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By D. C. Jones

THE term "coal-mine mechanization" is definable in several ways. In its general application it can mean the use of machines instead of manpower in each of the various mining activities necessary for the produc¬tion of coal-so that under this definition a mine that uses mechanical coal cutters could be classed as a mechanized mine. Common usage, however, insists that a mechanized mine is one in which machines are used for the entire process of mining or extraction and transportation of the coal. For the purpose of this paper, then, the second definition of "coal-mine mecha¬nization" will be used, and practices employed in mines where the greater part of the production is obtained through the use of mechanical loaders and conveyors will form the basis for this discussion. PHYSICAL CONTACT HAZARDS If we were to group all the hazards that accompany the use of mechanized equipment in a mine, the predominant class would be that which, for want of a better name, might be termed the "physical contact" hazards; that is, all the sources of danger that lead to accidents through physical contact of workmen with ma¬chines. A survey of accidents in a group of mechanized mines indicated that this class of hazards may be responsible for more than half the number of accidents in mechanized mining. For example, of 21 mining-machine accidents at one mine, 14 were of the physical contact type of 14 loading-machine accidents at the same mine, 8 were the result of physical contact. Certain of these hazards an controllable through the use of guards-¬a guard over the cutting-machine bits whet the machine is being trammed from place to place, or a chain or some similar locking device around the cutter chain, so that an accidental blow or push against the bit control will not cause the cutter chair to move. Other hazards, such as the possibility of. a loader operator having hi foot crushed by a crawler tread, or , brakeman being hit by a loader boon swung too far to one side while a car is being loaded, might be subject to control through the use of guard devices, but the reduction or elimination of all physical contact hazards by such methods doe: not appear feasible. Every accident of the physical contact type should be investigated to discover whether guards could have prevented it, but often the only way in which to combat these hazards will be through the awakened consciousness of each workman as to the danger that exists if he indulges in unsafe practices. A good approach to control of accident: in any mine is the establishment of a set o: safety rules or operating rules. The intent of such rules is to provide guides for the workmen to follow in the operation of equipment. Frequently the workmen have no regard for such rules, and observance is obtained only through compulsion or the part of management. An interesting development in connection with the formation of safety rules occurred during a training program for employees in the

Jan 1, 1946

By Wilbur I. Duvall, Thomas C. Atchison

Over the past ten years a series of investigations have been conducted to determine some of the physical processes involved in breaking rock with confined concentrated charges. Detailed discussions of many of these investigations have been published elsewhere.1-6 Laboratory experiments made by other investigators using Hopkinson pressure-bar techniques have shown that solid materials are fractured in tension by the reflection of an incident compressive stress pulse at a free surface.7-12 In these tests a small charge of explosive is placed in contact with one end of a bar. Detonation produces some plastic flow and crushing of the bar near the charge and generates a compressive stress pulse that travels along the length of the bar. At the free end of the bar the compressive stress pulse is reflected back into the bar as a tensile stress pulse. If the tensile strength of the bar is exceeded during this reflection process, a tensile fracture normal to the length of the bar is produced, and the broken end of the bar moves forward with a constant velocity equal to the average particle velocity trapped in the broken fragment. The new surface formed by the fracture becomes the new free end of the bar that reflects the remaining portion of the incident compressive stress pulse. This process is repeated any number of times until all of the incident stress pulse is reflected.

