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By A. D. David

The object of this paper is to reduce to the simplest possiblc discussion the recent developments in refinery technology without resorting to detailed technical descriptions of the various items. During the year 1929, the most noteworthy tendencies have been towards the installation of more flexible plants, more unified operations, more balanced performance and greater fuel economy. In no other year in the history of petroleum refining has the industry witnessed to as great a degree the crystallization of so rnany developments in almost every phase of the art. Economic pressure has been the controlling factor, supplemented however by a market demand for more volatile anti-knock gasoline and higher quality of lubricating oils, resulting from the extended use of high-compression motors. Catalytic Hydrogenation Possibly the outstanding achievement during the year has been the beginning of construction of plants by the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey for the catalytic hydrogenation of the so-called heavier and inferior petroleum oils to produce therefrom not only high yields of anti-knock gasoline, but also lubricating oils equal in quality to the best grades obtainable. It is reported that the plants will operate at a pressure of 4000 lb. or higher and temperatures in excess of 900" F. will be used. The hydrogen required for the conversion will be produced from refinery gases. This type of processing will doubtless be an important factor in balancing future operations; in other words, it can be used to eliminate present waste products and permit production of high-grade products from low-grade crude. Improvements in Lubricating Oils Another important development during the past year has been the extended use of vacuum stills, making possible the production of lubricating oils from what was formerly classed as "fuel-oil crude," or crude from

Jan 1, 1930

By Smith, George Otis

THE matter that I have on my mind this evening is engineering's need of an open forum. Our fathers of three centuries ago were pro-testanta for freedom of speech and thought in matters religious; later, our fathers were revolutionists for freedom of speech in matters political; until today freedom of speech has become so universal throughout the land that even in the sanctuary of our homes, at times, we have to turn off the loud-speaker. Talk is not always a condition of progress, but light is everywhere necessary to growth, whether the growing thing is a blade of grass, a baby chick, or a young idea, and we must regret anything that tends to shut out the light from the operations of business and industry. Of course, I realize there is little that is novel in what I am saying. Indeed, I have found that Dr. James Douglas-a name we love to honor in our Institute-as long ago as 1907, gave an address at the Toronto meeting that any of us would be proud to be author of twenty-one years after. Dr. Douglas at that time spoke on secrecy in the arts and the text then taken by this leader in metallurgical technique and in the constructive management of big business was "the dangerous temptation to adopt secretive methods by very large corporations." In both thought and language Dr. Douglas was direct and vigorous and he needs no internreter. He advocated the wide open door for ideas on two counts: advancement of technical knowledge and education of public opinion. A few sentences will serve not only to prove the vision of James Douglas, but also, I hope, tempt you to hunt up his address in the Institute's TRANSACTIONS, and thus get his whole thought first hand.

Jan 1, 1928

Shoveling ore cost so much at Tyrone during the year 1917 that it was deemed advisable to conduct tests to see where the fault lay. These tests were in the nature of time studies and extended over a period of very nearly a year. No data were available on this work to supply a starting point, so it was necessary to begin in a very elementary way, to find out the capacity of the average Mexican laborer. To' obtain a basis for comparison, it was necessary to determine the capacity of various types and sizes of shovels, so as to know whether the 21-1b. (9.5-kg.) load was the best load underground as well as on surface. A list of essential factors influencing shoveling was also made out during the course of a short series of preliminary time studies, and the motions involved in shoveling were analyzed and subdivided for convenience in studying. The necessary forms and record sheets were also decided upon at this time. A second short series of tests was then conducted on the surface, so as to be able to estimate the negative effects of underground work on the shovelers, and to minimize, as far as possible, the need for studying obviously poor types and sizes of shovels under the difficult conditions to be encountered in the mine. The test work underground consumed by far the greater proportion of the time and was divided into three series: Shoveling directly into a chute; shoveling into a wheelbarrow and tramming to a chute; and shoveling into a car and tramming to a chute. In each series the following points were determined for various lengths of time worked: Number of shovelfuls handled per minute, effect of distance thrown on shoveling speed, amount of rest required, amount of time consumed in tramming and dumping, proportion of working day occupied in shoveling, total tonnage handled during various working periods, effect of distance on tonnage handled during the day.

