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Edward A. UehlinG, New York City (communication to the Secretary*):—Mr. Baker's paper is one that brings up a subject of great importance, and if full statistics could be collectecl of the number of furnace-linings ruined by reason of bad distribution by skip-hoists, it would be found an astonishing array. Unfortunately a universal remedy has not yet been found. The fact that Mr. Baker has apparently succeeded in overcoming the trouble at Sydney, is no guarantee that the same remedy applied at another plant, where very different or even slightly different conditions prevail, mould cure the trouble. That it requires but a slight continuous difference of penetrability in the column of the descending stock of one section, over another, to produce channeling, is clearly demonstrated by Mr. Baker's experiments, by which he reversed the channeling from front to rear instead of remedying the trouble. Every change in the physical make-up of the charge necessarily requires a specific adjustment; even supposing this feasible, the regular working of the furnace is by no means assured, because with the high pressures now customary, the tendency of the ascending gases to plow their way through in a direct course, prevails, and having once opened up a passage, they will persist and cause trouble. Homogeneous filling-, hard driving and regularity of working are incompatible. The higher the furnace, the greater the

Jan 1, 1905

H. Van F. Furman, Denver, Colo. (communication to the Secretary): There are some statements in Dr. Carpenter's interesting paper which appear to require explanation, if not modification.

Jan 1, 1901

By Notman, Arthur

THIS is a day of surpluses, some good and some not so good. One can hardly pick up a newspaper, magazine, review or economic treatise without confronting the fact that we have or are threatened with more .of certain goods than we have use for, whether it be corn, wheat, cotton, coal or oil, -lumber, 'leather, newsprint, automobiles, zinc, lead, copper or what not. How did this unprecedented state of affairs arise? Who is to blame? How shall we avoid smothering ourselves in our own production? The voice of the farmer is raised in appeal to the Government to relieve him from the dilemma of his own fertility. In answer the Government employs thousands of experts and spends millions of dollars to aid the farmer. But to what end? To make him still more efficient so that he may produce even greater surpluses? Not satisfied with the result, it spends other millions to prepare vast areas of the arid land of the West for more farmers to cultivate and insure yet larger surpluses. Then what? Naturally another appeal to the Government to fix prices by financing the

Jan 1, 1928

By AIME AIME

HONORARY COMMITTEE. HON. C. D. WALCOTT (Chairman.), Director U. S. Geological Surrey. HON. FREDERICK I. ALLEN, Commissioner of Patents. DR. FRANK BAKER, Superintendent National Zoological Park. MR. CHARLES A. BELL, President American Security and Trust Co. MAJOR JOHN BIDDLE, Engineer Commissioner of District of Columbia. ADMIRAL C. M. CHESTER, Superintendent U.S. Naval Observatory. GENERAL WILLIAM CROZIER, Chief of Ordnance, U. S. A. ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEY, Admiral of the Navy. COLONEL CLARENCE R. EDWARDS, Chief Bureau. of Insular Affairs. MR. WILLIAM C. FOX, Director Bureau of American Republics. MR. CHARLES C. GLOVER, President The Riggs National Bank. GENERAL A. W. GREELY, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A. MR. BERNARD R. GREEN, Superintendent Library Building. GEN. G. H. HARRIES, Vice-President Washington Electric Railway Co. HON. E. A. HITCHCOCK, Secretary of the Interior. COMMANDER H. M. HODGES, Chief Hydrographer, U. S. N. PROF. W. H. HOLMES, Chief Bureau of American. Ethnology. PROF. S. P. LANGLEY, Secretary Smithsonian Institution. GENERAL ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. ADMIRAL N. E. MASON, Chief Bureau of Ordnance, U. S. HON. WM. M. MEREDITH, Director Bureau of Engraving and Printing. HON. V. H. METCALF, Secretary Department of Commerce and Labor. HON. WILLIS L. MOORE, Chief -U. S. Weather Bureau. HON. PAUL MORTON, Secretary of the Navy. MR. F. H. NEWELL, Chief Reclamation Service, U. S. Geological Survey. HON. S. N. D. NORTH, Director Census Office. CAPT. E. C. PENDLETON, Superintendent Naval Gun Factory. MR. GIFFORD PINCHOT, Chief Forester, Department of Agriculture. MR. HERBERT PUTNAM, Librarian of Congress. ADMIRAL CHAS. W. RAE, Chief Bureau of Steam Engineering, U. S. A: MR. RICHARD RATHBUN, Assistant Secretary Smithsonian. Institution. HON. W. T. RICHARDS, Commissioner General Land Office.

