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By S. C. Oliphant, R. Floyd Farris

Presented in this paper is a summary of the results of experiments conducted in both the laboratory and the field during the past three years in connection with casing-perfora. tion problems. Included are studies of gun features that influence bullet performance and penetration, and studies of the effect of perforator bullets on casing and the neat cement in the annulus. Discussion and data are also presented relative to the accuracy of depth measurements in deep wells. Introduction It is a common practice in the oil industry to effect the completion of oil wells by setting and cementing casing through the producing horizons and perforating the section of casing opposite the desired interval by means of a gun lowered into the well on a cable or on the tubing. This practice has been followed for some time, and this method of completion has been given considerable study by the companies that render perforating service as well as by the oil companies that utilize their services. Through continued research on this subject, it has been possible to develop guns, bullets, and powder that will permit controlled firing at great depths, and penetration of as many as two strings of casing. It is the object of this paper to present the results of studies made of gun perforating in both the field and the laboratory. These studies were made to determine the factors that affect penetration of the bullet, burring of the casing, accuracy of depth measurements, and other items. It is hoped that by presenting the results of these investigations a better understanding may be obtained of certain of the factors involved in gun perforating and further investigation of the subject will be prompted. Subsurface Tests A well approximately 9000 ft deep, which was being prepared for abandonment, was selected for subsurface tests of gun-perforating experiments, In preparing the well for the experiment, 51/2-in. casing in the hole was pulled and racked in the derrick. A test section of pipe, which consisted of 65 ft of 5-in. 18-lb J-55 casing centered inside 7-in. 28-lb N-80 casing, was placed in the derrick corner and the annulus between the two pipes was cemented from the bottom up with 161/2 lb per gal neat cement, which was mixed and displaced with a cementing truck in the usual manner. After the cement had been allowed to harden for about a week, the test section was lowered into the hole on the 51/2-in. casing to a depth of 6600 ft by casing measurements. The hole was filled with drilling fluid weighing 10 lb per gallon. A perforating company was called to perforate the pipe, but was not advised that an experiment was being conducted. The company was asked to check the total depth (to cross pins in the bottom of the test section), then to raise the gun a given distance and fire a given number of shots with 1/2-in. bullets, pick up another distance and fire a given number of 3/8-in

Jan 1, 1947

By S. C. Oliphant, R. Floyd Farris

Presented in this paper is a summary of the results of experiments conducted in both the laboratory and the field during the past three years in connection with casing-perfora. tion problems. Included are studies of gun features that influence bullet performance and penetration, and studies of the effect of perforator bullets on casing and the neat cement in the annulus. Discussion and data are also presented relative to the accuracy of depth measurements in deep wells. Introduction It is a common practice in the oil industry to effect the completion of oil wells by setting and cementing casing through the producing horizons and perforating the section of casing opposite the desired interval by means of a gun lowered into the well on a cable or on the tubing. This practice has been followed for some time, and this method of completion has been given considerable study by the companies that render perforating service as well as by the oil companies that utilize their services. Through continued research on this subject, it has been possible to develop guns, bullets, and powder that will permit controlled firing at great depths, and penetration of as many as two strings of casing. It is the object of this paper to present the results of studies made of gun perforating in both the field and the laboratory. These studies were made to determine the factors that affect penetration of the bullet, burring of the casing, accuracy of depth measurements, and other items. It is hoped that by presenting the results of these investigations a better understanding may be obtained of certain of the factors involved in gun perforating and further investigation of the subject will be prompted. Subsurface Tests A well approximately 9000 ft deep, which was being prepared for abandonment, was selected for subsurface tests of gun-perforating experiments, In preparing the well for the experiment, 51/2-in. casing in the hole was pulled and racked in the derrick. A test section of pipe, which consisted of 65 ft of 5-in. 18-lb J-55 casing centered inside 7-in. 28-lb N-80 casing, was placed in the derrick corner and the annulus between the two pipes was cemented from the bottom up with 161/2 lb per gal neat cement, which was mixed and displaced with a cementing truck in the usual manner. After the cement had been allowed to harden for about a week, the test section was lowered into the hole on the 51/2-in. casing to a depth of 6600 ft by casing measurements. The hole was filled with drilling fluid weighing 10 lb per gallon. A perforating company was called to perforate the pipe, but was not advised that an experiment was being conducted. The company was asked to check the total depth (to cross pins in the bottom of the test section), then to raise the gun a given distance and fire a given number of shots with 1/2-in. bullets, pick up another distance and fire a given number of 3/8-in

