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By F. S. Crawford

This report deals with the effectiveness and economy of installing mine timbers treated with preservatives in long-life service locations. Early in the present century, when mine timbers and labor were plentiful, it was not general practice to install treated timbers in such places. Because national sources of good mine timber are declining steadily, the mining industry must now conserve timber. Moreover, the cost of installing and replacing mine timbers has been rising. Therefore, even the simplest of treatments can be expected to give some return on the investment when applied to timbers that are to be installed in relatively permanent locations. Better methods of treatment will produce better returns. In a service test of maple timbers treated by the hot-and cold-bath method and installed in main haulageways of the Athens mine of the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co., Negaunee, Mich., zinc chloride-treated timbers had an average useful life of 13.3 years; borax-treated timbers, 11.2 years; and sodium fluoride-treated timbers, 7.7 years. Untreated timbers used as controls had an average useful life of 3.8 years.

Jan 1, 1950

By M. K. Yen

The distortion of crystal structures referred to as "biege gleitung",1 "local curvature"2-4 and "deformation bands"5,6 is believed to be an unavoidable characteristic of deformed single crystals. The presence of asterism on Laue photograms of Al single crystals either deformed by pure shear7 or extended in a condition relatively free from the grip effect2 indicates strong evidence substantiating this point of view. The type of localized bending described in connection with the bending test of Al single crystals by Yen and Hibbard8 could conceivably exist either microscopically or submicroscopically in all types of deformation. The purpose of this note is to extend this idea to the postulate of a hypothetical "microbending site," as applied to the mechanism of slip in a general sense. The mosiac structure, as postulated by Darwin,9 is that crystals were actually composed of small blocks which have a linear dimension 10—4to 10-6 cm on the edge and deviate from each other by an angle of about one-tenth of a degree. The following discussion is based on the assumption that when slip is propagated from one mosaic block to the adjacent one, bending of the lattice at the region of their boundary is produced in order to maintain the continuity of the gliding process along a certain slip plane. Consider a two-dimensional diagram of two ideal mosiac blocks on the cross-section perpendicular to the slip plane and containing the active direction of slip. When an external force is applied, the localized bending or "microbending site," would be generated at the region as illustrated in Fig 1A at point B. A schematic diagram of a "microbending site," generated at a mosaic boundary, is illustrated in Fig IB. It may be seen that once the curvature of the bending site reaches sufficient magnitude, the interaction force encountered by pairs of atoms symmetrical with respect to the center of the bending is equal but opposite in sign. Consequently, the overall energy required to displace the atoms near the center is approximately zero.10"12 Based upon the finding that the misalignment between two mosaics is 0.1 degree,9 the assumption is made that "microbending sites" may possibly exist in the region where one plane will have one more row of atoms than an adjacent plane. It is probable that the origin of the bending site will be where the distance between two mosaic boundaries is "2d" as shown in Fig 1A at point B, where " d" is the interatomic distance. Thus, the distance between two "microbending sites" is in the range of about 600 interplanar spacings. In the case of aluminum, the spacing between two octahedral planes is about 2.33 A. The distance between two bending sites will be approximately 2.5 X 10"5 cm. It is interesting to note that according to Woods13 these values approach closely the size of the domains of a cold-worked metal whose minimum

