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The annual report of the Secretary of the Southern California Local Section for the year ending May, 1919, says that the Section was called upon to give all the assistance possible for the different Liberty Loan drives, for the Red Cross drives and not only in the canvass of our membership, but the canvass of all of the mining companies represented in this city. The committee on the Red Cross drive on which we were represented raised a larger proportion of the total amount than any other in the city. The subscriptions for Liberty Bonds from the members of our' Section that were credited to the Committee of the Joint Technical Societies exceeded in amount the subscription from the members of all the other technical societies combined. Members of our Section slid splendid and efficient work throughout the first half of the year at the Red Cross headquarters in this city, and under the leadership of A. B. W. Hodges and F. B. Close, systematized the work of handling the enormous quantity of material that passed through that organization. Mr. E. A. Montgomery directed the canvass of the mining companies of this city in the bond drives, and the Executive Committee did its part in solicitation among the mining engineers. The Section, together with the local sections of the American Chemical Society, American Institute of Architect, American Institute of Electrical Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the local Engineers and Architects Association, forms what is called the Joint Committee of the Technical Societies. of Los Angeles. The honor of having the first president of this combined organization of engineers was given to us with, the election of Mr. Seeley W. Mudd. Upon Mr. Mudd's entering the service, Mr. George A. Daman of the Electrical Engineers was elected to the position and served splendidly during the latter part of the year. It devolves upon this Section to be represented upon this Joint Committee by three members, and it is our duty to supply a speaker once in six weeks to address the engineers in attendance at the weekly luncheon. During the year not a few of the most prominent men of the engineering professions have spoken upon subjects of the greatest interest to us all. Had it not been for the organized team work in the engineering profession available through this Joint Committee, there would have undoubtedly been passed in the recent session of the legislature of this state a bill for licensing and registering all professional engineers in this state, which, in the opinion of your Executive Committee and a large proportion of the membership of this Section, would have fallen far short of either protecting the engineer or protecting the public from impostors. That the public is awakening to the importance of what our National Society represents in the profession of mining engineering can be well inferred from the increasing number of inquiries your Secretary receives regarding the reputation of mining engineers. The necessary qualifications which a membership in the Institute requires and the membership of an engineer in this National Organization is more and more a criterion as to the ability of an engineer who represents himself as such, to the general public.

Jan 9, 1919

By John Bevan

In a discussion of the personal dangers that may arise from mine gases, it is necessary to take into consideration the gases which may result from an underground fire, or a fire in or about the downcast shaft, and the methods of avoiding or minimizing the danger arising therefrom. In all cases of the combustion of carbonaceous material such as coals and timber, carbon dioxide and water vapor are formed. In cases where the air supply is limited, some carbon monoxide is produced, the quantity varying with the readiness with which the oxygen from the air can get into intimate contact with the consuming carbon; in addition to these products there may be produced large volumes of irritating fumes consisting of unconsumed vapors' distilled from the burning material. Apart from the physical distress that may be caused by the irritant action of the fumes, the chief danger to life underground arising from a fire in or about the downcast shaft or intake airways is due to the carbon monoxide which the smoke is almost certain to contain. The physiological effects of this gas have already been discussed in mining papers and ref¬erence should be made to this. The prevention of fires at the surface near to the mouth of the downcast shaft, or in the shaft itself, or at the bottom of the shaft, usually lies outside the duties of the fireboss. An outbreak of fire at such places would, however, immediately foul the air current passing into the mine, and, assuming the men were in the mine, create a situation demanding urgent attention of the fireboss. As a rule, each case of fire creates its own problems, but in all cases the guiding principle should be to restrict the poison-laden 'air to the smallest part of the mine that is practicable, by opening separation doors, or breaking down selected stoppings at the most accessible points near the seat of the fire, so that the gases and smoke may pass directly into the return and so to surface. In the case of a shaft fire it will have the effect of fouling both shafts and in the case of a fire in an intake airway, both roadways leading to the shafts. It requires the use of some judgment. Therefore, in circumstances as to whether men inside the mine should attempt to escape to the shafts or should remain in the mine, and attempt to protect themselves from the poisonous air by suitably short circuiting the air-current and retiring from the main air-ways. In order to make such restraint easier, it is very desirable that all mines should be equipped with telephone communication from all sections of the mine to the surface so that men in the mine may be informed of what is being done at the surface to secure their safety, or instructed as to what they themselves should do. In cases of fire in or about the shafts, the question of the reversal of the air-current will probably arise. Should this be decided on by the management at the surface, the fireboss in the mine may have to give some attention to the effects which this action will have on the circulation of the

