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By J. Jay Jacobsen

A dynamic regional coal development model is constructed for the Eastern Powder River Basin of Wyoming. Using this model, alternative development schedules from a recent environmental impact statement submitted to the Department of the Interior are simulated (Ref. 1). These alternatives include different mixes of export capacity, different coal conversion techniques within the region, as well as various levels of coal production. Exportation of 70 to 80 percent of an ultimate coal production of 180 million tons (163.3 x l09 kg) per year and the careful phasing of additional public services with population growth effectively reduce the social and environmental impacts of coal development. The alternative involving the addition of 43,000 megawatts of electrical generation capacity has very significant adverse social and environmental impacts on the region.

Jan 1, 1977

By E. Z. Lajtai

The probability distribution of fracture data from a rock mechanics test contains information about the effectiveness of the testing procedure and/or about the nature of the operating failure mechanism. The tensile strength of Lac du Bonnet granite forms a bimodal probability distribution when determined through line loading as in the Brazilian test. The same data obtained from three point bends tests are unimodal. The bimodality can in part be removed by distributing the line load over a finite area. Moisture has the anticipated effect in lowering both the average compressive and the average tensile strength of Lac du Bonnet granite. The reduction in strength however is not uniform within the probability distribution; the change is the largest at low and the smallest at high strength. Conversely, long-term loading is more damaging to the high strength members of the distribution. The large scatter of failure times in static fatigue experiments can in part be removed or even utilized when the probability distribution of instantaneous strength is taken into account.

Jan 1, 1982

By Robert H. Richards

IT will hardly be worth while to spend time over the discovery of this mine, how lumps of galena, were picked up and brought to town, and how legends were told of an old mine from which Revolutionary bullets were made. This is an entirely new mine, with no evidences of former or ancient workings in its immediate vicinity to guide or attract the prospector. The first pit was opened in May, 1874. In August I made a visit to this pit, which was 6 feet wide in the northwest direction, 12 feet long north 80° east, and 6 feet deep. About 4 tons of a galena carrying gray copper, siderite, and quartz, had been taken fron this pit. The lumps were all of them evidently float specimens, and varied from 8 to 12 inches thick, and showed very distinct indica- * An abstract of this paper was kindly presented by Dr. T. Sterry Hunt at the February meeting of the Institute, but as it was not fully written out until the following December, it will describe the mine in a little more advanced stage than when the paper was originally presented.

Jan 1, 1875

By Bruce A. Kennedy

The first light of dawn was appearing through the window of the giant Pan American Boeing 747 as we crossed the Irish Coast on course into London's Heathrow Airport While still over Ireland, the plane began its descent and a few minutes later an announcement on the public address system informed us that we were coming up on Lands End. Cornwall, and would then begin our final approach into London. Barely visible below through the WISP). clouds were the Seven Sisters Lighthouse and the rugged cliffs of Lands End and Cape Cornwall, the westcrnmost point of England. Start at Lands End To a displaced Englishman, it seems amazing that technology has brought us to a point where large jet aircraft use Lands End as the starting marker for final approaches into London. It was not so very long ago that we considered the eight-hour car journey or the 12- hour train trip from London to Lands End as a major undertaking. Today, with the 180,000-lb thrust of four engines, this enormous aircraft transports 350 or more passengers that distance in a matter of a quarter of an hour. The incongruity of the situation is that the technology leading up to the development of the powerful jet engines used on: today's aircraft started with the ; invention of the steam engine which found its first commercial use some 300 years earlier in the mines of Cornwall 20,000 ft below.

Jan 1, 1971

By James E. Howard

At the request of the Council of the Institute, I have the honor to submit the following remarks upon the Program of Tests under which the current work of the Watertown Arsenal Testing Laboratory is carried on, which comprises, among other items, the tests of steel ingot metal and derivative shapes. The intended scope of the tests may be illustrated by extracts from the descriptive part of the program as submitted by the Laboratory under date of April 17,1907, and subsequently approved by the Chief of Ordnance, U. S. A. Under Item 1, Ingot Metal—Open hearth, acid and basic; Bessemer, acid and basic; crucible; fluid compressed and uncompreesed—descriptive remarks were made as follon-s: "A thorough, fundamental inquiry into the physical properties of steel necessarily begins with the ingot metal. Investigations, having for their object the improvement of steels, should also begin with the ingot. A knowledge of the ingot structure is essential for judging of the subsequent behavior or appearance of the metal. Under ordinary conditions, so little information is obtained from the ingot in individual cases that practically none of importance is acquired. These remarks have particular reference to the state of physical and structural

