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By Paul M. Tyler

THE farmer pays the phosphate miner! Phosphorus is used in fireworks; goes to battle in military smoke screens, incendiary shells, and tracer bullets; and, in vermin destroying pastes, does its part in the war against insects. A lemon phosphate can be had for a nickel at most soda fountains, and tens of thousands of tons of phosphate rock are mined annually for use in the food industries, chiefly for making monocaleium phosphate baking powder. Sodium phosphate cleaning, washing, and scouring compounds consume substantial quantities: the iron and steel industries buy a few thousand tons yearly to make ferrophosphorus and to balance foundry-iron furnace charges; and even nonferrous metallurgists use a little for phosphor bronze and other alloys. Phosphoric acid, its salts, and diverse other derivatives of this versatile element have countless applications, and industrial outlets are increasing rapidly, especially in the United States. Nevertheless, in this country nearly 90 per cent and in the whole world fully 95 per cent of the phosphate rock consumed is absorbed ultimately in agriculture.

Jan 1, 1938

By E. Peters

As in other fields of Extractive Metallurgy, Hydrometallurgy is preoccupied with separation processes and with oxidation-reduction processes. The physical chemistry of each type of process can be described in terms of thermodynamic equilibria and in terms of reaction kinetics. Reaction kinetics are much more important at the low temperatures limiting hydrometallurgical processes than in com- parable pyrometallurgical operations and the number of cases in which the kinetics can be described by simple liquid-phase mass-transfer models are sharply limited. It is convenient to subdivide the applicable rate phenomena into processes in which (a) interface reactions control the rate,(b) mass transfer processes control the rate, (c) solid state process affect the rate, (d) thermodynamically predicted phase changes or molecular reactions fail to take place, (d) metastable substances or supersaturated phases persist, and (elchomogeneous reactions in solution affect the chemistry and the kinetics. Examples are drawn from the unit steps of leaching, cementation, hydrogen reduction, and electrowinning.

Jan 1, 1973

THE metal iron has physical and chemical properties which are somewhat different from those of steels, but a knowledge of the pure metal is a useful starting point in studying the behavior of steels. Solid iron exists in two different crystalline forms, called alpha (a) and gamma (?) iron, the former being the ordinary form at room temperature. When heated above the "A2 point," 1400°F. (760°C.), the metal becomes non-magnetic, and at the "As point," 1670°F. (910°C.), it undergoes a change in crystalline form to become gamma iron. In the range 1400 to 1670°F., it is sometimes called beta (0) iron to distinguish it from the magnetic alpha, but the two are identical in crystal structure. When gamma iron is further heated to 2550°F. (1400°C.), it changes into delta (d) iron, which is identical with beta or non-magnetic alpha iron. Pure iron melts (in a hydrogen atmosphere) at 2795°F. (1535°C.); the melting point is generally lowered by alloys or impurities. PROPERTIES OF IRON AT HIGH TEMPERATURES Many of the properties of iron undergo abrupt changes at the transition temperatures. (1) For example, in heating through the As point a sudden shrinkage in volume occurs. Similarly, melting is attended by sharp physical changes such as an increase in volume. Table 27 contains a summary of the measured physical properties of pure iron at several temperatures. Usually the properties change smoothly within the range of stability of a given form, but this is not always the case. For example, the specific heat reaches a sharp maximum at the A2 point although no transformation occurs. Solvent Powers of Liquid Iron. Liquid iron is capable of dissolving most of the other metals and many nonmetallic elements as well. Of the metals which are liquid at the melting point of iron only lead, silver, and bismuth refuse to dissolve to an appreciable extent. The non-metals presumably dissolve by virtue of the formation of an iron compound; for example, sulphur is thought to dissolve as the compound FeS. However, there is no satisfactory method of proving that this

