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By Rudolf Gahl

SOME time ago the Detroit Copper Mining Co. had to decide the question whether it would pay to re-treat slime-tailings, and several machines were tested in order to ascertain the type of construction which would give the greatest saving. In previous tests on the ore of this company, several tables proved far inferior to the Frue vanner, and for this reason they did not receive any serious consideration. In the late tests, however, one table was found to surpass the vanner in the percentage of saving made. The Frue vanner used in these tests had been adjusted approximately to the slope which the slime-vanuers in the concentrator of the Detroit Copper Co. had at that time, about 2 in. between the inside of the wooden posts, or 0.272 in. per ft. It had not been determined, however, if this slope was the most economical one for treating the slime-feed in the mill, or for re-treating the tailings from the slime-vanners, and I was instructed to ascertain by test-runs, under different conditions, the best adjustments for the work to. be done. In order to determine if a change in the adjustments of the machines would improve the results, it seemed sufficient to continue running the tests between the vanner and the table before mentioned, keeping the feed and all other conditions the same, but. varying the adjustments of the vanner .from run to run. I employed a vanner-man of long experience to operate these machines, who expressed the opinion that a slope between 2 3/8 and 2.5 in. between the posts (0.323 and 0.340 in. per ft.) would give the best results. Some runs made this way gave a considerable improvement. While for a slope of 2 in. (0.272 in. per ft.) the saving had been only 40.5 per cent. of that of the table, it .was 49.2 per cent. for 2.5 in. (0.340 in. per ft.) slope. A decrease of

Sep 1, 1909

By Rossiter W. Raymond

In the case of The Eureka Consolidated Mining Company v. The Richmond Mining Company of Nevada, recently tried at San Francisco, California, the real defendant was the Richmond Consolidated Mining Company, of London; but this being a foreign corporation, holds its mining property in Nevada through the Nevada corporation of similar name, in which the London Company owns all the stock, except the few shares necessary to " qualify" the American directors. The trial would naturally have taken place in the Circuit Court at Carson City, Nevada, and before a jury. But by stipulation of the parties, the case was tried in San Francisco, before Hon. Stephen J. Field, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Hon. Lorenzo Sawyer, United States Circuit Judge of the Ninth Circuit, and Hon. E. W. Hillyer, United States District Judge, for the District of Nevada. The hearing began July 23d, 1877. The witnesses occupied two weeks, and the argument of counsel three days. Very eminent lawyers were engaged on both sides; for the plaintiff, Messrs. Solomon Heydenfeldt, R. S. Mesick, John Garber, and H. J. Thornton; for the defendant, Messrs. S. M. Wilson, Thomas Wren, and J. J. Williams. The court held the case under advisement until August 22d, when Mr. Justice Field delivered its unanimous opinion in favor of the plaintiff. The action was a complaint in ejectment, and an appeal was taken to the United States Supreme Court. The questions at issue between the Eureka and the Richmond Company in this suit, comprised several points in the construction of the mining law of the United States, and its relation to the customs and regulations of the mining districts, which possess an importance and an applicability far beyond the limits of the case in which they arose. It is my purpose to state these points, the arguments

Jan 1, 1879

By Percival Roberts

IT may seem necessary to offer an apology for presenting for consideration a process which is conspicuous by its absence in the literature of the Institute, and which may be thought by some to belong to the past in metallurgy, and to have been already superseded. But the large capital invested in puddling calls for a careful consideration of the question whether the time has certainly arrived when the puddling furnace must be replaced by the converter and open-hearth furnace. May there not still be a place for puddled iron alongside of molten iron and steel, and is not the improvement of the puddling process itself worthy the attention of engineers equally with the Bessemer and open-hearth processes? The changes involved in the conversion of pig iron into wrought iron are well understood and need only be briefly alluded to. The patent of Henry Cort bears the date of 1784. Since that time the improvements in the process have mainly consisted in the replacement of sand by iron bottoms by Samuel Baldwyn Rogers in 1818, and the still more recent substitution of iron oxide for the refractory materials used for the rides and bridge of the hearth, which distinguishes the wet or boiling process from the dry or paddling process. Chemically, the process consists in the removal of the metalloids from the pig iron, a result effected mainly by the iron oxide. Silicon is first oxidized, then the phosphorus, and finally the carbon. The silicic and phosphoric acids produced pass into the cinder and the carbonic oxide burns as it escapes from the bath of metal. It is interesting in this connection to note the effect of temperature on the removal of the phosphorus from the iron. As is well known, no phosphorus is eliminated under the oxidizing influences prevailing in the Bessemer converter, while from 70 to 80 per cent. is removed in puddling. But we find, if in working cold short irons

