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By FRANK R. VAN

I. INTRODUCTION. IN the summer of 1908, R. B. Cochran, Superintendent of the Compania Metalurgica Mexicana at Sierra Mojada, Mexico, presented to the Department of Geology and Mineralogy at Case School of Applied Science an interesting series of silver-, copper-, and lead-ores from the Veta Rica mine. These ores contained several interesting minerals which were associated in a somewhat peculiar manner, so that I was impelled to make a closer study of their occurrence. The investigation has brought out several new facts concerning the geology of the district and the geological occurrence of the ores, and therefore has seemed worthy of record. Two papers have been published previously about the region, one by Chism1 in 1887, and the other by Malcolmson2 in 1902. These articles, however, treat of the district more from the stand-point of the metallurgist and mining engineer, and not much attention is devoted to its mineralogy and economic geology. II. GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF THE DISTRICT. The Sierra Mojada is situated in the extreme western part of the State of Coahuila, near the Chihuahua boundary. It is reached best via the Mexican Central railroad from El Paso, Tex., to Escalon, Chihuahua, a distance of 494 miles. From this point, a branch line, the Mexican Northern railroad, runs 78 miles in a NE. direction to the mines, which are its northern terminus. The railroad was built about 1890, practically on account of the Sierra Mojada mining-district. 1 Sierra Mojada, Mexico, by Richard E. Chism, Trans., xv., 542 (1886-87). 2 The Sierra Mojada, Coahuila, Mexico, and Its Ore-Deposits, by James W. Malcomson, Tram., xxxii., 100 (1901).

Aug 1, 1912

By Walter L. Maxson, Fred C. Bond

THIS paper is a continuation of two earlier papers, l, 2 and presents new data on the grindability of various ores and other materials-the results of several years of intermittent research work on the nature of grinding and interpretation of test results. It is divided into five parts: 1. The tabulated results of several hundred grindability tests on a wide variety of ores. 2. A method of correcting screen analyses and calculating from them the surface and other properties. 3. A description of a new method of measuring the "surface energy" of an ore by pendulum impact tests. 4. Test results. 5. A general discussion of the test results and their application to grinding problems. 1. GRINDABILITY OF VARIOUS ORES This part is a continuation of the paper listed as reference No. 1. The method of testing is described in detail in that paper. The sample to be tested is crushed to all through 6 mesh in rolls set at x6-in. opening in closed circuit with a screen. Of this sample 700 C.C. is ground dry in a laboratory ball mill under constant conditions of mill speed and ball charge in closed circuit with a screen of the desired size at 250 per cent circulating load. The mill is cylindrical, 12 by 12 in., and rotates at 70 r.p.m. It contains a charge of 285 iron balls weighing 20,125 grams and ranging from 1 ½ to ¾ in. in diameter. Each test is continued for a sufficient number of periods to establish equilibrium at 250 per cent circulating load, or until the composition of the circulating load is constant for successive periods. Tests are conducted at the mesh size to which the ore is to be ground in practice, and the results are expressed as the net production in grams of screen undersize per revolution of the mill. This is designated as the

Jan 1, 1938

By John B. Hastings

CHIEF among the varied problems facing the mine-manager is that of vein-structure and origin, which is highly important as a guide to successful discovery and development. If metalliferous deposits can be traced to the intrusion of waters along definite lines, then is there something tangible for him to study. But when he is told by a geologist that metalliferous deposits are due to some other cause, like magmatic differentiation, while not perhaps discouraged, he is impressed with a vague sense of new worlds to be conquered. In 1897, while manager of the War Eagle mine at Rossland, B. C., where, previously, the ore-bodies had not been supposed to occur as veins, I suggested to visiting members of the Canadian Geological Survey that, perhaps, the structure of the pyrrhotite-bodies of that mine, which had been proved to occur along well-defined fractures, might throw some light on the similar deposits of Sudbury, then held to be basic aggregations from the original magma. Later investigation has at least provoked discussion of this last deduction, questioning its correctness and suggesting that, perhaps, the deposits are actual veins. The following extract from a paper by J. E. Spurr 1 is quoted, because it sets forth Mr. Spurr's theory of the quartz-occurrences of the Silver Peak mines, which will be discussed in this article. It also graphically describes the attendant geological features. '' The Drinkwater group of mines, which is the most important part of the Blair gold properties, and which has produced practically all of the million dollars' worth of ore, as above stated, may be taken as typical of the gold-veins which, though widespread and numerous, show a wonderful similarity of character. On the surface two adjacent veins outcrop, the Crowning Glory and the Drink-

