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The 128th meeting of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers constituted a two weeks trip through the Great Northland of Ontario and Quebec and was a most memorable occasion. The last visit of the Institute to Canada was made in 1907 when the mines, which now have brought world wide fame to some of the camps, were not yet dis-covered. The party reached its greatest numbers at Porcupine where 167 visitors and nearly one hundred local members participated. Five members of the party from the States were on the previous trip in 1907. They were Mr. and Mrs. L. D. Huntoon, John Stevenson and son and E. F. Eurich. The Minister of Mines for the Province of Ontario attached his private car to the "Mining Engineers' Special" and made the complete trip through Ontario. This was a happy incident in many ways and gave the visitors an opportunity to discover a spirit of mutual accord between the Minister and mining industry that might well be emulated elsewhere. Two compartment cars and one standard Pullman with the Institute members from New York and the metropolitan district were attached special to the 6.15 p.m. Lehigh Valley train from New York, Sunday, Aug. 19, en route to Toronto, where was held the first session of the Institute's 128th Meeting.

Jan 9, 1923

THE book covers principally the assaying of silver and gold and the determination of these values in ores, sweepings, and base metal. It seems to have been written more for the goldsmith and jeweler than for the primary producer of metals. There were approximately sixty different substances needed in the operations described and not over a dozen different types of raw material (ore, matte, crude or alloyed metal) are mentioned. The methods of separation used were essentially simple and reasonably reliable, though the processes were not sufficiently understood to permit the selection of the simplest effective ingredients, and there was a great tendency to employ complicated fluxes, with unnecessary repetition of long-continued heatings indicative of a leisurely pace of life. Practically all the processes described are based on a few chemical facts: the inability of gold to combine with sulphur, while silver and the base metals form easily fusible sulphides; the ready oxidation of base metals; and the ii- solubility of gold in nitric acid. Fluxes serve to make earthy impurities fusible, and to carry oxidizing or sulphurizing ingredients. Many of the processes of assaying had changed little up to the beginning of the present century. Even as late as 1924, when the writer took a University course in fire assaying, the crucibles, cupels, scorifiers, molds, and tongs were identical with those of the sixteenth century, though the wind furnace had a stack on it and the muffle for cupelling was gas-fired.* The fluxes were purer, but of the same essential composition. That this branch- or twig-of metallurgy had not advanced in any funda-

Jan 1, 1949

By A. T. Shurick

THE present economic crisis in bituminous coal is substantially the most insidious, and critical, in the modern history of the industry. The large consumption deficit that has gradually developed (almost unawares), has culminated in a situation that has forced home the urgent necessity for prompt and radical remedial measures, such as the various mergers now in course of negotiation. Conditions today are sufficiently comparable with those in the iron and steel industry, preceding the formation of the United States Steel Corpn., to suggest the possibility of a sweeping super-consolidation, that all but staggers the imagination. The important function of the banker in this, and lesser projects, is too well known to require comment, and it is important that we understand clearly just what these functions are. Certain features in banking practice came up for consideration in connection with a rather exhaustive economic study into the prospective future of the coal industry, upon which I was recently engaged for an Eastern bituminous interest. This survey was made for the purpose of effecting a decision on certain pressing questions of policy, involving considerable capital expenditures, that would be compatible with the flattening out in the curve of production in recent years. An examination of the TRANSACTIONS, and the coal literature generally, failed to disclose any pertinent, and authoritative data, on this subject. This was more or less characteristic of the whole survey, which had involved a large amount of original research, and measures were taken to procure the required information. The following notes have been compiled largely from the data thus collected, supplemented with material, suggestions and criticisms, by several of the larger banking houses active in coal, together with personal memoranda of my own.

