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By John B. Knaebel, Robert J. Grant

This paper outlines the trends in gold production since the discovery of America, in the world as a whole, and in the principal producing regions as well. World production climbed at an average rate of about 20,000,000 oz. per 5-year period until the record all-time output of 111,307,000 oz. in the period ending with 1915. Production fell off during the war period, but has been mounting since 1925, and will probably be nearly 100,000,000 oz. for the 5-year period ending in 1930. Total world production of gold from 1492 to the end of 1930, as closely as can be determined, is more than 1,061,000,000 fine ounces. More than one-half of this total, or about 575,000,000 oz., has been mined since 1900. In percentage of world production, the United States jumped from 4.8 per cent for the decade 1831-1840 to 44.5 per cent for the five years ending with 1855. This is the highest figure ever reached by this country, although, with the exception of the 10-year period ending 1865, it ranked first among the nationa from 1849 until the end of 1905. During the 5-year period ending with that year, the United States produced 24.7 per cent of the world's gold. The tremendous increase from South Africa following 1890 resulted in that country's becoming the largest contributor for the five years 1906-1910, a position it has held with increasing dominance ever since. Relegated to second place in the period 1906 to 1910, the United States produced nearly 20 per cent of the world's new gold until 1920. From 1921 to 1925 it averaged 13.6 per cent and since then it has continued to decline in relative importance, accounting for only 10.9 per cent in 1927. Final figures for 1930 may place Canada second among the gold producers of the world.

Jan 1, 1931

Fred D. DeVaney (Magnetic Roasting of Iron Ores, P. 1219) has presented several other AIME papers, all of them concerned with grinding and concentrating problems. He is chief metallurgist, Pickands Mather & Co., at Hibbing Minn., after working for the U. S. Bureau of Mines at Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Rolla, Mo., as a junior metallurgist and a metallurgist. DeVaney started as a research metallurgist with Pickands Mather in 1942. He set up the first laboratory in the Lake Superior district devoted to taconite concentra¬ [ ] tion, his major interest. He has been an AIME member since 1923, holding various offices, including the first presidency of the Minnesota Section. DeVaney has a Bachelor's in Mining, and Master of Science earned at the University of Alabama in 1924. He is a member of the Engineers Club of Northern Minnesota and plays golf for relaxation and enjoyment.

Jan 1, 1952

PENNSYLVANIA ANTHRACITE SECTION Executive Committee R. V. NORRIS, Chairman. CHARLES F. HUBER, Vice-Chairman, W. J. RICHARDS, Vice-Chairman, EDWIN LUDLOW, Vice-Chairman, ARTHUR H. STORRS, Vice-Chairman. CHARLES ENZIAN, Secretary-Treasurer, U. S. Bureau of Mines, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. DOUGLAS BUNTING, FRANK A. HILL, ALBERT B. JESSUP, RUFUS J. FOSTER, JOHN M. HUMPHREY, ROBERT A. QUIN. The Pennsylvania Anthracite Section held its second regular meeting at the Pottsville Club House, Pottsville, Pa., July 25,1914. The meeting was attended by more than 90 members and guests. Vice-Chairman W. J. Richards presided. Following an informal dinner, W. G. Whildin, Mining Superintendent, Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co., Lansford, Pa., presented a. paper on Steep Pitch Mining of Thick Coal Seams, illustrated by numerous drawings. This paper will be printed in the November number of the Bulletin. A lively discussion followed the reading of the paper.

Jan 10, 1914

By Carl Henrich

A.. S. DWIGHT, New York, N. Y.-Mr. Henrich's paper is rather inconclusive as to the role that alumina really plays in slags. He gives a number of interesting instances of high alumina, with conclusions that he draws from the analyses, in the light of what he knows of the accompanying conditions, but the information given is hardly sufficient to permit intelligent criticism of these conclusions, for it is well known that the slag composition is not the only factor that can produce some of the furnace results favorable or disastrous, as the case may be, which he records. As a matter of fact, most metallurgists who have wrestled with this problem in connection with the smelting of lead and copper ores, usually arrived at some sort of a working hypothesis which met the local conditions fairly well, and then, being busy men, were inclined 'to leave the theoretical question very much as Mr: Henrich leaves it when he says: "A question with which I purpose dealing at some future time." It is unfortunate that in the Golden Age of the smelting industry in the West, when we were all dealing with large tonnages of complex ores, often containing large percentages of alumina in combination with other. refractory elements, the smelting companies were not generally equipped for research as they are today, and much experience that might have been,

