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By J. F. Pierce, S. M. Enterline

Since January 1959 a zinc refiner of novel design has been in operation at Blackwell, Okla., producing 99.995+ zinc from the output of the Blackwell horizontal retort smelter. The refiner is a continuously operated, pyro-metallurgical unit with principal dimensions horizonhl permitting one floor operation. It is very ruggedly constructed. Furthermore it is not subjected to deterioration from high concentrations of iron in the feed metal because the boiling units are separate from the rectification columns and constructed with silicon carbide brick arches through which the heat is transferred radiantly to the zinc. A zinc refiner of novel design has been in operation since January 1959 at the Blackwell, Okla. plant of the Blackwell Zinc Co., Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of American Metal Climax, Inc. Developed by the company's technical and operating staffs, the new refiner produces special high-grade zinc (nominally 99.995+ pct Zn) from the prime western1 slab output of the Blackwell horizontal retort smelter. The refiner is a continuously operated, pyromet-allurgical, high-capacity unit employing fractional distillation to separate zinc from its impurities, consisting principally of lead, cadmium, and iron. In prime western slab, these elements may vary in concentration from 0.005 to 1.6 pct. Table I shows the impurities usually encountered in the Blackwell prime western metal fed to the refiner together with their boiling points and vapor pressures at 907oC. The commercial pyrometallurgical smelting processes for extracting zinc from ore include distillation from retorts and a limited degree of refining can be accomplished by redistillation in similar retorts. To achieve special high-grade purity, an impractical number of batch redistillations would be required, however, with an accompanying loss of much metal. A continuously operated and integrated unit is required in which fractional vaporization and condensation can take place in a large number of stages. The first commercial continuously operated unit was developed by the New Jersey Zinc Co.4 In the separation of any two substances the degree of separation is limited if a mixture exists having a constant boiling point. The Zn-cd5 and Zn-pb6 systems contain no constant boiling points and hence these metals may be separated to any degree of purity. Basically, the pyrometallurgical refining of zinc involves three steps: a) iron, copper, and other metals having no appreciable vapor pressures at 907ºC concentrate in the bath when the impure zinc is boiled, b) lead, bismuth, antimony, and other metals having boiling points above but closer to that of zinc are selectively condensed from the vapor boiled from the bath, and c) cadmium and other metals having lower boiling points than zinc are fractionally distilled by reboiling and subsequent condensation of the zinc from the vapor. The boiling and condensation of zinc must be conducted in vessels constructed of materials which are refractory at the temperature involved (907 ºC) and it is highly desirable that they also be resistant to attack by the various metals. This requirement dictates construction from relatively small, simply shaped pieces which limits the pressures which may be employed to avoid leakage through the numerous joints. Stresses induced must be limited essentially to compressive ones and suitable provision must be made to permit thermal expansion of the components in order to minimize these stresses. Where heat is to be added for boiling or removed for condensation, refractory material through which the heat flows must have a high thermal conductivity. Silicon carbide is highly conductive but is subject to attack by iron and is expensive compared to other commonly employed refractories. A hard, dense aluminous fireclay is well suited to contain these metals where high thermal conductivity is not required. Zinc will penetrate the pores of fireclay brick but only to a limited depth in an exterior wall and has little effect other than an increase in weight and conductivity. The design objectives of the Amax refiner were: a) to achieve a long life by heavy, rugged construction and by employing silicon carbide refractories only where required for heat conductivity and not in contact with liquids of high iron concentrations, b) to simplify operation, manning and control by essentially horizontal construction, and c) to obtain high capacity in a single unit. DESCRIPTION Flow of metal through the Amax refiner is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1 and schematically in Fig. 2.

