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By Christopher Mark

Dr. Christopher Mark serves as Team Leader of the Rock Mechanics Section in the Rock Safety Engineering Branch of the NIOSH - Pittsburgh Research Laboratory. In this position he leads a multi-disciplinary team and conducts individual research directed towards fundamental ground control safety issues affecting miners. Dr. Mark is recognized as one of the country?s leading authorities on coal mine ground control. Through his research, he has made numerous important contributions to mine safety that have been widely adopted into mining practice. He is a highly original researcher, and has often developed new and innovative methods to tackle extremely complex problems in his field. In recent years Dr. Mark has also achieved wide international recognition. Five research projects in Canada, Australia, and South Africa have been based largely on his work.

Jan 1, 2007

By John M. Lovejoy

I take pleasure in transmitting herewith "Petroleum Development and Technology in 1927," in which we have attempted to set out in a series of 40 papers with attendant discussions the advances made in Production Engineering and Refinery Engineering during the year. The volume also contains a digest of round table discussions on Petroleum Engineering Research problems and Petroleum Engineering Education. In addition to the above we set out in 16 papers a review of production of each producing area of the United States and of the more important foreign countries, together with a review of the world's production and forecasts for 1928. We also include 8 papers on the Economics of the oil industry. The papers and discussions included herein represent the contributions of more than 200 engineers, including the foremost in each line. These papers were presented at technical sessions held in Fort Worth in October, 1927, and at the annual meeting in New York in February, 1928. We desire to express our thanks and appreciation to all those who have contributed to this volume. As in previous years, we have attempted to emphasize the value of both written and impromptu discussions. -We have made a practice of returning all impromptu discussions to the authors for correction and amplification, and because of this practice we feel that the discussions contained herein are in very presentable and readable form. It was decided by the nominat,ing committee when meeting for thc purpose of nominating officers for 1928 to eliminate the vice-chairrnanship for Transportation Engineering, as that branch of the industry seemed to come more naturally under the activities of the American Petroleum Institute. It was also decided by this committee to institute a new vice-chairmanship for Petroleum Engineering Research. Wc have had heretofore round table discussions on engineering research, but through the newly created vice-chairmanship, to which Mr. L. C. Uren was elected, we expect to have more comprehensive sessions on engineering research than heretofort.

Jan 1, 1928

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Jan 1, 1957

I am a partner in a minerals' development company called A.B.F. Limited, that does minerals development in Africa and Asia. I have read your very fine magazine often at the Colorado School of Mines Library in Golden, Colorado. I would like to ask your assistance in trying to locate a South African smelter; preferably on the coast, but not totally necessary for the project, that can separate the first four metals (Au, Ag, Cu, and Pb).

Jan 1, 1980

Letter to the Editor With reference to the recent questionnaire in the December 1980 issue on 'The Contents of Journals', I have made the following observations.

Jan 1, 1981

By David R. Reid, Lawrence W. Talbot

INTRODUCTION In the mining industry, timing in land acquisitions can be of the essence. In order to secure promising lands, deals are often negoti- ated quickly and evidenced by letters of intent containing what the parties feel are the essential terms of the deal. In some cases, a company is willing to acquire land only if it can lock up a number of promising properties, and so a "non-binding" letter of intent is used to formalize the essential terms, while leaving the company without legal liability. Later, the letters of intent will be sent to a lawyer to prepare a formal acquisition agreement. Many times, how- ever, especially in a land acquisition rush, another company will attempt to better the deal prior to the execution of that formal agreement, and the first company will be forced to rely on the initial letter of intent, only to find out to its chagrin that it has no deal In other cases, the company holding the desired property is another mining company, and the negotiation of an option or joint venture is the only way the first company can acquire an interest in the desired land. In order to make its offer more attractive, it may have to reveal confidential or proprietary information about the property or the surrounding lands. Here, too, letters of intent are often used to formalize the essential points of the agreement. Once again, however, prior to the execution of a formal joint venture agreement, the transaction may collapse and the letter of intent prove to be only that. In this paper, the authors examine the dangers associated with the use of letters of intent and the specific provisions courts look for to find a binding contract, and consider how to increase the

Jan 1, 1988

Jan 1, 1936

Jan 1, 1936

One item of general interest in MINING ENGINEERING Trends, May 1952 gives the wrong impression of the scale of the ilmenite operations in North Carolina It also implies there are known deposits of rutile which "guarantee self-sufficiency for many years" So far as we know this is not true At present, rutile is in such short supply in the United States that the Defense Mineral Authority is encouraging prospecting for new deposits So far none have been found of any consequence and our needs have to be met largely from the deposits near Jacksonville, Fla, and rutile imported from Australia JAY P WOOD VICE-PRESIDENT HUMPHREYS GOLD CORPORATION The reference to self-sufficiency was meant to apply to the ilmenite-bearing sands, not rutile, but improper phrasing failed to make this clear However, the press release that the Glidden Co circulated stated that this deposit of ilmenite was one of the largest in North America -Editor

Jan 1, 1952

I am much pleased by your presentation of my article and flattered to the extent that the cover design refers to it. Incidentally, as between folks who like to work with words, refer to line 6, second full paragraph, page 773 (August Mining Engineering) Would "for" preceding technological have changed the percentages in lines two and three of the bold-face heading on page 770? The intent was coequality among three, (studies of mankind, of science, and of technological empirics). Thirty-three pct for "man" studies is a pretty big bite for engineering schoolmen; 50 pct they won't even examine, let alone nibble at. Arthur F. Taggart For those of you without a copy of the August issue handy, the sentence referred to read: The plea herein is to make the overall time allotment for studies of mankind coequal with those, for science and technological empirics.... Professor Taggart suggests that insertion of the word "for" would clarify the intent of coequality among three divisions of study: The plea herein is ... for studies of mankind coequal with those for science and (for) technological empirics. Editor.

