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The American Society of Mechanical Engineers extends an invitation to members of the Institute to participate in an exceedingly interesting excursion on Saturday, November 11. Permission has been secured for a visit to the plant of the Electric Boat Co. at New London, Conn. There will be run a special-test on a high-power 8-cylinder, 4-cycle Diesel engine. A large number of submarine and other engines in various stages of construction will be seen, also the boring of torpedo tubes, cylinders and other equipment for submarines. The drafting rooms and foundry mill also be open for inspection. The party will have an opportunity to see at close range the submerging of several submarines, and an attack on a vessel on the surface, an exhibit which is being arranged by courtesy of Rear Admiral A. W. Grant, who is in command of the submarine forces of the United States. The Boston members will leave South Station on train No. 7 at 8.30 A. M. Those from Providence will board this train at 9.36 A. M. The Worcester members will leave on train No. 745 at 8.36 A. M. The New York contingent will leave the Grand Central Terminal at 8.31 A. M. on train No. 8. This train will leave New Haven at 10.30 A. M. Upon arrival at New London, each group will go directly to the Mohican Hotel, where a "get-acquainted" luncheon will be served

Jan 10, 1916

By G. A. Reinhardt, Albert Sauveur

Although many metallurgists know that some pearlitic special steels can be made troostitic, martensitic, and even austenitic, without quenching, and, therefore, without exposing them to the dangers of the quenching-bath, the practical significance of such possibility does not seem to have received the attention it deserves. Let us recall briefly the mechanism of the transformation alluded to. In Fig. 1 (after Guillet) is shown the constitutional diagram of nickel-steel; that is, of alloys of iron, carbon, and nickel. Any steel the composition of which falls within the area LPO is pearlitic after slow cooling; any steel the composition of which is represented by a point within the area MLO is martensitic, and any steel within the area MNO is austenitic. Starting with pearlitic steel, then by increasing the carbon-content or the nickel-content, or both, the metal becomes marten-sitic and eventually austenitic; that is, its composition crosses first the boundary-line LO and then the line MO—and it remains martensitic or austenitic after slow (air) cooling.' We have in this way imparted to the metal without quenching it the properties of hardened carbon-steel. In other words, the steel is now self-hardening; Nickel cannot be introduced into solid steel, but by the well-known process of case-hardening it

Jan 1, 1913

By J. D. Anthony

The Australian continent possesses significant reserves of a wide range of minerals, including bauxite, coal, copper, diamonds, gold, iron ore, lead, manganese, mineral sands, nickel, phosphate, silver, tin, uranium, and zinc. Australia's identified economic resources of many minerals are very large as indicated in Table 1. A sophisticated and highly experienced mineral industry is now an established feature of the Australian economy and Australia is the world's largest exporter of iron ore, alumina, mineral sands and refined lead and amongst the leading suppliers of many other commodities such as coal, lead and zinc ores/concentrates, nickel, refined zinc, tungsten concentrates and bauxite. The industry exports 70% of its production. This is reflected in the value of Australian mineral exports which have grown from about $200m in 1960/61, comprising 10% of total export receipts, to about $1265m or 29% of export income in 1970/71 to around $7061 representing 37% of Australia's total export income in 1980/81. Details of the more significant minerals are as follows: Japan (42.1%) USA (11.3%) ASEAN (6.3%) UK (5.9%) F.R. Germany (3.8%) Republic of Korea (3.4%) New Zealand (2.6%) Also see Table 2. AUSTRALIA'S MINERAL RESOURCES POLICIES Federal and State Governments' Responsibilities Australia has a federal system of government comprising six States, a self-governing Territory and a Federal Government. Under the Australian federal system the Constitution sets down the powers of the Federal Government. All powers not assigned to the Federal Government in the Australian Constitution reside automatically with the States. Certain of these broad powers result in the Federal Government having a significant influence on resources development. For example, in being responsible for economic management, the Federal Government's fiscal and monetary policies have an important effect on industry as well as on State finances. In particular, the taxation regime employed by the Federal Government is of direct importance to decision-makers in the resources industry. The Federal Government is responsible also under the Constitution for external trade matters; and international trade and commodity matters are increasingly important in Australia's international relationships. Foreign investment is another area where the Federal Government has a role to ensure that national interests are protected. This foreign investment power flows from the Federal Government's control of foreign exchange movements into and out of Australia. However, before enlarging on these and others of the Federal Government's powers and policies, it should be emphasized that the State governments, by virtue of their wide powers to regulate matters within their own boundaries, are more directly involved in the day-to-day administration and regulation of mining operations. For instance, the powers of the State governments include the responsibility-for the granting of exploration rights and mining leases, the approval of mining operations and the levying of royalties and other like charges. Administrative arrangements covering the granting of minerals and petroleum exploration and development titles vary from State to State. Before development rights are granted, State governments consider environment protection and rehabilitation aspects of development proposals. The provision of infrastructure within State borders is a matter primarily of State government responsibility. It is usual practice in Australia for State governments to construct and operate infrastructure services such. as railways, ports and electricity generation and transmission. The States may also provide certain public services such as electricity. and water, port and loading facilities, communications, health and education services which form part of the infrastructure of mining operations. In remote areas the mining companies themselves usually are expected to provide much of this infrastructure. However, the Federal Government is primarily responsible in some fields, such as telecommunications and parts of the railways network. State governments carry out preliminary exploration and geological mapping and some are directly involved in the mining of coal for power generation. The Federal Government's responsibilities in addition to economic management, taxation, international relations, foreign capital and investment, include regulation of exports, environmental matters and matters affecting the Aboriginals of the Northern Territory. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT POLICIES The continued sound development of the minerals and energy resources sector is regarded by the Federal Government as being of very great importance. However, the Government does not seek to participate directly in resource developments. It sees its role rather as that of establishing a sound economic and policy climate in which private companies can identify opportunities, seek out customers and marshall the necessary capital for the development of resource projects.

