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By George Rice

INSTANTANEOUS outbursts of gas in underground workings are similar in effect to great blasts of explosives, but without heat effects. Fortunately they occur only in a few localities in exceptional coal fields of the world and under exceptional geologic conditions. Such violent outbursts should not be compared with the ordinary outflows of gas into coal mines or with explosions of gas and dust. The phenomenon is essentially one of gas held in circumscribed areas under very high pressure and as a mining face or heading approaches such a place and the mining excavation sufficiently weakens the natural surrounding dam or shell, this is burst by the pressure just as by the discharge of a mass of explosives. The outbursts, so far as known to the writer, have been confined to coal beds and have not occurred in other mineral deposits. Hence, as discussed later, he believes that it is the relation of the gases to the coal material that is a factor in conjunction with others in producing conditions which permit the phenomena to occur when mining is done. The gases in most instantaneous outbursts have been hydrocarbon gases but in two coal fields they have been definitely found to be chiefly or wholly carbon dioxide. One of these localities in which CO2 outbursts have been frequent and have caused loss of life is in the southern part of the Gard basin, near Alais, in southern France. In 1919, the writer visited the Fontaine mine in this field the day following the occurrence of an outburst by which two men were smothered by carbon dioxide and fine dust. After 24 hr. the CO2 had not been entirely removed by the ventilating current. Occasional outbursts of CO2 have also occurred in other small basins in France, causing accidents, as in Puy-de-Dome. However, mines in the Gard basin, north of those in which CO2 outbursts have occurred, have experienced hydrocarbon gas outbursts.

Jan 1, 1931

By Henry Louis

The object of the present paper is to describe a primitive method of gold-extraction, practiced by a small colony of Chinese in the district of Tomoh, one of the Siamese-Malayan States. This district has been worked for gold about 150 years, but has been only twice or thrice visited by Europeans, who are looked upon with a good deal of jealousy by the miners. The gold-district, covering not more than 10 square miles, is situated about Lat. 5' 47l N. and Long. -101' 39 E., on the headwaters of the river Teluban. It is a very mountainous region, lying on the northern flanks of the great range that forms the watershed between the rivers Patani, Kelantan, Teluban, etc., on the north and Perak on the south. The gold occurs in narrow veins and leaders of quartz, intersect- ' ing and intercalated among irregularly upheaved and contorted, highly metamorphosed, micaceous and chloritic schists. These veins vary between 3 inches and 3 feet in thickness, and are sometimes very rich. The geology of this region is thus very similar to that characterizing gold-regions all over the world; if must, however, be.

Jan 1, 1892

By R. F. Campbell, R. F. Miller

SIXTEEN steels containing different combinations of chromium and molybdenum, in amounts up to 5 per cent of each element, were examined for microstructure and hardness after air cooling and after furnace cooling from suitable austenitizing temper- [ ] atures. Diagrams summarizing the structures and hardness resulting from these two cooling rates are presented (Figs. 3, 4, 7).† Data were also obtained on the influence of these two elements, individually and in combination, on the depth 0f decarburization observed after furnace cooling (Fig. 8). COMPOSITION OF MATERIAL The chemical composition of the steels investigated is given in Table I. The plain carbon steel was made in a 25-ton Heroult electric-arc furnace, while the alloy steels were made in a 4.5-ton Ajax-Northrup elec- [ ] tric induction furnace. The cast ingots were hot-rolled to I.75-in. bars. AIR-COOLED SERIES The I.75-in. bars were forged to flat plates, 0.25 in. thick, from which specimens 0.5 in. wide by 2 in. long were cut. The specimens were pretreated to improve their homogeneity by heating to I830°F. (1000°C.) for 20 min. and oil quenching. They were then reheated to I740°F. (950°C.) for one hour and air-cooled, after

Jan 1, 1941

By J. R. Finlay

BEFORE entering into the statistical part of this article, some general comments may be ln order. Each important war seems to introduce a new atmosphere and a new epoch. The Civil War led to the period of great interior development in North America, of the transcontinental railroads, and of large-scale manufactures. The first World War introduced the general use of the automobile, the building of a huge network of highways, the radio, and household engineering. Now I expect World War II also to introduce some new ways of living. Transocean aviation will become a commonplace; we shall probably have much more of an eye to our military and naval establishments and be more conscious of Eastern Hemisphere affairs instead of thinking so exclusively of the Western. Each war has also multiplied government expenditures and taxes; and to this rule the present one will certainly be no exception.

