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By Lawrence B. Wright

The Republic district, Washington, is of new interest because of the discovery of new gold-silver ore within a unique structural pattern. The camp was revived in 1937 fol1owing installation of a plant to treat low-grade disseminated ore at Knob Hill and further stimulation followed discovery of "cross vein" breccia ores in 1939. Previous writers 1-2 ascribed the quartz veins to a latite porphyry stock, but are in disagreement as to its precise location and extent. This study leads to the conclusion that the ores have a more profound parentage linked to a broad system of thrust faults and folds, the mechanical origin of which is related to a southward trending (Sanpoil) syncline connecting with the Lewis and Clark zone of shift described by Billingsley and Locke3 in 1939. The Republic anticliue and a cross anticline recumbent against Cretaceous granodiorite. and involving some 4000 ft of Eocene andesite flows and early Miocene lake beds, localize the ores, mainly along the east flank, in a series of openings simulating drag folds and steeper than the folded flows. These broad structural features no doubt reach deeply into the basement rocks, where at appropriate crossings and junctions it is suggested that heat effects gave rise to ore-making materials, including, in this instance, intrusive breccias that later were mineralized, and comprising the broader bodies of new ores. The breccia ore is seen crosscutting the earlier narrow quartz veins with a welding of the two at junction areas by a second surge of ore minerals. The ore mined and developed since 1937 equals district production from 1896 to 1937 The ores are typified by cherty quartz, adularia and some barite, with fine pyrite and marcasite, polybasite, pyrargyrite, tetrahedrite and gold. Selenium is present, possibly with gold, as a normal selenide. The disseminated ores, as well as the vein and breccia ores, are localized principally in one 500-ft flow (Knob Hill andesite), which has been traced around the crest of the low northward-plunging Republic anticline. The gold-silver ratio in the earlier narrow veins is about I to 4 and in the disseminated and breccia ores, I to 7. The latter higher silver ratio is deemed to reflect the character of the second surge of mineralization. Sills and dikes of the Columbia River (Miocene) basalt cut the folded structure and ore, thus placing the mineralization in the middle Miocene. Introduction The Republic district of north central Washington is of new interest because of the discovery, development and extraction of new gold-silver ore; also, because of a unique local structural pattern believed to be integral with the broader tectonic mechanism of the continental framework. This district had 40 years of modest rating following its discovery in 1896. Its narrow ore bodies, complex mineralogy. and early inadequate metallurgy, together with the apparent bottoming of ore near 1000 ft, limited production to 300,000 oz of gold and 1,000,000 oz silver between 1897 and 1914. The camp was then reduced to lease Life until 1937, when the gold price increase of 1933 to $35 per ounce

