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By Garforth W.

The chairman announced the new government duties of the out-going President, Sir Thomas Holland, and the formation of a new standing committee on mining to advise the Advisory Council for Scientific and Industrial Research on suitable projects for grants. Some of the potential lines for investigation into the best methods of winning and presenting coal in the best commercial condition include wasteful practices in operating steam boilers, national loss due to neglecting recovery of coal by-products, and the leaving of large areas of coal for fear of spontaneous combustion or as boundary pillars and support

Dec 1, 1916

By Mavor S.

Further discussion at the Mining Institute of Scotland's general meeting held in Edinburgh, 12 February 1916, with D.W. Mowat, president, in the chair, of a paper published in Trans. Inst. Min. Engrs., 1915, vol. L, p.625 and discussed vol. L, pp.92, 433, 468, and 704 included comments by Mowat D.W. and the author's reply

Dec 1, 1916

By Dean S.

Further discussion at the The Midland Counties Institution of Engineers' general meeting held in Nottingham on 6th May 1916, of the paper published in Trans. I.Min.E., vol.L, 1915, p.179, included brief oral contributions by Bragge G.S., Lewis W.H. and Hepplewhite W.H.

Dec 1, 1916

By Black J.

Further discussion at the The Midland Counties Institution of Engineers' general meeting held in Nottingham on 6th May 1916, on the paper published in Trans. I.Min.E., vol.L, 1915, p.449, included brief oral contributions by Bragge G.S., Hepplewhite W.H. and Binns G.J.

Dec 1, 1916

By Dickinson C.

Discussion at the The Midland Counties Institution of Engineers' general meeting held in Nottingham on 6th May 1916, on the paper published in Trans. I.Min.E., vol.XLVIII, 1914, p.400, included brief oral contributions by Bragge G.S. and Hepplewhite W.H. with the author's responses regarding leakage and boring of cement into the coal

Dec 1, 1916

By Black J.

Further discussion at the Mining Institute of Scotland's general meeting held in Edinburgh, 12 February 1916, with D.W. Mowat, president, in the chair, of a paper published in Trans. Inst. Min. Engrs., 1915, vol. L, p.449 included written contributions by Dron R.W., Riddell W., Hamilton J. and Mowat D.W.

Dec 1, 1916

By Blatchford A. S.

Discussion at the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers' general meeting held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 3rd June 1916, on the paper published in Trans. I.Min.E., vol.LI, 1916, p.361-377, comprised written comments by Ashworth J. on the practicality of applying quenching materials to a dust cloud ahead of the explosion flame

Dec 1, 1916

By Hickling G.

Discussion at the Manchester Geological and Mining Society's general meeting held in Manchester, February 8th 1916, with Mr. Leonard R. Fletcher, President, in the chair, of papers previously published in Trans. Inst. Min. Engrs.,1915, vol. L, p.322 and p.328. Included are a written contribution by Ollerenshaw W. and oral discussion by the author, Gerrard J., Paton J.D., Smith S.A., Stephenson H., Dixon H.O., Pickup W., Fletcher L.R. and Atherton H.S.

Dec 1, 1916

Further discussion at the Mniing Institute of Scotland's annual general meeting held in Glasgow, 8th April 1916, of the paper published in Trans. I.Min.E. vol li, 1916, p.169-186 with discussion p.187-188, included oral and written contributions by McLaren R. and Waddell H.

Dec 1, 1916

By Thomas D. E.

Discussion at the Manchester Geological and Mining Society' general meeting held in Manchester, March 14th , 1916, with Leonard R. Fletcher, President, in the Chair, of a paper published in Trans. Instn. Min. Engrs., 1916, vol. L., page 482, comprised the author's written response to suggestions made in previous discussion

Dec 1, 1916

By Dean S.

