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By Glenn Southward

This describes a highly concentrated mining system consisting of a series of short faces arranged to get complete recovery of coal with the maximum protection for the men and equipment. A series of conveyors collect the coal from eight faces and discharge into mine cars at a central loading point on a main haulageway. The conveyor is sectional and, by a multiple-drive arrangement, the same standard parts are used to construct a unit of any length. THE. V system of mining used at the Norton mine of West Virginia Coal & Coke Co. was designed as a modified longwall with face conveyors, FIG. 1.-GENERAL DESIGN AND ARRANGEMENT OF FACES IN V SYSTEM. for use under roof conditions that would not permit regular longwall methods. This mine is in the Lower Kittanning seam, which averages about 6 ft. in height. There is from 20 to 30 ft. of slate and shale immedi-

Jan 2, 1924

By J. W. Martin, L. K. Singhal

Grain boundary M23CB precipitates have been shown to form by a process involving the migration of an austenite grain boundary, and each plate of precipitate is in parallel orientation with one of the austenite grains constituting the boundary. The carbide distribution and morphology appear to be sensitive to grain boundary mis orientation. Some areas of austenite grain bowzdary permit the development of an array of M,C, particles, some of which are in parallel orientation with one grain and some with the other grain constituting the boundary. Massive carbide at grain boundary triple points is also shown to be in parallel orientation with one constituent grain. PREFERENTIAL precipitation during aging of carbides of the type (Fe,Cr)23C6, usually written MZ3C6, in grain boundaries of quenched austenitic stainless steels has been widely recognized. M23C6 has a complex cubic crystal structure' which contains ninety-two metal atoms and twenty-four carbon atoms per unit cell. Less energy is involved in forming grain boundary precipitates than in the formation of intragranular precipitates, and the process is further enhanced by the accelerated diffusion rates in the boundaries and by the probability of segregation of chromium atoms and carbon atoms to the region of the grain boundaries during prior solution heat treatment in order to reduce lattice strain. Early electron micrographic studies2, 3 involving either extraction replica or normal replica techniques established the geometric or dendritic form of the carbide particles, although this approach led to dis- pute as to whether the particles grew within the plane of the boundary or grew into the matrix.4-6 More recent thin-foil studies' have claimed to identify a discontinuous precipitation process involving M23C6 at grain boundaries, and the object of the present work was to attempt to clarify the situation using modern electron micrographic and diffraction techniques. 1) EXPERIMENTAL 1.1) Material. The steel selected for this work had a base composition of 24 pct Ni-25 pct Cr-3 pct Ti and contained about 0.04 pct C. The full analysis if given in Table I. This alloy was in the form of strip which had been hot- and cold-rolled to a thickness of 0.6 mm. 1.2) Heat Treatment. Specimens 4 cm long by 1 cm wide were solution-heat-treated for 3 hr in argon at 1150°C, followed by water-quenching. Specimens were subsequently aged in vacuo at 750°C for periods up to 500 hr. 1.3) Preparation of Electron Microscope Specimens. The heat-treated strips were cut bv spark machining into discs of 3 mm diam and 0.6 mm thickness. he-discs were dished on both sides using an electrolytic jet of 15 pct HCl electrolyte at 80 v. Final electro-polishing of the discs was carried out using 10 pct perchloric acid, 20 pct glycerol, and 70 pct ethanol at 10 v. The current density was kept below 300 ma. cm"2 by cooling the electrolyte to 0" to 5°C. As soon as a small hole appeared, the electropolishing was stopped and the specimen was quickly washed with ethanol.

Jan 1, 1969

By Valentine Garfias

THE various phases of the Mexican oil industry have received so much publicity that there is little to add to the discussion of present and future production, extent and importance of prospective fields, and status of petroleum legislation, to mention but a few of the angles of the Mexican oil problem. However, out of this wealth of information, which is generally of contradictory nature, the average petroleum man is at a loss to know something definite regarding the various questions involved so, keeping the foregoing in mind, it has been the writer's aim to record in a concise form the most reliable and up-to-date information regarding the salient features of the Mexican oil situation. PRESENT STATUS OF MEXICAN OIL INDUSTRY Production During 1921 The Mexican oil fields, during 1921, produced in round numbers 203,000,000 bbl. of which 176,000,000 bbl., or 86 per cent., were exported, the bulk of -these exports, or about 73.3 per cent., going to the United States. The Mexican exports were divided by grades as follows: Light crude, 47.0 per cent.; heavy crude, 22.0 per cent.; tops, 3.5 per cent.; fuel oil from light crude, 24.0 per cent. The balance, or 3 1/2 per cent., includes the bunker fuel shipments and the coastwise trade in Mexico, which is not classified as to grades. The figures show that, in importance, the light-oil fields from about 755 per cent. of the Mexican petroleum industry.

