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By ARTHUR THACHER

PRIMITIVE man supplied his wants as they arose; as he became more civilized he anticipated them by producing more regularly and storing the products for future use. This tended to cheapen' production and prevent ' violent fluctuations and therefore tended to increase consumption. In order to anticipate our wants, we must know what these wants will be, and this can be .determined only by statistics. 'While we have made great progress in gathering statistics, they are still far from what they should be; especially metal statistics. We determine fairly, well the amount produced, but this does not answer all inquiries because of the erratic conditions of mining, it is necessary to carry larger stocks of metals than of most other articles; moreover, as metals are more or less durable, it is difficult to determine the actual consumption. We often count under consumption what is being produced and sold, while the actual consumption is what is being worn out.

Jan 1, 1921

By T. M. Girdler

INDUSTRIAL progress and development in this country from the earliest daps to the present has proceeded at an ever-quickening pace. Yet during recent decades the nature of our industrial progress and development has undergone a change of great significance. The earlier days were a period of tremendous expansion. Population was increasing by leaps and bounds. Vast areas of new land were being .2 opened to settlement. And almost boundless new sources of timber, coal, oil, ores, and power were being opened to ever-expanding markets. Today, however, that picture has al- most completely changed. Today, with population increase tapered way off and the opportunity for free expansion into western frontiers gone, the great industrial development of our country continues on a vastly different front. Industrial progress and development today rest on a foundation of technology. The key- stone is research. Our frontiers to- day are frontiers of sciencec

Jan 1, 1939

By E. H. Griswold

PETROLEUM production engineering is essentially the application of the laws of 'physics and mechanics to the production of oil. A true production engineer is one who can apply the principles of mechanics, hydraulics, thermodynamics, and other physical arts so as to facilitate' the efficient and economical recovery of oil. To this end he must have wide knowledge of practical field operations and a working knowledge of geology, with a thorough understanding of the underground state of the fluids which he seeks to control. Generally speaking, there have been two schools of production engineering, the California development and the Mid-Continent development. In California the preliminary production engineering was done by representatives of the U. S. Bureau of Mines and the State Mining Bureau, and was essentially subsurface work in regard to casing patterns, water shut-offs, and completion procedure, inasmuch as these were problems of the utmost immediate importance to the California industry. The oil companies were impressed with the value of such work and placed engineers, or more strictly speaking, engineering geologists on their field staffs. These men, realizing the need of further technical study in the mechanical phases of producing operations, added mechanical and mining engineers, and out of the blend developed what is now known as a production engineer.

Jan 1, 1932

President Howe: It is, of course, not easy to discuss off-hand the paper which Mr. Becker has presented with so much lucidity. I will only make one remark, which is outside of the line of his argument, and concerns merely a passing allusion in his paper. Mr. Becker speaks of the fact that glass breaks with a flat or conchoidal fracture, and that steel shows a rough or " cupped " surface of frac-

Jan 1, 1895

By Fred C. Bond

JUST four years ago, in March, 1930, Gilbert LaBine discovered the rich deposit of pitchblende and silver ore on the east shore of Great Bear Lake, 30 -miles south of the Arctic Circle, which brought a new mining district into being. His original discovery is now the property of Eldorado Gold Mines, Ltd., but other groups have been active. Vigorous prospecting has outlined a mineralized zone that extends at least 100 miles from north to south. In this area silver discoveries have been relatively common; pitchblende, as might be expected, has been harder to find, though a deposit has been located this spring nearly 100 miles south of Eldorado that may be of great importance.