Jan 1, 1944

SLAG composition, slag constitution, reactions in slag, and reactions between slag and metal-in other words, the physical chemistry of slags-are matters of great importance to the open-hearth operator, whether or not he makes use of any detailed knowledge of them. Although this is a relatively young branch of the science of steel- making, much progress has been made; however, much remains to be learned, and many of the statements that can be made at present are probably--or even certainly-subject to future change. Nevertheless, the physical chemistry of slags is sufficiently developed to provide a reasonably secure basis for real understanding of steelmaking reactions. FUNDAMENTALS OF SLAG CONTROL By way of introduction, some time is spent in this chapter on effecting an easy transition from some of the more "practical" manifestations of slag to discussions couched in the more formal language of physical chemistry. This necessitates a certain amount of repetition, but it is felt that the purpose of the chapter is best served in this way. Reactions in the metal phase have products that find their way into the slag and are important components thereof; they are discussed in detail in the preceding chapter. Some substances distribute themselves Between slag and metal in definite fashion, and others are found only in the slag. Their reactions are a large reason for this chapter. Limitations of Slag Control. The open-hearth process is essentially oxidizing and cannot be otherwise operated. (Oxygen gradients in the furnace, the mechanism of oxygen inflow, and similar subjects are discussed in Chapter XIX.) As shown in the calculations of material and heat balances for the charge (see Chapter XV), from 25 to 50 lb. of oxygen will flow from air or combustion gases into the charge or molten bath during the heat for each ton of liquid steel

Jan 1, 1944

By George I. Adams

PHYSICAL AND CLIMATIC DIVISIONS. PERU is divided into three regions-the coast, the sierra, or high mountainous region, and the a montana," or forest region of the Amazon basin. The Coast.-The coast is an arid region. No rain falls excepting in the extreme northern part, which borders the Gulf of Guayaquil. There is, however, a slight precipitation in the form of mist (garua), which occurs on the coast hills during the so-called winter months. The aridity of the coast is due principally to the antarctic or Humboldt ocean-current, which, being cold and having a temperature lower than that of the land, absorbs rather than produces vapors. The coast mists occur during the season when the land is relatively cold. Near the Gulf of Guayaquil the antarctic current diverges from the coast, so that in the Tumbes valley and adjacent country the conditions in the summer months are such as produce rains. In the remaining valleys of the coast, agriculture is made possible only by means of irrigation, and is accordingly very limited in extent, although rich and varied. In the northern and south-central portions of the coast, plains extend inland from the sea, while in the southern part there is a coastal plain separated from the Pacific by a range of coast hills. Between the northern and south-central plains, as well as between the south-central and southern, the foothills of the sierra descend to the seacoast. The Sierra.-The sierra embraces the high land dominated by the lofty cordilleras of the Andes. In the southern part of Peru there are two cordilleras, the western and the eastern, which enter from Chile and Bolivia respectively, and inclose between them the Titicaca Lake basin. To the north of Lake Titicaca these cordilleras unite in the knot of Vilcanota, south of Cuzco. From this knot three cordilleras, known as the western, the central, and the eastern, extend to the northward, reuniting in the

Jan 7, 1908

By H. A. Kuhn

The Pittsburgh coal field in Western Pennsylvania is conceded to be the most important in the world.

Jan 1, 1915

By H. A. Kuhn

THE Pittsburg coal field in western Pennsylvania, is conceded to be the most important in the world. To measure its importance it is necessary to understand the extent of its service in the various industries of the country. Probably 90 per cent. of the pig iron manufactured in the United States up to the present time has been made by using coke manufactured from the Pittsburg coal seam in western Pennsylvania. This coal field is the foundation on which the city of Pittsburg rests and is the reason for the great growth of the iron industry in the Pittsburg district. Iron ore is brought to this district, not because Pittsburgh is a. natural location, over other locations, for the iron and steel industry-as its position places the manufacturer at the mercy of the railroads-but the ore is brought 1,100 miles to meet the fuel. It can be said that the illuminating-gas industry in the United States has used this coal exclusively to the same extent that the pig-iron maker has used it. It may be also said that 20 to 25 per cent. of the fuel used on railroads in the United States conies from this coal field. The Pittsburg coal field is unquestionably the center of the industrial population of the United States, for in addition to the industries of the district and those closely adjoining, it has tributary to it all the cities and industries along the Great Lakes and practically all of Canada with the exception of the extreme western and eastern ends. It supplies the industries and population west of Duluth and Superior many hundreds of miles. This coal is floated down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, supplying the towns en route, and is delivered in New Orleans, a distance of 2,200 miles, for approximately SO to 90 c. per ton transportation cost. It is delivered on the docks of Superior and Duluth at a cost of transportation 50 c. a ton less than the cost of transporting the same coal from Pittsburg to a local consumer in Philadelphia. With other Appalachian coals it has large markets east and along the seaboard, especially for byproduct-coke making and the illuminating-gas industry. It is considered the premier railroad fuel of the world on account of the fact that this coal in a given-sized locomotive will probably haul more cars than any other coal in the

