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By Charles T. Baroch, Corbin Allardice

Nuclear energy probably has greater potentialities for changing the world's way of life than any other recent discovery. The atomic-bomb bursts over Hiroshima and Nagasaki suddenly changed the concepts of war. Peaceful uses of nuclear energy are advancing so rapidly that no study of economic trends is complete without giving them consideration. The minerals specialist, especially, must be aware of this new force in our lives, as minerals and metals are essential in harnessing the new force, and atomic energy itself is rapidly improving its competitive position in the energy field. Future historians may chronicle December 2, 1942, as the beginning of the Atomic Age. On that day Enrico Fermi and his co-workers at the University of Chicago produced and controlled the first self-sustaining nu- clear chain reaction. Like many inventions, the first application of nuclear energy was as a weapon of war. However, its potential usefulness in man's work and welfare far outweighs in economic importance its destructive use in war, unless its military effect would be considered so great and all-embracing that no major power will hereafter chance a world conflict. Recognition of this potential has generated a vast international effort to exploit the atom for peaceful beneficent purposes. Like its physical manifestation, the advent of nuclear energy has unleashed chain reactions that have pervaded the political, social, and economic environments of the world. The impact of nuclear developments in one of many fields is exemplified by the uranium mining industry. Uranium was discovered in 1789 and in the next century and a half it found only an insignificant use as a ceramic coloring agent; in fact, in the latter part of that period, it was a largely unsalable by-product of the radium and vanadium industries. Up to 1940 the total quantity of uranium metal produced was not more than a few grams, of doubtful purity. Thus the production of 12,400 pounds of pure

Jan 1, 1959

By S. F. Kelly, Theodor Zuschlag, Bela Low

Gold has been mined in the state of Georgia for over 100 years, and although the total production is nearly $18,000,000, the output has declined to an insignificant figure in recent times. The increase in price of gold has brought about a revival of interest in this district, with the result that an electrical survey was undertaken in the McDuffie County gold belt to see whether new quartz veins could be discovered. The problem of locating quartz veins electrically has only rarely been attempted by geophysicists, because of technical difficulties. New improvements in apparatus and field procedures, the most recent of which is the designing of the Ground Comparator, now make possible the differentiation of quartz veins and enclosing rock. This instrument is designed to eliminate the effect of ground contact resistances, and measures the ratio of potential drops between successive stations. These are transformed into resistivity ratios, the highly resistant quartz veins manifesting themselves by sharp breaks in the resistivity-ratio curves. Surface variations of resistance are eliminated by a special technique. Electrical surveys were made on two properties about 40 miles west of Augusta, Georgia. A reconnaissance of the Woodall and detail work on the Hamilton required about. 13,000 ft. of electrical profile. Typical profiles from each are given, with the results of trenching certain of the electrical indications. Comparisons are made between the reactions due to veins several feet wide and those from small quartz stringers. Instances are cited where the electrical profiles were used to trace extensions of known veins, or to establish their nonextension. The discovery of several veins is described, most of which were barren, but of which at least two showed gold in encouraging amounts. The field of application of the Comparator to the prospecting for metallic and nonmetallic minerals, and to the study of various geological problems, is discussed at the close of the paper.

Jan 1, 1934

For the past several years the policy of a large section of our mining industry in relation to our present bureaucratic form of government has become increasingly amusing, if not a little disgusting. In the past, mining men have always featured themselves the self-announced champions of free enterprise, and, generally, this conviction, was substantiated by their deeds. In recent years, however, a large group of the industry, while still expounding, from the front porch, the principles of free enterprise and a sound economy based upon the law of supply and demand, have gone around to the back door with palm extended, to join labor, farmers, bureaucrats, and other pressure groups to get their share of the take. The procurement of subsidies, bonuses, increased metal prices, and government assistance in a multitude of forms seems to have obscured from their thinking the welfare of the country as a whole and the sounder economic principles of a balanced budget and lower taxes. At the recent Colorado Mining Association convention in Denver, I. was alarmed to see just how far this specialinterest type of thinking has progressed within the mining industry. Government assistance to mining. was generally considered inadequate, and a flat bonus for any new mineral discovery was proposed. It was disquieting, too, to learn how far the federal alphabet agencies have entered into the mining industry and of the thousands of highly paid technical. men on the federal payroll required to man these numerous overlapping agencies and bureaus. Now all this is very fine, and some aspects of the federal give-away program can be very appealing to the unsuspecting in the mining industry as they have been to those in other groups. Some of these expensive programs may bring about a few dividends or even several new mines. But to this whole line of pump-priming reasoning there is one big disastrous fallacy.

