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By C. V. Millikan

THE year 1930 in the petroleum industry has been characterized by the establishment of large potential production of crude oil. This has resulted in closer cooperation between companies by proration and unit operation agreements in order to afford an equitable outlet to all, and to prevent a flood of oil being forced on the market with attendant tremendous material and economic waste. Drilling wells in proved areas and wildcat wells are fewer than in the past several years. Restricted production and low prices have caused greater effort to increase producing and recovery efficiencies. Increased refinery efficiencies have amplified the effect of overproduction. Pipe line departments have been especially busy. New oil lines have reached more refineries by new and shorter routes. Establishing greater gas reserves by new fields has justified new gas lines to industrial centers, and has brought this fuel to thousands of new domestic consumers. Two long gasoline lines, a new venture in pipe lines, are being built to obtain a lower cost of transportation and less loss between the refineries and their distribution centers. The chairmen of the various divisions have discussed the developments of their respective branches more fully in the following reviews.

Jan 1, 1931

In 1974, iron pellet production in the Great Lakes region reached the 53-million-tpy level, accounting for more than 88% of the nation's pellet production. By 1978, pellet output from the Great Lakes district will climb to at least 78 million tpy. To achieve this 50% increase in output, the US iron and steel industry is investing at least $1.25 billion in new mines and pelletizing plants, mostly in Minnesota and Michigan. The biggest effort is concentrated in the Mesabi Range of Minnesota, the heart of the US steel industry's major iron ore source: here, plans for two new taconite plants-one by Hibbing Taconite Co., and the other by Inland Steel Mining Co.-and three major expansions of existing facilities are already under way to boost Minnesota's total iron pellet capacity from the current 41.2 million tpy to 65 million tpy by 1978. The facilities being expanded are those of US Steel Corp. (Minntac operations), Eveleth Taconite Co., and National Steel Pellet Co.

Jan 11, 1975

By Gordon C. Rausser, Michael D. Boehlje, Richard A. Levins, John A. Otte

Changes in SO2 emission standards will not only influence the cost of supplying energy demands from coal, but also the competitive position of various production regions and the method of mining (surface vs. underground). A multiperiod interregional competition model was utilized to evaluate the interactions between mining capacity, new mine development, coal reserves, mining, processing and transportation costs and equipment availability and SO2 emission standards. The empirical results indicate that not only will costs increase dramatically, but production in eastern as well as western regions that have low sulfur reserves will also increase as sulfur standards become increasingly more strict. Implications of the adjustments in the location of coal mining activity for the processing, transportation, and capital goods markets are also presented.

Jan 1, 1978

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 A. Andreas

New Mexico, after several years as the sixth ranking oil-producing state, was surpassed by Illinois and for 1939 ranks seventh in the United States. Oil production for 1939 was 36,746,840 bbl. Production for 1938 was 35,510,176 bbl., a gain of 0.033 per cent. Production for the year would have been greater had there been a pipe-line outlet for the Vacuum field. The complete shutdown during the latter part of August covering a period of 15 days meant a production loss of over 1,500,000 bbl. of oil. Daily production allowable as set by the Oil Conservation Commission has followed very closely the recommendations of the Bureau of Mines. It has been found that the recommended allowables as quoted by the Bureau of Mines do not always reflect the actual demand, as there is a considerable lag hetween the recommended amounts and the current demands. During the year the various operating companies have done considerable remedial work in setting packers to reduce the gas-oil ratios in the various fields. Six new fields were discovered in New Mexico during 1939; three in Lea County, two in Eddy County and one in Chaves County. In the early part of 1939 a committee composed of the various engineers and geologists recommended subdividing the old Artesia area into various producing pools. This division was accepted, therefore the total number of producing fields in New Mexico is considerably greater than the number of fields in 1938, but does not represent new fields discovered during the year. The southeastern area continues to he the largest producer of oil. During the year 2,716,551 bbl. were produced in Eddy County and 33,690,996 bbl. in Lea County. Total production ill the northwestern part of the state, which includes San ,Juan and McKinley Counties, was 338,293 bbl. At the beginning of the year the daily average nonmarginal well allowable for Lea County was 48 bbl. At the close of the year it was 49 bbl. The daily average production for the year was 97,313 bbl. During the year, 659 wells were drilled in the state, of which 565 were producing oil wells, 15 gas wells, 6 carbon dioxide gas wells and 73 dry holes. Summarized at meeting; manuscript received at the office of the Institute March 18, 1940. * State Geologist, member of New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Jan 1, 1940