Jan 2, 1919

By W. M. Peirce

FOR many years it was considered quite the proper introduction to any discussion of zinc metallurgy to remark that the methods of extracting zinc from its ores were archaic. Often there was an added implication that the industry in every phase savored of the days of alchemy. On rare occasions comments of this sort may still he heard. Fortunately, not only for the zinc industry but for the world at large, there is today no longer a basis for considering zinc metallurgy unprogressive. Progress in any industry is possible along three distinct lines. The methods of production may be improved, thereby reducing costs. In the case of basic materials, this may also have the important effect of increasing potential supply. Second, quality may be improved. Finally, the product may be made more valuable to consumers through increased knowledge of its utilization, thus holding old markets or opening new.

Jan 1, 1931

By John V. Beall

They let the whole world know again that not only could we do it, but we make it look easy. The great crews before Scott, Irwin and Worden of Apollo 15 have all blended warm humor, informality and dexterity to put on a good show: but it keeps getting better and the last one was the best. Scott's rendition of Galileo's experiment using a hammer and a feather--not just any feather, but a falcon feather after the name of the LEM-was priceless. One generation of school kids will never forget that lesson. The final touch was in the "would-you-believe''" category, Now if English astronauts had been performing the mission, the sign-off would have been typically low key. Something like; "well its tea time, chaps; we'll have to toddle along." Apollo 15 surprised and thrilled spectators by blasting off to the Air Force song "Off we go into the wild blue yonder" and leaving a camera behind to photograph their own ascent. Now that is what we call showmanship. There is another aspect to our space show and that is that it cost billions of dollars to put on. With that kind of backing, the world for an audience and in the face of grave personal risk, one would expect the space explorers to be all business. Instead they did their jobs with limpid buoyancy. Our older readers will recall and contrast a movie of the thirties and the tense atmosphere when they had to talk that kid up there (Franchot Tone) down through the zero ceiling. A feat of considerably less difficulty than docking LEM. but nevertheless the gut tightening drama was absent in the latter event. In another example, few of us can visualize reporting back after a business mission to one of the old barons such as J. P. Morgan in any but the most sedate and business-like terms. In fact we don't have to go that far back, as we can think of a few pepper-pot bosses we have had to whom one always played it straight.

Jan 1, 1971

By Sam Harlan

At intervals during the past several years the oil industry has been confronted with the problem of forestalling crises in its affairs. These crises have been reduced to periods of depression which, fortunately, the industry has been able to survive. Under the existing competitive practices which control the producing division of the industry it apparently has been proved that the best efforts logically to curtail development and producing operations are inadequate for effecting a true production balance and the consequent stabilization of prices. The industry is awakening to the fact that the situation warrants revolutionary thought and at this time it is looking for a permanent solution of its problem in a general plan for unit development and operation such as the one first proposed by Henry L. Doherty. Mr. Doherty's proposal was designed not only as a means for stabilizing the industry as a whole, but its principles involve very definite potential benefits for the average individual operator and royalty owner as participants in pooled projects. The benefits to these individuals would be derived from maximum recovery, the maximum utilization of natural energies, the minimization of development and operating costs, enhanced values of leases and royalties through improved efficiencies and ultimate yields, improved earnings through stabilized crude oil prices, etc. This plan was revolutionary to the industry's practices and at the time was rejected, but it now appears that the development and operating policies for new properties are continually approaching the ideal of the original plan. Oil companies are constantly extending their efforts to improve all factors that have a bearing on the costs and efficiencies of their operations. These efforts may, in some degree, be a normal outgrowth of the industry's progress, but the forced consideration of market conditions, the growing appreciation of the importance of regulating operations for maximum ultimate economies and the depreciation of the old principle of maximum flush at any cost, come from a new school of thought which has been stimulated by the immediate pressure of overproduction and

Jan 1, 1930

By AIME AIME

THE MILLING PROGRAM on Monday required a morning and afternoon session with a special luncheon of the Milling Committee in the Engineers Club at noon. Grinding and flotation were the main subjects of the papers which drew an attendance of fifty or more at each session. Under the direction of Chairman Arthur F. Taggart in the forenoon, all papers on flotation and general milling were considered, leaving the, after- noon free for crushing and grinding, with Dr. Galen H. Clevenger in the chair. The high spot was the first public presentation of the idea of size reduction of minerals by explosive shattering.

