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By A. B. Parsons

DOWN in Washington an army of individuals constituting the government of a so-called "'democratic" nation is trying to manage the conduct, in its rnultifold phases, of the greatest war in history for the country that is potentially, at least, the strongest in the world and on which, consequently, the major responsibility rests. The enterprise is one of unprecedented magnitude and complexity. That individuals and groups have made and are making serious blunders, both as to the establishment and execution of policy, is to be expected.

Jan 1, 1942

By Harrison Schmitt

DURING the past decade the writer has studied and mapped certain ore deposits and their structural associations in the states of Chihuahua, Durango, New Mexico and Arizona, and he believes that these deposits, with the exception of the manto-chimney, are representative of the principal types in the area of the states named. In this paper the deposits are described; then generalizations are drawn so far as seems appropriate. HANOVER, NEW MEXICO The Hanover; New Mexico, zinc deposits were briefly described by Lindgren and others,1 Paige2 and recently in more detail by Schmitt.3 These, the kind ordinarily called contact metamorphic, border the southern end of an oval area of granodiorite intrusive 3/4 mile wide and 2 1/2 miles long (Fig. 1). The granodiorite has intruded, folded, and metamorphosed sedimentary and igneous rocks, which range in age from pre-Cambrian to Upper Cretaceous. About 90 per cent of the ore has replaced coarse, recrystallized, pure, fossiliferous, lower Mississippian, nonmagnesian limestone (Hanover limestone) 110 ft. thick;4 about 75 per cent of it occurs in the upper 50 ft. of this horizon just below an 18-ft. lower Pennsylvanian shale bed, which lies on a locally inconspicuous unconformity representing upper Mississippian time. The orebodies show five shapes or attitudes, each dependent on a special structural situation: 1. Most of the ore occurs as podlike; thick lenslike or other "three-dimensional" shoots extending from top to bottom of the Hanover limestone and lying adjacent to the outer contact of a silicate zone largely of andradite, which follows the intrusive contact (Figs. 1 and 2).

Jan 1, 1933

By Eugene McAuliffe

THE mining press, as well as certain federal and state bulletins, refer from tine to time to. the relative hazards that attach to loading bituminous coal by hand when compared with the so-called "mechanical loading" process. Much of the coal coming under the head. of hand-loaded coal is won in part by the use of machinery; the coal-cutting machine is in general use, the electric power drill employed to a lesser extent. Therefore it may be said that the principal difference in the process employed, mechanical loading versus hand loading, lies in the fact that some type of loading machine is employed in the mechanical loading process to lift the coal from the face of the room, place or entry, after it is mined, placing it in the pit cars for transport to the tipple. It is a common practice to compute accident records on the basis of tons mined per fatal and per nonfatal accident, disregarding the fact that it is possible to produce by the aid of coal-loading machines the same daily, monthly and annual tonnage with a much smaller force than is required where the coal is all shoveled by hand. Inasmuch as the men who are released by the substitution of machinery for hand labor must find employment elsewhere, suffering some measure of hazard in their new occupation, we are of the opinion that the true relative hazard that attaches to the processes of mechanical loading and hand loading can be determined only by using as the basis of comparison "man shifts worked" or "hours of exposure" experienced per accident. The Union Pacific Coal Co., beginning with the year 1929, undertook to maintain a true record of man shifts worked per compensable accident, giving equal weight to fatal and nonfatal accidents. Accidents lacking sufficient severity to come under the compensable terms of the Workmen's Compensation Act were not included in the compilation, the Act providing that "no compensation, except the expense of medical attention, shall be allowed for the first seven (7) days of disability, unless the incapacity runs beyond the period of twenty-one (21) days,' in which case the compensation shall run from the time of the injury."

Jan 1, 1931

By Messervey, J. P.

NOVA SCOTIA is sharing in the rapid advance of the mining industry that is one of the remark- able features of Canada's recent progress. The production of coal and gypsum has increased rapidly, and there has also been a marked development in the mining of gold, salt, zinc, copper and other minerals. Coal, the basis of the principal mining industry in the Province, was discovered by the early explorers on the shore of Cape Breton Island, and used by the garrison at Halifax as early as 1749. The first government record shows total annual sales amounting to 1668 long tons in the year 1785, while last year production was 6,643,000 long tons. The principal mines are discussed in a separate paper by Alexander L. Hay1.

