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By John Dilworth

THIS paper treats primarily of the valuation of developed coal properties by the method of capitalizing their estimated average future earnings. However, in it reference is also made to valuations of undeveloped coal lands and to various methods of appraisal other than by future earnings. FUNDAMENTAL VALUATION PRINCIPLES Before discussing in detail coal property valuations, a few statements bearing on the general subject will be made to present certain of the writer's views on the question as a whole. 1. A certain property at a given time has but, one true value. This is not universally admitted. The appraiser rather frequently finds that a coal owner has in mind three valuations for his holdings; one, the figure at which he feels they should be appraised for taxation purposes; another, the much higher one that should be used if a loan is to he negotiated on the property; and a third, intermediate between the other two, the price for which he would be willing to dispose of his holdings were they for sale. The last is usually nearest to the true value, and because this is so the statement is generally accepted that the fair value of such a property is the price arrived at by negotiation between a willing seller and a willing buyer who are otherwise disinterested. 2. Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is only very generally and approximately true that the proper measure of the value of a given developed1 coal acreage is the unit or per-acre price for which one or more bodies of similar coal in the salve district have been sold recently. To give a few reasons why such a measure of value can not be strictly applied, it may be noted:

Jan 1, 1927

By Bradley Stoughton

My attention was called by Prof. Henry M. Howe to the article by N. M. Wittorff, entitled Preliminary Investigation of Primary Crystallization and Subsequent Physico-Chemical Permutations in Iron-Carbon Alloys Containing More Than 4 Per Cent. of Carbon. I thereupon wrote to Mr. Wittorff and received a copy of the paper in the Russian language, with permission from him to publish a translated abstract in our Transactions, the original having appeared in the .Journal of the Russian Chemical Society, vol. xliii. (1911), in which it occupies some 78 pages, with 10 illustrations and 47 micrographs. The novelty of the data presented, and especially the scientific importance of Mr. Wittorff's deductions, as well as their value in helping to clarify our meager understanding of that useful but puzzling commodity, cast-iron, seemed to more than justify a publication of the essential facts in concise form in the English language, which has not been done previously so far as I know, although a very brief abstract has been published in German, and a somewhat more extended one in French.' When the work of translation was begun, I did not know that it bore in part upon the investigations of Ruff, which Howe is reviewing at some length at this meeting. This coincidence renders the following condensed translation of Wittorff's work, which I have prepared with the aid of Sidney Marcus as interpreter, the more appropriate here. The result of Wittorff's study is greatly to extend our knowledge of the hyper-eutectic alloys of iron and carbon, and to add several significant lines at the right-hand side of the diagram originally drawn by Bakhuis-Roozeboom, and developed by Roberts-Austen, Benedicks, Carpenter and Keeling, Upton, Goerens, and others. Some of the original lines of the dia-

