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By Euzebio P. de Oliveira

One of a recent batch of samplcs from the Serra da Baliza, in the state of Paraná, Brazil, contained asphalt and a dark heavy oil; and workmen on the railway from Porto Uniáo to Uruguay discovered asphalt coming from eruptives that outcrop along the Rio de Peixe. The occurrence of asphalt in the triassic eruptives of southern Brazil, however, has been known a long time, according to Dr. Gonzaga de Campos. It is generally believed that the Botucatd sandstone is always a hard vitrified rock, from the metamorphic action of the overflowing eruptive contacts. In this region, howeyer, the contact metamorphism is almost nil; the sandstone is slightly hardened in a narrow zone about 20 to 30 cm. wide. In many places, the sandstone is so friable as to be easily reduced to sand, which is used in mortar for building in Guara-puava and Palmas. South and west from Porto Uniáo, this bench of sandstone is about 50 m. thick, and is capped by a heavy bed of basic eruptives, many of which are amygdaloids. Nature of Rocks Dr. Geo. P. Merrill, after studying the triassic eruptives collected by the Coal Commission, reached the conclusion that "All these rocks are of typical basalt-diabases, not in any essential different other than in structure. An interesting mineralogical phase is its paucity in olivine, which in many cases is completely lacking." Professor Hussak, who carefully studied these rocks and their accessory minerals, decided that in the dikes they are granular (diabase) and that in the lava sheets, porphyritic (augite-porphyrite or melaphyre), and that the latter pass evidently to normal diabases and are always typical of effusive rocks. The examination of many slides from dikes and sheets leads us to adopt the opinion of Professor Hussak; the rocks of the dikes are of ophitic structure, while that of the sheets show a great variety of structure and may vary from almost granular to basaltic. The great paucity in olivine had been noted by Hussak, who classes as melaphyres, the porphyritic triassic rocks in Brazil which contain olivine.

Jan 1, 1921

By John Birkinbine

In a former paper* attention was directed to the various forms of pumping machines employed for permanent work in mining and metallurgical processes. The following is simply a collection of memoranda of work done of a temporary character, and is presented by way of comparison with other work of similar nature. In close proximity to the charcoal fnrnace at Pine Grove, Cumberland County, Pa., is a large deposit of superior hematite iron ore, which has been worked for a number of years, and from which many thousand tons of ore have been taken by open pit workings. In July, 1874, the furnace was blown out and operations at the bank suspended, the machinery for draining being removed except a plunger pump, 18 inches in diameter and 66 inches stroke, operated by a steam-engine by means of rods. The pit was allowed to fill with water, and no steps towards its reclamation were taken until November, 1877. At that time the pit was a pond of water at the base of the mountain, having an area of about four acres and a depth of seventy feet. As the pumps, rods, etc., had been submerged for over three years, and partially buried by the mud washed down from the banks, and as it was determined to change the location of the pump for future operations and drive it by water-power, a temporary pumping apparatus was determined upon for reclaiming the pit and keeping it drained until the permanent arrangements could be completed. By opening an old adit about 10 feet of the water was removed, and the area decreased to three acres. The inflow of springs was found to be 250 gallons per minute, and the amount of water contained in the pit was computed to be 45,000,000 gallons. As the inflow would undoubtedly increase while the water sank in the pit, provision was made for removing at least 60,000,000 gallons, at the rate of 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 gallons per day. The company determined to employ a Heald and Cisco centrifugal pump driven by an oscillatinig engine by means of a belt. Steam was supplied by four plain cylinder boilers, each 36 inches diameter

