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John R. Lucas was born Apr. 15, 1866, at St. Louis, Mo. From his 19th year until his death on his 51st birthday anniversary, he was engaged in the mining industry, in which, however, he made his beginning and achieved his progress after a somewhat unusual fashion. Presumably without previous training as a mining engineer, he became in April, 1885, and remained until the end of 1892, bookkeeper of the Granite Metal Mining Co. at its St. Louis office. Then for a year he served as bookkeeper of the same company at its mine in Montana. This official of a mining company is at the very heart of its operations; and if he possesses ambition and intelligence, may learn the business thoroughly. It is not surprising, therefore, that Mr. Lucas, being that kind of man, assumed, in 1894, a position with the Hope Mining Co., another St. Louis corporation operating in Montana, which he retained for eight years, serving not only in the office, but becoming also successively mill foreman and assayer. This varied practical experience prepared him for important administrative functions. From April, 1902, he was for many years the business agent of the Goodhope Mining Co. In 1903, he became also the assistant superintendent of the Granite Bi-metallic Consolidated Mining Co., and subsequently its superintendent-a position which he retained until his health failed at the end of 1916. In addition to the other Granite Bi-metallic properties, he had charge of the sapphire mines in the west fork of Rock Creek, Mont., the Basin Gulch placer mines, the claims of the former Hope Co., etc., all of which he managed with skill, integrity and recognized business ability.

Jan 6, 1918

Jan 1, 1901

By John T. Galey

In southwestern Pennsylvania 151 wells1 were completed during 1938, a total of 61 less than the preceding year. Of this number 81 were gas wells and 28 oil wells, which shows a considerable decline from 1937, when 108 gas wells and 64 oil wells were completed. However, 42 dry holes were drilled during 1938, which is two more than the previous year. Shallow Development—Gas No new extensions to old pools, or new wells that would indicate any substantial reserves, mere found during the year. However, a number of commercial wells and many dry holes were drilled to the Big Injun sand in Menallen township, Fayette County. One well had an initial open flow of 6 million cu. ft. In Rich Hill township, Greene County, one well producing, from the Big Injun sand, 2 million cu. ft. was brought in. Several other gas wells were completed in Shaler township, Alleghany County and Center township, Greene County, both of which had initial open flows of 1 million cu. ft. from the 30-ft. sand. Another well, in Aleppo township, Greene County, had an equal volume from the Gordon Stray sand. Oil Development has proceeded at a retarded rate because of the low price of Pennsylvania-grade crude. A total initial of only 205 bbl., an average of 7.3 bbl. per well, was developed. This is 1785 bbl. less than during 1937 and no new repressuring operations have been contemplated to prevent the declining production. The average price received for oil was $1.56 per barrel, with a high of $1.88 and a low of $1.34. This oil costs $1.94 per barrel2 to produce. The average price paid for Bradford

Jan 1, 1939

DURING the month of March there was some lifting of the veil, revealing somewhat of the maelstrom in the economics and politics of the world. Great Britain was in throes of political controversy, with threats of resignation by Lloyd George and a general election to ensue. Ireland was uneasy with internecine squabbles. The leaders of the opposing sides have been summoned to London for a conference which Parlia-ment believes offers the only hope of a solution of the present difficulties. France, awakening more and more to grim realities, learned of a budget for 1922 calling for more than 50 billion francs, or nearly one-third of the estimated national production, with the prospect that after this deduction is made there will be nothing left over what is required for the immediate support of the, people, and that on a reduced scale. Germany, although hard at work, found itself coming closer and closer to financial collapse and repeated its intimations that it would be unable to keep up with the provisional payments of 31 million gold marks to the Reparations Commission every 10 days as arranged at Cannes. Russia suffered more acutely from the famine and there were evidences of political insubordination among the Ukrainians. Egypt was in trouble arising from determination to win independence. About the middle of March the complete independence of Egypt was established and that country passed into somewhat the same relation-ship toward Great Britain that Panama has to the United States. At the head of the Adriatic, Fiume came into notice again with disorders threatening to produce conflict between Italy and Jugoslavia. In the Near East there were forebodings of trouble through resumption this spring. of the war between Greece and Turkey.

