Search Documents

By H. C., Weed

THE Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co., located in the Globe-Miami district at Inspiration, Ariz., became a producer of copper in 1915. From 1915 until 1948, 116,278,000 tons of ore were produced from underground workings by the block-caving system of mining. In April 1948, open-pit ore production from portions of the ore body was started and earlier plans for block-caving in these areas were abandoned. The change was due to economic conditions. Prior to the war years Inspiration's costs of mining by block-caving methods were comparable to, or even below, the costs of some open-pit operations. By the end of the war these conditions were completely changed. Underground costs had risen steadily for labor and supplies. Difficulty was being experienced in finding competent underground men and underground development was almost hopelessly behind schedule. On the other hand, open-pit costs had been sharply reduced through the development of modern earth-moving machinery and plenty of labor was available for surface work.

Jan 1, 1950

By Clyde Williams

IN this war as in no former one, the use of metals has been the major factor governing success. For building new plants, new transport facilities whether by land, sea, or air, for our mechanized army, and for nearly all weapons, iron and steel has provided the basic material. Being the world leader in iron and steel production in peacetime, we soon adapted plants to production for war. Starting with a production of 66,000,000 tons of steel ingots in 1940 from a rated capacity of 80,000,000 tons which only could be reached by straining every productive device available, our industry expanded to 86,000,000 tons in 1942, and ultimately to 96,000,000 tons. To do so required expansion of every unit operation including mining, rail and water transportation, blast-furnace and steelmaking facilities, and rolling mills. New plants not only had to be built in record time but more output for each operation was essential. This performance required skillful operation and engineering techniques and also a better understanding of the physics and chemistry underlying such complex operations as the working of a big blast furnace. A vastly increased pig iron production made possible the great output of steel by an industry that had depended on scrap for its basic raw material even though sufficient scrap was unavailable. This was done by conversion of pig iron in the Bessemer either into steel or into a low-carbon product that was subsequently used in place of scrap in the open¬hearth steel furnace. Furthermore, by duplexing from the open-hearth to the electric furnace, and the construction of many new electric furnaces, our output of electric-furnace alloy steel was greatly increased. Moreover, techniques were developed by which alloy steel could be made in the open hearth with the result that our production of alloy steel reached the fantastic figure of 15,000,000 tons a year.

Jan 1, 1945

By W. G. SWART

THE best estimate on reserves of iron ore in the Lake Superior district is that made, in 1920, by Mr. R. C. Allen, amounting to 2,947,225,000 tons of assured and probable ore. This includes direct- shipping or so-called merchantable ores, and those capable of beneficiation by demonstrated processes. De- ducting from this the 287,000,000 tons shipped since 1920, leaves a present reserve of approximately 2,500,- 000,000 tons, or; about 50 years' supply. The assured ore in this estimate is given as 1,560,500,000 tons, which checks Mr. Lake's estimate of 1,528,948,000 tons, or about 30 years' supply. This is not a long time in the life of the steel industry, and it can be readily appreciated that the matter is important enough to war- rant the attention it is beginning to receive. The first question that engages our attention is, What is merchantable ore? In 1902 the average of all Mesabi shipments was 56.07 per cent iron and 4.35 per cent silica. Twenty-five years later it had dropped to 51.99 per cent iron, with silica up to 7.92 per cent. It has remained around these figures for' ten or twelve years and, except for a probable rise in silica, can stay there for an indefinite period. Most of these figures I am giving cover the Mesabi Range. Including the other ranges does not change the figures greatly, and the Mesabi Range commands the situation, since it produces about 65 per cent of the total annual tonnage and, according to Mr. Allen, contains 81 per cent of the assured reserves, 50 per cent of the probable reserves, and 66 per cent of both the assured and the probable reserves.

Jan 1, 1926

By Charles F. Park

Mining in the Pacific Coastal Region has passed through three stages of development. First came the gold rush days, a period when gold and silver were the objects of intensive search. Second was the development of the high-grade base-metal deposits and of the smaller and more refractory precious metal deposits. And third was the modern period that covers the discovery and development of the rarer metals, of large low-grade deposits, and of the industrial and nonmetallic minerals. Brief discussions of the salient geologic features of the region and of a few of the better known mineral deposits are given. The regional geology is favorable for continued exploration and discovery of new deposits and districts.

