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By T. H. Weldon, L. V. Whiton, R. R. McNaughton, J. H. Hargrave

Oxygen enriched air is being used quite extensively in the metallurgical plants of The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. of Canada, Limited, at Trail, B.C. The oxygen used for this purpose is a by-product from the Company's chemical plants located in the area. Most of the ore treated in the Trail metallurgical plants comes from Com-inco's Sullivan Mine at Kimberley, B.C. At Kimberley the ore is milled to produce lead and zinc concentrates which are shipped to Trail for further treatment to metal. One section of this paper deals with the use of oxygen enriched air in the suspension roasting of the zinc concentrates. In this process the concentrate is calcined for leaching preparatory to electrolytic recovery of the zinc. A second section of the paper describes the use of oxygen enriched air in operations at the lead smelter. There oxygen enriched air is used in the blast to the lead blast furnaces and in the slag fuming furnace which recovers the lead and zinc contained in lead blast furnace slag. The final section of the paper outlines the precautions necessary for the safe use of oxygen enriched air in any plant operation. The Use of Oxygen Enriched Air in the Suspension Zinc Roasters The suspension roasting of zinc concentrate developed at Trail, B.C., has been described in AIME Vol. 121, "The Electrolytic Zinc Plant of The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, Limited" by B. A. Stimmel, W. 11. Hannay and K. D. McBean. Since the publication of that paper, the use of oxygen enriched air in suspension roasting has been introduced as regular practice with marked advantage. The relative importance of a specific advantage may vary with changing conditions, but, in general, it may be stated that improved operation has been achieved at increased capacities. Suspension roasting is carried out at Trail in converted standard 25 ft diam Wedge roasters. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th roasting hearths have been removed and the drying hearth covered over. Drying of the concentrate is done on the drying hearth and the 1st roasting hearth. The dried concentrate, after any lump's have been broken up in a ball mill, is fed to a single burner located in the upper part of the combustion chamber. Oxygen is introduced at the burner fan along with the gases from drying, returned combustion gases from the waste heat boiler outlet and the required amount of new air. Up to 60 pct of the concentrate settles out on the 6th roasting hearth, the rest passilig out of the roaster. The product collected in the waste heat boiler is finished calcine, but the dust collected in the cyclones after the boilers is returned to the base of the combustion chamber where the sulphate is decomposed. Gases from the c'yclones go to a Cottrell precipitator. The discharges from the 7th roasting hearth and the waste heat boiler are combined with the Cottrell dust to give the finished calcine. Following small scale tests started in 1933, oxygen enriched air has been used continuously in the suspension roasting of zinc concentrate in Trail, beginning in 1937. A significant factor in promoting its use in this operation was the availability of by-product oxygen from the Company's near-by Chemical and Fertilizer Division. To-day it is standard practice at Trail to use oxygen enriched air for zinc concentrate roasting. The most important requirement in roasting a zinc concentrate for an electrolytic plant is that the zinc in the calcine should have maximum solubility. It is also desirable at Trail that the gas produced for the manufacture of suhhuric acid should have a ~naximum concentration of SO2 and that a substantial recovery of waste heat from the gas be achieved. High solubility of zinc requires that the sulphide sulphur and zinc ferrite in the calcine be kept low. These are both functions of temperature and time, with formation of zinc ferrite also dependent on contact between the iron and zinc particles. One of the inherent advantages of suspension roasting is that minimum time and contact are achieved. The limit on temperature is imposed by the fusion point of the concentrate and not by the need to control zinc ferrite formation. Operating temperatures are normally maintained within the limits of 1725" and 1850°F. A relatively low zinc sulphate in the calcine is required at Trail, and this results from discharging the calcine from the high sulphur dioxide atmosphere at a temperature above 1600°F.