Jan 1, 1950

By J. Chipman, G. G. Hatch

One of the important functions of the iron blast furnace is the desulphur-ization of pig iron before it enters the steelmaking furnaces. However, the increasing concentrations of sulphur in the metallurgical coke, source of approximately 90 pct of the sulphur present in the blast furnace charge, and demands for higher rates of production within recent years have increased the need for greater desulphurization within the iron blast furnace. Furnace operators are beginning to look for desulphurizing agents other than blast furnace slag to accomplish the desired degree of desulphurization. A considerable amount of work has been done on desulphurization outside the furnace with soda ash, calcium carbide and various synthetic slags. Whether the desulphurization of pig iron is accomplished wholly inside the furnace or partly inside and the remainder outside, will be determined by the economics involved. Regardless of which is the case, it is believed that it is necessary to have a better understanding of the physical chemistry of desulphurization by blast furnace slags. To this end, it is the object of the present investigation to attempt what is believed to be the first equilibrium study of the distribution of sulphur between liquid pig iron and a wide range of blast furnace slag compositions. Review of Literature There is a considerable amount of information in the literature concerning the desulphurizing power of iron blast furnace slags, the solubility of various sulphides in the slags, and the effect on desulphurization of temperature, of elements dissolved in the liquid iron, and of viscosity. However, there is nothing to indicate that the equilibrium distribution of sulphur between liquid iron saturated with carbon and iron blast furnace slags has been studied experimentally. Wentrupl has made probably the most detailed study of the desulphurization of pig iron to date. He considered that there are three distinct aspects involved, namely: 1. Desulphurization within the blast furnace (by lime and manganese). 2. Subsequent desulphurization by manganese. 3. The effect of subsidiary reactions on the desulphurization by manganese. The experimental work carried out by Wentrup was devoted mainly to obtaining a better understanding of how desulphurization by manganese was accomplished in the mixer and the ladle. Particular attention was given to the part played by carbon, silicon, and phosphorus associated with manganese in the iron, and the effect of temperature on desulphurization. The experimental results indicated that desulphurization by manganese is purely a process of crystallization of manganese sulphide. The addition of silicon to iron melts containing 3.5 pct carbon and less than 0.5 pct manganese had no noticeable effect on desulphurization, but with 1-2 pct manganese the silicon additions improved the desulphurization. Additions of phosphorus also resulted in improved desulphurizati011 by manganese, but the effect was not as marked as in the case of silicon. It was also found that desulphurization by manganese was further improved by lowering the temperature. In order to explain desulphurization inside the blast furnace, Wentrup considered the system iron, sulphur, calcium, oxygen, manganese. (silicon). The distribution of sulphur between the metal and slag was represented by the following equation: (SS) _ (S)Fe + (S)Ca + (S)Mn .... [S] = [s] [1] The parentheses and the brackets represent the equilibrium concentrations in weight per cent of the slag and metal constituents, respectively. Since FeS D (FeS) _ (FeS) (S)Fe LfeS - [FeS] [S] [2] (CaO) + S e (FeO) + (S)Ca _ (FeO)(S)Ca. (S)Ca _ (CaO) Kl = (CaO)[S] [S] ~K1(FeO) [3] Mn + S D (S)Mn (S)Mn (S)Mn K' = [MnpT "1ST = *lIMnJ !4) Substitution of Eq 2, 3, and 4 into Eq 1 resulted in if = L- + *> (Sol + K^ (S) [51 Eq 5 was used to calcu1;lte -f^j and [S] at 1480°C for slags containing 30-50 pct lime, 0.1-2.5 pct iron oxide, 0-26 pct silica, 2 pct sulphur and iron analyzing 1.5 pct manganese. The value for LFaB at 1480°C was found to be equal to 4.5, based on the experimental work of Bardenheuer and Geller.2 The results of the calculations are shown in Table 1. Although the slags are hypothetical and do not represent the range of compositions found in ordinary blast furnace practice, the calculations indicate that lime is effective in controlling desulphurization only if the iron oxide and silica contents of the slag are kept low. Schenck3 did not claim K1 to be a true equilibrium constant, but an empirical value which varied with the silica content of the slag.

Jan 1, 1950

By Herbert Clark Hoover, Lou Henry Hoover

DIFFERENT methods of parting gold from silver, and, on the other hand, silver from gold, were discussed in the last book; also the separation of copper from the latter and further, of lead from gold as well as from silver ; and, lastly, the methods for refining the two precious metals. Now I will speak of the methods by which silver must be separated from copper, and likewise from iron.1 The officina, or the building necessary for the purposes and use of those who separate silver from copper, is constructed in this manner. First, four long walls are built, of which the first, which is parallel with the bank of a stream, and the second, are both two hundred and sixty-four feet long. The second, however, stops at one hundred and fifty-one feet, and after, as it were, a break for a length of twenty-four feet, it continues again until it is of a length equal to the first wall. The third wall is one hundred and twenty feet long, starting at a point opposite the sixty-seventh foot of the other walls, and reaching to their one hundred and eighty-sixth foot.

