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By Zay Jeffries

From the title of this chapter the reader could expect an attempt to out- line the anticipated shape of things to come, mineralwise. We have no crystal ball and if we possessed one we could claim no expertness in its use. In the first place no one can tell the future status of man. No one has any way of knowing to what extent peace will prevail, nor to what extent changes may occur in national sovereignties or forms of government or in international relationships. So future man is an uncertainty. Nor can we predict new developments that may result in significant changes in man's status or in the mineral industry or both. If, for example, this chapter had been written in the middle 1930's, nearly everything that has happened since in the fields of atomic energy and space technology would have been missed. Yet what vast changes these I have made in the status of man! Also the changes in the mineral industry have been important. A writer would have been bold indeed had he prophesied that uranium would play such an important role. But we need not confine our foggy vision to these fields. The steep rise in the use of aluminum, titanium, and germanium reflects the unpredictable in what may be thought of as the more normal pursuits. This should not discourage one from using the past and currently observable trends as bases for limited predictions. To do this, however, it is desirable to make certain assumptions about man's status without pretense that these assumptions have a high probability of fulfillment: 1. Only minor changes will occur in the geographical boundaries of the nations of the world. 2. World War III will not take place in the near future. 3. As a consequence of (2), man will not destroy himself by wanton use of atomic weapons. 4. Disarmament will take place, if at all, gradually rather than all at one time. Under the above assumptions the world will enjoy a period of relative peace even though the status may be one of an armed truce. The assump-

Jan 1, 1964

By Albert E. Wiggin, Frederick Laist

Page I. Introduction............................470 II. The Sources and Amount of Slime................470 II. The Composition of the Slime..................471 IV. The Experimental Development of the .Anaconda Slime Plant.. 471 1. The Great Falls Slime Plant and Experimental Work......471 2. The Experimental Work Done at Anaconda..........473 (a) SlimeThickening Devices.............. 474 (b) SlimeConcentrators................. 475 (c) Dewatering the Slime Plant Concentrate......... (d) The Use of Chemicals to Accelerate the Settlement of Slime........................ 478 (e) The Effect of Temperature upon the Settlement of Slime 478 V. A Description of the Anaconda Slime Plant........... 479 1. A Diagrammatic Flow Sheet of Plant............. 480 2. The Slime-Thickening Division................ 480 3. The Concentrating Division.................. 481 4. The Concentrate-Dewatering Division............. 483 5. General Data........................ 484 I. IntRoduction The new slime-concentrating plant at the Washoe Reduction Works, Anaconda, was put into operation during March, 1914. This plant, which has a capacity of 26,000,000 gal. of slime pulp carrying 2,500 tons of solid matter per day, consists of Dorr thickeners and Anaconda multiple-deck slime concentrators. This plant is the culmination of a great deal of experimental work extending over a considerable period of time, which , work will be described briefly in the following pages. II. The Sources and Amount of Slime Up to the beginning of this year, the ore from the Anaconda company's mines in Butte, Mont., has been concentrated both at the Great Falls

Jan 1, 1915

By J. M. Sands

THE state of Kansas had a daily average crude-oil production of about 87,000 bbl. at the beginning of the year. This showed a steady but consistent decline during the 12 months, so that the daily average production at the end of the year was slightly over 68,000 barrels. GREENWOOD COUNTY THE most active development in Kansas during the year was in Greenwood County, in a line from near Sallyards in T 25-R 9 to east of Madison in T 22-R 11. The main part of this development has been in a succession of pools beginning at the south with the Polhamus pool in 34-24-9 and 3 and 4-25-9; Thrall pool in 28, 29, 32 and 33-23-10; Burkett pool in 13, 23, 24 and 26-23-10; Seeley and Wick pool in 22, 27, 28,. 32 and 33-22-11 and 5, 6, 7, and 8-23-11; Frohm pool in 11, 14 and 15-22-11; Madison pool in 31 and 32-21-12 and 6, 22, 12 and 1-22-11. Some of these pools have two or more sands, locally called Bartlesville and Burgess Sands. They range in depth from 1850 ft. near Madison to 2450 ft. near Sallyards, the general dip being to' the west. The thickness of these sands run from 20 to 100 ft., the initial production of the wells being 50 to 1000 bbl of 40-gravity oil or better.

