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By W. F. Hergert, L. H. Banning

Experimental production of Al-Si alloys, containing from 33 to 55 pct Al, by direct reduction of aluminum silicates in a three-phase arc furnace is described. Advantages of a smelting technique utilizing hogged wood waste as part of the reductant and for temperature control are discussed. WORK on the problem of producing aluminum by smelting has been in progress since the middle of the eighteenth century. Early work met with little success and in 1782 Lavoisier, an eminent French chemist, expressed the belief that alumina could not be reduced by carbon. It was almost a century later when the Cowles brothers developed a process for the production of aluminum alloys by reducing alumina coincident with the reduction of other metal oxides. In practice, the other metal oxide was usually copper. In 1907 it was first shown that alumina alone could be reduced by carbon at a temperature of 2200°C. The metal produced was volatilized and lost or recombined with the oxides of carbon formed in the reaction.' For a number of years after the Cowles brothers abandoned production of Cu-A1 alloys because their product was not commercially competitive with the aluminum produced by the Hall process, there was little interest in thermal reduction processes. After World War I interest in such processes was renewed and a number of patents were issued on processes for the production of A1-Si alloys.' , "he function of the silicon in these processes was the same as the function of the copper in the Cowles brothers process, namely, to prevent the reduced aluminum from recombining with the oxides of carbon and to promote absorption of the aluminum vapors set free at the high temperature required for the reduction reaction. The advantage of using silicon in place of copper for this function is that silicon has a higher boiling point (2600"C) than copper (2310"C) and its oxides, combined with aluminum oxides, occur in nature in almost unlimited quantities. No A1-Si alloys have been produced commercially in the United States, as far as is known. However, considerable experimental smelting of aluminum silicate materials has been done by the TVA at Wilson Dam, Ala.' The most extensive development and commercialization of the electrothermal production of A1-Si alloys took place in Germany before and during World War II.V he furnaces used in the

Jan 1, 1956

By P. E. Demmler

The apparatus in which the process of bright annealing of copper wire was carried out consisted of a section of iron pipe, 6 ft. long and 3 ft. in diameter. The pipe was provided with flanges to which were bolted the end plates for sealing, also with inlet and outlet tubes to allow for the displacement of the air in the pipe by natural gas. After charging with copper wire, sealing and displacing the air, the pipe was heated to 350' C. (662" F.). It was expected that the natural gas would furnish a neutral atmosphere which would prevent oxidation and give a satisfactory bright-annealed product. It was found, however, that the outer layers of wire were discolored and not suited for the use for which they were mtended. To obtain an idea of what was taking place in the annealing furnace, skeins of the hard-drawn wire were placed in a glass tube so that all changes in appearance could be observed as they were heated to different temperatures and under varying conditions. The temperature in each case was determined by means of a thermocouple placed in the tube close to the wire. Following is a summary of the results of these experiments: 1. When the wire was heated for 1 hr. in a current of natural gas at a temperature of 350") 400") or 500" C. (662", 752", or 932" F., respectively), there was a marked darkening of the wire throughout the skein. 2. When heated for 1 hr. in natural gas at a temperature of 600" C. (1112' F.), there was no coloration, the wire remaining clean and bright. 3. When heated in natural gas to 350" C. until darkened and the treatment continued with the temperature raised to 600' C., the coloration disappeared and the wire became clean and bright.

Jan 1, 1923

By P. E. Demmler

The apparatus in which the process of bright annealing of copper wire was carried out consisted of a section of iron pipe, 6 ft. long and 3 ft. in diameter. The pipe was provided with flanges to which were bolted the end plates for sealing, also with inlet and outlet tubes to allow for the displacement of the air in the pipe by natural gas. After charging with copper wire, sealing and displacing the air, the pipe was heated to 350' C. (662" F.). It was expected that the natural gas would furnish a neutral atmosphere which would prevent oxidation and give a satisfactory bright-annealed product. It was found, however, that the outer layers of wire were discolored and not suited for the use for which they were mtended. To obtain an idea of what was taking place in the annealing furnace, skeins of the hard-drawn wire were placed in a glass tube so that all changes in appearance could be observed as they were heated to different temperatures and under varying conditions. The temperature in each case was determined by means of a thermocouple placed in the tube close to the wire. Following is a summary of the results of these experiments: 1. When the wire was heated for 1 hr. in a current of natural gas at a temperature of 350") 400") or 500" C. (662", 752", or 932" F., respectively), there was a marked darkening of the wire throughout the skein. 2. When heated for 1 hr. in natural gas at a temperature of 600" C. (1112' F.), there was no coloration, the wire remaining clean and bright. 3. When heated in natural gas to 350" C. until darkened and the treatment continued with the temperature raised to 600' C., the coloration disappeared and the wire became clean and bright.

