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By Walter Voskuil

ILLINOIS supplies coal to seven states in the Upper Mississippi Valley -Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and portions of the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas. In this same area are marketed large quantities of coal from West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and else-where; fuel oil from the crude petroleum supplies of the Mid-Continent fields, and natural gas from Louisiana, Kansas and the Texas Panhandle. The boundaries of this "Illinois coal-market area" are determined by competition from other coal fields and from other forms of fuel. Within the area so described 90 per cent of Illinois coal is marketed. Thus in the Southwest, an abundance of fuel-oil supplies and natural gas domi-nates the market almost to the exclusion of coal. The westward move-ment of Illinois coal in Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas is met by an eastward flow of high-grade coals from Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. In the lake-shore counties of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the market is dominated by Appalachian coals, cheaply carried over the Great Lakes and reaching the ports of Lake Michigan and at the head of Lake Superior. Illinois coals find their largest market in the southern and western sections of these two lake states. Only small quantities of Illinois coals are shipped east of the state line. This market area is occupied entirely by the neighboring coal fields of Indiana and the Appalachian coal fields in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.

Jan 1, 1936

By W. J. Dick

THE purpose of this paper is to point out, briefly, the importance of the coal mining industry of Alberta and to stress the economic factors that hinder its development; also to offer suggestions relating to the major problems of the industry. The minor problems will not be dealt with in detail, because, if the major problems are taken care of, it is felt that the industry itself can take care of ,he remainder. COAL MINING NO LESS IMPORTANT THAN GOLO MINING The large increase in metal mining development in all provinces of Canada, excepting Saskatchewan, Alberta, and the Maritimes, has had the effect of focussing public attention on this branch of the industry. The fact, also, that this development came at a time of depression has been of immense benefit to Canada as a whole. On account of the necessity and consequent demand for gold, with its attendant increase in price, through government action, from $20.67 per ounce to $35.00 per ounce, it is safe to say that the public of Canada have become, today, gold mining conscious. While everyone admits the great value. of the gold mrn111g industry, nevertheless, the equal value to Canada of certain other industries must not be lost sight of. The coal mining industry, in particular, is worthy of greater public and government support than has been accorded it in the past. It would seem unnecessary to stress this matter to a meeting of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, but unless certain facts are brought to your attention, there is danger that the coal mining industry will not be developed to the extent its national importance deserves. Too many public men and men in authority are unaware of the value of coal mining.

Jan 1, 1936

CLASSIFICATIONS: 1, Nonferrous metals. 2, Iron and Steel. 3, Petroleum and Gas. 4, Coal. 5, Industrial minerals. A, Geology, exploration. B, Mining and production engineering. C, Preparation and milling. D, Physical metallurgy. E, Administration and economics. F, Chemical metallurgy. G, General. ARIZONA HASTINGS. EARL F., P. 0. Box 10 Chloride 1-A,B,C, Denver Univ., Texas Call. Mines. Asst. chief metallurgist, Old Dominion Copper Co., '26-'29; mine examination and mill construction in Colo.. Ariz.. and New Mexico; mill supt., Arizona Molybdenum Corp.. 34; at present gen. mgr., Pioneer Gold Mng. Co. Specialty: mine examinations and flow sheets of gold and rare metal plants. Examinations limited in Mohave County, A.riz., for present.

Jan 1, 1936

By L. N. Plein, F. W. Newhall

During the latter part of the year 1931, the Republic mine of the Republic Steel Corporation, at Republic, about 4 miles south of Brownsville, Pa., was mining coal along four rib or fracture lines. One of these lines, the west butt rib line, was retreating towards a concrete-lined air shaft, 320 ft. deep, which had been sunk in 1911 for ventilation purposes. With the normal rate of mining at that time, it was expected that this rib line would pass the shaft in three or four months and the shaft would then be abandoned and allowed to cave. Realizing the opportunity presented for the study of an unusual case of ground movement, the question of conducting the study was presented by the junior author to thechairman of the Institute's committee on Ground Movement and Subsidence, Mr. George S. Rice, who presented the matter to Mr. G. H. Morse, General Manager of the Northern Mines, Republic Steel Corporation, and he agreed to cooperate with the Bureau of Mines in making the study, the results of which arc presented in this paper. Acknowledgments are due to Mr. Morse for his full cooperation in this work and to Mr. G. S. Rice and Mr. J. W. Paul, both of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, for their advice and guidance during the course of the work. The authors are indebted to Mr. B. F. Herbert, mining engineer, Northern Coal Mines, Republic Steel Corporation, who assisted in all the surveys, and Mr. W. H. Smith, draftsman, U. S. Bureau of Mines, who prepared all illustrations for publication. Geologic Conditions The shaft is at Merrittstown, which is about one mile northwest of Republic. The topography in the immediate vicinity of Merrittstown consists of rolling country dissected by the meanders of Dunlap Creek and its tributaries. The surface slopes of the hills are gentle and their average gradient is less than 6º. The area at the point where the study was made lies on a hillside sloping towards the southwest, the gradient, varying from 1º to 14º. Fig. 1 shows contour lines at 5-ft. intervals on

