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William Kent, New York, N. Y.:—The Institute may congratulate itself on the opportunity of reading the splendid address of President Brunton. It is an admirable summary of the progress that has been made in the mining and metallurgical arts in recent years. The paper rightly gives the chief credit for this progress to the aid which has been rendered to these arts by the advances in mechanics, chemistry, and electricity. It is notable that most of the headings in Mr. Brunton's address refer to the work of the mechanical engineer, the electrical engineer, and the chemist, rather than to that of the specialist in mining-operations. It seems that the most successful mining engineer of the present day is the one who makes the most intelligent application of the inventions and designs of engineers and others who are not directly engaged in mining. A tabulation of the headings of the address, grouped as below, shows this most clearly. Work of the Mechanical Engineer—Rock-drills, hoisting-machinery, tramming, pumping, ventilation, dredging, Sampling, concentration, briquetting, fume-recovery. Work of the Electrical Engineer—Electric machinery for hoisting, pumping, tramming, lighting and signaling, electric transmission, electric smelting. Work of the Chemist and Metallurgist—Explosives, chlorina-tion, cyanidation, roasting, lead-smelting, and copper-smelting. Work of the Geologist—Economic geology. Work of the Mining Engineer—Mine-mapping, surface-mining, timbering, tunneling; and planning and supervision of the work in general. The mining engineer of the present day, who is in responsible charge of a large plant, finds his chief work not in doing those things he was trained to do as a specialist, but in making use of the knowledge of geologists, chemists, and electrical and

Jan 1, 1910

By R. E. Cuthbertson

AN early appreciation by the management that Climax ore presented a challenging problem of economic concentration was responsible for the establishment, in June 1926, of an ore-testing department at the experimental plant of the Colorado School of Mines at Golden, some ninety miles from Climax. An engineering office was later organized in the same community for the design of all ore-treatment units erected at Climax during the period of rapid growth. Work of the ore-testing and design staffs was effectively co-ordinated under a common head. The primary reason for having the ore-testing and plant design departments in Golden, was to place these activities under the able supervision of A. J. Weinig, consultant for the Climax Molybdenum Co., and director of the experimental plant. A secondary consideration was the availability of excellent facilities for research in ore dressing in a highly favorable environment. Concentration of molybdenite by flotation from an ore of simple mineral composition does not appear, superficially, to present a serious problem in ore dressing but experience belies this apparent simplicity. The molybdenite content of average Climax ore is low and it is finely

Jan 1, 1946

By John M. Lovejoy

CURRENT production of petroleum on such a vast scale presents many interesting problems- the solutions of which are important not only to those directly interested in the business, but to the nation as a whole. The industry is relatively young. Until the discovers of the Lucas gusher at Spindletop in 1901 petroleum production had not exceeded 60,000,000 bbl. per year compared with 1,100,000,000 bbl. in 1936. In 36 years then, the modern oil business, production, transportation, refining, and marketing has developed. I will first present a brief history. of oil production as a background for consideration of the present situation.

Jan 1, 1937

By R. S. Handy

AT THE TIME of my first visit to Bolivia in 1927 the tin-mining industry was prosperous, the tin price at London being more than £300 per long ton of tin, and the operators were making every effort to bring their plants up to the very highest point of capacity as well as of efficiency. Any device or piece of equipment or method that gave promise of increasing production was welcomed regardless of the cost, and the plants were being modernized as rapidly as human ingenuity could make it possible. At the time of my second visit in 1932, however, conditions had changed materially. The price of tin had fallen to a little over £100 but costs had not decreased anywhere in proportion and operators were at their wit's end to cut the operating losses that were everywhere prevalent. Charles L. Bradbury, manager of the Empresa Minera de Huanuni, at Huanuni, Bolivia, had been recently called from Mexico to make all analysis of the situation and to attempt to work out a remedy for the economic conditions that threatened to close the mine. His analysis brought out the following points:

Jan 1, 1938

By T. B. Counselman

WHEN one thinks of Minnesota iron ore, one thinks of big open pits, where high- grade ore is simply scooped up with a power shovel, loaded into cars, and hauled away for shipment to the blast furnace. On the western end of the Mesabi range, however, are large tonnages of iron ore which contain too much silica to be used directly in the blast furnace, and these ores must first be concentrated to a purer form. The Mesabi range is about 100 miles long and a maximum of 3 miles wide. The iron formation, which in its unaltered form is called taconite: consists of a banded iron- bearing chert. Where the high-grade ore bodies occur, these have resulted from folding and cracking with sub- sequent leaching out of the silica, leaving the iron oxide behind. The big open pits and the underground mines are situated in these concentrations.

