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By J. Robert Van Peli

IT was a strange but highly fruitful marriage-that union of hardy explorers, seeking the rich treasures of copper in the Lake Superior wilderness, with Boston's aristocracy of brains, capital, and enterprise. This historic wedlock, which has continued happily to the present day, was the means by which the wealth of Lake Superior's copper was won for the use and benefit of an expanding America. One branch of this family tree, the western branch, begins with prehistoric Indian miners, embraces the early French explorers of the Upper Lakes, and finally includes the British and American pioneers who reduced the vague rumors of copper to known fact and actually began the mining of copper in the wilderness. The other branch, the New England line, begins

Jan 1, 1948

Jan 1, 1883

THE Boston meeting, August 29-31, was in many ways one of the pleasantest the Institute has enjoyed in years. Much hard work had been done by the committee, and with excellent results. The program had been purposely restricted with the idea that a smaller, more homogeneous audience formed the best basis for a regional meeting, and the event fully justified the plan. The one hundred and sixty-three members and guests attending were dominantly interested in geophysical methods or their application, and, despite the highly technical character of the papers and the unusual heat, attendance and interest in the technical sessions were well sustained. The exhibition of geophysical instruments and aerial maps added greatly to the meeting.

Jan 1, 1928

By Persifor Frazer

The '(author's edition" of the following paper, "subject to re vision," was received by him, and copies sent to Professor Geikie and others about two weeks before the date of the meeting at which it was to be read. A telegram, and subsequently a letter (both of which unfortunately arrived too late), apprised the present writer that the Director General objected to certain views ascribed to him as the reverse of those which he really held. These views, however interesting, had no very important bearing on the object of the fol lowing notes, which, as must be evident, are devoted to the conside ration of the close analogies between the Welsh and American rocks. Without being able, therefore, to account for the circumstance which Professor Geikie has mentioned, it is thought better in the present revised edition to omit all allusion to Professor Geikie, or Mr. Peach, or their views, except in this place, where I desire to thank them for their courtesy during the time which I had the pleasure of spending in their society. It appears sufficiently throughout the body of the paper that the writer had not the slightest intention of entering the controversy, which was about to commence, concerning the proper horizons of the St. David's rocks, for many reasons; and amongst others because he did not feel that a sojourn of a few days in a difficult region, which had been already studied by many of the foremost geologists of England, would warrant him in adding to the literature on the sub ject. The discussion of the analogies between these rocks and those of the Eastern Appalachians, which he has studied for twelve years, of which eight were spent in the service of the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, was much more to his taste as it was more within his ability, and if he has added anything to the evidence of these analogies, the paper, however imperfect, will not have been written entirely in vain. Right or wrong, he assumes the entire responsibility of what follows.

Jan 1, 1883

By H. D. Pearsall

It is well that the usual system for supplying water at high pressure purposes of hydraulic mining possesses serious disadvantageense, delay and large annual repairs. Where plough work possible, the first expense of the ditch is moderate; but it is verynree years before the work is solid and the ditch water-tight, lxPenditure for repairs being needed during this time and greaf water occurring. Moreover, in the course of a long ditch, it happens that part of it has to traverse a diffi cult country fluming, masonry, or other expensive construc tion is necessich makes even the first cost high. The life of flumes is also) The ad visa if pumping water instead of supplying by gravity has therefore been suggested, when sufficient water-power for the purpose oping happens to be available. But the expense of the requiuchinery and its complication, which involves skilled attend expensive wear and tear, has hitherto pre vented. The author ever, having been called upon to make plans and estimates for Lulic works for an extensive placer-mine in Colo rado, has such in devising pumping arrangements which are free from these sections, and are in fact estimated to cost less than half what a din the usual plan would cost. Several incidental advantages in plan also accrue, which will be referred to more particularly be The works placer-mine have not yet been carried out, on account of final arrangements, but in the meanwhile an hy draulic 'engineilar to that designed for the mine, has been con structed and so work for other purposes in England; and in order to explane plan which I have recommended for working the placer-mine will' describe this, which is actually at work, in preference to cibing the one which is not yet constructed. The engine machine acts on the principle of the hydraulic ram

