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[Officers and Committees of the Society of Petroleum Engineers 1 Officers and Staff of the AIME 2 Officers of AIME Sections. Predominantly Petroleum in Membership 3 Alphabetical List of Members 5 Geographical List of Members 95 Advertisers' Index 122]

Jan 1, 1961

By Charles A. Colton

The results of a series of analyses extending over a period of three weeks at the Cedar Point Iron Company's furnace, Port Henry, New York, are given in Tables I and 11. This furnace uses a very pure magnetite and Lehigh and Lackawanna anthracite. The flue leading the gas from the "down-comer" to the boilers was tapped by a 2 inch gas pipe, which carried the gas to the Orsat apparatus. The pressure of the gas not always being sufficient, owing to the small amount made, to force it into the apparatus, I omitted taking samples several days, and with the exception of the last three days of the campaign, made the analyses whenever opportunity offered. I find the Orsat apparatus, as described by Prof. Egleston," to work very well, with one exception. The CO is not absorbed as readily in the ammonia-copper solutiou as he states in his description of the apparatus, as many as 50, and sometimes GO, passes being necessary to absorb all the CO. The power of absorbing rapidly increases as the solution is used, and this would indicate that the more oxygen it contains the quicker will it do the work. Probably the addition of a small amount of some oxidizing agent would remedy this. When the furnace was working in its normal condition, I had no occasion for using the filter, the amount of fume being so small as not to canse any inconvenience. The gas burned with the flame peculiar to CO, and contained just enough solid particles to give it a slight reddish tinge.

Jan 1, 1879

By Orville R. Lyons

THE continuous vacuum filter, whether it be a vertical or horizontal disk, inside or outside drum, when properly applied is a very effective device for dewatering fine solids. Because of the number of variables that affect its performance, however, it is not possible to obtain consistently maximum moisture reduction in an operating plant. This paper presents a method for determining the average cake moisture and the variations in cake moisture to be anticipated when dewatering fine solids by continuous vacuum filters under normal operating conditions.

Jan 10, 1951

By W. G. Pfann

WHEN a molten zone traverses a long, solid ingot in a level, open boat the ingot becomes tapered. While the taper may be slight after one zone pass, it can be appreciable after repeated zone passes, even to the extent of causing an overflow of matter at the end of the boat. It will be shown here that such matter transport by a molten zone arises from the volume change on melting and that it corresponds in magnitude and direction to the magnitude and sign of the volume change. It will be shown also that the mechanism of matter transport is basically similar to that of solute transport by a molten zone, which has been discussed elsewhere,1,2 and that the two processes can be described by similar equations. Finally it will be shown that matter transport can be prevented by inclining the ingot at a critical angle. Contraction on melting results in forward transport, that is, transport in the direction of zone travel; expansion on melting results in reverse transport. The way in which forward transport arises from the contraction on melting may be seen as follows: At the starting end of a solid horizontal ingot of uniform rectangular cross section of height h., form a molten zone of length 1, as shown in Fig. 1. The height h of the liquid will be h. where a is the ratio of density of solid to that of liquid. Advance the molten zone, at constant length, a distance dx. The volume of solid melted will be hdx; the volume of solid frozen will be Izdx, because the height of the freezing solid will tend to be equal to that of the liquid. The resultant change, dv, in liquid volume will be the difference in these quantities multiplied by the density ratio. Hence the following equation may be used for a zone at any distance x from the origin: which is valid in all but the last zone length in the

Jan 1, 1954

By Harry M. Conger

It is a pleasure for me to keynote this first Western Regional Minerals and Coal Conference here in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is pleasing for two main reasons. First, Homestake Mining Company has been associated with the Black Hills since 1875 when gold was discovered following Custer's trek through the Hills during 1874. Second, the future mineral development of the Black Hills will depend, to a great extent, on minerals and metals covered in this conference. The metals and minerals that are featured in this conference have unique similarities--and important differences--and therefore, will be of great interest to all who are involved in our industry in this area of the country. Precious metals have always been, and likely will always be, subject to political influence; they are only partially affected by the demands of our industrial economy. Energy minerals, while more directly affected by industrial stimulus, are also politically sensitive. In this regard, the need for a minerals policy affecting the energy sphere has been made very clear to us in the last five years. More importantly, the lack of a national policy and purpose relating to our total future energy needs has severely affected the overall economy and security of this country. Very briefly today, I would like to outline for you my thoughts on the future of these most important minerals. I will start by a discussion of precious metals, primarily my favorite precious metal, gold. A brief history of gold will be helpful in setting a perspective for forecasting its future although it is difficult to give a brief description of a metal that has been prized by man for over 6,000 years. Until recently, as you know, gold was held by the Federal government as a metal to be owned by the government only and

