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By Robert Davis Longyear

In diamond-drill work, a true sample consists of all the material cut by the bit—both core and cuttings. As the recovery of this sample is the object of diamond drilling, the utmost care should be taken to secure it. Speed of drilling and low costs are of little value if an inaccurate sample is obtained. The engineer in charge must study his material and lay out the plan of sampling, and then see that the drill runner follows his instructions; for the runner may be more interested in obtaining a large footage than in developing accurate methods of sampling. When the core has been removed from the core barrel, it should be placed in a core box in the exact order in which it is taken from the ground. This box, Fig. 1, is usually a shallow tray 4 or 5 ft. (1.2 or 1.5 m.) long, with partitions running lengthwise between which the core

Jan 1, 1923

APPROXIMATELY 26 percent of the total ore production to date from the largest single deposit of copper-bearing material in the world was mined during the war years, 1942 to 1945, at Chile Exporation Company's great open-pit mine at Chuquicamata, Chile. About 18 percent of the total waste removed during the life of the mine was handled in the same period. The total of ore and waste represents approximately 24 percent of the total material that has been excavated from the pit. This is more than was removed in the first fourteen years of operation from 1914 through 1927. The pit at Chuquicamata is 17/8 miles long, 1/2 mile wide, and has a present vertical extent of 817 ft between the top of the highest bench and the lowest bench being worked. However, when

Jan 1, 1948

By R. V. Mrazek, F. E. Block, S. B. Knapp

The mixed homogeneous and heterogeneous kinetics of the thermal decomposition of tungsten hexacarbonyl were studied by employing a batch reactor. The system was such that a sample of tungsten hexacarbonyl could be injected into the preheated reactor, and the progress of the reaction followed by a simple pressure measurement. Both the homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions were found to be first order, and approximate activation energies were determined for each reaction. It is shown that the dis-proportionation of carbon monoxide to give carbon and carbon dioxide cannot be the source of carbon in tungsten deposits prepared by this reaction. The kinetics of the thermal decomposition of tungsten hexacarbonyl have been investigated as part of a continuing study by the U.S. Bureau of Mines on the decomposition of organometallic compounds. Reactions involving the thermal decomposition of metal carbonyls have a potential application in the preparation of pure metals and fine metal powders. Indeed, it was these applications which provided the impetus for much of the early work involving the carbonyls of nickel1 and iron.' The relative lack of study of other metal carbonyls can be traced to the comparative difficulty in synthesizing these compounds. The most common use for tungsten hexacarbonyl has been as an intermediate in vapor-phase plating.7'8 However, attempts to obtain a carbon-free deposit of tungsten by this method have not been successful, and some investigators have taken advantage of the carbon contamination and used this process to form tungsten carbide deposits.lo Other investigators have studied the thermodynamic properties11"14 and molecular structure of tungsten hexacarbonyl. However, very little is known about the kinetics of this thermal decomposition, the mechanisms involved," or the source of carbon in the resulting plate. In contrast, studies have been made of the kinetics of the thermal decomposition of nickel tetracarbonyl, iron pentacarbonyl, and molybdenum hexacarbonyl.'l It has been found that these thermal decompositions occur by a mechanism which is partially heterogeneous in nature. Information available on the equilibrium constants for the decomposition of tungsten hexacarbonyl was used to determine a temperature range, 500" to 560°K, in which the reaction could be expected to be essentially complete. APPARATUS The apparatus used allowed the injection of a sample of tungsten hexacarbonyl into a preheated batch reactor and the use of a simple pressure measurement to follow the progress of the reaction in the sealed reactor. The pressure was sensed by means of a pressure transducer (Consolidated Electrodynamics Corp., 0.3 pct)* capable of operating at the *Reference to specific products is made to facilitate understanding and does not imply endorsement of such brands by the Bureau of Mines._______ reaction temperature. This type of sensing element was chosen to avoid the problem of condensation of the sublimed carbonyl in the capillary tubing leading to any type of remote pressure-sensing device. stirring was provided by rotating the entire apparatus. Glass beads placed in the reactor provided a pulsating agitation. To minimize thermal gradients in the reactor walls, the reactor was constructed of aluminum. The support tube which held the reactor in the furnace was thin-walled stainless steel to minimize heat conduction out of the reactor. As a result of these measures, a nearly uniform temperature (°C) was maintained throughout the reactor. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the apparatus. The small gear motor rotated the entire apparatus at about 200 rpm. The bearings shown at the ends of the air cylinder were perforated to allow air to be fed to the charging piston and to allow inert gas to be fed to the reactor during the preheating period. The sample was simultaneously injected and sealed inside the reactor by operation of the air piston. Fig. 2 shows a cross section of the air cylinder and the adjoining portion of the support tube leading to the reactor. The sample carrier is shown in place at the right-hand end of the injection rod extending from the air piston. The piston is shown in the retracted position, as it would be prior to the start of an experiment. The small Teflon gasket which encircled the sample carrier at the end of the injection rod sealed the reactor when the sample was injected. This seal was maintained throughout the test by maintaining air pressure on the piston. The sample carrier was a 2-in. section of thin-walled, -in.-diam nickel tubing with an internal blank about 1 in. from the base and with the base end sealed.

