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By Eugene Stephenson

CRITICAL analyses of the work expended in producing oil by the utilization of gas energy have appeared in the publications of Shaw,1 Pierce and Lewis,2 and Herold,3 authors who have ably discussed the factors which must be taken into consideration in comparing energy consumed per barrel in various wells which are flowed by means of gas-lift. However, two distinct phases of oil production are concerned with the ratio of gas energy consumed to oil produced. One of these phases is the gas-lift, which utilizes the differential gas pressures for the purpose of flowing oil, whether these pressures be natural reservoir pressures or be induced by artificial compression of gas or air. The other phase has to do with prorating oil production in pools which are operated either as units, or are subject to such restrictions as those imposed at Oklahoma City by the Corporation Commission, or, by similar controlling groups in other fields. An abundance of literature is available relative to the problems of flowing wells by gas-lift, but the first suggestion that the energy of the gas within the oil and gas pool might serve as a basis for proration, appeared in the timely article by McWilliams.4 Much of the. dissatisfaction with proration in certain fields is because some operators feel that besides the hazard to the wells which accompanies the test, the method of allocating production on the basis of the "potential" gage is inequitable and gives some operators a distinct advantage over others.5 The most severe penalty may be exacted from the most progressive operators or those who attempt to produce their oil with a minimum quantity of reservoir gas. If :no difficulties ever

Jan 1, 1931

By H. C. Fowler, G. B. Shea

MODERN industry's incessant demands for increased operating efficiency and lower costs require that hazards attending all occupations be reduced to a minimum. Reduction of the inevitable losses that result from accidents and injury to the worker is one of the important economic problems confronting industry today and is the basis for the widespread safety movement. Dr. Charles E. Munroe, chief explosive chemist of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, is father of the statement, "The existence of a nuisance is evidence of an economic waste." This pointed expression of the internationally recognized scholar and explosives engineer has a direct relation to the prevention of accidents. Every injury and death in industry is a waste in human endeavor and a lessening of productive gain. Dr. Munroe has aptly paraphrased his previous summation with reference to wastes as follows: "A lost-time accident is evidence of an economic waste." That the economic waste entailed by occupational accidents is chargeable to industry is well substantiated by the fact that all but four states (Mississippi, South Carolina, Florida and Arkansas) now have workingmen's liability and compensation laws.

Jan 1, 1933

By AIME AIME

THE meeting of the Petroleum Division at Houston, Oct. 10-12-headquarters, Rice Hotel-was preeminently a technological success. Two hundred and twenty-five attended the Thursday morning session and approximately 200 attended the sessions on Thursday and Friday afternoons and Saturday morning. Harry Power, Chairman of the Division, in his opening remarks, credited Paul Weaver and M. Albertson, respectively chairman and vice-chairman of the local committee, with working long and prodigiously in organizing the program. The theme of the initial session was indicated by Mr. Albertson in a statement relative to the estimation of developed petroleum reserves. He said that the problem of securing more accurate estimates of developed petroleum reserves existed prior to curtailment of production. With curtailment, however, the problem became an acute one. Mr. Albertson gave some of the more important reasons for this situation. Since the decline-curve method became inapplicable, the volumetric method has become the chief one used. It depends on the factors of productive formation volume, porosity, saturation, and recovery. He briefly discussed the factors necessary for application of the volumetric method. P. P. Gregory discussed the estimation of petroleum reserves in prorated lime¬stone fields (see his paper in the October

Jan 1, 1935

By R. S. Bradley

WHAT are known as insulating firebrick are lightweight firebrick with low thermal conductivity designed primarily for use in direct contact with furnace gases. These are a recent development in the refractories industry, and are really an outgrowth of the type of insulating brick suitable for use behind refractory walls developed by the insulation manufacturers. To differentiate between these two types of brick, the manufacturers have recently agreed upon the use of the term "Insulating Firebrick" to apply to the type of brick suited for use in direct contact with furnace gases, and the term "Insulating Brick" for the type suitable for use behind refractory walls. Insulation was applied to steam pipes as far back as 1900. This was a low-temperature insulation, the most common type being magnesia blocks. The next development was applying insulation to the outside of furnace walls, a service which necessitated an insulating material of higher temperature resistance. Natural diatomaceous earth, both in the powdered and brick form, was used; this was efficient and is still used extensively for backing up refractory walls where the inner surface temperature of the insulation does not exceed 1600° F.

