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By S. A. TAYLOR

AN EDITORIAL on the Strike Situation in the Coal mining industry in the New York Evening Post of Nov. 4, 1919, gave what purported to be statistics of the Department of Labor, for a period of two weeks, which showed an average for the year, based on these two weeks, of 32% hours per week. This mode of arriving at the number of hours per week, while not accurate, is not so far off from the facts as to call for any special comment. The report of the U. S. Geological Survey, Department of Coal Statistics, give so the number of days worked in 1917 as 243; reducing the same to hours per week, assuming 8 hours per day, shows a weekly operation of mines at an average of 36J4 hours. But this assumption is not exactly correct, for the reason that it is not very often that the miners work the full 8 hours per day. There are many explanations for this, but it is not pertinent to this statement to discuss them now, as the important thing to consider is whether a 30-hour week would be for the best interest of not only the men themselves, but the public or country in general.

Jan 1, 1920

By J. M. Neilson

The occurrence of iron ore deposits in the State of Western Australia has been known at least since the 1930's,3 but the true significance of the deposits has only come to light within the past four years. Although they are widely distributed throughout the State, it is now known that more than 90% of the available iron ore reserves are located in the "Hamersley Iron Province". Western Australia may well contain the world's largest known reserves of iron ore. Recent reports place this reserve at 15 billion tons and an even higher figure may appear in the future. LOCATION, CULTURE AND COMMUNICATIONS It is difficult to comprehend the immense size of Western Australia (Fig. 1). The State occupies almost one million sq miles and it is more than 2000 miles from north to south. More specifically, it stretches from the 14th to the 35th parallel of latitude south. The Ophthalmia Region in the Hamersley Iron Province is barely halfway up the long dimension of the State. Nevertheless, the region is 800 miles north of Perth, a distance comparable to that from New York to Chicago or to that from Chicago to New Orleans. The Hamersley Iron Province (so named in 1963 to distinguish it from the Pilbara mineral district adjacent to it on the north) covers an area of approximately 30,000 sq miles in the northwestern part of the State. It extends in a roughly oval form from the Indian Ocean to the Gibson Desert of the interior, a distance of about 300 miles. With the exception of the small coastal towns of Onslow, Roebourne and Port Hedland and a few other communities such as the asbestos-mining town of Wittenoom, the region is very sparsely populated. Sheep and cattle stations are scattered thfough the region and these and the main towns are connected by truck tracks and a few main highways. Voice communication is almost entirely by the short-wave radio net operated by the Royal Flying Doctor

Jan 1, 1965

By Thomas J. Menner

Jan 1, 1983

By George F. Kunz

THE recently discovered occurrence of diamonds near Murfreesboro, Pike county, Ark., was brought to. our attention by Mr. Samuel W. Reyburn (Trustee for Messrs. C. S. Stifft, A. D. Cohn, August Zinsser, Jr., and himself, owners of the property), through whose courtesy we investigated the locality of the deposit. Prospecting with the diamond-drill is now in active progress ; but mining operations on a large scale have not yet been ordered. Geology.-The geology as well as the petrography of this interesting locality has been well described by Messrs. J. C. Branner and R. N. Brackett.1 Briefly summarized, the igneous rock in which the diamonds are found is a vitreous peridotite, forming a stock or volcanic neck, which has broken up through the Carboniferous and Cretaceous quartzites and sandstones. After an extensive period of erosion, during which an unknown portion of the neck and presumably a previously existent volcanic cone have been removed, the surface was covered with thin beds of Post-Tertiary conglomerate. The volcanic intrusion was accompanied by the formation of several small dikes of a rock much like that of the main body. One of these dikes cuts across the stock, while another cuts the Cretaceous sandstone, but is overlain by the conglomerate, thus giving a datum for the period of intrusion. So far as known, there was little, if any, metamorphism of the country-rock by the igneous magna, which probably followed an approximately vertical course, so that a more or less vertical extension downward of the igneous body to indefinite depths may be expected.