Jan 1, 1879

By William P. Blake

IN southern Arizona and in Mexico the word caliche is in general use to denote a calcareous formation of considerable thickness and volume found a few inches, or a few feet, beneath the surface-soil, upon the broad, dry, gravelly plains and mesas. In western South America the same name is applied to the beds of crude soda-niter (Chili saltpeter). While these deposits of South America and of Arizona are totally different in composition, and have nothing in common, except that both occur in layers in the strata near the surface, it is probable that an explanation of the origin of the calcareous beds may equally apply to the accumulation of sodaniter and other deposits of easily soluble minerals. But the name, taken from the Latin, Calx, is more appropriate to the calcareous beds than to those of niter. Caliche has a wide distribution in the arid regions of Arizona and Mexico. It is usually hidden from view by a slight covering of soil; but it is easily found by digging, and is often revealed by a flow of water during heavy rains. It is practically a continuous sheet, from three to fifteen feet thick, of earthy limestone or travertine, through which the smaller plant-roots find their way with difficulty. The presence of this comparatively impervious layer of cemented earth may account for the absence of trees, or of the larger shrubs, over wide areas. The shrubs which gain a foothold are those whose roots do not extend far downwards, and which do not require much water, such as Larrea Mexicana and the [Cactaceoe]. If trees are planted, it is necessary to break up the caliche by blasting, or at least to crack the upper layers. The top of the caliche is more dense and solid than the lower portions. The surface of this top crust, or layer, is comparatively smooth, though undulating, while the lower portions, under the crust, are irregular, cavern-

Jan 1, 1902

By Frederick Clapp

ALTHOUGH many oil fields have been, and still are being, discovered in Oklahoma, the geology and structure of most of them have not become familiar to the general public because of the delay in securing government geological surveys and the reluctance of oil companies and other interested parties to give out their "inside information." Therefore, until official surveys are available, it behooves us to publish geological results as soon as possible. Fortunately the writer has been authorized by the Cement Field Oil Co. to publish his data on the Cement field, Caddo County at this time. LOCALITY AND DESCRIPTION The Cement field is situated in the part of Oklahoma known generally, until recently, as "Healdton fields," and lies 60 mi. (96 km.) northwest of the Healdton field proper. Like the Healdton field, it forms an approximate ellipse, trending northwest and southeast through the village of Cement on the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad, on which it is reached in 2 ½ hours from Oklahoma City. In its geological structure, the field constitutes an anticline over 13 mi. (21 km.) long and from 1 to 3 mi. wide; the point of greatest width being not far from its intersection by the above-named railroad. The major axis trends north 75° west from the village of Cement; but eastward appears deflected (if field interpretations are correct) to about south. 45° east. About 5 mi. south lies an approximately parallel syncline, which may be conveniently called the Cyril syncline, the south and west boundaries of which may be distant many miles, but forming a closed basin', south of the Cement anticline. The position of the offsetting synclinal axis, which is believed to lie north and east of Cement, has not been discovered.

Jan 2, 1920

By C. R. Breck

THERE has been a running discussion over the-past several years with respect to the life and adequacy of our natural gas reserves.. Some of the experts agree on one phase of the subject at least--that eventually it will be necessary to augment deliveries of natural gas in the northern markets by the development of a more or less comparable synthetic gas made from coal. The purpose of this paper is to point out: 1. It may be later than a good many people think-the demand for additional domestic and commercial pipeline gas in at least one section of the North will probably be felt rather keenly before an adequate synthetic pipeline-gas project, developed on economic lines, could be completed, even if ' initiated in the near future. 2. The evidence is considerable that such a project would be technically sound and economically self-supporting, although the margin of profit at first might be so small and the magnitude of an economic enterprise so great that financing would be impossible without Government aid in some form or other. The part of the country referred to is the heavily populated section in the northeast of the United States. To simplify an examination of the situation, let us take the potential marketing areas within range to the north and east of the three pipelines: 1. Tennessee Gas Transmission Co. as it enters Erie County, New York state. 2. Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation just before the tap that supplies the general Philadelphia area. 3. Transcontinental G& Pipe Line Corporation as it enters the state of New Jersey The sources of gas for these three pipelines are in Texas and Louisiana. The ultimate maximum combined capacity of the three lines at the points stated is approximately 1,200,000,000 cu ft per 24 hr at the maximum load factor probable of attainment in normal operation. The areas supplied by the three lines north and east of the points stated, or assumed as eventual markets, are: 1. Central New York state, from Buffalo to Albany (both inclusive).

