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By E. H. Phillips, A. F. Keenan

6.2-1. Historical Development. Hammering on hand-held drill steel was the earliest type of percussion drilling. It was not until 1838 that Singer developed a steam-operated drilling machine that lifted a drilling bar and let it drop by gravity. J. J. Couch of Philadelphia patented the first percussion drill in 1849. His machine was a steam drill which literally hurled the drill bar at the rock and retracted it by means of a ratcheted wheel. Later J. W. Fowle added automatic rotation of the steel. In 1871, Simon Ingersoll patented a rock drill mounted on a tripod which permitted drilling holes at any angle, vertical to horizontal. Up to the turn of the century, percussion drills in use were piston-type drills. The drill steel was solid and attached to an extension of the drill piston. Hole cleaning was accomplished by the pumping action of the steel in the hole. Down-holes were drilled wet and cleaned with a blow pipe while up-holes were drilled dry, allowing the cuttings to drop out by gravity. The forerunner of our present hammer drill was the free-piston drill which was first patented in 1884, by Sargent. Because solid drill steel was used, it did not successfully clean down holes. J. G. Leyner solved the problem of applying the hammer drill principle to down-hole and horizontal-hole work in 1897. The key was to pass com- pressed air and water through hollow drill steel to clean the hole. Leyner's work on valves and rotation mechanisms increased the blows per minute of hammer drills from 300 or 400 up to 1800 and more blows per minute and made possible the first lightweight drilling machines. The development of automatic feeds followed. 6.2-2. Percussion Drills. TYPES OF DRILLS. There are two types of percussion drills in use today; the piston drill and the hammer drill. In the

Jan 1, 1968

By M. R. Tek, K. H. Coats, D. L. Katz

The performance of a gas reservoir su,bject to water drive is often affected by interference due to gas procluction or injection in neighboring reservoirs adjacent to a common aquifer. Field data available on production-pressure behavior of several reservoirs indicate that prediction of reservoir performence must include the effects due to mutual interference. A method developed to predict the performance of two or more interfering gas reservoirs, subject to specified production-iniection .rchedule.s, is presented. The method involves the comhinatiorz of the theory of unsteady-state water movernent with appropriate meterial balance consideration.s. The procedure which extends M. Mortada's treatment for interfering oil reservoirs makes use of his dimen-.sionless pressure drop quantities. prevented graphically in the literature. In order to evaluale the predictive accuracy and practical field applicability of the theory, the method has been applied to analyze the performance of two actual gas reservoirs in mutual interference. The calculations were performed on an IBA4 704 computer. The predicted performances were alro calcltlated with the interference effects ignored. The results show that considerably better agreement between calculated and observed behavior ic. obtained when the interference effects are included. INTRODUCTION Fluid communication between any number of oil or gas reservoirs adjacent to a common aquifer results in mutual interference effects on their production-pressure behavior. The theory, application and interpretation of pressure build-up behavior of oil wells, drawdown tests on oil or gas-producing formations and behavior of several storage reservoirs indicate ample experimental evidence of mutual interference. A method developed to compute the behavior of interfering oil reservoirs was published several years ago by Mortada.4 Studies conducted during the recent years on underground storage of natural gas clearly indicated the need for extending Mortada's work to the case of interfering gas reservoirs. The adoption of appropriate material balance equations in conjunction with the unsteady-state pressure interference theory yields pressure-explicit equations. Their solution, their application to a specific case history and an over-all evaluation of the developed method through the comparison of predicted and observed field performances were the main objectives of this study. DEVELOPMENT OF MATHEMATICAL RELATIONS The diffusivity Eq. 1 governs planar, radial, unsteady-state compressible liquid flow through a porous medium. ?p/?r2+1/r ?p/?r=µFc/k ?p/?t (1) The 1iterature1,2,3 contains derivations and solutions of

By Edward H. Robie

THE registration badges gave out, there were not enough programs, the Pioneer Hotel's rooms were insufficient, and some hundred applicants for banquet tickets had to be turned down at the Institute's Regional Meeting in Tucson, Nov. 1-5. Minor inconveniences these, however, occasioned by the fact that, optimistic as they are in Arizona, about half again as many partook of the week's activities as were expected. For this, the local program committee can be blamed-both the technical and social features were too attractive in quantity and quality. Seriously speaking, though, the Institute has probably never had a more successful Regional Meeting than this one. It being the first that has been held in Arizona in 22 years, no effort was spared to make it the distinctive gathering that it was.

