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By Eliot Blackwelder

For the purposes of this paper, the boundaries of China and Siberia will be taken as they stood about 1907. Except in the Caspian region, it is doubtful if all the oil ever produced in these countries would equal one day's flow of a good Texas well. Considering the vastness of the regions and the variety of strata, it seems strange that these two countries should have made so small a showing in the petroleum industry. No doubt the condition is caused partly by lack of prospecting and of modern methods of development; in larger measure, however, it is evidently because of unfavorable geological conditions over nearly all of east-central and northern Asia. China The known oil occurrences in China are very few. For many years, perhaps a barrel a day has been obtained by primitive methods from wells near the city of Yenchang in the northwestern province of Shensi. A like amount was obtained from wells bored for salt water in the vicinity of Kiating in southwestern Szechwan. The little oil was separated from salt water by allowing it to stand in jars. The salt wells yield also considerable natural gas, which is used to evaporate the salt and also for domestic purposes. There is evidence that wells were bored in this part of China before the third century. It is said that more than 1200 wells have been sunk in that district to depths of 1600 to 2000 ft. (485 to 610 m.) in connection with the salt industry. The scarcity of petroleum in China may be ascribed to three general geologic conditions: First, China contains practically no marine sediments of Mesozoic or Cenozoic age; second, the Paleozoic sediments are not for the most part of the types that generally contribute petroleum; third, the rocks of nearly all ages have been strongly folded, faulted, and more or less intruded by igneous rocks in all parts of China except certain areas in the west and northwest. The mountainous eastern peninsula of Shantung and the similar district of Liaotung in Manchuria to the northeast have the general

Jan 1, 1923

By Howard N. Eavenson

In many of the bituminous-coal districts of this country, more than one seam of workable coal exists, and in most cases the lower seam is the more attractive, owing to either its greater thickness or its superior quality. Apprehension that the mining of a seam will destroy the availability of all overlying seams has hindered the development of many fields and has led to the unprofitable working of certain seams in order to save them from an expected total loss. The U. S. Coal & Coke Co., Gary, W. Va., was the first operator in the Pocahontas field to mine the No. 4 seam extensively, which occurs about 80 ft. above No. 3, the scam that was worked first. This was due to the fact that over large areas the upper seam was the only one of workable thickness, at that time. In two places, both seams were workable in the same area, the No. 4 being thinner and containing more impurities than No. 3 seam. In mining these areas, an attempt was made to keep the workings in the upper seam in advance of those in the lower one, and no pillar robbing was done in No. 3 seam until after pillars in that part of the upper seam directly over it had been mined. This resulted in an excessive development in the lower seam, with large areas of finished rooms and standing pillars. The top fell badly, and after a couple of years the falls became so heavy that pillar drawing was unduly expensive. To overcome this obstacle and allow No. 3 seam to be worked in some territory where No. 4 was thick, but too dirty for present use, a study was made of operating methods applied to superimposed seams in Pennsylvania and Maryland. This was started more than seven yean ago by the writer; his data, supplemented by more recent information gathered by his associates, and by two cases mentioned in recent foreign publications, form the basis of this paper. Central Pennsylvania In central Pennsylvania, the lower coal measures contain several seams of nearly the same thickness but of varying quality, and as mining

Jan 1, 1923

By S. D. Michaelson, Eric Sinkinson

Many of the magnesite ores of the western part of the United States contain such large amounts of silica and hydrous silicate minerals that the value of the ores is either low or nominal. Expensive and carefully controlled mining methods are necessary to prevent excessive dilution of the higher grade ores by introduction in mining of small pieces of the hanging walls or footwalls of the deposit. This difficulty is further complicated by the various states of decomposition of the country rock of the deposits in which many of the ores occur. The problem the authors attempted to solve arose from a request to float an impure magnesite containing varying proportions of siliceous gangue with calcium carbonate. The ore is normally enclosed in serpentine masses, somewhat decomposed, and in mining it wall rock is incidentally added, so that variable amounts of siliceous material occur in the samples. The silica, alumina, and iron oxide are so closely associated with the magnesium carbonate in the magnesite that ordinary mechanical separation at coarse mesh sizes is of no avail. It is well known that calcium carbonate can be floated by suitable reagents, therefore it seemed reasonable to suppose that magnesium carbonate minerals would behave in a similar manner, but experimental trial proved that this supposition was unfounded. Therefore the first step in the problem was to find out what differences of behavior there were between magnesium and calcium carbonates under flotation conditions, or when suspended in water. In water at 18" C. magnesium carbonate is slightly more soluble than calcium carbonate; in fact, MgCO3 is soluble to the extent of 0.0106 grams in 100 c.c. of water at 18" C. and CaCO3 to the extent of 0.0013 grams. However, magnesium carbonate in water gradually changes to the basic carbonates of a composition (3MgCO3.Mg(OH)23H2O) or (4MgCO3.Mg(OH)25H2O), depending upon conditions, and calcium carbonate to calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2. The relative solubilities of these hydroxides in water are the reverse of the solubilities of magnesium and calcium carbonates. The range in published figures for solubility

