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By Robert Keeney

Before the outbreak of the war in 1914, the only electric-furnace smelting plant operating on a commercial basis west of the Mississippi River was an electric pig-iron plant in California; rare metal ores were not smelted, concentrates of molybdenum, tungsten, uranium, and vanadium ores being shipped east for reduction. Practically no- chrome ore was being mined, and only comparatively small amounts of manganese ore. Today there are two electric smelting plants in California, one in Washington, one in Iowa, and four in Colorado; two plants are under construction in California, and one in Montana. Ores of manganese, chromium, molybdenum and tungsten are now smelted in the West, and although uranium and vanadium concentrates are still shipped to the East, they will probably be treated in western plants in a short time. The four electric-furnace plants in Colorado are listed in Table 1. TABLE 1.-Electric Smelting Plants in Colorado Capacity, Company, Location Kilowatts Products . Tungsten Products Co Boulder 800 Ferrotungsten, ferromolybdentun. Boulder Tungsten Production Co. . Boulder 400 Ferrotungsten. Ferro Alloy Co Utah Junction 1200 Ferrochrome, ferrotung-sten. Iron Mountain Alloy Co Utah Junction 3000 Ferromanganese. Power for all of these plants is supplied by the Colorado Power Co.

Jan 8, 1918

By Guillermo Zuloaga

THE iron deposits of the Imataca Range of Venezuela, which occur along the Orinoco River, in the northern border of the Guayana High-lands, have lately attracted attention on account of their economic possibilities. Many deposits occur in this area; some of slight economic importance and others that may rank with the largest masses of high-grade iron ore of the world. The geology and the character of the ores seem to be remarkably similar to those of the large iron deposits of Brazil. In the investigation of the Venezuelan deposits a definite relationship has been found between the mineralization of the large orebodies and igneous intrusions, especially norites and granites. The following paper is the result of a field and laboratory investigation of the ore deposits. The field work was done during the months of February and March of the year 1929, partly in the company of Prof. W. H. Newhouse. The laboratory studies have been made in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, under the supervision of Profes-sor Lindgren and Professor Newhouse.

Jan 1, 1933

By A. F. Buddington

INTRODUCTION EVER since a genetic connection between many ore deposits and magmas began to be widely recognized, some two-score years ago, there has been much discussion of the complex and intricate problem of the genetic association of specific kinds of mineralization with specific kinds of igneous rocks. General discussions of the latter problem and pertinent data have been given by S. F. Emmons, Kemp, Lindgren, Niggli, Rastall, Spurr, Vogt, and others. In this paper no attempt is made to deal with mineral deposits genetically associated with volcanic rocks, but only with those presumed to be related to exposed intrusive masses. The writer is indebted to E. S. Bastin, F. F. Grout, Edward Sampson, and to the members of the committee in charge of the preparation of the volume, for a critical reading of the manuscript and many worth-while suggestions.

Jan 1, 1933

By Yingchang Tsenshan Wang

UUIN L&SS 1» Paqb I. Introduction........................................................658 1. Subject and Scope...............................................658 2. Acknowledgments...............................................659 3. Review of Previous Work........................................659 Field Data...................................................659 Experiment.a1 Data............................................662 4. Plan of Present Investigation.....................................662 Method of General Procedure...................................663 I1. Experimental Work..................................................663 A. The Solution of Sphalerite..............................:........663 1. The Solvent Effect of Iron Sulphates upon Sphalerite...........663 2. The Solubility of Sphalerite in Salt Solutions of Silver, Copper and Lead...............................................668 B. Formation of Zinc Carbonates....................................674 3. The Reactions of Carbonates and Bicarbonates With Solutions of Zinc Salts............................................674 4. The Reaction of Zinc.Sulphate Solution With Limestones.......684 C. Peculiar Conditions Affectitig the Formation of Zinc Silicate (calamine) and Zinc Carbonate (smithsonite)..........................686 5a. The Effect of Carbon Dioxide Upon the Basic Silicate and the Carbonates of Zinc in Water, and Its Bearing Upon the Conditions of Theii Precipitation..............................686 5b. The Reactions of Solutions of Soluble Silicate With calamine and Smithsonite in Solution in Presence of Carbon Dioxide..689 6. The Reactions of a Mixture of Hydroxide and Silicate of Sodium with a Dilute Solution of Zinc Sulphate...................691 D. High-Temperature Methods.....................................692 7a. The Influence of Temperature on the Formation of Calamine..692 7b. Possible Effect of Heat on Calamine and Srnithsonite.........697 E. Summary of the Experimental Work..............................698 III. Petrographic Work....................................................700 1. The Occurrence of Sphalerite in Limestones or in Cherts............701 Summary of the Blende in Limestones and in Cherts.............7432 2. The Partially Altered Sphalerite and the Oxidation Products........702 a. Smithsonite with Blende....................................702 b. Calamine with Blende......................................703 c. Smithsonite and Calamine..................................703 d. Summary on the Partially Altered Sphalerite and Its Oxidation Products..............................................704 IV. Concl~~siom ........................................................-705 V. Microphotographs and Photographs with Their Explanations.............705

