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By W. H. Durrell

DISCOVERY of large iron ore deposits in New Quebec and Labrador is, undoubtedly, one of the outstanding mining events of the twentieth century. To give an idea of size, the present concession is almost equivalent to a strip a mile wide around the earth at the equator. Importance of this iron ore area can best be appreciated by comparison to the famous Mesabi Range. On Mesabi, the area of favorable rock is 110 miles long and from 1 to 5 miles wide, with a, productive zone about 70 miles long. On the con- cessions the area of favorable rock in the Labrador Trough is 225 miles long and from 10 to 60 miles wide. In Quebec-Labrador, exploration already discloses that the productive zone is 90 miles long, with good chances of being extended at both ends. The Mesabi is covered generally by thick over- burden, and the iron ore deposits were found by T- test-pitting and systematic test-drilling. In Labrador and Quebec, most ore has been developed from a few surface deposits, and when it is considered that at least 95 pct of the area is covered by over- burden, and that there remains thousands of square miles of favorable territory still to be explored, it can be seen that the possibilities for developing additional ore are tremendous.

Jan 4, 1954

By Francis Cameron

Gloomy predictions that domestic mineral reserves are approaching exhaustion are unwarranted and may be harmful, this author contends. Specific mineral forecasting errors in the Paley Report are cited to support this contention, and steps that can be taken to insure a progressive mineral industry capable of keeping pace with the major raw material needs of the nation through advancing technology are suggested. Mining is both exciting and rewarding —although at times somewhat frustrating— and we all can have real pride in our industry, in its people, and in its accomplishments. It is, however, with concern that I have noted a deterioration in this Country in what might be called mining's stature and in the growth of a belief in many quarters that our mineral reserves are rapidly approaching exhaustion. In other words, there is a popular image that we are fast becoming a "have not" nation in many respects and that the domestic mining industry can no longer be considered, in the vernacular of Wall Street to offer much in the way of "growth potential." I do not subscribe to this hypothesis, nor do I be-li4ve that the record of the mining industry bears this out. However, let me add that we can, in time, talk ourselves into this frame of mind and we can hasten the day when this very well might come about by unnecessary and unwise legislation or regulation. My remarks today are basically designed to give my reasons for refuting this negative philosophy and to review our record. With your help, I know we can improve our image, and the public's recognition of our industry's peculiar problems. The progress of our civilization over the centuries has been fundamentally based upon proper use of raw materials, both agricultural and mineral, and upon energy, human or otherwise. As the standard of living has progressed century by century, the demands for mineral raw materials have increased in an irregular, but steadily rising progression. Fortunately, those minerals on which we depend most, i.e., iron, coal, petroleum, copper, aluminum, lead, and zinc have been neither too difficult to find nor to process into useful form. Iron, the most useful of all metals, is present in various amounts in most rock types and soils. Gold, seemingly the most generally desired (but certainly not the most useful of all metals), occurs in sea water in a far greater total tonnage than has been won from all of the world's known gold mines. If the latter is true, then why do we not see large installations treating sea water for the recovery of its gold content? The answer, of course, is that even the French, who seem, from their recent actions, to value gold above all else, have not devised a way of doing this at a profit. Theoretically, it is possible, but not with today's technology at a cost which would justify the effort. Man has exploited only those mineral concentrations which accidents of nature have placed within his so far limited means of finding and utilizing. What we geologists and engineers refer to as an orebody is nothing more than a concentration of minerals, exploitable with available knowledge, that will yield a value greater than the value attached to the energy and capital required to produce it. What is "ore" and what is not "ore" is, in the end, a matter of economics. The economic problem stems from the physical and chemical character of mineral deposits. The good Lord stacked the cards heavily in favor of rising costs by limiting the amount of the higher grade ores easily available. As the best and most accessible ores are depleted, it becomes necessary to work harder and with greater ingenuity to produce more from less accessible and lower grade resources. The quantity of mineral raw materials we can have in the future will be determined largely by what we can afford to pay for them in terms of human effort, capital outlay and production energies. We will always have the problem of cost with us and our only real means of keeping ahead of rising costs is by continually improving our technical abilities. We, in this country at least, no longer have open to us large and unexplored virgin wildernesses in which a pick-and-shovel prospector might uncover an untouched mineral bonanza. The rest of the world also has few conventional frontiers left in which the explorer-prospector is free to roam. We do, however, have enormous land areas unexplored, and untouched po-