Jan 1, 1880

By Arthur Redfield

THE West Indies are the summits of a submerged, mountain chain, the continuation of which must be sought in the mountains of central Honduras. In Haiti, the chain divides, one branch passing through Jamaica and the other through Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and the Misteriosa bank. Suess divides the West Indies into three zones: The first zone is entirely of volcanic origin and includes many recent volcanic cones. It includes the arcùate string of islands, which extends from Saba and St. Kitts to the Grenadines and Grenada. The western half of Guadeloupe belongs to this group. The second zone consists of a geanticline, of which the sedimentary rocks range from the Jurassic to the Quaternary, but consist chiefly of Lower Tertiary sediments. In the west it is broad, including the whole of the Greater Antilles; but in the east it is restricted to a narrow belt, which includes the Virgin Islands (except Anegada), Anguilla, St. Bartholomew, Antigua, the eastern part of Guadeloupe and part of Barbados. The islands that compose the third zone are flat and low. Like the second, this zone is broad in the west and narrow in the east; it includes the Bahamas, Anegada, Sombrero, Barbuda, and part of Barbados. Geologically, Florida and the plain of Yucatan may be regarded as belonging to it. Trinidad and Tobago, though-geographically adjacent to the Lesser Antilles, are geologically a detached part of the South American continent. The crystalline complexes of northern Trinidad and of Barbados are a continuation, en echelon, of the crystalline axis of the promontory of Paria. The folded Cretaceous and Tertiary of the central and southern parts of Trinidad represent a continuation of the folded sediments of the Paria district of Venezuela.

Jan 6, 1922

By David Scott

THE MOGOLLON mining district, New Mexico, has received little public attention, although for 15 years it has been the leading silver producer of the state; it is situated in a region remote from the principal lines of travel, and its activities have usually been limited to the operations of two or three companies. The value of the total production of the district in the 44 years of its history has been estimated at $15,000,000. For the years 1904 to 1917, inclusive, the output was: gold, $4,370,000; silver, 10,042,000 oz.; copper, 874,862 lb.; total value, approximately. $10,500,000. In 1913 the district contributed 80 per cent. of the total silver production of New Mexico, but in 1917 only 41 per cent., due to serious interruption in the operations of the leading producer. Since 1914 the silver output has diminished one-half, and the present high value of silver is nearly offset by the increase in cost of production. The output of gold has rarely exceeded 35 per cent, of the total for New Mexico. The ratio of silver to gold, by weight, has averaged 46:1 based on the whole output of the district. LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY The town of Mogollon is 75 mi. (121 km.) by a poorly located highway from the nearest railroad terminals, at Silver City and Tyrone. All supplies are transported by motor trucks and teams. The area, sometimes called the Cooney Mining District, lies on the western flank of the Mogollon Mountains, which occupy the western part of Socorro County. The elevations drop steeply on the west to the valley of the San Francisco River, adjacent to the Arizona boundary. The topography is very rugged, the whole area being sharply dissected; deep canyons with steep gradients and rugged walls are characteristic of the whole western-slope of the Mogollon Range. The main canyons run east and west, and usually maintain a flow of water during the entire year. As would be expected in a region of such deep dissection, the

