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By AIME AIME

CHARLES WASHINGTON MERRILL, the second to be honored by the award of the James Douglas gold medal, throughout his entire professional career has been identified with the cyanide method of extracting gold from ore. To his efforts this branch of the metallurgical industry owes a large measure of its success in continuing to treat some gold ores profitably, in spite of economic adversities. Mr. Merrill was born at Concord, N. H., Dec. 21, 1869, and received the degree of B. S. from the School of Mines at the University of California in 1891. Among his first professional connections was the Standard Mining Co., at Bodie, Cal., followed by a short engagement at Harqua Hala, Ariz. From 1895 to 1899 he was connected with the Montana Mining Co., at Marysvale, Mont., and then followed his nine years of fruitful association with the Homestake Mining Co. In 1909, the Merrill Co. was formed, to exploit more than a score of patents granted to Mr. Merrill, covering various phases of the cyanide process and numerous pieces of equipment for its operation; among the most noteworthy of these innovations were the Merrill filter-press, and the use of zinc dust as a precipitant. The Merrill Co. has a long record of successful accomplishments in its chosen field, to mention only the plants at the Dome mines of Ontario and at the Sta. Gertrudis mines of Mexico as among the more recent. Mr. Merrill is president also of the Western Ore Purchasing Co.; and a director in two gold dredging companies of California.

Jan 1, 1924

By E. A. Holbrook

AT the meeting of the Committee on Engineering A Education of the Institute at the New York meeting last February, it was brought out that the number of men graduating in mining engineering from our colleges at the present time is not sufficient to meet the ordinary needs of the mineral industries. Following the meeting, Samuel S. Wyer, consulting engineer of the Fuel-Power Transportation Educational Foundation of Columbus, Ohio, prepared a pamphlet called "Mining Engineering's Appeal to High School Seniors." Under the auspices of this Foundation the pamphlet is being sent to every high school in the United States. The pamphlet does not in any way paint glowing word pictures of the profession; rather it is a statement of the importance of mining engineering in our present-day civilization, together with the requirements in young men who are looking forward to an engineering career.

Jan 1, 1930

By AIME AIME

THIS journal is fully indexed-every issue, as soon as published-in a set of card?, which thus brings ready to your hand any article on any subject in this journal or in any one of 1700 other journals in all languages. This Engineering Index Service, instituted in January, 1928, is to be found in the Public Libraries of Newark, Cleveland, Bridgeport, Baltimore and the John Crerar Library, Chicago. Engineers in any field who live or work in New Jersey will find this mammoth index to the latest engineering literature in the Public Library of Newark, N. J.

Jan 1, 1929

By James Douglas

PROBABLY no well-informed engineer would ques¬tion the accuracy of the statement that the piece of equipment that comes nearest to being in universal use in modern hydrometallurgical and ore-dressing plants is the Dorr continuous thickener. The function of the device is to separate a thin mixture of liquid and solid particles into a thick pulp and a clear liquor. Another machine in wide use is the Dorr classifier, the purpose of which is to separate the coarse and fine particles in a pulp containing solids of various sizes. It is in recognition of the invention of these two devices and the vast amount of technical work in the successful application of them in the beneficiation of ores that the James Douglas Medal for 1930 has been awarded to John Van Nostrand Dorr. To gage the importance of the development of the thickener, particularly, it is only necessary to imagine the loss of time, capacity, and metallurgical efficiency that would result if all the Dorr tanks in the world were put out of operation for a day and replaced by the old methods of intermittent settling and decantation. Truly, the record is one of "distinguished achievement in non-ferrous metallurgy" that deservedly ranks the medalist with those who have preceded

Jan 1, 1930

By AIME AIME

THE Iron and Steel Division and the Institute of Metals Division are laying plans for a rousing meeting the week beginning Sept. 21 in the land of the bean and the cod-at Boston. The two divisions are collaborating with the American Welding Society, the American Society for Steel Treating, and the Iron and Steel Division of the A. S. M. E., to have technical sessions of widespread interest and social affairs that will compare with the best of previous years. In connection with the meetings an exhibition of production and testing equipment, heat-treating equipment, furnaces, welding equipment, and metal products will be held on Commonwealth Pier all week, where those attending may see the latest developments in the field of their own work.