Jan 10, 1914

By Howard N. Eavenson

FROM the Pittsburgh coal bed in the four states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and West Virginia has been produced an output that, at mine prices, represents a greater value than any other single mineral deposit in the world has yielded.12 While this distinction may in a few years pass to the gold reef of the Witwatersrand, it is possible that eventually, owing to the tremendous reserves still remaining, the ultimate yield of the Pittsburgh bed will be greater than that of any other known single deposit. Considering its importance, not a great deal has been written of its early history and development as a whole; most of the accounts have been of limited localities, or, at the most, of the area within a single state. In "Coal through the Ages" the writer mentioned some references to its early history, but this study will deal not only with its history but with the character of the bed, where and why it was first developed, and its effect upon the states in which it is found. It has not been the intention to write a detailed history of the development of the seam in each locality, as neither time nor inclination were available for doing such work, but only to show the influences that tended to hasten or retard such development. In general the historical matter ends about 1830, when geological surveys began to be made. Some of the maps show data available only since that time, and the sections about coal preparation and coking have been extended to the present time to show the changing conditions. It is believed that the early history includes all published records, and many more sources than those shown in the bibliography were consulted. It is quite likely that some references to coal in this area may be found in the unpublished papers of some of our early soldiers and colonizers, which exist in several libraries, and it is hoped that some future

Jan 1, 1938

By J. A. Bownocker

THE Pittsburgh is one of the most important coal beds of Ohio. It was the last of the great coal beds to be worked extensively in that State, has the largest area of virgin coal, and will in all probability be the last of the great deposits to be exhausted. The line of outcrop sweeps nearly southwest in a sinuous line from Jefferson County on the north to Lawrence on the south, a distance on a bee-line of at least 150 miles. (Fig. 1.) The maximum width of the area under which this coal is due is about 55 miles, but in most places it is less than half that and in the two southern counties it is in places restricted to narrow ridges. Here as elsewhere the Pittsburgh coal forms the base of the Monongahela formation, and the following section taken from Condit shows the position of this bed with reference to certain higher ones in this field:1 FEET INCHES Shales and thin beds of limestone 24 5 Coal, Meigs Creek, No. 9 4 0 Shale, sandy 11 0 Coal 0 8 Shale, clayey 6 0 Coal, Lower Meigs Creek 3 0 Shales,clayey 2 0 Limestones and thin layers of clay 25 0 Unseen 11 0 Coal, Redstone 2 0 Unseen 11 0 Coal, Pittsburgh, No. 8 8 0 Clay 5 0 Limestone 4 0 From the standpoint of continuity the Pittsburgh coal of Ohio must be classed with the patchy type. As the map shows, the coal is thin or wanting along many miles of the line of outcrop. The large deposits form three separate areas, which, in order of their importance, are generally known as (1) the Belmont, (2) the Federal Creek, and (3) the Gallia fields.

Jan 10, 1926

By G. H. Ashley

THE Pittsburgh coal bed stands today: as probably the largest contributor of wealth of any single mineral deposit in the world. If it is not, what other deposit is? To the present it has contributed more than 2,530,000,000 tons of high-grade coal from Pennsylvania alone, worth nearly $4,000,000,000. Since 1910 it has added more than $2,500,000,000 to the value of Pennsylvania's mineral output. There is estimated to be about three times as much coal still in this bed as has been mined. To realize the full value of this wonderful bed it must be remembered that the figures given are for one State only. To them should be added the figures for the same bed from West Virginia, Ohio and Maryland. Furthermore, as known by man, this great deposit is only a fraction of its original whole. Outliers in Somerset County, Pa., indicate that its original extent in Pennsylvania in an east and west direction was more than two times its present extent. Add to that the northward extension as indicated by outliers in northern Allegheny, Armstrong and Indiana counties,, and it seems safe to say that its original extent was not less than three times the area at present underlain by it. And as the subjacent beds of the Allegheny group are found still further eastward and northward, it is at least a possibility that it originally covered an area many times its present area.

