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By Stanley Herold

Considerable interest has been shown, during recent years, in the possibilities of developing oil fields in the South American Republics, now that the exhaustion of our present fields can be seen in the not very distant future. The demand for fuel oil and its products has been increasing far more rapidly than our increment of production during the last few years. Increase of consumption has been largely curtailed by the lack of sufficient supply. The main factors that have contributed to our previous neglect of the southern fields have been as follows:, (a) Lack of sufficient demand for the product. (b) Competition with producing fields, having large production, low cost, and better geographical position, such as Tampico, Mexico. (c) Greater interest in home fields with ready market at hand. (d) Our ignorance of southern economic and geologic conditions, clue to the distance between those areas and our financial centers. (e) Economic conditions in the southern countries, necessitating high costs of exploration and exploitation of the fields.

Jan 9, 1918

By Edwin R. Phelps, Charles W. Porterfield

BACKGROUND OF SURFACE MINING Surface mining refers to the process of removing the material (over- burden) overlying a coal seam and exposing the coal so that it can be loaded out and conveyed by trucks or other methods to the preparation plant or other facility. Surface mining has not always been important in the coal industry. In the early 1900s, almost all of the coal mined in the United States was mined by underground methods. In 1900, about 192 Mt (212 million st) of bituminous coal were mined and less than 1% was mined by surface methods. The development and use of larger equipment has allowed surface mining to gain prominence throughout the years. Table 1 shows the total production of coal by mining method in the United States for ten-year periods since 1920 and indicates the growth of surface-mined coal production. Surface mining will undoubtedly continue to account for a large percentage of the coal production in the US for many years because: 1) The capacity of surface mining excavators has continued to in- crease. Today, mining companies are using shovels (see Fig. 1) which are able to move up to 137.6 m3 (180 cu yd) in each bite and draglines (see Fig. 2) which move up to 168.2 m3 (220 cu yd) in each bucketful. 2) Increasing tonnage from the thick western coal seams is being produced by surface mining methods. 3) Surface mining has normally had lower costs and a better safety record than underground mining. 4) Surface mining normally recovers a much higher percentage of the coal reserve than can be recovered by underground mining. 5) Some coal measures can best be extracted by surface mining

Jan 1, 1981

By B. P. Mulcahy

When the phrase "selection of coal for carbonization" is used, there is always the implied continuance of thought "to make good coke.'' The reason for this, of course, lies in the fact that, in almost all instances, when coal is carbonized coke is the principal product. Under certain conditions the yield of gas may also be a factor, but even here it must be secondary to the coke yield, for in every instance coke represents the largest single product of the process. The importance of coke to the byproduct industry has been considerably enhanced during the past 20 years because of the continuously decreasing financial returns of all the by-products. This fact will account, in part, for the rebirth of interest and investigation in the carbonization process during the past 10 years. Many papers have been written on this subject, with naturally divergent thoughts because of the diversity of interests, but in each instance the common aim was the same—the making of better coke. Scope of Investigation In perusing this literature, the writer was struck with the constantly recurring imposed condition of asking for better coke, but with the distinct unwillingness to make any concession to temperature of carbonization. When there is a high demand for coke, the only means by which the industry can increase the quantity is to shorten the coking time by an increase in temperature, or to increase the quantity of low-volatile coal, or both; and since in many instances the percentage of low-volatile coal can be increased only in small quantities, because of factors to be discussed later, the big increase must come from shortening the coking time. When this is done most of the improvement accomplished by the selection of the coals in the mixture is lost. It is not felt necessary in this paper to discuss the advantages of minimum ash and sulphur and other materials in coal. The value of minimum contents of these materials in coke is well established. When the use of coals high in these contents is dictated, the selection of coals, as we will consider it here, cannot apply to full advantage. The scope of this paper, then, will be to discuss the factors of inherent coal characteristics and operating procedures that influence coke quality, for they are fundamentally related and both must be considered if we are to attain our objective of better coke. A study of either must embrace a study of both simultaneously. To properly evaluate the influence of the coal and to help in the selection, we must first be able to appraise the coke, and interpret fairly the influence of the process in all of its aspects. Appraisal of Coke To refer simply to the quality of coke gives no indication of what is meant, for the term is too general in its implication. An analysis of a coke is divided usually