Jan 6, 1959

• A new curriculum for combined liberal arts-engineering education has been announced by 6 middle western colleges. The plan involves three years of ;study at one of the 5 liberal arts colleges and two years and a summer of 'engineering work at Case; graduates receive both the A.B. and B.S. degrees. * A new kind of mining is being pioneered by a pest Virginia coal operator which enables four men to produce 800 tons of coal a day. The machine that makes this possible is a giant auger, 5 ft in diam and 100 ft long. Together with the carriage in which it is moved about, it weighs 60 tons. A mobile, but separate power plant of 1000 hp drives it. ' * The Sorel smelter, which will reduce Allard Lake titanium ores, will utilize five 6-electrode rectangular electric furnaces. Furnace hearth size will be about 18x50 ft, and the furnace will smelt about 300 tons of ore per day, producing 100 tons of iron and 130 tons of 70 pct Ti02 slag. The furnaces will be fed continuously by gravity from charge bins, and tap at intervals of 4 hr or more. Slag will be transferred to a high speed casting machine, using cast iron molds, then crushed for shipment to pigment producers. The iron will be treated to reduce its sulphur content to 0.03 to 0.05 pct, and then cast into small pigs or ingots for shipment to steel mills. • Flying of North Africa's first airborne mangetometer survey was completed this month, covering approximately 20,000 sq km in north central Tunisia for Gulf Exploration Co.'s program there. Mapping was completed in less than 30 days. •Yore than 9000 employees of 11 electric companies are enrolled in a 6-hr program that successfully informs workers on the principles of the American economic system. The course is given by the Middle West Service Co. which claims that before and after employee opinion polls show that the course instilled a better understanding of free enterprise and consequently a favorable response to it. •According to a report issued by the American Geological Institute there will be 2865 graduates in geology, including advanced degrees from U.S. colleges in 1950. This supply of geologists compares with requirements for 1278 at the professional and subprofessional levels. The report contains a detailed statistical study of the supply and demand situation for geologists in the 1949-50 period. •The dark cloud of over-production in the bituminous coal industry has a silver lining, according to Natural Resources Notes. Closing marginal mines, mostly strip and truck mines, will result in lower average costs and higher quality of the coal still produced. The producers that will then constitute the industry will be properly equipped and adequately financed to carry forward an intensive campaign to holdd and increase the markets for bituminous coal. •A light, compact, highly reliable blasting machine which does not rely for its effectiveness on the operator's skill is being tested by the Army Engineers. Operating under all climatic conditions from -65 to 125F, the 50-cap machine consists of a springwound do generator and is waterproof.

Jan 8, 1950

By Charles J. Moore

It seems a duty incumbent on the older members of the Institute to set forth in permanent form some of the results of their experience for the benefit of the younger members; this is the principal object of the present paper, which is the result of a recent examination requiring somewhat unusual geologic investigation. History. The London vein mas first discovered by float and occasional outcrops in the year 1873, four years before the great lead carbonate discoveries of Leadville, but the mine was not definitely located and opened until two years later, when the present locations, Mother, Paris, London, and Hard to Beat, were surveyed for patent. Since 1875 the London mine has been worked almost continuously until 1911, when the force was reduced to a few men only. In its early life the ore was assumed to be free-milling gold-quartz, although lead was a constituent of the vein throughout, and much useless expenditure was made in the erection and operation of a free-gold stamp-mill, with plates and tables for saving concentrates. The vein then opened was in the porphyry-limestone contact, a siliceous lead-ore, clearly most amenable to reduction by lead-smelter. The losses due to this process led in time to the close of the mill. For 20 years past, the mine has been worked under lease and the ore shipped to the lead-smelters in Denver or Salida. In January, 1912,I examined the mine to ascertain whether it was advisable to run a cross-cut tunnel some 4,200 ft. in length to intersect the main vein at a depth of 650 ft. below the present lowest workings. Finding a greatly-faulted zone, a close determination of the geological conditions became necessary to the solution of the problem.

