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By J. W. Paul

This circular is one of a series of papers4 on coal-mining methods and costs which are being prepared through the sponsorship of the U. S. Bureau of Mines for the purpose of presenting information on present mining methods and certain features which govern costs, safety, and conservation. The methods employed are influenced by natural local conditions with respect to the thickness, character, and dip of the coal bed, the nature of the roof and thickness of the overbearing strata, and the means employed for roof support and its control.

Jan 1, 1929

By M. M. Leighton

THE engineers of Illinois have been submitting to the State Geological Survey an increasing number of requests for advice on their geological problems, including landslides, unequal settling of fills, laying pavements across peat bogs, shattering and heaving of pavement by frost action, etc. The authors discussed the behavior of landslides, their effects, their causes, a tentative classification, and remedial measures. In the latter connection the efficacy of drainage and how it should be handled in order to be most effective was considered. The principles and efficacy of other remedial measures, such as subsurface blasting, rock anchoring, installation of wood, concrete or steel piling, construction of retaining walls, construction of cribbing and reduction of slope were also discussed. Attention was also given to the matter of applying geological knowledge to avoid undesirable highway locations, and a specific example was cited.

Jan 1, 1929

By Staff

One hundred thousand miles of flying over the North country without a single air casualty; much of it over virgin territory probably never before visited by white men; some of it over regions that abound with possibilities for minerals; all of it effective, for exploration and the establishment of bases and supply-stations, and for the carrying of men and their tools and provisions- this, briefly, is the record of Northern Aerial Minerals Exploration, Limited, a Canadian company organized Jess than nine months ago, which has been functioning, without interruption, during spring, summer, and now into winter. Our planes have ranged from the Alaskan boundary on the west to the Labrador coast on the east, and from the Transcontinental railway north to the Arctic circle. Our prospectors, carried on trips of hundreds, and occasionally thousands, of miles, have gone over large sections of country which were never before explored, and at the end of the prospecting season the Company finds itself in possession of several groups of important gold claims, which look most promising. In addition to this, we have been in contact with deposits of almost every known mineral.

Jan 1, 1929

By Harry H. Power

The relative merits of air and natural gas as propulsive agents in pressure drive operations have been discussed for a number of years. When air or gas is introduced into the sand, various factors lead the operator to the selection of what he believes to be the proper propelling medium; but when the question of relative drive effect is raised, several physical and chemical premises must be taken into consideration in arriving at a conclusion as to the superiority of one medium over the other. Dow and Calkins1 and Beecher and Parkhurst2 have contributed fundamental experimental work on the effect of dissolved gas in lowering the viscosity and surface tension of crude oil. Herold; and Tickell' have indicated that whatever type of reservoir control obtains, gas plays other important parts in the movement of oil towards the well, namely: 1. The propulsive and expansive force of the gas. 2. The "Jamin effect," or resistance to the movement of oil in a porous media due to the formation of gas bubbles. When quantitative studies are made, parallel conditions must be selected whereby we may say definitely whether air is superior to gas as a driving medium, or vice versa. Examples of similar conditions are not easy to find in the field. However, in the laboratory we can make determinations which may lead to general conclusions when applied to the field. The experimental and research work described here was started at the laboratories of the University of California in January, 1927, and completed in private laboratories at Tulsa, Okla., in February, 1928. The apparatus used was designed especially for the work.

Jan 1, 1929

By A. R. Chambers

At the 1924 Annual Meeting of the Institute, held in Toronto, the writer presented some notes on the occurrence of salt at Malagash, Nova Scotia, together with a few remarks on the uses of salt. The development of these salt mines has attracted considerable attention to the district, and it may be of interest at this time to call attention to some of the newer uses of salt, and to give a brief account of the genesis of the Maritime salines, As it is not proposed to treat the subject in technical detail, and the paper is written in a lighter vein than is usual in contributions to your Transactions, you will please overlook any variations from a strictly technical method of presentation. The world's supply of salt is obtained in three principal ways: (1) By flooding shallow areas, or pans, with sea water, allowing the water to evaporate naturally by the heat of the sun's rays, and collecting the residue of solid salt. This method is employed, for example, at Turks Island, B.W.I. (2) By mining the rock salt in its natural state, and preparing it for market by a grinding process. This is the method adopted at Malagash, which is the only place in Canada where salt is actually mined. (3) By drilling a hole into an underground salt deposit, forcing fresh water clown the hole, and, after it has become saturated with salt, pumping the brine to the surface and recovering the salt by evaporation. This is the method pursued by the Canadian Salt Company, the Dominion Salt Company, and other producers in Ontario.

