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By AIME AIME

COAL occupied a large place in the technical sessions of the Institute at its annual meeting for in addition to three sessions specifically de- voted to coal the two sessions on mine ventilation and the two on ground movement and subsidence, which are reported under their own headings, were primarily concerned with coal. The first session on coal was a joint one with the Iron and Steel Division, on Wednesday afternoon, with F. H. Crockard and J. R. Campbell presiding as joint chairmen and the latter actually officiating. The principal topic of discussion was G. S. Scott's paper "Evaluation of Coal for the Making of Blast- Furnace Coke," which has been published as T. P. 159. The author made a brief statement of its con- tents to start the discussion and the chairman, after briefly reviewing it himself, called on C. A. Meissner to start the discussion. He briefly reviewed the economic factors in the use of coal for coke-making, saying that not only .does the removal of 1 per cent of ash from the coal reduce the cost of pig iron 12 or 13c. per ton, but it also permits coke of satisfactory structures to be made from a coal which otherwise could not be used. He stressed the importance of uniformity in blast-furnace fuel and discussed the benefit of mixing different coals as raw material for the coke oven and cited experience with Illinois coals.

Jan 1, 1929

By F. S., Mc Nicholas

A practical discussion of the theory of A block caving is presented which applies particularly to the physical conditions of the Climax orebody although the conditions are sufficiently characteristic of caving ore-bodies to provide valuable information applicable elsewhere.

Jan 1, 1950

By Henry G. Granger

A RESIDENCE of 14 years in the Republic of Colombia, spent in almost continuous traveling and prospecting-trips, has given me an intimate knowledge of the resources of that wonderful country. The man who best knows Colombia is unquestionably General Rafael Reyes, President of the Republic for the past three years, and with seven years more to serve in his present term. Such is the strength of his personality and the wisdom of his policies that his term of office will no doubt endure as long as he is willing to serve. The vastly improved economic situation and the brilliant outlook for Colombia are so directly due to the influence of President Reyes that a few lines concerning him. will not be amiss, if they serve towards a better understanding of his personality. Born of a distinguished ancestry in the mountains of Boyaca, he is now 57 years old, just the age of his friend Porfirio Diaz when be began the work which has placed Mexico in the rank of great modern nations. It was Reyes who came to Washington to protest against the action of the government of the United States of America in reference to the establishment of the Republic of Panama, and, without entering into a discussion of this affair, it can be fairly said that there was not an American in Colombia whose feelings of justice were. not outraged at the government action and subsequent refusal to submit the matter to the impartial judgment of the' Hague. President Reyes is an accomplished linguist, speaking English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. He has a remarkably. powerful voice, which can readily be heard by a large assemblage. His height is about 6 ft., and his weight exceeds 200 lb. He has clear gray eyes. Reyes was the leader of those who favored the approval of

Sep 1, 1908

By E. R. Smith

ANALYSIS of the requirements for gun perforation equipment suitable for penetrating casing and cement showed that these points would be involved: (1) Powder charges electrically detonated under high fluid lieads and at remote distances. (2) Selective firing of sliots in sequence. (3) Sufficient velocity for the bullet to penetrate at least two strings of seamless casing and all cement beyond the strings. (4) Heat-treatment of steels to withstand great pressures and penetration. (5) Esclusiorl of fluid under extremely high hydrostatic pressure. (6) Stranded steel wire line acting as weight - suspending and current - carrying medium. (7) Firing controls operated above the surface. (8) Determining gun depth and suspended weight by means of the wire line. (9) Portability for field use.

Jan 1, 1936

By Carl Zapffe

THE object of the Bradley process is to free manganese oxide from its associated gangue and separate the contained iron oxide by dissolving the manganese and precipitating it from the solution. 'The fundamental features of the process are : making. both 1 a manganese ore and an iron ore; effecting a separation of manganese .and. iron by means of selective roasting; leaching- the manganese from the roasted ore by using ' ammonium sulfate; precipitating the manganese by using the ammonia gas generated during leaching; fixing the precipitate by oxidizing with air; breaking down and reforming the ammonium sulfate, so that daily very little additional ammonium sulfate beyond that originally charged into the system is required; washing the manganese precipitate and the iron-silica residue and evaporating the liquor to conserve the dissolved salts in the moistures of these two products and 'to reduce the sulfur content,; drying the precipitates; magnetic wet-concentration of the iron-silica residue; sinteriny the manganese-and .the' iron-concentrates.

