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By Mayer TE

The Granites Goldfield is located 550 km northwest of Alice Springs. Mineralisation was discovered in 1900 and intermittently worked along nine km of strike until the early 1950's, yielding a recorded production of 470 kg of gold. The geological environ- ment, pre-existing exploration drilling results, and an optimistic view on gold, prompted acquisition of the property by North Flinders Mines Limited in 1975. An agreement was signed with the Central Land Council in August 1983 and drilling commenced in the same month. In the past, gold was won from alluvial deposits, rich quartz veins and lower grade, disseminated stratabound mineralisation. The last is contained within a distinctive unit in the Mt. Charles Beds, of the Early Proterozoic Tanami Complex. This informally named "Host Unit" is a metamorphosed, chemical- pelitic sediment. The schist contains variable proportions of amphibole, quartz, garnet, clinopyroxene, carbonate and sulphide, inter- calated with recrystallised chert beds. Free gold occurs in several mineralised horizons within the Host Unit, generally conformably distributed within lithologic bands or at lithologic contacts. The Host Unit occurs within a sequence of metamorphosed pelitic sediments and intermediate volcanics. Although mostly confined to the Host Unit, stratabound gold mineralisation also exists in both Footwall and Hanging Wall Schists, usually within zones displaying certain Host Unit characteristics. The deposits may be loosely categorised as being of banded iron formation (bif) type, although some important differences are noted between them and classical bif type orebodies.

Jan 1, 1984

By M Battersby, F Parra, S Sanchez-Pino

Pneumatic flotation, as developed by Dr Rainer Imhof, has been applied in commercial beneficiation operations since 1987. Over 85 flotation cells have been installed in more than 30 operations, successfully beneficiating a wide range of minerals. Pneumatic flotation is however still considered as a non-conventional flotation process. Due to its highly selective nature in operation it has generally found its market in difficult applications where conventional flotation equipment has struggled. Compa±fa Minera Huasco (CMH) operates an iron ore pellet plant in central Chile. CMH desired to produce a low silica pellet for the export market where the SiO2 grade should not exceed 1.5 per cent. It is common practice in other countries to float quartz from hematite with relative ease. However, the silicates contained in the magnetite ore of CMH are only present as quartz in small quantities and the major undesirable silicates are difficult to float. CMH spent considerable time on developing a reverse flotation process and a reagent suite to try and reduce the silica content to acceptable levels. However, extensive laboratory and pilot plant tests with conventional mechanical tank type cells and with column cells failed to produce the required reduction in impurities. A series of tests with pneumatic flotation cells indicated that this type of flotation technology could achieve the required silica target. A 500 tph Imhoflot pneumatic flotation plant was subsequently constructed and successfully commissioned by CMH, making it one of the largest iron ore flotation plants in the world. This paper details the background and testing that was undertaken by CMH which led them to choose pneumatic flotation as the preferred process and compares the test results with that achieved in the industrial plant.

Jan 1, 2005

By J. B. Newsom

SAFER, cheaper, and faster sinking of mine openings seems to have been realized with the completion of a borehole 5 ½ ft. in diameter and 1208 ft. deep, in Minnesota, during 1938. Moreover, as the opening is to be used solely for ventilation, its circular cross section, smooth walls and freedom from fire hazard recommend it in comparison with the usual timbered shafts of rectilinear cross section. It should be pointed out that a drill hole sunk without the use of explosives frequently will stand open without support, whereas a shaft sunk by standard procedure using dynamite usually must be timbered because of the wall-shattering effect of explosives. The saving in maintenance resulting from the elimination of timber is obvious. The work was done by Pickands Mather & Co. at its Zenith mine, Ely, Minn. This company wanted a ventilation opening capable of delivering 50,000 cu. ft. of air per minute to the fourteenth level, 1200 ft. below the surface. While several general articles1-3 have described the method used, detailed time and performance records have not been presented before. Moreover, with a method as new as this, it is important to compare the results attained under widely varying conditions. Among the new conditions faced at Ely were some extremely hard rock, a series of vertical fractures, seepage water, and some long stretches of sound rock which, combined with excellent equipment, gave a chance to operate without unusual delays. Developments in boring large holes have generally taken the obvious course of increasing the size of the equipment, a line of attack that has resulted in putting down 3-ft. diameter holes at damsites for studying the foundations4 and in drilling ventilation openings between levels at Butte. 5 Such drills operate from the collar of the hole, and the power from the drill is transmitted to the cutting tool through drill rods or pipes. In order to keep down the volume of rock that must be ground to sludge, the cores in large-diameter drilling are made as large in diameter as possible. Their large diameter increases their weight per foot of length, which

