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By S. B. Casey

[ ] IN 1880, an electric arc was struck over metal for the first time to experiment with controllable melting. The glare of this arc has reflected on the stacks of the steel industry and continued to light the path of steelmakers in their never ending quest -for faster, more economical, and better ways of producing steel. William Siemens is credited with first employing the electric arc to melt metal in a closed hearth and produce basic metallurgical reactions. By the turn of the century, an Italian, named Stassano, was experimenting with ore reduction by the electric arc. In 1899, Dr. Paul Heroult, in France, used the direct arc principle for producing ferro-chromium. His experiments quickly led him to develop a dosed-top arc furnace for the production of steel, and his first commercial shipment was recorded in December, 1900. American steelmakers, quick to sense the possibilities of this method of melting, invited Heroult to our shores, where, in 1905, he was responsible for installing the first arc furnace on the North American continent. This furnace, at Sault Ste. Marie, was built for ore reduction. But Charles Holcomb, founder of Holcomb Steel. Co. of Syracuse, N. Y. contacted Heroult in 1905 and contracted for the first American direct-arc electric furnace for steelmaking. On April 5, 1906, the first heat was tapped from this 3-ton unit. The furnace was basic lined and powered by a single-phase, 500 kw generator, -producing high amperage at low voltage. It is interesting to note that, although the first few heats were made with cold charges, subsequent heats were duplexed. R. H. Bully, first superintendent of Holcomb Steel, persuaded the directors to purchase the unit to effect a more economical and efficient means of making tool steel by duplexing prime melting in a combustion fired furnace, and transfer of hot metal to the arc furnace for temperature adjusting, refining, and adding carbon and alloying elements. Today, duplexing is foreseen by some as the steelmaking process of the future. The promise shown by America's first arc furnace for ingot production quickly led to the purchase of a similar unit by The Firth Sterling Steel Co., in 1909, and to the purchase of the first arc furnace for production of steel castings, by the Treadwell Engineering Co., in 1911. From its humble start in 1906, production of arc furnace steel has never ceased to increase its yearly percentage of total steel production in the U. S., although certain other methods have declined or almost disappeared. By its ability to be used intermittently, the arc furnace gained favor and enhanced its reputation during depression days. When the attack on Pearl Harbor plunged us headlong into the long days of World War II, the arc furnace stood ready, flexible enough to be overburdened hearth wise 30 pct and power wise 25 pct, pouring its endless flood of alloy for the guns, tanks, ships, and planes which ultimately brought victory. During the post war boom, the now, proven virtues of low initial cost, faster installation, better yield, improved availability, and lower operating cost, enabled industry-particularly the small, new, independent producers-to locate strategically and profitably to meet the demand of an America that had been starved for new homes, appliances, cars, and highways. In the Korean police action, the arc furnace again proved itself by providing the latest alloys metallurgists could develop to meet the demands that the jet age and the innovations of guided missiles required. In today's peacetime prosperity, the arc furnace is continuing to provide the economic flexibility required to meet an ever increasing demand for better steel in the face of mounting costs, scrap shortages, and pressure toward decentralized location of industry.

Jan 1, 1961

By Arthur Taggart

THE major portion of the work described in this paper was performed by R. W. Young,+ a graduate student in the department of Mining and Metallurgy, Sheffield Scientific School, Yale University, working under a cooperative agreement between the Hardinge Conical Mill Co., the Sheffield Scientific School, and himself. Since this cooperative scheme is at present in effect in the case of a considerable number of other students in the department and since it is the hope of the school that the privilege thus extended may be utilized even more freely in the future by mining and manufacturing companies, it may not be amiss at this point to give a summary of the general plan. Briefly it is as follows: A graduate student, whose undergraduate work in this or other universities shows promise of ability to handle research work, is chosen by conference between the company and instructor involved. The aim of the company in the agreement then entered into is to obtain the solution of one or more of the technical problems with which it may be confronted, or, at the end of 1 or 2 years, to obtain as an employee a man especially trained in its work. As. a means to accomplish one or both of these ends, the company furnishes the machine, apparatus, or material to be tested and pays the student during his graduate work a small salary, usually just sufficient to cover his living expenses, tuition and fees. The aim of the student is special training along a line in which he is particularly interested, the attainment of his advanced degree, and the chance to show to his future employer ability to handle such problems as may be presented to him. In return for the financial aid which he receives he agrees to devote at least half of his working time to the special problem submitted by his company. The other half is devoted to study of the collateral subjects required by the department for the granting of the degree which the student seeks. The student further agrees to enter the employ of the company in question at a wage not greater than that paid in like positions to recent graduates not specially trained and to remain with his employer at such wage for at least 1 year. If the student is to obtain a degree, the special work forming the basis of his investigation must be such as will involve real research and not mere routine manipulation. The subject is chosen by conference between the three parties to the agreement. The work is carried on under the direct supervision of the instructor involved. The school furnishes the general laboratory and library equipment essential to the pursuit of any extended investigation, In