Jan 2, 1920

By John Shelton

ONE of the heaviest burdens uselessly cast by our mineral land laws upon the holder of the title conveyed by a patent from the United States is due to the provision excepting known veins from land patented as placer. In many instances the expense of defending such titles from the assaults of the owners of lode locations made upon the theory that the veins so located were known to exist at the date of the placer application for patent has exceeded many times the value of the land in question. Neither the lapse of time, however long after the issuance of the patent nor repeated adjudications by the courts serve to quiet such titles or to prevent them from being questioned. In the passage of laws providing for the acquisition of title to the mineral lands of the United States, Congress provided that the title to known veins should not pass from the United States by a patent based upon a placer location. As construed by the courts, the law (Sec. 2333 R.S.U.S.) provides that the applicant for a patent upon a placer claim may, if any vein of sufficient value to justify the expenditure of money in its development is known by him to exist within the boundaries thereof, include in his patent application an application for patent upon the vein as a lode claim; and failure to do so is to be deemed a conclusive declaration that the applicant makes no claim to the vein nor to an area of surface ground extending for 25 ft. (7.6 m.) on each side of its middle or center. As to such vein and, such area of enclosing surface ground under the circumstances stated, the title remains in, the United States notwithstanding the issuance of a patent that purports to convey the entire surface of a described area and everything beneath it, excepting only the segments of veins the apices of which lie outside of such area. Such known veins with such area of enclosing surface ground are, of course, at any time, so long as they remain unlocated, subject to location and appropriation in the same manner as other veins upon the public domain. The history of the operation of this law in one district will serve to illustrate its effect generally throughout the mining regions of the United States. In the Butte district, the mineral that first attracted the atten-

Jan 8, 1919

By R. T. Hukki, P. Voutilainen

This paper describes a new apparatus for continuous wet fine-screening. Its preferred size range seems to be from 0.1 to 1 mm. The supercritical trommel screen is a short cylindrical trommel of wedge-bar type construction operated at a speed greater than the calculated theoretical critical speed and at a speed lower than the speed at which particles introduced into it will centrifuge. The paper describes results obtained with the prototype supercritical trommel screen in pilot plant scale. The results point to a high capacity and simultaneously to a high sharpness of screening. Finally, an analysis is presented of the forces acting in screening on a supercritical trommel screen. In the era of high speed, high capacity processing of raw materials the conventional slowly rotating trommel screen is often considered a relic from the times passed. A typical trommel screen is the cylindrical trommel rotated about a horizontal or slanting axis at a relatively low speed. Its screening characteristics are well known. Trommel screens of various types of construction, methods of operation, performances and other characteristics have been described in detail by Taggart.1 The theoretical critical speed of a trommel screen is defined by the same well known equation as that applied for grinding mills: where ncritical = the numerical value of the theoretical critical speed in rpm, D 1 = the inside diameter of the trommel in feet, and D2 = the inside diameter of the trommel in meters. ncritical corresponds also to the centrifuging speed provided that the coefficient of friction f between the trommel surface and the outer layer of the charge is = 1.0. In a general case: From Eq. 2 it is seen that in all cases where f < 1.0 the centrifuging speed of the trommel is greater than the theoretical critical speed. The supercritical trommel screen concerns screening operations within that speed range which is between the theoretical critical speed defined by Eq. 1 and the centrifuging speed defined by Eq. 2, under conditions such that the coefficient of friction f<1.0. It is reported by Taggartl that the optimum speed of a conventional cylindrical trommel screen 36 in. in diam was experimentally found to be about 16 rpm. From Eq. 1, the critical speed of this trommel is 44.2 tpm. The indicated optimum speed corresponds to (16/44.2) x 100% = 36.2% of the theoretical critical speed. The optimum speed range based on information available seems to vary from 33% up to 45% of the theoretical critical value. The trommel screen operated at a supercritical speed: operates at a speed greater than the calculated theoretical critical speed; operates at a speed lower than the speed at which the charge introduced into it will centrifuge; operates within the supercritical speed range in such a way that the coarse fraction of the charge must slide in respect to the inside surface of the trommel; the outer layer of the said fraction next to the screen tends to proceed in the same direction as any selected point on the trommel surface, but now at a lower speed, and indeed at a subcritical speed; allows to a certain degree adjustment of the maximum determining particle size x of the fine product simply by a variation of the speed of the trommel within the supercritical speed range. With increasing trommel speed, finer and finer material only will get the opportunity to find its way into the fine product while the screen opening remains constant. In conventional practice, the low speed trommel is generally used for sizing of coarse and medium coarse material, but seldom for fine screening. The characteristic feature of the product passed through the conventional trommel is that the determining size x of the biggest particle is barely smaller than the nominal size of screen opening. The supercritical trommel screen, on the other hand, is best suited for sizing of relatively fine material. Furthermore, the characteristic determining size x of the biggest particle in the fine product can be substantially smaller than the nominal width of the screen opening or slot. In the trommel screen best suited for the applications

