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By H. R. Spedden

As part of its broad program of educational assistance-including grants, fellowships, and scholarships -Kennecott Copper Corp. offers summer employment opportunities for college students at each of its operations. Originally, summer job programs were intended primarily to help students defray their educational expenses. But as the nation's economy expanded with increased production and a growing demand for well-trained engineers, summer employment became an important means to help qualify future professionals and fill industry's need for them. Both the employer and the student thus derive benefits from such training.

Jan 6, 1967

By Terkel Rosenqvist

THE desulphurization of molten iron and steel is a very complicated process. One way to arrive at a better understanding of this process is to break it down into several simpler chemical processes that can be studied individually in the laboratory. For a study of the different factors that influence the equilibrium distribution of sulphur between liquid metals and slags, several simpler equilibria may be investigated. One very important subject is the determination of the escaping tendency of sulphur in the liquid metal and its dependency on temperature and composition of the melt. Several papers in this field have recently been published.', ' Another subject is the study of the sulphur capacity of the slag. A molten slag is indeed complex, and even if sulphur distribution data for a large variety of molten slags may give empirical data about their desulphurizing power, the importance of the individual components is still not quite clear. It is accepted generally that lime is the most important desulphurizing component in the slag. The present investigation has as its purpose to study the desulphurizing power of lime in its standard state, and to provide a basis for thermodynamic calculations of the desulphurizing power of various lime-containing slags. The standard state of lime at steelmaking temperatures is solid calcium oxide, CaO. It can react with sulphur to form solid calcium sulphide, CaS. The relative stability of calcium oxide and calcium sulphide is expressed by the free energy of the reaction: 2Ca0 (s) + S1 (g) = 2CaS (s) + O2 (g) The existing free energy data for this reaction, listed by Kelley5 nd Osborn,' are uncertain to about 10 kcal and are of limited value for a calculation of equilibrium constants. Under the conditions prevailing in a melting furnace, the sulphur pressure may be expressed conveniently by the ratio H,S/H2 and the oxygen pressure by the ratio H,O/H, (or CO,/CO). The desulphurizing power of calcium oxide may, therefore, be studied by the reaction CaO + HIS = CaS + H2O. A study of this reaction may be complicated by certain side reactions: Water vapor and hydrogen sulphide may react. to form sulphur dioxide, and calcium sulphide may be oxidized to calcium sulphate. A thermodynamic calculation shows that these side reactions will be suppressed to insignificance if the equilibrium is studied in the presence of an excess of hydrogen. The apparatus used is shown in Fig. 1. About 10 g calcium oxide and 20 g calcium sulphide (laboratory qualities) were intimately mixed, and some water was added to make a thick paste. The paste was put into a thimble of zirconium silicate, which was placed within the constant temperature zone of a furnace, and capillary refractory tubes were attached in both ends. After the mixture had been heated in dry hydrogen at 1000°C for several hours all Ca(OH), and CaCO, had decomposed and CaSO, was reduced, so only CaO and CaS remained in the thimble forming a porous plug. The mixture was examined by X-ray diffraction after the initial reduction in dry hydrogen as well as after the subsequent experimental runs up to 1425 °C. It was shown that crystalline calcium oxide and calcium sulphide were always present together in about equal amounts. The unit cell edges were found to be 4.80A for CaO and 5.68A for CaS in good agreement with existing literature values." This shows that the mutual solid solubility is very small, and that the compounds are present in their standard states. Purified hydrogen was passed through water sat-urators kept at constant temperature in a thermostat bath. The amount of water vapor saturation was checked by means of a dew point method, not shown on Fig. 1. The gas mixture was passed through the capillary inlet into the furnace, where it was sifted through the porous plug of calcium oxide and calcium sulphide. The hydrogen sulphide present in the outgoing gas was absorbed in a zinc acetate solution and the hydrogen was collected over water. When one liter of hydrogen had been collected, the amount of hydrogen sulphide was determined by iodometric titration. As one molecule of H,O is used for the formation of each molecule of H,S, the equilibrium ratio H,S/H,O would be , where (H,O) is the molar concentration in the ingoing gas, and (H,S) the molar concentration in the outgoing gas. In the present work (H,S) was always very small compared to (H20). In order for the observed H,S/H20 ratio to represent the true equilibrium ratio the gas flow has to be: 1—Sufficiently slow to give a complete establishment of equilibrium, and 2—sufficiently fast to counteract thermal diffusion. Incomplete reaction would give a value decreasing with increasing flow rate, and thermal diffusion would give a value increasing with decreasing flow rate. When inlet and outlet tubes of about 2 sq mm cross-section were used, the observed gas ratio was independent of the flow rate between 15 and 125 cc per min, Fig. 2. In this range, therefore, the observed gas ratio represents true equilibrium.* For the rest of the in-

