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By Ross Glanville

INTRODUCTION The Optimum Production Rate (OPR) is one of the most important parameters in the evaluation of a mineral deposit. The OPR can also be expressed as the Optimum Mine Life (OML) in years since the expected mine life is determined by dividing the OPR per year into the estimated ore reserves. Unfortunately, very little time and effort has been directed towards the determination of the OPR. Instead, "rules of thumb" are often applied to select a mine life without due consideration of the economic implications of such a selection. A "justification" for a particular production rate is often based on a pre-conceived arbitrary requirement for a mine life of 5, 10, or 15 years, for example. In this paper it is demonstrated that such arbitrary selections for high-grade/low-tonnage mines (such as many underground gold/silver deposits) often lead to sub-optimal results. In fact, an apparently uneconomic deposit at an arbitrary production rate may be economic at the OPR. Consequently, investment opportunities may be overlooked if one analyzes mine properties based on arbitrary production rates. This paper analyzes the interrelationships of variables such as production rates, capital and operating costs, cut-off grades, discount rates, metal prices, etc. The analysis shows that the OML for high-grade/low-tonnage deposits is often in the range of two to four years. Although such mine lives intuitively appear too short to many individuals, it should be noted that, in the past, much of the mining industry became familiar with the economics of large scale mining operations. The rules of thumb developed for such large scale operations should not be applied to high-grade/low-tonnage mines such as many of the underground gold deposits. DEFINITION OF OPTIMUM PRODUCTION RATE The OPR is selected on the basis of maximizing the net present value of the after-tax cash flows. However, as discussed later in this paper, the production rate selected for a particular mine may be somewhat higher or lower than the theoretical OPR as a result of other variables such as: 1) the probability or expectation of additional reserves being discovered 2) the likelihood of being able to custom mill nearby deposits owned by others 3) the configuration or attitude of the orebody, which may place upper limits on the production rate 4) the residual, or salvage values, of the mine/mill facilities COMPARISON BETWEEN DIFFERENT PRODUCTION RATES For an orebody with definite physical cutoffs*, or boundaries (such as faults or unconformities), the total ore reserves at different production rates may be identical. Consequently, for such an orebody, varying production rates result in differing mine lives. Although the metallurgical recoveries, the mine dilution, and other similar physical parameters may vary slightly at different production rates, the major differences are the capital costs and operating costs per ton. The ramifications of these differences are especially important at low production rates (up to approximately 1000 tons per day), but can also be significant at higher production rates.

Jan 1, 1985

By Erhard Hornbogen

Twins were propagated into large, well-annealed crystals of a, iron-phosphorous and a, iron-molybdenum solid solutions. Strain fields caused by interaction of these twins were made visible by precipitation. These strain fields can be explained by assuming that transmitted and reflected plastic waves are created when a twin strikes an obstacle with high velocity. The twin front itself can be regarded as a shear wave that may be able to develop a one-dimensional shock front. The occurrence of {WO} fracture by the reflected stress is also discussed. The described effects were not found when twins propagated at lout velocity into disturbed crystals, for example, into crystals previously deformed by slip. DEFORMATION twinning leads to shearing of a crystal lattice under external load. The shear appears to be homogeneous over a large number of crystal layers. In a iron, shear occurs on the (112) planes and in the <1ll> directions. The formation of a twin proceeds by the movement of partial dislocations that change the stacking at the twinning plane.l, In the bcc lattice, this partial dislocation can be created by dissociation of a sessile a/2[111] dislocation that lies in the (112) plane: Cottrell and Bilby&apos;s spiral mechanism can explain the homogeneous shear, but has not been proven experimentally. Nevertheless, this mechanism can explain the possible high velocity of formation of a twin. In Cottrell and Bilby&apos;s model, as in other models of twinning or phase transformation, a much higher energy is required to spread the first stacking fault than to add new layers by further movement of the partial dislocations. The dislocations will therefore become accelerated proportional to the difference between the stress, tN, to nucleate and tp to propagate the twin. It has been assumed3,4 that tn is the stress required to make two partial dislocations of apposite sign pass for the first time. After the first layer of new stacking has been formed, the maximum stress is TN=Gb/4pd where G is the shear modulus, b is the Burgers vector of the partial dislocation, and d is their perpendicular spacing so that the amount of shear is S = b/d. From this formula, a value of 25 kg per mm2 has been estimated for twinning in Zn3. The measured values are smaller, but local internal stresses may help to provide the necessary stress. For a iron, a higher value can be expected, mainly due to the higher value of G. That agrees with the observation that "burst" twinning occurs if the yield strength is in-