Jan 1, 1950

By C. R. Sandberg, L. S. Gournay, R. F. Sippel

The effect of fluid-flow rate and fluid viscosity on oil-water relative permeability determinations was studied using the "dynamic flow technique." In this work relative per-nleability curves were obtained for homogeneous small core .samples from several sandstorle outcrop form-utions. Radio-tracers were used for the determination of fluid saturation and for the detection of saturation gradients. Cobalt-60 in the form of cobaltous chloride was used as a water-phase tracer in some of the experiments. Iodine-131 in the form of iodobenzene and Mercury-20-3 in the form of mercury diphenyl were used as oil-phase tracers in other experiments. Flow rates for each phase were varied within a range of 2.5 to 140.6 ml/hr. Oil-phase vis-cosities under flowing condition,> were varied from 0.398 to 1.683 cp. The relative permbilities ob-tained were found to he solely a function of saturation and independent of flow rare, provided there was no .Saturation gradient induced in the core sample by "boundary effect." Even though equilibrium with re-sped to flowing conditions was obtained at the lower flow rates, where a saturation gradient exists, this equilibrium is of a "contingent"-type rather than the "steady-state" equi-librium implicit in the relative per-meability concept. The only effect of increasing the oil or non-wetting phase viscosity was to decrease the flow rate required for the elimina-tion of the boundary effect. Fairly good agreement between experimentally determined and calculated values of the boundary effect was obtained when the non-wet-ring oil phase was the only Flowing phase. INTRODUCTION In the characterization of reservoir rock, as well as in the solution of reservoir production problems, it is most desirable to have reliablc rela-tive permeability measurements for the rock and fluids of interest. Many techniques have been developed for the laboratory determination of the relative permeability of both large and small core samples. In varying degree, difficulties attend the use of all of the methods. Each of the methods requires the metered flow of fluids of known viscosity through the core sample under conditions wherein the pressure drop in the individual flowing phases can be measured or closely approximated. Since the relative permeability is a function of the saturation and distribution of the flowing fluids, some means of obtaining such information is also required. The laboratory determination of the relative permeability of a sample should give the same relative permeability saturation relationship that would exist if the sample were in place in the oil reservoir. The attainment of this objective is complicated by the fact that the use of small core samples for laboratory measurements is usually necessary. As a result, errors in measuring the relative permeability arise from boundary effects at either the fluid input or output ends of the sample; no significant boundary effect is anticipated at the sides of the sample normal to direction of fluid flow. At the input end of the sample a boundary effect exists if the flow fluids are not com- mingled as they would be in the reservoir. At the output end of the sample a boundary effect exists as a result of discontinuity of the capillary properties of the system. Here the flowing fluids leave the small flow channels and enter a collecting system having much enlarged flow channels. Thus, there is a tendency for the wetting phase to be retained by the core sample because of the attraction of the core sample for the wetting fluid. No reference is made to these boundary effects in either Darcy's equation or in the relative permeability concept. As a consequence the saturation effect peculiar to the input end of the core sample may cause an error in the effective permeability measurement, since some portion of the core sample must be utilized for commingling of the flow fluids. At the output portion of the core sample a saturation gradient or a saturation change along the axis of flow results. Since relative permeability is a function of fluid saturation, this saturation gradient may cause a variable permeability measurement, especially since extent and character of the saturation gradient can vary with fluid-flow rate. The most convenient method of minimizing the boundary effect, especially at the output end of the sample, is to flow the fluids of interest through the core sample at such high rates that the capillary forces arc insignificant as compared to the viscous forces involved in the fluid flow. Since recent work of a preliminary nature has indicated that fluid dispersion in the porous medium increases with the flow rate, the high flow minimizes the boundary effect at the input end of the core sample by enhancing the mixing of the fluids.

By E. V. Kleber, V. F. Novy, R. C. Vickery

The constitutional diagram for the gadolinium-cobalt system has been determined. Seven intermetallic compounds have been found at compositions corresponding to the follwing gadolinium-cobalt ratios: 3:1, 1:1, 2:3, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 1:5. The GdCor compound has a congruent melting point above 1600°C. whereas the remaining compounds melt incongruently. Eutectics exist at 16 wt pct Co and 84 wt pct Co, with melting points of 620° and 1260°C, respectively. PREVIOUS papers'" have recorded constitutional data for systems of gadolinium with iron and nickel. This paper presents data obtained on alloys of gadolinium with the remaining 3d transition element-cobalt. voge13 found that cerium forms, with cobalt, the intermetallic compounds; Ce3Co, CeCo, CeCo2, CeCo3, CeCo4, and CeCo5 Other workers4-' found the 1:2 compound in this series to exist in a C-15 (face-centered cubic) structure and the 1:5 compound to exist in a hexagonal crystal system. Comparison of earlier data with that now reported will be made subsequently. EXPERIMENTAL Methods of alloy preparation, annealing procedures, and experimental techniques have been previously reported.' The cobalt content of alloy specimens was determined volumetrically. RESULTS Microstructure—The alloy containing 10.5 wt pct Co corresponds closely to the composition of the first intermetallic compound Gd3CO. In Fig. 1 the microstructure is essentially single phase composed of Gd3Co which formed peritectically. The globular areas are remnants of the peritectic reaction which did not quite go to completion. A eutectic occurs between Gd3Co and the next higher compound GdCO, which is followed by a series of peritectic compounds. Fig. 2, an arc-cast alloy containing 20.2 wt pct Co, shows large primary crystals of GdCo etching either white or black (depending on crystallographic orientation), embedded in the eutectic. Similarly, in Fig. 3 at 31.2 wt pct Co, a compound, probably GdCo3, has separated from the melt. Subsequent peritectic reactions were almost completely by-passed as the alloy cooled, the residual liquid freezing as a fine eutectic. In the 47.5 wt pct Co alloy, Fig. 4, the high melting point compound, GdCO4, has solidified as massive, white-etching grains, which reacted with the liquid to form GdCo3 as the second phase. The microstructure of an arc-melted alloy containing 60.5 pct Co is complex, Fig. 5, and presents some difficulty in interpretation. The grey etching matrix is probably primary GdCO4. The dappled phase represents grains of GdCO5 which have separated from the melt on cooling. The discrete spots in this phase are eutectic liquid. Small light etching crystallites are probably GdCO5 formed by the incomplete high-temperature peritectic reaction. GdCO4 is retained in arc-melted specimens containing 70.5 wt pct Co, Fig. 6. White areas of this compound are held in a matrix of GdCO5 the appearance of which is mottled slightly by inclusions of the second eutectic in this system. The development of the spheroidized eutectic at high cobalt contents is depicted in Fig. 7 (80.3 wt pct Co) in which the white massive crystals are GdCO5 compound. Further development of this eutectic is seen in Fig. 8, the primary white phase here being pure cobalt. Thermal Studies—Differential thermal analyses and melting point determinations have yielded the data shown in Fig. 10. The high gadolinium eutectic, indicated by microscopy, was confirmed at about 16 wt pct Co, melting at 620°C . A eutectic also occurs at about 84 wt pct Co melting at about 1260°C. The thermal arrests at 8803 960°, 1060; and 1210°C,