Jan 1, 1913

By T. D. Mueller, H. Dykstra

This paper describes a method for obtaining compositions of gas and oil phases in equilibrium with each other at a given reservoir temperature and pressure as lean or enriched gas is injected into a reservoir oil not in equilibrium with the gas. The method is based on calculation of equilibrium constants, K, from the equation log Kp = A + B F, where p is pressure and F is component characterization factor. A and B are constants that vary with a composition parameter. The paper explains how A and B could be determined with a minimum amount of data. The method consists of calculating equilibrium constants as a function of liquid composition and using the K's to calculate changes in compositiort of injection gas as it successively contacts original resetvoir oil at the gas-oil front and the change in composition of reservoir oil as it is successively contacted by the injection gas in the vicinity of an injection well. An iterative process is required. Two examples of the method are given which show how oil and gas compositions and properties are calculated with the aid of a computer. INTRODUCTION The calculation of recovery from lean-gas or enriched-gas injection into a saturated or under-saturated reservoir oil requires a knowledge of how phase properties change in a reservoir between injection well and producing well. To determine the phase compositions or properties experimentally would be difficult and time consuming, especially if one wanted to look at the effect of various injection gas compositions. For some fields an engineer would want to make preliminary calculations on the economics of gas injection before he makes the decision to spend a corrsiderable sum of money for laboratory work to obtain the necessary fluid properties. A method for calculatine compositions and properties based on a minimum of laboratory data is described. The minimum amount of data required is injection gas and reservoir oil composition and injection gas solubility as a function of pressure for an undersaturated oil, or the compositions of mixtures of reservoir fluid with two or more enriched gases, which mixtures have a bubble-point pressure that is the same as the expected average displacement pressure. On the other hand, if the economics appear to be attractive, more laboratory data can be obtained in the form of equilibrium constants for three or more mixtures of the reservoir fluid and injection gases. The method is based on the calculation of K's from the equation, log Kp = A + B F, where K is equilibrium constant, p is pressure and F is component characterization factor. This method of plotting K data by means of the above equation is described by Hoffman, Crump and Hocott.1 A and B are constants that vary with a composition parameter. It is shown how experimental data are used to determine how A and B vary with composition. BASIS OF METHOD EQUILIBRIUM CONSTANTS Equilibrium constant (K) data are required for this method. The K of each component is obtained from an equation that gives the product of K and pressure as a function of component characterization factor. The characterization factor F = b(l/Tb — l/T), where b is a constant characteristic of a given component, Tb is the boiling point in OR at atmospheric pressure of the given component, and T is the temperature of the system in OR. This method of plotting K data is described by Hoffman, Crump and Hocott.l The straight-line equation of the log Kp - F plot is log hp = log Kop +BFi, where Kop is at F =0, i designates the component, and B is the slope of the line. The factor F can be

Jan 1, 1966

By H. J. Morel-Seytoux

Methods of predicting the influence of pattern geometry and mobility ratio on water flooding recovery predictions are discussed. Two methods of calculation are used separately or concurrently. The analytical method yields exact solutions in a convenient form for a unit mobility ratio piston-like displacement. A few typical pressure distributions, sweep efficiencies and oil recoveries are presented for various patterns. For non-unit mobility ratio, one may resort to a numerical method, such as that of Sheldon and Douherty. 1,2 Because the domains of applicability of the analytical and numerical techniques overlap, the exact solutions provide estimates of the errors in the numerical procedures. The advantages of the analytical and numerical methods can be combined. To develop a numerical technique as independent of geometry as possible, the physical space is transformed into a standard rectangle. The entire effect of geometry is rendered through one term, the "scale-factor", derived from mapping relations. The scale factor can be calcu-lated from the exact unit-mobility ratio solution for the particular pattern of interest. By this means recovery performances for arbitrary mobility ratio con be obtained for many patterns. A sample of tesults obtained in this manner is presented. INTRODUCTION Pattern geometry and mobility ratio are two major factors in making a waterflood recovery prediction. Because assisted recovery has become increasingly important to the oil industry, pattern configuration and mobility ratio also assume a greater significance in the assessment of the economic value of recovery projects. The influence of pattern geometry and mobility ratio in shaping a recovery curve and on the other quantities of interest to the reservoir engineer is the main subject of this paper. Much effort has already been spent on estimating quantitatively the influence of either pattern or mobility ratio or both on oil recovery. The literature reports many investigations of this nature. 3-9 However, many results or methods of recovery prediction presented in the literature cannot be considered fully satisfactory. Even for unit mobility ratio and piston-like displacement, where analytical solutions are available, the literature shows discrepancies. For non-unit mobility ratio, the divergence in the results is extreme. For infinite mobility ratio in a repeated five-spot, depending on the investigator, the sweep efficiency ranges from 0 per cent to 60 per cent. With respect to the influence of pattern on recovery, only the repeated five-spot has received much attention. Other confined patterns and pilot configurations have received very little attention. Two calculation methods are presented in this paper, either separately or concurrently: the analytical method of potential theory and the numerical method of finite-difference approximation. The analytical method is more restricted in scope than the finite-difference method, but it has the definite advantage of providing exact solutions within its range of applicability. If a unit-mobility ratio piston-like displacement is assumed, the analytical approach is possible. A few typical results are reported in this paper; the detailed description of the general method and of a great variety of results will be the subject of other articles. Fornon-unity mobility ratio, we must resort to a numerical scheme. The numerical technique is that which was described by Sheldon and Dougherty.l,2 It is not limited to piston-like displacement. However, mainly single interface results will be presented here. Because the respective domains of applicability of the analytical and the numerical method overlap, useful comparisons of exact and numerical solutions can be made for a variety of patterns. The advantages of the analytical and numerical approaches can be combined. The reason for the success of this analytical-numerical approach can be summarized in the following two points: 1. The numerical solution for arbitrary mobility ratio can be programmed most efficiently when the physical space in which the displacement actually takes place is transformed into a standard shape; and 2. This can be done with remarkable simplicity whenever an analytical expression for the pressure