Jan 4, 1917

By John S. Johnson

THE purpose of this article is to describe several types of borehole lining in common use, and especially to offer a relatively new means of reducing the expense of maintaining boreholes where they are subjected to corrosive action of water flowing either inside or outside of their casing. In the Anthracite region of Pennsylvania, boreholes are used for many purposes, the principal ones being: openings between the surface and underground workings through which are passed steam, water and compressed-air lines, ropeways from surface hoists to underground rope haulages, conduits for electric power and signal lines, water-discharge lines from underground pumping stations, and inlets to mine workings for flushing material. LININGS FOR BOREHOLES The inadequacy of steel pipe for use in boreholes has long been recognized. Various substitute materials have been tried, including screw-joint cast-iron pipe (Fig. I). Cast-iron pipe, while very effective as a discharge line for acid water (mine water) being pumped to the surface, is not so effective when serving as a conduit for silt and crushed rock being flushed underground for filling mine voids. Terra cotta pipe (Fig. 2) has been used in boreholes, and lasts a long time if the glazed inner surface of the pipe remains intact. Its installation in a borehole is very difficult and is recommended only where it is certain that there will be no subsidence of the surrounding territory. Accessibility in order properly to join each section of the pipe is essential to a satisfactory job. In large water holes, where it is possible to lower a man into the hole for sealing the joints of the pipe, glazed terra cotta pipe has been used successfully for delivering mine water from pumps in the mines. For large holes used for flushing refuse into mine workings where the surface wash is shallow, standard paving brick have been used to form a tube through the wash to the bedrock. These brick are laid radially, backed by common brick and cobbles laid in cement. It is obvious that the shaft through the wash must be large enough to permit a man to work in it. The flushing material is carried through bare rock from the juncture at bedrock to the openings underground. This plan has been used, particularly where a cast-iron surface line is laid upon the surface to carry the flushing material from the breaker to the hole, and down the hole continuously, with no opening to the air at the top of the hole, thereby eliminating the necessity of an attendant at this point (Fig. 3). Another similar type of borehole lining is constructed of hexagonal pieces of vitrified brick (Fig. 4). This type requires a steel drive pipe through the surface wash large enough to provide a finished tube of the desired size surrounded by a brick wall about 4 in. thick. The special bricks are laid in cement, six to a circle, around a lubricated pipe used as a form, and lowered in sections inside the large drive pipe; the bottom section is seated in a socket drilled in the solid rock, having the same inside

Jan 1, 1941

The results of laboratory grindability tests on coal are of primary importance to the designers and operators of coal grinding mills, and coal handling plants in general. However, the potential industrial application of these test results have not been fully realised due to a lack of laboratory-test/field data correlations. This paper focuses on the grindability characteristics of Queensland coals, and provides a new look at an old problem in terms of (i) a more rigorous characterisation of the grindability properties of coal and its associated mineral impurities, and (ii) the correlation of laboratory grindability test results with the size characteristics of run-of-plant thermal coals, and their pulverising characteristics in full-scale mills. A new grindability test is also proposed based on the Yancey, Geer and Price laboratory abrasion-test mill.

