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[Admissions: B. M. Gottlieb, Chairman Edmond F. Egan K. Marshall Fagin John S. Fuller Edward E. Monteith T. A. Pollard Howard J. Ritts, Jr. Kenneth W. Robbins Harold E. Wright Advertising and Exhibits: Bernard F. Klein, Chairman Bob Diggs Brown R. E. Howard H. M. Krause, Jr. R. G. Parker Mrs. Evelyn R. Robertson]

Jan 1, 1961

By Emil-Paul Lorenz

Considered as a whole, the mineral resources of the Turkish Republic (Anatolia) are in their untapped virgin state, and the little development shown is not the result of modern systematic geologic exploration but the continuation of the ancient open-pit mining methods of the Orient. When I came to Turkey in 1924, I found myself confronted by a formidable task because of the lack of preliminary geologic mapping. Today this condition has not essentially changed; less than one per cent of the country is covered by topographic mapping adequate for modern requirements. However, I was able to bring a semblance of order in a presentation of the mineral deposits of this country, by tracing the story of the mineral deposits that showed surface evidence of their existence. At present only the easily discovered mineral deposits of coal, copper, and lead-silver ores are being exploited. In the case of coal, of 3,000,000,000 metric tons available, only 100,000,000 have been mined. The same is also true for copper, lead-silver, and other ores, as shown in Table 1.

Jan 1, 1948

William Kent, New York City: I regret that I have not had the time since the Cincinnati meeting to make as complete a study of Mr. Salom's paper as I wished. I regard it as one of the most important papers that have been presented on this subject, and worthy of complete study. I started out, on the limited time I had, on a system of study which I would recommend to any one else who has leisure to complete the investigation. I took the original report presented at the Cincinnati meeting, and selected from it' such tests as had the analyses reported along with the physical tests, giving the amounts of carbon, phosphorus, manganese, etc., taking only those in which all these elements are given.

Jan 1, 1885

E. T. Dumble, Houston, Texas (communication to the Sec-retary?):—In addition to the list of publications mentioned by Mr. Schorr and those by Prof. Hofman, I call attention to the following references:— Sludi sulle Lignite, by Capacci. Turin (1890). (An excellent work.) Report of Brown Coal Industry in Germany. J. Cosmo New-berry. Department of Mines, Victoria (1892).

Jan 1, 1905

By Arthur Notman

THE mineral industries in this country have now had about a year of national planning. Al. though the period is short, the volume of activity and legislation designed to make that planning effective has been nothing short of enormous. Those who have been privileged to see and study a few of the codes to regulate our mineral industry, such as those for oil, coal, steel, and copper, are driven to the conclusion that nothing was really known about the proper way to conduct those industries in this country prior to June, 1933; or if anything was known, nobody in actual practice made use of that knowledge. And yet those industries, in days gone by, helped to make this country the most prosperous in the world, and to maintain a standard of living even today higher than that of any other country. Without wishing to assume any first-hand knowledge of the Russian standard of living, I must confess that the evidence seems to indicate that even with dictatorial authority, national planning encounters unexpected difficulties. Perhaps what really wants

Jan 1, 1935

By J. S. Owens, R. W. Marsden, J. W. Emanuelson, R. F. Werner, N. E. Walker

The iron ores of the Mesabi Range occur in a 340 to 750-foot thick, Precambrian cherty iron formation termed "taconite." For about 65 years, extensive natural iron ore bodies were mined, and the ores either shipped as a direct ore or processed by gravity methods to a shipping grade iron ore. Since 1956, magnetite taconite ores, occurring in magnetite-rich horizons in the Biwabik iron formation, have been commercially concentrated and agglomerated. The transition from natural ores to concentrating-grade ores is progressing rapidly so that, in the near future, a major percentage of the iron ore shipped from the Mesabi Range will be as iron ore pellets produced from taconite. Natural iron ores of the Mesabi Range occur in the Biwabik formation as trough ore bodies in elongated channels and as irregular and tabular deposits in fractured areas associated with faults and folds. Ore bodies range in size from a few thousand tons to hundreds of millions of tons and may occur in any part of the iron formation. In some areas of strong ore development, ore was formed from the hanging-wall argillite to the footwall quartzite. The natural ores and beneficiating-grade natural crude ores were formed by the oxidation of the iron minerals, magnetite, greenalite, stilpnomelane, minnesotaite, and siderite, to hematite and goethite and by the removal of much of the silica in the cherty quartz and in the associated silicates by leaching. The ores are believed to have formed by the oxidizing and leaching action of surface waters. Magnetite taconite ores occur as stratigraphic zones in the Biwabik formation where it contains sufficient magnetite to be concentrated profitably, by magnetic methods, to give a magnetite concentrate that is agglomerated into a high quality product. Unoxidized taconite has an extensive distribution away from and between channels of oxidation and leaching but only a part of the unoxidized taconite is of ore grade. Two general types of magnetite taconite ore occur: ( 1) magnetite taconite of the Main Mesabi Range, generally west of Mesaba, which is composed of magnetite associated with cherty quartz, greenalite, stilpnomelane, minnesotaite, and carbonates and (2) magnetite taconite of the Eastern Mesabi, generally east of Mesaba, composed of magnetite associated with quartz, cummingtonite, actinolite, ferrohypersthene, hedenbergite, fayalite, hornblende, pyroxene, garnet, and biotite. The Mesabi taconite is a metasediment derived from an iron- and silica-rich chemical sediment that has been regionally metamorphosed and, on the eastern end, additionally metamorphosed by the Duluth Gabbro Complex.

