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By J. L. Brimhall, R. A. Huggins, M. J. Klein

IN a recent paper1 it was shown that small additions of magnesium, copper, and oxygen decrease the stacking fault probability in plastically deformed silver. Correlation of :X-ray data with measurements of the twinning frequency and metallographic observation of slip lines indicated that this effect may be due to an increase in the relative stacking fault energy. It is the purpose of the present note to report experiments on these alloys of known stacking fault probability that relate to the stacking fault contribution to electron scattering in silver. There has been a considerable amount of disagreement in the literature concerning the contribution of dislocations to electrical resistivity in metals. Calculations relating to the scattering of conduction electrons by the dislocation core, its strain fields, and related effects have been made by several authors.2-5 In addition, experimental work on Cu,3,6-10 Ni,11 and Ni-Co alloys1:! has shown that dislocations in those materials exert an anomalously large effect on resistivity, this effect being related to the presence of extended dislocations. The problem of the scattering due to the stacking fault region between partial dislocations has been treated theoretically using several different procedures.13-'0 The results of these calculations show a wide range of predicted values, from rather large to completely negligible, due to the models and the approximations involved. Almost all of this work has been applied to the specific problem of scattering in copper. The more complete theoretical treatments depend rather critically. on the shape of the Fermi surfaces and the effective mass parameters. The scattering from stacking faults might therefore be expected to vary significantly from one metal to another. Unfortunately, sufficiently accurate information is not available .which would allow one to have any confidence in a theoretical prediction of the scattering in the case of silver. Resistivity measurements were made on small wire specimens of vacuum melted high purity silver and several dilute alloys. These measurements were made at approximately 20°C, with great care being given to temperature measurement and corrections. At such temperatures phonon scattering is significantly greater than imperfection scattering. However, the experimental technique was such that measurements on similarly treated samples were reproducible to better than 2.4 X 10-9 ohm-cm, which was satisfactory for this work. Values of the stacking fault probability and the increase in resistivity after severe plastic deformation are given in Table I. The increases in resistivity resulting from plastic deformation agree quite well with previous work on silver.14,21-26 In addition, it has been previously found that interetitials and vacancies in silver anneal out well below room temperature, so that the residual imperfection scattering in these experiments could be expected to be primarily associated with dislocations;. It is seen from the data in Table I that large changes in stacking fault probability are accompanied by differences in resistivity due to imperfection scattering of only a few percent. If the scattering of conduction electrons by extended dislocations is primarily due to the area of the stacking fault region independent of the stacking fault energy, and not the core and strain fields associated with partial dislocations, the resistivity increase should be proportional to the product of the dislocation density and the stacking fault width, as is the stacking fault probability. Therefore, the imperfection scattering caused by plastic deformation of the alloys should be considerably smaller than that found in the pure silver. Since this was not observed, these results sugegest the possibility that stacking faults do not themselves contribute appreciably to the electrical resistivity of silver deformed at room temperature. An alternative explanation of these observations is that the scattering by the stacking fault is roughly proportional to the stacking fault energy, rather than being determined by the total area of such faults. Sufficient evidence is not yet available to separate these two possibilities. This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research.

