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By Sinha D. K.

As the main source of indigineous energy, coal has a big role to play in the development of national economy of India. Nationalization of the coal mining has brought the entire industry under the unit control of the Central Government following which an ambitious plan for increasing the coal production in the next few five year plans has been undertaken. In order to achieve best all round results, economy-mathematical models of Planning the total system, right from the highest to lowest hierarchial levels of decision making, have been proposed through a Global Model which is detailed in Local Models in stages right up to a mine. Optimum obtained by computer solution of the models would provide basis for objective decision making in the fields of selection of optimum plan for developing the industry, the coal fields and the mines with construction and/or reconstruction of mines, capacity optimization of enterprises and mines therein. Different types of Models and the optimization processes are presented.

Jan 1, 1977

By N. A. DeCecco, H. M. Meyer

IN the early stages of a titanium brazing investigation, binary titanium systems partially or completely known and fundamental metallurgical data were surveyed to select the pure metal most likely to be satisfactory for producing a ductile high strength joint. The phase diagrams for the purpose of this survey were classified into two groups: 1—systems with large solubility in ß titanium, but negligible solubility in a titanium, and 2—systems with large solubility in a titanium. Those metals with melting points believed to be too high or too low for titanium brazing (Tim = 1730°C) were eliminated from consideration. The melting points of vanadium, tungsten, tantalum, hafnium, zirconium, and the platinum group are too high and those of zinc, lead, cadmium, and tin are too low. The remaining metals were grouped as follows: 1—large ß solubility: Cr,¹ Mn,² Fe;³ CO,4 Ni,5 Cu,6 Be,' Si." —large a solubility: Al.9

Jan 1, 1954

By Clemens Jones

A FORM of apparatus for volumetric determinations which shall possess the features requisite for the constant use of potassium permanganate, is a very desirable fixture in a well-appointed laboratory. Expedients to economize time and insure accuracy are generously employed for various other reagents, while the permanganate seems to have been consigned to the use of an ordinary burette, and a black bottle of the standardized solution. But the introduction of new, methods dependent on the permanganate, and the urgency of technical requirements where it has long been indispensable, require a revision of practice more scientific and convenient. The apparatus designed by the writer for the laboratory of the Thomas Iron Company at Hokendauqua, Pa., is so simply contrived and works with such entire satisfaction that a description of it may be of use. It may be prefaced that the characteristics of a suitable device offer some mechanical difficulties when combined in a continuous appliance. The burette, B (50 C.C. to 1/10 c.c.), shown in Fig. 1, consists of the graduated tube proper and an arm, E, fused to it below the 50 c.c. mark. At its top are rubber connections with the blast-aspirator, shown in the cut (Fig. 2) of the front view. By means of an extra stopcock, D, connection through E is established with the reservoir F. The burette is clamped Securely to a slide, C, which is counterpoised and moves freely on guides between two parallel sides, L, suitably

Jan 1, 1887

By Alfred H. Brooks

Less than a decade ago the consumption of coal in Alaska was practically limited to the salmon canneries and the few ode-mines and settlements along the Pacific coast of the The-itory. The sparse population of the interior depended on the forests, that of the shores of Bering sea and the Arctic ocean on driftwood for fuel. All this has changed. The thousands, who have sought and mined gold on the Seward peninsula since 1898, have much impoverished the long-accumulated supply of driftwood, and at the same time the constantly increas-ng demand for fuel, on the part of the placer-camps and steamers, has resulted in heavy inroads being made on the accessible timber of the Yukon and its tributaries. While, on the one hand, the immediately available store of wood has decreased, on the other, the consumption of fuel because of the rapid expansion of the mining and fishery industries, and the attendant growth of population has much in-creased. Alaska, therefore, offers a constantly growing market or coal and other fuels. As the local coal-production has been nsignificant, the demand has been met by importations from Washington, British Columbia, and even from Pennsylvania and Australia. Fuel- Consumption. Mr. D. H. Jarvis, Collector for Alaska, has kept systematic records of the trade of the Territory since 1903. The statis-ics of the coal-importations of the past two years are shown n Table I. If data were available for a longer period of years, he increase of coal-importations would be much more striking.