By A. Andreas

New Mexico, after several years as the sixth ranking oil-producing state, was surpassed by Illinois and for 1939 ranks seventh in the United States. Oil production for 1939 was 36,746,840 bbl. Production for 1938 was 35,510,176 bbl., a gain of 0.033 per cent. Production for the year would have been greater had there been a pipe-line outlet for the Vacuum field. The complete shutdown during the latter part of August covering a period of 15 days meant a production loss of over 1,500,000 bbl. of oil. Daily production allowable as set by the Oil Conservation Commission has followed very closely the recommendations of the Bureau of Mines. It has been found that the recommended allowables as quoted by the Bureau of Mines do not always reflect the actual demand, as there is a considerable lag hetween the recommended amounts and the current demands. During the year the various operating companies have done considerable remedial work in setting packers to reduce the gas-oil ratios in the various fields. Six new fields were discovered in New Mexico during 1939; three in Lea County, two in Eddy County and one in Chaves County. In the early part of 1939 a committee composed of the various engineers and geologists recommended subdividing the old Artesia area into various producing pools. This division was accepted, therefore the total number of producing fields in New Mexico is considerably greater than the number of fields in 1938, but does not represent new fields discovered during the year. The southeastern area continues to he the largest producer of oil. During the year 2,716,551 bbl. were produced in Eddy County and 33,690,996 bbl. in Lea County. Total production ill the northwestern part of the state, which includes San ,Juan and McKinley Counties, was 338,293 bbl. At the beginning of the year the daily average nonmarginal well allowable for Lea County was 48 bbl. At the close of the year it was 49 bbl. The daily average production for the year was 97,313 bbl. During the year, 659 wells were drilled in the state, of which 565 were producing oil wells, 15 gas wells, 6 carbon dioxide gas wells and 73 dry holes. Summarized at meeting; manuscript received at the office of the Institute March 18, 1940. * State Geologist, member of New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Jan 1, 1940

By John V. Beall

HEAVY-DENSITY separation processes, a commercial application of the sink-float test used in mineralogical laboratories for the separation of mineral particles by their difference in specific gravity, are the biggest development in mineral dressing since flotation, which was at about the same stage of development thirty years ago. The scope of their application has broadened and, though still in the development stage, they are being accepted in a constantly increasing number of commercial installations. This progress in mineral beneficiation is especially satisfying when we realize that our high-grade ore deposits are fast disappearing and a big factor in determining whether a hole in the ground is being sat upon by a liar or an honest citizen is how economically the ore dressers can concentrate comparatively low-grade ores. As early as the middle of the nineteenth century attempts were made to use aqueous salt solutions in a heavy-liquid separation for cleaning coal. But the original and recovery costs of these liquids were high and further, the fact that they were corrosive, unstable, and toxic added to the difficulty in using them.