Jan 1, 1928

1. A passenger rickshaw in China. 2. A Pekin cart carrying coal, on dirt roads; the cost works out to 15 or 20 c. per ton-mile. 3. Coolie with wheelbarrow. This one has a small load, but barrow men carry ordinarily 250 lb., occasionally 400 if with a helper. He goes about 18 miles a day and the cost is about 25c. gold per ton-mile, though it varies widely. 4. Coolie delivering coal balls in Pekin. He carries about 65 lb. On some roads with a different arrangement a coolie carries 133 lb., making about one ton-kilometer per day. 5. Truck used by the Government Fuel Yard at Washington. Carries 71/2 tons in an hour as far as a barrow man carries 1/4 ton in a day.

Jan 8, 1928

By H. P. Greenwald

Those interested in the early developments and experiments, both in the United States and abroad, that led to modern rock dusting, will find an excellent summary in a paper by George S. Rice,13 published in 1914. The period from 1914 to 1924 was one of intensive experiment on coal-dust explosions in the United States; abroad, war activities and rehabilitation stopped this work over a large part of that decade. American findings were published by the Bureau of Mines, particularly in Bulletins 167 and 268. It is convenient to consider that in the United States rock dusting to prevent coal-dust explosions in mines was initiated in 1924 with the publication of tentative specifications.17 This was followed in 1925 by an investigation of methods and costs12 and approval by the American Engineering Standards Committee of a Recommended American Prac-tice.18 Approximately 13 years have elapsed since this approval, and inasmuch as changes in rock-dusting practice in the United States have been evolutionary, it is necessary to consider this entire period as "recent" in some phases of the work. There have been no official changes in the Recommended American Practice since its approval. This paper reviews as briefly as possible knowledge acquired since the issue of the earlier papers mentioned, through experience in mines and experiments conducted by different organizations engaged in the promotion of mine safety. Size of Rock Dust The Recommended American Practice states that the dust shall be 100 per cent minus 20-mesh and 50 or more per cent minus 200-mesh. Results of large-scale tests on the relative effectiveness of rock dust of different sizes were published by the Bureau of Mines15 in 1933 and are reproduced here as Fig. 1. The limiting curve of this figure shows that

Jan 1, 1940

By H. P. Greenwald

Those interested in the early developments and experiments, both in the United States and abroad, that led to modern rock dusting, will find an excellent summary in a paper by George S. Rice,13 published in 1914. The period from 1914 to 1924 was one of intensive experiment on coal-dust explosions in the United States; abroad, war activities and rehabilitation stopped this work over a large part of that decade. American findings were published by the Bureau of Mines, particularly in Bulletins 167 and 268. It is convenient to consider that in the United States rock dusting to prevent coal-dust explosions in mines was initiated in 1924 with the publication of tentative specifications.17 This was followed in 1925 by an investigation of methods and costs12 and approval by the American Engineering Standards Committee of a Recommended American Prac-tice.18 Approximately 13 years have elapsed since this approval, and inasmuch as changes in rock-dusting practice in the United States have been evolutionary, it is necessary to consider this entire period as "recent" in some phases of the work. There have been no official changes in the Recommended American Practice since its approval. This paper reviews as briefly as possible knowledge acquired since the issue of the earlier papers mentioned, through experience in mines and experiments conducted by different organizations engaged in the promotion of mine safety. Size of Rock Dust The Recommended American Practice states that the dust shall be 100 per cent minus 20-mesh and 50 or more per cent minus 200-mesh. Results of large-scale tests on the relative effectiveness of rock dust of different sizes were published by the Bureau of Mines15 in 1933 and are reproduced here as Fig. 1. The limiting curve of this figure shows that

