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By Ferron A. Olson

Occasionally it is good to consider the past, assess the present and project the future. Curriculum, enrollment, matriculation of graduates and changes in industry which influence mineral education are all relevant for determining what changes will be needed in educational institutions to support growth and development in the United States. It would appear likely that with environmental pressures, energy needs with present stress in fossil fuels and general societal needs for metals and minerals that mining and metallurgical engineering faces a period of growth and may be on the threshold of a new era with a vitality that has not been enjoyed for several decades. The following information is based on material obtained through questionnaires received from twelve schools accredited in mining or mineral engineering (out of 18 in the U.S.), 2 not accredited and 5 which no longer have mineral engineering disciplines. The schools presented do not include the smaller nor larges of the undergraduate programs in mining engineering.

Jan 8, 1972

In explanation of the delay, which may have been noted by members of the Institute, which has affected both the Bulletin and Volume .59 of the Transactions, we may mention that our printers, in common with nearly all publishing concerns in the country, have recently been overwhelmed with work on text books and similar technical matter required in connection with the education of the student-army recently inaugurated by the Federal Government. Although we regret the delay in the issuing of our periodical, we cannot help feeling- that our publications are perhaps second in importance to the needs of the army. It is to be hoped that the present excessive demand for printing of- this sort will soon be passed, after which we shall resume publication with more punctuality.

Jan 11, 1918

By W. D. BRENNAN

AS a rule the thoughts of engineers are more often directed toward the mechanical and physical conditions of mining practice than they are toward the disposition and the marketing of the product. This, I think, has been true of the coal industry to the present time not only among the engineering force but also generally true of operators. There has been a tendency to place the sales department in a rather secondary position; for a great many years there was a greater demand for coal than the supply would meet, so it was only necessary to increase production: either by expansion of operating mines, or opening new mines of greater capacity. While the production of coal is still a highly important phase of the industry, its enormous development throughout the country, the great advance in fuel, efficiency and economy, and the discovery of new reserves of competitive fuels have combined to create a buyers' market and force the present-day attention upon merchandising in modern ways. A buyers' market has a natural tendency to develop the keenest competition, frequently unscrupulous and nearly always profit-wrecking. Under such conditions bad practices are bound to grow and to extend until the industry is wrecked, or until wiser heads get together to reduce or eliminate unfair methods of competition. This is not so recent a condition as one might believe.

Jan 1, 1931

Data about production are practically non-existent before 1860. The Census of 1840 reported a small amount, and a number of small mines were opened in the forties, all of the coal being used locally, or hauled to consumers in wagons. Tonnages shown in Table 72 are estimated from those for which authority is given. Railroads reported coal tonnages carried in the state in 1878 and subsequent years for years ending June 30th;, it is not stated that the tonnage originated in the state. Considering this fact, and the considerable amounts used locally, the tonnages given in Table 72 are certainly not larger than the actual amounts produced.

Jan 1, 1942

By N. A. Ziegler

CONSIDERABLE work has been and is being done on the changes of physical properties that take place in alloys at elevated temperatures, and much information on this subject is published. Much less is known, as pointed out by Rickett and Wood,1 about reactions between the alloys and atmospheric gases and still less is known about changes within the alloy itself under the influence of heat and given atmosphere. Moreover, most of the work published has been done on the alloys of "heat-resist-ing" type, in which chromium is an essential ingredient, the behavior of all other alloys being quite unknown, except perhaps of decarburization produced at the surface by oxidizing atmospheres. It has been shown' that iron, with total amount of foreign ingredients not exceeding 0.01 per cent, if heated in an oxidizing atmosphere at above 900° C., may be saturated with oxygen to 0.1 per cent. It was suspected that something of a similar nature may take place in iron-silicon alloys (transformer material), the mechanism of such processes being either a direct diffusion of oxygen into the alloy, or oxygen combining with silicon to form Si02 or more complicated (silicate) inclusions. Another possi-bility to be considered was that during annealing in oxidizing atmos-pheres, when scale is being formed, silicon may oxidize preferentially at the surface, thus impoverishing the alloy in silicon. In collaboration with Dr. T. D. Yensen,3 the writer set out to investigate this problem about two years ago in order to settle these questions.

