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IN the western mines, the boss, engineer, geologist, or nipper in making rounds have a password which usually guarantees safe entrance to a working place from below the working miner. Most men won't climb a raise or enter a stope from below where a miner is working until they have shouted "nothin' down" and heard those words shouted back by the miners above. "Nothin' down" is a safety pledge as necessary and as binding as the truce flag to the soldier. It implies mutual confidence that work will be suspended until the person below has come abreast of the workers; and also confidence that the miner who replies "nothin' down" is reasonably sure the place is safe to enter. Like truce flags which are not infallible, so is this password subject to human errors or unexpected falls of rock, tools, or timber. Everyone knows these unavoidable hazards, but what is important to the exposed man is that in that precise moment of time when he has heard the reassurance of "nothin' down," he knows that safety is uppermost in the minds of the men above him. With such assurance we would go anywhere and so would most mining men. If that period of safety consciousness, procured by the utterance of two words, could be multiplied to equal the hours in the working day, there would not be any accidents but those by "the act of God." It is the aim of every safety program to make safety as natural as breathing. That is the reason for the posters, the conferences, instruction periods, safety engineers, and the inspections. But none of these are as effective as one accident, which keeps men on their toes for weeks to come. This is not the price we want to pay for safety consciousness. This Annual Review number of Mining Engineering is full of talk about production. Production for defense, production for profit. In this tremendous surge of industrial might . to make this nation and our very families safe S from the predatory forces abroad in the world today; let us not lose sight of the fact that the . safety of our manpower is more precious than any commodity. Production without safety is detrimental to the national interest, to that of the company, and to the individual. If the words "nothin' down" can give us the best human guarantee of safety, for however brief a time, let us adopt them at least in principle as our slogan in 1952. Production for preservation in '52 - but NOTHIN' DOWN!

Jan 1, 1952

By James Humes

The active mines in the Park City district at the present time are the Silver King Coalition, Daly-Judge, Daly West, and Silver King Consolidated. Several other companies, such as the Daly, American Flag, Ontario, etc., are doing considerable development work. In the Silver King Coalition mines the ore is a replacement of a dark siliceous limestone bed, varying in .thickness from 18 in. to several feet. In places the ore has reached a thickness of 25 ft. This limestone bed lies within 100 ft. of the underlying Weber quartzite. There are other lime beds, similar in appearance to this one, in the Park City formation, which is approximately 700 ft. thick; but not one of them has been found to contain any traces of ore. Directly under and in contact with the ore-bearing bed is another, composed of gray lime well studded with dark concretionary nodules; and this one is an unfailing indication of the proximity of the ore-bearing bed. These ore deposits make out from or have connection with some one of the ore-bearing fissures, which were undoubtedly the channels for the circulation of mineral-bearing solutions. It is therefore proper to run prospecting drifts in the fissures, although they seldom contain much ore. As a general rule, drifting in the fissures is not costly. Mining and mucking cost from $2.50 to $4 per foot, and very little timber is required. There are instances, as in the Daly fissure in the Daly-Judge mine, where the expense of keeping drifts open in the fissure is so great that it has proved economical to make the drifts in the foot-wall rock and run crosscuts into the fissure at short intervals. In the Park City mines it is not easy to determine beforehand the best method fir extracting the ore from a newly discovered ore shoot in the bedded deposits. While we may get one dimension from the drift run in the fissure, that will not give us a correct idea as to the other dimensions of the orebody. The fissures here referred to have a N. 35" E.