Jan 1, 1931

By Carrol A. Quam

DURING the first years of operation of the titanium and iron mine of the National Lead Co. at Tahawus, New York, efforts to increase production were hampered by the increased load put on the facilities for sharpening churn-drill bits. The ore and rock are extremely hard and abrasive and it was necessary to sharpen and harden a large number of bits per day to keep the churn drills supplied. Efforts to increase the capacity of the bit shop by a two-shift operation were not wholly successful in that it was hard to train men to do a satisfactory job of sharpening and tempering the bits. The number of bits that were improperly tempered increased, thus boosting the daily requirements for bits at the drills and increasing the load on the bit-sharpening facilities.

Jan 1, 1949

By L. G. Marshall

WHILE surveying in a small Western mine, the following problem was encountered: Two traverses had to be connected by running a traverse line down the main hoisting shaft, which was the only connection between the two levels. The shaft was inclined at about 80 deg. from the horizontal and measured 8 by 10 ft. The distance between levels was about 110 ft., measured on one side of the shaft. The surveying equipment consisted of a transit, tripod, level rod, 100-ft. chain, and plumb bobs. There were no side or top the- scope attachments with which to take large, vertical angles. Therefore, we were confronted with the problem of taking readings between two points, one of which could not be seen through the instrument when set up under the other point, owing to the obstruction of the horizontal plate, and of measuring the distance between these points with a chain that was too short. The method of a line of plumb bobs down the shaft was impractical because a setup would be needed part way down the shaft, which would call a halt to all hoisting operations for some time. After considerable experimentation the following method was used.

Jan 1, 1936

By E. P. Palmatier

RECENTLY a cooling system has been in process of installation on the 3400 and 3600-ft. levels of the Magma copper mine at Superior, Ariz. The general system of ventilation employed at this inclined-vein mine is as follows: Ventilating air enters the shafts on the western side of the mine. Booster fans at each level each deliver approximately 38,000 cu. ft. per 'min. to the drifts. This air passes diagonally upward to the upper levels of the mine on the eastern side, where it passes up the shafts to large exhaust fans on the surface. Owing to the dip of the vein, all operations on the eastern side of the mine are above the 2500-ft. level, and those on the western side below the 2500-ft. level. At present, 2500 lineal feet of new drifts are being driven-on each of the 3400 and 3600 levels. The rock temperature is about 135°F. Until the new installation is completed, ventilating air for the two levels is supplied through Flexoid tubing from small booster fans -on the 3200-ft. level. The air picked up by these booster fans has a dry-bulb temperature of approximately 85°F. and a wet-bulb temperature of 82°F. By the time this air reaches the end of the Flexoid tubing at the 3600-ft. level, the dry-bulb rises to 101°F. and the wet-bulb to 86°F. The conditions at the head of the new drift were 102' dry-bulb and 93' wet-bulb.