Jan 1, 1916

By W. E. D. Jr. Stokes

THE application of aviation to mining and petroleum operations, on the basis of economy and attainment, has become a demonstrated fact. According to Dominion Government records, 30. Canadian companies engaged in air transportation with northland mining camps, carried 13,000 tons of freight in 1935, and in 1936 carried 16,000 tons. In addition, many mining companies used planes to transport prospectors with canoes, outboard motors, gasoline drums and supplies to remote locations, and one company maintained a plane to take radium-bearing ore from its mine on Great Bear Lake nearly 1000 miles south to the rail-way at Waterways, Alberta. Heavy pieces of mining machinery weighing 2 tons are being carried by Ford trimotor planes over the Andes, at an altitude of not less than 15,000 feet. At Bulolo, New Guinea, 17,500 tons of disassembled gold-dredging equipment has been flown over inaccessible terrain, while supplies and building materials for a, community of 1000 whites have been transported by airplane. A 31..4-ton shaft was carried on one notable trip, while at another time an automobile, 2 tons of rice and a large safe went over the mountains in one plane. Fig. 1 shows an electric generator that was carried by plane to Bulolo. Many large American oil companies operated fleets of planes during 19:36, ranging from fast, luxurious air liners for executives to elaborate geological prospecting units, ambulance planes, freight carriers and pipe-line repair crews. According to the U. S. Geological Survey, commercial firms photo-graphed 16,291 square miles during 1935, while the Government compiled from aerial photographs by the Geological Survey in the United States 85,544 square miles. It was found that information could be determined in a fraction of the time required by surface methods.

Jan 1, 1937

By C. F. Cockrell, H. E. Shafer, J. W. Leonard

A significant technological development is discussed for the processing of certain power plant flyashes that are a problem because they contain a high water-soluble mineral content and yield inferior flyash-based brick. This development is based on the addition of hydrochloric acid to the flyash-bottom ash-sodium silicate blends used for the production of flyash-based structures. Favorable changes are evi-dent in sodium silicate consumption, where about half the amount used for making brick from normal flyash is required, processing costs, and strength and appearance of the resulting freshly formed green and fired structural products. In some high cost in-stances (above the $30 or less per thousand brick estimated for normal flyash), hydrochloric acid additions can replace or reduce other costly additives normally required for problem flyashes. This results in savings of as much as $9 per thousand brick. These developments offer promising possibilities for utilizing problem flyashes as well as flyashes which may come into contact with water soluble sulfur as a result of the eventual application of certain experimental air pollution control processes. Much of the research datal-6 accrued through work by the Coal Research Bureau of West Virginia University for the Department of Interior's Office of Coal Research on converting waste power coal ash to valuable brick and other structural products, can be categorized as follows: (1) general ash-to-brick tech- nology; (2) specific ash-to-brick optimization; (3) pilot plant progress; (4) production cost estimates. A summary of the progress on bench-scale experiments indicates that coal ash can yield two types of brick. An acceptable brick is obtained by mixing 73.6% fly-ash, 23.5% bottom ash and 2.9% sodium silicate solution (dry basis). Depending on the flyash and bottom ash used, optimum brick can be manufactured by mixing 72-77% flyash, 20-25% bottom ash and 2.3-3.0% sodium silicate (dry basis) with Na2O : SiO2 ratio varied according to the composition of the flyash used. These blends are thoroughly mixed and mechanically formed into green brick shapes at pressures ranging from 1000 to the more usual 3000 lb per sq in. The green shapes then are dried and fired at temperatures ranging from 1975-2150°F using clay brick cycles that are shorter than standard. Other findings reported to date indicate that when making optimum brick, it is necessary to carefully control the top size of the moisture-releasing bottom ash so that it falls between 8 and 30 mesh, depending on the flyash used. Moreover, the chemical composition of bottom ash and flyash have been found to be of little significance with the exception of a few problem flyashes which are the subject of this paper. Finally, the pilot plant, which was previously reported under construction, is now in operation. This will indicate, among other things, the cost of brick production, which was earlier estimated for non-problem flyashes at $30 or less per thousand brick. The foregoing bench-scale technology is applicable to all the initially tested ashes as well as to the majority of ashes examined during the course of research. However, a few of the ashes yield green and fired products that may be structurally inferior or unacceptable, necessitating excessive and diverse reagent addition, and/or may be coated with unsightly surface deposits. These problem ashes generally originate in certain areas of Illinois, western Ken-