Jan 1, 1932

By H. Evans, L. A. Hunt

The raw materials used in the blast furnaces at the Geneva Works of U.S. Steel Corp. have a high degree of variability in size-consist and chemical content. To overcome the problems caused by the use of highly variable raw materials in the blast-furnace operation, large blending piles are used. An investigation of the blending system showed that variability was significantly reduced by the use of these blending piles. This paper describes the blending system, the method used to evaluate the effect of the blending system, and the results of the investigation. The remarkable improvement in blast-furnace performance since World War II has been in large measure due to the use of beneficiated burdens to reduce the variation of both chemical analysis and size consist. This practice allows the operator better control of his blast furnace, enabling him to operate more economically and to produce chemically uniform hot metal. Planning for uniformity usually begins during mining by extracting ore from several locations within a pit to produce a final product with a specified analysis. Another approach is to stockpile ores having widely varying analyses in individual piles and then drawing the required amounts from each stockpile to provide a blend with a predetermined analysis. A further improvement in blending procedures is to take ores from several sources, bedding them horizontally in layers and reclaiming by vertical slicing from the blended pile. The last procedure, when properly executed, is one of the best methods for achieving maximum uniformity with highly variable ores. U.S. Steel Corp.'s Geneva Works initially obtained iron ore for their blast furnaces from the Cedar City area of southern Utah. These ores were formed primarily by the replacement of limestone and siltstone formations with solutions containing iron and several other elements. The original iron content of the ores in the ground varied from a high of 70% to practically zero with a minimum acceptable iron content for shipping of 37%. Substantial amounts of silica, calcium, magnesium and alumina were found in the ores along with minor amounts of copper, lead, zinc, nickel, titanium, manganese, phosphorus and sulfur which were sometimes present in detrimental amounts. Iron-to-silica ratios varied considerably throughout

Jan 1, 1968

By T. Sterry Hunt

IN my address on the " Geognostical Relations of the Metals," delivered before the Institute on the 20th of February last (Vol. I Transactions, p. 331), I spoke of the rocks in the vicinity of Thunder Bay, Lake Superior, where I indicated two series of uncrystalline rocks resting upon the Huronian schists, the lower one consisting of dark-colored argillites and sandstones overlaid, apparently in slight discordance, by nearly horizontal red and white sandstone and marls, which were compared with those of Sault Ste. Marie, and those of the Portage Lake district, on the south shore. These latter sand-stones, according to Brooks and Pumpelly, overlie unconformably the Keweenaw series of copper-bearing amygdaloids, sandstones, and conglomerates, and are in turn overlaid by the Trenton limestone. I then proposed to call this lower series of Thunder Bay, that is to say, the dark-colored argillites and sandstones which are traversed by the silver-bearing lodes of that region, the Animikie group. Shortly after the publication of that address I received an abstract of a paper on the geology of that region by Professor Robert Bell, read before the Montreal Natural History Society, February 24th. He there confirms the statement made in my address that the gold of Lake Shebandowan occurs in the Huronian, which is also seen to be cut by the silver-bearing lodes just mentioned. Professor Bell, in this paper, proposes to designate both what I have called the Animikie group, and the overlying red and white sandstones, by the name of the Nepigon group, for the reason that the upper series is best displayed about Lake Nepigon. This latter series is by Logan supposed to be overlaid by the copper-bearing amygdaloids with conglomerates and sandstones of the north shore (apparently identical with those of Keweenaw) ; and the whole together, including the Animikie group, constitute his Upper Copper-bearing group. These copper-bearing strata are by him supposed to be overlaid by the red and white sandstones of St. Mary, which are apparently the same with those sandstones which, according to Brooks and Pumpelly, overlie unconformably the similar cupriferous rocks of Portage Lake, and are, in their turn, overlaid by the Trenton limestone. Thus the sandstones which at Thunder Cape overlie the Animikie group are by Logan placed in the midst of the Upper Copper-bear-

