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CONTENTS PAGE HESSE, A. W,-Safeguarding Coal-mining Operations against Danger from Oil and Gas Wells. Discussed by A. W. Hesse, T. G. Fear, George H. Ashley, George S. Rice, W. E. Fohl, R. V. Norris, S. A. Taylor, F. B. Tough, C. W. Gibbs, A. Hurlburt, S. W. Meals 1 DAWSON, THOS. W.-Belt Conveying of Coal at H. C. Frick Coke Company Mines. Discussed by F. F. Jorgensen, Thos. W. Dawson, Graham Bright, A. W. Hesse 13 OTTO, HENRY H.-Ultimate Recovery from Anthracite Coal Beds. Discussed by R. V. Norris, S. A. Taylor, Henry H. Otto, Douglas Bunting, Graham Bright, Howard N. Eavenson, J. B. Warriner 15 HOSLER, Rush N.-Schedule Rating Coal Mines in Pennsylvania for Compensation Insurance Rates. Discussed by E. A. Holbrook, W. W. Adams 17 ARCHBALD, HUGH.-Application of Gaussian Curve to Mining Industry. Discussed by Donald A. Laird, T. T. Read 19 ASH, SIMON H.-System of Coal Mining in Western Washington. Discussed by Eli T. Conner, Simon H. Ash 21 MILLER, J. S.-Method of Mining a Steeply Pitching Anthracite Vein by Successive Skips. Discussed by Eli T. Conner, J. S. Miller, J. B. Warriner 22 HARRINGTON, GEORGE B.-New Orient, an Unusual Coal Mine. Discussed" by George S. Rice, Eli T. Conner, John A. Garcia, George B. Harrington, F. F. Jorgensen, Graham Bright, W. M. Hoen, George N. Simpson, W. C. Adams, R. W. McNeill, Chas. C. Whaley, Carl Scholz, E. T. Gott, Andrews Allen 23 PERROTT, G. ST. J.-Properties of Liquid-oxygen Explosives. Discussed by George S. Rice 48 Safeguarding Coal-mining Operations against Danger from Oil and Gas Wells Discussion of the paper of A. W. HESSE, presented at the New York Meeting, Feb-ruary, 1925, and issued, as Paper No. 1412-F, with MINING AND METALLURGY, February, 1925. A. W. HESSE.-The well under investigation, No. 101, Fig. 2, was started about Sept. 5, 1921, and drilled-in in November. The first hole was started with a 13-in. bit and reached the Pittsburgh coal at a depth of 563 ft.; at 602 ft. the 10-in. casing was run in and the well was continued with a 10-in. bit and 1400 ft. of 8-in. casing was put in. It was then continued to a depth of 1770 ft. and 6-in. casing put in; then continued to a depth of 2555 ft. where the gas was struck. As the well produced only about 100,000 cu. ft. per day. 2-in. tubing was used to conduct the

Jan 6, 1925

By Raymond D. Sloan

Development and exploration in Oklahoma showed a definite increase in 1941 over 1940 in production, wildcat activity and total well completions. Geological and geophysical work continued and possibly increased slightly in amount. Oklahoma retained third place in the ranking of oil-producing states of the nation, topped only by Texas and California, and followed by Illinois in fourth position. Production averaged 416,800 bbl. daily, a 1.7 per cent increase, as compared with 409,900 bbl. daily for the year 1940. Maintenance of the state's relatively stable producing rate resulted from the discovery of numerous small pools, the recombing of old areas, the establishment of new producing horizons, and the drilling of an increased number of marginal wells. The market for the Mid-Continent crude was strengthened materially to meet the increased demand. Coincident with a deeline in production in Illinois, shipment of Oklahoma-Kansas crude to the eastern points averaged 453,000 bbl. per day, an increase of 49.4 per cent as compared with 1940. The movement south amounted to an average of 42,000 bbl. per day, a loss of 41.7 per cent. Secondary-recovery programs in Oklahoma were given more consideration, operators realizing that in the future many pools would necessarily have to resort to this type of operation. Five permits for water-flooding were issued by the Corporation Commission during the year. These projects were in Rogers, Wagoner and Nowata Counties, in the shallow northeastern area, which has relatively extensive development of this type in the Bartles-ville sand at from 600 to 1000 ft. in depth. Gas repressuring of an individual lease in the 35-year old Glenn pool, Creek County, proved relatively successful, and after a year's operation was extended to cover a much larger area, with several operators participating. More of this type of work is expected in the future; however, it was given an initial setback when the legislative proposal authorizing secondary recovery in the Wilcox zone of Oklahoma's largest pool, the Oklahoma City pool, was pigeonholed by the committee. A continuation of the low discovery rates within the state would possibly lead to a revival of interest in the project. Many pools formerly classified as prorated areas were removed from this classification and transferred into the group of settled production. At the close of the year the issuance of the Federal Conservation Order M-68 and the interrelated Preference Rating Order P-98 caused a sharp decline in drilling operations, which is expected to continue until such operations are stabilized at a lower rate. The ultimate effect of these two orders on discoveries, production and reserves is a matter of speculation and conjecture. During the year, 2110 new wells were drilled, an increase of approximately 18 per cent as compared with the previous year. Of the total, 1235 were oil wells with a combined initial potential of 342,754 bbl. daily, 178 were gas wells with a total

