Search Documents

By E. A. Gulbransen, J. W. Hickman

One of the important factors that determine the resistance of a metal or alloy to further chemical reaction is the structure of the superficial oxide film. A thorough understanding of the physical and chemical structure as well as the stability of the oxide film formed on the surface as a function of time and temperature of the chemical reaction might furnish clues as to the nature of the reaction process and the protective nature of the film. A comprehensive program has been undertaken to study these phenomena. This paper summarizes the structure of the oxide films formed on the metals iron, cobalt, nickel, chromium and copper at temperatures up to 700°C. Before the introduction of the electron diffraction technique, it was necessary to use either direct chemical analyses or X-rav diffraction analyses to determine the nature of the oxide film formed on the metal or alloy. Chemical analyses yields information on the percentages of the several atomic species present in the film while X-ray diffraction analyses yield information on the atomic geometry. In special cases the information obtained may be identical, but in general both viewpoints are necessary. Much of the early work was carried out on the oxidation of bulk samples where thick films were obtained. The products were identified after cooling to room temperature by X-ray diffraction and chemical analyses. Although much useful information has been obtained in this manner. little could be learned about the character of the protective oxides during the period when the films were actually protective. Evidence concerning the chemical structure of thin oxide films has been made possible by the development of the electron diffraction reflection technique. In this method the most fruitful investigations have been made by carrying out the reaction in situ at the temperature at which the film is actually protective. Literature The oxidation of iron has been extensively investigated by X-ray and electron diffraction. Jackson and Quarrelll found that oxide films formed and examined at the same temperature differed considerably from those allowed to cool to room temperature. The results showed that below 400°C the oxide that was stable in intimate contact with iron was Fe³O4; between 515° and 900°C. the stable film was FeO. Above the upper change point of iron the oxide was found to be Fe³O4. From 400' to 515°C., FeO, Fe³O4 or a mixture of the two oxides was found. Recrystallization of the air-formed film below 400' and above 900°C. led to the formation of Fe3O4. In the range where thicker films consisted of FeO, the air-formed film was converted to a new hexagonal oxide not previously described.

Jan 1, 1947

By Homer Turner

THE nature and comparative features of anthracite and bituminous coals have been discussed by the writer in two previous papers.1 Although this paper is offered as a further contribution to the subject, it seems desirable at the outset to repeat some of the descriptive matter of the early works in order to show the actual connection between various constituents of both coals and the new photomicrographs and other physical and chemical properties.

Jan 1, 1929

J. R. Lane (Metals Research Laboratory, Washington)—A new type of deformation called "kinking" has recently been described. Is there any relation between the "rumpling" described in this paper and "kinking?" D. C. Jillson (author's reply)—Both are manifestations of bending about [210] axis. The difference is one of degree. W. C. Ellis (Bell Telephone Laboratories, New York) —Some observations of deformation in zinc recorded in this paper may be applicable generally to flow in metals. One of these, deformation in torsion without evidence of slip or twinning in the early stages and with startling ease, when the twist is about the hexagonal axis, adds another method of flow to the presently increasing list of mechanisms. This illustrates again that a crystal will utilize any realizable process to flow and relieve stress. The process is not necessarily classical directional slip—& this case, it is rotational slip. The question naturally occurs: Will face-centered cubic metas stressed by twisting about an octahedral axis flow in a similar manner by rotation on an octahedral plane? I would like to ask Dr. Jillson if he has made any experiments or knows of any experiments of this type on face-centered cubic metals? Face-centered cubic metals possibly would behave differently from zinc, since, for one thing, the stacking sequence is different for the two structures. The results of such experiments, however, would be instructive in providing more information about deformation processes. D. C. Jillson—Dr. Roy E. Swift, working in the Hammond Laboratory at Yale, performed a twist test on a single crystal of brass. The work has not been published, and I do not know the crystallographic direction of the axis of the specimen used. Lo-ching Chang (Columbia University, New York)— Observations similar to Figs. 1 and 2 of the paper were obtained by us during the bending and unbending of an orthorhombic Au-Cd alloy.'l This orthorhombic alloy is the product of diffusionless transformation from a single crystal of p Au-Cd alloy (CsC1 structure) containing 47.5 atomic pct Cd on cooling to about 60 "C.62 Referring to the effects of annealing, has the author tried any loilg time high temperature anneal, such as 150 to 200 hr at 40O°C? D. C. Jillson—No. C. Crussard (Ecole des Mines, Paris: France)—I