Jan 1, 1928

THE 135th meeting of the Institute was the largest and most enthusiastic that has ever been held, sur-passing passing in numbers attending even the notable meeting of 1920. The total registration was 1493. The technical sessions and round tables, 38 in number, were spread through four instead of three days as heretofore in order to reduce the number of conflicts, and most of the A. S. T. M. Committee meetings were held over until Friday. Even so it was necessary to schedule as many as seven simultaneous technical sessions, and there were usually at least two going at once that each wished to attend. Three special luncheons and five group dinners were held, each of which strung out into an informal meeting, and yet approximately 500 came to-gether each day at the general luncheon and over 700 attended the banquet on Wednesday night. The smok-er attracted 402, and the various social affairs under the charge of the general or the women's committees were all crowded. From 10.00 a.m. Monday to 11.00 p.m. Thursday there was one long series of meetings after which the members went home to catch up on their sleep. The comment on the meeting of a member of one of the other societies, who had occasion to be much in the building, was the markedly friendly spirit of the gathering, the large numbers who were evidently old friends and acquaintances. This does seem to set the miners off somewhat from other engineering groups. So many have shared the same blankets and beans at one time or another that the annual meeting has truly come to be a family reunion.

Jan 3, 1927

By D. V. BURR

THE ORIGINAL HUDSON RIVER TUNNEL. NOT quite forty years ago a man of uncommon character entered New York. He had several hundred thousand dollars earned by railroad building in the Nest. He was not an engineer, but he had ideas of engineering work which he was destined to prove correct.. He introduced new ways of tunneling, but his plans had only one distinguishing feature-they were simply interesting as showing how such work could be done; they added nothing to the science, have never been used since his clay, and never will be used again. Engineers of repute ridiculed his proposition ; he was an Ishmael in the profession. But if engineers looked askance at him, he certainly returned their contempt in the heartiest fashion, and had no hesitancy about expressing his views of them individually and collectively. This worked to. his disadvantage when he afterward tried to raise the means to go on with the work. He found that the opinion of engineers was respected by financiers, and that money would not flow contrary to their advice. While his conception of large constructions was distinguishingly original, much more marked was his method of demonstrating the feasibility of, his schemes. In the present clays of great undertakings it is the custom to make the other man pay for the experiments. But the man from the West had other notions of how the thing ought to be done. Having wonderful confidence in his own ability and in his perception of the task before him, he used up all his own money before seeking outside assistance. By building several hundred,, feet of tunnel he proved the correctness of his theory, and the tunnel then dug forms a part of the present tube. The result-he failed to finish the tunnel. He was blind in

Mar 1, 1908

THE 127th meeting of the Institute was held in New York, Feb. 19 to 22, 1923. In addition to the usual large volume of technical matters under consideration, the meeting was particularly noteworthy for the amount of attention given to its business session; the convention of local section representatives also was full of interest. The total registration was 1201. The annual business meeting on Feb. 20, President Dwight presiding, was attended by 125 members, who listened with marked attention to the reports and addresses of the several officers. The chairman departed from the stipulated order of business in order to allow more time for the presentation of remarks on the state of Institute affairs. The previously pub-lished reports of the officers were accepted, as printed. On the report of the tellers, the following officers were declared elected: E. P. Mathewson, Director and President-District 0 T. T. Brewster, Director and Vice-president-District 6 Frank M. Smith, Director and Vice-president-District 11 W. H. Aldridge, Director-District 0 G. H. Clevenger, Director-District 1 A. N. Diehl, Director-District 3 Reno H. Sales, Director-District 7 Seeley W. Mudd, Director-District 10

Jan 3, 1923

By AIME AIME

ANOTHER meeting of the Institute has passed into history and it fully sustained the reputation of the Institute as a live organization of the men, and nowadays the women, concerned with the mineral . ? industries and those working therein. The field meetings of, the 1nstitute are cine of its pleasantest and most valuable features. As Dr. Raymond used to say, ((It is good for a mining engineer once in a while to see a mine" and these meetings bring back to the mines those who, through progress into higher executive positions, have come to visit them infrequently, at the same time that they give opportunity for the .younger men to see regions and mines aside from those in which they are then working. This, and the formal and' informal interchange of information resulting,, is of the greatest professional value to all, while the meeting of old and making of new friends causes each meeting to be notable in turn. This year's meeting at Salt Lake City was one of the largest that has been held outside of. New York City; 470 members and guests registered while many more were present at the sessions without attending to this formality. '