Jan 1, 1991

By Benjamin LeRoy Miller, Joseph T. Singewald

For a number of years Russia, India and Brazil have outranked all other countries as producers of manganese ores. During the 5 years immediately preceding the European war, the average annual production of Russia was 844,000, of India 694,000 and of Brazil 200,000 long tons. Since the outbreak of the war there has been a considerable falling off in the Russian and Indian production, particularly in the former, whereas the production of Brazilian ores has been greatly increased, amounting in 1914 to over 250,000 tons and in 1915 to nearly 350,000, with conditions favorable for a still larger production in 1916. Manganese is one of the few industrially important metals that are not produced in the United States in quantity commensurate with our needs, so that we have been compelled to import annually about 300,000 tons, having a value of over $2,000,000, and these ores have been obtained from the three countries mentioned above. Their rank as contributors to our imports of manganese ores was India, Russia, Brazil; and in 1913, Brazil contributed only one-fifth. During the past 2 years Brazil has furnished rapidly increasing quantities to this country, and, with the falling off of imports from India and Russia, has become our principal foreign source. In 1914, Brazil furnished two-fifths of the imports and more than India or Russia, and in 1915 over nine-tenths. The manganese ores of Brazil are consequently of more than usual interest to us at this time. The Manganese-Ore Distbicts of Brazil , The manganese mining industry of Brazil dates from the year 1894, and since that year the total production has been over 3,000,000 tons. With the exception of a small quantity produced in the State of Bahia from deposits west of the City of Bahia, this output has come from the

Jan 1, 1917

By Paul M. Tyler

The term "milling" as applied to nonmetallic minerals often refers merely to pulverizing without preliminary beneficiation. As applied to dimension stone, it embraces all the gteps involved in shaping and giving the desired finish to blocks. Processes such as sawing, planing, rubbing and polishing seem far removed from milling as the term is used in ore dressing, nevertheless they involve the element of concentration, for only 25 to 50 per cent of the gross quarry output may leave the mill as finished products after imperfect stone has been culled and the rough blocks trimmed. On the other hand, numerous nonmetallic minerals have to be concentrated in much the same manner as low-grade ores. Engineers and machinery manufacturers have begun to recognize more clearly the opportunities awaiting them in the nonmetallic field and have brought with them the methods and equipment developed in metal-mining camps, occasionally with little modification. General Economic Considerations Approximately one-half of the total value of the mineral production of the United States represents mineral fuels, and the other half is about equally divided between metals and nonmetals, the nonmetals recently having become relatively more important. In terms of volume the domestic output of nonmetallic minerals other than fuels is more than 10 times the annual output of metals. Considered on the basis of industrial utility and general commercial and military significance, moreover, the flow of nonmetallic mineral products is quite as needful to our national integrity and well-being as is that of metals, fuels, or other basic materials. Despite their importance individually and as a group, the nonmetallic mineral industries differ so widely in essential characters and economic environment that producers thereof have been slow to develop a community of interest among themselves or with the metal-mining fraternity. A spirit of change is in the air, rule-of-thumb methods soon may be relegated to limbo, and new methods—especially time-tested ideas borrowed from ore-dressing practice—are being introduced. A faithful record of plant practice in certain of these fields, however, must register

Jan 1, 1935

By L. C. Raymond

Valuations in the mineral industry differ from those of other enterprises because mines and oil wells have a definite life so cannot be considered a perpetuity. This requires that in any mineral-property evaluation the recovery of invested capital is necessary during the life of the property. Capital write-offs for nonextractive industries are assumed to be continuously plowed back to sustain the operation and produce yields on the capital invested. The extractive or mineral industry, however, generally attempts to return to the investor both interest and principal during the life of a property. Normally this is done currently and the dividend includes both items. Where the mineral property possesses large reserves and the life factor approximates a perpetuity, the return on investment is generally comparable to that of industrial stocks. The valuation of a mineral property, at best, is based on educated estimates and judgment factors. This is particularly true as it relates to estimating selling prices over a long term or assessing the quality of management. Also, it is possible to make various assumptions as to rapidity of working out the deposit, varying time for start-up of operations, varying earning rates, so as to obtain different results with the same basic facts. Thus it is not surprising that two engineers, irrespective of their abilities, may not agree exactly even when given the same facts, but their results should be close enough to be used in establishing a fair value for trading purposes. The valuation is no better than the source of basic data and the soundness of judgment factors. Fundamentally the basic principles of mineral valuation are similar for base metals, sulfur, oil, or any other mineral. Each mineral, however, requires an engineer to have a knowledge of such factors as its occurrence, distribution, mining and processing methods, and marketing problems in order to gather and analyze all the facts and data that have a bearing on the earning potential of the property. Present Value of a Mineral Property In essence the present value of a mineral property is a sum of money in today's dollars that future income from the property are worth. It differs from the total anticipated earnings by the amount of the interest that the unrecouped investment could be expected to earn during the period of recoupment. Thus, if one could accurately estimate what a mineral property will earn during its life, after deducting all operating, administrative, capital, interest, and tax charges, the determination of present value would be a relatively simple mathematical calculation. Normally, where the expected life of the mineral property extends beyond 20 or 25 years, the discounted value of earnings beyond this period is relatively small. The petroleum industry generally discounts the annual cash flow of an operation rather than earnings since, for tax-saving purposes, earnings are kept