Jan 1, 1949

By Lawrence B. Wright

The Republic district, Washington, is of new interest because of the discovery of new gold-silver ore within a unique structural pattern. The camp was revived in 1937 fol1owing installation of a plant to treat low-grade disseminated ore at Knob Hill and further stimulation followed discovery of "cross vein" breccia ores in 1939. Previous writers 1-2 ascribed the quartz veins to a latite porphyry stock, but are in disagreement as to its precise location and extent. This study leads to the conclusion that the ores have a more profound parentage linked to a broad system of thrust faults and folds, the mechanical origin of which is related to a southward trending (Sanpoil) syncline connecting with the Lewis and Clark zone of shift described by Billingsley and Locke3 in 1939. The Republic anticliue and a cross anticline recumbent against Cretaceous granodiorite. and involving some 4000 ft of Eocene andesite flows and early Miocene lake beds, localize the ores, mainly along the east flank, in a series of openings simulating drag folds and steeper than the folded flows. These broad structural features no doubt reach deeply into the basement rocks, where at appropriate crossings and junctions it is suggested that heat effects gave rise to ore-making materials, including, in this instance, intrusive breccias that later were mineralized, and comprising the broader bodies of new ores. The breccia ore is seen crosscutting the earlier narrow quartz veins with a welding of the two at junction areas by a second surge of ore minerals. The ore mined and developed since 1937 equals district production from 1896 to 1937 The ores are typified by cherty quartz, adularia and some barite, with fine pyrite and marcasite, polybasite, pyrargyrite, tetrahedrite and gold. Selenium is present, possibly with gold, as a normal selenide. The disseminated ores, as well as the vein and breccia ores, are localized principally in one 500-ft flow (Knob Hill andesite), which has been traced around the crest of the low northward-plunging Republic anticline. The gold-silver ratio in the earlier narrow veins is about I to 4 and in the disseminated and breccia ores, I to 7. The latter higher silver ratio is deemed to reflect the character of the second surge of mineralization. Sills and dikes of the Columbia River (Miocene) basalt cut the folded structure and ore, thus placing the mineralization in the middle Miocene. Introduction The Republic district of north central Washington is of new interest because of the discovery, development and extraction of new gold-silver ore; also, because of a unique local structural pattern believed to be integral with the broader tectonic mechanism of the continental framework. This district had 40 years of modest rating following its discovery in 1896. Its narrow ore bodies, complex mineralogy. and early inadequate metallurgy, together with the apparent bottoming of ore near 1000 ft, limited production to 300,000 oz of gold and 1,000,000 oz silver between 1897 and 1914. The camp was then reduced to lease Life until 1937, when the gold price increase of 1933 to $35 per ounce

Jan 1, 1949

By James Kemp

(New York meeting, February, 1913.) IN the study of ore deposits water plays a very prominent part. The small group of igneous ores involve it least, but in all the rest it is an invariable feature. The ground-water, therefore, is perhaps as appropriate a subject for discussion before a session of the American Institute of Mining Engineers as any topic which might be selected. The theme is if anything the more appropriate, because two very important contributions to it have already appeared in the Transactions. The great essay in 1893 of Franz Posepny,1 systematized and classified the subject, and was doubtless not without its influence in leading to the presentation in 1900, by C. R. Van Hise, of an important contribution entitled Some Principles Controlling the Deposition of Ores.2 We all recall the discussions of 10 or 12 years ago, and the interest in these themes which then prevailed in the Institute. They are collectively accessible in the separate edition wisely assembled by Dr. Raymond, and now to be supplemented by the Emmons Volume. Views have been progressing in the past decade or more, and new evidence has been brought to light. A general summary and concise statement may, therefore, not be without interest.

Jan 4, 1913

By Evan Evans

IT is appropriate to evaluate 1947 in review as a year of a peacetime record production of about 676,000,000 tons of coal (anthracite and bituminous), closely approaching the extraordinary wartime output in 1944. Considering the general price-wage inflation, it is in point to note that the coal industry sustained the highest wages paid to workers in any major industry, but that coal prices at wholesale levels have risen much less percentage wise than the average for all commodities. The sellers' market continues to prevail. In addition to serving our own country's enormous needs, our coal industry is exporting extraordinary tonnages overseas. This unusual export demand is likely to continue for a while. Moreover, the demand in Europe for American coal mining machinery is a real tribute to the management efficiency of our modern mechanized coal industry. Competitively, the petroleum industry is concerned over its long-term supply, and already a synthetic fuels industry is being publicly advocated. In due time coal and lignite are bound to be

Jan 1, 1948

By H. O. Hofman

In the blast-furnace smelting of lead, copper and other non-ferrous metals, the largest part of the product obtained is slag. Its formation consumes more of the heat-energy of the fuel charged than any other chemical reaction that takes place. It is therefore of importance to know at what temperatures the different slags will form, so as to be able to choose in a given case the slag that will form at the right point in the operation, will keep the products thoroughly fluid, so as to insure a satisfactory separation, and will permit the consumption of fuel to be reduced to the lowest practicable point. While practical experience has brought out in a general way the leading differences as to the formation-temperatures of Rome silica—iron —lime slags, accurate details are still wanting. The object of the investigation here described was to supply some of these.* Prominent among the men who have worked on the fusibility of silicates are Lampadius, † Sefström,‡ Berthier,§