Jan 4, 1922

By L. Delisle

This work represents the first step of an attempt to test the applicability of the electron microscope to the study of subgrain structures in copper. Observations on annealed and deformed single crystals and polycrystalline samples of copper are described. IN the course of study of the structure of fine tungsten wires and tungsten rods with the electron microscope, well defined subgrain structures were observed. The size, size distribution, and orientation uniformity of the etch figures varied widely in different samples. Figs. 1 and 2, electron micrographs of a tungsten wire and of a tungsten rod, respectively, are illustrations of the difference in size and size distribution of the etch figures in different samples of the same metal. The observed differences, as pointed out in a previous paper,' appeared to be related to the heat and mechanical treatments of the samples. They were also consistent with the results reported in the literature on the mosaic structure of metals.' For that reason a program of research was initiated in an effort to obtain more systematic evidence of the possible relation of heat and mechanical treatments to the subgrain structure of metals as observed in the electron microscope. The purpose of this paper is to present observations made on the effect of cold work on the subgrain structure of copper. Procedure Starting Materials: Copper was the metal studied because it can be obtained in a high degree of purity, much information is available in the literature on its properties and its response to cold work and heat treatment, it shows no allotropic change, and it is sufficiently hard to be handled without great difficulty. Two groups of specimens were used: 1—single crystals cast from spectroscopically pure copper and 2—polycrystalline samples of oxygen-free high conductivity copper. Single crystals were studied because it was hoped that the elimination of a number of variables, such as grain boundaries, orientation differences, degree of purity, would simplify the problem and perhaps permit a better understanding of the phenomena that would be observed. The polycrystalline samples were designed to give a general picture of the changes considered. The single crystals were made of copper which analyzed spectroscopically to better than 99.999 pct Cu. They were cast in vacuum, by the Bridgman method, in crucibles made of graphite with a maximum ash content of 0.06 pct. The mold design is shown in Fig. 3. It permitted casting crystals of the size and shape required for the experiments, so that the danger of introducing cold work in the original samples by cutting or other machining would be eliminated. The polycrystalline samples were pieces, 3/4 in. long, cut from a rod of oxygen-free high conductivity copper, % in. in diameter. A flat surface, 1/4 in. wide, was milled along the rods, polished, and etched. The samples were then annealed in vacuum at 850°C for 1 hr. Polishing and Etching: Work previously done on tungsten,' polished mechanically and etched chemically," had shown that: 1—the general appearance of the etch figures of a given sample was not altered by repeated polishings and etchings under similar conditions; 2—variations in the time of etching and the concentration of the etchant changed the definition of the etch figures, but did not alter their general size nor orientation distribution within the limits of observation. Further work confirmed the reproducibility of the subgrain structures observed in, 1—single crystals and polycrystalline samples of copper when polishing and etching were repeated under similar conditions, and 2—specimens of tungsten and polycrystalline copper when electrolytic polishing and etching were substituted for mechanical polishing and chemical etching, respectively. On the strength of these observations, it was felt that, if conditions of polishing and etching were kept constant, changes observed in the subgrain structure of a sample upon deformation and annealing would be attributable to such treatments. For that reason the conditions of polishing and etching were kept as constant as possible. The single crystals were polished electrolytically in a bath of orthophosphoric acid in water, in the ratio of 1000 g of acid of density 1.75 g per cc to 1000 cc of solution, under a potential drop of 1.6 to 1.8 V. Electrolytic polishing was selected to prevent the formation of distorted metal in polishing. The same samples were etched by immersion in a 10 pct aque-

