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By P. L. Russell

The use of nuclear explosives for excavation has been demonstrated to be feasible and practical. Application of nuclear explosives for overburden removal from large ore deposits appears to offer economic advantages over present methods, but under the present pricing schedule, high-yield devices must be used to obtain an economic advantage. The use of nuclear explosives presents problems not inherent in the use of conventional explosives, and thus they can be used only in areas where large explosions and associated phenomena can be tolerated. Stripping of coal with nuclear explosives does not appear practical at this time, but stripping overburden from copper or iron ore deposits may be a potential use. Even here, however, the use of nuclear explosives would require isolation, favorable topography, favorable ground-water conditions, and a low population density. If these basic requirements can be met, the use of nuclear explosives for overburden removal would offer both economic and time advantages. The possibility of using nuclear explosives for peaceful purposes was a subject for speculation as early as 1945. The PLOWSHARE Program was formally established by the AEC in June 1957 for the purpose of developing and demonstrating peaceful applications for nuclear explosives. The technical direction of the program is the responsibility of the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, Livermore, Calif. Mining and excavation were two fields that received early consideration as areas in which nuclear explosives might be used. Knowledge gained from underground weapons testing increased this possibility, and the development of the thermonuclear device which has a small fission-to-fission ratio, reduced the hazard of radiation, and spurred interest. Nuclear explosives appear to have the greatest potential in the following mining operations: 1.— Surface Mining a) Stripping of waste for open-pit excavation b) Breaking of ore in open-pit mining c) Quarrying d) Blasting for production of aggregate, riprap, etc. 2. — Underground Mining a) Block caving application b) Crushing of ore for in-situ leaching, etc. c) Preparation of underground waste disposal areas Of the potential applications, excavation is perhaps the most obvious and the best understood, and probably the most practical for use in the near future. Large quantities of rock and earth can be moved by proper emplacement of nuclear explosives, but economic and practical relationship must be determined between the known capabilities of nuclear explosives and the required excavating to remove overburden. REMOVING OVERBURDEN IN OPEN-PIT MINING Removing the overburden is one of the largest jobs in open-pit mining. In 1960 open-pit mines produced approximately 130 million tons of coal, 108 million tons of copper ore, and 135 million tons of iron ore. To obtain this much production, an estimated 3-billion tons of overburden were removed from the coal, 216 million tons from the copper ore, and 135 million tons from the iron ore. These figures do not include the initial stripping required before ore production. For example, the ASARCO Mission mine started stripping operations in August 1959 and by mid-November 1961 had removed 46.3 million tons of material including 1.2 million tons of ore.* Initial excavation of this type offers the most favorable conditions for utilizing the earth-moving ability of nuclear explosives. EXPLOSIVE CASTING FOR REMOVING OVERBURDEN The use of explosives to remove overburden is not a new idea. Conventional explosives have been used for this purpose for many years with varying degrees of success. Several small coal strip operators have used this idea to increase production. At these mines about one-third or more of the overburden is thrown by explosives across the pit and onto spoil piles. The additional costs of drilling more blast holes and more explosives are more than compensated for by a reduction in the time required to uncover the coal, and by an increase in coal production.

Jan 1, 1964

By Hjalmar W. Johnson

IT has long been accepted that blast-furnace practice varies to some degree with the coke used. While the qualities desirable in iron have been known for some time, the qualities in coke that produce such iron have not been established. There are no objective standards for blast-furnace coke, which is usually described in general terms, as good or bad. Many experienced operators believe that coke cannot be measured objectively except by using it in the furnace, noting the result, and labeling the coke according to furnace operations. This is admittedly unscientific, and besides is useless for the two main purposes for which a measure of coke quality is needed: (I) to produce the best possible coke from the coals and equipment on hand; (2) to test new coals and determine their value for blast-furnace coke. In seeking such an objective measure, much work has been done on tumbler tests, shatter tests, sizes of coke, porosity, specific gravity, reactivity or combustibility and other tests, but as yet very little has been published in which conclusive correlations have been established between such objective measures and furnace operation. In our study of the problem during the past 8 years we have developed no new measures of coke quality, but we have collected data that are presented here in the hope that they may assist in further work, so that at some future time there may be developed such positive measures. The purpose of this paper is to show that there are variations in coke and that such variations do influence the operation of blast furnaces. At the same time we must remember that there are variations in blast-furnace operation and it may be the blast furnace that is at fault. This correlation of coke properties with blast-furnace operation will be worked out in the following steps: I. Discussion of a period when a change in the coke resulted in an increase in efficiency on one furnace and a decrease in efficiency on another. 2. Adaptation of the inefficient furnace to the available coke so that normal efficiency was restored. 3. The use of radial distribution: a discussion of the effect of size of ore layer in adapting blast-furnace operation to the coke. 4. An example of a change in size of coke and the detrimental influence on the production of one furnace. 5. An example of a change in size of coke, together with manufacturing data, to show why it changed, the conclusion being that coke is a product with an optimum value. 6. Illustration of the fact that coke has different optimum values on two furnaces, with discussion on adaptation of operation so the optimum values will be the same. 7. Limitations of the use of screen tests as an objective measure of coke quality. 8. Importance of uniformity in coke. FUNCTIONS OF COKE AND QUALITIES REQUIRED TO PERFORM THESE FUNCTIONS Coke has three important functions in a blast furnace: (I) to furnish most of the

