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By H. De Cizancourt

The Pechelbronn (Alsace) field is the only important French producing field. During 1934, development was carried on as in previous years. The total output of this field reached 553,575 bbl. in 1934, showing a slight decrease from the 1933 figures. Of the total, 315,000 bbl. (56 per cent) was extracted by drilling, while 238,875 bbl. (46 per cent) was obtained by means of shafts and galleries. Exploration of deep Jurassic and Triassic horizons was still in progress at the end of 1934. A deep well reached the Upper Triassic at a depth of 34 m. (2736 ft.). (Information kindly supplied by M. S. Mena, Directeur Technique.) As mentioned before, the small Gabian field (Herault) is gradually being exhausted. No drilling operations were undertaken in 1934, the small production being restricted to the pumping of old wells. Two exploration wells, noted as "drilling" at the end of 1933, were completed in 1934; viz., Lavelanet (Ariége) at 3785 ft. and Santenay (Niévre) at 2578 feet. French Possessions Algeria.—No drilling at Tliouanet. Out of a total of 100 wells drilled in the area, only 8 are still producing. No exploration work is reported during 1934 in Algeria. Tunisia.—Two wells completed; one well drilling at the end of 1934. A total of 11 wells is reported to have been drilled before the beginning of 1935; out of these, 8 were completed before the present program was begun. Morocco.—Exploration work progressed actively last year. The outstanding event was the coming in of Ts. 26 well at 1243 ft. This well took fire, therefore great difficulties were encountered in the accurate measurement of initial production; the figure of 1500 bbl. of oil given here is a near estimate. Oil flowed accompanied by a great amount of water. The apparent decrease of drilling operations in 1934 is explained by the increase in field activities after the results of Ts. 26 were known;

Jan 1, 1935

By Basil B. Zavoico

PRODUCTION of crude it in the United States during 1939 totaled about 1.255,776,000 barrels, an average of 3,440,482 barrels per day, 3.41 per cent above the 1938 output of 1,214,355,000 barrels but 1.83 per cent below the record pro¬duction of 1,279,160,000 barrels, in 1937. However only the two-week shutdown of oil fields in the Southwestern States in August and September prevented the domestic crude production from establishing an all-time record in 1939. Demand for all petroleum products for the first ten months of 1939 showed an increase of 7.04 per cent over the similar period of 1938. Domestic demand for all petroleum products was particularly benefited by the increasing industrial activity, advancing 8.37 per cent above the like period of the preceding year equivalent to a volume increment of 256,810 barrels per day; with motor-fuel demand gaining 5.83 per cent and demand for all fuel oils gaining 12.15 per cent over the corresponding period of 1938. The export demand for the first ten months of 1939 was slightly below the export movements during the same period of 1938, declining 0.56 per cent. The European war was a major factor in 1939 for the petroleum industry in the United States, even if, at the end of the year, the war had not yet resulted in the expected large shipments to England and France.

Jan 1, 1940

By CLAYTON C. BALL

In the year 1948, more than ever before, the coal industry established itself on the threshold of a new and exciting future expansion. While production did not equal the wartime and peacetime peaks of 1944 and 1947, it was, in review, a good coal year. During the latter part of the year a combination of mild weather, record stock piling, and general business slackening reduced coal demand to the extent that marginal mines suspended operations, while mines remaining active found it necessary to renew their attention to producing better products at lower operating costs.

Jan 1, 1949

While coal was mined in New Mexico in 1860, production was on a small scale during the period considered here, and Table 77 contains all the data found. [ ]