Jan 1, 1922

By Thomas A. Boyce

Introduction Although innovative coal extraction technology can be approached from many angles, this paper focuses on three: innovation in response to rising costs, to changing mining conditions, and to regulatory issues. Before exploring these three subjects, however, a basic question needs to be raised. Why Innovation? Coal is widely heralded, and quite correctly so, as the United States' "ace in the hole." It has been said that the U.S. is to coal what the Arabs are to oil. The implication is that we have nearly inexhaustible reserves - that coal is cheap, plentiful, and easy to extract. Indeed, because our current productive capacity is estimated to be 15-20% greater than demand, we have been given a false sense of security about the ease of future coal extraction. Therefore, innovative measures are being concentrated on developing technologies for the demand side of coal, including power generation, synthetic fuels, and industrial applications. What is often forgotten is that the unit cost of producing energy from these new technologies depends critically on the cost of the coal feedstock -in some cases the coal consumed accounts for more than one-third the total cost. Thus, while the developers of the end-use technologies struggle to improve the overall thermal efficiency of their process by one or two per¬centage points to make the energy produced competitive in the marketplace, they often are unaware of the risk of a 3 to 6% increase in coal costs wiping out the expensive, hard-earned results of their research. Energy planners are just beginning to realize that coal is not a uniform commodity available at low cost in infinite quantities. Coal is a heterogeneous material whose cost and quality vary widely with local conditions. To produce the massive amounts of projected coal-based energy at reasonable costs, we urgently need devel¬opments in extraction technology, as well as in end-use technology. Thus, coal extraction, coal conversion and utilization, and end -use energy consumption must be viewed as highly interdependent parts of an energy supply network (Fig. 1). And current emphasis on conversion and utilization must be balanced by more emphasis on upstream technologies, including coal extraction. Even more important, the impacts of innovation (or the lack thereof) in any one technology area in the energy supply network need to be discussed and understood by those working in each of the other areas. Why innovation in coal ex¬traction technology? Figuratively, we are all in the "coal boat" together - geologists, miners, transporters, processors, power producers, distributors, and consumers. Innovation is required from each of these sectors to overcome the obstacles that prevent greater use of our most abundant national energy resource. All other links in the coal energy supply network depend on large volumes of coal produced at reasonable costs. Declines in productivity, therefore, must be reversed; the more difficult mining conditions that will be encountered call for new methods and equipment, and regulatory issues must be resolved if the coal ex¬traction link is to be a strength rather than a weakness in the planned U.S. transition to an economy based more on coal and less on imported petroleum. Innovation Tailored to Regional Conditions Once the importance and urgency of innovative coal extraction technology has been grasped, the next step - implementing a research program - becomes quite

