Search Documents

The total estimated production of coal in the United States during the first century and a quarter of mining is shown in Table 20. This is the total of the production of the various states already shown in the various tables, and is believed to be the first statement of this sort made. No such table prepared from limited data can be accurate, but it is the writer's opinion that the totals shown are less than those actually produced. It was thought that this study would enable a reasonably accurate account of the movement of coal down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to be written. The searches made have shown that at this time the data do not exist from which such a study can be made, but some of the facts collected may be useful to future students.

Jan 1, 1942

The visitors to the October meeting will be given opportunity to visit the coal fields in Illinois, adjacent to St. Louis, the steam-shovel operations near Pittsburgh, Kan., and the Oklahoma oil fields. The coal mines of Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas furnish fuel over all of the central region of the country. Especially at this time, this district is of importance because of the necessity of producing enormous quantities to meet the country's demand. Some of the mines produce as much as 5,500 tons in 8 hr., and. the total output of Illinois, alone, in 1916, was 63,000,000 tons. Visitors may see elaborate underground electric tram systems, large underground machine repair shops, surface plants equipped for rapid loading, and some of the most modern coal-washing installations. The conditions for mining here are somewhat simpler than in the east.

Jan 8, 1917

By F. P. Dewey

The subject of this paper does not embrace the consideration of ways and means for the increase of analytical accuracy, or the question what could or should be attained in that direction. I desire simply to call attention to the degree of accuracy exhibited in actual every-day practice. In estimating this, little weight will be given to the evidence afforded by the agreement of duplicate or multiple determinations by the same chemist; for I am convinced that such agreement is a delusion and a snare. Nor will special importance be attached to the agreement of two or even three analyses in special cases, or to the agreement between two methods practiced by the same analyst. I propose to compare the results obtained by several chemists, working upon the same sample and by various methods, in order to exhibit, as I have said, the actual condition of practice. The available material for illustrating this phase of the question is unfortunately scanty; but something has been done; and I hope, by calling attention to some of the work in this line, to stimulate further work in the same direction by inducing others to prepare suitable samples and submit them to various chemists who are competent and willing to make the necessary determinations, and fully describe the methods they employ. I draw most of my illustrations from the Transactions of the Institute, the Proceedings of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists, and from personal experience. Manganese in Steel.—In May, 1881, Mr. William Kent presented a paper to the Institute entitled " Manganese Deter-

Jan 1, 1897

By Robert D. Pehlke, Arden L. Bement

A mass transfer coefficient for the removal of hydrogen from liquid aluminum by inert flush degassing has been determined experimentally at 700°C. A mathematical model has been derived, assuming transport control, which adequately describes the experimental data. The removal of hydrogen is shown to increase with decreasing bubble size, and with increasing flow of flushing gas. The presence of hydrogen in liquid metals in amounts which exceed the solid solubility at one atmosphere hydrogen pressure is highly undesirable, causing unsound ingots or castings, or resulting in difficulties during further fabrication. The removal of hydrogen from liquid metals can be accomplished by several methods, the principal two being vacuum treating and inert flush degassing. The design of a process involving either of these techniques is based on the mass transfer coefficient for hydrogen between the liquid metal and a hydrogen-dilute gas phase. In an effort to extend our knowledge in this area, an investigation of the rate of removal of hydrogen from liquid metals by inert gas flushing was undertaken. In view of the difficulties encountered with gas porosity in the casting of aluminum and aluminum alloys, and because of certain experimental advantages, liquid aluminum was selected for the study. PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS The removal of gases from liquid metals, particularly steel, has received considerable attention in recent years, The first definitive work of a theoretical nature was presented by Geller1 who considered the case where equilibrium exists between purging gases and metal bath during flushing, and also deviations from this ideal case. Hulme2 has surveyed a number of experimental studies and discussed some of the practical limitations of removing dissolved gases from molten metals. More recently a number of studies have been reported on degassing of steel melts by flushing with an inert gas.3'4 Considerable work has also been reported on aqueous and organic liquid-gas systems, and an excellent summary prepared by Hovis.5 The treatment of liquid aluminum by a flushing gas to remove dissolved hydrogen has been known for several decades.6 A number of gases have been used for this purpose, including nitrogen, argon, and chlorine, or mixtures of these gases. Tikkanen and Erkko7 have studied the relative density changes of aluminum castings poured from melts degassed with chlorine, nitrogen, and mixtures of the two gases. Their