Jan 1, 1942

By Rossiter W. Raymond

(Canal Zone Meeting, November, 1910.) THE death of Professor Blake removes the oldest of American economic geologists and mining engineers, and deprives this Institute of one of its, earliest and most illustrious members. To many of us it brings a personal loss also, the loss of a friend. William Phipps Blake was born June 21, 1826, in New York City. -His father, Elihu Blake, was a surgeon-dentist of eminence, a direct descendant of William Blake, who settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony about 1630. He was prepared for college at private schools in New York, and entered the Sheffield School of Yale, where he was graduated as Ph.B. in the chemical course, class of 1852, the first graduating-class of the institution. In the same year he became chemist and mineralogist of the New Jersey Zinc Co., and chemist of chemical works at Baltimore, Md. In 1853, lie started the Department of Mineralogy of the World's Fair at New York City. In 1854, 1855 and 1856, he was mineralogist and geologist of the United States Pacific Railroad Surveys of Williamson, Pope, and Whipple, and for the War Department at Washington. His writings, during this period comprise reports on the geology and mineralogy of California and other parts of the Southwest, and constitute well nigh the earliest scientific accounts of the regions described. One of them. was a translation of the Resume and Field Notes of Jules Marcou, of Whipple's expedition. From 1856 to 1859, he was engaged in explorations of the geology and mineral deposits of North Carolina, :and other parts of the country. In 1859, he became editor and proprietor of The Mining Magazine. This was a monthly periodical, founded in 1853 by W. J. Tenny, who conducted it until 1858, when it passed into the hands of Thomas McElrath, a New York publisher, and appeared in May of that year as The Mining and Statistic Magazine, with the name of

Sep 1, 1910

By ERJIINICI FERRARIS

1. HISTORICAL REVIEW AND INTRODUCTION. THE development of the mining industry in Sardinia dates from the application of the minim law of 1859, which, following the example of the French mining law of 1810, declared prospecting to be free, and suppressed the liens which had previously attached the mine to surface ownership. The first ore-dressing plants were installed by German engineers upon the classic models of the Harz and of Freiberg; but in 1880 Sardinia commenced to open a new path in that industry, utilizing the refuse from the mining of rich, selected minerals, of poor deposits, and of mixed ores. The first experiments were attempts to adapt the existing apparatus to local conditions, but progress was rapid, as was demonstrated already in 1887 by the calamine-dressing-mill of Monteponi, which exhibited a large plant designed in accordance with the experience gained, and constructed entirely in the machine-shops of the country, after new models and designs.1 This example was followed two years later by the Société Malfidano, with a large plant of the same sort, and with the reconstruction of the old-fashioned-dressing-mill, built in 1880 by the Austro-Belgian Company. In 1900, almost all the mines of Sardinia had adopted the new designs, and the island contained 32 concentrating-works, employing 2,000 h.p. and 1,924 workmen. Since that time, there have been added a large dressing-mill for blende at Gennamari, and two for calamine, at San Giovanni and at Masua, while the establishments at other mines have been enlarged and perfected. For the treatment of intimately mixed ores, a large establishment has been built upon the new

