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By M. E. Poad

The Research and development review arrived too late to appear in the May issue. The competitiveness of the US mining industry in a world market depends on many factors. The introduction of new and innovative methods, though, can have a significant, long-term impact. As industry cuts back its own long- term research and development efforts, the federal government continues to provide the major support for mining and minerals research. The US Bureau of Mines works with the mining industry and the academic community to develop innovative concepts for the mining and processing of non-fuel minerals. The Bureau’s research focuses on exploration and mining technology, minerals and materials science, processing technology, health and safety and environmental technology. Mine design A conical caving system, being designed by the Bureau, would allow the development of low-grade ore bodies, early startup at lower initial capital costs and increased safety and versatility in development and production. This method is a form of mass caving that allows the ore to be drawn from a central loading point at the bottom of the cone- shaped caving zone (Fig. 1). A simulation laboratory model and computer analysis show initial promise for predicted performance. For tabular, flat-lying ore deposits, the Bureau is investigating a version of the Finnish slot-and-fill system. For this total extraction method, a pattern of rectangular panels is laid out. One panel is extracted in a series of parallel slots and is replaced by alternating-row pillars of backfill. After one panel is mined, equipment and operations are transferred to another panel. By transforming this rectangular layout to a curvilinear geometry, one continuous spiral can be mined without re positioning equipment. Instead of parallel slots and pillars aligned in a rectangle, the slots and pillars are arranged in a spiral.

Jan 1, 1992

By A. E. Bellis

The time effect in reheating certain steels below the critical range is very marked. The increased toughness, shock-resisting power, and machinability of steel subjected to a long, high drawing temperature has been thoroughly demonstrated and is of practical importance, particularly in the manufacture of L'smokeless" rifle-barrel steel. The time effect in tempering is most important when a maximum drawing effect is desired, in which case the highest physical properties as well as ease of machining are important considerations. These are the conditions in drilling a rifle barrel. A hole, 0.30 in. in diameter and 24 in. long for the Springfield rifle, and 30 in. long for the Russian military rifle, has to be drilled in the heat-treated material. This barrel-drilling operation is probably the most difficult one in rifle manufacture, and anyone who has been connected with rifle manufacture knows how seriously production is affected when "hard" or non-uniform steel for barrels is encountered. The importance of high physical properties (tensile strength, toughness and resilience) in a rifle barrel is obvious. The physical properties of two different lots of barrel steel are given below. The first lot, No. 1, gave serious trouble in the drilling operation; the second gave no trouble at all. No. 1 No. 2 Elastic limit, lb. per sq. in.................... 117,450 116,800 Tensile strength, Ib. per sq. in................. 132,500 131,750 Elongation, per cent........................ 16.0 20.0 Reduction of area, per cent................... 42.1 51.0 Impact strength, ft.-lb. per sq. in.............. 450.0 520.0 This difference in machining and physical properties was due entirely to the time of reheating. The first lot was given a reheating time of 30 min., the second lot remained at the reheating temperature 2 hr. Both

Jan 1, 1918

By Carlos Eduardo Gomes de Souza, Luis G. S. Sobral, Paulo A. Medeiros da Silva, Selma G. F. Leite, Renata de B. Lima

"The use of mixed cultures of acidophilus microorganisms that act in different temperature ranges, aims at speeding up the digestion of chalcopyrite, highly refractory sulphide mineral, the major mineral in the flotation concentrate of Caraíba Mining Co., with an attractive processing cost. The concentrate under consideration contains mainly chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) and bornite (Cu5FeS4) with contents of, approximately, 70 and 30%, respectively. It was observed in this study, the performance of consortium of mesophiles, moderate and extreme thermophile microorganisms, in the oxidation of the aforementioned sulphides minerals, evaluating operational parameters such as pH of the leaching solution, the reaction temperature and redox potential, with consequent extraction of 80% of the concentrate copper content within 60 days of bioleaching. Such high copper extraction was achieved in column bioleaching tests.INTRODUCTIONThe solubilization of metals by the application of microorganisms from the mineral ores and the subsequent recovery of metals from solution are referred to as bioleaching (Rohwerder, T et al, 2003). This is an economical method for the recovery of metals from minerals; especially lowgrade ores, overburden, and waste from current mining operations which requires moderate capital investment with operating cost (Watling, 2006).Furthermore, bioleaching is generally more environmentally friendly than conventional metal recovery processes such as concentration and smelting. Those physicochemical metal extraction processes generate sulphur dioxide, a toxic emission that is increasingly the target of regulatory legislation (Stott et al., 2000; Olson et al., 2003). Bioleaching of chalcopyrite is the key industry target. The main problem hindering commercial application of chalcopyrite bioleaching is the slow dissolution rate (Fu et al, 2008).Dissolution of acid-soluble sulphide minerals such as sphalerite, and to a lesser extent chalcopyrite, occurs by a combination of ferric iron and proton attack via the polysulphide pathway (Rohwerder et al., 2003)."

