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By R. W. Harper, M. C. Fuerstenau, J. D. Miller

Data were obtained with hematite with octyl hydroxamate and oleate as collectors to determine the mechanism of collector adsorption and also to establish the roles that conditioning time and temperature assume in this system. The presence of hydroxy complexes of iron are apparently necessary for chemisorption of collector to occur, and it appears as if extended conditioning times and elevated temperature promote greater dissolution of the mineral and hence greater concentrations of hydroxy complexes. Data were also collected with two natural hematitic ores. With one ore that was ground to 70% - 15u, an addition of 0.4 lb per ton hydrox-amate resulted in a final concentrate recovery of 86% at a grade of 64% iron. Satisfactory concentrate grade could not be obtained with fatty acid under these conditions. The effect of conditioning time prior to the addition of collector was also examined with another ore. When the ore was conditioned for 3 min, 19% of the iron was recovered in the concentrate at a grade of 67% Fe. With a conditioning time of 7 min, 73% of the iron reported to the concentrate at a grade of 62% Fe. These products were obtained with an addition of 0.2 lb per ton hydroxamate. This ore also responded well to flotation with fatty acid. The use of potassium octyl hydroxamate as a collector for iron oxide has been the subject of an earlier study.1 From this initial study, it was suspected that hydrolysis of surface ferric iron was involved in collector adsorption. More recent work in other systems has shown that slight mineral dissolution, followed by hydrolysis of cations common to the mineral lattice, is apparently necessary, and that adsorption of these hydroxy com- plexes probably occurs prior to the adsorption of collector. In view of these facts, work has been continued on the hydroxamate-hematite and oleate-hematite systems to gain better insight into the mechanisms of collector adsorption on iron oxide. Microflotation experiments in conjunction with infrared analysis were used in this regard. In addition it was felt necessary to establish more clearly the responses that can be obtained from natural ores when hydroxamate is used as collector as compared to those obtained when fatty acid is used. Experimental Materials and Techniques Pure potassium oleate, potassium octyl hydroxamate, synthesized from hydroxylamine hydrochloride and methyl octanoate, and a distilled Tall Oil were employed as collectors. Conductivity water was used in the

Jan 1, 1971

By G. Derge

The chemical and physical propertties of slag systems are of special interest to metallurgists, for nearly all metals are in contact with molten slags during the primary reduction from their ores and then during the subsequent refining and alloying processes that determine their ultimate use. These processes are carried out at high temperatures and involve such complex chemical systems that funda-mental scientific knowledge of the Properties and behavior of these slags is inadequate. Various hypotheses have been Proposed to explain known slag characteristics. The commonest of these regard the molten slag as constituted of compounds that are dissociated in varying degrees into their constituent oxides, as illustrated by Schenckl and the recent Papers of Chipman and co-authors. Another proposal is that these compounds dissociate by com-plete6 or partial ionization, the evidence for which has been reviewed by Martin and Derge.? whatever hypothesis is favored, the exact formulation of these compounds is incomplete. It is based on three principal types of information: 1. Studies of solidified 51% samples by X ray diffraction, petrography, and similar methods that can be used at room temperature. The correlation of this information with the high-temperature properties of the molten slag is uncertain. 2. Studies of slag-metal equilibria, which have the advantage of providing observations on the molten slag at high temperature. However, even these data present problems of interpretation because they require a complete knowledge of the metal phase. 3. Direct measurements of properties of molten slag at the temperature of greatest metallurgical interest. Viscosity, electrical conductivity, specific heats, and similar properties have been measured, but the data of this type are widely scattered and frequently difficult to interpret. Additional direct measurements of properties of molten slag that can be interpreted in terms of chemical behavior are required, and this paper shows that the standard physical-chemical measurement of reversible electrode potentials, which measure the activity of specific constituents, is a fruitful source of such information. The purpose of this investigation, therefore, was to find an electrode combination that would yield reversible electromotive force measurements when dipped into the molten slag to be studied. Slags of the systems cao-sio2 and cao-120,-SiO2 were chosen for study because graphite containers could be used and the data could be correlated with those for viscosity, conductivity, and other proper-

