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By H. A. Coy, James A. Noble

The Mascot mines of the American Zinc Co. of Tennessee are situated at Mascot, Tenn., 14 miles northeast of Knoxville, on the Southern Railway. The district is centrally located in the Great Valley, or Appalachian Valley Province. Prior to 1900, a small output of zinc was obtained from oxidized ore mined in open pits. In 1900, a shaft was sunk to sulfide ore, and in 1903, a second shaft was put down, neither being as deep as 200 ft. The American Zinc Co. of Tennessee began drilling in 1911, and outlined an ore-body to which its No. 1 shaft was sunk, to a depth of 365 ft. Since that time, the American Zinc Co. of Tennessee has been the only operator in the district. The Federal mining laws have never been in operation in Tennessee and mining lands are as irregular in boundary and area as farm lands. Ownerships are generally held in fee. In most cases the surface and mineral rights are transferred together. Electric power is supplied at 66,000 volts by the Tennessee Power Co., from a hydro-electric plant at Parksville, Polk County, Tenn., 100 miles from Mascot. No other power is used, but an emergency steam plant is held ready in case of interruption of service. Labor is all native and non-union. Negroes are employed for most of the shoveling, and for a few miscellaneous jobs, but for almost no other work. Exploration Exploration is carried ahead of mining largely by surface drilling. Both churn and diamond drills are used. Holes are not spotted according to geometric plan, but to block out ore outlines with the least number of holes. Churn-drill cuttings from each 5-ft. run are mounted for formation record, and in ore ground, all the bailings from each 3 ft. of advance are sampled and assayed. Diamond-drill cores are sampled and a specimen core filed for formation record. In ore ground, all the core

Jan 1, 1925

By J. T. Dewan

An experimental setup is described whereby the responses of Neutron logging instruments have been determined opposite formations of different porosities and under various borehole conditions. The results of these tests are presented in several charts which show how the Neutron log is affected by the following factors: hole diameter, casing, cement, salinity and weight of drilling mud, and position of logging tool with respect to the wall of the hole. The responses in the case of empty holes are also shown. A chart is furthermore presented which shows the shapes of the Neutron log, as a function of logging speed and time constant, at the boundaries between two formations with different porosities. These were derived mathematically using as a basis laboratory determination of the shape of the curve under static conditions, i.e. at very low logging speed. Corrections for the readings made opposite thin beds are given by these computations. The correction is found negligible under usual logging conditions for beds thicker than about 4 ft. INTRODUCTION The Neutron log is used in borehole surveys both for the delineation of porous formations and for the quantitative estimation of their porosities.1,2,3,4,5 It is common practice to calibrate the response of the Neutron log in terms of porosity values for each given geological unit by means of empirical comparisons between the deflections of the neutron curve and the porosity values given by the core analysis in a sufficient number of wells. Usually, the plots of the porosity values vs Neutron log deflections show a definite trend. It is therefore possible to trace an average line across the plotted points. This average line constitutes a calibration curve which can be used to evaluate the porosities from the Neutron logs in the other wells drilled in the same region. Futhermore, when the porosity values are plotted on a logarithmic scale and the Neutron log deflections on a linear scale, the calibration curve is practically a straight line. Accordingly the calibration curves are often determined by simply tracing a straight line between two points corresponding to two widely different porosities. Different choices are made for these two points, depending on local conditions. For example, one point will be defined by plotting the deflection of the Neutron curve opposite a formation known to be very tight, for which an average porosity value of 1 or 2 per cent is assumed. The other point may correspond to shale sections, to which a porosity of around 40 per cent is ascribed. The information provided by the eletrical logs — in particular the Laterolog, Limestone log or Micro-Latero-log — is also very often a help in the calibration of the Neutron logs. Empirical approaches such as these make possible the derivation of fairly reliable porosity values from the Neutron logs in many cases, at least in open holes and in essentially clean formations. There are, however, several causes of uncertainty which may sometimes entail appreciable errors. On the one hand, the Neutron log readings are influenced by the borehole conditions: hole diameter, presence or absence of casing and cement, presence or absence of drilling mud, characteristics of the mud, and position of the logging instrument with respect to the wall of the hole. The amplitudes of the curves opposite thin beds are furthermore atfected by the bed thickness,