Jan 1, 2008

By F. E. Minshall

FoR more than 30 years California has been one of the three leading oil-producing states. Present daily production of crude oil under curtailment, approximately 580,000 bbl., comes from three general areas: Los Angeles Basin, San Joaquin Valley, and the coastal region of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. This state produces approximately two-thirds of its oil from eight large fields, and obtains a daily average production of 48 bbl. of oil per producing well, whereas the average for the United States is but 8.15 barrels. During the closing stages of the first half of 1936, discovery of the Section Ten oil field was made, and credit goes solely to geophysical work. It is the first direct important discovery of oil in California that may be credited to geophysics. This discovery may furnish the cue to the means of discovering several fields in California, particularly in the San Joaquin Valley. It is a question, however, whether returns from geophysical work will play as important a part in the future supply of oil in California as have our former types of prospecting. Explobation Methods of prospecting have progressed in the oil industry through invention or improvement in scientific means of locating and defining structure and because of market improvements in drilling equipment. Present methods of prospecting include: 1. A detailed study of geology in an attempt to locate structural and stratigraphic conditions that would be favorable to the accumulation of oil. 2. Geophysical methods involving the use of the seismograph, torsion balance, magnetometer and electrical methods. (There is still much to be learned in California in the application of geophysical methods.) 3. Use of micropaleontology as an aid in correlation,. The principal improvements in drilling equipment are: 1. The Schlumberger dipmeter, which determines the direction of formation dip in an uncased hole.

Jan 1, 1937

By H. Lyn Bourne

The is the 14th consecutive year for this column and the 13th in which the royalty data have been tabulated. Some holes still exist in the list of royalties that readers hopefully will fill. Construction aggregates - either sand and gravel or crushed stone - are the most common mineral commodity. In spite of their pervasive use nationwide, royalty information for these commodities has been difficult to acquire from some states. Readers can help. Share information about these missing states and next year there will be fewer states without information. Dennis Bryan sent a copy of a report, "Regional Appraisal of Mineral Materials: Carson City District, BLM." The report was authored by real-estate appraisers. It contains more than 50 references to leases of various construction materials in Nevada and nearby states. It gives a thumbnail sketch of each lease and is a good reference. However, the authors erroneously imply that the royalty rate and the in-place value are the same. Several of this year's new entries come from the report. However, the royalties for landscaping materials vary from state to state and by rock type. Some boulders used for landscaping in Nevada have a royalty reported at $1.10/t ($1/st). At the other extreme is lava from Idaho. Used for the same purpose, it has a royalty range of $11 to $18.70/t ($10 to $17/st). Chuanming Tian of Beijing, China has shared some information about the changing mineral royalty policies in China. China first implemented an oil and gas royalty in 1984. In 1992, the government expanded that to include iron ore. In 1994, the royalty policy was extended to all mineral commodities. At the same time, the royalty rate for iron ore increased tenfold.