Jan 1, 1929

By V. H. Wilhelm

WITH rapidly diminishing oil reserves: a great percentage of which are uneconomical at present prices, some of the existing methods of development and production will have to undergo radical re- visions to meet the changes continually taking place in the petroleum industry. Imagination in an engineer is a great asset. The fancy of today is found to be the realization of tomorrow, and with this thought in mind, there is here presented a more or less imaginative picture which, to my mind, has a meritorious basis. Directed drilling has reached a stage of accuracy sufficient to allow the prediction that this art will be used in the future development of oil structures, especially those \\,it11 thin sand bodies 'and steep dips. Directional drilling in a number of fields in California has gratifying results. Wells which practically laid pipe lines through the oil sands have enjoyed a greater drainage radius with a consequent greater initial and cumulative production. In one field where the vertical thickness of sands was approximately 550 ft., wells drifting at an angle as great as 55 deg. fro111 vertical had over 1100 ft. of perforated pipe in contact with these sands. These wells were, and are, remarkable for their great initial pro-

Jan 1, 1936

By T. A. Rickard

An educated man is distinguished neither by his clothes nor by his knowledge; he is replarkable not for the things he says, but for the way he says them. You cannot even stand with him under an archway in the rain without finding him out. He may talk only of the weather. His words and his phrases alike may be simple. -at distinguishes him is the arrange- ment of his words; however desultory his talk, it will be method- ical; he has habituated himself to foreseeing the part to be played by each word he uses and the place to be taken by each sentence he utters. On the other hand, the uneducated man, though shrewd and well-informed, will relate facts and events as they recur to him, generally in disorder; in his effort to recollect and in his attempt to rectify forgetfulness he will pause irregularly, filling the intervals with meaningless phrases, such as "and then ", "and: so ", or 'said he to me", "said I to him"; and even the contipuous parts of his story will be told confusedly-because he has not learned the proper use of words.* My own experience as an editor of technical manuscripts has taught me that the misuse of 'that' and 'which' is a fruitful cause of obscurity and confusion. The relative pronouns have distinct functions, and no writer can express himself clearly until he has learned to discriminate between these I functions. For example:

Jan 1, 1931

By R. W. Raymond

The immense commercial value of the Gayley dry-blast process has been established beyond controversy. The testimony of practical blast-furnace managers, on both sides of the Atlantic, agrees that it reduces the cost of pig-iron about $1 per ton; but from the same testimony it appears that this direct economy does not by any means cover its commercial advantages—in fact, that under conditions frequently encountered in practice, it presents other benefits of even greater immediate financial importance. To this point I shall recur in a later part of the present paper. The history of the reception given to this invention, especially on the other side of the Atlantic, has repeated an experience familiar to American engineers. First, the reports of our practice were rejected as theoretically impossible, according to generally accepted notions and formulas; then the figures were reluctantly accepted; and finally the attempt has been made to explain how they could have been obtained. As to the Gayley dry blast, me Americans have been for several years in the last stage of the discussion, and the rest of the professional world is rapidly coming to it. Meanwhile, the remark has been repeatedly made that, whatever Mr. Gayley's process may turn out to be worth, it was not an invention on his part, but simply the energetic and persevering execution of a procedure already proposed by others. This question I wish to discuss first in the present paper. I. What Did Mr. Gayley Invent? Realizing that this is not the place for detailed argument on an issue of patent law, I shall not undertake to quote and criticise the publications prior to Mr. Gayley'a first patents. It may be admitted, without such critical analysis, that the possible advantages of removing moisture from the air forced into an iron blast-furnace were recognized and talked about a hun-

Jan 1, 1909

By F. W. Lee

A GREAT CURTAILMENT of field activities among the geophysicists occurred last year, especially in prospecting for the common metals. In gold, however, an "outstanding achievement . . . was made by the engineers of Consolidated Goldfields. Here the suboutcrop of the Main Reef Series was traced from Middelvlei through properties of the westward area, a distance of from 30 to 40 miles. Here Drs. Reineche and Krahman prospected with the aid of a sensitive magnetometer and established the singularities of the various beds which heretofore had not been sufficiently appreciated. Several underlying shale beds were used to determine this suboutcrop under the dolomite. This area promises to be the equivalent of one-half the size of the present gold fields and to rank in value with the Far East Rand." The present temperature compensated magnetometers permit accurate field observations to less than 5 gammas. Since magnetic anomalies may have their origin due to a change of elevation as well as to the outcropping of a bed of another magnetically different material, intimate geological knowledge is of great assistance in the interpretation of these measurements. To what extent magnetic measurements reflect the basement when the material is homogeneous, consisting primarily of red granite, was determined by members of the Bureau of Mines and described by Dr. J. H. Swartz. Because of the diverse causes of magnetic anomalies, some of which were discussed and correlated by Stratton and Joyce upon known conditions, magnetometer measurements are often difficult to interpret.