Jan 1, 1953

By Roshan B. Bhappu

Selenium is found most frequently as an accessory mineral in the ores of lead, copper, and nickel, and is recoverable as a byproduct in the treatment of many of the ores of these metals. The geographic distribution of the selenium industry closely follows that of electrolytic copper, with the United States and Canada producing approximately 75% of the total output of the non-communist world. This situation is problem number one for selenium-its dependence upon the electrolytic refining of copper- for this byproduct source is not sufficiently flexible to permit a normal supply-demand balance. Furthermore, selenium has become a strategic material in short supply. Thus, new sources are being sought by both government and private interests. Although considerable attention has been given to this effort during the last few years, hardly any research has been published concerning the recovery of small amounts of selenium present in low-grade deposits. In such ores the metal occurs as native selenium or as selenides of iron, copper, silver, lead, and bismuth. In recent years, some native selenium (in both the gray and red form) and selenides, especially iron selenide (ferroselite), reportedly have been found in the sandstones of the Morrison formation near Grants. New Mexico. Similar occurrences have been reported in the Hagan coal basin, in Sandoval County, New Mexico. Samples from New Mexico ores have contained from a trace amount to as high as 0.425% Se. Some of the samples from uranium mines in the Grants area represent mixed ore and mill feed fur uranium reduction plants. In such cases, the selenium usually is reported as an impurity and is lost in the tailings. At present, no attempt is made to recover this waste metal.

Jan 8, 1962

By K. A. Lambert

In the Anthracite Region there are considerable areas where the original mining was done 50 or more years ago. In this original mining, the pillars that were left proved inadequate in size for the support of the roof, which has since collapsed as a result of squeezes, and completely filled the original openings. In an endeavor to recover the coal which remains in the pillars in such areas, the reopening cost for development, as well as for pillar recovery, has been excessive in many instances. Various methods have been tried out with a view to lowering the cost, in order that the greatest possible percentage of recovery of the reserve tonnage may be realized economically. Ordinary hand mining necessitates the driving of development road 10 ft. wide in the clear between timber legs, with 6 ft. of clearance over the rail to accommodate mine cars; collars or crossbars on the timber sets have been difficult to maintain in these openings in the heavily caved condition, especially in beds where the overburden is great,. Numerous failures have occurred on these development road timbers because of roof movement resulting from removal of pillars. The actual removal of pillars from this development work has been costly because full-width openings for transporting mine cars to the face have to be maintained by cleaning caved material from alongside the pillars, or skipping up along the pillars where pillars of sufficient width are found. Shaker-chute Methods A method of developing such caved conditions and recovering pillars tributary to this development, utilizing shaker chutes, is being tried out with considerable success at Loree colliery. An outline of the chute and apparatus is shown in Fig. 1, which indicates the location of pillars and caved material. The cost of both labor and material required in the recovery of such coal is considerably less than by ordinary hand methods. In order to try out this method of mining a location was chosen where a tightly caved area had been developed by ordinary hand methods to within 300 ft. of the property line. The original bed height was 12 ft., with an overburden of 325 ft., but on account of the squeezes which

Jan 1, 1931

By J. A. Herrick

SOME time ago the writer needed a cheap, light, and portable hydraulic lift or crane, that would be universal in its application, and that might -be suspended from crane-arms, overhead tramways, beams, etc., and serve all the uses of ordinary hydraulic cranes. This was accomplished by the use of a closed cylinder of wrought-iron hydraulic pipe, provided at its top with the ordinary gland and stuffing-box, through the centre of which passed another similar pipe of slightly smaller diameter, forming in effect the ordinary plunger of the regular hydraulic crane. Over the top of this centre pipe or plunger or piston a disk of iron is placed with two arms projecting several inches from the rim, as may be required. Through these arms long iron rods pass, one on each. side, and are fastened in place by nuts screwed to a bearing immediately above and below the disk. These rods also pass through the enlarged head of the lift down through a casting which closes the bottom of the cylinder, which, at the same time, gives them a bearing, and they terminate at a point below the casting equal to the height of the lift of the crane. The rods at this point pass through a disk similar to the top disk and are similarly secured in place. A common hook arranged with a swivel passes through the centre of the disk, and on this hook the load is suspended. For a stationary hanging crane the apparatus is suspended by two rods passing through the head of the lift in similar manner to the two already described, at right angles to the first, and of sufficient length to let the first set play between them and rise to the full height which the plunger will allow. The second set of rods terminates in an iron disk similar to the one at the bottom of the first set, and a hook through this in turn suspends the entire apparatus. In order to adapt the lift to an overhead tramway, single or double, in place of the suspending rods, a projection or offset is arranged on each side of the head of the lift and a journal cast in, allowing the lift to be suspended on pivots arranged as follows

