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By Richard D. Hagni

Mississippi Valley-type ore deposits contain significant quantities of minor elements, which are present partly in the form of separate mineral phases and partly in solid solution in the major sulfide phases for which these deposits are exploited. These elements, as separate phases, are: copper, mainly in chalcopyrite and enargite; cobalt and nickel, chiefly in thiospinels and bravoite; rare earth elements associated with certain fluorites; and native gold. Many economically important minor elements occur in solid solution in sphalerite, including silver, cadmium, iron, germanium, gallium, indium, thallium, cobalt, nickel, and mercury. Significant amounts of silver and antimony, and perhaps very small amounts of gold, are present in solid solution in galena. Chalcopyrite may contain small amounts of silver, molybdenum, bismuth, cadmium, cobalt, and nickel. Marcasite and pyrite may contain silver, thallium, cobalt, and nickel. Although some of the minor elements contained in the Mississippi Valley-type deposits are currently recovered at the smelters and refineries, many are lost in tailings, sludges, and slags; consequently, important quantities of these elements are potentially recoverable as non-conventional resources.

Jan 1, 1983

By Irwin Roman

Numerous results and formulas have been published for analyzing seismic records, but most of them apply only to large-scale phenomena such as are encountered in studying earthquakes. In a few cases,' formulas have been published for some of the simpler structures. In the present paper, an attempt will be made to analyze several types of structures without using methods more advanced than those of a first course in calculus. In tracing a disturbance through a medium, it is almost always possible to base the analysis on Fermat's Principle of Extreme Time, which states that waves of displacement travel between points in such a manner as to make the time of travel an extremum with respect to all neighboring paths. In the simpler cases, comprising most of those used in optics or geophysical prospecting, this time is a minimum and the principle is often referred to as the Principle of Least Time. Within a homogeneous medium, having a uniform speed of transmission of the disturbance in all directions and throughout the medium, the paths are straight and are refracted at the interfaces in accordance with the Snell law of refraction, which states that the ratio of the sine of the angle, made by the ray with the normal to the interface, to the speed of transmission is the same on both sides of the interface. Thus, in any medium composed of homogeneous sections, this same ratio has a constant value at all points. In particular, if all interfaces are horizontal, it is apparent that the angles of incidence are the angles made by the ray with the vertical direction. Furthermore, the incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal to the interface are all in the same plane at each refraction,

Jan 1, 1934

By W. E. D. Jr. Stokes

THE application of aviation to mining and petroleum operations, on the basis of economy and attainment, has become a demonstrated fact. According to Dominion Government records, 30 Canadian companies engaged in air transportation with northland mining camps, carried 13,000 tons of freight in 1935, and in 1936 carried 16,000 tons. In addition, many mining companies used planes to transport prospectors with canoes, outboard motors, gasoline drums and supplies to remote locations, and one company maintained a plane to take radium-bearing ore from its mine on Great Bear Lake nearly 1000 miles south to the rail-way at Waterways, Alberta. Heavy pieces of mining machinery weighing 2 tons are being carried by Ford trimotor planes over the Andes, at an altitude of not less than 15,000 feet. At Bulolo, New Guinea, 17,500 tons of disassembled gold-dredging equipment has been flown over inaccessible terrain, while supplies and building materials for a community of 1000 whites have been transported by airplane. A 31 z-ton shaft was carried on one notable trip, while at another time an automobile, 2 tons of rice and a large safe went over the mountains in one plane. Fig. 1 shows an electric generator that was carried by plane to Bulolo. Many large American oil companies operated fleets of planes during 1936, ranging from fast, luxurious air liners for executives to elaborate geological prospecting units, ambulance planes, freight carriers and pipe-line repair crews.

