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By Walshe J. M.

The slow-speed compressor is giving place to the high-speed type, with its greater economy of material and space; and, where very large units are required, the turbo-compressor is supplying the need. In the very large air-supply stations on the Rand, turbocompressor units of a capacity of 20,000 and even 50,000 cubic feet, requiring 4,000 to 13,000 horsepower, are quite a commercial proposition, and have proved a practical success. Air-compressors of this size are, however, very exceptional, and the high-speed reciprocating compressor is quite capable of dealing with the highest outputs so far required in this country and, in the hands of manufacturers experienced in the design of high-speed steam-engines, a very high standard of reliability and efficiency in operation is obtained. The so-called “high-speed” or more correctly quick-revolution type of compressor is now extensively used in mines and collieries; for the air-pressures required for power purposes in mining work, two-stage compression, with an intercooler between stages, is the design usually adopted in best practice. It is not the writer’s intention to describe a variety of high-speed air-compressors but to select as an example of this type of compressor the one with which he is most familiar, and which is probably more largely used than any other, namely, the double-acting two-cylinder two-crank type with automatic light-plate air-valves, and with the working parts lubricated on the forced-lubrication principle. Sectional drawings, efficiency curves, air-cylinder diagrams and other data accompany the descriptions and photographs of compressor design, components and mine applications

Dec 1, 1916

By S a m u e l D e a n

The author's written response to previous discussion was presented at the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers general meeting held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 8 April 1916, followed by further comments by Hare S. in support of his view that the conditions in English mines were the reason for less satisfactory results being obtained with heading machines and brief comments by Greener T.Y., President

Dec 1, 1916

THE CHAIRMAN (H. W. MORSE, Los Angeles, Cal.).-I would like to open this meeting for a little while to the general subject of leaching. We ought not to hold back if we have any new schemes for the future. I know that those of us who are tangled up with this lei thing work will appreciate any suggestions that will make us work harder and, scheme, harder to pull through these past difficulties on leaching. F. S. SCHIMERKA, Clifton, Ariz.-Under the direction of J. W. Bennie, General Manager of the Shannon Copper Co., Clifton, Ariz., 'it has been my valued privilege to cooperate in the elaboration of a hydrometallurgical process aiming at the recovery of copper in mill tailing resulting from a gravity concentration of a low-grade semi-oxidized sulphide ore occurring in a porphyritic gangue. The experimental work which has been carried on with a 25-ton plant is completed, and the company is building at present a leaching plant on a larger scale, the first unit consisting of a 150-ton roasting furnace and accessories for leaching the calcine.

Jan 12, 1916

By George Comstock

IT seems a common opinion among metallographists that all light-gray inclusions seen with the microscope in polished sections of steel are manganese sulphide. Examples of this belief are continually appearing, as for instance in the paper by Dr. Henry Fay on manganese sulphide as a source of danger in steel rails,1 and in Lieutenant-Commander Cook's paper on Metallography of Steel for U S. Naval Ordnance.2 Slate FIG. 1-TRANSVERSE VIEW OF THE EDGE OF A SMALL HOT-ROLLED STEEL ROD. ETCHED WITH PICRIC ACID. X 200. colored inclusions are considered to be silicates, and dove-gray inclusions, manganese sulphide. To show the danger in the latter unqualified assumption, it should be sufficient to examine the edge of any piece of steel that is covered with a fairly thick scale, and that has been polished in such a way as to prevent the scale from breaking away entirely below the polished surface. This can be done by protecting the scaled edge of

Jan 12, 1916

GENERAL COMMITTEE GERALD F. G. SHERMAN, Chairman. ARTHUR NOTMAN, Secretary. NORMAN CARMICHAEL, JOHN C. GREENWAY, W. L. CLARK, W. G. McBRIDE, B. BRITTON GOTTSBERGER, FOREST RUTHERFORD. General Committee on Transportation WALTER DOUGLAS, Chairman. CLEVELAND E. DODGE, Secretary. ARTHUR S. DWIGHT, JOHN C. GREENWAY, JULIUS KRUTTSCHNITT, JR. Committee at El Paso W. D. GORDON, ROBERT McCART, JR., W. W. ROSE. Committee at Santa Rita JOHN M. SULLY, Chairman.

