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By WALTER CARROLL

Between cross currents of economic factors and international expediencies the iron and steel industry in 1948 made an outstanding contribution to the general economic picture. Were it not for an unfortunate episode during the month of April involving a temporary shortage of coal, 1948 would have been an all-time record year in output. Exceeded in no previous peacetime year, the production of iron and steel in 1948 totaled some 88,500,000 tons. That it was a worthwhile effort of no small magnitude is evidenced by the fact that in three and one half years following the war, this nation has produced as much steel as in the five years preceding the war. This figure of 88,500,000 tons is 68 per cent greater than that for 1939.

Jan 1, 1949

By John T. Cumberlidge, Frederic M. Chace

Nickel-bearing saprolite developed during the early Tertiary over a northeast trending ultramafic body of Jurassic age near Riddle in southwestern Oregon. The principal nickel mineral is garnierite, but other complex nickel minerals may be present. There are two main ore bodies, an upper (older) one associated with the Klamath peneplain, and a lower (younger) one on the Sherwood peneplain. Saprolite constitutes the bulk of the ore and was probably derived from peridotite and dunite through chemical decomposition by downward percolating meteoric groundwater. Decomposition took place by net loss of MgO, SiO2, and Fe without a change in volume. Faults and joints provided permeable zones which localized saprolite development, and faulting may have helped preserve some ore from loss by erosion. Garnierite-chalcedony boxwork ore was deposited by meteoric groundwater along faults, joints, and at the level of former water tables. Boxwork ore is entirely supergene, the chemical constituents having been derived from higher in the soil profile. The saprolites show evidence of both supergene and residual enrichment in nickel. Red and yellow soil occurs as a capping over saprolite and boxwork, and was derived from them by chemical and mechanical decomposition. The present deposits are probably truncated remnants of a formerly thicker and much more extensive deposit which probably included laterite at the surface. The deposits started to form in the early Tertiary due to deep chemical weathering under sub-tropical to warmtemperature conditions. Early Tertiary ero~ion surfaces of low relief probably contributed to the predominance of chemical weathering over mechanical erosion. Alteration under present climatic conditions favors the formation of soil from saprolite rather than the formation of new saprolite from peridotite.

Jan 1, 1968

By Kenneth K. Humphreys, Joseph W. Leonard, Robert L. Llewellyn, William C. McCulloch

INTRODUCTION The particular field of application of machines utilizing air currents as the primary separating medium is in the cleaning of the fine sizes of bituminous coal. Approximately 25,400,000 tons of bituminous coal were cleaned by air machines during 1965. They have not found any application for cleaning anthracite. Since the development and introduction of the first successful commercial pneumatic oscillating machine for cleaning bituminous coal in 19 16, by the Sutton, Steele and Steele Co, Dallas, Texas, and the American Coal Cleaning Corporation, formerly of Welch, W. Va., seven other successful pneumatic coal-cleaning machines have been developed and introduced to the American coal-mining industry: 1. Peale Davis: "Pneumo-Gravity" machine. 2. Arms "Concentrator," oscillating table. 3. Hey1 and Patterson oscillating table. 4. "Stump Air-Flow," pulsating air jig. 5. "Super Airflow," pulsating air jig. 6. Ridge air jig. 7. Phillip air jig. While not all coals can be beneficiated by air washing, the air washing of coals that are easy to clean can be readily proved advantageous. Of all the preparation methods, pneumatic cleaning is the most acceptable from the standpoint of delivered Btu cost. This is based on the premise that a percent of moisture is just as detrimental as a percent of ash. The principle of dry concentration has never been determined with scientific accuracy. To the present time the study has been more of an art than a science. It is possible to forecast the results of wet concentration from a study of the washability characteristics of the raw coal but only after applying rule-of-thumb methods of interpretation to the specific gravity and size distribution can it be ascertained that the raw coal is amenable to dry concentration. Air as a separating medium dates back to biblical times as exemplified in the winnowing of chaff from the grain. However, the same application of air to coal serves merely to blow the dust away and size the remaining particles. Pulsating air was the solution to the problem and largely eliminated the necessity for close screen sizing which was required on early separators. Because of the low density of air, a medium of sufficient density has to be built with the material itself. Hence there must be some device to impart to the bed the necessary mobility for proper classification. Also, the

