Search Documents

By Eugene Leonardon

THE search for oil has required, and without a doubt supplies, a tremendous amount of information on the structure, composition, physical properties, and history of sedimentary rocks. The earliest and most complete source of knowledge is the sample or core of the rock itself, the uses of which are well known. The purpose of this paper is primarily to discuss a new method for obtaining these cores, and to illustrate its use in connection with electrical logs. Most cores have been obtained through a special adaptation of rotary drilling, and the results have been remarkably good, considering the mechanical problems involved. Unfortunately, because of the time and expense, this method cannot be used for the entire length of the drill hole. Even though ingenious contrivances have been evolved in order to reduce the time spent in round trips, such as wire-line coring equipment, mechanical coring still remains too expensive to be carried out con-tinuously. In practice, therefore, one is finally compelled to estimate the probable depths of the more interesting horizons and, allowing a wide margin of safety, to core through those sections only. It is true also that interesting results have been obtained by examining the cuttings brought to the surface by the mud circulated in the well during the process of drilling. Be that as it may, the inescapable fact remains that key horizons may be passed inadvertently, for one reason or another, while the drilling operations are being performed. The only continuous record of the formations encountered is that furnished by electrical surveys. Obviously, it would be desirable to make the electrical survey first and to take the samples from the wall of the hole according to the indications on the electrical log. In this way, it would be possible to core only the exact sections desired, eliminating the otherwise inevitable estimates as to the point at which to start coring, and thereby reducing to a minimum this expensive operation. At the same time this method would provide a maximum' of useful samples.

Jan 1, 1939

By Edward H. Robie

EIGHT years ago in this department we had a column on the daiquiri cocktail, which, as we pointed out at that time, was invented by mining engineers. Since then we have said little or nothing about alcoholic drinks, but having set the precedent perhaps we may now pass along a little information about martinis. We have observed that as an aperitif the martini has become increasingly popular with men, so much so that we always feel a bit peculiar if we order something else. And the call is not for just a martini either; it must be a dry martini, and some of our friends are extremely particular on this point. The matter has achieved such importance that The New York Times devoted half a page to it a few Sundays back. Several recipes are given which may be useful to some of our members when entertaining visitors from this part of the country: The standard martini is said to be half gin, half Italian vermouth, two dashes orange bitters, and a pickled onion and twist of lemon peel. This progresses to the very dry martini, which calls for five parts gin and one part vermouth with an onion, olive, or lemon peel. Several alternatives are offered for the manufacture of the very, very dry martini. One is to pour a little vermouth into the mixing glass and pour it out again before mixing gin and ice. A second way is to put the ice in a sieve, hold it over the sink, and pour a little vermouth over it; then put the ice in the mixing glass. A third is to let the draft from an electric fan blow across an open vermouth bottle toward the mixing glass. Then the ultimate is the awfully dry martini, obtained by setting the vermouth bottle next to the mixing glass and turning the bottle slowly so that the label is exposed to the gin for perhaps a second. The Times notes that Mr. Martini himself personally prefers vermouth and soda.

Jan 1, 1952

By David P. Hale

The Cartersville barite district is near Cartersville, Ga., in the southeastern part of Bartow County, about 43 miles northeast of Atlanta. The area over which active mining is being done extends about six miles in a northeasterly direction and is about three miles wide. Barite production in Georgia began about 1907,' but the existence of the mineral was known much earlier. At present four companies are operating washing plants and three other plants are operating on leases from those companies. The chief impurities in the ores are silica and iron oxide. The silica is easily washed and jigged out and gives little trouble. Any gravity separation between the iron and the barite is generally poor, owing to the slight difference in specific gravity. Two operators have turned to magnetic separation as the solution to the problem and have made remarkable improvements in the finished product. By very close sizing prior to jigging, the separation between iron and barite has been greatly improved. In some localities manganese occasionally appears as an impurity, but is fairly easy to eliminate by gravity methods. A considerable percentage of iron and silica is eliminated by being broken free in crushing. Until methods for the recovery of fine ore were introduced a minimum of crushing was done, but modern methods allow more than formerly. The depression years brought about the need for increased recovery of ore handled on the part of the producers and a demand for a higher grade of product on the part of the buyers. Improvements in milling and mining practice have had a far greater effect, however, than merely the production of a better grade of ore with greater recovery. They have opened for mining large areas that a few years ago were considered noncommercial deposits because of their inaccessibility and their high iron content. It is no exaggeration to say that the new methods have more than doubled present known reserves of barite ore of economic value.