Jan 1, 1962

By C. S. Giggins, F. S. Pettit

The oxidation properties of Ni-Cr alloys with fine grains, coarse grains, and deformed surface layers have been studied at temperatures of 900" and 1100°C in 0.1 atm of oxygen. The oxidation rates of alloys containing between 10 and 30 wt pct Cr have been found to be dependent upon the grain size of the alloy. Finegrained alloys had smaller oxidation rates than coarsegvained alloys because of the selective oxidation of chromium at alloy grain boundaries. In this compositional range alloys with deformed surface layers behaved similar to fine-grained alloys due to recrys-tallization of the deformed surface layer. In the preceding paper1 it was found that during the oxidation of Ni-Cr alloys, the volume fraction of precipitated Cr2O3 could be greater at alloy grain boundaries than at other areas of the alloy surface. In the case of alloys with chromium concentrations equal to or greater than 30 pct,* the volume fraction of Cr2O3 *AIL compositions are given as weight percent unless specified otherwise. precipitated at grain boundaries and within grains on the alloy surface both exceeded the critical amount required for lateral growth of the Cr2O3 particles and the surfaces of these alloys were completely covered with a continuous, external layer of Cr203 during oxidation. However, in the case of alloys with chromium concentrations between approximately 5 to 30 pct, the volume fraction of precipitated Cr2O3 exceeded the critical value required for external scale formation only at grain boundaries.but not within the interior of the grains. Consequently, the surfaces of these alloys had external scales of Cr3O3 over the grain boundaries but internal Cr2O3 subscales with external scales of NiO away from the grain boundaries. Under these latter conditions, it was found that chromium could diffuse laterally in the alloy from those areas covered with an external layer of Cr2O3, i.e., grain boundaries, to areas where the Cr2O3 was present as a subscale. This diffusion of chromium resulted in an increase in the volume fraction of Cr2O3 precipitated in the sub-scale zone and continuous layers of Cr2O3 could be formed at the subscale front in these regions. For the alloys used in the previous studies,' continuous layers of Cr2O3 were formed on Ni-20Cr alloys in the subscale regions after approximately 30 hr of oxidation at 900°C. For shorter periods of oxidation, the Cr2O3 layer was semicontinuous with the continuous portion at the subscale front emanating from points where the Cr2O3 had been formed as an external scale over alloy grain boundaries. Some lateral growth of a Cr2O3 layer in the subscale region was observed on Ni-15Cr and even Ni-10Cr alloys but this layer was never continuous after 30 hr of oxidation. These results indicate that the selective oxidation of chromium in Ni-Cr alloys with chromium contents between 5 to 30 pct may be dependent upon the grain size of the alloy. Fine-grained specimens in this compositional range should have a larger fraction of the surface covered with external Cr2O3 than coarsegrained specimens and the subscale areas required to be sealed via lateral diffusion of chromium should be smaller. It is therefore to be expected that a continuous layer of Cr2O3 can be formed on alloys in this compositional range after short periods of oxidation providing the alloy grain-size is sufficiently small. bo studieS2,3 have established that the oxidation behavior of alloys can be significantly influenced by pretreatments which produce mechanically deformed surfaces. It has been found that deformed surfaces usually promote the selective oxidation of elements in alloys and it is believed that these effects are due to rapid diffusion of elements in the deformed layer. In view of the previous results,' which showed that alloy grain boundaries may play an important role in the selective oxidation of chromium in Ni-Cr alloys, deformed surfaces may promote the selective oxidation of elements in alloys as a result of the numerous grain boundaries formed on the alloy surfaces via recrys-tallization during heating to the oxidation temperature. The purpose of the present studies was to determine the effect of alloy grain size and surface deformation on the selective oxidation of chromium in Ni-Cr alloys at temperatures of 900" and 1100°C in 0.1 atm of oxygen. EXPERIMENTAL The average grain diameter of the alloys used in the previous studies1 was not less than 0.04 mm and alloys with compositions between 5 and 30 pct chromium had average grain diameters between 0.04 and 0.14 mm. Since the oxidation kinetics were already available for these relatively coarse-grained alloys, it was desirable to use these same alloys in the present studies. The surfaces of the alloys listed in Table I of the previous paper were deformed by using a Model F S.S. White Industrial Airbrasive Unit, which delivered a controlled mixture of 25 µ Al2O3 particles in a stream of dry air at high velocity against the surface of a specimen. The amount of surface deformation produced by this treatment was not determined but a re-crystallized layer about 15 µ thick was formed upon annealing deformed specimens. The grain size at the surface of the specimens was reduced to an average grain diameter of 0.01 mm by annealing the deformed specimens, i.e., grit-blasted,