Jan 1, 1963

By G. D. Van Ardsdale, A. W. Hudson

Heap leaching, as practiced at Rio Tinto, Spain, while one of the oldest, and probably one of the cheapest, methods of extracting copper from its ores, has not had, until recently, other than experimental application in this country. This has been due partly to a mistaken idea that the Rio Tinto ores possess some obscure and mysterious quality that renders them alone suitable to the process, partly to the fact that tests properly made meant the expenditure of large sums of money and several years time, and partly to the fact that favorable commercial and other conditions are not often found. This paper gives some views on the chemistry and mechanism of the method, an account of the preliminary experiments, and the final plans adopted for a large-scale installation of the method by the Phelps Dodge Corpn. for treating low-grade ore from Sacramento Hill, Bisbee. If results comparable with those obtained from the test heap are to be had from the large plant, this plant will operate on the lowest-grade sulfide ore now being treated commercially in the country. The method has several advantages: The installation cost is low. Interest charges must, of course, be made both on the cost of the ore delivered to the plant and for the plant itself, but as these are low, there is considerable advantage in the ability to regulate output by more or less complete shutdowns in accordance with market and other conditions. The amount of labor needed is small, and the cement copper produced may be considered nearer a finished product than the sulfide concentrates from a mill, and certainly means less installation cost per ton to put into final form by present methods. At Bisbee, conditions were favorable for a trial of the method for, in the preparation of the Sacramento Hill orebody for steam shoveling,' a large amount of material below concentrating grade had to be moved to

Jan 1, 1923

By A. W. Hudson, G. D. Van Ardsdale

Heap leaching, as practiced at Rio Tinto, Spain, while one of the oldest, and probably one of the cheapest, methods of extracting copper from its ores, has not had, until recently, other than experimental application in this country. This has been due partly to a mistaken idea that the Rio Tinto ores possess some obscure and mysterious quality that renders them alone suitable to the process, partly to the fact that tests properly made meant the expenditure of large sums of money and several years time, and partly to the fact that favorable commercial and other conditions are not often found. This paper gives some views on the chemistry and mechanism of the method, an account of the preliminary experiments, and the final plans adopted for a large-scale installation of the method by the Phelps Dodge Corpn. for treating low-grade ore from Sacramento Hill, Bisbee. If results comparable with those obtained from the test heap are to be had from the large plant, this plant will operate on the lowest-grade sulfide ore now being treated commercially in the country. The method has several advantages: The installation cost is low. Interest charges must, of course, be made both on the cost of the ore delivered to the plant and for the plant itself, but as these are low, there is considerable advantage in the ability to regulate output by more or less complete shutdowns in accordance with market and other conditions. The amount of labor needed is small, and the cement copper produced may be considered nearer a finished product than the sulfide concentrates from a mill, and certainly means less installation cost per ton to put into final form by present methods. At Bisbee, conditions were favorable for a trial of the method for, in the preparation of the Sacramento Hill orebody for steam shoveling,' a large amount of material below concentrating grade had to be moved to

Jan 1, 1923

By Thomas Chance

ALL gravity methods for the separation of ore from gangue, or of slate and other refuse from coal, are based upon differences in the falling velocities, in some fluid medium such as air or water, of the materials to be separated. As all materials falling in a vacuum have the same velocity, independent of the size, shape, weight or specific gravity of their individual particles, it would be more accurate to describe the operation of these methods as depending upon the. retardation of falling velocities effected by the resistance of a fluid medium, this retardation being greater for small or light particles than for large or heavy particles. This generalization is true also of those appliances utilizing centrifugal force to replace or to supplement the action of gravity. The separation of materials of different specific gravities by means of a fluid having a specific gravity greater than that of the lighter particles and less than that of the heavier particles has not been applied commercially, or on a large scale, to the separation of ores or to the washing of coal, the method being limited to laboratory experimental work or to laboratory determinations for the purpose of checking up the work of jigs, classifiers, and other types of concentrating appliances. A solution of zinc chloride has thus come into general use inn the laboratory to separate coal, bony coal and slate, both to check up the work of coal-washing plants and for the purpose of making tests preliminary to the designing of coal-washing plants. The use of a heavy solution of some chemical in water has often been proposed for making such separations, especially in connection with the washing or preparation of coal. Practically insuperable difficulties, however, have prevented the commercial development of any such process, the difficulties being both physical and financial. The cost of the chemical used to make high-gravity solutions is usually prohibitive, and the freeing of the coal from all traces of the chemical is found to be practically impossible. Such solutions inevitably penetrate the individual lumps and particles of coal, transfusing into the pores and saturating the joint-planes, and very large quantities of wash water

Jan 2, 1918

By P. Sen, H. B. Barani, P. Sen Gupta

A critical review of the various separation efficiencies reported in literature has been made. Most of the relationships used for evaluating the performance relate to screening, classification, or concentration operations and are applicable to single-stage, two-component systems only. In the present work, a much simpler approach has been used for assessing the separation process irrespective of the type of operation and this has been extended further to obtain an expression for a multicomponent feed and multiproduct (from a multistage operation) system.