Jan 1, 1969

By John Croston

IN the closing months of 1936 the copper industry gave every evidence that it was at last on the threshold of an improved era. At the beginning of the year prices stood at 9 1/4¢, which in itself was a great improvement over prices prevailing for the three previous years. Industry generally was showing signs of moving forward in this country, and business was definitely good in certain foreign quarters. The threat of war and prep-arations for rearmament in Europe and Asia acted as a further stimulus purchasing. By midsummer the situation had so improved and stocks to been so reduced that the cartel of foreign producers (including American producers with foreign mines) decided to increase the produc-tion quota to 75 per cent on Aug. 1. Large-scale buying gave continued strength to the price and by Oct. 1 the quota was increased to 80 per cent, and again on Oct. 15, to 85 per cent. Notwithstanding this the price of copper continued its advance and on Nov. 1, with stocks declining con-tinuously, the cartel increased operations to 95 per cent, then to 105 per cent on Nov. 5. In the meantime the domestic producers, because of the great increase in home consumption, had increased their production by nearly one-half. At the close of the year copper sold at 120 per pound, and since the turn of the present year has reached 170. This rapid increase has not been wholly justified. Much of the increase was due to the legitimate demands of recovering industry, but rearmament orders plus accumulation of reserve stocks in case of war, purchases in anticipation of labor strikes and purely speculative activities on the London Metal Exchange accounted for the balance. Certainly in view of the state of industry and the general world price level, it appears unnecessarily high. Talk of a copper shortage is sheer nonsense, the recent condition in the market being created by overbuying, leaving but a small volume for speculative supplies. It takes some months for an increase in mine output to reach the market, but production is again overtaking apparent consumption, stocks have begun to increase, and this, together with the reopening of many small

Jan 1, 1937

By John J. Croston

IN the closing months of 1936 the copper industry gave every evidence that it was at last on the threshold of an improved era. At the beginning of the year prices stood at 9 ¼ ¢, which in itself was a great improvement over prices prevailing for the three previous years. Industry generally was showing signs of moving forward in this country, and business was definitely good in certain foreign quarters. The threat of war and preparations for rearmament in Europe and Asia acted as a further stimulus to purchasing. By midsummer the situation had so improved and stocks had been so reduced that the cartel of foreign producers (including American producers with foreign mines) decided to increase the production quota to 75 per cent on Aug. 1. Large-scale buying gave continued strength to the price and by Oct. 1 the quota was increased to 80 per cent, and again on Oct. 15, to 85 per cent. Notwithstanding this the price of copper continued its advance and on Nov. 1, with stocks declining continuously, the cartel increased operations to 95 per cent, then to 105 per cent on Nov. 5. In the meantime the domestic producers, because of the great increase in home consumption, had increased their production by nearly one-half. At the close of the year copper sold at 12¢ per pound, and since the turn of the present year has reached 17¢. This rapid increase has not been wholly justified. Much of the increase was due to the legitimate demands of recovering industry, but rearmament orders plus accumulation of reserve stocks in case of war, purchases in anticipation of labor strikes and purely speculative activities on the London Metal Exchange accounted for the balance. Certainly in view of the state of industry and the general world price level, it appears unnecessarily high. Talk of a copper shortage is sheer nonsense, the recent condition in the market being created by overbuying, leaving but a small volume for speculative supplies. It takes some months for an increase in mine output to reach the market, but production is again overtaking apparent consumption, stocks have begun to increase, and this, together with the reopening of many small

Jan 1, 1937

By John J. Croston

In the closing months of 1936 the copper industry gave every evidence that it was at last on the threshold of an improved era. At the beginning of the year prices stood at 91/4c, which in itself was a great improvement over prices prevailing for the three previous years. Industry generally was showing signs of moving forward in this country, and business was definitely good in certain foreign quarters. The threat of war and preparations for rearmament in Europe and Asia acted as a further stimulus to purchasing. By midsummer the situation had so improved and stocks had been so reduced that the cartel of foreign producers (including American producers with foreign mines) decided to increase the production quota to 75 per cent on Aug. 1. Large-scale buying gave continued strength to the price and by Oct. 1 the quota was increased to 80 per cent, and again on Oct. 15, to 85 per cent. Notwithstanding this the price of copper continued its advance and on Nov. 1, with stocks declining continuously, the cartel increased operations to 95 per cent, then to 105 per cent on Nov. 5. In the meantime the domestic producers, because of the great increase in home consumption, had increased their production by nearly one-half. At the close of the year copper sold at 126 per pound, and since the turn of the present year has reached 17c. This rapid increase has not been wholly justified. Much of the increase was due to the legitimate demands of recovering industry, but rearmament orders plus accumulation of reserve stocks in case of war, purchases in anticipation of labor strikes and purely speculative activities on the London Metal Exchange accounted for the balance. Certainly in view of the state of industry and the general world price level, it appears unnecessarily high. Talk of a copper shortage is sheer nonsense, the recent condition in the market being created by overbuying, leaving but a small volume for speculative supplies. It takes some months for an increase in mine output to reach the market, but production is again overtaking apparent consumption, stocks have begun to increase, and this, together with the reopening of many small

