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By W. H. Eardley

It is increasingly evident that the excellence of blast-furnace operation to a great extent depends upon the preparation of the products fed into the furnace. The preparation of these products is carried on largely in the roasting and sintering departments. Prior to the building of flotation plants in Utah and other western states for the treatment of lead-zinc ores, the gravity concentrates received at the Midvale smelter amounted to about 4000 tons per month, containing 24 per cent. lead and 10 or 11 per cent. zinc. This product was about 20 mesh—that is, 45 per cent. of it would be plus 20 mesh and the balance minus 20 mesh. About 1000 tons of pyrite per month, containing 5 per cent. lead and 10 per cent. zinc, was also received. These products were sent to the multiple-hearth roasters for calcining, after which they were sent to the Dwight-Lloyd machines for sintering with other ores. The sintering charge passed over the machines but once. The first flotation products received consisted of a wet, sticky, muddy mass, containing a large amount of moisture, up to 19 or 20 per cent., and it was almost impossible to feed them with any degree of regularity, if at all, through our standard feeders; but the amount of flotation product received during the first year or so was relatively small and it virtually lost its identity by being mixed with a large amount of jig and table concentrates. As the quantity of flotation products increased, more efficient filtering was accomplished and the moisture greatly reduced. Flotation Products Received At the present time the Midvale plant receives about 4300 tons per month of flotation product running 60 per cent, lead and 4.5 per cent. zinc, 85 per cent. of which is minus 200 mesh and contains about 8 per cent, moisture; and 4000 tons per month of pyrite of similar fineness, running about 2 per cent. lead and 3.5 per cent. zinc, containing about 10 per cent, moisture. The lower moisture greatly reduces the difficulties of handling, making it possible to run a 100 per cent. flotation feed on a multiple-hearth furnace without serious mechanical troubles. The calcine, however, would contain nodules and balls of unroast,ed concentrates, sulfur elimination

Jan 1, 1928

By Carl E. Swartz

ALTHOUGH a number of articles appeared during the war advocating the use of cadmium in lead-tin solders, very little information of value can be found in the literature regarding the properties of solders containing cadmium. In most of the published articles the cadmium seems to have been considered merely as a partial substitute for tin in a tin-lead alloy rather than as an essential constituent of a ternary alloy. The primary object of the substitution of cadmium for tin was to lessen the amount of tin required, at a time when the latter was scarce and high-priced, and thus to produce a cheaper solder. While this object was accomplished, the new properties resulting from a change from a binary lead-tin alloy to a ternary lead-tin-cadmium alloy were not given proper consideration in many cases. For the past few years, the American Smelting & Refining Co. has been marketing a very considerable amount of cadmium in the form of lead-tin-cadmium alloys for use as solders for certain special purposes, and the successful use of these solders suggested that if more extensive knowledge were available concerning the properties of lead-tin-cadmium alloys of various compositions their field of usefulness might be materially extended. The investigation described in the present paper was undertaken to obtain this information and, by means of tests under conditions approaching those of practical use, to determine the suitability of cadmium solders for various purposes. CHARACTERISTICS AND REQUIREMENTS OF SOLDERS IN GENERAL General Physical Properties.-When cast into bars, solder should present a smooth and bright appearance free from oxide inclusions and bubbles. Ductility should be as great as possible without sacrificing tensile strength, and vice versa. Hardness and specific gravity are not of any great importance. Melting Characteristics.-The melting or solidification range is important. This statement applies both to the extent of the range and to the actual temperature at which complete solidification occurs. A rather narrow solidification range is desirable in soft solders in order that solidification may take place quickly. The solder should have high fluidity at temperatures only slightly above its melting range. For a