Jan 1, 1909

By Edgar Stansfield

WHEN plants decay in a peat bog the woody parts form a brown pasty mass, or peat muck, largely soluble in. alkalis. This brown matter has been termed "ulmin." The same material, but commonly black in color, is found in coal, and there is evidence of the similarity between the material forming the main bulk of the coal and the bulk of the more recently decayed material in peat bogs. The. more recent or low-rank coals, such as lignite, little removed from the peat stage, contain notable percentages of alkali-soluble ulmins, but the percentage decreases with increased, degree of coalification and is negligible in bituminous or higher rank coals. The determination of the alkali-soluble ulmins in any coal gives, therefore, an indication, of its degree of coalification or rank. Coals which contain few or no ulmins soluble in alkalis do contain ulmins which can be rendered soluble by oxidation. The higher the rank of the coal, the more difficult it is to oxidize the insoluble ulmins and make them soluble. High-rank coals can be differentiated by oxidation tests on the, insoluble ulmins; but low-rank coals can be characterized by both their soluble and insoluble ulmins. This paper deals with the determination and significance of the alkali-soluble ulmins, present, as such in- the coal. The chemical nature and composition of ulmins are not discussed.

Jan 1, 1932

By Kent E. McElhattan

Selecting efficient machinery for an underground mining operation is a highly skilled art that still depends largely on human judgment and experience. In a coal mine, for example, there is no better way to predict the results of operating with a cutting machine or a continuous miner than to go underground with a sharp-pointed miner's pick. The trained eye can detect the depth of point penetration, cleavage planes, roof and floor strata, and many other conditions impossible to determine in a laboratory. Even so, however, an entirely new set of conditions may lie unexposed just a few feet behind the solid face. The candid truth of the matter is that practically nothing is known of the phenomenon of extracting a mineral from a solid. Consequently, the selection of mineral extraction machinery and systems must be based on results obtained elsewhere under apparently similar conditions. A recent study of the problem of equipment and system analysis was conducted in the coal mining regions of West Virginia. This state was chosen for study because it afforded representative sampling. The 172 coal mines investigated ecompassed seam heights ranging from less than 30 in. to over 84 in. and covered virtually all known coal mining conditions except two. The exceptions are the extreme pitch of coal seams in the western United States and British Columbia and the "bumps" encountered in the Rocky Mountains. Both of these extreme conditions are worthy of individual study.

Jan 7, 1969

By R. W. Dr. Raymond

(Read at the Philadelphia Meeting, February, 1878.) THE manufacture of ferromanganese in the blast furnace having been the subject of considerable attention in the Institute, I beg to put on record a contribution to the discussion from a quarter hitherto not directly represented, namely, the St. Louis furnaces, near Marseilles in France, belonging to a company of which M. Jordan, a member of the Institute, is Managing Director. These furnaces commenced in 1862 to manufacture specular pig (fontes à facettes) containing from three to six per cent. of manganese. In 1864 the regular production of spiegeleisen (fontes miroitantes), containing seven to ten per cent, of manganese, was inaugurated. At that time the Rhine was the only locality of this manufacture, and the Bessemer works of England and France obtained from Germany all their spiegel. From 1864 to the present time, the St. Louis furnaces have been advancing steadily the percentage of manganese in their product. From ferromanganese of thirty per cent. they had arrived, about two years ago, at a product containing seventy to seventy-five per cent., and for some time past they have been turning out what, as M. Jordan remarks, may fairly be termed fonte de manganese, or manganese pig, instead of iron, since the percentage of iron it contains is not more than 8.5, while the percentage of manganese is 85, or ten times as great. This very high grade material has a peculiar appearance, entirely different from that of ordinary cast iron or spiegel. It is granular, and steely gray in color. The following analyses, communicated to the Société to des Ingenieurs Oivils, by M. Jordan, show the composition of various products of the St. Louis furnaces :

