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By J. R. Long, T. R. Graham

THIS report is concerned with part of a series of investigations carried on by the Federal Bureau of Mines on alloys, particularly nonferrous alloys, made with electrolytic manganese. A broad general program instituted after commercial quantities of electrolytic manganese became available was necessary in order to compare the effects of electrolytic manganese with those of the ordinary commercial grades. Representative analyses of these two materials show the commercial manganese metal to contain up to 2 per cent iron, a maximum of I per cent silicon and 0.06 per cent carbon, while the electrolytic manganese rarely exceeds 0.01 iron, 0.02 sulphur, with no silicon or aluminum. In the literature, the emphasis has been largely on high-strength casting alloys containing up to 5 per cent manganese, and few data are available on wrought manganese alloys. These factors, coupled with the strategic position of copper and zinc, have given impetus to the Bureau's War Research Program for the development of alloys containing nonstrategic manganese for the purpose of supplementing or providing alternates for the more strategic metals. The alloy reported here was studied, along with several other ferrous and nonferrous alloys, as possible cartridge-case material, and was chosen after a review of the properties of the ternary alloys of copper-manganese-zinc. PRELIMINARY WORK In a cursory survey of this system, alloys ranging from 60 to 95 per cent copper, 0 to 50 per cent manganese, and 5 to 40 per cent zinc were investigated. The alloys containing 60 per cent copper were found to fall into the two-phase alpha plus beta region of the system, and since those containing 70 per cent would not permit a saving, only alloys containing 65 per cent copper were considered. The tensile properties of these 65 per cent alloys are plotted in Fig. I as a function of manganese content for annealed material and for four conditions of cold-work In the annealed condition the increases in strength and decreases in elongation are minor up to 15 per cent manganese; beyond this, the changes become more significant. In the cold-worked condition, the first 5 to 10 per cent of manganese appears to have the greatest strengthening, effect, the rate of increase dropping off as the manganese increases beyond this amount. These effects are more pronounced with moderate than with severe cold reduction. It is also interesting to note that while the elongation of annealed material drops regularly with increasing manganese, the elongation in the cold-worked state is relatively little affected by increasing manganese content, particu-

Jan 1, 1944

By J. A. B. Forster

The operations of the Electrolytic Zinc Co. of Australasia Ltd. involve the preliminary roasting of zinc concentrate from Broken Hill, New South wales, at a number of acid-making centers on the Australian mainland. The partially roasted material is shipped to the Tasmanian plant where it was formerly re-roasted prior to leaching,' but this practice was gradually abandoned in favor of the flotation of leach residue for the recovery of a concentrate containing about 22 pct sulphide sulphur and known as secontlary or Risdon concentrate.2 This change, together with increased zinc production, called for new furnaces at Risdon for the roasting of 10-50 tonst of secondary concentrcite and 90 tons of new concentrate per day. The war situation made it imperative that construction be commenced without delay and to save time it was decided to base the design on that of Skinner type furnaces which had been built in South Australia twenty years earlier. This involved some sacrifice of desirable features but did not prevent the incorporation of provisions which had enabled small Herreshoff type furnaces to roast secondary concentrate autogenously. The roasting rate in existing furnaces was 10-12 Ib sulphide sulphur per sq ft of hearth area per day, and eleven hearths, 20 ft in diam, were provided in the two new furnaces in anticipation that they would prove capable of the autogenous roasting of 130-140 tons of concentrate per day from 28-29 pct sulphur down to 4.5-5 pct, with an oxidation rate of 11-11.5 lh S/S per sq ft of hearth area per day. It was soon realized, when the first of the furnaces went into operation, that a much better performance than this might be given, and the purpose of this paper is to show how a treatment rate of 100 tons per furnace day, and oxidation rates approaching 15 lb S/S per sq ft per day have been reached. Furnace Design General specifications for the design were based on the results of experience with several other types of furnace and on the special operating conditions

Jan 1, 1950

By Benjamin N. Webber

Many of the auriferous placers of the arid Southwest differ widely from the standard types of stream and eluvial deposits of more humid regions, although exhibiting some of the features of each. This divergence in characteristics is of geological and economic importance and appears sufficient to warrant the consideration of these placers as a class distinct from both stream and eluvial deposits. It is hoped that the consideration of these auriferous gravels as a distinct type of deposit will facilitate recognition of morphological and economic features that might remain obscure if these deposits were viewed in the light of stream or eluvial placers whose type locality is a more humid environment. "Bajada placer" is proposed as the designation for this type of placer deposit. Bajada is the Spanish term for slope and is used locally in the Southwest to indicate the lower slope of a mountain range, the portion consisting of rock debris and standing at a much lower angle than the rock slope of the range proper. It has been used in a geologic sense by Schraderl and others. The type locality of bajada placers is the Sonoran Desert,2 where they occur on the bajada or rock debris slope of desert ranges. Stream placers are represented in the Southwest, but most of them lie within the mountain topographic province, the Mexican Highlands2 section of the Basin and Range physiographic province. Eluvial placers may occur in the mountainous semiarid Mexican Highlands but are almost unknown in the extremely arid Sonoran Desert, as mountain slopes are generally too steep to permit the accumulation of any considerable mantle of residual debris. Since their salient distinctions are almost wholly the result of formation under conditions of extreme aridity, bajada placers are largely confined to the Sonoran Desert, although a few occur in the adjacent Mexican Highlands. They may be modified by the action of ephemeral streams, in which case the placer gravels of these arroyos approach stream placers in type and habit of occurrence, but their relation to an arid environment and the bajada type is usually apparent.

