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By E. J. KENNEDY

METHODICAL AND EFFECTIVE: thus may be characterized the fall meeting of the Iron and Steel and Institute of Metals Divisions at the Hotel Statler, Buffalo, N. Y., on Oct. 4 and 5. Approximately 200 registered. Interest centered 1111 the technical papers which were keenly followed, with substantial discussion: During the entire week of the National Metal Congress (Oct. 3 to 'i), there were also other sessions of interest' to metallurgists, directed by the America11 Society for Steel Treating, American Welding Society, Production Division of the Society of Automotive Engineers, the Iron arid Steel and Machine Shop Practice Divisions of the American Society of Mechanical En,' the Wire Association and the American Drop Forging Institute. The National Metals Exposition at the 174th Regiment Armory was well attended.

Jan 1, 1932

By J. V. W. REYNDERS

IN THE remarks which I am about to make concern¬ing the safety work of the Bureau of Mines, I want first of all to disengage myself from a disposition, which is frequently in evidence, to give spectacular emphasis to the hazards of mining operations. It is of the' utmost importance to the industrial welfare of our country that the enormous annual requirement of fuel be produced and be made available in our economic activities, with a minimum of distress and hardship. The safety of coal mining is a condition with which. we are all concerned in a fundamental way. And yet we should not rush to accept hastily conceived notions that laxity among employers in respect to safety measures exists to any outstanding degree. In fact in a large number of instances, the precautionary efforts of min¬ing companies, directed to the elimination of accidents are beyond all criticism, albeit the industry suffers in reputation from the carelessness of, its less effi¬cient constituents. The Bureau of Mines has been a leading influence in disseminating the doctrines of safety, in securing the cooperation of the miners themselves, and in stirring up ' the laggards, both among the employers and the employed. It is much to the interest of well-conducted mine operations that the industry, as a whole, observe safety regulations to the utmost.

Jan 1, 1925

Albert Sauveur writes, on Apr. 16, 1918, while the German offensive was at its height, as follows: "In spite of the German guns and air raids we are all in good health and spirits and shall leave Paris only as a last extremity. Our unlimited confidence in Foch, however, makes us believe that it will not be necessary. I trust that everything is well with you at the Institute." Harold Whittingham entered the active service with the heavy artillery in England at the beginning of the war and has been fighting in France since February, 1915. He now holds the rank of Major. On Dec. 17, 1917, after being wounded, he was taken prisoner by the Germans, and, so far as is known, is still in a prison camp in Germany. Charles W. Wright, who is a Captain in charge of the work of the American Red Cross in Sardinia, Italy, writes that the service there is giving aid to about 80,000 soldiers' families and is upholding the good repute of America in that place. W. S. Holloway in 1914 joined the Sportsmans' Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers as a private, but is now a Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers, Mining Corps. He received the Military Cross while mining at the Front in France. A. L. Queneau writes the following interesting account of his experience of the war. Several letters from Mr. Queneau have been published

Jan 6, 1918

By Spencer S. Shannon

This chapter is concerned with the uses, geology, exploration, evaluation, preparation for markets, and future of 90thorium and 39yttrium, along with 14 rare-earth elements. The rare-earth metals or lanthanides were divided into three categories by Berzelius. The cerium subgroup is comprised of 57lanthanum, 58cerium, 59praseodymium, 60neodymium, and 62samarium. 61Promethium does not occur naturally. The terbium subgroup includes 63europium, 64gadolinium, and 65terbium. The remaining lanthanides are placed in the yttrium subgroup. Strictly speaking, yttrium is not a rare earth. Because the properties of yttrium resemble those of heavy rare earths, its name has been used as a designating adjective. The yttrium subgroup includes 66dysprosium, 67holmium, 68erbium, 69thulium, 70ytterbium, and 67lutetium. Rare-earth elements, especially those of the same subgroup, tend to occur together rather than in discrete minerals.

Jan 1, 1975

By T. T. Read

TWO papers on health and safety were given Thursday afternoon when a joint session of the Health and Safety Committee and the Mining Methods Committee was held. T. T. Read presided and the first paper, on ventilation at Climax, was presented by the author, L. H. Glanville. In the subsequent discussion by Cloyd M. Smith, P. B. Bucky, B. F. Tillson, D. F. Haley, J. L. G. Weysser, and others a number of interesting points not covered by the paper, which appears in full in the January Mining Technology, were brought out. Ventilation troubles in mines so often hinge on the air being too hot and damp that it was interesting to hear of one where it is frequently too cold and too dry.