Jan 1, 1938

By Theron Wasson

Michigan has had another record year. Its production has been maintained by the development of fields discovered in 1938. Two minor fields were listed as discoveries in 1939. These are in the southwestern part of the state, where the greatest drilling activity took place. During the year 1465 tests were completed, of which 828 were oil wells, 56 gas wells and 581 dry holes. The four southwestern counties—Allegan, Ottawa, Kent and Van Buren—had 1077 tests drilled, while nine other southwestern counties had 70 tests, making a total of 1147 for this part of the state, 78 per cent of all drilled during the year. Michigan's production of 23,400,000 bbl. during 1939, equal to an average daily production of 64,110 bbl., exceeded 1938 by 4,655,000 bbl., thus establishing another annual record, which brought the cumulative amount for the state to a little over 125,000,000 barrels. A map showing location of Michigan oil and gas fields was published in the TRansactions in 1939 (Vol. 132, p. 353). Active Oil Fields.—The Walker field, near Grand Rapids, Kent County, had a rapid development during the year. Traverse limestone production was discovered here in September 1938, and development has been rapid during 1939. At the end of the year 5500 acres have been proved by drilling. The Traverse limestone is found in Walker field at a depth of about 1810 ft. The Temple field, Clare County, was the most active in Central Michigan. Its production is from the Monroe dolomite at a depth of 3890 ft. In this field 2500 acres have been proved by 125 producing wells. Michigan's largest producer for 1939 was drilled in the Temple field, with a rated potential of 8760 bbl. per day. The Wise field, Wise township, Isabella County, discovered in 1938, had a steady and orderly development because the operators agreed on a staggered 20-acre spacing program. So far 760 acres have been proved for production from the Dundee limestone, found at 3650 feet. Active Gas Fields.—The most active areas in which drilling was done during the past year for gas were the Freeman and Lincoln fields in Clare County, the Clayton field of Arenac County, and the Home field of

Jan 1, 1940

By Sylvain J. Pirson

The main value of earth magnetic measurements, outside of certain mining problems, resides in the study of deeply buried tectonic phenomena related to regional and local geology. Magnetic surveys are a necessary complement of gravimetric measurements, especially of pendulum surveys. To date, magnetometer prospecting has been used chiefly in the study of sedimentary basins where petroleum structures are associated with the uplifted basement rocks. There are, in the literature, innumerable articles dealing with such surveys as applied to oil geology but few treat of broad geological features related to regional magnetic disturbances of the earth field. An important piece of coordination work has been made by Jean Jungl for the magnetic and gravimetric measurements made in France and their geologic significance. A similar attempt at correlation of the known geology with the anomalies of the vertical component of the earth magnetic field has been made for the United States by George B. Somers2. Taking the magnetic vector as a whole, W. P. Jenny3 made a coordination of magnetism and geology for the main producing oil states of the United States. A more detailed study along the same lines is published by A. Van Weelden4 for southern Oklahoma and northern Texas; in this work magnetic and gravimetric measurements taken at stations as close as one mile apart are compiled and compared to the regional geology of the Ouachita-Amarillo uplifted area. From the literature mentioned, it is evident that reliable interpretation of magnetic' anomalies can be arrived at only when the magnetic stations are numerous and cover the area in a close net of measurements, therefore the works of Somers and Jenny, based on sparsely distributed Government measurements, can be regarded only as preliminary programs indicating lines along which further work should be done, whereas the coordination made by Van Weelden is an example of the contribution to the knowledge of regional geology that can be arrived at by the use of applied geophysics. With the hope that further systematic magnetic measurements will be carried on to solve regional and local geological problems, the author