Jan 10, 1926

By H. V. Flagg

OPERATION of a modern steel plant presents a curious anomaly. Large-scale operations, in which large volumes or heavy weights of materials are involved, are not usually subject to close control or narrow specifications. On the other hand, operations that call for a high degree of precision are usually carried out under carefully controlled conditions with delicate, precise machinery and tools, and production is made secondary to quality. In a modern steel mill both extremes are taken as a matter of course. A strip mill making auto-body sheets must supply its customers with sheets that all come within a tolerance of plus or minus 0.003 in. in gauge at any point from side to side or end to end, and without blemishes either of color or surface. Sheets that were considered par excellence as recently as ten years ago could not even find a market today. Such exacting requirements have made necessary a nicety of control that approaches the watchmaker's art. Notwithstanding this necessity for precision, the scale of operation is stupendous.

Jan 1, 1940

By M. King Hubbert

THE growth of human knowledge is an evolutionary process. His-torically our separate sciences came into existence as people became interested in various apparently unrelated domains of phenomena, and in this manner we acquired the sciences of physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology and geology. As various of these sciences became established, cognizance of them came to be taken by the universities and in this manner there arose the traditional departments of physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology and geology of our American universities. As there was no particular rationality in the boundaries separating the various sciences, in the university departments the jurisdiction of each has assumed quite arbitrary limits. In the domain of earth phenomena the first science to grow up was that of geology, which arose originally from the activities of the collectors of rocks, minerals and fossils. Thus geology evolved as a descriptive science dealing with directly observable terrestrial phenomena for which elementary rational explanations were offered. The traditional treat-ment of phenomena by the science of geology has rarely been with more than an elementary regard for the fact that these phenomena were also phenomena of physics and chemistry. Since the latter part of the nineteenth century, a new approach to terrestrial phenomena has been emerging and becoming of so great a significance that it can no longer be ignored. This approach has been made by people trained primarily in the sciences of physics and chemistry, who have investigated terrestrial phenomena as constituting phenomena of, their respective sciences. In this manner we have acquired the so-called "borderland sciences" of geophysics, the physics of the earth, and of geochemistry, the chemistry of the earth. Neither of these fields is new, having arisen chiefly at the hands of European investigators during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The European uni-versities have long since given official recognition at least to geophysics, by the establishment of departments or institutes of geophysics, which are on a par with ,the university departments of the other sciences.

Jan 1, 1938

By M. King Hubbert

THE growth of human knowledge is an evolutionary process. Historically our separate sciences came into existence as people became interested in various apparently unrelated domains of phenomena, and in this manner we acquired the sciences of physics, chemistry, astronomy, biology and geology. As various of these sciences became established, cognizance of them came to be taken by the universities and in this manner there arose the traditional departments of physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology and geology of our American universities. As there was no particular rationality in the boundaries separating the various sciences, in the university departments the jurisdiction of each has assumed quite arbitrary limits. In the domain of earth phenomena the first science to grow up was that of geology, which arose originally from the activities of the collectors science dealing with directly observable terrestrial phenomena for which elementary rational explanations were offered. The traditional treatment of phenomena by the science of geology has rarely been with more than an elementary regard for the fact that these phenomena were also phenomena of physics and chemistry. Since the latter part of the nineteenth century, a new approach to terrestrial phenomena has been emerging and becoming of so great a significance that it can no longer be ignored. This approach has been made by people trained primarily in the sciences of physics and chemistry, who have investigated terrestrial phenomena as constituting phenomena of their respective sciences. In this manner we have acquired the so-called "borderland sciences" of geophysics, the physics of the earth, and of geochemistry, the chemistry of the earth. Neither of these fields is new, having arisen chiefly at the hands of European investigators during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The European universities have long since given official recognition at least to geophysics, by the establishment of departments or institutes of geophysics, which are on a par with the university departments of the other sciences.