Jan 1, 1914

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

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

By A. A. Jr. Smith, J. S. Smart

Numerous investigations of the effects of the various impurities common to commercial coppers have been published, and the data have found wide use in industry. Naturally, emphasis has been placed on the oxygen-bearing coppers of the tough-pitch variety, but need is now evident for data covering the oxygen-free condition as well. Furthermore, relatively few of the important reactions between oxygen and the various impurities are well understood, and often the data at hand are not applicable to the low concentrations encountered in commercial coppers. This paper presents the changes in conductivity and softening temperature derived from individual additions of the group VIII triad, iron, cobalt and nickel, to high-purity copper, and constitutes a portion of the copper-research program being conducted at the Central Research Laboratory of the American Smelting and Refining Co. The method of preparation of high-purity copper and its alloys in either the oxygen-free or oxygen-bearing form has been described previous1y.l The purity of this material, and the methods developed to produce it, provide the means for direct investigation of the very low concentration range in which the various impurities generally exist in commercial coppers. The usual necessity for extrapolation to this range using the results obtained from higher concentrations, and the interfering effects of extraneous impurities, are thus simultaneously circumvented. Since previously published data have adequately presented the effects of higher concentrations of iron, cobalt and nickel, the present investigation has been confined to the composition range o to 0.05 per cent. All alloys were initially prepared in the form of oxygen-free continuous cast rod, the weighed alloying additions in suitable form being charged with the pure copper to the continuous casting crucible. The best of the available high-purity alloying materials were used, and spectrographic analyses confirmed the absence of interfering elements from the alloys formed. Each series was compounded in the direction of increasing concentration, starting with pure copper in a new crucible and finishing with the 0.05 per cent alloy. Composition was closely controlled by adding the alloying element in the form of a carefully compounded and analyzed master alloy rendered uniform by continuous casting. The accuracy of this method of synihesis was proved by chemical analysis of the more concentrated alloys, and, accordingly, there is every reason to credit the stated composition of the very dilute alloys in the range where chemical analysis becomes highly uncertain. Oxygen-free samples for measurements of conductivity and softening temperature Were obtained by drawing the continuous cast rod to wire of 0.08I-in. diameter. employing a number of intermediate anneals to refine the grain structure. The

Jan 1, 1942

By A. A. Jr. Smith, J. S. Smart

Numerous investigations of the effects of the various impurities common to commercial coppers have been published, and the data have found wide use in industry. Naturally, emphasis has been placed on the oxygen-bearing coppers of the tough-pitch variety, but need is now evident for data covering the oxygen-free condition as well. Furthermore, relatively few of the important reactions between oxygen and the various impurities are well understood, and often the data at hand are not applicable to the low concentrations encountered in commercial coppers. This paper presents the changes in conductivity and softening temperature derived from individual additions of the group VIII triad, iron, cobalt and nickel, to high-purity copper, and constitutes a portion of the copper-research program being conducted at the Central Research Laboratory of the American Smelting and Refining Co. The method of preparation of high-purity copper and its alloys in either the oxygen-free or oxygen-bearing form has been described previous1y.l The purity of this material, and the methods developed to produce it, provide the means for direct investigation of the very low concentration range in which the various impurities generally exist in commercial coppers. The usual necessity for extrapolation to this range using the results obtained from higher concentrations, and the interfering effects of extraneous impurities, are thus simultaneously circumvented. Since previously published data have adequately presented the effects of higher concentrations of iron, cobalt and nickel, the present investigation has been confined to the composition range o to 0.05 per cent. All alloys were initially prepared in the form of oxygen-free continuous cast rod, the weighed alloying additions in suitable form being charged with the pure copper to the continuous casting crucible. The best of the available high-purity alloying materials were used, and spectrographic analyses confirmed the absence of interfering elements from the alloys formed. Each series was compounded in the direction of increasing concentration, starting with pure copper in a new crucible and finishing with the 0.05 per cent alloy. Composition was closely controlled by adding the alloying element in the form of a carefully compounded and analyzed master alloy rendered uniform by continuous casting. The accuracy of this method of synihesis was proved by chemical analysis of the more concentrated alloys, and, accordingly, there is every reason to credit the stated composition of the very dilute alloys in the range where chemical analysis becomes highly uncertain. Oxygen-free samples for measurements of conductivity and softening temperature Were obtained by drawing the continuous cast rod to wire of 0.08I-in. diameter. employing a number of intermediate anneals to refine the grain structure. The

Jan 1, 1942

By Robert J. Willard

The scanning electron microscope (SEM), became commercially available in 1966. Embodying some unique features not provided by conventional electron microscopes, this new electron-optical instrument offers the scientific community a new way of observing the surfaces of materials. In rock mechanics research, the SEM should prove a useful basic tool in characterizing rock fracture on a very small scale and thus contribute to a better understanding of rock behavior at larger scales. This article presents one example of how the SEM is being applied to such research at the Twin Cities Mining Research Center operated by the U.S. Bureau of Mines in Minneapolis. This research center conducts theoretical and experimental studies on a broad range of mechanisms that induce disintegration by the application of energy to rock.1 Some of these studies are concerned with the relation of microstructure to rock behavior and are carried out mainly with the petrographic microscope. At the same time, however, the center recognizes that this relation must be studied through several orders of magnitude, from lattice-size units of rock-forming minerals to field-size rock units. The SEM fits this scheme by extending the capability of the petrographic microscope into smaller orders of magnitude. However, because its resolution is limited to about 200 A at 10,000x, the SEM is not capable of resolving lattice-size units, and hence a conventional electron microscope with a much greater resolution capability is necessary at this order of magnitude.