Jan 3, 1924

By Howard N. Eavenson

WASTE of coal, or perhaps more properly the percentage of its recovery in mining, has keenly interested me during an experience of over a half century in coal mining. In the early part of that time and until a few ears after World War I the use of better mining plans and supervision resulted in an increased recovery. Since then, and particularly since controlled prices have been effective and mechanized mining has been extensively practiced, the tendency has all been toward lesser recovery in mining. The purpose of this paper is not to criticize the methods being used, which after all are the result of economic forces, nor to point to any particular mining method or to any locality where the best recovery is obtained. but to call attention to the tremendous waste of our national coal resources that is constantly continuing. A possible method of reducing this loss will be suggested. but without any illusions that it will be followed or that much attention will be paid to it.

Jan 1, 1946

By Richards J. W.

J.W. RICHARDS, South Bethlehem, Pa. (communication to the Secretary?).-Mr. Howland's paper, data and conclusions have interested me intensely, and have led me to study carefully the record-of his 26 furnaces therein given. Mr. Howland is undoubtedly right in his conclusion that when expressing the amount of carbon burned at the tuyères in percentage of the total

Jan 1, 1917

By A. T. Yu

As the first loads of Noamundi iron ore rumbled into the new 54-in. Gyratory Crusher on March 30, 1968, one of India's largest and most modern iron ore processing complexes began operations. The completion of the $13 million mining and processing complex brought to a successful conclusion the second chapter of a phased expansion program initiated in 1958 by India's gigantic Tata Iron and Steel Co. The completed complex will yield annually 2.5 million tons of washed, sized ore and sinter fines destined for Tata's furnaces at Jamshedpur. Hewitt-Robins Div. of Litton Industries was awarded the turnkey project on the basis of world- wide competitive bids. Eighty miles southwest of the city of Jamshedpur, Noamundi lies on an approximate geographic grid of 22º-5' latitude north and 85º-30' longitude east. The mine is approximately 600 ft above sea level.

Jan 11, 1968

By J. B. Austin

IN considering so complex a process as the smelting of iron in the blast furnace, there is obviously no single method of calculating efficiency that gives a complete appraisal of the performance of the furnace in all its several functions; such a comprehensive view as is required to evaluate producing ability and manufacturing costs for a given furnace is obtained only by considering a group of efficiencies, each of which measures the performance of the furnace from a specific point of view. For instance, there is the rate of consumption of coke per ton of iron produced, which is probably the most frequently considered, and is certainly one of the most important of the group; there is the efficiency of recovery of iron charged; and there is the efficiency of utilization of energy, both chemical and thermal, in some respects related to the former two yet in other ways independent of either. In each of these cases, the calculation can be made on the basis of the actual input of material or energy, or it may be based . upon a comparison with the minimum amount of material or energy that would be required by a "perfect" furnace; that is, an imaginary ideal furnace analogous to the perfect steam engine used in thermodynamic calculations, when this furnace is operating under optimum conditions. Moreover, the furnace itself can be considered either as an apparatus for smelting iron or, taking a somewhat less common point of view, as a gas producer yielding iron and slag as by-products. Some of these effi-ciencies are more useful than others, yet all are instructive; for a knowl-edge of them not only leads to good engineering practice from the standpoint of control but also discloses limits to possible improvement in performance and indicates the lines along which improvement is most likely to be profitable. Estimates of some of these efficiencies have appeared from time to time in the literature, but many of them are open to objection because they are based on data of uncertain accuracy or because they have been calculated without due regard to the thermo-dynamic principles involved. Moreover, so far as the author is aware, no general survey of the blast furnace comparing its performance in all the aspects mentioned has been made.