Jan 1, 1969

By Francis Cameron

Mining is both exciting and rewarding-although at times somewhat frustrating-and we all can have real pride in our industry, in its people, and in its accomplishments. It is, however, with concern that I have noted a deterioration in this Country in what might be called mining's stature and in the growth of a belief in many quarters that our mineral reserves are rapidly approaching exhaustion. In other words, there is a popular image that we are fast becoming a "have not" nation in many respects and that the domestic mining industry can no longer be considered, in the vernacular of Wall Street, to offer much in the way of "growth potential." I do not subscribe to this hypothesis, nor do I believe that the record of the mining industry bears this out. However, let me add that we can, in time, talk ourselves into this frame of mind and we can hasten the day when this very well might come about by unnecessary and unwise legislation or regulation. My remarks today are basically designed to give my reasons for refuting this negative philosophy and to review our record. With your help, I know we can improve our image, and the public's recognition of our industry's peculiar problems.

Jan 4, 1968

By John F. Abel

Personal gain seems to be the most powerful incentive to economic progress. One of my first exposures to this phenomenon was the comparison between company stopes and leaser's stopes in a vein gold mine. The company stopes were 4 to 6 ft wide, whereas the leaser's stopes were so narrow that in some places one could not turn around. The company leased only that ground it felt was marginal to mine with day's- pay miners, but by skillful, careful and energetic mining, the leasers managed in most cases to make money for themselves and the company. The Hurting Truth This capitalist system, which puts a premium on successful risk taking, is under attack. Not that it hasn't been under attack all along. What hurts and angers us at this time is that the attack comes from the children of the system-its youth. Such blasphemy should, of course, be eradicated, root and branch. Or should it? Are we hurt in part because some of the things they say are true?

Jan 1, 1970

THE sessions of the Institute were opened on Tuesday evening, October 26th, at Garrett's Hall, by Mr. Charles A. Otis, Chairman of the Local Committee of Arrangements, who welcomed the Institute to Cleveland, and introduced Col. Charles Whittlesey, who ad¬dressed the Institute briefly on the coal deposits of Ohio. Col. Whittlesey described the situation and character of the coal-beds of the State, and gave a short history of the use of raw coal in the manufacture of pig-iron, and spoke of the excellent quality of metal produced. The aid that a body of scientific miners and metal¬lurgists were capable of giving in the development of coal and other mineral resources was dwelt upon, and the hope expressed that the visit of the Institute to Cleveland might be profitable as, well to its members as to the citizens of the State. The President, Mr. A. L. Holley, responded to the welcome of Mr. Otis and of Col. Whittlesey, and read an introductory address on Some Pressing Needs in the Iron and Steel Manufacture. The following members and associates, duly proposed and indorsed by the Council, were then elected MEMBERS. Alfred S. Bertolet, - Youngstown, Ohio. Henry Binnse, - Chicago, Ill. John Birkinbine, - Philadelphia. Andrew A. Blair, - Watertown Arsenal, Mass. Ogden Bolton, - Canton, Ohio. Lloyd Booth, - Youngstown, Ohio. E. Borda, - Philadelphia. N. P. Bowler, - Cleveland, Ohio. Alexander E. Brown, - Cleveland, Ohio. C. F. Brush, - Cleveland, Ohio. S. M. Carpenter, - Cleveland, Ohio. James Cartwright, - Youngstown, Ohio. Henry Chisbolm, - Cleveland, Ohio. Wilson B. Chisbolm, - Newburgh, Ohio. W. H. Clarke, - Millertown, Pa. James E. Clayton, - Ore Knob, N. C.