Jan 6, 1969

By Richard T. Ely

Conservation, narrowly and strictly considered, means the preservation in unimpaired efficiency of the resources of the earth; or in a condition so nearly unimpaired as the nature of the case, or wise exhaustion, admits. And broadly considered, it means more than the word itself implies, for it naturally includes an examination of methods whereby the natural inheritance of the human race may be improved; and still more broadly considered—and as used in popular discussion—it includes a treatment of the effects of productive conservation measures upon distribution. We shall give our attention briefly to the main points in this informal definition before we pass on to the thesis that conservation is largely a matter of property relations—-that a wise conservation policy means wise property relations.

Jan 1, 1916

By Walter O. Snelling

In the course of some experiments more than five years ago, made for a totally different purpose than the investigation of the oil used, I placed a small quantity of a transparent yellow lubricating oil in a bomb-like vessel and heated it to a relatively high temperature. At the end of the experiment I removed the oil from the vessel and was amazed to find that instead of bearing any resemblance to the oil which I had put in, it now had the appearance of ordinary crude oil. The green color by reflected light and the rich red-brown by transmitted light were so unmistakable as to at once lead to further investigation. I subjected the material to fractional distillation, and the surprise which I experienced at the appearance of the oil, changed to amazement when I found that it yielded, on distillation, 15 per cent. of gasoline and 30 per cent. of burning oil, and that its constitution resembled crude oil quite as much as did its appearance. Furthermore, the gasoline and kerosene distillates which it yielded were of a clear water-white color, entirely without treatment with acid or alkali, and were entirely free from the odor familiar in "cracked" petroleum distillates. The result of this experiment was quite too remarkable to be credited without further confirmation, and I at once filled the vessel with some of the same oil that I had used before, and again heated to about the same temperature that I had previously used, and for the same period of time. Upon opening the vessel and removing the contents I found, not the material resembling crude oil that I had obtained before, but apparently only the same oil that I had put in, somewhat darkened in color, but nevertheless far different in appearance from the material obtained in the previous experiment. Evidently some condition existed in the first experiment that had not existed in the second test, and here began a series of tests in which I sought by the change of one variable after another to arrive at the identical conditions which must have existed in the first experiment. Only the fact that the bottle of heavy oil used in the first test was still in its place,

Jan 1, 1915

By Allen H. Rogers

It has always seemed to me that there is a certain similarity between the work of the mining engineer and that of the doctor of medicine — each has very often to be governed in his actions by conditions which he cannot see. It is not necessary to detail the unseen conditions with which the mining engineer or geologist has to deal—the further extension of ore-bodies, the existence of new ones, the throw of a fault, the probable change in grade' or character of the ore with advance of the workings, are a few of the conditions which the mining engineer has to determine as well as he can from the deductions he is able to make from what he can observe. Just so the physician is often confronted with conditions that he can not observe. Probably less than half of human ills make a manifestation at the surface of the body from which definite and certain conclusions can be drawn. The diagnostician must observe various things and, from these observations in combination, conclude what his course should he to bring about the cure of the trouble. Both professions would be assisted immensely by any agency that would permit them to look below the surface, something that would make more certain the diagnosis which each is called upon to make. The physician has had such an agency since 1895, when Röntgen discovered the X-ray; which, by making possible shadowgraphs of the osseous portion of the human body, advanced immensely the diagnosis of bone lesions Later, with improvement in the technique and more understanding in the interpretation of what the photographic plate shows, other portions of the human anatomy could be examined and at the present time there is hardly an instance of internal disorder to which the aid of the X-ray is not called. Some organs are made opaque by administering mineral substances; in other cases, conclusions are drawn from barely perceptible shadows on the photographic plate. Generally the surgeon's knife is directcd with exactitude to the seat of the trouble and so not only is the difficulty revealed but the necessity for an exploratory operation is averted. What the X-ray is to medicine and surgery, geophysical prospecting methods are to the mineral industry. They give the mining engineer and geologist information regarding subsurface conditions which otherwise