Jan 1, 1938

Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology, University of Idaho, Moscow, Ida. John W. Finch, Director. A list of publications will be sent upon application. A series of Bulletins and Pamphlets have been issued by the Bureau to date since 1920 Of the Bulletins, six are out of print, and a charge is made for eight. Each of the Bulletins, in the main, treats of the geology and resources of a particular district in Idaho, as follows (only available Bulletins listed): Bulletin 1, South central Idaho (1920), 15 cents, 7, North central Idaho (1924), 50 cents, 8, Bonneville, Bingham and Caribou counties (1924), 50 cents, 9, Boise Basin (1924), 50 cents; 10, Boundary County (1926), 50 cents; 11, Region about Silver City (1926), 50 cents; 12, Clark Fork district (1930), 50 cents, 14, Eastern Cassia County (1931), 50 cents, Press Bulletin 15, Teton County (1927), Bulletin 16, Melon Valley near Buhl (1927); 17, Concerning land slips near Whitebird, Idaho (1928) The 37 Pamphlets are issued free of cost, and each treats, also, in the main of the geology and resources of a particular district in Idaho Nos 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 17, 18, 20, 22, 25, 26, 30 and 35 are out of print Of those available, attention may be called to Pamphlet 6, Reported platinum occurrences near Coeur d' Alene (1925), 11, Bruneau River Basin, 12, Power and Oneida

Jan 1, 1933

By W. Francis

OF THE methods that have been used for studying the chemical composition of coal, attack by reagents has not, in general, yielded much information. Most of the reagents used have been strong oxidants such as nitric acid or Schulze's solution. The use of a milder oxidizing agent, such as air at low temperatures, enables progressive changes in the character of the coal substance to be studied and thus helps toward an understanding of its constitution. British bituminous coals frequently have a banded structure. These bands (of four types) can be separated one from another and have been found to possess markedly different chemical characteristics, even when taken from contiguous portions of the same lump coal. It has been found convenient to give each of the ingredients of banded coal a distinctive name, more or less descriptive of its appearance, and the study of the chemistry of bituminous "coal" in England has resolved itself into a study of each ingredient separately. . The coal chosen for this work was taken from the Top Hard seam at East Kirkby colliery, Nottinghamshire, a detailed chemical analysis of which has been recorded by Baranov and Francis.1 The banded structure was well marked and the bands could readily be separated. The research was confined to the brilliant vitreous bands (vitrain), the dull hard bands (durain) and the "sooty partings" (fusain); for previous work had shown that the fourth type, to which the name clarain has been given, is intermediate in character, chemically, between vitrain and durain.

Jan 3, 1925

By A. O. Dady

PRODUCERS of both bituminous and anthracite coal have for many years been worrying about the gradually decreasing consumption of their product in the United States. Twenty years ago production had climbed to a peak of 569,000,000 tons of bituminous and around 90,000,000 tons of anthracite. In 1939 it was about 393,000,000 tons of bituminous and 51,000,000 tons of anthracite. This does not mean that the country is using less polver than it did twenty years ago, or that we are living in colder buildings. As a matter of fact, about three times as much electric power is now being consumed as in 1920. In general two factors are responsible for the drop in coal consumption: (1) greater efficiency in the use of coal, and (2) increased competition from hydro power, internal-combustion engines, and substitution of oil and gas for coal in conventional furnaces. As to the first factor, it took 3 Ib. of coal to generate a kilowatt-hour of electricity in central stations in 1920 and it takes 1.4 Ib. now; it took about 175 Ib. of coal in railroad locomotives to haul 1000 long tons a mile in 1920 where it talces about 120 lb. now: and marked economies have also been made in the use of coal in steel plants: in by-product coke ovens, and in other large uses. As to the second factor, three times as much electricity is produced from water power now as was produced in 1920; three times as much oil is being consumed in various ways; and likewise, the consumption of natural gas has tripled- whereas coal consumption in the same period has dropped by 40 per cent