Jan 1, 1939

By Hugh M. Roberts

In the spring of 1915, then a 30-year old geologist in the employ of the E. J. Longyear Co., of Minneapolis, Minn., I accompanied prospectors to ex- amine outcrops of supposed nickel ore situated a mile or two in from the shore of a lake in the Kenora district of northwestern Ontario. The deposit proved to be bog iron ore containing traces of nickel. We were stormbound there for three days, a circumstance which gave rise to a tale that was told at our fire one night. It seems that Sandy and Jock, two prospectors, were crossing the bay of a large lake in a canoe. They were bucking headwinds; the waves grew higher. Jock called out from the stern, "Sandy, can ye na pray a little." Sandy pressed his knees a little closer into the bow and, between strokes of his paddle, sought for words, which came haltingly, "Save us this time . . . Oh Lord . . . and we promise . . ." when Jock, peering through the spray sang out, "I would na commit yourself, Sandy, I think I see lond ahead."

Jan 1, 1965

By Cooke D, Large R

The Cambrian structure in the Mt Read Volcanics was produced by four deformational events: obduction of forearc-derived mafic/ultramalic complexes in the early Middle Cambrian, a middle Middle Cambrian extensional phase related to the post-collisional Mt Read volcanism and VHMS mineralisation, Middle Cambrian E-W folding, and Late Cambrian N-S folding and basin inversion. The major phase of VHMS mineralisation in western Tasmania is restricted to the very brief period of extensional tectonics within the middle Middle Cambrian. Within this period a N-S graben was produced with a complex series of transfer zones, largely striking E-W. Most VHMS mineralisation is restricted to the top of massive volcanic successions, with several mines close to Cambrian transfer structures. Many of the transfer structures continued to be active until the Devonian. The later compressional Cambrian events are not significant in localising orc formation. Within the Rosebery mine a complex pattern of minor Cambrian normal faults has a second order control on the distribution of the mineralisation.

Jan 1, 1997

By Smele J. S, Dawes W. D

In recent years there has been a trend among mining companies to diversify exploration and development away from the countries that have dominated mining activity for the latter half of this century. With some exceptions, this trend is accelerating and is a function of the recognition that many parts of the world, with no previous exposure to modern exploration, are endowed with considerable mineral potential. In addition coincident with changing political and economic circumstances, many countries have recognised the benefits of attracting international mining investment and have radically changed policies, fiscal and legal regimes so as to encourage exploration and mining. Some countries, however, have not readily accepted mining for cultural or social reasons and have yet to make effective changes to mining legislation. For historical reasons, other countries may have little or no direct experience of western economics, nor may they fully recognise the need for stability and competitive fiscal and legal systems to attract foreign investment. Not all ventures in new countries have been commercial successes and there have been some lamentable and recent lapses from grace. Company strategies, company standards and management objectives can also vary widely from company to company. What may be an acceptable risk or rate of return for one may be completely

Jan 1, 1997

By A. Hellawell

Specitlrens of the Al-Ge eutectic alloy have been frozen unidivectionally at rates between 2.5 x 10-6 and 2.5 x 10-4 cm per sec and the structure examined by optical and X-ray methods. There is no epitaxial relationship between phases, the aluminum having random orientation and the germanium a preferred (011) fiber textuve. Lamellar colonies which are BINARY eutectic alloys occur between either silicon or germanium with the metals aluminum or silver. common in this alloy are constructed from axial and nonaxial (111) plates of germanium which are related by a variety of twin configurations. Irregular or globular regions of the microstructure are composed of continuous single crystals of each phase, the germanium being heavily twinned. There is limited solid solubility in these systems, and the eutectic phases all involve diamond cubic with fcc crystal structures. In the microstructures of these eutectic mixtures the silicon and germanium crystals exhibit an almost infinite variety of shapes which are notably sensitive to

Jan 1, 1968

LOCATIONThe property of the Mount Isa Mines Ltd. is situated in Western Queensland, 603 miles by rail west of Townsville, the nearest seaport. All supplies and the bullion are railed between Mt. Isa and Townsville. The climate is semiarid, and operations are conducted throughout the year without difficulty.WATER SUPPLYThe mill make-up water is obtained from the mine, and also from Rifle Creek reservoir, which is situated 20 miles from Mount Isa. The domestic supply of water is obtained from a series of bores on the company's leases.POWER SUPPLYElectric power at 3300 volts, 3-phase, 50 cycles, is supplied from the company's steam power plant, consisting of two units, each unit comprising one Babcock & Wilcox boiler, supplying steam at 300 lb. pressure per sq: in. to one 5000 kW. turbo-alternator. Pulverized coal is used as fuel, and power is being generated at a cost of 0.45d. per kilowatt hour. The coal used is supplied from the State Coal Mine, Bowen, costing 42/- per ton delivered at Mt. Isa.