Jan 1, 1913

By John Henry Harden

IN 1874, with Mr. H. Y. Attrill, of Baltimore, Md., I made an examination of some property at Goderich with reference to sinking for and mining salt. With this end in view we visited all the wells in the neighborhood, but the information sought being of so unreliable a character I advised the putting down of a borehole on the property. This has since been done, the result of which has lately been published by Dr. T. Sterry Hunt in the Toronto Globe. From this there appears to have been passed through six beds of salt of an aggregate thickness of 125 feet. Rock-salt was known to exist, for, by the boring of existing wells, small crystals had been brought to the surface in the dirt, but no attempt had before been made to obtain a reliable sample or to prove the number and thickness of the beds. The question now remaining for discussion is, shall the present method of obtaining the salt be continued, or shall the beds be won by a shaft in a regular mining fashion, by which means the salt may be gotten in a condition almost ready for the market? The present mode of obtaining salt is by boreholes from 6 inches to 8 inches in diameter drilled to the beds, into which is inserted a pump. The "feeders" of fresh water intersected in drilling the well are allowed to descend on the outside of the pump-tube to the salt beds and there become saturated, when, on use of the pump, brine is obtained for evaporation. In the beginning brine can only be had in limited quantity, but by the daily application of the pump, and the gradual solution of the salt, a larger surface becomes exposed to the action of the fresh water, and a continuons supply of brine is obtained. It will then be understood that the supply of brine is dependent upon the feeders of fresh water intersected in boring the well, which, we are told, have never shown any sign of diminution, and this is the water that must be encountered in sinking a shaft. There are ten wells in operation at Goderich, the most important one to the present project being known as the Hawley Well, located at an elevation a few feet above Lake Huron at the mouth of the river Maitland, at, a much lower level and nearer to the proposed shaft than any other well in the district. At this well the feeders

By L. S. Darken

THE manufacture and treatment of metals comprises operations whose effectiveness depends in large measure upon diffusion phenomena. The significance of such phenomena has, for a few simple cases, long been understood, but in more complex cases it has not been adequately recognized. This paper presents a mathematical analysis of some of the cases in which diffusion leads to the formation of a new phase within the metal, and this analysis provides a basis for interpreting quantitatively many apparently diverse experimental observations recorded in the literature, some of which are outlined in the following pages. OBSERVATIONS RECORDED IN LITERATURE An outstanding instance is the general type of phenomenon in which diffusion of an element into an alloy is followed by a phase change, which most frequently is a reaction (precipitation) of the diffusing element with one or more components of the alloy to form a compound. Thus in certain alloys heated in contact with oxygen not only the usual oxide scale appears but, in addition, beneath the surface, a well-defined zone in which free oxide particles are dispersed with notable uniformity. This zone, commonly referred to as the subscale or zone of internal oxidation, is remarkable in that the visible boundary between it and the unaltered metal is usually sharp. Such a subscale, which appears to have been recognized first in oxidized copper alloys, has been described and studied by C. S. Smith,1 by Rhines,2 and by Rhines, Johnson and Anderson;3 but it appears also in other alloys when they are exposed to conditions that bring about the precipitation of some compound, not necessarily an oxide. Another clear case of this same kind is the diffusion of carbon into a steel containing an element such as molybdenum, chromium, vanadium or tungsten, whose carbide is less soluble in iron than iron carbide, the result being that some part of that element is precipitated as a dispersed carbide. A similar phenomenon may occur on the welding of two alloys each of which contains one of a pair of elements that react to form a compound or a new phase of any sort. But in addition to the precipitation of a compound formed from the diffusing element, other effects may result merely from the presence of the diffusing element. For instance, if homogeneous austenite, nearly saturated with respect to carbon, is heated in contact with silicon in the absence of oxygen, one would expect to find, behind the several iron-silicon phases analogous to a scale, a zone of austenite containing dispersed carbide, because of the fact that silicon decreases the solubility of carbon in iron. As still another example, oxidation of an alloy may result in diffusion toward the surface of one or more of the constituents; for instance, during oxidation of a steel containing an element such as copper, which is less prone to oxidation than iron, there is a notable enrichment of copper just beneath the scale-metal interface. As an example of a yet more

