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By AIME AIME

THE American Engineering Council, which is the working body of The Federated American Engineering Societies, held its first meeting in Washington, Nov. 18 and 19, 1920. The Federated American Engineering Societies was formed in Washington in June and is composed of engineering and technical societies, national, state, local and regional. These Member Societies elect delegates to the American Engineering Council, which is the administrative body of the Federated. The meeting was called to order by Richard L. Humphrey, Chairman of the Joint Conference Com¬mittee, and the program (which is printed below) was carried out without substantial change by E. S. Carman, who was elected temporary chairman. Under the Constitution, the Council appoints an Executive Board, the members of which are chosen according to the proportional membership of the vari¬ous Member Societies in their respective districts. Under this plan, with the present membership, 'the national societies will have 14 members and the local societies 6 members on the Executive Board.

Jan 1, 1920

By Bradley Stoughton

AT THE meeting of the Board of Directors on May 20, the resignation of Bradley Stoughton as Secretary of the Institute was presented and regretfully accepted by the Board. The letter of resignation follows : Gentlemen: About two years ago, I indicated to the President and some members of the Board my belief that the office of Secretary of the Institute should not be a permanent one. It is my observation of events, not only in our own Institute, but also in several sister societies, that too long a tenure of office by the Secretary inevitably leads to a situation which is not good either for him or for the society. After submitting this in writing to the Directors on February 17, 1920, I was overpersuaded by members of the Board to defer resignation until a more convenient time for the

Jan 1, 1921

By Simon D. Strauss

Production and consumption of nonferrous metals in the United States during 1950 were at peak levels for the postwar period, as is shown in Tables I, II, and III. The trend of production was upward through most of the year. At the year end, with the possible exception of the Tri-State zinc-lead district, the large mining operations in the country were running at capacity. The absence of serious labor interruptions during the year was an important contributing factor in the increased out-put of metals, since in each of the previous postwar years there had been a number of major strikes which affected production adversely.

Jan 2, 1951

By Bobby P. Faulkner

The Tennessee Copper Co.'s flotation plant, refer- T red to as London Mill, processes approximately 4800 tons of a massive complex sulfide ore per day. The ore is predominantly pyrrhotite and pyrite, the other sulfides being chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and a small amount of galena. Magnetite of economic value is also present. There are four concentrates produced. In decreasing tonnage, these are iron, copper, zinc and lead. The ore feeding the mill is a composite of ores from five mines which vary in grade. Therefore, in order to provide a fairly constant feed to the mill, the ore is blended several times before reaching the flotation machines. The flotation plant is divided into three main sections: bulk, copper and zinc. Fig. 1 shows a simplified flowsheet. The first two sections, the bulk and copper, were the two sections studied most closely in utilizing the computer.

Jan 11, 1966

By A. K. Chakravarti, A. Lihiri, G. G. Sarkar

One primary objective of India's third Five Year Plan is the expansion of coal production. The goal: boost present output of 45 million tons to 95 million tons by 1965--an increase of more than 100 pct!

Jan 7, 1961

By T. S. Lundy, J. I. Federer

Chemically purified Zr95and Cb95 have been used in determining self-diffusion coefficients in the bcc phase of iodide zirconium over the temperature range of 900o to 1750°C. The temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficients could not be described by the usual Arrhenius-type equation over the entire temperature range. Values of the apparent frequency factors (D0)a and activation energies (Q)A for ZR95 varied from 4.8 x 10-6 to 2.5 x 10-2 sq cm per sec and 20,700 to 46,900 cal per mole, respectively, between 900°and 1750°C. Similarly, for Cb95, values of (Do) a and (Q)A varied from about 2.4 x 10'5 to 0.25 sq cm per sec and 26,500 to 56,800 cal per mole, respectively. The data may be described in terms of the a to ß transition temperature of 1136 °K and the absolute temperature of the diffusion anneals by the following eauations: SEVERAL studies on the diffusion of Zr95 in zirconium have been reported.1"5 The values of the constants contained in the usual Arrhenius-type equation for describing the temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient, D = Do exp [- Q/(RT)], are summarized in Table I. The reported values of Do, the frequency factor, and Q, the activation energy, are seen to vary by factors of about 60 and 1.6, respectively. Examination of the data from any one study indicated reasonable consistency of measurements. The large discrepancies of over-all results, therefore, cannot be explained on the basis of experimental scatter. One possible explanation for the differences in results could be a varying impurity content of the zirconium. Another possibility is that the radioactive daughter, Cb95, influenced the values of some of the determined diffusion coefficients. Therefore, the first of the three purposes of this study was to reconcile the large differences in diffusion results that have been obtained. Several empirical relations have been proposed to relate the diffusion coefficients in solids with physical properties, such as the absolute melting point, the heat of fusion, and the heat of sublimation.