Jan 1, 1906

By E. S. Bardwell, Roy H. Miller

During the period extending from May, 1922, to September, 1923, the copper-refining furnaces of the Great Falls Reduction Department of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. at Great Falls, Mont., were operated exclusively with pulverized coal as fuel. The installation was made first as an experiment. It proved successful from the start and was abandoned solely because fuel oil from the Sunburst field became available at a price sufficiently low to be more desirable from an economic standpoint. The equipment required for pulverized coal has, however, been kept intact and is available for immediate use should the oil supply fail. Inasmuch as pulverized coal had been used on two large reverbera-tory smelting furnaces and was, at the time we were considering its application-to the copper-refining furnaces, being used on the Wedge furnaces roasting zinc concentrate for the electrolytic zinc plant, we were equipped with a coal-pulverizing plant of ample capacity to supply pulverized coal for the furnace refinery. The only problem was to devise suitable means for transporting pulverized coal from the pulverizer plant, located in the smelter building, to the refinery about 3000 ft. distant and about 150 ft. above the level of the pulverizer plant. When studying this installation, it should be borne in mind that the layout represents an adaptation suited to the existing conditions at this particular plant. The installation was entirely satisfactory and uniformly dependable but might be modified to advantage from an operating point of view if an entirely new installation were being planned. Fuel Supply The use of the local coals, high in ash and sulfur, was abandoned some time before coal-dust firing was attempted. Local coals from the Great Falls field carrying an average of 4 per cent. sulfur and 22 per cent, ash were used with fair success in the small furnaces in use prior to 1916. In the 250-ton furnaces, however, the time lost in grating and removing clinker from the fireboxes, as well as the difficulties incident to the high-sulfur content of the fuel, became serious and recourse was had to the

Jan 1, 1927

By Ralph Wilcox

THE diamond drilling of certain characters of unstable rock forma-tion, as, for example, the copper-bearing schists of the Miami district in Arizona, is rendered most difficult by what is known as " caving" of the sides of the drill holes. As this caving is very greatly increased by the action of flowing water, it occurred to me, after experiencing a great deal of difficulty with caving in diamond-drill holes which I was drilling for the Miami Copper Co., that if I could substitute air for water, much of the caving-with resultant difficulties, such as decreased speed of sinking and increased consumption. of diamonds-would be overcome. After some experimenting, I found that it was perfectly practicable to substitute air for the water; forcing the air down the hollow rotating rods in the same manner as is done with water, the air passing out around the bit, which is thus cooled, and ascending on the outside of the rods to the collar of the hole, carrying the borings in just as satisfactory a manner as had been done by the water, but without the accompanying destruction or caving of the sides of the drill holes such as had been so generally experienced with the water. When water was encountered in the drilling this water was forced up to the collar just as it would have been had water been used in the .drilling, but with the correspondingly decreased flow there was relatively less washing or caving of the sides of the drill holes. The only change necessary in the arrangement of the drill is that a cross instead of a tee is used at the collar of the hole. A tightly woven jute bag is attached to one arm of the cross, for collecting and filtering the sample; and when drilling in dry ground a jet of water is attached to the opposite arm of the cross, to collect the dust and wash down the sample into the bag. The rods rotate through a stuffing box attached to the upper opening of the cross. The distention of the jute bag by the issuing air indicates the operating conditions as sufficiently as did the flow of water when using water in the drill hole.

Jan 10, 1913

By Max Mason

IN 1923 a Western mining company was experimenting with the device of an inventor designed to locate buried ores by radio. Because the progress was slow and the results were confusing, the company began to doubt the usefulness of the method and invited me to review the whole question of the application of physics to ore detection. I was fortunate in securing the cooperation of several physicists who had worked with me during the war on the problem of submarine detection. This group has been increased and has been studying the problem of physical exploration for ores since that time. It was evident that the problem is a big one, with many angles of approach. Its general features may be set down, in rough outline, as follows: The soils, rocks and ores hidden beneath the surface differ one from another in many respects. These differences may be made to furnish a clew for the physicists working from the surface. To bring these differences into action the physicist creates some kind of an effect which penetrates into the ground and is distorted and reflected when it meets boundaries between different sorts of underground structure. In other words, he sends a message down, and the rocks and ore send back signals in reply. In picturing this process, we should not regard the ground as dense and impenetrable. The kind of messages used pass through the earth about as readily as a sound wave travels the air. If, then, the fundamental procedure is to shout down questions in the hope that an orebody will hear and answer back to us, it is clear that a large part of the expert's study must relate to the kind of questions best suited to the temperament and intelligence of orebodies. It will be easier for the ore to reply to some of our questions than to others, and it is for us to find the right questions. In certain cases, we are spared the necessity of using a messenger; because nature has already provided one. For example, we already have a terrestrial magnetic field which auto-matically and continually conveys messages from underneath. We also have available the earth's gravitational field. which furnishes us