Jan 1, 1937

By D. C. Jackling

I BESPEAK your indulgence for a brief expression of the views of a patriarch in the field of mineral industry technology relative to young men's problems in that sphere of education and endeavor. Wherever hereafter I employ the terms "technical education," "engineer," "technologist," or similar expressions, these are intended to be understood as relating to the broad field of the sciences and arts applicable to the mineral industries. First, the usefulness of technical education to either the possessor of it or those to whom its services may be made available industrially depends primarily upon the quality of the education and the capabilities of the educated to put his talents to effective and constructive employment in his chosen field of applied science.

Jan 1, 1940

By T. L. CONDRON

DURING the past fourteen months, this committee has had under consideration and study the subject of the licensing or registration of engineers. The fifteen members of the committee as appointed by Council, were selected from thirteen states, viz., Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado, California and Washington, and therefore represent practically all sections* of the United States, as well as mechanical, electrical, mining, hydraulic, municipal, sanitary, railway and' structural engineering, and also colleges of engineering. The first work of the committee was to investigate the general subject and to collect, so far as possible, avail¬able material bearing upon the subject in hand,. in-' eluding opinions from many engineers as to the need or desirability of legislation, as well as copies of all state laws passed and proposed, having to do with licensing or registration of engineers, architects and surveyor, This preliminary investigation disclosed that very pronounced views were held by engineers throughout the country, both for and against state licensing or registration. The general sentiment one year ago was more opposed to such measures than it is today. The older members of the profession did not as a rule favor licensing nor did they feel there was need for state regulation of engineering practice, while among the younger men there was a feeling that licensing or registration by the states would add prestige to professional engineers and in many ways benefit -the profession, as well as individual engineers.

Jan 1, 1920

By K. Takahashi, I. Iwasaki

it is well known1 that racemic mixtures of optical isomers can be separated by passing their solutions through a column packed with r- or 1-quartz powder so that one of the isomers becomes adsorbed selectively on the asymmetric quartz surfaces. Although the natural occurrence of r- and 1-quartz is more or less equally distributed, some localities show enough deviations toward a higher proportion of l-quartz2 to suggest that optical isomerism might influence quartz flotation. Beta-amines have an asymmetric carbon atom, and therefore optical activity may be expected. Beta-amines are reported to behave quite differently from alpha-amines in the flotation upgrading of certain oxidized iron ores.3 It is of interest, for both practical and theoretical reasons, to determine whether or not optical isomerism plays a role in the amine flotation of quartz. In this article the results of Hallimond tube flotation tests and of adsorption measurements using d-beta-phenylisopropylamine on both r- and 1-quartz are compared. D-beta-phenylisopropylamine was chosen for the tests because it is commercially available in optical isomers. MATERIALS AND METHODS Brazilian quartz crystals were hand-sorted according to the difference in trigonal trapezohedral faces, and each crystal was further checked by the Airy's spiral.4 The respective crystals were then crushed, and the -150 + 200-mesh fractions were screened out for the Hallimond tube tests. The samples were cleaned by brief leaching with warm, dilute hydrochloric acid, and then by repeated rinsing with distilled water. In preparation for the adsorption measurements, they were then dry-ground in a pebble mill for several hours, washed a few times with distilled water, and finally dried in a vacuum desiccator. By means of the Krypton gas adsorption method, the specific surfaces of r- and 1-quartz samples were determined to be 27,700 and 19,800 sq cm per gm respectively, the difference being due mainly to the decantation procedure rather than to the inherent difference in their grindability. D-beta-phenylisopropylamine was the only collector used in the study. It was solubilized by neutralizing with 110% of the stoichiometric requirement of 0.1 N hydrochloric acid. The specific rotation of the d-beta-phenylisopropylamine was determined with a polari-meter using sodium D line to be, Although the d-beta-phenylis~prop~lamine showed absorption maxima in the wave length region of 250 to 270 millimicrons, due presumably to the phenyl group, these peaks were too sensitive to be used for colorimetric determination of the residual concentration in the adsorption measurements. The amine-picrate method, used in the colorimetric analysis of dodecylammonium chloride,' was found to work satisfactorily for the d-beta-phenylisopropylamine. The adsorption densities were thus determined after equilibrating 40 gm of the ground quartz sample with 300 ml of solution by tumbling in separate glass-stoppered Erlenmeyer flasks for one hour. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS Fig. 1 presents the adsorption densities of d-beta-phenylisopropylamine on the r- and 1-quarts in the pH range of 6 to 7.5. In agreement with data reported in the literature, the adsorption density of d-beta-phenylisopropylamine was slightly higher on the r-quartz than on the 1-quartz, although the difference was not as pronounced as one might expect from the capacity of r-quartz and 1-quartz to separate racemic