Jan 1, 1923

By John P. Bernardi, Ralph B. Hall

Past and present phosphate production in the central Florida phosphate district has been predominantly from the unique Bone Valley formation. As these lucrative reserves are depleted, production will shift to the Hawthorn formation in all areas, but particularly so within the southern extension, where vast potential reserves of low grade phosphates exist. Use of existing plants can be extended for some years by mining deeper into the underlying Hawthorn formation, and by mining previously ignored peripheral areas if erratic combinations of the two formations. Hawthorn Production, as compared to the Bone valley, will be characterized by lower grade; lower tonnage yield, lower pebble percent of product, higher mining ratios, higher slimes (- 150 mesh) content, and more complex mining and beneficiation problems. Geological control and more sophisticated operational procedure; will become increasingly more important as the lower quality reserves replace Bone Valley production.

Jan 1, 1981

By Ralph H. Kress

Haulage trucks designed expressly for mine service were introduced about 35 years ago. The first models to arrive on the scene hauled about 15 tons and easily outperformed the modified highway trucks that had been used for mine haulage up to that time. The specialized trucks obviously had a greater potential for mining operations, and once this fact was recognized, competitive pressures in both the mining and truck-manufacturing industries drove the new vehicles toward ever more efficient performance. Many changes in truck design resulted, but not all were accepted for a variety of reasons. Often poor design was the reason, but in many cases progressive and promising designs were abandoned only because the truck manufacturer lacked the courage, tenacity, or vision to capitalize on them. There were also many cases where a promising new design was abandoned because the prototypes were initiated in a mine where personnel lacked the patience to prove them. Truck Startup Takes A Team Ally new truck that is to succeed and contribute to lower mine haulage costs must be well conceived and launched with good teamwork on the part of all concerned. Naturally, it is essential to have a good overall truck design at the outset to make this teamwork worthwhile. The design must include the selection of the right components manufactured by suppliers that can each do justice to their particular part of the new truck. Last, but by no means least, the mine operator where the truck is to be launched must be enthusiastic in his efforts to see the new vehicle through to successful operation.

Jan 1, 1971

By Lynn G. Howell, Alex Frosch

In a previous article1 we have described a technique for measuring the relative intensities of gamma rays from the radioactive elements occurring naturally in geological formations along the walls of a borehole. The apparatus consisted of two Geiger-Müller tubes mounted inside a pressure-tight chamber. Each counter tube was coupled separately to an amplifier and a frequency meter at the surface by means of a multiconductor cable upon which the chamber was suspended. The output currents of the two frequency meters were recorded on a photographic paper as the chamber was moved in the hole. These traces showed remarkable correlation with the geologic formations, as evidenced by comparison with commercial electrical logs.2 Owing to the penetrating power of the gamma rays, logs may be taken in both open and cased boreholes. The apparatus has recently been changed somewhat. One of the counter tubes has been removed and a stage of amplification has been added inside the chamber. This arrangement seems to give a more favorable signal-to-noise ratio and satisfactory logs can be now made in cased holes and also in open holes as previously. Briefly described, the chamber moving in the hole is made of 3½-in. drill pipe and is about 10 ft. long. There is an additional extension about 2 ft. long at the top, inside which cable connections are made. The Geiger-Müller tube is mounted inside the bottom end of the chamber. Above this is the vacuum-tube amplifier with its batteries and transformer. In the top part of the chamber, small 45-volt batteries are mounted, which in part supply the high voltage for the counter tube. Additional voltage is supplied from the surface through the multiconductor cable upon which the chamber is suspended. Also, the output of the transformer in the single-stage amplifier is coupled to another single-stage amplifier at the surface through this cable. The surface amplifier is coupled to the Thyratron-controlled frequency meter, the tank circuit of which consists of a one megohm resistor across which is a bank of condensers varying in