Jan 1, 1936

By Jorge Munoz Reyes

There was no development work in Bolivia during the year 1935, and oil was produced only to meet the needs of the army and of the local market. The refineries in the districts of Camiri and Sanandita treated 25,978,737 liters (163,388 bbl.) of crude oil, which yielded 4058 bbl. of aviation gasoline (Camiri only), 7381 bbl. of gasoline, 718 bbl. of kerosene (Camiri only) and 83,105 bbl. of fuel oil.

Jan 1, 1936

In a previous paper the author showed that silver considerably delayed the recrystallisation of lead after cold work. The effect of antimony on the rate of recrystallisation of distorted lead was studied next, and the experiments performed, and the results obtained, are described in this paper. Electrolytic lead was used as a standard of comparison.It was also used to make the lead antimony alloys.This electrolytic lead contained 0.0005% total impurities.It was prepared from commercial lead by fire refining, followed by electrolysis and finally by vacuum casting. The process was described in the previous paper and the description need not be repeated here. PREPARATION OF LEAD - ANTIMONY ALLOYS.The steps taken to procure pure antimony are outlined in the appendix. To make the lead antimony alloys a mother alloy was prepared thus:-A quantity of the antimony (it was received in the powdered form) was placed in a pyrex glass tube, which was closed at one end. The antimony was washed with hot hydrochloric acid (1: 1), then with more dilute acid, then with distilled water, and finally with absolute alcohol; it was dried by warming and evacu,ating the tube. This should leave the antimony more nearly free from surface oxides.The amount of antimony was determined by weighing quickly; the appropriate amount of vacuum-cast electrolytic *Research Fellow, Dept. of Metallurgy, University of Melbourne.

Jan 1, 1936

By I. N. Zavarine

The present paper is a continuation of the work on the relationship between the magnetic and the phase transformations in carbon steels during quenching. An account was given by the author in a previous paperl† of an investigation of this relationship during a continuous quench. The experimental difficulties then encountered prevented a conclusive proof of the existence or absence of such a relationship. The conclusions of the previous paper were derived indirectly. The present paper deals with the same problem, but the method of attack is modified. The technique developed by Davenport and Bain2 in their well-known study of austenite transformation at subcritical temperature was adopted in the present investigation. They have shown that the austenite to martensite transformation can be caused to proceed at a relatively slow rate by quenching steels into a hot metal bath. Slowing down of the rate of transformation, together with an observation by Lewis3 that a eutectoid steel can be preserved in the nonmagnetic state by such quenching, pointed out a possibility of a study of both transformations under more favorable conditions than previously described. The preliminary steps were connected with the technique of the hot bath quench. To study this phase of the present work a modification of the apparatus previously described' was used. The modification consisted in the use of a hot quenching bath instead of brine, and in fixing the secondary and the primary coils of the apparatus in a stationary position in and around the bath. Tubular specimens, as in the previous investigation, were heated in a suitable furnace to a temperature in the austenitic range for the given steel and then were dropped into the quenching apparatus. The quenching bath was heated to a series of temperatures within the probable range at which the austenite to martensite transformation was expected to proceed at the slowest rate. Observations

Jan 1, 1936

By E. D. Gardner

This is one of a series of papers describing mining and related subjects affecting mining in western mining districts and mineralized areas. The parts of this paper pertaining to current production, mining and milling methods and practices, and general conditions affecting mining were collected principally during a field survey made in May 1935. Some original data obtained on previous visits to the area are also included. The history, geological background, and past production of the mines and district are largely abstracted from previous publications, for which due credit is given later in the test. The principal districts in the Black Mountains are the Oatman or San Francisco and the Union Pass or Katherine. This range contains the principal producing mines of the State, in which gold is the only important metal. Although the total production of gold is relatively small as compared to other districts where the precious metals are obtained as a by-product in copper min¬ing, the area is one of considerable economic importance to the State.

