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By Lawrence Wright

ON the steep slopes of the Kootenays, 15 to 20 miles south of Nelson, B. C., are a number of ore occurrences (Fig. 1). One that has many features of mining and geological interest is the Ymir Yankee Girl Gold Mines Limited. Discovery of this property was made in 1899 at an outcrop on the hillside, some 2500 ft. above the village of Ymir. This proved to be a branch vein 20 ft. long leading to two main veins, the Yankee Girl and the Spur (Fig. 5). The ore pattern as now delimited shows a remarkable increase in ore area with depth below the outcrop. This recent development is of interest particularly in view of the fact that the property was nearly con-demned, professionally. Another interesting feature, which has a bearing upon its history, is the persistent excess of tonnage produced from period to period over visible reserves. This is not ascribed to lagging mine development, but to detailed vein characteristics, which we will endeavor to make clear by giving a description of the veins and their surroundings.

Jan 1, 1938

By J. A. SINGMASTERN

THE New Jersey Zinc Co.'s vertical retort plants are believed to have been in continuous operation through the whole year. At Palmerton metal purer than that made from the same ore in the old plant has been produced and has been able to compete successfully with very pure electrolytic metal in die castings and other special uses where extreme purity is worth money. A new plant using this process was put in production by the Grasselli Chemical Co. at Meadowbrook, W. Va., early in the summer. It is said to be working very satisfactorily. It is understood that this plant will not produce high-grade metal. Two patents issued to Bunce and Mahler (Nos. 1,749,126 and 1,749,127) describe a method of operating the vertical retort so that practically lead-free metal can be obtained from ores containing consider- able lead. The zinc vapors and other gases leaving the reaction zone are filtered through a column of material maintained at a temperature high enough to prevent much zinc from condensing. The filtering medium is either periodically or continuously changed.

Jan 1, 1931

By Walter Fuchs

IT is now generally conceded that coal is the product of deposition and transformation of debris of forests and swamps.29 Ample data are available to illustrate the metamorphosis of biochemical substances through biological action; other data show the progressive regional metamorphism existing in coal beds;25 and numerous examples of change effected by intrusion of igneous dikes into coal deposits have been established.23 However, often the relative importance of the biological and the geological factor in determining the character of the various natural coals is a debatable question. Since both biological and geological factors are ever present in nature, the problem, at first glance, would appear to resemble certain probability problems: specifically the simultaneous toss of two coins, with the biological factor as heads and the geological as tails. The probability is 2:I for the combined effect of both factors, as compared to the exclusive effect of either one. if the a priori probability is the same for each factor. This condition can be analyzed by a thermodynamic treatment of data, which may be obtained from a consideration of pertinent biological, chemical, geophysical and geological facts. SYNOPSIS OF BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL FACTS The biosphere is not sterile; i.e., microorganisms are always present. Microorganisms have been established in the ocean deep, under the ice of the polar regions, in the sand of the deserts, and in swamps far below the surface. The various biological media may be acid, neutral, or alkaline, and they may or may not be readily accessible to air. Microorganisms are encountered almost everywhere, except where the temperature is not within the range tolerable by microbial life. Of course, with changing conditions, the type of microorganisms will change. All chemical products of life-proteins, fats, carbohydrates, lignins, waxes, resins may serve as a habitat of microorganisms. In the decomposition of a medium, some microorganisms macerate organic matter mechanically and remove certain constituents for their own nutrition; others decompose a large part of the organic matter but may leave certain constituents undecomposed. Some attack only certain specific ingredients of the organic matter. All of them build up cell substance. The nitrogen content of the medium largely determines the degree of decomposition. Below 1.7 per cent nitrogen, growth of microorganisms and hence decomposition of organic material is retarded; consequently organic material will accumulate. l7,32 Such accumulations of organic material may give coal eventually. Coals differ in type and rank. The nature of the original vegetation and the conditions attending the transformation of the accumulated debris determine the type of coal such as bright, splint, cannel, and algal or boghead coals. Chemical analysis of representative samples of a given type of