Jan 1, 1941

By Howard R. Hughes

In drilling for water and oil to reasonable depths through the generally soft yielding clay and sand formation of the Coastal Plain of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, the rotating method of drilling was adopted, principally on account of the easy and quick penetration, and the low cost of the drilling plant. In favorable ground, free of heavy gravel and rock strata, as much as 1,600 ft. has been drilled in less than 36 hr., although such performances were of course rare. Hydraulic rotary drilling, or, as it is now called, rotary drilling, was used in the above States as early as 1880. The plant consisted of an ordinary derrick, a 25-h.p. boiler, a small hoist, a steam pump, and a water swivel with hose attachment, and an ordinary flat diamond-pointed bit. The successful drilling in of a phenomenal oil well by this process on Spindletop, near Beaumont, Texas, on Jan. 10, 1901, and the ascertained impracticability of drilling subsequent wells in the same locality by other methods (owing principally to heavy quicksand under pressure from below), brought rotary drilling into great prominence, practically to the exclusion of any other process throughout the Coastal Plain, and later on elsewhere. The method, as its name implies, involves the rotation of a pipe by means of machinery placed on the derrick floor. A drill bit attached to the lower end cuts a clearance for the drill pipe, with much the same motion and effect as an auger. Water forced through the drill pipe by means of a pump, and escaping through the bit, removes the cuttings and returns to the surface outside the drill pipe. In this manner the hole is kept open, permitting the drill stem to rotate freely. The pressure of the column of muddy water holds up the walls of the hole until it has been cased. Practically all the wells of the Gulf coast region, numbering nearly 10,000, have been drilled with this system. During the last five years its use has been extended to many other States and countries.

Jan 1, 1915

IN the early period of steelmaking, ingot structure and segregation were of no practical importance. Crucible melting required very small ingots that gave little segregation, and a small inserted hot top prevented pipe. As larger ingots were poured from bessemer converters and open-hearth furnaces, segrega- [ ] tion, piping, and gas evolution became increasingly important. The techniques of making semikilled and rimmed ingots were developed with little knowledge of the actual mechanism of the process. The first studies of solidification were made by the Brearleysl and Gathmann,2 who used stearine to show the effects of shrinkage and mold shape. Fig 11-1 is a picture of a series of stearine ingots at various stages of solidification. These studies showed that the liquid solidifies at a nearly uniform rate from the sides and bottom of the mold and demonstrated the formation of

Jan 1, 1951

By L. D. Jaffe, F. W. Cotter, E. Cordon

The hardenability of titanium-base alloys was studied by metallographic examination and hardness survey of Jominy specimens end-quenched from the B range. Analyses of the data led to the equation log J = -0.57 + 0.25 @ct Fe + pct Mn + pct Mo) + 0.19 @ct Cr) +0.16 @ct V) + 0.03 @ct Zr). Here J is the distance, in sixteenths of an inch, from the quenched end of a Jominy hardenability specimen in the position of peak hardness, for material quenched from the B range. This equation fitted the experimental data with a standard deviation of approximately 0.29. The effects of the elements Al, Sn, W, Cu, Ni, B, C, N, 0, and H, and of pain size, were not statistically significant or not practically significant. A check against hardenability measurements in the literature showed agreement within the stated standard deviation. The equation should be useful in estimating hardenability of new or modified titanium alloys. HARDENABILITY in a titanium-base alloy is the ability of the alloy to retain the B structure on quenching. An alloy with high hardenability will retain the /3 structure even when cooled relatively slowly from a temperature at which B or P plus a is stable. A low hardenability material will retain P only if quenched extremely rapidly from the range of p or 0-plus-a stability, or will not retain it at all, at room temperature. High hardenability is desirable in titanium alloys to be heat-treated to high-strength levels. Its value is by no means limited to large section sizes. With high hardenability, a material can be solution-treated and cooled at a variety of rates, either to give high strength directly or, more generally, to give a soft ductile condition from which high strength can be obtained by subsequent aging. With low hardenability, high strength can be obtained, if at all, only by very rapid quenching, and there will generally be little increase in hardness on subsequent aging; an alloy of this type is limited in its applicability. On the other hand, alloys of very low hardenability have some advantages in weldability; essentially, they are always in the annealed condition, after welding as well as before. For commercial alloys, hardenability data are usually available, in the form either of property data after cooling from the solution temperature at various rates, with or without subsequent aging, or of results of a standard hardenability test, such as that originally developed for steels by Jominy and Boegehold.' When modifications of an available alloy are considered, or preparation of new alloy compositions, it would be Very convenient to be able to estimate the hardenability of the new material without having to make and test it. A method of estimating hardenability of titanium alloys from their composition was suggested by one of the authors some time ago, on a preliminary basis, utilizing scattered data found in the literature.' It seemed worthwhile to carry out a systematic experimental study of the effect of composition upon hardenability. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Approximately fifty heats of various compositions, weighing 8 to 10 Ib apiece, were melted in a small inert-gas tungsten-arc furnace with water-cooled copper walls. The starting material was 110 Brine11 titanium sponge, with high-purity metals added for alloying. Each heat was bottom-poured under vacuum through a molybdenum burnout strip into a cold graphite mold, to form an ingot approximately 4-1/2 by 3-1/2 by 3 in.* From each ingot were cut *The material was melted and cast by Pitman-Dunn Laboratory, Frankford Arsenal, to whom the authors must express their thanks. two pieces 4-1/2 by 1-1/2 by 1-1/2 in. These were forged, at temperatures adjusted to the composition, into 1-1/4-in. rounds, from which standard 1-in.-diam hardenability specimens3 were machined. A number of small samples were also prepared from forged materials of each heat, annealed, quenched from various temperatures, and examined metallographically. The P-transus temperature was determined by observation of the degree of resolution of primary a in these pieces. samples for chemical analyses were also taken from the forgings. One hardenability specimen of each heat was solution-treated for 1 hr approximately 50°F above the measured transus temperature, and the other for 1 hr approximately 250°F above the transus. (An additional hour was allowed for the specimens to reach furnace temperature.) These are not necessarily the temperatures that would be selected for

