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By Bjorge, Guy N.

MINING method improve through the gradual process of evolution and in 1340 there were no marked outstanding innovations. On the other hand refinements of detail and betterment: in equipment design continued to progress. Among the most important changes have been the increased application of trucks and highway equipment, including tractors and bull- dozers, to open-pit mining as exemplified by Phelps Dodge's Morenci operations; the Mesabi iron range; and the Tri-State district. Mass or bulk handling contributed its part underground with slurhers and conveyors at Consolidated Coppermines and slushers at Climax; and in open-pit mining. conveyors found increased use on the Mesabi range.

Jan 1, 1941

By Paul M. Tyler

Higher freight rates and better methods of beneficiation now may make it more economical to open inferior deposits closer to a glass factory than to work higher-grade deposits farther away. Nature of impurities and special treatments as well as common practice of sulphuric acid leaching are described. HISTORICAL concepts of the economics of the glass-sand industry are changing rapidly. The greatly expanded demand for glass containers combined with higher freight rates on raw materials and manufactured products have induced a migration of glass factories toward densely populated centers and the creation of new standards of place value for substandard sand deposits. This migration has been facilitated by the construction of pipelines to bring cheaper natural gas and liquid fuel to large cities and may be further speeded by the adoption of modern mineral dressing methods to permit economical utilization of local raw materials. Our national resources of naturally high-grade silica sand are abundant, but most of the best deposits are situated so far from large centers of population that it now costs $3.00 to $5.00 a ton to carry the sand from the mine to the optimum site for a factory making beverage bottles, scientific and electrical glassware, and miscellaneous blown and pressed ware for local markets. It follows that on the basis of freight savings alone it may be economical to use material from inferior deposits closer to the factory even though the f.O.b. cost of mining and treatment may be much higher than at a higher grade deposit farther away. Particle-size distribution is a feature of glass-sand specifications. As long as glassmakers insisted upon having their sand principally coarser than 100-mesh, any material was automatically excluded from consideration that could not be purified without fine grinding or other drastic treatment which greatly reduces the size of the quartz grains. However, re- cent large-scale tests in Norway' showed that finely-crushed quartz used in a soda-lime-silica glass batch caused it to melt and become refined appreciably faster than when ordinary coarse (Belgian) sand was employed. Dust losses were negligible. Since the pre-war cost of sand was only 3 pct of the manufacturing cost of the glass, it was deemed economical to pay twice as much for crushed quartz because of the saving in wear and tear on the furnace walls. In the author's unverified opinion, sand ranging in size between 150 and 400-mesh would probably be superior to that in the more usual range of 20 to 100-mesh. Former objections to fine sand (other than dust) were doubtless fostered by the natural concentration of impurities in the finer sizes. Ordinarily the most objectionable, as well as the commonest, impurity from the standpoint of the manufacturer of any but the cheaper qualities of colored glass is iron. No natural sands are really pure silica. Even water-clear quartz crystals are likely to contain impurities in the form of solid solution as well as inclusions which cannot be eliminated except by chemical treatment that will break down the silica lattice. Pure white pegmatite quartz will usually analyze 0.01 pct or more of iron oxide, and ordinary vein quartz and the quartz grains in most