Jan 1, 1983

CARL HENRICH (communication to the Secretary*).-I have read with much interest the discussions of my paper by Messrs. A. S. Dwight, E. P. Mathewson, Win. B. Boggs, Jos. W. Richards, and W. C. Smith. Mr. Dwight's acknowledgment that he always-in lead smelting¬obtained better results by figuring A1203 as an acid in his slags, I may take as a confirmation of my views, notwithstanding his later conversion by, the late T. S. Austin to the latter's empirical view and way of neglecting the consideration of A1203 altogether in the composition of slags-letting the slags "dissolve" in Al203. I have a strong suspicion that Mr. Austin, in a large custom smelting plant at El Paso, has been able to keep the alumina percentage of his slags sufficiently low, not to give him much trouble, although I have also a suspicion that his furnace foreman may have had a somewhat differing opinion of the practical working of the "dissolving" theory,, whenever its applicability was tested to its limits. That Austin should have conceived the notion that the Ca of CaF2 would enter into a slag as CaO, seems hardly in accord with the recognized ability of that late metallurgist. It is a well-recognized fact that even small amounts of CaF2 will reduce the viscosity of a slag; but I did not think anyone ever had an idea that CaF2, in some mysterious way, parted with its F and coupled itself with 0 to satisfy a craving for CaO on the part of 802-least of all in a lead furnace. The "dissolving" theory for CaF2 was doubtless appropriate, and an improvement on figuring the Ca of CaF2 as CaO to satisfy the demand of Si02 for RO bases. However, I cannot understand the rationality of extending this "dissolving" theory to A1203 and to ZnO. It would be interesting to have more specific data from Mr. Mathewson in regard to the actual composition-analyses-of the slags made, when he had these unusually high alumina slags in Colorado. We "old" smelters all know that within certain limits, usually found out by rather tough experience, we could safely "disregard" A1203. In fact, I believe, we never really analyzed for alumina, except in slag analyses, when we

Jan 6, 1917

OLIVIA'S recent revolution, by hindsight, seems to have been inevitable. The misery of the majority of the people, coupled with the economic crisis engendered by the refusal of the United States to meet Bolivian demands for a higher tin price, gave the National Revolutionary Movement party all the excuse it needed for overthrowing the government. Most of the mines in Bolivia are owned by three families. Precisely what it will mean to the United States is still a moot question. Argentina, with a mixture of Marxism, Fascism, and few twists created by the Perons, is in a position to grab off much of the tin we need. Because of the contingencies of geographical location, language and a natural simpatico, Argentina may be able to continue its efforts to oust the United States from its South American markets. Point Four aid was supposed to be given to Bolivia, but only for agriculture. Even this was entirely too slow. Mining, Bolivia's other major source of income was forgotten by the Washington planners. Primary aim of the new power will be to diminish its dependence on the world tin market. At a time when the free world is fighting a battle for control of metal, it stands a chance of losing an important source of supply. With the accent placed on agriculture and other industries, mining in Bolivia is certain to suffer. Argentina will be in a position to get the available supply of tin, make a strong ally in the world order of things, and add to its power play against the United States in South America. Ten labor groups have formed the Bolivian Central Workers Union. The first item on their list for immediate action is the nationalization of the mining and railroad industries. They also came out for agrarian revolution and diversification of industry. President Victor Paz Estenssoro has promised to appoint a committee for the investigation of nationalization of the mines. At least, this is indicative of a feeling for the need for caution.

Jan 1, 1952

By C. F. Tolman

Discussion of the paper of C. F. TOLMAN, JR., presented at the New York meeting, February, 1916, and printed in Bulletin No. 110, February, 1916, pp. 401 to 433. Louis C. GRATON, Cambridge, Mass.-Of particular interest at this time is any paper that deals with chalcocite, the characteristic product of secondary enrichment and the copper mineral of greatest commercial importance, and that seeks to aid in the distinction between primary and secondary chalcocite-a distinction of much scientific and practical importance but one which thus far it has proved difficult to draw. The present paper on this subject by Professor Tolman, like the ,many preceding it which he and his colleagues at Stanford have published in the last couple of years, contains much of interest and suggestiveness. Without endeavoring at this time to review or comment upon Professor Tolman's conclusions in detail, I may say that many of them are in accord with the findings that my associates and I have been accumulating in the course of studying secondary enrichment in many of the copper deposits of the country. On the other hand, it goes without saying that in this comparatively new field of research or, at least, a field in which

