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GENERALTHE coal deposit, where it is being worked, consists of a bed of brown coal varying in thickness from 120 ft. to 200 ft., covered by an overburden of clay, drift, loam, etc., of a thickness of 22 ft. to 40 ft., and averaging 28 ft.The overburden is first entirely removed from the coal, and then the coal is excavated by. large revolving shovels which work at the bottom of the hole or open cut in the coal and deliver it in shovel bucketfuls to the transport system. The shovels owned by the Commission and available for this coal excavation are two Bucyrus steam revolving shovels, one being type 150B, weighing 150 tons, having a 21-cub. yd. bucket, and capable of digging a 47-ft. face; and the other being type 175B, weighing200 tons, having a 31-cub. yd. bucket, and capable of digging a 61-ft. face.In addition to these two steam shovels, the Commission has recently obtained a No. 250 Ruston electric revolving shovel weighing 340 tons, and having a bucket of 10 cub. yd. capacity, and capable of digging a 75-ft. face. When this electric shovel has been erected it will replace the steam shovels on the coal excavation, and the permanent transport system has been designed to take delivery of the coal from its bucket.The duty to be performed by the transport system is to take the coal from the shovels, elevate it out of the open cut, transport it to the screening house, deliver it iuto the hoppers at the top of this building, then to take the coal after it has passed over the screens and distribute the required grades to the power house and to the briquetting plant.

Jan 1, 1924

By W. M. Goodwin

The gold district of northwestern Quebec, though it has attracted such widespread attention during the past year, is still in the prospect stage throughout, and one must preface any remarks about it with the plain statement that its capacity to produce gold commercially is still subject to proof. However, this proof may be forthcoming any day, and from widely separated localities. Consequently it is of interest to note some of the features of the region and of the prospects now being developed. First I shall note the relation of this mining development to the province of Quebec and to the Dominion; then will follow a brief resume of the known geological facts; and finally I shall describe briefly some of the more advanced prospects developed during the past twelve-month. Those that have followed closely the fortunes of the new gold-field will find little that is new in what follows, but it may serve a useful purpose for others by bringing together scattered items of information and presenting them as a whole. GOLD MINING AND AGRICULTURE First let us consider the gold belt in its relation to the province of Quebec. Apart from the world-renowned asbestos camp south of the St. Lawrence, it is the only mineral development of major importance the province has experienced. It is the first important development in the province's vast area of Precambrian rocks, most of which remains as yet totally unexplored and unprospected. The relative importance of this first mining camp in northern Quebec cannot as yet be gauged, but it is bound to stimulate an active interest in the other mineral-bearing areas now known to exist, and in the vast unexplored spaces.

Jan 1, 1924

THE Yallourn chimney has aroused interest, as it is, for the time being, the tallest structural erection in Australia. Its height was not decided on, however, with the object of breaking records, but is purely incidental to the purpose which it serves. Theboiler plant at the briquetting works (first instalment) consists of five Babcock and Wilcox land-type water-tube boilers, each of 4510 sq ft. heating su:r£ace and 225 sq. ft. grate area in the form of step grates. Four boilers will normally produce 73,000 lb. of steam per hour at a gauge pressure of 265 lb. and a temperature of 6500 F., the fifth boiler being a reserve. Each boiler will consume about 100 tons of Yallourn coal per 24 hours. Provision is made for future installation of economizers, should it be found desirable. Designing for this condition, and allowing for a waste gas temperature of 3500 F. and an air temperature exceeding 1000 it was found necessary to have a draft of about 1.3 in. (water gauge) at the base of the chimney, and to deal with about 2000 cub. ft. of gases per second. Estimates were made of the cost of providing the necessary draught by means of fans and by means of a tall chill).ney. The annual charges of the two methods differed only slightly, and the tall chimney wasselected as being the more general practice in briquetting factories.Estimates were prepared for brick and concrete chiIlllleys. Yallourn bricks at that time were hand-made, and, while very suitable for domestic work, were not capable of withstanding high compressive stresses. The chimney design to suit these bricks thus required to be on very ample lines, resulting in high cost. Machine-made bricks from Melbourne would cost about £5 10s. per thousand on the site, with extra for radials, so that high cost again resulted. On the score...