Jan 1, 1900

By Thomas S. Blair

I FEEL a certain sense of responsibility in bringing before you the subject of the direct process in iron manufacture. I am aware that, in such a body as I have now the honor of addressing, there are few who are not already so well informed upon its past history that it would be a weariness to them to listen to anything else than an account of practical success. Yet, to claim that success involves so much that, if I do not make good my claim, I deservedly expose myself to severe criticism. The whole literature of the art, so far as it relates to the direct process, is, up to this time, but a history of failure. It is safe to say that more money, time, and talent have been fruitlessly spent in the pursuit of this object than in all the other unsuccessful efforts in the whole line of iron metallurgy. A distinguished authority in patent law has remarked that " the invention records of the United States and of foreign countries are filled with the waifs and abandoned relics of these abortive struggles." Dr. Percy, whose great work may be taken as an epitome of all that was worth mention, whether useful or curious, in pig-iron metallurgy, up to the date of its publication (1864), after giving elaborate accounts of various attempts at the direct process, condenses his own opinion of all that had been then effected, into a brief but summary comment upon a pamphlet of one of the sanguine inventors who had said: "It is evident that the present mode of working iron

Jan 1, 1874

By Wallace E. Pratt

UNDER the stimulus of war psychology the American public has grown confused and jittery in its thinking on the subject of this nation's petroleum resources. This confusion arises from the failure of the average citizen, and even of many leaders in government, in our armed forces, and in the petroleum industry itself, to distinguish between our proved reserves of petroleum in the several oil-producing states and the total petroleum re- sources available to this nation. Leaders and public alike examine the accepted estimates of our proved reserves and thoughtlessly conclude that these estimates represent the total of our petroleum resources. Our fears are aggravated if we turn to the statistics on oil-finding and observe that the discovery of new reserves has waned decidedly in recent years. This confusion is dangerous because, under its influence, ill - considered policies spring up and flourish, choking out the most valuable fruits of the long experience of the American petroleum industry.

Jan 1, 1944

By R. E. Allen

ONE of the most unusual oil field engineering accomplishments of the past two years is the development and rapid advance in the directed drilling of wells. Directed drilling as referred to herein is the controlled steering of the drill stem in the required direction to a given location in the oil sand. The deliberate drifting of holes is an act so far removed from what has been considered good drilling practice that all of the old questions of correlation, drillability and production difficulties are revived. Only a few years ago, during the boom days of Seminole and Santa Fe Springs, the crooked-hole problem, as it was then called, occupied a primary position among the topics of the day in the fields of California and the Mid-Continent. The net result of all the discussion and study at that time was the conclusion that oil wells should be drilled with as little deviation from

Jan 1, 1933

By Gustav Egloff

AN unexpected and unprecedented demand for its products now challenges the petroleum industry. Between 1939 wand 1946, domestic oil demand increased nearly 45 per cent and in the first half of 1947 it was 10 per cent higher than in 1946. In 1939 the United States produced 1,264,962. 000 bbl of crude oil and indications are that about 1,860,000,000 bbl will be produced in 1947, a 47 per cent increase. Runs to stills are more than keeping pace with production. The crude capacity of 365 operating refineries is rated as 5,400.000 bbl daily and almost 100 per cent of this capacity was running crude oil in August 1947. The oil industry is cognizant of our need for a greater volume of petroleum products and is expending the huge stun of four billion dollars on exploration. production. transportation, refining. and marketing of petroleum. Of this amount about half will be spent on exploration and production. a billion on refining. and another billion on transportation and marketing facilities.