Jan 1, 1942

By David P. Hale

The Cartersville barite district is near Cartersville, Ga., in the southeastern part of Bartow County, about 43 miles northeast of Atlanta. The area over which active mining is being done extends about six miles in a northeasterly direction and is about three miles wide. Barite production in Georgia began about 1907,' but the existence of the mineral was known much earlier. At present four companies are operating washing plants and three other plants are operating on leases from those companies. The chief impurities in the ores are silica and iron oxide. The silica is easily washed and jigged out and gives little trouble. Any gravity separation between the iron and the barite is generally poor, owing to the slight difference in specific gravity. Two operators have turned to magnetic separation as the solution to the problem and have made remarkable improvements in the finished product. By very close sizing prior to jigging, the separation between iron and barite has been greatly improved. In some localities manganese occasionally appears as an impurity, but is fairly easy to eliminate by gravity methods. A considerable percentage of iron and silica is eliminated by being broken free in crushing. Until methods for the recovery of fine ore were introduced a minimum of crushing was done, but modern methods allow more than formerly. The depression years brought about the need for increased recovery of ore handled on the part of the producers and a demand for a higher grade of product on the part of the buyers. Improvements in milling and mining practice have had a far greater effect, however, than merely the production of a better grade of ore with greater recovery. They have opened for mining large areas that a few years ago were considered noncommercial deposits because of their inaccessibility and their high iron content. It is no exaggeration to say that the new methods have more than doubled present known reserves of barite ore of economic value.

Jan 1, 1942

By Eckley B. Coxe

I DES~RE to call the attention of the Institute to two deep vertical shafts, which are now being sunk in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, about miles north of Pottsville. These shafts are of interest to the mining engineer, not only on account of the novelty of the method of sinking adopted, which promises to produce a revolution in that branch of mining engineering, but also as examples of the manner in which such work should be undertaken. GEOLOGICAL SKETCH OF THE TERRITORY TO BE WORKED BY THE SHAFTS AND REASON FOR SINKING THEM. The Mammoth or E Vein of the anthracite coal-measures in that part of the Schuylkill region near and north of the town of Pottsville lies at a great depth below the surface, and has, in consequence, never been worked in that locality.

By Harrison R. Cooper

Computer process analysis and control techniques are overcoming major hurdles to acceptance in the mineral industry. With the growing list of new advances characteristic of a rapidly maturing discipline, management of the companies on the leading edge are keenly aware of the advantages of using computer methods in process applications. Significant advancement is already evident in such technical areas as operations research, mathematical modeling, statistical methods, and computer-based procedural techniques. The early advances during the past decade are already documented in prior symposium proceedings of this series. Thus, the currently active areas of the advancing technology are emphasized here. This section deals with applications in pyrometallurgical and kiln processes. The two sections which follow deal with concentrating operations from two points of view: 1) mathematical modeling, and 2) on-line control. In the metallurgical field, emphasis on developing effective process computer applications for the steel industry began in the late 1950's. Simulation techniques also received substantial attention. The steel industry was soon joined by the cement industry in the development of computer methods for process applications. Computers were in use for feed-material blending and kiln control in the early 1960's. Computer development in other pyro processes, such as aluminum reduction and glass-making, also marked significant advances by the mid 1960's. Aluminum smelter potline control is a nearly universal application at this point, and the development of glass furnace computer process control represented a recent important technical advance in digital control techniques. Steel Hot strip rolling was the earliest significant process computer application in the metallurgical industry. Computer control of rolling mill operations is now a steel mill standard component, particularly in plants newly placed into production. 1, 2 Initial computer installations principally carried out procedural routines in setting mill clearances for production lot control. Recent developments are leading toward feedback control based on mathematical model techniques. 3