Jan 1, 1970

By Ashok K. Sinha

During the course of an in~*estigation into the occurrence of ordered AB3 structures, the following new phases have been found —CrRh3 (AuCu3 type), CrCo3 (MgCd3 type), HfCo4 (Ths Mn23 type), and WPt, MoPh type). The composition of the TiPt3-x phase (TiNi, type) is close to Ti23Pl77. The alloy chenzistry of transition rnetal AB3 structures is rezliewed in the light of electron concentration correlations of hex-agonality recently obtained for quasi-binary alloys. The relatizte colurne contraction in the AB3 structures increases with increasing difference in volume of the conzponents. A family of ordered close-packed layered structures is formed by stacking identical layers of composition AB, in various sequences, such that the coordination is twelvefold throughout and there are no A-A contacts. Previous work' on quasi-binary AB3 alloys has led to the conclusion that the stacking sequence of the AB, structures changes with increasing radius ratio RA/RB from a purely cubic, through different mixtures of hexagonal and cubic stacking to a purely hexagonal stacking. However. for binary AB3 alloys, a correlation between the type of the crystal structure and the position of the components in the various volumns of the periodic table has been noted.2-5 It has been noted6 that this correlation appears to hold even though the radius ratio RA/RB may vary over a considerable range with the location of the components in the three long periods. Another study7" of several quasi-binary systems led to the conclusion that an increase in hexagonality of the stacking is associated with increase in the electron concentration e/a. as defined by the average per atom of the total number of electrons outside the inert gas shells. In apparent conflict with this conclusion, it is known that seven binary alloy structures isotypic with TiNi3 which is 50 pct hexagonal occur at a higher electron concentration (e/n = 8.5) than that (e/a = 8.25) for the 100 pct hexagonal MgCd3 type structure present in seven binary AB3 alloys. Table 111. In the present work, an investigation into the occurrence of binary AB3 structures in transition metal alloys was made, and a survey of binary AB3 structures is presented. EXPERIMENTAL The starting materials were pure metals of 99.9 wt pct purity. The alloys were arc-melted under partial pressure of argon and annealed in sealed silica capsules lined with molybdenum foil under argon at- mosphere. The total weight loss upon melting and subsequent annealing was always less than 1 pct and hence the alloys will be referred to by their intended (unanalyzed) compositions. Wherever the constitution permitted. the alloys were given a homogenizing treatment at 1200°C (3 days) prior to annealing. Unless otherwise stated all alloys were annealed at 900°C for 1 week and water-quenched. Sometimes the final annealing treatment was carried out on powders to accelerate the attainment of equilibrium. X-ray powder patterns were taken using a Guinier-de Wolff focusing camera (CuK, radiation) or an asymmetrical focusing camera (Co or CrK, radiation). For lattice parameter determination. internal silicon standards were employed. The intensity calculations were made using a Fortran IV program written by Jeitschko and parthe.9 RESULTS Twenty AB3 and three AB4 alloys were investigated. Table I lists the crystallographic data on some of the intermediate phases encountered in the present work. Table II contains the X-ray data for HfCo, (Th,,Mn,, type). The positional parameter, x. was assumed to be 0.378. the value for Th6Mnn2310 The X-ray pattern of ZrCo, was very similar to that of HfCo, and the previous structure determination of ZrCo, by Kuzma el al." was confirmed. Ordering in the alloy CrCo could be ascertained by the presence of only one weak super lattice line (101). the others being too weak presumably owing to the small difference in the scattering powers of chromium and cobalt. This line was observed in the X-ray pattern of powder from the massive sample annealed at 830°C (7 days) after the powder had been reannealed at 600°C (24 hr). The diffraction pattern of the powder similarly reannealed at 830°C (24 hr) contained only the lines due to a mixture of hcp and fcc Co(Crj solid solutions. Therefore, it appears reasonable to assume that O2 and/or N2 contamination which would be less likely to occur during the 600°C anneal was not responsible for the observed weak reflection. Also. this reflection cannot be identified with any of the strong lines of the neighboring s phase which is present in the Co-Cr system at higher chromium contents. The composition corresponding to the TiNi3 structure observed by Raman et al.12 in the two-phase alloy Ti,zt,, has been established in the present work as being between There was satisfactory agreement for the low-angle lines (up to d = 1.997A) between the observed diffraction pattern of TiCua and that calculated assuming the ZrAu, structure. as recently proposed by Pfeifer-et a1.I3 However. some of the superlattice lines. e.g., at d = 1.937 and 1.919A. predicted by the ZrAu, structure were not actually observed eve? though neighboring lines. at d = 1.947 and 1.986A. of comparable calculated intensity were present. The ZrAu