Jan 1, 1952

By J. A. Holmes

Venezuela has continued during 1929 to demonstrate that it is destined for many years to come to be one of our most important sources of crude petroleum. The producing fields of the Bolivar Coastal district along the east side of Lake Maracaibo have continued their phenomenal production, and two new fields have reached the near producing stage, while the results of deep test wells have strengthened the predictions and expectations that oil will be found and produced from many other pools and from several different geological formations. The finding of these new oil pools is not going to be easy, because the surface evidences of geological structure are scanty, and the subsurface problems are difficult, but intelligent effort backed by ample resources may be counted upon to overcome these obstacles and lead to a continued increase in the number of producing fields in Venezuela. During 1929 the total production of Venezuela was approximately 135,953,000 bbl., an increase of nearly 30,000,000 bbl., or 28 per cent., as compared with the preceding year. During 1929 oil in steel storage in Venezuela decreased from 13,000,000 to about 11,000,000 barrels. Tables 1, 2 and 3 briefly summarize Venezuelan production by fields and by years, and show the trend of production since its establishment on a commercial basis. Table 1.---Production of Crude Oil in Venezuela by Years, 1917 to 1929 All Figures in Barrels of 42 Gallons Total PRodUction Total PRoduction Year VeneZUela, Bbl. Year Venezuela, Bbl. 1917....................... 227,000 1927.................... 63,181,000 1918....................... 368,000 1928.................... 106,000,000 1919....................... 258,000 1929.................... 135,953,000* 1920..................... 548,000 Grand Total Since Ineep- 1921...................... 1,544,000 tion................... 380,791,000 1922....................... 2,448,000 Increase, 1929 over 1928.. . 29,953,000 1923..................... 4,170,000 Per cent. Increase......... 28.2 1924....................... 9,234,000 Per cent. 1929 Production 1925....................... 20,219,000 of Total............... 35.7 1926....................... 36,641,000 * Includes estimate for closing period of 1929.

Jan 1, 1930

By Adrian E. Ross

Diamond drilling through caving formations at depths greater than ZOO0 ft has long presented serious difficulty, generally solved either by casing or cementing. Casing is permitted only when the resulting smaller hole is acceptable, and cementing is frequently a problem at depth. A new method that injects cement under pressure at the desired location is an aid in diamond drilling deep holes. DRILLING through caving formations in diamond drill holes at depths greater than 2000 ft has long been a serious problem. These caving formations are normally passed only by casing the hole or by cementing the hole. Casing the hole is possible only when a resulting smaller hole is acceptable. In as much as only a limited number of reductions are economically practical, cementing is frequently considered the only method suitable for solving these problems. Cementing either by pumping a slurry into the hole or by dropping cylinders containing cement has proved satisfactory on holes under 2000 ft. In holes substantially deeper than 2000 ft these methods are not satisfactory, since during the pump- ing process cement separates out, whereas cylinders usually break before the bottom of the hole is reached. A new procedure, the injector method, apparently solves these problems.* With this method, cement is lowered in the hole in a cylinder, the cement being

Jan 1, 1953

By Adrian E. Ross

Diamond drilling through caving formations at depths greater than ZOO0 ft has long presented serious difficulty, generally solved either by casing or cementing. Casing is permitted only when the resulting smaller hole is acceptable, and cementing is frequently a problem at depth. A new method that injects cement under pressure at the desired location is an aid in diamond drilling deep holes. DRILLING through caving formations in diamond drill holes at depths greater than 2000 ft has long been a serious problem. These caving formations are normally passed only by casing the hole or by cementing the hole. Casing the hole is possible only when a resulting smaller hole is acceptable. In as much as only a limited number of reductions are economically practical, cementing is frequently considered the only method suitable for solving these problems. Cementing either by pumping a slurry into the hole or by dropping cylinders containing cement has proved satisfactory on holes under 2000 ft. In holes substantially deeper than 2000 ft these methods are not satisfactory, since during the pump- ing process cement separates out, whereas cylinders usually break before the bottom of the hole is reached. A new procedure, the injector method, apparently solves these problems.* With this method, cement is lowered in the hole in a cylinder, the cement being

