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By Joseph Kuti

ROOF SUPPORT DEVELOPMENTS IN LONGWALL (1) European longwall mining technology developed towards its modern form in relatively deep mines. With increasing depth the stability of openings driven for ventilation, travel or transport becomes paramount in mine design considerations. As a result the number of roadways and entries, as well as their width must be a minimum. (1) Another important aspect of European mining is the high density of mineable seams, as opposed to the wide lateral extension of a single seam in the U. S. A. Multi-seam mining requires strict planning and near 100% extraction, since with increasing depth, the effect of remnant pillars can be devastating. As a result the face layout of a modern European longwall panel is based on single panel entries of moderate width and great height. The mode of extraction is generally a mixture of the advance and retreat system which is called a 2-system. It is obvious, therefore, that the supports developed for the entries and for the intersection areas are more complex than those in the U. S. A.

Jan 1, 1981

By H. E. Mussey

WHEN the American Institute of Mining Engineers visited the Birmingham district in May, 1888, the four Ensley furnaces (Fig. 1) then FIG. 1.-BLAST-FURNACE DEVELOPMENT IN ALABAMA. completed were referred to as monumental.1 Their dimensions are given in Table 1. Mr. Gordon stated, with considerable satisfaction, that on the preceding day one furnace had produced 165 tons. The blast was

Jan 10, 1924

By Ezequiel Ordoñez

THE great activity with which the oil resources of the northern Cantons of the State of Veracruz have been developed has largely resulted from the great success obtained by the important explorations carried out since 1902 in the Ebano district in the North, and several years later near Tuxpam, in the South. It must not be thought that these successes were quickly obtained, since the preliminary studies by good experts, the acquisition of what were thought to be the most promising coast lands, the extensive clearing thereof, and finally the number of unsuccessful drillings at great depth, signified an original outlay of some ten's of millions of dollars before finding commercial oil. The discovery of oil in industrial quantities at Cerro de la Pez, Ebano district, and the famous Dos Bocas gusher some years later, which was burned, once and for all made famous the Veracruz coast, where today is concentrated the Mexican output of mineral oil. In .1917, this production was nearly 50,000,000 bbl. It is well known that this output represents only a fraction of what the wells in actual production can furnish, because with adequate means of transportation and storage, the present extraction could be somewhat over 300,000,000 bbl. a year. These enormous potential oil resources of the Veracruz coast proceed from a relatively small number of wells, scattered over a few oil fields, separated from each other by large unexplored areas, wherein may be found other favorable fields which, in time, will undoubtedly become just as great centers of oil production. Experts who know our Gulf Coast believe that lands with commercial oil resources lie not only between the Panuco amid Tuxpan Rivers, but that indications are that the oil zone of Mexico, with more or less interruption, takes in the coast zone from Northern Tamaulipas to the foot of the Sierra Madre of Chiapas, and the banks of the Usumacinta River. This generalization is not merely the outcome of optimism, but is the result of the persistency with which one finds, throughout this Gulf Coast, the most usual characteristics upon which we depend for recognizing oil-bearing lands.

Jan 5, 1918

By Oswald J. Heinrich

(Read at the Philadelphia Meeting, February, 1878.) DURING the last twenty years much has been done to investigate and define the Mesozoic formation of the United States along the Atlantic States, as well as in the Territories. The investigations of Professors Hitchcock, Emmons, Hayden, H. D. Rogers, and those now in progress in connection with the geological surveys of Penn-

Jan 1, 1878

By Neville G. W. Cook

The ultimate goal in rock mechanics is to make quantitative predictions of the response of rock to changes. Measured and calculated values of changes in displacements or temperatures in the rock for six different field experiments are compared using linear regression. When values of the mean compressive stresses are large compared with the values of the deviatorial stresses, linear elasticity, using values for Young's modulus from laboratory tests, provides a good predictive model. However, if the values of the mean compressive stresses are small compared with those of the deviatorial stresses the behavior and response of the rock, though systematic, is not linear. Linear heat conduction provides good predictions of changes in rock temperatures but thermal displacements are not predicted well by linear thermoelasticity.

Jan 1, 1982

By L. G. Huntley

THE only oil produced in Colombia during the past year has been that from the Tropical Oil Co. concession, operated by the International Petroleum Co. This has been about the same in amount as that of 1923, or approximately half a million barrels gross, which has been used to supply the domestic requirements of the republic and for the company's own use, in about equal proportions. The Tropical Oil Co.'s field at Infantas has 17 producing wells, for the most part shut in. The company claims an average initial production of about 1000 bbl. each for these wells, which would represent a total potential production of 10,000 bbl. However, the area already outlined by this work is considerable, as drilling has apparently been carried on with the idea in mind of blocking out the field, rather than developing the greatest possible production. Therefore, whether or not the pipeline of the Andian National Corpn. is being built to take care of the amount of crude production admitted by the Tropical Oil Co., or a greater prospective amount, it is certain that this production could be quickly increased if desired.