Jan 1, 1943

By AIME AIME

PERHAPS the outstanding characteristic of the newly elected President of the Institute is his rare ability to set aside nonessentials, and pick out the few basic elements on which a valid conclusion on any question can be drawn. This holds whether he is appraising a mining enterprise, selecting a man for an important position, deciding whether to buy or sell a bond, or choosing the best method for mining a huge body of ore. For example, he has pointed out that the two primary factors that make for success in a copper-mining venture are a large reserve of reasonably good ore and competent management. Usually the first is not as difficult to gauge accurately as the second. In a big enterprise the quality of the management

Jan 1, 1939

By J. R. Dawson, A. B. Kinzel

THE purpose of testing is to determine whether the material in question is identical in all essential respects with similar material which has given satisfactory service. The most common method of securing such information is to select samples as representative of the entire material and subject them to destructive tests. As the welding industry grew, service data were accumulated and tests of welds took on new significance. New tests were devised and old tests modified so as to be more pertinent to welding. Moreover, in some cases the generally accepted procedure of testing by sampling is not accorded the same degree of confidence when applied to welds as in the usual applications. Thus, in instances where great hazard would be involved should the material fail, means of non-destructive testing have been sought with favorable results. Accordingly, tests used today may be divided into two groups, destructive and non-destructive tests.

Jan 1, 1930

By Linney, Robert J.

REPUBLIC Steel Corporation's iron-ore properties in the Adirondacks consist of mines, mills, and sintering plants in the Mineville and Port Henry area and at Lyon Mountain. This article will deal with the properties in the vicinity of Mineville and Port Henry. In 1938, when Republic leased the Mineville- Port Henry operations from the Witherbee Sherman Corp., these properties had just come through some hard depression years. As a result, the mine development program was far behind schedule; most of the equipment needed replacement; and above all, the entire system of mining had to be completely changed to reduce operating costs. The concentrator had been in operation for many years; the process was dry and dusty. Machinery and equipment were either badly worn or entirely obsolete. The sintering plant, also long in operation, was badly in need of repairs.

Jan 1, 1943

By Charles Hart

THE-report of the advisory committee to the U. S. Bureau of Mines, on the use of oxygen in metallurgy, brings to the art of steelmaking a radical change in the method of operation of the many processes of this widely diversified industry. When completed, the improvements suggested by the use of oxygen will be far-reaching and revolutionary. As to its effect upon the iron blast furnace, the use of oxygen should be as important as any of the improvements in the art of iron smelting and should take its place beside the German "Hochofen" which was the first attempt to use a shaft for preheating the stock, and beside the hot-blast stove which heated the blast before entering the furnace. The former initially produced molten iron and the latter made unbelievable economies in fuel consumption. It would seem that a discussion of this paper would be best served by following the conclusions on page 17 of the report and analyzing them seriatim. 1. (a) A decrease in costs, due to higher smelting heats is only attainable by taking full advantage of these heat units. This is affected by, adding additional ore to the burden which in turn increases production and yields a larger tonnage upon which to figure costs. These economies appear in decreased cost per ton of iron for coke and limestone consumed, and a proportionate reduction in all items entering the cost above materials. We can take no exception to these. premises. It is a well-known fact that silicon in the iron and sulfur removed" are the result of hearth temperature, other matters remaining constant. To a practical furnaceman the most satisfactory manner of controlling a furnace is by increasing the burden. It is not necessary, therefore, to consider the question of refractories, for this discussion presupposes that the temperatures in the furnaces will be kept practically where they now stand for making the various grades of iron. The same situation obtains in regard to the height of the furnace, which, as intimated, was one of the great strides forward in this art, and its abandonment at this time, is inconceivable. The shaft prepares the stock so that at each succeeding step we have exactly the proper conditions. All the stock entering the furnace is dried and preheated. The limestone is calcined by sensible heat practically at no cost, for this is sensible heat which otherwise would pass from the top with the gases. Under normal conditions, external calcination has been attempted without tangible results. Under normal average furnace operation, limestone requires about 760 B.t.u. for calcination and the loss of sensible