Jan 1, 1933

By W. L. Finlay

Size effects in quenching steel are particularly prominent and well recognized because of the existence of a critical cooling rate separating nuclea-tion and growth transformations, as exemplified by the formation of pearl-ite, from the shear type of transformation characterizing the martensite reaction. The absence of a similar, sharply demarcating cooling rate is characteristic of precipitation hardening systems and size effects in these are correspondingly less prominent. This paper is concerned with a size effect in high-purity, precipitation-hardenable alloys which appears not to have been recognized previously. This effect is believed to result from the thermal fluctuations which inevitably occur in quenching a specimen of finite size into a cooling liquid rather than from the existence of a critical cooling rate. QUENCHING "ANOMALIES" The precipitation hardening literature contains many references to so-called anomalous quenching and aging results. By "anomalous", investigators usually meant that their alloys did not consistently harden on aging after quenching according to some anticipated pnttern: not infrequently virtually no age hardening occurred with compositions known to be precipitation-hardenable. Perhaps the most prominent series of anomalies was reported over a 15-year period by Gayler and coworkers on aluminum-copper.l,2,3,4 Working with silver-rich copper alloy, Cohen5 secured some very interesting Rockwell F hardness changes of from 1-5 Rockwell points between the first peak and valley. Fink and Smith borrowed one of Cohen's specimens and, following his heat treatment and quenching practice to the letter, secured6 very different results in which only one peak was obtained and in which the hardness level at the aging lime of Cohen's first peak was 20 Rockwell F points higher. Fink and Van Horn7 encountered serious deviations in age-hardening high purity aluminum-zinc alloys. They stated that "the discrepancies were larger than might be expected from possible experimental errors in the Brinell readings." Geisler, Barrett and Mehl8 likewise encountered anomalous hardening results in aluminum-silver alloys, securing quite different age-hardening curves from two identical specimens. They stated that "the treatments of these samples had been the same, so that the different behaviors could be attributed only to accidental variations in the quenching practice."

Jan 1, 1950

LESLIE BRADFORD GOLDEN JUBILEE ORATION "Not only a metallurgist but a scientist of the highest order" Leslie Bradford and the Australian Metallurgical Industry

Jan 1, 1987

By Arthur Taggart

A GENERAL awakening of interest among mill men concerning the mechanical efficiencies of their crushing machines is evident from a perusal of the recent files of mining publications. Considering the large part of the power bill which must be debited to the crushing department, such. interest is natural. When, however, the articles on the subject are read, the only statement upon which the writers agree is that fine grinding consumes a large amount of power, and that the machine which, from a concentration standpoint, offends as a slime producer is, for that reason, a serious offender in wasting power. When the mill man attempts to find a method for measuring the power wasted, or to compare the efficiency of one machine with that of another for the same work, he is confronted with a choice of methods which lead to conflicting results. There are two reasons why the work of crushing is not more generally understood. In the first place, experimental data are difficult to obtain; and in the second place, before these data can be put in general form certain assumptions must be made. A difference in these assumptions by different investigators has led to conflicting conclusions. This conflict has resulted in the proposal of two laws. The first of these is the so-called Rittinger's law, which is variously stated as follows: . "The work of crushing is proportional to the reduction in diameter."-R. H. Richards: Ore Dressing, p. 304 (1903). "The Work required to crush rock is very nearly proportional to the reciprocals of .the diameters crushed to."-A. Del Mar: Engineering and Mining Journal, vol. xciv, No. 24, p. 1129 (Dec. 14, 1912). "The Work done in crushing is proportional to the surface exposed by the operation, or better expressed for this purpose, the Work done on a given mass of rock is proportional to the reciprocal of the diameter of the final product, assuming that all the mass has been reduced to one exact size, which is only theoretically possible."- A. 0. Gates: Engineering and Mining Journal, vol. xcv, No. 21, p. 1039 (May 24, 1913).