Jan 1, 1995

By A. E. Boudreau

Abstract-It has long been recognized that platinum-group-element (PGE) deposits in layered intrusions preferentially occur in intrusions that crystallized from high-Mg parent magmas. Recent studies suggest that evaluation of any given intrusion for economic PGE potential should also include assessment of the PGE, sulfur and chlorine concentrations in the cumulates and potential parent liquids. PGE: Magmas that contain relatively abundant Pt and Pd are the best candidates for forming economic deposits. Although analyses of coeval sills and dikes are the best indicators of primary magmatic PGE concentrations, analysis of the cumulates themselves is also valuable. For example, within the Stillwater complex, background PGE values in cumulates from the ultramafic sections of the complex contain, on average, several 10s of ppb Pt and Pd. Background concentrations of this order are suggestive that the magma was not depleted in the PGE. Sulfur: Conventional petrogenetic models for the formation of PGE deposits in layered intrusions require the PGE to have been concentrated during a magmatic sulfide-saturation event. In contrast, some hydrothermal models suggest that sulfur and the PGE were mobilized from footwall cumulates by upward- migrating, high-temperature hydrothermal fluids. Both models suggest that significant PGE deposits are likely to occur at and below the level where stratigraphic increases in whole rock sulfur concentrations occur. Chlorine: In both the Stillwater and Bushveld complexes the cumulate sequences below the major PGE-bearing zones contain anomalous Cl-rich apatite. The chlorapatite component of apatite in these rocks may exceed 40% and, in the Stillwater complex, typically exceeds 90%. It is stressed that pristine igneous mineral analysis and not whole rock data be used, as whole rock Cl concentrations may be affected by very localized (grain boundary), low-temperature alteration. Intrusions that crystallized from high-Mg, high-Cl magmas appear to have the best potential to host significant PGE deposits.

Jan 1, 1995

The paper gives details of the performance of a 6-ft. by 6-ft. grate discharge ball mill which was converted into a rod mill of the overflow type and then into a grate discharge rod mill. Proposals for further alterations are outlined.INTRODUCTIONThe mill of King Island Scheelite (1947) Limited recovers scheelite by gravity methods.Crushed ore at the rate of 34 tons per hour is divided between two mills. (6 ft. by 6 ft. and 8 ft. by 6 ft. respectively), the mill discharges being pumped to a common distributor which feeds seven Hummer Screens. Each screen has three 4-ft. by 2-ft. Ton-cap sections and repulping compartments are provided. The screen oversize is returned to the mills whilst the screen undersize is finished grinding section product. A third (6 ft. by 6 ft.) mill regrinding the coarser table tailings also discharges into the common Hummer Screen Distributor.The screen undersize is pumped to a bowl classifier which separates at 200 mesh. The bowl classifier sands are treated on tables whilst the bowl classifier overflow, after thickening, is treated in the slime plant by flotation. The flotation concentrate is further concentrated on vanners and slime tables.A recovery of 80 per cent. is possible by tabling whereas only 50 per cent can be recovered in the slime section. The object of comminution is, therefore, to reduce all the new feed to less than a certain mesh (22 mesh Tyler) with the production of a minimum quantity of minus 200 mesh material. cheelite is, a very friable heavy mineral (Sp.Gr. 6'0) and is therefore susceptible to overgrinding. For the evaluation of grinding performance it is hence advisable...

Jan 1, 1955

By R. V. Ramani, A. S. C. Owili-eger

The origin of gaseous hydrocarbons in coal, predominantly methane, can be traced to the natural processes of coalification. The higher rank coals or the more deeply buried seams retain more gas than low rank coals or shallow seams. It is estimated that up to 460,000 cubic feet of all types of gases are produced during the formation of one ton of coal (Cervik, 1969). The chief components of these gaseous products are methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water vapor. Most of these gases escape during the various stages of decomposition but with eventual presence of overlying impermeable beds, there may be as much as 2,000 cubic feet of gas retained per ton of coal. Over geologic time, diffusion and other processes such as geologic disturbances in the earth's crust remove all but 500 to 2000 cubic feet of gas per ton of coal (Cervik, 1969). It is this residual methane which is of primary concern when mine openings are made in coal measures. Extensive data compiled by the United States Bureau of Mines reveal that some coal mines in this country emit up to 20 million cubic feet of methane per day (Spencer, 1970; Irani et al, 1972). Toxic, poisonous and respirable gaseous pollutants and explosive gases, predominantly methane, are injected into the ventilation stream from active sections and gobs. The liberation of methane in gob areas may, under certain circumstances, become extremely large. In some instances it may constitute up to 70 percent of the total yield of gas in a mine. The basic physical factor which determines the yield of gas into the mine environment is the gas content of the seam. The influence of the gas content of a seam on the overall yield of gas