Jul 1, 1905

By Guy N. Bjorge

HOMESTAKE'S mining methods today are of necessity controlled to a considerable extent by that which has been done in the past. This may be shown by the fact that our two main operating shafts now, the B. & M. and Ellison, were begun in 1878 and 1896 respectively, so that-the loca-tions of shafts, locations of all the drifts on the upper levels, and a great deal of sloping was done before any of us now connected with the mine had anything to do- with it. Anything that I may say is not to be construed as criticism of those who have gone before for it would be a sad commentary indeed on us if we had not learned something from their experience. The levels down to the 1100 in the Homestake mine are spaced at 100-ft. intervals, and below that at 150-ft. intervals. The general plan of develop-

Jan 1, 1934

By Wallace E. Pratt

TO SERVE their primary function of balancing supply with demand. crude-oil prices must not only return full cost plus a reasonable earning to the efficient producer but they must also offer an additional reward to stimulate exploration sufficiently to maintain adequate reserves. High prices increase the volume and efficiency of exploration; low prig e- -Idle exploration. Over the last decade average prices for crude oil have been much lower than for the proceeding ten years, and lower even than the average over the life of industry. Under these circumstances no one should be surprised to learn that over this same recent period of discovery of new oil fields has also lagged and fallen below its average level for the previous decade. Crude oil prices have been too ion to support the required activity in wildcatting.

Jan 1, 1941

By AIME AIME

THE 131st meeting of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers was held in New York on Feb. 16 to 20, 1925, with the largest registration of any previous meeting, the total being 1320 compared to 1276 in 1924. The technical sessions were more largely attended and aroused more discussion than ever before. There were joint meetings with the Mining Section of the National Safety Council, under the auspices of the Industrial Relations Committee of the Institute and two very important lectures, the Howe Memorial Lecture, under the auspices of the Iron and Steel Committee, and the lecture by Dr. Carl Benedicks, of Sweden, on Corrosion, under the auspices of the Institute of Metals Division. The Petroleum Division conducted its annual Symposium on Oil which will be published later in book form. At the annual business meeting on Feb. 17, the following ticket was elected, and the reports of the President, Treasurer, and Secretary 'were presented:

Jan 1, 1925

By F. R. Koeberlin

ABOUT thirty miles south of the port of Coquimbo, Chile, nestling in one of the western outliers of the main Andes range, lies the little mining town of Andacollo, a place whose history and traditions make up one of the most romantic pages in the life story of this southern republic. The beginning of Andacollo is shrouded in the penumbra of the pre-Columbian era, but its first mining activity probably dates from about the years 1440 to 1460. It was in the middle of the fifteenth century that the Inca Tupac-Yupanqui, grandfather of Atahualpa, conquered this part of Chile. His domain extended even as far south as the present site of Santiago, and perhaps farther, but was maintained with increasing difficulty against the fiercely independent and indomitable tribes of Araucanian Indians of the South.

Jan 1, 1938

By AIME AIME

AT the Morenci branch of the Phelps Dodge Corporation, of which Frank Ayer is manager, several new types of machines that have been developed by Charles Mitchell, shop foreman in the drill steel shop, invite comment for their time and labor-saving qualities. Foremost of these is an adjustable gage-block and gaging device for attachment to drill-sharpening machines, developed and patent applied for by Mr. Mitchell. It replaces the blocks on the standard Ingersoll-Leyner drill steel sharpener No. 5. Features of the device are gage blocks with a flat surface which can readily be removed when worn and planed in any flat planer; blocks that can be adjusted with a templet to give a far more accurate gage than was formerly possible; and a center stop that is adjustable and can be accurately set to center any standard size drill steel.