Jan 1, 1969

By N. V. Hansell

The preparation of low-grade iron-ores by concentration, whether or not followed by an agglomeration of the concentrate, has in the United States only recently been recognized as a metallurgical process of vast economical importance for its iron indust.ry. This importance of the process lies not only in the fact that it makes possible the use of ores heretofore discarded on account of their low iron-content or their too high percentage of elements deleterious in the iron industry, but also in its produetion of a raw material for the blast-furnace that is more uniform in its physical character and chemically purer, with a higher iron-content, than the general run of natural ores. When mixed in the burden of the furnace, it lowers the amount of coke and fluxing-stone required per ton of pig-iron produced. The furnace-operations become more regular and more easily controlled. The pig-iron is of higher quality and more uniform in character. In brief, it is becoming recognized that the beneficiating of the natural iron-ore, even if it makes the furnace-ore higher in cost per unit of iron entering into the burden, may mean a lowering of the production-cost of the pig-iron and an improved product. At the present time, the Lake Superior district furnishes about 80 per cent. of all the iron-ore yearly produced in the United States. If the Southern States arc exempted the percentage runs as high as 93 per cent. These ores are showing a steady decrease in grade from year to year. For the past 10 or 15 years this falling off in the average grade has been about 0.5 per cent. a year. The lowered grade of ore means an in-

Jan 1, 1913

By Charles R. Austiuon, Carll H. Samans

It has been known for several years1 that certain alloys of the Konal type, containing commercial cobalt (99.32 per cent Co and 0.42 per cent Ni) and varying amounts of ferrotitanium, exhibit very high tensile strengths at 600°C. However, their proportional limits and yield pints are relatively low. published data' for the alloys quenched in water from 950°C. and then tested at 600°C. are summarized in the upper section of Fig. I. Similar specimens that were aged at 650°C. for 72 hr., after quench and prior to testing at 600°C., gave the result; shown in the: lower section of Fig. I. In the present work the investigation of the properties of these materials has been extended by a study of the tensile deformation characteristics in moderately longtime tests at 600°, 700' and 800°C. after quenching from various solution temperatures. In addition, some metallographic studies have been made to correlate with the deformation tests, and to obtain information on the quasi-binary system cobalt-Fe2Ti. The material, very kindly furnished by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co. in the form of hot-swaged rods of 3/16-in. diameter, analyzed as shown in Table 1. The alloys, when originally made up,' were based upon an iron-titanium compound, Fe3Ti, as indicated by the work of

Jan 1, 1941

By Carll H. Samans, Charles R. Austiuon

It has been known for several years1 that certain alloys of the Konal type, containing commercial cobalt (99.32 per cent Co and 0.42 per cent Ni) and varying amounts of ferrotitanium, exhibit very high tensile strengths at 600°C. However, their proportional limits and yield pints are relatively low. published data' for the alloys quenched in water from 950°C. and then tested at 600°C. are summarized in the upper section of Fig. I. Similar specimens that were aged at 650°C. for 72 hr., after quench and prior to testing at 600°C., gave the result; shown in the: lower section of Fig. I. In the present work the investigation of the properties of these materials has been extended by a study of the tensile deformation characteristics in moderately longtime tests at 600°, 700' and 800°C. after quenching from various solution temperatures. In addition, some metallographic studies have been made to correlate with the deformation tests, and to obtain information on the quasi-binary system cobalt-Fe2Ti. The material, very kindly furnished by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co. in the form of hot-swaged rods of 3/16-in. diameter, analyzed as shown in Table 1. The alloys, when originally made up,' were based upon an iron-titanium compound, Fe3Ti, as indicated by the work of