Jan 1, 1947

By AIME AIME

T HE Executive Board of the American Engineering Council held its fourth meeting at St. Louis on the first anniversary of the organizing conference which met in Washington on June 3,1920. Representatives of a number of the leading engineering organizations in the vicinity of St. Louis were present by invitation. The members of the Executive Board were guests of the Associated Engineering Societies of St. Louis. They were given a delightful ride about the city and were entertained at the Glen Echo Country Club at dinner. The special committee that had been appointed to draft resolutions to Mr. Hoover submitted the following, which were adopted : WHEREAS, our President, Herbert Hoover, has been appointed Secretary of Commerce in the Cabinet of the President of the United States, and WHEREAS, in consequence of his acceptance of this high public office, he has deemed it necessary to tender his resignation as President of The Federated American Engineering Societies.

Jan 1, 1921

By E. D. Gardner

AGAIN in 1945, the fourth year of World War 11, the American mining industry met the necessary demand made upon it for metals. Lack of labor prevented full production in some districts; maximum output, however, was maintained with the man power available. Development work and maintenance of mechanical equipment were neglected in favor of immediate production. Drafting of the younger men continued throughout the year, and the loss of personnel to war industries with higher wage rates continued up to "V-J" Day, Aug. 14. Labor shortages were more critical in 1945 than in 1944 though the man-power situation eased for some districts in the last quarter of the year. The trend in mining for the most part was to increase tons per man-shift by continued increased mechanization and refinements in methods and practices; larger equipment was installed where practicable. Labor shortages, together with the current higher wage rates, have advanced mechanization several years ahead of normal progress. The manpower shortage and the employment of inexperienced men had the effect of decreasing the average efficiency of the individual workman, but this condition was largely balanced by improved organization, greater efforts to improve labor relationship, and increased use of incentive pay systems. Safety instruction was emphasized, personnel contacts were increased, and more frequent foremen meetings were held to clarify contract agreements. Many of the large companies maintained schools to train green workmen.

Jan 1, 1946

By Ralph C. Flow

In Cleveland County, North Carolina, 1 ½ miles south of Kings Mountain, Foote Mineral Co. operates an open pit for the production of spodumene, feldspar, mica and commercial stone. Spodumene concentrate is sent to Foote Mineral's Sunbright, Va., plant and to other customers. Exton, Pa. and New Johnsonville, Tenn., plants produce lithium com- pounds sold to the oil industry for multipurpose lithium-base greases, to the metal industry as welding flux, to the air conditioning market and to the glass industry. Ceramic-grade spodumene, feldspar, and mica concentrates go to other processing companies from the Kings Mountain plant. Waste amphibolite is delivered to a neighboring quarry operation. Geology and exploration of the deposit have been described by T. L. Kesler, Chief Geologist of Foote Mineral Co., in the September 1961 MINING ENGINEERING. Measured ore reserves as published at that time were 20.7 million tons. The ore deposit consists of a series of lithium-bearing pegmatites enclosed in amphibolite and mica schist wall rocks. The general strike of the pegmatites is northerly, and in the southern part of the pit, they dip slightly towards the west. The largest body being mined has a fairly uniform thickness of about 200 ft. Other pegmatites in the pit area range from 20 to 100 ft in thickness. Minerals in the pegmatites are 20% spodumene, 32% quartz, 6% muscovite, 41 % feldspar and 1 % trace minerals.