Jan 1, 1982

By N. H. Mannakee

SINCE the publication of the paper of Mr. Scholz, The Effect of Humidity on Mine-Explosions,' I have undertaken a study of the meager available data of barometric and temperature conditions it times of mine-explosions, and have arranged these data in a manner which may be of interest to other students of mine-explosions. This study covers the period from 1898 to 1909, during which an ever-increasing percentage of collieries has been ventilated by fans giving air-currents of high efficiency. Previous to 1898 this percentage was smaller than at any time since. The vari¬ous States have become, from time to time, more exacting in their demands upon poorly-ventilated mines. This general im¬provement in ventilation throughout the Appalachian field has undoubtedly brought about a condition which is annually the cause; .or a very important attendant, of the high percentage of fatalities in mine-explosions, through the daily passage of from hundreds to thousands of gallons of water, invisibly suspended in the air, carried out of the mines by the ventilating-currents during the existence of certain temperature- and humidity-conditions. There is a wide-spread opinion that these conditions exist from November 1 to March 31; but it is more likely that they have a much wider range, which varies from year to year. Certain years show an increase or decrease of rain-fall from the mean ; the daily temperature may fall far below or rise far above the mean established by a record of a period of years; and the daily humidity varies likewise. If mine-explosions are influenced by a lack of moisture in the mines, certainly it may be expected that the influence will be felt at times when the

Nov 1, 1909

By R. J. Lloyd

INTRODUCTION The Mount Isa Mine is a large modern underground mine located in North-Western Queensland, Australia. Two ore types are mined and treated separately. Currently silver-lead-zinc ore is mined at the rate of 2.6 million tonnes per annum and copper ore at the rate of 4.6 million tonnes per annum. The silver-lead-zinc orebodies are mined by sub level open stoping and cut and fill methods whilst all copper ore is extracted by various forms of sub level open stoping. The mining operations are highly mechanised and utilise diesel powered load-haul-dump units of various sizes, two and three boom face drilling jumbos, electric-hydraulic rotary-percussive ring drills, in-the-hole hammer drills, rotary blasthole drills, raiseborers, battery/trolley locomotives, a large fleet of rubber tyred service and supply vehicles plus light rockdrills mounted on airlegs, rail mounted overshot shovels and battery and diesel powered locomotives. All stoping production ore is extracted with diesel powered load-haul-dump units. The ore is tipped into orepasses which connect to the main rail haulage levels. On the haulage levels electric battery/trolley locomotives are used to pull rakes of bottom dump or side dump trucks which feed the ore into primary crushers. Following two stage crushing the ore is conveyed to the shaft and hoistod to surface in bottom dump skips. Each ore stream has its own rail transport system, crushing stations and hoisting shaft feeding separate concentrators. This paper will consider some aspects of the role of equipment and machinery in the growth of the mine, will discuss in some detail the machinery and equipment in use today and will conclude with a look at some possible developments in mining equipment for the future, with particular reference to the Mount Isa Mine. A summary of mining equipment in use at Mount Isa is given in the Appendix. THE PAST Silver-lead-zinc ore was discovered at Mount Isa in 1923 and within a very short time many small mines were being developed. However the rich surface ore traces did not continue and by 1928 Mount Isa Mines Limited had acquired sufficient leases to plan for a large scale mine to exploit the low grade orebodies. At this early stage it was recognised that the mine would need to adopt the most mechanised mining techniques then available in order to overcome its twin disadvantages of low graaes and extreme remoteness. The Company introduced bar mounted drifters and overshot shovels to replace hammer and tap and hand shovelling in development work and by 1930 headings were advancing at the rate of 30 metres per week. In keeping with the concept of mechanisation the early engineers designed the Man and Supply shaft with a very large, for those days, cage compartment measuring 3.8 m x 3.4 m. This shaft was the main means of access into the mine for 36 years until the K57 shaft (now R62 shaft) was commissioned in 1966. Man and Supply is still in regular use. Production commenced in 1931 at an annual rate of approximately 660 000 tonnes of silver-lead-zinc ore. The mine was mechanised to an extent which was previously unknown in Australia; whilst the concentrator, smelter and power house utilised the most modern and efficient equipment available. Even so, the mine was very near to closure on several occasions and did not return a dividend to its shareholders for many years. Production levels remained at or slightly below 660 000 tonnes until a separate copper ore streani and mill was commissioned in 1953, doubling the existing production levels. The first underground crushers were installed at this time. Production rates expanded in the years between 1953 and 1973. By 1960 production reached 2740 000 tonnes of ore. In 1965-66 total production was 3650 000 tonnes and in 1973 the production rate plateaued at the current level.

