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By JOHN R. SUMAN

OVERWHELMING proof of the importance of oil in a modern national economy is afforded by the present European War. Treat¬ies and national boundaries have been cynically violated to secure greater supplies of the precious fuel. Petroleum substitutes have been desperately, and far from successfully, sought. The whole German military theory of the drang nach Osten, the drive to the East, is directed at cutting the British supply of oil and securing a supply for Germany. This is a war of machines, and the machines of war feed hungrily on oil. In view of this fact, it is surely comforting to know that we are living today in a nation which has surpassed all the rest of the world not merely in unearthing the raw supplies of petroleum which lie beneath its surface but also in every phase of the industry in mining, refining, processing, production, and distribution.

Jan 1, 1941

By B. D. Saklatwalla

FOR the proper understanding of the inclusion of certain elements in this review it seems necessary to state the meaning of "rare metals." Certain elements occur in deposits limited in extent or concentration, so that the extraction of the element in relation to market conditions becomes uneconomical. Others may occur in extensive and rich deposits but the reduction of the metal may be difficult and costly. Both these conditions effect the same result, namely, make the metal rare and costly. As an example of the first kind may be mentioned radium and of the second, calcium.

Jan 1, 1939

By Henry S. Drinker

(Canal Zone Meeting, November, 1910.) FEW men reach middle life without having had the experience of failure in one or more undertakings; and most of us can look back with gratitude to help or advice given us by friends at critical periods of our lives. If, as men, we ask and take the benefit of such aid, why should we expect our sons to be stronger? A parent can make no greater mistake than to send a boy, however steady and intelligent he may be, off' to school or college, and expect the boy always to cope successfully with all the new conditions and new difficulties that may confront him. This is undoubtedly more the case with a freshman, in his first year at college, than in later years, or than it is with a boy at day- or boarding-school, where the boy receives a greater degree of care and oversight than can be given to the young man entering college; of all periods in life, the youth in his freshman year-fresh from the overshadowing care of home and school-may need judicious advice and timely aid. The change from the restraint of home and school to the freedom of college life is sudden and marked, and it is in this the first year of the boy or young man of 17, 18, or 19 years of age, that some tactful, judicious aid should be near him in his work and course. Some boys go to college so well prepared that they become careless and finally fall behind in their work from over-confidence. Others meet trouble from ambitiously trying to do more than their previous preparation, or physical or mental strength, can sustain. Others fall behind from illness-from injuries-from natural inability to grasp at first, without more aid than comes to them in the regular course of instruction, the higher mathematics-or mayhap the modern languages, or other subjects presented by the advanced curriculum of the present day. When a boy or youth begins to

Jan 1, 1911

By E. W. Davis

THE large iron-ore producers on the Mesabi Range are able to maintain the silica in their shipping products at from 8 to 10 per cent by mixing ores of various grades, some assaying 4 per cent silica and some as high as 18 per cent silica. For each ton of 4 per cent silica ore mined, a ton of 14 per cent silica ore can be mined and mixed with it and the average grade maintained at 9 per cent. This mixing operation has made possible the utilization of large cluantities of ore too lean to be used alone. and herein lies the advantage of the producers who operate a number of mines at the same time. As the grade of the ore from one of the properties falls off, a little high-grade ore from another property can be mixed with it and the average maintained, while if one property alone were being operated all of the ore below grade would be left behind.

Jan 1, 1930

By PAUL H. SHAEFF

THIS paper is presented with the idea of discussing only the basic open-hearth charge. The importance of the charging operation in producing steel is more clearly understood by dividing the principal components into four groups and discussing each separately, thereby becoming acquainted with what constitutes a charge. The significance of these components in the charge itself will then be taken up. Classification of the charge components is as follows: steel scrap; pig iron ; limestone ; refractories and coke. Steel Scarp The first component, steel scrap, according to size, analysis and cleanliness, may be classified as heavy, medium and light. Heavy melting scrap includes crop ends such as are produced in blooming ingots or the heavy crops from bar mills abovely in. in diameter; railroad scrap, which comprises rails, side-plates, car-frames, draw- bars, etc.; and such automobile forgings as axles, crank- shafts, gears, etc. This class of scrap should give a four-box charging-car (box dimension 24 by 18 by 72 in.) an average load of 10,000 to 20,000 lb.