Jan 1, 1934

By C. Graeme-Barber, R. L. Bell, T. G. Langdon

An analysis is made of the formulas and ,methods used to estimate the contribution of grain boundary sliding to the overall strain of a polycrystal. The errors involved in the approximations and/or ,mistakes in earlier work are assessed quantitatively so as to make possible the critical use of previously published data. SINCE it has been found that, under conditions of very slow creep, the strain due to grain boundary sliding (?gb) may contribute as much as 80 pct of the total creep strain,1,2 it is obviously important to have reliable methods for estimating this grain boundary strain. In two recent papers Stevens3,4 has drawn attention to the pitfalls encountered in assessing ?gb. He criticizes 1) the assumptions made in the derivation of some of the formulas for ?gb, and 2) the indiscriminate averaging procedures used for obtaining the quantities substituted in these formulas. These and further criticisms of earlier work are mostly valid. Unfortunately the only formulas and procedures recommended are either impossible or very difficult to apply in practice. Furthermore no attempt is made to assess the errors involved by the earlier approximations or mistakes, and so it is not possible to make critical use of any of these early dab. The present article attempts to improve on these shortcomings by reference to empirical verification of easily applied formulas whose theoretical derivations involve some otherwise unjustifiable assumptions, and by a quantitative assessment of the errors in previous work. DEFINITIONS First it is necessary to define the terms and symbols to be used. The choice of symbols preferred here is a logical combination and extension of the v introduced by McLean5 and the u by Brunner and rant.' In Fig. 1 the two grains X and Y are displaced by the sliding vector AC. u is the component of sliding resolved along the stress axis, v is that measured perpendicular both to the stress axis and to the specimen surface, and w is that measured perpendicular to the stress axis but in the plane of the surface. Two angles define the orientation of the grain boundary: 8, between the stress axis and the surface trace of the boundary, and +, the internal angle on a longitudinal section cut perpendicular to the surface. In computing the strain resulting from the boundary displacement at all the in- dividual boundaries in a polycrystal the components u, v, or w are sometimes averaged along a longitudinal line (i.e., parallel to the stress axis), sometimes along a transverse line, and sometimes at randomly chosen boundaries. Averages obtained in these three ways are given subscripts 1, t, and r, respectively. Stevens rightly calls attention to the possibility of non-equiaxed grain shapes either at the start or at the end of deformation. In this article all values of numbers of grains per unit length will refer to measurements made before deformation. The subscripts 1 and t will be used for the number of grains per unit length obtained along longitudinal and transverse lines, r for that obtained by averaging along a number of randomly directed lines. FORMULAS FOR ?gb ?gt, as a Function of u. An obvious truth is that cgb can, in principle, be obtained by summation of all the v components at the boundaries intersected by a longitudinal line of known length I, viz.: where nl is the number of grains per unit length, parallel to the stress axis, in the unstrained specimen. There are assumptions in the analytic derivation of Eq. [I] due to Brunner and rant' but ~achinger' arrived at Eq. [la] by a rigorous method. Unfortunately the experimental procedure required by Eq. [ la] proves very difficult as boundary migration tends to obscure the points at which the longitudinal line meets the grain boundary and the errors on such measurements tend to be large, see Fig. 2. For example, on a specimen of Magnox AL 80 at a creep strain of 9.7 pct, 300 measurements of u obtained from the points of intersection of a longitudinal line with the grain boundaries gave ul = 8.95 ± 3.58 pm, or an error of ±40 pct, at the 95 pct confidence limit. These large errors due to migration may be avoided by measuring u from the separation of the segments

Jan 1, 1968

H. Van F. Furman, Denver, Colo. (communication to the Secretary): There are some statements in Dr. Carpenter's interesting paper which appear to require explanation, if not modification.

Jan 1, 1901

By W. F. NETZZEBAND

THE long-hole drill has been used for prospecting underground in the tri-State district for several years, and its value has been pretty thoroughly proved. An attempt was made to get a statement of their experience with the machine from all the operators who were known to have used the machine. The majority of them replied to the questionnaire so that this paper is practically a summary of the experience of the district, together with some practical details taken from the experience of the Eagle-Picher Lead Company. When the drill was first used by the Eagle-Picher Lead Co., it was put in low headings and was mounted on a cross-arm supported by two drill columns. This was found to be a rather awkward method of mounting, because fairly long moves were made and the same drill columns could not be used on any two successive set-ups. The machine was later moved to a mine with high headings so that this type of mounting was found to be impractical. A heavy tripod was tried and found satisfactory, provided care was taken to see that the set-up was solid. The Evans-Wallower Lead Co. and the Century Zinc Co. report using the double post set-up, but the headings are low in these mines. The Commerce Mining St Royalty Co. first used the double-post mounting in high headings by cutting a niche in the wall and setting the post in it. This proved to be a slow and expensive method and was later abandoned for the tripod. The Federal Mining & Smelting Co. has used a tripod throughout its operations. Great care must be taken in using the tripod to see that the set-up is solid. Wherever possible it is advisable to sludge in the legs and let them set a short time before the machine is put into use. Where high bottom is encountered the Eagle-Picher operator found it advisable to drill jack- hammer holes in the bottom and drive the legs into them.