Jan 1, 1950

The term geochemistry - chcmbtry' of the earth - is almost limitless in its implied subject, but of recent years a major trend of research in this field has been towards economic application in the search for mineral deposits, and in particular for those of some ofthe less common elements for which a demand now exists.Geochemistry is in a state of slow transition from a purely descriptive subject to a fundamental science concerned with the relationships that exist between the distribution of the elements in the earth's crust and the physical characteristics of the atoms of those elements. The progress achieved promises a set of basic principles which will relate the atomic characteristics of an element to the physico-chemical conditions that make for its dispersion or concentration. This means that, given a geological map of an areasufficiently detailed for the physico-chemical conditions existing in past geological eras to be deduced, there is the possibility that the relative distribution throughout that area of any element present, and its likely mode of occurrence, could be predicted from a consideration of its atomic characteristics.Since the atomic characteristics of the elements are becoming increasingly well defined by physical research, the attainment of this ideal of prediction depends upon:(a) the strengthening of geochemical theory; and(b) the development of petrological and mineralogical methods of assessing the conditions of temperature and pressure prevailing in geological formations at various stages in their history.The other prime requirement is a d.etailed geological map - a requirement that is all too often lacking.The fact that there has been very little "geochemical approach" to problems of economic geology in Australia should not be taken to mean that there is little point in trying to develop such an approach here in as active and as rigidly scientific a manner as possible. The degree of success that has attended the attempts so far made, to which reference is made below, suggests the reverse, particularly in view of the relatively slight cost involved if the investigations were properly organised on a centralised basis. There are three aspects of geochemistry that are directly applicable to the search for economic minerals.(a) The classic technique of the prospector can be made more sensitive and reliable by the use of modern equipment coupled with the application of geochemical theory to geological and structural data. The case of the rare alkali elements (see below) is givenhere as an illustration of the way in which the distribution of elements can be predicted from the first principles of geochemistry, thereby replacing the prospector's dependence on his "sixth sense" that enabled him to suggest that a certain area of formation was"favourable" for the occurrence of a certain type of mineral deposit.At its best, this sixth sense amounted to an almost subconscious correlation of all relevant associations and typical occurrences of the particular mineral experienced by the prospector during his...

Jan 1, 1950

By Milton Williams

A comparison is made between the amount of interstitial water found by analysis in cores and that estimated from the resistivity curve of the electric log for the corresponding strata of producing reservoirs. It is shown that while the determined and the estimated water saturations are in good agreement in some cases, this agreement may be due to a fortuitous compensation of errors. Estimates of water saturations made from the electric 1og by use of existing relations should, therefore, be employed with caution. Also presented are data on the variation of salinity of interstitial waters in reservoir sands, and on the effect of variation of salinity and porosity on the validity of estimates of water content made from the electric log. INTRODUCTION Throughout the history of electric logging there have been recurrent cycles of optimism and pessimism as to the value of the electric log in the quantitative estimation of reservoir fluid content. The very early days of electric logging were an optimistic period, in which there was widespread faith in the ability of the resistivity curve to reflect fluid content, and in the ability of the potential curve to indicate textural characteristics. In time the accumulation of exceptions to this idealistic behavior brought about a general disillusionment, and caused the more pessimistic of those dealing with electric logs to believe that the sole importance of the log lay in stratigraphic correlation. Within the last several years optimism as to the quantitative use of the electric log has been revived, primarily as the result of the stimulating work of C. E. Archie' on the estimation of interstitial water in sands from resistivity data. Even though the general trend of thought on the quantitative value of the electric log reflects optimism, it is inevitable that there are some widely divergent opinions of the validity of quantitative estimates based on the electric log. A valid method of estimation of fluid content by means of the electric log and a general knowledge of the textural character of the reservoir rock would be of signal importance, not only in that it would save time and money in securing information on reservoirs now being drilled, but also because it would permit the evaluation of reserves in many fields drilled without adequate core data subsequent to the advent of electric logging. Because of this importance, Humble's Production Research Division, in cooperation with various other company divisions, initiated several years ago series of tests designed to evaluate the reliability of estimates of fluid content made from the electric log. The investigation was limited at the outset to sand reservoirs, since it was felt that the inclusion of limestone reservoirs would entail needless complications. In devising these tests it was immediately apparent that the chief difficulty in evaluating the worth of any method of estimation lay in establishing the true value of fluid content. The results of direct analyses of cores cut with ordinary mud were not sufficient, because of the probability of contamination of the fluids by filtrate from the drilling mud; the results of restored state tests on cores were deemed unsuitable because these results can hardly be said to furnish a primary standard. The method adopted was the direct analysis of cores cut with an oil-base drilling fluid. Such cores, when properly handled, are believed to afford the most precise determination of water content available at the present, and, in addition, lend themselves readily to the determination of various other properties which are pertinent to the estimation of fluid content from the electric log. Since it was desired to compare the fluid contents estimated from the electric log run in ordinary mud with cores cut in the same hole, the use of oil-base fluid necessitated the changing over, after all cores were cut, to a conventional mud. This procedure presented several advantages, one of which was that the use of oil-base fluid permitted