Jan 1, 1942

By Kenneth Robertson

ALL, strangers visiting this district are struck with the peculiar manner in which the pig-iron is graded. There are eleven regular grades, besides which, when gray forge is ordered, one-half of Nos. 1 and 2 Mill are shipped. Occasionally there is another grade Known as Silver Mill, which is made so seldom that I cannot describe it, and have no sample to exhibit. Most of you have found it difficult to grade properly and uniformly under the simpler system which obtains elsewhere, and can consequently readily imagine the increased difficulty with us. Each furnace employs an " expert," and even with this precaution, the system is not conducive, at all times, to amicable relations between buyers and sellers. I am told that it was adopted at the time Southern irons were seeking a market; but it still remains, although the time has come when our iron is sought for and has obtained for itself a place in the markets of the country. The grades are as follows:

Jan 1, 1889

By George J. Young

DURing the spring of 1910 1 visited a number of open-pit brown-coal mines and underground workings in the vicinity of Halle, Halberstadt, Leipsic, Cologne and Bonn. The notes which I took and the observations which I made at the time have been condensed and make up the principal part of this paper. Certain supplementary information has been taken from several sources which are given in the paper. The mining of brown coal is one of the important industries of Germany. The coal varies in color from dark brown to almost black and is soft like loam. Pieces of wood and strips of bark and even parts of tree trunks are frequently encountered in the excavation although the coal for the most part consists of a pulverulent, more or less matted mass of small particles of vegetal matter. It is a product between peat and lignitic coal. An analysis, taken from Coal Resources of the World shows the approximate composition of the material: Moisture, 53.73 per cent.; ash, 4.98; fixed carbon, 18.08; volatile carbon, 23.31 per cent. Thc principal characteristic is the amount of moisture. This seldom runs less than 48 per cent. The ash is usually low and ranges from 5 to 10 per cent. The sulphur content is usually less than 0.5 per cent. The heating effect of the fuel ranges from 2,000 to 2,500 calories. The commercial deposits are confined to the Tertiary period although

Jan 1, 1916

By Heinrich Ries

Fullers' earth is a clay-like substance, which has the property of decolorizing or clarifying oils. An ultimate chemical analysis shows it to differ from most ordinary clays in having usually a high percentage of combined water and a low amount of alumina. There is probably a large amount of hydrous silica present. Fullers' earth possesses little or no plasticity, and in order to work properly has to be ground very fine. A chemical analysis is of little value at present in determining its quality; only a practical test suffices. Up to about two years ago all of the fullers' earth used in this country was imported from England; but about that time deposits were discovered in Florida, "† and since then rumors of its occurrence have been coming from all parts of the country. Next to the Florida deposits of fullers' earth, those of South Dakota are the most extensive thus far discovered in this country. The earth was first discovered near Fairburn, Custer county, and other deposits have since been prospected at Argyle, Minnekahta and other localities. Fairburn.—One of the first deposits located and opened up is five miles southeast of Fairburn, Custer county. The mine is a mile from the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad, and the section exposed shows, beginning at the top: Feet. Micaceous sandy clay,......... 6 Fullers' earth,..........9 Micaceous sandstone,......... The fullers' earth passes upwards into the sandy clay, but in its purer portions it is a yellowish, gritty clay, with a somewhat