Jan 1, 1940

By Alex Frosch, Lynn G. Howell

In a previous article1 we have described a technique for measuring the relative intensities of gamma rays from the radioactive elements occurring naturally in geological formations along the walls of a borehole. The apparatus consisted of two Geiger-Müller tubes mounted inside a pressure-tight chamber. Each counter tube was coupled separately to an amplifier and a frequency meter at the surface by means of a multiconductor cable upon which the chamber was suspended. The output currents of the two frequency meters were recorded on a photographic paper as the chamber was moved in the hole. These traces showed remarkable correlation with the geologic formations, as evidenced by comparison with commercial electrical logs.2 Owing to the penetrating power of the gamma rays, logs may be taken in both open and cased boreholes. The apparatus has recently been changed somewhat. One of the counter tubes has been removed and a stage of amplification has been added inside the chamber. This arrangement seems to give a more favorable signal-to-noise ratio and satisfactory logs can be now made in cased holes and also in open holes as previously. Briefly described, the chamber moving in the hole is made of 3½-in. drill pipe and is about 10 ft. long. There is an additional extension about 2 ft. long at the top, inside which cable connections are made. The Geiger-Müller tube is mounted inside the bottom end of the chamber. Above this is the vacuum-tube amplifier with its batteries and transformer. In the top part of the chamber, small 45-volt batteries are mounted, which in part supply the high voltage for the counter tube. Additional voltage is supplied from the surface through the multiconductor cable upon which the chamber is suspended. Also, the output of the transformer in the single-stage amplifier is coupled to another single-stage amplifier at the surface through this cable. The surface amplifier is coupled to the Thyratron-controlled frequency meter, the tank circuit of which consists of a one megohm resistor across which is a bank of condensers varying in

Jan 1, 1940

By T. W. Healy, M. S. Moignard

The use of electrokinetic or zeta-potential phenomena in studies of the properties of mineral sulphides has increased greatly over recent years. This review aims to examine and discuss the body of literature on the subject of electrokinetic properties of sulphides in a comprehensive and critical manner. Although the review covers the period from 1925 to 1975, it is only in the past ten years that researchers have been fully aware of the implications and problems of chemical reactions, notably oxidation and precipitation reactions, on the surface properties of sulphide minerals. These papers are discussed in more detail than the earlier publications. A table containing a list of determinations of iso-electric- points and points-of-zero-charge of mineral sulphides, and the methods employed in obtaining these results, is presented.

Jan 1, 1976

By W. F. Netezband, E. H. Crabtree

The productive area of asphalt-bearing sandstone in Missouri is near the Missouri-Kansas state line near Nevada, the county seat of Vernon County about 100 miles south of Kansas City. While production thus far has been confined to Vernon and Barton counties, there are known deposits in adjacent counties. The area is served by four railroads: the Missouri Pacific, the Kansas City Southern, the Missouri-Kansas & Texas, and the St. Louis & San Francisco. The plant of the Reliance Rock Asphalt Corporation is in Vernon County, about 5 miles west of Nevada, at Ellis, a flag station on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad. A siding has been built to the plant SO that the finished product can be loaded directly into railroad cars. The property consists of a lease of 240 acres in one block. All portions of the property not required for quarrying or processing the asphalt-bearing sandstone are used for farming by the fee owner. The entire tract is very flat so that there are no transportation difficulties from quarry to plant. Geology The commercial asphalt-bearing sandstones are all of Pennsylvanian age, the major portion of the production coming from the Cherokee formation, the basal member of the Des Moines group. The Cherokee formation includes all beds between the base of the overlying Fort Scott limestone and the Mississippian limestones below. It underlies most of the area, but in the west and northwest townships of Vernon County, and elsewhere in local outliers, the Henrietta limestone, forming mounds, escarpments and high ridges, covers the Cherokee, and is in turn covered by the Pleasanton shale. In the eastern portion of the counties, the Mississippian limestones are exposed. The thickness of the Cherokee varies according to the amount that has been removed by surface erosion. Where fully present under the Henrietta; it is approximately 375 ft. thick, but over most of the county it ranges from 100 to 200 ft. thick.

Jan 1, 1938

By E. H. Crabtree, W. F. Netezband

The productive area of asphalt-bearing sandstone in Missouri is near the Missouri-Kansas state line near Nevada, the county seat of Vernon County about 100 miles south of Kansas City. While production thus far has been confined to Vernon and Barton counties, there are known deposits in adjacent counties. The area is served by four railroads: the Missouri Pacific, the Kansas City Southern, the Missouri-Kansas & Texas, and the St. Louis & San Francisco. The plant of the Reliance Rock Asphalt Corporation is in Vernon County, about 5 miles west of Nevada, at Ellis, a flag station on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad. A siding has been built to the plant SO that the finished product can be loaded directly into railroad cars. The property consists of a lease of 240 acres in one block. All portions of the property not required for quarrying or processing the asphalt-bearing sandstone are used for farming by the fee owner. The entire tract is very flat so that there are no transportation difficulties from quarry to plant. Geology The commercial asphalt-bearing sandstones are all of Pennsylvanian age, the major portion of the production coming from the Cherokee formation, the basal member of the Des Moines group. The Cherokee formation includes all beds between the base of the overlying Fort Scott limestone and the Mississippian limestones below. It underlies most of the area, but in the west and northwest townships of Vernon County, and elsewhere in local outliers, the Henrietta limestone, forming mounds, escarpments and high ridges, covers the Cherokee, and is in turn covered by the Pleasanton shale. In the eastern portion of the counties, the Mississippian limestones are exposed. The thickness of the Cherokee varies according to the amount that has been removed by surface erosion. Where fully present under the Henrietta; it is approximately 375 ft. thick, but over most of the county it ranges from 100 to 200 ft. thick.