Jan 1, 1954

By Henry Ferguson

THIS paper is a preliminary statement, intended to present the more important results of the recent studies of the ore deposits of the Alleghany district in advance of the publication of the complete report, now in preparation. The Alleghany district (Fig. 1) has been a producer of gold since the early days of California gold mining. As in other California gold camps, placers yielded the bulk of the earlier production, but during the last 30 years lode deposits have been the only important source of output. The district differs from other California gold-quartz districts in that nearly all the production is from small shoots of high-grade ore. The mining camps of Alleghany and Forest are on the western flank of the Sierra Nevada range about 20 miles west of the crest. The gently sloping lava-covered plateau which controls the upland topography has been trenched by deep canyons of the westward flowing streams, which are cut to depths of as much as 2000 ft. below the crests of the ridges. The district is about 18 miles from Nevada City but the automobile road which connects the two places is 31 miles long. The senior writer first visited the district in 1913 and published a short description of the lode deposits.1 The increasing importance of the district made further study desirable. A detailed topographic map was therefore made by W. B. Upton, Jr., of the U. S. Geological Survey, in the spring of 1924, and the senior writer spent parts of the field seasons of 1924 and 1925 in the district. For the second field season the Geological Survey was fortunate in securing the services of R. W. Gannett, who had already done geologic work in the district for several of the mining companies. Owing to the death of Mr. Gannett in October, 1925, just before the close of his field work, the work of preparation of the entire report fell to Mr. Ferguson. He takes this opportunity of acknowledging how deeply he is indebted to Mr. Gannett for his excellent work in the field, and his realization of how greatly the completion of the report on the district has suffered from lack of Mr. Gannett's assistance in the office. In October, 1.928, after the completion of the first draft of the manuscript, Mr. Ferguson made a short visit to the district.

Jan 1, 1929

By George W. Bain

Some problems concomitant with commercial exploitalion of marble are presented as examples of interesting, useful and profitable fields for application of scientific knowledge. The marble industry is only one such field and is selected because its varying new aspects are familiar to the author. However, what is true for marble is equally so in principle for many industrial minerals. The problems of any stone industry are to maintain markets, create new outlets for stone already in demand, and develop varied uses for varieties that are not so popular. Here the geologist has a different role from most of his colleagues in metal mining. The producing branch may ask about the expectable variation in thickness or size of a deposit as development proceeds. The stock department may call for the available amount of a given type of stone before accepting a large order. The sales force requires data on the use for stone from certain parts of deposits in order to divert grades to the most suitable use. The service department wants defects rectified and the cause determined to avoid recurrence The mills want data on durability and cutting quality of abrasives. The geologist occupies no special department; he is on general call, as may be illustrated by a few types of problems that may be classified as: (1) dominantly geological in character, (2) dominantly chemical in character, (3) dominantly physical in character. Geological Problems The geological problems deal almost exclusively with the size of blocks. Size across the deposit is limited by thickness of individual beds. and along the strike by the space between crosscutting joints. Frequently the vertical depth of a block is reduced by exfoliation shells arising from spontaneous expansion. All these factors require consideration in developing a deposit to fill an order. Thickening of Marble Beds The limestone beds that became the marble deposits of the northern Appalachians and of the Yule locality in Colorado were seldom homo-

Jan 1, 1941

By George W. Bain

Some problems concomitant with commercial exploitalion of marble are presented as examples of interesting, useful and profitable fields for application of scientific knowledge. The marble industry is only one such field and is selected because its varying new aspects are familiar to the author. However, what is true for marble is equally so in principle for many industrial minerals. The problems of any stone industry are to maintain markets, create new outlets for stone already in demand, and develop varied uses for varieties that are not so popular. Here the geologist has a different role from most of his colleagues in metal mining. The producing branch may ask about the expectable variation in thickness or size of a deposit as development proceeds. The stock department may call for the available amount of a given type of stone before accepting a large order. The sales force requires data on the use for stone from certain parts of deposits in order to divert grades to the most suitable use. The service department wants defects rectified and the cause determined to avoid recurrence The mills want data on durability and cutting quality of abrasives. The geologist occupies no special department; he is on general call, as may be illustrated by a few types of problems that may be classified as: (1) dominantly geological in character, (2) dominantly chemical in character, (3) dominantly physical in character. Geological Problems The geological problems deal almost exclusively with the size of blocks. Size across the deposit is limited by thickness of individual beds. and along the strike by the space between crosscutting joints. Frequently the vertical depth of a block is reduced by exfoliation shells arising from spontaneous expansion. All these factors require consideration in developing a deposit to fill an order. Thickening of Marble Beds The limestone beds that became the marble deposits of the northern Appalachians and of the Yule locality in Colorado were seldom homo-

