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By J. C. Wynn

This paper outlines research conducted by the US Geological Survey on the geophysical signatures of chromite. Results of the chromite study highlight the importance of a laboratory research Phase (petrophysical and petrographic studies) at the beginning of work on a new commodity; a realistic ore deposition model to serve as a conceptual framework, and the necessity to continually test, refine, and modify it during the study; and indirect geologic/geochemical indicators, secondary associations, and the use of multiple physical properties. The keystone to the success of the study is frequent and substantive dialogue among geologists, geophysicists, and geochemists.

Jan 1, 1984

Henry C. Carlisle: This is a husband-and-wife act, in which Mary Carlisle is going to listen, and break in as often as she feels like it. I am going to describe my career as a mining engineer. We are at Nantucket, in the 75 Main St. house; The year is 1959. Q: This is something the boys and I have wanted you to do for a long time. Carlisle: After leaving Columbia in 1910, I arrived at Ray, Ariz., January 1, 1911, and rustled a job from Louis Cates, Ralph Nowland and Sprott Boyd, who were running the Ray mine. I went to work as a surveyor's helper, made $90 a month, and paid $35 a month board. I lived in a dormitory where about 25 other engineers, graduates from different colleges, were living. It was very social and you made a lot of young friends early in the game. I did not think much of the idea of being a surveyor, or even a surveyors, helper; the higher-up surveyors only got $125 a month, and had been there quite a long time. So, I asked to be changed to underground sampling, where I would see the mine faces every day and learn more about mining. In about three months, I became an underground sampler and remained at this for a year, but in three months I was promoted to head sampler, with six people under me.

Jan 10, 1963

AT the meeting of the Board of Directors held on June 25, 1926, and in response to numerous in-dividual suggestions for changes, a committee on Re-vision of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Insti-tute was appointed, consisting of C. F. Rand, Archi-bald Douglas and H. Foster Bain. Various confer-ences were held, much correspondence conducted and a preliminary draft was prepared. It proved imprac-ticable to complete the work in time to submit the matter to the membership for approval or disapproval at the annual meeting in 1927, and the Committee was continued with instructions to prepare a report as a basis of action in 1928. After Mr. Rand's death George Otis Smith was appointed in his place and the tentative draft herewith submitted has been pre-pared in its present form by Messrs. Smith, Douglas and Bain, though not differing in any material mat-ter from an earlier draft approved by Mr. Rand. In preparing this the Committee has kept in mind primarily the desirability of simplification and of making the By-Laws conform to the actual practice of the Institute as worked out through experience. The Constitution and By-Laws adopted in 1912, and which with minor amendments only still govern the Insti-tute, are full of specific provisions regarding pro-cedure; such as that laid down for guidance of the Papers and Publications Committee. Many of these have proved unworkable and in practice have not been always strictly followed. It now seems wise to write into the Constitution and By-Laws only the general fun-damental principles to he followed and to provide for such easy change in methods of following them out as will permit efficient conduct of the business. It is this thought that has guided the Committee in rewrit-ing many of the sections. With this in view also the Constitution, as such, has been shortened to the brief-est feasible statement of fundamentals. All matters relating to means of making these principles effec-tive have been put into the By-Laws or in the hands of committees whose work is subject to control and whose rules are subject to approval or disapproval by the Board of Directors. Many suggestions for changes have come to the Committee that have not been incorporated in this draft. Some of these are in themselves excellent but have not been incorporated here because the Commit-tee discovered no sentiment for them such as would be likely to secure their approval, or found them out of harmony with the general plan followed herein.