Jan 1, 1951

By Paul M. Tyler

Higher freight rates and better methods of beneficiation now may make it more economical to open inferior deposits closer to a glass factory than to work higher-grade deposits farther away. Nature of impurities and special treatments as well as common practice of sulphuric acid leaching are described. HISTORICAL concepts of the economics of the glass-sand industry are changing rapidly. The greatly expanded demand for glass containers combined with higher freight rates on raw materials and manufactured products have induced a migration of glass factories toward densely populated centers and the creation of new standards of place value for substandard sand deposits. This migration has been facilitated by the construction of pipelines to bring cheaper natural gas and liquid fuel to large cities and may be further speeded by the adoption of modern mineral dressing methods to permit economical utilization of local raw materials. Our national resources of naturally high-grade silica sand are abundant, but most of the best deposits are situated so far from large centers of population that it now costs $3.00 to $5.00 a ton to carry the sand from the mine to the optimum site for a factory making beverage bottles, scientific and electrical glassware, and miscellaneous blown and pressed ware for local markets. It follows that on the basis of freight savings alone it may be economical to use material from inferior deposits closer to the factory even though the f.O.b. cost of mining and treatment may be much higher than at a higher grade deposit farther away. Particle-size distribution is a feature of glass-sand specifications. As long as glassmakers insisted upon having their sand principally coarser than 100-mesh, any material was automatically excluded from consideration that could not be purified without fine grinding or other drastic treatment which greatly reduces the size of the quartz grains. However, re- cent large-scale tests in Norway' showed that finely-crushed quartz used in a soda-lime-silica glass batch caused it to melt and become refined appreciably faster than when ordinary coarse (Belgian) sand was employed. Dust losses were negligible. Since the pre-war cost of sand was only 3 pct of the manufacturing cost of the glass, it was deemed economical to pay twice as much for crushed quartz because of the saving in wear and tear on the furnace walls. In the author's unverified opinion, sand ranging in size between 150 and 400-mesh would probably be superior to that in the more usual range of 20 to 100-mesh. Former objections to fine sand (other than dust) were doubtless fostered by the natural concentration of impurities in the finer sizes. Ordinarily the most objectionable, as well as the commonest, impurity from the standpoint of the manufacturer of any but the cheaper qualities of colored glass is iron. No natural sands are really pure silica. Even water-clear quartz crystals are likely to contain impurities in the form of solid solution as well as inclusions which cannot be eliminated except by chemical treatment that will break down the silica lattice. Pure white pegmatite quartz will usually analyze 0.01 pct or more of iron oxide, and ordinary vein quartz and the quartz grains in most

Jan 1, 1951

By J. Armanet

THREE MINING colleges are maintained in France; the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines, of Paris; École Nationale Supérieure des Mines, of Saint Etienne; and the École Supérieure de la Metallurgie et des Mines at Nancy. Besides graduates of these schools, a few graduates of the École Centrale des Arts et MIanufactures and of the École Polytechnique are employed as ]nine managers or engineers; however, most of the latter have taken a graduate course at one of the mining schools.

Jan 1, 1939

By M. R. Geer, J. D. Davis, H. F. Yancey

ALTHOUGH the mechanical cleaning of coal is carried out at plants on the surface, preparation is actually begun at the face in the mine. Here the character of the coal and the amount, character, and distribution of the impurities within the bed may be seen. Blasting methods, dust-allaying procedures, location of mining cut with respect to bands of impurity, and the practice of discarding segregated impurities underground, all have an important bearing on the successful operation of surface cleaning units. The most important single characteristic of both coal and its associated impurities from the standpoint of cleaning is specific gravity. Other characteristics related in one way or another to the preparation , of coal are rank, petrographic composition, structure and hardness, and friability. These and still other coal properties are discussed in the first section of this chapter and impurity characteristics in the second. COAL CHARACTERISTICS RELATED TO PREPARATION Rank As a result of work done over a period of several years by committees of the American Society for Testing Materials and the American Standards Association, standard specifications are now available showing the 'classification of coals according to rank and quality of grade.' The term "rank" expresses the degree to which the original coal-forming material has been changed by metamorphism through successive stages from peat to anthracite. Table 1 shows the classification of coals according to rank as devised by the committees of the organizations mentioned. The basic scheme of classification for the higher-rank coals is according to

