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By John B. Knaebel

The annual Jackling Award Lecture, sponsored by the Society of Mining Engineers of AIME, is intended to honor and commemorate one of the greatest mine-makers of all time, an innovator whose vision and determination made ore out of waste rock. He ushered in a new philosophy of mining which revolutionized some segments of the industry and notably affected our economy generally. To have been asked to given the Jackling Lecture this year is an honor that I scarcely deserve, but which I have accepted in humble gratitude. Although it is true that "many a mine has made the man," it is also true that while ore bodies are found, mines are made. That statement has been hammered into my skull many times by a man whose own career exemplifies its truth, a man who has been first and last a steadfast friend, who for a while was my boss and mentor, and who as one of this country's great mining geologists has laid his hand to the making of many a mine. I will doubly cherish the memory of the honor bestowed upon me because the presentation of the Jackling Award was made by this man. After the Lord made Dick Hunt he threw away the mold. Metals and other mineral products are essential ingredients of the social economy of the modern world. No well informed and thoughtful person can doubt that they will be indispensable to mankind as long as the fabric of civilization as we know it today can be held together. They are mined from ore bodies, which, unlike some other kinds of bodies, are physically inorganic and wholly incapable of reproducing themselves. Since in time they become mined out, an endless procession of new producers must be made by someone if the fundamental needs, to say nothing of the not so fundamental whims of an affluent society, are to be gratified. In saying that these mines must be made, I mean exactly that. It is my purpose to comment upon some of the problems we must cope with in making them. I shall try to avoid dwelling needlessly upon aspects of new mine development with which most people in this business are thoroughly familiar, and will attempt to discuss in a useful way some of the newer and more significant features of the economic climate in which these endeavors must be conducted. To begin with, an Almighty force put the ore into the ground, and selected the places in which to put it. Mankind was not consulted. Beyond that stage, however, mankind must find the ore deposits and contrive to extract their contents and put them into useful service. In doing this, he must use tools and techniques devised by man to overcome obstacles created in part by nature, but also in part by man himself. And most importantly of all, in making the tools and applying the techniques, he must use people. In the whole process the most pliable ingredient at hand-and also the most unpredictable-is people. Mines play out, and men die. As time goes on, we will have new mines, and they must be made by new men. The Environmental Dilemma It is perhaps timely to touch first upon the newest and in many ways the most potent consideration affecting the feasibility of developing new mines-the problems related to protection of the environment and to the

Jan 1, 1973

NEW YORK SECTION Executive Committee DAVID H. BROWN, Chairman JOHN H. JANEWAY, Vice-Chairman F E. PIERCE, Secretary, 35 Nassau St., New. York, N. Y. P. A. MOSMAN, Treasurer LEWIS W. FRANCIS BENJAMIN B. LAWRENCE At the meeting of the New York Section held at the Machinery Club on Dec. 8. 1915, the subject was "The Engineer in Modern Warfare, with Especial Reference to the Present European Conflict." Dr. Henry S. Drinker, who is Chairman of the Institute committee on the Engineer's Reserve Corps movement, opened the evenings' talk with a short statement of the aims and advantages of the Students' summer military camps, fostered by the Society of the National Reserve Corps, he being a member of the Advisory Committee of University Presidents. The speakers of the evening were Col. William M. Black and Col. John Biddle, both of the Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army. Col. Black is the