Jan 1, 1966

By Ripu Daman Lama

The size of coal pillars in mines until recently has been determined by experience without being based upon scientific investigations. As a consequence, the size of pillars had invariably been larger than could be accounted for because of the number of unknown factors involved which influence the strength, dictating the use of large safety factors. With the mining going deeper, the size of the pillars greatly increases and sometimes a considerable portion of the mineral property are blocked in the mine pillars required to support the superincumbent strata. With the advances in the field of Rock Mechanics, attention of mine planning engineers has been focused upon the design of mine pillars for safe and efficient working as well as decrease losses of coal. The problem involves the study of three factors: (1) Presence of stresses in the area and their distribution on pillars in the course of extraction. (2) The influence of external factors on the strength of coal. (3) The inherent mechanical properties of coal. These aspects have been studied by a large number of investigators, the first by in-situ stress measurements and photoelastic studies and the second and third aspect by studies conducted in the laboratory on small size specimens (Bunting, 1911; Evens & Pomeroy, 1961; Gaddy, 1956; Greenland et al, 1941; Steart 1954). The size of the specimens tested in the laboratory has been limited to a few inches and the results obtained have been extrapolated by large factors, sometimes several hundred times the largest specimen tested. In these tests much consideration has not been given to

Jan 1, 1971

By John F. Elliott, David L. Schroeder

SURFACE depletion can be a significant source of error in the use of the effusion method for determining the thermodynamic properties of alloys, particularly in the case of solid alloys.' However, as yet this problem has not been treated quantitatively by experimentalists in the field.1-3 The method necessitates diffusive transport of material out of the source alloy to obtain a relevant measurement. The general character of the system is shown in Fig. 1. The diffusive flux (nD) at the alloy surface is equal to the effusive flux (nE): where D is the diffusion coefficient of the diffusing substance, C is its concentration, X is the distance from the surface into the source alloy, p is the density of the alloy, and AS is the actual available surface of the alloy. The concentration of the diffusing substance at the surface is CS, and Here fE is the Clausing factor, AE is the area (sq cm) of the orifice, y is the activity coefficient of the substance in the alloy, PO is the vapor pressure (Torr) of the pure substance, M is the molecular weight of the effusing species, and T is the absolute temperature. The differential equation for diffusive transport in the source alloy is Fick's second law. Its solution is dependent on the geometry of the source alloy. Two boundary conditions must be established to obtain the proper solution, the first being Eq. [1], or its equivalent. The solutions for several important forms of the source alloy are considered below.