Jan 1, 1941

By A. M. Gaudin, A. F. Taggart

Flotation of ores is a practical utilization of the energy that resides in the surfaces of solids and liquids. The best known manifestation of this energy is called surface tension; an equally important, though less apparent, phenomenon is adsorption. This paper reviews some of the recent investigations of these phenomena, and gives the results of certain experiments performed by the authors. Surface tension is a manifestation of energy having its seat at the bounding surface between the adjacent phases of a multiphase system. Thus, at the interface between a liquid and a gas, or between two immiscible liquids, or between a solid and a gas or a liquid, there are forces capable of doing work, their magnitude depending on the nature of the adjacent phases and the extent of the bounding area. These surface forces are inappreciable when the ratio of surface to volume of the adjacent phases is small, but they become powerful when this ratio becomes large, as it does when one of the phases is highly dispersed. Froth flotation, which consists in buoying solids heavier than water to the surface of water by means of gas bubbles, utilizes the force of surface tension to attach the solid particles to the gas bubbles and again to maintain the floating mass of bubbles as a more or less persistent froth at the surface of a pulp for a sufficiently long time to allow its removal. It follows from the second law of thermodynamics that the potential energy of a system in equilibrium is a minimum. Therefore a multiphase system, tending toward equilibrium, will arrange itself in such a way that the total energy of the interfaces will be the least possible. This end can be accomplished in two ways: by a change in shape that will reduce the interfacial area; by a change in the nature of the surface layer in

Jan 1, 1923

By A. F. Taggart, A. M. Gaudin

Flotation of ores is a practical utilization of the energy that resides in the surfaces of solids and liquids. The best known manifestation of this energy is called surface tension; an equally important, though less apparent, phenomenon is adsorption. This paper reviews some of the recent investigations of these phenomena, and gives the results of certain experiments performed by the authors. Surface tension is a manifestation of energy having its seat at the bounding surface between the adjacent phases of a multiphase system. Thus, at the interface between a liquid and a gas, or between two immiscible liquids, or between a solid and a gas or a liquid, there are forces capable of doing work, their magnitude depending on the nature of the adjacent phases and the extent of the bounding area. These surface forces are inappreciable when the ratio of surface to volume of the adjacent phases is small, but they become powerful when this ratio becomes large, as it does when one of the phases is highly dispersed. Froth flotation, which consists in buoying solids heavier than water to the surface of water by means of gas bubbles, utilizes the force of surface tension to attach the solid particles to the gas bubbles and again to maintain the floating mass of bubbles as a more or less persistent froth at the surface of a pulp for a sufficiently long time to allow its removal. It follows from the second law of thermodynamics that the potential energy of a system in equilibrium is a minimum. Therefore a multiphase system, tending toward equilibrium, will arrange itself in such a way that the total energy of the interfaces will be the least possible. This end can be accomplished in two ways: by a change in shape that will reduce the interfacial area; by a change in the nature of the surface layer in