Jan 1, 1941

THE LIFE and works of Alexander Agassiz, first president of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Co., were recalled to memory when a monument bearing his statue was unveiled in Agassiz Park, at Calumet, Mich., on Sept. 26, The statue is the work of Paul W. Bartlett, of New York, and was erected by George R. Agassiz, eldest son of Alexander Agassiz. We are indebted to Rodolphe L. Agassiz, now president of the Calumet & Hecla Consolidated, for the accompanying photograph of the statue. The principal address at the unveiling ceremony was delivered by Allen F. Rees, of Houghton, who said, in part: To the world at large Alexander Agassiz was preeminently the man of science. With all his devotion to the industrial life of this district, he found the time to devote to the con-tinuation of his work of scientific research which had been the life work of his fa-ther, Louis Agassiz. Not only did he acquire eminence for his scientific at-tainments and learn-ing, but he was recognized and hon-ored throughout the civilized world for his achievements and accomplishments in the realm of original research. His work in the fields of nat-ural science, in oceanography, in marine zoology, and in other similar lines of research, has added much to our knowledge of the world's mysteries. His life was one of accomplishment also in the industrial world. The union in one life of acknowledged achievement as a scientist and the accomplishment of great results in the prac-tical industrial world is a rare thing, and its possibility has never been exemplified in greater measure than in his life and its results.

Jan 11, 1923

By Dilip K. Das, Douglas T. Pitman

ONE of the major uses of barium in metallic form is as a getter material in vacuum tubes. Because of the high chemical reactivity of the metal, Ba-Al alloys are extensively used. Numerous methods for the preparation of Ba-Al alloys have been published, a few of which1-4 are cited here. Most of these methods were found to be quite elaborate, involving the reduction of BaO, and not too well adapted for the close control of the final composition of small amounts of alloys prepared for laboratory use. A simple laboratory method for the preparation of Ba-A1 alloys in small batches starting from pure metals was devised, so that it was possible to control the desired compositions to within 1 pct. The pertinent features of the alloy system Ba-Al5 are 1) an intermediate compound BaAl, with the melting point of 1050°C, and 2) a eutectic between aluminum and BaAl4 at 98 pct Al. The accompanying sketch shows the experimental arrangement for the preparation of the alloys. Weighed amounts of aluminum and barium were placed in an alumina and a stainless steel crucible, respectively. According to the supplier's specification, the purity of the metals used in the alloys is as follows: a) aluminum rods—99.9 pct Al, and b) barium rods—99.5 pct Ba. The stainless steel crucible, tapered at the bottom and having a 1/16 in. diam hole, rested on top of the alumina crucible. The assembly was placed inside a graphite sleeve which rested on a refractory platform. The platform moved the assembly up and down through the field of a radio frequency coil. A glass bell jar was placed between the crucible assembly and the radio frequency coil to maintain a steady flow of helium around the melt. A small window was cut out on the wall of the alumina crucible to observe the progress of the re- action and to record the temperature with an optical pyrometer. The platform was first raised high enough to move the barium out of the radio frequency coil field in order to allow only the aluminum to melt. The assembly was then lowered so that the barium began to melt and flow out through the small orifice into the molten aluminum. In order to keep the violence of the exothermic reaction under control, the rate of flow of barium was carefully regulated by raising or lowering the crucible assembly. All the samples prepared by this technique were examined by a Norelco X-ray diffractometer using CuKa radiation, The diffraction specimens were prepared by placing the finely powdered samples in flat specimen holders. The Ba-Al alloys prepared with a high barium content were found to consist mainly of BaAl4. The structure of BaAl4 has previously been reported by Alberti and Andress.8 They found that BaAl4 was body-centered-tetragonal with an a0 = b0 = 4.530Å and c0 = 11.14Å. An alloy whose composition was found by chemical analysis to be almost 100 pct BaA1, was used to determine the relative intensities. The d-spacings were obtained from the same alloy to which a small amount of tungsten had been added as a calibrating material. Accurate values for a, and c, were calculated according to the method proposed by Taylor and Floyd.' The calculated values are: a, = b, = 4.566Å and c0 = 11.250Å. The measured d-values for BaAl4 are shown in Table I along with relative peak intensities above background and hkl indices. Acknowledgment The authors are grateful to L. J. Cronin, the head of the Techniques Dept., for suggesting the problem and for his constant interest. References 1Froges and Camargue: German Patent No. 809107, 1951. French Patent No. 935324, 1949. 2E. Bonnier: Annales de physique, 1953, vol. 8, pp. 259-312. 3M. Orman and E. Zemhela: Prac Institute of Metals; 1952, vol. 4, pp. 437-445. 4E. Fujita and H. Yokomizo: Reports Gov. Chemical Industrial Research Institute, Tokyo, 1952, vol. 47, pp. 291-297. 5E. Alberti: Ztsch. fur Metallkunde, 1934, vol. 26, p. 6. 6E Alberti and K. R. Andress: Ztsch. fur Metallkunde, 1935, vol. 27, p. 126. 7 A. Tnslor and R. W. Floyd: Acta Crystallographica, 1950, vol. 3, p. 285.