Jan 1, 1929

By R. A. Foos

During the radium boom in the early part of the twentieth century, the basic chemistry of uranium was fairly well defined. Uranium production has progressed from the status of a radium by-product to a very important industry. With the ever increasing need for more efficient and cheaper methods of processing uranium ores, new techniques are being developed. Since uranium and vanadium often occur together in nature, the latter element will also be considered. As production rates, costs, and certain aspects of uranium chemistry are still classified by the Atomic Energy Commission, these will not be discussed. Domestic uranium deposits, in general, are composed of the minerals carnotite, which contains hexavalent uranium, and to a lesser extent, pitchblende and uraninite, which contain tetravalent uranium. Carnotite also usually contains vanadium. The uranium and vanadium contents of these ores vary considerably. The ores currently processed on the Colorado Plateau assay from 0.2 to 0.4 pct U and from trace amounts to 5.0 pct V. On the other hand, the phosphate rock deposits of the southeastern U. S., from which uranium is also recovered, contain only about 0.01 to 0.02 pct; processing of the

Sep 1, 1956

By F. O. Garrabrant, F. S. McNicholas, Robert Henderson, R. U. King

Several years ago, it was decided to experiment with the use of high-pressure water to bring in finger hangups and reduce the amount of secondary blasting necessary. It was argued that the velocity effect of the high-pressure water would bring down hangups without unduly wetting the ore. Water under a head of about 550 ft. was installed in certain slusher drifts. Ordinary ¾ in. water hose, with a nozzle opening of % in., was used, and water was impinged on the fines under a hangup. Results were excellent. About half the total number of hangups were brought in with high-pressure water without blasting and the cost of this part of the slushing operation was reduced about 50 per cent. Operations were speeded up, dust counts and safety hazards were reduced, and a more desirable working place was secured. The additional water added to the ore was under one per cent and caused no inconvenience in slushing, haulage, or crushing operations. Usually the ore would absorb all of the water, so that none of it would enter the loading drifts. The entire mine, developed by slusher drifts, is being equipped with high-pressure water. Heating Mine by Compressor Cooling Water Several years ago, the problem of heating certain sections of the mine during freezing weather became important. It was calculated that there was sufficient heat in the compressor cooling water to heat the incoming ventilating air current to above freezing, if such heat could be transferred from the water to the air. All schemes of radiation from pipe were rejected as too cumbersome, costly and impractical. It was thought that by spraying the heated water from the compressor cooling system into the incoming air, a satisfactory heat exchange could be accomplished. The only objection was that the sprayed water would freeze and might fill the air-intake drift. However, when water at about 75° to 80°F. was sprayed at the rate of 200 gal. per minute through a bank of sprays into the incoming and freezing air current, this air was thereby heated to above freezing; and although some ice was built up in the air drift, the amount was not objectionable. Occasionally the built-up ice was picked down into the outgoing water stream, which removed it. The entire south and westerly parts of the mine were prevented from freezing. Concreting for Hangups Considerable trouble was experienced in securing hangups of fine ore in slusher fingers that needed repairing. Regular methods of timbering were unsatisfactory. Now, a slab of concrete is poured over the top of the muck by Pumperete machine, almost filling a finger, which gives a satisfactory slab to work under for making the needed repairs. Derailers Some trouble has been caused by motor-men not observing safety lights and