Jan 1, 1937

By Thomas P. Forbath

THE sudden realization that known sulphur reserves amenable to mining by the Frasch hot water process are nearing exhaustion focused attention on widely scattered surface deposits throughout the world. These deposits are not necessarily of lower sulphur content than ores located underneath Louisiana or Texas salt domes which usually average about 30 pct sulphur disseminated in limestone matrix. Their near surface occurrence, however, renders exploitation by the Frasch process impossible. As is well known, the Frasch process depends on the presence of 500 to 1000 ft of overburden and cap rock above the sulphur deposits to permit melting underground sulphur in place by diffusing hot water under pressures of 200 to 600 psig in the formation and raising the molten sulphur to surface by air lift. This process renders possible the production of pure sulphur which is 99.5 pct pure without any subsequent treatment. Surface deposits contain sulphur in the same range of concentrations as the salt dome deposits, i.e., from 10 to 50 pct sulphur, associated with various gangue materials such as silica, limestone, and gypsum. The pirincipal distinction, then, does not lie in the percentage of sulphur contained in the ore, but in the geological nature of the deposit. A recent study' of the world sulphur supply situation estimated 1950 sulphur production in the free world countries at 5.6 million long tons, of which the United States produced 5.2 million tons, or 93 pct of the total. While America's domestic needs alone would have been covered by national production, about 1.4 million tons were exported during the same year. Despite all the steps which are being taken to restrict use of elemental sulphur and to force the fullest possible development of alternate sulphur sources here and abroad, the deficit in elemental sulphur production will probably increase with time. As a result of intensive prospecting for oil throughout the Gulf Coast area discovery of significant new salt domes is held unlikely. With the growing scarcity of sulphur and what appears to be an inevitable rise in price, recovery from deposits not amenable to Frasch-process mining assumes greater economic importance. Untapped Reserves The most important deposits in this category are located in Sicily, where elemental sulphur occurs in Miocene limestone and gypsum formation. Sulphur content of these ores ranges from 12 to 50 pct with an estimated average of 26 pct. Although quantitative estimate of these reserves is not available it is held that they exceed 50 million tons of sulphur. Similar deposits occur also on the mainland which contribute about one-third of Italy's total current annual production of 230,000 tons, but these are known to be nearing exhaustion. Significant surface deposits of volcanic origin are located in South America, Japan and western United States, silica being characteristic gangue con-stituent. The largest of these deposits are in South America. More than 100 extend over a zone 3000 miles long, paralleling the west coast of South America. 'Total sulphur content of these deposits has been estimated to be as high as 100 million tons. The main islands of Japan also possess at least 40 known volcanic sulphur deposits with probable reserves of 25 to 50 million tons.' Prospected reserves in western United States might amount to 2 million long tons, principal deposits being located in the northwestern part of Wyoming, southern Utah, and eastern California. Volcanic deposits of lesser importance are found around the Mediterranean, in Turkey and Greece, and in Africa, Egypt, Abyssinia, and Somaliland. Beneficiation Methods Different methods of beneficiation have been used in these various locations. In Italy the Calcarone kiln and Gill regenerative furnaces are used exclusively. Both utilize heat liberated by burning part of the sulphur in the ore to liquify or vaporize the remaining sulphur, which is recovered by solidification or condensation. The Calcarone kiln is of conical shape, generally 35 ft in diam at base and 18 ft high. A kiln of 25,000 cu ft capacity burns for about two months and yields about 200 tons of sulphur. The Gill furnace consists of a series of chambers with domed roofs. Sulphur is burned and melted in one chamber at a time and the hot combustion gases are used to preheat the ore charge in the subsequent cell. These furnaces operate on a cycle of 4 to 8 days. The recovery yield of both systems is about 65 pct. Sulphur losses amount to 25 pct through the combustion to sulphur dioxide; about 10 pct is retained in discarded calcines. Ores containing less than 20 pct are not considered suitable as furnace feed. These methods are not only wasteful because of the low recovery obtained, but represent a serious atmospheric pollution problem. Sulphur produced ranges from 96 to 99 pct purity and thus does not match Texas or Louisiana sulphur. Owing to the present shortage, sulphur in the Middle East sells