Jan 1, 1937

H. W. MussEn, Collingwood, Ontario, Can. (communication to the Secretary*):—Doubtless all engineers who have paid more than a casual visit to Russia have come into contact with that formidable document, the " smieta," or estimate of the Russian manager. It is an institution which seems to be inseparable from Russian mining-methods. As Mr. Shockley points out, the year's costs a agree very closely" with the figures of the smieta made at the beginning of the year. In cases which have come under my notice, I have been satisfied that there had been a good deal of " rigging" of accounts to this end. The sum spent by the manager was carefully kept down to the total of the estimate, because it was well known that no more money would be forthcoming, and when this is done it is not a difficult matter to see that the right amounts come under the right heads in the final accounts. I do not say that this is always the case, but I have come across notable instances. Looking at it from the Russian owner's point of view, I think that the balance of the argument is usually in favor of the smieta as limiting " impulsive indiscretion" on the part of managers. The Russian Mining Code of to-day leaves much to be desired, but this is thoroughly appreciated by the official world there, and great changes are spoken of for the future. In many, if not in most, cases the laws are interpreted liberally, and a great deal is left to the discretion of the district mining engineer or inspector, with whom it is necessary to keep in close touch. As Mr. Shockley points out, the officials of a mine, who are always Russians, are held personally responsible for accidents resulting to employees, quite independently of any compensation which may be made to the sufferer. This seems startling enough, but I have always found that a penalty is imposed only

Jan 1, 1909

By R. V. Whetsel, V. R. Garfias

For some time the writers have been compiling and analyzing statistics of consumption and production of petroleum, its products and related fuels, in order to arrive at a fairly accurate picture of the world-wide situation of the petroleum industry. In production, crude oil, natural gasoline, benzol and alcohol blended with motor fuel have been considered. In consumption not only refined products, but crude consumed as fuel, refinery losses, ships' bunkers and blended fuels have been taken into account to obtain a true balance between supply and demand. Statistics from practically every country and territory have been studied, and where actual figures were not available the estimates have been based on all the data available. The figures in Table 1 indicate that during the last five years the world's production has exceeded demand every year and that the aggregate difference is some 207,150,000 bbl. The supply in the United States exceeded consumption by 111,401,000 bbl. over the same five-year period and in 1931 and 1932 the demand exceeded supply, while outside the United States the excess of output over demand was 95,749,000 bbl. Table 2 combines the excess production in the United States with its favorable balance of exports over imports, showing that the United States has reduced its storage over the five years by about 136,-595,000 bbl., while in Table 3 it is shown that, including its excess of imports from the United States, the rest of the world has added 343,-745,000 bbl. to storage during the period in question, the greatest accumulation coming in 1934. Table 4 shows the world's consumption classified by countries according to the principal products. These tables also indicate that at the end of 1934 the statistical position of the petroleum industry outside the United States was decidedly unstable, a situation that probably will become more acute as a result of the added Iraq production; and that the present favorable statistical position of the industry in the United States, which is partly due to the excess of exports over imports, may be to some extent jeopardized by the unstable situation in the foreign market.

Jan 1, 1935

By AIME AIME

THE luncheon of the Milling Methods Committee in the Engineers' Club, on Feb. 16, was distinctly a social affair, although several matters of a non-milling nature were fruitfully discussed. The session* on Milling Methods, the same afternoon, attracted a gathering which overtaxed the capacity of the Board Room on the fifteenth floor. Galen H. Clevenger presided, with the moral reinforcement of Charles Butters. As all papers were available in printed form, and since synopses have appeared in MINING & METALLURGY, it is unnecessary to cover the contents of each in detail here. The first paper (T. P. 410), by Leaver and Woolf, on the "Flotation of Minor Gold in Large-scale Copper "Concentrators," was excellently summarized by R. S. Dean of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, who stressed the -very definite action of lime as a depressant of gold, and showed how the authors had worked out the best conditions of alkalinity, pH concentration and reagents for -optimum recovery of gold along with base metals, especially where lime had to be used to depress pyrite. No discussion was evoked.