Jan 1, 1969

By J. B. Rather

THE use of sulfuric acid in refining illuminating oils antedates the beginning of the petroleum industry in America by many years. It was used as early as 1792 by Tower in refining "coal oil" in the British Isles, and by 1860 there were 53 refineries in the United States manufacturing "coal oil," most of them using sulfuric acid as a refining agent. Following the completion of the Drake well in 1859, many of the "coal oil" refiners began to use petroleum for manufacturing illuminating oil, and their methods and equipment were adapted so far as possible to this new raw material. The value of sulfuric acid in refining "coal oil" having been established, this reagent was immediately tried and found to be satisfactory in refining petroleum. Notwithstanding the tremendous advances in petroleum technology since that time, sulfuric acid remains today the most valuable and most widely used means for refining petroleum products. EARLY METHODS OF DISPOSAL OF ACID SLUDGE With the almost immediate expansion of the petroleum industry came the problem of disposing of the acid sludge produced in the refining operations. While in 1859, the year of the discovery of the Drake well, a patent was granted for sludge separation and separated acid concentration, most of the earlier refiners, and many of their successors, felt that separation and recovery of spent acid was uneconomical. Accordingly, many of them disposed of the sludge in any way that seemed expedient at the time. It was buried in the refinery grounds, barged and dumped at sea, run into neighboring streams, or dumped into sewers. Some optimists carted it to open pits in the hope that it would either sink into the ground or evaporate. Not so many years ago, the superintendent of an eastern refinery, who was using the open-pit method of disposal, lost a sludge cart, with horse attached, in such a pit. The horse was recovered almost immediately, but its availability for further use was reduced to zero by the loss of its hair.

Jan 1, 1928

By Joseph E. Pogue

Any mechanism, either natural or artificial, for regulating the functioning of a given unit in the general economy must operate toward the maintenance of equilibrium if it is to survive. The petroleum industry, concerned as it is with the production of a natural resource of specialized character, is surrounded not only by the economic factors common to other industries but by an extra set of unique elements centering about the fugitive character of crude petroleum under conditions of competitive development. The term equilibrium, therefore, so far as the oil business is concerned, involves a combination of economic and physical factors: the first set having to do with supply, demand, costs, profit margins, purchasing power, and the like; and the second, with underground pressures in oil pools, efficient rates of extraction, and all other aspects of engineering that may be summarized by the familiar term "conservation." The two categories, in fact, are not as clearly divided as the foregoing statement would imply, for in practice it will be found that the economic and physical aspects have a pervasive interaction and interrelationship. If the development of the petroleum industry in the United States is examined from its inception in 1859 down to the present, it will be found that, beginning about 11 years ago, a new mechanism for regulating the production of crude petroleum made its appearance. Prior to this recent period, the production of this raw material was determined by competitive forces operating without outside restraints. At present the output of crude oil is subjected to supervision by regulatory bodies in most of the oil-producing states, which impose upon the operators certain conditions having to do with the manner and rates of production. Thus, in the space of a decade, the mechanism for producing crude oil has changed from an automatic to a designed procedure called proration. And in its short history this method has been marked by a rapid evolution in its nature and incidence, with progressive changes still under way.