Jan 1, 1953

By Frederick T. Fischer

The New Jersey Zinc Company began a program of exploration in Middle Tennessee in 1964. The target horizon of the exploration project has been the Knox Dolomite which is a low-yield aquifer over nearly the entire Central Basin of Tennessee (1). With the exception of a few hundred acres in the Wells Creek and Flynn Creek disturbances (astroblemes?), the Knox Dolomite in Middle Tennessee is known only in subsurface. In January of 1969, New Jersey Zinc announced the discovery of a major zinc deposit near Elmwood, southeast of Carthage. This is on the northeastern flank of the Nashville Dome where the nearly flat-lying beds have an average eastward slope of about 50 feet per mile. The anticipated development of a mining situation has emphasized the significance of hydrologic relationships in the region as a whole and especially in the Elmwood area. These relationships affect several areas of concern which ma be generally grouped into two broad classes; i. e. , (1) Problems of a Public Nature - involving the prevention of the contamination of potable aquifers, the prevention of the contamination of surface waters, the prevention of the capture of presently utilized water, etc.; and (2) Problems of Mining Economics - involving pumping capacity and costs, the possible need for equipment of special composition, underground environmental conditions, etc. Exploration drilling in Middle Tennessee has contributed additional information about the Knox aquifer and

Jan 1, 1970

By Anson Hayes

THE quality of sheet and strip products made of rimming steel is closely related to the structure and chemistry of the ingots. The varia-tion in composition throughout the ingot, as affected by segregation, is of great importance, as are also the form and distribution of the voids that result from the gases evolved. It is because of this importance that the considerable literature in this field has accumulated. No attempt is made in the present paper to compile a bibliography of the excellent work that has already been done, as this has been adequately covered in the many excellent reports on the heterogeneity of steel ingots prepared by a joint committee and published by the British Iron and Steel Institute.1 From time to time, in any field of investigation new tools and new technique are developed, which make further progress possible. In the field with which this paper is concerned, this is true. The development of the vacuum-fusion method as a means of following oxygen segregation, and a technique for obtaining the volume and composition of the gases evolved during solidification, have opened the way to obtaining data by means of which some considerable progress has been realized in developing more of the detailed mechanisms of solidification and segregation in rimming-steel ingots.

Jan 1, 1938

By W. H. Bassett

A 10-year, sea-water, corrosion test of tubes of several copper alloys has shown that many alloys withstood attack by solution, pitting, and dezinkification; a 1-year, salt-spray test of sheet-metal specimens of the same composition showed the same results. THE late J. P. Sparrow, chief operating engineer of the New York Edison Co., carried out a series of practical tests on condenser tubes of several copper alloys and reported on the results to the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies at its meeting in' September, 1913. In the preparation of these tubes the senior author had the pleasure of cooperating. Copper-zinc alloys in the proportions of 60-40, 70-30, 80-20, 90-10, and Admiralty metal, which is in effect 70-30 with 1 per cent. of tin, were tried. Monel metal and several copper-nickel alloys, and 8, 5, and 3 per cent. aluminum bronze were also tried. At the time of this report, the aluminum bronze had been in service for 4 1/2 years and seemed to be giving especially good results but later it began to fail and showed no substantial improvement over Admiralty metal. Monel metal was unsatisfactory and the nickel alloys apparently did not give better service than the Admiralty alloy. Previous to the publication of the report, and after considerable discussion, it was agreed that a test where tubes of different kinds could be under laboratory observation would be advisable, so the apparatus described here was set up in The American Brass Co.'s Waterbury Laboratory. This was fitted with tubes of copper, brass, bronze, nickel silver, cupro-nickel and other alloys, and the test started Oct. 11, 1912. Salt water from East River, New York harbor, was barrelled and transported to the laboratory for the test. A fresh supply, completely replacing the water in service, was obtained at the end of each six months period.