Jan 1, 1935

By Benjamin N. Webber

Many of the auriferous placers of the arid Southwest differ widely from the standard types of stream and eluvial deposits of more humid regions, although exhibiting some of the features of each. This divergence in characteristics is of geological and economic importance and appears sufficient to warrant the consideration of these placers as a class distinct from both stream and eluvial deposits. It is hoped that the consideration of these auriferous gravels as a distinct type of deposit will facilitate recognition of morphological and economic features that might remain obscure if these deposits were viewed in the light of stream or eluvial placers whose type locality is a more humid environment. "Bajada placer" is proposed as the designation for this type of placer deposit. Bajada is the Spanish term for slope and is used locally in the Southwest to indicate the lower slope of a mountain range, the portion consisting of rock debris and standing at a much lower angle than the rock slope of the range proper. It has been used in a geologic sense by Schraderl and others. The type locality of bajada placers is the Sonoran Desert,2 where they occur on the bajada or rock debris slope of desert ranges. Stream placers are represented in the Southwest, but most of them lie within the mountain topographic province, the Mexican Highlands2 section of the Basin and Range physiographic province. Eluvial placers may occur in the mountainous semiarid Mexican Highlands but are almost unknown in the extremely arid Sonoran Desert, as mountain slopes are generally too steep to permit the accumulation of any considerable mantle of residual debris. Since their salient distinctions are almost wholly the result of formation under conditions of extreme aridity, bajada placers are largely confined to the Sonoran Desert, although a few occur in the adjacent Mexican Highlands. They may be modified by the action of ephemeral streams, in which case the placer gravels of these arroyos approach stream placers in type and habit of occurrence, but their relation to an arid environment and the bajada type is usually apparent.

Jan 1, 1935

By Eugene H. Dawson

MICA is a mineral that once was a familiar sight as fireproof windows in stove and furnace doors and as lamp chimneys and shades. Since 1878, the beginning of the electrical age, the use of mica for such purposes has gradually declined and its use in electrical equipment and appliances has developed to such an extent that the known sources of supply are scarcely equal to the demand. With the increasing capacity of electric generating units, the size of mica sheets found in nature was inadequate. However, in 1894, a process was developed whereby thin films or splittings cemented with shellac or other binders could be pressed into large sheets. 18 The introduction of radio in the early 1920s created such a heavy demand for the smaller sizes of mica that on March 22, 1938, mica was included among 23 commodities on the list of strategic materials approved by the United States Army and Navy Munitions Board. To be included in this list, the material must be one whereof the domestic supply is not sufficient to meet the demand. COMPOSITION Mica is a complex mineral composed principally of the silicates of potassium, aluminum, and magnesium. Less prevalent species contain, as essential components, lithium, vanadium, and chromium. Iron usually is present either as an essential component or as an impurity. The mica group comprises some nine different species, five of which, muscovite, phlogopite, vermiculite, lepidolite, and biotite, are widely used in industry. Lepidolite and zinnwaldite (lithium micas) and roscoelite (vanadium mica) are sources of lithium and vanadium. Muscovite, "white mica," is potassium mica. Theoretical formulas H2KAl3(SiO4)3. There are two varieties, distinguished as to color, known in industry as ruby and green. In crystals or "books," the colors each range through varying shades of red and green. However, when split into thin films, all micas, except biotite and phlogopite, are colorless and transparent. Muscovite frequently is stained red or black by thin films of iron oxide between the laminae. The staining usually is derived from magnetite, which sometimes is found as unaltered crystals.