Jan 1, 1874

By Jorge Munoz Reyes, Guillermo

The new entity, Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos, created in 1936 for the development and exploitation of all petroliferous zones of Bolivia, including those formerly belonging to the Standard Oil Co., is doing its utmost to bring about rapid development and by this means to create a new source of revenue for the State. With this in view, Y.P.F.B. has opened a new field in the Samaipata region, on the main road between Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. Installation of machinery has begun for the drilling of several wells on the five anticlines that occur in this region. Work has also begun in the Saipuru field, on the Santa Cruz-Charagua highway, which was discovered by the Standard Oil and temporarily abandoned. In this new field, a topping plant will be installed, to supply gasoline and kerosene to Santa Cruz. Explorations are also being made on the neighboring structures of Saipuru. At the end of 1937, the committee that is to study the region of the Chapare in the northeastern part of Cochabamba, was organized. The structures were studied 10 years ago by Kirtley Mather and other geologists. It is hoped that by March 1938 this camp will begin work, as this zone gives promise of being valuable. Development The capacity of the refinery at Camiri has been enlarged in order that it may supply all the needs of that region. In order that the supply of crude may be adequate, several wells that had been almost abandoned by the Standard Oil are being cleaned out. New wells have been located at this camp following the principal anticlinal structure, and during the first half of the year 1938 several wells will be drilled. The same program is being followed in Sanandita but on a greater scale, as the nearness of this district to the Argentine border, which is the best market for the Bolivian petroleum of the south, allows immediate sale of the petroleum. Possibly a new refinery will be installed at this camp, as the one now in existence is only a rudimentary distillery. At the Bermejo camp, which is farther south, intensive work is being done to bring the wells into production. The Standard Oil produced limited quantities several years ago, but since 1927 the wells of this dis-

Jan 1, 1938

By J. P. Dunlop

THE fact is notable though probably little known that the United States is the only nation obtaining and distributing through its Government bureaus any data pertaining to waste metals and drosses. Some foreign governments do issue reports relating to mine or smelter production of primary metals, but none gives in scope and detail the information published now by the U. S. Bureau of Mines and formerly by the U. S. Geological Survey; and this is despite the fact that the funds annually allotted for those purposes are insignificant in comparison with allotments for the preparation of data relating to other industries of like importance. The earliest data on the production of metals from secondary sources in the United. States were contained in a press bulletin issued by the U. S. Geological Survey on Jan. 4, 1909. The information published was that for the year 1907 obtained and compiled by C. E. Siebenthal, who was one of the first to visualize the growing importance of the scrap-metal industry. The National Conservation Commission had emphasized its opinion that the known domestic supply of certain kinds of the more important metals was being rapidly marketed and that while there was no immediate cause for concern it was best to conserve such resources. Not only had there been a lamentable lack of any data regarding the quantity of scrap metals available or used but also gross carelessness and indifference in the segregation, collection, and effective use of scrap material. Siebenthal realized that even approximately correct statistics of recoveries from the more important base-metal scrap and drosses were nearly as essential to both producers and consumers as the statistics of the output of primary metals. There were not then nor are there now sufficient funds for complete collection of data, nor was it considered the province of the Geological Survey to do more than determine approximately the recovery of secondary metals for use in supplementing those given for the primary metals. Undoubtedly the first bulletins issued did not give the full output, for it takes time to establish contacts for an inquiry covering so

Jan 1, 1928

By John J. Dran

The elaborate analytical techniques for risk analysis used by the large mining companies in conjunction with the valuation of mineral reserve sites are totally inappropriate for the small miner. The small miner does not possess the financial and technical resources which are available to the large companies for such risk analysis. Even if these resources were available to him, the relatively small size of his investment would not justify a huge expenditure for risk analysis. What is required by the small miner is an improvement over the single point estimates provided by the valuation techniques that he currently uses. Such improvement should provide an indication of the extent to which the true value (known only after the fact) might differ from his estimated value of the mineral reserve site. In addition, a rough indication of the chance of occurrence of various differences between the true and estimated values would be helpful to him. These improvements must be obtained at low cost to be useful to the small miner. Such improvements would have to be based on a simple system requiring very few additional estimates by the miner. The small miner is not accustomed to dealing with sophisticated risk analysis techniques. Hence, any complex, time-consuming approach would be doomed to disuse or possible misuse. A simple, uncomplicated approach requiring a minimum of additional estimates by the miner can be based on a system devised by Frederick S. Hillier Although Hillier's method can be applied to various mineral reserve valuation methods used by the small miner, this note is specifically oriented to the discounted cash flow model. The basic discounted cash flow (DCF) approach provides a single point estimate of value and introduces the concept of risk (i.e. the possibility that the annual cash flows may differ from their estimated values and thus lead to an incorrect investment value) through the use of a risk-adjusted discount rate. This approach simply lowers the present value estimate with increases in the discount rate (i.e. increases in the risk assessment). The single point estimate still remains. Although the lower value estimate makes it less likely that the risky investment will be deemed profitable and undertaken, it provides no indication of risk that is suitable for examination and analysis. In addition to the "best guess" estimate of annual net cash flows required in the DCF model, application of the Hillier risk analysis model requires that the miner