Jan 9, 1927

By Howard S. Bryant

Kansas maintained its fourth position on the list of all oil-producing states, for the ninth consecutive year. Total crude-oil production during 1935, as reported by the Oil & Gas Journal, was 53,364,446 bbl. on 97 per rent tank table calculations. This represented an increase of 17 per cent over the production in 1934, which had been the all-time peak of production in Kansas up to that time. Many of the 51 new discoveries of the year, listed in Table 2, did not have a pipe line outlet until about January, 1936; therefore did not contribute to the 1935 production of the state. The potential of all wells in Kansas at the end of the year was 998,-000 bbl. per day, and the daily allowable was 143,000 bbl. per day, showing proration to the extent of 14 per cent of capacity, under the rules of the State Corporation Commission. Several important new pipe lines were built into western Kansas by extending older lines from east to northwest, providing additional outlets for new crude-oil production, and increasing the service facilities from the older oil fields. The crude-oil price level remained unchanged throughout 1935 as it did in 1934, the price of Kansas 36" gravity crude being quoted at $1 per barrel. However, on Jan. 9, 1936, the price of this gravity oil was raised to $1.10 per barrel. Following the trend of the past several years, drilling activity was largely in western Kansas, and showed a still farther westward push from last year. A relatively high percentage of successful wildcat wells at a relatively shallow drilling depth, combined with the expiration of leased acreage assembled before the depression, caused the rapid exploration and development campaign, begun in 1934, to continue. This has caused the opening of more new fields in 1935 than during any previous year in the history of oil production in Kansas. A summary of the results of drilling in western Kansas is given in Table 2. Eastern Kansas had considerable drilling, showed six new fields or extensions of oil fields, but in the limited space of this paper such developments cannot be described.

Jan 1, 1936

By Howard S. Bryant

Kansas maintained its fourth position on the list of all oil-producing states, for the ninth consecutive year. Total crude-oil production during 1935, as reported by the Oil & Gas Journal, was 53,364,446 bbl. on 97 per rent tank table calculations. This represented an increase of 17 per cent over the production in 1934, which had been the all-time peak of production in Kansas up to that time. Many of the 51 new discoveries of the year, listed in Table 2, did not have a pipe line outlet until about January, 1936; therefore did not contribute to the 1935 production of the state. The potential of all wells in Kansas at the end of the year was 998,-000 bbl. per day, and the daily allowable was 143,000 bbl. per day, showing proration to the extent of 14 per cent of capacity, under the rules of the State Corporation Commission. Several important new pipe lines were built into western Kansas by extending older lines from east to northwest, providing additional outlets for new crude-oil production, and increasing the service facilities from the older oil fields. The crude-oil price level remained unchanged throughout 1935 as it did in 1934, the price of Kansas 36" gravity crude being quoted at $1 per barrel. However, on Jan. 9, 1936, the price of this gravity oil was raised to $1.10 per barrel. Following the trend of the past several years, drilling activity was largely in western Kansas, and showed a still farther westward push from last year. A relatively high percentage of successful wildcat wells at a relatively shallow drilling depth, combined with the expiration of leased acreage assembled before the depression, caused the rapid exploration and development campaign, begun in 1934, to continue. This has caused the opening of more new fields in 1935 than during any previous year in the history of oil production in Kansas. A summary of the results of drilling in western Kansas is given in Table 2. Eastern Kansas had considerable drilling, showed six new fields or extensions of oil fields, but in the limited space of this paper such developments cannot be described.

Jan 1, 1936

By Roland D. Parks

CORUNDUM, little publicized as an industrial abrasive, has, in its small way, contributed greatly to the production of many specialized items vital to our war program and to our allies. Optical elements of the highest quality for range finders, bombsights, and scientific instruments; precision metal parts for torpedoes and airplane engines; quartz crystal plates for military radios; armorplate and malleable castings for tanks and guns; and eyeglasses for everyone; these are some of the products that corundum has helped to produce in the quantities needed and on time. Unlike metals and many other raw materials, corundum is not incorporated into any of these finished products. It is simply a grinding medium used to produce the desired finish or precision; an operating supply or tool, so to speak. With a Mohs' scale index of o, corundum ranks next to the diamond in hardness among the natural minerals and is superior to emery and garnet. The gem varieties of corundum, including the Oriental ruby and sapphire, are frequently more highly prized as jewels than the diamond. It is the intent of this paper to deal only with a description of the corundum industry, the administration of wartime control, and certain economic aspects as seen by the author. Several references are listed to assist anyone who wishes further information on the geological occurrence of the mineral. ORE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION For the past two decades, South Africa has been the world's sole producer of corundum ore. A possible exception is Russia, where, it is understood, there was considerable production during the thirties for domestic consumption but for which statistics are lacking. The United States is the world's principal consumer of corundum ore; imports for the period 1934 through 1940 averaging 3000 short tons per year. The years 1935 and 1936 were close to the 5000-ton mark, and imports during 1941, the last prewar year for which statistics have been released, were approximately 6000 short tons. Again lacking statistics on Russia, the United Kingdom ranks second, but far below the United States in consumption of ore. Historically, corundum has been found in some 35 countries throughout the world, but the principal deposits are in South Africa, Canada, Madagascar, Russia and the United States. Deposits are generally small and subject to rapid exhaustion. Thus, the United States was the principal world producer for the period 1870 to 1900, when operations ceased except for two years during World War I. India was a producer of ore from 1898 through 1921, with peak output in 1916 through 1918. Canada came into production in 1901 with substantial output of ore and finished grain until 1914; the production thereafter was smaller until 1921. Madagascar has produced ore since 1910 but has had important output in only a few scattered years. South African production started in 1912,