Jan 1, 1969

By James P. Sloss

MOST students that plan to enter the mining profession attempt to obtain some kind of practical experience before graduation. Six or seven years ago it was an easy matter for undergraduates to find employment during the summer vacation and return to school in the fall filled with enthusiasm to dig deeper into the theoretical field. However, during the past few years it has become extremely difficult for an inexperienced undergraduate to obtain even a menial job in mining. This was the situation which presented itself to the author and his partner, T. M. Patten several months before school closed in May, 1934. At that time, Mr. Patten's training consisted of two years study in Mining, and mine included three years' study in Mining Geology at the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy. With this technical training and no practical experience, we conceived the idea that custom assaying in some of the western mining districts should be a lucrative business. We thought that the renewed interest in prospecting for gold and the opening of new mines should provide more assay work, and believed that we might secure it if we were on the spot where the assaying was needed. We realized that it would be out of the question for us to obtain the necessary equipment with which to establish an assay office. Even if such an office were established we had a maximum of but three months during which to operate. So we determined to build some kind of inexpensive equipment that could be placed in an automobile, or trailer, and be moved from one camp to another. We then began to study the theoretical aspects of assaying and started experimental work with the equipment that we proposed to build.

Jan 1, 1935

By HORACE V. WlNCHELL

Location. THE St. Helens mining-district, indicated in sketch-map, Fig. 1, is chiefly in Townships 9 and 10 North, Ranges 5 and 6 East, of the Willamette meridian, in Skamania county, Wash. There is no railroad or even a wagon-road at present connecting it with any base of supplies; access is usually by wagon-road for FIG. I.-SKETCH-MAP OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON. about 50 miles from the town of Castle Rock to Spirit lake, and from that point by pony-trail from 6 to 10 miles farther. History. Nearly 20 years ago two German farmers, totally inexperienced in prospecting, penetrated this region upon a hunting and fishing-trip. Their attention was drawn to numerous joints and crevices filled with black, glistening tourmaline, and con-

Oct 1, 1912

By AIME AIME

ON THE occasion of the eightieth birthday of Captain Robert W. Hunt, the Iron and Steel Committee of the Institute, desiring to commemorate the great contributions made to the steel industry by Captain Hunt during his long career, conceived the idea of a Hunt Medal to be awarded annually by the Institute for meritorious contributions to the art of making steel. The project was received enthusiastically by all to whom it was proposed, especially by Captain Hunt's partners and employees who considered it their right, and asked for the privilege of -. - raising the necessary funds within their own circle. This was agreed to, and the Institute has received from them $7500 as an endowment fund to provide an annual award, and $1000 for the expenses of providing of medal.

Jan 1, 1920

B. S. and E. M. from the School of Mines at Socorro, New Mexico, in May, 1912. Immediately after graduating, he began as a practical miner in the U. S. mines at Bingham, Utah, but in November, 1912, he entered the operating department of the Chino Copper Co.'s concentrator at Hurley, New Mexico, where he stayed until July, 1913. During the latter half of 1913, he was employed as chemist in the laboratory of the El Paso smelter, at El Paso, Texas. In December, 1913, he became engineer and geologist with the Empire Zinc Co., at Socorro, New Mexico, which position he held at the time of his admission to the Institute in 1914, and until he entered the army in June, 1918. Before beginning the study of mining, Mr. Ringlund had completed a course in pharmacy, which accounts for his enlisting in the Medical Corps. Lieutenant George Roper, Jr. George Roper, Jr., a Junior Member of the Institute, was killed in an aeroplane accident near Shotwich, England, on Play 25, 1918. He was born at Steubenville, Ohio, in 1893, and at the time of his admi~sion to the Institute in 1916 was a student in mining and metallurgy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass., from which he received the degree of S. B. in June, 1917. In August, 1917, he enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps, and after preliminary training on this side of the water, was sent to England. He was making the final cross-country flight of his course of training when the accident occurred.