Jan 1, 1976

By W. C. Phalen

SALT-MAKING PROCESSES THE production of salt in the United States divides itself at the outset into two distinct classes: (1) The mining of rock salt and its purification and separation into marketable sizes, and (2) the production of salt by evaporation from brines, bitterns, and other solutions. The processes employed at the present time in the manufacture of salt by evaporation may be outlined as follows: 1. Solar evaporation. 2. Direct-heat evaporation (a) in open kettles; (b) in open pans. 3. Steam evaporation, (a) in jacketed kettles, (b) in grainers. 4. Vacuum-pan evaporation. In this paper only the solar-evaporation processes practised in different parts of the United States will be described. SOLAR EVAPORATION Localities In the Eastern States the solar-evaporation process is not generally employed for climatic reasons. In the Western States, particularly in California and Utah, the great bulk of the salt produced originates in the solar-evaporation process. Of the Eastern States producing salt, this process, so far as the writer is aware, is employed in New York State only.

Jan 9, 1914

By E. A. Anderson, M. L. Fuller

The copper-zinc phase equilibrium diagram has been the subject of many investigations. Until recently, however, the boundary of the terminal solid solution of copper in zinc (eta) has not been thoroughly investigated. This paper reports determinations of the solid solubility of copper in zinc at temperatures from 100' to 400' C., the course of the liquidus and solidus for the eta solid solution and determinations of the peritectic temperature and peritectic point for the reaction between epsilon and the melt to form eta. The liquidus of the eta phase was determined by thermal analysis and the solidus by the microscopical examination of specimens quenched from temperatures above and below the solidus. The temperature of the peritectic horizontal was obtained by thermal analysis and the composition at the peritectic point was determined by extrapolation of the solid solubility boundary of the eta phase to the peritectic horizontal. The solid solubility boundary of the eta solid solution was investigated very carefully. Particular care was used to achieve equilibrium in the alloys at each temperature selected. The X-ray, electrical conductivity and microscopical methods mere used in determining the solid solubility limits. The X-ray method measures the changes in the solvent lattice with increasing solute content and in this manner locates the composition of the alloy at which no further change in the solvent lattice takes place, the limit of solid solubility. The method of electrical conductivity measures the conductivity of the alloys of a graded series of compositions, whereby the solubility limit is indicated by a discontinuity in the conductivity-composition relationship. The microscopical method distinguishes, by direct inspection, between the homogeneous solid solution alloys and those having a secondary constituent in addition to the solid solution phase, and thus indicates from the examination of a series of alloys the solid solubility limit.

Jan 1, 1934

[ADDISON, HERBERT Big Horn Collieries Co., Colo. Bldg., Denver, Colo. ALEXANDER, JOHN 825 So. Gaylord St., Denver, Colo. ALLAN, DAVID Lafayette, Colo. ALLEN, JOHN Ludlow, Colo. ALLEY, GERALD Box 1920, Denver, Colo. ALLISON, ARCHIE Box 562, Walsenburg, Colo. ALLISON, D. S 1331 Roberta St., Salt Lake City, Utah AMBLER, J. B c-o Ambler & Riter, Kearns Bldg., Salt Lake City, Utah ANDERSON, A. E 403 Ideal Bldg., Denver, Colo. ANDERSON, FRANK Crosby, Wyo. ANDREWS, SAM Box 91, Walsenburg, Colo. ANGUS, WILLIAM -o B. W. Snodgrass, 1575 Lafayette St., Denver, Colo. APPERSON, A. B Tramway Bldg., Denver, Colo. ARMSTRONG, C. D 420 U. S. Natl. Bank Bldg., Denver, Colo.]