Jan 1, 1916

By Gilbert P. Moore

Petroleum operations in Bolivia are still limited to those of the subsidiaries of the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey. Development work is being carried on at Sanandita and at Bermejo and testing operations in the north. Five wells have been completed at Sanandita. Wells 1 and 2 are producers, 3 and 5, which are north of 1 and 2, are poor wells, and well 4, to the south, was dry. In the Bermejo field, well 5 has just been completed. No information as to the production is obtainable. In the north one string was operated at each of the following locations: Machareti, Camatindi and Camiri. The well completed at Machareti during the year was a failure. The result of the others is not known. It is reported on good authority that a pipe line will be completed in 1931 to connect the Sanandita field with the Lomitas field in the Argentine. This will place Bolivia among the ranks of the producing countries of South America for the first time. This development indicates that some arrangement has been arrived at with the Argentine Government for the importation of Bolivian oil. During 1930 the Bolivian Government declared in effect the new Petroleum Law which had been expected for such a long time. One of the first acts of the military junta, which rose to power through a coup d'état, was to cancel this law, so that Bolivian oil operations are still under the old law of 1921. One new local company was formed to exploit 1,500,000 hectares near the town of Cochabamba. The Bolivia Concessions, Ltd., which had a concession permitting the selection of 17,000,000 acres in eastern Bolivia, is reported to have failed in 1930 and is now being liquidated. Chile During 1930 the Chilean Government entered into a contract with an individual to explore in five distinct zones of the Republic. According to the contract, geologists must be at work there by May 1 of this year and a well must be started by the end of 1931. If the operations are

Jan 1, 1931

By H. J. Wasson

At the close of 1927 Venezuela was producing at the rate of 205,000 bbl, per day, making it the third country in the world in point of present daily production. For the year, the total was close to 64,000,000 bbl., representing an increase of about 70 per cent. over the 37,000,000 bbl. in round numbers produced in 1926. All of the 1927 production canie from fields opened up before the beginning of the year. While no new fields were added to the list of shippers, the past 12 months' wildcatting yielded a fair quota of new discoveries which, in the light of prcsent results, may be considered likely sources of production in due time. Altogether three such promising finds were made Of first importance, at least for the immediate future, is the completion by the Lago Petroleum Corpn. of the San Matins well, 4 miles north of the present edge of the Lagunillas field. Although rated as only a 125. bbl. well, at 3217 ft., it indicates a probable extension of the field over the intervening 4 miles between the two. The two other wildcat discoveries of importance were the Los Manueles well in the District of Colon, which has in all probability opened up a new field about 7 miles north of the present Tarra oprations; and the Honibre Pintado well of the Standard Oil Co. of Venezuela,. in the State of Falcon, which is considered to be a promising clc~vc~lop~ncnt. Neither of these last mentioned two discoveries will apprcciably affect production during 1928, as the Manueles area must await the carrying out of a general plan for the exploitation of the District of Colon, a problem requiring time. The Hombre Pintado area is being tested further, but doubtless several wells will be put down before. anything definite will be done towards making the pipe line. arrangements that rnust necessarily precede the commercial exploitation of the field. The San Matias Well The San Matias well is a highly significant dcvelopment,. It is located along the trend of the La Rosa-Ilagunillas producing formations, and when drilling started, production in the Lagunillas field was 4 miles

Jan 1, 1928

TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGICAL ENGINEERS Gentlemen:-I have the honor to present the following, report for the calendar year 1920. The activities which seem to call for special comment are: THE NEW FORM OF MAGAZINE MINING AND METALLURGY appeared every month during the calendar year and has been developed until it contains some ten departments. It has brought forth more commendatory letters than have been received at headquarters on any other subject throughout the year. Less than a dozen letters unfavorable to the change have been received, and the indications are that the magazine has met a want deeply felt, especially by members distant from headquarters. The technical papers printed by the Institute are published in abstract in the magazine and opportunity is given to members who desire them to receive full copies of any or all papers published. The Bound Volumes, as usual, contain all the papers in full and discussions thereof. FINANCES The greatly increased cost of paper and printing has put a tremendous burden on the Institute's finances, since the dues of $12 per year are only 20 per cent. greater than the members paid when the Institute was founded forty-nine years ago. This has resulted in a temporary deficit, similar to that encountered by many of our sister engineering societies. The fact that our Institute has lower dues and gives more in the way of publications to its members than any other of the national engineering societies has rendered the situation more difficult for us. MEETINGS The Annual Meeting in New York, the Field Meeting in the Lake Superior District, the meeting of the Petroleum and Gas members at St. Louis, and of the Institute of Metals Division in Columbus, Ohio, have all been described in full in the magazine.

Jan 1, 1925

By J. G. Davis, P. C. Thakur

Hazardous methane gas in coal mining is receiving increased attention due to the increased US demand for coal which has resulted in the exploitation of deeper seams and the utilization of more productive equipment. Problems posed by methane emission has the Mining Research Division of Continental Oil Co. (Conoco) accelerating efforts that began in the early 1950's with Consolidation Coal Co. (Consol).1 The program's focus is on finding new techniques for degasification of virgin areas as well as control of methane in gob areas.