Jan 1, 1914

By Jong-Jin Pak

The present work reports the commercialization of a recycling process of spent acid to recover molybdenum. The process consists of ammonia gas neutralization of spent acid containing molybdenum, crystallization and filtration of ammonium molybdate, roasting and hydrogen reduction of molybdic oxide to produce a commercial grade molybdenum metal powder. The mother liquor, highly nitrogeneous residual solution after the filtration of ammonium molybdate, can be utilized to produce chemical fertilizers.

Jan 1, 2006

By J. C. Jaeger, G. A. Wiebols, N. G. W. Cook

It is usual practice in engineering to design a stable structure by ensuring that the stresses in the elements of the structure are always less than their strength, which may be defined as the yield stress, the ultimate stress, or the fatigue stress, according to the type of the load. Such restrictive design is not practical in the design of underground excavations since the rock surrounding such structures is usually failed, but only occasionally does this give rise to instability of the structure. Thus, while the usual criterion for the design of a stable structure is certainly sufficient, it is not necessary for underground excavations. A proper understanding of the conditions necessary for stability is vital to the useful application of rock mechanics knowledge to the design of underground structures. Most tests on the properties and strength of brittle rocks are disrupted at or near maximum load by the rapid release into the specimen of energy stored in the resilience of the testing machine. This is in contrast with a phenomenon, which may be observed frequently, where the rock immediately surrounding an excavation is both failed and subject to stress. By postulating a complete stress-strain curve for rock, it can be shown that failure is unstable or stable, depending upon whether the stress-strain curve of the rock lies inside or outside the stress-strain characteristics of the applied stress. Stability is, therefore, a function of the stiffness of the system applying the stress relative to that of the failing rock. Many workers have established that the strength of rock specimens under a lateral hydrostatic confining stress varies linearly with confining stress, in a way which may be expressed by the equation CT=Co+K[o]3

Jan 1, 1972

By Benjamin S. Lindsey, James Norman

Barite (BaSO4) is the most important industrial barium mineral from the standpoint of quantity consumed. In 1938 the amount was 365,000 tons. Its uses are numerous, some of the more important being in the production of pigments, as an inert filler in a wide variety of products, as a weighting material in oil-well drilling muds, in the manufacture of some binds of glass, and in the production of barium chemicals. The barite studied in this investigation occurs as the massive variety in a shale replacement formation near Magnet Cove, Ark. It is intimately mixed with quartz and small amounts of iron oxide and residual shale. Complete liberation of barite and quartz is not obtained when the rock is ground to I00 per cent through 325 mesh. The crude rock with which all test work was done assayed 85.1 per cent BaS04, II.II. per cent SiO2, and 2.85 per cent R2O3. Its specific gravity was 4.03. It was found in the course of the investigation that the barite contained a small amount of uniformly distributed carbonaceous material, so intimately dispersed that it could not be seen with the microscope, but gave a definite gray cast to the barite concentrates. The color of the barite in polished sections of the crude rock ranged from gray to almost black, while finely ground powder was a reddish gray. The reddish hue was due to the iron oxide present. In 1939, under the supervision of Oliver C. Ralston,* the Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the Milwhite Company, of Houston, Texas, undertook to study the flotation of barite from Magnet Cove, Ark. Flotation of several southern barite ores had already been investigated by the Bureau of Mines.' The Magnet Cove barite was unique, however, in that it had to be ground to such an extremely small particle size for liberation. The flotation of non-metallic minerals in the presence of a large amount of slime is usually very difficult, and when done is an innovation calling for conditions different from those under which granular material is separated. Laboratory Flotation Work Preliminary investigation showed that the flotation reagents recommended by O'Meara and Coel for separating barite and siliceous material were suitable, but much larger quantities of reagents were required to separate such finely divided material. Moreover, it was found that careful control of the frothing was necessary. When oleic acid and sodium silicate were used a voluminous froth was observed at the beginning of a test, and toward the end there was not enough froth to effect complete recovery of barite. The addition of pine oil as a frother gave proper frothing for the duration of the test, and the substitution of coconut fatty acid (crude lauric acid) for oleic acid produced a more heavily burdened froth. Two different paper-mill fatty-acid products were tested