Jan 1, 1963

By S. H. Chauvenet

HARRISBURG is situated on the Pennsylvania Railroad, one hundred and five miles from Philadelphia, two hundred and forty-eight miles from Pittsburgh, and ninety miles from Baltimore, and has running through it the Pennsylvania, Northern Central, Philadelphia and Reading, and Cumberland Valley Railroads, and the Pennsylvania Canal. Surrounded by a thickly settled farming country, from which to draw native labor, within easy distance of anthracite and bituminous coal, with ores and limestone near at hand, and with the Susquehanna River as a never-failing water supply, Harrisburg has advantages for manufacturing which warrant the investment of the capital that has already been made, and has a future as a manufacturing city second only to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. THE PENNSYLVANIA STEEL COMPANY, L. S. BENT, SUPERINTENDENT. The works of this company, the largest in Harrisburg, lie between the Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia and Reading Railroads, on. the Pennsylvania Canal, and are essentially devoted to the manufacture of Bessemer steel rails. Capital stock, $2,000,000; invested in business, $5,000,000; wages per month, $80,000; employs 2000 men; capacity, 100,000 tons of rails per year, which is being increased to 130,000 tons. The plant, as it now stands, comprises five Bessemer converters, two 7-ton and three 8-ton converters, two 15-ton open-hearth furnaces in operation, and two 30-ton open-hearth furnaces in course of construction, one blooming mill, one rail mill, seven steam hammers, two blast furnaces in operation, two blast furnaces in course of construction, foundry, pattern $hop, machine shop, blacksmith shop, and frog shop, and merchant mill in course of construction. Bessemer No. 1 was built in 1865, with two 7-ton converters, 2 spiegel cupolas, 3 feet diameter, and 3 iron cupolas 6' 6" diameter,

Jan 1, 1882

What has happened to the basic coal industry during the past year? Has it been a better year for coal than 1961? What striking new developments have occurred in mining, preparation and utilization? Are there positive signs that production will go up? What has happened in the utility market, the metallurgical market and the export market? Is the controversial question of coal transportation nearer to a solution? What progress has research made for coal during the year? The answer to these and many other important questions are offered in the following review of the Coal Industry-1962.

Jan 2, 1963

By GEORGE A. KIERSCH

The awesome destructive power of known and projected weapons of war presages a new need for geologists and engineers, who may be called upon to locate vital industry underground, thereby protecting it from sky-borne destruction. The Corps of Engineers is now conducting special tests to establish design standards covering the general field of underground installations as well as surveys a of construction methods and the operational hazards connected with such plants. National planning must dictate a policy that is either tactical, where surface manufactured parts; are stored underground and during art emergency assembled, or operational with both the manufacturing and assemblage completed in subsurface plants. Both plans of operation require the use of subterranean plants. Relocation of vital plants underground will probably involve only a small percentage of the production capacity of this nation. The cost of rebuilding in new location will obviously limit its adoption

Jan 1, 1949

By Donald H. McLaughlin

MINERAL industry activities have not been seriously hampered by a lack of men with higher training. The balance between opportunities for employment and advancement and available personnel has been a happy one, with enough competition to stimulate effort but not the unfortunate conditions arising from an overabundance. of employment seekers. Nearly all mineral industry educational institutions have been concerned about the falling enrollment in mining and metallurgical courses of study during the past decade. But industry has drawn upon a supply of many types of technically trained men apart from those who prepared their careers specifically in the mineral industry. Some schools have made this possible by uniting geologists, mineralogists, and others with students in mining and engineering. On the other hand, some schools have combined their department of mining engineering with an over-all engineering department and continue to send their graduates into the mineral industry by another route. On the whole, this seems to be a good trend and is likely to result in men better trained for current problems than would have been possible under the older rigid curricula.

Jan 1, 1947

By Kalervo Rankama

UNTIL a few years ago, geological mapping, the study of ore boulders, and different geophysical methods were the principal means used in the systematic search for mineral deposits covered by a layer of disintegration products or soil. These methods have been developed to a high stage of perfection as far as the geometrical definition of the conductor is considered. Use of geophysical methods in prospecting is based on the fact that an ore body differs from the country rock not only geologically but also in its physical properties. The general drawbacks and complications included in the use of geophysical methods are well known to everyone who has been using them, so need not be entered into here in detail. One of the more important ones is the fact that geophysical methods are unable to furnish information concerning the chemical composition of the ore bodies responsible for the indications. Further, the ores of many metals, such as silver, gold, beryllium, zinc, mercury, tin, lead, vanadium, antimony, chromium. molybdenum, tungsten, manganese, cobalt, nickel, and the platinum metals cannot be directly located by known geophysical methods, owing to lack of physical characteristics suitable for distinguishing them from the country rock. Thus it is quite natural that efforts have been made to develop direct methods for prospecting and locating ore bodies of the elements named. Known as chemical, biogeo-chemical, and geobotanical methods of prospecting, these have been much improved during recent years. A brief review of these methods and of some results obtained with them will be presented in the following, on the basis of available information and my own experience.

