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By Norman Carmichael

This paper describes the evolution of transportation at an important mining property, beginning at a time when the railhead was 400 mi. distant, and tracing the steps leading to the development of what is probably the heaviest ore train ever operated in underground mine service over narrow-gage tracks, a 300-ton ore train on a 20-in. track, at working costs closely approximating those obtained on systems involving much greater capital expenditure. Useful where geological and financial considerations render inadvisable the excavation and maintenance of large tunnels and heavier rolling stock. THE problem of transportation in the Clifton-Morenci district of Arizona has been one of peculiar difficulty and consequently has been an important factor in the cost of mining and treating the ores produced. From the crude beginning made over 50 years ago, many changes have been necessary to keep pace with the increased output of copper. A heavy-duty haulage system has developed on the original 20-in. track gage to meet the existent metal-mine conditions.

Jan 3, 1924

By S. Norton, S. LeFevre

In the West, capitalists have expended many millions of dollars developing the low-grade porphyry ores of copper. Half a dozen of these great enterprises have proved to be wonderful commercial successes. They have demanded improved crushing and concentrating machinery and consequently it has been developed. Many improved methods, cheap power, superior business organization, all these have contributed to this success, but the main feature is the handling of the material in enormous quantities, on a manufacturing scale. The mining chance of "striking it rich" has been eliminated by the manufacturing certainty of handling large quantities of material of known value, which while of relatively low grade, is available in large tonnages, assuring a supply for many years' run of the mill. Then the returns on the money invested are sure. The concentration of low-grade magnetic iron ores, separating the magnetite crystals from the gangue by the use of magnets, is a field of work in which the lessons taught by the development of the porphyry coppers can be studied to advantage. Large-scale operations, and the liberal expenditure of enough money at the start to insure the most economical operations, are the means of securing the desired results. The problem is to utilize millions of tons, and we may safely say billions of tons, of now worthless iron-bearing rock and to produce from it 10,000,000 to 20,000,000 tons per year of high-grade ore carrying 60 per cent. iron or higher; to take the lean material as found in nature, varying widely in iron content, and bring it up to a uniform standard of shipping ore. At present these ores are mined carrying from 25 to 50 per cent, iron, and the shipping product is brought up to 60 or 65 per cent. Fe. If future economies of operation make it possible to extend this process so that 15 per cent. iron in the crude ore can be treated as a commercial success, the additional tonnage available will be enormous. A 15 per cent. Fe crude ore raised to 60 per cent. Fe concentrate with 5 per cent.

Jan 1, 1917

By B. D. Thomas

When the origin and early plans, of Battelle Memorial Institute were described in this journal in October 1929 by R. W. Gillett the first director, the doors of the laboratory had just been opened and the hope of the founder that the institution serve the world by research for industry still existed only as an ideal in the minds of the thirty or so employees who then constituted the staff. Since that time the country has experienced troublous times. A devastating depression plunged the entire world into an unprecedented period of financial and industrial inactivity; and the slow recovery of the late thirties was soon to be overtaken and overwhelmed in the violence of war. Through this time of stress Battelle has continued to grow. The staff has increased to almost 600; buildings and equipment have been added, until now it stands in a place of pre-eminence in the metallurgical and engineering world.