Jan 3, 1925

1. A passenger rickshaw in China. 2. A Pekin cart carrying coal, on dirt roads; the cost works out to 15 or 20 c. per ton-mile. 3. Coolie with wheelbarrow. This one has a small load, but barrow men carry ordinarily 250 lb., occasionally 400 if with a helper. He goes about 18 miles a day and the cost is about 25c. gold per ton-mile, though it varies widely. 4. Coolie delivering coal balls in Pekin. He carries about 65 lb. On some roads with a different arrangement a coolie carries 133 lb., making about one ton-kilometer per day. 5. Truck used by the Government Fuel Yard at Washington. Carries 71/2 tons in an hour as far as a barrow man carries 1/4 ton in a day.

Jan 8, 1928

By F. Clerf

BLAST-FURNACE practice in France is determined more or less by the character of the ores used. Some French ores are siliceous and others are calcareous, therefore by proper burdening a self-fluxing mix can be used. This is not always clone, as, for instance, at the Caen furnaces of the Société Métallurgique de Normandie, where the Soumont ore of Normandy is used, which is a carbonate. This ore is crushed and calcined at the mines, yielding a product that is porous and well sized for blast-furnace consumption. The lines of the Caen furnaces are given in Fig. 1. Originally these furnaces had 16 tuyeres; six are plucked and these tuyeres are set in the lower part of the bosh. Operating data on these furnaces are given in Table 1.

Jan 1, 1937

By S. H. Ash

Mass production methods, although increasingly important for economic reasons, create new hazards, remove many hazards, and improve health and safety by reducing exposure and obtaining better supervision. Such methods must be efficient or be discarded. Skilled workmen are required who must be trained to utilize equipment that replaces picks, shovels, and explosives. The effects of working conditions on the health of workmen have long been evaluated in noncoal mines. Studies and action programs relating to environmental health hazards in the mineral industry have placed particular emphasis on dusts. The anthracite industry is conducting an action program on the problem of dust. Segments of the bituminous industry are now conducting similar investigations. An industrial hygiene survey of coal mining in the State of Washington has been conducted and the results published in 1949. (State of Washington, Department of Health, I. H. Bul letin 4.) Chest X rays were obtained from miners in the six major coal-producing counties. State Health Department mobile X-ray equipment was set up at most large mines. Participation was on a voluntary basis, and response was obtained from 70 percent. Important in successful mining safety programs are training programs for supervisors and workmen alike. These programs recognize that the employe is the focal point in injury prevention and are planned and function around him. During the war, industries had to compete with each other for workers and to obtain and hold good workers, working conditions had to be made attractive. The average age of the mine worker increased, and, contrary to what many expected, mining injury rates decreased rather than increased. To attract competent workers, risks to life and limb, as well as laborious tasks, have to be reduced, and an experienced worker is indispensable for safety. Young men are returning to modernized mines. Mass production methods and equipment are more to their liking; jobs are more remunerative, demand action, and require special training and skill that give them the mark of a craftsman. Such workmen can be taught safe methods.

Jan 1, 1950

By John A. Mathews

RESEARCH in the steel industry, as in other lines of manufacturing, has for its principal purpose the increasing of profits. That is what manufacturing companies are for, and all departments of the organization must be so coordinated as to lead to profitable operation. To divide a payroll into productive and non-productive labor is misleading. Productive labor, in fact, is necessary labor, and non- productive labor is the labor we can get along without. One might as well say that the steering wheel is not a part of an automobile as to say that the directing minds of an industry are non-productive. Legitimate manufacturing profits in a steel company or any other company are the reward that the public pays for service rendered or risk taken. The desire for profits is the impelling motive that leads investors .to take risks and build up industries that give employment to others. Every department of a company, be it executive, manufacturing, financial, sales, or research, must contribute to the one end which brings success-profits.