Jan 1, 1981

By J. M. Ross

THE Homestake mine is situated in Whitewood mining district, in the northern Black Hills of South Dakota, in the city of Lead, Lawrence County. The entire property, comprising 557 lode claims with a total area of 3343 acres, is held under United States Patent. The older claims were 300 by 1500 ft. under local regulations, the newer ones 600 by 1500 ft. The Homestake was discovered April 9, 1876, by Moses and Fred Manuel, and Jake Harney, who were drawn into the northern hills, from the Custer placer district, by news of the discovery of rich placer deposits in Deadwood Gulch. They located a number of additional lode claims and, in a short time, the whole country was covered with locations. The Manuel brothers built an arrastre the following winter and took out $5000. The next year the Homestake lode was sold to Senator George Hearst and associates, who organized the Homestake Mining Co. Other companies were formed to exploit other groups of claims and at one time five companies were operating on this deposit, the Father DeSmet, the Deadwood-Terra, the Caledonia, the Highland, and. the Homestake Mining Co. These companies, however, have been merged into the Homestake Mining Company. The first stamp mill, known as the "Eighty Mill," commenced operation on July, 12, 1878, and production has been nearly continuous since that time.

Jan 2, 1925

By DONALD H. McLAUGHLlN

Few factors have had more influence in maintaining the strength and stability of the United States than our persistent habit of providing .checks and balances to the dynamic powers of free enterprise on the one hand and to the controls and guidance exercised by the State on the other. .Indeed, it is this same concern for matching forces against each other that has given our republic its ability -to preserve a democratic basis of life for its citizens, and yet maintain a ,government that is able to protect the rights of all and to resist and minimize the danger of excessive concentration of authority. Our current efforts to clarify the nation's mineral policies and to define more clearly the role that the governmental agencies should play in conjunction with the functions of private -enterprise again reveal the desirability and advantages of maintaining our traditional controls. At times, the equilibrium has been temporarily disturbed by too great enthusiasm for one or the other of these basic concepts. Sooner or later, however, the balance has been restored by the healthy opposition that is always created by excesses of one sort. At the current stage in our history, the swing toward undue enlargement of the powers of the State seems to have gone dangerously far and we would be untrue 'to our traditional behavior if the group that must demonstrate the virtues of free enterprise did not rally to its support with the utmost earnestness.

Jan 1, 1949

By AIME AIME

AT A meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute held in London on May 6, Dr. J. E. Stead was formally inducted into the chair by Dr. Eugene Schneider, the retiring president. After presenting the Bessemer gold medal to Harry Brearley, of Sheffield, England, for his distinguished services to the British steel industry, Doctor Stead delivered his presidential address, a masterly review of iron and steel making progress during the past 50 years, emphasizing economy in production, and pointing out suggestions for future improvement. A considerable portion of the address was devoted to blast-furnace operation.

Jan 1, 1920

By T. A. Rickard

The Cripple Creek district occupies a cluster of foot-hills on the south side of Pike's Peak and is a portion of an extensive, though uneven, plateau which unites the eastern range of the Rocky mountains with the Sangre de Cristo. It is essentially a small volcanic area, of about 20 square miles, amid the granite of the Front range. But though, when regarded as a rich mining district, it may be considered as an isolated area,* yet, geologically, it is, as Whitman Cross has pointed out, only an outlying portion of a much larger volcanic region, which stretches to the south and west, around Silver Cliff and the Rosita hills, forming the picturesque country cut by the deep cañons of the Arkansas river and its tributaries. The mines are situated amid a volcanic complex, consisting of tuffs and breccias which have been penetrated by an extensive system of dikes and other intrusive masses. The prevailing formation is an andesite breccia, which lies upon the worn surface of the granite and fills the deep basin around a volcanic vent. The breccia, since its deposition, has been broken into by several eruptions of phonolite and, later still, by a series of thin dikes of basalt and other allied rocks of a highly basic composition. The successive sedimentary formatione which, elsewhere in Colorado, lie upon the basal granite, are not represented in the district; whatever sediments were laid down before the volcanic period must have been removed by erosion, and there is very little evidence which affords a datum-line whereby the geological age of the volcanic eruptions can be determined. Whit-