Jan 4, 1922

By M. L. Brashears

IN the last 15 years industrial use of ground water has more than doubled, and in 1951 amounted to 5 billion gallons per day. A similar sharp increase in the utilization of ground water for irrigation and public-water supply occurred in the same period. In many areas rapid increase in withdrawal from wells has taken place almost entirely unhampered by regulatory control and with little or no integration of effort. As might be expected, the chief interest in many regions has been maximum production rather than sustained perennial yield. As a result, widespread depletion of underground reservoirs and deterioration of the quality of the water stored in them has taken place in many areas, even though total pumpage in the United States is far below ultimate potential. Of even more concern is the fact that excessive withdrawal has drawn salt water into the reservoirs beneath many heavily populated centers along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts, causing costly abandonment of pumping plants.1

Jan 10, 1953

By I. G. Grettum, Eugene A. Stephenson

The flooding process was originally the result of accidents to casing and tubing, but it has gradually passed from an accidental condition to a definite engineering procedure. In spite of the general sheetlike char-acter of the major sand body, the position of shale bands, their thickness, the size of the grain and variations in effective porosity all give the sand different characteristics in different layers and in different places in the same layer. This condition has an important influence on the movement of flood oil and water, and on the yield per acre, as well as a bearing on what shall be considered the best method of handling flood wells. . A valuation takes into consideration six factors: (1) Flooding methods, of which four have been in common use, as follows, in order of effective recovery, (a) circular flood, (b) line flood, (c) five-spot and (d) five-spot with delayed drilling; (2) recovery per acre, which is definitely related to the oil content, the porosity, the method of flooding, the spacing program, and the continuity of the water supply; (3) the rate of production per well per day, which is definitely related to the mcthod of flooding, the oil content and the porosity of the sands; (4) the operating cost of the well, including royalty, overhead, taxes, etc. (Operating costs are usually expressed as unit cost per barrel.); (5) the expected price per barrel. It is safer to use the average price over a number of years than to attempt to forecast future price fluctuations. The discount factor (the sixth factor) used in appraisal of Bradford flood properties should be less than that commonly applied to other properties, because the hazards of operations have been reduced almost to those of a manufacturing industry.

Jan 1, 1930

By John Gillie

PRioR to the year 1902 electricity was used in the Butte district only for lighting, for the tramming of ores on the surface, and for the electrolytic refining of copper. In that year the Canyon Ferry hydro-electric plant on the Missouri river, with a transmission line to Butte and Anaconda, was completed, and enabled the mining operators to purchase electric current in large quantities at reasonable rates, and its application and use in the various mining operations and reduction works proceeded rapidly. The principal applications of electric current in metal mining may be listed as follows: Compressing air for hoisting. Compreeaing air for rock drills and pneumatic tools. Pumping. Ventilating. Lighting. Tramming. Compressing air for blast furnaces and converters Running shop and miscellaneous motors. Compressed Air for Hoisting. The Anaconda Copper Mining Co. operates 22 mine shafts and plants at Butte. Of these, 15 are large plants and hoists, through which most of its ores are hoisted. In 1912 this company commenced using compressed air in place of steam, in operating a number of its large hoists, and at this date has 10 main hoisting engines and 10 auxiliary hoists driven by compressed air. The compressed air is furnished from a central plant containing six compressors, each having a capacity of 7,500 cu. ft. of free air per minute compressed to 90 lb. pressure in large receivers, and conducted by suitable pipe lines to the various hoists, the air being reheated before passing to the engines. Each of these compressors is driven by a 1,200-h.p. synchronous motor, directly attached to the drive shaft, and takes electric current at 2,200 volts. Two additional compressors are being installed,

Jan 1, 1914

By F. Julius Fohs

WITH portions of two coal basins within its borders and a few scattered fields already developed, the question arises: What is the future of Ken-tucky as an oil-producing State? Is the long list of failures due to lack of 'commercial pools, or unintelligent prospecting? A study of its beds and irregularities of structure points not only to a large waste of development money on unpromising areas, but also to the presence of a few structures well worthy of development. The surface rocks of Kentucky show in succession more than 4,000 ft. of Paleozoic sediments and more than 2,000 ft. of Cretaceous, Tertiary, and more recent deposits. Folding and erosion have brought these beds to the surface, where they have been observed and studied: in detail by my associate, James H. Gardner, myself, and others. This has given opportunity to observe the beds offering suitable reservoirs and having the proper impermeable covering; also the mapping of outcrops and outcrop lines, taken in conjunction with available well records, indicates that certain areas are worth testing, and with even greater definiteness shows areas which should be excluded, as devoid of possibilities. West of the Tennessee River, Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary sediments occur so that all trace of ancient folding is obliterated, the sediments overlapping unconformably Mississippian rocks. This area embraces 2,000 square miles, or one-twentieth of the area of the State, the Paleozoic rocks covering the remainder. Since there is nothing upon which to base the location of tests for oil and gas in the Cretaceous-Tertiary beds of Kentucky, the Paleozoic area will be chiefly considered.