Jan 1, 1974

By P. Hambach

Murer Company, Andermatt, Switzerland, can claim to have done pioneer work in the construction of inclined shafts. This happened in 1968/69, when we decided to bore with a Wirth tunnel borer an inclined shaft, 1100 m in length, 3.0 m in diameter, and with a grade of 65%, in the 2400 kilo pascall per sq. cm granite of the Montblanc Massive. The whole excavation was accomplished in ten months which, at least for European conditions, can be claimed as a record. It was, at least to our knowledge, the first inclined shaft to be bored full-face (Fig. 1). Encouraged by the experiences and performances attained at Châtelard, we approached other projects of the same kind. We were awarded, together with Hochtief Ltd., Essen, a contract from Schluchseewerke, Freiburg, Germany, in December 1969, for the construction of a penstock for the Hornbergstufe at Wehr, Germany, with a diameter of 6.3 m. This inclined shaft with a grade of 55% is located in Schwarzwalder granite with a compressive strength of up to 2000 kilo pascall per sq. cm, about 31,000 psi. As no exact geological data were available about the rock to be worked, and a fault zone from 80 to 150 m long had to be faced, as well as a few individual fissures of varying thickness, it was decided to use the multi-stage method. The 3-m diam tunnelling machine which had driven the oblique shaft at Châtelard had now finished work, and an immediate beginning was made with driving the pilot staft. This was very welcome to the contractor, since exact information about the type of rock present and the inflows of water was required immediately and before the final borehole diameter was fixed, for the purpose of dimensioning the supports to be subsequently installed.

Jan 1, 1974

COLORADO SECTION CHARLES M. MACNEILL, Chairman, GEORGE M. TAYLOR, Vice-Chairman, FRED CARROLL, Sec.-Treas., State Museum Bldg., Denver, Colo. WALTER W. CASE, H. E. COLLBRAN. The annual meeting of the Colorado Section was held on the evening of Jan. 24, at the University Club, Denver, Colo.; SO members and guests were in attendance and the meeting was considered one of the most interesting ever held by the local section. After the usual dinner, the officers whose names are given above were elected for the ensuing year. Dr. David T. Day and Dr. G. H. Clevenger, of the Bureau of . Mines, were present and enlightened us with short talks on oil shales and other work of the Bureau. Mr. J. V. N. Dorr was home from a visit to New York and Washington, and told us something of the war work now going on at our National Capitol. Retiring Chairman Loughridge had been insisting for months that this meeting should be given up chiefly to listening to someone who could give his personal experience in going "over the top" in western France; after a long search he succeeded in finding Sargt. F. C. Strickland, M . M., of the Second Canadian Mounted Rifles, who had very recently been discharged from the hospital with permanent disabilities and has accepted recruiting service rather than a discharge. The success of this plan was evidenced by the close attention accorded the speaker for almost two hours, during which he described conditions, hardships, successes and failures of warfare on the western front. Hardly a listener moved during this talk, and all left with a. feeling that they would have liked to hear more. FRED CARROLL, Secretary.

Jan 4, 1918

By T. D. Yensen, N. A. Ziegler

AGING is a term that connotes a slow change in properties under ordinary operating conditions. It can be accelerated by increasing the temperature and by mechanical straining. The magnetic properties of iron and some of its alloys have for many years been known to be subject to such a change. But the cause of the change was not recognized until a few years ago after mechanical age-hardening in nonferrous alloys of the "duralumin" type had been definitely shown, by means of solid solubility curves, changes in electrical resistance and microanalysis, to be caused by slow precipitation of one or more constituents from the solid solution. The similarity between the solid solubility curves of such alloys (Fig. 1) and those for iron-nitrogen (Fig. 2) and iron-carbon alloys (Fig. 3) below the Al transformation point suggested at once that magnetic aging of iron might be caused by a similar process; namely, by the slow precipitation of carbon and nitrogen in the form of Fe4N and Fe3C at ordinary temperatures because of a cooling rate that had been too rapid to permit complete precipitation according to equilibrium conditions. This suggestion has since been amply confirmed, particularly by the comprehensive work of Köster1 on the effect of nitrogen and carbon. Typical curves are shown in Fig. 4 for the relationship between aging temperature and coercive force. Previous to the establishment of the precipitation-hardening theory it was thought that the effect of nonmetallic elements like C, N, 0, etc., on the magnetic properties of iron was greatest when these elements were retained in solid solution, atomically dispersed throughout the interstitial spaces of the iron lattice2.