Jan 1, 1938

By J. B. Rather

The use of sulfuric acid in refining illuminating oils antedates the beginning of the petroleum industry in America by many years. It was used as early as 1792 by Tower in refining "coal oil" in the British Isles, and by 1860 there were 53 refineries in the United States manufacturing "coal oil," most of them using sulfuric acid as a refining agent. Following the completion of the Drake well in 1859, many of the "coal oil" refiners began to use petroleum for manufacturing illuminating oil, and their methods and equipment were adapted so far as possible to this new raw material. The value of sulfuric acid in refining L'coal oil" having been established, this reagent was immediately tried and found to be satisfactory in refining petroleum. Notwithstanding the tremendous advances in petroleum technology since that time, sulfuric acid remains today the most valuable and most widely used means for refining petroleum products. Early Methods of Disposal of Acid Sludge With the almost immediate expansion of the petrolrum industry came the problem of disposing of the acid sludge produced in the refining operations. While in 1859, the year of the discovery of the Drake well, a patent was granted for sludge separation and separated acid concrntration, most of the earlier refiners, and rnany of their successors, felt that separation and recovery of spent acid was uneconomical. Accordingly, many of then) disposed of the sludge in any way that seemed expedient nt the time. It was huricd in the refinery grounds, harged and tlurnped at sea, run into neighboring streams, or dumped into sewers. Some optimists carted it to open pits in the hope that it would eithcr sink into the ground or evaporate. Not so many years ago, the superintendent of nn eastern refinery, who was using the open-pit method of disposal, lost, a sludge cart, with horse attached, in such a pit. The horse was recovred almost immediately, but its availability for further use was reduced to zero by the loss of its hair.

Jan 1, 1928

By M. G. Fowler

A GENERAL decline in copper production for most American producers occurred during the past year as a result of shortage in available labor. Few noteworthy technical developments have been reported; undoubtedly, many changes and improvements have been made but have not been reported because of lack of time. During the war years through 1944 the pressure for sustained high production has been of prime importance and during 1945, with slackening of production, many operators were faced with the problem of catching up on repairs and maintenance of plants, with inadequate labor supply. In hydrometallurgy there were some important developments that undoubtedly will be reported during 1946. Several operators in the Southwest have instituted experimental leaching programs to exploit low-grade oxidized and mixed ore bodies. The Bureau of Mines is conducting pilot-plant experimental work to determine the possibility of producing a satisfactory sponge iron at an attractive cost from deposits of iron ore and coal in Arizona. The sponge iron would be used for the production of cement cop¬per. The cell house of the Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co. at Inspiration,

Jan 1, 1946

By Ziebell, Howard A.

THE Washington magnesite deposits, located in the hilly and mountainous northeastern part of Washington, occur as massive lenses in a sedimentary series made up of dolomite, shale, and quartzite, into which basic dikes have intruded. The ore pattern resembles a series of disconnected chain links extending approximately 25 miles in a south-west direction. Magnesite in this district is all crystalline and closely associated with dolomite, talc, serpentine, and basic dike rock. All deposits which have been developed are near the surface so that quarry-bench mining has been possible. For over twenty years hand sorting magnesite ore at the quarry face was standard practice. Ore cars were hand trammed on 30-lb rail systems which led from the face to ore passes or raises for the magnesite ore and to the waste dumps for disposal of the rejected waste material. This system was somewhat modified by the use of Dempster Dumpster trucks. The ore was, however, still sorted by hand from the calcium and silica bearing waste rock. Power equipment. consisting of one 3/4-yd electric shovel, was

Jan 1, 1949

By John A. Mathews

It is twenty years since the writer made his first molybdenum steels and others were making them commercially five years earlier but the prevailing opinion seems to be that molybdenum steels are new; from time to time the daily press speaks of important discoveries in Europe and intimates that American steel makers have much to learn in regard to alloy steels. The earlier experiments were largely confined to the use of relatively high percentages of molybdenum in tool steels and permanent magnet steels. Recent developments deal with the types of alloy structural steels used for airplane, automobile, and other engineering requirements; in these, the molybdenum content is usually less than 1 per cent. The earlier types generally have been unsuccessful commercially, but the newer types of steels are becoming of increasing importance. The war showed our dependence on foreign sources for alloying metals; molybdenum alone is widely distributed in the United States and seemingly abundant. Many deposits are not now of commercial interest, owing to location and relatively small amount of ore available, but other deposits are being developed and a stable source of supply seems well assured. In tool and magnet steels, it was early found that 1 part of molybdenum was equivalent to from 2 to 2.5 parts of tungsten. The permanent magnet steels investigated by Madame Curie,' in 1898, contained from 3.36 to 4.05 per cent. molybdenum; in 1902, Dr. E. L. French and the writer thoroughly tested steels containing from 2.0 to 4.0 per cent. These steels gave satisfactory tests for permanence, but were low in residual density and much more sensitive to hardening than the corresponding tungsten products. We discontinued work with them, therefore, and have no advice that such steels have been used commercially here or abroad. Prior to the development of the Taylor-White process and the modern high-speed steels, air-hardening steels were in general use. These were