Jan 1, 1948

By Gerald Edmunds

THE liquidus line on the phase diagram for temperature versus composition of a binary alloy system, representing the boundary between the homogeneous melt and the heterogeneous melt plus solid, besides showing the minimum casting temperature, is useful in determining eutectic compositions and the presence of phase changes such as peritectic transformations and intermetallic compound formation. The liquidus often is determined by the cooling curves of thermal analysis, but supercooling frequently occurs, so that the temperature values are low. An alternative method, the one employed here, consists of determining the com- position of samples of the melts from heterogeneous alloys that are at equilibrium. With meticulous attention to fundamentals, this method is capable of yielding values limited in precision only by the temperature control and measurement and analyses. APPARATUS By starting, on the one hand, with a supersaturated solution and allowing the excess solute to precipitate, and on the other hand with an undersaturated solution and allowing more of the solute to be dissolved, both processes being carried out at the same temperature, equilibrium may be said to have been approached from both directions; that is, from above and from below. If the analyses show the solutions to contain the same fraction of solute when equilibrium has been approached from above and from below, one is assured that equilibrium has been reached in both determinations. In order to carry out such determinations, it is necessary to have equipment for obtaining and maintaining the proper temperatures; for holding the melt, measuring its temperature, and stirring, sampling and analyzing it. The present work required temperatures from 420° to 900°C. The equipment consisted of: A furnace, which was a vertical alundum tube, 1 ¾ in. diameter inside and 18 in. long, wound with Nichrome resistance wire, surrounded by a 3-in. i.d. alundum tube wound for 5 in. of length near each end, for compensation of end losses. This muffle was contained in an iron shell with Transite end plates, the intervening space being packed with Sil-O-Cel. The outside dimensions of the furnace were 12 in. in diameter by 18 ½ in. in height. Heating current was supplied by three independent variable-voltage transformers (Variac), one connected to each end compensator winding and manually controlled, and one connected to the main winding through a series resistance of 5 ohms. This resistance was short-circuited for

Jan 1, 1944

By E. P. Pfleider, W. G. Pariseau

This paper reports the theoretical and experimental results of an analysis of ore pass drawdown as a problem in soil plasticity. The method of analysis developed appears to be a promising technique of investigating the mechanics of fragmented materials. A reconstructed plasticity theory brings experiment and theory into reasonable agreement, and hence may provide the foundation needed for rational ore pass design. The gravity-induced movement of broken rock through ore passes is an economical method of transporting fragmented materials through large vertical distances in underground mines, provided the ore pass is well designed. Unfortunately, the design procedures now followed do not very often result in ore passes that function properly. On the one hand, the huge accumulation of empirical data pertaining to the movement of materials in gravel bunkers, storage bins, deep grain silos and other structures that have features in common with ore passes remains uncorrelated. On the other hand, there is a dearth of experimental data substantiating theoretical models of material behavior. Consequently, reliable generalizations encompassing the broad spectrum of problems involved have not been forthcoming. AS an initial step towards improving the situation, a detailed case study of two-dimensional ore pass drawdown was made. The mechanics of the process were analyzed theoretically as a problem in soil plasticity and tested experimentally through observations of a laboratory ore pass model. THEORY Taylor1 defines a soil as a "mass commonly considered to consist of a network or skeleton of solid particles, enclosing voids of varying size." Broken rock in an ore pass is such a material. In plasticity theory this material is replaced by an idealized substance that deforms elastically up to some state of stress at which slip or yield occurs,2 For com-pressive states of stress, the Mohr-Coulomb criterion is a satisfactory yield condition. After the yield point is reached, the ideal soil deforms in accordance with the concept of plastic potential.4 Under plane strain conditions the governing equations separate into a system of stress equations and a system of velocity equations.' Only stress variables appear in the stress system. The velocity system, however, contains a stress variable. The two systems are, therefore, coupled. Both systems are hyperbolic, and each has two real, distinct families of characteristic curves that coincide according to the classical theory of ideal soil plasticity. The

