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By Frank G. Breyer

C ONDITIONS have not been favorable for new developments in any line. It has been a period, how- ever in which recent developments have been subjected to the severest tests. Those which have been able to hold their own in the severe competition of 1932 must be considered fully proved commercial processes. The continuous vertical-muffle retort plant at Palmer- ton is reported to have been in operation at practically full capacity throughout the year. The high quality of metal produced and the low operating costs are factors which have kept this plant running when many of the older furnaces were shut down. The plant at Meadow- brook, W. Va., is also reported to have been in steady operation throughout the year. Average retort life is said to be better than two years with about three-quarters of the original retorts still in operation after 2 ½ years.

Jan 1, 1933

By AIME AIME

NAPOLEON'S dictum that an Army travels on its stomach has not changed in this present war, but the things an Army's stomach calls for would be more than strange to Napoleon. Today one of the main articles of diet for the mechanized army is oil and gasoline, and the chief and most efficient source of 'apply overland is the pipe line. It was a flexible 4-in. pipe line that supplied the voracious appetite of tanks, trucks, jeeps, and planes across the North African desert. and it is the 1800-mile pipe line from Calcutta to Kunming, Yunnan Province in China, the longest in the world, that supplied oil and 100-octane gas for the trucks, tanks, Jeeps, and planes fighting on the Assam-Burma-China front in recent months. Completion of this approximately 1800-mile pipe line to China over rivers that had never been bridged, over hill that towered 9000 ft., and over swamps

Jan 1, 1945

By PERCY E. BARBOUR

TWO YEARS after its organization, the Institute issued its first volume of TRANSACTIONS, covering activities that began in May, 1871, and continued through February, 1873. The preface of this first volume reads: The present volume contains the rules of the Institute, a list of members and associates, an abstract of the proceedings of the-first two years, and a number of papers selected from those proceedings. There is, therefore, nothing new in it. The papers have all been published, according to the custom of the Institute, in the Engineering and Mining Journal, and many of them have been copied into other periodicals. They are republished here, solely to enable members and associates to preserve them in convenient form. Various considerations have determined the selection of papers for this purpose. Some have been omitted at the request of the authors who, having modified the views expressed in them, naturally deprecated a republication of those views. Others have been omitted, in order not to devote too large a proportion of space to single topics, or single branches of mining or metal¬lurgy, in view of the fact that the membership of the Institute extends throughout the whole country, and represents numerous departments of these industries. Some, on the other hand, have been chosen, although not laying claim to special originality, because they contained information of importance, not easily accessible elsewhere, the presentation of which, in a form convenient for reference, was generally desired.

Jan 1, 1921

By G. D. TRANT

HOT metal is commonly transported from the blast furnace to the open hearth by one or the other of two general methods: (1) by hot-metal ladles, usually in conjunction with a stationary mixer, or; (2) by means of mixer-type ladle cars, taking the place of both the hot-metal ladles and the stationary mixer. In both cases, the use of transfer ladles for charging the metal into the open-hearth furnaces is necessary. The American Rolling Mill Co. at its Middletown division, adopted hot metal practice on. June 2, 1928. The pig iron is produced' in a .blast furnace about 11 miles from the open-hearth furnaces, and is trans- ported in Pugh-type mixer cars having a capacity of 150 gross tons each. Three cars are in service and handle the delivery of hot metal to the pig machine and the open-hearth furnaces. The capacity of the blast furnace is 550 tons and casts are made every four hours.

Jan 1, 1929

By C. K. Leith

WE face the postwar problem of the use of minerals as sanctions to control the armament and the re-armament of the Axis powers at the source, minerals being the raw material of armaments. That is the subject of today's discussion. It is one thing to talk about controlling minerals in the interest of rearmament, and it is another thing to put any such ideas into effect. A provision for min- eral sanctions-not by that name but under broader terms-was contained in Article 16 of the League of Nations, and an attempt was made to apply min- eral sanctions when Italy cut loose in Africa. That was a failure because the plan was badly thought out. They did not have the right minerals included in the list. Also, they did not have the machinery set up at all. Somebody said to the League of Nations: Let's apply the sanction, and it was assumed that that was all that was necessary. It turned out to be a rather sad perfor- mance. However, that certainly cannot be taken as an example of what will happen if a properly thought-out pro- gram is adopted.