Jan 1, 1927

By G. E. Perry, J. F. Bruskotter, D. G. Russell, J. H. Goodrich

The depletion performance of gas wells has been investigated by mathematical simulation techniques. The gas well model which was studied consisted of a single well located in the center of a bounded, cylindrical, homogeneous reservoir. Dependency of gas compressibility and viscosity on pressure was considered in studies of well performance at both constant mass flow rate and constant flowing pressure conditions. To carry out the investigation, the nonlinear, second-order, partial differential equation which describes Darcy flow of a nonideal gas through porous media was solved numerically. Some of the previous investigations of gas well performance have been of limited general use, because assumptions were introduced to simplify either the gas properties or the basic differential equation. Other studies have been rigorous in these respects but have presented a very limited set of calculated results. The present study was attempted to present a rigorous theoretical model and sufficient numerical results to permit meaningful conclusions to be drawn. It was found that all terms must be retained in the partial differential equation to make accurate predictions. The neglect of higher-order terms, e.g., terms of the order of the "gradient squared", leads to serious material balance errors at large times and to conservative estimates of gas well performance. The higher the gas flow rate and/or the lower the permeability-thickness product of the formation, the more pronounced are these deviations. For example, in a well draining 640 acres in a 25-md-ft formation (8,120 MMcf gas in place) at a constant rate of 993 Mcf/D, the rigorous solution predicts a bottom-hole pressure decline from 4,000 to 1,000 psia in 8.7 years. If higher-order terms are neglected in the differential equation, this decline in pressure is predicted to occur in 5.3 years. With the results of the numerical solution of the differential equation as a basis, simple, easy-to-use approximations for predicting gas well performance for Darcy flow conditions have been developed. These simple approximations are based on the familiar equations for flow of a single, slightly compressible fluid. The approximate methods possess a high degree of accuracy and enable the prediction of long-term gas well performance to be made quickly and accurately without the use of a digital computer. Both transient and stable flow period approximations were developed. INTRODUCTION In recent years income from the sale of natural gas and associated products has represented an ever-incre as ing fraction of the industry's total revenue from operations. To meet the surge in demand for natural gas, the industry has depended heavily upon established reserves and has actively pursued development of new reserves. The search has progressively led to reservoirs which yesterday were too tight and/or deep to yield the desired return on invested capital. More than ever before, evaluation accuracy is now required to forecast the criteria upon which engineering recommendations and management decisions are based. Considerable effort has been expended by both research and operations personnel on the development and application of methods for analyzing and predicting the performance of gas wells. Fundamentally, the problem is the familiar one of extracting data during the drilling, testing and early production life of a well and applying these data within an accurate simulation model to predict long-term behavior. During the past 30 or more years a voluminous literature dealing specifically with gas field problems has been generated. A recent book' lists a comprehensive bibliography of published material through 1959. Over 1,200 references are cited. Since then 39 additional articles on natural gas technology have been published in Transactions volumes of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME. Most existing theory for predicting gas well performance requires that one or more idealizations (e.g., steady-state flow, ideal gas of constant viscosity, small and constant compressibility and constant-viscosity fluid) be applied. Although existing theory may apply directly or be adapted by various artifices to describe specific gas well and reservoir behavior, no widely applicable method is available, and existing methods appear to be subject to appreciable error unless better limits of applicability are defined. The objectives of this paper are (1) to present numerical solutions to the partial differential equation describing gas flow under conditions of general interest in gas well performance prediction work, (2) to present solutions which possess a high order of accuracy for both transient and stabilized flow periods of a well producing at constant rate or constant pressure, and (3) to develop and present simplified relationships which can be used as high-order approximations to the exact numerical results for fast and accurate predictions of gas well performance at the operating level. Combined, these objectives are designed gen-