Jan 1, 1934

By H. W. Turner

THE axis of the middle portion of the Ural mountains is made up chiefly of highly compressed igneous and sedimentary schists, considered of Devonian age by the Russian geologists, with large areas of serpentine (peridotite originally) gabbro, etc., intrusive in the schist series. In addition there are large areas of probably older granitic and gneissic .rocks. The nickel deposits referred to in this paper are found in the Devonian schists and their associated igneous rocks. The gabbro-peridotite intrusions probably took place in late Devonian or early Permian time, inasmuch as the Permian and Carboniferous beds lie at gentle angles on the Devonian series on the west slope of the Urals. Perhaps the first attempt to work a nickel deposit in the Urals was made about 1866 in the Revdinsk district, which is situated southwest of Ekaterinburg. I was informed by a Russian that a wet method of extracting the nickel was tried but was not a commercial success. This deposit has been described by Müller,1 Foullon,2 and Karpinski.3 Beck4 gives an abstract of these papers.

Jan 2, 1914

Some coal was mined in Wyoming for use at the forts as early as 1859, but the commercial development began in 1867, and mining increased with the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad. Tonnages produced are shown in Table 78. [ ]

Jan 1, 1942

By Paul Giesecke

SINCE most modem metallurgical plants are operated continuously and on a large scale, successful operation at maximum efficiency demands that an accurate knowledge of the performance at each stage of the process be available at all times. Quantitative analyses provide the most practical process guides, and it is essential to have analytical procedures that combine accuracy and speed. In continuous plant operations, large losses may occur if the time interval between the development of trouble at any stage and its recognition and correction is great. Many metallurgical plants are using rapid colorimetric and spectrochemical methods of analyses for control purposes. So-called "color coppers" may be cited as an example of the colorimetric methods, in contrast with the routine use of the ultraviolet spectrograph for the analysis of steels.42 By means of this more refined spectrochemical procedure, a complete quantitative analysis of the molten metal is obtained every few minutes. During the past two years the Physics Division and the Ore Dressing Laboratory of the American Cyanamid Company's Stamford Research Laboratories have collaborated in a study of the use of spectrochemical methods for the analysis of various metallurgical products. New methods have been developed, which have proved of practical value in plant operation. The following pages give a general review of the principles of spectrochemical methods and also the details of several specific analyses. PRINCIPLES OF SPECTROCHEMICAL ANALYSIS In general, it can be said that a visible light spectrochemical analysis can be performed for any ion or molecule that is naturally colored, or that can be made to react with another to produce a colored salt or complex. Whereas transmission measurements in the ultraviolet and infrared portions of the spectrum are most useful for the analysis of organic molecules, visible light measurements are of particular value for metal salts. Such elements as copper, manganese, cobalt, nickel, iron, molybdenum, vanadium, chromium, phosphorus, mercury, zinc, lead, and a great many others, can now be determined with a high degree of sensitivity, accuracy and dispatch. From the simplest of qualitative determinations, color analyses have been improved to such an extent that, at the present time, through the use of recording spectrophotometers, hundreds of accurate quantitative analyses can be performed by a single analyst during an 8-hr. day after the standardization curves have been established for the ions to be determined.

Jan 1, 1944

By W. B. Mather

Literature dealing with rock drilling presents a mass of conflicting data. The principal cause of the confusion is attributed to varying definitions of the hardness factor of rock and cutting media. The future development of more efficient drilling methods demands that this problem be solved. The first step in the solution is the compilation of complete data on the physical properties of rocks.

