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By Ole Singstad

THE legislatures of New York and New Jersey, determined in 1919 that a vehicular tunnel should be built under the Hudson River. On July 1, 1919, an engineering staff was organized with the late Clifford M. Holland as chief engineer, and this staff was given a number of problems to solve, such as location, size, type of tunnel, method of construction, method of ventilation and cost. After a period of preliminary investigations and studies it was decided to build the tunnel at Canal St., New York, connecting 12th St., Jersey City. This is the center of the heaviest traffic across the Hudson River. It was also decided to build two tunnels-one for west-bound traffic and one for east-bound traffic-the tunnels to be of cast iron, built up of segments and bolted together, each tunnel to have a roadway 20 ft. wide and a clear heat room of 13 ft., 6 in. This is to provide for two lines of vehicles in each direction. The tunnels have an exterior diameter of 29 ft., 6 in. The interior lining is of concrete, the sidewalls tiled with a vitreous white tile and the roadways paved with granite block. The entrances and exits at both ends are separated by two blocks so as to reduce traffic congestion.

Jan 8, 1926

Occasionally it is interesting, and sometimes useful, to review the past for early references to our industry, and to learn of the trials and travail passed through before it arrived where it now is- and the results of such a review follow. Some time ago one of our modern playwrights and poets, Arthur Guiterman, turned to coal, with the following result: Afar in the Carboniferous time I grew in Paleozoical slime, A lepidodendron with boughs on my stem And lepidostrobuses grew out of them. My roots in the mud of the ages I spread And up to the heavens I vaunted my head, I throve in the heat of tropical sun, And now I am coal at two dollars a ton

Jan 1, 1939

By Donald Ingvoldstad, Harold E. Lee

AT Bunker Hill the original charge storage and preparation system was installed in 1917 to accommodate lead-silver gravity mill products. Only minor tonnages of wet fines such as vanner and flotation concentrates were received. Charge flux and diluent requirements were .provided by an ample supply of siderite middlings and coarse lime-rock. While oversize material was crushed through ¼in., the use of roll crushers in series resulted in a more or less granular, free-running charge of adequate porosity. Under such conditions, receipts could be proportioned directly from receiving bins, and suitable blending was obtained by passing the resultant layered composite through a small Stedman disintegrator. This elementary system served well for production and smelting of an extremely lead-rich sinter, in the low column blast furnace. Here sinter physical quality is less critical, and appreciable quantities of raw flux and oxidized ore may be charged directly to the blast furnace without seriously impairing furnace capacity. Prior to 1938 the relative proportions of zinc receipts were low and extraneous flux requirements at a minimum. However, subsequent war-inflated zinc demands brought marked increase in fine concentrate and slimy zinc leach residue receipts and an abrupt introduction to smelting a more refractory zinciferous charge. The higher temperature demands of the more refractory zinciferous charge required a higher smelting column and the higher column, in turn, rendered the blast furnace less receptive to improperly prepared feed. Inadequate presinter processing facilities prevented the production of acceptable sinter, and blast furnace production declined to 50 pct of former capacity. In view of a prevailing contention among lead metallurgists as to the deleterious action of high zinc slag on blast furnace capacity, it was natural to overstress this factor and to concentrate on possible changes in furnace design. Another interpretation was that primary correction should be sought through expanded sintering facilities. This divergence of opinion, together with the extreme material shortages of the 1940's, delayed corrective

Jan 1, 1957

By P. E. Queneau

This study confines itself to an examination of the two million square miles of the northern hemisphere which the geographer defines as the terrestrial Arctic, a land region in which the mean temperature of the warmest month is below 50°F-in effect, the area lying north of the tree line. The engineering and human problems there are of a different order of magnitude than is generally true of the sub-Arctic. Whether in Dawson Creek or Matanuska, in Mo i Rana or Skelleftea such problems are of the same general order as in Hibbing or Noranda. The same is not true in Kong Oscar's Fjord or Lancaster Sound.

