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By I. H. Warren, E. Devuyst

A review of the physical and chemical aspects of the direct leaching of metal oxides has been given and com- pared to recent data of the authors and co-workers. The physical aspects, including the anisotropy of the dissolution, the hydration and the zero point of charge of some metal oxides are discussed first and then the kinetics of the dissolution of metal oxides are considered. A general mechanism of the leaching of oxides which describes most of the observed results is proposed.

Jan 1, 1973

D. M. Riordan has been appointed a member of the Institute Com¬mittee of the Engineers' Reserve Corps movement. Our Committee, therefore, now consists of Henry S. Drinker, Chairman, Messrs. Arthur S. Dwight, Warren A. Wilbur and D. M. Riordan.

Jan 1, 1916

By A. A. Berk

LAGGING technology and the slow spread of information have been the chief obstacles to widespread participation in minimizing the industrial pollution load. These obstacles can be conquered by fact finding and applied research. There are three aspects to the problem of water-borne mineral waste: to minimize the amount being thrown away, to select a predisposal treatment, and to use the products or dispose of them. It is often possible to minimize the waste by making very minor changes in the process that produces it. For example, a manufacturer of automobile bumpers greatly reduced the dragout 'from a plating bath by modifying the design and position of two boltholes.' A plater of automobile hubcaps installed a drainage bar and decreased the loss of chrome-plating solution to the rinse water by about 80 pct.' The mill at a western mine found it possible to discard 60 to 70 pct of an ore with minimum treatment," so that the processing effort could be concentrated on a high-graded slime, with significant reduction in costs and improvement in recovery. The possibilities for waste reduction through process changes are limited only by the imagination. A recent patent points out the advantages of using No. 1 fuel oil instead of water in wet-process cement making;& the fuel oil presumably has better properties than water for this purpose and is said to be almost com'pletely recovered or utilized, so that there is no waterborne waste. Recycling to reduce wastes and improve process economy is very well illustrated in vanadium and uranium recoveries from relatively low grade ore. Ores containing 6 pct calcium carbonate were found to give poor vanadium recovery by the salt-roasting process because the vanadium was converted to water-insoluble calcium vanadate. Following the salt-roasting process, sulfuric acid was used to leach the uranium. Enough calcium sulfate was formed

Jan 1, 1958

By C. C. Harris

An analytical solution of the integro-differential equation of batch grinding is proposed as a first appoximation to the xYt surface. The size distribution equation (xY plane) is a three parameter equation previously suggested. Possible refinements are outlined. Comminution kinetics research is presently following several related courses. Some are equivalent, in that they represent different ways of viewing the same facet of the problem, though the entire endeavor cannot be described as being completely integrated. The purpose of this note is to propose and discuss a framework into which the various approaches might be fitted. This must clearly be founded upon an analysis of the xYt surface.' (See also Fig. 1 of Reference 26.) The investigations referred to above comprise mainly researches into the following: (1) The kinetics of the creation of the finer sizes during relatively small grinding times. This is the Fahrenwald-Arbiter-Bhrany 2-3 approach which leads to equations equivalent to a special case of the charles4 relationship. It emerges that initial production of fines follow essentially zero order* kinetics. (2) Disappearance kinetics of the coarser fractions. This appears to be a first order relationship.5-6 (3) Prediction of the xYt surface via the selection and breakage functions utilizing computer-programmed or approximate solutions of the integro-differential equation of batch grinding.5,8-17 A recent discussion by Mika et al.5 references the relevant literature up to about 1966. In addition to these main-stream researches there is some work on the minor topic of extremely long grinding time considered as a limiting case.18-19 The field is supported by investigations into the size distribution of fragments produced by breakage processes, some of this work being most valuably statistical-mechanical in nature.20-25 Better fitting equations, however, are obtained by statistical and curve-fitting methods.26 This

Jan 1, 1969

By L. P. Durham

DuRing the early mine development period, 1929 and the first part of 1930, a 300-ton pilot-plant concentrator was built at Nkana mine of the Rhokana Corporation, Northern Rhodesia. This plant operated from May 26, 1930 until Oct. 26, 1931, treating 101,080 tons of Nkana ores and producing 4372 tons of concentrate. The plant was built, primarily, as a test unit to determine the grinding characteristics, floatability, etc. of the Nkana ores and other ores of the Rhodesian copper belt and to supply sufficient data on which to base the design of a 5000-ton concentrating plant at Nkana mine. The test unit operated wholly on development ores and no attempt was made to grade or select the ores from any section of the mine. The average assays for the 17 months of operation are given in Table 1. The first ground was broken for the 5000-ton concentrator during June, 1930, and the construction of the plant was completed in November, 1931. The plant started on Dec. 10 and has operated continuously since that date: The whole of the concentrating plant is compact and closely connected, yet with sufficient space for expansion of all sections up to 20,000 to 25,000 tons per day capacity. Mining operations are carried on along a length of about four miles on the easterly limb of the Nkana syncline. This length includes the North orebody, from which all production has thus far originated, and the Mindola orebody, now being developed for production. The ore-bearing measures in the North orebody are leached for some 75 ft. below the surface; the oxidized zone varies in vertical extent from 100 to 150 ft. Practically all the ore below the 200-ft. level is sufficiently