Jan 1, 1962

By S. A. Bradford

Internal-oxide precipitates in decarburized a iron alloys were studied by microscopic and X-ray methods. Diffusion of oxygen is primarily trans-granular, although large amounts of manganese or PhosPhorus cause preferred grain boundary dimsion at temperatures below 1450OF. Transgvanular internal oxidation follows the parabolic rate law with an apparent activation energy of 60 kcal per g-atom for decarburized rimmed steel and around 50 kcal per g-atom for higher alloy contents. The internal oxide is (Fe,Mn)0. Evidence was found for a miscibility gap in the FeO-MnO system. UNTIL very recently, the internal oxidation of metals was studied primarily as a scientific curiosity or, in a few cases, as a means of strengthening alloys by precipitation hardening. However, with the recent development of low-carbon enameling sheet steel, internal oxidation has become a problem of practical importance to the steel industry. For example, in 1961 it was reported1 that internal oxidation of steel can occur during decar-burization by open-coil annealing and will reduce the notch ductility of the sheet unless the process is carefully controlled. The present study was therefore undertaken to learn more about the rates and mechanism of oxygen diffusion and oxide formation in iron alloys. BACKGROUND The process of internal oxidation has been well-defined in the literature:',' oxygen dissolves in an alloy, diffuses inward from the surface of the metal, and reacts to form a precipitate with the alloying element that will provide the most stable oxide. he growth of the finely divided so-called subscale, i.e., the internal-oxidation zone, depends on the diffusion rates of both the oxygen and the reactive element.4 Investigators have generally found that increasing the temperature increases the size of the oxide particles, the rate of subscale growth, and the tendency to transgranular diffusion. With very few exceptions, the square of the thickness of the internal oxide layer is directly proportional to the reaction time. Given two conditions easily satisfied for iron systems— a) an oxygen solubility much less than the concentration of the alloying metal and b) an oxygen-diffusion rate to the oxide boundary much faster than that of the alloying element—then the general expression developed by Rhines and co-workers5 for the parabolic growth rate of the internal-oxide zone can be simplified to the following form: where Co and CM are, respectively, the solubility of oxygen and the concentration of the alloying element, DO is the diffusion coefficient of oxygen, O/M is the weight ratio of oxygen to metal in the precipitated oxide, and x is the thickness of the internal-oxide zone after an annealing time t. Both the oxygen solubility and diffusion coefficient can be approximately expressed as functions of temperature by Arrhenius-type equations: in which H and Q are, respectively, the heat of solution and the activation energy of diffusion. Consequently, the apparent activation energies calculated from Arrhenius plots are the sum of the heat of solution of oxygen in iron and the activation energy for diffusion of oxygen. The data, if not the interpretation, of Schenck et al.8 bear out the fact that oxygen diffuses in the atomic form. The general rate law for atomic diffusion is: the reaction rate being proportional to the square root of the pressure at low pressures. Benard and Moreau8 studied both the surface oxidation of Fe-Ni alloys and the gradual penetration of oxygen into the metal. They observed that oxide particles first form along grain boundaries and then grow to form continuous films that eventually envelop the grains. The parabolic rate law does not usually apply in these cases, especially at the higher temperatures. The oxide formed is wustite which gradually transforms into Fe3O4 and finally into Kennedy and coauthors8 examined Fe-Ni alloys with 26, 75, and 84 pct Ni oxidized at 800°C and

Jan 1, 1964

By Ira B. Joralernon

THREATS of a coming metal famine in the United States have filled many columns in magazines and newspapers in the past three years. This asserted menace has diverted attention from the actual results of recent exploration. Because no one had bothered to look into the facts, the statistical experts assumed that little ore was being found. They often subtracted the staggering tonnage of metals produced during the war from earlier published reserves, and assumed that the difference was all we had left. Naturally, they shuddered, with all possible publicity. For their figures showed an imminent lack of nearly all the metals needed for an industrial civilization, as well as for mechanized war. They concluded that only wholesale imports and development and production of metals by Federal agencies could avert the famine.

Jan 1, 1948

By H. Rush Spedden

When Robert H. Richards wrote Ore Dressing, the famous four-volume work published in the first decade of this century, the ore dresser was still largely concerned, with the mechanical treatment of ores. Since then, however, economics have transformed him into a mineral processing engineer who must increasingly deal with closely integrated facilities designed to produce a commodity for manufacturing. Moreover, this change will grow marked as the complex low- grade ores of the future make it ever more necessary for him not only to use the best combination of pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical and physical separation processes, but also to integrate these processes at the mine site. Nor are economic pressures the only ones propelling the processing engineer into a new era. The ecology drive has thrown him into a new situation in which his economic base is radically altered, and it could well precipitate as drastic a revolution in his technology as that which took place when flotation was developed.