Jan 1, 1968

By J. R. FINLA

THE three great war periods of recent times involving the-chief industrial, commercial, and military nations of the world have been the following: 1. Wars centering around the French Republic and Napoleon Bonaparte, .1791-1815;. involving every nation in Europe, parts of Asia Minor and *North Africa., and the United States of America. 2. Wars in Europe, Asia, and North -America beginning with the Crimean War, 1854-56, the British Empire, France, Sardinia, and Turkey against Russia; the Sepoy rebellion in India, -1857; -war of France . and Sardinia against ..Austria in Italy, .185.9; :the Taiping rebellion in China, 1861; Civil War in , America, 1861-65; French. occupation .of .M Mexico, .1863; Prussian war against :Denmark, :1864; (Prussia and Italy against Austria sand various -south German : states, 1866; :the Franco-German War, 1870.7,1.

Jan 1, 1931

By Max Hebgen

I. Natural Features of State Affecting Power Development .. 792 II. Early Developments. 1. Big Hole Plant................. 792 2. Canyon Feny Plant............... 793 3. Madison Plant No. 1............... 593 4. Black Eagle Plant................ 795 III. Later Developments. 1. Madison River System .............. 795 2. Missouri River System.............. 797 3. Great Falls System............... 797 4. Missoula River Development............ 797 5. Big Fork Development.............. 802 $ IV. Present Capacity of Power Developments....... 802 V. Transmission System...............: . 802 VI. Character of Load. 1. Lighting and Small Power Uses........... 804 2. Street Railways ................ 804 3. Mining................... 804 4. Railroads.................... 808 5. Irrigation................... 810 VII. Operation of System................. 812 VIII. Increase in Use of Power............... 811 IX. New Power Developments............... 814 X. Undeveloped Powers................. 815 It is estimated that the total stationary power now used in the United States. steam. water and gas. is probably over 30.000.000 h. p. The total developed water power is about 6.000.000 h. p. The water power in the United States now economically capable of development probably exceeds 25.000.000 h. p. The total developed and undeveloped power is

Jan 1, 1914

By William L. Batt

FROM the time the Japs overran the Far East, the United Nations faced a serious military problem in the critical shortage of many raw materials desperately needed to prose¬cute the war on two fronts. For many months this critical shortage threatened substantially to limit the gigantic effort to get shooting equipment into the hands of the fighting men on the far-flung battle lines. Now this crisis has been met. Solvency in raw materials has been achieved. Simply stated, this job of producing solvency has been done by "cutting cloth to fit the garment." This does not mean that we have all the raw materials we need. Unfortunately, a few raw materials are still short, thereby limiting the total production of certain war goods, or making these goods less effective. Where the supply of raw materials is known to be limited, however, substitutions have been made or production schedules have been geared to the amounts available, and an over-all balance has been achieved between various parts of the war-production program.

Jan 1, 1943

By ROBERT R. RICHARDS

My. first paper, read at the Cobalt Meeting of the Institute,1 July, 1907, dealt with the behavior of a small Wilfley table when concentrating galena from quartz, the table being fed with natural products, with sized products; and with classified products. Since galena, having a specific gravity of 7.5, is among the heaviest minerals ordinarily concentrated by Wilfley table, it was desirable that a similar set of tests upon a mineral of, lighter weight should be made. Chalcopyrite, of a specific gravity of 4, would have been the best mineral for this purpose, on account of its great importance as an economic mineral, but in carrying out the test, however, I was obliged to content myself with a cupriferous pyrite, the specific gravity of which was 4.68 and the contents in copper 8.80 per cent. Through the kindness of Mr. H. 0. Cummins, this material was obtained from Shasta, Cal.,in very pure, clean, homogeneous condition. It was broken by rolls to 2 mm. in size, taking care to make a minimum of slimes. The quartz used to mix with it was pure, white, New England quartz, broken in the same way to the same size. In studying the accompanying tables, it should be borne in mind that the material concentrated was of low copper-content, and in many cases the quantity fed to the machine was 1 kg: or less.. As a consequence of the smallness of the 'quantity treated it was very difficult to adjust the table and get it in condition to do its best work before the feed became exhausted, and for this reason many results were obtained which appear irregular.