Jan 1, 1952

By H. C. George

The Wisconsin Zinc District, or the Upper Mississippi Lead and Zinc District as it is often called, lies in the southwestern corner of Wisconsin, in Grant, Iowa and Lafayette Counties, and it includes adjoining parts of Illinois and Iowa. The district is about 70 miles long, north and south, and about 40 miles wide, east and west. It lies wholly within what is geologically known as the non-glaciated area of the Upper Mississippi Valley. HISTORY OF THE DISTRICT The district was first opened up as a lead producer in 1822. From this time until 1860, about 205,000 tons of cog lead (galena) and washed lead (galena) was produced from shallow crevices and openings. From 1860 to 1900, about 74,500 tons was produced, and since that time, from 5000 to 7000 tons has been produced annually. Since 1900, most of the lead concentrate produced has been as a byproduct of the zinc mines. The first zinc ores were mined about 1862. These were the carbonate ores, locally known as "drybone." Very little zinc blende was mined in the district, previous to 1875. The zinc blende ores mined from 1875 to 1900 were mostly of the high-grade, hand-cobbed, sheet-ore class, which usually contained from 45 to 60 per cent. metallic zinc Such mines as the "Sallie Waters," "Quinlin," 'Lead Mine," "Benton Blende," and "Ida Blende," located near Benton, Wis., were mines which produced ores of this type, during this period. The mines located at Highland, the "Coker Mine" located at Livingston, Wis., and the "Opencut Mine" located at Shullsburg, Wis., were mines that were heavy zinc carbonate producers, previous to 1900. The production of zinc ores in the district from 1862 to 1890 was about 283,500 tons, mostly zinc carbonate, with a probable average metallic zinc content of 30 per cent. From 1890 to 1903, the production

Jan 1, 1918

By S. J. CRAIGHEAD

IN 1912 the United States Smelting Refining and Mining Company made a large investment in a number of coal properties in Utah and in 1915 a subsidiary, the United States Fuel Co., was organized to take over these properties. Operations started in 1916 and the Company soon became, and remains, one of the major coal producers of the State. It now produces approximately one million tons of coal annually, which is about 22 per cent of Utah's output. The U. S. Fuel Co. owns large reserves of good coal and is in a position to expand operations with the industrial growth now taking place in the West. Traveling through the Western States, one is struck by numerous advertising signs portraying the picture of jovial Old King Cole of nursery rhyme fame. His rotund figure and beaming countenance are the symbols of Utah King Coal, the product of the King mine of U. S. Fuel Co. King Coal is a by-word of quality coal throughout all the Western States.

Jan 1, 1948

By Jack M. Swales

Kermac Potash Co., the newest American entry in a rapidly expanding industry, has come on the scene with notable variations in conventional shaft-sinking and mining techniques. Located in the famed potash producing district east of Carlsbad, N. Mex., Kermac started up its mine in November, 1965, to supply ore to the company's 500,000-tpy potash crystallization refinery. In so doing, the company (1) drilled the first large diameter mine shaft in the potash industry and (2) has employed new continuous miners especially adapted for use in thin potash beds. REACHING THE ORE ZONE In its initial mine planning, Kermac, a partnership owned jointly by Kerr-McGee Corp. and the National Farmers Union Development Corp., considered it imperative that the shafts be sunk and equipped as soon as possible and that the mine be developed sufficiently to insure a constant ore feed to the mill when the unit was placed on stream. After examining the alternative sinking techniques available to it, the company decided to accept a proposal by Big Hole Drillers, Inc., to drill the shaft from the surface through various formations of sandstones, siltstone, shales, anhydrite, limestones, dolomite and salts to the potash ore zone.

Jan 12, 1966

By A. F. Meger

REPRESENTED here are the ideas and varied experiences of many people in the Hanna Coal Co. who have helped develop, over a number of years, an efficient and flexible method for spraying con- trolled amounts of oil on coal. Since the George- town preparation plant began operations early in 1951, oil treatment of coal has received special attention. It is believed that oil treating will satisfy present customers and also attract new markets. The first step in developing the new method of oil spraying was the construction of a dust cabinet for testing 50-lb samples of treated coal with the available oil sprays on the market. Tests results were tabulated for both indoor and outdoor storage.

Jan 7, 1954

By Michael J. Callow

THE PROPERTY of Mount Isa Mines, Ltd., is located at Mount Isa, Northern Queensland, Australia, at roughly 20" south latitude. It is 600 miles from Townsville on the east coast, the port for Mount Isa, 1200 miles from Brisbane and approximately 1600 miles from Sydney in New South Wales. Living conditions in the camp, though wild and crude at the commencement of building, are now excellent and little has been left undone to provide comfort and attractiveness. The climate being warm and dry, many of the buildings are built on posts, 8 to 10 ft. off the ground, with spacious screened-in verandas. Club houses, stores, school, hospital and ice plant have all been provided by the company as well as modern conveniences, such as running water, shower baths, electric lights, septic tank arrangements, tennis courts and amusement grounds.