Jan 1, 1949

By J. V. Gluck, Ping-Wang Chiang

The tellurium-rich region of the Sb-TI-Te ternary system was investigated by means of DTA, metallo-graphic, X-ray, and electron beam microprobe techniques on the sections Sb2Te3-T12Te3, SbTlTe2-Te, SbT1Te2-Sb2Te3, and SbTlTe2-T12Te3. The phase behavior of this region is summarized in terms of four ternary invariant reactions and a schematic reaction diagram is suggested. Isopleths for the sections SbT1Te2-Sb2Te3, Sb2Te,-T12Te3, and SbTlTe2-Te were constructed, and a schematic diagram of the projections of the liquidus lines and invariant planes is presented. No evidence was found to support the existence of the ternary compound "SbTlTe3", or pseudo-binary behavior of the section T12Te3-Sb2Te3, as reported by Borisova and Efremova. Electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity measurements were made at room temperature on fully annealed samples. 1 HE phase relationships in chalcogenides are often complex and difficult to resolve, particularly since the approach to equilibrium is a rather slow process. For example, the phase diagram of the T1-Te binary system was in doubt until clarified by Rabenau et al.,1 the phase fields at compositions near Bi2Te3 in the Bi-Te binary system have only recently been satisfactorily elucidated by Glatz,2 and there may still be some question as to the extent of the Sb2Te3 field in the Sb-Te system.3-5 In ternary systems, the existence of the compound "AgFeTe2" was the subject of a number of conflicting reports6-8 and the stoichiometry of the composition "AgSbTe2" was in doubt for a period of time.9 Recently, questions have arisen regarding the existence of certain compounds in the ternary systems Bi-Tl-Te10-14 and Sb-Tl-Te.15 The impetus for studies of these latter systems stemmed from the report of Borisova et a1.10 of a congruently melting ternary compound, "BiTlTe3", which apparently had extremely favorable thermoelectric properties for room-temperature cooling applications. Attempts by other investigators to produce the compound or confirm the transport properties proved to be unsuccessful.12-14 Recently, Chiang and Gluck14 reported studies of the phase relations in the tellurium-rich region of the Bi-T1-Te system which indicated that the section T12Te3-Bi2Te3 was not pseudobinary as suggested by Borisova et a1.10 The contention of Spitzer and sykes12 was supported that the composition "BiT1Te3" was multiphase, with the primary constituent actually being BiTlTe2, a compound whose existence has been well demonstrated.16,17 The investigation reported in the present paper was prompted by a later report of Borisova and Efremova15 on a similar study of the section T12Te3-Sb2Te3 from the Sb-T1-Te system. They also claimed this section to be pseudobinary, and that a ternary compound "SbTlTe," was formed peritectically. Some "preliminary" crystallographic data were given for the compound and thermoelectric transport properties were presented. In view of the questions concerning the behavior of the Bi-T1-Te system and the existence of the compound "BiT1Te3" it was suspected that the Sb-T1-Te system might behave in a similar fashion, particularly in light of the known existence of a compound SbT1Te2, iso-structural with BiT1Te2.17 Consequently, an investigation was undertaken to clarify the phase relationships in the tellurium-rich region of the Sb-T1-Te system. It is the purpose of this paper to present the results of this study, including a representation of the phase relations, isopleths for various composition sections, and the determination of some phase compositions and transport properties. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Commercially available high-purity (99.999+ pct) elements, purchased from the American Smelting and Refining Co., were used for the sample preparation. All samples were made from thoroughly mixed powders of previously prepared master alloys: SbTlTe2, Te, Sb2Te3, and T12Te3. Stoichiometric quantities of the constituents for each 10-g sample were weighed into a specially cleaned fused silica tube and sealed under a vacuum of better than 5 x 10-5 torr. The sealed constituents were fused and reacted at 650° to 750°C for at least 4 hr under continuous agitation in a "rocking" furnace, and the resulting product was air-cooled. The tube was opened and the sample was ground to a powder. A portion of the powder was rebottled in a DTA tube under vacuum, and the rest of the material was similarly resealed in a separate tube, re-fused in the rocking furnace, and again cooled to make the ingots for electrical and microstructural studies. All samples were subjected to further heat treatments as discussed in the section on experimental results. Each DTA tube was made of 7-mm-OD fused silica tubing with a concentric 2-mm-ID depression about 4 mm long formed in the bottom to accommodate a thermocouple. The size of a DTA sample was 0.5 to 1.0 g. An Aminco Thermoanalyzer whose accuracy was within 2°C18 was used for the DTA measurements. The metallographic samples were prepared by conventional techniques. A solution of FeCL dissolved in a methanol-HC1 mixture was found to be the most satisfactory etchant. Electron beam microprobe scanning and point-count examinations were made on polished and unetched samples using an ARL Electron Microprobe at an electron beam voltage of 20 kv. The detectors were set to receive characteristic La1 radiation. Calibration standards of the pure elements were incorporated in each sample mount; quantitative point counts were calibrated by a method similar to Ziebold