Jan 1, 1926

By Simon D. Strauss

Production and consumption of nonferrous metals in the United States during 1950 were at peak levels for the postwar period, as is shown in Tables I, II, and III. The trend of production was upward through most of the year. At the year end, with the possible exception of the Tri-State zinc-lead district, the large mining operations in the country were running at capacity. The absence of serious labor interruptions during the year was an important contributing factor in the increased out-put of metals, since in each of the previous postwar years there had been a number of major strikes which affected production adversely.

Jan 2, 1951

By GILBERT E. SEIL

GREAT advances in the preparation of ores for reduction to ferro-alloys have been made, although standard methods of reduction have been continued at most plants. Efficiencies, yields per furnace, and energy requirements per ton are generally better than previously attained. The advantages of sizing and conditioning of ore, fluxing stone, and coke have been realized. Conditioning varies from drying the furnace burden to chemical rearrangements to facilitate reduction reactions and sometimes to furnish some of the energy required for the reaction before the burden reaches the furnace. During the war period it is impossible to discuss in detail many of the advances made. They are subjects for postwar papers. However, the new procedures mentioned in the following paragraphs are indicative of the work already done and in progress.

Jan 1, 1944

By F. B. Plummer

PERHAPS the greatest progress made in the technical methods of oil production during the last year has been in handling gas from the new fields that yield light distillate fractions. At least sixteen recycling plants have been perfected and installed in South Texas fields alone during 1939 having a daily capacity of more than one billion -2 cubic feet of gas and capable of producing more than a million gallons of distillate daily. The process consists of running the gas under pres- sure through especially designed plants, separating out the condensate, then compressing the gas to 3000 lb. or more, depending on the subsurface pressure in the formation, and injecting gas back into the reservoir to be produced again later, along with more of the liquid hydrocarbons, and again recycled. Hence production in these distillate fields in sense has changed from that of producing a constantly diminishing and much-wasted product to a more or less continuous manufacturing process, in which practically all the gas is conserved-a real triumph in engineering practice.

Jan 1, 1940

By JAMES SCULLY

For the last 4 years political leaders have found a new subject on which they can safely generalize wihout creating opposition. That subject is commodity prices. Since the four-fold increase in OPEC crude oil prices, public attention has focussed as never before on the subject of commodity prices. To advocate stabilizing commodity prices is akin to supporting motherhood or peace or better schooling. Everyone gives lip service to the concept that stable commodity prices are desirable. It is easier to state the principle than to achieve it. Prices that are stable in terms of one currency may be clearly unstable in terms of a different currency. This has become a troublesome matter since 1971, when the world's leading trading currencies were set free to float in relation to each other. To illustrate: consider copper prices in the interval between the end of 1974 and the end of 1977. During those 3 years, the copper price in pounds sterling on the London Metal Exchange rose by 25 per cent. During that period, however, in terms of the USA dollar equivalent, the price was unchanged. And during that period, in terms of the German mark equivalent the price shrank by 13 per cent while the Japanese yen equivalent fell by 20 per cent. Thus a price that appears stable in dollars, rose in terms of pounds sterling and fell in terms of marks and yen. Had this result been achieved as a consequence of an international effort to stabilize prices, an American would have said the effort was successful. An Englishman would have said it had failed to prevent a price rise. And a German or a Japanese consumer would have been happy to have covered his copper needs at a lower cost in terms of his own currency.

Jan 1, 1978

By Cyril S., Smith

THE phenomenon of air-hardening is well known in connection with special steels. It occurs when the rate of decomposition of austenite to marten- site is so retarded that it takes place on free cooling in air rather than on more rapid cooling in a quenching bath. If an air-hardening steel is quenched sufficiently rapidly it will remain in the soft austenitic state, while if it is cooled very slowly it will again become soft owing to growth of the carbide particles. It depends on a critical adjustment of the decomposition velocity and diffusion rate, and such alloys are rather rare, especially in the non-ferrous field. In carrying out some experiments on some copper- rich copper-cobalt alloys, the author found that these possess very marked air-hardening properties. The alloys are covered by a patent issued to M. G. Corson (1,723,022-1919), which states that an alloy containing between 2 and 5 per cent cobalt is hardened by simple quenching from above 850° C.