Jan 1, 1879

By Frederick H. Williams

The object of this paper is to bring to the attention of those members of the Institute who are interested in the subject, a method for the estimation of manganese, which has been frequently used in the labratory of the Vulcan Steel Works during he last eight months, and which is deemed worthy of more general use. It is simply an adaptation of well-known processes, for the purpose of determining this element in pig iron and steel. In general, the method consists in precipitating the manganese as binoxide dissolving in dilute sulphuric acid in the presence of an excess of a standardized solution of oxalic acid, and titrating the remainder of the oxalic acid left unoxidized with permanganate of potash. For this method, therefore, two standardized solutions are needed, viz., a permanganate solution and an oxalic acid solution. The permanganate solution is made so that 1 C.C. is equivalent to 1 mgr. of iron. By using so weak a solution and keeping tile bulk of the solution to be titrated down to 75 C.C. or a little leas, the accuracy of the process is greatly increased, since the final reaction is almost if not quite as sharp as if a stronger solution were used. The oxalic acid may be of almost any strength, but if made so that 1 c.c. requires 3 O.C. of the permanganate to oxidize it, it will auswer well. The process is then, as follows: from 1 to 2 grams of. pig iron or steel ate dissolved in 40 to 50 C.C. of concentrated nitric acid with the aid of heat. As soon as solution is erected, in the awe of steel, add gradually and cautiously, the solution being kept boiling, sufficient pulverized chlorate of potash to precipitate the manganese as binoxide. Two grams will be a great abundance. In the case of pig iron, first remove the carbon and silica by filtering the solution through asbestos and washing with concentrated nitric acid. Filter the strong acid solution in which the binoxide has been precipitated, through asbestos with the aid of the filter pump. When it has entirely passed through wash well with water. Blow the contents of the funnel into the beaker in which the precipitation was made and rinse the funnel with a little water.

Jan 1, 1882

By H. B. Fuqua, B. E. Thompson

The area discussed herein, commonly known as the North Texas district, embraces the following 10 counties: Archer, Baylor, Clay, Cooke, Foard, Hardeman, Knox, Montague, Wichita and Wilbarger. It is underlain by two major structural features. The northernmost portion of the district, including Cooke, Montague, northern Clay, Wichita, Wilbarger, Foard and Hardeman counties, is underlain by the system of buried mountains known as the Red River uplift, which is parallel to and closely related to the Wichita-Amarillo uplift of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. While the presence of a great majority of the numerous oil fields of the area is traceable to this feature, the production in Archer, southwestern Clay and southeastern Baylor counties is due to the influence of what is known as the Cisco Arch (so called because of its influence on Cisco deposition), the axis of which extends in a north\lest-southeast direction across Archer County. Discussion of Tables Preliminary to discussing developments during the year 1933, it appears advisable to offer a few words of explanation on Tables 1 and 2, included as part of this paper, in which an effort has been made to sumlllarize oil and gas development in North Texas to Jan. 1, 1934. One of the chief objectives of this publication is understood to be to show production by individual pools, and, if possible, by distinct pays in a pool. This the authors haw been unable to do for North Texas. It is a generally recognized fact that there are well over 100 individual pools, which should perhaps be mow properly called "productive spots," in Archer county alone, with perhaps an even greater number in Wichita County. It can be found upon investigation that an apparently continuous productive area covering Many acres consists of a half dozen lenticular sands, all stratigraphically different,, which produce only under portions of the apparently continuous area. It is also a fact that practically all gross production records are carried by the various intcrcsted parties by major districts or by counties. It is obvious therefore

