Search Documents

By E. G. Dahlgren, Dan O. Howard

THE West Edmond oil field, which covers parts of Oklahoma, Canadian, Kingfisher, and Logan Counties in the State of Oklahoma, is in geographical extent the largest single oil field found in the state. At the present time, its area of 26,800 acres is almost twice as large as the Oklahoma City field, which hitherto was the state's largest field. Many authorities believe that the West Edmond field is the most important oil pool found in the United States since Pearl Harbor. The discovery of the field without the help of geological, geophysical, or other recognized technical information, the fact that the oil and gas accumulated in a stratigraphic or wedge-type trap, and the rapid development of the productive area under wartime conditions are some of the interesting features of the field. The West Edmond field lies west of the Oklahoma City, Britton, and Edmond fields. The field is in an area that has been considered on the west flank of the Granite Ridge line of folding, on which a number of Central Oklahoma's most important oil fields are located. Over a period of years, especially since the discovery of the new pools such as Oklahoma City, Edmond, Britton, and Crescent, the general area of the West Edmond field has been explored intensively by geological and geophysical methods. This led at times to the drilling of a few dry Wilcox sand tests.

Jan 1, 1945

The following is an incomplete list of members and guests who called at Institute headquarters during the period Feb. 10, 1919, to Mar. 10, 1919. R. H. Allport, Cleveland, Ohio. R. R. Landon, Philippine Islands. I. H. Bergstein, New York. Alfred 0. Law, Cambridge, Mass. Capt. R. S. Burdette, San Antonio, Tex. James M. Little, Towanda, Pa. William R. Chedsey, State College, Pa. F. E. Marcy, Salt Lake City, Utah. L. R. Clapp, Philadelphia, Pa. H. F. Nash, Bartlesville, Okla. J. Murray Clark. L. S. Panyity, Columbus, Ohio. E. H. Claussen, San Francisco, Calif. W. C. Ralston, Reno, Nev. George E. Collins, -Denver, Colo. T. A. Rickard, San Francisco, Calif. George L. Collord, Sharpsville, Pa.. W. A. Rigby, Mt, Vernon, Iowa. William M. Corse, Mansfield, Ohio. H. H. Rowatt, Ottawa. Frank R. Crampton, Los Angeles, Calif. P. H. Royster, Pittsburgh, Pa. Capt. E. 0. Daue. Alan B. Sanger, Dorchester, Mass. A. E. Eddy, Butte, Mont. J. S. Shaw, Pittsburgh, Pa. N. H. Emmons, 2d, Lynchburg, Va. S. B. Shutts, Lynchburg, Va. E. W. Engelmann, Hayden, Ariz. Henry B. Smith, New Britain, Conn. F. A. Fahrenwald, Cleveland, Ohio. W. C. Smith, Roselle, N. J. 0. S. Finnie, Ottawa. Harry M. Spoor. John T. Fuller, Honesdale, Pa. D. M. Stackhouse, Johnstown, Pa. Major C. C. Griggs, Eureka, Utah. F. D. Stay,. Cleveland, Ohio. H. F. E. Gamm, Rutherford, N. J. D. B. Sterrett, St. Cyr, Que. A. W. Hackwood, Butte, Mont. R. H. Thayer, Yonkers, N. Y. C. L. Horne, Roanoke, Va. Kirby Thomas,. New York. B. B. Hood, Chrome, N. J. Henry Traphagen, Toledo, Ohio. R. E. Hore, Toronto Ont. H. D. Trounce, San Diego, Calif. Ross B. Hoffmann, Oakland, Calif. Henry J. Volkin, Ossining, N. Y. G. A. Joslin, Salt Lake City, Utah.. A. T. Ward, Bellefonte, Pa. John Johnston, Washington, D. C. Major L. W. Wickes. Paul S. King, Wilmington, Del. Horace V. Winchell, Minneapolis, Minn. E. William Kohl, Jr., Philadelphia, Pa. Fred L. Wolf, Mansfield, Ohio. W. H. Landers, San Francisco; Calif. J. Carson Adkerson, of the Stockwood Realty Corpn., Inc., of Woodstock, Va., writes that they are discontinuing their operations in Virginia on account of the conditions in the manganese market following the end of the war.