Jan 1, 1945

By L. C. Morganroth

From a geological standpoint, but scant attention has been paid to fire-clay beds. Only within the last few years have they been the subject of individual investigation, prior to this time having been considered only in their relation to coal seams. While the relative importance of coal and fire clay is still immeasurably in favor of coal, yet an industry as large as that of fire clay is entitled to a measure of attention. A discussion of the Carboniferous clays is practically a discussion of the clay beds in the Appalachian basin, since more than 90 per cent. of these clays mined are from this region. The clays are confined to the northern end of the basin, or the States of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia, ranking in importance about in the order named. The clay deposits of the Carboniferous period have been divided into two classes; those found in the Pottsville conglomerate series of rocks, ' and all those that are found in the formations above, for the reason that the clay beds above the Pottsville series all resemble each other in properties, composition and appearance, and all are distinctly different from the bed found in the Pottsville formation. The bed of clay found in the latter formation is unique in that flint clay is practically restricted to it. (A variety of flint clay is occasionally found in these upper deposits but this is in such small amounts as to be negligible.) Carboniferous clays occur between stratified rocks; sandstones, limestones, etc., in the same manner as coal veins. They are often accompanied by a coal vein although where the clay is of a workable thickness, the coal is generally too thin to work. The clay beds are sometimes known by the name of the coal seam at which horizon they occur. Clay beds may be from a few inches up to 20 ft. in thickness. They may consist of all soft clay, all flint or both soft and flint. The Carboniferous clay beds of Pennsylvania are the most important of any of the clay beds found in the country, and are among the oldest ones worked. We know more about this clay geologically for the reason

Jan 1, 1916

By Eric N. Baklanoff

A major problem whose importance touches the entire underdeveloped world is how to reconcile the demands of nationalism with the requirements of the international economy. Chile's copper industry presents a study of how one such accommodation has been slowly, if precariously, evolved. The dependence of a low-income country on the international economy presents, on the one hand, opportunities for speeding up the rate of development and, on the other, imposes a set of constraints on national behavior. Nationalism may be indispensable in motivating low-income countries to bear the economic costs and absorb the social changes involved in modernization, but it may also inhibit the acceleration of economic growth by its failure to come to terms with the international economy. Nationalism is a two-edged sword. An outstanding feature of Chile's economy since the mid-1920s has been its considerable dependence on the export of a single primary commodity- copper. Moreover, the affiliates of two US.-owned firms-the Anaconda Co. and the Kennecott Copper Corp.-have dominated Chile's copper industry, a fact which from time to time has posed conflict between that nation's long-range economic opportunities and more immediate political realities.