Jan 1, 1937

By Cyril Stanley Smith

Although not of the same importance as electrical conductivity, the capacity for conducting heat is nevertheless a very important property of metals and alloys. A knowledge of thermal conductivity is of value in selecting alloys for many purposes and in the calculation of the efficiency of apparatus which is being designed. Unfortunately, the determination of thermal conductivity is extremely slow and tedious, consequently few data have been obtained. A further reason for the lack of information is that there has long been an impression that the thermal conductivity of an alloy is directly proportional to the electrical cónductivity and that it can therefore be calculated from the latter. The Wiedmann-Franz-Lorenz law of constant ratio of the two conductivities holds with a considerable degree of precision for all the pure metals, but appreciable deviations occur in certain alloys—particularly those containing nickel—and it seems difficult to predict exactly what the ratio will be. Therefore direct determinations of thermal conductivity should be made whenever the results are needed with any accuracy. This research is intended eventually to cover all the alloys of copper that are of commercial importance, including the binary alloys of copper with zinc, tin, aluminum, nickel, silicon, manganese, cadmium and phosphorus, and the ternary alloys copper-nickel-zinc, copper-nickel-silicon, copper-manganese-silicon, copper-zinc-tin, etc. Most of these alloys are customarily used in the wrought condition and therefore were tested in the form of annealed rods. A limited number of sand castings were also obtained and examined. This paper contains a complete review of all the previous work that has been done on copper alloys, and includes a detailed description of the apparatus and method of procedure used in the present research, together with the new results obtained on the copper-zinc series, which is the only one completed at the present time. Subsequent papers describing the other alloys will contain the experimental results and discussion only. Previous Work Copper The conductivity of copper has been studied by many observers since the pioneer work of Wiedemann in 1859. The majority of these measure-

Jan 1, 1930

By K. P. Gupta

In ternary systems containing silicon and transition elements, silicon was found to stabilize the a phase.1 At 1000°C a broad a-phase region was found in the Cr-Mn-Si system,1 which extends very close to the Mn-Si binary line (within about 3 at. pct Cr). Later investigation showed that, if chromium was replaced by small amounts (3 to 5 at. pct) of v,1 Ti, Nb, Ta, Mo, or w,1 the a phase or the R phase was again stabilized. Whether stabilization of complex crystal structures is possible by small additions of iron, cobalt, or nickel to Mn-Si is not known. Investigation of the Co-Mn-Si system4 shows the presence of several ternary phases, but at cobalt concentrations higher than 10 at. pct. In the present work the ternary systems Fe-Mn-Si and Co-Mn-Si were investigated at low iron and cobalt concentrations (< 7 at. pct Fe or Co) in search of phases of complex crystal structure. Experimental Procedure. The alloys were pre-pared by induction melting Co (99.8 pct), Si (99.9 pct), electrolytic Fe (99.88 pct), and Mn (99.9 pct) in recrystallized alumina crucibles under an inert atmosphere of argon gas. The alloy specimens were wrapped in molybdenum foil, sealed in argon-filled (at 1/2 atm) silica capsules and annealed for 72 hr at 1000" 1°C, and water-quenched. The use of argon-filled capsules was found to reduce the losses during annealing and the molybdenum foil prevented reaction of the manganese with silica. The total weight loss due to annealing and melting was found to be less than 1 pct for each alloy. The alloys were not analyzed chemically. A part of each annealed specimen was polished and examined metal-lographically using etching solutions, a) 0.1 to 0.5 pct oxalic acid solution in water, or b) 0.5 pct HNOs in methyl alcohol. Even though the etching solutions were quite dilute, the specimens were heavily etched and stained if the etching time exceeded more than 5 sec. Etching times found suitable were usually 1 to 3 sec. For X-ray diffraction work, a part of each annealed specimen was powdered by crushing after the exposed surface was ground off. X-ray diffraction patterns were taken with powder specimens using a 20-cm-diam asymmetrical focusing camera and Fe K radiation. These powder patterns were found quite satisfactory for the purpose of phase identification. However, X-ray diffraction patterns of single-phase alloy powder specimens were also taken using a Siemens diffractometer and filtered Cr-Ka radiation for greater resolution of the diffraction lines. Results and Discussion. In the Fe-Mn-Si system a new ternary phase was found at 1000°C between the p manganese and the MnsSi phase regions. The approximate phase relationships in this region of the 1000°C isothermal section are shown in Fig. 1. The new ternary phase, designated as the K phase, was found to occupy a narrow region about 1 at. pct in width and extending from Fee.oMn74.5Silg.5 to Fe.Mn.Silg.. At the high-iron content region, the K phase was found in equilibrium with the p manganese and the MnsSi phases but, at the low-iron content end of the K-phase region, the phases in equilibrium with the K phase were the p manganese phase, the MnsSi phase, and another new phase, designated in Fig. 1 as the v phase. The v