Jan 10, 1962

By Thomas T., Read

E DUCATION for the mineral industry was at first a single comprehensive curriculum, but it was early recognized that the main basis of mining is physics, while that of metallurgy is chemistry. The first school to offer curricula leading to degrees in mineral industry education in the United States (1853) had separate ones in mining and metallurgy. The Columbia School of Mines (the first really successful one) had only a single curriculum when it opened in 1864, but within a few years had so reorganized its work that it offered curricula in mining, metallurgy, geology, chemistry, and civil engineering. Interest in the metallurgy or geology curricula was slight at first, and for the next 30 years the great majority of Columbia students took the mining curriculum, probably partly because it contained nearly as much geology as the geology curriculum, practically all the metallurgy, and most of the chemistry, and partly because of the degree awarded for it. Other schools kept their mining curricula equally broad, and as late as 1900-1910 men were graduating as mining engineers who were practically as well prepared to make geology or metallurgy their life work, as they were for mining. Gradually, however, the subject matter of mining geology and metallurgy became so enriched through research and development that separate curricula in them became worth while; their progressive development is the subject of another chapter. Mining curricula also began to be somewhat diversified, and schools in areas where coal mining was of outstanding importance began to offer options in coal mining, the earlier curricula having been chiefly aimed at metal mining. The petroleum industry began its meteoric rise about the same time as mineral instruction in this country, but little more of applied science attended its birth than had attended such ancient practical arts as copper and iron

Jan 1, 1941

By P. R. Gage, R. W. Bartlett

At high temperatues and reduced oxygen pressuves, molybdenum silicicles oxidize to form SiO(g) vathev than a passivating SiO2 film. This is a sevious problem for low-pressure applications of sili-cide-coated rejvactory tnetals. As oxiclalion pvoceeds, the higher oxidntion potential of silicon initially suppresses oxidation of molybdenum and silicon is depleted near the surface. Eventually, silicon depletion causes secondary passivation (SiO2) mid an active to passiue transition in oxidntion behavior at moderately low pressures. At very low pressures, silicon depletion continues until steady-state oxidation of both silicon and rnolyhdenum can proceed at rates propovtional to their initial stoicliiorrzetvies. Ohsel-vations of 'oxidatiou-rate belzcriliov at temperatures from 1101° to 1700°C and oxygen pressures from 10-7 to 1 at in were made using thermogravimetn'c, X-ray diffraction, and elect?*on-rtric?ro/,vobe techniqrres. The experimental results are in good agreement with calculated lirnits for the various types of behavior that were based on tlievtnochernicnl atzd dffusion rate data for the Mo-Si system. A protective oxide film normally forms during the oxidation of elemental silicon. However, at elevated temperatures and reduced pressures this film is not present and oxidation is rapid. wagnerl has shown that this behavior occurs because SiO(g) is more stable than SiO2. The behavior of the silicides at high temperatures is similar but more complicated. Molybdenum and several silicide compounds are involved and the chemical activity of silicon, or the equivalent silicon vapor pressure, can vary considerably in these phases. Also, diffusion in the silicides resulting from reactions in which a higher silicide is reduced to a lower silicide, or molybdenum containing dissolved silicon, must be considered. EXPERIMENTAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS Isothermal oxidation experiments were conducted using hot-pressed MoSi2 and Mo5Si3 wafers. Each experiment was conducted at a fixed oxygen pressure by controlling the flow of oxygen in and out of the furnace chamber. Most of the experiments were conducted in a molybdenum-wound tube furnace. Special construction features, including use of a high-purity dense A12O3 refractory tube, permitted operation in high vacuum to 1500°C. Higher temperatures could be obtained at higher working pressures and with a sacrifice of tube lifetime. Temperature was measured with three Pt 6 pct Rh/Pt 30 pct Rh thermocouples and controlled with a proportional controller. Weight changes were monitored with a quartz spring balance. The few experiments, at higher temperatures and low pressures, were conducted in a cold wall vacuum chamber using induction heating with direct susceptance of the sample. Because of the variable levitation effect of the induction coil on the sample, weight changes could not be monitored continuously in these experiments. All samples representing both experimental methods were weighed before and after oxidiation and examined with a microscope and analyzed by X-ray diffraction. The analytical treatment assumes equilibrium at interfaces and uses existing thermodynamic data. For convenience, equilibria are expressed as chemical potentials or as vapor pressures of the gases involved. The resulting differences in equilibrium vapor pressure between adjacent interfaces and between the surface and external atmosphere drive diffusion processes in the solid and gas boundary film, respectively. These diffusion processes govern the rate of oxidation. A bibliography of the sources of thermochemical data for the reactions pertinent to the Mo-Si-O system is given in Table I. Reactions are listed with the sources of free-energy data referenced. Since all of these reactions involve one or more gas species, usually oxygen, a plot of the product-gas chemical potential, -RT In Pg, vs absolute temperature for each reaction is given in Fig. 1. These curves can be used to determine equilibrium vapor pressures or to compare the stability of different compounds in the various gases: O2, Si, SiO, and Moo3,. The data of Table I and Fig. 1 were used to determine the analytical results presented in this paper. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS The weight changes for three MoSi, samples oxidized at 1500°C are plotted against time in Fig. 2. The treatments were identical except for the indicated variance of oxygen pressure and each curve represents one of three characteristic types of behavior that were observed. The upper curve is an example of passive oxidation, which is defined as