Jan 1, 1980

By E. C. Bitzer

THE primary object of the work described in the following pages was to simplify the equipment in the separating circuit of the heavy-media process by substituting a spiral classifier for the separatory cone. Mechanical considerations were the leading attraction and the best that was hoped for on metallurgical performance was that the new vessel would give results equal to those obtained by conventional equipment. Tests have demonstrated in commercial operation on iron ore that the mechanical advantages of the spiral separator are about as predicted; also, the metallurgical performance is superior to the cone on the ores treated. Treatment of iron ore involves the separation of two products: a concentrate that sinks and a float product that contains true float material plus a controlled division of interfering middling. The middling material is heavier than the average specific gravity of the separating medium. Recent work with the spiral separator on Tri-State zinc ore showed that the middling material had to be recovered as concentrate because this fraction contained the bulk of the-zinc in the ore. It has been demonstrated that it is possible to make three products with the new separator on an ore such as this: a float tailing, a float middling, and a high grade heavy sink product. It appears from this last work that the new separator has definite mechanica1 and metallurgical advantages over any type of separating cone for treating feed that contains large amounts of material of a specific gravity close to that of the separating medium. However, either type of separator should perform equally well, metallurgically, on feed that is free of middlings. Each series of experiments with the spiral separator as required additional work to fully develop the possibilities of the machine. For this reason the paper is divided into chronological parts. History of Development A drag-type classifier was first proposed as a substitute for the cone separator by Butler Brothers technicians during the initial tests with galena medium at Crosby, Minn., in 1937. The desire for finding a substitute for the cone arose from trouble with interfering middlings and certain operating disadvantages of the cone. The possibility of using a spiral classifier was also suggested at this time by Emmett Butler and C. J. Abrams. However, inability to satisfactorily recover fine galena, which was used as a medium, terminated all development work at Crosby. During the winter of 1937--1938 investigation started on magnetic medium with concurrent s development of the inverted or closed- top cone, which was found necessary to eliminate iron-ore middlings with the float product. About

Jan 1, 1947

By E. W. Steele

In the copper-casting department of a modern electrolytic copper refinery there are two kinds of casting furnaces: the anode, for casting crude copper into anodes for electrolysis; the refined-copper, for casting the cathodes resulting from electrolysis into market shapes, such as ingots, wire bars, and cakes. Both furnaces are reverberatories of practically the same general design and are operated intermittently, putting through a charge normally in 24 hr. The treatment of the copper in the two furnaces is similar, in that oxidation followed by skimming and reduction (poling) is carried on in both; but in the refined-copper furnace, the work must be done with greater care and it is of extreme importance that not the slightest trace of impurity be introduced into the copper. The furnaces usually hold from 150 to 300 tons of molten copper, which constitutes the daily charge. Except in the case of furnaces in the Lake district, where the concentrates from native-copper ores are charged through the roof, the furnaces are charged through the side doors by charging machines similar to those used in open-hearth steel practice. In 1916, at the Perth Amboy plant, of the American Smelting & Refining Co., located at Maurer, N. J., a study was made of the possibility of firing the copper refinery furnaces with pulverized coal instead of by hand. The proposed method possessed obvious advantages over hand firing and coal was a much cheaper fuel than oil at that time. However, there were several objections to its use, the principal ones being the possibility of increasing the sulfur content of the refined copper and the additional slag that might be produced from the ash. The increase of the sulfur content of the refined copper was the more serious, as more than 0.002 per cent. sulfur is objectionable. Any increase of the slag would be expensive as the copper in this slag would have to pass again through the entire smelting and refining process. It was thought that certain modifications in operations and furnace conditions, which will be described later, would overcome these objections SO the proposition was discussed with a manufacturer of coal-pulverizing equipment. He was uncertain concerning the use of pulverized coal