Jan 1, 1965

By William Campbell

(Cleveland Meeting, October, 1912.) [SECRETARY&apos;S NOTE.-To avoid repetitions of foot-notes, references to authorities are made in the paper by means of figures, referring to a numbered list in the appendix.-J. S.] I. INTRODUCTION. IN the olden days the making of alloys was au art, and the secrets of the craft were jealously guarded. To-day it has become a science, though the old ideas in regard to the secrets and formula are dying hard. Modern progress may be attributed to scientific research and testing of materials, and the substitution of chemical analytical control for " cook-book " methods. We know to-day a great deal about the constitution of alloys, the reasons of the change in structure and physical properties by heat and mechanical treatment; and this new knowledge is due for the most part to the physical chemist and metallographist, who have shown us that alloys are simply solutions, and as such obey definite laws. The application of the theories of solutions and of the phase rule tells us what ought to happen when our alloys are in a state of equilibrium. The working-out of the temperature-composition diagram (thermal diagram) for numerous alloys has thrown a light on the structure and constitution which has dispelled most of the darkness in which we labored before the advent of metallography. The work began with the determination of the freezing-point curves, and here the research of Le Chatelier,1 Gautier,2 Roberts-Austen,3 and the other pioneers broke the ground. Next the physical chemists, Tammann,4 Rooseboom,5 Bancroft,6 and their colleagues, showed us the complete thermal diagram and its meaning. Then the researches of Heycock and Neville 7 on the Cu-Sn series and of Shepherd 8 on the * Associate Professor of Metallurgy, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Dec 1, 1912

By S. D. Warriner

ONE of the most, if not the most, difficult of the problems associated with the mining and distri-bution of anthracite is to get clearly into the minds of the consumers and of the editorial and reporto-rial writers in the public press the relationship between the cost of production, the price at the mine and the price that the consumer pays for his coal, delivered in the cellar. One sees in his morning paper a statement to the .effect that out of the $12 or $13 per ton that his dealer charges him, the miner gets only $2 or even less, and he asks himself or the paper asks for him, "Who gets the difference?" Not infrequently the amount that the miner gets is given for run-of-mine bituminous coal while the price quoted is that of prepared anthra-cite, egg, stove, or chestnut, as the case may be, delivered to the bin of the consumer; and the difference stands out with all the more prominence; and it sticks in his memory with a persistency which no manner of explanation is able to efface. A recently published official report for the year. 1921 of one of the State Bureaus stated the total production of anthracite in net tons of 2000 lb., and included not only the output recovered by washeries from old culm banks and by dredges from creek and river channels, but also the colliery consumption;, i.e., the coal used by the companies in the operation of the collieries. This resulted in a total production of 90,509,075 net tons for which the labor cost was stated at $283,961,300, or $3.13 per net ton, equivalent to $3.50 per gross ton. This figure of $3.50 was immediately seized upon as representing the labor cost per gross ton of fresh-mined commercial coal. It is almost a hopeless task to try to correct such errors of statement in the first place, and, in the second place, to correct the misapprehen-sions that arise from them. As a matter of fact, the report was misleading in regard to the labor cost of the entire production shipped, as the coal used for colliery consumption should be deducted. Correctly stated, the report should have shown, calculated in terms of gross tons of 2240 lb., the legal weight in Pennsylvania, as follows: Gross production 80,607,359 tons Less colliery fuel 8,757,137 tons Commercial production 71,850,222 tons Total labor bill $283,961,300.00 Labor cost per ton...: 8 3.952 The foregoing figures" of tonnage are obtained from the State Department of Mines. Even these include the quantity recovered from calm, banks by washeries, and consequently the $3.95 arrived at as the average labor cost is somewhat less than that actually involved in the mining of fresh-mined coal. Unfortunately, the figures of washery production and the cost of producing it are not available.