Jan 1, 1970

University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N M Requests for publications should be addressed to the Librarian of the University Papers of the Geological Series of the University are bound in volumes: Vol 1, vol 2, pt 1, and vol 2, pt. 2, and vol. 3 are out of print, but separates of the following papers may be had at a uniform cost of 25 cents each. Vol. 1? No. 1, Geology of the environs of Albuquerque (1898); 2, Occurrence of copper and lead in the San Andreas and Caballo Mountains (1898), 3, Geological reconnaissance in western Socorro and Valencia counties (1898); Geology of the San Pedro and Albuquerque districts (1898). , Vol 2: No. 1, Geology of the Albuquerque Sheet (1900); 2, Miscellaneous economic papers by Herrick (1900); 3, Geological reconnaissance in western Socorro and Valencia counties (1900); 4, Geology of the White Sands of New Mexico (1900); 5, Identifi¬cation of an Ohio coal measure's horizon in New Mexico (1900); 6, Cyanide process in New Mexico (1900). Vol. 3. No 3, The oil situation in New Mexico (1920), 4, Geology of Sandia Mountains (1922); 5, Oil and gas m New Mexico in 1923.

Jan 1, 1933

By F. W. Aul, R. C. Glenn

EXTRACTION techniques are of particular importance in determining size, shape an: crystal structure of particles smaller than l000Å in steels and other alloys. However, artifacts that can arise during the preparation of extraction replicas may lead to erroneous conclusions. The purpose of this note is to illustrate some of these artifacts and the misinformation that can result from their presence. An alloy of iron with 0.8 pct Cu was investigated in the following conditions: 1) Solution treated 3 days at 925°C in dry hydrogen and quenched in water. Aged in steps to precipitate copper, as follows: heated to 700°C, held 1 day; then furnace cooled to 50O°C, held 3 days; then furnace cooled to room temperature. 2) Solution treated 3 days at 925OC in dry hydrogen and furnace cooled to room temperature. 3) Solution treated 3 days at 925OC or 17 hr at 1100°C in dry hydrogen to dissolve all copper, then quenched in water. A normal parlodion dry-extraction technique was employed after etching the specimens with super picralP or with 2 pct nital. A wet-extraction method

Jan 1, 1962

By R. L., Fullman

During the past year there have been a number of significant investigations that have furnished evidence on the driving forces governing grain growth and on the role played by boundary impurities. Thus Burke has shown that in high purity alpha brass the rate of grain growth in the earliest stages is approximately inversely proportional to the existing grain size. This relation agrees with one derived by Zener assuming that surface energy was the driving force in grain growth. Also in confirmation of the surface energy hypothesis, Burke found that growth virtually stopped when the grain boundaries or even only the grain corners were melted.

Jan 1, 1949

By Olin M. Hart

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

Jan 1, 1968

By Charles L. Harness

STRONTIUM is an essential constituent of celestite (strontium sulphate), of the rarer strontianite (strontium carbonate), and of a few very rare minerals. Celestite is the chief ore but strontianite is more valued except for making the purest strontium salts, because of its ease of processing. The public knows strontium mainly as the source of the red flame in fireworks but it has many other uses. PROPERTIES The celestite of commerce is a massive mineral of varying texture: coarsely crystalline, fibrous, bladed, very fine grained or earthy. The color varies greatly with the nature of the impurities but the purer specimens are light blue (Latin, caelum, sky) or white. The strontianite of commerce is a massive mineral, more or less coarsely crystalline. The color varies with the impurities. Distinctive characteristics are effervescence with acids, density (3.68 to 3.71), and crimson strontium flame. A typical British celestite before World War II analyzed: SrSO4, 96.55 pct; SrCO3, 0.17; BaSO4, 0.25; CaSO4, 0.54; MgCO3, 0.15; R20,, 0.90; Si02, 1.38.10 A German strontianite analyzed: SrCO3, 90.9 pct; CaCO3, 7.5; BaCO3, 0.1; Fe2O3, 0.05; A1203, 0.1; SiO2, 0.04; S, 0.1; P, 0.005.10 ORIGIN AND MODE OF OCCURRENCE According to Clarke,9 strontia forms about 0.02 pct of the crust of the earth and is present in most igneous rocks, but in smaller quantities than barium. Under certain conditions, large masses of celestite are deposited from sea water with anhydrite. The presence of large amounts of celestite in some saline deposits and its absence in others suggests that the deposition of celestite depends on whether certain as yet undetermined concentrations of sulphate and chloride ions are reached in the brines. The most extensive of these sedimentary deposits are those of the Keuper (Triassic) in England, of the Zechstein (Permian) in Germany, and of various Cretaceous formations in Texas, Arkansas, and Utah. Of the deposits of southeastern California and western Arizona,