Jan 1, 1925

By S. Weinig, E. S. Machlin

THE mechanism of the martensitic transformation has been the subject of a remarkable number of papers in recent years.' Because the task of evaluating all the available theories is a formidable one, the authors will confine themselves merely to the presentation of results of an experimental investigation of the habit orientation, lattice relations, magnitude and direction of average transformation shear strain, and orientation of subband markings for a single variant of the possible habit systems in an 11 pct Mo-Ti alloy. It is hoped that these data will assist in the establishment of a rigorous theory for the mechanism of the martensitic transformation. Experimental Procedure Specimen Preparation: A sample, approximately 1/2 x 1/4 x 1/4 in., was cut from a double arc-melted ingot composed of commercial-process A titanium and high purity molybdenum (nominally, 11 pct Mo). It was capsuled in evacuated Vycor at 10.-3 mm Hg subsequent to a double argon wash and homogenized for 48 hr at 1100°C. After a direct quench into H2O at room temperature, a large-grained specimen resulted, which, by X-ray diffraction and metallographic means, was subsequently shown to be in the body-centered-cubic phase, ß. Two adjacent, approximately perpendicular faces were polished and the ends of the specimen were ground parallel in a V-block. Fiducial lines were inscribed at 45" to the common edge of the polished surfaces in order that they would be perpendicular to the habit traces of the subsequently formed a plates.2 The specimen was then compressed between the ground ends in a Buehler press to stress induce the transformation ß to a'. Experimental Measurements: The habit-plane orientation, the orientation of subband markings, the orientation relation between the parent ß and the product a', and the transformation strain for the same plate were determined. To further establish the nature of the subbands, one surface was repol-ished and etched. The bands in the a' were still visible and were found to be optically anisotropic under polarized light. Back-reflection Laue patterns were obtained from the ß matrix and from a region comprising both a' plates and adjacent ß matrix (a Cu target was used). By superposition of the two X-ray diffraction patterns, it was possible to obtain a tentative orientation relationship between the two phases. This result was confirmed by a pattern taken after the specimen was rotated to make the basal-plane pole of the hexagonal a' phase strike the film. This necessitated cutting the specimen to expose the a' plate in the new position relative to the X-ray beam. Analysis of Experimental Measurements On the basis of the aforementioned X-ray patterns, the orientation between parent and product

Jan 1, 1955

By Dr. O’Neil Thomas J., Donald W. Gentry

Introduction “A Western mine is a hole in the ground owned by a liar. . ." -Mark Twain THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT DECISION Decisions pertaining to a firm's proposed capital investments can have vital short- and long-term consequences on the organization's ability to compete, and even survive.Capita1 investment decisions, in general, center around two fundamental activities: (1) allocating capital funds to specific investment projects or assets, and (2) obtaining necessary financing in such proportion as to increase the overall value of the firm. In essence these activities or decisions describe the science of finance (as contrasted with economics). Fimnce has been described in general terms as the study of how a present, known amount of cash is converted into a future, perhaps unknown, amount of cash (Archer, Choate, and Racette, 1979). Fundamental to understanding the science of finance and the capital investment decision process in general are the basic concepts relating to cash flow transactions, time, income generation (markets), expected returns, and risk. The functions of finance may be segregated into three fundamental decisions which a firm must address: (1) the dividend decision, (2) the financing decision, and (3) the investment decision. These decisions are interdependent and their joint impact on the objective of the firm must be considered. This book primarily addresses the concepts and components associated with the investment and financing decisions as they affect the practice of mine valuation. Responsibilities of Management A primary assumption incorporated in this book is that the fundamental objective of any firm is to maximize its value, or wealth of its owners (stock- holders). Here, the term wealth refers to the total current market value of the firm's assets. In the case of corporations, the wealth or value is considered to be represented by the market price of the firm's common stock. The price of the firm's common stock obviously will be affected by its investment, financing, and dividend decisions. Consequently, an optimal combination of these three decisions should maximize the value of the firm to its stockholders. It is important to point out that wealth maximization is a more appropriate and inclusive goal for the firm than profit maximization. Indeed, there is a difference between the two objectives in most situations. For instance, a firm can always raise profits by selling stock and investing the proceeds in treasury bills or certificates of deposit. This type of activity, however, would rarely cause net shareholder wealth

