Search Documents

By Eugene Jablonski

Statistical data on the Polish producing business are available only for the first half of 1939. Because of the invasion of the country during September by Germany and Russia all sources of information have stopped, and it is impossible to get even an approximate picture of the status of the industry after that date. The long declining trend of Polish production, which was finally checked during 1938, kept a further upward tendency during the first half of 1939, and there is good reason to believe that the upward trend would have been maintained. It is true, there was little hope of reviving the slowly dying Boryslaw field, although there still remained a slight possibility for an extension in its southwestern direction. Repressuring plans were still discussed, but. could not be put into effect because of extremely complicated and split-up lease ownership. The Gorlice-Lipinki ficld continued to be the main factor in the increase of the country's production. During the first half of 1939 this field received a further important extension in a southern direction. The Schodnica field continued to use repressuring with success. At the end of June, 21 exploratory wells were drilling, 14 of which were within thc Carpathians and 7 in the Miocene geosyncline of the Carpathian Foreland. All of the wildcat wells drilled within the Carpathians were on the struct,ural cxtcnsion of old established fields, but part of the wildcats of the Foreland were on new geological and geophysical prospects. The Opary gas field of the Foreland discovered last year has been further developed. The Government-owned Polmin completed its third gasser. This well penetrated two sands; the upper one, 118 ft. thick, was found at 1312 ft., with an initial pressure of 570 lb. and capable of produeiring 10 million cu. ft. per day. The second sand, 91 ft. thick, was found at 1690 ft., yielding 20 million cu. ft., with a pressure of 760 lb. The well Mieczyslaw, drilled about 3 miles further north on the flank of the structurc, found the first sand watered. The Pioneer No. 5, at Chodonice near Przemysl, which reported somc gas last year, was 5696 ft. deep at the end of June, still drilling in Miocene. Anothe well in the same vicinity drilled by the Gasolina was 1708ft. deep.

Jan 1, 1940

By L. C. Morganroth

Discussion of the paper of L. C. MORGANROTH, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1916, and printed in Bulletin No. 110, February, 1916, pp. 475 to 481. DAVID B. REGER, Morgantown, W. Va.-I notice in the third paragraph of the first page of the paper, that in mentioning the clays of the Pottsville series, the author says: "The bed of clay found in the latter formation is unique in that flint clay is practically restricted to it. (A variety of flint clay is occasionally found in these upper deposits but this is in such small amounts as to be negligible."). If the author wishes to confine himself to the fire clays of Pennsylvania, as the title seems to indicate, I have nothing to say, but if he wishes to include a discussion on fire clays of the adjoining States which the. subsequent paragraphs of his paper seem to indicate, then I wish to call attention to the fact that there are large and extensive deposits of fire clay in the Allegheny series, immediately overlying the Pottsville in the northern counties of West Virginia. These fire clays have been studied carefully, and described in several reports of the West Virginia Geological Survey, first in the report on Ohio, Brooke, and Hancock Counties, in the northern part of the State; described later ,in the report on Monongalia, Marion, and Taylor Counties, and in the report on Preston County, which followed. In these latter counties (Monongalia, Marion, Taylor, and Preston) there are some beds of fine fire clay, varying in thickness from 6 to 10 or 12 ft., with a content of only 2 or 3 per cent. of fluxing ingredients, and these are of the typical Savage Mountain appearance and also have the typical Savage Mountain fracture. They have been prospected, but not mined a great deal. Several of them have been tested in blast furnaces and furnaces for other purposes, in glass-manufacturing plants, also for firebrick, arid have been found to be very good. They are simply awaiting development, and I merely want to call attention to the fact that there are plenty of them in the Allegheny series still above the Pottsville in West Virginia. There are two or three valuable seams which I have seen in person and have had analyzed in our laboratory.

