Search Documents

By Hugh Rose

The properties of the company lie within the Pachuca district, State of Hidalgo, Mexico, connected by three railway lines with Mexico City, 55 miles southwest, and by two lines with Vera Cruz, 250 miles southeast. The ores were formerly divided by sorting into two classes, smelting and milling, the former averaging about 2 oz. gold and 335 oz. silver, the latter 0.12 oz. gold and 23 oz. silver. The smelting ores were sold to custom plants, principally the American Smelting & Refining Co. at Aguascalientes. The milling ores were treated by the patio process at the Guadalupe Hacienda, at Pachuca. This patio was probably the largest in existence at the time and continued in active operation up to March, 1910. In January, 1910, the mines and patio were sold to English interests, represented by Camp Bird Limited. Two new companies were formed, the Compania de Santa Gertrudis, S. A., to operate the mines, and the Compania Beneficiadora de Pachuca, S. A., to build and operate a custom cyanide milling plant. (Pig. 1.) Geology The historical geology of the Pachuca district is described by Fred J. Pope as follows: 1. The most recent sedimentary rooks in the district belong to the Cretaceous period. 2. The Cretaceous rocks were penetrated by large intrusions of ande-site (referred to hereafter as primary andesite) which occur as elliptical dome-shaped masses, striking northwest-southeast. These andesite bodies are from 8 to 15 miles long and from 6 to 10 miles wide. 3. A period of erosion during which the contour of the andesite domes was changed. 4. Andesite flows (secondary andesite) which rest unconformably on the primary andesites.

Jan 1, 1917

Jan 1, 1969

By C. W. Price, G. A. Wheeler

BERYLLIUM has always been a difficult material to prepare for metallographic examination. Severe surface deformation occurs during mechanical grinding and polishing, and a suitable bright-field etchant has not been developed. Certain electrolytic techniques produce satisfactory polishes, but these techniques have not yielded entirely consistent results. Furthermore, they have not provided satisfactory bright-field etches. The purpose of this paper is to describe an electrolytic polishing technique that can also provide an excellent bright-field etch. In addition to the bright-field etch, other advantages of this technique are excellent reproducibility, rapidity, and ease of polishing and etching. Experimental Technique. Specimen Preparation. Beryllium specimens may be either mounted or unmounted for the use of this technique, and the size of the specimens is not important. Specimens with surface areas up to 4 sq cm have been electrolytically polished and etched successfully with this technique. The most important requirement is to provide a good electrical contact to the specimens, preferably on the back of the specimens. When specimens are mounted, a hole is drilled through the back of the mount so that the specimen can be contacted with a probe. Conventional metallographic grinding techniques are used to prepare the specimens for electrolytic polishing. The specimens are ground on silicon carbide papers. Grinding through the usual series of papers down to the 600-grit paper is recommended to minimize the electropolishing time, although successful electrolytic polishes and etches have been obtained by grinding only through the coarser papers. A continuous flow of water is used during grinding to provide lubrication and to minimize contamination. Mechanical polishing is not required because high rates of material removal are achieved with the electrolytic polishing. Polishing. Most of the results reported in this paper were obtained with a "Disa-Electropol", manufactured by Struers Scientific Instruments of Copenhagen, Denmark. Satisfactory results have also been obtained with the conventional beaker technique of electrolytic polishing, however, the conditions applicable to both the Disa unit and the beaker technique will be described. Stainless-steel cathodes are used in both techniques. In the beaker technique, a flat cathode, with an area at least twice that of the specimen, is used, and the specimen is held parallel to the cathode. The distance between the specimen and the cathode affects the quality of the electropolish. This distance is set at about 7 mm in the Disa unit; the same distance produces the best results in the beaker technique. Specimen-cathode distances greater than about 20 mm produce considerable relief, while distances less than 7 mm cause high current densities that are difficult to control. An electrolyte of 2 pct HC1, 2 pct HNO3, and 2 pct HCIOl in ethylene glycol gives the most satisfactory results for both electrolytic polishing and etching. This electrolyte was developed by altering the composition of a similar electrolyte used for electrolytic lapping1 and adding HClOl to improve the etching characteristics of the electrolyte. Variations of from 0.25 pct to as much as 5 pct of each of the acids do not significantly affect the results, but the greatest amount of control and reproducibility can be obtained with the composition of 2 pct of each acid. Generally, lesser amounts of the acids produce lower polishing and etching rates, while greater amounts of acids cause high current densities that are difficult to control.