Jan 2, 1951

By Tracy L. Atherton

THE mapping of slant-hole oil fields is complicated by the fact that relationships between wells are subject to variations in three dimensions and are not readily adaptable to representation on a plane surface. Formalized perspectives usually expand into an undecipherable maze of lines and peg models with the necessary supporting dividers serve only to awe the beholder with their perplexity. The usual compromise arrived at is a plotting of the projection of the courses of all of the wells in the field onto a horizontal plane (Fig. I). These complicated plots, when used in conjunction with the individual vertical projections of the wells, heretofore have been the most practical foundation for the study of general field problems. This method has many shortcomings, however, which are not found in the recently developed straight-hole equivalent projection method. The new method supplies a series of maps similar to the type now in common use in straight-hole fields. It is remarkably simple to use and supplies a ready check on clearances between wells. Perhaps the method can best be understood if the steps that led to its development are described. Common practice of oil-well surveyors is to supply the owner with a tabling of the survey and a plan view plotted against the true meridian. If a vertical projection is plotted, it is usually plotted separately and shows vertical depths against the projection of the stations along a section line joining the top and bottom of the hole on the plan view. A more practical method would be to plot the section line of the plan parallel to the abscissa of the vertical projection (Fig. 2). If this is done, any line parallel to the "base line" will pass through the points on each projection that represent a single point in the hole. Another very useful graph, which the well surveyor could provide, would be plotting of vertical depths against measured depths. Fig. 3 illustrates the next step facilitated by this form of plotting. The lines designated "well A" represent the proposed course of a hole to be drilled. Superimposed on the drawing, in its proper relative position, is the plan view and a portion of the vertical projection of a present producer, "well B." From an inspection of the plan view we arrive at the correct conclusion that the only indicated possibility of collision is at the point of crossing of the wells on the plan view. Referring to the vertical projection, note that the vertical depths of stations on B, in the vicinity of the crossing, are plotted on the same plane of projection as A. The clearance is the indicated distance between the two vertical sections measured along the parallel to the "base line," which passes through the point of intersection of the plan view. Repeat this process for the other wells crossing the proposed course of A on the plan view and you have a preliminary check of clearance for the proposed course. A similar comparison of crossings on the vertical projections of all

Jan 1, 1941

By D. U. Deere

The title of this chapter is "Indexing Rock for Machine Tunneling" or, a simplified approach to a very difficult problem. I do not think that we can divorce the considerations for conventional tunneling from that of the requirements in terms of geologic information that is necessary for machine tunneling. Experience has shown that in conventional tunneling, the rate of progress achieved in driving a tunnel and the cost involved can be almost directly related to the general rock quality and to the water conditions actually encountered. The very method selected for driving the tunnel or perhaps adapted during the construction period, that is, full-face, top-heading and bench, or multiple-drift, is largely determined by the degree of severity of the adverse geological features. The amount and type of support required to stabilize the rock behind the advancing face are also directly related to the ground conditions. The support may range from bald-headed to rock bolts placed as needed- perhaps pattern rock bolting, light steel sets, all the way to closely spaced heavy steel sets with full lagging and invert struts. At times crown bars, spiling, and breast boarding must be used to advance the face. Shotcrcte applied immediately to the arch and upper walls is a fairly recent advance in providing both temporary and permanent support. Ground-water inflows can further reduce the rate of advance, causing stability problems and reducing the overall efficiency of the mining crew. Required pumping may also be very expensive depending on the grade of the tunnel and the amount of water. And in shafts, of course, there is the pumping problem. To offset the adverse effect of the ground-water inflows, one must often resort to grouting ahead of the face. But this very operation which helps cut down the water inflow also increases greatly the time required for mining, and of course, there is additional cost involved in the actual operation. The conditions described above do not occur uniformly throughout the rock mass but rather they are concentrated

Jan 1, 1970

By John H. Hearding

Induction heating, together with automatically controlled tempering and hardening is giving Oliver faster and more accurate bit sharpening, while experiments with bit taper promise to offer increased footage per bit.

Jan 10, 1953

By Rossiter W. Raymond

The most important event in the history of mining in the United States was the discovery of gold in California, which led to the rapid development, not only of a new industry, but of a new empire. The settlement of the Pacific slope was making but slow progress under the inducements of a scanty commerce in furs and hides. The liberal grants offered by the government to agricultural pioneers in Oregon had attracted to the Willamette valley and other favored points in that territory a limited population; hot the government of the Mexicans in California was positively unfavorable to enterprise. It is true that gold was known to exist in the country. Rumors of it were current among the trappers, and placers had actually been worked in what is now Los Angeles County; but the padres of the neighboring mission of San Fernando had discouraged the business as demoralizing to their flocks; and the existence of the precious metal was not widely known; still less was its distribution northward suspected. The discovery of gold, January 19th) 1848, at Sutter's saw-mill, on the south fork of the American River, afterward famous as Coloma, in Eldorado County, was the beginning of the new epoch. This discovery was made by James Wilson Marshall, a partner in the mill, who observed in the debris washed down by the tail-race a glittering fragment of a mineral unknown to him. Suspecting it to be gold, he sought for further specimens, and obtained, in the course of a few days, several ounces of it. Tests subsequently