Jan 1, 1976

By C. S. Corbett

EARLY in the development of every oil field, the operators of relatively large tracts of land must decide upon a spacing plan for the wells to be drilled upon their respective tracts. Usually it is desirable to have a system of regular spacing laid out over the entire tract, making such adjustments as may be necessary near land boundaries. Unless the dip of the producing formation is very steep, the equilateral triangular arrangement is the one most generally preferred, for the very good reason that it gives the maximum amount of drainage area for the wells up to the limit at which mutual drainage interference begins. Assuming that the equilateral triangular pattern is to be used, there still remains to he decided the matter of distance between wells. Many variable factors enter into the problem of proper spacing, some of which are physical and some economic. It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss these factors, as that has been done in several comprehensive articles during the past few years. In the end the decision must be based upon an estimate of the relative importance of various factors which apply to the field in question and to economic conditions in the oil industry at the time the development is getting under way. Even if the best possible spacing distance should be chosen when the problem arises, changing economic conditions and variation in physical conditions in different parts of the field may cause the original choice to become more or less unsatisfactory. Obviously, it is advantageous, once a spacing plan has been adopted, to avoid alteration of it as the field becomes better known or as conditions in the industry change, and yet be able to vary somewhat, the acreage per well in extending the area of development. Or, it may be desired to provide for an ultimate spacing considerably closer than conditions seem to warrant early in the development of the field. With these contingencies in mind, it is of interest to examine the possibilities which the equilateral triangular system affords. Orientation of Coordinate System In this system the well locations may be considered as the inersectionst of three sets of coordinate lines, the lines of each set intersecting those of the other two sets at 60. For convenience in placing such a system

Jan 1, 1930

By G. S. Scott, H. G. Turner, W. L. Kleene

It is well known that different forms of carbon show differences in chemical behavior under apparently identical conditions. It is fairly well known that these differences persist, although to a lesser degree, in a single group of carbons, such as the anthracites of Pennsylvania. It is the purpose of this paper to show the extent of these variations for Pennsylvania anthracites from actual quantitative measurements of the amount of carbon dioxide reduced under the standardized test conditions employed. As the amount of carbon dioxide reduced to the monoxide (under comparative conditions termed, for convenience, the "reactivity") is important in combustion, gas production and metallurgy, it is hoped that this paper will be a useful contribution to the store of knowledge on these subjects. In carrying out the investigation, considerable time and thought were spent in obtaining what seemed to be the best possible design of apparatus. The next step consisted in making a number of trial runs on the same sample, varying temperature, particle diameter, etc. and then outlining a standardized procedure to be followed in testing all samples. Fifty anthracites were tested. As a matter of interest, some 10 miscellaneous samples were also tested. The data show initial reaction temperatures (abbreviated I.R.T.), reaction velocity constants at 900" and 950" C., some effects of added substances, and a few additional tests designed to throw some light on the causes of differences in reactivity. The sample of charcoal, as was anticipated, proved to be easily the most reactive of any sample tested. The anthracites as a group came second. The five samples of gas and by-product cokes, obtained from five different coke manufacturers, came third, and a single sample of Rhode Island anthracite ranked fourth, with respect to reactivity as above defined. Although the five coke samples do not necessarily represent the average market coke, and five samples constitute a rather small number of samples to serve as a basis for comparisons, the fact that none

