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By J. S. Kirkaldy, D. H. Weichert, G. R. Purdy

Two-phase diffusion couples have been used to simulate the growth of proeutectoid ferrite in ternary Fe-C-Mn austenites. It has been shown, theoretically and expermentally, that the results fall into two classes: a high-super saturation class in which the major role of manganese additions is to influence the boundary conditions for carbon diffusion; and a low-supersaturation class in which the partition of manganese is required. In the latter case, a drastic inhibition of the reaction rate is to be expected. As an aid to the kinetic analysis, a portion of the iron-rich comer of the Fe-C-Mn constitution diagvam has been determined. The conclusions drawn from this work have a direct bearing on the kinetics of the grain boundary ferrite precipitation reaction and thus yield insight into the manner in which alloying elements can influence the rate of austenite-decomposition reactions. THE role of alloying elements in the austenite-decomposition reactions has provoked considerable interest, since it is apparent that an understanding of this phenomenon will yield insight into the harden-ability problem. In the present investigation, attention is focused upon the proeutectoid-ferrite transformation in the system Fe-C-Mn, and upon the manner in which manganese additions affect the growth rate of ferrite. When hypoeutectoid austenite is supersaturated, the ferrite first formed usually exhibits two distinct types of morphology. At low super saturations, grain boundary layers grow into the austenite grains with an approximately planar interface, and usually possess at least one incoherent phase boundary. At high supersaturations, Widmanstiitten plates appear, which bear an orientation relationship' to the parent austenite. In this case, there is a chance of partial lattice matching along the sides of the plates and an attendant semicoherent interface structure. Purdy and Kirkaldy2 have used a two-phase binary Fe-C diffusion couple to demonstrate that carbon volume diffusion controls the incoherent reaction, while Rouze and rube,' using thermionic-emission microscopy, have shown that the thickening of Widmanstatten ferrite plates is appreciably slower than expected for carbon-diffusion control. This suggests that the plates are bounded by partially coherent, low-mobility interfaces. The redistribution of alloying elements during transformation has been the object of studies by Aaronson4 and owmman,5 who have shown that no alloy partition occurs during ferrite precipitation in the systems Fe-C-Cr and Fe-C-Mo, respectively. More recently, Aaronson et al.6 have shown that some manganese partition occurs at low super-saturations in the system Fe-C-Mn, but that no partition occurs at higher super saturations. Pickle-simer et al.7 observed that no manganese partition occurred during the early stages of the pearlite transformation in a manganese steel, and concluded that volume diffusion of the alloying element is not the rate-deter mining factor. The diffusion coefficients pertinent to this investigation have been measured by Wells, Batz, and Mehl8 (carbon in austenite), R. P. smith9 (carbon in ferrite), Wells and Mehl 10 (manganese in austenite), and Kirkaldy and Purdy11 (diffusion of carbon on a manganese gradient in austenite). Kurdjumov 12 has shown that the diffusivity of substitutional elements in ternary austenites up-quenched from martensite may be greatly enhanced, due, apparently, to the presence of a persistent defect structure. The recent work of Krauss 19 showing high densities of tangled dislocations in reversed Fe-Ni martensite is in agreement with this conception. THEORETICAL Diffusion in ternary or higher-order systems may be described with the aid of Onsager's extenbion of Fick's first law,14 in which the flux of each of the n components is assumed to be a linear function of all concentration gradients:

Jan 1, 1964

By K. D. Hester, A. W. Fletcher

A nickel-copper sulphide concentrate was treated in a pilot plant at Warren Spring Laboratory during 1961, by a hydrometallurgical roast-leach-solvent extraction process devised to cleanly separate the metal values and produce acid sulphate liquors containing the metals. It is shown that 86 pct of the nickel and 95 pct of the copper could be leached from the calcine, after a sulphatizing roast on finely ground flotation concentrate. Iron was removed from the leach liquor by limestone neutralization with a small loss of values. Copper and nickel were separated by solvent extraction with naphthenic acid in kerosene after partial neutralization of the iron-free liquors with ammonium hydroxide. Hydrogen sulphide and chlorine were used to remove zinc (and residual copper) and cobalt impurities respectively. The recovery of pure copper and pure nickel, by electrowinning, from the acidic solvent extract strip liquors finally produced, appears technically feasible. An economic analysis of production costs shows that small, geographically isolated, nickel-copper sulphide deposits cannot usually be worked profitably by established processes. The requirements for profitable operation on a comparatively small scale could possibly be met by a flotation-roast-leach process. Two difficulties, obtaining satisfactory extraction of nickel from a sulphide concentrate and separating the copper and nickel in solution, have prevented the previous use of this method. A solution to the first problem, dissolution of the nickel, was described in a recent paper by Thornhill.1 It was shown in this paper that copper and nickel in a flotation concentrate could be oxidized to water soluble sulphates by roasting in a fluidized bed with added salt cake. Workers at the Warren Spring Laboratory have shown that the separation of copper and nickel can be accomplished by solvent extraction using a relatively inexpensive carboxylic acid, naphthenic acid. Moreover, the mineral acid required to strip values from the loaded solvent could be produced, and the metals recovered, by electrowinning; thus the latter section of the process was regenerative. The removal of iron from the leach liquor and the elimination of impurities such as zinc and cobalt before nickel electrowinning would be necessary to complete the flowsheet. The process under investigation could therefore be summarized (Fig. 1) as follows: 1) Flotation to produce a bulk sulphide concentrate. 2) Fluidized bed roasting to sulphate the nickel and copper minerals. 3) Leaching of roaster calcine to extract soluble nickel and copper. 4) Precipitation of iron from the separated leach liquor by air oxidation after the adjustment of pH and temperature. 5) Recovery of copper from the iron-free Liquor by pH adjustment and liquid-liquid extraction. 6) Purification of the copper raffinate by removing zinc and residual copper as insoluble sulphides and cobalt as cobaltic hydroxide. 7) Recovery of nickel from the purified liquor by pH adjustment and liquid-liquid extraction. Laboratory and pilot plant studies detailed below, were carried out at the Warren Spring Laboratory, to test the feasibility of each one of the unit processes and to obtain preliminary plant design data. FLOTATION The ore was an altered basic rock containing concentrations of magmatic sulphides.

Jan 1, 1964

By Paul M. Tyler

Mineral raw materials, because they are essential to our industrial prosperity and military strength, must be made available in substantial quantities regardless of cost. Variations in the cost of procuring minerals, as compared with the cost of obtaining other commodities, and changes in the cost of production of different minerals relative to one another, will naturally influence the quantities of a given mineral item that can be marketed readily. However, in the last analysis, the cost of winning minerals from the ground usually constitutes only a small fraction of the value of the end-use products and services derived from them. The miner's share of the cost of a typewriter, telephone circuit, or even a modem office building, is almost insignificant. Far more important to the ultimate consumer, therefore, than any minor saving in cost is the assurance of ample supplies of the minerals needed to aliment our expanding economy. To create a successful metal mining operation involves (1 ) the discovery and systematic development of a mineral deposit, (2) extraction of the ore, (3) the mechanical and metallurgical processing to eliminate worthless or harmful impurities, and (4) the profitable disposal of the product. The fist step of the technological process belongs chiefly in the realm of the geologist, the second is a mining engineer's job, the third is mainly up to the millmen and extractive metallurgists; whereas the fourth and equally important step poses a commercial problem that has aspects in common with the marketing of other products. Ore finding is far from being an exact science. There is no mathematical criterion for evaluating the efficiency of prospecting and exploration. Lady Luck shares the honors or assumes part of the blame along with the prospector and geologist. Marketing like- wise involves factors that seemingly defy engineering analysis. Although the other steps can be measured with some degree of mathematical accuracy, even they tend to vary so widely in basic principle, as well as in