Further discussion at the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers' general meeting held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 12th February 1916, with Mr. T.Y. Greener, President, in the chair, of the paper published in Trans. I.Min.E. vol.L, 1915, p.179 and 388. Written contributions to discussion included Mr. Dean's reply to earlier discussion (p.35-44), further written contributions by Tate S. (p.44-54) and Brown E.O.F. (p.54-56), and oral comments by Hare S., Merivale J.H., Greener T.Y. and Tate S. Particularly debated were the causes of the difference in output between American and British coal miners

Dec 1, 1916

By E. C. Harder

HERBERT K. SCOTT, London, England (communication to the Secretary*).-I am acquainted with the manganese-ore deposits of Russia, India and Brazil, and agree generally with the statements contained in the paper regarding those deposits. The information given by Mr. Harder regarding the Chilean deposits is very welcome. When examining the Caucasian deposits, I endeavored to determine the quantity of ore originally contained in the deposit, and by deduction, the amount remaining for extraction. These calculations were rendered possible by the great extent of the outcrop and the extensive work that had been carried on in the deposit. In making the first estimate, the quantity of manganese ore and associated sterile material in the bed was measured in a large number of

Jan 12, 1916

By Henry Howe

THE brilliant and very original matter in Professor Jeffries' discussion ? should rank not only as an independent paper, but as a most important one. In particular, the explanation which it gives of the remarkable Sauveur phenomenon, over which so many of us have puzzled long and hard, is so clear, complete, and cogent as to go far toward establishing Professor Jeffries' hypothesis. The very features of Professor Sauveur's photographs which fit this hypothesis so exactly are reproduced in Chappell's photographs of steel coarsened under somewhat different conditions. 1 The ideas developed by these discoveries are so novel that conven- ience of language seems to call for new conventional terms for expressing them. In, what follows here I propose certain terms for this end, for criticism and improvement, and I attempt to generalize from Professor Jeffries' hypotheses. Generally speaking, a given set of grains which undergo no growth in the cold will, when the temperature is raised progressively, start to grow on reaching a certain temperature, and will continue growing at all higher temperatures. The "germinative" temperature is that at which growth begins, quite as the conditions which cause a seed to grow are "germinative." We have then. an inert temperature range below the germinative temperature, and a growth range above it, the germinative temperature being the limit between these two ranges. So, too, a germinant grain is one which is at its germinative temperature, and hence beginning to grow, while inert grains are those below their own germinative temperature, and the term "growing grains" includes those which are germinant and those which are above their germinative temperature. These last could be called "supergerminant" if the distinction should be needed.

Jan 12, 1916

By E. D. Gardner

VICTOR G. HILLS, Denver, Colo. (communication to the Secretary*).¬If anyone advocates the abolition of the antecedent mineral discovery requirement for the purpose of making it easier to secure title to public land, I hasten to say that I am not of that number. I am in Hearty accord with all that Mr. Gardner has to say in regard to easy patenting as a handicap to small camps, and that in general it acts to retard the mining industry. And the following sentences I want to repeat in order to emphasize and endorse them, "None of the writers on this subject seem to have taken into consideration the effect amending the law pertaining to mineral discovery will have upon the Government's administration of the public land. It must be borne in mind that this land belongs absolutely to the people of the United States as a whole, and their interest must be considered. It is not a no-man's land, as some people would appear to believe." However, I believe that the discovery prerequisite should be abolished, because it fails to effect the protection for which it was designed, and I look for other provisions that will better serve the purpose. We propose to abolish the law of apex not because the theory is objectionable but because the question of physical fact gives rise to never ending litigation. Now the design of antecedent mineral discovery is good; the court rulings are unobjectionable; but when it comes to the physical fact this requirement is second only to the apex law as a healthy litigation breeder. The only circumstance that has prevented the pre-discovery lawsuits from becoming as famous and as: expensive as the apex