Jan 5, 1916

By W. A. Wissler, B. E. Field

COBALT is a silvery white metal with a slight bluish cast. It strongly resembles nickel in its appearance and properties, notably its resistance to corrosion, although its alloys with other metals differ decidedly in their properties from those of nickel. The name "cobalt" was derived from the German Kobold, meaning goblin, and this came to be applied to the cobalt minerals which, although they resembled ores, did not readily yield metal when smelted by the primitive processes available in the Middle Ages. Cobalt minerals were used as pigments by potters and glass- workers before the Christian era. Cobalt blue glass was found in the tombs of the Egyptians and in the ruins of Troy, and many colors used by the ancient Greeks and Romans contained cobalt. The ancients were entirely unaware that the colors they used were caused by cobalt and the metal itself was not isolated until about the middle of the eighteenth century, by Brandt, although the preparation of cobalt compounds had been carried on in a small way ever since the opening of the silver-cobalt deposits at Schneeberg, Germany, in 1470. By the middle of the nineteenth century, several firms in England were engaged in the refining of cobalt products and the consumption of cobalt oxide in the British ceramic industry in the year 1866 had reached 67,000 lb. COBALT METAL AS A NEW RAW MATERIAL IN ALLOY TECHNOLOGY Nickel and cobalt are usually found together and, although the relative amounts of the two have varied greatly in different ores, those

Jan 1, 1953

Jan 1, 1914

By R. R. Van Valkenburch

IT has always seemed to me that mining methods are inventions that follow necessity. I have yet, to be connected with a property where the consultant who has been engaged has laid out a mining method that has been strictly adhered to through the life of the mine. Possibly there are exceptions. As a general rule, perhaps, the method becomes the result of sad experience. I suppose if a person were to attempt to measure the tendency to get away from shrinkage stoping, he would need to send out a questionnaire and expect to receive truthful answers, and, having compiled the results, I think we would find that throughout the country there would be but few cases where present value of product permits the old original so-called shrinkage method to be followed. The method that I had hoped to hear Mr. Fozard expound is strictly an adaptation of shrinkage. Cav-ings do not enter. It was developed by Mr. Fozard and his staff at the Beatson mine of the Kennecott Copper Corp., at, Latouche, Alaska. Stephen Birch, in the TRANSACTIONS in 1923, submitted a brief paper on the mining at Beatson. He stated that a new adaptation of shrinkage was being tried because, although at sur-face the copper .content had been relatively high, at lower levels, in the mine it had decreased.

Jan 5, 1927

By G. E. Karantzavelos

A novel two-stage froth flotation process for the recovery of pure magnesite from low grade ores is described. The process consists of a first-stage, magnesite flotation step where a rougher magnesite concentrate is floated with amine collectors. The first-stage froth concentrate is then repulped in fresh water, and quartenary ammonium salt and fuel oil are added to float the remaining impurities. The results from laboratory batch tests show that a high-grade magnesite concentrate assaying 0.99-0.20% Si02 and 2.84-0.46%a Ca0 can be produced. Regulation of the variables controlling magnesite froth flotation also allows the variation of the ratio % Ca0: % SiO2, between the acceptable limits 0.32 to 5.79. This ratio is important to the quality of dead-burned magnesite.

Jan 1, 1985

By Robert Lepsoe

IT is generally realized that in cyaniding the precipitation efficiency of zinc dust is due to the fine division or extended surface of its metallic particles; but frequently it is thought that the presence of other, metals, say 2-3 per cent. lead, is advantageous,. causing more complete precipitation. The results of testing about fifty brands of commercial zinc .dust have led to the conclusion that there is a distinct relation of precipitation efficiency to fineness and that the effect generally can be estimated by examining the size of metallic particles. The presence of lead was not found to be of any importance. SPECIFICATIONS Generally the term "97 percent. to pass a 350-mesh screen, 95-97 per cent. uncombined metallic zinc" is used by the leading European exporters. Among the many methods of determination of metallic zinc, I have found the iodine test (iodine in potassium iodide) very satisfactory and rapid. It has been controlled by the other methods, samples of the same product having been sent to three different analysts: Iodine method 98. 11 per cent. metallic zinc, Volumetric method 97.63 per cent. metallic zinc, Ledoux Co., New York Bichromate method 98.16 per cent. metallic zinc, Watson Gray, Liverpool, England Bichromate method 98.20 per cent. metallic zinc, Norway Inst. of Tech., Trondhjem

Jan 2, 1925

For the first time in the history of shaft sinking, the concept of mid-shaft loading has been used. By making use of available hoisting capacity during drilling periods, development work on underground hoist chambers and ore-pass and ventilation by-pass systems at Vaal Reefs South gold mine is being done simultaneously with sinking. This factor, together with the unusual configuration and design of the twin-shaft system at Vaal Reefs South, and the use of raise borers in the installation of ore-pass and ventilation by-pass systems, will mean that the shaft will be commissioned at least a year earlier than would have been possible had conventional methods been used. The possibilities of mid-shaft loading in reducing the time normally taken by shaft service development were recognized by Anglo American Corp. consulting engineers and Shaft Sinkers Pty. Ltd., the company which is sinking both shafts at Vaal Reefs.