Jan 1, 1922

By John A. Mathews

It is twenty years since the writer made his first molybdenum steels and others were making them commercially five years earlier but the prevailing opinion seems to be that molybdenum steels are new; from time to time the daily press speaks of important discoveries in Europe and intimates that American steel makers have much to learn in regard to alloy steels. The earlier experiments were largely confined to the use of relatively high percentages of molybdenum in tool steels and permanent magnet steels. Recent developments deal with the types of alloy structural steels used for airplane, automobile, and other engineering requirements; in these, the molybdenum content is usually less than 1 per cent. The earlier types generally have been unsuccessful commercially, but the newer types of steels are becoming of increasing importance. The war showed our dependence on foreign sources for alloying metals; molybdenum alone is widely distributed in the United States and seemingly abundant. Many deposits are not now of commercial interest, owing to location and relatively small amount of ore available, but other deposits are being developed and a stable source of supply seems well assured. In tool and magnet steels, it was early found that 1 part of molybdenum was equivalent to from 2 to 2.5 parts of tungsten. The permanent magnet steels investigated by Madame Curie,' in 1898, contained from 3.36 to 4.05 per cent. molybdenum; in 1902, Dr. E. L. French and the writer thoroughly tested steels containing from 2.0 to 4.0 per cent. These steels gave satisfactory tests for permanence, but were low in residual density and much more sensitive to hardening than the corresponding tungsten products. We discontinued work with them, therefore, and have no advice that such steels have been used commercially here or abroad. Prior to the development of the Taylor-White process and the modern high-speed steels, air-hardening steels were in general use. These were

Jan 1, 1922

By AIME AIME

HARVEY MUDD, mining engineer and distinguished citizen, has achieved that balance between professional and civic activities for which many of us strive but few attain. His able direction of mining operations is known to many Institute members but perhaps few know that he was in 1936 recipient of the annual award given by the City of Los Angeles to that citizen who contributed the most valuable and unselfish service to the community. Mr. Mudd was born in Leadville,

Jan 1, 1944

By Edward W. Parker, Marius R. Campbell

According to the estimates prepared by the U. S. Geological Survey, the area underlain by workable coal-beds in the United States is 496,776 sq. miles. Of this total area, 480 sq. miles contain the entire anthracite coal-fields of Pennsylvania. The bituminous coal-fields are estimated to be contained in areas, aggregating 250,051 sq. miles. The grade of coal between bituminous and lignite, and which is designated by the Geological Survey as " sub-bituminous," is estimated to be contained within areas aggregating 97,636 sq. miles, while the areas containing lignite aggregate 148,609 sq. miles. The coal-fields are divided, for the sake of convenience in classification, into six main provinces, as follows: 1. The Eastern. Province, containing the anthracite coal-fields of Pennsylvania and the bituminous coal-fields of the Appalachian region—namely, those of western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Ala bama, and small outlying areas in North Carolina. 2. The Interior Province, containing the bituminous coal-producing regions of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, western Kentucky, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas. 3. The Gulf Province, containing the lignite-areas of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. 4. The Northern or Great Plains Province, containing the lignite and sub-bituminous areas of North and South Dakota, eastern Montana, and northeastern Wyoming. 5. The Rocky Mountain Province, containing the bituminous and sub-bituminous areas of western Montana and western Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. 6. The Pacific Coast Province, containing the areas of Washington, Oregon, and California.

