosphere of purified nitrogen was maintained within the apparatus; all water and solutions used were freed of dissolved air, and could be transferred where desired by the use of nitrogen Pressure; nitrogen was used as the gaseous medium for flotation. The flotation cell was essentially a glass cylinder 15 cm. long and 4.6 cm. in diameter. Near the bottom was sealed a fritted glass filter, which broke up the gas into small bubbles, and 6 cm. above this filter was a side arm through which the froth overflowed. The pulp was agitated by a glass impeller, which entered the cell through a mercury seal. For each test 17 grams of galena and 75 ml. of water were placed in the cell, after which the speed of the impeller and the rate of gas flow were adjusted. Water was added gradually during the test to keep the froth level at the proper height. The mineral was prepared and cleaned in the following manner. Exceptionally Pure galena was crushed by hand on a clean bucking board, screened to —I50+ 200 mesh, and deslimed on a 200-mesh sieve with a fine spray of water. It was then boiled on a hot plate for a number of hours with several changes of the desired cleaning solution, after which both the solution and the mineral were placed in the "mineral flask" of the apparatus. The cleaning solution was drained off, and the mineral was boiled with oxygen-free water

Jan 1, 1943

By W. C. Ellis

Growth directions of tin, zinc, and cadmiun whisker crystals grown spontaneously fi-om the solid are summarized. In tin the edge and diagonal directions of the unit cell are jound with the exception oj- the [110] diagonal. In cadmiurn and zinc the usual dip-ections are a or a + c. The c direction has not been ohserwed. The gvouth directions from the solid are for the most part the same as those found for vapor-grozun crystals and are the ohserz:ed glide directions in plastic j-lou. Whisker crystals of these elements grown from the solid are not twinned. Specular lateral reflections are associated with planes of snall crystallographic indices. WHISKER crystals of tin, zinc, or cadmium grow spontaneously at room temperature in periods from months to years from thin electroplates and other prepared films of the respective metals.''2 It has been established that these crystals are single, but the question of twinning, such as occurs in whisker crystals of silicon,3'4 has not been resolved. Studies of morphology have been restricted to determinations of growth directions.5-' Whisker crystals are both straight and kinked. A few studies have been made on kinked whiskers including measurements of kink anglesa and determinations of growth directions,' but unfortunately not both on the same crystals. The kink angles, for the most part, for each species are grouped closely about a few unique values, but these values are not always those between observed growth directions in a single crystal. To supplement existing data, the growth directions, identification of lateral features, and presence or absence of twinning were determined with a Weissenberg goniometer by a method described elsewhereg on eight whisker crystals of tin, five of zinc, and five of cadmium. One kinked cadmium whisker was examined in detail. The specimens were needlelike, a few microns in cross section, and of the order of a millimeter in length. They were removed from electroplated substrates on laboratory specimens and commercial equipment after several years of growth as described in Table I. Since the specimens were less than 10 p in cross section they were ideally strong with no attendant risk of plastic deformation or damage in handling. Only deformation twinning has been reported for these elements. Therefore, twinning probably should not be expected in whisker crystals of these metals, particularly a twin plane containing the growth direction. A twin plane oriented in this direction was the one sought in this study. No examination was made for twinning at the boundary between kink segments except for one cadmium crystal. Well-defined reflections occur as a whisker crystal of tin, zinc, or cadmium is rotated about its growth direction when illuminated by a beam of light Although these reflections had been noted in earlier investigations, no study of them was made, probably because the earlier studies had disclosed also that