Jan 1, 1933

By E. H., Edwerd H. Robie

WILLIAM CHURCH was one of the founders and the first president of the Detroit Copper Mining Co. and was the first man to interest the Phelps Dodge company in the possibilities of the Morenci district, in the '70's. One rather interesting story concerning him is told by James Colquhoun, at one time president of the Arizona Copper Co., in his "History of the Clifton-Morenci Mining District." It seems that a geologist visited the Detroit company's mines and gave Alec McLean, then mine superintendent, quite a lesson on the proper mineralogical terms for what he saw in passing. Later, McLean handed out a few of them to Mr. Church as they walked through the mine on a tour of inspection. The latter had even less regard for a geologist than he did for sulphide ore, which meant little indeed, for in those days the rich ore was all oxidized, and there was no money in the sulphides. So Church was completely unimpressed by the geological and mineralogical terms that McLean had acquired from the visiting geologist. Church turned on him and warned him that so long as he was a member of his staff he was to understand that there were only two kinds of rock in his mines-the one was smelting ore and the other was waste rock, and he was not to forget it.

Jan 1, 1942

By B. D. Harden

FOR over fifty years the Spanish mine, 21 miles northeast of Nevada City, in Nevada County, California, has been one of the Bradley properties. Between 1883 and 1889 it was operated by the late Frederick W. Bradley and P. R. Bradley. The ore averaged only about $1 a ton at that time but the mine was credited with a production of about $900,000 in that period. The property was then closed down until 1922, when the Bradley interests reopened it and continued development for the next nine years, when a 50-ton mill was built. This began operation in April, 1931. This was a selective flotation plant, with the tailing treated on Wilfley tables, and operated on ore from the No. 4 and No. 16 tunnel stopes. This ran from $3 to $6 in gold, 2 to 3 oz. of silver, copper 0.6 per cent, lead 1.5,

Jan 1, 1935

By Howard N. Eavenson

DURING the past year, as in the preceding ones, prices continued to fall, production to decrease, and more mines were closed. Much attention is being given by the industry to suggested plans for betterment of its position, and if the scheme recently brought out for consolidation of sales agencies into district agencies is loyally carried out, it cannot but help to improve conditions. The progress in the anthracite industry is shown in the report of its chairman, E. H. Suender; changes in coal preparation are outlined in the report of J. B. Morrow, chairman of Committee on Coal Preparation, while increased mechanization of the western mines is described by Eugene McAuliffe, chairman of the Committee on Machine and Strip Mining. In spite of the depression, interest in the Coal Division has been increasing, its meetings have been well attended, and its committees are active and have been doing excellent work.

Jan 1, 1932

By James Bowron

CONSIDERING the importance of the steel trade and the strategic position occupied in it by the Birmingham District, it may be surprising to many to realize that even the first pig iron smelted with coke was made in Alabama on Feb. 28, 1876, although merchant pig iron had been produced in Rockwood, Tenn., in 1867, a plant which is still in active operation. The heavy deposit of Clinton ore extending from Pennsylvania into Alabama, varying greatly in accessibility on account of geological changes such as erosion or anticlinal upthrow, varies equally as much in thickness and in quality. The brown ores extensively scattered through the South also vary materially in quality, some being relatively low in phosphorus and high in manganese, and vice versa. The red ore varies materially in phosphorus, but the iron produced from these ores was always considered to be too high in phosphorus for treatment by acid Bessemer or open hearth and did not contain sufficient for the basic Bessemer process. Under these conditions there remained only the basic open hearth as a possibility, and for many years it appeared impossible to use it, because, with coke smelted iron, the silicon was too high to permit its use in basic lined furnaces.