Jan 1, 1876

The sessions of the Institute were opened on Tuesday evening, October 26th, at Garrett's Hall, by Mr. Charles A. Otis, Chairman of the Local Committee of Arrangements, who welcomed the Institute to Cleveland, and introduced Col. Charles Whittlesey, who addressed the Institute briefly on the coal deposits of Ohio. Col. Whittlesey described the situation and character of the coalbeds of the State, and gave a short history of the use of raw coal in the manufacture of pig-iron, and spoke of the excellent quality of metal produced. The aid that a body of scientific miners and metallurgists were capable of giving in the development of coal and other mineral resources was dwelt upon, and the hope expressed that the visit of the Institute to Cleveland might be profitable as well to its members as to the citizens of the State. The President, Mr. A. L. Holley, responded to the welcome of Mr. Otis and of Col. Whittlesey, and read an introductory address on Some Pressing Needs in the Iron and Steel Manufacture. The following members and associates, duly proposed and indorsed by the Council, were then elected MEMBERS. Alfred S. Bertolet,.. .. . Youngstown, Ohio. Henry Binnse,. Chicago, Ill. John Birkinbine,.. .. . Philadelphia. Andrew A. Blair,. .. .. Watertown Arsenal, Mass. Ogden Bolton,. .. .. Canton, Ohio. Lloyd Booth,..Youngstown, Ohio. E. Borda,..Philadelphia. N. P. Bowler,.. .. . Cleveland, Ohio. Alexander E. Brown,.... Cleveland, Ohio. C. F. Brush,.. .. .Cleveland, Ohio. S. M. Carpenter,.. .. . Cleveland, Ohio. James Cartwright,.. .. . Youngstown, Ohio. Henry Chisholm,.. .. . Cleveland, Ohio. Wilson B. Chisholm,.. .. . Newburgh, Ohio. W. H. Clarke,.. .. . Millertown, Pa. James E. Clayton,. .. .. Ore Knob, N..C.

By H. J. Wogner

STORAGE of natural gas in underground reservoirs is one of the most important developments in the natural gas industry in recent years. However, it is only when we consider this development together with proved fuel reserves, the know-how of the fuel technologist, and the possibility of making manufactured gas available over large areas, that we begin to appreciate fully the impact that underground storage of gas may have on the future growth and development of large areas in the United States. During the past winter, shortages of natural gas in the industrial East were given wide publicity and domestic consumers were requested to reduce their requirements to a minimum, so that war plants might have sufficient gas to continue operations. Curtailments would have been more drastic except for the fact that large volumes of natural gas had previously been stored in underground reservoirs. Storage of natural gas in depleted or partly depleted gas or oil sands is not new, having originally been tried, as far as I know, about 1915. About five or ten years later an attempt was made to store manufactured gas in a depleted gas sand. This proved unsuccessful at first because the gas was not properly cleaned and the impurities plugged the pores in the sand.

Jan 1, 1945

By J. D. Vincent, Paul A. Weyler

Climax Molybdenum's plan for the Henderson 30,000 tpd molybdenite plant didn't just happen. It slowly evolved over a period of 3% years. Many plants cannot afford similar delays, but the Henderson project will take about 10 years to complete from the time the orebody was first discovered until production begins. Pilot plant testing results with both the single stage and two-stage semi-autogenous grinding circuits were highly favorable in terms of operating costs reduction-so much so, that the Amax subsidiary made the decision to go with semi-autogenous grinding for the Henderson mill.