Jan 4, 1917

By H. M. Wilten

THIS article presets a view of a problem encountered in petroleum refining in the deterioration of equipment used in condensation of vapors and cooling of liquids. Discussion is limited to the problems of shell- and tube-type exchangers and condensers. In this service shell- and .tube-type equipment is gradually displacing other types and, for this reason, its economic importance ill oil-refining practice is also increasing. Considering oil - refinery practice during the last two decades one can readily see many important improvements in the apparatus used. Briefly, the present equipment is safer, more efficient, and Ignore economical. Improvement in apparatus used for the condensation of distillates has, in my opinion, been less than that in other essential distilling apparatus. So it is hoped that this discussion will stimulate research among the producers as well as among the consumers of this equipment with a view to ameliorating this condition.

Jan 1, 1937

By W. L., Yerkes

AN interesting study of the application of air-, conditioning to the problem of mine ventilation and cooling can be found on the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Here there are a large number of deep mines in a relatively small area. Due to the nature of the reef, many mines are working at a depth of 6000 ft. and some have gone down to 8000 and 9000 ft. below the surface. At such depths, even in a country geologically as old as Africa, the virgin rock temperature approaches 110°F. The flow of heat from the- rock to the ventilation air is tremendous though the shaft or drift may have been open to ventilation for some years. In addition, there is the heat produced by machinery, lights, and men at work and the heat of adiabatic compression of air introduced into the mine. The difference in atmosphere pressure between the collar of a shaft and a level 6000 ft. below is nearly 3lb. per sq. in., resulting in an increase in heat content of nearly four B.T.U. per pound of air delivered to the mine at surface. Further the exclusive use of wet mining to reduce the incidence of miner?s phthisis increases the latent- heat content of the air.

Jan 1, 1941

By F. Keller

ALUMINUM alloys containing magnesium and silicon are susceptible to strengthening and hardening by suitable heat-treatments, and they constitute a class of alloys of considerable commercial importance. Generally, they contain these two elements in the proportions required for the formation of the intermetallic compound Mg2Si, or an excess of silicon; no commercial wrought alloys are made with an appreciable excess of magnesium. The reason for not having excess magnesium is obvious from the results given in this paper, since it is shown that excess magnesium results in a proportional decrease in the solubility of Mg2Si. This is the eighteenth1 of a series of papers from the Aluminum Research Laboratories dealing with the equilibrium relations in aluminum-alloy systems; most of the previous publications concerned binary aluminum-alloy systems; this is the fourth of a group pertaining to ternary aluminum-alloy systems. The work on this system was com-pleted in 1930, but the results were not published because of the pressure of other work. Hanson and Gaylor2, in 1921, presented the results of an extensive investigation of the aluminum-magnesium-silicon system. Their results indicated that an excess of magnesium over the amount required to form the compound Mg2Si caused a noticeable decrease in the solid solubility of Mg2Si in aluminum. A more recent investigation3 in these laboratories showed that the solid solubility of Mg2Si in aluminum was 1.85 per cent at 595° C. and decreased to 0.30 per cent at 300° C. The results of the latter investigation were used as the basis for the present work.

Jan 1, 1936

Discussion of the paper of R. H. RICHARDS and BOYD DUDLEY, JR., presented at the New York meeting, February, 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 97, January, 191.5, pp. 67 to 72. R. H. RICHARDS, Boston, Mass.-I believe that the manner of working for efficiency in almost all lines is to study the conditions of highest efficiency, and then to measure what is being clone. We can then see how near we have approached the highest efficiency. Spigots in practice often use many times the water theoretically needed. There are places where that is necessary for safety reasons. There are, however, places where it is unnecessary, and in these places it seems to me that this work of Mr. Dudley's will be a great help to the mill man to arrive at the greatest economy of water and highest efficiency. ALBERT R. LEDOUX, New York, N. Y.-A good many years ago I received a telegram from that distinguished engineer, Hamilton Smith, which simply said in substance: "I have discovered that liquids will flow faster from a square orifice than from a round orifice of the same area, under the same head." I wondered why he sent me the telegram, but some time afterward he told me that he had been making experiments along that line in Montana; that he thought the discovery was interesting