Jan 1, 1878

By W. K. Whiteford

Until the beginning of the year 1930, conditions in the oil industry were such that the production engineer was chiefly concerned with improving the efficiency of development and production technique. Good engineering practice had been adopted to devise and improve methods and materials better suited to drilling for and producing oil and gas. These efforts reduced the hazard and expense of deeper drilling, increased the ultimate recovery from reservoirs and lowered production costs. Equipment was of better design and materials were better suited for the work and were more permanent. These improvements naturally have contributed their share toward increasing the volume of crude oil produced each year. The industry is now faced with a need for preventing a waste of this natural resource; waste which came as a result of continued reckless drilling of new reservoirs. To make a careful study of this economic problem and to devise methods for correcting these conditions was a logical problem for the production engineer. Much time and study have been devoted to the question, and remedial plans have been suggested during the last year and a half. The principles of unit operation have attracted the engineer's attention, as they present ideal conditions for the most scientific and economical development of an oil field. Unitization During 1930 unitization of producing and potentially producing areas has made real progress, and as each new unitized development is agreed upon the objections that loomed so large at the inception of the idea fade into comparative insignificance. Undoubtedly the outstanding example of the efficacy of unitization is the Kettleman Hills project in California. Unitizing this structure, with its almost incredible reserve, is an important step forward in the industry's concerted effort toward conservation. With this partial acceptance of the principles of unit

Jan 1, 1931

By R. A. Wagstaff

MANY changes in equipment have had to be made to handle the flotation products at the blast furnace, and these changes have meant an expenditure of considerable money, which has not been compensated by an increase in smelting tonnage. To date, very few new lead mines have been developed, so that the help derived by the innovation of flotation has been directed to old producing properties, where the ratio of concentration is greater now than when gravity concentration was in effect. In some smelting plants there has been an abandonment of complete units due to the introduction of flotation. FLOTATION PRODUCTS DIFFICULT TO HANDLE The physical characteristics of the flotation product do not make for economic handling for lead blast-furnace work, either mechanically or metallurgically. The millman or miner do not know what trials and tribulations they have passed on to the smelterman. To the smelterman it is "the everchanging flotation," for little does he know what new reagent will be perfected tomorrow that may completely change the grade and physical characteristics of the product. Even the mining companies who have complete units of mining, milling and smelting have had a hard time to reconcile themselves to the fact that the unit cost per ton of ore smelted must go up with the increase of flotation product on the blast-furnace charge. The "smelterman's burden," for that is what flotation has been for the last few years, has not caused the smelter operator to lag or fall down, but has spurred him on with new zeal. The physical properties of the flotation products are as follows: (1) High moisture content; (2) mucky nature of product; (3) fineness of product, and (4) high metal content. NEW MECHANICAL DEVICES FOR HANDLING FURNACE PRODUCT These characteristics have caused the use of many new mechanical devices in smelting practice, for example: New transportation equipment, such as solid-bottom cars, is required; unloading equipment and sampling