Jan 1, 1962

PORPHYRY mining in the Bisbee district in Arizona did not begin until 1923, though Bisbee had been the scene of profitable copper-mining operations since 1880, and during the interval had contributed roughly 2,000,000,000 lb. of copper to the world's supply. At that time it ranked third among the copper districts of the United States, first place for total production going to Butte, Montana, and second to the district centering around Calumet, Michigan. Bisbee's production had come from the so-called "limestone" mines operated principally by the Phelps Dodge Corporation and the Calumet & Arizona Mining Co. Each of these companies had a large smelting plant at Douglas, 25 miles southeast of Bisbee on the Mexican border. The town of Douglas owed its existence primarily to the copper mines of Bisbee, the particular location having been determined, first, by the fact that water in adequate supply could be obtained by sinking wells; and, second, by its position about equally distant from Bisbee and the mines in Sonora, Mexico, of the Moctezuma Copper Co., a Phelps Dodge subsidiary. Three partners, Martin, Reilly, and Ballard, conducted the first operations of consequence at Bisbee about 1880; and in 1881 a smelting plant consisting of two 36 in. water-jacketed blast furnaces was erected near by. The ore came from open-cut workings on the later-to-be-famous Queen orebody. The furnace charge is said to have averaged 23 per cent copper-twice as rich as the concentrates from the mills and four times as rich as the smelting ore shipped from Bisbee in recent years. As early as 1881, disputes arose among owners of various claims, and groups of claims, over the ownership of orebodies under the law of apex and extra-lateral rights. This law gives a miner the right to follow his vein downward on its dip, even

Jan 1, 1933

By S. A. Braley

DRAINAGE water from coal mines is probably the most serious water pollution problem today, varying in importance according to location of the mines and geological structure. Drainage may be either acid or alkaline in character. Acid discharge, the most severely detrimental to a stream, is caused by natural oxidation of the sulfuritic material (FeS2) in the strata associated with the coal seam. Since the acid is the result of a natural reaction the acid water differs because it does not cease with abandonment of the mining operations. There is no known economical method of neutralizing acid mine water or any practical method to prevent oxidation of exposed pyrite. Since production of acid from a mine does not stop when mining stops, the total quantity produced depends entirely upon the excavated areas. The increasing volume of acid water in manv mines has greatly increased operating costs. Pumping is expensive and acid mine waters are destructive of all equipment, especially metals in pumps and piping, and necessitate the use of corrosion-resistant materials. Discharge of the acid mine drainage into streams neutralizes their normal alkalinity, causes them to become acid, and produces an environment unfavorable for aquatic life and unsuited for industrial or domestic use without costly treatment. Mine drainages vary in percentage composition over wide limits, although the usual dissolved substances are ferrous and ferric iron, aluminum, calcium and magnesium sulfates, and lesser amounts of sodium, potassium and manganese sulfates and chlorides. Some alkaline discharges may contain heavy concentrations of iron as iron bicarbonate. These waters may produce iron hydroxide deposits in the receiving stream but do not cause it to become acid. In the extensive literature on acid mine water there appears to be a great deal of confusion about the importance of various components and the methods for their determination. In many instances faulty conclusions have been drawn from use of unsuitable methods of analysis. It is desirable that the factors and terms used in evaluation of analyses of mine waters should be so clearly defined that any interested person could properly appraise any analytical report. Some analysts report complete chemical analyses of mine waters and neglect to record drainage volumes. Others report only a minimum of analytical data after taking no precautions to preserve the original composition of the water during the time elapsing between collection and analysis. Some use methods of analysis intended for so-called pure waters of the potable and boiler water classes. These methods are not applicable to highly buffered waters such as mine water. Probably the most common criteria for evaluation are pH, free acidity, or acidity or alkalinity to methyl orange or methyl red, total acidity or acidity to hot phenol-phthalein, and the sulfate content. If these determinations are made on carelessly collected samples after a few days to weeks standing in warm rooms, they do not in any way represent the character of the water flowing from the mines. It is hoped that a brief discussion of the fundamental value of some of these factors may lead to a bettqr understanding of the need for more careful evaluation of mine water discharges. The term pH is one used by chemists to express relative acidity or alkalinity in terms of concentration of effective hydrogen ion in a solution. It is defined as the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration or activity in equivalents per liter. pH = logarithm A neutral solution, which is one containing the same number of hydrogen and hydroxyl ions, has a pH of 7. As the hydrogen ions increase and the solution becomes more acid, the pH decreases toward zero; and as the hydroxyl ions increase and the solution becomes more alkaline, the pH approaches 14. When dissolved in water to a dilute solution acids like sulfuric and hydrochloric, commonly known as strong acids, ionize completely, and the pH or hydrogen ion concentration varies with molar concentration of the dissolved acid. However, in high concentrations of such acids, the pH or hydrogen ion concentration is less than the acid concentration because the acid does not completely ionize. In only very dilute solutions does the pH represent the total amount of acid that can be neutralized by an alkali. All ionization reactions are equilibrium reactions. If other chemicals are added to the solution of an acid and the added chemical produces an ion that is the same as one of the ions of the acid, the degree of ionization of the acid is altered and the pH changes to some value that represents the active hydrogen ion of the new solution. Thus if iron sulfate is added to a solution of sulfuric acid the pH increases, since the common sulfate ion suppresses the degree of ionization of the sulfuric acid and decreases the effective hydrogen ion. However, the total acidity of the solution is increased. There are two salts composed of iron and sulfate— ferrous and ferric sulfate. In these salts there is no hydrogen ion that can ionize to give an acid solution, but when they are dissolved in water, the pH is less than 7 and the solution becomes acid. This is caused by a reaction known as hydrolysis and is represented by the equations FeSO4 + 2H2O ? Fe(OH)2 + 2H + SO,: or Fe,(SO,)3 + 6H2O ? 2Fe(OH)3 + 6H+ + 3504 A solution with a total acidity of 5000 ppm according to the first equation will have a pH of 4.40 but one with an acidity of 75 ppm, according to the sec-