Jan 1, 1944

By B. P. Mulcahy

When the phrase "selection of coal for carbonization" is used, there is always the implied continuance of thought "to make good coke.'' The reason for this, of course, lies in the fact that, in almost all instances, when coal is carbonized coke is the principal product. Under certain conditions the yield of gas may also be a factor, but even here it must be secondary to the coke yield, for in every instance coke represents the largest single product of the process. The importance of coke to the byproduct industry has been considerably enhanced during the past 20 years because of the continuously decreasing financial returns of all the by-products. This fact will account, in part, for the rebirth of interest and investigation in the carbonization process during the past 10 years. Many papers have been written on this subject, with naturally divergent thoughts because of the diversity of interests, but in each instance the common aim was the same—the making of better coke. Scope of Investigation In perusing this literature, the writer was struck with the constantly recurring imposed condition of asking for better coke, but with the distinct unwillingness to make any concession to temperature of carbonization. When there is a high demand for coke, the only means by which the industry can increase the quantity is to shorten the coking time by an increase in temperature, or to increase the quantity of low-volatile coal, or both; and since in many instances the percentage of low-volatile coal can be increased only in small quantities, because of factors to be discussed later, the big increase must come from shortening the coking time. When this is done most of the improvement accomplished by the selection of the coals in the mixture is lost. It is not felt necessary in this paper to discuss the advantages of minimum ash and sulphur and other materials in coal. The value of minimum contents of these materials in coke is well established. When the use of coals high in these contents is dictated, the selection of coals, as we will consider it here, cannot apply to full advantage. The scope of this paper, then, will be to discuss the factors of inherent coal characteristics and operating procedures that influence coke quality, for they are fundamentally related and both must be considered if we are to attain our objective of better coke. A study of either must embrace a study of both simultaneously. To properly evaluate the influence of the coal and to help in the selection, we must first be able to appraise the coke, and interpret fairly the influence of the process in all of its aspects. Appraisal of Coke To refer simply to the quality of coke gives no indication of what is meant, for the term is too general in its implication. An analysis of a coke is divided usually

Jan 1, 1944

By Shun-ichi Satoh

The electric arc welding of cast iron has been studied by Braune Lamberton, Schimpke, Kenyon, Gale Manufacturing Co., Wedemeyer Candy, Neese, Miller, Carter, American Welding Society, Namack Lebrun, Achenbach, Jansson, Xochendorffer and others.' The write of this paper has been able to obtain a series of cast irons, from gray tc white, without using cast-iron electrodes but by coating on wrought-iron bars mixtures of carborundum (Sic) and graphite (C). In this work, he found the curious phenomenon of barium carbonate.

Jan 1, 1929

By Richard McCaffery

WHEN we began the study of blast furnace slags we limited our work at first to a study of those slags containing only lime, alumina and silica. On our paper1 on some of the results of this first work, the solubility of sulfur in slags containing no magnesia was reported and the question of sulfur solubility and slag viscosity discussed. There has been, for a long time, a very great difference of opinion among metallurgists as to he effect of magnesia in blast furnace slags, and the literature is full if expressions of the most contrary opinions on the subject. As a result, our next publication' developed the constitution of slags considered as a four-component system, silica-alumina-lime-magnesia, and advanced an explanation of slag structure which accorded with the facts and with scientific theory. The present paper continues our study of the general subject of slags. As blast furnace slags are included in the silica-alumina-lime-magnesia system, which is a particular case of four-component solutions, we have determined that there are 22 components Table 1), which may enter into the silica-alumina-lime-magnesia system and that 10 or 12 of these components may be present in blast furnace slags which are within the ordinary ranges of composition. To cave a very definite conception of the behavior of these components in a slag, we have developed the theory of the cooling of a four-component solution from the liquid state to the solid and the conclusions that we obtained have been made use of in this paper. On account of the importance of the four oxides and 18 compounds which enter into the silica-alumina-lime-magnesia system, some method of calculating the percentages of the various compounds that are present in the slag when the percentages of the oxides are given, seemed very desirable and we develop L method later herein for doing this, and finally we give illustrations of the composition of a wide series of blast furnace slags and show some applications of these composition data.