Jan 1, 1934

By H. F. Seifert

The classification and preparation of non-ferrous scrap mctals is a subject of interest to every individual and corporation that employs in its processes of manufacture non-ferrous metals and alloys and accurnulates in such manufacture scrap from these materials for disposition in the form of turnings, borings, short ends, punchings, clippings, grindings, washings, etc. All too frequently the disposition of such scrap is left to indivitluals who have no knowledge of the subject either from a metallurgical or a commercial standpoint, or both. Much money is thus lost whicli with a little more intelligent effort might be saved, and in this day of fierce competition and small profits such an opportunity cannot be ignored. The Mineral Resources of the United States for the year 1925, the latest issue available (Part 1, page 221), gives the secondary non-ferrous metals of certain classes recovered in the United States for the year 1924 to 1925 as shown in Table 1. The figures are tabulated simply to give the reader some idea of the scope of the secondary non-ferrous metal industry. Approximately 900,000 tons of an annual value of $244,000,000 were recovered in the year cited. In 1916 (again using thc Mineral Resources of the United States as authority) the tonnage reclaimed was approximately 632,000 tons and the value, because of the high prices for metals prevailing at that time, amounted to $265,000,000. It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss smelting and refining operations or the feasibility of an organization, primarily engaged in some other activity, conducting smelting and refining operations to convert its own non-ferrous scrap metals and alloys. The classification and preparation of these non-ferrous materials is a preliminary step, regardless of what subsequent operations the material may pass through or where these operations may be conducted. For that reason the subject can he readily discussed without any reference to subsequent activities. Space must be provided, with suitable handling facilities, scales and the necessary storage bins where the material may be accumulated. The scope of the activity, the nature of the industry and the tonnage handled will determine, in a large measure, what preparation, if any, it rrlay he desirable to give these scrap materials to put them in the best niarketable condition. By preparation is rneant largely what, for the want of a

By S. Fisher Morris

The New River coal-field embraces that portion of the Appalachian coal formation which lies on the waters of the New River, principally in Fayette and Raleigh counties, West Virginia, covering a strip of territory about forty miles in length along the line of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad from Quinnimont to Kanawha Falls, where the New River empties into the Kanawha, the railroad following the banks of the river the whole distance. (See map.) Between Kanawha Falls and the Valley of the Ohio lies the great Kanawha region, and these two coal-fields possess a greater variety of coal than can be found in any other portion of the country, enabling them to furnish the best fuels for any of the various demands of manufacture or domestic use, the Kanawha region possessing many varieties of gas, hard splint, and cannel coal, and the New River region bituminous and semi-bitnminous, steam and coking coal. The New River, in its westward course towards the Kanawha, has cut its way entirely through the Sera1 conglomerate or No. XII of the Pennsylvania Reports, the Umbral red shales of No. XI appearing at the foot of the mountains at the eastern end of the region at Quinnimont, one of the upper ledges of the Conglomerate forming the summits; while at the western end, at Kanawha Falls, the top of the Conglomerate is nearly down to the level of the river, a portion of the " Lower Productive Measures" forming the greater portion of the mountains. These mountains rise abruptly from the banks of the river to a height of from 800 to 1200 feet, leaving only here and there narrow strips of bottom land, a few acres in extent; and as the measures consist principally of hard sandstones, shales, and conglomerates lying ill a nearly horizontal position, the mountain-sides are very precipitous, with many long and high cliffs, which, with the great height of the mountains, give the country a very rugged appearance. Along the sides of these mountains fronting on the New River and its many tributaries there are exposed the outcroppings of several veins of bituminous and. semi-bituminous coal, varying in thickness from a few inches to over four feet, five of them being workable, or

Jan 1, 1880

By Edmund C. Pechin

I REGRET that I am unable to present this subject in definite form and detail. All I shall attempt at this meeting is to lay before you some curious facts, the bearings and explanations of which must be reserved for future consideration. I hope before the next meeting to have carried experiments far enough to furnish a more important contribution to the science of iron metallurgy. The Wickersham process consists in the introduction into the molten metal, as it runs from the furnace, of air from the hot blast. Mr. Samuel Wickersham is the originator of the plan, as applied in practice, although Mr. Martien had the idea a long time ago, and, I believe, went to England about it. But at that time Mr. Bessemer was coming before the public with his invention, which engrossed the attention of iron-masters, and Mr. Martien accomplished nothing. The principal difficulty in our experiments at Dunbar was to get a practicable runner or trough, through which the molten metal should pass, and in which it should be exposed to the action of the Mast. The runner we used was ten feet long, and perforated on the sides to permit the entrance of the air-currents. When we used a cast-iron and fire-clay runner, the heat was so great that before we were more than half done with a run, the lower part of the runner was melted, and we had a magnificent Fourth of July display of fireworks until the blast was shut off. We had to abandon fire clay. The runner with which we have had the best success is made of wrong- ht-iron tubes, 29 inches in diameter, attached to a wrought-iron frame, and lined with a mixture of crushed conglornerate (quartz) and a little fire clay to give it cohesion. The wrought-iron shell curves inward over the upper edges, so as to catch and throw back into the current the flying sparks and particles of metal thrown out by ebullition. With this we have been able to run 12 to 14 tons at a heat with great ease. Mr. Wickersham has since prepared this material (pounded quartz) into a shaped brick or tile, with the necessary perforations for the passage of the air, which promises to answer every requirement for steady working. As regards the improvement in the quality of the iron, there seems to be no question. A large number of practical tests were made in

