Search Documents

By Arthur F. TQggQrt

THE approximate status of education in ore dressing in 1871 is reflected by Rossiter W. Raymond in an article written at that time presenting the curricula and descriptions of the laboratories at the various mining schools in the United States. For the most part, the curricula in which ore dressing was taught were for mining engineering. They comprised courses in geology, mining, and pyrometallurgy about equal in point or credit weights; a short course in ore dressing, and a somewhat longer course in assaying; and courses in surveying, hydraulics, power, and strength of materials-all superimposed on a broad foundation of physics, chemistry, and mathematics. Some curricula contained a fair content of the humanities. Then, as now, the emphasis on fundamentals was greater in the older colleges and universities. The report on the Columbia School of Mines, then relatively young, emphasized that a large percentage of its students were college graduates. As technical and scientific knowledge grew, first metallurgy and then geology were set up as separate curricula. So far as curriculum designation is con-

Jan 1, 1947

By H. S. Wang, Y. P. Gupta

Diffusion of zinc and germanium in liquid silver is measured in the temperature range 975" to 1400°C by use of the capillary-reservoir technique. The ex-perinzental results are discussed in terms of the fluctuation and the "hole" theories of liquid diffusion, assunzing the solute as a point charge equal to the difference in the valences of the solute and solvent atoms. The additional coulombic interaction term due to the excess solute charge is evaluated in terms of the Thomas-Fenni approximation. The theoretical and experimental results agree with both the fluctuation and "hole" theories of liquid diffusion. No perceptible effect on solute diffusion in liquid silver of the size difference between the solute and solvent atoms/ions is apparent. DIFFUSION in liquid silver of electropositive solutes indium, tin, antimony, and homovalent gold has been previously reported by Leak and Swalin1 and Gupta,' respectively. These solutes have nearly the same atomic size but differ principally from one another in excess valence (+2, +3, +4, respectively). The observed differences in the temperature dependence and the rate of solute diffusion were explained in terms of an added coulombic interaction between the solute and the solvent atoms. In the case of diffusion of gold in liquid silver, the data were found to be consistent with an effective valence for gold of -0.85, as proposed by Le Claire.3 Recently, Wang and Gupta4 have reported a study of diffusion of ruthenium, iron, and cobalt in liquid silver. The results of diffusion of these solutes and their temperature dependence were found consistent with the hole theories and the fluctuation theories of liquid diffusion, if ruthenium, iron, and cobalt were diffusing in liquid silver with relative valences -2, -1.3, and -0.5, respectively, instead of -3, -3, and -2 as suggested by the relative position of these elements in the Periodic Table of Elements. Furthermore, the predicted valences for these solutes were observed to be consistent with the sparsely available information on the magnetic properties of some of the dilute alloys of copper and silver with these solutes. In theoretical calculations of solute diffusivity, the solute was assumed as a point excess charge equal to the difference in the valences of the solute and solvent atoms. Both the assumption of a point excess solute charge and the use of the Thomas-Fermi approximation to calculate the potential of a solute charge are less precise for the case of electronegative solutes. Therefore, it was not possible to infer from the data on ruthenium, iron, and cobalt an effect, if any, on solute diffusion of the relative differences in either the Period or the size of the solute and solvent atoms or the solute atoms themselves. A study of the diffusion of Period 4 elements, specifically zinc and germanium was, therefore, undertaken since zinc and germanium, respectively, have relative valences of +1 and +3 in liquid silver and the data obtained on diffusion of these solutes could be compared with the available data on diffusion of Period 5 electropositive solutes, indium, tin, and antimony in liquid silver. From such a comparison, it was hoped to learn something about the effect, if any, of the ion size or the structure of the ion core on impurity diffusion in liquid silver. EXPERIMENT The diffusion of tracer zinc and germanium in liquid silver was studied by the capillary reservoir technique, modified adequately for use at high temperatures. In principle, capillaries containing liquid silver