Jan 1, 1967

By Robert W. Bergmann

Twenty years ago, the standard voltage for stripping machines was 4160 v and few people even thought of using a higher voltage. It was adequate for the machines of the day, which seldom exceeded 2500 hp, and higher voltages were considered to be too expensive and even dangerous. Then, in 1956, a 4500-hp machine was placed in operation and it was determined, with some reluctance, that it should operate on 7200 v. The next step, to 14,400 v, was taken in 1964 and the latest, but perhaps not final, step was made in 1967, when voltage was increased to 25,000 v. Today, 4160 v is considered almost obsolete and 7200 v is generally considered standard. However, a few mines are using 14,400 v and some eight machines soon will be operating on 25 KV, indicating that the technical and safety problems have been solved and that there must be some merit to the higher voltages. Thus, it is logical to question, "How do I determine the best voltage for my operation?"

Jan 12, 1972

By S. A. Falconer

Much attention and publicity has been given, during recent years, to grinding, classification, flotation, and thickening. The various technical papers, and symposiums held to discuss these important phases of milling, have contributed to a better understanding of the fundamental principles and operating variables involved. Another important part of milling— to the flotation operator—is a treatment step to which frequently too little attention is given—"conditioning," or the treatment the ground mineral pulp receives before it enters the flotation machines. "Conditioning" is a hackneyed and frequently misused term, commonly employed to describe the pretreatment of surfaces of minerals in ore pulps or mill products prior to froth flotation. In general, such pretreatment is for the purpose of changing the flotation characteristics of these mineral sur- faces to enable them to respond in some desired predetermined manner when subjected to flotation. Taggartl states that the function of conditioning is "either to insure selective collector coating of one mineral species while another species is not; or to take such steps as will compensate for departure therefrom." As 0. C. Ralston has stated? ... we are still faced with the fact that some mineral particles are water-avid, others air-avid, and that by properly modifying them they may be enhanced or diminished in desirable or undesirable avidity. Coatings on minerals must still be assumed to fall into three classes: (1) a coating of immiscible oil, (2) a layer of adsorbed substance, (3) a chemically produced coating. It is submitted that the process of preparing mineral surfaces for subsequent flotation treatment should take into consideration physical as well as chemical means for altering the normal flotation response of the mineral surfaces. A more descriptive word than "conditioning" is needed to designate broadly these procedures. The minerals in many ores cannot be made to respond in a normal manner to usual methods of "conditioning" with selectivity modifying reagents, until they have been cleansed, or interfering slimes and soluble salts have been removed from the ore. Therefore, it appears important to include under the general subject of "conditioning" a discussion of the purposes, methods used, and some of the advantages of these pretreatment steps. This is dealt with under the subject heading " Initial Treatment of Mineral Surfaces and Ore Pulps." Under this broader interpretation, the methods employed for treating mineral surfaces to alter their flotation characteristics may be divided into three general classes: 1. Physical methods.

Jan 1, 1950

By Henry A. Mather

While this device is not new in its inception, its peculiar advantages failed to be of practical utility until furnace-builders instituted the mechanical reform of supporting the upper and lower water-jackets by hanging them from an I-beam frame, independently upheld by iron columns, instead of resting the entire weight of structure on the bottom, as practice formerly prescribed. The Colorado Iron Works were among the first to build copper-furnaces of this description, and the device, illustrated herewith, has been installed by them in three recent plants,—two furnaces for the Westinghouse interests near Ely, Vermont, and one for the Grand Prize Copper Company, of Gila county, Arizona. The jack-screw supports (Figs. 1 and 2) and the familiar iron bottom of former practice are retained as integral parts of this new furnace-bottom. And, instead of resting inert on the tapfloor of the furnace-room, the jack-screws are supported on and bolted to two I-beams the length of the furnace, placed immediately beneath, and parallel to, its sides. These I-beams are bolted to, and supported by, three steel axles equipped with small flanged wheels, the whole constituting a carriage, which runs freely on a track. The entire apparatus is movable or rigid at will, for the wheels are easily braced, if the tension of the tightened jack-screws does not serve to hold the whole in position. The advantages of this design will be at once apparent to those who have had practical experience in barring furnaces provided with stationary iron bottoms. It is a well-known fact that the larger part of the time occupied in cleaning and preparing a frozen furnace for active service is necessitated by working in a confined place where the temperature is uncomfortable, and that in such case the débris must be removed from

