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By H. J. LONGMORE

MORE improvements have probably been made in the diamond-drill field in the past decade than were accomplished in the entire prior period since diamond drilling was discovered in 1864 by a French engineer named Leschot. True, machines were improved, and new accessories were adopted from time to time up to 1929, but no radical changes were made. The basic principle instituted during the early years of the industry were still in use in 1929. At that time, practically the only diamonds used were "black diamonds" or "carbon." These came from Brazil through a rather round- about route, and by the time they got to the drilling trade their cost was excessive-$175 per carat and even higher at the peak. Perhaps because of this. or perhaps because of increased competition, the industry sought ways to reduce expenses even in the face of constantly increased labor costs due to higher wages and reduction in hours worked. The solution seemed to rest in two things-use of a cheaper cutting medium to replace the carbon diamond and the development of new machines to drill faster and thus produce more hole per shift of operation.

Jan 1, 1940

By AIME AIME

ALFRED WILLIAM GAUGER ??Al" or '?Doc" to his many friends in the coal and chemical industries- is known for his research talents and organizing ability. Appropriately the first public recognition of his technical ability was by the A.I.M.E. in the publishing of a paper by George A. Burrell and Alfred W. Gauger in the "Transactions" for the year 1916. "Al" Gauger was born at St. Paul, July 31, 1892. He graduated in chemistry at the University of Minnesota in 1914. A year later he began his initiation into the mysteries of coal mining when he joined the safety division of the U. S. Bureau of Mines at Pitts- burgh, serving from 1915 to 1917.

Jan 1, 1944

By V. J. Driscoll

A method is given for checking pore volume reserve estimates and transient water inflzix factors utilizing early well performance. Principal applications are based on the observation that there is a convenient transient time-range in terms of well spacing in which observed pressure drop will give a good indication of fluid-in-place. Primary quantity determined is a porosity-feet value applicable in the vicinity of an observation well. Checks on porosity or net pay thickness and permeability values also are obtained. These are particularly valuable in improving quality of interpretive factors entering into pore-volume reserve determinations for larger fields. In smaller fields, direct determination of total field reserves and approximate location of boundaries may be made in some cases. Well interference and production data plus a build-up curve on the observation well are needed. The build-up curve may be taken at any time. Field applications are given. The method can be applied with the completion of the second well on a new discovery or to older reservoirs by major changes in withdrawal rates from a local area. Appropriate test length permits results to be obtained with equal accuracy on widely spaced wells. Criteria for optimizing test conditions are given. Provision is made for various boundary and well effects including incomplete observation well build-up. INTRODUCTION Due to low quality data, initial pore volume reserve and water influx estimates may often vary by a factor of two or more from results obtained at a later date. Unfortunately, by conventional methods, more reliable answers from performance usually are not available until after most significant economic decisions have been made. Furthermore, in older reservoirs, uncertainties may still exist as to original oil-in-place, recovery factors and residual oil saturations due to incomplete or inaccurate performance data. This paper outlines situations and appropriate arrangements of basic transient theory whereby well interference data can be utilized to improve the quality of estimates under certain conditions. In addition to production data on offset producers, key information required is a measured pressure drop at an observation well, corrected for any incomplete build-up due to previous production, plus a formation capacity value derived from a conventional pressure build-up plot on the observation well. The method, as outlined, is strictly applicable only to a horizontal single-layered system of uniform rock characteristics containing a homogeneous fluid of low and constant compressibility. However, under the set of test conditions devised, requirements can usually be relaxed so that it should be applicable to most low permeability gas, water and undersaturated oil reservoirs. This is an area where more reliable information is certainly needed. BASIC CONSIDERATIONS A, B, C and F as subscripts or in the text refer to producing Well A, observation Well B, a more remote producing Well C and field boundary F. Combinations such as AB refer to distances and dimensionless times in terms of distances between these points, while single letters refer to distances and dimensionless times in terms of the well-bore or field radius. Equations covering definitions of quantities and complex situations are given in the Appendix. Key equations in practical units are given in Table 2. Transient Pressure Behavior Fig. 1 illustrates pressure drop at Point B with time due to initiation of a constant rate of withdrawal from Point A. This is shown as since a quantitative under-

