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The production of petroleum in India (including Burma) increased from 334,811,624 gal.' ill 1936 to 350,322,222 gal. in 1937, the highest figure in the history of the industry. The increase in 1937 was clue to an increase of some 20 million gallons from Singu, 51/2 million gallons from Attack, 11/4 million gallons from Thayetmyo, and 1 mi1lien gallons from Digboi, accompanied by decrcases of 91/2 million gallons from Yenan-gyaung and 2 million gallons from Yenangyat,. The amount of gasoline produced from natural gas during the year was 10,616,313 gal. in Burma and 456,780 gal. in the Punjab. Yenangyaung Field.—The Yenangyaung field maintained its reputation of being one of the most wonderful oil fields in the world. The total production during 1937 was less than in the previous year but the resources of the field as a whole are sufficient to ensure an adequate supply of oil for many years. At the end of 1037 there were 2910 wells producing in the field. Besides a large number of ells drilled to shallow sands, this total includes 180 hand-dug wells, whose continued existenice is one of the interesting features of the field. During the year the deep drilling activities of 1936 in the southern part of the field died down, owing to the disappointing results obtained. On the eastern flank the limit of present economic extension of the oil sands was approximately demareated. Satisfactory results continue to be obtained from gas drives in the leased blocks; gas is also injected for repressuring and storage. Casing policies continue to be carefully designed to protect the oil sands against the danger of flooding by water and, in general, production methods throughout the field are characterized by a realization of the importance of the conservation of oil and gas and the prevention of waste, whether simple or underground. Singu Field.—-In 1937 the increase in the output from the Singu field was continued. This increased production was due not only to the rapid development of the valuable area in the southern part of the field but also to the successful results obtained from the first wells to produce from behind the practically completed river training wall of the Burmah Oil

Jan 1, 1939

By Douglas Bunting

With the gradual exhaustion of the upper veins in the anthracite coal-fields, the problem of mining at greater depths acquires increasing importance and demands the consideration .of a number of important factors, one of which is the greater earth-pressure and the consequent necessity of stronger support for the roof. Under the pillar-and-chamber system, almost exclusively followed in the Northen anthracite-field, the highest economy in mining is generally secured by leaving, on first mining, pillars only sufficient to support safely the overlying strata. As to the necessary size of such pillars, the opinions of mining experts are widely divergent. In establishing the width of chambers and pillars, the thickness of vein and its depth below the surface have received little consideration. For instance, it has been quite usual to work both overlying and underlying veins with the same width of chambers and pillars, when the lower vein was two and one-half times as thick, and twice as far below the surface, as the upper. In view of the generally-accepted theory that the crushing-strength of coal-pillars of the same base-area becomes less with increased height, it is probable, in this instance at least, that the moat economical mining has not been secured. This question of adequate pillar-support is economically less important down to about 800 ft. than at greater depths; and it is with reference to mining at these greater depths that the study of the subject here presented has been prompted. The necessity of leaving larger pillars, involving greater mining-costs per ton and also smaller yields per acre, is one of the troubles of deep working. To mine without leaving adequate pillar-supports will result, sooner or later, in a squeeze. Limited areas, it is true, have been mined at certain widths of

Jan 1, 1912

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

Preliminary estimates indicate that world consumption of petroleum products and related fuels in 1937 shattered previous records with a figure of 1,920,000,000 bbl.; that is, 124,000,000 bbl. more than the 1936 total. The writers, as in previous years, have been unable to account for all the available supply in 1937. This "unaccounted-for" supply, which formerly was thought to go largely into storage in foreign countries, was close to 53,000,000 bbl. in 1933; 93,000,000 in 1934; 111,000,000 in 1935; 75,000,000 in 1936 and 148,000,000 in 1937. As this discrepancy between supply and demand continued year after year, it became evident that other reasons than additional foreign stocks were responsible for it. It can now be stated that the "unaccounted-for" supply (see Table 1) goes to take care of: (1) consumption of petroleum products and related fuels for military purposes, the figures of which have been and are kept confidential by foreign countries, (2) additions to stocks to be consumed for military and nonmilitary purposes in foreign countries on which likewise no information is available, (3) errors incurred in the conversion of figures of production of crude oil, its products and related fuels from "weight" units, as used in Russia, for instance, to their American or "volume" equivalents and vice versa, and (4) to the lack of reliable statistics on production and consumption, particularly from Russia, the

Jan 1, 1938

By Stanley D. Michaelson, Ben. H. Slothower

The depletion of most high-grade ore reserves coupled with growing demands for metals and fuels has made it necessary to bring into production increasingly lower grade deposits. Improvements in technology have made lower grade ores economically recoverable in spite of major increases in labor and material costs and the initial investments required to open new mines and build their metallurgical and service plants. To remain competitive, managements of mining companies must keep abreast of and exploit these often complex technical developments. The proper application of these improvements in technology requires extensive and detailed study. In addition, managements of mining and other industries are becoming more deeply involved in public affairs and the myriad of other nontechnical problems common to all industries. These involvements, plus the demands of evaluating technological developments as well as the necessary work related to the routine administration of operations, have required mining managements to delegate additional study and review functions to staff services. To help overcome the problems involved in adopting the best technologies, managements have generally expanded their engineering and research staff services. Integrated, base-metal-producing companies, having open pits, concentrators, smelters, and refineries, are generally more research and engineering oriented than are most smaller mining companies and quarries. However, mining methods for even the simplest open pits and quarries are improving rapidly, and installations of these improvements are essential to combat increasing costs. Because of this, the managements of smaller operations may also require enhanced engineering staff services to realize the potential benefits.

