Search Documents

By William B. Heroy

During 1932 no important changes occurred in the position of Africa as a producer of petroleum. The progress of development and production in each of the areas of interest is described below. Egypt The producing fields of Egypt are Hurghada and Gemsa, located on the west short of the Red Sea, and Abu Durba in the Sinai Peninsula. Most of the production is obtained from the Hurghada field, chiefly from beds of Cretaceous age. To the end of 1930 the Hurghada field had produced 2,831,751 tons of petroleum. The Gemsa field, discovered in 1909, reached its peak of production in 1914, when 88,000 tons were produced. Of late years the production has greatly declined. Total production of the field to the end of 1930 is 182,870 tons. The total production of Abu Durba to the end of 1930 is 7069 tons. The production of Egypt for recent years is as follows: 1928, 269,324 tons; 1929, 271,520; 1930, 281,997 (1,996,000 bbl.); 1931, 288,260 (2,038,000 bbl.); 1932, 253,182 (approximately 1,790,000 bbl.). Mozambique The operations of Inyaminga Petroleum Ltd., which was engaged in drilling in the colony, have been suspended. Angola Drilling operations in this colony, conducted by Companhia de Petroleo de Angola under a concession from the Portuguese Government, were continued. A test well drilled at Cacoba, about 60 miles southeast of Luanda, to a depth of 5651 ft. was not a commercial producer. A second well was being drilled in the vicinity at the end of 1932. Morocco Until last year the search for petroleum in Morocco was in the hands of several private companies but during 1932 the National Office of Liquid Fuels of the French Government took an active interest in the develop-

Jan 1, 1933

By Philip D. Wilson

AS thin most important and vital component of an airplane aluminum hay rapidly become the heart and tome- of the war program. Its production ham increased amt will continue to increase, in comparison with its pre-war position further than that of any of lie other important critical metals except magnesium. Compared with the 1939 production of tons of primary ingot coming from four plants, all owned by the Aluminum Company of America the 1942 figures are more than three timer as large. Including, recoverable scrap and contracted ingot from Canada the 191,, supply of aluminum for the United States will be over siren times dial of 1939- A substantial part of this increase has been achieved during the past year as total production in 1941 was only some 307,500 tons. During 1942 six great new ingot plants sponsored and owned by the Government have come into production and three others are nearing completion.

Jan 1, 1943

By David White

THE search for potash salts in the great "Red Beds? region of the Southwest, conducted for several years by the U. S. Geological Survey, the work being carried on for a part of the time in coöperation with the Bureau of Economic Geology and Technology of the University of Texas, has resulted in the discovery, within shafting depth, of potash salts, apparently of workable thickness and commercial quality, and prob-ably of great extent. Definite information is lacking as to the exact thickness of the potash beds, the size and boundaries of the areas underlain by workable strata, and the locations of the deposits richest and most favorably situated for exploitation. Briefly to review the salient features, of the general situation: We have in the great Red Beds region of the southwestern United States, embracing portions of central Kansas, western Oklahoma, eastern New Mexico, and northern and western Texas, .a series of sandstones. shales, anhydrite beds, clays and limestones, which; through an interval of 1000 ft., more or less, carry beds of salt, estimated by Darton1 to contain over 30,000 billions of tons of rock salt. It is the greatest known salt field of the world. At some points the intercalated beds of rock salt, one of which is reported by the driller to exceed 300 ft. in thickness, aggregate, accord-ing to the drillers' records, over 1000 ft. The sedi-mentary strata are similar in composition to those carrying the potash deposits of western Europe, and they were laid down at the same time and under condi-tions which, in many respects at least, were similar The stratigraphy and character of the beds are des-cribed by Darton2 and a, part of the area and the reported aggregate thicknesses of salt are shown, with some revision after Darton, in the accompanying map Fig. 1. The assumption that in the great areas of shallow evaporation basins spread over -the vast base-level region of saline deposition in the Southwest during Permo-Triassic time, potash salts were in some places, and at different stages, thrown down in crystalline deposits associated with the beds of rock salt, anhydrite, and gypsum, is, geologically speaking, more than reason-able. They are to be expected, and the conviction that they are probably present has long been held both in the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology and Tech-nology, under Dr. J. A. Udden, and in the- U. S. Geological Survey. Accordingly, for many years, efforts to determine whether potash deposits are present in this region have been made, though under very great difficulties, such as insufficient funds for boring, hack of drilling on private initiative in the more promising regions, hack of interest at first on the part of the drillers and companies, and, hater, inadequacy both of the methods of boring and of the sampling, to reveal in definite terms the thickness-of any saline stratum of given composition.

