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By E. W. Krampert

Oil development continued active in Wyoming during 1937, with much of the interest centered on prospecting for new pools, following a rather intensive seismograph play in 1936. The new fields of Lance Creek, Medicine Bow and Quealy were the centers of intense development in proved areas, but routine drilling occurred in most old fields. A new and deeper producing horizon (the Leo sand) was opened up in the Lance Creek field, which materially extends the producing area and will probably account for continued active development during 1938. The discovery in 1936 of oil in the Eocene Wasatch formation at Powder Wash, northwestern Colorado, tended for a time to stimulate prospecting in the deep Tertiary basins, but this interest as rapidly declined after drilling several failures on similar structures and the discovery that the productive area at Powder Wash itself was very small. A most interesting test of an Eocene structure was drilled by The Superior Oil Company of California on the South Baggs structure, in Carbon County, Wyoming. South Baggs is one of the best developed structures in the Red Desert Washakie Basin, which also includes the Hiawatha gas field and the Powder Wash gas and oil field. The Superior Oil Co. started the well according to contract but apparently had lost interest in the prospects, for it abandoned the well at 2138 ft. without testing the oil-bearing and gas-bearing horizons of the Wasatch. The Sinclair Wyoming Oil Co. drilled a deep test in the Muskrat gas field to the Madison. This well discovered oil in the Embar formation, which was considered noncommercial because of depth. After the Embar was abandoned the hole was plugged back and the various sands tested by shooting through the casing with the Lane-Wells gun. The Lakota sand was found to contain high-pressure gas and the well was completed as a 24-million-foot gasser at 2175 lb. rock pressure. This is a new sand in an old field. The Italo Petroleum Co. drilled a flank well on the Hamilton dome structure and found oil in the lower Embar formation. Thk merely extends the limits of production, as one old well on the structure had

Jan 1, 1938

By George S. Evans

CERTAIN American operators believe that desulphurizing in the ladle offers a means of increasing blast-furnace and open-hearth yields with the possibility of improvements in quality of the steel. In fact, several producers have experimented with practically all of the known desulphurizing agents, including both standard grades of the alkalies and special preparations that have been offered from time to time during the past several years. Some of these are regularly being used today in large-scale commercial operations, with good results. Also, it is the practice to treat off-sulphur casts in the blast-furnace ladle at a number of plants. It is not known, however, that anyone in the steel industry (American) has ever adequately equipped a plant for desulphurizing blast-furnace metal in an efficient manner as regular operating practice. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the importance of correct equipment and proper handling for obtaining uniform and efficient results. As will be shown, at the temperature of molten iron the alkalies are instantly neutralized by any free slag present, dissipating their desulphurizing value. Entrained silicates are rapidly washed out of the metal bath by the highly basic soda slags and will be satisfied ahead of desulphurizing reactions with FeS. More or less of the reagent will always be used up through reactions with the refractory lining. Desulphurization will be limited to the action of the free alkali then remaining in the slag. Causes for the erratic results generally found with desulphurizing tests in blast-furnace transfer ladles would include, among other things, variations in the quantity of furnace slag coming down with the metal, and differences in the percentage of kish and entrained silicates in the different casts. As the alkalies instantly unite with any free slags or silicates present, these, with any kish coming off, both dilute the reagent and reduce the surface contact between the slag and metal, thereby retarding the desulphurizing reactions.

Jan 1, 1938

By J. B. Littlefield

This study is one of at number conducted to determine the concentration of dust in the air during the complete cycle of operation in wet drilling; information as to various factors connected with, drilling in mining operations is considered to be of definite value in the control and prevention of air dustiness, and it in particularly desirable to ascertain whet features of present-day wet-drilling operations in mine work contribute to dust disease and to remedy deficiencies when they are found.

Jan 1, 1938

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Jan 1, 1938

By C. W. Davis

During the second year of its existence, the Ore-Testing Section has actively prosecuted work in the standardization of testing methods, in conducting routine tests and analyses for other Government agencies, and in the determination of recommended processes for the treatment of representative ores from mining districts. Close cooperation has been maintained between the members and units of this Section and those of other Sections, J. A. Woolf and J. B. Clemmer have continued to act in an advisory capacity and R. E. Head has contributed valuable assistance in the microscopic examination of ores and metallurgical products that did not respond readily to standard treatment methods.

Jan 1, 1938

By R. S. Dean

This is the fourth of a series; of annual report of the Metallurgical Division to be released in this form and cover the fiscal year July 1, 1937, to rune 30, 1938. This report is not merely a recitation or brief of the year's work; it contains technical information in usable form, although a some of this has appeared or will he issued in greater detail in separate reports. The table of contents that follows fists the principal investigations accomplished and those that are being continued. Other projects are being begun and contemplated for the next year.