Jan 1, 1927

By H. H. Stoek, G. W. Harries

The term " Anthracite Coal-Field " is generally used to refer to a comparatively small territory lying in the eastern-central part of Pennsylvania. This territory includes about 3,300 sq. miles of area, located chiefly in five counties in which anthracite-mining is the dominant industry. Although an area of 3,300 sq. miles is embraced in the region, less than one-fifth of this area, or only 484 sq. miles, is underlain by workable coal-seams. Moreover, this prorluctive portion is not a continuous area, but consists of a number of detached basins. These are known as the Northern, containing 176 sq. miles; Eastern-Middle, containing 133 sq. miles; Southern, containing 181 sq. miles; and western-Middle,containing 194 sq. miles. From the standpoint of business and trade, the region is divided into three districts, known as (1) the Wyoming, which includes the Northern field and the small Bernice basin; (2) the Lehigh region, which includes all of the Eastern Middle field and that part of the Southern field east of Tamaqua; and (3) the Schuylkill region, which includes the WesL ern-Middle field and that part of the Southern field west of Tamaqua. The relative commercial importance of these districts at the present time is shown by the coal-shipments as given in the following table :

Jan 1, 1904

By Arthur Bell

(San Francisco Meeting, September, 1915) . PRIOR to 1908 the oil production in the State of California, had been almost entirely a heavy fuel, oil, with a high flash point, hut changed within a-short period to a large percentage of refining oil with a low flash, by reason of the coming in of the Santa Maria field, the Midway field, and the increased production of the Fullerton field. This is clearly shown in the following tabulation of California's production: Year Barrels . Below -20° Be, Above 20° Be,, Per Cent_ Per Cent. 1905 48,307,000 90 10 1910 77,698,000 SO 20 1912 90,075,000 6o 31 1914 10:3,600,000 47 53 The bringing in of these high percentage's of light oil with their dangerous low flash and the increasing demand for the refined products necessitated the devising of some cheap and efficient means of quickly separating the lighter elements either in the field or at the main distributing points; also it became necessary to remove the excessive percentage of water which many of the light oils carried in emulsion.

Jan 9, 1915

By J. M. Hassler

NOWHERE can there be found a more misleading statement than the old one that "Iron can be manufactured cheaper in the South." During the past decade ironmakers and users of iron have heard varied and sundry stories of the wonderful resources of the Birmingham district, including abundant ore and coal fields, cheap labor, a wonderful climate and similar industrial Utopian statements. Birmingham represents the major portion of the iron business in the South, acid as Birmingham fares so goes the iron business of the South. The intent of this paper is to shed some light on the actual conditions surrounding ironmaking in the South, especially in the Birmingham, or North Alabama, district. By a presentation of facts it is desired to point out that the "cheap iron" of the industrial South is a thing of the past, primarily because of increased labor cost and because labor is radically different in performance to what it was years ago. Also, because most of the raw materials needed in ironmaking that would be classed better than inferior are gone.