Jan 1, 1968

By George Bain

METHODS of mining building stone of any sort are planned to pro-duce as few fractures as possible, and present a strong contrast to methods of mining metallic ores, which must be crushed eventually and have fractures produced in as great profusion as possible. Shocks transmitted to a stone invariably make it more porous and more permeable and reduce its effective life, therefore methods of mining building stone involve as FIG. 1. THE SUPREME COURT BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D. C. This building illustrates the fine detail of workmanship, unprotected sharp corners and thin edges, and tall narrow columns characteristic of marble structures. These features require exceedingly coherent stone, and preservation of these features for decades or centuries demands many special quarrying precautions to keep absorption to 0.14 per cent or less, a detail not essential to stone for coarser architectural types. few shocks as possible. This is singularly true for marble because marble structures are intended to have long life, greater delicacy of line, more gracefulness and fineness of sculpture than those made from any other structural material (Fig. 1). So that delicate lines may remain in almost perfect preservation for decades, or even centuries, it is important

Jan 1, 1935

By L. K. Jetter, C. J. McHargue

The use of axis charts for representing the texture of cold-rolled thorium sheet was compared with conventional pole figures. Four texture components were deduced from the axis charts and shown to be consistent with the pole figures. It was shown that consideration of the pole figures alone could lead to an apparent component which is the average of two actually present. It was also shown that the spread about the "ideal" textures and the amount of material associated with each could be readily obtained Fom the axis chart method. BECAUSE of the crystallographic nature of the deformation mechanisms in metals, plastic flow results in the alignment of certain crystallographic directions with the primary flow directions. In the study of the "preferred orientation" thus developed, one wishes to discern the distribution of the crystallographic directions with respect to some reference direction, usually a direction related to the fabrication procedure, such as the rolling direction. The pole-figure method, introduced by ever,' involves the plotting of the distribution of the poles of some family of planes on a stereographic projection which places the reference direction(s) at the north pole and/or in the center. By noting the angles between the reference directions and concentrations of poles on several such pole figures, one can deduce the crystallographic directions which are aligned with the reference directions. If the preferred orientation is relatively simple and well-developed, one to three pole figures may be sufficient for obtaining the desired information; if there are several texture components, more pole figures may be needed. A significant improvement in the method of representing the textures in wires and rods resulted from the introduction of the "inverse pole figure" or axis-distribution chart by Harris.2 Such a chart gives directly the distribution of the reference axis relative to the standard stereographic projection. There has been widespread acceptance of this method for the representation of fiber textures, and methods have been proposed for converting observed diffraction intensities into axis densities.2-6 The suggestion by Mitchell and Rowland3 and Jetter, McHargue, and williams5 that sheet textures could be represented as distributions of rolling, normal, and transverse directions have been criticized on the basis that they offer no significant advantage over a combination of two ordinary pole figures and that it has not been proved that sheet textures can be treated as quasi fiber textures.6 If the purpose of a texture determination is to study some property which is related to the orientation of a particular crystallographic plane or direction, then conventional pole figures certainly are sufficient. For example, the distribution of the slip planes in face-centered cubic metals (the (111) pole figure) serves to indicate the variation in mechanical properties of sheet. On the other hand if the study is directed at an understanding of the factors influencing texture formation, it is desirable to know not only the preferred orientation but the kind and degree of spread from it and the relative amounts of material in each component, if there are more than one. Axis charts give this information as well as the orientation distributions. Consider the procedure for deducing a texture component from a pole figure for the (111) planes