Jan 1, 1901

H. W. MussEn, Collingwood, Ontario, Can. (communication to the Secretary*):—Doubtless all engineers who have paid more than a casual visit to Russia have come into contact with that formidable document, the " smieta," or estimate of the Russian manager. It is an institution which seems to be inseparable from Russian mining-methods. As Mr. Shockley points out, the year's costs a agree very closely" with the figures of the smieta made at the beginning of the year. In cases which have come under my notice, I have been satisfied that there had been a good deal of " rigging" of accounts to this end. The sum spent by the manager was carefully kept down to the total of the estimate, because it was well known that no more money would be forthcoming, and when this is done it is not a difficult matter to see that the right amounts come under the right heads in the final accounts. I do not say that this is always the case, but I have come across notable instances. Looking at it from the Russian owner's point of view, I think that the balance of the argument is usually in favor of the smieta as limiting " impulsive indiscretion" on the part of managers. The Russian Mining Code of to-day leaves much to be desired, but this is thoroughly appreciated by the official world there, and great changes are spoken of for the future. In many, if not in most, cases the laws are interpreted liberally, and a great deal is left to the discretion of the district mining engineer or inspector, with whom it is necessary to keep in close touch. As Mr. Shockley points out, the officials of a mine, who are always Russians, are held personally responsible for accidents resulting to employees, quite independently of any compensation which may be made to the sufferer. This seems startling enough, but I have always found that a penalty is imposed only

Jan 1, 1909

By E. A. Hopkin

Laboratory tests conducted by the author. together with actual field experience in Canada. have indicated the magnitudc of some of the factors affecting ability of drilling mud to clean the hole. A correlation was observed between funnel viscosity and particle slip velocity. A relationship was also observed between the Bingham yield value of the mud and the particle .slip velocity. Laburatury tests indicated little change in slip velocity with funnel viscosities up to ahout 80 sec/qt or to yield values of aboul 15 lb/100 .sq ft. The lip velocity of the partic1e.s. studied vuried from 160 ft/min with water to neerly zero for high mud viscositie. lncreasing the mud density, creating laminar annular mud flow or rotating the drill pipe Mlay also improve the carrying capacity of mud. Field tests indicated that during fast upper-hole drilling, the rate of cutting removal must he sufficien to maintain the concentration of cuttings in the annulus at less than 5 percent by volume to prevernt balled-up drill collars and .stuck drill pipe. INTRODUCTION In the Mid-Continent area, hole cleaning during rotary drilling normally involves the use of low-density drilling muds with funnel viscosities varying from 26 to 80 sec/qt. However, frequently it is necessary to raise the mud viscosity in excess of 200 sec/qt to clean the hole. In addition, field experience has indicated that during very fast upper-hole drilling, annular mud velocities considerably in excess of the maximum slip velocity of the cuttings (normally considered to be 120 to 150 ft/min) are necessary to prevent balling the bit and drill collars. In view of these variations in mud properties and circulation rates necessary to clean the wellbore, a study of factors affecting hole cleaning and the relative magnitude of each was undertaken. The study was also prompted by the knowledge that a drilling mud with properties close to those of water would drill at rates several times that of a viscous mud. The carrying capacity of these near-water muds was not clearly understood, however, and many drillers were reluctant to use them. DISCUSSION EFFECT OF MUD PROPERTIES ON DRILLING RATE The effect of mud properties on drilling rate has been studied by a number of investigators. 1t is clear from their work that mud properties close to those of water will significantly improve drilling rate and bit life. If the water-type mud will also effectively clean the hole and cause no logging or formation impairment problems, the choice of an appropriate drilling fluid is clear—use water. Often, however, a water-type drilling fluid is not capable of effectively cleaning the hole. THEORY OF PARTICLE SETTLING The forces acting on a particle that is allowed to settle through a fluid quickly reach equilibrium, and the particle settles at some constant velocity referred to as the slip velocity. The slip velocity of any particle depends upon a number of factors such as density and viscosity of the fluid, the volume, specific gravity, shape and roughness of the particle, and upon the shape and area of the projected face of the particle at right angles to the direction of relative fluid solid movement. Brown' expressed this relationship for spheres in Newtonian fluids in the following equation. where v, = slip velocity D, — diameter of sphere p, = density of spheye p, = density of liquid /a = friction factor g = constant. The friction factor f, varies as the size, shape, surface roughness and slip velocity of the body, and as the density and viscosity of the fluid varies. WaddelV ound experimentally that where dynamic similarity exists. f, was a function of the particle Reynolds number (NRe) of the sphere (Fig. 1). Fig. 1 shows that f, for spheres varies from over 10 for low NKe numbers to 0.44 for N,,. over 600.

