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By D. R. Irving

Prior to this time, ample supplies of high grade mineral fillers, such as clay, have been available close to consuming centers. Now depletion of these accessible deposits, coupled with other factors such as increasing demand due to population expansion and standard of living rise, has made development of upgrading techniques attractive to producers. Various investigations being carried out by the U.S. Bureau of Mines are described. Factors making the development of improved methods for upgrading clays attractive to producers include: depletion of accessible deposits of high-grade clays, rising transportation and labor costs, more exacting specifications, and increased demand resulting from an expanding population and a constantly rising standard of living. Industry recognizes the need for upgrading presently unusable materials and has cooperated with the U.S. Bureau of Mines by providing samples from submarginal deposits and by evaluating the products that USBM upgrades. Following are some examples of recent clay beneficiation work by the Bureau. FIRE CLAY BENEFICIATION At the Rolla Metallurgical Center, Rolla, Mo., the Bureau is conducting research to develop technically and economically feasible mineral-dressing methods to remove quartz, pyrite, and other impurities from submarginal fire clays. The research has been spurred by the growing shortage of high-grade bur-ley, flint, and plastic clays in the Missouri fire-clay district resulting from increased consumption and the low rate of discovery of new deposits of adequate quality. There apparently is ample tonnage of submarginal flint and plastic clays to maintain the industry for many years if such material can be upgraded to commercial quality. Samples have been submitted to USBM by several major producers of refractories, including A. P. Green Fire Brick Co.; Harbison-Walker Refractories Co.; Mexico Refractories Div., Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp.; and Wellsville Fire Brick Co. Research on some samples has been completed and still is in progress on others. The Bureau has found that specimens containing quartz or pyrite in grains coarser than the accompanying clay generally can be upgraded either with a gravity table or hydraulic cyclone. The improvement in quality is notable not only in chemical analysis but in an increase in pyrometric cone equivalent (PCE) of one or more cones. As an example, consider the results attained on a sandy flint—a fine-grained mixture of kaolin and halloysite with quartz and minor quantities of iron and manganese oxides. Chemical analysis was: 35.4 pct alumina (A12O3) and 47.8 pct silica (SiO2). The sample contained 9.2 pct free silica as quartz. The PCE was 33. The sample was crushed to -10-mesh, blunged with water, and then stage-ground to -48-mesh. The ground sample was tabled to yield a clay fraction containing 37.6 pct A12O3, and 45.3 pct SiO2 of which 2.4 pct was free silica. The PCE was 34. Recovery of alumina by this process was 73.6 pct. Concentration of the same clay in the hydraulic cyclone was even more effective in respect to quartz removal. The clay fraction analyzed 38.6 pct A12O3, 45.0 pct SiO2 of which 0.5 pct was free silica as quartz, and had a PCE of 34. Recovery of alumina was 71.9 pct. The hydraulic cyclone was also effective in reducing the pyrite content of a plastic clay which likewise was a mixture of kaolin and halloysite, plus some pyrite, quartz, and carbonaceous material. It analyzed 30.6 pct Al2O3, 52.3 pct SiO2, 2.3 pct Fe2O3, and 0.76 pct S. The sample was blunged and screened through 10-mesh to remove some coarse pyrite, then ground to -65-mesh and cycloned to remove most of the remainder. The final product recovered 81.8 pct of the alumina at a grade of 32.3 pct A12O3, 50.9 pct SiO2, 1.4 pct Fe2O3, and 0.1 pct S. The PCE was 32-1/2, compared with a PCE of 31-1/2 for the crude clay. The fine beneficiated clays, of course, must be pelletized and dried or fired to meet commercial acceptance. This operation has already been solved by industry. Little progress has been made on two remaining problems. One is that of fine-grained impurities, not separable by table or cyclone. Flotation is being investigated to solve this. Although fine pyrite is readily rejected, a satisfactory quartz-clay separation has not been attained. The second problem, a stubborn one, is that of alkali. Samples containing as much as 5 pct potas-

Jan 1, 1961

By E. R. Smith

ANALYSIS of the requirements for gun perforation equipment suitable for penetrating casing and cement showed that these points would be involved: (1) Powder charges electrically detonated under high fluid lieads and at remote distances. (2) Selective firing of sliots in sequence. (3) Sufficient velocity for the bullet to penetrate at least two strings of seamless casing and all cement beyond the strings. (4) Heat-treatment of steels to withstand great pressures and penetration. (5) Esclusiorl of fluid under extremely high hydrostatic pressure. (6) Stranded steel wire line acting as weight - suspending and current - carrying medium. (7) Firing controls operated above the surface. (8) Determining gun depth and suspended weight by means of the wire line. (9) Portability for field use.