Jan 5, 1915

By Charles Behre

THIS paper deals with recent geologic studies in the slate belt of Northampton, Lehigh and Berks counties, Pennsylvania. The work was conducted under the auspices of the Pennsylvania Topographic and Geologic Survey. Three years have now been spent in detailed consideration of the economic geology of this region. In the field, particular attention was paid to the bearing of geology on quarry development and property valuation and the object of this paper is to summarize the results from that viewpoint. Excellent studies of a somewhat similar nature have already been carried out by Bowles,1 but with the emphasis upon the details of quarrying and fabricating methods, rather than upon the geologic relations. THE NORTHAMPTON-LEHIGH-BERKS DISTRICT Location The region here discussed lies in east-central Pennsylvania and extends southwestward from Delaware River, on the New Jersey line, to the Schuylkill in north-central Berks County. It is an elongated belt occupying the northern sections of the three counties mentioned and lying along the southern edge of Blue Mountain. Its length is about 50 miles and its average width five or six, though in places it attains a maximum of 10 miles.

Jan 1, 1928

By G. W. Tower

THE YEAR 1931 was for most American copper producers one of restricted output but extremely low production cost.. When compared with 1929, the marked reductions in costs achieved in 1931, operating at rates in many instances a third to a half of capacity, can only be regarded as remarkable. In fact, the recent shut-down of several large operations suggests the probability that 1931 costs represent a bare minimum for many properties. Before discussing the 1931 results a few remarks on cost data are appropriate. The type of cost tabulation here presented was first published in 1929, (A. B. Parsons. E. & M. I. June 8, 1929), and has appeared each, succeeding year following in general the calculation method and company set-up of the original article. (. G. W. Tower, E. & III. L, July 8. 1930; S. D. Strauss, E. & M. J.; July 27, 1931). As far as possible the leading American copper companies are included. In considering these cost tabulations it must be borne in mind that the information from which they have been prepared is entirely contained in the annual report of each company; and that a multiplicity of interests and a condensed income statement for some of the larger companies, such as Cerro de Pasco and Kennecott, make the cost figure an arbitrary one depending upon sundry metal credits, metal products, miscellaneous income, etc. For Granby, Howe Sound. Magma, and Noranda, sundry metal credits are important. Furthermore Andes, Chile and Greene Cananea give costs only against copper sold. Although the individual costs here figured are by no means absolute they are computed by the same method each year and offer a basis of annual comparison; and with attention to footnotes the premises on which the costs are based may be easily followed.

Jan 1, 1932

By J. J. Rutledge

FULLY 60 per cent of the serious and fatal accidents in Maryland coal mines are due to falls of roof and side. Usually, the victim of the fall sustains a broken back, sometimes not only the vertebrae being fractured but the spinal cord also being severed. When the spinal cord has not been severed and yet the vertebrae have been broken or injured, it is often possible to rehabilitate the victim of the broken back. - Such accidents are classed as Permanent Total and the victim receives a certain compensation from the State Industrial Accident Commission; sometimes the amount is awarded in a lump sum, but usually it is paid weekly. When the amount allotted to the victim of such an accident has been expended, either in a lump sum or weekly payments, the victim of the accident is dependent on public charity. Some efforts have been made to physically rehabilitate the victims and make them at least partly self-supporting before the expiration of their compensation payments. The State Industrial Accident Com-mission has done some of this rehabilitation. The Maryland Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with R. C. Thompson, Supervisor of Vocational Rehabilitation, State Department of Education, and his assistants, has, through an informal cooperative arrangement, placed several of the victims in hospitals in Baltimore for treatment. Six years ago, through the efforts of the Maryland Bureau of Mines, a dozen or more broken-back victims were examined by an orthopedic surgeon and report was made to the Bureau regarding such cases and the possibility of their rehabilitation. This paper details the result of such examinations.

Jan 1, 1936

By John B. Malcom

The discovery of tungsten-bearing quartz outcrop- pings in Vance County, N. C., by the Hamme brothers in 1942, made international news in the mining industry and was, in fact, one of the major ore discoveries made in the U.S. during the last 25 years. Operations began at the Hamme mine in 1942, but after 16 years of successful operation, the mine was closed down in 1958 under adverse market conditions. By that time, it had produced nearly 20 million lbs of metallic tungsten. Because of the square-set timber mining method then in use, mine operating expenses were high, actually representing 78% of the total operating expenses at the property. In timber work alone, 160 men were employed. Approximately 500,000 bd ft of timber were placed monthly at a direct supply cost of $1.00 per ton of ore mined.