Mar 1, 1908

By John Dasher

Getting spodumene to float quickly and cleanly can be a problem. The author has presented an excellent account of a valid and useful approach to the scale-up of such problem floats. This indicated advantages for doubling retention time, i.e., buying another set of flotation cells. The author states that 21 pct of the spodumene floated in 2 min in the laboratory cell, that the grade of the rougher was about 75 pct spodumene, and that the final tailing contained 4 to 12 pct spodumene in different sizes with the present cells and 1 to 9 pct spodumene with twice as many cells.

Jan 6, 1959

By Morris J. Elsing

FOR MANY YEARS lead and zinc have had the so-called protection of a tariff and it is the purpose of the following brief discussion to show what' such protection actually accomplishes with a view to forecasting the possible results of the present copper tariff. In analyzing the subject, tabulations of the United States production, consumption, imports and exports, including ore and concentrates and all of the metallic products, of both lead and zinc have been made for each year since 1900. Of these data, the relationship of the imports and exports and the relative foreign and domestic prices are shown in Table 1. The conclusions drawn from these figures are listed below. 1. The United States is an exporter of zinc. 2. The United States is an importer of lead. 3. The average price of zinc at St. Louis for the last 32 years has been no higher than on the London market even though zinc and zinc ore have "enjoyed" a protective (?) tariff of varying amounts per pound for 22 years of this period. 4. The average price of lead on the New York market for 32 years has been 1.2c. per pound higher than on the London market, the tariff varying from 0.75 to 1.5c. per pound of lead in ore, and 1 to 2c. or more on manufactured lead.

Jan 1, 1932

By L. O. Howard

L. D. RICKETTS, New York, N. Y.-The advance which has been made in Smelting has been in the line of cheaper cost of handling, due to larger units and decrease in losses. At the International smelter, Mr. McGregor designed everything to handle the ore under cover. But we do find an unaccounted for loss of 0.7 per cent. of our copper, which is serious. Mr. Wallace has made a suggestion that I think metallurgists ought to know of and think about. He made it years ago-and that is that one of the chief losses is undoubtedly in the charging and discharging of the calcine cars. His idea is that possibly the dryers and heaters might be put immediately over the reverberatories So that they could discharge in conveyors. They could feed on both sides, and thereby the dust raised by discharging in the cars from the hoppers could be overcome. E. P. MATHEWSON, Anaconda, Mont.-I might Say a few words on the plants we have visited So far. I was particularly struck with the cleanliness of the plants, which is next to Godliness. I noticed also that the skull-cracker arrangement they have for handling their converter slag is very good. And they have paid considerable attention to ventilation, and are taking steps to take care of the health of the men. "Safety first" has been well looked after in all the plants we have visited so far. The steel structures are right up to date, and the buildings are of the most modern type, and everything is conveniently arranged. I think the designers of the plants in the Southwest are to be congratulated on what they have done.

Jan 12, 1916

By Geoffrey Gilbert

The material that forms the basis of this paper was collected in the spring of 1922, during a ten-day visit to Ducktown by the writer in the company of Prof. L. C. Graton. The time available for the work was far too short to allow anything like a thorough study of the deposits, and structural and stratigraphic questions, though they have an important bearing on the origin of the primary ores, were necessarily left untouched. Attention was focussed on the zone of oxidation and enrichment; and by devoting most of our time to the upper levels, open pits, and old workings, and examining the deeper levels only thoroughly enough to obtain a fair idea of the nature of the primary sulfide ore, we were able to make a reasonably complete survey of the various orebodies. With this field work for a background, the writer later made a study, in the Harvard laboratories, of the specimens obtained during the visit. As some of the facts brought to light by this study appear to be new, it seems worth while to set forth the outstanding features and a proposed explanation of them. Much of the Ducktown material that is obviously of greatest significance, as regards oxidation and enrichment, is soft and crumbly. Notwithstanding the desirability of gaining from such material all possible information as to its mineral composition and textural relationships, but little has heretofore been learned regarding it; but, by suitable preparation of this material in connection with the present study, it has been possible to examine it under the microscope without any disturbance of its texture and about as satisfactorily as if it were hard, fresh ore. The information thus gained has contributed measurably to the results set forth in this paper.