Jan 1, 1935

During the past eight years a vigorous drilling campaign resulted in large increases in the reserves of both copper and silver-lead-zinc ores.As a result the Company initiated an increased production programme.Some major capital works have been completed, others are in progress and more are needed to achieve the proposed daily throughput of 14,400 tons. The increased ore potential justified a copper refinery which has been constructed at Townsville. The increased production rate achieved to date, combined with improved techniques and greater mechanization, is assisting the Company to combat the general inflationary trends caused by increased costs for labour and materials.INTRODUCTION"Today we are armed with better weapons in our fight for lowered costs and greater efficiency, but we must not flag in our efforts to improve." Such was the resolution expressed by Mr. K. B. Gross, then General Manager of the Company, in his review lecture delivered to the First Ordinary Meeting of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy at Mount Isa on 18th August, 1952. This present review of the period 1952 to 1960 records our efforts to fulfil this resolution. At the th:ne of Mr. Gross's statement,copper production was commencing in earnest. Although the importance of Mount Isa's copper orebodies was well recognized, the major discoveries which led to Mount Isa's emergence as Australia's premier copper mining and smelting operation were not known. These ore discoveries and their subsequent development are the major factors which warrant a further review of the Company's progress.The increased magnitude of the Company's operations is illustrated on graphs of Tons of Ore Treated (Fig. 1), Metals in Products (Fig. 2), Water Consumption (Fig. 3)...

Jan 1, 1961

By J. B. Umpleby

The subject of reservoir energy and its efficient utilization has been well explored in many papers. The present effort, therefore, is limited to a summary of existing information combined with an emphasis of the probability that the relative importance of controlling factors will change with advancing knowledge. Consequently the necessity for flexibility in laws and regulations, inherent in the problem, is emphasized. Definitions Many terms have been widely used in the literature without having been specifically defined. For example, confusion exists in the use of ((reservoir energy" and "gas energy." The latter is much more limited in meaning than the former. Other terms have been variously used. Consequently, I shall preface my remarks with definitions of a few of the more pertinent terms. Reservoir energy is that force or forces, active or potential, that is native to the reservoir and has the power to move oil through the reservoir rock. The energy may result from expanding gas, from hydrostatic head, from the weight of overburden, or from any other source. Gas energy is the expansive power of gas when pressure is reduced. It is one type of reservoir energy. An oil reservoir is that part of a geologic formation or formations in which oil occurs in commercial quantities wholly surrounded by nonproductive rock. The essence of this definition is effective separation rather than remoteness and under it oil reservoirs may be superimposed in the same oil pool. Conservation of reservoir energy means primarily its maximum use in the production of oil. Unit operation is a plan of development and production, which embraces an entire oil reservoir under a unity of engineering control. It is distinct from unitization, which has to do with arrangements of organization and equities to make unit operation possible in areas of divided ownership.

Jan 1, 1934

By John J. Reed

This paper was prepared as a supplement to the general review by Dr. N. G. W. Cook. His analysis of the problem in terms of the strain energy involved in making the excavation is excellent. It will contribute much towards a clearer understanding of rock behavior and control. Several of the practical applications described herein can be directly related to Dr. Cook's theories and conclusions, and are based on the very same principles. CONTROLLED BLASTING IN ROCK EXCAVATION Generally speaking, the natural rock is a relatively strong and competent structural material, if we conserve its inherent good properties and perhaps reinforce its weak spots. The difficulty often lies in blasting out the tunnel or chamber without damaging the walls and roof we wish to have remain afterwards. Much progress has been made in the last five years in better understanding the controlled excavation of rock. The specialized techniques known as smooth wall blasting and presplit blasting have now developed from the status of curiosities of rock excavation to the point where these techniques are specified in contracts drawn up for such rock excavation projects as tunnels, underground pourer houses, etc. These techniques have been well described and discussed in previous publications; there is no need to reiterate here. It might be well to point out that recent research has demonstrated the effect that inherent rock stress may have on presplitting in certain directions. Material can be presplit most readily parallel to the direction of maximum compressive stress, and this may not always be in the direction desired. Inherent rock stress measurements by stress relief over coring, etc., may have important value in deciding how to best presplit proposed excavations. In addition, recent work at the Colorado School of Mines has demonstrated the feasibility of con-