Jan 1, 1958

By R. McDonald, B. C. Maine

CERRO'S power system consists of three main hydroelectric plants and one steam-electric plant. These are located on the eastern slope of the main Andes range at altitudes between 12,000 and 13,000 ft. The hydroelectric group utilizes the watershed which extends for about 150 kilometers south from Cerro de Pasco, divided into two catchment areas which lie adjacent. The northern area serve,, the medium-head plant of Mal¬paso. while the southern area provides for the high-head plants at Pachachaca and Oroya. The rainfall, as registered at the rain gauging stations of the three hydroelectric plants, averages 33 in. per year; all these stations are subject to the same hydrological conditions, and the bulk of precipitation occurs between October and March. Rainfall during the dry season, April till September, has no appreciable effect on the total annual runoff. Table 1 shows the storage capacities of the main reservoirs of the hydroelectric group. The four plants are tied together electrically by a 50-kv. transmission network, the system being 3-phase 3-wire at 60 cycles with a solidly grounded

Jan 1, 1945

By W. E. Anderson, T. M. Brady

As part of a larger study to identify factors influencing the practical operating life of wire rope used on large draglines in surface coal mining, field trips to operating surface coal mines were made during late 1975. Wire rope performance information was obtained from personnel at 13 mine sites west of the Appalachians. Seventeen pieces of equipment, utilizing bucket sizes ranging from 30 to 220 cu yd (23 to 168 m), were documented. Draglines at large US surface coal mines can be represented as 120 machines having 60-cu yd (46-m3) buckets, moving 1.8 x 10[9] cu yd (1.4 X 10[9] m3) of overburden during 6650 hours of productive availability per year. Based on the limited field study, the calculated downtime resulting from rope-related causes averages 105.6 hours per year for each typical 60-cu yd (43-m3) dragline. The total loss in production from this source alone is thereby estimated at about 25 X 10[6] cu yd (19 X 10[6] m3) annually.