Jan 7, 1961

By Richard Hunt

BINGHAM has produced 6 per cent. of this country's copper. In total production, it ranks fourth among the copper camps of North America, the order being Butte, Michigan, Bisbee, and Bingham. In its annual production, it held that same rank until 1919, when its production was exceeded by the combined production of the Globe-Miami district of Arizona. Bingham has also been a lead camp of the first order. Utah ranks third among the lead-producing states, and its production comes largely from three camps which, in the order of their productivity, are: Bingham, Tintic, Park City. Bingham's silver production is important, but it does not rank high as a silver producer. Utah owes its rank as first among the silver-producing states to Tintic, a camp 40 miles due south of Bingham. The United States Mineral Resources reports a total production from Bingham for the period 1865-1920 having a gross value of $528,043,432. Bingham is on the eastern flank of the Oquirrh range 30 miles south-west of Salt Lake City, from which it can be reached in an hour by auto, or by the Denver & Rio Grande or the Bingham & Garfield railroads.. The automobile route is a paved road across the floor of Great Salt Lake Valley, through farming country. The Bingham & Garfield railway leaves the level of Great Salt Lake at the northern end of the Oquirrh range, and in 20 miles it climbs 2100 ft., and deposits the traveler upon a shelf cut in the side of Bingham Canyon below most of the mines, which are farther up Bingham Canyon and its tributary Carr Fork. Below lies the town, a narrow ribbon running for a couple of miles along the bottom of a canyon 2000 ft. deep-an almost impossible site for a community numbering, in prosperous times, 5000 to 7000 inhabitants drawn from all quarters of the globe. Up the canyon and down, and beneath the steep slopes nearby, and beneath the town itself, are the mining operations of over half a century.

Jan 3, 1924

By J. M. Hartman

ONE of the most important subjects to the blast-furnace engineer is a thorough knowledge of the conditions affecting the temperature in the different portions of the furnace. All efforts to decrease the consumption of fuel and improve the working of the furnace must be based upon it, and I may, therefore, be permitted to place before you the results of my observations, and detail the conclusions to which they have led me. Tracing the thermic conditions from below upwards we have at the bottom of a blast furnace making No. 3 iron a temperature of 2900' F., which increases slightly to a point a little below the tuyeres. In the immediate vicinity of the tuyeres the temperature is somewhat lower, owing to the entering blast; but a short distance above the tuyeres, where all the oxygen of the blast has been converted into carbonic acid, the highest temperature in the furnace must be attained. This carbonic acid is, however, almost as soon as formed, converted by the glowing coal into carbonic oxide, a process which absorb, heat, reduces the temperature, and provides the active agent for the reduction of the iron ores. In its ascent the hot carbonic oxide gradually parts with its heat, first melting the descending iron and earthy materials, which drop down to the hearth of the furnace. The limit of this zone of fusion is rather sharply defined, and the temperature above this zone suddenly decreases. In its further ascent the hot gas drives off the carbonic acid from the limestone, which causes a further absorption of heat, and finally the gas escapes at the top, at a ternperature of about 250' F. if the furnace is working well. These changes of temperature I have attempted to represent graphically,

Jan 1, 1880

By Clifford S. Wilson

ScReened pipe is designed with the view of restraining the fine, free-running sands of the production zone from entering oil wells. Its successful use is dependent on a number of factors. The nature and effects of some of these factors can be determined through experiment and observation, but some of the elements that have a distinct bearing on the use of screened pipe can be evaluated only by estimate. The important subsurface conditions which affect the use of screened pipe are: 1. Depth of production zone. 2. Extent of production zone. 3. Reservoir pressure. 4. Character and relative quantity of oil and gas. 5. Character of sediments: a. Cossolidation of beds. b. Variation in beds. c. Grain-size gradation of sands. d. Free-running characteristics of sand from different levels. Aside from the use of mechanical equipment and tools, the measures to be taken in the installation of screened pipe involve: 1. Size of liner. 2. Length of liner. 3. Design and mesh of screen. 4. Portion of liner to be screened. 5. Manner of setting liner. 6. Preparation of or washing of the well before or during the setting of the screen. 7. Manner of bringing in the well. 8. Manner of flowing the well. Values applicable to the actual subsurface conditions that exist at any well can only be approximated. The accuracy of the estimate will be measured by the amount and quality of the evidence at hand and the personal factor of ability to interpret the evidence fairly, whether