Sep 1, 1908

By J. L. Perry

FOR many years, you and your fellow members of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers have devotedly and ably applied yourselves to the art of making iron and steel. having foremost in your minds the conservation of raw materials, suitable and efficient facilities, economical processes, and improved quality of product. For the past three strenuous years you have contributed wholeheartedly to meeting the problems of increased production. You have conducted scientific and technical investigations and research, recommended experiments. and gathered all the available and valuable information possible to gain the desired objectives. You have had many obstacles and difficulties to overcome. In the early days of your organization, there was some lack of co-operation from the industry itself-perhaps, for example, some failure to recognize the mutual advantages of free exchange of experiences and information. But regardless of any hindrances, you have made many and valuable contribution which have tended to make iron and steel manufacture leas of an art and more of a science.

Jan 1, 1944

By William L. Saunders

MANY members of the Institute, who participated in the visit made, during the Bethlehem meeting of February, 1906, to the shops of the Ingersoll-Rand Company, at Phillipsburg, N. J., inspected with interest the new Electric-Air drill, which the company had set up for the purpose of showing it in actual operation to American. mining engineers. At the request of the Secretary of the Institute, I promised at that time to prepare a paper for our Transactions, describing the construction and advantages of the machine. But such a paper would then necessarily have contained much that was only expected or claimed by the designers and manufacturers of the drill, and not yet incontrovertibly proved by varied and long-continued practice. However moderate such statements might have been, they would have given inevitably to the paper, to some extent at least, the air of a prospectus, rather than of a technical contribution. I therefore decided, with the Secretary's approval, to postpone the writing of the promised paper until it could set forth the results of adequate actual practice, as well as the latest details of construction, etc., based upon practical experience. That period has now arrived. The Electric-Air drill has been exhaustively tested in the field, under varied and arduous conditions and upon the hardest rocks. It is now fairly in the field; its merits and performances are matters of unimpeachable record, and its place among established competitors can be definitely determined. As a representative of the Ingersoll-Rand Co., as well as a member of the Institute, I may be permitted to add that my company, being largely interested in the manufacture of air-

Jan 9, 1907

By M. W. Lightner

IN 1947 the steel industry rebounded from its wartime effort and produced a record-breaking peacetime tonnage of steel ingots. During the first six months of the year the industry produced 42,000,000 tons of ingots and expected to produce 85,000,000 tons for the year. With a rated capacity of some 91,000,000 tons, production was at a rate of about 93 per cent of capacity. Credit must be extended to the steel producers who have maintained this steady state of operations while faced with many problems, not the least of which was a continued shortage of satisfactory scrap. Furthermore, the steel industry started a record-breaking peacetime expansion program at a total cost of more than $1,000,000,000. This program will increase the ingot-making capacity of the country by 2,500,000 tons and should be completed in 1948.

Jan 1, 1948

By W. L. Zeigler

DURING the middle 1880s, shortly after the discovery of silver-lead ores in the Coeur d'Alene district of northern Idaho, it became apparent that concentration of the ores would be necessary to obtain a profitable product. Too much siliceous material was present for direct smelting, and the majority of the ores found at depth were too low in metallic content for economic smelting processes at the time. As the ores occurred in quartzite shear zones with siderite and quartz gangue, a large quantity of waste material was present in all the mines. As the galena was not finely disseminated, this made possible relatively good extraction of the argentiferous galena by coarse concentration. The first concentrators consisted mainly of coarse crushing, screening and jigging, principally by Harz jigs, the slimes being treated on buddies. Later Wilfley tables took the place of sand jigs and vanners superseded the buddies. Because of the marketing conditions, no attempt was made until 1900 to effect a recovery on the zinc minerals present, which were found associated in varying amounts with the galena. All through this period, the greater part of the production was obtained from mines containing ore assaying high in lead and low in zinc. Parts of some ore bodies would be reversed in this respect, so that ores high in zinc were left intact. During the decade after 1910, several important mines, The Success and The Interstate Callahan, containing ores high in zinc, were put into operation and were a material aid in the needed zinc production during World War I. Gravity concentration by jigs and tables was used during this period, with bulk flotation increasing in popularity for the treatment of the fine material that had already been treated by ordinary slime concentrating machinery. No extra fine grinding for flotation concentration was thought profitable at the time. TAILINGS DISCHARGED INTO STREAMS From the start of mining and milling operations in this district until 1904, no attempt was made by the various mills in the upper district to impound or stack their tailings. They discharged them directly into the adjacent creeks or streams, to be carried away by high water. The Bunker Hill and Sullivan and the Last Chance mines, both in the relatively flat valley of the district, stacked huge piles of the coarse jig tailings on the near-by river bottom. Rain and snowfall are heavy in the Coeur d'Alene district, as it is on the heavily timbered Pacific slope of the Bitter Root Mountains. A heavy runoff occurs every spring and there is an occasional flood of disastrous proportions when warm "Chinook" winds accompanied by rain