Jan 1, 1967

By Henry B. Kaeding

This paper presents the results of experiments in the treatnient of the gold-bearing ores of the Pis Pis district, near the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua, C. A. Up to the present time, the methods in use in this section of the country for the extraction of the values from the ores have been of the crudest, and the waste has been criminal in its enormity. The transportation of heavy machinery being difficult and costly, recourse has been had to flimsy and inadequate installations, involving great wastes in operation. In some places $15 ore is considered the lowest workable grade. One mine that came under my observation had a 7-ft. vein of $23 ore when examined for purchase; it has been running for years and is now deeply in debt. The future metallurgy of these ores must depend upon chemical, mechanical, and economical considerations—the last being, of course, a resultant of the two former, discussed in the light of prevailing or realizable commercial and industrial conditions. I. Chemical. The ores consist principally of quartz, carrying galena, pyrite, marcasite, and chalcopyrite, and occasionally magnetite, hematite, pyromorphite, and sphalerite, in which minerals the gold lies. The quartz veins occur between malls of andesite, " porphyry," or dioritic rocks, occasionally limestone and dacite. Often the dacite itself is heavily ribbed and filled with auriferous quartz, and is mined as ore. Owing to the excessive rainfall of the country, the ores above water-level have been oxidized and leached of their sulphides, and have become in that operation highly acid and free from

Jan 1, 1912

By N. Brown, M. Herman

IT has been pointed out by Cottrell' and Fisher that long-range order would produce superdis-locations, consisting of two partial dislocations separated by an out-of-phase region. The mutual repulsion of the partial dislocations is balanced by the surface tension of the out-of-phase domain boundary joining the dislocations (Fig. 1). The calculation of the equilibrium spacing of the dislocations has yet to be made. The argument uses the Bragg and Williams theory of long-range order." The metal under consideration is the A-B, body-centered type, such as ß brass. The slip system is taken to be [Ill], (110). Since nearest-neighbor interactions are considered, only the atoms position in the two (110) planes adjoining the slip plane have to be labeled. Corner sites are called a and a' in the top and bottom (110) planes, respectively. Similarly ß and ß are the body-centered sites. Thus, a and ß and 0 and a sites are nearest neighbors. Assume that the bottom plane moves and the top plane is fixed during slip; the atoms in a and ß sites exchange sites but atoms in a and ß sites remain fixed. Fraction of A atoms in a sites, for example, is given by fa and fa. for the un-slipped and slipped condition, respectively. Similarly number of A atoms in the a sites is given by n, and n'a for the unslipped and slipped condition, respectively. As the dislocation moves into the ordered region the change in number of A-A bonds is given by

Jan 1, 1957

By M. S. King

In the design of foundations for large structures and of safe mine openings in rock, the results of laboratory and small-scale in-situ tests are often used to predict the behavior of the material as a whole. For reasons of simplicity in these analyses, the rock is usually treated as an ideally elastic, isotropic material. It has been observed, however, that most rocks are neither isotropic nor ideally elastic. This observation is particularly true for rocks subjected to low confining pressures. It is therefore necessary to investigate further the effects of anisotropy and nonlinearity on the mechanical behavior of rocks. When small differences in stress and strain only are involved, the rock may be treated as an elastic material. The elastic constants for such a material subjected to a particular confining pressure can be calculated from the classical theory of elasticity for different degrees of anisotropy. There are two experimental methods by which this can be done: first, from measurements of static stress-strain relationships; second, from elastic wave velocities measured in the rock. The former yields the static elastic constants, and the latter, the dynamic constants. The static constants will be equal in magnitude to the corresponding dynamic constants only if the rock is ideally elastic. Walsh and Brace1 have reviewed theoretical studies of the elasticity of rock considered as a material containing pores and cracks. They re- ported that the presence of sharp, narrow cavities at low confining pressures strongly influences the mechanical properties of a rock. A considerable reduction in magnitude of elastic moduli is associated with the presence of inhomogeneities such as cracks or joints. The elastic properties appear to approach those of the uncracked material in magnitude as the cavities are closed by higher pressures. Walsh and Brace