Jan 5, 1916

By Orville A. Derby

In view of the recent important discussions before this Institute on the genesis of metalliferous deposits, certain features in the occurrence of gold which seem to be more clearly developed in Brazil than elsewhere can hardly fail to be of interest. As the observations here recorded have necessarily been of a somewhat cursory character, they will be presented in the form of brief notes, without any attempt to draw conclusions as to their genetic significance. Gold in Gneiss.—The statement made by me many years ago† that in the districts of Campanha and S?o Gongalo, in southern Minas Geraes, gold occurs in gneiss, can now be reaffirmed in the most positive manner, on the strength of a recent examination of fresh material, confirmed by the testimony of an experienced mining captain from the Morro Velho mine, who, being skeptical on this point, made a prospectingtour in the district. The specimens examined, though so far decomposed as to be readily disaggregated, were clearly of

Jan 1, 1903

By M. J. McPherson

Having worked on the thermodynamics of air/liquid-water mixtures passing through the surface fans of deep mines, I find this paper of great interest and congratulate the authors on producing it. There are two matters, however, deserving discussion. First, the authors have described the classical theory of fog formation with fogging occurring at "supersaturation." In fact, the process of fog formation begins well below 100% humidity. The more strongly hygroscopic nuclei in the atmosphere will attract water molecules and begin to grow at a relative humidity perhaps as low as 70%. The process is a dynamic one with both condensation and evaporation taking place throughout the mixture on microscopic liquid surfaces. As saturation is approached, the rate of condensation accelerates rapidly producing the familiar reduction in visibility. Hygroscopic nuclei are present in all natural atmospheres and under the appropriate conditions of pressure and temperature, will produce clean fogs. However, if the air is polluted by particulates from combustion or other processes then the resultant coagulation with growing liquid particles may produce dense (and sometimes photochemical) smogs. It is this process that is likely to occur in underground mines when moist air is cooled below dew point. Second, the authors have summarized very well the individual measures that might alleviate the problem. In particular, I agree that neither heating nor refrigerating the air, by themselves, provides a satisfactory solution. However, there is a combination of these that provides a neat and effective control of fog formation. This involves a small, self-contained refrigeration unit within a duct but without the usual external heat rejection facility. The air is cooled below dew point and, hence, dehumidified on passing over the cold evaporator coils. The heat from the condenser is rejected back into the air down-stream from the water eliminator, as shown in [Fig. 1]. The duct configuration can be designed to create good mixing at the outlet.

Jan 1, 1984

By William Braden

IT is obvious that the choice of the method to be employed in the handling of blast-furnace slags and mattes depends upon local facilities and conditions which may indicate as advisable some particular plan. As a result of the variety of such conditions hardly any two smelters use identically the same method, though they be located only a few hundred feet apart. For instance, of the several plants in Leadville, Colorado, each has a more or less distinctive system. The same is true of Salt Lake City and vicinity. In view of this it is evident that the existing diversity of practice cannot be accepted, prima facia, as evidence

Jan 1, 1897

M. G. CORSON.'-I am not going to discuss any of the papers presented but merely the question of season cracking of brass in general. Alpha brass has been known for nearly 500 yr. and from the very beginning a number of articles were made from sheets of this alloy by the process of spinning. Metal turning lathes were not yet known but wood turning lathes already existed and the wood turners used to make the mandrils and do the brass spinning themselves. Cases of season cracking were known even then. In 1915 I was connected with a small company doing a certain amount of brass spinning. Before the war its products never gave cause for complaint but their war-time products were cracking too frequently. The reason was, that due to the exigencies of war an excessive speed-up was attempted and the material simply could not take it. Today corrosion cracking of brass is most important in the case of cartridges for small arms ammunition and shell cases for large guns. The cracking takes place in storage and too frequently it is explained by the hypothetical presence of vapors of ammonia. However, I had the experience of purchasing some 20,000 rounds for the old Vetterli rifle from the Swiss government in 1905. The rifle and the cartridges were obsolete for many years and those which I bought were stored for at least 10 yr. None of them was found to be cracked or to crack in use. And the reason again was in the amount of work used in manufacturing the cartridges between anneals. The machinery today is more powerful and the amount of

