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By Clyde Longyear

DURING the last two years, the diamond core drill has come rapidly to the front as a very valuable auxiliary to the equipment of the exploration and production departments of oil companies. The diamond drill and the rotary oil drill work on the same general principles, the essential difference being that the diamond drill employs an annular steel bit set with black diamonds ("carbons"), instead of the fish-tail or other type of bit employed by the rotary drill. On account of the brittleness of the carbon and the danger of breakage if subjected to sudden blows or stresses, it is not practicable to attach a diamond bit and core-barrel to the end of a rotary drill stem. The operating mechanism of the diamond drill must be subject to much more sensitive control than the rotary drill. The bit must be rotated smoothly, without the jerks that are incident to the operation of the clutches and chain drives on the rotary draw works, and the feed must be con-trolled in a much more delicate manner than the mere action of a brake on a hoist. To accomplish this smooth rotation, diamond drills are usually built as a self-con-tained unit with the crank shaft of the engine geared direct to the drive shaft that turns the drill rods or stem. One or two hydraulic cylinders connected with a high-pressure pump control the feed so definitely that the bit can be raised or lowered at will, while the bit is rotating, by the simple operation of valves. The smaller-sized-drills for very shallow work usually have a screw feed control instead of the hydraulic feed. The principal uses of the diamond drill in oil work are three: 1. Reconnaissance or structure drilling; that is, the drilling of a number of shallow holes to ascertain the subsurface contour. 2. Scout drilling, or the drilling of holes of smaller diameter than is required for production, to obtain information as to the character of the oil sand and the quality of the oil. 3. Drilling producing wells.

Jan 5, 1923

Jan 1, 1907

By John T. Grasso

This paper describes the computer-assisted development and implementation of new written examinations for persons desiring to become certified as underground or surface mine electricians in the State of West Virginia under the certification program defined by the WV Department of Mines and the Board of Miner Training, Education and Certification. The procedures used to develop and validate the new certification tests have simplified the administration of the new tests. Future developments in mine electrical work can also be easily incorporated into the certification program by augmenting the existing computerized pool of test questions prior to computer-production of future test forms. Most important, computerization now facilitates continual evaluation of the certification program, to contribute to greater safety in mine electrical work in West Virginia.

Jan 1, 1983

By James E. Gingrich

The new Track Etch technique for uranium exploration has been utilized in several survey programs conducted during the last few years. The results from these programs have been very encouraging, and new uranium ore bodies have been discovered by using this new technique. The method is being used in several exploration programs in various locations around the world. This exploration technique utilizes small pieces of special radiation-sensitive plastic film to detect the presence of radon gas which is released by uranium ore bodies. Because of the selectivity and sensitivity of the technique, ore bodies not normally detected with other surface or airborne monitoring methods are found. Since no large equipment or special training of personnel is needed, the technique is easily used in field operations. The basis for the Track Etch method, its application in field exploration programs, and the results obtained to date in locating uranium ore bodies are discussed.

Jan 1, 1976

By James A. Barr

THE writer's first experience with flotation was during World War I, in the beneficiation of Alabama graphite schist ores. One plant used a cone with a peripheral overflow; dried ore was distributed by a rotating disk onto the surface of the water. No reagents were added. The flake-graphite film floated along with some fine silica. Dewatering screens separated the flake. Naturally unit capacities were low but results were satisfactory. Minerals Separation mechanical flotation machines were used in another graphite mill. Pine oil was added directly to the head cells, with very good results. All the graphite concentrates from both types of flotation were carefully refined after drying by passing through burr mills, followed by very close sizing on sifters. In March 1927, the writer ran a very successful flotation test on minus 28-mesh, deslimed, Tennessee brown phosphate "sand,"[t] using a mechanical laboratory machine built in the shops of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., through the courtesy of Ernest Klepetko. The machine was soon converted to a subaeration type, with improved results. This phosphate research program was greatly enlarged and led to the formation of the Phosphate Recovery Corporation. The development of nonmetallic flotation followed rapidly. The first flotation machine for beneficiation of phosphate was installed in January 1928, in a pilot mill, by International Minerals and Chemical Corporation, at Mulberry, Florida. These machines were Minerals Separation, 24-in., subaeration types, with weir control of pulp between cells. The sand bleeders were very small-about 1 ¼ -in. diameter. As the feed contained 15 to 25 per cent plus 28-mesh material, the cells choked up frequently. This was corrected by cutting a 2 by 6-in. bleeder opening above the impellers, at grid level, which short-circuited the coarse fractions directly into the feed of the next cell. The matter of size classification and grinding was a considerable problem, which does not come within the scope of this article. Because of the troubles noted above, cascade-type roughers were installed in the second flotation plant, built about 1930. Experimental cells had been tried in 1928. General plant layout is shown in Fig. I and details of the cascade construction in Fig. 2. The cascade installation in plant No. 2 gave good results and eliminated troubles due to choke-ups and coarse feed. The capacities and metallurgical results equaled those of the modified 24-in. Minerals Separation flotation machines in plant No. I The objections to the cascade installation are the floor space and mill height required. In 1939 an improved Minerals Separation machine was tested in parallel with the cascades. Extensive tests indicated