Jan 1, 1928

By Arnulf Muan, W. C. Hahn

Activities of "FeO" in "FeO"-MgO solid solutions have been determined in the temperature interval 1100" to 1300"C by equilibrating oxide samples with pure metallic iron in atmospheres of known oxygen partial pressures. The end members "FeO" and MgO form a complete solid solution series. The system shoztls a considerable positive deviation from Raoult's law. A large amount of data has been accumulated during the past 50 years on stability relations existing among various crystalline and liquid phases in oxide systems of importance in metallurgical processes. By comparison, very little is known about the thermodynamic properties within the various homogeneous phases present in the systems, particularly the crystalline phases. The present paper deals with determination of activities as a function of composition in solid solutions of wüstite ("FeO") and periclase (MgO). Such solid solutions ("Magnesiowustites") have simple sodium chloride structure and are known to be continuous between the end members at elevated temperatures (> 1000°C) and strongly reducing conditions such as prevail in contact with metallic iron. Wiistite has a defect structure in which the ratio of oxygen to iron varies and never has as low a value as 1:1 corresponding to the simplified formula FeO. Within the range of stability of this phase, the composition changes between a maximum oxygen content of approximately 25.6 wt pct (corresponding to the formula FeO.83O) and a minimum oxygen content of approximately 23.2 wt pct (corresponding to the formula Fe0-96O). The activity data to be reported in the present paper are based on using as standard state the wüstite which is in equilibrium with metallic iron at a particular temperature, i.e., "FeO" of minimum oxygen content at each temperature. For sake of simplicity, the formula FeO will be used to represent the wustite phase in the remainder of this paper. Consider the reaction 2 FeO solid solution = 2 Femeta1 + Ozgas in which FeO dissolved in another oxide dissociates to metal and gas. The activity of FeO in the solid solution, relative to "pure FeO" in equilibrium with metallic iron as a standard state, is then expressed as Here Po, and po2 * are the partial pressures of oxygen of the gas phase in equilibrium with metallic iron and the oxide solid solution or "pure FeO", respectively. The equation holds only if the metal phase is essentially pure Fe. The oxide combinations used in the present investigation fulfill this requirement. Magnesia is so much more stable than FeO that for all practical purposes aFe = 1 in the metal phase present in all mixtures used in this investigation. I. EXPERIMENTAL METHOD 1. General Procedure. The experimental method used was analogous to that developed by Foster and Welch1 and used recently by Hahn and Muan.2 It consisted of four steps: a) Determination of the equilibrium between FeO and Fe. b) Determination of d-spacing change with composition in oxide solid solutions (FeO-WO). c) Equilibration of various members of the solid solution series with a metal phase and a gas phase of known oxygen partial pressure. d) Determination of compositions of solid solutions resulting from step (c) by means of data obtained in step (b). 2. Starting Materials. General Aniline and Film Corp. carbonyl iron powder, type HP, was used as the source of metallic iron. A representative analysis was as follows: Fe, 99.6 pct; C, 0.01 to 0.04 pct; 0, 0.1 to 0.3 pct; N, 0.00 to 0.05 pct. Other elements were present as traces only. Wiistite was prepared from "Baker Analyzed" Reagent grade Fe2O3 of reported analysis as follows: Assay (Fe2O3), 98.8 pct; insoluble in HC1, 0.02 pct; not precipitated by NH,OH, 0.02 pct; Zn, 0.003 pct. Production of wüstite was achieved by a two-step

Jan 1, 1962

By John W. Cobb

The attempts of British investigators to arrive at definite knowledge concerning the nature of the nitrogenous constituents of coal have been mainly made through studies of the behavior of coal on carbonization and gasification. There have been carried out numerous determinitions of the distribution of nitrogen in the products of carbonization under laboratory and large-scale conditions; and by a careful consideration of the extent to which nitrogen is liberated, say as ammonia,. at different temperatures and under different conditions of operation as regards atmosphere, it has been possible to form some general notions as to the nature of the nitrogenous compounds present in the coal; and at the same time to arrive at clearer ideas as to what are the important operative factors in determining the ammonia yield under working conditions. This work has been spread over many years and is summarized below. The difficulties of connecting the results in such a way as to allow of the nitrogenous constituents of the coal being described in terms of specific organic structure are great. They arise, for example, in the carbonization process, because the phenomena of decomposition observed at any one temperature can only refer to compounds decomposing at that temperature, each of them with a previous history of chemical transformations occurring at lower temperatures. To put it in &other way, the compounds occurring in the coke at any stage are not in the least likely to be those present in the original coal. The same difficulty, in a milder form, occurs when the method of differential solution is attempted. There is always the preliminary question, almost impossible to answer, as to how far the separation by the use of the solvent has involved some form of decomposition of the original compounds. In the following summary, an attempt has been made to bring together results obtained by British workers.

