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By Charles Will Wright

ITALY is by- far the poorest in mineral resources of the so-called great pou7ers of Europe. Before the World War this shortage was not so serious as the essential minerals that could not be mined domestically at a profit were bought in the world markets. In those days tourist trade and remittances from Italians abroad helped to provide Italy with foreign exchange. During the World War, when certain mineral products were scarce and when prices rose in some instances to several times normal, the Italian Government began to regulate consumption and imports. It was not until later, when the Fascist regime established the corporate state, that Italy seriously considered adopting a of self-sufficiency. Private industry was grouped under separate corporations, for the principal industries; including mining and metallurgy and the heads of the large producing companies, became members of these corporations. Industrialists were thus able to regulate their own affairs and to advise the Government as to the measures necessary to meet domestic or foreign trade demands upon their industry. Labor was or-

Jan 1, 1939

By G. U. Greene

The various lead producers have given the subject of lead drosses much attention in recent years but the problem of their economical treatment is yet to be solved. Formerly the copper in the furnace feed was removed from the furnace in the form of matte. The speiss at that time consisted principally of the iron arsenide. The practice today is to roast off most of the sulphur and the copper in the feed forms a dross in the furnace, which is removed from the furnace with the lead. This material is poured into the drossing kettles and allowed to cool down to but slightly above the freezing point of lead. The copper dross, containing almost all of the arsenic and part of the antimony, is skimmed off and treated in a small reverberatory furnace at most plants. This is essentially a liquation process. The skimmed dross contains from 70 to 80 per cent lead, and much of this lead is liquated out. The products from this treatment are: (1) impure lead, (2) speiss and (3) matte. The speiss from the reverberatory furnace was studied in this research. The literature on the subject is of very little assistance, as almost no work has been done on the problem of establishing the exact identity of the various phases present. One author(1)† states that speiss consists of a series of isomorphous compounds of the general formula FexAsy in which the Fe may be replaced by Ni, Co, Cu, Pb, Ag, Au, Pt, Zn, Cd and the As replaced by Sb, S and Bi. Hofman(2) states that the iron arsenide present is Fe5As. Experimental Work In the present research, the author used for methods in an attempt to determine the composition of the various phases: (1) chemical, (2) microscopic, (3) roentgenographic and (4) thermal. Previous to this research, considerable time had been spent making analyses of different speisses, but unfortunately no very definite conclusions could be made as a result of these analyses.

Jan 1, 1937

By F. E. Smith, David R. Mitchell, B. M. Bird

DENSE-MEDIA processes utilize the familiar laboratory float-and¬-sink procedure on a commercial scale. Just as wood chips float on water and sand sinks, so coal floats and refuse sinks when placed in a medium intermediate in specific gravity between the coal and refuse. Liquids intermediate in specific gravity between coal and refuse used in commercial plants are of four types: (1) Organic liquids of high specific gravity-halogenated hydrocarbons; (2) dissolved salts in water; (3) pseudo liquids obtained by suspending solids, such as sand, in water, and (4) fluidizing a mass of sand or other solids by air currents. Those most widely used for cleaning coal are solutions of calcium chloride in water and a suspended-sand pseudo liquid. Laboratory float-and-sink testing is an intermittent operation during which every opportunity is given for particles lighter than the medium to float and particles heavier to sink. Commercial processes are con¬tinuous, vertical and horizontal currents of the separating medium occur as either part of the process or unavoidedly produced by the intro¬duction of feed and withdrawal of products, so that the exact separation of the laboratory technique is not duplicated by commercial processes. However, separations close to the theoretical are obtained in commercial machines by careful technical control of the process. Most machines in commercial installations are crowded to get as much out of the equipment as possible, so that careful technical control is necessary to get the recoveries and grade of product desired. Sizes usually cleaned are plus %6-in. or plus 3-in. in the United States and plus 36-in. in Great Britain. Coal as small as 1 mm. has been cleaned in some experimental installations. The separation of coal from refuse in sizes finer than about % in. is made difficult by viscosity effects and hence at the present time cleaning is confined to the coarser . sizes. Technical advances in the art of cleaning coal by dense-media