Jan 1, 1944

By T. T. Read

TWO papers on health and safety were given Thursday afternoon when a joint session of the Health and Safety Committee and the Mining Methods Committee was held. T. T. Read presided and the first paper, on ventilation at Climax, was presented by the author, L. H. Glanville. In the subsequent discussion by Cloyd M. Smith, P. B. Bucky, B. F. Tillson, D. F. Haley, J. L. G. Weysser, and others a number of interesting points not covered by the paper, which appears in full in the January Mining Technology, were brought out. Ventilation troubles in mines so often hinge on the air being too hot and damp that it was interesting to hear of one where it is frequently too cold and too dry.

Jan 1, 1943

By G. E. Johnson

LEAD SMELTERS AND REFINERS in 1932 were confronted with the problem of adjusting operations and costs to curtailed production and consumption at reduced prices, a problem which has been partially solved at least by improvements in operating technique and increased efficiency. At the Mount Isa properties in Australia, a third blast furnace and additional Dwight-Lloyd sintering machines were installed during the year, designed to increase the production to 6,000 tons of bullion per month. The large proportion of lead carbonate in the ores to be treated has presented metallurgical problems. Of the total lead contained in the concentrates to be smelted, two-thirds is Dresent as carbonates and one-third as sulfides. In the iiitial operations, the resulting Dwight-Lloyd sinter was soft, contained an excessive amount of fines, and was easily fusible. When charged to the blast furnaces it developed accretions in the upper part of the furnace owing to the easily fusible lead carbonates softening and fusing at the top of the charge column. This was remedied by the addition to the sinter feed of diluents of higher melting point, granulated slag and crushed limestone. The sinter feed consists of concentrates, Cottrell dust and wind-box cleanings, totalling 57 per cent of the charge; return sinter fines 15 per cent; granulated slag 23 per cent; and crushed limestone 5 per cent. The sinter produced contains 34 per cent lead and 0.5 per cent sulfur. Experiments indicated that double sintering under these conditions was of no advantage, so the original plan of single sinter treatment was retained.

Jan 1, 1933

By Arthur T. Word

STANDING room only seemed to be the order at the annual session and luncheon of the Eastern magnetite committee. Gatehouse check at the former indicated at least 80, with 33 attending the luncheon - all the crowded facilities could handle. Chairman Crockett opened the meeting by calling upon Meredith E. Johnson, who presented his illustrated paper on "Prospecting for Iron Ore in New Jersey in 1943." This "wartime" brief was discussed by Lucien Eaton, P. W. Henry, and Chairman Crockett. H. E. Hawkes, Jr., of the U. S. Geological Survey, then presented his unscheduled paper on the "Magnetite Deposits of the Jersey Highlands." Discussion was by A. W. Pinger and Chairman Crockett. Fred E. Stiefel then described shaft sinking at the Fisher Hill mine of the Republic Steel Corp., giving a detailed description of how modern

Jan 1, 1944

By M. C. Manderson

Abstract-The sharp drop in world phosphate demand that took place in 1975, due to temporarily high prices, now seems to be reversing itself. And prices for both phosphate rock and phosphate fertilizers, which declined dramatically from their 1975 highs, now appear to be bottoming out. This recent price weakness has delayed new mining ventures that had previously been planned for completion by around 1980. While there is ample capacity to supply near-term rock needs, the stage seems to be emerging for a better supply-demand and price environment in the late 1970's and early 1980's.