Jan 7, 1922

By Leonard Logan

The petroleum industry is not peculiar in that it has a problem of stabilization. Economic conditions, not only in the United States but throughout the entire world, are unstable. However, the petroleum industry together with coal mining and agriculture has experienced a longer period of depression than most of the others. It is significant to note that industries engaged in the production of basic raw materials, the primary industries, have not enjoyed as much prosperity since the war as the secondary industries, or those engaged in the fabricating of raw materials and their distribution. The problems of the primary industries are not all the same. Overproduction has existed for several years in agriculture but its causes are not the same as those that have brought about overproduction in the petroleum industry. Unlike agriculture, the institution of property rights and the migratory nature of oil are responsible for the oil man&apos;s troubles. Our laws permit the owner of the oil and gas rights, with certain exceptions, to drill when and where he pleases. Since oil is migratory, the adjacent property owner must go and do likewise—drill. This condition spread over a wide area soon brings to the surface more petroleum than can be readily absorbed by the market, creating a condition of overproduction. It is significant to note at this place that when overproduction occurs the complete units in the industry suffer least. A complete unit is taken here to mean a corporation engaged in all the phases of the industry through production, transportation, refining and marketing. In the present depression the complete units in the industry are not in as bad financial condition as those engaged in single phases of the industry. The same thing can be said of the zinc industry, the lumber industry, and the other industries where there are organizations engaged in all the steps through the production of raw materials to the marketing of the finished product. The reason for this is that the complete units are in better position to coordinate all the factors that would work for a stabilized condition than are the units that are engaged in a single branch of the industry.

Jan 1, 1931

By James Herbert Bartlett

I desire, very briefly, to call the attention of the Institute to the iron trade of the Dominion of Canada. A wonderful development is now going on in Canada. The completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the numerous extensions of the various railways all over the country, combined with the progress made in nearly every kind of manufacture, is drawing attention to the field offered in Canada for the profitable employment of capital, and specially to the opportunity there is for the manufacture of iron. In a paper presented to the Institute at the Halifax meeting,* the writer gave a review of the varions attempts to manufacture iron in Canada. The facts then presented were not such as to offer much encouragement to any one to embark in similar enterprises under the conditions then existing, but, happily, these conditions are now changed, and an early development may be anticipated. There are two reasons which make the present time an appropriate one to direct attention to the field offered for enterprise in this direction, the first being the very favorable reports of the experts who examined and reported on the exhibit of minerals at the Colonial and Indian exhibition, held in London, England, last year. The exhibits there of coal and iron attracted so much attention that at the request of the Iron and Steel Institute a paper on the " Ironmaking resources of our Colonies as illustrated by the Colonial and Indian Exhibition," was prepared and read at the last meeting of the Institute.? This report of 135 pages is very exhaustive, and the conclusion arrived at, so far as Canada is concerned, is, that she has in many parts of the country every natural facility for the manufacture of iron. The second and more important reason is the recent change in the Canadian customs tariff inaugurated in May last. The tariff is now generally two-thirds of the American tariff, in addition to which the Government, in order to encourage the manufacture of iron, grants a bounty upon pig-iron made in Canada out of Canadian ore.

Jan 1, 1888

By MORTON WEBB

Discussion of the paper of Max Boehmer, presented at the Pittsburg meeting, March, 1910, and printed in Bulletin. No. 38, February, 1910, pp. 119 to 122. W. MORTON WEBB, Germiston, Transvaal, South Africa (communication to the Secretary*):-The experience of Mr. Boehmer in the Leadville district and his reputation as an engineer assure the interest of anything he may write on the ore-bodies of that district; and all engineers who have operated in Leadville will agree that the theory of the origin of the Leadville deposits, as given by Mr. Emmons in his famous monograph, does not adequately explain the genesis of all the deposits. The solution of the problem does not, however, appear to be quite so simple as Mr. Boehmer would make it; and the advance pamphlet issued by the U. S. Geological Survey, pending the completion of the main report, shows that there is still much ground for controversy. No doubt the later eruptives had a greater influence on the deposition of the ore-bodies than was thought at the time of the first investigation by the Survey; but it has always appeared to me that the influence exerted by these dikes was more in the nature of a physical than a chemical one. The weight of evidence in recent years is mostly in the direction of ascension rather than lateral secretion; and one of the strongest evidences is the fact that most of the ore-bodies lie under one of the comparatively impervious layers which help to make up the structure of these hills. On Iron hill I have found a very persistent white porphyry sheet, split off from the overlying porphyry and lying from 30 to 60 ft. below the main white porphyry and blue limestone contact. This sheet varies from a few to 50 ft. in thickness, and where found adds another "contact" to that region ; some of the largest ore-bodies on Iron hill lie immediately under this sheet. Above this is the main white porphyry and * Received Mar. 3, 1910.