Jan 1, 1936

By A. J. Weinig

NEED for some simple method of determining tonnages in mill circuits has always been felt by operators and consultants alike. To meet this demand the following method was evolved and has been found accurate and practical after considerable testing on various mill flows. The essence of the method is to add a chemical at a uniform rate to a mill flow, such as a launder conveying pulp, and then determine the concentration of the added chemical in a sample of the pulp. From this procedure the tonnage can be calculated. Common table salt has proved the most satisfactory chemical for ordinary conditions. It has many decided advantages for use in tonnage determinations, among them being the following:

Jan 1, 1933

By Jerry Tien

Mine regulators are normally used for proper air distribution in underground mines. They are deliberately introduced resistance in the regulated airway, and by altering sizes, they can distribute specific air quantities to regulated splits and free splits (4, 5). The enactment of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977, and the regulations adopted by the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration (now called the Mining Safety and Health ministration) prompted greater discussions of optimal mine regulator locations because of the Act's stringent ventilation requirements (2, 3). For example, by requiring the separation of the air used in the belt haulage entries from the intake and return airways, the regulations required the creation of a third type of airway---the neutral airway, as opposed to the intake and return airways, adding to the complexity of a mine's ventilation network. It is the intent of this report to show that panel regulators should be located in intake airways at the neck of a panel for a blowing fan system and in return airways at the neck of a panel for an exhausting fan system in order to achieve optimal air control. A computer simulation model is used to determine optimal mine regulator location.

Jan 1, 1983

By Mark L. Requa

(San Francisco fleeting, October, 1911.) DURING the past two years California has developed a new and important oil-field : I refer to Midway. This field produced the famous Lake View gusher, which is credited with a total production in excess of 8,000,000 barrels. Fortunately for the oil industry of the State, this well is now a thing of the past, and nothing save a great crater-like opening marks its location. The pipe is entirely worn away and gone ; and it is a matter of serious doubt if there can be anything done that will cause the well to produce again. Fortunately, also, there have been no, other wells in that field or elsewhere throughout the State that in any way compared with the Lake View. Midway is noted for large wells, of from 500 to 2,000 barrels production; but the decline is rapid, and a few months serve to bring the output down to a few hundred barrels. In the oil-territory heretofore blocked out as proved and probable, there have been, during the year, many changes. Some areas which were expected to be fairly productive have apparently failed; others, more strictly "wild-cat," have come in; while in some of the older fields there are properties which are beginning to show evident signs of exhaustion. The total area of proved territory will therefore probably suffer but small increase, when balances are struck off. The increase of new area has come from extensions of the Midway field, the development of a field in Lost Hills and Belridge, and extensions of the Fullerton-Whittier field in southern California. In these later developments, down to date, the fresh area absolutely proved is not much in excess of 3,000 acres. Recent developments in Coalinga indicate the possible extension of that field to the south, but at great depth. Coalinga is still the most northerly field of any consequence in the State. The Kettleman Hills have hitherto brought in nothing, although a

Apr 1, 1912

By AIME AIME

LOCAL COMMITTEES. EXECUTIVE.-W. A. Lathrop, Chairman; R. V. Norris, Secretary; S. D. Warriner, Treasurer; Irving A.. Stearns, W. J. Richards, H. S. Drinker, C. D. Simpson. GENERAL RECEPTION.-Irving A. Stearns, Chairman. Archibald, James, Jr., Pottsville. Lawall, E. H., Wilkes-Barre. Ashley, H. H., Wilkes-Barre. Lentz, W. 0., Mauch Chunk. Ayres, WV. S., Hazleton. Lewis, Albert, Bear Creek. Beard, J. T., Scranton. Loomis, W. H., Jeddo. Bridgman, J. C., Wilkes-Barre. Markle, Alvan, Hazleton. Bunting, Douglas, Wilkes-Barre. Markle, John, Jeddo. Chase, F. M., Wilkes-Barre. Neale, J. B., Minersville. Coroner, Eli T., Scranton. Norris, R. V., Wilkes-Barre. Cote, E. B., Jr., Drifton. Oliver, Paul A., Oliver's Mills. Davies, W. H., Hazleton. Owens, W. D., Pittston. Davis, H. G., Dorranceton. Pardee, 1. P., Hazleton. Dodge, W. F., Wilkes-Barre. Quin, R. A., Wilkes-Barre.