Jan 1, 1964

By Edward Keller

In a paper, entitled A Uniform Method for the Assay of 'Copper Material for Gold and Silver,' A. R. Ledoux invited the assayers of this country to contribute to a symposium, in which the results of their assays of given samples of copper-matte and metallic copper would be made comparable. This symposiun 2 appeared about one year thereafter; and through it and its discussion, first became generally known the fact that the gold-yield by the all-fire method of assaying is usually higher than by the so-called combination (wet and dry) method, in which nitric acid is employed as a solvent for the copper. In the publication alluded to, the supposed cause of gold-losses in the latter method was declared to be the solvent action of copper nitrate, or of the reduction-products of the nitric acid, upon the gold. Up to a very recent date, gold has been held to be insoluble in pure nitric acid. (The solvent action of any chlorine present in the nitric acid must here properly be disregarded as belonging in the realm of carelessness.) Among later allusions to this topic, W. R. Van Liew3 ascribes the solution of the gold in the combination-assay entirely to the action of nitrous acid at the high reaction-temperature of copper and nitric acid; F. B. Flinn4 believes the low result in gold to be due exclusively to mechanical losses—finely-divided gold penetrating through the filter-paper—but presents no experimental data confirmative of this belief; and 0. Pufah]5 attributes the solubility of' the gold in some coppers to the presence of selenium—a view which appears to be shared by many as-

Jan 1, 1913

By Clarence Zener

Theoretical considerations by one of the authors have ledl to the prediction that the dynamic internal friction of annealed metals has a broad maximum at a certain grain size. This prediction they have verified2 for alpha brass. In the present paper the theory is extended to include the precise manner in which the internal friction varies with grain size on either side of the maximum. New experimental data are presented to test this extended theory. The physical basis for the type of internal friction that is being investigated lies in the interplay between stress and temperature. Just as local fluctuations in temperature give rise to local fluctuations in stress, so likewise fluctuations in stress give rise to fluctuations in temperature. But temperature gradients give rise to necessarily irreversible thermal currents, and hence to internal friction. The theory for this type of internal friction has been developed quantitatively,³ and has been experimentally verified,4,5 for the particularly simple case of the transverse thermal currents accompanying transverse vibrations. Of more fundamental importance are the intercrystalline thermal currents accompanying all types of vibration. The variation in stress across grain boundaries arises from the elastic anisotropy and at least partial random orientation of the individual crystallites. An exact quantitative treatment of the internal friction due to these thermal currents is of course out of the question. However, much information can be obtained from general arguments.1,6 Thus when the frequency of vibration f is low, or when the grain size d is small, adjacent grains remain nearly in thermal equilibrium, and vibration proceeds isothermally with little internal friction. Again, when the frequency is high, or the grain size large, the heat flow per cycle is small, the vibration proceeds adiabatically with little internal friction. The internal friction will become a maximum in the transition region. The degree of adiabatic-