Jan 10, 1977

By George W. Crawford, W. P. Aycock, E. W. Hough

Forty oilfield brines have been examined so far by a polarographic technique new in petroleum engineering called the "tensatnmetric method" by the team of biochemists who perfected its use in their field. Samples of brine were obtained from various oil fields in which the wells were known to be producing fluid from oil productive zones in well-known geologic formations. Most of the reservoirs from which the samples were obtained are believed to have an active water drive under the prevailing conditions of operation. The 40 samples represent brines produced front 16 different formations of various geologic ages. Graphs have been prepared of the data obtained in the testing of each sample, and the distinctive waife-like curves so obtained are characterized by reproducible profiles, called "response curves." Careful comparison of the response curves of salt water coming from different fields producing from the same geologic formation reveals that the curves are similar. The response curves of salt water coming from productive zones of different geologic formations are characteristically different. Preliminary work offers the further hope that response curves of an oilfield brine indigenous to a particular oil-bearing formation and hence representative of a particular geologic environment, such as deposit-ional and all subsequent morphological conditions, may be of value in reservoir engineering in the interpretation of surface and interfacial phenomena. For example, the wettability of the rock matrix and more specifically, the classification of productive oil-bearing strata as hydrophyllic or hydrophobic may be determinable. However, many more brines must be examined and the resulting response curves analyzed in comparison to known causal phenornena before this objective is achieved. INTRODUCTION One of the perennial moot questions in the literature of petroleum engineering is whether the reservoir rock is oil- or water-wet. Possibly an answer to this question could come from a careful examination of oilfield brines. None of the conventional methods of examining brines (chemical analysis, pH and electrical conductivity measurements, and the like) answer the question. Careful analysis of reservoir behavior observed in the exploitation of oil fields, particularly in the application of fluid injection, has been fruitful to the extent that a few reservoirs are believed to be properly classified. Physical chemistry suggests the behavior of reservoir brine and rock may be due to something in the brine in small amount. The ever increasing development and modification of theory in the general field of surface and interfacial chemistry has, and is, contributing to a better understanding of the problem, particularly as theory is verified by data. The work herein reported was begun in 1953 by Hough and Roebuck 1,2 who employed a new form of alternating current polarography, i.e., tensammetry, developed by Breyer, et a13,4 and who studied eight oilfield brines in adapting tensammetry to petroleum engineering needs. THEORY AND DEFINITIONS Tensammetry is a new technique of inquiry into surface phenomena. Specifically, a weak alternating current voltage is superimposed upon the direct current voltage applied to a dropping mercury electrode in contact with an electrolyte containing a small amount of a surfactant. The resultant alternating current can be measured and provides the experimental data for this new area of research. Under the influence of the direct current voltage, polar molecules arrange themselves in a double layer at the electrode. This double layer may be compared to a variable condenser, the capacitance of which is a function of the imposed direct current voltage. The direct current voltage determines the degree of adsorption of the surface active molecule on the electrode. Whenever the molecules are strongly adsorbed on the electrode, the capacitance of the double layer is low and the alternating current through the cell is low. Desorption occurs at some values of the direct current voltage, and at these voltages the capacitance of the double layer is high, resulting in an increase in the alternating current through the cell. The direct current