Jan 1, 1964

By Ralph C. Holmer

IN the field of mineral exploration, 1956 can be looked upon as the International Geochemical Year. This is not because of unusual developments in geochemical prospecting but rather because of the world-wide effort in geochemistry and the realization that geochemistry is now an established exploration method. Use of mining geophysics has continued to increase. Those extensively employing exploration techniques indicate that developments of the past few years have permitted better programming of methods, from reconnaissance to location of drill- holes. There is greater diversification of methods- reliance is not placed on results of one. However, it is realized that often it is more economical to drill an anomaly than to conduct additional expensive geophysical surveys

Jan 2, 1957

By R. J. Watson

IN an earlier paper, Ehrenburg and Watson1 published the develop-ment for a potential function by which it is possible to obtain the electric potential at points on the surface of the ground when a current I passes between two electrodes and the subsoil is composed of parallel, homo-geneous layers. In view of the continued interest in the resistivity method of electrical prospecting, the author has considered it desirable to publish the results of a number of theoretical studies making use of this potential function, and also the results of a considerable number of tests with models designed to show the soundness of the mathematical theory. It is hoped that these results will prove how erroneous the various empirical rules for depth determination may be. It has always seemed puzzling to the author that one can find, in papers published comparatively recently, statements upholding empirical rules for depth determination, and attributing most of the irregularities of resistivity curves to vertical discontinuities in resistivity in the subsoil. It would indeed be fortunate for the geophysical investigator if such a simple rule held. However, numerous investigators have proved both theoretically and by the success of their field work that such a rule does not hold, even by a" rough approximation" in many cases. On the other hand, as is shown in the development to follow; if the underground conditions are favorable it is possible for such empirical rules to give a satisfactory depth determination. Authors should be more careful about making such sweeping state-ments about the accuracy of these empirical rules because the relative simplicity of the field work places the method in the hands of any inter-ested experimenter, and he is likely to become completely disgusted with the method after he has made several obviously wrong interpretations by empirical rules.

Jan 1, 1934

By Alden B. Greninger

Twinned metal crystals are usually designated as either deformation twins or annealing twins. If twins are to be classified according to the treatment the metal has undergone just prior to the observation of the twins, there are two other possible groups: (1) solidification twins,† when observed in the as-solidified or as-cast condition, and (2) transformation twins,† when observed in a metal which has been cooled from above an allotropic transformation temperature. McKeehan has demonstrated that ferrite does, occasionally at least, contain twinned structures2. The twins, which he studied by optical methods, were obtained during the preparation of iron single crystals by very slow cooling through A3. He proved that the twin relation was actually that which previous investigators had predicted; namely, twinning along three planes of the form (112). Since McKeehan&apos;s discovery, little or no attention has been given to this transformation twinning of alpha iron, or to the possibility that it might occur at all speeds of cooling from above A3 instead of merely during the preparation of single crystals. McKeehan&apos;s twins were evidently regarded as interesting only in proving that a body-centered cubic metal could form twinned structures—at least under certain conditions. It is generally believed that iron seldom if ever forms annealing twins. Certainly the straight-line banding which is so abundant in annealed face-centered cubic metals is characteristically absent in iron annealed below A3. However, O&apos;Neil13 has studied "twin-like" crystals in annealed alpha iron and concludes that the specimen he studied actually contailled a few annealing twins. Tamura4 as reported "twin-like" crystals both in wrought iron and mild steel; specimens of the latter were annealed above and below A3 and showed "twin-like" crystals after both kinds of treatments.