Jan 1, 1937

By Dr. O’Neil Thomas J., Donald W. Gentry

There are mines that make us happy, There are mines that make us blue, There are mines that steal away the tear-drops As the sunbeams steal away the dew. There are mines that have lost the ore chute faulted, When the ore's forever lost to view, But the mines that fill my heart with sunshine, Are the mines that I sold to you. -Anonymous INTRODUCTION The preceding chapters have discussed, in various degrees of detail, the primary considerations necessary to perform a cash flow analysis of a mining-related investment opportunity. Although the previous discussions regarding the manipulations, calculations, and interrelationships of the various components of the pro forma income statement were illustrated in the text, many individuals are un- familiar with the format and appearance of a final spread sheet for the evaluation of a mining property. As a result, it seems appropriate to conclude this book with an abbreviated case study of an actual mine property (currently in production) showing the cash flow analysis and some back-up data. Obviously all of the supporting data and calculations for the case study presented cannot be provided; however, reference is made to the major assumptions utilized and to the appropriate procedures employed in the calculations, as described elsewhere in the text. The problem associated with using any case study for illustrative purposes is that one tends to be overwhelmed by detail. For instance, specific costs, prices, expenditure timings, and other variable values may be challenged because they either do not conform to one's expectations or are not consistent with specific operating experiences. When this occurs the instructional value of the problem becomes obscured. The purpose of most case studies, and particularly the one presented in this chapter, is to expose the student to the methodology, procedure, and format associated with performing a cash flow analysis of a mining property. It is not to laboriously wade through the specific details associated with operating and capital cost development, mine plans, or equipment schedules. It should be noted, how- ever, that the values represented in this case study result from specific mine plans, operating procedures, equipment spreads, manpower requirements, and other en-

Jan 1, 1984

By Walter Harvey Weed

Introductory.............449 Summary oF Types............452 I. The Virgilina Type...........452 The Virgilina mines...........452 Location.............452 History.............453 The rocks of the district..........453 The veins.............454 Notes on the mines.... 458 The Holloway. 458; Yancey and Durgy. 465 ; Copper World. 467 ; Frazier. 467 ; Thomas. 467 ; Anaconda. 468; Blue Wing. 468; High Hill. 472; Dorothy.......474 II. The Gold Hill Type...........474 The Gold Hill mine...........475 Location.............475 History............• 475 Surface improvements.......... 476 The rocks............478 Vein.phenomena...........478 Character of the ore..........481 Origin of the ore...........481 Notes on the mine.workings.........482 Other occurrences of ore-deposits of the Gold Hill type.. .. 483 III. The Ducktown Type..........484 The Ducktown mines...........485 Other examples of the Ducktown type....... 494 Alabama mines...........494 North Carolina examples : Ore Knob.......496 Virginia examples..........497 IV. The Catoctin Type.. ......... 498 General characteristics,......... 498 The Linden district...........499 General distribution of the Catoctin type.......503 Introductory. In the early history of this country the existence of copper in the Appalachian region was well known. but no mining mas attempted until the discovery of the Ducktown deposits in

Jan 1, 1901

By T. D. Yensen

It is safe to say that of all the different materials that go to make up electrical machinery, iron is the most important. Upon its magnetic and electrical quality depends not only the efficiency of the machine but, to a very large extent, the cost. Aside from the mechanical strength, there are three characteristics of iron that are of importance in this connection, viz., magnetic hysteresis, electrical resistance, and magnetic permeability. In the homopolar machine, where the magnetic flux is unidirectional, permeability is the only important factor, but in all other machines the flux is reversed in one or more parts and causes losses due to hysteresis and eddy currents. The eddy-current loss depends largely upon the electrical resistance of the iron; the higher the resistance the lower the loss, under otherwise identical conditions. These hysteresis and eddy-current losses cause heating of the machine, and as they depend upon the magnetic density in the iron, this density must be regulated so that the heating shall not be excessive. If the hysteresis and eddy-current losses and the permeability of the magnetic circuit will permit an increase in the magnetic density, or, in other words, a decrease in the amount of iron, this in turn will mean a decrease in the amount of copper needed, with a consequent decrease in the copper loss. It is thus seen that, indirectly as well as directly, the above characteristics have an important bearing on both the efficiency and the cost of electrical machinery. In general, it may be said that iron for electrical machinery should have the following characteristics: (1) low hysteresis loss, (2) high electrical resistance, and (3) high permeability. These are the characteristics that investigators have been striving to attain since electrical machinery first came into use. Until the beginning of the present century, Swedish charcoal iron was regarded as the best grade of iron for magnetic purposes, and even now it ranks high among the various grades used. About that time Sir Robert Hadfield1 produced a number of iron alloys that revolution-