Jan 1, 1903

By Dwain K. Butler

INTRODUCTION Characterization of a site for the prediction and simulation of dynamic events requires the determination of mechanical properties of the rock at stress/strain levels and rates and at a scale appropriate for the events and critical structures involved. The structures of interest can be on the surface, underground, or designed to impact and penetrate into the site (projectiles). Dynamic events of interest are equally diverse: seismic waves from distance earthquakes or explosions; close-in phenomena associated with earthquakes and explosions; vibrations associated with heavy equipment or machinery; and stress transients associated with impact and penetration. The complexity of site characterization depends on two factors not specifically related to the nature of the site itself: the stress levels generated by the dynamic event and the sophistication of the prediction and simulation techniques. For very high stress levels, such as occur near a nuclear detonation, and for low stress levels, such as occur during seismic wave propagation, site characterization is simplified, and often certain details of the site are not particularly important, such as shear strength variations in the case of very high stress levels. In the intermediate stress range, however, all descriptive relations are non- linear, a complete finite strain constitutive model is required, and all details of the site, such as lithology and fracture distribution, become important. The site characterization must be complete enough to support the most sophisticated prediction and simulation technique that will be applied to the analysis of the dynamic event. The procedures of site characterization are illustrated in this paper by a specific dynamic event, projectile impact and penetration, and a specific site, an outcrop of Dakota Sandstone near San Ysidro, New Mexico. The structure of interest was the projectile itself: nominally, 1.5 m in length, 0.165 m in diameter, 180 kg

Jan 1, 1984

By Harold S. Davis

SURROUNDING the nuclear core of an atomic energy plant there are usually one or more thick walls of concrete, as required to protect instruments and personnel from the harmful effects of nuclear radiations. Sometimes these massive walls are of ordinary concrete weighing about 150 pcf. To reduce wall thicknesses, concrete weighing 200 to 350 pcf may be used. Such high densities are obtained by using natural aggregate processed from heavy ore, or by using steel slugs or iron shot in concrete. Mix data for a number of high-density concretes are summarized in Table I.1 High density at low cost is of prime importance in shields designed to absorb gamma rays. On the other hand, biological shields located near the reactor core must attenuate neutrons as well as gamma rays. In general, a biological shield should contain: 1) heavy elements to slow down high energy neutrons and to absorb gamma rays, 2) either light elements or hydrogenous materials to moderate neutrons of intermediate energy, and 3) materials to absorb neutrons once they have been slowed down to thermal energies. Some shield materials, iron and water for example, are effective in one or more of the above ways. On the other hand, some otherwise excellent shield materials have certain undesirable radiation properties that limit the ways or number of places they can be used. For example, when iron absorbs neutrons it emits secondary gamma rays of high energy. On the other hand, boron absorbs neutrons avidly without producing high energy gamma rays. In spite of its high cost, boron is sometimes used in concrete to minimize production of secondary gamma rays. In some shielding applications it is necessary to avoid materials that become radioactive when subjected to neutron bombardment, continuing to give off high energy gamma rays for long periods after being removed from a neutron field.