Jan 1, 1942

By Raymond D. Sloan

Development and exploration in Oklahoma showed a definite increase in 1941 over 1940 in production, wildcat activity and total well completions. Geological and geophysical work continued and possibly increased slightly in amount. Oklahoma retained third place in the ranking of oil-producing states of the nation, topped only by Texas and California, and followed by Illinois in fourth position. Production averaged 416,800 bbl. daily, a 1.7 per cent increase, as compared with 409,900 bbl. daily for the year 1940. Maintenance of the state's relatively stable producing rate resulted from the discovery of numerous small pools, the recombing of old areas, the establishment of new producing horizons, and the drilling of an increased number of marginal wells. The market for the Mid-Continent crude was strengthened materially to meet the increased demand. Coincident with a deeline in production in Illinois, shipment of Oklahoma-Kansas crude to the eastern points averaged 453,000 bbl. per day, an increase of 49.4 per cent as compared with 1940. The movement south amounted to an average of 42,000 bbl. per day, a loss of 41.7 per cent. Secondary-recovery programs in Oklahoma were given more consideration, operators realizing that in the future many pools would necessarily have to resort to this type of operation. Five permits for water-flooding were issued by the Corporation Commission during the year. These projects were in Rogers, Wagoner and Nowata Counties, in the shallow northeastern area, which has relatively extensive development of this type in the Bartles-ville sand at from 600 to 1000 ft. in depth. Gas repressuring of an individual lease in the 35-year old Glenn pool, Creek County, proved relatively successful, and after a year's operation was extended to cover a much larger area, with several operators participating. More of this type of work is expected in the future; however, it was given an initial setback when the legislative proposal authorizing secondary recovery in the Wilcox zone of Oklahoma's largest pool, the Oklahoma City pool, was pigeonholed by the committee. A continuation of the low discovery rates within the state would possibly lead to a revival of interest in the project. Many pools formerly classified as prorated areas were removed from this classification and transferred into the group of settled production. At the close of the year the issuance of the Federal Conservation Order M-68 and the interrelated Preference Rating Order P-98 caused a sharp decline in drilling operations, which is expected to continue until such operations are stabilized at a lower rate. The ultimate effect of these two orders on discoveries, production and reserves is a matter of speculation and conjecture. During the year, 2110 new wells were drilled, an increase of approximately 18 per cent as compared with the previous year. Of the total, 1235 were oil wells with a combined initial potential of 342,754 bbl. daily, 178 were gas wells with a total

Jan 1, 1942

By William J. Douglas, Jack T. Urie, Randall D. Metz

Production and financial planning for a new underground mine requires the coordination of equipment and coal reserves in a manner which assures that resources are utilized efficiently in achieving the target mine production. It is necessary to establish the productions which are attainable at the section level during different mining operations (advance, retreat, development) and under different mining conditions (roof, seam height, resource quality). It is also necessary to identify the interactions between production plans and ventilation equipment So that operations can be carried out without disruptions caused by inadequate ventilation. A set of computer models has been applied in planning a number of new coal, oil shale, and phosphate mines. A critical path production model, CPMINE, was used to determine face production levels for different cut sequences and seam heights, taking into account machine performance characteristics and operational availabilities under these varying conditions. The results formed a production data base for use in the mine sequencing model, MPLAN. This model processes each of the segments of a user-defined mine sequence network (strategy tree) taking into account the equipment available for mining operations and the previously determined production scheme devised by the mining engineer. Mine ventilation was analyzed with an expanded version of the Penn State MVS Ventilation model to determine fan and ventilation shaft requirements for supporting alternative production strategies. The MCOM mine cost analysis model has been applied to evaluate the economic performance of mining alternatives. The results of these studies were used to make decisions relating to equipment selection and acquisition schedules for both room-and-pillar and longwall mining systems. The approach and procedures which were used during these studies are described.