Jan 1, 1958

By E. P. Pfleide, L. W. Gibbs. J. R. Gross

A method using computer techniques is described for the comparative evaluation of truck performance over any given haul road using readily obtainable manufacturers' data. An additional computer program is utilized to calculate individual cycle times for each truck and shovel combination, fleet requirements for any desired production rate, and to estimate comparative costs. The introduction of a large number of variables into the program permits management to determine the critical system factors having the greatest bearing on costs. Thus, the method described can be used not only for analysis of needs for a new surface mine but for cost improvement in existing mines where changes in truck and shovel operations are contemplated. The systems analysis approach to the solution of problems in the mining industry is gaining in industry acceptance. This is a logical development in view of the fact that a mine constitutes one of the most dynamic systems of production. In contrast with a manufacturing plant, situated in a location selected through choice and utilizing a regulated source of quality controlled raw materials, the miner must go where the ore is and he is faced with ever changing physical conditions. He is subjected to the vagaries of nature, and he can never mine the same ore twice. What is systems engineering? There seems to be no concise and universally accepted definition of the term and its meaning is still fairly local. It deals largely with trade-offs of subsystem characteristics to achieve some desired result in an overall system. This concept of suboptimization can be explained by an example. If the objective of a mining company is to produce a certain quality ore at minimum cost, the optimum operation is not achieved by minimizing all costs, since all phases of mining are interrelated. Reduction of blasting costs might well increase loading, hauling, and crushing costs out of proportion to the resulting saving in explosives. Hence tradeoffs are necessary. It is evident then that an optimum system is achieved through a blending of suboptimal components which taken together yield the desired result. OBJECTIVE For our mathematical model we will assume the existence of a hypothetical new organization called Taconite Mining Co. (TMC). TMC has made an analysis of their orebody, their proposed operation, and

Jan 1, 1968

By A. Kenneth Schellinger

DURING the comminution of a brittle material in the presence of dry air, no known phase change or chemical reaction takes place. The energy changes associated with the comminution are those of the transformation of kinetic energy into heat energy and the energy absorption represented by the actual rupture of molecular and/or ionic bonds. The random nature of the actual grinding process in a tumbling-mill often precludes the effective application of a rupture force on each individual particle of brittle mineral present. The result must be a great deal of useless vibration on an atomic scale in both the brittle mineral and the grinding medium below the elastic limit, which vibration is eventually manifested as heat energy in the mill. The actual rupture of molecular, or ionic, bonds creates new surface on the brittle minerals; each square centimeter of this new surface then must possess a number of potential bonds, each of which could reform theoretically with the release of energy. The sum total of this potential energy of bonding per unit of new surface, minus bond satiation effects of the enclosing gas or liquid, must be the surface energy of the mineral. If the comminution of the brittle mineral were carried out within the chamber of a calorimeter, the energy released as heat could be determined rather accurately. Moreover, the total kinetic energy input to the comminuting mass (mineral and medium) conceivably could be derived by a suitable torquemeter and revolution counter if the whole calorimeter were revolved. The difference between these two energy figures should then represent the net energy (gross energy input-heat energy output) used in creating

Jan 6, 1951

By Lester F. Engle

Books have been written, complex charts drawn, great batches of punched cards handled by ever increasing numbers of computers, and innumerable meetings held-all for the purpose of making effective the ultimate objective of new, revised or improved process facilities. It is to the credit of management, engineers, and others that in the vast majority of cases, the outcome of their work has been technically sound and economically rewarding. There is a way, however, to insure even better results.

