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By Ernest F. Burchard

MOST of the iron ore smelted in Alabama blast furnaces is mined within Alabama, although deposits in the neighboring States of Georgia and Tennessee may be drawn upon when occasion requires. Of the four commercial kinds of iron ore, the anhydrous ferric oxide, hematite (Fe2O3) ; the hydrous ferric oxide, mostly the type commonly known as limonite (2 Fe2O33H2O) ; the carbonate, siderite (FeCO3) ; and the magnetic oxide, magnetite (Fe:3O4) ; the first two are found in abundance in Alabama, the third in less than commercial quantities, and the fourth only rarely. Both the hematite and the hydroxide are found in somewhat different forms according to their geologic environment. The Red Mountain hematite, of Silurian age, that crops out in well¬defined beds for 1.50 miles northeast-southwest and 40 miles northwest-southeast is the predominant source of ore. Only a small part of this area carries ore of commercial value; Birmingham and Gadsden are now the only centers of production. The ore is of sedimentary origin, probably altered from vast deposits of greensand mixed with calcareous, fossiliferous. marine debris. Other types of hematite not vet mined commercially are in metamorphosed rocks-red ore in slates in Columbiana Mountain and specular hematite (gray ore) in quartzite in the Talladega Hills.

Jan 1, 1938

[59H1-Water Law and Its Significance to the Mining Industry by Wells A Hutchins 59H2-Relation of Land Subsidence to Groundwater Withdrawals in the Upper Gulf Coast Region, Texas by Leonard A Wood and A G Winslow 59F3-Hydraulic Mining of Gilsonite and Its Application to Coal Mining by J H Baker 59H4-Recovery of Phosphates by In Situ Fluid Mining by Sylvain J Pirson 59F5-Coal Cleaning Plant Design for Minimum Operating Labor by Wm M Bertholf and John D Price 59F6-Coke Combustibility A Neglected Characteristic by J D Price 59B7-Union Carbide's Uranium Operation at Maybell, Colorado by K W Lentz and F T Temple 59H8-A Rapid Method for Estimating Alumina in Feldspathic Sands by Hugh H Bein 59H9-Water Laws as Related to Dredging in Idaho by Robert A Lothrop, Richard B Porter, and Robert P Porter 58B19-Separation and Washing of Alumina Process Residue by Morton Handelman 59B11-Feed Preparation and Froth Modification for Fatty Acid Flotation by Carl C Martin and Burt C Mariacher 59B12-Design Requirements for Tailing Disposal in the Southwest by E Vern Given 59B13-Semi-Dome Shaped Buildings for Bulk Storage by Edward E Ives and William L Payne]