By E. R. Macgregor, J. Halpern

The kinetics of the reduction of cupric salts in aqueous solution by molecular hydrogen to metallic copper are described. The rate of reduction appears to be homogeneously determined and shows a marked inverse dependence on the hydrogen-ion concentration. Precipitation of copper is more rapid and complete in sulfate than in per-chlorate solution. A mechanism is proposed which accounts for this behavior. IN recent years a number of important hydro-metallurgical processes have been developed in which metallic salts in aqueous solution are reduced by gaseous hydrogen, usually at elevated temperatures and pressures, and thereby precipitated either in metallic form (e.g. Ni, Co, Cu) or as an oxide or salt of lower valence (e.g. VO, and VA).1 ; In connection with applications such as these, most of which involve heterogeneously catalyzed reactions, recent demonstrations"-" that salts of certain metals, e.g., Cu", Ag' , Hg" , and Hg,+ can activate molecular hydrogen homogeneously and thus catalyze hydrogenation reactions in aqueous solution, are of considerable interest. For example, cupric salts catalyze the otherwise slow homogeneous reduction of dichromate and ceric salts by hydrogen, i.e. Cr,O; + 3HL. + 8H1 ? 2Cr'- -- 7H,O [1] 2Ce ' ! H.. ? 2Ce" | 2H . [2] In perchloric-acid solution, where Cu" is not appreciably complexed, the kinetics have been found" " to be of the form -d [H,] _- k,[HJ [CU"]' dt -LCu+' l+ (k ,/k,) [H] [3] where, K = 1x10"' exp [—26,600/RT] 1, mole-' min-' ... [4] and (k ,/k,) - 0.25 at 110°C. This kinetic behavior suggests that the reaction proceeds by a mechanism involving the following sequence of steps kt Cu" +H1CuH' 4-HA [51 k., CUH + CU" ? + 2Cu f H' [GI 6Cu'+ Cr,07 + 14H'+ 2Cr- (¦ 7H,O + 6Cu" ['i] fast The catalytic activities of the undissociated cupric-sulphate and cupric-acetate complexes are somewhat greater (by factors of 6.5 and 120, respectively) than that of the simple hydrated Cu" ion.'" These considerations suggest that, in contrast to the other hydrometallurgical hydrogenation reactions, referred to previously, reduction of cupric salts in aqueous solutions by molecular hydrogen, should proceed homogeneously, and in the absence of an extraneous catalyst. This has already been demonstrated" for acetate-buffered solutions where the product of the reaction is a precipitate of cuprous oxide (Cu,O). In the present paper, an investigation of the reduction of cupric salts in perchloric-acid and sulphuric-acid solutions, leading to the precipitation of metallic copper, is described. Some results for the sulphate system, which is of considerable hydrometallurgical interest, have been reported previously by Ipatieff",' " and by Schaufel-berger' but these do not give a quantitative account, of the kinetics and mechanism of the reaction. Experimental The reduction experiments were conducted in the 1-gal, titanium-lined autoclave described in connection with earlier related investigations," " and using a similar procedure. The solutions were made up by dissolving known amounts of CP grade Cu(ClO,), and HC10, (or CuSO, and HISO,) in dis-tilled water. While in the autoclave, the solution was stirred and maintained at a constant temperature (±loc) and under a constant partial pressure of hydrogen gas. It was ascertained that the agitation (provided by two 3-in., four-bladed stirrers, rotating at 900 rpm) was adequate so that at no time was the rate of reaction limited by solution of hydrogen. During each experiment, samples of the solution were withdrawn periodically, allowed to cool, and the concentration of copper remaining in solution was then determined electrolytically. Some Cu' is formed during the reaction, but undergoes disproportionation when the solution is cooled to room temperature. For purposes of kinetic calcula-

Jan 1, 1959

By Roger L. Beals, George A. Tweedy

The results of the cyanide-operations, given in detail in the following paper, show the progress that is being made at the Minas del Tajo. The old pan-amalgamation process, in operation up to and including 1905, while paying a profit on high-grade ores, was no longer able to treat profitably the ores in sight at that time; hence an alteration in the process was imperative. The success of this alteration is eloquently expressed by the following data : Pan-Amalgamation. Cyanidation. 1905. 1905. " 1908. Tons treated,.... 51,387 58,983 69,200 Value per ton (U. S. currency),. $ 10.78 $8.39 $8.28 Extraction, per cent.,.. 65.00 88.56 87.45 Extraction, per ton,.. $7.00 $7.43 $7.24 Total cost, per ton treated, . 6.50 4.36 4.01 Profit, per ton treated,.. 0.50 3.07 3.23

