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By AIME AIME

MANY producers have held that the only workable quicksilver ore is easily recognized by its .cinnabar content. In most cases this is true. A noticeable exception is a. particular opalite deposit where part of the ore now being mined in considerable quantity shows only the yellow mineral, calomel, or its alteration products. This mineral, on exposure to the sunlight, quickly becomes coated with gray or black layers that may be removed by scraping to reveal the yellow mineral beneath. The blackening of this mercuric chloride on exposure to sunlight shows reaction to form metallic mercury, which is usually plainly present in this class of ore.

Jan 1, 1929

By WALTON H. HAMILTON

THE demand for "production control" has, like the poor, been with us always. With the development of the nation, the accumulation of business experience, and a maturing understanding of how our many and varied industries work, it is increasingly evident that an uncontrolled output is a source of great mischief and that order and performance demand a control of production. To see clearly the demand for "production control" we must look in detail at the ways in which industries operate. General pictures, grand aggregates, situations as "wholes," and smoothed curves are likely to be deceptive. An industry may seem to keep the even tenor of its ways, and yet the establishments which made it up may experience a great range of fortunes. A nice bundle of statistics may show in the aggregate a lovely regularity which is not shared by the firms which make up a trade. An industry may appear to be reasonably profitable, and yet the profits may be very unevenly distributed. The people in an industry, and dependent on it, are managers, laborers, stockholders, creatures of flesh and blood, such as you and I. General pictures and abstract statements must not blind us to what is happening to firms, corporations and individuals.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

T'HE Columbia Section of the A. 1. M. E. took charge of the Western Mining Convention on Oct. 3, and the meeting was held under their auspices. W. L. Zeigler, chairman of the Section, called the session to order. The first paper on the program, "Lead Refining Practice at Bunker Hill Smelter," was presented in per-son by the author, A. F. Beasley, superintendent of the smelter. He pointed out the differences in the refining practice at Bunker Hill from other American refineries. The Bunker Hill plant was the first to adopt the liquation process for silver skims as developed in Australia. Details were given of operating practice with results. F. F. Colcord questioned the author in regard to the kind of metal best suited for kettles, which was said to be cast iron.

Jan 1, 1929

By FREDERICK W. BRADLEY

MINING is one of the world's oldest industries and has pioneered the civilization of all new lands. Today, mining is not only one of the essential and basic industries of the world, but it is constantly growing in magnitude and becoming more important. We think that the most of our mining is done in the western portion of this country, but in the old State of Pennsylvania mines and products derived from minerals account for about two-thirds of the entire productive wealth of the State. As our forests are denuded, mining furnishes substitutes for timber in the way of concrete, gypsum board, etc. ; and as civilization increases the wants of mankind, mining is producing metals and minerals of every kind in increasing quantities. For example: during the past ten years the per capita consumption of copper in the United States has increased 49 per cent, to 14.56 Ib.; that of lead has increased 35 per cent, to 12.24 lb.; and that of zinc has increased 70 per cent, to 9.57 Ib. The consumption in European countries is about one-half of this, and there are other countries with large populations where there is virtually no consumption; so when all other countries catch up in consumption with our country, you can see what an enormous demand there is going to be for the metals, even to the extent of having to find substitutes for copper, lead, and zinc.

Jan 1, 1929

By Joseph E. Pogue

NEW economic forces are at work in the petroleum industry.. In order to visualize these forces and clearly see their bearing on the producer, refiner and marketer, it is necessary to see in perspective the economic evolution of the business. For several decades prior to 1913 the outstanding feature of the petroleum industry was a trend toward integration, culminating in a huge combine, the Standard Oil Co. An important aspect of this integrative trend, however, was its concentration on the combination aid control of refining and marketing, leaving crude oil production, for the most part, to the exigencies. of small-unit competition. It is a noteworthy coincidence that during this era the law of oil and gas was formulated and applied, whereby these substances had to be reduced to possession to establish ownership; and the forces of competition in crude oil production were thereby intensified. It was to the interest of an industry, safeguarded in its control of manufacturing and markets, to have supply stimulated by legal convention as well as by individual initiative in order that the growing demand could be met without interruption. And so over-production of crude oil during this era was no handicap, but rather an aid, to the progress of the industry.

