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By John G. Roscoe

Continental Materials Corp. operates two under- ground uranium mines in the Crooks Gap district of central Wyoming. Both mines are developed as slusher mining operations through vertical shafts with single level haulage to slusher pocket loading stations. In general, operations at both mines are similar except for depth and some minor details. The shafts are identical in cross-section, each with a 4 ½ x 5-ft hoisting compartment and a 4 ½ x 5-ft manway. Kimberley-type skips are loaded from measuring pockets through air-operated guillotine gates. The Seismic shaft is 245 ft deep and the Reserve shaft depth is 585 ft. The Seismic shaft was sunk in 1957 and the mine has been producing 200 tpd since 1958. The Reserve shaft was sunk in 1960 and the mine is still in the development stage. The hoists of both mines are equipped for semi-automatic operation; that is, they are mechanically controlled to perform a certain cycle of duty and then stop until another cycle is manually initiated. The Seismic hoist, however, was originally a conventional, manually controlled unit; the reserve hoist was installed as an automated system.

Jan 7, 1962

By Nicholas M. Short

Many a geologist or driller has wished he could somehow climb into a borehole to see for himself what fractures looked like. Or why recovery was poor. Or how the bit was actually lost. Now it is possible to do the next best thing to climbing into the hole. TV cameras are being used for a close-up look at borehole conditions. Ever since television was invented, geologists and others interested in subsurface conditions have wanted a TV camera that could be used in the narrow confines of a borehole. But development of such a camera was slow, mainly because of the need for compact size. Not until the late 1950's did the technology of electronic miniaturization develop to a point where a camera satisfactory for the purpose could be put together.

Jan 1, 1963

By Joseph S. Malesky

The discovery and development of explosives mark one of the most important findings in the history of civilization. Without explosives our vast economic enterprise concerning the mining of coal, copper, iron, aluminum, and various other ores could not function. Explosives are used in all kinds of construction works, in the razing of old buildings, blasting of trenches, driving of tunnels, and in many other instances common to our everyday life. For these reasons explosives are rightfully referred to as the forerunner of progress. An explosive may be defined as a substance (usually a mixture) that, when flame or shock is applied, yields readily to rapid combustion or oxidation, accompanied by the formation of such relatively large quantities of gases as to produce much violence and pressure which, in turn, react against their surroundings and cause what is termed an explosion. By their very nature the action of explosives is destructive and disruptive of adjacent materials. Decomposition of explosives can occur through deflagration, which is rapid burning or combustion, as in the case of black powder, or through detonation, which is an almost instantaneous disruption, as in the case of dynamites and blasting agents. HISTORY OF BLASTING WITH EXPLOSIVES At one time workmen obtained stone blocks for building by grooving the rock with crude picks, driving wooden wedges into niches in the rock, and pouring water on the wedges; the swelling of the wood forced out the blocks. As late as the 17th century, fires were placed against the face of rock to crack it, and water was sometimes dashed on the heated rock to shatter it by sudden cooling. The progress of our country is synonymous with advancement of the improved manufacture and extended use of explosives. Coal had been