Jan 1, 1924

Allan Gibb, Mount Perry, Queensland, Australia (communication to the Secretary):—In drawing conclusions from his observations, Mr. Van Liew has apparently overlooked the reduction in weight that takes place in the content of the converter. The percentage-compositions of the matte, etc., are not directly comparable for determining the rate of elimination of the impurities; and, in the absence of exact weights (which in such an operation could not be obtained), it is necessary to determine the relation between the impurities and the copper with which they are combined at various stages, in order to get data that are comparable. Owing to a portion of the copper being removed in the slag, etc., the weight of copper in the converter is not a fixed quantity, but.it is sufficiently approximate to permit very reasonable comparison. The analytical data given by Mr. Van Liew, reduced to this basis (a ratio between the impurities and the copper with which they are combined), are shown in the table on page 958. From this table it will be evident that Mr. Van Liea's conclusions as to the source of heat at digerent stages are not quite correct. During the first 10 minutes, no iron is scorified, the heat being derived from the oxidation of the sulphur, of which 7 per cent. of the total is removed in this time. Prom

Jan 1, 1904

By AIME

DURING the Revolutionary War an iron mining industry was born in the Adirondack region of New York State. New York State ores provided the iron from which were forged the links of the chain that, strung across the Hudson River, successfully kept British vessels from ascending. The industry flourished for a while and then became dormant. For the successful prosecution of World War II, the magnetite mines were revived and given considerable aid in the form of government financial support. The complete story appeared in a special issue Of MINING AND METALLURGY published in November 1943. Now, almost four years later, it is interesting to see that these "war babies" were not really such but are well-established enterprises with a bright future. A ten-day trip through the Adirondack region and to St. Lawrence County dispelled all thoughts that mining in northern New York State is a transitory industry. In addition to substan-

Jan 1, 1947

By John T. Galey

Production of crude oil for 1940 in southwestern Pennsylvania was off nearly 70,000 bbl., largely as a result of the great number oi abandonments, together with the lack of extension of the Washington and Green County pools. Oil wells completed numbered 51, which is 26 more than last year, but the total initial production of 259 bbl. is only 18 bbl. greater than in 1939. There was an increase of 72 over last year for a total of 209f gas wells. However, 68 7 dry holes were drilled, which is 40 more than a year ago. Thus, 328f wells were drilled during the year, and rigs are erected or drilling is progressing on 59 t more. Shallow Development Oil.—Butler County led in number of oil wells completed, with a total of 27 for an initial production of only 69 bbl. Washington County, with 12 new oil wells, one of which made 40 bbl. from the Fifth sand in S. Franklin township, has 95 bbl., while in Allegheny County 9 wells gave an initial of 86 bbl. for the highest Per well average in the area. This initial was given a considerable boost by one 35-bbl and another 2;-bbl. well in West Deer township, where the Fourth sand produced at 1840 feet. Greene County had only one oil well completed during 1940, and Washington County had 12. The subnormal totals for these counties may be explained by the higher cost of completions and the declining price of crude. The first price change in crude during the year occurred on May 22, when a 25 cut was made. A second 25 cut was made July 12, and was followed by a 156 cut on .Aug. 28. This price held until Nov. 12, when there was a restoration of 156. On Dec. 17 a second 156 increase was put into effect, bringing the price to $I.So per barrel. Gas The large increase in the number of gas wells completed may be attributed to three factors; namely, the recently discovered production possibilities of moderately deep, hitherto little tested horizons, together with increased demand and price. The latter has been made possible by a recent decision of the court, which ruled restraining the public service Commision's prohibition of a raise in the minimum monthly charge to small consumers by one of the major gas companies. A portion of the revenue derived in this manner is being passed along to the producer in the form of higher prices in the field. This higher field rate will remain in effect until a new ruling is made, when it will be reduced in proportion to the reduction of the monthly minimum charge. In an effort to extend the chambers Dam Fifth sand oil pool southwest from Amwell township, Washington County, several wells have been drilled. One of these, in Morris township, washington County, had an initial of 3.2 million cu. ft. open flow from the Big Injun sand. This indicates an entirely new productive area for the latter horizon. Allegheny County had one spectacular well in South Fayette township-—at a depth of about 2500 ft. a 4-million-CU. ft.