Jan 1, 1940

By Sylvain J. Pirson

The main value of earth magnetic measurements, outside of certain mining problems, resides in the study of deeply buried tectonic phenomena related to regional and local geology. Magnetic surveys are a necessary complement of gravimetric measurements, especially of pendulum surveys. To date, magnetometer prospecting has been used chiefly in the study of sedimentary basins where petroleum structures are associated with the uplifted basement rocks. There are, in the literature, innumerable articles dealing with such surveys as applied to oil geology but few treat of broad geological features related to regional magnetic disturbances of the earth field. An important piece of coordination work has been made by Jean Jungl for the magnetic and gravimetric measurements made in France and their geologic significance. A similar attempt at correlation of the known geology with the anomalies of the vertical component of the earth magnetic field has been made for the United States by George B. Somers2. Taking the magnetic vector as a whole, W. P. Jenny3 made a coordination of magnetism and geology for the main producing oil states of the United States. A more detailed study along the same lines is published by A. Van Weelden4 for southern Oklahoma and northern Texas; in this work magnetic and gravimetric measurements taken at stations as close as one mile apart are compiled and compared to the regional geology of the Ouachita-Amarillo uplifted area. From the literature mentioned, it is evident that reliable interpretation of magnetic' anomalies can be arrived at only when the magnetic stations are numerous and cover the area in a close net of measurements, therefore the works of Somers and Jenny, based on sparsely distributed Government measurements, can be regarded only as preliminary programs indicating lines along which further work should be done, whereas the coordination made by Van Weelden is an example of the contribution to the knowledge of regional geology that can be arrived at by the use of applied geophysics. With the hope that further systematic magnetic measurements will be carried on to solve regional and local geological problems, the author

Jan 1, 1940

By Howard N. Eavenson

In many of the bituminous-coal districts of this country, more than one seam of workable coal exists, and in most cases the lower seam is the more attractive, owing to either its greater thickness or its superior quality. Apprehension that the mining of a seam will destroy the availability of all overlying seams has hindered the development of many fields and has led to the unprofitable working of certain seams in order to save them from an expected total loss. The U. S. Coal & Coke Co., Gary, W. Va., was the first operator in the Pocahontas field to mine the No. 4 seam extensively, which occurs about 80 ft. above No. 3, the scam that was worked first. This was due to the fact that over large areas the upper seam was the only one of workable thickness, at that time. In two places, both seams were workable in the same area, the No. 4 being thinner and containing more impurities than No. 3 seam. In mining these areas, an attempt was made to keep the workings in the upper seam in advance of those in the lower one, and no pillar robbing was done in No. 3 seam until after pillars in that part of the upper seam directly over it had been mined. This resulted in an excessive development in the lower seam, with large areas of finished rooms and standing pillars. The top fell badly, and after a couple of years the falls became so heavy that pillar drawing was unduly expensive. To overcome this obstacle and allow No. 3 seam to be worked in some territory where No. 4 was thick, but too dirty for present use, a study was made of operating methods applied to superimposed seams in Pennsylvania and Maryland. This was started more than seven yean ago by the writer; his data, supplemented by more recent information gathered by his associates, and by two cases mentioned in recent foreign publications, form the basis of this paper. Central Pennsylvania In central Pennsylvania, the lower coal measures contain several seams of nearly the same thickness but of varying quality, and as mining

Jan 1, 1923

By G. S. Hume

In Alberta, an oil well with an estimated capacity of 60 to 100 bbl. was "brought in" at Wainwright, the oil being derived from the Colorado group of rocks. In the Norman fields, Mackenzie River area, two new holes completed showed no oil in commercial quantities whereas the "Discovery" well has now an increased flow amounting to about 100 bbl. In Kent Co., Ontario, a well from low down in the Trenton formation gave an initial flow estimated at 200 bbl. This opens up new possibilities for the Ontario fields as this is the first oil from this depth in the Trenton. ACTIVE drilling operations for oil were carried on during the summer of 1923 in various parts of western Canada, particularly in Alberta. During the early part of the summer, interest centered in southern Alberta, in the Coutts area, just north of the producing Kevin-Sunburst field of Montana; but on Nov. 14 a strike of oil by British Petroleums Ltd. at its well near Wainwright, 120 mi. east of Edmonton, diverted public attention to a new field. According to present estimates, this well has a possible production of from 60 to 100 bbl. a day; the oil is 15° Bé. with an asphaltic base and is obtained from a sand at the depth of 2019-2036 ft. The oil stands at 1700 ft. in the casing and there is sufficient gas pressure to cause it to flow when the well is opened. The oil horizon is in a sandstone in rocks of Colorado age. It is known that there is a terrace structure of which the western edge extends in a northwesterly direction from the vicinity of Hardisty to Viking, where it probably swings more to the north. At Viking a small dome-like structure on this terrace gives rise to an important gas field. Wainwright lies directly northeast of Hardisty. The exact structure in the Wainwright field is unknown. At Fabyan, 6 mi. northwest of Wainwright, the Imperial Oil Co.1 last year brought in a large gas well estimated at 14,000,000 cu. ft.; the escaping gas sprayed a small amount of heavy black oil over the derrick. The gas was obtained at a depth of