Jul 1, 1911

By K. P. Gupta, P. C. Panigrahy

The stabilization of the R, a-Mn, and 0-Mn phases have been studied in the Mn-Ti-Fe and Mn-Ti-Co systems. Iron and cobalt both appear to stabilize the (Mn-Ti) R phase to almost the sarne extent. The R-phase region was found to extend from the lowest e/a to slightly beyond the maximunz e/a limit known for this phase. But, while iron appears to stabilize the a-Mn phase, cobalt tends to stabilize the p-Mn phase. In the two systems manganese appears to get replaced by iron and cobalt in each of the mentioned phases. The instability of the a-Mn phase in the Mn-Ti-Co system and the /3 -Mn phase in the Mn-Ti-Fe system cannot be explained on the basis of adverse size effects because atomic diameters for both iron and cobalt (C.N. 12 at. diam) are ziery similnr and not much different from manganese which they replace. Qualitatively, the reason for the stability of the a-Mn and the p-Mn phases can be traced to the more favorable e/a ratio prevailing in the respective systems and to a competing tendency between the two phases. In transition metal alloy systems the o, p,P, R, a- Mn,' and p-Mn2 phases have been claimed as electron compounds. A large volume of work has been done to establish the criterion for the formation of the o phase but until very recently practically no systematic work was done on the a-Mn and the /3-Mn phases. A recent investigation on the P-Mn phase3 indicates the e/a criterion for p-Mn phase stabilization. Since the R phase was first known to appear only in certain ternary systems1 no detailed work was then possible for this phase. The R phase has been recently discovered as a binary intermetallic compound in the Mn-Ti~ and Mn-si~-' binary systems. The existence of binary R phases opens up the possibilities of studying the effect of alloying elements on the stabilization of the R phase. Of the two binary systems possessing an R phase, the Mn-Ti system appears to be more interesting because at a suitable high temperature it is possible to find the three electron compounds, the a-Mn, p-Mn, and R phases, side by side and it is possible to study the effect of a third transition element on these three electron compounds. For the present investigation iron and cobalt, so called B elements for the formation of electron compounds, have been used as the third element to study the stabilization of the a-Mn, P-Mn, and R phases. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The alloys were prepared by using 99.9 pct pure electrolytic Fe and Mn, 99.5 pct Co, and crystal bar titanium, supplied by Semi Elements Inc., New York and Gallard Schelsinger Mfg. Co., New York. Weighed amounts of the components were melted in recrystal-lized alumina crucibles in an inert atmosphere (argon) high-frequency induction melting unit. Titanium was made into fine chips for easy dissolution and a special charging procedure was adopted to avoid contacts of titanium chips with the alumina crucibles. Up to 20 at. pct Ti, the maximum titanium content in the investigated alloys, there was no visible sign of reaction of titanium with the alumina crucibles. With a careful control of melting time and temperature the losses were minimized and were always found to be below 0.1 pct. Because of such small and almost constant weight losses, the alloys were not finally analyzed. The alloys were wrapped in molybdenum foil and annealed in evacuated and sealed silica capsules at 1000" * 2°C for 72 hr and subsequently quenched in cold tap water. Annealed samples were examined metallographically and by X-ray diffraction. For all high manganese alloys oxalic acid solutions of various concentrations and 1.0 pct HN03 solution were found suitable as etching reagents. Best contrast between the a-Mn and the R phases could be obtained by using freshly prepared 60 pct glycerine + 20 pct HN03 + 20 pct HF solution. For high iron and cobalt containing alloys, especially for alloys containing the a-Fe, y-Fe, and P-Co phases, 15 cc HNOJ + 60 cc HC1 + 15 cc acetic acid + 15 cc water solution was found to be the best etching reagent. All X-ray diffraction work was carried out (using specimens prepared from annealed powders) with a 114.6 mm diam Debye-Scherrer camera using unfiltered FeK radiation at 25 kv and 10 ma. All calculations for X-ray diffraction work were carried out using an IBM 7044 digital computer RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The two ternary systems, MnTiFe and MnTiCo, were investigated near the manganese rich end, Figs. 1 and 2, and show some common features. In both alloy systems large extensions of narrow R phase regions occur at almost constant titanium contents. At titanium contents higher than that of the single phase R-phase alloys, the same unidentified X phase was found in both ternary systems. The extensions of the X phase close to the Mn-Ti binary indicate that this phase could be the TiMns phase. Too few X phase diffraction lines were present in the diffraction patterns to make positive identification of the X phase. In contrast to this similarity the two systems show opposite behavior in the extensions of the a-Mn and 8-Mn phase regions; while iron tends to stabilize the a-Mn phase, cobalt