Jan 1, 1911

By Chandler Morse

RENEWABLE VS. NONRENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCES Nonrenewable resources, such as minerals, are the inevitable center of attention in discussions of depletion and exhaustion. Nevertheless, it may well be proper to regard some nonrenewable resources as not subject to exhaustion, and renewable resources may sometimes be treated as if they were finite stocks. Thus, the availability of nonrenewable resources is not and probably never will be known completely Chap. 2.5A, and therefore is not subject to firm predictions concerning exhaustibility. Moreover, because exploration and discovery are more or less continuous processes it is often appropriate to regard mineral supplies as flows, and to treat the estimated reserves as working capital, an inventory, continually depleted by use and augmented by discoveries.23 The aggregate economically exploitable stocks of a given mineral are seldom estimated (or estimatable) with precision, as Chap. 2.5A shows, and even when they are, forecasts concerning years of remaining life can be and often are falsified by changes in one or more of the multidimensional conditions of supply and demand; or the productive services formerly derived from an exhausted stock may continue to provided without material impairment by one or more substitutes b Conversely, the renewable resources are all subject to depletion when the rate of use exceeds the natural or induced rate of replenishment, and cases of exhaustion or near exhaustion, as through soil erosion, overcuttmg of forest lands, and overfishing, are rather common c Where exhaustion is a clear possibility the resource may either be exploited on a consciously adopted "sustainable yield" basis or be treated as an exhausting asset." In some cases, conscious treatment

Jan 1, 1976

By Anthony William Deller

MAJOR battles in the present war have been fought in American research laboratories. Without the outstanding contributions made by our scientists, engineers, and technologists in mining and metallurgy, many of our achievements in the present war would have been impossible. All recognize the fact that modern research has found the answer to problems which seemed insuperable. For the duration, many of these inventions must be maintained as war secrets. But aside from these, the record of accomplishment in peace and war, especially in the past few decades, known to all, demonstrates what scientific and industrial research can accomplish. It may be regarded as axiomatic that the development of modern industry is based principally upon research devoted to making inventions and discoveries. We have come a long way from the sixteenth century, when Agricola published his classical "De Re Metallica:" With our vastly increased knowledge we are now commercially producing dozens of metals entirely unknown at that time. Further, with our modern methods of research and development, a large number of invaluable alloy compositions have been produced. These include numerous age-hardenable alloys, cupronickels, "Everbrite", "Everdur", "Duralumin", "Elinvar", "Hastelloy", "Inconel", "Invar", "Monel", "Ni-chrome", "Ni-Hard", "Ni-Resist", "Permaloy", "Silcrome", stainless steels and irons and other alloy steels, "Stellite", and zinc die-casting alloys.

Jan 1, 1945

By J. B. Tyrrell

A short time ago I paid a visit to the alluvial gold fields on the tributaries of the Chaudiere River in Beauce County, Quebec, in company with A. 0. Dufresne, late manager of the Champs d'or Rigaud-Veaudreuil, and now assistant to the Superintendent of Mines of the Province of Quebec. As the conditions under which the gold occurs in this district are not very generally known, and present some interesting features, a brief description of these conditions, and a consideration of the causes which gave rise to them, may be of interest to other mining engineers. During the latter half of last century the country was visited by many mining engineers and geologists, and many references to it may be found in the reports of the Geological Survey of Canada between 1848 and 1911. The most important of these are by J. A. Dresser and J. Keele and the late Robert Chalmers. The Department of Colonization and Mines of the Province of Quebec also published a report with map on the district by J. Obalski. From the earliest times the valley of the Chaudiere River formed one of the main avenues of approach to the St. Lawrence in the vicinity of Quebec from the country to the south as far as the seaboard of the States of Maine and Massachusetts. The Indians had a well-known trail along the banks of the stream, and armed troops and foraging parties constantly moved backward and forward along it between Quebec and New England in those insecure times before the ceding of Canada to Great Britain. Even yet the natural advantages of this old military route are recognized, and the government of the Province of Quebec has now under construction along it a magnificent highway from Quebec to the International Boundary Line, which is to form part of a through highway from that city to Boston. The land along the valley is naturally well suited for agriculture, and about the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries farmers began to go back from the St. Lawrence, and to occupy the higher lands along the upper portions of the Chaudiere Valley. This settlement has gone on until now the country is peopled with a prosperous agricultural population.