Jan 2, 1924

By R. H. Jacoby, M. J. Rzasa

Experimental equilibrium vaporization ratios were obtained for nitrogen, methane, carbon dioxide, ethane, and hydrogen sulfide in natural gas-condensate systems. Two different overall mixture compositions were investigated over the pressure range 500 to 4,000 psia at 100°, 150°, and 200 °F. Partial phase diagrams of the mixtures were obtained; one of these showed a critical point at 204°F and 3,875 psia. These and earlier data' were compared with the Kellogg correlation' at! 100°F and 1,000 psia. INTRODUCTION The authors' have presented equilibrium vaporization ratios for nitrogen, methane, carbon dioxide, ethane, and hydrogen sulfide in complex mixtures, such as natural gas-crude oil and natural gas-absorber oil. Since mixtures of the natural gas-condensate type also occur widely in petroleum reservoirs and often contain the non-hydrocarbons mentioned, it would be useful to have appropriate K data for calculating equilibrium vaporization conditions. Roland, Smith, and Kave-ler' obtained K's for methane and the light hydrocarbons in gas-condensate mixtures; and Poettmann and Katz3 obtained K's for carbon dioxide in a gas-condensate system. The data presented in this paper extend this coverage to include K's for nitrogen and hydrogen sulfide and phase diagrams for the experimental mixtures. EXPERIMENTAL WORK The equipment and experimental procedure was essentially as described previously, except for analysis of the vapor samples. The vapor sample bombs were filled at the pressure and temperature of the run. Immediately after sampling, a portion of this sample was flushed from the bomb into a 650 cc glass bulb, filling it to near atmospheric pressure. The sample in the glass bulb was then analyzed by the mass spectrometer. Some checks were made on this analytical procedure to find the accuracy of measurement of the C + content of the vapor samples. The modifications tried were complete fractionation of the vapor sample and the use of several liquids (depropanized condensate and retrograde liquid from several vapor samples) as calibrating materials for the mass spectrometer. The results obtained from these various checks differed by about 10 per cent relative and this is believed to be the order of accuracy of the vapor C+ concentrations.

Jan 1, 1953

By Eliot Blackwelder

For the purposes of this paper, the boundaries of China and Siberia will be taken as they stood about 1907. Except in the Caspian region, it is doubtful if all the oil ever produced in these countries would equal one day's flow of a good Texas well. Considering the vastness of the regions and the variety of strata, it seems strange that these two countries should have made so small a showing in the petroleum industry. No doubt the condition is caused partly by lack of prospecting and of modern methods of development; in larger measure, however, it is evidently because of unfavorable geological conditions over nearly all of east-central and northern Asia. China The known oil occurrences in China are very few. For many years, perhaps a barrel a day has been obtained by primitive methods from wells near the city of Yenchang in the northwestern province of Shensi. A like amount was obtained from wells bored for salt water in the vicinity of Kiating in southwestern Szechwan. The little oil was separated from salt water by allowing it to stand in jars. The salt wells yield also considerable natural gas, which is used to evaporate the salt and also for domestic purposes. There is evidence that wells were bored in this part of China before the third century. It is said that more than 1200 wells have been sunk in that district to depths of 1600 to 2000 ft. (485 to 610 m.) in connection with the salt industry. The scarcity of petroleum in China may be ascribed to three general geologic conditions: First, China contains practically no marine sediments of Mesozoic or Cenozoic age; second, the Paleozoic sediments are not for the most part of the types that generally contribute petroleum; third, the rocks of nearly all ages have been strongly folded, faulted, and more or less intruded by igneous rocks in all parts of China except certain areas in the west and northwest. The mountainous eastern peninsula of Shantung and the similar district of Liaotung in Manchuria to the northeast have the general