Jan 1, 1952

By J. L. SCHUELER

THE writer has reread Mr. Ingalls' interesting article in the July, 1923, issue of MINING AND METAL- LURGY on "The Use of Spelter in Galvanizing." It seems that most writers, in commenting upon coatings of spelter on sheets and wire, dwell upon the thin coatings which these materials carry, and rightly so. However, they seem to forget that until very recently, in the case of wire, the manufacturer did not know how to apply a heavy coating of spelter to the wire, especially if the wire was to be woven into fence or fabricated in some other manner, because heavy coatings of spelter are exceedingly brittle. This is even true in the case of high-grade spelter, but to a lesser degree than with Prime Western. Because of this brittleness, it has been necessary for wire manufacturers to smooth the coating by passing the wire through tightly compressed wiping means of some kind, usually asbestos. This removes all of the excess spelter and allows only a thin coating to remain. The latter, as a rule, is malleable and the wire can be fabricated without material injury to the coating.

Jan 1, 1924

By L. D. Anderson

IN STUDYING Utah as a lead producing state one is immediately confronted by the fact that few, if any, of the ores of the state are valued for their lead contents alone. More correctly the ores from which this metal is recovered are characterized as silver lead. Even then the whole story is not told for many of these ores carry also gold, copper, zinc, bismuth, antimony, arsenic, tellurium, and other metals. It becomes apparent, therefore, that the production of lead i11 Utah is influenced by many factors. For example, i11 the early part of 1923 there was a marked increase in the production of the lead by reason of the efforts made by silver mines to produce as much silver as possible before the termination of purchases under the Pittinan Act in June, 1923. As nearly all silver ores carried more or less lead the production of that metal was increased with the increase in silver production. Very few, if any, ores of the State are mined for their lead contents alone. Important as Utah's contribution to the lead output of the country is nevertheless it is bound up to some extent with the production of gold, silver and copper.

Jan 1, 1925

By E. Sengier

At the Director's dinner of the A.I.M.E. on. April 22, Mr. Sengier of the Union Minière du Haut Katanga was a guest. Though a member of the Institute for sev-eral years this was the first occasion on which he had had opportunity to meet with it, and in response to an invitation from President DeGolyer, after expressing his pleasure at being present, he told informally of the present development of the Congo with which he has been so closely related. From his remarks the follow-ing has been prepared.-EDITOR. AS you know, the Belgian Congo, a fairly large colony compared with the territory of Belgium, is in the center of Africa. Natural waterways, railroads now built and new railroads under construc-tion, give increasing means of transportation and are helping toward development. The mining industry is by far the most important part of our colonial activity. Considering that we are all engineers, I will confine my figures to mining enterprise. First I will show you the relative importance of the mining industry com-pared with the total exports of the Belgian Congo. During 1925 there was exported 100,000 tons of cop-per, valued at about $25,000,000; 900,000 carats of diamonds, 8000 lb. of gold, 1700 tons of cassiterite, 300 .tons of cobalt, and 20 grams of radium, of a total value of about $35,000,000. Other products to a value of about $12,000,000 and consisting mainly of palm nuts, palm oil, cotton, ivory, copal, rubber, were also exported. From this you will see that mineral products account for about 72 per cent of the total exported value. Copper alone amounts to 52 per cent of the total and 72 per cent of the mineral exports. All minerals, with the exception of gold, which is mined by the government, belong practically toy two mining companies in which American and British capi-tal is interested with Belgian. These two companies (one called Forminière, interested in the diamond busi-ness, and the other called the Union Minière, interested in copper, cobalt, tin and radium) were formed twenty-five years ago. They started producing in 1911, but the war prevented normal operations, and active de-velopment could only be carried on after the Armistice.