Jan 1, 1934

By David N. French

In a recent paper, Miyoshi, Hara, and sugimotoL have shown that hardness increases and crack resistance decreases with polishing time in tungsten car-bide-cobalt alloys. They attribute the changes in hardness and crack resistance to cold working in these alloys. More recently Exner2 explains the decrease in crack resistance with the amount of material removed (polishing time) by suggesting that polishing removes a high compressive residual surface stress due to the initial grinding operation. He cites previous work on steel to show grinding can induce surface compressive stresses but offers no direct experimental measurements to support this in cemented tungsten carbides. In recent work we have observed changes in residual stress in the W C phase as measured by X-ray diffraction techniques with changes in polishing conditions.3 As a result of the work of Miyoshi et al.,L a brief study was undertaken to investigate the effects of polishing and grinding on the residual stress in the WC phase and have been reported.4 A single composition of tungsten carbide —10 wt pct Co was used. Two initial conditions were studied: an annealed condition with about -30,000 psi residual stress from the differences in thermal coefficients of expansion of WC and cobalt and, on the same specimen, a surface ground with a 150 grit diamond wheel. Stress was measured in the WC phase using X-ray diffractometry as a function of the amount of material removed by metallographic polishing with 6 diamond paste. The results are shown in Fig. 1. Two things are noted, 1) polishing with 6 p diamond paste has little effect on the annealed sample and 2) the magnitude of the grinding stress is markedly reduced as material is removed. By the time 0.1 mil is removed the surface has a metallographic polish satisfactory for light microscopy examination. Thus the surface, even though polished, can still retain most of the stress due to grinding. Since WC is itself slightly ductile, it seems reasonable that high compressive stresses can be generated in the surface by the plastic deformation accompanying grinding. Exner2 suggests, by analogy with steel, that as a result of grinding both WC and cobalt in the

Jan 1, 1970

By E. Stansfield

THIS test was described in a privately circulated First Progress Report on Slacking Characteristics of Coal, by A. C. Fieldner and W. A. Selvig, May 1, 1928. The test was described in detail in U. S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigation 3055, in November, 1930.1 The test, in brief, is conducted as follows: A sample of freshly mined coal consisting of 18 to 25 pieces approximating 1 ¼ cubes, and weighing 500 to 600 grams, is taken for the test. The sample is subjected to a "blank sieving" of carefully regulated degree, on an 8-in. circular sieve with 0.263-in. square openings; and the undersize and oversize weighed. The oversize is placed on a sheet-iron pan and dried for about 24 hr. in an A.S.T.M. air-drying oven maintained at 30° to 35° C. through which a current of warm air is drawn. The sample is then cooled to room temperature and immersed for one hour in water at the same temperature. The water is then drained off, the sample dried for 24 hr. as before, cooled, sieved as before, and the oversize and undersize weighed. The percentage weight of the undersize, is calculated and reported as the first cycle loss. This loss, corrected by subtracting the percentage loss in the blank sieving, is termed the slacking index. The sample may be subjected to further cycles of wetting, draining, air-drying, sieving and weighing. In a letter (August, 1932) W. A. Selvig approved making the blank sieving on a duplicate sample, rather than on the sample used for the test, where sufficient coal was available. This method is now employed in these laboratories. The accelerated weathering test has been employed in the labora-tories of the Research Council of Alberta, at Edmonton, since 1928, but not found entirely satisfactory as repeat determinations with samples taken from the same or adjacent mines frequently showed serious differ-ences. Differences must be expected as the coal may vary in the seam, and the selection of a typical set of lumps approximating 1 ¼ -in. cubes

Jan 1, 1934

The U. S. Navy Department has perfected plans for the enrollment and training of considerable numbers of engineering officers. A school for this purpose, the U. S. Navy Steam Engineering School, has been established by the Department at Hoboken, N. J. The school is open to men between the ages of 21 and 40 who meet the physical requirements of the Navy, who are of thorough ability and officer-like character and who have completed the mechanical or electrical engineering course at certain recognized technical schools, or who possess an education and experience adjudged to be an equivalent thereof. Enrollment in the U. Naval Reserve Force of men properly qualified may be made at any Naval enrolling office, notation being made of the applicant's qualifications and desire to be detailed to this school. Applicants will be enrolled as Chief Machinist Mates, and during the course of instruction will draw the pay of this rating, $83 per month, plus $60 per month paid as subsistence. Upon graduation, men will be commissioned as Ensigns in the U. S. Naval Reserve, with a salary of $1700 per year. The duty to which a graduate of this school will be assigned will be that of an engineer officer in the auxiliary service of the Navy. Special provision has been made for the continuance of the school with proper material by a Navy regulation which permits undergraduates of the Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior Classes in recognized engineering schools to enroll in the Naval Reserve Force with the rating of Seaman 2d Class, and continue their courses at the institutions where they have matriculated. Such men will be called into active service after their graduation, and can at that time, if they are qualified to pass an officers' physical examination, apply for admission to the U. S. Navy Steam Engineering School. Men who are registered in the draft, either graduates or undergraduates, may enroll with the proper enrolling officer by securing from their draft board a letter of release, which in all probability can be obtained for this purpose. The aim of this school is not simply to produce engineers, but to produce naval engineering officers in the true sense of the word. The course of instruction covers a period of five months, arranged in four periods.