Jan 1, 1954

By L. Ekstrom, J. P. Dismukes

The homogeneity and microstrcture of zone-leveled Ge-Si alloys haw been investigated by sellera1 physical techniques and by metallography as a function of growth rate in the range 3 x 10 1x10 cm-sec', and as a system of alloy composition throughout the system. The temperature gradient at the solid-liquid interface was about 50 deg-cm-' Cellular or dendritic structures char-acteristic of constitutional supercooling were ob-served except at very slow growth rates, which ranged from about 2 x 10 cm -sec for Ge 1 sio alloy to about 2 X 10'5 cm-sec'1 for Ge .sSio.s alloy. Using a simple model similiar to that employed for dilute solid the dependence upon compo-sition over the entire system of the critical growth rate for the onset of constiutional supercooling was calculated, and was .found to he in good agreement with the experimental results. THE recent discovery of the low thermal conductivity of Ge-Si alloys' at high temperatures has revealed that these alloys have high efficiencies for thermoelectric-power generation.', Therefore, a reliable method was needed for the preparation of homogeneous samples required for definitive measurements throughout this alloy system. Due to the low diffusion rates in the solid alloys, the segregated samples obtained by quenching a melt are not readily homogenized by annealing.475 However. isothermal solidification from a melt of constant composition can produce uniform material. Of the available semiconductor crystal-growth procedures, the zone-leveling technique6 applied to a complete solid-solution alloy system by Wang and Alexander' and by others provides a simple method of doing this. In the present work, the homogeneity and microstructure of zone-leveled alloys have been correlated with growth conditions, and the conditions for preparing homogeneous Ge-Si alloys have been established. This has provided insight into the solidification process of alloy semiconductors. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Sample Preparation. The Ge-Si alloy phase diagram4 shown in Fig. l(a) consists of a complete series of solid solutions. The zone-leveling technique used to prepare most of the samples consists of moving a zone of liquidus composition (C1) through charge material of the corresponding solidus composition (C,), as is illustrated in Figs. l(b) and l(c). To prepare the charge materials, high-purity germanium and silicon were pulverized in a steel hammer mill, cleaned magnetically, and melted together to make uniform chill castings. The zone leveling was carried out in a resistance-heated furnace similar to that of Mitrenin et al.' shown in Fig. 2. However, a few specimens of high silicon content were prepared by the Czochralski technique. The growth rate ranged from 3.5 x X6 to 1.2 X 10~3 cm-sec-'. Temperature gradients in the solid and in the melt were determined by recording the temperature as the molten zone passed over a Pt-Pt 13 pct Rh thermocouple contained in a small

Jan 1, 1965

Jan 1, 1967

By R. L. Wiegel

The National Science Foundation, Erie Mining Co., and University of Minnesota Mineral Resources Research Center jointly sponsored a project to demonstrate the use of a small computer in the control of cyclone overflow size on one line in the Erie Mining Co. concentrator. The Erie circuit, similar to most taconite circuits, uses magnetic separators to reject tailings following each stage of grinding, resulting in additional variations in the demands made on the grinding circuit because of weight rejection fluctuation. Mathematical models were developed for rod milling, ball milling, hydrocycloning, fine screening, and five stages of magnetic separation. These models were used in concert to simulate the operation of Erie's circuit from rod milling through finisher magnetic separation.

Jan 1, 1980

By J. E. Lawver

On the basis of both laboratory and pilot-scale tests, a newly developed high-tension electrostatic process is technically and economically feasible for the production of iron ore superconcentrates containing 0.02 to 0.20% silica at iron recoveries of 85 to 90%. The process can be used to recover both a superconcentrate and a pellet-grade concentrate, from a feed containing middlings, and the system is not unduly upset from changes in feed structure and composition. The adverse affect of excess quantities of material finer than 30 microns, i.e., above 10% in quantity can be avoided by a desliming step. Finally, because of the cost of drying, the best feed for the process appears to be dry-ground ores as well as spiral, flotation, or magnetic concentrates.

Jan 1, 1970

By AIME AIME

THE petroleum engineers have the conference habit. They drop in, thresh things over, and drop out. No time is wasted. So it was at the Fort Worth meeting of the Petroleum Division, Thursday and Friday, Oct. 8 and 9; headquarters, Blackstone Hotel. Associate Chairman Albertson arrived the morning of the 7th, to tie in any loose ends of the technical program. S. M. Greenidge, chairman of the local committee, checked the arrangements with his committeemen at a luncheon that noon. By mid-afternoon the next day's attendance was anybody's guess-there were no noses to count. But when the gavel sounded Thursday morning 175 members and guests were present, also the official A.I.M.E. party consisting of President Lovejoy, Secretary Parsons, and George Otis Smith. Shortly after adjournment Friday afternoon all but a handful had vamoosed, lit out, disap¬peared. But, in the meantime, it was a grand conference, attendance maximum every session, and the discussion fast and furious. The discussion came from all over the floor, sometimes as good-natured sniping, sometimes in long volleys that were almost fatal to the reporter. Everyone knew his subject and few there were who had nothing to say.

Jan 1, 1936

By David B. Reger

The year 1936 in West Virginia was characterized by increased activity in natural gas. The number of actual completions was only slightly increased but many more wells were drilling than at the end of 1935 and there was almost feverish activity in taking new leases. This pronounced revival is partly due to the fact that the extremely cold winter of 1935-1936 showed that additional supplies of gas would be desirable and partly to the hope of finding new pools in the deeper sands. No new pools have actually been found, but the Oriskany sand (L. Dev.) development of Kanawha County, which was already assured by the end of 1935, was greatly extended into wider and richer territory. The Middle Devonian shale (Childres sand), reached incidentally by Oriskany exploration as well as by direct design, has been productive of gas in much wider areas of Boone, Lincoln, Putnam and Kanawha Counties than heretofore known. Routine drilling to the upper sands in dehed territory, also, was greatly increased, although not yet much reflected in completions. Thc supply of marketable gas, however, has been substantially enlarged. In preparation for further exploration there has been an extensive leasing campaign throughout the entire territory where gas seems at all probable, or ever possible. Exact figures are lacking, but new leases have certainly been taken on more than 1,000,000 arres. One operator estimates that 500,000 acres have been leased in the Appalachian geosyncline alone between Parkersburg and Charleston. Exploration, both for shallow and deep-sand gas, on some of these new leases is now under way. There was little activity in oil. No special search for new pools was made and none was found, but the usual routine drilling in old pools occurred. One major gas pipe-line enterprise was undertaken and completed. Operating technology was much the same as usual. In certain localities repressuring for oil has become a matter of routine, and in others the use of acid in treating small wells in calcareous beds has been continued. Financially, the year has been eventless. Some attempts to buy and