Jan 1, 1915

By W. David Menzie

An inventory of the mineral resources of a region is a most desirable basis for planning their systematic development. In the absence of appropriate samples upon which to base a reliable estimate of this inventory, investigators have resorted to a number of indirect approaches; the unit regional value concept forms the basis for one such approach. The produced resources of a region are a function of the inventory multiplied by the degree of intensity (some fraction between zero and one) of development of the resources. A convenient means of expressing this amount is to accumulate the weight and value of resource and to prorate the totals over the area represented by the unit sampled; i.e., weight and value per unit area or tonnes/km.2 and U.S. 1967 $/km.2. When this approach is used for the U.S.A., South Africa and Rhodesia the average value of (log.) U.S. 67$/km.2 for the states of the U.S.A. and South Africa are similar ($55,176 U.S.$67/km.2 and $52,538/km.2 respectively); whereas, Rhodesia is relatively underdeveloped (10,301 U.S.67$/km.2). On the other hand if the individual commodities are used as a basis for comparison, the U.S.A. shows the greatest diversity (67 commodities out of a possible total of 75) with South Africa next (50 commodities) and Rhodesia last with only 26 commodities. Since it is known that area and value are not simply related perhaps diversity is directly related to area. Again the kinds of commodities which have contributed the greatest value to the totals differs, with fuels (petroleum, coal and natural gas) predominating in the U.S.A. totals; whereas, South Africa and Rhodesia obtain their greatest contributions from gold, diamonds (S. Africa) coal and asbestos. In each case the greatest value of resources is produced from sedimentary rocks. As a somewhat different kind of example, consider a single resource (petroleum, the most valuable in the U.S.A.) over a large area (number of sampling units) the U.S.A. by state. Furthermore, assume that the model frequency distribution of the amount of petroleum (tonnes/km.2) is log normal. Then the present production fails to match the model first because 17 states (34% out of 50) have not produced petroleum. Of the remaining 33 states, Louisiana has produced the most (15,177 tonnes/km.2) and the frequency histogram is still skew. A spatial analysis of the distribution of the amount of petroleum by state shows that the samples (i.e., states) are not random; the non-producers and producers tend to cluster. It remains to be seen if this is indeed a true representation of the incidence of petroleum or is a function of the exploration philosophy currently in vogue.

Jan 1, 1977

Weiss Transit and Level The illustrations shown are the transits and levels manufactured by the Weiss Instrument Co. of Denver, Colo:, and they state that city and mining engineers are securing satisfactory results. It is claimed that their patented prismatic telescope gives increased illumination with an astronomical eye-piece. The prisms are set in a milled seat for this purpose, and cemented in so they can never come loose or out of adjustment. All adjustment for collimation is clone with the cross-hairs. This telescope is 8 in. long for magnifying power of 20 diameters against 12 in. for regular old style. The field is 1° 45' with a clear aperture of 1 1/8 in. The standards are 4 ¾ in. high from plate; to center of telescope axis. Weight 10 lb. Fig: 2. FIG. 1. FIG;. 3. The Light Mountain Transit of the same type, Fig. 1, has a telescope 6 ½ in. long, magnifying power 17 diameters; field 2° 15'; clear aperture 1 1/16 in.; weight 9 lb. The Mine Transit made by this ?company is interesting because it may be sighted directly down a shaft.. The principal advantage claimed for this type is the arrangement by means. of which vertical' sights can be had without an additional telescope.. As illustrated in Fig. 2 the telescope is in the position of a regular transit, and used exactly the same.

Jan 10, 1915

By H. R. Aldrich

THIS paper is not a treatise on the theory and practice of magnetic surveying. It merely presents a diagram upon which have been plotted observations taken with the simplest form of magnetic instrument, the lowly dip needle, over a large area astride the Lake Superior syncline of northern Wisconsin. The exposures of the underlying formations are not sufficiently great in number nor fortunate in distribution to have provided the fuller understanding of the geology which has been secured by the use of the magnetic observations as an auxiliary tool or accessory in the hands of the geologist. The diagram (Fig. 2) in large part speaks for itself if studied in connection with the geological map (Fig. 1) for which it is the main control. It is presented to demonstrate the extent to which the use of such methods may aid in the solution of geological problems in a covered country. The diagram is probably unique in assembling the expression of such a wide range of formations, affected by so wide a range of secondary processes, and deformed by so many different structures in terms of magnetic variation. Few geologists outside of the Lake Superior country have had any first-hand experience in the taking of magnetic observations and the interpretations of the results in terms of geological conditions; nor have the Lake Superior men gone with the methods far afield from the mere tracing of iron formations. In more recent years the oil companies have gone heavily into investments in magnetometers, balances, and dip needles in the quest of concealed structural anomalies which are the favorable loci of petroleum accumulation. But these geophysicists come back from the fields with their collections of observations facing the question of interpreting the geological meaning of their magnetic anomalies.