Jan 1, 1964

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Jan 1, 1964

CHARGING of an open-hearth heat is begun as soon as possible after the previous heat has been tapped. Ordinarily, about 40 min is required to drain and dress the furnace hearth, make up the taphole, and perform routine repairs of the banks. Repairs to the upper back wall and to the front wall and jambs can ordinarily be done while the first scrap charge is being heated and are therefore allowed to wait in order to save furnace time. Any major repairs required on the hearth or other parts of the furnace necessitate longer delays because such repairs must be made while the furnace is empty. Although charging practice varies considerably in detail with the type and proportions of scrap and iron used, many factors are common to all varieties of charge. Such general considerations are dealt with first. CHARGING EQUIPMENT AND STOCK HANDLING The physical equipment available for loading and weighing the stock, transporting it to the furnace, and charging it, may have a major effect on charging practice. Limestone, scrap, and all other solid melting stock are charged mechanically by means of equipment illustrated in Fig 2-1. The charging of hot metal is shown in- the background of this figure. Mechanical equipment and plant layout for stock handling are described in Chapter 1. It is generally desirable to charge the scrap about as fast as the physical volume can be put into the furnace. Charging scrap that is too heavy or adding the charge too rapidly (less than 45 min) may be detrimental to melting rate because of excessive chilling of the entire furnace system and also because of poor conduction of heat to the lower layers in the furnace; but the more common problem is the reverse one of charging light scrap fast enough to maintain a normal heat time. A limiting factor may be the height to which the scrap may he piled in the fur-

Jan 1, 1964

Jan 1, 1964

The editorial expenses for the preparation of the manuscript of the second edition, as for the first, were provided by grants of the Engineering Foundation and the Open Hearth Steel Committee of the Iron and Steel Division, AIME ; the Seeley W. Mudd Memorial Fund again sponsored the publication of this volume. The companies and research or educational institutions with which the authors, reviewers, and editors are connected also contributed much to the writing and editing of this book through their generous donations of time and travel and office expenses. And finally, the authors and others have given countless hours of their own time with no recompense but the satisfaction of a job well done. In order to give credit to the companies or educational institutions which made it possible for the members of the Editorial Board to devote considerable time to the revision of this book, the names of these members and their affiliations are recorded here as follows : W. O. Philbrook, Carnegie Institute of Technology M. B. Bever, Massachusetts Institute of Technology H. B. Emerick, Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation B. M. Larsen, United States Steel Company A number of individuals suggested desirable changes in the book before rewriting was started. Almost all manuscripts were gone over critically by reviewers, and the resulting criticisms led to the correction of errors and omissions and greatly contributed to the accuracy and completeness of the text. Other people have supplied additional data or illustrations or assisted in other ways. While some of these contributors must remain anonymous because they are not known to the Editors, the cooperation of the following individuals is gratefully acknowledged : R. D. Allen, Republic Steel Corporation, Chicago Isadore Amdur, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Mary Baeyertz, Armour Research Foundation S. P. Bahmer, Republic Steel Corporation, Massillon E. C. Bain and Associates, United States Steel Company, Pittsburgh C. W. Briggs, Steel Founders' Society of America H. W. Briske, Wisconsin Steel Works

Jan 1, 1964

Jan 1, 1964

By Richard H. Mote

The endlessly changing pattern of mineral supply and demand offers opportunity to the alert and can bring disaster to the unwary. The discovery of ore bodies, the invention of extractive processes, the provision of new transport facilities, the political stabilization of underdeveloped areas, and many other changes can increase supply dramatically. Such new outpourings of mineral wealth from ore bodies bring fortunes to their developers, and consumers frequently find their competitive positions decidedly improved by new and cheap sources of supply. On the other hand, operators of marginal properties can find competition from newly opened high-grade mines intolerable. Consumers that have depended on the products of nearby, high-cost mines may find new, remote, low-cost supplies advantageous only to their competitors. The invention of new prospecting methods can have spectacular effects. Shortly after World War I the discovery rate of petroleum pools began to decline. The leading prospecting technique of that day, the projection downward of surface reflections of geologic structure, was proving less rewarding. Prophets foretold an oil shortage in the near future. But at that very moment scientists were perfecting the application of seismic waves to reveal underground oil-bearing geologic structures. As these geophysical methods were put into commercial use the whole outlook changed-the problem of the 1930's became how to cope with the surplus from discovery, not how to meet the ever rising demand. Many lead mines were being abandoned as unprofitable about this same time because the penalties charged by smelters for the zinc in the ores and concentrates more than counterbalanced the payments for lead and silver. Then selective flotation (at the time called differential flotation) appeared,