Jan 1, 1971

George E. Collins, Nacoochee, Ga. (communication to the Secretary): The results tabulated below were obtained at the Reynolds mill, White county, Ga. They were noted, not with a view to investigating the point discussed by Mr. Clark, but in course of a test on a working scale to determine the com parative saving from a given free-milling ore on copper and silvered plates respectively. In every case the bullion assayed was the result of a separate clean-up on a considerable quantity of ore. The ore varied widely in grade and in other respects, but the runs bracketed in the table were made at the same time, in adjoining batteries, and on similar types of ore. In a * Result modified by the addition to the bullion-shipment of a little impure bullion left over from previous clean-ups.. On these occasions, the strips of copper were removed from the tables, and: their lower surfaces were cleaned. Hence the higher yield reported.

Jan 1, 1900

By J. G. Thompson

PROJECT 8411 of the U. S. Bureau of Standards, sponsored by the Iron and Steel Division of the A.I.M.E., is an attempt to define more concisely than has been possible heretofore the accuracy and the Limits ' of usefulness of the ' various methods now in use for the determination of oxygen as it exists in ferrous materials. It originated in correspondence between John Johnston and other metallurgists, and was brought to the attention of the Iron and Steel Division of the Institute at the Annual Meeting in February, 1933. As reported in MINING AND MET,ALLURGY, Vol. 14, page 152, March, 1933, "Dr. Johnston introduced, and those present adopted, a resolution that the Iron and Steel Division of the A.I.M.E., believing that a careful comparison of the several methods now in use for the analysis of steel for nonmetallic elements such as oxygen is highly desirable, heartily endorses the proposal that the U. S. Bureau of Standards act as a clearing house " in this matter, undertaking the final preparation and allocation of identical samples to those laboratories willing to collaborate in this important question, and collate the results re- ported back to the Bureau.'"

Jan 1, 1934

By S. H. Ash

IN no part of the world other than a small area in Pennsylvania is anthracite mining an industry of major magnitude. As the deposits of anthracite in the United States are limited virtually to Pennsylvania, the difficulties of this industry have been commonly considered a state rather than a national problem. However, there is also national interest in the conservation and wise utilization of all the country's fuel resources and in the control of interstate waterways. The anthracite industry is confronted with a serious problem of water accumulation in many of the mines, a problem that must be solved in the near future if progressively higher mining costs are to be avoided. It cannot be solved by the operating companies without state or Federal aid, or both, owing to the magnitude of the work required, the diversity of interests of the coal and surface ownerships, the hazard to the whole mining community, and interests affected outside the mining region. 'The costs of abating the ever-increasing surface seepage to mine workings and of handling this seepage once it has occurred are beyond the eco¬nomic resources of the operating managements.

Jan 1, 1941

By John V. Beall

Let's start at the beginning, Mr. Turner. Where and when were you born? In Lansing, Mich., on July 31, 1880. And what was your education? I went to the University of Michigan, where I got an A.B. degree in 1902; then to the Michigan College of Mines at Houghton, graduating from there in 1904 with a B.S. and an E.M. What was your first job in the mining industry, Mr. Turner, and what were you paid? In the summer of 1902, 1 was a field assistant for the U. S. Geological Survey in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, working under Israel C. Russell, professor of geology at the University of Michigan, who incidentally, had just returned from an expedition to study the effects of the eruption of Mt. Pelee, on Martinique. I was paid $60 a month and found; in addition to doing geologic and hydrographic work, I cooked many of the meals for a party of four, and wrangled four horses. I slept for four months under the stars, without a tent.

Jan 1, 1949

By C. L. Clark

EVERY user of steel should ask himself whether or not he is taking full advantage of the discoveries of the steel metallurgists during the last few years, or is merely buying grades that looked to be the best five or ten years ago for various specific purposes and have since proved perfectly satisfactory in his plant. If he has not kept abreast of the times, then it is probable that something better has been developed, or something just as good that costs less. Though this article will have to do with steel for high-temperature applications primarily, marked advances have been made in steels for other purposes as well.