Jan 3, 1915

By Charles C. Hall

The following procedure in estimating mineral oil when mixed with vegetable or animal oils, is the result of a long series of cxperiments based on the method suggested by Sir William Thompson and Mr. A. H. Allen, in a paper read before the Royal Society.* Four to five grams of the oil under examination are weighed out into a porcelain capsule of 75 C.C. capacity. Thirty C.C. of a 10 per cent. solution of potassium-hydrate in alcohol are added, and the capsule covered with a watch-glass is placed in a water-bath heated to about 93' C. The mixture of oil and alkali should be stirred frequently, and after three-quarters of an hour it is boiled with stirring. This will secure the complete saponification of all the vegetable or animal oil. After the boiling has been continued some time, and most of the alcohol is expelled and a thick scum of soap forms on the surface, a little bicarbonate of soda is added to convert the excess of caustic alkali into carbonate. When the contents of the capsule have become pasty an equal bulk of fine, clean sand is stirred in. This makes the soap granular, and facilitates the removal of the last traces of alcohol. The capsule is now heated for two hours more on the water-bath. After cooling, the contents of the capsule are transferred to a short-necked funnel, having a thin plug of asbestos, and washed with petroleum-ether, or some other light petroleum spirit. The ether dissolves out the mineral oil from the soap, and is best collected in a quarter-liter flask having a short neck. The ether can be applied conveniently and effectively by a small washbottle. Care must be taken to effect a complete removal of the oil

Jan 1, 1883

Dr. Arthur H. Elliott has been connected with the gas industry for upward of thirty-eight years and was a chemist to whom the industry is deeply indebted for the application of the science of chemistry to its problems and processes. He was born in London, England, in 1851, and was the son-of a physician. While a child he was taken to France, where he received his early education, learning to speak the French language before his native English. His father having destined him for the medical profession, he commenced his studies on his return to England, but his attention being attracted to chemistry, he gave up the study of medicine to pursue that of chemistry. While still a student, he obtained a reputation as an iron and steel analyst, publishing two methods of analysis, one for the determination of sulphur .and the other for the determination of carbon in cast iron. On his graduation from the School of Mines at South Kensington, he left England intending to go to Australia, where an uncle resided, having in mind also the possibility of a trip to China. On his arrival in New York, he met Professor Charles F. Chandler, to whom he had a letter of introduction, and who induced young Elliott to remain. He graduated from Columbia College with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1883. He became demonstrator in chemistry at the College of Pharmacy and afterward professor of chemistry and physics at the same college. He became connected with the Municipal Gas Lighting Co. in May, 1880. In. November, 1.884, when consolidation took place, he became engineer-chemist of the Consolidated Gas Co., which position he held until May, 1910, when he resigned, but was retained as consulting chemist until his death. Recently Columbia University conferred on him the honorary degree of Master of Science.

Jan 7, 1918

BLAMEY STEVENS, Nogales, Ariz. (written discussion *).-This subject should be approached boldly from the purely physical standpoint. There are usually many known ways of making chemical deposits of any particular mineral and probably many more ways that are still unknown. With-physical-effects; .however, there-are, in-general, only one or two, or possibly three, ways that will pass muster before the physicist, when he realizes the geological conditions to be harmonized with the physical ones. Let us consider the second way that Mr. Taber describes: "It (the mineral matter transported in solution) may enter along a fracture, bedding plane, or similar passage, and, as it is deposited, force the wall rock apart, thus making room, for the growing vein," because it is the one Mr. Taber chooses for the great bulk of metalliferous veins. By "forcing the wall rock apart" Mr. Taber indicates that he means that the process of crystallization or-solidification of the mineral in the vein forces the walls apart. To prove this, he offers a great variety of geological evidence, which, from the physical standpoint, is entirely superficial. From the geological standpoint the evidence is the best to be had, but it is entirely negative and one single grain of really positive evidence will entirely offset it. Suppose it be granted that there is a considerable force of crystallization. It is well known among physicists that, other circumstances being equal, the crystal would rather form where it does not have to exert that pressure; or, to be more exact, where it is not necessary for the crystal to