Jan 1, 1941

By A. K. Chakravarti, A. Lihiri, G. G. Sarkar

One primary objective of India's third Five Year Plan is the expansion of coal production. The goal: boost present output of 45 million tons to 95 million tons by 1965--an increase of more than 100 pct!

Jan 7, 1961

By J. G. Thompson

IRON, iron everywhere, but hardly a particle of pure unadulterated iron for the metallurgist to use as a base for the protean characteristics that he develops in the alloys of iron-the modern steels. Iron, next to aluminum the most abundant metal in the crust of the earth; one of the oldest metals known to man and serving him as the most indispensable metal in both war and peace; yet man's knowledge of its properties is based on specimens that are not pure and hence probably differ considerably in their properties from the truly pure metal. Purification of iron has brought about startling changes in its electrical and magnetic properties and has modified its behavior in changing its crystal form with temperature, the basis of the heat-treatment of iron. So both the research metallurgist and the metallurgist of the steel plant are intrigued by the possibilities that might unfold were 100 per cent pure iron available in sufficient quantities to determine its properties.

Jan 1, 1940

By W. G. Jewitt

YELLOWKNIFE, the most northerly Canadian gold mining district, is once more in the throes of a boom. Touched off by spectacular and well-publicized diamond-drilling results on the property of Giant Yellowknife Gold Mines, Ltd., mining companies and the general public are competing for mining claims and for the shares of companies owning mining claims in the area, with little regard for values. Such a stock-market boom has various unfortunate consequences but undoubtedly one beneficial result is that considerable amounts of money are made available for serious development. The Yellowknife mining area lies on the north shore of Great Slave Lake, in the Northwest Territories, at a latitude of approximately 62°30' north. The topography is a low-relief phase of that usual in the Canadian Laurentian shield. Roughly, one third of the surface is lake-covered, one third muskeg or overburden, and one third is bare