Jan 1, 1947

By C. Schlumberger

SINCE the, beginning of the year 1928 the senior authors and their associates have applied a series of procedures which makes possible the detailed study in situ of the formations traversed by a drill hole before the casing has been landed. They have given the name "electrical coring" to the ensemble of these processes, which now replace in a large measure the mechanical coring performed by the drillers, and permit the gathering of bottom-hole data hitherto unobtainable. Three years have elapsed since the technique and interpretation of these measurements emerged from the experimental stage and entered the field of industrial application on a large scale. The total length of drill holes so far surveyed by the authors and their associates, all over the world, amounts to several millions of feet. Practical and strongly built equipment has been evolved, which permits the examination in a short time of an open hole several thousand feet long. No comprehensive paper has yet been published discussing the essential principles of the processes applied and bringing into evidence their economic interest. This is the object of the present paper.1 Numerous examples of field work performed under varied geological conditions are given, constituting a concrete illustration of the services rendered by the new methods.

Jan 1, 1932

By Irwin H. Cornell

BRIEFLY stated, the history of the St. Joseph Lead Co. is the story of how a group of men, working for ten years as officers without salaries and stockholders without dividends, developed a small mine in Missouri into what became a large and prosperous corporation. Their courage and faith in the scattered surface deposits of lead coupled with the management's engineering vision and sound financial judgment should prove an inspiration to present-day mining operators and investors. In 1717, John Law's company, known as "The Company of the West," was formed in France and letters patent were granted, for a period of 25 years by Louis XV, for exploration in the Mississippi River Valley. One of the underlying purposes of the expedition, headed by Mr. Renault and Mr. La Motte, a French metallurgist, was development of the lead mines in the area now known as Southeast Missouri.

Jan 1, 1947

By C. A. Heiland

IN the third year of war, geophysical oil exploration broke all records to keep pace with the demand for increased reserves. Geophysical prospecting for strategic and other minerals also grew in scope. The trend of geophysical oil exploration throughout the war is indicated in Fig. 1. This figure resembles the one presented in the last annual review issue of M&M (February 1944, p. 62), corrected for data on-operations in the last months of 1943 and extended into 1944. The average number of geophysical oil prospecting crews in the field in 1944 was 451, whereas the total in 1943 was 340. An upward trend in the use of all geophysical methods is clearly evident throughout the year. Seismic operations were 67 per cent, gravimeter surveys 28 per cent, and other methods 5 per cent of the total. Seismic reflection and refraction crews increased 181/2 per cent over the 1943 average, gravimeter operations increased 73 per cent, and other methods gained 92 per cent. The increase in seismic and gravimeter operations, particularly the latter, is probably due to an increased production of equipment and the organization of new service companies. Miscellaneous methods gained largely through a revival of magnetometer work, and an increase in the use of torsion balances and electrical equipment. In comparison with the prewar average of 1941, it is noteworthy that seismic operations increased 58 per cent, gravimeter operations 88 per cent, and miscellaneous other methods gained as much as 283 per cent. Unfortunately the expansion in the number of geophysical crews does not indicate a proportionate increase in efficiency or in areal coverage, as will be brought out later.