Jan 1, 1928

By C. V. Millikan

New developments in air-gas lift practices in the Mid-Continent area since our Pall meeting in Fort Worth have done much to increase the efficiency of installations, and thus bring within economic limit of air-gas lift many wells which could not have been flowed profitably before. After the gas-lift had so thoroughly demonstrated its value in the Seminole field, its use spread to other areas and many installations were made of which the economy could be questioned. In the Seminole area, when production began to decline it was necessary either to increase the efficiency of the air or gas-lift or to put the wells on the pump, and pumping was not a process of lifting oil to which any operator looked forward with confidence. These conditions have resulted in the development of many practices which increase the efficiency and permit wells to be flowed with air or gas which earlier could not have been flowed economically, and wells which have been flowing to continue to a lower rate of production. The practices which have come into more common usage in the Mid-Continent area recently are mostly revivals of and improvements on practices which have been known in air-lift work for several years. Many arc peculiar to the individual well on which they are used. Intermittent Flowing Some interesting results are being obtained in Seminole and other districts by intermittent injection of gas. Gas is introduced during per-iods iods of 3 to 5 min. at a rate considerably over that necessary to acquire the production at a steady rate of injection, and is then cut off for a period of 3 to 15 min. Two to five wells are run from the same group of conlpressors. The total volume of gas required is sometimes reduced as much as one-third of that required when it is introduced at a constant rate, without changing the amount of oil production. The maximum pressure required is usually higher, but the average equal to or lower than that required for constant rate of flow. The effect on the wells is usually an irregular rate of flowing which may cause inconvenience where recycling is practiced. It would seem that this increase in efficiency is due to less slippage when the gas is introduced intermittently than when it is intro-

Jan 1, 1928

By E. M. Wise

THE properties required of gold alloys for jewelry are not well standardized, due in part to problems peculiar to certain branches of the jewelry industry, in part to the individual preference of the fabricator and to his willingness to cope with certain difficulties in manufacture, which arise with the use of certain alloys. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS In general, the properties desired may be classed as follows: 1. Color should conform to the dictates of good taste and smart style. 2. Corrosion resistance and tarnish resistance should be good. This is to a considerable extent determined by the carat. Resistance to such corrosive agents as mercuric chloride as well as certain depilatories is unreasonable to expect and difficult to meet. 3. Strength and hardness must be adequate to maintain the delicate contours of finely modeled jewelry. 4. Wear resistance must be great enough to resist abnormal wear, such as is encountered by a wedding ring in a lifetime of wear. 5. Ductility must be sufficient to permit the fabrication of drawn shells, tubes and difficult shapes. Material having a yield point of not less than 60,000 lb. per sq. in., an ultimate strength of 100,000 lb. per sq. in., and an elongation of 40 per cent. is desirable. 6. Melting point should be between 800° and 1200° C.

Jan 1, 1928

By Milnor Roberts

CORNWALL, a Mecca for metal miners the world over, is easily reached from the southern coast of England. Passengers who land at Plymouth or Southampton can connect with a fast train from London called the "Riviera express," which traverses the beautiful counties bordering the English Channel. In Cornwall the traveler soon notices the pits and stock-piles of white china clay, and the metal mines, both placer and hard rock. The deposits are associated with granite batholiths, of which there are four principal ones, each a few miles in diameter. Tin mines are especially worked in the granite near its borders and also in the immediately surrounding Paleozoic slates. Copper and lead are no longer of importance here but tin is being produced steadily from several mines, with arsenic and tungsten as by-products. At the close of the war the man-power available. for these mines had been reduced to one-third of normal, and only now is it again reaching full strength. As mining in Cornwall antedates the Christian era, even a Nevada prospector would have to admit that "she's a permanent camp." SUB-TROPICAL CORNWALL Redruth and Camborne are industrial centers of the tin mining industry, but more tourist hotels are found in neighboring resorts such as St. Ives, a quaint fish-ing town on the Atlantic-side of the peninsula of Corn-wall, where the numerous cats descended from those mentioned in the ancient riddle-rhyme about St. Ives now occupy every doorstep and wall. Another charm-ing resort. Penzance on the shore of the English Channel, is known by name to the public through the opera "The Pirates of Penzance," but is of especial in-terest to students of nature for its palm trees and other subtropical plants, which thrive owing to the nearness of the gulf stream, although the latitude is that of northern Newfoundland, Winnipeg, and the northern end of Vancouver Island. Among the industrial plants at Camborne are those of Holman Brothers, Ltd., where drills and other forms of mining equipment are manufactured. At the Corn-wall School of Mines, which specializes on the district, the staff has assembled excellent collections of local ores, which repay study by a visitor.