Jan 1, 1938

[This is the sixth in a series of reports on properties of commercial motor fuels, made in accordance with a cooperative Agreement between the Cooperative Fuel Research (C.F.R.) Committee and the Bureau of tines of the Department of the Interior. The first report gave data on motor gasolines sold during the winter of 1935.-36.3/ The present report cover brands of gasoline represented by 1,490 samples plus thus: from the Pacific Coat, which ;sere averaged by the Pacific Coast Technical Group before being submitted and are published exactly as they were submitted. In some areas reports were received from 8 to 10 companies on the same brands of gasoline, Whereas in other areas only one Company reported on a brand. Thus, it can be seen that soma of the data are more representative than others. The inclusion of data from several cities within some of the districts has improved the report by reducing the number of brands reported by only one company. Severe changes have been made in the districts. A new district, Memphis, Tenn., has been formed to include Arkansas any western Tennessee. The Rocky Mountain area, have been divided into three sections. Salt Lake City and Denver form the Middle Rocky Mountain district; Laramie, Wyo., Idaho, Montana, and. Spokane, Wash., are included in the North Rocky Mountain district, and Arizona, New Mexico , and El Paso, Tex., have been combined to represent the South Rock Mountain district. The Cleveland district has been expanded to include Ohio ant. Indiana. Eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, and northern Virginia are included in the Washington (D. C.) district. The Atlanta district includes Georgia, South Carolina; Mississippee, and northern Florida.]

Jan 1, 1938

The works of Metal Manufactures Ltd are situated at Port Kemblam NSW, within a few hundred yards of a deep-water harbour. At present they occupy about 26 acres, and ample provision has been made for future extensions. Rail connection exists between various parts of the Works and the main South Coast Railway, the harbour jetties and the adjacent copper refinery of The Electrolytic Refining and Smelting Co Ltd. A plan of the works is shown in Fig 1.The company was incorporated in March 1916, and commenced production of copper wire in June 1918. Early in 1920, tube manufacture was undertaken, followed by telephone cable mnufacture in 1923. Today the Works consist of five principal sections: Founrdy, Tube Factory, Wire Factory, Cable Factory and Case and Drum Factory. Whilst the last four are engaged in producing the finished materials for despatch from the Works, the first-mentioned is engaged in producing copper, brass, and other non-ferrous billets for use in the Tube and Wire factories. In addition, there are Engineering and Metallurgical Departments supporting the manufacturing sections, and in these, as well as in all other sections of the Works, extensions have been carried out from time to time to provide for increased output and new types of products.

Jan 1, 1938

By Gerhard Derge

A SERIES of studies of the corrosion of tin is under way in the Metals Research Laboratory at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. The complete program includes examination of the corrosion properties of high-purity tin and the changes produced in these properties by the addition of varying amounts of alloying elements. Other studies of this subject have been made recently under the sponsorship of the International Tin Research and Development Council, but these researches have been confined largely to the weakly acid environments commonly encountered in the canning industry.1 There is little information available regarding the corrosion of tin under alkaline conditions, but such data would be of value, for a large amount of the metal is used under such conditions. The potential measurements to be described were made because they seemed to offer the most rapid method for obtaining a general view of the conditions to be encountered in such service. These experiments will also serve to establish a technique that will be of value in further studies. It must be emphasized that the results reported are those of controlled laboratory experiments and that the conclusions drawn cannot yet be applied to service conditions; rather, they point to the directions in which more exhaustive experimental work may be done to best advantage. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The first work was devoted entirely to the problem of obtaining reproducible results from a series of potential measurements. Only the methods finally adopted as standard will be described here, except when the variations from these have furnished results of interest. The cell used is shown schematically in Fig. 1. The electrolyte is contained in the vessel A (an inverted bell jar), whose ground top is fitted to the transite-board lid B. The controlled atmosphere can be admitted

Jan 1, 1938

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Jan 1, 1938

By H. T. Wyatt, A. S. Baptie

The Ten Section field is approximately 10 miles southwest of Bakers-field, Kern County, Calif. (Fig. 1). There is no surface evidence of the existence of the Ten Section structure, which subsurface exploration has shown to be a gently folded, anticlinal dome. Regionally, this field occurs as a fold in the deeper beds of the gently rolling floor of the San Joaquin Valley. It is on the easterly slope of the valley, its position with relation to the axis of this syncline not having been determined. The field was discovered by Shell Oil Co. with the completion of well Stevens A-l, on June 2, 1936, at a depth of 7888 ft. The location for this

Jan 1, 1938

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Jan 1, 1938

By E. D. Gardner

From the standpoint of tonnage and dollar value copper is the most important nonferrous metal mined in North America. The opening of copper mines has had an important bearing on the development and settlement of many sections of the continent. The prosperity of many of the mining States or provinces depends directly upon the copper-mining industry. Normally, about 35,000 men are employed in the copper mines, mills, and smelters of the United States. The United States is the most important producer of copper among the nations; more copper is mined in North America than in any other continent, and for many years the United States alone produced about half of the copper of the world. During the last 10 years increasing production in South America and Africa has reduced the relative importance of North America and the United States.