Jan 1, 1946

The following is an incomplete list of members and guests who called at Institute headquarters during the period June 10, 1919, to July 10, 1919. Anvil A. Anderson, Rapid City, S. D. Roy N. McBride, U. S. Army. R. Hay Anderson, Mexico City, Mex. R. S. McIntyre, Berkeley, Calif. W. A. Barnes, San Francisco, Calif. H. R. Maier, Brooklyn, N. Y. Bennett R. Bates, Denver, Colo. Wm. D. Mainwaring, Philadelphia, Pa. Harlan H. Bradt, Duluth, Minn. Wm. E. Milligan, Chrome, N. J. H. Brings, San Francisco, Calif. Willard S. Morse, Tacoma, Wash. Robert S. Burg, Ocean Park, Calif. Arthur Notman, Bisbee, Ariz. D. W. Butner, Congo Belge, Africa. P. Nugue, Chalon Sr. Saone, France. George A. Camphuis, El Paso, Tex. George A. Packard, Boston, Mass. Fred Canan, Denver, Colo. C. L. Petzel, New York City. Walter H. Coleman, Prescott, Ariz. V. Porreaud, Paris, France. Fred Crabtree, Pittsburgh, Pa. Fred S. Porter, Seattle, Wash. Ross E. Douglas, Rancagua, Chile. R. W. Prouty, Morenci, Ariz. F. A. Downes, Golden, Colo. Charles E. Prior, Brooklyn, N. Y. W. G. Eberhardt, Tucson, Ariz. Louis Ravicz, Minneapolis, Minn. Charles H. Fulton, Cleveland, Ohio. Wm. Reed, El Oro, Mexico. Wm. R. Grunow, New York City. E. J. Ristedt, Globe, Ariz. Orr R. Hamilton, Lansing, Mich. A. M. Rodgers, Middletown, N. Y. T. N. Havlin, St. Louis, Mo. J. C. Scoles, Salt Lake City, Utah. G. M. Henderson, Weston, Mass. C. E. Siebenthal, Washington, D. C.

Jan 8, 1919

By Arthur L. Flagg

The Elk City mining district of Idaho occupies a position near the geographical center of Idaho county, a region of moderate elevation in the western foot-hills of the Bitter Root mountains. The district comprises an area of approximately 350 Sq. miles, bounded on the west by the Newsome district and on the south by the Dixie and Oro Grande districts. There are no mining districts to the north or east. Elk City, the principal town and the seat of the mining office for the district, is situated in a hydrographical basin surrounded by low hills. The elevation is 4,200 ft. above sea-level. Through this basin flow Elk Creek, Red river, and American river, which unite west of town to form the south fork of the Clearwater. The one township is set out from the Bitter Root Forest Reserve. Though a railroad starting from the Stites terminus of the Clearwater Short Line of the Northern Pacific railroad has been under consideration for some years, the camp is yet without railroad facilities. The projected road would follow the south fork of the Clearwater on easy grades, but would be very expensive to build and maintain. While such a road would greatly benefit those who are now operating in the camp, and in a sligh degree stimulate interest in its possibilities, there is hardly business enough to warrant its construction. At present all supplies and equipment are hauled in by wagon from Stites, a distance of 58 miles, over a wagon road constructed by the State in 1904, following in the main the old Nez Perce trail. While this is not a bad road, it is not all that might be desired. Starting at Stites at an elevation of 1,327 feet above sea-level, the road runs through low hills to Clearwater, a distance of 10 miles. In the next 16 miles the climb is steady until the Mountain House is reached, which is near the summit of Mount Pisgah. This is the highest point passed on the road, having an elevation of 6,500 ft. From the

Jan 1, 1914

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Jan 1, 1938

By L. E. Porter

El Segundo field is about 14 miles southwest of the central portion of the city of Los Angeles, immediately adjacent to the town of El Segundo and the Standard Oil Company's El Segundo refinery site. The field is served and bisected by several major highways connecting the beach cities on the west side of the Los Angeles Basin. The exact location of the field and its position with respect to other producing areas is shown on the map covering this portion of the Basin (Fig. I). The Republic Petroleum Co. discovered the first commercial production in the area when it completed its El Segundo No. 1 (sec. 18, T. 3 S. R. 14 W.) at a depth of 7402 ft. on Aug. 24, 1935, flowing at the rate of about 400 bbl. per day, 28" gravity oil. The producing horizon in this well consists of about 72 ft. of conglomerate and schist conglomerate situated below the nodular shale (Miocene). The true (or solid) schist (Franciscan) was encountered and penetrated some 20 ft. in the bottom of the hole. This paper gives a report on the history of development and oil production to date, and also submits the writer's interpretation of structural conditions as determined from such development. The limited development, together with the complex and variable nature of the producing horizon, makes any interpretation of the structure at present only tentative, and any forecast for a given well extremely hazardous. History of Oil and Gas Production The El Segundo field has produced approximately 1,920,000 bbl. of oil. It has 27 producing wells and 14 drilling wells or locations. The present daily rate of production is about 13,400 bbl. The production history of the field to date is shown in Table 1. The principal companies operating or owning leases in this field are: Caminol Company, Geo. F. Getty, Inc., Ohio Oil Co., Republic Petroleum Co., Pacific Western Oil Corporation, Royalty Service Corporation, Richfield Oil Corporation, Standard Oil Company of California, The Texas Company, Union Oil Company.