Jan 1, 1941

THOSE MARKED THUS * ARE MEMBERS, MARKED THUS ?ARE ASSOCIATES. THESE SIGNS DOUBLED INDICATE LIFE MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES RESPECTIVELY. THE FIGURES AT THE END OF THE ADDRESS INDICATE THE YEAR OF ELECTION. HEAVY-FACED TYPE SIGNIFIES HONORARY MEMBERSHIP. *AARONS, J. BOYD, Vivian Gold Mining Co., Ltd., Harris, West. Australia. '05 *ABADIE, EMILE R., Cons. and Min. Engr., 214 Union Savings Bank Bldg., Oakland, Cal. '76 ?ABBÉ, MAX F., Prest., Abbé Engineering Co, 220 Broadway, New York, N.Y. '07 ? ABBÉ, PAULO., Secy.,Abbé Engineering Co., 220 Broadway, New York, N.Y. '07 *ABBOTT, AI ARTHUR Morococlia, Peru, So. America. '95 *ABBOTT, CLARENCE Chief EDgr., Iron Mines, Dic Tennessee Caol, Iron & R. R. Co., Bessemer, Ala. '04 *ABBOTT, JAMES W., Min. Engr: Ploche, Lincoln Co., Nev. '94 *ABE, MASAYOSHI, Prof. of Mining, Imperial University Kyoto, Japan. '05 ? ACKER, E. O'C., Supt., Treatment Dept., Bethlehem Steel Co., So. Bethlehem, Pa. '86

Jan 1, 1910

By Herbert Clark Hoover, Lou Henry Hoover

DIGGING of veins I have written of, and the timbering of shafts, tunnels, drifts, and other excavations, and the art of surveying. I will now speak first of all, of the iron tools with which veins and rocks are broken, then of the buckets into which the lumps of earth, rock, metal, and other excavated materials are thrown, in order that they may be drawn, conveyed, or carried out. Also, I will speak of the water vessels and drains, then of the machines of different kinds,1 and lastly of the maladies of miners. And while all these matters are being described accurately, many methods of work will be explained. There are certain iron tools which the miners designate by names of their own, and besides these, there are wedges, iron blocks, iron plates, hammers, crowbars, pikes, picks, hoes, and shovels. Of those which are especially referred to as " iron tools " there are four varieties, which are different from one another in length or thickness, but not in shape, for the upper end of all of them is broad and square, so that it can be struck by the

Jan 1, 1950

By J. E. Johnson

At the Cleveland meeting of the Institute in October, 1912, I had the honor to present a paper outlining the conditions surrounding the charcoal iron industry…

Jan 1, 1915

By A. G. McGregor

IN THE Southwest a number of large steel chimneys discharge the gases from the copper smelting furnaces. Some of these chimneys show no deterioration after twenty years, others show serious deterioration after tour years service. A steel stack 20 ft. 7 ½ in. (6.3 m.) in diameter by 279 ft. (85 m.) high, Fig. 1, used for roaster gases only at the Calumet & Arizona Mining Co.'s plant at Douglas, Ariz., was lined to the top of the bell, 40 ft. (12 m.) from the base, with common brick placed on end, lime and cement mortar being used. Above the bell, the stack was lined with 4 by 4 by 8 in. (10 by 10 by 20 cm.) building tile, placed on end, making a lining 4 in. thick. The tiles were supported on angle-iron rings, riveted to the inside of the chimney shell about 15 ft. apart. The chimney was put into use in the latter part of 1913. Four years later, considerable of the tile lining had fallen out of place and mixed with the flue dust at the bottom of the chimney. About a year later, several . flattened and distorted sheets were noticed about 70 ft. below the top. An investigation showed that the thickness of these distorted sheets, which was originally ¼ in., had been reduced one half. One year later, or six years after the chimney went into use, several holes, a square foot and smaller in area, appeared near the flat spots mentioned. Soon afterwards, when the chimney was shut down for repairs, it was found that most of the tile lining for 125 ft. from the top had fallen out and that the steel shell was badly corroded; but where the lining remained in place the shell was undamaged. Many of the tile which had fallen out of place had become soft or flaky and crumbling, others were as hard as when placed. An analysis of the hard and soft tile is shown on p. 2. These tile were of a fireclay mixture, and were used instead of common brick on account of lower cost. The steel forming the upper 125 ft. (38 m.) was replaced, and a 4 ¼ -in. (11-cm.) lining of firebrick was laid from the bell to the top of the chimney. The brick were placed on end, wedges and keys being used. After each 8-in. course was set, keyed, and wedged tight, thin mortar -water, sodium silicate, and finely ground silica-was worked into the joints. The brick are supported on angle-iron rings, every 15 ft., in the same way as the tile.