Jan 1, 1968

By Robert L. Fleischer

A well known but unexplained experimental fact is the observation1 that aluminum shows a pure <111> wire texture, in contrast with other fcc metals, which have a mixed <100> <111> texture at moderate reductions. A possibly related single crystal observation on aluminum is the following:2 under tensile deformation <111> single crystals are stable (maintain their original axial orientation), while <100> crystals are unstable at room temperature and become stable at lower temperatures. This suggests that at room temperature, as proposed by Yen and Hibbard,3 the single <111> texture obtains be- cause <100> orientations are unstable in the poly-crystal. It also implies that for wire drawing at lower temperature a <100> component of the texture might be expected since that orientation is then stable. This possibility has been examined by wire drawing at temperatures near 77°K. The apparatus was designed to be used with an existing draw-bench, a steel trough acting as die holder and containing sufficient liquid nitrogen to immerse the wire entering the die. The trough is insulated by a styrofoam container to prevent excessive boiling of the bath. The wire emerging from the die enters a polyethylene tube, into the far end of which the grips are inserted. Liquid nitrogen is funneled into the tube to maintain the low tem-

Jan 1, 1962

By T. Sterry Hunt

WET processes for the extraction of copper from its ores have of late attracted much attention, especially in Europe, where the use of oupriferous iron-pyrites as a&apos; source of sulphur prevails. These processes present an additional interest, when, as is often the case, the copper-ore&apos;s to be treated contain one or both of the precious metals, since the complete separation of these from copper, either in the dry or the moist way, is, as is well known, one of the difficult problems of metallurgy. The principal wet processes hitherto in use for the extraction of copper from its ores, may be included under three classes : I. Those in which the copper in snlphuretted ores is rendered soluble in water by calcining them, after a preliminary roasting which removes the greater part of their sulphur, with a portion of common salt, by which the copper is converted into a chloride (Long-maid and Henderson), or with sulphate of soda, by which sulphate of copper is formed (Monnier). Allied to these is the method by which a portion of the copper is got as soluble sulphate by roasting without addition, a process which is sometimes modified and rendered more complete by re-roasting the lixiviated residues with the addition of a portion of raw sulphuretted ore (Bankart). II. Those methods in which free chlorhydric or sulphuric acid is used to dissolve the copper- from oxidized or roasted ores. These, while simple and efficient, are too costly, except in certain localities where chlorhydric acid is a waste product. Related to them is the plan which consists in exposing the oxidized and moistened ores to the slow action of sulphurous acid mixed with air, by which a soluble sulphate of copper is formed. It has been proposed to decompose the solutions of sulphate or chloride of copper by sulphuretted hydrogen, thus separating the copper as sulphide, and using the liberated acid to dissolve fresh portions of oxidized copper. It is, however, the almost universal practice to throw down the copper from its solutions, however obtained, in the metallic state by the use of iron, either scrap-iron or iron-sponge; although in some instances

Jan 1, 1882

By T. Sterry Hunt

Jan 1, 1882

By W. W. Yankie, A. T. Chatas

This paper is written as a discussion of the paper, "Buckling of Tubing in Pumping Wells, Its Effects and Means for Controlling It" by Arthur Lubinski and K. A. Blenkarn, which war published in the March, 1957, issue of Journal oP Petroleum Technology. An analogy is drawn between the buckling of tubing in pumping wells and a fiube, fitted with frictionless pistom, linked by an inelastic rod, and which is subject to an internal pressure. A simple derivation shows that the critical internal pressure exerts a hydrostatic force on the pisfon which is close to the Euler load for compression buckling of the same tube. While the results agree with those of Ref. I, the basis of calculations has been changed and clarified. The presence of internal upsets at the pistons is discussed. INTRODUCTION In the Appendix, Lubinski and Blenkarn state that a tube with ends closed by frietionless pistons connected by an inelastic rod (Fig. 1) will behave as a column loaded with a force equal to the tension force in the rod. They note that, while the fluid may not resist a shear force, the moment in every cross section is piston force multiplied by the elastic line deflection (c.f., the loaded column). Since the equations of the elastic lines are similar in the two cases, the solution is carried over from the loaded column. On the contrary it is suggested that while the method of solution remains unchanged from the column case, the actual stress distribution is different, a fact which is taken into account in this note. A simple method of approximating the buckling pressure is given, and their reasoning in our mathematical language is continued. GENERAL EQUATIONS The equation of an elastic line, initially straight in the x direction (Fig. 2), is given by In the case of a loaded column, this may be written: For the pressurized tube it was shown, by analogy with the loaded column, that tion has a solution that, for P, = EI/P, any deflection is stable (a criterion for buckling). An attempt will be made to describe more precisely, the forces acting on the tube, and to analyze the buckling condi,tions. DISCUSSION If the tube assumed a deflected position, the volume between the pistons would increase so that in deflecting, the energy of the fluid would decrease. When the increase in elastic energy of the tube (due to bending) is equal to the decrease of fluid pressure energy, buckling conditions exist. Analyzing the forces on the tube (Fig. 3), two transverse forces, T,, T,, exerted by the pistons, are balanced by a resultant of the pressure elements which are linearly dependent on the local curvature of the elastic line (Fig. 4). Unlike most buckling cases, the forces depend on the shape of the elastic line, a condition that makes a rigorous mathematical treatment difficult. Several approximations may be used to clarify the problem.