Jan 1, 1938

By E. C. Lane

For a number of years the Bureau of Mines has been studying crude petroleum from the producing fields of the United States, During the past year 10 crude-oil samples have been collected and analyzed from the producing fields of Pennsylvania and New York. This report gives the results of these analyses and for the purpose of comparison also analyses of samples of crude oils taken previously from some of these fields. This survey includes samples from normal producing properties as well as from properties using stimulative production methods such as water flooding and rapressuring. The outstanding feature of the survey is that the crude oils from tike various fields throughout this general area are similar in character and uniform in quality although they were produced from different sands and by various methods. Samples from fields in Venango County, Pa., however, appear to have a lower gasoline content than the others. This report includes two analyses reprinted from Bureau of Mines Bulletin 291.4/

Jan 1, 1938

By John Gross

From the time when man first pounded one rock upon another or used heat and sudden chilling with water to disintegrate rock, the art of crushing advanced but slowly to the mule-driven arrastre and the Chilean mill stage until the advent of power-driven appliances made material progress possible. The combined efforts of manufacturers and operators have made modern machines highly efficient mechanically. Although marked progress has been made along mechanical lines, the theory and conception of underlying principles have not advanced so rapidly. This lack of advance in theory may be attributed to the unfortunate situation resulting from the controversy as to whether the Rittinger or the Kick law is applicable to crushing. Many pages of the technical literature are burdened with theoretical discussions in favor of one or the other of these laws, which have tended to cloud rather than to clear the atmosphere.

Jan 1, 1938

By E. C. Lane

For a number of years the Bureau of Mines has been studying crude petroleum from the producing fields of the United States. During the past year 10 crude-oil samples have been collected and analyzed from the producing fields of Pennsylvania and New York. This report gives the results of these analyses and for the purpose of comparison also analyses of samples of crude oils taken previously from some of these fields. This survey includes samples from normal producing properties as well as from properties using stimulative production methods such as water flooding and repressuring. The outstanding feature of the survey is that the crude oils from tine various fields throughout this general area are similar in character and uniform in quality although they were produced from different sands and by various methods. Samples from fields in Venango County, Pa., however, appear to have a lower gasoline content than the others. This report includes two analyses reprinted from Bureau of Mines Bulletin 291.4/

Jan 1, 1938

By C. W. Davis

This report follows the same general scheme as did its predecessors; it begins with a dissertation on some phase of ore-testing, continues with results of investigations of ore-treatment methods and of metallurgically important analytical processes, and concludes with an exposition of tests made by established methods on typical ores selected as representative of certain mining districts. One of the first things that is done after an ore has been received is to look at it under the microscope. Microscopic examination serves as an important complement to chemical analysis in interpreting the percentage composition in terms of minerals. If it has been found difficult to treat an ore, the reasons for this action and indicated methods to overcome the difficulties may be ascertainedd by testing with a microscope. For example, failures in selective flotation have been traced to intimate mineral association and changes in mineral surfaces through incipient oxidation. The importance of surface stains or tarnishes and the presence of adhering slime particles have been found to be responsible for the difficulty experienced in the treatment of certain gold ores.

Jan 1, 1938

By S. H. Lorain

This paper briefly describes the principal known commercial and near commercial deposits of gold-bearing gravel end the principal placer mining operations of Idaho County, Idaho. It is one of a series of similar papers on western mining districts. The data used in writing this paper were gathered during the summer of 1937. Information concerning gold-bearing gravels was obtained from prospectors and operators, while operators supplied most of the data on mining operations. No attempt was made actually to test the gravels. The principal object of the examination was to indicate placer areas worthy of further investigation by prospective operators.

Jan 1, 1938

By S. H. Lorain

This paper, which describes lode gold mining in Idaho county, Idaho, is one of a series on western mining districts being published by the Bureau of Mines. It describes mining and milling practices, gives costs, and discusses transportation, climate, power, labor, and other conditions that affect them. The materiel upon which the paper was based was gathered during a field survey in the summer of 1937.

Jan 1, 1938

By R. S. Dean

[During the past year the Metallurgical Fundamentals Section gave about an equal amount of time to the experimental determination of fundamental thermodynamic constants and to the demonstration of the application of such data to more directly practical metallurgical problems. The first division of the work - the actual experimental measurements of typical thermodynamic constants - was carried out an two problems, termed ?continuing? programs, namely, (1) measurements of Specific Heats at Low Temperatures and (2) Measurements of Heats of Formation and Free Energies. Specific substances chosen for investigation are classified as (n) those that have been the subject of requests for information from the industry and that, upon examination, seem of sufficient practical importance to justify study, and (b) compounds that are difficult to treat metallurgically, or whose specific thermodynamic properties have not yet been determined satisfactorily and for which accurate data might suggest improved or new methods of Metallurgical treatment, or (c) materials recognized as belonging to a social class with exceptional thermodynamic properties and, hence, of scientific as well as technical importance.]

Jan 1, 1938