Jan 1, 1925

By M. E. Wadsworth, D. R. Wadia

The rate of reaction of cuprite was measured in a series of sulphuric acid solutions, from which oxygen had been excluded, at various concentrations and temperatures. The overall reaction CuzO + H2S04 + Cu " + CuO + H20 + So4' may be explained quantitatively by two simultaneous rate reactions involving not only H+ but also the hydrolytic adsorption of H2SO4. The results indicate the importance of considering surface mass balance relationships associated with heterogeneous surface reactions. T EACHING has long been an important method for the recovery of metals from certain minerals. Many processes have assumed minor importance in modern practice but such operations as the recovery of uranium and present interest in high pressure-high temperature solution of sulphides' ' well illustrate the importance of leaching as a unit operation. Little quantitative information is available in a form sufficient to determine the mechanism of solution at the solid-aqueous solution interface for given systems. For this reason, it is important that fundamental studies of leaching processes be conducted so that parameters associated with such surface reactions may be understood and correlated. Cuprite was chosen for this study as a result of a recent investigation carried out at the University of Utah on ores of the Ray and Chino Mines Divs. of the Kennecott Copper Corp. These sulphide deposits contain sufficient oxidized minerals, such as cuprite, malachite, and azurite, so that recovery of metal values contained in the oxidized fraction is of primary interest. Of these oxides, cuprite (Cu,O) is the most interesting, since it dissolves in sulphuric acid by an oxidation reduction couple resulting in the formation of 50 pct metallic Cu and 50 pct cup-

Jan 1, 1956

By K. Heindlhofer

ESTIMATES of the "plasticity" of a metal are commonly deduced from three types of test-tensile, torsion and impact. The several results have been more or less at variance, though this disparity has attracted little notice, largely perhaps because they have been expressed in different terms. The discrepancy between the results of the three tests becomes obvious when each is made at a series of low temperatures, for the temperature range within which the "plasticity" of iron largely disappears proves to be very different in the three types of test. The rather abrupt disappearance of "plasticity" of iron within a narrow temperature range cannot be due to any physicochemical change (such as a precipitation) taking place in the material at that time, because the original plasticity is immediately regained when the temperature of the material is brought above the sensitive range. Accordingly this differ-ence in behavior shows that the "plasticity" of a metal depends upon the mode of action of the stresses which produce the deformation, and there-fore upon the method of test. Analysis of the stresses leads to the conclusion that the observed plasticity of a metal is determined by the relation between its resistance to rupture by separation and its resistance to shear (slip), on the one hand, and between the effective normal and shearing stresses on the other; and that the relation between the two resistances does not in general remain constant with change of temperature, and may somehow be altered to some extent by the previous treatment of the specimen. This suggests the view that the results of none of the usual mechanical tests are directly comparable even for a single metal tested at a series of tem-peratures, or for a series of metals at one temperature, because the propor-tion of the total resistance of the metal to the test contributed by the

Jan 1, 1934

There are not many data about early coal production in Kentucky, but some legislative reports, early geological studies and occasional newspaper articles have left some figures. The earliest production with any authentic record is that of Lee County, the coal being boated down the Kentucky River to Frankfort. While never a large producer, this county has the longest record in the State. Production is recorded in several of the western coal counties in 1820, and in several others a few years later. The early production in Greenup County was for the iron furnaces operating there. Clay County had a large salt output in the early days and this required a large output, for those days, of coal; the amount of fuel is based on the quantity of salt. It will be noticed that several counties on the Ohio River produced considerable quantities of coal before the Civil War, much of it being consumed by the river steamers. Since the end of the war, these counties have never occupied the relatively important position they had prior to that time. All of the coal produced in the eastern mountain counties moved out of them by water before the war, and during that struggle nearly all mining was stopped. The growth of the railroads after the war greatly reduced the river traffic from these counties, and in some cases it was never renewed. The coal shipped from Lawrence County prior to 1861 all moved by water; after that date there was no production excepting for local use until 1879, and since that time, all shipments have been by rail. Some of the early railroad reports have been helpful in reporting shipments, but for the early years very few of them can be found, and after about 1879 the quantities reported cannot be identified as to origin. Pres. J. B. Hill, Louisville and Nashville Railroad, furnished all of the data available for his line. Sources of data are shown on Table 61; other figures are estimated. A list of early Kentucky mines is given in Table 13.