Jan 1, 1923

By Theron Wasson

Michigan has had another record year. Its production has been maintained by the development of fields discovered in 1938. Two minor fields were listed as discoveries in 1939. These are in the southwestern part of the state, where the greatest drilling activity took place. During the year 1465 tests were completed, of which 828 were oil wells, 56 gas wells and 581 dry holes. The four southwestern counties—Allegan, Ottawa, Kent and Van Buren—had 1077 tests drilled, while nine other southwestern counties had 70 tests, making a total of 1147 for this part of the state, 78 per cent of all drilled during the year. Michigan's production of 23,400,000 bbl. during 1939, equal to an average daily production of 64,110 bbl., exceeded 1938 by 4,655,000 bbl., thus establishing another annual record, which brought the cumulative amount for the state to a little over 125,000,000 barrels. A map showing location of Michigan oil and gas fields was published in the TRansactions in 1939 (Vol. 132, p. 353). Active Oil Fields.—The Walker field, near Grand Rapids, Kent County, had a rapid development during the year. Traverse limestone production was discovered here in September 1938, and development has been rapid during 1939. At the end of the year 5500 acres have been proved by drilling. The Traverse limestone is found in Walker field at a depth of about 1810 ft. The Temple field, Clare County, was the most active in Central Michigan. Its production is from the Monroe dolomite at a depth of 3890 ft. In this field 2500 acres have been proved by 125 producing wells. Michigan's largest producer for 1939 was drilled in the Temple field, with a rated potential of 8760 bbl. per day. The Wise field, Wise township, Isabella County, discovered in 1938, had a steady and orderly development because the operators agreed on a staggered 20-acre spacing program. So far 760 acres have been proved for production from the Dundee limestone, found at 3650 feet. Active Gas Fields.—The most active areas in which drilling was done during the past year for gas were the Freeman and Lincoln fields in Clare County, the Clayton field of Arenac County, and the Home field of

Jan 1, 1940

By Eric Sinkinson

MANY of the magnesite ores of the western part of the United States contain such large amounts of silica and hydrous silicate minerals that the value of the ores is either low or nominal. Expensive and carefully controlled mining methods are necessary to prevent excessive dilution of the higher grade ores by introduction in mining of small pieces of the hanging walls or footwalls of the deposit. This difficulty is further complicated by the various states of decomposition of the country rock of the deposits in which many of the ores occur. The problem the authors attempted to solve arose from a request to float an impure magnesite containing varying proportions of siliceous gangue with calcium carbonate. The ore is normally enclosed in-serpen-tine masses, somewhat decomposed, and in mining it wall rock is inci-dentally added, so that variable amounts of siliceous material occur in the samples. The silica, alumna, and iron oxide are so closely associated with the magnesium carbonate in the magnesite that ordinary mechanical separation at coarse mesh sizes is of no avail. It is well known that calcium carbonate can be floated by suitable reagents, therefore it seemed reasonable to suppose that magnesium carbonate minerals would behave in a similar manner, but experimental trial proved that this supposition was unfounded. Therefore the first step in the problem was to find out what differences of behavior there were between magnesium and calcium carbonates under flotation conditions, or when suspended in water. In water at 18° C. magnesium carbonate is slightly more soluble than calcium carbonate; in fact; MgCO3 is soluble to the extent of 0.0106 grams in 100 c.c. of water at 18° C. and CaCO3 to the extent of 0.0013 grams. However, magnesium carbonate in water gradually changes to the basic carbonates of a composition (3MgCO3.Mg(OH)23H20) or (4MgCO3.Mg(OH)25H20), depending upon conditions, and calcium carbonate to calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2. The relative solubilities of these hydroxides in water are the reverse of the solubilities of magnesium and calcium carbonates. The range in published figures for solubility

Jan 1, 1936

By W. L. Phillips

Aluminum and copper single crystals were strained in shear, unloaded and rotated 60, 120, and 180 deg. The magnitude of the Bauschinger strain increased rapidly during the easy glide region and became constant as the easy glide limit was reached. An increment in stress was not required to continue slip in any close-packed plane or in the reverse direction during easy glide. A qualitative theory is proposed to explain the present results. FOLLOWING the initial work on tin by Bausch,' there have been several investigatorsB7 who have employed the shear test to study the deformation of aluminum. In all cases the shear technique was employed in an attempt to obtain a more homogeneous shear than in the conventional tension test The direct shear technique has the obvious advantage, relative to the tension test, that a crystal may be stressed in any predetermined plane and direction, including the reversal of strain sense. In the present investigation the shear technique was employed with aluminum and copper single crystals and their behavior was studied with respect to deformation in all close-packed directions in the octahedral plane. In contrast to previous investigations, the shear technique was used in an attempt to obtain a stress-strain curve in shear which is identical with the corresponding tension curve and then to use the additional degree of freedom of the shear test to study the mechanical behavior of crystals in all close-packed directions in the octahedral plane. PREPARATION OF CRYSTALS Single crystals 1/2 in. in diam and 6 to 7 in. long, were prepared from aluminum containing 0.001 pct Si, 0.001 pct Fe, and 0.001 pct Zn, by spectro-graphic ana1ysis and from OFHC copper. Crystals were grown from the melt in graphite at a rate of 1 5 in. per hr. The copper crystals were grown under an argon atmosphere. No lineage structure was observed in Laue patterns, though small angle boundaries were present in the crystals. The aluminum and copper crystals were annealed at 640" and 900°C, respectively, for 24 hr and furnace-