Jan 1, 1947

By G. W. Tower

THE YEAR 1931 was for most American copper producers one of restricted output but extremely low production cost.. When compared with 1929, the marked reductions in costs achieved in 1931, operating at rates in many instances a third to a half of capacity, can only be regarded as remarkable. In fact, the recent shut-down of several large operations suggests the probability that 1931 costs represent a bare minimum for many properties. Before discussing the 1931 results a few remarks on cost data are appropriate. The type of cost tabulation here presented was first published in 1929, (A. B. Parsons. E. & M. I. June 8, 1929), and has appeared each, succeeding year following in general the calculation method and company set-up of the original article. (. G. W. Tower, E. & III. L, July 8. 1930; S. D. Strauss, E. & M. J.; July 27, 1931). As far as possible the leading American copper companies are included. In considering these cost tabulations it must be borne in mind that the information from which they have been prepared is entirely contained in the annual report of each company; and that a multiplicity of interests and a condensed income statement for some of the larger companies, such as Cerro de Pasco and Kennecott, make the cost figure an arbitrary one depending upon sundry metal credits, metal products, miscellaneous income, etc. For Granby, Howe Sound. Magma, and Noranda, sundry metal credits are important. Furthermore Andes, Chile and Greene Cananea give costs only against copper sold. Although the individual costs here figured are by no means absolute they are computed by the same method each year and offer a basis of annual comparison; and with attention to footnotes the premises on which the costs are based may be easily followed.

Jan 1, 1932

By A. F. Bridge

IN order to show the need for gas reserves, their control, and conservation, in California, it is necessary to describe briefly the local conditions under which gas is produced and marketed, to point out the lack of coordination between supply and demand, and to relate the history of efforts to prevent wastage. There are now 24 fields in California producing a surplus of gas over field fuel requirements. They are usually grouped geographically into three divisions, as follows: (I) Los Angeles Basin (Los Angeles and 0 r a n g e Counties), thirteen fields, all casing-head gas. Total daily gas available for sale 125,000, 000 ?cu.ft. (2) Coastal (Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties). Seven casine-head and one dry gas field. total-avail- able daily, 165,000,000 cu.ft. (3) San Joaquin Valley (Kern, Kings, Fresno, and San Joaquin Counties). Four casing-head fields, five dry gas fields, and two producing casing- head and dry gas from different zones. Total available daily pro- ducticon, 475,000,000 cu.ft. Total all fields, 765,000,000 cu.ft. daily.

Jan 1, 1936

By James E. Harding

AT just about the geographical center of the peninsula of Lower California is the El Arco gold mine. It is small and spotty, and three separate attempts to operate it in the past have failed. The only reason the present operation is possible is because of the higher price of gold and because the previous operators had spent about $300,000 developing the property with shafts, four levels, machinery, and a complete mill, all of which was acquired at a bargain price. All the known ore in the mine, to say nothing of the cost of recovering it, is