Jan 1, 1928

By Walter Miller

During no similar period in the development of petroleum refining technology has so much progress been made in methods and equipment for the economical utilization of heat. Drastically severe commercial and economical conditions controlling the refining industry during 1927 gave a great impetus to improved efficiency and more economical operation in all departments. I think it is fair to say, however, that more progress has been made in the department of heat utilization than in other branches. I use the word utilization advisedly in the dual sense of better primary generation and application of heat and of saving by recovery methods. It was because of this trend that the subject, "Economical Application of Heat," was made the keynote of the refinery engineering sessions just completed. No new, outstanding elemental discoveries can be claimed for the year along this line. Some of the progress made has been in the development of better furnaces and distilling equipment embodying the more modern principles of boiler practice in obtaining complete combustion of the fuel, low excess air requirements and high transfer rates through the heating surface. Transfer rates of 3000 to 6000 B. t. u. per sq. ft. per hr. were considered good some time ago in the older type of equipment. Today a transfer rate of 25,000 to 35,000 B. t. u. is an actual accomplishment in commercial installations and engineers are talking of the feasibility of 50,000, 75,000, even 100,000 R. t. u. per sq. ft. per hr. Contributing most to bringing this about have been the rational use of the velocity factor on both the oil and firing side of the heating surface, and the study and application of the principles of radiant heat in furnace design. Vapor Heat Economy The principle of heat exchange, especially against oil vapors, has been applied to a greater extent than ever before. The recovery of heat from oil vapors is not new. This was practiced 20 years ago or more in Europe,

Jan 1, 1928

By Lloyd Emory

THE region known as. Guyana or Guiana stretches along the north coast of South America from the mouth of the Orinoco River in Venezuela to the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil. Politically, it is divided into British, Dutch, and French Guiana, extend¬ ing into Venezuela on the north and into Brazil on the south. Because the area is within the sweep of the northeast trade winds and of approximately the same latitude, plant' and animal life are fairly uniform throughout. The geology is very similar as far as the northern coast is concerned. The drainage is taken care of by a number of large rivers that flow northward directly into the sea. The Courantyne River, which roughly divides the area into half, is the eastern boundary of British Guiana.1 The lower reaches of this river are also the center axis of an ancient bay that at one time indented the coast-line at this point. The old shore-line and, in fact, successive shore-lines can be traced from near the present coast-line in, the northwest district of British-Guiana, south-east and inland, crossing the Essequibo River near Dahli, the Demerara near Christianburg, the Berbice at the mouth of the Kuruduni River and the Courantyne at Vaka-Kuyaha Falls. The line then swings around to the northeast and again approaches the coast near St. Lau-rent in French Guiana. This article will be confined to British Guiana and largely to the valley of the Demerara River, but for geographic names .and topographic details it might, however, apply to Dutch Guiana as well. British Guiana, which comprises about 90,000 sq. mi. and is as large as England, Scotland, and Wales combined, may be divided into three belts, the alluvial belt or coastal plain, the foot-hill area (often spoken of as the sand clay belt), and the hinterland.

Jan 1, 1928

By W. F., Netzeband

SEVERAL criteria have been used more or less successfully in finding and developing orebodies in this district. Among them is the relation of the fracture to the orebodies. It has been known for some time that there was some relation, but it has been but recently. that careful study has been given to this subject. Like all the criteria used in this district, this relationship must be used with caution, for what-is true in one part of the district is not necessarily true in another.