Jan 1, 1933

By Stanley W. Sundeen

2.3-1. Introduction. The subject-"Preliminary Evaluation of Coal, Metallic and Industrial Mineral Deposits for Surface Mining'-seems at first glance to be definitive and not likely to be misinterpreted. Nevertheless, there are widely divergent opinions as to what is meant by "preliminary" and even as to what is meant by "evaluation." Some definition and qualification is necessary in order to provide a readily recognized basis for discussion. Evaluation evokes the idea of organizing extant data and judging its significance especially in the economic sense. It also may evoke the concept of the physical processes of acquiring the data that will characterize the deposit such as the geologic mapping, drilling, etc. Castle (5) considers that evaluation may embrace psychological aspects wherein human traits as, for example, over optimism might cause the evaluator to overlook obvious project weaknesses. In this chapter, evaluation is discussed primarily from the viewpoint of economically appraising a project from data available at a given point in time. The qualifying adjective "preliminary" is not easily defineable. In fact, some kind of evaluation proceeds, if not continuously, intermittently over the full span of exploration and early stages of development of a deposit. Bailly (1) comments: "Sometimes, before starting exploration in new areas or countries for a given commodity, we establish models to define what minimum combinations of re- coverable grade and tonnage are needed to give the minimum acceptable rate of return established by corporate policy. Then, before starting physical exploration in any target area we try and guesstimate optimistically what best 'geometry-grade-tonnage' can be expected. If these are acceptable in light of above minimum combinations, exploration is started as soon as funds are appropriated for the target area.''

Jan 1, 1968

By A. Andreas

New Mexico retained its position in 1938 as the sixth largest oil-producing state, with a total production of 35,510,176 bbl. This was 2,875,598 bbl. less than the 1937 production of 38,485,774 bbl., or a decrease of 0.077 per cent, which was caused by the lack of pipe-line facilities and storage at the pipe-line terminals. The production for Lea County (excluding Maljamar) was 32,926,788 bbl.; for Eddy County (including Maljamar) was 2,225,411 bbl.; and for northwestern New Mexico (San Juan and McKinley Counties), 357,977 bbl. The average daily nonmarginal well allowable for Lea County on Jan. 1, 1938, was 65 bbl. At the close of the year it was 49 bbl. The average daily pipe-line runs for domestic consumption were less than the state allowables recommended by the United States Bureau of Mines. There was a demand for Artesia crude for foreign export, which if included in the daily production for New Mexico would be slightly in excess of the daily production recommended for New Mexico by the Bureau of Mines. The daily average production for the year was 97,329 barrels. There were 622 completions in the state, of which 520 were oil wells; 16 hydrocarbon gas wells; 5 carbon dioxide gas wells, and 81 dry holes. Of the dry holes 38 were in or near-by proven fields and the remainder, 43, were wildcats. Five new fields were discovered in New Mexico during 1938, three in Lea County and two in Eddy County. Southeastern New Mexico Lea County.—The Monumcnt field was the largest producing field in Lea County, with 9,440,334 bbl., and was closely followed by the Eunice field with 8,872,335 bbl. The Hobbs field was third with 5,010,414 bbl. The greatest activity in Lea County was in the Vacuum pool, with 129 completions, of which 126 were oil wells and three were dry holes. The Texas Company completed its Corbin NO. 1 in the KW 1/4 SW1/4 sec. 10, T. 18 S., R. 33 E. in August. This well was drilled to a depth of 5118 ft. in a white sand, encountering salt water. It was plugged back to 4315 ft, and pumped 43 bbl. of 36" gravity oil in 12 hr. It was approximately 6 miles southwest of the closest production in the Vacuum