Jan 5, 1972

By Frank L. Hess

BERYLLIUM is demanding more of the limelight, and the output of beryllium copper (containing 2% to~ 3 per cent of beryllium) seems to have grown 60 per cent above that of 1936, which was double that of 1935. There is increasing interest in beryllium-aluminum alloys and small quantities are being marketed at $50 per lb. for the contained beryllium. Other alloys also can be produced. Further price decreases for beryllium copper (now $23 per lb. for the contained beryllium) seem , possible and desirable. No difficulty has been experienced in obtaining beryl and a 'reserve stock has been built up. One supplier heretofore found reliable has offered to furnish 200 tons per month. Supplies during 1937 have come from the Black Hills in South Dakota, Colorado. India, and South America

Jan 1, 1938

By L. W. WALLACE

IN an engineering fashion we have made an assay of the engineering profession, using as a. sample the engineers listed in "Who's Who in America" (1928-1929). We are aware that some will say it is an unfair sample; that it came from the best mine. This is readily admitted, with this qualification: that all engineers and architects by virtue of their training and experience have been freed of most of the dross to which mankind is heir. They are -a selected group to begin with, having all the potentialities those in the sample possess. We are also aware that some will say a part of those included in the sample are not engineers. Our answer to that criticism is this: An engineer is no less an engineer because for the time being he is president of a bank, a university, an opera company, or a hotel company. Moreover, he is no less an engineer because he is a governor of a commonwealth, a United States senator, a member of the Cabinet, or the President of the United States.

Jan 1, 1929

By A. E. Zawadzki

A progress report is presented on the development of a process for the removal of sulfur dioxide from flue gases. Catalytic oxidation of the sulfur dioxide in flue gases, with the production of recoverable sulfuric acid, has been demonstrated to be technically feasible. Problems associated with the process are discussed. The need for an inexpensive and efficient process for controlling sulfur dioxide emissions from utility plant stacks has been accentuated by the ever-increasing public demand for elimination of all man-made air pollutants. I would like to describe the results of an investigation of the development of such a process; more important, I would like to present a discussion of the problems associated with the process which remain to be solved. The research work on the BCR catalytic gas phase oxidation process has been jointly sponsored by the Association of Edison Illuminating Cos., Edison Electric Inst. and Bituminous Coal Research, Inc., since 1958. However, work on SO2-pollution abatement was initiated by BCR in 1953. Tieman and Clymer,1 working with ozone and simulated flue gases, evaluated a gas phase oxidation process for removing SO2 from flue gases. Their experimental data indicated that the use of ozone to oxidize SO2 in flue gas concentrations, with subsequent recovery of H2SO4, did not appear to be economical due to the large ratio of ozone to sulfuric acid produced (2.6 to 1). The cost of the ozone would be 6 to 10 times the cost of sulfuric acid produced. As a result of the ozone study, work on a catalytic oxidation process was developed. The following reactions are the basis for the catalytic oxidation process Reaction [I] normally occurs in the combustion of sulfur-bearing fuels. At the high temperature found in the combustion chamber, 95% to 99% of the sulfur in the fuel is oxidized to SO2 and 1% to 5% is oxidized to SO3. The concentration of SO2 in the combustion gases depends on the combustion efficiency and the quantity of excess air used. A commonly used rule of thumb is 0.1 percent by volume SO2 in the flue gas for each 1% sulfur in the fuel. Reaction [2] proceeds at a wide range of temperatures. The rate of the reaction is rapid above l,000°F; however, the equilibrium conversion drops rapidly above this temperature. 2 Reaction [3] occurs rapidly to completion at temperatures below 400°F; above this temperature some SO3 exists in equilibrium with H2SO4. Complete dissociation of H2SO4 occurs above 650°F.3 The simplicity of the proposed process provided added incentive to the development and evaluation of the various component unit operations. The advantages of the process were considered to be as follows: 1) no raw materials were required, 2) the unit operations were not radically new; and 3) a salable product, sulfuric acid, would be produced. The successful development of the process was contingent upon the solution of several major problems: 1) The development of a catalyst which would provide high catalytic activity at reasonable conditions of gas flow and temperature without causing an unacceptable increase in pressure drop. 2) The development of a high temperature dust collection system to provide clean flue gases to the catalytic reactor. 3) The complete recovery of the sulfuric acid produced in the process; the effluent gas must contain less than 20 ppm by volume of sulfuric acid. As of this date, the complete solution to these problems has not been achieved. EXPERIMENTAL Catalyst Development: The use of platinum and vanadium catalysts for the production of sulfuric acid by the treatment of dry gases containing 5% to 20% by volume sulfur dioxide has been known for many years. The application of the basic idea of catalytic oxidation of sulfur dioxide in flue gas concentrations was