Jan 1, 1938

By C. Max Bauer

THE most important development in the petroleum industry in Montana, during 1924, was the bringing in of the Hepp well on May 12, by the Midwest Refining Co. This followed three years of active prospecting and drilling in the state by this company. The well is located 35 miles west of Billings, in Stillwater County, and makes a high-grade paraffin oil from the Dakota sand at a. depth of 3825 ft. After flowing for several months at the rate of 150 bbl. per day, the well has been shut in for lack of storage, awaiting further development in the field. TABLE 1. Production Cat Creek and Kevin-Sunburst Fields Month Kevin-Sunburst Pipe- Estimated Cat Creek Pipeline Estimated line Runs Fuel Oil Used Runs Fuel Used January 3,214 0 133,400 140 February 3,250 0 134,248 490 March 11,989 595 163,129 910 April 116,897 1,155 125,918 980 May 179,726 2,310 152,179 770 June 126,131 2,697 122,270 910 July 132,173 2,170 118,034 770 August 202,001 2,695 142,313 1,120 September 187,201 2,135 110,012 350 October 162,589 1,995 121,683 350 November 130,392 2,520 139,900 350 December 107,465 1,780 124,169 0 Total 1,363,028 20,052 1,581,255 .7,140 There are two producing oilfields in the state-the Cat Creek and the Kevin-Sunburst, which produced a total of 2,971,475 bbl. in 1924. The only other field of proved value is Soap Creek, which contains a heavy black oil and is shut in for lack of marketing facilities. Gas is produced for local use at Havre, Chinook, and Baker, and a carbon-black plant is located at Baker.

Jan 3, 1925

By Chester Washburne

LEASING the Teapot dome to the Mammoth Oil Co. is the culminating anticlimax of the "conserva-tion movement." It is just the touch required to make a full fiasco of the whole affair. If the revered wielder of the "Big Stick" were still with us, we could hear it fall harder than it did on Ballinger. Of all the oil reserves set aside by presidential decree, there was only one which certainly could con-serve much oil for the future. This was Naval Reserve No. 3, on the Teapot dome, Wyoming. After secret negotiations, carefully guarded from the press and from the knowledge of other oil men, we are suddenly informed that this last and only known chance to save much oil for future naval needs has been given away for early development.

Jan 6, 1922

Jan 1, 1942

By Mahesh C. Jha

Arsenical gold ores occur in many parts of the world, including numerous mines in Canada and the western United States. Free gold is often finely disseminated in the grains of sulfide minerals, arsenopyrite, pyrite, orpiment and realgar. Generally a sulfide concentrate is produced by flotation. Arsenical ores or concentrates are not amenable to direct cyanidation and therefore are considered refractory. A wide variety of roasting equipment and conditions have been used by the mills to remove arsenic and sulfur from these concentrates. The resulting calcine is easy to cyanide and gold is recovered from the cyanide solution by zinc dust cementation. Room-temperature potential-pH diagrams and high-temperature phasestability diagrams are presented to discuss the chemistry of the gold cyanidation, cementation, and roasting steps in the presence of arsenic. The environmental aspects of arsenic discharge are also included.

Jan 1, 1984

By John B. Gustavson, Thornton L. Neathery

A geochemical survey was conducted in the gold district in Alabama. Eight old mines were found to be sufficiently large in tenor and tonnage to be economical today. Four of these appeared to be amenable to exploration for new blind deposits. A gaseous aspiration AA method was used on soil samples. The results indicate that arsenic, antimony, and zinc may be good pathfinders for lode gold and residual placers in the saprolite. Antimony and zinc display a high correlation coefficient at gold-bearing locations in contrast to non-mineralized areas. The low cost of this method could make it a tool for selecting detailed targets to be drilled and trenched in the saprolite. Outcrop sampling was found to be inefficient due to paucity of outcrops and lack of correlation between the trace elements and gold in the rock samples, due to extensive weathering. Schistosity changes and silicification, on the other hand, have been found to be helpful in exploration around granite plutons.