Jan 1, 1937

By Samuel H. Dolbear

THE purpose of a technical report is to record facts, usually collected by investigation, and to interpret these facts in understandable language. The audience may range from a small shareholder without technical knowledge, to a highly trained engineer or geologist. If the client is a mining company with technically trained executives, the report writer's problem is relatively simple. The writer will then be appraised not only for his conclusions, but for clarity of language and organization of the report. If the writing is bad, the construction careless, and there is a failure to clearly convey to the reader the facts and the author's conclusions, the report is a failure and the writer may have damaged his professional character. Spoken words die quickly, written words may constitute a permanent record and if they are badly composed they may rise up to damn the author. "A good measure of an author's understanding of his subject is his ability to express it clearly in plain words." Good English Teachers in the fields of mineral technology have frequently complained that even in post-graduate groups there is an appalling indifference to their appeals for good English. Some have even noted a student's belief that the use of refined English is effeminate. If those with such immature beliefs could measure the pay-check damage arising from the use of "sloppy" language, they would realize that precision and refinement in English may be quite as important as technical accuracy. When the reader audience is without technical knowledge simplicity in treatment becomes especially important. If one is engaged in consulting work, in government service, or in any field where reports have public distribution, the language employed should be technically adequate but simple enough to be understood by non-technical readers. For example, one may use the term "visual" in place of "megascopic." Technical language can be so obscure that it cannot be understood even by highly-trained students. In the March-April (Vol. 47-No. 2) issue of Economic Geology, Nicholas Vanserg ridicules these extremes and quotes various paragraphs from published material, such for example: "However, lattice orientation unaccompanied by cognate dimensional orientation can never be attributable to growth from an isotropic blastetrix." "The temperature declines because of cessation of the exothermic chemical and mechanical equilibriopetal processes." These he calls "good geologese" and they are calculated not only to baffle the reader but to impress upon him the erudite character of the author. Revision In some cases, difficulty arises from the fact that the writer is too close to the subject and unconsciously assumes that his reader is equally familiar with the background of the report. It is difficult for the writer to regard his work objectively and to determine to what extent it is likely to be understood. Every important manuscript will gain in clarity if the author will have it reviewed by an informed reader. But the writer must not be oversensitive to criticism and should not treat his composition as perfect and beyond the possibility of improvement. The first draft of a report always requires revision, regardless of the care used or the ability of the writer. Three or four revisions are not uncommon. The first draft usually requires expansion in places, the deletion of non-essential material, and language changes to promote clarity of expression. This should be done by the author after a lapse of time, even if only overnight, in which his mind has been occupied on some other subject. Possible improvements are always more visible. The manuscript should be passed on to another reader for further suggestions. Organization of Material The engineer should study available reports and library references before going into the field. If the previous reports have been responsibly done and can be accepted as correct, then much field time can be saved. It is, of course, customary to make some on-the-ground checks to confirm earlier reports, particularly those relating to ore reserve which may have undergone changes. Report writing requires time and expense, but nevertheless, the basic reasons for conclusions should be presented even in the case of a worthless property, for it may prevent a duplication of the work. If the mine examined is obviously of no further interest, no useful purpose can be, served by preparing a report in detail. In one case an engineer travelled all the way to South America only to find that the mine had been grossly misrepresented and was valueless. His cabled report "Nonsense" is a case of over-simplification, but it served his company's purpose. The first step in report organization should be the selection of subjects. This should be done at the mine, and the data collected for each subject should be reviewed in considerable detail on the ground. Otherwise one may find that he has failed to collect some essential details not readily obtained after he has returned to headquarters. If the property to be described is undeveloped, then many of the subject titles are automatically eliminated. Usually no useful purpose is served by an attempt to calculate the cost of production under such circumstances, although the cost of exploration