Jan 1, 1983

By L. A. Walker

DURING the past twelve years the underground shaft of the United States mine at Bingham has been sunk an additional 2000 ft. with stations and pockets cut every 200 ft. without interrupting the mining of 600 tons of ore per day and the advancing of 1500 ft. of development per month. Following is a brief description of the way the joint work is conducted. The vertical underground shaft is a three-compartment shaft with outside dimensions of 6 ft. 4 in. by 15 ft. 6 in., and inside dimensions for each compartment of 4 ft. 2 in. by 4 ft. 8 in. The manway compartment of the main shaft is used as the hoisting compartment in sinking operations; it is partially lined with 2 by 12-in, lagging and a bucket is used without guides or crosshead. Preparatory work includes the placing of a bulkhead in the manway compartment, 60 ft. above the lowest station or level, the installation of a hoist, a head sheave, a fleet sheave, a-signal system, air and water lines, and a trap door for handling waste.

Jan 1, 1937

By AIME AIME

THE Iron and Steel Division and the Institute of Metals Division are laying plans for a rousing meeting the week beginning Sept. 21 in the land of the bean and the cod-at Boston. The two divisions are collaborating with the American Welding Society, the American Society for Steel Treating, and the Iron and Steel Division of the A. S. M. E., to have technical sessions of widespread interest and social affairs that will compare with the best of previous years. In connection with the meetings an exhibition of production and testing equipment, heat-treating equipment, furnaces, welding equipment, and metal products will be held on Commonwealth Pier all week, where those attending may see the latest developments in the field of their own work.

Jan 1, 1931

By E. C. Pechin

The attention of the members of the Institute of Mining Engineers is asked to a description of the minerals of Southwestern Pennsylvania, as representing the minerals of an enormous area, stretching continuotisly, with local variations, along the western slopes, and at the base of the Alleghany Mountains, through Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky, and destined to play no mean part in the future of the iron trade of the country. The particular locality is at and near Donbar, in Fayette County, where the most careful examinations and extensive developments have been made. The deep gorges cut by the Youghiogheny and Monongahela Rivers, in their passage through the mountains and lower lands, give admirable facilities for observing the measures lying between the sandstones of No. 11 and the upper coal measures. Apart from its varied mineral and agricultural resources this section of country has great historic interest attaching to it. It was down the Monongahela that Braddock led his ill-fated army to its defeat under the wails of Port Duquesne, and it was up the Youghiogheny River and Dunbar Creek that the shattered remnants hastily fled to gain the camp of Colonel Dunbar, the second in command, who was entrenched upon a high knob, at the head of the creek which bears his name, and which is still known and visited as Dunbar's Camp. Numerous streams, runs, and localities preserve the names of the guides and pioneers who accompanied, in early colonial times, young George Washington, who was pushing his surveys into the trackless and hostile wilderness, and many of them taking up large tracts of

By E. A. Holbrook

Research, primarily, is finding out the truth. Research applied to enigeering opens the door to new principies and processes, the application of which benefits mankind in a material way. The engineer believes that investigation instituted with the primary view of making the results directly applicable to the industries is the highest type of research. Coal is essentially the basis of modern industrial civilization; therefore, any considerable research pertaining to coal must link itself to the industry by practical application of the results of the research. In other words, all investigational work connected in any way with coal leads to conclusions that permit a better understanding of the origin, nature of occurrence, composition, better and safer mining, more careful preparation, or greater efficiency in utilization of coal. Modern engineering research has been fostered essentially by universities and in the laboratories of institutions of learning. Coal problems that lend themselves to solution in the laboratories have been first attacked and are perhaps the farthest toward solution. For example, a great amount of research work has been carried out with the various phases of chemistry connected with coal. On the other hand, the equally important problems connected with methods of mining have received but little attention, primarily because their solution involves the continued use of a great and expensive laboratory, which is none other than the mine itself. As many of the problems already solved have had chemistry as their background, so many of the problems unsolved have physics as their background; there are also unsolved problems that deal in coal economics. Even psychology must be called upon in future coal-mining research as a basis for solving those great problems that deal with human relationships. 'In general, considerable advance has been made in coal research dealing with chemistry, not so much progress has been made with problems having physics and engineering as a background, while there is a tremendous range of untouched problems that deal essentially with business and psychology. Research in coal mining is not a new development. In the chronicles of the northern coal trade as published in the Transactions of the North