Jan 1, 1949

By George A. Roche

Investment in growth stocks is the most assured way of achieving superior, long term investment accomplishment. There are many criteria used to select growth companies but the most important is a combination of superior management operating in an industry with above average growth potential. This growth stock approach is the cornerstone of investment strategy for two of the three mutual funds sponsored by the Price organization and for its private clients. However, during the past five years inflation has accelerated due to a variety of factors including the inability of government to meet seemingly unlimited needs with limited revenue sources.

Jan 4, 1972

By Renato G. Bautista, KNona C. Liddell

A model of the reaction of chalcopyrite, CuFeS2, with Fe3+ and with 02 is considered. Homogeneous solution phase reactions are assumed to be always at equilibrium throughout the dissolution of the mineral. The dissociation of USOb- and several complexation reactions involving cu2+, Fez+ and Fe3+ are incorporated in the model equations. The relative importance of Fe3+, 02, and H+ as oxidants and the role of solution equilibria are assessed and the implications for leaching practice discussed.

Jan 1, 1981

By Clyde Williams

IN this war as in no former one, the use of metals has been the major factor governing success. For building new plants, new transport facilities whether by land, sea, or air, for our mechanized army, and for nearly all weapons, iron and steel has provided the basic material. Being the world leader in iron and steel production in peacetime, we soon adapted plants to production for war. Starting with a production of 66,000,000 tons of steel ingots in 1940 from a rated capacity of 80,000,000 tons which only could be reached by straining every productive device available, our industry expanded to 86,000,000 tons in 1942, and ultimately to 96,000,000 tons. To do so required expansion of every unit operation including mining, rail and water transportation, blast-furnace and steelmaking facilities, and rolling mills. New plants not only had to be built in record time but more output for each operation was essential. This performance required skillful operation and engineering techniques and also a better understanding of the physics and chemistry underlying such complex operations as the working of a big blast furnace. A vastly increased pig iron production made possible the great output of steel by an industry that had depended on scrap for its basic raw material even though sufficient scrap was unavailable. This was done by conversion of pig iron in the Bessemer either into steel or into a low-carbon product that was subsequently used in place of scrap in the open¬hearth steel furnace. Furthermore, by duplexing from the open-hearth to the electric furnace, and the construction of many new electric furnaces, our output of electric-furnace alloy steel was greatly increased. Moreover, techniques were developed by which alloy steel could be made in the open hearth with the result that our production of alloy steel reached the fantastic figure of 15,000,000 tons a year.

Jan 1, 1945

By P. W. Bridgman

THE thesis of this article is that the age of Newton is now coming to a close, and that recent scientific discoveries have in store an even greater revolution in our entire outlook than the revolution effected by the discovery of universal gravitation by Newton. The revolution that now confronts us, arises from the recent discovery of new facts, the only interpretation of which is that our conviction that nature is understandable and subject to law arose from the narrowness of our horizons, and that if we sufficiently extend our range we shall find that nature is intrinsically and in its elements neither understandable nor subject to law. The new experimental facts are in the realm of quantum phenomena. Comparatively little has been written for popular consumption about this new realm which has opened in the last fifteen years. The man in the street has been much more interested in relativity, which to him has seemed extremely interesting and revolutionary. Occasionally, however, there has filtered down to him the news that nearly all the theoretical physicists are occupied with a new order of phenomena which they find very much more exciting and revolutionary than any in the realm of relativity. For after all is said and done, the practical effects of relativity, measured in ,dollars and' cents or in centimeters and grams, are exceedingly small, and require specially de- signed experiments executed by men of the highest skill to show their existence at all. The phenomena with which quantum theory deals, on the other hand, are of the greatest practical importance and involve the simplest aspects of everyday life. For example, before the advent of the quantum theory no one could explain why a tea kettle of water boiling on the stove should not give out enough light in virtue of its temperature to be visible in the dark; the accepted theories of optics demanded that it should be visible, but every burned child knew that it was not.