Jan 1, 1923

By W. F. Mullen, C. W. Stickler

WITH few exceptions, unit operations in the Pennsylvania slate industry in 1950 did not differ appreciably from production methods described by Behrel and Bowles2-4 several decades ago. Many traditionally picturesque but relatively inefficient hand operations continued to contribute to high operating costs in an industry in which the margin of profit, for various reasons, was admittedly low. As part of a general program in which the Pennsylvania State College has been assisting the slate industry to solve some of its problems, time and method studies were used in an effort to determine the bottlenecks of production flow. The results are as applicable to other stone industries as they are to slate. A study of the basic elements in the production of roofing slate, structural slate, and slate blackboards among selected slate producers revealed comparatively few refinements. Any marked difference in operating method was characterized largely by the available equipment, a noticeable difference in the working properties of the rock quarried by a particular company, and by either the habit thinking or ingenuity of the individual operators. With the hope that significant economies in manufacture might result, all the unit operations were broken down into elements for study and analysis. The greater part of the study encompassed those operations from the quarry rim to the finished product; however, to obtain a reasonable synthesis of time allotments per operation, several analyses of quarrying from the finish of the wire saw cut are included for reference. The complete study of quarrying made by Bowles several years ago resulted in the introduction of the wire saw into the operation; there appears to be a need for as fundamental a change in the processing of finished slate as the wire saw was in the quarrying process. Fig. 1 illustrates the flowsheet of quarried rock from the parent bed to the quarry rim with the basic elements which contribute to the difficulty of removing slate from the ground. In Pennsylvania roofing slate is produced by one of three procedures, many operations of which are quite similar. In the traditional or classical method the quarried rock is reduced by sculping and auxiliary manual treatment to workable size and then is split and dressed (trimmed to size) in the conventional shanty. Archaic as this method might appear, there are several elements that result in substantial savings over more mechanized operations. In a modified version of this method, the block is reduced by sawing and gouging preparatory to splitting and dressing in indoor stations. This method is particularly adaptable to rock which fractures unevenly by conventional sculping methods. In the third and more modern method, reduced block received from the block maker is diamond-sawed to length and finished on a production line. Fig. 2 illustrates the flow pattern in each case. In the modified and more modern plans, dressing is done on mechanically-operated trimming machines, which appreciably reduce the fatigue factor of the operator. However, it should be noted that it is advantageous for the operator to be able to control the speed of the knife to prevent breakage of certain classes of stock. In the classical plan the splitter and dresser normally act as blockmakers also and carry their eighter slabs (equivalent in thickness to eight shingles) into the shanties themselves, all of which adds to fatigue and reduced efficiency. The extremely low investment and operating expense of the classical method has undoubtedly been of paramount importance in its continuation. Production of Mill Stock The production of mill stock is accomplished by less picturesque methods than enter into the production of roofing slate but it is, in the main, relatively more efficient because of the increased use of machinery for handling and for finishing. Mill stock can be classified into two categories as far as difference in production method is concerned: structural slate and blackboards. The significant difference in operation is caused largely by the nature of the rock used for each product with the best and easiest cleaved rock being reserved for blackboards to permit the splitting of large slabs to as little as 1/2 in. in thickness. Structural stock, on the other hand, is split into panels no thinner than 11/2 in. and

Jan 1, 1952

By Robert Hoy

If the reader finds that the basic information in a commodity chapter is insufficient, he can consult the appropriate sources in this chapter to find more detailed or more up-to-date information. In these days, technology develops so rapidly that this 4th edition will be somewhat out of date even by the time it is distributed. A comparison of this edition with the 3rd edition (1960) of Industrial Minerals and Rocks will clearly demonstrate how rapidly the scene changes. One of the best sources of new information, of course, is attendance at technical meetings. For example, the papers presented at the national and sectional meetings of AIME usually discuss new developments in the respective divisions of the society. Frequently this information is available in Preprints. In addition some are printed in Mining Engineering and/or the Transactions of the Society of Mining Engineers of AIME. Furthermore, other professional and trade journals contain articles pertinent to the field. A journal introduced in 1967, Industrial Minerals, published by the Metal Bulletin, Ltd., London, is an excellent source of information. The Mining Journal, Ltd., also in London, publishes a weekly journal, a Mining Magazine (monthly), and a Mining Annual Re- view. The latter covers the field from three aspects: (1) by commodities, (2) through technical developments, and (3) geographically. Other useful magazines and periodicals include Engineering and Mining Journal, Pit and Quarry, Rock Products, and World Mining, all published in the United States. In addition many new books related to industrial minerals have been published since the 3rd edition of Industrial Minerals and Rocks. Most of these, of course, are included in the bibliography of each chapter in this volume. Another excellent information source is the proceedings of the Forum on Geology of Industrial Minerals. This group, which held its 11th annual meeting in 1975, is sponsored by a state geological survey or another mineral agency on a rotational basis. The proceedings have been published by the various sponsors and are available as indicated in Table 1. Two major sources of basic industrial mineral and rock data in the United States, and also a good source for many foreign countries, are the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines. The two agencies publish many reports and maps on a variety of geo- logical and mining subjects. In addition, each agency has an indexed list of all their publications with a free service announcing new publications. (New Publications of the Geological Survey, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. 20242) and New Publications-Bureau of Mines, Publications Distribution Branch, U.S. Bureau of Mines, 4800 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213). The U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) publishes annually Minerals Yearbooks which provide statistical data on mineral products including production, consumption, imports and exports, as well as information on new developments. Another very useful USBM series is called Mineral Facts and Problems. Editions were published in 1960, 1965, and 1970. Three other major series of publications by the Bureau are Information Circulars, Reports of Investigations, and Mineral Trade Notes. The latter is particularly good for news of foreign developments. A new Professional Paper No. 820 of the U.S. Geological Survey, 1973, summarizes data on the mineral resources of the entire country. The USGS, in cooperation with USBM, other Federal and various state agencies, has also prepared summary reports on mineral and water resources of given areas which include