Jan 1, 1940

By Clarence Zener

Theoretical considerations by one of the authors have ledl to the prediction that the dynamic internal friction of annealed metals has a broad maximum at a certain grain size. This prediction they have verified2 for alpha brass. In the present paper the theory is extended to include the precise manner in which the internal friction varies with grain size on either side of the maximum. New experimental data are presented to test this extended theory. The physical basis for the type of internal friction that is being investigated lies in the interplay between stress and temperature. Just as local fluctuations in temperature give rise to local fluctuations in stress, so likewise fluctuations in stress give rise to fluctuations in temperature. But temperature gradients give rise to necessarily irreversible thermal currents, and hence to internal friction. The theory for this type of internal friction has been developed quantitatively,³ and has been experimentally verified,4,5 for the particularly simple case of the transverse thermal currents accompanying transverse vibrations. Of more fundamental importance are the intercrystalline thermal currents accompanying all types of vibration. The variation in stress across grain boundaries arises from the elastic anisotropy and at least partial random orientation of the individual crystallites. An exact quantitative treatment of the internal friction due to these thermal currents is of course out of the question. However, much information can be obtained from general arguments.1,6 Thus when the frequency of vibration f is low, or when the grain size d is small, adjacent grains remain nearly in thermal equilibrium, and vibration proceeds isothermally with little internal friction. Again, when the frequency is high, or the grain size large, the heat flow per cycle is small, the vibration proceeds adiabatically with little internal friction. The internal friction will become a maximum in the transition region. The degree of adiabatic-

Jan 1, 1940

By Charles A. Thomson

RECENTLY a prominent Brazilian' doctor wrote to an American friend: "I feel that cultural relations between the American and Brazilian people could be promoted in a very speedy and effective way by establishing contacts between men of the same professions. . . . A Brazilian mechanical engineer could be immediately interested in relations with American colleagues, even if he had never heard of Longfellow and was not interested in Stokowski's orchestra. . . . A large number of cultural ties could be established between specific groups of men who have already some common interest, and who, whenever they meet, can do something that naturally brings them closer, that is, `talk shop."' In appointing a committee on Inter-American Engineering Relations to cooperate with the Department of State in its program of fostering cultural relations with the other republics of this hemisphere, the American Engineering Council has taken a step which should lead to a greater sense of unity and fraternity among engineers of the Americas. That such unity and fraternity are part and parcel of the moral defense of the hemisphere is obvious. For years engineers of the United States have been traveling South and South-east to construct roads and bridges, dam rivers, harness waterfalls, build ports, install and operate mining equipment, and erect buildings and plants, often at the risk of life. Those in the teaching profession in this country have had as pupils a growing number of students from our neighboring republics whom they have sent back home trained in the most efficient engineering methods. In a sense, however, these relations with the other nations on this side of the globe have been haphazard and left to chance. Personal acquaintance among engineers has played its role but no organized attempt appears to have been made to take advantage of the natural relationship which geographical and historical factors should encourage.