Jan 1, 1952

By G. M. Schwartz, D. M. Davidson

THE Duluth gabbro outcrops containing sulphides of copper, nickel, and iron are located on both sides of State Highway No. 1 an airline distance of 8.5 miles southeast of Ely in northeastern Minnesota. The region of known sulphide occurrences includes parts of sections 5, T. 61 N., R. 11 W., and parts of sections 25, 26, 32, 33, and 34, T. 62 N., R. 11 W. These sections, given in Fig. 1, are all in Lake County, Minnesota. Part of the area, which lies entirely within the Superior National Forest, is shown on the topographic map of the Ely quadrangle. The original discovery was made in 1948 when a small pit was opened in weathered gabbro rubble for use on a forest access road. A shear zone had caused unusual decomposition in this glaciated area, and the resulting copper stain was noted by Fred S. Childers, Sr., an Ely prospector, who began searching the outcrops along the base of the intrusive. He was joined in further exploration by Roger V. Whiteside of Duluth. In the summer of 1951 a small diamond drill was moved into the area and a hole 188 ft deep was drilled, passing through 11 ft of glacial drift into sulphide-bearing gabbro. This paper is a preliminary report on the geology of the newly discovered ore. The Duluth gabbro is one of the largest known basic intrusives and may be defined as a lopolith.1 It extends northeastward from the city of Duluth as a great crescent-shaped mass that intersects the shore of Lake Superior again near Hovland, 130 miles to the northeast, see Fig. 2. The distance around the outside of the crescent is nearly 170 miles. The form of the intrusive is simple at Duluth where it ends abruptly north of the St. Louis River; at the east end, however, the gabbro splits into two elongated, sill-like masses separated mainly by lava flows and characterized by minor irregularities. The outcrop reaches a maximum width in the central part where it is about 30 miles across, and a maximum thickness of about 50,000 ft. It may be significant that the sulphides occur at the base of the thickest part. The lopolith has segregated into rock types ranging from peridotite to granite. The most abundant types are olivine gabbro, gabbro, troctolite, anorthosite, and granite. Of lesser importance quantitatively are peridotite, norite, pyroxenite, magnetite gabbro, and titaniferous magnetite. Grout estimates that two-thirds of the gabbro at Duluth is olivine gabbro. Variations in the percentages of plagioclase, augite, olivine, and magnetite-ilmenite constitute the only essential differences found among the basic rock types. The predominant mineral is plagioclase, mainly labradorite. Plagioclase and olivine seem to have crystallized early, and the olivine rich rocks, usually troctolite, are found in the lower part. Segregations of titaniferous magnetite are abundant near the base of the gabbro along the eastern part and also occur far above the base. These have recently been described in detail by Grout' Near the top, segregation has produced a gradation to granite, or "red rock," as it is known locally. This consists of quartz, red feldspar, and hornblende. The red rock forms a. zone with a maximum width of nearly 5 miles but is quantitatively unimportant from Duluth northward for 35 miles. In Cook county, where the gabbro splits, each of the two sill-like masses has a red rock top somewhat thicker in proportion to the gabbro below than in the main central mass. The intrusive ranges from coarse to medium in grain size and from granitoid to diabasic in texture. Throughout much of the Duluth gabbro in Minnesota banding and foliation are well developed, as Grout has emphasized! The bands are mainly a result of variation in the percentage of minerals, as in troctolite with alternating bands high in olivine and in plagioclase. A few bands may consist largely of one mineral, as is true of some segregations of magnetite. Many of the banded rocks show a clearly developed parallelism of platy plagioclase crystals, and both banding and foliation are believed to conform to the floor of the lopolith. Throughout its extent in Minnesota the Duluth gabbro dips east and south toward Lake Superior. It is generally believed to extend beneath Lake Superior and is found as a smaller mass exposed along the north side of the Gogebic district in Wisconsin and Michigan. The dip at and near the base ranges along most of its length from 20 to 40°, but at places the internal banding dips even more steeply. The dip of the upper part is much less, and if it is assumed that the flows along the north shore of Lake Superior are a dependable indication, it does not exceed 15º. The formations shown in Table I which are intruded by the gabbro range from Keewatin to Middle Keweenawan in age. They present a significant picture. At the top, the gabbro and its accompanying

Jan 1, 1952

During the war period of quicksilver activity there were a number of departures from what may be termed the classical quicksilver metallurgy. Attempts were made to beneficiate low-grade ores by gravity concentration and flotation; mechanical furnaces began to replace the Scott furnace and the vertical coarse-ore furnaces, and condensers of sewer tile and redwood tanks were used in place of the older brick and stone condensing chambers. Other developments that have occurred during the current period of quicksilver activity are mainly in the nature of improvement and further refinement of those started during the war period. Each period of quicksilver activity has been accompanied by the proposal of various new processes, including wet methods for the treatment of quicksilver ores and innovations in furnaces, retorts and condenser equipment. As far as the author knows, nothing of economic significance in the way of "new processes" has been developed. There is in fact no real need for any essentially new process for the treatment of quicksilver ores; the direct furnace treatment is simple and inexpensive. Moreover, with rare exceptions, the quicksilver industry has no complex or refractory ore problems corresponding to those which are receiving more and more attention from metallurgists in other branches of the nonferrous field. Untler these conditions improvements in quicksilver metallurgy must be looked for through the adaptation of current developments in engineering and metallurgy generally to the particular needs of quicksilver practice rather than through the invention of new processes. Preliminary Treatment of Quicksilver Ores At Sulphur Bank, in the treatment of old dump material left by the early operators, wet screening is being used as a preliminary step in concentration ahead of flotation. Power shovels and trucks are used to deliver some 400 tons of ore per day to the lower terminal of a hoist, which in turn discharges the material at the top of the screening plant. Wet screening is carried on in two stages. Depending on the character of the material, 1-in. or 2-in. punched screens are used on the first trommel.