Jan 1, 1962

By W. F. Mullen, C. W. Stickler

WITH few exceptions, unit operations in the Pennsylvania slate industry in 1950 did not differ appreciably from production methods described by Behrel and Bowles2-4 several decades ago. Many traditionally picturesque but relatively inefficient hand operations continued to contribute to high operating costs in an industry in which the margin of profit, for various reasons, was admittedly low. As part of a general program in which the Pennsylvania State College has been assisting the slate industry to solve some of its problems, time and method studies were used in an effort to determine the bottlenecks of production flow. The results are as applicable to other stone industries as they are to slate. A study of the basic elements in the production of roofing slate, structural slate, and slate blackboards among selected slate producers revealed comparatively few refinements. Any marked difference in operating method was characterized largely by the available equipment, a noticeable difference in the working properties of the rock quarried by a particular company, and by either the habit thinking or ingenuity of the individual operators. With the hope that significant economies in manufacture might result, all the unit operations were broken down into elements for study and analysis. The greater part of the study encompassed those operations from the quarry rim to the finished product; however, to obtain a reasonable synthesis of time allotments per operation, several analyses of quarrying from the finish of the wire saw cut are included for reference. The complete study of quarrying made by Bowles several years ago resulted in the introduction of the wire saw into the operation; there appears to be a need for as fundamental a change in the processing of finished slate as the wire saw was in the quarrying process. Fig. 1 illustrates the flowsheet of quarried rock from the parent bed to the quarry rim with the basic elements which contribute to the difficulty of removing slate from the ground. In Pennsylvania roofing slate is produced by one of three procedures, many operations of which are quite similar. In the traditional or classical method the quarried rock is reduced by sculping and auxiliary manual treatment to workable size and then is split and dressed (trimmed to size) in the conventional shanty. Archaic as this method might appear, there are several elements that result in substantial savings over more mechanized operations. In a modified version of this method, the block is reduced by sawing and gouging preparatory to splitting and dressing in indoor stations. This method is particularly adaptable to rock which fractures unevenly by conventional sculping methods. In the third and more modern method, reduced block received from the block maker is diamond-sawed to length and finished on a production line. Fig. 2 illustrates the flow pattern in each case. In the modified and more modern plans, dressing is done on mechanically-operated trimming machines, which appreciably reduce the fatigue factor of the operator. However, it should be noted that it is advantageous for the operator to be able to control the speed of the knife to prevent breakage of certain classes of stock. In the classical plan the splitter and dresser normally act as blockmakers also and carry their eighter slabs (equivalent in thickness to eight shingles) into the shanties themselves, all of which adds to fatigue and reduced efficiency. The extremely low investment and operating expense of the classical method has undoubtedly been of paramount importance in its continuation. Production of Mill Stock The production of mill stock is accomplished by less picturesque methods than enter into the production of roofing slate but it is, in the main, relatively more efficient because of the increased use of machinery for handling and for finishing. Mill stock can be classified into two categories as far as difference in production method is concerned: structural slate and blackboards. The significant difference in operation is caused largely by the nature of the rock used for each product with the best and easiest cleaved rock being reserved for blackboards to permit the splitting of large slabs to as little as 1/2 in. in thickness. Structural stock, on the other hand, is split into panels no thinner than 11/2 in. and