Jan 1, 1968

By James H. TaVoularis, William J. Wiehagen

This paper discusses the application of commercially available microcomputers for assisting trainers in the delivery and evaluation of new hire, refresher, and occupational training. A brief overview of mine training highlights major issues facing the mine training community. The use of computer-based training has a potential for reducing costs and improving the transfer of conventional training to the job.

Jan 1, 1983

By Joseph A. Holmes

I. INTRODUCTORY. THE plans for the investigation of fuels and structural materials now being conducted by the Technologic Branch of the United States Geological Survey were, before being decided upon by the Director of the Survey, submitted for consideration to the National Advisory Board, upon which there are nine representatives from the membership of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, viz.: Messrs. John Hays Hammond, Robert W. Hunt, B. F. Bush, and E. V. d'Invilliers (representing the Institute); Messrs. Julian Kennedy and C. S. Robinson (representing the Iron and Steel Institute); Dr. Charles B. Dudley (representing the American Society for Testing Materials); Mr. F. H. Newell (representing the U. S. Reclamation Service); and Dr. Richard Moldenke (representing the American Foundrymen's Association). It seems fitting, therefore, that a report of these investigations of the past three years should be submitted to the Institute for publication in its Transactions. The above, together with other representatives of the national engineering societies and allied organizations, were invited by President Roosevelt to serve, along with the Chiefs of the several Government Bureaus who have charge of public works and large. fuel purchases, on the National Advisory Board to give advice concerning these investigations. The appointment of this National Board grew out of a wish on the part of the President, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Director of the Geological Survey not only that the appropriations for these investigations be expended in a manner most beneficial to the several branches of the government

Jan 7, 1908

By William Campbell

(Cleveland Meeting, October, 1912.) THE structure of iron and steel, though the object of so much study and research for the past 25 years, is by no means thoroughly understood. In the first place, we have three or more distinct iron-carbon thermal diagrams, each with its own supporters, and each representing a theory of the structure and constitution of cast-iron. In the second place, by reason of the fact that austenite, the solid solution of carbon in iron, decomposes in the solid state into ferrite, or pure iron, and cementite (Fe3C), and that quenching from above this transition-range, no matter how rapid, cannot entirely prevent the change and thus preserve the austenite by itself at ordinary temperatures, it happens that under the microscope we find, in addition to the ferrite, Fe3C, and austenite, which the thermal diagram of steel requires, it series of transition-products with distinctive structures, to which have ,been given the names martensite, troostite, sorbite, etc. Now these transition-products, in addition to the solid solution, austenite, have been the source of much controversy, at times very bitter. One side would insist that, say, troostite was an entity, which the other side would deny, pointing out that it must be a transition-mixture, with a particular structure. That austenite was a solid solution of carbon in iron has been denied by one school ; we have been told that Fe24C dissolved both Fe3C and Fe, and thus gave rise to a whole series of quenching-products-all this in spite of the fact that no matter how the thermal diagrams differ in regard to cast-iron, they all agree in regard to the solid solution, austenite, for Fe24C finds no place on the diagram. Thus it happens that while the authorities fight both in regard to the iron-carbon diagram and the structures met with in hard- * Associate Professor of Metallurgy, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Dec 1, 1912