Jan 1, 1939

By A. Andreas

New Mexico retained its position in 1938 as the sixth largest oil-producing state, with a total production of 35,510,176 bbl. This was 2,875,598 bbl. less than the 1937 production of 38,485,774 bbl., or a decrease of 0.077 per cent, which was caused by the lack of pipe-line facilities and storage at the pipe-line terminals. The production for Lea County (excluding Maljamar) was 32,926,788 bbl.; for Eddy County (including Maljamar) was 2,225,411 bbl.; and for northwestern New Mexico (San Juan and McKinley Counties), 357,977 bbl. The average daily nonmarginal well allowable for Lea County on Jan. 1, 1938, was 65 bbl. At the close of the year it was 49 bbl. The average daily pipe-line runs for domestic consumption were less than the state allowables recommended by the United States Bureau of Mines. There was a demand for Artesia crude for foreign export, which if included in the daily production for New Mexico would be slightly in excess of the daily production recommended for New Mexico by the Bureau of Mines. The daily average production for the year was 97,329 barrels. There were 622 completions in the state, of which 520 were oil wells; 16 hydrocarbon gas wells; 5 carbon dioxide gas wells, and 81 dry holes. Of the dry holes 38 were in or near-by proven fields and the remainder, 43, were wildcats. Five new fields were discovered in New Mexico during 1938, three in Lea County and two in Eddy County. Southeastern New Mexico Lea County.—The Monumcnt field was the largest producing field in Lea County, with 9,440,334 bbl., and was closely followed by the Eunice field with 8,872,335 bbl. The Hobbs field was third with 5,010,414 bbl. The greatest activity in Lea County was in the Vacuum pool, with 129 completions, of which 126 were oil wells and three were dry holes. The Texas Company completed its Corbin NO. 1 in the KW 1/4 SW1/4 sec. 10, T. 18 S., R. 33 E. in August. This well was drilled to a depth of 5118 ft. in a white sand, encountering salt water. It was plugged back to 4315 ft, and pumped 43 bbl. of 36" gravity oil in 12 hr. It was approximately 6 miles southwest of the closest production in the Vacuum

Jan 1, 1939

By R. L. Mauger, P. E. Damon, B. J. Giletti

This report includes the lead isotopic dating of a suite of galenas from Arizona and an application of the K-Ar method to the dating of a Laramide porphyry copper deposit, the Silver Bell Mining District. The lead isotopic data supports prior age assignments based upon geologic inference. The Silver Bell study illustrates the necessity of correlative geologic and petrographic investigations for the interpretation of the results of potassium-argon dating. LEAD ISOTOPIC DATING OF GALENAS FROM ARIZONA ORE DEPOSITS A group of galenas from Arizona ore deposits have been analyzed for lead isotope ratios. The results were used to calculate model ages by the. method of Russell, Stanton and Farquhar,l6 in which the age is calculated directly from the Pb206/Pb207 ratio. The use of Pb206/Pb207 ratios eliminates the errors inherent in measuring the abundance of Pb204. The Holmes-Houtermanns model is the other model commonly used for calculating model ages. Both models assume that any lead sample is composed of primeval and radiogenic components and the calculated age is the time at which the lead was extracted from its source area. Using the Holmes-Houtermanns model, a lead is ordinary if its isotopic ratios lie on an isochron. The growth curve that passes through the experimental point determines the U/Pb ratio in the source area. The RSF model assumes the source area for conformable leads is the mantle, that this has a uniform U/Pb ratio, and thus all ordinary leads must lie on a single growth curve, having a mantle U/Pb ratio. The definition of an ordinary lead differs between the models, and differences in age arise mainly from the assumptions made to evaluate parameters in the model equations. These assumptions depend on the hypothesis chosen to explain ore genesis. In the RSF Model, the Pb206/Pb207 ratio is derived as a function of time. The equation contains three undetermined parameters which are evaluated by assuming three known points lie on the curve. These are the following: 1) Primeval lead from the Canyon Diablo and Henbury meteorites, 2) Modern conformable leads which lie on Patterson's zero isochron, 3) Lead from the Bathurst, New Brunswick base metal deposits. The Bathurst deposits are postulated to be examples of "conformable base metal deposits", as proposed by Stanton.l9 A conformable deposit has a particular genetic history and, as a result, the orebody conforms to stratigraphic layering in the host rock. The metals are brought to the surface in volcanic rocks which originated in the mantle. Weathering products of these rocks, including sulfur and metals, accumulate in areas undergoing sedimentation. The formation of sulfide ion in the sediments by the action of sulfate reducing bacteria causes fixation of iron as pyrite. If the pyrite becomes concentrated in favorable stratigraphic horizons, any base metal deposit eventually formed by replacement of pyrite will have a strata bound character. Compaction and expulsion of pore water from the sediments at depth result in upward mobility of solutions containing soluble base metal chlorides. The strata with high pyrite content act as chemical traps for the base metal ions and replacement occurs. An important result of this general evolutionary model is that, if complete separation of lead and parent isotopes occurred during accumulation of the sediments, any ore deposit formed solely of metals derived from those sedimentary rocks will contain "conformable" lead. This would be true even if the actual ore deposit were formed at a later date by some epigenetic process. In this case, mineralization would be controlled by local conditions, and need not conform to stratigraphic layering. Also, any ore deposit containing lead derived from a mantle or mantle-like source, even though not conformable in Stanton's sense, will fall on the curve for conformable ores and thus give a meaningful model age. Model ages for Arizona galena deposits are listed in Table 1. Fig. 1 is a location map. Jerome-Humbolt District: Galenas from the United Verde mine at Jerome and the Iron King mine at Humbolt give model ages of 1750 m.y. and 1640 m.y. respectively. Both deposits are massive sulfide bodies in a host rock of older Precambrian