Jan 1, 1957

By Robert B. Fulton, Gill Montgomery

Fluorspar is the commercial name for fluorite, a mineral that is calcium fluoride, CaF2. The name, derived from the Latin word fluere (to flow), refers to its low melting point and its early use in metallurgy as a flux. It is the principal industrial source of the element fluorine. Cryolite, sodium aluminum fluoride, Na3AlF6, is a rare mineral which has been found in commercial quantities only in Greenland. The natural material has been supplanted by synthetic cryolite for its principal industrial use in the manufacture of aluminum. History Fluorspar was used by the early Greeks and Romans for ornamental purposes as vases, drinking cups, and table tops. Various peoples, including the Chinese and the American Indians, carved ornaments and figurines from large crystals. Its usefulness as a flux was known to Agricola in sixteenth century Europe. Fluorspar mining began in England about 1775 and at various places in the United States between 1820 and 1840. Production grew substantially following the development of basic open-hearth steelmaking, wherein it is used as a flux. Use was stimulated by growth of the steel, aluminum, chemical, and ceramic industries, particularly during World Wars I and II. Fluorocarbons entered the picture in 1931. The use of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (HF) as a catalyst in the manufacture of alkylate for high octane fuel began in 1942. Differential flotation for separating fluorspar from galena, sphalerite, and common gangue minerals in the 1930s, and the application of heavy-media concentrating methods to the treatment of low-grade ores in the 1940s were outstanding technological advances that facilitated increased production. Recently, pelletizing and briquetting of flotation concentrates for use in steel furnaces and the development of flotation schemes for beneficiating ores containing abundant dolomite and barite have been major improvements in the industry. Uses of Fluorspar Fluorspar is used to make hydrogen fluoride, also called hydrofluoric acid, an intermediate for fluorocarbons, aluminum fluoride, and synthetic cryolite. It is used as a flux in the steel and ceramic industries, in iron foundry and ferroalloy practice, and has many minor specialized uses. Hydrogen fluoride (HF) is produced by reacting acid grade (97% CaF2) fluorspar with sulfuric acid in a heated kiln or retort to produce HF gas and calcium sulfate. After purification by scrubbing, condensing, and distillation, the HF is marketed as anhydrous HF, a colorless fuming liquid, or it may be absorbed in water to form the aqueous acid, usually 70% HF. Synthetic cryolite, organic and inorganic fluoride chemicals, and elemental fluorine are made from hydrofluoric acid. The acid itself is important in catalysis in the manufacture of alkylate, which is an ingredient in high-octane fuel for aircraft and automobiles, in steel pickling, enamel stripping, glass etching and polishing, and in various electroplating operations. The manufacture of one ton of virgin aluminum requires about 50 to 60 lb of fluorine content in synthetic cryolite and alumnium fluoride. This quantity, through improved technology and recovery practices, is being lowered significantly.

Jan 1, 1983

GWILLIAM H. CLAMER (Philadelphia, Pa.).-About 16,000 tons of tin is used annually in the production of white metals. The real reason for using the so-called genuine babbitt, which is a high-tin base babbitt, perhaps in the majority of cases, is that tin has always been. a high-priced metal and people naturally believe that what they pay a high price for must be good. Mr. Jones has shown that the common metal, lead, is a superior base for most purposes for Which babbitt metal is used. The addition of lead is often looked upon as adulterant to genuine babbitt, and specifications for this reason rigidly restrict the lead content. A sub-committee of the Society for Testing Materials, at the meeting in June, presented tentative specifications on babbitt metal, in which were included twelve formulas, containing from zero to: 20, per cent. of tin, and several containing from 65 and 92 per cent. Babbitts. containing

Jan 1, 1919

By Paul L. Hunter

Nearly 2000 people are employed at Kennecott's Chino Mines Division, which recently completed its 50th year as a leading copper producer. Chino operates an open pit mine at Santa Rita, N.M., and a reduction plant, including mill, power plant, and smelter, at Hurley, N.M. The property mines 66,000 tons of copper ore and materials per day. There have been safety and industrial health programs at Chino for a number of years, but in 1955 these procedures were reorganized on a more active basis. The following discussion evaluates the progress made during the 1955-1958 period.