Jan 1, 1970

By Charles M. Rolker

The Mariposa estate, a grant made by the Mexican Government to Juan 13. Alvarado, during the time when California was still under the dominion of Mexico, was purchased in 1847 by J. C. Fremont, and the United States patent issued to him in 1856. By sale, or its equivalent, money advanced, the property came into the hands of the Mariposa Company, June 25th, 1863, and through a varied existence of work and temporary inactivity, has as yet been kept as an undivided property, and rests at present with the Mariposa Land and Mining Company of California. I pass over this period of 15 years without giving the history of the ups and downs of the estate, partly because it is familiar to many, and also because I think in such a case this paper would assume too much the character of a narrative. The estate is situated in Mariposa County, California, about 170 miles southeast of San Francisco. It begins in lat. 37' 26' 38'' north, and long. 119' 55' west, and runs 6 miles north; thence 69 miles west; thence 5 miles northwesterly towards the Merced River; thence 84 miles southerly; thence 3 miles easterly; thence 1 mile southerly; thence 2 miles easterly; thence 2 miles southerly; thence 2 miles easterly; thence 1 mile southerly; thence 2 miles easterly; thence 1 mile northerly, and thence 2 miles easterly to the place of the beginning; embracing 44,387 acres (70 sq. miles) more or less. To describe this vast estate in detail as to its full geology, its numerous quartz veins, its many facilities to exploit them and work them by cheap methods, would lead me further than I intend to go at present, and I will content myself to describe the latest workings of the company and its immediate field of operations. As long ago as 1860 the late Dr. Adelberg advised the running of an adit from the northwestern edge of the estate at Benton Mills 011 the Mereed River. His object was to undercut the deepest workings of the then paying mines on the estate—the Pine Tree and Josephine. Following this advice, the tunnel known as "River Tunnel " was commenced. Its entrance is in S. 5, T. 4, s. R. 17 E. It is run in

Jan 1, 1879

By F. X. Meyer

THE United States Smelting Refining and Mining Company maintains an ore-purchasing department for procurement of custom tonnages of milling and smelting ores and concentrates for treatment at its Midvale plant. Arrangements with other companies provide for treatment of Company and custom zinc concentrates. Location of the Midvale plant in the heart of the Western mining country makes it possible to serve shippers from these nine producing states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Shipments from most of these states travel over main-line railroads, delivery being made at Midvale within a short time after billing of the shipment. Shipments varying in size from a few sacks to carloads can be handled at

Jan 1, 1948

By J. H. McCormick

This plant, near Marysville, Mont., was planned to treat the ore from the Piegan and Gloster mines, the latter being one of the early and famous producers of the Marysville district. When the mill was closed in 1888, treatment consisted of stamp milling, followed by pans and settlers for pan amalgamation. The extraction was evidently poor, because, a few years later, thousands of tons of tailings were re-treated by the ranchers in the valley below the mill, by the then new cyanide process, and gave a handsome profit. In 1914, the present owners, after laboratory tests and an experimental mill run, decided upon the following treatment: crushing to 40 mesh in cyanide solution, concentration, amalgamation, classification, and cyani-dation of sands by leaching, and of slime by agitation and decantation in charges. The ore averaged about $7 per ton, gold and silver, the ratio of weight being 1 oz. gold to 7.56 oz. silver. The ratio of gold and silver in tailings was 1 oz. Au to 36.6 oz. Ag; the quartz was sharp and sandy, however finely ground, and rather difficult to slime. The mechanical equipment was a No. 5 Symons gyratory crusher; three 10-ft. Lane slow-speed Chilean mills; one Wilfley roughing and one finishing table; one submerged-type Akins classifier; five 26 by 10-ft. fir leaching tanks; one 24 by 7-ft. Dorr thickener; four 14 by 16-ft. Dorr agitators; four 6-compartment double-row zinc-boxes having compartments 18 in. wide, 18 in. deep, and 34 in. long; Johnson zinc lathe; acid and vacuum filter tanks for treating precipitate; roasting furnace; and Case tilting No. 275 crucible furnace for melting precipitate. The mill is driven by electric power supplied by the Montana Power Co. at the following rates, per kw.-hr.: 200 to 300 hp., 0.68 c.; 300 to 500 hp., 0.61 c.; 500 to 750 hp., 0.55 c.; plus $1 per month per installed motor horsepower. The plant as above described was operated from May, 1915, to the end of the year, when an additional Dorr thickener and a 12 by 12-ft. Portland revolving filter were added, increasing the nominal capacity of 100 tons per 24 hr., but not the percentage of extraction. The combined treatment, at a cost of $1.48 per ton, saved 90 per cent. of the gold arid

Jan 1, 1919

By J. W. Buch

IN THE FIELD of track haulage, interest has seemed to center on the question of larger mine cars both for handling material from loading point to shaft bottom or surface, and for shuttle service. Saving of time in car changing is obvious if larger cars are used. In addition, shorter trips result where car transportation is from face to opening without transfer. This also brings about side-track and equipment savings. Track shuttle service, using large automatic-dump cars (10 tons) between loading machines and trip loading point, has been a satisfactory solution for the operator who mechanizes a working mine regularly equipped with a large number of small mine cars. This development in track shuttle haulage, has made track installation and maintenance increasingly important, requiring closer supervision.