Jan 1, 1930

By H. J. Struth

AN unusual engineering achievement in the Gulf Coast last year was the drilling of a wildcat well in the swamps of Louisiana, using direct current. More unusual was the fact that it was necessary to house a diesel engine and generator on a barge in order to supply power. The remoteness of the well made it necessary to transport living quarters and drilling equipment to the location by means of barges, and involved the digging of a canal from a lake to the location, approximated one mile. The drilling equipment used on this well consisted of two generating units, each having one 210-hp. six-cylinder @$-in. bore type VDMA, 600 r.p.m. diesel engine, direct connected to a type CD-169, 125-kw., 250-volt direct current generator, which in turn is direct connected to a type CD-105, 15-kw. 250-volt exciter. One of these motors operates the draw works, one the mud pump, and one a duplicate spare. The generating equipment on the barge was approximately 250 ft. from the derrick, the control wires being brought from the derrick to the generator barge enclosed in a standard fire hose. This is an original idea for confining the con- 11.01 wires in one cable; obtaining minimum space and ample protection. Both control and power lines were suspended on poles. This well was at Lake Grande Ecaille Dome, which was located by seismograph in 1928. Fig. 1 shows the derrick, power barge and living quarters where direct G. E. current was used with rotary drilling equipment.

Jan 1, 1932

By Wm. E. Milligan

LEAD stocks at the beginning of 1943 were comfortable when compared with those of other base metals such as copper, zinc and tin. This situation was early recognized by W.P.B. and other Governmental agencies and every effort was made to encourage the substitution of lead for these latter metals in all essential uses. Despite this apparently healthy condition, lead was not denied participation in the various measures inaugurated by the Government to relieve metal shortages. Thus in the Mexican trade agreement, effective Jan. 20, the tariff on two important classes of lead importss was halved. Similarly, in the setting up of B quota premiums, a B base was allotted to lead, with all pro¬duction above this figure receiving an additional payment of 2.75c. per lb., or a total payment of 11.75c. per lb. At about the same time it was announced that all quota transactions would be based upon the lead content as shown by the smelter settlement sheets. This basis was 86 percent of the lead content for all ores shipped to custom milling plants and 95 per cent for ores and concentrates shipped to custom smelting plants. The importance of this action can be appreciated when in the Coeur d'Alene it was estimated as equivalent to a 5 per cent increase compared to the previous base.

Jan 1, 1944

By Zay Jeffries

OF the new production of non-ferrous metals in 1930 gold will rank first in value. We usually think of copper as the most important non-ferrous metal. The copper industry as a whole, that is, adding copper production to copper fabrication, is the largest non-ferrous metal industry. Prior to the world war; however, gold led in value of new metal produced. During the war copper passed gold in value, but gold regained its position during the 1921 depression. For the past several years copper has again passed gold, but in 1930 gold promises again to regain the lead. The gold producer has at times been called a social parasite, largely because we ' cannot eat or drink gold, or because we cannot use it for clothes or for the construction of buildings. Let us briefly examine this accusation.

Jan 1, 1930

By JESSE L. MAURY

ONE OF the most hopeful features of the current depression is the discussion which it has en- gendered of ways and means to counteract similar recurrences in the future. 1t is widely recognized that fruitful attack will be directed toward the steady employment of labor, through which the purchasing power of this preponderant class in society will be maintained. S. A, Lewisohn's article' has presented the major factors to be considered; the physical suffering and mental torture endured by those who are deprived of income through no fault of their own, the direct economic losses' sustained in the degradation of 'great, numbers of our population and the disintegration of efficient working forces, and the prime responsibility of owners and managers.

Jan 1, 1931

By ARTHUR THACHER

PRIMITIVE man supplied his wants as they arose; as he became more civilized he anticipated them by producing more regularly and storing the products for future use. This tended to cheapen' production and prevent ' violent fluctuations and therefore tended to increase consumption. In order to anticipate our wants, we must know what these wants will be, and this can be .determined only by statistics. 'While we have made great progress in gathering statistics, they are still far from what they should be; especially metal statistics. We determine fairly, well the amount produced, but this does not answer all inquiries because of the erratic conditions of mining, it is necessary to carry larger stocks of metals than of most other articles; moreover, as metals are more or less durable, it is difficult to determine the actual consumption. We often count under consumption what is being produced and sold, while the actual consumption is what is being worn out.

Jan 1, 1921

By AIME AIME

MINERALS and mineral resources are recognized as one of the things that nations are prone to quarrel about. The territory that was arbitrarily incorporated into the Polish Republic after the World War produces a variety of essential minerals on a substantial scale. The accompanying table has been compiled to give some idea of the relative importance of this production. Poland, before the recent war started, had an area of 150,000 sq.mi., just a little larger than the State of Montana. Its population was 32,000,000, equal to that of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Though not a highly industrialized country it nevertheless has important mines, steel plants, petroleum refineries, and sundry metal-fabricating manufactories. Coal, petroleum, iron and steel, zinc, lead, pyrite, potash, and salt are produced in excess of the country's domestic consumption. It has no appreciable production of copper, chromium, tungsten, nickel, tin, mercury, manganese, aluminum, magnesite, fluorspar, or graphite.