Jan 1, 1921

By George R. Ensminger, E. Heaton Hemingway

During the past year, the Watertown Arsenal has been interested in the occluded gas and oxide content of certain ordnance steels in order to determine, if possible, whether some of the peculiar failures in their physical properties might not be traced to these causes. For the purpose of best accomplishing a study of this nature, it was decided to heat the various samples of steel in a vacuum for definite periods of time at high temperatures and carefully examine the quantity and composition of the gases evolved. By the use of a fused quartz tube fitted with a water-cooled, ground-glass stopper, it was possible to maintain a vacuum at a temperature of 1000" C. for 10 hr. without perceptible leakage being evidenced as measured by a McLeod gage. The silica tube was connected with an evacuating system so constructed that the volatilized gases could be removed from time to time and a low vacuum of 0.0002 to 0.0010 mm. of mercury continuously maintained. At no time during the period of heating or in the removal of the gases did the evacuated system come in contact with rubber stoppers or any rubber connections, making contamination from such a source, impossible. In other words, the only volatile products that could be: obtained must necessarily have come from the steel itself or from the glass and fused quartz system or from the mercury used as a sealing agent. In the carlier experiments, the steel treated was in the form of turnings, but this practice was discarded because the weight's of the turnings before and after being heated were widely inconsistent,, even when taken from the same piece of steel. This discrepancy developed largely through variation in the amount of metal volatilized with the gases; this metal could always be seen in the form of a ring where it condensed in the cooler portion of the tube in either the amorphous or crystalline condition. Because of the frequency in occurrence and the variation in the manner of deposition, this material was roughly analyzed and found to consist for the most part of iron. At the same time two samples of steel that had been

Jan 1, 1922

By E. Heaton Hemingway, George R. Ensminger

During the past year, the Watertown Arsenal has been interested in the occluded gas and oxide content of certain ordnance steels in order to determine, if possible, whether some of the peculiar failures in their physical properties might not be traced to these causes. For the purpose of best accomplishing a study of this nature, it was decided to heat the various samples of steel in a vacuum for definite periods of time at high temperatures and carefully examine the quantity and composition of the gases evolved. By the use of a fused quartz tube fitted with a water-cooled, ground-glass stopper, it was possible to maintain a vacuum at a temperature of 1000" C. for 10 hr. without perceptible leakage being evidenced as measured by a McLeod gage. The silica tube was connected with an evacuating system so constructed that the volatilized gases could be removed from time to time and a low vacuum of 0.0002 to 0.0010 mm. of mercury continuously maintained. At no time during the period of heating or in the removal of the gases did the evacuated system come in contact with rubber stoppers or any rubber connections, making contamination from such a source, impossible. In other words, the only volatile products that could be: obtained must necessarily have come from the steel itself or from the glass and fused quartz system or from the mercury used as a sealing agent. In the carlier experiments, the steel treated was in the form of turnings, but this practice was discarded because the weight's of the turnings before and after being heated were widely inconsistent,, even when taken from the same piece of steel. This discrepancy developed largely through variation in the amount of metal volatilized with the gases; this metal could always be seen in the form of a ring where it condensed in the cooler portion of the tube in either the amorphous or crystalline condition. Because of the frequency in occurrence and the variation in the manner of deposition, this material was roughly analyzed and found to consist for the most part of iron. At the same time two samples of steel that had been