By Kenneth K. Humphreys

INTRODUCTION What is automation? Why automate? Webster&apos;s New Collegiate Dictionary defines automation as "the automatically controlled operation of an apparatus, process, or system by mechanical or electronic devices that take the place of human organs of observation, effort, and decision." This definition gives an implied answer to the second question, "Why automate?" Automation, automatic control devices, and process control equipment receive their justification in supplementing or replacing manpower, which results in decreased operating costs. In the past, processes were operated with the minimum amount of instruments needed merely to guide operators. Processes were manually con- trolled by the operator on the basis of simple temperature, pressure, flow, and level indications on a panel. Today the tendency is to design a new plant to operate in a fully automatic manner according to a preset pro- gram utilizing a minimum of manpower. In addition to this direct cost reduction in manual labor, increased equipment capacity results from uniformity of flow and uniform control of process variables. This control eliminates or minimizes surges and permits equipment to be operated at or near its ultimate capacity and, for a given material throughput, permits the use of smaller process equipment. Automatic control, therefore, be it in the field of coal processing or in any industrial field, is simply a problem of economics. Control equipment is justified in terms of its contribution toward increasing productivity, increasing profit margins, or producing a new and salable product at a profit. Instruments and control devices can be divided into two general groups: (1) units which measure and (2) units which both measure and control a process variable.

Jan 1, 1979

By F. B. Plummer

PROGRESS during 1940 in oil-production technology has been confined largely to a steady advancement in practices inaugurated in previous years, rather than the introduction of any new startling process or technique. The usual changes, improvements and additions in production equipment have been introduced. An increased attention to, and interest in, research has been noteworthy, resulting in improved efficiency in operation of oil wells. control, utilization of reservoir energies and reduction of production costs.

Jan 1, 1941

Albert Sauveur writes, on Apr. 16, 1918, while the German offensive was at its height, as follows: "In spite of the German guns and air raids we are all in good health and spirits and shall leave Paris only as a last extremity. Our unlimited confidence in Foch, however, makes us believe that it will not be necessary. I trust that everything is well with you at the Institute." Harold Whittingham entered the active service with the heavy artillery in England at the beginning of the war and has been fighting in France since February, 1915. He now holds the rank of Major. On Dec. 17, 1917, after being wounded, he was taken prisoner by the Germans, and, so far as is known, is still in a prison camp in Germany. Charles W. Wright, who is a Captain in charge of the work of the American Red Cross in Sardinia, Italy, writes that the service there is giving aid to about 80,000 soldiers&apos; families and is upholding the good repute of America in that place. W. S. Holloway in 1914 joined the Sportsmans&apos; Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers as a private, but is now a Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers, Mining Corps. He received the Military Cross while mining at the Front in France. A. L. Queneau writes the following interesting account of his experience of the war. Several letters from Mr. Queneau have been published