Jan 5, 1927

By W. S. Ayres

I. INTRODUCTION. THIS cavern was discovered Oct. 22, 1904, by Mr. Charles H. Deutschman, in company with whom I made, May 29 to June 3, 1905, at the request of Mr. Howard Douglas, Superintendent of the Canadian National Parks, the first exploration of it for the Canadian government. The results were stated in a paper, orally presented, with lantern-views from my photographs, at the British Columbia Meeting of the Institute, Victoria,, B. C., July 5, 1905.* The present paper embodies also the results of a second examination, made Oct. 25 to 29, 1905. The accompanying map, Fig. 1, will serve as a guide to the following description. II. LOCATION. The cavern is situated at snow-line, at the head-waters of Cougar creek, on the west slopes of the Selkirks, about 2 miles north from Ross Peak water-tank, and 5.5 miles west from Glacier House, on the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It was then reached by an arduous climb from the water-tank, up the ravine of Cougar creek, for 8,000 ft. (2,000 ft. of altitude) over rock- and snow-slides, and through a thick tangle of alders. But an easy and very picturesque trail has, during the past summer, been opened by the government from Glacier House. Figs. 2, 3 and 4 represent views, not heretofore published, of the grand scenery of this region, so rapidly becoming the-object of attraction to thousands of tourists from all parts of the world. These views, as well as those shown in. Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8

Jan 1, 1907

By AIME AIME

IN ORDER to carry on its work most effectively, the Committee on Industrial Organization (now known as the Committee on Industrial Relations) consists, of .a number of sub-committees, each composed of a chairman and members who are especially fitted to carry out the work designated by its title. With only one or two exceptions, all of these committees made reports at the New York meeting of the Institute, in February of this year, abstracts of which follow.

Jan 1, 1920

By R. B. Schluter, M. M. Fine

A process for winning copper from pelletized chalcocite concentrate without matte smelting and converting is under development at the Twin Cities Metallurgy Research Center of the U.S. Bureau of Mines. The new procedure includes a two-stage fluid-bed treatment in which the pelletized concentrate with 33% Cu and 7% S is first desulfurized to about 0.5% S in an oxidizing atmosphere, and then metallized by reduction with hydrogen. The reduced product is melted with flux to separate metallic copper from the gangue. The metal must be refined to remove residual sulfur and iron. The pelletizing of the fine concentrate into mini-pellets prior to fluid-bed treatment is an important feature of the process, because it permits shorter reaction time, decreases dusting, and facilitates subsequent processing.

Jan 1, 1972

By Blair R. Benner

This paper describes the installation and operation of a Texas Nuclear on-line silica analyzer (NOLA) coupled with a Leeds and Northrup Microtrac particle-size monitor (Microtrac) at U.S. Steel's Minntac taconite concentrator. An automatic sampling system provides the NOLA with samples of final concentrate. After the sample is analyzed for silica by the NOLA, it is pumped to the Microtrac for size and surface area measurement. A sample is analyzed every six minutes, providing the control room with the silica concentration, the percent passing 270, 400, and 500 mesh, and an equivalent Blaine surface area number. When fed a slurry of final concentrate containing between 20 and 70% solids and 5 to 6% silica, the NOLA analysis is within ±0.2% of the wet chemistry silica. The agreement between the Microtrac output and standard screen analyses is ±1.2% at 270 mesh; ±1.5% at 400 mesh, and ±2% at 500 mesh. The poorer disagreement at the finer sizes is mainly due to inaccuracies in screening at 400 and 500 mesh. The agreement between Microtrac surface area a d laboratory Blaine surface area is about 9 ±80 cm 2/g. These instruments provide rapid and reliable feedback information to the concentrator and feed forward information to the agglomerator.