Jan 1, 1965

By E. P. Bucklen, L. J. Prelaz, J. R. Lucas

Today, the future of the coal industry is extremely bright because coal can be produced at a cost which makes it competitive with other energy sources. However, the industry has been forewarned that further cost reductions must be made if it expects to remain a serious contender in the growing energy market. Surface as well as underground operations must be improved. The very same elements which affected production a few years ago still exist today and will continue to be present in the future. Improvements in production mining equipment, mining methods and auxiliary equipment have resulted in reduced costs over the past few years. Efforts must be continued toward further reducing costs in areas which have been previously improved and new areas should be investigated for possible improvements. Therefore, new techniques must be developed which will enable the industry to augment its current efforts in reducing the cost of mining. The logical place to begin evaluating the factors affecting production and cost is in the immediate face area where a substantial part of the total cost of mining is incurred. The coal industry stands to gain much through the development of new techniques for analyzing the numerous variables affecting production and by establishing methods for eliminating or minimizing the adverse effect of those variables which can be controlled. Intuition and trial-and-error methods have been the standard means used to resolve many of the factors which influence production. As a result, many elements are overlooked or ignored because their effects on production are not pronounced and cannot be readily resolved.

Jan 3, 1965

HAVING previously described the metals to you, before I proceed any farther I do not wish to fail to tell you, as I promised to do in the first chapter on metals, what I have learned through experience concerning the semiminerals, although this may seem to you outside our proposed subject. Since these are not produced by Nature as all rock or all metal they are called semiminerals by speculative physicians. Many kinds of these are found; those that resemble rocks are earthy, very difficult to liquefy, and much more adapted for adorning paintings than for anything else. Those that liquefy with fire, like sulphur, antimony, marcasite, [22] calamine, zaffre, manganese, and others, resemble the metals almost like brothers. Some others are more watery so that they dissolve in water, although they are fairly dense, and are obtained and reduced to their, perfection by means of water. These are the salts, vitriol, rock alum, and saltpeter. To these, as a watery thing, belongs also quicksilver, as it is commonly called because of its motion. Although it appears. not only liquid, but very liquid, this is not at all similar in its effects to any of the above. Indeed, it retains its same being until its very form is consumed. Since the reasons for its effects are almost impossible to investigate, I do not intend to speak of them here or to enter now this maze of speculation, because I wish to make definitely clear to you what this quicksilver really is. Therefore, leaving aside opinions and disputes, I shall take only those of the said semiminerals that I know are useful. First we shall see the method by which the semiminerals can be found and then how they are to be extracted from their matrices. These, perhaps, have no less need of effort and industry than the metals since they are substances completely hidden in the rocks or in the earth. For this reason some of these that are sought are made use of by means of fusion after they have been mined from their mother mountains, and some others need to be disposed by a certain maturative corruption, now with moisture and coldness, now with dryness and heat, as with waters, rains, frosts, or long baking in the sun, with fire, or even with a strong reheating within themselves. Most of them can finally be brought to the desired end by means of solution with water and fire.