Jan 1, 1984

By Harry H. Power

WHILE the attention of all engineering branches is focused today on changes and improvements in the several curricula, we are concerned here with the many questions arising in industry and college concerning the preparation for the petroleum engineering profession. The succession of problems confronting the petroleum engineer demands a degree of versatility not ordinarily encountered in other professions. As a consequence, the student cannot acquire mastery of all the several engineering branches represented in field practice, and as an alternative, he has learned to appreciate the value of thorough training in the basic or fundamental sciences as a preliminary foundation for professional work. While our attention is directed primarily to the training of engineers in educational institutions, it is necessary that the ultimate education of the professional engineer be kept in mind. It is apparent that his success as an engineer is limited not only by his educational and job experience, but by his native endowments: mentality, personality and health. The engineer's lack of job experiences often proves as much a handicap as the lack of adequate college training. If the final product proves to be satisfactory, both industry and technical institutions are to be congratulated. However, if the product is found wanting, the one most responsible should be apprehended. FITNESS FOR PROFESSION For the most part, students of engineering colleges have had their interests in applied science awakened at a relatively early age. Many of them entered college as a convenient means of acquiring a technical education, but undoubtedly would have had better prospects in a shorter program offered by institutions of noncollege grade. The activating motive of practical interest is also strong in students suitable for college training, but in many cases an intellectual interest must be awakened in order that it may survive graduation. Numerous engineers believe that this progressive process of selection and determination of career aims is one of the essential services rendered by the engineering colleges. Industrialists, who are more interested in quality than quantity of petroleum engineering graduates, have pointed out the good that should result if more emphasis were given to the work of eliminating the misfits. They also point out the protective measures that have been taken by other professions for the betterment of professional standards. Mention has been made of the beneficial results to be obtained by collective determination of the market for the products of engineering schools, particularly in that the students unsuited to the profession would have an opportunity to prepare themselves for employment more suited to their personalities and other qualifications. In the event that such a system of coordinated personnel direction is developed by the

Jan 1, 1941

By Leslie G. McMillion

A field project to develop and demonstrate a method for alleviating problems of highly mineralized ground water where they occur as isolated zones or pockets in fresh-water aquifers is being conducted in the Ogallala aquifer of eastern New Mexico by the Robert S. Kerr Water Research Center. Removal of contaminated water is by a large-capacity well and the pumped poor-quality water is used locally for secondary recovery of oil. Benefits of the operation are threefold in that the aquifer is being reclaimed for future fresh-water production, contaminated water is being used beneficially, and fresh water which otherwise would have been used for waterflooding is available for other purposes. Ground-water quality in the site has improved markedly after two years of operation. Use of water in the arid and semiarid Southwest has grown so rapidly that demands in many localities far exceed available supplies. In the High Plains region of New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, the only large sources of water are underground reservoirs, being depleted at an alarming rate. In some parts of this region, the aquifers contain pockets of highly mineralized waters; and the mineralized waters in some of them have started spreading in response to the drawdown effects of pumping wells. The aquifers of this region are primarily composed of sand and gravel beds; any cleanup by natural processes will require many tens or even hundreds of years. Most of these pockets of highly mineralized water were caused by oil-field brines seeping downward from earthen disposal pits. Thousands of these pits were in use in the region until only a few years ago when they were prohibited by the oil regulatory agencies of the respective states. The resulting areas of poor quality water are serious enough to warrant much corrective attention. Correction will involve one or more of three approaches: 1) Restrict the pumping of fresh water in the zones where the drawdown of the pumping well will significantly influence the movement of the contaminant. 2) Remove the highly mineralized water entirely from the affected area. 3) Develop and pump the poor-quality water in such a manner that its movement is held in check, even though only a part of the contaminant is actually removed. The principal hurdle to overcome in applying methods 2 or 3 is financing of the operations, since there are very

Jan 1, 1972

By Robert H. Richards

Jan 1, 1897

By Arthur Phillips

THE study of anisotropy in metals has been greatly stimulated in recent years by the rapid development of X-ray methods for determining the crystallographic relationships of wrought and annealed materials. Prior to this time the knowledge regarding the directional properties of commercial alloys consisted almost exclusively of observations of a practical nature made during the fabrication of metal objects, supplemented by a limited number of mechanical tests on specimens cut at various angles to the direction of working. Such observations clearly indicate that the common methods of cold-working metals cause both a crystallographic and a mechanical fibering varying in character and degree according to the nature and extent of the deforming process. Even after annealing, following certain not too well known combinations of reductions and anneals, a preferred orientation may exist, thereby constituting a residual fiber effect sufficiently pronounced to manifest directional properties. With the application of the X-ray the experimental horizon was extended chiefly because the study of anisotropic metals promised to offer direct and quantitative evidence regarding the involved mechanism of fragmentation and plastic flow. As a natural consequence the intensive studies in this direction have yielded a vast accumulation of data of ultimate potential value. Unfortunately, however, as is commonly the case in entering a virgin field of experimentation, many of the data cannot be molded into complete and coherent form because of the many unrelated conditions of the experimental projects. Again, the results of the study of single crystals have been rather naturally but at times indiscriminately applied to polycrystalline metals. Furthermore, sweeping statements have been made regarding the behavior during working and annealing of metals and alloys, entirely on the basis of similarity in lattice arrangement. There is abundant reason for believing that relatively small concentration variables, differences, in magnitude and distribution of applied stresses, and the character of associated annealing treatments may in some cases greatly influence the mechanics of flow and consequently largely determine the final structural characteristics of the metal.

