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By AIME AIME

The following changes of address of members have been received at the Secretary's office during the period of Jan. 1 to Mar. 15, 1907. This list therefore supplements the annual list of members corrected to Jan. 1, 1907, and brings it up to the date of Mar. 15, 1907. The names of members who have accepted election during January and February, 1907 (new members), are printed in italics. The large number of changes of address since Jan. 1, 1907, shows the importance of publishing these changes as frequently as possible, and the Bi-Monthly Bulletin has been selected as the means to present this information to the members of the Institute. By a simple method of cutting out these names and addresses and pasting them directly over the corresponding names in the annual list of members, the record can be kept practically up to date, and the value of the list correspondingly increased. For this purpose the changes of address have been printed only on one side of the page. The names of new members, being in italics, are readily distinguished from the others, and can be pasted in approximate alphabetical order on the margins of the pages.

Mar 1, 1907

By Vince Poxleitner, John Delaney

Introduction In the mining industry, comminution typically begins in the mine with a blast of explosive to break rock so that it can be handled by the avail- able equipment. Though the breaking of the rock is essential for material handling in the mine and plant, this is not the only reason for ore reduction in the mineral industry. Comminution is primarily required to liberate minerals from ore so that they can be concentrated into valuable products or to prepare minerals, such as talc, for market as mined. The size of the equipment used for comminution ranges from small to massive. Regardless of equipment size, the power required to reduce the rock is a major expense. Years ago, mineral deposits could be mined more selectively and required less grinding to produce saleable products. However, as richer deposits were depleted, it has become necessary to mine low-grade deposits, with the valuables dispersed throughout the rock. Comminution equipment evolved in physical size and capacities to meet the new mine and process requirements. A modern, modestly sized mining operation, with a capacity of 25.000 TPD may use crushers two stories high weighing over a million pounds, SAG mills 36 feet in diameter driven by dual motors putting out 10.000 horse- power, and ball mills over 16 feet in diameter . Because of the increasing size and weight of modern equipment, the builder is faced with the problems of erecting massive foundations and field assembling equipment on these foundations. As equipment costs and plant construction costs increase, builders are finding that owners are asking for more detailed progress and cost data. Comminution construction projects are generally classified as grass roots plants or expansions or modifications to existing plants. It is estimated that 60-702 of the jobs involve existing plants. Today ' s costs for construction of small, new comminution plants can reach tens of millions of dollars; larger plants can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Modifications, on the other hand, usually run from a few thousand to several million dollars. Though many problems are common to the construction of both new plants

Jan 1, 1982

By O. E. Kiessling

THE Committee-on Production Control, at its meeting held during the last annual session in February, 1930, evidenced great interest in problems of stabilization affecting all mineral industries. . No immediate program of activity for the Committee as a- unit was decided on, however,, and efforts during the past pear have consisted lirgely of further stressing the economic aspects of mineral production and of the action by committee members, :.serving in their individual capacities, in sponsoring constructive changes, in specific, industries. Of greatest interest to the general subject of production control in 1930 was the very definite advance toward better coordination of demand and supply in the petroleum industry. Furthermore, since opinion both within and without the oil industry now favors a constructive program, and with a gradual change in legal precedents, it seems not unreasonable to expect greater progress in the near future.

Jan 1, 1931

By Woolf, W. G.

Filtration of hot (60°C) supersaturated zinc sulphate solution (sp gr 1.540) from slimy leach residues at the electrolytic zinc plant of Sullivan Mining Co., Kellogg, Idaho, is de- scribed. Separation of liquids and solids in the finished leach is by Burt filters modified to meet conditions of high-acid, high-density process for electrolytic zinc. Operating characteristics of the Burt filter on this pulp are presented.

Jan 1, 1950

By Irving Hartmann, H. P. Greenwald

READERS of this journal are familiar with the danger of coal-dust explosions in mines and with recommended means for preventing them. The subject was treated in a paper by R. R. Sayers in the January 1943 issue, as well as in several previous articles. Similarly the danger of dust explosions is generally recognized in the handling of grain dust, flour, starch, sugar, and other carbonaceous products. However, until recently, few people realized that an analogous, real explosion hazard exists wherever dust suspensions of certain finely divided metal powders are formed. This lack of knowledge was in part due to the fact that until a few years ago only a small number of metal powders, such as aluminum, magnesium, zinc, iron, and tungsten, were produced, in comparatively small volume, and partly because information on the explosibility of metal powders was lacking.