Jan 11, 1979

By B. C. Allen

Grain boundary grooving has been studied in chromium, molybdenum, and tungsten under a variety of conditions using high vacuum techniques and tantalum -gettered argon. The average surface free energy of solid chromium, and the chromium-liquid silver interface free energy were respectively found to be 2200 ± 250 and 500 i 130 ergs per sq cm from groove formation kinetics and estimates of pertinent volume difffusion coefficients. The results for chromium were unffected by variations in interstitial content ranging from 0.003 to 0.09 pct C, or 0.003 to 0.03 pct O. Surface diffusion is the primary mechanism of groove formation in chromium under 1 atm argon at 1200" to 140O°C, and is essentially unaffected by 0.003 to 0.09 pct C, 0.003 to 0.03 pct O , metastable nitrogen contents up to -0.01 pct, and up to 2 torr Ag vapor. At higher temperatures, the major mechanism is volume diffusion in argon or evaporation-condensation in stutic vacuum. Surface diffusion occurs in molybdenum at 0.5 to 0.96 and in tungsten at 0.5 to 0.9 of the absolute melting tempera -ture by a single mechanism, possibly by the migration of single adatoms or vacancies. Results were slightly affected by up to 23 tory Sn vapor, and in molybdenum were essentially unaffected by 0.5 Ti or carbon in the range 0.002 to 0.02 pct. Volume difffusion through the liquid is the mechanism of groove formation in chromium-liquid silver at 1200" to 1400°C and in molybdenum-, Mo-0.5Ti-, and tungsten-liquid tin at 1200" to 2000°C. The solid-liquid interface free energies involved were estimated from grooving kanetics. WHEN a grain boundary intersects a solid surface, a groove tends to form along the line of intersection at temperatures above about half the absolute melting point (0.5 TM). The groove progressively grows by preferential atomic migration either by diffusion or evaporation. Establishment of a groove angle occurs in accordance with the grain boundary and surface free energies involved. The motivation for groove formation is a reduction in the total surface free energy of the system. This study is a continuation of previous work on thermal grooving of chromium, molybdenum, and tungsten.&apos; The temperature ranges were extended, and the effect of metallic and interstitial impurities was evaluated. The results were such that certain interface free energies and surface self-diffusion coefficients were deduced from the grooving kinetics. EXPERIMENTAL WORK Materials and Preparation. As indicated in Table I, the 0.05-0.08-cm-thick chromium, molybdenum, and tungsten sheet used was nominally 99.99 pct after recrystallization. Two lots of molybdenum with about the same analysis, Mo-0.5Ti,* and tungsten were ob- *Alloy compsitions are expressed in weight percent . tained commercially. Extruded chromium rod,&apos; prepared from iodide process crystals, was warm rolled to sheet at 700°C. Sheet of three Cr-0 impurity alloys containing up to 0.03 pct 0 was prepared by warm rolling arc melted, extruded, and swaged rod. Two Cr-C impurity alloys containing up to 0.09 pct C were made by equilibrating unalloyed chromium with a known amount of CH4 for 24 hr at 1150°C in previously evacuated quartz capsules. Chromium containing nominally 0.015 and 0.06 pct N was similarly prepared by equilibration with NH3. The sheet was recrystallized to give a stable grain size about equal to the sheet thickness. Molybdenum and Mo-O.5Ti were recrystallized in a tantalum resistance furnace 1 hr at 1 x lo-5 torr at 2300" and 220O°C, respectively. Tungsten was similarly annealed for 1 hr at 2500°C. Chromium and its impurity alloys were outgassed at 1100°C and recrystallized 1 hr at 1700°C under 1 atm Ar. Except for nitrogen, the impurity content stayed roughly constant. Nitrogen in both alloys was reduced to <0.001 pct. In fact, over 80 pct of the added nitrogen was lost after outgassing at llOO°C and annealing sheet 1 hr at 1300°C in argon in the presence of tantalum. Such a rapid loss can be rationalized since -2 torr N are required for equilibrium with 0.04 pct N in solution,3 while the equilibrium pressure is ~10-5 torr over tantalum at 1300°C.4 The recrystallized sheet was cut into small coupons which were metallographically ground and polished on one side with a minimum of grain boundary relief. The surface roughness was on the order of 0.01 µ. The tin and silver used were nominally 99.999 spec-trographically pure. After being outgassed at 1100°C and equilibrated in a molybdenum crucible for 0.5 hr at 1800°C in argon, the tin contained 3 ppm 0, <0.3 ppm N, and 0.1 ppm H. Following outgassing at 900°C and equilibration in a chromium crucible 1 hr at 1400°C in argon, the gas content of the silver was 1 ppm O, <0.5 ppm N, and 0.3 ppm H. Grooving Under Argon or Vacuum. All specimens were placed in unsealed containers made from rod or sheet of the same alloy, thereby enabling the polished surface to achieve gas-solid equilibrium. The annealing fixtures are shown in Fig. 1. The specimen was placed in a resistance furnace with a tantalum or Ta-10W heating element plus tantalum fixtures or radiation shields. Chromium was outgassed at 1100°C, and molybdenum and tungsten were outgassed at 1900°C to 1 x l0-5 torr or at the grooving temperature, whichever was lower. In vacuum anneals, the specimen was then heated directly to the intended grooving temperature. In argon anneals, 99.996 Ar was admitted

Jan 1, 1970

By AIME AIME

THE report of the united. States Steel Corporation for the&apos; year 1928 gives the, following ,figures of raw materials and&apos; finished products . Raw materials, tons :