Jan 1, 1964

By H. Rees

This paper supplements and brings up to date a report prepared earlier this year and presented at the Eleventh Pan American Railway Congress in Mexico City. Most of the original report is contained in this paper in order to acquaint the reader with the project background. On December 1, 1961, construction of this locomotive was completed. Stationary testing started immediately, and a host of problems in various areas were uncovered. Many of these had no relation to the use of coal in a direct fired gas turbine. All of them emphasized the problems which plagued previous projects of this kind. In 1944 the Locomotive Development Committee of Bituminous Coal Research, Inc., was formed to study the problems of combustion, coal handling, and fly ash removal which would have to be solved before coal could be used to fire a gas turbine. By 1947 this committee was composed of the chief executive officers of nine eastern railroads and five eastern coal companies. All of the members of this committee were vitally concerned in a coal fired gas turbine because coal cost only one-fourth as much per heat unit as fuel oil. A number of research projects were started to develop and test components on a small scale. This included work at John Hopkins University, Battelle Memorial Institute, Institute of Gas Technology at Chicago, Purdue University, and Southern Research Institute. By 1946 a pilot plant had been installed at the Dunkirk, New York plant of Alco Products Div. of American Locomotive Co. The U. S. Bureau of Mines made available to the Locomotive Development Committee (hereafter called LDC) a Houdry process gas turbine plant, originally destined for a Russian oil refinery. The full scale pilot plant was used to evaluate the results obtained from the small scale studies under actual gas turbine conditions. Operation of this plant disclosed a number of problems which had not been discovered in the small scale tests. By 1951 four 250 hr tests had been conducted with the Houdry gas turbine to test out a variety of equipment. The major problem concerned the removal of abrasive fly ash from the products of combustion so that wear on turbine blades would not be excessive. The first 250 hr test showed that the original fly ash separating equipment was inadequate. Large ash particles passing through the turbine blading were nicking the leading edges of the first row blades. At the conclusion of the second 250 hr test, erosion was so severe that the first row of stator and the first row of rotor blades were replaced. At the end of the third 250 hr test, it was necessary to replace the first three rows of stator blading. The fourth test was used to test out a new design fly ash separator developed by LDC and named the Dunlab tube. This device gave more encouraging results than any of the others tested. Early enthusiasm for overcoming major difficulties had resulted in placing an order in 1946 with Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. for a 3750 hp regenerative gas turbine. The gas turbine, together with associated combustion and ash removal equipment, coal handling equipment, generators and gear reduction unit was installed at Dunkirk by 1951. A 750 hr test was made in 1952 with the LDC-Allis Chalmers gas turbine power plant. At the end of this test it was necessary to replace the first four rows of both rotor and stator blading. Rows 5 and 6 did not require replacement. In 1953 the American Locomotive Co. joined with LDC and assumed an active role in equipment development and manufacture. During 1954 LDC-Alco operated the rebladed gas turbine 300 hr to determine if a new fly ash separator was adequate. Performance of the improved separator was considerably better, but trouble was experienced with clogged blowdown lines from the Dunlab tubes. When these lines clogged it permitted the passage of abrasive particles. In 1955 a total of 1421 hr was run. This included 243 hr of cycle operation on Union Pacific coal from the D. O. Clark mine at Superior, Wyoming. During the 243 hr a total of 370 tons of coal was consumed. The purpose of this test was to determine if U.P. coal was suitable for use in a coal fired turbine. It was the unofficial opinion that it was as good or better than the eastern coals that had been tested.