Jan 1, 1977

By John Blatchford, H. O. Hofman

The leading antimony mineral is stibnite. In smelting stibnite ore two processes are available, precipitation and roasting-reduction. The former is suited only for high-grade ores. As low-grade ores are more common than high-grade, roasting-reduction is of greater importance than precipitation. In the roasting process the aim may be to leave the oxidized antimony in the ore, or it may be to volatilize as much of the antimony as possible, collect the volatilized oxide as a rich intermediary product and smelt it for antimony, leaving the gangue poor enough to be considered a waste product. Whichever way the roast is conducted certain difficulties inherent in stibnite are encountered. These are: 1. The low melting point of stibnite which, according to Pélabon,' is 550°C., according to Wagemann2 540°C., and according to Borgstroma 546°C. 2. The ignition temperature: According to Friedrich,4 stibnite, if heated in air, begins to oxidize at 290°C. if the size of a grain is 0.1 mm. in diameter; at 343", if 0.1 to 0.2 mm.; and 430" if 0.2 mm. 3. The fusibility of a mixture of Sb2S33 and Sb203 which in the form of kermesite (Sb2S3)z.Sbz03 melts at 517°C.6 4. The volatility of Sb2Ss and SbzOs, for which no numerical data appear to exist, although practical experience has shown that they are volatile at low temperatures. As regards the oxidation of metallic antimony, we have the experimental evidence of C. F. Plattner6 that when fused and brought to a red heat, it burns with a bluish-white flame to Sb2Oa which passes off as a

Jan 1, 1916

By A. Q. Tool

THE necessity of accurate temperature measurements in the glass-making industries is today being much more widely appreciated than in the past. The introduction of the modern simplified and perfected pyrometric methods in connection with exact regulation of furnace temperatures has caused a marked improvement in the glass product with a quickened rate of production. An example of the processes in which much improvement has been and still can be made is that of annealing or heat-treating the glass. This is one of the most delicate processes in glass manufacture and one that requires a most careful furnace control. The heat treatment is undertaken to decrease the possibility of breakage and, in glass for fine optical instruments, to prevent serious warping of accurately ground and polished surfaces and to make the glass more uniform throughout to the passage of light waves. These objects are accomplished by removing all the harmful stresses that exist in a piece of glass when it has been cooled too quickly or unevenly. Such stresses exist, for example, after it has been pressed, cast, or otherwise worked. Thus the process of annealing consists of heating the glass evenly to the temperature at which it softens just enough to relieve these stresses in a reasonable time and then cooling slowly and uniformly until the glass hardens again. Accordingly, the things that must be investigated and determined in order to anneal glass without loss of time are, the annealing temperature, the time that the glass should be held at this temperature while the stresses relax, and the quickest cooling procedure that will give satisfactory results. After these characteristics of the glass are known the problem is one of pyrometry and temperature control entirely. In cases when it is known that a glass article will be required to withstand some definite type of heat or mechanical shock it is often possible, by a proper heat treatment, to produce such a distribution of the stresses in the glass that it will be enabled to resist these shocks more effectively.

Jan 9, 1919

By William M. Courtis

Since many accounts of Silver Islet Mine, in Lake Superior, have already been published, it is supposed that the members of the Institute are familiar with the location and character of the mine. To many, however, a more detailed account of the ore and manner of treatment will, perhaps, not be without interest. The extraordinary richness of Silver Islet ores, and the difficulty of obtaining correct assays, induced the company to erect smelting works of its own. Accordingly, ground was broken at Wyandotte; Mich., early in the spring of 1871, and the work was pressed on with indomitable energy by Captain E. B. Ward of Detroit, as president, and Mr. Thomas MacFarlane, the discoverer of Silver Islet, as superintendent of the works, so that by July 1st the works were so far completed that smelting could be commenced. The intention was to work Western ores with those from Lake Superior, since the latter contain but a small amount of lead. Hence the capacity of the works is much larger than is needed for the present yield of the mine. The planned process for treatment was smelt-

PRACTICAL PROBLEMS AND BASIC PRINCIPLES ranging from ore testing to cost estimation get a working over from top men in the minerals beneficiation field. The Minerals Beneficiation Division developed this symposium for presentation at the 1953 Los Angeles General Meeting to assist the many people who think that having a new plant necessitates a lot of trouble and dismay. The papers and free discussion from the floor give ways and means of approaching a new plant that will relieve the strain on the organization, if adequate attention is put on the program before work begins - that is if thought is given to the program itself, before tackling the actual mill design.

Jan 9, 1953

Jan 1, 1959