Jan 1, 1940

By James E. Little

(Wilkes-Barre Meeting, June, 1911.) OF the several extensive deposits of brown iron-ore in Cuba, including those of Mayari and Moa, that of Mayari was the first to be systematically explored, and was selected as the scene of the first operations in the development of this class of ore. Construction-work, begun in the spring of 1907, involved the building of 16 miles of standard-gauge railroad and two large double-track inclines, the installation of mining-machinery, a nodulizing-plant, power-plant, shops and shipping-facilities, and the dredging of an extensive basin for deep-draught vessels. Unusual weather-conditions delayed the completion of portions of this work so that the entire plant was not in operation until December, 1909. The ore in its natural state contains a very large percentage of water, which increases to some extent with the depth below the surface. Near the surface it is red in color, with somewhat granular structure. The color gradually changes with depth, finally reaching a bright yellow. The consistency also changes towards, the bottom to a clay-like, sticky mass. The relative proportion of red and yellow ore is quite variable; in some places the yellow reaches close to the surface, while in others the red extends almost to the underlying serpentine. Fig. 1 is a map showing the Mayari division of the Spanish-American Iron Co. The ore lies on an irregular plateau about 15 miles long and 5 miles wide at the widest point, entirely covered with pine trees and brush, which grow directly on the ore. The elevation at the northern extremity, which is approached by the railroad, is about 1,700 ft. above sea-level. At the southern end the general elevation is about 2,000 ft. Ore is removed by means of scraper-bucket excavators and steam-shovels, these machines loading into special standard-guage, side-dump steel cars of 100,000 lb. capacity. A short haul

Aug 1, 1911

By John D. Sullivan

MAJOR technical advances seldom occur in a single year, and this is especially true with aluminum and magnesium where marked improvements in metallurgical processes and products took place during the war years. Nevertheless, the light metals and alloys, particularly aluminum, are advancing in commercial importance and are finding their niche in industry. New applications during the year have resulted from a better over-all knowledge of properties, handling, etc., rather than from revolutionary new developments.

Jan 1, 1948

By Robert T. DeGavre

The $650 million financing for Into Ltd.'s Soroako nickel project is a story worth telling-not only because the project itself represents a significant achievement but also because there are certain important lessons that can be derived from our experience in financing the project. A critical appraisal of the methods and successes in the financing plan is presented in this article, in light of goals which Inco sought to achieve. A technical assessment of the project is not included, since Inco Ltd. has submitted a series of papers on this subject at the International Laterite Symposium as part of the 108th Annual Meeting of AIME in February 1979. Progress in developing and financing the project is encapsulated in the accompanying project factsheet.