Jan 1, 1958

By N. F. Fiore, M. F. McGuire

THIS communication describes a series of experiments in which dislocation etch pitting was used to ascertain the depth of damage in crystals which were mechanically polished or which were cut with either a commercial metallographic cut-off wheel,* a com- All specimens were cut from single crystals of American Smelting and Refining Co. 99.999+ pct pure copper which were grown from the melt by the Bridge-man technique. The test specimens were disks, with faces being (111) planes and the disk axis a (111) direction. The disks were annealed in a vacuum of 10-5 Torr for 24 hr at 950°C prior to cutting or polishing and were given a light electropolishing in an ortho-phosphoric acid bath before etch pitting. Both Youngs1 and Livingston's2 reagents were used for etch pitting and the reagents gave identical quantitative results; however Livingston's reagent produced less staining and so all photomicrographs shown are of {111) surfaces etched with this solution. The surface of the annealed crystals showed well-defined subboundaries and a density of dislocations of about 1 X 106 per sq cm excluding those present in subboundaries, Fig. 1. The depth of cold work produced during mechanical polishing was determined after an annealed specimen was mounted in a paraffin holding block to protect it from extraneous damage. The exposed (111) surface was ground on metallographic papers and then polished on billiard cloth through 0.05-p alumina abrasive. It was necessary to remove about 0.3 mm (-0.01 in.) to obtain a structure representative of the annealed sur- face, indicating that the crystal was damaged to this depth during mechanical polishing. The cold work caused by standard cutting methods was measured in another series of tests in which cuts

Jan 1, 1967

By H. David Swain

On Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea, Bougainville Copper Ltd. (BCL) has successfully applied electronic data processing (EDP) techniques to pit operations and mine planning. Though the EDP program is not complete, BCL has realized significant improvements in short and long range mine planning, and equipment and manpower utilization. About 80% of BCL's 4000 employees are Papua New Guinea nationals, and most have little education or training. The operational characteristics of the computer equipment, however, have been quickly adapted by users with low educational standards.

Jan 3, 1979

THE sessions of the Institute were opened on Tuesday evening, October 26th, at Garrett's Hall, by Mr. Charles A. Otis, Chairman of the Local Committee of Arrangements, who welcomed the Institute to Cleveland, and introduced Col. Charles Whittlesey, who ad¬dressed the Institute briefly on the coal deposits of Ohio. Col. Whittlesey described the situation and character of the coal-beds of the State, and gave a short history of the use of raw coal in the manufacture of pig-iron, and spoke of the excellent quality of metal produced. The aid that a body of scientific miners and metal¬lurgists were capable of giving in the development of coal and other mineral resources was dwelt upon, and the hope expressed that the visit of the Institute to Cleveland might be profitable as, well to its members as to the citizens of the State. The President, Mr. A. L. Holley, responded to the welcome of Mr. Otis and of Col. Whittlesey, and read an introductory address on Some Pressing Needs in the Iron and Steel Manufacture. The following members and associates, duly proposed and indorsed by the Council, were then elected MEMBERS. Alfred S. Bertolet, - Youngstown, Ohio. Henry Binnse, - Chicago, Ill. John Birkinbine, - Philadelphia. Andrew A. Blair, - Watertown Arsenal, Mass. Ogden Bolton, - Canton, Ohio. Lloyd Booth, - Youngstown, Ohio. E. Borda, - Philadelphia. N. P. Bowler, - Cleveland, Ohio. Alexander E. Brown, - Cleveland, Ohio. C. F. Brush, - Cleveland, Ohio. S. M. Carpenter, - Cleveland, Ohio. James Cartwright, - Youngstown, Ohio. Henry Chisbolm, - Cleveland, Ohio. Wilson B. Chisbolm, - Newburgh, Ohio. W. H. Clarke, - Millertown, Pa. James E. Clayton, - Ore Knob, N. C.