Jan 5, 1966

By W. G. Oldham

By monitoring the capacitance of abrupt p-n junctions it is possible to follow the motion of substitu-tional impurities. A p-n junction is formed by growth of silicon from an Al-Si alloy on an n-type silicon sutstrate at a temperature in the range 650" to 750°C. The diodes are etched and sorted for consistent V-I and capacitance behavior and separated into groups. After irradiation, each set with an unirradiated control set is annealed to various temperatltres for 10 mm and the capacitance remeasnred. For very heavily doped diodes (-1019 per cm3) observable capacitance changes occur at neutron fluences of >1015 per cm 3. The results may be interpreted in seceral ways, the simplest of which is to assume simple vacancy diffiision with small impurity -racancy interaction (at the diffiision, i.e. annealing temperature of 700°C). In this interpretation it is found that a typical vacancy makes about 1024 jumps and travels about 10-5 cm before disappearing. The required effective annihilation center density is about 1016per cm3 . Estimates of the vacancy-impurity interaction can be made and the above numbers correctecl, but for arty reasonable assumptions the number of vacancy sinks connot be much reduced. ThE complete annealing of radiation induced defects requires that the vacancies and interstitials either recombine, travel to the surface of the crystal, or travel to an annihilation center, e.g., a dislocation or a precipitate. If the interstitial is ignored except as a possible vacancy annihilation center at low temperatures,* the motion of vacancies may be followed by monitoring the corresponding motion of substitutional impurities. pfister2 has measured the enhanced diffusion of impurities in an asymmetric shallow diffused silicon structure by optically monitoring the junction movement. In these experiments we monitor instead the capacitance of a heavily-doped deep symmetric p-n junction. The sensitivity for this method is several orders of magnitude higher than in Pfister's technique, mainly for two reasons: 1) the junction capacitance of a heavily-doped junction is sensitive to impurity movements in the Angstrom range* com- and 2) the junction may be far from the surface which is a major annihilation center for vacancies. THE EXPERIMENT A p-n junction is formed by the epitaxial growth of silicon from an A1-Si alloy on a silicon substrate at a temperature in the range 650° to 750°C. The technique used is the transport of an aluminum melt through a temperature gradient.4 A 10-mil thick aluminum disc is sandwiched between two silicon wafers and the assembly raised to about 650° C with a temperature gradient normal to the sandwich. After about 8 hr the upper (hotter) wafer has been entirely transported and deposited epitaxially on the substrate wafer. The substrate and overgrowth resistivity are measured with a 4-point probe. The as-grown structure is lapped until the wafer is about 1/2 mm thick with the junction in the center. Contacts consisting of electroless nickel covered by electroplated rhodium are applied to both the p and n sides. The wafer is diced into square dice 1/2 to 1 mm on a side and the dice are etched sufficiently to remove approximately 1 mil of silicon. The following results are all for aluminum (p-side) and antimony (n-side) doped specimens with NA =3x 1018 per cm3, ND = 2-8 x 101A per cm3. The diodes are sorted for consistent V-I and capacitance behavior and separated into groups. After irradiation, each set with an unirradiated control set is annealed and the capacitance remeasured. A special capacitance measurement method is used to insure a low sensitivity to shunt resistance. The diode is voltage driven and the current monitored by a phase lock amplifier. It is possible to adjust the detector phase to a point where shunt resistances as low as 100 O have no effect on the reading. The diodes in this study have a capacitance in the range 1000 to 5000 picofarads and a shunt resistance in the range 100 to l06 O depending on the stage of the anneal. THEORY The theoretical problem is twofold: 1) The computation of the amount of impurity diffusion and hence the impurity profile resulting from a given amount of vacancy motion, and 2) the computation of the capacitance from the impurity profile. A comparison of the theoretical and experimental capacitance (in particular the changes) yields the amount of vacancy motion. Vacancy Motion. A convenient parameter to measure the total amount of vacancy motion is Jv the total number of vacancy jumps per unit volume. Although this parameter varies with position in the crystal, owing to vacancy annihilation at the surfaces, it is approximately independent of position far from the surfaces, i.e. in the junction region. In terms of the number of vacancies per unit volume Nv and the vacancy diffusivity given by

Jan 1, 1970

By A. H. Hand

When considering the question of future demand for crude petroleum in California, one must first decide whether it is to be approached in the light of the definition of "demand" when used in economics; i.e., "The quantity of any commodity required or sought in the market," or in the light of markets developed to dispose of total supply. Therefore, is the California demand of future years to be predicated on a continuation of supplying markets developed following the surplus production commencing in 1922, or predicated on supplying what would be termed economic markets ? If the latter, what are economic markets ? Obviously, the Pacific Coast States and Canada, Alaska, Hawaii and probably the Pacific side of Central and South America, can be considered as normal markets for California petroleum products. While there have been small quantities of gasoline shipped into the PacSc Coast from East Texas, transportation costs, plus import taxes in the case of foreign oil, are a sufficient barrier to justify considering that these markets will be retained. But how about our participation in Atlantic and Pacific foreign and intercoastal markets? During the five years preceding 1931 California shipped substantial quantities of gasoline to the United Kingdom and to France, Germany and Italy. During recent years our business in European markets has been restricted to occasional shipments of gasoline and Kettleman crude. This loss of business is occasioned by the development of production in the Mid-Continent, principally East Texas, and in Iraq, Rumania, Venezuela and other closer producing areas, which makes it impossible at the prevailing crude-oil prices for California to be competitive in supplying any substantial portion of these markets. It is therefore apparent that under a stabilized price structure that will return the California producer a reasonable price for his oil, future Atlantic foreign -business will be restricted to occasional spot cargo sales. As to Pacific foreign shipments which, in addition to Central and South America, consist principally of shipments to Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand: A considerable portion of the business we had with Australia and New Zealand until four or five years ago is now being

