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The General Committee met in the Treasury Building at Washington on Oct. 6 and 7. At the first meeting, Cornelius P. Kelley was appointed chairman, and Paul Armitage, secretary. Sub-committees were ap-pointed on Invested Capital, Mine Valuation, and Depletion and De-preciation. On Oct. 7, the reports of these committees were submitted to the General Committee and were referred to the Executive Committee. A motion was carried that the Executive Committee he constituted a permanent committee to continue the work of the Committee, with full power to acid to and increase its membership, that. as thus increased, it should constitute a permanent organization to act- and cooperate with the Treasury Department in matters of mining taxation under the Federal Income and Excess Profits Tax Laws. Thereafter the Executive Com-mittee met and formed a permanent committee as follows: Cornelius F. Kelley, chairman, 42 Broadway, New York City. J. L. Darnell, office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Wash-ington, D. C. J. Parke Channing, 61 Broadway, New York City. Walter Douglas, 99 John St., New York City. R. V. Norris, 542 Second National Bank Bldg., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. J. E. Spurr, Engineering and Mining Journal, 10th Ave., and 36th St., New York City. W. G. Swart, 808 Selwood Bldg., Duluth, Minn. J. P. Finley, 45 Cedar St., New York City. W. A. Williams, Bartlesville, Okla. F. S. Peabody, Peabody Coal Co., McCormick Bldg., Chicago, Ill. Matthew C. Fleming, 71 Broadway, New York City. H. B. Fernald, 54 Wall St., New York City. William G. Mather, Cleveland, Ohio. Walter Fitch, Eureka, Utah. Arthur Thacher, 900 Security Bldg., St. Louis, Mo. John P. Gray, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Paul Armitage, secretary, 233 Broadway, New York City.

Jan 12, 1919

By Robert S. Williams

NO new ferrous alloys have been produced in the last five or six years that are as outstanding contributions to civilization as were the high-speed steels of the early part of the century or the stainless steels announced at the close of the World War. There have been, however, many developments of major importance having to do either with modifications of existing alloys or with new methods of treatment of older iron or steel alloys. Only a limited number of these new developments can be discussed and their selection does not necessarily imply that these are the most important but merely that they are of general interest rather than perhaps of greater importance in highly specialized fields.

Jan 1, 1939

Howard N. Eavenson, Gary, W. Va. (communication to the Secretary*):—For some time before the publication of Mr. Scholz's paper, I had been collecting data bearing upon its subject, and I now take pleasure in presenting to the Institute my results in the form of a discussion. It has long been a matter of common opinion among mining-men that mine-explosions are more frequent during the colder, or winter months, than during the warmer ones, and it is a matter of common knowledge among them that the air-ways and road-ways in most mines are much drier and are more inclined to be dusty during the winter than during the summer. In many mines, places which are wet and sloppy in the summer are dry and sometimes dusty during the winter. These changes, of course, can only be due to atmospheric conditions, and are caused by differences in temperature and humidity. Until recently, however, very little attention has been paid to the part that atmospheric conditions may play in mine-explosions, or, rather, to the effect they may have in rendering mine-conditions peculiarly dangerous, and in spreading and rendering more disastrous the effects of what otherwise probably would have been small explosions. To show the difference in mine-conditions during summer and winter months, I have tabulated in Table I. the results of 24 observations of hygrometric conditions in several different mines at different times of the year. Mines Nos. 1, 2, and 6 are located in the Pocahontas coal-region, in McDowell county,w.Va., the first one being a shaft-mine and the others drift. Mines 1A and 2A are drift-mines located in Logan county, W. Va. All of these are mines of fair size, but none of them has been in operation more than six years,

Jan 1, 1910

By Tkeoclore Marvi

IT is singular that an industry quite the antithesis of flying should record tremendous strides in the utilization of aviation through- out the entire depression period, .while in the same years private interests lagged and airplatie manufacturing plants closed to such an extent that he purchase of new planes of certain types was practically impossible. Though receiving little notice from aviation publications and national associations, this use of the airplane progressed by sheer merit. It saved money, conserved energies, and made minutes in the air the equal of weeks on foot or water. The advent of aviation into mining and petroleum operations dates back many years, yet it \vas not until the depression that this new facility of the mineral industry was put on its proper economic basis. There, by its possibilities for saving effort, time, and money, it takes its place equally with other great technical advances in nietl