Jan 1, 1898

By Mark R. Lamb

THE treatment of slime is of special interest to those engaged in cyaniding gold- and silver-ores. The usual practice is to make as small a percentage of slime as possible. In many instances the slime is given no treatment, but is impounded in dams in the hope that the future will develop some method of economically treating this product. The filter-press was the first step upward from ordinary decantation, but, on account of heavy labor-charge and high cost, its use has been limited to high-grade material. The slime at the Combination mill at Goldfield averages perhaps $20 per ton, and although the values are quickly dissolved the filter-press installation was not entirely satisfactory, resulting in the erection of the canvas-cell filter, developed by Chas. Butters and his staff. This filter is a great improvement over the filter-press, and the following description of it will be of interest to those engaged in treating slime produced in crushing ores, especially in view of the fact that, by the use of this filter, slime can be treated at a lesser cost and with a higher percentage of gold- or silver-extraction than in the ordinary treatment of sand; and, moreover, the initial outlay for an all-sliming plant is less than that for the ordinary sand- and slime-plant. The economy of construction of the Butters filter-plant is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, which illustrate the 20-frame filter of 40 tons capacity, now being installed by the Nevada Goldfield Reduction Co. In this construction the slime-pump is so connected that it can pump to or from either tank or the filter by changing the valve-settings-a combination which is necessary in this particular installation, since sufficient fall is not available for filling and discharging the filter by gravity. Ordinarily, a slime-plant comprises: a filter-box with frames

Jan 1, 1907

By Joseph Richards

PLATING iron with copper has received great attention from practical sand scientific men, but, aside from the deposit secured by immersion of iron in copper salts, by electro-plating, or by welding together thin sheets of iron and copper, these efforts have met with no success. Failure of these efforts, in the production of copper plating, has been due to the fact that the conditions normally and necessarily present in the plating operation are antagonistic to the production of copper-plated iron. In most, if not quite all of them, a bath of molten copper has been used. The-temperature of a molten copper bath is so high that the iron becomes oxidized before it can be immersed in the molten copper, and unless protective flux for the molten copper is used, the surface of the copper will become oxidized, and, in any event, the plated iron will oxidize immediately on its being withdrawn from the molten bath. I recently had the pleasure of visiting the works of The Metals Plating Co. at Elizabeth, N. J., where I witnessed the plating of iron sheets with copper by a new process.1 The plating metal is applied to the sheet in the form of a liquid mixture by means of rolls, such as inking rolls. The sheet, after being coated with the mixture, is automatically carried forward and deposited on a link-belt conveyor, which carries it through a furnace maintained at a. temperature well above that of molten copper. The basic principle involved in this method lies in the application of the plating metal to the sheet while the sheet is cold and then melting the metal in place on the sheet under conditions which are favorable to the formation of the plating.

Jan 1, 1919

By F. H. McDowell

For more than two hundred years Mexico has been enriching the world from her inexhaustible wealth of precious metals. From this source alone, over three thousand five hundred millions of dollars have been poured into the coffers of Europe and America. During these centuries the wants of the country in manufactured goods have been supplied from the mills and machine-shop of the Old World. English, French and German merchants in Mexico have vied with each other in their efforts to control the importing of these goods from their respective countries. The overthrow of Maximilian, the departure of the French and the restoration of the Republic, largely influenced by the strong stand taken by the United States Government during our own civil war, established a new order of things. Americans were encouraged to visit the sister republic, examine into the needs of the country, as well as its resources, and interest themselves in the work of development. More recently, under Presidents Diaz and Gonzales, liberal inducements have been extended to American capitalists to build railroads, open mines, erect reduction-works, raise cattle and improve the crude systems of agriculture. The Mexican Central Railway has been pushed south from the Rio Grande to the Capital, and, by its branches and connections, makes the whole mineral belt of the country accessible.

Jan 1, 1885

By H. J. C. MAC DONALD

THE mining engineer must have a chest of books snug enough for a camelback or to be stowed away in a canoe; at the lowest possible cost, as he needs it the most in those early years when he earns the least; but at the same time one having an unusually wide range, for he may have to cut down a forest, put up a sawmill, build mine towns, construct dams, power houses, power lines, and railroads. In fact he may be called upon for many unexpected accomplishments and all in extension of the characteristically broad demands of his profession. Suppose that an average mining engineer with a thorough theoretical training and a specialized mining education has accumulated, during a cosmopolitan experience, a complete and up-to-date library, but, unfortunately, in accepting a long term assignment to a far country he is forced to discard the greater part of