Jan 1, 1935

By L., Ormsby

DRILLING and blasting practices in the Morenci open pit have undergone considerable modification in recent years. Changes in the character of the ground being mined, modifications of working conditions, and continuous experimentation have been the contributing factors.

Jan 1, 1950

By Zay Jeffries

OF the new production of non-ferrous metals in 1930 gold will rank first in value. We usually think of copper as the most important non-ferrous metal. The copper industry as a whole, that is, adding copper production to copper fabrication, is the largest non-ferrous metal industry. Prior to the world war; however, gold led in value of new metal produced. During the war copper passed gold in value, but gold regained its position during the 1921 depression. For the past several years copper has again passed gold, but in 1930 gold promises again to regain the lead. The gold producer has at times been called a social parasite, largely because we ' cannot eat or drink gold, or because we cannot use it for clothes or for the construction of buildings. Let us briefly examine this accusation.

Jan 1, 1930

By A. B. Young

T HE smelting industry in Utah is represented by four plants: The Midvale of the United States Smelting, Refining & Mini.ng Co., the Murray of the American Smelting and Refining Co., the Garfield of the same company and the Tooele of the Inter- na.tiona1 Smelting Co. The first two are lead smelters, the Garfield plant is a copper smelter while the last named embraces both a lead and copper smelter. A total daily smelting capacity of over 10,000 tons is represented, of which 4000 tons is lead smelting capacity. With the exception of Tooele, forty miles distant, all of these smelters are within twenty miles of Salt Lake City. Pyrometallurgical operations in this district are con- fined entirely to the production of unrefined bullion, which is shipped east to the various refineries of the respective companies. The smelting industry in this state had its beginning away back in the latter days of the Civil War, many years before the completion of the trans-continental railroad. Ox teams were still bringing their companies of better fixed Mormon emigrants across the plains to the valley of the Great Salt Lake and those in lesser circumstances were still pushing their hand- carts over the same roads to the temporary abode

Jan 1, 1925

By J. V. W. REYNDERS

NOT only is your toastmaster silver-tongued in his references 'to myself, but he is also quite in the habit of "saying it in silver." I have analyzed with some care his statistics of the world's silver production, which have been distributed here along with the menu, although frankly from the point of view of most of us, the distribution rather than the production of silver is of immediate concern. Unlike the performers by whom we have been entertained between courses, the rest of us on the program will have to do without costume or musical accompaniment, which as my friend Rains can testify puts an artist under severe strain. I am entitled by right of office and of precedent to receive your attention for ten minutes. The Governor, who appears on the program as a speaker; however, has asked me for five minutes of my time, and Senator Thomas has insinuated that he would appreciate one-half of the remainder, wherefore, I must ask your close attention to the very brief remarks that I am able to make under such restricted circumstances. To begin with, I want you to believe that I am approaching the task set by your toastmaster with misgivings. In looking over the Institute records relating to the Salt Lake City meeting of 1914 for some precedent as to what I ought to say, I found but one reference-and that of the following indefinite char¬acter-" and Friday night there was a hilarious banquet to 350 members and guests."

Jan 1, 1925

By GUY C. RIDDELL

THE recent purchase by an American investment trust of a substantial block of shares in a British owned Venezuelan copper operation directs attention to mining activities that have been quietly gaining momentum in that country for a number of years. We hear so much of oil work in Venezuela that attention to its metal-mining activities is in most quarters casual. In gold and copper the country has made some interesting mining records, and two of the old districts are ,digging in for a come-back. Copper Copper production centers in the state of Yaracuy. The Aroa-Cumaragua mining region has had a long and eventful history. The Aroa mine itself, 50 miles from the coast in West-Central Venezuela, was discovered in 1605. First mined in 1632, owned at one time by Simon Bolivar, it has been reopened many times and is now , the basis of substantial operations by the South American Copper Syndicate, Ltd. of London. The latter has operated the property profitably, off and on, for a number of years, paying heavy dividends on a small investment-at times over 300 per cent annually.