Jan 1, 1943

By D. C. Seidel, M. C. Fuerstenau, R. J. Roman

The role of surface charge in soluble salt flotation, which was developed in Part I, is extended to relate the theory to the specific phenomena of KCI-NaC1 separations. Temperature-collector solubility relationships, metal ion activation, and particle size effects are discussed. The initial paper in this series developed and presented the hypothesis that one of the mechanisms of soluble salt flotation may involve electrical attraction between the collector and mineral surface. This hypothesis was developed from a combination of experimental data and free energy calculations, and details of the logic are presented in this first paper.* The studies have indicated that KC1 has a positive surface charge and NaCl a negative charge. KC1 can therefore be floated with sulfonate ion (RSO;) or with an aqueous polar species such as the aqueous amine chloride, RNH3C1(,,). The chloride end of the RNH3C1(,,) molecular dipole is probably negative and will be attracted to the positive surface of the KC1 particles and absorb (actually probably fit into a vacant chloride site) on the mineral surface. The amine end of the collector molecule would extend into the solution phase and provide the air avid surface required for flotation. NaCl particles are floated by such collectors as aqueous molecules of fatty acid salt, RCOONa(,,), in which the positive inorganic end of the dipole is attracted to the negatively charged surface of the NaCl and, in this case, adsorb and probably fit into a vacant sodium site on the surface. The aminium cation, RNH~, should also be a collector for NaC1. For certain collectors, actual precipitates of the collector must be formed before a sufficient amount of the polar aqueous molecule is present to effect flotation. In a system of this type there is a three-way equilibrium between: Aqeous Molecular Solid Precipitate - A of the Collector (Not Dissociated) . Ionic Species (Dissociated). The controlling equilibrium is probably between the precipitated form of the reagent and the aqueous

Jan 1, 1969

By J. E. Burke, C. S. Barrett

The fine lines shown in Fig I are typical of markings that ma): be detected after polishing and etching deformed specimens of alpha brass and other alloys. Although they have long been the subject of discussion by metallurgists their nature is still uncertain and the names that have been applied: to them, such as deformation line4 or strain markinas, indicate this uncertainky. In this paper which repotts the results of a furthcr investigatinn of their nature, they will be called strain mxrkings. Introduction Mathewson and Phillips1 described strain markinps in 1 916 and concluded that they appear only after 20 pet deformation. They objected to the markings being called slip tines believing this term should be sewrved for surface markings protluced by plastic deformntion. In 1921. vogel² described similar striations which appeared after polishing and etching the roughly ground surface of numerous alloys. He reported that the markings were crystallo-graphic in nature, and since they resemble Seumann hands in iron, at least superficially, he assumed them to be mechanical twins. In 1928, Matherwson reported work by Phillips which indicated that the lines were more readily produced by impact than by slow deformation and that in many cases the twins inside recrystallized grains were parallel to strain markings in the original deformed grains. This was taken as cvirlence that the markings coalesce into anncaling twins. and hence that they themselves are mechanical twins. Many attempts have been made to demonstrate directly that the markings are mechanical twins. In 1934, Samans described the results of X ray studies of two defomed crystals of alpha brass. Evidence was obtained which could be interpreted to indicate that the strain markings arc mechanical twins, and this remains the only direct evidence to this effect. Several other attempts to obtain similar evidence by X ray diffraction have failed5.8.7 although in no Ease was the original method of Samans employed. An

Jan 1, 1949

By C. S. Barrett, J. E. Burke

The fine lines shown in Fig I are typical of markings that ma): be detected after polishing and etching deformed specimens of alpha brass and other alloys. Although they have long been the subject of discussion by metallurgists their nature is still uncertain and the names that have been applied: to them, such as deformation line4 or strain markinas, indicate this uncertainky. In this paper which repotts the results of a furthcr investigatinn of their nature, they will be called strain mxrkings. Introduction Mathewson and Phillips1 described strain markinps in 1 916 and concluded that they appear only after 20 pet deformation. They objected to the markings being called slip tines believing this term should be sewrved for surface markings protluced by plastic deformntion. In 1921. vogel² described similar striations which appeared after polishing and etching the roughly ground surface of numerous alloys. He reported that the markings were crystallo-graphic in nature, and since they resemble Seumann hands in iron, at least superficially, he assumed them to be mechanical twins. In 1928, Matherwson reported work by Phillips which indicated that the lines were more readily produced by impact than by slow deformation and that in many cases the twins inside recrystallized grains were parallel to strain markings in the original deformed grains. This was taken as cvirlence that the markings coalesce into anncaling twins. and hence that they themselves are mechanical twins. Many attempts have been made to demonstrate directly that the markings are mechanical twins. In 1934, Samans described the results of X ray studies of two defomed crystals of alpha brass. Evidence was obtained which could be interpreted to indicate that the strain markings arc mechanical twins, and this remains the only direct evidence to this effect. Several other attempts to obtain similar evidence by X ray diffraction have failed5.8.7 although in no Ease was the original method of Samans employed. An

