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By D. M. Hausen

This study identifies and describes various crystalline phases of the V205-Na20 system, and relates their properties to metallurgical aspects of vanadium production. Phase equilibria and stability ranges of sodium vanadate phases of varying molar ratios of Na20/V205 were investigated in a variety of plant products, ranging from fused "black cakes" (V20 melts) to "salt roast" calcines. Crystalline compounds, Including vanadium pentoxide, V205; sodium vanadyl vanadate, 6 phase, Na2O.V2O5.5V2O5; sodium vanadyl vanadate, y phase, 5Na20.V204.12V205; sodium metavanadate, Na20 .V 05; sodium pyrovanadate , 2Na20 .V205; and sodium orthovanadate, 4Na20.~2~5, have been characterized with the aid of X-ray diffraction patterns, infrared spectra, and optical properties in addition to chemical analyses, as a guide to mineralogical "troubleshooting" of plant problems and processes in vanadium pyro- and hydrometallurgy.

Jan 1, 1984

By J. A. Eisele, D. J. Bauer, L. E. Schultze

Approximately 100 million mt of magnetic reject tailings, which contain apatite and about 1% yttrium and rare-earth elements, exist in the eastern U.S. as a result of iron ore mining operations. At the present time, no economic process is available for recovering yttrium from this material. The U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) studied the problem to determine if an effective low-cost method could be found, thereby increasing our domestic yttrium reserves. [Fig. 1] is a line drawing of a photograph taken during microprobe analysis of a sample of the tailings, and shows the distribution of yttrium. Typical analysis of this material is 0.14% yttrium and 1.1% rare-earth elements (mainly lanthanum through neodymium). Over half of the yttrium is present as a hydrated Ca-Y silicate deposited along interfaces in the grain structure; whereas, the remainder of the rare-earth elements occur as Ca-Fe-RE silicates. The remaining yttrium and rare-earth elements are in solid solution with the

Jan 1, 1977

E. E. THUM, * Salt Lake City, Utah (Written discussion ?).-Dr. Fulton's paper sheds a great deal of light upon questions which have perplexed many who have studied the metallurgy of zinc, and have fruitlessly brought forth several hypotheses and reams of discussion. It would be a bright day if others would follow Dr. Fulton's example, for, as a

Jan 11, 1918

By Ralph Sherman

THE remarkable increase in the distribution of the small underfeed stoker for use in furnaces and boilers in small industrial plants, apartment houses and homes has brought producers and distributors of bituminous coal to consider the problem of which coals and which sizes are best suited to this market. Many papers have also appeared, mostly in the trade journals, discussing the problem of the combustion of various coals and various sizes of coal in small stokers. Much difference of opinion has been apparent in these articles; due often, it would appear, to a mis-understanding of the fundamentals of the process of combustion in the stoker fuel bed. During the past year and a half, a program of research has been conducted at Battelle Memorial Institute: (1) On the process of combus-tion in the fuel bed of the small stoker, sponsored by Battelle Memorial Institute, and (2) on the relation of the characteristics of bituminous coals to their performance on small underfeed stokers, sponsored by Bituminous Coal Research, Inc. As a result of this program of research, two publica-tions have been made, one1 dealing with the problem of clinker formation, and the other2 with the relation of the size of the coal fed to the stoker hopper to that of the coal that reaches the retort to be burned. The experimental research on the relation of size to the performance of the coal is being actively continued. A publication of Bituminous Coal Research, Inc. presenting the data obtained on the performance of several sizes of four typical bituminous coals will appear shortly. Because of the early appearance of that publication, the present paper includes few numerical data. The purpose of this paper is to follow the coal from the hopper through the furnace with a discussion of the various actions that occur, in the hope that it will lead to a clearer understanding of the relation of the type of coal, the size of coal, and other characteristics, to the performance. The authors do not pretend to have obtained the answers to all the complex questions involved; many unanswered questions will be proposed on which future research work is planned.