Jan 1, 1930

By S. S. Arentz

An organized safety program has reduced accidents at Pioche because effort is first devoted to arousing and maintaining interest in safety, followed by training in accident prevention, assigning responsibility for the detection and removal of safety hazards, and finally, by keeping score through an adequate system of records. A health program is intergrated with the safety program.

Jan 1, 1950

By Jack F. B. Silman

Proving up any large, open pit ore deposit by normal exploration drilling under the best of conditions is a noteworthy accomplishment. But, when adverse conditions preclude standard drilling methods, and the same end result is achieved by a relatively new and little known type of drilling, special comment is in order. Three major problems confronted exploration drilling at the Questa molybdenite mine of the Molybdenum Corporation of America-sampling, terrain and time. Surface and underground longhole drilling provided the needed solutions, thus making the greatest single contribution to an exploration and development program that was successful in proving a major, open pit molybdenum deposit.

Jan 5, 1965

By H. O. Hoffman, C. D. Demond

There are two methods of determining the fusibility or refractoriness of fire-clays, the theoretical and the experimental. In the former, conclusions are drawn from the chemical composition; in the latter, from the changes which the clay undergoes when subjeoted to intense heat. It is well to use both methods, beginning with the actual heat-test and explaining the results obtained from this by the help of the chemical analysis. In discussing the subject, however, it is better to reverse this order. I. The Theoretical Method.* Leaving out the hygroscopic and combined waters and any organic matter, as not directly affecting the fire-resisting property, the refractory constituents of fire-clay are alumina and silica, and the fluxing constituents magnesia, lime, soda, potash and ferric oxide. According to Bischof,† alumina is the least fusible component, and silica follows close upon it. If, however, a mixture of the two be heated, it will be found that its melting-point is much lower than that of alumina, as a silicate will then have been formed. The way in which silica affects the refractoriness of alumina has been strikingly presented by Seger 1 in a diagram reproduced in Fig. 1. The abscissæ represent the melting-points of Seger cones Nos. 26 to 36 (see p. 55); the ordinates, the relative amounts of alumina and

Jan 1, 1895

By ALEX. S. THOMAS

HOWEVER good a furnace may be in regard to design, etc., or however excellent in the quality of the gas used, a suitable heat for the successful working of the metal cannot be obtained unless the melt be coated with a proper quantity of slag. This coating may be excessive or it may be deficient in quantity. The right degree of heat is the essential condition of successful working, for the quality of the steel made is never very good when the metal is allowed to simmer in the furnace for an excessive period, and this heat cannot be obtained if the metal is not protected by a proper covering of slag. This is not only to prevent the metal being over-oxidized and wasted, but also to prevent the metal being chilled when exposed with only a thin covering of slag. The slag may be obtained in either of two ways : 1, naturally, by the presence of sufficient silicon in the iron used, to unite with iron oxide to form a staple slag ; or, 2, by the addition of slag or free silica. In the first case the slag is formed naturally by the action of the oxygen in the flame - i.e., the oxidizing atmosphere of the furnace-on the silicon in the metal when melting. The charge then melts, as it is termed, "thick," and protects the banks from being cut. If too much silicon be present, however, and an excessive quantity of slag be formed, it will be found to be rather infusible, and unless care be taken to add the oxides quickly and follow the furnace up-thus rendering the slag more fusible by the extra iron oxide-the furnace bottom is liable to be pulled up. In such cases the author has frequently been able to warn