Jan 1, 1924

GOLD has played a part in the development of Australia. The total yield exceeds SIX hundred million pounds sterling, while the glamour of gold-mining and the unfailing demand for the product have enhanced its influence. The production is still considerable, but the yield is less than one-quarter of that twenty years previously, while the number of men employed has dropped from 70,000 to 11,000. Not only has there been a marked decline in production, but it is anticipated that thisdecline will continue, and continue more markedly. It is therefore desirable to ascertain the causes of the decline and inquire into means for diminishing or preventing it.The problem under discussion is far from being only local. Finlay states: The grand feature of the history of the business has been the progress of an economic cycle unfavourable to gold milling. The USA yield fell from $101,000,000 to $44,000,000.South Afriea has for some time produced one-half of the world's gold; yet in the Mining and Scientific Press of 11th February, IH22, General Smuts is quoted as saying that if the premium disappeared entirely 24 out of 34 mines would shut down. The solution, however, might be either general eg, a great advance in the metallurgy of gold; or local eg, a bonus; but before discussing any of the proposed solutions it will be advantageous to review the situation.STATISTICS OF THE PAST AND PRESENT PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD AND OF AUSTRALIAThe inquirer soon finds that there is a good deal of uncertainty, and that much care is needed in collating figures. In some cases a considerable part of the output is not officially reported, and returns...

Jan 1, 1924

By L. Heber Cole

The search for potash in western Canada during the years of the great war led to the staking of claims on many of the "alkali lakes" and sloughs which occur in numerous localities in the morainic areas of the prairies, as well as in British Columbia, in the hope that potash salts would be found in commercial quantities. While the search for potash, up to the present time, has been disappointing, the prospecting of these areas has demonstrated that Canada possesses large reserves of sodium and magnesium compounds, principally in the form of sulphates, carbonates and chlorides. he writer first became interested in these deposits in 1911 while investigating the sodium chloride springs of northern Manitoba. In the fall of that year a number of the sulphate ? deposits in Saskatchewan and Alberta were visited, but owing to the excessive rains at that period, all the deposits were under water and only a few brine samples were obtained. Owing to pressure of other work investigations of the alkali deposits in western Canada, by the Mines Branch of the Department of Mines, could not be undertaken until the field season of 1921, but since that time the work has been continuous. During the summer of 1918 a reported discovery of a large deposit of potash bearing salts was featured in western papers and in a short time practically all the lakes and sloughs of the prairie provinces, which showed the least indication of being saline, were staked for potash. This reported discovery was not substantiated on investigation and many of those who had staked claims allowed them t~ lapse without the slightest effort to determine the character of the material in the deposits which they? had leased.

Jan 1, 1924

Jan 1, 1924

By G. W. Jones

Gas analysis is of great practical value to the combustion engineer as a guide in the proper deli and operation of power and heating plants. The automotive industry, however, has made little use of gas analysis in the design and construction of engines. Tests4 made by the Bureau of Mines have shorn that for the average motor vehicle approximately 30 per cent of the heat value of the gasoline passes out in the exhaust as incomplete-combustion products. The tendency at present is to pay more attention to ease and flexibility of operation than to efficiency of combustion. However, neither condition can be fully realized except where each cylinder gets a mixture of the same composition - that is, when certain cylinders do not "load up" with gas at the expense of the others. When this occurs, due to some of the cylinders having too rich a mixture while in others it is too lean, it is impossible to get efficient combustion from the fuel used. Gas analysis enables the engineer to determine the quality of the mixture fed to the different cylinders with a high degree of precision. Briefly, the method consists in making an analysis of the exhaust gas from each cylinder while the engine is in operation.