Jan 1, 1941

By John T. Galey

Production of crude oil for 1940 in southwestern Pennsylvania was off nearly 70,000 bbl., largely as a result of the great number oi abandonments, together with the lack of extension of the Washington and Green County pools. Oil wells completed numbered 51, which is 26 more than last year, but the total initial production of 259 bbl. is only 18 bbl. greater than in 1939. There was an increase of 72 over last year for a total of 209f gas wells. However, 68 7 dry holes were drilled, which is 40 more than a year ago. Thus, 328f wells were drilled during the year, and rigs are erected or drilling is progressing on 59 t more. Shallow Development Oil.—Butler County led in number of oil wells completed, with a total of 27 for an initial production of only 69 bbl. Washington County, with 12 new oil wells, one of which made 40 bbl. from the Fifth sand in S. Franklin township, has 95 bbl., while in Allegheny County 9 wells gave an initial of 86 bbl. for the highest Per well average in the area. This initial was given a considerable boost by one 35-bbl and another 2;-bbl. well in West Deer township, where the Fourth sand produced at 1840 feet. Greene County had only one oil well completed during 1940, and Washington County had 12. The subnormal totals for these counties may be explained by the higher cost of completions and the declining price of crude. The first price change in crude during the year occurred on May 22, when a 25 cut was made. A second 25 cut was made July 12, and was followed by a 156 cut on .Aug. 28. This price held until Nov. 12, when there was a restoration of 156. On Dec. 17 a second 156 increase was put into effect, bringing the price to $I.So per barrel. Gas The large increase in the number of gas wells completed may be attributed to three factors; namely, the recently discovered production possibilities of moderately deep, hitherto little tested horizons, together with increased demand and price. The latter has been made possible by a recent decision of the court, which ruled restraining the public service Commision's prohibition of a raise in the minimum monthly charge to small consumers by one of the major gas companies. A portion of the revenue derived in this manner is being passed along to the producer in the form of higher prices in the field. This higher field rate will remain in effect until a new ruling is made, when it will be reduced in proportion to the reduction of the monthly minimum charge. In an effort to extend the chambers Dam Fifth sand oil pool southwest from Amwell township, Washington County, several wells have been drilled. One of these, in Morris township, washington County, had an initial of 3.2 million cu. ft. open flow from the Big Injun sand. This indicates an entirely new productive area for the latter horizon. Allegheny County had one spectacular well in South Fayette township-—at a depth of about 2500 ft. a 4-million-CU. ft.

Jan 1, 1941

Sykes, W. P.-Effect of Temperature, Deformation, Grain Size, and Rate of Loading on Mechanical Properties of Metals. Discussed by Zay Jeffries, W. H. Bassett, F. E. Carter 3 Evans, Geo. Watkin.-Alaskan Coal Fields. Discussed by P. N. Moore, H. H. Stoek, G. S. Rice, H. Emerson 4 Eavenson, Howard N.-Run-off and Mine Drainage. Discussed by J. R. Campbell, Andrew B. Crichton, J. B. Warriner, R. V. Norris, H. G. Moulton, H. B. Wright 7 Andrews, Allen, and Garcia, John A.-Skip Hoisting for Coal Mines. Discussed by R. V. Norris, Geo. S. Rice, H. N. Eavenson, E. A. Holbrook, Robert Obert, Andrews Allen, T. M. Chance 12 Rice, Geo. S.-Coal-pillar Drawing Methods in Europe. Discussed by Carl Scholz, D. Harrington; H. 1. Smith 16 Knapp, Arthur.-Modified Oil .well Depletion Curves. Discussed by Roswell H. Johnson 21 Alvey, Glenn H., and Alden W. Foster.-Barrel-day Values. Discussed by Roswell H. Johnson 22 Matteson, W. G.-Secondary Intrusive Origin of Gulf Coastal Plain Salt Domes. Discussed by Eugene Coste, E. W. Shaw, Joseph E. Pogue, F. G. Clapp, E. DeGoIyer, W. G. Matteson, H. W. Hixon, R. Van A. Mills 23 Reger, David B,-Carbon Ratio of Coals in West Virginia Oil Fields. Discussed by J. T. Singewald, Jr 33

