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Jan 1, 1914

Jan 1, 1968

THE first session of the production engineering group on Wednesday, morning, with J. B. Umpleby as chairman, recorded the principal developments since the Fort Worth meeting. Added to this was a lively discussion of pressure maintenance. Recent advances in the air-gas lift have resulted from the need of applying the method to smaller wells at lower costs. In many places intermittent flow has given excellent results, and numerous mechanical de-vices for its automatic control have been, developed. Papers by C. V. Millikan on the Mid-Continent field and by A. H. Bell on California, fields formed the basis for discussion. The maintenance of initial sand pressures was ably discussed for two Texas fields by t. V. Foran in a paper that not only outlined the technic of operation and the results obtained but also contained noteworthy cost data in terms of increased ultimate production. Mr. Foran recommends the use of air in the first stages of pressure maintenance as a means of determining sand conditions and directions of flow, later turning to gas, if available, because of its greater solubility on oil. A round table discussion on petroleum engineering educational problems, with H. G. George as chairman, brought out much interesting discussion that is difficult to summarize. The other Wednesday morning session was a refinery engineering symposium with T. G. Del-bridge as chairman and the economical application of heat for the general topic. A paper on the modern pipe -still, by H. S. Bell, and another by C. W. Stratford on the modernization of the cylindrical still elicited a lively discussion.

Jan 3, 1928

By J. P. Batcha, J. Robert Denny

Since 1964. Newmont Mining Corp. has been engaged in a systematic research and development of computer techniques for a variety of mine planning applications. The general objective of this effort has been twofold: first, to arrive at a viable near-optimum plan for mining a particular orebody and, second, to decrease the financial investment by reducing the man-hours required for mine planning. Three major phases in the evolution of Newmont's computer techniques for mine planning are discernible. In phase one, the computer's ability to duplicate manual drafting and contour mapping was developed. Obviously, all recognized geologic characteristics had to be included, and consequently the development of computer techniques for the proper incorporation of structure, stratigraphic trends, and other geological features was a significant aspect of phase one.

Jan 1, 1970

By L. W. Bahney

The photograph, Fig. 1, shows the apparatus a little less than half size, consisting of a filtering-flask fitted with rubber stopper through which passes a bent glass tube, and an extraction-thimble fitted with rubber stopper through which passes a glass tube of 0.25-inch bore. Both tubes are connected by a short piece of rubber tubing. A section of a thimble is shown in the photograph ; the tube extends to within & in. of the tapered end. The object of using the thimble is to remove the acid from the beaker after all the copper has been precipitated. Time is saved, the copper is not exposed to the acid alone, and there are none of the losses attending ordinary filtration. I have accomplished these results by means of a piece of perforated platinum fastened in the end of a (0.25-in. bore glass tube and a filter-mat of asbestos, but after my supply of proper length fiber became exhausted I could not replenish it even after purchasing 14 lots from four different dealers. The above apparatus may be used to remove at least seven-eighths of a supernatant liquid from a settled precipitate without disturbing the latter. The application of the thimble is best shown by partly outlining the assay for copper, as follows: Dilute the acid solution of copper and other sulphates to 150 cc. in a 200-cc. Jena beaker, place on a hot plate, add 2 drops of concentrated HCl, then place a strip of aluminum in the beaker (this may be bent or straight, as desired). Connect the apparatus, as shown in Pig. 1, with a filter-pump having a strong suction. When the copper is precipitated, remove the beaker from the hot plate and insert the extraction-thimble alongside the strip of aluminum. The acid solution will be drawn through the porous tube. Wash the upper end of the aluminum strip with a jet of hot water, wash down the sides of

Jan 1, 1913

By Brian Mason

Wire Ropes in Mines. Proceedings of a conference held at Ashorne Hill, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, September, 1950. Published by the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, Salisbury House, London, 1951. 828 P. $7.00-The volume contains 18 pages on the manufacture and properties of rope wire and wire ropes. In addition, wire rope practice in Britain, Ontario, the Witwatersrand, The United States, South Africa, and other countries are discussed. Testing, government regulations, and inspection are also treated. The book contains a three day discussion on these subjects complete with a summary of conclusions and recommendations. Heating Ventilating Air Conditioning Guide 1952. Published by the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers, New York, 1952. 1496 P. $7.50.Contains a technical data section of reference material on the design and specification of heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems. Also has a section containing information on equipment and manufacturers. An index to technical and equipment sections is included.