Jan 1, 1980

By J. A. B. Forster

W. G. WOOLF*—The paper has a wealth of data that take careful, detailed study. As has been indicated the highlights can be only touched in the paper. The design and the arrangement of the rabble teeth as well as some of the other details of operation show a very careful study and a scientific approach to the problem which in most plants using hearth roasters are matters of trial and error with empirical conclusions and, perhaps too often, just arbitrary supervisory preferences which may be erroneous. Here the problem has been approached from a scientific angle which think well merits careful study. The ability to treat the tonnages they get through these furnaces think is made easier by reason of the high sulphide sulphur in the resulting calcines which the balance of the plant—the leaching and so on—can cope with. As indicated by Mr. Weldon in his dis- cussion earlier this morning, in most zinc plants an attempt is made to have as low a sulphide sulphur content in the roaster calcine as possible. But in the operation of the Risdon plants, they are able to cope with sulphide sulphur content up to 5 pct which is far beyond the amount of sulphide sulphur that can be handled elsewhere. I think the autogenous roasting is made easier because driving out the last percentages of sulphide sulphur brings on the necessity for extraneous heat, and that is further exemplified because even at Risdon the author shows the desirability of using some oil to better the operation, particularly for uniformity of roasting results and to obtain more regularity of furnace operation. A. A. CENTER*—Regarding the hard crusts in the beds of the furnace and autogenous roasting, the paper speaks of the former being due, at least to a considerable extent, to lead sulphide in the crusts. I wonder if the author has considered the hard crusts as being due in large part to zinc sulphate. While I was developing large zinc operations we ran into hard crusts which had to be dug up. I took several lumps which were so hard they showed the marks of the rabble teeth very plainly and kept them in my office for some weeks. A visitor came along one day, and as he was having similar troubles, I told him what we were doing about ours. I started to pick up one of these lumps and to my amazement the thing crumbled in my hands whereas originally it had been so hard it wore the rabbles down very rapidly in the furnace. I sent the sample to the laboratory and found that it analyzed very high in water-soluble zinc and sulphate-sulphur. The crumbling of the lumps was evidently due to the anhydrous zinc sulphate gradually taking on moisture from the air and forming crystalline zinc sulphate seven parts water. The increase in volume would, of course, result in disintegration of the lumps. As to getting a high tonnage in the autogenous roast, that is partly because of finishing at about 5 pct sulphide sulphur. It is a real job to get down to, say, ½ pct sulphide sulphur, which is what is usually desired, and still put through a good tonnage.

Jan 1, 1950

By S. D. Bechtel

Bechtel Civil and Minerals, Inc., one of the Bechtel group of companies, is a large engineering and construction firm that services the mining industry, among others. The firm's head, S. D. Bechtel Jr., comments on how his E&C company is dealing with the recessionary economy. First, he offered a historical perspective. About a half century ago-in the middle of the Great Depression-W. A. Bechtel and several business partners drew up a fixed price bid to build the Hoover Dam. At that moment in history, the W. A. Bechtel Co. was a modest success, but the times were troubled and uncertain. Money was scarce and a lot of contractors across the country were one project ahead of bankruptcy. The bid for Hoover was a make-or-break proposition for Bechtel, and it turned out successfully. The Hoover Dam was a no-frills operation in an isolated and harsh environment. There was plenty of hard work, long hours, and not many amenities. Controlling costs was critical. Everyone knew what had to be done, and why and what the consequences were. Today's Challenge Bechtel is now a bigger, more complex organization whose management views the current economic recession as a challenge to be met in much the same way W. A. Bechtel met the challenge of the Hoover Dam: by pulling together with a sense of purpose and direction. In many respects, Bechtel's situation today has a number of parallels to that which faced my grandfather. The company is eminently successful, but times are tough and there are plenty of signs that they could get tougher. My grandfather bet on the Hoover Dam to insure the future health of his company and I think we can work together again in that same tradition, make some tough decisions together, and the company's future can be just as promising. The first and most important requirement is to make certain that everyone understands the situation. The Bechtel group of companies are in an excellent financial position now. Its workload hit an alltime high in 1982 and it is well positioned in its principal markets. But the next two years may be critical for the company. Traditionally, Bechtel's work load lags behind general developments in the economy. Although many of its clients continue to suffer serious business difficulties, Bechtel is only beginning to feel the impact. The worldwide market for basic metals remains soft; relatively low prices and abundant supplies of oil and gas have flattened the petroleum market and made once promising synfuels projects economically unattractive; utility clients are still caught in the vise between overregulation and escalating costs. And persistently high, long-term interest rates have made capital investments expensive and difficult to justify. The company maintained a healthy workload through 1982. In some areas it has had little new work and consequently has been forced to lay off some staff as projects have been canceled or concluded. In other areas new work has tided the company over and more people have been hired. But new work bookings have fallen off, creating some uncertainty for the near future. 1983 requirements are clear, although seemingly contradictory. Belt tightening and cost reduction are necessary for Bechtel to remain healthy and competitive, enabling it to handle a possible further downturn with a minimum of turmoil and dislocation. At the same time, we need to allocate resources and funds in areas that will keep us positioned for the turn-around marketplace.