Jan 1, 1942

By B. W. Gandrud

WET-PROCESS coal-washing tables as we know them today have been in use in this country for approximately 25 years. The literature records only a few table installations worthy of note prior to adoption of the present-day differential-motion table. According to Phillip,1 six Campbell bumping tables were being operated by the St. Bernard Coal Co., Earlington, Ky., in 1893. As late as 1923, according to Richardson, 2 such tables were in operation in the Rosedale washery of the Cambria Steel Co., at Johnstown, Pa. Bumping tables probably were not used to any considerable extent except in the plant at Earlington, and at two or three plants in Pennsylvania, but they may be considered as. forerunners of the present-day coal-washing table. The transition from bumping tables to the type of tables now in use signalized a revolutionary change in table design. The advantages of the new design over the old were so outstanding as to make its adoption inevitable. BUMPING TABLES Bumping tables, as the name implies, utilized a bumping action for conveying the refuse and discharging it over the refuse end. The tables were hung from rods attached to overhead supporting beams. A shaft and cam arrangement at one end of the table served as the actuating mechanism and imparted to the table an endwise, back-and-forth, swinging motion. A bumping block was fixed in the proper position at the shaft end, so that the table would strike against it at the end of each backward swing. The hanger rods or stirrups were so adjusted as to give the table a slight uphill slope toward the refuse end; that is, the end next to the driving mechanism. The feed box was near the upper end of the table and designed to spread the mixture of coal and water over the width of the table. Wash water was added a short distance below the feed box. With the table in motion and coal mixed kith water being fed to it through the feed box, a certain amount of stratification took place, depositing heavy refuse at the bottom of the bed in contact with the surface of the table. Constant bumping and a certain amount

Jan 1, 1950

By S. Chander, V. N. Sharma

Nickeliferous laterite ore from Sukinda, Orissa (India), consists of very fine particles agglomerated into larger aggregates. The ore is chemically and mineralogically complex and presents many characterization and beneficiation problems. In this study the results of a detailed investigation to characterize the ore by several techniques are discussed. Various techniques used for characterisation include elemental analysis, electron microscopy, electronspectroscopy for chemical analysis, x-ray and electron diffraction, differential thermal and thermogravimetric analyses, EDAX analysis, Mössbauer and infrared spectroscopy. Generally one method compliments the other and it is shown that a combination of several techniques is necessary to fully characterize the ore. The scope and limitations of the techniques are also discussed.

Jan 1, 1980

By V. A. Zanadvoroff

The mine and concentrator of the Howe Sound Co., Chelan Division, are at Holden, in a remote section of the Cascade Mountains of northwestern Washington. Holden is at an elevation of 3200 ft., in the narrow valley of Railroad Creek. This creek drains into Lake Chelan, at a point some 40 miles up the lake from the town of Chelan. The concentrator treats 2000 to 2500 tons of low-grade copper-gold-zinc ore per day. Concentration is achieved by the differential flotation process, with recovery of 94 per cent copper and 82 per cent gold in the copper concentrate, followed by the recovery of 65 to 70 per cent zinc in the zinc flotation circuit. The final flotation tailing is deslimed, and coarse . sands, representing 60 to 70 percent of the total, are cyanided. The tonnage of tailing material amounts to 1900 to 2370 tons per day. General Considerations The property is within the Chelan National Forest. Railroad Creek is a fishing stream, being stocked regularly with trout from State hatcheries. Consequently, in planning a milling operation, the Howe Sound Co. was obliged to avoid any pollution of the stream by tailing material, and also destruction of valuable stands of timber. Moreover, the selected tailing- disposal sites should not mar the natural beauty of the valley. In addition to these requirements, the problem of tailing disposal at Holden was complicated by topography and climatic conditions. The valley is long and narrow, averaging 1200 to 1500 ft. in width. Its walls are flaring at a steep angle. There are no extensive flat areas suitable for deposition of tailing. All valleys tributary to Railroad Creek, also the well-marked paths of snowslides, must be avoided. Finally, the direction of prevailing winds and possible dust hazard arising therefrom dictated the necessity of selecting the tailing-disposal sites downstream from the mill building and two campsites. Heavy snowfall during the winter months of November to March, inclusive, impedes building of the retaining dike, making it necessary to prepare the needed storage space during the summer months. It is inadvisable, also, to do any dike building during the freezing weather, because the dike becomes unstable with the spring thaws, producing inevitable "sloughing" of the built-up borders. Tailing-disposal Sues The existing tailing-disposal areas are near the south wall of the valley. They were developed, and put to use in the following sequence: No. I. Area.—Covers approximately 10 acres. Built up to the height of 60 ft. and abandoned. Total length of dike border is 1900 feet.