Jan 1, 1950

By G. K. Manning, M. C. Udy, L. W. Eastwood

Those who have examined beryllium and beryllium-rich alloys under the microscope have noted the results of the difficulties encountered when preparing these materials for examination. Hard constituents are readily chipped and pulled out of the matrix, and the soft ones are easily gouged out or embedded with abrasive or other material. The matrix is easily deformed, which makes it very difficult to remove the effects of scratches. Furthermore, the matrix and some of the constituents are also readily pitted during etching, which makes the structure difficult to develop. The metallographic techniques designed to avoid these difficulties are neither radically new nor necessarily the best possible procedures. They were developed at Battelle to fill immediate requirements as part of a study of the preparation and pouring of beryllium melts as described in a separate paper. A part of the research program on the causes of gas unsoundness in beryllium castings entailed a study of the effects of such gases or gas formers as oxygen or oxides, nitrogen or nitrides, and carbon or carbides. These gases or gas formers, if dissolved in the melt, might be an important factor in the study of unsoundness caused by gas evolution in beryllium. Because it was necessary to be able to distinguish these gases or gas formers, if present as alloy constituents, from metallic phases also present as alloy constituents, a series of alloys was prepared with additions of the various possible metallic and non-metallic constituent formers. It should be emphasized that the constituents referred to as gases or gas formers are important in the study of gases in beryllium only if they form a part of the alloy, that is, if they dissolve in the liquid or solid metal. During the first part of the development of metallographic techniques, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, unpublished report (TC 3315, Nov., 1945) by Paul Gordon, describing various microconstituents in beryllium, was quite useful. Of particular interest in this report is the confirmation of one of the conclusions drawn from the present investigation, that is, that a distinct oxide phase apparently does not occur in beryllium. The Preparation of Metallographic Specimens GRINDING PROCEDURE The original specimen is either sawed or cut on an abrasive wheel to a convenient size. For best results, the surface to be polished should not be more than about 1/4 in. square, and it is convenient to mount the specimens in bakelite to facilitate handling. Two alternative grinding procedures have been developed. As one alternative, specimens are ground successively on 120-, 240-, and 400-grit, wet-or-dry metallographic discs. The abrasive discs are revolved at 1750 rpm on a conventional pedestal grinder. The coarsest disc (120 grit) is used either wet or dry, and in most instances, it can be eliminated from the procedure. Grinding on the two finer discs (240 and 400 grit) is accompanied by the application of kerosene. The technique consists of holding an oil can, containing kerosene, in one hand and the mounted specimen in the other hand. While the grinding is being done, several drops of kerosene are applied every few seconds close to the center of the disc. Carbon tetrachloride serves at least as well as kerosene as a lubricant; perhaps it is slightly better, but it volatilizes so readily that an additional health hazard is involved. Light oils and water are not satisfactory for the finer grinding operations. The second procedure is perhaps slightly slower than the first and requires a more careful technique, but it eliminates the use of kerosene. The specimen is first ground wet on a 240-grit disc, followed by dry grinding on a 400-grit disc. Finer grinding does not appear to be necessary with either of the two alternative procedures. The pressures used throughout either grinding operation must be extremely light, that is, barely sufficient to hold the specimen in contact with the disc; otherwise, flow and chipping are almost certain to occur. In both procedures, it is essential that the discs be sharp and that they be discarded as they show evidence of becoming dull or loaded. In general, not more than four or five specimens can be ground on a disc before the disc becomes dull enough to warrant discarding it.

Jan 1, 1950

By James W. Townsend

The Vicksburg mining property lies in the southeastern foothills of the Star mining district, Beaver County, Utah (fig. 1). Within a few miles of the Vicksburg mine, lying in a semicircle from south to northwest, are such past producers of lead-silver ores as the Moscow, Hoosier Boy, Red Warrior, Wild. Bill, Harrington-Hickory, and many others. Farther to the north, in the San Francisco district, are the famous Horn Silver and Cactus mines. The formation at the Vicksburg property consists of interbedded limestone, shale, and dolomitic limestone. These beds have been metamorphosed by the intrusion of irregular masses of porphyritic igneous rocks grading from quartz-monzonite to granodiorite. Ore deposition is in north-trending fissures of sheeted zones, contact metamorphic in type. These depositions were subsequently altered to gossan. A preliminary investigation of the Vicksburg property involving surveying, mapping, and sampling was made by W. A. Young and F. H. Gunnell, engineers of the Bureau of Mines, in the fall of 1946. As a result of the investigation, a project was set up to investigate the possibility of ore occurrence at greater depth on the fissures under the mineralized zone by diamond drilling.

