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By F. L. Grammer

THE analyses given in Table I. were made several years ado at my request at a plant using Lake ores. The, are of two furnaces, one making basic, the other Bessemer pig-they gave 6 casts each in 24 hr., also two flushes of cinder between each cast. They- are offered simply for the sake of reference as, so far as I know, it is unusual to find so frequent fall analyses made and none are on record. The variations iii manganese-content in the first and second flushes on the basic furnace are interesting, if no more than a freak-the first flash being invariably higher in manganese. The iron-content of the two slugs from an. average of 12 flushes shows: Basic. Bessemer. Per Cent. Per Cent. Total iron 2.55 1.70 Combined iron 0.72 0.52 Free iron 2.13 7.15

Jan 3, 1913

By James Finlay

(New York Meeting, February, 1913) AT first blush one is tempted to say that iron-mines are like any other mines, and that principles governing mining-property in general will apply to them. But there are certain considerations which seem to repay reflection. Gold and copper are more or less independent of transportation. The proof of this is that those metals are profitably mined and shipped from the remotest corners of the earth. Their value is determined by the cost of production on the ground. This is quite true of gold, not quite so true of copper, not at all true of iron. If New York were a fishing-village and Chicago' a swamp, Calumet & Hecla might still be a bonanza. The main element of its value is the 60 lb. of fine copper per ton which it produced for years. But the Mesabi Range is absolutely dependent upon the industrial activity in the United States. Iron-manufacture in Europe would give it no value whatever. If Chicago and New York had a population of Peruvians or Hindus, the Hull-Rust mine would be as worthless a bit of landscape as any tundra in Alaska. I have discussed these facts more or less casually and dimly in my book on the cost of mining and in my report to the Tax Commissioners of Michigan1 I shall try here to bring them out in more detail. I have already referred to some differences in the problem of mining as between the more precious metals, e.g., gold, and the less precious and more abundant minerals, like iron and coal; but it is interesting to note that the literature of the eco-

Jan 3, 1913

By S. Whinery

I am indebted to L. E. Bryant, of Danville, Ky., President of the Virginia Mining Co., operating coal-mines in Scott county, Tenn., for the following information relating to the existence of the Clinton iron-ore under the NW. slope of the Cumberland Plateau in Kentucky and Tennessee. During the past 15 years quite an important oil-field has been developed in a region having Wayne county, Ky., as its center, and a large number of wells have been drilled in that and adjacent territory in the search for oil. Many of these wells have been carried to considerable depths below the recognized oil-bearing horizon, and one of them was drilled by Mr. Bryant at Pine Knot, a station on the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific railroad, a few miles north of the point where that road crosses the Kentucky-Tennessee State-line. The elevation of

Jan 1, 1913

By J. F. Kemp

CONTENTS. [ ] I. INTRODUCTION. 1. Situation.-From Monterey in the State of Nuevo Leon, the Sierra Madre mountains stretch away to the southeast and present a steep front to the northeast. The Monterey and Mexican Gulf railway, which connects Monterey with Tampico, follows their general line with its road-bed a few miles out from the foothills. At a distance of 100 miles from Monterey it passes through the town of Linares, and from Linares one can see far away to the southeast the peaks of another group of mountains

Jan 1, 1913

By Albert E. Greene

Processes for the removal of phosphorus from iron or steel are steadily assuming greater importance in view of the abundance of high-phosphorus iron-ore and the diminishing supply of pure ore. In the present methods of removing phosphorus by the basic open-hearth or basic Bessemer process, or even by electric processes, complete control over the metallurgical conditions is either impossible or has not yet been realized. The removal of phosphorus has so long been accomplished along certain well-defined lines, that when the electric furnace made its appearance metallurgists adhered to the same old reactions used in the older processes and failed to appreciate and take advantage of the new forces at their disposal. One object of the present paper is to set forth more clearly the metallurgical reactions by which phosphorus can be removed from iron, and to show the necessity of controlling the conditions, and particularly the temperature, by means other than combustion in the furnace-chamber. Invariably, the commercial removal of phosphorus has been accomplished by oxidation. The reactions involved in oxidation of phosphorus in general consist, first, of the formation of P2O5 and second, the combination of this oxide with lime, forming calcium phosphate, which latter is held in a slag high in iron oxide. In the present-used processes, the phosphorus is never removed without the assistance or presence of considerable quantities of iron oxide. The oxygen for removal of phosphorus in the basic open-hearth process comes largely through the medium of iron oxide and furnace-gases, but not