Jan 1, 1969

By R. W. Balluffi, R. Resnick

NUMEROUS investigations of chemical diffusion in a brass have been made and the results are collected in several places.1-3 This work has been mainly concerned with the determination of the chemical diffusivity as a function of composition and temperature. In 1947 Smigelskas and Kirken-dall&apos; showed that zinc and copper diffuse at different rates in face-centered-cubic brass, and since then, a number of efforts have been made to determine the intrinsic diffusivities of zinc and copper in this alloy.1, 5-9 Horne and Mehl8 in particular have recently determined the intrinsic diffusivities as functions of temperature and composition using sandwich-type couples and inert markers. Inman et al." also have determined the intrinsic diffusivities in homogeneous alloys using tracer techniques. When the present work was started, no information of this type was available. Consequently, measurements of the intrinsic diffusivities were made as a function of temperature at a constant composition of 28 atomic pct Zn with vapor-solid diffusion couples where the zinc was diffused into the diffusion couple from the vapor phase. The application of these couples to the study of diffusion in a: brass has been described previously.0,7 The temperature dependence of the intrinsic diffusivities was found to follow the relation D, = A, exp(-Hi/RT) and the values of Hzn, and Hcu, were found to be closely the same. It is emphasized, however, that the chemical dif-fusivity (D = N1D2 + N2D1) is a composite diffusivity and does not necessarily follow this exponential form. It is usually found to do so within experimental error for substitutional alloys because the heats of activation of the intrinsic diffusivities generally are not greatly different.&apos;" Also, at the onset of this work, there was no information available concerning possible unequal diffusion rates of individual components and the existence of a Kirkendall effect in alloys with other than face-centered-cubic structures. Since then, two reports indicating a Kirkendall effect in body-centered-cubic ß brass have appeared. Landergren and Mehl" have published a note describing Kirkendall diffusion experiments with sandwich-type couples. Inman et a1.9 also find a Kirkendall effect in this alloy using the tracer technique. In the present work, several aspects of the Kirkendall effect in ß brass were further investigated using vapor-solid couples. Two different couples were used, one in which the zinc was diffused into the specimen from the vapor phase and the other in which the zinc was diffused out of the specimen into the vapor phase. Briefly, the existence of a Kirkendall effect is confirmed and it is found that Dzn/Dcu = 3 at about the 46 atomic pct composition in this alloy at 600°, 700°, and 800°C. As a result of the unequal diffusion rates of zinc and copper, volume changes occur and subgrain formation is observed in the diffusion zone. In addition, significant porosity is produced by the precipitation of supersaturated vacancies. Diffusion in this alloy is therefore outwardly similar to diffusion in a brass where these effects are also observed, a Brass Experimental Methods—The use of vapor-solid couples in studying diffusion in a brass has been described in previous articles.6,7 The method briefly consists of sealing a copper specimen with Kirkendall markers initially placed on its surface in an evacuated quartz capsule along with a large zinc source of fine a brass chips and then diffusing the zinc into the specimen through the vapor phase. The zinc concentration at the specimen surface rises rapidly enough to a value near that of the a brass source so that the surface concentration may be regarded as constant during diffusion. Under these boundary conditions, values of the chemical diffu-sivity may be obtained by applying the Boltzmann-Matano analysis to the concentration penetration curve, and the intrinsic diffusivities may be obtained from Darken&apos;s5 equations when the velocity of marker movement is known. The diffusion specimens were made from OFHC copper in the form of disks 3.2 cm diam and 0.5 cm thick with faces surface-ground parallel to within +0.001 cm. Markers in the form of fine alumina particles <0.0002 cm diam were placed on the specimen surface. These specimens were then sealed in quartz capsules along with enough a brass chips of a 30.0 atomic pct Zn composition to keep the source concentration from decreasing by more than 0.3 atomic pct Zn as a result of the loss of zinc to the specimen during diffusion. The quartz capsules which were initially evacuated to a pressure of

Jan 1, 1956

By L. A. Bromley, A. W. Petersen

The van Arkel-deBoer method for producing ductile titanium by thermal decomposition of Til, vapor and deposition on an electrically heated filament is modified by film boiling Til liquid on a heated filament, resulting in similar titanium deposition on the filament and liberation of gaseous iodine. The deposition rate is higher and the energy requirement smaller than in the van Arkel process. Many problems must be solved before the process is commercially feasible. TITANIUM of 99.9 pct purity, called ductile titanium, has been produced by a modification of the van Arkel-deBoer&apos; method. In the van Arkel-deBoer method, an electrically heated wire is suspended from two electrodes, which are placed in a container holding TiI, vapor at a low&apos; vapor pressure (usually <5 mm Hg). The vapor diffuses to the hot wire, usually maintained at 1100" to 1600°C,&apos; and decomposes according to the reaction liberating gaseous atomic iodine and depositing solid crystalline titanium on the wire. Estimations based on the data of Runnalls and Pidgeon,&apos; indicate that the rate-control ling step is the diffusion of atomic iodine away from the wire. There appears to be nearly thermodynamic equilibrium at the wire with TiI, and iodine as the main gaseous species. TiI, is almost certainly an important gaseous species in the cooler regions.&apos; The liberated iodine diffuses to a heated source of crude titanium and reacts to form more TiI, vapor, which again diffuses to the hot wire and completes the cyclic process. The foregoing process may be modified by suspending the hot wire in liquid TiI,, instead of the vapor, and obtaining film boiling. This type of boiling is characterized by the formation of a continuous film of vapor over the wire surface. Since only vapor contacts the wire sul.face, the temperature of this surface may be raised as high as desirable, within the limit of mechanical strength requirements for the wire. By properly adjusting the input voltage. the temperature of the wire may be maintained above U0C"C; and by evacuating the vessel holding the liquid TiI, and maintaining a suitable condenser temperature, the vapor pressure of TiI, may be held low. Thus, the conditions of operation of the van Arkel-deBoer method may be approximated with film boiling; and hence, it is postulated that ductile titanium may be produced by this method. Preparation of Til, There are many methods available for the preparation of TiI,; that used in this research was prepared by the direct reaction of titanium sponge in controlled amounts with liquid iodine. Although no difficulty was encountered with this reaction, it has since been pointed out that this method is sometimes dangerous and should be used with caution. The resulting TiI, was purified by distillation. First Film Boiling Experiments Apparatus: The apparatus shown in Fig. 1 was used for film boiling TiI, on short wire filaments. The current to the filament was supplied through a bank of three 5 kva transformers connected in parallel. The current was controlled by adjusting the voltage over a 0 to 67.5 v range with a 7 kva variable transformer on the low voltage side of the bank of transformers. The current and voltage were measured by Weston meters. The sealed-in-glass tungsten electrodes were hard-soldered to the filament for the film boiling of TiI,. The bottom part of the reactor, containing TiI,, was wrapped with ni-chrome heating wires to maintain the TiI, in the liquid state. An ice or liquid nitrogen trap, for solidifying I, vapor and any TiI, not condensed, was attached to the low pressure side of the air-cooled condenser. A Megavac vacuum pump was used. Procedure: A 0.010 in. diam tungsten filament was hard-soldered to the tungsten electrodes. TiI, was melted (mp 156°C) and poured into the reactor chamber; the top of the reactor chamber, containing the electrodes, was replaced. Freezing of the TiI, was prevented by controlling the current to the ni-chrome wires wrapped around the reactor with a 1 kva variable transformer. The mechanical vacuum pump was started and the system evacuated to about 2 mm Hg TiI, vapor pressure. The current to the filament was turned on and the impressed voltage slowly increased with the variable transformer. A sudden drop in current at nearly constant im-