Jan 4, 1962

By AIME AIME

THE 140th meeting of the Institute will be held in the Engineering societies Building, 'New York, Feb.: 16-19, and one of the most important features, one which cannot be reduced to text in the TRANSACTIONS, will be the opportunity to renew old friendships and make new friends, to talk things over -to orient one's self in these troublous .times. There will be daily get-together luncheons for all, luncheons and dinners for specialized groups, an informal dance, the annual reception and banquet, and a smoker. And such a smoker! It starts with dinner at .dinnertime, shows signs of cabaret, turns smoker, and then goes entertainment-all for the price of one. This year one can stay long after 11 o'clock-there will be time and opportunity to amble around and meet everyone present. The formal program is rapidly rounding into shape. The annual business meeting will -be held on Tuesday morning and the banquet will be at the Commodore. The four Divisions and the various, Technical Committees are arranging their sessions. and scheduling for these a long list of significant papers. A .feature of the meeting will be a number of round tables on timely subjects.

Jan 1, 1931

The Hurghada field is still the major producing field in Egypt. There was almost no activity in the Abu Durba field during 1936 and no new evidence is available. The following table summarizes the information on the Hurghada field for the year 1936. Hurghada Field Age of field to end of 1936, years.................... 23 Producing area for gas and oil, acres................. 1,050 Barbels Total oil production to end of 1936.................. 29,046,572 Total oil production during 1935.................... 1,212,182 Total oil production during 1936.................... 1,218,708 Daily average during November, 1936............... 3,249 MillionB CU. Ft. Total gas production (Aug. 1925 to end of 1936)...... 3,966 Total gas production during 1935................... 278 Total gas production during 1936................... 280 Maximum daily in 1936............................ 0.9 Number of producing wells completed to end of 1936... 94 Number of producing wells completed during 1936. ... 3 Number of wells abandoned during 1936............. 3 Producing wells at end of 1936...................... 768 Average depth of bottom of producing wells, ft....... 1,720 Average depth of top of producing horizon, ft......... 1,598 Character of oil, approx. average during 1936: Gravity at 60' F., 0.900; base mixed. Character of gas, approx. average during 1936: gallons gasoline per 1,000 CU. ft., 6.2. Producing rock (main): Nubian sands, Cretaceous; character, sand rock and sandy shales. 1 The figures given by the author were in tons. A conversion factor of 6.98. based on 0.900 sp. gr., was used to obtain the number of barrels.—Ed. 2 All pumping.

Jan 1, 1937

By Gerald A. Munson, Fremont F. Clarke

During recent years the use of lithium has expanded greatly in industrial, chemical, and metallurgical fields, while at the same time modernized methods of mining and refining lithium have increased production. Technical literature includes many papers describing the geology and mineralogy of lithium deposits. Mining and beneficiating problems, however, have not been thoroughly described. Published reports have failed to emphasize that one of the chief reasons lithium minerals were not extensively mined until recently is the difficulty of beneficiation. Four lithium minerals of pegmatites and the lithium-sodium-phosphate byproduct from the brines at Searles Lake, Calif., have been sources of lithium. Among the pegmatite minerals, only spodumene and petaline are known to occur in deposits large enough to support large tonnage operations. Spodumene, a lithium-aluminum-silicate, is the principal lithium mineral mined in the U. S.

Nov 1, 1955

By K. BRUCE DAVIDSON

-The North Central Texas area includes the following counties in Railroad Commission of Texas District 7-B: Brown, Callahan, Coleman, Comanche, Coryell, Eastland, Erath, Fisher, Hamilton, Haskell, Hood, Jones, Lampasas, Mills, Nolan, Palo Pinto, Parker, S