Jan 1, 1964

By R. E. Reed-Hill

The shear continuity conditions under which one mechanical twin may cross another are considered. Twin intersections usually involve various types of slip deformation in addition to twinning. Because the shear of the crossing twin may be partly transmitted through the crossed twin by slip mechanisms, continuity of the twinning shear vectors is not required at a twin intersection. It is concluded that analyses based on twin intersections should not he used as an independent method for deducing twinning elements in newly observed twinning modes. WHEN one mechanical twin passes through another, a twin intersection is said to occur. In the simplest form of intersection, Fig. 1, the crossing of one twin by another is accomplished with the aid of a second-order twin induced, in the twin that is crossed, by the crossing twin. The subject of twin intersections is significant to the field of deformation studies because it has been postulated by cahn1 that twin intersections should occur only under the following continuity conditions: 1) the traces of the primary and second-order twin must be parallel to each other in the plane of the crossed twin; 2) the direction 771 and magnitude, S, of the twinning shear must be identical in the crossing and second-order twins; also, the sense of shear must be the same. If these postulates are valid they constitute a valuable tool for determining twinning elements of newly observed twinning modes in metals. In his classic paper in 1953 on the plastic deformation of a uranium, Cahn1 used these continuity conditions to deduce twinning elements for several uranium modes. However, in the same year, pratt2 showed that both of Cahn's continuity equations were violated for (1012) twin intersections in zinc. Later, Kiho and Maruyama3, 4 showed that Cahn's second postulate was violated in {301) and (101) twinning in tin and (101) twinning in bismuth. In spite of this documentation that Cahn's second postulate is often violated, several recent papers5'6 have been published which have attempted to use the condition of continuity of twinning shear vectors for the evaluation of twinning elements. The primary purpose of this paper is to call attention to the possible ambiguity inherent in applications of Cahn's postulate, and to present additional information concerning the nature of twin intersections.

Jan 1, 1964

By Stanley Rajnak, John E. Dorn

The saddle-point activation energy for the nu-cleation of a pair of kinks is estimated as a function of the applied stress, the lattice constants, and the height and shape of the Peierls' hill by employing the line-energy model of a dislocation. The kinetics of disloration motion by the Peierls' mechanism are discussed and the microscopic dislocation velocities and macroscopic strain rates are formulated by the Arrkenius type of approach in terms of the activation energy for the formation of pairs of PEIERLS was the first to illustrate that a straight-dislocation line has its lowest energy when it lies in a potential valley parallel to lines of closest packing kinks. The log of the dislocation velocity is found to be approximately proportional to the log of the local applied stress. It is also shown that the low-temperature mechmical properties of several bcc metals might be explained in terms of the Peierls mechanism, good agreement being obtained between theory and experiment for the flow stress us ternperature, activation energy vs stress, and activation volume us stress curves for these metals. of atoms on the slip plane. When such a straight dislocation is moved rigidly from one valley toward the next, the atoms in the vicinity of the core of the dislocation change their positions and bond angles, causing the energy of the dislocation to increase. Midway between two adjacent valleys, the disloca-tion energy reaches a maximum value and any additional small displacement will cause the dislocation to fall down the hill into the next valley. The maximum shear stress necessary to promote such

