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. F. W. SPERR, JR.,* Pittsburgh, Pa.--Mr. Malcolmson states that the Carbocoal process produces ammonium sulfate in excess of that normally recovered in the ordinary byproduct coke process. Table 3 indicates that 20,000 to 25,000 lb. of sulfate of ammonia are obtained in carbonizing 1000 tons of Clinchfield coal. This is a high-grade coal and yields from 26 to 28 lb. of ammonium sulfate per ton in a modern byproduct coke oven. On the next page, 21 lb. is stated as the yield of ammonium sulfate per short ton of raw coal; this is less than the average production from any well operated byproduct coke-oven plant treating coal of the character usually coked, in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The statement as to the comparative yields of light oil is somewhat misleading in view of the results obtained during the past year or two by the more modern byproduct coke plants. The plants put in operation by the H. Koppers Co., during the past two years, are producing about 3.5 gal. of light oil per short ton of coal, and several of these plants are producing more than 4 gal. per ton. The yield of pure toluene runs from 0.45 gal. to 0.55 gal. per ton. .The quality of the light oil .obtained from the Carbocoal process is of much greater importance than would be inferred by one not closely familiar with the subject. The presence of paraffins in the benzol and toluol fractions seriously detracts from their commercial value; the benzol and toluol fractions derived fro in the Carbocoal process contain about 50 per cent, of paraffins. It should be thoroughly understood what these paraffins are. They are simply hydrocarbons that go to make up ordinary petroleum, and if a successful method for the removal of paraffins from benzol and toluol has been developed, this can at once be applied to several well known processes by which benzol and toluol can be made directly from petroleum, which have as yet been total failures on account of the contamination of these products by paraffins.

Jan 11, 1918

By Arnold E. Lamm

The author addressed a keynote session for all divisions at last October's SME Fall Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz. Discussing the competition from gas, oil, hydroelectric and atomic energy, he said that the market can only be wrested from them "by endeavoring to lower costs far beyond anything we thought possible a few years ago." He saw the rate of return for the industry as "grossly inadequate." Looking ahead, Mr. Lamm saw only a few extremely large generating plants being built. "Purchase of coal for such plants," he said, "will probably be confined to a single source on long-term contracts. Only those coal companies who are able to locate huge reserves, close to adequate cooling water, capable of being mined and transported at the lowest cost in relation to quality, will be able to compete. . . While the market for coal will be very large in terms of tons, it will be most selective and confined to a few transactions of very great magnitude. "Coal offers a proven and tried method of producing energy. The available strippable reserves of Western coal and mineable underground reserves offer the cheapest source of energy available. History will attest that coal has been a steady and stable source of energy. Up until recently, the energy market of the West has had to depend on natural gas which product has had a long and steady price escalation. Statistics show that, where coal is available, the price of gas is quite stable, but where gas is the only available fuel, it has traditionally followed a steady and upward price trend.

Jan 11, 1965

By J. Murray Riddell

The method of treating hazards wherein value is decreased, is cited by R. D. Parks. Quite properly, the theory of probabilities is made use of when multiple hazards are under consideration. E. F. Fitzhugh, Jr. deals with the enhancement phase graphically and uses percentage of expectancy as derived by a study of conditions and the selection of a chance factor. It is believed that both of the authors referred to fully recognize the part which human judgment plays, and as coupled with experience, training, and the application of the theory of probabilities; in that respect the composer of this paper is in accord. Within the past year, the task of arriving at a mathematical method for handling the enhancement phase, and, additionally, coupling the negative and positive phases, was explored. In citing the hazard, or negative phase, reference is made to the text by Parks.