Jan 1, 1952

By E. D. Peters

It frequently occurs in the establishment of reduction works, in an entirely new and untried mining district, that the metallurgist in charge finds considerable difficulty in determining the process best adapted to the ores which he receives for treatment. At the first glance it would seem easy enough to decide what style of furnace is best adapted for beneficiating any one class of minerals. If the ore possessed a quartzose gangue and was comparatively free from base metals, while salt could be obtained at a reasonable price, one would naturally resort to a chloridizing roasting, and pan or barrel amalgamation for the extraction of its silver contents. If galena or carbonate of lead was the prevailing mineral, and charcoal could be obtained at moderate figures, the blast-furnace would beneficiate the ores most advantageously. But if, as is usually the case in Colorado, the ores consisted of an intimate mixture of galena, zinc-blende, copper-pyrites, and noble silver minerals, associated with an overwhelming mass of siliceous heavy spar, or limestone gangue, the common reverberatory furnace can be used to the greatest advantage ; and, although the product is only a copper matte, I do not hesitate to affirm that it can be treated, and the silver, gold, and copper produced at nearly the same price for which silver and lead can be separated. In Germany, blast-furnaces are frequently used for this same purpose, both for argentiferous and non-argeutiferous copper ores; but any one who will take the trouble to examine the statistics of smelting at Fahlun, the Oberharz, and other Continental works of this description, will see that the expenses are far too great, and the production much too small to think of employing this method in our mining districts, where only the softest and most miserable kind of charcoal is obtainable. I propose in this paper to give an accurate account of the expenses incurred at the Mount Lincoln Smelting Works in treating the same kind of ore, and producing the same end-product in both blast and reverberatory furnaces. I have taken for comparison a favorable campaign of the blast-furnace, and a good average month&apos;s running of the reverberatory. In the blast-furnace estimate I have included the calcining and concentration of the matte produced during that campaign, as I always, when possible, concentrated the regulus made

By Will Clark

HE who enters a mining claim within an Indian reservation of the United States of America acquires no rights thereby, because of the fact that the lands within such Indian reservation are not a part of the public domain, and cannot be located or acquired as mineral land. However, where such an entry is authorized as to a particular reservation by an Act of Congress, such claims as may be entered under such authorization are thereby segregated from the reservation, and the Indian title is extinguished. Under the Choctaw Constitution, any citizen of that nation, in other words any Choctaw Indian, who discovered a coal mine, acquired an exclusive right to all coal within a radius of 1 mile. The laws of the Chickasaw nation provided for the formation of corporations to develop coal and other mines, with authority to contract with others to develop and work the mines. Under these laws, leases were made; but Congress subsequently abrogated all existing leases, prohibited all persons from receiving royalties from such mines, and provided that all coal within the nation should remain the common property of the tribes. Such leases are now expressly prohibited by an Act of Congress (32 United States Statutes at Large, 655). All leases of mineral lands upon Indian reservations must now be made under regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior, and the royalties must be paid into the United States Treasury for the benefit of the tribes. In Canada the Indians have no rights to the royal mines and minerals, and the government can make no stipulation with the Indians which would affect the rights of the Province in which the lands are situated. Therefore, while it is true that under our present law no rights can be acquired to a mining claim within an Indian reservation, it seems to be fully within the authority of Congress to make laws, giving such rights to mineral locators as it may deem necessary or expedient.

Jan 6, 1914

By Homer N. Mead

This report develops equations for decline curve analysis based upon the premise that the rate of change of the reciprocal of decline for succeeding time intervals is constant when the reservoir is produced under a fixed set of conditions. A method is shown for predicting maximum production rate against cumulative production for any reservoir. A method is also presented for predicting future production rate by an analysis of past production performance after decline has been esrahlished. INTRODUCTION No significant contribution to the analysis of decline curves by the loss-ratio method has been made since J. J. Arps paper1. The concept of loss-ratio that was developed by Arps and his contemporaries has been redefined in another way and the concept of instantaneous loss-ratio at time zero has been added. In the mathematical developmerit by Arps, production rate was related as a continuous function with time and his equatlons were developed on that basis. In this paper, production is considered to be a series of segments for equal time intervals and equations have been developed based upon these finite differences. It is realized that decline curve analysis is not the answer to all predictions of reservoir behavior. However, as production must decline from an initial maximum rate to zero in any reservoir, if such decline can be expressed as an infinite series, this series should accurately predict production. Decline curve analysis should be considered a valuable tool that may be used in conjunction with predictions of future recoveries by other methods. Various uses of the decline curve method will be discussed in this paper. Equations predicting production rate at any time and cumulative production by exponential and hyperbolic decline will be developed. Characteristic values of b related to various types of drive will be discussed. After that a hypothetical reservoir will be studied and ultimate recovery by natural depletion and pressure maintenance compared, then actual field examples will be shown and discussed. The rate-cumulative curve introduced by H. N. Marshs in 1928 is an important one for use in estimating future production rate and ultimate recovery. This graphical method is the one that is used in conjunction with the equations to be developed for predicting production behavior. EXPONENTIAL DECLINE In exponential decline each succeeding production rate per unit of time is a constant percentage of the production rate just before it. Since (1 — r) is the common ratio, where r is the constant decline rate, this condition may be expressed as a geometrical progression; thus Pn = P (1 - r)n-1 . ......(1) Where r is less than unity, r Since P1 (1 - r)n = Pn+1 P1 - Pn+1 C =P1-Pn+1/r........(2) LOSS-RATIO In this paper the calculation for loss-ratio has been changed from the method presented by Johnson and Bollens2. The first loss-ratio to be calculated is a,; it is the initial production per unit of time after decline has set in divided by the difference between the initial and the second production rate. This loss-ratio is for the first time interval. After b (which is the constant change