Jan 1, 1947

By V. A. Zanadvoroff

The mine and concentrator of the Howe Sound Co., Chelan Division, are at Holden, in a remote section of the Cascade Mountains of northwestern Washington. Holden is at an elevation of 3200 ft., in the narrow valley of Railroad Creek. This creek drains into Lake Chelan, at a point some 40 miles up the lake from the town of Chelan. The concentrator treats 2000 to 2500 tons of low-grade copper-gold-zinc ore per day. Concentration is achieved by the differential flotation process, with recovery of 94 per cent copper and 82 per cent gold in the copper concentrate, followed by the recovery of 65 to 70 per cent zinc in the zinc flotation circuit. The final flotation tailing is deslimed, and coarse . sands, representing 60 to 70 percent of the total, are cyanided. The tonnage of tailing material amounts to 1900 to 2370 tons per day. General Considerations The property is within the Chelan National Forest. Railroad Creek is a fishing stream, being stocked regularly with trout from State hatcheries. Consequently, in planning a milling operation, the Howe Sound Co. was obliged to avoid any pollution of the stream by tailing material, and also destruction of valuable stands of timber. Moreover, the selected tailing- disposal sites should not mar the natural beauty of the valley. In addition to these requirements, the problem of tailing disposal at Holden was complicated by topography and climatic conditions. The valley is long and narrow, averaging 1200 to 1500 ft. in width. Its walls are flaring at a steep angle. There are no extensive flat areas suitable for deposition of tailing. All valleys tributary to Railroad Creek, also the well-marked paths of snowslides, must be avoided. Finally, the direction of prevailing winds and possible dust hazard arising therefrom dictated the necessity of selecting the tailing-disposal sites downstream from the mill building and two campsites. Heavy snowfall during the winter months of November to March, inclusive, impedes building of the retaining dike, making it necessary to prepare the needed storage space during the summer months. It is inadvisable, also, to do any dike building during the freezing weather, because the dike becomes unstable with the spring thaws, producing inevitable "sloughing" of the built-up borders. Tailing-disposal Sues The existing tailing-disposal areas are near the south wall of the valley. They were developed, and put to use in the following sequence: No. I. Area.—Covers approximately 10 acres. Built up to the height of 60 ft. and abandoned. Total length of dike border is 1900 feet.

Jan 1, 1947

By AIME AIME

NOT a few physical metallurgists started their profession- al careers as chemists or physicists, only to surrender later to the attractions of metallurgy. The present Institute of Metals Chairman varied this more usual sequence in hat his first love was electrical engineering, when as a recent graduate he served on the staff of the General Electric Co., of Schenectady. Soon turning to metallurgy as a more interesting field, he was metallurgist and then chief engineer of the Wads- worth Watch Case Co. from 1920 to 1927. Since 1927 he has been with the International Nickel Co. at the Bayonne, N. J., research laboratories where he is staff adviser.