Jan 1, 1949

MARCH 15-Industry is rapidly snapping back from another coal crisis, other business news is in general favorable and the outlook through the Spring is by most observers considered quite promising. Most industries report comfortable backlogs of unfilled orders, department store sales in recent weeks have equalled in dollars those of the corresponding period last year, retail sales of automobiles show again over the same period a year ago, and new orders for machine tools are at the highest figures since August 1946. Orders for railway freight cars have shown a very encouraging pickup, with a total of 9385 cars in January and the N. Y. Central alone ordering 4500 in February. Construction continues very active. In January new housing starts totaled 80,000 against 50,000 a year ago and the daily average contract awards, according to the Dodge reports, were 57 pct larger. In the first 22 days of February the increase in awards was 27 pct. Lumber orders since Jan. 1 have run 22 pct above last year. All of these favorable factors bolster the opinion that the upturn in industrial output and employment which began last summer has not yet spent itself and that the setback caused by the strikes will be made up when people get back to work. Only in a few lines are there indications that primary production may be outrunning the consumption of finished goods, although inventory build-up would seem to be rather modest as the National Association of Purchasing Agents reported in February that 78 pct of its members were buying for 60 days or less. Industrial prices as a whole show no significant trend despite the continued alarm over both the immediate and the long-term possibility of inflation caused primarily by the government's increasing expenditure and its inability to balance the budget. A recent advance of 1.9 pct in primary market prices is viewed by some people as the surface symptom of renewed inflation, but even so it is more than two years since the alltime high was reached by the daily index of sensitive commodities in November 1947. Over two years have passed since prices received by farmers hit their peak and about a year and a half since all wholesale prices and the consumer price index touched their highest points in August 1948. The decline in the wholesale price index has been almost continuous, interrupted only twice by slight advances in the monthly figures from February to March 1949, and, later in the year, from August to September. Of course, this continued decline in the last half of 1949 largely reflects a downward movement in farm and food prices. Wholesale prices for commodities other than farm and food leveled out after June and now stand only slightly under the June level. Farm products are down by 22 pct from January and by 18.6 pct from August 1948. Food prices are down only slightly less. Consequently, the farm price support program is in serious trouble and has imposed a heavy financial burden on the Treasury. In those commodities other than farm products only building materials, chemicals and textiles have come down as much as the average, while housefurnishings and metals and their products have fallen hardly at all. Glancing away from the domestic front, the results of the British general election indicated a highly inconvenient situation, that public opinion there is so exactly deadlocked as to divest the victors of much ability to make forceful decisions or create significant policy. It is generally considered that another election in the near future would give substantially the same result. The British people are equally divided and the politicians are not likely to precipitate another appeal to the country until there is manifest reason to believe that external and internal circumstances have changed sufficiently to permit one party or the other to obtain a decisive verdict. Because of the lack of a clear mandate steel nationalization will likely lag in Britain. In the meantime there is considerable discussion going on as to whether the European steel industries as a whole are at a disadvantage in world competition with the American industry. An article in the "Statistical Bulletin" for January of the British Iron and Steel Federation takes issue on this point with the authors of the Geneva report, observing that they wrote before devaluation, and this particular conclusion "has been overtaken by events." The "Bulletin" also contends that the statement was in any case incorrect so far as Britain was concerned, and that it was based on scanty and insufficient evidence. To support the rebuttal a detailed and extensive comparison is made of the home prices of certain steel products in Britain and in other countries of the world. The accompanying table gives a selection of the prices published. It sets out the changed position since devaluation and since the recent increases in American steel prices. These are home market prices; no doubt in competitive export business some of the price levels could be brought closer together at need.

Jan 4, 1950

William B. Phillips, Birmingham, Ala.: The analysis of Pratt coal made by myself, and given by Mr. Ormsbee in his paper (p. 113), is likely to mislead the reader as to the real nature of this coal. It represents the very purest coal that I have been able to get, and does not represent the average composition of the lump-coal as prepared for market. I wish it were true that the coal had no more than 2.50 ash and 0.83 sulphur. The analysis of McCalley is nearer the real figures than any of the others. There is no use in giving an

Jan 1, 1896

By C. B. Alcock, R. A. Oriani

Some simple models of solutions are described; these include the regular solution, the subregular solution, and the quasichemical model. The assunzption underlying these models, the physical signzficance thereof, and the experimental manifestations are discussed. Examples are presented from the fields of liquid and solid metallic solutions, liquid slags, mattes, liquid and solid ionic solutions, and mixed carbides to show under what conditions and for which systems these solution models are fair descriptions. The deviations of real solutions from the models are of theoretical interest. Some such deviations, both for dilute and for concentrated solutions, arc pointed out and their Physical sigtzzficance discussed. DURING the past half century there has been a gradual accumulation of thermodynamic data for systems of interest to the metallurgist. There remain many gaps in the data, however, and the metallurgist must often face the problem of estimation of thermodynamic quantities where measured values do not exist. One might hope that the experimental progress would be matched by theoretical advances which would make such estimations possible with a high degree of confidence. However, theoretical progress has been disappointingly slow even for the simplest kinds of solutions, and since the multicomponent systems in which the metallurgist is interested are very complex, one cannot expect theory to be of much help to the metallurgist. In this situation, therefore, it seems worthwhile to examine some simple models of solutions from two points of view: firstly, to see if such crude models represent the thermodynamic facts in as many types of solutions as possible sufficiently well for the needs of the metallurgist, and secondly to see what the deviations from such models show to be important for consideration by theorists. BOND ENERGY MODELS OF SOLUTIONS The simple models that we will examine from these points of view may be termed statistical models, in that they are concerned with the thermodynamic consequences of some simple assumptions about the energy of an assembly of atoms, molecules, or ions, and do not inquire into the physical basis of the interaction. The underlying assumption of these models is that the energy of an assembly of molecules (by which we include also atoms or ions) is given by the sum over all interaction energies of molecules taken two at a time; we will discuss only those models in which the pairwise interactions are restricted to those between nearest neighbors. Thus, in a pure substance of bond energy EAA, the internal energy (with respect to some specific reference state) will be expressed as NAA EAA where NAA is the number of nearest-neighbor pairs. A solution of molecules A and B will be characterized by NAA EAA + NBB EBB + NAB EAB where the Eij represent the bond energies of the nearest-neighbor i-j pairs. If one assumes that the EAA and EBB are the same in the pure components as in the solution, and that the coordination numbers in the two pure substances and in the solution are the same, then the energy of the solution with respect to the pure components (i.e., the energy of solution) is a function of the following linear combination of the bond energies: EAB - 1/2(EAA +EBB) = w. The thermodynamically ideal solution is defined as one in which the activity of each component is equal to the mole fraction of that component at all concentrations and all temperatures. It follows that