Jan 1, 1944

By F. L. Fayers, J. W. Sheldon

It has been a matter of concern to the petroleum industry to determine what effect the capillary term has on saturation profiles, since these profiles determine ultimate economic oil recovery. In their original solution of the non-capillary two-phase flow problem, Buckley and Leverett&apos; showed that solutions of the two-phase flow equations became multiple-valued in saturation. Since it is physically unrealistic for saturation to have more than one value at a given position, Buckley and Leverett resolved this difficulty by introducing a saturation discontinuity or "shock". They evaluated the strength and position of the shock from material balance considerations. Recently Sheldon, Zondek and Cardwell&apos; have demonstrated that the method of characteristics can be used to solve this and related problems. Owing to capillarity it is physically unlikely that saturation shocks occur in an oil reservoir. Buckley and Leverett suggested that the effects of interfacial tensions should be included in the fluid flow equations, if the solutions are to give continuous single-valued saturation distributions. An analogy to this problem is encountered in the theory of wpersonic compressible flow where the introduction of the viscous term eliminates shock behavior. However, the mathematical form of the capillary term in the porous medium fluid flow equations differs from the viscosity term in the Navier-Stokes equation. This paper demons~rates that capillarity does eliminate the triple-valued behavior and indicates the magnitude of capillary and gravity effects on the saturation profile for a variety of systems. DERIVATION OF LAGRANGIAN AND EULERIAN FORMS OF THE DISPLACEMENT EQUATION The equations representing capillary, two-phase flow are given by applying Darcy&apos;s law and a material balance condition for each phase. The familiar Darcy and material balance equations are as follows. ^U*^0......<3, ^^r=°......c« S is the saturation of the water phase, and B the inclination of the porous medium. Pressures in the oil and water phases differ by the capillary pressure associated with the interfacial tensions, P.-P.=pAS)..........(5) where p, is determined experimentally. The porous medium is said to be oil-wet if P, > Po and water-wet if P, < Po. If the fluids are incompressible and the total volumetric flow rate, q, is constant, then v, f v,, = q...........(6) By eliminating P.. /»,, and v, from Eqs. 1, 2, 5 and 6 it follows that It is convenient to normalize the variables in the problem after the manner of Handy and Hadley% so that Eqs. 3 and 7 become where j,, = —, the fractional flow of water; (F, is a capillary pressure normalizing constant.) Substitution of Eq. 9 into Eq. 8 gives In this partial differential equation for an initial value

By M. C. Udy, P. C. Rosenthal

The use of minute boron additions to steel has been given considerable attention in recent years. Comparisons made between boron-free and boron-containing heats of otherwise identical analysis have indicated, beyond a doubt, the potent effect of boron for increasing hardenability. The actual hardenability increase has been expressed as a multiplying factor, or in terms of the percentage of other alloying elements boron might replace. The present study presents the results of a systematic survey of the use of boron as an addition to two types of alloyed steels and as a replacement for various percentages of molybdenum in these steels. Both cast and wrought steels of the two basic compositions were prepared. Molybdenum, because of its scarcity at the time the investigation was started, was selected as the element to be replaced by boron. Attention was also given to the effects of boron on other properties of the steels, particularly their notched-bar toughness, to investigate other advantages or limitations of this element as an alloy addition. Experimental Work Steels Investigated The two basic compositions used in this survey of boron as a replacement for molybdenum are given in Table I. The cast steels were higher than the wrought steels in silicon content to improve the casting quality. Table i.—Nominal Composition of the Two Base Alloy Steels composition. Per Cent. steel Mn Si Ni Cr Xi-Cr-Mo Wrought 0.28-0.70-0.15-o.45—o.45-0.32 0.90 0.25 0.55 0.55 Cast 0.28-0.70-0.35-0.45-o.45- 0.32 0.90 0.45 0.55 0.55 hln-&lo Wrought 0.28-I .go-o.0.15-0.32 1.70 0.15 Cast o. 28- I.40- 0.35- 0.31 1.70 0.45 a Sulphur was 0.040 per cent maximum and phosphorus 0.030 per cent maximum. Each of these base steels, both cast and wrought, was made with molybdenum contents of o, 0.10, 0.20, 0.30, or 0.40 per cent, the total comprising 20 steels. In addition, each of these 20 compositions was prepared with boron additions in amounts of o.oo15, 0.003, and 0.006 per cent as ferroboron; and in amounts of 0.002 and 0.005 per cent as two commercial intensifier alloys, designated alloys A and B. The boron-treated steels totaled 100, and the entire series 120. Test Procedure Each steel was melted as an individual heat in a 50-lb., magnesia-lined induction furnace. Ingot iron scrap or mixtures of ingot iron and steel. scrap were used for melting stock. Deoxidation was carried out in the furnace with 0.10 per cent aluminum. The aluminum addition was