Jan 1, 1957

By J. S. Ross

Few Canadians realize the role of their domestic industrial minerals industry because it is over-shadowed in production value by a large metallic minerals industry. But since 1960, Canada has had a reasonably well balanced, mature industrial minerals industry; and although the nation&apos;s sparsely scattered population has not been able to support an industrial minerals industry in a manner comparable to the domestic and foreign support given the metal mining sector, Canada is, nevertheless, exporting large quantities of higher priced nonmetallic minerals. Production of many of the basic minerals had been firmly established long before 1960, but it was not until the late 1950&apos;s that the output of cement, salt, titanium dioxide pigment and slag, sulfur, gypsum and sodium sulfate reached relatively high levels. Shortly after 1960, the significant potash and lithium chemicals industries were established and their effect is just now being realized.

Jan 11, 1964

By G. Sachs, S. I. Liu

INTRODUCTION IN a previous investigation on the effects of repeated strains of large magnitude on the aluminum alloy 24ST, it was found that the reduction in ductility by straining in tension was partially restored by a subsequent compression.&apos; As illustrated by the dashed line in, Fig I,§ the ductility (EF) retained after prestraining in tension by a certain amount (EI) and measured in a subsequent tension test is represented by a straight line sloping down under 45°. If a compression of the same magnitude as the first tension is inserted (E2 - EI) between prestraining and final testing in tension, such a "balanced" tension-compression cycle yields a ductility considerably higher than that present after prestraining in tension only. . The results of these tests can be correlated with those of an investigation on the effects of prestraining in compression.2 As also shown in Fig I, the ductility in subsequent tensile tests decreased with compression, at a rate considerably slower than that after prestraining in tension. The above discussed testing conditions can be considered as special cases of a general straining cycle, consisting of first, straining in tension by an amount E1, subsequently straining in compression by an amount E2, and finally determining the retained ductility, Ef, in a tensile test. Prestraining in tension is then represented by E1 > o and E2 = o. Prestraining in compression is given by E1 = o and e2 < o. Balanced cyclic straining is defined. by the condition E1 > o and E2 = -El. In order to obtain further information on the effects of straining cycles consisting of tension and subsequent compression, further tests were made, varying both the tension strain, E1, and the compression strain, E2, within extreme limits; El varied between 0.06 and 0.28 and E2 between -0.008 and -0.60 approximately. Apparently, such tests have not been previously performed. They revealed phenomena which have not been recognized to date. The results of the investigation are herewith reported, without attempting to correlate them with internal processes within the metal structure. However, in order to assist in an analysis of this type, the results have been represented in various manners. In addition, further test data on the effects of prestraining by compression were provided by using specimens of various contours (notched specimens) in the subsequent tensile tests.

Jan 1, 1948

By Orville R. Lyons

THE Russellton preparation plant of Republic Steel Corp., located north of Pittsburgh, Pa., prepares 3 1/2x0-in. Thick-Freeport coal by means of a 13-ft 6-in. diam Chance cone and 16 No. 7 Deister tables. The plant feed ranges between 370 and 410 tons per hr, of which approximately 31 pct is ¼x0-in. size, and the plant reject ranges between 14 and 16 pct of the feed. The 3½xY4-in. washed coal, the cone product, is dewatered and desanded by a double-deck Parrish-type shaking screen 46 ft long and 7 ft wide. The 1¼x¼-in. portion is further dewatered by two 4x12-ft single-deck vibrating screens. The ¼x0-in. washed coal from the tables is distributed to three 54x70 in. Bird centrifuges. The dewatered centrifuge product is combined with the product of the de-watering screens prior to loading into railroad cars. During the early part of 1951 complaints were received from officials at Republic&apos;s coke ovens concerning the moisture content of Russellton washed coal. The records revealed that during the first half of 1951 the shipped washed coal moisture averaged