Jan 1, 1936

PHILIP L. GILL, New York, N. Y. (written discussion*).There is one feature of the fire-refining of electrolytic copper which I believe should be mentioned when the relation of oxygen content to the "pitch" or "set" of refined copper is under discussion; that is, the segregation of impurities. Variation of "pitch" or "set" is frequently noted in castings of different shapes, cast at the same time from the same furnace, though the oxygen content remains identical. For instance, it is possible to cast two wire-bars in the same shaped molds from the same ladleful of copper, the one 2 in. thick showing a good level set, the other, 4 in. thick, being overpoled. Also, when two bars are cast of the same weight and at the same time from the same furnace, one bar in a copper mold at the proper temperature, the other in a mold that has been allowed to get overheated, the bar in the hot mold will show

Jan 8, 1918

By H. Krueger, H. N. Hersh

USE of autoradiography in diffusion studies offers the advantage that no repeated sectioning is necessary and that the analyses are performed in a simple manner over the continuous range of penetration depths. As part of a program of solid-state physics, it was desired to develop the autoradio-graphic method' quantitatively for use in diffusion studies. Results are reported here for the self-diffusion of silver. Silver was chosen because the existing data are good enough to evaluate the technique." The silver used in this investigation was obtained in the form of ¼ in. diam rods of polycrystalline material, 99.99 pct purity. The radioactive silver, Ag110 (ß, y), was obtained as the nitrate and converted to the chloride for use in a standard cyanide plating bath. The diffusion specimens were 1/2 in. lengths of the rod. They were mounted in bake-lite and the exposed circular face carefully ground and polished. Prior to electrodepositing radioactive

Jan 1, 1956

BOSTON LOCAL SECTION Executive Committee HENRY L. SMYTH, Chairman ALFRED C. LANE, Vice-Chairman AUGUSTUS H. EUSTIS, Secretary-Treasurer, 131 State St., Boston, Mass. ROBERT H. RICHARDS ALBERT SAUVEUR Meets on the first Monday evening of each winter month Twenty-fourth Meeting The Twenty-fourth meeting of the Boston Local Section was held at the Exeter Street Theater, Boston, Monday, Jan. 4, 1915. The Chairman, Henry L. Smyth, introduced Mr. S. Le Fevre, of Mineville, N. Y., who presented an exhibit of moving pictures, illustrating the various operations of mining and milling iron ore as carried out at Mineville. Mr. Le Fevre pointed out, as the pictures were run off, the dangers of the various operations, and the precautions that should be taken to avoid or minimize these dangers. . After the exhibition of pictures, the members adjourned to the University Club, where dinner was served. At the close of the dinner and an impromptu recital by Mr. Weeks, the meeting was adjourned. AUGUSTUS H. EUSTIS, Secretary.

Jan 2, 1915

The Committee on Valuation of the American Electric Railway Association, has had compiled a "Bibliography on Valuation of Public Utilities." The work was done by the library force of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and brings up to Dec. 23, 1915; a bibliography issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers on May 15, 1912. The Bibliography has been printed -and issued by the American Electric Railway Association, 8 West 40th Street, New York, N. Y., and may be obtained from its Secretary on the payment of 50 c. References are arranged under the following headings: General, Electric Light and Power, Gas Works, Mining, Railroads, Steam Power, Street and Inter-urban Railways, Telegraph and Telephone., Water Power, Water Works. References are given to the principal technical publications, to various works on the question, of valuation, to rules and regulations of Commissions and other official bodies, and to the proceedings of various societies. Undoubtedly the compilation is the most comprehensive that has yet been published.

Jan 7, 1916

C. H. WILSON,* New York, N. Y. (written discussion?).-On page 2680, under the heading Junction Box and Zone Box, the authors say, with reference to the zone-box principle of connections between primary couple, compensator couple, and copper leads, which method in its appli-cation to a single couple is shown in Fig. 34, that if this principle is adopted for a multiple installation, so as to save compensating leads; a selective switch may be (and the inference is that it must be) inserted between the zone box and the different couples, putting the switch at an inconvenient point, or putting up with some complicated interlacing of connections.. Wilson-Maeulen Co. has employed the zone-box method extensively for several years and in none of the many multiple installa-tions has either of those alternatives been resorted to. Instead there has been used a method of wiring with the switch at the indicator and involv-ing no more complications than the junction-box method shown III