Jan 1, 1936

By T. L. Joseph

Blast furnaces are most efficient thermally when the CO2 in the top gas is highest. Oxygen introduced in the air blast is converted to CO in the combustion zones. The extent to which CO, generated in front of the tuyeres, is converted later to CO2 depends upon the ratio of ore to coke in the charge and the degree to which CO2, formed by reduction of iron oxides with CO, reverts to CO by the secondary reaction C + CO2 = 2CO. About 300 to 400 lb. of carbon' per ton of pig iron is normally involved in the solution-loss reaction or direct reduction of FeO with carbon, which produces the same over-all results; that is, lower CO2 in the top gas. Rich2 has recently reported a reduction in fuel consumption at slower rates of blowing on two furnaces in spite of higher heat losses per ton of iron. Lower fuel consumption at slow operating rates was due to more complete reduction of the ore that resulted in higher CO2 in the top gas and consequently more efficient use of carbon. Kinney3 has reported substantial savings in fuel as a result of crushing and sizing the ore charge. Improvements in practice brought about by sintering magnetite concentrates, flue dust and fine ores have been due to the establishment of conditions favoring more complete reduction of the ore in the upper part of the furnace. The extent to which oxides and fluctuations in composition in pig iron affect the quality of steel and finished product needs further study. There is evidence that more thorough preheating and reduction of the ore in the upper part of the furnace tend to give a better quality of iron. Bogatzkii4 found from laboratory work that the amount of oxygen entering electrolytic iron, melted under various slags, was directly proportional to the concentration of free FeO in the slag and inversely proportional to the basicity of the slag. Herty and Gaines5 concluded that the silicate content of open-hearth steel before deoxidation is related to the concentration of silica in the pig-iron charge, indicating that most of the persistent inclusions are silica from the iron. They also found that

Jan 1, 1936

By C. G. Fink

A PART of the material incorporated in this paper was derived from the studies of ancient metal objects examined by the authors from time to time for museums and art collectors, in order to verify the age of the metal. The data thus accumulated during several years was systemati-cally surveyed and supplemented by new material obtained in examina-tion of a set of specimens that had been generously donated by museums for this study. Altogether over 50 pieces were investigated, of which 39 are described in this paper. Every specimen is at least 1500 years old; the majority are considerably older. Exact conditions to which these bronze and copper objects were exposed in the ground are unknown, unfortunately. It is safe to say that exposure conditions did not remain constant during the long period of burial. Although the collection of specimens studied represents a wide variation in location and age of the objects, as well as in the nature and composition of the metals, it was found that fundamental changes in the metal structure were limited to a few typical cases which, therefore, may be considered as more or less general. The authors' chief aim was to study the effect of extremely long periods of corrosion on the structure of bronze and copper.

Jan 1, 1936

By Lawrence Wright

THE occurrence of gold, gold-silver, silver-lead-zinc ores in the post-Cambrian sediments in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and their genetic relationship to the Tertiary intrusives, is well known and accepted, but the occurrence of gold in the pre-Cambrian rocks at the Homestake mine, which underlie this Tertiary gold mineralization, has given rise to differ-ences of opinion as to the period of major gold introduction into the older rocks. Fig. 1 illustrates. the distribution of mineralization along the axis of the Tertiary uplift in both pre-Cambrian and post-Cambrian rocks. The following possibilities have been presented: 1. The Homestake gold deposit was formed in pre-Cambrian time and the deposits in the overlying Cambrian sediments formed during Ter-tiary time. 2. The Homestake lode existed at the beginning of Cambrian time, but was enriched by the passage of Tertiary auriferous solutions. 3. The Homestake lode was represented by pre-Cambrian quartz-chlorite sulfide mineralization, very low in gold content and the gold superimposed on the older nearly barren mineralization during the Ter-tiary metallogenic epoch. 4. The sulfides and sulfarsenides as well as gold were deposited in both pre-Cambrian and post-Cambrian rocks during the Tertiary period. Those favoring the first proposition feel that the question is pretty well settled, while the proponents of the second theory are more flexible in their view, feeling that the amount of gold introduced in either period is still an open question. The third and fourth theories, with some modifi-cations, are supported by the proponents of the Tertiary theory, who feel that the evidence strongly favors that period. The following pages are intended to present the evidence and to give the reaction of various observers with my own comments and conclu-sions; also, the accumulated facts of observation gathered over a period of close association with the area under discussion, beginning in 1919.