Jan 1, 1937

By R. B. Tippin, J. S. Browning

The feasibility of multistage heavy liquid cyclone beneficiation of spodumene was successfully demonstrated in this investigation. The indicated recovery for the multistage circuits was mathematically estimated as continuous test runs would be necessary to determine the true influence of a middlings recycle. In the three-stage circuit, both the concentrate analysis and spodumene recovery exceeded 90%. The two-stage circuits were unable to simultaneously yield an acceptable produce with a satisfactory recovery. With the Nation's growing industrial mineral requirements, the U.S. Bureau of Mines has undertaken the task of investigating new mineral dressing techniques and improving the existing concentrating methods of ore beneficiation. One such project is the gravity concentration of minerals using heavy liquid separation (HLS).1-3 Heavy liquid separation is based on the simple principle that a material, whose specific gravity is less than the density of a solution, will float on top of the liquid and a material with a greater specific gravity will sink. Heavy liquid separation techniques were developed in the laboratory over half a century ago but the process has yet to be commercially adopted. In the past, commercial operations have failed because of numerous problems.4 Industrial interest has recently been reactivated because of engineering advances. The number and quality of the heavy liquids suitable for mineral processing has increased while the cost has sharply dropped. New and improved liquid recovery systems5,6 are under consideration with present emphasis on 1) solvent extraction, 2) thermo-evaporation, and 3) water washing. The toxicity of the heavy liquids7 presents a problem, but throughout the chemical and mining industries, many similar hazardous materials are safely handled. A distinct advantage of using heavy liquids is its ability to provide a near perfect separation of fine-sized mineral particles even when the specific gravities are close. Effective separations have been made on minerals down to 200 mesh and with a density

Jan 1, 1968

Roger A. Markle was sworn in as director of the US Bureau of Mines on September 27, 1978, ending a 20-month period during which the Bureau was without a leader. Some Bureau observers wondered out loud if this delay was a signal that Interior was slowly pulling the rug out from under the agency. When Markle was finally tapped for the director's position-coal industry executive to lead an agency that had been stripped of its fossil fuel R&D functions as well as its safety and health enforcement role--the speculation was fast and furious: One camp had it that Markle was brought in to phase out the Bureau; others said that Markle's directive was to revitalize the organization by charting a new Bureau course. In March, with the proposed Department of Natural Resources making headlines, ME went to Washington to interview Markle about his first six months as director and the goals he has set for the Bureau's future.

Jan 4, 1979

By Michael Tenenbaum, C. C. Brown

Numerous investigatiolls have been carried out to determine the total oxygen present in the basic open-hearth bath and the results of these studies have clearly defined the factors controlling the bath oxidation during the period prior to deoxidation. On the other hand, very little is known concerning any changes in total oxygen content that may occur during deoxidation, tapping and teeming. The need for such additional data is continually becoming more apparent, since there is no strict technical basis for selecting any particular deoxidation practice. Many steels are made for the same purposes and to the same chemical analyses by widely differing practices. Apparently, each practice is satisfactory. However, it would be desirable to establish more definitely the effects and relative merits of the individual practices. Such information could be used to give a definite foundation for evaluating various types of deoxidation. In order to approach this problem, a study was made of the changes effected in the total oxygen content of several grades of steel by representative open-hearth deoxidation practices. To carry out such studies, it was necessary that a reliable testing procedure for determining the oxygen content of the steel bath and the ingot mold be established. Before entering on any extensive testing program, consideration was given to the available methods of obtaining steel samples and analyzing for oxygen. Testing Procedures It has been shown5-9 that in solidified steel oxygen may ekist in combination with iron, manganese, silicon, aluminum, titanium, chromium and carbon, depending upon the amount of these elements in the sample. In molten steel, however, there has been no direct distinction of the various oxides. Accordingly, the total active oxygen in the molten steel bath is designated by the symbol 0. During deoxidation, various oxides may be present either in solution in the molten steel or as solid or liquid inclusions. Any sample taken from the molten steel for oxygen analysis will include both the dissolved and the mechanically included oxygen. Similarly, samples of the solid steel product will also include the two forms of Oxygen' Methods of Samplirzg the Molten Steel Bath In order to obtain a true oxygen analysis from liquid steel, this element must be completely retained in the solidified sample. Several methods have been proposed whereby this stabilization can be effected. As early as 1915, Kichlinelo proposed a method for testing molten steel, in which the oxygen combined with some added aluminum. The concentration of the resultant aluminum oxide was determined by chemical analysis. This method was