Jan 1, 1936

AMONG the fellow prospectors of Black Jack Newman, locator of the claims that became the Miami mine, were J. D. Coplen and Bud Woodson. Woodson was in the district when the Bloody Tanks Indian massacre occurred, near the present town of Miami. He was a prospector long before Jack Newman worked in a mine, and for years he had done assessment work on some of the claims that Coplen acquired for his Inspiration company. Woodson recalls that a Scotch geologist from Morenci once visited his claims; and that the geologist tried to get the Phelps Dodge company interested in the property, but without success. Coplen interested some people in Kansas City in his claims that lay west of Newman&apos;s. He induced them to organize the Inspiration Mining Co., and by 1908 this company controlled 23 claims, which had been prospected in desultory fashion by a series of adits. One of these, near the Keystone property, encountered some lean copper-bearing rock, but later development failed to disclose any substantial quantity of ore at this particular point. Coplen, as general manager, in September, 1908, was negotiating with several exploration companies which at the time were on the lookout for low-grade copper properties. As a matter of fact, when J. Parke Channing visited Globe, in December, 1906, F. C. Alsdorf showed him the Inspiration claims as well as Newman&apos;s. Channing evinced little interest in an option on Inspiration because he could get so much better terms from Newman. He decided to concentrate his work on the Newman claims, with the idea that if he were successful in developing ore, he could later get Inspiration on terms at least equally good. Subsequently, the United States Smelting & Refining Co., which has since added "Mining" to its corporate name, took an option on Inspiration.

Jan 1, 1933

By John A. Oberteuffer, Ionel Wechsler

High gradient magnetic separation, first introduced in 1968 as a means for the removal of very fine magnetic contaminants from clay, is no longer a new technology. Applications to a number of solid-solid and solid-fluid separation problems are now being exploited. Recent pilot tests and full-scale industrial installations of high gradient magnetic separators and filters have established their commercial viability and have demonstrated their superiority both in efficiency and cost effectiveness to conventional prior-art methods for water treatment and mineral processing. In high gradient magnetic separators, the magnetic trapping force for fine, even weakly magnetic particles is greatly increased over those available in previous magnetic separators. These very strong trapping forces are created on the edges of fine filamentary ferro- magnetic materials in the presence of a strong background magnetic field. In the basic cyclic high gradient magnetic separator, particles are trapped in the filamentary matrix until it is loaded, at which point the magnetic field is turned off, and the filter is back- flushed. Applications of cyclic high gradient magnetic filtration for water treatment include filtration of waste and process waters in steel mills. Treatment of hot rolling mill scale pit effluent and cold rolling mill emulsion has been successfully tested, and 2-meter diameter SALA-HGMF® magnetic filters have been installed at Japanese steel companies for the treatment of recirculating scrubber waters in a de-gas- sing system. A second major application in water treatment is for the polishing of recirculating waters in power and steam generating systems. High gradient magnetic filters can operate under conditions of

Jan 1, 1980

By E. De Goyler

Volcanic origin was among the first of the theories advanced to account for the occurrence of the salt domes of the Gulf coastal plain, northern Louisiana, and eastern Texas, and it is still being re-stated in various forms by the most recent contributors to our knowledge of the geology of such deposits. Argument has been largely by analogy and attention has repeatedly been called to the Mexican oil fields, particularly those of the Tampico-Tuxpam region, because of the occurrence of oil in close proximity to volcanic plugs in those fields, an occurrence supposed to have some resemblance to the common occurrence of oil in the salt domes of the United States. The author, having spent several months of the past year in a general study of salt domes and in a detailed study of certain domes in the United States, and having been acquainted for some time with the exploration of similar domes in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region, Mexico, and with the general geology of the Tampico-Tuxpam region, Mexico, has reviewed the various theories of volcanic origin for salt domes which have been advanced to the present time. The purpose of this paper is to present such review and to discuss the supposed Mexican analogy. Review of Volcanic Theory R. Thomassyl who had visited the Five Islands of Louisiana between 1857 and 1859, in 1860 described them with some care, noting their distinct character, alignment, and similarity, and ascribing to them a volcanic origin. He regarded them as being akin to the mud lumps in the delta of the Mississippi and was impressed by their symmetry and by the ponds or lakes which occur on several of the islands and which he regarded