Jan 1, 1965

By Richard I. Petritz

A brief review of today's processing of integvated circuits is given. The major trends in the development of advanced integvated electronics are identified as 1) the broadening of the integvated circuit concept to a large class of circuit function, 2) the processing of more complex circuits within relatively small chips of silicon, and 3) the processing of very large electronic functions on complete slices of silicon. This latter trend, called array technology, is then developed in detail. Emphasis is given to defining the key tech-nological problems. Current progress being made is illustrated. THIS paper will endeavor to identify the major trends in advanced integrated electronics technology. One of these, array technology, will be developed in some detail. The array technology discussion will identify the key problem areas. Since it is the scope of the entire meeting' to present specific progress in the science and technology of integrated electronics, we shall indicate general directions being explored rather than discuss comprehensively solutions to the problems. In order to set the stage for the discussion of future trends in integrated-electronics technology, let us briefly compare the processes by which circuits are fabricated through discrete-device technology with that of integrated circuits technology. The reader is referred to the December 1964 issue of Proceedings of IEEE2 for a comprehensive review of integrated electronics. The article3 by Jay Lathrop is an excellent discussion of integrated-circuits technology. A discussion of the history of semiconductor technology is contained in Ref. 4. A) Current Status of Integrated Electronics. Fig. 1 (top) shows the process by which circuits are constructed from discrete devices. Key points are: 1) Slices containing large numbers of transistors or diodes are processed separately. 2) The slices are scribed into small chips (on the order of 15 mils on a side is about as small as can be conveniently handled) each chip containing one transistor. 3) Each device is specified separately—circuit -function specs are derived largely from device specs. 4) Circuits are formed by connecting together the discrete devices. 5) The number of circuit connections required is approximately equal to the number of devices. 6) There are potentially many more discrete devices per inch2 of semiconductor—only our lack of ability to handle them in discrete form prevents us from going to several orders of magnitude higher density iin Fig. 1, 400,000 transistors are discussed at 1.5 mils on a side). The bottom part of Fig. 1 illustrates the integrated circuit process. Key points are: 1) On the same slice of silicon, transistors, diodes, and resistors are processed grouped to do a complete circuit function. 2) While still in slice form, the components are interconnected into circuit functions by an evaporation process, eliminating the need for separate interconnection steps later. Dramatic improvements in cost and reliability are realized. With a simple flash of metalization thousands of interconnections are reliably made. 3) The slices are scribed into chips which contain complete circuit functions. 4) The circuit functions are specified-not each component in the circuit. This important point was missed by some of the early opponents to integrated circuitry. They argued that, with device yields at x pct, integrated circuit yields would be pct, where n is the required number of devices to make a circuit. This argument leads to extremely low yields for integrated circuits. The fallacy of the argument is that in integrated circuits each device is not specified separately. Furthermore, since a device is forever integrated into a specific circuit function, it need meet only the requirements for that particular function. Discrete devices, on the other hand, are tightly specified so that they can be applied to a variety of circuit functions. 5) Extremely high packing densities are achievable because one need only make the basic devices as large as the circuit demands. Their size is not dictated by handling requirements. A current example