Jan 1, 1934

By Walter McKee

WHEN mixed with common cast steel in quantities ranging from 11 to 13 ½ per cent. and properly treated, manganese increases the ductility of the metal and adds greatly to its toughness and resistance to abrasive action, which properties comprise the distinctive characteristics that make manganese steel so valuable for many purposes at the present time. Manganese steel has been manufactured for about 26 years. .It was first made in a small way in England and subsequently produced in the United States in 1892. At present the manganese-steel foundries of this country have an annual capacity of about 60,000 tons and most of the growth has occurred within the past 10 years. In the early days of the industry it was impracticable to make manganese castings weighing over a few thousand pounds, but at present crusher heads, rolling-mill pinions, and similar castings weighing up to 30,000 lb. each are produced, and it does not appear that the limit of weight has been reached by a considerable margin. Manganese steel is similar in analysis to ordinary first-class converter metal except that it is high in carbon and contains from 11 to 13 ½ per cent. of manganese. From one standpoint manganese steel is similar to malleable iron in that the casting as it comes out of the sand is hard and brittle and must be made ductile by a heat-treating process. The heat treatment is an essential part of the process of making manganese-steel castings and must be properly carried out to secure satisfactory results. The necessity for heat treatment limits the thickness of sections which may be made of manganese steel. Originally the annealing depth was comparatively small, but researches carried on during the past few years have resulted in an increase in the thickness of section up to 5 ½ in., which it is possible to treat successfully. Large castings are cored out to a minimum thickness of 5 ½ in., thus not only eliminating some of the internal stresses which are invariably set up in a very thick casting, but also reducing the weight and inertia of the piece, an

Jan 12, 1915

By Fred D. Gustafson

With the postwar emergency for new housing and for new industrial buildings, much research has been done on lightweight aggregates for use in concrete and plaster. The trend toward lighter weight aggregates to relieve the dead load on the higher, steel frame- work buildings started toward the end of the last century. Progressively the requirements be- came more stringent, crushed bank slag, weighing 80 lb per cu ft as com- pared to 100 lb for crushed rock, was supplemented in some sections by foamed slags and expanded shales weighing from 40 to 60 lb per cu ft. In other sections cinders were used weighing from 40 to 50 lb, including sand. Sections favored with more recent vulcanism turned to pumice weighing from 30 to 60 lb, whereas other localities made use of diatomite, from 28 to 40 lb. Exfoliated vermiculite weighing from only 6 to 10 lb per cu ft came into use. As the search for lighter weights in aggregates continued so did the search for other desirable properties such as nailability, ease of cutting or channeling, and good insulation to both sound and heat. This search eventually led to a widespread interest in the expansion of perlite, or similar volcanic glasses, with the result that in 1946, the Office of the Housing Expediter' listed eleven firms reporting the operation of processing plants either on pilot or commercial scale producing aggregates weighing from 2 to 16 lb per cu ft.

Jan 1, 1949

By D. K. Crampton

ON giving thought to the subject of this paper, my first reaction was that many and striking changes have come about as a direct result of the war. However, more careful analysis indicates that few, if any, of these changes can be wholly attributed to it. The actual situation is that all these changes were conceived and most of them at least partially executed in re- cent prewar years, it remaining the role of war to achieve results in a fraction of the time that might normally have been taken, lacking its driving impulse. The further discussion will therefore be with the premise that the individual changes have been greatly hastened rather than directly and primarily caused by any war conditions. Co-operation among copper alloy producers on production problems is agreed to be much worth while. The industry was too long noted for jealousy and secrecy as to equipment, methods, and even materials produced. Gradually, a more open and co-operative policy evolved but even just prior to the war the interchange of ideas was relatively cautious and limited. The need for a great increase in production in record time fostered a more co- operative attitude; exchange of ideas and experience concerning all phases of production increased tremendously to the benefit of the individual participants and thus the war effort, too. This more united effort has undoubtedly led to many specific improvements in process or equipment and these in turn to more rapid and economical operation than could have taken place on an each-for-himself basis.