Jan 1, 1948

By M. C. Udy, P. C. Rosenthal

The use of minute boron additions to steel has been given considerable attention in recent years. Comparisons made between boron-free and boron-containing heats of otherwise identical analysis have indicated, beyond a doubt, the potent effect of boron for increasing hardenability. The actual hardenability increase has been expressed as a multiplying factor, or in terms of the percentage of other alloying elements boron might replace. The present study presents the results of a systematic survey of the use of boron as an addition to two types of alloyed steels and as a replacement for various percentages of molybdenum in these steels. Both cast and wrought steels of the two basic compositions were prepared. Molybdenum, because of its scarcity at the time the investigation was started, was selected as the element to be replaced by boron. Attention was also given to the effects of boron on other properties of the steels, particularly their notched-bar toughness, to investigate other advantages or limitations of this element as an alloy addition. Experimental Work Steels Investigated The two basic compositions used in this survey of boron as a replacement for molybdenum are given in Table I. The cast steels were higher than the wrought steels in silicon content to improve the casting quality. Table i.—Nominal Composition of the Two Base Alloy Steels composition. Per Cent. steel Mn Si Ni Cr Xi-Cr-Mo Wrought 0.28-0.70-0.15-o.45—o.45-0.32 0.90 0.25 0.55 0.55 Cast 0.28-0.70-0.35-0.45-o.45- 0.32 0.90 0.45 0.55 0.55 hln-&lo Wrought 0.28-I .go-o.0.15-0.32 1.70 0.15 Cast o. 28- I.40- 0.35- 0.31 1.70 0.45 a Sulphur was 0.040 per cent maximum and phosphorus 0.030 per cent maximum. Each of these base steels, both cast and wrought, was made with molybdenum contents of o, 0.10, 0.20, 0.30, or 0.40 per cent, the total comprising 20 steels. In addition, each of these 20 compositions was prepared with boron additions in amounts of o.oo15, 0.003, and 0.006 per cent as ferroboron; and in amounts of 0.002 and 0.005 per cent as two commercial intensifier alloys, designated alloys A and B. The boron-treated steels totaled 100, and the entire series 120. Test Procedure Each steel was melted as an individual heat in a 50-lb., magnesia-lined induction furnace. Ingot iron scrap or mixtures of ingot iron and steel. scrap were used for melting stock. Deoxidation was carried out in the furnace with 0.10 per cent aluminum. The aluminum addition was

Jan 1, 1948

By Cyril Stanley Smith, W. Earl Lindlief

A study of the mechanical properties of the alloys of copper and silver led to the discovery that the solubility of silver in copper was greatly different from that generally supposed, therefore some work was done to determine the solubility with greater accuracy than had previously been achieved. After the work had been completed, two papers were published&apos; giving solubility figures which agreed closely with one another and with the work described herein. A detailed comparison of that work with the present will be given later. Preparation of Allots The copper used in making the alloys was electrolytic ingot of high purity. The silver was prepared by precipitation as chloride from nitric acid solution, followed by fusion of the washed precipitate with sodium carbonate and potassium nitrate. This method gives metal containing at least 99.99 per cent silver. The copper was first melted under charcoal in a small electric resistance furnace and the silver added as pure silver, it being unnecessary to make any intermediate alloys. After thorough stirring the metal was poured into a mold of suitable form. The alloys contained between 0.008 and 0.015 per cent of oxygen. Small amounts of oxide were visible under the microscope, but it is not believed this would have much effect on the results. Copper-silver alloys are notorious for segregation, consequently a few experiments were carried out to find a form of casting with as little segregation as possible. A mold 6 in. long and 1/2-in. dia. was first used, and an alloy nominally containing 5 per cent silver was cast in it, while some of the same alloy was poured directly into water to obtain the maximum rate of cooling possible. Analyses were made both on this sample and on turnings from the top and bottom of the 1/2 in. dia. cast-ing, the turnings being separated into three parts according to the position

Jan 1, 1932

By C. E. Lesher

Low-TEMPERATURE carbonization needs no introduction to the literature on coal. This paper will attempt no review of that literature; it tells the story of the commercial development of one of the processes for carbonizing coal at so-called low temperatures, dealing with the technology and economics of the process rather than with the design of equipment. The process used is that covered by the patents of C. B. Wisner, with improvements and changes made by the Pittsburgh Coal Carbonization Co. The important and novel feature of the process is the phenomenon of making the product in ball form (Fig. 1). Melting coal dust into smokeless solid fuel in an apparatus as simple as a revolving cylinder of ordinary mild steel has been proved to be practical. Furthermore, it has been found that the process has a wide application, for by applying a knowledge of why and how this balling action is accomplished, the apparatus can be designed and adapted to treat any coal that has a certain minimum agglutinating property. The operating plant is 20 miles west of Pittsburgh, adjacent to the Champion preparation plant of the Pittsburgh Coal Co. The coal used is cleaned minus 3/8 -in- or finer sizes. The products are low-tem-perature coke, tar and tar products. Present capacity is 7000 tons per month of low-temperature coke and 140,000 gal, of tar. There is no surplus gas for sale, and none of the light oils are stripped from the gas. The coke is marketed in two sizes, 1 to 2 in. and 1 to 6 in., through retail coal dealers for domestic con-sumption in hand-fired furnaces, and for fireplace fuel. The smaller size is bagged by dealers. Crude tar and many distillates and road tars are sold.