Jan 1, 1970

By W. McDermott

It is well known that many so-called free-milling silver arcs are so classed more from their value necessitating a cheap process than from a real adaptability to raw amalgamation. Such low--grade ores, carrying more or less sulphurets, are more profitably treated by a cheap rapid process than by the more effective but costly process of roasting arid amalgamation. The tailings are sometimes crudely concentrated, or, after lying and becoming partially oxidized, are again worked in pans. Of late years, by the use of improved methods of concentration, many old low-grade tailings-piles have been reworked to a good profit; and in some improved mills arrangements are made to concentrate before or after amalgamation, thus making a single treatment in mill suffice. It is self-evident that on a low-grade ore a small increase in percentage saved is of no commercial advantage if accompanied by a material increase in cost, and therefore a cheap and continuous system of work is the real necessity, if a fair saving be effected. As an illustration of the possibilities of combined concentration and amalgamation on some ores, the following results of a working test at the New York Ore-Milling and Testing Works will be of some interest. The ore treated was a hard white quartz from Mexico, carrying a very small percentage of finely divided sulphurets, chiefly iron

Jan 1, 1885

By Harry M. Roeser

As a result of the publication, several years ago, of some articles on determining the constants of empirical formulas, the determining the constants of types of curves used for estimating the production decline of oil wells was brought to the writer for study. Methods requiring the minimum of time and labor and the maximum of rigor were sought, as it appeared that the nature of the data from which such curves are computed and the relative uncertainty of occurrence of the events predicted from them did not justify close adherence to the theory on which the solution of such problems is ordinarily based. The technical deficiencies of the solutions presented in this paper, from the standpoint of the method of least squares, are readily apparent to those familiar with that method, but their presentation in detail here is irrelevant to the subject matter. However, it is the author's conviction, after a rather exhaustive study of the problem, that the value of the solutions lose little by the approximate application of the conventional theory. It must be understood by those who use these formulas that the solutions herein given, and the formulas based on them, are merely facilities to aid the valuation engineer in forecasting future events. It is assumed, also, that before application is made of them, prescient judgment based on the circumstances in each case, shows that the forecast has some probability of realization. On this basis only will these formulas be found useful.

Jan 1, 1925

By Dexter Kimball

THE ease and promptness with which the public as a whole becomes accustomed to and takes advantage of the work of the engineer, using the term in a broad sense, is almost startling. Surprise at, and fear of radical innovations in transportation and private service quickly give way to blasé indifference, followed instantly by all manner of criticism that these things are not better constructed and managed. Does the street car stop a few minutes on a switch?-summon the State Commission. Is the Overland Express fifteen minutes late on a three thousand mile run?-Congress is memorialized to make the great railroad companies attend to their business. Does central not respond instantly when we take down the telephone receiver?-anathema!! Do the electric lights go out for a minute or so?-the darkness is illuminated by caustic sarcasm and other kinds of spoken English consigning all engineering and engineers to perdition; everyone apparently forgetting how steep the hills were before the days of street cars, how far away San Francisco was before the days of the locomotive, the telegraph and telephone, and how difficult it must have been to study by the light of a tallow candle.

Jan 9, 1922

By Anne Nicholson Hird, H. A. Schwartz

Of the outstanding investigators of the system iron-carbon-silicon Gontermann,1 Charpy and Cornu-Thenard,= and Honda,3 only the first touched on the chemical composition of the solid and liquid phases in equilibrium with one another. He concluded that his data did not permit a decision as to which of an indefinitely large number of pairs of compositions of liquid and solid would be found in any given case. If through the three dimensional equilibrium diagram of the iron-carbon-silicon system an isothermal plane is passed in the region of partial solidification, two lines of intersection with the liquidus and solidus, respectively, are obtained, also a point marking the alloys' composition. If, in this plane, a straight line is drawn through the point, and intersecting both the liquidus and solidus isothermals, the two intersections mark a liquid and a solid alloy that may be chemically in equilibrium at the chosen temperature. From thermal data alone, Gontermann could not assign any particular direction to the line and, hence, could not determine which pair of conjugate points to choose, A separation of the liquid and solid for analysis, obviously, presents grave experimental difficulties. During the solidification of white cast iron, austenite of progressively higher carbon will separate as the temperature falls and cementite will appear suddenly at the freezing point of the eutectic. This cementite will be accompanied by a corresponding amount of austenite which, for our purpose, will be chemically inseparable from the primary austenite. We have attempted to decide on the conditions at the end of the freezing by a chemical separation applied to the solid metal.