Jan 1, 1920

By H. M. Howe

THIS paper presents an experimental verification of some of the predictions made by one of us' concerning 'the influence of certain conditions of casting upon the size and position of the pipe', and the position of the segregate, in steel ingots. The predictions which we have been able to verify are the following A. That the pipe is shortened and the segregate raised 1. By slow casting; 2. By casting with the large end up instead of down; 3. By retarding the cooling of the top, e.g., by means of a sinking-head. B. That the pipe is shortened by slow cooling. C. That the pipe and segregate lie in the last freezing-part. Our procedure was to cast ingots of wax (commercially pure stearic acid) containing a little bright green copper oleate (usually 1.5 per cent.) under varying conditions; to saw each ingot open along a longitudinal plane passing through its axis ; and to examine the longitudinal section thus laid bare. In order to make the segregate or enriched part more distinct in color from the impoverished part, a very little red cerasine was added. An experiment which will be described later showed that the cerasine itself does not segregate markedly, if at all. Hence we may assume that the strong contrasts between the green and red shown in so many of our ingots are due, not to segregation of cerasine, but to that of the green oleate, in the wax which in itself is uniformly reddened with cerasine.

Jul 1, 1907

By F. N. Speller

ASIDE from the Tuesday symposium on gases in metals, the Iron and Steel Division swung into action for the first time on the third day of the meeting with a discussion of iron and steel alloys. Dr. E. S. Davenport opened the discussion on Wednesday morning by presenting the paper written by himself in association with E. C. Bain and W. S. N. wiring on the equilibrium diagram of iron-manganese-carbon alloys. A written discussion by Mr. Scott showed qualitative agree- ment, but some quantitative disagreement. Messrs. Marsh and Sisco discussed the paper at length, pointing out non- agreement of certain conclusions with the phase rule. Dr. Krivobok, although differing with the authors on some points, stated that in his opinion the information collected would be valuable in the practical use of these alloys.

Jan 1, 1932

H. 0. HOFMAN, Boston, Mass (written discussion*).-The paper by Mr.. Pyne gives clear evidence of the difficulties the metallurgist is likely to encounter when he tries to recover in the blast furnace the metal from old chromite lining used as a refractory material in the copper reverberatory furnace. It appears that chromite cannot be fluxed at temperatures which usually prevail in copper blast furnaces. This calls to mind the freezing-point curve drawn by M. Simonis1 of mixtures of chromite and kaolinite. The chromite used in the experiments contained 52.9 per cent. Cr203, 22.6 FeO, 4.8 AI203, 9.6 Si02, .10.1-MgO; FIG. 1. the kaolinite was clay from Zettlitz with 98.5 per cent. clay-substance: The accompanying curve shows that the eutectic mixture with 35 per cent. kaolinite and 65 per cent. chromite freezes at Seger cone No. 15 (1435° C.), while kaolinite fuses at cone No. 35 (1770° C.) and chromite at cone No. 42 (2000° C.). The curve indicates that the difficulty in the blast furnace can be overcome by having at the smelting zone a temperature much higher than is usual in copper smelting; a charge composition similar to that prevailing at the Mansfeld copper smeltery -which gives with 23 per cent. coke a, slag of the composition Si02, .49.09; .(FeMg)0, 5.58; (CaMg)0, 16.02; A1203,-16.02-might flux and fuse chromite.

Jan 3, 1918

By AIME AIME

A FALL meeting that should have repercussions both in the "Transactions" and MINING AND METALLURGY was that of the Industrial Minerals Division (Nonmetallics) at Wilmington, Oct. 21-23; headquarters, Du Pont Hotel. The sixteen technical papers and two addresses were substantial and interesting. Moreover, in every instance but one, the author made the presentation, and the one exception must have been next of kin because the ensuing discussion indicated his command of the subject. The meeting schedule clicked at every turn, thanks to Dr. Gillson, chairman of the local committee, and even the four field trips adhered to the time table. The program pre-empted morning, noon, afternoon and night two general luncheons, two dinners, and an evening technical session reminding one of the Annual Meeting. Only the registration was disappointing - about 80.

Jan 1, 1943

By R. W. Raymond

WISH to call the attention of the Institute to a curious subject, brought to my notice last summer by Mr. Begger, the accomplished metallurgist of the smelting-works of the Boston and Colorado Company at Black Hawk, near Central City, Colorado. At these works, the richest auriferous sulphhrets of Colorado (particularly copper pyrites) are smelted in reverberatories, together with roasted tailings (iron pyrites), and the gold and silver are concentrated into a new, artificial sulphide, or copper matte, containing $1500 and upwards of the precious metals per ton, and this is shipped to Swansea. I will say in passing, that this shipment of an unrefined product, like the similar shipments from Utah and Nevada to San Francisco, Chi¬cago, St. Louis, Newark, New York, and Europe, of crude argentiferous lead or "base bullion," is not a sign of incomplete metallurgy here, but has a sound business reason. The separation of the precious metals in the West would be more expensive, to begin with ; and then it would necessitate the movement of these metals by express, at high rates and risk, to commercial centres or coining mints, while the base metals having no home market, must be shipped and sold at little or no profit. At present, the gold and silver, safely packed, as it were, in the base metals, are transported with safety as ordinary freight; and the base metals probably more than pay cost of shipment and separation. To return to the Black Hawk reverberatories. On a recent occa-