Jan 1, 1944

By AIME

AS with Phil Kraft, referred to on this page last month, travel has always held a great fascination for Raymond Frank Baker and for that reason he determined to become a geologist. He had heard that geologists travel and that was what he wanted to do. Now as chief geologist for The Texas Co. his early wish has been fulfilled-he spends almost one third of his time journeying' from one oil field to another. Mr. Baker was born in New Haven, Conn., on Jan. 11, 1892, and went through the public schools in New Britain. A stalwart New Englander, he attended Yale and in 1912 received a degree in civil engineering. For a year following this he worked as a civil engineer for the New York Central Railroad, but his early urge to travel widely could not be satisfied here. So in 1913 he re-entered Yale and until 1916 studied mining and economic geology. He had a little taste of field work, which later became so enjoyable to him, in the summer of 1915 when he worked with the U. S. Geological Survey as a geologic aid. In 1916 he made his first contact with The Texas Co. when he entered their Tulsa office as a geologist. This early career was interrupted by service in the

Jan 1, 1947

By Herbert J. French

ALLOY steels have become essential to industry in meeting the rigid requirements on materials imposed by our, advanced technology. In comparison with the total ingot capacity of the steel industry, the volume of alloy steels is relatively small although for many years annual alloy-ingot tonnage has, been in seven figures. However, the monetary value of the alloy-steel production is exceedingly high and the benefits derived from the products are relatively great. The trend in total ingot production since 1932 has been generally upward with only two major interruptions. That of the year 1938 was due to a decrease in general business activity whereas that of 1946 resulted largely from work stoppages. Traditionally, the tonnage of alloy-steel ingots produced was in the neighborhood of 5 to

Jan 1, 1948

By H. G. Sell, G. W. King

An investigation was made of the lensile proper-ties of recrystallized high-purity tungsten and a W-1 pel ThO2 dispersed-phase alloy over the temperature region of 800° to 2400°C. The thoria addition resulted in a modest strengthening effect over the entire temperature region. A decrease in ductility of both materials occurred above 0.5 Tm which was caused by void formation. Current theories of IT has long been recognized that a second phase of hard particles has a strengthening effect on a pure metal. At low or intermediate temperatures (<0.5 Tm), the strengthening effect is thought to arise mainly from the interaction of dislocations with dispersed particles. Above 0.5 Tm, dynamic recovery processes greatly alter the deformation mechanisms from those simply involving glide, and grain bound- strengthening by a dispersed second phase do not adequately explain the tensile results. Melallographic examination suggests that the improved strength of tire alloy results from the effect of thoria on the mierostructure. Stress-dependent thermally activated processes were found to occur high temperatures. aries may act as sources of weakness rather than strength because of grain boundary sliding. Grain boundary sliding at high temperatures has been postulated to be the primary factor giving rise to the formation of voids or cavities at grain boundaries1-3 which in turn cause premature failure and poor ductility.4 Voids, once formed, can grow by the condensation of vacancies from the equilibrium concentration&apos; or from the excess vacancies produced by the deformation.4,5 The high-temperature tensile properties of unalloyed tungsten have previously been investigated by Sikora and Ha116 and also by Taylor and Boone.7 The purpose of the present work was to investigate

Jan 1, 1965

By Oscar A. Glaeser

MINE VENTILATION is an important factor in mine maintenance as well as having direct bearing on labor efficiency. Effective ventilation systems are costly, especially those for the deeper mines, but with intelligent direction the worth of a system is usually greater than its cost. In most mines using mechanical ventilation, and practically all deep mines, it has been found beneficial to equipment, timber, and the ground, to run the fan or fans continuously even though production has been curtailed or entirely suspended. Therefore, economies in ventilation may be overlooked when general cost reductions are necessary. The operating costs of a well-designed ventilation system should be capable of reduction during periods of curtailed or suspended operations. A mine that is ventilated by splits, or that can be sectionized, can reduce its fan-power costs considerably, and provisional divisions can sometimes be made in other mines, in which the air is ordinarily coursed through all the workings, without harmful effects.