Jan 1, 1932

The American mining industry is vigorous today because it is young. At a time when the ore deposits of central Europe, for example, were being exploited actively, those of the United States were lying practically untouched. The founding fathers of our republic were not interested in mineral wealth because they were ignorant in such matters; their preoccupations were with defence against the Indians, the clearing of the forest, and the starting of agriculture in their new domains. They had no idea of establishing a mining industry. The Indians whom the American colonists dispossessed had no mines; they used only the metal that was to be found lying on the surface of the ground. Their arrows and spears were tipped with flint, which likewise called for little digging, if any. The native copper that glacial action had torn from the lodes of the Lake Superior region and had carried into the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi was employed in the making of earrings, bracelets, knives, and scrapers. The same useful metal was found in many other places, in Virginia and Carolina, in Vermont and New Jersey, for example, but the Indians did not know how to melt it, much less how to smelt the ore, therefore they shaped it into tools and implements by hammering. Fortunately for them the hammering of the metal caused it to harden and therefore to become serviceable for implemental use. It is doubtful if they obtained the copper by actual mining, that is, by digging or excavating; it is true we find traces of such operations in the Keweenaw .peninsula of Michigan, but we have no

Jan 1, 1932

By Thomas Robins

About six years ago the writer had occasion to visit a large magnetic iron-ore concentrating-plant, and then saw for the first time rubber belts employed for conveying-purposes. These belts were from 20 inches to 30 inches in width, and some of them were as long as 500 feet between centers. When I spoke of the enormous amount of material they handled with a small expenditure of power, the superintendent assented, but at the same time complained that although he bought the best quality of belts, the abrasion of the ore wore them out very rapidly, causing continually very large bills for repairs and renewals. On close examination several interesting points were discovered :

Jan 1, 1897

By Francis A. Thomson

IN reviewing mineral industry education a year ago, occasion was taken to congratulate the Institute in general and to felicitate the Education Di- vision in particular on "the most gratifying growth which is taking place in Institute consciousness in regard to its responsibility for the recruitment and adequate training of student personnel and for the successful bridging of the difficult gap between graduation and achievement of professional status." Continuation of this growth of interest throughout 1939 is a recognition of the validity of the splendid statement of George Otis Smith that the mining students of today are the ore reserve of the Institute for the future. In this connection one recalls the equally apt expression of another distinguished geologist, George M. Fowler, who, speaking of exploration for ore deposits, says, "The place to look for elephants is where elephants have been found."

Jan 1, 1940

By W. H. Bassett

ABOUT twenty-five years ago the copper industry had outgrown the Lake Superior production. The electrolytic copper producers had- their process well in hand and the industry was well started in the use of electrolytic copper, both for working into wire and sheet, and for the making of alloys. The trade knew that some brands of copper made good material and that other brands did not. There came together a group of men-a refiner, a rolling-mill man, and a manufacturer of electrical machinery-each of them desiring to know why there was a difference and what .it was. Much investigation was done with wire bars and cakes which involved ' chemical analysis, metallographic examination, physical tests and electrical tests. To find the influence of different kinds of copper in making brass 200 carloads of ingots were made into ,eyelet brass under careful observation; each carload was carefully analyzed and tested before used. The alloy was made and rolled under standard conditions and the results recorded.

Jan 1, 1924

By J. J. Rutledge

On Sept. 4, 1914, Mine No. 1 of the Union Coal Co., Adamson, Oklahoma, suddenly caved, entombing thirteen miners whose bodies were never recovered. The seam of coal mined, the Lower Hartshorne, averaged 5 ft. in thickness and dipped at an angle varying from 22" to 30n. The strata overlying the coal seam were sandstones and shales. The mine was worked by the pillar-and-room method, the rooms being driven directly up the dip of the seam. All coal was blasted off the solid. Rooms were turned on short centers and room pillars were thin and irregular, as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the form; showing the mine workings. Some cracks had been observed on the surface, it is said, at least a month before the squeeze occurred, but the collapse of the mine workings came very suddenly. As is usual when squeezes occur on such steep dips and the pillars fail, the crush progressed rapidly down the dip until it reached solid coal; there was a line of break, or draw, over in the solid coal. Several well-defined cracks appeared on the surface, after the mine had squeezed, but there was no appreciable subsidence of the surface, the weight seemed to be thrown entirely to the dip. About one year after the squeeze, and after the workings of the adjoining mine, NO. 4, had been retimbered and made safe, the writer inspected the tenth north (right) entry, or lift, off of No. 4 slope, which was below and fairly near the lowest caved portion of mine No. 1. The roof shale was composed of thin layers, which had been bent in somewhat the same manner as the leaves of a book having flexible covers are bent when the book is folded or rolled up in the hands. Though the mine workings are immediately beneath the streets and buildings of the mining town of Adamson, business was not disturbed by the squeeze, so far as any subsidence of the surface was concerned. No surface monuments were available and no elevations were taken, but the mine workings had been accurately surveyed and traversed, and the streets of the town overlying the mine workings had been carefully platted on the mine map, so that it was possible to locate accurately the cracks on the surface.