Jan 1, 1942

By J. G. Eberhort

ThE literature of surface phenomena shows that, except for most of the rare-earth elements, surface tensions have now been determined for almost every liquid metal. The situation for liquid metal oxides is, in contrast, characterized by a great scarcity of surface-tension data. A surface-tension correlation between these two classes of substances has been found which provides a means of estimating unknown liquid-oxide surface tensions from the corresponding known liquid-metal surface tension. Lf the surface tension of the liquid metal is a(M) and that of the liquid metal oxide is o(M,Oy), then oxides of all stoichiometries can be brought into one correlation if is plotted against with the surface tensions taken at the respective melting points. The available data is displayed in this fashion in Fig. 1 where the relationship between the surface tensions of the two classes of liquids is found to be The correlation in Fig. 1 is based on data found for nine liquid metal oxides and the corre- sponding liquid metals In cases where several sur-face-tension determinations were available on the same substance, higher values were generally favored over lower ones because they usually indicate greater Sample purity. All of the metal-metal oxide pairs are in good agreement with Eq. [I] except for B-Bz03. The reason for the departure of this pair from the correlation is not understood. To estimate the surface tension of other liquid metal oxides the corresponding liquid-metal surface tension must be found. A nearly complete bibliography of the surface tension of liauid elements is available in the 46th edition of the Handbook of Chemistry and physics. Some additional references on metals are included here for convenience Se,26Sr,'?ThanduZ5). It is also possible to estimate the surface tension of a solid metal oxide or metal from the corresponding liquid-state data. As a liquid material is cooled through its melting point the surface tension increases abruptly by an amount Ao. bondi' has estimated that the maximum value of Aa at the melting point is Ao = Ahf/A [2] where Alzf is the heat of fusion per atom and A is the area per atom in the interface. Thus with heat of fusion and crystallographic data the surface tension of a solid at the melting point can be estimated as o + Ao.

Jan 1, 1967

By R. B. Newcombe

Despite abnormal economic conditions and the unhealthy state of the petroleum industry, 1930 closed without any marked decline in total production of oil in the Middle Western States. The most accurate figures available would indicate for this district an output of close to 25,000,000 bbl. for 1930 as compared to 26,000,000 bbl. for 1929. This can be accounted for by the settled nature of a great many of the wells producing in this area and the favorable geographical position, which affords adequate refining and marketing facilities. The only new flush production field discovered in the area was the Legrande oil pool in southeastern Hart County in western Kentucky, where wells up to 1000 bbl. initial have been reported from a shallow depth. Important extensions have been found in a number of central Ohio fields, and activity in the central Michigan area resulted in new pools along the northwest trend of the Mt. Pleasant structure. These new districts, known as the Leaton and Vernon pools, have not yet reached the scope of the Mt. Pleasant field proper, and although the structure is similar, sand conditions are not strictly analogous. Wildcatting was retarded somewhat by the scarcity of market for oil and many important wells were shut down for several months. This has not shown such a profound effect on production as the reticence of operators to drill inside proven locations. The major companies have not been able to dispose of their oil and the smaller operating units are having trouble financing their projects. The result is that oil in sight is not being produced and output is suffering accordingly. Another important effect on production was the introduction of proration by the major crude purchasers and a voluntary shut-down by Kentucky operators. This step became necessary because of the glutting of lake port refineries with Mid-Continent oil, and was not fostered by regulating state bodies, as in the case of the southwestern states. Small refining units have sprung up to meet this situation in a number of instances but they have experienced some difficulty in disposing of their product because of "dumping" tactics from other quarters. New refinery outlets on the Great Lakes and new pipe line connections should tend to alleviate this difficulty during the coming year. The