Jan 1, 1940

By Alexander N. Mitinsky

UP to a certain limit, the increase of pressure on the diamond-drill increases the rate of progress in drilling. That limit is set by the resistance of the diamonds to compression; and beyond it, the destruction of the stones will involve an. economic loss, both in time and in money. It is, therefore, important to all diamond-drillers to know what is the resistance mentioned. In Europe, operators usually follow an empirical rule, which directs the maintenance of a pressure, on the area-of the bottom of the drilling-tool, of 12 kg. per sq. 4m. For the tools in ordinary use, this is equivalent to 1 kg. per sq. mm. of the diamonds set in the tool So far as I know, American drillers are using pressures as high as 50 to 60 kg. per sq. cm. of the total area of the drill, and the consumption of diamonds (on Denny's authority, 0.2 carats per meter bored) is greater in America than in Europe. But the reason for this difference may be the comparatively larger size of the diamonds commonly used by American drillers. With the assistance of my friend, the late S. Woisslaw, who was the pioneer of diamond-drilling in Russia, I selected from his stock a number of black diamonds, which I subjected in my laboratory to compression-tests. To prepare regular cubes for such tests, as is generally done with other stones, would have been not only costly, but, what is more important, practically useless. I therefore determined, in order to assimilate as nearly as possible the conditions of actual use, to place each sample between a hard plate (corresponding to the rock) and a softer plate (corresponding to the bottom of the tool), into which it would be pressed during the test.

Jan 1, 1906

By N. H. van Lingen

A laboratory stud], has been made to determine what factors affect the penetration rate of roller bits, diamond bits and drag bits in rock drilling with clay /water muds. The rather simple relations that exist when pressures in and around the borehole are equal become more conzplicated when under down-hole conditions the penetration rate is hampered by the existence of a pressure differential between the mud at the hole bottom and the pore liquid at cutting depth. Expressions that have been derived for both the penetration rate and the magnitude of the pressure differential in permeable rock together fully account for operating, rock, mud and bit variables. In impermeable rock a similar pressure differential is caused by the bit action itself. In all cases, the pressure difierential and the reduction in penetration rate increase with the effectiveness of the plastering at the bottom of the hole by mud particles. Where bits are employed whose action is largely that of crushing, however, the plastering may become even more effective owing to the addition of rock particles rubbed into the pores of the rock. With roller bits, a plastically hehaving layer may be formed, which causes a further reduction in penetration. In the case of bits whose action is chiefly scraping, moreover, penetration may be arrested by the bit's becoming balled-up. The various adverse effects are reduced by thorough scavenging of the hole bottom. This paper shows how with jet bits the efficiency of such scavenging may he improved by suitable choice of the position of the nozzles. INTRODUCTION The reduction in a bit's penetration rate with increasing depth of hole has been the subject of many investigations. Various investigators ',' have independently reached the conclusion that this reduction occurs not so much because the rock-breaking process becomes more difficult as it does because the lifting of the rock fragments is impaired by a fluid pressure differential holding the fragments down. When such a pressure differential can be avoided, as in air drilling and to a smaller extent in water drilling, penetration rates remain high. Although the range of applicability of these techniques is being extended, most oil wells still have to be drilled with mud. In this paper we present the results of laboratory experiments carried out to determine what factors govern the hold down effect encountered in mud drilling. In the course of this investigation, the well known importance of bottom scavenging came more and more into prominence. Not only may it reduce the magnitude of the hold-down forces, but also it appeared to be a means of preventing the accumulation of a plastic mass of cuttings and mud on the hole bottom and bit which may cause penetration to cease almost completely. So that the effects of fluid pressures may be more readily understood, the factors that govern penetration rate in the absence of these pressures will first be discussed. The effect of down-hole pressures will then be assessed for the case of permeable rock where fluid pressures are well defined, and it will be demonstrated how rock strengthening due to confining can be accounted for. Subsequently, fluid pressures in less-permeable rock will be examined; we will show that in impermeable rock it is the bit action that governs fluid-pressure distribution and hold-down. In the case of poor scavenging and/or high bit load. cutting cake manifests itself. The effect, like various others. appears to depend on the type of bit used. From the very beginning, therefore, we shall base our discussion on the three main types of bits used in rotary oil-well drilling— roller bits, diamond bits and drag bits. Since space is limited, it will be impossible to make more than a passing reference to many aspects of the problem. Moreover. certain relations that are not of primary irnportance to our argument will unavoidably have to be stated in a somewhat dogmatic fashion, and the experimental data on which these are based necessarily must be omitted. EQUIPMENT The drilling experiments were performed on three machines, of which one has been designed for the realistic simulation of down-hole pressure conditions. HIGH-PRESSURES MACHINE In this machine (diagramed in Fig. 1) the mud, pore and confining pressures can all be adjusted independently. The foil-covered rock sample contained in the inner pressure vessel is confined by oil that is pressurized by means of a hand pump. The pore space of the watersaturated sample is connected to an arrangement which keeps the pressure in the pore space constant regardless of the rate of filtrate flow through the sample.

