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By E. V. Foran

Among the many newer disclosures that have accompanied the petroleum industry's progressively deeper exploratory drilling is the increased frequency with which the operators are encountering reservoirs of which the products at the time of discovery exist wholly or predominantly in the gas phase. The popular term "distillate pool" is most often used within the industry when referring to this type of reservoir, and in this paper the term is used in that sense. These pools have been observed in many different surroundings. In some places the entire reservoir is filled with the wet gas containing its water-white condensible products in the gas phase but apparently with no dark oil or other hydrocarbon liquids in the reservoir. The 8200-ft. horizon in the Big Lake field in West Texas is a good example of this type. At other places the wet, or distillate-bearing, gas may form a large gas cap directly overlying and in contact with an extensive reserve of dark oil. Oklahoma City, Kettleman Hills, the 8500-ft. horizon in the Big Lake field, and many others are examples of this type. There are also many places in which the wet distillate-bearing gas fills nearly the entire reservoir space, while the dark oil occupies only a narrow, bandlike zone, which marks the boundary of the reservoir along its lowest productive contour. The heavier components of these deep pool gases are generally water white in color, a large portion of which are condensible in a conventional oil and gas separator, when operated under pressures of the order of 400 to 800 Ib. per sq. in. Although the water-white products recovered in the separator sometimes have end points of 650" F. and higher on standard Engler distillation, they occur only in the gas phase in the reservoir. It is entirely possible that even some small amounts of dark colored reservoir components may occur in the gas phase when the temperature is 300" F. and pressures exceed 6000 Ib. per sq. in. Close approaches to these conditions have been encountered in the deepest producing wells. The condensible content of the deep reservoir gases of the many pools that have been tested or produced to date shows a wide variation in both condensible content, per 1000 cu. ft. of gas, and physical character.

Jan 1, 1939

By Herbert Banks Johnson

During the past 10 or 12 years very little information has been made generally available concerning the commercial possibilities of separating materials by means of static electricity; and yet during that same period important improvements have been made in various branches of the science of electricity, which, when taken together, and applied to electrostatic separation, have resulted in important improvements in that art as well. For example, much improvement has been made in high-voltage electrical equipment such as full-wave vacuum-tube rectification and improved mechanical rectification. Great strides have likewise been made in the development of insulators for high-voltage work, not only in the materials used but also in the design of the insulators themselves. Again, in another field, the development of air-conditioning equipment has improved the technique of controlling the surface condition, through drying or humidifying, of the various materials that are passed through the electrostatic separator. In many authoritative publications and textbooks, the electrostatic separation process is declared to require a balance far too sensitive for general commercial application. For example, one publication1 in the past has referred to an unfavorable effect on the process caused by varying atmospheric conditions such as humidity. Some2 have even gone so far as to state that sunlight and shadows may seriously affect the separating efficiency of the process. Such statements may have been true in the early development of the art, when the source of static electricity was derived from a friction disk machine, such as the Wimshurst. The Blake Mosher equipment and the work of Huff in applying motor-generator sets, transformers and mechanical rectification overcame much of this kind of objection to the commercial application of the electrostatic separating process. Another objection made periodically is that it is generally considered necessary to feed the particles into the electrostatic field in a stream that

Jan 1, 1939

The early history of a country is linked with its topographic features. Mountains are barriers, rivers are avenues, the sea is a highway. The first Europeans to reach the northwestern corner of the American continent, now known as Alaska, came from Asia, for the Pacific Ocean provided an approach by means of the islands that like stepping-stones stretch far westward from the inhospitable shore of the mainland. The Russians crossed Siberia and explored the Arctic coast of Asia. In 1728 a band of Cossacks was driven by a storm eastward from Kamchatka, and landed in Norton Sound.* Others followed them, and settled on the islands and peninsulas of southeastern Alaska. The mountains guarding the coast discouraged any advance into the interior. Another range, the northern extension of the Rocky Mountains, barred the westward progress of the French voyageurs and the English fur-traders of the Hudson's Bay Company. After the Russians had obtained a foothold among the Indians, the viceroys of Mexico sent successive expeditions up the coast, such as that of Pérez in 1774 and of Heceta in 1775. If the English fur-traders had not interfered, the Spanish and Russian spheres of influence would have conflicted, and the contest for control might have ended in establishing a line of demarkation somewhere near the mouth of the Columbia river. The British navigator Captain James Cook landed near Sitka in 1778 while seeking a way by water to Hudson Bay. Fifteen years later his midshipman, George Vancouver, in command of another British expedition, surveyed the coast