Jan 1, 1962

By S. D. Michaelson, Eric Sinkinson

Many of the magnesite ores of the western part of the United States contain such large amounts of silica and hydrous silicate minerals that the value of the ores is either low or nominal. Expensive and carefully controlled mining methods are necessary to prevent excessive dilution of the higher grade ores by introduction in mining of small pieces of the hanging walls or footwalls of the deposit. This difficulty is further complicated by the various states of decomposition of the country rock of the deposits in which many of the ores occur. The problem the authors attempted to solve arose from a request to float an impure magnesite containing varying proportions of siliceous gangue with calcium carbonate. The ore is normally enclosed in serpentine masses, somewhat decomposed, and in mining it wall rock is incidentally added, so that variable amounts of siliceous material occur in the samples. The silica, alumina, and iron oxide are so closely associated with the magnesium carbonate in the magnesite that ordinary mechanical separation at coarse mesh sizes is of no avail. It is well known that calcium carbonate can be floated by suitable reagents, therefore it seemed reasonable to suppose that magnesium carbonate minerals would behave in a similar manner, but experimental trial proved that this supposition was unfounded. Therefore the first step in the problem was to find out what differences of behavior there were between magnesium and calcium carbonates under flotation conditions, or when suspended in water. In water at 18" C. magnesium carbonate is slightly more soluble than calcium carbonate; in fact, MgCO3 is soluble to the extent of 0.0106 grams in 100 c.c. of water at 18" C. and CaCO3 to the extent of 0.0013 grams. However, magnesium carbonate in water gradually changes to the basic carbonates of a composition (3MgCO3.Mg(OH)23H2O) or (4MgCO3.Mg(OH)25H2O), depending upon conditions, and calcium carbonate to calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2. The relative solubilities of these hydroxides in water are the reverse of the solubilities of magnesium and calcium carbonates. The range in published figures for solubility

Jan 1, 1938

By B. B. Cox

Iraq, formerly called Mesopotamia in Asiatic Turkey, became a kingdom under British Mandate after the world war and is expected to gain its independence in 1932 when it enters the League of Nations. The kingdom is shown on Fig. 1 in its relations to neighboring countries, to the Mediterranean Sea and to the Persian Gulf. It is slightly smaller than the State of Texas with its capitol, Baghdad, inland about as far from the Persian Gulf as Breckinridge, Tex., is from the Houston Shipping Channel. The oil fields lie 180 to 225 miles north of Baghdad, or about as far as from Breckinridge to Oklahoma City, and about as far from the Mediterranean as Fort Worth is from Hobbs, N. M. A narrow-gage railway runs from Basra, the Persian Gulf port, to Baghdad. From there another narrow-gage runs into the Kurdish hills east of the Tigris to Kirkuk. A standard-gage, part of the old Berlin-Baghdad system, follows the west bank of the Tigris northward from Baghdad to Baiji, a village about 100 miles south of Mosul. No railway exists between Iraq and the Mediterranean, though the Anatolian Railways in southern Turkey come to within 50 miles of the Iraq frontier and 120 miles of Mosul. Surveys have been completed for a railway through British Mandates from Haifa to Baghdad as well as for a railway through French Mandated Syria from Tripoli to Abu Kemal near the Iraq border. Wagon roads, excepting those constructed by the oil companies, are few and indifferent in Iraq and no road exists across the desert to the Mediterranean, but contrary to prevalent beliefs the surface is firm and free from sand dunes so that motor cars can go almost anywhere in dry weather, with ease. Frequent motor car and airplane service exists between Baghdad and the Mediterranean ports and motor car service may be had between Kirkuk and Nisibin, Turkey, where on two days each week through Wagons Lits service is available to Paris. Baghdad is about 21 days distant from New York City with present transport facilities. The climate is semiarid, similar to Imperial Valley, California, the average rainfall outside the mountainous parts amounting generally to