Jan 1, 1961

By R. Y. Williams

IN the United States, fully 98 per cent. of the anthracite and bituminous coal tonnage obtained from underground operations is mined by the room-and-pillar system. Under this system, the total cost of the coal f. o. b. railroad cars contains as its greatest single item the money paid for "labor." Each labor dollar in an. average bituminous mine may be subdivided into 85 c. paid for work done inbye the gathering turnouts (including all work at the face), and 15 c. outbye that point (including all work in and under the tipple). In an average anthracite mine, the corresponding figures are 70 c. and 30 c., the larger breaker force accounting mainly for the difference between these and the bituminous figures. The next largest single item after "labor" is usually "supplies and power;" and a division of this item inbye and outbye the gathering turnouts shows somewhat the same relative proportions as has been noted under the case of "labor". During the past 10 years, the chief advances made in the coal industry have been to obtain economies through complete mechanization covering that portion of the work which lies outbye the gathering turnouts. These results have been accomplished by applying scientific principles to railroad yard layout, to cleaning and sizing machinery, to dumping facilities, to roller-bearing haulage equipment, and to heavy-rail, well-ballasted trackage. But these improvements, while gratifying in their resulting economies, apply only to 15 to 30 per cent. of the important cost items. Obviously, then, the big problem before the engineers of the coal industry today has to do with the methods of mining and the layout inbye the gathering turnouts. Four years ago, Weston Dodson & Co., Inc., determined to have an exhaustive study made of the conditions which must be met in order to gain complete face mechanization, and in order that such a mining layout would be based on, correct underlying principles. The result of that study, which was made by the writer, led to the adoption of a method of longwall mining wherein the. roof is worked on the caving system and is supported as an overhang along the face by steel jacks.

Jan 1, 1928

By Charles C. Templeton

Any explanation of the nature of multiphase fluid flow through porous media must ultimately involve a knowledge of the mechanism of such flow through the individual pores of the medium. To provide quantitative information of the latter type, a study was made of gas-liquid and liquid-liquid displacements in single uniform Pyrex capillaries with diameters as small as 4 microns. Quantitative observation of air-liquid displacements with zero contact. angle indicates the adequacy of a model based on Poiseuille's Law and the independence of capillary pressure and interfacial velocity. Consequently, this work discounts previous claims that flow is abnormally retarded in very small capillaries. For the displacement of a very viscous oil by water in a capillary initially filled with water, flow is faster than predicted by the above model. This behavior is probably due to the existence of a thin annular film of water between the oil column and the capi1lary wall as postulated by Yuster. INTRODUCTION The need for experimental observation of the microscopic nature of multiphase fluid flow, to further the understanding of the results of macroscopic flow investigations, has been previously recognized. Chatenever and Calhoun1 in connection with the API Project 47B have extensively studied the flow of fluids through layers of glass or lucite spheres between glass or lucite plates. Lowman2 prepared an interesting film concerning flow in a single capillary, using an apparatus which made a moving interface appear stationary in the field of a microscope. The purpose of the present investigation was to deter- mine what contribution might be made to this field by comprehensive quantitative observation of gas-liquid and liquid-liquid displacements in single capillaries of uniform, very small diameter. The techniques used are similar to those of Lowman but incorporate improvements necessary for quantitative work. Quantitative observations must begin with fluids of simple chemical composition to provide a basis for analyzing the more complex behavior that may be expected with natural reservoir fluids. However, some qualitative observations on systems involving crude oils are presented. Experiments of this sort involve the observation of the velocity of the interface separating two fluids, and have been performed in horizontal or vertical capillaries by several investigators.3,4,5,6,7,8 The most general treatment of their mechanics, by Brittin,9 involves forces due to capillarity, viscous resistance, gravity, an "end-drag" effect, and the rate of change of momentum of the capillary contents. Since the range of pore diameters of interest in petroleum reservoirs is about 0.1 to 100 microns, it was desired to perform these experiments in the smallest capillaries possible, to ascertain whether capillary diameter had any effect on the existing theory based on data from larger capillaries.* It was also important to be able more systematically to vary the direction and rate of displacement than was done by previous investigators. Finally, to concentrate attention on viscous and capillary forces by eliminating gravity as a parameter, this study involves only horizontal capillaries. The work of Eley and Pepper' with a "large" (0.766-mm diameter) horizontal capillary is the previous investigation which is most similar to the present method of quantitative observation. Here capillaries with diameters as small as 4 microns will be studied.