Jan 1, 1936

By C. G. Fink, E. P. Polushkin

A PART of the material incorporated in this paper was derived from the studies of ancient metal objects examined by the authors from time to time for museums and art collectors, in order to verify the age of the metal. The data thus accumulated during several years were systematically surveyed and supplemented by new material obtained in examination of a set of specimens that had been generously donated by museums for this study. Altogether over 50 pieces were investigated, of which 39 are described in this paper. Every specimen is at least 1500 years old; the majority are considerably older. Exact conditions to which these bronze and copper objects were exposed in the ground are unknown, unfortunately. It is safe to say that exposure conditions did not remain constant during the long period of burial. Although the collection of specimens studied represents a wide variation in location and age of the objects, as well as in the nature and composition of the metals, it was found that fundamental changes in the metal structure were limited to a few typical cases which, therefore, may be considered as more or less general. The authors' chief aim was to study the effect of extremely long periods of corrosion on the structure of bronze and copper. Specimens Studied As the majority of specimens were very small and sometimes had a heavy coat of patina, or crust, which further reduced the amount of metal available for analysis, quantitative chemical analyses were not made. Small detached specimens were not always obtainable and studies had to be made on the statue, or other object, itself. In the description of specimens (Table I), their approximate compositions determined under the microscopc are given. The proportion of tin in bronze containing eutectoid was found by visual estimation of the area occupied by the eutectoid. It was based on the assumption that maximum solubility of tin in copper on moderately slow cooling is 7 to 8 per cent in thin castings and 9 to 10 per cent in heavy castings. When the metal was all

Jan 1, 1936

By Raymond Edmundson

BARITE probably was first mined in the United States in 1845, when a small deposit was operated in Prince William County, Virginia1. The next state to produce barite was Missouri, and according to Weigel2, mining began about 1860. Virginia was the leading producer during the early period of barite mining, but by 1893, Missouri was producing almost an equal amount3. From this date, Virginia, although not the leading producer, furnished large quantities of crude barite until oper-ations gradually declined about 1907. Since 1910, there has been only one producer in Virginia. It is not known when barite was discovered in each of the Virginia areas (Fig. 1), but it is reliably reported that mining on a commercial scale began in Campbell-Pittsylvania counties about 1874; Smyth County in 1877; and in the Russell-Tazewell area about 1890. Barite is widely distributed in Virginia, occurring in nineteen counties. The localities that contain material of some economic value have been grouped into six areas (Fig. 1), each designated by the county or counties in which the barite is found. As many of the smaller areas show a similarity in geologic occurrence, they will be considered in this paper as two major groups; namely, Appalachian Valley and Piedmont Province. The first group, which includes the barite deposits of Russell, Tazewell, Smyth, Botetourt and Roanoke counties, lies northwest of the Blue Ridge and its foothills and southeast of the Appalachian plateaus. The other group includes deposits from the Blue Ridge on the west to the western margin of the Coastal Plain, in Campbell, Pittsylvania, Bedford, Grayson, and Fauquier counties.

Jan 1, 1936

THE Section on Aerial Geologizing of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers convened on Monday afternoon, Feb. 17, 1936, during the Annual Meeting of the Institute. Mr. Theodore Marvin presided. CHAIRMAN MARVIN.-We hope to get through with the papers on the program in time so that you can examine the instruments that are dis-played here, and also the photographs and air views brought by the Fairchild people. This is what we might call the first bread and butter session "of the Aviation Committee. The group, as many of you know, was started at the request of the Board of Directors two years ago. We have had two sessions since then, both of them of a somewhat general nature, their pur-pose being to point out the reasons why mining and petroleum engineers should be more interested in the facilities of aviation. Today we have two papers. The first is one by Mr. Eliel, of the Fairchild Company's California branch. In Mr. Eliel's absence, Mr. Gale, of the Fairchild Company, will read it. C. H. GALE.-Before I begin to read Mr. Eliel's paper, I would like to point out two instruments that he mentions. One is what he calls the solar-navigator, a new type of aerial navigating device which he has developed for use in flying cameras in aerial surveys. Flying a camera at high altitudes over unfamiliar territory is a very difficult procedure and only a few pilots in this country can do it. So far as I know, this is the first time this device has been discussed in public. Another facility I want to refer to in advance is the use of the stereoplanigraph in making contour maps from photographs. This is an extremely interesting procedure, which we are appreciating more than ever at the present time.