Jan 1, 1965

[President and Director *JOSEPH L. GILLSON, '62 Wilmington, Del. Past President and Director *HOWARD C. PYLE, '61, Los Angeles, Calif. President-elect and Director *R. R. McNAUGHTON,'63, Trail, B.C., Canada Vice-Presidents and Directors *JOHN CHIPMAN,'62, Cambridge, Mass. *JOHN P. HAMMOND,'61, Tulsa, Oklahoma *WALTER R. HIBBARD, JR.,'61, Schenectady, N.Y. *BASIL P. KANTZER, '61, Los Angeles, Calif. *S. D. MICHAELSON,'61, Salt Lake City, Utah *J. W. WOOMER, '62, Pittsburgh, Pa.]

Jan 1, 1961

By L. B. Herring, Harold Decker

The South Texas area, discussed herein, represents districts 2 and 4 of the Texas Railroad Cominission and extends from Jackson, Lavaca, and Gonzales Counties on the northeast to the Rio Grande River, comprising a total of 26 counties.$ The present boundaries of this district do not coincide with those of earlier reports published in the annual volumes of Petroleum Development and Technology. The war, in its various ramifications, determined and controlled all the phases of the oil and gas industry. Priorities for material and governmental subsidies determined all new operations. New Pools In our opinion, the combine' quantity of crude and distillate reserves added in '943 approached Or possibly exceeded the amount produced. Thirty-five new pools were added to the area' Of these, five have significant reserves and ten offer possibilities of containing consequential reserves. The largest proven reserve discovered during the year was the Slick pool, on the DeWitt-Goliad County line. This is also the most important Wilcox discovery to date in the area. The most significant extension was at Willimar, Willacy County. Other important extensions were developed at Agua Dulce, Seeligson, and Odem. Except for the Porter field, in Karnes County, the Laredo trend, which produces lrom the Jackson and Yegua, proved very disappointing, and this pool is o:C secondary importance. The Scott and Hopper pool, Brooks County, has only orie well, but offers excellent possibilities of becoming an important discovery. It represents at this time the major Frio discovery of the year. The Hobson pool, Karnes County, is not a major reserve, but can be classed as important in that it produces at a shallow depth from the Wilcox. This proves that the potential area of production for this zone occupies a broad trend. Gas and Condensate During the year construction was begun on only one recycling plant, this being in the Sejita field, Duval County. Several others were colltemplated, but no actual operations were begun. The most important development in recycling was the rebuilding of old plants to allow for the fractiona-tion of isopentane, n-butane, isobutane, and propane. Heretofore all pentanes plus have been marketed as cLdistillate,n only a minor portion of the butanes being isolated and sold for fuel purposes. All these new the except propane, are considered vital to the war effort and propane is being marketed as fuel gas. In other instances propane is being isolated and then pumped back into the gas reservoirs for storage. It is anticipated that the demands for this product will increase in the future. Drilling in the Wilcox trend during the year showed the existence of valuable gas