Jan 12, 1916

By George Burrell

J. S. HALDANE, M. D., F. R. S., Oxford, England (communication to the Secretary?).-The valuable paper of Messrs. Burrell and Gauger is of special interest to me as, through the courtesy of the management, I had an opportunity of visiting the Portland mine, Cripple Creek, in 1911, in connection with the investigations on acclimatization to high altitudes, carried out on Pike's Peak, near Cripple Creek, by Professors Yandell, Henderson and Schneider, Dr. Douglas and myself.1 The analyses of one or two samples of the vitiated air were entirely confirmatory of those of the authors. A fatal accident owing to two men being lowered down a shaft filled with the gas had occurred in a neighboring mine just before our visit.

Jan 12, 1916

For the use of those who prefer manila rope to wire rope for light hoisting and hauling, the Ingersoll-Rand Co. has brought out a new model Little Tugger Hoist which is designated No. 11. The square piston, reversible driving engine, automatic lubrication, inclosed gearing, rum release clutch and worm-operated band brake are essentially the same as in the No. 1 model which was introduced about two Years ago. The main differences are in the diameter and length of the drum, the width of the flanges and, necessarily, the main frame and overall dimensions. The new No. 11 Little Tugger has a hoisting drum 7 in. in diameter by 17 in. long with 5-in. flanges. This accommodates 300 ft. of 7/8 -in. manila, rope. The maximum capacity of this hoist is conservatively rated at 600 1b. The weight of the hoist itself is 358 lb. It is 21 ½ in. long, 31 ¼ in. wide and 23 in. high.

Jan 12, 1916

New York Meets first Wednesday after first Tuesday of each month. DAVID H. BROWNE, Chairman. PERCY E. BARBOUR, Vice-Chairman. A. D. BEERS, Secretary, 55 Wall St., New York, N. Y. C. A. BOHN, Treasurer. Boston Meets first Monday of each winter month. W. E. C. EUSTIS, Chairman. - R. L. AGASSIZ, Vice-Chairman E. E. BUGBEE, Secretary-Treasurer, Mass. Inst. of Technology, Boston, Mass. ALBERT SAUVEUR, H. L. SMYTH. Columbia Holds four sessions during year. Annual meeting in September or October. STANLY A. EASTON, Chairman. FREDERIC KEFFER, Vice-Chairman. LYNDON K. ARMSTRONG, Secretary-Treasurer, P. O. Drawer 2154, Spokane, Wash. D. C. LIVINGSTON. FRANK A. ROSS.

Jan 12, 1916

By H. W. Morse

THE CHAIRMAN (H. W. MORSE).-Gentlemen, for the first time in the history of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, we have a full session on the subject of leaching-especially on the leaching of copper ores.. This branch of metallurgy is rather in its infancy. We have had one big plant running for a year or more, and pretty successfully; and another one which will be started in February or March, the New Cornelia. We have another one at Garfield for the Utah company, which is just designed and construction begun; and from several other points come reports of interesting test work. The first paper on the program this evening is one of some of the test work on the New Cornelia ore by myself and Mr. H. A. Tobelmann. LAWRENCE ADDICKS, New York, N. Y. (written discussion).-The Ajo proposition has had, as I understand it, two great advantages: it has not been obliged to measure leaching against flotation or some other metallurgical process, and it deals with a copper content high enough

Jan 12, 1916

NEW MEMBERS The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during the period Oct. 10, 1916 to Nov. 10, 1916. ANCHOR, HANS C., Supt., Dome Extension Mines Co., Ltd., South Porcupine, Ont., Canada. BABCOCK, EARLE J., Dean, College Of Min. Engrg., State Univ. Of N. Dak., Grand Forks, N. Dak. BIDDIS0N, P. McDONALD, Construction Engr., The Ohio Fuel Supply Co., 52 W. Gay St., Columbus, 0. BOISE, PAUL T., Asst. Mgr., Stimpson Equipment Co., Felt Bldg., Salt Lake City, Utah. BOURNE, RALPH H., Vice-Pres Whiting Foundry Equipment Co., Harvey, Ill. BROWN, EDWARD OTTO FORSTER, Min. Engr., 706-707 Salisbury House, London, E. C., England.