By AIME AIME

THE 140th meeting of the Institute will be held in the Engineering societies Building, 'New York, Feb.: 16-19, and one of the most important features, one which cannot be reduced to text in the TRANSACTIONS, will be the opportunity to renew old friendships and make new friends, to talk things over -to orient one's self in these troublous .times. There will be daily get-together luncheons for all, luncheons and dinners for specialized groups, an informal dance, the annual reception and banquet, and a smoker. And such a smoker! It starts with dinner at .dinnertime, shows signs of cabaret, turns smoker, and then goes entertainment-all for the price of one. This year one can stay long after 11 o'clock-there will be time and opportunity to amble around and meet everyone present. The formal program is rapidly rounding into shape. The annual business meeting will -be held on Tuesday morning and the banquet will be at the Commodore. The four Divisions and the various, Technical Committees are arranging their sessions. and scheduling for these a long list of significant papers. A .feature of the meeting will be a number of round tables on timely subjects.

Jan 1, 1931

By W. G. Pfann

A simple method of obtaining multistage batch separations by crystallization was described recently. Known as zone-refining, it comprises passing short molten zones through a long solid charge. This technique can now be used on a continuous basis by means of the zone-void method described in this paper. Feed enters, at an intermediate point, a column down which molten zones travel, and waste and product leave at the ends. Materials move in the column through the agency of voids, which are introduced at the ends and travel toward the feed inlet. The voids and molten zones are moved by external heaters in a simple manner, and the principle of reflux is utilized. ANEW method of obtaining multistage separations by crystallization was described recently.' Named zone-refinina.,-, the method comwrises slowly passing a series of molten zones through a long solid charge. Solute becomes concentrated at one or the other end of the charge, depending on whether it raises or lowers the freezing point of the solvent. The separation increases with the number, P, of zone-passes, approaching a limit as P approaches infinity. Zone-refining has been highly effective in purifying germanium and other substances.2,3 and new applications are steadily increasing. Zone-refining is a batch method and as such it has certain limitations inherent in batch operation. If it could be made continuous, its scope and utility would be greatly broadened. This end has been achieved by the zone-void method described in this paper. In the zone-void method feed is introduced continuously at an intermediate point in a column down which molten zones travel, while impure waste and purified product leave at the ends. Both the flows of feed, waste and product, and also the travels of the zones, are actuated by external moving heaters in a simple manner; and the system utilizes the principle of reflux. The method provides, in the field of crystallization, the counterpart of the continuous fractiona-tion column in the field of distillation. The following will be discussed: apparatus and mode of operation, fundamental nature of the separation, design theory, and practical considerations. The method will be described in terms of a binary solute-solvent system in which the solute is an impurity to be removed and the solvent is the desired product. The distribution coefficient, k, defined as the ratio of solute concentration in the solid freezing out of a molten zone to that in the liquid in the zone, is assumed to be constant and less than one. The process is equally effective for k's greater than one and for ternary or higher order systems. Method and Apparatus The essential features of a continuous zone-refining process are represented in highly generalized form in Fig. 1. A series of molten zones, produced by moving heaters, travels slowly down the column or charge (to the left in Fig. 1). If there were no flows of feed, waste, or product, the process would simply be batch zone-refining, the action of the molten zones being to sweep solute down the column, solvent up the column. For the process to be con- tinuous, with stripping and enriching sections in the column, feed must enter, and waste and product must leave, as indicated. The zone-void process accomplishes both objectives, namely, the indicated movements of zones and the indicated flows of material. Zones are moved by moving heaters, just as in batch zone-refining. Materials are made to flow by creating voids at the waste and product exits and causing these voids to move to the feed inlet. Since there must be a net flow of material from the feed inlet to each of the outlets, the indicated movements of voids are in the desired directions, because movement of a void in a given direction corresponds to flow of material in an opposite direction. In order to produce the desired movements of voids, the column is folded into two vertical sections having the feed inlet in common at their upper ends. Voids are displaced upward by the liquids in the molten zones and their travel is actuated by the motions of the zones. Voids travel with the zones in the enriching section and move continuously. Voids travel opposite to the zones in the stripping section and move intermittently. Creation and travel of voids will now be examined in detail. The enriching section of a column in operation, with its void generator, is shown in Fig. 2. The column section is a vertical tube around which a series of closely fitting, regularly spaced heaters travel slowly upward. Each heater produces a molten region, the temperatures of the heaters and the cooling between heaters being controlled so as to maintain the molten zones approximately constant in size. A void is normally present atop the molten zone in each heater. As the heater rises, it continuously melts solid above it, which drips through the void into the molten zone and continuously freezes out solid below it, of concentration k times that of the liquid in the zone. When a molten zone and void reach the feed inlet, which is kept molten, the void is displaced by an equal volume of feed liquid. Generation of voids of controlled size in the enriching section is shown in Fig. 3. The void generator is a tube of small cross-section, provided with lateral heat-conducting fins which sense the position of the heater. Liquid can escape only when the entire outlet tube is within the heater. If any part of the outlet tube is outside the heater, liquid cannot escape,