Jan 1, 1970

By Richard L. Seal, Allan L. Turner

INTRODUCTION The chapter discusses the procedures and operations starting with the actual training of operations personnel with respect to a grinding mill circuit and a typical check-out and start-up of a grinding circuit before turning over the operating circuit to production personnel. For the purposes of this paper, it will be assumed that the mill circuit installation is at a new location or a new operation at an existing operation. Expansion of an existing grinding facility would probably require less time-consuming and less costly procedures than those that will be outlined here. There are numerous arrangements and types of equipment that can be used for grinding circuits. For example, the grinding could be wet or dry. The grinding mill could be a rod or ball mill or some combination. The circuit could be open or closed. The closed circuit classification could be accomplished with rake classifiers, spiral classifiers, cyclones, stationary screens, or vibrating screens. To limit the discussion, the grinding circuit shown on Figure I will be discussed. The circuit includes a dry ore feed by a belt conveyor (feeder) to a wet ball mill. The ball mill discharges to a cyclone feed pump box and pump. The pump feeds a cyclone type classifier with the cyclone underflow returning to the ball mill feed and cyclone overflow being the required grinding circuit product. For the purposes of this paper, it will also be assumed that the extensive overall preparation necessary for every start-up has been accomplished. These preparations are only outlined here as they have been adequately dealt with in recent papers. (1), (2), (3) The items in these preparations would include. 1. Appointment and indoctrination of the start-up organization. 2. Integration of the start-up into the overall project schedule. 3. Development of the specific start-up schedule. 4. Budget determination and monies appropriation.

Jan 1, 1982

By Holbrook G. Botset

Experiments performed in this laboratory on the flow of gas-liquid mixtures through unconsolidated sands have been described and discussed in an earlier paper.4 In these earlier experiments a definite relationship was found between the liquid saturation of a sand and its permeability to the liquid or gas phase. Furthermore, the nature of the sand, the permeabilities of the sands over a range between 17 and 260 darcies, appeared to have a negligible effect upon the saturation-permeability relation. Likewise experiments indicated that the viscosity of the liquid, or the substitution of an immiscible liquid for the gas phase, had only a very slight effect on the permeability-saturation relation. This conclusion has since been definitely confirmed by the experiments of M. C. Leverett3 on the flow of oil and water through unconsolidated sands. The sands used by Leverett were of very low permeability (between 6.8 and 1.04 darcies), while the oil-water viscosity ratio varied between 90 and 0.057. Since the sands that constitute petroleum reservoirs are largely consolidated, although of widely varying degrees of consolidation, it was desirable to extend the experiments on gas-liquid mixtures to consolidated sand. In the study of consolidated sands additional variables are involved, but for the initial experiments the only new variable to be introduced was the cementing material. Experimental Procedure A comparatively limited assortment of sandstones was available for the selection of the experimental material. Of these, the Nichols buff sandstone appeared to be most suitable. It gives no visual evidence of any bedding planes, it has a firm structure, permitting easy handling, and its permeability is about 0.5 darcy. Its only disadvantage is the fact that it contains an appreciable amount of ferric oxide which, for experiments involving water, will hydrate and reduce the permeability. This

Jan 1, 1940

By Holbrook G. Botset

Experiments performed in this laboratory on the flow of gas-liquid mixtures through unconsolidated sands have been described and discussed in an earlier paper.4 In these earlier experiments a definite relationship was found between the liquid saturation of a sand and its permeability to the liquid or gas phase. Furthermore, the nature of the sand, the permeabilities of the sands over a range between 17 and 260 darcies, appeared to have a negligible effect upon the saturation-permeability relation. Likewise experiments indicated that the viscosity of the liquid, or the substitution of an immiscible liquid for the gas phase, had only a very slight effect on the permeability-saturation relation. This conclusion has since been definitely confirmed by the experiments of M. C. Leverett3 on the flow of oil and water through unconsolidated sands. The sands used by Leverett were of very low permeability (between 6.8 and 1.04 darcies), while the oil-water viscosity ratio varied between 90 and 0.057. Since the sands that constitute petroleum reservoirs are largely consolidated, although of widely varying degrees of consolidation, it was desirable to extend the experiments on gas-liquid mixtures to consolidated sand. In the study of consolidated sands additional variables are involved, but for the initial experiments the only new variable to be introduced was the cementing material. Experimental Procedure A comparatively limited assortment of sandstones was available for the selection of the experimental material. Of these, the Nichols buff sandstone appeared to be most suitable. It gives no visual evidence of any bedding planes, it has a firm structure, permitting easy handling, and its permeability is about 0.5 darcy. Its only disadvantage is the fact that it contains an appreciable amount of ferric oxide which, for experiments involving water, will hydrate and reduce the permeability. This