Jan 1, 1924

IT has often been stated in the past that the materials known as inert fillers were merely adulterants nsed in the manufacture of paint, and that their purpose was to cheapen paints made from more expensive pigments, such as zinc oxide or white lead. In recent years, however, practical tests in various parts of the world have proved that many of the inert fillers, when used with wisdom, possess very definite and advantageous properties.Another oft-repeated statement which had a far-reaching effect in the past, and which is not without influence to-day, is that the very best paint must always be made from a pure pigment, without admixture with either a fellow pigment or an inert filler. Both or either of these statements may be true in a few isolated instances, but for the vast majority of ordinary painting conditions there is an abundance of experimental evidence to prove that neither is true.With the desire to further investigate these points and po 'determine the best combination of pigments and fillers for use as an outside white paint on plant buildings, a number of panels were prepared in the laboratory of this company.

Jan 1, 1924

By G. C. Mackenzie

At the last Annual Meeting of the Institute, Dr. C. V. Corless sketched the potential mineral wealth of Canada so clearly, graphically and with-all so entertainingly that one's imagination was fired with the promise held out to future generations for the tremendous expansion of the mining industry in the Dominion. Posterity will undoubtedly witness the fruit of much of the geographical search and survey that is now carried on by our government mining departments. Year after year the work advances, slowly but surely, new areas are . explored, older areas are surveyed in detail, the information being compiled in maps and reports of incalculable value to the prospector, the engineer and the general public. The immensity of the task of exploring, geologically, the outlying portions of the country, with the ultimate view of making valuable mineral discoveries, may be visualized from a study of Dr. Corless' paper and the subsequent discussion which took place and one becomes impressed with the fact that three-quarters or more of the problem can be included under the word "transportation". For instance Dr. Corless said, "The few geological explorers who have penetrated to these remoter regions . . . . . . have as a rule been compelled to stick closely to canoe routes,"; Dr. Goodwin remarked, "This barren Laurentian granite, which is put down on the maps as covering the greater part of this area, is the best guess the geologist could make from travelling along watercourses Within the next few years . . . . . . the Timiskaming and Northern Ontario railway will undoubtedly be extended to James Bay . . . . . . In order that we may be prepared for the probable influx of prospectors when transportation facilities to tidewater are provided, I think all available information on this district should be gathered together in handy form." All three-Corless, Goodwin and Cole-emphasize the well-known fact that explorers, geologists and prospectors working in new country must stick to the watercourses and that transportation by rail, road or water has always been the all-important deciding factor in facilitating the exploration and development of remote districts. Dr. Corless did, however, suggest other means of transportation in stating, "The aeroplane will be of assistance in future study of some parts of these remote areas."

Jan 1, 1924

By Zay Jeffries

Each generation accepts the developments of the preceding generations without full appreciation of the difficulties that had to be overcome or of the effect of any given development on society. Today, the production of pig iron is the yardstick with which general industrial health and progress are measured. So natural and logical does this seem to us, that it is difficult to picture conditions prior to the fourteenth century when pig iron was unknown. Not only was pig iron unknown but iron or steel could not be melted and poured into castings; all iron and steel articles were forged from sponge iron. All castings, as well as many worked articles, were made of non-ferrous metals or alloys. In many parts of the world, over long periods of time, not only was the annual exchange value of non-ferrous metals greater than that of iron and steel, but their combined tonnage was greater. At present, the value of the pig iron produced in a year is of the same order of magnitude as that of all non-ferrous metals combined; the tonnage of pig iron is, however, about twenty times that of all non-ferrous metals combined. Owing to lack of records, we will probably never know the relative importance of the various metals at all periods in historic times. A certain conclusion is that the iron and steel industry, since the discovery of pig iron and the cheap methods of converting it into steel, has grown at a much more rapid rate than the non-ferrous metal industries. Notwithstanding their fundamental fitness for man's needs, iron and steel owe their importance in no small degree to the low cost of production. The low cost was a result of increased knowledge of the production appliances and of the metallurgical processes. This increased knowledge is the key to our modern industrial civilization. It will remain for future generations to determine whether there is now going on a gradual change toward greater importance of the non-ferrous metals, as compared to iron and steel. The world's pig iron production in 1920 was slightly more than twice what it was in 1890, whereas the non-ferrous metals production in 1920 was about two and one-half times that in 1890. Every non-ferrous metal industry has shown marked growth during the last thirty years. During this period, the production of cop-