Jan 1, 1940

By L. A. Rapoport, W. J. Leas, C. W. Carpenter

A program of scaled flow model experiments has been undertaken to study the performance of five-spot water floods. The modeling procedures are discussed and the construction and operation of the flow models are described. The tests were specifically designed to investigate the effects of injection rate and of oil-to-water viscosity ratio on oil recovery. The areal sweep of five-spot water floods was also studied, and direct comparisons between five-spot and linear flooding behavior have been established to permir better utilizatfon of core analysis results for purposes of field waterflood evaluations. INTRODUCTION For a long time reservoir engineering procedures have been confined to the consideration of idealized, one-dimensional or linear systems.11* However, direct application of the linear waterflood mechanism to the evaluation of actual field performance is justifiable only for the purposes of rough approximation. To obtain a realistic analysis of field behavior, it is necessary to account for reservoir geometry and well distribution, and to take into consideration the configuration of the flow of fluids between injection and producing wells. In the past it has been attempted to account for the complex nature of the fluid movement in the reservoir by associating each well pattern with a certain "sweep-efficiency constant", e.g., a sweep efficiency of 72 per cent for the conventional five-spot pattern.&apos; More recently, methods of waterflood evaluation have been improved by the introduction of variable sweep-efficiency factors, defining the areal coverage as a function of cumulative water injection and viscosity or "mobility" &apos; ratio.""&apos; These variable sweep-efficiency factors, derived from miscible fluid displacement experiments, require the assumption of piston-like displacement of oil by water. This implies that only one fluid, either oil or water, is moving at any one point of the reservoir ht any moment. Such an assumption, however, is incompatible with the bulk of the experimental evidence and also theoretical considerations which indicate that usually in the area invaded by water, both oil and water are flowing in varying proportions, in accordance with the relative permeability characteristics of the porous medium. Another recent approach toward the evaluation of five-spot flooding behavior involves correlations of the areal sweep efficiency (observed in immiscible fluid experiments) with a "mobility ratio," based on the consideration of the "average" relative permeability to the displacing fluid. Combination of these correlations with a modification of the Buckley-Leverett frontal-drive equation leads to a computational procedure for predicting the recovery performance of areal water floods. While of considerable interest, this approach has no complete theoretical justification and, therefore, does not entirely clarify the features of five-spot water floods. Rigorous, theoretical treatment of waterflood behavior in two- or three-dimensional systems as encountered in the reservoir, including proper consideration of relative permeability and capillary-pressure functions, is as yet beyond the scope of analytical or computational methods. The, behavior of such water floods can, however, be studied by means of scaled flow model ekperiments, which is the approach followed in these investigations. The flow model experiments described in this paper simulate a uniform, horizontal formation of constant thickness with fully penetrating wells. The system under consideration is entirely liquid saturated and not influenced by compressibility effects, which is representative of the situation achieved after gas fill-up under practical conditions. Gravity segregation effects are assumed to be negligible, which implies a relatively thin reservoir formation and/or low vertical permeability. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS For a flow system of uniform thickness with no appreciable effects of gravity segregation, the analysis of water-oil displacement can be confined to a two-dimensional treatment based on the consideration of a "slice" of unit thickness. Referring to previously established derivations," the displacement of oil by water in such a system can be described by the following, dimen-sionless equations:

By B. M. Larsen, L. S. Darken

Some years ago we collated all laboratory data then available to us on the distribution at equilibrium of manganese and of sulphur between metal and simple slags, and used the results in setting up an equation, which proved to be in accord with determinations of the distribution ratio of manganese and of sulphur between liquid steel and open-hearth slag, over a wide range of operating conditions. We now present an outline of our calculations and inferences on these two closely related questions, which are of especial importance because of the advisability of conserving manganese wherever possible. In general, our results show that in the open-hearth furnace equilibrium between metal and slag, with respect to both manganese and sulphur, is substantially attained during the finishing period of the heat, or in about a half hour to an hour after any additions were made. This implies that the end result will be identical whether manganese is added as alloy or metal to the liquid steel or as oxide to the slag. The proportion of total manganese retained by the steel is favored: (I) by use of the minimum amount of lime, consistent with other operating limitations, required to give a lime-silica ratio of about 2.4, which usually corresponds to a minimum practical slag volume; (2) by a high concentration in the slag of MnO relative to FeO; (3) by high operating temperature. Absorption of sulphur by the slag from the liquid metal is favored: (I) by large slag volume; (2) by a high concentration of active (or "free") lime and of manganese oxide dissolved in the slag; (3) by low concentration of silica, iron oxide, and phosphate dissolved in the slag. Distribution 02 Manganese between Slag and Metal at Equilibrium On the basis that the distribution of manganese between liquid steel and slag is controlled by the reaction FeO + Mn -& MnO + Fe [A] slag metal slag metal the distribution at equilibrium, at a given temperature, is expressed by the equilibrium constant for this reaction, which is defined as K,, _ aMnO&apos; afe aFeO &apos; aMn where a is the activity of the molecular species denoted by the subscript. The activity of each of the several components, although it is not known precisely, is approximately equal to the concentration of each component expressed as its mol fraction; that is, as the ratio of the number of mols of the given component to the total number of mols of all the molecular species present in the metal or slag, as the case may be. Moreover, since the activity, or concentration, of iron in the liquid metal is in fact substantially constant, the term afe may be combined with K" to give a new constant K&apos;. Making these changes, 7

Jan 1, 1942

By B. M. Larsen, L. S. Darken

Some years ago we collated all laboratory data then available to us on the distribution at equilibrium of manganese and of sulphur between metal and simple slags, and used the results in setting up an equation, which proved to be in accord with determinations of the distribution ratio of manganese and of sulphur between liquid steel and open-hearth slag, over a wide range of operating conditions. We now present an outline of our calculations and inferences on these two closely related questions, which are of especial importance because of the advisability of conserving manganese wherever possible. In general, our results show that in the open-hearth furnace equilibrium between metal and slag, with respect to both manganese and sulphur, is substantially attained during the finishing period of the heat, or in about a half hour to an hour after any additions were made. This implies that the end result will be identical whether manganese is added as alloy or metal to the liquid steel or as oxide to the slag. The proportion of total manganese retained by the steel is favored: (I) by use of the minimum amount of lime, consistent with other operating limitations, required to give a lime-silica ratio of about 2.4, which usually corresponds to a minimum practical slag volume; (2) by a high concentration in the slag of MnO relative to FeO; (3) by high operating temperature. Absorption of sulphur by the slag from the liquid metal is favored: (I) by large slag volume; (2) by a high concentration of active (or "free") lime and of manganese oxide dissolved in the slag; (3) by low concentration of silica, iron oxide, and phosphate dissolved in the slag. Distribution 02 Manganese between Slag and Metal at Equilibrium On the basis that the distribution of manganese between liquid steel and slag is controlled by the reaction FeO + Mn -& MnO + Fe [A] slag metal slag metal the distribution at equilibrium, at a given temperature, is expressed by the equilibrium constant for this reaction, which is defined as K,, _ aMnO&apos; afe aFeO &apos; aMn where a is the activity of the molecular species denoted by the subscript. The activity of each of the several components, although it is not known precisely, is approximately equal to the concentration of each component expressed as its mol fraction; that is, as the ratio of the number of mols of the given component to the total number of mols of all the molecular species present in the metal or slag, as the case may be. Moreover, since the activity, or concentration, of iron in the liquid metal is in fact substantially constant, the term afe may be combined with K" to give a new constant K&apos;. Making these changes, 7