Jan 1, 1932

By Eric Sinkinson

MANY of the magnesite ores of the western part of the United States contain such large amounts of silica and hydrous silicate minerals that the value of the ores is either low or nominal. Expensive and carefully controlled mining methods are necessary to prevent excessive dilution of the higher grade ores by introduction in mining' of small pieces of the hanging walls or footwalls of the deposit. This difficulty is further complicated by the various states of decomposition of the country rock of the deposits in which many of the ores occur. The problem the authors attempted to solve arose from a request to float an impure magnesite containing varying proportions of siliceous gangue with calcium carbonate. The ore is normally. enclosed in serpen-tine masses, somewhat decomposed, and in mining it wall rock is inci-dentally added, so that variable amounts of siliceous material occur in the samples. The silica, alumina, and iron oxide are so closely associated with the magnesium carbonate in the magnesite that ordinary mechanical separation at coarse mesh sizes is of no avail. It is well known that calcium carbonate can be floated by suitable reagents, therefore it seemed reasonable to suppose that magnesium carbonate minerals would behave in a similar manner, but experimental trial proved that this supposition was unfounded. Therefore the first step in the problem was to find out what differences of behavior there were between magnesium and calcium carbonates under flotation conditions, or when suspended in water. In water at 18° C. magnesium carbonate is slightly more soluble than calcium carbonate; in fact, MgCO3 is soluble to the extent of 0.0106 grams in 100 c.c. of water at 18° C. and CaCO3 to the extent of 0.0013 grams. However, magnesium carbonate in water gradually changes to the basic carbonates of a composition (3MgCO3.Mg(OH)23H20) or (4MgCO3.Mg(OH)25H20), depending upon conditions, and calcium carbonate to calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2, The relative solubilities of these hydroxides in water are the reverse of the solubilities of magnesium and calcium carbonates.. The range in published figures for solubility

Jan 1, 1936

THE 143d* meeting of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers was held in New York, Feb. 19-22, 1934. It consisted of the annual business meeting, 45 technical sessions at which 217 papers were presented (more than ever before), two sessions of the Board of Directors, two meetings of Section delegates, three formal lectures, luncheon Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for members and guests, three group dinners and five group luncheons, eight committee meetings, the annual reception and dinner dance, an informal dance, a smoke-dinner and the annual meeting of the Woman's Auxiliary. Attendance showed an improvement over the previous year, as follows: Total, 1534 in 1934, and 1475 in 1933; dinner dance, 543 and 426; smoker-dinner, 425 and 394; informal dance, 295 and 250; women's registration, 160 and 133; luncheons, 1034 and 734. The Coal Division held a general session and three sessions on Coal classification. It also met jointly with the Committee on Ground Movement and Subsidence. At the general session, John B. Dilworth presented a report of the Committtee on Methods of Valuing Coal Proper- ties and R. H. Sweetser a report of the Committee on Evaluation of Coal for Blast-furnace Coke. C. B Huntress, Executive Secretary of the National Coal Association, was the principal speaker at a luncheon on Monday, at which Eli T. Conner, Chairman of the Division, presided H. N. Eavenson, newly elected President of the Institute, and Edward W Parker, Secretary-Treasurer, of the Anthracite Institute, also spoke. The Executive Committee of the Division met Tuesday afternoon. The Sectional Committee on Classification of Coal met on Thursday morning and the Technical Committees on Scientific and Use Classification of Coal on Thursday afternoon. The Committee on Mining Methods held two general sessions, one for presentation of a half-dozen interesting papers on strictly mining subjects, the other on Aerial Transportation. It also participated jointly in a session on ground movement and subsidence with the committee of that name and the Coal Division The Institute's Standing Committee on Aviation had its inception at the session on Aerial Transportation