Jan 1, 1964

By Harry L. Brown, Philip E. Armstrong

Young's modulus doto ore presented for W, Mo. Ta. V, Cr. Ni, Ti, and Zr as a function of temperature up to about 0.7 of the melting points. A plot of reduced temperature us reduced modulus produces a general correlation except for titanium and zirconium. Young's modudlus data for some representatiue commercial graphites are given up to 2400°C. All results were obtained from longitudinal resonance-frequency measzrrements of 4-in. long samples, corrected for simultaneously measured thermal expansion. Comparison of poly crystalline and single-crystal tungsten behavior indicates that all the observed modulus values are frequencv -dependent at the higher temperatures. STATIC measurements of elastic properties of materials at elevated temperatures are extremely difficult to make since the elastic behavior is obscured by relatively large first-stage creep effects. Dynamic methods which avoid this difficulty by utilizing the measurement of the resonance frequency of a simple vibrational mode have been described in the 1iterature.l-3 The authors have extended the operating temperature range of this type of measurement to above 2000°C and have described the equipment elsewhere.~ The Young's modulus data presented here were obtained with this equipment, using samples about 4 in. long and 1/4 in. diam, supported horizontally at the center and excited to the fundamental longitudinal resonance frequency. Young's modulus was calculated by the formula: E = 4f2f2p where E = Young's modulus, / = frequency, 1 = length, and p = density. Dilatometric data were obtained simultaneously by optical measurements of the change of length of the sample. For the metals tested, an attempt was made to obtain modulus values that would be representative of the pure, strain-free, randomly oriented material. All of the graphites studied exhibited a high degree of elastic anisotropy, while the method assumes an isotropic homogeneous material. However , when the values for Young's modulus obtained for AUC graphite were compared with those taken from static measurements at room temperature they were found to be only about 4 pet higher. This is excellent agreement considering the low precision of modulus calculations from stress-strain curves. The difficulty in using data of apparent Young's modulus for anisotropic materials arises when the attempt is made to use these data and shear-modulus data to obtain Poisson's ratio. The results are usually meaningless and sometimes absurd.' RESULTS Table I lists the sources, impurity content, thermal history, and dilatometric constants of the metal samples that were investigated. All the metal samples were tested under a vacuum of 1 to 5 x 10-5 Torr. Where our dilatometric data agreed with previously published data, the table lists the previous values and the literature reference. Where no reference is given, the constants were determined from our dilatometric data. Table II presents the modulus data in units of millions of psi as a function of temperature in degrees centigrade. The numbers were obtained from curves fitted to the experimental data. For some types of calculations, such as those attempting to correlate creep data, the slope of the modulus curve is of interest, and this information also is reported in Table 11. It is always tempting to try to fit physical-property data into some general pattern and then use this pattern to predict the behavior of other similar materials. The general pattern for an elastic modulus of a metal seems to be a linear deoro- with increasing temperature Over the range between 0.1 and 0.4 of the melting temperature, then a progressive1y decreasing value up to the melting point. Metals appear to retain finite moduli

Jan 1, 1964

By Zay Jeffries

From the title of this chapter the reader could expect an attempt to out- line the anticipated shape of things to come, mineralwise. We have no crystal ball and if we possessed one we could claim no expertness in its use. In the first place no one can tell the future status of man. No one has any way of knowing to what extent peace will prevail, nor to what extent changes may occur in national sovereignties or forms of government or in international relationships. So future man is an uncertainty. Nor can we predict new developments that may result in significant changes in man's status or in the mineral industry or both. If, for example, this chapter had been written in the middle 1930's, nearly everything that has happened since in the fields of atomic energy and space technology would have been missed. Yet what vast changes these I have made in the status of man! Also the changes in the mineral industry have been important. A writer would have been bold indeed had he prophesied that uranium would play such an important role. But we need not confine our foggy vision to these fields. The steep rise in the use of aluminum, titanium, and germanium reflects the unpredictable in what may be thought of as the more normal pursuits. This should not discourage one from using the past and currently observable trends as bases for limited predictions. To do this, however, it is desirable to make certain assumptions about man's status without pretense that these assumptions have a high probability of fulfillment: 1. Only minor changes will occur in the geographical boundaries of the nations of the world. 2. World War III will not take place in the near future. 3. As a consequence of (2), man will not destroy himself by wanton use of atomic weapons. 4. Disarmament will take place, if at all, gradually rather than all at one time. Under the above assumptions the world will enjoy a period of relative peace even though the status may be one of an armed truce. The assump-

Jan 1, 1964

By R. M. Porter

The Sullivan mine of Consolidated Mining and Smelting Co. of Canada Ltd. is located one mile west of Kimberley. With its daily production of 10,000 tons, the mine is the largest in British Columbia and one of the outstanding mines of the world. The Sullivan orebody dips from nearly horizontal to 45". The ore zone is a bedded replacement de- posit in argillite with a width varying from a few inches up to 300 ft. The main sulfide minerals are pyrrhotite, pyrite, galena, and sphalerite. The chief metals produced are lead and zinc, with less important qualities of iron, silver, tin, antimony, bismuth, cadmium, indium and sulfur.