Jan 1, 1969

By Jacques B. Wertz

Detailed structural studies in southeast Arizona have successively revealed (1) the local attitudes of individual fractures (with lateral and/or vertical displacements), (2) the patterns exhibited by groups of fractures, and (3) the trends and directions shown by fracture groups or zones on a regional scale. The results of the studies have been twofold: First, domes were locally determined from these fracture arrangements, even where other criteria failed; and, second, fundamental breaks brought out the breadth of the Texas lineament in southeast Arizona as well as major northwest- and northeast-trending fracture zones. Coincidence of one or several domes with the major intersections of fundamental breaks can be centers of important mineralization, as in the instances of Bisbee, Ajo and Morenci. THE OVER-ALL STRUCTURE OF ARIZONA A northwest-southeast trending anticlinorium has been suggested as the structural setting of Arizona. Starting in Triassic and culminating in late Cretaceous times, this deformation resulted from stresses of considerable magnitude with varying ratios of com pres sional and uplifting forces. However, the series of parallel flexures could just as well have been caused by isostatic movements involving dilation under tension with only incidental compression, as later emphasized by dike filling and block faulting (Fig. 1). The anticlinorial deformation, which is also suggested by the fact that the Pre-cambrian rocks to the southwest are all concealed by sediments, could be somewhat reminiscent of the conditions that affected the classical swarm of parallel dikes of wager.' ANALYSlS OF DATA As a first step in this analysis, all structural information obtained on such features as fractures and their relative displacements, faults, dikes, anticlines, synclines, and Precambrian and Laramide-Tertiary intrusives were plotted on maps along with structural trends inferred from aerial photographic mosaics. Next, the faults in southwest Arizona were classified according to time of occurrence and relative importance. The fault assemblages were then examined as to geometric or spatial arrangement and correlated with the occurrences of domes and existing Finally, the conjunction of fracture intersections and domes was analyzed and compared with locations of known ore deposits. Differentiation of Faults According to Time and Relative Importance: The faults encountered were grouped as follows: (1) Basin and Range faults, latest in time; (2) secondary faults; (3) primary faults; and (4) lineaments, earliest in time by inference. BASIN AND RANGE FAULTS- Generally concealed by alluvium, the Basin and Range faults are normal

Jan 1, 1969

By Pei-Yung Huang, Carle R. Hayward

IN order to understand more fully the actual state of copper lost in copper reverberatory slags, a systematic study on the various reactions between certain metallurgically important copper compounds and synthetic copper reverberatory slags was undertaken by the authors in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1942 to 1945.1 This paper, being only a part of the work completed, is published first because it furnishes the first experimental evidence of the formation of copper ferrite from reactions between cuprous oxide and copper reverberatory slags. CHOICE OF SLAG COMPOSITION The choice of the composition of the synthetic reverberatory slags to be used was much deliberated. Commercial copper reverberatory slags, neglecting minor constituents, average:2.3 45 to 47 pct FeO; 38 to 42 pct Si02; 5 to 6 pct CaO; 5 to 6 pct A1203. Since the ternary system CaO-FeO-SiO2 has been much more thoroughly studied4 and is much simpler than the quaternary system CaO-FeO-Si02-A1203, it was decided to use calcium oxide only instead of calcium oxide and alumina in the synthesis of the slags. Fortunately the composition of the average copper reverberatory slag with calcium oxide substituted for alumina lies in the region of the phase diagram clarified by the investigators. A survey of the phase diagram (Fig I) suggested two compositions: (I) the com¬position near the invariant point S, which is made up of 46 pct ferrous oxide, 37 pct silica and 17 pct calcium oxide; (2) the composition near the invariant point K with 45.5 pct ferrous oxide, 43 pct silica and 11.5 pct calcium oxide. Composition S has the advantage that the percentages of ferrous oxide and of silica almost exactly coincide with those of the average reverberatory slags, and that of the lowest melting point (1093° ± 3°C) in the whole ternary system. The calcium oxide content, however, obviously is high. Since we have already substituted calcium oxide for alumina, and since calcium oxide is more basic than alumina, the resulting slag is decidedly too basic. Composition K has a slightly higher melting point (1105° ± 3°C) and a higher silica content, but this is preferred because the slag is saturated with respect to tridymite and thus should not corrode siliceous refractories. Besides, it is less basic than composition S. The final slag composition, therefore, was chosen to