Jan 1, 1920

By Frederic Benard

THE treatment of Balbach-Thum slimes at Copper Cliff by the Ontario Refining Co, is of interest because it differs considerably from methods usually employed for the recovery of fine gold from parting-plant slimes. Owing to the comparatively high percentages of palladium and platinum, wet methods are used to remove the greater proportion of these metals before electrolytic refining in the Wohlwill cells. THE PLANT The platinum-metals department, Wohlwill room, and gold-melting room extend along the north side of the silver refinery and are separated from the parting plant by a glass partition (Figs. 1 and 2). The platinum-metals department resembles a laboratory built on a large scale, with the various pieces of equipment laid out on terraces to facilitate handling. . Because of the corrosive nature of the solutions, chemical stoneware is used throughout. Elevation of acids is accomplished by means of Mariotte bottles. On the top level are three steam-jacketed stoneware kettles of 50-gal. capacity, also a packed tower. One kettle is used for digesting the slimes while the remaining kettles are used for precipitating the gold. The dissolver is equipped with a treated concrete hood, which is connected to the flue system. Gases are drawn off through the packed tower by means of a 6-in. stoneware exhaust fan. A 15 per cent solution of sodium carbonate is continually circulated through the tower. On the intermediate level are two suction filters, one for removing silver chloride and the other for the gold sand. The filter medium consists of an asbestos pad covered with a filter paper on which is a layer of twill. On the bottom level are two rectangular cementation tanks, 24 by 48 by 24 in. deep, and a suction filter used for removing the platinum-metal concentrates. The circulating pump for the packed tower is also here. Suction is provided by a vacuum pump having a capacity of 8 cu. ft. at 20-in. vacuum.

Jan 1, 1938

By John Chipman, Helen Towers

DEVELOPMENT of a simple radioactive tracer technique for measurement of the diffusion coefficient of calcium ion in liquid slag has already been reported. The investigation was of a preliminary nature designed to explore the possibilities of using radioactive isotopes and to establish a method, and no great accuracy was claimed for the results. It was shown, however, that Ca15 could be used successfully, and the values obtained for the diffusion coefficient appeared to be of the right order of magnitude. However, it was considered that a better technique could be devised for carrying out the diffusion. The experiments were, therefore, continued to find a more accurate method, to check the calcium results, and to extend the investigation to include measurements of the diffusion coefficient of silicon in the same slag. There were two flaws in the original technique. Convection was the cause of too many failures, and the interface between the two slags in the diffusion cell was curved rather than plane, probably due to a surface tension effect caused by the addition of the tracer Ca45 in the form of chloride. Two methods of overcoming these defects were tried. Since it was planned to study diffusion of the short-lived isotope Si"&apos; also, the development of methods was restricted to those which gave promise of being reasonably rapid. Method 1—The principle was identical to that previously used with respect to the diffusion conditions, but there were three differences in technique. Temperature control was more rigid, the tracer was added to the slag as Ca45O rather than the chloride and, finally, an effort was made to translate to high temperatures the elegant method developed by Cohen and BruinV or bringing together the two liquid layers and beginning the diffusion. A master slag was melted in graphite, ground to a fine powder, and analyzed (38.5 pct Ca0-20.9 pct Al2O3-40.5 pct SiO2). The tracer was received as Ca45C12 in an aqueous solution of CaC12 + HC1. From this, calcium oxalate was precipitated, ignited to calcium oxide, and added as such to the slag to give an activity of approximately 5 µc per g. The mixture was then melted into the form of a cylinder 3/16 in. diam and about 1 in. long. A solution identical to the tracer solution without Ca45 was given exactly the same treatment. The resulting Ca40O was mixed with that slag which was to form the tracer-free half of the diffusion cell, and this was likewise melted into a cylinder of the same size. Slag cylinders, two with and two without Ca15, were set in graphite blocks as shown in Fig. 1, and the crucible was lowered into position in the fur-