Jan 5, 1908

Jan 1, 1962

By D. R. Uhlmann, T. P. Seward, K. A. Jackson, J. D. Hunt

microscopic ohservations on alloys of organic trzaterials show that dendrite arms can melt off under normal conditiorzs of growth. This occurs because of the interactiorz of' heat and matter fluxes during dendritic growth. The re melting occurs where the den-drite arms are joined onto the main deizclrite sterrz. Many detached crystals can be produced in this fashion. It is postulated that this remelting phenornenon occurs in metal alloys, giving rise to the equi-axed region in castings. Experiments peyformed orr castings of transparent materials support remelting as a primary source of detached crystals. Ob~ervations an equiaxed tones in metal castings are discussed in terms of this and other mechanisms. It is concluded that the partial remelting of dendrites is on important mechanisnl for producing the equiaxed regions in castings. THE freezing of a casting can be divided into three regions: a chill zone formed near the mold wall, a columnar region, and a third region, at the center of the casting, which is called the equiaxed zone. The origin of the grains that comprise the equiaxed region is the subject of this paper. We will first outline the mechanisms which have been proposed to account for the origin of the equiaxed region and discuss some recent experiments which cannot be explained by these theories. We will then present some microscopic observations of dendritic growth which have led us to conclude that the equiaxed zone in castings can arise from partial remelting of dendrites. This proposal is supported by observations on transparent castings. Finally, we will discuss several observations on metal castings which could not be explained previously, and which can be accounted for by the present proposal. Previous Mechanisms. Winegard and Chalmers3 pointed out that the molten central region of an ingot could be constitutionally supercooled, because of the solute layer at the growing interface. In this supercooled region, nucleation on particles could occur, giving rise to the equiaxed crystals. Another mechanism has also been suggested,4y5 that the nuclei originate in the chill zone then float or are carried by convection to the center of the casting, where they grow to produce equiaxed crystals. In this case, all the crystals nucleate immediately on casting, so this mechanism will be termed "big-bang" nucleation. Walker's Experiments. J. L. Walker has made observations on the solidification of nickel and Ni-Cu alloys which cannot be accounted for by either of the above mechanisms. In studying the grain size resulting from freezing of nickel at various undercoolings, walker6 found that at large undercoolings the grain size was small, due to mechanical nucleation, as discussed by walker7 and Horvay.' At small undercoolings, the grain size was large, and the growth dendritic. In Ni-Cu alloys, however, for initial undercoolings starting from just below the melting point and extending for a hundred or so degrees of undercooling, fine grains were also observed. Samples were undercooled 200 Centigrade degrees without nucleating, and were then heated 130 Centigrade degrees so that the undercooling was 70 Centigrade degrees, and nucleated. The samples had a small grain size, indicating multiple nucleation. There were no heterogeneous nuclei in the liquid which could operate at the temperature of growth. Constitutional supercooling could not have been greater than the supercooling of the initial melt, since the temperature rose as the freezing continued. walker -as also shown that a Ni-Cu alloy which can be undercooled to below its solidus will produce typical columnar and equiaxed regions when cast into a cold mold. This alloy could not reach a temperature below its solidus by constitutional supercooling. It could not, therefore, have nucleated heterogeneously. Neither the big-bang mechanism nor the Winegard-Chalmers mechanism can account for the fine grain

Jan 1, 1967

By Linn Bradley

Introduction MARKED differences of opinion have been expressed by engineers interested in cleaning iron blast-furnace gases for use in hot-blast stoves and under boilers, in reference to the advantages of a hot-dry method over a cold-wet method. One point at issue involves the sensible heat energy in the moisture contained in the gas. Some advocates of the cold-wet methods claim that the condensation and resultant removal of the greater portion of this contained moisture by wet scrubbing, spraying or similar methods, results in a saving of some of this sensible heat energy, by reason of the fact that water vapor has a high capacity for sensible heat energy and may carry from the exit of a hot-blast stove, for example, more heat units than are sacrificed or lost when the gas is cleaned by this cold-wet method. Other advantages claimed for the latter method are: That gas burns more readily when it is free from moisture in any form; that because gas is made denser by cooling and removing the moisture it has a higher calorific value than hot gas carrying moisture; and that higher flame temperatures are obtained when the gas is cleaned by the cold-wet method. A search through the available literature fails to disclose any extensive calculations or records of conditions obtained in practice, bearing upon these phases of gas cleaning. This paper deals with these problems from the standpoint of the economy of using a gas of higher flame temperatures, of improved stove design, and of economy in the gas-cleaning department. Calculations have been made which show that by cleaning the gases by a cold-wet method the sensible heat energy of the blast-furnace gases is greatly reduced; and, in general, this loss of heat energy is far greater than that lost from the stoves or boilers due to the sensible heat capacity of the water vapor if carried away by the exit gases. By making use of the

Jan 2, 1917

By W. A. Forbes

OUR present-day geological surveys show that 36 of our States are underlain with bituminous coal, covering a total area of 496,709 square miles. The North American continent possesses 69 per cent of the world's coal reserves, with the United States alone having an estimated 55 per cent. The American coal reserves, in tons, are calculated to he about 3,500,000,000,000 tons, of which we have exhausted about 1 to 1 1/2 per cent. If this coal were mined at the rate of the 1918 production-a record output of 579;000,000 tons-it would not be depleted for 4,000 years. The more easily accessible and high-grade coals would obviously be consumed much before this; some estimates are 100 years. The natural progress of the nation's industries up to 1910 encouraged on every hand the development of new mines, especially where cheap and easy access to coal measures was coupled with short hauls to the consumer. Over-development resulted, which is perhaps today one of the fundamental causes for the many difficulties faced by the coal industry, which is highly competitive; about 70 per cent of the production cost is labor. Salient statistics for 1930, recently issued by the U. S. Bureau of Mines, follow:

Jan 1, 1932

Thomas Haight Leggett, London, Eng. (communication to the Secretary): Mr. Hammond has given us a concise yet complete description of the Witwatersrand gold-fields, and the character of the operations which have resulted in their remarkable development.