Jan 1, 1924

By Martin J. Gavin

[The theory of fractional "eduction" of oil from oil shale has been used by several inventors as the basis for the design of retorts for the production of oil f roan the oil shales of the United States. The term fractional "eduction" gives expression to the rather common belief that when an oil shale is he-test et produces light, low-boiling oils at to temperatures, and increasingly heavier, higher-boiling oils as the temperature of retorting rites. The theory evidently had its is origin in the fact that crude petroleum may be fractionally distilled, yielding light oils at low distillation temperatures, and heavier oils as the distillation temperature increases. Thus, gasoline is produced from petroleum at relatively log: temperatures, kerosene at a higher temperature, and heavier products such as gas-oil and lubricating distillates at still higher temepratures, The writers have examined several oil-shale retorts designed to take advantage of the belief that crude, and en some cases refined, gasoline can be recovered from the shale at low temperatures; kerosene at higher temperatures, and so on. Such retorts are usually designed to operate continuously, and. have several vapor-pipes lending from them at differing intervals and passing to separate condensers. Designers of such retorts expect that the distillate from the low-temperature parts of the retort will be gasoline, and that as the shale basses to zones of increasingly higher temperatures, the vapor lines leading from these zones will remove increasingly heavier products such as kerosene, gas-oil, etc.]

Jan 1, 1924

By A. J. Kraemer

This report on the physical and chemical properties of typical crude oils of California is the eighth in a series which will cover the producing districts of the United States, and is supplementary to Serial 2595 of the Bureau of Mines, which includes discussion of results, summary tables, and selected typical analyses of California crudes. The present report contains additional individual analyses of crude, oils from the fields of Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura Counties.

Jan 1, 1924

Jan 1, 1924

By Robert S. Williams

On several occasions, when 60-40 brass is first obtained in the beta condition by quenching at about 825" C. and is then reheated, the writers have noticed that reerystallization will take place in the form of twin crystals at the grain boundaries of the original beta crystals. It was, therefore, thought that interesting results would be obtained if this twinning process was studied further, especially as to the temperature at which it first occurs. The material used in the investigation was a bar of extruded muntz metal, 1/2 in. in diameter, and of the following composition: Copper, 60.21 per cent.; zinc, 39.73 per cent.; lead, trace; iron, trace; tin, nil. Specimens 1 in. in length were sawed from this bar and a hole was drilled into the side of each specimen until it reached the center, and the tip of a platinum-platinum rhodium thermocouple was inserted. A small Hoskins' resistance-type electric furnace was used for heating the specimens. The specimens were first heated at 840' C. for 2 hr. and then quenched ' in cold water, in order to get the material entirely in the beta state. In every case, in the reheating process, the furnace was brought to the desired temperature before the specimen was introduced. The time occupied in preheating was from 20 to 30 min. By sawing back 1/4 in. on each side of the hole, two parts were obtained from each specimen and duplicate observations were possible. The specimens were held at the reheating temperatures for periods of 15 min., 30 min., 1, 2, and 4 hr. All specimens were etched with a freshly prepared mixture of equal volumes of concentrated NH4IOH and H2O2.