Jan 1, 1938

By C. H. Green

. RECENTLY two papers on the structure of eutectics were read before the British Institute of Metals, one by F. L. Brady1 and the other by A. Portevin.2 In the preparation of photomicrographs of laboratory specimens as illustrations for student work, and in connection with various researches; the writer has been working along the same line for some, time and, therefore, was much interested in the results given, especially those of Portevin. He has correlated the information on the subject and has outlined a broad scientific basis for future work along this line. It is largely with the idea-of adding something by way of illustration to the work already done that this paper is written. The eutectic is generally understood to mean the alloy having the lowest melting point of any alloy of the system, and in which the melt becomes supersaturated with reference to the two or more phases which, separate out simultaneously (or alternately). From the surface pattern, the eutectic means; a structure with no primary crystals. It is not always easy to get the exact eutectic composition in making any alloy; in fact, a slight range in composition may be expected and some of the coarser particles may be richer in either of the composing metals. Even when chemical analysis shows the right composition, differences in density of the pure metals may cause segregation, or. supercooling resulting from different crystallizing properties may give a surface pattern the appearance of being on one side of the eutectic point. However, the alloys on either side of the eutectic composition, showing primary crystals of one of the phases and the effect of the pro-eutectic form on the surface pattern of the eutectic make a very interesting study, which is slightly touched upon in this paper. The phases, or microconstituents, of a eutectic may be pure metals (Pb-Sb, Tl-Au), solid solutions (Cd-Zn), a pure metal and a solid solution; (Ag-Sn), or a pure metal or solid solution with an intermetallic compound (Sb-Mg, Sb-Cu, As-Cu, Bi-Te, etc.).

Jan 2, 1925

By Robert Linton

Tats paper deals with work that has been carried on for over three years by the management and staff of the North Butte Mining Co. in an effort to standardize mining methods, to eliminate lost motion in the operating organization, and to improve the efficiency of the individual workman. Naturally, much of this work is an adaptation of ideas suggested by other mining operations or by practice in manufacturing and other productive industries. The studies, however, have developed some features that it is believed are new. Both new and adapted features are given in detail. The normal capacity of the North Butte mines is about 2000 tons per. day. Hoisting is done principally through the Granite Mountain shaft, which is 3740 ft. (1140 m.) deep and equipped with an electric hoist capable of hoisting 200 tons per hour from a depth of 4000 ft. (1219 m.). The lowest stoping level is the 3400-ft. The Granite Mountain shaft is connected with the Speculator shaft, about 850 ft. (259 m.) south, and with the Gem, about 1150 ft. (350 m.) east, which are 3000 (914.4 m.) and 2000 ft. (609.6 m.). deep, respectively. These two shafts are equipped with reversible fans for ventilation. The Speculator has a; steam hoist with a capacity of 150 tons per hour from the 3000-ft. level. The Granite Mountain shaft is concrete lined from the 1600-ft. to below the 3000-ft. level and gunited with cement from the 1600-ft. level to the surface. Sections of the Speculator shaft with a total combined length of 500 ft. (152.4 m.) are also concreted. There are approximately 36 miles (58 km.) of drifts and crosscuts in the mine, in which there are 15.2 miles (24.5 km.) of track. At normal capacity, about 75 stoping faces, 20 raises, and 30 sill development faces are working. Stoping is usually by the standard square-set method. Where the size of the oreshoot and character of. the walls permit, the rill (or cut-and-fill) system is employed.

Jan 8, 1920

Sixteen executives, technicians and operative personnel from the French mining industry, now touring mining operations in the U.S., will wind up their visit to this country at the AIME Annual Meeting. Traveling under ECA auspices, they will be in Denver on Feb. 5, Salt Lake City, Feb. 8 to 13, Bonne Terre on Feb. 16. Four of the group are engaged in bauxite mining, nine in lead and zinc, two in pyrites mining. All are interested in American mining equipment and methods, and hope to contact manufacturers' representatives in the various areas they visit. A $600,000 manganese pilot plant is expected to be put into operation by Sept. 1, by the Bureau of Mines at Boulder City, Nev. S. R. Zimmerly, chief of the Bureau's metallurgical div. for the region, recently completed the mill design and flow sheet; and the Bureau is awaiting steel priorities before building. Ore from the Artillery Peak area, 60 miles south-west of Kingman, Ariz., will be used in the mill. Construction will be handled by Rex Lloyd of Boulder City.