Jan 1, 1944

By I. R. Kramer

The delay time for single crystals of iron, zinc, and pre-strained aluminum was measured under conditions of high-speed deformation. The delay time of aluminum was found to be affected by the orientation of the crystal. Under the dynamic conditions employed, tile calculated "activated volume" term appears to be very small for the three metals studied. IN a previous paper,1 it was shown that under dynamic testing conditions at 78° K, there was a delayed yield in single crystals of aluminum and copper which had been cold-worked prior to testing. The experimental results also indicated that the delay-time effect was not due to the interaction of dislocations with impurity atoms or vacancies, but rather to a dislocation-dislocation interaction since aluminum which has not been prestrained shows no delay-time phenomenon. In this paper, some data are reported on the effects of orientation on the delay time of aluminum single crystals; the delay time of zinc single crystals saturated with nitrogen and the delay time of iron single crystals also were measured. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Aluminum (99.997 pct) and zinc (99.999 pct) crystals, 1/2 in. in diam and 8 in. long were grown by the Bridgman technique. The iron single crystal was supplied by Dr. R. Maddin. The zinc crystals containing nitrogen were prepared by melting high-purity zinc in a graphite crucible and the nitrogen was introduced by additions of ammonium chloride. The liquid zinc was then drawn up into glass tubes of 1/2 in. diam and allowed to solidify. The rods were cooled to room temperature before the transfer to the mold for conversion into single crystals. The orientation of all specimens was determined by the Laue' back-reflection technique, Fig. 2 and Table I. To prepare for the delay-time measurements, the crystals were cut with a fine jewelers saw and the ends carefully machined. The specimens then were electrolytic ally polished to remove the cold-worked metal, mounted in a special fixture and hand-lapped. As a final step, the crystals were annealed in evacuated tubes. Specimens of aluminum crystals, Nos. 24 and 26, were compressed 0.5 and 2 pct, respectively, in the direction of the later impact. The zinc specimens were aged at 50°C for 15 min, In the case of iron, only two specimens could be obtained. To obtain sufficient data, it was necessary to resort to a reaging treatment. After each delay-time test, the specimens were aged at 65° C for 100 min. This treatment, according to Clark,2 is sufficient to restore the original delay time. It is believed that although the specimens were plastically deformed approximately 10-4 pct, after each test the delay-time values are reliable. The delay-time measurements were made in an apparatus similar to that described previously.' Single crystals approximately 1 in. long and having a diameter of 1/2 in. were placed in a pendulum which consisted of a bar 1/2 in. in diam and 8 ft long, designed with a crystal holder to accommodate the specimen at low temperatures. The crystal was held at a position 2 ft from the front part of the pendulum. This portion of the apparatus was supported on a fine molybdenum wire. A projectile bar of the same diameter and length comprised the other portion of the apparatus. This bar was supported on

Jan 1, 1962

By Edward Judd

CANADA'S mining industry is rapidly recovering from the depression through which it passed in 1921. Its total output of $183,029,600 in 1922 was 6.4 per cent. greater than that of 1921, and was exceeded by only three previous years, 1917, 1918, and 1920. Table 1 compares the output of a few of 'the more important items selected from preliminary data published' by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics. TABLE 1.-OUTPUT OF CERTAIN MINERAL PRODUCTS IN CANADA PER CENT. 1921 1922 CHANGE Cobalt, metal and in compounds, lb 252,000 443,800 +76.1; Copper contents of blister, matte, and exported ores, lb 47,620,820 43,321,400 - 9.0 Refined copper, lb 4,286,000 730,000 -83.0 Gold, fine oz 926,329 1,230,985 +32.8 Pig iron, sh. tons 665,676 429,024 -35.5 Lead, sh. tons 33,340 47,085 +41.2 Nickel contents of matte, etc., lb. 19,293,060 17,496,490 - 9.3 Silver, including that in base bullion, gold bullion, etc., fine, oz. 13,543,198 17,611,646 +30.0 Zinc (nearly all refined), sh. tons. 26,545 28,199 + 6.2 Asbestos shipments, sh. tons 92,761 136,657 +47.3 Coal, all grades, sh. tons 15,057,500 15,045,300 Gypsum shipments, sh. tons 386,550 441,160 +14.1 Natural gas, M. cu. ft 14,077,600 14,954,100 + 6.2 Petroleum, bbl : 187,540 178,570 - 4.8 Cement, bbl 5,752,885 6,943,968 +21.0 Brick, structural, all kinds, M. , , 109,009 127,137 +17.0 On the basis of estimated market values, the whole output of 1922 was contributed as follows: Metals, 33.4 per cent.; non-metallic minerals, 45.1 per cent.; structural materials and clay products, 21.5 percent.; this distribution indicates a return of the metal mining. industry nearly to the position of relative importance that it occupied. before 1921, in which year metals contributed only 28.7 per cent. to the total value. of output while non-metallics gave 51.1 per cent. Canadian cobalt originates entirely in the ores of the Cobalt district, which are mainly treated at smelters in southern Ontario, although some quantities of residues have been exported to England and Europe. Exports during 1922 increased even more than production, consisting of about four-fifths . cobalt oxides and salts, and one-fifth of cobalt alloys and other metal combinations.