Jan 1, 1926

Article II of the RMCMI Bylaws reads: Section 1. Classes. The membership of the corporation shall be divided into three classes, consisting of active members, life members and senior members, who shall have such rights, privileges and qualifications as these bylaws may provide. The names of all active, life and senior members, together with current mailing addresses, follow. [ ]

Jan 1, 1985

By W. E. Remmers

The defect in wire known as "cuppiness" has appeared and disappeared from time to time but the exact cause of its appearance or disappearance has not heretofore been known definitely. This defect is not limited to one particular metal or alloy but seems to be found at various times in all of the materials that are drawn into wire. Fig. 1 represents cuppy wire made from an aluminum alloy and Fig. 2 illustrates copper wire that became cuppy in drawing without intermediate annealing. Differences of opinion are current among the manufacturers of wire and in the literature (see bibliography at end of paper), some believing that the source of the trouble lies in segregation in the wire rod, oxides, sulfides, slag, etc.; others that the trouble is created by an unevenness of stress distribution across the section of the wire, usually thought of as being a function of die shape. All of the published work is of a qualitative rather than a quantitative nature. With this in mind, it was deemed advisable to make a study of the shape of the wire-drawing dies, as well as the oxygen content of the copper to be drawn. Experimental After several methods were tried, it was found that by studying the contour of the butt-end of the rod after drawing a measure of the "working" across the section of the wire could be made. The butt-end of the annealed rod was not sheared but was sawed off. The end was then smoothed with a fine file so that the plane of filing was perpendicular to the drawing axis. It is to be noted that this method is not an absolute measure of the distribution of cold working but is a very good indicative means of studying comparative values. The method of examining a tension break in wire was found to be the most sensitive in detecting cuppiness. Other methods, such as microscopic examination of longitudinal sections, X-ray radiographic studies, etching away of outer layers with nitric acid, and fracture by bending, can all be used to identify cuppy wire but the tension break will give the fracture characteristic of cuppiness before any of the other methods can

Jan 1, 1930

By A. J. Kraemer

[The Bureau of Minas for a number of years has been studying the properties of crude petroleum from producing fields in the United States and Western Hemisphere and has published a series of reports on these fields, including oil fields of Texas.5]

Jan 1, 1927

By Liu Q, Siefken T. C, Misra V. N

Investigation of the differential flotation characteristics between arsenopyrite and pyrite in a ore concentrate have been carried out on a laboratory Leeds flotation cell. Experimental results indicate that some limited separation between arsenopyrite and pyrite is possible by differential flotation under the conditions of high pH and low pulp redox potential. The best performance in this testwork was achieved by using an oxidizing agent at pH 10.7. Of the oxidizing agents tested, NaOCI gave better oxidizing effect than KMnO4. It has also been observed that the pulp redox potential depends on the pulp pH value. At high pH values a hydroxide layer is formed on the arsenopyrite surface, which has the effect of a depressant on the arsenopyrite.

Jan 1, 1992

By Sjaw WJ

Conditional simulation is a set of geostatistical tools that is becoming popular as powerful personal computers make the use of these tools less costly. The more familiar set of tools for spatial estimation has a number of varieties (eg Ordinary Kriging, Simple Kriging, Multiple Indicator Kriging, etc) each suited to particular solutions of the problem of estimation, for example predicting the average grades of blocks in a region from more or less sparse data. Similarly, conditional simulation has a number of varieties, discussed in this paper, which in various ways address the problem of characterising the variability of a deposit between the known data locations.Conditional simulation can provide a number of equiprobable images of a deposit, at a finer resolution than would be economic or practical to sample, and that can be constrained by various criteria (which may be geological, statistical and geostatistical), to ensure that the images reasonably represent the deposit. These images can then be used to assess the risk involved in various practical mining decisions. Examples are provided where conditional simulation has been used for validating resource estimate parameters, optimising grade control sampling grids, and for ore block optimisation for mining grade control.