Jan 11, 1919

B. F. TILLSON,* Franklin Furnace, N. J.-I would like to ask Major Yerkes if he will not give us more examples of the tests than are contained in the printed pamphlet. It would be of great interest to study them more carefully. ROBERT M. YERKES, Washington, D. C.-The reason for not reproducing the methods in any public print is that it lessens their value and necessitates the preparation of new test materials. BRADLEY STOUGHTON, New York, N. Y.-I hope that this matter will be of so much interest to the members of the Institute that the Directors will decide to appoint a committee which can bring further results of this practice before us. I understand that Columbia University, at least in some departments, has already adopted the B and A tests and is using them. I understand that some industries have considered seriously the question of grading their employees in accordance with

Jan 4, 1919

J: H. POLHEMUS, New York, N. Y. (written discussion*).-The Joplin .mining and milling practice has largely influenced operating methods in the Wisconsin district. Milling equipment is essentially of the same type with the notable exception that no tables are used. The treatment of the flue 'sands has been attempted several times but without commercial success. Table material coming from any one mill is low both in tonnage and zinc content. The iron is comparatively high as the pyrite-line "chat" is much more prevalent than the zinc-lime attached particle. In the finer sizes the zinc occurs mainly as free mineral. These condi-tions make the production of good-grade table concentrates very diffi-cult. The accompanying tabulated results from several mill tests indi-cate the character of the mill tails. I think the average mill tails in the district assay nearer 1.5 per cent. zinc than under 1 per cent., as stated by Messrs. Boericke and Garnett.

Jan 10, 1919

W. H. PORTH, New York, N.Y.-I would like to ask what effect segregation of lead would have upon the corrosion of sheet zinc; also what effect would abnormal percentages of iron have upon the ductility of Sheet zinc? One of our difficulties seemed to be that the cells, when standing on the shelf, corroded. We have attributed this to local action in the zinc sheet. We would like to know whether the segregation of, these impurities in this sheet zinc will have any effect on the local action occur-ring in sheet zinc. Lately we have had difficulty in punching some sheet zinc, in that the sheets split in the die. The section that split seemed to have an abnormallly high percentage of cadmium and iron; would that cause it to become brittle? C. H. MATHEWSON.-Iron is one of the most unwelcome impurities when high ductility is the principal requirement in rolled zinc. High

Jan 12, 1919

THE CHAIRMAN (EDWIN LUDLOW, Lansford; Pa.).-Mr. Wang's paper reminded me that some years ago I was asked if I would not go into the Tien Tsin district and take charge of Americanizing a Chinese mine. They said the trouble was that, while wages were only 9 c. a day, the coke cost $2 a ton delivered to the cars. Reading Mr: Wang's paper would indicate the need of a little Americanization in the Manchurian field. Wages are only 40 c: a day, yet the cost is $3.60 a ton. An efficiency engineer would have an excellent opportunity in that field. T. T. READ, New York, N. Y.-It is always true that low-priced labor is inefficient, wherever we find it; for example, in Japan, where wages are low, but not so low as in Manchuria, working costs are not relatively much lower than ours. Mr. Padshah, describing his experience in India, once told me that, while wages were only about one-fifth as high

Jan 4, 1918

By J. J. Scott

During 1967 wage settlements and strikes ran at a high rate and it has been estimated that union gains of 4 ½ % to 5% per year have been attained in many instances. When these events are coupled with the need to operate on lower grade and deeper deposits the need for technological advances in underground mining becomes obvious. Emphasis has been on ways to reduce the number of manshifts required per ton of product. Most significant advances have been made in rapid advance of primary mine openings, development of mobile, rubber-tired, front-end loaders and hauling units, high-speed drilling with rotary and rotary percussive units and a serious look at nuclear devices to break large volumes of ore cheaply. Boring Developments in bit manufacture and metallurgy have allowed continuous boring-type machines to be used on harder formations than was deemed feasible in the past. Hecla Mining Co. has been using raise boring equipment for drilling 9 7/8 in. diam pilot holes in raises which are later reamed in an upward direction to 48 in. diam. The machine used is a J. S. Robbins model 42R raise borer which has been used successfully to drill two relatively long 48-in. diam holes. The first was 520 ft in length at a dip of 76º, and the second was a 785-ft vertical hole.

