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By A. A. Burr, D. G. Ebeling

The effects of casting texture, grain orientation and grain size upon the performance of Alnico permanent magnets is described. Single-crystal specimens were produced by special sintering and grain coarsening techniques to study the effect of crystal orientation. In addition to texture and orientation effects, an analysis of the results indicates that the permanent magnet performance is impaired by a refinement of the grain size. AN excellent historical review of the development of Alnico permanent magnets has been prepared by Bozorth.1 The desirable permanent magnet characteristics of Fe-Ni-A1 alloys were discovered in 1932 by Mishima.2,3 The work of Ruder' showed that the alloys were age-hardenable, and Betteridge5 defined the best composition and heat treatment for the magnetically isotropic alloy known as "Alnico 3." Horsburgh and Tetley0 increased the energy product by the addition of cobalt and copper, "Alnico 2," and Oliver and Sheddon7 demonstrated that cooling in a magnetic field improved the residual induction of this alloy. Jonas8,9 then disclosed the great practical benefits of heat treating an alloy of higher cobalt content in a magnetic field and the resulting alloy, "Alnico 5," has become the standard of the industry. This paper describes the fundamental aspects of a procedure which can be used to further improve the properties of these anisotropic permanent magnet alloys. A study of the casting techniques used in the production of anisotropic Alnico permanent magnets indicated that the magnetic quality was affected by the as-cast macrostructure. Improved performance was observed in magnets containing a high percentage of columnar grains whose long axes were parallel to the magnetic axis of the casting. McCaig10 studied the effect of such columnar grain structures upon the magnetostriction characteristics of similar alloys, however no data was presented showing the effects on other magnetic properties. The following paragraphs describe two experiments which were conducted to determine the effect of various grain orientations upon the energy product. Special composite molds were prepared of highly conductive and highly refractive components to remove the heat of solidification from the casting in a controlled manner. Representative macrostructures produced by these techniques are shown in Fig. 1, along with the relative volumes of favorably oriented columnar grains. The alloy, Alnico 5, has the highest permanent magnet performance of any commercial magnet material. It has the nominal weight composition of 8 pct Al, 14 pct Ni, 24 pct Co, 3 pct Cu, and 51 pct Fe. A heat of this material was cast into molds producing the type A and B grain structures shown in Fig. 1 and pairs of the resulting magnets were placed in heat-treating boats so as to eliminate any biasing effects of boat position. After a standard heat treatment the type A magnets, with 16 pct of the volume composed of favorably aligned grains, had a maximum energy value of 3,940,000 gauss-oersteds, while the type B magnets with 73 pct aligned grains averaged 5,090,000. This large im-

Jan 1, 1954

By Frank H. Skelding

Still the world's largest producer, consumer and importer/exporter of minerals, the United States has, in recent years, become more and more aware of the many diverse forces that increasingly affect its ability to maintain free access to and trade in minerals, both domestically and abroad. The nation's growing dependence upon foreign sources of minerals in the face of mounting competition is causing many changes, not only in the mineral industries, but in national attitudes and policies as well. This paper examines the position of the United States in the world mineral economy relative to the significant trends that have and are developing. It attempts to define and evaluate the major present and future impact of these trends and to anticipate the probable effects upon the U.S. and its mineral economy.

Jan 1, 1976

By C. W. Davis, R. S. Dean

AMONG naturally occurring inorganic compounds, magnetite has many unusual and interesting properties, and it is the purpose of this paper to call attention to these properties and review possible uses of magnetite that might be based on them; in other words, to see what uses may be found for magnetite as a physical rather than as a chemical entity, as a mineral rather than as an iron ore. The Mineral Physics Studies initiated in the Metallurgical Division of the U. S. Bureau of Mines a few years ago gathered together much information on mineral properties, and they are therefore the principal source of material for this paper. Magnetic Properties Of Magnetite And Possible Uses As A Magnetic Material Magnetite is unique among minerals for its great magnetic susceptibility, approximately one-third that of soft iron, and some magnetites are permanent magnets, or lodestones. The literature contains many measurements of magnetic properties of individual magnetite crystals, but no systematic survey of the effect of mechanical preparation and heat-treatment was available until the recent investigations of the Bureau of which included not only susceptibility but coercive force and remanence as well. For the purpose of orientation, Table 1 gives the magnetic properties of several samples of magnetite and of a few other substances3. This table indicates that when ordinary magnetite is powdered it decreases in susceptibility and increases in coercive force and remanence, approaching the properties of lodestone. The properties of lodestone are in fact probably due to the development of very large internal surface on fine grain size4.