Jan 1, 1952

By John V. Beall

Many months ago, the ME staff began thinking about what to put on the February cover of the Centennial Commemorative issue. We have considered photographs of mines, equipment, symbolic artwork and various collages. Our theme is "the next 100 years in mining" and the cover ideally should convey a related message or idea. All of us are convinced that there are many exciting technical changes that will be coming. But even so, we decided that, in our opinion, the engineer is the most vital factor. For this reason we chose to put a man on the cover of this issue. At first it was going to be the face of a man with whom each member could conceivably identify himself. It was one of the Bobs on our staff (we have four) who came up with the thought that since it's the future we are talking about, we should have a young man's or a student's face. Of course we firmed up our idea at the ninth hour, and it was too late to canvass the mining schools. However, by a stroke of luck, we were rapping with a group of University of Arizona students on the terrace of the Pioneer Hotel on December 7, 1970, and met Dave Bolles.

Jan 1, 1971

(Under this heading will be published notes sent to the Secretary of the Institute by members or other persons.) The position of converter blower at a side-blow Bessemer steel casting plant is vacant. The State Legislature of Utah has provided for the establishment of a metallurgical research department at the State School of Mines, Salt Lake City. Applications will be received for, the position of head of this laboratory, and further details may be obtained by applying to Prof. Joseph F. Merrill, Director, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. An engineering company owning patents for improvements in steel manufacture which have been adopted at many works in America, desires. to secure the services of a technical iron and steel metallurgist as assistant to its chief metallurgical engineer.

Jan 6, 1913

By Eckley B. Coxe

IN the anthracite coal regions of Pennsylvania the custom has been to sight either at an open light (generally a mine-lamp), or at the string of a plumb-bob. If the station was intended to he a permanent one, a spud, as it is called, that is, a nail resembling a horseshoe nail with a hole in the head, is driven into the timbers over the station, or, if there be no timber, a hole is drilled in the coal or rock roof, into which a wooden plug is driven, which serves to hold the spud. The first operation in making a survey is to lay out the stations, that is, to mark the place where the holes are to be drilled for the plugs or the points on the timbers where the spuds are to be driven in. This should be done before any instrumental work is begun, as much labor can generally be spared, and the use of very short sights can often be avoided, by carefully laying out the stations beforehand. When the stations were laid out, a plumb-bob was hung from the innermost spud, which I will call No. 1, the instrument was put in position at No. 2, by plumbing down and putting a centre-pin under the spud, and then setting up over the centre-pin, and another plumb-bob was suspended from No. 3. If great accuracy was not required, a mine-lamp was set up under the plumbbobs, at No. 1 and No. 3, and the engineer sighted at them. If great accuracy was required, a lamp or some white sbface was held by an assistant behind the strings of the plumb-bobs. To work with any speed by the latter method (i. e., the accurate one), it was necessary for the engineer to have three assistants on whom he could rely even when the chaining was done afterwards; viz. : one to hold the light behind the string at No. 1, one at No. 3, and an assistant at the instrument to hold the light while levelling, reading the in

By Eckley B. Coxe

IN the anthracite coal regions of Pennsylvania the custom has been to sight either at an open light (generally a mine-lamp), or at the string of a plumb-bob. If the station was intended to be a permanent one, a spud, as it is called, that is, a nail resembling a horseshoe nail with a hole in the head, is driven into the timbers over the station, or, if there be no timber, a hole is drilled in the coal or rock roof, into which a wooden plug is driven, which serves to hold the spud. The first operation in making a survey is to lay out the stations, that is, to mark the place where the holes are to be drilled for the plugs or the points on the timbers where the spuds are to be driven in. This should be done before any instrumental work is begun, as much labor can generally be spared, and the use of very short sights can often be avoided, by carefully laying out the stations beforehand. When the stations were laid out, a plumb-bob was hung from the innermost spud, which I will call No. 1, the instrument was put in position at No. 2, by plumbing down and putting a centre-pin under the spud, and then setting up over the centre-pin, and another plumb-bob was suspended from No. 3. If great accuracy was not required, a mine-lamp was set up under the plumb-bobs, at No. 1 and No. 3, and the engineer sighted at them. If great accuracy was required, a lamp or some white surface was held by an assistant behind the strings of the plumb-bobs. To work with any speed by the latter method (i. e., the accurate one), it was necessary for the engineer to have three assistants on whom he could rely even when the chaining was done afterwards; viz.: one to hold the light behind the string at No. 1, one at No. 3, and an assistant at the instrument to hold the light while levelling, reading the in-