Jan 4, 1922

By AIME AIME

DESPITE the fact that its membership is spread over every continent of the globe, the Petroleum Division was able to report a very substantial attendance at its meetings. Careful planning on the part of its chairman, J. B. Urnpleby, and his associates resulted in the presentation of a program that was of timely interest -and led to discussions that will unquestionably prove to be of major value to the petroleum engineer and to the oil industry in general. Scheduling of meetings so as to avoid all conflicts made it possible to obtain a higher average attendance at the several sessions* than in previous years, and gave everyone a chance to hear all of the papers that he was interested in. The chairmen of the various meetings are to be congratulated especially for their skill in handling them so that at .no time was there the least indication of lagging interest.

Jan 1, 1930

By O. C. Wheeler

The total oil production from Colombia during 1939 amounted to 23,774,151 bbl., constituting a new high record. Of this amount the Tropical Oil Co. produced 22,374,151 bbl. from its De Mares concession and the Colombian Petroleum Co. produced 1,400,000 bbl. from its Barco concession beyond the eastern Andes. The Socony Vacuum Oil Co. produced a small amount of crude from its Las Monas wells north of the Sogamoso River in the Magdalena Valley for consumption on its own property, but this is not included in the figures given above. The South American Gulf Oil Co. provided the outstanding development in the country by the completion, late in the year, of its 12-in. pipe line from the Colombian Petroleum Company's Barco concession to the coast at Covenas. This was a notable accomplishment, achieved in the face of tremendous natural obstacles. With the completion of this line there are now two crude-oil outlets from the interior of Colombia to the coast, the other being the Andian National Corporation's line down the Magdalena Valley from Barranca Bermeja. The Barco property becomes the second major producing area in Colombia. The acquisition of prospectivc oil lands continued at about the same level as during the prcvious year. Most of the lands taken up or applied for had their subsurface rights vested in the National Government. Relatively little interest was taken in the leasing of privately owned lands. Tropical surrendered its Putana concession on the Sogamoso River after finding it to he nonproductive. The status of applications for National lands that had been accepbed or on which concession contracts had been awarded at the end of the year is shown in Table 3. In the Magdalena Valley wildcat drilling in the search of new fields was conducted to the east of Puerto Berrio by the Compania de Petroleo Shell de Colombia, Compania Coloinbiaila de Petroleos El Condor and by the Sociedad Nacional del Carare; further down the valley to the cast of Puerto Wilches, the Socony T'acuum was drilling two wildcats. No discoveries resulted from this exploratory work. On the Barco conces-

Jan 1, 1940

By O. C. Wheeler

The total oil production from Colombia during 1939 amounted to 23,774,151 bbl., constituting a new high record. Of this amount the Tropical Oil Co. produced 22,374,151 bbl. from its De Mares concession and the Colombian Petroleum Co. produced 1,400,000 bbl. from its Barco concession beyond the eastern Andes. The Socony Vacuum Oil Co. produced a small amount of crude from its Las Monas wells north of the Sogamoso River in the Magdalena Valley for consumption on its own property, but this is not included in the figures given above. The South American Gulf Oil Co. provided the outstanding development in the country by the completion, late in the year, of its 12-in. pipe line from the Colombian Petroleum Company's Barco concession to the coast at Covenas. This was a notable accomplishment, achieved in the face of tremendous natural obstacles. With the completion of this line there are now two crude-oil outlets from the interior of Colombia to the coast, the other being the Andian National Corporation's line down the Magdalena Valley from Barranca Bermeja. The Barco property becomes the second major producing area in Colombia. The acquisition of prospectivc oil lands continued at about the same level as during the prcvious year. Most of the lands taken up or applied for had their subsurface rights vested in the National Government. Relatively little interest was taken in the leasing of privately owned lands. Tropical surrendered its Putana concession on the Sogamoso River after finding it to he nonproductive. The status of applications for National lands that had been accepbed or on which concession contracts had been awarded at the end of the year is shown in Table 3. In the Magdalena Valley wildcat drilling in the search of new fields was conducted to the east of Puerto Berrio by the Compania de Petroleo Shell de Colombia, Compania Coloinbiaila de Petroleos El Condor and by the Sociedad Nacional del Carare; further down the valley to the cast of Puerto Wilches, the Socony T'acuum was drilling two wildcats. No discoveries resulted from this exploratory work. On the Barco conces-