Jan 1, 1961

By N. Standish

Heat transfer coefficients have been measured in beds of various packings irrigated with mercury and molten fusible alloy countercurrent to hot gases. The measured coefficients for both systems were found to increase with gas velocities and liquid rates. Correlations were determined which show this dependence and also indicate that heat transfer in these systems is influenced by the liquid flow characteristics and the thermal conductivity of the gas and the solid packings. A heat transfer model has beer2 proposed which explains the various features of the experimental results. On the basis of this study, which gives an insight into the heat exchange in the melting zone of the blast furnace, it was concluded that by comparison with the furnace stack heat transfer coefficients are about 1.5 times higher in the melting zone. EACH year large tonnages of metal are produced in operations which, in part, involve liquid metal irrigation of "packings" countercurrent to hot gases. The melting zone in blast furnaces and in cupolas is a good example of packings irrigated with a liquid melt countercurrent to gases. In all instances of this kind large amounts of heat are exchanged and it is desirable to have some knowledge of heat transfer phenomena involved in these systems. So far the most common method of analyzing furnace efficiencies, fuel requirements, and the general thermal state of the furnace has been through the use of heat balances. As heat balances are essentially statements of the first law of thermodynamics they give no real indication of the factors which govern heat transfer between phases in the various zones of blast furnaces. Hence, rational improvement in production efficiency and the development of theoretical models is only possible if the heat transfer characteristics are known at every stage of the process and related to the important variables involved. This has been generally recognized for some time but it was only recently that Kitaev et al.' have produced a comprehensive treatment of heat transfer in solid-gas countercurrent systems such as the blast furnace stack and the packed bed regenerator. Using their treatment it is now possible to predict the effect of particle size, thermal conductivity, bed porosity, and the flow rates of both the gas and the solid material on the heat transfer in the blast furnace stack. However, the stack of a blast furnace is only one part of an integral unit for which the heat transfer analysis cannot be complete without also considering the heat exchange in the melting zone. The complexity of heat transfer processes in this region of the furnace has so far escaped quantitative description. Yet, the melting zone accounts for a greater amount of heat exchange than all the other zones of the furnace put together. Moreover, if the reduction of oxides in the melting zone proceeds in part in the liquid state the importance of heat transfer on furnace productivity and on the metal and slag temperatures is obvious. THEORY Heat transfer for two-phase flow in packed beds is a complex problem involving a number of heat exchange paths for which interphase areas are not known with any degree of certainty. Analytical solution is, therefore, difficult. This difficulty is emphasized by noting that Rabinovich~ and Luck have only recently solved the steady-state heat transfer for simplified two-phase heat exchangers of known area. However, useful progress can be made for the system considered by making a not unreasonable assumption that the usual heat transfer considerations apply and restricting treatment to the steady state. For these conditions the rate of heat transfer dq in a height dz of a packed bed of unit area is: dq = UaATdz [I.] Integration of Eq. [I] then gives the total heat transferred: assuming both U, the overall heat transfer coefficient, and a, the interphase area, to be independent of bed height. Since a, in these systems, is unknown it is convenient to combine this term with U. The group U, then represents the overall heat transfer coefficient on a volumetric basis. If AT is linear with q, then for a bed of unit volume Eq. [Z] can be integrated to give: is the log mean of terminal temperature differences. From Eq. [3] U, can be readily calculated as q and {AT)im are experimentally obtained quantities, but a difficulty arises in interpreting its meaning. Two approaches are possible depending on whether the effect of packing in the transfer of heat is neglected or not. If the packing is thermally decoupled then the resistance concept gives the relationship: which states that the overall resistance is the sum of the gas phase and the liquid phase resistances (assuming areas are equal throughout). Because the resistance to heat transfer in liquid metals is negligible by comparison with that of the gas,4 Eq. [4] can be simplified, i.e.:

Jan 1, 1969

By George J. Bancroft

It is unnecessary to repeat here the contents of many valuable contributions to this subject which have appeared in the Dansactions and in the publications of the U. S. Geological Survey. As a basis for the further suggestions of this paper, the following are the most important: 1. The investigation of J. R. Don,' showing the gold of certain Australasian veins to have been deposited by ascending solutions, and not by lateral secretion. 2. The theory of Prof. Posepny? distinguishing the vadose from the deep circulation, and ascribing the origin of certain classes of ore-deposits to ascending solutions of the latter class. 3. The theory of Prof. Van Hise,3 as to the underground circulation and the primary enrichment of veins thereby. 4. The paper of Prof. J. F. Kemp,4 showing that ore-deposits are largely the products of " expiring vulcanism." Many. of Prof. Kemp's ideas have been widely adopted by mining men. 5. The theory of secondary enrichment, so lucidly expounded by Mr. S. F. Emmons.V his theory, dealing with the rearrangement of ore-bodies after primary mineralization, has been generally adopted, and seems to me to have been as completely proved as the nature of the case permits. There are two facts which I think should be constantly borne in mind in formulating a theory of the genesis of ore-

Jan 1, 1908

By B. C. Craft, T. J. Johnson, H. L. Kirkpatrick

Petroleum engineers are displaying considerable interest in the problems of cementing oil wells, especially in the Gulf Coast and California areas, where steep temperature gradients are encountered and where wells are being drilled to greater depths. Deep drilling, that is, at depths in excess of 7000 ft., has been undertaken in these areas only in the last few years and with this trend oil-well cementing requires more technical treatment. It is not the purpose of this paper to describe the scope and application of cement operations in the oil industry or to give the standard specifications, methods of sampling and testing of portland cement. The various testing methods have been described by the American Society for Testing Materials1, Uren2, Tickell and Wankowski3 and Rakestraw and Parsons4. The latter authors (pp. 50-58) have also described in detail the methods of cementing. The authors realize that it is impossible to reproduce in the laboratory the scale of forces and dimensions that exist at great depths, but an attempt has been made to scale down these dimensions proportionally. The selection of problems to be studied was based largely upon the practical questions asked by several of the largest operators in these fields. All cements used in these experiments met the specifications of the American Society for Testing Materials.