Jan 1, 1975

By W. R. Ingalls

WHAT proportion of the national wealth is represented by' the producing mines of the country?' Or by the- mining and metallurgical industry-as a whole, for it is impossible to make-an economic distinction between the mines that produce the ore and the plant that is used to get the metals from it. The total national wealth in fixed property is about $270,000,000,000. How much for the mines? I do not know that any one 'else has ever tried to furnish answers to these questions. In making such an attempt I am conscious that the result can be nothing more than a rough approximation. Yet even that will give an idea of relative values. No separate valuation for the mines of the country has appeared in any inventory of the national wealth previous to that which I compiled and published for 1916. -In earlier census estimates mines were supposed to be included under the head of real estate. However, an examination of the laws and practices of the several states with respect to mine taxation will make it evident that no good idea of the value of the mines of the coun¬try is obtainable from the assessment rolls. In my previous estimate for 1916, I computed the value of the mines at $8,000,000,000, which was approxi¬mately 10 times their net income as reported to the Bureau of Internal Revenue. In making that estimate I fell grossly into error, for several reasons that it is unnecessary to explain, but chiefly because the net income of the mines of the country in that year was exceptionally large. The whole subject of valuing the mines of the country en bloc is extraordinarily difficult At the best, no one can hope to arrive at, anything more than a rough idea about it. However, elements of reason may be introduced and may be made to serve as chief bases.

Jan 1, 1921

By AIME AIME

WITH a brilliance undimmed by hard times, the annual dinner on Wednesday evening, Feb. 17, was a complete success. More than 600 members, friends and ladies gathered early and filled the anterooms of the grand ballroom of the Commodore Hotel, while the president's reception was in progress, and then at the sound of the gong and with the music of the orchestra, rising above the happy din of conversation thronged to their seats at the tables. Following the "potage Ambassadeur"-probably to eliminate a very real hazard-the usual toy balloons appeared and a gay and lively scene, punctuated by multitudinous explosions, ensued, as the hundreds, of variously colored spheres bounced yon and hither until their gaseous existence was ended on the glowing end of a cigar or cigarette. On the speakers' dais sat C. E. Beecher, Chairman Petroleum Division; J. Vipond Davies, representative of A. I. M. E. on the Alfred Noble Prize Committee; Corbin T. Eddy, Alfred Noble Prize recipient; A.' S. Tuttle, Vice-president American Society of Civil Engineers; W. C. Mendenhall, Director U. S. Geological Survey; George C. Bateman, representing the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy; Paul D. Merica, Institute of Metals lecturer and Chairman James Douglas Medal Committee; Champion Herbert Mathewson, James Douglas Medalist; Robert E. Tally; retiring President; G. Temple Bridgman, toast-master; Scott Turner, incoming President; F. W. Bradley, William Lawrence Saunders Medalist; Fred Searls, Jr., Chairman William Lawrence Saunders Gold Medal Committee; Arthur Notman, President Mining and Metallurgical Society of. America; Robert J. Grant, Director U. S. Mint; Landon F. Strobel, Chairman New York Section; Howard Scott, recipient of Robert W. Hunt Prize; George. B. Waterhouse, Chairman Robert W. Hunt Prize Committee; F. M. Becket, Chairman Iron and Steel Division; Ora E. Clark, recipient of the J. E. Johnson, Jr., Award; Richard Peters, Jr., Chairman J. E. Johnson, Jr., Award Committee; E. C. Bain, Howe Lecturer; Sam Tour, Chairman Institute of Metals Division; and H. Foster Bain, Chairman. Charles F. 'Band Foundation Committee. ' Each was heartily applauded when introduced by Mr. Bridgman, as was Mrs. Tally, who also made a bow. The toastmaster made graceful reference in introducing Mr. Strobel, to the large part the latter had taken in planning the meeting.

Jan 1, 1932

By AIME AIME

WEDNESDAY night, by long tradition, is al- ways set aside for the annual dinner, even when, as it was this year, it is Ash Wednesday. Whether the somewhat smaller attendance than last year is attributable to that cause, the unexpectedly long persistence of business depression, or whatever may have been the reason, it was a joyous occasion, and the grand ball-room of the Commodore Hotel was as completely filled With diners as * was consistent with com- fort. In the half hour before the dinner was actually served the guests assembled in an adjoining room and not only exchanged greetings but proceeded along the receiving line to greet the guests of honor. The number present was so large that hardly more than half of them had been able to do this before the summons to the dining room sounded and a hearty and immediate response was made to it. Toy balloons at each plate, inflated and directed at the heads of companions or nearby friends, but which were just as likely to carom from the nose of a hurrying waiter, successfully broke the ice as well as not a few plates. It would be interesting to know whether the pleasure the guests derive from these de- vices is in part based on the all-too evident annoyance of the waiters, and what the relative quantitative relationships are.

