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By Scott Turner

PRESIDENT SCOTT TURNER officiated as chairman of the opening session on mining methods, Monday morning, Feb. 15. The first paper was that of Max H. Barber on open-pit mining in the Lake Superior district, read by C. F. Jackson. W. L. Taylor stated that liquid-oxygen explosive had been tried but that the operators are satisfied with the explosives used; lb. of dynamite breaks one ton of rock. Although black powder is considered the most effective explosive, the factor of safety has decided in favor of high explosives. Lucien Eaton told of the Michigan Lime and Chemical Co.'s large L. 0. X. plant at Rogers City, Mich. Mr. Turner referred to this plant, also said that the Bureau of Mines is shortly to issue Bulletin 349 completely covering the use of L. 0. X. from its inception. W. D. B. Motter, Jr., gave some items concerning Chuquicamata, Chile. Twelve years ago the blasts moved 850,000 to 1,000,000 tons, but average shots now move 250,000 to 300,000 tons. One pound of L. 0. X. breaks 3.7 tons, against 3.1 tons by dynamite. Another speaker told of some large dynamite blasts in open pits, one of 360,000 Ib. in March, 1931, and another of 430,000 lb. to be shot in 1932. Tests have been made to determine the effect of large shots on the surrounding country. Mr. Taylor said that 4- and 5-yd. shovels were preferable to those of 8 yd.; their performance is better and cost is lower.

Jan 1, 1932

By AIME AIME

PLANS for the Semi-centennial Meeting have almost reached completion, although in any undertaking of such magnitude a few changes are always to be expected at the last moment. As worked out up to the time of going to press, the program of the meeting is shown below. The headquarters will be the Irem Temple, in Wilkes-Barre.

Jan 1, 1921

By J. R. Thoenen

IN five years mineral wool has grown to a thirty-million-dollar industry from one whose output was valued, in 1933, at $1,700,000. Ten years ago, in 1928, there were only seven producing companies, with an annual output of but 50,000 tons. By 1936 fifty or more companies were producing half a million tons. The industry is still growing vigorously and will profit from the expected activity in building in 1339, for two-thirds of this material is used for building insulation and to assist in fire-retarding, in both new and old homes. It is as useful in the South, to protect against heat, as in the North, to keep out the cold, if one may speak nontechnically. It is a concomitant of air conditioning, that new addition to the American standard of living that began in theatres, department stores, and railroad dining cars, and is rapidly progressing down to small homes. Here, then, is an industry that is only beginning to have a present, and one with an almost certain important future; one that depends upon mining and the by-products of mining for all of its raw materials; one that every progressive mining man should know something about.

Jan 1, 1939

By J. M. GLEDHILL

(Washington Meeting, May, 1905.) A Discussion of Mr. J. M. Gledhill's paper, read by title at the Lake Superior meeting, but presented first at the New Yolk meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute (October, 1904), and here published under a mutual agreement. Between the two Institutes. Discussion. MR. E: WINDSOR RICHARDS, Past-President, said that at a recent meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers a paper was read on tool steel, and he called the attention of the members to the high-speed tool steel at the Bethlehem Works. They would have the pleasure of seeing those wonderful works and would see 60, 70, 80 and 100 tons oil lathe with half-a-dozen of these high-speed tools running. PROP. H. M. HOWE (Columbia University) said that they all looked upon these high-speed tool steels as of very great importance, particularly to the machine shop. One point occurred to hire : Had it really been shown that Swedish steel is necessary, or better than equally pure steel that is not Swedish; and is cemented steel really necessary, and is there any advantage in using that, rather than equally pure open-hearth steel'! It might be well if the author could indicate the kind of evidence on which lie bases his assertion that it is necessary to have cemented Swedish steel. Many were hoping for the development of high-speed steels from elements which exist in great quantities, such as silicon, manganese and chromium, rather than from rarer metals like molybdenum, vanadium and tungsten, the supply of which is likely to be soon exhausted. If the high-cutting speed was to last more than a generation, it. seemed to him that they would have to draw upon the common ele¬ments and not upon the rare ones. MR. Tom WESTGARTH (Middlesbrough) said he fully appreci¬ated what had been said about the advantages of using high-speed steel, because great benefit had been derived from the