Jan 1, 1929

By Paul M. Tyler

The technology of clay and the manufacture of ceramic products therefrom, and also the clay resources of most of the individual States, are already covered by a voluminous literature. The present resume touches these matters only briefly; its purpose is essentially to bring together in small compass certain of the elementary factors affecting the potential commercial value of a clay deposit. In its preparation the author made extensive use of the annual chapters on Clay in Mineral Resources of the United States and in the two annual issues of the Minerals. Yearbook that succeeded them. For careful review and constructive criticism of the manuscript, the author is indebted to Hewitt Wilson. GENERAL DESCRIPTION The term ?clay? includes a great variety of substances that may differ widely in chemical mineralogical and physical properties. No two clays are exactly alike. All of them however, have the prominent characteristic of becoming more or less plastic when wet. Nearly all of the useful clays can be molded into articles, will hold their shape while being dried, and can be converted into a hard, rocklike substance by heat. Clay may, and in fact usually does, consist of a number of minerals among the commonest of which are kaolinite, quartz, feldspar, iron oxides, mica, bauxite, calcite, and manganese oxides. Organic matter is often present. Pure kaolinite, which has the formula A1203. 2 SiO2. 2H2O, is ordinarily, considered to be the parent "clay substance," butt most clays contain other hydrated mixtures of alumina and silica (aluminosilicic acids) along with indefinite amounts of sand and other nonessential minerals3/ Even, this so-called inert matter affects the plasticity, drying shrinkage, ease of drying, and final density, and at high temperatures may react chemically with the clay substance.

Jan 1, 1929

By H. F. Yancey

The investigations described in this bulletin are confined to a study of the washing characteristics of bituminous coals. The major part of the work was conducted by the Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the Engineering Experiment Station of the University of Illinois and the State of Illinois Geological Survey Division between 1918 and 1924, in accordance with the provisions of an agreement between these agencies. The washing characteristics of coals from many of the important coal-producing fields of the Eastern and Central States were examined. The coals of the Pacific Northwest States and Alaska have been studied separately by McMillan and Bird of the Northwest Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines at Seattle in cooperation with the College of Mines of the University of Washington.2 OBJECT OF INVESTIGATION The object of the investigation of coal preparation by the Bureau of Mines has been to promote the production of better prepared coal and to facilitate the correct selection and design of coal-preparation plants by obtaining as complete information as possible regarding the washability of the various types of American coals and the treatment best suited to each. In addition, some attention has been given to the development of new methods of washing coal. The work naturally divides itself into three rather distinct steps: (1) Development of a systematic method of examining and testing a coal; (2) classification of the American coals on a basis of the occurrence of the impurities associated with the coal in the beds; (3) examination of one or more representative coals of each type.

Jan 1, 1929

By H. Britton

This bulletin is the seventh in the series of petroleum bibliographies published by the Bureau of Mines, Bulletins 149, 165, 180, 189, 216, and 220 being compilations for the years 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919-20, and 1921, respectively. In this bulletin the same general plan of classification of references has been followed, but several additions have been made. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Acknowledgment is made to the following organizations for the use of their libraries in the preparation of this bulletin: University of California, Stanford University, California State Mining Bureau, Union Oil Co. of California, Standard Oil Co. of California, and the Mechanics Mercantile Library of San Francisco; acknowledgment for their assistance is also made to H. H. Hill, C. P. Bowie, A. L. Foster, M. J. Gavin, H. C. Miller, E. B. Swanson, and Miss Louise Janssen, all of the Bureau of Mines, and to Miss Elizabeth H. Burroughs of the Union Oil Co. of California.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

MOST of us are far .from home, and yet our Japanese hosts- have made us feel very much at home. Here in the Orient we engineers are .learning a new meaning for the word "orientation"- hereafter that engineering term will be a synonym for gracious hospitality, and "to orient" will mean to turn a whole country over to the World Engineering Congress. Mere geographic distance is no longer able to separate nations, for the conquest of distance is one of the triumphs of 'modern engineering. We of the Americas are fortunate in the position of our continents: with their shores lapped by the waves of two oceans, we face' two great civilizations, the' Occidental and the Oriental, and thus we can share the intellectual resources of these two older cultures.

Jan 1, 1929

By MARCELS CHLUMBER

BY the term making an "electrical log" the authors designate an operation conceived for the purpose of determining electrically the characters of formations traversed in drilling, the determination being carried out by means of measuring the electrical resistivities of the rocks along the uncased portions of drill-holes. As in the case of an ordinary core record, this process connotes a geological studs of the strata, and for that reason it is given a similar designation. The paper is divided into three parts, of which the first deals with the resistivities of rocks in general, since it is through this electrical parameter that they are to be characterized. The second deals with the technique, and the third with the description of practical applications of the electrical logs.

