on

The Coppename concession at present is entirely under the control of Reynolds, but the Surinam Government has the option of acquiring up to 50 percent in the future. U.S.S.R.-Prospecting and exploration for bauxite reportedly was carried out a large scale. In Kazakhstan, new bauxite ore bodies were discovered at Belinski and Aiatski, and new reserves were proved at Krasnooctiabrski. This considerably improved the raw materials base of the Pavlodarski alumina plant. Also, drilling produced new reserves at greater depth and considerably added to ore reserves for operation of the Uralski and Bogoslovski aluminum plants. In the Severooniezhski region, a new large bauxite mine was being developed at Iksinski. High-grade lateritic bauxites, with 50 to 53 percent aluminum content and 1.5 to 3 percent silica, reportedly were found in Western Siberia in the Krasnoyarski region. Laterites were found in the Belgorodski district in Ukraine and at Timan.3

The U.S.S.R. also was reported to be seeking major contracts with several Aus

tralian and Japanese firms to buy additional supplies of bauxite and alumina. The material would be used to supply new aluminum production facilities in Eastern Siberia near new hydroelectric projects.

Yugoslavia. The new Titograd alumina-aluminum complex in Montenegro started operations in November with a rated capacity of 220,000 short tons per year of alumina. The Boris Kidric alumina plant at Razine in Croatia, which has been operating at about 80 percent of its 11,000-ton-per-year capacity, reportedly will be closed down.

An alumina-aluminum complex similar in size to the Titograd complex was under construction at Mostar, in Bosnia-Hercegovina. Another 220,000-ton-per-year alumina plant was to be constructed at Obravac near the coast in Croatia to process Dalmatian bauxite. Also planned was an alumina plant to use the high-grade bauxite near Vlasenica, Bosnia-Hercegovina, where reserves of 100 million tons have recently been proved.

Bulk sampling of ferruginous bauxite deposits in Columbia County, Oreg., carried out by the Reynolds Metals Co. in 1970, provided an opportunity to study the geology of the deposits. The 20- to 40foot-deep test pits exposed ore (defined in the report as material having no more than 10 percent silica and no less than 30 percent alumina) containing three distinguishable textural zones, referred to in descending order as pisolitic, nodular, and fine-grained. The uppermost pisolitic layer tended to have the highest silica content, but a large proportion was said to be free silica.

The Eufala bauxite-kaolin district in southeastern Alabama, which has been an important commercial source of special grades of bauxite for many years, was investigated by the Geological Survey of Alabama in an attempt to outline the district and extend bauxite reserves. The Bureau of Mines and the University of Alabama assisted in the study which indicated that prospecting in the area for concealed deposits that were covered by later sediments

was extremely difficult. However, it was concluded that some geologic features could be recognized and used as guides to increase the probabilities of finding ore deposits with less drilling. Moreover, kaolinitic clays tended to surround the bauxite deposits and could serve as an aid in prospecting.5

Detailed investigations of the ferruginous bauxite deposits on Kauai and Maui, Hawaii, confirmed the presence of large quan tities of potential aluminum resources on the islands.6

3 Univ. of Utah. Expansion of Russian Mineral Resources. Itermet Bull., v. I, No. 2, October 1971, pp. 15-16.

Jackson, Ronald L. Description of the Bauxite Ore Profile in Columbia County, Oregon. Ore Bin, v. 33, No. 12, December 1971, pp. 223-229.

5 Clarke, Otis M., Jr. Ore Controls in Eufala Bauxite-Kaolin District. Pres. at 100th Ann. Meeting of the Soc. of Min. Eng., AIME, New York, N.Y., Feb. 26-Mar. 4, 1971, SME preprint No. 71-H-21, 1971, 4 pp.

Patterson, Sam H. Investigations of Ferruginous Bauxite and Other Mineral Resources on Kauai and Reconnaissance of Ferruginous Bauxite Deposits on Maui, Hawaii. U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 656, 1971, 74 pp.

A process for producing alumina from alunite, which reportedly was to be used commercially, was described. The alunite, a basic sulfate, occurs in the State of Guanajuato, Mexico, in a deposit that contains from 25 to 50 percent alunite, equiv alent to 15 percent alumina and 4.3 percent potassium sulfate. At a pilot plant operation capable of processing 5 tons of ore per 24 hours, potassium was dissolved for 10 to 35 minutes in a weak basic solution such as aqueous ammonia and recovered for fertilizer use. The residue, containing the alumina, was treated successively with a weak acid and strong acid, forming a basic aluminum salt and alumina trihydrate, which was filtered and calcined. Aluminum recoveries at the pilot plant reportedly ranged between 90 and 92 percent.

The commercial plant to be built at Salamanca, Guanajuato, will treat 33,000 tons of ore per year and produce 5,500 tons of ammonium sulfate, 2,500 tons of potassium sulfate, and about 4,400 tons of alumina for conversion to aluminum salts. Investment costs for the commercial plant were set at $800,000.