Jan 1, 1945

By Thomas A. Edison

We have not yet begun. to realize the possibilities of automatic machinery, in part because we have not developed the designing brains, and in part because we have not sufficiently simplified industry to make possible the economical use of such machinery. The principle of the Jacquard loom, has scarcely been utilized except in weaving silk and in the player piano. It is the principle of bringing into action the various parts of a machine in accordance with a pattern traced on a steel card by perforations or as on the paper roll of a player piano. This principle gives us a control which can be applied to any kind of machine. It is a' great reserve principle for the future. But even now, with the machinery that we have at command, anyone can cut the number of employees in two, at the same time doubling his output, by installing semi-automatic or automatic machinery. And no one knows how far this process can go on. Cutting down the number of men is not just putting some poor fellows out of a job. It is increasing the number of good jobs by increasing the production per capita to a point where really satisfactory wages can be paid out of it, and this in turn- increases the amount of work required to be done and creates new jobs. Thus, cheapening in- creases the demand.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

CONVENTION plans for the A.I.M.E. Regional Meeting to be held on the Minnesota Iron Range Aug. 12 to 1.5 are being completed to give the visiting member?s from all parts of the country a wide variety of technical and recreational features. High spots of the social events are the official dinner, dance, luncheon and golf: and of course, special provision is being, made for the entertainment of visiting ladies. The technical sessions will fit in with scheduled trips to view all phases of mining, beneficiation and transportation of iron ore. Men from the West and Southwest will find much of interest in the detail of the mining operations. A trip to the steel plant of the

Jan 1, 1941

By A. L. Lee, M. H. Gonzalez, R. F. Bukacek

Experimental viscosity data for methane are presented for temperatures from 100 to 340F and pressures from 200 to 8,000 psia. A summary is given of the available data for methane, and a comparison is presented for that data common to the experimental range reported in this paper. Correlation of the data is presented, and predicted values are given for temperatures up to 460F and pressures up to 10,000 psia. INTRODUCTION The increasing ranges of temperature and pressure at which fluids are produced, transferred and processed in the petroleum and chemical industries stress the need for accurate information on physical properties, both for engineering calculation and for improving the methods used to estimate physical properties. A survey of the literature reveals that disagreements between published data on the viscosity of methane are common and that most investigations have been conducted over restricted temperature and pressure ranges. This situation made it desirable to undertake an investigation with a scope common to most of the literature data available. APPARATUS AND MATERIALS The apparatus used in this investigation was the capillary tube viscometer'described by Dolan,10 with modifications introduced in the general design and operation of the instrument. It has an effective pressure range from 14.7 to 10,000 psia and a temperature range from room temperature to 400F. The design of the viscometer is based on the establishment of a manometric head between two vessels containing the test fluid and a volume of mercury. The reservoirs are connected by a capillary tube through which the test fluid flows and a tube through which mercury flows. A pressure gradient is established by elevating one of the vessels above the other, the resulting flow of mercury displacing the test fluid through the capillary. The schematic diagram of the system (Fig. 1) shows the arrangement of the equipment auxiliary to the viscometer. The density cells assembly (E, Fig. 1) was not used in this investigation since reliable data are available on methane. 23 The assembly consists of a bank of eight 316 stainless steel pycnometers. Experimental values of the density of a natural gas19 and i-butane14 samples have been obtained for pressures up to 8,000 psia and temperatures up to 340F. The methane used was obtained from the Southern California Gas Co. Mass spectrometric analysis showed a composition of 99.8 percent CH4, 0.1 percent C2H6 and 0.1 percent C3H8. EXPERIMENTAL VALUES AND ACCURACY OF DATA Determinations were carried out at several temperatures. With the temperature in the cabinet controlled at a given level, a series of runs were made at various pressures. To establish pressures lower than that obtained from the methane cylinder, it was necessary to vent the gas slowly to the atmosphere until the desired pressure was reached. The consistency of the test run time for a particular condition can be used as a criterion for the accuracy of the data. A further check is obtained by comparison of the viscosity values obtained using different driving heads. To establish the instrument's reproducibility, a large number of runs were made at three completely different conditions of temperature and pressure. Data obtained were analyzed statistically to determine the most reliable value for the variance of the experimental data. It was found that the variances of the data taken at different experimental conditions were not statistically equivalent, but they were small. The largest variance was found at 8,000 psia and 100F, where the standard deviation was 0.385 micropoise. Therefore, 99.9 percent of the data can be expected to fall within 1.15 micropoises of the population mean, except for the intervention of systematic errors in operation.