Jan 10, 1918

By George B. Harrington

This paper is a brief description of the design and equipment of a new coal mine in southern Illinois, which has many features not common practice in shaft coal mining and which is laid out and equipped for such unusually large capacity that it promises soon to become one of the largest mining operations of its kind. Shaft sinking for the mine, New Orient, was commenced in May, 1921, by the Chicago, Wilmington & Franklin Coal Co. In October, 1924, the plant was practically completed and was producing over 6000 tons of coal per day. There is good prospect that within a few years, when the mine is fully developed and manned, the output will attain a daily rate of 12,000 tons. The coal seam at New Orient lies approximately horizontal, about 500 ft. below the surface, and may be said to run from 9 to 12 ft. in thickness. The tendency in Franklin County has been toward large mining units (5000 to 6000 tons per day) with great care being given to protection against fire and explosion hazards, and usually with quite elaborate surface plants permitting careful preparation of the coal into graded sizes comparable with those made in the anthracite region. The field is unionized, with uniform conditions of wages for various classes of work, hours, etc., and the Illinois mining laws are quite specific with regard to fireproofing and safety measures. These conditions make it difficult for any hut well-equipped and well-operated mines to meet the competition of the numerous fine properties of which this county can justly be proud. The coal company's property was already developed on the western side by the Orient mine—a much visited and written about operation (with which many of you are possibly familiar through the Department of Mines' film "The Story of Coal") which until recently held the 8-hr, production record with 8218 tons and usually ran quite consistently with production of slightly over 6000 tons per day. Experience at Orient wat naturally one of the greatest influences in determining the location and character of the New Orient.

Jan 1, 1925

By James Munroe

APPALLING as has been the loss of life in the last 51 months, there is one slight compensation : no longer will there be in the world a cripple, in the old meaning of the term. Men handicapped by wounds or disease, there will be, unfortunately, and in numbers beyond what the world has known since the wars of Napoleon; but neither they nor the industries from which they were called off to war will be "crippled" in the sense in which both would have been had mankind not learned the lesson of conservation and come to understand that the most important field for such conservation is not in the forests and' the mines but among men and women. From the beginning of the Great War, France, Great Britain, Belgium, and most of the other Allies have studied the problem of restoring the soldiers and sailors injured through war to physical and economic efficiency; and from their experiences, especially from that of Canada, the United States has learned much. Consequently, our task of preparing for the return of our disabled men has been easier and, in some ways, more comprehensive than theirs. Complex as are the details of the machinery which the United States has set in motion to take care of the men injured by wounds or disease, the plan itself is simple. Taught by European experience, the Surgeon-General of the Army and the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery of the Navy have provided, on both sides of the Atlantic, every known surgical and medical facility for restoring the injured or diseased man to a physical condition as nearly normal as possible. While in the hospital in France or England, on the transport coming to America, and in the hospital here, the disabled man is incited in every way to believe in his future efficiency, to want to be a normal worker, to desire to retake his place in that society of workers from which he went, temporarily, to do the greater work of preserving civilization. Furthermore, since purposeful occupation is now regarded as an essential form of, treatment with most men in the hospital, especially in the convalescing stage, many of these men will have been actually started on the road to earning before they are discharged from the army surgeon's care.