Jan 1, 1929

By Richard W. Brummett, Robert L. Dubms

Located some 180 miles east of Los Angeles in Riverside County, California, the Eagle Mountain mine supplies iron ore concentrates for the Kaiser Steel Corporation steel plant in Fontana, California, and for export to Japan. Although the deposits were first discovered in the early 1890's, no production was realized from the area until 1948 when Kaiser Steel Corporation commenced operations. A part of the large Basin and Range province, the Eagle Mountain area's geologic column comprises a thick series of metasediments resting on Precambrian gneisses and schists that have been intruded by sill-like masses of porphyritic quartz monzonite. The metasediments are composed of three quartzite units that are separated by a schistose meta-arkose and by two ore zones. They have been folded into a large east-west trending anticlinal structure that extends completely across the Eagle Mountains. The iron ore deposits occur in two well-defined horizons in the metasedimentary series, and they are found only along the north limb of the major anticline. Host rocks for the ore zones were a series of limestones and dolomites with associated quartzites. Magnetite plus pyrite comprised the primary mineralization that formed many replacement lenses and stringers of ore within the ore zones. The primary ore has been oxidized to hematite and goethite in a broad zone at higher elevations in the deposits. Hydrothermal alteration formed actinolite- tremolite granofels, local phlogopite, and minor tourmaline in the ore zones. This alteration and the ore deposition seem related to the same magmatic event that formed the porphyritic quartz monzonite intrusion

Jan 1, 1968

By L. E. PORTNER

INCREASING military demands on the petroleum industry have brought into bold relief the crude-oil reserves now available to meet combined military and civilian demands, emphasizing the necessity for a greater efficiency in recovery from what has been discovered than ever before, particularly in light of the absence of new discoveries. This situation-and the fact that the industry, as well as members of the Government charged with governing oil production, desire to meet all crude-oil demands made of the industry with the least loss in tangible reserves through production practices-paves the way for increasing application of sound principles of production engineering and conservation.

Jan 1, 1944

By W. A., Wasley

THE EL TIGRE MINE is a highgrade silver and gold producer located in the northern part of Sonora, Mexico. It has been worked continuously since 1903, producing 50,000.000 oz. of silver and returning handsome dividends. During 1930 and 1931 falling silver prices compelled the Tigre company to make representations before the Department of Labor in Mexico City showing the necessity for drastic reductions in wages and personnel. The delays in obtaining permission from the Federal Labor Board to make these readjustments caused the company to suffer considerable financial loss during those years. After the reduction in operations was finally effected, the Sonora state government headed by Señor Francisco Elias (former Governor, now Secretary of Agriculture) and Señor Rodolfo Elias Calles (present Governor and eldest son of Señor Plutarco Elias Calles, recently Secretary of War and former President of Mexico) have cooperated with the company to make continued operation possible by revising downward certain state taxes that would have been a factor in forcing the closing of this mine. Also, permission to change our workmen over to another system of mining was essential to continued operation.

Jan 1, 1933

By P. K. Koh, H. A. Lewis, H. F. Graff

New data on the distribution of silicon between slag and carbon-saturated iron at 1600Oand 1700OC are presented which, in combination with previously published data, permit the determination of silica activities over a broad range of compositions in the CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 system. The distribution of silicon between graphite-saturated Fe-Si-C alloys and blast furnace-type slags in equilibrium with CO has been described in previous publications.1"3 In this past work the silica-silicon relation was established at temperatures of 1425" to 1'700°C for slags containing up to 20 pct A12O3. This paper presents the results of additional studies at 1600" and 1700° C which extend the silicon distribution data at these temperatures for CaO-A12O3-SiO, slags over a range from zero pct Al2O3 to saturation with Al2O3, or CaO.2Al2O3. The upper limit of SiO2 is set by the occurrence of Sic as a stable phase when the metal contains 23.0 or 23.7 pct Si at 1600" or 1700°C, respectively. The activity of silica over the expanded range is determined directly from the distribution data.3 Recently4-7 other investigators have studied the activities of SiO, and CaO, principally in the binary system, using different methods and obtaining somewhat different results. EXPERIMENTAL STUDY The experimental apparatus and procedure have been fully described in previous publications.1, 3 Six new series of experimental heats have been made, four at 1600° and two at 1700°C. Master slags of several fixed CaO/Al203 ratios were pre-melted in graphite crucibles, and these were used with additions of silica to prepare the initial slag for each experiment. Slag and metal were stirred at 100 rpm and CO was passed through the furnace at 150 cc per min. The initial sample was taken 1 hr after addition of slag at 1600°C or 1/2 hr after addition at 1700°C. The run was normally continued for 8 hr at 1600°C or 7 hr at 1700°C, and the final sample was taken at the end of this period. Changes in Si and SiO2 content indicate the direction of approach to equilibrium, and in a series of runs where the approach is from both sides this permits approximate location of the equilibrium line. Fig. 1 shows the results of such a series of 15 runs at 1600°C for slags of CaO/Al,O3 = 1.50 by weight. Figs. 2 and 3 record other series at 1600°C and Fig. 5 a series at 1700°C with fixed CaO/Al0 ratios. The results of the experiments at 162003°C have been reported in part in a preliminary note.3 In the experiments recorded in Figs. 4 and 6, the slags were saturated with A12O3 (or with CaO.2A12O3 within its field of stability) by suspending a pure alumina tube in the melt during the course of the run. The final slag analyses were used to establish the liquidus boundaries8 in the stability fields of CaO.2Al2O3 and of Al20,. ACTIVITY OF SILICA The free-energy change in the reaction has been calculated by Fulton and chipman2 from recent and trustworthy data including heats of formation, entropies, and heat capacities. The more recent determination by Olette of the high-temperature enthalpy of liquid silicon is in satisfactory agreement with the values used and therefore requires no revision of the result which is expressed in the equation: SiO2 (crist) + 2C (graph) = Si + 2CO(g.) [1] &F° = + 161,500 - 87.4T The standard state for silica is taken as pure cristobalite and that of Si as the pure liquid metal. Since the melts were made under 1 atm of CO and were graphite-saturated, the equilibrium constant for Eq. [I] reduces to K1 = asi /asio2. The value of this constant is 1.77 at 1600°C and 16.2 at 1700°C. Through K1, the activity of silica in the slag is directly related to the activity of silicon in the equilibrium metal.