Jan 1, 1981

By Martin Weinstein

A technique is described for preparing finegrained lead telluride by ultrasonic agitation of a solidifying melt. Material prepared by this technique is dense and chemically homogeneous. N-type PbTe, containing 0.03 mole pct PbIz, has been made and its thermoelecCric Properties have been measured as a function of temperature. For comparison, the properties of similarly doped PbTe made by cold pressing and sintering, and by extrusion, have also been measured. The ultrasonically prepared material compares favorably with the others in its thermoelectric-efficiency factor. Comparison of compressive-flow curves for the three kinds of PbTe show that the ulhasonically prepared material has much superior ductility. The cleavage strength of the ultrasonic material is related to the grain size, D, by the Petch relation:Extrapolation to infinite grain diameter yields a fracture strength of 5000 psi for single-crystal PbTe. WHEN metals and semiconductors solidify in a mold they normally assume one of three cast structures illustrated in Fig. 1.' Solidification in a casting starts at the mold walls where a large number of fine crystals of random orientation can be nucleated to form the chill zone. Because of the anisot-ropy of the growth rate, those crystals whose direction of maximum linear growth is parallel to that of the heat flow grow faster and crowd out the crystals of less favorable orientation. A second zone, having a preferred orientation, called the columnar zone, thus forms adjacent to the chill zone. The speed of growth of the columnar grains will depend, in the case of limited undercooling of the melt, on the rate at which heat can be abstracted. The columnar zone can extend to the center of the casting, Fig. l(a), but it is frequently followed, in solid-solution alloys, by another zone of equiaxed randomly oriented grains in the central portion of the casting, Fig. l(b). The equiaxed structure in Fig. l(c) represents the completely grain-refined case where the equiaxed grain size is small. The third type of structure is the most desirable because it imparts a somewhat higher strength for all except high-temperature applications, it reduces segregation of the doping constituent, and it reduces the possibility of hot tearing (the separation of grains due to the melting of a low-melting point constituent in the grain boundaries). In order to obtain fine-grained castings, the nu-cleation frequency must be increased and grain growth must be restricted. Various techniques have been employed for obtaining this end, namely: rapid cooling, vibration, and inoculation of the melt. The success of these techniques depends upon the characteristics of the metal species and on factors controlled by heat transfer through the crucible walls. Recent studies2" have shown that the application of ultrasonic energy to the solidifying ingot is an extremely powerful tool in the improvement of the crystalline structure of metallic castings. Both the mechanical properties and homogeneity of the ingots are improved. Ultrasonic oscillations may affect the crystallization process by 1) permitting subcritical nuclei to agglomerate and thus form nuclei of sufficient size to cause crystallization, 2) changing the state of surface adsorption of various catalysts found in the liquid melt, 3) breaking pieces of solid from the solidified surface near the supercooled region thereby increasing the number of possible nuclei, 4) causing temperature fluctuations to occur in certain parts of the melt thereby increasing the supercooling at specific points in the liquid, and 5) decreasing the critical nucleus size by increasing the pressure at specific points in the melt.' Various investigators have concluded that the effectiveness of the ultrasonic oscillations results from cavitation which disrupts the growing solid-liquid interface The present paper describes the application of ultrasonic oscillations to the crystallization of the semiconductor N-type PbTe. The purpose of this study is to prepare crystalline

Jan 1, 1964

By S. W. Hazen

The use of operations research and computer techniques continued to expand during 1967. A number of mining companies either obtained computers or were experimenting with their use through service bureaus. This trend was also evident in the Canadian mining industry. Although the annual Symposium and Short Course on Computers and Operations Research in Mineral Industries was not held in 1967, technical periodicals like MINING ENGINEERING, Mining Congress Journal and Engineering and Mining Journal stepped up their coverage on the subject. The annual AIME meeting had eight papers in two sessions and one session on Operations Research was held at the SME Fall Meeting in Las Vegas.

Jan 2, 1968

By Henry M. Howe

This paper is a discussion of the extremely valuable one of Mathewson and Phillips, The Recrystallization of Cold-Worked Alpha Brass on Annealing,1 which not only gives us a wealth of important data reached with great intelligence, but also shows both uncommon powers of imagination and a perfectly fair spirit. Let me try to analyze some of their results, and to enunciate some of the laws to which these results point. For brevity I refer to them as "The Authors." The page numbers in parentheses refer to their paper. 1. The Visible Aspects of Recrystallization.—Plastic deformation in a single direction, as in cold-rolling, draws the grains out in that direction, that is, inequiaxes them, without destroying their apparent individuality. Each grain seems to endure the drawing out without changing either its volume or its orientation materially, for the etching tint of each grain seems to be as uniform after as before the drawing out, save for the "etch bands,"2 shown in Figs. A to D of the Authors' Plate I. As the drawn-out metal is heated progressively, on reaching a certain "disintegration temperature" these old grains seem to break up, probably into submicroscopic fragments, and this apparent disintegration is followed by a coalescence of these fragments, so that their number decreases and their size increases, till they may become very much coarser than before the drawing out. Ruder3 coarsened the grains of silicon steel in this way till single grains reached an area of 50 cm. (7.75 sq. in.). The deformation itself probably breaks each grain up into many very small fragments, but the fact that each grain continues to have a uniform etching tint different from that of its neighbors indicates that these fragments retain the initial common orientation of the grain. The apparent disintegration which we observe, then, is rather an abandonment of community of orientation for individuality of orientation, by the fragments formed earlier during the deformation. Hence we