Mar 1, 1905

By Thomas H. Leggett

IN speaking of the mining and economic conditions prevailing at the present time on the Rand, it is not my intention to go into the details of the mining-practice, since this has been already well described both in the Transactions1 and elsewhere,2 but rather to take a more comprehensive view of the industry and its surroundings as a. whole, marking its general development and the lines of its future progress. In a. paper entitled Deep-Level Shafts on the Witwatersrand, with Remarks on a Method of Working the Greatest Number of Deep-Level Mines with the Fewest Possible Shafts,3 presented to this Institute in August, 1900, I drew attention to the great cost of sinking the very deep vertical shafts that were then being seriously proposed as necessary for the development of the deeper areas, pointing out the strong advisability of working this ground by means of inclines to be sunk from the existing shafts of from 3,000 to 4,000 ft. in vertical depth. In this paper it is stated (1:). 975): "In short, practice upon the Rand now tends towards fewer vertical shafts and more underground inclines, especially for the very deep mining about to be undertaken." In consequence, the 6,000-ft. vertical shafts, at one time so much discussed, have never been started, and they do not now seem likely ever to be. The necessity of placing all deep shafts further apart in order to make them control and exhaust larger areas was also dwelt upon. This economy was vitally necessary for both 1 Gold-Mining in the Transvaal, South Africa, John Hays Hammond, xxxi., S17 to 855 (1901). R Engineering and Mining Journal, vol. lxxxv., p. 53 (1908). ' Trans., xxx., 947 to 987 (1900).

Jan 5, 1908

By L. E. Young

IT has been said the British Empire was built on British Coal. In all the postwar planning for Great Britain the necessity for producing cheap coal and the prosperity of the coal industry are given first consideration. On Jan. 23, 1945, there was released in London a "Report to the Colliery Owners" which had been awaited with great interest. This was entitled "A Plan for Coal" and was the recommendation of Robert Foot, chairman of The Mining Association (Colliery Owners), prepared at their request. Presentation of the "Plan" at this time is particularly significant as it is an answer to the demand for nationalization of the coal industry by the Labour Party and at the same time is a carefully considered program for postwar reconstruction, prosperity, and stability. In the words of Mr. Foot, If the coal industry for the first ten years after this war is to find itself in a situation similar to the one it occupied for the ten years following the last war, with its record of disputes, strikes, stoppages, short-time working, unemployment, and, with it all, a completely insufficient margin of profit, and all the insecurity and instability in our basic industry that was brought with them, it is goodbye to any real prospect of full employment, social security, and high standard of living. To present an elaborate review of the conditions which have brought to a crisis the unfortunate situation in the British coal industry is here unnecessary, but certain of the salient points

Jan 1, 1945

Jan 1, 1963

By VERITAS

THE most concentrated industry of major character in the United States is that of the Ford Motor CO., which is to say Henry Ford. Its sole function is to supply the public with a cheap motor car which it does to the extent of two million or so per annum. In doing this, a relatively small profit per unit is multi- plied to an enormous aggregate per annum and has resulted in the creation of one of the greatest industrial fortunes of the world. The industrial and sociological consequences of .this are bound to be immense. On the physical side the production of two million automobiles means the consumption of two or three million tons of materials, chiefly metals, in the 'direct form of the finished product', and a huge additional tonnage of coal and other things that ,are consumed en route, and also the labor of many thousands of men. In the development of a business on this scale it was but natural that the Ford Motor ,Co. should seek to supply itself with the raw 'materials it needs, and they being so largely coal and metals the company is brought into close contact with the mining and metallurgical industries. It is a huge consumer of - steel. It is the fourth largest consumer of copper. It is a large consumer of lead, tin, aluminum and zinc. The mining and metallurgical industries have, therefore, good reason to learn to know Henry Ford, his personality, his thoughts and his policies.