Jan 1, 1937

By K. Sallmann

Spurred by a variety of factors, coal flotation is making headway among the preparation plants of West Germany. The author gives some statistics on German coal flotation plants and information on the properties of the feed and quality of the derived products. Types of machines and reagents used, dewatering practices, tailings disposal, and thickening operations are covered. There is special emphasis on the many-sided problems that confront German coal preparation engineers. The coal mining industry of West Germany is concentrated in three coalfields: the first on the Ruhr and the Rhein rivers, the second on the Saar river, and the third near the frontier between Germany and the Netherlands, around the towns of Aachen and Erkelenz. The total run-of-mine production of these three coalfields amounts to 736,000 tpd which come from 145 collieries. There are 121 washeries, 43 of them with a flotation plant. The total throughput of these 43 washeries is 280,000 tpd, out of which 26,000 tons (9.3 pet of the washery feed coal) are cleaned by flotation. The capacity of the individual flotation plants varies within relatively wide limits, the average being 40 tph and the capacity of the largest flotation plant being 120 tph. During the last few years, the number and size of flotation plants have been steadily increasing, although flotation must be looked upon as an expensive and rather complex cleaning process. The considerations which have led to the widespread application of flotation may be summarized as follows: 1) In making coking coal, it is seldom possible to add uncleaned fines to the coke oven charge, as their ash content is too high. If, however, the ash content of the fines is reduced to a maximum of 7 or 8 pet, they can be admixed to the washed and crushed small sizes without difficulty. This means, naturally that revenue is increased since the price of coking fines is always higher than the price for dust or uncleaned wet fines. 2) To prevent silicosis and pneumoconiosis, water infusion and spraying of the coal are practiced much more today than ever before. As a result, moisture content of run-of-mine coal has markedly increased and the washery feed coal contains more and more slurry instead of dry dust. The price of slurry, how- ever, is very low, and in many cases it is impossible to sell filtered raw slurry with a moisture content of 20 to 25 pct and, at the same time, 20 to 25 pct of ash. Reduction of the ash content of these slurries improves the possibility of dewatering them and, in this way, also enhances the marketability of this product. 3) The new severe laws and regulations against pollution of air and rivers make it necessary to de-dust coal better than in the past and to reduce the quantity of the waste water from coal preparation plants and their solids content to a minimum. 4) Even if there were no compulsory reasons to clean the fines, flotation will often lead to an increase in the overall yield. Although not the only application, it appears that the treatment of coking fines is the primary field for the flotation process in coal preparation. It must not be overlooked, however, that a series of arguments may be advanced against flotation: 1) Flotation is an expensive process because, in addition to the cleaning operation itself, the dewatering of the froth and the disposal of the tailings is very costly. 2) Operation of a flotation plant requires well trained personnel. 3) Filtered froth has about a 20 pct moisture content and, therefore, if mixed with the cleaned small coal it causes an undesirable increase in water content of the coke oven charge. For this reason it is necessary to take additional measures for dewatering washed small coal and this, of course, entails additional expense. 4) Disposal of flotation tailings involves very difficult problems, particularly in the highly industrialized regions. An investigation covering 32 flotation plants of Western Germany shows the following composition and properties of their feed:

Jan 1, 1961

By R. J. Charles

SEARCH for a consistent theory to explain the relationship between energy input and size reduction in a comminution process has accumulated, over the years, an enormous amount of plant and laboratory data. Although some correlation of these data has been possible for purposes of engineering design and for the advancement of research in fracture, there is still great need of a means of predicting behaviour of a solid when it is reduced in size by mechanical forces. The best known hypotheses proposed to describe the energy-size reduction relationships in crushing and grinding stem from a common origin. The present article analyzes problems of comminution in the light of the precepts of this origin. Its object is to reconcile points of difference between these well known hypotheses and to present relationships more widely applicable to comminution studies. Theoretical Considerations: Most existing relationships between energy and size reduction of a brittle solid stem from a single, simple, empirical proposition.&apos; Although this proposition can be demonstrated by observation and experiment, no theoretical derivation is yet possible. Mathematically, the proposition may be stated as follows: dE = -Cdx/xn [1] where dE = infinitesimal energy change, C = a constant, dx = infinitesimal size change, x = object size, and n = a constant. Eq. 1 states that the energy required to make a small change in the size of an object is proportional to the size change and inversely proportional to the object size to some power n. No stipulations are placed on the exponent n in either magnitude or sign. In 1867 Rittinger2 postulated that the energy required for size reduction of a solid would be proportional to the new surface area created during the size reduction. As far as can be determined there is as yet no physical basis for Rittinger&apos;s hypothesis. Rittinger&apos;s hypothesis can be stated mathematically as follows: E, = K(oa-a-0 . [2] Er = energy input per unit volume, K = a constant, <ti = initial specific surface, and o2 = final specific surface. In the size reduction of particles of size x, to particles of another smaller size, x2, Eq. 2 becomes the well known relation: ET = K&apos; {l/x2-l/xx) [3] where K&apos; is a constant. Eq. 3 may be arrived at from the proposition given in Eq. 1 by integrating and by assigning a value of 2 to the exponent n. J dE = J - C dx/x2 E = Kt (1x - 1x) where K&apos; = C. In 1885 Kick3 proposed the theory that equivalent amounts of energy should result in equivalent geometrical changes in the sizes of the pieces of a solid. For example, if one unit of energy reduced a number of equal-sized particles to particles of one half the size, then the same amount of energy applied to the particles resulting from the first test should result again in a size reduction of one half or a final size one quarter the original size. The Kick concept may be expressed as follows: Ek = K" log x1/x2 [41 K" = a constant and E, = energy per unit volume. The expression for Kick&apos;s law may be arrived at by again integrating Eq. 1 and in this case assigning a value of 1 to the exponent n. dE= J - C dx/x Eh = - C In {x/x2) = K" log (x,/x,) where K" = 2.3 C. Application of Kick&apos;s and Rittinger&apos;s laws to comminution has met with varied success. Gross and Zimmerley4 and Piret5 have shown that Rittinger&apos;s equation applies under certain conditions of experimentation. Walker and Shaw6 express the belief that in metal turning and shaping and in grinding of both metals and minerals the production of very fine particles (less than lP) follows Kick&apos;s hypothesis, whereas Rittinger&apos;s concept is valid for the size reduction of coarse particles. For the practical case of crushing and grinding, however, neither of the above hypotheses has received general acceptance. Bond&apos; has lately proposed that since neither Kick&apos;s nor Rittinger&apos;s hypotheses seem correct for plant design work, an energy-size reduction relationship somewhere between the two would be more applicable. The fundamental statement of Bond&apos;s work

Jan 1, 1958

By Sherwin F. Kelly

THOUGH the Geophysics Commit- tee limited itself to two sessions this year, both of them marked by a high percentage of absentee authors, even this situation failed to dampen the and or of the ebullient geophysicists, who bandied no small amount of good- humoredlv barbed discussion. Hans Lundherg offered some constructive criticism of last year&apos;s report by the Geophysics Education Commit- tee, making a plea for more training in field techniques and less insistence on rigorous theoretical training. Carl Heiland pointed out the necessity of making geophysics and geology courses more attractive in order to draw more students into these fields. Exception was taken to this line of reasoning by Father Macelwane and Sherwin F. Kelly who emphasized the necessity for sound basic training if competent geophysicists were to be turned out. This discussion developed apropos of the report of the Geophysics Education Committee, which had been postponed from the Education Division meetings, but was not read as it was available in mimeographed form. Except for this diversion the morning program fol-

Jan 1, 1944

By J. R. Linney

THE Eastern Magnetite Industry produced approximately 7,850,000 long tons of crude ore in 1945 from which was obtained approximately 3,650,000 long tons of shipping product or a ratio of 2.10 to 1. Lack of skilled or experienced miners was the greatest handicap. Veterans returning to work improved the underground labor shortage in some localities but as a whole the labor shortage was keenly felt throughout the industry. One cannot now predict what may be accomplished in 1946 but barring major steel strikes a worthwhile improvement can be expected. At the Richard mine of the Richard Ore Co., the shipping product for the year amounted to approximately 124,650 long tons of concentrate and lump ore. Crude-ore production was 160,600 long tons. The average analysis for lump ore was 63 per cent iron and for concentrates 66.05 per cent. The Warren Foundry and Pipe Corp. at their Mt. Hope mine produced 73,000 long tons of lump ore averaging 59.5 per cent and 57,000 long tons of concentrate averaging 67 per cent. The total mine hoist was approximately 209,000 long tons. Operations were commenced through the new Leonard shaft on Jan. 18; the Brown shaft through which operations had been conducted since 1912 caved beyond repair on Sept. 26. No one was injured but pumping facilities were somewhat disrupted. In order to reach designed capacity a total of 400 men will be required with 300 underground. Due to shortage of labor all operations in 1945 were concentrated on the 1700 level. As fast as men can be hired and trained development of the 2100 and 2500 levels will commence. Mt. Hope has a consider-