Jan 1, 1947

By Sherwin F. Kelly

FRONTIERS of geological knowledge retreated further this past year before an ever-widening geophysical attack, as governments and endowed institutions continued to take an increasing practical interest in the geophysical line of approach to the study of earth phenomena. A year ago I opened this annual review with a brief account of the efforts to discover what formations lie concealed beneath the deep sediments which form the superficial portions of the Continental Shelf off the eastern United States. That work was but the beginning, and 1938 saw its continuation and expansion. With the assistance of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Maurice Ewing pushed his researches in the development of instruments and techniques for deep-sea seismic refraction studies. Ewing's early refraction profile from the Virginia Capes to the edge of the Continental Shelf has been followed by a similar traverse in Great Britain from the coast of Cornwall to the edge of the Continental Shelf southwest of England. This showed that the thickness of the sedimentary mantle and the rates of slope of the basement surfaces there are comparable to those in the Virginia Cape district.

Jan 1, 1939

By Gerald Sherman

LARGE part of the mining industry is still under the shadow of the depression, and unwilling to undertake changes in plant or methods of operation that require large preliminary expenditures of money. Certain metals command fair prices: nickel, tin, and molybdenum. The precious metals, gold and silver, have been given greater values by natural processes of economics or by proclamation, but are of so much less importance in industry, in total value, and number of men employed, that they have not greatly raised the average for the mining business. The increased value of gold which was established in 1933 has stimulated .the search for new deposits, and aided efforts to revive some of the old mines 'Where it is hoped to find quantities of marginal ore now become profitable. The higher price did not increase production very much for 1934, but two discoveries of major importance, and others yet to be proved, will help later. The two referred to are the Lupa gold field in Tanganyika Territory, and the Silver Queen mine on Soledad Mountain near Mojave in California. The first was recently discovered, and is being developed by the East African Goldfields, Ltd. Uncompleted explorations of the croppings early in the year had exposed for measurement and sampling to a shallow depth, three ore shoots as gregating 7400 ft. in length and 6 ft. in width, containing 0.375 oz. of gold per ton. In the Silver Queen. an ore-

Jan 1, 1935

By L. D. HUNTOON

MY first article on Canadian Gold, published in the Canadian Mining Magazine in 1911 expressed the view that the Hollinger mine would repay all the money invested and that other mines would be developed in this area. Many published forecasts have since been made. Quoting from the Northern Miner of Oct. 29, 1931: "It will be noted in studying the chart prepared by this engineer that his forecast for 1931 at $50,000,000 was too modest, as the output for this country this year will be closer to $54,000,000."

Jan 1, 1932

By Edward Steidle

NOTHING stands still. We go forward or backward. As a distinct group of educators, our immediate concern is with the preparation of young men and women for participation in the mineral industries on a professional basis. I am going to have the temerity to state emphatically that for a long time as a whole we have remained in a static position. We are now confronted with the choice of advancement or retrogression. We are still in a position to make a choice and our ultimate fate will depend upon the course of action we elect to follow. Wars always have been great catalysts and social and scientific advancements mature under military stimulus in a fraction of the time normally consumed. We are now in the midst of a conflict whose duration or final effects cannot be estimated. However, the record already demonstrates that this war as never before is a mineral war in which incentive, strategy, and outcome are directly related to the distribution and utilization of minerals. The inevitable result is a drain upon our resources now reflected in our record production and a growing public consciousness of the importance of minerals in the role of human affairs. It is evident that we must seek new mineral frontiers beyond the borders of the United States and take every other precaution to forestall a "have-not" position in the world.