Jan 3, 1979

By E. R. Macgregor, J. Halpern

The kinetics of the reduction of cupric salts in aqueous solution by molecular hydrogen to metallic copper are described. The rate of reduction appears to be homogeneously determined and shows a marked inverse dependence on the hydrogen-ion concentration. Precipitation of copper is more rapid and complete in sulfate than in per-chlorate solution. A mechanism is proposed which accounts for this behavior. IN recent years a number of important hydro-metallurgical processes have been developed in which metallic salts in aqueous solution are reduced by gaseous hydrogen, usually at elevated temperatures and pressures, and thereby precipitated either in metallic form (e.g. Ni, Co, Cu) or as an oxide or salt of lower valence (e.g. VO, and VA).1 ; In connection with applications such as these, most of which involve heterogeneously catalyzed reactions, recent demonstrations"-" that salts of certain metals, e.g., Cu", Ag' , Hg" , and Hg,+ can activate molecular hydrogen homogeneously and thus catalyze hydrogenation reactions in aqueous solution, are of considerable interest. For example, cupric salts catalyze the otherwise slow homogeneous reduction of dichromate and ceric salts by hydrogen, i.e. Cr,O; + 3HL. + 8H1 ? 2Cr'- -- 7H,O [1] 2Ce ' ! H.. ? 2Ce" | 2H . [2] In perchloric-acid solution, where Cu" is not appreciably complexed, the kinetics have been found" " to be of the form -d [H,] _- k,[HJ [CU"]' dt -LCu+' l+ (k ,/k,) [H] [3] where, K = 1x10"' exp [—26,600/RT] 1, mole-' min-' ... [4] and (k ,/k,) - 0.25 at 110°C. This kinetic behavior suggests that the reaction proceeds by a mechanism involving the following sequence of steps kt Cu" +H1CuH' 4-HA [51 k., CUH + CU" ? + 2Cu f H' [GI 6Cu'+ Cr,07 + 14H'+ 2Cr- (¦ 7H,O + 6Cu" ['i] fast The catalytic activities of the undissociated cupric-sulphate and cupric-acetate complexes are somewhat greater (by factors of 6.5 and 120, respectively) than that of the simple hydrated Cu" ion.'" These considerations suggest that, in contrast to the other hydrometallurgical hydrogenation reactions, referred to previously, reduction of cupric salts in aqueous solutions by molecular hydrogen, should proceed homogeneously, and in the absence of an extraneous catalyst. This has already been demonstrated" for acetate-buffered solutions where the product of the reaction is a precipitate of cuprous oxide (Cu,O). In the present paper, an investigation of the reduction of cupric salts in perchloric-acid and sulphuric-acid solutions, leading to the precipitation of metallic copper, is described. Some results for the sulphate system, which is of considerable hydrometallurgical interest, have been reported previously by Ipatieff",' " and by Schaufel-berger' but these do not give a quantitative account, of the kinetics and mechanism of the reaction. Experimental The reduction experiments were conducted in the 1-gal, titanium-lined autoclave described in connection with earlier related investigations," " and using a similar procedure. The solutions were made up by dissolving known amounts of CP grade Cu(ClO,), and HC10, (or CuSO, and HISO,) in dis-tilled water. While in the autoclave, the solution was stirred and maintained at a constant temperature (±loc) and under a constant partial pressure of hydrogen gas. It was ascertained that the agitation (provided by two 3-in., four-bladed stirrers, rotating at 900 rpm) was adequate so that at no time was the rate of reaction limited by solution of hydrogen. During each experiment, samples of the solution were withdrawn periodically, allowed to cool, and the concentration of copper remaining in solution was then determined electrolytically. Some Cu' is formed during the reaction, but undergoes disproportionation when the solution is cooled to room temperature. For purposes of kinetic calcula-

Jan 1, 1959

By J. H. Westbrook, R. W. Guard

The influence of a number of alloying additions on the structure and hardness of Ni3Al (?') has been studied. Three general effects have been observed.. solid-solution hardening, strain aging, and defect hardening arising from deviations from stoichiometry. The solid-solution hardening phenomena are complicated relative to binary terminal solid solutions due to the possibility of virtually independent substitution for the component elements and to the concomitant effects of strain aging. In many superior nickel-base high-temperature alloys the elevated temperature strength is attributable to the presence of a dispersion of Ni3A1 (?') in a solid-solution matrix. Examples of such alloys are Inconel X-550, Inco 713, Waspalloy, and Nimonic 80. It is, therefore, appropriate to seek a further understanding of the properties and alloying behavior of this compound. Ni3Al, the compound most rich in nickel in the nickel-aluminum binary system, was first detected by litakal but not established with certainty until the much later studies of Bradley and Taylor' and Alexander and Vaughan.3 More recently the mechanism of formation was clarified by Floyd4 who showed that Ni3Al is the product of a peritectic reaction at 1395°C between the melt and the compound NiAl in agreement with the original suggestion of Alexander and Vaughan.3 Ni3Al has the ordered face-centered-cubic or Cu3Au structure in which the nickel atoms occupy the face centers and the aluminum atoms the cube corners, a0 = 3.570A. Despite earlier reports to the contrary. the compound apparently remains ordered at least to 1000oC.5 It exists over a narrow range of compositions (-3 pct wide) whose limits and temperature dependencies thereof have been reviewed recently by Taylor and Floyd.' Most previous workers have found Ni3Al to be both hard and brittle7,8 although Maxwell and Grala8 obtained 2.5 to 6 pct tensile elongation at room temperature and Alexander and vaughan3 described the material as "hard and tough" on the basis of observations made while preparing metallographic specimens. In a recent study one of the present authors found that although considerable intergranu-lar brittleness was evident: individual grains of a coarse-grained inert atmosphere arc-melted specimen were readily deformable.l0 The same study also showed Ni3Al to have an anomalous temperature dependence of hardness in that such a curve exhibits a number of peaks between room temperature and 800°C which could not be associated with any microscopically observable precipitation reactions or polymorphic transformations. It was, therefore, proposed in the present study to elucidate the anomalous high-temperature strength behavior and to examine the solid-solution alloying of this compound and the effects of such alloying on hardness. Sample Preparation and Experimental Procedure-Samples, both of pure Ni,Al and of various alloyed solid solutions based on Ni3Al, were prepared by arc melting 100-g buttons in an inert atmosphere arc furnace. All buttons were heat treated for 4 hr at 1275oC and examined metallographically for homogeneity. Microstructures were typically homogeneous and single phase with ASTM grain size about 1 and unusually clean grain boundaries. Chemical analyses showed good correspondence (within a few tenths of a percent) with intended compositions. Microindentation hardness data were obtained from room temperature to 800°C in vacuo using a balanced-beam type loading system in an instrument to be described in detail elsewhere." In general a 100-g load, a loading rate of 1 mm per min and an indentation time of 15 sec were used. Various indenter materials were used according to the materials bein tested because of specimen-indenter interaction. Fl Measurements of the Vickers-type indentations were made at room temperature. Hardness-temperature curves were run at least twice on each sample to ensure that surface work-hardening effects had been eliminated." Precision lattice-parameter measurements were made on powder samples using a back-reflection