Jan 1, 1925

By A. W. Furbank

IN reviewing the aerial cameras produced in different countries, it becomes apparent that in nearly all of them an attempt has been made to secure the greatest possible angle of view. This angle, of course, is determined by the objective. The objectives most commonly in use in aerial cameras have a maximum angle of 65°. The objective developed for this new Zeiss camera combines freedom from distortion and brilliant definition, with an angle of 95°. Aerial mapping, it is claimed, has been placed on a different economic basis, and new possibilities presented, par-ticularly in connection with automatic stereoscopic plotting instruments, to which some short references are made. One way of enlarging the angle of view is to couple several instruments with their axes convergent, thereby producing a multilens camera. Typi-cal of cameras of this sort in the United States is the Bagley four-lens camera, which later was developed into the five-lens camera (T3-A) of the U. S. Air Corps. More recently, in order to get away from the unfavorable Maltese cross image field of the five-lens camera, and to obtain a more practical form, two five-lens cameras were combined. By using them in tandem and rotating them by 45° relatively to each other, a ten-lens camera was produced, covering an octagonal ground area, with a total angle of view of 140°. Similar designs have been evolved in other countries. In all of them, however, a number of difficulties have arisen, quite apart from their large weight and high cost. Because of their complex mechanism, numerous shutters and magazines, and the high precision with which these parts must be interadjusted and synchronized, these cameras are far from dependable. Moreover, a multilens camera by itself does not yet constitute a complete outfit for producing pictures suitable for photogrammetric survey. Because all the component pictures, except the central one, are obliques, it is always necessary to employ rectifying apparatus which transforms the marginal views to the perspective of the central one. In multilens cameras with many individual magazines, it is not convenient to

Jan 1, 1938

James Douglas will long be remembered as a distinguished mining engineer and metallurgist, as a scientist with broad vision, as an executive whose understanding of practical problems coupled with his knowledge of men and affairs enabled him to weld together great mining interests and to their service build railroads and bring power. More, he will be recalled as a philosopher and a writer of charm, a historian of no mean order, and one whose catholic tastes and enthusiasms led him into the fields of education, medicine and theology. His aim was to possess that which he considered made life worth while—friends and effectiveness in whatever task he undertook. In this aim he was successful to a degree exceeded by few, as thousands of his friends and associates could and can testify. Dr. Douglas was born on November 4,1837, at Quebec, Canada. His father, James Douglas, Sr., was a prominent physician and the leading surgeon of Canada. He also established the first retreat for the insane in the Dominion, the Quebec Lunatic Asylum, to which he devoted his services for years; The son followed in the footsteps of his father and studied medicine, not only in Canada but also in Scotland and in Germany. He entered the University of Edinburgh in 1855 but after two years at that institution returned to Canada and was graduated from Queens university at Kingston, Ontario, .with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Later he went to Lava1 University, Quebec, and subsequently became professor of chemistry at Morrin College, Quebec. After he was graduated—at the time he considered his formal education completed—he traveled with his father in Europe and in the Orient; visiting Egypt, being especially interested in that country, several times. They gathered together an important archaeological collection which later was donated by them to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the city of New York. James Douglas was also greatly interested in photography, a hobby in which he made use of his chemical knowledge. The writer can remember distinctly the descriptions he gave more than forty years ago in Arizona of the difficulties he encountered with the old wet photographic plates, especially while traveling in Egypt, when he prepared and used his own chemicals. In his humorous manner he told how he once discovered, in the nick of time, the nurse preparing to give the baby in the party a rub-down, using for that purpose the white, limpid