Jan 8, 1968

By Willard H. Tracy

The method of seismic reflection prospecting has many times been compared to sound ranging, a process that became familiar to many during the World War. According to this very simple theory, the dynamite goes off and sends out a compression wave, which meets a reflecting horizon and returns to the surface, where it is recorded and the elapsed time of its travel in the earth accurately determined. Computations are then made on the general theory that the longer the elapsed time, the greater the depth of the reflecting bed. While this serves to give an idea of the fundamental basis of the process, it suggests a simplicity that does not exist in the life history of the various waves set up by a dynamite explosion in the earth. To begin with, a seismic wave in the earth does not obey the same simple laws of propagation that apply to a sound wave in the air. The property of strength in shear possessed by solids introduces a factor that sets such waves apart from the ordinary air waves. Also, the transmission charactcristics of the earth vary widely from place to place, and a fairly accurate knowledge of the space relationships of these variations is necessary if the final results are to be understood. Besides the waves recorded and used in the reflection computations, there are many

Jan 1, 1940

By Willard H. Tracy

The method of seismic reflection prospecting has many times been compared to sound ranging, a process that became familiar to many during the World War. According to this very simple theory, the dynamite goes off and sends out a compression wave, which meets a reflecting horizon and returns to the surface, where it is recorded and the elapsed time of its travel in the earth accurately determined. Computations are then made on the general theory that the longer the elapsed time, the greater the depth of the reflecting bed. While this serves to give an idea of the fundamental basis of the process, it suggests a simplicity that does not exist in the life history of the various waves set up by a dynamite explosion in the earth. To begin with, a seismic wave in the earth does not obey the same simple laws of propagation that apply to a sound wave in the air. The property of strength in shear possessed by solids introduces a factor that sets such waves apart from the ordinary air waves. Also, the transmission charactcristics of the earth vary widely from place to place, and a fairly accurate knowledge of the space relationships of these variations is necessary if the final results are to be understood. Besides the waves recorded and used in the reflection computations, there are many

Jan 1, 1940

By James P. Kimball

THE object of the present memoir is to put on record some practical experiments by the writer in smelting a silicious native magnetite with no other flux than the silicates of its own gangue: This work was undertaken in the spring of 1878 for Messrs. Naylor & Co., of Boston, to whom I am indebted for the privilege of here communicating its results, these having hitherto only been simply announced.* So far as I am aware these are the first instances of the kind in this country that non-calcareous; or rather non-carbonated, magnetites have successfully been used strictly alone as self-fluxing ores in the blast furnace; that is, without the addition of calcareous flux in the form either of limestone, quicklime, calcareous ore, or basic (calcareous). slag. Previous to the spring of 1878, when the Chateaugay magnetic ore was first brought to my notice, its use had been limited to Catalan forges, after "separation" at the ore bed. The blooms and billets made from it in the several forges of Messrs. Weed & Williams, and of Mr. Williams, were well known in the trade as among the best in the market. The Chateaugay ore beds proving of great magnitude, and the ore exceptionally low in phosphoric acid, it commended itself for blast-furnace purposes to Messrs. Naylor & Co., who employed nee to blow-in the charcoal furnace at Pittsford, Vt., on this ore in the spring of 1878., a previous trial of this ore in the same furnace in the fall of 1877 having proved abortive. This was therefore the first time that Chateaugay ore was successfully smelted in a blast furnace, although since well known as a blast-furnace ore possessing superior and exceptional qualities. The Pittsford furnace, although rebuilt in 1844, and subsequently improved by the former owner, the late J. Prichard, is one of the few furnaces of the old type with open breast (Sumpfofen) still active in this country. Its improvements on furnaces of the period, * Bulletin American Iron and Steel Association, XII, 1878, 132, 156.

Jan 1, 1881

By Edward D. Peters

IT frequently occurs in the establishment of reduction works, in an entirely new and untried mining district, that the metallurgist in charge finds considerable difficulty in determining the process best adapted to the ores which he receives for treatment. At the first glance it would seem easy enough to decide what style of furnace is best adapted for beneficiating any one class of minerals. If the ore possessed a quartzose gangue and was comparatively free from base metals, while salt could be obtained at a reasonable price, one would naturally resort to a chloridizing roasting, and pan or barrel amalgamation for the extraction of its silver contents. If galena or carbonate of lead was the prevailing mineral, and charcoal could be obtained at moderate figures, the blast-furnace would beneficiate the ores most advantageously. But if, as is usually the case in Colorado, the ores consisted of an intimate mixture of galena, zinc-blende, copper-pyrites, and noble silver minerals, associated with an overwhelming mass of siliceous heavy spar, or limestone gangue, the common reverberatory furnace can be used to the greatest advantage; and, although the product is only a copper matte, I do not hesitate to affirm that it can be treated, and the silver, gold, and copper produced at nearly the same price for which silver and lead can be separated. In Germany, blast-furnaces are frequently used for this same purpose, both for argentiferous and non-argentiferous copper ores ; but any one who will take the trouble to examine the statistics of smelting at Fahlun, the Oberharz, and other Continental works of this description, will see that the expenses are far too great, and the production much too small to think of employing this method in our mining districts, where only the softest and most miserable kind of charcoal is obtainable. I propose in this paper to give an accurate account of the expenses incurred at the Mount Lincoln Smelting Works in treating the same kind of ore, and producing the same end-product in both blast and reverberatory furnaces. I have taken for comparison a favorable campaign of the blast-furnace, and a good average month's running of the reverberatory. In the blast-furnace estimate I have included the calcining and concentration of the matte produced during that campaign, as I always, when possible, concentrated the regulus made