Jan 1, 1956

By Herbert J. French

ALLOY steels have become essential to industry in meeting the rigid requirements on materials imposed by our, advanced technology. In comparison with the total ingot capacity of the steel industry, the volume of alloy steels is relatively small although for many years annual alloy-ingot tonnage has, been in seven figures. However, the monetary value of the alloy-steel production is exceedingly high and the benefits derived from the products are relatively great. The trend in total ingot production since 1932 has been generally upward with only two major interruptions. That of the year 1938 was due to a decrease in general business activity whereas that of 1946 resulted largely from work stoppages. Traditionally, the tonnage of alloy-steel ingots produced was in the neighborhood of 5 to

Jan 1, 1948

By AIME AIME

THE Wednesday morning session was devoted entirely to the consideration of the tentative code for coal mine ventilation. A. W. Hesse is chairman of this subcommittee. E. A. Holbrook presided at the session and assisted by A. W. Hesse and George S. Rice, gave the historical background of the movement for a ventilation code. They stressed the point that this was to be an engineer's code, and that it was hoped that it might serve as a valuable guide to operating companies in securing greater efficiency as well as safety in ventilation. The discussion was continued into the afternoon session, and by adjournment the entire' code had been covered.' Many sections were referred back to the Committee for further study and several new sections were suggested. The various opinions and new ideas brought out during the discussion proved very valuable and. contributed much to the progress being made in the preparation of this code.

Jan 1, 1929

By William M. Bowron

THIRTY years ago, when I stood on the cliff of red fossil iron-ore, on Red mountain, Jefferson county, Ala., I asked what were the geological relations of this remarkable deposit. In reply I was told that it was a limestone colored and saturated by some unknown but wholly external influences, and that at a reasonable distance from the surface the color would disappear. I could find no satisfactory explanation either of the nature of this wonderful external permeating influence, or of the cause of such a ferrous impregnation selecting this one particular bed of limestone, to the exclusion of the higher and lower beds of the same material which are not even stained. I. THE PRESENT THEORY. Referring to this subject, Dana says:' "The clays, clayey sandstones and limestones of the Clinton epoch, through New York and the Appalachians, show that the mud-flats and sand-banks, and hence the shallow seas of the coast region, still continued. . . The beds of argillaceous iron-ore, which spread so widely through New York and some of the other States, south and west, could not have formed in an open sea, for clayey iron-deposits do not form under such circumstances. They are proof of extensive marshes, and, therefore, of land near the sea-level. The fragments of crinoids and shells found in these beds are evidence that they were, in part at least, salt-water marshes, and that the tides sometimes reached them." At first, this explanation seemed satisfactory, but the more I studied the ore the less satisfying the explanation became. 1. In the ore itself I found associated with the small particles of rounded matter (now consisting of iron oxide in which organic structure, if ever present, has become lost, though the