Jan 1, 1935

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 David Swan

No mystery shrouds the discovery of chromium. The indefatigable French chemist Vauquelin, in reporting his discovery of this chemical element to 1'Institut National in 1798, concluded his discourse with the statement: "I place before the eyes of the Institute a small quantity of chromium and several of its most re- markable combinations." Working with the so-called "red lead of Siberia, Vauquelin not only prepared numerous chemical compounds of the new metal, but he reduced the oxide to the metallic state. These chemical compounds possessed a variety of remarkably distinctive colors; so, acceding to suggestion, Vauquelin named the new element chrome (chromium), a derivative of the Greek word chroma, meaning color. Siberian "red lead" (crocoite) was not plentiful; however, it was not long before Vauquelin's prediction was realized that the chemical compounds of chromium would become useful in the arts when sources of chromium became more readily available. Although chrome-iron ore (chromite) became obtainable in France, the United States and elsewhere during the early part of the nineteenth century, it is interesting to note that from 1828 to about 1860, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and others of the eastern United States furnished almost the entire chrome-ore requirements of the world. Several countries each in turn have since dominated for certain periods the supply of chromite. In recent years, the largest tonnages have come

Jan 1, 1953

By J. L. Gillson

Historically, rock deposits and sand deposits of titanium minerals came into production about the same time, although there may be some argument as to what is meant by production. Beach de- posits of heavy minerals in India (Figs. 1-4) and Brazil (Figs. 5) were worked for monazite about the turn of century, but as there was then no market for titanium minerals, these were thrown away. The rock rutile deposits at Roseland, Va., Fig. 6, were worked to supply rutile for titanium chemicals and for coloring ceramics long before there was a titanium pigment business. The pigment industry started about the middle twenties, both in Europe and the U. S., and almost simultaneously the rock deposits at Ponte Vedra Beach near Jacksonville, Fla., were worked for titanium content. Since those days, production from both types of deposits has continued to grow at a rapid rate; many deposits of both types have been found, and reserves have grown to very large figures. In total tonnage of reserves, there is no doubt that the rock deposits are far ahead of the sand deposits; nevertheless there is a very large tonnage of commercial sands available. It is the quality of titanium mineral in the sand and the relatively lower costs of operating sand deposits that have kept them abreast, at least in annual tonnage produced, with the rock deposits.

Jan 4, 1959

By J. Leja, J. H. Schulman

FROTH flotation is usually effected by the addition of a collector agent and a frothing agent to an aqueous suspension of suitably comminuted mineral ores. The action of collectors is to adsorb onto the surfaces of minerals to be separated, sensitizing them to bubble adherence. The action of frothers has, in the past, been accepted as that of froth formation only, brought about by a lowering of the air/water interfacial tension. Substances capable of producing froth are classed1a,b according to their relative capacities for production of froth-volume and froth stability in the simple frother-water system. The purpose of this paper is to show that the surface active agents acting as frothers become effective only when there is a suitable degree of molecular interaction taking place between collector molecules and frother molecules at the air/water and solid/ water interfaces. Further, the discussion will demonstrate that the actual mechanism of adherence of an air bubble to a suitably collector-coated particle is due to the molecular interaction collector-frother. This leads to the formation of a continuous interfacial film of associated molecules, anchored to the mineral by polar groups of the collector, and enveloping the whole bubble. The tenacity of adhesion mineral-to-bubble results from the strength and the visco-elasticity of this mixed film.

Jan 2, 1954

By Woo-Zin Choi, Ting Chuen Pong, Roe-Hoan Yoon, James R. Craig, Robert M. Haralick

Detailed analysis by conventional techniques and by the General Image Processing System (GIPSY) has revealed that the conmunution of base metal-containing, complex, fine-grained sulfide ores results in the selective concentration of some ore minerals as a function of size fraction. The ores studied are massive, metamorphically recrystallized, pyrrhotite-rich masses with 10-30 percent pyrite and several percent each of sphalerite, chalcopyrite, and magnetite; gangue minerals - amphibole, mica, and quartz - constitute approximately 10 percent of the ore mass. Examination of samples from laboratory grinding experiments, - from +35 to -250 mesh - produced by both Impact and attrition grinding, reveals that there are significant differences in the mineralogical content of the various size fractions. No single fraction is representative of the bulk mineralogy of the sample. Pyrite is highly enriched in coarser fractions, whereas chalcopyrite, sphalerite, magnetite, and gangue minerals are concentrated in the finer size fractions. Concentration of the ore minerals in the finer fractions is attributed to their common presence as interstitial, grains along the grain boundaries of the more dominant pyrrhotite and pyrite. As such, they tend to be somewhat preferentially liberated as small fragments during the initial stages of crushing and grinding. The relatively coarse-grained pyrite, up to 1 cm cubes, is brittle and readily fractures into coarse fragments which are seen in larger size fractions.