Jan 1, 1944

By L. B. Herring, Harold Decker

The South Texas area, discussed herein, represents districts 2 and 4 of the Texas Railroad Cominission and extends from Jackson, Lavaca, and Gonzales Counties on the northeast to the Rio Grande River, comprising a total of 26 counties.$ The present boundaries of this district do not coincide with those of earlier reports published in the annual volumes of Petroleum Development and Technology. The war, in its various ramifications, determined and controlled all the phases of the oil and gas industry. Priorities for material and governmental subsidies determined all new operations. New Pools In our opinion, the combine' quantity of crude and distillate reserves added in '943 approached Or possibly exceeded the amount produced. Thirty-five new pools were added to the area' Of these, five have significant reserves and ten offer possibilities of containing consequential reserves. The largest proven reserve discovered during the year was the Slick pool, on the DeWitt-Goliad County line. This is also the most important Wilcox discovery to date in the area. The most significant extension was at Willimar, Willacy County. Other important extensions were developed at Agua Dulce, Seeligson, and Odem. Except for the Porter field, in Karnes County, the Laredo trend, which produces lrom the Jackson and Yegua, proved very disappointing, and this pool is o:C secondary importance. The Scott and Hopper pool, Brooks County, has only orie well, but offers excellent possibilities of becoming an important discovery. It represents at this time the major Frio discovery of the year. The Hobson pool, Karnes County, is not a major reserve, but can be classed as important in that it produces at a shallow depth from the Wilcox. This proves that the potential area of production for this zone occupies a broad trend. Gas and Condensate During the year construction was begun on only one recycling plant, this being in the Sejita field, Duval County. Several others were colltemplated, but no actual operations were begun. The most important development in recycling was the rebuilding of old plants to allow for the fractiona-tion of isopentane, n-butane, isobutane, and propane. Heretofore all pentanes plus have been marketed as cLdistillate,n only a minor portion of the butanes being isolated and sold for fuel purposes. All these new the except propane, are considered vital to the war effort and propane is being marketed as fuel gas. In other instances propane is being isolated and then pumped back into the gas reservoirs for storage. It is anticipated that the demands for this product will increase in the future. Drilling in the Wilcox trend during the year showed the existence of valuable gas

Jan 1, 1944

The industrial might of the Bowen Basin is primarily the result of Utah Development Co.'s work- which has opened up the Blackwater, Goonyella, Peak Downs, and Saraji mines; built the Hay Point port; and is now developing the Norwich Park mine.

Jan 1, 1977

By AIME AIME

LEADING off the Thursday morning session on Non-metallics was C. E. Heinrichs' paper, "Phosphate Flotation, Its Place in the Technology and Economics of the Phosphate Industry." Mr. Heinrichs also presented a closely related paper, "Milling Methods and Costs at the No. 2 Concentrator of the Phosphate Recovery Corporation," by H. S. Martin. The first of the papers points out the great significance of flotation to the phosphate industry, inasmuch as flotation practically doubles the potential recovery, thereby decreasing production costs and increasing reserves materially. The second paper describes three such plants, two of which are in Florida, the third being at Wales, Tenn. Operating characteristics and costs are reviewed. Answering inquiries from the floor, Mr. Heinrichs said that the adoption of a new parallel-shell dryer, from 60 to 80 ft. long, instead of the old single-shell countercurrent dryer, had increased the unit drying capacity over 300 per cent and had reduced the drying cost to less than 25c. per long ton of dried product. The initial moisture is from 15 to 18 per cent and the final about 2 per cent.

Jan 1, 1933

By Joseph Hartshorne

EVER since the introduction of the Siemens regenerative furnace, it has been recognized that a certain amount of gas is lost each time the furnace-action is reversed. This loss comes, first, from the gas which passes through the free connection between the stack and the gas-main, which exists during the time the reversing-valve is turning over; and, secondly, from the gas which is in the chamber and flues, from the hearth to the reversing-valve, and which flows back into the stack when the valve is reversed. The amount lost each time is, of course, small; but, since a furnace is reversed from four to six times every hour for, say, 300 days in the year, the aggregate is large enough to be well worth attention. The estimate has been published' that, in Germany alone, the loss from the first of the above causes amounts to 500,000 marks per year. The loss from the second cause is, of course, much greater. A process for saving this entire loss, in use at Teplitz, Bohemia, for about three years, would seem to be of value even in this country, where coal is cheaper and where the small economies are not watched as closely as they are in Europe. This process, invented by Mr. Adelbert Kurzwernhart, late Technical Director of the Teplitzer Walzwerk, has been worked out with thoroughness. The loss from each cause can be calculated very closely for any particular furnace, and the results to be expected from the process ascertained. It can easily be decided, therefore, whether it is worthwhile to adopt it under any given conditions. The amount of chamber-gas lost depends upon,-(1), the cubic contents of the chamber, ports and flues upon one side of the furnace, up to the reversing-valve (deducting, of course,