The process developed at Guanajuato was expected to be tested for possible use in producing metallurgical-grade alumina from an alunite deposit in Utah, which was under joint development by Earth Sciences, Inc., Colorado Mines, Inc., and National-Southwire Aluminum Co., a domes

tic producer of primary aluminum.8 The resulting alumina reportedly was to be tested at National-Southwire's alumina reduction plant at Hawesville, Ky.

The Bureau of Mines continued research on the recovery of aluminum and sodium from oil shale containing dawsonite and nahcolite. Although the alumina content of the shale being tested was low compared with that in clays and other potential sources of alumina, laboratory tests at the Bureau's College Park Metallurgy Research Center, College Park, Md., have shown that most of the alumina in the shale is readily soluble in hot water.

Reports on the mineralogy of Jamaican bauxites, pilot plant tests to develop optimum process parameters for treating var. ious bauxites, calcination of alumina trihy. drate, and other reports related to bauxite processing were presented at the 100th annual meeting of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, in New York.9

Chemical Week. Alumina Plans to Roll With Rock. V. 108, No. 23, June 9, 1971, p. 44. Metals Week. Alunite: A Viable Route to Alumina? V. 42, No. 27, July 5, 1971, pp. 6-7.

Parkinson, G. Low-Grade Alunite Yields Alumina and Fertilizers Too. Chem. Eng., v. 78, No. 9, Apr. 19, 1971, pp. 83-85.

8 American Metal Market. Continue Search for Ingot Material. V. 79, No. 43, Mar. 3, 1972, p. 9.

American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers. Proceeding of Symposia, 100th AIME Annual Meeting, Light Metals Committee, Extractive Metallurgy Division. The Metallurgical Soc., AIMF, New York, N.Y., Mar. 1-4, 1971, pp. 3-120.

Production of beryllium metal and beryllium oxide increased, but beryllium copper alloy production decreased in 1971. Some beryl ore was produced in South Dakota and Colorado.

Brush Wellman, Inc. (Brush) opened a new deposit of bertrandite ore east of the first deposit and north of Delta, Utah. This mine is the largest domestic source of beryllium ore, although production figures are company confidential data. Brush converts

bertrandite ore to beryllium hydroxide in their plant at Delta, Utah. The beryllium hydroxide is shipped to their Elmore, Ohio plant for further conversion to metal, alloys, and compounds.

Kawecki Berylco Industries, Inc. (KBI) used mostly imported beryl as a raw material for producing metal. KBI also purchased the refining and manufacturing facilities of General Astrometals Co. in Yonkers, N.Y.

The beryllium and ceramics industries consumed beryllium ore equivalent to 10,373 tons of beryl containing 11 percent BeO. Kawecki Berylco Industries, Inc., at Hazelton, Pa., and Brush Wellman, Inc., at Elmore, Ohio, converted beryl to beryllium metal, alloys, and compounds. KBI also produced alloys and compounds at its Reading, Pa., plant. Brush likewise converted the beryllium hydroxide produced from bertrandite at its plant at Delta, Utah, into metal, alloys, and compounds.

Beryl Ores, Arvada, Colo., processed beryl ore for use in the ceramics industry. Lapp Insulator Co., LeRoy, N.Y., used beryl for ceramic purposes.

The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission awarded 94 contracts, and increases to ex

isting contracts, for beryllium parts and materials totalling $10.2 million in fiscal year 1971. There were 52 contracts for $3.5 million awarded during fiscal year 1970.

The Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Beryllium of the National Materials Advisory Board (NMAB-281) 2 examined the role of the Department of Defense in using beryllium and advancing its technology. Table 1 in the report lists 63 current and potential beryllium applications under seven categories. Opposite each item is noted the relevant load-strain-density, thermalphysical, nuclear, and special properties for each use. Another publication which gave more detailed descriptions of specific applications was Proceedings of the Beryllium Conference (NMAB-272) .3

lium, with the copper at the current market price. In mid-February the price rose to $53 per pound of contained beryllium, the level at which it remained for the rest of 1971. Casting ingot containing 2 to 2.25 percent beryllium is quoted in 1-ton lots for 5-pound ingots. The quoted price began the year at $2 per pound, rose to $2.03 on

February 1 and to $2.06 on April 12, where it remained for the duration of 1971. The price quoted for Alloy 25 in the form of strip, rod, bar, and wire was $2.93 per pound in January, $3.02 per pound February 1, and $3.05 per pound through December of 1971.

Beryllium exports decreased less than 1 percent in 1971 from the level of the previous year. There was a 19-percent drop in imports of beryl, with a 5-percent drop in

the unit price. There were no reported imports of beryllium compounds or metal as in previous years.

rods, sheets, and wire.

2 Less than 1⁄2 unit.