Jan 1, 1925

By Ralph Hultgren

FEW phase diagrams of alloys composed of two transition metals have been adequately studied, probably because of the high melting points involved. Transition metals are the elements that have inner shells incompletely filled with electrons. They comprise groups IIIa to VIIIa of the periodic table, including more than half of all metals. We have chosen to study two systems whose comparatively low melting points allowed the alloys to be melted in a molybdenum resistance furnace. The nickel-palladium system proved to consist of a simple series of solid solutions, but iron-palladium manifested several remarkable features. The main characteristics of the latter diagram were decisively established, but lack of time prevented precise determination of phase boundaries. The gamma to alpha transformation in this system is unusual and warrants further study. Grigorjew1 determined the liquidus and solidus of the iron-palladium system by thermal methods. He found a minimum melting point, but no eutectic. He also found that palladium lowered the gamma to alpha and raised the gamma to delta transformation temperatures of iron, with a complete series of solid solutions existing between gamma iron and palladium. His measurements also indicated a compound or super-lattice near the composition FePd3. Jellinghaus2 found that annealing at 500° C. greatly increased the magnetic coercive force of an alloy of composition FePd. X-ray dif-fraction photographs showed that a tetragonal ordered phase had formed during the anneal.

Jan 1, 1939

By Sergio G. Jarpa

A mining project is, at one and the same time, capital intensive and highly risky. Besides, because of its usual long projected life, the operating cost is more difficult to predict and offtentimes exceed, during the life of the project, the first investment manifold. The objective of this study was to evaluate the applicability of cost-capacity relationships as used in the chemical industry to mining operations and, when necessary, to develop new ones. With the aid of a computer library program available at the Computation Center of the Pennsylvania State University, the total investment in mining equipment was determined to vary exponentially with production capacity, and the scaling exponents for each class of equipment, i.e., drills, shovels, trucks and earth moving equipment, as well as for the total operation were calculated. Since the scaling exponent for the whole mining operation happened to be equal to 0.94, it was concluded that more significant economies of scale are achievable in processing plants than in mining operations. From the operating cost point of view, unit material cost was found to decrease more rapidly than unit labor for the same increases in production capacity. The analysis of cost centers revealed that drilling and blasting, which are materials-intensive operational stages, were the most favorable in achieving significant economies of scale. Hauling unit cost, on the other hand, decreased only slightly when production capacity increased.

Jan 1, 1977

Jan 1, 1904

Jan 1, 1952

By Donald M. D. Stuart

It gives me great pleasure to accept the invitation I had the honor of receiving through the Secretary of the Institute, to reply to the criticisms made in discussion of the theory advanced in my work entitled, Coal-Dust an Explosive Agent; and to lay before the Institute a further statement of the views which investigations have led me to form upon this subject,

Jan 1, 1897

By William E. Ford, Edward Salisbury Dana

A. Anhydrous Carbonates The Anhydrous Carbonates include two distinct isomorphous groups, the CALCITE GROUP and the ARAGONITE GROUP. The metallic elements

Jan 1, 1922

By T. R. Lippard

PURE gypsum may be broken down into its constituents as follows: [ ] Standard specifications (ASTM Designation C22-25) state that a material shall not be considered gypsum if it contains less than 64.5 pct by weight of CaS042H2O. Anhydrite, the second calcium sulphate mineral found in nature, may be broken into its constituents as follows: [ ] PROPERTIES OF GYPSUM AND ANHYDRITE Pure gypsum is colorless to white but various impurities change its color to shades of gray, brown, red, or pink. It has a hardness of 2 in the Mohs scale and can be scratched with the fingernail. The specific gravity of pure gypsum is 2.3 to 2.4, so that rock gypsum, free from moisture, weighs about 145 lb per cu ft. Gypsum crystallizes in the monoclinic system in tabular crystals that exhibit good cleavage

Jan 1, 1949

VARYING in thickness and in number from place to place, coal seams in the Canadian Rockies also range in pitch from nearly horizontal to vertical, sometimes with overturns. Over the entire coal-bearing area there are considerable differences of rank in coals of the same geological age, and there are marked differences in ash content and washability characteristics. Correlation of seams at mining operations within a few miles of each other has often proved impossible. These factors influence mining methods, and, of course, production results. The oldest coal formations of western Canada are of Lower Cretaceous age, as the carboniferous sediments are marine and contain no coal. Coal is also present in formations of Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary ages. The rank of coal varies from semianthracite in some operations in the Kootenay and Luscar formations of the Lower Cretaceous in the Rockies to lignite in the Tertiary fields of the Saskatchewan prairies. Fig. 1 shows the general extent of the formations.