Jan 5, 1921

By AIME AIME

JANUARY saw the completion of the 237-ft. Upper-Narrows hydraulic debris dam on the main Yuba River in northern California. This project which is the key unit in a series of four similar structures on the Bear, American, and Yuba Rivers, removes the last obstacle to the revival of California's vast hydraulic gold-mining industry. The Upper-Narrows dam is a single-arch type of structure, and embodies the latest developments in that type of construction. One of the principal innovations used is the series of air vents in the crown (that part over which the water spills) which serve to break the vacuum caused by the spilling water, thus reducing vibration to a minimum. Electric strain gages were also embedded in the concrete of the dam, and it is hoped that by careful study of these instruments true stresses can he determined.

Jan 1, 1941

Robert T. Hill, Washington, D. C.: Having studied very minutely the geology of the district referred to by Prof. Branner, I beg to state that his quotation of my classification of the Cretaceous deposits of Arkansas is not the one which I originally gave,* nor is it the one which has since been published and is now generally accepted.? I did not assign ally of the Cretaceous formations of Arkansas to the " middle Cretaceous,"

Jan 1, 1898

Henry Louis, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England (communication to the Secretary): I think very highly of the novel and ingenious device of Prof. Richards for analyzing the movement of the various elements of the jig; it is a method that certainly seems to promise valuable results, if we could only make certain that these various indicator-appliances have no effect upon the action of the jig. I would like, however, to suggest that in future experiments the connection between the plunger indicator-rod and the pencil should be made by means of parallel motions, so as better to reproduce the rectilinear motion of the piston. I should expect, if this were done, that the " curve " of the plunger in the Harz jig, at any rate, would be represented either by straight lines or else by quite regular curves, according to the method by which the plunger is set in motion; the apparent combinatioil of straight line and curve seems difficult to explain. With respect to the water-curve, I am afraid I am completely at fault, but no doubt Prof. Richards can explain my difficulty. In Fig. 2, the areas of the screen-side and the plunger-side of the jig are equal. If the piston be a fair fit and the bottom of

Jan 1, 1897

By A. D. Hodges

In 1874 my attention was called to what seemed to me an interesting and new nickel and cobalt combination found in Ludwig and Carter's copper mine, near Mason Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada. With the assistance of Mr. A. Hebberling I made several partial analyses of the mineral or minerals. I also communicated with my friend, Professor H. B. Cornwall, of the John C. Green School of Science, College of New Jersey, who analyzed a couple of specimens which I forwarded to him. The copper ore occurs in the mine principally as carbonate and to a certain extent as silicate, the latter generally in connection with clay seams or bands. In some places, together with the copper silicate and clay, generally interstratified with them, there occurred a compact shining black mineral (a) containing nickel and cobalt. Occasionally, in cavities, in connection with (a) was found a black substance (b), either massive and in this case very similar to (a) but with driller lustre, or forming an incrustation with rough and botryoidal surface and radial-fibrous structure, or granular and earthy. A few specimens were found having on the surface very fragile black needles (c) sometimes 1/2-inch long, interspersed with needles of malachite. The mineral (a) seemed, according to the analyses, to be of nearly constant composition, and was considered by Professor Cornwall to be a chrysocolla containing nickel and cobalt—a new occurrence to