Jan 1, 1942

By E. J. Krokroskia

Fletcher Mill is located in the southern part of the New Lead Belt in Southeastern Missouri, in the northwestern part of Reynolds County. Shaft sinking began in July, 1964. The mill went on stream in February, 1967, and reached the designed rate of 5,000 tons per day in July, 1968. The ore occurs approximately 1,000 feet below the surface as disseminated deposits of galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite. There is no oxidation within the ore body and dissemination is not fine enough to present liberation problems with a normal grind. Mining is by the room and pillar method with rubber-tired diesel- propelled drilling and loading equipment. The ore is dumped through a 27-inch square grizzly into a 5,000-ton pocket. The underground primary crusher is automatically fed by a vibrating feeder and discharges directly into skip measuring bins. Hoisting is automatic, in balance, with 8. 5-ton skips dumping into a 1,000-ton mill bin. MILL The concentrator is a 5, 000 tons-per-day single section plant equipped to produce lead, zinc and copper concentrates. Contained under 35, 347 square feet of roof, without fine ore storage or remote crushing, and with sufficient automation to be operated by one man, the plant is compact, unique, and efficient in operation. The design

Jan 1, 1970

By Raymond B. Ladoo

NONMETALLIC minerals (excluding fuels) arid their primary products produced annual in the United States have a value in excess of one billion dollars, or more than that of the metals, yet the lack of expert knowledge of some of the fundamental technical and economic aspects of this most important and complicated business is astonishing. This paper will deal with the economics of this non- metallic mineral field-the business of making money from producing these minerals. The incentive behind all business activity in a capitalistic economy is to make money-to plan so that each dollar invested in property, plant, equipment, services, and so on will return more than a dollar plus simple interest. Of course, business has social, civic, and national duties and responsibilities, but the fulfillment of these is largely dependent upon financial success.

Jan 1, 1939

By J. W. Pamplin

Some 40 miles east of Tampa is the center of the Florida pebble phosphate deposits. These are of Pliocene age and consist of several members of the Bone Valley formation.1 Physically the phosphate-bearing formation, locally called the "matrix," varies in thickness from nothing to about 25 ft., usually averages 10 ft., and consists mainly of clay, quartz and phosphate pebble, the latter particles varying in size from colloidal to one inch diameter. The pebbles range in color from dark gray, through white, to cream, and in hardness from that which must be broken with a hammer to that which can be scratched with the fingernail. They assay from 66 to 80 per cent bone phosphate of lime (called "B.P.L." in the trade) or tricalcium phosphate (Ca³P2O8) and are secondary apatites. They form from 15 to 50 per cent by weight of the matrix. Over the matrix lies a varying thickness (5 to 40 ft.) of overburden composed of quartz and clay. Briefly, mining consists of two operations2 in open pits about 200 ft. wide by 1/2 mile or more in length. In the first step overburden is removed by large electric draglines at the rate of about 700 cu. yd. per hour. This is followed closely by hydraulic mining of the matrix at the rate of about 300 cu. yd. per hour. This matrix yardage is moved from an improvised sump in the floor of the pit to an ore-dressing plant, sometimes a mile distant, by one, two or three "pit-cars" (pumping units) working on a 12-in. pipe line called the "rock line" to distinguish it from the high-pressure water line feeding the hydraulic giants, which is known as the "hydraulic line." This 700 yd. of overburden and 300 yd. of matrix—1000 yd. in all-amounts to about 1500 tons of material moved each hour. The overburden is dumped into the mined-out pit alongside the pit being mined. The matrix moves to the ore-dressing plant at the rate of about 7% long tons in 4000 gal. of water per minute—a ratio of approximately one to two by weight, or one to six by volume. This constitutes the "mill heads," but in the pebble district it is called the "matrix."

Jan 1, 1938

By J. W. Pamplin

Some 40 miles east of Tampa is the center of the Florida pebble phosphate deposits. These are of Pliocene age and consist of several members of the Bone Valley formation.1 Physically the phosphate-bearing formation, locally called the "matrix," varies in thickness from nothing to about 25 ft., usually averages 10 ft., and consists mainly of clay, quartz and phosphate pebble, the latter particles varying in size from colloidal to one inch diameter. The pebbles range in color from dark gray, through white, to cream, and in hardness from that which must be broken with a hammer to that which can be scratched with the fingernail. They assay from 66 to 80 per cent bone phosphate of lime (called "B.P.L." in the trade) or tricalcium phosphate (Ca³P2O8) and are secondary apatites. They form from 15 to 50 per cent by weight of the matrix. Over the matrix lies a varying thickness (5 to 40 ft.) of overburden composed of quartz and clay. Briefly, mining consists of two operations2 in open pits about 200 ft. wide by 1/2 mile or more in length. In the first step overburden is removed by large electric draglines at the rate of about 700 cu. yd. per hour. This is followed closely by hydraulic mining of the matrix at the rate of about 300 cu. yd. per hour. This matrix yardage is moved from an improvised sump in the floor of the pit to an ore-dressing plant, sometimes a mile distant, by one, two or three "pit-cars" (pumping units) working on a 12-in. pipe line called the "rock line" to distinguish it from the high-pressure water line feeding the hydraulic giants, which is known as the "hydraulic line." This 700 yd. of overburden and 300 yd. of matrix—1000 yd. in all-amounts to about 1500 tons of material moved each hour. The overburden is dumped into the mined-out pit alongside the pit being mined. The matrix moves to the ore-dressing plant at the rate of about 7% long tons in 4000 gal. of water per minute—a ratio of approximately one to two by weight, or one to six by volume. This constitutes the "mill heads," but in the pebble district it is called the "matrix."