Jan 1, 1917

The Diamond mechanical soot blower system, manufactured by the Power Specialty Co., Detroit, Mich., consists of a permanent installation of units arranged in groups to fit the design of the various boilers to which they are attached. The units are so arranged as to effect the cleaning of the fire surfaces of the boiler, particularly the tubes, by means of steam jets. When this steam is released among the tubes at a velocity of approximately 2700 ft. per sec. (assuming a pressure of 150 lb.), a perfect whirlwind of currents is created, reaching all the nooks and crannies of the boiler, and thoroughly removing the particles of soot and fine-ash accumulation. This operation requires but a moment's time-from 20 to 50 sec. per unit¬and is performed from two to four times a day, while the boiler is under full load, using a greatly decreased amount of steam and labor as compared with the hand hose or any other system of blowing. Moreover, this cleaning is effected without admitting air, with its cooling effects, to the boiler setting. The Diamond model "G" blower consists of five principal elements as follows: 1. A head through which the steam passes from the main supply line when the valve is opened. The head is the foundation element to which the other elements are attached. 2. A wall box which is bricked into the setting. The box supports the unit, and is so constructed that the blower can be turned freely without admitting air to the inside of the setting. 3. A blower element running cross-wise of the bank of tubes, and consisting of a small header with nozzles so placed as to discharge steam between the boiler tubes. 4. A sheave or hand wheel by means of which the blower element is rotated. 5. Bearings attached to the boiler tubes which support the blower element and permit it to revolve freely. The nozzles from which the steam issues are designed on the principle of the Venturi tube, and vary in design for different pressures. The expanding walls of the Venturi nozzle increase the velocity of the steam over 200 per cent., as compared with a nozzle having a straight orifice. Thus, the velocity of the steam issuing from a straight nozzle at 150 lb. pressure is 912 ft. per sec., whereas, at this pressure the velocity of the steam issuing from a Diamond Venturi nozzle is 2795 ft. per second.

Jan 5, 1918

By Milo W. Krejci

The plant and quarries of the Inland Portland Cement Co. are located at Metaline Palls, Wash., about 128 miles north of Spokane, on the Pend Oreille river, and within 10 miles of the Canadian border. The plant is one of a chain of cement plants controlled by the Lehigh Portland Cement Co., of Allentown, Pa. Work on this plant was commenced in June, 1910, and was completed in April, 1911, but on account of some delays in the construction of the power plant, the works were not put into operation until August, 1911. Since then it has been in continuous operation and has furnished the Inland Empire with a high grade of cement. Fig. 1 is a view and Fig. 2 is a plan of the works. Water Power Development.—The source of the water supply for the hydro-electric plant of the Inland Portland Cement Co. is Sullivan lake, a body of water approximately 5.5 miles long and' 0.5 mile wide, situated in the Kaniksu Forest Reserve. A wooden crib dam was installed so as to raise the elevation of the lake 25 ft., and the additional storage capacity was taken up by the diversion of Sullivan creek into the lake by means of a wooden flume, 0.25 mile long, 6 by 8 ft. in cross-section, and a ditch 1,200 ft. long. The water from the lake follows the natural water course to an intermediate storage reservoir, which was created by the construction of an earthen dam. This pond was used in connection with the saw mill which was installed at this point. Besides the earth dam, there was also built a crib, at the point shown in the sketch map, Fig. 3. This crib dam is 35 ft. high. From this point the excess water follows the natural course of Sullivan creek to the Pend Oreille river. The water is taken from this intermediage storage by means of a 6 by 8 ft. wooden flume approximately 13,000 ft. long. This flume is built up on the side hill, piling being driven most of the way on