Jan 11, 1924

By Donald McLaughlin

INCREASING variety of interests among mining geologists is becoming more and more marked, as the frontier of their science and of its applications continues to expand. Each of the traditional lines of inquiry provides its crop of new and better defined problems, and answers to them are being found in far more precise terms than in the past as older uncertainties .are swept away with the sharper techniques and the even sharper ideas of modern geology. A glance over the assemblage of projects and publications in 1939 reveals conspicuous activity in many different parts of the front, such as the attack on the controversial question of the acid or alkaline character of ore-forming solutions, the place of mineral districts in the larger structural framework of continents, and the place of ore shoots in the local patterns of districts. Instructive comparisons are being made which cut across lines of older correlations or which reinforce them by pointing out heretofore ne-

Jan 1, 1940

By John A. Gann

THE Iron and Steel Division has shared in the general increased activity of the industry. The fall meeting at Chicago was not only well attended but particularly characterized by the virility and scope of the discussions at the various sessions. The program for the February meeting indicates a similar interest in technological developments. The Blast-Furnace Committee continues to have the hearty support of the industry with discussions of such a nature as to be of real help to the operator as well ass the technologist. The work of the Open-Hearth Committee continues to be outstanding, with ever increasing attendance and ever mounting interest in the meetings. Formation of a conference on the physical chemistry of steelmaking has given those interested in this phase of work an organization allowing the same

Jan 1, 1936

By JAMES H. McGRAW

P UBLZCLTY and engineers do not mix. In the very words of my subject, there is an apparent contradiction. In the past, publicity has been abhorrent to the engineer. It seems to be true that the engineer, because of his training or his background, has developed a state of mind which omits publicity. At any rate he has done a poor publicity job for himself. The average engineer is self-conscious; he ought to be class-conscious. If T should ask the men in this hall to get up one by one and tell who they are and what they have done, there would be an instinctive reaction in the mind of each man-a feeling that this was out of place. If I should ask each man to get up and tell something about his neighbor, I should find that each neighbor, once he got acquainted with the man next to him and understood what he was doing, would be as human and as generous-hearted in telling about his brother engineer as is any professional man.

Jan 1, 1920

By AIME AIME

FOR the mineral industry, as for many others, the year 1944 brought to fruition the seeds planted in previous war years. Accomplishment in attaining ends in the production of minerals has given more time for the consideration of postwar problems, such as plans for resuming production for civilian uses and measures to prevent possible mass unemployment. The hectic atmosphere in production circles lessened during the latter half of 1943, conditions becoming static during 1944 as peak production rates were reached. Withdrawal of deferment of young men from the mining districts by Selective Service connotes that man power at the battlefronts became more important than the persistence of pressure for metal production. This is in contrast to the return of soldiers in 1943 to augment the labor ranks in the mining districts. The year ended in the midst of changing needs. Over-all metal production in the United States in 1944 will record a lessening, compared with the previous year owing to labor shortages which affected both development work and ore output.

Jan 1, 1945

By George Otis Smith

WHAT American can enter this Western empire without his imagination being stirred by the stories of its past-yes, and even more by visions of its future! Whether we travel by rail or by auto, our pathway has its traditions of exploration and its records of early settlement. The mountain passes and the routes used by today's commerce are lasting memorials of the pathfinders whose unconquerable purpose was to search out a way-Lewis and Clark, Bonneville, Pike, Long, FrBmont, their names still live in your rivers and lakes and peaks. It was the glory of these adventurers that they spied out the land so that others might follow that long pro- cession of pioneers who occupied the new country- fur traders, gold miners, cattlemen, and homesteaders. Each of these pioneers attacked the problem of transportation in his own way, and each sought by his own method to win the resources whose richness had been reported by the pen of the Government explorer or by the swift rumor of the unnamed and unfamed adventurer. Trails were worn deep by these home or fortune seekers as they passed through the mountain barriers in successive waves-and these were waves that did not ebb, for this was an army of occupation. Along these main pathways of the West, as one historian has pointed out, the figure of chief interest was the sad- faced woman sitting on the front of the covered wagon.

Jan 1, 1926

By L. R., McLeod

NO important changes in metallurgical practice are exhibited in the smelter that has been erected for treating the Morenci concentrate: the material is charged to reverberatory furnaces without roasting, and the matte subsequently blown in Peirce-Smith converters to separate the iron and sulphur from the copper. In fact the process is essentially the same, except for preliminary roasting of the concentrate, that was adopted in the new smelter that was built for the Arizona Copper Co. at Clifton, a few miles away, to treat Morenci concentrate just before the start of the first World War, and which went into service in October, 1913.