Jan 1, 1930

By G. M. Schwartz, D. M. Davidson

THE Duluth gabbro outcrops containing sulphides of copper, nickel, and iron are located on both sides of State Highway No. 1 an airline distance of 8.5 miles southeast of Ely in northeastern Minnesota. The region of known sulphide occurrences includes parts of sections 5, T. 61 N., R. 11 W., and parts of sections 25, 26, 32, 33, and 34, T. 62 N., R. 11 W. These sections, given in Fig. 1, are all in Lake County, Minnesota. Part of the area, which lies entirely within the Superior National Forest, is shown on the topographic map of the Ely quadrangle. The original discovery was made in 1948 when a small pit was opened in weathered gabbro rubble for use on a forest access road. A shear zone had caused unusual decomposition in this glaciated area, and the resulting copper stain was noted by Fred S. Childers, Sr., an Ely prospector, who began searching the outcrops along the base of the intrusive. He was joined in further exploration by Roger V. Whiteside of Duluth. In the summer of 1951 a small diamond drill was moved into the area and a hole 188 ft deep was drilled, passing through 11 ft of glacial drift into sulphide-bearing gabbro. This paper is a preliminary report on the geology of the newly discovered ore. The Duluth gabbro is one of the largest known basic intrusives and may be defined as a lopolith.' It extends northeastward from the city of Duluth as a great crescent-shaped mass that intersects the shore of Lake Superior again near Hovland, 130 miles to the northeast, see Fig. 2. The distance around the outside of the crescent is nearly 170 miles. The form of the intrusive is simple at Duluth where it ends abruptly north of the St. Louis River; at the east end, however, the gabbro splits into two elongated, sill-like masses separated mainly by lava flows and characterized by minor irregularities. The outcrop reaches a maximum width in the central part where it is about 30 miles across, and a maximum thickness of about 50,000 ft. It may be significant that the sulphides occur at the base of the thickest part. The lopolith has segregated into rock types ranging from peridotite to granite. The most abundant types are olivine gabbro, gabbro, troctolite, anortho-site, and granite. Of lesser importance quantitatively are peridotite, norite, pyroxenite, magnetite gabbro, and titaniferous magnetite. Grout estimates that two-thirds of the gabbro at Duluth is olivine gabbro. Variations in the percentages of plagio-clase, augite, olivine, and magnetite-ilmenite constitute the only essential differences found among the basic rock types. The predominant mineral is plagioclase, mainly labradorite. Plagioclase and olivine seem to have crystallized early, and the olivine rich rocks, usually troctolite, are found in the lower part. Segregations of titaniferous magnetite are abundant near the base of the gabbro along the eastern part and also occur far above the base. These have recently been described in detail by Grout.' Near the top, segregation has produced a gradation to granite, or "red rock," as it is known locally. This consists of quartz, red feldspar, and hornblende. The red rock forms a zone with a maximum width of nearly 5 miles but is quantitatively unimportant from Duluth northward for 35 miles. In Cook county, where the gabbro splits, each of the two sill-like masses has a red rock top somewhat thicker in proportion to the gabbro below than in the main central mass. The intrusive ranges from coarse to medium in grain size and from granitoid to diabasic in texture. Throughout much of the Duluth gabbro in Minnesota banding and foliation are well developed, as Grout has emphasized.V he bands are mainly a result of variation in the percentage of minerals, as in troctolite with alternating bands high in olivine and in plagioclase. A few bands may consist largely of one mineral, as is true of some segregations of magnetite. Many of the banded rocks show a clearly developed parallelism of platy plagioclase crystals, and both banding and foliation are believed to conform to the floor of the lopolith. Throughout its extent in Minnesota the Duluth gabbro dips east and south toward Lake Superior. It is generally believed to extend beneath Lake Superior and is found as a smaller mass exposed along the north side of the Gogebic district in Wisconsin and Michigan. The dip at and near the base ranges along most of its length from 20 to 40°, but at places the internal banding dips even more steeply. The dip of the upper part is much less, and if it is assumed that the flows along the north shore of Lake Superior are a dependable indication, it does not exceed 15". The formations shown in Table I which are intruded by the gabbro range from Keewatin to Middle Keweenawan in age. They present a significant picture. At the top, the gabbro and its accompanying