Jan 1, 1943

By AIME AIME

THE program of government drilling, conducted jointly by the U. S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Mines, has demonstrated the presence in Texas and New Mexico of potash-bearing beds of considerable importance. Information regarding the ex- tent and location of the potash deposits as presented at the non-metallic sessions was of great interest to many engineers. These subjects will be covered in greater detail in later paragraphs. The first session, with about 50 in attendance, convened at 10 a.m. on Feb. 18, with Oliver Bowles, chair- man of the Committee on Non-Metallic Minerals, pre- siding. The first paper was on "Soapstone Mining In Virginia," presented by C. W. Ryan of Lynchburg, Va. The nature and extent of the soapstone deposits of Nelson County were described in some detail. In origin, the soapstone is undoubtedly related to a basic peridotite rock though its mode of formation is some- what uncertain. This main soapstone deposit occurs in three veins, the western, middle, and eastern, the middle vein being of greatest economic importance. Methods of stripping, quarrying and milling the rock were described and the uses of soapstone were enum- erated. In discussing this paper, C. P. Berkey, of Co- lumbia University strongly favored the theory of igneous origin of the soapstone and the need for further detailed geological study. J. L. Gillson of Cambridge, Mass., stated that the Vermont and New York talc deposits were always associated with characteristic minerals, such as, a chlorite of one particular variety, siderite, amphibole, magnetite, and biotite. C. H. Behre of Cincinnati, Ohio, raised the question of parallelism in the soapstone structure and Mr. Ryan stated that such parallelism was in evidence in some parts of the deposits. H. A. Wheeler of St. Louis, Mo., also took 'part in the discussion.

Jan 1, 1929

By George M. Fowler

DURING 1937 the subject of mining geology was probably given more attention and more mining geologists were usefully employed than at any previous time. Of the many contributing factors the most important were: (1) a higher degree of prosperity in many countries, (2) a. better understanding of geologic phenomena, and (3) the apparently diminishing reserves of several important minerals. Mining companies have come to look upon geology with a growing appreciation of its aid in the more effective exploration and exploitation of mineral deposits. Most of the larger and more active companies have one or more geologists permanently attached to their staffs and some have well organized and efficiently managed geological departments. Even the smaller companies, who feel they cannot afford to employ a geologist on a permanent basis, are seeking the advice of competent men in this field with increasing frequency. One of the most significant trends has been the growing tendency to base exploratory work on more thorough geologic studies instead of empirical "hunches,"on which so much off the work in the past has relied. Likewise, mining companies are apparently more willing to expend larger sums on the basis of geologic possibilities in a district.

Jan 1, 1938

By Howard N. Eavenson

DURING the past year, as in the preceding ones, prices continued to fall, production to decrease, and more mines were closed. Much attention is being given by the industry to suggested plans for betterment of its position, and if the scheme recently brought out for consolidation of sales agencies into district agencies is loyally carried out, it cannot but help to improve conditions. The progress in the anthracite industry is shown in the report of its chairman, E. H. Suender; changes in coal preparation are outlined in the report of J. B. Morrow, chairman of Committee on Coal Preparation, while increased mechanization of the western mines is described by Eugene McAuliffe, chairman of the Committee on Machine and Strip Mining. In spite of the depression, interest in the Coal Division has been increasing, its meetings have been well attended, and its committees are active and have been doing excellent work.

Jan 1, 1932

By Hans Lundberg

GEOPHYSICAL methods as described in technical articles generally fail to answer the questions of prospectors and geologists as to which method they should apply and what information they may expect from their application. This article is an attempt to discuss the use of electrical methods with special reference to the prospecting for orebodies and the map¬ping of geologic structure. Especially on virgin ground, geological reconnaissance should precede electrical prospecting, with the object of outlining carefully the orebearing rock and determining the possibilities of elec¬trical prospecting. No electrical survey will then be carried out on ground which, for geological reasons, may be considered barren or where the electrical meth¬ods are inapplicable. As the success of electrical prospecting depends on the difference in conductivity between the ore and the country rock within which the orebody is inclosed, the conductivity of the two should be considered and de¬termined, if possible. The conductivity of an orebody depends on the distribution of conductive ore minerals and, in addition, on its size (length, width and depth). Most minerals with metallic luster show good electrical conductivity; for instance, the sulfides. Zinc-blende is an exception, but as it is often associated with the ore minerals of good conductivity (for instance, pyrite or galena), there is likelihood also of finding zinc.

Jan 1, 1930

By J. L. Perry

FOR many years, you and your fellow members of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers have devotedly and ably applied yourselves to the art of making iron and steel. having foremost in your minds the conservation of raw materials, suitable and efficient facilities, economical processes, and improved quality of product. For the past three strenuous years you have contributed wholeheartedly to meeting the problems of increased production. You have conducted scientific and technical investigations and research, recommended experiments. and gathered all the available and valuable information possible to gain the desired objectives. You have had many obstacles and difficulties to overcome. In the early days of your organization, there was some lack of co-operation from the industry itself-perhaps, for example, some failure to recognize the mutual advantages of free exchange of experiences and information. But regardless of any hindrances, you have made many and valuable contribution which have tended to make iron and steel manufacture leas of an art and more of a science.

Jan 1, 1944