Jan 1, 1873

Jan 1, 1964

By John Porter

THE requirements of the standard specifications under which Portland cement is sold have materially increased within the past 10 years, but practically all companies are now furnishing cement better than these requirements; in some cases exceeding them by nearly 100 per cent. From a sales standpoint, it is desirable to have a product that is uniform to a high degree and free from occasional quality troubles. A failure in quality, even if it affects only a few hundred barrels out of a yearly output of a million or more, is apt to be talked about in the trade and to affect the salability of the entire output. For these reasons, there has recently been great activity along the lines of quality control and improvement; and some of the most interesting problems of the industry are in this field. From the manufacturing standpoint, the quality of cement is chiefly a matter of uniform and proper chemical composition of the raw mix fed to the kilns plus proper burning in the kilns; the fineness to which the cement is ground, the proportions of gypsum, the method of seasoning, and the like are contributory factors. Uniform chemical composition of the raw mix has been one of the most difficult problems to solve. Most plants will use from 1000 to 3000 tons of rock per day and in but few cases is this material as it lies in the quarry even approximately uniform in composition. The problem, then, is to quarry and mix this raw material in such a manner that every handful passing through the kilns will have practically the same analysis as every other handful. To accomplish this purpose there are two methods of preparation: the wet process and the dry.

Jan 1, 1925

By R. H. Lee

So far as I am aware the references to the " kerosene blow-pipe" in the Transactions comprise only a skeptical opinion from Mr. Witherow (ix., 70), and accounts of the use of the blow-pipe by Mr. Witherbee (xiii., 675) and Mr. Gayley (xiv., 779), together with brief remarks by Mr. Weeks and Mr. Kennedy on Mr. Witherbee's paper. The subject can scarcely be considered novel, in view of these references, yet it is not so far exhausted that an additional account of the successful application of the blow-pipe would be out of place, especially if accompanied with some new details and a drawing of the apparatus itself, showing its simplicity and safety. Some time ago, owing to a variety of causes, my furnace was working very badly, the troubles culminating suddenly one morning in a chilled hearth, solid from the bottom to the tuyeres, with the exception of a narrow passage-way from above to the cindernotch, which remained open. Through this we continued to flush and cast, with the prospect of a long and troublesome siege, in working down to the iron-notch. At the end of two days matters had not greatly improved, and we seemed no nearer the desired result than on the morning of the chill, when, at the suggestion of Mr. Farrell, of Glamorgan, I decided to use the coal-oil blow-pipe; the intention being to cut a hole from the iron-notch up to the tuyeres, and then let the furnace melt out the chilled mass. In four hours from the time of starting, the hole was made and

Jan 1, 1887

By W. H. Bassett

One of the difficulties for many young engineers is the acceptance of responsibility. Even though they start as assistants to older men, they hesitate to offer positive opinions. They often make reports of observations and leave the boss to draw his own conclusions. If they happen to be in a position where they are not reporting to a senior engineer, and it is necessary to take the final responsibility for a decision, they try to get someone to help out and either assume or share such responsibility. Generally this is the result of want of confidence in one's self and fear that something may happen to go wrong and bring about criticism. Frequently diffidence is the principal factor. Young men come to me with reports on work that has been well done and well written up, who are evidently laboring under an intense desire to drop through the floor or to make a rapid' exit in some other way because of want of confidence. In my own early experience a consulting job came in that required considerable investigation. The man who was handing his place over to me mentioned my good fortune and I replied that the work would be interesting and I could handle it all right but feared the responsibility, which seemed considerable. He was an

Jan 1, 1932

(Under this heading will be published notes sent to the Secretary of the Institute by members or other persons. ) The governing body of the Imperial College of Technology, London, S. W. (Royal School of Mines), will shortly proceed to the appointment of a Professor of Metallurgy. This important Chair has been filled in the past by such eminent metallurgists as John Percy, Sir William C. Roberts-Austen, and others. A large manufacturing company having two iron foundries, blast furnace, etc., requires the services of a chemist, metallographist, and metallurgical engineer qualified to give advice on cast iron practice, and to prescribe remedies for difficulties often met with in the usual iron foundry. The position of converter blower at a side-blow Bessemer steel casting plant is vacant.

Jan 5, 1913

By Gary B. Williamson, Barton K. Cross

Digital simulation is a modern analysis tool which allows the mine operator to evaluate the result of making a decision without actually changing the organization or buying the equipment. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the use of digital simulation in evaluating a decision of whether or not to introduce dispatching in an open pit mine. The analysis shows that appreciable savings can be realized by dispatching. In certain cases, an operator can reduce the number of trucks required to move a specified tonnage. A second analysis evaluates the alternatives of using one large shovel or two smaller units. In this case, the operating cost of the haulage equipment necessary to support the shovels turns out to be the critical factor in this decision.