Jan 1, 1928

By Howard R. Pratt, Jimmie L. Bratton

The Air Force Weapons Laboratory (AFWL) has been carrying out a series of experiments whose principal purpose is to measure the dynamic response of rock media to large pressure pulses. Coupled with the field experiments have been theoretical calculations simulating this response. These two approaches allow an appraisal of the current ability to measure in-situ rock response under extreme conditions and also give a fair estimate of the current state-of-the-art in the area of computer calculation of the response of "real" geologic media to a large load. The area chosen for the test series is composed of a sequence of sedimentary units (shale, sandstone, and limestone) located in the Estancia Valley 45 miles east of Albuquerque, N.M. (Fig. 1). The units, which dip gently off the uplifted Manzano Mountains to the west, are essentially horizontal at the test site. An extensive geologic and geophysical investigation of the area was carried out in the form of surface mapping and seismic exploration. Numerous holes were cored and material properties were determined from tests of the cores. In-situ geophysical measure¬ments were also carried out. The experiment consisted of loading a 60X40 ft test area with a 4000-psi transient exponentially decaying pressure pulse. The pulse was initiated at one end and traveled the 60-ft length of the test bed. The test area was instrumented with acceleration, velocity, and strain measuring devices placed in drill holes to depths of 30 ft. Theoretical computer calculations of the response of the layered geologic media have been carried out on the AFWL CDC 6600 using one and

Jan 1, 1972

By James Humes

THE active mines in the Park City district at the present time are the Silver King Coalition, Daly-Judge, Daly West, and Silver King Consoli¬dated. Several other companies, such as the Daly, American Flag, Ontario, etc., are doing considerable development work. In the Silver King Coalition mines the ore is a replacement of a dark siliceous limestone bed, varying in thickness from 18 in. to several feet. In places the ore has reached a thickness of 25 ft. This limestone bed lies within 100 ft. of the underlying Weber quartzite. There are other lime beds, similar in appearance to this one, in the Park City formation, which is approximately 700 ft. thick; but not one of them has been found to contain any traces of ore. Directly under and in contact with the ore-bearing bed is another, composed of gray lime well studded with dark concretionary nodules; and this one is an unfailing indication of the proximity of the ore-bearing bed. These ore deposits make out from or have connection with some one of the ore-bearing fissures, which were undoubtedly the channels for the circulation of mineral-bearing solutions. It is therefore proper to run prospecting drifts in the fissures, although they seldom contain much ore. As a general rule, drifting in the fissures is not costly. Mining and mucking cost from $2.50 to $4 per foot, and very little timber is required. There are instances, as in the Daly fissure in the Daly-Judge mine, where the expense of keeping drifts open in the fissure is so great that it has proved economical to make the drifts in the foot-wall rock and run crosscuts into the fissure at short intervals. In the Park City mines it is not easy to determine beforehand the best method for extracting the ore from a newly discovered ore shoot in the bedded deposits. While we may get one dimension from the drift run in the fissure, that will not give us a correct idea as to the other dimensions of the orebody. The fissures here referred to have a N. 35° E.

Jan 2, 1915

By T. L. Joseph

THE extent to which hot metal from the blast furnace affects open-hearth practice and the quality of steel produced has been discussed widely. Open-hearth operators have attributed difficulties experienced in making satisfactory steel to characteristics of the pig iron not disclosed by ordinary analysis. The commonest criticism of the iron has been that it is "physically cold" or "dirty." Often when the blast furnaces are working irregularly the quality of the iron is questioned. A cold hearth, slipping and hanging, the use in the past of unsintered flue dust, and the use of ores difficult to smelt have been associated with the production of iron of poor quality. The difficulty of the situation is that we have no proven yardstick for quality aside from ordinary analysis. Uniformity in analysis is recognized as being important, but the difficulty of changing the open-hearth practice when the iron analysis varies widely may not always be fully appreciated. Although the problem of correlating the characteris-tics of steel with those of pig iron is admittedly obscure, the effort of producers of quality steel to investigate all factors that may have a bear-ing on the final product is justified. This report contains data on the oxides in several hundred casts of basic iron produced in a furnace during the course of normal operation on Lake ores. Incidental to the study of the oxides in the iron, it was desir-able to follow closely the temperature of the iron. The effect of tempera-ture of the iron upon the silicon and sulphur present is discussed. A general relation between the basicity of the slag and the sulphur in the metal was developed. The amount and composition of oxides in the hot metal and in the steel bath during various intervals between melt-down and tap are discussed. Heats of rimmed steel, lulled steel, and semikilled steel were investigated. The hot metal on individual heats was either all taken from a mixer or consisted partly of direct metal and partly of