Jan 1, 1924

IN the recent monograph on Broken Hill, N.S.W., by E. C. Andrews,* two independent petrological reports appear as Appendices 1 and n, by W. R. Browne and F. L. Stillwell respectively. In these considerable differences of opinion occur. Andrews contributes to some of the questions at issue, but no analytical review of the differences appears in the body of the report. Their development may invite question, and the following notes have been prepared partly in explanation and partly as a summary of some of the divergences. The soope of Browne's report extends over the whole district of Broken Hill, while Stillwell's deals with the rocks within 25 chains of the main lode. The more difficult and important rock-types occur in both areas, raising similar questions. In both cases observations extended beyond the limits of the prescribed areas. Broadly, Browne faces his problem as a study of a series of primary igneous rooks, acid and basio, whioh are intrusive into a series of sillimanite gneisses. The development of the sillimanite gneisses is regarded as belonging to an earlier period than the intrusion of the igneous rooks, while the gneissio structures of the latter are features which are incidental to their orystallization, and are not acquired subsequent to their consolidation. He finally produoes a picture in which his views of igneous injection and differentiation takes a prominent place. One direct result is the claim that three separate periods of metamorphism have oocurred in the Broken Hill area. Stillwell primarily examines the rooks as schists and gneisses since their present dominating features have been acquired during metamorphism. The effort is made to understand suoh differences as might arise from differing conditions of metamorphism upon rocks of similar and different oonstitution. The aim is to divest the rocks of those oharaoters which are due to metamorphism before approaching the questions of intrusive relatio'nships between igneous rocks andsediments.

Jan 1, 1924

By Norman Carmichael, John Kiddie

The problem of transportation in the Clifton-Morenci district of Arizona has been one of peculiar difficulty and consequently has been an important factor in the cost of mining and treating the ores produced. From the crude beginning made over 50 years ago, many changes have been necessary to keep pace with the increased output of copper. A heavy-duty haulage system has developed on the original 20-in. track gage to meet the existent metal-mine conditions. Topography The transportation difficulties of this district may be readily appreciated from the relief map shown in Fig. 1. The northern half of the district is high mountainous country and there is a general but irregular drop toward the southern part, where the country, although still rugged, is in reality a great sloping plain. This is cut by numerous ravines from which the waters, in the rainy season, discharge into the channel of the San Francisco River. A chasm, 1000 ft. deep, has been eroded through the center of the district by Chase Creek, which is flanked by high irregular mountain masses, notably Copper Mountain, American Mountain, Coronado Mountain, and Markeen Mountain. The latter rises 2300 ft. above the bed of the creek, The San Francisco River has also cut a deep channel, though it is somewhat broader than Chase Creek. Eagle Creek traverses the extreme southwest portion of the area, where it has carved picturesquely through vast volcanic flows. Faulting has left its mark upon the topography of the district by adding to the irregularities caused by erosion. Strong faults occur at the Coro-

Jan 1, 1924

By C. L. Kinney

The rapid increase in the amount of steel produced by the basic open-hearth process is an index of its ability to produce high-grade steel from raw materials of the most, varied physical character and chemical analysis. This inherent adaptability of the process has resulted in a lack of care in the selection of raw materials, so that in far too many cases charges are used of a chemical and physical character not justified by local economic conditions. A practice, or series of practices, should be used that will result in the greatest economy for the plant as a whole; therefore, the operations of blast furnace and open hearth must be considered together. In this paper, an effort has been made to show those variations in both open-hearth practice and cost that follow changes in the analysis of the pig iron arid it may be said that the theoretical costs shown are worthy of careful study and consideration. Carbon, manganese, silicon, phosphorus, and sulfur constitute the principal metalloids in basic pig iron and play the leading role in the production of steel by the basic open-hearth process. The percentages of each of these metalloids, with the exception of carbon, is a variable that has its genesis in the economic relation of the blast-furnace plant to its ore and fuel supplies. As the amount of carbon in the iron is a saturation function of the temperature at which it is produced, the variation in the amount carried is, for any given locality and grade of iron, practically negligible and is so considered in the eight heats discussed in this paper. The melting and refining reactions in an open-hearth furnace, either acid or basic, are essentially oxidizing and vary greatly with the type and age of the furnace, as well as the character of the fuel employed. The outstanding characteristic of the basic process, and the one that explains its predominance over the acid, is its ability to form out of the lime charged and the phosphorus oxidized from the charge a stable