By Shiro Ban-ya, John Chipman

The effects of many alloying eletnents on the acticity coefficient of sulfur in liquid iron have-been studied by the equilibriutn in the reaction Sfin Fe) + Hz = HzS at 1550°C'. Results are expressed in terms of a concentration variable for a nonmetallic or for a substitutional metallic solute. Activity coefficient of sulfur, defined as increased by B, Al, C, Si, Ge, Sn, P, As, Sb, Mo, W, Co, and PI. It is decreased by Cu,Au, Ti. Zr, V, h'b, Ta, Cr, ,23n, and Ni. Irulues oj. the interaction coejficient 0i = 6 In are labulated. The same interactions are expressed also in terms of atom fraction and of weight percent. The thermodynamic properties of sulfur in liquid iron have been fairly well established. Our recent paper1 reported new determinations of activity coefficient up an atom fraction of 0.12 and equations based on a careful review of all published data. The effects of alloying elements on the activity of sulfur have been studied by several investigators,2"11 especially by Morris and Williams for silicon,' by Morris and Buehl for carbon,~ and by Sherman and Chipman for manganese. phosphorus, and al~minum.~ However, the effects of some important alloying elements remain to be determined. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of many alloying elements on the activity of sulfur in Fe-S-j ternary systems. EXPERIMENTAL METHOD This study was based on experimental determination of equilibrium in the reaction at 1550°C: The same apparatus and procedure as described in our previous paper have been retained, and the same corrections were applied for dissociation of H2S. The alumina crucibles used in the experiments consisted of four separate compartments. In a given experimental run. kach of three alumina crucibles held four different samples of about 3 g each which reached equilibrium in the same gas atmosphere and temperature. The charges were made up of electrolytic iron, pure iron sulfide, and desired alloying elements, which were pure metal or master alloys made in the laboratory. The weighed samples were held for 4 to 12 hr in the prepared atmosphere at 1550°C. They were then low- ered to be cooled as quickly as possible. The quenched metal beads were crushed to avoid the errors of segregation in the ingot. The sulfur content was determined gravimetrically and alloy content by appropriate chemical analysis. CALCULATIONS The apparent equilibrium constants of Eq. [I] are expressed as follows from the corrected gas ratios and sulfur concentrations: The term K" is the observed equilibrium constant in any given ternary solution, K' is the value for the Fe-S binary solution. and the limiting value of K' in the infinitely dilute solution is designated by K, which is the true equilibrium constant in Eq. [I]. In the thermodynamic treatment of nonmetallic elements in a metallic solution, it has been suggested1' that the lattice ratio has certain advantages over other variables to express the concentration of solute. In interstitial solid solutions the lattice ratio zj is proportional to the ratio of filled interstitial sites to those which remain unfilled. The equations derived for the activity of the solute using zj as the concentration variable are found also to be applicable to liquid solutions containing nonmetallic solutes when the nonmetal is treated as if it were interstitial. For this purpose we adopt the following definitions: The quantity vj which is negative for interstitial solutes is taken as -1 for nonmetallic and +1 for metallic solutes. For purposes of calculation however ; j may be assigned a value which results in a linear relation such as shown in Figs. 1 to 15. The activity coefficient of sulfur, Qs, and equilibrium constant. K(z). are defined as follows: According to a Taylor series expansion. the logarithm of the activity coefficient of sulfur in Fe-S-j ternary system is: However, the value of 6 In */6zi remains constant through a broad range of dilute solutions and the terms of higher order are negligibly small. As a consequence, Eq. [6] is simplified as follows:

Jan 1, 1970

By H. P. Moore, R. W. Fenn, Harold Margolin, W. R. Hibbard

DEFORMATION lines, also called etch markings or strain markings, are noneffaceable lines developed in individual grains by etching a metal specimen which has been cold worked sufficiently to cause atomic non-conformity or slight orientation differences within the grains. Etching occurs more rapidly at these lines of high chemical reactivity to produce a result similar to that revealing grain boundaries.1 Wider etching effects forming bands have been found. They are believed to be bands of deformation lines which form areas of measurably different orientation from the crystal matrix. The crystallite rotations causing these bands have been shown by Barrette to contribute to deformation textures. Although deformation lines have been observed in many metals, the amount of deformation required for their appearance has been established only in general terms. Mathewson and Phillips3 observed the first appearance of deformation lines in cold-rolled alpha brass at about 20 pct reduction in thickness using the standard ammonium hydroxide hydrogen peroxide etchant. Price and Davidson4 noted deformation lines in common high brass after 26.5 pct reduction by cold rolling using the same etchant. Johnson' observed dark thick forklike lines in 99.99 pct pure copper reduced 31.8 pct. Adcock6 observed deformation lines in 80-20 copper-nickel alloy rolled 50 pct. Samans7 found no deformation lines in alpha brass single crystals cold rolled 9.5 pct but they did appear after 25 pct reduction using ammonium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide etchant. Barrett and Levenson8 observed deformation bands in drawn polycrystalline iron at very small reductions in area and noted that their initial appearance perhaps depends on grain size and other conditions. They reported deformation bands in a single crystal of iron reduced 6 pct by drawing. Brick9 noted that deformation lines in 70-30 brass apparently associated with {111} planes appeared after reductions of from 20-50 pct by cold rolling. Brick and Williamson10 noted that in single crystals of 70-30 alpha brass "as in polycrystalline brass, no deformation markings appeared until reductions exceeded 20 pct." Cook and Richards11 reported that in copper cold rolled less than about 50 pct few strain markings were apparent but for higher. reductions many strain markings appeared transverse to the rolled direction. In a review article Brick and Phillips12 noted that previous studies had not shown deformation lines in cold rolled alpha brass

Jan 1, 1948

By H. H. Alexander

In the early part of the last century textile fabric was used for the filtration of products of combustion and lampblack was obtained by passing smoke through a series of canvas bags. Natural draft was used to draw and force the smoke through the bags. About 1850 bag filtration was used for collecting zinc oxide. Around 1876 it was introduced for collecting the fume from lead-ore hearth smelting in Missouri. Shortly afterward it was used, first at Portland, Me., and later at Canon City, Colo., for the collection and production of zinc-lead pigment in treating mixed zinc-lead sulphides. In 1890 the Globe Smelting & Refining Co., at Denver, Colo., installed a bag house containing 1,458 bags for the recovery of fume from silver-lead blast furnaces. This installation was too small to handle all of the gases and was increased to approximately 2,300 bags. In 1900 the number of bags was again increased, making a total of approximately 2,800. The usual difficulties incident to new installations were encountered, but they were gradually overcome and the bag house became accepted as standard practice for this class of smelting, As all of the bag houses built since have followed the general lines of the Globe installation, a short description may be of interest. The general construction of the Globe bag house is shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The building is 149 ft. 8 in. long by 67 ft. 4 in. wide and 40 ft. 2 in. high from the basement floor to the eaves of the roof, having brick walls 26 in. thick from the foundation up to the thimble floor, from there an 18-in. wall for 16 ft. and a 13-in. wall from this point to the top, a distance of 14 ft. 2 in. Additional stiffening is given to the walls above the basement by pilasters located every 16 ft. The end-wall construction is similar to that of the side walls with the exception of the spacing of the pilasters, which is somewhat greater. The roof is made of corrugated iron laid on 1-in. boards and supported by a timber frame work spaced 16 ft. apart resting on the basement partition walls. On top is a louver running the

Jan 1, 1915

By L. D. Tracy

On Aug. 5 and 6,1918, and Mar. 26, 1919, the writer made an investigation of the mine-water neutralizing plant at the Calumet mine of the H. C. Frick Coke Co. The object of this plant is to develop a process of treating the water pumped from the mines so that it may be rendered suitable for use at the power plants of the mines and also at the coke ovens; at the same time, eventually producing a byproduct which will have enough commercial value to provide a sufficient revenue to place the plant on a self-sustaining basis. The Calumet mine is situated in Mt. Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, Pa., on a branch of the southwest branch of the Pittsburgh Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It is about 6 mi. (9 km.) southeast of Greensburg, the county seat of Westmoreland County. The coal, which is the Pittsburg or Connellsville seam, lies at a depth of about 200 ft. (60 m.) and is brought to the surface by means of a shaft. The output of the mine averages 200,000 tons of coal annually, all of which is made into coke, either at the ovens, at the mine, or at byproduct ovens. There are 260 coke ovens at the mine. The continued development of the coal fields of Pennsylvania and the increased use of electric power in the operation of the mines has brought the problem of an increased water supply for the plants to the attention of the coal operators. This is especially true in the Connellsville coking region, where large quantities of water are used in quenching the coke at the ovens. Many of the streams receive the drainage from the mines; and as this water is highly acid and contains sulfur in various forms, some method of treatment is necessary to render it suitable for use at the plants of the mines. With this end in view, the H. C. Prick Coke Co., about 4 years ago, installed at its Calumet mine a plant for experimental purposes, in an endeavor to develop a process that would provide a maximum amount of suitable water at a minimum cost. From a purely technical point of view, the result of these experiments has been encouraging. The company is now endeavoring to place the plant on a commercial basis.