Jan 12, 1916

By Walter Gaby

L. C. GRATON, Cambridge, Mass.-May I ask, in connection with one point in the summary, to what extent the author regards actinolite equivalent to tourmaline as an index of high-temperature and presumably magmatic conditions of deposition of the accompanying sulphides? W. E. GARY.-I merely advanced the idea that the mineral actinolite might have some such significance. In the copper deposit at Braden in South America, the ore occurs in an andesite breccia which is cemented by a matrix of sulphides, quartz, and tourmaline. Tourmaline is a high-temperature mineral, and when we find it associated with ores, these are regarded as having come from a volcanic or deep-seated source, hence a primary hypogenetic deposit. Thus we can count on greater continuation of the ore with depth than in some other kinds of deposit, and I thought that the actinolite, being also a high-temperature mineral, might have some such bearing in the case of Mount Morgan. I did not advance this idea as a final conclusion from a study of such phenomena, but thought that it might bear some discussion in view of the fact of the peculiar occurrence of this mineral in a notable orebody. It also occurs with the copper ores at Ducktown, Tenn., and in both cases may only be due to general regional metamorphism.

Jan 12, 1916

Joseph G. Butler, Jr., who represented this Institute on the American Industrial Commission to France, has presented a report to the Chairman of the Commission regarding the steel industry of France in war time. In this report Mr. Butler calls attention to the fact that only a few steel works were visited and that he thinks it probable that there are many plants in France more up-to-date than these. He noticed especially in the plants visited a dearth of labor-saving devices and not very great attention to the safety of the employees. He also noticed that the whole of the iron and steel interests in France are being used at the present time by the Government for war purposes, and he was told on good authority that the production has doubled since May, 1915. When the war is over, it is thought that France can send large quantities of iron ore from Algeria to the United States and take in return American coal to France, an interchange which would doubtless be of mutual advantage. In Mr. Butler's opinion the shortage of coal in France may be overcome to some extent by the use of water-power and by electrical processes for steel manufacture, and lie believes when the war ends France will be able to compete with other countries in exports of general iron and steel products, this trade being facilitated by the port improvements at Bordeaux and Marseilles. The French labor situation is much better than that in the United States from the standpoint of labor unions, but the wages are less and many women are now being employed to do men's work. This has a tendency to keep wages low, but is probably a war expedient only. The cooperation among manufacturers in France is at a high level and both local and national organizations exist for the discussion and voicing of trade problems. The national body which is a combination of the individual organizations is the Comite des Forges de France and it is an interesting fact that many of the members of this body are office holders under the Government, or heads of Government Committees which are organized to look after the very business in, which the individuals are engaged.

Jan 12, 1916

By M. H. Loveman

THE orebody described below has been rediscovered and developed within the last 3 years. It has, however, been known and worked by the Chinese for hundreds of years. When assay values and size are considered, it contains what is probably one of the largest single bodies of zinc and lead sulphides yet found. The tonnages developed at other places, as at Broken Hill, are much greater but the average zinc and lead sulphide contents are considerably lower than at Bawdwin. Bawdwin is situated in the semi-independent State of Tawng Peng, one of the numerous units which make up the Northern Shan States. These States are under British rule and are generally considered as a portion of Burma. They are governed as a separate administrative unit, however, under the Lieutenant Governor of Burma. Each State is under its own chief, or Sawbwa, who has considerable power over his own subjects. Bawdwin is approximately in latitude N 23°6', longitude E 97°20', about 50 miles south of the nearest point on the Chinese border and 450 miles north of Rangoon (Fig. 1). The period at which mining was first begun at Bawdwin is unknown. The most reliable records have been obtained by deciphering local Chinese inscriptions and from these it is concluded that the work dates back to at least the beginning of the 15th century. The first undoubted reference to the mines by a European is by Symes in 1795. Crawford in 1827 estimated the output of silver from the mines at $600,000 annually. At about the middle of the 19th century the rebellion of the Chinese Mohammedans in the neighboring Chinese province of Yunnan so weakened the power of the Chinese that the incursions of hostile tribes (Kachins) made work extremely dangerous. The mines were finally abandoned by the Chinese about 1868. The closing down of the mines was probably not entirely due to outside causes but may have been influenced somewhat by the increasing difficulty of handling the water, as the workings gradually descended below the water level of the district. Several attempts were made by the Burmese kings, Mindon Min and Thebaw, to resume operations, but because of a