Jan 1, 1902

By L. F. Reinartz

ANOTHER year has rolled by. We are twelve months further away from the start of the depression and. therefore that much nearer to recovery. The accumulated needs and wants 'of our lame, virile population are ready to burst their bonds as soon as confidence returns and credit is stabilized. The steel industry has been harassed by uncertainty of the Government's attitude toward organized labor's de¬mands, and irregularity in volume of production. Steel labor, if left to its own devices, would in most instances, march shoulder to shoulder with the management of steel plants in their effort to pull the industry nut of the ?red.? Cooperation between management and men has improved considerably during; the year.

Jan 1, 1935

By R. E. Allen

THERE was once a time when a practical oil man would appraise or buy a producing property on the basis of from $200 to $500 per barrel of average daily settled production. Curtailment-has, for the present at least, caused a virtual abandonment of the "barrel -of settled production" as a yardstick of, oil property value and in its place has come the "barrel of allowable production," which, although an artificial thing, is nevertheless now the principal factor governing the rate of ?pay out? or investment return. The potential production of a well, settled or otherwise, is of less importance in determining the present worth of a well than is the rate at which it may be produced. Speaking only of true potential for the moment, it is obvious that of two similar wells having the same potential, the one having the highest rate of allowable production would be worth proportionately more than the one of lesser allowable. The discount factor for deferred return and risk can easily vary the present values of the two wells by as much as 20 per cent when allowable rates are not greatly different.

Jan 1, 1934

By J. D. A. Morrow

TO my mind the National Bituminous Coal Act so far has proved one of the unhappiest experiences that has ever befallen the bituminous coal operators of the United States. Viewed in the light of its ugly consequences everyone should recognize this measure for what it is -a weird thing as unreal as a page from "Alice in Wonderland." Indeed it might be another stanza to the tale of the Walrus and the Carpenter, with the coal operators in the role of the unfortunate oysters who were taken on that memorable ramble. It is time that coal producers open their eyes, jerk themselves out of any lingering hypnotic optimism about the price-fixing provisions of this law, demand the repeal of these corroding clauses, and then set about remedying as best they can the disastrous effects of this retromingent scheme to regulate the coal business.