Jan 1, 1953

By G. M. Schwartz, D. M. Davidson

THE Duluth gabbro outcrops containing sulphides of copper, nickel, and iron are located on both sides of State Highway No. 1 an airline distance of 8.5 miles southeast of Ely in northeastern Minnesota. The region of known sulphide occurrences includes parts of sections 5, T. 61 N., R. 11 W., and parts of sections 25, 26, 32, 33, and 34, T. 62 N., R. 11 W. These sections, given in Fig. 1, are all in Lake County, Minnesota. Part of the area, which lies entirely within the Superior National Forest, is shown on the topographic map of the Ely quadrangle. The original discovery was made in 1948 when a small pit was opened in weathered gabbro rubble for use on a forest access road. A shear zone had caused unusual decomposition in this glaciated area, and the resulting copper stain was noted by Fred S. Childers, Sr., an Ely prospector, who began searching the outcrops along the base of the intrusive. He was joined in further exploration by Roger V. Whiteside of Duluth. In the summer of 1951 a small diamond drill was moved into the area and a hole 188 ft deep was drilled, passing through 11 ft of glacial drift into sulphide-bearing gabbro. This paper is a preliminary report on the geology of the newly discovered ore. The Duluth gabbro is one of the largest known basic intrusives and may be defined as a lopolith.' It extends northeastward from the city of Duluth as a great crescent-shaped mass that intersects the shore of Lake Superior again near Hovland, 130 miles to the northeast, see Fig. 2. The distance around the outside of the crescent is nearly 170 miles. The form of the intrusive is simple at Duluth where it ends abruptly north of the St. Louis River; at the east end, however, the gabbro splits into two elongated, sill-like masses separated mainly by lava flows and characterized by minor irregularities. The outcrop reaches a maximum width in the central part where it is about 30 miles across, and a maximum thickness of about 50,000 ft. It may be significant that the sulphides occur at the base of the thickest part. The lopolith has segregated into rock types ranging from peridotite to granite. The most abundant types are olivine gabbro, gabbro, troctolite, anortho-site, and granite. Of lesser importance quantitatively are peridotite, norite, pyroxenite, magnetite gabbro, and titaniferous magnetite. Grout estimates that two-thirds of the gabbro at Duluth is olivine gabbro. Variations in the percentages of plagio-clase, augite, olivine, and magnetite-ilmenite constitute the only essential differences found among the basic rock types. The predominant mineral is plagioclase, mainly labradorite. Plagioclase and olivine seem to have crystallized early, and the olivine rich rocks, usually troctolite, are found in the lower part. Segregations of titaniferous magnetite are abundant near the base of the gabbro along the eastern part and also occur far above the base. These have recently been described in detail by Grout.' Near the top, segregation has produced a gradation to granite, or "red rock," as it is known locally. This consists of quartz, red feldspar, and hornblende. The red rock forms a zone with a maximum width of nearly 5 miles but is quantitatively unimportant from Duluth northward for 35 miles. In Cook county, where the gabbro splits, each of the two sill-like masses has a red rock top somewhat thicker in proportion to the gabbro below than in the main central mass. The intrusive ranges from coarse to medium in grain size and from granitoid to diabasic in texture. Throughout much of the Duluth gabbro in Minnesota banding and foliation are well developed, as Grout has emphasized.V he bands are mainly a result of variation in the percentage of minerals, as in troctolite with alternating bands high in olivine and in plagioclase. A few bands may consist largely of one mineral, as is true of some segregations of magnetite. Many of the banded rocks show a clearly developed parallelism of platy plagioclase crystals, and both banding and foliation are believed to conform to the floor of the lopolith. Throughout its extent in Minnesota the Duluth gabbro dips east and south toward Lake Superior. It is generally believed to extend beneath Lake Superior and is found as a smaller mass exposed along the north side of the Gogebic district in Wisconsin and Michigan. The dip at and near the base ranges along most of its length from 20 to 40°, but at places the internal banding dips even more steeply. The dip of the upper part is much less, and if it is assumed that the flows along the north shore of Lake Superior are a dependable indication, it does not exceed 15". The formations shown in Table I which are intruded by the gabbro range from Keewatin to Middle Keweenawan in age. They present a significant picture. At the top, the gabbro and its accompanying

Jan 1, 1953

By J. C. Uy, T. E. Davidson, A. P. Lee

The effects of hydrostatic pressures to 26 kbars on the micro structure of poly crystalline Cd, Zn, Bi, Sn, Zr, Mg, Cu, and Fe were examined. Pressure-induced microscopic plastic flow in the form of boundary migration, slip, multiple slip, or twinning has been observed either singly or in combination in cadmium, zinc, bismuth, and tin. No deformation was observed in zirconium, magnesium, copper, and iron. The occurrence of such deformation, in terms of its intensity and initiation pressure, relates directly to the degree of anisotropy in the linear compressibility. Pressure cycling does not significantly affect the residual tensile properties of a zinc alloy which exhibits pressure-induced deformation similar to that of Pure zinc. CLASSICAL elastic theory predicts that a superim-posed hydrostatic pressure will not induce shear stresses in an ideal material. Thus, in the case of homogeneous and isotropic materials plastic flow will not occur as a result of pressure exposure, regardless of the magnitude of the pressure, unless some form of phase transformation or permanent density change takes place. However, real materials, such as metals, often vary considerably from the condition of homogeneity and isotropy. For this reason, Vu and johannin' examined and observed hydrostatic pressure-induced microscopic deformation in polycrystalline cadmium and, zinc, but not in aluminum, to pressures of 9 kbars and indicated that its occurrence is related to anisotropy in the linear compressibility. In addition, Davidson and omaan' have reported pressure-induced deformation in polycrystalline bismuth below the 1-11 transformation pressure. It becomes apparent then that under certain conditions hydrostatic pressure can induce localized internal shear stresses in some metals of sufficient magnitude to cause plastic flow. In this work, eight pure single-phase metals of different lattice structures and degrees of elastic anisotropy were examined after pressure exposures of up to 26 kbars in order to establish the conditions under which such deformation occurs and the type of deformation as a function of pressure. The effects of pressure cycling on the mechanical proper-

Jan 1, 1965

By C. C. Hawes

SILICA is the main impurity in iron ore. It is intimately associated with the iron oxide, sometimes free but more often in the combined state, as a mineral silicate. Its separation and purification sometimes present difficult problems to the analyst. In the absence of any definite knowledge to the contrary, orthosilicic acid. H4SiO4, is supposed to be the only silicic acid made, all other forms, such as metasilicic acid, H2SiO3, representing different degrees of its dehydration. These acids are exceedingly weak but form the most stable compounds found in nature. They are known as the silicate minerals and are formed by the combination of the different metallic oxides

Jan 1, 1936