Jan 1, 1941

By Philip Drinker

IN THE mining and metallurgical industries, numerous problems arise requiring determinations of solid and of liquid particles suspended in air. Frequently, these problems are of local interest and involve purely economic or operating difficulties; on the other hand, toxic effects from the inhalation or the ingestion of substances suspended in air may be a matter of concern. For checking up process improvements or for determining ventilation efficiencies in problems of this general nature, various methods have been proposed. Although simpler methods are often satisfactory, precipitation combines several desirable features that other methods lack. This paper is, therefore, devoted to a discussion of portable alternating-current precipitators applicable to the quantitative determination and microscopy of dusts, fumes, and smokes in air. Small particles suspended in gases, such as air, are referred to in the literature as aerosols or suspensoids. Of these terms, suspensoids appears to be preferable as being more nearly in keeping with words in everyday use. In problems involving air pollution by small, particles-by suspensoids-it is convenient to distinguish three broad classes based on the size, the degree of dispersion, and the method by which the particles become suspended in the air. Dusts.-Particles or aggregates of particles, 150 to 1 micron in diameter, that are thrown into the air by mechanical agencies are termed dusts. Examples are silica, talc, cement, organic dusts such as hard rubber, starch, and cocoa; flocculated fume and smoke products. Fumes.-Particles, 0.2 to 1 micron in diameter, formed from chemical or physicochemical reactions are known as fumes. Examples are ammonium chloride, lead and mercury, zinc and magnesium oxides, fogs, and acid mists.

Jan 3, 1925

By P. de Vitry, Willis P. Mould

The wire saw is a tool not less than 60 years old, probably nearer 100 years old. It was developed in Europe and is reputed to have originated in Belgium. Frombold is said to be the original patentee. Wire sawing equipment, as indicated in Fig. I, is very simple. It consists of a three-strand wire cable, usually pis or 1/4 in. in diameter, or a single flat ribbon of medium hard, tough, alloy steel twisted into a helix of those diameters, made to form an endless belt of any length up to several thousand feet. The wire is guided into the cut by sheaves mounted in slides on steel columns situated close to either end of the cut. The feed motion usually is controlled either by gravity or by hand-operated feed screws. The steel columns or "standards" range from 15 to 30 ft. in length. At the top is a swiveled arm supporting a sheave similar to the traveling sheave below. Immediately under the swivel-mounted sheave is a guy plate or collar with shackles attaching four chain or wire-rope guys with suitable tightening devices, or with two guys and two jack legs for supporting the standard vertically or at any desired anale. The usual drive is by a 10-hp. motor through a gear reducer, on which are Insti- two grooved sheaves, One of which is keyed and the other free running On the shaft. Tension is provided by a car running on a track in line with the driving sheave

Jan 1, 1948

By P. de Vitry, Willis P. Mould

The wire saw is a tool not less than 60 years old, probably nearer 100 years old. It was developed in Europe and is reputed to have originated in Belgium. Frombold is said to be the original patentee. Wire sawing equipment, as indicated in Fig. I, is very simple. It consists of a three-strand wire cable, usually pis or 1/4 in. in diameter, or a single flat ribbon of medium hard, tough, alloy steel twisted into a helix of those diameters, made to form an endless belt of any length up to several thousand feet. The wire is guided into the cut by sheaves mounted in slides on steel columns situated close to either end of the cut. The feed motion usually is controlled either by gravity or by hand-operated feed screws. The steel columns or "standards" range from 15 to 30 ft. in length. At the top is a swiveled arm supporting a sheave similar to the traveling sheave below. Immediately under the swivel-mounted sheave is a guy plate or collar with shackles attaching four chain or wire-rope guys with suitable tightening devices, or with two guys and two jack legs for supporting the standard vertically or at any desired anale. The usual drive is by a 10-hp. motor through a gear reducer, on which are Insti- two grooved sheaves, One of which is keyed and the other free running On the shaft. Tension is provided by a car running on a track in line with the driving sheave

Jan 1, 1948

By Earle Schumacher

THE solidus line above the solid solution field in the lead-antimony system was originally determined by Dean and his associates1 from heating curves. They did not regard this line as having been accurately fixed and in their more recent publications2 the curves drawn do not follow closely the original data. The precise location of the solidus line is of importance in the extrusion of lead-antimony cable sheath, as the temperature of the metal in this process must be less than the lowest temperature at which any part of the alloy in the lead-press charge becomes liquid. It is very desirable, however, to operate at as high a temperature as possible, as the rate of extrusion for a given pressure is approximately doubled for an increase of 10° C. in temperature. The precise location of this line is also important, in the investigation of ternary systems of lead, antimony and a third metal. For these reasons, and because of the differences reported in the literature, data were secured on the lead-antimony solidus line by the classical quenching-test procedure.