Jan 1, 1943

By Wayne E. Glenn, R. W. French, Lincoln F. Elkins

The Lance Creek Sundance reservoir provides a case history of ro years performance of a reservoir in which unit operation has permitted effective utilization of gravity drainage augmented by primary pressure control with injection of gas into top structural wells. Detailed performance of the reservoir is presented by means of maps of Well status, reservoir pressure, individual well recovery, etc., and by pool-performance charts. Analysis of reservoir performance indicates only minor water encroachment, so that gravity, injected gas, and expansion of gas are the main oil-expulsive agents. A simplified theory of regional drainage of oil from upstructure location to downstructure location due to gravity is presented and checked by means of comparison of "reservoir" permeability and "well" permeability from the pool performance. Good order of magnitude agreement was obtained. Individual well performance and overall reservoir performance indicate possibility that maintenance of pressure makes ineffective those parts of the reservoir in which permeability is too low to permit effective drainage of oil by action of gravity. Oil from these parts can be recovered only when pressure is reduced locally by selective withdrawal or when overall reservoir pressure is finally reduced.

Jan 1, 1949

By Leo P. Tarasov

Magnetic torque studies of ferromagnetic single crystals have been carried out in a number of laboratories during the last decade&apos;s2 and some work has been reported on polycrystalline material showing preferred orientation. Goss3 used the method extensively in developing electrical sheet with desirable magnetic properties, but he used it as a control rather than as a means of studying the texture. Bozorth4 made a quantitative correlation of a torque curve he obtained from some cold-rolled iron with the texture as determined from X-rays, but did not extend his studies beyond the one specimen. Other studies, which have been reported from time to time2,5 have also been incomplete in the sense that no effort was made to study a whole series of samples, differing only in degree of cold reduction or in the annealing temperature, in order to ascertain the effect of such treatments on the texture as revealed by torque measurements. It is the purpose of this investigation to make such a study, mainly in order to see how useful the method can be made when used under favorable circumstances and to find what kind of a correlation can be expected between magnetic and X-ray studies of texture. Before proceeding further, it is desirable to say a little about single crystals, so as to make clear the concepts involved in magnetic torque measurements. Magnetic Torque Method It is fairly well known nowadays that single crystals of ferromagnetic substances have directions of easy magnetization and of hard magnetization. In Fig. 1 are reproduced typical magnetization curves for a single crystal of iron, which show that in a < 100 > direction saturation occurs at low fields compared to those required to saturate the same crystal in a <110> or a <111> direction. (The magnetization intensity I is defined by the equation B = H + 4pI.) At fields high enough to

Jan 1, 1939

By John V. Beall, William F. Haddon

A long the mighty Andean Cordillera, there is splendor beyond imagination-in the natural beauty of the mountains and in daring engineering and lavish investment in the mines. This is the story of the great copper mines of Chile and Peru. Each mine has a special quality which has tested the physical and spiritual resources of the founder. In the early days of the older mines, the mining engineer of song and story was more the rule than the exception. He was physically tough, ingenious and a leader of men. In the current political and social environment of Chile and Peru, the foreign contract mining engineer is still needed; but he must be a different type of man. To John J. Selters at Cerro&apos;s Rio Blanco, the principal ingredient is still "toughness," but it is "toughness of mind" that is needed. "He probably should be a teacher." The copper mines are not new. They were, almost without exception, worked by Indians (La Exotica might prove the rule), and later by the intrepid Spaniards. Modern mining began after the turn of the century. In Chile, the first of the big ones was the Braden Copper Co. founded on the El Teniente deposit. This development was followed by Chile Exploration Co. at Chuquicamata and Andes Copper at Potrerillos. These properties have been developed over the years by vast expenditures of money and a monumental amount of labor. None was free of technical problems-metallurgy at Chuqui, marginal grade of the old mine at Andes, avalanches and the great fire at El Teniente. The evolution which has brought the established mines of Chile, and the new ones coming on stream, to their present state of development is in reality the work of wonders of input-money, engineering and responsible management in an atmosphere of political stability. Without any one of these, the result would have been failure.