Jan 1, 1945

By Charles Waidner

IN response to many urgent requests for a concrete realization of a series of standard temperatures that would be available to any one anywhere for the standardization of pyrometers and the reproduction of the standard scale of temperature for use in laboratories and industrial works, the Bureau, in 1916, made arrangements with several manufacturers to prepare a series of- pure metals that could best serve this purpose. After the necessary preliminary work of chemical analysis, as a check on the purity, together with exact determinations of melting or freezing points, the Bureau began, in 1917, the issuing of melting -point standards of tin, zinc, aluminum, and copper. At the outset, it was decided to secure metals of the highest purity and of American manufacture, and this was accomplished in a more satisfactory manner than anticipated. In the preparation of these temperature standards, the Bureau has had the hearty cooperation of several American companies, which have succeeded in producing metals highly satisfactory for the purpose and of as high a state of purity as could have been obtained anywhere. Each company that undertook the responsibility of furnishing a metal for this series of standards exercised most painstaking care to produce the best possible product as to purity and uniformity. A representative of the Bureau witnessed the actual preparation of each metal. The 300 and 400-lb. (136 and 181-kg.) samples making up the first series were all used up, with the exception of the aluminum, early in 1919. The Bureau has taken steps to replenish its stocks of metals serving as pyrometric standards and to the list has been added lead. The copper and lead are being ordered this time in 1-ton lots and the zinc and tin in 300-lb. (136 kg.) lots as before. The wide dissemination of these samples will be appreciated when it is noted that the metals are distributed by the Bureau inn quantities of 50 cu. cm. each, at $2 a sample and accompanied by a certificate which gives the melting point as determined by samples from the same lot. The manufacture and detailed description of chemical analyses, physical measurements, and precautions in use of these pyrometric standards, are described in detail in the Bureau Circulcar No., 66.

Jan 8, 1919

By D. H. Yardley

ENGINEERS and geologists find the magnetic compass unreliable in many mineral bearing areas because of local magnetic attraction. This is the case in the vicinity of many contact deposits, and particularly true in the Lake Superior district where iron formation is wide spread and causes wide fluctuations of the magnetic needle. One of the most useful instruments for geologic traversing or running grid and claim lines under these conditions is the dial compass which does not depend upon magnetism. Difficulties encountered in the field because of local attraction can be overcome through transit observation of Polaris or the sun, or use of the solar attachment. However, a field party often lacks the equipment or time for work of such accuracy and it is here that the dial compass finds its use.

Jan 3, 1954

Manuscripts of Papers for Presentation at Arizona Meeting, Sept. 18 to 23, 1916, must be in hands of Secretary by July 1, 1916.

Jan 5, 1916

FIGURES covering appropriations recommended by the Budget Bureau for the Bureau of Mines at Washington for next year are now available and are as quoted below. APPROPRIATION BUDGET APPROPRIATION 1928 1929 General Expenses $ 86,000` $ 86,000 Investigating Mine Accidents 386,470 399,470 Mining Investigations in Alaska.. 10,860 10,860 Operating Mine Rescue Cars and Stations 327,630 342,630 Testing Fuel 154,000 158,500 Mineral Mining Investigations.... 99,570 125,000 Oil, Gas and Oil-Shale Investiga- tions 198,260 198,260 Oil-Shale Investigations 5,000 80,000 Expenses Mining Experiment Sta- tions 173,000 173,000 Care, etc., Buildings and Grounds, Pittsburgh, Pa 71,360 76,360 Maintenance and Operation, Fuel Yards Balance Balance Helium Investigations :.... 75,000 75,000 Helium Production and Conserva- tion 1,063,000 462.000 Potash Investigations 100,000 100,000 Economics of Mineral Industries. . 225,000 275,000 Totals $2,975,150 $2,562,080