Jan 1, 1978

By AIME AIME

TWENTY-TWO sections and all four of the divisions sent delegates to the annual meeting. They became so interested in the wide ranging dis6ussion of old and yet ever-new problems of Institute affairs that three instead of two sessions scheduled were necessary. Monday morning the meeting assembled with President Bassett presiding in the absence of President-elect Tally, who had been called to Baltimore by the serious illness of a brother. Thursday morning Vice-president Turner presided until Mr. Tally appeared after which the latter guided the sessions. Since reports from all of the active sections save one had been mimeographed and sent in advance to the delegates, detailed reports from each were dispensed with. The discussions dealt largely with membership problems, both local and national, with financing, speakers and programs, visits from national officers, and the conduct of the annual meeting. Many interesting and constructive suggestions were made and will be reported back to the sections by the delegates.

Jan 1, 1931

By James E. Harding

AT just about the geographical center of the peninsula of Lower California is the El Arco gold mine. It is small and spotty, and three separate attempts to operate it in the past have failed. The only reason the present operation is possible is because of the higher price of gold and because the previous operators had spent about $300,000 developing the property with shafts, four levels, machinery, and a complete mill, all of which was acquired at a bargain price. All the known ore in the mine, to say nothing of the cost of recovering it, is

Jan 1, 1937

By Victor G. Hills

CONTRARY to what seems to be the general impression, the island of Cyprus was not named for the metal copper, but the reverse was the case. The origin of the name is entirely lost. The ancient city Kition, the birthplace of Zeno, is supposed to be the same as Kittim mentioned in Gen. x, 4; Jeremiah ii, 10 and Ezekiel xxvii, 6, and Josephus states that this name seems to have been applied to the city and also to the island itself. Cyprus is 50 miles off the coast of Asia Minor. The mountains on the mainland are plainly visible across the sea from where I write six miles from the shore of Morphou bay. It is 200 miles from Joppa the port of Jerusalem, and 250 from Port Said. The shape of the island is like a lizard, the tail pointing directly toward the old city of Antioch near the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean. The island was once heavily timbered. Among the great trees the cedars were said to even excel the famous cedars of Lebanon. The Odyssey refers to it as the "sweet smelling island" and makes other references. But the continual wars of every race and age completely stripped it of its timber, and for centuries it has been woefully barren. There are two ranges of mountains. One borders the north coast and runs out in a slim rocky ridge forming the "tail." The other occupies the southwestern part of the island, the highest point being Mt. Troodes 6600 ft. high, sometimes called Mt. Olympus. Whether or not it be the Mt. Olympus, anyway right around there the ancient gods and godesses frequently "started things." These peaks are in plain sight 10 miles south from where I live.

Jan 1, 1926

By John A. Baker

S EVERAL FACTORS have brought about a vastly greater interest in the gold-mining industry in the last two or three years. Outstanding is the fact that there is an open market at a fixed price for all that can be produced. a condition that holds for no other commodity. Costs of production have decreased greatly, owing to lower prices of supplies and equipment and lower wages. Improved metallurgical processes and equipment are also available. To big new gold district is being opened up but virgin ground is being prospected with some success in many of the more remote parts of the world and right here in the United States many old properties are being reopened 111 the light of present condition<, tailing dumps are being re- worked, and profitable leases taken on abandoned property. Many of the men who are becoming interested in gold are mining engineers whose experience has all been with base metals heretofore: some are engineers with no mining experience; some are not engineers at all but men who cannot find profitable employment in their usual field of activity and are attracted by the age-old lore of the yellow metal. Some are business men with a little money and an idea that under present conditions gold mining offers a safer investment for it than most other kinds of business. It is to those more or less inexperienced new- comers in the gold-mining industry that this article i4 ad dressed. Those who are connected with the large gold mines or who have had rears of experience with the small ones will find in the following pages little or nothing of interest but it is hoped that the newer generation of small mine operators, on whom the healthy growth of the industry depends so much, may find here some helpful hints.