Jan 1, 1946

By Charles Wert

THE diffusion and precipitation of carbon and nitrogen in a iron have previously been investigated using the internal friction as a measuring tool.&apos; Most of this work has been done on rather pure iron; no effect was observed which would indicate that either of these phenomena is affected by the rather small amounts of impurity found in these samples of iron. Fastz observed, however, that both the diffusion rate and the aging properties of nitrogen in iron were sensibly changed by the addition of Vz pet Mn. The diffusion rate at a given temperature is reduced and the nucleation of nitrides is apparently changed somewhat. He observed no such changes for carbon in this alloy. Later Dijkstra and Sladek" extended these observations on nitrogen to other alloys of iron. They found that metals other than manganese also influence the behavior of nitrogen in iron; chromium, molybdenum and especially vanadium affect the diffusion and precipitation of nitrogen even more than manganese does. Their results have been verified in all essential details by this author, who finds in addition that small additions of nickel have about the same effect on the diffusion of nitrogen as the same amount of manganese. The present work was undertaken to study the effect on carbon in iron of these alloying elements. The alloys used had two sources. The material used as a "standard" (designated Fe in this paper) in the measurements was some iron supplied by J. K. Stanley, of Westinghouse Electric Corp., who reported 0.01 pct 0, as the only major impurity. He also made up an alloy of 0.26 pct Ni and one of 0.9 pct Mo using this same iron as a base. They were supplied by him in 2 lb billets, which were sawed into rods and cold formed into 0.030 in. wires for measurement. The alloys of chromium, manganese, and vanadium were prepared by the metallurgy section of the Institute for the Study of Metals, University of Chicago, by adding these metals in turn to vacuum melts of National Research Corp. iron. The small castings prepared in this way were also cold formed into 0.030 in. wires. After these wires had been prepared they were decarburized for 30 min at 730°C in wet Hz. After this treatment, no trace of carbon (as measured by internal friction) could be found. All specimens were then carburized for about 15 min at 710°C and water quenched. By this treatment the internal friction at 40°C was raised to a Q-&apos; ~ 0.015. The diffusion of carbon in these alloys was studied by observing the shape and position of the internal friction peak at 0.9 cycles per sec. These measurements were made using a torsional pendulum in a manner described earlier.&apos; The data are plotted in Fig. 1. It is seen that there is no apparent difference in internal friction between the various alloys. This is in marked distinction to the broadening and shift-

Jan 1, 1953

By Gerald C. Dohm

INTRODUCTION After a mining company has discovered a mineral deposit, the problem is then how to mine and process that deposit the best way. The principal problem facing managers or engineers who must decide on mine plant size, equipment selection, and long-range scheduling is how one can optimize a property not only in terms of efficiency but also as to project duration. Mine opti¬mization is dependent upon the interaction of con¬tributing parameters which leads to maximizing the net present value (NPV) Realistic mine planning is the key, to the analysis. The process is to be used when evaluating undeveloped properties or when a complete revamping of existing facilities is scheduled The proc¬ess is not intended for detailed mine design but rather for property evaluation and feasibility studies. The derivation of the various input parameters will only be discussed to the point where a meaningful correlation can be made with the overall analysis. The interrelationship of the parameters will be the central point because most company guidelines and financial analysts have their own standards when deriving the various inputs. Assume that the data is totally acceptable and pro¬vides at least the following categories of information and guidelines- (1) mineral and waste inventory; (2) geologic, hydrologic, and geotechnical criteria; (3) topographic layout including property boundaries; (4) metallurgical flowsheet, recovery and design criteria; (5) access, water, power, and environmental base-line study; and (6) financial constraints (minimum rate of return, payback period, etc).

Jan 1, 1979