Jan 2, 1951

By Ralph M. Roosevelt

IN AS MUCH as our Institute, by tradition, never adopts any official view of matters upon which difference of opinion exists, it may be taken for granted that the duty of its Production Control Committee does' not embrace the formulation of any general policy on that much-discussed subject. During the first years of its existence the Committee confined its activities to making arrangements for an annual general session at which the broader aspects of the general problem were discussed by men both within and outside the mineral industry. These general sessions, although interesting, did not indicate any definite path of progress, so during the last year the Committee has held a number of luncheon meetings at which the members might discuss in detail problems existing in the specific industries with which they are most closely acquainted, in the hope that discussions dealing with conditions rather than theories might result in the bringing to light of some general truths. Most of these truths have been fairly obvious from the beginning but they are of such basic importance that a periodic restatement of them seems worth while,

Jan 1, 1932

ENGINEERS AVAILABLE (Under this heading will be published notes sent to the Secretary of the Institute by members or other persons introduced by members.) Member, technical graduate, aged 36. Experienced copper metallurgist and mining geologist. Familiar also, through 15 years' broad practical experience, with mining, cyanidation, concentration (including oil flotation), metallurgical accounting, and mine and plant management. Best references. No. 237. Member, graduate engineer with 10 years' experience in malleable, gray -Iron, and steel, as chemist., metallographist, and metallurgist. Researches and investigations by laboratory methods and under works conditions. No objection to some routine. No. 243. Member, technical graduate, broad experience in coal, oil, and clay. Will go anywhere as mining geologist after Sept. 1, 1915. No. 244. Member, technical graduate, aged 30, married, with over 10 years' experience as chemist, engineer on construction, superintendent and general superintendent of bituminous coal and coke plants. SpeaksSpanish. References. No. 245. Member, open for engagement as mine safety inspector or as superintendent of bituminous coal mine. No. 246. Member, graduate mining engineer, with five years' experience in coal mining as mining engineer, construction engineer, pit boss, and superintendent, open for engagement. Best references. No. 247.

Jan 9, 1915

By Oswald J. Heinrich

(Read at the Philadelphia Meeting, February, 1878.) DURING the last twenty years much has been done to investigate and define the Mesozoic formation of the United States along the Atlantic States, as well as in the Territories. The investigations of Professors Hitchcock, Emmons, Hayden, H. D. Rogers, and those now in progress in connection with the geological surveys of Penn-

Jan 1, 1878

By W. Francis

OF THE methods that have been used for studying the chemical composition of coal, attack by reagents has not, in general, yielded much information. Most of the reagents used have been strong oxidants such as nitric acid or Schulze's solution. The use of a milder oxidizing agent, such as air at low temperatures, enables progressive changes in the character of the coal substance to be studied and thus helps toward an understanding of its constitution. British bituminous coals frequently have a banded structure. These bands (of four types) can be separated one from another and have been found to possess markedly different chemical characteristics, even when taken from contiguous portions of the same lump coal. It has been found convenient to give each of the ingredients of banded coal a distinctive name, more or less descriptive of its appearance, and the study of the chemistry of bituminous "coal" in England has resolved itself into a study of each ingredient separately. . The coal chosen for this work was taken from the Top Hard seam at East Kirkby colliery, Nottinghamshire, a detailed chemical analysis of which has been recorded by Baranov and Francis.1 The banded structure was well marked and the bands could readily be separated. The research was confined to the brilliant vitreous bands (vitrain), the dull hard bands (durain) and the "sooty partings" (fusain); for previous work had shown that the fourth type, to which the name clarain has been given, is intermediate in character, chemically, between vitrain and durain.

Jan 3, 1925

By Wilhelm Borchers

In all special branches of the chemical and metallurgical industries, in which large electric furnaces became necessary for carrying out new processes or for the improvement of old ones, the development of the electric furnaces took place on much the same lines. The endeavors to make a success of a new idea brought forth many ingenious designs, which, however, almost without exception, furnished the proof that the safest and shortest way to practical success is the utmost simplicity of construction of the necessary apparatus. Our knowledge of the qualities of materials for building electric furnaces and of the constituents of the furnace-charges, especially their electric conductivity and their chemical affinity towards one another at high temperatures, is still far from being complete, and from this fact we must conclude that the smaller the number of elements in the construction of a furnace, the fewer the number of unreliable factors both in the construction and in the operation of the electric furnace. This conclusion deserves special attention when an electric furnace for making steel has to be chosen from the constantly-growing number of inventions, inasmuch as the chief constituent of steel, the element iron, is a substance which in its liquid phase has so great an affinity for those elemen'ts which are to be removed from the charge, that it is very difficult to comply with the following conditions: 1, to heat the refining-slag to the highest point of its chemical activity ; 2, to prevent the iron from entering the slag, or, where this cannot be done, to make it enter so that it finally appears in the end-product