Jan 1, 1928

Have your name and address on the first page of your manuscript. Typewritten manuscript is preferred, but is not essential. If you have the manuscript typewritten, have it double spaced and written on one side of the page only; send two copies to us if convenient; only one copy of the illustrations is desired. In typewritten manuscript, formulas are better inserted by hand. Keep a copy of your manuscript in case of loss in the mail. ILLUSTRATIONS.-Photographs reproduce best when printed on glossy paper. Solio is one of the best varieties. A good print is preferable to a negative. Blueprints, drawings, or pen or pencil sketches can be used for line engravings, but care should be exercised to make them legible and clear, especially in the case of blueprints. Tracings or photographs of drawings are preferable to blueprints. Rough sketches can be used, if necessary. Photographs should be sent flat, not rolled. Do not put reference letters or other marks on photographs; if such letters or marks are necessary, fasten a piece of tracing paper to the top edge, trace a rough outline of the picture upon it and then place all letters, etc. on the tracing paper lithe exact position you wish them to appear. Restrict the number of micrographs as much as possible on account of the considerable expense involved. Standard magnifications for non-ferrous metals and alloys are recommended as follows: 10, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 250, 500, 750, 1000, 1500. Micrographs should be trimmed to 2 1/4 X 2 1/4 in. (six micrographs to a plate), or, if larger, up to 3 1/2 X 4 in. (two to a plate). The smaller size should be adopted if consistent with adequate representation of the subject. With each micrograph should be attached an explanatory title, together with the actual magnification, etching medium, treatment, etc., indicating what the author intends to show.

Jan 1, 1919

By H. H. Lowry

SCIENCE attracts the attention and interest of an individual or an industry in general only in proportion to the apparent direct application to its immediate welfare or benefit. Engineering accomplishments, as applied science, therefore receive more recognition than the scientific discoveries on which they are based. Even self-evident truth needs endless repetition before recognition: engineering as applied science cannot advance beyond the science on which it is founded. Scientific research, and discovery, is sometimes forced by the limitations recognized by those active in its development for the use of society and industry and sometimes results from an apparently superficially illogical curiosity about natural phenomena. Research has received inadequate support except in industries born in the laboratory, the chemical and electrical industries, from which many lessons might well be drawn by their elder associates. The rapid growth of these industries has been largely due to close cooperation of scientists and engineers. Most rapid advance is made when the research worker and the engineer keep in close touch with each other's ideas and problems. Many of the developments of modern industry are based on dis-coveries buried for years in scientific journals because the "time was not ripe" at their discovery. The situation with regard to utilization of coal is quite the opposite. The fundamental facts in regard to the scientific aspects of the problem of developing the energy from coal are scarcely known. The engineer, without much scientific cooperation, has accom-plished much in increasing the number of kilowatt-hours per pound of coal from 0.31 in 1919 to 0.69 in 1934, in increasing the 1000 gross ton-miles of freight hauled from 6.1 to 8.3 per ton of coal in the same period, in fuel economy in production of coke, and in developing the production of motor fuel in Germany and England by hydrogenation of coal. This lack of scientific research on the utilization of our most important natural resource, coal, has been due undoubtedly in large part to the reluctance of investigators to study the interrelationships involved in, the complicated processes in which coal is used. These complexities are made

Jan 1, 1936

By John Garcia

IN some districts of the bituminous coal field the problem of construct-ing bulkheads to seal off water under pressure is becoming increasingly important. Recently this matter has been brought very much to the front by the loss of a large. Illinois mine due to failure of a bulkhead that separated it from several old, flooded mines. As this great misfortune has provoked much inquiry about proper bulkhead design, it is felt that a description of the successful and extensive water-sealing practice at three mines that have different natural conditions will be of considerable interest to those connected with properties having a present or future water problem and to engineers that may have to design safe bulkheads of economical construction. These three mines are the Saxton acid Dresser, near Terre Haute, Ind., and the Hegeler, near Danville, 111. All three have water conditions that make it necessary to regularly seal off till worked-out sections of the mine, and there are considerably over a hundred bulkheads in each. As far as the writers know, these three mines are the only ones in the bitu-minous coal fields of the United States with anything like so large a number of water seals and experience, although a number of other mines are known to have a few bulkheads. More detail will he included herein on the Saxton mine than on the others, as the writers are more familiar with it.