Jan 1, 1938

By F. N. Rhines

DESPITE the large amount of study which has been devoted to the subject our present knowledge of the copper-oxygen system remains incomplete and unsatisfactory in many respects. This applies particu-larly to those regions in which solid metallic copper exists. The primary object of the present paper is the contribution of new information relative to the solid solubility of oxygen (or cuprous oxide) in copper at atmospheric pressure, together with certain observations in the low-pressure regions of the system. It seems appropriate also to present a brief summary of the outstanding previous work on the constitution of mixtures of copper with its lowest oxide in order to show the relation between the new facts and the system as a whole. The earliest recorded investigations of the copper-oxygen system are those of M. S. Lucas (1) § and of M. Chevillot(2) in 1819 and 1820. Lucas believed that liquid copper is capable of dissolving its oxide, but neither he nor Chevillot was able to furnish convincing proof of this property. It was not until 1866 that T. Graham° definitely established the existence of such a solubility. Nine years later W. Hampe(4) measured its extent and roughly outlined the copper-rich portion of the system. The first really precise examination of the constitutional relationship between copper and cuprous oxide, however, was that of E. Heyn(5) who in 1900 published a temperature-concentration diagram covering the range from 0 to 10 per cent of cuprous oxide at atmospheric pressure. Within these limits of composition cuprous oxide was found to dissolve in liquid copper, forming at 3.4 to 3.5 per cent a eutectic which melted at 1065° C. R. E. Slade and F. D. Farrow(6) extended these studies to mixtures of higher

Jan 1, 1934

By Geoffrey Gilbert

A study of specimens shows that the key to both oxidation and enrichment at Duck-town is the behavior of pyrrhotite, which is in part dissolved and in part replaced by marcasite. Enrichment takes place chiefly at the expense of marcasite. THE material that forms the basis of this paper was collected in the spring of 1922, during a ten-day visit to Ducktown by the writer in the company of Prof. L. C. Graton. The time available for the work was far too short to allow anything like a thorough study of the deposits, and structural and stratigraphic questions, though they have an important bearing on the origin of the primary ores, were necessarily left untouched. Attention was focussed on the zone of oxidation and enrichment; and by devoting most of our time to the upper levels, open pits, and old workings, and examining the deeper levels only thoroughly enough to obtain a fair idea of the nature of the primary sulfide ore, we were able to make a reasonably complete survey of the various orebodies. With this field work for a background, the writer later made a study, in the Harvard laboratories, of the specimens obtained during the visit. As some of the facts brought to light by this study appear to be new, it seems worth while to set forth the outstanding features and a proposed explanation of them. Much of the Ducktown material that is obviously of greatest significance, as regards oxidation and enrichment, is soft and crumbly. Notwithstanding the desirability of gaining from such material all possible information as to its mineral composition and textural relationships, but little has heretofore been learned regarding it; but, by suitable preparation of this material in connection with the present study, it has been possible to examine it under the microscope without any disturbance of its texture and about as satisfactorily as if it were hard, fresh ore. The information thus gained has contributed measurably to the results set forth in this paper.