Jan 1, 1957

By R. E. Grace, H. W. Schadler

DARKEN1 has established the theoretical relation between the self-diffusion coefficients and the Boltzmann-MatanO Or interdiffusion coefficient: D is the Boltzmann-Matano or interdiffusion coef-

Jan 1, 1960

By Harrison Schmitt

The definitions of the terms commonly used in connection with metamorphism at elevated temperature near igneous contacts are re-examined. As the study of tactite zones associated with igneous contacts progresses, more and more emphasis is put on the localization of the ore by structural forms. The generally early age of the silicates and late age of the sulphides is well established. Postsilicate structural deformation is likely to localize ore bodies. The silicates are often replaced by the ore minerals. we may not be far from proving that the elements involved in the formation of silicate aureoles are merely normal "volcanic" emanations, that silica, lime, magnesia, and alumina, and probably soda and potash, are likely to undergo local transfers only. The work of Newhouse suggests the agents of the formation of sulphides in deposits of various classifications are the volcanic emanations. Introduction The purpose of this paper is to define the terms commonly used in connection with the subject, to briefly review and discuss the broad features of the aureoles, to indicate some of the features lately recognized: to discuss the genesis, and to suggest how the associated ore deposits can best be studied and developed. When developing a subject in mining geology one is soon conscious of the vast amount of pertinent literature and that most relevant ideas, no matter how obscure, have been considered. One can only hope to make some small contribution in point of view, a few confirmatory observations, or, perhaps, suggest a small new idea indebted to the most recent data. It is nearly impossible, also, to give specific credit, and adequate credit, to all the contributors to a given subject. This study, furthermore, was not intended to cover the field exhaustively, nor is the bibliography complete. Definition OF Terms There is much confusion in the use of the broad terms concerned. Needless to say, metamorphism means change of form; metasomatism, change of substance. The term contact metamorphism, however, has been widely misused possibly by a majority of economic geologists and engineers. As originally adopted by European investigators it meant changes effected largely by heat (thermal effects) in the rocks invaded by plutonic intrusives, but did not include those local changes usually at the immediate contact brought about by the addition of substance, i.e., by metasomatism. The term has become clouded. In Europe it has

Jan 1, 1949

By David White

While a country is small and its coal fields are not many, it may be possible to classify its coals on some basis that avoids both overlap and inconsistency, and that may be satisfactory to the particular country, such as geographic distribution or geologic age, or regional uses. In the adjoining country, however, the coals may differ more or less; broad areas may have escaped the erasure of transition zones by erosion, and the stages of alteration of the coals may lead to a classification different from and even incompatible with that of the other country. Such classifications, developed primarily along national lines, are essentially opportunistic. Further, many even of the "use" terms that have been in more common employment with a degree of international application have lost their significance and value, due to changes in industrial methods and urban life. When the number of coal fields is large and the classification is designed to cover the coals of many countries, the groups or divisions into which the coals are integrated are found to verge one into another; and, though the main divisions may be so naturally composed and oriented that they are relatively distinct and readily separated as entities or units when taken by themselves, the sequence, through classes, groups, and subdivisions, is so complete that we find transition zones through which boundaries must be arbitrarily drawn with minute technical definition. This situation, which is conspicuously illustrated in the United States, is due to the progressive evolution of all coals, irrespective of geologic age, from peats to successively higher ranks, which, if the progressive alteration goes far enough, ends with graphite. This evolution is now firmly established and its complete acceptance is but a matter of time. A classification of all coals in all coal fields can not escape this fact and must take into account all the stages in the transformation of the fuel from rank to rank through division to division, and through group to group. The plan here outlined aims at a natural classification of coals based on their evolution from peats to graphite. As in other classifications, the differentiation of the various groups and divisions takes account of changes resulting from the progressive losses of moisture and .of oxygen of constitution; the relative conservation of carbon; the progressive increase in fixed carbon (inverse to the loss of volatile matter) in