Jan 1, 1940

OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS For the year ending February, 1932 PRESIDENT ROBERT E. TALLY JEROME, ARIZ. FREDERICK W. BRADLEY SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. WILLIAM H. BASSETT,P WATERBURY, CONN KARL EILERS NEW YORK N. Y.

Jan 1, 1929

By Erminio Ferraris

The development of the mining industry in Sardinia dates from the application of the mining law of 1859, which, following the example of the French mining law of 1810, declared prospecting to be free, and suppressed the liens which had previously attached the mine to surface ownership. The first ore-dressing plants were installed by German engineers upon the classic models of the Harz and of Freiberg; but in 1880 Sardinia commenced to open a new path in that industry, utilizing the refuse from the mining of rich, selected minerals, of poor deposits, and of mixed ores. The first experiments were attempte to adapt the existing apparatus to local conditions, but progress was rapid, as was demonstrated already in 1887 by the calamine-dressing mill of Monte-poni, which exhibited a large plant designed in accordance with the experience gained, and constructed entirely in the machine-shops of the country, after new models and designs.' This example was followed two years later by the Sociékté Malfidano, with a large plant of the same sort, and with the reconstruction of the old-fashioned dressing-mill, built in 1880 by the Austro-Belgian Company. In 1900, almost all the mines of Sardinia had adopted the new designs, and the island contained 32 concen-trating-works, employing 2,000 h.p. and 1,924 workmen. Since that time, there have been added a large dressing-mill for blende at Gennamari, and two for calamine, at San Giovanni and at Masua, while the establishments at other mines have been enlarged and perfected. For the treatment of intimately mixed ores, a large establishment has been built upon the new

Jan 1, 1909

By V. C. Smith

Reliable and detailed statistical data available for Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia are the most meager and unsatisfactory of any of the producing states. Detailed histories and statistics are available for only a few pools. The antiquity of these pools, loose nomenclature, particularly where several names are applied to the same pool or various parts of the pool or a new namsed when the pool was rediscovered, made the collection of accurat historical and statistical data almost impossible. So many of the data reported are unreliable that a breakdown by pools or even by counties, until more accurate information is available, would lead to gross errors. Rather than perpetuate inaccuracies, we have endeavored to go to original sources wherever possible, sift these and provide data that may serve as an incentive and basis for future work. The necessity for accurate information is thoroughly recognized by the operators, particularly because of the effect of recent government regulations and request? for data in connection with the preparation of the various codes a pending legislation. Producers, both major operating companies and individuals, . freely given their time and assistance in the compilation of these data. Valuable information was obtained from tax records, rate cases, statistics published by the oil and gas publications and the Bureau of Mines. So many individuals cooperated in the preparation of these data that individual credit cannot be given. Undoubtedly many errors will be found. Some of the data are open to controversy, and many have been omitted in the hope that new information of a more reliable character may become available. Other omissions are due to an inability to contact the proper individuals, many of whom are no longer connected with this industry. Pennsylvania grade crude sold in 1933 for the lowest price since 1895. Gas production could not find sufficient new markets to fill the void left by industrial stagnation. In the gas industry, where the market price is fixed by contract, uncertainty persisted because of impending legislative action affecting both taxes and utility rates. As a result of these factors and a lack of new money, drilling was restricted to a new low. The lifting of proration toward the end of the year in the Pennsylvania

Jan 1, 1934

INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING CONGRESS, 1915.. Announcement. In connection with the Panama-Pacific International Exposition which will be held in San Francisco in 1915, there will be an International Engineering Congress, in which engineers throughout the world will he invited to participate. The Congress is to be conducted under the auspices of the following five National Engineering Societies: American Society of Civil Engineers, American Institute of Mining Engineers, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Institute of Electrical Engineers, and The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. These societies, acting in co-operation, have appointed a permanent Committee of Management, consisting of the Presidents and Secretaries of each of these Societies, and eighteen members resident, in San Francisco. Thus constituted, the personnel of the Committee 'is as follows:

Jan 9, 1913

By George A. Miller

OIL, the abundance of it in the hands of the Allies and the lack of it in the hands of the Axis, played a major role in winning World War II. It bids fair to implement the winning of the peace. In fact the signing of the revised agreement on petroleum between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the United States of America on Sept. 24, 1945, may be considered as the first step in establishing a new pattern in foreign relations by our Government. The significance of this agreement on petroleum is that it was arrived at on the part of the United States of America through the advice and consent of the most interested parties, the leaders of the petroleum industry and the Government, distinctly a first step toward unifying the power of business and the strength of the Government, which places us on a par with the British Crown which has always had the advice and counsel of its business leaders in formulating its foreign trade policies. And what is the thing so patently discernible in this new first step toward winning the peace? It is that the petroleum agreement, the first draft of which, signed in Washington on Aug. 8, 1944, almost caused an epidemic of apoplexy among the leaders of the oil industry, represents the desire of the people most concerned with the problems of petroleum both at home and abroad. This new agreement, which will come up before the Senate for ratification this month-hearings will commence in January - derives its "power from the consent of the governed," something about which our forefathers were vitally concerned once upon a time.

Jan 1, 1946

Striving to do a better job of ad- ministering the letter and spirit of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, the Interior Department recently invited criticism-and got it. The criticisms were voiced on July 1 and 2 at the first of a series of public meetings being held by the Office of Hearings and Appeals at the Department's behest. Later meetings, at which all interested parties are invited to comment, are to be announced in the press and the Federal Register. Persons wishing to participate in the meetings should contact the Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals, 1015 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va. 22203. At the first Hearing, USBM Director Elburt F. Osborn outlined the progress his agency has made to date in implementing the law on three fronts: enforcement, education and research. Since the Health and Safety Act became law on December 30. 1969, he said, the Bureau's force of inspectors has grown from a mere 300 to almost 1100, while mine inspections have increased from 10,265 in 1970 to 11,021 for the first six months of 1971. On the educational front. Osborn said, the Bureau now has some 60 instructors who have trained about 50,000 miners in safety procedures since March 30. 1971. Classes at the new Federal Mine Safety Academy for both government and industry personnel begin on September 1, 1971. he added. Health and safety re- search, meanwhile, has been allot- ted $20.1 million for the 1971 Fiscal Year. Of this, $8.1 million is assigned to the Bureau and $12.3 million to contracts with universities and private companies. Admittedly, Osborn said, the mine fatality rate is still unacceptable, hut it was lower in the first half of 1971 than ever before---0.73 per million man hours and 0.31 per million tons of coal.

Jan 1, 1971

By Lendall P. Warriner, Blandford C. Burgess

Jasper County lies just north of the geographical center of Georgia, bounded on the west and north by the Ocmulgee River. The county seat, Monticello, is approximately 65 miles east-southeast of Atlanta and 40 miles north of Macon. It is served by the Macon-Athens branch of the Central of Georgia Railway Co. and by five paved highways converging from adjoining county seats. Farming and lumbering are the principal local occupations. About half the county is covered with pine and mixed hardwoods; a large part of the forested land is owned by the Soil Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture in its Piedmont Land Utilization Project. The topography is one of gently rolling field and forest with occasional hills rising 100 ft or more above the creek beds. Though annual rainfall is in the neighborhood of 60 in., most of it falls in torrential downpours of short duration which tend rapidly to erode the red soil and convert the country roads to greasy tracks of red mud. History The pegmatites of Jasper County produced a small amount of mica in World War I. In World War 11, our Government's search for this strategic mineral brought to Georgia B. C. Burgess, then Southern Manager of Colonial Mica Corp., subdivision of Metals Reserve Corp., who noted on State Highway 83 the presence of pegmatitic material used as road metal. In 1944, after severing his Government connection and returning to private practice, Mr. Burgess investigated the source of the pegmatitic material noted on his previous visit and discovered that graphic granite pegmatite had been mined for the road metal. He secured mineral leases from the Soil Conservation Service and from private owners and began preliminary development work. By 1946 he had uncovered enough pegmatite to warrant an enterprise to undertake economic development of the feldspar. In March 1947, he conveyed his leases and interest to Appalachian Minerals Co., remaining with it as Vice President and General Manager. This company has carried on additional development, removing overburden by bulldozer and drilling the pegmatites uncovered. A modern and efficient feldspar grinding plant to produce 20 mesh feldspar for the glass industry was completed and placed in operation May 1, 1948. Geology GENERAL GEOLOGY OF ROCK TYPES OTHER THAN PEGMATITE Jasper County lies within the Appalachian Crystalline Complex and approximately 40 miles north of the "Fall Line," where the Upper Cretace-