AS I have told you before, "alloy" here signifies nothing but the mixture of one metal with another in friendly companionship. Whenever you wish to do this, you should consider the purpose that moves you, whether it is to increase the quantities, or for corruption. Then you should choose whatever has by its nature more affinity with what you wish to alloy, or whatever is best for your purpose. Give it in the melt the proportion that you wish or as much as it can support without being entirely removed from its first nature, as [73v] water is in wine or white in black if too much is added. However, you must make the proportion with a definite ratio by weight and not by chance in order that you may bring your work to the degree of perfection that you desire. For he who, proceeds with his eyes closed not only stumbles many times but frequently falls. Therefore you must know first that gold does not join in an alloy with any metal other than silver and copper. Thus if you wish to make a work of gold or to have it made, and begrudge the expense of having it fine, or if you find that you do not have enough, or if you do not care about such fineness, you must decide exactly how many carats less than perfectly fine you wish it to be, or by what weight you wish it to be increased. In order to do this accurately weigh the fine gold that you have and accompany it with silver or fine copper in the quantity that you wish to give it, and melt both these things together very well. So that you may understand the procedure better, let us suppose that you wish your gold to be 23 carats. You are to imagine that the whole quantity is twenty-four parts because this is the final limit at which the gold can be perfect. Now if this were the case, you would put in one part, which corresponds to one twenty-fourth of the whole quantity. You will have taken away one carat of the value of its fineness and increased it another in quantity. In the same way it will happen if you put in two or three or four or six. Up to the limit of one-half, you will always have gold according to the denomination of the lesser virtue and the greater quantity. Surpassing one-half, so that there are eleven parts of silver and thir-

Jan 1, 1942

Discussion of the paper of DWIGHT T. FARNHAM, presented at the Pittsburgh meeting, October, 1914, and printed in Bulletin No. 93, September, 1914, pp. 2357 to 2364. DAVID T. DAY, Washington, D. C.-Do you know anything about the character of that clay as to organic matter? H. RIES, Ithaca, N. Y.-No; it is a dark brownish clay, sandy in its nature. The brownish coloring is probably due to organic matter. Some lignite is also present. DONALD W. Ross.*-I have worked at the plant under consideration. I have not seen Mr. Farnham's paper; but in answering the question as to the organic matter, I might say there is practically no organic material scattered through the shale. There are, however, several layers of carbonaceous shale and rather low-grade coal interbedded with the formation. There are two very serious drawbacks-one which threatens to shut down the plant and another which merely means the expenditure of money. The first is taking care of the sediment from the washing away of the overburden. The government is doing extensive work at different points about Lake Washington with a view to creating a fresh-water harbor for Seattle. I understand that they keep at the Denny-Renton people to keep the channel of Cedar River clear. The Denny-Renton Co. can hardly help filling up the channel so long as they continue their hydraulic work, so this is probably one of their most serious problems. The other is this: There is a large percentage of what I should call micaceous shale or sandstone-a sandstone which contains a large amount of light-colored mica. Of course only a limited amount of this can be used in the manufacture of paving brick. As they shoot down the bank after the overburden of gravel and loam is washed away, these large boulders of micaceous sandstone come down. The strata have apparently been crushed where the clay pit is located so that the exact formation cannot be readily determined. These pieces of sandstone, 5 or 6 ft. in diameter, have to be blasted and removed from the shale. They bother both in the open pit and in the tunnel mining. In the tunnel mining of the shale blocks frequently cover the holes in the roof of the tunnel through which the shale is loaded into cars.