Jan 1, 1944

By C. J. Guntner, R. P. Reed

A commercial 18Cr-8Ni iron alloy (AISI 304L) was examined in tension at 300°, 76°, 20°, and 4°K. Continuous stress-strain recordings were made, X-ray analyses at periodic stress (strain) intervals were obtained, and the magnetic measurements were taken. From this data the percentage of martensitic products [bcc(a) and hcp (E)] was computed as a function of stress (strain). It was found thatup to 15 pct E phase forms at low temperntures. The amount of E formed increases to a maximum at about 5 pct strain, then decreases. This decrease indicates the additional transformation of E to a'. The total amount of E and a' was suppressed at constant stress (strain) at 4°K as compared to 76°K. It is proposed that the suppression of E and a' is associated with the decreased mobility of extended dislocations at very low temperatures. The yield strength decreased as the temperature was depressed below room temperature and then increased rapidly near 4°K. SOME ferrous alloys which are austenitic (fcc ?) at room temperature appear to be unique in that two martensitic products (hcp e and bcc a') may form on cooling to lower temperatures or on application of mechanical stress. The most common room-temperature austenitic ferrous alloys are 18Cr, 8Ni stainless steels. Most aspects of the spontaneous transformations have been previously described for these steels.' Several previous papers have described special aspects of the stress-induced transformations at low temperatures for the stainless steels, such as the existence of the hcp phase (c) after straining at 76oK,2-7 the morphology after straining using electron microscopy,7 and the decrease in E at higher strains at 76oK.4 However, for a complete representation, one must know the stress-strain characteristics and the dependence of both martensitic products on applied stress and temperature. It is the intention of this paper to provide that documentation. To accomplish this, continuous stress vs strain recordings were made at four temperatures: 300°, 76", 20°, and 4°K for annealed AISI 304L (a commercial 18Cr-8Ni alloy). At periodic stress intervals at each temperature the integrated X-ray line intensity of a selected peak for each phase (y, E, and a') was measured. In addition, photomicrographs of the strained surfaces were taken and magnetic measurements were made. The magnetic readings can be directly converted into percent a'.',e With these measurements the percentage of each phase may be plotted as a function of stress (or strain) and test temperature. It was found that up to 15 pct E phase forms upon stressing the AISI 304L alloy at low temperatures. The E percentage increases abruptly after the alloy yields, but then decreases gradually at higher stresses. The rapid increase in e at 76°K is associated with an "easy-glide" portion of the stress-strain curve. The total amount of a' + .G is suppressed below 76°K at a constant stress or strain. The yield strength decreases down to 76°K but increases rapidly below 20°K. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Tensile test specimens were cut parallel to the rolling direction from 0.1-in.-thick sheet. Continuous stress vs strain recordings were obtained at each test temperature (300°, 76o, 20°, and 4°K) using equipment and methods described elsewhere.' The specimens which were used in the X-ray analysis were stressed to successive increments of strain at each temperature, analyzed at room temperature, then restressed at the test temperature. This procedure was repeated until approximately ten X-ray analyses had been performed with approximately 1.0 pct strain increments. The specimens had a reduced section 1 in. long, 1.2 in. wide, and 0.1 in. thick. They were electro polished prior to testing and after each strain increment. Table I lists the chemical composition, grain size, and hardness for the alloy which was used. This is the same alloy for which extensive mechanical-property tests3 and morphological studies of the spontaneous transformations' have previously been made. For the low-temperature tests (76o and 4°K) below the Ms temperature the specimens were initially cooled to the test temperature, held for 1/2 hr, then warmed and X-rayed at room temperature. The results are listed in Table 11. From earlier work8 it was known that additional transformation on the second cycle would be considerably less (-0.1 pct

Jan 1, 1964

By Charles B. Henderson

DESPITE the loss, by enemy conquest, of a high percentage of our normal sources of supply for tin, the position of this important metal is easier today than that of rubber and a long list of other strategic materials, many of which are produced in this country. Actually, there is no shortage of tin for essential war purposes, owing to a strict control of its use, to increasing considerably the amount of secondary tin available, and to the foresight of the Government in authorizing the Reconstruction Finance Corp., as early as June, 1940, to acquire and produce certain critical and strategic materials of which tin was one of the most important. The construction of the Longhorn Smelter on the Gulf Coast in Texas is an important part of this program.

Jan 1, 1943

THE third annual Joint Western Mining Convention, held at Los Angeles, Sept. 10 to 13 inclusive, was a notable success both as to attendance and interest. Registration the first day amounted to 201, and the total crept up to 347 before the close. The American Institute of Mining Engineers was well represented, approximately 80% of those registered and most of the speakers being members. This illustrates largely the amount of interlocking membership and the reason for holding at one time and place meetings of the several related organizations. The plan has proved so successful that it is probable that Spokane will extend an invitation for next year that seems likely to be accepted. It is proposed that the convention be timed so as to permit visitors from the East to stop there Oct. 3 to 5, en route to the American Institute of Mining Engineers meeting at San Francisco, Oct. 7 to 9. Simultaneously, it is expected that the Petroleum Division will hold its fall session at Los Angeles, the two streams of travel meeting in San Francisco, just before departure of the party of engineers traveling to Japan to attend the World's Engineering Congress. The Los Angeles meeting opened Monday morning with a general session under the auspices of the Western Division of the American Mining Congress with Philip Wiseman in the chair. After a series of short responses to the welcome extended, Charles W. Merrill discussed the needs of the western mining industry. A complimentary luncheon to members and delegates followed.