Jan 1, 1876

The sessions of the Institute were opened on Tuesday evening, October 26th, at Garrett's Hall, by Mr. Charles A. Otis, Chairman of the Local Committee of Arrangements, who welcomed the Institute to Cleveland, and introduced Col. Charles Whittlesey, who addressed the Institute briefly on the coal deposits of Ohio. Col. Whittlesey described the situation and character of the coalbeds of the State, and gave a short history of the use of raw coal in the manufacture of pig-iron, and spoke of the excellent quality of metal produced. The aid that a body of scientific miners and metallurgists were capable of giving in the development of coal and other mineral resources was dwelt upon, and the hope expressed that the visit of the Institute to Cleveland might be profitable as well to its members as to the citizens of the State. The President, Mr. A. L. Holley, responded to the welcome of Mr. Otis and of Col. Whittlesey, and read an introductory address on Some Pressing Needs in the Iron and Steel Manufacture. The following members and associates, duly proposed and indorsed by the Council, were then elected MEMBERS. Alfred S. Bertolet,.. .. . Youngstown, Ohio. Henry Binnse,. Chicago, Ill. John Birkinbine,.. .. . Philadelphia. Andrew A. Blair,. .. .. Watertown Arsenal, Mass. Ogden Bolton,. .. .. Canton, Ohio. Lloyd Booth,..Youngstown, Ohio. E. Borda,..Philadelphia. N. P. Bowler,.. .. . Cleveland, Ohio. Alexander E. Brown,.... Cleveland, Ohio. C. F. Brush,.. .. .Cleveland, Ohio. S. M. Carpenter,.. .. . Cleveland, Ohio. James Cartwright,.. .. . Youngstown, Ohio. Henry Chisholm,.. .. . Cleveland, Ohio. Wilson B. Chisholm,.. .. . Newburgh, Ohio. W. H. Clarke,.. .. . Millertown, Pa. James E. Clayton,. .. .. Ore Knob, N..C.

By G. Sachs, G. Espey

IT is well known that high residual stresses are created in tubing by the sinking process, in which no internal tool or mandrel is used.1-4 In this process, the wall thickness is usually slightly increased.4,5 In tube drawing with a plug, the residual stresses are gradually reduced with increasing reduction of wall, and, by the conventional approximation methods of stress measurement, no stress is detected in tubing in which the wall reduction is over 50 per cent of the total reduction in cross-sectional area.1-6, It has also been observed that higher stresses are set up by the use of wide-angle dies than by the use of acute dies.2 The actual stress distribution in drawn .tubing has been investigated by a few workers,7-9 but has not been related to the conditions of the drawing process: Some attempts have been made to correlate accelerated cracking tests for stresses in brass products with the magnitude of the circumferential stresses and the condition of the metal.1-10 MATERIALS AND PREPARATION The material used in this experiment was commercial cartridge-brass (70 per cent Cu, 30 per cent Zn) tubing in the straightened and annealed condition.‡ This tubing was of various outside diameters and had a wall thickness of 0.032 in. It was sunk to 1/2-in. outside diameter by means of an experimental 10,000-lb. hydraulic draw-bench, with a maximum drawing speed of 8 ft. per minute. All dies were of 1/2 -in. diameter. Various die materials and contours were used in order to study the effect of die design on residual stresses in the tubing; the specifications for the dies are given in Fig. I. Castor oil was used throughout as lubricant. Chattering occurred in sinking some of the tubing, particularly when dies having the more acute angles were used, but the tubes showing chatter marks did not differ markedly from those with a smooth surface regarding the magnitude of residual stress. The source of the chattering has not yet been revealed. The wall of the tubing becomes thicker during sinking, as previously observed 4,5 The increases in wall thickness were 3, 7 and 9.5 per cent on the average for 6, 20 and 33 per cent reductions in diameter, no effect of the contour being noticeable. The reductions mentioned throughout this investigation do not consider this fact, but are reductions of the outside diameter. For the evaluation of the residual stress two fundamentally different methods were used. The approximation method1,11 of splitting a certain length of tubing was employed to obtain a bird's-eye view of the effect of various drawing conditions on the circumferential stress measured by the diameter change occurring on splitting. For the determination of the complete stress