Jan 1, 1955

By W. Gundaker, F. C. Schwerer

Natural chromium-bearing spinels (chromites), which are used as refractory materials in basic steelmaking, are the only commercially important chromium ore and are also encountered as difficult-to-separate contaminants in ore deposits of potential economic value. Techniques for characterization and separation of ore materials frequently are dependent on the magnetic properties of the constituent minerals. An experimental program was initiated to explore the effects of temperature and of simple mechanical and thermal treatments on the static magnetic properties of several ore-grade natural chromites. Studies of the temperature dependence of the magnetic properties showed that the natural chromites, which are dilute in the magnetic ions Fe and Cr, order magnetically only at cryogenic temperatures. However, mechanical treatment in the form of crushing produces a magnetic component that is ordered at room temperature and that is of sufficient strength to alter magnetic-separation characteristics. The additional magnetic component apparently is associated with surface structures which develop during crushing and disappear after heating to above about 500°C. Preliminary studies indicate that this surface structure enhances the susceptibility of the chromite grain surfaces to gas reactions at moderate temperatures.

Jan 1, 1976

By A. L. Holmes

Significant technologic advances were made in open pit mining during 1973. The industry faced mounting problems on one front where expansion of stripping activities encountered enlarged public resistance and on another where manpower and materials were in short supply. These challenges, along with the challenge and opportunity to meet the increased demand for mining products including materials for energy production, placed a premium on technical developments and their application. The demands on technology also included the providing of facilities and methods to economically extract minerals from deposits of lower grade, lesser accessibility, and where other uses of land approached the value of its minerals. Detection of Failures in Slope Walls The Bureau of Mines has undertaken research directed towards providing a mine operator with the opportunity to take corrective action before a potential slide becomes a problem.

Jan 2, 1974

By H. Le Chatelier

Jan 1, 1894

By G. S. Hume

During the war years the drilling activity in Canada has been steadily increasing and still further increase is expected in 1945. The production of oil, which in the past has come largely from the Turner Valley field in Alberta, shows a decline since 1942, the peak year. New discoveries made in 1944, however, give promise of replacing the decrease from Turner Valley where the crude-oil production in 1944 was nearly 1,800,000 bbl. less than in 1942, but with an increase of 145,000 bbl. in natural gasoline, a product of great value to the war effort. A very considerable part of the decline in Alberta has been offset by new production of more than a million barrels in 1944 from the Norman Wells field, in the Mackenzie River area of the Northwest Territories. It should not be forgotten, however, that this is largely due to the Canol development, a war project, the future of which is dependent on many factors not connected with an ordinary commercial operation. The year 1944 has been the best in new discoveries in Alberta for all time. The discovery of a new deep field at Jumping-pound, 20 miles west of Calgary, with the hopc of a type of product similar to that of Turner Valley is the culmination of many years of effort to interpret the subsurface structures in relation to the complicated surface foothills faulting and folding. In this case the subsurface structure on the Paleozoic limestone was inferred from geological investigations but precisely defined by seismograph. In addition to Jumpingpound the discovery of oil of 34.5 gravity at a depth of less than 5000 ft, in the Devonian of the Plains at Princess, 125 miles east of Calgary, is of great significance since this is the first substantial production from the Devonian in Alberta, although previously some oil had been obtained at two places from the Devonian in the foothills. The effect of this discovery is already apparent in the number of wells now drilling to the Devonian in the southern Plains. In southern Alberta a new producing area has been found in a Lower Cretaceous sand at Barnwell, a few miles west of Taber. Also, at Conrad, 20 miles southeast of Taber, an important new discovery has been made at a depth of about 3000 ft. in a sand in Jurassic shales, in a strali-graphic trap on the northeast flank of the Sweetgrass arch. In northeast Central Alberta an important extension has been found in the Lloydminster area, where only a few wells have so far been drilled. A new well 3 1/2 miles south of the previous producers found a coarser sand at the productive horizon and as a result will have an increased daily yield. At Blackfoot, 9 miles west of Lloydrninster, a new producing area in the Lower Cretaceous may have been discovered at a depth of 2004 ft. At the end of 1944 the well was being tested. Forty-four unsuccessful wildcat wells were drilled in Alberta in 1944. The decline of Turner Valley, the major producing field, was anticipated at the beginning of the war and in an effort to offset this and encourage new development the Dominion Government put into force tax concessions and other measures that,