Nov 1, 1905

By Russell S. Sage

THE electric motor has steadily replaced the steam and air engine for use in mine hoists, until today a new installation with other than electric drive is a rarity. Much existing steam-driven equipment has been changed over to electric drive. Driving power has grown in capacity since the initial electric unit rated 10 hp installed at Aspen, Colorado, in 1888, to 3000 hp and 4000 hp in the United States, and to 5500 hp in Canada-the largest in the Western Hemisphere. Electric installations now total in the thousands of units, a growth largely made possible by the development of large central electric-power stations and the extension of electric-power service to more mining areas.

Jan 1, 1949

THE following employment items are made available to AIME members on a nonprofit basis by the Engineering Societies Personnel Service, Inc , operating in cooperation with the Four Founder Societies Local offices of the Personnel Service are at 8 W 40th St , New York 18, 100 Farnsworth Ave, Detroit, 57 Post St , San Francisco, 84 E Randolph St , Chicago 1 Applicants should address all mail to the proper key numbers in care of the New York office and include 6c in stomps for forwarding and returning application The applicant agrees, if placed in a position by means of the Service, to pay the placement fee listed by the Service AIME members may secure a weekly bulletin of positions available for $3 50 a quarter, $12 a year MEN AVAILABLE Executive Engineer, 37, married, 3 children Now Resident Manager nonmetallic underground mine and processing plant Management and operational experience in gold, copper, zinc, limestone and lime products manufacture Mine plant design and construction, underground mines and quarries Excellent references Currently employed but available reasonable notice Prefer U S M-687-426-E-5-San Francisco Metallurgical Engineer, 29, married, one child, B S Metallurgical Engineering Five years' practical experience in milling and laboratory research Available thirty days Prefer West or Southwest U S A M-689¬522-E-1-San Francisco Experienced Mining Engineer, university graduate, 40, married Twenty years' experience all phases metal mining, past 13 years as manager, excellent cost and safety record Available short notice Best references and complete professional record available upon request M-690

Jan 1, 1952

By Norman F. Patton

The subject assigned is so broad that thorough discussion is well-nigh impossible within the space allotted, and further, few specific data are available upon which to predicate conclusions concerning the efficiency of present methods of distributing anthracite. This paper treats briefly the various agencies through which both primary and secondary distribution are effected, the methods of transportation and the general interrelation of production, demand, inventories and price. Avenues of Distribution Three distinct types of primary distribution are common in the marketing of anthracite. First, though not most important, is the sale by the producer, or operator, direct to the consumer. These sales, other than to employees and the local trade, are generally confined to steam sizes for industrial uses, and are consigned to the sidings or docks of the consumer. Sales of this type often are so closely priced to compete with oil and bituminous that the addition of even a small dealer's margin is sufficient to increase the cost to the point where the business might be lost. Second, the operator sells to a wholesaler or broker for subsequent resale, either to a retail dealer for clearance through his yard or direct to large consumers. Usually this method of distribution is employed by the smaller operators, who do not find it economically feasible to maintain extensive sales organizations. In most instances, the wholesaler retains some 5 per cent for his services, paid, of course, by the producing company whose anthracite he handles. He may, and frequently does, handle the output of several different companies, suited to the varying needs of the different communities he serves. His business includes all sizes of anthracite. The third, and by far the most general method, consists in selling to retail dealers, shipments being made direct from the breakers to the yards of the dealers. In large consuming areas, such as the metropolitan districts of New York or Philadelphia, one operator may sell to several