Jan 1, 1932

By William Gilman

IN the past five years, and without much fanfare, Turkey has emerged as a significant figure in the world mining picture. This has been accomplished by a five-year plan now in its last year. A second five-year plan is already under way, ahead of schedule. It will concentrate even more than the first in developing Turkish mines in order to increase present exports of coal, chrome ore, and copper, and to develop new mineral exports as well. To be fully understand the republicic?s mining program should be considered as something more than merely tapping rich resources in the East along the Aegean Sea, in the North among the mountains descending to the Black Sea, and in the West at the foot of the Taurus Mountains. It should also be viewed in the light of a strong nationalist policy with many aspects of state socialism. Turkey declares frankly that all mineral re- sources belong to the nation and all exploitation should be by the state for the twin purpose of modernizing the state and securing foreign exchange for the state by exports. Accordingly, the principal mines are state-operated and a few lesser enterprises, although not state-owned, have at least been put in the hands of Turkish capital.

Jan 1, 1938

By A. F. Bridge

IN order to show the need for gas reserves, their control, and conservation, in California, it is necessary to describe briefly the local conditions under which gas is produced and marketed, to point out the lack of coordination between supply and demand, and to relate the history of efforts to prevent wastage. There are now 24 fields in California producing a surplus of gas over field fuel requirements. They are usually grouped geographically into three divisions, as follows: (I) Los Angeles Basin (Los Angeles and 0 r a n g e Counties), thirteen fields, all casing-head gas. Total daily gas available for sale 125,000, 000 ?cu.ft. (2) Coastal (Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties). Seven casine-head and one dry gas field. total-avail- able daily, 165,000,000 cu.ft. (3) San Joaquin Valley (Kern, Kings, Fresno, and San Joaquin Counties). Four casing-head fields, five dry gas fields, and two producing casing- head and dry gas from different zones. Total available daily pro- ducticon, 475,000,000 cu.ft. Total all fields, 765,000,000 cu.ft. daily.

Jan 1, 1936

By DOOLITTLE E. M.

(Canal Zone Meeting, November, 1910.) The following notes are contributed, not with the idea of offering a complete history of the development of this very important process as applied to the Leadville district, but with the hope that the practice, as it was carried out in the Bi-Metallic Smelter, may still be of interest to others. The Bi-Metallic Smelter, at Leadville, Colo., was the first to make a commercial success of the process described in the following pages, which consisted essentially of smelting raw silver- and copper-bearing sulphide ores in blast-furnaces to form a matte, which was generally re-smelted with siliceous ores for a second high-grade matte. Robert Sticht, in his excellent monograph on the subject,1 has outlined briefly the plant belonging to this company. He says, in effect: The Boulder, Mont., enterprise set the example for others with whom the patentee (w. L. Austin) had been negotiating, and the old La Plata lead-smelter at Leadville, Colo., was fashioned into a crude, temporary experimental plant for the Bi-Metallic Company, and the feasibility of the process demonstrated by a trial run. Subsequently, the plant was considerably improved, and, being supplied with very favorable ores, continued to run without interruption from August, 1892, to June, 1893. In September, 1893, smelting was resumed in a completely remodeled establishment, some $200,000 having been expended upon the new work. Thus, aside from the Montana experiments, which, under the direction of W. L. Austin, began as early as- 1885 2 at Toston, and continued with indifferent success for six or seven years, the Bi-Metallic plant at Leadville may be said to have * Formerly Superintendent, Bi-Metallic Smelting Co. + Formerly Chief Assayer and Chemist, Bi-Metallic Smelting Co. 1 Modern Copper Smelting, E. D. Peters, 7th ed., p. 415 (1895). 2 Trans., xvi., p. 259 (1887-88).