Jan 1, 1967

By G. B. Pryde

IN laying out a new mine, provision should be made for the ultimate recovery of as much coal in any given bed as is consistent with safety and economic mining. Though each mining district, if not each individual mine, has problems that make the adoption of any hard and fast rule impossible, certain basic principles are adapted to practically all conditions. One of the most vital is the provision for barrier pillars of ample dimensions to protect all haulage and permanent airways during the life of the property. Where conditions permit, room or butt entries should be driven on the strike or slightly to the raise and rooms turned at right angles to said entries. The width of rooms and room pillars is governed by conditions prevailing in the mines under consideration. A safe rule is: In advancing, extract not more than 25 to 35 per cent. of the entire seam; in exceptionally thick seams, considerably less than 25 per cent. should be taken. Rooms usually vary in length from 250 to 350 ft. (76 to 106 m.) with a barrier pillar of not less than 80 ft. between the last crosscut in rooms, and entry and room crosscuts should be driven on sights; room crosscuts should be driven at right angles to the direction of the rooms. In mines under excessively heavy cover or where roof conditions are bad, rooms should be driven narrow and a barrier pillar left at every fifth to tenth room. This barrier should be of such dimensions that one or more rooms, with pillars of usual dimensions, may be turned through it when the barrier is no longer required. Two of the advantages of such a barrier are the protection of the panel against peaking of roof load during pillar extraction and the easy closing of the entry in case of fire.

Jan 2, 1921

By J. Wild, M. Ounpuu, G. Chevalier

"The requirements for a finer grind at Heath Steele have resulted in the investigation of agitated milling as a cost effective alternative to conventional tumbling ball mills.The grinding unit is a vertically agitated, or stirred ball mill. Grinding occurs as the result of the motion of a single vertical rotor equipped with protruding pins which impart a stirring action to the ball charge. A comparative evaluation of a 30 kW SALA Agitated Mill (SAM), and a 1.5 m x 2.5 m copper-lead regrind ball mill has been conducted at Heath Steele.An overview of agitated milling as it applies to the reduction of sulphide ore will be the primary topic for discussion. Specific parameters including energy efficiency, media consumption, operating costs, and the mechanical aspects of the SAM operation will be presented.Evaluation of the agitated mill has shown that improved grinding performance at much lower work indices than those of the conventional ball mill is possible. Media consumption has proven to be comparable on an average g/kWh basis, but the mechanical availability of the mill has been low.INTRODUCTIONConventional tumbling ball mill grinding has proven to be an energy inefficient process. Energy losses occurring within the ball mill itself can be attributed to particle friction without breakage, kinetic and potential energy losses, plastic and elastic deformation and the production of heat and sound (Lynch, 1977). It can be generally stated that a certain amount of the input energy will be converted to another form as a necessary by-product of particle breakage. Theoretical interpretation of experimental results indicate that the energy required for breaking the ore particles in a ball mill varies between I% and 25% of the total energy input (SME, 1985)."

Jan 1, 1993

By Clyde E. Williams

The purpose of this report is to supply the Coal Classification Committee' with information for use in the formulation of a system of classification of coals according to their uses. Consideration is given here only to the nonferrous metallurgical operations that consume relatively large amounts of coal or coke; i. e., the smelting of copper, lead, zinc and aluminum. For all of these uses, coal of certain definite qualities is desired. Geographical location, however, often determines whether these qualities can be specified. In some instances the preferred qualities must be specified, regardless of cost. In others, quality may be sacrificed for lower cost, although the best quality consistent with cost is usually the determining factor. These considerations will be outlined in the following discussion under the various uses, which, however, will illustrate the impracticability of preparing definite specifications for coal used in the majority of the nonferrous industries. Coal and Coke in Copper Metallurgy From the standpoint of coal consumption, copper smelting and refining operations are the most important of the nonferrous metallurgical uses of coal. As nickel ores treated in the United States and Canada are associated with copper, the first step in their recovery is really a copper-smelting operation; accordingly, the following considerations under copper smelting apply equally to nickel. Copper Smelting in Reverberatory Furnaces.—For a long time, rever-beratory copper-smelting furnaces were fired with lump coal burned on grates in a fire box. Later, lump coal was displaced by pulverized coal or oil burned directly in the smelting chamber. Recently, natural gas has been used in several plants, although producer gas was used for this purpose at Great Falls as early as 1903.2 Requirements for coal used in