Jan 1, 1936

By Norman F. Patton

The subject assigned is so broad that thorough discussion is well-nigh impossible within the space allotted, and further, few specific data are available upon which to predicate conclusions concerning the efficiency of present methods of distributing anthracite. This paper treats briefly the various agencies through which both primary and secondary distribution are effected, the methods of transportation and the general interrelation of production, demand, inventories and price. Avenues of Distribution Three distinct types of primary distribution are common in the marketing of anthracite. First, though not most important, is the sale by the producer, or operator, direct to the consumer. These sales, other than to employees and the local trade, are generally confined to steam sizes for industrial uses, and are consigned to the sidings or docks of the consumer. Sales of this type often are so closely priced to compete with oil and bituminous that the addition of even a small dealer's margin is sufficient to increase the cost to the point where the business might be lost. Second, the operator sells to a wholesaler or broker for subsequent resale, either to a retail dealer for clearance through his yard or direct to large consumers. Usually this method of distribution is employed by the smaller operators, who do not find it economically feasible to maintain extensive sales organizations. In most instances, the wholesaler retains some 5 per cent for his services, paid, of course, by the producing company whose anthracite he handles. He may, and frequently does, handle the output of several different companies, suited to the varying needs of the different communities he serves. His business includes all sizes of anthracite. The third, and by far the most general method, consists in selling to retail dealers, shipments being made direct from the breakers to the yards of the dealers. In large consuming areas, such as the metropolitan districts of New York or Philadelphia, one operator may sell to several

Jan 1, 1936

By Wilfred P. Sykes

AT intervals in the course of history an event occurs which, though scarcely heeded at the moment, marks in retrospect the beginning of a new era in some one field of human activity. Such a happening is perhaps more readily spotted in the field of technology than in other realms of human endeavor. Here the span of years is relatively short and the records have been kept with some degree of precision. In the current scene of our social and economic drama the art and science of metallurgy is playing a major role. Off stage will be found the metallurgist in one guise or another aiding, he trusts, in the development of processes and products which will contribute to the happiness of his fellow men. The results of his efforts appear in the form of metallic substances known as alloys built up from any two or more of the wide variety of metals which have been extracted from the mineral deposits in the earth's crust. An alloy by virtue of its inherent physical properties may seem ideally suited for human use in a special way but until this material can be produced economically it will fail to attain a place of prominence as an article of commerce. In fact many commercial alloys are being continually replaced by new or modified compositions better suited to meet the increasingly severe demands of industrial service.

Jan 1, 1939

By Thomas T., Read

THROUGHOUT the Colonial era, Philadelphia was easily , the leading city of North America, and it still held that position at the end of the period, with a population of about 25,000, though closely pressed by Boston, which had slightly over 20,000, and New York, which had nearly as many. It was the center of a region in which mineral industry was important. Thomas Rutter's bloomery, built in the Schuylkill valley in 1716, was quickly followed by many others, and during the Colonial period at least 20 blast furnaces, 45 forges, and iron- works of other types were built in eastern Pennsylvania, which easily led all the other colonies in iron manufacture. During the Revolutionary period others were erected as far west as Fort Loudon, in the Cumberland c alley.^ After 1800 the rapid development of the anthracite mining industry profoundly affected Philadelphia's, development, since transportation of the coal was then necessarily by water, and the streams of the anthracite . regions mostly flowed into either the Schuylkill or the Delaware Rivers. With an abundant near-by supply of coal and iron, with the seat of government, which had been there since 1774, and with a National Bank established there in 1791, one would have seemed safe in prophesying, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, that Philadelphia would permanently remain the leading city of the United States. Education in Philadelphia was at first wholly in the hands of the Quakers, who had established a "Public School" there in 1689, but in November 1739 George Whitefield, who had created a sensation in England by his preaching, though only 24 years old, passed through Philadelphia on his way to Georgia to found an orphan school there. He preached a series of sermons in Christ Church that were so disturbing to the established church that on Nov. 25 the Rev..Richard Peters (who was also Provincial