Jan 1, 1968

By George W. Riter

(Canal zone meeting, November, 1910.) A DISTINGUISHED engineer, the active head of a large mining company, has said that surveying attains the dignity of a profession only in the hands of a few men-the few who know how to keep notes that will be understood by even a novice without further word of explanation. Of all mine-records, survey notes are perhaps the most important. The maps made from them serve as a working-guide, and as framework for other data ; and when, from any cause, access to underground workings is shut off, the surveyor's record often becomes invaluable. So seldom does a surveyor have a chance to check underground surveys by making a closure, that he is compelled to rely on the precision of each step of his work for the accuracy of the final result. When data are fully recorded on the spot, the notes, even in the hands of second parties, become evidence of the care and precision with which the surveying was done. It is worth a great deal to be able to pick up the work of a former surveyor where it was left o$; and to be able to carry it forward without retracing from the beginning. The purpose of this paper is to describe the survey-note system of a mine now under my direction, in which underground surveys had to be relied upon entirely for the proper division of rich ore-bodies between neighbors, thereby placing a premium on accurate surveying and permanent records. In survey-work, it soon turns out that paper is the least item of expense, and that little is gained by trying to economize note-book space. For many purposes it is best to record notes on cards or loose-leaves, which may be left in the office at the end of the day's work, and need not be carried into the mine again, there to become smeared with grime and grease. With the loose-leaf or card system, all notes relating to the same local-

Apr 1, 1911

AS we contemplate the bestowal of the John Fritz medal year after year on men of wide-world dis-tinction in the various fields of engineering, men who in one way or another have given impulse and direction to the progress of mankind, the question becomes inter-esting as to what manner of man was John Fritz and what were the qualities that singled out his name to be so conspicuously associated with the world's great scientific and industrial achievements. If, as Lowell said, it is the duty of the nation to pro-duce great men, our country surely rose to her oppor-tunity when she guided and guarded the career of John Fritz. Starting life as a blacksmith with no advantages of education, without influential friends or the favor-ing accidents of fortune, he advanced steadily in use-fulness, power and respect of his fellowmen until by common consent he occupied the first place in the domain of the steel industry of this, country. The numerous honorary scientific memberships conferred upon him in this country and abroad attest the esteem in which he is held by his fellow engineers. Twenty years after his retirement from active business at the age of seventy, he lived to enjoy, as few men have been permitted to do, the fame and the friendships which he had so amply earned. His sterner qualities of industry, integrity and sterling character were re-lieved by unfailing human sympathy, humor and spon-taneous good-will toward his fellowmen. To all who

Jan 3, 1928

At its meeting on February 21, 1933, the Board of Directors passed the following resolution defining and expressing the policy of the Institute with respect to official participation or action in controversial matters: WHEREAS, the Board of Directors at its last meeting passed the following resolution : "The Board of Directors, having been appealed to by several Local Sections for advice concerning the attitude and policy of the Institute relating to the endorsement of candidates for public office, the following statement of policy is formulated: "Whereas, the American Institute of Miming and Metallurgical Engineers is organized for purely professional and scientific purposes, and whereas diversity of opinion among its members on partisan or political questions is inevitable, it is the ex- pressed policy of the Institute to refrain from official participation or action in political and semi-political matters."

Jan 1, 1946

By Andrew S. McCreath

THE manufacture of pig iron for conversion into steel by the Bessemer and open-hearth processes, is now one of the most important industries of the United States. It is necessary that iron intended for this purpose should be very pure, and especially must it be comparatively free from phosphorus. Great care must therefore he exercised in the selection of proper ores, flux, and fuel. Only such ores as are practically free from phosphorus can be used, and pure fuel is as much a necessity as pure ores; though hitherto iron men have paid comparatively little attention to this point. During the course of my work as chemist for the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, I had occasion to examine some of the bituminous coals of the State for phosphorus, and the results obtained are so interesting that I venture to present them to the notice of the members of the Institute. The coals are arranged in geological order according to the different beds, and the table shows the percentage of phosphorus in the coal and also in the coke. The greatest number of specimens have been selected from the Pittsburgh bed, because it is the principal coal-bed of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and most of the mineral fuel which is mined along the Youghiogheny and Monongahela rivers, to be used in the coke ovens of the Connellsville region and in the blast furnaces and mills of Pittsburgh and its vicinity, and to be shipped to Western and Southern markets, comes from this bed. It will be noticed that many of the specimens examined contain