Jan 1, 1960

By Bernard MacDonald

Introduction. OF the treatment of the slime-pulp of gold- and silver-ores by cyanidation, agitation is an essential part. When prepared for treatment, this pulp, consisting of ore reduced to such fineness that approximately 80 per cent. of it will pass through a 200-mesh screen, is mixed with a certain proportion of water, carrying in solution the quantity of cyanide (KCN) and other chemicals required. The water-constituent of the pulp thus prepared usually ranges from 1 to 2 parts by weight to 1 of the dry ore. Thus constituted', the pulp is charged into treatment-tanks, the shape and capacity of which vary, according to the quantity of pulp to be treated daily and the method of agitation to be employed. Tanks have no other function in a cyanide-plant than that of being economical and convenient containers or receptacles for holding the pulp, solution, or water used in the operations. It is by agitation that the solids in the pulp charged into the tanks are kept in suspension in, and mixed with, the solution in the proper proportions required for the treatment. If the proper mixture of solution to solids be determined to be 2 to 1 by weight (which is, approximately, 5 to 1 by volume), this proportion should be maintained in every part of the charge ; -that is, each solid particle of the pulp, whether it be of 180- or 400-mesh size, should, be surrounded by five times its own volume of solution throughout the whole period of treatment. The reason is, that the amount of chemicals ascertained to be necessary for dissolving the gold and silver contained in the solids, is held in uniform solution in the water-constituent of the pulp, and, therefore, the determined proportions of solution and solids must be maintained at all times during treat-

Apr 1, 1912

By K. Kim

INTRODUCTION A thorough evaluation of the geologic material being considered must be conducted to determine the feasibility of constructing a large-scale underground facility in a deep geologic formation. The design and construction of a nuclear waste repository in basalt, due to the unprecedented nature of the project, adds significantly to the need for thoroughness of this evaluation and mandates that geoengineering data and analysis be of the highest quality. The investigations required to collect the data encompass in situ measurements and observations, as well as laboratory and field tests. Mathematical (numerical) models, which are required to predict the long-term performance of the repository structure, must be developed to evaluate rock mass behavior at canister, room, and repository scale and eventual 1 y must be validated through in situ tests and monitoring. The information generated from these geo- mechanics investigations is essential for assessing site suitability and will be utilized in the development of the repository design, the engineered barrier design, and the evaluation of repository performance. The Hanford Site near Richland, Washington is one of nine sites throughout the nation being investigated by the U .S. Department of Energy as a possible location for the first high-level nuclear waste repository in deep geologic formations. The process of site characterization is currently in progress. If the site is nominated by the U.S. Department of Energy, an extensive program will be undertaken, the culmination of which will be a decision on the suitability of the site for waste disposal. There are a mu1titude of elements to the proposed site characterization

Jan 1, 1984

By Robert M. Weidenhammer

For years before the war, Coal had the reputation of being a sick industry. Currently it is operating at peak production and succeeding pretty well in keeping out of the red. But, says Mr. Weidenhammer, it will have a relapse as soon as the war ends unless (1) working capital can be built up; (2) it gets the support of the people and Congress; and (3) a truly long-range national fuel policy is formulated.