Jan 1, 1949

By D. K. Crampton

INTERNAL stress and season cracking in brass have been studied for many years and the technical literature contains many data on various phases of the subject. A résumé of the literature shows certain fairly well established points upon which various authors are mostly agreed: 1. Season cracking is primarily caused by the presence of relatively high internal stresses, or possibly in some cases by external stresses, or both. 2. A specific corrosion is also essential to season cracking: Certain agents, particularly mercurous salts, mercuric salts and ammonia salts; have such a specific corrosive effect. 3. The tendency to season crack under given conditions increases with increasing zinc content, brass containing less than 20 per cent zinc being relatively immune. 4. In alpha brass the season cracks are intercrystalline; in alphabeta brass they lie between the two constituents; and in beta brass they are transcrystalline. 5. The ordinary impurities or added elements in special brasses have little or no effect on the tendency to season crack. 6. Internal stresses can be eliminated, or at least reduced to a safe 'limit by annealing treatments at temperatures that do not produce visible microstructural changes or appreciable softening of the worked brasses. There are, however, some points in connection with the phenomenon of season cracking which have not been thoroughly investigated, or wherein different authors and investigators are not entirely in agreement. The investigations described in this paper were undertaken to determine: 1. The correlation between mercurous nitrate tests and actual season cracking on long-time atmospheric exposure. 2. The quantitative effect of type and degree of drawing operations on the intensity of internal stress and on the tendency to season crack in brass tubes. 3. The possibility of drawing high-brass tubes in such a manner as to prevent the occurrence of harmful stresses rather than to find a remedy for such stresses once having obtained them.

Jan 1, 1930

By W. L. McMorris

The Convertol process was first described in Germany by Muschenborn' in 1952. In the U. S. Fraser' reported this new process in 1953, and Brisse and McMorris" presented the results of a Convertol pilot plant at the Alpheus preparation plant in Gary, W. Va., illustrating the mechanics of the process by a series of sketches. The purpose of the present investigation was threefold: 1) to determine the relative effectiveness of various oils and hydrocarbons for recovering coal by the Convertol process, 2) to ascertain the behavior of coal pulps in this process under various operational conditions, and 3) to compare Convertol with flotation in the recovery of fine coals. APPARATUS, PROCEDURE, AND COAL SAMPLES In laboratory work with the Convertol process a Waring Blender equipped with a speed-regulating rheostat was used for wetting, conditioning, inversion, and retention of the coal pulp. A 5-in. International centrifuge was adapted to dewater the agglomerated clean coal product by installation of a 100-mesh screen inside the regular bronze basket of the centrifuge. Except where otherwise stated, the Convertol testing was performed by the following steps: 1) A 450 to 500-cc coal slurry, containing 24 pct by weight of solids, was agitated in the blender for 10 min at 100 rpm to insure complete wetting and mixing. 2) Eight percent by weight of oil was added to the coal slurry in the blender and agitated for 1 min at 11,000 rpm to result in the phase inversion or agglomeration of oil-coated coal particles. 3) The agglomerated coal slurry was poured onto a 100-mesh sieve and wet-screened for about 2 min to remove most of the ash and some of the water. 4) The material remaining on the screen was transferred into the centrifuge for final dewatering. 5) A portion of the clean coal was immediately weighed out for moisture determination, while the