Jan 8, 1923

TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGICAL ENGINEERS GENTLEMEN : Submitted herewith are the report of the Treasurer for the year 1944 and reports for the same year of the following standing committees: Membership, Ad- missions, Papers and Publications, MIN- ING AND METALLURGY (Magazine), and Library. To these reports you are referred for additional details.

Jan 1, 1946

THE shipments of high-grade manganese ore, con-taining 35 per cent or more of manganese, from the mines in the United States in 1926 were slightly less than half as large as similar shipments in 1925, accord-ing to the United States Bureau of Mines, Department of Commerce. The shipments in 1926 by 45 producers amounted to 46,258 long tons as compared with 98,324 long tons by 42 producers in 1925. This decrease was due to the falling off of the shipments from Montana. The domestic production of metallurgical ore in 1926 was 26,530 tons; that of chemical ore, 19,728 tons. Montana was the largest shipper with 5713 tons of metallurgical ore and 17,904 tons of chemical ore. The largest individual shipper of metallurgical ore was the Crescent Mine in the Olympic Mountain Region, Clallam Co., Washington, from which the shipments for the year were 3162 tons. The mine was operated by lessees and reverted to the owners in July, and thereafter to the close of the year no .ore was shipped.

Jan 6, 1927

MARCH 15-Industry is rapidly snapping back from another coal crisis, other business news is in general favorable and the outlook through the Spring is by most observers considered quite promising. Most industries report comfortable backlogs of unfilled orders, department store sales in recent weeks have equalled in dollars those of the corresponding period last year, retail sales of automobiles show again over the same period a year ago, and new orders for machine tools are at the highest figures since August 1946. Orders for railway freight cars have shown a very encouraging pickup, with a total of 9385 cars in January and the N. Y. Central alone ordering 4500 in February. Construction continues very active. In January new housing starts totaled 80,000 against 50,000 a year ago and the daily average contract awards, according to the Dodge reports, were 57 pct larger. In the first 22 days of February the increase in awards was 27 pct. Lumber orders since Jan. 1 have run 22 pct above last year. All of these favorable factors bolster the opinion that the upturn in industrial output and employment which began last summer has not yet spent itself and that the setback caused by the strikes will be made up when people get back to work. Only in a few lines are there indications that primary production may be outrunning the consumption of finished goods, although inventory build-up would seem to be rather modest as the National Association of Purchasing Agents reported in February that 78 pct of its members were buying for 60 days or less. Industrial prices as a whole show no significant trend despite the continued alarm over both the immediate and the long-term possibility of inflation caused primarily by the government's increasing expenditure and its inability to balance the budget. A recent advance of 1.9 pct in primary market prices is viewed by some people as the surface symptom of renewed inflation, but even so it is more than two years since the alltime high was reached by the daily index of sensitive commodities in November 1947. Over two years have passed since prices received by farmers hit their peak and about a year and a half since all wholesale prices and the consumer price index touched their highest points in August 1948. The decline in the wholesale price index has been almost continuous, interrupted only twice by slight advances in the monthly figures from February to March 1949, and, later in the year, from August to September. Of course, this continued decline in the last half of 1949 largely reflects a downward movement in farm and food prices. Wholesale prices for commodities other than farm and food leveled out after June and now stand only slightly under the June level. Farm products are down by 22 pct from January and by 18.6 pct from August 1948. Food prices are down only slightly less. Consequently, the farm price support program is in serious trouble and has imposed a heavy financial burden on the Treasury. In those commodities other than farm products only building materials, chemicals and textiles have come down as much as the average, while housefurnishings and metals and their products have fallen hardly at all. Glancing away from the domestic front, the results of the British general election indicated a highly inconvenient situation, that public opinion there is so exactly deadlocked as to divest the victors of much ability to make forceful decisions or create significant policy. It is generally considered that another election in the near future would give substantially the same result. The British people are equally divided and the politicians are not likely to precipitate another appeal to the country until there is manifest reason to believe that external and internal circumstances have changed sufficiently to permit one party or the other to obtain a decisive verdict. Because of the lack of a clear mandate steel nationalization will likely lag in Britain. In the meantime there is considerable discussion going on as to whether the European steel industries as a whole are at a disadvantage in world competition with the American industry. An article in the "Statistical Bulletin" for January of the British Iron and Steel Federation takes issue on this point with the authors of the Geneva report, observing that they wrote before devaluation, and this particular conclusion "has been overtaken by events." The "Bulletin" also contends that the statement was in any case incorrect so far as Britain was concerned, and that it was based on scanty and insufficient evidence. To support the rebuttal a detailed and extensive comparison is made of the home prices of certain steel products in Britain and in other countries of the world. The accompanying table gives a selection of the prices published. It sets out the changed position since devaluation and since the recent increases in American steel prices. These are home market prices; no doubt in competitive export business some of the price levels could be brought closer together at need.