Jan 1, 1967

By Philip D. Wilson

SPEED is essentiaI in this war program and it is hard to keep up with developments. When the title of this paper was chosen, the contemplated magnesium production for which plants were then under construction was some 200,000 tons of metal per year or sixty times the 3350-ton production in prewar 1939. A few- days later an analysis of the President's 185,000-plane pro-gram, incendiary bomb schedules, and the additional requirements of the Army. Navy and Maritime Commission made it apparent that a much greater amount of magnesium must be provided in 1943. The new figures are huge but the censor will not per-mit their disclosure.

Jan 1, 1942

By J. M. Ross

THE Homestake mine is situated in Whitewood mining district, in the northern Black Hills of South Dakota, in the city of Lead, Lawrence County. The entire property, comprising 557 lode claims with a total area of 3343 acres, is held under United States Patent. The older claims were 300 by 1500 ft. under local regulations, the newer ones 600 by 1500 ft. The Homestake was discovered April 9, 1876, by Moses and Fred Manuel, and Jake Harney, who were drawn into the northern hills, from the Custer placer district, by news of the discovery of rich placer deposits in Deadwood Gulch. They located a number of additional lode claims and, in a short time, the whole country was covered with locations. The Manuel brothers built an arrastre the following winter and took out $5000. The next year the Homestake lode was sold to Senator George Hearst and associates, who organized the Homestake Mining Co. Other companies were formed to exploit other groups of claims and at one time five companies were operating on this deposit, the Father DeSmet, the Deadwood-Terra, the Caledonia, the Highland, and. the Homestake Mining Co. These companies, however, have been merged into the Homestake Mining Company. The first stamp mill, known as the "Eighty Mill," commenced operation on July, 12, 1878, and production has been nearly continuous since that time.

Jan 2, 1925

By D. J. MacKinnon, J. M. Brannen

Smooth, compact, dendrite free 24-h zinc deposits have been electrowon from zinc chloride electrolyte using a diaphragm cell. The cell consisted of sealed anode compartments containing DSA anodes separated from an open cathode compartment by Dynel cloth membranes. Fresh electrolyte was fed to the cathode compartment where zinc deposition onto an aluminum cathode was aided by air sparging. The catholyte passed through the diaphragms into the anode compartments from which chlorine gas and spent anolyte were withdrawn. Standard electrolysis conditions were: 15 g/L Zn, 0.12 M HCI, I5 mg/L tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBACI) as the addition agent, 35°C, and 323 A/m2 (30 ASF) current density. The effect of variations in these conditions on the morpohology orientation, current efficiency, and energy requirement for 24-h zinc deposits was determined. The effect of total chloride ion concentration on the zinc deposit was studied by adding various amounts of NaCl to the electrolyte.