Jan 1, 1919

By V. R. Garfias R. V. Whetsel

Production of crude petroleum in Mexico during 1935 totaled approximately 40,082,000 bbl., an increase of 1,925,000 bbl. over the previous year. Successful development continued in the Poza Rica field during the year, increasing production in that area from 3,708,000 bbl. in 1934 to 9,542,000 in 1935. The output of the South fields (Golden Lane) area decreased by 3,000,000 bbl. during the year, and the heavy-oil district of the Northern fields by 1,500,000 bbl. Production in the Tehuantepec fields showed a slight gain. Production of natural gasoline increased from 430,000 to 600,000 bbl. in 1935. Crude run to stills in local refineries is estimated at 30,000,000 bbl., some 4,000,000 bbl. more than in the previous year. Exports of crude and refined products were approximately 22,000,000 bbl., or 2,000,000 bbl. less than in 1934. Exclusive of ships bunkers, domestic consumption increased about 900,000 bbl. during the year, reaching an estimated total of 14,500,000 barrels. Only 74 wells were completed, as compared to 148 in 1934 and 91 in 1933. In proven areas 58 completions resulted in 33 producers and 25 failures. In northeastern Mexico, near the United States border, six wildcat wells were completed, all of which gave little or no encouraging results, except Rancheria No. 3, near Camargo, which is a fair-sized gas well. Four wildcats were drilled just northeast of the Northern fields (heavy-oil district), all of which were failures. A deep test was completed a short distance southeast of the Golden Lane (South fields) in Palo Blanco, which encountered small production not sufficient to exploit. On the Isthmus of Tehuantepec a wildcat well was completed for an estimated initial production of 2000 bbl. daily, a short distance south of the old Jalapa field, which was perhaps the most important new development of the year. Four other wildcats drilled in the Isthmus district resulted in failures. Fields Northern Fields (Heavy-oil District).—In the Northern fields, 18 producing wells and 20 failures were completed, as compared to 34 producers and 71 failures in 1934. The initial production of the new

Jan 1, 1936

IF you wish to make the acid that is vulgarly called common aqua fortis,* for parting gold from silver, you must first provide as many cucurbits and alembics, receivers, and materials as you wish, and then make a furnace that is long and conveniently wide for holding three or four pairs of cucurbits or as many as you wish. If you have to make this by art in order to work a large quantity, you could make several small furnaces for it seems that not more than three or four pairs are suitable for one. Prepare the places where the cucurbits are to stand with bottoms or covers made of potter's clay or tiles that are half round like the bottoms of the cucurbits and have a little rim around the top so that they can be built in. Proceed to build these in in pairs, one by the other with convenient spaces between, placing an iron support across to make this place stronger and more secure. In every corner and also in the middle a hole must be made as a vent for the smoke, as is done in all furnaces. You will see the form of this somewhat roughly drawn here. [Figure 25] Near this prepare a number of cucurbits which are made of glass, as clear and uniform as possible and very well formed. There must be no bubbles or other indentations in these, for they would be dangerous and uncertain for your work. Lute these with lutum sapientiae up to within three dita or less from where the neck narrows. This lute must be spread out well all over to the thickness of two threads or a little more. Then cover and make them strong with this well-made plaster, and finally dry it, taking care that there are no clefts or cracks such as clays are often prone to make even though they be well prepared. For greater security choose among these [64v] a clay that is lean and then mix it with at least a fourth part or more of wool-clloth clippings and about an eighth part of wash

Jan 1, 1942

By Stanley Herold

A FEW notes on the occurrence and significance of mud volcanoes in Colombia may be of interest at the present time, owing to the renewed activity in geological exploration of, the coastal regions bordering the Caribbean Sea. The best-known volcanoes are found a few miles from the seacoast. One is situated to the south of Puerto Colombia; the second, to the east: of Cartagena near the village of Turbaco; and the third, near the village of Puerto Escondido south of the Sinu River. Others. are reported in more inaccessible localities. Usually they stand 2 1/2 or 3 ft. (0.762 or 0.914 m.) above the surrounding ground at the crater, though several craters from 10 to 20 ft. (3.04 to 6.09 m.,) apart will often build up an extensive mound at low gradient. The shallow mound may cover 1/2 or 3/4 acre (0.2 to 0.3 ha.) with an elevation of 12 or 15 ft. (3.65 or 4.57 m.) at the center. The craters are formed of hardened blue clay; the inside diameters vary from 14 to 24 in. (35.56 to 60.96 cm.). The rim is continuous, except on one side where there is usually a cut 3 or 4 in. deep, thus allowing an overflow. The craters are filled to the rim-cut- with a thick mixture of blue clay mud and water, which is kept in agitation by escaping gas. Fig. 1 shows the bubble in the act of bursting and Fig. 2 the appearance of the surface of the viscous fluid a second or so later. The frequency of the explosions is determined by the weight of the column of fluid in the neck of the volcano, consequently, such explosions are not synchronous in a group of craters. Ordinarily, there are two or three explosions in about 3' minutes. The supply of gas is small but steady and sufficient pressure must accumulate before the bubble can enter the column of fluid. The water is derived from the surface and enters the sedimentary strata not` far distant from the volcano. During long dry seasons, as the supply of water fails the volcano dries and geyser action ceases.