Jan 4, 1950

By E. A. Gulbransen, W. S. Wysong

The behavior of molybdenum and its surface oxides in oxidizing and reducing gas atmospheres and in high vacua at elevated temperatures is a question of scientific and technical importance. The use of molybdenum as a metal or as an important component in alloys in oxidizing atmospheres at elevated temperatures has been limited because of the unprotec-tive nature of its oxide film and the volatility of this oxide at moderate temperatures. This communication will present results of a vacuum microbalance studyl, 2 of the following problems: (I) the oxidation kinetics in the temperature range of 250°to 450°C; (2) the reduction with pure hydrogen of thin oxide films formed on molybdenum; (3) the volatility of the thin oxide films; and (4) the vacuum oxidation of molybdenum at high temperatures. Molybdenum is an interesting metal to study for the following reasons: (I) although the oxide-to-metal-volume ratio is greater than one, the metal is not considered protective; (2) the metal oxidizes readily at temperatures of 2 50°C and higher; (3) the oxides of the metal are reduced at temperatures as low as 500°C by pure hydrogen; (4) the oxide Moo3 melts at 795°C; and (5) the oxides of molybdenum are volatile at moderate temperatures. The following variables are studied in the oxidation kinetics: time, temperature, pressure, surface preparation, surface area, concentration of inert gas in the lattice, cycling procedures in temperature, vacuum effect and high temperature vacuum oxidation. The general interpretation of many of these factors has been previously discussed. Literature The oxidation of molybdenum has not been studied critically. Although many studies have probably been made on the kinetics of the oxidation process, none has been reported in the literature available to us. The crystal structures found in the oxidation of molybdenum have been studied by Hickman and Gulbransen." Their results showed that Moo2 is the oxide which is stable in contact with the metallic substrate throughout the temperature range 300 to 700°C. As the film thickens in the low temperature range, MoO3 becomes predominant on the surface. Above 400°C, Moos is no longer observed, MoO2 being the only oxide found. Hagg and Magneli6 have shown from an X ray study that the a-phase, orthor-hombic Moo3 is stable up to 1050°C. Two other phases, ß and ß with compositions close to MoO2.90 are also obtained. The formula for the 0 phase is not given but that of the ß phase is defined as Mo9O26 The 0' phase is found to be built upon a monoclinic unit cell. A ?-phase is isolated from a preparation MoO2.75 heated for 17 hrs at 670°C. This phase is