Jan 1, 1936

Adams, Benjamin C., Jr., Student, Univ. of Oklahoma Norman, Okla. '36 Adams, Ernest C., Student, Univ. of Illinois 908 W. Green St., Urbana, Ill. '35 Adams, George H., Student, Colorado School of Mines Golden, Colo. '36 Adams, Robert Keller Mitchell Hotel, No. 18, Golden, Colo. '35 Afshar, Hadji Khan A., Student Box 63, Univ. Sta., Moscow, Idaho. '36 Ahrenholz, Herman William, Jr., Student, Lehigh Univ Bethlehem, Pa. '35 Alger, Robert P., Student, Missouri School of Mines & Met.Rolla, Mo. '36 Allen, Paul W., Student, Mass. Inst. of Tech Cambridge, Mass. '35 Allen, R. M., Jr., Student, Virginia Polytechnic Inst., "G" Co.Blacksburg, Va. '35 Alley, John Arnold, Student, Montana School of Mines Butte, Mont. '36 Amberger, R. H., Student, Michigan College of Min. & Tech Houghton, Mich. '35 Ambrosiani, F. Peter, Student, Michigan College of Min. & Tech Houghton, Mich. '36 Andersen, Burton Lee, Student, School of Mines, Univ. of Washington Seattle, Wash. '36 Anderson, Carlos, Student, Univ. of Oklahoma Norman, Okla. '36 Anderson, J. Wendell, Student, Pennsylvania State College State College, Pa. '36 Anderson, Joseph S. Cornelia Hotel, Ajo, Ariz. '35 Anderson, R. C., Student, Univ. of Washington Seattle, Wash. '35 Anderson, Roy A., Student, Washington State College Pullman, Wash. '35 Anderson, Willard. Student. Univ. of Oklahoma Norman, Okla. '36

Jan 1, 1936

Jan 1, 1936

By A. R. Jr. Amos

LOG washers have been used for many years in the washing of clay iron ores, phosphate rock and manganese ores, but not until the past 15 years have they been employed to any extent in the preparation of aggregate materials and fluxing stone. For a machine of such importance where tenacious clay or soft rock must be eliminated, there are few data generally available. The purpose of this paper is to set forth the results obtained from several operations, together with a few suggestions for planning a specific installation. Where the material to be washed out consists of loose surface soil, silt, or small amounts of quickly soluble clay, there is little competition with other forms of washers, because greater power and maintenance are required for the operation of log washers, but where the foreign matter is a stiff clay, such as occurs with high-calcium limestones and in marginal gravel deposits, the ability of other kinds of washers to eliminate com-pletely the hard clay balls is at least uncertain. Then the log washer comes into its own field, for with the breaking and churning action of the logs it will clean out the toughest clay. Even with material from the hydraulic dredge, if it contains tough clay, the log washer is desirable unless the gravel is subjected to a costly soaking and rehandling process. Recently there has been a considerable development in other types of machines to accomplish these results but it is not within the scope of this paper to make comparisons between competitive types, but to present the best obtainable data on log washers only. From the primitive design that gave it its name, a long log hewn from a tree, with paddles forged to shape from strap iron and attached by lag screws, the log washer has gradually been developed to the present all-steel type. As now manufactured, the log washer consists essentially of two built-up logs on which are mounted a series of paddles, carried by shafts fitted at the ends of the logs on bearings fastened outside the enclosing steel box, or trough, which is set at an angle of about 5° to 10° and into which the material is fed. Stuffing boxes at the places where the shafts pass through the box at the lower end are equipped with water-