Jan 1, 1913

By Joseph W. Richards

The Ashio copper-mine of the Furukawa Mining Co. is situated 18 miles from Nikko, and 109 miles north of Tokyo, near the center of Japan. The mine-waters are run over scrap-iron, whereby most of the copper is precipitated as cement-copper, leaving iron sulphate with some copper sulphate in solution. After using in the wet concentrating ore-dressing plant, the waste water contains clay and ore-slimes. The only avenue of disposal of this water is the Watarese river; but as this flows through valleys in which the water is used for irrigating the rice-crops, it is necessary to purify and clarify the water before discharge. The water amounts to from 600 to 700 cu. ft. (from 17 to 20 cu. m.) per minute, and averages about 0.00028 per cent. of copper, representing more than 18 tolls of copper per month. The water carries H2SO4, FeSO4, Fe2(SO4)3, CuSO, and other metallic sulphates in solution, and clay, ore-fines, slimes and basic iron sulphates as suspended matters. To purify and clarify the water, precipitation by milk of lime has been used, in three different ways, as follows: I. First Method, Copper not Recovered. Milk of lime was run into the water, and the mixture run through six settling-ponds, and then through a sand filter into

Jan 1, 1913

Jan 1, 1913

By C. M. Myrick

The following notes are submitted in the belief that they may interest some of the many owners of mall water-power plants, so generally used in mining-work throughout the West. A small and somewhat primitive quartz-mill was taken over by a leasing company, and a 10-stamp battery was installed. Originally, power had been furnished by a Pelton wheel; but, since the supply of water depended on the rate at which snow was melting 011 the mountains, a steam-plant had been added to help out during cold spells. This auxiliary plant was antiquated and expensive to operate, and, soon after starting up the remodeled mill, it broke down completely; so that it became neceseary to get all the power possible out of the Pelton wheel, with its ever-varying water-supply. The pipe-line, about a quarter of a mile long, was made up of assorted sizes, from 7 to 11 in. in, diameter; and, since it was buried deep under snow, there were no data from which to calculate the theoretical size of the nozzle. The stream being at this time at a low stage, it was important to make the most efficient use of the available water. This was done by using a nozzle large enough to pass the whole supply—taking care, however, to limit the size so as not to lower the water-level in the tank at the head of the pipe-line. As the weather became warmer, the nozzles were gradually enlarged to meet the increasing volume of water; but a point was finally reached where further enlargement only gave decreased power. Evidently the loss from friction had more than balanced the gain from the increased flow through the pipe. However, the area of nozzle that developed the maximum power from the pipe-line had been found. This was used; and the surplus water was allowed to run to waste at the head of the line.

Jan 1, 1913

Jan 1, 1913

By John R. Don

In the South Island of New Zealand an unusually favorable opportunity is offered for the analysis of the older crystalline rocks, underlying the sedimentary rocks which form the "country" of the gold-deposits. The Manipori formation of this island, comprising the greater part of the mountainous district west of lakes Manipori and Te Anau, in Otago, consists of an enormous thickness (estimated by Professor Hutton1 at 160,000 ft.) of crystalline schists, gneiss, syenite, and syenitic gneiss, with associated masses of granite; the whole forming the most picturesque fart of New Zealand. The famous West Coast sounds occur in this formation. No paying auriferous lodes have been discovered in it; and for this reason an examination of the rocks is specially interesting here. Stelzner, Posepny, and others, who have criticised the conclusions of Sandberger, have laid great stress on the fact that all the silicates analyzed by him were taken from the vicinity of orebodies containing those heavy metals which he notes as occurring in the silicates of the country-rock; their contention being that these metals, supposed to occur as silicates in gneiss and other crystalline rocks, were really contained as sulphides, and were therefore impregnations from the neighboring orebodies. The same objection, whatever be its weight, might be urged with equal justice against Mr. Becker's derivation of the mercury and gold of the lodes of the Pacific Coast from' the granite underlying their country-rock. In the case of the

Jan 1, 1913

By Walter Harvey Weed

THE enrichment of mineral-veins as a result of the migration of material from an upper oxidized or disintegrated part of a vein to a lower level, where it is redeposited, is now, I believe, quite generally accepted as one explanation of the occurrence of bonanzas in gold- and silver-veins, as well as that of bodies of high-grade ores in cupriferous deposits.* Vogt has called attention to the fact that there are numerous examples of such rich shoots which are " of exclusively primary character, and dependent upon the laws which governed the original ore-deposition." To this I would add that there are also other examples which are neither of primary origin nor clue to descending waters, but result from a reopening of the veins and their penetration by ascending heated waters whose metallic contents are deposited by reaction with the primary pyrite (and possibly other minerals), forming "secondary" enrichments. My studies of the copper-veins of Butte, Montana, show: That the veins there are of several ages and systems; that the older primary quartz-pyrite veins were reopened by later movements, correlated with a period of volcanic activity; and that they were penetrated by hot alkaline waters carrying copper and arsenic in solution, which were deposited presumably by reaction with the pyrite of the original vein. The enormous development of the Butte deposits, attendant upon the extraction of nearly 10,000 tons of ore a day, has revealed many facts concerning the nature and distribution of the ores. Enargite, the copper sulpharsenate, formerly a relatively rare mineral, is now found to be the chief ore of some veins,