Jan 1, 1874

By T. Katayanagi, J. Shimoiizaka, K. Nakatsuka

Feldspar has been separated from silica by cationic collector using hydrofluoric acid as an activator of feldspar (1,2). Recently, one of the authors developed a new flotation process separating feldspar from quartz without using hydrofluoric acid. Presently, some silica sand mills are operating to introduce this process in Japan (3). In this flotation, feldspar is floated from silica using normal alkyltri-methylene diamine acetate together with sodium petroleum sulfonate as collectors in a hydrochloric or sulfuric acid circuit of about pH 2. From fundamental studies, it was found that, though the aliphatic diamine by itself did not adsorb on feldspar sufficiently to give a satisfying flotation in acidic circuit., the adsorption of collector was promoted by the simultaneous use of petroleum sulfonate and resulted in sufficient flotation of feldspar. On the other hand, quartz did not float in this flotation process. The application of this flotation was attempted for some types of natural samples and satisfying results were obtained. Further, an example of practical plant was introduced and the advantages in the process are emphasized.

Jan 1, 1976

By Edward C. Morse

The metallurgical history of Republic has been completely reviewed in a paper presented at a previous meeting of the Spokane Local Section by Professor Thomson;' therefore, the present paper will be confined to matters directly pertaining to the San Poil mill: When I came to Republic last fall to look over the situation there was a plant in operation successfully treating the tailings from one of the earlier mills in the camp. I refer to the mill of the Rathfon Reduction Co. This mill was operating in accordance with modern cyaniding practice, and I was given to understand that the work was very satisfactory and profitable, else it would not have been continued as long as it was. At that time I obtained much metallurgical information of value from Harry W. Newton, Superintendent of the mill of the North Washington Power & Reduction Co. I took a number of samples from the San Poil mine, with the view of determining if Mr. Newton's experience with the ores from the other mines applied to the San Poil ores. I made a large number of tests under a variety of conditions, and found that it was possible to extract as high as 98 per cent, of the values from San Poil ore by the laboratory-tests when the ore was pulverized to 200-mesh and treated with a solution of a strength of 5 Ib. of KCN to the ton. A fairly strong solution was required because of the proportion of silver in the ore, which makes it, from a metallurgical point of view, practically