Jan 1, 1911

By E. A. Jones

THE Southeast Missouri division of the St. Joseph Lead Co. normally hauls and hoists over 5 million tons of lead ore each year. This ore is mined in the stopes and headings of 20 mines, hauled to a main line system, see above, and transported up to 6.4 miles to ore-hoisting shafts. Average haulage distance is 2.16 miles. A few years ago a distinguished mining engineer visiting this area for the first time remarked, "You do not have a mining problem; yours is a haulage problem." Its relative importance may be gaged by the fact that mine haulage represents about 25 pct of the total cost of mining ore, the most costly single underground operation

Jan 4, 1953

By Walter P. Jenney

An investigation, conducted by the author, was begun in September, 1889, by the United States Geological Survey, having for its object the study of the questions bearing upon the occurrence and manner of formation of the deposits of lead- and zinc-ores in Missouri and the adjoining States. The field-work was completed in December, 1891. During the first season the State Geological Survey of Missouri furnished an assistant, and in other ways co-operated in the research within the boundaries of that State. In order that the ore-deposits of the southwest might be compared with those of other sections of the Mississippi valley, an examination was made of the lead- and zinc-mining area of Wisconsin-Iowa, and of the argentiferous lead-mines of the region extending westward from Hot Springs, Arkansas, to Indian Territory. In the discussion of the general geology, and in comparisons between the ore-deposits of the Mississippi valley and those of the Rocky Mountains, the writer has drawn largely from his personal experience, having been engaged for many years in professional work as a geologist and mining engineer in that region. The Director of the U. S. Geological Survey and the Scate Geologist of Missouri have kindly consented to the publication of the present paper. While giving the more important economic results, an endeavor has been made to set forth the unity of plan which appears in the formation of the deposits of lead and zinc of the Mississippi basin, and to show their relation to the argentiferous ores of the Rocky Mountains—that the ores of gold, silver, and mercury, and also of copper, antimony, zinc, and lead, have a universal common origin, irrespective of the geological formations in which they occur.

Jan 1, 1894

By Hugh O?Neill

IN PREVIOUS papers,1 the author has reported the results of experiments on the straining in tension of a single crystal test piece, about 0.6 in. long, of vacuum-melted electrolytic iron containing 1.8 per cent. of silicon. The crystal was originally in the "as cast" condition, and was stressed slowly along a tetragonal axis so that slipping along conjugate gliding planes finally transformed the original cylindrical portion into a pair of fracture wedges. One of these fracture wedges was sectioned along the stress axis in a plane at right angles to the edge of the wedge. A metallographic study of this plane of -section led to the conclusion that slip had taken place in the (111) direction along (112) planes making a V shape with the stress axis. The present paper describes the results of scratch-hardness tests conducted on the same section, in order to determine the distribution of strain hardness therein, followed by annealing, and considers the resulting variations in hardness. These observations supplement those made by Krivobok2 on similar material reduced 25 per cent. by hammering (i. e., by impact) in the cold. In order to investigate ageing effects, two small crystals of the same alloy were also tested.

Jan 1, 1928

By AIME AIME

TWO technical sessions, an excursion through the Midwest refinery and a smoker, marked the first day of the meeting of the Petroleum Division at Casper, Wyo., on Aug. 28. Ninety-nine members and guests registered and there was an excellent attendance at 'all functions. The -local committee under the general chairmanship of J. C. Lindsay, general manager of the Western Pipe Line Co., had made every possible arrangement for the convenience and comfort of the visiting members and the Program Committee under E. L. Estabrook, vice-chairman of the Petroleum Division, had brought together a most interesting series of technical, papers. The meeting centered mainly on the various features of the Salt Creek field but there were also contributions from the technology of production in California, the Mid-Continent, and the Texas fields. The opening session was called to order by Mr. Estabrook at the Townsend Hotel on Friday morning. The members and visitors were welcomed appropriately by Ex-Governor B. B. Brooks, president of the "Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Association, who recalled the changes that had taken place as Casper, a frontier cow town, became a thriving oil metropolis. F. Julius Fobs, chairman 'of the Petroleum Division, responded and then took the chair. He introduced H. Foster Bain, Secretary of the Institute, who expressed the regret of those members members who found it impossible to stop over en route to Salt Lake City and his own pleasure at meeting with the Division in the field. Following these introductory ceremonies the technical session began with a "Sketch of the Geological Formations of Central Wyoming," presented by J. G. Bartram of the Midwest staff. It was brief and to the point and contributed greatly to the easy under¬standing of the succeeding papers by those unfamiliar with the region. The talk was illustrated by a large scale columnar section -and a copy of the excellent, geological map of the State recently issued by the U. S. Geological Survey.

