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By J. F. Myers

A bit of old philosophy: The optimist, the pessimist, The difference is droll; The optimist, the doughnut sees, The pessimist, the hole. This is a neat summation of the viewpoint of those engaged in "treating the crude mineral crust of the earth." Many of those in high places have reminded us during the year of the diminishing supply of the resources so essen-

Jan 1, 1948

By James Boyd

In critical times such as the present, when the whole world is agitated by the aftermath of war and the road to peace is blocked by seemingly insurmountable obstacles, it is fitting that we should pause to take inventory of the material resources essential to our national security. Our status as a world power, in peace as well as in war, is intrinsically bound to the availability of minerals, for the foundation of our industrial and economic structurewhich in turn largely determines our military potential and our limits of national prosperity-rests on our ready access to economic sources of iron, copper, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, and at least threescore of other metals, minerals, and mineral fuels. By applying the well-known facts of mineral resources to recognized fundamental concepts of preparedness, we can obtain a- clearer picture of the essential needs of our country. Historically, the lure of minerals and other raw material resources has all too frequently led nations to policies of imperialism and war. For more than a century the staking of colonial territory for new sources of raw materials has been a primary objective of many nations. These national policies. of aggrandizement were accelerated by increasing industrialization. The nations, in their aggressive search for

Jan 1, 1948

By Ralph H. Phelps

WHAT information do you have on precision investment casting? Please send me all available information on the removal of paraffin from oil wells and pipe lines. How can I find out how to remove magnesium oxide from lime? I want a good book on the pickling of steel. Can liquid oxygen be used as an explosive in a mine? Where can I get a bibliography on the plasticity of metals? These questions, selected from the scores of questions asked the Engineering Societies Library staff every day, indicate some of the diversity of the requests received. The samples chosen relate to interests of AIME members but the questions that come to the Library by mail, telephone, telegraph, and in person cover all fields of engineering, science, and technology. Some questions can be answered quickly; others require extensive searching. Those that can be answered in a few minutes or ten, twenty, or even thirty minutes are usually done without charge. For the more difficult questions a charge is made. In this way those requiring considerable service pay for it and the Library finds it possible to serve more persons.

Jan 1, 1948

By H. M. Shepard

THE copper industry operated at high capacity throughout 1947, with no serious tie-ups in operation as was the case in 1946, when almost the entire industry was shut down by a four-month strike. Refined copper production in the United States averaged 94,250 tons for the first eleven months and deliveries to domestic consumers, including foreign copper for domestic consumption, averaged 114,000 tons per month. On April 29 the import duty of 4d per lb was suspended until March 31, 1949. Copper prices fluctuated considerably for a short time thereafter. Over the year the price of domestic electrolytic copper at refineries on the Atlantic seaboard advanced from 19.225¢ on Jan. 2 to 21.200d on Dec. 24.

Jan 1, 1948

By Robert T. Gdagher, Allison Butts

EDUCATIONAL trends as reflected in curricular changes are of interest and importance in engineering educa¬tion both as matters of record and as considerations for the future. The data on which the evidence of this report is based were obtained by sending questionnaires to all schools in the United States granting the undergraduate degree in mining engineering, metallurgy, or metallurgical engineering. The questionnaire had two parts, one inquiring as to the general nature of revisions made or planned, and the other asking for information on specific courses added to or dropped from the curriculum, or given more or less time than formerly. The frequency with which curricular changes are made, even in normal times, is notable. Although it was expected that the period since 1939-40 would show numerous revisions, it was somewhat surprising to find that of 62 mining or metallurgical curricula in existence in 1939-40 and reported in the present survey, 58 had been revised or are shortly to be revised, 52 having already been changed during this period. Moreover, approximately half of the mining schools that have already revised their curricula, and probably a similar proportion of the metallurgical schools, are about to make further important changes.