Jan 1, 1932

Charles Catlett, Staunton, Va. (communication to the Secretary*):—Mr. Chance&apos;s suggestions that the brown hematite-ores of the Potsdam formation are due to the alteration in place of iron sulphide, and that their extension may reasonably he expected to contain valuable deposits of unaltered sulphide, are interesting; hut the facts marshaled by him are too limited

Jan 1, 1909

NORTH AMERICA Number Members Alaska 36 Canada 323 Mexico 184 Newfoundland 3 United States Alabama 40 Arizona 111 Arkansas 8 California 646 Colorado 171 Connecticut 90 Delaware 21 District of Columbia 136 Florida 16 Georgia 7 Idaho 66 Illinois 208 Indiana 66 Iowa 11 Kansas 24 Kentucky 32

Jan 1, 1934

By W. J. Romanow

RECENT papers by Williams, Sherwood, and Boothby,1 Seybolt et al.2 Heikes; and Roberts4 attest to the increasing importance of the hexagonal ferromagnetic compound MnBi. Since the magnetic properties of MnBi crystals are highly anisotropic, it is useful and necessary to have appropriate aids for determining their orientations—a (00.1) standard stereographic projection and a corresponding table of crystallographic angles for this structure. The tables of crystallographic angles for the hexagonal system available in the literature5 are computed for c/a ratios greater than that of MnBi and cannot satisfactorily be used to find the crystallographic angles of MnBi. A table of angles between the crystallographic planes (HK.L) and (hk.1) was calculated for MnBi from the formula0 F=are cos Hh+Kk+ 1/2(Hk+hK) + 3/4 (a/c)2Ll/v(H2 + K2 + HK + 3/4 (a/c)2L2) (h2+ k2+hk + 3/4 (a/c)2l2) on an IBM Type 650 Magnetic Drum Data Processing machine. The lattice constants used are listed in Table I and are those determined by Willis and Rooksby7 at 20°C. More recently published values obtained by both X-ray and neutron diffraction"&apos; show no difference from these significant to the calculation. From the crystallographic angles between the basal plane (00.1) and the general plane (hk.1) in Table I, an (00.1) standard stereographic projection was made for MnBi which is shown in Fig. 1. Acknowledgments The author wishes to thank R. G. Treuting and J. N. Hobstetter for their technical assistance, and Miss D. P. Booth for programing the IBM machine for the calculations. He appreciates the opportunity to read the paper of B. W. Roberts of General Electric Co. prior to its publication. References 1H. J. Williams, R. C. Sherwood, and 0. L. Boothby: Bulletin Amer. Physical Soc., 1956 vol. 1, p. 132. 2 A. U. Seybolt, H. Hangen, B. W. Roberts, and P. Yurcisin: AIME Trans., 1956, vol. 206, p. 605: Journal oF Metals, May 1956. 3R. R. Heikes: Physical Review, 1955, vol. 99, p. 446. .B. W. Roberts: A Neutron Diffraction Study of the Structures of Manganese B.W.Roberts:ANeutronDiffractionBismuthide, Physical. Review, 1956, vol. 104, p. 607. 5 A. Taylor and S. Leber: AIME Trans., 1954, vol. 200, p. 190; JouRNal of Metals February 1954. « C. S. Barrett: Structure of Metals, 2nd Ed., p. 635. McGraw-Hill Book Co. New York and London, 1952. 7B. T. M. Willis and H. P. Rooksby: Proceedings Physical Soc., London, 1954, vol. 67B, p. 290.