Jan 1, 1940

By K. B. Nowels

DATA pertaining to pipe line flow for both oil and gas in horizontal or nearly horizontal pipe lines are both extensive and accurate. However, the pipe formulas used to determine pressure drop for flowing fluids (liquids and gases) under conditions of horizontal flow are not generally applicable to flowing oil and/or gas wells. Except for some data developed in small laboratory set-ups, little or no information was available concerning flow of oil and gas mixtures in vertical pipes, when, in 1928, the writer began the development of a method for computing pressure drops in the pipes of flowing oil wells, as outlined in this paper. In 1929, Uren1 presented some findings based on laboratory experi-ments in which vertical flow of an extremely heavy crude oil was induced, by means of air through a 2-in. pipe, 41 ft. long. The friction factors derived from the experiment, as well as values for pressure drop per 100 ft., are not believed satisfactory in their application to flow problems in the field. Versluys,2 also in 1929, presented a mathematical development of the theory of flowing oil wells, and in 1930, gave a companion paper3 setting forth some principles governing the choice of length and diameter of tubing in oil wells. Since the termination of the study presented in this paper, another. valuable contribution pertaining to the problem, of vertical flow was made by Moore and Wilde.4 Although there were writings dealing with the principles of the gas-lift, a search of the available literature indicated that specific information on vertical flow was lacking with the exception of the writings of Uren, Versluys, and Moore and Wilde, to which reference .has been made.

Jan 1, 1932

By Fred DeVaney

THE coercimeter, as its name implies, is an instrument for measuring the coercive force? of magnetic substances. It was developed by Davis and Hartenheim in the Special Studies Section, Metallurgical Division. A detailed description of this apparatus may be found elsewhere.2 The coercive force determinations of magnetic materials are inter-esting because of the relationship established by Gottschalk,4 who showed a linear relationship between the magnetization coercive force and the specific surface of comminuted particles. The value of this relationship in determining grinding efficiency has been shown by Dean.3 The determination of the surface contained in the subsieve sizes has always been a difficult problem for investigators. They made approximate measurements of the surface of coarse materials by sizing on screens, but for the determination of the surface of the sub-sieve sizes it was necessary to make detailed grain counts or, elutriation tests, or to study dissolution rates. The technical literature contains many references to other methods for determining these surfaces, either by some special apparatus or by mathematical calculations based on distribution lines. Many of the methods are long and tedious, and the results of some, at least, are questionable. The turbidimeter gives quick results on ground cement. By using magnetite as the material to be ground, a simple determina-tion of its coercive force by the coercimeter, requiring 10 minutes or less, can be transposed directly and accurately into units of relative surface. This subject has been pursued further by the U. S. Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, Rolla, Mo., and the following is a description of the results.