Jan 1, 1924

By AIME AIME

The Bulletin. The Bulletin of the Institute will be issued hereafter monthly instead of bi-monthly as heretofore. Among other reasons for this change, it is desired to effect thereby the earlier transmission to members of important papers, lists of candidates tin? membership, and other items of timely information. The New Haven Meeting. As already announced in special circular, the XCVIth meeting of the institute for the reading and discussion of papers will be held at New Haven, Conn., beginning Feb. 23, 1909. The Secretary of the Local Committee is Prof. J. D. Irving, Box D, Yale Station, New Haven. The program embraces visits to many interesting works in New Haven, Ansonia, Bridgeport, etc. The leading topics for discussion at the sessions will lie: The Conservation of Natural Resources; A Sea-Level Canal at Panama; and The Technical Education of Mining Engineers. But papers on other subjects also are announced. Lt is probable that a supplementary session of this meeting, will be held in New York City, at some time during March, 1909, as a joint session with other national engineering societies, for the farther discussion of the subject of The Conservation of Natural Resources. A Pacific Coast Meeting. It is now reasonably certain that the XCVIIth meeting will be held oil the Pacific Coast, including a. visit to the Exposition at Seattle, and various other points en. route going or coming, depending upon the route and program finally adopted. (lore definite information will be announced at the New Haven Meeting, or at the earliest possible date thereafter.

Jan 1, 1909

US 4,190,434 - In the thermal production of magnesium metal, a mixture of calcined dolomite, an iron- silicon-aluminum alloy as a reductant, and residual slag from the production of ferrochromium is smelted to evolve magnesium vapor, which is then condensed. The use of bauxite is lessened or eliminated because of the relatively high alumina content of the residual slag. R. Bonfils, A. Mena, C. Payn, and L. Septier, assigned to Ste. Francaise d’Electrometallurgie (SOFREM). Feb. 26, 1980. 6 pp. (75-10R). Filed: 6-14-78 (915,387). Priority: France, 6-24-77 (77/20,227).

Jan 1, 1982

Jan 7, 1976

By AIME AIME

The Bulletin. As already announced in the January Bulletin, this publication will be issued during the coming year monthly instead of bi-monthly as heretofore. Among other reasons for this change, it is desired to effect thereby the earlier transmission to members of important papers, lists of candidates for membership, and other items of timely information. The New Haven Meeting. As already announced in special circular, the XCVIth meeting of the Institute for the reading and discussion of papers will be held at New Haven, Conn., beginning Feb. 23, 1909. The Secretary of the Local Committee is Prof. J. D. Irving, Box D, Yale Station, New Haven. The program embraces visits to many interesting works in New Haven, Ansonia, Bridgeport, etc. The leading topics for discussion at the sessions will be: The Conservation of Natural Resources; A Sea-Level Canal at Panama; and The Technical Education of Mining Engineers. But papers on other subjects also are announced. A supplementary session of this meeting will be held in New York City, at some time during March, 1909, as a joint session with other national engineering societies, for the further discussion of the subject of The Conservation of Natural Resources. A Pacific Coast Meeting. The XCVIIth meeting will be held on the Pacific Coast, including a visit to the Exposition at Seattle, and various other points en route going or coming, depending upon the route and program finally adopted. More definite information will be announced at the New Haven Meeting, or at the earliest possible date thereafter.