Jan 1, 1920

By R. E. H. Pomeroy

Early in 1917, it became evident, owing to existing and pending market conditions, that a substitute for crude petroleum must be found for firing the smelter furnaces. After a review of the plants then existing, it was deemed advisable to depart from their practice and to adopt the following described system of distributing pulverized coal to the furnaces. The principal advantages of the proposed system, which influenced this decision, were: (I) Equal safety; no pulverized coal is stored at the furnaces; (2) greater ease of operation, furnace fires being controlled by regulating valves in burner branches, as in gas firing; (3) better organization; all machinery, including pulverized coal feed, is under one roof, and the organization is separate from the furnace department; (4) greater cleanliness; all machinery is under vacuum; (5) greater flexibility of application, the coal and air mixture can be piped where needcd. The design of the plant is the result of the combined efforts of the local engineering staff and of the machinery manufacturers. Many new features were embodied in this design to insure greater safety, cleanliness, and efficiency of handling. After 14 months of continuous operation, the plant has proved entirely satisfactory. The building is of structural steel, covered with corrugated steel, with many windows and is painted light gray inside and out. The building floor is of concrete with ample drains to the sewer, and the building is equipped with fire and service water piping. Fig. 1 shows the east side of the building and the incline conveyor from the raw-coal bins. The plant is operated entirely by electric power. All alternating current is 550 volts, 3-phase, 60 cycles. The pulverized-coal feeding niotors and control mechanism are operated by 220-volt direct current supplied by motor-generator sets in the building. Autamatic push-

Jan 1, 1921

By Masayuje Otagawa

The mining methods adopted in Japanese mines are less known to the mining world than those of other countries, owing to the geographical remoteness, but they present many features of interest to mining engineers. The Ashio copper mine is at the town of Ashio, in Tochigiken, about 109 mi. (175 km.) from Tokyo by the Imperial Government railroad. The area of the concession owned by the Furukawa Mining Co. is 5000 acres (5023 ha.). The mine was formerly divided into three, viz. Hon-ean, Kotaki, and Tsudo, which are distant 3 mi. (4.8 km.) from each other as shown in Fig. 1. However, in 1914, when the writer was general manager, the three mining plants were amalgamated into one with the result of simplifying the working projects and increasing the operating efficiency. The mine was visited by the Institute party in November, 1911, when K. Inouye was the general manager. Shortly afterward, the writer was appointed manager, and, in 1915, he was succeeded by Dr. K. Asano. At the end of 1917, K. Kibe became general manager and, after two years, was succeeded by the present manager, I. Sugimoto. For some time Dr. J. Kojima was acting general manager. It is necdless to say that the gentlemen mentioned are all members of the Institute, as is also Baron T. Furukawa, president of the company. Since the discovery of the enormous masses, called "kajika" or "bullhead" deposits, which the writer has described elsewhere,' the mining methods have been varied to meet the different conditions presented by these deposits. The Ashio Ore The country rock of this mine consists of the middle Chichibian slate and quartzite into which has been intruded a post-Tertiary plagio-liparite neck more than 2 mi. in diameter, in the shape of an inverted cone which narrows downward to a relatively small diameter in depth.

Jan 1, 1923

By Masayuje Otagawa

The mining methods adopted in Japanese mines are less known to the mining world than those of other countries, owing to the geographical remoteness, but they present many features of interest to mining engineers. The Ashio copper mine is at the town of Ashio, in Tochigiken, about 109 mi. (175 km.) from Tokyo by the Imperial Government railroad. The area of the concession owned by the Furukawa Mining Co. is 5000 acres (5023 ha.). The mine was formerly divided into three, viz. Hon-ean, Kotaki, and Tsudo, which are distant 3 mi. (4.8 km.) from each other as shown in Fig. 1. However, in 1914, when the writer was general manager, the three mining plants were amalgamated into one with the result of simplifying the working projects and increasing the operating efficiency. The mine was visited by the Institute party in November, 1911, when K. Inouye was the general manager. Shortly afterward, the writer was appointed manager, and, in 1915, he was succeeded by Dr. K. Asano. At the end of 1917, K. Kibe became general manager and, after two years, was succeeded by the present manager, I. Sugimoto. For some time Dr. J. Kojima was acting general manager. It is necdless to say that the gentlemen mentioned are all members of the Institute, as is also Baron T. Furukawa, president of the company. Since the discovery of the enormous masses, called "kajika" or "bullhead" deposits, which the writer has described elsewhere,' the mining methods have been varied to meet the different conditions presented by these deposits. The Ashio Ore The country rock of this mine consists of the middle Chichibian slate and quartzite into which has been intruded a post-Tertiary plagio-liparite neck more than 2 mi. in diameter, in the shape of an inverted cone which narrows downward to a relatively small diameter in depth.