Jan 1, 1950

By O. C. Blade

This report on the properties of motor fuels sold through service stations in the United states was made in accordance with a cooperative agreement between the American Petroleum Institute and the Bureau of Mines of the United states Department of the Interior. This paper is a continuation of a series made in cooperation with the Coordinating Fuel Research (CFR) Committee of the Coordinating Research Council (CRC). Inc. The first of this series of reports presented data on motor gasolines sold during the winter of 1935-36, and succeeding reports described motor gasolines sold during the summers and winters to and including the summer of 1941. No reports were made on motor gasolines sold during the winter of 1941-42 and during the summer of 1942. However, starting with the winter of 1942-431' the semiannual reports were resumed.

Jan 1, 1950

By S. H. Ash

A CLAY, sand, and gravel deposit known as the "buried valley" of the Susquehanna River is situated in the Northern field of the anthracite region of Pennsylvania near Wilkes-Barre. The presence of this buried valley and the uncertainty regarding the extent and physical condition of the water-bearing valley-fill deposits have made great care necessary in mining operations to avoid breaking the strata between the mine workings and the valley-fill deposits to the extent that inundation of the mine workings would follow. The principal factor that threatens to cut short the life of the anthracite industry, to curtail production, and to affect the economic structure of the people and business dependent on anthracite for their livelihood is inundation of anthracite mines (6,7).3

Jan 1, 1950

Jan 1, 1950

By E. S. Burnett

The temperature entropy (T, S) chart? of thermodynamic properties of nitrogen herewith presented is a complete (1949) revision and a considerable extension of similar charts prepared by the author for use of the helium section of the Bureau of Mines about 25 years previously on the basis of inadequate data then obtaining. During the interval since that early effort, much experimentally determined information on nitrogen properties and behavior has been published, which now permits a more nearly accurate layout and more extensive charting of these relations.

Jan 1, 1950

By Strathmore R. B. Cooke, Marcus Digre

That calcium will activate quartz for flotation with anionic collectors such as soaps has been known for a number of years,12'3 and the method has been applied to the concentration of various iron ores4 5 6 as well as to other materials. Clemmer gives the permissible pH range for the activation of quartz by calcium as between 9.5 and 12.5 with an optimum value of 11.0, and Hertzog7 has determined the calcium abstraction of iron ores and of Ottawa sand, but otherwise little quantitative data are available. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine those conditions under which dilute solutions of calcium chloride will activate quartz for anionic flotation and to determine the amount of calcium ion adsorbed by quartz. Those variables, the influence of which was primary, such as calcium, sodium, and hydrogen ion concentrations, were studied. Other factors which influenced the results are discussed in the description of the experiments. Three different experimental methods were used to determine the activation of the quartz. The first method was to treat a sample of ground, deslimed quartz with solutions of calcium chloride and sodium hydroxide, and to determine the calcium adsorbed by chemical analysis of the solution. Advantages are that a direct value for the amount of calcium adsorbed is obtained, and introduction of a collector which may affect the adsorption is avoided. The difficulty is to determine the extremely small differences in the calcium concentrations before and after the abstraction. The second method was to determine the activation of the quartz by observing the contact angle obtained on pressing an air bubble against the polished surface of a piece of quartz immersed in a solution of calcium chloride, sodium hydroxide, and sodium oleate. This is the well-known "contact angle" method. The third method was to determine those conditions under which an air bubble will pick up quartz particles immersed in a solution of the desired reagents. Disadvantages common to the sec- ond and third methods are that introduction of a collector is necessary to obtain bubble contact with the mineral; very small quantities of contaminant can give erroneous results; and no information is obtainable concerning the amount of calcium adsorbed. Advantages are that tedious analyses, which at best give approximate results, are avoided, and the conditions, especially for the third method, closely simulate those of actual flotation. Although the most consistent results were obtained with the third method, this paper describes the techniques used and the results obtained from each of the three methods. Distilled water and analytical grade reagents were used throughout except where otherwise stated. Between tests all glass articles were cleaned with a chromic-sulphuric acid mixture and sodium hydroxide. Abstraction Method The raw material for the tests was Ottawa sand sized between 14 and 28 mesh. Batches of 500 g of this sand were dry ground for 1 hr in an Abbe porcelain mill with 2700 g of quartz pebbles. The batches were split down to samples weighing approximately 30 g, and the weight of each sample was adjusted to exactly this value.