Jan 1, 1938

W. P. WHITE,* Washington, D. C. (written discussion?).-The authors seem to have proved that for a phenomenon as irregular as the one they were investigating there was no perceptible conduction effect in the platinum wire. It should be mentioned, however, that the conduction of heat to and from small wires is not proportional to their surface and might give unexpected value, varying largely with the medium in which the wire was situated. Attempts to eliminate a conduction effect in the wire by extrapolating the curve obtained by using different sizes have in some cases given incorrect results, so that the authors' result should be applied with great care as a guide in other cases. The difference in size of wire employed by them is really rather small. If the desire had been to find out how great the effect was instead of merely to demonstrate its absence, a greater difference of diameter would, of course, have been selected. The sharp gradient immediately in front of the burning portion of the cigar is quite surprising at first sight. The weight of air coming from a flame is considerably greater than the weight of material burned, and it would be thought that this stream of heated air would heat very con-siderably the material not yet reached by the zone of combustion. Pos-sibly the heat is exhausted in evaporating moisture from the material. In that case the cigar is really a sort of regenerative furnace, except that it is not air but the, material which is preheated, and the pre-heating produces dryness rather than increase of temperature. Whether or not this is the case would be shown by finding how hot a thoroughly dry cigar would get.

Jan 12, 1919

By J. J. Bodmer

In 1855, Franz Uchatius patented, in England, his process of manufacturing cast steel. The first experiments, on a practical scale, were made at the Ebbw Vale Iron Works, Monmouthshire. The charge consisted of a mixture of cast iron with about 20 per cent. of a pure iron ore, and with or without other ingredients. In order to obtain the cast iron in a subdivided condition, Uchatius granulated molten pig-metal by running it into water, which during the operation was kept well agitated, and found that "the finer the iron is granulated, the softer will be the resulting steel." The writer is not aware that granulated iron has been used practically, otherwise than in the above-named process; and until 1866 no other process of subdividing iron than by granulation was known. In April, 1866, an English patent was obtained by the writer for subdividing blast-furnace and other slags and metals in a molten condition, by passing the same through one or more pairs of rolls. In reference to iron the idea was, in following up the direction pointed out by the Uchatius process, to obtain better results in the puddling process by means of a thorough amalgamation (not simply a mixture) of the iron with the oxides and other ingredients in the charge itself. Experiments were made. A quantity of iron direct from the blastfurnace was subdivided (or laminated) by passing it through a pair of plain rolls. The rolls were hollow, and water was made to pass through them to keep them sufficiently cool. Without giving differential speed to the rolls, sheets were obtained about one-sixteenth inches thick, and from about one hundred square inches surface, downwards. With differential speed, the iron falls from the rolls in

By J. J. Bodmer

IN 1855, Franz Uchatius patented, in England, his process of manufacturing cast steel. The first experiments, on a practical scale, were made at the Ebbw Vale Iron Works, Monmouthshire. The charge consisted of a mixture of cast iron with about 20 per cent. of a pure iron ore, and with or without other ingredients. In order to obtain the cast iron in a subdivided condition, Uchatius granulated molten pig-metal by running it into water, which during the operation was kept well agitated, and found that "the finer the iron is granulated, the softer will be the resulting steel." The writer is not aware that granulated iron has been used practically, otherwise than in the above-named process ; and until 1866 no other process of subdividing iron than by granulation was known. In April, 1866, an English patent was obtained by the writer for subdividing blast-furnace and other slags and metals in a molten condition, by passing the same through one or more pairs of rolls. In reference to iron the idea was, in following up the direction pointed out by the Uchatius process, to obtain better results in the puddling process by means of a thorough amalgamation (not simply a mixture) of the iron with the oxides and other ingredients in the charge itself. Experiments were made. A quantity of iron direct from the blast-furnace was subdivided (or laminated) by passing it through a pair of plain rolls. The rolls were hollow, and water was made to pass through them to keep them sufficiently cool. Without giving differential speed to the rolls, sheets were obtained about one-sixteenth inches thick, and from about one hundred square inches surface, downwards. With differential speed, the iron falls from the rolls in