Jan 1, 1924

By Arthur Wade

The most important development in connection with the search for oil in Australia during 1940 was on the legislative side. Prior to 1939 legislative enactments in the various states with regard to prospecting for petroleum were such as to prohibit large-scale effort and to bar the major oil companies from operating. The preparation of the Wade Model Bill for the Commonwealth Government in 1939 and the acceptance of the Bill in principle by all States, has gone far to remove these obstacles. Amending Acts, largely based on the Alodel Bill, have now been passed by all States with the exception of New South Wales and Tasmania. In New South Wales an Amending Bill is being drafted, while the Govern-ment of Tasmania is preparing to introduce an Amending Bill provided there is any demand for it. Noteworthy developments followed immediately on the passing of these Amending Acts. The Shell Company (1)1 and the Superior Oil Company of California (2) too$ up large areas in Queensland and com-menced work during 1940. Caltex acquired a big tract of country in the Kimberley district of Western Australia (3) and has made application for an area in the Territory of Papua. An Australian company, The Phoenix Oil Extraction Co., has obtained a permit to prospect over an extensive area bordering the south coast of Western Australia (4). Other developments are foreshadowed. The Shell Company is making an intensive examination of its area in Queensland (I). Geological, geophysical and aerial surveys are in progress. Caltex has three geological parties in the held in Western Australia while Superior Oil Company of California has done some geological work in the interior of Queensland (2). None of these concerns envisages a drilling campaign in the near future. Much exploratory work is necessary. Further work has been done by the companies that were already operating in 1939, though an important Australian company - Oil Search—has abandoned the work of prospecting in Australia. This company has subleased its holdings, at North West Cape in Western Australia (;), to Caltex on a royalty basis. The company also maintains its holdings in, and connection with, the Australasian Petroleum Company Proprietary Limited, which is a combination of Standard Oil (New Jersey), Anglo-Iranian and Oil Search. This company is operating in the territories of Papua and New Guinea. Drilling Victoria.—Although a good deal of drilling was done in the LaBes Entrance Tertiary Basin of Victoria (7), no appreciable production of oil was obtained. In order to test the extent and possibilities of the oil-bearing sand in this region, the Commonwealth and State Governments jointly put down six scout boreholes to depths of between 1200 and I500 it. The results were nega tive. A deeper exploratory horehole put down by the Governments at Seacornbe, or 26

Jan 1, 1941

By Arthur Wade

The most important development in connection with the search for oil in Australia during 1940 was on the legislative side. Prior to 1939 legislative enactments in the various states with regard to prospecting for petroleum were such as to prohibit large-scale effort and to bar the major oil companies from operating. The preparation of the Wade Model Bill for the Commonwealth Government in 1939 and the acceptance of the Bill in principle by all States, has gone far to remove these obstacles. Amending Acts, largely based on the Alodel Bill, have now been passed by all States with the exception of New South Wales and Tasmania. In New South Wales an Amending Bill is being drafted, while the Govern-ment of Tasmania is preparing to introduce an Amending Bill provided there is any demand for it. Noteworthy developments followed immediately on the passing of these Amending Acts. The Shell Company (1)1 and the Superior Oil Company of California (2) too$ up large areas in Queensland and com-menced work during 1940. Caltex acquired a big tract of country in the Kimberley district of Western Australia (3) and has made application for an area in the Territory of Papua. An Australian company, The Phoenix Oil Extraction Co., has obtained a permit to prospect over an extensive area bordering the south coast of Western Australia (4). Other developments are foreshadowed. The Shell Company is making an intensive examination of its area in Queensland (I). Geological, geophysical and aerial surveys are in progress. Caltex has three geological parties in the held in Western Australia while Superior Oil Company of California has done some geological work in the interior of Queensland (2). None of these concerns envisages a drilling campaign in the near future. Much exploratory work is necessary. Further work has been done by the companies that were already operating in 1939, though an important Australian company - Oil Search—has abandoned the work of prospecting in Australia. This company has subleased its holdings, at North West Cape in Western Australia (;), to Caltex on a royalty basis. The company also maintains its holdings in, and connection with, the Australasian Petroleum Company Proprietary Limited, which is a combination of Standard Oil (New Jersey), Anglo-Iranian and Oil Search. This company is operating in the territories of Papua and New Guinea. Drilling Victoria.—Although a good deal of drilling was done in the LaBes Entrance Tertiary Basin of Victoria (7), no appreciable production of oil was obtained. In order to test the extent and possibilities of the oil-bearing sand in this region, the Commonwealth and State Governments jointly put down six scout boreholes to depths of between 1200 and I500 it. The results were nega tive. A deeper exploratory horehole put down by the Governments at Seacornbe, or 26

Jan 1, 1941

By AIME AIME

STEADY advance has been made in the art of lead smelting and refining during the year. The bringing of natural gas to the Salt Lake valley has led to its adaptation to lead smelting operations. The Tooele plant of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. has put into practice the high blast pressure and constant volume for lead blast furnaces, which we understand was first advanced by John F. Austin. It would appear that within limits, capacity is nearly proportional to the volume of air. If the charge is dense, a constant pressure, as in the old practice. did not get much air through the charge and the furnace slowed up. The constant volume idea makes the charge smelt at the same rate as if the charge were porous. The cost of a little additional power insures capacity operation at all times.