Jan 1, 1916

By H. O. Hofman

The mining and metallurgical laboratory, as we understand the term in this country, is a place .in which mechanical and chemical working-tests are made on ores, fuels and furnacematerials. It is of quite recent origin. The first laboratory of this kind to be used in connection with teaching was put into operation in 1871 at the Massachusetts Institute of Techilo1ogy. † The idea had already existed in the mind of President W. B. Rogers when he wrote, in 1864, his pamphlet 'on " The Scope and Plan of the School of Industrial Science of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology;" but several years elapsed, and an extended visit to the mines and mills of Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California was required before this idea could take a form adapted to the purposes of original research as well as of instruction. The laboratory was given from the first into the charge of Prof. R. H. Richards, who, by improving its methods and enlarging its scope, has brought it to the position which it occupies to-day as the leading representative of its class. Private laboratories for making tests upon ores had previously existed here and there, especially on the Pacific coast, for silver and gold ores; but in the educational field the

Jan 1, 1896

By Stanley D. Michaelson, Norman Weiss

This was a year of realization. Some years are for planning and development, some for designing and building, others for fulfillment. With greater hopes and plans for the future than ever before, the year 1954, nevertheless, will be remembered principally because of project completion. Among copper mines, for example, there were Silver Bell, Copper Cities, Bisbee, Yerington, and White Pine. In iron, there were the Humboldt, Coleraine, Cerro Bolivar, and Eagle Mountain. In asbestos, Johns-Manville's new mill at Asbestos, Que. In uranium, completion of the ninth mill on the Colorado Plateau-Kerr-McGee's at Shiprock, N. M. In research, 1954 marked the completion of Kennecott's Research Center in Salt Lake City, one of the historic forward strides in the science of minerals beneficiation. The year was fruitful in other directions as well. Investigations of a fundamental nature were on the upswing, and pilot plant projects have also increased in size and number. Progress in new reagents and equipment was greater than normal. It can already be conservatively predicted-from the technological point of view-that 1955 and 1956 will be tremendous years.

Jan 3, 1955

By W. E. D. Stokes

THE application of aviation to mining and petroleum operations, on the basis of economy and attainment, has become a demonstrated fact. According to Dominion Government records, 30 Canadian companies engaged in air transportation with northland mining camps, carried 13,000 tons of freight in 1935, and in 1936 carried 16,000 tons. In addition, many mining companies used planes to transport prospectors with canoes, outboard motors, gasoline drums and supplies to remote locations, and one company maintained a plane to take radium-bearing ore from its mine on Great Bear Lake nearly 1000 miles south to the rail- way at Waterways, Alberta. Heavy pieces of mining machinery weighing 2 tons are being carried by Ford trimotor planes over the Andes, at an altitude of not less than 15,000 feet. At Bulolo, New Guinea, 17,500 tons of disassembled gold-dredging equipment has been flown over inaccessible terrain, while supplies and building materials for a community of 1000 whites have been transported by airplane. A 3 1/2-ton shaft was carried on one notable trip, while at another time an automobile, 2 tons of rice and a large safe went over the mountains in one plane. Fig. 1 shows an electric generator that was carried by plane to Bulolo. Many large American oil companies operated fleets of planes during 1936, ranging from fast, luxurious air liners for executives to elaborate geological prospecting units, ambulance planes, freight carriers and pipe-line repair crews. According to the U. S. Geological Survey, commercial firms photographed 16,291 square miles during 1935, while the Government compiled from aerial photographs by the Geological Survey in the United States 85,544 square miles. It was found that information could be determined in a fraction of the time required by surface methods. However, sounding a word of caution, a Commonwealth of Australia government report on aerial survey operations had this to say: It is necessary to repeat ad nauseam that aerial photographic survey is in no sense a substitute for geological investigation, though it is a very valuable adjunct thereto, and greatly facilitates and accelerates geological mapping. There are many details