Jan 1, 1945

By Henry M. Howe

THE death of Sir Lowthian Bell removes almost the last of the group of heroic leaders who made their age and ours the Age of Steel-a group which his luster and the luster of his peers, Bessemer, Siemens and Tunner, made one of the most brilliant, perhaps even the most brilliant, in the annals of industry. Born on February 15th, 1816, in Newcastle-on-Tyne, he was the eldest son of Thomas Bell, an alderman of Newcastle, and of his wife Catherine Lowthian of Newbiggin, near Carlisle, in Cumberland, and was christened Isaac Lowthian, the name of his maternal grandfather. His father was born about 1788, and came in 1808 from Newbiggin to Newcastle, where he entered the office of the Cumbrian firm of Losh and Company, manufacturers of alkali and wrought-iron, at the Walker Iron and Alkali Works, at Walker, Dear Newcastle. Young Isaac Lowthian Bell was educated at Dr. Bruce's school in Newcastle, whence he went to Germany and Denmark, learning there German and Danish. On his return he studied at Edinburgh University, and then at the Sorboune in Paris. As a student he already showed the remarkable character and application which later gained him such distinction. After studying the manufacture of alkali near Marseilles, he returned, and when about twenty years old (A.D. 1836) was employed in his father's firm, then called Losh, Wilson, and Bell. After spending a year in their Newcastle offices, and after visiting the important iron-making districts of France, Germany, Poland, and Austria, he took charge of their rolling-mills at Walker, and profited so well by his opportunities, and especially by the teachings of his father and of Mr. John Vaughan (later one of the founders of the great firm of Bolckow, Vaughan & Co.), that he was made manager of the Walker works in or about

Sep 1, 1905

By EL HANAF

The exploratory program initiated in Egypt in 1937 by four major oil companies was well under way early in 1939. Extensive gravity-meter surveys were carried out in the Sinai Peninsula and the Eastern and Western Deserts. Seismic and magnetometer work vas conducted on a restricted scale. The data collected justified wildcat drilling on structures located geophysically and/or geologically.

Jan 1, 1946

By G. O. Hiers

THE object of the experiments reported in this paper is to determine the eutectic composition of copper and tin and to determine the location of the part of the liquidus line immediately above the eutectic composition in copper. Three methods were used in the investigation: (1) the method of dissolving copper in a bath of molten tin at constant temperature, with the idea that when the bath was saturated with copper its copper content, by analysis, together with the temperature at which the saturation took place would locate a point on the liquidus line (2) the method of the differential cooling curves, and (3) the method of microscopic examination. This paper is principally concerned with the results of the last two methods mentioned. The results of the first method, that of dissolving copper in molten tin, did not agree with the .results of Miller,1 by the same method, nor with the results of other investigators by other methods, nor yet with the results of the cooling-¬curve experiments and microscopic examination reported here.