Jan 1, 1970

By T. L. Joseph

A DEMAND for specialized knowledge has directed engineering curricula towards competency in some particular field or occupation. Preparation for life in a broad sense of completeness has received little consideration. Ways and means are needed for weaving some of the threads of liberal education into the fabric of engineering education. Any effort to develop a humanistic-social stem of engineering education will depend largely upon the content of the courses and the type of instruction offered. Many of the courses in college curricula are intended to lay a foundation for more advanced courses to be taken later by those. who specialize in some particular field. Students in other fields lack the background necessary to take the advanced courses and have too much detailed information, soon forgotten, forced upon them if they pursue the foundation courses. To develop a humanistic-social stem for engineering education existing catalogue courses selected should follow some general plan aimed towards broad educational objectives. Courses packed with detailed factual information are necessary for the stu-

Jan 1, 1947

By John J. Porter

UNUSUAL problems have arisen at certain iron blast-furnaces in Virginia through the fact that the ore-supplies, derived from the Oriskany formation, contain from a trace up to 1 per cent. of zinc oxide. Since the technical literature bearing on this subject is very scant, the following notes, based on personal experience, will probably be of value to those of our members who are interested in iron blast-furnace practice. The course of zinc through the blast furnace is readily traced. Entering the throat as zinc oxide, finely disseminated through the ore, it descends unchanged to the fusion-zone, since a temperature of 1,000° C. or more is required for its reduction. At the fusion-zone, the zinc oxide is reduced by solid carbon to metallic zinc, which is set free as vapor and rises with the ascending gases to the cooler zones of the furnace. In cooling through the range of temperature from 1,000° to 500° C. the zinc is re-oxidized according to the reaction Zn + CO2 = ZnO + CO, and the resulting zinc oxide, being in a very fine state of division, is readily carried along by the ascending gases. Portions, however, deposit on the descending stock and are carried down, again to pass through the same cycle of changes. Still other portions deposit on the lining of the stack, and gradually form hard masses of "cadmia." Of the remainder of the zinc oxide, the greater part passes out of the furnace, and is either deposited in the down-comer, dust-trap, stoves, boilers and flues, or passes through the chimney into the atmosphere. A small portion escapes reduction and enters the slag as zinc oxide, while still another portion is absorbed into the lining of the furnace.

Sep 1, 1907

By Strathmore R. B. Cooke, Iwao Iwasaki, C. S. Chang

PYRRHOTITE has long been considered a gangue mineral to be eliminated as tailing in the treatment of various sulphide ores. However, in recent years the world-wide lack of sulphur resources has called attention to this mineral as a potential source of both sulphur and iron. Its importance as an economic mineral, however, has not been particularly emphasized. For this reason very little is known about its response to flotation, except that it can be depressed easily in alkaline circuit, by long aeration,1,2 addition of oxidizing agents3 or by starch.4 The object of this work was to study the floatability of pyrrhotite. This includes the effect of oxidation by aeration, of copper activation, and of change in pH.

Jan 2, 1954

By Frederick J. McGarry, Fred Moavenzadeh

An experimental investigation of the thermal and mechanical responses of rock materials to laser radiation is described. Specifically, the following three topics have been studied in detail: 1. Temperature measurements on thin discs subjected to laser radiation. 2. Strain measurements on thin discs subjected to laser radiation. 3. Observation and evaluation of cracking and spalling phenomena in constrained and unconstrained thin discs respectively, subjected to laser radiation. In conjunction with the experimental work done, use was made of a heat flow analysis and a stress analysis program developed for this purpose. It was possible to theoretically predict the thermal and mechanical responses of a rock specimen to laser radiation and then compare them with experimental observations. Good correlations were obtained.