Jan 1, 1960

By Arthur Notman

(San Francisco Meeting, September, 1915) SACRAMENTO HILL is a mass of granite porphyry intruded along a fault between Paleozoic sediments and pre-Cambrian schists in the Bisbee district, Cochise County, Arizona. The intrusion invaded both walls of the fault to a large extent, and the accompanying extensive mineralization of the Paleozoic limestones is the locus of the great high-grade copper orebodies of the Bisbee mines. Prior to 1909, although the presence of ore in the mass of the hill itself had long been suspected, systematic exploration had not been attempted. A few shallow pits on the surface here and there had disclosed some chalcocite with associated carbonates as stringers in a mass of strongly brecciated, silicified, and iron-stained porphyry. The workings in the surrounding limestones had penetrated the porphyry in a dozen or so places for some distance from the contact but had disclosed no ore. However, the rock had been largely altered to quartz and sericite and very thoroughly impregnated with pyrite and traces of the copper sulphides. A close geological study of the conditions, both surface and underground, strengthened these suspicions, and plans for prospecting the hill were made in 1909. Reference to the accompanying illustrations, Figs. 1 and 2, will give an idea of the general appearance of the surface. The mineralization is more intense in two main zones, one at the west end and the other at the east end of the hill. The outcrop of the hill is elliptical and approximately 3,000 ft. long by 1,400 ft. wide. The Sacramento shaft, which is the main hoisting shaft of the mine and situated at the east end of the hill, as shown by the accompanying map (Fig. 3), offered a convenient base for prospecting that end of the hill, while the workings from the Holbrook shaft offered a similar opportunity at the west end. The choice of level for the first work was determined by analogy with the most favorable depth for enrichment below surface observed in the other disseminated deposits of the Southwest.

Jan 8, 1915

This report presents the comments of members of the Institute's Sub-committee on Physics of Mine Ventilation on the proposals of a special committee of the Institute of Mining Engineers (London). This report is as follows: THEORY OF MINE VENTILATION Abstract of a report submitted June 16, 1925, to the Council of The Institution of Mining Engineers by a Special Committee Laws of Flow of Aib The law of flow of air in mine galleries is, at present, expressed by two formulas differing slightly in shape but both derived from the original hydraulic formulas of Chezy and others. These formulas are: The Atlcinson Formula.—Pa = KsV2, which in transformation becomes a3 where P = pressure producing flow; K = coefficient of friction; s = surface of the mine galleries; V = velocity of flow; Q = rate of flow; a = area of mine galleries. This formula is especially applicable to mine galleries, but is unwieldy in application, as in many problems we are dealing with changes produced in the same set of airways when K, s, and a are assumed not to change, and the only variables are P and Q. Great uncertainty prevails as to the exact values to be assigned to the coefficient K in different types of airway, as different workers have given widely differing values. This formula assumes: (I) That resistance to flow is independent of the pressure within the gallery. (2) That changes in volume within the limits of pressure ordinarily met with may be neglected. (3) That changes in density and viscosity and mode of flow of the air may be neglected. (4) That the coefficient K is a constant. (5) That P is proportional to the square of the velocity. We cannot find any reliable experimental work leading us to conclude how far these assumptions are justifiable in mining practice. Equivalent Orifice Formula.—The fundamental form of this formula is Q = ~nA.\/2~11

Jan 1, 1927

By David B. Reger

Widespread wildcatting for new supplies of natural gas and the beginning of importation from the southwest characterized the petroleum industry of West Virginia during 1944. Within the state, drilling for oil did not increase but. more gas wells were completed than in any previous year since 1937. Out of 40 wildcats drilled there were 25 gas discoveries and 15 dry holes. No commercial oil was found in the 40 wells. The proved limits of several oil pools were slightly extended by marginal drilling, resulting in 1300 acres of new oil territory, although no distinctly new pools were found. At least four new gas pools were assuredly discovered and various successful wildcats indicate future pools or wide extensions. The new proved gas territory, in definite new pools and definite extensions, is about 34,000 acres. A considerable net decline of proved oil has occarred and probably a slight decline of proved gas reserves. The account of operations, as gathered from trade journals and other reporting services, shows that 918 new wells were drilled, resulting in 71 oil wells with 613 bbl. of daily new production; 577 gas wells with 305,372,000 cu. ft. of daily open flow, and 142 dry holes. Also, 107 old wells were drilled to deeper sands, with 22 bbl. and 12,327,000 cu. ft. of added production. On the new wells the oil average was 8.6 bbl. per well per day, and the gas average was 529,241 CU. ft. per well per day. On new wells the ratio of dry holes to completions was 15.47 per cent. On deeper drilling the ratio of failures was 19.63 per cent. Production of oil for the year was estimated by the Oil Weekly as 3,069,000 bbl., as compared with 3,349,000 bbl. in 1943. Production of natural gas for the year is estimated by the author as 200,000, 000,000 cu. ft., as compared with the U. S. Bureau of Mines final figures of 223,789,000,000 cu. ft.t in 1943.