Jan 1, 1943

By Paul M. Tyler

FOR the same reason that water is not missed until the well runs dry, the roles of many industrial minerals in wartime are often overlooked. In contrast to the growing shortages of many metals, our supplies of most nonmetallic minerals are limited only by our machinery for taking them from the ground and by our processing facilities. With few exceptions, the demand for increased supplies has been met without fanfare or delay. Only Brazilian quartz crystals, certain kinds of mica, and, latterly, industrial diamonds are on the so-called strategic list, although asbestos, beryl, corundum, cryolite, fluorspar, crucible-grade graphite, ilmenite, iodine, kyanite, monazite, nitrates, rutile, and zircon have caused more concern among those responsible for procurement and are included in our preclusive buying programs. Such specialties are needed urgently, but they are far less important in the over-all picture than the more abundant minerals.

Jan 1, 1942

By H. M. Otte, A. G. Crocker

SLIP, twinning, stacking faults, and precipitates on well-defined planes in a crystal produce traces that are visible on either a polished or an etched surface. The purpose of this note is to establish the usefulness and limitations of the information obtained from such traces when determining the orientation of single crystals or grains in a polycrystal. Attention will be confined specifically to traces produced by octahedral planes in cubic crystals, though most of the remarks can be taken as more generally valid. The problem of determining the crystal orientation is completely solved in principle' and in particular for the special case under consideration.1'2 Tables are available3 in which the orientations can simply be looked up when given the two or three angles between the traces. Thus a quick and simple method is available for obtaining the orientation of a crystal from surface traces. In this note two examples will be given from recently published papers and will show the use of the method with the aid of the Tables, as well as some of the precautions that should be taken in the procedure. As part of an analysis of X-ray Kossel lines, Peters and Ogilvie 4 determined from them the crystallographic orientation of the specimen. They chose a Cu-5.10 wt pct Si alloy that had been partly transformed from the a (fee) phase to the k (hcp) phase. The latter formed as very straight platelets along the octahedral planes of the a phase, and a photograph (Fig. 7 of Ref. 4) was reproduced in the paper4 of the region for which the orientation had been determined from the Kossel lines. Apart from a very small area (about 0.15 mm diam) near the top center of the photograph, the region shown was clearly all of one orientation. Traces in four different directions were readily identified. Starting with the smallest angle and proceeding counterclockwise, the angles between the traces were measured to be 27° 43', 55° 16', 64 3 43 1, and32"26'. These add up to 1802 08 1, indicating a cumulative error of 8'. The correct values should, of course, be taken from the original glass plates, or at least from prints on distortion-free paper, so the precision of the quoted values is actually greater than their accuracy. The solutions can be looked up in the Tables3 in four ways, depending on how the angles are paired, tion for the minutes of arc is required and the solution obtained will be identical for all the four pairs if the values of the angles are not in error. In a practical situation, such as this one, there are several sources of error, so that the four solutions obtained will all be slightly different. An arithmetic average of the four solutions is mathematically incorrect, but may, in special cases, give an answer close to the correct one. A rigorous procedure for refining the orientation has been described by Mackenzie;5 he gives a least-squares method that can be applied, if necessary, to this type of problem. The orientation thus determined can be compared with the one from the Kosel lines and discrepancies larger than the experimental error assigned to nonor thogonality of the X-ray or electron beam to the specimen. Here the example will only be used to illustrate the general procedure for making a very rapid rough check. From measurements on the stereographic projection, Fig. 9 of the paper,4 we can determine that the surface normal is approximately (0.434, 0.704, 0.562). From the Tables3 we find, using 28°, 55" as a good approximation to the first pair (27°43', 55°16'), that the surface normal is (0.453, 0.678, 0.579).* These two values are within 2 deg of each

Jan 1, 1967

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