Jan 1, 1932

By James Norman, O. C. Ralston, John Dasher

MOST mineral products are used in the finely divided state, but some are sold in larger sizes. Coal, gravel, metallurgical fluorspar, phosphate rock, hematite, chromite, and other products are sold in sizes coarser than can be treated by many mineral-dressing methods. Gravity separation of coarser sizes by log washing and jigging is probably as ancient as any process now in use. The performance of jigs on a feed with sufficient difference in density of the minerals is excellent, but many families of minerals are too similar in density to be separated effectively by this method. The use of heavy suspensions of fine solids to separate coarse coal from bone and slate has been in use for some years. This separation by sink-and-float was limited until recently to light minerals. Development of galena and ferrosilicon as suspension media, by Minerals Beneficiation, Inc., at Mascot, Tenn., Pitcher, Okla., and Crosby, Minn., under patents granted during and since 1938, has permitted excellent results to be obtained on minerals of very similar densities up to 3.3. This process has been put in the hands of American Cyanamid Co. for exploitation, and further research now in progress may increase the density of suspension obtainable so that separations at a density of 4.0 may be practicable before this is published. The Huntington-Heberlein dense-medium process, developed in England, is also being commercialized in the United States by Sink and Float Corporation. Du Pont has developed a sink-and-float separation using halogenated hydrocarbons as parting liquids; at this writing, the method is used commercially only on coal but has been successful in the pilot plant on many other minerals using tetrabromethane at densities up to 2.95. While these processes were being developed to extend the range of separation by difference in density to the coarser sizes, the Bureau of Mines was engaged in developing a process that will extend the range of separation by difference in wettability up to 2-in. size. War work has pushed aside its further development indefinitely. The results are published here with the hope that some use may be suggested that will justify post-war development, and so that readers that may be able to make immediate use of the scheme may have the information. EARLIER WORK It has been known since the time of Herodotus (B.C. 484(?)-425) that water-repellent particles will adhere to sticky surfaces. That early historian reports the

Jan 1, 1942

By Geo Ashley

THE following paper is intended to be suggestive only, and to open the way for discussion and further observation. Its preparation was requested only two days before the time limit set for the submission of the papers comprising this symposium. Thus no time existed for detailed studies so it is largely a memorandum of such facts as have come incidentally to the notice of the writer in the study of coal in the field. The field study of sulfur in coal has received very little special attention or description from coal students. The presence of sulfur concretions is noted in hundreds of descriptions, and certain benches of a coal bed may be described as "sulfury" or the presence and position of sulfur bands may be noted in coal sections in connection with sampling. It may be accepted that some sulfur is present in all coal. The amount varies greatly in different regions, in different beds, and in the same bed in different areas. The anthracite of Rhode Island comes the nearest of any coal known to the writer of being free from sulfur, several analyses of that coal showing less than 0.1 per cent. Subbituminous coals in Colorado in a few places have close to 0.2 per cent. of sulfur on the dry-coal basis and in other states subbituminous coals approach this lower limit. Bituminous coals seldom run under 0.4 per cent. of sulfur on the dry basis, though in a few places dry bituminous coals in Colorado and Washington have between 0.3 and 0.4 per cent. The better known bituminous coals have almost everywhere over 0.4 per cent. The best of the Pocahontas and New River coals run close to 0.4 per cent., but there is very little commercial coal in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, or the other states that runs under 0.5 per cent. on the dry basis. From these minimum figures, the amount will range up to 5 or 6 per cent. or higher if visible sulfur is not excluded. It must be remembered that the usual -analysis of a coal bed is not intended to give the total proportion of sulfur in the bed but the amount in the coal after the removal of the more obvious and larger sulfur masses.