Jan 1, 1938

By M. King Hubbert

THE theme of this paper is that one of the greatest retarding factors in progress of geologic science is the inadequate training given to students of geology in schools and universities. Students of geology are still taught as though geology were an independent, sovereign domain of science. Consequently, only in exceptional cases do geology students acquire more than the most elementary introductory college courses in mathematics, physics and chemistry, and frequently not even so much. Furthermore, students with such training receive Ph. D. degrees in geology, and often they become professors of geology in our universities. The phenomena of geology are also phenomena of physics, of astron-omy, of chemistry, and to a lesser extent, of biology; and to properly deal with them a knowledge of mathematics, physics and chemistry considerably beyond the elementary level is necessary. Already many of the physical and chemical problems of the earth, such as earthquakes, gravity, hydrology, meteorology, and the physical chemistry of rocks and minerals, are being attacked with considerable success by the employment of the methods of physics and chemistry, and being written almost exclusively in the language of advanced mathematical physics and chemistry. Geophysics is not just a "borderland field" between two sciences; on the contrary, it is the process whereby the knowledge and techniques of the more fundamental science, physics, are borrowed and employed in solving the problems of the more dependent science-geology. Geo-physics therefore embraces a large part of the two sciences taken together. The institution of work in geophysics, in its true sense, in depart-ments of geology would go far toward correcting the present inadequate training of students of geology and bringing the members of that profes-sion more uniformly abreast of the advances being made in earth science by people whose training has been primarily in the fundamental sciences of physics and chemistry rather than in geology. If something of this sort is not done, the geological profession may contemplate being left farther and farther behind as the scientific procession moves onward.

Jan 1, 1938

By Benjamin L. Miller

THE essential differences expressed by the different speakers participating in this symposium concern merely the relative emphasis placed on the subjects that are commonly included under the term "geophysics" and the branches of science that form the basis for investigations in this field. In order to appreciate the present situation it may be profitable to briefly refer to a few historical matters. One can find almost countless descriptions of geological phenomena long antedating the introduction of the title of "geology," which has been credited to Richard de Bury in the fourteenth century. Interpretations, when they were offered, were generally pure speculation. Only toward the close of the eighteenth century do we find theories developed as the result of observations and tested by additional observations. It is difficult to select and give proper credit to the individual who was particularly responsible for turning geology into a distinctly observational science. William Smith, who has been called the "Father of English Geology," certainly represents the period when observation was the only method used. As he traveled through the British Isles, "sometimes 10,000 miles in a year," he was continually making notes of his observations. Geikie says: "His plain, solid, matter of fact intellect never branched into theory or speculation, but occupied itself wholly in the observation of facts." William Smith, with others of his time, definitely laid firmly the foundations on which modern geology has been built. Field and laboratory observations can no longer be said to constitute the sole basis for geologic contributions but we have not laid aside the methods of Smith and his followers. It is folly to underestimate the fundamental value of the observational part of geology in the present. The objection to purely observational geology is that it is mainly qualitative and not quantitative, general and not specific. No one can deny this charge and probably there are few who do not welcome every method or process whereby we can put aside generalities for definite established values. Physics is the science that has particularly come to the aid of the geologist in this respect. CONTRIBUTIONS OF PHYSICS It is not the intent of the writer to enumerate or to evaluate all of the contributions to geologic advance in the field of physics. A few only are used for the purpose of illustration. When Clarence King, Director of the United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel, invited Ferdinand Zirkel to study 2500 thin sections of rocks collected from the western United States, the use of the microscope came into general use. Zirkel's report was published in 1876. He was not the first to use transmitted light for microscopic rock determination, some work having been done by Henry Clifton Sorby and others some years earlier, but he was the first to put into general use this method. We may well claim that this

Jan 1, 1941

By Harvey N. Davis

MUCH has been written and said during the last twenty years about the place of the engineer in modern life, about the fundamental role that he plays both in developing and in maintaining the material foundations of modern civilization, about the advantages, and also the dangers, of the machine age that he has inaugurated, about the Frankenstein problems that he has unconcernedly foisted upon a generation utterly unable to cope with them, and about the obligation that rests upon him to stop inventing machines and turn his almost legendary energy and skill to inventing institutions that will constitute a solution of the problems he has raised, and contrariwise about his utter inability to offer wise or useful counsel in fields outside the narrow boundaries of his technical training.

Jan 1, 1938

By Max Ball

AN intelligent discussion of the oil situation and its needs, whether from the standpoint of the prospector, the operator, the engineer, or the public administrative officer, must be founded upon a knowledge of the law under which oil lands are obtained. A consideration of new legislation must be prefaced by an understanding of the present law and its results. This paper undertakes to present no new remedy for the ills of the present situation, no new solution of the problems the oil business is facing. It attempts merely to summarize the present law, its provisions, its origin, its development, and its effects. The discussion does not pretend to be exhaustive from a legal standpoint. It aims to avoid legal intricacies Which tend to confuse rather than clarify. It seeks but to present the essentials of the existing situation. The title to government lands known to contain valuable deposits of petroleum may be acquired only under the terms of the placer law as embodied in Section 2329 et seq. of the Revised Statutes. As a preliminary to considering the desirability of this situation it is profitable to examine into its origin. ORIGIN OF THE LAW Congress has left no room for doubt as to the legal applicability of the placer law to oil lands. The Act of Feb. 11, 1897 (29 Stat., 526), provides: "that any person authorized to enter lands under the mining laws of the United States may enter and obtain patent to land containing petroleum or other mineral oils, and chiefly valuable therefor, under the provisions of the laws relating to placer mineral claims."