Jan 1, 1929

By Stanly A. Easton

SEVEN years ago there was installed in the hospital of the Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining & Concentrating Co. at Kellogg, Idaho, an ultra-violet ray quartz lamp, the standard equipment which is found everywhere in the offices of physicians and among usual hospital equipment. The use of this lamp was con- fined largely to treatment of pathological cases, still treatment of under-nourished children, run-down anemic people, both men and women, and, as a general tonic, was part of the routine hospital procedure. At the latitude of the Ceur d'Alene district and especially because of the position of the towns in deep canyons, with much overcast and cloudy weather, sunshine is not plentiful at any time of the year; for many of the winter months there is scarcely any. Underground workers, particularly during the winter, have little sun- shine; it is not unusual to have none at all for weeks at a time. Treatment by the ultra-violet ray lamp in the hospital has resulted in many extraordinary benefits but the use of the lamp is expensive and limited. Some weeks ago attention was directed to the automatic solarium equipment of the Burdick Corporation. The doctors strongly recommended the increased use of the ultra-violet lamp for its curative powers and tonic effects, urging that it be made accessible to all employees. Real interest was . . also displayed by employees with the possibility of securing ultra-violet ray treatment for themselves and families under better conditions than it was possible to have by the limited use of the lamp at the hospital. This resulted in the installation of the so-called sun room or automatic solarium as an adjunct to the mine change-house. An annex was built to the change-house, with dressing rooms for women, children and men from other departments, and the outfit put into use on Sept. 5, 1929. The installation consists of an escalator, or

Jan 1, 1929

By W. B. Plank

I HAVE been asked by the Chairman of the Engineering Education Committee to outline what the engineering colleges would like the mining companies to do with the young engineer just, out of college. It has been suggested that, because my own personal experience has been almost entirely within the coal industry, I handle this subject from that view- point. Many thoughtful engineering educators are today wondering what effect the present employment policies of many industrial companies are going to have on the young man just starting out in his profession. Since before the World War large industrial concerns, such as those in the electrical and mechanical industries, have gone to the colleges to interview 'likely graduates until today there has developed in most of our engineering colleges, especially in the eastern part of the country, what appears to be a lively competition on the part of these companies in bidding for the young graduate engineer. The employers of mining engineers, with one or two exceptions, have not yet begun to enter this competition. It remains to be seen how serious this situation will become, how it will affect the training of other engineers, and what effect, if any, it will have on the mind of the young man about to enter college who may be inclined to take up mining engineering, but who gains the impression from this well advertised employment service just mentioned that there is no opportunity for him in the mineral industry as com- pared with the opportunities offered in say civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

OCTOBER will be western month for the Institute. With meetings at Spokane, Tulsa, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and with a large number of American Institute of Mining Engineers members and their families in the party sailing out through the Golden Gate to Japan on the afternoon of the tenth, the major activities of the Institute will, for this month at least, be west of the Mississippi. Despite cancellations due to necessity, most of the officers of the Institute will be present and taking part in some one or more of the Western meetings. Prof. Robert S. Richards, our senior past-president, will attend both the Spokane and San Francisco meetings and then go to Japan. President Bradley will preside at the San Francisco meeting and then head the party going to Tokyo. At Tulsa and Los Angeles, the principal officers of the Petroleum Division will be present and active and at all the meetings, directors, ex-directors and -present and past officers will be on the job and keeping things moving.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

A STUDY of subsidence and ground movement in the copper and iron mines of the upper peninsula of Michigan has been made by W. R. Crane of the United States Bureau of Mines and published as Bulletin 295 of 66 pages and 49 illustrations. As a result of subsidence, the country adjacent to the mines and over- lying the mine workings in this district is often broken to such an extent as to affect its value; mine shafts and development openings are occasionally so damaged as to be rendered useless, and water can enter the workings through fractures and cave-ins. The problem is more serious in the iron-mining districts, where villages and towns not owned by the operating companies have grown up around mining operations.