Jan 1, 1874

Discussion of the paper Of NOEL CUNNINGHAM, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 99, March, 1915, pp. 601 to 608. C. H. POIRIER, New York, N. Y. (communication to the Secretary*). -Mr. Cunningham's paper, written from the standpoint of a stamp advocate, while commenting more or less favorably upon the installation of ball mills in the Vipond plant, does not, in my opinion, give as much emphasis to the comparatively new departure as the installation of ball mills in the place of stamps justifies. This discussion is based upon my personal and intimate practical work for several years with stamp mills, and for the past three years with Hardinge ball and pebble mills. The fact that the Vipond mine contains about equal quantities of the A and B classes of ore mentioned by Air. Cunningham, and the further fact that I have had a most intimate knowledge of the working of both classes of ore in the Porcupine district in stamp mills and ball mills, justifies upholding my final decision to use ball mills in the place of stamps, and defends my present further action in now increasing the present Vipond capacity by the addition of another 6-ft. Hardinge ball mill, in which action the directors of my company concur. This is one of the strongest evidences I can possibly offer in substantiation of my opinion that the ball mill exceeds the efficiency of the stamp, both in metallurgical and mechanical economy. It is hardly fair to compare a 100-ton per clay plant with a mill handling several times this amount, yet it is my belief that the cost per ton. of grinding in the ball mill is far less than that of any stamp mill in the district, where capacities run up to 400 tons per clay.

Jan 5, 1915

By I. N. Knap

Discussion of the paper of HOWARD R. HUGHES, presented at the Now York meeting, February, 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 99, March, 1915, pp. 629 to 635. I. N. KNAPP, Ardmore, Pa.-The claims made in the paper for the Sharp & Hughes cone bit are modest. I have used it with satisfactory results. It is a wonder for eating through hard, brittle rock; it will drill through iron pyrites that the fish-tail bit cannot enter. Soft ground is apt to contain concretions that are much harder than the containing ground. ?We have at times in drilling with a fish-tail bit thought the hole was partly in such hard material and partly in soft, thus making a difficult place to drill past in the ordinary way. By changing to a Sharp & Hughes cone bit such obstructions were easily overcome. This cone bit has greatly widened the range of work that may now be profitably accomplished by the hydraulic rotary method of drilling. It is not, however, adapted to drill soft or sticky ground, the old fish-tail bit being better for such purposes. The fish-tail bit usually scrapes its way through the material drilled, but not always. I believe at times it cuts and chips in soft friable rock. That is, the bit seems to bite into the rock, and when sufficient torsion is put on the drill stem it breaks its hold and jumps around and chips the rock from the bottom of the hole, like a stone cutter's chisel, and then takes another hold. This condition occurs only in friable material when the bit is sharp and the feed properly controlled. The Sharp & Hughes cone bit is a most valuable -tool for the rotary driller.

Jan 5, 1915

By H. F. Miller

Fox some years the prejudice against basic open-hearth steel for casting has been gradually decreasing. Yet many consumers and engineers still cling to acid steel for castings, because of their alleged greater freedom from blow-holes and sponginess. Acid steel has been used for this purpose much longer than basic steel; and the melters in acid practice had it well in hand when basic steel was first tried. Then the necessity of learning a new set of laws for the production of satisfactory basic open-hearth steel for castings became evident. The first of these laws, in my opinion, has to do with the furnace construction. The heat should be melted down as speedily as possible so as to prevent excessive oxidation. I have described in another article ' some furnaces designed by me, and having as one of their features the promotion of quick melting. Size of the Furnace. The hearth of the furnace, however, is a decisive factor in the production of solid castings. The manufacturer should know the size of the heats he intends to make constantly, and should have his furnace built for that size of heat. The hearth should differ in dimensions from that of a furnace making ingotr steel. That is, the bath should be deeper and should have less surface-area. A shallow bath permits the slag to come out soon after the steel commences to flow, and thus prevents the additions from going into the steel, or from becoming uniformly distributed in case they have been put in hurriedly. Under this head comes the very poor practice of making small heats in hearths of a much larger capacity. If into a 25-or 30-ton furnace only 12 or 15 tons of metal is charged per heat, the proportion of heats that will be wild, or show signs

Jan 1, 1913