Jan 1, 1942

By J. W. Ristori, V. R. Garfias, R. V. Whetshel

During the past eight years, in trying to estimate world consumption of petroleum and related products, the authors have been unable to account for all the supplies available in any one year. There has remained at all times a balance, which at first was thought to represent almost entirely additions to stocks in foreign countries. But as this discrepancy continued year after year-over 148,000,000 bbl. in 1937—it became unreasonable to conclude that corresponding additional foreign storage capacity was continuously being made available. It became therefore clear that the balance in question was due to other causes than to additions to stocks. Last year Mr. A. G. White, Chief Economist of the Petroleum Economics Division of the United States Bureau of Mines, pointed out to one of the authors that an unknown and important factor in consumption of petroleum and related products is to be found in the requirements for military purposes in foreign countries. This paper is the result of Mr. White's timely suggestion. There are no reliable data available either on the storage capacity, and therefore oil stocks, or on the petroleum consumption for military purposes in foreign countries. This information is so closely related to national defense that its divulgation is forbidden. One can therefore but surmise as to these facilities and needs in line with the relative strength of the military land, air and sea forces of the various countries. The authors have assumed many of the component factors that go to make the tables herein presented, such as fuel consumption of fighting ships in relation to tonnage and horsepower, gasoline consumption of air fleets in relation to number of planes, and the consumption of petroleum products by mechanized armies; but in making these assumptions they have availed themselves of the advice and counsel of those whose wide experience in these questions make their views authoritative. The opportunities for error in an estimate of this nature are obvious and ever present; to illustrate: The air fleets in Spain no doubt consumed

Jan 1, 1938

By Henry Rogatz

Oil.—During the year 1938, there were 434 oil wells drilled in the Texas Panhandle, increasing the daily initial production by 192,706 bbl. —that is, 229 fewer oil wells drilled than in the previous year, with a decrease in total daily initial production of 129,626 bbl. The total daily potential of the field on Dec. 1, 1938, as determined by the Texas Railroad Commission, was 1,250,645 bbl., an increase of 210,663 bbl. over the previous year. On Dec. 1, 1938, the daily allowable of 82,466 bbl. was assigned to the field to be produced from 3931 wells. The total amount of oil produced for the year was 23,227,170 bbl. The total proven productive area includes 148,298 acres. This is 30,248 acres more than for last year, and represents a more accurate calculation of the areas and not new discoveries. Gas.—There were 103 gas wells drilled during 1938, having a combined open flow of 3,166,300,000 cu. ft.; that is, 65 less than the number of wells drilled in 1937, with a decrease in the open flow of 3,144,488 cu. ft. per day. Pipe-line Gas.—The pipe-line companies withdrew 230,307,854,000 cu. ft. of gas (a daily average of 630,980,000 cu. ft.). The total withdrawals by pipe line decreased 5,624,481,000 ft. from that of 1937. Natural Gaso1ine.—Throughout the greater part of the year, 46 gasoline-extraction plants processed 1,376,186,000 cu. ft. per day, a total of 502,308,010,000 cu. ft. for the year. This gas yielded about 275,875,000 gal. of natural gasoline. The total daily capacity of all the plants is 2,519,500,000 cu. ft. During the latter part of 1938, one of these plants was shut down, leaving 45 plants operating at the close of the year. Carbon Black.—Thirty carbon-black plants operated during 1938, burning 266,881,000,000 cu. ft., or a daily amount of 731,180,000 cu. ft. This produced approximately 400,000,000 lb. of carbon black. During the year one plant was dismantled and two plants were shut down.

Jan 1, 1939

By Henry Rogatz

Oil.—During the year 1938, there were 434 oil wells drilled in the Texas Panhandle, increasing the daily initial production by 192,706 bbl. —that is, 229 fewer oil wells drilled than in the previous year, with a decrease in total daily initial production of 129,626 bbl. The total daily potential of the field on Dec. 1, 1938, as determined by the Texas Railroad Commission, was 1,250,645 bbl., an increase of 210,663 bbl. over the previous year. On Dec. 1, 1938, the daily allowable of 82,466 bbl. was assigned to the field to be produced from 3931 wells. The total amount of oil produced for the year was 23,227,170 bbl. The total proven productive area includes 148,298 acres. This is 30,248 acres more than for last year, and represents a more accurate calculation of the areas and not new discoveries. Gas.—There were 103 gas wells drilled during 1938, having a combined open flow of 3,166,300,000 cu. ft.; that is, 65 less than the number of wells drilled in 1937, with a decrease in the open flow of 3,144,488 cu. ft. per day. Pipe-line Gas.—The pipe-line companies withdrew 230,307,854,000 cu. ft. of gas (a daily average of 630,980,000 cu. ft.). The total withdrawals by pipe line decreased 5,624,481,000 ft. from that of 1937. Natural Gaso1ine.—Throughout the greater part of the year, 46 gasoline-extraction plants processed 1,376,186,000 cu. ft. per day, a total of 502,308,010,000 cu. ft. for the year. This gas yielded about 275,875,000 gal. of natural gasoline. The total daily capacity of all the plants is 2,519,500,000 cu. ft. During the latter part of 1938, one of these plants was shut down, leaving 45 plants operating at the close of the year. Carbon Black.—Thirty carbon-black plants operated during 1938, burning 266,881,000,000 cu. ft., or a daily amount of 731,180,000 cu. ft. This produced approximately 400,000,000 lb. of carbon black. During the year one plant was dismantled and two plants were shut down.