Jan 1, 1929

By F. Weinberg

Lead single crystals have been deformed in tension over the temperature range of 4.2°K to the melting point. Changes in flow stress resulting from temperature cycling and strain rate cycling have been measured as a function of temperature for crystals of different orientations and purity. It was found that the flow stress ratio, after correcting for the temperature dependence of the shear modulus, decreased progressively with temperature above approximately 0.5Tm. The activation energy calculated from the high-temperature portion of the curve was found to be markedly higher than that of self-diffusion. For single glide crystals, the corrected flow stress showed an increase above 0.5 Tm before decreasitzg with temperature. This increase is attributed to static recovery occurrittg during temperature cycling. THE temperature dependence of the flow stress, based on temperature cycling and strain rate cycling, has been extensively investigated,&apos; and on the basis of these results dislocation models of the work-hardening process have been proposed. In general, the flow stress is divided into two parts, ts, the short-range interaction term, which is only effective at low temperatures and which decreases with increasing temperature, and TG, the long-range stress term, which is independent of temperature after allowing for the temperature dependence of the shear modulus. The observations demonstrating that tG/µ is independent of temperature were generally carried out at low temperatures to minimize recovery effects. Several investigations have been reported on flow stress measurements at high temperatures2"5 which demonstrate that TG/µ does not remain constant at temperatures above 0.5Tm (where Tm is the melting temperature of the material in OK). Specifically, Hirsch and warrington3 carried out temperature cycling tests at two strain rates on single and polycrystalline aluminum up to 0.8 Tm and on polycrystalline copper. For aluminum they found that the flow stress ratio (the flow stress at temperature T2, divided by the flow stress at the reference temperature T1 in one temperature cycle) dropped progressively with increasing temperature above 0.5Tm. From the slopes of the high-temperature portions of the curves, they determined an activation energy for the deformation process of 1.6 ev (at best) which they considered was in agreement with the activation energy of self-diffusion, 1.35 ev. Calculations of the activation volume demonstrated that the deformation was not controlled by dislocation climb. They proposed a mechanism in which the rate-controlling process at high temperatures was due to the rate of move- ment of vacancies away from jogs, i.e., that of self-diffusion. Results of Lucke and Buhler4 on single crystals of aluminum confirmed this conclusion. They measured the critical resolved shear stress of aluminum over a wide range of temperature and strain rates. They found that the temperature dependence of the critical resolved shear stress was similar to that of the flow stress ratio, as determined by Hirsch and Warrington, and from their data calculated an activation energy for high-temperature deformation of 1.35 ev identical to that of self-diffusion. More recently Gallagher5 has carried out a detailed investigation of the temperature dependence of the flow stress ratio of copper, silver, and gold. In all cases, he found that the flow stress ratio, after adjusting for the shear modulus temperature change, drops at high temperatures. The activation energies he determined were found to be appreciably higher than the activation energy of self-diffusion of the material being considered. The flow stress ratio was found to be dependent on the orientation of the material, and, in addition, an anomalous increase in the flow stress ratio for copper, oriented for single glide, was observed above 0.5Tm. The purpose of the present investigation was to measure the critical resolved shear stress, the flow stress ratio, and the strain rate sensitivity of lead, primarily as a function of temperature. The results should indicate whether, following Lucke and Buhler, the critical resolved shear stress of lead has the same temperature dependence as the flow stress, and, following Hirsch and Warrington, whether the activation energy for high-temperature deformation in lead is the same as that of self-diffusion. Lead deforms as a normal fee material,6&apos;7 is available in high-purity form, can readily be grown as single crystals, and, for this investigation, has the very considerable advantage of having a low melting point, 327°C. The observations of the critical resolved shear stress of lead have been published elsewhere.&apos; EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The experimental procedure was essentially the same as that used in the critical resolved shear stress measurements.&apos; Single crystals of 99.999 pct (59) and 99.9999 pct (69) lead were deformed in tension with a table-model Instron in a silicone oil bath above room temperatures and in a cooled methyl alcohol or liquid-nitrogen bath below room temperatures. The test specimens were rectangular in section, 0.65 by 0.33 cm, and had a 5-cm gage length. The specimens were grown as single crystals with tapered ends, which fitted into matched tapered grips for testing. To obtain the flow stress between two temperatures, specimens were first deformed approximately 1.0 pct at the higher temperature. The test was then stopped, the load relaxed, the oil bath removed without disturbing the specimen, the grips and specimen cooled with a fan and then immersed in liquid nitro-

Jan 1, 1969

By D. M. Dunbar, H. C. SCHLILTZ

HE Chile Exploration Co.&apos;s mine and reduction plant are at Chuquicamata, Chile, on the eastern edge of the Atacama Desert, 163 miles northeast of Antofagasta, 80 miles from the Pacific Ocean, and 70 miles from the Bolivian border and at an altitude of 10,000 ft. Guggenheim Brothers started prospecting in -4pri1, 1912, and purchased the main property, in October of that year; the property is now controlled by the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., which acquired it in January, 1923. The orebody strikes north 10" east, and has a dip of about 64" west. The length, as far as developed, is approximately 1% miles; the width averages sightless than mile.

