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Aamot, Olav Crone, (M'29) Chem. Engr., Elektrokemisk, Raadhusgt. 23, Oslo, Norway. Abadilla, Quirico A., (M'3S) Min. Engr., Dir., Bu¬ reau of Mines. Manila, P. I. Abbott, Agatin Townsend, (J'40) Jr. Engr., Phelps Dodge Corp., Morenci Branch, Morenci. Ariz. Abbott, Clarence E., (M'04) Civil Engr., V.P., Ten¬nessee Coal Iron & R.R.. Co., 1542 Brown -Marx Bldg.. Birmingham, Ala. Abel, Raymond L., (M'28) Chem. Engr., Command¬ing, Officer, Pittsburgh Chem. Warfare Procurement Dist., American Bank Bldg., Pittsburgh. Pa. Abel, Walter D., (M'32) Alin. Engr.. Div. of Cor¬porations, State of Calif., 403 California State Bldg., Los Angeles, Calif. Abele, Louis T., (M'31) 423 3rd Ave., Decatur, Ga. Abell, Leo M., (M'31) Mill Supt. & Met., Emperor Gold Min. Co., Led., Vatnkoula, Fiji Islands. Abernathy, G. E., (M'38) Geol., Kansas State Geol. Survey, Pittsburg, Bans. Abernathy, Jack H., (M'40) Peer. Engr., c/o Superior Oil Corp., National Bank of Tulsa Bldg., Tulsa, Okla. Aborn, Robert H., (M'10) Asst. Met., Research Lab., U. S. Steel Corp., Lincoln Highway, Kearny, N. J. Abraham, A. W., (M'39) Peer. Engr., Richfield Oil Corp., 555 S. Flower St., Los Angeles, Calif. Abramowitz, William L., (J'40) Chem., Industrial Inventions, Inc., 103 Foster Se., Peabody, Mass.

Jan 1, 1942

By H. P. Greenwald

THE Committee on Rock-Dusting was formed after the fall meeting of the Coal Division in Chicago in 1938. Its primary task was to study the recommended American practice for rock- dusting coal mines to prevent coal-dust explosions as approved by the American Engineering Standards Committee. After approximately two years' work he committee concluded that although certain portions of the recommended practice could well be revised, information needed for a logical revision was not at hand, and it was inadvisable, therefore, to make revisions

Jan 1, 1943

By N. S. Wagner

The production of lightweight aggregates in Oregon is a new industry, and, like all new enterprises, it is suffering from growing pains characterized by numerous, small operations some of which flourish for a short time and then cease altogether. Normally all industrial mineral products are produced in a highly competitive atmosphere. At the present time this condition does not exist to a very marked degree in the state because as yet producers have not saturated the constantly expanding market. This paper has been prepared with the intention of outlining very briefly the current status of the various products now being used as lightweight aggregates in Oregon. The present picture will surely change, perhaps quite radically within even a short space of time.

Jan 1, 1949

By Rollin A. Pallanch

THE Midvale mill of the United States Smelting Refining and Mining Company is situated on a flat site whose elevation is 50 ft above that of the Jordan River. Tailings are impounded in the area between the river and the flat upon which the mill and railroad switchyard are located. The water supply is pumped from the Galena canal which leads from the river at a point some ten miles to the south. The mill has a present capacity of approximately 1700 tons daily. It started out originally in 1926 as a 750 ton three-unit plant. The tonnage was gradually increased to 1200 tons by 1934, and in late 1935 a fourth unit was added. The accompanying flowsheet shows the principal equipment and how it is utilized. The ore is principally sulphide with varying degrees of oxidation, with individual lots ranging widely in both precious and base metal content. In each of the four individual units of the mill there will often be mixtures of as