Jan 1, 1930

By Georgc E. Collins

SEVERAL years ago, I estimated the total stock of gold in the world to be about a thousand million ounces, of which rather over one-third was available for monetary uses. Robert H. Ridgway has estimated the world's production from 1493 to 1927 as slightly over this amount. Of this total, 1.5 per cent was produced between 1493 and 1850 (before the Californian and Australian goldfields began to flood the world with gold), 331/2 per cent from 1851 to 1900, and 511/2 per cent from 1900 to 1927. Allowing for loss by attrition and permanent consumption in the arts, and for loss of buried treas¬ure, my first-mentioned estimate is perhaps not far from the truth; but my estimate of the monetary stock was certainly too low. Of the total production stated by Rid-way. 28 per cent came from North America. 26.9 per cent from Africa, 1.6.8 per cent from Australasia, 12.4 per cent from South America, and 11.2 per cent from Asia. Excepting that from the African conglomerate beds, the ultimate origin of which is still the subject of controversy, by far the greater part of the total production was derived from alluvials. Weighing all contingencies, it is improbable that any such production as has been made during the last forty years will be repeated in any similar period, if the present price level is maintained. The gold standard today seems firmly established except for temporary digressions. Nevertheless, no well-informed mining engineer will venture to assert the probability that the material for its maintenance throughout future generations can be furnished.

Jan 1, 1932

By James K. Richardson

Today, the enigma of the "missing man" in the metal mining industry equals, and frequently surpasses in objective importance, the problems of ore development, drilling, sampling, pumping, milling techniques, geophysical prospecting, or any one of a hundred highly technical subjects. Unfortunately, as engineers, we have confined our attentions, in the main, to the scientific phases of mineral technology, relegating our man power problems to the background. But what good has all our scientific study and preparation been if we can't get the ore mined, milled, or smelted? What has happened to our labor supply? Where is the good old miner who could timber, drill a round, lay track, or do any job underground?

Jan 1, 1949

By H. L. Hazen

THIS is the story of the recent operations of the Standard Cyaniding Co., which owns the Standard mine, a low-grade gold property in sight of Highway 40 about thirty miles from Lovelock toward Winnemucca, Nev. The ore is mined by power shovel and cyanided after grinding to only 3/S in. A total direct cost of $1.24 was attained in 1941 on 600 tons a day. Mining operations ceased, under Government edict, in 1942, and only in recent months have been resumed. The operating difficulties of today are: (1) the high cost of supplies; (2) labor problems; and (3) Federal laws as interpreted and enforced by executive bureaus of the Government. Of these, the increased cost of supplies is the least important.

Jan 1, 1947

By H. LIVINGSTONE LMAN

A GOOD DEAL of information concerning flotation has come out during the patent litigation of recent years, and the legal situation has cleared considerably, to the satisfaction of Minerals Separation, Limited. Hence, Mr. H. Livingstone Sulman, one of the originators of the successful process of that company, felt at liberty to explain, on Thursday, Nov. 20, his experience and his views in a "Contribution to the Study of Flotation," before the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy. He did not give technical details. He dealt with the physical problems, so simple, as he remarked, that he had wanted 96 pages to express his views. He presented much data, partly new and based on observations of his own, bearing upon the very complex flotation phenomena in an instructive wav and made frequent references to the valuable researches especially of Prof. Edwin Edser and Mr. Emil Hatschek.

Jan 1, 1920

By Merlin H. Aylesworth

THE subject assigned to me is peculiarly appropriate to the anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. If we applied to our present problems the ideals and methods of the Great Emancipator, the future of American institutions would be so definitely assured that there would be little need to discuss the matter. The only inquiries would relate to the pace of progress, not to the possibility of progress. As a nation we have grown more and more to revere the memory of Lincoln, to honor his character, to extol his teachings and to eulogize his concepts of democracy. We rec-

Jan 1, 1940

By Leo Wolrnan

IN the relations that exist between capital and labor in this country, there is a bright as well as a dark side. After many years of distressing conditions of labor and a plentiful supply of propaganda, it is doubtful that the doctrine of the class struggle, however defined and stated, has been embraced by any influential and numerous elements of our population. Extreme and uncivilized methods of conflict, whether they be the labor spy as used by the employer or the sit-down strike by organized, labor, have come to be abandoned as the result of the pressure of sober and distinterested public opinion. Unwise terms of our law of trade unions and the unbridled zeal of its administrators show some slight signs of being revised in the light of 'experience and the protests of the law's own beneficiaries. At the point where labor policy touches economic conditions, the two powerful factions in the American labor movement appear to look with a less friendly eye on the bewildering succession of economic experiments and to have a deep nostalgia for a simpler and more prosperous economy.