Jan 1, 1967

By R. G. Clay, C. F. Seaman

THE mines of The Tennessee Copper Co. are in the Ducktown Basin, in southeastern Tennessee. The ore is a heavy sulphide consisting principally of chalcopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotite and in places running as high as 95 per cent sulphur and iron. Operating mines are the Burra Burra and Eureka. Development of the Boyd ore body was started in 1940. Late in 1939 the decision was made to change from fuse and cap to all electric blasting and at the same time electric cap lamps were installed to replace carbide. These changes were made to improve the safety and working conditions in the mines. Both the Bureau of Mines and explosives manufacturers recommended electric blasting as a safety measure. Until that time, electric blasting had been used only for shaft sinking and in places where it was absolutely essential for safety. Very few men had had experience in this type of blasting, as the places where it was required were those that also required direct supervision. It was necessary for the mining staff to work out methods, procedure, and equipment to be used. In this they were ably assisted by representatives of the explosives manufacturers. Many mistakes were made and it is the purpose of this paper to describe the original plan and installation, show the major difficulties encountered, the remedies applied, and present the practices now being followed. Comparison of costs of the two methods will also be discussed. About six months were required to make the change and eliminate fuse and cap blasting entirely. The first electric blasting stations were installed in November 1939 and the last fuse was taken underground in May 1940. A very unusual condition forced the use of fuse for a short time in one heading after May, but that will be discussed later. ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT AND INSTALLATION A power line is generally recommended as a source of current where permanent blasting stations are used. The plan worked out for electric blasting was to tap 220-volt alternating-current lines when they were available and use 250-volt direct current from the trolley wire at all other places. A blasting machine would be available at each shaft for places where there were no regular blasting stations and could be used if a regular station should fail. The equipment decided on was No. 16 duplex reinforced lamp cord for lines to within about 50 ft. of the working place and No. 20 lead wire from that point to the shots. An open double-pole, double-throw switch with slate base was put in the circuit, so connected that the down position would close the line to the shots and the up position would connect it to the line from the power contactor. This switch was located in the circuit as close to the blast as was safe (should the shots explode when it was placed in the shooting

Jan 1, 1942

By W. J. Parton

The efficient recovery and preparation of small sizes of anthracite called No. 4 Buckwheat (3/32 by 1/32 in.) and No. 5 Buckwheat (1/32 in. by 0), pre-sent a difficult problem to the anthracite operators. In many instances preparation of these sizes, particularly No. 5 anthracite, is extremely inefficient. In many of the older preparation plants, inadequate facilities, and often none at all, were provided as an integral part of the plant for cleaning this fine anthracite. Consequently, much of the material smaller than 3/32 in. was discarded. As the demand for these sizes increased, facilities for preparing the fine sizes were often crowded into existing structures with consequent sacrifices of capacities and efficiency. In addition to this condition, the methods of preparing the finest sizes are being developed in an attempt to improve their efficiencies. Because the demand for small sizes of anthracite still is increasing, many operators would benefit by investigating and improving the cleaning equipment employed on these sizes. The object of this paper is to de- scribe a stationary screen device from which the underflow is restricted by orifices, called a launder screen, along with operating results of several applications of this screen; a settling tank in which two classified products are produced by the installation of a cylindrical partition of smaller diameter than the original tank, one product being recovered from the small tank created by the partition and one product from the space between the inner and outer tank walls; a small pocket classifier or hydraulic trap for use in removing high ash particles from a sludge flow; the classification or segregation of sludge solids occurring in a 16 in. diam pipe flow by analysis of samples procured at different zones; and the operating results of a Fahrenwald sizer, as well as the performance of the concentrating tables handling the classified products. These simple devices were employed at the collieries of the Lehigh Navigation Coal Company Incorporated, Lansford. Pa., in order to improve preparation results on the fine sizes of anthracite. Launder Screens The launder screen is a screening and dewatering device which probably could be used advantageously in the flow diagram of many fine coal plants. Fig 1 shows that it consists of a stationary screen constructed by placing 6 in. high partitions every 6 in. along a launder. Holes are then drilled on 6-in. centers across the bottom of the launder to receive pipe bushings of the desired diameter. The screen cloth is tacked on top of the partitions. When water and solids are fed to the screen, only a small portion of the total water is removed through the orifices in each compartment so that the water in the feed is distributed evenly over the whole length of the screen. The screening action which results is very efficient because the solids are kept in a fluid condition for the full length of the screen. Blinding of the screen can be minimized by the use of screen cloth

Jan 1, 1950