Jan 1, 1929

By FLOYD T. TAYLOR

IN 1833, less than one hundred years ago, Michael Faraday discovered and stated the laws of electrolysis. His discovery formed the foundation of a new use of metals which has now reached a variety of application not ordinarily appreciated. Furthermore, things can be done with electro-deposited coatings which have thus far defied other methods. Some of the uses of electro-deposited coatings are interesting. The tonnage of metals already finding an outlet through such a channel is considerable. In general electro-deposits have two characteristics: ornament plus utility; utility plus ornament. Both these factors are usually found associated in electro- deposits. Ornament plus utility was probably the first use. For example, the silver-plating of tableware, having its real birth in Birmingham, England, about 1844. However, this same ornament plus utility retarded the development of electro-plating, because in the beginning, electro-plated articles were branded with the odium of imitation and shunned accordingly. The gold brick of the swindler may be an exception to this statement.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

COAL occupied a large place in the technical sessions of the Institute at its annual meeting for in addition to three sessions specifically de- voted to coal the two sessions on mine ventilation and the two on ground movement and subsidence, which are reported under their own headings, were primarily concerned with coal. The first session on coal was a joint one with the Iron and Steel Division, on Wednesday afternoon, with F. H. Crockard and J. R. Campbell presiding as joint chairmen and the latter actually officiating. The principal topic of discussion was G. S. Scott's paper "Evaluation of Coal for the Making of Blast- Furnace Coke," which has been published as T. P. 159. The author made a brief statement of its con- tents to start the discussion and the chairman, after briefly reviewing it himself, called on C. A. Meissner to start the discussion. He briefly reviewed the economic factors in the use of coal for coke-making, saying that not only .does the removal of 1 per cent of ash from the coal reduce the cost of pig iron 12 or 13c. per ton, but it also permits coke of satisfactory structures to be made from a coal which otherwise could not be used. He stressed the importance of uniformity in blast-furnace fuel and discussed the benefit of mixing different coals as raw material for the coke oven and cited experience with Illinois coals.

Jan 1, 1929

By JOHN A. FULTON

THE Comstock Lode is in Storey County, Nevada, and extends in a north and south direction through the towns of Virginia City and Gold Hill, with a total length of 4.27 miles. Its mines have produced silver and gold to a known value exceeding $400,- 000,000 since 1859, when the work first began. More than $126.000,000 was paid in dividends by the mining companies, although much more than this was probably realized from the ore, because many milling companies were independent companies owned by the directors and superintendents of the mines. The milling companies' contracts called for an extraction of only 65 per cent and, as much of the ore was worth $100 a ton and up- ward, they must have recovered substantial amounts for their own accounts over and above this guarantee. Gold was discovered in the spring of 1850 by a party of Normons bound for California. The discovery was made at the mouth of Gold canyon near Dayton, on the Carson River, about 10 miles south of Virginia City.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

THE Petroleum Division opened its proceedings on Wednesday morning, with two simultaneous sessions on engineering and economics. The first paper at the engineering session, over which A. W. Ambrose presided, was "Underground Surveys of Oil Wells," by Alexander Anderson of Los Angeles, Calif., was presented by John Suman of the Humble Oil & Refining Co., Houston, Texas. Following this, the paper of E.'H. Griswold of the Mailand Oil Co., Houston, Texas, was presented by C. V. Millikan of the Amerada Petroleum Corp., Tulsa, Oklahoma. Following the presentation of these two interesting papers a general discussion followed on the subject of "Crooked Holes." The discussion was entered into by F. H. Lahee, Sun Oil Co., Dallas, Texas;'Messrs. Bigelow of Tulsa, H. W. Hixon of New York City, Van Court Warren of Los Anyeles, Calif; H. L. Wheeler of St. Louis, Mo.; R. R. Brandenthaler, United States Bureau of Mines, Bartlesville, Okla.; H. H. Riggs, Indiana Territory Illuminating Oil Co., Bartlesville, Okla.; C. V. Millikan and John R. Suman