Jan 1, 1913

By J. D. Sudbury, J. E. Landers, D. A. Shock

The external corrosion of casing is one of the most important problems facing the present day production man. A 1953 NACE report' estimated the annual cost of casing corrosion at $2,200,000 in 22 fields studied. The fields represented only 10 per cent of the wells in the United States. It was significant that 77 per cent of the failures reported were due to external corrosion. A variety of means for combatting the casing corrosion problem have been discussed in papers such as the NACE survey' mentioned previously. No attempt to revicw these will be made in this paper. Thc scope of this paper has been limited to a discussion of the following major items: (I) an instrument for studying external electrolytic corrosion; (2) use of this instrument to determine the quantity of protective current required to prevent corrosion of casing; and (3) problem of accelerated external corrosion of the oil string at the base of the surface string. ELECTROCHEMICAL MECHANISM OF CORROSION It IS gcncrally belleved that one major cause of external corrosion is the existence of electrolytic cells operating between various formation waters. A theoretical discussion of the role of earth potentials in casing corrosion has been presented by L. de Witte and F. J. Radd.2 A brief picture of the electrolytic corrosion action between two differcnt formations (A and B) is presented in Fig. I. This picture is a review to many but is given to insure clarity. In the anode area, oxidation takes place as iron ions go into solution in formation A as a product of corrosion. In the cathode area. reduction takes place and hydrogen atoms are formed at the boundary between the pipe and formation B. The flow of electrons. as indicated. is into the pipe at the anode or corroding area and out of the pipe into the formation at the cathode. In order to conform with regulations of this journal, the flow of a conventional current (I! is also indicated in this sketch. All subsequent references will be to this so-called conventional current flow and will be indicated by the symbol (I). As this action takes place the layer of hydrogen developed on the cathode offers a resistance to the flow of current in the cell. It is said (hat the cathode has been polarized. This polarizing film can be rcmoved by addition of a so-called dcpolarizing agent which reacts with and removes this hydrogen film. Such an agent must be present in ordcr for this corrosion reaction to go at a rate sufficient to cause a severe corrosion problem. The two common depolarizing agents are: (I) oxy-sen. which readily reacts with hydro gen to form water, and (2) certain bacteria which use atomic hydrogen as part of their life process. It is not difficult to explain the presence of these agents. Oxygen may be present in some very shallow formations. Sulfate reducing bacteria are found to exist in nearly any ground where mud pits might be dug. THE CASING POTENTIAl-PROFILE Instrumentation A sketch of the equipment* uscd in determining casing potential profiles is shown in Fig. 2. The tool is run in the hole using a hoist truck with a three-conductor cable. This tool must be run with tubing and rods out of the hole and should be run with the flow line disconnected. By proper choice of electrode size it can be run in any size casing. The electrodes must be run in an open hole or a hole filled with oil. Measurements cannot be made while immersed in water. The tungsten carbide-tipped knives serve as the electrical robes and arc spaced 25 ft apart. The potential difference along a 25-ft section of casing is measured with a potentinmeter to an accuracy of about 5 mv. Current flowing in the pipe can then

Jan 1, 1956

By C. H. Jr. Herty

THE elimination of metalloids in the open-hearth process depends on oxidation of the metal by diffusion of FeO from the slag (or absorption of FeO by the metal), with subsequent reaction between dissolved iron oxide and the metalloids carbon, manganese, phosphorus, and silicon. During an investigation on deoxidation with silicon, data on rate of oxidation of the metal were obtained, and these combined with certain other information, are presented here in an attempt to show the fundamental principles governing the diffusion of FeO from slag to metal. Inasmuch as the aim of the investigation was not a study of diffusion, certain data are lacking and it has been necessary to make assumptions on metal viscosity and effect of temperature on diffusion. These factors are known to exert a considerable effect on diffusional processes. Overoxidation, or supersaturation of the metal with iron oxide, is not taken up in this paper. Overoxidation has little effect on diffusion except under a few special conditions, and the discussion has therefore been limited to diffusional processes. Though the results given in this paper should be regarded as preliminary, certain of the conclusions drawn are definitely applicable to any steelmaking process.

Jan 1, 1929

By H. W. Gudenau, R. S. Chatty, W. Wenzel, M. Ponthenkandath

During several experimental programs conducted at the Institute of Ferrous Metallurgy, Technical University, Aachen, whisker formation was observed when iron ores were reduced at low as well as at high temperatures. Thus, in an attempt to find the reason for the volume change taking place during reduction, iron whisker growth was observed. Whisker growth appears to be one of the important reasons for the swelling of pellets. One set of experimental observations determined that when iron forms as needles rather than as a crust on the surface of oxide, the pellets became very porous. In related experiments, the beneficiation of finely disseminated iron ores, in which the metallic iron is separated from the gangue in granular or nodular form, was achieved by a reduction-concentration method. In this process, which is conducted at sufficiently high temperatures, oxide whisker growth, resulting from the formation of volatile suboxides and a gas transport mechanism, plays a vital role in the joint deposition of SiO, and iron from the vapor stage.