Jan 1, 1928

By T. A. Wilson, S. L. Hoyt

THE plastic deformation of slender single crystals of zinc has been described in some detail in the paper by Mark, Polanyi and Schmid,1 which has become a classic, and also by one of the present authors in a somewhat shorter account.' The study of single-crystal zinc is termed classical because zinc single crystals offer, perhaps, the best material yet available for the study of atomic behavior during deformation and the effect known as "strengthening" in metals. A considerable amount of additional work has also been done on single-crystal zinc, but as it is not closely related to the present paper it will not be considered. Throughout all the former work, the mechanism of plastic deformation first described by Mark, Polanyi and Schmid has been assumed to hold. This may be said to offer the strongest confirmation of its correctness. Even so, the picture of the process has never been as completely portrayed as is desirable. The first object of the present paper is to describe work that has been done in this field, and which is even yet being carried on, in the hope that a more complete picture may be obtained. Mathewson and Phillips' have recently described a new mechanism of the deformation of zinc based on their study of large rectangular crystals. One of their conclusions was that deformation produced twinning with a rotation of some of the basal planes into positions 94° removed from their original position; a position almost the same as that of the prismatic planes before twinning. A second conclusion was that fracture occurred along these basal planes in their new position, and, therefore that fractures previously regarded as prismatic were in reality basal. Such findings are of great significance and they raise a question as to the generality of such behavior. Professor Mathewson's opinion is that even the slender cylindrical single crystals behave in the same manner as his large rectangular crystals when strained by simple tension.

Jan 1, 1928

By Ernest Darby

WHEN bronze is melted in open-flame furnaces a considerable amount of slag is formed during the melting operation. This slag may be incidental to the melting practice or it may be formed intentionally by slag-forming constituents added to the furnace charge to provide a covering for the melted metal. When this slag is removed from the furnace, it contains, in addition to the free metal carried with it by the skimming operation, a considerable amount of metal as oxide either combined or mechanically mixed with it. By the usual crushing and washing methods this metallic oxide generally goes to the tailings pile, so diluted by other foundry waste that its recovery is economically impossible. If this furnace slag is not mixed with other foundry waste, practically all of the metal oxide as well as the free metal may be recovered by some form of smelting operation. The first side of the problem to be considered is the amount of slag produced. It may not be true that the majority of foundries have no record of the amount of slag made, but it is certainly true that a very great many either have no record or pay little attention to it. Usually the collection of furnace slag for one normal week's run will be sufficient to determine the advisability of its being handled in a different manner from the crushing and concentrating generally employed. If a large representative sample of the accumulation is crushed and concentrated and the recovery compared with the results of a careful assay, it will be found that a large percentage of the total metal content was lost in the washing process. The percentage of loss will be greater than the metallic oxide content, as some free metal in extremely fine particles always is carried away in grains of slag. From such a comparison, it may be determined whether or not the slag should be melted, sold or treated as before. An example of an actual test of this kind is given below.

Jan 1, 1928

By Frank A. Wardlaw

MY subject covers the effect that recent metallurgy has had on operations at the Utah-Delaware mine. This mine is the old Highland Boy mine of Bingham Canyon, Utah, one that has now been in operation for about 30 years. It was first operated by Messrs. Weir and Newhouse as a gold mine, under direction of the Highland Boy Gold Mining Co. The ore was oxidized gold ore and it was treated on the property in a cyanidation plant. During the process of development, sulfide ore was found assaying about 5 per cent copper. It proved to be the discovery of what is yet the largest sulfide copper orebody in the State. The first shipment was made in December, 1896. A smelter was built in Salt Lake Valley to treat this ore and not long after the property was sold to the Utah Consolidated Mining Co. From 1900 to 1924, the mine was a large producer of direct-smelting ore which averaged for many years 4.5 per cent. copper, then later dropped to 2 per cent. copper. During the years 1912 to 1920, direct-smelting lead ore was also mined. In 1918'and 1919 ore developments at depth showed a decided increase in silica content and a porphyry sill so closely associated with the ore that it was impossible to mine the ore clean and it was found necessary to build a copper flotation Eoncentrator at Tooele. The mill had a capacity of 1000 tons a day and made a recovery of 90 per cent., and would have been responsible for a continuance of profitable operations had it not been for a slump in the copper market and the necessary high cost of mining ore on the lower levels. RESULTS OF SELECTIVE FLOTATION In 1924 the mine was on the point of a shutdown which had all the earmarks of being permanent; it was being operated at a heavy loss and preparations were made to pull the pumps and salvage the machinery. The plant at Tooele was remodelled for selective flotation by the Inter- national Smelting Co. in order to treat custom ores, and incidentally to clean up a possible 10,000 tons of lead-zinc ore which it was thought possible to get in the Utah-Delaware before shutting the mine down. Results were so encouraging that an effort was made to develop more lead-