Jan 1, 1931

By F. L. Wolf

THE catenary system of line construction possesses so many desirable characteristics from the operating standpoint that it has wide application for all types of electric traction. Many steam roads are electrifying sections of their lines, and in most cases are operating both steam and electric locomotives over the same track. This' means that the overhead catenary system is subjected to the severe corrosive action of locomotive smoke, and data concerning the resistance of various alloys to this form of corrosion are very desirable from every point of view. Reliable and specific information and data on the subject of corrosion due to steam and smoke from locomotives are extremely meager and, on this account, extensive service tests, together with accelerated tests, have been made on a number of commercial metals and alloys. The observations and data recorded in this paper are the result of a, preliminary test which was started in 1923 and which has been carried on to the present time. The recognition of the need for even more detailed and accurate data has resulted in the undertaking of another test which has been in progress for about a year. The result of this test will be published in due course. Some years ago The Ohio Brass Co. was asked by one of the large steam railroad companies to furnish data on construction details for a catenary system which it was considering for one of its divisions. The selection of, materials which would give the necessary physical characteristics as well as withstand the severe corrosive action of locomotive gases caused electrical railroad engineers considerable concern. At that time, there were available no specific or authentic data on these important questions: no systematic investigation of the problem appeared to have been made, even though its importance was generally recognized. Such observations as had been made were crude in that they had been limited largely to visual inspection which too frequently is most misleading. However, the scattered information which was collected gave important clues as to how best to start an investigation.

Jan 1, 1930

By Kenelm C. Appleyard

In introducing to an American audience a description of the work done in dry coal separation in England and in Europe generally, it is perhaps desirable to give a short history of the development outside the United States of the particular processes with which the author is connected, and perhaps to stress a little the differences in the nature of the conditions to be faced. England actually presents one set of problems and the Continent of Europe another, since the character of the coals to be treated is entirely dissimilar, and the attitude of the coal industries towards coal preparation is also dissimilar. England for generations has been working by hand good seams of clean coal of the highest possible quality and has not felt any pressing need to clean its coal. Most Continental countries, however, especially in Central and Western Europe, have been working friable and often very dirty coals for so long that a washery is accepted as a part of the normal equipment of a colliery, with the result that the art of wet washing has reached a high state of perfection, particularly in Belgium and Germany. The advent of machine mining has intensified the problems to be faced in all countries, and in England has been coupled with the working out of the best seams in the older coal fields, thus bringing about the necessity of working thinner and dirtier seams with resultant difficulties as regards marketing the products, while Poland, with clean and well prepared coal, has in recent years been attacking established British markets in Scandinavia. In recent years, therefore, interest in coal preparation has been steadily gaining ground in England, although it has not yet reached Continental dimensions. Broadly speaking, the differences in preparation problems between England and the Continent boil themselves down to one of size. In England, for example, with the exception of the Kent coal field, the proportion of coal of a size less than ? in. to the coal less than 2 in. is very much less than on the Continent, and since the principal difficulties in dry cleaning lie in the fines it is easier to produce good figures on

Jan 1, 1931

By P. B. Bucky

IN previous publications1 it was shown that a scalar model of any weighty structure, where the stresses produced are mainly due to gravita-tional forces, will behave similarly to its prototype if the model and proto-type material are the same arid the model is placed in a centrifugal field of force (substituted for the gravitational field) which has been increased in the same proportion as the linear model scale is decreased. This principle is now being applied to a study of the behavior of mine structures in an attempt to determine the laws that control them. The importance of using models as a means of solving mining problems has been discussed previously, yet it may be well to reiterate here that this method of research and type of solution have been productive of far-reaching results in other engineering fields, notably those of hydraulics and aerodynamics. Model research is a comparatively cheap and time-saving method of checking practical experience. Up to the present time the best guide to what will happen underground has been the judgment of the man who has observed most and been longest acquainted with the local conditions. His experimental work underground is limited by the elements of cost, time and danger, while failure is seldom permissible. In a model, as in a test tube, all elements that affect the solution of a problem are under definite control. Each element may be varied independently at will and its effects noted. Experimental work on a small-scale model may there¬fore be performed at a comparatively small expenditure of time and money, instead of on a full scale in the mine, where the cost, time, and danger elements are necessarily great. The experiments described in this paper are to be considered as part of a progress report and a continuation of Technical Paper 425. One object of the research program is to make each experiment point the way for further research on that particular phase of the general problem. The results and conclusions presented here are therefore not to be considered as final, but are to be interpreted as

Jan 1, 1933

By C. V. Millikan

THE year 1930 in the petroleum industry has been characterized by the establishment of large potential production of crude oil. This has resulted in closer cooperation between companies by proration and unit operation agreements in order to afford an equitable outlet to all, and to prevent a flood of oil being forced on the market with attendant tremendous material and economic waste. Drilling wells in proved areas and wildcat wells are fewer than in the past several years. Restricted production and low prices have caused greater effort to increase producing and recovery efficiencies. Increased refinery efficiencies have amplified the effect of overproduction. Pipe line departments have been especially busy. New oil lines have reached more refineries by new and shorter routes. Establishing greater gas reserves by new fields has justified new gas lines to industrial centers, and has brought this fuel to thousands of new domestic consumers. Two long gasoline lines, a new venture in pipe lines, are being built to obtain a lower cost of transportation and less loss between the refineries and their distribution centers. The chairmen of the various divisions have discussed the developments of their respective branches more fully in the following reviews.