Jan 12, 1918

In his paper, Sastry proposes the use of flotation methods other than the "conventional flotation!' process as possible economical methods of removing mineral fines, The practice of Liquid/Solid separation employing microbubbles to assist or induce the flotation of suspended solids is common to both municipal and industrial waste- water treatment; and is also used as a separation step in some processing industries. The pretreatment (if any) of the stream prior to flotation, the source of the microbubbles, and the design of the separation vessel depend on the application. For example: a metal finishing plant would use an elaborate chemical conditioning scheme to precipitate metal hydroxides for removal by a dissolved air flotation unit operating in the effluent recycle mode, while some oily waste can be separated using a dispersed air flotation cell with no chemical conditioning. At the present time, the "conventional flotation" process employed by the mineral processing industry makes use of mechanical agitation and aeration to generate certain sizes and quantities of bubbles and to mix these bubbles with the pulp. Specific types of chemical conditioning are used to obtain the desired results. For the separation of mineral fines, the type of chemical conditioning, bubble generation and separation device needed to obtain optimum results will have to be determined through research. The point to be made is that while the principles of flotation separation can be applied to a wide variety of applications, the specifics of the flotation process may vary with each application. Sastry's paper has dealt with the many areas of research required to fully understand and utilize the flotation process for the beneficiation of mineral fines.

Jan 1, 1979

By C. H. Mathewson

BERYLLIUM, magnesium, zinc and cadmium, together with mercury, constitute a coherent sub-group of the periodic system and these metals, excepting mercury; have been studied in sufficient detail by the new X-ray diffraction methods to prove their common adherence to the hexagonal close-packed type of crystal structure with a progressive increase in axial ratio as we pass through the group from beryllium to cadmium. The first four columns of Table 1 summarize the data on crystal structure of these metals reported in the International Critical Tables.1 The last two columns are based on results obtained in the present investigation. TABLE 1.-Lattice Constants and Twinning Law of the Be-Cd Group of Hexagonal Metals Dimensions of Unit Axial Cell, A Ratio Description of Twinning Element a° c° (c°/a°) Composition Axis Plane Beryllium 2.28(3) 3.60(7) 1.58 {1012} Probably 1 {1012} Magnesium 3.22 5.23 1.621 ,1 {1012} Zinc 2.65(7) 4.94(8 1.86(2) 11012 } 1 {1012) Cadmium 2.98 5.63 1.88(5) {1012} Probably 1 {1012} Twinning has often been observed in zinc and cadmium. The general aspects of this twinning are abundantly illustrated by photomicrographs, diagrams, etc., in the papers by Romig, and Mathewson and Phillips reported to this Institute in 1927.2. A determination of the composition

Jan 1, 1928

By Gerhard Derge

A SERIES of studies of the corrosion of tin is under way in the Metals Research Laboratory at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. The complete program includes examination of the corrosion properties of high-purity tin and the changes produced in these properties by the addition of varying amounts of alloying elements. Other studies of this subject have been made recently under the sponsorship of the Inter-national Tin Research and Development Council, but these researches have been confined largely to the weakly acid environments commonly encountered in the canning industry.1 There is little information avail-able regarding the corrosion of tin under alkaline conditions, but such data would be of value, for a large amount of the metal is used under such conditions. The potential measurements to be described were made because they seemed to offer the most rapid method for obtaining a general view of the conditions to be encountered in such service. These experiments will also serve to establish a technique that will be of value in further studies. It must be emphasized that the results reported are those of controlled laboratory experiments and that the conclusions drawn cannot yet be applied to service conditions; rather, they point to the directions in which, more exhaustive experimental work may be clone to best advantage.

Jan 1, 1938

By A. Azis

The problem of expressing a nation's mineral resources in terms that convey a sense of economic reality poses a great challenge to those charged with keeping government policymakers informed. A model is presented that can be used to simulate and examine the effects of, for instance, differences in levels of output, transportation costs, mining costs or selling prices on the exploitability and expected order of development of new mineral deposits. The model in its present form can be used to screen, as a first cut, the economic from uneconomic deposits in cases where little or nothing is known about them in detail. To date, this has generally been done - reluctantly - by subjective judgments. This model provides an improvement on the "informed opinion" approach, as it forces those who use the model to be both systematic and explicit in their assumptions. Moreover, the procedure is repeat- able and each step can be defended and justified. Implications can be examined of the uncertainty associated with many of the variables. The model is entirely too general to be of use for actual feasibility studies. It is not useful, in the case of speculative or little-known deposits, to provide a model that has an input format more detailed than the information that is likely to be available. Should the user see a need for it, the model can easily be expanded to allow for the input of more detail or more variables.