Jan 1, 1934

By C. G. Rhodes, D. Kramer

The kinetics of precipitation of transient a phase during the transformation in U-16 wt pct Mo between 400° and 550°C were studied using quantitative metallography and electrica1 resistiuity measurements. The volume percent of a phase goes through a maximum in time, corresponding to a critical degree of progress of y' formation. prior to its re-solution after prolonged annealing. The fastest rate of a precipitation oc-cuvs at 500°C with a concomittant lowest peak of 9.5 vol pct a. At 450°C, 14 vol pct a, greatest fov any temperature, was observed after 24 hr witlz an associated slowest rate of formation. a precipitation at 400°C ceases after approximately 160 hr and the amount of a present remains unchanged after long times at temperature; no y' was observed metallographically at this temperature. IN the U-Mo system at 16 wt pct Mo, an ordering reaction takes place below 600°C, see Fig. 1, whereupon the random bcc solid solution, y, transforms to the ordered bct phase, y'."2 The new unit cell is constructed of three old unit cells somewhat distorted. While attempting to study the kinetics of this transformation it was observed that an unexpected phase was precipitating out early during the transformation anneal reaching appreciable amounts before disappearing after long times. The y' appeared in the presence of this new phase and after long times constituted the whole sample. Owing to the high optical activity of this unexpected phase under polarized light, it was suspected to be the a phase. Subsequent X-ray powder pictures confirmed this belief. The kinetics of a phase formation and disappearance is the subject of this paper. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE A) Alloy Preparation. Alloys for this study were prepared by vacuum induction melting normal reactor grade uranium and 99.5 wt pct Mo pellets in thoria crucibles. Two ingots were prepared, and sections of the top and bottom of each ingot were chemically analyzed for uranium and molybdenum content. The results of the analyses appear in Table I. B) Metallography. Samples of 16M were wrapped in tantalum foil, sealed in evacuated (5 X 10"6 mm of Hg) quartz capisules, and annealed at 1110"C prior to being transferred directly to the transformation temperature. They were examined metallographically after increasing times to determine the progress of the transformation at 400°, 450°, 500°, and 550°C. The samples were prepared for metallographic examination by mechanical polishing with diamond paste and electrolytic polishing with a solution of glacial acetic acid and chromic acid. Since the y' phase is tetragonal, its presence can be detected by viewing the sample in polarized light. To increase the contrast between y' plates, the samples were electro-etched in a 10 pct oxalic acid solution. To reveal a phase in bright field (it can be seen in polarized light in the "as-polished" state), the samples were electro-etched in a solution of citric acid and nitric acid. To determine the vol pct a phase, a variation of the one dimensional systematic point count method as described by Hilliard and cahn3 was used. The

Jan 1, 1962

(Members are urged to send in for this column any notes of interest concerning themselves or their fellow-members.) Members and guests who called at Institute headquarters during the period August 1, 1916 to September 10, 1916: C. L. Cantley, New Glasgow, N. S. H. M. La Follette, La Follette, Tenn. D. A. Cowell, Columbus, Ohio. Montrose L. Lee, Montevideo, Uruguay. Alexander Deussen, Houston, Texas. V. H. McNutt, Billings, Mont. Chas. E. Dutton, Goldfield, Nev. J. W. Maller, New York, N. Y. H. S. Emlaw, Grand Haven, Mich. Edwin W. Mills, Tul. Mi Chung, Chosen, J. M. Gillette, Swatsburg, N. Y. Korea. E. Gorilla, San Antonio, Texas. Francis R. Pine, Elizabeth N. J. Bertram Grant, Kingman, Arizona. Frank A. Ray, Columbus, Ohio. Ruger W. Hay, Bisbee, Arizona. John A. Rice, El Paso, Texas. C. F. Hendricks, Cobalt, Ontario. W. E. Rice, Ringwood Manor, N. J. Stanley C. Herold, San Jose, Cal. W. H. Staver, Lynchburg, Va. Lloyd Hoffman, Pottersville, N. J. Ralph H. Sweetser, Easton, Pa. Charles Hunter, London, England. Kirby Thomas, New York, N. Y. G. Jansen, Benkoelen, Sumatra. Henry Traphagen, Union Hill. T. H. Jenks, Oatman, Arizona. M. M. Valerius, Tulsa, Okla. Warren jenny, Chanaral, Chile. Wilfrid B. Wainewright, London, Eng. Walter A. Barrows, Jr., of Brainerd, Minn., has been elected president and general manager of the Thomas Iron Co., Easton, Pa., to succeed Ralph H. Sweetser, whose resignation of several months ago becomes

Jan 10, 1916

By AIME AIME

REGISTRATION and licensing of engineers is now being given consideration by a special committee of the Institute, authorized at the March meeting of the Board of Directors. The subject is one that has recently been or is now actively before engineering organizations in many of the States of the Union. In Washington, D. C., the Washington Society of Engineers and the local sections of ten national engineering societies, including the A.I.M.E., recently had a joint committee investigate the subject: this committee formulating a proposed law that has been presented to Washington engineers for their consideration. At the same time, the committee has summarized the reasons for and against registration of engineers in Washington, D. C. As many of these reasons are of more than local application, they are here reprinted so that all members of the A.I.M.E. may be informed on the subject. It is expected that some report of the Institute's Committee on Registration, State Councils and Professional Development will he made at some forthcoming meeting of the Board of Directors.