Jan 1, 1914

By W.G. Woolnough

There has been no noteworthy increase in production during 1935; but, on the other hand, there have been ample manifestations of a considerable increase in interest and activity in connection with petroleum prospecting. The Lakes Entrance field, in the State of Victoria, on the coast some 120 miles east of Melbourne, remains the only actual producer; and this production, consisting of lubricating stock devoid of light fractions, is very small in amount. Arrangements have been completed under which a series of "scout bores" for structure testing in the region of Lakes Entrance will be sunk by the Government of the State of Victoria, assisted by a subsidy from the Federal Government. Prospecting In the State of New South Wales, brilliant geological research in very difficult country, carried out by geologists of Oil Search Ltd., has revealed several previously unsuspected domal structures in the Sydney-Newcastle coal basin. These have been mapped in detail, and a test well is being sunk at Kulnura, 10 miles west of Wyong and 40 miles north of Sydney. At the date of writing this well has reached a depth of 1250 ft., 10-in. casing having been set at 1248 feet. Superficial formations consist of the Hawkesbury sandstone and Narrabeen beds of the Hawkes-bury system (fresh-water Triassic). It is anticipated that the upper coal measures of the Kamilaroi (Permo-Carboniferous) will be entered almost immediately. The objectives of the drilling are the upper and lower marine beds of the Kamilaroi system, which are regarded as promising as potential source—and reservoir—beds for oil. At Mulgoa, 30 miles west of Sydney, a bore is being sunk by the same company, Oil Search Ltd., to test for natural gas on a well defined structure located by the company's geologists. Noteworthy flows of gas have been encountered, but nothing approaching a commercial supply has been struck. It is considered probable that the gas has been derived

Jan 1, 1936

By W. G. Woolnough

There has been no noteworthy increase in production during 1935; but, on the other hand, there have been ample manifestations of a considerable increase in interest and activity in connection with petroleum prospecting. The Lakes Entrance field, in the State of Victoria, on the coast some 120 miles east of Melbourne, remains the only actual producer; and this production, consisting of lubricating stock devoid of light fractions, is very small in amount. Arrangements have been completed under which a series of "scout bores" for structure testing in the region of Lakes Entrance will be sunk by the Government of the State of Victoria, assisted by a subsidy from the Federal Government. Prospecting In the State of New South Wales, brilliant geological research in very difficult country, carried out by geologists of Oil Search Ltd., has revealed several previously unsuspected domal structures in the Sydney-Newcastle coal basin. These have been mapped in detail, and a test well is being sunk at Kulnura, 10 miles west of Wyong and 40 miles north of Sydney. At the date of writing this well has reached a depth of 1250 ft., 10-in. casing having been set at 1248 feet. Superficial formations consist of the Hawkesbury sandstone and Narrabeen beds of the Hawkes-bury system (fresh-water Triassic). It is anticipated that the upper coal measures of the Kamilaroi (Permo-Carboniferous) will be entered almost immediately. The objectives of the drilling are the upper and lower marine beds of the Kamilaroi system, which are regarded as promising as potential source—and reservoir—beds for oil. At Mulgoa, 30 miles west of Sydney, a bore is being sunk by the same company, Oil Search Ltd., to test for natural gas on a well defined structure located by the company's geologists. Noteworthy flows of gas have been encountered, but nothing approaching a commercial supply has been struck. It is considered probable that the gas has been derived