Jan 1, 1888

By A. Eilers

A MARKED peculiarity of most of the smelting-works of the Far West is the looseness with which accounts of the operations are kept. Indeed, probably over half of the works do not keep any detailed accounts at all, the yearly gross statement of profit or loss being considered sufficient for all purposes. The reasons for this must apparently be sought in the as yet unsettled state of all business relations, and in the deplorable fact that only in isolated cases educated metallurgists are in charge of the smelting-works. Continual and regular assays of the ores, by-products, and slags, are almost unknown, so that it is impracticable to ascertain, even approximately, the losses in the smelting processes. Of cases where regular accounts are kept of the quantities of ore smelted, of the composition of charges, and of the fuel consumed, I know only two or three. Under these circumstances it is extremely difficult to collect figures which cover the operations for a considerable length of time, and which are so valuable for the metallurgist, who wishes to get an insight into the economy of smelting operations, as shown by practice. Figures obtained by personal observation, which can of course cover only the brief space of the visit of the travelling metallurgist, must, therefore, be made to replace the more valuable data. The writer has had occasion, during the last and the preceding summer, to visit the larger number of the Western lead-smelting works, and offers, in the following pages, such data relating to the economy of lead-smelting in the blast furnace at various works, as he has been able to obtain. The only object in doing so is to place these figures on record, so that they may be from time to time supplemented with other data, which are now wanting. I. EUREKA CONSOLIDATED COMPANY'S SMELTING-WORKS. These works smelt the ores from the mines of the same company on Ruby Hill, Eureka, Nevada. The supply is almost unlimited,

By F. Lynwood Garrison

Except in the old Catalan forge, or its modifications, attempts to make iron and steel directly from ore in a practical and economical manner have failed so frequently and completely that such schemes are looked upon with justifiable distrust. Without exception, all have failed from one cause or another, although in some instances every indication of a practical success was manifest in the beginning. It is, therefore, necessary to carefully examine and consider every detail affecting the process, or more properly, furnace, under consideration. This I have done to the best of my ability during a long visit to Russia last summer, and after satisfactorily observing the practical success of the furnace in the iron works of Count Stroganoff at Dobriansky in the Government of Perm, I decided to investigate as completely as possible the history of similar furnaces in Finland and Russia. These data, sifted and verified with the greatest possible care, form the substance of the present paper.* An illustration on page 321 of Percy's Iron and Steel shows the old type of Osmundssmide or harkugnar, which has been in use in Northern Europe since pagan times. Fig. 1 shows a furnace of this kind. It should, perhaps, more properly be called a high-bloomary furnace or forge, the Swedish word hark meaning bloom or loupe. It was with this type of furnace that Mr. Husgafvel began his experiments at Porsaskoski in 1875. Attempts to obtain better results with larger furnaces of this type were failures, as every bloom or loupe obtained necessitated blowing out the furnace with a consequent large waste of fuel. A larger furnace of course increased this waste with no corresponding advantage. A movable hearth of threeeighth inch iron, lined with a mixture of clay, quartz and lime, was next tried, but in consequence of the frequent repairs of this lining,

Jan 1, 1888

By Willard Ide Pierce

The Department (formerly called State) of Tolima, which is beginning to attract considerable attention in this country on account of its mineral wealth, comprises an area of 18,415 square miles, lying between latitude 1" 34' 25" and 5" 44' 12/" N. and between longitude 74" 25' 45" and 76" 34, 25" W. from Greenwich. It is bounded on the north by the Department of Antioquia, on the east by the Departments of Cundinnmarca and Cauca, and on the south and west by the Department of Cauca. It is the most recently created of the States of Colombia, having been established by decree of April 12th, 1861, and being composed of the old provinces of Mariquita and Neiva, and of the districts Melgar, Carmen, Cunday and Santa Rosa, of Tequendama.