Jan 1, 1929

By A. M. Gaudin, A. F. Taggart

Flotation of ores is a practical utilization of the energy that resides in the surfaces of solids and liquids. The best known manifestation of this energy is called surface tension; an equally important, though less apparent, phenomenon is adsorption. This paper reviews some of the recent investigations of these phenomena, and gives the results of certain experiments performed by the authors. Surface tension is a manifestation of energy having its seat at the bounding surface between the adjacent phases of a multiphase system. Thus, at the interface between a liquid and a gas, or between two immiscible liquids, or between a solid and a gas or a liquid, there are forces capable of doing work, their magnitude depending on the nature of the adjacent phases and the extent of the bounding area. These surface forces are inappreciable when the ratio of surface to volume of the adjacent phases is small, but they become powerful when this ratio becomes large, as it does when one of the phases is highly dispersed. Froth flotation, which consists in buoying solids heavier than water to the surface of water by means of gas bubbles, utilizes the force of surface tension to attach the solid particles to the gas bubbles and again to maintain the floating mass of bubbles as a more or less persistent froth at the surface of a pulp for a sufficiently long time to allow its removal. It follows from the second law of thermodynamics that the potential energy of a system in equilibrium is a minimum. Therefore a multiphase system, tending toward equilibrium, will arrange itself in such a way that the total energy of the interfaces will be the least possible. This end can be accomplished in two ways: by a change in shape that will reduce the interfacial area; by a change in the nature of the surface layer in

Jan 1, 1923

By A. F. Taggart, A. M. Gaudin

Flotation of ores is a practical utilization of the energy that resides in the surfaces of solids and liquids. The best known manifestation of this energy is called surface tension; an equally important, though less apparent, phenomenon is adsorption. This paper reviews some of the recent investigations of these phenomena, and gives the results of certain experiments performed by the authors. Surface tension is a manifestation of energy having its seat at the bounding surface between the adjacent phases of a multiphase system. Thus, at the interface between a liquid and a gas, or between two immiscible liquids, or between a solid and a gas or a liquid, there are forces capable of doing work, their magnitude depending on the nature of the adjacent phases and the extent of the bounding area. These surface forces are inappreciable when the ratio of surface to volume of the adjacent phases is small, but they become powerful when this ratio becomes large, as it does when one of the phases is highly dispersed. Froth flotation, which consists in buoying solids heavier than water to the surface of water by means of gas bubbles, utilizes the force of surface tension to attach the solid particles to the gas bubbles and again to maintain the floating mass of bubbles as a more or less persistent froth at the surface of a pulp for a sufficiently long time to allow its removal. It follows from the second law of thermodynamics that the potential energy of a system in equilibrium is a minimum. Therefore a multiphase system, tending toward equilibrium, will arrange itself in such a way that the total energy of the interfaces will be the least possible. This end can be accomplished in two ways: by a change in shape that will reduce the interfacial area; by a change in the nature of the surface layer in