Mar 1, 1906

By Nestor Torres-Acuña, Fathi Habashi

Metallic copper of purity equal to commercial electrolytic copper is deposited during the anodic dissolution of technically available white metal, Cu2S, in m acidic solution of' copper(II) sulfate as electrolyte and copper sheets as cathodes. The process may be applied on commercial scale since it has the advantage of by passing the converting and poling steps, decreasing pollution problems due to SO, and recovering the sulfur of the white metal in the elemental form. The anodic dissolution is believed to take place in three steps: The working conditions that lead to 98 pct cathodic current efficiency are: 30 gpl Cu2+ and 100 gpl H2SO4 in electrolyte, current density 1.0 amp per sq dm, and tetnperature of bath 40°C'. DURING the smelting of copper, nickel, lead, and zinc sulfide ores, large amounts of sulfur dioxide are produced. Because the release of this gas in the atmosphere causes pollution problems, many attempts were made in the past for its recovery either in liquified form or processed to sulfuric acid. Although these two forms of sulfur are the usual forms that are consumed by the chemical and metallurgical industries, their storage and transport usually raise economic problems. It was realized, long ago, that a process by which sulfur can be recovered directly in the elemental form would be most attractive. Elemental sulfur is easily stored and transported, and is readily converted to SO2, H2S, or H2SO4 when needed. Processes aimed to recover the metals from their sulfide ores, and at the same time by-product sulfur in the elemental form, were recently reviewed.' As early as 1882, Marchese2 patented a process in which a matte having the composition: Cu 15, Pb 14, Fe 41, and S 25 pct was electrolyzed. According to cohen3 the process was applied on a pilot scale by the Aktiengesellschaft fur Bergbau-, Blei-, und Zinkhiitten-betriebe at Stolberg, Rheinland, Germany. The process was unsuccessful, however, owing to the contamination of the electrolyte during electrolysis. Studies in this field were reported by Bernfeld4 and Egli.5 Borchers et a1.6-8 developed the process further by using white metal (Cu 78.2 pct, S 19.6 pct) instead of the matte, and a pilot plant was operated by the Mansfeldschen Kupferschiefer Co. at Eisleben, German~.~ It appears, however, that the process never went into commercial operation. Further studies in this direction were carried out by Russian workers.10-23 The International Nickel Co. of Canada erected a pilot plant at Port Colborne in 1951 to apply the process to nickel matte which is essentially pure nickel sulfide."'- 26 Full-scale plant went into operation at the Thompson Refinery in Manitoba in 1964.27 In this method nickel sulfide matte is melted and cast into anodes analyzing 76 pct Ni and 20 pct S with small amounts of copper, cobalt, and iron. These anodes are then electrolyzed in an aqueous solution of NiS04 at pH 4. Further work on this method was reported in the literature.28-31 In this paper, experiments on the anodic dissolution of white metal in aqueous copper sulfate solution are reported. EXPERIMENTAL White metal, Table I, obtained from The Anaconda Co., was cast in form of anodes 10 by 7.5 by 1 cm, Fig. 1. The anodes are mechanically strong and do not break easily; when polished they gave a shiny gray metallic appearance. From the chemical composition shown in Table I, it can be seen that the atomic ratio Cu:S corresponds approximately to the formula CU2.06S. The copper in excess to the formula Cu2S is most probably present as a separate phase since metallic copper could be seen under the microscope, Fig. 2. Fig. 3 shows the X-ray diffraction pattern of white metal which matches fairly well with that of reagent-grade Cu2S.