Jan 1, 1925

By F. N. Rhines, A. H. Grobe

At elevated temperatures the oxide of silver is unstable in the air at atmospheric pressure, consequently no external oxide scale forms upon pure silver under conditions of high-temperature annealing. When small quantities of certain alloying elements are present in the silver, the formation of a thin external scale is possible1 and in addition there may form a subscale composed of the oxide of the solute element precipitated within the body of the silver. Norbury2 and Leroux and Raub3 have reported internal oxidation (subscaleiormation) in alloys of silver with 2, 7.5, and 30 per cent of copper. The presence of the subscale is believed to be responsible, at least in part, for the objectionable "fire mark" in Sterling silver.4 Several other alloys of silver, after oxidizing heat-treatments, are known to exhibit undesirable polishing characteristics that may be the result of internal oxidation. Except for the absence of an external scale of silver oxide, it is to be anticipated that silver alloys will prove to be very similar in their oxidation behavior to the alloys of copper, the oxidation characteristics of which have been studied in some detai1.5,6 The present research confirms this anticipation. The oxidation of a series of 20 dilute alloys of silver has been studied metallographically; some types of subscale not encountered among the copper alloys have been found. Instances of internal oxidation in alloys of most of the metals of the 1-6 and VIII groups of the periodic system are on record, but evidence of this type of oxidation in alloys of the metals of the intermediate groups is lacking. A number of the metals of the intermediate group, among them cadmium, lead, tin, and zinc, appear to provide the conditions essential to subscale formation; i.e., they form oxides with a relatively low negative free energy of formation, they dissolve other metals that form more stable oxides, and, presumably, oxygen will diffuse through them. In a study of 40 alloys of these white metals only a few cases of internal oxidation have been found. The probable reasons for this difference in behavior will be discussed presently. Experimental Procedure Silver.—The silver alloys employed in the oxidation studies were prepared in heats of 30 grams each from high-purity silver (99.993 per cent Ag)* and the purest avail-

Jan 1, 1942

By A. H. Grobe, F. N. Rhines

At elevated temperatures the oxide of silver is unstable in the air at atmospheric pressure, consequently no external oxide scale forms upon pure silver under conditions of high-temperature annealing. When small quantities of certain alloying elements are present in the silver, the formation of a thin external scale is possible1 and in addition there may form a subscale composed of the oxide of the solute element precipitated within the body of the silver. Norbury2 and Leroux and Raub3 have reported internal oxidation (subscaleiormation) in alloys of silver with 2, 7.5, and 30 per cent of copper. The presence of the subscale is believed to be responsible, at least in part, for the objectionable "fire mark" in Sterling silver.4 Several other alloys of silver, after oxidizing heat-treatments, are known to exhibit undesirable polishing characteristics that may be the result of internal oxidation. Except for the absence of an external scale of silver oxide, it is to be anticipated that silver alloys will prove to be very similar in their oxidation behavior to the alloys of copper, the oxidation characteristics of which have been studied in some detai1.5,6 The present research confirms this anticipation. The oxidation of a series of 20 dilute alloys of silver has been studied metallographically; some types of subscale not encountered among the copper alloys have been found. Instances of internal oxidation in alloys of most of the metals of the 1-6 and VIII groups of the periodic system are on record, but evidence of this type of oxidation in alloys of the metals of the intermediate groups is lacking. A number of the metals of the intermediate group, among them cadmium, lead, tin, and zinc, appear to provide the conditions essential to subscale formation; i.e., they form oxides with a relatively low negative free energy of formation, they dissolve other metals that form more stable oxides, and, presumably, oxygen will diffuse through them. In a study of 40 alloys of these white metals only a few cases of internal oxidation have been found. The probable reasons for this difference in behavior will be discussed presently. Experimental Procedure Silver.—The silver alloys employed in the oxidation studies were prepared in heats of 30 grams each from high-purity silver (99.993 per cent Ag)* and the purest avail-