Jan 1, 1936

By Alfred H. Bell

Drilling activity increased in Illinois in 1935. There were 34 com-pletions as compared with 26 in 1934 and 18 wells were drilling at the end of 1935. Some large blocks of acreage were leased in Marion and Clay counties near the central part of the Illinois structural basin. Production of oil in the state totaled 4,305,000 bbl., a decrease of 4 per cent from that of 1934 There was some curtailment of production in the early part of 1935 but none after April 30 as shown in the following table. Percentage Pro-duced of Potential ProductioN (USING September 1934 Period as BaSis) Jan. .l-Feb. 20............................................ 79 Feb. 21-Feb. 25............................................ 85 Feb. 26-Feb. 38............................................ 79 Mar. 1-Mar. 11............................................ 85 Mar. 12-Mar. 31............................................ 100 Apr. 1-Apr. 9.......................................... 80 Apr. 10-Apr. 30............................................ 86 May 1-Dec. 31........................................... 100 This is equivalent to an average curtailment throughout the year of 5 per cent. The price of Illinois crude oil at the wells remained constant during 1935 at $1.13 per barrel. A small amount of oil was sold at a 1ower price, notably from the Dupo field, but to arrive at a value for the state's production there would be little error in assuming an average price of 81.13, giving a total value of $4,864,465. The following table shows production in Illinois by moths in 1935, according to the U.S. Bureau of Mines. Jan............. 332,000 May.......... 382,000 Sept ,............. 370,000 Feb............. 295,000 June. ........... 858,000 Oct.............. 391,000 Mar............ 370,000 July............ 377,000 Nov............. 369,000 April............ 338,000 Aug............. 379,000 Dec............ 344,000

Jan 1, 1936

By Leslie S. Weldon

THE Lake Shore mine has been developed by two vertical shafts, with level intervals at 200 feet to the 2200 level and at 125 feet below this horizon. A main cross-cut joins the two shafts on all levels to the bottom of No. 3 shaft, and opening into these cross-cuts are the ore passes and sand passes, which are completed from surface To the 4450 level. In the west part of the mine, additional connections have been made between No. 1 and No. 2 veins, through which the major part of the ore from No. 2 vein west is routed to drifts in No. 1 vein. With the lesser amount of stoping on No. 1 vein, this arrangement permits better haulage to be maintained. The ore passes are driven at 50 degrees from the ends of short cross-cuts off the main ones and are broken through to the levels above at the mouths of the short cross-cuts, to allow for dumping on each level. The passes are controlled at each level by ball-and-chain gates and deliver to crushers and thence to loading pockets, shown in Figure 1. That system is quite flexible in that it is possible to by-pass the crushers at any station and load from either shaft at a number of different pockets. The sand passes are driven from the main cross-cuts at the same inclination as, and parallel to, the ore passes. Each is equipped with a chute and dump hole, so that waste or sand fill may be loaded or dumped at each level. A transfer door, hinged on the bottom, is installed opposite the chute for by-passing fill from one level to the next, and in the closed position protects the opening at the top of the pass. The dump hole situated beside the transfer door is protected by a grizzly with 10-inch spaces. Waste rock may be withdrawn from the system through No. 3 shaft loading pocket at the 2950 level to a waste bin on surface. Levels are developed by drifts in No. 1 and No. 2 veins for their entire lengths. Subsidiary breaks are followed at a later date, when full information has been obtained by exploration, and a considerable amount of development by sub-drifts is carried out in the upper part of the mine, particularly in more or less erratic sections of No. 1 vein.

Jan 1, 1936

By J. F. Bryson

Instantaneous outbursts of coal in underground workings have occurred frequently in various coal fields in Nova Scotia; British Columbia; Canada; South Staffordshire, England; and the states of Washington, Virginia, West Virginia and eastern Kentucky in the United States. Such outbursts in eastern Kentucky have been called "mountain bumps " because they are more likely to occur under mountain cover than elsewhere, but recently they have become generally known as "coal bumps." The eastern Kentucky coal field has been troubled by these outbursts since 1923. Many men have been injured and killed, and the morale of the workmen in the vicinity of such outbursts has been affected to such an extent that mine production has suffered for a considerable period following each outburst. Such phenonlenal occurrence in any coal field naturally has led to discussion as to the cause and means of prevention. In the eastern Kentucky field, local mine officials, workmen, mining engineers, and many others have offered many ideas as to the cause and many methods of prevention have been suggested, and tried without success. Some of the plans were either practically or economically unsound and in general impossible to follow. To enumerate all the suggestions would require a large volume. One cause mentioned was that they might be due to gas under high pressure, as in Lower Silesian mines, and the remedy reeommcnded was to drain the gas by drilling holes into a suspected area. A hole 30 ft. long was drilled into a 60-ft. pillar to allow the gas to drain off, hut the pillar bumped the next day. Realizing the importance of obtaining the best information available on coal bumps, the writer, with the permission of the Harlan County Coal Operators' Assoeiation, invited Mr. George S. Rire, Chief Mining Engineer of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, who had investigated bumps in several countries, to conduct an investigation of coal bumps in this field. Mr. Rice, by permission of the Director of the G.S. Bureau of Mines, accepted the invitation, and it was the writer's privilege, in company with

Jan 1, 1936