Jan 1, 1928

By W. G. Wender

The North Central Texas district, as known to the oil fraternity, is the area producing from sands and limes of Pennsylvanian age, roughly embracing the territory lying between Fort Worth and Abilene in an east-west line, and between the Red River and the Llano Mountains in a north-south line. The history of oil development in North Central Texas during the year 1927 is briefly reviewed in the following paragraphs. Brown County New discoveries and development in Brown County centered mainly around the Fry pool, located in the west central portion of the county. Important discoveries for the year were: Shoupe No. 1 John Byler, discovery well of the Byler pool, located 2 miles south of the Fry pool which camc in early in February, 1927, at 1262 ft. for 90 bbl. in the Fry sand of upper Strawn (Pennsylvanian) age. Rosenfield No. 1 P. Davis, discovery well of the Smith-Ellis pool located 1 1/2 miles northeast of the Fry pool, came in March 7, in the Fry sand from 1277 to 1279 ft. for 30 bbl. initial. Pandem Oil Corpn. No. 1 Mrs. T. Hutton, located 1 mile east of the Smith-Ellis pool, came in in December in the Fry sand from 1119 to 1130 ft. for 45 barrels. The Fry pool passed its daily production peak of 25,000 bbl. during the first part of June, and declined to a daily production of 5100 hhl. by the close of the year. The oil recovery from the Fry pool up to Jan. 1, 1928, slightly exceeded 4,000,000 bbl., averaging 4700 bbl. to the acre. over the entire pool. The Smith-Ellis pool passed its daily production peak of 5300 bbl. in Octohcr, 1927, and dropped to 3600 bbl. by the close of the year. The possibilities of the Byler pool will be unknown until the area is fully drilled up. In the Blake pool, production passed 2,500,-000 bbl. for the year. The per acre recovery in this pool up to lkc. 31, averaged slightly over 5000 barrels.

Jan 1, 1928

By A. S. Adams

A GLANCE at the list of papers1 that have been published since 1920 on the general subject of flotation suggests the variety of ideas that exist regarding the underlying cause of the phenomenon.' Among these ideas, we find several coherent theories, but none that adequately and completely explain the phenomenon. Ralston2 and Bains3 suggested an electrical theory which has to do with the attachment of mineral particles to a bubble by the attraction of unlike electrical charges. This theory has its root in the fact that a bubble of air in pure water is electrified in such a way that the surface is negatively charged while the body of the water is positively charged. This result, which was first discussed by Helmholtz, also obtains when the water contains anything except a high concentration of hydrogen ions, or ions which are trivalent or tetravalent. The theory also holds that the mineral particles have positive charges on their surfaces, and so there is attachment between bubble surface and mineral particles by the old law of electrostatics, which states that unlike charges attract. CONTACT ANGLE AND OIL ATTRACTION The contact angle-the angle formed by a fluid-fluid boundary when both are in contact with a solid-has been indicted several times for complicity in the phenomenon of flotation. This angle is supposed to indirectly measure the surface energy of a solid. Thus if we have two fluids in contact with a solid, we may express the difference between the two fluid-solid tensions as equal to the fluid-fluid tension times the cosine of the angle between the two fluids.4 If the two fluids are in contact with the solid, this is, no doubt, an excellent way of establishing relative surface energies. However, in flotation, we deal with substances which are not wetted by water. What assurance have we, then, that the angle

Jan 1, 1928

By Henry Fernald

THE accounting system or bookkeeping methods of any company are principally the concern of that company and of those who are in control of its affairs. Its published financial report is, however, primarily intended for those who are not already fully informed regarding its operations and finances. Whatever may be the advantages of standardization of accounting and bookkeeping methods, it must be admitted that a company has a certain right to handle its accounts and keep its books and records in whatever manner may seem to it best adapted to its affairs, even though such methods may differ materially from those generally adopted by others. In its financial reports it should not, however, either ask or expect that the statements it makes or the terms which it uses will be given in its case a meaning and interpretation different from that which they are ordinarily considered to have in similar reports and statements of other companies. The particular form and arrangement of such reports is a matter concerning which there may be much difference of opinion. It is of little importance whether current assets come first or last in the Balance Sheet, but it is important that there should not be included under this designation any items which are not properly current assets within the generally accepted meaning of that term. The extent to which stockholders or others interested are to be made acquainted with the full details of a company's business is a question which the proper authorities must in each case decide. It should, however, be recognized that there are certain facts regarding a mining com-pany which must be set forth in a financial statement if it is fully to cover the conditions and affairs of the company. For example, a financial, statement which does not include or is not accompanied by a statement, of the ore reserves of the company does not fully set forth its financial condition. This is true whether the absence of such a statement of ore reserves is because it is not desired to make public the figures or whether it is because the ore reserves themselves are not definitely known, or accurately measured.