Jan 1, 1946

PURPOSE OF STUDY The case study was initiated because of the very real need to provide the best mineral inventory block estimates possible for the relatively new Sacaton mine. Sufficient mining had been done and records kept whereby it was possible to test the various estimation methods against detailed blasthole samples taken during mining. Three estimation methods were selected for testing: (1) the polygonal method, (2) the inverse distance squared method (IDS), and (3) the geostatistical kriging method. The results of the comparative analysis was thought to have very practical application to the selection of extension functions for future estimation of grade for mineral inventory blocks. GENERAL GEOLOGIC DESCRIPTION The porphyry copper deposit of the Sacaton open pit mine is related to small quartz monzonite intrusives of Laramide age which have been intruded into Precambrian granites. Both rock types act as host for the mineralization, which has been secondarily enriched sufficiently to constitute ore. The chalcocite enriched zone has been subjected to postenrichment oxidation processes with consequent partial destruction of the chalcocite blanket. Several mineralogical populations are represented in the total ore zone, but the blocks on the mine benches involved in the study were restricted to the top of the enriched zone. COMPUTATION OF MINERAL INVENTORY BLOCK ESTIMATES In order to make valid comparisons among the three estimation techniques, all of the inventories were prepared from diamond drill assay data used in the original engineering feasibility study. The data was taken from ex-

Jan 1, 1980

By J. B. Dilworth

OUTCROPS of coal have bees discovered is many localities is the Philippine archipelago, and practically all of the larger islands contain deposits of this mineral. Very little prospecting has been done to determine the value of the various coal-bearing areas, but so far as known, the largest and most promising fields are found : (1) is northern Cebu; (2) is the small island of Batan, a part of the province of Albay is southeasten Luzon; (3) is the somewhat larger island of Polillo, off the east coast of Luzon, and (4) is southern Mindoro, sear the small coast tows of Bulalacao. Northern Panay, south-central Cebu, and various localities is southern Luzon, Masbate, Negros, and Mindanao also afford evidences of the existence of coal-beds, the extent and value of which have not yet bees proved. The general position of these islands and districts is shows on the map of a portion of the Philippine Islands, Fig. 1. Some of these coal-fields have been known for many years (coal was discovered is Cebu 1827 and is Batas is 1842),1 and several futile attempts were made by the Spaniards to operate mines is these districts. But owing to many circumstances, chief among which were indifferent management, the political unrest of the islands, natural difficulties of transportation, and those inherent in the mining of steeply-inclined and somewhat irregular seams, no considerable output was ever obtained from any of these mines, and the fuel required is the many departments of industrial and political life has continued to be drawn largely from Australia and Japan. These conditions exist to a great degree at present, and though much interest is the coal-deposits of the Philippines

Jan 1, 1909

E. T. DUMBLE, Houston, Tex.-This paper is a continuation of one that was published by Mr. Garfias, I believe, in the Journal of Geology, 1912, in which he gave the results of his investigations in Mexico, showing that the basalt extrusions frequently did not come up as cones. but reached the surface as a small neck and then mushroomed out into a sill, penetrating the beds both in limestones and in shales. He has continued his investigations to show that as these basalt protrusions came up they forced the strata into a funnel shape at the top instead of throwing them out altogether. While this may be true concerning these particular beds, there are other places at which the basalt does appear clearly as cones and dories, and there the funnel structure does not exist. We know that the sills are there, because we find them in the wells. In one well that I know of. we found a 2-ft. sill of basalt at about 1600 ft. and oil below it at about 2100 ft.; others have gone through similar beds. We also know that there. are cones, because north of the Ranuco River one well struck basalt at about 800 ft. and continued in it for several hundred feet-did not pass through it at all. This paper of Mr. Garfias will give us considerable help in that oil field. W. E. WRATHER, Wichita Falls, Tex.-I would like to ask for information as to the temperatures of Mexican oils. I have heard a number of conflicting reports about the high temperatures of the water and oil, and the relationship between them.

Jan 1, 1918

By R. L. Loofbourow, Roger V. Pierce

THE degree to which our mineral requirements are being met by mining leaner, more complex or more remote deposits is indicated by developments during 1953. Heavy capital investment, skilled technical advice, planning, and able execution are requirements for the typical venture. Producers, faced with rising costs and with softer prices, are seeking improved mining and recovery. Developments in production of iron ore are typical of the course being followed in metal and nonmetal mining. Iron ore development in the U. S. is concentrated on the spectacular work with Lake Superior taconite, while in Canada new production is expected from Labrador and output from Steep Rock, Algoma, and Newfoundland is being increased. Shipment of iron will soon be made from Venezuela.

Jan 2, 1954