Jan 1, 1931

By L. S. Panyity

The inception of this paper may be traced directly to the various discussions of another paper by the writer1 wherein certain indefinite beliefs and opinions were emphasized as to the relative importance of total sand porosity and the actual size of the openings between the grains. Since publication of that paper it has been possible to study various methods of sand analyses and results that have been obtained under different conditions and actual operations in the field. The purpose of this paper is to indicate the value of screen analysis, especially in areas where repressuring by means of water-flood, air or gas is being used in the partly depleted fields. Sand samples have been analyzed for porosity, saturation and grain size. They are mainly from the Bradford water-flood area, where a great reliance has been put upon such analyses, and where many data are available, A few sand studies are included from fields other than the water-flood area, in order to indicate the possibilities of screen analysis in any field. Examples of various conditions are given in Figs. 1 to 7, which show the porosity, saturation and grain-size analyses of submitted cores or drill cuttings. The generally accepted methods of delineating such sand studies on cross-section paper, known as "core charts" has been employed; with the exception that a method of representing grain size has been evolved which is believed to be the best adapted for this purpose. It differs from the block diagrams generally used, in the employment of a linear section. Percentage of grain-size is represented by the subdivision of a given distance, where the total length represents the whole sample of rock chunk, while the subdivisions indicate the percentages of grains of the different sizes that will pass through the various sieves, through which the samples of crushed sand are sorted to determine the size and amount of the components that make up the aggregate. Thus, on Fig. 1, under the heading of Grain Size, the first samples are composed of grains of the following sizes: 16 per cent. through 120-mesh sieve; 33 per cent. through 150-mesh; 25 per cent. through 180-mesh; 26 per cent, through 200 mesh; a total of 100 per cent. A minus sign is placed before

Jan 1, 1931

By R. P. Rothwell

IN January last I published in the Engineering and Mining Journal a table giving, with a considerable degree of accuracy, the production of anthracite coal for the year 1874. At that time it was impossible to give any correct estimate of the production of bituminous coal, for the returns I had been able to secure from such distant and scattered districts were not always forwarded punctually, and the work of -obtaining anything like a true estimate of the coal mined in districts from which I was unable to obtain official returns was both laborious and tedious. As will be seen from the detailed reports furnished herewith, I have succeeded in obtaining tolerably accurate returns of 20,093,704 tons; and upon careful revision by numerous well-informed local authorities, my first estimate of the amount of coal not officially returned to me has grown very considerably; indeed, as I get more information on the subject I find that our bituminous coal production greatly exceeds the amount we have been accustomed to hear it placed at, aggregating as it does, 26,465,704 tons. Mr. Andrew Roy, State Inspector of Mines for Ohio, has reported the production of Ohio at 4,168,445 tons, while his first estimates were but 3,820,000 tons; and similarly, in other cases, the more full the returns direct from the mines the more incorrect do I find all previous reports. I am able now to furnish, not an accurate statement, indeed, but by far the most full and reliable one that has yet been published of our coal production. The amount of labor involved in obtaining this admittedly imperfect report has been simply enormous. In the following tabular statement it will be perceived that Pennsylvania produces nearly one-half of all the bituminous coal mined * Since this paper was read fuller reports from some of the States whose production had been "estimated" have modified the figures given. The most serious error is in California, which produces probably 200,000 tons less than these figures. Oregon and Washington territories also yield smaller amounts than here reported; but these reductions are probably fully compensated by fuller reports from other States that were here underestimated. The correct aggregate amount will not vary much from that here given. Early in 1876 I will be able to give a fuller and more accurate report for the year 1875.