Jan 1, 1925

By AIME AIME

TRADITIONALLY, the Annual New York Meetings of the A.I.M.E. cover four days, but the program is growing on each end as well as in the middle, and this year it lasted from 3 p. m., Sunday, Feb. 16, when the Education Division got under way, to 8:40 p. m., Friday the 21st, when a trainload of electrical inspectors, pro tern, got back fro111 the General Electric plant at Schenectady. The meeting has ceased to be a mere three- ring circus: on Wednesday afternoon eight sessions were being held simultaneously in the Engineering Societies Building, if one includes the Woman's Auxiliary, and according to frequent testimony one should include the W. A. as one of the most important units in Institute affairs.

Jan 1, 1936

By AIME AIME

WTHIN the next month all members of the Institute will be given an opportunity to vote for a new President, two Vice-Presidents, and five Directors. All of the candidates nominated by the official committee are well known to certain groups of the Institute membership but a brief record of their professional lives will be given here for the information of those that will vote. Not since 1927, when Everette DeGolyer guided the destinies of the Institute, has a member of the Petroleum Division been a candidate for President. John Meston Lovejoy has been a Director since 1930, and a Vice-President as well for the last year: In the three years 1932-4 lie was also chairman of the Admissions Committee. Dir. Lovejoy graduated from the Columbia School of Mines in 1911, just before lie was 22 years old, and began his professional career as a copper miner at Chuquicamata. Chile. Silver and gold mining later claimed his % attention, and it was not until 1914 that lie gut into the oil business, as geologist for the Standard Oil Co. of N. Y. This took hint to China and he later worked for the company in Wyoming. In 1917 lie joined the Army where lie rose to be captain of Field Artillery. Upon his return to the United States he went to work for the Amerada Petroleum Co., of which he later became vice-president and general manager, with headquarters in Tulsa. Since coining to New York he has been president of the Petroleum Bond & Share Cu.. and is currently president of the Seaboard Oil Co.

Jan 1, 1935

By Dexter Kimball

THE ease and promptness with which the public as a whole becomes accustomed to and takes advantage of the work of the engineer, using the term in a broad sense, is almost startling. Surprise at, and fear of radical innovations in transportation and private service quickly give way to blasé indifference, followed instantly by all manner of criticism that these things are not better constructed and managed. Does the street car stop a few minutes on a switch?-summon the State Commission. Is the Overland Express fifteen minutes late on a three thousand mile run?-Congress is memorialized to make the great railroad companies attend to their business. Does central not respond instantly when we take down the telephone receiver?-anathema!! Do the electric lights go out for a minute or so?-the darkness is illuminated by caustic sarcasm and other kinds of spoken English consigning all engineering and engineers to perdition; everyone apparently forgetting how steep the hills were before the days of street cars, how far away San Francisco was before the days of the locomotive, the telegraph and telephone, and how difficult it must have been to study by the light of a tallow candle.

Jan 9, 1922

By E. H. Griswold, C. E. Beecher

DURING 1931 the petroleum industry has faced the most hazardous periods of its existence, caused by large potentials, overproduction, and demoralized markets. Two state governors actually resorted to the use of the militia in an effort to restore a semi-stabilized condition within the industry, to prevent waste of the states' natural resources, and to restore prices to a level that would yield the states a reasonable tax revenue. These conditions have made it necessary to put into effect most. stringent economies and have produced a spirit of cooperation between companies to an extent that never before existed. The necessity for unified action on such matters as proration and the advantages to be gained by unit operation are being realized by the oil industry as a whole. Fewer wells have been drilled and wildcat operations almost eliminated: development and operation costs have been greatly reduced and more attention is being paid to efficient recovery methods. The net work of oil pipe- lines has grown rapidly especially in the area of East Texas. The construction and operation of natural gas and gasoline pipelines into areas far distant from the source of supply has been one of the outstanding accomplishments. Refining efficiency has continued to increase and the public is being supplied with a better grade of gasoline at a lower price. The unreasonable tax which state politicians have succeeded in placing on gasoline has encouraged tax evasion and unfair competition by un- scrupulous dealers and has misled the public as to the true price of gasoline.