Jan 1, 1928

By AIME AIME

OCTOBER will be western month for the Institute. With meetings at Spokane, Tulsa, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and with a large number of American Institute of Mining Engineers members and their families in the party sailing out through the Golden Gate to Japan on the afternoon of the tenth, the major activities of the Institute will, for this month at least, be west of the Mississippi. Despite cancellations due to necessity, most of the officers of the Institute will be present and taking part in some one or more of the Western meetings. Prof. Robert S. Richards, our senior past-president, will attend both the Spokane and San Francisco meetings and then go to Japan. President Bradley will preside at the San Francisco meeting and then head the party going to Tokyo. At Tulsa and Los Angeles, the principal officers of the Petroleum Division will be present and active and at all the meetings, directors, ex-directors and -present and past officers will be on the job and keeping things moving.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

PRACTICALLY all the Section delegates as well as a sprinkling of Institute officers and mere members were on hand for the annual business meeting of the Institute on Monday afternoon of the Annual Meeting. President McAuliffe presided, with C. H. Mathewson as associate chairman. Americo Albala was first called on to discuss the work of the Pan American Institute of Mining Engineering and Geology. C. Will Wright said that the need for such an organization was evident, and a resolution was passed asking the incoming President to appoint a committee to investigate cooperation with that body, of which Mr. Albala is executive secretary.

Jan 1, 1943

By J. E. Tobey

NATIONAL DEFENSE should not create a dilemma in coal utilization such as obtained during the World War. Even under the heavy pressure of a total preparedness program there should be a smooth flow of the right coals from mines to plants. The more than 100,000 industrial plants of the nation must he served with coal of such characteristics and qualities for their individual requirements that no loss of production due to coal failure shall occur. This problem challenges the ingenuity and cooperativeness of producers. transportation executives, consumers and engineers.

Jan 1, 1941

By H. Stigzelius

FINLAND'S recent mining history is both dramatic and pitiful in its shifting fortunes, dominated as it has been, by the country's proximity to the border zone of opposing dictatorships and social traditions; Fascism to the south, Communism to the east, and Democracy to the west. After 108 years under Russia's more or less harsh rule, Finland gained its democratic independence during the 1917 revolutionary strife in Russia with the official help of Germany and spontaneous help of other neighbors. The young nation was attacked by Russia in 1939 and again in 1941. It is common knowledge how the Finns fought with everything they had and everything they could get against their overwhelming adversary, and how by force of circumstances they landed in the Axis camp in 1941. Finland has never been known as a mining country in the same way as near-by Sweden, whose abundant iron and copper smelters during long periods so greatly contributed to the nation's welfare. Its largely barren, Archaean-granite geology long seemed forbidding. Some mining was done, to be sure; copper and tin at Pitkaranta near the Russian border, and lead and copper at Orijarvi. But towards the end of the last century the absence of a single producing mine cast a pessimistic shadow of truth over the Finnish poet Runeberg's words, that

Jan 1, 1946

By AIME

ENGINEERS have long pondered the answer to the question of "How am I doing?" and in large measure the answer from the economics angle is provided by the 1946 survey of the engineering profession now being published by the Engineers Joint Council as an eighty-page bulletin entitled "The Engineering Profession in Transition." The survey, based upon a completely precoded mail questionnaire, aimed at three major objectives: (1) to determine the general impact of World War II upon the profession in the period 1939 through 1946; (2) to obtain re- R liable data from which valid findings could be derived to predict how active the profession would be after 1946; and (3) to determine if the war's upheaval had changed materially the pattern of professional activities, education, background, and earnings from those which existed prior to 1939. Abundant data on the economic status of the engineer based upon years of experience in his particular field, the specific branch of the industry in which he served, and his educational background are presented. Relationships between years of experience

Jan 1, 1947

By Richard A. Hawkins

O the American coal man, Australian coal mining most appear to have little, if any, influence on American coal-mining practice and to bear little relation to it. Actually, the relationship has been close, for Australian operators have carefully studied American practice by reading American technical publications, by consulting American engineers, and by visits to Ameriean operations. They have leaned heavily on America for their supply of mechanization equipment and many American mining-machinery manufacturers are active in that country, supplying its needs and furnishing technical assistance. Australia's influence on American coal mining has been obscure and probably negligible. However, it seems reasonable to assume that this influence will increase. The wartime development of air transportation will inevitably bring these two countries into much more intimate contact than existed in recent years. American servicemen. many of them former miners and coal-mining technicians, have visited Australian operation, while stationed in that country, have talked with operators and men over there, and undoubt-