Jan 1, 1922

By W. F. Campbell

One of the deepest coal operations today is the Springhill No. 2 mine of Cumberland Railway & Coal Co., subsidiary of Dominion Coal Co. Ltd. Mining is now conducted at a slope distance of 14,000 ft, with 4400 vertical ft of cover. The record of Springhill No. 2 can be said to contain the history of bumps in the Province of Nova Scotia. The Springhill coal field forms part of the Cumberland field of Carboniferous age. There are seven mineable fields in the area, numbered in the order they were discovered. Mining has been carried on in all but the No. 4 and 5 seams, but present operations are confined to the No. 2. Fig. 1 shows a vertical section through the seams. Opened in 1873, No. 2 mine was first worked from parallel slopes driven from the outcrop of No. 2 seam down to the 7700 level. As the mine went deeper, a two-place auxiliary slope was driven from the 6900 level to the present workings. A transfer level at the 7800 connects the main haulage with the auxiliary haulage slope. The No. 2 mine plan is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The seam is bituminous, averaging 8.5 to 9 ft thick. There is a well defined parting 14 to 16 in. from the roof, and this roof coal is harder than the rest of the seam. Average pitch at the outcrop is 30°; at the 6500 level, 20°; at the 7900 level, 16°; and at the 13,800 level, 10°. Immediate roof and floor strata consist of beds of variable thicknesses of shales, grading to arenaceous shales to shaly sandstones to sandstones. A characteristic of the strata is the appearance and disappearance of sandstone bands, of considerable thickness, over distances of several hundred feet. MINE HISTORY Entrance to No. 2 mine is obtained by three parallel slopes, separated by 100-ft pillars except in the upper portion of the mine where the pillars are smaller. Main haulage levels were originally driven 600 ft apart for room and pillar extraction. A parallel drainage and intake airway was driven below each haulage level and a parallel return airway (counter level) above. Pillars 80 to 100 ft wide separated these two servicing entries from the center haulage level. Inclines up to 700 ft apart were driven off the levels up pitch to the upper levels, and at 40-ft centers level rooms 12 ft wide were driven off each side of the inclines, separated by crosscuts every 50 to 100 ft. The rooms were driven up to 350 ft or until they were holed into the room from the adjoining incline—a plan followed until the level reached its boundary. When the entire area between two levels had been divided into pillars, the pillars were extracted from the boundary back to the slope pillars. As depth of cover increased, mining conditions required larger pillars, and at the 3300 level, where NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS FOR MINING AT DEPTH In Room and Pillar Extraction: 1) Pillars must not be too small. 2) Pillar size must be uniform. 3) Extraction lines must be kept as straight and as uniform as possible. If they are irregular they should be brought back into line slowly. 4) Peninsulas of coal surrounded by gob must be avoided. 5) Pillars should not be disturbed after they have been formed. If it is necessary to increase the width of an opening, stripping or ribbing should be done gradually over a long distance. If increased width of openings is necessary at certain locations and can be anticipated, the openings should be widened during development. 6) Under no conditions should small pillars be left in the gob that would interfere with caving. In Long wall Operations: 1) Pillars formed during development for retreating longwalls should be uniform in size and shape. 2) Pillars should not be split after development, but if pillar splitting does become necessary it should not be carried out within the zone influenced by the working faces. 3) Width of levels should not be increased after the levels have been developed. If it does become necessary to widen a level it must be done gradually over a long distance by stripping or ribbing the coal ribs. 4) Extraction lines should remain uniform. If several walls are worked together—one behind the other—a uniform distance must be maintained between them and the wall faces must be kept as straight as possible. If the walls do get out of line, they must be brought back into line gradually to allow for a gradual change in the stress distribution over the area. 5) Stumps of coal, roof supports, etc. must not be allowed to remain in the gob to interfere with caving. 6) Midwalls should be built as rigidly as possible and properly maintained.