Jan 1, 1932

By Thomas Read

AMONG the large number of deep mines in the world there are several which do not differ much in depth. The St. John del Rey mine, in Brazil, has reached a vertical depth of 6726 ft. below the top of its shaft; miners enter it, however, through an adit which intersects the shaft 324 ft. below its top, wherefore it might be said that the mine is really only 6400 ft. deep. In the Kolar gold field of India there are a number of deep shafts, one of which reaches to a vertical depth of 6140 ft. below surface. In South Africa also there are a number of deep shafts, the Village Deep being 6100 ft. early in 1921. The City Deep, Ltd., proposes to sink to a depth of 7000 ft. but pre-sumably by the time it does so the St. John del Rey will be deeper than that, since it has been increasing in depth at an average rate of about 150 ft. per year. The deepest shaft in the United States, the Tamarack No. 5, although it is only 5308 ft. deep, actually approaches nearer to the center of the earth (4100 ft. below sea level, as against 3958 ft. , at St. John del Rey). The deepest workings in the Calumet & Hecla go down to 4600 ft. below sea level. The St. John del Rey is not only the deepest, mine in the world, but it also is worked by the oldest registered English mining company, which was organ-ized in 1830 to work a mine at a considerable dis-tance from this one. That mine proved unprofitable, and in 1837 operations were transferred to the. deposit now under discussion, where operations have been prac-tically continuous ever since.

Jan 6, 1923

By A. L. Baxley

An Untapped Energy Resource As much as 20 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day are flared from remote oil fields for lack of a commercially viable means of capturing, transporting, and marketing such gas. The magnitude of these gas flares can be put into perspective from an early satellite photograph (Fig. 1) which shows lights from the major cities of Russia and Eastern Europe dwarfed by the natural gas being flared in the Persian Gulf. Together, these wasted resources contain the energy equivalent of about one-half of the gasoline consumption in the United States today (Fig. 2). Additional trillions of cubic feet of natural gas are "shut-in" because of no economically viable means of commercial recovery. Methanol and liquified natural gas (LNG) are the only two practical fuel products which can be produced economically from these gas supplies. Many of these gas supplies are less than 500 million cubic feet of gas per day, making an LNG facility uneconomic. In contrast, barge-mounted methanol plants can economically convert billions of cubic feet of gas per day into safe, clean-burning methanol. The methanol approach offers the only economical route to transform vast, known reserves of natural gas into a highly versatile primary liquid fuel. Methanol Barges: An Innovative Solution The barges will be towed to suitable offshore and upriver locations such as Alaska, South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific Islands, as well as fields in the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea. At the offshore production site, a barge will be anchored by a single point mooring buoy that will also serve as an entry point for natural gas feedstock and an offloading point for methanol (Fig. 3). At some sites the barge would be beached. Each barge will produce methanol and store it in internal tanks with a capacity of 18 million gallons. The methanol will be offloaded into conventional tankers and safely transported directly to market. Unlike LNG, methanol requires neither specially built carriers nor specially built receiving terminals. Once a particular gas field has been exhausted, the barge will be towed to another location to continue production. Each barge will measure 320 by 500 ft, approximately the size of four football fields, and will have the capacity to produce 1 million gallons or 2800 metric tons of methanol per day, from approximately 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (Fig. 4). The barges will use the highly successful "low- pressure" design developed by the Lurgi Company of Germany, a process proven in land-based methanol plants throughout the world during the last ten years. The decision to use Lurgi technology for "sea-trans- portable" methanol plants was based on the higher efficiency and greater operability of the technology compared to other commercially proven processes. The conversion plant will be designed to accept a wide variety of feed gas compositions, and will produce chemical-grade methanol for the broadest market base (Fig. 5). To minimize costs and construction time, the barge-mounted plants will be built in the high technology environment of a domestic or foreign shipyard. Selection of the construction site for each barge will be dictated by the location of the production site and by the relative construction costs. A number of shipyards have the capacity to build several barges per year. The detailed marine engineering to integrate the design of the processing plant with the floating platform can be performed by numerous major engineering companies around the world. Production Economics The barge-mounted plant concept not only assures large volumes of methanol, but it also keeps the overall production cost low by minimizing construction cost and providing access to low cost natural gas feedstock with no alternative or a negative value. Together, these advantages make the barge-mounted methanol plants economical today. The cost structure of a new barge-mounted methanol plant differs from that of existing methanol producers around the world (Fig. 6). For example, if a U.S. Gulf Coast producer is paying $4.70/MMBtu in 1985 for natural gas, the barge plant could afford to pay about $1.6O/MMBtu for gas and be able to deliver methanol to the Gulf Coast at the same price. At some future date such as 1990, a gas cost of $6.70/MMBtu for a domestic producer would have cost parity with about $3.60/MMBtu gas cost for the barge plant. In many foreign markets, feedstocks other than natural gas are used for methanol production (Fig. 7). For example, most of Japan's capacity is based on LNG while Western Europe uses residual oil or naptha. Because these feedstocks are substantially more ex- pensive than natural gas used by U.S. producers, the barge plants will compete even more favorably in these foreign markets. As crude oil prices rise, the value of methanol in each of these markets will increase. However, the hierarchy of methanol values in these markets should remain unchanged. Furthermore, the cost advantage for using methanol in these markets will improve as world energy costs increase since the value of remote gas should not escalate significantly.