Jan 1, 1915

By E. H. Rose

IN the realm of ore dressing the most pregnant feat of all time was announced in 1945: the winning of the mineral raw materials which made the harnessing of atomic energy possible. Lost in the stupendous implications of the end result, in the two billion dollar hugeness of the project, and in the famous names attached thereto, the fact that crude uranium ores had to be concentrated received relatively little notice in the press. Only the final link in the concentrating chain was publicized-ether extraction of uranyl nitrate, developed by Hoffman and carried on by the Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, or methods developed by the Ames group under Spedding. Some of the earlier links represented less glamorous but equally difficult and exacting research. One may only speak a word of admiration for those who worked hard, accomplished much, and said nothing. The universal lament for most of the year was "man shortage." A group of Canadian engineers expressed it as "being so short of labor that no labor was available to develop laborsaving devices." . Despite this, an outstanding amount of mineral-dressing progress was made in 1945. Necessity allowed no alternative. The insatiable demand of war for minerals forced the exploitation of lower and lower grade ores, and of others not before considered of commercial character or use, requiring the mineral dresser to fight for and win new bridgeheads on the home front.

Jan 1, 1946

By P. G. Nahin, A. Grenall, R. S. Crog, W. C. Merrill

A progress report of an experimental investigation into the role of clay in reservoir performance is presented. The Paper gives some of the reasons for considering clay as a significant component and outlines the objectives of a broad field of stud) which it is intended to pursue. Descriptions of the analytical methods used are given; these include X-ray diffraction. elec tron miscroscopy, thin section petrography, infrared spec-troscopy, and cation exchange analysis. A suite of the more important clay minerals has been assembled and characterized l~y these methods for use as standards in core analysis. From the data obtained it appears that although no one method of analysis is diagnostic for all of the clay minerals the infrared technique shows considerable promise in this direction. For the present, one or more supplementary methods should be used to confirm the clay mineral identifications. The methods of analysis are applied to field cores taken from repesentative and widely differing strata especially as regards their susceptibility to damage by fresh water. well.; completed in the stevens and Gatchell zones in San Joaquin valley are I,articularly clear-cut examples of this behavior with stevens zone wells being more adversely affected by fresh water. cores from these zones have been studied and are discussed. It appears that differences in this behavior can be ascribed to differences in the nature of the contained clays. The value of the infrarecl spectra of the clay fractions in establishing the identity of the predominant clay minerals is given particular emphasis. INTRODUCTION It is a challenge to the technical resources of the petroleum industry that when the economic limit of production is reached, from 40 to 70 per cent of the oil in California reservoirs remains unproduced even by use of the best presently known methods of recovery. The magnitude of this abandoned volume of oil can be appreciated when it is considered that to 1950 in excess of 8 billion bbll has been produced from California reservoirs with estimated economically recoverable reserves in known fields and pools totaling nearly 4 billion bbl.24 If for every barrel of oil produced there is at least another barrel still in place, it is evident that the revenue obtained from the recovery of only a .few per cent of this volume would repay the cost of the required research manyfold. From well completion experience. production behavior, and a growing body of laboratory data it now appears certain that the mineral composition of a producing stratum has an important bearing on the productivity and ultimate yield. In addition to the organic component and water, the cores con,ist of gravel, sand. silt, and clay" in diverse variety of (a, composition and (b) texture. It is the composite effect of these two factors which is probably responsible in large measure for the way in which the oil flows to the well. The role of the clay and fine-size accessory minerals is not clear but there is a growing opinion, based on their physical and chemical properties, that it is a significant one. of particular importance are the prime facts: 1. The silt and clay fractions of the reservoir matrix possess the highest surface area per gram, and 2. The silt and especially the clay fractions are the most chemically reactive of the inorganic constituents present. Only within the last few years has the knowledge of clay mineralogy and the techniques of identifying the clay minerals reached such a stage as to enable reliable inquiry into the composition of argillaceous sediments.2,8,10,11,12,16,26 It is the purpox of this and succeeding papers to add to the fund of information on the role which these materials play in the production of petroleum from California formations by correlating their presence and associated properties with observed reservoir behavior. In the present paper attention is directed to their possible influence on damage by fresh water. OBJECTIVES The attack on this problem divides naturally into two broad phases: 1. Determination of the nature of the clays and their relationships to the other mineral components, and 2. Determination of the physico-chemical relationships between the clays and the interstitial fluids. In the work described in this paper the emphasis has been on phase 1, which stems logically from the necessity of identifying and understanding the materials to be dealt with in Phase 2. Based on the authors' present opinion that not all of the minerals which occur in oil-bearing formation are of equal importance in their effects on the flow and recovery of oil, it was decided to focus attention first upon the clay minerals content and then. later perhaps. work into the field of the normally larger size non-clay minerals and fractions. The