Jan 4, 1919

By AIME AIME

CERTAINLY in point of attendance, and doubtless in several other ways as well, the 147th meeting of the A.I.M.E. was the best ever held. In times of depression, mining engineers and metallurgists have plenty of time to come to the Annual Meeting but money is scarce; at the height of industrial activity they have plenty of money but no time. "The current period of transition seemed to provide ideal conditions for' both the preparation of papers and attendance at their presentation. The weather made even the Californians present envious though the weather man gets no credit, for rain and snow was what he willed. Among the elevator men, the miners have the reputation of being the toughest crowd to handle, though the best natured, withal, of all the engineering groups that meet in the Engineering Societies Building. This year Your inquiring reporter was told, "it was the damnedest meeting I ever saw; they

Jan 1, 1937

By Elmer W. Pehrson

OPINION seems widely divergent as to where we stand with respect to future mineral supply. From some quarters we hear that the United States is about to become a "have-not" nation and about to experience the evil consequences such a situation would entail. Others claim that we are still a treasure house of stored-up mineral wealth, the surface of which barely has been scratched. The data to be presented here support the conclusion that neither of these viewpoints is correct and that we are far from exhaustion of those mineral resources that are basic to our industrial economy. However, exhaustion is well advanced in a number of important subsidiary minerals so that we can no longer drift along with the easy-going philosophy that the earth will provide. The time has come when we must recognize the true situation and do something about it.

Jan 1, 1945

By L. A. Cowan

IF the elements of personality be those characteristics in which humans differ, and if this definition be applied to the purchasing department for the Climax operations in Colorado, it must he concluded that this department has no distinguishing traits that would give it a departmental personality different from that possessed by the similar department of any progressive mining enterprise. Or, one may go further by stating that the rudimentary functions of any purchasing practice employed principally in the acquisition of maintenance, repair, and operating supplies are much alike, whether or not the industry involved be mining or milling. However, in the fact that the principal purchases of a mining company are materials for maintenance and repair and consumable operating supplies lies that essential characteristic which differentiates mining and milling purchasing functions from those of the manufacturer, the fabricator, or the ordinary processor.

Jan 1, 1946

By Arthur Notman

IN VIEW of the wide publicity given to the charges by the Couzens Committee of the United States Senate of discrimination by the Bureau of Internal Revenue in favor of the copper companies, it becomes a matter of interest to consider the basis for these charges. The point to be determined is whether they rest on a foundation of fact or are purely and simply matters of opinion. The whole question boils down to the purpose of the Tax Law as applied to mines, which is to afford the same protection to them as provided for all other taxpayers, namely: that they were to be allowed to pay back as depletion to their owners the values of their properties as they existed or were estimated to exist on May 1, 1913, free from tax. To determine these valuations it was? necessary to select from a wide range of possibilities a set of values for a number of essential factors.

Jan 1, 1925

By OTTO HERRES

UTAH has enormous deposits of high-grade bituminous coal. The United States Geological Survey estimates that there are 13,130 sq. mi. of land in Utah known to contain workable coal and these extensive fields contain 196,000,000,000 tons of coal. Growth in population and development of industry in the intermountain and Pacific coast regions will in time give Utah a place with the great coal producing states of the country. Even today, faced by adverse conditions in competition with cheap fuel oil from southern California, water-power throughout the western states in general, and comparatively high freight rates to its distant markets, the Utah coal industry is notable in many respects. In recent years, Utah has led the United States both in the percentage of its mines in class 1, mines producing more than 200,000 tons a year, and in average production per man per day, which was 6.01 tons in 1921. In Mineral Resources of the United States, 1921, Part

Jan 1, 1925

By Wllliam D. Davis

C OMMERCIAL production of oil in northeastern Oklahoma began in 1897 and in the next two decades this area became one of the greatest oil districts of the time. Its importance is now secondary, but thousands of wells in this area have produced uninterruptedly for more than thirty years. They are now classified as stripper wells. By means of what is known as water flooding their L. production can be considerably in- creased. This practice consists in injecting water under pressure into the sand surrounding an oil well, thus displacing the oil in the pores of the sand and forcing it into the oil well.

Jan 1, 1940

By T. A. Rickard

The history of this State is that of one generation. Thirtysix years only have elapsed since the birth of that beneficent industry whose footsteps were the first to traverse the wilderness of the prairies and penetrate the solitude of the mountains. So soon is history made. The men who halted on the rolling plain where Denver now stands and gazed westward at the snow-clad ranges in eager questioning of their possibilities of golden wealth, have lived to see a noble city built where once their camp-fires burned, and have participated in the discovery of a magnificent series of productive mines amid the mountains which seemed at that time the Ultima Thule of their pilgrimage. To those who investigate the workings of our complicated mining and metallurgical industries, the story of their evolution from humble beginnings will appear an instructive romance. The record that tells it presents features common to the growth of modern mining regions, but also bears aspects peculiar to

Jan 1, 1897

By J. D. Price, W. M. Bertholf

In preparing a paper on coal washing in Colorado and New Mexico, it is difficult to refrain from entering into a discussion of the historical aspects of this subject, for the story of coal washing in these states goes back well into the last century. This phase of the subject could well make a complete paper in itself, and of necessity this present discussion must be limited to current operations. Therefore, we are taking into consideration only those washing plants which have operated for some period during the years of 1947 and 1948.