Jan 1, 1927

By R. J. Hafsten, E. S. Davenport, R. A. Grange

THE influence of austenite grain size upon the hardenability of steel is now fairly well understood; for a given austenite, increasing the grain size increases the depth of hardening, and, since the latter is related to the fundamental transformation behavior of austenite, it follows that austenite decomposition must, in general, be retarded by increasing grain size. To date, very little quantitative information bearing directly on the effect of austenite grain size upon the progress and result of isothermal transformation has been published. Davenport and Bain,1 and Zimmerman, Aborn and Bain2 have shown that the transformation is definitely retarded in hypereutectoid plain carbon steels at temperatures near and above the upper region of rapid transformation (Ar') when the austenite grains are increased in size. More recently, Griffiths, Pfeil and Allen3 investigated the effect of a series of different heating (austenitizing) temperatures upon the progress of isothermal transformation at 1245°F. (675°C.) and 745°F. (395°C.) in a medium carbon, low-alloy steel; while they reported no measurements of the austenite grain size, their results suggest that increase in grain size retards austenite transformation at 1245°F. (675°C.), but has no appreciable effect at 745°F (395°C.). The present paper deals with the results of a study of the isothermal transformation of austenite in a single commercial alloy steel in which a fine-grained or a coarse-grained state was induced by appropriate selection of austenitizing temperature. The data are presented in the form of isothermal transformation diagrams, which clearly show that coarsening the grains lessens the rate of transformation of austenite to proeutectoid ferrite and pearlite-that is, at temperature levels above about 1000°F. (540°C.)-but is without significant effect at lower temperatures where the transformation product is bainite or martensite. It is to be presumed that the foregoing statement would be valid, at least in principle, for many other grades of steel; it confirms again that the mechanism of transformation to a pearlitic structure is fundamentally different from that to an acicular structure. A number of related observations were made, which seem to throw some light on the transformation process as it takes place in alloy steels, particularly at temperature levels in the vicinity of 1000°F. (540°C.), where the transition from lamellar to acicular structures occurs. These data are discussed briefly in the belief that they may lead to a clearer understanding of this aspect of the subject. MATERIAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The material investigated was a commercial grade of S.A.E. 4140 steel, the composition of which was as follows: 0.37 per cent C, 0.77 per cent Mn, 0.98 per cent Cr and 0.21 per cent M0. It was hot-rolled to a 1 1/8-in. round bar and normalized by air-cooling from 1800°F. (980°C.).

Jan 1, 1941

Discussion of the paper of G. P. Hulst, presented at the Salt Lake meeting, August, 1914, and printed in Bulletin No. 92, August, 1914, pp. 1865 to 1871. L. S. AUSTIN, Salt Lake City, Utah.-One question that I would like to ask is in regard to the sampling kettle which stands beside the softening furnace. How is the sample taken or melted? G. P. HULST.-The sampling kettles in question are of 45 tons capacity and are fired with coal. The lead bullion comes in on a high line in car-load lots of 30 to 40 tons. The entire lot is trucked from car, weighed over scales and thrown into the sampling kettle, which has been previously cleaned. The kettle is fired and the bullion melted, then heated up until no frozen bullion' remains in the .bottom or adheres to the sides of the kettle. The kettle is scraped clean, sides and bottom, and the wet dross is skimmed Doff clean into molds. The kettle is stirred thoroughly during the period in which 24 to 30 samples of approximately ½ assay ton are taken. These samples are taken in a long-hand loci iron mold, providing for taking six to eight "gumdrops." The mold is inserted and heated to the same temperature as the molten metal, and gumdrops are clipped out and cooled in the mold by dipping 'the bottom of. the mold into Water. The samples should be free from fins. The gumdrops represent the contents of the kettle, and in assaying, they should not be clipped, but weighed up and the result computed. The dross bars are weighed and sawed according to old hammer and punch sample template. The sawdust represents a sample of the dross. In eases of high gold in the bullion there is a slight correction in the assay. This method of sampling was developed at the Omaha plant of the American Smelting & Refining Co., W. T.. Page, Manager, in 1903 or 1904, for adjusting differences in checking smelter sampling. L. S. AUSTIN.-The base bullion which you treat is very clean. It has been remelted, and skimmed before shipment. How rapidly can you get it through the softening furnace, and how does it compare with ordinary base bullion? G. P. HULST.-Twenty-four hours is the softening limit on these charges. In other words, it is charged into the furnace, heated up, and the first and second skimmings are taken off, and it goes into the kettle the next day; that is, 24 hr. elapse from the time the bullion is charged to the time it is in the kettle. L. S. AUSTIN.-It seems to be a long time to hold such a pure bullion. I suppose, though, it comes around conveniently so that you have a time for all the other operations of refining. Isn't that the case? MR. HULST.-Every refinery is based on those principles.