Jan 1, 1925

By M. J. Buerger

POSSIBLY the most puzzling features observed during a single-crystal deformation test are the appearance of slip striae on the surface of the crystal and the strengthening of the specimen.1 While the first phenomenon is mainly of theoretical interest, the latter is fundamental to all strain-hardening and cold-working processes in which the deformation occurs by translation. The plastic deformation of crystals has received considerable discussion2 and need not be reviewed here in, any great detail. It has been observed, essentially, that after a certain amount of initial stress is applied, the surface of the crystal becomes covered with sets of parallel striae or rings which appear to divide it into thin slabs or slip blocks.3 The striae are the traces of rational crystallographic planes along which shearing movements are localized, these movements providing the strain which accompanies stress applied beyond pure elasticity. As deformation under the applied stress proceeds the slip blocks shear past one another, although the essentially single-crystal character of the specimen is unimpaired. All of the shearing apparently takes place in the immediate vicinity of the original slip striae without the appearance of new planes of movement.4 Since each increment of strain is attended by an increased stress requirement to continue the deformation, the crystal strengthens during the process.

Jan 1, 1928

By Daniel M. MacNeil, Carle R. Hayward, Raymond L. Presbrey

At the February, 1916, meeting of the Institute, a paper presented by Hayward and Raymond gave the results of a study on the effect of time in tempering medium-carbon steel, when the following conclusions were reached: It is not fair to consider the question settled when only three specimens were used for each treatment, but the results obtained indicate that for reheating quenched medium-carbon steel to temperatures below 500" it is only necessary to heat it through. Longer heating has little or no effect on the tensile strength, ductility, or hardness. At temperatures above 500°, increasing the time of treatment causes a slight falling off in hardness and tensile strength with a corresponding increase in ductility. In the discussion of the paper these conclusions were attacked and evidence was presented that seemed to throw doubt on their accuracy. The authors, however, showed that this evidence was based on high-carbon or alloy steels and no facts regarding medium-carbon steel were presented. During this study the heat treatment was carried out in a small electric resistance furnace. It held nine specimens, but when these were placed in the furnace the temperature was lowered to such an extent that 30 to 40 min. were required to reach the desired heat. The authors pointed to this as a weak point in the investigation and it seemed wise to supplement the research by work on similar steel but using a different method of heating. This has been done and the results are given in the present paper. The Rhode Island Tool Co. coöperated by furnishing the steel and turning the tensile specimens. The steel used in this investigation came in three bars 3/4 in. in diameter; analyses are as follows: Carbon. MaNGanese, Phosphorus, Sulfur Bar NUmber PeR Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. 1 0.46 0.56 0.010 0.055 2 0.44 0.58 0.007 0.042 3 0.48 0.58 0.007 0.048

Jan 1, 1922

By Daniel M. MacNeil, Raymond L. Presbrey, Carle R. Hayward

At the February, 1916, meeting of the Institute, a paper presented by Hayward and Raymond gave the results of a study on the effect of time in tempering medium-carbon steel, when the following conclusions were reached: It is not fair to consider the question settled when only three specimens were used for each treatment, but the results obtained indicate that for reheating quenched medium-carbon steel to temperatures below 500" it is only necessary to heat it through. Longer heating has little or no effect on the tensile strength, ductility, or hardness. At temperatures above 500°, increasing the time of treatment causes a slight falling off in hardness and tensile strength with a corresponding increase in ductility. In the discussion of the paper these conclusions were attacked and evidence was presented that seemed to throw doubt on their accuracy. The authors, however, showed that this evidence was based on high-carbon or alloy steels and no facts regarding medium-carbon steel were presented. During this study the heat treatment was carried out in a small electric resistance furnace. It held nine specimens, but when these were placed in the furnace the temperature was lowered to such an extent that 30 to 40 min. were required to reach the desired heat. The authors pointed to this as a weak point in the investigation and it seemed wise to supplement the research by work on similar steel but using a different method of heating. This has been done and the results are given in the present paper. The Rhode Island Tool Co. coöperated by furnishing the steel and turning the tensile specimens. The steel used in this investigation came in three bars 3/4 in. in diameter; analyses are as follows: Carbon. MaNGanese, Phosphorus, Sulfur Bar NUmber PeR Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. 1 0.46 0.56 0.010 0.055 2 0.44 0.58 0.007 0.042 3 0.48 0.58 0.007 0.048