Jan 11, 1969

By C. A. Czako

INTRODUCTION In recent decades sintering and pelletizing of finely divided materials have become the primary tonnage producing modes of agglomeration. This statement is especially true in the iron and steel industry and, to a lesser degree, in the nonferrous, chemical and non-metallic minerals processing industries. In every industry the main objectives in agglomerating fines are essentially the same, namely to convert ores, minerals and chemicals of undesirable fineness into agglomerates characterized by a size consistency desirable for subsequent use or processing. Depending on the type of agglomeration process selected and the conditions maintained during agglomeration, the physical process of increasing size is complemented by a number of other unit processes. These processes can occur simultaneously, consecutively or in an overlapping manner. Some of these additional unit processes are incidental to the agglomeration operation, but at the same time can be critical, depending upon the subsequent use of the product. Accordingly, during processing, conditions have to be controlled to either suppress or enhance the extent of completion of these unit processes. The purpose of this report is to review laboratory testing as the basis for engineering modern sintering and pelletizing plants. Considering that most typical applications are for the iron and steel industry, agglomeration of ferrous materials is reviewed and discussed. When these total processes are adapted to suit non- ferrous materials, chemicals, or non-metallic substances, the over- all approach remains the same; only the processing parameters are affected as necessitated by the different nature of the materials.

Jan 1, 1977

By W. Griffith

The purpose of this paper is to make public record of new information in regard to the sustaining power of artificial mine-roof supports (not timber props), the result of investigations recently made in the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania. First.—By the "Scranton Mine Cave Commission," appointed to investigate the mining conditions under the City of Scranton. Second.—By the "Pennsylvania Mine Cave Commission," appointed by the Governor to investigate the general subject of mine caves in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania. Third.-—By the personal researches and tests made by the author in an effort to secure a better artificial mine-roof or surface support. During the progress of the work of the Scranton Mine Cave Commission, the Engineers for the Commission, Messrs. Conner and Griffith, being aware of the general lack of exact information in the engineering profession as to the strength of the ordinary artificial mine-roof or surface support, and particularly the stronger kinds, such as mine cogs, rock piers, etc., had tests made at the Fritz Engineering Laboratory at Lehigh University, to determine the sustaining power under various compressions of the several kinds of artificial mine supports in use in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania. A report of these tests wasincluded in the report of this Commission, which was published as Bulletin No. 25 of the United States Bureau of Mines, Washington. A similar series of tests, more extensive and more elaborately planned, were subsequently made for the Pennsylvania Minc Cave Commission at the U. S. Government Testing Laboratory at Pittsburgh, Pa. The report of this Commission was made to the Governor, but has not yet been published. The author, during his connection with the Scranton Mine Cave Commission, observed that of all the various devices employed for sustaining the roof of coal mines, the one universally used and the best

Jan 1, 1918

By Walter H. Bucher

This symposium is designed to lay the basis for a general discussion of the place of geophysics in the training of geologists. As there is danger that in the ensuing debate individual interests may be given emphasis out of proportion to their place, we shall do well to view the whole field of geological inquiry in order to see the problem in true perspective. The Nature of Geological Inquiry "Basic" and "Complex" Sciences It is convenient to divide all science into two major divisions, the basic and the complex sciences. The basic sciences separate out from reality such entities as "substances" and "movements," describe their behavior in terms of arbitrary units of measurement and derive from them by progressive abstractions concepts and patterns of behavior that exist between them, so-called general "laws" and "properties" of nature. The complex sciences, on the other hand, deal, with little or no abstraction, with those objects of reality that are accessible to man in the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the lithosphere and the biosphere. Their work comprises two types of inquiry. One is concerned with abstractions to the extent of dealing with types rather than individuals—that is, with such things as plants, animals, protoplasm; clouds, streams, gla- ciers; volcanoes and mountain ranges. It comprises the search for general properties and patterns of behavior or "laws" that characterize the objects and their reactions to each other. These properties and laws apply always, everywhere. They are independent of the stream of time. We may call the results of this sort of inquiry timeless knowledge. The other type of inquiry is concerned with the objects themselves—that is, with this animal and that plant; this river system and that mountain chain; this glacier and that valley. Like all concrete objects in nature, they are subject to change with the passage of time, especially when it is measured in years, centuries, eons. The characteristics by which we recognize them —indeed, their very existence—are dependent on their position at this point in the stream of time. This we may call time-bound kntowledge. The so-called descriptive sciences are all bound to the past of which the objects of their study are the product and through which alone their present properties call be understood. They are historical sciences. This obvious fact is easily overlooked, which leads to serious misunderstanding, as we shall see later. Dynamic Geology With this broad picture in mind, let us now examine the nature of geological inquiry, defining, for the purposes of this discussion, geology as the science of rocks. Air is not a rock; water is. Meteorology and climatology are, correspondingly, gen-

Jan 1, 1946