Jan 1, 1932

By Fred A. Hale

Owing to the large area included in the Yellow Pine mining district, and the varied nature of its mineral deposits, a detailed geological description of the district could be covered only in an extensive monograph. This paper is intended as a description of the most prominent geologic features only with special reference to those of economic importance. The first mention of the district was in 1903 by J. E. Spurr, who briefly describes the structural geology of the Spring Mountain range. In 1906, H. F. Bain2 briefly described the Potosi mine. James J. Hillla of the United States Geological Survey, visited the district for a brief period in 1912, the result of which is an excellent reconnaissance report, covering the district in some detail but necessarily with brevity. Since that time, articles covering special features of the district have appeared in the technical press, including some by the writer, and a notable description of the Boss mine, by Adolph Knopf,4 appeared in 1915. Development of the district during the past few years has progressed so rapidly and with so many notable discoveries, particularly with reference to the rare metals, that a further description at this time may prove of interest. The writer's acquaintance with the district is based on 7 years' continuous residence in the vicinity, beginning with the spring of 1910. A. Location and Topography The Yellow Pine mining district is situated in the southwestern portion of Clark County, Nevada, about 300 miles northeast of Los Angeles, along the line of the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad. The district extends from Mt. Olcott on the north to the California line on the south,

Jan 1, 1918

By Clark A. Sumner, D. Arthur Burnham

A process for recovery of greater than 99% of the copper contained in acid leach solutions by sulfide precipitation using hydrogen sulfide as a hydrometallurgical reagent has been developed. The process incorporates the concept of hydrogen sulfide addition to recycled copper sulfide solids in a turbulent flow area where further precipitation or agglomeration occurs to increase the effective particle size of the copper sulfide precipitate. Because the recycled solids provide a larger number of particles upon which momentary excesses of hydrogen sulfide are absorbed, oversulfidization of the product is prevented. Copper sulfide precipitates produced in this manner in a laboratory test reactor showed greatly improved physical characteristics compared to copper sulfide precipitates obtained by conventional direct precipitation in which H2S is bubbled directly into acid leach liquor. Copper sulfide precipitates were evaluated and compared by use of filtration tests and settling rate studies. Electron microscopic examination of the solids confirmed the presence of larger particles in reactor-precipitated copper sulfide. Flotation was examined as an alternative to filtration for recovery of CuS precipitates and was found to achieve complete CuS removal without addition of collector or frothing reagents in a period of 2 min. In the same test reactor, a rapidly floatable CuS precipitate was also formed by mixing H2S with acid liquors used to leach crushed copper oxide-copper sulfide ore (LPF process). In the presence of gangue from the crushed ore, flotation of both natural and reactor-produced copper sulfides resulted in recovery of better than 90% of the copper contained in the crushed ore.

Jan 1, 1974

By Dan G. Cojocariu, E. Ene-Danalache, I. Huber-Panu

A general model which represents not only batch but also continuous flotation in multi-cell machines is presented. This model considers both the size distribution and the distribution of flotabilities in a size class for valuable mineral particles in the pulp. The general expression is shown to reduce to several previously reported models. In addition, a number of new models are found to arise for different specific assumptions concerning the flotability distribution and/or the size distribution of the particles undergoing flotation. Several of these new models are tested experimentally using laboratory-scale batch and pilot-scale continuous data. Model parameters are estimated from this data and a comparison of calculated recoveries and those experimentally determined are presented. Finally, the influence of the feed rate, aeration rate and valuable mineral content of the feed on the recovery is examined.

Jan 1, 1976