Jan 6, 1914

By George C. Coupland

Ecstall Mining Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Texas Gulf Sulphur Company, is the owner and operator of the Kidd Creek Mine including the concentrator complex located near Timmins, Ontario. Canada, approximately 450 miles north of Toronto. The mine, concentrator and Timmins form a triangular arrangement with a 17-mile rail link connecting the mine and concentrator and both of these facilities 18 and 14 miles respectively by road from Timmins. A core drilling program in the spring of 1964 established the presence of a large massive sulphide orebody which was to become the Kidd Creek Mine. Texas Gulf Sulphur had been conducting an intensive search for base metal in various parts of Northern Ontario and Quebec since 1957. Of several thousand anomalies detected in airborne electromagnetic surveys, several hundred warranted ground inspection, but only one of more than sixty drilled became a commercial orebody, the Kidd Creek Mine. The geophysical exploration work has been well covered in a paper written and presented by Van Donohoo, presently a Vice-President of T.G.S., at the American Mining Congress in San Francisco in October 1969. GEOLOGY The orebody lies within a series of overturned rhyolitic flows and pyroelastics with a major peridotite intrusive to the east. The hangingwall and footwall are composed chiefly of intermediate volcanics, andesite and dacite. The southern end of the orebody appears to terminate abruptly against greywacke while the north end is bifurcated and the structure obscured.

Jan 1, 1970

By C. M. Shigley

Tan record of the largest magnesium plant in the country utilizing sea water as a primary raw material stands as another victory in the struggle for large-scale production of pure chemical elements from the oceans. Bromine was the first element to be economically and commercially recovered when, in 1933, a six million pound per year unit was built on the Atlantic Coast near Wilmington, North Carolina, by the Ethyl-Dow Chemical Co.1 The bromine was reacted with ethylene to produce ethylene dibromide, a necessary associate of tetraethyl lead in ethyl antiknock fluid. Within eight years that plant was doubled and redoubled, and another large unit was put into operation at Freeport, Texas, taking bromine from the Gulf of Mexico. In 1940, in fortunate anticipation of the impending demand for magnesium and the limitations of the production from natural brines, the Dow Chemical Co. turned again to the sea, and designed and erected a plant at Freeport to produce 18,000,000 lb. of magnesium per year from sea water.2 In March 1941, two months after the new plant had been put into successful operation, construction of an 18,000,000-lb. Government-financed addition was started. Late in 1941, as a part of the $400,000,000 defense program intended to produce 600,000,000 t0 700,000,000 lb. of magnesium per year, Dow was asked to build and operate for the Government a 72,000000-lb. plant near its original plant at Freeport. Within a few days after the Japanese made their attack at Pearl Harbor, preparation of a site was started at Velasco, Texas, for the construction of the Texas plant of the Dow Magnesium Corporation-the largest known magnesium plant utilizing sea water as its raw material. Less than six months after the first piling was driven, urgently needed magnesium was in steady production. Five months later, the plant had exceeded its rated capacity. It remained above rated production until the general magnesium curtailment was applied to Government-owned plants in September 1944. Credit for the construction and operation record of the Dow magnesium plant must be divided among the efforts of a very determined group of men, an extremely favorable location, and a simple process. It is with the two latter aspects of the plant that this article will deal. The site for the new enterprise was chosen near Velasco, Texas, on property bordering the Brazos River at a point approximately 6 miles inland from the original magnesium plant and y miles inland from the Freeport Harbor on the Gulf of Mexico. This location was far enough away from the operating units to reduce both interference from construction and the vulnerability of closely bunched manufacturing operations to the then feared air attack. Yet the distance inland was not too great for the economical construction of a barge canal from the harbor to serve both the transportation of raw

Jan 1, 1945

By J. K. Furst

The reasons for manufacturing steel by the deplex process are, briefly…

Jan 1, 1915