Jan 1, 1922

By H. H. Alexander

IN the early part of the last century textile fabric was used for the filtration of products of combustion and lampblack was obtained by passing smoke through a series of canvas bags. Natural draft was, used to draw and force the smoke through the bags. About 1850 bag filtration was used for collecting zinc oxide. Around 1876 it was introduced for collecting the fume from lead-ore hearth smelting in. Missouri. Shortly afterward it was used, first at Portland, Me., and later at Canon City, Colo., for the collection and production of zinc-lead pigment in treating mixed zinc-lead sulphides. In 1890 the Globe Smelting & Refining Co., at Denver, Colo., installed a bag house containing 1,458 bags for the recovery of fume from silver-lead blast furnaces. This installation was too small to handle all of the gases and was increased to approximately 2,300 bags. . In 1900 the number of bags was again increased, making a total of approximately 2,800: The usual difficulties incident to new installations were encountered, but they were gradually overcome and the bag house became accepted as standard practice for this class of smelting. As all of the bag houses built since have followed the general lines of the Globe installation, a short description may be of interest. The general construction of the Globe bag house is shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The building is 149 ft. 8 in. long by 67 ft. 4 in. wide and 40 ft. 2 in. high from the basement floor to the eaves of the roof, having brick walls 26 in. thick from the foundation up to the thimble floor, from there an 18-in. wall for 16 ft. and a 13-in. wall from this point to the top, a distance of 14 ft. 2 in. Additional stiffening is given to the walls above the basement by pilasters located every 16 ft. The end-wall construction is similar to that of the side walls with the exception of the spacing of the pilasters, which is somewhat greater. The roof is made of corrugated iron laid on 1-in. boards and supported by a timber frame work spaced 16 ft. apart resting on the basement partition walls. On top is a louver running the

Jan 8, 1914

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 A. G. Guy, T. B. Lindemer

A second intepation of the Fick law has been developed and applied to three-place data generated from the Gosting and Fujita solution of the diffusion equation. This integration provides new mathematical techniques for the analysis of experimental data. Through use of the synthetic data it is shown that for concentration-independent interdifiusion coefficients these techniques permit a more accurate determination of the coefficients than does the usual Boltzmann-Alatano analysis. Another technique, applicable to the most general concentration-dependent diffusion coefficients , can be used to determine whether given sets of coefficients are consistent with the experimental ternary concentration-distance curves. DURING the past 10 years the subject of three-component diffusion has advanced from the stage of a laboratory curiosity to the status of an accepted portion of physical metallurgy.1 In the course of this development the underlying treatment for two-component sys- tems was extended and generalized to accommodate the added component, but fundamentally the analyses currently employed for ternary systems are analogous to those previously developed for binary systems. There are several indications that an improved analysis is needed for the ternary case. First, the two cross coefficients, D312 and D321 are typically an order of magnitude smaller than the direct coefficients and consequently are difficult to determine with adequate precision. Second, instead of a single concentration-penetration curve (as in binary diffusion), there are four such curves in the usual determination of ternary diffusion coefficients. These curves have definite theoretical interrelationships, but actual experimental curves exhibit significant departures from these relationships. Finally, the amount of data needed to adequately describe the diffusion behavior of a ternary system is so large that radically new methods are needed to facilitate the gathering of these data. ICirkaldy2j4 has proposed several possible analyses of ternary diffusion data, including some of the methods in current use. A "second-integration" procedure proposed by him4 differed in important respects from that presented here and was not carried to the point of application. Two other methods have been explored by the authors and will be published separately; these are a numerical analysis technique and a method for the analysis of a single ternary diffusion couple. Still other analyses are being explored by various investigators. At present it seems likely that the final analysis of ternary diffusion that evolves will be a composite