Jan 1, 1939

By Olin G. Bell

The year 1934 in Southwest Texas was marked by aggressive development and exploratory work and resulted in the finding of five new fields and a new producing horizon in one of the older fields. This activity is the result of a reasonable market outlet for production, on both oil and gas, and the fact that drilling and operating costs are reasonable and that possibilities of finding new productive areas are rather high. A large part of the area is prospective and very little, if any, satisfactory surface geological work can be done. This, together with the possibility of finding new productive areas, stimulates wildcatting throughout the counties under discussion. Development work continued actively in all of the newer fields. Exploratory work was most intense in Duval, McMullen, Starr and Zapata counties. The activity in Duval and McMullen counties was the result of persistent efforts to find new trends of production similar to and perhaps associated with the Government Wells group of fields. The activity in Starr and Zapata counties was stimulated by the discovery of the Sam Fordyce field in Hidalgo County as well as the continued effort to find new productive trends southeastward from some of the older fields in northeastern Zapata County and western Jim Hogg Comity. Statistics on production are shown in Tables 1 and 2. New Fields Lopeno.—The Lopeno gas field in the southwestern part of Zapata County was opened in August, 1934, by R. B. Morrison No. 1 Ramirez. This is an anticlinal structure mapable in Claiborne beds and the producing horizon is the Queen City sand at 2100 ft. in the Upper Mt. Selman. At the close of the year only two gas wells had been completed but drilling operations were in progress on several other wells and a gas line was being laid to the field so that withdrawals from the area will begin early in 1935. Comilas.—The Comitas field was opened by Merle Gunby No. 1 Haynes in a sand at 800 ft. in an area southwest of the Escobas field. The discovery well had an initial production of only about 16 bbl. of oil

Jan 1, 1935

By Ralph Arnold

The lure of possible new oil fields shut off development of the older Montana fields during the year 1928, cutting down the total production to less than the 1927 mark. However, with the production of oil worth approximately $7,000,000 during the past 12 months, Montana oil producers pushed their total up to $44,000,000 taken from two principal fields during the past 8 years. The highest prices in the United States for oil of similar gravity gave northern Montana producers a decided advantage and brought up the value of the oil to about the same value as the 1927 production, although the oil runs were 1,000,000 bbl. less. Production by Fields The discovery of two new oil fields in the Sweetgrass Arch, in north central Montana, in 1927, diverted attention from the Kevin-Sunburst field. Many operators turned their attention to wildcats and practically all of the drilling contractors were called into the new Pondera and Bannatyne fields. Although discovered in 1927, the Pondera field developed its first commercial production in March of 1928. Mild interest was followed four months later by a rush of operators, and by August practically every string of tools had been moved from the Kevin-Sunburst field to Pondera. The fall months found 40 wells drilling in this field and as the year closed there were 100 producers. Pondera field is remarkable in that every well thus far drilled within the structure proper has been a producer. Dry holes have been drilled around the field, but none within an area of four sections. Experts estimate that Pondera will produce 5000 bbl, of oil to the acre. The producing area now outlined by wells drilled is expected to produce around 15,000,000 bbl. of oil. Pondera crude brings $1.75. This field has one pipe line and a second line is being laid. Lack of a pipe line delayed development of the new Bannatyne field, south of Pondera, and also in the Sweetgrass Arch. Bannatyne has 11 producing wells scattered over an area of approximately three sections. Bannatyne is a sand field with a 70-ft. sand in the lower Jurassic, which core-drill tests show to be 60 per cent. saturated. With the completion

Jan 1, 1929