Jan 1, 1952

For the past several years the policy of a large section of our mining industry in relation to our present bureaucratic form of government has become increasingly amusing, if not a little disgusting. In the past, mining men have always featured themselves the self-announced champions of free enterprise, and, generally, this conviction, was substantiated by their deeds. In recent years, however, a large group of the industry, while still expounding, from the front porch, the principles of free enterprise and a sound economy based upon the law of supply and demand, have gone around to the back door with palm extended, to join labor, farmers, bureaucrats, and other pressure groups to get their share of the take. The procurement of subsidies, bonuses, increased metal prices, and government assistance in a multitude of forms seems to have obscured from their thinking the welfare of the country as a whole and the sounder economic principles of a balanced budget and lower taxes. At the recent Colorado Mining Association convention in Denver, I. was alarmed to see just how far this specialinterest type of thinking has progressed within the mining industry. Government assistance to mining. was generally considered inadequate, and a flat bonus for any new mineral discovery was proposed. It was disquieting, too, to learn how far the federal alphabet agencies have entered into the mining industry and of the thousands of highly paid technical. men on the federal payroll required to man these numerous overlapping agencies and bureaus. Now all this is very fine, and some aspects of the federal give-away program can be very appealing to the unsuspecting in the mining industry as they have been to those in other groups. Some of these expensive programs may bring about a few dividends or even several new mines. But to this whole line of pump-priming reasoning there is one big disastrous fallacy.

Jan 1, 1952

My bets are on you, every time! But who is right? In the "cobalt issue" of our favorite magazine, January 1951, you stated: "By far the best immediate United States prospect for, large amounts of cobalt is the Blackbird mine of the Calera Mining Co., which is operating for Howe Sound Co., in Leinhi County, Idaho." In the March 1 issue of Saturday Evening Post, Ernest F. Mechlin, Jr., chief cobalt section, National Production Authority, states: "The Bethlehem Steel Co.'s Cornwall, Pa. ore bed is the principal domestic source." Maybe he should have said: "was the principal domestic source", or perhaps Howe Sound's Idaho cobalt is still in the prospect stage in Mr. Mechlin's opinion, perhaps in yours too. KATHARINE W. CARMAN GEOLOGIST 933 MICHIGAN AVE. EVANSTON, ILLINOIS Mr. Mechlin is correct in his statement that Cornwall is the principal domestic source of cobalt, but within the year, Blackbird production should greatly exceed that from Cornwall. Calera is expected to ultimately produce 3 million lb per year, whereas Cornwall averages 520,000 lb per year. -Editor.

Jan 1, 1952

The engineering personnel shortage, present and impending, so well brought out in the article in Mining Engineering in the August, 1951 number, both in the editorial lead and the article by William B. Plank and Henry J. Petrie, has left untapped and has ignored a potential source of supply that would fill the need ably and with complete satisfaction. This source is comprised of the women engineers- and geologists, both presently, trained and able to handle work at all levels, and the many who would make splendid engineers and geologists if they could hope for even a modest taste of the square deal that should be theirs, but, as we all know, is not. I write from experience. It is not pleasant or sensible to have to urge borderline cases among men students to consider engineering and geology as careers to fill the need, when I have far more able, interested and suited young women students whom I must divert into other channels. It does not make sense to scrape the bottom and sides of the barrel to induce potentially second or third rate male engineers and geologists to enter the profession when we have superior material among the women, eager to do good work in these fields. It does not make sense for these men to become second or third rate in these fields when they might be first rate salesmen, musicians, advertising copywriters or policemen. Nor does it make any more sense to force potentially first rate female geologists and engineers to become second or third rate and very frustrated typists, kindergarten teachers, dress sales-women or clerks. At this point I am willing to admit that where superstitious -miners object to women in underground workings, men are available for the jobs. Moreover, it is not necessary for women to be sent into the most difficult country, if there is reluctance on either side of the contract. There may be fewer of them eager for the roughest assignments, in proportion to the men, but women are so accustomed to discrimination far more complete than that against any racial or religious group, that a reasonably tough assignment would seem like a heaven-descended joy. In my own experience, I have found that my girl students majoring in geology, could keep up with me in the field in the roughest terrain, but. the men, all but the best students and the most physically fit young men, complained that they could not keep up with me and that I always "walked their-legs off. The women, a few men and I always returned with bags heavy with well chosen specimens and proper notes. Most of the men carried no specimens and-but poor scraps of notes on loose bits of paper. Yet the men were urged to prepare for a career in engineering or geology if their examination marks were reasonably good. When we find that we still have a shortage of engineers and geologists, after putting all the qualified women to work, then we may begin to worry. Until then, we are simply fooling ourselves as we wander in, a forest of outmoded tradition and emotional habit reactions. MARY W. GARRETSON ASSOC. MEMBER, AIME SCARSDALE, N. Y.

Jan 1, 1952