Jan 1, 1929

An index covering the papers presented at the 19 Open Hearth Conferences from the first meeting at Pittsburgh, April 15 and 16, 1925, through the most recent meeting in Detroit, April 16 and 17, 1936, the reports of the meetings and the discussions that took place has been published, accompanied by a list of the papers presented, grouped by subject matter and a list of books of interest to open hearth men The list below gives the Open Hearth Conference meetings in chronological order and the symbols used to designate them in the index SYMBOL MEETINGS P25 Pittsburgh, April 15 and 16, 1925 C125 Cleveland, Oct 13 to 15, 1925 Ch26 Chicago, April 12 and 13, 1926 P26 Pittsburgh, October, 1926 B27 Buffalo, May 3 to 5, 1927 D27 Detroit, Nov 2 and 3, 1927 Y28 Youngstown, May 3 and 4, 1928 P28 Pittsburgh, Nov 15 and 16, 1928 C129 Cleveland, May 16 and 17, 1929 Ch29 Chicago, Nov 5 and 6, 1929 B30 Buffalo, May 20 and 21, 1930 C130 Cleveland, Nov 20 and 21, 1930 Ch31 Chicago, May 12 and 13, 1931- D31 Detroit, Nov 24 and 25, 1931 P32 Pittsburgh, May 24 and 25, 1932 Ch33 Chicago, June 29 and 30, 1933 P34 Pittsburgh, June 28 and 29, 1934 C135 Cincinnati, April 11 and 12, 1935 D36 Detroit, April 16 and 17, 1936 The list of papers mentioned in the first paragraph above is reprinted on pages 428 to 431 The Index of the Open Hearth Proceedings may be purchased at A I M E headquarters, 29 W 39th St, New York

Jan 1, 1936

By T. F. Witherbee

THE Fletcherville Furnace was built in 1864 and 1865, making its first blast from August until October of the latter year, when it was blown out to prevent its "bunging-up." Repairs were made in time to enable it to be blown in again December 12th, 1865, the blast ending October 7th, 1866. Total product 1921.15 tons iron, an average of 6.8.2.5 tons per day, from ores yielding 44.8 per cent. Consumption of charcoal 223.2 bushels per ton of iron. The furnace journal up to this time shows no record of furnace dimen¬sions, or temperature of the blast, but as near as can be ascertained, they were as follows, viz. Height of stack, 42 feet. Diameter of bosh, 11 feet. Angle of bosh, 7 1/2 inches to 12 inches rise, about 58°. Diameter of open tunnel head, 42 inches. Number of tuyeres 3; each 3 inches in diameter. Dam 15 inches high. Tuyeres 24 inches high. Tymp 22 1/2 inches high. Diameter of steam cylinder, 20 1/4 inches. Stroke 5 feet. Diameter of blast cylinder, 64 inches. The engine is direct-acting horizontal non-condensing. December 26th, 1.866, the furnace was again put in blast, having been considerably altered in the crucible; the height of stack, bosh, and tunnel head remaining as before. Six tuyeres were put in, three in each of the side arches. The hearth or crucible was rectangular in form, 3 feet wide x 32 feet long x 62 feet high. Inclination of bosh 58°. Height of tuyeres 26 inches ; nozzles 2 1/4 inches diameter. Temperature of blast estimated to be about 500°.

Jan 1, 1874

By AIME AIME

FOR the use of workmen and employees, the company should establish a dispensary and a -hospital where workmen who suffer accidents or professional diseases may be taken care of; and at suitable places in the mine or metallurgical plant it should install first-aid stations. Workmen have a right to receive 75 per cent of their wages while they are unable to perform their work as result of a professional disease; but some companies pay full wages and in the case of natural disease, with the exception of venereal, alcoholism, injuries from fights, and chronic illnesses, 50 per cent of their wages up to a period of two months. The number of diseases the Law considers as professional is large and increases almost daily. Among the professional diseases, the one which has caused greatest harm to the miners and expense to the companies is silicosis. To avoid its propagation, companies should take every possible precaution that the working atmosphere is free from dust, abating this by frequent sprinkling of the workings using, wet drills and furnishing the workmen adequate protective apparatus such as respirators.