Jan 1, 1997

By R. E. Reed-Hill

The lattice reorientations in (1011) and (1013) twins of pure magnesium have been investigated using polarized light. Both forms (Ire subject 20 almost complete second-order twinning on the (1012) plane of the first-order twin. The observed deviations of composition planes by 6 and 3 deg, respectively, from coherent twinning planes are caused by second-order twinning. The experimental data indicate that (1011) and (1013) are reciprocal twins with a twinning shear 0.136. In a previous paper1 it was shown that the primary fracture mechanism in single crystals of magnesium strained in tension parallel to the basal plane is parting or fracture inside twins. In the temperature interval 25oto286oC, the observed twinning form, dominant in fracture, was a very small twin which formed in bands. Because these twins were very small and appeared in extensively deformed regions they did not lend themselves to X-ray analysis. Lacking Cou-ling and Pearsall&apos;s2 recently reported polarized light technique for magnesium, the twinning plane indices (K1) were originally determined by two surface composition plane measurements. This plane fell in a major zone (axis < 1120>) at an angle of 55.75 deg to the parent crystal basal plane. Because its habit deviated by 6 deg from{l0ll), 61.9 deg, the experimental data per se were not consistent with simple (1011) twinning and, for expedience, the twin was designated with habit plane indices (30341, 54.5 deg, representing the lowest set of indices corresponding to measured angles. Couling, Pashak, and sturkey3 have also found bands of reoriented lattice with a similar habit in polycrystalline specimens of magnesium and certain dilute magnesium alloys. These bands are significant because their formation in large numbers during plastic flow permit specific magnesium alloys to undergo very extensive deformation by cold rolling. Using polarized light2 they showed that the basal plane in the reoriented material was nearly parallel to the band habit and, as a result, proposed a mechanism for band formation involving a double twinning process in which (1011) twins form and then retwin according to (1012). Because of the obvious similarity between the twin bands observed in single crystals and in polycrystalline specimens, it was decided to investigate if the two phenomena were not identical and, if possible, to verify the retwinning hypothesis. The present paper is a report of this investigation and shows that the twins with the (3034) habit correspond closely to retwinned (l011) twins. Evi- dence is also given for an analogous retwinning process in (1013) twins. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Rectangular single-crystal specimen deformed in tension (stress axis in the basal plane parallel to [1010], as previously described,4 were polished electrolytically by Jacquet&apos;s method5 and etched in acetic picral.2 All twins studied in this investigation belong to a major zone, whose axis, [1210], was perpendicular to both stress axis and two sides of each specimen [(1210) surfaces]. These latter contain the plane of shear of the twins and measurements of the basal plane trace of twins on these surfaces determines the lattice orientations of the twins. The position of the basal plane in each case was determined with a polarizing microscope using a modification of the technique of Couling and Pearsall.2 For each twin the four positions of maximum extinction were measured, the data averaged, and then the pair of extinctions corresponding to the basal plane was determined by rotating the microscope stage and observing the position at which the color changed from orange to blue with a gypsum red, first-order plate inserted between the crossed Nicol prisms. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS (1013) Twins—In general, especially in speci-mens deformed at 150°C, (1073) twins appear in greater numbers and larger sizes than (1011) twins, and the lattice reorientation inside these twins is therefore easier to study and measure. Fig. 1 shows an area of an unetched and unpolished (1210) crystal surface containing a number of (1073) twins sloping upward to the right at about 29 deg with the basal plane of the original crystal (horizontal direction). Slip line segments may be seen in both the parent crystal (running horizontally) and in the twins (sloping downward to the right at approximately -22 deg with the horizontal). As may be seen in Fig. 2, the slip lines in the twin are not at the proper angle (64 deg from basal plane of the