Jan 1, 1931

By Sherwin F. Kelly

PLAIN mining engineers usually avoid any gathering of geo¬physicists because of the incomprehensibility of their discussion to the uninitiated. This being so, gradients, gravity and gammas will be deferred to the end of this review, the first part of which will be devoted to what has been done in applying geophysics to the solution of real field problems. From the West, J. J. Jakosky reports that International Geophysics has had its activities fairly well 'divided between mining (both placer and lode), oil structural work, and clans-site and reservoir investigations. In oil exploration, electrical methods are used for depths down to 2500 ft., beyond which they utilize seismic methods. They find in their placer work that the many 'magnetic anomalies encountered in the bedrock of the Southwest render the electrical techniques more satisfactory, and with them they are obtaining thickness and tonnage of gravels, depth to and contour of the underlying bedrock as well as important structural features therein, and water-table elevations.

Jan 1, 1934

By G. K. Manning, E. R. Stein, E. E. Underwood

Columbium, carbon. and nickel additions were made to iron-base alloys with 20 pct CY. The effects on microstructure, precipitation-hardening characteristics, and High-temperature properties were investigated by means of metallographic, hot-hardness, and magnetic measurements. An austenitic alloy consistilzg of Fe-20Cr-14Ni-0.8C-2.5Cb had higher hot-lzaciness at 1700°F than the other alloys investigated. Its favorable standing is attributed to an enhanced interaction of Cb and Cr4C particles dispersed within a stable austenitic matrix. FOR the past 20 years, cobalt- and nickel-base alloys have been used for the more stringent high-temperature applications because of their excellent creep resistance. Although their performance is quite satisfactory, other base materials must be considered for large tonnage, low-cost applications such as for the automotive gas turbine. Iron-base alloys are also used extensively, but at somewhat lower temperatures, primarily because of the instability of particles or because precipitation occurs at relatively low temperatures. Since unusual stability has been reported for Fe-Cb and Cb-C compounds.1-3 it was hoped that effective amounts of these compounds could be taken into solution at temperatures just below the melting range, then precipitated upon reheating. Actually, strengthening was found to occur by both precipitation hardening in some alloys and by phase transformations in others. Among the alloys investigated, that with the best high-temperature properties owes its strengthening to a combination of carbide particle interaction and a relatively stable austenitic matrix. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Small preliminary melts of about 100 g were made in a vertical Glotube furnace, using alundum crucibles and an argon atmosphere. Alloys weighing 35 lb were melted in a basic-lined induction furnace, also under argon. The compositions of the alloys are given in Table I. The nickel-free alloys were usually ferritic, while those containing nickel were generally austenitic. Depending upon the particular heat treatments, or the combination of alloying elements, two-phase alloys of ferrite and austenite could be obtained. In the following text, however, the nickel-free or nickel-bearing alloys are referred to simply as either ferritic or austenitic alloys respectively. The small ingots were swaged at 2000°F, in steps, to rods of approximately 3/16-in. diam. The large ingots were forged at 2100°F to 1-in. sq bars. No difficulties were encountered in swaging or forging any of the alloys to as much as 90 pct reduction in area. For heat treating at temperatures above 2000°F, specimens were sealed in quartz tubes under a partial pressure of helium. No special precautions were found to be necessary at lower temperatures. Intermetallic compounds in the preliminary alloys were identified by means of X-ray diffraction measurements. Correlation of these results with micro-structural characteristics (such as color, shape, size, and location) of the compounds aided in their identification. Magnetic susceptibilities were also obtained at room temperature with a Magne Gage instrument after the various heat treatments. To

Jan 1, 1962

By Arthur Philips

THE purpose of this paper is to present certain data and observations resulting from a series of experiments dealing with the heat treatment and microstructure of commercial white cast iron and its derivative, malleable iron. In planning the experimental work, particular pains were taken to secure for the tests white cast iron of "normal" composition; i.e., within the composition limits commonly prescribed by manufacturers of malleable castings. A review of the literature leads us to believe that much data of a fragmentary character treating of the graphitization of white cast iron have been of little value, mainly because of the diversity in chemical composition of the materials employed in the tests. Moreover, when feasible, annealing periods at least comparable to those of current practice have been adopted. We wish to acknowledge our indebtedness to the members of the research department of the Eastern Malleable Iron Co. for the white cast iron used in the tests and, particularly, for their active cooperation during the experimental stage of the work. In this paper the following subjects will be discussed in the order indicated: Data on the thermal critical points of white cast iron and malleable iron. Changes produced in tensile properties and microstructure of white cast iron by annealing at different temperatures within the range, 760 to 1100° C. Relation of thickness of wall section of hard iron to microstructure and tensile properties of malleable iron obtained under normal annealing conditions. Notes on mechanics of graphitization of normal white cast iron as observed in specimens quenched after various periods of anneal at approximately 800° C.