Jan 1, 1937

By David A. Thomas, John F. Peck

Fibrous microstructures and their development have been studied by metallography and by hardness and quantitative metallographic measurements. Thin, curved grains were observed in transverse sections of commercial tungsten wire and were developed in laboratory-drawn iron wire at reductions greater than about 70 pct. The unusual grain shapes are attributed to the nonuniform mode of deformation of the grains associated with the characteristic [I101 preferred orientation that develops in bcc metals during drawing. Transverse sections of heavily swaged iron wire showed a ospiral nebulao structure that appears to result from the elliptical shape of the cross section of the swaging dies and their rotary motion. Hardness and quantitative metallographic results show unusual trends that parallel the changes in microstructure. Other phenomena are considwed in light of the results, including the strength of fine wires of bcc metals, ocylindricalo textures, and the ductility of fibrous tungsten. 1 HE microstructure of tungsten wire in a longitudinal section shows grains highly elongated in the working direction, giving the appearance of a bundle of parallel fibers, Fig. l(a). Wires of tungsten and other bcc metals show a pronounced preferred orientation in which a [I101 direction is parallel to the wire axis.l The microstructure and texture of tungsten develop during warm working (working above room temperature but below the recrystallization temperature) into wire by swaging and drawing. Fibrous tungsten so produced has limited but useful room-temperature ductility, whereas annealed tungsten is brittle at room temperature. During an investigation of the effect of recovery annealing on the substructure of commerical 0.030 in. diam tungsten wire, it was found that transverse sections of the as-received material showed thin, curved grains, Fig. 1(b), instead of the expected equiaxed grains. The fact that Figs. l(a) and (b) show different sections of the same material at the same magnification is at first disconcerting, because the long dimension of the curved grains in the transverse section is several times the average fiber width in the longitudinal section. However, a longitudinal section cuts most of the curved grains across their narrow dimension, giving the appearance of a multitude of narrow fibers. On the other hand, the plane of a longitudinal section occasionally includes a long dimension of a curved grain, resulting in a broad ofibero, such as A in Fig. l(a). EXPERIMENTS AND RESULTS To investigate the origin of fibrous microstructures and particularly the unusual transverse-section structure of tungsten, rods of iron (also bcc) were drawn and swaged in the laboratory. One rod of annealed Ferrovac E was drawn in six steps to a total reduction in area of 87 pct (0.10 to 0.036 in. diam), and a second rod was swaged to the same reduction, using approximately the same reduction steps. Longitudinal and transverse sections of the swaged and drawn iron wires are shown in Fig. 2, for reductions in area of 39, 73, and 87 pct. A fibrous microstructure in longitudinal section is first evident at 73 pct reduction, and it is further developed at 87 pct reduction. The grains in transverse section remain equiaxed until about 73 pct reduction, when they become somewhat elongated and curved. At 87 pct reduction, the drawn wire shows thin, curved grains in the transverse section, similar to those observed in tungsten. The transverse sections of the iron wires swaged 83 and 87 pct reduction in area show the striking ospiral nebulao structure in Fig. 2(d). This struc-

Jan 1, 1962

By R. J. Cowan

In the art of cementation a controversy has been going on for years as to whether solid or gaseous carbon is the active agent in carburizing steel. More recently opinion has crystallized into a compromise to the effect that carburizing is a gaseous cementation of steel in the presence of solid carbon. The importance of this theory has a particular bearing upon the work to be described. In the art of carburizing, use is commonly made of such words as '' Catalytic" "atomic," "nascent" and "activated," in an attempt to describe the process. These words are used indiscriminately. For instance, the gas is said to be "catalytic" and carbon to be "nascent," or vice versa. In using these expressions, investigators are confirming the acceptance in their minds of the active conditions of both gas and carbon in the cementation process. Reactions at Metal Surfaces For many years attention has been directed to the consideration of reactions that occur on metal surfaces. When heated under the influence of certain metals a complex gas will be broken down and one of the constituents thereof usually found to be very active chemically in combining with the metal. The process of nitriding is an example of this type of reaction. In this case ammonia (NH3) breaks down at the metal surface and the nitrogen which is thus liberated reacts with the surface to form a nitride whereas molecular nitrogen not so liberated is inert and will not react chemically with the metal. Whatever term or terms may be used to describe such reactions, the fact remains that they are highly important and valuable in their commercial applications. Since the metal surface plays so important a part in these reactions, it is evident that any accumulation of reaction products thereon interferes seriously with the progress of the reactions. For this reason it is desirable to remove all such products as rapidly as they are formed in order to bring active gas into contact with the surface and thus facilitate the desired reactions. This is accomplished best by conducting the operation in a continuous manner, thereby causing the reacting gases to pass over the