Jan 12, 1963

By Paul C. Merritt

For more than 100 years, British Columbia has been considered a mountainous mining province, rich with potential but relatively poor in actual production. Times have changed. Today, Japanese interests and money have altered the difficult, if not once impossible, economic conditions and market factors which until recently precluded any great growth of the British Columbia mineral industry. The mining boom now underway in British Columbia has carried the total value of mineral production in the Province to a record height in 1962 as it rang up a 27% increase over that of 1961. Breaking the $200 million barrier for the first time, total value of British Columbia's mineral output reached $229- 276,385. Of this amount, metals accounted for 70%; industrial minerals, 6 %; structural materials, 9 %; and fuels, 15%. The substantial increase is attributed to the record production of copper, iron, asbestos, natural gas and petroleum, in addition to the continuing high production rate and favorable prices of other mineral commodities.

Jan 12, 1963

By Thomas Elliott

It is now clearly evident that 1963 is witnessing a record year for prospecting and exploration in British Columbia and Yukon Territory, as substantiated by the following facts: ? About 60 large mining companies and many smaller ones are active in the search for new ore deposits. ? More than 500 prospectors and exploration geologists have been in the field this season. ? It is estimated that $10 million has been spent this year on the search for new ore deposits. ? Claim staking in B. C. to July 31, totalling 14,250, is up 2000 over 1962. ? Helicopter companies report a record total of 25 aircraft chartered to mining groups, with additional numbers used in oil-gas exploration. ? Leading assayers state that business with the industry is double that of the previous year. ? Diamond drillers report an increase of approximately 25% in the amount of contracts now on hand. The question is often asked, "Why is mining so active in Canada's Pacific Northwest?"

Jan 12, 1963

By Charles H. Mitchell

British Columbia is enjoying a period of sustained high-level activity in all aspects and sectors of its mining industry. The total value of mineral production for 1962 was in excess of $229 million. This was the greatest total value attained for any year to date, exceeding the previous record year of 1956 by more than $40 million. It appears reasonable to expect that value of production for 1963, stimulated by increased production attained during the year, and by improved metal prices for some of the major products, will be substantially in excess of that recorded for 1962. Elsewhere in this issue appears a detailed report of prospecting and exploration activity in the Province. For the purposes of this review it is sufficient to state that the level of prospecting and exploration activity during the past several years has been greater than at any previous time and that there does not appear to be any slackening in activity or interest.

Jan 12, 1963

By J. R. Billingsley

The Sunro mine, operated by Cowichan Copper Co. Ltd., under lease from Sunro Mines Ltd., a Cominco subsidiary, is located on the south end of Vancouver Island. Exploration and limited development before 1960 established the existence of twelve mineralized zones. The "B" and "C" orebodies of the River zone contained an estimated 937,000 tons of 1.80r/, copper plus approximately 35 cents per ton of precious metals. On reviewing the indicated tonnage and the exploration possibilities in the River zone and the other eleven zones it was decided to construct a 1500-tpd mill. In August 1961, excavating of chambers for a crushing plant and concentrator located underground near the River zone began.

Jan 12, 1963

By W. E. Field

In the Coast Mountains approximately 110 miles north of Vancouver, the gold mine of Bralorne- Pioneer Mines Ltd. lies at an elevation of 3500 ft. The deepest or 41 level in the mine is at an elevation of 1400 ft below sea level, and the rock temperature on this level is 122.5°F. The thermal gradient is 1 "F increase in temperature for each 67.5 ft increase in depth. The mine produces between 500 and 600 tons per clay, utilizing an adit two internal shafts, and one service shaft from surface. The Queen shaft, extending from the 26 to the 41 level, IS the deepest, and most production now comes from this area. Stoping in by cut and fill using mill tailing hydraulic backfill.

Jan 12, 1963