Jan 1, 1932

By T. D. Yensen

AGING is a term that connotes a slow change in properties under ordinary operating conditions. It can be accelerated by increasing the temperature and by mechanical straining. The magnetic properties of iron and some of its alloys have for many years been known to be subject to such a change. But the cause of the change was not recognized until a few years ago after mechanical age-hardening in non-ferrous alloys of the "duralumin" type had been definitely shown, by means of solid solubility curves, changes in electrical resistance and microanalysis, to be caused by slow precipitation of one or more con-stituents from the solid solution. The similarity between the solid solubility curves of such alloys (Fig. 1) and those for iron-nitrogen (Fig. 2) and iron-carbon alloys (Fig. 3) below the Al transformation point suggested at once that magnetic aging of iron might be caused by a similar process; namely, by the slow precipitation of carbon and nitrogen in the form of Fe4N and Fe3C at ordinary temperatures because of a cooling rate that had been too rapid to permit complete precipitation according to equilibrium conditions. This suggestion has since been amply confirmed, particularly by the comprehensive work of Köster1 on the effect of nitrogen and carbon. Typical curves are shown in Fig. 4 for the relationship between aging temperature and coercive force. Previous to the establishment of the precipitation-hardening theory it was thought that the effect of nonmetallic elements like C, N, 0, etc., on the magnetic properties of iron was greatest when these elements were retained in solid solution, atomically dispersed throughout the interstitial spaces of the iron lattice2.

Jan 1, 1935

By Cornelius Kelley

VOLUMES have been written about the organizing genius of American industrialists. American methods of production are being studied by the manufacturers of other nations to ascertain the prac-ticability to foreign adaptation. Mass production and the mechanization of industry have become terms of popular understanding and significance. Our people think, act and talk in terms of economic nomenclature. Under these circumstances is it not a matter of supreme importance that Americans themselves should make an analysis of their own situation? National supremacy has been but a transitory event. Wealth has had no fixed abode, and commerce has followed no permanently established route. One hundred and fifty years, viewed from the abstract idea of time, is but a moment in the fact of continuous or successive existence, yet it measures. the cycle that has witnessed the growth of America from a struggling embryonic union of thirteen colonies estab-lished along the Atlantic seaboard to the nation of un-rivalled proportions, vast wealth, huge enterprises and productive energy that now exists beneath the protec-tion of and renders allegiance to the flag that but then had been created. To appreciate fully the significance of what has occurred, it is necessary that there should bee an understanding of the basic factors that have con-tributed so largely to the realization of our present situation. Among the most important were: First, the establishment of a government that was founded upon the principle of affording the widest pos-sible opportunity for individual effort and accom-plishment. Second, there existed a virgin territory of vast extent, endowed by nature with elements of potential wealth far exceeding that possessed by any other like area upon the globe.

Jan 8, 1928

By M. L. Mellish

In 1989, for the third consecutive year, both the production and consumption of coal in the United States reached record levels. Domestic coal consumption totaled 806.5 Mt (889 million st) in 1989, a 5.4 Mt (6 million st) increase from the year before (Table 1). US coal exporters also had a banner year. For the first time since 1982, exports ex¬ceeded 91 Mt (100 million st). US coal production in 1989 rose by a surprising 27.3 Mt (30 million st), reaching 889 Mt (980 million st) for the year. To a certain extent, the sizable difference between production and demand growth was due to smaller consumer stock withdrawals. Coal consumers withdrew only 12.7 Mt (14 million st) of coal from their stocks in 1989, com¬pared to 22.7 Mt (25 million st) in 1988. Despite strengthening coal consumption, exports, and production, coal prices to all domestic sectors declined slightly during the year. That essentially continued the trend of the past several years. On the labor front, the United Mine Workers of America struck the Pittston Coal Group in 1989. It was a bitter work stoppage that was not settled until February of 1990. This was the first major coal strike since 1985. The strike also precipitated a series of wildcat outages by UMWA members in June and July. At their peak, more than 40,000 UMWA members participated in the wildcat strikes. Except at Pittston, however, most miners were back to work by August. It is estimated that perhaps 4.5 to 9.1 Mt (5 to 10 million st) of coal production was lost due to the Pittston and associated wildcat strikes. However, some of this production may have been recouped by other coal companies not affected by the wildcat strikes, and by the affected companies after the strikes ended.

Jan 1, 1990