Jan 1, 1947

By Charles Austin

IT has been known for several years1 that certain alloys of the Konal type, containing commercial cobalt (99.32 per cent C0 and 0.42 per cent Ni) and varying amounts of ferrotitanium, exhibit very high tensile strengths at 600°C. However, their pro-portional limits and yield points are rela-tively low. Published data1 for the alloys quenched in water from 950°C. and then tested at 600°C. are summarized in the upper section of Fig. I. Similar specimens that were aged at 650°C. for 72 hr., after quench and prior to testing at 600°C., gave the results shown in the lower section of Fig. I. TABLE I.-Analysis of Material I Percentages Constituent Sample Sample Sample 3125 3124 3123 Si 0.25 0.51 o.6o Fe 4.15 10.70 13.17 Ti I.15 3.58 4.70 Mn 0.30 0.41 0.42 Co (by difference)^ 94.15 84.80 81.71 The cobalt from all three samples, united and tested for nickel, gave 0.54 per cent Ni based on the weight of cobalt. In the present work the investigation of the properties of these materials has been extended by a study of the tensile deforma- tion characteristics in moderately long-time tests at 600°, 700° and 800°C. after quenching from various solution tempera-tures. In addition, some metallographic studies have been made to correlate with the deformation tests, and to obtain in- FIG. 1.-EFFECT OF VARYING AMOUNTS OF FERROTITANIUM (FE2TI) ON PHYSICAL PROPER-TIES OF COMMERCIAL COBALT. (C. R. Austin.1) Upper section. Tested at 600°C. after water-quenching from 950°C. Lower section. Tested at 600°C. after water-quenching from 950°C. and aging 72 hr. at 650°C. FIG. 2.-PORTION OF QUASI-BINARY DIAGRAM COBALT-FE2TI AS DETERMINED METALLOGRAPH-ICALLY. formation on the quasi-binary system Cobalt-Fe2Ti. The material, very kindly furnished by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufac-turing Co. in the form of hot-swaged rods of 3/16-in. diameter, analyzed as shown in Table I. The alloys, when originally made up,1 were based upon an iron-titanium com-pound, Fe3Ti, as indicated by the work of

Jan 1, 1940

By J. F. Tavernelli, L. F. Coffin

The deformation and fracture characteristics of eight metals subjected to fully reversed cyclic strain ranging from 0.2 to 50 pct were investigated at room temperature. Strain-hardening characteristics unique to the interna1 structure of a particular metal were found. Complete removal of the strain-hardening effects resulting from prior deformation was brought about by subsequent cyclic strain. Further support for the validity of the inverse relationship between the plastic strain range and the square root of the number of cycles for failure is given. THE resistance of materials to cyclic plastic strain is of interest both from a fundamental and practical point of view. It is now a well-accepted fact that fatigue failure in metals is a consequence of the localized slip deformation which occurs within the individual crystals of metal.'-' Hence the failure process should be strongly dependent upon the magnitude of the gross cyclic plastic deformation of the metal under conditions where this is a measurable quantity. Therefore, an experimental investigation of metals in which the cyclic plastic strain is the independent variable should shed new light on some of the basic aspects of the problem. From the practical point of view, there are many uses for information relating to the cyclic strain resistance of metals. One is the case of thermal stress fatigue where fatigue failure can occur as a consequence of a com- paratively few cycles of thermally induced mechanical deformation. Another is the mechanical working of metals where large cyclic strains are employed. In recent years several publications have appeared relating to the cyclic-strain resistance of metals,8-11 dealing mostly with the fracture aspects where the temperature is cycled simultaneously with the mechanical strain. Some work has been reported on the cyclic-strain resistance of metals at constant temperature, again oriented more toward the fracture aspects of the problem than the deformation aspects. 12-16 The present research investigation was undertaken to obtain information regarding the deformation characteristics of several metals whose structure-property relationships were simple and straightforward under conditions of both cyclic and monotonic strain. It has been shown for example that under cyclic-strain conditions some materials will strain harden, while other materials, particularly cold-worked structures, strain soften and these effects required further clarification.8,17-19 It was also de-

Jan 1, 1960

By R. B. Moore

IN 1914 the writer and K. L. Kithil announced, through Bulletin 70 of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, that the United States possessed the largest deposits of radium-bearing ore in the world. At that time a small amount of this ore was being, mined and shipped to Europe, and one company was preparing to start the extraction and recovery of radium in this country. The importance of our carnotite deposits in Colorado and Utah up to the publication of Bulletin 70 was not, however, appreciated by anyone.. At that time the total supply of radium in the world was about 10 g., calculated as element, and when I estimated that at least 100 g. of radium element, and probably 200 g., would be produced from our carnotite deposits, there was a considerable amount of skepticism. Up to the present time almost 200 g. have come from this ore, and some writers put this figure a little higher. Uranium ore was found in the copper mines of the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga at Luiswishi in 1913. Later discoveries were made at other places in the Belgian Congo, and the Katanga ores now represent the largest supply of radium-bearing ore in the world. In fact, since 1923 very little radium has been produced from American carnotite, the Katanga ore representing practically the world's supply of. radium since that date.