Jan 11, 1914

By John Chipman, Peter J. Koros

The distribution of copper between liquid silver and liquid iron, Fe-C, and Fe-C-Si alloys was studied at 1600°C. From the data and the activity of copper in silver obtained from the phase diagrams, the activity coefficients of copper in iron up to 3 atomic pct are log y, = 0.90 — 2.4 N, and y": = 8.0. The effect of carbon up to saturation is expressed as log y = 1.8 Ni. The effect of silicon up to 11 atomic pct is insignificant. SLOWLY rising copper content of steel being produced is focusing attention on the lack of information on the behavior of copper in liquid steel. Chou' measured the activity coefficient of copper in liquid iron through its distribution between liquid silver and iron. He obtained a value of 9.12 at infinite dilution. Chipman' calculated the activity coefficient of copper in liquid iron at 1600°C from the phase diagram and obtained a value of 12. Ameiln and Pfeiffer- investigated the possibility of removing copper from liquid steel through the use of lead, silver, and bismuth as solvents. They also calculated that the activity coefficient of copper in liquid iron would be increased five or sixfold by addition of 4 pct C. Langenberg and Lindsay' are investigating the effectiveness of lead and sodium sulfide in removing copper from liquid iron. The experimental method was similar to that used by Chou' and Chipman and Floridis." Silver, copper, and iron were melted together, the copper distributing itself between the two layers so that at equilibrium a,.,, (in Ag) - a,.,, (inFe) and N,.,, (in Ag) yc,, (inFe) (in Ag). [21 N,.,, (inFe) Thus, from the concentration of copper in each layer and the activity coefficient of copper in liquid silver, the activity coefficient of copper in liquid iron can be calculated. The effect of an alloying element such as carbon on the activity coefficient of copper can also be determined from its effect on the distribution, provided the new element is essentially insoluble in silver. The one serious limitation of this method is the increasing mutual solubility of silver and iron in the presence of a third component. The mutual solubilities of pure iron and silver are negligible, but increase with increasing copper concentration beyond the range investigated. Ag-Cu System—The activity coefficient of copper in silver at 1600°C had to be estimated, since direct experimental data are not available. Kawakami" measured the heat of mixing of Ag-Cu alloys at 1200°C by a calorimetric technique. Scheil' calculated the heat of mixing in this system by use of the phase diagram, assuming that the solution is random and that the heat of mixing is independent of temperature. The terminal solid solution may be assumed to obey Raoult's law within the requirements

Jan 1, 1957

By Richard Pearce

IN looking around me for some subject on which to frame an address for this meeting, it has occurred to me that some results of observation and investigation, in regard to the varied conditions under which gold is found, may possibly prove of interest. The subject is one which frequently crops up in discussions at our meetings, but there is always an immense amount of uncertainty expressed as to the actual condition in which the gold exists in any particular ore. It follows, therefore, that any light which might be shed on this rather complex subject, would be of value to science and of service to mining and metallurgical practice. In some investigations which I have, from time to time, been led to make, for the purpose of determining to what extent an ore might be concentrated, I have been astonished at the very varied and apparently inexplicable results encountered, and have been naturally led to inquire into the causes for such seeming inconsistency. The mines of Gilpin county, Colorado, where gold was first discovered in that State, furnish an infinite variety of examples of its occurrence, and it was here that difficulties first presented themselves to the Colorado miners, in the sudden transition from what is called " free-milling gold-ore " to an ore characterized by properties which make the ordinary treatment by amalgamation stamp-mills utterly impracticable. So long as mining was limited to what might be called the zone of oxidation in the veins, just so long might amalgamation be conducted without difficulty; but directly the miner reached a point beyond the influence of the oxidizing power of the surface waters, the gold resisted all attempts at amalgamation, and recourse • was had to smelting.