Jan 7, 1919

By Richard W. Markley

A centralized online data acquisition system has been developed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines Pittsburgh Mining and Safety Research Center for rapidly digitizing, storing, and processing experimental signals originating up to 1100 feet away from a central computer. This system, which services seven laboratories, is currently based on a CDC System 17 1/- computer with 56K of semiconductor memory, four disk drives (one shared online with a CDC 1700), two magnetic tape drives, high-speed A/D hardware, and other input/output peripherals. The laboratories are linked to the central computer by 15-pair cables and signal conditioners and to the computer's communications controller by modems and current loops. The A/D throughput rate is approximately 30,000 samples per second (9 bit plus sign resolution) and permits scanning about 30 instruments once every millisecond for up to 100 seconds, being limited only by disk capacity. The laboratories serviced by this facility conduct explosions research and include such facilities as an Experimental Coal Mine Explosion Facility (45 channels), a Constant Volume Combustion Laboratory (4 channels), and a Simulated Coal Mine Laboratory (15 channels). Personnel support includes one systems analyst, two applications analysts, one operator, and a hardware technician. The system has performed adequately for burst-type data acquisition, but due to a lack of long-term reliability (24 hours) of the real-time multiprogramming operating system and unpredictable power failures, slow phenomena signals are generally digitized and stored offline. This latter data is input to the computer through peripherals such as a high-speed paper tape reader, or high-speed asynchronous communications ports. Processing of data is done either in real-time (as soon as data is collected) or in batch mode. Smaller batch jobs are run on this computer, and all others are transmitted by means of the system's high-speed UT 200 terminal simulator to a CDC-6000 series computer.

Jan 1, 1977

By Ralph Nichols

The mines are near the town of Gilmore, in the Texas mining district. This district was organized in 1880. The present producing mines are near the terminus of the Gilmore & Pittsburg railroad. This railroad connects with the main line of the Oregon Short Line at Armstead, Mont. The distance from Gilmore to Armstead is 70 miles. The town of Gilmore is near the head of the Lemhi river at an elevation of 7,000 ft., while the mines are from 400 to 1,300 ft. higher. The range of mountains upon which the mines are situated forms the water shed for the Little Lost river on the west and the Lemhi river on the east. The winters are severe and the snow fall is heavy, but the mines ship right through the year. There is an abundance of timber suitable for all mining purposes in the immediate vicinity. Water is piped into the camp from a lake about 2.5 miles distant. This lake is about 1,400 ft. above the town of Gilmore. The water is exceptionally good for boiler and domestic purposes. The mining companies now producing are the Pittsburg Idaho Co., Ltd.; the Latest Out Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd.; and the Oilmore Mining Co., Ltd. Besides the above propertiea, there are a number of prospects in different stages of development. The producing mines of the district are fissures in limestone, with a general northeast-southwest course and a dip to the west of from 40' to 70°. These fissures are at about right angles to the bedding of the limestones. The veins are regular and the ore shoots strong, both laterally and in depth, so far as developed. The ore shoots have a rake or pitch to the south. The character of the formation is shown in Fig. 1, a section of the Latest Out mine. Character of Ore. The ores of the district are oxidized, carrying an excess of iron over the silica (insoluble matter). The vein filling is a mixture of limonite and hematite, which is replaced by shoots of lead-silver ores. The lead minerals consist of carbonate of lead principally, but with small quantities of sulphide, sulphate, and other lead minerals.

Jan 1, 1914