Jan 1, 1940

All the TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS and CONTRIBUTIONS published in 1933 are available at Institute headquarters, unless otherwise noted. They are also on file in many public, university and technical libraries and, when so indicated in the list, may be found in the TRANSACTIONS. Copies of the TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS have been mailed to those members of the Institute who are registered in the different classes: A-Metal Mining; B-Milling and Concentration; C-Iron and Steel Division; D-Nonferrous Metallurgy;. E-Insti¬ tute of Metals Division; F-Coal Division; G-Petroleum Division; H-Nonmetallic Minerals; I-Mining Geology; J-Mineral Industry Education Division; K-Mining Administration; L-Geophysical Prospecting. Other members may obtain copies by writing to the Secretary. Copies of CONTRIBUTIONS may also be obtained from the Secretary's office. Additional copies are sold at the rate of 1 cent per page; minimum charge, 25 cents. Nonmembers may purchase the papers at the prices mentioned. METAL MINING TECH- NICAL PUBLI- TITLE AUTHOR MEETING TRANS. CATION VOLUME No. AND PAGE* 499-A.47 Red Ore Mines of the Woodward T. C. DeSollar New York, Iron Company at Bessemer, Feb., 1933 Alabama (11) CONTRI¬ BUTION No. 1-A The Owyhee Tunnels (16) P. R. Hines New York, Feb., 1933 2-A Sinking and Equipment of the No. D. D. Homer New York, 2 Shaft at Minas de Mata- R. H. Cromwell Feb., 1933 hambre (25) 3-A Subsidence Resulting from the Charles W. Allen New York, Athens System of Mining at Feb., 1933 Negaunee, Michigan (8) 4-A Effect of Approximately Vertical P. B. Bucky New York, Cracks on the Behavior of Hori- Feb., 1933 zontally. Lying Roof Strata (16) 21-A Selection of a Mining System (11) R. K. Warner New York, Feb., 1933

Jan 1, 1933

By J. L. Shafer, Christopher L. Caenepeel, Martha L. White

Often an in situ leach is the only practical economic method for copper recovery from small low grade oxide deposits. The decision to develop a copper property by an in situ blast and leach is strongly dependent on ore grade, tonnage, hydrology, and the copper extraction and acid consumption rates. The inherent leachability of the ore will in part determine the desired amount of fracturing of the ore deposit by the blast in order to obtain a copper extraction rate that is economical. For the last several years Occidental Research Corp. (ORC), has undertaken a modest effort to address the question of how to best identify and determine the information necessary to predict and control the operation of an in situ leach for the economic recovery of copper. Modelling of the Leaching Process During the past 10 years the activity in the mathematical modelling of the leaching of copper sulfides in copper dumps and heaps has increased dramatically. The modelling of copper oxide leaching has not received as much attention. The acid leaching of non-sulfide copper minerals while chemically less complex, compared to sulfides, does generate a vertical acid concentration gradient in the ore heap being leached due to the acid-base nature of the reaction. This is generally not observed in sulfide deposits that are biologically active, due to the buffering action of opposing reactions involving the generation of sulfuric acid from sulfide minerals and acid consuming host rock. Thus, the objective of ORC 's copper oxide modelling efforts is to determine the leaching parameters which will account for this vertical acid concentration gradient. Knowledge of this gradient will result in the correct choice of the feed acid concentration to the top of the ore dump or heap, such that the effluent will have the desired pH.