Jan 1, 1962

"Butte originated as a placer mining camp. The first gold discovery was made in the year 1864, near what is now Main Street. Placer mining was vigorously prosecuted along Silver Bow Creek and in Missoula, Buffalo, Town and Parrot gulches for a period of five years, at the end of which time, in 1870, the camp was practically deserted. In the meantime, the quartz veins so prominently traceable over the hillsides were located, the first location being made by W. L. Farlin and called the Black Chief claim, and later restaked as the Travona. Reasoning from the presence of the gold placers, free-milling gold ores were eagerly looked for by the early prospectors. Claims covering the great Rainbow and other silver lodes were located in the sixties. The presence of valuable silver ores in these veins caused the staking out of many claims, believed to be valuable only for silver, but which later proved to be enormous copper producers.Treatment of these early discovered rich ores was first attempted in arrastres. Later, stamp mills were built. The Centennial dropping 10 stamps, was the first, and in 1875 Mr. Farlin built the Dexter 10-stamp mill, intro¬ducing chloridizing-roasting. More successful processes were soon introduced and several large mills built, among which were the Alice, Lexington, Silver Bow, Moulton and Bluebird, in all representing a total of 290 stamps. The silver mining industry reached its zenith in 1887 and declined rapidly in the early nineties, following the sudden drop in the price of silver in 1892.During this period of silver mining activity the business of copper mining was making rapid strides. Development of the veins, located as silver veins, had uncovered copper ore in many instances. There was great activity in ""claim staking'' in the years from 1871 to 1879, during which period most of the claims covering the present productive copper area were located."