By P. E. Fitzgerald

ACIDIZING, as the terns is used in the petroleum production industry, involves the use of hydrochloric acid in predominantly limestone formations, resulting in the lowering of resistance offered to the flow of oil and gas through the oil-bearing formation, usually with resultant increased production. A number of articles have been written on the chemical treatment of oil and gas wells; a bibliography of these works will appear in Volume 123 of the Institute's TRANSACTIONS (1937), and a few other references are appended to this paper.

Jan 1, 1937

By A. CHESTER BEATTY

SO much has been written about African, and particularly about Northern Rhodesian, copper during the past two years that I feel safe in assuming that you are familiar with the general background of the Rhodesian picture. Therefore, I will confine myself to certain of the high lights in connection with the history, geology, development, ore reserves, and contemplated mining methods in this relatively new and highly important copper field., Unlike most of the other great orebodies of the world, the Roan Antelope mine was not discovered by the hoof of a starving prospector's faithful burro; nor even, as its name might suggest, by a well-placed kick of protest from an antelope stumbling over a malachite outcrop. Late in 1905 an English prospector named Collier, traveling in the N'Dola district, came upon some natives using a green powder for medicinal purposes. Closer examination of the powder revealed that it ' was ground-up malachite. Collier endeavored to persuade the natives to tell him where they obtained this medicine, but' for a long time without success, because of the general feeling among the natives that they did not wish to reveal the resources of their land to the white. Finally however, - he persuaded- brie 'of-the elders to at" least take 'him part way toward, the- place where the malachite was supposed to occur. The bid took him, to a point on the lower regions of the Luanshya river and there left him with the instructions that if he followed the stream up toward its.

Jan 1, 1931

By Lysle E. Shaffer

INCREASING attention has been given in the last decade to the possibilities of mine leasing in the West. The practice as described in this article does not refer to the leasing of entire properties for corporate operation. It is intended to deal rather with the advantages and problems incident to leasing portions of properties to individuals who themselves, individually or in groups, do the actual mining and transportation of the ore. These individuals are sometimes called "leasers" and sometimes called "tributors." The contracts under which they work set up an independent relationship of lessor and leaser, between themselves and the mineowner or operator. This relationship has many advantages to both sides over those created by the ordinary relationship of employer and employe. From the standpoint of the owners there is no liability on independent contractors for industrial injuries, social security taxes, unemployment taxes, or the manifold restrictions of the Federal Labor Relations and Wage Hour Acts and similar state acts where they exist. As the leaser's income depends on the quantity and quality of ore produced, there is a distinct incentive for maximum production of a good grade of ore. This in turn promotes careful mining of the areas under lease. Ordinarily in mining, labor cost is a high percentage of the total cost of operation. Under a leasing system, even if the leasers be allowed to retain half of the gross values that they produce, and the owner or operator gets half, in the case of marginal ore bodies this is ordinarily more than the lessor would realize if the property were worked by day labor. In some instances mineral deposits under a leasing system may become ore, whereas under a day-labor system they would

Jan 1, 1948

By Charles H. Fulton

ONE of the events of note in mineral industry education circles during the year was the summer school for engineering teachers, devoted to mining and metallurgical engineering, which was conducted by the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education in co¬operation with the University of Wisconsin. It was in charge of Prof. Harry P. Hammond, director of the summer school, and Prof. Richard S. McCaffery of the University of Wisconsin. It was attended by 63 people, and practically every educational institution offering mineral industry courses had representatives present. The session was successful and those in attendance spoke highly of the pro¬gram and results obtained. The Mineral Industry Education Division cooperated with the S.P.E.E. in this project. Prof. Hammond will discuss the purpose and results of this session at the February meeting.