Jan 1, 1925

By Benjamin N. Webber

The peninsula of Nicoya contains virtually all of the known manganese deposits of Costa Rica. These are south and west of the Tempisque River, which flows across the peninsula near its juncture with the mainland. This peninsula forms the westernmost part of the province of Guana-caste, which is the northern. of the two Pacific Coast provinces of Costa Rica. The larger villages are connected by ox-cart roads and trails. The area may be covered on horseback without difficulty except during the rainy season, when rivers are in flood and difficult to ford. This is particularly true of the Rio Seco-Guay-jiniquil area, where there are no inhabitants and few open trails through the tropical jungle. Santa Cruz and Sardinal are served by the Taca Airlines, two planes a week from San Jose and Puntarenas. The port of Puntarenas has excellent loading facilities but none are available nearer the manganese districts; there ore must be lightered to vessels standing offshore. Physiography In Costa Rica there are three physiographic divisions: (I) the central plateau (Mesa Central), a somewhat dissected lava platform upon which are superimposed volcanic peaks, some of which are still active; (2) the Atlantic lowlands and (3) the Pacific lowlands. The peninsula of Nicoya and the larger part of the province of Guanacaste lie within the Pacific low- lands. The term "lowland" indicates relation to the central plateau, as the peninsula of Nicoya is largely mountainous. The mountains of Nicoya form the southern extremity of a range of low hills, which are almost continuous along the Costa Rican coast to the Nicaraguan border. The coast line shows evidence of subsidence. The Gulf of Nicoya obviously is the drowned valley of the Tempisque River. The west coast of Nicoya shows many rocks, shoals, bays, inlets and small islands as evidence of a sea encroachment. The altitude of the manganese deposits ranges from 0 to 800 ft. Topography is of the mature type of wide valleys and low hills, often with abrupt slopes. The climate is tropical and humid; rainfall of 125 in. falls largely between Sept. I and Jan. I. Vegetation often is very dense, the Rio Seco-Guayjiniquil area being truly tropical jungle, containing many hardwoods. History and Production The production of manganese ore in Costa Rica apparently dates from the first World War. It reached a peak of about 10,000 tons in the year 1919, then declined rapidly. Evidence of this period of prospecting has rotted away or been swallowed by the jungle. The war now in progress apparently revived the interest in Costa Rican manganese and has encouraged further prospecting. Deposits long known have been redenounced and trails have been cut through the jungle to them. Many new deposits have been discovered in the last

Jan 1, 1949

By Benjamin N. Webber

The peninsula of Nicoya contains virtually all of the known manganese deposits of Costa Rica. These are south and west of the Tempisque River, which flows across the peninsula near its juncture with the mainland. This peninsula forms the westernmost part of the province of Guana-caste, which is the northern. of the two Pacific Coast provinces of Costa Rica. The larger villages are connected by ox-cart roads and trails. The area may be covered on horseback without difficulty except during the rainy season, when rivers are in flood and difficult to ford. This is particularly true of the Rio Seco-Guay-jiniquil area, where there are no inhabitants and few open trails through the tropical jungle. Santa Cruz and Sardinal are served by the Taca Airlines, two planes a week from San Jose and Puntarenas. The port of Puntarenas has excellent loading facilities but none are available nearer the manganese districts; there ore must be lightered to vessels standing offshore. Physiography In Costa Rica there are three physiographic divisions: (I) the central plateau (Mesa Central), a somewhat dissected lava platform upon which are superimposed volcanic peaks, some of which are still active; (2) the Atlantic lowlands and (3) the Pacific lowlands. The peninsula of Nicoya and the larger part of the province of Guanacaste lie within the Pacific low- lands. The term "lowland" indicates relation to the central plateau, as the peninsula of Nicoya is largely mountainous. The mountains of Nicoya form the southern extremity of a range of low hills, which are almost continuous along the Costa Rican coast to the Nicaraguan border. The coast line shows evidence of subsidence. The Gulf of Nicoya obviously is the drowned valley of the Tempisque River. The west coast of Nicoya shows many rocks, shoals, bays, inlets and small islands as evidence of a sea encroachment. The altitude of the manganese deposits ranges from 0 to 800 ft. Topography is of the mature type of wide valleys and low hills, often with abrupt slopes. The climate is tropical and humid; rainfall of 125 in. falls largely between Sept. I and Jan. I. Vegetation often is very dense, the Rio Seco-Guayjiniquil area being truly tropical jungle, containing many hardwoods. History and Production The production of manganese ore in Costa Rica apparently dates from the first World War. It reached a peak of about 10,000 tons in the year 1919, then declined rapidly. Evidence of this period of prospecting has rotted away or been swallowed by the jungle. The war now in progress apparently revived the interest in Costa Rican manganese and has encouraged further prospecting. Deposits long known have been redenounced and trails have been cut through the jungle to them. Many new deposits have been discovered in the last