Jan 1, 1984

By E. T. Turkdogan, L. S. Darken, R. G. Olsson, H. A. Wriedt

Several aspects of the calcination of Michigan limestone were investigated: the rate of calcination of limestone spheres with diameters from 1.8 to 14 cm at temperatures from 800° to 1200°C by a thermogravimetric method; the temperature profile across limestone during calcination; the excess pressure developed in the interior of the stone during calcination; the pore surface area, pore volume, and effective gas diffusivity in burnt lime; and the microstructure of polished and fracture surfaces. It is found that, over a wide range of experimental conditions, the difference between the surface and center temperatures remains essentially unchanged during the latter half of calcination. From the rate of weight loss after about 50% calcination, the value 0.00126 cal per cm sec degree is found for the effective thermal conductivity of burnt lime. From the excess internal pressure measurements, i.e., 0.4 to 6 cm Hg at 800° to 1200°C, the permeability of burnt lime is estimated to be within the range 8 X 10-' to 5 X 10' sq cm. With increasing temperature and time of calcination, the pore structure of burnt lime coarsens as indicated by a decrease in the pore surface area, pore volume, and an increase in the average pore size. For the temperature range 600° to 835°C the ratio (effective gas diffusivity/molecular diffusivity) is about 0.18.

Jan 1, 1974

By C. J. Wilhem, J. M. Devine

A corrosion-testing apparatus which operates in the field and which will determine the comparative resistance of various ferrous materials to corrosion by gaseous hydrogen sulfide at ordinary temperatures is described. The principle of the uniform method of testing is to allow natural gas containing hydrogen sulfide, direct from its source in the field, to flow over the group of specimens for a given period of time, and subsequently to estimate the corrosion sustained by each specimen by determining its loss in weight. The comparative results obtained when specimens of 47 representative ferrous materials of described typical composition \\ere tested at ordinary temperatures with natural gas containing hydrogen sulfide are given in tables showing average penetration of metal, Inches per year. The primary purpose of the work Mas to determine the possible utllity to the petroleum and natural gas industries of ferrous materials that are commercially available, and no attempt is made to discuss the results of the tests from the metallurgical standpoint. The following is a summary of the results obtained: 1. Steels containing 12 to 27 per cent of chromium showed the highest resistance to corrosion. The presence of nickel In these high-chromium steels did not affect their resistance. 2. Steels containing approximately 5 per cent of chromium showed comparatively high resistance, but somewhat less than that of the high-chromium steels.

Jan 1, 1934

By G. L. Oldright

DURING 1919, in the face of high cost for labor and supplies and a rapidly dropping copper market, the management of the Ohio Copper Co. of Utah was left with an orebody that had been shown to be very low grade, and a mill that could not make a satisfactory recovery, even by flotation, because a considerable proportion of the copper minerals was oxidized. About seven million tons had been mined by the use of a caving system, the best of the broken ore extracted and milled, and the nature and copper content of the rest of the orebody fairly well determined. The rock of the whole mine was shown to run between 0.3 and 1.3 per cent. in. copper. As, the Ohio Copper orebody lies at the contact of the original sandstone (now altered to quartzite) with the quartz monzonite intru-sion that was the source of the mineralization at Bingham Canon, the rock was thoroughly shattered. It was shown further that the rock was mostly quart-zite, with a few quartz-monzonite "fingers" projecting into it. Although some of the old cleavage planes had been healed by resilicification so as to leave some of the copper minerals disseminated in the rock, a large proportion of these minerals was distributed along the cleavage planes.