Jan 1, 1942

By J. PARKCEH CHANNING

Discussion of the paper of Lewis T. Wright, presented at the New Haven meeting, February, 1909 (Trans., xl., 492 to 495). J. PARKE CHANNING, New York, N. Y. (communication to the Secretary*):-Mr. Wright, in his introductory paragraph, says: " It is commonly believed by metallurgists that in copper-smelting, the copper in the slags, which is irreducible by continued smelting, is retained in the form of 'prills' of matte." On a recent visit to Greenwood, B. C., I was discussing with J. E. McAllister, the general manager of the British Columbia Copper Co., and the former metallurgist of the Tennessee Copper Co., this very question; and he held strongly to the idea that the copper in slag was in two forms-one portion contained in occluded matte and the other as an oxide. He believed that this same rule would apply to the silver in the slag. From my experience I am strongly inclined to agree with Mr. McAllister; and it appears quite reasonable that in furnaces treating oxidized copper-ores, and to a less degree in furnaces treating sulphide ores, there is always bound to be present a certain amount of copper oxide and silver oxide, which will behave like any base and get into the slag as such. We all know that in Arizona, in the early days, when it was customary to produce black copper, because the ores were nearly all oxidized or carbonates, and sulphur was scarce, the slags as a rule carried 2.5 per cent. of copper and seldom ran less than 1.5 per cent. of copper. The economic point was determined by the extra coke necessary to produce the reducing action. In connection with the extra saving in copper, Arthur L. Walker, now professor of metallurgy at Columbia University, and formerly general manager of the Old Dominion Copper Mining Co., at Globe, told me that with coke at $60 per ton it never paid him to make slags containing less than 2.5 per cent. of copper. *Received Oct. 8, 1909.

Feb 1, 1911

By Gerhard Derge

THE introductory paper1 of this series described the potential behavior of tin in sodium carbonate and bicarbonate solutions whose pH ranged from 8.4 to 11.2 and demonstrated that significant and reproducible results could be obtained by proper attention to experimental technique. In examining the corrosion of tin under such conditions, it is desirable to know the effects of anions, aside from carbonate, that are likely to be present in commercial materials packaged in tin. Therefore, in this paper the potential behavior of tin in carbonate solutions to which sodium fluoride, chloride, bromide, iodide, sulphate, nitrate, monobasic phos-phate, dichromate, perborate and acetate have been added will be described. For most of the additions, solutions containing 0.001 and 0.01 .moles of the added material were studied. The experimental procedure was exactly the same as that described in the first paper; the pH of the electrolyte was controlled by adjusting the ratio of carbonate to bicar-bonate as follows: pH 0.1 M NaHCO3 8.4 2 parts 0.1 M NaHCO3, 1 part 0.1 M Na2CO3 9.5 1 part 0.1 M NaHCO3, 2 parts 0.1 M Na2CO3 10.0 0.1 M Na2CO3 11.2 The reagents used were all of C.P. grade. The anions studied may be divided into three groups: (1) anions that had little or no effect upon the potential curves-sulphate, nitrate, and acetate; (2) those that helped to prevent corrosion at low pH only-fluoride, chloride, bromide, and iodide; (3) those that helped to prevent corrosion at high pH also-phosphate, perborate, and chromate.

Jan 1, 1939

By Joseph S. Malesky

The discovery and development of explosives mark one of the most important findings in the history of civilization. Without explosives our vast economic enterprise concerning the mining of coal, copper, iron, aluminum, and various other ores could not function. Explosives are used in all kinds of construction works, in the razing of old buildings, blasting of trenches, driving of tunnels, and in many other instances common to our everyday life. For these reasons explosives are rightfully referred to as the forerunner of progress. An explosive may be defined as a substance (usually a mixture) that, when flame or shock is applied, yields readily to rapid combustion or oxidation, accompanied by the formation of such relatively large quantities of gases as to produce much violence and pressure which, in turn, react against their surroundings and cause what is termed an explosion. By their very nature the action of explosives is destructive and disruptive of adjacent materials. Decomposition of explosives can occur through deflagration, which is rapid burning or combustion, as in the case of black powder, or through detonation, which is an almost instantaneous disruption, as in the case of dynamites and blasting agents. HISTORY OF BLASTING WITH EXPLOSIVES At one time workmen obtained stone blocks for building by grooving the rock with crude picks, driving wooden wedges into niches in the rock, and pouring water on the wedges; the swelling of the wood forced out the blocks. As late as the 17th century, fires were placed against the face of rock to crack it, and water was sometimes dashed on the heated rock to shatter it by sudden cooling. The progress of our country is synonymous with advancement of the improved manufacture and extended use of explosives. Coal had been

Jan 1, 1981