Jan 1, 1937

By Robert G. Van Nostrand, John H. Henkel

TRANSIENT potentials obtained in resistivity prospecting can be separated into two classes. The first is electromagnetic, has a comparatively short time constant, and increases in relative amplitude as the electrode separation is increased. These electromagnetic transient potentials, of which an excellent theoretical treatment is given by Yost: are the result of changes in the current and can be classed as differentiated signals. The second class is electrochemical, has a comparatively long time constant, and decreases in relative amplitude as the electrode separation is increased. The electrochemical signals are generated by the current flow itself and can be classed as integrated signals. The transient potentials due to electrochemical factors are the subject of this article. The phenomenon is referred to as induced polarization. Schlumberger" was the first worker to observe induced polarization, but he was unsuccessful in attempts to apply the principles of induced polarization in electrochemical prospecting. Other workers, notably Bleil; have studied polarization and in some cases pointed out its possibilities, but no theory has been presented that describes polarization and its time dependence adequately. It is the purpose of this discussion to present the essence of a theory to geo-physicists and to show that it leads to results consistent with experimental evidence. The theory on which this analysis is based has existed in electrochemical circles since 1910."

Jan 1, 1958

By Charles Clayton

IN connection with certain coöperative work carried on between the Ordnance Department of the U. S. Army, the U. S. Bureau of Mines, and the U. S. Geological Survey during the year 1918, it was the writers' privilege to make metallographic examinations of a great many test bars and other pieces of nickel-steel gun forgings. The material studied came from many different steel plants throughout the country and consisted both of forgings that had been accepted by the Ordnance Department and those that had failed to pass the specified physical tests. In general, these tests require a minimum tensile strength of 95,000 lb. (42,091 kg.), an elastic limit of 65,000 lb. (29,483 kg.), an 18 per cent. elongation, and a 30 per cent. reduction in area. An average chemical composition of the steel studied is 0.38 per cent. carbon and 2.9 per cent. nickel. The steel was of both basic electric and basic open-hearth manufacture. The object of the metallographic work was two-fold: to assist in detecting defects in the steel and, if possible, to suggest remedies for the same; and to obtain as much information as possible in regard to the relation of the microstructure of the metal to its physical properties. The greater part of the investigation was devoted to defective metal that failed to pass the ordnance specifications. Many types and kinds of more or less serious defects thus came under observation, but most of these were due to the attempts by the manufacturer to meet the enormous demand for ordnance steel with more or less inadequate equipment, and were soon remedied. Two defects, the so-called "flakes" or "snowflakes" and a certain "fibrous" or "woody" fracture, were encountered so frequently and were so disastrous to the steel that the greater part of the study was devoted to them. As a result much information as to their nature and their effects

Jan 2, 1919

By Jackson M. Langton

Substantial evidence supports the theory that high-angle faults and overthrusts in the Morenci-Metcalf region were initially caused by a Late Precambrian-Early Paleozoic stress field. These faults were reactivated in Late Paleozoic-Early Mesozoic time which completed the structural framework prior to the Laramide Orogeny. Excluding an interruption by diabase dikes and sills, Paleocene-Eocene magmas invaded the pre-existing structures and became progressively more sialic in composition and nearer to the surface with each subsequent injection. The last sialic intrusion was highly explosive, rendering the country rocks more permeable for hypogene and supergene activity. Widespread dilation, instigated by uplift and subsequent magma intrusion, caused extension to the northwest and southeast. A major locus of hypo gene alteration and mineralization appears to be centered around the south and southeast periphery of the youngest granite porphyry stock. A potassic, sulfide-deficient core is telescoped by a pyritic, phyllic zone which in turn is enveloped by widespread propylitic alteration.

Jan 1, 1974

By Henry F. Hebley

This paper brings within the compass of one comparatively brief article a general description of the situation concerning the nation's water resources. It touches upon the phenomenal growth in the demand for water supply and emphasizes the problems facing the coal industry both with regard to acid mine water drainage discharged from active and abandoned mines and the suspended solids discharged to the stream system from wet coal preparation plants.