Jan 1, 1938

By David Turnbull

In most reactions involving solids the transformation kinetics may be represented by the combination of two processes —those of nucleation and of growth. For example, Mehl and his coiq-orker in their studies on the transformation of austenite to pearlite in steels have been able to describe the kinetics in terms of the rates of nucleation and of growth. By micrographic examination of their specimens they determined the nucleation rate (rate of appearance of pearlite colonies) as a function of time, of percent transformation, and of temperature. They observed that after an incubation period in which no nuclei are observed, the number of nuclei appearing per unit time per unit of untransformed grain boundary area, increases at an increasng rate with time. When recrystallization rates have been interpreted in terms of rates of nucleation and growth and the rate of nucleation determined, an incubation period followed by an increasing rate of nucleation has also been reported. Among the studies in which this phenomenon has been observed are those of Kornfeld and coworkers3 on cold-drawn aluminum wire, of Anderson and Mehl4 n the recrystallization of aluminum sheet, and of Stanlcy and Meh15 on the recrystallization of silicon ferrite sheet. The existence of an incubation period during which no nuclei are observed does not appear to have been reconciled with the generally accepted Volmer-Becker theory of nucleation in condensed systems. This theory ostensibly requires the rate of appearance of nuclei to be independent of time. Volmer-Becker Theory In order to form a stable nuclcus of a new phase B in a mother phase A, the molecules or atoms of the mother phase must surmount a free energy barrier whose height is determined by the volume free energy change accompanying the transformation and the energy of the surface separating the two phases. The free energy difference between nuclei of various sizes and the molecules or atoms of the mother phase is plotted schematically in Fig I as a function of the radius of the nucleus r. This free energy difference is plotted for two values of the change of free energy per atom, (Jb — ja) accompanying the transformation when the volumes of the two phases are infinite. One of these values of (Jb—Ja) corresponds to a temperature above the temperature To at which the phascs A and B are in equilibrium, and the other to a temperature below To. In order for a nucleus of phase B to be stable at a temperature T² < TO, its radius must be equal to or greater than the critical value r* for which the free energy of formatioil of the nucleus is a maximum, the of phase B having radii equal to or less than r* will be called embryos hfehl and Jetter," in discussing the kinetics of nucleation in solid systems, suppose that embryos of critical size are formed

Jan 1, 1949

By J. D. Corbett

Mining geophysics in 1967 continued to expand with greater application in the exploration and development of mineral deposits. Moreover, geophysical activity increased without the particular emphasis of a Pine Point or Timmins discovery to spur interest. This trend is expected to continue through 1968 as geophysics more and more becomes an integral part of a mineral exploration program. This past year saw the "little black box" of the old-fashioned "doodlebugger" pushed further into the background, replaced by increasingly sensitive equipment of sophisticated design. The trend also is away from the one man geophysical operation wherein the same individual is responsible for the development, design and operation of the field gear, the planning and execution of a survey and analyzing and interpreting the data. In today&apos;s technology a staff of specialists, electronics engineers, mathematicians, physicists-to name but a few- are required to back up the exploration geophysicist in the development of new methods and techniques, in the reduction of the voluminous amount of field data and in the interpretation of the anomalies which can be enhanced by various high-speed computer techniques. Obviously a full back-up staff of these varied abilities is impractical to most exploration companies. However, the equivalent function is provided to the lone staff geophysicist by the many competent geophysical contractors and individual consultants.

Jan 2, 1968