Jan 2, 1983

By John T. Galey

The outstanding developments of the year in southwestern Pennsylvania were the establishment of the Summit Fayette County gas pool and the gas pool in Nicholson township, Fayette County, and Monongahela township, Greene County, as major producing areas, and the indication of four new shallow gas pools. Curtailment of drilling for shallow gas is expected to follow order M68 of the Office of Production Management. Gas completions were approximately 70 per cent higher, oil completions nearly 25 per cent lower, dry holes were unchanged and drilling wells as of Dec. 31, 1941, nearly loo per cent higher than last year. Shallow Development Oil.—Outside Butler County, only 11 producers were drilled, with a total initial of 221 bbl. The best of these was in a portion of Gilmore township, Greene County, which ordinarily produces gas. This well flowed 77 bbl. in 11 hr., along with about one million cubic feet of gas from the Fourth (U.Dev.) sand. Washington County had a 10.20 and a 25-bbl. well in Morris township and a 20-bbl. well in South Franklin township. These were all in the Fifth Sand. The price of oil to Jan. 27 was $1.80 per barrel, when a 15¢ increase was made. This was followed by a raise of 20¢ on Apr. 23, 15¢ on May 21, 20¢ on June 18 and 25¢ on Aug. 14. The last increase was canceled on Aug. 23 by the Office of Price Administration, which pegged southwestern Pennsylvania crude at $2.40 per barrel. Gas.—An almost doubled initial production of natural gas is the result of the large increase in number of wells drilled. The outstanding discovery of the year was in the vicinity of Armbrust, Hempfield township, Westmoreland County, where a well drilled to what at first was considered the Bayard sand, but what is now known to be the Fifth (U.Dev.) sand, at 2100 ft. found nearly 5 million cu. ft. of gas. Since this completion 14 wells have been finished, only one of which was dry, giving a combined total open flow of approximately 15 million cu. ft. The sand is 35 to 40 ft. thick and the saturation extends through most of that thickness. Rock pressure, which is 1040 lb. per sq. in., is abnormally high. An area of only about one square mile has been proven but some of the 24 new wells drilling as of Dec. 31 will no doubt extend it considerably. This development has taken place in an area heretofore considered to have had little prospect. There were three good wells in other parts of Westmoreland County. One well in Franklin township, which had 12 million cu. ft, of gas in the Fifth sand, was entirely surrounded by dry holes but is still pro- . ducing at a high rate. In Bell township a 1.6 million cu. ft. well was found in the Speechley (U.Dev.) sand and in Washington township the same sand produced 2.7 million cu. ft. with shut-in pressure of 970 Ib. at 2820 ft. This well is offset by two dry holes and one well with a capacity of only 10 M cubic feet.

Jan 1, 1942

By M. M. Slotnick

It was once aptly said that a sign of approaching senility is ceasing work on a subject and beginning to talk about it. Perhaps that explains why, after many Years in which Part of my duties has been the training of college men in various branches of petroleum exploration geophysics, I have now begun to talk about it. In making an outline of what I believe ought to be discussed under the general heading of the title, I found it almost impossible to subdivide the ideas into an ordered set of discrete subjects. Rather, the pertinent remarks seemed to interlock almost everywhere. The consequence is that it will be necessary to start with the conclusions and then try to justify them by jumping back and forth. However, based on the types of men with whom I have had to deal, the subject naturally divides itself into two parts. In the first part, I should like to deal with the case of those undergraduates whose natural bent is toward the physical sciences and who may decide to enter the geophysical fold as a career. The other part will deal with those many men, geologists and engineers for the most part, who have drifted into exploration geophysics by one means or another, and whom it is necessary to train for geophysical work while they are occupied in their routine jobs. Here it may be in point to remark that most men in exploration geophysics at Present have been developed from precisely the latter group, and that the problem of training here is of great importance even though, in this paper, it will perforce occupy the secondary place. Training oF a Geophysicist The outstanding reason for the perplexing problem on the training of a geophysi-cist is that ideas differ on the answer to the question: "what is a geophysicistp" ln any of the scientific "specialties," like physics, for example, it is relatively simple to pigeonhole a man as being qualified to call himself a physicist. That appellation applied to an individual does not mean that he has mastered only the branches of intellectual endeavor usually associated under the broad name of "physics." we expect him also to have a more than mere acquaintance with mathematics and chemist~ and some understanding of most of the other sciences. But note this important point—we expect our physicist, whom we have chosen as an example, to be intelligently trained so that, if necessary, he can and will know how and where he can get the proper information on a subject in which he is not a specialist; he will know how to absorb that information and turn it to his uses. It seems to me that this is the outstanding characteristic of a man who can truly call himself a scientist: that he is a specialist in one of the broad branches of science in that he has enough training and discipline in the scientific approach so that, when called upon to do so, he can inteugently absorb knowledge from another bordering science (and all sciences not only border upon one another to some extent, but more often, overlap One another), and