Jan 1, 1937

W. E. RUDER, Schenectady, N. Y. (written discussion?).-To many members of the Institute, papers like this one by Prof. Jeffries, and that on "Reversal of Inheritance" by Prof. Howe, may seem highly academic. Aside from their direct application to all heat-treating processes, to my mind, the establishment of a physical fact and the correlation of facts into a definite law are in themselves ample justification for immense effort. A law, once established, cannot be ignored by those who carry the work along to practical ends. In studying both papers, it seems to me that each author is more concerned with defending a theory than with explaining the individual results as published by various investigators. Take, for example, my sample of pressed electrolytic iron, frequently referred to by both. Prof. Howe, defending inheritance, says that the grains on the second (1300° C.) heating inherited their size from the mother austenite. Prof. Jeffries, defending reversed inheritance, elabor-.

Jan 4, 1918

By John Wulff

In a previous paper Burwell and Wulff1 have shown by electron diffraction studies that allotropic transformations can be induced in 18-8 stainless steel by polishing to a depth of about 5 X 10-5 cm. The development of a successful etching technique, which removes accountable amounts of metal from the surface without pitting and without changing the root-mean-square profile as measured with an Abbot pro-filometer, led to the application of the whole technique and material to an investigation of various mechanical methods of surface preparation, such as grinding, lapping, superfinishing and cold-rolling. Ideally suited to such a study is 18-8 of low carbon and nitrogen content. The material can be heat-treated to produce a coarse-grained single-phase structure. On cold deformation there occurs not only a reduction in grain size but, at regions of maximum stress, a change of face-centered material to body-centered material, provided the metal is worked below about 200°C. When worked between 200"about and 415°C., diffraction studies evidence a reduction in grain size without the appearance of any new body-centered ferrite. Ferrite, which can be referred also to strains induced by carbide precipitation, is evident when the material is worked at temperatures between 4150 and 800°C. Stainless steel is advantageous because the usual surface-finishing operations do not readily oxidize it to any appreciable depth. In order to produce detectable oxide films on the surface of austenitic 18-8 in a time equivalent to that required to produce, for example, a fine ground finish on 1/2 sq. in., the sample must be held in a furnace or oxygen stream above 600°C. By using longer heating times, it is possible to achieve measurable oxide films on samples , whose surface temperatures exceed only about 250°C. Experimental Procedure The apparatus, material, and technique described in the previous paper1 were employed in this investigation. Samples of 18-8, I by I cm. by 4 mm., were carefully annealed in the austenitic range to produce a coarse-grained structure. They were then quenched and pickled to remove scale, On a lapping machine of the Graton2 type, both sides of each sample were polished to a a of 1/6 a wave length of sodium D light. Thereafter they were electrolytically etched to remove at least 1 X 10-3 cm. of the surface, a depth that is well below that of any defermations induced by surface preparation. samples of this material, carefully mounted in steel holders, were then sent to various industrial organizations known for special finishing techniques. In the instrue ment shops at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology check samples were finished by the same methods, as far as they were available. Abbot profilometer3 readings Were made on all the samples, which were then carefully degreased in double distilled benzine and alcohol, dried in a hot-filtered air blast, and kept in a desiccator. SUC-

Jan 1, 1941

By John Wulff

In a previous paper Burwell and Wulff1 have shown by electron diffraction studies that allotropic transformations can be induced in 18-8 stainless steel by polishing to a depth of about 5 X 10-5 cm. The development of a successful etching technique, which removes accountable amounts of metal from the surface without pitting and without changing the root-mean-square profile as measured with an Abbot pro-filometer, led to the application of the whole technique and material to an investigation of various mechanical methods of surface preparation, such as grinding, lapping, superfinishing and cold-rolling. Ideally suited to such a study is 18-8 of low carbon and nitrogen content. The material can be heat-treated to produce a coarse-grained single-phase structure. On cold deformation there occurs not only a reduction in grain size but, at regions of maximum stress, a change of face-centered material to body-centered material, provided the metal is worked below about 200°C. When worked between 200"about and 415°C., diffraction studies evidence a reduction in grain size without the appearance of any new body-centered ferrite. Ferrite, which can be referred also to strains induced by carbide precipitation, is evident when the material is worked at temperatures between 4150 and 800°C. Stainless steel is advantageous because the usual surface-finishing operations do not readily oxidize it to any appreciable depth. In order to produce detectable oxide films on the surface of austenitic 18-8 in a time equivalent to that required to produce, for example, a fine ground finish on 1/2 sq. in., the sample must be held in a furnace or oxygen stream above 600°C. By using longer heating times, it is possible to achieve measurable oxide films on samples , whose surface temperatures exceed only about 250°C. Experimental Procedure The apparatus, material, and technique described in the previous paper1 were employed in this investigation. Samples of 18-8, I by I cm. by 4 mm., were carefully annealed in the austenitic range to produce a coarse-grained structure. They were then quenched and pickled to remove scale, On a lapping machine of the Graton2 type, both sides of each sample were polished to a a of 1/6 a wave length of sodium D light. Thereafter they were electrolytically etched to remove at least 1 X 10-3 cm. of the surface, a depth that is well below that of any defermations induced by surface preparation. samples of this material, carefully mounted in steel holders, were then sent to various industrial organizations known for special finishing techniques. In the instrue ment shops at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology check samples were finished by the same methods, as far as they were available. Abbot profilometer3 readings Were made on all the samples, which were then carefully degreased in double distilled benzine and alcohol, dried in a hot-filtered air blast, and kept in a desiccator. SUC-