Jan 9, 1919

By William G. Pariseau

There are important phenomena in rock and soil mechanics that cannot be explained in terms of theories of homogeneous, isotropic materials. Subsidence of strata about mine openings is an example. In-situ stress measurements in nonisotropic sedimentary and metamorphic rocks is another. Patterns of joints, faults, fractures, and similar geologic features impart directional mechanical properties to rock masses that are locally isotropic or anisotropic. On the geologic scale, the nonhomogeneity of composite rock masses may, in certain instances, be dealt with as homogeneous anisotropy. The mechanics of large rock masses can, therefore, be expected to involve considerations of anisotropy. The source of the anisotropy is not relevant. Once the scale of observation is selected and the material is defined accordingly, the analysis of stress and deformation proceeds without regard to the numerical values of the material constants. There are also important phenomena in rock and soil mechanics that cannot be explained in terms of linear elasticity, theory. For the mechanical description of anisotropic geologic materials capable of deforming beyond the limit of purely elastic strains, a plasticity theory is required. The purpose of this chapter is to present a plasticity theory for anisotropic rocks and soils. The proposed theory is based on the work of Hill in anisotropic metal plasticity and represents an extension of his work so as to include anisotropic geologic materials. The point of departure from metal plasticity theory begins with the inclusion of the normal stresses as linear terms in the yield condition, which plays a central role in plasticity. Once the yield condition is established, the plastic strain increments are obtained immediately through the principle of normality. For practical applications, some simplification of the three-dimensional theory is re-

Jan 1, 1972

By Mark Sheppard

DURING the winter of 1937, the writer visited a West Virginia stone quarry at which the overburden is stripped hydraulically. The quarry is in a bed of limestone, about 200 ft. thick, which outcrops on a hillside above a small river; the quarry face is 175 ft. high. The top of the stone is cut in all directions by erosion channels, which are filled with a tough, red clay. Some of the larger channels are 30 ft. deep and 8 ft. wide. The thickness of the clay overburden ranges from a few inches to 10 ft., the average being estimated as less than 3 feet. The topography of the district is rugged, and the hillside above the quarry face is not suited to the use of the usual mechanical methods of moving dirt. Until hydraulicking was started 10 years ago, the over- burden was dug by hand labor, dumped to the quarry floor and transported to the dump in quarry cars. Cleaning deep channels was a slow and expensive process. When hydraulicking was started, the top of the quarry face was over 200 ft. above the level of the river. The pipe line was carried in a semi- circle around the top of the quarry about 200 ft. from the face and about 50 ft. above it. As there is no adequate supply of water above the quarry, the water must be pumped from the river. As quarrying progressed the pipe line was moved until the discharge points are now over 300 ft. above the river. Water is pumped from the river by a four-stage centrifugal pump having a 5-in. intake and a 4-in. discharge. It is direct-connected to a 200-hp., 2300-volt, 1760-r.p.m. induction motor. At 1760 r.p.m. the rated capacity of the pump is 750 gal. per minute under a head of 600 ft. The pump is installed in a house of frame construction on the river bank, about 10 ft. above normal water level, which also houses the pump for the mill-water supply. Above the pumps are hoisting bays into which the motors are raised whenever the river reaches flood stage. An 8-in. suction line, equipped with a strainer and a foot valve, takes the water from a concrete sump at the edge of the river. The pipe line from the pump consists of 1750 ft. of 8-in. spiral steel flanged pipe and 800 ft. of 4-in. spiral steel flanged pipe. The connection from the pump