Jan 1, 1936

By R. W. Fountain, John Chipman

The solubility of nitrogen in Fe-B alloys (0.001 to 0.91 pet B) is determined by the Sieverts' technique for temperatures of 950° to 1150°C. The activity coefficient of nitrogen is decreased by boron. The three-phase equilibrium between ? iron, BN, and gas is established and also the four-phase equilibrium between iron, BN, Fe2B, and gas. The above equilibria are calculated for a iron. The relation of these data to hardenability and strain aging of boron-treated steels is discussed. BORON additions are known to enhanbe the hardenability of heat-treatable steels and to assist in the control of strain aging in sheet steel for deep drawing. The increase in hardenability is explained by the theory that adsorption of boron on austenite grain boundaries reduces their free energy and thus retards ferrite and upper bainite nucleation.l,2 Digges and Reinhart3 have shown that the full effectiveness of boron in commercial steels is achieved only when strong nitride formers such as titanium and zirconium are also present. The influence of nitrogen on eliminating the boron contribution to hardenability was also demonstrated by Shyne and Morgan.4 These workers prepared Ni-Mo steels containing either nitrogen or boron or nitrogen plus boron. The nitrogen-plus-boron steels showed the lowest hardenability which was attributed to the presence of stable nucleating particles, presumably nitride. Morgan and Shyne5-7 have shown that boron in the amount of 0.007 pet will completely eliminate strain aging due to nitrogen in low-carbon, open-hearth steels. In addition, by proper control of the boron additions, a rimming steel can be produced. Since the effectiveness of boron on hardenability and eliminating strain aging is influenced by the amount and distribution of the nitrogen in the steel, the present study was. undertaken to determine the influence of boron on the solubility of nitrogen in iron. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The solubility of nitrogen in Fe-B alloys was measured by the method of Sieverts, which consists of determining the amount of gas dissolved by the metal in a constant volume system. The apparatus employed in this investigation and the experimental details have beendescribed previously.B AMcLeodgage was added to the apparatus to allow measurements at very low pressures. The alloys were melted at reduced pressure in a basic-lined induction furnace using electrolytic iron and ferroboron. Ferroboron was added after the primary deoxidation of the iron with carbon. Since it was difficult to attain a constant low level of oxygen by this procedure, silicon was added after the carbon deoxidation and prior to the ferr obor on addition. The alloys were castas 2-in. sq ingots, heated in argon at 1050loC, and forged to 1/4-in. plate. After forging, 1116 in. was machined from each side of the plate to remove any possible contamination, and it was then cold-rolled to 0.010-in. sheet. The sheet was cut into approximately 1/4-in. squares and pickled in an inhibited H2SO4 solution to ensure a clean surface. In the case of the boron alloys, a hydrogen treatment could not be used for surface cleaning because boron losses resulted. The composition of the alloys is given in Table I. For a solubility determination, a 75-g sample was inserted in a quartz tube and sealed in place in the apparatus. The entire system was evacuated at room temperature and leak tested for 24 hr. If no leaks were observed, the system was heated to the temperature of measurement and again leak tested for 24 hr. If no leaks were detected, the hot volume and solubility determinations were begun. The hot volume was determined at a constant temperature for each run by admitting successive amounts of argon and recording pressure vs volume, which, in all cases, resulted in a straightline relationship. The argon was then removed and the procedure repeated with nitrogen. Successive additions were made until the desired nitrogen content of the metal and equilibrium pressure of the system were obtained. The

Jan 1, 1962

By M. T. Worley

This paper reports investigative work conducted to develop a method of estimating the groundwater influx from a homogeneous permeable formation into a vertical mine shaft during sinking. A method of analysis was developed using data obtained from pumping tests and a modification of the Theis non-equilibrium interpretation technique. Excess influx of groundwater into mine shafts has long been one of the more important problems encountered in the development of a mining property. Much work has been done on methods of preventing such influx and on pumping schemes to control inflow if preventive measures fail. The fundamental aspects of the problem, on the other hand, seem to have been neglected. The purpose of this paper is to review the fundamentals of groundwater flow and to propose a rapid method of analyzing hydrologic data in order to estimate influx from a homogeneous permeable formation into a mine shaft. Such an estimate of the quantity of water to be encountered is of value in planning grouting, pumping and other programs designed to control that influx. It is emphasized that the proposed method of analysis should be regarded only as a tool to be used in evaluating the problem before investing the capital necessary to begin development of a property. FUNDAMENTALS OF GROUNDWATER FLOW In order to effectively approach the problem of estimating influx into a mine shaft, a knowledge of the fundamentals of fluid flow through a porous medium is necessary. Darcy, in 1856, developed an empirical relationship to explain the flow of water through sand filters. This relationship V = k (dh/dl), is the basis for all other flow formulae. It has been shown that Darcy's relation is a solution of the Laplace equation and thus is analagous to other natural phenomena such as heat flow. Theis, using the analogy of heat flow by conduction, developed an expression for determining the transient or time-dependent groundwater flow through a homogeneous, isotropic medium. The resulting equation Was also derived by Jacob using hydrologic considerations alone.' The individual terms in the equation are described in Table I. It is important to understand the assumptions upon which this equation is based. 1) The medium through which the fluid flows is infinite in areal extent, homogeneous and isotropic. 2) The well into which the fluid discharges completely penetrates the medium. 3) The characteristics of the medium remain constant at all times. 4) The initial pressure surface is horizontal. 5) The confining media are impervious and horizontal. 6) Fluid is removed from storage instantaneously by a decline in pressure. 7) The diameter of the discharge well is infinitesimal with respect to the drainage radius of the medium.

Jan 1, 1962

The following list of US companies, mines, and mills engaged in uranium production was compiled by the Health and Safety Analysis Center, Mine Safety and Health Administration, in Denver, Colo. The list includes those companies reporting to the Center in 1978. Thanks to D. K. Walker, Chief of the Health and Safety Analysis Center, for providing the information to MINING ENGINEERING.