Jan 1, 1945

By H. M. Beatty, T. L. Joseph, Gust Bitsianes

SUCCESSFUL blast-furnace operation depends upon securing an optimum balance between a number of important variables. This balance will vary somewhat from furnace to furnace in the same plant and with raw materials available in different plants. It is difficult to isolate the effect of any one variable unless it has a rather pronounced effect upon the efficiency of operation. The physical properties of iron ore and coke are known to affect the process, yet it is difficult to set up any definite yardstick by which these differences can be appraised. In recent years, whenever practicable, operators have taken steps to obtain better control over the absolute size and uniformity of size of the ore and coke. The size and physical character of the stone, however, have received comparatively little attention, emphasis being placed upon chemical composition, fluxing efficiency, and action as a desulphurizing agent. Since the stone occupies only about 10 per cent of the volume of the stock column, its influence upon permeability is less than that of the ore and the coke. The large pieces now used have a tendency to roll to the center and thus increase the permeability of this part of the stock column. Smaller pieces would be more effective in promoting the permeability of denser portions of the stock. The size and physical properties of blast- furnace stone are important also for reasons best understood by considering the results obtained by the crushing and the sizing of iron ore. Crushing ore to about 2 in. at Provo, Utah, and to about I in. in Alabama produced material somewhat less permeable to gases, even though sized. In spite of some sacrifice in permeability, the efficiency of the process was improved by crushing and sizing the ore, as indicated by a substantial saving in fuel and increased output. This saving in fuel is due in large measure to more thorough reduction of ore in the upper part of the furnace and to a corresponding decrease in the amount of carbon consumed prematurely above the tuyeres by the reaction CO2 + C = 2CO ? 70,080 B.t.u. [I] The physical properties of stone, its size and rate of calcination are important because they influence the rate at which C02 is released and the completeness of calcination before reaching a level in the furnace where the temperature does not exceed 1050°C. (1920°F.). Briefly, carbon dioxide from the limestone or from the reduction of ore may cause premature com- bustion of carbon above the tuyeres. Assuming that 1000 lb. of limestone is used per ton of pig iron, about 435 lb. of C02 will be liberated during calcination of a good grade of stone. If all this CO2 from the stone were to oxidize carbon prematurely, about 120 lb. would be consumed above the tuyeres in a heat-absorbing reaction. The amount of carbon thus consumed when a