Jan 1, 1930

By Harrison Schmitt

The definitions of the terms commonly used in connection with metamorphism at elevated temperature near igneous contacts are re-examined. As the study of tactite zones associated with igneous contacts progresses, more and more emphasis is put on the localization of the ore by structural forms. The generally early age of the silicates and late age of the sulphides is well established. Postsilicate structural deformation is likely to localize ore bodies. The silicates are often replaced by the ore minerals. we may not be far from proving that the elements involved in the formation of silicate aureoles are merely normal "volcanic" emanations, that silica, lime, magnesia, and alumina, and probably soda and potash, are likely to undergo local transfers only. The work of Newhouse suggests the agents of the formation of sulphides in deposits of various classifications are the volcanic emanations. Introduction The purpose of this paper is to define the terms commonly used in connection with the subject, to briefly review and discuss the broad features of the aureoles, to indicate some of the features lately recognized: to discuss the genesis, and to suggest how the associated ore deposits can best be studied and developed. When developing a subject in mining geology one is soon conscious of the vast amount of pertinent literature and that most relevant ideas, no matter how obscure, have been considered. One can only hope to make some small contribution in point of view, a few confirmatory observations, or, perhaps, suggest a small new idea indebted to the most recent data. It is nearly impossible, also, to give specific credit, and adequate credit, to all the contributors to a given subject. This study, furthermore, was not intended to cover the field exhaustively, nor is the bibliography complete. Definition OF Terms There is much confusion in the use of the broad terms concerned. Needless to say, metamorphism means change of form; metasomatism, change of substance. The term contact metamorphism, however, has been widely misused possibly by a majority of economic geologists and engineers. As originally adopted by European investigators it meant changes effected largely by heat (thermal effects) in the rocks invaded by plutonic intrusives, but did not include those local changes usually at the immediate contact brought about by the addition of substance, i.e., by metasomatism. The term has become clouded. In Europe it has

Jan 1, 1949

By W. H. Emmons

The exploration of deposits of the metals will never become an exact science. There will always be an element of uncertainty in prospecting and developing mines. In countries where the surface has been closely scrutinized, most of the deposits whose outcrops contain valuable metals have probably been discovered. Many metalliferous deposits, however, are normally so much altered at the surface that the true significance of their outcrops is likely to be obscured. If a deposit is not exposed, its presence may become known by some one of its characteristics that is different in kind or in degree from a similar feature of the associated rock. Thus, a deposit that is not exposed may be discovered because of its magnetic property. So few minerals are strongly magnetic that the value of magnetic surveys is limited, but the dip needle has nevertheless proved of great aid in locating magnetic belts, and these in some regions are associated with workable iron ores. The Cuyuna Iron Range of Minnesota, which does not exhibit any outcrop of iron ore, was discovered by drilling "areas of attraction" that are due to belts of magnetic rocks associated with the iron ores. In some regions the use of the dip needle is justified, even if it does no more than reveal the strike of the rocks, since a knowledge of the latter enables the driller to locate and point his holes to advantage. The measures of gravity by the use of the pendulum are so accurate, or the limit of error is so small, that one might detect the presence of a concealed tabular deposit approximately at the surface, 34 ft. (10.36 m.) thick, having a density double that of the surrounding rocks. However, not many deposits have a density twice that of ordinary rocks and a thickness as great as 34 ft.; if they lie a short distance below the surface the density or the thickness must be even greater. Consequently, there is not much hope of sufficiently developing the gravity method of detecting deposits of heavy ores to make it of practical value. If the limit of error could be reduced to about one-tenth the present factor, and if the rather tedious and painstaking methods of determining gravity that are now in use could be simplified, the method would promise some degree

Jan 1, 1918

By A. L. Holley

There is a growing demand for pure and cheap material for fine open-hearth steel; a material not only very free from phosphorus, but from carbon and silicon; so that it may he rapidly converted into steel. Iron and steel scrap are not trustworthy as to quality, and they are often dear. There are three methods of purifying cheap materials for the open hearth. 1. Mechanical puddling, as done at Creusot, which removes 90&apos; per cent. of the phosphorus from the pig iron. 2. Krupp&apos;s washing process (the conduct and results of which 1 fully described in a former paper*), which eliminates 70 to 80 per cent. of the phosphorus and most of the sulphur and silicon from pig iron. Neither of these processes would sufficiently purify, for very fine steel, those very impure pigs which are cheapest in many parts of the United States. 3. The process of producing directly from the ore an iron which is practically pure chemically, although mechanically mixed with the impurities of the ore. This is the oldest of iron processes ; one form of it, the CataIan forge, employed to produce charcoal blooms, is still in use, but its great cost is rapidly throwing it out of competition. Among the modern attempts to produce iron direct from the one, on a large scale and at a cheap rate, several have been in various respects successful. Dr. Siemens&apos;s process of treating a ton and a half or more of ore and the coal to deoxidize it, in a rotating gas furnace, and bringing out, in some four hours, a ball of chemically pure iron so soft that the fluid and impure slag may be sqneezed out of it, is the most attractive and the most highly developed of all the modern direct processes. I hare watched it, from time to time, since 1874, and have noted a steady improvement. It may now be said to have passed the experimental stage, although, like older processes, it must be adapted by practice to special materials. The cause which has been more potent than all others, including the defects of the best direct processes, to bring these processes into disrepute, is the wasteful treatment of the direct product. With one or two exceptions (when failure mas due to other and obvious causes), the direct product has been made into wrought iron (weld iron). Even Dr. Siemens has, at Towcester, in England, and at Park, Bro. & Co.&apos;s, in Pittsburg, set up his apparatus for this purpose. Is it likely that