Jan 3, 1924

By C. W. Nicolson

The Tri-State zinc and lead-mining district is in the northeast corner of Oklahoma, the southeast corner of Kansas and the southwest corner of Missouri. The area throughout which active mining has been conducted is about 45 miles long and about 5 miles wide, extending northeasterly from Commerce, Okla., to Alba, Missouri. Although the lead ores were mined on a very small scale in the vicinity of Joplin, Mo., as early as 1848, nothing of any importance was done in the district until 1870, since when both mining and smelting have been prosecuted with considerable vigor. In the beginning the lead ores only were exploited, but within a few years extensive deposits of zinc ores were found and since that time the production of zinc ore has far exceeded that of lead. Both the surface and mineral rights in Missouri and Kansas were under individual ownership by the time ore was discovered. Although some of these rights were purchased by mining companies, most of the mining has been done under leases covering small areas, usually 40 acres, although in the past many leases were given on much smaller tracts. In Oklahoma most of the mineral land had been alloted by the Government to various Indian tribes and although the title to some of these lands had been acquired by various white men before the discovery of the rich Picher field, the title to most of the land has remained with the Indian tribes and the leasing of the mineral rights has been done by the Federal Government for the benefit of the Indians. The Indian allotments were of 200 acres each and some of the mining leases covered entire allotments, although many leases were granted for only 40 acres or even less. Practically all of the leases granted in the past required the erection of a concentrating plant on each lease, a condition that has had a pronounced effect upon the mining and milling methods of the district, since the apparent ore reserves on each tract were too small to justify large and elaborate mining and milling plants. Most of the leases were

Jan 1, 1940

By C. W. Nicolson

The Tri-State zinc and lead-mining district is in the northeast corner of Oklahoma, the southeast corner of Kansas and the southwest corner of Missouri. The area throughout which active mining has been conducted is about 45 miles long and about 5 miles wide, extending northeasterly from Commerce, Okla., to Alba, Missouri. Although the lead ores were mined on a very small scale in the vicinity of Joplin, Mo., as early as 1848, nothing of any importance was done in the district until 1870, since when both mining and smelting have been prosecuted with considerable vigor. In the beginning the lead ores only were exploited, but within a few years extensive deposits of zinc ores were found and since that time the production of zinc ore has far exceeded that of lead. Both the surface and mineral rights in Missouri and Kansas were under individual ownership by the time ore was discovered. Although some of these rights were purchased by mining companies, most of the mining has been done under leases covering small areas, usually 40 acres, although in the past many leases were given on much smaller tracts. In Oklahoma most of the mineral land had been alloted by the Government to various Indian tribes and although the title to some of these lands had been acquired by various white men before the discovery of the rich Picher field, the title to most of the land has remained with the Indian tribes and the leasing of the mineral rights has been done by the Federal Government for the benefit of the Indians. The Indian allotments were of 200 acres each and some of the mining leases covered entire allotments, although many leases were granted for only 40 acres or even less. Practically all of the leases granted in the past required the erection of a concentrating plant on each lease, a condition that has had a pronounced effect upon the mining and milling methods of the district, since the apparent ore reserves on each tract were too small to justify large and elaborate mining and milling plants. Most of the leases were

Jan 1, 1940

By S. W. Miller

During the examination of welds made in steel by the oxy-acetylene and electric-arc processes, the writer has met with some unusual structures, which he has not encountered elsewhere. They seem to be quite closely associated with the welding methods used, and characteristic of them, and would seem to be worth noting, especially as the references to them in the literature are few, and their explanation not clear or complete. An introductory word or two about fusion welding may not be out of place. The oxy-acetylene process is based on the great and very local heat generated by the burning of acetylene in the presence of commercially pure oxygen, the two gases being thoroughly mixed before combustion. The theoretical temperature is somewhat under 4000" C, but on account of various losses, the actual maximum temperature is probably about 3000" C.&apos; The electric-arc process, using a metal electrode, which is also the filling rod, generates a still higher and more local temperature. The actual temperature of the positive crater of the carbon arc is given as 3500" C.2 NO figures have been found for the temperature of the arc using a metal electrode, but it would probably not be very different from that of the carbon arc, and probably higher than that of the bxy-acetylene flame. The greater localization of the electric arc is due to the fact that it is not surrounded by a large envelope flame, as well as to its higher temperature; while the oxy-acetylene white cone, or welding flame, in which the carbon of the acetylene is burned to CO, is surrounded and preceded by a long envelope flame, itself of quite high temperature, in which the CO is burned to GO2, and the hydrogen of the acetylene to H2O. This flame spreads around and over the pieces being welded, heating them to a further distance from the weld than does the electric arc.

Jan 1, 1918