Jan 5, 1957

By W. C. Weslow

AN extended program devoted to the development of a matrix for holding diamonds of a size and. kind not heretofore generally used is being carried on by the Carboloy Company, and this paper describes the part of the development that affects mining and its allied industries. Labora-tory and field work so far has indicated the following: 1. Tungsten carbide and cobalt form the most desirable known matrix material for the holding of diamonds for drilling work. 2. Industrial bort diamonds in sizes and of a class not generally heretofore acceptable and therefore less expensive can be successfully held in this cemented carbide matrix. 3. In exploratory drilling, the combination of bort diamonds, impreg-nated throughout a matrix of tungsten carbide and cobalt, when fabri-cated onto drilling crowns, is an indicated economic substitute for drilling crowns in which the diamonds are set by hand, mechanically or by casting. 4. This impregnated type of drilling crown or bit has definite possi-bilites of revolutionizing the drilling of blast holes, particularly in the harder formations. This will be brought about by the development of high-speed light-weight rotary equipment using an impregnated diamond bit to replace the percussion drill now in general use. (The development of this rotary equipment is well past the laboratory stage at this time.) 5. That the use of a rotary bit is a preventive measure in the fight against silicosis. The development of this product was started by G. F. Taylor at the Research Laboratories of the General Electric Co. It was early recog-nized that it had possibilities in the drilling field and the present product is the result of considerable experimental work with other powdered metals as well as with tungsten carbide and cobalt.

Jan 1, 1940

By A. C. Dorenfeld

CHANGES in circuits are often made in milling operations. At the same time that these changes are being evaluated the ores are changing. Even from the same mine, the ore is usually variable as to amount and type of mineral content, degree of association of valuable and gangue minerals, amount and types of soluble salts, hardness, etc. The question then arises whether any small differences in results, after changes have been made in the various circuits, are really due to these changes or whether the variability of the ore can account for those differences. Statistical evaluation provides one method of answering the question that arises so often in beneficiation studies: Did changed results come about because of changed process, or did ore variation cause the change? In this case, data were available for statistical analysis from an operating period of 42 months, representing treatment of approximately 1 million tons of ore. During this period there had been two flowsheet changes: 1) regrind of the zinc circuit middlings was introduced, and 2) alcohol- pine oil frother mixture was substituted for cresylic acid-pine oil frother mixture. Findings are in Table I.

Jan 10, 1954

By E. V. Howard

During the recent expansion of precipitate copper production at the Chino Mines Division of Kennecott Copper Corp., Santa Rita, N. Mex., local studies of the dump leaching process were intensified. As these studies progressed, it became apparent that a reliable method for locating leach solutions within the dump was required, since the contact between the leach solutions and the copper-bearing ma.teria1 determines recovery. In the past, the problem of determining leach solution contact has been attacked by various methods, including destructive testing (dump dissection), indirect observation (such as chloride or dye tracers) and mathematical or laboratory model studies, but they have not proved completely satisfactory. The investigation of methods for in situ observation of leach solutions led to consideration of radiation logging in drillholes, which are subsurface techniques used in petroleum exploration and development for locating fluids and measuring porosity. A significant advantage of radiation logging is that, unlike other types of logging, measurements may be made in cased holes, since gamma rays and neutrons will penetrate steel and cement. Three techniques are currently used at Chino: Natural gamma ray logging; neutron-neutron, or moisture logging; and gamma-gamma, or bulk density logging.

Jan 4, 1968

The 116th (New York) Meeting of the Institute will be held in the third week of February, 1918. The Committee on Papers and Publications has set Dec. 1, 1917, as the closing date for the receipt of .manuscripts intended for this meeting. Manuscripts must be received by the Secretary on or before this date. If they are sent through members of the technical committees they must be sent to those committees enough in advance of the time to be forwarded and in the. hands of the Secretary by the time specified.