Jan 1, 1913

By Jerome J. English, Gordon W. Powell

An experimental investigation and mathematical analysis of the thermal-dilation behavior of the titanium alloy Ti-7Al-3Cb have shown that the linear dimensional changes associated with the polymorphic transformation need not be isotropic. The absolute magnitude of the linear dimensional change, which may be either positiue or negative, associated with the cr-p transformation is dependent upon the relutzve volumes of different orientations of the transformation product. It is hypothesized that the dilation irregulati-ties that have been observed during the polymorphic transformation of pure, coarse-grained titanium and other titanium-base alloys can be explained in the same manner. When titanium is heated above about 165O°F, the hcp a structure transforms to bcc 0. Thermal-dilatioh measurements have shown that the transformation is accompanied by a decrease in length of 0.16 pct.' Such dilation behavior would be expected because the volume of the hcp unit cell is about 0.3 to 0.4 pct greater than that of the bcc unit cell. A recent investigation2 of the thermal-dilation behavior of an experimental a-p* titanium alloy, Ti- 7A1-3Cb, containing 0.06 wt pct 0 showed that its dilation behavior during the polymorphic transformation differed substantially from that reported for unalloyed titanium. The first time the alloy was cycled through the transformation, the dilation curve closely duplicated that of unalloyed titanium. However, upon repeated cycling through the transformation temperature range, both the magnitude and the sign of the dimensional change associated with the transformation were observed to vary with each cycle. This investigation was undertaken to obtain additional data on the dimensional changes associated with the polymorphic transformation in the Ti-7A1-3Cb alloy and to determine the cause of the dimensional irregularities. After testing, the specimens were examined metallo-graphically. In addition, Laue back-reflection patterns were obtained from selected sections taken perpendicular to the specimen axes to determine the a orientations present in these sections. White radiation from a tungsten target and a 0.1-mm-diam collimator were used to produce the diffraction patterns. RESULTS Dilation Curves. Three types of thermal-dilation curves were obtained when the a-8 titanium alloy was heated and cooled through the transformation temperature range. These three types of curves are illustrated in Fig. 1. The type I curve represents what is considered normal behavior, because the dilation change is what would be expected on the basis of the volumes of the unit cells of a and p. The Type I1 curve is the inverse of Type I. Normal behavior is characterized by an expansion on cooling through the transformation, whereas a contraction takes place in the Type 11 curve. With Type ni behavior, no clearly distinguishable length change occurs during the transformation. No other anomalies that might be indicative of other phase transformations were observed in the dilation curves at lower temperatures. Apparently, the cooling rate was low enough for equilibrium to be reached during the 0 to a transformation. Table I lists the types of dilation curves observed during the polymorphic transformation as a function of the direction of measurement and cycle number. The A1 value was determined by extrapolating the low-temperature (a + 5 pct p) and high-temperature (100 pct p) segments of the dilation curves to a common temperature and measuring the difference in the or-dinates at that temperature, see Fig. 1. The transformation occurs over a temperature range in this alloy, so the magnitude of A1 is not an absolute value but depends on the choice of temperature. A mean temperature, T,, within the transformation temperature range was selected for the measurement. T, on cooling occurred about 100°C lower than T, on heating. The first time each of the three dilation specimens was heated to above the temperature, that is, Cycle 2, normal Type I behavior was observed. In Cycle 3, two deviations from normal behavior occurred. First, during cooling of the longitudinal specimen, a substantially larger expansion, +0.21 pct, was measured as 0 transformed to a compared with +0.03 pct in Cycle 2. Second, the thickness specimen was observed to undergo a contraction instead of the anticipated expansion on cooling. Continued cycling of the three specimens from room temperature to 2500°F produced additional changes in the dilation behavior. These changes did not seem to be related to the fabrication direction of the alloy because the values of a1 for the longitudinal, transverse, and thickness specimens varied unpredictably in magnitude and sign. Furthermore, both the longitudinal and transverse specimens showed all three types of dilation curves at least once during the six cycles that they received. Fig. 2 is a sketch of the transverse specimen after

Jan 1, 1967

By G. H. Wilson

INTRODUCED in 1946 to serve a need in power- plant operation, closed-circuit TV has been used by well over 200 organizations in approximately 25 different industries. Known as industrial television, or simply ITV, it can be described as a private system wherein the television signal is restricted in distribution, usually by confinement within co-axial cable that directly connects the TV camera to one or several monitors, Figs. 1, 2. The picture is continuous and transmission is instantaneous, permit- ting an observer to see an operation that may be too distant, too inaccessible, or too dangerous to be viewed directly. Destructive testing or the machining of high explosives can now be conducted hundreds of feet away by personnel who still have close control through the eyes of the TV camera. It is also possible for one man to control operations formerly requiring the co-ordinated efforts of several workers. For example, at a large midwestern cement plant conveyance of limestone from primary crusher to raw mill and loading into five storage bins once necessitated the work of two men, one having little to do but prevent spilling of material by manually moving the tripper on the belt conveyor as occasion required. TV cameras mounted on the tripper now provide bin level indication to the conveyor operator at the crusher position so he is able to control the entire loading operation remotely, Fig. 3. By means of a switch, the picture from either camera is alternately available on a single viewer, or monitor, Fig. 4. Each camera is mounted on the tripper by means of a simple adjustable support and looks down into the bin, which is identified by the number of cross members on the vertical rod. Each associated power unit is located on a platform above the camera, Fig. 5. This centralized control by means of TV often has produced superior results, and in many instancés saving in operating costs has been sufficient to write off equipment costs within six months to a year.