Jan 1, 1948

By J. Robert Van Peli

IT was a strange but highly fruitful marriage-that union of hardy explorers, seeking the rich treasures of copper in the Lake Superior wilderness, with Boston's aristocracy of brains, capital, and enterprise. This historic wedlock, which has continued happily to the present day, was the means by which the wealth of Lake Superior's copper was won for the use and benefit of an expanding America. One branch of this family tree, the western branch, begins with prehistoric Indian miners, embraces the early French explorers of the Upper Lakes, and finally includes the British and American pioneers who reduced the vague rumors of copper to known fact and actually began the mining of copper in the wilderness. The other branch, the New England line, begins

Jan 1, 1948

By Harry H. Power

INDUSTRY has the right to expect the petroleum engineering schools to supply more than the minimum technical qualifications necessary to obtain or discharge the responsibilities of a particular job. The basic training, social and economic orientation, should go far beyond these minimum requirements. Petroleum engineering students should also be well grounded in the history of the oil business so that they may understand the industry's progress since the advent of the Drake well. Furthermore, according to P. H. Bohart, the schools "have a definite duty to help the students form a workable philosophy of life, which includes an appreciation of the service of science to mankind, and a belief in the obligation of the individual who enters a profession to exalt himself by continuing his studies and growth so that he may never cease making contributions to the advancement of science and industry."

Jan 1, 1948

By Paul M. Tyler

NOW that the dust of World War II has settled and we and our allies are faced with extravagant losses of men, money, and materials, virtually the only hope that the United States and Britain have in the way of reparations lies in the capture of industrial, technical, and scientific secrets. Even during the war American and British scientists and technicians gained access to German factories, questioned German personnel, studied German documents, and endeavored generally to keep pace with new discoveries in science, industrial technology, and process development. Under various agencies this work continued for two years after the war. Altogether at least 600 American scientists and industrialists have gone to Germany and brought back reports and several times as many British, Canadian, and. Australian investigators have been similarly engaged under co-operative arrangements designed to assure the maximum of coverage with a minimum duplication of effort. As a result of these investigations and document studies, about 500 or 600 reports have been prepared on metallurgical and allied subjects. Those by American authors or joint teams have been listed in the annotated Bibliography of Scientific and Industrial Reports, issued by the Office of Technical Services in the U. S. Department of Commerce. Many of the British reports are also available in this country through the same office or through a British representative in New York. Since it was my duty to read most of these reports for

Jan 1, 1948

By Emil-Paul Lorenz

Considered as a whole, the mineral resources of the Turkish Republic (Anatolia) are in their untapped virgin state, and the little development shown is not the result of modern systematic geologic exploration but the continuation of the ancient open-pit mining methods of the Orient. When I came to Turkey in 1924, I found myself confronted by a formidable task because of the lack of preliminary geologic mapping. Today this condition has not essentially changed; less than one per cent of the country is covered by topographic mapping adequate for modern requirements. However, I was able to bring a semblance of order in a presentation of the mineral deposits of this country, by tracing the story of the mineral deposits that showed surface evidence of their existence. At present only the easily discovered mineral deposits of coal, copper, and lead-silver ores are being exploited. In the case of coal, of 3,000,000,000 metric tons available, only 100,000,000 have been mined. The same is also true for copper, lead-silver, and other ores, as shown in Table 1.

Jan 1, 1948

By Herbert J. French

ALLOY steels have become essential to industry in meeting the rigid requirements on materials imposed by our, advanced technology. In comparison with the total ingot capacity of the steel industry, the volume of alloy steels is relatively small although for many years annual alloy-ingot tonnage has, been in seven figures. However, the monetary value of the alloy-steel production is exceedingly high and the benefits derived from the products are relatively great. The trend in total ingot production since 1932 has been generally upward with only two major interruptions. That of the year 1938 was due to a decrease in general business activity whereas that of 1946 resulted largely from work stoppages. Traditionally, the tonnage of alloy-steel ingots produced was in the neighborhood of 5 to

Jan 1, 1948

By W. A. STERLING

IN the opencut iron mines of the Mesabi Range in Minnesota, the trend in mining is in the development of mining equipment and mining methods which will move surface overburden and ore-bearing materials with less labor and at a cheaper cost. This is a must for most of the independent operators. Their reserves of direct-shipping ore are extremely small and their operations are being conducted in small, or intermediate pits, with a high stripping ratio in the outer fringes, or shore lines of older pits. and in ore bodies passing from direct shipping to the washing and the intermediate, or retreat ore state. The trend is toward deeper stripping, longer and steeper hauls, and the necessity of moving a total of from three to five or six tons of overburden and ore material for each ton of shipping-grade ore produced. This naturally calls for greater production, with larger shovels, or draglines. cheaper drilling and blasting costs through the drilling of larger-diameter blastholes, and cheaper haulage through the use of trucks of larger capacity and more extensive use of belt-conveyor systems. This trend is notable both in stripping and mining.

