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By N. S. Keith

SOME time ago, a firm engaged largely in the manufacture of copper sulphate, applied to me for information as to the practicability of obtaining the copper from their mother liquors by means of electricity ; having reference, more especially, to obtaining the electric current from some magneto-electric or dynamo-electric machine. The mother liquors were the result of several solutions of commercial scrap copper, containing impurities, the quantity of which

Jan 1, 1878

By Richard S. Smith

THAT management and purchasing have developed a more closely-knit working relationship is evidenced by the fact that more and more companies are appointing the heads of their purchasing departments to the position of vice president. This is concrete and dramatic indication that management is utilizing the knowledge and experience gained in this department and working with it at the policy-making level. When the engineering department is at the planning stage of a project, the purchasing department is being asked to sit in on the preliminary discussions . . .today. One result of this cooperation is that drawings and plans will reflect the current situation on material availability and another is that standardization will be incorporated in new construction and equipment.

Jan 1, 1958

Jan 1, 1951

By C. E. Murphey

C. E. Murphey, Jr., has presented a relevant, simplified comparison of drill string response when drilling with and without bumper subs. His point that drilling without bumper subs gives conditions further from resonance is valid. Thus, drilling from a floating vessel without bumper subs is undoubtedly feasible, especially when the heave motions of the drilling vessel are small. When these heave motions become large, an evaluation of the magnitude of the change of bit weight is a requirement for a realistic comparison between using and not using bumper subs. As Murphey states, this evaluation should include the effects of damping and presence of drill collars. The analysis would be similar to that presented in our Appendix, but is far beyond the scope of this Reply. ***

ENGINEERS AVAILABLE (Under this Beading will lie published notes sent to the Secretary of the Institute by members or other persons introduced by members.) Member,, technical graduate, aged 38, 14 years' experience in engineering, exploration, and management of copper, pyrite, and large iron mines, safety work, professor of mining in large university. Married. Open for position after June 10. No. 205. Member, graduate engineer, aged 44, with over 20 years' experience in connection with large coal and coke operations in different parts of the country, desires position as general superintendent of large coal company, or will take an interest with the management in a smaller company. No. 206.

Jan 5, 1915

The volumes of Transactions, which are published annually, contain the list of officers, rules, etc., the Proceedings, and the papers revised for final publication. (In this revision, after the preliminary publication, authors are permitted to use the largest liberty; and the changes and additions made in papers are sometimes important. It should be borne in mind by those who study or quote a paper in the preliminary edition, that they may not have in that form the ultimate and deliberate expression of the author's views. It should be added, however, that in the majority of cases there are no important changes.) These volumes are for sale as follows, in paper covers:

Jan 1, 1910

Phase II of President Nixon's economic game plan will incorporate many top flight metals mining companies. The large corporations must receive approval from the Cost of Living Council before increasing prices and or wages. The theory here is that, with large companies complying with advance approval, smaller firms will be examined more closely by government, and thus will be forced also to comply. Rep. Paul McCloskey (R.-Calif.) called for a moratorium on strip mining for "the few years involved before we adopt a national energy policy and a national land use policy." McCloskey, who is a cosponsor of Congressional legislation that would outlaw strip mining, told a hearing that a "moratorium can scarcely hurt us until national energy and land use policies are adopted."

Jan 1, 1971

By Michael R. Lewis, Dennis P. Moore

Untensioned, fully grouted, steel bars (dowels) up to 30 m long and 45 mm in diameter were used to reinforce rock slopes several hundred metres high, excavated for a hydroelectric project near Revelstoke, British Columbia. These dowels were successfully used to prevent surface rock from loosening, to prevent sliding on interconnected discontinuities and to prevent sliding of relatively intact rock on a thin shear zone. Because the interaction between rock slopes and dowels is not well understood, critical slopes were extensively monitored. Based on the experience from Revelstoke and elsewhere, it appears to be worthwhile, in most circumstances, to reconsider the need for tensioning rock anchors.

Jan 1, 1982

By Robert W. Hunt

No matter how perfectly sectioned or skilfully manufactured the rails used may have been, or with what care the road-bed may he maintained, legitimate results from these important factors cannot be secured unless proper attention is bestowed upon the joint-fastenings. In this country, splice-bars of various patterns furnish the practically universal joint. Other forms have been used, and are now being experimentally tested, but the typical American rail-joint consists of angle-plates or splice-bars. At the same time, it is true that scarcely a railroad engineer is satisfied with his joint. He may consider it the best of which he has knowledge, but at the same time he is well aware of many of its weak points.