Jan 1, 1873

By Bradley Stoughton, Henry M. Howe

This paper presents an experimental verification of some of the predictions made by one of us1 concerning the influence of certain conditions of casting upon the size and position of the pipe, and the position of the segregate, in steel ingots. The predictions which we have been able to verify are the following: A. That the pipe is shortened and the segregate raised: 1. By slow casting; 2. By casting with the large end up instead of down; 3. By retarding the cooling of the top, e.g., by means of a sinking-head. B. That the pipe is shortened by slow cooling. C. That the pipe and segregate lie in the last-freezing part. Our procedure was to cast ingots of wax (commercially pure stearic acid) containing a little bright green copper oleate (usually 1.5 per cent.) under varying conditions; to saw each ingot open along a longitudinal plane passing through its axis; and to examine the longitudinal section thus laid bare. In order to make the segregate or enriched part more distinct in color from the impoverished part, a very little red cerasine was added. An experiment which will be described later showed that the cerasine itself does not segregate markedly, if at all. Hence we may assume that the strong contrasts between the green and red shown in so many of our ingots are due, not to segregation of cerasine, but to that of the green oleate, in the wax which in itself is uniformly reddened with cerasine.

Jan 1, 1908

No. 484.-A mining engineer and geologist of long and varied experience in North and South America is open for an engagement. Exploration and development work preferred. Rare minerals a specialty. No. 485.-Member, mining engineer, technical graduate, married, age 28, exempt, with 9 years experience at gold and silver, copper, lead, and coal mines, 4 years with present employers, is open for engagement as mine superintendent or foreman, or in charge of cyanide plant. Boston or New York interview after Oct. 10. Present position, day foreman at producing gold-silver mine in Montana. References. No. 486.-Member, age 34, married, varied experience in iron, copper, nickel, talc, etc., principally as surveyor, mine and surface geologist, and superintendent of explorations, is open for engagement. Preference, connection with some eastern consulting engineer or firm of engineers. No. 487.-Member, mine superintendent, 18 years' experience in the West and in the Lake Superior districts. Thorough business and technical training. Personal interview, preferably Chicago.

Jan 10, 1918

By R. W. Raymond

I wish to call the attention of the Institute to a curious subject, brought to my notice last summer by Mr. Begger, the accomplished metallurgist of the smelting-works of the Boston and Colorado Company at Black Hawk, near Central City, Colorado. At these works, the richest auriferous sulphurets of Colorado (particularly copper pyrites) are smelted in reverberatories, together with roasted tailings (iron pyrites), and the gold and silver are concentrated into a new, artificial sulphide, or copper matte, containing $1500 and upwards of the precious metals per ton, and this is shipped to Swansea. I will say in passing, that this shipment of an unrefined product, like the similar shipments from Utah and Nevada to San Francisco, Chicago, St. Louis, Newark, New York, and Europe, of crnde argentiferous lead or "base bullion," is not a sign of incomplete metallurgy here, but has a sound business reason. The separation of the precious metals in the West would be more expensive, to begin with ; and then it would necessitate the movement of these metals by express, . - at high rates and risk, to commercial centres or coining mints, while the base metals having no home market, must be shipped and sold at little or no profit. At present, the gold and silver, safely packed, as it were, in the base metals, are transported with safety as ordinary freight; and the base metals probably more than pay cost of shipment and separation. To return to the Black Hawk reverberatories. On a recent occa-

Discussion of the paper of Earl S. Bardwell, presented at the Butte meeting, August, 1913, and printed in Bulletin No. 79, July, 1913, pp. .1429 to 1441. H. O. HOFMAN, Boston, Mass. (communication to the Secretary*) :-It is pleasing to the originators of the planimetric determination of oxygen in refined copper to see that the method has been taken up by a large smelting plant to be used in every-day work after it has been simplified to suit the new conditions. Several years ago Huntington and Desch 1 had improved our mode of working. They projected the developed negative on to a screen, traced the outlines of the picture with a pencil, drew a border, and measured one constituent with. the planimeter. In order to give the work greater precision, they divided the area into squares of 1 cm. side, shaded the

Jan 11, 1913