Jan 1, 1910

By J. E. Johnson

Discussion of the paper of Bradley Stoughton, presented at the Cleveland meeting, October, 1912, and printed in Bulletin No. 71, November, 1912, pp. 1245 to 1275. J. E. JOHNSON, JR., Ashland, Wis. :-Is it true that titanium reduces the chill in chilling iron? If so, as I think Mr. Stoughton has stated elsewhere, then I do not see how titanium is beneficial in car-wheel mixtures. One of the most difficult things to do is to get a proper chill and a proper degree of toughness, and the goodness of an iron of the given composition for charcoal-iron purposes is denoted by the chill which it will take as compared with its composition. If titanium reduces that chill, then it does not seem to me as good for car-wheels as its absence would be, and I should like to have it explained what effect titanium has on the chill of a given iron. MR. STOUGHTON : It is true that titanium reduces the chill of iron quite noticeably, yet, at the same time, if I am correctly informed, 90 per cent. of all chilled-iron rolls are made to-day with the titanium treatment, and a great many car-wheels, but one has to make changes in the silicon added and also, if I am correctly informed, in the manganese. The advantage of titanium is that when the proper changes are made, so that we get the same depth of chill with the titanium as we otherwise would without, the chill is much harder than before, and also the body of the roll or wheel is tougher and somewhat stronger, especially under shock. JAMES F. KEMP, New York, N. Y.:-This subject is obviously one of great importance to the iron industry, in that if we call find a method of using titaniferous ores, we will prolong the life of our iron reserves. Fifteen or more years ago, primarily from the study of the ores in the Adirondacks, I be-

Dec 1, 1912

By Jose M. Sobral

The approximate production of petroleum in the various fields and for the country as a whole is shown in the following table, the figures for the later months of the year being estimated. Among the developments of the year may be mentioned the finding by the Standard Oil Co. of a small production, about 6290 bbl., at Aguas Blancas in the Province of Salta near the Bolivian border, and of about 88,000 bbl. at Lomitas, near Tartagal in the same province. The Government (Yaciementos Petroliferos Fiscales) in the last four months of the year also obtained about 6290 bbl, from Quebrada Galarce. .The oil found in Salta is of good grade and while the quantity is small great hopes of larger production are entertained. Approximate Total Argentine Production for 1928 Barrels Barrels Comodoro Rivadavia............................... 8,165,615 Plaza Huincul..................................... 783,514 8,949,129 Distribution of Production Government, Comodoro Rivadavia................... 5,165,159 Government, Plaza Huincul......................... 306,166 5,471,325 Private, Comodoro Rivadavia....................... 3,000,456" Private, Plaza Huincul............................. 477,348b 3,477,804 a The companies represented are Astra, 649,474 bbl.; Oriente, 42,237; Ferrocar-rilera, 1,337,380; Comp. Indust. y Comm., 609,092, Solano, 64,158; Diadema, 298,114. b Standard Oil Co. and a few smaller companies, Exploratory drilling has also been conducted around the Comodoro Rivadavia field. The Government is drilling at Vuela del Senguer south of Colonia Sarmiento and about 200 km. west of the main field hut the prospect of success is not as yet large. The country around Castillo, where the Royal Dutch Co. has property, is regarded more favorably. perhaps the most interesting event of the year was the discovery of a productive horizon at Comodoro Rivadavia about 200 m. below that previously exploited. This new horizon was found by the Ferrocarrilera Co. at 769 m. in its well No. 81, the previous yield for this