Jan 1, 1949

By COREY C. BRAYTON

PACIFIC COAST steel and iron industries can now take care of all the western and export demands except for heavy structural shapes, thick plates, rails, alloy tool steels, and a few other items. In. 1902 all of our steel came from St. Louis and Milwaukee and points still farther east. A small quantity at that time came from foreign countries. Early mining in the West was, broadly speaking, prior to the steel age. 'Wood for structures and iron for castings were almost exclusively used. Forgings were made of rolled iron that came from the East and foreign countries. San Francisco was, from the early days of mining, the manufacturing center for mining and milling machinery of all types and held that position until the .nineties, when eastern competition began to be felt. Even today in the old mining camps of the West, and many abroad, you will find machines and equipment with familiar San Francisco manufacturers' names. ..Iron, either rolled or cast, entered into their manufacture, for steel castings did not come into general use :until the nineties.

Jan 1, 1929

By R. E. Grant

THE Cerro de Pasco Railway Co., owned and operated by the Corporation, is a common carrier whose chief functions are transportation of ore and concentrates from the mines at Cerro de Pasco to the smelter in Oroya, and haulage of coal from the coal mines at Goyllarisquisga to the coal washery at Fundicion. Connecting with the Peruvian Central Railway at Oroya, the C. de P. Railway maintains joint, daily freight and passenger service from Lima and the port of Callao to Cerro de Pasco, terminal of the C. de P. main line and gateway to the Huanuco Valley. Extending from Oroya to Cerro de Pasco the main line is a standard-gauge roadbed of 70-lb. rail, 132 km. long with a maximum compensated grade of 2.25 per cent and a curvature of 16°, climbing from an elevation of 12,272 ft. above sea level at Oroya, lowest station on the line, to 14,208 ft. at Cerro de Pasco. The highest point reached by the C. de P. is on the coal branch at Alcacocha where the rails are 14,385 ft. above the sea.

Jan 1, 1945

By J. D. A. Morrow

TO my mind the National Bituminous Coal Act so far has proved one of the unhappiest experiences that has ever befallen the bituminous coal operators of the United States. Viewed in the light of its ugly consequences everyone should recognize this measure for what it is -a weird thing as unreal as a page from "Alice in Wonderland." Indeed it might be another stanza to the tale of the Walrus and the Carpenter, with the coal operators in the role of the unfortunate oysters who were taken on that memorable ramble. It is time that coal producers open their eyes, jerk themselves out of any lingering hypnotic optimism about the price-fixing provisions of this law, demand the repeal of these corroding clauses, and then set about remedying as best they can the disastrous effects of this retromingent scheme to regulate the coal business.

Jan 1, 1939

By W. R. Ingalls

THE main objective of everybody, individually and collectively as the people of nations, is to earn their living and improve the scale thereof as much and as rapidly as possible. We are able to earn" our living only by working and producing. We I are able to rise to higher standards of comfort only by increasing our production of goods, or diminishing the waste of those that we do produce, or both. This statement is trite. It is equally trite to dwell upon the importance of increased production to be derived from increased efficiency of labor and improved manage-ment; and the good results that would accrue to every-body if employers and employees would work together to secure the maximum of production at the minimum of cost. All of this is nothing more than platitude, to which every intelligent person subscribes in the abstract; but what concerns us especially, and what is neither so easy nor so understandable, is to translate the expres-sion of the abstract principle into formulas for action. The national net income obviously may be increased in two ways, or by both together. One is to diminish the waste of the goods that we already have made available. The other is to increase the supply of goods. .Increasing the supply of goods may involve the elimina-tion of waste, but a distinction is to be drawn between the waste of things that we have and the failure to obtain those that we might have. If we limit the term "waste" to the careless and profligate use of the materials that have come into our possession, together with the absorption of labor in doing obviously unnecessary things; and if we character-ize by the term "inefficiency" the failure to accomplish in our industrial operations the best of which we are capable, we shall create a distinction that will be pro-motive of clear thinking. In this paper I am going to deal with inefficiency, not waste, observing the distinc-tion, arbitrary if you please, that I have made. Without any doubt the greatest inefficiency that exists in our economic affairs is that which causes hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of men to be idle a good deal of the time. The major reasons for such idleness are two-fold. One of them is the conse-quence of what for convenience may be called business cycles, although I do not hold to the hypothesis of business cycles as it is now being rather widely expounded. That hypothesis involves the idea of rhyth-mic undulations due to causes unknown, but which it is hoped may be ascertained. The movement of busi-ness in waves up and down is undeniable, but that there are recurrences of cycles every so often is purely imag-inary, I think. It is unnecessary-to digress into that subject. The extents of the rises and falls above and below a median line undoubtedly is less than is commonly supposed.