Jan 1, 1983

By Paul L. Russell

THIS is a progress report of an experiment being undertaken in cooperation with the Bethlehem Steel Corp., the Crucible Steel Co., and the Rock Bit Sales and Service Co., involving heat treatment of the shank ends of drill steel. This experiment is being conducted by the U. S. Bureau of Mines in its experimental mine, Mining Research Branch, Bluemont, Va. The purpose of the experiment is to determine the effect of an increase in the time the steel soaks in the furnace during the hardening heat. It has been thought that increasing this time produces a soft zone below the lugs resulting in a metallurgical notch that causes early failure. Each of the steel companies furnished enough 11/4 - in. straight carbon, hollow, round steel to make up 10 sets of drill steel, in each instance the steel bars were from the same heat. These sets of drill steel, consisting of 2-ft, 4-ft, 6-ft, and 8-ft lengths were fabricated by the Rock Bit Sales and Service Co. Special attention was given to the forging of the steel to produce the best rods possible. The heat treatment of all thread ends was identical and followed the best practice. The heat treatment of the shank ends of five sets of steel from each company produced a soft zone 2 to 4 in. in front of the lugs. It was decided that possibly the best way to obtain this effect was not to overlap the hardening heat but to let the steel soak for an additional 30 min before quenching. Therefore the only variable in the test steels is the length of time the shank ends were in the furnace. The remaining drill steel shanks were treated as follows: Heat treatment in pyrometer-controlled furnace at 1550°F. Quenching oil at 105°F to 125°F temperature. Areas for heat treatment were; shanks, 11 in.; threads, 9 in. Time at heat, standard practice, 20 min for 11/4-in. steel. Actual drilling tests were made in greenstone, (a metamorphosed basaltic rock), and in epidosite. Greenstone has a specific gravity of 2.96 and a compressive strength of 44,200 psi. Epidosite has a specific gravity of 3.26 and a compressive strength of 63,100 psi. All drilling tests were made using a 31/2-in. column-mounted, automatic feed drifter, with a controlled air pressure of 90 psi at the throttle. Tungsten-carbide bits of 2 in. diameter were used for all drilling. Contrary to expectations the drill steels that were allowed to soak for the additional 30 min before quenching performed better than the steels that were heat treated according to standard practice. This performance, as shown in Table I, was especially noticeable in the drilling of epidosite. The "longheat" drill steels furnished by Company "A" drilled 154 pct more minutes than the "standard-heat" steel. Expressed in feet, the "long-heat" steel drilled 114.60 ft more before failure than the "standard-heat" steel. The "long-heat" steel furnished by Company "B" drilled 37 pet more minutes or 60.39 ft more before failure than the "standard-heat" drill steel. The effect of the long heat treatment was not as evident when the steels were drilling in greenstone (Table II). In greenstone, the increase in minutes drilled by the "long-heat" steel over the "standard-heat" steel was 47 pet and 1 pet, respectively, for Companies "A" and "B."

Jan 1, 1952

In the Bowen Basin of central Queensland, coal production has gone from virtually nothing in 1961 to more than 24 million tons today4ut there's a cloud over this success.

Jan 1, 1977

By Williams, J. A.

THE Alaska Juneau mine has been developed through an adit driven at the elevation of the top of the mill and all mining is done above this main haulage level. As a result of wholesa1e"mining operations about 11,000 tons rock containing one dollar' per ton in gold is, hauled to the. concentrator during every 24 hr. Due to the method of mining, whereby a system of oreways delivers-the.ore direct from the stope to the bottom level of the mine, no tramming of ore is done on any of the upper levels. However, ;in doing exploratory drifting and crosscutting on the upper levels, the broken material is trammed by hand in 1-ton 18-in. gage cars to a nearby raise connecting with one of the several oreways. This constitutes the only tramming operation except that on the main level.

Jan 1, 1931

By M. C. Fuerstenau, J. D. Miller

The response of calcite to flotation with saturated fatty acids and alkyl sulfonates of various chain lengths is presented. The amount of collector re-quired for flotation is shown to decrease systemati-cally with increasing carbon content from 8 to 12-carbon atoms per molecule. This systematic flotation response is correlated with the solubilities of the calcium-collector salts, which were established with a nephelometer. The 14-carbon collectors deviate from this systematic behavior, and no flotation is possible with the 16-carbon homologs. As determined by infrared analysis, the mechanism of collector adsorption involves a specific chemical reaction be-tween the collector and the surface. A reaction of the form CaCO3(s)+ 2 RCOO"=*=Ca(RCOO)2(s) + C03= is suggested. The pH of the system is also shown to be a most important parameter as it controls the carbonate, calcium, and collector ion concentrations in solution and thus controls flotation response. The importance of hydrocarbon chain length of collectors was recognized early, and various studies have been made on this aspect of flotation. Wilkinson, ' for example, noted that as the chain length of alkyl xanthates is increased, the amount of collector required for flotation of sphalerite is decreased. The same effect has been shown in the flotation of galena.2 Similar results were obtained when malachite3 and calcite4 were floated with various fatty acids. DeBruyn5 has shown that a similar phenomenon occurs when quartz is floated with amines at constant pH. Recently, Fuerstenau, Healy, and Somasundaran6 correlated this phenomenon with the van der Waals cohesive free energy of association of the hydrocarbon chains. It seems unlikely, however, that chain association could be involved in the sulfide and carbonate systems with the collector additions employed, especially with the short-chain xanthates. Rather, it would seem that the decrease in collector concentration with increase in chain length noted for flotation is related to the solubility of the metal-collector salt. The purpose of this investigation is to verify this premise and also quantify this phenomenon if possible. Calcite was selected for study with both alkyl sulfonates and saturated fatty acids as collectors. EXPERIMENTAL MATERIALS AND METHODS The collectors used in this investigation ranged from 8 through 14 carbon atoms per molecule. The fatty acids had a reported purity of greater than 99%. The sodium alkyl sulfonates were provided by the Marathon Oil Cot, Littleton, Colorado, and had the