Jan 1, 1950

By R. A. Wattenbarger, H. J. Ramey

The trend in gas well testing has been to rely more on the early-time flow data of drawdown and buildup tests than on stabilized flow tests. The stabilized testing methods often are not adequate for complicated modern gas reservoirs because many of these reservoirs have extremely low permeabilities and the transient flow period of a well test can last for days or weeks. It has become common to augment the flow capacity of gas wells by hydraulically fracturing their producing formations. In deep reservoirs the induced fractures are generally vertical and tend to follow a single plane of weakness. The presence of a vertical fracture at the wellbore complicates the transient flow behavior of a low permeability gas well. The flow is further complicated when turbulence occurs near the wellbore. Russell and Truittl published transient drawdown solutions for vertically-fractured liquid wells. They developed methods of drawdown and buildup testing utilizing these solutions, which were based on numerical simulation. Clark2 applied the basic Russell-Truitt solutions to analyze fractured water injection wells by falloff tests. Field examples were given to substantiate the method of analysis. The Russell-Truitt solutions and well testing methods can be extended to gas well flow. Millheim and Cichowicz3 presented the drawdown equations for *Now with Scientific Software Corp., Denver. ideal gas flow, including the effects of formation damage and turbulence. Two actual field cases were presented, both of which exhibited extensive fractures and turbulent flow. For the pressure range of these well tests, the use of ideal gas equations was acceptable. These field cases were significant in being the first published data showing the occurrence of turbulence in fractured gas wells. We, also, observed such cases in practice. Our purpose here is to extend the theory of fractured gas well testing to the flow of real gases. To determine the effects of wellbore storage and turbulence on well test interpretation, we developed a finite-difference model to simulate well test conditions. Since gas wells usually are widely spaced and have high compressibility, the emphasis has been put on the early transient behavior before the effects of the outer boundary are noticeable at the wellbore. The Mathematical Model The geometry of our mathematical model is similar to that used by Prats.4 The well is centered in a circular uniform reservoir. A vertical fracture of infinite flow capacity penetrates the formation and passes through the wellbore. The wellbore itself is not important. Fig. 1 shows a sketch of the problem. Fig. 2 shows the idealized model. The equation for the flow of real gas in a porous medium with uniform porosity, permeability and thickness is5-7

Jan 1, 1970

By A. E. Lehman

A RECENT demand for some form of panoramic display of an important railway line, showing its branches, connections, and terri tory controlled by it, revealed to the writer the advantages of' a topographical model or relief map fix this purpose. Hitherto, maps of this nature have been used chiefly for scientific and geographical purposes, and confined to a comparatively narrow field of service. They deserve to become more popular and to have their advantages better understood. Much has been written and accomplished in this direction by Prof. Lesley, Messrs. Harden, Moulten, de Mendonca Cortez, and others; but I believe their pub lished descriptions of the methods employed in the construction of these models are confined to those used by themselves. It is the writer's aim to present in condensed form these various methods, and some suggestions of practical value as to the most economical course of procedure, as well as to mention some of the uses that may be made of the results obtained Methods of Construction.—Many different materials have been prepared and used in the preparation of relief maps, such as metal, clay, plaster, gypsum, wax, putty, Card-board, papier-mache, wood, and compositions of varions kinds, with results more or less success ful : wood, however, in the writer's experience, has been found to be by far the most satisfactory, combining the advantages of stability, accuracy and ease of handling. The following is a brief description of several of the methods used in constructing topographical models : When clay, wax, putty, compositions or materials of a plastic nature are used, the operator carries his work up from its base by means of measurements or by the eye, manipulating and shaping the material as best he can, ac cording to such features of his subject as he wishes to delineate. This process requires remarkable skill, and given this, will probably fall short even then of an approximation to accuracy; lacking essential elements of detail nil over the work and exactness, particularly in position and elevation of the most important points in the territory mapped. When either of the above mentioned materials or compositions are used, metal or wooden pins are sometimes driven into the base or level datum plane of wood, the top of these pins giving the eleva-