By W. N. Logan, P. Simpson

There was less activity in the petroleum industry in Indiana in 1933 than in previous years, owing largely to adverse market conditions. The only development of any consequence was for oil in Perry and Vander-burgh counties in southwestern Indiana, a few gas wells being brought in in Jay County in northeastern Indiana. Indications are that there will be more activity in southwestern Indiana in 1934. Little change may be expected in northeastern Indiana. One hundred and sixty wells were drilled in Indiana in 1933, of which 57 were dry, 44 produced oil, 38 produced gas and 21 either were not completed or information on them was lacking. There were 153 wells abandoned and plugged in 1933, as compared to 205 in 1932. Southwestern Indiana This area centers about Gibson County and is the principal source of oil and gas production in the state. Production is from the Lower Pennsylvanian and Upper Mississippian formations. Oil production for 1932 was approximately 847,000 bbl. and for 1933 was 804,000 bbl. Gas production for 1933 was 942,000,000 cubic feet. The Siosi field, in southwestern Vigo County and northwestern Sullivan County, discovered six years ago, produced approximately 244,000 bbl. in 1932 and 223,000 bbl. in 1933. Production is from Devonian and Silurian formations. The oil is high gravity, but contains considerable sulfur. The Shelburn and other small pools in central Sullivan County produced approximately 68,000 bbl. in 1932 and 2,000 bbl. less in 1933. Production is from one or more of five horizons in the Pottsville and is obtained at 600 to 800 ft. This area also produces approximately 19,000,000 cu. ft. of gas a year, supplying the city of Sullivan. The field is over 20 years old. The Gibson-Pike County area, made up of many small pools, including several in southern Knox and southwestern Daviess counties, produced approximately 486,000 bbl. in 1932 and 450,000 bbl. in 1933. This production is from the Mansfield sandstone of Pennsylvanian and/or

Jan 1, 1934

By Henry F. Hebley

INTRODUCTION How often has the thoughtful observer pondered the apparent contradictions experienced in the weather? One can take records of two days, one in the winter and one in the summer. The "degree days" indicate that space heating and domestic load were present in one case and not in the other. The Business Index may be about the same, indicating that the industrial activity of the area and its concomitant use of fuel were about the same. Thus the volume of the products of combustion released to the atmosphere varied only as related to the space heating demand. Yet on one day in winter the atmosphere may be clear and bracing, while on a summer's day the air is thick and murky and the visibility sharply reduced. The situation may be reversed. What are some of the factors that contribute to the creation of these conditions? These few notes have been prepared to indicate some of the influences that are exerted on the problem. THE SOURCES OF ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION The industrial area of Pittsburgh, Pa., has been a dominant center for the production of iron and steel for over one hundred years. In fact, with the growth of the numerous auxiliary processes Allegheny County which contains Pittsburgh is probably the most industrialized county in the world. In addition, the type of manufacture carried out in this area is predominant dependent on thermal energy (heat). That energy is supplied from coke and coal produced in the vicinity of Pittsburgh. Indicative of the stupendous quantities of fuel that are employed in this industrial area's economy, the following (Table No. taken from the U. S. Census (1940) may I of interest. An influence that has never been fully appreciated by many individuals is the fact that no matter what adventures the gases of combustion experience as they pass through the various processes, ulti¬mately the spent gases are discharged through chimneys to the atmosphere.

Jan 1, 1948

By C. E. Shoenfelt, D. E. Winchester

NO important discoveries of petroleum during 1933 were reported from New Mexico. Lea and Eddy counties were the centers of activity during the drilling season and each had a number of interesting completions. The Hobbs pool, in Lea County, was definitely outlined on the east, north and northwest. Under an agreement reached last summer by state officials and operators, the Hobbs pool was continued under proration throughout the year. One hundred eighty-four units of 40 acres each were being produced at the end of 1933. The allowable was 21,306 bbl. daily at the beginning of 1933, but when the agreement was revised in the spring the minimum was raised to 30,000 bbl., and by the end of the year had been raised to 33,473 bbl. At present the field is being prorated on the basis of 25 per cent on acreage and 75 per cent on potentials except in the southwestern edge of the field, where water encroachment is a problem. In this area the basis of proration is 40 per cent on acreage and 60 per cent on potentials. A corrective method employed in this part of the field has been partly successful. The water is advancing in the upper part of the pay, a dolomitic limestone, and in a number of instances packers have been set in the pay below the water and above the oil. The locating of a satisfactory seat for a packer is difficult and in some instances has not been a complete success. Pipe line runs from the field during the year aggregated 11,413,218 bbl., bringing the total gross production up to 41,093,681 bbl., of which 39,000,-000 bbl. has been produced under proration, which went into effect on July 10, 1930. On Nov. 30, potentials were determined on the assigned pressure basis and the total was reduced 71,165 bbl. daily, to 1,265,-332 barrels. The outstanding completions in the Hobbs pool were three in number, of which the best was the Humble Oil & Refining Company's No. 3B Bowers in sec. 20, 18S., 38E., with an initial production of 11,664 bbl. of oil and 10,000,000 cu. ft. of gas. The Shell Petroleum Company's No. 4B McKinley, in the same section, produced at the rate of 22,940 bbl. of oil while flowing open, but when tubed, flowed at the rate of 6610 bbl. The third outstanding well, No. 4 Hardin of the Tidal Oil Co., and located in