Jan 1, 1949

By AIME AIME

FOR many years it has been the invariable custom of the Institute, in addition to its annual meeting in February, to hold a technical meeting in the fall in some mining or metallurgical center in the West. As the activities of the Institute have increased, and especially since the absorption 'of the American Institute of Metals, there have for a number of years been two fall meetings. Never before in the history of the Institute have there been three meetings in addition to the annual meeting in February; in 1920, however, three important fall meetings are to be held. The general Institute trip will be made this fall to the Lake Superior iron and copper country. Members will leave Buffalo on August 20 by steamer, visit the copper mines in and about Houghton, the iron mines of the Marquette and Iron Ranges of Michigan and the iron mines of the Mesabi Range in Minnesota, and' return to Buffalo by steamer on September 3. Technical sessions will be held at Houghton, Minneapolis and Duluth. For a long period it was customary for the Institute to visit the Lake Superior country about every seven years. This trip, however, will be the first visit since 1904. The unprecedented development in both copper and iron mining in this section during this period will make this trip of unusual importance. In addition, a notable series of papers will be presented.

Jan 1, 1920

(Members are urged to send in for this column any notes of interest concerning themselves or their fellow-members) Members and guests who called at Institute headquarters during the period Feb. 10, 1917 to Mar. 10, 1917: F. H. Armstrong, Vulcan, Mich. G. Komar, Staten Island, N. Y. Franklin Bache, Philadelphia, Pa. H. M. LaFollette, LaFollette, Tenn. R. A. Bingham, W. Orange, N. J. H. Mortimer-Lamb, Montreal, Canada. G. S. Blair, Pittsburgh, Pa. J. S. Lane, New York, N. Y. Graham Bright, Pittsburgh, Pa. D. H. McLaughlin, Cambridge, Mass. C. A. Burdick, New York, N. Y. F. J. McMahon, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Frederick P. Burrall, Dawson, Y. T. F. Oskar Martin, San Francisco, Cal. William Campbell, New York, N. Y. C. Mentzel, New York, N. Y. G. L. Carlisle, Jr., New York, N. Y. T. C. Merriman, New Haven, Conn. J. Murray Clark, Toronto, Canada. K. -A. Pauly, Schenectady, N. Y. Wayne Darlington, Philadelphia, Pa. , Francis R. Pyne, Elizabeth, N. J. Ralph W. Deacon, Elizabeth, N. J. C. S. Robinson, Youngstown, O. P. St. Jon Dixon; So. Porcupine, Canada. W. A. Scheuch, New York, N. Y. A. E. Drucker, New York, N. Y. Jesse Scobey, New York, N. Y. Lucien Eaton, Ishpeming, Mich. Dunbar D. Scott, Rochester, N. Y. W. E. Goldsborough, New York, N. Y. W. C. Smith, Elizabeth, N. J. C. Marshall Gravatt, Port Royal, Va. Charles Spearman, Mt. St. Patrick, Can. C. N. Hickok, Cleveland, O. . - Harold C: E. Spence, Duncan, Ariz. C. Vey Holman, Rockland, Me. M. M. Thompson, Morsemere, N. J. W. F. Jahn, Kirkland Lake, Canada. Benjamin F. Tibby, Salt Lake City, Utah. F. E. Johnesse, Boise, Ida. J. S. Unger, Pittsburgh, Pa. E. C. Johnson, Chicago, Ill.

Jan 4, 1917

By AIME AIME

ALL technical men who are planning to visit the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago this summer-and all reports indicate that it will be worth visiting-should try to be there during Engineers' Week, beginning June 26. At that time most of the national engineering societies of the country will hold important meetings in that city. Engineers will thus have an opportunity not only to see the Fair at a time when special programs have been arranged for their benefit, but will have the opportunity to meet their professional brothers and to attend technical sessions of direct interest to them. The A.I.M.E. headquarters will be at the Stevens Hotel, and it will be to the interest of every Institute member who expects to attend the Fair at that time to secure his accommodations as promptly as possible. A request to the Chairman of the Chicago Section, A.I.M.E., or to the Secretary's office in New York, will bring a copy of the program as soon as it is available, together with any in- formation desired about hotel accommodations or other matters. The Chairman of the Chicago Section is J. R. Van Pelt, and his address is Museum of Science and Industry, 1525 East 53rd St., Chicago.