Jan 1, 1945

By Robert :H. . Lesemann

I recently gave a talk at a seminar on mine development in the Eighties. I had to present CRU' s long-range market outlook for copper, lead, zinc, nickel, molybdenum and silver. In reviewing the recent history of each metal, and our projections, I tried to find some common pattern of behavior that could prove a guide in projecting future market behavior. When you sweep aside your input-output models and econometric equations, what you seem to be left with is this: "When a market goes through a prolonged period of price weakness, you can usually look forward to a period of considerable improvement. " "When a market goes through a prolonged period of price strength, you can always anticipate a prolonged period of price weakness." Stated another way, "The better things are, the worse they will get."

Jan 1, 1982

By Archer E. Wheeler

IN the copper industry, the year 1942 was one of striving for larger tonnage and increased production. The demands of the war program placed copper high in the list of strategic metals and the Government encouraged production by offering a premium of 5c. per pound for copper output in excess of the 1941 quotas. This had the effect of increasing the tempo of existing operations and also of initiating a number of projects which will eventually result in production from sources not hitherto exploited. No radically new methods of copper reduction were reported.

Jan 1, 1943

By H. S. Martin

The Phosphate Recovery Corporation operates three flotation plants, NOS. 1 and 2 concentrators about three miles northeast of Mulberry, Florida, and No. 3 plant at Wales, Tennessee. These plants represent the first commercial phosphate flotation operation and are also believed to be the largest nonmetallic flotation operation in the world at the present time. The details of this paper will be confined to plant No. 2, this being the newest and largest concentrator in Florida, and the flow sheet being practically the same as at plant No. 1. The No. 3 plant has been operated but a short time and has been shut down since December, 1932, on account of the decrease in phosphate rock production. The phosphate washers usually are located centrally on a known deposit so that about two hundred acres of ground can be mined economically to each washer location. The washers are moved to new areas when the distance becomes too great for economical pumping. The flotation plants are built either adjacent to a washer, so that current debris may be utilized, or on the site of a former washer where there is sufficient accumulated debris available for mining, and the flotation plants must also be moved from time to time. Most of the water used in the Florida flotation plants is recovered after passing through a circulating system where most of the fine SUSpended matter is settled out, but some make-up water is obtained from deep wells near the plant. Power is obtained from the Tampa Electric Co. through the distribution facilities of the International Agricultural Corporation. Flotation concentrate is hauled from the plant by trolley over the International Agricultural Corporation's trolley system, to the drying plant at Prairie, one mile northwest of Mulberry. Ore Treated In the pebble phosphate district of Florida, the phosphate mineral, or collophane, is usually found in horizontal beds of varying thickness

Jan 1, 1934

By G. F. Comstock

The subject of transverse fissures in steel rails has been discussed very thoroughly in recent years from various points of view and the final opinions expressed may be roughly classified into two groups: That these fissures are the result merely of fatigue of the steel and are independent of the quality of the metal. That the quality of the metal and the mill practice must have something to do with them. The first point of view was most ably and logically presented by J. E. Howard,' and in the discussion of this paper, as well as in several other preceding publications, Dr. P. H. Dudley, Consulting Engineer of the New York Central Lines, has strongly defended the other opinion.2 The steel makers of the country have naturally rallied under Mr. Howard's banner, hoping to place the entire blame for these failures upon the railroads with their high wheel-loads, hard steel, heavy traffic, and sometimes inferior road-bed; while the railroad men, on the other hand, have been busy accumulating statistics and records in the effort to find an actual reason in the rails themselves that would account for the seemingly haphazard occurrence of transverse fissures under varying conditions and at widely separated points. The view that these fissures were due merely to normal fatigue under alternating stresses seemed most reasonable to the writer until quite recently, because from work done in this laboratory, as well as the work of other investigators, of the problem, no structural differences, in the vast majority of cases, were found between metal at the nuclei of transverse fissures and metal at similar positions in the same rails or in other rails that had not developed fissures. Within the last year or two, however, since the method of etching polished sections for the microscope with a oupric chloride solution has been tried systematically on lengthwise sections, passing through the nuclei of transverse fissures, evidence