Jan 1, 1921

By Paul Munoz

TRINIDAD, which has never been. seriously consid-ered as a large oil producer, has recently taken a new lease on its oil life through active development work being carried on by a newly organized American company that has been conspicuously successful in the short time in which it has operated on the island. From an oil operator's point of view Trinidad pos-sesses numerous natural advantages which are not found in any other oil producing country. The climate, while tropical, is healthy. The nights are always cool. Deep-water shipping ports in protected waters are available within short pipe-line distance from the pro-ducing fields. The distance from Trinidad to the At-lantic seaboard of the United States is less than from the Gulf Coast or from Mexico. The labor supply is abundant and can be had at reasonable rates. The island enjoys a good, stable government under British rule and is traversed by a net-work of excellent govern-ment roads. From a production standpoint the fields being de-veloped by Trinidad Oil Fields, Inc., the company re-ferred to above, present interesting problems which are being successfully solved. The oil sands are extremely fine; some of them having over 50 per cent passing 100- mesh screen and, with the exception of the Palo Seco field, the sands are loose, with shale-breaks and shale capping and with rock pressures running up to 600 lb. per square inch. Rotary drilling is universal, as the formations encountered are soft Tertiary shales, clays, sandy shales and sands, with occasional sandstone and lime shells, which are easily drilled with the rotary. As high as 600 ft. of hole in 24 hr. has been made in some of this company's wells. Production is at present obtained at depths ranging from 500 to 2500 ft. but further development will probably result in deeper pro-duction being obtained. The oil being produced ranges from 21 deg. to 37 deg. Bé gravity and is all asphaltic base oil.

Jan 7, 1927

By James A. Burns

The challenge to designers of bulk materials handling systems is to apply the existing technology in areas where it has not been used and to foster better, cheaper and safer job performance. The Dashaveyor Co., a subsidiary of The Bendix Corp., built and tested a pilot system at Copper Range's White Pine mine. Based upon this success, a prototype system development was begun in 1967 to test the concepts in a full-scale, realistic environment.

Jan 11, 1973

By L. L. Newman

As soon as the Congress recognized the alarming rate at which our domestic oil resources were being depleted during the war, it took action to step up the rate of research and development which the Bureau of Mines had been conducting for several years on the production of synthetic liquid fuels from coals. Under Public Law 290, approved April 5, 1944, funds were authorized for the Bureau to proceed with research, development, design and construction of demonstration plants for the hydrogenation of coal, the synthesis of oil from carbon monoxide and hydrogen, and the distillation of oil from shale. During the latter part of 1944, when it became evident that the collapse of Germany was near, a Technical Oil Mission was organized to study the Ger- man techniques of synthetic oil production. Since the cost of hydrogen or synthesis gas is one of the major factors of expense in the operation of hydrogenation or synthesis gas processes, the Bureau of Mines considered it of prime importance to include on the mission gas engineers whose instructions were to examine closely the methods employed by the Germans in solving the problem of providing low- cost hydrogen or synthesis gas for their very extensive operations on synthetic liquid fuels. The Solid Fuels Mission and the Utilities Mission, as well as the Army and Navy Missions, also included teams for the study of German gas production. Although their objectives naturally differed from those of the Technical Oil Mission and from each other, it was recognized that there was considerable overlapping of their fields of investigation. Duplication of effort, however, was largely avoided through the close cooperation between the group leaders of these missions. For example, although I went to Europe as a member of the Technical Oil Mission, my first German assignment was actually made by Dr. Harry F. Yancey, leader of the Solid Fuels Mission- to investigate the brown-coal gasification methods in central Germany. The art of gasification in the United States and England, and to a large extent in the proximity of the coking-coal regions of Germany and the rest of continental Europe, depends essentially on two stages of operation; namely, carbonization and intermittent water-gas generation. As far as the United States is concerned, complete gasification in a single stage of operation is rarely practiced, except in gas-producer operations where the product is a relatively lean gas consumed close to the point of manufacture, and for water-gas production with anthracite as a generator fuel. Complete gasification of bituminous coal has been the subject of numerous investigations. Many relatively simple modifications of the water-gas generator have been tried to permit the direct gasification of low-cost bituminous coal instead of high- cost coke and anthracite for the production of water gas. Although varying degrees of success have been achieved and the water gas produced generally has been higher in calorific value, in only a few isolated in- stances has there been any sustained use of bituminous coal for water-gas production for public utility uses after the shortages of anthracite and coke have been lessened.

Jan 1, 1946

By John D. Vincent, Howard W. Jacky

This chapter covers the normal problems encountered in the building of an ore concentrating facility. To produce such a facility In today's environment requires correlation by the engineers involved of geologic data, mine planning, scheduling, future planning, water resources, power, land availability, testing, design, start-up and environmental considerations. Of course, the program scheduling and character of the ore will determine the weight given to the above considerations in the final design and construction of the plant.

Jan 1, 1978

AT the session on mine ventilation on Oct. 8, 1926, held in connection with the. autumn Institute meeting at Pittsburgh, there was considerable dis-cussion of the use of auxiliary fans in coal-mine ven-tilation, and before adjourning the following resolu-tion was passed: "Resolved, that we, as a Committee, in consideration of the increasing and widespread use of auxiliary fans iii coal mines deplore the fact that they are often used without adequate knowledge of their limitations and dangers."