Jan 7, 1954

By A. G. Suydam

Ancient as is the art of producing copper, so ancient is one of its eternal problems: refractories. Looking backward, in the light of present knowledge, clouded though it be, one cannot avoid a sense of profound respect for the patience, acumen and courage of those who have wrought so successfully despite difficulties, a more accurate understanding of which seems merely to accentuate. The problem of refractories arises from the necessity for constructing containers in which to bring natural ores into thermal solution in order to effect reduction and separation of the valuable metal content and free it of undesirable contamination while producing a waste slag. The very forces known to produce thermal solution of sufficient liquidity are necessarily destructive of exposed refractory linings in proportions varying inversely with thermal conductivity, directly with the porosity and ease of fluxing of the refractories used, and directly with the temperatures employed. Beyond this, mechanical forces are set up within the refractory lining incident to rapid heating or cooling, shrinkage at high temperatures, and unequal or excessive loading, that frequently pass the elastic limit, causing spalling or distortion. The effects of these forces are often accentuated by the necessity of providing at the same time as hot a bath and as cool a container as are consistent with fuel economy. Evolution in the Use of Refractories Clay Brick.—Fireclay and clay refractories had to yield wherever they were in contact with slags rich in basic oxides, first because of the combining power of those oxides with free silica and secondly because of the tendency of alumina to form either aluminates or alumina-silicates of varying complexity. Of no less importance, the incipient fusion point was low as compared with good clay brick of today, while the brick lacked strength at high temperatures. Expansion was slight, therefore it was difficult to make and maintain tight walls, roof, or bottom. However, the spalling tendency was low because of some of these properties and clay brick have retained their place in roasting furnaces, boiler furnace linings, and in the upper walls of some of the reverberatory types such as some refining, anode and wire-bar furnaces. They have served often and most efficiently for hot patching.

Jan 1, 1934

By O. D. Sherby, J. E. Dorn

For elevated temperature-constant load creep tests of a solid solution alloys, the creep strain is a function of a temperature-compensated time parameter 0 = je H/RT dt. The activation energy H is equal to o constant of about 36,000 cal per mol. The substructures resulting from a given creep stress condition are functions of the creep strain independent of temperature. Each new creep stress gives a new unique set of grain substructures; this is one of the factors responsible for the failure of the mechanical equation of state for creep. IN this report an attempt is made to correlate the creep properties of dilute a: solid solutions in aluminum with the subgrain structures that are developed during creep. The possibilities of such correlations have already been suggested by Wood et al. and others1-" who demonstrated that the subgrain structures are functions of the creep stress, creep strain, rate of creep, and temperature. Investigations by Sherby and Dorn' have shown that the creep strain, E, at constant load for dilute a solid solutions of aluminum is given by the functional relationship: e = f(8,u,) [1] where: 0 equals te-AH/RT = temperature-compensated time; t, time; AH, activation energy, - 35,800 cal per mol; R, gas constant; T, absolute temperature, above 400°K; and u,, initial creep stress. Consequently, it was anticipated that the subgrain structure that develops during a constant load creep test should also correlate with any two of the three significant variables C, 8, and Another possible correlation between the subgrain structure and the creep variables is obtained by differentiating Eq. 1 with respect to time, whence the creep rate, 2, becomes: = (2L) (2) =f (, u,) e-AHRT [2] or: e = F (c e H/RT, 0) [3] For the minimum creep rate, ;,, 8 is solely a function of U, as revealed by Eq. 1. Consequently, at the minimum creep rate Eq. 3 reduces to: = F (eAH/RT) [41 Correlations between U, and i, eAH/RT were found valid for solid solution alloys of aluminum where AH was a constant of about 35,800 cal per mol. The parameter ;, eH/RT is identical to the Zener-Hollo-mon parameter8," used by them in evaluating the tensile properties of copper and other metals. Eq. 4 suggests that the subgrain structure developed during secondary creep might be correlatable with either of the two variables 2, e H/RT or u,. Some of the solid solution aluminum alloys which were discussed in an earlier report' were also used in the present investigation. Sheets of these alloys were homogenized, cold rolled from 0.100 to 0.070 in. in thickness and then recrystallized to about the same grain size. Their chemical composition and grain size are recorded in Table I. Creep specimens were selected with their tensile axes in the rolling direction. The details for creep testing have been described10 and will not be repeated here. All creep tests were performed under constant load conditions. Experimental Results and Discussion Metallographic Structure of Creep Specimens: In order to obtain a preliminary concept of creep on the metallographic structure of high purity aluminum, the various ruptured specimens previously used to obtain the creep data for pure aluminum were polished and etched electrolytically in a dilute solution of fluoroboric acid. Oblique illumination was used to reveal the substructures which, for convenience, are shown in correlation with the vs. ;, eH/RT curve in Fig. 1. It is necessary to emphasize that the data for the curve refer to the various secondary stages of creep whereas the micrographs refer to the fractured creep specimens. Nevertheless a regular and systematic correlation is observed between E, eAH/RT (or the creep stress) and the micro-structure at fracture. For In (e, eAH/RT) = 42.3, which refers to creep at a high creep rate and a low creep temperature, the fractured aluminum specimen, as shown by the micrograph in the upper right-hand corner of Fig. 1, exhibited extensive deforma-