Jan 1, 1960

By AIME AIME

THE program of government drilling, conducted jointly by the U. S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Mines, has demonstrated the presence in Texas and New Mexico of potash-bearing beds of considerable importance. Information regarding the ex- tent and location of the potash deposits as presented at the non-metallic sessions was of great interest to many engineers. These subjects will be covered in greater detail in later paragraphs. The first session, with about 50 in attendance, convened at 10 a.m. on Feb. 18, with Oliver Bowles, chair- man of the Committee on Non-Metallic Minerals, pre- siding. The first paper was on "Soapstone Mining In Virginia," presented by C. W. Ryan of Lynchburg, Va. The nature and extent of the soapstone deposits of Nelson County were described in some detail. In origin, the soapstone is undoubtedly related to a basic peridotite rock though its mode of formation is some- what uncertain. This main soapstone deposit occurs in three veins, the western, middle, and eastern, the middle vein being of greatest economic importance. Methods of stripping, quarrying and milling the rock were described and the uses of soapstone were enum- erated. In discussing this paper, C. P. Berkey, of Co- lumbia University strongly favored the theory of igneous origin of the soapstone and the need for further detailed geological study. J. L. Gillson of Cambridge, Mass., stated that the Vermont and New York talc deposits were always associated with characteristic minerals, such as, a chlorite of one particular variety, siderite, amphibole, magnetite, and biotite. C. H. Behre of Cincinnati, Ohio, raised the question of parallelism in the soapstone structure and Mr. Ryan stated that such parallelism was in evidence in some parts of the deposits. H. A. Wheeler of St. Louis, Mo., also took 'part in the discussion.

Jan 1, 1929

By Richard E. Gray, Robert W. Bruhn

INTRODUCTION Underground coal mining has been practiced in the United States for over 200 years. Much early mining was not as efficient as today and unrecovered coal pillars, often of variable size and spacing, remain to support the overlying strata after mining has ceased. These conditions constitute a potential subsidence problem since the pillars will eventually fail. The possibility of subsidence above an abandoned mine must be anticipated except when total extraction has been achieved, permitting subsidence concurrent with mining, or when large coal pillars which have an adequate factor of safety for long-term support remain in the mine. Coal is found in 37 states and is mined under- ground in 22 states (HRB Singer, Inc. 1980). Underground mining produced 40 percent of the 7.5 x 10" kg. (830,000,000 tons) of U. S. coal mined in 1980 (Keystone, 1981). There are approximately 70,000 abandoned or inactive underground coal mines in the United States and approximately 2000 active underground coal mines (NAS/NAE, 1975). Underground coal mining in the United States will eventually extend beneath 162 x 109m2 (40 million acres). Thirty-two billion m2 (8 million acres) are already undermined (HRB Singer, 1977). Subsidence due to mining has affected more than 8 x 109m2 (2 million acres) in 30 states, 7.7 x 10 9m2 (1.9 million acres) from bituminous coal mining and the remainder primarily from anthracite mining (Johnson and Hiller, 1979). Subsidence from all other underground mines has affected only 6.9 x 10 7m2 (17,000 acres) (Johnson and Miller, 1979). Subsidence appears to be particularly widespread in two states, Pennsylvania and Illinois, although serious subsidence is found in localized areas of numerous other states (HRB- Singer, Inc. 1977). Host underground coal mining has occurred in the eastern United States, where the U. S. Bureau of Mines estimates 1.6 x 109m2 (398,600 acres) in urban areas in 18 states (out of a total 1.7 x 109m2 1418,400 acres]) are threatened by subsidence (Table 1) (Johnson and Miller, 1979). Pennsylvania and West Virginia contain 57 percent of the total threatened areas. The U.S. Bureau of Mines estimates the total cost to stabilize the estimated 1.7 x lo9m2 (418,400 acres) of subsidence prone urban land located above abandoned mines is over $12.5 billion (1978 costs).

Jan 1, 1982