Jan 1, 1923

By F. H. Bunge, W. H. Jr. Dailey

This paper covers an investigation of the magnetic roasting characteristics of several iron ores when treated in the form of small pebbles (1/8" to 1/2" in size), and in the form of balled fines. The roasting treatment was carried out with apparatus capable of very close control of time, temperature, face velocity, and per cent combustible in the reaction gas. The effect of rapid initial heating was not studied although it is believed that this has a major effect on the results when processing solid pebbles. The test equipment is a fixed bed type, with such a wide range of gas velocities, temperature, combustible content and etc., that the results obtained can be made to approximate those from various commercial roasting processes. The data presented in this report covers reaction rates, effect of processing variables on silica in the concentrate, flow resistance of beds, and to a limited extent, the effect of particle size. The work is far from complete and raises many more problems than it gives answers for. We believe, however, that much of the information will be useful to those engaged in investigation of magnetic roasting processes. We measured the time required for various degrees of completion of the reaction of hematite to magnetite, for finely pound material in balled form and for carefully sized crushed ore. Measurements were made for a variety of Minnesota and Labrador ores. This report covers an ore requiring fine ginding (-325 M) for liberation (Lower Kevin) and an ore requiring coarser grinding (-100 M) for liberation (Upper Olson). These ores represent approximately the range of characteristics for a group in the west end of the Mesabi Range. Our data shows that the reaction rate is very fast for the finely ground material and that tests are readily reproducible. The reaction rate of the larger size material, in the range of 1/8" to 1/2", is much slower and the results more erratic. We found that for the ores tested, the percentage of silica in the Davis tube magnetic concentrate was a function of iron recovery. Normally the concentrate had a low and relatively uniform percentage of silica up to a critical value of recovery. Above this critical recovery value the percentage of silica increased very rapidly. For example, for one particular ore roasted in the form of 3/8" diameter balls made from -28 mesh fines, the silica remained at about 7% to 8% until the recovery exceeded about 93%. Increasing the recovery beyond 93% resulted in over 25% silica with the additional recovery. The degree of conversion of hematite to magnetite (% completion of roast) required to obtain 93% recovery for balled material, varied inversely with the gas flow rate. Percentage silica in the concentrate resulting from roasting 3/16" and 1/2" solid material was relatively erratic. However, for varying degrees of iron recovery the lowest silica percentages corresponded to those obtainable when roasting fines. It is thought the probable reason for the erratic values was the variation in shattering or cracking of the pebbles during initial heating and roasting. There is some indication that very fast initial heating will greatly increase the permeability of the individual particles of ore to gas flow so that the reaction rate for coarse sizes will approach that obtainable with balled fine material.

Jan 1, 1961

By S. Skowronski, K. W. McComas

Page Purpose of investigation.....................'. 354 Details of experiments........................ 357 Experiment Series No. 1, melting copper containing chlorine under carbon dioxide............................... 358 Experiment Series No. 2, melting hydro-electric cathode copper drillings under air................................ 362 Experiment Series No. 3, melting hydro-electric cathode copper drillings under furnace gases............................ 363 Summary.............................. 364 Purpose of Investigation Since cuprous chloride melts at 418' C., boils at 954' C. to 1032' C.,' and is known to be volatile at a much lower temperature, the presence of chlorine in any form in or on copper to be melted has always been looked upon by copper refiners as a possible source of serious copper loss. Although this fact has been known for some time, the copper literature contains little or no information regarding it and the field seems never to have been properly investigated from a metallurgical standpoint. According to Greenawalt,2 cupric chloride, CuCl2, when ignited gives cuprous chloride; therefore cuprous chloride is always formed when copper enters into reaction with chlorine at a high temperature. Cuprous chloride melts somewhat below a dull red heat, and does not volatilize in closed vessels, even if strongly heated, but if heated in the air it goes off as a white vapor, Hofman3 gives the melting point of cuprous chloride

Jan 1, 1919

By G. H. Clevenger

Discussion of the paper of ALLAN J. CLARK presented at the San Francisco meeting, September 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 103, July, 1905, pp. 1381 to 1398. G. H. CLEVENGER, Palo Alto, Cal.-Since the precipitation of extremely dilute solutions as regards cyanide presents one of the greatest problems of zinc-dust precipitation, I should like to ask Mr. Clark the minimum concentration in cyanide of the solution from which it is possible to precipitate satisfactorily the gold with zinc dust in Homestake practice. A. J. CLARK.-For a day's work about 0.015 per cent. That is precipitating a very low-grade solution, very low in alkalinity. It requires probably 0.2 lb. of zinc dust to the ton. JOHN A. FULTON, Melones, Cal.-At the Melones mine, we have been working very low-grade rock for a number of years, the process being amalgamation and concentration up to the last year. The value of the ore increased so that we had to supplement the concentration with a sand and slime plant. Classification was a problem, since to install classifiers would mean tearing the mill all to pieces. We are therefore making use of a Wilfley table for this purpose. The amount of wash water is increased and a stream of fresh water is also run into the feed box at the