Jan 1, 1958

By J. F. Myers

AT the Regional meeting in Columbus, Ohio, in September 1949, the authors presented a progress report of the first year&apos;s operation with a Hardinge tricone mill in closed circuit with a Dorr hydroscillator. The present report covers our findings on this grinding circuit to January, 1950. In order to clarify our position, the authors wish to state that no invention or discovery is claimed. The Tennessee grinding circuit is simply an engineered arrangement of known equipment arranged to incorporate all of the recognized efficiency factors of comminution as they are known today. As we concluded our first report, it was not clear how effective the Tennessee mode of operation would be on harder ores. The only information we had at that time was that the Bond grindability test at 48-mesh gave 6.04 g of undersize per revolution. A later test on the same sample at 100-mesh reduced this to 2.04 g, which is definitely in the harder ore class, and which makes the reported 8.80 kw-hr per ton of -200-mesh produced a very creditable figure.

Jan 1, 1950

CONTENTS PAGE Rae, Colin C.-A Possible Origin of Oil. Discussed by S. Linker, Colin C. Rae... 2 Cottingham, Kenneth.-Subsurface Conditions on Portion of Arches Fork Anticline. Discussed by David B. Reger 6 Moyer, W. Irwin.-Time to Pay Out as a Basis for Valuation of Oil Properties. Discussed by H. J. Smith 9 Pogue, Joseph E.-Future Demands on Oil Industry of United States. Discussed by James O. Lewis 11 J. J. Walsh.-Coa-lmine Ventilation. Discussed by W. B. Daly, J. J. Walsh, R. R. Sayers, H. H. Stock, George S. Rice, James W. Paul, D. Harrington, T. D. Thomas 15 Longyear, Robert Davis.-Diamond-drill Sampling Methods. Discussed by Ira B. Joralemon, J. J. Rutledge, E. C. Harder 19 Joralemon, Ira B.-Sampling and Estimating Disseminated Copper Deposits. Discussed by J. Parke Channing, John E. Hodge, E.E. Hunner, B. B. Gottsberger, W. Y. Westervelt, W. O. Hotchkiss 20 Boericke, W. F.-Sampling and Estimating Zinc and Lead Orebodies in Mississippi Valley. Discussed by J. Parke Channing, Arthur Thacher 24 Daly, W. B. and Linforth, F. A.-Organization of Mine Sampling at Anaconda. Discussed by George A. Packard, W. B. Daly, B. B. Gottsberger 25 Norris, E. M. and Rahilly, H. J.-Mine Fires. Discussed by R. Dawson Hall, W. B. Daly, Frank Haas, D. Harrington, Robert E. Tally 26 Raymond, R. M.-Safety Practice for Hoisting Ropes. Discussed by B. F. Tillson, Graham Bright, Rudolph Kudlich, J. F. Howe, Robert Peele, H. G. Davis. 30 Howe, J. F.-Use of Wire Rope in Mining Operations. Discussed by Horace F. Lunt, J. F. Howe, B. F. Tillson 36 Tanner, W. N., and Jaccard, F. C.-Wire Rope and Safety in Hoisting at Butte Mines. Discussed by Horace F. Lunt, W. B. Daly, C. L. Colburn, William Kelly, Robert Peele, B. F. Tillson, Graham Bright, Charles E. Locke 38 Richardson, A. S.-Ventilation of Butte Mines of Anaconda Copper Mining Co. Discussed by D. Harrington, Chas. A. Mitke 42 Stuart, Charles E.-Storage-battery Locomotive as Applied to Mine Haulage. Discussed by Howard N. Eavenson, Charles E. Stuart, William Kelly, Arthur Thacher, W. H. Patton, Graham Bright 45 Woodward, C. D.-Electric Haulage Systems in Butte Mines. Discussed by William Kelly, Graham Bright, Howard N. Eavenson, C. E. Arnold, Gerard B. Rosenblatt, K. A. Pauly 47 Harrington, D.-Efficient Ventilation of Metal Mines. Discussed by R. E. Simpson 52 Otagawa, Masayuki.-Mining Methods at the Ashio Copper Mine. Discussed by Horace V. Winchell, D. W. Brunton 52 Stoek, H. H. and Clagett, Thomas H.-Coal Mining Methods. Discussed by P. D. Browning, G. L. Cox, Erskine Ramsay, Frank Haas, George S. Rice.