Jan 6, 1918

By McHenry Mosier

MeRcuRy is one of the strategic metals of which the supply has been raised from critical uncertainty to more than enough for essential demands. Work by the Bureau of Mines has contributed substantially to increased production of mercury in the United States and to consequent accumulation of Government stocks. Other contributing factors have been higher prices for mercury and Government loans to operators. The Bureau has undertaken 13 exploration projects, 10 of which have been completed. This work has comprised 28,376 ft. of several types of drilling and 23,798 lin. ft. of surface trenching, and has indicated commercial ore containing 34,800 flasks of mercury and marginal ore containing 26,200 flasks, a total of 61,000 flasks; equivalent, respectively, to domestic production for 8 months, 6 months, and 14 months. As Government stocks are now adequate, domestic production (currently at the rate of 50,000 flasks per year) is gradually being curtailed through Government control of labor and operating supplies. Introduction Mercury was one of the seven metals designated as strategic by the Army and Navy Munitions Board in 1939, when Congress appropriated funds for the investigation of domestic sources of supply of war minerals. The Bureau of Mines immediately started a limited search for strategic minerals, but the first mercury project was not begun until December 1940. The U. S. Geological Survey assisted in the search for cinnabar by contributing information on domestic mercury deposits, preparing maps, and making geological studies of exploration projects. The present high rate of production of mercury in the United States was encouraged by the increase in price to $196 per flask at New York (Fig. I) and Government loans to operators for mine development and plant construction. The Bureau of Mines has issued, for restricted distribution subject to wartime controls, 13 War Minerals Reports on individual mercury deposits (listed in appendix A). In March 1942 it also published a Progress Report of the Metallurgical Division, R. I. 3627, Cinnabar-reduction Plants of the Southwestern Arkansas Quicksilver District. Uses of Mercury Mercury and its compounds have more than 3000 uses. Its principal use is as a catalyst in the manufacture of gases for chemical warfare; the next largest is in pharmaceuticals. Mercury is essential also for: (I) certain electrical apparatus, (2) industrial control instruments at many war plants, (3) munitions, including blasting caps, (4) insecticides in agriculture, (5) antifouling paint for ship bottoms, (6) dental preparations, (7) general laboratory use, and (8) amalgamation of free-milling gold ores.

Jan 1, 1949

By McHenry Mosier

MeRcuRy is one of the strategic metals of which the supply has been raised from critical uncertainty to more than enough for essential demands. Work by the Bureau of Mines has contributed substantially to increased production of mercury in the United States and to consequent accumulation of Government stocks. Other contributing factors have been higher prices for mercury and Government loans to operators. The Bureau has undertaken 13 exploration projects, 10 of which have been completed. This work has comprised 28,376 ft. of several types of drilling and 23,798 lin. ft. of surface trenching, and has indicated commercial ore containing 34,800 flasks of mercury and marginal ore containing 26,200 flasks, a total of 61,000 flasks; equivalent, respectively, to domestic production for 8 months, 6 months, and 14 months. As Government stocks are now adequate, domestic production (currently at the rate of 50,000 flasks per year) is gradually being curtailed through Government control of labor and operating supplies. Introduction Mercury was one of the seven metals designated as strategic by the Army and Navy Munitions Board in 1939, when Congress appropriated funds for the investigation of domestic sources of supply of war minerals. The Bureau of Mines immediately started a limited search for strategic minerals, but the first mercury project was not begun until December 1940. The U. S. Geological Survey assisted in the search for cinnabar by contributing information on domestic mercury deposits, preparing maps, and making geological studies of exploration projects. The present high rate of production of mercury in the United States was encouraged by the increase in price to $196 per flask at New York (Fig. I) and Government loans to operators for mine development and plant construction. The Bureau of Mines has issued, for restricted distribution subject to wartime controls, 13 War Minerals Reports on individual mercury deposits (listed in appendix A). In March 1942 it also published a Progress Report of the Metallurgical Division, R. I. 3627, Cinnabar-reduction Plants of the Southwestern Arkansas Quicksilver District. Uses of Mercury Mercury and its compounds have more than 3000 uses. Its principal use is as a catalyst in the manufacture of gases for chemical warfare; the next largest is in pharmaceuticals. Mercury is essential also for: (I) certain electrical apparatus, (2) industrial control instruments at many war plants, (3) munitions, including blasting caps, (4) insecticides in agriculture, (5) antifouling paint for ship bottoms, (6) dental preparations, (7) general laboratory use, and (8) amalgamation of free-milling gold ores.

Jan 1, 1949

By JOHN R. SUMAN

OVERWHELMING proof of the importance of oil in a modern national economy is afforded by the present European War. Treat¬ies and national boundaries have been cynically violated to secure greater supplies of the precious fuel. Petroleum substitutes have been desperately, and far from successfully, sought. The whole German military theory of the drang nach Osten, the drive to the East, is directed at cutting the British supply of oil and securing a supply for Germany. This is a war of machines, and the machines of war feed hungrily on oil. In view of this fact, it is surely comforting to know that we are living today in a nation which has surpassed all the rest of the world not merely in unearthing the raw supplies of petroleum which lie beneath its surface but also in every phase of the industry in mining, refining, processing, production, and distribution.