Jan 1, 1958

By J. S. Marsh

The student of steelmaking is all too well acquainted with the fact that in many instances he must deal with data that in graphical representation exhibit the property most desirable in bird shot. This is scarcely mystifying, since the effort to establish one variable as a function of another is usually hampered by the simultaneous operativeness of two or three other factors that may be important. A large part of arriving at relationships that have the pleasing self-consistency of, say, precise measurements of thermal expansion, consists of determining what factors must be held constant-—an even larger part usually consists of collecting data for which those factors have been so maintained. It is not intended to imply that functional relationships in the physical chemistry of steelmaking are hopelessly obscure; on the contrary, it is merely necessary to be undisturbed by marked deviation of some points from a curve that otherwise makes sense. A reaction mechanism suggested by such a curve may call attention to hitherto unsuspected factors operative in the origin of the deviating points, and thus permit another step to be taken in the direction of fuller understanding. It is proposed, therefore, to suggest several empirical relationships. Even though the approach is not always rigorous, deviations caused by simplifying assumptions appear to be too small to obscure a provisional It has been appreciated for some time that the carbon-oxygen reaction in liquid steel is highly important. For example, Körber et al.,&apos; in introducing a summary of their extensive work on steelmaking reactions, said: "... the far-reaching and truly dominating action of carbon upon the metallurgical reactions will be especially stressed ..." In "Basic Open Hearth Steelmaking"2 (hereafter BOHS, for simplicity), it is accepted repeatedly that the various slag-metal interactions are nearly always controlled by the carbon-oxygen reaction. Before further discussion of this reaction, however, it will be worth while to consider briefly the carbon-oxygen equilibrium. In BOHS (p. 483) it is stated that: When liquid iron is brought into contact with gases containing carbon monoxide it absorhs carbon and oxygen. Conversely the carbon and oxygen in the metal unite to form carbon monoxide which is evolved from the bath during the open-hearth boil or while rimming ingots are solidifying. . . . When the equilibrium pressure is one atmosphere the equilibrium-constant equation simplifies, on the assumption that the activity of each element is equal to its percentage, to a constant which has been so much used that it has acquired a special symbol m. where m = %C X %O

Jan 1, 1945

By Toshihisa Adachi, Shosei Serata, Shunsuke Sakurai

The present state of knowledge of three-dimensional rock properties does not provide an adequate basis for evaluating the safety of under- ground structures in situ. Most of the triaxial studies reported in the past have dealt with crushing strength, but have failed to consider the intergranular behavior and triaxial strain state of rocks. Without this information, the structural competence of rocks cannot be accurately assessed. The absolute three-dimensional testing method (ATT) was conceived for the purpose of analyzing the three-dimensional states of stresses and strains in aggregate rocks under conditions commonly encountered in underground structures. In-situ stress-strain states are not simple, even in the simplest possible form of opening, excavated in a homogeneous and isotropic rock medium. In general, there are four basic stress-strain states which are present in underground openings, regardless of the complexity of their geological conditions. They are the yielded, brittle-fractured, stress-relieved, stress-concentrated states, as illustrated in the schematic diagram, Fig. 1. The ATT machine was designed to create and study all these states in the laboratory. A theory describing the aggregate behavior of rocks under these diversified states is essential to evaluate the safety of underground structures. The Griffith theory is limited to tensile failure of ductile materials and therefore does not apply to behavior of aggregate rocks under compression. The Griffith theory also fails to consider the grain boundary characteristics of aggregates, which is the determining factor of rock behavior. The Mohr-Coulomb theory of failure ignores the importance of the intergranular behavior of rocks. An application of the continuum theory to