Jan 1, 1943

By CHARLES R. KETES

I. INTRODUCTORY. INDUSTRIALLY, the most important service that geological science can now render to mining in the Upper Mississippi leadand zinc-fields is to devise some practical scheme whereby the productive ore-belts may be located with greater certainty than they have been in the past. Up to the present time there has been little service of this kind, and in spite of all that has been worked out concerning the geologic features of the region, and notwithstanding all that has been written about these ore-deposits, this particular phase of the subject has been, for some reason or other, the very one that has received the least consideration. The neglect by geologists in this respect has been all but complete. The following notes are suggestive of some practical solutions to the problems presented. As here suggested, the geologic relationships of the ore-bodies were surmised some years ago, though somewhat vaguely perhaps. No opportunity for securing critical data appeared until recent investigations of a private character were undertaken, which bad in view the extensive prospecting of undeveloped areas. Fresh from rather wide experiences of a decade in the principal mining-regions of four continents, and after a lenstrum's residence among the chief mining-camps of the West and of Mexico, under conditions which measured geologic hypotheses in meters and rigidly tested their values in, terms of dollars, the recent return to the Joplin field and a new survey of its ore-conditions were fraught with somewhat unexpected results. Aspects of the ore-deposition were presented of which previously there was no hint. Ten years' absence from the district had tended greatly to clarify former hazy impressions. It enabled many features, then only dimly outlined, to be considered more nearly in their true perspective and in their real relationships to their surroundings. It permitted a great mass of details collected a dozen years before in connection with the work of the Missouri Geological Survey to be viewed under new light and to

Feb 1, 1909

By J. J. Forbes

Probably the newest thing in mining safety, or safety for mines, is the apparent dissatisfaction on the part of the mineral industries, as represented by both management and labor, and the general public of the Nation, with the safety record of the mining industry. This is reflected by published comments and papers in the technical press;1-8 in labor periodicals, 10 11 in popular journals and periodicals,12 13 and in the daily press; also by discussions of the Safety Committees sponsored by the National Safety Council, 9, 14-15 the American Mining Congress, 1, 16 the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, 2, 4 the Mine Inspectors' Institute of America,6,8,17,18 the Coal Mining Institute of America, 5, 19, the American Standards Association, and others.20,21