Jan 10, 1978

By Roy W. Moore

The Tom Reed Extension and Big Jim mines of United Eastern Mining Co. are situated in the Oatman district, Mohave County, Ariz., about 28 miles southwest of Kingman, the nearest railway point. Articles descriptive of the mine surface plant, mill construction, and plant operations have been written by Otto Wartenweiler,' the designing engineer; Wheeler 0. North12 when he was assistant general manager for the company, and Earle M. Bagley, mill superintendent.3 The last article covers average costs for the full time the mill was operated. The geology of the mines is described by F. L. Ransome 4 of the United States Geological Survey. Production was started in January, 1917, and the known orebodies were exhausted in May, 1925, showing a life of seven years and five months. On account of the comparatively short life and the fact that stoping operations were confined to two orebodies, little experimenting was done with mining methods. The two orebodies were in what is generally called the Tom Reed-United Eastern vein, which occupies a fault fissure having a normal displacement of several hundred feet. Seven or eight very productive ore shoots were mined along this vein in a distance of 1 1/2 miles, the two worked by the United Eastern being 1 mile apart. The maximum dimensions of the Tom Reed Extension ore shoot were: height, 750 ft.; length, 950 ft.; thickness, 48 ft. The vein structure varied from a solid quartz-calcite filling to a series of parallel stringers separated by andesite. From this body, 511,976 tons of ore were mined. (Fig. 1.) The maximum dimensions of the Big Jim orebody were: height, 450 ft.; length, 850 ft., thickness, 35 ft. Its structure was similar to that of the Tom Reed Extension but larger sections of the vein were made up

Jan 1, 1928

By N. N. Breyer, W. R. Warke, S. Dinda

A model for the low-temperature peak, LTP, in fcc metals is presented. In high stacking fault energy metals, e.g., aluminum and nickel, it is proposed that a reversible dislocation glide and climb process might give rise to the observed high relaxation strengths and activation energies equivalent to volume self-diffusion values. In low stacking fault energy metals such as copper, gold, and silver, dislocation climb is energetically unfavorable at T < 0.5 Tm and the relaxation process is therefore mainly one of reversible glide. This model is used to explain the effect of a change in grain size and impurities on the LTP. THE low-temperature grain boundary damping peak, LTP, in spectroscopically pure aluminum,&apos; copper,17&apos; gold,2 nickel,3 and silver4 has recently been the subject of a detailed investigation by our laboratory. The main results are summarized in Table I. An empirical relationship was found between the peak relaxation strength, AE, and the width of the dissociated dislocation, do,* given by: do = µa2/24p? (Ref. 5) [I] where p is the shear modulus, y is the stacking fault energy,6-8 and a is the lattice parameter, Table 11. 4E is plotted against do in Fig. 1. Two regions are apparent: region (a)! which contains all but one of the metals, where AE decreases linearly with increasing do, i.e,, AE 1/do; and region (b), where ?E is approximately independent of do. A similar trend is observed when the ratio Qp/QL is plotted as a function of do, Fig. 2. (Qp and Ql are the activation energies for the peak and for lattice diffusion, respectively). In the past, when Qp and QL were found to be comparable, the relaxation peak was explained in terms of grain boundary sliding.10 The equivalence of Q, and Qb. the activation energy for grain boundary diffusion, prompted the suggestion that it was a consequence of reversible grain boundary migration on an atomic scale." A new model for the LTP, which is based on the experimental relationships in Figs. 1 and 2, is presented. In region (a) it is suggested that stress relaxation occurs through the reversible glide and climb of grain boundary dislocations; in region (b) only reversible glide can take place. The resultant effect on the grain boundary might be sliding or "a bowing out", but, since the total distance moved will be 50A, the atomic movements are considered of primary im- portance. It must be emphasized that this is only a qualitative model, but at the moment it appears the most likely way to explain the widely varying, but re-