Jan 1, 1920

By Warren B. Weeks

Continued development in the deeper fields discovered during 1937 and 1938 was largely responsible for the 16 per cent (2,913,400-bbl.) increase in production, bringing the 1939 output to 21,376,230 bbl., the largest for South Arkansas since 1929. The older settled fields continued to decline and Rodessa was added to this classification. Magnolia field accounted for much of the increase, with Schuler field showing only a slight increase. There were 248 wells drilled during 1939, five more than during the previous year. Of 198 wells drilled in proven fields, 21 were dry; 46 of the 50 wildcats drilled were dry. The old depth record of 8332 ft. was increased to the present record of 9028. Trend of Prospecting Production from the porous " Reynolds " oolite zone of the Smackover limestone continued to be the objective of prospecting. During the year 20 seismograph, 3 gravity meter, 1 magnetometer, 1 soil analysis and 1 electromagnetic crews were reported in the state. The geophysical work was largely concentrated in three southern counties: Columbia, Lafayette and Union. As indicated in Table 2, the same three counties received most of the important drilling tests. At the end of the year only three seismograph crews remained in the areas. The area for prospecting Smackover limestone was greatly narrowed during the year by the failure of two "fault zone" wells to find satisfactory permeability in the oolite zone, and by the relatively thin sections of porosity found in wells drilled in townships 18 and 19 South. Geology Most of the wells listed in Table 2 afforded additional control on structure of the lower beds, but gave little new information on stratigraphy. Of the 248 wells drilled, 3 ended in Tertiary, 34 in Gulf, 1 in Paluxy, 29 in Glen Rose, 15 in Travis Peak, 15 in Cotton Valley, 139 in Smackover, 2 in Eagle Mills and 10 in Carboniferous. The age of the beds between the Travis Peak formation and Carboniferous is still questionable. Most

Jan 1, 1940

By Warren B. Weeks

Continued development in the deeper fields discovered during 1937 and 1938 was largely responsible for the 16 per cent (2,913,400-bbl.) increase in production, bringing the 1939 output to 21,376,230 bbl., the largest for South Arkansas since 1929. The older settled fields continued to decline and Rodessa was added to this classification. Magnolia field accounted for much of the increase, with Schuler field showing only a slight increase. There were 248 wells drilled during 1939, five more than during the previous year. Of 198 wells drilled in proven fields, 21 were dry; 46 of the 50 wildcats drilled were dry. The old depth record of 8332 ft. was increased to the present record of 9028. Trend of Prospecting Production from the porous " Reynolds " oolite zone of the Smackover limestone continued to be the objective of prospecting. During the year 20 seismograph, 3 gravity meter, 1 magnetometer, 1 soil analysis and 1 electromagnetic crews were reported in the state. The geophysical work was largely concentrated in three southern counties: Columbia, Lafayette and Union. As indicated in Table 2, the same three counties received most of the important drilling tests. At the end of the year only three seismograph crews remained in the areas. The area for prospecting Smackover limestone was greatly narrowed during the year by the failure of two "fault zone" wells to find satisfactory permeability in the oolite zone, and by the relatively thin sections of porosity found in wells drilled in townships 18 and 19 South. Geology Most of the wells listed in Table 2 afforded additional control on structure of the lower beds, but gave little new information on stratigraphy. Of the 248 wells drilled, 3 ended in Tertiary, 34 in Gulf, 1 in Paluxy, 29 in Glen Rose, 15 in Travis Peak, 15 in Cotton Valley, 139 in Smackover, 2 in Eagle Mills and 10 in Carboniferous. The age of the beds between the Travis Peak formation and Carboniferous is still questionable. Most