Jan 1, 1880

By Carl G. Hogberg

DURING recent months, the acute shortage of steel scrap has necessitated the use of higher percentages of hot metal in the open-hearth charge. With these higher percentages, the sulphur content of hot metal has become an increasingly important factor in the control of the quality of steel. Thus, the blast-furnace operator is faced with a demand not only for more output but for a higher quality of product. More than go per cent of the sulphur charged into the blast furnace is contained in the coke. With the tremendously increased demand, the trend of coke quality has been toward higher sulphur, higher and more variable ash, and poorer physical characteristics. This has been brought about by less selective coal mining, increased production rates in coke plants and resumption of operations of many beehive ovens. In a single month last year, one blast-furnace plant in the Pittsburgh district operated with coke obtained from 52 sources. The effect of variability and quantity of coke ash on blast-furnace operation is well known. The improved results obtained with furnaces operating on coke made from washed coals compared with results on coke made from raw coals is ample proof of the effectiveness of low and uniform ash. Coal-washing plants, however, require a large capital expenditure, and are impractical for most of the large number of small producers, whose operations are confined chiefly to periods of abnormally high demand. Furthermore, not all coals are physically adaptable to washing. PRINCIPLES OF IRON DESULPHURIZATION IN FURNACE Although investigations of the blast-furnace process have not clearly revealed the detailed mechanism of iron desulphurization within the furnace, they have been sufficiently extensive to permit a postulation of the following general principles: I. Iron, in its travel from furnace top to hearth, continues to pick up sulphur until it has reached tuyere level. The zone of iron desulphurization is relatively narrow, being confined to a vertical distance extending approximately from tuyere level to the iron-slag interface in the hearth.1 2. Combustion of coke is confined to spherical zones extending approximately 40 in. from the nose of each tuyere.2 Coke ash is released as the coke burns in these combustion areas. 3. With a constant amount of sulphur in the charge, the sulphur content of the metal product is a function of hearth temperature, final slag analysis, slag viscosity, and slag volume. Both hearth temperature and slag analysis affect slag viscosity. For a slag of constant analysis, viscosity always decreases with an increase in temperature;

Jan 1, 1943

By James Herbert Bartlett

I desire, very briefly, to call the attention of the Institute to the iron trade of the Dominion of Canada. A wonderful development is now going on in Canada. The completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the numerous extensions of the various railways all over the country, combined with the progress made in nearly every kind of manufacture, is drawing attention to the field offered in Canada for the profitable employment of capital, and specially to the opportunity there is for the manufacture of iron. In a paper presented to the Institute at the Halifax meeting,* the writer gave a review of the varions attempts to manufacture iron in Canada. The facts then presented were not such as to offer much encouragement to any one to embark in similar enterprises under the conditions then existing, but, happily, these conditions are now changed, and an early development may be anticipated. There are two reasons which make the present time an appropriate one to direct attention to the field offered for enterprise in this direction, the first being the very favorable reports of the experts who examined and reported on the exhibit of minerals at the Colonial and Indian exhibition, held in London, England, last year. The exhibits there of coal and iron attracted so much attention that at the request of the Iron and Steel Institute a paper on the " Ironmaking resources of our Colonies as illustrated by the Colonial and Indian Exhibition," was prepared and read at the last meeting of the Institute.? This report of 135 pages is very exhaustive, and the conclusion arrived at, so far as Canada is concerned, is, that she has in many parts of the country every natural facility for the manufacture of iron. The second and more important reason is the recent change in the Canadian customs tariff inaugurated in May last. The tariff is now generally two-thirds of the American tariff, in addition to which the Government, in order to encourage the manufacture of iron, grants a bounty upon pig-iron made in Canada out of Canadian ore.

Jan 1, 1888

By John L. Boardman

The Anaconda company has never indulged in any employee activities at Butte which might be termed paternalistic, but it has exerted a vast amount of effort in care of its employees during working hours. The reason for this policy is not lack of interest or that the company does not feel the effect of employees&apos; activities while they are "off the job"; it is that the company and the city of Butte have grown up together and each has been adequate in its own sphere, the company in providing employment at the highest possible wage and the city in providing housing, sanitation, commercial services, medical services, schools, churches, amusements and entertainments. The one exception to this independence between the company and the community is the Butte Water Co., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. Mention of this relationship is made here because the water supply of such a city as Butte is one of the principal factors in determining the health of the people. Very early in the development of the Anaconda company an adequate and dependable water supply for the operations became necessary, therefore the company took over this important community function. So well has this activity worked out that during the whole period of time covered, in which the company has expanded to become practically the sole mine operator and the community has grown from a small mining camp to the status of a modern city, there has been no shortage of water or any outbreak of water-borne, epidemic disease. Conditions Leading to Organized Safety Effort A brief sketch of conditions in Butte prior to 1912 is necessary to an understanding of the reasons for placing accident prevention on an organized basis. As early as the year 1884 there were a large number of small independent mining operations depending principally upon the production of silver, although even then copper was becoming prominent in the value of total production for the district. The Butte camp was then just emerging from the log cabin stage to that of a modern city.