Jan 1, 1972

By L. C. Graton

Although marked by numerous well-known attributes of its own, gold does not possess a kind and range of physical, chemical and geological characteristics wholly different and apart from those of other metals. Instead, it is merely one of the family of metals, with its individual and distinctive traits subordinate to the underlying family relationships and resemblances. The geologist concerned with pure science will pursue, therefore, the same general course and will examine the same broad kinds of facts and interrelations when studying the occurrence of gold as when studying that of copper or cadmium, or any other metal. But when we come to consider the use and economics of the metals, we discover that gold differs strikingly from all the others. Gold, in short, is unique, not by virtue of its inherent characteristics, but because of a peculiar and concerted psychological regard in which it is held. It will be evident, therefore, that the geologist who would deal with gold supply must give far greater weight to economic considerations than is required in his contacts with any other metal. If the geologist be called the scientist of occurrence, and the economist the scientist of use, the economic geologist stands as the necessary link between them. Perhaps it is in part because the economic geologist has made himself more familiar with the science of occurrence than with the science of use and has thus in some degree failed to bridge effectively the gap between the two fields, especially with regard to gold, that the usen1 of gold now appear to be in a state of general concern and even of alarm for the security and adequacy of future supplies. In the case of no other mineral commodity do the users, as a rule, trouble themselves greatly about the adequacy of supply except in so far as that may affect the price which they shall have to pay for the commodity. Oversupply, with resulting low price, they regard as a gift of good fortune. As to long-term undersupply, they are generally content to go ahead on faith, leaving the producer to discover as best he may the means for meeting their requirements or the inventor to find a substitute. But history has shown that for gold a different situation exists. While

Jan 1, 1931

By C. F. Nagel

This paper is written primarily for those who are familiar with the processes mentioned but who desire a further insight into some of the fundamental principles. It does not give a complete description of the various practices employed in the working of aluminum and its alloys, but presents a few illustrations of the essential respects in which aluminum differs from other common metals, and emphasizes the controlling factors of the processes under consideration. Heat Treating Certain aluminum alloys are capable of having their mechanical properties greatly altered by a heat-treatment process. The degree of this irnprovement may be illustrated by some typical properties of dura-lurnin (Table 1). It is essential that the material be in the wrought condition in order to obtain rnaximum heat-treatment effects. In the case of duralumin, the process consists of heating the metal to a prescribed temperature and then quenching it. Immediately after quenching, the material is relatively soft though not as soft as in the annealed state. If allowed to stand at room temperature, the material changes, increasing in hardness and strength without loss of elongation, but at the expense of the plasticity. This action is very rapid at first, gradually diminishing in intensity and to all practical purposes being completed in about four days. This process of hardening is termed

By Edgar R. Kendall

A knowledge of the fundamental principles of locating, sampling, testing and evaluating materials is essential in prospecting for mineral aggregates. In this discussion, mineral aggregates will be considered sand, gravel, crushed stone and slag that are used as materials of construction. The quantity of mineral aggregates produced in the United States during the year 1935 for such purposes was roughly 165,000,000 tons, about 60 per cent of which was sand and gravel, 37 per cent crushed stone and 3 per cent crushed slag. The total value of this material was approximately $100,000,000. It is apparent therefore that the prospecting for suitable mineral aggregates is of considerable economic importance. In prospecting for mineral aggregates, the methods employed are the same whether the organization is large or small. In the large organization there may be available geologists for locating sources of supply, a land acquisition department to arrange for the necessary options or permits, engineers to do the sampling, a laboratory for testing, and a board of consulting materials engineers to make the final selection. Even small organizations must follow the same general procedure, though the responsibility for the selection of aggregates may rest with one man, who may or may not be an engineer, but who must depend entirely upon his own judgment. Locating the Supply The initial step in prospecting for mineral aggregates is the locating of suitable, adequate and economic sources of supply for the project in mind. Commercial plants in the vicinity should be investigated and a survey made of the existing structures that have been built of aggregates from these sources. If the structures are rather old and show no signs of deterioration, it is fairly good evidence that the aggregate is satisfactory. If materials of the proper quality can be obtained from commercial sources in sufficient quantity, and delivered to the job economically, it