Jan 1, 1954

Executive Committee. ROBERT H. RICHARDS, Chairman. ALBERT SAUVEUR, Vice-Chairman. TIMOTHY W. SPRAGUE. HENRY A. WENTWORTH. AUGUSTUS H. EUSTIS, Secretary, 131 State St., Boston, Mass. The twelfth meeting of the Boston Section was held at the Engineers&apos; Club, 2 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, on Monday evening, May 5, 1913, fifteen members and three guests being present. The meeting was called to order by Vice-Chairman Albert Sauveur, who introduced the speaker of the evening, Utley Wedge, of Ardmore, Pa. Mr. Wedge read his paper on the chloridizing roasting of copper ores, which he illustrated with a stereopticon, and which will be published in full by the Institute. After Mr. Wedge had closed his paper, which was received with great interest by all the members, the following discussion took place: Professor Hofman said that iron was formerly thought to ho essential to the Henderson process, but that it is not absolutely essential. Mr.Wedge said that, as far as he. knew, the presence of some sulphates was an abso¬lute necessity, and that line ores can be worked satisfactorily, although lime has an effect on the subsequent leaching. He added that the low fuel consumption of the latest Wedge furnace is a result of direct application of the combustion gases to the ore. Ten per cent. of fuel was needed with the muffle furnace. By direct firing he has been able to reduce the fuel needed to from 2 to 4 per cent. In the latest types of furnaces the gases from the upper hearth are not used. There is doubtless some temperature at which the loss. from copper chloride volatilization becomes serious, but in practice on Rio Tinto ores troublesome losses are not experienced. The copper apparently does not become volatile at. the temperatures where we would expect that it would. There are doubtless ores in which there would be serious danger from losses from this source. The latest furnaces do not use the high temperatures that were needed in the former single-hearth Wedge furnaces.

Jan 7, 1913

By P. H. Mell

AMONG the minerals exhibited at the Atlanta Exhibition of 1881, soapstone, kaolin, and asbestos were well represented. The first two occur in large quantities, of very pure quality, throughout the South. The last is somewhat limited in amount, yet in certain localities it exists in masses sufficiently large to pay for working; in North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama it has been mined with some profit. I would, in this paper, call special attention to the minerals soapstone and kaolin, because their many valuable qualities seem to have been al most entirely overlooked by our Southern manufacturers. Steatite, particularly, occurs in such large quantities, and generally in such close proximity to the great iron regions of Alabama and Georgia, that it is amazing that the iron companies will persist in sending abroad under. heavy expense for firebrick. It would require a much smaller sum of money to quarry this rock and place it at the various furnaces ; and the results obtained, I am sure, would prove its superiority over the majority of firebrick brought into this region. Soapstone, as well as kaolin, is found throughout the metamorphic regions of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Below-will be found seven analyses that I have made of this mineral, taken from various points in the four States above mentioned. I have also subjected these same specimens to severe fire-tests, and the results were very satisfactory. The tests were conducted in the following manner: Small portions of the compact variety were carefully weighed and placed in a Fletcher&apos;s new crucible furnace for gas, and subjected for half an hour to a heat that will in 12 minutes fuse iron. The only effect upon these specimens was a slight change in color .to a darker shade, a small loss in weight, due evidently to the evaporation of water, and, in one or two specimens, a slight degree of fusion on the sharp edges. The first specimen subjected to investigation was taken from a large outcropping in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. Specific gravity, 2.88 ; hardness, 1.9; color, blue gray. Composition Water, - 2.68 Silica, - 65.46 Iron oxide, - 2.10 Alumina, - 15.02 Magnesia, - 15.35 100.61

Jan 1, 1882

By OTTO HERRES

UTAH has enormous deposits of high-grade bituminous coal. The United States Geological Survey estimates that there are 13,130 sq. mi. of land in Utah known to contain workable coal and these extensive fields contain 196,000,000,000 tons of coal. Growth in population and development of industry in the intermountain and Pacific coast regions will in time give Utah a place with the great coal producing states of the country. Even today, faced by adverse conditions in competition with cheap fuel oil from southern California, water-power throughout the western states in general, and comparatively high freight rates to its distant markets, the Utah coal industry is notable in many respects. In recent years, Utah has led the United States both in the percentage of its mines in class 1, mines producing more than 200,000 tons a year, and in average production per man per day, which was 6.01 tons in 1921. In Mineral Resources of the United States, 1921, Part