Jan 1, 1949

By R. D. Nelson, S. D. Dahlgren

The conditions of temperature, strain rate, and total strain favoring deformation by grain boundary sliding, slip, or deformation with concurrent recrystallization were evaluated for alpha plutonium. Grain boundary sliding and slip were studied by examining structures formed on polished surfaces with 4.5 pct compressive deformation. The conditions required for recrystallization were determined from compressive deformation us time curves. At 110" C and at a strain rate of 10&apos;per min, deformation was almost exclusively by grain boundary sliding whereas slip was the predominant deformation mode at -10°C and lo-&apos; per min. Defarmation at intermediate tenzperatures and strain rates produced structures showing mixtures of grain boundary sliding and slip. Recrystallization occurred concurrently with deformation only after a critical strain was reached. About 14, 6, and 3 pct strain was required at 105", llO°, and lZO°C, respectively, before recrystallization started, irrespective of the strain rate in the range of lo-&apos;1 to 10&apos;4 per nzin. L HE temperature and strain-rate dependency of the modes of plastic deformation were evaluated for high-purity as-cast alpha plutonium. The techniques used to study slip and grain boundary sliding were similar to those employed previously for alpha plutonium by Bronisz and Gorum,&apos; and spriet.&apos; Recrystallization was investigated using the methods reported by Nelson.3 Bronisz and Gorum&apos; found that slip occurred on more than one slip system at room temperature, and suggested that grain boundary sliding also contributed to the deformation. spriet2 found that deformation was predominantly by slip at room temperature, and observed one to three orientations of slip traces in individual grains. In addition, he deformed polished samples at 10O° C, but concluded that the deformation character of alpha plutonium at 100° C and at room temperature were not essentially different. Several investigators reported that twinning was only occasionally observed.1&apos;2&apos;4 Nelson3 recently found in creep tests that high-purity alpha plutonium would recrystallize concurrently with compressive deformation at temperatures between 25" and 115°C. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Electrorefined plutonium having less than 300 ppm total impurities was received from Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in the form of +-in. diarn cast rods. Major impurities were americium, <I00 ppm, and tungsten, (60 ppm. Less than 25 ppm each of other impurities were present. The rods were cut into right half-cylinders 0.35 in. long and 0.25 in. in diam, and the flat faces along the cylinder axes were metal-lographically polished. To avoid loss of the metallo-graphic polish by oxidation, the polished samples were deformed in a silicone fluid heat treating medium contained in a chamber evacuated to a pressure of lo-&apos; torr. Deadweight loading was used to compress the samples between 4.5 and 20 pct at strain rates between 10"4 and lo- &apos; min-&apos;. Strain rates were determined by dividing the total deformation by the elapsed time of the test, even though the strain rate was not constant during deformation. Curves of strain vs time for samples deformed with a constant compressive stress3 show that the strain rate changes by less than a factor of four during the testing of a given sample, which is small compared to the three orders of magnitude change in strain rate investigated. Two samples were loaded into an ordinary metallographic mounting mold and impacted by striking the mold piston with one blow of a 2-lb hammer. Deformation temperatures for the two impact samples were 25" and 90°C. The samples, following deformation, were washed in carbon tetrachloride and their polished and deformed surfaces were immediately inspected metallographi-cally. Subsequently, the deformation structures were replicated with acetate replicating tape for later electron microscope examination, and the samples were then repolished and etched to reveal the microstruc-tures of the deformed metal. Second-stage carbon replicas were prepared from decontaminated acetate replicas using the procedure developed by Miller, Bierlein, and astel.&apos; Additional samples, which were 0.35 in. long by 0.25 in. in diam, were used to obtain constant load deformation vs time curves. These samples were deformed 10 to 20 pct with loads of 15 and 20,000 psi at 120°C; 30, 45, and 55,000 psi at 110°C; and 20 and 30,000 psi at 105°C. Samples were polished and etched to determine whether or not recrystallization or twinning had occurred during deformation. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The experiments showed that alpha plutonium deforms by grain boundary sliding, slip, and deformation with concurrent recrystallization. Deformation by twinning was insignificant. Metallographic examination of polished and deformed surfaces revealed grain boundary sliding and slip. The start of recrystallization was ascertained from constant load deformation vs time curves. Deformed surface structures of samples compressed 4.5 pct under four different conditions of temperature and strain rate, Fig. 1, show how the deformation mode changes from predominantly grain boundary sliding to predominantly slip with increasing strain rate and decreasing temperature. Deformation at 110°C and 10" 4 min-&apos;, Fig. l(a), was predominantly by grain boundary sliding. Only a few slip traces can be seen in Fig. l(a).

Jan 1, 1969

By C. A. Heiland

For a long time it has been known that it is possible to deduce conclusions about the physical constitution of the interior of the earth from the records of natural earthquakes obtained by stationary seismographs. In view of this fact it is surprising how late, relatively speaking, geologic prospecting by seismic methods has been taken up, although the first suggestion was made 40 years ago- that travel-time curves of artificial explosions might be used for the study of the change of the velocity of seismic waves as depth. Further suggestions of practical applications of artificial explosions for geologic purposes were made by Belar,2 by von dem Borne,3 by Benndorf4 and by Galitzin,5 but it was not until 1919 that Mintrop obtained. a patent on the seismic prospecting method which he has applied commercially on a large scale ever since. Dr. Mintrop came to this country with his method at about 1923. Since that time, several. American oil companies have developed seismographs of the mechanical type for the vertical component similar to that of Mintrop&apos;s (Humble Oil Co., Dr. Ricker). Other consulting geophysical companies designed other types of seismic devices, the simplest of them for the recording of the first impulse being the geophone (McCollum Geophone Co.). The galvanometric recording method as first proposed by Galitzin is being used (Geophysical Research Corpn.?) and use is being made even of the piezoelectric properties of crystals for portable seismographs (F. Rieber).. There is such an enormous variety of all kinds of portable seismographs, vibrographs, accelerographs, etc., that it is difficult to decide just what kind is preferable. Unfortunately, nothing has been published as yet about American designs of portable seismographs, except the Wood Anderson torsion-seismometer. After Mintrop&apos;s design of portable seismographs, other constructions were made.