Jan 1, 1930

By E. J. KENNEDY

FEBRUARY 15-18 will be the outstanding dates of the month for members of the A. I. M. E., for then the 141st Meeting of the Institute is to be held in the Engineering Societies Building, at New York. What with 41 technical sessions, the Annual Business Meeting at 4 o'clock Tuesday afternoon,, two sessions of the Section and Division delegates, minor committee meetings, and the many luncheons and dinners, the Dinner-Smoker, Informal Dance, President's Reception and the Dinner-Dance, the opportunity will be limited to do- more-than cast sheep's eyes at New York's other multitudinous attrac¬tions until the meeting is over. The technical program is diverse but well organized. The sessions are almost equally divided among the four days, with ten on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and 11 on Thursday. The meeting opens Monday morning with registration. Be sure to attend to this detail. Failure to do so may have its repercussions at the meeting and throughout the year.

Jan 1, 1932

By R. H. Wightman, G. H. Adams

H. C. WEED*—Referring to the use of "dummy fuse" for checking the shots in chute blasting operations, I believe that an even better practice is to blast the chutes with no delay electric blasting caps. Permanent wires can be strung through the grizzly lines and the lead wires from the shots attached to these lines. Using this method, no time is lost in spitting the individual fuses. The possibility of a fused charge becoming dislodged by previous shots and falling into the chute below is eliminated and there is no chance of a man walking back into his own blast. A small hand twist blasting machine or a radio "B" battery can be used to fire the shots if the lines are fired individually. If so desired the entire area can be blasted at once by a switch at the manway or in the drift below. providing a sufficient source of electricity is available. In case a switch is used, proper precaution for locking the switch must be provided. R. H. WIGHTMAN (author's reply) —We do use electric blasting when the number of shots is large; but we have found it more satisfactory to use fuse and caps for individual shots on the grizzly.

Jan 1, 1950

By T. E. Scott, D. H. Sherman, C. V. Owen

It has been established' that vanadium exhibits a ductile to brittle transition temperature which increases with increasing hydrogen content. Optical microscopic examination at room temperature revealed no evidence of hydride precipitate in fractured specimens containing 100 ppm H, but hydrides were present in samples with 800 ppm H. More recently2 the strain rate and temperature dependences of the ductility drop in vanadium containing 6 ppm H were reported. It was argued that the ductile-brittle transition, while dependent on the presence of hydrogen, probably could not be explained by the precipitation of hydride. The bases of the argument were that 6 ppm H would not produce sufficient hydride to alter the ductility to the extent observed and no visual evidence of hydride was obtained. However, the data were not sufficient in these investigations 1,2 to define accurately the ductile-brittle transition temperature. Also, no information was available concerning the terminal solubility of hydrogen in vanadium at the low concentrations employed. westlake 3 has studied the electrical resistivity of vanadium at several hydrogen concentrations. He was able to detect the precipitation of hydride and to extend the hydrogen solvus to the composition and temperature range pertinent to the observed ductile-brittle transition behavior, Westlake compared his

Jan 1, 1968

By R. T. Hukki

IT is no great exaggeration to say that present grinding practice and economics are largely determined by lining design. A record of outstanding liner wear can be achieved with any liner surface pattern that will positively lock the outer layer or layers of grinding media. With no slippage, lining wear is bound to be slight. At the same time, popular practice calls for tumbling loads of about 50 pct of mill volume to obtain maximum grinding capacity. Innumerable parallel grinding investigations have verified that optimum speed for such a mill lies within 70 to 85 pct of theoretical critical speed. If the mill is speeded up to 100 pct of critical, little or no grinding can be accomplished. Earlier Work on Supercritical Grinding: First investigations concerning grinding at supercritical speeds seem to be very old. Remarkable work on the subject has been performed by White,1 and his experiments have been described and summarized by Richards1 White's contributions seem to have passed unnoticed by Fahrenwald, 2,3 whose extensive experiments have been well presented, yet apparently very little appreciated. Additional work on grinding at supercritical speed has been reported, e.g., by Lewenson and Tscherny,4 USSR; Anselm5 and Grunder,6 Germany; and Rose and Evans,[6] Great Britain.

Jan 5, 1958

By R. L. Doan

WHEN the Plutonium Project was started in the spring of 1942 there was no technology to produce uranium metal of the required purity. Not only was there no such metal available; no one knew how to make it or fabricate it after it was made. Since this time vast technical effort has been ex-pended in the atomic energy field. A short 15 years later the metallurgy of uranium is probably better known than that of any other metal, with the possible exception of steel. At the beginning of the 1942 drive to obtain pure uranium metal the most available raw material was black uranium oxide (U3O8) of about 92 pct purity from the Great Bear Lake region of Canada. It took only three months for the project chemists to develop a process for bringing the purity of this oxide up to 99+ pct and another three months for Mallinckrodt Chemical Co. of St. Louis to build the purification plant and get it into operation. In early summer of 1942 the purified brown oxide (UO2) started moving to the Metal Hydrides Co. in Beverly, Mass., and to the Westinghouse Research Laboratory in Bloomfield, N. J., both of which had been granted Government contracts to try to make pure uranium metal.