Jan 1, 1923

By Norman Carmichael, John Kiddie

The problem of transportation in the Clifton-Morenci district of Arizona has been one of peculiar difficulty and consequently has been an important factor in the cost of mining and treating the ores produced. From the crude beginning made over 50 years ago, many changes have been necessary to keep pace with the increased output of copper. A heavy-duty haulage system has developed on the original 20-in. track gage to meet the existent metal-mine conditions. Topography The transportation difficulties of this district may be readily appreciated from the relief map shown in Fig. 1. The northern half of the district is high mountainous country and there is a general but irregular drop toward the southern part, where the country, although still rugged, is in reality a great sloping plain. This is cut by numerous ravines from which the waters, in the rainy season, discharge into the channel of the San Francisco River. A chasm, 1000 ft. deep, has been eroded through the center of the district by Chase Creek, which is flanked by high irregular mountain masses, notably Copper Mountain, American Mountain, Coronado Mountain, and Markeen Mountain. The latter rises 2300 ft. above the bed of the creek, The San Francisco River has also cut a deep channel, though it is somewhat broader than Chase Creek. Eagle Creek traverses the extreme southwest portion of the area, where it has carved picturesquely through vast volcanic flows. Faulting has left its mark upon the topography of the district by adding to the irregularities caused by erosion. Strong faults occur at the Coro-

Jan 1, 1924

By J. J. Rutledge

On Sept. 4, 1914, Mine No. 1 of the Union Coal Co., Adamson, Oklahoma, suddenly caved, entombing thirteen miners whose bodies were never recovered. The seam of coal mined, the Lower Hartshorne, averaged 5 ft. in thickness and dipped at an angle varying from 22" to 30n. The strata overlying the coal seam were sandstones and shales. The mine was worked by the pillar-and-room method, the rooms being driven directly up the dip of the seam. All coal was blasted off the solid. Rooms were turned on short centers and room pillars were thin and irregular, as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the form; showing the mine workings. Some cracks had been observed on the surface, it is said, at least a month before the squeeze occurred, but the collapse of the mine workings came very suddenly. As is usual when squeezes occur on such steep dips and the pillars fail, the crush progressed rapidly down the dip until it reached solid coal; there was a line of break, or draw, over in the solid coal. Several well-defined cracks appeared on the surface, after the mine had squeezed, but there was no appreciable subsidence of the surface, the weight seemed to be thrown entirely to the dip. About one year after the squeeze, and after the workings of the adjoining mine, NO. 4, had been retimbered and made safe, the writer inspected the tenth north (right) entry, or lift, off of No. 4 slope, which was below and fairly near the lowest caved portion of mine No. 1. The roof shale was composed of thin layers, which had been bent in somewhat the same manner as the leaves of a book having flexible covers are bent when the book is folded or rolled up in the hands. Though the mine workings are immediately beneath the streets and buildings of the mining town of Adamson, business was not disturbed by the squeeze, so far as any subsidence of the surface was concerned. No surface monuments were available and no elevations were taken, but the mine workings had been accurately surveyed and traversed, and the streets of the town overlying the mine workings had been carefully platted on the mine map, so that it was possible to locate accurately the cracks on the surface.

Jan 1, 1923

By R. J. McNally

THERE are three primary plant nutrients—nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium—expressed in any fertilizer compound as percent N, percent P 2 O 5, and percent K 2 O, in that order. This article will be concerned with the first two. The chief source of P 2 O 5 is phosphate rock. As found in the western states phosphate rock is essentially tricalcium phosphate-calcium fluoride (fluor-patite). As such, it is quite water insoluble.