Jan 1, 1928

By F. J. Plecity, J. T. Michalak, W. C. Leslie

Isothermal recrystallization and grain growth in zone- and vacuum-melted irons and Fe-Mn alloys, up to 0.60 pct Mn, were studied in the range 480° to 650° C, after 60 pct cold reduction. In initial stages, rate of grain growth and rate of recrystallization of iron decrease with time. The recrystallization is typical of a growth-controlled process, and rate of growth is determined by the extent of recovery. Mn decreases rates of growth and of recrystallizatzon. The recrystallization process changes at about 0.30 pct Mn and nucleation may become time-depetzdet~t. In recent years, considerable effort has been expended in determining the effects of solute elements on recrystallization and boundary migration in fcc metals. The results have indicated that the effects produced by single solute additions are dependent upon both the element added and its concentration.&apos;-&apos; In contrast, there have been very few attempts to determine the characteristics of recrystallization and boundary migration in high-purity bcc metals, especially after heavy deformation, and the effects thereon of single solute elements.9-11 This study was undertaken to determine the recrystallization characteristics of various "high-purity" irons and the effects of manganese additions at two levels of base purity. It was hoped that the information obtained would improve our understanding of the recrystallization of pure metals and aid in formulating a theory for the effect of solute elements. The interest was not entirely academic, for the annealing of low-carbon steels, which is of very great commercial importance, is but poorly understood. MATERIALS The compositions of the irons and iron-manganese alloys used are listed in Table I. The zone-melted iron and Fe-Mn alloys were made by Battelle Memorial Institute. Iron S-1 was arc-melted in a water-cooled steel mold in an argon atmosphere. The ingot was forged into a bar, then given two horizontal zone-refining passes in an alumina boat. Iron V-4 was treated in a similar manner, but was not zone-refined. The iron for the zone-melted Fe-Mn alloys was induction melted in vacuum in MgO crucibles and cast into alumina molds. The ingots were forged into bars, machined to shape, and a groove milled down one side of each. The best available electrolytic Mn was placed in the grooves, and the bars were zone melted. The vacuum-melted Fe-Mn alloys were induction melted in this Laboratory in MgO crucibles and poured into cast-iron molds. Iron V-5 was purchased from National Research Corp. in the form of a small vacuum-cast ingot. The low-carbon steel was made by induction melting in air at the U.S. Steel Corp. Applied Research Laboratory. The history of the materials prior to the final cold reduction differed; these details are given in the Appendix. The penultimate grain size of the principal materials was kept in the range ASTM 2 to 4, except for the low-carbon steel. PROCEDURES The cold work prior to the final recrystallization anneal was kept constant at 60 pct. It is known that rolling procedure can influence the kinetics of recrystallization of ironI2; therefore, all specimens were rolled in one direction only, between clean,

Jan 1, 1962

By Hugh Roberts

During 1916 and 1917, the E. J. Longyear Co. of Minneapolis, Minn., carried out a campaign of exploration for nickel-copper ore in the Sudbury District of Ontario. The work was initiated by W. E. Smith, a resident of Sudbury, who called the attention of W. J. Mead, Chief geologist. The E. J. Longyear Co., to the fact that explorable lands in the Sudbury District were still available. Five diamond drills were employed, and holes were drilled in the townships of Levack, Trill, Denison, Blezard; Garson, Falconbridge and MacLennan. The general map of the District, Fig. 1, shows the distribution of the lands chosen. As a result of this exploration, a large body of nickel and copper ore has been found in the western part of the Township of Falconbridge. This property lies in the eastern part of the Sudbury District, east of the Garson mine.