Jan 1, 1941

By Wm. C. Madge, H. P. Allen

The chloridizing mill of the Standard Reduction Co. is located about 75 miles south of Salt Lake City on the Tintic branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Western R. R. and 12 miles from the Tintic Standard mine. The daily capacity is 200 toss of a siliceous, low-grade, silver-lead ore from this property. It has operated continuously since it was started in January, 1921. The process consists essentially of a chloridizing roast followed by a percolating leach with a nearly saturated solution of common salt, acidified with sulfuric acid, the precipitation of silver on sponge copper and of copper and lead on tin-plate cuttings. The precipitates are shipped to a smelter. Some of the general ideas involved are said to have been used by Augustin in England, in 1840. A number of textbooks treat of the subject, especially the chloridizing roast followed by a leach with sodium hyposulfite or amalgamation. The process was revived in this district by Theo. P. Holt, N. C. Christensen, the Bureau of Mines, and others. Nature of Ore Treated The average assay of the ore treated during 1924 is as follows: Gold, ounces per ton...................................... 0.025 Silver, ounces per ton..................................... 18.26 Copper, per cent......................................... 0.30 Lead, per cent........................................... 5.00 Silica, per cent........................................... 65.00 Iron, per cent............................................ 10.00 Lime, per cent........................................... 0.70 Sulfur, per cent.......................................... 3.00 Arsenic, per cent......................................... 0.70 The silver is finely disseminated and occurs as native, combined as a sulfide and, to a very small extent, as the chloride. The lead may be present as carbonate, sulfide, or sulfate.

Jan 1, 1926

By William T. Folwell

The Lucky Friday mine east of Mullan, Idaho, is an outstanding example of a property in the Coeur d’Alene district where a small and insignificant- appearing silver-lead-zinc vein at the surface has changed at depth into a large vein of great importance. The Lucky Friday vein has little if any surface expression and above the 1200 level the ore shoots are small and discontinuous. Between the 1200 level and 2450 level, the lowest developed level, the main ore shoot has shown remarkable improvement on each succeeding lower level, and today the mine is one of the major lead-silver producers in the Coeur d'Alene district. History: The Lucky Friday property is on the north side of the South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River in sections 25, 26 and 35, T. 48 N., R. 5 E., Hunter mining district, Shoshone County, Idaho. This is about one mile east of the town of Mullan, which serves the eastern portion of the Coeur d'Alene district. The southern part of the property is crossed by a branch line of the Northern Pacific Ry. and by U. S. Highway 10. This highway is the principal road crossing the panhandle of Idaho and connects the district with Spokane, Wash., on the west and Missoula, Mont., on the east. The main portal and surface plant of the Lucky Friday mine is at an elevation of 3365 ft, only a short distance above the valley floor and a few hundred feet from U. S. Highway 10, so the mine is readily accessible for year-round operation.

Jan 12, 1958

By R. Philip Hammond

Monazite has had a Cinderella-like history. Although nearly go per cent pure rare-earth compound (rare-earth phosphate) it was sought at first not for the rare earths but for the sake of a minor constituent—thorium. The thorium, essential for the Welsbach gaslight mantle, was present in only small quantities and the principal constituents, the rare earths, were largely discarded. Gradually, however, the rare earths have developed uses of their own and today have left the thorium far behind in value. Occurrence Monazite was first produced commercially about 1886, in North Carolina, where it was collected in small sluices by farmers who found it in stream beds on their land. The deposits were later exploited on a larger scale, but were mostly abandoned in a few years, when monazite from Brazil came upon the market in far larger quantities. Domestic production ceased entirely in 1906. The Brazilian source is still active, together with Indian, Dutch East Indies, and Australian deposits. Several other localities in the United States have yielded monazite, but none of these has produced commercially as yet. Monazite occurs originally in pegmatite~ and gneisses, through which, unfortunately, it is scattered in highly dispersed form. All commercially useful deposits consist of transported monazite sands liberated by erosion and concentrated by the action of water, which has sluiced away lighter materials and concentrated the heavy (D = 5.0 to 5.2) grains of monazite, together with ilmenite, zircon, garnet, and other dense minerals. The Carolina deposits were in stream beds; most of the other deposits mentioned are on or near the seashore, where the action of the waves has served to concentrate the monazite. In most cases today, the sands are worked to obtain the ilmenite and zircon, as well as monazite. The minerals are separated by means of sluices, dry tables, and magnetic separators, and each is finally obtained nearly pure. No crushing or grinding is necessary. The concentrates are shipped in fiber bags. Composition of Monazite As Table I illustrates, monazite is the anhydrous orthophosphate of the cerium Table i.—Typical Analysis of a Monazite Sand (India). Per Cent Thorium oxide............................. 8.1 Cerium oxide.............................. 30.6 Lanthanum oxide........................... 15. 7 Neodymium oxide.......................... 10.5 Praseodymium oxide........................ 2. 9 Samarium oxide............................ 1.0 Europium. gadolinium, and terbium oxides.... 0.7 Yttrium oxide.............................. 0.4 Dysprosium, holmium, erbium. thulium, ytterbium. and lutecium oxides................. 0. 1 Silicon oxide............t................... 2.4 Calcium, aluminum, and iron oxides.......... 1.0 Uranium oxide............................. 0.3 Phosphorus pentoxide....................... 26. 2 a The values given for the rare earths following samarium are approximate. being based upon analyses of concentrated fractions derived from monazite. The composition given represents Travancore monazite carefully freed from other minerals. goup of rare-earth elements. A small amount of yttrium and terbium group phosphate is also present.* All the rare-