Jan 1, 1938

By Robert Roberts

(Butte Meeting, August, 1913.) IN order to obtain data on the thermal effect of the blast-furnace jacket and oil the water consumption in these jackets a series of tests were run on the 56 by 180 in. blast furnaces at the Great Falls Reduction Department of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., at Great Falls, Mont. The arrangement of the jacket is shown in the transverse section of one of the furnaces (Fig. 1) on which the tests were made. The nose, spout, and breast jackets have independent water supplies and discharges. The end and side jackets are connected in pairs, as regards water supply, the feed water entering at the bottom of the lower jacket and overflowing into the bottom of the jacket immediately above it, and discharging into an independent overflow pipe for each pair of jackets. Tests were run on the main side and end jackets, the breast jacket, the spout, and the nose. Measurements were taken of the quantity of water discharged per minute and the rise in temperature of the water in its passage through the jacket. The product of these two results, expressed in the proper units, evidently gives the number of units of heat removed per minute by the water. Sufficient work was done on each type of jacket to determine its behavior under different conditions, and the results from each set of conditions were checked by repeating the work from three to six times.

Jan 7, 1913

By M. J. Taylor

A common method of classifying non-water- impounding mine waste structures is necessary to facilitate professional comnunications within the industry and between representatives of industry and government. Camnon classifications can a1 so he1 p quickly create and maintain a mental picture of the structures being discussed. Three categories for classification presented in this paper include: (1) configuration and location with respect to existing topography. (2) material characteristics of waste, and (3) environmental sensitivity or characteristic; of the disposal area. Configuration and location classification involve terminologies typically utilized for waste dumps over the past several years. General classification categories for non-impounding structures include: (a) valley-fill, (b) cross-valley, (c) side-hill, (d) ridge, and (e) heaped. Material characteristics can govern the location, engineering details, and environmental sensitivity of the waste structure. Material classification includes: (a) hazardous, (b) non-hazardous, (c) inert, (d) fugitive dust susceptible and (e) leachate susceptible. A1 though many characteristics are potentially applicable, this paper will focus on the categories mentioned above. Environmental sensitivity of a waste structure encompasses many objective and subjective evaluations plus many multi-disciplinary considerations. Environmental sensitivity incorporates numerous factors in addition to those highlighted in configuration and location, and material characteristic classifications. A few examples of how this categorization can govern the engineering design and location of waste dumps are provided in this paper. In addition to the verbal descriptions of classifications, a simplified version of the combined classifications with an alphanumeric format and its methodology is discussed in this paper. Surface water controls often govern the classification or vice versa. In order to maintain a non- impounding status, water must be prevented from collecting behind the structures. Depending on material characteristics, water inflow to or over the site can cause significant environmental or human consequences. Finally, the access of water to the waste dumps can play a large role in the degree of environmental sensitivity to the site. This paper provides a framework in which to discuss the other aspects of this conference and also provides insights as to how the framework is based on actual practice.

Jan 1, 1985

By L. W. Eastwood

THE recrystallization and grain-growth phenomena of cold-worked metals have considerable industrial importance because of their role in the fabrication of metals. For this reason, and because of the general academic interest in the subject, these processes have received consider-able attention since the time of J. E. Stead's paper1 on The Crystalline Structure of Iron and Steel. There are considerable differences of opinion regarding the theory of recrystallization and grain growth and also differences in the observation of the modus operandi of the processes themselves. The value of many of the existing quantitative data on grain growth is decreased by the failure to distinguish between the grain sizes just after complete recrystallization and those resulting from coales-cence. For this reason also, the value of the diagrams of stable grain sizes, like those produced by Bass and Glocker2 and Czochralski3, is lessened in so far as an interpretation of the facts of recrystallization is concerned. It is hoped that the data presented in this paper will help to clarify and to simplify the facts relating to recrystallization, and at the same time will show that some of the present-day conceptions are unten-able. A paper on the theory of recrystallization, with additional data, will be completed in the near future by the writers.