Jan 1, 1971

By J. M. Clark

(Wilkes-Barre Meeting, June, 1911.) For some years past, those interested in the development of the increasingly important mining industry of Canada, have urged the adoption by the Dominion Parliament of a federal mining-law, which would have the force and stability of statutory enactment. At present, placer-mining in the Yukon Territory, is governed by the Yukon Placer Mining Act. All other mining under federal jurisdiction is governed by 'Orders in Council and Ministerial Regulations. In the earlier stages of development, it is perhaps a matter of necessity that these important matters should be so dealt with; but it is now felt that the time has come when mining-rights in the extensive regions under federal control should be put on a permanent basis, -and that any changes required from time to time should be made only after full and open discussion in Parliament. A short sketch will suffice to indicate how vast and varied the interests affected really are. When the Dominion of Canada was constituted by the Imperial Statute known as the British North America Act of 1867 (which came into force by proclamation on July 1 of that year), it comprised only the present Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick; but provision was made for the inclusion of Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, Rupert's Land, and the North West Territories. Subsequently Rupert's Land and the North West Territories were acquired, the 'Crown Colonies of British Columbia and * SECRETARY'S NOTE.-Mr. Clark, an eminent Canadian lawyer, and joint author of the treatise on "The Law of Mines in Canada," has been requested by the Do¬minion Government to prepare a Federal mining-law, and presents this paper, by invitation of the Council, in order to obtain, if possible, useful suggestions from members of the Institute.-R. W. R.

Apr 1, 1911

By W. Denham Verschoyle

In designing a pocket instrumeut whereby any giver1 horizontal or vertical angle may be closely approximated, the following points should be kept in view, if general utility is aimed at : 1. The instrnment should be light and compact, so that it can be carried in the pocket, or in a sling. 2. It should be capable of observing any angle whatever, horizontal or vertical. 3. Since time is often an important consideration in making a preliminary survey, it should be capable of giving the horizontal and vertical angle at one observation. I do not know of any instrunlent that will fulfill these requirements, except the one here described. Where the depression- or elevation-angle of the distant object, whose bearing is required, exceeds 50 or 60 degrees, it becomes difficult or impossible with a prismatic compass, for instance, to obtain accurate results; and since it frequently happens, particularly in mining, that much work requires to be done beyond that limit, it is obvious that an instrument which can be used to observe a high angle just as easily as a low one, if not absolutely a necessity, will at least be a great convenience. How this a pocket transit" attains to the required degree of universality will be understood from the diagram, Fig. 1, in which B is a beveled, graduated circle, attached to and freely revolving about the center of the magnet A. Light falling on B is reflected through a window in F (the compass-box), along the line AC, and is again reflected back to the eye at D by the prism C. By a simple arrangement, the tight-line BCE call be completely revolved in the vertical plane DE, which is normal to AC. It is clear, then, that no matter through what vertical

Jan 1, 1908

By Frederick H. Williams

THE object of this paper is to bring to the attention of those members of the Institute who are interested in the subject, a method for the estimation of manganese, which has been frequently used in the laboratory of the Vulcan Steel Works during the last eight months, and which is deemed worthy of more general use. It is simply an adaptation of well-known processes, for the purpose of determining this element in pig iron and steel. In general, the method consists in precipitating the manganese as binoxide, dissolving in dilute sulphuric acid in the presence of an excess of a standardized solution of oxalic acid, and titrating the remainder of the oxalic acid left unoxidized with permanganate of potash. For this method, therefore,. two standardized solutions are needed, viz., a permanganate solution and an oxalic acid solution. The permanganate solution is made so that 1 c.c. is equivalent to 1 mgr. of iron. By using so weak a solution and keeping the bulk of the solution to be titrated down to 75 c.c. or a little less, the accuracy of the process is greatly increased, since the final reaction is almost if not quite as sharp as if a stronger solution were used. The oxalic acid' may be of almost any strength, but if made so that 1 c.c. requires 3 c.c. of the permanganate to oxidize it, it will auswer well. The process is then, as follows : from 1 to 2 grams of pig iron or steel are dissolved in 40 to 50 c.c. of concentrated nitric acid with the aid of heat. As soon as solution is effected, in the case of steel, add gradually and cautiously, the solution being kept boiling, sufficient pulverized chlorate of potash to precipitate the manganese as binoxide. Two grams will be a great abundance. In the me of pig iron, first remove the carbon and silica by filtering the solution through asbestos and washing with concentrated nitric acid. Filter the strong acid solution in which the binoxide has been precipitated, through asbestos with the aid. of the filter pump. When it has entirely passed through wash well with water. Blow the contents: of the funnel into the beaker in which the precipitation was made and rinse the funnel with a little water.