Jan 2, 1968

Jan 1, 1935

By A. B. Fly

Borehole mining combines the principles of hydraulic mining, slurry mucking and rotary drilling. The borehole is drilled with conventional equipment and is cased down to the top of the mining zone. The borehole mining tool is comprised of the kelly-swivel assembly, multiple drill-pipe sections, and the jet-pump barrel assembly as shown in Fig. 1. The kelly swivel is fitted with a bail to support the mining tool. The kelly drive bushing engages the rotary table to allow the rotation of the mining tool while it is being operated. The jet-pump barrel assembly is comprised of the sidewall jet nozzles, the jet-pump assembly, the suction screen, and the tricone rock bit. Clean fluid is pumped at high pressure through the kelly hose to the high-pressure swivel on the mining tool. The high-pressure pipe conducts the fluid down to the sidewall jet nozzles, the pump jet nozzle, and the tricone rock bit. The sidewall jet streams cut the formation and wash the cuttings down to the rock bit. High-pressure fluid issues from the water courses to clean the bit and to agitate the cuttings. Rotation of the mining tool causes the rock bit to grind any oversize material enough to permit its passage through the suction screen. High- pressure fluid issues from the pump jet nozzle to provide the lift needed to pump the slurry to the surface. The slurry is discharged into the settling pits where the cuttings are deposited and the clean fluid is returned to the suction of the high-pressure pump.

Jan 3, 1969

In high-volume mining operations, preventive maintenance programs that include standardized replacement wear parts can boost equipment availability and lower unit costs. Meeting the daily production targets depends heavily on keeping equipment working as close to full time as possible. This is the case at one medium-sized western surface coal operation producing approximately 2.7 million t/y (3 million stpy). The mine, located in western Wyoming, removes in excess of 8 million m3 (10.5 million cu yd) of highly abrasive overburden each year. According to the mine superintendent, "Abrasion at this mine is some of the worst I've ever seen. Shovel points can wear out in little more than one shift. Dozer blades some- times last two weeks, but can wear out sooner. And ripper points really take a beating. If we can replace this fast-wearing iron with small pieces that go on quickly, we think that's the way to go."

Jan 3, 1978

By R. S. McClellan

In order to meet the ever-increasing demand by consumers for uniformity of ground talc, a new method of blending its finished product has been developed by Gouverneur Talc Company, Inc., at its plant near Gouverneur, N. Y. The method has been in use for a sufficient length of time to be now judged a success. The Gouverneur district is the leading talc producing area of the world, inasmuch as more tonnage is produced there than from any other state in the U.S. or, so far as is known, from any other locality in the world. Almost all of the output goes into industrial uses, with ceramics and paint being the principal consuming industries. The physical and chemical specifications imposed by these industries are stringent and the trend, as in most industries, is toward ever increasing severity. The blending method described herein has aided Gouverneur Talc to keep up with this trend.

Jan 3, 1961

By W. A. Tiller, J. P. McHugh

THE phase diagram of the Ge-Te system was first investigated by Klemm and Frischmuth.' They arrived at the phase diagram shown in Fig. 1 indicating the presence of a peritectic phase boundary at the 50 at. pct Ge composition. Later, Schubert and Fricke2 obtained data which suggested to them the possible existence of a eutectic at about 55 at. pct Ge. In order to resolve these differences, we have carefully studied this system in the region 40 to 60 at. pct Ge using both the conventional thermal analysis technique and a new solidification technique.3y4 The alloys were prepared from semiconductor grade germanium and 99.999+ Te by reacting the elements in evacuated, graphite coated, vycor tubes. The samples were placed in a thermal analysis apparatus described elsewhere4 and cooling curves were taken of each alloy to determine the liquidus surface. The cooling curve for a 50 at. pct alloy shows two distinct arrests about 1°C apart which

Jan 1, 1961