Jan 1, 1948

By Edward Keller

THE present ruling principle in shop and factory, induced by conditions of. keen competition, is to do the greatest amount of work in the shortest time, or in other words, to secure the greatest output at least cost, a condition which generally necessitated the substitution of machinery for manual labor. The chemical laboratory in our industrial establishments has remained a factor of minor importance, and, for this, reason, not only has progress been permitted to lag, but the methods of analytical work have been carried on along individual traditional lines. Some works-laboratories are equipped with such conveniences as Gooch filters, suction-pumps, compressed air, shaking-machines, centrifugal machines, crushers, etc., yet there is much room for improvement, particularly in laboratories of metal smelting and refining plants, in which long series of filtrations and stirrings are performed singly by hand in a slow and laborious manner. There are also many other instances in which collective handling appears rational. As a rule the chemist wastes much time by such manual labor, which, in a modern establishment and under up-to-date management, could be more advantageously applied to useful chemical work; and such higher chemical work is gradually and surely becoming recognized as an essential extension of old-time methods of assaying. While it maybe said that in some laboratories, boys and not chemists do the manual labor, it should be borne in mind that all chemical work requires care and accuracy and in these respects boys are naturally a source of concern to the responsible chemist. Moreover, the cheapness of child-labor is largely offset by the increase in the expense-account of laboratory materials, caused chiefly by breakages resulting from care¬lessness. Having; been authorized by the Anaconda Copper Mining

Mar 1, 1905

By W. F. Boericke

WORLD production of silver in 1929 totaled 256 million ounces. In 1928 production was 258 million ounces, and in 1927, 254 million ounces. With an actual decrease in the amount of silver produced last year, as compared with 1928, and an increase over 1927 of less than one per cent, obviously there has been no overproduction of the metal in the popular sense. But the price of silver tells a different story. For 1927, the average quotation was 56.37 cents; it was 58.17 in 1928, and 53.0 in 1929. During the last year it reached a high point of 57 cents in January, and fell steadily, without interruption to the downward trend, to a low of 47 cents in December. Since then it has dropped to an all time low of 43 cents on February 6.

Jan 1, 1930

By Ralph H. Sweetser

MUCH progress in -blast-furnace construction and in the manufacture of firebrick for furnace linings has been made since the publication of Bulletin 130 of the U. S. Bureau of Mines on "Blast-Furnace Breakouts, Explosions and Slips, and Methods of Prevention," by F. H. Willcox in 1917. At the time of publishing this report comparatively little information was available to blast-furnace men as to the fundamental facts relating to the character of blast-furnace refractories. Some of the accepted theories of only a few years ago have been completely reversed. The mortality of blast-furnace linings used to be so great that nearly every furnace plant had one or more complete linings in the brick shed ready for use in case of a lining suddenly "going out"; it was generally accepted that a furnace could not "keep her lines" more than two or three years at best, and often a hot spot in the shell would develop, or a breakout occur in the hearth or bosh within a year or two after blowing in on a new lining. In some respects these frequent relinings were not so detrimental as to he a complete loss because they afforded opportunities to take advantage of advances in blast-furnace practice. At present the cost of relining has greatly increased, but the life of a lining has also increased. Anything less than five years on a lining is now considered a short blast.

Jan 1, 1932

By J. L. Christie, R. H. Leach

SO much has been written recently about the use of silver to replace scarce metals that certain facts about silver and its uses should be of interest. Figures for the production and use of silver, taken from the Handy & Harman annual reviews of the silver market, are given in Table 1. It will be seen that the rate of production has remained fairly constant and has been affected in recent years by the production of base metals, of which silver is a by-product. In each of the years 1937, 1938, and 1939, the U.S. Government acquisitions alone exceeded the entire world production, the difference, of course, being made up by imports of previously accumulated stocks. In 1940 and 1941 the U. S. Government acquisitions plus the United States and Canadian uses in the arts and industries exceeded the Western Hemisphere production. The U.S. Government pays a premium price for silver newly mined in the United States, at present 71.11c. compared with the price of 35'/8c. for foreign silver, with the result that the current U. S. production is not used commercially for the arts and industries. At the time this is written (June 1942) there is much uncertainty as to the future effect of this situation.

Jan 1, 1942

By F. S. Norcross

DEVELOPMENT of the manganese deposits of Cuba is a matter of importance not only to those involved in this industry on the Island but to the United States steel industry and to our Nation as a whole. For years our domestic resources of manganese have been wholly inadequate, but the recent Cuban development points the way toward solution of this strategic mineral problem.