By George S. Rice

ARIAL maps of prospective mineral-bearing territory have become almost indispensable in all the branches of exploration, and have proved particularly useful in the great oil area of the Southwest. About nine years ago aerial photographic mapping in this area was begun. The early product was lacking in scale accuracy and other control features, which limited its effective use. Since then, the evolution of the technique of such mapping has been steady, with several mapping companies collaborating with five of the leading oil companies, and aerial maps have been prepared covering practically the entire area.Improvements in cameras, film, and developing equipment and practice have resulted in more uniform and clearer photographs, but the outstanding development has been the accuracy obtained with respect to scale and all other control features. Maps are no

Jan 1, 1936

By Shiou-Chuan Sun

THE effects of oxidation on the flotation behavior of sulphide minerals have been extensively studied 1-3 but no similar study has been made of coals. Coals of bituminous and lower rank undergo atmospheric oxidation during mining and storage, and their degree of oxidizing increases with temperature, 4,5 and time of exposure." The problem of recovering fine oxidized coal from culm piles, rivers, and streams by froth flotation has become increasingly important to the coal industry as well as to those concerned with air and stream pollution. This paper describes the flotation behavior of oxidized and unoxidized coals and carbons in the presence of oily collectors and presents the reagents found effective in the flotation of oxidized coals and carbons. Except where otherwise stated, flotation tests were performed in a 50-g Denver flotation cell. Solid feed for each test was 30 g, and the pulp dilution was kept at 8.5. The —65 mesh coal sample was wetted by agitation with water in the flotation cell for 6 min, then conditioned with a predetermined amount of collector for 2 min, and finally floated with pine oil as frother for 3 min. The oxidation of coals and carbons was performed in a vertical, electrically heated glass tube, shown in Fig. 1. One hundred grams of —65 mesh coal were fed into the glass tube and heated to 10° to 20 °C below the predetermined temperature of oxidation. Compressed air was admitted to the tube at a rate of 0.05 cu ft per min and the temperature was controlled by a variable voltage regulator. The oxi-