Jan 12, 1916

CHICAGO SECTION CHAS. H. MACDOWELL, Chairman, LUTHER V. RICE, Vice-Chairman, HENRY W. NICHOLS, Secretary-Treasurer, GEO. P. HULST, ALEX. K. HAMILTON, FREDERICK T. SNYDER, HENRY P. HOWLAND. The Field Meeting of the Chicago Section proved to be the most enjoyable meeting ever held by the Section. It took the form of a visit to the Northern Indiana Industrial District where the day was spent inspecting metallurgical plants in Indiana Harbor and East Chicago and in amusement at the Hammond Country Club. The weather was perfect and about 50 members and ladies attended the meeting. An inspection of the plant of the Inland Steel Co. occupied the morning. The plant was decorated in honor of the occasion and the company provided attractive souvenirs. It was noticed here that many of the ladies displayed an interest in the inspection and an understanding of the processes that would not have shamed professional metallurgists. While the members of the Section seemed to be most interested in the by-product coke ovens and the by-product recovery plant, the ladies enjoyed especially watching the snake-like antics of the red-hot rods in the wire mill. Leaving the steel plant, the Section enjoyed a ride through the district by automobile and arrived at the Hammond Country Club in time for lunch. In the afternoon some of the members inspected the plant of the International Lead Refining Co., at East Chicago, while the rest spent the time at the Country Club in golf, tennis, trap shooting, bridge and other amusements. During the dinner at the Hammond Country Club an informally organized male quartette led the singing in real college boy style. In the evening, E. E. Billow talked on the use of oil burners in metallurgical furnaces, Mr. MacDowell told of the present status of the Potash Industry and the Secretary told of some of the happenings at the Arizona Meeting. HENRY W. NICHOLS, Secretary.

Jan 12, 1916

By Herbert Haas

GEORGE W. HAWKINS, Tucson, Ariz. (communication to the Secretary*).-The paper by Mr. Haas will no doubt be followed with considerable interest, as it covers the power-plant problem in quite a comprehensive way, including not only the usual operating costs but also the fixed charges on the investment, and for load factors ranging all the way from 25 to 100 per cent. and fuel oil ranging from $1.25 to $2 per barrel. The very fact, however, that his paper does cover such a wide range of conditions, makes it the more imperative that any conclusion drawn from his analysis be very carefully considered for any specific case, for in making such analysis the type of prime mover and size must be selected for some one condition which might not be the proper selection had some other condition been assumed as the basic one, resulting in an unfavorable comparison under all conditions except that condition assumed. From the reasons given by the author for his selection of the large turbine units, it is evident he had in mind very high load factors, ranging

Jan 12, 1916

By W. C. Phalen

INTRODUCTION NOBODY will dispute the fact that the conservation in every legitimate manner of our valuable high-grade phosphate-rock deposits is a present-day problem of importance. The table and curve, given herewith, show. that during the past 10 years the exportation of high-grade rock has averaged very close to half the total output of the entire country. The bulk of this exportation is from Florida, for obvious reasons. It is plain that the deposits in this State, more particularly, are being wastefully depleted under a system of selecting the cream of the product for exportation to Europe, leaving the comparatively low-grade rock, running from 65 to 70 per cent., and under, in bone phosphate of lime, for our own n fertilizer manufacturers to work up when all the best rock is gone. In this paper the writer has endeavored to make a point of describing in some detail the important methods of production and conservation in Tennessee. These ought to prove of educational value to our American agriculturists and fertilizer manufacturers, and should result in a demand for the highest-grade rock, both for direct application to the soil and for use in making acid phosphate. It is certainly evident that the European