Jan 1, 1949

In traversing lately the Sierra Madre, west of Sail Pedro and Guanacevi, I estimated the topographic summit at several points, by aneroid barometer, at about 8,500 ft. Mr. Weed&apos;s measurements, 40 miles further north, are from 9,000 to 9,500 ft., and indicate the correctness of the impression I obtained at the time, namely, that the greatest movement in the elevation of the Sierra was between Guanacevi and Guadaloupe y Calvo. This is suggested also by the course of the headwaters of the Rio Conchas and of the Nazas, and by the relative corrasion of the branches of the two streams. Mr. Weed&apos;s statements as to the unevenness and great relief of the andesite floor underlying the later dacites and rhyolites are very interesting, and lead me to add that the floor of the andesite breccias and flows is uncovered for several square miles east of Guanacevi. This floor is of reddish, bluish and gray shales, lying horizontal or dipping slightly east. Their age is unknown; but from the interbedded occurrence of copper sulphides, I took it to be Triassic,

Jan 1, 1903

By D. A. Belforti, M. P. Lepie

Spectroscopically pure copper was melted on sapphire plaques in a zydrogen atmosphere. The surface tension of the liquid metal was determined using the sessile drop technique. Measurements were made by direct observation with the aid of a specially const,mcted telescope. The value obtained, 1268 dynes per cm, is compared to that found in the literature. THERE is at this time considerable interest in the use of ceramics for vacuum tubes. The crystalline material is superior to the more conventional glass in mechanical strength, chemical inertness, dielectric properties, ability to withstand high temperatures, and so forth. However, ceramics are much more difficult to seal hermetically with metals than are the glasses. For this reason an investigation was undertaken to determine the wetting and adhesion of metals to ceramics. The sessile drop technique offers a convenient means at elevated temperatures for measuring liquid surface tension, wetting angle, density, spread- ing coefficient, and work of adhesion. Thus, from the contour of a drop of liquid at rest on a solid surface one can obtain a quantitative evaluation of the degree to which the two substances will bond. To this end a special apparatus was constructed so that various molten metals could be observed. Standardization of the apparatus was done initially by measuring the surface tension of copper since this is well documented in the metallurgy literature. Although there are many methods available for the measurement of surface energy,&apos;+ the sessile drop technique has been used most extensively for molten metals and ceramics.5"&apos; Fig. 1 illustrates the dimensions to be measured. From these values, the surface tension of the liquid can be obtained using the Bashforth and bdams&apos; equation and tables.

Jan 1, 1963

By F. W. Newhall, L. N. Plein

During the latter part of the year 1931, the Republic mine of the Republic Steel Corporation, at Republic, about 4 miles south of Brownsville, Pa., was mining coal along four rib or fracture lines. One of these lines, the west butt rib line, was retreating towards a concrete-lined air shaft, 320 ft. deep, which had been sunk in 1911 for ventilation purposes. With the normal rate of mining at that time, it was expected that this rib line would pass the shaft in three or four months and the shaft would then be abandoned and allowed to cave. Realizing the opportunity presented for the study of an unusual case of ground movement, the question of conducting the study was presented by the junior author to thechairman of the Institute&apos;s committee on Ground Movement and Subsidence, Mr. George S. Rice, who presented the matter to Mr. G. H. Morse, General Manager of the Northern Mines, Republic Steel Corporation, and he agreed to cooperate with the Bureau of Mines in making the study, the results of which arc presented in this paper. Acknowledgments are due to Mr. Morse for his full cooperation in this work and to Mr. G. S. Rice and Mr. J. W. Paul, both of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, for their advice and guidance during the course of the work. The authors are indebted to Mr. B. F. Herbert, mining engineer, Northern Coal Mines, Republic Steel Corporation, who assisted in all the surveys, and Mr. W. H. Smith, draftsman, U. S. Bureau of Mines, who prepared all illustrations for publication. Geologic Conditions The shaft is at Merrittstown, which is about one mile northwest of Republic. The topography in the immediate vicinity of Merrittstown consists of rolling country dissected by the meanders of Dunlap Creek and its tributaries. The surface slopes of the hills are gentle and their average gradient is less than 6º. The area at the point where the study was made lies on a hillside sloping towards the southwest, the gradient, varying from 1º to 14º. Fig. 1 shows contour lines at 5-ft. intervals on