Jan 1, 1948

By Lysle E. Shaffer

INCREASING attention has been given in the last decade to the possibilities of mine leasing in the West. The practice as described in this article does not refer to the leasing of entire properties for corporate operation. It is intended to deal rather with the advantages and problems incident to leasing portions of properties to individuals who themselves, individually or in groups, do the actual mining and transportation of the ore. These individuals are sometimes called "leasers" and sometimes called "tributors." The contracts under which they work set up an independent relationship of lessor and leaser, between themselves and the mineowner or operator. This relationship has many advantages to both sides over those created by the ordinary relationship of employer and employe. From the standpoint of the owners there is no liability on independent contractors for industrial injuries, social security taxes, unemployment taxes, or the manifold restrictions of the Federal Labor Relations and Wage Hour Acts and similar state acts where they exist. As the leaser's income depends on the quantity and quality of ore produced, there is a distinct incentive for maximum production of a good grade of ore. This in turn promotes careful mining of the areas under lease. Ordinarily in mining, labor cost is a high percentage of the total cost of operation. Under a leasing system, even if the leasers be allowed to retain half of the gross values that they produce, and the owner or operator gets half, in the case of marginal ore bodies this is ordinarily more than the lessor would realize if the property were worked by day labor. In some instances mineral deposits under a leasing system may become ore, whereas under a day-labor system they would

Jan 1, 1948

By Evan Bennett

ALMADEN is Arabic for "the mine." The definite article is properly used, for no mercury mine in the world compares with it for richness and volume of ore, produced and potential. After more than twenty centuries of exploitation, intensive throughout the last lour, ore from Almaden is about five times as rich as that of its closest competitor. We drove to the mine one April afternoon, across Don Quixote's plains of the Mancha, up the bleak, arid valley of the Rio Valdeazogue where we passed tenth century Moorish workings and their ruined castles. At dusk, we came to the Hacienda de Castilseras, a large farm where Almaden miners work their land on off days. Then we drove through the whitewashed, well-ordered town to the Castillo de la Direccion where we were challenged at the iron gate by two picturesquely costumed Guardias Jurados.

Jan 1, 1948

By AIME

IN the following pages are described the history and present operations of one of the country's great mining and metallurgical organizations-the United States Smelting Refining and Mining Company. Though the articles are largely of interest to the technical man, the success of the Company as a business enterprise should not be overlooked. Almost immediately following incorporation 42 years ago payment of dividends began and the total to date has been about $140,000,000, roughly half to preferred and half to common shareholders. Founders of the Company were Boston businessmen and financiers interested in such diverse enterprises as shoe machinery manufacture, banking, newspaper publications, and stock brokerage. The legal profession also was represented. The Company is one of the few, among the leaders in the mining industry, that has resisted the urge to move its home office to New York and has always remained in Boston. Perhaps for that reason it has been regarded as a "conservative" company. Conservative or not, it has certainly spread out geographically and it has certainly put its eggs in many baskets. In addition to the precious metals and the major nonferrous metals it has ventured into coal and recently in a small way into the field of oil and gas. It seems to have a predilection for the North American Continent; for in addition to Alaska, Canada, and Mexico it has had important operations in California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, and particularly in various districts in Utah.

Jan 1, 1948

By G. W. Josephson

JUDGING by the progressive atmosphere prevailing in the nonmetallic mineral industries during the past year, postwar conditions were healthful though inflationary. Demand for most industrial mineral products has been exceptionally high and many new production records were attained. Severe shortages of some commodities existed, especially building materials and fertilizers. Production costs and prices increased and profitable operation was general. Under these conditions expansion programs were the order of the day. Ample funds were available to finance the purchase of good equipment; and, as wages and other operating costs were increasing, primary emphasis was placed on attaining maximum efficiency in new installations. These efforts were hampered by shortages and slow delivery of desirable equipment, so compromises in design were often necessary. However, on the whole, production practice improved.