Jan 6, 1922

By G. A. Vissac

MOISTURE in coal must be considered as an impurity, just the same as ash, from the standpoint of utilization of the coal. Being incombustible, it reduces directly the heating value of the coal, and in addition absorbs heat for its evaporation. Its presence means useless expenditures in handling and transportation. In coke plants, extra moisture reduces capacity and may cause damage to brick work and equipment. Accordingly, the removal of extra moisture can be considered just as important as the removal of other impurities, such as ashes, in the modern coal preparation plant. Moisture, which can be removed by heating the coal up to a temperature of 100°C, may be retained in various forms: 1. As a film, on the surface of each coal particle, and in the interstices between particles, retained by capillary forces. 2. Or "occluded" inside the coal particles. This occluded moisture may be either free moisture (as in a sponge), or hygroscopic moisture which varies with atmospheric conditions, (also called "regain").

Jan 1, 1949

By G. M. Willis, F. L. Hennessy

The oxygen pressure in equilibrium with silver and Ag2O-B2O3 melts has been measured between 800&apos; and 900°C, to obtain the thermodynamic properties of the liquid. The compound Ag20. 4B20:1 appears to exist in the liquid, which shows marked heat content and entropy effects. A KNOWLEDGE of the thermodynamic properties of binary liquid silicates, borates, and phosphates would be of considerable assistance in the interpretation of the behavior of multi-component metallurgical slags. However, the literature contains comparatively few studies of the thermodynamics of binary slags. The system Ag20-B,O, attracted our attention as it was known to give a single liquid phase,&apos;,&apos; in which high contents of silver could be obtained (up to 61 pct Ag according to Foex2). Further, it would be expected that the partial pressure of oxygen over melts in equilibrium with metallic silver could be used to determine the activity of Ag2O in the Ag,O-B,O, system. In many respects, it may be expected that the reaction of a basic oxide with boric oxide would be analogous to its reaction with silica. Liquid immiscibility frequently occurs in both borate and silicate systems. With B2O3 and SiO reaction with a basic oxide presumably involves a breakdown of the three-dimensional network of the acid oxide by reaction with oxygen atoms common to more than one silicon or boron atom. Ag2O-B2O3 was therefore investigated as a model of a slag system in the hope that its thermodynamic properties would assist in understanding those of other systems. Several methods for determining the activity of a component in a slag have been described in the literature. Chang and Derge" used high temperature electromotive force measurements to obtain the activity of SiO2 in CaO-SiO2 and Ca0-Al203-Si02 slags, but the cell reaction in their work is not clear. low has used rate of volatilization and vapor pressure measurements combined with phase diagrams to obtain activities in the systems KO-SiO,, Na,O-SiO, and Li,O-SiO," and PbO-SiO26 Taylor and Chipman7 extrapolated their results for the distribution of FeO between liquid iron and CaO (+Mg0)-FeO-SiOl slags to obtain the activity of FeO in the binary FeO-SiO2 system. In principle, one of the most direct methods for obtaining the activity of a metallic oxide in a phase is by comparison of the equilibrium oxygen pressure for the system metal-pure oxide with that of metal oxide-containing phase. Schenck and othersa have studied the stabilization of Ag2O on combination with other oxides (MO,) in the solid state by measurements of the oxygen pressure in systems of the type Ag-Ag,O-xM0,-MOy-0, (gas). Schuhmann and Ensio" have determined the activity of FeO in iron silicate slags in equilibrium with solid iron, using CO/CO2 mixtures to establish known partial pressure of oxygen. Although the method gives the activity of FeO without ambiguity, the slag is not a binary system, and interpretation of the results in terms of the hypothetical binary system FeO-SiO, is not possible. If a metal is solid at temperatures at which the properties of the slag containing its oxide are to be studied, this method has the considerable experimental advantage that the metal can be used as the container for the slag, and contamination by contact with refractories is avoided. In this work, crucibles for Ag2-B,O, melts were made from silver, and the liquid brought to equilibrium with definite pressures of oxygen gas. The oxygen pressure PO, thus fixes the activity of Ag20 in the liquid silver borate. For the reaction at a given temperature. is substantially constant, is directly proportional to the square root of the equilibrium oxygen pressure. Varying the oxygen pressure changed the silver oxide content of the liquid and it was possible to obtain the activity of Ag2O over a range of composition. Experimental Procedure In principle, the method consisted of bringing melts in silver crucibles or boats to equilibrium at a fixed temperature under a definite pressure of oxygen and analyzing the glass after solidification. Materials: B2O3 glass was prepared from A.R. quality boric acid by fusion in platinum. The silver