Jan 1, 1941

By John Wulff

IN a previous paper Burwell and Wulff1 have shown by electron diffraction studies that allotropic transformations can be induced in 18-8 stainless steel by polishing to a depth of about 5 X 10-5 cm. The development of a successful etching technique, which removes accountable amounts of metal from the surface without pitting and without changing the root-mean-square profile as measured with an Abbot profilometer, led to the application of the whole technique and material to an investigation of various mechanical methods of surface preparation, such as grinding, lapping, superfinishing and cold-rolling. Ideally suited to such a study is 18-8 of low carbon and nitrogen content. The material can be heat-treated to produce a coarse-grained single-phase structure. On cold deformation there occurs not only a reduction in grain size but, at regions of maximum stress, a change of face-centered material to body-centered material, provided the metal is worked below about 200°C. When worked between 200° and 415°C., diffraction studies evidence a reduction in grain size without the appearance of any new body-centered ferrite. Ferrite, which can be referred also to strains induced by carbide precipitation, is evident when the material is worked at temperatures between 415° and 800°C. Stainless steel is advantageous because the usual surface-finishing operations do not readily oxidize it to any appreciable depth. In order to produce detectable oxide films on the surface of austenitic 18-8 in a time equivalent to that required to produce, for example, a fine ground finish on ½ sq. in., the sample must be held in a furnace or oxygen stream above 600°C. By using longer heating times, it is possible to achieve measurable oxide films on samples whose surface temperatures exceed only about 250°C. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The apparatus, material, and technique described in the previous paper1 were employed in this investigation. Samples of 18-8, 1 by 1 cm. by 4 mm., were carefully annealed in the austenitic range to produce a coarse-grained structure. They were then quenched and pickled to remove scale. On a lapping machine of the Graton2 type, both sides of each sample were polished to a flatness of 1/6 a wave length of sodium D light. Thereafter they were electrolytically etched to remove at least 1 X 10-3 cm. of the surface, a depth that is well below that of any deformations induced by surface preparation. Samples of this material, carefully mounted in steel holders, were then sent to various industrial organizations known for special finishing techniques. In the instrument shops at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology check samples were finished by the same methods, as far as they were available. Abbot profilometer3 readings were made on all the samples, which were then carefully degreased in double distilled benzine and alcohol, dried in a hot-filtered air blast, and kept in a desiccator. Suc-

Jan 1, 1941

By H. C. LIVINGSTON

At the Hanna No. 4-A mine of The Union Pacific Coal Co. a new system of trackless mining is being utilized to extract a 26-ft coal seam. By using shuttle cars and a conveyor belt for haulage in the rooms and panel entries instead of pit cars and panel hoist a saving of 12 cents per ton is expected. Mining is conducted in a 26-ft coal seam laid down on a synclinal structure with active workings on a pitch of approximately ten to twelve degrees. The coal seam is interbedded between a shale bottom and sand- stone top. The coal is friable, high in moisture, and subject to spontaneous combustion. The mine is rated gassy by the State Coal Mine Inspection Department. Mining is conducted at the present time by unbalanced rope haulage an main slopes spaced on approximate 4300-ft centers with the three-entry system driven to boundary lines, strike entries being turned on approximate 1300-ft centers. Panels are driven to the rise between entries at approximately 750-ft intervals with panel rooms driven on the strike 500 to 600 ft long, leaving 150 ft of barrier pillar between each block of panel rooms.