Jan 1, 1886

INTRODUCTION The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is affiliated with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) but operates with a separate staff and funding. It supplements the activities of the Bank by providing, to private business, equity and loans without government guarantees in whatever form and combination most suited to the project. IFC frequently complements the Bank's activities by utilizing, for example, the Bank's public sector infrastructure activities to support IFC's private sector projects. In the case of local financial institutions especially, IFC collaborates with the Bank by providing technical and financial assistance. IFC is the world's largest multilateral organization which finances private sector business in developing countries. IFC's fundamental purpose is to promote the economic development of its developing member countries through the support of the private sector. Of the 124 member countries of IFC, more than 100 are developing countries. Since it began operations in 1956, IFC has been associated with more than 2,000 companies and financial institutions in supporting over 700 business ventures in more than 80 countries. The total capital costs of these projects exceeds $26,000 million. In the 1984 fiscal year, IFC approved 62 projects in 37 countries with a total project cost of $2,473 million. IFC will make investments only if sufficient capital cannot be obtained on reasonable terms from other sources. IFC often serves as the catalyst for a project by encouraging other investors--from inside and outside the host country--to make their own equity investments along with the local sponsor for a particular project. IFC'S SPECIAL ROLE The significance of IFC's role extends beyond just its financing and technical assistance: IFC's capability to raise investor confidence in a project and to help all the participants to arrive at mutually satisfactory investment arrangements is its distinctive character. Direct Investments IFC invests in all types of projects both large and small. Heavy industrial ventures not only supply essential materials and equipment for other domestic enterprises, but also earn foreign exchange through exports. In recent years, increased emphasis has been placed on agriculture and agribusiness products, aquaculture, food and food processing, and other renewable and nonrenewable resources such as metals and energy. [ ] An overall objective of IFC is to assist entrepreneurs and others in the private sector raise the needed capital for business ventures. IFC does not compete with, nor seek to replace private initiative and capital. Rather, IFC helps to raise funds in order to undertake projects that would otherwise be held back by the lack of adequate funding. IFC can do this in several ways: IFC can invest in equity and make loans for its own account. But beyond that, IFC can reach out into the international capital markets in search of additional capital. Because of IFC's 25 years experience and record, outside investors who might otherwise be

Jan 1, 1985

By G. R. Fitterer

NONMETALLIC inclusions in steel have received much attention by metallurgists during the past few years. Many investigators have been emphatic in stating their belief that these impurities are the chief causes of steel failures, while others think that their effects are negligible. One of the main reasons that definite information on the effects of these impurities is lacking is that no reliable method has been developed for the exact determination of the amounts of these different impurities in steel. Some valuable new information has been brought out by a reliable method for nonmetallic inclusions which has been developed at the Pittsburgh Experiment Station of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the Metallurgical Advisory Board. This procedure satisfactorily extracts some of the more common inclusions from steels, thus enabling the investigator to correlate steel failures with inclusion content. Although the data given herein are the first to be published on the subject of the electrolytic extraction method, the interest in the subject is evidenced by the fact that it is already being used by some 20 to 30 steel companies for their various purposes. Some of the comments received from these laboratories indicate that the method is highly satisfactory: the unfavorable comments, when traced to their sources, have been found to be based on some small mistake made in either installation or operation. The chief discrepancy seems to have occurred in attempts to apply the method to the extraction of inclusions from alloy steels. The procedure can be used only for the plain carbon steels and for such low alloy steels as those containing the usual amount of copper (0.2 to 0.3 per cent). Steels containing the carbide-forming alloys such as chromium, tungsten, etc., present far too many difficulties for the accurate determination of inclusions. Luckily, the iron and manganese carbides do not offer any difficulties and no contamination of the oxide-sulfide residue results. It is highly probable that some modification of the following