Jan 1, 1888

By James T. B. Ives

The map exhibited* as an example of my method of construct ing geological strata-maps is essentially an educational appliance. The method, however, is available for the production of maps of comparatively small areas, which, I am confident, will be found of great practical value to mining engineers. Before stating how the method may be so applied I will briefly describe the map exhibited, as the easiest way of making my meaning clear. Almost any region might be taken. This map represents the eastern half of the United States; and the geology is that of the map issued by the Geological Survey, and revised and extended subsequently by Professor Hitchcock for your Institute. I use ten cards, of the colors used in the geological map, each having the geog raphy of the area printed upon it; and I superimpose these in the order in which the colors occur in the index to the map. I next cut away a portion of each card, excepting the lowest, leaving only so much of each as represents the exposure of the formation of that color plus all those which overlie it. When that is done, the whole, looked at from a distance, appears to be an ordinary geological map. Looked at more closely, however, the formations are seen to overlie one another, as in nature. The cards are covered with glass in a frame, which, hinged at the bottom edge, can be let down. The cards are then found to be all hinged in the same manner, and they, too, may be lowered, one after the-other. I am told by teachers of geology of great experience and the highest reputation that by this appliance they will be assisted in im parting to students the first facts and principles of geological sci ence. Having let down the whole series of cards, until that repre senting the Archaean is seen underlying all the rest, the teacher will gradually rebuild it. The Cambrian will thus be laid down upon the Archaean before the eyes of the class, the Silurian upon that,

Jan 1, 1888

By J. C. Bayles

An obstacle to the more careful and satisfactory study of metals has been the difficulty in harmonizing the results of chemical and physical tests. These give us records of observations made from different and often widely separate points of view, and while it is true that they furnish bases for more or less accurate triangulations into the realm of speculation, it is doubtful if, with only the laboratory and the testing machine, our investigations would not move in parallel lines, leaving between them an unexplored field in which must probably be sought the information which shall connect the results of chemical and physical tests, and give to both a practical value which neither has yet been found to possess. The use of the microscope in the study of metals is not a new thing, but it is only lately that it has begun to attract the attention it merits or to show results of tangible value to the metallurgist. Among recent valuable contributions to the literature of this subject, I have been especially interested in the work of Mr. A. Martens, of

Jan 1, 1883

By William P. Blake

We are so familiar with water in its liquid and its solid form, that we seldom think of it as a mineral, and still less as a mineral product of any considerable industrial importance, though in the form of ice it is mined and stored up in enormous quantities yearly. The industry is peculiarly American, and in no other country has the business of cutting and storing ice been so well systematized and perfected. The interest has grown steadily from year to year, until it has attained large proportions, the annual production being counted in millions of tons, requiring, in the aggregate, a large investment of capital in all the Northern States. It gives employment, also, to thousands of men and horses, in the depth of winter, when farming work cannot be carried on. Ice is not only a luxury, but a necessity, in our climate, and is indispensable in many manufacturing operations: and finds constantly increasing applications and uses. As the industry has grown, so the necessity for suitable implements and tools has grown with it, and it has become necessary to systematize and cheapen the methods of handling such a large amount of material with rapidity and economy. As the industry is properly a branch of mining, and as our mining literature does not, to my knowledge, contain any description of the methods and appliances used in it, it seems desirable to place a brief description on record in our Transactions, and I therefore offer to the Institute the following outline description, based partly upon observations for several years past of the methods and processes employed, and partly upon the information obtained from prominent ice-miners and from the manufacturers of ice-tools. My acknowledgments are particularly due to the firm of W. T. Wood & Co., of Arlington, Massachusetts, for much information in detail, and also to the Knickerbocker Ice Company, of Philadelphia. The wood-cut blocks used in the illustration of this paper, have been kindly lent by both of these firms. The sequence of operations in getting ice is as follows : 1. Wetting down a light snow. 2. Scraping off an excess of snow, if present. 3. Marking out the field. 4. Ploughing and cross-ploughing. 5. Cutting the channel and detaching large floes.