Jan 1, 1984

RUSSIA was the United States Number One source of manganese ore in 1948 when 34 pet of imports were received from that source, stated Norwood B. Melcher, assistant chief, ferrous metals and alloys branch, Bureau of Mines. In 1949, this country received only 20 pet of 1948 shipments from Russia, and only token amounts are now being received. Aggressive programming by industry and government resulted in prompt increases in shipments from major, producing sources; India, Gold Coast, and the Union of South Africa all increased exports to fill the vacuum left by Russia and provided an excess adequate to increase total imports approximately 290,000 short tons in 1949. Again in 1950, and with, even less ore from Russia, imports increased another 290,000 short tons. Since the shift from Russia as a source of manganese, the United States has received in total about 85 pet of its imports from India, Union of South Africa, Gold Coast, and Brazil in that order of importance. Producers of both home consumed and merchant ferromanganese have been able to adjust downward the manganese content of the home-consumed product and so obtain partial relief. Millions of tons of steel were produced in 1951 with a relatively low grade ferromanganese. This adjustment has been made without decreasing the quality of the steel, although with some increase in cost through introduction of new problems, including increased hand- . ding of material and additional removal of carbon. Forced into a pattern of price and grade structure such as exists today, the producer of ferromanganese must adopt one of three possible courses as a short-range program: 1-He may continue to deplete his stocks by producing standard (78 pet) ferromanganese and hope that the future will bring some form of relief; 2-he may attempt to produce 78 pet ferromanganese by paying higher prices for premium ores; or 3-he may drop the grade of ferromanganese and stretch stocks and future supplies of ore as far as possible. The present rundown condition of Indian railroads is attributed to the fact that the service has had no opportunity to recuperate since the beginning of World War II, while the demand for the movement of commodities has probably increased. The Union of South Africa has expanded its exports to the United States greatly since 1948, but, the showing of that country in 1951 was disappointing. Efforts have been made for some time by firms in the United States, at the urging of the manganese miners in the Union, to prevail on the railroad authority to grant and make available larger allocations of cars for manganese ore movement. As a whole, such efforts have been unsuccessful. Although the allocation of rail shipping has been the obvious factor in the decreased movement of ore, many other less determinate factors appear to be involved. Brazil, long an important supplier of manganese to the United States, has important manganese deposits in three areas, all of which are significant to this country. The Gold Coast is an important source of supply. Its metallurgical ore is particularly of significance because of its unusually high grade which permits considerable latitude in blending with the lower grade materials of South Africa and India. The Belgian Congo should have an output of 100,000 tons or more annually beginning this year. R. S. Dean presented two papers. One with K. M. Leute on hydrometallurgical methods for recovery of manganese from domestic ores and one as sole author on the so-called carbamate or Dean process. The two papers tied into each other. In the first mentioned he reviewed the various processes applicable to oxidized, and nonoxidized and reduced ores. The advantages of each .were pointed out. So far the only process tried on a substantial scale on oxidized ores was the SO2 process used at Las Vegas, Nev., on Three Kids ore during World War II. Many problems were encountered. Some of them were whipped while some of those remaining perhaps would have been whipped had time permitted. Since then work has been done elsewhere to avoid the formation of the troublesome thionates encountered at the Three Kids plant. Dean discussed the thionate and NO, processes as applied to oxidized ores. The only commercially used process on reduced ores is that of making electrolytic manganese. Among others that have been considered are the nitric acid process, the Bradley-Fitch ammonium sulphate process, and Dean's ammonium carbamate process. Dean's thesis was that extremely large tonnages of so-called low grade manganese ores are available, and that these should not be depleted in attempting to simulate a foreign metallurgical grade ore. He pointed out that the grade of the domestic manganese ores would be considered high if the same grade were found in copper ores. The selling price of electrolytic manganese and electrolytic copper are roughly the same. In addition to electrolytic manganese, he believes that domestic ores should be used to make exceptionally high grade products. These might be battery grade oxide or substantially pure oxide sinter, which might be used for high manganese alloys or for upgrading metallurgical grade manganese to produce a high manganese ferroalloy. The carbamate process is based on the fact that manganous oxide is readily soluble in concentrated ammonia solutions containing ammonium salts. In solutions of sufficiently high concentration the manganese exists as an anion. Lixiviants of ammonia and ammonium carbonate permit extraction of the manganese from reduced ores and the manganese can be recovered as carbonate by heating or by driving off ammonia. R. V. Lundquist presented a paper on upgrading high-silica ores or concentrates with sodium hydroxide to extract silica and to yield a product with a more favorable manganese: silica ratio. The NaOH is, regenerated in part by CaO.