Jan 1, 1882

By Frederick H. Williams

The object of this paper is to bring to the attention of those members of the Institute who are interested in the subject, a method for the estimation of manganese, which has been frequently used in the labratory of the Vulcan Steel Works during he last eight months, and which is deemed worthy of more general use. It is simply an adaptation of well-known processes, for the purpose of determining this element in pig iron and steel. In general, the method consists in precipitating the manganese as binoxide dissolving in dilute sulphuric acid in the presence of an excess of a standardized solution of oxalic acid, and titrating the remainder of the oxalic acid left unoxidized with permanganate of potash. For this method, therefore, two standardized solutions are needed, viz., a permanganate solution and an oxalic acid solution. The permanganate solution is made so that 1 C.C. is equivalent to 1 mgr. of iron. By using so weak a solution and keeping tile bulk of the solution to be titrated down to 75 C.C. or a little leas, the accuracy of the process is greatly increased, since the final reaction is almost if not quite as sharp as if a stronger solution were used. The oxalic acid may be of almost any strength, but if made so that 1 c.c. requires 3 O.C. of the permanganate to oxidize it, it will auswer well. The process is then, as follows: from 1 to 2 grams of. pig iron or steel ate dissolved in 40 to 50 C.C. of concentrated nitric acid with the aid of heat. As soon as solution is erected, in the awe of steel, add gradually and cautiously, the solution being kept boiling, sufficient pulverized chlorate of potash to precipitate the manganese as binoxide. Two grams will be a great abundance. In the case of pig iron, first remove the carbon and silica by filtering the solution through asbestos and washing with concentrated nitric acid. Filter the strong acid solution in which the binoxide has been precipitated, through asbestos with the aid of the filter pump. When it has entirely passed through wash well with water. Blow the contents of the funnel into the beaker in which the precipitation was made and rinse the funnel with a little water.

Jan 1, 1882

Jan 1, 1954

By J. P. Witherow

The blast-filmace plant of the Crozer Steel and Iron Company was built under contract by Witherow & Gordon, of Pittsburgh, Pa. The furnace is 70 feet high by 16 feet bosh, tunnel-head 12 feet 8 inches, and hearth 9 feet in diameter. The columns are 20 feet high above furnace level, below which they extend 2 feet. The shell is 23 feet diameter at bottom and 19 feet at top. The plate iron is 3/8 inch at bottom, and tapers to 1/4 inch, the top ring being 5/16 inch.

Jan 1, 1884

These springs arc situated on the south bank of the river about four miles below the City of Great Falls. In addition to the spring on the bank there are several in the bed of the river. Estimates on the flow of all these vary from 350 to 600 cubic feet per second, and as the temperature is practically constant at 53° F. throughout the year, the effect on the river water is to prevent the formation of anchor ice at the Rainbow Fails power development below, trouble of this source being in evidence every winter at the Black Eagle Falls above. Geologists claim that the water of the Giant Springs is derived from seepage through an old pre-glacial channel of the Missouri River now occupied by Sand Coulee, five miles up-stream from Great Falls. The water in this buried channel seeps through the flat-lying sandstone of the region and again unites with the present stream at the site of the springs.

Jan 1, 1913

By Sheldon P. Wimpfen, Nelson Severinghaus

13.2-1. Introduction. Man's first association with industrial minerals came at the dawn of history when a remote ancestor first put a few rocks together to protect a fire or selected colored clays to decorate his face. He was dealing with industrial minerals when he selected flint to tip his arrows or scrape a hide. From that inauspicious beginning shrouded in the mists of man's earliest history, industrial minerals have grown tremendously in importance to our civilization. The growth rate of the industrial minerals, or nonmetallic group, has been considerably greater than that of the metals group, as can be seen by the following Fig. 13.2-1: [ ] Industrial minerals produced in the five-year period of 1961-1965 had more than twice the dollar value of the metals produced:

Jan 1, 1968

The Rio Tinto - Cerro Colorado operation was the first major cyanide plant built out of South Africa since the Carlin and Corte mills came on-stream in 1965 and 1969. Its flowsheet was presented in the original monograph, "Gold and Silver Cyanidation Plant Practice, " published in 1975, with a brief description of the plant but without the operating costs. The authors have recently received these data and it was believed worthwhile to present them in this volume along with the aforementioned flowsheet. The Cerro Colorado ore deposit is located at Minas de Rio Tinto in the province of Huelva, Spain, approximately 88 km (55 miles) north- west of Seville. The previously mined copper ore bodies lie on either side of the deposit which is mainly copper ore. The crest of the deposit is a capping of "gossan" containing hematite, limonite, gold, and silver. Separate facilities for primary crushing, concentration of copper ores and cyanidation of gold-silver ores are provided. Fine crushing is common to both ores. The run-of-mine open-pit ore is fed from a stockpile via a surge bin and apron feeder to a jaw crusher. After crushing to minus 150 mm (6 in. ), the ore is washed in a rotary scrubber to remove the clay material ahead of fine crushing. Minus 6 mm (1/4 in. ) screen undersize is pumped directly to the grinding circuit with the screen oversize being crushed to minus 19 mm (3/4 in. ) for feed to the primary ball mill; this is followed by two subsequent stages of ball mill grinding to 80% minus 43 microns (325 mesh). Grinding is with water only; no cyanide is used. After thickening, lime is added to the first two of seven Pachuca tanks for conditioning ahead of cyanide addition in each of the five remaining Pachuca tanks. This flowsheet indicates rapid cyanide consumption and the need to maintain a high strength cyanide solution for silver extraction. Agitation for dissolution of the gold and silver is followed by standard CCD practice employing four 67 m (220 ft) washing thickeners in series, with repulping between each thickener. A departure from American and Canadian practice is the use of Stellar filters developed in South Africa for pregnant solution clarification and recovery of zinc-gold-silver precipitates. The precipitate is treated with acid for zinc removal, the sludge filtered in presses, dried, calcined and smelted to produce dore bullion of 900 fineness containing 12% gold and 78% silver.

Jan 1, 1981

By P. Barnes

(Read at the Wilkes-Barre Meeting, May, 1877.) THESE furnaces are of the ordinary Siemens type, and present no special peculiarities of construction. The bed of each is 8 feet by 20 feet clear inside of the walls and ports. The producers are placed at a distance of about 200 feet from the furnaces, and the gas is collected in an iron tube and led across the yard overhead. It then drops underground into the gas flue, and is distributed to the furnaces. A considerable weight of floor-plates over the valve-pits is included in account 39, but none of the general stock of floor-plates for the mill were charged to the furnaces. In Table No. 1 is shown the money cost of the furnaces as distributed to the several accounts named. In Table 2 is shown the proportion of each account due to each of the several items or classes of expenditure named.

Jan 1, 1878

By W. C. Lacy

A WIDE variety of metalliferous deposits in Peru shows a close and consistent relationship to intrusive and extrusive igneous rdcks. This relationship furnishes a clue to the comp(osition of ore-bearing fluids and to the timing in separation of these fluids from differentiation magma Conclusions presented here are based on ten years' study of a large number of metalliferous deposits in Peru. The most important of these areas are shown in Fig. 1. The structural relationship of meta1 mineralization to the intrusive series and of the members of the series to each other can be illustrated by three examples: I The well described Cerro de Pasco (Ref. 1, p. 160) sulfide mass shown in Fig. 2 is localized along the ' eastern contact of an agglomerate-filled crater. Quartz-monzonite porphyry and related intrusive breccias, which in places border the pyrite mass On west, are replaced by the pyrite and cut by later transverse vein structures. Late unmineralized but