Dec 1, 1910

L. D. GODSHALL, Everett, Washington: This very interesting paper cannot fail to command the attention of every one who has ever had experience in the amalgamation of gold-ores. I wish to call attention to three very important facts brought out very prominently by the paper, namely: 1. The extent of accumulation of amalgam on copper plates in the form of scale, not removable in the ordinary manner; 2. The change in the relative quantity of the two metals in the amalgam as we. recede from the battery-discharge; 3. The difference in fineness of the bullion obtained from the above-mentioned scale as compared with the bullion from the daily clean-ups. From Mr. Bayliss&apos;s figures we find that during the life of the plate in question 14,942 tons of ore were crushed, yielding amalgam of the value of $5.03 per ton, or a total value of $75,158.26. The amalgam accumulating on the plate during this time as scale, we find to have had a value of $8340.54, or $0.558 per ton of ore treated, representing 11.09 per cent. of the total amount of amalgam saved in the ordinary clean-up; or, taking the amalgam saved by daily clean-up plus the amalgam-scale as representing the total saved on this plate, or 100 per cent., we find that the daily clean-up saved 90.01 per cent., while the scale represented 9.99 per cent. The above figures do not include some additional amalgam still adhering to the plate after scale had been removed. We are told that this was not an exceptional case at the Drum Lummon, but that other plates have even yielded a third more than the one in question. The interesting query now comes up, whether this experience at the Drum Lummon is exceptional or universal at all mills; and another question arises, as to how long such an accumulation might continue,

Jan 1, 1897

By Francis M. Walters

IN spite of the war and the preoccupation of many physical metallurgists with work on secret or confidential problems, definite progress was made during 1944 in our understanding of the behavior of steel and of the effect of alloying elements. During the first two years of the war there was much concern over the possible unavailability of certain alloying elements; this period saw the development of the N.E. (National Emergency) steels. However, the measures taken eased the alloy situation and currently, highly practical problems under study are the graphitization of low-carbon steel and weld-cracking, while investigations of more theoretical interest have concerned hardenability, isothermal reactions, the effect of hydrogen and the interpretation of the notched-bar impact test.

Jan 1, 1945

By AIME AIME

FOR many years it has been the invariable custom of the Institute, in addition to its annual meeting in February, to hold a technical meeting in the fall in some mining or metallurgical center in the West. As the activities of the Institute have increased, and especially since the absorption &apos;of the American Institute of Metals, there have for a number of years been two fall meetings. Never before in the history of the Institute have there been three meetings in addition to the annual meeting in February; in 1920, however, three important fall meetings are to be held. The general Institute trip will be made this fall to the Lake Superior iron and copper country. Members will leave Buffalo on August 20 by steamer, visit the copper mines in and about Houghton, the iron mines of the Marquette and Iron Ranges of Michigan and the iron mines of the Mesabi Range in Minnesota, and&apos; return to Buffalo by steamer on September 3. Technical sessions will be held at Houghton, Minneapolis and Duluth. For a long period it was customary for the Institute to visit the Lake Superior country about every seven years. This trip, however, will be the first visit since 1904. The unprecedented development in both copper and iron mining in this section during this period will make this trip of unusual importance. In addition, a notable series of papers will be presented.

Jan 1, 1920

By W. R. Ingalls

THE paramount subject of interest and concern at the present time is the readjustment in economic conditions following the cataclysmic disturbance produced by the war and the misconceptions leading to an orgy of extravagance that prevailed during two years following the armistice he, time is too short for me to undertake to review the nature and extent of the upheavals occurring between August, 1914, and October, 1920. Bulky volumes will be written about them. . But I shall have to refer to some of the results in order to outline a prognosis. It is the future, not the past;&apos; that is of most interest to us. Let me be so bold as to say, without further preface, that I am not optimistic as to the near future. .We shall, indeed, have revivals in trade, but they will be delusive if their nature be not &apos;understood. We shall build hopes and expectations upon political maneuvers and events, only to find in the end that they were folly. In the meanwhile fundamental economic influences will continue to exert their steady and irresistible pressure. The new administratiow at Washington has no magic wand with which to kindle the fires in our idle steel furnaces, or create a million new houses for the people; nor can the premiers of Europe put into motion the spindles of the cotton and woolen mills, or by any incantations compel the people of the Orient to buy goods. The people of the Orient, and of, Europe, and of the two Americas are in the grip of the same economic forces. The readjustment has proceeded further in some parts of the world than in others. In the United States I do not think we, have gone more than over the threshold. I shall tell you why 1 think thus, but in telling you I shall be limited, in view of the immensity of the subject, to a series of bald statements, without much elucidation.

Jan 1, 1921