Jan 1, 1934

By W. M. Myers

Certain minerals possess inherent color and other properties that make them suitable for the pigmentation of paints, mortar, plaster, concrete, face brick, and other materials. Their production is one of the most ancient of mineral industries and their use by primitive man is well known. These natural pigments have some economic factors in their favor, particularly wide geographic distribution, low cost of production, ease of preparation, chemical stability, and permanence in use so that they continue to form the basis of a small but useful industry. When used in paints such pigments act as a filler and supply body and opacity in addition to color. Natural mineral pigments are prepared for the market by the comparatively simple operations of washing, grinding, blending, and calcining. Any one, or all of these processes may be applied to a single pigment. The development of synthetic pigments and the use of by- product materials have introduced competition with the products of nature and are having a growing influence on the economic position of the mined minerals.

Jan 1, 1949

By P. Barnes

SEVERAL interesting and important considerations may be based upon an analysis of the cost of producing Bessemer rails, and the facts thus set forth may be much more clearly emphasized by reducing each item of cost to its own fractional proportion of the sum total in each branch of the manufacture. The estimate given below is not absolutely complete in minuteness of detail, but it may be fairly taken as a basis for the suggestions to be noted : Perhaps the most striking comments that can be made upon this statement are those arising from a consideration of some of the smaller items, and even the least of these quite loses its insignifi¬cance when its proportion of the whole is expressed in actual money, as for the work of a year, or even for a single day. Thus, if the item A 5 be considered, the importance can be clearly

Jan 1, 1877

By Robert W. Hunt

There are certain physical characteristics of steel resulting from its treatment while being formed into useful products which have been, and are, well known to its manipulators ; but under the stress of business competition and other controlling influences, all knowledge is not always given either full sway, or even full acknowledgment. Such has been the case in the making of steel rails. It is universally acknowledged that steel rails of heavy sections, made during the last tell years, have not given as good service as the rails of lighter sections produced before that time. While certain fundamental principles of steel-making have been acknowledged, their application to the steel-rail manufacture has been, if not actually denied, completely ignored.

Jan 1, 1902

By Charles H. White

METHODS in colorimetry are based on the assumption that the intensity of the color of a definite volume of solution is directly proportional to the quantity of the color-producing substance' present. In the preparation and examination of colored solutions there are three ways in which the depth of color may be varied. These variables are; (1) the quantity of the coloring matter, (2) the quantity of the solvent, or the dilution, and (3) the thickness or depth of that portion of the solution examined. With these three variables as a basis, three general methods in colorimetry have been devised, all of which have been used in the determination of carbon in steel. In the first method, the quantity of the solution is kept the same for both the unknown steel and the standard, and the sections compared are of equal thickness, while the quantity of the standard is varied until the color obtained is of the same intensity as that produced by a definite quantity of the unknown steel. In laboratories where this method is used there is pre¬pared and kept for permanent use a series of solutions with varying amounts of the standard, representing the percentages of carbon from the lowest to the highest demanded in that laboratory. These standard solutions are kept in bottles, or test-tubes of equal diameter, and are arranged in series from the faintest to the most intense color, so that it is a simple matter to find the place of the unknown steel in the series, when the solution is of a definite volume and is contained in a tube of the same diameter as the standard tubes. In the second method, equal quantities of the standard and of the unknown steel are dissolved, the standard is diluted to a definite volume, and the solution of the unknown steel is di-

Sep 1, 1906