Jan 1, 1934

By Walter Renton Ingalls

IN SEVERAL papers and addresses during the past two years, I have dwelled upon some of the economic consequences of the war. The fundamental thought that I have sought to convey is that the world became immensely poorer by the war, not only in material wealth and population, but also in the psychology and morale of the people. I do not see how there can be any intelligent dissent from that statement. All the ideas of post-war prosperity were manifestly fallacious, manifestly fallacious from the outset. If there had been any truth in them it would have followed logically that a great war, with all its destruction of wealth, health and life would be a good thing. Therefore, let us have a great war every ten years or so. Such an idea would be both monstrous and absurd. Assuming then the acceptance of my premise, I have tried to show that the losses by the war could be made good in a short time, i.e., in a relatively short time, only by doing things a great deal better than formerly, and that the accomplishment of such a result called for greater transparency in industry, for industrial cooperation, for thinking in terms of industries as a whole, and for the greater exercise of engineering functions. All of this introduced, of course, the position and psychology of labor. I say frankly that I do not look for labor to contribute any constructive thought to the upbuilding. I neither expect it nor hope for it. This is a pity, for it could do so much for its own economic advancement if it would. However, it never has done so, but rather has benefited only from the exercise of the talents of the few, and the main hope now is to bring it into a passive state, dispelling the resistive fallacies that developed during the war. Let us briefly examine the nature of these.

Jan 1, 1921

By E. C. Houston

The phosphate ores mined in middle Tennessee typically consist of granular rock phosphate particles disseminated in a clayey matrix. In the TVA plant near Columbia, Tenn., the phosphate ore is mined, made into a slurry with the addition of a small amount of sodium hydroxide as dispersant, and treated in a hydroseparator to remove minus 10 micron material. The hydro-separator underflow, comprising a rough concentrate, is transported by pipeline to the plant; the hydro-separator overflow, comprising a tailing, is flocculated by addition of calcium sulphate and is discharged to settling ponds at a rate of about 1400 gpm. Sedimentation in the ponds produces a clarified effluent, which may be recycled for use as process water or discharged to surface drainage. This method of tailing treatment is not entirely satisfactory since poor sedimentation characteristics of the tailing result in poor ultimate utilization of pond storage volume.

Jan 1, 1949

By James Aston

A PROPER consideration of this subject is not confined to the technical channels of production and metallurgy. It concerns an industry, and should cover economic aspects which are of material importance in any program of development. The discussion may logically be treated under three subdivisions, as follows: (1) manufacture, (2) characteristics related to quality of material; (3) adaptability and exploitation of product. MANUFACTURE OF WROUGHT IRON The manufacture of wrought iron is the most ancient art of the ferrous metal industry. The eighty years or less of existence of processes identified with our modern "Age of Steel" is a relatively brief interval compared with the several thousand years associated with the production of wrought iron by man. From the primitive early methods of production, manufacture for many centuries followed the line of direct reduction. There were developments as experience was gained through the years; but man's needs for a strong, ductile, forgeable product were met by reducing the ore to metallic iron in a single-stage operation. Following the development several centuries ago of what has become our modern blast-furnace operation, manufacture of wrought iron was gradually transformed into a two-stage method of first producing cast iron and then refining this to the desired degree of forgeability; the forerunner in principle of today's scheme of manufacture of steel. The product retained the essential characteristics of highly refined base metal with iron-silicate slag incorporation, which were associated with the material resulting from direct reduction methods. Cort's invention of the puddling process in 1784 is a landmark in wrought-iron manufacture. It consisted essentially in adapting a coal-fired reverberatory furnace to the refining operation; thus lifting the industry out of the slough of