Jan 1, 1948

By J. H. Wernick, S. Geller

A number of new AB, compounds, in which A is a rare earth or yttrium atom and B is Al, Mn, Fe, Co, or Ni, having the cubic MgCu, structure (Laves phase) are reported. In most of the compounds, the interatomic distances are normal; the lanthanide contraction is observed. However, in the compounds CeB2, B = Fe, Co, Ni, Ce appears to have a valence substantially greater than three; in CeAl2, Ce appears to be trivalent. These results are interpreted as vesulting from an energetically more favorable situation for the 4f electron of Ce to be lost to the 3d band of Fe, Co, nnd Ni. Evidence for the existence of homogeneitj! ranges in these compounds is presented. THE purpose of this paper is to report on the crys-tallographic investigations of a large number of new compounds, Table I, with the MgCuz structure (cubic Laves phase). It is a part of a continuing study of the magnetic properties and structures of binary systems involving the rare earths. In a previous paper' some of the magnetic properties of such systems were reported briefly. We have also reported2 a number of compounds of the CusCa type. The compounds were prepared by induction melting in Argon atmosphere of mixtures of stoichiomet-ric amounts of the constituent elements.* For most of the compounds fused alumina or silica crucibles were used as the containing vessel; graphite crucibles were used to prepare CeA12, NdAl2 and TbA12. X-ray powder photographs were taken with CrKa radiation and the use of Straumanis-type Norelco cameras of 114.6 mm diam. The compounds AB2 belong to space group Fd3m-Ol with 8A in a): (000; 01/2 '/2;3) + 000-; b % XA and 16B in dl: (000; oVa %; 3) + 5/87; % %; 7e % Vs\£>. Because the intensities of the reflections on the powder photographs of the different compounds are similar, relative intensities were computed only for DyMnz for CrKa radiation, Table 11. In the calculation of intensities, the Thomas and umeda3 atomic scattering factors, corrected for dispersion,4 were used. The agreement between observed and calculated intensities leaves little doubt that DyMnz has the MgCuz structure. Crystallographic data for the ABz compounds are given in Table JII. Twelve of these compounds have been reported by other authors. A comparison of the published results with our work is given in Table W.* ers of elements of lower purity, to peritectic reactions in some cases, and to the presence of homogeneity ranges in these alloys, so that melting losses would still result in single phase alloys. The possibility of existence of homogeneity ranges in these compounds was investigated systematically only for GdMnz. At room temperature, the solid solution range is between

Jan 1, 1961

By Donald B. Gillies

WE HAVE come a long way since the time of the old steel master who declared that chemistry would ultimately bring the steel business to ruin. Yet I sometimes doubt whether even now we fully recognize the great debt we owe to the institutions that today are initiating young men into the fascinating mysteries of science and training them in the art of engineering. I am not sure that we recognize the importance of the contribution that the schools of applied science and the technical colleges are making to our industrial economy. That contribution is neither narrow nor restricted. It covers the whole range of industry. Dr. Compton, himself, has shown in his survey of leading American corporations that the engineer is twelve times more likely than the nonengineer to become president, five times more likely to become treasurer, and thirty times more likely to become an officer. So the hand of the engineer not only is all-powerful in the laboratory and in the drafting room but his control is increasing in all departments of management.

Jan 1, 1940

By Allan J. Clark

THE September issue of MINING AND METALLURGY might almost have served as a review of the advances in the metallurgy of gold during the current year. In addition to a scholarly article by F. W. Bradley, there were able descriptions by W. W. Bradley and W. F. Boericke of the methods followed in California and in Ontario. Considered together, the two last-named articles indicate the many possible combinations of flotation with one or more of the older processes. This, the prominence of flotation as an aid in the beneficiation of gold ores, is probably the most striking of the year's developments. It would perhaps be nearer the fact to say that the year has not been marked by the gold metallurgists' discovery of the flotation process, but rather by the flotation merchandizers' discovery of gold metallurgy. I say this because native gold was floated successfully more than fifteen years ago, and a reference to these results was published six years ago.

Jan 1, 1933

By R. E. Allen

ONE of the most unusual oil field engineering accomplishments of the past two years is the development and rapid advance in the directed drilling of wells. Directed drilling as referred to herein is the controlled steering of the drill stem in the required direction to a given location in the oil sand. The deliberate drifting of holes is an act so far removed from what has been considered good drilling practice that all of the old questions of correlation, drillability and production difficulties are revived. Only a few years ago, during the boom days of Seminole and Santa Fe Springs, the crooked-hole problem, as it was then called, occupied a primary position among the topics of the day in the fields of California and the Mid-Continent. The net result of all the discussion and study at that time was the conclusion that oil wells should be drilled with as little deviation from