Jan 4, 1915

By H. I. Smith

WHEN Spain established colonies on the North American continent, some of her land grants, in what is now the United States, reserved to the Crown deposits of gold, silver, and mercury. Later mineral rights were reserved under some of the English Crown charters involving land in the eastern part of North America, with provisions for the payment of royalties thereon to the Crown. Reservation of mineral deposits to the United States Government was instituted by an ordinance of Congress on May 20, 1785, which applied to such deposits in the Northwest Territory, then north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River, and provided that there should be reserved "one third of all gold, silver, lead, and copper mines, to be sold or otherwise disposed of as Congress shall hereafter direct." Little was known then of the mineral resources of the country; the Great Lakes copper region had just come into the possession of the United States by treaty and much of the western mineral land still belonged to France and Spain. The policy of leasing mineral deposits was enacted by Congress under the act of March 3, 1807, which provided that "the President of the United States shall be, and is hereby, authorized to lease any lead mine which has been or may hereafter be discovered in the Indiana Territory, for a term not exceeding five years," and in the same year the Government reserved 345,600 acres of land in northern Illinois, valuable for lead. In 1816 Congress provided that in all cases where a tract of public land containing a lead mine or salt spring was applied for by settlers on the public domain, no permission to work the mine or spring would be granted without the approbation of the President of the United States. By the act of March 1, 1847 (9 Stat. 146), the control of mineral lands was transferred, with all records, from the War Department to the Treasury Department, and by the act of March 3, 1849 (9 Stat. 395), supervisory powers over lead and other mines of the United States were transferred to the Secretary of the Interior. Following the discovery of gold in California in 1848, President Polk advocated the leasing of mineral lands acquired from Mexico under the treaty of 1848. However, owing to the lack of communication and transportation facilities and the consequent difficulty of checking on production and operations, leasing was found impracticable. Mining was permitted to be carried on in each district under rules made by the miners themselves and patterned after the Mexican mining system. To meet the situation, Congress enacted mining laws in 1866, 1870, and 1872, which provided for possession by location and for private ownership, after discovery, by patent of essentially all mineral deposits belonging to the United States, except coal. Many other acts were passed by Congress applying to specific regions and states, reserving salt, lead, or other minerals, some of which provided for the leasing of such deposits. However, very few if any leases were issued thereunder. Not until 1901 (31 Stat. 745) were the mining laws extended to include salt, and in 1910 they were revised to specify salines and associated products. At the turn of the century, it became more and more evident that the mining laws developed for metallic minerals were not practical for the development and conservation of oil and gas, coal, potash, phosphate, or oil shale. Following withdrawals by the Secretary of the Interior as authorized by the act of June 25, 1910, the Department of the Interior recommended leasing legislation; however, it was not until February 25, 1920, that the Mineral Leasing Act was passed by Congress. This act authorized leasing all public lands potentially valuable for oil, gas, coal, phosphate, sodium, or oil shale. The Organic Act, creating the Geological Survey in 1879, imposed upon its director the duty of classifying the public lands.' The early years of the Survey were devoted largely to the accumulation of fundamental data and, with only minor exceptions, land classification was not seriously undertaken until 1906. Since that year, it has been actively pursued with respect particularly to leasable minerals and water power values. On March 3, 1873 (17 Stat. 607) Congress authorized the sale of coal lands of limited acreage to individuals at $10 to $20 an acre, depending on the distance from a railroad, and in 1907 a new scale of prices was adopted by the Secretary of the Interior, based, more logically, on the quality and thickness of the coal deposits, their depth below the earth's surface, and their accessibility. At that time it was much cheaper and easier to obtain incidental title to coal rights under the homestead laws at $1.25 an acre. On March 3, 1909, the first separation act (35 Stat. 844) became a law. It authorized patents, with a reservation of the coal and mining rights involved to the United States, to persons who in good faith had entered public lands under the non-mineral land laws prior to withdrawal, classification, claim, or report that such lands were valuable for coal. It solved the problem only partially, and the practice thereupon adopted by the department of making coal withdrawals "from all forms of entry" instead of "from coal entry" expedited the more complete solution effected by later acts. By the act of June 22, 1910 (36.Stat. 583) withdrawn and classified coal lands were declared subject to entry under the homestead, desert land, and Carey acts, provided a waiver of the coal rights accompanied the application, and by the act of April 30, 1912 (37 Stat. 105) the same privilege was extended to State selections and isolated tracts. The act of August 24, 1912 (37 Stat. 496) extended the separation policy to lands withdrawn for oil and gas in Utah, and finally the act of July 17, 1914 (38 Stat. 509) extended it to all nonmineral filings on public lands theretofore or thereafter

Jan 1, 1955