Jan 8, 1954

Jan 1, 1950

By Carl E. Swartz

The Joint Session on Continuous Casting, of the Institute of Metals Division and the Iron and Steel Division of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, convened in the Jade Room of the Hotel Waldorf-Astoria, New York City, on Feb. 23, 1944, at 9:15 o'clock, Carl E. Swartz presiding. C. E. SWartz.—It is gratifying to see so many out at what may seem an early hour for the beginning of A.I.M.E. sessions, but I think this number-—some fifty or sixty of you —is an adequate expression of the interest in these processes all over the United States, and possibly in foreign countries. I would like to ask those who feel that this type of program is of value to you to write or speak to some one of the Institute of Metals Division officers and suggest other topics for symposiums. We have a feeling that some of these current practices are of interest and we believe that under proper sponsorship many of the companies mill be willing to give publicity to processes such as those that will be discussed today. Also, we would like suggestions and criticisms, so that the next ones can be better. The subject of continuous casting is not new, of course. The two papers on the program this morning will adequately cover the history and some of the earlier processes, some of the theory and some of the practice, some of the reasons why these various methods did not work. I was rather interested in discovering, when thumbing through one of the A.I.M.E. publications tile other night, an article on continuous casting. I was not aware that the A.I.M.E. had published any papers on continuous casting, but there may be a number. The one that I happened to find was published in the 1915 volume, on the Mellen rod-casting process, and so we might say this is not the first session in which these subjects have been under discussion. However, there have been many improvements since then in all fields of metallurgical and mechanical engineering; consequently, I think that the papers today will be a little more involved and a little more complete in their technique. The first paper today will be given by one of our gentlemen of the press, who has done one of the outstanding jobs in this country in calling to our attention some of the newer processes that are being considered and being used in the metallurgical indus-

Jan 1, 1945

The Joint Session on Continuous Cast- ing, of the Institute of Metals Division and the Iron and Steel Division of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, convened in the Jade Room of, the Hotel Waldorf-Astoria, New York City, on Feb. 23, 1944, at 9:15 o'clock, Carl E. Swartz presiding. C. E. SWARTZ.-It is gratifying to see so many out at what may seem an early hour for the beginning of A.I.M.E. sessions, but I think this number-some fifty or sixty of you-is an adequate expression of the interest in these processes all over the United States, and possibly in foreign countries. I would like to ask those who feel that this type of program is of value to you to write or speak to some one of the Institute of Metals Division officers and suggest other topics for symposiums. We have a feeling that some of these current practices are of interest and we believe that under proper sponsorship many of the companies will be willing to give publicity to processes such as those that will be discussed today. Also, we would like suggestions and criticisms, so that the next ones can be better. The subject of continuous casting is not new, of course. The two papers on the program this morning will adequately cover the history and some of the earlier processes, some of the theory and some of the practice, some of the reasons why these various methods did not work. I was rather interested in discovering, when thumbing through one of the A.I.M.E. publications the other night, an article on continuous casting. I was not aware that the A.I.M.E. had published any papers on continuous casting, but there may be a number. The one that I happened to find was published in the 1915 volume, on the Mellen rod- casting process, and so we might say this is not the first session in which these subjects have been under discussion. However, there have been many improvements since then in all fields of metallurgical and mechanical engineering; consequently, I think that the papers today will be a little more involved and a little more complete in their technique. The first paper today will be given by one of our gentlemen of the press, who has done one of the outstanding jobs in this country in calling to our attention some of the newer processes that are being considered and being used in the metallurgical indus-

Jan 1, 1945