Jan 1, 1923

By Harry C. Gatos, Frank J. Bachner

It was shown through high-pressure experiments that tin loss by volatilizatim is necessary for the degrada-tion of the superconducting transition temperature of Nb,Sn associated with high-temperature annealing. Crystallochemical analysis of the degraded Nb3Sn showed that it constitutes a new phase with ordered niobium-site vacancies, created by the migration of niobium atoms to vaccnt tin sites. This new phase was found to form when 4 pct Nb-site vacancies were present. It has a transition temperature of 6'K and a lattice parameter of 5.283A. A similar degradation effect was observed in Nb,Al. Its superconducting transition temperature dropped from 16.5" to 8" K following a high-temperature annealing. The superconducting temperature degradation in these 0-tungsten structure compounds is attributed to the disruption of the interchain d bonding by the periodic interruption of the niobium atom chains. By annealing the degraded Nb, Sn at 1000 C in nitrogen its normal superconducting behavior is restored most likely due to the incorporation of nitrogen atoms causing the elimination of the ordered vacancies. HANAK et al.' have observed low superconducting transition-temperature values (T, - 9"K) in some NbsSn samples deposited from the vapor phase. They attributed such low T, values to disorder in the 0-tung-sten structure. Much lower T values (down to 5.6"K) were reported by Reed et al.zC for NbsSn samples annealed at high temperatures. These authors also attributed this degradation effect to disorder (random occupation of the A and B sites by niobium and tin) but pointed out that such disorder could be brought about (by high-temperature treatment) only in samples containing niobium in excess of the stoichiometric composition NbsSn. Both groups reported that the normal superconductivity behavior could be rever-sibly restored by appropriate heat treatment. Courtney et al., also found that degradation in NbsSn requires excess niobium brought about by the loss of tin during the treatment. However, these investigators proposed that the degradation is due to niobium-site vacancies resulting from the migration of the niobium atoms to the vacated tin atom sites. They did not consider the reversibility of the effect. The present study attempts to establish the nature of the above degradation phenomenon. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES All compounds prepared for this investigation were made from the powders or filings of the elements which were intimately mixed, cold-pressed into a cylindrical pellet at approximately 50,000 lb per sq in., and then submitted to the desired heat treatment. The samples annealed under high pressure were placed in a MgO sample container which was mounted in a pyrophyllite tetrahedron designed for a tetra-hedral-anvil press. Details of the experimental arrangement are given elsewhere. This setup allowed heating at 1800°C or above under pressures in excess of 30kbars for 3 hr. The samples annealed in a vacuum were prepared in a high-temperature vacuum furnace which could reach temperatures up to 2400°C under a pressure of 2 x lo-' Torr. For annealing in a reactive atmosphere, a quartz tube was placed in a clamshell furnace and the desired gas ambient passed through the tube. Lattice parameters were determined using a Debye-Scherer 114.6-mm camera. Cohen's method, programmed for the IBM 7094 computer, was used to calculate the lattice parameter from the measured d spacings. X-ray integrated intensity measurements were made on several samples. These samples were ground to -400 mesh and the powder mixed with a solution of collodion in amyl acetate. The mixture was poured into a depression milled in a bakelite disc. When the mixture dried, the surface of the disc was ground flat leaving a diffraction surface defined by the face of the disc. The disc was mounted in a Philips rotating specimen holder which allowed the rotation of the sample in the plane of the diffraction surface and the integrated intensity measured using a scintillation counter and a pulse-height analysis sys-tem. The superconducting transition temperatures were determined by means of self-inductance techniques.' EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The Role of Tin Loss in the Degradation of Super-conductivity. The loss of tin during high-temperature annealing can be effectively suppressed by annealing under high hydrostatic pressures. Accordingly, a series of experiments were performed under pressures of approximately 30kbars. This pressure was the minimum under which high-temperature experiments could be safely performed in the particular pressure apparatus employed. Experiments were also designed to test high-pressure effects on the superconductivity behavior of NbJSn. The results of the high-pressure annealing experi-ments are summarized in Table I. All samples were prepared as described earlier. They were reacted and homogenized at 1000°C for 24 hr under argon at-