Jan 10, 1923

By Robert A. Rapp

The standard molar free energy of formation of MOO,was determined between 750o to 1050o C in galvanic cell measurements involving the solid electrolyte Zr0.85 Ca0.15 O1.85. Use of the reference electrodes Fe + FexO and Ni + NiO Provided two independent determinations of FoMoo2. The data may be represented by the equation FMoO2 = -137,500 +40.0T(°K) which is in good agreement with previous CO/CO, gas equilibrium measurements of Gleiser and Chipman. The standard molar free energy of formation of molybdenum dioxide has recently been reported over a large range of high temperatures from the calorimetric experiments of King, Weller, and christensen.' Gleiser and chipman2 have also recently determined ?FmoO2 from 926o to 1068oC in CO/CO2 gas equilibrium measurements. Earlier gas equilibrium studies have been made and reviewed by Gokcen.' Over the temperature range studied by Gleiser and Chipman their values for ?FoMoO2 differed from the calorimetric data by about 700 cal. This investigation was undertaken to resolve this difference and thereby establish the two phase mixture of Mo + MOO, as an electrode of well-known oxygen potential for galvanic cell applications at very high temperatures. The galvanic cell technique involving the Zr,.,, Ca,0.15 01.85 solid electrolyte was introduced for the

Jan 1, 1963

By C. L. Dake

Chemistry of Iron Solution IRON is much more soluble in the ferrous than in the ferric form. Where, as in the case of the ferrous silicates and the sulphides, the iron is already in the ferrous form, it may go at once into solution and be removed, upon the breaking down of the parent rock. If in the ferric form, it must first be reduced; usually by the decay of organic matter, the demand of the decaying carbonaceous matter for oxygen being so great that the latter is abstracted from the ferric compounds and the iron is thereby reduced and rendered' soluble. The iron may go into solution as the sulphate, or in the presence of excess CO2 as ferrous carbonate. It is probably soluble as salts of the organic acids.1 Recent work indicates that these are important in the formation of bog ores.2 There is considerable variety of opinion concerning the behavior of these organic compounds.3 The secretions about the roots of plants and trees also cause the solution and removal of iron and a consequent bleaching of the soil.4 While the matter is not yet well understood, we can probably say definitely that the so-called organic acids are a group of colloids which possess slightly acid properties, and the salts of which are partly soluble

Jan 7, 1915

By K. Matsuda, H. Tanaka, M. Mamiya, H. Majima

Copper cementation was studied from both thermodynamic and kinetic aspects. The temperature effect of copper cementation, which has been recognized as an anomalous result, and the rate enhancement phenomenon observed after the initial linear step are, in particular, focused in this work. The main results obtained are as follows; 1) Free energy changes of copper cementation reactions, calculated by the use of the "Correspondence Principle" of Criss and Cobble are rather insensitive to temperature. 2) A Flow-cell assembly consisting of a special cupric ion electrode, a calomel electrode and a potentiometer is particularly useful for the continuous measurements of copper cementation rate. 3) Two first-order reaction rate constants for the CU2+- Fe system were successfully determined by the use of the flow-cell assembly. 4) Activation energies determined for the initial rate and the 9 maximum rate of CU2+ - Fe system are both 4.6 kcal/mole. This fact suggests that the mechanisms of the initial reaction and the final reaction are essentially the same and both reactions are rate controlled by the diffusion in a boundary layer. The difference in the rate constants of them may fie explained by the effect of the nature of surface deposits. 5) Qualitative explanation of the rate enhancement phenomenon from the initial rate was successfully made by applying Bockris "Penetration Model."

Jan 1, 1976

By J. B. Hiskey

The hydrometallurgical application of thiourea in processing precious metal ores and concentrates has reached the development stage. This paper reviews recent technical literature covering the process development of thiourea leaching. In addition, recent fundamental contributions are discussed. Most of the interest in thiourea leaching has involved treating high grade concentrates that have sufficient value to just the use of thiourea as a reagent. An important development in thiourea technology is the addition of SO2 to the leaching solution. This procedure effectively reduces the decomposition of thiourea and eliminates the problems of passive surface layers that limit the leaching efficiency. Results for the thiourea leaching of a bulk sulfide concentrate and a residue from the autoclave leaching of a smelter flue dust are also reported. As determined by a standard bottle roll cyanidation test, the bulk concentrate was extremely resistive to cyanide leaching yielding only 16% gold and 2% silver extraction in 24 hours. Leaching with a relatively concentrated thiourea solution (1MCS (NH2)2) resulted in 83% gold and 75% silver extraction in four hours. With the treated flue dust residue, gold extraction was about 60%. Gold and silver extraction with cyanide was sensitive to both cyanide concentration and oxidizing conditions. Cyanidation resulted in 59% gold extraction and 77% silver extraction in 24 hours.