Jan 1, 1890

By Ken Sublette

The mining industry has been a leader in the application of ultrasonic level monitoring systems, utilizing the "sonar-in-air" concept for the accurate inventorying of material not only as an end within itself, but going on to activate alarms, turn off feeders, operate tripper systems, and totalize the inventory in numerous bins as well as other more sophisticated applications. The virtues of ultrasonic level monitoring are no doubt appreciated by most users. However, to be of maximum service to the expanding mining industry, the manufacturer must be fair in pointing out ultrasonic's limitations as well as its virtues. The limitations can be surmounted with new technology and through a proper understanding of the principles of operation and application.

Jan 6, 1974

By A. D. Mutch

This contribution is prompted by the fact that the writer has recently published an article" which has in part the same general conclusions as B. S. Butler's, namely, the form of the standard mineral paragenesis in hypogene deposits and the parallel transition from early high temperature acid to late low temperature alkaline or neutral solutions. Since the writer also recognizes that he is not fully qualified to discuss the formation of ore deposits as a chemical problem, this discussion will be limited to summarizing other observations and will suggest how Butler's Table II might be made more effective. The form of Butler's table is not unlike that widely used by European geologists30 in which the various minerals are related to the types of ore fluids-pegmatitic, pneumatolic and hydrothermal. Thus the decrease in temperature and change in pH of the ore- bearing fluids as recognized by Butler may also be paralleled by perhaps even greater changes in composition, density, and character.

Jan 5, 1958

By Freeman Bishop

The Interior Department has been in a state of disarray for many months. At first this was attributed to Interior Secretary Walter Hickel's inability to anticipate how his words would be interpreted by Press-Radio-TV. But then the already disquieted ernployees in the Department became aware that plans were afoot to take bits and pieces of the various antipollution programs from Interior; Health, Education and Welfare: the Atomic Energy Commission and other agencies and lump them together into a new Federal agency. Interior, many predicted, would be a shell of its former robust self. Hardly had this rumor started to add to employee uneasiness before the other big shoe hit the floor. The new rumor had it that the Bureau of Mines was being stripped of most of its research functions and that the Office of Coal Research and allied research groups would be abolished altogether.

Jan 1, 1970

In uranium metallurgy, the main purpose is to obtain a product containing 80-85% U308 (yellowcake) from ores whose average grade is a mere 0.21% U30& Essentially, the task of extraction and concentration involves dissolving the ore's U308 values, followed by purification and concentration of the uranium-rich solution (using such operations as filtration, clarification, and ion-exchange), and then selectively precipitating and isolating U308. Leaching is First Step In yellowcake production mills, the first chemical change occurs by leaching the ore with either sulfuric acid-as done by Anaconda and Kerr-McGee-or with an alkaline solution of, say, sodium carbonate, as done by United Nuclear-Homestake Partners. The choice of either acid or alkaline leaching is not an arbitrary one: it depends on the chemical and physical characteristics of a particular ore. That is, on the presence of clays, organic compounds (usually of carbonaceous origin), and soluble impurities, as well as on the ore's wetness and grindability.

Jan 8, 1974

No. 230. Two engineers, technical graduates, three to five years, experience. One to take charge of 'pyrite mining in Canada; the other to assist in the mining work at the head office in New York. Salary for the right man, $5000. No. 231. Two young engineers, preferably men who have just graduated from college who are looking for an opportunity to work up with a reputable mining company. Men who have had some practical experience will be considered. No. 232. Assayer. Wet analyses, principally of lead, zinc, sulphur and insoluble. Assayer will also have some mill sampling and experimental work in a new flotation installation, as well -as control of regular mill operation and development-work samples front the mine. $75 to $100 per month and board, according to experience of candidate. No. 233. Engineer to lay out, erect and operate calcium carbide and ferrosilicon plant in the State of Washington. One furnace, 1500 hp. No. 234. Professor of metallurgy for school of mines in western state. $3000 per year to man properly qualified for the work.

Jan 9, 1917

Plans have been completed with only details to be arranged for the first Metals Branch Conference in the Northwest. The two day meeting will be held jointly with the Industrial Minerals Div. on Friday and Saturday, May 9 and 10, 1952, at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane, Wash. For, some time the metals activities in this area have been neglected. Expansion of metal producing and fabricating industries in Washington and neighboring states has brought sufficient interest to insure the success of such a meeting. A committee has been hard at work for several months. Nonferrous extractive metallurgy men will find an extensive program in the April issue of JOURNAL OF METALS. Sessions for iron and steel producers, physical metallurgists, and educators will make the Metals Branch picture complete. Metals Branch members residing in Washington, British Columbia, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, and Utah, or who can be in the Northwest at this time should make plans now to attend. A Metals Branch luncheon is planned for Friday and a dinner jointly with the Industrial Minerals Div. is planned for Saturday according to F. R. Morral, metallurgist with the metallurgical research div. of Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp., P. O. Box 1451, Spokane, Wash.