Jan 1, 1929

By Carl Zapffe

THE object of the Bradley process is to free manganese oxide from its associated gangue and separate the contained iron oxide by dissolving the manganese and precipitating it from the solution. 'The fundamental features of the process are : making. both 1 a manganese ore and an iron ore; effecting a separation of manganese .and. iron by means of selective roasting; leaching- the manganese from the roasted ore by using ' ammonium sulfate; precipitating the manganese by using the ammonia gas generated during leaching; fixing the precipitate by oxidizing with air; breaking down and reforming the ammonium sulfate, so that daily very little additional ammonium sulfate beyond that originally charged into the system is required; washing the manganese precipitate and the iron-silica residue and evaporating the liquor to conserve the dissolved salts in the moistures of these two products and 'to reduce the sulfur content,; drying the precipitates; magnetic wet-concentration of the iron-silica residue; sinteriny the manganese-and .the' iron-concentrates.

Jan 1, 1929

By FLOYD T. TAYLOR

IN 1833, less than one hundred years ago, Michael Faraday discovered and stated the laws of electrolysis. His discovery formed the foundation of a new use of metals which has now reached a variety of application not ordinarily appreciated. Furthermore, things can be done with electro-deposited coatings which have thus far defied other methods. Some of the uses of electro-deposited coatings are interesting. The tonnage of metals already finding an outlet through such a channel is considerable. In general electro-deposits have two characteristics: ornament plus utility; utility plus ornament. Both these factors are usually found associated in electro- deposits. Ornament plus utility was probably the first use. For example, the silver-plating of tableware, having its real birth in Birmingham, England, about 1844. However, this same ornament plus utility retarded the development of electro-plating, because in the beginning, electro-plated articles were branded with the odium of imitation and shunned accordingly. The gold brick of the swindler may be an exception to this statement.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

THE Petroleum Division opened its proceedings on Wednesday morning, with two simultaneous sessions on engineering and economics. The first paper at the engineering session, over which A. W. Ambrose presided, was "Underground Surveys of Oil Wells," by Alexander Anderson of Los Angeles, Calif., was presented by John Suman of the Humble Oil & Refining Co., Houston, Texas. Following this, the paper of E.'H. Griswold of the Mailand Oil Co., Houston, Texas, was presented by C. V. Millikan of the Amerada Petroleum Corp., Tulsa, Oklahoma. Following the presentation of these two interesting papers a general discussion followed on the subject of "Crooked Holes." The discussion was entered into by F. H. Lahee, Sun Oil Co., Dallas, Texas;'Messrs. Bigelow of Tulsa, H. W. Hixon of New York City, Van Court Warren of Los Anyeles, Calif; H. L. Wheeler of St. Louis, Mo.; R. R. Brandenthaler, United States Bureau of Mines, Bartlesville, Okla.; H. H. Riggs, Indiana Territory Illuminating Oil Co., Bartlesville, Okla.; C. V. Millikan and John R. Suman

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

S ULFURIC acid made in the United States during the last four years has averaged approximately 7,000,000 tons of 50" B6 acid a year. This is double the production of the year 1913. About 66 per cent of the acid is made from sulfur, 16 per cent from pyrite, 13 per cent at copper, lead, and zinc smelters, and the remainder from miscellaneous sources it her the chamber process or the contact process, (at some plants both) is used. In 1923, the contact process accounted for nearly 30 per cent of all the sulfuric acid made in this country and since then it has been increasingly employed. It was first introduced here in 1898, and has always .proved less expensive than the chamber process for the manufacture of .acid of high concentration and purity, but the latter produces acid of low strength suitable for many industries.

Jan 1, 1929

By H. W. Gillett

BATTELLE Memorial Institute is an endowed in stitution for scientific research in metallurgy, fuels, and allied fields, established by the will of Gordon Battelle, 2nd, as a memorial to his father, Colonel John Gordon Battelle. Before I tell you more of what Battelle Memorial Institute is, I want to go back a bit and tell you why it is. Colonel Battelle began his services in the iron and steel industry in Wheeling in 1866 and in 1883 came to Ohio, where he successively engaged in the iron and steel industry in Cincinnati, Piqua and Columbus. The family had been prominent in Ohio affairs since 1788, when Gordon Battelle's great-great-grandfather came from New England to settle in Marietta. He was one of the pioneers and a member of the famous "Ohio Company."