Jan 1, 1932

By S. Y. Ogawa

The effects of sulfur (up to 0.1 pet) on the deformation and fracture characteristics of iron, in cast form, were studied at strain rates up to 100 pct pcr sec and at temperatures of 1600o to -3300 oF. The effects of oxygen and manganese additions on the behavior of Fe-S alloys were studied under comparable test conditions. Brittle fracture characteristics, evident at all strain rates, resulted from the presence of the liquid iron sulfide phase at grain boundaries. Ductility could be restored in three ways: solution of the sulfide in solid y iron at higher temperatures, spheroid-zzation of the liquid sulfide, and increase. in the melting point ot the sulfide. THE literature shows that most previous studies of deformation and fracture at hot working temperatures have been based on measurements of energy absorption, reduction of height in forging upset tests, torsion tests of bar or wire samples, and so forth,' but that relatively few tension tests have been used at high temperatures and strain rates. The present work was initiated to study the ef- fects of temperature, strain rate, composition, and structure on the deformation and fracture characteristics of iron, utilizing cast specimens tested in tension. As in a previous study,' strain rates up to 100 pct per sec were chosen for the temperature range 1600° to 2400° to provide data which might be useful in the interpretation of the deformation and fracture behavior of steels under hot working conditions. The previous work was with Fe-P solid solution al10ys;2 this work is concerned with Fe-S alloys, and with the effects of oxygen and manganese additions. MATERIALS AND PROCEDURE Cast tes! specimens were employed throughout, since most of the difficulty during hot working occurs in the initial breakdown of the ingot. Alloy Systems. Ten 25 lb. heats containing sulphur were prepared. Of these, three had manganese additions, and two had oxygen additions. The sulfur content varied from 0.023 to 0.10 pct. Manganese contents were intended to be ten to twenty times the sulfur content of the particular alloy. Oxygen, being more difficult to control in small melts, was varied by the amount of solid deoxidizer added, but poor control of the oxygen content was experienced in most instances. Table I shows the chemical analyses of the heats. Melting and Casting. Electrolytic-iron chips were melted by high frequency induction in a prefired, clay-graphite crucible lined with rammed magnesite.

Jan 1, 1962

By A. C. Fieldner

The usual analytical determinations made in analyzing coal are comprised in the proximate and ultimate analysis and the determination of calorific value. The proximate analysis includes determinations of moisture, volatile matter, fixed carbon and ash; the ultimate analysis determinations of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and ash. The proximate analysis is an empirical process, and the results, obtained, especially for volatile matter and fixed carbon, are materially influenced by the method of conducting the determinations. This fact must be kept in mind in comparing coal analyses from different laboratories for classification purposes. Unless these laboratories have followed the same standard methods, differences due to variations in the analytical methods may, in some cases, be large enough to change the classification of the coal. It is unfortunate that the determinations of volatile matter and fixed carbon, which are most used in coal classification, are the two that are subject to the greatest variations. Moisture comes next in the scale of variation. The ultimate analysis is less influenced by method, since it comprises the determination of definite chemical elements. However, even the ultimate analysis is subject to errors, due to inorganic carbon from carbonates and to inorganic hydrogen from water. For these reasons it is evident that the Committee on Coal Classification must be informed on the evolution of methods of coal analysis in America and the average differences in analytical results that may be expected from variations in methods. The committee should be informed also on which methods should be accepted as standard for classifying coal and on the magnitude of the differences in results that may be expected from duplicate samples of the same coal sent to different laboratories for analysis by the same standard methods. It is the purpose of the present paper to provide this information. The subject will be discussed under the following main heads:

Jan 1, 1930

By R. G. Davies, R. H. Richman

Several techniques, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, conventional, metallography, and mechanical property measurements are combined to investigate decomposition in the suPersaturated solid solution Fe-27 at. pct Be. The following sequence of structures for aging temperatures below 400°C is established: massive short-range order, pseudo-FeBe (L2o) order, Fe3Be (DU3) order, sinusoidal modulation of composition, general or continuous precipitation, and discontinuous or cellular precipitation. In addition to this sequence itself, several features of the individual stages are noteworthy; for example, when coherent modulations occur, their development is parallel to (100) everywhere in the specimen apparently without incubation, and both the wavelength and the composition amplitude of the modulations increase with aging time. Two types of discontinuous reaction are observed, depending upon the aging temperature. At low temperatures (<550°C) the boundary-nucleated variety of discontinuous precipitate predominates; but at higher temperatures (>600°C) the crystallographic variety occurs instead. Hardness and flow-stress measurements clearly reflect the quoted structure sequence. Some qualitative aspects of the structure changes and of the relationship between mechanical properties and structure are discussed. BERYLLIUM in solid solution markedly strengthens iron.&apos;" A recent study demonstrated that not only were supersaturated single crystals of Fe-27 at. pct Be very strong, but they deformed primarily by mechanical twinning.3 Such behavior, coupled with the decrease in solid solubility of beryllium in a Fe from about 33 at. pct at 1165°C to about 10 at. pct at 500°C4 as shown in Fig. 1, leads naturally to questions about property changes with aging in this system. In 1929 roll,1 and later Seljesater and Rogers,5 reported that useful increases in strength could be obtained by aging quenched Fe-Be alloys, but it was not until quite recently that any of the details of precipitation in these alloys were studied. Richman6 observed that both an Fe3Be superlattice (with a DO3 crystal structure the same as Fe3A1, illustrated in Fig. 2) and a modulated structure preceded the appearance of a discrete second phase in the 20 at. pct Be composition. Here, a modulated structure refers to a periodic composition fluctuation within one crystal, while its lattice remains coherent. Subsequent work on a Fe-Be alloys by Heubner7 and von Heimendahl and Heubner8 confirmed the existence of the modulated structure, although only an FeBe (L20) ordered structure was detected (also shown in Fig. 2). Both Rich-man and Heubner corroborated the large increases in hardness during aging reported earlier, but other mechanical properties were not examined. Since modulated systems are encountered relatively infrequently, the influence of coherent modulation upon mechanical properties is not well-known. With the accumulation of information about age-hardening systems, it has become clear that many precipitation reactions cannot always be described by the concept of heterogeneous nucleation at some lattice discontinuity followed by diffusional growth. Rather, complex sequences involving prior "preparation" of the matrix are quite common; that is, a transition structure occurs in the parent phase, instead of in some "nucleus" form. Delineation of such subtle sequences appears to be a worthwhile step toward the understanding of solid-state precipitation. Since not many structural progressions of comparable nature have been reported, the objectives of the present survey are to identify and elucidate the various

Jan 1, 1967

By Ira B. Joralemon

The sampling of disseminated copper deposits has been describeu often but the method of combining assays to give the true shape and value of the orebody as it will be mined has received less attention. As the ore mined during five or ten years at several of the great disseminated properties has averaged materially lower in grade than the published estimates, the question of the sampling and estimating of these orebodies seems timely. In this paper, attention is given particularly to factors that may cause errors in the final estimate. Sampling of diamond-drill holes, churn-drill holes, and underground workings is briefly described in the first part of the paper; then the method of combining assays to give the average grade and tonnage that will be mined is taken up in some detail. The necessity of study of the geology of the deposit and of probable costs is emphasized. Finally, the methods of calculating tonnages are outlined. DlAMOND-DRILL SAMPLING There are three main requisites for accurate diamond-drill sampling. First, the core should be removed and the hole cleaned out at the beginning of every sampling interval, usually 5 ft. (1.5 m.). After the rods are let down, water should be run through them until it becomes clear. The water must be clear before drilling starts. &apos;In this way the material knocked down from the sides of the hole by the descending rods is washed away, instead of being left to salt the sludge sample. The second requisite is to save all the sludge and all the core from every sampling interval. Where the material is uniformly heavy, the cuttings will settle suffciently in a box, through which the sludge flows s1owly.l Where part of the material is too light to settle readily, the sludge should be run into barrels, and allowed to settle until the water becomes clear. Then the clear water is siphoned off, and the sludge evaporated to dryness over a slow fire, sacked, and assayed.2 To obtain

Jan 1, 1925

By Massimo Guarascio

Computer data processing and ore reserve evaluation techniques, mainly based on geostatistical methodologies, have been developed at Agip Mining Division with the assistance of the Department of Mining Engineering of the University of Rome. A number of computer programs are available when facing problems such as optimization of sampling patterns, minable reserve estimation, grade control of output, and so on. In the present paper, the aims and the criteria followed in developing these programs are discussed. Some recent examples of application are also cited.