Jan 1, 1937

By B. DE MARE

THE No. 6 open-hearth furnace at the plant of the Worth Steel Co., Claymont, Del., is the first to be rebuilt according to the Kuehn system. This as well as the other five furnaces at Claymont, has a nominal capacity of 75 tons, but the actual charge is about 242,000 lb. No hot metal being available, the pig-iron is charged cold. Oil of low grade with an asphalt base is used as fuel. These two items have to be kept in mind when discussing the actual fuel consumption. Careful records have been kept covering a five weeks run and the following is a brief summary of them The time required to heat the furnace preparatory to charging from the time a wood fire was started until charging commenced was 36 hours. This, I understand, is much less than with furnaces of standard design. The draft of the furnace, as shown by a gage in the stack-flue, is 1.25 in. The maximum draft with new checkers on former runs was 1.50 in., this draft gradu¬ally decreasing as the checkers closed up. Both of the first helpers claim the present draft is all they need for the proper working of the furnace, and, as with the Kuehn regenerators the draft remains practically the same from beginning to end of a run, this is satisfactory.

Jan 1, 1929

By Anthony Anable

THE definite trend to stricter specifications with respect to hydraulic concrete has become increasingly manifest in the last six years or so; but it remained for the vast reclamation projects of the Bureau of Recla-mation of the Department of the Interior of the last few years to focus attention on this trend, and to demonstrate how thousands of tons of concrete-making aggregates can be produced continuously and auto-matically with a control of fineness comparable with that obtained with small samples in well equipped private and governmental laboratories. Pioneer work in this direction was done, to be sure, by private com-panies, notably the Kaiser Paving Co. of San Francisco, prior to the present vast public works program. Then in 1931 came the first great aggregates-preparation plant of the Six Companies, Inc. to supply. construction materials for Boulder Dam' in Nevada, and now, in 1936, the aggregates plant of the Mason-Walsh-Atkinson-Kier Co., general con¬tractors on the Grand Coulee dam in Washington. At Boulder dam and to an even greater degree at Grand Coulee dam, sand production is recognized as probably the most important single element affecting the physical characteristics of the concrete. For in the construction of dams accurate grading of the fine aggregate has consider-able bearing on the attainment of a uniform and homogeneous concrete of a high degree of workability and placeability and, at the same time, combining high density and low cement content. Low cement content is of value not only from the standpoint of economy but also because the use of an unnecessarily rich concrete causes certain undesirable characteristics to develop. This paper will relate how at Grand Coulee dam methods that are more advanced than ever before are producing four sizes of gravel and a sand having a fineness modulus of 2.5-3.0. The design capacity is 1000 tons an hour. Significantly, the methods and equipment employed are broadly those that have been used for a generation in metallurgical mills for accurately sizing and grading both precious

Jan 1, 1936

By W. L. Austin

The only essential difference among the three methods of collecting the precious metals from their low-grade ores by fusion is comprised in the nature of the vehicle in which those metals are concentrated. If lead- or coppper-ores are used, the processes are respectively lead- or copper-smelting; but when the sulphide of iron forms the matrix in which the gold and silver are collected, the process is known as pyritic smelting. The latter method presents rarely any advantages when lead- or copper-ores are available at rates which permit profitable treatment. Pyritic silver-smelting, defined by Percy as " the smelting of silver-ores, which are either free from lead or do not contain it in sufficient quantity to collect the silver, in conjunction with pyrites, in order to produce a regulus in which the silver may be concentrated," is not, as the name would imply, confined to ores of this metal alone, but embraces auriferous silver-ores, or even gold-ores simple. This method of collecting the precious metals from lowgrade dry ores, employed at Freiberg by Barthel Kohler in 1585, does not appear, up to the present, to have been introduced into this country on a working scale. And yet the possibility of getting rid in a single operation of all the earthy or siliceous gangue of a lowgrade ore and concentrating the precious metals in a matte without loss of lead (which includes gold and silver) by slagging, or volatilization, at the same time producing a highly siliceous slag, very nearly if not quite as clean as is usual in lead-smelting, certainly commends itself. In some parts of the country, owing to the com-

Jan 1, 1888

By F. E. Bedale

STUDY of several severe mine explosions that occurred during the winter of 1907 led to the belief that coal dust was a definite explosion hazard. The Consolidation Coal Co. was a pioneer in the early work to' eliminate this hazard and to combat the dangers incident to poor ventilation and the presence of methane. Maintenance of high humidity throughout the mines was one of the first measures adopted, later to be superseded by rock-dusting. In the twenty years from 1907 on, many safety measures were developed and adopted, and several prizes were won, though the practice was crude by present-day standards. But in 1927, the company went to work in earnest, and organized a Department of Safety with adequate personnel and with authority to enforce all approved rules for the prevention of accidents and the preservation of company property. All plans for new construction work, changes in mining systems, and proposals for the purchase of new mining equipment had to receive the approval of this Department. A set of operating- and safety standards was written to govern the activities of all employees, and physical examinations for them were required.