Jan 1, 1961

By G. R. Love, C. C. Koch

The changes in superconducting properties with aging time have been studied ,for the pecipitation reaction in a Tc-30 at. pct V alloy. Superconducting critical temperature, upper critical field, and relative critical current density were determined by ac susceptibility techniques. Aging produces changes in critical temperature of both matrix and precipitate which can be rationalized by compositional effects. maximum flux pinning (critical current density) occurs at a time during aging when subgrain boundaries are completely decorated with precipitates and the subgrain centers remain precipitate -free. The particular effectiveness as barriers to flux motion of planar defects which enclose regions of low deject density is discussed. THE precipitation of a second phase can dramatically modify the superconducting properties of type I1 super-conductors. According to Livingston and Schadler1 one might expect changes in the primary, secondary, and tertiary superconducting properties of the material. Changes in matrix chemistry caused by precipitation can alter the fundamental superconducting parameters; critical temperature, Tc, and thermody-namic critical field, Hc. The concimitant changes in electron mean free path (reflected in normal state resistivity) can affect the critical fields Hc 1, IIc2, Hc3. Finally, the presence of precipitate particles may hinder the motion of flux lines and may considerably improve the current-carrying capacity in high-field superconductors. The influence of precipitation on superconducting properties has been studied in a number of systems.2 Magnetization measurements have been used to study the influence of precipitates on flux pinning in lead-base alloys by Livingston3 and Evetts et al4 In these alloys precipitates induced magnetic hysteresis and flux trapping. The amount of hysteresis increased with the volume fraction of precipitate and decreased with coarsening of the precipitate. Jn an Al-Zn alloy5 and an A1-Ag alloy6 the initial precipitate size was presumably smaller than a coherence length and coarsening increased magnetic hysteresis5 and critical current density.6 The influence of precipitation on superconducting properties has also been studied in several of the commercially interesting Ti-Nb7-10 and zr-Nb11 alloys. The maximum in critical current density for these alloys was confined to a narrow range of either isothermal aging time" or isochronal aging temperature7 during the precipitation reaction. Thus, experimental evidence and theoretical considerations suggest there is an optimum precipitate size, spacing, and density, and a critical composition with respect to the matrix for flux pinning. What these "optimum" values might be and the relative importance of each is still not clear, although a few generalizations can be made. It is generally accepted1&apos; that particle sizes smaller than the coherence length or larger than the inter-flux line spacing are poor pinning centers. In high Hc2 materials, precipitate sizes for maximum values of critical current density lie in the range of 50 to 2000Å,9,7 and there are indications that increasing dissimilarity between precipitate and matrix produces increasing pinning force.13 Because of several interesting features of the aging reaction in a Tc-30 pct V alloy, we have chosen to study the influence of precipitation on the superconducting properties of this alloy. The physical metallurgy14 and a survey of the superconducting properties" of the Tc-V alloy system have been reported. The Tc-V phase diagram is presented in Fig. 1. At 1500°C the Tc-30 pct V alloy is in the single phase 6 field. Samples quenched from the 6-phase field have a CsCl structure X-ray diffraction pattern at room temperature and it has been proposed that the 6 structure is closely related to the bcc lattice.14 When held isothermally below the eutectoid temperature, 115O°C, the 6 phase decomposes into the CsCl and hcp phases.

Jan 1, 1970

By David B. Brooks, Roger L. Williams

Control of the environment is as old as mining. Engineers have always had to consider how best to deal with the surface, and the character of the surface environment always affects mining method in some way. However, if the relationship of the mine to the environment is old, today&apos;s approach is new. For one thing, land, air and water formerly could be viewed simply as obstacles to be overcome or resources to be utilized to win ore at the lowest possible cost. Now we have come to realize that these nonmineral components of the environment also are highly valuable. For another thing, environ- mental protection has become a public policy issue. Again, a special public interest in land and land use is old. From the firs(, the crown claimed extra rights in valuable minerals, and to this day a multitude of laws and regulations control-and tax-land use in every country. What is new is the detailed public attention bring given to waste management practices, whether these wastes be in the form of solids, liquids or gases, and regardless of where in the environment they appear. (It is convenient to lump all mining environmental problems, including hank fires and subsidence, together under the term "waste management," for in effect that is what they are.) As a result of these changes, the mining engineer must consider that lie is dealing with two productive resources the minerals and the remainder of the environment-and he must expect that lie will be judged not only on his efficiency in recovering the one but also on his effectiveness in protecting the other. Further, in seeking to protect the environment, the modern mining-environmental engineer has a dual role. First, there is the obvious task of finding better ways for industry to cope with waste-management problems in actual operations. Second, there is the less obvious but equally important task of helping formulate appropriate public policy objectives for the environment. Throughout; the section it is assumed that mining is an acceptable land use for the tracts under consideration. The question of whether mining will be permitted at all on these tracts is a further public-policy issue, ultimately to be resolved politically and thus, since it is beyond the scope of engineering, is not a subject that can be usefully discussed in a mining handbook. Finally, none of the statements in the section are predicated on the assumption that required waste-management measures will be privately profitable in the conventional sense. Indeed, the reverse is more likely to be the case-at least if accounts are kept so as to include all appreciable costs and a normal rate of return on investment in waste-disposal and reclamation equipment.&apos;,&apos;,&apos; However, it is clear that improved waste management will be required of mining firms and that, to a considerable although undetermined degree, this expenditure is in the best long-run interest of both public and industry. The several studies that have attempted to quantify the impact of mining on the environment are admittedly rough but still provide enough information to indicate that there is a big job to be done. For example, something approaching 7,000 mi of stream in Appalachia alone are continuously or significantly affected