Jan 1, 1969

By Eckley B. Coxe

I wish to call the attention of the Institute to a peculiar variety of anthracite which occurs in the Buck Mountain vein at our collieries at Drifton, and in the same and other veins in different localities in the anthracite coal-fields. It is known among the workmen as iron-gray or cast-iron. It has a dull, greasy appearance, as if a piece of ordinary anthracite had been rubbed with a dirty and greasy rag and allowed to dry. It was formerly considered a very impure coal containing a high percentage of ash, and was picked out of the coal and thrown away. But the following analysis of it and of its ash, made by Mr. J. Blodget Britton, of Philadelphia, shows that such is not the case, the percentage of ash not being much higher than that of the ordinary anthracites as they are prepared for market. ANALYSIS OF COAL. Water,.........4.36 Fixed carbon, by difference,.. 84.90 Volatile combustible matter,. . 3 48 Ash,..........7.26 100.00 The carbon proved to some extent to be of the nature of graphite, and slowly combustible. ANALYSIS OF ASH. Silica,.........25.66 Sulphur,........ .17 Alumina,........27.03 Phosphoric acid,.......21 Ferric oxide,.......42.83 Alkali, undetermined matter and Lime,.........1.56 loss,.........60 Magnesia,........1.83 Manganous oxide,......11 100.00 We recently collected a quantity of the substance and made a fire with it, in an ordinary stove, which was kept up several days. We found that it burned with intense heat, and apparently as freely as our other coal does. Mr. Britton is probably right in his view, that the difference in appearance is not due to impurities in the coal, but to the fact that the carbon is in a more or less graphitic form, as many of the standard coals are no purer. I bring this before the Institute as I know that a large quantity of this valuable fuel is thrown away every year, on account of its supposed impurities.

Jan 1, 1879

By G. R. Speich, L. Zwell, H. A. Wriedt

HORNBOGEN1 has recently shown that it is possible to measure the degree of segregation accompanying cellular precipitation in ferritic Fe-Zn alloys by measuring the lattice parameter of the ferrite phase within the cell. In extending this work to study a wider range of composition and to evaluate the free-energy change accompanying the growth of the cells, the lattice parameter and the boundary of the a! phase in Fe-Zn alloys were redetermined to check the earlier work of Schramm.2 This appeared to be necessary since the Fe-Zn diagram has been drastically revised since the work of Schramm. Stadelmaier and Bridgers3 have recently shown that, contrary to prior belief: the y iron field is closed and the a phase boundary extends to an a + T + L peritectic at 782°C where peritectic a contains 42 at, pet Zn. The phase T in equilibrium with the a solid solution has a composition near Fe3Zn10 and a cubic 081 type structure.' The alloys were prepared by two different methods. In the first method carbonyl iron powder (400 mesh, 99.8 pet pure) and high-purity zinc powder (200 mesh, 99.99 pet pure) were mixed in a ball mill and then pressed in a die at 40,000 psi pressure to make compacts with a diameter of 5/8 in. and a thickness of l/4 in. These were sealed in evacuated quartz capsules, gradually heated to 1100°C over a period of 1 week (3 days at 600°C) 3 days at 800°C, 1 day at (1100°C), and then quenched in iced brine. For the alloys containing 23.4 and 30.1 at. pet Zn, the final homogenization anneals were performed at 1000" and 850°C) respectively, to prevent melting. In the second method, alloys were prepared by saturating high-purity iron millings (0.001 in. thick, 99.9 pet pure) in zinc vapor. For each alloy the impregnation was conducted at a fixed vapor pressure of zinc and a fixed temperature between 750' and 800°C. When saturated, the millings were quenched in water. The compositions of the alloys prepared by both methods are shown in Table I. The lattice parameters of the ferritic solid solutions were determined by comparing the 26 values of their 310, peaks (using Co Ka) or of their 211 , peaks (using Cr Ka) with those of corresponding peaks for high-purity a iron. The 20 values were measured at room temperature with an X-ray dif-fractometer (G.E.-XRD5). By using a fiducial value of 2.8664Å for the lattice parameter of pure a iron at 25oC,5 the lattice parameters of the zinc-bearing

Jan 1, 1964