Jan 1, 1935

By James Bowron

Considering the importance of the steel trade and the strategic position occupied in it by the Birmingham district, it may be surprising to many to learn that the first pig iron smelted with coke was made in Alabama on Feb. 28, 1876, although merchant pig iron had been produced in Rockwood, Tenn., in 1867 -a plant that is still in operation The heavy deposit of Clinton ore, extending from Pennsylvania into Alabama, varies greatly in accessibility, on account of geological changes such as erosion or anticlinal upthrow; it varies equally as much in thickness and in quality. The brown ores extensively scattered through the South also vary materially in quality—some are relatively low in phosphorus and high in manganese, and vice versa. The red ore varies materially in phosphorus, but the iron produced from this ore was always considered too high in phosphorus for treatment by the acid bessemer or open-hearth process and did not contain sufficient phosphorus for the basic bessemer process. Under these conditions there remained only the basic open hearth as a possible process; and for many years it appeared impossible to use this, because, with coke smelted iron, the silicon was too high to permit its use in basic lined furnaces. Various attempts were made, from time to time, to produce a low-silicon iron, by carrying high lime burdens together with harder blowing, but the blast furnaces of the South were not equipped with the blowing power of today and from 31/2to 5-lb. pressure was the normal working condition. The result of these experiments, therefore, was that a furnace would get a lime set or be hastily changed to avoid scaffolding, and engineers and superintendents were careful not to renew the experiments. After the development of the beds of dolomitic stone in East Birmingham, the carrying of sufficient lime to bring down the silicon in the blast furnace to the permissible open-hearth limit was successfully done at the Alice furnace in Birmingham, commencing July 22, 1895. In a very short time the entire output of that furnace was being sold to different Northern steel manufacturers, with a guarantee that silicon and phosphorus should run below 1 per cent.

Jan 1, 1925

Dimitri Konstantinovitch Tschernoff, was horn in Petrograd, Russia, on Nov. 1, 1839, and died in Yalta (Crimea) in the south of Russia, on Jan. 2, 1921. He obtained his early education in the Russian Gymnasium, corresponding to the American high school, and in the Technologic Institute. On graduation from this Institute in 1858, he was engaged as a professor of geometry and algebra and later became a librarian and superintendent of the museum in the same Institute. He also attended lectures in the mathematical physics section at the Univrrsity of Petrograd from 1859 to 1862. In 1866, Professor Tschernoff left the Technologic Institute and entered the employ of the Obouchoff steel plant, founded in 1863 for the manufacture of guns. Here he did his most important work on the heat treatment of steel, its crystallization and metallography. In 1880, he left the Obouchoff plant and went to the south of European Russia, where he discovered and developed some rock-salt mines. This enterprise brought him a rather large fortune. In 1884, he returned to Petrograd and during the next four years held several prominent positions in government departments. In 1899, he became professor of metallurgy in the Michael Artillery Academy, and retained that position until the time of the Russian Revolution. In 1902, Professor Tschernoff was elected an honorary member of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. In September, 1917, Professor Tschernoff was sponding his vacation, as usual, in the city of Yalta (Crimea) in the south of Russia, with his wife and one of his daughters. The revolution progressed so rapidly that they were unable to return to Petrograd, and were compelled to stay in Yalta without provision for the winter season. Suffering from hunger. and lack of sufficient clothing, and deprived of his books, Tschernoff nevertheless continued his studies and gave a number of lectures on steel at the Polytechnic Institute. At the same time he worked hard on some. mathematical problems. His health broke down through long-continued under-nourishment. His works in the metallurgical field are well known to the students of metallurgy; good abstracts of his most important papers were published in Revue de Metallurgie (1915, pp. 829-882) in commemoration of his 75th birthday.

Jan 1, 1922

By M. L. Haider

Much has been said and written on the shortcomings of the open-flow and restricted potentials of oil wells to determine their relative ability to produce. The oil industry in general is agreed that the open-flow potential in particular is grossly inequitable, wasteful and expensive, but that potential is still used in many pools. This is partly because no thoroughly satisfactory substitute has been found and partly because operators are reluctant to adopt other methods that have been suggested; or, as Hamlet would say, we would rather "bear those ills we have than fly to others we know not of." In a great many pools the use of tubing potentials has been substituted for open-flow potentials, but open-flow potentials through casing are still being used in many pools, particularly. in Oklahoma, although the expense of such potentials has been pointed out many times. In one of the most recent pools in Oklahoma it is the practice to take open-flow potentials through the casing with the tubing out of the hole. The well is usually tubed after it is drilled in for the purpose of washing it in and cleaning the hole. After preliminary tests are run the tubing is pulled under pressure preparatory to taking the potential. After the potential is taken the tubing is rerun, under pressure. In order to accommodate the large capacity of the wells, it is customary to set three separators, six vent lines and large oil-storage tanks. It is conservatively estimated that the equipment not needed for producing the well currently but which is installed solely for the purpose of establishing large potentials costs the operator at least $5000 per well—approximately 35 per cent of the cost of equipping a well for production. Such needless expenditure constitutes an economic waste in addition to the gas that is wasted in taking potentials. Meaning of Productivity Index A method of measuring the relative ability of wells to produce without open flow that shows considerable promise is the Productivity Index. This method was first suggested by T. V. Moore1, and has since been

Jan 1, 1937