Jan 1, 1922

By Benjamin Smith Lyman

[Secretary's Note.—For lack of room this abstract, giving only an outline of Prof. Lesley's scientific work, is published here, instead of the full text of Mr. Lyman's account of his life, labors and character, already sent to members and associates in a separate pamphlet. Mr. Lyman's sympathetic and discriminating analysis, accompanied with abundant illustrative details of Prof. Lesley's remarkably versatile and fruitful career, completes the picture imperfectly sketched in the present abstract. Copies of the pamphlet may be obtained at the office of the Institute.] The subject of this sketch was born in Philadelphia, September 17,1819, and graduated in 1838 from the University of Pennsylvania. His purpose of pursuing theological studies being hindered by the condition of his health, he took a subordinate position in the geological survey of Pennsylvania under Henry D. Rogers. His work there began in the sphere of topographical and geological map-making in which he was afterwards so eminent; and a map which he made of one field in 1840, before he was 21 years old, received high praise from Prof. Rogers in his official report of that year.

Jan 1, 1904

By Wallce E. Pratt

The Philippine Islands have produced no oil commercially; nevertheless, oil is known to be present at various places in the is1ands.l Although all attempts to produce oil commercially have failed, no intelligent, persistent exploration has been carried out. The Richmond Petroleum Corpn. (a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Co. of California) and a syndicate headed by Ralph Arnold are at present engaged in exploring Bondoc Peninsula in Tayabas Province, one of the promising Philippine areas, in a manner that promises to test the petroleum possibilities adequately and intelligently. How can the petroleum resources of an entirely undeveloped area like the Philippines be estimated, where not even the areal extent of the various geologic formations is known? Obviously no calculated figure for assured future production can be derived. Yet a study of the evidence of the occurrence of petroleum, the character of the possible reservoir beds, the probable source rocks, the character and size of favorable structures, and the area over which petroleum-bearing rocks are known to occur, will throw some light on the question. The fact that rocks of the same geologic age and similar composition have been explored and are producing in Borneo, Sumatra, and Java to the south and in Formosa and Japan to the north also affect the problem, so that one can obtain some idea of the quantity of petroleum that may reasonably be expected from the Philippines. It is this measure of the possibilities rather than a definite calculation of petroleum reserves that is presented herewith. This paper will not attempt to describe, nor even to enumerate in detail, the occurrences of petroleum in the Philippines, as such data have already been published. Fig. 1 indicates the localities where

Jan 1, 1923

By Wallce E. Pratt

The Philippine Islands have produced no oil commercially; nevertheless, oil is known to be present at various places in the is1ands.l Although all attempts to produce oil commercially have failed, no intelligent, persistent exploration has been carried out. The Richmond Petroleum Corpn. (a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Co. of California) and a syndicate headed by Ralph Arnold are at present engaged in exploring Bondoc Peninsula in Tayabas Province, one of the promising Philippine areas, in a manner that promises to test the petroleum possibilities adequately and intelligently. How can the petroleum resources of an entirely undeveloped area like the Philippines be estimated, where not even the areal extent of the various geologic formations is known? Obviously no calculated figure for assured future production can be derived. Yet a study of the evidence of the occurrence of petroleum, the character of the possible reservoir beds, the probable source rocks, the character and size of favorable structures, and the area over which petroleum-bearing rocks are known to occur, will throw some light on the question. The fact that rocks of the same geologic age and similar composition have been explored and are producing in Borneo, Sumatra, and Java to the south and in Formosa and Japan to the north also affect the problem, so that one can obtain some idea of the quantity of petroleum that may reasonably be expected from the Philippines. It is this measure of the possibilities rather than a definite calculation of petroleum reserves that is presented herewith. This paper will not attempt to describe, nor even to enumerate in detail, the occurrences of petroleum in the Philippines, as such data have already been published. Fig. 1 indicates the localities where

Jan 1, 1923

Jan 1, 1916

Jan 1, 1918