Feb 1, 1911

By Charles Camsell

MORE than one-third of all Canada is embraced in the federal domain known as the Northwest Territories. Its most northern point, Cape Columbia, on Ellesmere Island, is only 500 mi. from the Pole. It includes parts of the main physiographic divisions of the North American continent. In the West there is a strip of 30.000 sq. mi. lying in the Cordilleran region, where peaks in the Mackenzie Mountains rise as high as 8500 ft. East of this strip and extending roughly to a line through Great Bear and Great Slave lakes to the Arctic coast is a section of the interior plains. This section, known as the Mackenzie Lowlands, contains the great artery, the most striking feature of the Northwest Territories-the Mackenzie and Slave river waterway impressive in its width, almost two miles in places, and in it&apos;s navigability for 1357 miles without obstruction to the sea. Adjoining the Mackenzie Lowlands on the East is the greater portion of the mainland of the Territories, which, as well as a large share of the island area, is in the Canadian Shield.

Jan 1, 1937

By Francis Church Lincoln

I. SITUATION AND SURROUNDINGS. THE Promontorio mine is situated at the northern end of the Sierra San Francisco de Coneto, in the town of Promontorio, Partido of El Oro, State of Durango, Mexico. As shown in the sketch-map, Fig. 1, the nearest railroad station is Chinacates on the Mexican International Railroad, 82 miles north of the city of Durango. The mine is 16 miles north of the station by air-line. It is reached by means of a good wagon-road which first crosses the Guatimapé Plain, passing the ranches of San Antonio and San Julian, to Estacion-a distance of about 15.5 miles-and then entering the mountains crosses the Sierra to Promontorio-a further distance of 11.5 miles¬making in all a distance of 27 miles by road from railroad to mine. Promontorio is just beyond the summit of the range, at an elevation of about 8,000 ft. above sea-level, or 1,350 ft. above the Chinacates station. The Castillo de San Francisco, the highest peak in the Sierra, has an altitude of 10,000 ft., and the Promontorio road crosses the summit of the ridge at an elevation of 9,000 ft. by a pass just below this peak known as the Puerto del Almagre. The Promontorio mill is situated at Santa Ives, 2 miles by tram or 3 miles by wagon-road to the north of Promontorio and about 600 ft. lower. The Sierra San Francisco de Coneto decreases in height towards the north and west till it comes to an end at the Melchor Arroyo on the ranches of Melchor and Ramos. Beyond this arroyo another range, the Sierra de la Candela, begins. In the vicinity of the Promontorio mine the hills are very rugged and the surface is furrowed by ravines which contain running streams during the rainy season-July, August and

Jan 1, 1908

By W. O. Borcherdt

THE 650-ton underground mill of The Empire Zinc Company of Colorado (a subsidiary of The New Jersey Zinc Co.) serves the Eagle mine at Gilman in the Battle Mountain mining district of Colorado. The topography is rough, the mine and mill being under Battle Mountain and the adit entrance in the north wall of the canyon of the Eagle River, which is here a steel) gorge. The town of Gilman stands on a shoulder of the mountain at altitude 8975 ft., above sea level, along the Pike&apos;s Peak ocean to ocean highway and contains the company office and the usual facilities of a modern mining town. The railway contact is at Belden, altitude 8370 ft., at the bottom of the gorge directly below Gilman, where the westbound track of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad is cut along the north bank and the eastbound track along the south bank of the river. A general description of the mine, mill and service facilities, with an account of the geology, character of the ore and methods of mining and milling having previously been published in a series of articles&apos;, this paper will discuss with as little repetition as practicable the reasons for building the mill underground rather than as a conventional structure, the methods of construction employed and the experiences gained in what is apparently the pioneer plant of this type and extent. There is a large historical background for underground plant construc-tion. From the dim past caves have been used for dwellings, stables, storage and shops. It was natural that where caves were available their many advantages led to their enlargement to suit convenience and where they were not available but the ground conditions, topography and, drainage were favorable, to the construction of artificial caves. In the vicinity of Epernay, France, extensive underground chambers protect the manufacture and storage of champagne-an intricate and ingenious application of chemical engineering-and in recent years these plants have been mechanized by the installation of conveyor systems. In the