Jan 1, 1940

By N. A. Gokcen, J. Chipman

A revised treatment of the authors' published data eliminates the complex relation previously proposed between concentration of silicon and activity coefficient of oxygen in liquid iron. Revised values of the thermodynamic properties of the liquid solution are presented. IN a recent experimental study of the reaction SiO2 (s) = Si+ 2O; Kf, = [% Si] [% O]² [1] the authors' found a substantially constant equilibrium product in liquid iron at 1600°C of 2.8x10-5 They also reported extensive data on the reactions: SiO2 (s) + 2H2 (8) = Si- + 2H2O (g); K'2= [% Si] (H2O/H2 [2] and H, (g) + 0 = H2O (g); K'3 =( H2 O [31 (H2) [%O] From the results on reaction 3 and earlier data of Dastur² on this same reaction in the absence of silicon, they determined the activity coefficient of oxygen, f0, on the basis of the definition K3 = (H2O)/ (H2)f0 [% 0] where K, is the equilibrium constant and f0, is taken as unity in the pure Fe-0 system. Similarly values of fsi were deduced from results on reaction 2. In a more recent study" of analogous reactions in the system Fe-A1-0, it was found impossible to reconcile the results on reaction 3 with Dastur's data; accordingly the latter were ignored and the equilibrium results were extrapolated to find a value of K, at zero concentration of aluminum. This procedure failed to locate the cause of the discrepancy but it did yield reasonable values of activity coefficients. It also avoided introduction of the complex empirical relation between the oxygen activity coefficient and the concentration of the added element. The same type of discrepancy exists for system Fe-Si-0.' In the earlier paper an attempt was made to fit both sets of data by a single curved line (Fig. 6 of ref. l), the form of which is contrary to the theoretical requirement of a finite slope at infinite dilution. In the light of experience on the Fe-A1-0 system the discrepancy must be recognized as one which can be resolved only by more refined measurements. Accordingly Figs. 6 and 10 are retracted. It is pointed out also that until the discrepancy is resolved Figs. 7, 8, and 11 are subject to some uncertainty. Qualitatively the following conclusions still appear valid: 1—The activity coefficient of oxygen is reduced by addition of silicon. 2—In dilute solutions the activity coefficient of silicon increases with its concentration. 3—With respect to equilibrium in reaction 1, the above effects are approximately compensating. The discussion of K'1 in the previous paper requires no revision. It was pointed out that the constancy of the product [% Si] [% 0]² ndicated a compensating effect of the activity coefficients of silicon and oxygen. Therefore, as a very good approximation, K1 = K'1 and the following average values are suggested both for K, and K', at the temperatures 1550°, 1600°, and 1650", respectively, 1.0x10-", 2.8~10-" and 5.5 ~lo-'. Revision of the thermodynamic treatment is necessitated by the recent appearance of new data, based on a combination of combustion and solution calorimetry,' which yields for the heat of formation of low-cristobalite from the elements, the value —209,330 ±250 cal per mol at 25°C. This is about 4000 cal larger than the value previously accepted. The new value for cristobalite is used, together with Kelley's tables of high-temperature heat contents" and entropies and with Korber and Oelsen's' heat of fusion of silicon to obtain the following equation for the standard free energy of cristobalite in the temperature range 1700" to 2000°K: Si (1) + 02 (g) = Si02 (crist.); ?F° = -217,700 + 47.OT [4] The free energy of solution of 0, in liquid iron is:8 O2 (g) = 20 (in Fe); AF° = -55,860 - 1.14T [5] and these two equations are combined to give: Si (1) + 20 = SiO, (crist.); AF° = -161,840 + 48.14T [6] ?F°1873 = -71,700 cal. From the experimental value of K, = 2.8x10-5, Si + 20 = SiO2 (crist.); ?F°1873 = -39,000 cal. [7] The combination of Eqs. 6 and 7 yields the free energy change when liquid silicon dissolves in iron to form the dilute solution of unit activity (1 pct). Si (1) = Si; ?F°1873 = -32,700 cal. [8] The heat effect in this process according to Korber and Oelsen' is an evolution of 28,500 cal per gram

Jan 1, 1954

By ALBERT C. RUBEL

RECENT developments in the use of the core barrel in rotary drilling have led to its wide application in all types of development. Its use is essential to the wild-catter and a valuable guide and check even in the most closely developed areas. A perfect core would be an unbroken sample of formation whose length is equal to the amount of hole made by the core barrel, whose diameter is great enough to show the lithologic character, texture and attitude of the material encountered, whose formation is so unaltered in character and so free of contamination from outside sources that it represents a true and complete sample of the formation penetrated. From such a core it would be possible to determine the lithologic character and economic importance of the formation, whether it is oil bearing or barren, the nature and attitude of the sands and shale bodies, valuable fossil evidence and other points which would assist in the correlation or in the selection of suitable points for water shut off or production.

Jan 1, 1924