Jan 6, 1960

By W. G. Sinclair

The North Texas district incorporated in this paper corresponds with the Railroad Commission's District No. 9, and includes the counties of Archer, Baylor, Clay, Cooke, Foard, Hardeman, Jack, Knox, Montague, Wichita, Wilbarger, and Young.† Table I,Oil and Gas Production in North Texas District, has been changed to conform with the nomenclature of pools designated by the Commission in order to facilitate compilation of the data, since most of the companies operating in the area are coming more and more to recognize one central authority in the matter of naming each new oil pool. No effort is being made to discuss the structural characteristics of the region, since it is generally known by oil men that most of the oil and gas comes from Pennsyl-vanian, with some of less importance from the Mississippian and Ordovician. Development during 1944 There were 1550 wells drilled during 1944, an increase of 450. Of this number, 677 were completed as oil wells, and 11 as gassers. Production increased 1,505,025 bbl., making the year's total 43,172,005 bbl. of oil having an average gravity of 40". Development generally, however, was somewhat disappointing. The 47 new pools, extensions, or new pay horizons in old fields, had a combined initial production of only 19,146 bbl. It is estimated that these wells added approximately 10,000,000 bbl. to the reserves. The largest single addition to the reserves was in the Caddo conglomerate in the Hildreth pool, Montague County. During the year, 66 wells were completed as the result of three extensions, I to 136 miles west, northwest and north of the field. Young, Archer, and Clay were the most active counties. Eleven new potential - oil fields were developed in Young County, nine in Archer and nine in Clay. Outlook for 1945 In spite of the fact that exploration as a whole was disappointing in 1944, prospects for increased development are bright for 1945. At the close of last year, 2.1 geophysical crews were operating in the district, which, together with the Ohio Oil Company's No. I W. R. Ross, a wildcat Strawn discovery in King County, 1 1/2 miles beyond the west boundary of district 9, stimulated a lease play extending over four counties. Two of them, viz., Foard and Knox, are in the area incorporated in this report. Acknowledgments The writer is indebted to Mr. C. W. Hanley, Zone Agent of the North Texas District, and Mr. William M. Lourcey, head of the Land, Leasing and Scouting Department for the Gulf Oil Corporation, both of Fort Worth, Texas, for permission to prepare this paper.

Jan 1, 1945

By D. F. Haley

The molybdenite deposits at Climax, Colo., have recently attracted considerable notice, because of their great size, as compared with other known deposits of the same mineral. Climax station, on the Colorado Southern narrow-gage railway, was at one time the Fremont Pass station on the Denver & Rio Grande. It is 141/2 miles northeast of Leadville, and exactly on the divide between the headwaters of the Arkansas and Blue Rivers. Climax station is 11,300 ft. (3444 m.) above sea level. The working tunnel of the molybdenum mine is about 1 mile from the railroad, and 900 ft. above it, at an elevation of 12,200 feet. The climatic conditions are severe, and snow can be expected during any month of the year. Winter sets in not later than Nov. 1, the snowfall is very heavy, and the ground remains covered with snow until June 1, and sometimes even later. From June 1 to Oct. 1, there is much rain and a little snow falls in the late afternoon nearly every day. In October, 1917, there was one of the biggest snowstorms and blizzards of the year. Being just on the divide, constant strong winds blow the fine, dry snow with such force that, during most of the winter, outside work of any kind is accomplished under most trying conditions. Within a few miles of Climax, some of the richest gold placers of Colorado occur. One of them, McNulty Gulch, was just across on the northeastern flank of Bartlett mountain. This mountain, therefore, was well prospected, and the presence of a bluish mineral and a yellowish one resembling sulfur was known to the old prospectors. They thought for many years that the blue mineral was graphite, and it is difficult to say when it first became definitely known that it was molybdenite. Claims had been staked as early as 1896, but it is evident that the prospectors at that time were looking for gold. In 1902, several claims were acquired by H. Leal, who drove a tunnel about 900 ft. (274 m.) long, probably to intersect a fault, which shows on the surface, and was thought to be a possible gold carrier. Gold was not found in paying quantities, but throughout its length the tunnel passed through a fractured silicified granite, showing a fairly uniform distribution of a fine-grained bluish mineral, which was finally determined as molybdenite. For several