Jan 12, 1915

By R. A. Flinn, R. D. Pehlke, D. R. Glass, P. O. Hays

Knowledge of the depth of penetralion of an oxygen jet into the bath of the oxygen converter and of the correlation of penetration with driuing pressuve, lance heighl, and nozzle throat area is vital to the understanding of converter operation. If the penetration is too shallow, then severe and hazardous slopping takes place. On the other hand, if the jel penetrates entirely Lhvough lhe bath for an apprcciublc period of time, bottom damage occurs. In addilion to measurement of the penetralion of the jel, knou~ledge of the circulatory movement in the bath is also of interest in order to evaluale various theories oj-concerter operating behavior which have been published. In this investigation, experimental converters were buill of IOU- , 300-, and 4000-lb capacity. Four independent methods were used to determine penelralion: the onset of bottom marking, a nitrogen bubbler probe, observation througlt an optical syslew built into the oxygen lance, and direcl viewing of the jet issuing from the bottom of the vessel. Good correlation zuas obtained, and empirical relalions for pvedicling perletration were found. These relations were conjzrmed by bottom marking tests in 55- and 110-ton vessels. Within the operaling conditions employed in these tests, the depth to which a single oxygen jet penetrated zuas found lo vary according to the relatiorl ThE technical literature is replete with data concerning the successful use of the basic oxygen furnace or converter in steelmaking. Experimental data are lacking, however, on the vital factors of the depth of penetration of the jet into the bath and the induced circulation. Commercial operating conditions usually have been the result of cut and try experiments in lance manipulation until satisfactory results were obtained. There have been, however, two hotly argued opposing theories concerning desirable depth of penetration and these are exemplified by the Schwarz and Miles patents1,2 on one hand and the Suess patent3 on the other. The Schwarz patent teaches that the jet, issuing from the nozzle at supersonic speed, penetrates deeply "so that the reactions between the iron and the oxygen and between the oxygen and the rest of the smelting components take place in the center of the bath". Specific operating suggestions are given by Miles.2 By contrast, the Suess patent calls for surface Circulalion was investigated by lour methods: by direct observation in 200-lb open baths, by the use of graphite rudders in the 300- and 4000-lb converlers, by direct observalion through an oplical system in the lance, and by various models al room temperature. All were in excellent agreement and indicated that the motion of the bath ulas up at the center, radially outluavd at the surface, and down at the sides. Experi-ments in small and in commercial vessels indicate that it is essential to operate with a jet penetration of approximately 50 pct of the bath depth. Surface blowing results in low oxygen eficienty and in hazardous conditions which may render the process inopeuable. RejYactory dartzage al the bottom of the vessel is only encountered when the jet penetrates to the bottom, and this can be avoided by properly applying the penetration formula. The application of this en/pirical formula in commercial peraations is best when limited to combinations of lance size, pressure, and height which are typically encounteved in the use of a single-hole lance. blowing so that "...the oxygen jet does not penetrate deeply into the molten metal bath and is confined to an impingement area at the central portion of the bath surface". These references are given merely to illustrate the basic differences between the two schools of thought and to point out the need for measurement of penetration for the sake of the operator. For example, it is shown later that inefficient and even dangerous conditions can arise if improper blowing conditions are used. Differences are also evident between the two schools of thought as to the mixing, circulation, and agitation which is to be accomplished by the jet. The Schwarz patent states that "surface contact is not sufficient in most cases to bring about quick reaction, the same as the blowing of the gas over the bath surface or the mere blowing of the gas onto the bath surface". The patent goes on to call for active mixing. In contrast the claims of the Suess patent call for "discharging a stream of oxygen ... to an extent to avoid material agitation of the bath by the oxygen stream". In this patent the circulation is said to be downward in the center and up at the sides of the vessel. A number of investigators4-12 have explored penetration and circulation in transparent models. In general, it is agreed in these tests that the circulation is upward at the center (along the sides of the jet cavity),

Jan 1, 1968