Jan 1, 1935

By James Aston

A proper consideration of this subject is not confined to the technical channels of production and metallurgy. It concerns an industry, and should cover economic aspects which are of material importance in any program of development. The discussion may logically be treated under three subdivisions, as follows: (1) manufacture, (2) characteristics related to quality of material; (3) adaptability and exploitation of product. Manufacture of Wrought Iron The manufacture of wrought iron is the most ancient art of the ferrous metal industry. The eighty years or less of existence of processes identified with our modern "Age of Steel" is a relatively brief interval compared with the several thousand years associated with the production of wrought iron by man. From the primitive early methods of production, manufacture for many centuries followed the line of direct reduction. There were developments as experience was gained through the years; but man's needs for a strong, ductile, forgeable product were met by reducing the ore to metallic iron in a single-stage operation. Following the development several centuries ago of what has become our modern blast-furnace operation, manufacture of wrought iron was gradually transformed into a two-stage method of first producing cast iron and then refining this to the desired degree of forgeability; the forerunner in principle of today's scheme of manufacture of steel. The product retained the essential characteristics of highly refined base metal with iron-silicate slag incorporation, which were associated with the material resulting from direct reduction methods. Cort's invention of the puddling process in 1784 is a landmark in wrought-iron manufacture. It consisted essentially in adapting a coal-fired reverberatory furnace to the refining operation; thus lifting the industry out of the slough of

Jan 1, 1935

By AIME AIME

TRADITIONALLY, the Annual New York Meetings of the A.I.M.E. cover four days, but the program is growing on each end as well as in the middle, and this year it lasted from 3 p. m., Sunday, Feb. 16, when the Education Division got under way, to 8:40 p. m., Friday the 21st, when a trainload of electrical inspectors, pro tern, got back fro111 the General Electric plant at Schenectady. The meeting has ceased to be a mere three- ring circus: on Wednesday afternoon eight sessions were being held simultaneously in the Engineering Societies Building, if one includes the Woman's Auxiliary, and according to frequent testimony one should include the W. A. as one of the most important units in Institute affairs.

Jan 1, 1936

By R. L. Minckler

PETROLEUM industry forecasts are constantly made and revised but are not in the nature of predictions. Particularly in the field of demand, many of the factors are far beyond control by the producing industry. Supply reacts on demand and demand reacts on supply. Competent economists in the oil business forecasted a year ago, on the basis of experience, that demand would now be at a much lower level than it is. This increased demand increased the price of crude oil and products, and in turn those increased prices have brought forth increased supply. A reduction in demand would lead to a reduction in supply. Shortages are now world-wide, and costs of secondary importance, so if there were extra supplies in California they would be moved into what are termed "unnatural markets." For example, Argentina is in the market today for California gasoline; that is an unnatural market because of the greater transportation distances from California to Argentina than from normal sources.

Jan 1, 1947

By AIME AIME

THE 129th meeting of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers convened at New York City, in the Engineering Societies Building, Feb. 18-20, 1924. On February 21 an excursion was made to the Bethlehem Steel Co., at Bethlehem, where about 200 members and guests were splendidly entertained. An illustrated description of the Bethlehem Plant will be published next month. The meeting and excursion were largely attended; the registration at New York totalled 1276 versus 1201 in 1923. William Kelly, long identified with the iron-mining industry of the Lake Superior district, was elected President of the A. I. M. E. for the coming year, at ,the annual business meeting, Feb. 19, succeeding E. P. Mathewson. The following Directors were also elected (the date signifies year of termination of office; the final figure indicates the "District" the Director represents).

Jan 1, 1924

Gus C. Henning, New York City: In taking up the discussion of these specifications it is necessary that I give definitions of what I understand under the term " Specifications." There may be three kinds, viz.: (1) Specifications in general; (2) Standard Specifications; (3) Standard International Specifications. 1. A Specification is a document used in commerce which should clearly define the qualities of material to be supplied by the producer, the tests which shall be applied for their determination, and the methods which shall be applied for the purpose of determining that the entire product shall possess such qualities, properties and finish as are desired. The terms used in such document must be applied in accordance with their strict technical definitions as used by those most conversant with them, and the language should be of such accuracy that there can be but a single interpretation of each and every clause. A specification is a part of a contract, and should be legally perfect and accurate. Inaccuracy of definition and dic-

Jan 1, 1903