Jan 4, 1953

By Charles E. Glass

A steadily growing body of evidence indicates that earthquake ground motions can cause failure of rock slopes that are otherwise stable under static loading conditions. As a result, the economic optimum working slope angle is reduced when earthquake shaking is considered in surface mine design, especially in regions of high seismicity. When designing surface mine slopes to withstand seismic motion it is as important to consider the probability of experiencing various levels of ground shaking as it is to consider the characteristics of the ground motion. For most slope designs, simple probabilistic techniques such as extreme value or maximum likelihood techniques are appropriate. These techniques, however, should be applied in such a way that a probability value is assigned to characteristic ground motion parameters at the mine rather than to nearby earthquake magnitudes. Several techniques have been developed to analyze rock slopes subjected to dynamic loads. Most of these techniques do not adequately account for the ground motion parameters of concern. The best technique appears to be one that utilizes actual earthquake time histories. A simple technique that calculates block displacement for any input accelerogram, using a linear acceleration approximation between time steps, has been developed that accurately accounts for rock block response. Results using this technique indicate that the following factors are important for assessing rock slope stability in earthquake regions:

Jan 1, 1983

By Hoyt Gale

RECENT work on borate deposits near Kramer, in the extreme southeast corner of Kern County, California, is of special interest to those who are making a study of the mode of origin of the borate minerals colemanite and ulexite. A valuable clue to the mode of origin of colemanite in its present known deposits is given in a paper by W. F. Foshag1, of the United States National Museum. Colemanite is found in or near original deposits of ulexite, from which it is supposed to have been derived by a change in the rate of movement or the character of the ground water. Indications that an alteration of this sort had produced colemanite were first recognized by the writer' in specimens collected in the Kramer district in 1920, and sent to W. T. Schaller, at U. S. Geological Survey, for identification. The identity of the two borate minerals in these specimens was not at once determined, but the relations of the minerals as seen in the specimens afforded a manifest clue to the origin of the deposits. Similar specimens were obtained by the writer from deposits in death Valley soon after he had examined the deposits near Kramer. After studying the specimens submitted to him Dr. Schaller wrote as follows: "I have finally positively identified the boron minerals you sent me with your letter of Sept. 27. The `white fibrous mineral like ulexite' is ulexite; the harder nodules' in the clay are colemanite, apparently formed from the ulexite as a result of leaching, with recrystallization in place-a theory that Foshag is working on." The present paper is a report on the facts observed at. the deposits near Kramer, and some general observations on the geological relations noted, which, unfortunately, still form only a very incomplete record.

Jan 2, 1926

By Herbert Banks Johnson

DURING the past 10 or 12 years very little information has been made generally available concerning the commercial possibilities of separating materials by means of static electricity; and yet during that same period important improvements have been made in various branches of the science of electricity, which, when taken together, and applied to electrostatic separation, have resulted in important improvements in that art as well. For example, much improvement has been made in high-voltage electrical equipment such as full-wave vacuum-tube rectification and improved mechanical rectification. Great strides have likewise been made in the development of insulators for high-voltage work, not only in the materials used but also in the design of the insulators themselves. Again, in another field, the development of air-conditioning equipment has improved the technique of controlling the surface condition, through drying or humidifying, of the various materials that are passed through the electrostatic separator. In many authoritative publications and textbooks, the electrostatic separation process is declared to require a balance far too sensitive for general commercial application. For example, one publication1 in the past has referred to an unfavorable effect on the process caused by varying atmospheric conditions such as humidity. Some2 have even gone so far as to state that sunlight and shadows may seriously affect the separating efficiency of the process. Such statements may have been true in the early development of the art, when the source of static electricity was derived from a friction disk machine, such as the Wimshurst. The Blake Mosher equipment and the work of Huff in applying motor- generator sets, transformers and mechanical rectification overcame much of this kind of objection to the commercial application of the electrostatic separating process. Another objection made periodically is that it is generally considered necessary to feed the particles into the electrostatic field in a stream that