Jan 1, 1931

By AIME AIME

FOR the purpose of subsequent discussion let me reiterate certain points in my paper. The things we are certain of are that individuals differ in their accident liability, and that the bulk of accidents in any industrial group is sustained by comparatively few individuals; further, that this difference in liability cannot be wholly accounted for by differences of exposure, since some of the personal factors involving a high accident rate have already been measured in certain industrial groups.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

ANNOUNCEMENT of the annual meeting to be held Feb. 18 to 22 inclusive will be mailed the latter part of the month to all members. Particular attention is called to the fact that application has been made for reduced rail- road fares on the Certificate Plan. When you purchase your railroad ticket be sure to ask for a CERTIFICATE for yourself and members of your family. Last year over 400 members and dependent members of their families attending the meeting secured return railroad tickets at half price by means of this certificate, thereby saving thou- sands of dollars. Those who fail to obtain this certificate when purchasing going tickets will lose money. Unless 250 certificates are validated at headquarters it will be impossible for anyone to secure the reduced rate.

Jan 1, 1929

By J. V. W. REYNDERS

THE principal manganese deposit of Russia, I one of the four principal sources of the world's supply, lies on the southern slope of the Caucasus Mountains, in what is now the Republic of Georgia, district of Sharopan. Tchiatouri, the principal town, is midway between Tiflis, the capital of Georgia, and Poti, the shipping port on the Black Sea, about 130 " miles distant. The deposit can be most easily visualized by thinking of a nearly horizontal coal seam about 6 ft. thick, outcropping on the slopes about 600 ft. above the Kvirila River. One of the accompanying illustrations shows the river, which nearly bi- sects the district, of approximately 50 sq. miles in area, and with its tributary streams makes the topography rugged, while in the background are the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus range. Another of the illustrations gives a closer view of the outcrop. The roof and floor of the deposit are good, so the methods of working are quite similar to working a coal seam, especially as most of the mineral is soft enough to be mined with a pick. Little machinery is used, except small cars for underground transportation.

Jan 1, 1926

By AIME AIME

THE annual session for the election of officers and transaction of other official business of the Institute, which must be held, in accordance with the By-Laws, in New York on the third Tuesday in February, was the only session scheduled for the morning of Feb. 19. Many members gathered in the auditorium at 10 o'clock, and President George Otis Smith presided. He said that his report was best set forth in the reports of the other officers and committees, which were avail-able in printed form. Productive activity had characterized the Institute's year and a number of new ventures had been successful. He felt that he had "rattled around" in the office of president, as he had traveled some 39,000 miles during the year in visiting the various Sections, having visited everyone that had held a meeting during his term of office. He spoke of the educational effect on a president of these broad contacts and suggested that a three-year course would be even more enlightening than one.

Jan 1, 1929

By M. M. Leighton

THE engineers of Illinois have been submitting to the State Geological Survey an increasing number of requests for advice on their geological problems, including landslides, unequal settling of fills, laying pavements across peat bogs, shattering and heaving of pavement by frost action, etc. The authors discussed the behavior of landslides, their effects, their causes, a tentative classification, and remedial measures. In the latter connection the efficacy of drainage and how it should be handled in order to be most effective was considered. The principles and efficacy of other remedial measures, such as subsurface blasting, rock anchoring, installation of wood, concrete or steel piling, construction of retaining walls, construction of cribbing and reduction of slope were also discussed. Attention was also given to the matter of applying geological knowledge to avoid undesirable highway locations, and a specific example was cited.

Jan 1, 1929

By Anderson, Burton E.

FOR several centuries diamond mining has been an adventurous, profitable and enticing industry in Brazil. Some of the world's most valuable diamonds have been found in this country. Two of the most famous stones are the "Estrella do Sul" (Southern Star), weighing 2541/ karats, and the "Branganca," weighing 1680 karats in the rough and 367 karats cut. For a great number of years the stones extracted and sold were mostly the white diamonds used for jewelry. Within the last thirty years black diamonds have been developed as an abrasive cutting material and in these black diamonds the State of Bahia, Brazil, has a monopoly of the world supply. Carbons, as they are commonly called, are being used for core-drilling, polishing, cutting, wire-drawing, and vari-ous other applications in which such a hard substance is required. Bernard Bandler & Sons, of New York City, have selected, graded and delivered these carbons to the United States markets.