Jan 1, 1969

By Nick Barton, Stavros Bandis

The descriptive term "rock mass" encompasses individual block dimensions ranging from centimeters to many tens of meters. Strength and deformability vary both qualitatively and quantitatively as a result of this size range. A key issue is therefore the appropriate size of the test sample. A large body of test data was reviewed to determine the influence of block size on the displacement required to mobilize peak strength. It is shown that the shear strength and shear stiffness reduce with increased block size due to reduced effective joint roughness, and due to reduced asperity strength. Both are a function of the delayed mobilization of roughness with increasing block size. A method of scaling shear strength and shear displacement from laboratory to in situ block sizes is suggested. It is based on the assumption that size effects disappear when the natural block size is exceeded. This simplification appears to be justified over a significant range of block sizes, but is invalidated when shearing along individual joints is replaced by rotational or kink-band deformation, as seen in more heavily jointed rock masses. Recent laboratory tests on model block assemblies illustrate some important effects of block size on deformability and Poisson's ratio.

Jan 1, 1982

By Volker Ruth

DURING an experimental investigation of the Kirken dall effect in the Ag-Au system, cracks along grain boundaries in connection with a shift of adjoining crys tallites are observed on the gold-rich side of the couple. Also on the gold-rich side the formation of a zone of small protrusions is found.' The growth law of the width of this zone indicates that the protrusion formation is a secondary effect of diffusion. The protrusions are not found within a distance of approximately 60 from a grain boundary. Unaffected regions along grain boundaries were also observed by Doherty and Davis during precipitation of vacancies in aluminum2 and by Wyon and Lacombe during precipitation of iron in aluminum.3 Thus we may suppose that we have an effect analogous to precipitation in which the crystal tends to maintain its equilibrium vacancy concentration by transporting excess atoms to the surface. At an early stage (i.e., before sintering has influenced the shape of the protrusions) the protrusions have similar shapes (three sided pyramids and roof shapes) and similar orientations within a single grain but vary from one grain to another. Further experiments were carried out on cylindrical Au-Ag single crystal couples. During the weld-

Jan 1, 1963

By Rossiter W. Raymond

THE most important event in the history of mining in the United States was the discovery of gold in California, which led to the rapid development, not only of a new industry, but of a new empire. The settlement of the Pacific slope was making but slow progress under the inducements of a scanty commerce in furs and hides. The liberal grants offered by the government to agricultural pioneers in Oregon had attracted to the Willamette valley and other favored points in that territory a limited population; but the government of the Mexicans in California was positively unfavorable to enterprise. It is true that gold was known to exist in the country. Rumors of it were current among the trappers, and placers had actually been worked in what is now Los Angeles County ; but the padres of the neighboring mission of San Fernando had discouraged the business as demoralizing to their flocks ; and the existence of the precious metal was not widely known; still less was its distribution north¬ward suspected. The discovery of gold, January 19th, 1848, at Sutter's saw-mill, on the south fork of the American River, afterward famous as Coloma, in Eldorado County, was the beginning of the new epoch. This discovery was made by James Wilson Marshall, a partner in the mill, who observed in the debris washed down by the tail-race a glittering fragment of a mineral unknown to him. Suspecting it to be gold, he sought for further specimens, and obtained, in the course of a few days, several ounces of it. Tests subsequently

Jan 1, 1875

By Rossiter W. Raymond

The most important event in the history of mining in the United States was the discovery of gold in California, which led to the rapid development, not only of a new industry, but of a new empire. The settlement of the Pacific slope was making but slow progress under the inducements of a scanty commerce in furs and hides. The liberal grants offered by the government to agricultural pioneers in Oregon had attracted to the Willamette valley and other favored points in that territory a limited population; hot the government of the Mexicans in California was positively unfavorable to enterprise. It is true that gold was known to exist in the country. Rumors of it were current among the trappers, and placers had actually been worked in what is now Los Angeles County; but the padres of the neighboring mission of San Fernando had discouraged the business as demoralizing to their flocks; and the existence of the precious metal was not widely known; still less was its distribution northward suspected. The discovery of gold, January 19th) 1848, at Sutter's saw-mill, on the south fork of the American River, afterward famous as Coloma, in Eldorado County, was the beginning of the new epoch. This discovery was made by James Wilson Marshall, a partner in the mill, who observed in the debris washed down by the tail-race a glittering fragment of a mineral unknown to him. Suspecting it to be gold, he sought for further specimens, and obtained, in the course of a few days, several ounces of it. Tests subsequently