David Many factors contributed to the decision to build a radiochemical laboratory at the Salt Lake City Metallurgy Research Center to investigate the application of radioactive isotopes and chemical compounds in extractive metallurgy. These reasons included the notable success achieved in biological sciences with radioisotopes, the development of reliable instruments and methods for identifying the isotopes … Read more
An apparatus for determining trace impurities in Grade-A helium by mass spectrometer methods was designed and built by the Federal Bureau of Mines. Grade-A is the designation for helium commercially produced by the Bureau. Its nominal purity is 99.995 percent. The device, following a suggestion by Deaton, concentrates the impurities in the helium by freezing … Read more
The design and stability of underground openings are problems of paramount importance in mining. Insuring the safety of employees, protecting equipment, mining in a prescribed and efficient manner, and (in mineral mining) achieving an optimum recovery from the deposit depend upon the ability of engineers to design and excavate underground openings that will remain open … Read more
The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of the impurities, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, and iron (in low percentages) on the mechanical properties of electrolytic titanium. The strength and hardness of binary Ti-O, Ti-N, and Ti-C alloys are linear functions of alloy content in the composition range investigated. Compared to oxygen and carbon, … Read more
Antimony up to 10 percent increases the strength of titanium by solid-solution hardening. The general relationship of hardness, strength, and elongation in these alloys is similar to that found in several grades of high-purity and commercial titanium. Tensile strength (annealed condition) appeared to be a linear function of Vickers hardness regardless of composition. For equivalent … Read more
Results of the preliminary tests have demonstrated the possibility of electrorefining beryllium in KCl-LiCl-BeCl2 baths. Qualitative spectrograph analyses of the starting material and the products indicate the following estimated percentages of reduction of metallic impurities: Magnesium was reduced by at least 50 percent. Iron, copper, silicon, and manganese were reduced by at least a slight … Read more
The cleaning of fine coal, particularly for metallurgical use, is receiving greater attention. An increase in the proportion of fine coal in the run-of-mine product has been created by changes in mining practice, and a concurrent deterioration in the quality of the fines has occurred because of more widespread full-seam mining. These two factors, augmented … Read more
A semi-quantitative test for the presence and identification of cesium and rubidium in rocks, clays, and mineral waters has been developed by the Bureau of Mines. The test can be used in the field, as a guide for the prospector, geologist, or mining engineer engaged in location or development work. It comprises two simple spot … Read more
A laboratory mineral-dressing investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Mines on four limonitic and four sideritic iron ores from the North Basin of the east Texas iron-ore district. The samples, composited from drill cores, were considered representative of the iron-ore reserves of the area. The objectives of this research were twofold: (1) To … Read more
The basic flotation characteristics of goethite were determined by using vacuum flotation, contact angle measurement, and Hallimond tube flotation, and the results have been correlated with information on the electrical condition existing at the goethite-aqueous solution interface. The results have also been used to interpret the batch flotation tests made on an artificial mixture of … Read more