Jan 1, 1942

By H. W. R. Wardlaw

This paper shows how the cost of the drilling operation per 100-ft drilled can be related directly to bit weight, rotary speed and hydraulic horsepower variations. This enables optimum drilling conditions to be determined in a rapid and concise manner. The paper also shows how data for such calculations cun be obtained quickly and accurately by the "drill-off" method suggested by Lubinski. Examples are given to illustrate the principles and methods used. INTRODUCTION The problem of drilling oil wells at lowest cost and hazard needs little introduction, since it has been with us virtually from the earliest days of our industry. With better understanding of the effect of the various factors of bit weight, rotary speed and hydraulic jet action, however, the problem has recently taken on a more scientific aspect, and engineers or groups of engineers have been assigned to study many of the facets of this problem not immediately apparent to the general observer. Moreover, the availability of better equipment and materials has enabled certain practices to be adopted which were hitherto impractical or uneconomic. This has paved the way for further efforts to reduce footage costs, and so on. The improvements to be made in drilling technology and cost reduction are by no means exhausted, and we still frequently hear of new records being set and new materials and equipment becoming available. Some of the analytical methods used by the author to assist in promoting faster and more economic methods of drilling, particularly in Venezuela, form the basis for this descriptive study. STATEMENT OF THEORY AND DEFINITIONS In a highly competitive industry, it is no longer permissible to regard penetration rate as the sole criterion for drilling efficiency. Every new technique, however spectacular, must nowadays be viewed in the cold light of whether it will eventually lead to lower cost per foot drilled. In the exposition which follows, therefore, actual drilling rates will play only a secondary role, and attention will be focused on the more important aspect of cost per foot drilled. Changes in drilling factors such as weight and rotary speed will be studied in the light of how they directly affect the cost of operations. The advantage of this method is twofold—(1) cost increments are indicated directly; and (2) the relationships are, surprisingly enough, simpler than those relating to drilling rates. To achieve these advantages, it is necessary to introduce a new unit of measurement which, although unfamiliar, is readily understood. The unit in question will be referred to as the "actual drilling cost factor" and will be designated by the symbol h. The unit is defined as the number of rotating hours taken to penetrate 100 ft of formation. The unit can be obtained immediately from the actual drilling rate (r) in feet per hour; thus, This latter transformation is so easily effected that it may be convenient to use h as an international symbol for drilling cost, and to delay conversion to dollars, bolivars, pounds, etc, per foot until actually required (e.g., for fiscal reasons, etc.). In actual operations, h was found to vary in a relatively simple manner with increases in bit weight. The variation in h with rotary speed was found to be somewhat more complex. However, this also could be enormously simplified by introducing a further factor known as L or relative bit life. The factor L is also defined very simply by dividing 1,000 by the rotary speed (N) in revolutions per minute.

By E. C. Wright

THE following article is based on observation of college graduates entering the steel industry in technical work made during the past 25 years, the first five of which were spent as a college instructor in two engineering schools, and the last 20 in the employ of a large steel company that has hired hundreds of engineering graduates for steel-mill operations. The college graduates encountered during this period have come from many, colleges representing schools in Eastern States, Midwestern Universities, many Southern colleges, and many smaller colleges and normal training schools mostly in western Pennsylvania and Ohio. The college training of these students for engineering work naturally has varied widely and the educational qualifications of the entrants have been in many ways different. It was found at an early date that graduates of standard engineering colleges were much more adaptable than graduates in science from nontechnical schools. The engineering students seemed to be more suited to actual work in steel&apos; plants and in general were better able to grasp a knowledge of the operations they observed. However, although the graduates of engineering schools have had somewhat better training -in physics, mathematics, and engineering, it has been a general and continual observation that most of the students employed have had inadequate training in the fundamental sciences. Since this discussion relates entirely to metallurgical engineers, it should be emphasized that students taking metallurgical engineering courses in college seem to be poorly trained in organic chemistry, physics, physical chemistry, thermodynamics, and any higher form of mathematics than simple calculus. It has been noted frequently that young engineers faced with problems in a mill that involve some mathematics generally flounder badly, and that they have little conception of physical chemistry. Another common deficiency lies in the young graduate&apos;s lack of knowledge of where to look for the more detailed literature on any subject. He reverts instinctively to some college textbook whose coverage is usually very elementary. It is recommended that such textbooks contain a bibliography of the source literature, and that students be taught to use theoriginal data. Many of the students had had previous courses in college dealing with metallurgical work such as steel melting, metallography, etc., but it was found that their grasp of these subjects was extremely sketchy. It was soon realized that an ordinary engineering graduate could be taught more about steel melting and manufacturing processes in a, few weeks in a. plant than he could learn in a college course on such subjects. A similar statement may be made regarding the ability of students to conduct laboratory work. Their lack of technique and skill in handling equipment and setting up experiments was soon apparent. It became neces-

Jan 1, 1946