Jan 1, 1967

By Albert R. Ledoux

Discussion of the Paper of Albert R. Ledoux, read at the Atlantic City Meeting, February, 1904. ARTHUR JARMAN, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia' (communication to the Secretary*): Some remarks upon. Dr. Ledoux's interesting paper from one who has not visited America may, I hope, be of interest to members. It appears to me that there is considerable difference between the training of the American and of the British mining engineer. Not that the subjects are different, but rather in the way in which they are handled, the illustrations being, as far as possible, mining in character. Colloquial instruction is unknown in English curricula, but could be introduced with advantage. Students here assure me that an hour of conversation is of tar more use to them than an hour of the best lecturing. In England a school-year of 6 or 7 months would be considered very short indeed; but Americans do not consider it so, for the reason that the rest of the year is mostly spent in acquiring practical acquaintance with their subjects in works or in the field, and the shorter courses, when coupled with this large amount of outside expe¬rience, produce an essentially practical-minded engineer, who is also more of a business man; whereas the English system, though excellent from a scholastic point of view, produces the theoretical rather than the practical man. British schools are waking up, however, and the practical aspect of the engineer's training is receiving greater consideration. Once launched upon his career, the American engineer is immediately called upon to exercise his self-reliance and ingenuity, if he is to retain the confidence of his employers; but what can we say of English directors? In how many cases is the engineer allowed to guide the destinies of his company? Witness several recent cases of gross waste of money upon unsuitable plants, and the perpetuation of prehistoric methods of

Mar 1, 1905

By Nicholas J. Grant, Oliver Preston

PUBLICATION of data by Irmann' indicating outstanding thermal stability and elevated-temperature strength properties in a sintered aluminum powder product (SAP) stimulated interest in the strengthening of metals by means of a highly dispersed oxide phase. This material was produced by compacting, sintering and extruding a fine flake aluminum powder, resulting in a dense product containing 10 to 16 volume pct alumina, which arises from the thin oxide film on the starting powder, highly dispersed in a matrix of pure aluminum. The method of producing SAP, and the stable high-temperature properties obtained from it, introduced the possibility of developing superior materials for high-temperature service by powder metallurgy methods. The composition of the materials of this type which are presently under consideration is predominantly metallic, containing from less than 1 pct up to about 20 volume pct of the oxide. As a result, other properties of these materials, such as electrical and thermal conductivity, thermal shock resistance, and to a certain extent ductility, notch sensitivity, machinability and hot working properties, are also predominantly metallic. These alloys do not constitute, therefore, a completely new class of materials as do the cermets, but rather present a new means of modifying the properties of a metallic matrix. In this sense, SAP type alloys are more closely analogous to the alloy aging systems. While the strength properties realized in the oxide-pure metal systems at the lower temperatures are substantially less than the best attainable in the aging systems, the thermal instabilities in the latter make them of less value for use at temperature much above their optimum aging temperatures, as indicated in Fig. 1. While the means of obtaining an oxide dispersion are more difficult and costly than conventional aging processes, in the light of the as yet limited understanding of such systems there is considerable promise of improved high temperature properties arising from the thermal stability of these structures. Since the development of SAP in 1946, its properties and the properties of a series of similarAl,O,-A1 products containing from about 1 to 20 pct aluminum oxide have been fairly extensively studied and reported.'- "articular attention has been given to

Jan 1, 1958

By J. A. Heskett

NEW ZEALAND is dependent on the outside world for its ferro goods, yet it can boast of at least two well-defined iron-ore deposits; namely, Para Para limonite, 3 Fe203 + 21120 also found as lower hydrated oxides, and Taranaki iron-sand, a combined magnetite and ilmenite, 2FeO + 2Fe203 + FeO + Ti02. The former is of massive variety and the FIG. 1.-VIEW OF WORKS SHOWING IRON-SAND DEPOSITS, ALSO WHARF AND BREAK¬WATER IN THE DISTANCE. latter granular and mixed with various proportions of fine shell and siliceous sand well water-worn. This latter deposit forms the greater portion of the beach sands of the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is so fine that the whole of a sample passed through a sieve of 40 meshes to the inch. The ilmenite cannot be detected by the microscope, as in the titaniferous ores of the Adirondacks, nor can it be magnetically separated, as in the titaniferous ore of Natashkwan, Canada. To all appearances it is a chemical compound of the double oxides of iron and titanium and not a mechanical mixture, as is the ore of the Adirondack deposits.