Jan 1, 1942

By Oliver B. Knight

The producing formation in the South Field, or "Golden Lane" structure of Mexico, is a buried ridge of reef limestone of Comanchean age overlain unconformably with sediments of Upper Cretaceous, Eocene and Oligocene. The structure extends in a long sweeping arc, with the convex side toward the west, from San Geronimo, Vera Cruz, to San Isidro, south of the Tuxpam River, which it crosses at the town of Alamo. It is 52 miles long and averages 3/4 mile in width. The surface of the producing formation of El Abra limestone consists of a series of minor parallel highs which are separated longitudinally by synclinal troughs and laterally by structural saddles. The presence of these highs has been of utmost importance in the development of the field, especially in recent years when the salt-water level has risen above the synclines and confined the oil to the isolated highs. In many cases, faulty information and interpretation of the subsurface has resulted in drilling costly dry holes and salt-water wells. Development The development of the Golden Lane was started by the Mexican Eagle Oil Co. in 1906. San Diego No. 3, usually known as Dos Bocas, the first producing well on the structure, was completed on July 4, 1908. This well came in unexpectedly for an estimated daily production of 129,000 bbl., and, as the casing was not properly set, the well flowed wild into the Tamiahua Lagoon, causing a loss of several million barrels of oil. In flowing wild the well formed a crater which covers an area of 48 acres, out of which salt water and small quantities of gas still flow. Casiano No. 2, the Huasteca Petroleum Co., which yielded 200 bbl. of oil daily, and which was completed in November, 1909, was the next producing well to be drilled on the structure. In 1910, the same company completed Casiano No. 7, with an initial production of 50,000 bbl. daily, and Casiano No. 1, which produced 200 bbl. daily. In the same year, the Mexican Eagle Oil Co. completed its Potrero del Llano wells 1, 2 and 4, with initial productions of 500, 400 and 100,000 bbl. respectively. From 3910 to the latter part of 1919, development proceeded

Jan 1, 1931

By Richard W. Smith

Why are we losing our liberties? (1) . . . because our local chambers of commerce come to the National Chamber's annual meeting, vote for a policy on federal economy, and then go to Capitol Hill and ask for a federal project for their area. (2) ... because our mining men ask for a subsidy to mine submarginal deposits that can't be economically mined in a free economy. (3) . . . because 18,000 men and organizations all over the country recently wired or wrote a Congressional committee asking that the Army Engineers be exempt from the President's power to reorganize the Executive Branch of the government under the recommendations of the Hoover Commission.

Jan 1, 1949

By G. H. LeFevre

THE Metal Sales Department, with offices in New York, is responsible for the sale of the Company's products, with the exception of gold and coal. At present the department handles the sales of lead, zinc, silver, antimonial lead, , cadmium, bismuth, arsenic trioxide, and tellurium; gold is shipped direct to the United States Mint and coal is marketed by United States Fuel Company's own sales organization. The department keeps in close touch with the metal markets and collects information on marketing conditions, which it makes available to other departments of the Company. The electrolytic lead produced at the U. S. S. Lead Refinery, Inc., is a high-uality product marketed as corroding grade under the "U. S. S.-ELECTRO" brand. It is largely sold to manufacturers of paints, pigments, lead oxides, and storage batteries.

Jan 1, 1948

By W. M. Ross

AMONG the comparatively few A radical changes in mining equipment in recent years is the introduction and use to an ever greater degree of detachable bits for rock drills. Just how great the possible field for economic application of this innovation is, and to what ex- tent detachable bits are used instead of the conventional type of drill steel, are matters of conjecture. Just as a rough approximation, one might conceive that at least three-quarters of the drilling done in mines today could better be performed by steel with detachable bits, instead of only about one-quarter as at present.

Jan 1, 1939

By J. J. Forbes

Probably the newest thing in mining safety, or safety for mines, is the apparent dissatisfaction on the part of the mineral industries, as represented by both management and labor, and the general public of the Nation, with the safety record of the mining industry. This is reflected by published comments and papers in the technical press;1-8 in labor periodicals, 10 11 in popular journals and periodicals,12 13 and in the daily press; also by discussions of the Safety Committees sponsored by the National Safety Council, 9, 14-15 the American Mining Congress, 1, 16 the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, 2, 4 the Mine Inspectors' Institute of America,6,8,17,18 the Coal Mining Institute of America, 5, 19, the American Standards Association, and others.20,21

Jan 1, 1949