Jan 1, 1922

F A. THOMSON, president of the Montana School of Mines, gave an interesting talk on mining schools of the past, present and his ideas of the future before a recent meeting of the Montana Section of the A. I. M. E. He covered the history .of the various mining schools and com- pared the three main types of schools; those attached to or forming part of an endowed college or university such, for example, as' the Columbia School of Mines, the Mining Department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Mining Department of Stanford University. These resemble in a general way the second class, those attached to the state universities and colleges. The schools of this general type have had varied success.

Jan 1, 1928

By N. J. Grant, E. Gregory

The creep rupture properties of wrought aluminum powder products made from five grades of sintered aluminum powder were investigated at temperatures from 400° to 900°F for rupture times up to 1000 hr. The effect of stress concentrations on materials of this type was investigated by means of notched creep rupture tests. A tentative correlation was obtained between the creep rupture properties and the structure as revealed by electron micrographs. SEVERAL papers have been published recently concerning the production and properties of wrought aluminum powder products and their possible high temperature applications. Most of the published work in this field has come from abroad, notably Switzerland, and articles by Irmann and his colleagues were summarized in English recently.'.' Most of the papers published by Dr. Irmann are principally concerned with the retention of properties (by a product which is produced from extremely fine flake powder and is subsequently hot extruded) after heating to high temperature for prolonged times. The powder may be in atomized or flake form, and during hot working the applied pressure is reported to plastically deform the aluminum powder, thus breaking the oxide skin and welding the particles together. Irmann attributes the remarkable properties to the dispersion of oxide inclusions. Specifically, the product described by Irmann is one labeled SAP (Sintered Aluminum Powder) in which the initial flake powder is so fine that at least 50 pct of the flakes have one dimension of 2 microns or less. The composition of the starting aluminum shows in percent, Fe, 0.18; Si, 0.19; Zn, 0.06; Ti, 0.03; Cu, Mn, Mg, all nil; balance Al, approximately 99.5 pct. Aluminum is not the only material that has been found to have increased resistance to deformation at elevated temperatures when produced by powder metallurgy. It has been reported by Middleton, Pf eil, and Rhodes- hat platinum has a higher recrys-tallization temperature when produced by powder metallurgy and exhibits peculiar properties, many of which are similar to those of the aluminum powder products. Difficulties were encountered in explaining the reason for the strengthening in the case of platinum since the existence of the oxide is doubtful. The authors attributed the special properties to "a small amount of suitably dispersed porosity." This theory was supported by von -~eer-leder4 in the discussion to the paper, and the similarity between this method of hardening and that suggested by Rohner in his theory of age hardening was pointed out. R. de Fleury5 attempted to explain some of the properties in terms of the modulus of elasticity and elastic limit of alumina and aluminum while von Zeerleder examined the relationship between the yield strength and the reciprocal of the powder particle size. Boenisch and WiderholtQ dealt mainly with the corrosion resistance of the powder aluminum material and compared it with other aluminum alloys. The diffusion rates of other metals in SAP and pure aluminum have been compared by Seith and Lop-mann.' They showed that the alloying metals diffuse particularly quickly in SAP possibly due to the very fine grain size. The properties of the Alcoa products were given by Lyle.' The creep rupture properties of SAP and two of the Alcoa experimental powder products were compared by Gregory and Grant hnd it was shown that these products are vastly stronger at 900°F than are the best cast and wrought alloys at 600°F. Since the publication of these data, the authors have investigated two further aluminum powder products and it is the object of this paper to show how the high temperature creep rupture properties of the five materials vary with oxide content and with the structure as revealed by electron microscopy. Materials One of the five products, SAP, a sintered aluminum product, was supplied by the Societe Anonyme pourl Industrie de l,Aluminium, Neuhausen a/RHF, Switzerland, through Dr. R. Irmann, while the others, M276, M257, M293, and M255 were supplied by the Aluminum Company of America as experimental powder metallurgical products. M255- and M293 were made from coarse and fine atomized powders, respectively. The other materials were made from flake powders with significant differences in oxide content, the details of the type of powders used in the manufacture of these materials

Jan 1, 1955

By N. A. Stockett

SOUTHEAST Missouri is the largest and oldest lead-producing district in the United States. For the year 1941, the statistical picture of pig-lead production, stated in short tons (partly estimated by the Engineering and Mining Journal) is as follows. [Tons World production 2,000,000 United States production 460.000 Southeast Missouri production 242,000] The consumption of primary lead in the United States in 1941 was approximately 900,000 tons, or almost double the country's production. The largest previous year's consumption in the United States was 718,000 tons, in 1926. The largest quantities of lead are used for cable sheathing, storage batteries and white lead. During 1941 tetraethyl lead for auto and aviation gasoline consumed 50,000 tons of lead. The entire lead production of Southeast Missouri is now mined by the St. Joseph Lead Co., whose dominant position as the largest producer in the United States of lead directly from ores is best shown by the fact that in 1941 it produced approximately 31 per cent of the lead production of the United States from its mines in southeast Missouri, where 22,000 tons of ore, averag¬ing over 3.00 per cent lead, is mined per working day. It is known that lead was mined at Mine La Motte, Madison County, Missouri, by Renault in 1723. Other white men and Indians probably did some mining prior to that time. Since 1865, the recorded production to Jan. 1, 1942, shows that the St. Joseph Lead Co. and the various other companies that have operated in St. Francois County mined lead ore, which, after milling and smelting losses produced 5,00,000 short tons of pig lead. About 95 per cent of the present lead production of Southeast Missouri is mined in St. Francois County. The northern part of this area is 60 miles south of St. Louis. The remainder of the lead is obtained at Mine La Motte, about 25 miles southeast from the center of the producing area in St. Francois County. PROSPECTING In this district, most of the ore is discovered by surface and underground diamond drills and by prospect drilling underground with rock drills. Each 2-ft. length of the cuttings from these Jackhamer prospect holes is assayed for lead. These holes are marked and the records are entered on maps. It has been found that close drilling--100-ft. centers of holes, and sometimes less-is necessary in order to locate most of the smaller commercial ore bodies, many of which previously had been missed by drilling the areas with holes spaced 200-ft. centers or more.