Jan 1, 1954

By Dennis J. McCarthy

TAX TREATMENT OF EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT EXPENSES Exploration Expenditures General Principles. Exploration expenditures are expenses incurred within the United States or the Outer Continental Shelf for the purpose of ascertaining the existence, location, extent or quality of any deposit of ore or other mineral. Section 617 of the Internal Revenue Code permits a taxpayer to elect to deduct these expenditures currently. In default of election, exploration expenditures must be capitalized and included in the basis of the mineral property for purposes of determining cost depletion. Entitlement to Deduction. In order to qualify for current deduction, exploration expenditures must be incurred prior to the commencement of the development stage, i.e., when mineral deposits are shown to exist in sufficient quantity and quality to reasonably justify commercial exploitation. Generally, expenditures for geological and geophysical investigations, reconnaissance, surveying, testpitting, trenching, drilling, driving of exploration tunnels and adits and similar types of work constitute exploration expenditures if incurred prior to the commencement of development. However, expenditures to further delineate the extent and location of an existing commercially marketable deposit are not exploration expenditures. Exploration expenditures may be incurred from within a producing mine to ascertain the existence of what appears to be a different ore deposit. Expenditures for property which is subject to an allowance for depreciation are not deductible under §617. However, depreciation properly allowable on assets used in exploration is an exploration expenditure. Election to Deduct Exploration Expenditures. The election to deduct exploration expenditures is made by deducting these expenditures in the return for the first taxable year for which such treatment is desired. The election applies to all properties of the taxpayer. Once the election is made all exploration expenditures, in the year of election and thereafter, must be deducted, unless the election is revoked with the prior consent of the Commissioner. The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) made substantial changes in the treatment of exploration expenditures. For exploration expenses incurred after 1982 and before 1984 by a corporation, the amount currently deductible is limited to 85% of the expenditure. The remaining 15% must be capitalized and recovered over a five-year period. Although exploration costs capitalized under this provision are not part of the basis of the property for cost depletion purposes, investment credit may be claimed with respect to these expenditures. Further changes have been added by the Tax Reform Act of 1984 with respect to expenditures made after 1984. The Act reduces the amount of otherwise currently deductible costs from 85% to 80%. Additionally, it limits the availability of the investment credit for capitalized mineral exploration costs to deposits located in the United States. TEFRA also allows individuals a special method of recovery under which exploration expenditures may, at the election of the taxpayer, be amortized ratably over a 10-year period beginning with the year in which the costs are paid or incurred. If taxpayer does not use this method, the excess of the exploration expenditures actually deducted over the amount that would have been deducted if 10 year amortization had been elected is an item of tax preference subject to the alternative minimum tax.

Jan 1, 1985

By T. B. Counselman

Probably the earliest concentration of iron ore in this country was carried on in the northeastern magnetite areas. Magnetic concentration was relatively simple and gave a concentrate that, after agglomeration, and in spite of being high in phosphorus because of the dry concentrating methods then in use, was satisfactory blast-furnace feed. Production from the northeastern magnetite area languished after the discovery and development of the Lake Superior ores, where there was seemingly an unlimited tonnage of high-grade ore, first the Michigan ores, and subsequently the still larger deposits of Minnesota. For years only the higher grade, direct shipping ores of the Lake Superior district were mined. Those of Michigan, and of the Vermilion Range in Minnesota, were hard ores and came principally from underground mines. The softer ores of the Mesabi came partly from underground mines, but mostly from the enormous deposits that could be worked by open-pit methods. The costs of ore from these open-pit deposits, even with the high initial cost of stripping, were so low that the underground mines of the Mesabi could hardly compete. The so-called Old Range ores, of Michigan and of the Vermilion. Range of Minnesota, were hard and lumpy, and opened UP the burden in the blast furnace, therefore making possible harder driving with greater output. Also, some of these ores were of such grade and physical characteristics that they were suitable for charge ore in the open hearth. These ores, therefore, commanded a price premium, and could compete with the softer, finer, but cheaper, Mesabi ores. The big tonnage reserves, however, are on the Mesabi. and it is these big open-pit deposits that constitute our stock pile of iron ore, from which we are drawing so heavily during this war period. On the western end of the Mesabi the ore was found to be high in silica, and not suitable as furnace feed. As early as 1902, attempts were made to concentrate this so-called wash ore and by 1910 the first washing plant was put into operation. The Process was very simple, consisting essentially of a sizing and washing operation, with scalping screens, logwashers, and tables, which later were replaced by classifiers. Ore particles finer than 100 mesh were deliberately wasted, because these fines were undesirable in the furnace. Fortunately, these tailings were impounded, and already are being reworked. Before long some of the low-grade ores began to require more elaborate treatment than the simple washing operation and, tables having been discarded because of their low capacity, in favor of classifiers, jigs were next introduced. These were able to discard coarser pieces of tailing than classifiers. jigs are in active use today, various improvements having been made in their design and application. Various other machines and methods of concentration have been tried from time to time, and have in turn been discarded for more improved processes. The latest and most important process that has been