Jan 1, 1938

By Cyril S., Smith

WE cannot but marvel at the fact that fire is necessary for almost every operation. It takes the sands of the earth and melts them-now into glass, now into silver, minium or other lead or some substance useful to the artist or physician. By fire, minerals are disintegrated and copper produced; in fire is iron born and by fire is it subdued; by fire, gold is purified; by fire, stones are burned for the binding together of the walls of houses.... Fire is the immeasurable, uncontrollable element, concerning which it is hard to say whether it consumes more or produces more." Thus wrote Pliny in his "Natural History," that great collection of fact and error which constitutes the principal contemporary description of Roman technology and which until the seventeenth century was the authority most often quoted and requoted by those who wrote on metals, as on many other subjects.

Jan 1, 1940

By Noel Cunningham

MANY excellent descriptions of the mills of the, Porcupine district have been written, but no discussion exclusively devoted to the metallurgical technology has been given. These notes are intended to cover this feature briefly. They are based upon 2 ½ years' mill operation in the district-i.e., practically since the beginning of metallurgical operations. Character of the Porcupine Ore.-There is no oxidized ore in the district, the surface having been deeply planed by glacial action in recent geologic time. The precious-metal content is about in the proportion of 85 of gold to 15? of silver by weight; hence, the silver is practically negligible. There are two classes of Porcupine ore, having very different characteristics; these will be referred to throughout this paper as Class A and Class B. Class A ore is a pure quartz with inclusions of schist. Generally it is heavily fractured .and breaks down readily to sharp, hard grains, about minus 10 plus 20 mesh, requiring further comminution to release the gold. It carries very little pyrite; the gold is entirely free and apt to be coarse, but often spongy, going into solution readily on that account. This gold is 60 per cent. to 85 per cent. free milling, depending on the grade of ore. Class B ore is an iron silicate schist, strongly laminated, carrying 4 to 5 per cent. pyrite; its specific gravity is 2.8 to 3.0, depending upon the amount of mineralization. In breaking the ore in the mine, generally over 25 per cent. of material through a ½ -in. ring is made; the ore readily breaks down in milling and makes a comparatively large amount of non-crystalline slime; owing to its high specific gravity, however, it is quick settling.' In my opinion, the gold in this ore is free, but so finely divided that it will neither pan nor amalgamate; it appears to be disseminated through the rock and not chiefly associated with the pyrite. Veins of Class A ore occur with or without side walls of Class B, and veins of Class B occur unassociated with Class A; more often the veins are closely banded, Class A and Class B alternating, generally with Class B in excess. Both classes of ore are more-or less blocky at times, and with ref¬erence to Class B this is indicative or low gold content.

Jan 3, 1915

By Ernest N. Patty

WHEN an Alaskan prospector makes a new mineral discovery he stakes out his claims and then starts prospecting for a near-by landing field. This may be a convenient lake but more often it is a gravel bar along a river, where, by cutting off some brush and throwing the larger rocks to one side and then tying a flour sack to a pole, he may decoy some intrepid aviator into testing it gingerly with the wheels of his plane. It was only a few years ago that .the fence around the baseball park at Fairbanks, Alaska, was taken down so that planes could get in and out of the ball park without ripping off boards. Today the grandstand is lost among the modern hangars which line one side of a modern and busy airport. Planes come and go all during the day, and in summer, when there is no darkness, the night stillness is frequently broken by the hum of a motor overhead. Fairbanks is the hub of interior Alaska and from that hub airplanes radiate in all directions to mining camps large and small. An air industry of comparable size is based at the town of Anchorage, and in fact there are but few towns of more than 200 population in the Territory that do not have one or more planes based there.

Jan 1, 1937

By Milnor Roberts

WAR struck the mineral industry of Washington with cross currents that produced a peculiar result. The State's production of coal, industrial minerals, and metals for 1941, valued at $28,507,282, was increased in 1942 under war pressure to approximately $35.000,000. Meanwhile a tremendous demand had arisen for men to construct airfields and many other large projects for the Army and Navy in Washington and Alaska, and Government plants for the mineral industry costing $140,000,000 or more, as well as a call for employees in the U. S. Navy Yard at Bremerton, the sixty shipyards, the four Boeing airplane factories with many auxiliary shops, and hundreds of other plants turning out war materials. In spite of an influx of nearly 300,000 people, causing an increase of 17.1 percent in the population since 1940, according to the Census Bureau, the State clearly is still engaged in an unusual amount of war production in proportion to its population. A large proportion of the workers have been drawn from the mineral industry to the war plants, whether through motives of patriotism, high wages, or, in the Boeing plants at least, the glamour of the operation

Jan 1, 1944

Jan 1, 1884