Jan 1, 1948

By J. A. Hutcheson

NO one questions that it is technically possible to achieve the controlled release of atomic energy in a form that can be converted into heat or electricity. However, before this is actually an accomplished fact a great amount of work must .be done. This work falls into two general classifications: research and engineering development. At present a research program is under way in this country, co-ordinated and directed by the Atomic Energy Commission, which, as time goes on, will uncover fundamental knowledge of this new science that is essential before industrial applications of atomic energy are practical. Undoubtedly therefore, as the store of available knowledge increases, a time will come when answers to the many questions relating to practicality of atomic energy in industry can be determined with reasonable certainty. That the application of atomic energy in industry will eventually be proved practical is assumed. What then are the engineering problems that must be solved before the first practical electric power generating station can be built?

Jan 1, 1948

By Evan Evans

IT is appropriate to evaluate 1947 in review as a year of a peacetime record production of about 676,000,000 tons of coal (anthracite and bituminous), closely approaching the extraordinary wartime output in 1944. Considering the general price-wage inflation, it is in point to note that the coal industry sustained the highest wages paid to workers in any major industry, but that coal prices at wholesale levels have risen much less percentage wise than the average for all commodities. The sellers' market continues to prevail. In addition to serving our own country's enormous needs, our coal industry is exporting extraordinary tonnages overseas. This unusual export demand is likely to continue for a while. Moreover, the demand in Europe for American coal mining machinery is a real tribute to the management efficiency of our modern mechanized coal industry. Competitively, the petroleum industry is concerned over its long-term supply, and already a synthetic fuels industry is being publicly advocated. In due time coal and lignite are bound to be

Jan 1, 1948

By Franklin G. Pardee

WARTIME depletion of the reserves of iron ore in the Lake Superior region of the grade and character now being shipped down the Lakes was serious. The time has come to take stock of the resources that remain in order to plan our future program of supply for our blast furnaces and protect, as far as possible. the tremendous investment made in the Lake Superior iron mining industry. Hugh M. Roberts and William H. Crago have estimated the reserves of the Lake Superior region in the United States at two billion long tons. These reserve figures are of direct-shipping ore and those concentrates produced by methods now in commercial use or those methods that may be expected in the near future. In their estimate they have assigned 392 million long tons to the Michigan ranges (all reserves in long tons) : 112 million tons for the Gogebic. 140 million tons for the Menominee, and 140 million tons for the Marquette.

Jan 1, 1948

By Frank Rieber

EVERYONE is familiar with the story of the poor Indian and his leaking tepee. He couldn't repair the leak while it was raining, naturally. And when it wasn't raining, where was the incentive? Even if this traditional Indian was apochryphal, his counterparts are certainly alive today, and operating on a world-wide scale. - A recent issue of the Wall Street Journal, for example, carried an impassioned letter from an old cocoa planter, who wants the world to know why the price of cocoa has gone skyrocketing. For years, he says, British and American interests have bought cocoa at the cheapest possible price and, incidentally, from growers willing to sell at that price. Between them, they didn't put enough money back into the business, either to fight disease in the cocoa groves or to plant new cocoa trees. Until new trees are planted and come into bearing, we will be paying exorbitant prices for our cocoa, and getting less of it.

Jan 1, 1948

By William B. Plank

A NEW record-a quarter million students in the engineering schools of the United States and Canada-has resulted from the great demand for engineers following World War II. The figures released by the American Society for Engineering Education and which appeared in detail in the Journal of Engineering Education for January 1948, show that, on Nov. 1, 1947, 252,250 students were studying engineering in 149 engineering schools of both countries. There are 244,390 in the 143 schools canvassed in the United States, and 7860 in six schools in Canada. These figures include both undergraduate and graduate students and are therefore comparable with the figures in previous presentations on this subject. This unprecedented engineering student body

Jan 1, 1948