Jan 1, 1920

By Leo L. Van Sambeek

An understanding of the creep and yield behavior of salt is required for the rock mechanics design aspects of solution mining. Most previous studies of salt behavior have been performed on small specimens of salt under homogeneous stress conditions; i.e., uniaxial and triaxial tests on specimens <0.002 m3. The corejacking test is a larger scale test (-0.75 m3) with inhomogeneous stress conditions that provides data on the structural response of salt. Interpretation of the responses from eight such corejacking tests provides verification of the requisite constitutive parameters required to predict salt behavior at different levels of stress and temperature. These constitutive parameters are not those studied in the usual laboratory test. Corejacking test results show almost inseparable elastic and plastic closures simultaneous with the corejack pressurization. Very rapid closure (on a relative basis) continues for a period of time after the pressurization. This rapid closure is shown to be both continuing yield deformation and creep deformation. After the period of rapid closure, the closure rate approaches a constant value. Numerical modeling of the corejack tests using a creep law containing both transient and steady-state creep functions does not provide results that agree with the responses measured in the corejack tests. Using an experimental design technique plus additional numerical modeling that includes yielding of the salt, results in identification of the significant parameters which allow agreement. The significance of the results from the study is demonstrated by comparing the postulated stability and creep response of a solution-mined cavern using the previous understanding of salt behavior and the understanding developed from this study.

Jan 1, 1985

By GEORGE A. KIERSCH

The awesome destructive power of known and projected weapons of war presages a new need for geologists and engineers, who may be called upon to locate vital industry underground, thereby protecting it from sky-borne destruction. The Corps of Engineers is now conducting special tests to establish design standards covering the general field of underground installations as well as surveys a of construction methods and the operational hazards connected with such plants. National planning must dictate a policy that is either tactical, where surface manufactured parts; are stored underground and during art emergency assembled, or operational with both the manufacturing and assemblage completed in subsurface plants. Both plans of operation require the use of subterranean plants. Relocation of vital plants underground will probably involve only a small percentage of the production capacity of this nation. The cost of rebuilding in new location will obviously limit its adoption

Jan 1, 1949

By S. B. King

IT is the purpose of this article to give those not familiar with the subject an idea of the extent to which coal is mined by machine in the United States; to describe some types of electrically operated coal cutters; and in particular, some of the latest improvements and developments in these machines. Generally speaking, the article deals with the mining of bituminous coal in room-and-pillar mines, as the use of undercutting machines in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania is in its infancy, and when machine mining is referred to bituminous coal is taken for granted. The number of mines in the United States that are operating on the long-wall principle is very limited, and the number of long-wall machines in use is a very small percentage of the total. The advantages of mining by machine may be summed up briefly as follows: A. Increased safety to property and life, due to the large decrease in the amount of powder required when the coal is properly undermined. B. Reduction in the cost of mining. C. Improvement in the quality of the product; and, consequently, increase in market value, due to the greater proportion of lump and screen sizes secured by machine mining. D. Increase in the capacity of the mine, and more rapid development of new mines. E. Ability to mine veins in which the height of the coal or the character of the roof has prevented mining by hand, on a commercial basis.