Jan 1, 1875

By John C. Gifford, Charles L. Thomas

A unique and reproducible method is presented for the determination of water vapor in tough pitch wire bar copper. The procedure involves reduction of the water vapor with molten aluminum to form hydrogen, which is subsequently measured by mass spectroscopy. Average water vapor pressures within the porosities of the wire bar samples are calculated. Correlation is to exist between the specific gravities of the samples and their measured water vapor contents. The method should find application as a very sensitive means of detecting hydrogen embrittlement in copper. The nature and quantity of gases evolved and retained during the horizontal casting of tough pitch wire bar copper have long been of interest to the metallurgist. Considerable work has been done at this laboratory on the determination of these gases. The work has involved not only qualitative but also quantitative analysis, so as to provide a basis for a total accounting of the porosity which is associated with the cast product. From a knowledge of the gas-forming elements within the copper, and the practice of melting and protecting it with a reducing flame followed by contact with a charcoal cover in the casting ladle, the gases which one might expect to find in the pores of the cast product are sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and water vapor. Hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, and hydrocarbons would be other possibilities; however vacuum fusion-mass spectroscopy techniques employed at this laboratory have shown that no hydrogen sulfide and only traces of nitrogen and methane are present. It is highly improbable according to phillipsl that any sulfur dioxide could be evolved in wire bar copper with 10 ppm or less sulfur under normal freezing conditions. Mackay and smith2 have noted that porosity due to sulfur dioxide only becomes noticeable at concentrations above 20 ppm S. Investigation of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide by a variation in the method of Bever and Floe showed that these two gases could only account, at 760 mm and 1064°C (Cu-Cua eutectic temperature), for a maximum of about 25 pct of the total porosity in a wire bar having a specific gravity of 8.40 g per cu cm. phillips' has noted that no normal furnace atmosphere is ever sufficiently rich in hydrogen to cause porosity in copper from hydrogen alone. In addition, using a hot vacuum extraction technique for hydrogen,4 values have never been observed in excess of 10 ppb in tough pitch wire bar. On the basis of the preceding considerations of gases in tough pitch wire bar, only water vapor is left to account for the major portion of the porosity. Direct determinations of water vapor are virtually impossible at low concentrations by any presently known technique, due to adsorption and desorption within the walls of the apparatus used.5 The present investigation deals with a method for the determination of water vapor by an indirect procedure, using molten aluminum as a reducing agent to form hydrogen according to the reaction: 2A1 + 3H2O — A12O3 + 3H2 The evolved hydrogen can then be measured quantitatively by mass spectroscopy. EXPERIMENTAL A 10-g piece of 99.9+ pct A1 was charged into a porous alumina crucible (Laboratory Equipment Co., No. 528-30). Fig. 1 shows the crucible in place at the bottom of an 8-in.-long quartz thimble. A funnel tube with two l1/8-in.-OD sidearms extending at a 90-deg angle from each other was attached to the top of the thimble. One of the sidearms was joined to the inlet system of the mass spectrometer (Consolidated Electrodynamics Corp. Model 21-620A) via a mercury diffusion pump situated between two dry-ice traps. The copper samples were placed in the other sidearm, followed by a glass-enclosed magnetic stirring bar for pushing the samples into the crucible. All ground joints were sealed with vacuum-grade wax. The entire system was evacuated and the aluminum was heated with a T-2.5 Lepel High Frequency Induction Furnace for 21/2 hr at a temperature visually estimated to be 900°C. The temperature was then lowered and the hydrogen was monitored on the mass spectrometer until it was given off at a constant rate of about 4 to 5 1 per hr. This rate corresponded to a slope of 2 to 3 divisions per min on the X3 attenuation of a 10-mv recorder at a hydrogen sensitivity of approximately 100 divisions per 1. A micromanometer (Consolidated Electrodynamics Corp. Model 23-105)

Jan 1, 1969

By M. E. Grimes

A method of predicting uranium extraction rate in underground bacterial leaching of as-blasted ore has been developed. The method is based on the hypothesis that extraction is directly proportional to the volume of a piece of ore that is penetrated by the leaching agent, and that each piece of ore, regardless of size, has been penetrated radially from the external surface to the same depth at a given leaching time. Consequently, given an initial size and assay distribution, extraction should be predictable for a given penetration. Two laboratory bacterial leaching tests under simulated stope leaching conditions were carried out for a periods of 89 and 96 weeks. On completion, the residual ore was screened and analyzed. The information so obtained was employed to provide an elapsed time base for the penetration model, from which predictions of future extraction were made. The finding of solubilized uranium trapped within apparently sol id ore pieces was unexpected. However, it is not recoverable except after crushing, and hence does not affect calculations of underground leaching .

Jan 1, 1974

By J. H. Swisher

ALUMINUM deoxidation equilibrium in liquid iron has been the subject of many investigations. Sawamura and Sano1 have written a critical survey of the literature on this subject and consider the data of Gokcen and chipman2 and of d'Entremont, Guernsey, and Chip-man3 to be most reliable. The present study was undertaken to check these data and extend the range of the experiments to lower temperature. The experiments consisted of equilibrating 5-lb Fe-Al melts with recrystallized alumina crucibles at 1580o + 10oC, and analyzing the solidified ingots for aluminum and oxygen. The electrolytic iron stock contained 100 ppm C, 20 ppm 0, and trace amounts of other elements.* The stock was induction-melted in an atmosphere of 5 pet H2 in argon to attain equilibrium between the melt and the crucible. The temperature was measured with a W, 3 pet Re/W, 26 pet Re thermocouple, and the equilibration time was about 4 hr. The results are plotted in Fig. 1 along with curves obtained from the data of d'Entremont et al.,3 for temperatures of 1740o and 1910°C. The present results can be seen to be consistent with the previously reported high-temperature data. The reaction under study is AI2O3 (s) = 2 Al (l) +3O [1] for which the deoxidation product is Kl =[% Al]2 [%O]3 [2] (Under the experimental conditions, Fe A12O4 is not expected to form.4) In Fig. 2, values of log Ki evaluated at 0.01 pet A1 are plotted against 1/T, using data obtained from all the investigations under consideration. The deoxidation product is plotted in Fig. 2 in lieu of the equilibrium constant (normally obtained by evaluating Ki as pet A1 — 0) because of the uncertainty involved in extrapolating to zero concentration. The difficulty in extrapolating the present data for 1580°C is apparent curvature in the log Ki vs pet Al plot. This curvature is perhaps due to the uncertainty in oxygen analysis for concentrations of 5 ppm and below. For the data of Gokeen and chipman,' the extrapolation is also difficult because of experimental scatter. The line drawn through the points plotted in Fig. 2 may be represented by the equation:

Jan 1, 1968

By Robert W. Hunt

THE memorable features of American history have been making fast during the last century, and notably so since 1860; and they are by no means confined to political or to any one branch of scientific development. Of all the industrial arts, none show a greater change or a mightier progress than the Bessemer manufacture. And this year, while we are celebrating the first centennial of our national life, we can also celebrate the first decennial of American Bessemer practice. While not forgetting or undervaluing what has been done in other countries, I have thought that a brief history of the introduction and development of the Pneumatic or Bessemer process in America would be of interest. In 1863 the Kelly Pneumatic Process Company was formed and an arrangement entered into with William Kelly, who had taken out letters-patent of the United States, Nos. 16,444 ; 17,628, re¬issued as 505; 18,910, dated January 10th, 1857 ; June 23d, 1857; November 3d, 1857; and December 22d, 1857, respectively. This association was composed of the Cambria Iron Company, E. B. Ward, Park Brothers & Co., Lyon, Shorb & Co., Z. S. Durfee, and, later, Chouteau, Harrison & Valle joined the combination. Not satisfied with possessing the control of the Kelly patent, they sent Mr. Z. S. Durfee to England, to secure for this country Mushet's patent on recarburization, No. 17,389, dated May 26th, 1857, the same having been taken out in England on September 22d, 1856. In this Mr. Durfee was successful. Previous to the application of William Kelly for a patent, Henry Bessemer, of England, had taken out patents dated February 12th, 1856, and August 25th, 1856, in this country. Kelly claimed priority in the discovery of the principles of the process, and the Patent-office allowed his claim by granting him his patents. In the autumn of 1862 Mr. Alexander L. Holley, while in England, was impressed with the importance of Mr. Bessemer's inven¬tion, and so fully foresaw its future, that, upon his return to the United States, he induced Messrs. John A. Griswold and John F. Winslow, of Troy, New York, to join him in endeavoring to possess Bessemer's American patents. Mr. Holley returned to England in

Jan 1, 1877

By C. M. Young

The safety lamp is the most common and convenient apparatus for detecting inflammable gases in mines, the presence of gas being shown by a blue flame, called the cap, if the wick has been lowered to suppress the luminous flame. The height of the cap increases with the proportion of gas and with the temperature of the lamp flame. Lamps of the Wolf type, the fuel of which is benzine, have a hotter flame than lamps in which vegetable oils are used, such as the Davy, and the Clanny, and are more sensitive than the latter and their many modifications. The Piehler alcohol lamp gives a still higher cap while the Clowes hydrogen lamp is most sensitive of all. While the effect of the temperature of the source of ignition is well known, the writer knows of no previous attempt to correlate the change of this temperature with change of the height of the cap produced, In order to determine the height of the cap at various temperatures, it was necessary to have a source of ignition the temperature of which could be accurately controlled over a considerable range. This condition was met by a coil of wire of high fusing point heated by an electric current controlled by a variable resistance. The use of a coil offered the further advantage of freedom from complications due to the flame of a burning fuel. Such a flame, being itself of variable height, would to some extent raise or lower the elevation of the base of the cap and therefore add to the difficulty of determining the height of the cap. Besides this, the presence of a small cap from the lamp fuel, commonly known as the "fuel cap," would interfere with the observation of small gas caps. After some experiment, a coil was made of platinum wire, No. 26, diameter 0.016 in. The coil was 17/64 in. (6.746 mm.) in outside diameter and had eight full turns in a length of 1/2 in. (12.69 mm.). This was connected to an electric circuit through an adjustable resistance, as shown in Fig. 1. In order to measure the temperature, a thermocouple was inserted in the center of the coil; the leads passed out at the ends and were ccnducted to a millivoltmeter. It is probable that the current of air passing upward through the coil resulted in the indication of a tempera-

Jan 1, 1920