Jan 11, 1917

By E. H. Bronson

PROPERTY of Malartic Gold Fields Ltd. is situa-ated in the great clay belt in the northern part of the Province of Quebec. This belt represents the floor of the glacial lake Barlow-Ojibway. The clay blanket has a gently rolling, almost flat surface, with here and there projecting knobs and ridges that outline the large irregularities of the surface on which the clay was deposited. At irregular intervals glacial eskers dominate the landscape. The ore-bearing country rock is covered by strata of clay, sand, and silt to a depth varying to 40 ft. There are serious structural problems when it is necessary to place loads of unequal intensities on this surface to support buildings and machinery for a modern mining plant. Earlier mining companies and their engineers paid little attention to the science of soil mechanics, partly because they believed it unnecessary and partly because they knew little of the subject. The results are evident in some of the tottering structures in older camps. Careful analysis of soil problems is well worth-while, since cost of foundations may vary from 20 to 50 pct of the final cost of a structure. Low operating and maintenance costs can be achieved only in this way. If it is definitely established that a plant will be in operation for only a few months, this limited time factor will probably influence the design of the foundation, and rightly so. If sensitive and complickted equipment is to be mounted on these foundations and the plant is to operate for several years, there should be a thorough study of foundations and a very careful design. A familiar problem is presented by the difficulty of operating a permanent plant originally designed for a few months' work. The engineer must beware of these hazards and disassociate himself from them if he cannot prevail on the promoter to spend the proper amount for a thorough foundation study. Laws of certain provinces and states hold the engineer equally responsible with the contractor for any 'damage that may be caused to building through inadequate study-ignordnce of the facts is no excuse in the eyes of the law. Types of Soil: The engineer should be familiar with such terms as silt, clay, peat, and varved clay, as well as perpafrost, especially if he is to work in the far northern reaches of the country. He should also be familiar with soil attributes such as porosity, texture, consistency, permeability, compressibility, consolidation, and shearing resistance. The design of any foundation requires an accurate knowledge of the physical properties and location of the soils involved. Older textbooks on the subject outline various empirical methods to determine the carrying power of soil. Tables are given in reference books. The modern ehgineer should be wary of these modes of thinking. He should analyze his problem carefully, calculate to what depth of soil the loads may be transmitted, and then check the bearing value of all soils to that or greater depths. If the strata are water-carrying, he must determine the possibility of this water being accidentally re-

Jan 1, 1958

By R. H. Swallow, George Hess

C. G. BALL*—These maps are obvi-~,usly quite helpful in many types of mining engineering, but I want to find out if the prints which you obtain in the first step toward making any aerial contour map have already been corrected for tilt. Is that done afterwards only if you are going into the process of making a contour map ? GEORGE HESS (authors' reply)— The tilt correction is the first step in either compiling the mosaic or compiling the total map. They must be corrected. C. G. BALL—But are the contact prints themselves corrected for tilt? GEORGE HESS—They are not corrected. E. R. KAISER†—I enjoyed this paper very much, and am glad to learn that the methods have a high degree of accuracy and are in use in the coal industry. Accuracy in dimensions is understandable from the paper. Would you tell us how accuracy can be obtained in the vertical dimensions by means of the photographs so as to permit drawing contour lines? GEORGE HESS—To explain our process, even in a limited way, is quite a large order. However, the basic principle involved is the measurement of parallax by viewing two overlapping photographs stereoscopically. It would almost be necessary to have the various instruments here on view to adequately explain their operation. E. R. KAISER—Are the elevations for reference obtained at more than four points ? GEORGE HESS—The pattern of control is four points obtained in the corners. Primarily. that is to restitute the picture and horizontalize it. The vertical control points are read ill on the stereometer and a direct comparison is made while draw- ing the contour lines. You do have to have those four points. But one stereoscopic pair of 5 ft contours has some 340 acres on it, consequently for every four points picked up 340 acres are contoured. E. R. KAISER—How does your method compare with that used by the military reconnaissance during World War II? GEORGE HESS—The Army did not get into this refined mapping. Most of their work has been reconnaissance mapping by taking one vertical and two oblique views. Basically, the same principle is used. Our maps are for engineering purposes. The Army was primarily interested in reconnaissance. E. R. KAISER—You could take more than 48 pictures in one flight? GEORGE HESS—Yes, the Brock camera accomodates 48 pictures per magazine. We are limited by the hours of greatest light, though, 2 hr before high noon, and 2 hr after high noon. Shadows do affect the picture. The shadows can-

Jan 1, 1950

By I. A. Ettlinger

DEPRECIATION allowances have become firmly rooted in our income tax structure both by legislation and by court decisions. Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau has recently stated before the Ways and Means Committee of the House: A taxpayer who did not provide for depreciation of assets used in his business could not long remain in business and the income tax should be levied on the assumption that he will provide for such depreciation. The 1934 Revenue Act has now been enacted, the depreciation provisions of the 1932 Revenue Act having been carried forward without change. However, there has arisen, in connection with the preparation of this new Revenue Act, a determination by the Treasury Department to make certain changes in the future administration of the depreciation allowances that will affect all corporations, and mining companies in particular.

Jan 1, 1934