In approaching the subject of diamond-drilling practice, a brief history of the origin and development of the diamond drill may be of interest. The use of black diamonds for boring holes in rock was discovered in 1863 by Rudolph Leschot, a French engineer. In 1864, he employed a diamond bit to bore holes for blasting … Read more

Frequently the careful engineer puts the word porphyry in quotation marks or precedes it with “so-called,” when he writes of the Porphyry Copper mines. This is done by way of serving notice that he is aware that the term is not a precise one, though no one who is informed on the subject would in … Read more

While reflecting on the subject of my present paper, I soon realized that it would be very difficult to say something really new about any special aspects of metallurgy. In consideration of the excellent scientific work that has been done in the United States in connection with almost all the fundamental questions that are of … Read more

Sandy flint and pyritic plastic clays from east-central Missouri can be beneficiated to good firing quality by ore dressing methods. Quartz and pyrite were the chief contaminants removed by the two gravity concentration methods used in the studies. Most iron-oxide minerals in these clays occur as finely-divided, low-gravity, hydrous material, often in the form of … Read more

This circular summarizes the research and technologic activities and publications of the Federal Bureau of Mines Division of Explosives Technology during fiscal year 1959 (July 1, 1958-June 30, 1959). Part I briefly describes the programs that were active during the report period and presents a summary of some of the information not published elsewhere. In … Read more

Construction of a 250-p.s.i.g. helium-recycle system to operate with gas temperatures as high as 2,500° F. appears feasible. More development work is required, however, on heat exchangers and compressors. Many problems inherent in large nuclear systems are not present in the pilot-scale ISR system. Although the cooler in the ISR loop operated satisfactorily, thermal expansion … Read more

The principal official test performed by the Bureau of Mines to determine the permissibility of coal-mine explosives, commonly referred to as the gallery test, has been in use at the Bruceton station for many years. In this test the explosive under study is loaded into the borehole of a steel cannon and fired into a … Read more

The results of this investigation indicate that the titanium-gadolinium phase diagram is composed of a single eutectic reaction and a peritectoid reaction at the alpha-beta transformation. The eutectic isotherm has been established at 1,240 ± 10° C. and extends from approximately 1 pct. gadolinium to beyond 99 pct. gadolinium at this temperature. The solid solubility … Read more

Zirconium diboride of a quality comparable to that produced commercially from zirconium dioxide may be synthesized directly from zircon. The quantities of residual carbon and silica are not excessively high, but it is believed that some refinements in procedure may lower these percentages. The grain size of the final product has been demonstrated to be … Read more

The investigation of the zirconium-gadolinium equilibrium diagram revealed a eutectic system with limited terminal solubilities and one peritectoid reaction. The eutectic point occurs at about 82 percent gadolinium. The eutectic isotherm, at 1,220° C., extends from about 12 to 99+ percent gadolinium. The peritectoid isotherm, at 890° C., involving the alpha-beta transformation of zirconium, extends … Read more