Jan 1, 1977

By Charles W. Wright

At most mines where large tonnages are handled, "bulldozing" or secondary blasting is an important and costly operation. To reduce the large blocks from primary blasting operations or stoping so that they will be small enough to pass through the chutes into the cars at the haulage level, and not too large for the crushing plant, requires blasting. Often this is done by placing a few sticks of dynamite on top of a block with or without a capping of mud, but to consume less dynamite and to promote safety, most secondary blasting is now done by blockholing, or the drilling of holes 6 to 12 in. long in the blocks, using only a part of a stick of dynamite per hole. Regardless of the method of blasting, however, the term "bulldozing chamber" is applied to the room where this work is done. Bulldozing chambers permit secondary blasting at all times in a safe place without disturbance to the other mining operations. The chambers are usually high above the haulage level and well below the stope level or open-pit floor. In most instances the material is passed through a grizzly in the bulldozing chamber, but sometimes no grizzlies are used. One to four raises extend from the chamber to the stope floor and one or two from the haulage level to the chamber floor. Occasionally large slabs of ore or rock choke the raises above the bulldozing chamber, and these have to be blasted by attaching a bundle of dynamite sticks on the end of a long pole and placing them up in the raise between the pieces causing the choke. This is called "chute-blasting." To give a picture of the progressive developments in the use of the bulldozing chamber, a few typical mines that show the application of this method to both metal and limestone mines have been selected for description here. Limestone mines have been included because many metal miners do not realize to what extent the nonmetallic, or rock, miners&apos; are now applying metal-mining methods successfully in their operations. The bulldozing chamber is the "neck of the bottle" for some mines.

Jan 1, 1937

By R. I. Jaffee, J. G. Dunleavy, W. Hodge, H. R. Ogden

Early in 1946, at the instigation of the U. S. Army Signal Corps, the authors made an extensive survey of the available literature covering high-strength, high-conductivity alloys. For the purposes of the Signal Corps, the minimum tensile strength to be considered was 150,000 psi, together with at least 50 pct IACS conductivity. No single alloy was found to be in production, or mentioned in the literature, which had this combination of properties. The constitution diagram for the iron-copper alloys is not well established in the respect to the two-liquid region. Fig I, taken from the 1939 Ed. of the ASM Metals Handbook, shows a two-liquid system existing above the liquidus temperature, but disconnected from it. Although Ruer and Fickl and Ruer and Goerensz definitely established the fact that two liquid layers could occur in the system, Ruer3 was not convinced that the line of immiscibility was closed in the center. Maddocks and Claussen4 found no liquid immiscibility at temperatures up to 157oOC in alloys containing almost no carbon. Although the diagram would indicate age hardening of the copper-iron alloys is possible, Hanson and Fords found that little hardening effect could be obtained. However, Gordon and Cohen6 reported that the response is better if the quenching is very efficient. Although iron has a potent effect on the conductivity of copper, Hanson and Fords have shown that, when hot-rolled copper-iron alloys are aged at 1200°F, the electrical conductivity decreases sharply with iron contents up to 0.2 pct Fe, and then levels off at conductivities between 60 to 70 pct IACS with compositions to 2.1 pct Fe. They also found that aging did not increase the tensile strength, although increasing iron content gave a moderate improvement in strength. High-strength copper-iron alloys, usually containing about 60 pct iron, had been reported by Smith and Palmer.7 They found that an alloy containing 56.4 pct copper, 0.21 pct magnesium, balance iron, would give a maximum tensile strength of 170,000 psi and an electrical conductivity of slightly over 35 pct IACS. The alloy could also be processed to have I50,000 psi tensile strength, and about 41 pct I.\CS conductivity. Decreasing the iron content increased the electrical conductivity, but the long mushy range during freezing of the alloy containing 10 to 20 pct iron made the production of good castings difficult. In spite of the difficulty encountered by Smith and Palmer with alloys of around 20 pct iron, it was decided to make a rather complete investigation of this type of alloy. As a result of this investigation, a method of alloying and fabricating copper alloys containing 10 to 15 pct iron was developed

Jan 1, 1949