Jan 1, 1945

By Falih Ergunalp

REGULAR production of chrome in Turkey started in 1860 with the operation of the Bursa deposits (5, Fig. I). Others were discovered at Makri, near Fethiye (3, Fig. I). For 33 years Turkey remained the principal source of this mineral. While new discoveries were coming in elsewhere, Turkey's output declined until 1921, as a result of four successive wars, which ruined the economics of the country. In 1927 a revival came with the production of 18,000 tons. In that year the Société Minière de Fethiye was formed. This company now operates mines in the Vilayets of Aydin, Denizli, Burdur and Mentese, and it has reached a maximum production of between 80,000 and 90,000 tons annually. The Turkish output therefore increased from 29,000 tons in 1930 to 55,000 tons in 1931; and to 119,009 tons in 1934. The second phase in the increase in chrome production in Turkey came about in 1935, when the Government decided to reorganize and control the mineral industry of the country according to the principles of "government control" of the present regime. Up to that time the mineral resources of the country had been exploited by private concerns. In 1935, the M.T.A. (Maden Tetkik ve Arama) Institute (Institute of Mining Research and Geological Survey) was established by the Government to do the geological and geophysical survey work and discover new mineral resources for the country. Before the establishment of the M.T.A. Institute, the chief chrome-producing region was Fethiye (3 and 4, Fig. I). As a result of the extensive work of this bureau, many new chrome deposits have been discovered and are now in production. The operational field of the mineral industry was given to Eti Bank, another Government-sponsored and Government-controlled establishment. Eti Bank gradually took over the exploitation of existing mines by purchasing them from privately operated companies. Attention was first given to the Zonguldak collieries and to the different chrome deposits scattered over the country. The Guleman mines (14, Fig. 1) were developed and put in operation in 1936. Since then the bulk of Turkish chrome output has come from this mine, which yields the highest grade ore in the world (averaging 52 per cent Cr2O3). In 1939, the recently discovered chrome deposits to the north of Eskisehir went into production, yielding ore having a Cr2O3 content of 51 to 52 per cent. Today, more than ever, the efforts of both the M.T.A. Institute and the Eti Bank are concentrated on finding new deposits and placing them in operation. There are still many promising regions of the country that merit systematic surveying and prospecting for chrome ores. Thus it is probable that Turkey will continue to make noteworthy progress in chrome output. As the annual chrome production of

Jan 1, 1944

By Robert Anderson

The diffraction of x-rays by cold-worked and heavily polished surfaces of metals gives, no evidence of an amorphous state and typically perfect crystallographic diffraction' patterns are obtained. Severely cold-worked metals, reduced as much as 98 per cent. in area, give true crystallographic diffraction patterns, and polished surfaces of large single crystals of metal give typical crystallographic patterns. The conclusion is drawn, on basis of x-ray evidence, that metals are fragmented on cold work and polishing and not amorphized. THE purpose of this paper is to report evidence, regarding, metal: structures, that is contradictory to the amorphous-metal, hypothesis of Beilby, and particularly evidence that is opposed to the proposition that a vitreous amorphous layer is produced by polishing a piece of metal. According to the theory of Beilby, which has been developed, by Rosenhain and others, polishing a piece of metal greatly affects the condition of the metal at or near the surface polished, making that surface entirely different in character from the metal beneath. A vitreous amorphous surface film is said to be formed. The polishing process, on the basis of Beilby's explanation, is well known-and does not' require discussion here, but it is advisable to seek the precise meaning of,., the term "amorphous." According to Beilby, "amorphous means. Non-crystalline in the most intimate sense of the word'; the molecules are not marshalled in crystalline order and orientation." According to Rosenhain, the amorphous condition is that assumed by a metal when, the .crystalline arrangement is completely broken up so that the atoms exist in a state of disorderly arrangement similar to that ;which exists in the liquid state. Thus, from the point of view of the phase rule, the "amorphous phase" is regarded as being identical with the liquid phase. Amorphous metal is often likened to an undercooled liquid. A crystalline substance is one in which the atoms are arranged in space according to some definite repeating geometrical pattern. The existence of amorphous metal has not been definitely proved.