Jan 1, 1982

By Francis A. Thomson

T HE engineer of today is by his training, by his traditions, and by the service which he must render, irrevocably committed to taking his part in public life along with the members of the older professions of ministry, medicine and law. Nevertheless, in comparison with these: three, so long recognized as the "learned professions-all three of which grew out of the functions of the priesthood-engineering in any modern sense of the word is a youthful profession indeed. So youthful is engineering in its present significance, that it may be said to date from the labors of John Smeaton, the lighthouse builder; of Simon Newcomen and James Watt, the inventors of the steam engine; and of George Stephenson, the inventor of the locomotive; at the dawn of the 19th century. Great works of an engineering character had, it is true, been executed long before this, but practically all of them had been rule-of-thumb enterprises, dependent upon a plethora of slave labor for their accomplishment. For illustration it is said that at Rio Tinto in the days of Hiram, king of Tyre, 40,000 men worked for a year to produce three tons of silver from the rich outcrop ore. Such an operation can scarcely be called an engineering enterprise, however, when we remember that a fourth of this number of men in these same mines, from which the richest ore was long ago extracted, produce at present over 100 tons of copper per day.

Jan 1, 1925

A GREAT labor, surely, is that of the coppersmith, since his every work must be hewn from the mass of copper by force of the hammer. At the beginning, middle, and, end all his works are inconvenient pieces and unpleasant to handle. If the work is done on the forge with the fire, it is done in order to refine or compose it into masses again, for drawing these out while hot with the blows of some heavy hammer, or in order to put the works in a condition that allows them to be drawn out while cold and worked. In this he puts all his labor and industry. He who works at this art often makes use of large hammers, sometimes of small ones, and sometimes of those that have a long iron head and a short handle. With these he is obliged ever to proceed in one of these activities, either extending the work lengthwise, narrowing it, or widening it. This is achieved by the manner and direction of striking and therefore it is sometimes hammered on the inside, sometimes on the outside, sometimes with the peen, and sometimes with the flat head. For instance, when he wishes to close it up he strikes it on the outside with the peen, and if he wishes to widen it he strikes it on the inside with either the flat head or the peen. In this way he proceeds to shape it with constant patience, and to make all the vessels that he works graceful. This metal, as I have told you, is soft, flexible, and tenacious under the hammer. It yields with a certain toughness, provided, however, that it is fine and without admixture of a trace of tin or other metal. That craftsman is a good master of this art who best makes every desired work