Jan 1, 1941

By AIME AIME

THE fall meeting of the Petroleum Division, held at Tulsa, Okla., on Oct. 11 to 14, devoted two days to technical sessions and two to field excursions. A representative attendance of 250 to 300 engineers and operating officials engaged in oil production marked the sessions and paid close attention throughout to a notable series of highly technical papers. Restricted as the program was to consideration of production problems only, the time proved too short for discussion or even the presentation of the 20 papers submitted. Much informing and pertinent discussion none the less took place, and the sentiment was general to the effect that the meeting was one of the best ever held by the Division. The meetings were held in the auditorium of the Municipal building and local arrangements were well looked after by the Mid-Continent Section of the Institute and the Oil and Gas Association. The combination of the three organizations served to bring together engineers and operators most usefully. F. Julius Fohs, chairman of the Division, presided at the sessions on Monday. Tuesday morning John M. Lovejoy of the local section took over this responsibility in the absence of T. E. Swigart, who was detained in California. The afternoon session was presided over by A. G. Heggam of the Oil and Gas Association and the Tuesday evening banquet by W. C. Franklin of the same organization.

Jan 1, 1926

By Harry P. Hohenadel

DURING the past few years the amazing developments of the chemical industry have inspired so much publicity that the feature writers assure us that we are entering a "Chemical Age," industrially as important as the "Steel Age" and the "Electric Age," so-called. Whether or not these assurances are overstatements, it is a fact that the expansion of the chemical industry during the past 25 years has been enormous. The Chemical Bureau of the War Production Board calculates the value of chemicals produced during 1944 at $8,300,000,000, no small sum even in inflated dollars. As concerns us of the Southwest oil and gas country, four significant trends of the chemical industry are most important. (1) Many of the recently developed chemical products are new creations, not substitutes,. as new and original as the invention of the light bulb, and with a field for exploitation almost as wide. (2) Many of these chemical products will enter the mass consuming markets, which require enormous tonnages of products, and such markets are setting up an industrial demand for chemicals on a mass volume basis, compared to the relatively high-priced low-volume basis ordinarily considered as the chemical outlet of the past. (3) Most of the processes involved in producing these chemicals are adapt. able to the use, all or in part, of natural gas, oil, or refinery gases as raw mate-

Jan 1, 1945

By Sydney H., Ball

ONE of the important mineral discoveries of the eighteenth century was , that of the Minas Geraes, Brazil; diamond fields. The production of this and of .other diamond discoveries in neighboring states made Brazil the premier producer of diamonds, succeeding India; its 140 years of supremacy finally passed to- South Africa- 60 years ago. Three times have diamonds contributed heavily to Portugal&apos;s somewhat checkered financial history; first in the sixteenth and seventeenth- centuries when the diamond trade of India was controlled by its citizens residing in ,Goa, later in the late eighteenth and the first 75 years of the nineteenth century when the Brazilian fields were the world&apos;s source of diamonds, and now, when the Angola diamond mines are the principal source of revenue of its colony, Portuguese West Africa. Certain phases in the history of the administration of the Brazilian field are sufficiently curious to warrant description.

Jan 1, 1929

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 H. H. Stout

THE high copper price during the war stimulated the capacity to produce far beyond a possible normal consumption. The curves in Fig. 1 show this. The line YZ indicates, what the world production and consumption of primary copper nor-mally would have been, had not the 3 war upset the rhythm of industry. Granting that the maximum world production of 3,150,000,000 lb. in 1917 was obtained by crowding both the equipment and the grade of ore mined, yet in many instances addi-tional capital was invested, upon which the producer will be driven to earn at least a reasonable interest. During the period of deflation, or C liquidation, which we have entered, the consumption of copper will nat-urally be below the normal. Fig. 1 shows the actual consumption ex-pressed-in per cent. of normal : 1919, 96 per cent.; 1920, 94 per cent.; 1921, 70 per cent. The copper industry, consequently, faces: (1) Potential over-production capacity; I (2) Diminished consumption. To deny the existence of these factors would be illogical. To minimize the menace of this potential producing capacity might lead to regret. All past attempts at artificial control have not proved very successful. Obviously the remedy is to increase, if possible, the consumption of copper to a point where these factors cease to be dangerous. In ultimate analysis, this means: Produce an article so cheap and so good that no one can afford to use substitutes. The problem can be solved by: (1) Re-ducing price; (2) Improving product offered.

Jan 11, 1922

By Evan Evans

WITH the expiration on April 30, 1941, of the agreement between the anthracite operators and the United Mine Workers of America, a new agreement was entered into, providing for a general wage increase of 7 1/2 per cent effective May 1, to be brought to a total of 10 per cent on Oct. 1. Contract rates were increased from the rates established under the agreement of September 1923, and hourly rates were raised above the agreement of May 1936 as modified from the eight-to seven-hour day in May 1937. The new rates are to be in force for the duration of the agreement, ending April 30, 1943.

Jan 1, 1942