Jan 1, 1942

By C. L. Mantell

When considered from the viewpoint of world annual output, tin is one of the rarest metals. Its annual production is exceeded by that of iron, copper, lead, zinc. aluminum, magnesium; probably by that of the ferroalloys of manganese, chromium, and silicon, and possibly by the world production of sodium; while it exceeds only the output of such common metals as nickel, antimony, mercury, tungsten, molybdenum, silver, gold and the precious metals. Cassiterite, or tinstone, until the second World War was the only mineral that was an important source of tin. This mineral is frequently called "tin ore." The use of the term should be restricted to the ore containing the mineral, and not, in addition, to the concentrates of the mineral obtained from the ore or from stanniferous alluvial deposits. There is a general misuse of the term "tin ore" in the Malay Peninsula and adjacent localities, particularly where most of the mineral is obtained from secondary stanniferous deposits. The term "cassit-erite" is exclusively used in mineralogical, geological, and other scientific writings; it is unfortunate that it is not mole frequently used when referring to the occurrence of the mineral on an economic scale. Ores "Tinstone" js a very convenient old English term deserving a more frequent use. Tinstone is a dioxide of tin, or stannic oxide. When chemically Pure, as in the very rare transparent variety, it has a metallic content of 78.6 per cent tin. Frequently, however, the crystals and grains contain appreciable amounts of impurities, chiefly iron and tantalum. The impurities here referred to are those actually in the mineral itself. Tinstone usually has a deep brown or black color with an adamantine luster. Several other colored varieties are known, among them red ruby tin, yellow rosin tin, and yellow wax tin. the names jn each case being descriptive of the mineral's appearance. Ainalite is a variety of cassiterite con-taining almost g per cent of tantalum pentoxide. Sparable tin, tooth tin, and needle tin, as a result of their acute dite-tragonal pyramidal crystalline form, re-ceive their names from their crystallo-graphic appearance. Wood tin is a compact variety of cassiterite composed of radiating fibers resembling dry wood. Toad's-eye tin is a similar variety on a smaller scale in which the fibers appear to resemble the eye of a toad. Stream tin is water-worn tin-stone. Float tin is sometimes employed to describe the cassiterite occurring in soil derived from the weathered surface of a mineralized area. Stannite is an ore of tin of lesser impor-tance than cassiterite. It is a sulphide of tin, copper, and iron, sometimes known as tin pyrites or bell-metal ore. Its chemical com-position is sometimes expressed by the for-mula Cu,S.FeS.SnSz with zinc usually present in varying quantities. The tin con-tent varies from 22 to 27 per cent and there is about 29 per cent of copper, 13 per cent of iron, and 30 Per cent of sulphur.

Jan 1, 1944

By Kiyoshi Sugasawa

At Sumitomo Metal Industries, technologies for manufacturing metallurgical coke have been developed, under the names of Sumicoal System and DKS formed coke processes. Sumicoal System is the process utilizing approximately 70% conventional fine coal, 30% briquettes charge, and 2-3% caking substance. This technology was industrialized in 1975, and now the blending ratio of non-coking coal has reached up to 20%. On the other hand, a large scale demonstration plant using the DKS process was constructed and operated over one year. As the result of that test, it is thought that the DKS process has also reached the stage of industrialization. This paper will describe these new coking technologies.

Jan 1, 1977

By David Hall

IN October, 1926, the Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co. began the operation of its new leaching plant, which has a capacity to handle 8600 dry tons of ore daily and produce therefrom approximately 160,000 lb. of electrolytic copper per day. (See Fig. 1.) The energy for the leaching process is supplied by three motor generator sets (Fig. 2), each set consisting of one 5450-hp., 6600-volt, three FIG. 1.-LEACHING PLANT OF INSPIRATION CONSOLIDATED COPPER CO. AT INSPIRATION, Ariz. phase, 25-cycle, 500-r.p.m. synchronous motor and two 1920-kw., 150 to 320-volt, 6000-amp.,12-pole, d. c. generators, and one 70-kw., 125-volt d, c. exciter. The capacity of the three sets is 36,000 amp. at 320 volts. A description of the metallurgical processes of this plant was. given in a paper by H. W. Aldrich,1 and from his paper we quote the following figures for the month of July, 1927:

Jan 1, 1928

By R. J. Brison, O. F. Tangel

The development of a new method of mineral separation was sponsored by the International Salt Company, which requested Battelle Institute to investigate means for improving the quality and appearance of rock salt from the Company's Detroit mine. Although developed specifically for removing impurities from rock salt, the general method may be applicable to other separation problems. The principal impurities in rock salt from the Detroit mine are dolomite and anhydrite which represent 2 to 5 pct of the weight of the mined salt. In the size range from 114 to 112 in. (the range of primary interest in this project) the impurities are only partially liberated from the halite in normal production. Further size reduction to improve the liberation of impurities is not practicable in view of the market requirements for the coarse grades of rock salt. Laboratory separations in heavy liquids showed that, to improve the quality and appearance of the rock salt substantially, it would be necessary to remove not only free gangue particles but also a large proportion of the locked-in particles.

Jan 8, 1960