Jan 1, 1932

By A. L. Sweetser

EXPERIENCE has shown how difficult it is to obtain information regarding laboratory-tests in connection with the chlorination-process for the extraction of gold from its ores, and I therefore present the following method, somewhat in detail, for the benefit of those who may desire to pursue research work in this field. The ore chosen was a partly-decomposed porphyry, extremely siliceous and comparatively soft, and of an average value per ton of from $25 to $26 in gold and $0.68 in silver. The chemical analysis gave : Fe2O3, 3.35; FeS, 1.5; MnO2, 0.75; ZnCO3, 4; Al2O3, 3.20; H2O, 0.7; SiO2 and insol., 83.50 per cent. The ore, first crushed to pass a 5-mesh screen, was coned and quartered until a 45-lb. sample was obtained. Samples for assay and analysis, taken from this lot by means of riffles, were crushed to pass a 100-mesh screen. The original sample was divided into 10-lb. lots, of which one was crushed to pass a 10-mesh screen; another through a 12-; the third through a 20-, .and the last through a 30-mesh screen. Because of the production of an excessive quantity of fine material it was deemed inexpedient to crush finer than 30-mesh size-a decision the wisdom of which is proved by the data in Table I., showing the increasing ratio of slimes, in proportion as the ore is crushed finer. In order to determine the percentage of fines in the sizes of mesh selected, a weighed sample of ore was taken from each mesh, and a sample from the 10-mesh lot was passed successively through 20-, 40- and 100-mesh screens, and the percentage remaining on each screen determined. This process was repeated with the 12-, 20- and 30-mesh lots, with the results given in Table I.

Sep 1, 1907

By William J. Robinson

What is the cumulative rate of recovery of copper from a sulfide leach dump? The technical answers to this frequently asked question may vary from "I don't know" to "quite good" from people of the same company. Management also poses this question because it plays a vital role in planning future production. The answer is difficult because of the many variables between different operations such as physical construction of the dump, topography of the original site, characteristics of dump material, mineralization, and water application. Each of these factors and others have a bearing on the rate of recovery. Anaconda's method of water distribution at Butte is unique in that each dump is drilled to allow physical injection of water into the dump. The injection holes are drilled vertically on 25-ft centers from the surface of the dump [(Figs. 1 and 2)]. Normally, the holes are drilled 40 ft deep and cased with 4-in. PVC perforated pipe. The pipe is perforated at 1-ft intervals with four 1 -in.-diam holes at 90° spacing on the pipe circumference. Formerly, shallow holes (20-40 ft) were alternated with deep holes (80-180 ft) in an effort to cover the entire dump and hasten oxidation. The shallow hole depth varied according to the compaction thickness. The deep hole depth varied according to the height of the dump and the original ground profile. It is preferable to have the deep holes end 20-30 ft above the original ground level. This generally allows penetration of the coarse material at the bottom of the dump. Deep holes had to be discontinued in order to cover more

Jan 1, 1974

By L. A. Cowan

IF the elements of personality be those characteristics in which humans differ, and if this definition be applied to the purchasing department for the Climax operations in Colorado, it must he concluded that this department has no distinguishing traits that would give it a departmental personality different from that possessed by the similar department of any progressive mining enterprise. Or, one may go further by stating that the rudimentary functions of any purchasing practice employed principally in the acquisition of maintenance, repair, and operating supplies are much alike, whether or not the industry involved be mining or milling. However, in the fact that the principal purchases of a mining company are materials for maintenance and repair and consumable operating supplies lies that essential characteristic which differentiates mining and milling purchasing functions from those of the manufacturer, the fabricator, or the ordinary processor.

Jan 1, 1946

By HENRY M. PARKS

THE total production of all metals in Oregon to date is estimated at $160,000,000; ~115,000,000 from eastern Oregon and $45,000,000 from the western part of the state. In 1916 the metal production of the state was approximately $4,000,000, while the present annual production has dwindled to a little less than $1,000,000. Western Oregon The state of Oregon contains several metal-bearing areas, widely scattered in different regions. More than half of its coast is fringed with a belt of auriferous sands which sometimes are rich in fine gold. A second mining field, the chief producing one of western Oregon, is situated in the southwestern part of the, state and includes Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Coos and Curry counties. It may be considered as the northern extension of the gold and copper belt of California. A third region in western Oregon is that on the western slope of the great Cascade range in the Bohemia, Blue River, Quartzville, North Santiam and Ogle Creek districts-from the Siskiyous on the south almost to the base of Mt. Hood near the Columbia River on the north.

Jan 1, 1925