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By AIME AIME

THIS year the Petroleum Division holds its fall meeting at Houston, Texas, Oct. 2 and 3, with head- quarters at the Lamar Hotel. Technical sessions will be held in the morning and afternoon of both days. A smoker on Friday afternoon will afford an opportunity to get together socially. Saturday evening is left free for private parties to the beach at Galveston, where a wide variety of entertainment is available. On Oct. 4 there will be an excursion to Sugarland oil field, with luncheon at Boling and a visit to Boling sulfur mine and plant in the afternoon. There are nine technical papers on the program for Friday. Saturday morning will be devoted to oil production control and it is planned to make the discussion more

Jan 1, 1931

By V. H. Gottschalk

SEVERAL years ago a group in the metallurgical division of the U. S. Bureau of Mines began a study of the application of new developments in physics to metallurgical problems'. Among these developments were the extensions of what may be termed by analogy the "sound spectrum." Electromagnetic waves, from X-rays to radio waves, have been quite thoroughly explored for metallurgical use, but the sound spectrum, extending from low-frequency vibrations involved in certain types of metal failure by fatigue through the range of audible sound to inaudible vibrations having frequencies of many kilocycles, has had only meager consideration from metallurgists. Because of the general interest in the process recently demonstrated by St. Clair3 for flocculating smoke by means of sound waves, this article is written to point out possible applications of sound and supersonic (ultrasonic) waves in the metallurgical industry.

Jan 1, 1937

By Robert W. Thomas

LEACHING of mined-out areas at the Arizona property of the Ray Mines Division, Kennecott Copper Corp., was started on Jan. 20, 1.937, and by July 1, 1938, 10,000,000 lb. of copper had been produced by this method. Leaching operations at present are confined to the western portion of the ore body and over an area of approximately ten acres. The ore in this area was extremely high in pyrite and the copper content, which averaged slightly in excess of 1 per cent, was the result of incomplete secondary enrichment by solutions which apparently worked laterally from the main ore body. Above the ore was an unaltered zone of primary or protore averaging 125 ft. in thickness and containing approximately 0.6 per cent copper. Above this was the capping or leached zone averaging 50 ft. thick.

Jan 1, 1938

By Oliver Bowles, Carl A. Gnam

THE construction industry normally contributes extensively to the general economic welfare of all sections of the country. Billions of dollars are spent for materials and labor, and the success or failure of many business enterprises depends upon the volume of construction. The steel, aluminum, copper, cement, brick and tile, lime, gypsum, stone, sand and gravel, and several of the less prominent mineral industries are vitally concerned. Of great interest, therefore, is the accumulation of needed construction following the relative inactivity of the past five years, the recent moderate revival in building, and the prospect of a broader and more definite upturn. One may judge the magnitude of possible expenditure for construction by what has occurred in the past. The peak years were 1925 to 1928, inclusive, when the annual values of con- tracts awarded amounted to over six billion dollars. In marked contrast was the 1933 total of about 1% billion, the lowest level shown in the Federal Reserve Board Index, which goes back to 1919, and the more favorable 1935 figure of about 1.7 billion. An increase of nearly four billion over the 1935 volume would be necessary to equal the peak year 1928.

Jan 1, 1936

By L. A. Cranson

WHEN I came out of Stanford University in 1922, the out-look for men trained in geology, petroleum engineering, and mining was indeed dismal; in fact, so much so that most of us looked upon our future in those fields as pretty hopeless. Neither our professors nor those men in industry with whom we came in contact gave us any enthusiastic encouragement as to the future of ourselves or the fields we had chosen for our labors. I believe that the attitude of pessimism which saturates everyone about graduation time is lament able and short-sighted, and may often start a young man on his way with an attitude of defeatism. Instead, he should be starting out knowing that he can expect hard work and keen competition, but that the fields of his labours are expanding at an accelerated rate, and that strong, energetic efforts will as always accomplish highly satisfactory results.

Jan 1, 1941

By David Cole

THE New Cornelia Copper Co. is mining and treating a 'monzonite " porphyry" copper deposit that is all hard rock. The oxidized surface shell, which constitutes the leachable part of the orebody, is measurably more resistent to crushing and comminution processes than is the underlying sulfide portion. The siliceous ribs running through the whole orebody are harder to crush than the main mass and there is no soft crumbly material to furnish the large volume of primary fines that features the crusher feeds of most other porphyry properties. New Cornelia ore reaches the primary crushers with a greater. proportion of large 'pieces. When the New Cornelia company first equipped its 'property, it used the following machines and flow , scheme to reduce the ore to leaching size:

Jan 1, 1925

By Oliver Bowles

EACH year the broad diversified field of industrial minerals offers a panorama of new and interesting developments that not only concern the welfare of the industries themselves but have a more or less direct influence on the lives of citizens at large. Thus, the home life of multirudes may be affected by new building units that transmit light through walls instead of windows, by illuminated processed marble lighting fixtures and decorations, by the vast impetus given to thermal insulation Ly .mineral wool, expanded vermiculite, and related products, and, more remotely, by fireproof rugs and drap-

Jan 1, 1937

By AIME AIME

AMERICAN participation in the World Engineering Congress in Japan will be generous. Nearly seventy papers have been prepared and for- warded for printing and the A. I. M. E. is well represented in the list. At our San Francisco meeting four of these will be briefly reviewed by the authors for the benefit of those who are unable to go on to Tokyo. They constitute a group dealing with the present economic status as seen by engineers of the world's iron, coal, petroleum and non-ferrous metals. Messrs. Leith, Smith and Tryon, Requa, and Probert have written papers that constitute a notable series. Messrs. Jeffries, Sweetser and Kinney, and other Institute members have written papers dealing more closely with technologic progress. The latest list of delegates and members is printed below, names of A. I. M. E. members being set in italics.