Jan 1, 1980

By Douglas Ashmead

In his paper Mr. Braley makes no mention of the bacteriological aspects of the problem. It is now quite well established that certain bacteria play a major role in formation of acid mine waters, and it is a simple matter in the laboratory to show that under sterile conditions the rate of acid production from a pyrites suspension is only about one quarter of that obtained from a similar suspension inoculated with drainage from a mine producing an acidic pit water. Under sterile conditions the oxidation is due to direct chemical action and, from the evidence just given and from much other evidence, this increase under nonsterile conditions is due to certain bacteria. Experiments recently completed, and shortly to be published, have shown that this bacteriological oxidation can be prevented by the maintenance of pH conditions above 4. It was found that to raise this pH above 4 at the beginning of the experiments was not sufficient but that, due to the continuing chemical oxidation, alkali had to be added daily to maintain the pH conditions above 4. The amount of alkali added, however, over a fixed period, was only about one quarter of the alkaline equivalent of the acid produced when pH conditions were not controlled over an equal period. The opinion expressed by Mr. Braley that sodium hydroxide has little or no effect on the rate of oxidation of pyrites is not substantiated by the above experiments. The writer does not claim that these results show a practical solution to the problems, especially in abandoned workings, but feels that the application of an alkaline coating, such as lime wash, to exposed accessible workings might be well worth trying. S. A. Braley (author's reply)—In 1919 Powell and Parrl suggested that bacteria, or some catalytic agent, hastened the oxidation of pyritic or marcastic sulfur in coal. Carpenter and Herndon (1933)' attributed the action of Thiobacillus thiooxidans. Colmer and Hinkle (1947)3 observed an organism similar to T. thiooxidans and another organism that oxidized iron. Leathen and Braley 9rst discovered this organism in 1947 in a sample of water from the overflow of the Bradenville mine (Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania). They characterized the organism in 1954" and gave it the name Ferrobacillus ferrooxidans. Although Temple and Colmer (1951)' had suggested the name Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, since they claimed it oxidized both ferrous iron and thiosulfate, we have found that pure cultures of the organism do not oxidize thiosulfate, hence the name F. ferrooxidans. In 1955 Ashmead7 isolated an organism, similar to the one called Thiobacillus ferrooxidans by Temple and Hinkle, from acid mine water in Scotland. It is probable that this organism was F. ferrooxidans. In 1954 Bryner, Beck, Davis, and Wilsonh reported microorganisms in effluents from copper mine refuse. These organisms appeared to be similar but were not in pure culture. In view of this history of bacterial investigation of acid mine water and our own ten years of experience, we do not agree with Mr. Ashmead that bacteria play a major role in acid formation. We do not find that any of these bacteria will directly oxidize pyritic material. They do, however, augment the chemical formation of sulfuric acid by atmospheric oxidation. In two papers in 1953% eathen, Braley, and McIntyre discuss the role of bacteria in acid formation and postulate the mechanism through which they operate. Mr. Ashmead in his discussion of my paper has assumed that this work was carried on in the presence of acid mine water in which bacteria would be present. This was not the case. Strictly sterile conditions were not maintained, but the organisms present in mine drainages were definitely absent in these experiments. We believe that we have demonstrated that alkalis do not inhibit the chemical oxidation of pyritic material. This is also indicated by Mr. Ashmead's discussion in which he says that alkali must be added daily due to the continuing chemical oxidation. It is interesting to note that Mr. Ashmead finds that maintenance of pH above 4.00 decreases the activity of the bacteria. We have found also that a decrease in pH below 2.8 also inhibits its activity. Table XIII of published data'" illustrates the decrease in activity with increased acidity, although pH values are not given. These values are in comparison with uninoculated controls and show the marked increase in acidity up to 22 weeks but a decline at 29 weeks, at which time the experiment was terminated. It is probable that after a longer period only chemical oxidation would have continued. From our studiesv we have postulated that the iron oxidizing bacterium (Ferrobacillus ferrooxidans) oxidizes the ferrous iron, resulting from chemical oxidation, to ferric iron. The ferric iron then aids the atmospheric oxidation of the sulfuritic material and is itself reduced to ferrous iron, which in turn acts as food for the autotrophic bacteria. Study of the physiologic properties of F. ferrooxidans shows that its preferred pH is about 3.00 and its activity decreases with variation in either direction. It is extremely inactive above pH 4.00 and below 2.5. This inactivity above 4.00 is indicated by Mr. Ashmead's observations. These properties of F. ferrooxidans then correlate perfectly with our hypothesis. Ferrous iron is oxidized very slowly by atmospheric oxygen in highly acid sohtion and since the bacteria become inactive, acid is formed only by atmospheric oxidation. At a pH of 4.00 or above iron is more readily oxidized by atmospheric oxygen, but the bacterial activity is decreased. However, with a pH above 4.00 the ferric iron is removed from the field of activity since its soluble sulfate hy-drolyzes and precipitates the iron as ferric hydroxide or a basic sulfate. As we have shown in the paper under discussion, the alkali does not inhibit the chemical oxidation, and thus the acid formation continues. This

Jan 1, 1957