Jan 1, 1955

By Ralph Hultgren, Prodyot Roy

Manganese vapor pressures from 1250° to 1500°K were measured by conventional Knudsen and torsion-effusion methods in twelve Fe-Mn alloys with compositions from 9 to 80 at. pct Mn. The Knudsen re-sults agveed approximately with previous measurements found in the literature which indicated the solutions were nearly ideal. However, except for the higher manganese compositions, the initial torsion readings indicated much (up to 50 pct) higher vapor presszcres than the Knudsen method. These high readings decreased steadily with time. The results are interpreted as due to depletion of surface concentration of manganese during evaporation. Thus the initial torsion readings are the most nearly correct and Knudsen methods on alloys are to be regarded with suspicion unless it can be demonstrated that diffusion rates are rapid enough to replenish surface concentrations depleted by evaporation. For the lowest manganese contents and highest temperatures, depletion causes initial torsion readings to be too low. FEW thermodynamic data are available for alloys of the high-melting transition metals due primarily to experimental difficulties at the high temperatures involved. Measurement of vapor pressure is one of the most promising techniques to be applied to this problem. From the vapor pressure of a component of an alloy phase, its activity or its partial molar Gibbs energy can be directly calculated. From measurements over a sufficient range of temperatures and compositions the partial and integral Gibbs energies, enthalpies, and entropies may be determined through Gibbs-Duhem integration. For solid phases of variable composition, which commonly are found in alloys, measured vapor pressures are low because of depletion of the surface concentration of the more volatile component as it is selectively vaporized. Diffusion from the interior tends to restore the depleted concentration. The seriousness of the effect depends on the relative rates of diffusion and vaporization. Although depletion has been recognized as a factor,' direct measurements of its rate are lacking and quantitative estimates of its effect on measurements are uncertain. In the present work the vapor pressures above a series of Fe-Mn alloys have been measured by the torsion-effusion method. This method permits a measurement of the vapor pressure of manganese as soon as the sample comes to temperature and continuously throughout the run. The rate of decline of the apparent vapor pressure measures the rate of depletion and the torsion reading at zero time should be correct. At high manganese concentrations (70 and 80 at. pct Mn), the torsion reading remained nearly constant; surface depletion was negligible. There was a slow drop in measured pressure due to bulk loss of manganese from the sample. However, for lower manganese contents, especially at high temperatures, the depletion effect was considerable and the apparent vapor pressure decreased steadily with time. For these alloys the Knudsen method should give pressures which are too low. The measurement of pressure in the Knudsen method cannot be made until enough manganese has been vaporized to be weighable. The Knudsen result is therefore an integrated average between the initial and final vapor pressures. To verify this, conventional Knudsen measurements were also made with results in approximate agreement with previously published Knudsen measurements for these alloys. As expected, for the lower manganese contents the initial torsion readings of pressure were as much as 50 pct higher than the Knudsen. THE APPARATUS The apparatus, shown in Fig. 1, is capable of operating to temperatures up to 2000°K. A vacuum of 5 x 10"6 mm Hg can be maintained. Temperatures were measured to +3° by a W-Re thermocouple placed in the dummy cell, N. The torsion cell consisted of two alumina crucibles with holes in their covers. They were placed in the molybdenum holder shown suspended from the torsion wire. Rectangular torsion wires (1 by 4 mm) were found to have superior sensitivity and less residual distortion than circular (2-mm-diameter) wires. The precision of angular measurement was found to be *0.025 deg; the variation is no doubt due to temperature fluctuation and vibration. For the Knudsen experiments the alumina cell was set on the support, N. SAMPLE PREPARATION 800-g samples were prepared by melting together electrolytic iron and electrolytic manganese and pouring the melt into a water-cooled copper mold. Melting and pouring were done under a helium at-

Jan 1, 1965

By Evan Bennett

ALMADEN is Arabic for "the mine." The definite article is properly used, for no mercury mine in the world compares with it for richness and volume of ore, produced and potential. After more than twenty centuries of exploitation, intensive throughout the last lour, ore from Almaden is about five times as rich as that of its closest competitor. We drove to the mine one April afternoon, across Don Quixote's plains of the Mancha, up the bleak, arid valley of the Rio Valdeazogue where we passed tenth century Moorish workings and their ruined castles. At dusk, we came to the Hacienda de Castilseras, a large farm where Almaden miners work their land on off days. Then we drove through the whitewashed, well-ordered town to the Castillo de la Direccion where we were challenged at the iron gate by two picturesquely costumed Guardias Jurados.