Jan 3, 1922

By Ogden Tweto

The classes of ore deposits in the mountain province of Colorado that have been the most productive in the past and that offer the greatest promise for the future are: (1) disseminated or stockwork molybdenum deposits associated with Tertiary stocks; (2) combination precious- and base-metal veins in Tertiary volcanic rocks; and (3) base-metal replacement deposits and veins in Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. Veins in Precambrian rocks, including precious metal-bearing sulfide veins, gold-silver telluride veins, and tungsten veins, have been mined extensively in the past, but their aggregate output has been far subordinate to that of the groups named above, and the outlook for major output from them in the future is poor. Principal ore deposits of south-central Wyoming are sedimentary iron ores of Precambrian age and uranium deposits in Tertiary sedimentary rocks. Precambrian deposits of several kinds are scattered through the mountains of both states. The most promising of these, based on present indications, are vanadiferous titaniferous magnetite in southern Wyoming and southwestern Colorado and thorium-niobium rare-earth deposits associated with alkalic intrusive complexes in Colorado. Most of the mining districts of Colorado are in the Colorado mineral belt, a generally narrow but somewhat irregular belt that extends northeastward across the north-trending mountain ranges and the north-northwest trending geologic grain of the state. The belt is characterized by intrusive rocks of Laramide and younger age and by ore deposits, and it occupies environments ranging from Precambrian crystalline rocks through Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks to Tertiary volcanic rocks. Two ages of intrusion and ore deposition recently have been recognized in the mineral belt. One is Laramide (late Cretaceous and early Tertiary), and the other is Oligocene. As interpreted herein, the major replacement deposits and most of the sulfide vein deposits in Precambrian and sedimentary rocks are Laramide in age, and the molybdenum deposits, the tungsten and the gold telluride veins in Precambrian rocks, and the precious- and base-metal veins in volcanic rocks are Oligocene in age. In general, the Laramide deposits are mesothermal in aspect, and the Oligocene deposits are principally epithermal. The existence of two mineralization stages, in considerable part characterized by different suites of metals, has many applications in exploration.

Jan 1, 1968

By Michael A. Zappia

INTRODUCTION The San Manuel mine of Magmacopper Company is located approximately 72 km northeast of Tucson, Arizona. The mine, concentrator, smelter, electrolytic refinery and continuous rod casting are located on the west side of the San Pedro River valley. Ore Production: 58 1W mtpd Production To Date: Over 340 000 000 mt since 1956. Ore Grade: 0.70% net sulfide cu. As conceived at the present time, the San Manuel ore body is the lower half of what was originally an elliptical (In cross sect ion) cylinder same 2400 m long with major and minor cross sectional axes of 1500 m and 760 m. After emplacement, the cylinder was diagonally sliced along its long dimension by the San Manuel fault, which separated it into halves, moving the upper half same 2500 m down dip and bringing a wedge-shaped blanket of tertiary conglomerate into position over the lower segment of the cylinder. The lower segment is the San Manuel ore body. The upper part, moved down dip, is the Kalamazoo ore body. Originally, these were one ore body. The San Manuel ore body is a structurally weak and highly fractured quartz monzonite, the principal ore minerals being chalcopyrite, with small amounts of molybdenite. The present mining method is full gravity diagonal retreat panel caving by block. This is shown on Figure 2 , (Block Sequence 56, 57, 58, 59 --on the following page.) The ore mined is hoisted to the surface for transportation to the concentrator. BLOCK CAVING MINING SEQUENCE HISTORY The San Manuel mine was planned and developed as a full gravity block caving mine. It continues as a full gravity block caving mine. Since its initial start, the major changes in mining have been in the areas of ground support, rate of draw and undercut sequence. Ground weight resulting from block caving plays a dual role. It can cause extensive damage to ex- traction openings, yet it is necessary to break the ore into easily handled size. The ground- weight problem resolves itself into finding ways to make it manageable. The initial early ground support in the production areas consisted of timber sets and various combinations of steel and timber sets. This sup- port system proved unsatisfactory and a new support system utilizing concrete was developed. Concrete support, 30 cm to 45 cm thick, proved satisfactory. Rates of draw were experimented with. A draw rate of 45 cm to 61 cm (32 to 45 mt) per draw point per day was determined as optimum in con- trolling ground weight. Undercut sequence or mining sequence was recognized as a major contributing factor to ground weight. This is the most difficult factor to change. The lead time from primary development to undercut can be as much as two years. Initial Checkerboard Pattern The initial undercut sequence was in a checker- board pattern (Figure 2). Blocks Sequence 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6--next page.