Jan 2, 1918

By Robert Glass Cleland

DURING the closing month of 1929, Walter Douglas found his health impaired by the strain of many difficult years of alternating prosperity and depression, and in April 1930 resigned the presidency of Phelps Dodge. Douglas was succeeded by Louis S. Cates. The choice broke a tradition that had been held inviolate for almost a hundred years. For the first time in its long history, the direction of the company&apos;s policies and operations was entrusted to a stranger without previous Phelps Dodge background, training, experience, or tradition. But the choice was wisely made. For a time at least, the path of Phelps Dodge was to run through rough and dubious ground, and no man in the United States was better qualified to blaze that trail than Louis Cates. After graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cates had served a rough and financially un- profitable apprenticeship at one of the century-old mining camps of Chihuahua, Mexico. Following his return to the United States and a brief interlude as assistant to the president of the National Steel and Wire Company, he had resumed his mining career, first as timekeeper, then as

Jan 1, 1952

By Frederick M. Becket

AFTER all the chronology that has been given, what is the present status of chromium steels? For the purpose of this discussion the different types of chromium steels can be divided into three classifications-those containing relatively low , percentages of chromium, say 5 per cent or less; the medium-chromium steels containing up to about 18 or 19 per cent chromium; and the steels containing still higher percentages of chromium, and some of the special alloys. Chromium has some unique effects in steel, so it is well to make a few generalizations. The affinity of chromium for carbon is great and the metal is unique in the manger in which it supplements and enhances the effects of carbon. Chromium retards -considerably the thermal transformations on cooling and exerts an opposing influence both on the absorption and precipitation of the carbides in steel. These statements make it easy to understand the fact that chromium .steels are capable of producing a hardened product at a much slower rate of cooling than is, true of plain carbon steel, and that chromium carbide or -the mixed carbides of iron and chromium do not contribute to brittleness to as great a degree as does iron carbide.

Jan 1, 1929

By Paul F. Kerr, Donald M. Hausen

Fine colloidal gold near Carlin, Nevada is disseminated in leached carbonate strata of the Roberts Mountains Formation in the Lynn "window" of the Roberts Mountains thrust fault. The ore body is generally stratiform and is more or less conformable to altered beds near the top of the formation, underlying Devonian limestones. Two sequences of mineralization are recognized: ( 1) an earlier base metal-barite assemblage related to early Cretaceous intrusives (121 ± 5 m.y.), and (2) a later low temperature Au-As-Hg-Sb assemblage of near surface emplacement. The earlier sequence consisting of sparse galena and sphalerite in barite with anomalous amounts of zinc, lead, nickel and copper, associated with dikes of dacitic composition, is of little economic importance. The later sequence of gold, realgar, cinnabar, and stibnite associated with extensive silicification and argillic alteration of limestone beds, has resulted in important deposits of gold. Argillic alteration of hydrothermally leached carbonate strata has provided the environment in which the most prominent gold deposition took place. Carbonate minerals in the limestone host rock have been replaced by microcrystalline quartz and chalcedony to form stratiform silica masses and recrystallized lenses of euhedral quartz. Zones of porous silicification are light gray to white, elliptical in shape, and more or less follow bedding. Silicification is bordered by argillic alteration and pyritization. Deposition of gold usually lies in a zonal pattern that encircles chimney areas of silicification.