Jan 1, 1948

By R. Philip Hammond

Monazite has had a Cinderella-like history. Although nearly go per cent pure rare-earth compound (rare-earth phosphate) it was sought at first not for the rare earths but for the sake of a minor constituent—thorium. The thorium, essential for the Welsbach gaslight mantle, was present in only small quantities and the principal constituents, the rare earths, were largely discarded. Gradually, however, the rare earths have developed uses of their own and today have left the thorium far behind in value. Occurrence Monazite was first produced commercially about 1886, in North Carolina, where it was collected in small sluices by farmers who found it in stream beds on their land. The deposits were later exploited on a larger scale, but were mostly abandoned in a few years, when monazite from Brazil came upon the market in far larger quantities. Domestic production ceased entirely in 1906. The Brazilian source is still active, together with Indian, Dutch East Indies, and Australian deposits. Several other localities in the United States have yielded monazite, but none of these has produced commercially as yet. Monazite occurs originally in pegmatite~ and gneisses, through which, unfortunately, it is scattered in highly dispersed form. All commercially useful deposits consist of transported monazite sands liberated by erosion and concentrated by the action of water, which has sluiced away lighter materials and concentrated the heavy (D = 5.0 to 5.2) grains of monazite, together with ilmenite, zircon, garnet, and other dense minerals. The Carolina deposits were in stream beds; most of the other deposits mentioned are on or near the seashore, where the action of the waves has served to concentrate the monazite. In most cases today, the sands are worked to obtain the ilmenite and zircon, as well as monazite. The minerals are separated by means of sluices, dry tables, and magnetic separators, and each is finally obtained nearly pure. No crushing or grinding is necessary. The concentrates are shipped in fiber bags. Composition of Monazite As Table I illustrates, monazite is the anhydrous orthophosphate of the cerium Table i.—Typical Analysis of a Monazite Sand (India). Per Cent Thorium oxide............................. 8.1 Cerium oxide.............................. 30.6 Lanthanum oxide........................... 15. 7 Neodymium oxide.......................... 10.5 Praseodymium oxide........................ 2. 9 Samarium oxide............................ 1.0 Europium. gadolinium, and terbium oxides.... 0.7 Yttrium oxide.............................. 0.4 Dysprosium, holmium, erbium. thulium, ytterbium. and lutecium oxides................. 0. 1 Silicon oxide............t................... 2.4 Calcium, aluminum, and iron oxides.......... 1.0 Uranium oxide............................. 0.3 Phosphorus pentoxide....................... 26. 2 a The values given for the rare earths following samarium are approximate. being based upon analyses of concentrated fractions derived from monazite. The composition given represents Travancore monazite carefully freed from other minerals. goup of rare-earth elements. A small amount of yttrium and terbium group phosphate is also present.* All the rare-

Jan 1, 1948

By R. J. Mechin

TOP-SLICING was introduced in the Pachuca district in 1917 by T. C. Baker, at that time mine superintendent, of the Santa Gertrudis mine. There then existed 1200 ft. (365.7 m.) below the surface, lying between the fourteenth and eighteenth levels (a vertical distance of 108 meters) a block of ore having a length of 295 ft. (90 m.), and an average width of 82 ft. (25 m.) and dipping at an angle of 65°. This block lay in the hanging wall of the vein and consisted of highly altered and fractured andesite, cut through with mineralized quartz stringers. On the foot-wall side, 26 ft. (8 m.) of old filling, left by former operators, was of payable grade. Stoping therein was first undertaken by the square-set filling system, but because of the extremely heavy hanging wall and loose dry filling in the foot wall, all square setting had to be accompanied by spiling, which made the operation exceedingly slow and costly. A system of mining was sought that would eliminate the difficulties inherent to the square-set system in heavy ground and that at the same time would effect the desired economies in mining. After several years, top-slicing has met all the conditions most satisfactorily, so that when similar conditions presented themselves in El Bordo mine, this method was adopted with necessary modifications. El Bordo mine is operated by the Santa Gertrudis company, and is situated about two miles north of Pachuca. Because of the diversity of the orebodies, a number of different mining methods are in use, among them top-slicing.