Jan 1, 1952

By W. L. Korbee, P. Hazebroek, M. Prats, E. E. Allen, C. A. 225-000-000-017 Verbraak, H. C. van Elst

In a recent paper,' one of us has presented some experimental evidence on the relationship between twinning and brittle fracture in steel. From metallographic examinations of brittle fracture it could be derived that mechanical twins and microcracks are formed already in front of a running brittle fracture. A tentative explanation based on the evaluation of the statistical distribution of mechanical twins vs various angles to the fracture was given in the above mentioned paper. It was suggested that these twins are caused by stress waves emitted by a running brittle fracture. With the aid of high-speed photography and the use of photo-stress sheet we are now able to study in more detail the propagation of a brittle fracture and the emittance of stress waves connected with fracture. A typical example is given in Fig. 1. In this figure a running brittle fracture in an ordinary Thomas steel is shown. The experiment was performed on a Robertson apparatus and the stress waves caused by the fracture were made visible with photo-stress

Jan 1, 1962

During the year Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1916, 962 applications for member-ship in the Institute were received, as compared to 558 during the corresponding period in 1915. The lines along which the Committee has, worked during the year, group themselves under seven principal heads. Large Companies.-Early in the year a letter was addressed to each member of the Institute who is the executive head of an organization, pointing out to him the advantages that would accrue to that organization through having as many of its subordinate members as were qualified participating in the activities of the Institute. This was followed by a second letter to those who made no reply to the first. The response to these letters was very gratifying, 12 new members having been secured at a single plant, and smaller numbers at others. This was effectively supplemented by our President, who wrote the executive heads of some of the largest mining and smelting companies, pointing out to them the advantage to be derived from sending some of the junior members of their staff to attend the Arizona Meeting. One organization sent 24 of its younger men, many of whom were not members of the Institute, but who, subsequently sent in applications for membership. It is to be hoped that the precedent thus set' will be acted 'on in -fuller measure in succeeding years.

Jan 2, 1917

By J. J. Bodmer

IN 1855, Franz Uchatius patented, in England, his process of manufacturing cast steel. The first experiments, on a practical scale, were made at the Ebbw Vale Iron Works, Monmouthshire. The charge consisted of a mixture of cast iron with about 20 per cent. of a pure iron ore, and with or without other ingredients. In order to obtain the cast iron in a subdivided condition, Uchatius granulated molten pig-metal by running it into water, which during the operation was kept well agitated, and found that "the finer the iron is granulated, the softer will be the resulting steel." The writer is not aware that granulated iron has been used practically, otherwise than in the above-named process ; and until 1866 no other process of subdividing iron than by granulation was known. In April, 1866, an English patent was obtained by the writer for subdividing blast-furnace and other slags and metals in a molten condition, by passing the same through one or more pairs of rolls. In reference to iron the idea was, in following up the direction pointed out by the Uchatius process, to obtain better results in the puddling process by means of a thorough amalgamation (not simply a mixture) of the iron with the oxides and other ingredients in the charge itself. Experiments were made. A quantity of iron direct from the blast-furnace was subdivided (or laminated) by passing it through a pair of plain rolls. The rolls were hollow, and water was made to pass through them to keep them sufficiently cool. Without giving differential speed to the rolls, sheets were obtained about one-sixteenth inches thick, and from about one hundred square inches surface, downwards. With differential speed, the iron falls from the rolls in

Jan 1, 1874

By V. F. Marsters

THE main producing oilfields in Peru are located in the department of Piura and province of Thumbes, adjoining Ecuador on the south and west. In the department of Puno, a small field known as the Pirin or Hauncané Area was exploited some years ago by Fred Brown and associates and considerable production obtained. As. shown by the statistical table of production, this area reached its maximum production about 1909; since 1915, operations have been suspended. During the past year, however, the Peruvian Corpn. has acquired some interests in this section. It is reported to have made a few shallow tests with the hope of obtaining sufficient production to supply fuel for its railway lines, which operate between Mollendo on the coast and Puno and Cuzco in the interior. Only partial success has accompanied these efforts; nevertheless, exploitation is being continued. The petroleum of this region contains a paraffin base with small amounts of asphalt. While the gasoline content is small, the kerosene content runs as high as 30 per cent., with the fuel element varying from 50 to 72 per cent. While it is known that the structural conditions of the Huancané area are somewhat complicated, it is believed that exploitation based on a careful interpretation of the geology of the region will eventually yield commercial production of at least modest proportions. In the main fields in Piura and Tumbes, drilling operations were somewhat more active during the first half of the year, than in 1922. The latter half of the year witnessed curtailment, owing to the abnormal situation in the petroleum industry at that time. For the same reason, no attempt was made to obtain the maximum production from existing .wells. Production was pinched down and exportation of crude was correspondingly reduced during the latter half of 1923. Nevertheless, the total production of the Peruvian fields is considerably in excess of that for 1922, as is also the production of the Negritos area alone.

Jan 3, 1924

Jan 1, 1943