Jan 1, 1928

By Grimes, J. A.

EXTENSIVE discovery 'and rapid exploitation of orebodies within the past half century have attracted many able geologists to the mining industry and furnished them a wealth of data from which to develop theories concerning ore genesis. By tosting and elimillating theories which are not sufficiently sup- ported by fact, or which are based on inaccurate observation of field data, the trend of geological opinion has . moved strongly in certain directions until, at the present time, large numbers of geologists subscribe to a broad concept of .ore genesis that I would summarize as below:

Jan 1, 1928

By J. O. Whitely

IT is difficult to give a refining outline that may be followed for any and all combinations of the platinum metals; different combinations require different methods of attack. This paper does not pretend to go into all of the reactions of the metals of the platinum group, but will outline the commercial refining of platinum scrap. TYPICAL PLATINUM SCRAP As a concrete case, let us take 100 oz. of miscellaneous scrap, made up of jewelry scrap, dental scrap and laboratory ware. This lot will contain some platinum, palladium, iridium, ruthenium, rhodium, gold, silver and copper. The first problem is to get all of the metals in solution. If the scrap is principally platinum, palladium and gold, a treatment with aqua regia is the course to pursue; but if the scrap contains alloys high in iridium or ruthenium, aqua regia will act too slowly. In the case in hand, we are going to presume that we have scrap high in iridium and ruthenium, and proceed accordingly.

Jan 1, 1928

By P. W. George

THE rapid increase in cost of discovering new orebodies by churn drilling in the Tri-State district has led to some attempts to lessen the expense by using geophysical methods. Electrical prospecting was tried three or four years ago, but no successful results were recorded. In 1926, the Federal Mining and Smelting Co. engaged the North American Exploration Co., of Houston, Texas, to make some tests with the torsion balance. At first, it was thought that the most favorable conditions for discovery of ore deposits with the torsion balance would be in locations where the ore was known to occur at rather shallow depths, FIG. 1.-CROSS-SECTION OF DUENWEG LEASE. therefore the first trial was made at Duenweg, east of Joplin, where some zinc ore had been developed at a depth of 130 ft. The gravity gradients at 61 stations on a tract of about seventeen acres indicated plainly one large zone of maximum gravity and a smaller narrow zone of minimum gravity. Fourteen churn-drill holes, half of which struck ore, show that all the ore found was located outside the zones of maximum and minimum gravity. In the zone of maximum gravity the limestone beds were closest to the surface, and the first chert beds encountered were at the greatest depth. The results (shown in Table 1) indicated that the gravity of the, limestone was greater than the gravity of the fractured chert together with its orebodies, and probably also greater than the bouldery soil and clay on top of the limestone. A cross-section of the Duenweg lease is shown in Fig. 1.