Jan 1, 1938

By R. P. Smith

The diffusivity of carbon in iron, cobalt, and alloys of 89.7 and 79.3 wt pct Co has been determined by a decarburization method for the temperature range 850° to 1100°C. The Plots of log D us 1/T for the two Fe-Co alloys are linear through the region of the Curie temperature, showing that, unlike some cases of substitutional diffusion, carbon diffusion in these alloys is not affected by electron spin order. RECENT investigations1-' have shown that for substitutional diffusion in iron the change in diffusivity with temperature does not follow an Arrhenius equation, at temperatures near the Curie temperature. Data on the diffusivity of carbon in a iron5"9 indicate that this anomaly does not exist for interstitial diffusion; however, this has not been definitely established. Since cobalt and Fe-Co alloys, 80 to 100 pct Co, have Curie temperatures in a temperature range convenient for carbon-diffusion measurements they are suitable systems for studying the relation of interstitial diffusion and the Curie temperature. EXPERIMENTAL The carbon diffusivity, D, was determined by a decarburization method. The diffusion cylinders, made from small vacuum melts of electrolytic cobalt and plastiron, were about 0.76 cm diam and 6.3 cm long. A small amount of carbon was added to each melt to keep the oxygen content as low as possible. The cylinders were first treated with a hydrogen-3 pct water vapor mixture at 1100°C to constant weight, then carburized to the desired initial carbon content with a suitable CO-C02 gas mix-

Jan 1, 1964

By D. Harper

The National Pocahontas Mine in Wyoming County, WV, has been developed in the Pocahontas No. 3 coal. During 14 months of ventilation surveys, the locations of large rockfalls, many in areas infrequently visited by mine personnel, were mapped. Several dozen rockfalls were later studied in detail. Kettlebottoms, rider seams, root-penetrated roof strata, slicken sides, and shales that spall are common in areas with a high density of rockfalls. Large-scale crossbedding and micaceous and carbonaceous films in sandstones are less common. Density of rockfalls in any area is related to the time elapsed since mining, thickness of overburden, and orientation of entries and panels. Some linear features overlie areas where rockfalls are densest. Most rockfalls occur during summer.

Jan 1, 1983

By R. A. Bergier

The Transactions of the Institute contain nothing, as yet, on the subject of pocket-compasses; and in the belief that American miners, explorers, geologists, and engineers will gladly welcome any infor mation about new forms of apparatus, simple in construction and adapted to rapid use, I offer a short description of an improved French combination pocket-compass, which, if once introduced into use, would seem likely to supersede similar instrumens of older pattern. The instrument in my possession I owe to the kindness of M. G. de.La Bouglise, of Paris. The frame of the compass is a double-bottomed box, 2 1/2 inches square and 9/16 of an inch high, made of white metal, and with its sur faces very carefully planed. The sides of the box make true right angles with each other. Two sides are parallel with, and two are normal to, the north and south line of the principal graduation. The bottom is accurately planed, so that the instrument will lie true on a plane surface. A glass, 2 3/8 inches in diameter, is set in the top plate. The graduation for the needle is engraved on the upper face of a ring, connected with the flat disk, in which the center-pin is in serted. Between this disk and the bottom of the box there is a hollow space a quarter of an inch deep. The needle is 1 7/8 inches in length, and can be balanced by means of a small sliding piece of metal. The graduation extends from 0° to 360°, reading from right to left. The stopping of the needle is effected by a screw, A, on the side of the box near the handle, H (Fig. 1). There is also a clinometer attachment, the graduation for which is engraved on the upper face of the silver-plated disk. The compass has two sights. The north sight, B, is a simple pin, a little more than an inch high, which, when not in use, is kept folded down, and is partially protected by the exterior sliding-plate, C. When raised for use, the sight is stopped in a vertical position by a projecting pin attached to the side of the box.. The south sight, D, is connected with the handle, H, and the sight and handle

Jan 1, 1890

By John Fritz

Gentlemen of the American Institute of Mining Engineers : I desire to thank you sincerely for the distinguished honor you have conferred upon me by electing me to the presidency of this society, a position which in the past has been filled by some of our most distinguished and ablest members, men eminently qualified by education, practical training and a business ability which has enabled them not only to fill the position with credit to themselves, but as well with honor to the society. In deference to a custom long established, by which the presidentelect is expected to read a paper on some subject with which he is more or less familiar, I have thought that a brief review of the methods employed in the manufacture of iron, as witnessed by myself, and reaching back to 1838, would interest some of our older members and give our younger ones a glimpse into the trials and difficulties encountered in those early days by the pioneers in this great industry. In 1840, 12 to 20 tons of pig-iron was the make of a furnace per week—at this time from 1200 to 2000 gross tons. In 1840, 3 to 4 tons No. 4 wire rods per turn. They have lately made 176 gross tons in 11 hours. In 1840 I have not the quantity of puddled iron made; but it was