Jan 1, 1969

By R. P. McLaughlin

IN most branches of the mining industry it is a well-recognized fact that care must be taken to protect the mineral deposit from undue physical injury. It is comparatively easy to grasp this idea when the mineral is a solid and the lives of workmen depend directly upon the care with which it is removed from its natural position, but when the product is a liquid. drawn up from pools several thousand feet beneath the surface of the ground through openings only a few inches in diameter, it requires some imagination to picture underground conditions and the changes which must often occur. The development of the petroleum deposits of California has been attended by numerous accidents, the results of which are readily noticed at the top of the wells and in the profit and loss accounts of the operators. Determination of the cause of these accidents has been the subject of considerable study, which naturally has fallen upon men familiar with technical methods. The greatest damage to the oil deposits of California has resulted from water finding its way into the oil-bearing sands, and it is the purpose of this paper to set forth briefly this phase of the oil industry. Much of the material here presented has previously appeared inn publications issued by the California State Mining Bureau, which, under the direction of State. Mineralogist Fletcher McN. Hamilton, has investigated the subject and taken steps toward improvement of conditions. The writer, having been in charge of this branch of the Bureau work, has gained considerable knowledge of existing conditions.

Jan 12, 1915

By Henry Tobelmann

THE location, mode of occurrence of ore, and preliminary tests leading to the development of the present leaching process and the building of the present plant on the property of the New Cornelia Copper Co. at Ajo, have been described in previous papers presented to the Institute and in the, discussions thereof.1 It is sufficient to say that these tests began early in July, 1912, and were continued to the close of January, 1916; that small tests at Douglas were followed by the construction of a 1-ton plant at the mine; and this was followed by the operation of a 40-ton plant for 14 mo. In all about 15,000 T. of ore were treated experiment-.

Jan 2, 1919

By J. A. Cordier

USINOR has conducted four blast furnace tests with formcoke made from marginal coals in the pilot plant of HBNPC ("H. B. N." process) in four different blast furnaces of various sizes and with medium and high grade burdens. The tests in which up to 30% of the blast furnace fuel burden was replaced by HBN formcoke yielded good results on furnaces ranging in hearth diameters from 5.6 to 9.5 m. The tests demonstrated that: - the slight increase of pressure drop in the stack did not prevent smooth operation at record production rates with the same blowers - the total coke rate was not significantly affected, but there was a slight increase of the calorific value of the top gas - the hot properties of the formcoke are satisfactory as seen from the samples withdrawn at the tuyeres and tapholes. At the end of the two months test on BE nº 2 of Dunkerque, the hearth was as permeable and clean as with good standard coke. Our conclusion is that HBNPC formcoke made from lean coals is an adequate substitute for conventional coke in the range of 20 to 40% replacement, which is of interest to USINOR.

Jan 1, 1977

By William P. Mason

FoR reasons unnecessary to enter into here, I was called upon to contradict the statement that " closed metallic vessels, partly filled with water and heated, do not become shattered by violent explosion, but simply rupture by over-pressure;" and the following experimental results were obtained in support of my position : A piece of drawn brass tubing (telescope-tubing) 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 15 inches long was closed at both ends by screwing on heavy caps of bronze. Before closing the second end the vessel was half filled with river water, the cap was then screwed on, and the closed vessel was supported upon two iron anvils, and heated in the interval between the supports by a large Bunsen lamp. The resulting explosion (which was doe to over-pressure only and not to any more occult cause) was exceedingly violent. No small damage was done to the room in which the experiment was undertaken; and the noise was like that of a cannon. Those of the pieces which could be recovered are shown in Fig. 1. Upon examining the wreck, it was noticed that one of the heavy bronze end-caps had preserved its circular section and still contained that portion of the barrel of the tube which had been screwed into it, while the other end-cap contained no portion of the tube, and was moreover sprung into a shape more or less elliptical, as if from excessive lateral strain. It was also observed that the large pieces of the shattered boiler predominated towards the end which had been closed by the un-sprung end-cap. The reasonable explanation, in view of the facts, was, that over-pressure had caused the boiler to yield through the screw-threads at A B, Fig. 2, and the righthand end-cap had blown off, thus leaving the boiler half filled with water, greatly super-heated for the new (atmospheric) pressure to which it was suddenly reduced; that this water had consequently sprung instantly into steam with dynamite effect, shattering the tube and springing the remaining end-cap. The large pieces would be expected at the open end of the boiler, as at that point the "tamping "would have been that of the atmosphere only. This explanation assumes a rupture to have been caused by gradually increased pres-

Jan 1, 1893