Jan 1, 1952

By C. E. Shoenfelt

Wildcat drilling in the Rocky Mountain region did not suffer as large a decline in 1942 as was anticipated. The drilling program laid out by the Government at the beginning of the year stressed wild-catting operations and called for reduction of drilling in proved fields. The increased wildcatting campaign did not yield a great many new discoveries, nor important extensions to old fields. Several interesting wildcat wells were drilled in Colorado in 1942 but no new fields were discovered. The Wilson Creek field was extended and about 400 acres added to its reserves. In Montana two new oil fields and two small gas fields were discovered. The developments in the marketing situation had improved, however, making the prospects especially bright for 1943, as will be shown presently in the section on Montana in this report. In New Mexico eight wells were completed, which constituted discoveries ol either oil or gas but none of these was of major proportions. In Wyoming one new oil field and one new gas field were discovered, and one old oil field and one old gas field were extended. Most important was the disco-very of prolific oil producers in deeper sands in three old oil fields, of which one at least, Elk Basin, probably is of major proportions. Government Action On Dec. 26, 1942, President Roosevelt signed the O'Mahoney bill, calling for a flat 12.5 per cent royalty on lands in the public domain. It is expected that the enactment of this bill will encourage wildcatting in the public land states. Opportunity for a full discussion of the problems of reserves and production was afforded at the hearings conducted on the O'Mahoney bill by the minerals subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Public Lands and the statements submitted at these hearings last fall placed the situation, its causes and the logical remedy, clearly on record. It was established at the hearings that for several years the volume of oil discovered per wildcat well drilled has steadily declined; new fields discovered have not been of major proportions; drilling costs have advanced rapidly; a sharp decline in exploratory drilling took place in 1942, while the proportion of dry holes increased; the inescapable conclusion is that to find new reserves the search for oil must be intensified and much more wildcat drilling ' must be done. To ensure an adequate drilling campaign, the Petroleum Industry War Council, the Interstate Compact Commission and other representative oil organizations have voiced by resolution their opinion that an upward revision of crude prices is necessary to provide an incentive to the prospector to undertake the hazards of wildcat drilling, since statistics prove that only ope in five or six wells drilled results in actual production. Former Price Administrator Henderson rejected the recommendations for price increases and declared himself unalterably opposed to a general price advance, On the ground that such advances would contribute to inflation. Now that Mr. Hender-

Jan 1, 1943

By C. E. Shoenfelt

Wildcat drilling in the Rocky Mountain region did not suffer as large a decline in 1942 as was anticipated. The drilling program laid out by the Government at the beginning of the year stressed wild-catting operations and called for reduction of drilling in proved fields. The increased wildcatting campaign did not yield a great many new discoveries, nor important extensions to old fields. Several interesting wildcat wells were drilled in Colorado in 1942 but no new fields were discovered. The Wilson Creek field was extended and about 400 acres added to its reserves. In Montana two new oil fields and two small gas fields were discovered. The developments in the marketing situation had improved, however, making the prospects especially bright for 1943, as will be shown presently in the section on Montana in this report. In New Mexico eight wells were completed, which constituted discoveries ol either oil or gas but none of these was of major proportions. In Wyoming one new oil field and one new gas field were discovered, and one old oil field and one old gas field were extended. Most important was the disco-very of prolific oil producers in deeper sands in three old oil fields, of which one at least, Elk Basin, probably is of major proportions. Government Action On Dec. 26, 1942, President Roosevelt signed the O'Mahoney bill, calling for a flat 12.5 per cent royalty on lands in the public domain. It is expected that the enactment of this bill will encourage wildcatting in the public land states. Opportunity for a full discussion of the problems of reserves and production was afforded at the hearings conducted on the O'Mahoney bill by the minerals subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Public Lands and the statements submitted at these hearings last fall placed the situation, its causes and the logical remedy, clearly on record. It was established at the hearings that for several years the volume of oil discovered per wildcat well drilled has steadily declined; new fields discovered have not been of major proportions; drilling costs have advanced rapidly; a sharp decline in exploratory drilling took place in 1942, while the proportion of dry holes increased; the inescapable conclusion is that to find new reserves the search for oil must be intensified and much more wildcat drilling ' must be done. To ensure an adequate drilling campaign, the Petroleum Industry War Council, the Interstate Compact Commission and other representative oil organizations have voiced by resolution their opinion that an upward revision of crude prices is necessary to provide an incentive to the prospector to undertake the hazards of wildcat drilling, since statistics prove that only ope in five or six wells drilled results in actual production. Former Price Administrator Henderson rejected the recommendations for price increases and declared himself unalterably opposed to a general price advance, On the ground that such advances would contribute to inflation. Now that Mr. Hender-