Jan 1, 1913

By R. S. Handy

The No. 2 unit of the West Mill of the Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Co., which went into commission Apr. 17, 1912, is structurally a twin of the No. 1 unit, which was started Nov. 9, 1909. Up to the point where the ore enters the concentrating-de-partment, it follows precisely the process described by G. Cae-tani in his article entitled, Milling of Lead-Silver Ores,' under the heading, Preparation of the Mill-Ore. The process from this point forward, in the No. 2 section, is outlined on the accompanying flow-sheet. In describing it I shall attempt to analyze the products of each separate process. The constancy of the tonnage and the uniformity of the quality of the feed render this practicable. No. 1.—550 tons of feed, all having passed 30 mm., is washed into two 15-mm. trommels, 4 ft, in diameter, 60 in. long, 17 rev. per min., 1 in. slope, 3/8-in. gauge steel.

Jan 1, 1913

By E. T. Dumble

For many years there have been occasional reports of the discovery of gold from a belt of the coast country of Texas which is underlain by deposits belonging to the lower Eocene. For the most part they have been treated as newspaper reports and no examination or record of them has been made. Among such, it may be mentioned that in 1896 there was a flurry over reported gold-discoveries west of Luling and elsewhere in this belt, and in 1903 some prospect-shafts were sunk on the Gon-zales branch of the Galveston, Houston & San Antonio railway, 3 miles below Harwood. During 1912, further discoveries have again brought the matter to our attention, and it may be of interest to record the facts as we have found them. Some years ago specimens were sent me, which were said to have been taken from certain beds on Gazley creek, and concentrated by washing in a rocker. In them were several particles of gold sufficiently large to be visible to the eye. Under the microscope they showed to be, with few exceptions, sharp cornered, and not rounded as is usual with placer-gold. They were not filings, however, but their sharpness seemed rather to be due to a recent freeing from their matrix. One or two grains were rusty, and one copper-hued, but the most of them were tolerably bright. On examining the material of the samples small grains or fragments were found, of a yellowish brown color, which seemed to be of a finely-granular structure—possibly a sandstone. In these fragments I found particles of gold, one of them being large enough to be visible without a lens. Gazley creek empties into the Colorado river just north of Smithville, and for a few miles north of that place its banks show, beneath the deposits of more recent materials, the sands and clays of the Lignitie division of the Eocene, with lignite, shells of iron, etc.

Jan 1, 1913

By J. E. Johnson

The subject of blast-furnace slag is one which has had much consideration, particularly from the scientific standpoint, and several years ago technical literature contained many learned discussions on the oxygen-ratio of the acids and the bases, all on the assumption that acids and bases must be present in a ratio depending on molecular weight and chemical valency. Much work has also been don.e, sometimes in conjunction with the former, on the total heat and the temperature of initial fusion or softening of various slags. A wider knowledge of the blast-furnace now enables us to say that for practical purposes this work has been of almost no value. It is now generally admitted that on,the physical side the important point of a given slag is neither its total heat of fusion nor its softening-point, but its free-running temperature, since this is the critical temperature of the furnace. This temperature bears no definite relation to the softening-temperature, as determined by Seger cones, for instance, because some slags melt relatively like ice, with a very short viscous-range, while others melt relatively like tar, with a very long viscous-range. In one the difference between the softening- and the free-running temperature may be very small, as little as 100° F., while in another this difference may easily be 200' or 300°. The importance of this difference is so great in practice as to destroy completely the value of exhaustive investigations, even such as those of 0. Boudouard, published a few years ago.'