Jan 8, 1920

By Aureal T. Cross

THIS paper is a review of the published literature on research in coal geology, principally exclusive of resource studies, which appeared or became available during 1950 and the latter part of 1949. This report is not to be construed as being complete. The papers referred to in the bibliography are those among many more, which were read either in full or in abstract. Undoubtedly other papers were published' which either escaped the author's notice or were not available to him. Those which were seen in abstract only (about one fourth of those listed) were not available in time for the inclusion of more than a notice. An outline of all papers listed in the bibliography has been arranged by subjects and reasonable subdivisions with some papers cited under more than one subject. Most papers are indexed according to the principal subject of discussion or research only as to an unusual or noteworthy section of the entire report. There will likely be some disagreement as to the quality or merit of some of the papers selected and the specialist may be supercritical of the outline or organization of papers in his field. It may be that attention has occasionally been drawn to papers reporting old information or conclusions of questionable value. Conferences and Meetings One of the best indications of the growing interest in coal geology problems in the United States is the increasing number of times this- field has been the focus of attention at conferences and meetings. Notable among these are the joint meeting of the Society of Economic Geologists and the Geological Society of America at El Paso, November 1949, at which the principal thesis was concerned with low rank carbonaceous fuel deposits, especially of western United States. Among the papers given which are already available were those presented by Barghoorn,16 Parry,180 Roe,153 and Parks.162 At the annual meeting of the Botanical Society of America in New York, December 1949, a joint meeting of the Paleobotanical and Microbiological Sections was held for which a symposium on Microbiology in Relation to the Geologic Accumulation of Organic Complexes was 'organized. Publication of the six papers presented by Ralph G. H. Siu, Elso S. Barghoorn, Irving Breger, Claude E. ZoBell, James M. Schopf, and A. C. Thayson is anticipated. At the regular meetings of the Paleobotanical Section at the same time, several other papers of interest reported on coal ball studies, partial coalification of petrified wood, and floras. In Chicago, April 1950, a symposium on Applied Paleobotany was held by the Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists in conjunction with the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. The five papers presented at this meeting dealt with the use of Paleozoic plant microfossils for stratigraphic work, J: M. Schopf, Devonian-Mississippian fossils of the black shales, Aureal T. Cross, Mesozoic plants of stratigraphic value, Th. Just, plant microfossils of the Tertiary, L. R. Wilson, and studies of the Brandon lignite, Elso S. Barghoorn. Early publication of these in the Journal of Paleontology is expected. The Nova Scotia Research Foundation and the Nova Scotia Dept. of Mines sponsored an excellent 3-day conference in June 1950, which, dealt with several aspects of coal geology. Papers on coal classification, P. A. Hacquenbard, structure and sedimentation problems in Nova Scotia, T. B. Haites, new techniques of thermal analysis, W. L. Whitehead, geochemical investigations of Nova Scotia coals, Irving Breger, the role of fossil plant spores in coal correlation and the stratigraphy of the coal-bearing strata of the Appalachian Region, Aureal T. Cross, were given. Some discussions of these papers by those in attendance were recorded, and the entire proceedings is being prepared for publication. In September 1950, an unusual 3-day field conference was held by the Ohio and West Virginia Geological Surveys under the sponsorship of the Coal Geology Committee. This study of the stratigraphy sedimentation, and nomenclature of the Upper Pennsylvanian and Permian coal-bearing strata of southeastern Ohio, southwestern Pennsylvania, and northern West Virginia .was augmented by two discussions on associated rocks (clays and shales) and stratigraphic nomenclature at Wheeling, and Morgantown, West Va. An extensive guidebook was prepared, and transcriptions of the Morgantown meeting were made. As a follow-up of the September field conference, a round-table discussion 'was held on this general topic at a special open meeting of the Coal Research Committee in conjunction with the November meeting of the Geological Society in Washington. Short prepared statements to invite discussion were given on each of several topics by L. M. Cline, Carl O.

Jan 1, 1952

FOR this Famous Mining Enterprise issue MINING ENGINEERING selected the company that started the zinc in dustry in the United States. The New Jersey Zinc Co. has been a supplier of zinc products to the nation's industries for more than 104 years. Its Horse Head trade mark is famous throughout the world.