Jan 1, 1925

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 Oliver Bowles

Two striking events marked the year 1871-the establishment of the A.I.M.E. and the beginning of the portland cement industry, the most spectacular of all the nonmetallics in its development. Just as David Saylor's first portland cement, made in a little mill at Allentown, Pa., in that year was the forerunner of a mighty industry, the products of which in 1942 were made in 155 plants scattered throughout the country (having attained a value of nearly $300,000,000), so the Institute from its small beginning has attained a membership of many thousands, likewise decentralized into a series of individual sections of wide geographical distribution. Concurrent with the establishment of the Institute was also the invention of the steam drill, followed by the compressed-air drill about 1904. These mechanical drills were so immeasurably in advance of the hand drill and hammer used previously that quarrying and mining of present-day magnitude could never have been attained without them. Some outstanding occurrences have marked this eventful three quarters of a century. The concrete age, with its enormous demands for cement, aggregates and steel, is of primary importance. Of interest also is the shift of fertilizers from the organic to the mineral field. Nitrates, primarily obtained

Jan 1, 1947

By A. D. Hodges

In May, 1850, the first gold from the Comstock lode was discovered in the sands near the Carson river. It had been washed down by natural agencies, through Gold Caflon, from the decomposed rock of the ledge above. Within a few weeks, the precious metal was traced more than three miles in shallow deposits along the bed of the canon, from the river to the Devil's Gate-—a narrow, rocky cleft, notable to the teamsters of a later day chiefly as the place where " Uncle Jimmy Fair" collected high tolls, and could not reduce the rates, because " this was all he had for the education of his poor children." From 1850 to 1857, a fluctuating band of miners, whose number varied from twenty to two hundred, washed the Gold Canon placers with rockers and long-toms, making four to five dollars a day each until the last-named year, when the deposits were in great measure exhausted. The chief settlement of these miners was at Johntown. During only a third of the year was the water-supply sufficient for their work. The remainder of the time they utilized in desultory prospecting of the hills and in occasional forays for supplies among the Mormons in Carson valley. In 1857, the Grosch brothers discovered the Comstock lode at some point, now unknown, in Gold Hill, but their discovery perished with them. Early in 1858, the " Pioneer Quartz Company," having located several of the small surface-veins around Silver City (whose connection with the main lode has never been definitely shown), built an arrastra, and worked some of their ore; but the returns were so small that they soon abandoned this business. The following winter, James Finney and his partners found gold in place in

Jan 1, 1891

By C. R. Ince

THE term "differential flotation" is used to denote a flotation operation in which separation is effected between two or more minerals of the same class; e. g., lead sulfide from zinc sulfide, pyrite from blende, chalcopyrite from pyrite, chalcopyrite from blende. At present, so far as published work shows, there seem to be two theories as to the mechanics of differential flotation. The earlier and more generally accepted theory is that the so-called depressing agents alter the surface of one or more of the sulfides in the ore, either by chemical action or adsorption, so that it is no longer amenable to flotation, but that these depressed sulfides can be revived, after the unaffected sulfide has been floated, by reagents which react chemically with the altered surface and make it amenable to flotation. More recently, Professor Taggart1 has advanced the theory that slime adsorption is an important factor in differential flotation. He believes that, with the proper use of a class of agents, which he calls .dispersion agents and which include practically all the depressing agents, one can cause the slime to adsorb differentially on sulfide surfaces. A gangue-slime coated sulfide surface will act as a gangue particle and will not float. If, subsequently, an agent that will remove the gangue-slime coating is added, the sulfide again assumes its original surface and can be floated as an ordinary sulfide. This-is the basis of the slime theory of differential flotation. Timber Butte mill at Butte, Mont., is a typical lead-zinc flotation concentrator. Neihart ore, chosen for investigation in this work, is one of the custom ores treated at that mill. Practice at Timber Butte mill in February, 1928, was as follows: A combined lead-zinc concentrate was first made using 0.2 lb. per ton on the ore of potassium xanthate and 0.03 lb. per ton of Cleveland Cliffs oil after 1.5 lb. per ton of lime and 1 lb. per ton of calcium chloride has been added just before the ball mill. The concentrate was then thickened to 70 per cent. solids. Potassium cyanide to the amount of 0.3 lb. per ton and zinc sulfate in the quantity of 0.5 lb. per ton were added to the thickened pulp and the whole