Jan 1, 1945

By Clarence P. Linville

(Pittsburg Meeting, March, 1910.) IT is recognized that, in all metallurgical operations, the greatest possible uniformity in all conditions is essential to the best results. It is the constant aim of metallurgists to secure this uniformity, and their success in this respect has been in many cases the cause of great advances in the metallurgical processes themselves. Of all such processes, the production of pig-iron in the modern blast-furnace is perhaps the most complex and the most difficult of control. Notwithstanding the great progress of recent years, there is still great difficulty in obtaining anything like uniform conditions and results in the manufacture of pig-iron. The reason is not far to seek. The ores vary in composition and physical properties, often carrying a varying amount of gangue material, unevenly distributed The coke may vary in composition, cell-structure, moisture, hardness, and other properties. The blast, the weight of which far exceeds that of any other constituent, varies in its moisture-content and consequently in its chemical composition ; and its temperature, by reason of the method of heating, is not uniform, but, besides varying from time to time with atmospheric and other outside conditions, has a maximum and minimum for every changing of stoves. Now, with regard to these variations, the modern demand for uniformity has been greatly aided. Chemical analysis has made it possible to select ores so that the composition of the charge can be kept fairly constant; coal may be obtained from a given field, and coked in the same kind of ovens under conditions which . make the fuel practically uniform ; the Gayley

Mar 1, 1910

By AIME AIME

AT the seventeenth National Metal Congress, held at Chicago, Oct. 1-3, the Iron and Steel Division and Institute of Metals Division participated with the American Society for Metals, American Welding Society, and the Wire Association in one of the most successful meetings ever held. The total attendance at the technical sessions and the scope of and interest shown in the exhibits at the Exposition were greater than at any of the "Metal Weeks" since the depression began. The Iron and Steel Division held two all-day symposia and one general session. The latter, at the International Amphitheatre, Wednesday afternoon, was the only one poorly attended. This was attributable, at least partly, to the location of the meeting roan.

Jan 1, 1935

By H. H. Reamer, B. H. Sage

Attempts have been made to predict the volumetric and phase behavior of naturally occurring hydrocarbon mix-turesl-6 but these methods have not been extended to the higher pressures and tem-peratures that are currently encountered in some producing formations. Furthermore, the methods of prediction at present avail-able have not been tested in a sufficient number of cases to ensure their applica-bility to all naturally occurring hydrocar-bon mixtures, even at the lower pressures and temperatures. For these reasons the behavior of a number of hydrocarbon mix-tures from a field in which the subsurface pressures are above 4500 lb. per sq. in.t and the temperatures are in the neighbor-hood of 250°F. was investigated. Method The objective of this program was to determine the volumetric behavior of ma-terial as it existed in the reservoir as a function of pressure, temperature and com-position. Strictly speaking, this cannot be accomplished in any simple fashion. How- ever, the variations in composition that are encountered within a producing reservoir may be approximated roughly by means of mixtures made up of two arbitrarily chosen constituents. Experience indicates that the liquid and gas phases from a high-pressure gas trap afford a simple source of material for this purpose. Throughout this discus-sion the samples of the gas phase and liquid phase from the production trap will be called the "trap-gas sample" and the "trap-liquid sample," respectively. The volumetric behavior of both of the trap samples was determined throughout the temperature interval between 100" and 250°F. at pressures up to 5000 lb. per sq. in. In addition, the behavior of eight different mixtures containing varying proportions of the two trap samples was studied throughout the same temperature and pressure intervals. The experimental results yielded information concerning the specific volume of the material as a function of pressure, temperature and the relative quantity of the trap samples. The relative amount of each of the paraffin hydrocarbons of lower molecular weight than n-hexane was determined for each of the trap samples. In addition, the specific weight, viscosity and average molecular weight of the hexanes-and-heavier fraction of the trap-liquid sample were determined as well as similar information for each of five fractions separated from this material by distillation. From these data the weight fractions of each of the components from methane through pentane were determined for the trap samples and eight systematically chosen mixtures. Materials The gas and liquid samples were obtained from the production trap of a well in the Rio Bravo field in California during the fall of 1939. Information concerning the condi- 70

Jan 1, 1941