Jan 1, 1947

By T. B. Counselman

Probably the earliest concentration of iron ore in this country was carried on in the northeastern magnetite areas. Magnetic concentration was relatively simple and gave a concentrate that, after agglomeration, and in spite of being high in phosphorus because of the dry concentrating methods then in use, was satisfactory blast-furnace feed. Production from the northeastern magnetite area languished after the discovery and development of the Lake Superior ores, where there was seemingly an unlimited tonnage of high-grade ore, first the Michigan ores, and subsequently the still larger deposits of Minnesota. For years only the higher grade, direct shipping ores of the Lake Superior district were mined. Those of Michigan, and of the Vermilion Range in Minnesota, were hard ores and came principally from underground mines. The softer ores of the Mesabi came partly from underground mines, but mostly from the enormous deposits that could be worked by open-pit methods. The costs of ore from these open-pit deposits, even with the high initial cost of stripping, were so low that the underground mines of the Mesabi could hardly compete. The so-called Old Range ores, of Michigan and of the Vermilion. Range of Minnesota, were hard and lumpy, and opened UP the burden in the blast furnace, therefore making possible harder driving with greater output. Also, some of these ores were of such grade and physical characteristics that they were suitable for charge ore in the open hearth. These ores, therefore, commanded a price premium, and could compete with the softer, finer, but cheaper, Mesabi ores. The big tonnage reserves, however, are on the Mesabi. and it is these big open-pit deposits that constitute our stock pile of iron ore, from which we are drawing so heavily during this war period. On the western end of the Mesabi the ore was found to be high in silica, and not suitable as furnace feed. As early as 1902, attempts were made to concentrate this so-called wash ore and by 1910 the first washing plant was put into operation. The Process was very simple, consisting essentially of a sizing and washing operation, with scalping screens, logwashers, and tables, which later were replaced by classifiers. Ore particles finer than 100 mesh were deliberately wasted, because these fines were undesirable in the furnace. Fortunately, these tailings were impounded, and already are being reworked. Before long some of the low-grade ores began to require more elaborate treatment than the simple washing operation and, tables having been discarded because of their low capacity, in favor of classifiers, jigs were next introduced. These were able to discard coarser pieces of tailing than classifiers. jigs are in active use today, various improvements having been made in their design and application. Various other machines and methods of concentration have been tried from time to time, and have in turn been discarded for more improved processes. The latest and most important process that has been

Jan 1, 1947

By K. D. Jacob

IN the decreasing order of the tonnages involved, the uses of phosphates can be grouped conveniently into three general classes, namely, fertilizer; chemicals for military, industrial, and technical purposes; and mineral feed for livestock. The quantity of phosphate used as fertilizer, principally in the form of superphosphate, has always exceeded by far that used for all other purposes, though in recent years a marked increase has occurred in its consumption for the other two general classes of uses. Prior to the present century large quantities of superphosphate, as well as a considerable portion of the production of phosphorus chemicals, score made from bone materials which were plentiful and cheap in some areas and which could be more easily processed than phosphate rock for the manufacture of chemicals. Today, however phosphate rock has almost completely displaced bone as a raw material for the manufacture of chemically processed phosphates in nearly all countries of the world.

Jan 1, 1944

By Robert T. Gdagher, Allison Butts

EDUCATIONAL trends as reflected in curricular changes are of interest and importance in engineering educa¬tion both as matters of record and as considerations for the future. The data on which the evidence of this report is based were obtained by sending questionnaires to all schools in the United States granting the undergraduate degree in mining engineering, metallurgy, or metallurgical engineering. The questionnaire had two parts, one inquiring as to the general nature of revisions made or planned, and the other asking for information on specific courses added to or dropped from the curriculum, or given more or less time than formerly. The frequency with which curricular changes are made, even in normal times, is notable. Although it was expected that the period since 1939-40 would show numerous revisions, it was somewhat surprising to find that of 62 mining or metallurgical curricula in existence in 1939-40 and reported in the present survey, 58 had been revised or are shortly to be revised, 52 having already been changed during this period. Moreover, approximately half of the mining schools that have already revised their curricula, and probably a similar proportion of the metallurgical schools, are about to make further important changes.