Jan 12, 1916

By E. G. Deane

THE CHAIRMAN (P. G. BECKETT, Globe, Ariz.).-The mining of large orebodies has in the last few years been such a big factor in the copper output of this State, and, in fact, of the whole country, I feel that we should have some valuable discussion this evening on the various mining methods described in the papers which are to be read; and I hope you will start a discussion on Mr. Deane's paper. J. A. EDE, La Salle, Ill.-I would like to ask whether, the timbers being left in, they have any fires owing to that fact? E. G. DEANE.-No, we do not. The timbers in the mat seem to lose life. I cannot tell you exactly what change takes place, but they do not burn readily. There is undoubtedly a chemical change in them-a change that makes them lose all strength. I , spoke of the strength of the sills. When we first started, we put in 4 by 8 sills, but those sills had no more strength in 6 months than a 2-in. plank would have. .J. P. HODGSON, Bisbee, Ariz.- I would like to ask Mr. Deane if the central supply raise in the- center of the block has been satisfactory; and also whether in extracting the ore they put small raises up so that wheelbarrows are not used in the stope?

Jan 12, 1916

By C. E. Arnold

THE CHAIRMAN (PERCY G. BECKETT, Globe, Ariz.).-When you are at Miami tomorrow, you will see a very interesting comparison on the surface of the two mining methods that are being employed there largely. In the case of the surface over the Inspiration mining method, you won't see very much left of the surface. Everything has gone down. In the case right at the line of the Inspiration ground and the Miami, you will see that the surface over the top slicing which the Miami company has been doing in that country has been riding down evenly and uniformly; and it gives a very marked comparison of the two types of mining, and, to a certain extent, of the different degrees of waste dilution. I would ilke to hear from Mr. Maclennan on this subject. F. W. MACLENNAN, Miami, Ariz.-A paper based on percentage extraction by shrinkage stoping is a difficult one to discuss for the reason that it is hard to arrive at extraction figures until a section has been completely mined out. In the Miami mine we are using a method of shrinkage stoping with narrow stopes and pillars. This ore has been completely broken up and we have started in at the far end to draw off the ore mass maintaining the top of the broken ore dipping at an angle of 60° away from the direction in which we are retreating. A very important point I think about drawing a large. mass of ore down at an angle rather than trying to maintain the top of the ore more or less horizontal is that drawing at a steep angle has a tendency to create a horizontal movement in the ore mass as well as the vertical movement of the ore traveling down to the drawing off chutes. We know that this takes place, on account of the horizontal movement of marked

Jan 12, 1916

Arrangements have been completed in New York whereby the re- sources of The Engineering Foundation, under the auspices of the four principal national engineering societies, are placed at the disposal of the National Research Council, which was appointed by the National Academy of Sciences* at the request of President Wilson. The object of the Council is to coordinate the scientific research work of the country in order to secure efficiency in the solution of the problems of war and peace. The Council was without funds until The Engineering Foundation, established to further scientific and engineering research, offered to place its resources at the Council's disposal, including the services of its secretary, Dr. Cary T. Hutchinson, to act as-secretary of the Council. The offer was accepted and plans for immediate activities have been placed in the hands of an executive committee. In indicating how thoroughly, every branch bf science and engineering is represented, Dr. George E. Hale, Director of the Mt. Wilson Solar Observatory, and Chairman of the Council, when he was in New York attending to the details of the arrangement, called attention to the personnel of the body, saying that it is the purpose to enlist the cooperation, in the solution of our industrial and military problems of a scientific character, of every possible established agency. Medicine, for example, is represented on the Council by Dr. William H. Welch, President of the National Academy of Sciences, Brigadier General William C. Gorgas, , Surgeon Crenera.1 of the United States Army, Dr. Simon Flexner, Director of the Rockefeller Medical Institute, and Dr. Victor C. Vaughan, Past President of the American Medical Society; biological science by Dr. Edwin G. Conklin, Professor of Zoology, Princeton University; chemistry by Dr. A. A. Noyes of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dr. L. H. Baekeland; physics by Dr. A. A. Michelson of the University of Chicago; and electricity by Professor M. I. Pupin, of Columbia University.

Jan 10, 1916