Jan 1, 1945

By Vernon F. Swanson

An equation has been developed which will permit the direct determination of free settling velocity of any sized particle encountered in mineral benefici-ation. The equation is based on Newton's Law with the friction factor defined as a function of the laminar boundary layer. Development of the equation is described first from an empirical trial-and-error approach. Examples are given of actual settling data from the literature versus calculated data to prove the validity of the new equation. Newton's law of resistance of a fluid to flow around a sphere is expressed in Eq. 1. Free settling velocities can be determined by setting Eq. 1 equal to the gravitational force on a particle and solving for V. Experience has shown that when the solids are greater than 1 mm in diam, or when Reynold's number for the system is greater than 800-1000, the friction factor term, fD, essentially becomes a constant, and Eq. 2-b becomes Newton's equation for free-settling and is applicable under the conditions stated. Another special condition exists for particles smaller than 0.05 mm or when Reynold's number for the system is less than three. In this case fD=24/NRor24µ/pL,dV,. Eq. 2-b can then be rewritten as

Jan 1, 1968

By Theron Wasson

The Central Michigan area held first place in the state during the year. Midland and Isabella, the leading counties in 1932, produced most of the oil in 1933. The Porter field southeast of Mt. Pleasant and along the same structural trend saw the greatest drilling activity. In Porter during the year 117 new wells were drilled. Under proration these wells produced 3,583,617 bbl., or nearly one-half the total for the state, which has been estimated at 7,947,695 bbl. The Porter field is already outlined on all sides except the northwest. It probably reached its peak in 1933. Unless a new field of some magnitude is developed in 1934, Michigan will see a continuous decline. The Greendale extension to the old Mt. Pleasant field furnished the new flush for 1932. In 1933

Jan 1, 1934

By W. S. Landis

WHEN dealing with a new reagent, one is concerned with three principal factors: available supply, cost, and results. The atmosphere contains an inexhaustible supply of oxygen mechanically mixed with nitrogen (omitting rare gases and minor impurities) in the proportions of one volume of oxygen to four volumes of nitrogen. (All figures are based on slide-rule precision and minor impurities are neglected.) Expressed in terms of weight, 1 ton of oxygen represents a volume of 22,500 cu. ft. and is contained in a volume of 112,000 cu. ft. of air. Water, also an inexhaustible supply, is a chemical compound containing 89 per cent. oxygen and, 11 per cent. hydrogen. Of the hundreds of schemes proposed for the enriching of air or separation of oxygen, nothing of value has yet appeared. From the standpoint of mechanical separation, liquefaction followed by rectification is the only process that has been developed to a really commercial stage. Theoretically, it should be a .simple matter to separate the mechanical mixture of nitrogen and oxygen; but fractionation can be performed only by converting to the liquid phase and this phase can be obtained only at lower than critical temperatures. The problem, therefore, is not so simple and the cost of the actual operation bears no relationship to the theoretical simplicity of the process. The largest single unit of the required apparatus so far placed in commercial use will handle only 60,000 cu. ft. of air per hour through a compressor which operates at a little over 250 lb. per sq. in. After this apparatus has operated continuously for 14 to 18 days it must be shut down for 6 to 8 hr. to be thawed out, have accumulated impurities removed and again cooled down for production. The cost of such a unit erected in batteries, with necessary spares for maintaining production, and including prime movers, hoisting and all auxiliary equipment, will be about $125,000. To produce one ton of oxygen per hour requires two operating machines of this size; and if the production is to be absolutely continuous a spare unit must be provided. To operate a plant of two units requires 10 or 11 men, excluding boiler attendants, if steam is generated in the plant.

Jan 11, 1924

By W. E. Glenn

The years immediately ahead-1961, 1962, 1963- will be critical years from every standpoint for the young engineer. In the next few years, he must learn to grow professionally. Most often, the rate and extent of this growth will be governed by his own initiative and perseverance. Habits and attitudes acquired during these early professional years relate very closely to, and even foreshadow, future accomplishments. The future goal of the young engineer is a moving target. It will change with professional growth, family requirements, changes in predominant interest, general economic and business conditions and geographic location. However ambitious and stead-fast in his goal he may be, the young engineer should not hesitate to adjust or change-for he really does not know initially what he is best fitted for and will not know until he has tried a number of things patiently and persistently.

Jan 1, 1961

By Cushwa, C. C.