Jan 1, 1968

By Lucien Eaton

VENTILATION in the iron mines of the Lake Superior region in nearly all cases is natural; that is, it is induced by the difference in elevation between different outlets in the mine and by the difference in temperature of the air in the mine and that outside. This difference in temperature is frequently augmented by placing a steampipe in the upcast shaft; but aside from this, artificial aids to ventilation have been rare until - recent years. In some of the older mines, as at the Cliffs Shaft mine at Ishpeming, Mich., in the 80's, fans have been used when there was only one opening to surface, but their use was abandoned as soon as a natural circulation of air started. In recent years, the Newport mine at Ironwood, Mich., was the first to use positive mechanical ventilation. The installation was not large enough, however, to give definite results, reliance being placed largely on natural ventilation. With the coming of warm weather in the spring of 1914, the necessity of positive mechanical ventilation at the Lake mine of the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co. at Ishpeming, Mich., became evident. The workings of the Lake mine are under the bed of old Lake Angeline, which was pumped out in 1894, and the mine had been in operation for 6 years prior to that date making a total of 26 years of continuous operation. The total production, up to 1914, amounted to over 8,000,000 tons. The ore was first mined by square-set rooms and pillars, but this was later changed to top slicing and caving. Both methods required the use of large amounts of timber, probably 80,000,000 board feet in all, practically all of which remained in the timber mat. The slow oxidation of this timber was one of the principal causes leading to the installation of mechanical ventilation. The mine was served by only one working shaft, called No. 4, a second outlet being provided by a raise to the surface from the old workings on the south side of the mine. This raise was the "down cast;" but it was very small and the drifts and raises leading to it were too small and crooked to permit an adequate amount of air to enter the mine, especially during the warmer weather. Measure-

Jan 8, 1920

By Oliver Bowles

A HEAVY gel of bentonite clay has been proposed as an effective lubricant to speed down the ways to sea, river, or lake, the mighty cargo ships now hitting the water at the rate of about three a day. Another unusual application of a nonmetallic mineral is in food conservation, for the claim has been made that the next new item on the menu for poultry and rabbits will be vitamin tablets prepared from mont-morillonite clay. These uses have minor importance but illustrate not only the diversity in utilization, but the notable trend in 1942 toward mobilizing nonmetallic minerals for the war program. Although occupying less headline space than iron, steel, copper, aluminum, magnesium, and other metals, the nonmetallics are filling important emergency needs. Mica and quartz crystal are essential to communication; asbestos is urgently needed in fireproof heat and electrical insulation; and strontium minerals are utilized in the manufacture of signal flares and tracer bullets.

Jan 1, 1943

By Arthur Zentner

THE essentials of the electrolytic zinc process, as now used in commercial plants, date back to work done by Letrange in 1881. He used sulfuric acid to leach roasted sulfide and ,oxide ores, purified his solution very much as we do now, and electrolyzed the purified zinc sulfate solution. Ten years later Hoepfner developed a process using chloride solutions, and built three plants. One in England operated until 1924 in one of the works now merged in the Imperial Chemical , Industries, Ltd. Ashcroft built a plant in 1898 in the Broken Hill district of Australia. He used both chloride and sulfate solutions.. While his work failed, the aid his published results have been to later workers has made him an outstanding contributor to the de- velopment of the electrolytic zinc process. A good deal of work was done in the following years, aiming to electrolyze zinc chloride solutions and fused zinc chloride. Quite a bit of work on sulfate solutions was also done in the last years before the war. With the outbreak of the war, metal demand and rise in metal prices provided the stimulus which resulted in the remarkably rapid commercial development of electrolytic zinc. In this last period of development, all the work brought to commercial fruition has been with sulfate solutions. The high-density process, or the Tainton process, is used, as you know, in the Sullivan electrolytic zinc plant at Kellogg, Idaho, and will be used in the Evans- Wallower plant now being built at East St. Louis. The low-density process is used by the other plants now operating in the United States and other countries. There are now in operation and under construction four electrolytic zinc plants in the United States, two in Canada, two in Italy and one each in Australia, Rhodesia, Poland, Norway and Germany.

Jan 1, 1929

By Bedrand L. Johnson

THE phosphate-rock industry is built upon natural deposits of rocks and minerals in which the element phosphorus is present as a phoshate. The term ?phosphate rock? is a general one, applied to certain rocks of different degrees of consolidation and of diverese origin, charater and occurrence, composed of intimate mixtures of several phosphate minerals, largely submicrocrystalline, usually calcium phosphates, in commerical quantities, with various impurities. This term includes phosphatized limestones, sandstone, shales, and igneous rocks; nodular phosphates ; residual weathered phosphatic limestones ; vein phosphates ; and phosphatic sediments, both consolidated and unconsolidated.

Jan 1, 1944