Jan 1, 1943

By W. M. Johns

The geological mapping of Lincoln and Flathead Counties was a five-year project undertaken by the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology. This paper, written by the Project Geologist of the survey, is primarily concerned with the stratigraphy of the Belt rocks encountered in mapping. Lincoln and Flathead Counties of northwestern Montana are underlain by sedimentary rocks of the Belt Series of Precambrian age. In only a very small part of the area, near Libby and Troy, have economic mineral deposits been worked with any success. Most of the area has been inadequately mapped as to geology. The region is crossed by the Great Northern Railway and served by the Pacific Power and Light Co.; officials of these two companies believed that with better geologic maps, prospecting might be stimulated and lead to the discovery of mineral resources that would contribute to new economic development within the area. A cooperative mapping agreement was proposed jointly by the two companies to the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology in May 1958, and thus was born the Kootenai-Flathead five-year project. The dual objectives of this project are: 1) the possible location of mineral deposits of economic value, and 2) the ''stimulation of prospecting exploration" by others. This was to be achieved by geologic mapping of some 6800 sq miles and by establishing a field office in Kalispell where prospectors could come to have their rocks and minerals identified and receive geological advice on their problems. This writer has finished four field seasons as Project Geologist and thus became familiar with the Belt section in the Libby, Yaak River, Ural, Thompson Lakes, Pleasant Valley, and Stryker quadrangles (see Fig. 1). Progress on the project is given in annual reports issued by the Bureau.* This *Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, Bulletins 12 (1959), 17 (1960), and 23 (1961). paper is concerned essentially with the stratigraphy of the Belt rocks so far encountered in mapping. PREVIOUS WORK IN THE AREA Willis28 made the first study of the stratigraphy and structure in the Lewis and Livingston Ranges of Glacier Park just east of the project area. In 1904, Daly made a study of the Belt rocks of the 49th parallel, using the names from bottom up, Creston, Kitchener, Moyie, and Gateway, for rocks ranging in age from that of Prichard to that of basal Missoula group. Walcott26 studied the Belt rocks exposed in the Mission Range (see Fig. 1) and other areas to the south of the area under discussion. Calkins and McDonald made a reconnaissance of northern Idaho and northwestern Montana in 1905. Calkins was the first to use Walcott's term 'Ravalli' as a group name for the strata equivalent to the Burke, Revett, and St. Regis formations (see Table I). Clapp worked on the Belt of western Montana (including Lincoln and Flathead Counties) throughout his lifetime. The Fentons9 studied the Belt of Glacier Park and

Jan 1, 1962

By Eugene McAuliffe

THE heavy shrinkage in the production of bituminous coal has reflected adversely in the matter of tonnage produced by stripping arid mechanical loading machinery. The purchase of stripping and underground loading equipment has likewise been circumscribed. How- .ever a growing percentage of bituminous coal is being loaded by stripping and mechanical loading machinery. This situation is due to the fact that numerous strip pits were able to operate in Illinois and Indiana when under- cover mines were subjected to labor interference, a further advantage gained by their ability to produce and market coal at a price below that of the undercover mines. The mines equipped with mechanical loading. apparatus have enjoyed more continued operation for the double reason that the companies using coal-loading machinery are, generally speaking, more substantial and in better financial condition than many of the smaller properties who maintain hand-loading methods, and the market advantage due to lower production costs also reflects to the advantage of the undercover mines using mechanical loading equipment. Where a number of mines are con- trolled by one company, those not equipped with loading machinery and suffering from higher producing costs have often been closed, with the available tonnage concentrated in the more modernly equipped mines.