Jan 1, 1933

By R. T. DeHoff

A theoretical development is presented which reformulates Fick's first law for diffusion in the solid state. The diffusion flux of component i in a multi-component system, Ji, is related to its local concentration, ci, and local jump frequency, ri : where a is a geometric factor and d is the jump distance. The product, ciri , is defined as the local concentration of atomic jumps for component i. The analog to Fick's second law is also derived. A solution to this equation is presented, which permits the experimental determination of the variation of atom jump frequency with composition in multicomponent systems. HISTORICALLY, the description of diffusion in the solid state has been presumed to be best approached as an application of more general diffusion laws, known as the phenomenological equations. These equations relate the flux, Ji, of the various components, expressed in atoms, grams, or volume, to the driving force involved, expressed as either a compositional or chemical potential gradient, sumption that the flux is simply proportional to the driving force is the foundation of this approach. The phenomenological equations take the form: where the concentration gradients are assumed to be the driving force, and: if the chemical potential gradient is taken as the driving force. The coefficients Dij in Eq. [1.] are the "diffusion coefficients"; the elements of the corresponding matrix in Eq. [2], the Mij, are called the "mobilities". Eqs. [I] and [2] may be considered to be definitions of these phenomenological coefficients. A formidable body of literature has been generated about these equations; this literature dates back to their original formulation for the simplest case of binary diffusion in a fluid, by Adolf Fick, in 1855.' This description has been shown to be self-consistent. However, the "constants of proportionality", the Dij or ,Mij, are not constant: they vary with composition in all but the simplest systems. Even in the case of tracer diffusion, wherein it can be shown that the diffusion coefficient is constant, the mobility, which is considered in irreversible thermodynamics to be the more physically meaningful quantity, varies with the concentration of the tracer involved.' In more complex systems, it is necessary to evaluate the entire matrix of phenomenological coefficients, as a function of composition, in order to describe diffusion locally. Further, in order to determine this matrix experimentally, it is necessary to produce diffusion couples that have different sequences of compositions; the matrix may be evaluated only at points where these "composition paths" cross.* Finally, and perhaps most

Jan 1, 1969

By Cloyd M. Smith

A FEW years ago, the Ventilation Committee established the practice of presenting one topic each year for discussion at the annual meeting. The practice has met good response on the part of committee members and I suggest that it be continued. The topic chosen for this year, "Underground Anemometry," is a topic which has bothered me for more than 20 years. It seems to me that the coal industry is content to rely on slipshod methods for measuring the rate of flow of air underground, so I prefaced my discussional charge to committee members with the statement that I regard air measurements made in the usual way, with hand held anemometer, as no good. Agreements and disagreements came in from more than a dozen engineers, some of whom are with operating companies, coal and metal; some with manufacturers; others with government agencies.

Jan 1, 1949

President-Mrs John R C Mann, 90 Edgemont Road, Scarsdale, N Y First Vice-President-Mrs C P Pollock, 27 Dante Street, Larchmont, N Y. Second Vice-President-Mrs Mendum B Littlefield, 40 Lincoln Street, Larchmont, N Y Third Vice-President-Mrs J B Cunningham, 236 East 2nd St , Tucson, Ariz Fourth Vice-President-Mrs Theodore Loftus, 410 Cowles St, Fairbanks, Alaska Fifth Vice-President-Mrs George L Craig, 109 Calumet Avenue, Calu¬met, Mich Recording Secretary-Mrs Arnold H Miller, 601 West 115th St, New York 25, N Y Assistant Recording Secretary-Mrs R J Mechin, 66 East 79th St, New York 21, N Y Corresponding Secretary-Mrs John A Poulin, 4 East 70th St , New York 21, N Y Treasurer-Mrs Robert W Rowen, 29 West 39th Street, Room 914, New York 18, N Y Assistant Treasurer-Mrs Samuel H Dolbear, 1000 Park Avenue, New York 28, N Y Assistant Treasurer-Mrs Roger H Sherman, 8 Roman Avenue, Forest Hills Gardens 75, N Y.

Jan 1, 1957

By Howard N. Eavenson

TWO months ago, just after the coal code hearing in Washington, one of our leading liberal weeklies printed a study of the coal industry made by an economist in the Administration, and on the outside cover bad it featured as "Coal-A Dying Industry." There are, of course, different opinions as to the accuracy of this characterization and I want to present some of the facts about the outlook for the bituminous industry for a short time ahead. In view of what has happened in the industry within the recent past it would be futile to attempt to make any prophecy about what is likely to occur in the future. We all know that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, but it is likely that anyone undertaking this role about this industry would soon find himself in no man's land. One can, with some slight degree of safety perhaps, outline present conditions and tendencies and draw some inferences as to what the future may hold.