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

ATER the preliminary registration at which approximately 380 members and guests were registered, the 138th meeting of the Institute was opened in the Concert Room of the Palace Hotel. E. A. Hersam, chairman of the San Francisco Section, voiced a brief welcome and introduced F. W. Bradley, president of the Institute, who presided over the remainder of the morning session. After expressing the welcome of the Institute to the members and guests, he read a telegram from Secretary H. Foster Bain, extending the best wishes of the eastern staff and members for a successful meeting. He next introduced Theodore J. Hoover, dean of the School of Engineering, Stanford University, who read an address by the Secretary of the Interior, Ray Lyman Wilbur, briefly outlining California's part in the mining industry and giving the welcome of California to this meeting of the Institute.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

THE difficult problem of visitors is being met by the Hudson Coal Co. at Scranton in an ingenious fashion. The Company had long made it a point to have dealers selling its coal visit the mines, whenever possible. "The excellent reaction obtained from these dealer visits brought up the question of whether it would not be possible to open one or more mines to the public, and give the consumer an opportunity of seeing for himself how anthracite is mined and prepared. Ac-

Jan 1, 1929

By Andrews Allen

WE all remember when, a few years ago the preparation of coal was nothing but a matter of having somebody at the face or somebody in the railroad car pick out the impurities; also the sizes were generally' made" over a bar screen. Anything that was black was coal; and the only matecia1 picked out was the slate or rock-impurities that could be distinguished by eye or by hefting. This was all right as long. & coal could be sold at. a good price. After all, we are all in business to -make the most money honestly out of a certain acreage of coal and a certain plant. For this purpose what is required is the greatest possible recovery of marketable coal and the highest market price.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

0 N March 5, at Carnegie Hall, Cleveland, the Ohio Section held a joint meeting with the Cleveland Engineering Society, and the local sections of the American Chemical Society, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the American Society for Steel Treating. Prior to the meeting there was an informal dinner attended by 50 men. Then followed an address, "The Principles of Corrosion Protection," by Ulick R. Evans, the well-known British specialist in this problem. There were 266 present, presided over by Zay Jeffries, president of the American Society for Steel Treating and a member of the Cleveland Engineering Society. The address was well received and some discussion followed

Jan 1, 1929

By John Hays Hammond

IT was but a few years ago that the mining engineer, and his confreres, the civil, mechanical and electrical engineer, were stigmatized by politicians of the parish? pump variety as advance agents of unprincipled exploiters of backward countries. Today he is recognized as a most important missionary of civilization in opening up new territory to contribute its mineral wealth and incidentally its other resources for the needs of mankind. An engineer, it is now conceded, is not only a benefactor of the world at large, but is a primary factor in the betterment of conditions of the inhabitants of those countries developed by his skill and indomitable courage-for courage is requisite in pioneering and his indefatigable industry. The engineer will, I believe, become a real "Ambassador of Good Will," when the slow-consenting academic mind realizes as it must that beneficent deeds are more enduring and more convincing than mere gestures of professed amity.

Jan 1, 1929

By B. DE MARE

THE No. 6 open-hearth furnace at the plant of the Worth Steel Co., Claymont, Del., is the first to be rebuilt according to the Kuehn system. This as well as the other five furnaces at Claymont, has a nominal capacity of 75 tons, but the actual charge is about 242,000 lb. No hot metal being available, the pig-iron is charged cold. Oil of low grade with an asphalt base is used as fuel. These two items have to be kept in mind when discussing the actual fuel consumption. Careful records have been kept covering a five weeks run and the following is a brief summary of them The time required to heat the furnace preparatory to charging from the time a wood fire was started until charging commenced was 36 hours. This, I understand, is much less than with furnaces of standard design. The draft of the furnace, as shown by a gage in the stack-flue, is 1.25 in. The maximum draft with new checkers on former runs was 1.50 in., this draft gradu¬ally decreasing as the checkers closed up. Both of the first helpers claim the present draft is all they need for the proper working of the furnace, and, as with the Kuehn regenerators the draft remains practically the same from beginning to end of a run, this is satisfactory.

Jan 1, 1929

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