Jan 2, 1927

By Cleland N. Conwell

Reclaiming mined land in northern regions is less difficult than reclaiming semiarid lands. In 1972, the Usibelli coal mine near Healy, Alaska, initiated experimental plots to determine the proper grasses and amounts of fertilizer. The following spring, approximately 1600 acres of land disturbed by mining were seeded by low-flying aircraft. The reclamation project was evaluated by the State of Alaska and has been adjudged successful. The information gained is being used in reviewing prospecting permits and granting coal leases on state lands.

Jan 1, 1977

By Hallan Marsh

THE subject of this paper is apt to bring to mind wells ranging from 6000 to over 8000 ft. in depth. However, it is uncommon to pump wells at depths greater than about 5000 ft. Fig. 1 shows the number of wells being pumped at various depths by one company in Southern California. FIG. 1.-NUMBER OF WELLS BEING PUMPED BY ONE COMPANY FROM VARIOUS DEPTHS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. A few companies have a very few wells pumping at depths greater than this. This paper will deal with wells between 3000 and 5500 ft. in depth. Most California oils at these depths are between 25° and 35 gravity. The subject is so broad that it will be necessary to omit many interesting phases, and to treat others very briefly. Power, power transmission equipment, power efficiency, counterbalancing, sucker rods, pumps and volumetric efficiency will be discussed.

Jan 1, 1928

By Robert C. Temps

The history of iron ore milling in Chile can be divided into two periods: the first, which lasted about 40 years, ended in 1952 and the second continues today. During the first period, Bethlehem Chile Iron Mines Co. was the sole shipper and El Tofo, the only mine. That situation was forever altered in 1952 when several small independent companies began to sell ore. The success of these companies triggered programs of exploration which can only be described as a "boom" during the past five years.

Jan 1, 1963

By Earl Oliver

Superficial observation of the petroleum stabilization movement in 1932 is disappointing. Threatened overproduction persisted; waste continued; proration was violated; gasoline taxes were evaded; and, as a consequence, chaos threatened the industry as the year drew to a close. However, comparison of the movement in 1932 with its beginning a few years ago, and analyses of those influences that promote its growth as well as those which retard it, disclose some reasons for encouragement. Stabilization, as we see it, is not merely a mechanical engineering problem. It involves social engineering. By which we do not mean it is possible, or even desirable, to change the nature of men, but rather that it is possible to set up procedure that will avoid causing them to clash. It comprehends consideration of physical objects that is clearly within the field of the engineer, but it considers them only in relation to their distribution, utilization and control in harmony with philosophies that motivate men and shape current conceptions of right and wrong, or of justice and injustice if those terms be deemed more acceptable. Stabilization cannot be effected without utilizing the knowledge of the engineer, but neither can it be effected without utilizing more than comes within his traditional field of activity. In discussing the problem herein we shall endeavor to treat it briefly from that consolidated viewpoint. Rapid fluctuations in supply have characterized the oil industry from its beginning; yet only within the past ten years has an understanding begun to develop regarding the extent of waste—the degree of dissipation of natural resources—that attends the operation of the industry under the practices and laws which control it in the United States. The extent and regrettable consequences of those wastes, their underlying causes and the ease with which they could be prevented are not yet generally understood even within the industry. Producing TomoRRow' s Oil Today The interests detrimentally affected by these economic evils are vastly greater than the mere welfare of the oil industry. The problem involves the nation's supply of gasoline and other petroleum products at

Jan 1, 1933

By T. M. Williams

DURING the year just ended we have had three great fires in the mines in the Wilkes-Barre district. One at the Empire Colliery, one at the Prospect shaft, and the other at the Baltimore old mine. It is proposed in this paper to give a brief history of the fire at the Empire Colliery, and the methods employed in extinguishing it. The fire was first discovered breaking out in the air-stack, alongside what is known as the " Kidder Plane," about one o'clock on the morning of December 31st, 1873. Subsequently it was ascertained that the fire originated in the return airway somewhere near the steam boiler, located inside the mine, near the head of No. 5 slope. The coal from this slope was hoisted to the shaft gangway, at a point nearly four thousand feet distant from the foot of the shaft. As there were from four to five hundred mine cars hoisted per day from this slope the steam boilers were located at this place. The mines being of considerable extent required a large volume of pure air for ventilation, and no fan having been erected at this slope at the time, the heat from the boiler was made use of to assist ventilation, by conveying the return air from No. 5 slope into the large airway made from these boilers to the surface through the old "Kidder slope" to the stack where the fire was first discovered. The length of this slope or airway was about one thousand feet, with a sectional area of about sixty feet. The quantity of air passing through it must have been over sixty thousand cubic feet per minute

Jan 1, 1875