Jan 1, 1928

By W. Mont Ferry

It is impossible to speak in exact terms of the effect that selective flotation has had, is having, and may have on the State of Utah. Its results enter into the economic structure of the state in so many ways and its ramifications are so widespread, that every line of industry is affectcd. Some effects can be definitely determined; others can be reasonably approximated; but the effect as a whole can not be set out in exact figures. Utah is essentially a mining state; mining is its basic industry and always will be. Agriculture, equally a basic industry, and of course, equally vital, can be practiced on only 6 per cent. of the 85,000 square miles of its area. It follows, therefore, that the economic future of this state depends upon a development of its natural resources. About 6 or 7 years ago, the mining industry in Utah was at a low ebb. This condition was caused partly by postwar conditions and other temporary causes, but prevailed also, which was most important, because the direet-smelting ores of the state were being rapidly exhausted and the cost of treatment of complex ores was almost prohibitive. Furthermore, the wet concentration of low-grade ores was unsatisfactory and did not result in producing a good smelting product. On visualizing this situation, one of the large smelting companies in the valley had the courage, ability and faith to develop and expand the principles involved in selective flotation of complex ores. This example has been followrd by other smelting and reduction companirs and the result has changed the entire aspect of the mining industry in Utah. The utilization of the zinc in the low-grade, lead-zinc-silvrr ores was the principal prob1t.m to be solvcd. The average yearly production from the State of Utah for the 10 years beginning 1914 and ending 1923, was something less than 10,000 tons of zinc corlcentrates. This period includes the world war, when abnormal priccs stimulated production. In 1924, selective flotation began to be practiced on a considerable scale, replacing concentration by gravity and bulk flotation which had been used generally until this time. Production and Value of Zinc Concentrates The production of zinc concentrates during 1924 was approximately 24,000 tons, or twice the average yearly production of the previous 10

Jan 1, 1928

By Gerard Matthes

ONLY in recent years has any practical headway been made in the application of aerial photography to geological problems, and up to the present time its principal value to the geologist and mining engineer has been in "areal geology;" i. e., the study of formations as revealed at the surface. The object of this paper is to set forth briefly the principal advantages that may be derived from aerial photographic data in geological work and to serve in a measure as a guide to those who may be con-templating its use. Geophysical prospecting has for object the locating of mineral under the surface. Inasmuch as the geologist's chief complaint in life is a dual one-inability to see under the surface and inability to visualize comprehensively what he does see on top of the ground-geophysical prospecting coupled with aerial photography should do much to lessen his burdens. To what extent aerial photography can be made a useful adjunct to geophysical prospecting remains to be proved, but the inference drawn here is that it holds many alluring possibilities. To avoid disappointments, it should be stated at the outset that to the :geologist or mining engineer an aerial photograph or mosaic is only a tool, the effecient use of which he must set out to master. Upon his skill and ingenuity in applying it to particular problems will depend largely the value of the results that he will obtain. Under the most favorable conditions an aerial mosaic or even a few loose photographs, because of the exceptionally comprehensive oversight which they afford of field data, such as dips and strike observations at isolated outcrops, local indications of faulting, mineral and fossil finds, greatly facilitate study and correlation, save much tedious foot work, and may repay their cost many times. Even so, types of country may be found where the most, skillful use of the best of pictures will produce results so meager as to render the cost of aerial photography entirely unwarranted.

Jan 1, 1928

By Don C. Blackmar

THE production of non-ferrous secondary metals has become a large and important industry in the United States, and deals with practically every type of manufacturing concern. Its business is unique in that it generally buys from its customers as well as sells to them, whether they are individuals, cities, corporations, or the United States government. Its operations are of vital importance to the success and prosperity of many of the nation's most important manufacturers; yet there are few industries about which less is generally known by those outside it, whether concerning the magnitude of its operations or the details of its actual technique. The industry itself is to blame for this meager publicity, because its technical men have made few attempts to openly exchange ideas, in spite of the excellent examples set by the iron and steel or the copper and brass industries. Whether this is due to the ancient shroud of secrecy generally supposed to cover smelting operations, or because its technical men actually felt that the industry was too puny to be interesting, is hard to say. This paper will consider its subject in a general way, attempting to show something of the size and importance of the industry, as well as its fitness to do its work well. Attention will be called to the sound economic reasons for the handling of non-ferrous wastes by specialists, and to the often unseen losses of metals and labor which occur when manufacturers reclaim their own metallic wastes. MAGNITUDE OF THE MODERN INDUSTRY No particular thought is given to the kitchen accident whereby a ruined saucepan is sorrowfully tossed into the ash can, yet it is a fairly safe guess that within a month this saucepan, together with hundreds of its fellows, will again be in service, perhaps in an automobile crankcase, or in an electric vacuum sweeper. It is by this conversion of the useless into the useful, whether from home or large manufacturer, that the secondary tonnage is built up.

Jan 1, 1928