Jan 1, 1940

By O. J. Malacarne, D. G. Millenbruch

The use of a series of thickeners for washing of the slime fraction of a leached ore is not uncommon in the uranium industry; however, few ore processing mills have used a thickener circuit for washing leached total ore. The common practice is to wash the sand fraction in classifiers and the slime fraction only in thickeners. At the Uravan mill of Union Carbide Nuclear Co., a total ore acid leach is employed to extract uranium values from sandstone ores. These leached ores are then washed at a nominal rate of from 1000 to 1300 tpd in a series of washing thickeners. A typical screen analysis of the ore being washed in these thickeners is: 25 pct, -200 mesh; 3 pct, +35 mesh; and about 1 pct, +14 mesh. The amount of slimes (-200 mesh) will vary from 20 to 30 pct as the mill receives ore from 150 different mines. The washing liquor is acidic, from a pH of about 2 in the first thickener to 0.6 pH in the last thickener and, of course, all acid duty equipment must be used. The Uravan mill of Union Carbide Nuclear Co. is located in Montrose County, Colo. and is physically located on a canyon wall along the San Miguel River. The thickeners referred to in this paper are located on top of the mesa above the canyon. For purposes of identification, these thickeners are numbered 1 through 8 from south to north. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF CIRCUIT The circuit utilized consists of eight wooden fir tanks, 60-ft diam by 12-ft deep, set in a line and staggered in elevation by approximately 3 ft. The washing water flows through the thickeners by gravity, while the ore pulp is pumped uphill from thickener to thickener. Adequate piping and pumping capacity are available so that any of the thickeners can be bypassed in the circuit. All the controls for the

Jan 1, 1962

By Michael D. Martin

Pima Mining Co., managed and 50% owned by Cyprus Mines Corp., with Union Oil of California and Utah Construction and Mining Co. sharing equally in the remaining 50%, is a medium-sized open pit copper mine situated in the very active Twin Buttes mining district, 22 miles southwest of Tucson, Ariz. In 1965, a three-part paper described Pima's growth from 3,000 tpd (tons per day) in 1957 to 18,000 tpd nine years later. Within months of the completion of the last stage of this sixfold expansion, studies were being wound up on a further major expansion, this time to 30,000 tpd. This expansion is now a reality. Details of the enlargement of the crushing and concentrating plant have already been covered in a recent paper, and the present paper will cover pit engineering studies, equipment selection, and current operating practices. Key factors in top management's decision to go ahead with the latest expansion were: (1) a substantial increase in ore reserves coupled with an appreciable decrease in grade, (2) a generally favorable outlook for copper prices, and (3) better than expected performance by mine and mill equipment purchased for the expansion to 18,000 tpd. For the pit design studies, particular attention was paid to pit stability, a problem area at times in the past, and to the location and grades of the final ramp systems. In drawing up the long-term mining schedule, the attitude of the ore, with the higher grade material lying deeper, was a critical factor and considerable stockpiling of lower-grade material in the early years had to be accepted in order to keep the annual grades close to the average of the orebody. The expansion called for major purchases of mine equipment in order to gear up the mine for delivery of 30,000 tpd to the concentrator. In general, equipment chosen was of types already proven at Pima, al- though there were some exceptions to this practice. One of these excep-

Jan 1, 1969

By Leon H. Nelson

Several factors which affect the segregation and solidification of killed hot-topped steel ingots are: (1) pouring temperature, (2) volume in the hot top, (3) taper in the ingot, (4) pouring rate by varying the nozzle size, (5) segregation of several elements, (6) moving ingots before completely solidified. In most of this discussion, segregation will be measured in terms of carbon variation only. All the data given are results on S.A.E. 1040 analysis of fully killed steel direct-poured in hot-topped molds giving 20-in, square ingots. Thus the variables of analysis and ingot size and contour are eliminated. Segregation results are all on the rolled-bloom size, not on the ingot itself. They are results from plant-control work and not results of special research on ingot segregation. Pouring Temperature The temperature (or, more correctly, the amount of superheat above the liquidus-solidus) of the steel entering the ingot is, of course, one of the most important factors influencing segregation and solidification. Table 1 gives the average segregation of a number of heats of S.A.E. 1040 steel with normal pouring temperatures of 2775" to 2825" F. The table also gives some data on segregation in hot heats (pouring temperature 2840" to 2870" F.) and in cold heats with some skull (poured at 2725" to 2760" F.). The results in Table 1 are on steel ingots with 20-in. square cross section and 60 in. long to the hot top. The ingot weighs 7100 lb. and the hot top contains 14.3 per cent of the total ingot volume and 11.2 per cent of the total ingot weight. The results are from drillings after rolling the ingots to bloom size. Segregation results obtained on the bloom are probably not as great as they would be in the ingot itself, since heating the ingots for rolling can perhaps cause some migration of carbon from regions of high and low carbon to those of average carbon content.

Jan 1, 1937