Jan 6, 1914

By A. L. Labbe

IT Is well known that the Cottrell process is more easily applied to certain kinds of smoke than to others. The successful Cottrell installations are those treating smokes that carry dust of a mechanical nature; also smoke carrying fume dust that contains an excess of sulfuric acid over that required to combine with the oxides in the dust. But up to the present time the process has not reached a satisfactory economical basis of operation, in the treatment of smoke&apos; containing basic dust. It is not impossible to make a smoke containing basic dust suitable for the process by. humidifying or acidifying. A number of Cottrell plants use these two methods of conditioning smoke previous to Cottrell treatment, which are quite successful, but the use of either results in expensive operation and a substantial loss in metals.. For these reasons, I would say that the baghouse process has not been replaced by the Cottrell process in the treatment of smelter basic smoke. Basic smoke must be given a. preliminary conditioning treatment because the dust is not a conductor of electricity; the water or acid treatment imparts some conductivity to the dust.. The rate at which dust is recovered depends on the proportional amount of power transmitted to the, treater and on the rate at which the smoke passes through; therefore to maintain a maximum constant amount of power across the electrodes of the treater, the same degree of conductivity should prevail, at all times between the surface of the electrodes. For all practical purposes, in the application of this process to lead and copper-smelter smoke, we can consider that the conductivity of the gases is a .constant. The variations in temperature of the smoke have a much greater effect on the solids than on the gases; the only instance where the temperature of the gases plays an important part in the process is at plants using humidifying: The temperature does not affect the conductivity of mechanical dust because such dust has natural conductive properties. However, in the case of smoke carrying acid-fume dust, where the conductivity is imparted to the dust particles by coming into contact with the acid fumes, the temperature is of importance.

Jan 8, 1925

By Frank Linforth

THE object of this paper is to present a brief outline of the methods of geologic mapping employed in the Geological Department of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., at Butte, and to show by means of a few typical examples the practical nature of the results obtained. The extremely complicated geological conditions early encountered in Butte mining led mine operators to realize the necessity of accurate detailed geologic mapping as an aid to successful development of the ore bodies. The organization of the Anaconda Geological Department was undertaken in 1900 by H. V. Winchell, who, in conjunction with D. W. Brunton, worked out the essential methods of procedure which are, in the main, followed at the present time. Since the year 1906 the geologic work has been under the direction of Reno H. Sales, and in some respects the scope of the work has been slightly enlarged. Au excellent article describing the general equipment of the geological department was presented by D. W. Brunton at the British Columbia meeting of the Institute in 1905.1 His idea, that data collected underground and recorded should be put to practical use and not remain a mere " inventory of the company&apos;s underground possessions," is the keynote to the success of applied geology in Butte. The geologic notes are taken as soon as possible after the ground is broken so that any mistake in the mining may be corrected at once, or any particularly advantageous procedure may be suggested before any useless work is done. Taking the notes underground is a comparatively simple matter, but a few necessary precautions may be pointed out. The essential to success is that the notes shall show exactly what geological facts are disclosed. The observer must discriminate carefully between important and unimportant exposures in making the record, especially as regards the relation between veins and stringers, between faults and minor slips, or between the characteristics of veins of different ages. A simple color scheme has been adopted for making this record: Red pencils are used to indicate.

Jan 11, 1913

By G. C. Wallick, W. R. Foster, J. G. Savins

The theory of the differentiation method for the Couette flow experiment is reviewed. Particular attention is given to the requirements on data analyses in the case of the class of non-Newtonian materials described as viscoplastics, i.e., materials characterized by a yield point or yield stress. Here changes in boundary conditions arise when the shearing stress attains a critical value with the result that the form of the basic integral equation for Couette flow is determined by the flow conditions existing during the measurement. INTRODUCTION In the preceding papers in this series,l,2 the salient features of the differentiation method of rheological analysis in Poiseuille-type flow were discussed. It was shown that a dual differentiation-integration method analysis of the Poiseuille flow of idealized generalized Newtonian and visco-plastic models could be used to develop a spectrum of highly sensitive response patterns in terms of certain characteristic derivative functions. These functions were shown to optimize the selection of the most appropriate functional relationship between f(p) and p from the Poiseuille flow experiment. The present paper reviews the theory of the differentiation method as applied to the equally important Couette flow experiment. We will also discuss the range of variables over which the basic integral equation for Couette flow is applicable when the non-Newtonian material is of the viscoplastic type, i.e., characterized by a yield point or yield stress. THEORY Having described the application of the differentiation method to Poiseuille-type flow in the preceding papers, we now proceed to the case where the test liquid is confined to the annular space between coaxial cylinders of length L, one of which is in motion, i.e., Couette flow, formulating the basic integral equation after the method of Mooney.3 The observed kinematical and dynamical quantities are the angular velocity O and the torque T. Here, the one nonvanishing component of the shear-rate tensor is