Jan 1, 1935

By C. V. Millikan

New developments in air-gas lift practices in the Mid-Continent area since our Pall meeting in Fort Worth have done much to increase the efficiency of installations, and thus bring within economic limit of air-gas lift many wells which could not have been flowed profitably before. After the gas-lift had so thoroughly demonstrated its value in the Seminole field, its use spread to other areas and many installations were made of which the economy could be questioned. In the Seminole area, when production began to decline it was necessary either to increase the efficiency of the air or gas-lift or to put the wells on the pump, and pumping was not a process of lifting oil to which any operator looked forward with confidence. These conditions have resulted in the development of many practices which increase the efficiency and permit wells to be flowed with air or gas which earlier could not have been flowed economically, and wells which have been flowing to continue to a lower rate of production. The practices which have come into more common usage in the Mid-Continent area recently are mostly revivals of and improvements on practices which have been known in air-lift work for several years. Many arc peculiar to the individual well on which they are used. Intermittent Flowing Some interesting results are being obtained in Seminole and other districts by intermittent injection of gas. Gas is introduced during per-iods iods of 3 to 5 min. at a rate considerably over that necessary to acquire the production at a steady rate of injection, and is then cut off for a period of 3 to 15 min. Two to five wells are run from the same group of conlpressors. The total volume of gas required is sometimes reduced as much as one-third of that required when it is introduced at a constant rate, without changing the amount of oil production. The maximum pressure required is usually higher, but the average equal to or lower than that required for constant rate of flow. The effect on the wells is usually an irregular rate of flowing which may cause inconvenience where recycling is practiced. It would seem that this increase in efficiency is due to less slippage when the gas is introduced intermittently than when it is intro-

Jan 1, 1928

By G. F. Huff, G. R. Bailey, J. H. Richards

An improved bomb-sampling technique for obtaining samples for oxygen analysis from liquid steel is described. Analyses of samples taken from open-hearth furnaces by the improved method show sufficient agreement with laboratory data to indicate the accuracy of the method is better than that of other existing sampling methods. THE bomb-sampling method of determining the oxygen content of a liquid-steel bath was studied by obtaining and analyzing more than 200 samples from normal open-hearth heats. Of these samples, about 60 were obtained with a bomb of conventional design;' the remainder were taken with a somewhat modified bomb designed to give greater protection against slag contamination. In the new device, the contacting faces of the cast-iron mold halves are machined so that they fit closely; the opening at the top of the bomb is covered with a thin steel cap; and the top of the bomb is further covered with a wood block held in place by heavy steel wire. After the bomb has passed through the slag layer and has entered the steel bath, the wire melts and the wood block floats to the surface. Thereafter, the steel melts through the thin cap and flows into the bomb cavity where it is deoxidized with aluminum wire. An assembled bomb, ready for sampling, is shown in Fig. 1. To standardize sampling procedure, the samples were usually taken through the center door and at the bottom of the furnace; that is, the bomb was on the bottom when the metal cap melted. After each addition to the furnace, at least 20 min elapsed before a sample was taken. The oxygen contents of all the samples were determined by using the vacuum-fusion method, two or more specimens from each sample being analyzed. The specimens were cubes of metal cut from a region in the interior of the bomb sample, as shown in Fig. 2. Drillings for carbon analysis were obtained immediately above the oxygen-analysis region. Reproducibility of Results In determining the reproducibility of the results obtained with the modified bomb, the following four factors were studied: 1—variation in the oxygen concentration of duplicate specimens taken from a single sample; 2—variation in the oxygen concentration of duplicate samples taken in quick succession: 3—effect of the amount of aluminum wire