Jan 1, 1940

By John L. Boardman

The Anaconda company has never indulged in any employee activities at Butte which might be termed paternalistic, but it has exerted a vast amount of effort in care of its employees during working hours. The reason for this policy is not lack of interest or that the company does not feel the effect of employees&apos; activities while they are "off the job"; it is that the company and the city of Butte have grown up together and each has been adequate in its own sphere, the company in providing employment at the highest possible wage and the city in providing housing, sanitation, commercial services, medical services, schools, churches, amusements and entertainments. The one exception to this independence between the company and the community is the Butte Water Co., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. Mention of this relationship is made here because the water supply of such a city as Butte is one of the principal factors in determining the health of the people. Very early in the development of the Anaconda company an adequate and dependable water supply for the operations became necessary, therefore the company took over this important community function. So well has this activity worked out that during the whole period of time covered, in which the company has expanded to become practically the sole mine operator and the community has grown from a small mining camp to the status of a modern city, there has been no shortage of water or any outbreak of water-borne, epidemic disease. Conditions Leading to Organized Safety Effort A brief sketch of conditions in Butte prior to 1912 is necessary to an understanding of the reasons for placing accident prevention on an organized basis. As early as the year 1884 there were a large number of small independent mining operations depending principally upon the production of silver, although even then copper was becoming prominent in the value of total production for the district. The Butte camp was then just emerging from the log cabin stage to that of a modern city.

Jan 1, 1940

By George S. Rice

Instantaneous outbursts of gas in underground workings are similar in effect to great blasts of explosives, but without heat effects. Fortunately they occur only in a few localities in exceptional coal fields of the world and under exceptional geologic conditions. Such violent outbursts should not be compared with the ordinary outflows of gas into coal mines or with explosions of gas and dust. The phenomenon is essentially one of gas held in circumscribed areas under very high pressure and as a mining face or heading approaches such a place and the mining excavation sufficiently weakens the natural surrounding dam or shell, this is burst by the pressure just as by the discharge of a mass of explosives. The outbursts, so far as known to the writer, have been confined to coal beds and have not occurred in other mineral deposits. Hence, as discussed later, he believes that it is the relation of the gases to the coal material that is a factor in conjunction with others in producing conditions which permit the phenomena to occur when mining is done. The gases in most instantaneous outbursts have been hydrocarbon gases but in two coal fields they have been definitely found to be chiefly or wholly carbon dioxide. One of these localities in which CO2 outbursts have been frequent and have caused loss of life is in the southern part of the Gard basin, near Alais, in southern France. In 1919, the writer visited the Fontaine mine in this field the day following the occurrence of an outburst by which two men were smothered by carbon dioxide and fine dust. After 24 hr. the CO2 had not been entirely removed by the ventilating current. Occasional outbursts of CO2 have also occurred in other small basins in France, causing accidents, as in Puy-de-Dome. However, mines in the Gard basin, north of those in which CO2 outbursts have occurred, have experienced hydrocarbon gas outbursts. In the Lower Silesian coal field, Germany, there is a group of mines which have been subject to many instantaneous CO2 outbursts, some causing serious accidents, but the greatest disaster occurred recently

Jan 1, 1931

By Frederick Laist

0. C. RALSTON, Salt Lake City, Utah.-I have merely glanced over this paper, consequently, I am hardly in a position to discuss it intelligently. There is one thing, however, that is of interest, that is, the claim that the oil mixture which they have chosen is the best adapted to the work at hand. I would like to ask Mr. Mathewson if they still feel that that is the case-if that really does give the best grade of concentration and the best extraction for the same money, compared to any particular oil mixture which they could get. E. P. MATHEWSON, Anaconda, Mont.-We are still using that mixture, and we consider it the most economical mixture used. DAVID COLE, El Paso, Texas.-I would like to ask Mr. Ralston if there are some other mixtures that would be better? E. P. MATHEWSON.-We are open to suggestions. 0. C. RALSTON.-My own paper on oils* calls attention to the fact that certain hardwood oils, especially the tars, are now being burned or wasted. A great deal of hardwood tar is available as low as 4 or 5 c. per gallon, that being its value as fuel under the boilers. As a matter of fact, a great deal of testing has been done with only the commercial products that are as a usual ride sold on the market. Very little hardwood tar is sold on the market. In asking a great many people who have tested flotation oils, I have not heard hardwood tar mentioned very often. I think I would add to that that the hardwood tars can probably be bought in quantity comparable with the sludge acid at Anaconda, and. should contain a greater proportion of the frothing constituent, and at a price fairly commensurate with what they pay for the sludge acid. E. P. MATHEWSON.-I would like to make a correction in one statement I made that there has been no change made in the mixture. This change has been made: We found that the amount of wood creosote in treating the sand from tables was extremely small, and we tried some experiments on a large scale, dropping it out and using simply the sludge acid and sulphuric acid. We found that this gave practically as good results as wood creosote. We use wood creosote in treating the slimes. We find it necessary in that operation. DAVID COLE.-I would like to ask, what is sludge acid?

Jan 10, 1916