Jan 9, 1957

By James H. Bechtold

The yield strength of annealed tungsten was found to have a strain rate exponent 12 times as great as that of low carbon steel. The effects of temperature and strain rate could be correlated through the Zener-Hollomon parameter with a heat of activation associated with yielding of 32,000 cal per g-atom. This heat of activation is independent of strain although both the temperature and strain rate dependence of the yield strength vary with strain. MOST metals have mechanical properties that are relatively insensitive to strain rate, especially at temperatures below that at which creep is important. In iron and molybdenum," however, relatively large strain rate effects are observed in the temperature range where the rapid increase in yield strength occurs which leads to the ductile to brittle transition. In this temperature range Zener and Hollomon' have suggested that the effects of strain rate and temperature T on the yield strength could be correlated through a single parameter, P, in the following manner where Q is a heat of activation characteristic of the metal and associated with some unspecified relaxation process. They also observed that if the temperature is restricted to a relatively narrow range— below room temperature for steel—that the logarithm of the yield strength could be expressed as a linear function of the logarithm of P. From this relation the logarithm of stress should be a linear function of the logarithm of the strain rate at constant temperature: where r will be referred to herein as the strain rate exponent. At a constant strain rate the logarithm of stress should be a linear function of l/T, ay(e = C) ~ eT [4] where q = Qr [5] and is referred to herein as the temperature exponent. These equations have been found to relate the effects of temperature and strain rate on the yield strength of molybdenum in the temperature range wherein the ductile to brittle transition occurs, —75° to +150°C.2 Bechtold and Shewmon3 have shown recently that the ductile to brittle transition in annealed tungsten occurs in the temperature range +150° to +350°C. In this temperature range the yield strength in-

Jan 1, 1957

By William R. Barton

It is generally conceded as axiomatic that the aggregate producer and the average urban resident have mutually incompatible goals. The producer wants to be near his mass market and the average resident wants him as far away as possible. The traditional economic decision to mine local material to avoid transportation costs is increasingly challenged by zoning and planning bodies and by citizens' groups. This conflict generated much written and spoken word and offered opportunity for great flights of rhetoric. The pressure on the producer also has forced re¬appraisal of the need for the classic confrontation with indications that much of the conflict is more apparent than substantive. In New England several factors combine to increase complexity of the siting problem. It is a region of high land values and population density. Due to the proximity of metropolitan areas, even rural communities have experienced a prolif¬eration of environmental groups with concomitant enthusiastic regional planning and critical watch over land use. In New England where there is little public understanding of the necessity for, and the realities of, mineral production a sophisticated approach to aggregate production site location is required.

Jan 1, 1975

By Leon W. Dupuy

Many articles have been written describing peculiar and particular types of drilling. Little correlation has been made between the character of ground to be drilled and sampled and the type of drilling most desirable for procuring satisfactory samples. In development work, the engineer and metallurgist often desire the recovery of a sample in as physically natural a condition as possible, particularly when the sample must provide material for process tests as well as chemical and physical analyses. This paper describes the results of experimentation in drilling unconsolidated materials carrying titanium minerals in the Magnet Cove area, Ark. The drilling was most difficult in that the ground varied much in consistency, and it was vitally necessary to recover a physically natural sample. Ordinary churn drilling recovered a sample that could be analyzed chemically, but the sample was not in its natural state. The problem was successfully solved by utilizing and further developing methods used in the oil and clay industries.

Jan 1, 1949

By James P. Savely, Victor L. Kastner

Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company is currently mining in four pit areas; Live Oak, Red Hill, Thornton and Joe Bush Extension, near Globe, Arizona. Small satellite orebodies lying outside the main pits have been mined out in a series of small open pits. Major slope instability has affected production in every pit. Some consequences of the instability have been; (1) Serious interruption of mining plans, which resulted in deferred ore production, lost ore, reduced mining rates and increased stripping requirements. (2) Forced replacement of crushing facilities. (3) Serious effects on other production facilities. The introduction of a slope stability monitoring and control function as an integral part of mine planning has been successful in reducing the impact of these failures and will eventually result in economic pit design based on probabilistic slope analysis. This case history presents a brief review of the problems associated with slope instability at Inspiration's mines followed by a more detailed report on one specific failure area in the Thornton pit where the use of horizontal drain holes for slope stabilization appears to be successful. Relationships between slope movement rate, rainfall, and mining activity are shown.