Jan 1, 1949

By Oberlin Smith

The experiments described in this paper are very incomplete and only preliminary to those I hope to make in the future. Having had a good deal of experience in cutting, forming and drawing sheet-metals, and feeling a great interest in the commercially new and wonderful metal, aluminum, I applied to my friend, Mr. A. E. Hunt, for some specimens in sheet-form, that I might, from time to time, test its working-properties in presses with which we happened to be experimenting at the works of the Ferracute Machine Company. The chances for such trials being accidental only, and the time having been limited to the last few weeks, no crucial experiments have been tried, and no exact data have been obtained for a rigid comparison with other metals. The results of what little we have done, however, are shown in the articles exhibited in connection with the reading of this paper, which comprise various cups, plates, boxes, bells and cartridge-cup and shells. For the latter I am indebted to my friend, Mr. Hobbs, of the Union Metallic Cartridge Co., who, at my request, ran several pieces of sheet-aluminum through the dies with which he was making brass cartridges. The specimens are rougher than they would be had the metal not been a little too thin for the particular dies which he happened to be running.

Jan 1, 1890

By C. B. Post, D. G. Schoffstall

A determinatioil of the hydrogen content of molten steel by means of the Vacuum-extraction method, as reported here, consists in first casting a sample of the bath in a bomb, so that the gases evolved during solidification are trapped for analysis. A portion of the cast steel sample is then prepared and heated at a temperature of 600" to 800°C. under high vacuum, and the gaser given off during this vacuum extraction (which are shown to be hydrogen), are collected and measured. Analysis of the gases evolved on solidification and the gases in the solid sample enables an accurate determination of hydrogen in the molten steel. Fig. I shows the bomb and accessories that have been found suitable for trapping the gases evolved on solidification. The bomb is made of scamless steel pipe, approximately 7 in. long by 136 in. i.d., and welded at the bottom. An ordinary pipe cap has a vacuuni-type metal stopcock threaded and brazed in its upper end. This pipe cap fits onto the bomb by means of machined threads. A flange is brazed to the pipe at the point where the cap starts to tighten up, and a rubber gasket is placed between the flange and cap. Heavy vacuum grease is used between the flange and gasket and the gasket and cap. The weight of the complete bomb and it? interval volume is known before the sample is cast. In practice, a sample of about 400 grams of steel is poured into the bomb, the funnel quickly swung out of the way, the bomb cap spun down the threads and tightened against the gasket, and the bomb set in a pail of water to keep the gasket and vacuum grease cool. It is estimated that at least 80 per cent 01 the gases evolved from the liquid sample during solidification are trapped in the bomb."

Jan 1, 1945

CHARLES F: WILLIS,* Bisbee, Ariz. (written discussion?).-An employment department operated only with the object of relieving the foremen from hiring and for the purpose of centralizing record keeping is not likely to be entirely successful, and is doing but a small part of the good that practice has shown is possible; although it was .probably a desire to save time and to conduct the business more conveniently that led many mining companies to centralize their employment department. The ultimate object, however, is the reduction of labor turnover, by obtaining men better qualified to fill the positions to which they are assigned, by following up their work and providing for transfer to other departments or for promotion, if advisable, by reducing the number of quits for inconsequential reasons, and by supervising such laying-off as is necessary in such a way that the permanent force is not upset. It provides a stability 'of employment, free from favoritism and paternalism, probably the best form of employment insurance that we can have. The value of the employment department is in direct proportion to the breadth of its supervisor, his ability to estimate and place men, his sympathy in dealing with their petty troubles, and his analysis of quits and the reasons therefor. There is probably no better index of the soundness of the industrial relationship between the employee and the employer than the reasons why men quit; an intelligent, unbiased analysis of these reasons tells where corrective measures are necessary. In nine cases out of ten the reasons are small grievances, easily corrected, and are things usually overlooked by mine officials.