Nov 1, 1906

By Craig R. Barrett

The influence of the stress dependence of the dislocation density on the overall stress dependence of The steady-state creep rate is discussed. Experimental measurements of dislocation densities and creep rates jor an Fe-3.1 pct Si alloy tested over a wide range of stress are presented which indicate a close correlation between the two quantities. EXPRESSING the stress dependence of high-temperature steady-state creep rates has been the subject of numerous investigations over the past decade. From these investigations have emerged a few general equations which fit most of the available data reasonably well. Garofalo 1 has proposed that for a wide range of stress and temperature the creep rate, i, can be expressed by a relationship of the form: where A, ß, and n are temperature-dependent and is the applied stress. Eq. [I] gives a stress dependence of a at low stresses and exp(nßo) at high stresses, both consistent with experimental observation where n = 5. A number of other investigatorshave proposed a similar expression where: where m and w are in general functions of temperature. Theoretical justification for Eqs. 111 and [2J comes from two different approaches, theories based on dislocation glide3-5 and theories based on the balance between work-hardening and recovery.' Dislocation glide theories predict where p is the mobile dislocation density and V is the activation volume. In order for Eq. [3] to predict a on stress dependence at low stresses with n = 5, it is necessary for p to be a strong function of stress, about proportional to u3 or u4.436 Recovery models of creep start with the general expression:' where r is the recovery rate and h is the work-hardening rate, and then employ a detailed model to determine the stress dependencies of r and h. As example, weertman2 has described a model based on pile-up hardening which results in an expression similar to Eq. [2] with m = 2 and p = 2.5. A recent, seemingly more general approach suggested by McLean is to use Friedels dislocation network growth expression to calculate the stress dependence of r. This model predicts r = p 3,2 and, as h is taken to be a relatively weak function of stress, the stress dependence of i should be about proportional to p3, 2. Once again, it is required that p be a strong function of stress to yield i This recovery model is by no means complete as the stress dependence of network growth is calculated in the absence of an applied stress meaning that r should probably be a stronger function of stress than given by p3, 2 and also some recent work by Mitra and McLean8 suggests that the stress dependence of h may be as large as Because of the importance of the stress dependence of p in determining the overall stress dependence of the strain rate it seems reasonable to examine this relationship in some detail. Measurements made on dislocation densities present during high-temperature steady-state creep generally obey the following relationship a =o0 + aGVWp [5] where uo is usually called a friction stress, a is a numerical constant about equal to unity, G is the shear modulus, and b is the Burgers vector. Depending on the magnitude of uo, data obeying Eq. [5] can give rise to a range of stress dependencies of p. For example, if we assume that the expression where 6 is some constant, adequately represents the stress dependence of p over a range of o, then from Although Eq. [6] obviously breaks down when u 5uo for uo 6 can vary over a wide range of values. In particular, if u > a, > 0 then 6 will be greater than 2. As an example the data of Ishida and McLean are plotted in Fig. 1 showing excellent agreement with dynes per sq cm) and also showing good agreement with a p cc u3 dependence when plotted on a log-log basis. As oo increases 6 tends to increase and correspondingly the stress dependence of the predicted creep rate should also increase,* as-

Jan 1, 1968

The high-grade orebody at Miami was mined successively by top-slicing, shrinkage, stoping and under caving. The method described in this paper was developed to enable the low-grade orebody (36,000,000 tons assaying 1.06 per cent copper) to be mined at a low cost without further dilution of the grade. The method is clearly described and illustrated by drawings and photographs, and the original paper should be consulted as it is impracticable to abstract it, beyond noting that the mining cost is just under 40 cents per ton and the average grade of ore now being produced yields less copper than the mill tailing of 1915, the tons mined per day having increased from 4000 to 18,000 in the same period. Vertical and Incline Shaft Sinking at North Star Mine By Arthur B. Foote, Grass Valley, Calif. (Tech. Pub. No. 324: Class A. Metal Mining, No. 36) THE main shaft of the North Star mine is an inclined one following the main vein at an average dip of 26 deg., a vertical shaft intersects it at the 4000-ft. (incline) level, the incline continuing to the 6300-ft. level. At this point the vein was found to give out and a new vein, called the No. 1, was found to dip in exactly the opposite direction.

Jan 1, 1930

By Eugene Guccione

Australia could eventually become a major world supplier of uranium oxide-but how quickly that happens depends on the outcome of a highly complex and emotional battle among different special interests.

Jan 1, 1977

By Roger L. Brockenbrough

Steels available for mine-shaft applications are discussed, and the use of steel linings for round and rectangular shafts is reviewed. For rectangular shafts, frameworks constructed of square or rectangular steel tubes offer advantages. Also, corrugated steel sheeting provides a suitable alternative to timber lagging for spanning between the main shaft supports. For round shafts, self-supporting cylindrical steel liners, with circumferential stiffeners to prevent collapse, have been used to depths up to 6000 ft. Several large-diameter round shafts have been constructed with a concrete lining and an internal framework: of high-strength low-alloy steel tubes. It is concluded that in any new shaft construction steel designs should be investigated as economical alternatives to designs using other materials.