Jan 1, 1983

By Luis Toron, Salvador Cortes-Obregon

John D. Price (Colorado Fuel and Iron Corp., Pueblo, Colo)—The paper on the coal fields of the Oaxaca district as prepared by engineers Toron and Cortes-Obregon of the staff of the Bank of Mexico bears witness to the thorough and careful way in which the men associated with this organization perform their work. There is little to be added to their paper in way of discussion other than to confirm and amplify some of their statements. Since the only extensive and well-developed field of coking coal lies in the northeastern section of the country adjacent to Sabinas in the state of Coahuila, it follows that blast furnace plants would be located in that same region. Two such plants are now operating at Monterrey and Monclova, using coke produced at the Sabinas district mines. But the nearer of these two plants is 600 miles from Mexico City and even farther from the center of population. Transportation of products from these mills to the market area is therefore expensive, both because of the distance and the difficulty of the terrain over which it must be carried. The development of an integrated steel industry closer to the center of population has therefore long been a goal toward which the Mexican technicians have been striving. While the presence of coal of some grade has been reported in many of the states, and many ideas have been advanced regarding its possible uses in iron and steel production, deposits of anthracite in Sonora and the various coals of the Oaxaca district as reported on in this paper are the only ones that have been explored in a serious manner. The coking coal from the Mix-tepec zone appears to offer promise of producing a coke which could be used in a standard blast furnace. Several problems are indicated, however: 1—The ash in the coal is high as mined, but indications are that it can be washed to an ash content of 15 pct with a recovery of 70 pct of washed coal. 2—Such washing would increase the volatile content from 17.4 pct to about 20 pct, and in a byproduct oven this should give a coke yield of close to 80 pct with an ash content of coke under 20 pct. 3—A free swelling index of 5 appears low for a good coking coal, and below that of the coals from the Sabinas district, which show between 6 and 9. But washing of the coal should result in an improvement in this regard; in the United States coals from Utah with an index even lower than 5 have made a usable coke. 4—A coal with volatile as low as 17.4 in raw coal and 20 in washed coal would come close to being classed as a low-volatile rather than medium-volatile coal, and low-volatile coals are notorious for their high expansion properties. Several plants in the United States are making coke from straight medium-volatile coal of 26 to 28 volatile content, and one at Rosita,, Mexico, from coal of 25 volatile. But no plants to my knowledge are using coal as low as 20 volatile. Since the Rosita coal appears to be a borderline coal from the angle of its expansion properties the coking of one of the straight lower volatile must be approached with caution. 5—There are few coals possessing any degree of coking properties which cannot be used in coke production by careful attention to its preparation and blending. The fact that coals of other types are available in this same region make improvement through blending very possible. 6—There are other workable methods of reducing iron ore other than the conventional coke-blast-furnace method. These will not be discussed here but it is known that their use has been considered. The technicians of not only Mexico but also of the other Latin American countries are keenly aware of their natural resources and their national needs. This paper emphasizes the fact that the Mexican technicians are working on their problem and attempting to speed the day of self-sufficiency for their country. Salvatore Cortes-Obregon (author's reply)—I wish to thank Mr. Price for his kind remarks. The Mixtepec coal as shown in Table II has 30 pct ash and a free swelling index of 5, but when the same coal is washed to 15 pct ash it has a free swelling index of 8 to 9 and the volatiles increased from 17.4 to 20.7 pct. A satisfactory coke has been produced from blends made in the Mexican laboratory using at least 40 pct of the Mixtepec coking coals with the other Oaxaca non-coking coals. Koppers in Germany report good coke obtained from the Oaxaca coal with a blend of 80 pct Mixtepec coal. Consideration is being given the possibility of using methods other than the conventional blast furnace for the reduction of iron ore near the Oaxaca area; electric furnaces appear promising. The non-coking coals could be used to produce cheap electric energy and the coking coals to make metallurgical coke.