Jan 1, 1925

By J. C. Van de Water

In June the supply of M3 army demolition powder being used for mudcapping was depleted and we switched to 4 by 8, 60% Special Quarry Gelatin dynamite. This size cartridge has proved convenient, as a half stick will handle the average boulder. By keeping the gelatin in the paper while cutting it in two, there is little contact with the gelatin and therefore fewer headaches among the powdermen. To further help prevent the headache nuisance the men are furnished with plastic coated gloves. Boulder breaking costs as reported last year were $0.426 using M3. This year, 8180 boulders have been broken with M3 at a cost of $0.472 each and 7479 with 60% Quarry Gelatin at a cost of $0.660 each. This rise in cost is due entirely to the greater cost of the Gelatin as the method has not changed.

Jan 4, 1950

By Bernard H. Coyle, Robert N. Anderson, Judith A. Koperski

Between 6 and 8 million cars are shredded annually in the U.S. This shredded material is magnetically separated leaving a mixture of nonmetallics and nonferrous metals which can be further separated into its metallic and nonmetallic constituents. The metallic portion is a mixture of metalr; and alloys containing predominately zinc, and some aluminum, copper, and residual iron. Hydrometallurgical strategies are proposed for recovering the aluminum, copper, and zinc. The thermodynamic and kinetic behavior of the most promising alternatives to separation are discussed.

Jan 1, 1978

By H. M. Chance

The Taviche district is about 12 miles from the town of Ocotlan in the State of Oaxaca, and about 250 miles south of the City of Mexico. Its altitude rises to something more than 5,000 ft.; and although within the tropics (latitude about 17° N.) the climate is mild and salubrious, neither excessively hot in summer nor cold in winter. The phrase, "perpetual spring," which has been applied to it, aptly describes the weather during my stay. Sugar-plantations, bananas and other tropical and semitropical fruits flourish in the valleys, while the hills

Jan 1, 1905

By P. T. Carter, A. B. Murad, H. B. Bell

N. A. Gokcen (Michigan College of Mining and Technology, Houghton, Mich.)—The activities of silica, represented in Fig. 5 for the systems MnO-SiO2 and CaO-SiO2, are in disagreement with the established binary phase diagrams. At Ns102 = 0.50 in MnO-SiO2, and at Ns102, = 0.65 in CaO-SiO2, each binary system is saturated with respect to silica at 1550°C, and therefore as102, is unity in each case. The curves for as102 (FeO-SiO2) and as102, (MnO-SiO,) should nearly co-

Jan 1, 1953

By A. Hansson, G. E. Tardiff

WHILE it is generally known that cold-worked low-and medium-carbon steels exhibit substantial increases in tensile rupture ductility with increased deformation velocity172 (up to the von Karman limit), the observations for annealed or normalized steel do not permit simple generalization. Various investigators, for example, have reported both small increases1,3 and small decreases4,5&apos; in rupture ductility with increased rates of deformation of normalized low-carbon steel. The purpose of the present note is to report on the dependence observed for strain-aged steel since preliminary work here indicates that strain aging results in the development of a consistent type of behavior that is understandable in the light of current knowledge of the lower yield dynamics for steels which deform inhomogeneously.6 This realization throws additional light on the influences responsible for the behavior of normalized steel. The results presented here were obtained for a 0.21 pct C, 0.012 pct N sheet (0.012 in. thick) steel which was received in a temper-rolled condition (approximately 3 pct reduction in thickness after process annealing); the as-received material had a spherodized structure with a ferritic grain size of ASTM 8. The material was selected for testing after 6 months room temperature aging, at which time the static lower yield and ultimate tensile strength measured 79 and 82 kpsi, respectively. ASTM 2-in. reduced section, 1/2-in.-wide specimens were used in smooth bar tests and 3/4-in.-wide specimens containing two 60-deg opposed edge notches (root radii = 0.002 in.) were used in notched bar tests. To facilitate strain measurement, the smooth bars were blued with ink and marked at 0.1-in. intervals along the gage length; the notched