Jan 1, 1976

TULSA SECTION At the smoker concluding the two day meeting of the Tulsa section of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, Tulsa, Okla., Feb. 26, 1919, Dr. Willis T. Lee, the new head of the Geological Department of the University of Oklahoma, was introduced to the assembled geologists and mining engineers. Dr. Lee requested that the geologists and engineers who were making a specialty of petroleum geology assist him in giving a good course in practical oil geology in the Geological Department of the University. After a motion offering the services of all present in giving lectures on their special subjects had been adopted, Dr. Perrine of Hutchinson, Kans., named the geologists who were pledged to give lectures in Dr. Lee's course. The students in geology at Norman are assured of the latest information regarding practical work in petroleum geology and will have the inspiration derived from contact with men who are actually at work upon the problems which they are studying. Dr. Lee and President Brooks of the University are to be congratulated upon the introduction of this .method of instruction. The plan thus put into operation is similar to the graduate system of coaching in athletics followed at many of the large universities; what is good for instruction in athletics should also prove good for instruction in applied geology.

Jan 6, 1919

By H. W. McCue, Henry Rogatz

Oil.—In the Texas Panhandle, 502 oil wells were drilled during the year 1940, with a total daily initial production of 139,187 bb1.—that is, 137 more oil wells drilled than in the previous year, with an increase in total daily initial production of 8219 bbl. The total daily potential of the field on Dec. 31, 1940, as determined by the Texas Railroad Commission, was 1,375,502 bbl., an increase of 30,825 bbl. over the previous year. On Dec. 31,1940, a daily allowable of 85,050 bbl., which was a decrease of 35 per cent over 1939, was assigned to the field to be produced from 4788 wells. The total amount of oil produced for the year was 26,788,590 bbl., making a cumulative total of 378,960,728 bbl. during the past 19 years. No new oil-producing acreage was discovered. Gas.—During the year, 92 gas wells were drilled, having a combined open flow of 2,402,900.000 CU. ft.; that is, 6 more than the number of wells drilled in 1939, with an increase in the open flow of 204,900,000 cu. ft. per day. The gas production for the year was 670,435,112,000 CU. ft., and the total gas removed from thc ground during

Jan 1, 1941

By Henry Rogatz, H. W. McCue

Oil.—In the Texas Panhandle, 502 oil wells were drilled during the year 1940, with a total daily initial production of 139,187 bb1.—that is, 137 more oil wells drilled than in the previous year, with an increase in total daily initial production of 8219 bbl. The total daily potential of the field on Dec. 31, 1940, as determined by the Texas Railroad Commission, was 1,375,502 bbl., an increase of 30,825 bbl. over the previous year. On Dec. 31,1940, a daily allowable of 85,050 bbl., which was a decrease of 35 per cent over 1939, was assigned to the field to be produced from 4788 wells. The total amount of oil produced for the year was 26,788,590 bbl., making a cumulative total of 378,960,728 bbl. during the past 19 years. No new oil-producing acreage was discovered. Gas.—During the year, 92 gas wells were drilled, having a combined open flow of 2,402,900.000 CU. ft.; that is, 6 more than the number of wells drilled in 1939, with an increase in the open flow of 204,900,000 cu. ft. per day. The gas production for the year was 670,435,112,000 CU. ft., and the total gas removed from thc ground during

Jan 1, 1941

By Galen H., Clevenger

THE first and most important thing that affects the majority of lead producers in the Rocky Mountains and the western mining regions is that zinc in an ever-increasing degree is inseparably associated with the lead. The Sullivan mine in British Columbia is not only a great lead mine, but also a great zinc producer. This mine could not reach its full measure of productiveness, nor was its great value established, until a reasonably good physical method was developed for separating the lead from the zinc prior to the recovery of each metal by an appropriate process. The western metallurgists and also metallurgists in other parts of the world have long faced the lead-zinc problem. This for many years stimulated a great deal of experimental work looking toward the development of a physical or chemical method of separating lead and zinc in concentrated form from complex ores. Space will not permit of going into this work in detail, but it is sufficient to say that with but few exceptions the western lead smelter continued smelting charges many times too high in zinc for the most efficient operation of lead furnaces. The zinc was not only lost, as the zinc content of many a western slag dump bears mute testimony, but the cost of lead smelting was increased by reason of the presence of the zinc. The owner of the ore under these circumstances could be paid nothing for the zinc and, indeed, he was penalized for it

Jan 1, 1926