Feb 1, 1909

By C. H. Mathewson

CONSIDERABLE progress has been made during the last few years in analyzing the action of plastic deformation in metallic crystals. This is due largely to the development of X-ray spectrographic methods for studying changes in the orientation of single crystals, or of conglomerates, as they occur during the process of plastic deformation, but partly to the widespread knowledge of suitable technique for preparing large (single or variously combined) crystals for direct crystallographic observation under stress or in various conditions of strain. These two methods of studying changes in the crystalline structure of metals may of course be used in conjunction with features of mutual support, but unfortunately the advantage of direct crystallographic observation is lost when we proceed to the study of severely cold-worked structures, owing to the occurrence of real or apparent crystalline discontinuities which become more and more complicated as the amount of plastic action increases. Furthermore, the X-ray methods do not appear to be adequate, at least in their present stage of development, to fix definitely the character of structural alteration in the parent crystal lattice by plastic deformation. The principal question at issue concerns the nature of the crystalline particles that remain after plastic deformation. These are generally known in our American metallurgical literature as crystalline fragments,' and they seem, indeed, to diffract as individuals causing the Hull pattern of a severely cold-worked metal to resemble the pattern of a fine powder,2 with certain features of preferred orientation among the particles deter- mined by the manner and intensity of cold working. We must freely concede that there are conceptions of lattice alteration, apart from that of simple fragmentation, which would account for an increasing number of lattice positions according to X-ray spectrographic observation as the degree of deformation increased.

Jan 1, 1927

It has been suggested that it would be a desirable feature in connection with the Chicago meeting of the, Institute in September to arrange for a return trip for the fuel men through the coal fields of Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania, stopping at various points and possibly touching also Kentucky. Perhaps the petroleum men would be interested in a similar trip and might join them stopping off at different points to visit these oil fields. If the members who would-be interested in such a trip will advise the Secretary before the first of June, indicating their desired stopping points, steps will be taken to perfect arrangements accordingly.

Jan 5, 1919

By Frederick M. Becket

AFTER all the chronology that has been given, what is the present status of chromium steels? For the purpose of this discussion the different types of chromium steels can be divided into three classifications-those containing relatively low , percentages of chromium, say 5 per cent or less; the medium-chromium steels containing up to about 18 or 19 per cent chromium; and the steels containing still higher percentages of chromium, and some of the special alloys. Chromium has some unique effects in steel, so it is well to make a few generalizations. The affinity of chromium for carbon is great and the metal is unique in the manger in which it supplements and enhances the effects of carbon. Chromium retards -considerably the thermal transformations on cooling and exerts an opposing influence both on the absorption and precipitation of the carbides in steel. These statements make it easy to understand the fact that chromium .steels are capable of producing a hardened product at a much slower rate of cooling than is, true of plain carbon steel, and that chromium carbide or -the mixed carbides of iron and chromium do not contribute to brittleness to as great a degree as does iron carbide.

Jan 1, 1929

By R. V. Norris

The anthracite coal trade, with a shipment averaging about 70,000,000 tons per year, differs essentially from other coal business, iii the fact that the larger sizes, comprising about 65 per cent. of the total, are used almost exclusively for domestic purposes, principally during the winter months; and that for proper combustion close-sizing is imperative, so that eight sizes are made; broken, egg, stove, and nut, known as prepared sizes, and pea, buckwheat, rice, and barley, known as steam sizes. These sizes are made in the regular course of preparation, and but little variation in the natural percentage of each is practicable. Thus it is necessary either to work the collieries intermittently, or to dispose of all the varying sizes in their fixed proportions. Unfortunately, the market does not at all times absorb the coal in proper proportions, and rather than interfere with the regular operation of the mines it has been found economical to provide storage for the excess. While the cellars of' the consumers are the great storage-plants of the country, this capacity is not under the control of the trade, except so far as reduced prices during the spring and summer months may tempt the use of this reserve. The same remark applies but with less force to the retail yards, which, though usually small, store in the aggregate a large amount of anthracite. While every effort is made to utilize to the utmost the individual storage-capacity of the country, there still remains the necessity for taking care of the irregularities of the market by the construction of storage-plants under the direct control of the producers. Such plants are usually the property of the railroads, and are situated at points most convenient from a traffic stand-point.