Jan 1, 1968

By Samuel S. Wyer

THE installation of the gas-producer power-plant in America has been so unusual that all engineers have viewed it with in¬terest; a large majority, however, regard it with a lack of con-fidence and many with positive distrust. Despite the fact that European engineers have usually been less inclined to take the initiative along experimental lines than are Americans, they have, nevertheless, developed the gas-producer plant to a very high state of efficiency to which they were forced by the neces¬sity of economy in fuel-consumption. The gas-producer power-plant is so common in Europe that engineers as well as the general public regard it with the same degree of confidence that is now universally placed in steam¬plants. Gas-engines, both small and large, are in general use there, and central stations, aggregating several thousand horse¬power, are quite numerous. The fact that gas-producer power-plants have received so little attention in America may be attributed to five conditions:-1&apos;, ignorance and prejudice; 2, newness of work; 3, in-

Mar 1, 1905

By D. K. Crampton

ON giving thought to the subject of this paper, my first reaction was that many and striking changes have come about as a direct result of the war. However, more careful analysis indicates that few, if any, of these changes can be wholly attributed to it. The actual situation is that all these changes were conceived and most of them at least partially executed in re- cent prewar years, it remaining the role of war to achieve results in a fraction of the time that might normally have been taken, lacking its driving impulse. The further discussion will therefore be with the premise that the individual changes have been greatly hastened rather than directly and primarily caused by any war conditions. Co-operation among copper alloy producers on production problems is agreed to be much worth while. The industry was too long noted for jealousy and secrecy as to equipment, methods, and even materials produced. Gradually, a more open and co-operative policy evolved but even just prior to the war the interchange of ideas was relatively cautious and limited. The need for a great increase in production in record time fostered a more co- operative attitude; exchange of ideas and experience concerning all phases of production increased tremendously to the benefit of the individual participants and thus the war effort, too. This more united effort has undoubtedly led to many specific improvements in process or equipment and these in turn to more rapid and economical operation than could have taken place on an each-for-himself basis.

Jan 1, 1944

By M. R. Geer, H. F. Yancey

Four coals were treated in the Humphreys spiral concentrator, and the products were examined by float-and-sink and screen-sizing tests to determine fundamental performance characteristics. The efficiency of the separation between coal and impurity was shown to be influenced greatly by particle size.

Jan 1, 1950

By J. R. Thoenen

IN five years mineral wool has grown to a thirty-million-dollar industry from one whose output was valued, in 1933, at $1,700,000. Ten years ago, in 1928, there were only seven producing companies, with an annual output of but 50,000 tons. By 1936 fifty or more companies were producing half a million tons. The industry is still growing vigorously and will profit from the expected activity in building in 1339, for two-thirds of this material is used for building insulation and to assist in fire-retarding, in both new and old homes. It is as useful in the South, to protect against heat, as in the North, to keep out the cold, if one may speak nontechnically. It is a concomitant of air conditioning, that new addition to the American standard of living that began in theatres, department stores, and railroad dining cars, and is rapidly progressing down to small homes. Here, then, is an industry that is only beginning to have a present, and one with an almost certain important future; one that depends upon mining and the by-products of mining for all of its raw materials; one that every progressive mining man should know something about.

Jan 1, 1939

By Jack A. Simon, M. E. Hopkins

GENERAL GEOLOGY Coal is defined as a combustible rock that had its origin in the accumulation and physical and chemical alteration of vegetation. Coal can be ignited and burned like the wood that was man&apos;s earliest fuel, but coal gives more heat than the same amount of wood and has many industrial uses. Unlike wood, coal is not generally found on the surface of the ground but is mined from the solid rock of the earth. Before taking up the occurrence, formation, and the somewhat unique character of coal in the rock sequence, let us briefly consider the general character of all rocks in the crust of the earth. Relatively little is known about the very earliest history of the earth, although a number of logical theories have been developed. Manned exploration of the moon and the rocks being returned to earth will, we hope, provide some answers to questions concerning the earth&apos;s origin and history. The period of earth history with which we concern ourselves here begins after great areas of water had evolved on earth and substantial land areas of once molten (igneous) rock existed. Weathering and other processes that attacked the surface of the rocks reduced them to small particles. Water provided by rainfall transported this material, ultimately, to large bodies of water where it was deposited. Thus was initiated the geologic sequence of sedimentary rocks that lie above the once molten igneous rocks. The crust of the earth is not completely stable, and throughout the geologic past portions of the crust have moved laterally and vertically. Even today, many coastal areas are slowly rising or sinking. More sudden earth movements are recognized by the earthquakes they cause. Throughout geologic history, rises in sea level or the sinking of the land areas have many times permitted the oceans to cover much of what are now the areas of the continents. Only relatively small parts of the present continents appear to have been above sea level throughout geologic time. Great