Jan 1, 1953

By Carl Floe

THE possibility of separating the various constituents of mixed ores or metalliferous products by differentially producing their soluble sulfates has not received the consideration that it deserves. The production of the soluble sulfate may be accomplished by baking the ore with sulfuric acid or by treating it with gases containing oxides of sulfur. This paper is primarily concerned with the first method. The procedure used was to mix the material with a solution containing a definite weight of sulfuric acid, baking the mixture at various tempera-tures and then leaching out the soluble sulfate with water. The amount of acid used was calculated to produce certain desired soluble sulfates. The temperature of baking depended on the decomposition points of the sulfates involved. The object was to prevent the formation of or to decompose certain sulfates while leaving a maximum quantity of another sulfate in a water-soluble form. This procedure has two possible advantages over the ordinary method of leaching with an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid. First, a more selective leach may be obtained, and second, the higher temperatures and stronger acid concentrations involved will permit a better recovery of materials that are difficultly soluble in relatively dilute aqueous sulfuric acid solutions. The method of sulfuric acid baking followed by water leaching is not new, as it has been applied in the treatment of various metalliferous materials such as the recovery of cadmium from flue dust1, the re-treat-ment of zinc leach residues2 and the working up of electrolytic slimes3.

Jan 1, 1936

By Charles Parmelee

When Professor Silliman made his first examination of the newly-discovered Pennsylvania rock oil in 1859, he noted that different rates of heating produced different results in fractionation—longer heating produced larger percentages of light fractions. In 1862, it was found that when petroleum vapors are condensed in the still crown and dropped back into the hot liquid, the result of the distilling operation is materially modified. These early dates mark the beginning of what is called cracking petroleum and is explained as separating the component parts of the hydrocarbon molecules into more and smaller groups of the same elements. The phenomena were utilized for the next 30 years to increase the yield of burning oil. The procedure was that regularly practiced today in dry or destructive distillation. Considerable scientific study was given to the subject from 1862 to 1905, and a number of patents were obtained, but the work done was not continuous or intensive until about 1905, when the increasing demand for gasoline attracted attention of petroleum refiners to the possibilities of cracking. The first equipment built and operated essentially for cracking petroleum on a large scale was placed in successful operation in 1912. The commercial practice is, therefore, less than 15 years old. Comprehensive intense study of the controlling factors during this period has resulted in rapid increase in our knowledge, and material improvement has been made in the practice of the art. It is the purpose of this paper to outline briefly the state of our knowledge and to suggest some of the questions which are attracting attention of researchers at the present time. The major purposes for which petroleum hydrocarbons, including natural gas, are or have been cracked are: 1. To obtain products used to increase the heat value and illuminant content of artificial gas. 2. During the World War, to increase the supply of toluol. 3. To increase the amount of products capable of conversion into industrial chemicals. 4. To produce pure carbon.

Jan 1, 1927

By C. H. Jr. Herty

The results of a study of the open-hearth process from the physicochemical view-point are given. This study includes experimentation in small laboratory furnaces and in standard 100-ton furnaces. The behavior of manganese, carbon, and phosphorus are quantitatively explained. The action of "residual" manganese is discussed with reference to its relation to iron oxide dissolved in the metal. The solubility of CO in steel and its relation to dissolved FeO and carbon is given. The equation for phosphorus elimination has been tested out on a 200-ton furnace and the results are given in the text. THE effect of temperature and slag composition on the elimination of metalloids in the basic open-hearth process has been qualitatively understood since the early days of steel making. The quantitative effect has, however, only recently been brought to attention. The effect of slag composition has received more attention than that of temperature, primarily because the range of finishing temperatures in the basic open-hearth process is small compared to the large variations found in the composition of the slag at different periods during the process, and to the variations occurring with the use of raw materials of different degrees of impurity. The effect of slag composition on the elimination of metalloids has been studied by Styri1 from the thermochemical standpoint. This method is open to serious errors, in that thermochemical data at 2900° F. are very inaccurate and in many cases completely lacking. Feild2 has calculated equilibrium constants from the rate at which the metalloids are eliminated. The effect of slag viscosity on rate of elimination will affect the constants calculated by this method. Whitely,3 Colcough4 and others have used slag compositions as the basis for calculation of constants by which the extent of elimination may be calculated.