Jan 1, 1973

By Robert M. Grogan, Gill Montgomery

Fluorspar, the commercial name for fluorite, is a mineral composed of calcium fluoride, CaF,. Its valuable properties are due to its content of fluorine, and it is the principal commercial source of that element. The name is derived from the Latin word "fluere," to flow, because the mineral has a low melting point and is used in metallurgy as a flux. Cryolite is a sodium aluminum fluoride, Na,AlF,. It is a rare mineral which has been found in commercial quantities in only one place in the world, Greenland. Small amounts of it are shipped from stock in that country, and its place in industry has been taken over almost completely by synthetic cryolite. Because of the relative unimportance of cryolite, discussion of it has been relegated to a short section at the end of this chapter, which is principally concerned with fluorspar. History Fluorspar was used for ornamental purposes by the Greeks and Romans, who fashioned such things as vases, drinking cups, and table tops from it. Various peoples including the Chinese and the American Indians carved ornaments and figurines from large crystals. Its usefulness as a flux was known to Agricola (1564), who wrote about it in 1546. Mining began in England about 1775 and at various places in the United States during the period 1820 to 1840. Production became substantial following the development and widespread adoption of the basic open hearth method of making steel, in which fluorspar is used as a flux. After that, production and usage were stimulated by growth in the steel, aluminum, chemical, and ceramic industries and were accelerated by World Wars I and II. Fluorocarbons entered the picture in 193 1 and the use of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (HF) as a catalyst in the manufacture of alkylate for high octane fuel blends began in 1942. The development of the froth flotation process in the late 1920s, a differential flotation scheme for separating fluorspar from galena, sphalerite, and common gangue minerals in the 1930s, and the application of heavy-media concentrating methods to the treatment of low grade ores in the 1940s were outstanding technological contributions that enabled increased production of fluorspar concentrates. In recent years the development of pelletizing and briquetting processes for making flotation concentrates into gravel-size particles for use in steel furnaces and the development of more efficient and selective flotation schemes for treating crude ores containing abundant dolomite and barite have been major improvements in the industry.

Jan 1, 1975

Diamonds occur in N.S.W., Victoria and north west Tasmania. Diamonds from different areas appear to have their own characteristics, lending weight to the suggestion that three or four different sources (different in location and age) have produced the diamonds found in alluvials at quite a number of locations in Eastern Australia. Explorers for kimberlites in Victoria must overcome a number of field difficulties. The writer&apos;s approach attempted to find exploration targets by literature search, noting unusual garnet occurrences, and by relating records of diamond occurrences to described mining activity. While the records are biased towards gold, the study did lead to a pipe, located well away from known diamond-bearing alluvials. Core from one test hole has shown this intrusive to include an alkaline ultramafic breccia with many kimberlitic affinities - a breccia containing mantle-derived minerals, but not a true kimberlite. (A detailed rock description is appended to this paper, but is not the purpose of the paper.) This result enhances the possibility that kimberlites may occur in Victoria, on or near large scale faults or grabens. The depth of fracture penetration may have been different

Jan 1, 1979