AT the Park Utah Mine, labor costs of stoping A have been reduced from 30 to 40 per cent. by the use of double-drum hoists and scrapers. The application of scrapers varies with the methods of timbering. In stopes, which must be timbered with square-sets or stringer sets, one method is used; another is used in wide orebodies that can be held open until filling is introduced; and still another in narrow flat veins. Nearly all the oreshoots at the Park Utah lie at less than 50" from the horizontal, and most of the ore is difficult to handle through flat chutes. Proper care is probably the most important requisite for successful scraping, as serviceable equipment can be obtained from several manufacturers. One capable mechanic, therefore, was put in charge of the scraper hoists. He visits every stope daily, oiling hoists and tail1 blocks, inspects all equipment, splices cables and changes "set-ups" when necessary; his pay has been a good investment. The Park Utah now has in use ten double-drum Turbinair hoists, and one Sullivan double-drum a. c. hoist of the same capacity and outside design as the air hoists. The electric hoist is slower than the air hoists and does not pass large boulders easily; it is, however, a very effective machine. The air hoists are fast, powerful and

Jan 1, 1925

By W. T. Thom

In previous classifications of coal, it has been customary to regard moisture eliminated from coal samples between 20 and 100 C. as extraneous matter, rather than as a constituent part of the coal. It seems, however, that the physical character and use properties of the low-rank coals are directly related to the amount of such moisture present, and recent chemical work has shown' that such coals contain unstable groupings which decompose between 20 C. and temperatures somewhat above 100" C., with the splitting off of moisture. According to this view, the moisture eliminated from air-dried coal below boiling point is similar in all essential respects to moisture eliminated above 100" C., and is produced by analogous reactions; and inasmuch as the moisture given off above 100" C. has always been treated as a constituent of the volatile matter of coal, it would seem that consistent usage would include as a part of the volatile matter all moisture present as an essential component of the coal as it occurs in nature. As a matter of experience, it seems clear that the general physical and chemical characteristics of the low-rank coals are largely determined by or related to the moisture, whether chemically or physically combined, present in air-dried coal; it is also demonstrable by trial that the low-rank coals cannot be satisfactorily classified on a purely chemical basis by using the moisture free form of analysis. The low-rank coals of the western United States include numerous well-defined types, many of which were referred to in a classification proposed by Ashley,2 in which the physical and use properties of the coals were made the primary basis for their systematic grouping. When testing this classification by replotting analyses of these type coals according to the Seyler scheme of classification,3 a satisfactory parallelism between use properties and chemical constitution of the dry coal was found among

Jan 1, 1925

By J. J. Donos

IN the operation of a smelter, continuous and accurate determination of smoke losses is essential for purposes of metals inventories and as a check on the efficiency of smoke recovery apparatus. Previous to the development of a continuous and automatic smoke sampler by R. MacMichael, in 1924, two methods were in vogue, and still are in some smelters, for measuring solids passing out of a flue or stack. These are: (1) the so-called dust concentration method whereby the gas volume passing through the flue is first measured and then the total amount of solids carried in the smoke stream calculated from the weight of suspended matter filtered out of a measured volume of gas; (2) the balanced tube method is independent of gas volume flowing through the flue, and relies for its accuracy on the fact that a true smoke sample may be taken if the velocity of the gas in the sampling tube is constantly maintained at a known ratio of the average flue gas velocity. The total amount of solids passing through the flue is then proportional to the weight of filtered solids and to the ratio of the area of the flue to the area of the sampling tube, corrected for the velocity ratio. The limitations of the first method lie in the uncertainty of the varying volume of gas arising from metallurgical operations and the unreliability of ordinary gas meters to hold their accuracy under

Jan 1, 1951

By Walter Weeks

CONSIDERABLE difference of opinion seems to exist as to whether the rate of air flow when a fan is placed on a given duct should be determined by the use of static pressure or total pressure characteristics. A little study will show that both methods are correct. Assume that a fan is connected to a duct by an expansion piece as shown in Fig. 1, and that steady flow is established. Considering the atmospheric pressure as zero pressure, let the static head at the outlet of the fan be h and the velocity at this point be v1. The total head at the outlet is then h + v1/2g? The total head at this point must be equal to the total head at the end of the duct plus the losses that have occurred between the two points. Let f be the friction loss in the straight duct, s the shock loss in the dif- fuser, and V2 the velocity at the end of the duct. Then h+ v12/2g=v22/2g + f + s FIG. 1.-FAN ON DUCT. A curve showing the value of the left-hand side of the equation for different rates of flow is the total pressure characteristic of the fan, while a curve showing the value of the right-hand side is the total pressure characteristic of the duct. If these two curves are plotted on the same chart, the intersection indicates the rate of flow when steady flow is established.

Jan 1, 1930