Jan 1, 1948

By J. P. Sheehan, W. R. Hibbard, M. Baeyertz

This paper deals with molybdenum modifications of 5140 steel that have the same hardenability but a better tolerance for phosphorus than the AISI-SAE 5140 grade. Lack of toughness in steels with higher than normal phosphorus contents is well known to metallurgists. This problem is troublesome even within normal phosphorus ranges, if the heat treatment or the design of the part or the service is critical. Under such unfavorable conditions and also in the case of phosphorus contents toward the upper side of the commercial range, the use of molybdenum to replace a part of the chromium in 5140 steel provides a factor of safety. The toughness of steel is variously exhibited in different mechanical tests; broadly the term is applied to the capacity of the steel to deform prior to fracture. Defined in this way, toughness is considered to be an inherent quality that depends upon the composition and structure of the steel, and also upon its temperature during deformation and fracture in the test. In the present state of our knowledge, the type of mechanical test needs to be included in any discussion of toughness, because the revelation of this quality in steel depends on the stress state and rate of stressing imposed by the test. In comparing the toughness of one steel with another by laboratory testing, it has long been customary to use notched tests that impose severe constmint to deformation, and then to test over a range of temperatures to obtain the so-called transition. At temperatures above the transition, the steel fails after considerable deformation and absorption of energy. Below the transition, less energy is absorbed as the steel fails largely by cleavage. The transition range itself is characterized by a more or less abrupt change in energy absorption and type of fracture. The conventional V-notch Charpy impact test has been used exclusively in the work covered by this report. For the steels under study, rather sharp transitions are obtained with this test, at testing temperatures that are easily obtained in the laboratory. The position of the transition on the testing temperature scale provides a rather sensitive index of the toughness of the steel, when the steels under study are similar in character as they are in this work. Turning to the metallurgical reasons for the greater toughness of one steel as compared to another, the authors propose to limit the discussion to the small field under study. Only one structural state is considered, tempered martensite of a hardness of about 28 Rockwell C or 269 Brinell. The study deals first with the loss of toughness in AISI-SAE 5140 steel caused by increasing the phosphorus content from about 0.020 to 0.040 pct. A second part of the work deals with counteracting this loss in toughness by replacing a part of the chromium by molybdenum. A series of molybdenum modifications was studied, in each of which the chromium was reduced sufficiently to duplicate the hardenability of 5140 steel. Phosphorus affects the toughness of steel in two ways. An inherent lack of toughness of phosphorus-bearing ferrite as compared to low phosphorus ferrite has often been noted. Jolivet and Vidall have shown that phosphorus has the same effect in tempered martensite in chromium steels. The other well known effect of phosphorus is to make steel susceptible to temper embrittlement. Temper brittleness is a loss in toughness brought about by tempering steel within a limited temperature interval somewhat below the A1 temperature. In most of the standard AISI-SAE alloy steels, this temperature interval is approximately 850-1100°F. Either of these types of loss in toughness is easily followed by the shift in the transition temperature obtained with the notched-bar impact test. The data to be presented show the beneficial effect of substituting molybdenum for a part of the chromium in 5140 steel with either moderate (0.020 pct) or high (0.040 pct) phosphorus contents. Both the inherent lack of toughness of phosphorus-bearing steel and temper brittleness are counteracted by this use of molybdenum. The work of Jolivet and Vidal mentioned above shows the detrimental effect of phosphorus on the toughness of tempered martensite in the absence of temper embrittlement, as well as the temper brittleness caused by phosphorus. They used two steels, essentially 0.25 pct C-1.4 pct Cr, with 0.044 and 0.013 pct P, respectively. The nonembrittled state was obtained by quenching in oil from 1610°F, then tempering for one hour at 1200°F and quenching in water. In this state the transition temperature range of the low phosphorus steel in the notched-bar impact test was below that of the steel with 0.044 pct P. An additional treatment of 24 hr at 975°F (that is, in the embrittling range) caused both steels to lose toughness, but the high phosphorus steel showed the greater embrittlement. Recently Hollomon2 has published a comprehensive survey and bibliography of the literature on temper brittleness, to which the reader is re-

Jan 1, 1950

By W. E. Wrather

CURTAILMENT of production was a matter of far more serious concern to the oil industry through 1933 than the search for new supplies of oil. The huge reserves of crude, built up during past years, instead of inspiring a feeling of security, were viewed apprehensively. The status of past laws and court decisions seemed to guarantee to operators the right to produce oil at will, and this entrenched privilege was so widely adhered to that the market was-in a constant state of chaos. The more modern idea of the ownership of oil in place and correlative rights gained headway slowly, since usually there were enough belligerent producers, staunch believers in the old established order, to defeat the efforts of the majority who sought to' introduce order and restraint. State regulatory commissions were unable to cope, with the rebellion among producers with the result that those who abided by proration rulings were penalized, while those who flouted the rulings and produced unrestrainedly were able to make profits on large volumes of flush oil even at low prices. This situation, known in the vernacular as the "hot 'oil" problem, became so acute that the industry was threatened with ruin. The low price for 36c A.P.I. in the Mid-Continent came in April. at 25c per barrel 'but gradually moved upward to the long-hoped for price of $1.00 per barrel in October, after the Federal Government had taken a hand in the matter and effectively allocated production among the oil producing states and materially curbed the "hot oil" runs.