Jan 1, 1937

By E. Lancaster-Jones

THE gravity magnitudes obtained by means of observations with the Eötvös balance in the field are necessarily resultant or total effects due to all abnormalities of mass distribution, including even the effects due to the ellipticity and rotational motion of the whole earth. Since the object of the survey is to isolate the effects which arise solely from some particular subterranean feature, and to deduce therefrom the configuration and extent of this feature, the first step is to eliminate from the observed effects all those due to "disturbing" (i, e., unwanted) features, whether above or below the surface of the ground. The disturbing features have different characteristics, according to their situation relative to the center of the balance and to the horizontal plane through the foot of the balance, or station point; this diversity was recognized by Eötvös, who divided the total effects into so-called Normal, Terrain, Topographical, Cartographical and Subterranean effects. This classification has been adhered to by most subsequent investigators, but the writer prefers to employ the term "three-dimensional," which really indicates the essential character of the class of effect known as "Subterranean," at any, rate from the standpoint of the computer of effects. Before disturbing effects can be eliminated, the features must be measured up or surveyed, whether by topographical, mining, or boring methods, and then the effects of each feature calculated and subtracted from the total observed effects. After this the problem of interpreting the residual effects will itself necessitate the computation of the assumed feature, or even a series of trial features.

Jan 1, 1928

By Henry S. Drinker

THE Butler Mine property is situated in the vicinity of Pittston, in the Wyoming coal-field of Pennsylvania. The coal has been worked out from the fourteen-foot or Baltimore vein for a number of years on part of the tract, the old chambers remaining open as when originally abandoned. This vein outcrops on the Butler property, and is nowhere more than sixty feet below the surface of the ground on the line of the cut-off to be described. Above the fourteen-foot vein and about, say midway, between it and the surface of the ground, there is another small vein or rider of coal, about twelve inches in thickness. The rock between the two veins is a carbonaceous slate, about twenty-five feet in thickness. Above the smaller vein is a bed of sandstone, varying in thickness, but generally not less than from eight to ten feet. This sandstone is also carbonaceous, but the proportion of carbon is much less than in the slate below. Both rocks have been analyzed, and before the next Institute meeting, the writer hopes to be able to furnish the exact proportions. The sandstone is overlaid with debris up to the surface of the ground. Some time during the spring of 1876, it was found that the coal left in the worked-out mine had been set on fire, and that the fire was gradually spreading. Inquiry developed the fact that the fire had originally been started by a woman, who had taken up her abode in an old tunnel leading into the workings. Owing to some delay in the early attempts made to extinguish the fire, it finally gained such headway that no ordinary means were found to be effectual. Finally, Mr. C. F. Conrad, civil and mining engineer, of Pittston, Penna., was called in as consulting engineer. He advised the making of a thorough cut through such portion of the old workings as had not been reached by the fire. It was found by survey that this cut could be limited to a length of about one thousand two hundred feet, as the vein faulted on both sides, and that the greatest depth of the cut would be about sixty feet. Subsequently it was decided to tunnel part of the way, thus saving the deepest portion of the cut. In 1856-7, there occurred a fire in the same mine. Two stone-walls in V-shape running from the apex of the V towards the outcrop, were built to cut the fire off, and these walls were carried as far as the vein had at that time been worked. After the walls were finished

Jan 1, 1879

By Edward Wisser

The environment of an ore body is taken to mean not only its physical surroundings but every factor, passive or active, that conditioned the ore shoot, saving only the original composition of the solutions that formed the shoot. Collection of data related to the shape and characteristics of veins should be followed by correlation of the data and the formulation of generalizations regarding ore formation. The nature of the criteria used in arriving at these generalizations is discussed. Certain of the criteria, when used with an understanding of their underlying causes, become "ore-guides." In the course of his study the geologist must not confine himself to the immediate surroundings of the veins, but should attempt to work out the geologic history of events culminating in the crucial epoch for any mining district, the period of mineralization. The work may involve study of features far removed from the veins and related to them only indirectly. It commonly means thorough study of the geology of the entire region surrounding the ore deposits. The following question has been suggested for discussion: "Are there any criteria by which one can determine when mining operations have reached the roots of an ore deposit?" The question deals less with the roots of a particular ore body than with the lower limit of the vertical range within which ore bodies may be expected. It concerns a critical line upon the longitudinal vertical projection of a vein.† Below this line it is useless to look for ore shoots; above the line exploration below the bottoms of individual ore shoots may be justified. Can we learn to determine the position of such a line? In some multivein districts the line for any given vein may be approximated by simple interpolation or extrapolation. Where this is possiblc the bottoms of the lowest ore shoots in the various veins are points on an imaginary, gently rolling surface. The trace of this surface upon the vein is our critical line for that vein. The imaginary surface rolls so gently that it may be projected from two or more known veins to an unexplored vein near by. Here is a criterion for the bottoming of ore that has nothing to do with changes in the appearance of the vein in question; it rests solely on the depth at which the ore bottomed in adjacent veins. The method is not applicable in districts only slightly explored in depth, nor where the lower limit of the ore-bearing horizons