Jan 1, 1959

By C. A. Herbert, C. M. Young

WithIn the past few years, considerable development has been made in the coal-mining industry in Illinois and Indiana and it is the purpose of the authors to record its most important phases. Perhaps the two most striking features are the entry into the producing fields of certain large consumers of coal and the magnitude of some of the new operations. Mines are now being equipped by the Chicago & Northwestern R. R., the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R. R., the Standard Oil Co., of Indiana, and the Union Electric Light & Power Co. of St. Louis. Besides, the U. S. Steel Corpn. has increased its coal-mining activities by commencing operations on its large holdings northeast of Benton, Franklin CO., Ill. Until recent years, the supply of coal has commonly been adequate and prices have generally been favorable, especially to large consumers, as the magnitude of their purchases enabled them to obtain satisfactory quotations from producers. In fact, most consumers of coal have believed that they could buy their fuel more satisfactorily in the open market than they could produce it themselves. The entry of the United States into the war was accompanied by various disarrangements of industrial conditions, and a demand for coal in excess of the supply seemed likely to be experienced for an indefinite period. Under these circumstances it seemed that the greatest assurance of a supply of fuel was its production by the operation of mines. In the case of the Chicago & Northwestern R. R. and the U. S. Steel Corpn. the production of coal has been carried on for many years with satisfactory results, but the C. B. & Q. R. R., the Union Electric Light & Power Co. and the Standard Oil Co. of Indiana had not been producers of coal, at least in this district. Apparently the most impressive feature of the newest mines is their capacity, for in some cases it is planned that production shall be in the neighborhood of 1000 tons per hr. There are mines now in this field having nearly that output, but these were not planned for such output; in fact, when the shafts were sunk and the machinery installed it was generally supposed that the daily outputs would be only in the neighborhood of 4000 to 5000 tons. Incidentally, there has risen

Jan 1, 1920

By Henry Rawdon

THE METHOD of demonstrating the structure existing in a metal or alloy at high temperatures, by etching a polished sample after it has been heated to the desired temperature, is quite familiar to metallographists. The usual procedure1,2 is to heat the specimen, previously polished for microscopic examination, to the desired temperature, in a neutral atmosphere (hydrogen or nitrogen), then admit the etching gas. (chlorine, hydrochloric acid or similar gas) for. a few seconds, and finally, after flushing out the etching gas with the neutral one, cool the specimen in the neutral atmosphere. The pattern produced by etching at a definite temperature is usually taken as a record of the microstructure prevailing at that temperature. It has frequently been pointed out that changes in composition of the surface metal occur during the preliminary heating in the neutral atmosphere, so that the appearance produced' by the etching at high temperature may not exactly represent the condition of the interior of the specimen. To overcome this uncertainty, the heating has sometimes been done in vacuo,3 the etching gas being ad-mitted when the desired temperature was reached, then pumped out and the specimen cooled in vacuo.

Jan 2, 1920

By Edward Jeffrey

THE use of coke in metallurgy, to any important degree, dates from the middle of the 18th century. Its utilization came most opportunely for European civilization. The forests of Europe, except in the most remote and inaccessible regions, had been largely fed, in the form of charcoal, into the smelting furnaces. For a hundred years-the middle of the 17th to the middle of the 18th century-there was a stationary condition of population corresponding to the exhaustion of European forests. This situation, which was particularly evident in Great Britain, was due to the fact that the forests had been depleted and the practical utilization of coke had not begun. The coking industry is essential for our metallurgical industries, which in turn are basal to healthy economic progress. But coke is of great importance, not only on its own account, but for its byproducts, which enter fundamentally into all the arts of peace and war. The dyestuff industry and the manufacture of explosives are intimately connected with one another, as was shown by the recent war. The subject of coking coal, therefore, is well worthy the serious attention both of practical industry and the scientific investigator. The most valuable coking coals, from the metallurgical standpoint, are derived from the coals of highest ranks. Coals, for example, that have a carbon ratio of from 70 to 80 per cent. yield the most valuable coke for the blast furnace. The difficulty of investigating these coals, however, is great, for they are rather friable and delicate and possess a high carbon content, which makes them difficult to manipulate. They present, on account of their high carbon content, a considerable degree of opacity when examined, in thin sections, under the microscope. The tenderness of structure and blackness of such high-grade coking coals as those of Connellsville and the Pocahontas region make them extremely difficult to investigate.

Jan 1, 1925

Boundary and general corrosio~z rates for higkpurity alutninum were ~rzeasured irz 16 pct HC1 at sJmllow penetrations (< 25 p). The rates for several high-angle random tilt boundaries, several [001] synzmetrical tilt boundaries, a 54-deg [010] twist, and a 15-deg randorn tw~st boundary were one-fourth to one-third higher than that of the (001) surface used as reference. Boundary attack was slower for 23 and 37-deg [001] tilt boundaries and a 16-deg [010] twist boundary. The corrosion rate for a (111) surface was roughly om-third higher than for (001) and was thus about as high as the corrosion rate of the fastest boundaries. The boundary attack did ?lot appear to parallel the variatiorz of boundavy energy. The signvicance of the anisotropy of corrosion was discussed.

Jan 1, 1966