Jan 1, 1951

By W. C. Merrill, P. G. Nahin, A. Grenall, R. S. Crog

A progress report of an experimental investigation into the role of clay in reservoir performance is presented. The Paper gives some of the reasons for considering clay as a significant component and outlines the objectives of a broad field of stud) which it is intended to pursue. Descriptions of the analytical methods used are given; these include X-ray diffraction. elec tron miscroscopy, thin section petrography, infrared spec-troscopy, and cation exchange analysis. A suite of the more important clay minerals has been assembled and characterized l~y these methods for use as standards in core analysis. From the data obtained it appears that although no one method of analysis is diagnostic for all of the clay minerals the infrared technique shows considerable promise in this direction. For the present, one or more supplementary methods should be used to confirm the clay mineral identifications. The methods of analysis are applied to field cores taken from repesentative and widely differing strata especially as regards their susceptibility to damage by fresh water. well.; completed in the stevens and Gatchell zones in San Joaquin valley are I,articularly clear-cut examples of this behavior with stevens zone wells being more adversely affected by fresh water. cores from these zones have been studied and are discussed. It appears that differences in this behavior can be ascribed to differences in the nature of the contained clays. The value of the infrarecl spectra of the clay fractions in establishing the identity of the predominant clay minerals is given particular emphasis. INTRODUCTION It is a challenge to the technical resources of the petroleum industry that when the economic limit of production is reached, from 40 to 70 per cent of the oil in California reservoirs remains unproduced even by use of the best presently known methods of recovery. The magnitude of this abandoned volume of oil can be appreciated when it is considered that to 1950 in excess of 8 billion bbll has been produced from California reservoirs with estimated economically recoverable reserves in known fields and pools totaling nearly 4 billion bbl.24 If for every barrel of oil produced there is at least another barrel still in place, it is evident that the revenue obtained from the recovery of only a .few per cent of this volume would repay the cost of the required research manyfold. From well completion experience. production behavior, and a growing body of laboratory data it now appears certain that the mineral composition of a producing stratum has an important bearing on the productivity and ultimate yield. In addition to the organic component and water, the cores con,ist of gravel, sand. silt, and clay" in diverse variety of (a, composition and (b) texture. It is the composite effect of these two factors which is probably responsible in large measure for the way in which the oil flows to the well. The role of the clay and fine-size accessory minerals is not clear but there is a growing opinion, based on their physical and chemical properties, that it is a significant one. of particular importance are the prime facts: 1. The silt and clay fractions of the reservoir matrix possess the highest surface area per gram, and 2. The silt and especially the clay fractions are the most chemically reactive of the inorganic constituents present. Only within the last few years has the knowledge of clay mineralogy and the techniques of identifying the clay minerals reached such a stage as to enable reliable inquiry into the composition of argillaceous sediments.2,8,10,11,12,16,26 It is the purpox of this and succeeding papers to add to the fund of information on the role which these materials play in the production of petroleum from California formations by correlating their presence and associated properties with observed reservoir behavior. In the present paper attention is directed to their possible influence on damage by fresh water. OBJECTIVES The attack on this problem divides naturally into two broad phases: 1. Determination of the nature of the clays and their relationships to the other mineral components, and 2. Determination of the physico-chemical relationships between the clays and the interstitial fluids. In the work described in this paper the emphasis has been on phase 1, which stems logically from the necessity of identifying and understanding the materials to be dealt with in Phase 2. Based on the authors' present opinion that not all of the minerals which occur in oil-bearing formation are of equal importance in their effects on the flow and recovery of oil, it was decided to focus attention first upon the clay minerals content and then. later perhaps. work into the field of the normally larger size non-clay minerals and fractions. The

Jan 1, 1951

By Walter Harvey Weed

The notes given in this paper, the result of observations made during recent brief professional trips to the northern States of Mexico, are offered as a slight contribution to the geological knowledge of a region little known, but long famous for its rich gold- and silver-mines. They are not detailed geological studies, but they contain, I believe, the salient facts. The following districts were visited: 1. Santa Eulalia (silverlead) ; 2. Parral (silver-lead); 3. Las Vigas (copper); 4. Jimenez (copper); 5. Guadalupe y Calvo (gold); 6. La Cumbre (gold); 7. Palmarito (silver); 8. Cananea (copper); 9. Sierra Pinitos (gold); 10. Sierra Azul (gold). 1. The Santa Eulalia Silver-Lead Deposits. Seventeen miles SE. of Chihuahua is the mining district of Santa Eulalia, to which that city owes its origin and long prosperity. Discovered in 1703, this district has been, and still is, one of the great silver-lead producers of the world. For 86 years after its discovery, the total output upon which the crown tax was paid amounted to $112,000,000. Worked until within the last 20 years by the most primitive methods, without machinery of any kind, the deposits continued to yield a vast treasure of silver; at present the yearly tonnage far exceeds that of former times. A broad-gauge road runs from Chihuahua up the valley of a small creek to the village of Santa Eulalia, which is situated within the borders of the mountains of that name. A few miles out of Chihuahua a narrow-gauge railway, owned by the Chihuahua Mining Co., branches off to the mines. This road ascends a smooth but steeply-rising plain to the base of the mountains, and winds about the slopes until the mines are

Jan 1, 1902