Jan 1, 1890

By J. S. Kasper, R. M. Waterstrat, B. F. Decker

THE existence of v phase in the Mn-Mo system was discovered in this laboratory several years ago,' but neither the conditions of its formation nor its composition were known, and preliminary attempts to reproduce the phase were unsuccessful. We wish now to specify the information appropriate to phase formation on the basis of experiments performed since that time. The starting materials were in every case electrolytic manganese and high purity molybdenum. Two methods of preparation were employed: l—arc-melting varying combinations of the elements in an inert atmosphere and subsequent heat treating, and 2—sintering compressed mixtures of finely divided powders of the elements. In the latter method, the powders were first passed through 200 mesh screen and then compressed into cylinders of % in. diameter and % in. length, which were sintered at elevated temperatures in an atmosphere of dry hydrogen. For some samples, the sintering temperature was 1200°C (for 1 hr), and these were then heat- treated at lower temperatures for times up to 24 hr. Eventually it was found, for the proper composition, that essentially pure a phase could be produced by sintering at 1125°C for 3 hr. Quenching to room temperature was effected by means of a stream of cold, dry hydrogen in a water-cooled chamber. The arc-melting procedure was found to be unsatisfactory after an investigation of many samples at different compositions and temperatures. Large quantities of manganese were vaporized during melting and none of the products were homogeneous or contained extended regions of pure phase. Nonetheless, these experiments established that no formation occurs in the Mn-Mo system below 1115oC, and indicated, at least roughly, the composition range of interest for further exploration. The more definite results obtained from samples produced by the second method are given in Table I. A portion of sample 2 heated for 16 hr at 1000°C in a Vycor tube transformed to molybdenum plus unidentified phases of complex X-ray pattern. From these few results it appears that the region of phase is quite narrow in composition. It is of interest that the composition is such as to make for difficulties in correlating this structure on an electron atom basis with other a structures of iron, cobalt, and nickel. In that respect Mn-Mo shows the same anomaly as Mn-Cr and Mn-V systems.' A second feature is that in common with the two other known molybdenum (Fe-Mo and Co-Mo), Mn-Mo v exists only at elevated temperatures. The X-ray powder pattern of the pure a phase of Mn-Mo is given in Table 11. It agrees well with the patterns established for other structures, especially with that for Fe-Mo as given by Goldschmidt.An attempt is being made to establish whether an ordering of the respective atoms occurs and such information will be reported in a future publication. Acknowledgment The authors acknowledge gratefully the assistance of Mrs. J. R. Belanger in some portions of this work. References 'J. S. Kasper, B. F. Decker, and J. R. Belanger: Journal of Applied Physics (1951) 22, p. 361. 2 A. H. Sully: Journal Inst. Metals (1951) 80, p. 173. H. J. Goldschmidt: Research (1949) 2, p. 343.

Jan 1, 1954

By HILLARY W.

THAT colleges and technical schools constitute a vital factor in our industrial system is being realized more and more of late years. Consequently it is desirable that there should be a constant interchange of ideas between the 'school and the industries and that there should be a more intimate contact between the student and his future employer. Business and industry demand certain proficiencies and qualifications of the student and he, in turn, sees certain rewards and advantages in the industry. . In a meeting of this kind, whose primary purpose is to promote a greater intimacy between the students and those men who are active in the mining profession, it is quite fitting that each state his demnds upon the other in order to establish a common understanding. It is probable that a student, not being conversant with actual conditions in the industry, may be unfair in what he asks of his employer. Therefore criticism, constructive or other- wise, is not only accepted, but is invited.