Jan 1, 1929

By F. N. Rhines, A. H. Grobe

At elevated temperatures the oxide of silver is unstable in the air at atmospheric pressure, consequently no external oxide scale forms upon pure silver under conditions of high-temperature annealing. When small quantities of certain alloying elements are present in the silver, the formation of a thin external scale is possible1 and in addition there may form a subscale composed of the oxide of the solute element precipitated within the body of the silver. Norbury2 and Leroux and Raub3 have reported internal oxidation (subscaleiormation) in alloys of silver with 2, 7.5, and 30 per cent of copper. The presence of the subscale is believed to be responsible, at least in part, for the objectionable "fire mark" in Sterling silver.4 Several other alloys of silver, after oxidizing heat-treatments, are known to exhibit undesirable polishing characteristics that may be the result of internal oxidation. Except for the absence of an external scale of silver oxide, it is to be anticipated that silver alloys will prove to be very similar in their oxidation behavior to the alloys of copper, the oxidation characteristics of which have been studied in some detai1.5,6 The present research confirms this anticipation. The oxidation of a series of 20 dilute alloys of silver has been studied metallographically; some types of subscale not encountered among the copper alloys have been found. Instances of internal oxidation in alloys of most of the metals of the 1-6 and VIII groups of the periodic system are on record, but evidence of this type of oxidation in alloys of the metals of the intermediate groups is lacking. A number of the metals of the intermediate group, among them cadmium, lead, tin, and zinc, appear to provide the conditions essential to subscale formation; i.e., they form oxides with a relatively low negative free energy of formation, they dissolve other metals that form more stable oxides, and, presumably, oxygen will diffuse through them. In a study of 40 alloys of these white metals only a few cases of internal oxidation have been found. The probable reasons for this difference in behavior will be discussed presently. Experimental Procedure Silver.—The silver alloys employed in the oxidation studies were prepared in heats of 30 grams each from high-purity silver (99.993 per cent Ag)* and the purest avail-

Jan 1, 1942

By A. H. Grobe, F. N. Rhines

At elevated temperatures the oxide of silver is unstable in the air at atmospheric pressure, consequently no external oxide scale forms upon pure silver under conditions of high-temperature annealing. When small quantities of certain alloying elements are present in the silver, the formation of a thin external scale is possible1 and in addition there may form a subscale composed of the oxide of the solute element precipitated within the body of the silver. Norbury2 and Leroux and Raub3 have reported internal oxidation (subscaleiormation) in alloys of silver with 2, 7.5, and 30 per cent of copper. The presence of the subscale is believed to be responsible, at least in part, for the objectionable "fire mark" in Sterling silver.4 Several other alloys of silver, after oxidizing heat-treatments, are known to exhibit undesirable polishing characteristics that may be the result of internal oxidation. Except for the absence of an external scale of silver oxide, it is to be anticipated that silver alloys will prove to be very similar in their oxidation behavior to the alloys of copper, the oxidation characteristics of which have been studied in some detai1.5,6 The present research confirms this anticipation. The oxidation of a series of 20 dilute alloys of silver has been studied metallographically; some types of subscale not encountered among the copper alloys have been found. Instances of internal oxidation in alloys of most of the metals of the 1-6 and VIII groups of the periodic system are on record, but evidence of this type of oxidation in alloys of the metals of the intermediate groups is lacking. A number of the metals of the intermediate group, among them cadmium, lead, tin, and zinc, appear to provide the conditions essential to subscale formation; i.e., they form oxides with a relatively low negative free energy of formation, they dissolve other metals that form more stable oxides, and, presumably, oxygen will diffuse through them. In a study of 40 alloys of these white metals only a few cases of internal oxidation have been found. The probable reasons for this difference in behavior will be discussed presently. Experimental Procedure Silver.—The silver alloys employed in the oxidation studies were prepared in heats of 30 grams each from high-purity silver (99.993 per cent Ag)* and the purest avail-

Jan 1, 1942