Jan 1, 1950

By C. B. Post, G. V. Luerssen

J. STEVENS*—The authors state that the contamination in the metal was due mostly to the ladle refractories. Did the contamination vary with different brands of refractories or different qualities in the ladle ? C. B. POST (authors' reply)—That would be expected. In our shop we have used a grade of firebrick which is fairly standard. We do use high refractory nozzles to combat this erosion and high refractory sleeves, but there is such a problem when you get a skull in a ladle you just cannot use these high refractory bricks; you rip out the whole ladle getting the skull cleaned up. The acid bricks form a glass, and you can pull the skull out when you do get them. I believe you might find variations among the different refractories depending on how much silicon is in the brick. This determines how much silica is going into the interface between the steel and the brick. Our brick is about 35 pet alumina and 65 pet silica. With a brick of 35 pet alumina in the slag patches new calculations would have to be made. R. PARDEE*—Where can you draw the line in determining the refractories as being a silica refractory ? C. B. POST—More silica than about 50 pet. I think perhaps that is generally the criterion. The brick we use is a good high grade fire brick. T. S. WASHBURN*--With reference to the higher silicon that is recommended as a result of this investigation, is it contemplated that the specified range would be raised to 0.40-0.60 pet silicon, or possibly 0.50-1.00 pet silicon? These higher silicon ranges would affect the physical properties of the steel and consequently there might be some complications with respect to educating the consumers to 'accept this revision of the conventional analysis. C. B. POST—It will take considerable work. Take AMS 6260 as an example. Ordinarily this specification calls for 60 or 75 manganese. Silicon has some

Jan 1, 1950

By Blade O. C.

This report is one of a series made by the Bureau of Mines under a cooperative agreement with the Coordinating Fuel and Equipment Research Committee of the Coordinating Research Council, Inc., on the characteristics of commercial aviation gasolines. The series of surveys is a continuation of like work conducted from 1940 to 1946 by the National Bureau of Standards under a similar cooperative agreement. A list of reports of previous surveys is given at the end of this paper.

Jan 1, 1950

By Herbert Clark Hoover, Lou Henry Hoover

QUESTIONS as to the methods of smelting ores and of obtaining metals I discussed in Book IX. Following this, I should explain in what manner the precious metals are parted from the base metals, or on the other hand the base metals from the precious'. Frequently two metals, occasionally more than two, are melted out of one ore, because in nature generally there is some amount of gold in silver and in copper, and some silver in gold, copper, lead, and iron ; likewise some copper in gold, silver, lead, id iron, and some lead in silver ; and lastly, some iron in copper2. But I will begin with gold. Gold is parted from silver, or likewise the latter from the former, whether it be mixed by nature or by art, by means of aqua valens3, and by powders which consist of almost the same things as this aqua. In order to preserve the sequence, I will first speak of the ingredients of which this aqua is made, then of the method of making it, then of the manner in which gold is parted from silver or silver from gold. Almost all these ingredients contain vitriol or alum, which, by themselves, but much more when joined with saltpetre, are powerful to part silver from gold. As to the other things that are added to them, they cannot individually by their own strength and nature separate those metals, but joined they are very powerful. Since there are many combinations, I will set out a few. In the first, the use of which is common and general, there is one libra of vitriol and as much salt, added to a third of a libra of spring water. The second contains two librae of vitriol, one of salt-petre, and as much spring or river water by weight as will pass away whilst the vitriol is being reduced to powder by the fire. The third consists of four librae of vitriol, two and a half librae of saltpetre, half a libra of alum, and one and a half librae of spring water. The fourth consists of two librae of vitriol, as many librae of saltpetre, one quarter of a libra of alum, and three-quarters of a Mbra of spring water. The fifth is composed of one libra of saltpetre,