Jan 1, 1912

CONTENTS PAGE MERRISS, M. H.-Direct Electrolysis of Black-copper Anodes of High Nickel-lead Content. Discussed by C. S. Witherell, C. P. Linville, G. E. Dalbey, M. H. Merriss 1 GRISWOLD, GEORGE G.-Calculating the Zinc for Desilverizing Lead Bullion by the Parkes Process. Discussed by C. S. Witherell, George G. Griswold, Milo W. Krejci, Lawrence Addicks, W. F. Gross, H. H. Alexander, A. F. Beasley, C. P. Linville 3 ALEXANDER, H. H. and STACK, J. R.-The Reduction and Refining of Tin in the United States. Discussed by Edward F. Kern, J. R.' Stack, R. L. Hallett, C. R. Hayward, William H. Bassett, R. C. Canby, H. G. S. Anderson 20 GREENAWALT, WILLIAM E.-Greenawalt Electrolytic Copper Extraction Process. Discussed by Stuart Croasdale, Colin G. Fink, Arthur L. Walker, Edward F. Kern, Henry A. Tobelmann, Oliver C. Ralston 26 BENEDICT, C. H. and KENNY, H. C.-Ammonia Leaching of Calumet and Hecla Tailings. Discussed by G. E. Dalbey, C. H. Benedict 34 RALSTON, OLIVER C.-Hydrometallurgy of Lead. Discussed by F. L. Bosqui, Jr., George D. Van Arsdale 34 TAINTON, U. C. and LEYSON, L. T.-Electrolytic Zinc from Complex Ores. Dis¬cussed by W. G. Woolf, C. A. Hansen 39 Direct Electrolysis of Black-copper Anodes of High Nickel-lead Content Discussion of the paper of M. H. MERRISS, presented; at the New York Meeting; February, 1924, and, issued, as Paper No. 1273-M, with MINING AND METALLURGY, September, 1923. C. S. WITHERELL, New- York, N. Y. (written discussion).-This paper is particularly valuable in that it gives the results of operations -carried out under conditions differing from standard practice. In the electrolytic refining of copper, as in other kinds of metal refining, it is occasionally necessary to treat extraordinary foul or complex material, in which cases 'it is valuable to know what other metallurgists have accomplished under similar conditions. As tapping the slimes-covered anodes brought the tank-voltage down to 0.45 to 0.50 volt, the counter electromotive force was, probably not more than 0.1 or 0.2 volt; hence the so-called polarization was, mainly,

Jan 6, 1924

By H. K. Shearer

Drilling for oil and gas in Arkansas in 1934 showed more activity than in any year since 1929; with a total of 96 completions, including 36 oil wells, 1 gas well and 59 dry holes. Of the producers, the lone gas well and 35 oil wells were in old fields, and one wildcat producer opened a new pool. Of the dry holes, 16 were in or near fields and 43 were wildcats. The total reported initial daily production of the oil wells was 9013 bbl., averaging 252 bbl. per well. Active drilling operations numbered 65 at the close of the year, compared with 26 at the beginning.

Jan 1, 1935

By WALTER VOIGTLANDER

FOR nearly 100 years wire rope has been fabricated in much the same way. To the great majority of mine superintendents wire rope is just wire rope, little or no semblance of individuality or identifying characteristics. Such an impression was fairly justified until three or four years ago when a practical means was found of performing or preshaping the wires and strands. This discovery permitted a revolutionary change in wire rope manufacture. Instead of merely twisting a number of wires into a strand, then twisting several strands into a complete rope (which twisting would naturally result in great internal strain, thus reducing the resiliency and over-all efficiency of the completed rope), the preformed wires and strands were laid in place without force or twisting. The obvious result was a rope more nearly approximating mechanical perfection. The applied loads are more evenly distributed throughout the component wires and strands, thus reducing unbalanced wire stresses. This results in a higher safety factor. The fact that preformed rope will not unravel when untied at the ends proves the absence of a torsional stress that exists in ordinary rope. A greater useful allowable stress in the wires is therefore possible in actual operating service.

Jan 1, 1926

Jan 1, 1959