Jan 1, 1885

By Chas. Y. Clayton, Francis B. Foley, W. E. Remmers

DuRing the summer of 1919, the late Dr. Henry M. Howe, then Chairman of the Division of Engineering of the National Research Council, organized a committee to obtain a better insight into the behavior of carbon steels under the influence of various treatments by a proper control of the time and temperature factors. During part of 1919 and 1920, work in connection with this investigation was carried on at Dr. Howe's laboratory at Bedford Hills, N. Y. During 1921 there was an enforced hiatus in the work, occasioned by the illness which resulted in Dr. Howe's death in 1922. At that time one of the present authors compiled the results of the work which had been done and this was published in 1923.' Following the publication of this work, it seemed desirable to carry on in the same manner an investigation of steel of C 0.75 per cent., which steel had not been as fully treated as had the other steels of C 0.34 and 0.52 per cent., used in the published work. Furthermore, certain unusual results have been obtained in the treatment of C 0.52 per cent. steel by quenching and drawing, and repetition of this part of the work seemed advisable. This has been done during the past year at the School of Mines and Metallurgy of the University of Missouri at Rolla, Mo., by a cooperative undertaking of the School and the Bureau of Mines, working in conjunction with the Committee on Heat Treatment of Carbon Steels of the National Research Council. The present paper is a report of the results obtained in this work.

Jan 1, 1926

By George C. Bateman

I HAVE been introduced in the dual capacity of president of the Canadian Institute and Metals Controller for Canada. There are three particular points of similarity between these two positions. They are both temporary ; they both have to do with the mining industry ; and by a peculiar coincidence they both pay me exactly the same salary. It is difficult to appreciate the background of our present situation without knowing the really tremendous changes that have taken place since the last war. I sometimes think that even among ourselves we are likely to forget the extent to which our great mining industry has been expanded. In 1914 Canada's gold production amounted to only $16,000,000 and the suggestion was seriously ad¬vanced in Ottawa that the gold mines should be allowed to close down so that their men might be used in more important work. Today with a production at the rate of over $200,000,000 a year no one in Canada would venture such a suggestion because the output of our gold mines is the greatest single factor in producing dollar exchange, badly needed for the purchase of munitions and to maintain Canada's unbroken record of always meeting its obligations. Even with the severe restrictions now in effect against the importation of nonessentials, our imports for war purposes from the United States are resulting in the biggest adverse trade balance in our history. With us, gold mining ranks as an essential industry.

Jan 1, 1941

William Clinton Brown, Brooklyn, N. Y.: The demand for an apparatus for cooling water for condensers, refrigeratingmachinery and air-compressors, as well as water-jacketed furnaces, has led manufacturers to put such an apparatus on the market, so that it is now possible to purchase a cooling-tower, properly designed and constructed, by simply stating the amount of water to be cooled and the temperatures of the hot and the cold water. The principle is similar to that described by Mr. Henrich, but wood is not used in the best apparatus. There are two great objections to wood: First, it cannot last long under the very trying conditions to which it is subjected; and second, it absorbs the organic matter with which water in constant use becomes impregnated, and the resulting odor is very disagreeable. A few days ago I saw a cooling-tower and condenser, built by the Henry R. Worthington Co., in operation at the Edison electric-lighting station in Brooklyn, N. Y., cooling the water for a 700 horse-power condenser. It consisted of a large stack of iron, about 15 feet in diameter by about 30 feet high. This stack was filled with tiling through which the water falls. A whirligig distributes the water evenly over the top, and a large fan, about 6 feet in diameter, driven by a 10 horse-power electric motor, blows air into the bottom, thus giving a positive circulation. The water, in running down the sides of the tiling, is met by the blast of air, and enough is evaporated to cool the rest. The vacuum-gauge on the condenser showed 26 inches; so the condenser was undoubtedly getting sufficient cool water.

Jan 1, 1896