Jan 1, 1950

By Wilbur Duvall

For the past few years the Applied Physics Branch has been investigating, experimentally, the generation and propagation of strain waves in rock. The strain waves are produced by the detonation of a high-velocity explosive placed in a small cavity in the rock. Strain gages mounted in the solid rock surrounding the cavity record the strain pulses propagated away from the source. Numerous strain-wave pulses have been recorded in different rock types for charges of various sizes and at various distances from the charge. Analysis of these records has shown, among other things, that there is associated with the strain wave a characteristic pulse width. This pulse width is dependent on the rock type and the distance from the shot point to the gage, but is apparently independent of the charge size or cavity size. Recent published literature on the generation and propagation of seismic waves indicates that the characteristic frequency of an elastic wave generated by an explosion should be a function of the rock type and the size of the cavity created by the explosion. Also, internal friction in the rock would produce absorption of high-frequency components, which would cause continual change in the shape of the pulse propagated. As the experimental data did not verify the expected change in pulse shape with cavity size, a theoretical investigation of the vibrations associated with a spherical cavity in an elastic medium was undertaken.

Jan 1, 1950

By Herbert Clark Hoover, Lou Henry Hoover

QUALITIES which the perfect miner should possess and the arguments which are urged for and against the arts of mining and metallurgy, as well as the people occupied in the industry, I have sufficiently discussed in the first Book. Now I have determined to give more ample information concerning the miners. In the first place, it is indispensable that they should worship God with reverence, and that they understand the matters of which I am going to speak, and that they take good care that each individual performs his duties efficiently and diligently. It is decreed by Divine Providence that those who know what they ought to do and then take care to do it properly, for the most part meet with good fortune in all they undertake; on the other hand, misfortune overtakes the indolent and those who are careless in their work. No person indeed can, without peat and sustained effort and labour, store in his mind the knowledge of every portion of the metallic arts which are involved in operating mines. If. a man has the means of paying the necessary expense, he hires as many men as he needs, and sends them to the various works. Thus formerly Sosias, the Thracian, sent into the silver mines a thousand slaves whom he had hired from the Athenian Nicias, the son of Niceratus1. But if a man cannot afford the expenditure he chooses of the various kinds of mining that work which he himself can most easily and efficiently do. Of these kinds, the two most important are the making prospect trenches and the washing of the sands of rivers, for out of these sands are often collected gold dust, or certain black stones from which tin is smelted, or even gems are sometimes found in them ; the trenching occasionally lays bare at the grass-roots veins which are found rich in metals. If therefore by skill or by luck, such sands or veins shall fall into his hands, he will be able to establish his fortune without expenditure, and from poverty rise to wealth. If on the contrary, his hopes are not realised, then he can desist from washing or digging. When anyone, in an endeavour to increase his fortune, meets the expenditure of a mine alone, it is of great importance that he should attend to his works and personally superintend everything that he has ordered to be done. For this reason, he should either have his dwelling at the mine,

Jan 1, 1950

By Kenneth M. Earl

In its program of investigation of deposits of strategic minerals, the Bureau of Mines did some development drilling at the Tapley deposit in an endeavor to find an additional source of copper. There are accounts that many years ago the property had some production; there are several old, inaccessible shafts apparently sunk on a vein in rhyolite or diabase. The waste dumps of these shafts contain considerable sulfides, chiefly pyrite and chalcopyrite. To cut the vein below the old mine workings, the Bureau of Mines? diamond-drilled five holes aggregating 1,204 feet. No significant copper mineralization was found.

Jan 1, 1950

By J. A. C. Ross

Introduction To enlighten those who may be wondering where anyone could find sufficient data to write a paper on underground concrete work, the author would like to explain that, at Copper Mountain, we have found it necessary to line numerous headings with a layer of concrete in order to keep them in a safe and serviceable condition. The majority of these headings are scram drifts and ore-pass raises. This paper will therefore deal, in the main, with the methods of and reasons for placing concrete in these headings. During recent years, radical changes have been made in the methods of mining ore at the Copper Mountain mine. After considerable experimenting, a mining system has been developed making use of diamond drills for primary breaking and transfering such broken ore through scram drifts with slusher hoists. With the advent of scram drifts, it soon became apparent that some substantial means of reinforcement and protection for the scram drifts themselves would be necessary. Since the orebodies in this mine are cut by numerous dykes or faults, and often both, it was anticipated that some means of support would be required where headings necessarily passed through these incompetent zones. Further, as experience was gained, scram drifts were driven into pillars and in close proximity to old workings so as to recover the maximum amount of ore. In such places, the ground is often severely fractured, either as a result of previous mining or from the effect of excessive rock pressures.

Jan 1, 1950