Jan 1, 1942

By John A. Church

IN May, 1878, I had the honor of presenting to the Institute, at the Chattanooga meeting, some observations upon the heat of the Comstock Lode, and since then the subject has attracted some attention and criticism, in the course of which, I have observed errors of apprehension which I beg leave to correct now. Mr. John Arthur Phillips discussed it before the Geological Society, his paper being printed in the Quarterly Journal for August, 1879.* His criticism is based upon that part of my paper in which I quote a number of analyses of the mine waters, to illustrate the fact that the heat does not come from the oxidation of pyrite. I pointed out that these waters contain only an insignificant proportion of sulphuric acid, and not enough to account for even one per cent. Of * A Contribution to the History of Mineral Veins. By J. Arthur Phillips, Esq., F.G.S. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society for August, 1879.

Jan 1, 1880

By J. V. W. REYNDERS

FIRST of all let me express my affectionate gratitude for the cordiality and good will of your reception. On the part of the men I venture to interpret the character of your greeting, not only as a recognition of the position to which you have been good enough to elect me, but also as an expression of your friendly attitude. However, I cannot pass over the tribute of the ladies so casually: Nor does it seem possible to do justice to my sentiments in addressing them collectively. I would feel more equal to the task if I could have the opportunity to talk to them singly, in doing which I know I may count upon their good sportsmanship not to compare notes. There has been some discussion between Mr. Kelly and myself as to our respective duties on this occasion: The precedents are not clear as to whether the retiring or the incoming president is expected to speak at length. Mr. Kelly's argument was that as the incoming president confines himself to promises for the future his field is a broad one and his opportunities for extending his remarks correspondingly unlimited.

Jan 1, 1925

By Howard N. Eavenson

TWO months ago, just after the coal code hearing in Washington, one of our leading liberal weeklies printed a study of the coal industry made by an economist in the Administration, and on the outside cover bad it featured as "Coal-A Dying Industry." There are, of course, different opinions as to the accuracy of this characterization and I want to present some of the facts about the outlook for the bituminous industry for a short time ahead. In view of what has happened in the industry within the recent past it would be futile to attempt to make any prophecy about what is likely to occur in the future. We all know that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, but it is likely that anyone undertaking this role about this industry would soon find himself in no man's land. One can, with some slight degree of safety perhaps, outline present conditions and tendencies and draw some inferences as to what the future may hold.

Jan 1, 1933

By James K. Richardson

Today, the enigma of the "missing man" in the metal mining industry equals, and frequently surpasses in objective importance, the problems of ore development, drilling, sampling, pumping, milling techniques, geophysical prospecting, or any one of a hundred highly technical subjects. Unfortunately, as engineers, we have confined our attentions, in the main, to the scientific phases of mineral technology, relegating our man power problems to the background. But what good has all our scientific study and preparation been if we can't get the ore mined, milled, or smelted? What has happened to our labor supply? Where is the good old miner who could timber, drill a round, lay track, or do any job underground?

Jan 1, 1949

By HARRISON W. CRAVER

LIBRARIES are universally recognized as essential to modern civilization. In a world that gets most of its learning through the printed word, storehouses of print are a vital necessity. In this regard engineering differs in no way from the other learned professions, but until recent times the library needs of engineers have received rather scant attention. When the engineering profession was more of an art and less of a science than it is today, when each problem was solved more through the results of experience than by applying scientific principles, literature was less helpful. The engineer of today, however, is aware that his activities rest upon a scientific foundation and consequently comprehensive books dealing with more limited fields are now being published. Another difficulty for the operating engineer in the past was that the published works on engineering were written chiefly for use as college texts. A third obstacle to the development of engineering libraries has been the lack of librarians with experience in engineering.

Jan 1, 1938