Jan 1, 1968

By P. H. Mell

AMONG the minerals exhibited at the Atlanta Exhibition of 1881, soapstone, kaolin, and asbestos were well represented. The first two occur in large quantities, of very pure quality, throughout the South. The last is somewhat limited in amount, get in certain localities it exists in masses sufficiently large to pay for working; in North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama it has ken mined with some profit. I would, in this paper, call special attention to the minerals soapstone and kaolin, because their many valuable qualities seem to have been almost entirely overlooked by our Southern manufacturers. Steatite, particularly, occurs in such large quantities, and generally in such close proximity to the great iron regions of Alabama and Georgia, that it is anlazing that the iron companies will persist in sending abroad under heavy expense for firebrick. It would require a much smaller sum of money to quarry this rock and place it at the various furnaces ; and the results obtained, I am sure, would prove its superiority over the majority of firebrick brought into this region. Soapstone, as well as kaolin, is found throughout the metamorphic regions of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Below will be found seven analyses that I have made of this mineral, taken from various points in the four States above mentioned. I have also subjected these same specimens to severe fire-tests, and the results were very satisfactory. The tests mere canducted in the following manner: Small portions of the compact variety were carefully weighed and placed in a Fletcher&apos;s new crucible furnace for gas, and subjected for half an hour to a heat that will in 12 minutes fuse iron. The only effect upon these specimens was a slight change in color to a darker shade, a small loss in weight, due evidently to the evaporation of water, and, in one or two specimens, a slight degree of fusion on the sharp edges. The first specimen subjected to investigation was taken from a large outcropping in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. Specific gravity, 2.88 ; hardness, 1.9; color, blue gray. Composition: Water,....2.68 Silica,..........65.48 Iron oxide,.........2.10 Alumina,.........15.02 Magnesia,... 15.35 10061

Jan 1, 1882

By Marvin Lee

Kansas continued holding, for its seventh year, the fourth position in the list of oil-producing states. The crude-oil production, according to purchaser&apos;s reports to the State Corporation Commission, was 40,008,940 bbl.; as assembled by the Oil and Gas Journal, 41,305,768, and by the U. S. Bureau of Mines, 41,942,000 barrels. Increase of production from 1932 was largely due to greater stability of the industry, and increased return of demand for Kansas oil, caused by the addition of Federal assistance in national production regulation which reduced illegal production, of some areas out of Kansas, that had been destructively competing with Kansas crude or its refined products, at less than cost of production. Prices continued to advance from the lowest level of 25c per barrel during part of May and June, until by the end of September 36" gravity crude had reached $1 per barrel and continued at this price the remainder of the year. Price stability, for a period greater than in previous years, has brought renewed confidence to those producing oil and has led to renewed interest and increased purchases of Kansas leases. Drilling was confined chiefly to the number of wells necessary to protect from offset and other drainage in the field and to meet the requirements of expiring lease contract deeper areas in Mid-Continent, are an added inducement to exploration. The renewal of interest in the search for new fields in Kansas is already apparent and 1934 will probably see more wildcatting than for several years. This is due both to the expiration of leases on large blocks and to actual demand of the industry for new fields. Exploration for favorable areas is being actively conducted by the various methods of surface, subsurface and core drilling and geophysical work. Much of western Kansas cannot be mapped by surface study and geophysical exploration has been of considerable assistance and has led to a large use of the seismograph. Several companies are conducting seismograph surveys and leasing on findings already secured. Development under the more favorable conditions of 1933 can be readily seen by the comparison of the following reports for the last weeks of December in the respective years.

Jan 1, 1934

By Joseph C. Buchen

IN principle, production of salt from sea water is a simple operation. Sea water is trapped in ponds, the sun and wind cause evaporation of the water, and what is left is principally salt. Commercial production of solar salt, however, requires a careful consideration of many factors. Obviously, sufficient evaporation must take place throughout the making season to produce an economically adequate crop. Other factors are density of soil, contour of ground, height of ground above sea level, minimum dilution from fresh-water streams, and distance from market. Unfortunately, in the United States the localities of greatest evaporation, allowing for the other factors, are not the most suitable for the manufacture of sea salt by solar evaporation. The south end of San Francisco Bay most

Jan 1, 1937