Jan 1, 1948

By R. F. Rolsten

VAN Arkel 1 prepared ductile tantalum by the thermal decompoiition of tantalum pentachloride on a resistively heated wire (2000° C) in an evacuated bulb maintained at 100°C. Burgers and Basart2'3 observed the formation of a mixture of tantalum carbide and free metal when a carbon deposition base was used. campbel14 suggested the thermal decomposition of the iodide if a lower decomposition tem- perature was desired. To date, the details for preparing high-purity iodide tantalum have not been disclosed. EXPERIMENTAL The tantalum to be purified was symmetrically placed around the clear quartz deposition surface centrally located within a 64 mm cylindrical Vycor bulb. The deposition vessel usually employed5 was modified6 by incorporating a reentrant fin,mer in place of the customary metal filament in the head

Jan 1, 1960

By J. Fred, Johnson

THIS TALK is a digest of some of the information contained in tables, one on practices and one on costs of shaft sinking, in Bulletin 357 of the U. S. Bureau of Mines written by E. D. Gardner, Supervising Engineer of the Bureau at Tucson, and myself. The table of practices contains information on 43 shafts and the table of costs contains information on 25 shafts. These various shafts were sunk between 1917 and 1930 so they may be termed modern practice with costs applicable in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In the compilation of this material the statistics on shafts which were concreted have been eliminated, as these figures were entirely out of line with corresponding figures for timbered shafts. It is my experience that where costs are divided between sinking and concreting the tendency is to load the costs onto the larger item of concreting. Thus a shifting of costs making an addition of 10 per cent in concreting costs may suffice to make a deduction of 40 per cent in sinking costs. Fine work is done (on the books) and everybody is happy. Most shafts are sunk with three shifts of men per day. Each shift consists of men who are miners, muckers, or timbermen, as chance may call for during their shift. Where pumping or high fixed costs do not necessitate three shifts it is cheaper to sink on two shifts. It is desirable for speed and economy in any case to work out a cycle of operations for each 24 hours. In this way men are hired for their ability as machinemen, muckers, or timbermen; they know exactly what to do and there is no passing the buck to the next shift.

Jan 1, 1933

By W. G. Wender

This report covers the area producing from limes and sands of Pennsylvanian age, roughly embracing the territory between the Red River on the north and the Llano Mountains on the south, and between Fort Worth on the east and Abilene on the west. It includes Archer, Cooke, Montague, Wichita, Wilbarger, Clay, Baylor and Foard counties in the North Central Texas or Red River Basin area, and Brown, Callahan Coleman, Comanche, Eastland, Erath, Palo Pinto, Stephens, Shackel-ford, Throckmorton, Young and Jack counties in the West Central Texas area. Furthermore, it includes a brief review of development in Jones, Runnels, Haskell and Fisher counties. North Central and West Central Texas during the year 1928 produced an approximate total of 50,948,7461 bbl. or oil. This represents a decrease of approximately 7,720,250 bbl. under 1927 total production. This decrease was due to a slump in production in Brown, Archer, Wichita, Stephens and Cooke counties. Brown County showed the greatest decrease. The 1928 prodction in this county was approximately 4,500,000 bbl. less than the 1927 production. Gross production during 1929 in the North and West Central Texas area can be expected to be lower than in the year 1928. Only one county showed a considerable increase in production. Wilbarger County production increased approximately 3,000,000 bbl. during 1928. Its daily average increased from 9000 bbl. in April to 36,000 bbl. in August. At the close of 1928 it was averaging close to 32,000 bbl. daily. Drilling activity in North and West Central Texas during 1928 showed but a slight increase in completions. The total number of completions during 1928 was 3902, of which 2094 (53 per cent.) were producers, as compared to 3805 completions and 2112 (56 per cent.) producers during 1927. Brown, Young, Wichita, Archer and Wilbarger counties were the leaders in development. The outstanding discoveries for the districts were the Consolidated pool, extensions in the Greyback pool of Wilbarger County, and the Stephens pool, Fisher County.

Jan 1, 1929

By Michel David

One of the most important questions that arises in ore estimation can be stated as follows: What is the error when one extends the grade of a sample to a certain volume? The theory of regionalized variables, with the concept of extension variance, provides a response to that crucial question for any kind of sample extended to any volume. For the usual "extensions" encountered in current mining practice, some simple results can be derived from that theory which was initiated by Dr. G. Matheron. These results have been applied to a stratiform lead-zinc deposit for which several estimations of grade, tonnage and related precision have been made for a series of grid sizes such as might be used in a progressive exploration program.

Jan 1, 1969