Jan 1, 1895

By H. B. Treweek, V. R. Degner

Current mineral industry trends toward handling the high tonnages of lower grade ore and tailings retreat lead to a continuing need for large volume flotation cells. The benefits which accompany the larger cell flotation circuit include reduced capital cost, less mill floor space, reduced operational complexity, and less maintenance, provided the metallurgical performance and solids suspension capability of the cell are not compromised. This study reviews development considerations pertinent to large mechanical air induction type flotation cells from the standpoint of cell internal hydrodynamic characteristics and metallurgical performance. While the importance of process related factors such as chemical usage, pH control, solids size and loading, and circuit arrangement cannot be denied, this study will emphasize the relationship of cell size (volume), mechanism geometry (impeller diameter), and mechanism operating conditions (rotor speed and submergence), to air transfer, liquid circulation, liquid "rise velocity" and mechanism power draw. Specific hydraulic performance maps for large capacity 300 and 500 cu ft flotation cells will be reviewed in terms of the relationship between the operational variables and the air and liquid flow conditions within the cell. Metallurgical results, obtained under plant operating conditions for 300 and 500 cu ft cells, are included to illustrate the metallurgical performance similarity of flotation cells which follow hydrodynamic scale-up criteria set forth in this investigation.

Jan 1, 1976

By Ernest Gayford

This is a nontechnical paper on flotation, subdivided under three general headings: (I) Definition of flotation; (2) what flotation is now doing in Utah; and (3) what is the future of flotation? Definition T. A. Rickard defines flotation' as "the act or state of floating," from the French flottaison, water-line and flotter, to float. The dictionary defines flotation as "the science of floating bodies." The flotation process is a method of concentrating ores by frothing. Weinig and Palmer,2 define flotation as follows: What is the flotation process? Briefly, it consists in the agitation of finely divided ore in water containing bubbles of air or gas, a small amount of oil and, usually, other reagents, soluble and insoluble; under these conditions the small particles of native metals, sulfides, arsenides, antimonides, selenides and tellurides show a tendency to attach themselves to the films of the bubbles, and are thus carried to the surface of the water. The oxidized gangue minerals, such as quartz, feldspar, limestone, hematite, etc., show much less affinity for the bubbles, are easily wetted by the water, and either remain in suspension in the water, or sink to the bottom of the vessel. If the bubbles are sufficiently stable they can be removed, carrying their load of sulfide-mineral particles with them. Thus there can be effected a separation of the two classes of minerals from each other, assuming that the grinding has been sufficient to unlock all of the particles of different composition. The separation does not depend upon differences in specific gravity of the various minerals; in fact, the sulfides are usually heavier than the oxides, and some of the heaviest sulfide minerals are the easiest to float. A particle of mineral may be so large, however, that its weight will counteract its affinity for the film of the bubble. In most cases the ore must be fine enough to pass a screen having at least 48 meshes to the linear inch. Taggart3 defines flotation as follows: Flotation is a method of wet concentration of ores in which separation of mineral from gangue is effected by causing the mineral to float at or above the surface of a body of liquid pulp while the gangue becomes or remains submerged. The method

Jan 1, 1928

By Eugene P. Pfleider

Research indicates that the cube diamond is a superior stone for drill bits. It can be oriented to combine a long cutting edge with structural strength and high resistance to wear. Test bits set with preferred orientation give double the bit life at astoundingly low diamond loss in comparison to oriented octahedral diamonds.