Jan 1, 1938

By Kenneth Cotingham

Many factors joined in reducing drilling activity in Ohio in 1942. Conservation Order M-68 was important, but other things, such as operators and members of drilling crews joining the armed services and going into war plants, had an important part. The reduction in number of completions was considerable. In 1941, the total of wells drilled was 1561 but in 1942 the total was 1008. The total initial daily open flow discovered by the 701 gas wells drilled in 1941 was 492,000 M cu. ft., whereas the open flow of the 471 gas wells completed in 1942 was 314,488 M cu. ft. The total initial daily production of the 333 oil wells drilled in 1941 was 10,300 bbl., and in 1942 the 181 oil wells had a total daily initial of 7570 bbl. The average daily initial per gas well therefore was somewhat less in 1942 when compared with the preceding year, but the initial per ail well increased about 36 per cent over 1941. General Activity The total depth of the 652 oil and gas wells drilled in 1942 was 1,597,000 ft. The most active county was Perry, where 63 oil wells were drilled, most of them in Clayton township. In Morgan County. where 43 gas wells were drilled, the greatest activity was in York and Marion townships. Medina County was third in number of wells drilled, although of the total of 33 gas wells in the county, 26 were in the new Hinckley township pool. The total initial open flow of these 26 wells was 39,202 M CU. ft., and was considerably larger than from any other single area. Muskingum was an active county, particularly Washington and Wayne townships, in each of which seven gas wells were drilled, and Blue Rock and Harrison townships, in each of which five gas wells were drilled.

Jan 1, 1943

By Kenneth Cotingham

Many factors joined in reducing drilling activity in Ohio in 1942. Conservation Order M-68 was important, but other things, such as operators and members of drilling crews joining the armed services and going into war plants, had an important part. The reduction in number of completions was considerable. In 1941, the total of wells drilled was 1561 but in 1942 the total was 1008. The total initial daily open flow discovered by the 701 gas wells drilled in 1941 was 492,000 M cu. ft., whereas the open flow of the 471 gas wells completed in 1942 was 314,488 M cu. ft. The total initial daily production of the 333 oil wells drilled in 1941 was 10,300 bbl., and in 1942 the 181 oil wells had a total daily initial of 7570 bbl. The average daily initial per gas well therefore was somewhat less in 1942 when compared with the preceding year, but the initial per ail well increased about 36 per cent over 1941. General Activity The total depth of the 652 oil and gas wells drilled in 1942 was 1,597,000 ft. The most active county was Perry, where 63 oil wells were drilled, most of them in Clayton township. In Morgan County. where 43 gas wells were drilled, the greatest activity was in York and Marion townships. Medina County was third in number of wells drilled, although of the total of 33 gas wells in the county, 26 were in the new Hinckley township pool. The total initial open flow of these 26 wells was 39,202 M CU. ft., and was considerably larger than from any other single area. Muskingum was an active county, particularly Washington and Wayne townships, in each of which seven gas wells were drilled, and Blue Rock and Harrison townships, in each of which five gas wells were drilled.

Jan 1, 1943

By James E. York

THE honor so fairly earned and so incompletely and tardily paid to Henry Cort, the inventor of the puddling-furnace and the, rolling-mill, has been fully set forth by Mr. Charles H. Morgan,1 and needs no further emphasis here. In view of the importance of the rolling-mill in the treatment of iron and steel, the paucity of information concerning it is surprising. With the exception of a hook, written about 35 years ago, by Peter Bitter von Tunner, an Honorary Member of this Institute, and of desultory articles on simple sections, which have appeared in technical journals, I know of no pub¬lication attempting to treat this subject, although volumes have been written on the scientific theory and technical manipulations involved in other branches of the iron- and steel-industry. This strange anomaly may be due to the fact that roll-turning cannot be called a scientific business. It does not ordinarily come within the range of an educated engineer; yet it cannot be performed by an ordinary mechanic. It demands some of the qualifications of an engineer, in designing, and those of a mechanic, in execution. The men who have followed this trade have controlled the training of their successors. In many cases the technical knowledge required bas been handed down from father to son, and there has been a motive of private interest to prevent its public dissemination. Moreover, the statement of the various principles involved in the process would require, besides manual experience, a degree of scientific knowledge which roll-turners do not usually possess; and, finally, any book on the subject, in order to possess real, practical value, would have to be so fully illustrated as to make it very costly to publish. Regarding my own experience, I may say that I served a six-

May 1, 1906