Jan 1, 1931

By Frederick A. Mumpton

For more than 200 years zeolites have been familiar minerals to geologists and mining engineers as minor, but ubiquitous constituents in vugs and fractures of most basalt and traprock formations. More than 35 different species have been recognized including several, such as chabazite, erionite, mordenite, and faujasite, whose adsorption properties rival those of many synthetic molecular sieves. Igneous occurrences of this type have never been mined on a commercial scale; they are generally small and low grade, and they commonly contain as many as four zeolite minerals, along with small quantities of calcite, quartz, and other silicate minerals. Their economic beneficiation to monomineralic zeolite products has also not been achieved and, for the most part, industrial applications of zeolites have relied primarily on synthetic molecular sieves that were crystallized from hydrous aluminosilicate gels. During the middle 1950s, when Union Carbide Corp. and other groups were developing processes and markets for their fledgling synthetic zeolite businesses, natural zeolites

Jan 1, 1975

[NORTH AMERICA UNITED STATES ALABAMA ADAMSVILLE U. S. Steel Corp. Neason, James E. ALBERTVILLE Thompson Floral Co. Loudermilk, E. L. ANNISTON No Data Supplied Bonnichsen, Bill BESSEMER U. S. Steel Corp.-TCI Div. Beck, Adolph W., Jr. Boyle, James R. Cofield, William H. *Evans, James D. F., II *Guyton, Jesse C. Johnson, Leland H. Tetley, Albert L. No Data Supplied Crockard, F. H. Fisher, Joe T. Griffin, Joseph M. McFarland, E. A. Mohr, Henry E. Neal, George M. Walker, Wilber D.]

Jan 1, 1961

By M. R. Campbell

Coal is the geological product of entombed vegetal tissues. This view of its origin led Stopes and Wheeler to define it as "mummified plants." They evidently intended this term to be used in a broad way and to mean the preservation of the organic material, as such, regardless of the means employed to accomplish the purpose. The term " coal" should be regarded, therrfore, as broadly generic, and applicable to all accumulations of vegetal tissues as soon as they are covered and protected either by water or by earthy material. In this sense peat should be regarded as the first stage of coal formation and the term coal should include the resultant products of transformation in all other stages of the process until they have lost all resemblance to the original matter from which they were derived. If this idea of the development of coal is accepted and it is admitted, as the geologists claim, that the forces which produced this transformation of the coal have been active since vegetation began to grow upon the land, and are still in operation, it is obvious that somewhere in the world there are all gradations of this material from peat just forming in the swamps of today to graphitic anthracite which presumably marks the most advanced stage that can be recognized with certainty as belonging to the series. Some of these coals, particularly those occurring in the upper part of the series, are fairly well known because they are the ones that are most widely distributed and have been mined and utilized most extensively. On the other hand, the coals in the lower part of the series are but little known because they are not so abundant and, owing to their relative inefficiency, have been only slightly exploited and utilized, especially in regions where the better coals are abundant. The result of these conditions is that much research work has been done on coals of the higher ranks and a great body of facts regarding their physical and chemical properties and the uses to which they are best adapted has been accumulated, but little information is available regarding the coals of the lower ranks. Many able scientists, particularly chemists, have attempted to bring some order of the chaos of coals of various compositions and uses by

Jan 1, 1930