Jan 10, 1916

By J. Spotts McDowell

INTRODUCTION The magnitude of the thermal expansion of silica brick, and its inability to withstand rapid temperature changes, present problems of considerable importance in the manufacture of siliceous refractories. In the study represented by the experimental data herein described, these problems are considered from the point of view afforded by the results of recent investigators: Fenner and his associates of the "Geophysical Laboratory, Washington, D. C., who have established the stability relations of the silica minerals, and Endell and co-workers in Berlin, who have studied the changes brought about in the constitution of siliceous refractory materials upon the application of heat. In the process of manufacture, the quartzite from which the brick is made changes in part into cristobalite and tridymite. The attempt is herein made to determine by microscopic methods the degree of transformation in various specimens of test bricks manufactured at slightly varying temperatures of burning, with varying coarseness of grain, and to determine the effect of repeated burning. The effect of variations

Jan 10, 1916

By Joseph Singewald

INTRODUCTION FOR a number of years Russia, India and Brazil have outranked .all other countries as producers of manganese ores. During the 5 years immediately preceding the European war, the average annual production of Russia was 844,000, of India 694,000 and of Brazil 200,000 long tons. Since the outbreak of the war there has been a considerable falling off in the Russian and Indian production, particularly in the former, whereas the production of Brazilian ores has been greatly increased, amounting in 1914 to over 250,000 tons and in 1915 to nearly 350,000, with conditions favorable for a still larger production in 1916. Manganese is one of the few industrially important metals that are not produced in the United States in quantity commensurate with our needs, so that we have been compelled to import annually about 300,000 tons, having a value of over $2,000,000, and these ores have been obtained from the three countries mentioned above. Their rank as contributors to our imports of manganese ores was India, Russia, Brazil; and in 1913, Brazil contributed only one-fifth. During the past 2 years Brazil has furnished rapidly increasing quantities to this country, and, with the falling off of imports from India and Russia, has become our principal foreign source. In 1914, Brazil furnished two-fifths of the imports and more than India or Russia, and in 1915 over nine-tenths. The manganese ores of Brazil are consequently of more than usual interest to us at this time.

Jan 10, 1916

By Henry Howe

THIS paper is a discussion of the extremely valuable one of Mathewson and Phillips, The Recrystallization of Cold-Worked Alpha Brass on Annealing,1 which not only gives us a wealth of important data reached with great intelligence, but also shows both uncommon powers of imagination and a perfectly fair spirit. Let me try to analyze some of their results, and to enunciate some of the laws to which these results point. For brevity I refer to them as "The Authors." The page numbers in parentheses refer to their paper. 1. The Visible Aspects of Recrystallization.-Plastic deformation in a single direction, as in cold-rolling, draws the grains out in that direction, that is, inequiaxes them, without destroying their apparent individuality. Each grain seems to endure the drawing out without changing either its volume or its orientation materially, for the etching tint of each grain seems to be as uniform after as before the drawing out, save for the "etch bands,"2 shown in Figs. A to D of the Authors' Plate I. As the drawn-out metal is heated progressively, on reaching a certain "disintegration temperature" these old grains seem to break up, probably into submicroscopic fragments, and this apparent disintegration is followed by a coalescence of these fragments, so that their number decreases and their size increases, till they may become very much coarser than before the drawing out. Ruder3 coarsened the grains of silicon steel in this way till single grains reached an area of 50 cm. (7.75 sq. in.). The deformation itself probably breaks each grain up into many very small fragments, but the fact that each grain continues to have a uniform etching tint different from that of its neighbors indicates that these fragments retain the initial common orientation of the grain. The apparent disintegration which we observe, then, is rather an abandonment of community of orientation for individuality of orientation, by the fragments formed earlier during the deformation. Hence we