Mark R. Lamb, Torres, Sonora, Mexico (communication to the Secretary*): I have read Mr. Merrill&apos;s paper with much interest, and cannot but accept his challenge as regards the cost of the clean-up at the Homestake mill. If I understand him correctly, the two men take the precipitates from the presses in about six hours, and do nothing towards refining them. If that is so, it would correspond to the work four men do here in about eight hours—that is, to clean the box and to place the precipitates in the driers. In order to make a fair comparison, the bullion in each case should be stated in ounces, since it is as diflicult to precipitate silver as gold, and our bullion is mostly silver. Bullion to the value of $50,000 is equivalent to a weight of about 2,500 oz. At our last clean-up eight standard bars, each 1,100 oz. in weight, were made, which equals a total weight of 8,800 oz&apos;. Four men had the precipitates drying by 8 p.m. This plant, the Minas Prietas works of Charles Butters & Co., at Minas Prietas, has square-bottomed electrolytic vats, an arrangement which necessitates the handling of all the precipitates in buckets. The Butters plant at Virginia City, Nev., is equipped with conical vats, and probably could make a still better showing under similar conditions. Another point is that common labor only is required. (Ordinary laborer&apos;s wages at Minas Prietas are $0.70 gold.) I may say also that, except for the convenience of the refinery, the box could be cleaned monthly, instead of bi-monthly, at only a slight additional expense. The comparison, if made a few months ago, would have been much more in favor of the electrolytic process, as the tailings handled at that time contained a large quantity of copper, and the amount of zinc-dust required would have been enormous.

Jan 1, 1904

By I. J. Lin, A. Mitzmager

This paper describes a series of experiments conducted to determine how the physicochemical properties of the suspending fluid affect the size reduction of quartz in a ball mill. Particular attention was directed toward the differences in rate of grinding and particle size distributions when either polar or non-polar fluids were the suspending liquids. Grinding was performed with water, carbon tetrachloride and methylcyclohexane as the liquids, and also in nitrogen for comparative purposes. From the results ob- tained, the authors have concluded that the presence of water greatly enhances efficiency in the grinding of quartz. Comminution is generally regarded as a purely physical process in which fragmentation of a solid is obtained by the application of suitable forces. In 1944, however, Rehbinder et al.1 pioneered the idea that the interfacial forces between the solid and the media plays an important role in comminution. Since then, a number of researches have shown conclusively that comminution is affected by surface chemical phenomena,2-5 and Gaudin went as far as to compare comminution to a chemical reaction.6 The effect of the viscosity and the density of the fluid media in grinding was also investigated, but

Jan 1, 1969

By Elliot P. Rexford

B. C. Burgess-—Prior to hearing this paper presented at the San Francisco meeting, I travelled by car from Yuma, Ariz., across south-central California and up through the San Joaquin Valley. After hearing the paper I returned by the coast route to San Diego then along the Mexican border to Yuma. The striking feature of these trips, related to this paper, was the dry river and creek beds at a time of year not the dry season. Contrasted with this was the wasteful use of water in irrigation canals and laterals. Poland says "at least 90 pct of the ground water pumped is used for irrigation." That being the case, it would appear that first consideration should be given to conservation of this use. Probably a small part of this is actually reaching the plants. Some measure of this loss between pump and crops would be revealing. Methods that might be employed to reduce this loss are pipe lines and spraying of some crops such as the banana planters are using in Central America. Another idea which might be investigated is to line canals and ditches with some water-repelling mineral like pyro-phyllite. Perhaps a comparatively thin sprayed-on