Jan 1, 1883

By J. W. Harden

AT our meeting in October last we saw in operation at Pittsburgh, the comparatively modern process of the utilization of small coal by washing, by an arrangement similar to that of Berard or Morrison. The small coal washed was that of an old pile, the refuse of the mining of the Pittsburgh bed, and which had long lain uncared for. Value was thereby restored to it when it was converted into a very good coke. This circumstance led to comments on the mountains of broken coal lying wasted, and in its present condition worse than useless, in the neighborhood of the mines of the Wyoming Valley, though they are not confined to that district. Some things were said condemning the course which produced it, some were left unsaid. Of a system that destroys one-half the coal-bed in producing the other half there can, however, be but one opinion. Schemes have been suggested for the utilization of present accumulations which, if successfully applied, would in so Far be beneficial. More than ordinary attention is now being given to the same subject in England ; a Mr. Barker has invented a means by which he amalgamates the "dust," too fine to burn in ordinary grates, with a composition he calls "diamond cement," producing blocks of coal said to resist water, both hot and cold, and which a smart blow will only break to pieces, not cause to crumble. But any scheme less than the one which will prevent the wasting of coal, which still goes on, though that involves the aban- donment of the breaker, will only be one of expediency; and the latter can only be done by the aid of the consumer. But the wasting of coal is not alone with the breaker; much is made in the mine. The cause is not far to seek ; the remedy is with capitalist and owner. Owners and consumers then are alike interested, and they have it in their power, in the one case, to mitigate, in the other, almost entirely to remove the cause of the evil. Of consumers there is one in every

By Casimir Constable

DURING the years 1875 to 1879 I had charge of the Rockwood furnaces and mines, situated forty miles from the nearest railway communication at that time, and one hundred miles north of Chap tanooga, Tenn., by the Tennessee River. The small furnace with old-fashioned stoves, then in blast, was built under great difficulties by General Wilder. The early conditions were somewhat as follows: The ore was fossil ore of the Clinton group ; very fine and generally wet, without other admixture. The coke had a large amount of ash, and the fur" nace appeared to be badly scaffolded at times. On many days only a few tons of iron could be obtained. The founder generally id creased the revolutions of the engine when signs of chilling appeared,. The cinder at such times was black, very scoriatious, often closely resembling mill cinder. When the pressure was increased (the joints being the old-fashioned rust joints), leaks in the blast-pipe occurred It was noted that when the blast was stopped, and the leak bolt imperfectly remedied, the furnace improved a little. This set me thinking on the right track; and I took the responsibility of be coming my own founder for a time. A scaffolded condition had existed, and the situation was a trying one. Strange to say the negroes proved excellent furnace-men. Conceiving the hearth of the furnace to be similar to the grate area of a steam-boiler, capable of disposing of but so much fuel per hour, and requiring only a corresponding amount of air, it follows that an excess of air will burn the fuel not yet arrived at the hearth!, and raise the melting-point far above the tuyeres. This might pro duce scaffolding or at any rate choke the boshes, and leave less fuel to be consumed in the hearth. Thus for the time being less ail;. would be needed, as the continued burning of fuel in and above the boshes, would only aggravate the trouble. This condition of affairs accounted for the black cinder; the heat above having melted ore not yet perfectly reduced. This view decided me to reduce the revolutions of the engine; thefurnace finally became gray, as might have been expected. Any attempt to increase the speed produced black cinder and hard iron ;

Jan 1, 1883

By T. Egleston

FOR a great part of the progress of the world we are indebted to the works of engineers. It is to them that we owe our means of rapid transportation, our canals, our railroads, our bridges, many of our automatic machines, and most of those appliances which, by facili tating or decreasing the amount of human labor to be expended and by utilizing the great forces of nature, have made the present progress of the world possible. Their education is a matter of momentous interest to the whole civilized world. I have, therefore, thought that some discussion of the theory upon which their education should be based would be of interest to this body, and have ventured a few reflections and suggestions upon the subject. The word education, in its original signification, meant the draw ing out of a man what there was in him. In our common schools the practical work of education consists in putting into the brain a larger number of facts than can be retained, which are consequently more or less understood and digested. It ordinarily consists simply of teaching a round of abstractions or facts which when not assim ilated are not only useless to the individual, but generate careless habits of thought and make more or less untruthful, unfaithful or unsuccessful men. In most of our schools a procrustean system is adopted; all are made to advance upon one general plan, the quick being kept back and the slow dragged on at a rate too great for their power of comprehension. Until within a very few years it has been a theory in common school education that the brain alone should be developed, and that little or no attention need be paid to the train-