Jan 1, 1985

By James S. Browning

The Bureau of Mines conducted laboratory and small-scale continuous tests of kyanite ore from Georgia and South Carolina to determine the technical feasibility of recovering commercial grade kyanite concentrates by flotation. The research indicated that combinations if sulfuric acid and petroleum sulfonate may be used effectively for flotation of kyanite from quartzite-kyanite ore. This report summarizes the results of these tests, and demonstrates the feasibility of producing commercial-grade concentrates with a high recovery of the contained kyanite. Extensive deposits of kyanite occur in the southeastern United States. The reserves of these deposits, if developed, are adequate to supply the United States with 35-mesh kyanite concentrate for many years at the present rate of consumption. According to Espenshade and Potter,' the kyanite-quartz rock type deposits in this area contain about 100 million tons of ore averaging 10 to 30% kyanite. The tonnage of kyanite-bearing gneiss and schist is much larger than the tonnage of kyanite-quartz rock, but the kyanite gneiss and schist are appreciably lower in grade. The largest deposits of kyanite-quartz rock are in the Farmville district, Virginia, and Kings Mountain district, North Carolina-South Carolina, and at Graves Mountain, Ga. Of the known deposits, only four were being mined for kyanite in 1 967. These deposits are near Farmville and Dillwyn, Va., Clover, S.C., and Washington, Ga.

Jan 1, 1970

The following is an incomplete list of members and guests who' called at Institute headquarters during the period Mar. 10, 1918 to Apr. 10, 1918. W. Sinclair Brown, Lebong Donok, Sumatra. F. Laroque, Roodepoort, Transvaal. H. B. Catlin, Syracuse, N. Y. A. H. Means, Camp Upton. A. R. Chambers, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. J. H. Miles, Nome, Alaska. W. M. Corse, Buffalo, N. 1 . Harvey S. Mudd, Washington, D. C. George C. Crossley, Toms River, N. J. Henry Noyes, Melbourne, Aust. F. A. Dalburg, Montoursville, Pa. C. L. Petzel, Camp Upton. Kuno Doerr, El Paso, Tex. J. L. Schueler, Peoria, I11. V. E. Edwards, Worcester, Mass. J. G. Scrugham, Reno, Nev. H. F. E. Gamm, Rutherford, N. J. Frank M. Smith, East Helena, Mont. J. W. Gerhard, St. Louis, Mo. W. G. Swart, Duluth, Minn. Julius H. Gillis, Sudbury, Ont., Canada. A. L. Sweetser, Boston, Mass. S. J. Gormly, Guayacan, Chile. W. N. Thayer, Cincinnati, Ohio. Fletcher Hamilton, San Francisco, Cal. Felix E. Wormser, Cornucopia, Ore. Dorsey A. Lyon, Washington,. D. C. John B. Arnold has opened offices at 606 Lyceum Bldg., Duluth, Minn. E. E. Barker, formerly mine superintendent with the Chile Exploration Company at Chuquicamata, Chile, has resigned his position to become superintendent of mines for the Cerro de Pasco Copper Corporation at Cerro de Pasco, Peru.

Jan 5, 1918

By John Gill

THE purpose of this paper is to invite attention away from the obvious, direct monetary costs of oil-field overdevelopment (as dis-tinguished from "social costs") to a consideration of the role played by the exercise of freedom to create even allegedly excessive1 plant facilities in contributing to the maintenance of equilibrium in the whole economy and in promoting material progress. The obvious and most commonly discussed effect of overdevelop-ment of oil fields is illustrated by the allegation that already the excessive development of the East Texas field has cost upward of $162,000,000;2 in other words, the drilling of 12,500 wells more than the number esti-mated as the requirement for economical recovery of the reserve has unnecessarily raised the total cost of development that amount. Many other illustrations of so-called excessive development of oil pools could be presented. Some of them, like Cushing, Powell and Long Beach, might be drawn from the era antedating widespread discussion in the trade of such matters as optimum well spacing, reservoir energy, the conservation rate of depletion of reserves, etc. Numerous other cases can be found in the records of the current era, which began with the introduction of rationalized restriction of production. Besides East Texas, there may be mentioned Oklahoma City, Centralia and, more recently, the town-lot development of Bloomingdale, Michigan.

Jan 1, 1939