Jan 1, 1939

By J. L. CAHUTHERS

MANY different methods are used for transporting coal from the working face to the tipple. The common methods are animal haulage, locomotive haulage, conveyor systems, and combinations of these three, supplemented, at times, by the miner pushing his own car. Haulage may also be classified into gathering and main line. Gathering haulage is the collecting of loaded cars to a point whence they are hauled to the tipple. In this there is perhaps more lost-time than on the main line because there are .more units in the operation to be synchronized. Also, conditions on the gathering haul- age, such as bad track, poor timbering, insufficient motive power, etc., cause delays; usually these are corrected on the main-line haulage.

Jan 1, 1931

By Roscoe W. Stensrud

Marcona Mining Company operations are located 500 kilometers south of Lima, Peru, on the Pacific Coast, at approximately 15º-22' latitude south and 75º-11' longitude west. The terrain is sandy rolling hills ranging from sea level at the coast and rising sharply (escarpment) to an elevation of 800 meters at the mine area. The climate is arid and windy with a moderate year-round temperature, ideal for a year-round mining operation. San Juan, a new and modern community of 14,000 inhabitants and developed by Marcona, houses the working forces and their families.

Jan 11, 1968

By C. R. Kuzell

GEOGRAPHICAILY the industry of reducing and refining of copper continued to migrate from the .United States during 1931. While this country is losing the predominant position of its copper industry, our engineers still enjoy their pre-eminent position as leaders in the design and operation of the new plants being brought into production in the four quarters of the globe. Progress in the art, as indicated by the construction of the recently completed works, has not been revolutionary. Standard methods have been followed, augmented by novel features in flow-sheets demanded by the results of progress in the art of ore-dressing, and by reason of problems incidental to the peculiarities of the new ores being treated. Design and construction progress has likewise been orderly and without radical departure from less recent practice; new features in primary and secondary equipment being logical developments to provide for special conditions to keep abreast of improve¬ments in accessory apparatus. The new plants are being rapidly brought in without hazardous novelties and for the purpose of yielding the principal ingredient, copper, in as large a volume as it will he possible to market; the old United States procedure. In the meantime the domestic plants are shut down or operating at a very low capacity, threatened with untimely demise unless the metallurgist can extract and develop other valuable products from the ores. International agreements .and tariff protection may be a temporary reviving stimulant, but for many mines the days of profit will be numbered unless the ores can be made to yield as values the ingredients now being discarded. Invisible progress in this direction has been made during the past year, and it is to he hoped that time will prove that the outstanding progress of 1931 was in the development of processes for the ultimate recovery of by-products from copper ores, perhaps even relegating the value of the copper yield to secondary importance.

Jan 1, 1932

By ALEX. S. THOMAS

HOWEVER good a furnace may be in regard to design, etc., or however excellent in the quality of the gas used, a suitable heat for the successful working of the metal cannot be obtained unless the melt be coated with a proper quantity of slag. This coating may be excessive or it may be deficient in quantity. The right degree of heat is the essential condition of successful working, for the quality of the steel made is never very good when the metal is allowed to simmer in the furnace for an excessive period, and this heat cannot be obtained if the metal is not protected by a proper covering of slag. This is not only to prevent the metal being over-oxidized and wasted, but also to prevent the metal being chilled when exposed with only a thin covering of slag. The slag may be obtained in either of two ways : 1, naturally, by the presence of sufficient silicon in the iron used, to unite with iron oxide to form a staple slag ; or, 2, by the addition of slag or free silica. In the first case the slag is formed naturally by the action of the oxygen in the flame - i.e., the oxidizing atmosphere of the furnace-on the silicon in the metal when melting. The charge then melts, as it is termed, "thick," and protects the banks from being cut. If too much silicon be present, however, and an excessive quantity of slag be formed, it will be found to be rather infusible, and unless care be taken to add the oxides quickly and follow the furnace up-thus rendering the slag more fusible by the extra iron oxide-the furnace bottom is liable to be pulled up. In such cases the author has frequently been able to warn

Nov 1, 1906