Jan 1, 1973

By H. H. Kellogg, T. R. Ingraham

Three anhydrous zinc sulfates have been identified. They are: ZnSO,(a), stable below 1007°K; ZnS04(/3), stable above 1007OK; and ZnO.ZZnSO,. The decomposition pressure of each sulfate has been measured and the following relations calculated from the results: The measured data have been combined with the known themzodynamic properties of ZnS, ZnO, Zn, SO,, and SO, to yield univariant and bivariant phase diagrams for the system Zn-S-0. The application of these diagrams to problems of roasting zinc concentrates is discussed. PRESENT knowledge of the equilibrium chemistry of the system Zn-S:O, so essential to scientific control of zinc-blende roasting, is deficient in several respects. A basic sulfate of zinc has been reported by many investigators, but its composition is in doubt and its thermodynamic properties have not been measured. Our scanty knowledge of the properties of the normal sulfate at roasting temperatures is based on old and inexact studies. A crystal transformation in the normal sulfate, involving a sizable heat effect, has been noted by several investigators but has never been quantified. The studies reported herein were designed to fill these gaps in knowledge and to make possible a reasonably complete thermodynamic description of the system Zn-S-0 at roasting temperatures. The results make possible a far more exact understanding of zinc roasting chemistry than was hitherto possible. EXPERIMENTAL The principal experimental technique employed was the measurement of the total gas pressure developed from decomposition of either ZnSO, or ZnO2ZnS0, in a closed system. The apparatus employed was essentially the same as that described by Warner and lngrahaml and Flengas and tngraham.&apos; The unusual feature is a flexible Pyrex bellows used to separate the reaction gas mixture (S03, SOz, and 02) from the mercury in the manometer and thus prevent corrosion of the mercury by SO3. The bellows operates without evidence of hysteresis and, barring accidents, may be used for several months. The response of the bellows varies from manometer to manometer, but is generally of the order of 0.6-cm displacement for a l-cm change in pressure. The response for all manometers has been linear over the range 0 to 1 atm. To prevent condensation and polymerization of sulfur trioxide, the bellows-manometer was maintained at 100.0" * 0.5" by a circulating bath of silicone oil. The connecting tubing between the manometer and the furnace was maintained at 100.0" * 0.2"* also, with a stirred air bath. The open end of the manometer was connected with a chamber which was maintained at a known pressure. The pressure could be varied so that readings of the height of the mercury column, measured with a cathetometer, could be made with both rising and falling mercury column. By using the average of the readings, any error due to sticking of the mercury column was minimized. The sample was placed in a 2-in.-long platinum boat formed into the shape of a half-cylinder. The sample was prepared as a fine powder and pressed against the inner wall of the platinum boat. A silica thermocouple well, covered with a platinum sleeve, was placed lengthwise along the center of the boat. The temperature of the sample was read on a calibrated Pt-10 pct Rh theirnocouple. The temperature profile of the furnace was constant within ± 0.2 C over the length of furnace occupied by the sample. The horizontal furnace used to contain the sample and the quartz reaction tube was electrically heated, with the control thermocouple placed 1/4 in. from the windings. A Brown Pyro-O-Vane temperature controller with a 3-sec response time was used to maintain the furnace temperature. Before beginning a run, the apparatus, including the bellows manometer, was thoroughly washed in sib with acid and distilled water to remove any

Jan 1, 1963