Jan 1, 1880

By Andrew S. McCreath

The manufacture of pig iron for conversion into steel by the Bessemer and open-hearth processes, is now one of the most important industries of the United States. It is necessary that iron intended for this purpose should be very pure, and especially must it be comparatively free from phosphorus. Great care must therefore he exercised in the selection of proper ores, flux, and fuel. Only such ores as are practically free from phosphorus can be used, and pure fuel is as much a necessity as pure ores; though hitherto iron men have paid comparatively little attention to this point. During the course of my work as chemist for the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, I' had occasion to examine some of the bituminous coals of the State fix phosphorus, and the results obtained are so interesting that I venture to present them to the notice of the members of the Institute. The coals are arranged in geological order according to the different beds, and the table shows the percentage of phosphorus in the coal and also in the coke. The greatest number of specimens have been selected from the Pittsburgh bed, because it is the principal coal-bed of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and most of the mineral fuel which is mined along the Youghiogheny and Monongahela rivers, to be used in the coke ovens of the Connellsville region and in the blast furnaces and mills of Pittsburgh and its vicinity, and to be shipped to Western and Southern markets, comes from this bed. It will be noticed that many of the specimens examined contain

Jan 1, 1880

Jan 1, 1892

By Roy E. Gilbert

IN what ways can conventional geophysical methods be used in the search for quartz-sulphide veins covered by several feet of overburden? The New Park Mining Co., in search of an answer to this question, empirically tested simple geochemical, electrical, and magnetic methods over known ore bodies and geologic structures. Geochemical methods were the only ones found to be applicable to direct ore search. Indirect uses were found for electrical and magnetic tests. Experiments were conducted in the southeastern part of the Park City mining district. Ore in this part of the district is found principally in steeply dipping veins which are localized along faults and fractures that cut Paleozoic sediments and quartz diorite intrusives. Extensive soil cover effiectively hides both veins and country rock. The type of vein most likely to

Jan 1, 1953

By Allen Garrison

THE chemistry of clays and shales has been assuming increasing importance in the petroleum industry, and two factors have greatly influenced this trend. The first has been the growing evidence that the marine shales are source beds, and that the petroleum compounds have migrated to the sand reservoirs overlying or underlying these shales: the second has been the demand for drilling, fluids better adapted to penetrate these marine shales without difficulty and expense. ORIGIN AND GENERAL COMPOSITION OF CLAYS AND SHALES Clays, shales and surface soils are all closely related materials. They are mixtures of finely divided compounds formed during the weathering of the solid crust of the earth. Their nature is essentially colloidal; that is, their behavior is determined by the state of division of the materials and the surface reactions of the smallest grains. Many of their chemical changes affect only the exposed areas and do not involve the interior of the grains of matter. The extent of these reactions is more nearly proportional to the area of the substances than to their mass, therefore it is possible for a small. amount of a material in an extremely fine state of division to completely dominate the character of the mixture. More than 83 per cent of the crust of the earth is composed of three elements-oxygen, silicon and aluminum. Consequently, the corrosion products of the crust are predominantly aluminosilicates, or compounds of aluminum, silicon and oxygen. If we add the compounds of six elements-iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium and hydrogen-more than 98 per cent of the crust has been accounted for. These six elements, together with the first three, also appear in soils, clays and shales. But direct chemical analysis is of little value in describing the nature of such materials. Many chemical individuals may be present in variable amounts,. and the extreme subdivision of any one of the individuals may contribute qualities that dominate the mixture.

Jan 1, 1939

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Truman H. Aldrich '78 W. S. Ayres '73 Andrew A. Blair '75 Walter M. Brodie '72 H. M. Chance '74 Fred'k G. Corning '77 Ralph Crooker '81 A. W. Crookston '80 George M. Davidson '81 W. B. Devereaux '80 H. S. Drinker Founder

Jan 1, 1929

By H. C. Kenny

THE annealing or softening temperature of cold-worked copper is appreciably increased by almost unbelievably small amounts of silver. As indicated by some data in this paper, the softening temperature of high-conductivity, tough-pitch copper may be increased from 200° to 350° C. by the addition of only 15 oz. per ton (0.052 per cent) of that element. Because it has this higher annealing temperature as compared with the silver-free metal, silver-bearing copper finds considerable use in industry. For example, when hard-rolled copper is used in operations that involve soldering or tinning, silver-bearing copper insures against loss of strength, whereas silver-free copper becomes "dead soft." Yet-though several investigators, beginning with Caesar and Gerner1 in 1916, have shown that small amounts of silver do definitely raise the softening temperature of copper-data are lacking on the problem: What is the specific influence of different amounts of silver on this tem-perature? It was to help in filling this gap in the knowledge of what might be termed "alloy coppers" that the data given herein were obtained. The softening of cold-worked copper depends, of course, on a number of factors, of which the composition of the material is only one. Other highly important factors are the degree to which the material is cold-worked and the time it-is held at the annealing temperature. The method of cold working and the grain size of the metal produced are also signifi-cant. All these variables were taken into account in the investigation reported here, and the influence of silver on the electrical conductivity and on the working was also considered.

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