Jan 1, 1924

By J. B. Hamilton

The advantages of generating and distributing electrical energy direct from the coal-fields so closely affects the mining industry that a few remarks on the unbalanced phases of coal distribution is worthy of attention. The value of coal imported into Canada from 1912 to 1921 exceeded the sum of $580,000,000. In 1922 Ontario imported 1,640,000 tons of anthracite and 9,440,000 tons of bituminous coal. I submit that the use of Saskatchewan lignite in an electrical super-power plant equipped for the carbonizing of coal, and disposal of excess gases would be the commencement of a solution of the fuel shortage in Ontario. As Saskatchewan becomes more and more populated and manufacturing increases, the amount of by-product carbonized fuel available for shipment to Ontario will increase, and its shipment to that province would decrease the trade deficit of the national balance sheet. If and when this is carried out it will mean a better and wider market for Alberta fuels in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Jan 1, 1924

By William Greenawalt

The Greenawalt electrolytic copper extraction process is applicable to suitable oxide ores, sulfide ores and concentrates, and low-grade matte. The process is self-sustaining in acid on sulfide ores or concentrates, on mixed ores, on high-grade oxidized ores; and on low-grade oxidized ores the amount of acid to be purchased or manufactured is greatly reduced. The ferric iron is under easy control, and copper may be effectively deposited from solutions of any acid or iron content likely to be used in copper leaching. From 60 to 75 per cent. of the copper may be removed from the solution in passing through the electrolytic department, before returning the solution to the ore. The amount of copper requiring chemical precipitation, from the waste and foul solutions, is only about 5.0 per cent, of the total copper produced, and this 5.0 per cent. is converted into the electrolytic metal in the regular operation of the process. The entire process can be made practically automatic, and can be carried out mechanically. There is no uncertain departure of any kind in the application of the process; no unusual or unproved apparatus is used. EVER since electrolytic copper refining gave promise of success, about a half century ago, efforts have been made to apply the idea to the extraction of copper from its ores. The methods of attack have, usually, been to leach with a dilute acid and then to deposit electrolytically the copper from the resulting solution with the simultaneous regeneration of the solvent used in the process. Many efforts have been made, and many patents have been taken out, both in the United States and abroad, to give this idea practical application, but only within the past few years have the difficulties been surmounted. Leaching and electrolysis, as applied to copper ores, are among the most promising fields in modern metallurgy. New conditions are arising, which will bring the wet methods into prominence; while high freight rates and increasing cost of fuel will tend to limit smelting to highly favored localities. The possibilities offered by the installation of hydro-electric plants and the greatly enlarged range of power transmission will greatly widen the field of electrolytic methods.

Jan 1, 1924

By Augustus Locke

In 1900, when. the public first heard of "secondary enrichment," the Butte chalcocite seemed clearly supergene. Mining, through successive regions of leached capping, bonanza sulfide, and sulfide less rich, had paused at lean bottom levels which, though chalcocite-bearing, suggested the waning of copper. The deepest chalcocite, at 1500 ft., was yet too shallow to disturb the supergene hypothesis. But, with deeper mining, lean levels yielded to fat ones. Here and there they showed, within the same vein, an inverted distribution, chalcopyrite above and chalcocite below. To the miners' astonishment, they carried chal-cocite, unaffected by cross faults, on an independent course to the depth of 2500 ft. The pattern of ore distribution, hitherto revealed only in fragments, was now appearing in perspective, and, in the depth of the chalcocite, was beginning to make Butte differ from all districts where the chalcocite is indubitably supergene. The idea of hypogene origin at length came into favor; by 1913, when Sales' advocated this origin, the argument had become a powerful one. This argument rested on field evidence; but, already, there was beginning to emerge microscopic evidence not included in this argument. Especially pertinent was the proof that (1) the deep chalcocite lies in-mixed with bornite, often microscopic; (2) the deep chalcocite often replaces bornite; and (3) replacement of bornite by chalcocite is accomplished more easily than that of pyrite, enargite, or chalcopyrite. The microscopic evidence has been accumulating for ten years and it demands

Jan 1, 1924