Jan 1, 1941

By George W. Riter

(Canal zone meeting, November, 1910.) A DISTINGUISHED engineer, the active head of a large mining company, has said that surveying attains the dignity of a profession only in the hands of a few men-the few who know how to keep notes that will be understood by even a novice without further word of explanation. Of all mine-records, survey notes are perhaps the most important. The maps made from them serve as a working-guide, and as framework for other data ; and when, from any cause, access to underground workings is shut off, the surveyor's record often becomes invaluable. So seldom does a surveyor have a chance to check underground surveys by making a closure, that he is compelled to rely on the precision of each step of his work for the accuracy of the final result. When data are fully recorded on the spot, the notes, even in the hands of second parties, become evidence of the care and precision with which the surveying was done. It is worth a great deal to be able to pick up the work of a former surveyor where it was left o$; and to be able to carry it forward without retracing from the beginning. The purpose of this paper is to describe the survey-note system of a mine now under my direction, in which underground surveys had to be relied upon entirely for the proper division of rich ore-bodies between neighbors, thereby placing a premium on accurate surveying and permanent records. In survey-work, it soon turns out that paper is the least item of expense, and that little is gained by trying to economize note-book space. For many purposes it is best to record notes on cards or loose-leaves, which may be left in the office at the end of the day's work, and need not be carried into the mine again, there to become smeared with grime and grease. With the loose-leaf or card system, all notes relating to the same local-

Apr 1, 1911

TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGICAL ENGINEERS Gentlemen: - I herewith present a report of some. of the more important activities of the Institute for the year of 1922. The outstanding feature of the year is the optimism felt by our members despite the continued depression in the mining industry. January 1, 1921, found many of our members out of employment or drifting into other industries to tide them over the depression, but almost universally the feeling has been that this was but a temporary condition and that sooner or later the necessary production of raw materials would enable these members to return to their former activities and renew their participation in Institute affairs. As the year passed conditions improved and, before it ended, many had found employment in their previous occupations. Bearing in mind that this depression has been very real, we have reason to be well satisfied with the work that the Institute has been able to do. The loss of members through inability to pay, dues has been large, and income has been correspondingly reduced, but it proved to be materially in excess of that anticipated early in the year, so that a substantial and unanticipated balance was carried forward toward the activities of 1923. PUBLICATIONS Following the example of other technical societies, and to conserve our resources, no Year Book was published in 1922. The lack of an up-to-date membership list for the use of our members was regrettable, but the saving of $5000 proved to be worth while. During the year, Volumes LXV, LXVI, and LXVII were printed and sent to members. These volumes were composed largely of the papers of 1920 and 1921, publication of which had been delayed partly through lack of funds and partly for the purpose of segregating into volumes those papers dealing with the same general subject. The segregation of papers had been suggested by a number of members who had advised that they were not primarily interested in all subjects

Jan 1, 1925

By AIME AIME

THE following brief description of the main features of the, engineering work was prepared for the use of members of the American Society of Civil Engineers and members of the American Institute of Mining Engineers on the occasion of their visits to the tunnels at the time-of their respective. annual meetings in New York, January and February, 1905. DESCRIPTION. Those portions. of the Pennsylvania Extension into Manhattan and Long Island, lying east of the Terminal Station and west of the East River, have been designated as the " Manhattan ?Cross-town:. Tunnels." They traverse a section of the city second in importance only to the financial district, and one that includes the larger hotels, retail shops and theaters and the residences of many of the best known citizens. Section "D," consisting of twin tunnels for west-bound express and local passenger traffic, lies under Thirty-third Street from a point 400 ft. west of the west line of Sixth Avenue, eastward to the river shaft, situated in the block between Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Streets east of First Avenue. Beginning at the east end, the tunnels are in separate excavations, leading westward from the subaqueous tubes, on a curve of large radius, gradually closing together until it is found more appropriate to drive them in a single excavation. At a point just west of Second Avenue they reach the tangent, aid from there westward lie directly under Thirty-third Street. At a point about 180 ft. west of the west line of Sixth Avenue, the center concrete-wall between the twin tunnels is omitted, and the excavation somewhat widened to make room for a third storage-track, and the tunnel continues to tile station portal in three-track section. Here reprinted through the courtesy of The United Engineering and Contracting Co. The half-tone blocks used for the illustration of this paper have been kindly supplied by the Chasmer-Winchell Press of New York, Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