Jan 1, 1957

By D. Swan

Industrial research may be defined as a critical and exhaustive investigation to create new and better ways of doing things. The results of industrial research are new and improved products, processes, and techniques. This broad definition, of course, covers investigation of all subjects by either individuals or groups of people, and this chapter aims to examine the purpose (what research tries to do), and methods (or how research is done) as applied in the mineral industries. Concepts and History The idea or concept of organized research probably originated in the universities of Europe. There, groups of scholars banded together for discussion and application of their particular specialty to a common problem. Publication of the conclusions drawn from such investigations gave scholars in other areas the opportunity to review and criticize the work of their colleagues, and one of the hallmarks of scientific research work is the publication and criticism of the results of the investigation. It was not until the late nineteenth century that the concept of organized research for the profit of industry was recognized. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a large number of industrial enterprises sponsored organizations to study the application of the physical sciences with the aim of making discoveries that would result in profit to the sponsoring organization. The tangible benefits accruing from these activities were so great that they, in turn, fostered several other methods for the support of organized research activities. For the large problems involving public interest, United States Government scientific re- search laboratories were set up. As the demand of smaller enterprises for research activities increased, research institutes and consulting laboratories were organized. In Europe the idea of common industry sponsorship of research centers grew and many large research organizations there were sponsored by associations of manufacturers. Finally, in the United States

Jan 1, 1959

By Charles A. Ashburner

At the Philadelphia meeting of the Institute, held in February, 1881,I had the honor of reading a paper on "A New Method of Mapping the Anthracite Coal Fields of Pennsylvania."* At that time the State appropriation for the Second Geological Survey had just expired, and, as a new appropriation was not assured, no detailed plan had been adopted by Professor Lesley, State Geologist, for the practical examination of the mines, and the solution of the geological structure of special localities, or the representation in sections, vertical and columnar, of the general structure of the coal basins and coal beds. I had merely proposed a plan of mapping, as the material for the construction of maps was most available, and it was at that time uncertain what money the Survey would have to enable it to extend the surface and underground explorations, in order to make the examinations complete. After a continuation of the Survey was authorized until January, 1884, by the legislature, in May, 1881, the Anthracite Survey was regularly organized, and a plan adopted for a systematic and exhaustive geological and mine examination of the region. This plan provided for such work, other than that of mapping, as was necessary for a complete and practical geological and mining survey of a coal field. To do any geological work, of however general a character, it was absolutely. necessary that the members of the Survey Corps should obtain unrestricted access to all the mining records of the operators, which have been made with great care and accuracy and at an enormous expense during the past thirty years and more. The unanimous and generous support of the individual and corporate coal operators, of the plan of carrying on the Survey, was promptly assured, on condition that the results should be of such a character as to render them of practical utility to the property-owners and those directly interested. It was hoped

Jan 1, 1883

By Paul Beck

IT is well known that the hardness of metallic single crystals, like that of polycrystalline metals, increases during deformation (hardening by cold-work). It is also known that, as a consequence of deformation, the metallic material acquires an evident thermodynamic instability, revealed, for example, by the fact that the increased hardness gradually decreases with time, especially at elevated temperatures (softening by annealing). The temperature at which the stabilizing process begins is different for various metals, and for any metal it depends on the amount of deformation. Such stabilization of deformed metals may proceed in two different ways: through recovery, and through recrystallization. The former process allows the unstable deformed metal body to approach stability gradually and without visible change in the grain structure; the latter process, like an allotropic transformation, yields directly the undeformed stable "phase" in the form of new undeformed crystals, which, starting out of a certain number of nuclei, grow into and' consume' the deformed hard material. The extent of stability attainable through recovery is limited, espe-cially if the deformation of the metal crystal or crystals involves not only the gliding along slip planes, but also the bending of the slip lamellae, or at any rate the bending of comparatively large parts of the crystal lattice. In such cases, for instance in bent single crystals or poly-crystalline metals subjected to any deformation, recovery will not as a rule be able to restore the "straight" undeformed lattice, and stability can be attained only by recrystallization; that is, by the consumption of the bent crystal lattice parts by new, undeformed crystals-a much more drastic process. It is evident that the part of the surplus free energy stored in deformed crystals, which is present in the form of the elastic energy of the bent lamellae, is in these instances not considerably involved

Jan 1, 1937

By A. T. Stroebel, J. A. Goodwin

Diatomite deposits, the skeletal remains of tiny aquatic plants called diatoms, are found in many parts of the world. Only a few of these deposits are of commercial value. Open pit mining is used in nearly all deposits now being worked. Processing methods range from simple drying, crushing, sizing and packaging to carefully controlled and highly sophisticated calcining and air classification procedures, employing the latest control and testing techniques. The major uses of processed diatomite are infiltration as filter aids and fillers and extenders.

Jan 1, 1983