Jan 10, 1953

By J. D. Verhoeven

The effectiue distriblltion coefficient has been Measured in a series of vertical, normal freezing experirtzents with large current densities passing through the solid-liquid interface. The results indicate that the effect of the current on solute redistribution is due to electvotransport in the liquid. The high currents produced extensive mixing in the liquid which was considerably reduced by solidifying in small lubing. Analysis of the convection indicates that it probably vesulls from a horizontal temperature gradient produced by the Joule heating- of the electvic crirver~t. Due to the strong dependence of this convection upon the specimen radius, it is conclnded that only for specit~ens with radii of less than somewhere between 1 and 2 mm wilt electric field freezing be getlerally effec-tire at enhancing the purification of zone-melting experittierats in loe-melting alloys. Experiments on 0.8-mm lubes illustrate some interesting potential applications of this techniqne as a means of solute control on smcrll specimens. In a number of papers published within the last few years'-4 it has been found that passage of large dc currents through the solid-liquid interface of a freezing alloy produces a change in the solute redistribution accompanying the solidification. It had been predicted theoretically by Hucke et al.s and by Pfann and Wagner that such an effect would occur as the result of electrotransport within the liquid boundary layer at the solid-liquid interface. These authors independently derived the following relation between the effective distribution coefficient and the variables of the process: Where k0 is the equilibrium distribution coefficient, V is the mobility of the solute relative to the solvent, E is the electric field intensity, D is the solute diffusion coefficient, R is the rate of interface motion, and 6 is the boundary layer thickness. Both groups of authors show that this equation predicts the possibility of extending the purification ability of zone-melting experiments by the addition of an electric current. However, there are other effects in addition to electro-transport which could be produced by the high dc current and might, perhaps, invalidate the applicability of Eq. [I]. For example, high electric current might affect the interface reaction or perhaps the equilibrium distribution which was assumed to exist at the interface. It was the purpose of this work to determine the applicability of Eq. [I] by systematically investigating a simple system for which all of the necessary parameters were known. It was of particular interest for speculating on the potential usefulness of this technique to determine the maximum practical field intensities obtainable, and the effect of these high fields upon convective mixing in the liquid. The initial work in this study was published in a previous paper3 which will be referred to as I. In that work, a current density of 2000 amps per sq cm was used with specimen diameters of 5 mm. The results gave a qualitative confirmation of Eq. [I.], and also showed that a large amount of convective mixing was produced in the liquid by the current. The present study is an extension of that work to smaller specimen diameters and higher current densities. Two points were overlooked in I and will be emphasized here: a) the value of ko has not been well-established in the Sn-Bi system and b) the observed convection could be due to thermal convection produced from the Joule heating. EVALUATION OF k0 To evaluate Eq. [ I.] it is necessary to know the value of the equilibrium distribution coefficient, k,. Tn I the value of k, was taken as 0.3 from a published phase diagram.7 According to ansen' the best data on the phase boundaries of the Sn-Bi system are those of Davidson.5 The data of Davidson give a k, value ranging from 0.21 to 0.25 for the compositions studied in this work, or an average value of around 0.23. In a recent publication, Rigaud and Tougas'10 determined ko by means of a solidification technique. For an alloy of approximately the same composition as that used in this work they obtained a ko value of 0.39. Hence, there is considerable uncertainty in the value of ko and, consequently, a series of experiments were made to determine k, more accurately.

Jan 1, 1968

Masjid-i-Su1aiman.—There have been no new developments in the Masjid-i-Sulaiman oil fields during the year 1938. In spite of the age of this field, the fall in dome pressure shows no appreciable variation from the low rate of about 0.3 lb. per sq. in. per million tons net production. Drilling has been limited to deepening old wells and to new wells required for maintenance of production and general reservoir control. The rate of offtake has been reduced over the past few years, partly because of depletion of the oil column, and it is expected that future offtake from the Masjid-i-Sulaiman field will be stabilized for some years at around the present figure of 3,000,000 tons per annum. Haft Ke1.—An exploratory well to test deeper formations in the Haft Kel field has proved the existence of productive conditions in the Eocene, which underlies the Asmari limestone (the main producing horizon). Drilling to the northwest in the white-oil springs area has revealed the presence of a separate structure with productive potentialities. One well with a satisfactory production rate has been completed. Offtake from the Haft Kel field has steadily increased since it first came on to production in 1929. Naft-i-Shah.—Production from this field has continued to supply market requirements in northwest Iran. The policy of returning surplus products to the reservoir, which was adopted at the beginning of 1936, has been continued.

Jan 1, 1939

Masjid-i-Su1aiman.—There have been no new developments in the Masjid-i-Sulaiman oil fields during the year 1938. In spite of the age of this field, the fall in dome pressure shows no appreciable variation from the low rate of about 0.3 lb. per sq. in. per million tons net production. Drilling has been limited to deepening old wells and to new wells required for maintenance of production and general reservoir control. The rate of offtake has been reduced over the past few years, partly because of depletion of the oil column, and it is expected that future offtake from the Masjid-i-Sulaiman field will be stabilized for some years at around the present figure of 3,000,000 tons per annum. Haft Ke1.—An exploratory well to test deeper formations in the Haft Kel field has proved the existence of productive conditions in the Eocene, which underlies the Asmari limestone (the main producing horizon). Drilling to the northwest in the white-oil springs area has revealed the presence of a separate structure with productive potentialities. One well with a satisfactory production rate has been completed. Offtake from the Haft Kel field has steadily increased since it first came on to production in 1929. Naft-i-Shah.—Production from this field has continued to supply market requirements in northwest Iran. The policy of returning surplus products to the reservoir, which was adopted at the beginning of 1936, has been continued.

Jan 1, 1939