Jan 1, 1913

Jan 1, 1913

"The method of conveying ore from the ore-pocket at the shaft collar to the railroad ore bins, whence it is transported to the reduction works, is by cars with electric haulage.The cut shows the car coupled to the electric locomotive at the moment of dumping into the railroad ore bins.The locomotives used are of several makes, usually having two 12 ½ h-p. motors of a rated draw-bar pull of about 1,200 lbs., using 500 volts D. C. Track gauge is 30 inches, and speed is six miles per hour.The car holds two skip loads-10 tons—and has sides opening outwards the full length of the car, for rapid side-dumping. One man operates car and motor, and loads and unloads the car. The trolley pole runs in both directions without reversing.Loading is clone by operating a valve connected to a compressed air lift, which raises and lowers a gate in the ore-pocket chute, the ore running by gravity into the ore car spotted under the gate of the chute. Dogs hold the sides of the car in place at the bottom, the tops of the sides being hinged, and a hand lever releases the dogs, permitting the sides by the pressure of the ore against them to open at the bottom.With little manual effort one man does the work which was formerly done, when hoisting ore with cars and cage, by 10 men under laborious conditions."

Jan 1, 1913

Jan 1, 1913

By N. E. Maccallum

Almost half a century has passed since the Siemens brothers, after tedious and costly experiments, finally began the manufacture of open-hearth steel. The furnace of that time was very small, having a hearth-capacity of from 3 to 4 tons, and we can appreciate the wonderful development that has taken place in those 50 years by the knowledge that to-day furnaces of 50 times the original capacity are in operation. As the new steel process assumed importance, and furnaces began to grow in number and in size, a question arose, to which no satisfactory answer has ever been given, and that was: aWhat is the safe and economical limit of the open-hearth furnace ?" Various stopping-places have been suggested, and 20, 30, 40, and 50 tons have each been advocated, but all such arbitrary restrictions have been passed, and 60 tons would probably represent the average furnace, although in a few instances from 70 to 80 tons are regularly tapped into one ladle. The furnaces which are the subject of the present paper have gone far beyond even these limits, and since, in my opinion, they mark another step in the progress of open-hearth steel, they will be considered fairly and frankly, in order that those to whom the matter may be of interest may be able to judge and form their own conclusions. Short accounts of the work of these furnaces have appeared from time to time in various technical journals, of which the following is a brief résumé. These furnaces are the property of the Phoenix Iron Go., of Phœnixville, Pa., and their distinctive and important feature is, that they charge to twice the capacitl of one ladle, and tap simultaneously into two ladles, with a device for controlling the flow into either. In this way the capacity of the furnace is not limited, as formerly, but heats of any size within the capacity of two ladles may be charged.

Jan 1, 1913

By S. F. Emmons

THE first paper which appears in the published Transactions of our Institute is that read by our respected Secretary at its first meeting in Wilkes-Barre, in May, 1871. It is entitled The Geological Distribution of Mining Districts in the United States, and presents a brief but masterly review of what was known of the distribution of our deposits of useful minerals, particularly the metals, not only from a geographical but from .a geological stand-point. At the request of Dr. Raymond, I agreed, somewhat hastily, perhaps, to write for this occasion a brief sketch of the geological distribution of the deposits of the useful metals in this country, in the light of the increased knowledge of the present day. In the time given no personal investigation was possible, and as it was therefore out of the question to attempt to make anything that could be considered an original contribution to the history of our ore-deposits, I have been obliged to limit myself to an examination of such published data within my reach as bore upon this subject, and could be consulted in the brief time I have been able to give to it. Had the geological investigations undertaken by the Tenth Census been continued systematically by the United States Geological Survey or by the Eleventh Census, it might have been possible to make a fairly-complete review of the subject. As it is, the principal result of my examination 1 has been to show how very unequal

Jan 1, 1913

By Walter P. Jenkey

[ ] I. THE REDUCING ACTION OF CARBON AND OF HYDROCARBONS. Carbon has long been recognized as one of the most powerful reducing agents in the deposition of ores. Investigations, made by myself, of the zinc- and lead-deposits in Southwest Missouri, in the region centering about Joplin, where the formation of the metallic sulphides has been due to the action of bitumen, carbonaceous shales and bituminous coal, Lace afforded abundant evidence that the solid oxygenated hydrocarbons, particularly, when in fine powder and in suspension in the waters circulating through the ore-bodies, are the most energetic and powerful reducing agents known. Bitumen, liberated by the decomposition of the ore-bearing limestone, is found in the Joplin mines in all degrees of fluidity and hardness, dependent on the amount of oxidation it has undergone. From semi-fluid maltha it grades into partly oxidized mineral-pitch, which, by further oxidation, changes to hard asphalt, finally breaking up, from continued absorption of oxygen, into a fine powder resembling in appearance powdered coal. In this condition oxidized bitumen, from its light gravity, is transported readily in suspension in the underground circulating-waters. Bituminous coal and black carbonaceous clays and shales occur as surface formations, often in intimate association with

Jan 1, 1913