Jan 2, 1926

By R. W. Raymond

THE Brüclrner roasting-cylinder is well known as an apparatus which has done good work in the desulphnrization, particularly of refractory silver ores, in the western districts of this country. A paper by Mr. J. M. Locke, of Cincinnati, describing the cylinders, as constructed by Messrs. Lane & Bodley, in that city, may be found at p. 295, vol. ii., of the Transactions of the Institute; and a paper by Mr. N. H. Cone, vol. iv., p. 226, gives an account of their operation in Colorado. The purpose of the present paper is to present an .improved construction, designed by Mr. Brückner. This is clearly shown in the accompanying plate, which scarcely needs explanation. It will be seen at once that this construction involves two cylinders, instead of one. Mr. Brückner thinks that three cylinders might be better yet, as securing an exact mechanical reproduction of the work of the well-known three-hearth Fortschaufelungsofen, the most perfect of the reverberatories in which delicate roasting is performed with hand-labor. THE APPARATUS. Erection of the Cylinders.—Although the cylinders may he put lip at any locality, or added to existing works, it is preferable, if possible, to choose the site on a hill sloping naturally, say about 30' or 33. Two excavations are made, one 8 to 12 feet higher up than the other; and each is protected by a wall with a batter of about 1 inch to the foot, to prevent slides of stone and earth. Each cylinder being 20 feet long and 7 feet in diameter, the total excavation should be 60 to 70 feet along the hill, and 15 to 25 feet wide. On each level a building is erected 35 feet long by 20 feet wide and 12 feet high, with the roof containing a ventilator against the hill. When both buildings are on the same level, there should preferably be a solid frame-work of very heavy timber, to carry the four rollers which bear the upper cylinder. The four rollers carrying the lower cylinder should preferably rest on two very heavy pieces of timber, strongly braced together and laid to their top in a foundation made of stone or brick and cement. Foundations are necessary only under each two opposite rollers, but they must be made carefully,

Jan 1, 1886

By J. P. Dunlop

THE fact is-notable though probably little known that the United States is the only nation obtaining and distributing through its Government bureaus any data pertaining to waste metals and drosses. Some foreign governments do issue reports relating to mine or smelter production of primary metals, but none gives in scope and detail the information published now by the U. S. Bureau of Mines and formerly by the U. S. Geological Survey; and this is despite the fact that the funds annually allotted for those purposes are insignificant in comparison with allotments for the preparation of data relating to other industries of like importance. The earliest data on the production of metals from secondary sources in the United States were contained in a press bulletin issued by the U. S. Geological Survey on Jan. 4, 1909. The information published was that for the year 1907 obtained and compiled by C. E. Siebenthal, who was one of the first to visualize the growing importance of the scrap-metal industry. The National Conservation Commission had emphasized its opinion that the known domestic supply of certain kinds of the more important metals was being rapidly marketed and that while there was no immediate cause for concern it was best to conserve such resources. Not only had there. been a lamentable lack of any data regarding the quantity of scrap metals available or used but also gross carelessness and indifference in the segregation, collection, and effective use of scrap material. Siebenthal realized that even approximately correct statistics of recoveries from the more important base-metal scrap and drosses were nearly as essential to both producers and consumers as the statistics of the output of primary metals. There were not then nor are there now sufficient funds for complete collection of data, nor was it considered the province of the Geological Survey to do more than determine approximately the recovery of secondary metals for use in supplementing those given for the primary metals. Undoubtedly the first bulletins-issued did not give the full output, for it takes time to establish contacts for an inquiry covering so