Jan 1, 1933

By Jack M. Swales

Kermac Potash Co., the newest American entry in a rapidly expanding industry, has come on the scene with notable variations in conventional shaft-sinking and mining techniques. Located in the famed potash producing district east of Carlsbad, N. Mex., Kermac started up its mine in November, 1965, to supply ore to the company's 500,000-tpy potash crystallization refinery. In so doing, the company (1) drilled the first large diameter mine shaft in the potash industry and (2) has employed new continuous miners especially adapted for use in thin potash beds. REACHING THE ORE ZONE In its initial mine planning, Kermac, a partnership owned jointly by Kerr-McGee Corp. and the National Farmers Union Development Corp., considered it imperative that the shafts be sunk and equipped as soon as possible and that the mine be developed sufficiently to insure a constant ore feed to the mill when the unit was placed on stream. After examining the alternative sinking techniques available to it, the company decided to accept a proposal by Big Hole Drillers, Inc., to drill the shaft from the surface through various formations of sandstones, siltstone, shales, anhydrite, limestones, dolomite and salts to the potash ore zone.

Jan 12, 1966

By Chester A. Fulton

SUPPLYING as it does a necessity for healthy animal and vegetable phosphate production is a most important industry. We human beings also are animal as this war so surely proves. Unlike many other elements no substitnite is available for phosphorus or its compounds. Marvelous as are modern plastics none can lake the place of phosphorus in making hone structures. As meassured in these times the phosphate industry is not a large industry. Output of phosphate rock, the original source of our agricultural and ,chemical phophates amounts to only some twelve million long tons per annum in the entire world. Phosphates are compounds of phosphorus, which is always found in nature combined with other elements. It never occurs in nature as such. The first choice of the element phosphorus is tie itself strongly to oxygen and then to water moisture - thus becomeing phosphlic acid. This phosphoric acid in turn hunts around for a base such as lime for instance and together they make phosphate of lime.

Jan 1, 1944

By L. Kovisars, F. Buttazzoni

The current demand for copper in the western world exceeds 7 million tonnes annually. The growth in demand is expected to average 2.6% annually to a level exceeding 11 million tonnes in 2000. Copper mine production is currently about 6 million tonnes annually; the annual net addition to mine output in the future will have to average about 190,000 tonnes of contained copper. The industrial nations of Europe and the western Pacific are heavily dependent on copper imports. Currently these import needs are supplied by Canada, Africa and Pacific producers. The increased demand for copper in the future is expected to further weight the trade balance to the Pacific suppliers. An evaluation of undeveloped deposits allows the ranking of these deposits based on total cost of production, including provision for plant and infra- structure investment as well as political/social/ economic risk. Peru, Canada, and the Southwest Pacific are expected to significantly increase exports. The United States will develop deposits to replace depleted mines, maintaining mine production at a level approximately equal to current output, with a consequent increase in copper imports. Chile is expected to become the world's leading copper producer, as well as expanding it's position as the leading exporter.

Jan 1, 1982

TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGICAL ENGINEERS GENTLEMEN: Submitted herewith are the report of the Treasurer for the year 1939 and reports for the same year of the following standing committees: Admissions, Membership, Papers and Publications, Mining and Metallurgy (Magazine), Library, Speakers for Local Sections and Student Societies, and Student Relations. These reports present additional details. Membership.-For the second year in Succession membership reached a new high level for all time, as indicated in the accompanying tabulation in which "Members" includes all categories except Student Associates. [END 1938 END 1939 NET GAIN Members9, 57 610, 163 587 Student Associates 2,898 3,760 862 12,474 13,923 1,449] Net gain in membership (aside from Student Associates) was 587 compared with 744 in 1938, despite the fact that applications received in 1939 exceeded those received in 1938 (1271 against 1162). The smaller net gain is accounted for in three ways: (1) A greater lag in enrollment of those elected in the last quarter of the year; (2) an increase in the number of applications involving change of status from Junior Member to Member; and (3) an increase of 167 in the loss by death by resignation and by suspension in 1939 as compared with 1938. Experience shows that at the end of a year of less prosperous conditions in the mineral industries, and, therefore, among engineers engaged in these industries, resignations and suspensions are more numerous. Business and industrial indexes all show 1938 to have been somewhat less prosperous than 1937; but the improvement in 1939 should be reflected in the record for 1940.

Jan 1, 1940