Mar 1, 1908

By James Paul

BEGINNING in December, 1933, and continuing to the close of April, 1934, large sums of money were expended in the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia through the conduct of Federal and State Civil Works Administration, financed by the Government as a part of the President's recovery program to furnish employment to mine employees idle as a result of the economic depression. PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT The protection of the public health against the pollution of public water supply by acid mine drainage was the incentive that prompted the request that the sealing of abandoned bituminous coal mines be made a Federal project. A paper before the Central Section of the American Water Works Association, Wheeling, W. Va., on Aug. 24, by E. S. Tisdale, Chief Engineer of the West Virginia Department of Health, tersely says: In October, 1933, the combined experience of the U. S. Bureau of Mines and the U. S. Public Health Service and the States of Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky resulted in a report being filed in Washington, first with the Public Works Administration and later with the Civil Works Administration, where it was favorably acted upon, calling for these governmental agencies under the direction of the U. S. Public Health Service to expend $1,500,000 in a unified effort to seal abandoned coal mines in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and six other states farther down along the Ohio river. The report referred to was embodied in a petition that was signed by the chief engineers of the State Departments of Health of the several states contiguous to the drainage area of the Ohio River. The project as established under Federal supervision became interstate with respect to the several states involved, and upon the termination of the Federal project on Feb. 15, it was authorized as a State C.W.A. project, effective Feb. 20, under the supervision of the State Departments of Health and the State C.W.A. Administration, which continued to March 29, and was succeeded by the S.E.R.B. of the R.W.D. from April 2 to April

Jan 1, 1935

By E. L. WOOD

IN ATTEMPTING to summarize briefly the reconstruction of the Hecla plant since the fire, three important facts must be held in mind; namely: a hurry-up job with the shadow of an insurance company in the background; restriction of working space in the narrow Burke Canyon; and building two-thirds of the plant on a filled area. Construction work was carried on without interruption through the winter season. These adverse conditions have contributed many obstacles not ordinarily encountered in mining work. The first problems immediately after the fire were organization and policy; the-former to create an efficient construction crew out of a mining organization; the latter to determine the type and extent of surface plant to be built. The new crew was organized from a nucleus of mine employees, 25 per cent. of the old crew remaining for construction work. Permanent fireproof buildings were decided upon, the general arrangement of the new plant to be similar to the old one as far as possible, at the same time enlarging it 100 per cent. in anticipation of the demands which would be made upon it when the Star Mine began operating. Cleaning up the wreckage was a big job, the extent of which is indicated by the fact that 30 carloads of scrap iron and steel were moved off the property. In re-establishing transportation facilities at the plant, a previous disadvantage of a steep grade on the high line was obviated by excavating 1600 yd. of solid rock; the fire having destroyed all town buildings below, made this work possible.

Jan 1, 1924

By L. E. Young

GERMANY'S recent collapse and the occupation by the Allies of the coal fields of the Ruhr, the Saar, Silesia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia have focused attention on the postwar coal problems of Europe. American coal operators are interested deeply in what is happening in Britain, particularly in the discussion of plans to rehabilitate and reorganize the entire British coal mining industry, as such reorganization will probably determine the place Britain will occupy in the European coal markets for the next few decades. The continuing decline of British out-ut per man-shift, particularly during wartime, has resulted in a most serious effort to determine whether this unfortunate trend is due to the physical condition of the coal seams, poor management, poor engineering and planning, inadequate use of power and machinery, or failure of labor to co-operate with management.

Jan 1, 1945