Jan 1, 1888

By S. F. Emmons

" The obscurity which still veils from us the true nature of veins will become more and more cleared up when they can be considered in connection with the geological structure of the regions in which they occur."* These words, according to Lossen, the biographer of the late Dr. A. von Groddeck, of Clausthal, were the last received by him from that eminent man, perhaps the most far-sighted and carefully progressive of recent writers on ore-deposits. They seem to me to form a fitting text for what I am about to say; since I find that many of the conclusions at which I have arrived by my own study of the structural relations of ore-deposits, or, in other words, of the structural and dynamic geology of the regions in which they occur in this country, have been similarly determined by him within recent years in Europe, and especially in his home field of work, the Hartz. I shall not enter upon a detailed account of how far other workers may have arrived at similar conclusions with myself, since these questions of priority are of little interest, except to those immediately concerned; but will briefly present the methods by which, in my work in this country, I have arrived at certain generalizations, and will point out the practical bearing which they may have upon the work of mining engineers. In my first thorough and systematic examination of an important group of ore-deposits, viz., that of Leadville, Colorado, I was enabled, through the generous facilities afforded me by the then Director of the Geological Survey, Mr. Clarence King, to make a most elaborate and detailed study of the geology, not only of the immediate vicinity of the mines, but of the adjacent mountain regions, based upon accurate topographical and underground maps, and

Jan 1, 1888

By A. S. Bower

Any process which has for its object the preservation of iron and steel from rust, and which will make these metals more applicable than they now are to the requirements of mankind, will be sure to meet with attention from members of this association, and from all those who are either engaged in the extraction of the ore, its reduction to metal, or the subsequent application of the metal itself. It is, perhaps, not too much to say that when iron and steel are rendered secure against corrosion and decay, they will be used to an indefinitely greater extent than they now are. The whole realm of science has, therefore, been explored in the attempt to discover some method by which the formed article may be preserved, leaving its strength undiminished by the destructive action of rust. Paints, oils, varnishes, glazes, enamels, galvanizing, electro-depositing and what is called "inoxidizing" are among the many systems now in vogue to effect the preservation of iron and steel from the corrosive action of air and water. The object of this paper is to show what may he done in protecting iron and steel from rust by forming upon their surfaces a film of magnetic oxide by an inexpensive process. It is no new thing to be told that magnetic oxide of iron is unaffected by exposure to the atmosphere or to salt water for any length of time. The black sand of Taranaki, in New Zealand, is a sufficiently good example of this. Dr. Percy has pointed out that the reason why Russian sheet iron is less affected by exposure than ordinary sheet iron is because of a coating of magnetic oxide; but this was not known

Jan 1, 1883

By T. Egleston

The importance of condensing the gases which escape from furnaces so as to save both the fine particles of ore carried off mechanically and those which are volatilized, has for a long time occupied the serious attention of metallurgists in all parts of the world. It was my good fortune during the last summer to visit the lead and silver works at Ems, near Coblentz on the Rhine, and through the politeness of Mr. Freudenberg, general director of the works, to study in detail their methods of condensation, and to receive from him the important results which have been obtained through a series of experiments lasting over a number of years. I have thought, that these results would be of great interest to the members of the Institute and to other metallurgists in the United States, and I have, therefore, with the assistance of Mr. Freudenberg, prepared a careful, detailed description of the construction of the flues, as well as an account of the various experiments which have been made with them, and the conclusions arrived at as the result of these experiments. It may be said, in general, that the reason why so little attention has been paid in the metallurgical works of the United States to the collection of flue-dust, is that we are not generally aware of the large amount of material carried off by the gases. This is owing partly to the fact that little or no attention is paid to the subject, and also to the fact that the assays, which are almost invariably made in the dry way, show a result so much below the real contents