Jan 10, 1916

(Members are urged to send in for this column any notes of interest concerning themselves or their fellow-members.) Members and guests who called at Institute headquarters during the period August 1, 1916 to September 10, 1916: C. L. Cantley, New Glasgow, N. S. H. M. La Follette, La Follette, Tenn. D. A. Cowell, Columbus, Ohio. Montrose L. Lee, Montevideo, Uruguay. Alexander Deussen, Houston, Texas. V. H. McNutt, Billings, Mont. Chas. E. Dutton, Goldfield, Nev. J. W. Maller, New York, N. Y. H. S. Emlaw, Grand Haven, Mich. Edwin W. Mills, Tul. Mi Chung, Chosen, J. M. Gillette, Swatsburg, N. Y. Korea. E. Gorilla, San Antonio, Texas. Francis R. Pine, Elizabeth N. J. Bertram Grant, Kingman, Arizona. Frank A. Ray, Columbus, Ohio. Ruger W. Hay, Bisbee, Arizona. John A. Rice, El Paso, Texas. C. F. Hendricks, Cobalt, Ontario. W. E. Rice, Ringwood Manor, N. J. Stanley C. Herold, San Jose, Cal. W. H. Staver, Lynchburg, Va. Lloyd Hoffman, Pottersville, N. J. Ralph H. Sweetser, Easton, Pa. Charles Hunter, London, England. Kirby Thomas, New York, N. Y. G. Jansen, Benkoelen, Sumatra. Henry Traphagen, Union Hill. T. H. Jenks, Oatman, Arizona. M. M. Valerius, Tulsa, Okla. Warren jenny, Chanaral, Chile. Wilfrid B. Wainewright, London, Eng. Walter A. Barrows, Jr., of Brainerd, Minn., has been elected president and general manager of the Thomas Iron Co., Easton, Pa., to succeed Ralph H. Sweetser, whose resignation of several months ago becomes

Jan 10, 1916

By Carl Heinrich

I HAVE read with particular interest that portion of the discussion by Anton Eilers referring to the high-lime (and also high-alumina) slags made by August Raht in 1881, while smelting the Horn Silver ores at Franklin, Utah. The two analyses of such slags, furnished by Mr. Raht to Mr. Eilers are: Horn Silver Slags Oxygen(b) Oxygen(b) Average of I and. II Slag I percentage Slag II percentage Oxygen Si02 33.9 18.1 .35.0 18.7 34.50 18.40 FeO 26.8 6.0 25.4 5.7 26.10 5.80 CaO 26.1 7.5 24.9 7.1 25.50 7.30 BaO 3.2 (a) 0.3 3.2 0.3 3.20 0.30 A1203 10.8 5.1 9.3 4.4. 10.05 4.75 100.8 37.0 97.8 36.2

Jan 10, 1916

By Edgar T. Wherry

EDGAR .T. WHERRY,* Washington, D. C. (communication to the Secretary ?).-Dr. Pogue's presentation of the facts concerning the emerald deposits is very clear and convincing, and the only addition that I can suggest is a summary of previous theories of origin. He makes it evident that the pegmatite theory is the only one capable of explaining the existing relations, but upon certain details there may be some difference of opinion. If I understand the term pneumatolytic, it does not imply that all the elements concerned in a given deposit were transported as gases, but rather that the crystallization of these elements into the various minerals was favored by the presence of certain gaseous substances, notably H20, C02 and HF. It is highly improbable that the oxides of glucinum, aluminum, chromium, and silicon, which enter into the composition of the mineral emerald could have been transported in the gaseous form. The same is true of the metallic constituents of the parisite and other associated minerals. The explanation suggested, that solutions separated into liquid and gaseous portions, the latter ascending and forming the emerald in the upper portions of the rock only, therefore, seems to me untenable. When two formations exist side by side and one, A, is mineralized while the other, B, is barren, the possible explanations may he classed as (1) chemical, and (2) physical. 1. Some chemical feature of A not found in B might have caused crystallization of certain minerals in the former, which did not appear in the latter. In the present instance both rocks appear to be so similar chemically that no such effect can be looked for. Pogue mentions carbon as a possible precipitating agent, but describes both formations as carbonaceous, so that the difference in the minerals of the two can not be thus explained.

Jan 10, 1916

By Max Roesler

I. INTRODUCTION THE following article concerns the geological occurrence of the iron-ore deposits on the south coast of Cuba. The article is based on a detailed field study, made in the hope that some information would I gained which might be of value in the search for further orebodies, Or in the economic development of the ore already found. LOCATION The iron-ore deposits of the Firmeza district lie near the coast, in the southeastern part of Cuba, in the Province of Oriente. The orebodies of this district form part of a belt of deposits that extends from Sigua, 25 miles east of Santiago, to Sevilla, 5 miles east of Santiago, and lies on the seaward slope of the Sierra Maestra range of mountains.

Jan 10, 1916