Jan 1, 1929

By R. E. Grant

THE Cerro de Pasco Railway Co., owned and operated by the Corporation, is a common carrier whose chief functions are transportation of ore and concentrates from the mines at Cerro de Pasco to the smelter in Oroya, and haulage of coal from the coal mines at Goyllarisquisga to the coal washery at Fundicion. Connecting with the Peruvian Central Railway at Oroya, the C. de P. Railway maintains joint, daily freight and passenger service from Lima and the port of Callao to Cerro de Pasco, terminal of the C. de P. main line and gateway to the Huanuco Valley. Extending from Oroya to Cerro de Pasco the main line is a standard-gauge roadbed of 70-lb. rail, 132 km. long with a maximum compensated grade of 2.25 per cent and a curvature of 16°, climbing from an elevation of 12,272 ft. above sea level at Oroya, lowest station on the line, to 14,208 ft. at Cerro de Pasco. The highest point reached by the C. de P. is on the coal branch at Alcacocha where the rails are 14,385 ft. above the sea.

Jan 1, 1945

By George A. Miller

ALTHOUGH the Andean mountain belt, which contains almost all the metal deposits of the other South American nations, does not enter Brazil, this country is rich in mineral resources, for in area it accounts for half the continent and geologically it contains almost all of the Brazilian Shield. This great mass of ancient rocks has been relatively stable for a long time and forms a great area of plateaus and highlands interrupted only by the syncline which carries the Amazon River across it to the sea. Lowland Brazil - the great flood plains of the Amazon. Tocantins, Paraguay, and Parana Rivers-is of no interest to the miner, and in fact supports but a small proportion of the country's population. The highland area is divided into unequal parts by the Amazon River; the north half is underlain by the north lobe of the Brazilian Shield which extends into Venezuela as far as the Orinoco, and into the Guianas, and is known as the Guiana Highlands. Mineralization appears to have been weak in the Brazilian portion of these hills. In fact most of the ore deposits are to be found in the States of Minas Gerais and Bahia, although the neighboring states of Sao Paulo, Pernambuco, and Piauhy can also boast of some deposits. Goias and Matto Grosso are as yet incompletely prospected but are considered to contain reserves for the future.

Jan 1, 1945

By PERCY E. BARBOUR

SECONDARY copper1 has &come more or less of a bugbear generally. What is its influence is often the subject of heated argument. The inedapable fact usually quoted is that since in 1929 primary production of copper in the United States was 1,026,348 tons and secondary production was 626,550 tons, there- fore, 0.6 lb. of secondary is produced for every pound of primary, and "How can you get around that?" The matter seems very plain, now that I have reached my conclusions, but they are the result of much laborious study and research. I shall show that' the production of secondary copper is not 0.6 per lb. of primary, in spite of statistical appearances; that the production of secondary is a function of primary production rather than of price; that secondary production has 'only a sub-. ordinate influence on the price of copper and then only in abnormal times; that there is not an accumulating reservoir of secondary from which the country is some- time to be drowned in copper, as is believed by some, or a reservoir from which we are going to draw much needed and more or less inexhaustible stores in the future, as is believed by others; and finally, that the United States always produces more copper than it uses and exports the surplus. These are all controversial points, and for that reason and to anticipate argument I have set forth my reasoning in considerable detail.

Jan 1, 1931

By AIME AIME

THE session* on Non-ferrous Metallurgy held Monday morning was conducted in a most satisfactory manner with F. F. Colcord, vice-president, U. S. Smelting Co., in the chair. In spite of the early hour and the fact that members desired to register first, the meeting started quite promptly, with almost every chair in the room occupied. About 65 men were present and during the morning many more came but, not being able to find room, drifted away to other fields of activity. The first paper presented, "Lead Refining Practice of the Bunker Hill Smelter of the Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Co.," by Alfred F. Beasley (T. P. 303), was read in abstract by Edward H. Robie, and an animated discussion followed in which Messrs. Johnson (written discussion), Brewer and Jones and Professor Hayward participated. The discussion hinged principally on the liquation of the zinc crusts, but Professor Hayward called attention to the fact that the practice of keeping the gold and silver crusts separate was not new and the present scheme illustrated the axiom that processes based on fundamental principles should not be considered as extinct; one can never tell when it may be found advantageous to make use of them again.