Jan 1, 1883

By Oswald J. Heinrich

IN this paper I shall attempt a description of the successful extraction of coal from this property after it had been on fire for probably fifty years, or more, and after attempts, made at various times, which had still left considerable coal behind. The Richmond coal-field has a well-founded bad reputation, arising from the circumstance that many of its collieries have had to be abandoned, from time to time, if not entirely, on account of fires, caused by spontaneous combustion, to which the character of the coal in this field renders them peculiarly liable. While I fully assent to the opinion that this trouble lies in the nature of the coal, which is highly bituminous, and the seams of which are, moreover, divided by slaty bands, through which, as also in the coal, iron pyrites is more or less disseminated, often in microscopically small particles, I must, nevertheless, declare that many lamentable disasters, causing great loss of life and property, could have been avoided if a suitable system of mining had been pursued in all the collieries. If this could not have been done from the be-. ginning of mining in this section of country (the history of which can be traced back to over one hundred years), at least experience enough existed upon this subject thirty and forty years ago to dictate the avoidance of the dangers to a considerable extent. I t is therefore necessary here to refer first, in a few remarks, to the character of the coal deposits, particularly in this immediate neighborhood, the Midlothian being one of the oldest and most extensive mines, and some of its coal being much subjected to spontaneous combustion. I must also refer to the history of former managements to explain more clearly the results which were arrived at. The Midlothian coal-mine property, situated upon the eastern outcrop of the basin, about four miles south from James River, exhibits

By Oswald J. Heinrich

THE origin of spontaneous combustion in collieries is, of course, chiefly due to bad system in laying out the pits, unclean workings, insufficient ventilation, and neglect in damming off works after they are exhausted of the main coal. This is particularly indispensable in the Richmond field, because it is difficult and dangerous here, on account of the inferior roof, to remove the last vestiges of coal ; and we are compelled also to retain all the slates and bands, as far as possible, in the pit, to help fill up, although such material is liable to fire. This, however, can be prevented to a great extent, as mentioned below. I am satisfied that the only system of working this thick coal is by cross-cutting (Querbau, ouvrage & travers) or working in benches, as practiced in France (Creusot, Rive de Gier, St. Etienne), in Silesia (Kiinigsgrube), which I have used as far as it is practicable in an old pit, almost torn to pieces by former workings. Modifications may, of course, be needed, even in the same pit, on account of irregularities in the seam. I am also satisfied for economical reasons (on account of the heavy cost for timbering) that pits here ought to be worked upwards, even if it requires a longer period of time to win the coal, and a greater outlay of capital to commence with. The various saddle-shaped " troubles " making natural minor basins in the main basin aid in the execution of this plan. A pit worked once ought to be worked out clean, given up, and dammed off forever. If sections of proper height are assumed, according to the required amount of production for a certain period of time, they ought to be worked out and filled in as much as possible, dammed off, and ultimately allowed to fill up with water, in order to protect the upper works in future from fire in the gob below. This I consider indispensable, because we may not be able profitably to fill in all the ground. To do so we have to use the waste of the mine, although it is liable to fire in time. In using this stuff, it ought to be surrounded by walls of rock not liable to take fire, laid firmly in clay, the gob being in the middle, and firmly covered and packed with clay on top. In

By Ellsworth Daggett

In the first paper on the Russell process presented by Mr. Stetefeldt, in May, 1884 (Transactions, xiii.), the process was treated from a purely theoretical standpoint.. 111 his second paper of October, 1886 (Transactions, xv,), the details of the plant, the chemicals used, and the manipulation in both mill and laboratory were treated. The aim of the present paper is to present economical results recently attained, new data affecting the preparation and manipulation of ore in the mill, and a more complete and systematic scheme of laboratory work. This paper is compiled mainly from Mr. Russell's notes of his own experience. Many of these notes, particularly those relating to work at Cusihuiriachic,* Mexico, have been upon work directly under the personal observation of the compiler, who takes pleasure in thus presenting to the Institute, data and considerations of much interest and value pot only to users of the Russell process, but to mill men generally. The description of the chemicals used and of the preparation of the mill-solutions being' in part the same now as when Mr. Stetefeldt's second paper was published, some use is here made of portions of that paper. No theoretical matter is here given. For a treatise containing also the theory of the process the reader is referred to Mr. Stetefeldt's complete work on " Lixiviation of Silver Ores by Hyposulphite Solutions," now in preparation. To facilitate the consultation of this paper, the following synopsis and index is prefixed. The figures in parenthesis indicate the page of this paper on which the subject is treated.

Jan 1, 1888