Jan 1, 1973

By R. F. Evans, J. M. Avery

MUCH has been written of the glamour of magnesium from sea water, the Aladdin-like creation of a huge magnesium plant in the Nevada desert using cheap hydroelectric power from Boulder Dam; the marvels of the Hansgirg process for the electrothermal reduction of magnesium oxide by carbon, and the ferrosilicon process for producing magnesium from dolomite. This is the story of the production of -magnesium by the electrolytic process, using steam-electric power supplied by a public utility, in a plant at Painesville, Ohio, 30 miles east of Cleveland on the shore 'of Lake Erie. The story is not without interest, since it involves several unique developments that provide the answer to a question frequently asked: How is it possible to produce magnesium metal economically at such a location as Painesville, Ohio? Basically, the answer lies in making use of facilities already in existence for the production of soda ash, which makes it possible to manufacture magnesium chloride, the principal raw material, cheaply enough to offset the high cost of electric power. To this is coupled the successful conversion of by-product chlorine into a product required for the war program. The source of magnesium for this operation is the enormous surface deposit of high-grade dolomite in the region south of Toledo, within reasonable freight haul of Painesville. This same geological stratum underlies the Painesville plant, but unfortunately at a depth of about 3000 ft. apparently too great a depth to permit underground mining to compete with the delivered cost of rock from surface quarries in other areas. The cost of dolomite obviously is an important factor, since the rock contains only some 12 per cent magnesium (20 per cent MgO) so that one dollar on the cost of stone means more than $8 in terms of its magnesium content, and more than that in terms of recoverable magnesium metal. PRODUCTION OF MAGNESIA FROM DOLOMITE In the summer of 1941, the Diamond Alkali Co. was well along with construction of a plant intended for the commercial production of refractory and other grades of magnesia from dolomite. The process to be used was designed to make maximum economic advantage of existing plant and operations by tying the production of magnesia in with the manufacture of soda ash in such a way as to make use of the lime (CaO) value of calcined dolomite. The process finally adopted after a lengthy research and development program has much in common with the old Clerc-Nihoul process, but includes certain innovations found to be necessary or

Jan 1, 1945

By H. H. Wade, N. F. Schulz

The large quantities of iron-bearing materials, including taconite, semi-taconite," and other low-grade ferruginous materials occurring in Minnesota and elsewhere, constitute an important potential source of iron. Satisfactory grade and recovery of iron ore concentrate cannot ordinarily be obtained from these ferruginous materials by simple methods of beneficiation. Iron is distinctive in that the free metal and two of its oxides [magnetite (Fe,O,) and maghemite (gamma-Fe,O,) ] are strongly ferromagnetic. The successful magnetic separation of natural magnetite from taconite has already been established on a commercial scale. The iron in semi-taconite, how- ever, occurs largely as goethite (Fe,Os.H,O) and hematite (Fe90,) which do not respond to ordinary magnetic separation methods. Magnetic roasting converts these iron oxides to magnetite, which can, after liberation, be magnetically concentrated.

Jan 11, 1960

By Eckley B. Coxe

SINCE our last meeting, the Institute has lost, by the death of Mr. Gowen, one of its most distinguished members. I shall only attempt in this place to give a brief account of his many accomplishments and achievements; but our records would certainly be incomplete without a recognition of the important influence which he exerted upon the mining and metallurgical industries of this country, and a testimony to his private virtues of character. Although Mr. Gowen was best known as a great lawyer and as the head of a great railway corporation, he began his career, before he was of age, as the manager of a small anthracite blast-furnace at Shamokin, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. He left this position, to engage on his own account in the mining of anthracite coal at Mt. Laffee, near Pottsville. This proved an unprofitable business, and, after the panic of 1857, he began the study of the law. As soon as he was admitted to the bar, he at once entered upon the active practice of his profession, and soon achieved an extraordinary success. In 1869 he was made President of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, and he afterwards organized the Pliladelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, the largest coalmining corporation in the world. He became a member of. this Institute during the first year after its organization, and remained a member until his death. He always took a deep interest in the work, and was prompt to co-operate by all means in his power in furthering the objects of the Institute. Mr. Gowen was one of the first to recognize the great importance to both miner and consumer, of the proper utilization of the small

Jan 1, 1890