Jan 1, 1928

By Ancel St. John

AT THE New York meeting of the Institute of Metals Division in February, 1927, Jeffries and Tarasov presented a paper on Tungsten and Thoria,1 in which the experimental facts were interpreted in accordance with the prevailing point of view that the thorium is present as the oxide, thoria. In discussing that paper the writer of this article stated that his own investigations, which had been unavailable to Messrs. Jeffries and Tarasov, showed that the so-called "thoriated" tungsten filament failed to disclose any sign of the oxide when subjected to X-ray diffraction analysis, but did give plenty of evidence of the presence of metallic thorium and, in certain cases, of a material believed to be an alloy of tungsten in thorium. Since these results were completely at variance with the results reported in the paper under discussion and with other papers which had preceded it from time to time in the past, it was felt that further discussion should be withheld until the new evidence could be presented adequately. Arrangements were therefore made to present that evidence at this meeting. MATERIAL EXAMINED The material examined was high-emission filament such as is used in radio tubes, supposed to contain about 0.75 per cent. thoria. The actual analysis was not stated. SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION The investigation was undertaken because of a feeling that the thorium present in filamentary material of this type exists as metallic thorium or as an alloy of thorium and tungsten and not as the oxide. Attention was therefore directed to determining: 1. The minimum amount of thoria detectible in a mechanical mixture of thoria powder and finely divided tungsten. 2. The amount of thoria detectible in the filament. 3. The condition of any thorium present in other form than as thoria. 4. The amount of thorium dissolved in the tungsten.

Jan 1, 1928

By E. L. Bruce

GOLD occurs in many mineral deposits in the rocks of the Canadian Shield. It is present in the ores of many base metals and a considerable quantity is recovered as a by-product from the production of copper at Noranda, of nickel and copper at Sudbury and of copper and zinc at. Flinflon. But the greater part of the gold production of Canada is from deposits in which gold is the only metal of value. No gold is obtained from placer deposits within the borders of the Canadian Shield. A brief review of the geological relations of some of the gold deposits of the Canadian Shield will be presented in an attempt to explain certain associations. Only those which are being worked for their gold content will be considered and descriptions will be conned to representative types of deposits, chiefly those of major importance; a few others, differ-ing in certain features from those of the older and larger mines, will be included in order to illustrate the general conditions in which gold occurs in these ancient rocks. Brief summaries will be given of the geological relations of the Beattie and Siscoe mines of northern Quebec, of the mines of the Porcupine and Kirkland Lake areas of northeastern Ontario and of the Howey, Central Patricia and Little Long Lac mines of northwest-ern Ontario. Genetic relations to igneous rocks of granitic composition, outcropping in the vicinity, have been assumed for many of these deposits. Undoubt-edly the ore minerals have been derived from igneous sources and, for some occurrences, there is evidence suggestive of genetic relationship between the ore bodies and neighbouring intrusive rocks. During the past few years, however,, many investigators have expressed doubt of the genetic relationship of certain ore bodies to igneous masses near which they occur. As will be seen from references in the following descriptions the importance of the structural conditions in localizing deposition has been realized. This is pointed out for Canadian pre-Cambriang old deposits by E. T. Dougherty, who also refers to the

Jan 1, 1937

By Lester C. Uren

Today, a dozen or more universities and colleges in the United States are offering curricula designed for the specialized training of engineering students who plan to enter the petroleum industry. Many hundreds of students are following these curricula in their academic preparation, with the expectation that by so doing they will be better equipped to enter the petroleum industry in an engineering capacity than their competitors that seek to do likewise with training of less specialized character. Those who have helped plan and develop these curricula believe that such specialization should and does afford the student a superior preparation for his task. Others have questioned this and urge a broad preparation in fundamentals without specialization. Still others are suggesting even greater specialization than present petroleum engineering curricula afford. Some would have the student first prepare himself in one of the more general divisions of engineering, such as civil, mechanical or electrical engineering, and then seek some degree of specialized preparation in a graduate program. Which of these views is correct; or, if there is merit in each, which plan offers the greater advantage to the student? It is time that we paused to take stock of our objectives and of our way of attaining them. Is the training received by our petroleum engineering students what it should be? To what extent is the product of our petroleum engineering schools meeting the requirements of the industry? How may graduates be better equipped for the work they are called upon to do? These are questions that educators interested in the training of petroleum engineering students are ever asking. They must depend upon engineers and executives engaged directly in the industry for advice and helpful suggestions in better planning the training to be offered to our future engineers. This paper will have served its purpose if it is successful in focusing attention of men active in the industry on some of these educational problems, to the end that the ideas of men close to the needs of the industry may be made known to those who have responsibility in the control of our educational programs.

Jan 1, 1937