Jan 1, 1932

By Juptner von Jonstorff

A discussion of the paper by Messrs. Jüptner von Jonstorff, Blair, Dillner and Stead, read by title at the Lake Superior meeting, but presented first at the New York meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute (October, 1904), and here published under a mutual agreement between the two Institutes. Correspondence. MR. R. HAMILTON (Glengarnock) wrote to say that it was known for many years, that unless certain precautions were taken in dissolving the sample, there was a liability to obtain a solution from which the ammonium-molybdate solution would not precipitate the whole of the phosphorus. In 1877 Blair and Finkiner independently attributed this interference to the presence of carbonaceous matter in the solution, derived from the action of acids on the combined carbon of the metal, and they directed that the solution should be prepared in such a manner as to destroy these carbonaceous compounds. This was practically effected by evaporating the acid solution to dryness and roasting the residue. Adolf Tamm, in 1884, accentuated the same view. There are methods founded on the above-mentioned observations which leave nothing to be desired in point of accuracy, but the evaporation to dryness with subsequent roasting and re-solution consumes much time, besides the minor inconvenience caused by large amounts of acid fumes. In 1888 P. W. Shinier suggested that the incomplete precipitation of phosphorus was due to incomplete oxidation of -.the phosphorus, and proposed to render all the phosphorus precipitable by oxidizing the solution with potassium permanganate, etc. Experiments were made to test the accuracy of this view (details will be found in the Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry, vol. x., p. 904), and the results obtained seem to-prove that it is the correct one. It was first proved that carbonaceous matter in solution did not prevent the precipitation of properly oxidized phosphorus

Mar 1, 1905

By Arthur Notman

THE COMMITTEE on Production Control of the Institute has accomplished little or nothing tangible during the last year. For this the chairman must accept responsibility and whatever praise or blame goes with it. However, we have all had plenty of opportunity to observe the results obtained by various producing groups in their attempts to regulate production to meet demand dur¬ing the last few years. It would be putting it mildly to say that these have not been such as to inspire confidence in the methods pursued. The present plight of the wheat, cotton, coffee and sugar growers; the oil, copper, lead, zinc and tin producers, to name a few of the unfortunates, suggests a common cause perhaps beyond their control. There is a growing tendency to question as outmoded the theories of laissez faire economics, with its laws of competition, supply and demand, with price as the automatic regulator. The position is maintained that something new should be substituted because these laws no longer work. Many solutions are offered, ranging in the world at large from the planned economy of Russia, with the profit element removed, to the military controlled economy of Fascism, and in our own country from voluntary curtailment to martial law. But one hardly feels driven by any irresistible logic to put his finger on any one of these proposals, and to say this is the one in which I believe. On turning to one's neighbors, one is still more confused by the realization that this intellectual uncertainty is wide-spread. Isolation or cooperation, protection or free trade, the gold standard, bimetallism or managed currencies, de¬flation or inflation, all have their proponents in whose eyes one or the other of these slogans will afford the panacea for all our ills.

Jan 1, 1933

By John Hays

AT the December Board meeting, the report of the William Lawrence Saunders Medal Committee, recommending the award of the medal to John Hays Hammond, was received and unanimously approved. The citation is: "For his notable work as an engineer and developer of mines at home and abroad, his industrial leadership and his public services." The medal will be presented as usual during the meeting in February, presumably at the annual dinner at the Waldorf, on Feb. 20. The other medals to be given on the same occasion are the James Douglas, which goes to Paul D. Merica, and the Robert W. Hunt, which is awarded this year to Edgar C. Bain, as already announced. This will be the third award made of the Saunders Medal for "Achievement in Mining," previous recipients having been David W. Brunton in 1927, and Herbert Hoover in 1928. The list is a distinguished one and Mr. Hammond's name is appropriately included. His career is so widely known that it is not necessary to repeat the account, published in MINING AND METALLURGY last April.

Jan 1, 1929