Jan 1, 1936

By L. N. Plein, F. W. Newhall

During the latter part of the year 1931, the Republic mine of the Republic Steel Corporation, at Republic, about 4 miles south of Brownsville, Pa., was mining coal along four rib or fracture lines. One of these lines, the west butt rib line, was retreating towards a concrete-lined air shaft, 320 ft. deep, which had been sunk in 1911 for ventilation purposes. With the normal rate of mining at that time, it was expected that this rib line would pass the shaft in three or four months and the shaft would then be abandoned and allowed to cave. Realizing the opportunity presented for the study of an unusual case of ground movement, the question of conducting the study was presented by the junior author to thechairman of the Institute&apos;s committee on Ground Movement and Subsidence, Mr. George S. Rice, who presented the matter to Mr. G. H. Morse, General Manager of the Northern Mines, Republic Steel Corporation, and he agreed to cooperate with the Bureau of Mines in making the study, the results of which arc presented in this paper. Acknowledgments are due to Mr. Morse for his full cooperation in this work and to Mr. G. S. Rice and Mr. J. W. Paul, both of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, for their advice and guidance during the course of the work. The authors are indebted to Mr. B. F. Herbert, mining engineer, Northern Coal Mines, Republic Steel Corporation, who assisted in all the surveys, and Mr. W. H. Smith, draftsman, U. S. Bureau of Mines, who prepared all illustrations for publication. Geologic Conditions The shaft is at Merrittstown, which is about one mile northwest of Republic. The topography in the immediate vicinity of Merrittstown consists of rolling country dissected by the meanders of Dunlap Creek and its tributaries. The surface slopes of the hills are gentle and their average gradient is less than 6º. The area at the point where the study was made lies on a hillside sloping towards the southwest, the gradient, varying from 1º to 14º. Fig. 1 shows contour lines at 5-ft. intervals on

Jan 1, 1936

By H. H. Otto

Fourteen years ago, J. B. Warriner presented before the Institute a paper on anthracite stripping,&apos; describing the progress of stripping in the Anthracite Region from its beginning with an old quarry stripping at Summit Hill, which was operated more than a century ago, through various types of strippings used in 1917. This paper will briefly review the status of anthracite stripping methods from 1917 to the present day and describe in detail the stripping operation of The Hudson Coal CO. at Clinton collicry. It is not intended as a review of the work in the district—that would require a much longer paper. History and Statistics Mr. Warriner said, in part: "The sizes of shovels have gradually increased until now 70 and 80-ton shovels are the rule and larger equipment is coming in." He also referred to a large electrically operated dragline which weighed about 225 tons and had an operating radius of 125 ft. In 1917, a number of strippings used shovels of various sizes, ranging up to the 60 Marion and Bucyrus 70-C railroad type. Material was hauled away in narrow-gage side dumpers, usually of 4 or 5 cu. yd. capacities. Star-type churn drills with 4-in. bits were generally used for drilling purposes. Since 1917 wages in the anthracite field; have increased, but the higher operating costs of strippings are now being successfully combated by continuous improvements in stripping equipment, such as the development of the caterpillar or crawler shovels, the use of larger cars, better drilling equipment, the introduction of shovels of increased capacity and the adoption, in a number of instances, of standard-gage equipment for transportation. In 1918 another large dragline was introduced in the southern fields, which had been in service in the Middle West and is in use today, dipping vertically about 180 ft. to raise coal out of a stripping. About 1918, small shovels with caterpillar traction were introduced. In 1922 the 6-in. well drills began replacing the 4-in. drills, with an attendant saving to the operators. About the same time A. E. Dick placed the first pair

Jan 1, 1931

The present paper records a chapter in the history of the development of an electrolytic manganese industry in the United States.l A relatively large pilot plant at Boulder City, Nev., for the production of electrolytic manganese was conceived as part of the national defense program to make this country independent of foreign importation of manganese ore. The first authorization, in November 1940, however, was for a plant of only several hundred pounds capacity. Improvements in process and subsequent additions to some sections authorized by subsequent appropriations have enabled the plant to produce as much as 2000 lb. of manganese a day for substantial periods of time. Since in pilot-plant operation frequent changes are made in the flowsheet, the electrolytic manganese plant was constructed so that equipment could be rearranged with a minimum of expense and time. Several different kinds of the various ¦ types of equipment were installed for many of the operations, so that the one most suitable for the process might be chosen. Pilot-plant operations were begun in November 1941 and have been continuous except for brief shutdowns for installation of new equipment. More than one-half million pounds of manganese have been produced. The improvements in process, selection of equipment, and operational procedure developed are recorded here. Development of the Process The work of early investigators on the electrolysis of manganese solutions has been reviewed by Shelton. Until the method of continuous production of manganese by electrolysis was perfected by SheltonZm4 and coworkers, no practical procedure had been devised. The method as originally developed by the Bureau of Mines will be described here only briefly. The manganese dioxide ore was reduced in a rotating kiln-type furnace at 650°C. in an atmosphere of "city" gas. The calcine was leached with spent electrolyte and enough sulphuric acid to produce a neutral leach solutioil containing 2 5 grams manganese per liter as manganese sulphate and zoo grams per liter of ammonium sulphate. Arsenic was removed from the solution by the addition of 0.0j gram iron per liter as ferrous sulphate followed by oxidation with manganese dioxide, and aeration, which precipitated the iron as ferric hydroxide. The solution, free from iron

Jan 1, 1944