Jan 6, 1919

By JAMES SCULLY

For the last 4 years political leaders have found a new subject on which they can safely generalize wihout creating opposition. That subject is commodity prices. Since the four-fold increase in OPEC crude oil prices, public attention has focussed as never before on the subject of commodity prices. To advocate stabilizing commodity prices is akin to supporting motherhood or peace or better schooling. Everyone gives lip service to the concept that stable commodity prices are desirable. It is easier to state the principle than to achieve it. Prices that are stable in terms of one currency may be clearly unstable in terms of a different currency. This has become a troublesome matter since 1971, when the world's leading trading currencies were set free to float in relation to each other. To illustrate: consider copper prices in the interval between the end of 1974 and the end of 1977. During those 3 years, the copper price in pounds sterling on the London Metal Exchange rose by 25 per cent. During that period, however, in terms of the USA dollar equivalent, the price was unchanged. And during that period, in terms of the German mark equivalent the price shrank by 13 per cent while the Japanese yen equivalent fell by 20 per cent. Thus a price that appears stable in dollars, rose in terms of pounds sterling and fell in terms of marks and yen. Had this result been achieved as a consequence of an international effort to stabilize prices, an American would have said the effort was successful. An Englishman would have said it had failed to prevent a price rise. And a German or a Japanese consumer would have been happy to have covered his copper needs at a lower cost in terms of his own currency.

Jan 1, 1978

By A. W. Ambrose

THE underground losses of oil exceed by hundreds of thousands of barrels all the oil that has been lost in storage, transportation, or refining. The quantity lost is, of course, indeterminate; but when it is considered that the contents of an entire oil field have been excluded from recovery by invading waters, some idea of the amount wasted may be gained. Similarly, enormous quantities of gas have been lost underground. Conservation of the oil, therefore, should start before it is brought to the surface rather than after it is placed in storage tanks. Water is one of the most important causes for underground losses and the operator should give as serious consideration to an underground flood of water as he would to a destructive surface flood. The best insurance, of course, is to have the wells drilled in such a manner that water has no access to the productive oil and gas horizons, and on abandonment the wells should be properly plugged. The encroachment of edge water and the occurrence of water in the base of an oil sand present a very serious problem to an oil company; sooner or later these waters are bound to cause considerable damage, if they do not entirely destroy the possibilities of further production. Too often, however, a field has been considered to be in a hopeless condition, whereas wells in as bad a condition in other areas have been repaired and the life of the field appreciably lengthened. The corrections are very often suggested by technical study. Very successful results have been accomplished by detailed underground work in the California oil fields, in Cushing, Oklahoma, and in other areas.

Jan 9, 1920

By Charles H. White

+1HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. The equipment of a laboratory in which students are to be trained for practical work in metallurgical chemistry presents many difficulties not encountered in the fitting up of a commercial or works laboratory. At an industrial plant the chemical work required usually demands the frequent repetition of a comparatively limited number of methods. In a steel-works laboratory, for instance, by far the larger part of the work consists in making determinations of the usual impurities found in iron and steel; at a smelter the great bulk of the work is confined to the analysis of ores, slags, mattes, and fuels, which involve the frequent application of perhaps not more than a dozen different methods. In a laboratory of this character, therefore, those operations most frequently applied may each have a certain section set apart and fitted permanently with such apparatus as best facilitates the carrying out of this one operation. The work of a commercial or custom laboratory is perhaps more varied than that of a works laboratory, but the couditions are similar in these respects, that there is usually no great need for economy of space, and that a few skilled workmen are employed to carry the determinations through from beginning to end without interruption. On the other hand, the laboratory of a technical school should be planned on such a scale that a comparatively large number of students may work at the same time, and each desk should be equipped for general metallurgical analysis. In most institutions for technical education the student's program is so arranged that his day is divided among several subjects in the course of study; only a few consecutive hours being devoted to one subject, or spent in one laboratory. Therefore, those appliances should be provided that render possible the safe continuation of such processes as

Jan 1, 1905

By Werner Langguth

SINCE the introduction of the improved method of precipitating gold from chlorine solution by SO2 and H2S at the Golden Reward chlorination-works, Deadwood, S. D.,* this modern method has been further adopted in the chlorination-works of the Portland Consolidated Company at Deadwood, and in those of the Black Hills Milling and Smelting Company at Rapid City, S. D. It has proved practically most successful in the handling of large quantities of gold solution, and constitutes up to date, with Mr. John E. Rothwell's most important improvement, namely, barrel-leaching under hydraulic pressure, the principal progress made in gold chlorination. The method of refining the gold sulphides which result from this method of precipitation, was introduced by me in 1890 at the Golden Reward works, and in 1892 at those of the Black Hills Company. It has not suffered any changes during the last three years, and is substantially as described below:

Jan 1, 1895