Engineers Without Borders El Salvador Project

This is a report on an Engineers Without Borders project located in San Juan El Espino, El Salvador. For this project, EWB Montana Tech is working to mitigate an erosion problem that is making it difficult for children to travel to school.

Preliminary Construction of a Photo-Electric Cell Concentrator

The separation of the valuable portion from the waste portion of an ore is an individual problem for every ore. However, the various methods for accomplishing this end, more or less classify themselves by the physical properties of the constituents of the ore. Most of the properties of minerals have been utilized in some way or other to affect the separation of the valuable from the invaluable parts. Practically nothing has been done so far with color and luster to attain this purpose. It is believed that the photo—electric cell could also be used in concentrating a certain class of ores which are not well suited to other methods.

The Aplitic Body Bordering Roosevelt Drive South of Butte, Montana

The area studied consists of a large body of aplite situated 12 miles south of Butte. It extends eastward almost to the Butte-Pipestone road, southward to Lime Kiln Hill and westward a distance of 3000 feet. The petrographic work was supplemented by a map of the area. Special attention was given to those frequent "Limonite Specks" found in the aplite.

The Electrolytic Deposition of Chromium Upon Aluminum

The purpose or this investigation is primarily to determine the best conditions for plating chromium on aluminum. The work was carried out with the hope of obtaining coherent deposits, and of determin­ing the conditions under which such deposits may be duplicated.

The Effect of Hydrogen Overvoltage on the Electrolytic Deposition of Zinc

In the deposition of metallic zinc by electro­lysis from neutral or acid solution, little difficulty is experienced provided certain impurities are absent from the electrolyte. The use of the process has long been considered as a potential source, patents on the process having been issued as early as 1880. However, the early experimenters failed to realize the importance of impurities in the electrolyte, and for this reason, the process suffered several severe setbacks when commercial plants were built.

Joint Planes in the Rhyolites of the Butte District, Montana

The problem herein discussed deals with the pointing planes found in the area of rhyolite located in the northwestern portion of the Butte District. The question to be determined was whether or not the pointing planes in the rhyolites could be class­ified with the Butte Ore fissure systems.

A Bentonite Deposit near Warm Springs, Montana

This report deals with a bentonite deposit recently developed, approximately seven miles northeast of Warm Springs, Montana. A group of claims have been staked on the deposit and are owned by the Lincoln Mining Company of Anaconda, Montana. The company also has several claims prospected for silver one mile from its present site of operations, but the silver prospects have failed to produce. The bentonite deposit was discovered incidentally during the course of other development work, and at present two adits have been driven into the side of a mountain, each crosscutting a vein-like mass of bentonite varying from two to three feet in width.

The Recovery of Copper in Sulphide Ores by Roasting, Leaching, and Electrolysis

Sulphide ores of copper are insoluble in dilute sulphuric acid leaching solutions, but a very high extraction can be obtained if the copper ore is in the oxidized condition. The problem is to convert the sulphide into the oxide form. This can be done by giving the sulphide ore an oxidizing-sulphatizing roast. Copper sulphate is soluble in water, so acid will be saved in the leaching process if copper sulphate is present. The iron in the copper sulphide ores is present as pyrite, or in combinations as bornite, or chalcopyrite.

The Effect of the Fe2: Fe3 Ratio upon the Current Efficiency in the Electrolysis of a Copper Sulfate Solution Containing Iron Sulfate

In the treatment of copper ores by hydro-electro-metallurgical methods, not only is copper deposited, but other metals are also dissolved. In practice it has been found* that iron, under certain conditions, causes the copper to deposit on the cathode as a nonadherent precipitate and also that the iron in solution causes a great decrease in current efficiency, es­pecially when the electrolysis is conducted by operating with a higher current density at the cathode than at the anode. The present investigation deals with the effects of the two valences of iron on the current efficiency and endeavors to determine whether or not there is a ratio of the two at which point the efficiency becomes zero or approaches it.

Some Notes on the Composition of "Copper Pitch"

A supply of so-called "copper pitch" ore was received by the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology in response to a request by them from a resident of Kalispell, who had previously sent a specimen to the Bureau for a mineralogical analysis. Since this material was little known and had apparently received but little study under a reflec­ting microscope, it was thought that such a study might throw some light on the mineralogical and chemical composition of the material.

The Electrical Resistance of Metals in their Hard and Soft States

Many investigations have shown that the electrical resistance of soft annealed metals is usually smaller than that of metals in their hard, cold worked state. By annealing cold-worked metals, the electrical resistance decreases to a minimum and then increases upon continued annealing at higher temperatures. The work performed in this investigation upon silver, aluminum, copper, nickel, and soft steel corroborates this idea.

Effect of Impurities upon Current Efficiency in the Electrolysis of Zinc Sulphate Solution

There are many elements which are detrimental to the current efficiency in the electrolysis of zinc sulphate solution. Fortunately the majority of these elements are easily removed in the purification process and cause no further trouble. The elements that are likely to cause trouble in ordinary plant operations are antimony, arsenic, cobalt, nickel, manganese and germanium. The following tests were made to determine the mutual effect on the current efficiency when several of the impurities were present in the electrolyte.

The Leaching of Electrodeposition of Iron

Electrolytic iron as deposited is brittle and therefore must be annealed. After annealing, the material is ductile and closely resembles copper in its behavior under work. It is claimed to be more resistant to corrosion than dead soft iron. It also has the advantage of corroding uniformly ( or­dinary soft iron develops pin holes which shorten its life considerably). The extreme purity of electrolytic iron namely makes it very suitable as a base metal for alloys. Its ductility opens up a field for use in the manufacture of cold rolled strip, seamless tubes, and wire.

A Study of the Composition of Zinc Complex Cyanide Solutions by the Conductometric Method

As the method or analysis used up to the present time has failed to give quantitative results in determining the composition of zinc cyanide baths, conductometric methods were adopted in this study. Supplementary tests were also carried out in this investigation.

The Calcite Veins of the Livingston Formation

An interesting group of calcite veins occur near Livingston Montana in a zone about eight miles wide and forty miles long in the edge of the Plains region of Montana in front of the Main ranges. The zone extends from the Boulder River south of Big Timber, through Springdale and Hunters Hot Springs, to Potter's Basin just north of Wilsall in Park County. The group of veins is particularly interesting because they cut relatively flat lying strata, suggest a structural relation­ship to one another, and they are nearly pure calcite. The present investigation was to determine the position of the calcite veins by plotting them on a base map of the district. In addition, it was planned to determine the mineralogy end origin of the veins and their structural and stratigraphical relationship to the rocks of the Livingston formation which they cut.