Jan 1, 1939

By G. B. WATERHOUSE

THE year 1929 was exceedingly busy and prosperous for the iron and steel industry in the United States. The lake shipments of ore were approximately 65,000,000 tons, steel ingots produced were about 57,000,000 tons. Plants were very active. operating for many months well over their rated capacity, slowing down during the last quarter following the severe break in the stock market. The ore tonnage mentioned above was the greatest ever shipped by lake from the Lake Superior region. The trend at the ore mines has been to supplement manual labor by mechanical appliances as much as possible. Mining methods have been greatly improved along the lines of safety as well as to increase the percentage of ore recovery. Crushing and grading of iron ores continued to gain in popularity inasmuch as remarkable blast-furnace operations and records were obtained with sizing and uniformity of raw materials. Progress was made along other lines. The Bradley process for the separation of manganese osicle and iron oside from siliceous manganiferous iron ore was cleuelopecl; also considerable work was clone on a process for the beneficiation of the Cuban laterite ores. Sintering of ores and concentrates increased in popularity. A new analytical method for the deter- mination of sulfur in iron ore was worked out which reduced the time required appreciably. The ore re- serves of the Lake Superior district continued to receive considerable attention and played an important part in the recent mergers which have taken place in the iron ancl steel industry.

Jan 1, 1930

By AIME AIME

NO MORE SUITABLE time and place than LOS Angeles on Thursday and Friday, July 28 and 29, could have been chosen for the Western Regional Meeting of the~1nstitutk. After attending two clays of technical sessions and enjoying the luncheons and dinners of the meeting, visitors, on the following days, could see the opening ceremonies and events of the Olympic Games, which started on July 30 and continued to Aug. 14. Such d spectacle can be seen only once in a generation in this country.

Jan 1, 1932

By C. A. WARNER

AN OIL and gas mining lease contract, as entered A into by and between 'the lessor and the lessee, contains certain express covenants stipulating, in part at least, the exact performance thereof; it also contains certain implied covenants, among which may be included that of protection of the leased premises against drainage by the drilling of necessary offset wells. In the drilling for, and production of, oil and gas, however, it not infrequently happens that the lessee, acting in good faith, does not deem it prudent to, drill a test thereon even though the location for such test is offset by a producing well on an adjoining lease. Such conclusion, on the part of the lessee, is generally construed by the lessor as constituting a breach of the implied covenant mentioned above, and he may take proper action to secure satisfaction therefor. The action against the lessee is generally for cancellation or relinquishment of the lease, together with, or apart from, claims for damages allegedly sustained through failure to properly protect against drainage of the leased premises.

Jan 1, 1931

By H. L. TERWILLIGER

THOSE of us who have been following rock drilling work for the last 15 or 20 years can recall some of the problems that were encountered with the old piston type of rock drill and the solid steel which it used. There was frequent trouble in keeping a straight hole in badly broken ground when using the ordinary four- point bit that had a flare on the wings of about 14". The drill steel, when pounding down its hole, would follow the line of least resistance and draw away from the desired line when it encountered a weak side in the ground through which it was drilling. Some would overcome the difficulty by making long winged bits to prevent the steel crowding over; this would relieve the troubles to a great extent. There was trouble with the rifling of drill holes and inability to drill round holes in some ground. The cure for these ills was to use the "X" bit, rather than the crossbit. The "2" bits were brought out in an effort to make it easier to drill a round hole in bad ground. Most of these troubles were before the days when the mechanical drill sharpener was in as common use as it is today. It was not until the introduction of the Leyner type of rock drill, requiring hollow steel that the users of rock drills found themselves confronted with more difficult prob- lems than they had ever encountered before with drill steel because the steel had to stand more severe service.

Jan 1, 1924

By W. H. Bassett

ABOUT twenty-five years ago the copper industry had outgrown the Lake Superior production. The electrolytic copper producers had- their process well in hand and the industry was well started in the use of electrolytic copper, both for working into wire and sheet, and for the making of alloys. The trade knew that some brands of copper made good material and that other brands did not. There came together a group of men-a refiner, a rolling-mill man, and a manufacturer of electrical machinery-each of them desiring to know why there was a difference and what .it was. Much investigation was done with wire bars and cakes which involved ' chemical analysis, metallographic examination, physical tests and electrical tests. To find the influence of different kinds of copper in making brass 200 carloads of ingots were made into ,eyelet brass under careful observation; each carload was carefully analyzed and tested before used. The alloy was made and rolled under standard conditions and the results recorded.

Jan 1, 1924

By PAUL M. Tyier

NOW that analytical chemistry has gone so far to debunk early misconceptions about minerals, the fact that the light of exact knowledge still fails to illuminate many dark corners is often overlooked. By combining the skills of the physicist with those of a chemist, the identification of minerals has become an exact science and the presence of even minute traces of impurities and extraneous elements is readily revealed by spectrographic means, Granted that we can learn all there is to know about the composition of a substance and even about its physical propertied (which latter assumption is somewhat far-reaching) it still does not follow that we clearly understood its commercial designation or utility.