Jan 1, 1955

By Shiou-Chuan Sun

THE fact that coals of different ranks and even of the same rank differ greatly in their amenability to iroth flotation is well known. In recognition of the need for an explanation of this phenomenon, two hypotheses have been suggested. Wilkinsl reported that the floatability of coals increased with an increase of the carbon content or rank. This postulate is handicapped by the fact that bituminous coals that possess moderate carbon contents are actually more floatable than anthracite coals that have high carbon contents, as shown in columns 6 and 9 of Table I. Taggart and his associates' implied that the difference of floatability between bituminous and anthracite coal was caused by the variation of carbon-hydrogen ratio. This is not applicable to the relative floatability of other coals and carbons. For example, column 11 of Table I shows that the carbon-hydrogen ratios of low-floating lignitic coal and non-floating animal charcoal are not only smaller than the moderate-floating anthracite coal, but are also similar to the high-floating bituminous coal. Furthermore, according to this hypothesis, high temperature coke-A (464), Ceylon graphite (1238), and lamp-black (357), all possessing extremely high carbon-hydrogen ratios, should be less floatable than other substances having much lower carbon-hydrogen ratios such as high volatile-B bituminous coal (11.9 to 22), anthracite coal (35.7 to 60.5), lignitic coal (15.6 to 33.6), and charcoal (13 to 26.2). However the former group is actually more floatable than the latter group. In this paper, a surface components hypothesis is Proposed to explain the different floatabilities of coals, carbons, and hydrocarbon minerals. The validity of the hypothesis is experimentally supported by the actual floatability, natural floatability, wettability, and adsorbability for neutral oils of coals, carbons, and hydrocarbon minerals tested. The combustible recovery of the flotation results, as used in this paper. was calculated from Eq. 1: P (100-Ep) 100 RWCP Rc= [1] F (100-E,) C, where R, is the percent combustible recovery; F and P are, respectively, the weight of feed and the weight of concentrate or product; E, and Ep are, respectively, the total percent of ash plus moisture in feed and in concentrate; Ru. is the percent weight recovery: and C, and C, are, respectively, the percent of combustible in feed and in concentrate. Except for ash and moisture content, all chemical components of a coal are assumed combustible. The experimental work included studies on flotation, ultimate and proximate analyses, contact angle tests, extractions of bitumen-A with benzene, adsorptions for liquid hydrocarbons, and wetting tests. Most of the flotation experiments were performed in a laboratory Fagergren machine; others were tested in a small Denver machine. The solid feed for the former was 300 g and for the latter was 30 g. The solid materials used for flotation were crushed to —48 mesh. After the mineral pulp in the flotation cell was agitated for 6 min and the pH was adjusted to 7.5 & 0.2 with sodium hydroxide or hydrochloric acid, a petroleum light oil having a viscosity of 5.73 centipoises at 77 °F was added and conditioned for 2 min. Finally, pine oil was introduced and the froth was collected for exactly 3 min. The weight ratio of petroleum light oil to pine oil was kept constant at 1.5 to 1. Tap water was used for all flotation tests. Contact angles were measured with a captive bubble machine. For each coal sample, three specimens were mounted in transoptic mounts and polished with levigated alumina, first on a sheet glass, then on a cloth-covered metal polishing wheel. The polished specimen was first washed with distilled water and wiped thoroughly on a cleaned linen pad, then transferred into the pyrex cell of the captive bubble machine and conditioned for 6 min., and finally measured for contact angles at three or more points. Except where otherwise stated, the induction time for each measurement was 1 min. The contact angle representing each material was obtained by averaging the measurements of three specimens. The linen pad was first washed with warm distilled water, then boiled 30 min in a 2N sodium hydroxide solution, and finally washed with distilled water until no trace of sodium hydroxide could be detected in the decanted solution. The cleaned linen pad was stored under distilled water. Immediately before using, the pad was rewashed and transferred into a clean pyrex petri dish partly filled with distilled water. The glassware and rubber gloves used were cleaned by soaking in sulphuric acid-potassium dichromate cleaning solution, followed by rinsing with distilled water. The polished specimens were handled only by glass forceps. The ultimate and proximate analyses were made in accordance with the ASTM standard procedures for coal and coke. The extractable bitumen-A was determined by weighing 1 g of —100 mesh sample and placing it in a desiccated and weighed ASTM aluminum-extraction thimble. The thimble was placed in condenser hooks and inserted into an extraction flask containing 100 cu cm of benzene. The flask was heated and the benzene vapor was condensed by water coils. At the end of 24 hr of percolation, the thimble was removed, desiccated, and weighed. Loss in weight of sample was taken as bitumen-A and calculated to dry and ash-free basis.

Jan 1, 1955