Jan 1, 1954

Remarks of Mr. Robert W. Hunt, General, Superintendent, Albany and Rensselaer Iron and Steel Company., Troy N. Y.—In discussing Dr. Dudley&apos;s two most interesting papers, I feel a natural hesitancy in disagreeing with conclusions formed after such careful and conscientious work. But I think he has made his deductions from too meagre premises. The analyses of but twenty-five samples are entirely too few to justify the establishment of so important a formula. When we consider that he indirectly proposes to regulate an interest amounting, even at the present low prices, to over $20,000,000 per annum, we may well hesitate before accepting a formula based upon the chemical and physical analyses of but twenty-five steel rails. Dr. Dudley touches the keynote in referring to the proposed labors of the Government Test Commission. They based their hopes of attaining success upon the chemical and physical analyses of a very large number of samples, and in the only branch of investigation which the short-sighted policy of Congress has allowed them to complete, i.e., chain cables, we find that a dozen, twenty-five or one hundred tests gave no satisfactory results. It was only after many hundreds that they were enabled to&apos; draw conclusions. There are so many circumstances hearing upon the life of a rail, that the task of extracting a correct result seems herculean. I presume I am right in stating that in our Northern latitudes early winter and spring months witness the breaking of the greatest number of rails, thus seeming to prove that an unstable road-bed has much to answer for. Then, again, broken and flattened wheels must be taken into account, but I am convinced that more rails have been broken by the treatment which they received before leaving the rolling-mill

Jan 1, 1879

Remarks Of Mr. Robert W. Hunt, General Superintendent, Albany And Rensselaer Iron And Steel Company., Troy N. Y. - In discussing Dr. Dudley&apos;s two most interesting papers, I feel a natural hesitancy in disagreeing with conclusions formed after such careful and conscientious work. But I think he has made his deductions from too meagre premises. The analyses of but twenty-five samples are entirely too few to justify the establishment of so important a formula. When we consider that he indirectly proposes to regulate an interest amounting, even at the present low prices, to over $20,000,000 per annum, we may well hesitate before accepting a formula based upon the chemical and physical analyses of but twenty-five steel rails. Dr. Dudley touches the keynote in referring to the proposed labors of the Government Test Commission. They based their hopes of attaining success upon the chemical and physical analyses of a very large number of samples, and in the only branch of investigation which the short-sighted policy of Congress has allowed them to complete, i.e., chain cables, we find that a dozen, twenty-five or one hundred tests gave no satisfactory results. It was only after many hundreds that they were enabled to draw conclusions. There are so many circumstances bearing upon the life of a rail, that the task of extracting a correct result seems herculean. I presume I am right in stating that in our Northern latitudes early winter and spring months witness the breaking of the greatest number of rails, thus seeming to prove that an unstable road-bed has much to answer for. Then, again, broken and flattened wheels must be taken into account, but I am convinced that more rails have been broken by the treatment which they received before leaving the rolling-mill * The remarks of the participants in this debate have been written out by the speakers, and are here given without any attempt to retain the order of the dis¬cussion. While the report does not, therefore, preserve the vigor and spontaneity of the debate, it is believed that it gains in value by giving the matured views of the speakers. The continuation of this discussion at the Pittsburgh Meeting, May, 1879 (beginning with remarks of Mr. Cloud on page 401), is appended for convenience of reference.-T. M. D., Sec&apos;y