Jan 1, 1941

By Edward Wisser

The environment of an ore body is taken to mean not only its physical surroundings but every factor, passive or active, that conditioned the ore shoot, saving only the original composition of the solutions that formed the shoot. Collection of data related to the shape and characteristics of veins should be followed by correlation of the data and the formulation of generalizations regarding ore formation. The nature of the criteria used in arriving at these generalizations is discussed. Certain of the criteria, when used with an understanding of their underlying causes, become "ore-guides." In the course of his study the geologist must not confine himself to the immediate surroundings of the veins, but should attempt to work out the geologic history of events culminating in the crucial epoch for any mining district, the period of mineralization. The work may involve study of features far removed from the veins and related to them only indirectly. It commonly means thorough study of the geology of the entire region surrounding the ore deposits. The following question has been suggested for discussion: "Are there any criteria by which one can determine when mining operations have reached the roots of an ore deposit?" The question deals less with the roots of a particular ore body than with the lower limit of the vertical range within which ore bodies may be expected. It concerns a critical line upon the longitudinal vertical projection of a vein.† Below this line it is useless to look for ore shoots; above the line exploration below the bottoms of individual ore shoots may be justified. Can we learn to determine the position of such a line? In some multivein districts the line for any given vein may be approximated by simple interpolation or extrapolation. Where this is possiblc the bottoms of the lowest ore shoots in the various veins are points on an imaginary, gently rolling surface. The trace of this surface upon the vein is our critical line for that vein. The imaginary surface rolls so gently that it may be projected from two or more known veins to an unexplored vein near by. Here is a criterion for the bottoming of ore that has nothing to do with changes in the appearance of the vein in question; it rests solely on the depth at which the ore bottomed in adjacent veins. The method is not applicable in districts only slightly explored in depth, nor where the lower limit of the ore-bearing horizons

Jan 1, 1941

By CLYDE M. EYE

THE Sub-province of Benguet is in the North Central part of the Island of Luzon. Baguio, the capital, is situated on a piateau 5000 ft. above sea level, and is the main health resort of the Philippines. It is rapidly becoming the favorite resort for the China Coast as well, and has many miles of beautiful, curving drives with nearly every pine-covered knoll surmounted by a summer home. The United States Army has a recreation post here, known as Camp John Hay, with a well-equipped hospital, and there is a Country Club with a good golf course adjacent. The weather during the winter months and until late spring is ideal. The business center consists mainly of Chinese and Japanese stores, several hotels, and a large public market, in which are displayed all of the vegetables of the temperate zone, which are flown near Baguio, and many tropical and other products brought up from below. This district is reached from the Coastal Plain either by the old Benguet road built in 1904 by the United States Government, or by the Naguilian road, built some years later. The former is now a toll road, with a line of stages operating over it to and from Des Mortes in connection with the government-owned rail- road. Auto travel from Manila is also along this road, the trip from Manila to Baguio requiring about seven hours, following up the great valley north of Manila for nearly 150 miles to the lower end of the Benguet road, and thence to Baguio, 25 miles. This is an interesting, scenic trip; the road is especially famous for the zig zags where it climbs out of the canyon of the Bued River to the plateau. In the September number of the National Geographic Magazine, a fine aerial picture of this road, as well as of other interesting points in various parts of the Philippines, appears. Freight for the district is taken in mainly over the Naguilian road connecting with the railroad at Bauang. This route follows the ridges of the mountain slope with broad vistas and views of the coast.

Jan 1, 1930