Jan 1, 1931

By Anthony Anable

HOOVER DAM, rapidly nearing completion in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River at Boulder City, Nev., taxes the superlatives of the vocabulary to describe. For by all odds, it is the largest construction project of its type ever essayed by man and the plants providing the essential materials of construction are also in a class by themselves not only in size but in advanced design, mechanization, and accurate control. Picture, if you will, the great aggregate plant, as it is called, situated about 4 mi. upstream from the site of

Jan 1, 1934

By W. G. Woolnough

It is perhaps a little difficult for Americans fully to appreciate the slow progress in the search for oil in Australia. Conditions are so different from those in the United States that methods must also differ considerably. Australia possesses an area almost exactly equal to that of the United States, but has a population of less than 7,000,000, and this population is concentrated almost entirely around the eastern and southern coasts of the continent. There are, therefore, vast "empty spaces" entirely unpopulated or exceedingly sparsely populated. The emptiness is due not to any lack of energy or initiative on the part of Australians but to the arid and waterless character of much of the country's interior. Throughout the greater part of the area that is comparable with the Mississippi drainage area of the United States, there is not a single flowing stream, and over most of it the rainfall is less than 7 in. a year. This hinders exploration and geological survey, and also isolates from potential markets many of the regions that otherwise might be considered worth prospecting. Also, Australia consists of six independent and sovereign states. With the establishment in 1901 of the Commonwealth of Australia, the states retained complete control of lands and mineral rights. Each state has its own petroleum legislation, and the absence of a central controlling authority has tended to confusion and to the introduction of many complications in oil prospecting. There are three major "territories," administered by the Federal Government; namely, the Northern Territory, enclosed between the northern parts of Queensland and Western Australia, within Australia itself, and the Territories of Papua and New Guinea in the island of New Guinea. Land and mineral legislation in these territories is not uniform. Furthermore, during the late twenties there occurred an orgy of company flotation and indiscriminate drilling, wQch resulted in the discovery of some definite indications of oil in three of the states and two of the territories, but which failed to develop any producing oil field in the common acceptation of the term. Much money was squandered,

Jan 1, 1938

By J. G. Tilton

While most of the Pittsburgh coal horizon is dependably regular, there are areas where it is dis-turbed by sandstone cutouts which can seriously hamper mining operations. Because these channel sandstones often cut out the coal abruptly, they are difficult to detect by core drilling; and mine operators, for want of a better way to discover them, have largely trusted to luck to avoid them. This paper, based on a study the author is presently conducting, is an attempt to point out some sources of information and signposts which might aid the operator in determining the presence of a cutout before he begins to mine. The presence of sandstone cutouts in the Pittsburgh coal has been known for many years. Some of these irregularities were observed at outcrops and others were discovered by drilling, but the majority were and are found during mining operations. These sandstone cutouts are commonly called "faults" and have been a bane to mining companies wherever they have been encountered. Profiles of some typical deposits appear in Fig. 1. The cutouts disrupt the normal system of mining, replace valuable coal reserves, create ventilation problems by emitting large quantities of gas and sometimes oil, limit the number of entries that can be economically driven, affect the quality of the coal, disrupt the normal structure of the coal, and create roof control problems. It might be expected that such severe disturbances in the structural regularity of the coal would instigate determined and extensive searches for possible cutouts prior to mining operations, but this apparently has not been so except in isolated cases. Two reasons may be cited to explain this lack of exploratory work. The first and probably the strongest reason is the over-all regularity of the Pittsburgh coal. No coal seam in the country exhibits the horizontal continuity and relative regularity of the Pittsburgh coal. It lies in an almost unbroken sheet across southwestern Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia, and has been recognized as far east as the Potomac Basin of western Maryland. Over 5729 square miles are underlain by this coal, of which 2077 square miles are in Pennsylvania, 2214 square miles in West Virginia, 1410 square miles in Ohio, and 28 square miles in Maryland. The area covered by this study is outlined by the map in Fig. 2. Over most of this territory the coal has the following characteristic structure as illustrated in Fig. 3: roof coal, draw slate, breast coal, parting, bearing in coal, parting, brick coal, parting, and bottom coal. With such regularity of thickness and structure, mines were opened and laid out with confidence that the coal would be present. Extensive drill testing was considered unwarranted and it was also quite expensive because the coal dipped to the west away from the Monongahela River. Consequently, drill holes were widely spaced and rarely encountered ad-

Jan 1, 1968