Jan 12, 1953

By W. D. Haselton, J. B. Newsom

SAFER, cheaper, and faster sinking of mine openings seems to have been realized with the completion of a borehole 5 ½ ft. in diameter and 1208 ft. deep, in Minnesota, during 1938. Moreover, as the opening is to be used solely for ventilation, its circular cross section, smooth walls and freedom from fire hazard recommend it in comparison with the usual timbered shafts of rectilinear cross section. It should be pointed out that a drill hole sunk without the use of explosives frequently will stand open without support, whereas a shaft sunk by standard procedure using dynamite usually must be timbered because of the wall-shattering effect of explosives. The saving in maintenance resulting from the elimination of timber is obvious. The work was done by Pickands Mather & Co. at its Zenith mine, Ely, Minn. This company wanted a ventilation opening capable of delivering 50,000 cu. ft. of air per minute to the fourteenth level, 1200 ft. below the surface. While several general articles1-3 have described the method used, detailed time and performance records have not been presented before. Moreover, with a method as new as this, it is important to compare the results attained under widely varying conditions. Among the new conditions faced at Ely were some extremely hard rock, a series of vertical fractures, seepage water, and some long stretches of sound rock which, combined with excellent equipment, gave a chance to operate without unusual delays. Developments in boring large holes have generally taken the obvious course of increasing the size of the equipment, a line of attack that has resulted in putting down 3-ft. diameter holes at damsites for studying the foundations4 and in drilling ventilation openings between levels at Butte.5 Such drills operate from the collar of the hole, and the power from the drill is transmitted to the cutting tool through drill rods or pipes. In order to keep down the volume of rock that must be ground to sludge, the cores in large-diameter drilling are made as large in diameter as possible. Their large diameter increases their weight per foot of length, which

Jan 1, 1939

DAVID WHITE,* Washington, D. C.-This paper is very timely since the Philippine Islands are presumably open to the enterprise of the American driller, whereas much of the territory in that part of the world is closed to us. The United States has ambitious plans for the operation of a great merchant marine, which is to be oil burning in the main, and it takes but a glance at the world map to see the strategic advantage of oil supplies in the Philippines for such marine operations. It is a little difficult to understand why more attention has not been given to the Philippines, in spite of the difficulties attending development in these islands. A number of American oil companies are, I believe, at the present moment taking an interest in the possibilities of the Philippines. Important factors in the formulation of opinion regarding the importance of the oil deposits of the Philippines, as brought out by Mr. Pratt,1 are the point of view and the breadth of experience of the examining geologist. The average oil geologist, whose experience has been mainly in the Appalachian region, the Mid-continent, or Louisiana, or possibly even in California, on seeing the narrowness of the basins, the closeness of the folding, and the presence of igneous rocks here and there, would be likely to draw unfavorable conclusions as to the possibilities of the Philippine Islands. Geologists visiting that region should be familiar with the geological conditions of oil occurrence in Japan, Formosa, the East Indies, or in the Baku district, and their conclusions should be formulated with the knowledge and understanding of the occurrence of oil in those regions rather than in the United States.

Jan 8, 1920

By Virgil R. D. Kirkham

NoRth America has for many years led the world in phosphate production, but with development of African deposits and their marketing conditions with respect to European countries, this leadership will shortly pass to Africa. Algeria, Egypt, Tunis, and Morocco have large phosphate reserves and a correspondingly large production because of easy mining and a ready European market, which was developed during the war. An increase in home consumption is destined to develop for the eastern American fields, and the countries of the Pacific will provide a market for the western producers. New processes indicate a decrease in fertilizer costs, which will encourage a more widespread domestic use and assure better marketing conditions. The African deposits, although benefited by a water haul, have the disadvantage of being isolated from a source of acid so that the crude rock is shipped from Africa to its destination, whereas in the United States the chief product shipped is acidulated rock or various types of superphosphatic fertilizers, The principal types of phosphate deposits used in the manufacture of fertilizers are guanos, apatite, phosphatic marl, phosphatic limestone, phosphatic shale, and phosphate rock which is also known as phosphorite. Some of these deposits are found on each of the continents; Table 1 gives their occurrence, age, location, character, extent, etc. Most of the information found in this table represents a compilation of information published elsewhere in a different form and widely scattered.

Jan 1, 1925