Jan 1, 1930

By C. A. Mitke

(Butte Meeting, August, 1913.) 1. Character of Gases which Caused Helmets to Get Out of Order. DURING September, -1911, the fire area in the Lowell mine continually increased and gases resulting from the fire came through the upcast shaft. These gases contained such a large percentage of sulphur dioxide that the men were unable to go up and down on cages, and, within a comparatively short time, repairs in the shaft were found to be necessary. Since the fire was in sulphide ores and extended into certain timbered sections, the gases contained varying amounts of SO2 CO2, and perhaps, at times, CO. The temperature in the shaft was generally about 97°, and the relative humidity from 97 to 99.5 per cent. The corrosive action of the fumes became apparent when the cables had to be changed more often than usual, the heads of lag screws .in the guides of the shaft disappeared, and the cages needed frequent repairs. It also became necessary to repair two compartments of the shaft by putting in 150 ft. of new guides between the 600 and 800 levels and lag screws in nearly all the old guides from the surface to the 800 level. 2. Ordinary Methods of Testing Helmets which were Unsatisfactory. These conditions required all work to be done by men wearing oxygen helmets. The Draeger type was tried, and was used until all repairs were completed. At first the helmets were. tested for air circulation and air tightness and the injector was tested by water gauge according to the methods recommended by the Draeger Oxygen Apparatus Co. Six arrangements, covering .these different tests, are illustrated in the catalogue and circulars of the company.

Jan 7, 1913

By F. E. Wood

This paper is written primarily as a discussion of Dr. W. P. Hase-man's paper on "A Theory of Well Spacing"' and presents briefly the production records, and intensity and rate of development in a large portion of the two principal producing sands in the Salt Creek field, Wyoming. The study includes 1350 wells, 160,000,000 bbl. production, well spacings varying from two to seven wells per 40 acres and early and late development. The general conclusions to be derived from this study are: 1. It is impossible to formulate a mathematical rule to apply to well spacing in the Salt Creek field. 2. Each tract is a separate problem. 3. Tracts first drilled produce the most oil, with many exceptions. 4. Initial production is not a reliable index to the relationship between past, current, or future production. 5. Wells which have produced the most oil in the past are not necessarily yielding the greatest current production nor will they yield the greatest future production. In fact, wells which have yielded the greatest past production will, in at least one-half the cases, make less oil currently or in the future than wells which have produced a smaller quantity of oil in the past. 6. The following is a safe rule to apply in well spacing in the Salt Creek field: (a) If the drilling of an additional well on a tract results in a sustained increased production, with prospects of making a profit, the tract is not overdeveloped and additional wells might be drilled. (b) If the drilling of an additional well does not effect a sustained increase in the production of a tract, the tract is fully developed. Second Wall Creek Sand The Second Wall Creek sand, covering 20,000 producing acres, is the principal producing horizon in the Salt Creek field; 1610 wells are producing at this time from this sand. This paper deals with hut a portion of the entire field including 10,680 of the more productive acres,

Jan 1, 1930

By Donald C. Barton

Geophysical methods of prospecting taken as a whole do not seem to offer much promise to a young man planning to enter them in the future. They have come to stay, to be sure, and they will continue in at least moderate use for a long time. Domestic use of those methods presumably is at a maximum at the present time. Geophysical prospecting is expensive; the effects of the law of diminishing returns in efficiency in finding prospects can already be recognized. Small oil companies, independent oil operators, and royalty buyers have been doing much geophysical work. But in face of the increasing costs of discovery of prospects and in face of the probably decreasing favorability of the prospects discovered, I expect to see a sharp drop in their use of geophysics within the next 10 years. The major oil companies and the larger small oil companies will continue to use geophysics indefinitely, but it seems doubtful whether the very extensive domestic campaigns of a few companies will be maintained for many years, certainly not for 10 years. The use of the geophysical methods in foreign countries has not yet reached its peak, and probaby will continue to increase for several years. That peak level of activity will probably be held for 10 years, although the site of maximum activity will shift from country to country; by the end of 25 years from now, I should expect the foreign use of the methods to have leveled off to one-fourth to one-half the peak level. Foreign service in geophysics does not seem to offer an attractive career, except for men of exceptional disposition. Young men just out of college, who are willing and who can afford to spend three or four years having a fling at adventure before settling down, will find it attractive, but when their tour of foreign service is over, they probably will have harder work finding a job than when they were seniors, and their foreign experience will count for little, except for further foreign service. A few men, mainly the higher men, will have headquarters at civilized or semi-civilized cities and towns or at permanent oil-company towns, and can

Jan 1, 1940