Jan 1, 1951

By Elliot P. Rexford

B. C. Burgess-—Prior to hearing this paper presented at the San Francisco meeting, I travelled by car from Yuma, Ariz., across south-central California and up through the San Joaquin Valley. After hearing the paper I returned by the coast route to San Diego then along the Mexican border to Yuma. The striking feature of these trips, related to this paper, was the dry river and creek beds at a time of year not the dry season. Contrasted with this was the wasteful use of water in irrigation canals and laterals. Poland says "at least 90 pct of the ground water pumped is used for irrigation." That being the case, it would appear that first consideration should be given to conservation of this use. Probably a small part of this is actually reaching the plants. Some measure of this loss between pump and crops would be revealing. Methods that might be employed to reduce this loss are pipe lines and spraying of some crops such as the banana planters are using in Central America. Another idea which might be investigated is to line canals and ditches with some water-repelling mineral like pyro-phyllite. Perhaps a comparatively thin sprayed-on

Jan 1, 1951

By L. C. Raymond

Valuations in the mineral industry differ from those of other enterprises because mines and oil wells have a definitive life so cannot be considered a perpetuity. This requires that in any mineral-property evaluation the recovery of invested capital is necessary during the life of the property. Capital writeoffs for nonextractive industries are assumed to be continuously plowed back to sustain the operation and produce yields on the capital invested. The extractive or mineral industry, however, generally attempts to return to the investor both interest and principal during the life of a property. Normally this is done currently and the dividend includes both items. Where the mineral properly possesses large reserves and the life factor approximates a perpetuity, the return on investment is generally comparable to that of industrial stocks. The valuation of a mineral property, at best, is based on educated estimates and judgment factors. This is particularly true as it relates to estimating selling prices over a long term or assessing the quality of management. Also, it is possible to make various assumptions as to rapidity of working out the deposit, varying time for start-up of operations, varying earning rates, so as to obtain different results with the same basic facts. Thus it is not surprising that two engineers, irrespective of their abilities, may not agree exactly even when given the same facts, but their results should be close enough to be used in establishing a fair value for trading purposes. The valuation is no better than the source of basic data and the soundness of judgment factors. Fundamentally the basic principles of mineral valuation are similar for base metals, sulphur, oil, or any other mineral. Each mineral, however, requires an engineer to have a knowledge of such factors as its occurrence, distribution, mining and processing methods, and marketing problems in order to gather and analyze all the facts and data that have a bearing on the earning potential of the property. PRESENTVALUEOFAMINERALPROPERTY In essence the present value of a mineral property is a sum of money in today&apos;s dollars that future earnings from the property are worth. It differs

Jan 1, 1959

By J. F. Poland

B. C. Burgess-—Prior to hearing this paper presented at the San Francisco meeting, I travelled by car from Yuma, Ariz., across south-central California and up through the San Joaquin Valley. After hearing the paper I returned by the coast route to San Diego then along the Mexican border to Yuma. The striking feature of these trips, related to this paper, was the dry river and creek beds at a time of year not the dry season. Contrasted with this was the wasteful use of water in irrigation canals and laterals. Poland says "at least 90 pct of the ground water pumped is used for irrigation." That being the case, it would appear that first consideration should be given to conservation of this use. Probably a small part of this is actually reaching the plants. Some measure of this loss between pump and crops would be revealing. Methods that might be employed to reduce this loss are pipe lines and spraying of some crops such as the banana planters are using in Central America. Another idea which might be investigated is to line canals and ditches with some water-repelling mineral like pyro-phyllite. Perhaps a comparatively thin sprayed-on

Jan 1, 1951

By J. F. Poland

B. C. Burgess-—Prior to hearing this paper presented at the San Francisco meeting, I travelled by car from Yuma, Ariz., across south-central California and up through the San Joaquin Valley. After hearing the paper I returned by the coast route to San Diego then along the Mexican border to Yuma. The striking feature of these trips, related to this paper, was the dry river and creek beds at a time of year not the dry season. Contrasted with this was the wasteful use of water in irrigation canals and laterals. Poland says "at least 90 pct of the ground water pumped is used for irrigation." That being the case, it would appear that first consideration should be given to conservation of this use. Probably a small part of this is actually reaching the plants. Some measure of this loss between pump and crops would be revealing. Methods that might be employed to reduce this loss are pipe lines and spraying of some crops such as the banana planters are using in Central America. Another idea which might be investigated is to line canals and ditches with some water-repelling mineral like pyro-phyllite. Perhaps a comparatively thin sprayed-on

Jan 1, 1951