Jan 1, 1933

By D. V. Carter, D. C. Williams

Four oil discoveries were made in east and east central Texas during 1940, three of which represented new fields. In the Chapel Hill field, Smith County, oil was found where formerly only gas and distillate were produced. The three oil fields discovered are: Hawkins, Wood County; Pittsburg, Camp County; and Tehuacana, Limestone County. Important extensions were made to the following fields: Bazette, Navarro County; Long Lake, Anderson and Leon Counties; Cayuga, Anderson, Freestone and Henderson Counties; Opelika, Henderson County; and Talco, Titus and Franklin Counties. At the close of the year 54 oil and gas fields were producing in the district. There were 13 other fields, 11 oil and 2 gas, which have been abandoned. The East Texas field led the district in the number of completions for the year. During the year about 622 wells (oil and distillate wells included) were completed and 80 wildcats were drilled. Production and Proration During the year 170,424,685 bbl. of oil (distillate production included) were produced in the district—a decrease of 2.6 per cent from the 175,053,729 bbl. (distillate production included) during the preceding year. The district's production for the year 1938 was 182,369,484 bhl. As usual, most of the district's annual production was in the East Texas field, which produced 139,095,694 bbl. (distillate production in- cluded) during 1940, or 81.6 per cent of the total oil produced as compared with 141,333,317 bbl. (80.7 per cent) for 1939. The December estimated daily average production in the district was 424,565 bbl. The district accounted for 34.9 per cent of the state's annual production, compared to 36.7 pcr cent of the state's 1939 production. The decrease in production for 1940 may be attributed to changes made in proration schedules. Any material changes in the district's annual production may be considered for the most part as a reflection of proration-schedule changes affecting the East Texas field, since it is by far the most important field in the area. The entire state was subject to 71 shutdown days for the year; the East Texas field to 131; and the Rodessa field (Cass County, Texas, portion) to 5 days. No important changes were made in field rules and regulations during the year regarding the allocation of oil in individual fields in this district. Discoveries The Hawkins field is in southeastern Wood County in and principally north of the town of Hawkins. Development to date indicates that the field is somewhat of an elongated anticline trending slightly east of north and the proved oil area appears at this time to cover approximately 4000 acres. The oil production has been secured from the Woodbine sand, Upper Cretaceous; a considerable quantity of gas has been encountered in the Sub-Clarksville formation (Eagleford shale) in the higher part of the structure. It appears that a free gas

Jan 1, 1941

By D. C. Williams, D. V. Carter

Four oil discoveries were made in east and east central Texas during 1940, three of which represented new fields. In the Chapel Hill field, Smith County, oil was found where formerly only gas and distillate were produced. The three oil fields discovered are: Hawkins, Wood County; Pittsburg, Camp County; and Tehuacana, Limestone County. Important extensions were made to the following fields: Bazette, Navarro County; Long Lake, Anderson and Leon Counties; Cayuga, Anderson, Freestone and Henderson Counties; Opelika, Henderson County; and Talco, Titus and Franklin Counties. At the close of the year 54 oil and gas fields were producing in the district. There were 13 other fields, 11 oil and 2 gas, which have been abandoned. The East Texas field led the district in the number of completions for the year. During the year about 622 wells (oil and distillate wells included) were completed and 80 wildcats were drilled. Production and Proration During the year 170,424,685 bbl. of oil (distillate production included) were produced in the district—a decrease of 2.6 per cent from the 175,053,729 bbl. (distillate production included) during the preceding year. The district's production for the year 1938 was 182,369,484 bhl. As usual, most of the district's annual production was in the East Texas field, which produced 139,095,694 bbl. (distillate production in- cluded) during 1940, or 81.6 per cent of the total oil produced as compared with 141,333,317 bbl. (80.7 per cent) for 1939. The December estimated daily average production in the district was 424,565 bbl. The district accounted for 34.9 per cent of the state's annual production, compared to 36.7 pcr cent of the state's 1939 production. The decrease in production for 1940 may be attributed to changes made in proration schedules. Any material changes in the district's annual production may be considered for the most part as a reflection of proration-schedule changes affecting the East Texas field, since it is by far the most important field in the area. The entire state was subject to 71 shutdown days for the year; the East Texas field to 131; and the Rodessa field (Cass County, Texas, portion) to 5 days. No important changes were made in field rules and regulations during the year regarding the allocation of oil in individual fields in this district. Discoveries The Hawkins field is in southeastern Wood County in and principally north of the town of Hawkins. Development to date indicates that the field is somewhat of an elongated anticline trending slightly east of north and the proved oil area appears at this time to cover approximately 4000 acres. The oil production has been secured from the Woodbine sand, Upper Cretaceous; a considerable quantity of gas has been encountered in the Sub-Clarksville formation (Eagleford shale) in the higher part of the structure. It appears that a free gas

Jan 1, 1941

By C. H. Herty Jr, C. H.