Jan 1, 1939

By Charles E. Lundin

Pressure-temperature-composition data were obtainedfor the Er-H system. Measurements werecar-ried out in the temperature range of 473° to 1223°K, the composition range of erbium to ErH,, and the pressure range of 10-5 to 760 Torr. Solubility relationships were established from these data throughout the system. Three solid-solution phases were delineated: metal solid solution, dihydride phase, and trihydride phase. The trihydride Phase decomposes at about 656°K and 1 atm pressure. The dihydride phase is stable to about 1023°K, but becomes more deficient in hydrogen above this temperature. The equilibrium decomposition pressure-temperature relationships in the two-phase regions, erbium solid solution plus dihydride and dihydride plus trihydride, were deter- The differential heats of reaction in these two regions are AH = - 52.6 * 0.3 and - 19.8 i 0.2 kcal per mole of Hz, respectively. The differential entropies of reaction are AS = - 35.2 * 0.3 and - 30.1 * 0.4 cal per mole HZ.deg, respectively. Relative partial molal and integral thermodynamic quuntities were calculated in the system to the dihydride phase. RARE earth metal-hydrogen systems have been the subject of general survey,1"4 and all have been found to form hydride phases. The heavy rare earths, of which erbium is a member, form dihydride and trihydride phases with different crystal structures, whereas the light rare earths form only a single-phase dihydride which expands without structure change, as hydrogen is added, to the trihydride composition. These materials are of interest primarily because of their theoretical properties, such as bonding, defect structure, and thermodynamic and electronic characteristics. Erbium has been studied in several previous investigations.5, 6 It was deemed desirable to more thoroughly and accurately define the system, both for the phase equilibria and the thermodynamic properties. I) EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE A Sieverts&apos; apparatus was employed to conduct the experimental measurements. Briefly, it consisted of a source of pure hydrogen, a precision gas-measuring buret, a heated reaction chamber, a mercury manometer, and two McLeod gages (a CVC, GM 100A and CVC, GM 110). Pure hydrogen was obtained by passing hydrogen through a heated Pd-Ag thimble. The hydrogen was analyzed and found to have only a trace of oxygen and nitrogen. A 100-ml precision gas buret graduated to 0.1-ml divisions was used to measure and admit hydrogen to the reaction chamber. The reaction unit consisted of a quartz tube surrounded by a nichrome-wound furnace. The furnace temperature was controlled by a recorder-controller to ±1°K. An independent measurement of the sample temperature in the quartz tube was made by means of a chromel-alumel thermocouple situated outside, but adjacent to, the quartz tube near the specimen. Pressure in the manometer range was measured to ±0.5 Torr and in the McLeod range (10-4 to 10 Torr) to ±3 pct. The hydrogen compositions in erbium were calculated in terms of hydrogen-to-erbium atomic ratio. These compositions were estimated to be ±0.01 H/Er. The erbium metal was obtained from the Lunex Co. in the form of sponge. The metal was nuclear grade with a purity of 99.9 pct +. The oxygen content was reported to be 340 ppm and the nitrogen not detectable. Metallographically the structure was almost free of second phase (<1 vol pct). A quantity of sponge was arc-melted for use as charge material. The solid material was compared with the sponge in the pressure-temperature-composition relationships. They were found to be identical. Therefore, sponge material was used henceforth, so that equilibrium could be attained more rapidly. The specimen size was about 0.2 grain for each loading of the reaction chamber. The procedure employed to obtain the pressure-temperature-composition data was to develop experimentally a family of isothermal curves of composition vs pressure. First, a specimen of erbium was wrapped in a tungsten foil capsule to prevent contact with the quartz tube. After loading the specimen, the system was evacuated to less than l0-6 Torr, flushed several times with high-purity hydrogen, and evacuated again ready for the start of the experiment. The furnace was then brought to the desired temperature. A measured amount of hydrogen was admitted into the chamber. Equilibrium was allowed to be attained, the pressure read, and the process then repeated many times until 1 atm of gas pressure was finally reached. Other isotherms were then developed in the same manner. The partial pressure plateaus were determined by another manner. In the solid solution-dihydride region a composition of approximately 1.0 H/Er was selected on the plateau. The temperature was varied throughout the range of interest. At each temperature level, equilibrium was achieved, the pressure read, and the next temperature attained. The temperature was cycled both up and down. In the dihydride-trihy-dride region, the plateaus were determined in the 473" to 651°K range only by heating to the desired temperature and not by both heating and cooling. The data were much more reproducible in this manner. Equilibrium required long periods of time. Specimens were initially hydrided to 2.8 H/Er, so that at the higher

Jan 1, 1969

By Roger L. Beals, George A. Tweedy

I. INTRODUCTION. THE results of the cyanide-operations, given in detail in the following paper, show the progress that is being made at the Minas del Tajo. The old pan-amalgamation process, in operation up to and including 1905, while paying a profit on high-grade ores, was no longer able to treat profitably the ores in sight at that time, hence an alteration in the process was imperative. The success of this alteration is eloquently expressed by the following data Pan- Amalgamation. Cyanidation. 1905. 1907. 1903. Tons treated, . . 51,387 53,983 69,300 Value per ton (U. S. currency),. $10.75 $8.39 $8.28 Extraction, per cent., 65.00 88.50 S7.45 Extraction, per ton. .- $7.00 $7.4.; $7.24 Total cost, per ton treated, 6.50 4.311 4.01 Profit, per ton treated, . . 0.50 3.07 3.23.;