Jan 1, 1937

By F. A. Orth

COAL-mine opera- tors face a difficul- ty in notifying men when there is no work. If the miners come to the shaft when there is no work, they must be paid, by agreement, two hours' wages. This involves a considerable loss since it is not uncommon to em- ploy two or three hun- dred men or more at a single shaft. Many mines have solved the problem by using an electric siren. This carries the "no work" message to all of the miners within a ra- dius of from one and one- half to two miles, so they do not trudge uselessly to work and the operator saves the two-hours wage payment. At the Valley Smokeless Coal Co., Johns- town, Pa., such a siren serves as a start and quit- work signal for three mines which previously re¬ quired three individual signal systems. Similar units are used by the Old Ben Coal Corp. mines, Dolly's Smokeless Coal Co., Rhonda Coal Co., Bird Coal Co., and hundreds of others. Many other applications of the electric siren have been found in mines. They are used on underground locomotives, to awaken miners in the morning, to tell them it is time to come to work, to sound the start and quit-work signal, and to warn of fire or accident. The sirens are most generally used to give a start and quit-work signal, fire, and general emergency alarms as well as no-work signals. They require 3 and 5 hp. to operate. The smaller unit has a sound radius of from three-quarters to one mile, while the larger siren can be heard over a distance of from one and one-half to two miles. The 5-hp. unit has been heard for as great a distance as 14 miles, and 10 miles is not at all uncommon. One of the outstanding features of the 3 and 5-hp. units, which is uncommon in the smaller sirens is that they may be adapted to sound code signals. When used to sound a fire or general emergency alarm the siren may tell at the same time where the fire or acci-dent is. When a remote control device is used with a siren it is possible to operate the siren from any number of distant points. Any number of "start" buttons may be placed at various places. By using one "start and stop" button where the remote control is mounted, and one or more "start" buttons at various places about the plant, it is necessary to run only two wires to the various "start" buttons. If "start" and "stop" buttons are used altogether, then three wires must be run.

Jan 11, 1927

By Henry T. Mulryan

Since World War II, U. S. chemical companies have loosed a flood of synthetic organic insecticides. These synthetics fall into two broad categories. DDT is the best known of the chlorinated hydro- carbons and Parathion is the most famous (or infamous) of the organic phosphate nerve gas type. Insecticide poisons are not applied at full strength but as dilute sprays or dusts. This permits a broader and more efficient distribution of the active killer.

Jan 12, 1958

By Franklin Moeller

CONSIDERING the really short time that has elapsed since hydro-metallurgical processes of extracting copper from ores have been extensively developed, and the large scale on which this method is practised at Ajo, the successful operation of the plant must excite the admiration of every visitor. The application of the mechanical unloader to the purpose for which it is employed at Ajo is but an extension of the use for which it was originally designed, some 20 years ago, for unloading iron-ore vessels at the lower lake ports. At a time when the maximum output of a single machine, with men shoveling the ore into buckets, did not exceed 40 tons per hour, G. H. Hulett invented and constructed a mechanical unloader with a bucket of 10-ton capacity. This machine was of the steam hydraulic type, and it is still in operation after nearly 20 years of service. Several more machines of the same type were built, but the difficulties of power transmission, and the rapid development of electrical machinery, soon led to the adoption of electrically operated machines, and practically all of the later installations have been thus equipped. This electrically operated unloader has proved so well fitted for the work that the design of the lake boats has been practically revolutionized, with special view to the ease and rapidity of unloading. It is now possible to unload a 12,000-ton vessel with four machines in a little over 2 hr. This has necessitated an increase in the capacity of the machine, and the largest yet built handles an average load of 17 tons, with a possible maximum of 20 to 21 tons.

Jan 8, 1918

The Year Book of the Institute will be mailed with, the May Bulletin. Its membership lists, both alphabetic and geographic, are corrected to Mar. 1, and the lists of officers and committees are corrected to date.