Jan 1, 1941

By W. B. Tucker

UNUSUAL interest has recently centered in the Mojave mining district of California, owing to new discoveries of gold ore at the Silver Queen mine, and subsequently at other neighboring proper- ties. These finds have proved that opportunities exist for the prospector even in old mining districts, where careful search may still be rewarded. The Mojave district is characterized by a group of small hills centering around Soledad Butte, four to six miles southwest of Mojave, in Kern County. This butte is 1250 ft. higher than the surrounding desert and 4000 ft. above sea level. Four miles west of Soledad Mountain are the so-called Middle Buttes, a group of flat-topped hills. Gold was first discovered in the district in 1894, and the following productive mines developed: Queen

Jan 1, 1936

By Frank G. Breyer

THE .following developments in the zinc field during 1935 are listed in the order of their importance. Each will he amplified in later paragraphs. In the field o f Metallic Zinc: (1) Construction of further continuous vertical retort smelting capacity in the United States and Germany. (2) Expansion of fractional distillation capacity in the United States. (3) Great expansion in the zinc-base die-casting industry in the United States and abroad. (4) Wide acceptance of heavy galvanizing by the steel industry. (5) Construction of the first commercial wire electroplating plant for putting on heavy coats of pure zinc. (6) Firm establishment and appreciable expansion of the practice of using zinc dust as a reducing agent in the organic chemical industry.

Jan 1, 1936

By P. P. Gregory

ESTIMATION of re- serves in prorated sand fields has been discussed by S. A. Judson, H. D. Easton, Jr., and W. A. Schaeffer, Jr., in a paper that appears in Vol. 114 (1935), of the A.I.M.E. TRANSACTIONS. The purpose of this present paper is to extend the investigation to prorated flush limestone fields and to outline a method of procedure in determining the amount of oil originally in place and the amount of oil that can be recovered from such fields. Although it is possible to use the decline curves to estimate the amount of recoverable oil in certain limestone fields that are allowed to produce the oil at or near capacity production, such a method cannot be used in fields under severely restricted production rates. The problem is exceedingly complex due to fluctuation in the allowable rates of oil production over a wide range and at frequent intervals, and especially because of the heterogeneous nature of the reservoir itself. A well completed in a large solution cavity, capable of producing great quantities of oil per day, may be offset by a well of very limited capacity. Also, it is di5cult to arrive at an average figure for porosity in a given limestone reservoir due to abrupt variations in the character of limestone, in many instances even between two ad- joining wells. It is a safe statement that uniformity of porosity and permeability in limestone reservoirs .is nonexistent. It is evident, therefore, that the method of estimation of re- serves on the basis of per-acre content can give only approximate results.

Jan 1, 1935

By Charles E. Locke

SHARP CONTRAST exists in the reports so helpfully contributed by the individual members of the Milling Committee for this review. Those engaged in the milling of gold and silver ores report great activity, of which some details will be given later. Those engaged in milling ores of base metals report continued depression and little progress. Copper production in the United States is running at about fifteen per cent of capacity. Some Arizona copper mills are closed. Anaconda is milling about 45.000 tons of copper ore per month, and the Utah Copper Co. 35,000 monthly. However, in Canada the International and Falconhridge copper-nickel mills and the Noranda copper-gold mill have increased production. Also the Climax molybdenum mill in Colorado is milling 4000 tons per day. Water shortage from the drought has caused curtailment or complete shutdown of mills in some parts of the West.

Jan 1, 1935

By AIME AIME

AMERICAN participation in the World Engineering Congress in Japan will be generous. Nearly seventy papers have been prepared and for- warded for printing and the A. I. M. E. is well represented in the list. At our San Francisco meeting four of these will be briefly reviewed by the authors for the benefit of those who are unable to go on to Tokyo. They constitute a group dealing with the present economic status as seen by engineers of the world's iron, coal, petroleum and non-ferrous metals. Messrs. Leith, Smith and Tryon, Requa, and Probert have written papers that constitute a notable series. Messrs. Jeffries, Sweetser and Kinney, and other Institute members have written papers dealing more closely with technologic progress. The latest list of delegates and members is printed below, names of A. I. M. E. members being set in italics.

Jan 1, 1929