Jan 1, 1879

By Rosewell H. Johnson

Discussion of the paper of ROSWELL H. JOHNSON, presented it the San Francisco meeting, September, 1915, And printed in Bulletin No. 102, June, 1915, pp. 1291 to 1294. WILLIAM A. WILLIAMS, San. Francisco, CaI.-A sliding. scale of royalties was proposed to the Department of the Interior in connection with the fixing of royalties to be charged upon oil leases made on the Osage Reservation in Oklahoma. The possibility of evasion and difficulty of enforcement required close inspection to satisfy all interests, particularly in connection with the exemption from royalty on oil to equal maintenance and interest on the junk. Mr. Johnson discusses the block method, the period method, and the cumulative method, and favors the adoption of the cumulative method with a proviso that the wells should be permitted to be pumped until the gross income is as low as the maintenance cost, which would mean exemption from royalty on the smallest wells. He recommends that depth be the variable factor upon which the sliding royalty is based and suggests that on partially developed territory in the Osage, the royalty be one-sixth for oil wells averaging less than 2,000 ft. in depth, one-eighth for wells from 2,000 to 3,000 ft., and one-twelfth above 3,000 ft.; for the rest of the Osage he suggests one-eighth above 2,800 ft. and one-twelfth below that depth. The net result, if Mr. Johnson&apos;s suggestions had been accepted in the Osage, would have been to reduce the then existing rate of royalty and considerably increase the cost of administration. The difficulties in determining the size of wells to be exempt and the possibility of obtaining oil at different depths in the same well might lead to complications which are avoided by charging a flat royalty as now universally charged throughout the United States. It is not uncommon to reduce the royalty when the production of the wells becomes unprofitable at an existing rate of royalty, accomplishing very much the same results as Mr. Johnson has attempted to accomplish by the cumulative royalties, and probably in a manner far more satisfactory to the operator and the lessor. A. C. MCLAUGHLIN, San Francisco, Cal.-The net revenue of the well depends, first, on the cost of production; second, on the amount of oil produced; therefore it would be impossible under Mr. Johnson&apos;s system to set a royalty which would be fair to all concerned. If it is impossible to set it at the beginning, it is certainly further impossible to do it from day to clay. I think it is entirely impracticable of application.

Jan 12, 1915

By E. M. Wise

THOUGH known as the platinum-group metal- the sextuplet, platinum, palladium, iridium. rhodium, osmium, ruthenium, might well be called the American metals or perhaps Pan-American metals, as the ore containing them eras first discovered in South America, and in recent years the largest production has come from North America. The South American alluvial deposits, which also, contain gold, are in active production, as are the alluvial platinum deposits of Alaska, but the main production is from the copper-nickel ores of Sudbury, Ontario. The Russian deposits in the Urals were the source of most of the worlds platinum for about 100 years, but since 1934 have assumed second place. For a time considerable amounts of platinum came from several rather rich deposits in South Africa but these were exhausted quickly. However, a tremendous reserve of lower-grade ore exists there, which could be worked profitably if the price of platinum were considerably higher.

Jan 1, 1942

By D. C. Jackling

I BESPEAK your indulgence for a brief expression of the views of a patriarch in the field of mineral industry technology relative to young men&apos;s problems in that sphere of education and endeavor. Wherever hereafter I employ the terms "technical education," "engineer," "technologist," or similar expressions, these are intended to be understood as relating to the broad field of the sciences and arts applicable to the mineral industries. First, the usefulness of technical education to either the possessor of it or those to whom its services may be made available industrially depends primarily upon the quality of the education and the capabilities of the educated to put his talents to effective and constructive employment in his chosen field of applied science.

Jan 1, 1940