Jan 1, 1977

By James B. Vance, Parviz Mottahed

An extensive research program has been carried out at PCS Mining for some time into the use of high frequency microseismic emissions in the range of 30-200 kHz for roof fall warning in the mines. A laboratory investigation on loaded samples of potash has established a close correlation between acoustic emissions and the applied load. The tests also indicated the occurrence of the Kaiser effect. The positive and encouraging response from underground testing and controlled laboratory testing has lead to the extension of the investigation into correlation of the high frequency microseismic emissions and the change in stress distribution due to mining. Hydraulic borehole pressure cells were installed at different depths ahead of the advancing boring machine. The output due to the stress change and the microseismic event count was monitored by a continuous chart recorder. This paper discusses the results of this instrumentation. The results confirm the strong correlation between the two measured parameters and outlines future areas of research for the use of the high frequency microseismic emission techniques in quantifying the changes in stress distribution.

Jan 1, 1984

By Harold J. Bennett

A comprehensive knowledge of the availability of mineral resources to evaluate and assure a dependable supply is a prerequisite in establishing and maintaining a viable national economy. Since no nation is self-sufficient in all its mineral needs, its prosperity depends to a great degree upon its developing and maintaining an effective national minerals policy. This must be preceded by a systematic inventory of mineral resources that may be available to that nation. The U.S. Bureau of Mines is implementing a mineral deposit inventory program of domestic and foreign mineral occurrences, with initial emphasis on the domestic. In order to provide an in-depth appraisal of minerals availability, the approach includes not only realistic estimates of quantity and quality, but other essential factors such as costs, technology, environmental constraints, and development-time requirements. Analysis of this information provides usable relationships of quantity, price, time, and associated degrees of confidence of the occurrence of identifiable mineral resources. Keeping pace with a changing minerals industry and handling the large volume of information required in this undertaking demands that computer methods be employed.

Jan 1, 1977

By Robert A. Melton

Since many of the easily mined, continuous, thick coal seams in the Appalachian Region have been exhausted, new exploration and mining is being directed toward less continuous seams that are under more cover and are more difficult to mine. The direct results of this are that more money and time and more expertise and data are needed to plan and open new coal mines today. It is also becoming apparent that the old methods of assimilating and preparing information needed for mine planning are inadequate to meet the needs of today's modern mining engineer, especially in the areas of data gathering, storage, retrieval, preparation, and interpretation. The system described here allows assimilation of old and new core data in a relatively quick, accurate, and efficient manner. The system is a set of computer assisted procedures consisting of the following four basic steps: 1) raw data collection, computer input, storage, and graphic preparation, 2) geologic profile correlation and establishment of seam continuity, 3) computerized data posting of important seam parameters, 4) geologic and planimetric analysis for mine planning.

Jan 1, 1977

By Henry S. Brown, Jean E. Tilden

Pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite from deposits distributed within the Piedmont and Blue Ridge provinces of North Carolina and adjacent areas were examined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry for cobalt, nickel, manganese, lead, tin, chromium, molybdenum, and gold. The ore samples were also examined petrographically. Cobalt and nickel, in general, enter pyrite and pyrrhotite rather than chalcopyrite and sphalerite. Manganese generally enters sphalerite rather than the other phases where an alternative is possible. The presence of tin in sulfide minerals was noted in a group of deposits east of the known occurrences of tin oxide (cassiterite) in the Kings Mountain belt, which may indicate the presence of a more extensive tin belt in the southeastern Piedmont than was previously recognized. Pyrrhotite from a group of four deposits in Jackson and Clay Counties, North Carolina, differs from pyrrhotite from other Ducktown-type deposits in having cobalt/ nickel ratios less than one, finer grain sizes, and colloform texture. These differences suggest that that this group of deposits has had a history different from that of the other Ducktown-type deposits studied. No significant conclusions could be made based on the distribution of lead, chromium, molybdenum, or gold.

Jan 1, 1975

By R. K. Waring

A KNOWLEDGE of the mutual liquid solubility of zinc and lead is of importance in various phases of zinc metallurgy. The determination of this solubility has been the subject of numerous investigations, but unfortunatel, the results vary widely, particularly at higher tempera-tures, and it has been impossible to decide what data are most reliable. It was decided to investigate the matter and in view of the disagreement in the published results, it was felt necessary to take rather unusual precautions to insure the reliability of the data. For this reason deter-minations were made by four different methods, and the procedures of several of the previous investigators were duplicated. The previously used methods can be divided into two classes: methods involving freezing the entire melt and taking samples of the lead-rich and zinc-rich phases in the solid state, 1,2 and methods in which the. samples are taken while the bath is liquid and at the desired temperature. 3,4 Data obtained by methods involving freezing the entire melt show much lower solubility of lead in zinc than methods in which the liquid is sampled at temperature. The latter method was used by Spring and Romanoff5 and by Hass and Jellinek.6 The results of these two investi-gations are in agreement at temperatures near the melting point but at higher temperatures Hass and Jellinek find a higher mutual solubility.

Jan 1, 1934