Jan 1, 1958

By Arnulf Muan, R. W. Taylor

Activities of iron in Fe-Pt alloys have been dctermined by equilibrating mixtures of platinum metal and iron oxide at known oxygen Pressures in a thermobalance at 1300°C. Conzpositions and iron activities of the oxide phase at equilibrium are known from previous work, and compositions of the Fe-Pt alloy phase formed at equilibrium were detcvt?zined from the observed weight changes of the samples. The activity curve obtained shows a strow negative deviation from Raoult's law. THE present investigation was undertaken as part of a research program dealing with phase equilibrium relations existing among the oxides of iron and titanium at 1300°C. At low oxygen pressures of the gas phase in equilibrium with these oxides, the iron activity of the system is high, and considerable alloying of iron with the platinum used as a container material takes place. Thermodynamic data for Fe-Pt alloys at 1300°C are needed in order to evaluate quantitatively the extent of such reactions. Larson and chipmanlhave determined activities of iron in Fe-Pt alloys at 1550°C by equilibrating platinum metal with CaO-iron oxide-SiOzmelts in which the iron activities were known. Compositions of the resulting Fe-Pt alloys were determined by chemical analysis. Mundiath and Gerassimov2 have studied thermodynamic properties of Fe-Pt alloys by electromotive force measurements in the temperature range 550" to 1000°C. The experimental method used in the present investigation is a slight modification of that used by Grube and Ratsch3 in studies of NiCr-alloys. 1) EXPERIMENTAL METHOD 1) General. Mixtures of platinum metal and iron oxide were equilibrated at 1300°C in atmospheres of known oxygzn przssures, and the course of the reactions was followed by measuring the weight changes of the mixtures. The principles involved in the derivation of composition-activity relations from these measurements are illustrated by the composition triangle for the system Fe-FeZO3-Pt shown in Fig. 1. Take as an example a mixture of FeZO3 (hematite) and platinum such that the total composition is represented by point T. If this mixture is heated to 1300c in air (poz = 0.21 atm) and the oxygen pressure is then reduced gradually, the oxygen content of the oxide phase decreases and increasing amounts of iron enter the metal phase. As the oxide phase and the metal phase for all practical purposes are insoluble in each other, their compositions are represented by points moving toward Fe along the joins Fe-Fe,03 and Fe-Pt, respectively. The total composition of the mixture during this process also changes, but only with respect to oxygen content, because the vapor pressures of iron and platinum are negligible at 1300°C. Hence the change in total composition is described by a straight line (constant Fe/Pt ratio) radiating from the 0 apex of the composition triangle Fe-Pt-0, of which the triangle in Fig. 1 is a part. Only one such line ("oxygen reaction line", T-T",) is shown in Fig. 1. The total composition of the alloy-iron oxide mixture at any instant must, in addition, be located on the straight line (conjugation line) connecting the two points representing the compositions of the two coexisting phases. It therefore follows that the total composition of the mixture at any instant is represented by the point of intersection between the conjugation line and the oxygen reaction line. An example of the situation prevailing at a chosen oxygen pressure, po2, is shown in Fig. 1 by points a' (alloy composition), b' (oxide composition) and T' (total composition). Point b' is known from the work of Darken and Gurry,4 and point T' is experimentally determined by the observed weight change of the mixture (distance T-T). Hence, point a', the composition of the alloy, is determined from the above data as the intersection between the join Pt-Fe and the extension of the straight line bl-7'. The activity of iron in the alloy at equilibrium is identical to that of the iron oxide phase, if the same

Jan 1, 1962

By Arthur R. MacPherson

The development of a simple method to predict the autogenous grinding possibilities of new ore deposits is attained. This method employs a 45-cm (18-in.) dry grinding Aerofall mill to grind small quantities of core or crushed samples in the top size range of 2 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in.). An extensive program has been carried out to correlate the data obtained in the 45-cm (18- in.) test mill with the actual results obtained in large commercial plants or autogenous test plants. Enough evidence now exists from these correlation programs that the 45-cm (18-in.) mill can be used to grind small samples from a new deposit and correctly predict the autogenous grinding mill requirements of a commercial plant to treat this ore.

Jan 1, 1978

By T. F. Witherbee

In the sections, Figures 1, 2, and 3, are shown three crucibles that have been applied to substantially the same furnace, all the conditions having been the same except a variation of one foot of bosh, and a slight variation in the angle of the same. The bosh of No. 3 was originally the same as No. 2, the additional foot in diameter being the result of three months' cutting. Beginning with No. 1, which mas 5 feet 6 inches diameter, with tuyeres 5 feet 4 inches high, and cinder-tap four feet from bottom, great trouble was found in holding iron a proper length of time, four hours being the outside limit when working well, and two hours or less if working badly. "Break-outs" through the iron

Jan 1, 1880