Jan 1, 1933

By E. A. Devuyst, M. A. Mosoiu, V. A. Ettel

Nickelic hydroxide is an important metallurgical reagent used for precipitating cobalt from nickel sulfate solutions. Existing methods of preparation of nickelic hydroxide involve electrolytic oxidation of Ni(OH)2 or the use of strong oxidizing agents such as chlorine, ozone and persulfate. Although the oxidizing properties of the SO2 + O2 system have been known for some time, e.g., detection of SO2 and oxidation on iron in acidic solution, the application of this system for the preparation of nickelic hydroxide as a process was not considered in the past. The present paper describes a new method for chemical preparation of nickelic hydroxide which has been developed in INCO laboratories. The technique consists of reacting nickelous hydroxide suspensions with a slurry of calcium sulfite in the presence of air or oxygen. The main advantage of the process is the cost of reagents and an absence of soluble by-products (e.g., C1-). The chemistry of this process is unusual since the redox potential obtained during the reaction exceeds that of the oxygen electrode. Therefore, the effect of CaS03 is not just a catalytic acceleration of the reaction NI(OH)~ + 02. The so3= must be involved in the stoichiometry of the overall reaction producing in the initla1 phase some strongly oxidizing intermediate species.

Jan 1, 1981

By Casper A. Nelson, Wendell M. Whitecotton

A WIDE variety of lead ore is treated by the Midvale Smelter, for it is a custom plant not only treating Company lead concentrate and direct-smelting ores but also custom ores and concentrates, principally from Utah, Idaho, and Nevada, with lesser amounts from Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The principal operating departments of the plant are weighing and sampling, Wedge roaster, D&L sintering, blast furnace and drossing, and baghouse. The lead bullion produced is shipped to a subsidiary, the U.S.S. Lead Refinery, Inc., at East Chicago, while the by-products, such as matte and speiss, are shipped to other smelters or re-treated at the plant.

Jan 1, 1948

By John M. Lovejoy

CURRENT production of petroleum on such a vast scale presents many interesting problems- the solutions of which are important not only to those directly interested in the business, but to the nation as a whole. The industry is relatively young. Until the discovers of the Lucas gusher at Spindletop in 1901 petroleum production had not exceeded 60,000,000 bbl. per year compared with 1,100,000,000 bbl. in 1936. In 36 years then, the modern oil business, production, transportation, refining, and marketing has developed. I will first present a brief history. of oil production as a background for consideration of the present situation.

Jan 1, 1937

By D. H. Newland

On the bulk basis New York's contribution to the production of oil is small, representing, as it does, a bare half of one per cent of the annual total for the United States. Yet it has more importance than is implied by such a statement. Petroleum includes a variety of organic compounds, some more and some less valuable. It would be a fairer estimate of the situation to say that New York in recent years has produced around 10 to 12 per cent on the average of all Pennsylvania grade oil, the supply of which is strictly limited and the demand steady even in times of overproduction of other grades. One may not infer from this that New York and other Appalachian states enjoy an independent position in the market with a price structure uninfluenced by that of the Mid-Continent, Gulf or California fields. On the other hand, the recent market demoralization in the South and West brought about by uncontrolled production caused prices to drop to a point where the life of the local industry was seriously threatened. The current cost of producing oil in New York under the methods of water-flooding, by which most of the output is now obtained, has been estimated by competent authority at not less than $2.50 a barrel. The

Jan 1, 1934

(There are 67 Student Chapters in the United States, 2 in Canada ) University of Alabama-University, Alabama, Mining & Metallurgical Society, James W Stewart University of Alaska-College, Alaska, Mining Society of the University of Alaska, Guinn Metzger University of Arizona-Tucson, Arizona, Miners' Society, A E Gorum Birmingham-Southern College-Birmingham, Alabama, Pick & Hammer Club, Daniel D Arden University of British Columbia-Vancouver, British Columbia, G M Dawson Club, A Gunning University of California-Berkeley, California, Mineral Technology Association, Bernard York Carnegie Institute of Technology-Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, The Metals Club, Gerhard Derge Case Institute of Technology-Cleveland, Ohio, Pick and Shovel Club, Gerald M Cover City College of New York-New York, New York, CCNY Student Chapter AIME, Daniel T O'Connell

Jan 1, 1954