Jan 1, 1929

By O. W. Rees, Gilbert H. Cady

Unit coal calorific values represent a close approach to pure coal values; they possess characteristics theoretically inherent in the latter values. They are essentially uniform in the same seam for areas possessing essentially uniform geological environment. They are higher in older than in younger coals in most cases, and in deeper than in shallower coals. In general, they display characteristics closely in accordance with expectation assuming that they are essentially indices of rank. Because it possesses these characteristics, the unit coal value is essentially a standard value, characteristic of each bed in each local region. Hence it can be used as a basis for determining the accuracy of results in newly established laboratories, or when new equipment is installed, or in checking the results of different laboratories, or even in determining the character of coal as mined or prepared if ash, moisture and sulfur values are known. DISCUSSION (A. C. Callen presiding) R. P. Hunson,§ Wayland, Ky. (written discussion).—One of the interesting observatioris made by the authors is that there is a more or less definite correlation between unit coal calorific values and the geological environment of the coal bed. It is very interesting to note that, in general, the unit B.t.u. value increases with the increase in the probable original depth of burial, and that each seam tends to increase in calorific value toward the areas of diastrophic instability. It is generally conceded that Parr's formula, for determining unit coal values, is about as accurate as any formula subsequently proposed for the same purpose. In his formula, Professor Parr did not differentiate between the sulfur present as iron pyrites and that present as organic sulfur. However, the practical application of the formula has shown that this is of little consequence. I agree with the authors that unit coal calorific values are useful ill determining the accuracy of calorimetric determinations, and in determining the character of the

Jan 1, 1934

R. M. Raymond, New York, N. Y.—The filling and drawing down of the overhead material was done at considerable depth, which is not the usual method in which it starts at the surface.. R. J. Mechin.— It is a little more than 1000 ft. at El Bordo. The vein above had been caved practically to the surface and some of the ore had been excavated, using underhand and overhand square-set methods. This was far enough away from the shaft to prevent any bad effects. When the sill floor was taken out, to insure the old cave material following down well, we put chutes in the square sets for several weeks until we were sure that the material from above was moving down; on each level above, several crosscuts were driven into the old fill by which we could see the material coming down and thus be sure it was following the first. We had to dynamite it very little because it was dry and dusty. The only trouble was that timber starting from the old square sets would get across the chute and hang up. R.. M. Raymond.—HOW many floors did you operate at once? R.. J. Mechin.—We would operate one floor through the whole length and prepare for the second. F. W. SperR, Houghton, Mich.—Could you have worked it in steps? R.. J. Mechin.—Yes; but working it all on one floor was much better for ventilation. The passage between steps would tend to become heavy and blocked and, as the passages from the mining floor down are usually filled with ore, there would be no way for the air to pass up. By means of doors and fans, air was driven to the extreme end of the orebody through the stope and up the other end; but it could have been worked in steps. F. W. SpeRR.—D the following-up material ever become so heavy that you could see weight on the caps before you had to take out the posts?

Jan 1, 1927

By Dewitt T. Ring

Oil development in 1934 has been largely restricted to drilling offset and lease requirement wells. Practically no effort has been made to discover new fields, chiefly because of price structure and proration allowance. A summary of developments during 1934 of necessity is brief. No state agency is maintained for the collection of data. The State Bureau of Mines issues permits for drilling and inspects the plugging of wells in coal-bearing measures only. Therefore data are not in existence with which to compile tables similar to those in other papers of this symposium. Forty-seven counties in the state produce oil, productive depths ranging from 100 to 5300 ft. Approximately 35 different formations in Ohio have produced either oil or gas. These reservoir rocks occur through a stratigraphic interval ranging in age from the shallow Goose Run sand of the Upper Pennsylvanian in Washington County to the St. Peter sand of Lower Ordovician in Seneca County. However, 75 per cent of these formations are unimportant from the standpoint of real production. Most of the oil and gas in Ohio has been produced from the Clinton, Oriskany, Berea and Big Injun sands and the Trenton Lime. Of these, the Clinton is first and Berea second in importance. Fields The oil and gas-producing territory of the state can be grouped into five fields or districts, made up of a series of "pools" usually separated by nonproductive areas, and is in no sense a belt of continuous production. Trenton Field of northwestern Ohio, is scattered through 15 counties. Development began in 1885. This field reached its peak in 1896 with a production of 20,575,138 bbl. for the year. For 1934, production had declined to 990,000 bbl. The oil is classified as Lima grade. Clinton Field extends from the Ohio River in Lawrence County to Lake Erie in Lorain, Cuyahoga and Ashtabula counties. First Clinton-

Jan 1, 1935