Jan 1, 1968

By M. W. Lightner

IN 1947 the steel industry rebounded from its wartime effort and produced a record-breaking peacetime tonnage of steel ingots. During the first six months of the year the industry produced 42,000,000 tons of ingots and expected to produce 85,000,000 tons for the year. With a rated capacity of some 91,000,000 tons, production was at a rate of about 93 per cent of capacity. Credit must be extended to the steel producers who have maintained this steady state of operations while faced with many problems, not the least of which was a continued shortage of satisfactory scrap. Furthermore, the steel industry started a record-breaking peacetime expansion program at a total cost of more than $1,000,000,000. This program will increase the ingot-making capacity of the country by 2,500,000 tons and should be completed in 1948.

Jan 1, 1948

By ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS

BY this time almost everyone knows, in a general way, the corporate income distribution policies of the 1936 Revenue Act, and many of the practical problems arising there under. This article is not intended to be a technical discussion of that act by title, subtitle, section, or supplement, nor an analysis of inter- dependent sections of the various acts over many years woven on the fiscal loom f our Congressional machine. Such a discussion would require the spinning of a web of words too long for patience. Yet ,a general statement of the underlying plan of the 1936 Act, so far as it affects dividend policies, is perhaps useful.

Jan 1, 1937

By H. C. George

IN 1901, the United States produced 69 million barrels of crude oil, which was 41.4 per cent of the world production. By 1931, these figures were 850 million barrels and 62.1 per cent respectively, showing over this period of thirty years an increase in the world production of 718 per cent. Over this same period, the increase in the demand for technically trained men in the industry was much greater than the increase in crude-oil production. This was because much of the increase in production was secured by the application of geology and physics to the finding of new oil fields and by .the development of engineering methods and equipment incident to drilling and producing from much greater .depths.

Jan 1, 1934

By W. R. Ingalls

DUPING the last two years, and especially during the last six months, a number of important articles upon the new methods for the desulphurization of galena have been published in the technical periodicals, particularly in the Engineering and Mining Journal and in Metallurgie. I proposed for these methods the type-name of "lime-roasting" of galena as a convenient metallurgical classification,' and this term has found some acceptance. The articles referred to have shown the great practical importance of these new processes, and the general recognition of their metallurgical and commercial value which has already been accorded to them. It is my present purpose to review broadly the changes developed by them in the metallurgy of lead, in which connection it is necessary to refer briefly to the previous state of the art. The elimination of the sulphur-content of galena has been always the most troublesome part of the smelting-process, being both costly in the operation and wasteful of silver and lead. Previous to the introduction of the Huntington-Heberlein process at Pertusola, Italy, it was effected by a variety of methods. In the treatment of non-argentiferous galena concentrate, the smelting was done by the roast-reduction method (roasting in reverberatory furnace and smelting in blast-furnace); the roast-reaction method, applied in reverberatory furnaces; and the roast-reaction method, applied in Scotch hearths 2 Precipitation-smelting, simple, had practically gone out of use, although its reactions enter into the modern blast-furnace practice, as do also those of the roast-reaction method.

Sep 1, 1906

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