FEW subjects have attracted the attention of metallurgists more than oxygen in steel. From the days of Mushet and Ledebui interest in this subject has been increasing, and as additional knowledge has become available, the problem has naturally grown more complex. Instead of using the simple term "oxygen" we now distinguish between iron oxide, silicates of various kinds, oxysulfides, oxygen as gas and oxygen in solid solution in steel. There are five general methods for determining oxides in steel: hydrogen reduction; vacuum fusion; various wet-extraction methods, including electrolytic methods; methods depending on volatilization of the iron away from the oxides; and metallographic methods. For oxygen in solid steel each of these methods has both advantages and disadvantages. The hydrogen-reduction method is of no use on steels above about 0.20 per cent. carbon; 1 furthermore, it gives only FeO and possibly some MnO. The vacuum-fusion method2 is expensive and gives total oxygen, with the exception of some A1203, and does not differentiate between the various oxides in which the oxygen exists. Most of the wet-extraction methods3 give only the more insoluble oxides SiO2 and A1203, though the iodine method gives MnO to an uncertain degree (information that may be more misleading then no information

Jan 1, 1957

By Eugene Coste

Although some of the observers who first paid especial attention to the occurrences of oil and gas in the strata (such as Hunt in 1859, Andrews in 1861; Winchell in 1865, Mendelejeff in 1876, Höfer in 1876, Minshall in 1881, and I. C. White in 1883) seem to have been impressed with the fact that oil and gas deposits were connected with the disturbances in the rocks caused by their upheavalll yet, with the exception of Mendelejeff, and possibly Andrews, these observers do not appear to have understood what is really the one essential factor in the occurrence of oil and gas in the strata: viz., the faulting, uplifting, fracturing, fis-suring, and jointing always accompanying even slight rock disturbances, and in certain districts (petroliferous provinces)2 allowing solfataric hydrocarbon emanations to force their way up from the interior and to reach and impregnate the porous portions of sediments subjected to the disturbances. Instead of this simple explanation to account -for the observed connection between petroleum deposits and rock disturbances, most of the observers mentioned above, and many others who have foliowed them on the same lines since, have entirely reversed the problem. To them, instead of the dissemination of gases from fissures into the sediments, it presented the accumulation and concentration, according to anticlinal or other geologic structures, of oil and gas originally present throughout the whole mass of the strata where they were produced by the decomposition or distillation of organic remains. Whether this important problem involves accumulation from sources within the strata themselves, or infiltration and dissemination from outside sources, may be easily determined if all preconceived ideas are put aside and the established facts only are considered. Physical Facts Sedimentary strata are composed of alternate beds of shales, sandstones, and limestones, most of which are sufficiently close-grained to

Jan 1, 1915

By E. A. Holbrook

IN view of what has happened in - the past three years, it seems incredible that industrial corporations continue to write to engineering and mines schools for "promising members of the graduating class," or, indeed, that they even send representatives to the colleges to interview engineering graduates. Certainly, by this time, every company should be aware of the fact that recent engineering graduates are almost nonexistent and the number is not likely to increase within the next several years. At the February, 1945, annual meeting of the Local Section delegates of the A.I.M.E. in New York, W. B. Plank, professor of mining engineering at Lafayette College, summarized well the situation of the colleges by titling his talk "The Lost Generation of Engineers."

Jan 1, 1945

By Frederick G. Tickell

GEOLOGISTS have been quick to adopt new methods in locating new oil fields and in finding the extensions, laterally or at depth, of the old fields. For most of these new methods he is indebted to the physicist, the engineer, and the chemist, although he has also drawn from such ordinarily unrelated sciences as bacteriology and protozoölogy. These last-named sciences have been of help in problems dealing with the origin of petroleum and, although not of direct application to oil finding, have furnished evidence of value in learning what oil is made from and what are the natural agencies involved in its formation.

Jan 1, 1932