Jan 1, 1930

By C. A. Schempp

STUDY of the adaptability of Tintic Standard ores to concentration dates back to somewhat before January, 1921, when the chloridizing mill at Harold, Utah, was put into operation. The operation of this mill has been fully covered in the TRANSACTIONS (Vol. 73). The process consisted essentially of a chloridizing roast followed by a percolating leach with a nearly saturated solution of common salt, acidified with sulfuric acid; precipitation of silver on sponge copper, and of copper and lead on tin-plate cuttings. This mill was built to treat the low grade siliceous ores having an average content of

Jan 1, 1933

By Theodore Marvin

FOLLOWING the receipt of questionnaires from many parts of the world, the Aviation Committee is completing a review of the use of aviation in mining and petroleum operations. The summary of this study should be available at the 1937 Annual Meeting in New York City, at which time several papers will be presented on specific application of aerial geologizing. From the reports received, there is little question that this air branch of mining is here to stay. Of course, the transportation of personnel arid material continues to merit attention but it is in the division of aerial geologizing that flying is finding its widest, most technical application.

Jan 1, 1937

By AIME AIME

LEROY SALSICH has had 37 consecutive years of operating and executive experience in the Lake Superior iron region during 35 of which he has been a member of the A.I.M.E. His recent election as an institute Director to represent the iron and copper country therefore brings to the Board a man long known throughout the area that he represents and well acquainted with the history of the Institute. Mr. Salsich is a native of the area in which his professional life has been spent, having been horn at Hartland. Wis., and graduating from the state university's college of engineering in 1901. A call had come to the college from the Lake Superior Consolidated Iron Mines, at Duluth.

Jan 1, 1938

By J. L. CAHUTHERS

MANY different methods are used for transporting coal from the working face to the tipple. The common methods are animal haulage, locomotive haulage, conveyor systems, and combinations of these three, supplemented, at times, by the miner pushing his own car. Haulage may also be classified into gathering and main line. Gathering haulage is the collecting of loaded cars to a point whence they are hauled to the tipple. In this there is perhaps more lost-time than on the main line because there are .more units in the operation to be synchronized. Also, conditions on the gathering haul- age, such as bad track, poor timbering, insufficient motive power, etc., cause delays; usually these are corrected on the main-line haulage.

Jan 1, 1931

By AIME AIME

WITH the recent increase in the price of gold, its economic recovery at depths formerly considered impractical has become a present possibility. Two important difficulties must be met: pressure bursts of the rock, and the reduced efficiency of human labor subjected to the higher temperatures and the increased humidity at the greater depths. In the following abstract of a paper by J. H. Dobson, presented before the South African Institution of Engineers on

Jan 1, 1935

By Francis A. Thomson

IN reviewing mineral industry education a year ago, occasion was taken to congratulate the Institute in general and to felicitate the Education Di- vision in particular on "the most gratifying growth which is taking place in Institute consciousness in regard to its responsibility for the recruitment and adequate training of student personnel and for the successful bridging of the difficult gap between graduation and achievement of professional status." Continuation of this growth of interest throughout 1939 is a recognition of the validity of the splendid statement of George Otis Smith that the mining students of today are the ore reserve of the Institute for the future. In this connection one recalls the equally apt expression of another distinguished geologist, George M. Fowler, who, speaking of exploration for ore deposits, says, "The place to look for elephants is where elephants have been found."

Jan 1, 1940

By NORMAN D. FitzGkrald

IN 1942 the outstanding characteristic of the petroleum industry was the multiplicity of war-induced distortions in virtually every segment of the business. So devastating was the success of the Nazi submarine campaign along the shores of the western Atlantic and on transoceanic routes that within six months after our entry into the war petroleum rationing was necessary in the East Coast area. The conquest of the Netherlands Indies by the Japanese three months after the opening of the war in the Pacific cut off our normal sources of rubber, and in our first year of war nationwide rationing of gasoline had to be invoked to conserve rubber-borne transportation facilities. Meanwhile the oil industry faced the imperative necessity for rapid expansion in the output of aviation gasoline and later accepted the vast responsibility for developing a new industry. synthetic rubber manufacture. Probably no other essentially peacetime industry has been forced to make so many complicated adjustments, yet its response to its wartime obligations has been nothing short of dramatic.

Jan 1, 1943

By C. E. Williams

THE Iron and Steel Division, A.I.M.E., is unique in this country in that it serves all phases of the iron and steel industries. Through its publications, its meetings, and its sponsorship of new technical developments in the industries, it has proved of great value. The various technical committees of the Division are the nucleus around which this service can be developed. The Blast Furnace and Raw Materials Committee has done excellent work. The need for beneficiation of iron ores is increasing and the economics of this operation are developing more and more in favor of increased activities. Ores that are slightly undergrade should be concentrated up to grade to supplant the present practice of mixing with higher-grade ores to bring up the average composition. Marginal ores that are not now being mined, or that are being mined and piled for future use, should be concentrated. The development of the use of sinter in the blast furnace, because of the elimination of fines, the advantage of better sizing of the charge, the resulting reduction of coke consumption, and increased output of pig iron per furnace, will make concentration and sintering become practical ahead of its natural time.

Jan 1, 1936