Jan 1, 1934

By Bernard E. Fernow

About eight years ago a comprehensive study of American timbers was begun in the U. S. Division of Forestry with a twofold object. On the one hand, it was desired to deternliiie the working-qualities of our numerous economically important timbers, and to furnish reliable standards of strength. 011 the other hand, it was intended to get a clearer insight into the properties and behavior of wood in general, with a view of establishing more rational methods in its use, and to furnish data for physical inspectioil which would permit an intelligent application of the standards of strength, and place upon a rational foundation the so-called " factor of safety," which is at present a mere baseless guess. The first object, namely, the establishment of standards for any given species, requires a very large series of tests, since Wood is an exceedingly variable substance, so much so that in the same tree a variation of 50 per cent. in strength may be found; hence the greater need of rational data of inspection. So far, the insufficient appropriations and facilities at our disposal have permitted us to establish really reliable standards for five species of southern conifers only. These have been deduced from nearly 20,000 tests. Besides these, 10,000 other tests have furnished indicatious regarding some two dozen other species. This work is now entirely abandoned, waiting for more prosperous times. The study of wood in general, however, can be carried on with smaller means, and has this year yielded not only very interesting, but highly important results, which will soon be published in detail. It is the purpose of this paper to make to the Institute the

Jan 1, 1899

By J. B. Newsorn

VERTICAL SHAFTS in the United States have heretofore been sunk by blasting and mucking. The blasting leaves uneven, shattered walls which usually must be supported. Even though the walls will stand, shaft lining is needed to furnish supports for the cage guides, pipes, and power conduits. The lining is generally timber, and as timber can be most easily framed into rectangles, rectangular shaft openings are the rule. The timber reduces the size of the cage floor. For example, if the Idaho Maryland company had put down No. 2 shaft by blasting and mucking, the cage area would have been about thirty per cent of the total shaft area. Besides a low percentage of useful area, an ordinary shaft is subject to fire hazard and to timber maintenance charges. It is also poor for ventilation because the timber ribs cause eddies which greatly reduce the speed of the air currents. A bored shaft does not have these disadvantages. The walls are smooth, circular, and not shattered by blasting, so lining is not required in most

Jan 1, 1936

By AIME AIME

FOLLOWING careful study of the relations of the Institute to students and the younger members of the profession, the Membership Committee recommended to the Board a change of plans abolishing the Junior Associate class of membership, substituting a -Junior membership and providing for Student Associates. The Board adopted this report at its meeting on Nov. 23, and asked Counsel to draft the necessary amendments to the By-laws, and gave formal notice of intentions to amend as provided in Section I, Article XI1 of the existing By-laws. The By-laws as it is proposed to amend Article I, 11, 111, IV, X, and XI follow. The new plan requires no changes in the other Articles. The matter will come before the Board for vote on Jan. 25.

Jan 1, 1929

By M. W. BERNEWITZ

AUSTRALIANS and New Zealanders, whose countries have respectively yielded gold to the value of £666,000,000 and £96,000,000, are taking full advantage of the current high prices for that metal. There is a marked activity in ordinary prospecting, geophysical exploration, further development of working mines and reopening of old properties, formation of new companies, installation of new equipment and processes, and expansion of operations generally. Australian gold production last year was approximately double the quantity of 1929 and its value three times as great, 1929 being the low of recent years. The 1933 production was about 821,000 oz. From New Zealand, 165,000 oz. was exported last year. Papua and New Guinea contributed slightly over 100,000 oz. What the future price of gold will be nobody knows, but, even if it returns to the former level, Australian producers are almost sure of 110 shillings an ounce until 1940 through the Commonwealth Government's Gold Bounty Act, at present temporarily and necessarily suspended from operation.

Jan 1, 1934

By Colin J. Dixon

The full realization of the potential of computers in geological in- formation system demands new approaches to the machine representation of information. At the same time, the feasibility of such a system, particularly in commercial field, demands greater freedom in input preparation and a degree of standardization in the arrangement of subject matter system. The paper describes some of the basic notions of project "GEOSEMANTICA 70". The aim of the project is to devise means of storing real geological informations in a machine rather than the representation of the information in human language form. This is seen as the only long-term solution to the problems of the complex vocabulary of geology and the complex syntax of geological description. Effectively, a machine language is being defined, consisting of a set of symbols and a date structure for representation of geological and related information. Beyond this, is the definition of a set of rules allowing the use of constrained text as an input/output medium. The investigation is oriented primarily to the representation and handling of information about mineral deposits and the associated geographic, economic and engineering information.

Jan 1, 1969