Feb 1, 1910

By John S. Johnson, Thomas Fraser

SIZING is the process of separating mixed particles into groups of particles all of the same size, or into groups in which all particles L range between certain definite maximum and minimum sizes. In coal preparation, sizing is generally accomplished by passing the coal over screens. Separation by differential settling in air or water currents has been adapted to the special field of separating very fine sizes, and these processes are in commercial use to a relatively small extent in the coal industry. Separation with screens is a very old industrial practice. Agricola 1 described the use of screens for ore treatment in the middle ages. In the literature of the British coal industry references were made to the screening of coal as early as 1589, but the practice of extensive sizing for the market did not become general until the last half of the nineteenth century. In America, the practice of sizing developed first in the Pennsylvania anthracite region, beginning with the use of rakes2 in the mine working places to recover coarse coal. This mining procedure left the fines in the mine. Preparation outside the mine started with the installation of stationary cast-iron plates with 4 to 6-in. square holes. The run-of-mine coal was dumped upon the platforms, the large pieces of rock were picked out by hand, and the large lumps of coal were broken with hammers. The term "breaker," which still applies to the anthracite-preparation plant, originated with this practice, but the term is no longer descriptive of the entire function of the plant. In 1884, the first power-operated anthracite coal breaker3 was erected by Gideon Bart at his colliery at Wolf Creek near Minersville, Pa. This plant utilized a system of rolls for breaking the coal and revolving screens for sizing. The plant was driven by a steam engine. It could handle

Jan 1, 1943

By Roger L. Beals, George A. Tweedy

The results of the cyanide-operations, given in detail in the following paper, show the progress that is being made at the Minas del Tajo. The old pan-amalgamation process, in operation up to and including 1905, while paying a profit on high-grade ores, was no longer able to treat profitably the ores in sight at that time; hence an alteration in the process was imperative. The success of this alteration is eloquently expressed by the following data : Pan-Amalgamation. Cyanidation. 1905. 1905. " 1908. Tons treated,.... 51,387 58,983 69,200 Value per ton (U. S. currency),. $ 10.78 $8.39 $8.28 Extraction, per cent.,.. 65.00 88.56 87.45 Extraction, per ton,.. $7.00 $7.43 $7.24 Total cost, per ton treated, . 6.50 4.36 4.01 Profit, per ton treated,.. 0.50 3.07 3.23

Jan 1, 1911

By Elmer W. Pehrson

Minerals have played a prominent role in the affairs of man and nations since time immemorial but with the advent of the industrial revolution, expanding use of the products of the mineral kingdom became synonymous with the material progress of mankind. Individuals and business groups have recognized this fact so have been aggressive in searching for and utilizing mineral resources, with notable success. Indeed, their achievements are primarily responsible for the present Machine Age. On the other hand, until recently the body politic has failed to grasp fully the essentiality of minerals although, at times, access to mineral supplies has been an important factor in the political maneuvers of nations. This chapter is concerned primarily with the broader political and economic relationships of mineral resources to the world economy, and with the internal and external actions of nations in the field of minerals. Many factors that condition the mineral economy of regions and the world as a whole, influence the internal and external affairs of individual nations. The more important of these are: 1. The nature of man&apos;s dependence on minerals. 2. The problems resulting from the unique characteristics of mineral occurrence. 3. Geopolitical concepts. 4. Minerals and world power. Actions of individual nations affecting their mineral economy seek two basic objectives: 1. Attainment and maintenance of prosperity. 2. Military security. Other objectives may be cited but on careful analysis they become integral parts or extreme phases of the two points noted above. For example, the twentieth century aggressions of the USSR, Germany, Italy, and Japan might be considered as direct bids for world power but they also can be interpreted as exaggerated or mistaken efforts toward military security and peacetime prosperity. Similarly, trade barriers, nationalization of industries, foreign exchange manipulations, taxation, monopolistic prac-

Jan 1, 1964