Jan 1, 1943

By Aureal T. Cross

THIS paper is a review of the published literature on research in coal geology, principally exclusive of resource studies, which appeared or became available during 1950 and the latter part of 1949. This report is not to be construed as being complete. The papers referred to in the bibliography are those among many more, which were read either in full or in abstract. Undoubtedly other papers were published' which either escaped the author's notice or were not available to him. Those which were seen in abstract only (about one fourth of those listed) were not available in time for the inclusion of more than a notice. An outline of all papers listed in the bibliography has been arranged by subjects and reasonable subdivisions with some papers cited under more than one subject. Most papers are indexed according to the principal subject of discussion or research only as to an unusual or noteworthy section of the entire report. There will likely be some disagreement as to the quality or merit of some of the papers selected and the specialist may be supercritical of the outline or organization of papers in his field. It may be that attention has occasionally been drawn to papers reporting old information or conclusions of questionable value. Conferences and Meetings One of the best indications of the growing interest in coal geology problems in the United States is the increasing number of times this- field has been the focus of attention at conferences and meetings. Notable among these are the joint meeting of the Society of Economic Geologists and the Geological Society of America at El Paso, November 1949, at which the principal thesis was concerned with low rank carbonaceous fuel deposits, especially of western United States. Among the papers given which are already available were those presented by Barghoorn,16 Parry,180 Roe,153 and Parks.162 At the annual meeting of the Botanical Society of America in New York, December 1949, a joint meeting of the Paleobotanical and Microbiological Sections was held for which a symposium on Microbiology in Relation to the Geologic Accumulation of Organic Complexes was 'organized. Publication of the six papers presented by Ralph G. H. Siu, Elso S. Barghoorn, Irving Breger, Claude E. ZoBell, James M. Schopf, and A. C. Thayson is anticipated. At the regular meetings of the Paleobotanical Section at the same time, several other papers of interest reported on coal ball studies, partial coalification of petrified wood, and floras. In Chicago, April 1950, a symposium on Applied Paleobotany was held by the Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists in conjunction with the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. The five papers presented at this meeting dealt with the use of Paleozoic plant microfossils for stratigraphic work, J: M. Schopf, Devonian-Mississippian fossils of the black shales, Aureal T. Cross, Mesozoic plants of stratigraphic value, Th. Just, plant microfossils of the Tertiary, L. R. Wilson, and studies of the Brandon lignite, Elso S. Barghoorn. Early publication of these in the Journal of Paleontology is expected. The Nova Scotia Research Foundation and the Nova Scotia Dept. of Mines sponsored an excellent 3-day conference in June 1950, which, dealt with several aspects of coal geology. Papers on coal classification, P. A. Hacquenbard, structure and sedimentation problems in Nova Scotia, T. B. Haites, new techniques of thermal analysis, W. L. Whitehead, geochemical investigations of Nova Scotia coals, Irving Breger, the role of fossil plant spores in coal correlation and the stratigraphy of the coal-bearing strata of the Appalachian Region, Aureal T. Cross, were given. Some discussions of these papers by those in attendance were recorded, and the entire proceedings is being prepared for publication. In September 1950, an unusual 3-day field conference was held by the Ohio and West Virginia Geological Surveys under the sponsorship of the Coal Geology Committee. This study of the stratigraphy sedimentation, and nomenclature of the Upper Pennsylvanian and Permian coal-bearing strata of southeastern Ohio, southwestern Pennsylvania, and northern West Virginia .was augmented by two discussions on associated rocks (clays and shales) and stratigraphic nomenclature at Wheeling, and Morgantown, West Va. An extensive guidebook was prepared, and transcriptions of the Morgantown meeting were made. As a follow-up of the September field conference, a round-table discussion 'was held on this general topic at a special open meeting of the Coal Research Committee in conjunction with the November meeting of the Geological Society in Washington. Short prepared statements to invite discussion were given on each of several topics by L. M. Cline, Carl O.

Jan 1, 1952