Jan 1, 1929

By K. S. TWITCHEEL

THE different lines leading out from the vocation of a mining engineer are,' perhaps, the most' varied of all the professions. The expedition sent by Charles R. Crane of New York 'as a gift to the Imam Yahia, king of the Yemen, Arabia, was probably unique. Mr. Crane made a visit, in January,1927, to the Imam Yahia at Sanaa, capital of the Yemen. He was received with the utmost cordiality and respect, as his friend- . ship for the ,Arab world is famous; He was 'greatly impressed by the desire of the Imam to develop his country. The Imam stated that he had heard that there were minerals in his country and that he would like to secure engineers to advise him about them and other natural resources.. This seemed such a practical idea, and so greatly appealed to Mr. crane, that he offered to furnish an engineering 'expedition. Naturally the Imam gratefully accepted. This expedition was to study (as far as possible in 'the limited time) the natural resources of the ,Yemen, advise the Imam of what these consisted, and make suggestions regarding the most practical methods for their development. As agriculture is always such a fundamental part of a country's wealth, I first went to Indio, California, to study water-well drilling and the date industry, and eventually arrived at Hodeidah, the principal Yemen seaport, on Oct. 21, 1927.

Jan 1, 1929

By Frederick M. Becket

AFTER all the chronology that has been given, what is the present status of chromium steels? For the purpose of this discussion the different types of chromium steels can be divided into three classifications-those containing relatively low , percentages of chromium, say 5 per cent or less; the medium-chromium steels containing up to about 18 or 19 per cent chromium; and the steels containing still higher percentages of chromium, and some of the special alloys. Chromium has some unique effects in steel, so it is well to make a few generalizations. The affinity of chromium for carbon is great and the metal is unique in the manger in which it supplements and enhances the effects of carbon. Chromium retards -considerably the thermal transformations on cooling and exerts an opposing influence both on the absorption and precipitation of the carbides in steel. These statements make it easy to understand the fact that chromium .steels are capable of producing a hardened product at a much slower rate of cooling than is, true of plain carbon steel, and that chromium carbide or -the mixed carbides of iron and chromium do not contribute to brittleness to as great a degree as does iron carbide.

Jan 1, 1929

By CARL B. SNYDER

PERHAPS the most extraordinary thing about business, the trade and production of the country as a whole, is its amazing continuity and growth, its momentum and energy. It goes on year after year, growing steadily, almost without breaks, in spite of every kind of disturbance. We have been grossly deceived into the idea that business is highly variable. We have taken a few things like pig iron, and the like, constructional activity broadly, and imagined that these are a trustworthy measure of trade. Actually they are the worst that we could find. They do not apply to more than 10 per cent or, at the most, possibly 15 per cent of the total of the country's industrial activity. The other 85 or 90 per cent, or even more, goes on growing surely and steadily just like the growth of population and the steady advance in technique, invention, discovery, and improved methods of production Let me give you what seems to me one of the most remarkable examples of this amazing momentum and regularity. You know that 90 per cent or more of the business of the country is done 'by means of checks. About seven-eighths of the total of all checks drawn are reported regularly every week in the newspapers. Let us follow these reports from week to week, just as they come, and plot them up against the correspond- ing weeks of last year, and the year before, and the gear before that, as far back as you would like to go. Take especially the figures for 140 selected cities out- side of New York.

Jan 1, 1929

By COREY C. BRAYTON

PACIFIC COAST steel and iron industries can now take care of all the western and export demands except for heavy structural shapes, thick plates, rails, alloy tool steels, and a few other items. In. 1902 all of our steel came from St. Louis and Milwaukee and points still farther east. A small quantity at that time came from foreign countries. Early mining in the West was, broadly speaking, prior to the steel age. 'Wood for structures and iron for castings were almost exclusively used. Forgings were made of rolled iron that came from the East and foreign countries. San Francisco was, from the early days of mining, the manufacturing center for mining and milling machinery of all types and held that position until the .nineties, when eastern competition began to be felt. Even today in the old mining camps of the West, and many abroad, you will find machines and equipment with familiar San Francisco manufacturers' names. ..Iron, either rolled or cast, entered into their manufacture, for steel castings did not come into general use :until the nineties.

Jan 1, 1929

By Charles Hart

A STUDY of the various ores that have been discussed impresses one with the need of beneficiation, in many cases. This applies to the ores that have lain dormant, due to necessity for further preparation, or to ores that now find a market due to a changed condition. Processes of beneficiation will come into their own as our richer ores become exhausted. Many efforts at improvement have been commercial failures, due to prematurity. Thomas A. Edison, with characteristic foresight, attempted concentration of the low- grade New Jersey magnetites some thirty years ago. Due to high costs and the discovery of the Mesabi range, his efforts were futile. However, a successful crusher, designed by Mr. Edison, resulted from this attempt. Agglomeration of concentrates had not, at that time, been brought to its present efficiency, when sinters and briquettes of excellent physical condition are obtainable. Recent efforts in the beneficiation of the lean magnetites of the East Mesabi resulted in an excellent sinter, but that operation is also ahead of its time.

Jan 1, 1929