Jan 10, 1925

By Anthony William Deller

MAJOR battles in the present war have been fought in American research laboratories. Without the outstanding contributions made by our scientists, engineers, and technologists in mining and metallurgy, many of our achievements in the present war would have been impossible. All recognize the fact that modern research has found the answer to problems which seemed insuperable. For the duration, many of these inventions must be maintained as war secrets. But aside from these, the record of accomplishment in peace and war, especially in the past few decades, known to all, demonstrates what scientific and industrial research can accomplish. It may be regarded as axiomatic that the development of modern industry is based principally upon research devoted to making inventions and discoveries. We have come a long way from the sixteenth century, when Agricola published his classical "De Re Metallica:" With our vastly increased knowledge we are now commercially producing dozens of metals entirely unknown at that time. Further, with our modern methods of research and development, a large number of invaluable alloy compositions have been produced. These include numerous age-hardenable alloys, cupronickels, "Everbrite", "Everdur", "Duralumin", "Elinvar", "Hastelloy", "Inconel", "Invar", "Monel", "Ni-chrome", "Ni-Hard", "Ni-Resist", "Permaloy", "Silcrome", stainless steels and irons and other alloy steels, "Stellite", and zinc die-casting alloys.

Jan 1, 1945

By J. E. Brantly

In October 1939, a drilling program was commenced on the Atlantic seaboard of Brazil, with three steam rotary rigs of medium capacity. One of these was assigned to the State of Alagbas and the other two to the State of Bahia. During the remaining few months of 1939 and during the year 1940, some eight wells were drilled, two in Alagbas and six in Bahia. Two small producers were found in the latter state. In early 1941 three medium-weight Diesel rigs were added to the equipment, thus permitting the drilling of some 15 wells during the year 1941. The two small producers found in 1940 in the State of Rahia were near the city of Silo Salvador. In 1941 three additional small wells were brought in, in the same area, and a further producer on an isolated structure some 75 km. to the northwest of this production. No commercial production has been found in the State of Alagbas. Approximately 26 wells have been drilled or are drilling, six of which are producers— five in one area and one in another. The program for 1942 calls for the development of the two areas in which wells have been found and also the drilling of several wildcat structures located either by geophysics or surface geology. All production in the area of the several producing wells is somewhat less than 2000 ft. and in the other area about 3800 ft. The area of the several wells is known as the Lobato field, and is practically within the city limits of Sao Salvador. The area 75 km. northwest of the city will be known as the Candeias field.

Jan 1, 1942

IN speaking, on the subject, "Engineer-Citizens," at the Lehigh Valley Mineral Industries Conference dinner, on April 26, at Easton, Pa., George Otis Smith, Director of the United States Geological Survey and President of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, said in part: "It would be carrying coke to Connellsville to bring to the Lehigh Valley the idea that mineral resources are the foundation of national prosperity. Unfortu-nately, however, this obvious, fact is not everywhere recognized. Too many of our economists, journalists, statesmen and other dopesters of present business con-ditions stress the human factor so strongly that they overlook the material with which men work out their destiny. To them the financial psychology of Wall Street and the political logic of Capitol Hill and the business commonplaces of Main Street all loom far larger than the geology of the Lehigh Valley or the engineering triumphs of Bethlehem, or, the creative thinking at Lehigh and Lafayette. "The present situation in the industrial and .business world is a complex of interacting causes and reacting effects not easily itemized and entered on our trial balance sheet. But, chief among the liabilities of today is the excess of production capacity in most branches of industry. The farmer has no. monopoly in his desire for relief. Whether your professional connections are with steel or cement, coal or oil, copper, or zinc, you; know too well that for, the moment America is over-engined, and you keenly realize the ever-present hazard of industry speeding up regardless of the curves or grades just around the corner.

Jan 5, 1928