Jan 4, 1919

By Dan White

Stress measurements taken at Climax, El Teniente, Henderson, Lakeshore and Urad mines indicate that the deposits cited are generally subject to an inclined stress field that can be highly anisotropic. The horizontal stresses vary significantly between deposits and exceed the measured vertical stresses at Henderson and El Teniente mines. Experience at Henderson, Lakeshore and Urad mines is used to suggest a relationship between cavability and the premining stress. In poorly fractured, high strength rock masses, high stresses can assist the caving process. In well fractured, low strength rock masses, caving is ensured by breakage along fracture planes. The relationship between ground weight and the premining stress is also investigated. Ground weight problems appear to be most related to the competence of the ground rather than the magnitude of the premining stress as supported by experience at Climax and El Teniente mines. Recent developments in block caving favor the extraction of poorly fractured, high stressed rock. Accompanying the development of these deposits are new problems such as rock bursts. These pose particular problems to mine designers in that no experience currently exists in combatting rock burst problems at block caving mines.

Jan 1, 1984

By R. B. Lincoln

THE function of a pyrometer protecting tube is to maintain an atmosphere about the thermocouple most favorable to its continued accuracy and long life, and at the same time permit the weld of the couple to attain the full temperature of the area or object being measured. In addition to protecting the thermocouple from the chemical or alloying effects of the products of combustion or bath being measured, the tube must also protect the couple from mechanical injury. The conditions met in practice vary so much that no one material is suitable for all applications. The usefulness as well as the expense of maintenance of a pyrometer system are influenced greatly by a choice of the most suitable protecting tube. The tube must protect the couple without itself becoming too great an expense item. The protecting tube should have the following qualities: (1) A melting point well above the highest temperature to be encountered. (2) Sufficient strength through the entire range of temperatures to hold up its own weight and resist such shock and jar as are unavoidable. (3) It must be impervious to the atmosphere or bath to which it will be subject. (4) It must not give off any vapor injurious to the couple. (5) It must not form any oxides fusible below the highest temperature to be measured. The proper location of the tube in the furnace is almost as important as the choice of material. The tube must be placed as near to the work to be heated .as possible. It must be kept out of the direct path of flame, both because that would give too high temperature readings and because partly burned fuel will destroy the tube faster than the quiet products of combustion.

Jan 9, 1919

By J. D. Mooney, D. L. Darnell

The accompanying chart has been drawn for the convenicncc of engineers as' a means of quickly determining the correct number of plies of conveyor belts operating under specific conditions. The calculations are based on the average safe strength (factor of safety, 15) of the various standard rubber conveyor belts. The calculations assume maximum loading conditions; that is, the belt is considered as carrying the greatest load that it will handle without spillage at ordinary belt speeds. This not only produces the most economical operating conditions, but also the maximum tension in the belt. The chart is a graphical representation of the formula: Where, p = kg W(L + 10H) p = the correct number of plies k = a constant, depending on the type of drive g = the weight 'in pounds per cubic foot of material handled W = the width of the belt in inches L = the length of the belt in feet (approximately twice the center distance). H = the difference in elevation between the head and tail pulleys, in feet. For a simple drive, with a bare pulley, k = ----1 For a simple drive, with a rubber-lagged pulley, k = --- 1 For a, tandem drivej with bare pulleys, k = 1/375.000 For a tandem drive, with rubber-lagged pulleys, k = ---1 The chart is drawn for a simple drive, with a bare pulley (k — =e)1 ; therefore, the number of plies obtained from the chart should be multi- ' plied by the factor 0.83 or 5/6 for simple, lagged drive; the factor 0.67 or 2/3 for tandem, bare; and the factor 0.55 or 11/20, for tandem, lagged. The formula p = kgW(L + 10H) has been developed mathematically

Jan 1, 1916

By AIME AIME

Council.* PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL. JOHN HAYS HAMMOND NEW YORK, N. Y. (Term expires February, 1908.) VICE-PRESIDENTS OF THE COUNCIL. HENRY M. HOWE NEW YORK, N. Y. J. B. GRANT DENVER, COLO. JAMES D. HAGUE NEW YORK, N. Y. (Term expires February, 1908.) SAMUEL B. CHRISTY BERKELEY, CAL. JOHN A. CHURCH NEW YORK; N. Y. New PERSIFOR FRAZER PHILADELPHIA, PA. (Term expires February, 1909.)

Mar 1, 1907