Jan 1, 1981

By Thomas T. Read

ONE of the major purposes of the Institute is to "maintain ... a library of books relating to subjects cognate to the sciences and arts of mining and metallurgy." In conformance with this purpose the Institute maintained its own library for a number of years until 1912 when it was merged with the libraries of the other Founder Societies. At that time the A.I.M.E.'s share of operating expenses was wholly covered by the income from a $100,000 gift from James Douglas. But interest on the Douglas Library Fund has declined from 51/2 per cent to 31/4 per cent; the library has grown from some 50,000 volumes in 1913 to more than 170,000 in 1945, with consequently increased costs; and its costs nave otherwise risen. The Institute today contributes to the library annually about 65c per member, of which about 25c is income from the Douglas Fund, or a net charge, from regular income, of 40c per member. The annual library budget runs about

Jan 1, 1946

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 CHARLES W. BENTON

THE following paragraphs comprise such information as the Secretary has been able to obtain concerning the members and associates whose deaths have been reported. Further particulars or corrections of errors, and biographical data concerning deceased members or associates not already noticed in this way, are solicited. Charles IV. Benton was born at Kezar Falls, Maine, Nov. 12, 1843. We have no accurate knowledge concerning the early part of his career. In 1871 he engaged with the N. Y. Honduras Rosario Mining Co., at San Juancinto, Honduras, C. A., and later was employed at the Monserrat mine at Yuscaran, and at Santa Lucia, Honduras, with the Tenero Mining Milling Co. of Pennsylvania. In 1897 he became a member of the Institute. At the time he was stricken with his last sickness he was employed at the Paymaster mine at Tucson, Ariz. He died at Fairmount, Denver, Colo., Sept. 9, 1907. William R. Boggs, Jr.-The notice in the Bulletin for January was incorrect in saying that the murder of Mr. Boggs occurred while he was employed as metallurgical. manager by Mr. W. B. A. Dingwall, at La Maroma, San Luis Potosi, Mex. Mr. Dingwall writes that in March, 1907, Mr. Boggs left him, to return to his home at Winston, N. C., whence he. subsequently went to Durango, Mex., to take, with the Topia Mining Co., a position which he occupied at the tine of his death, Nov. 17, 1907. Mr. Dingwall says that, while in his service, Mr. Boggs never had any trouble with the workmen, but was esteemed and liked by them, as by all who knew him ; and adds, injustice to the State of San Luis Potosi, that the population, even in the mining-camps of that State, is orderly and law-abiding, and that the authorities are vigilant and just. Our

Mar 1, 1908

By John Jermain Porter

(San Francisco Meeting, October, 1911.) THE value of any particular ore, coke, or limestone, for iron-making, depends upon its effect, first, upon the quality or value of the resultant product; and second, upon the cost of smelting. The factors under the first head are the percentages of phosphorus, manganese, and other elements, which remain in the pig-iron ; while those under the second head are the percentages of iron, carbon, or lime, the slag-forming constituents, which must be fluxed, and any other ingredients which give rise to variations in cost of fuel and flux. The first of these criteria of value is perhaps not capable of being reduced to a general formula embracing all cases, since it must vary to a great extent with market-fluctuations. For example, Bessemer pig is worth sometimes more and sometimes less than foundry-pig ; and the premium paid for high manganese varies within wide limits. The second, or smelting-value, however, can be expressed numerically with a fair degree of accuracy; and it is with this phase of valuation that the present paper is concerned. The utility of a means of comparing numerically the relative smelting-values of different ores, cokes, and limestones, is self-evident, although it may not have importance in Northern practice, where materials are largely standardized. On the other hand, there are, especially in the South, many furnace-managers who must use a great variety of materials of widely varying grade; and it is with special reference to this district, and in connection with the efficiency-methods which I have elsewhere proposed,1 that the methods herein described were devised.

Mar 1, 1912