Jan 1, 1946

By M. M. Slotnick

It was once aptly said that a sign of approaching senility is ceasing work on a subject and beginning to talk about it. Perhaps that explains why, after many Years in which Part of my duties has been the training of college men in various branches of petroleum exploration geophysics, I have now begun to talk about it. In making an outline of what I believe ought to be discussed under the general heading of the title, I found it almost impossible to subdivide the ideas into an ordered set of discrete subjects. Rather, the pertinent remarks seemed to interlock almost everywhere. The consequence is that it will be necessary to start with the conclusions and then try to justify them by jumping back and forth. However, based on the types of men with whom I have had to deal, the subject naturally divides itself into two parts. In the first part, I should like to deal with the case of those undergraduates whose natural bent is toward the physical sciences and who may decide to enter the geophysical fold as a career. The other part will deal with those many men, geologists and engineers for the most part, who have drifted into exploration geophysics by one means or another, and whom it is necessary to train for geophysical work while they are occupied in their routine jobs. Here it may be in point to remark that most men in exploration geophysics at Present have been developed from precisely the latter group, and that the problem of training here is of great importance even though, in this paper, it will perforce occupy the secondary place. Training oF a Geophysicist The outstanding reason for the perplexing problem on the training of a geophysi-cist is that ideas differ on the answer to the question: "what is a geophysicistp" ln any of the scientific "specialties," like physics, for example, it is relatively simple to pigeonhole a man as being qualified to call himself a physicist. That appellation applied to an individual does not mean that he has mastered only the branches of intellectual endeavor usually associated under the broad name of "physics." we expect him also to have a more than mere acquaintance with mathematics and chemist~ and some understanding of most of the other sciences. But note this important point—we expect our physicist, whom we have chosen as an example, to be intelligently trained so that, if necessary, he can and will know how and where he can get the proper information on a subject in which he is not a specialist; he will know how to absorb that information and turn it to his uses. It seems to me that this is the outstanding characteristic of a man who can truly call himself a scientist: that he is a specialist in one of the broad branches of science in that he has enough training and discipline in the scientific approach so that, when called upon to do so, he can inteugently absorb knowledge from another bordering science (and all sciences not only border upon one another to some extent, but more often, overlap One another), and

Jan 1, 1946

Various aspects of judgment and decision-making are key themes in this book. The model presented here serves as a loose structure for the chapters that follow this one. The notion of a model is introduced because growing research interest in the subjective aspects of group and individual behavior has led to a debate over whether judgment is a skill that can be understood scientifically. A related point of contention is whether such an understanding could lead to the development of methods for estimating people's ability to make good decisions during an emergency. There is some literature that supports the potential usefulness of this approach. However, little agreement seems to have been reached on how to define and operationalize even those basic concepts necessary to assess the soundness of decisions from within their environmental and group contexts [Jensen and Benel 1977; Godden and Baddeley 1979; Baumann and Bourbonnais 1982; Brecke 1982; Stone et al. 1985]. A look at the real-world process is clearly needed. The need to attempt a better understanding of judgment and decision-making properties stems from those occasions in the existence of an organization when there is a lot at stake. The process of decision-making (which is part of the exercise of judgment) has been analyzed in situations such as corporate takeovers [Janis and Mann1977], military combat [Begland1979], clinical emergencies [Baumann and Bourbonnais 1982], and aviation events [Billings and Reynard1984]. The fundamental assumption of these analyses is that, while there are untold successes, there are also notable numbers of failures resulting from decisions that can be ascribed to one or more errors in judgment. From a cognitive perspective, any person engaged in decision-making (either alone or in a group) is actively involved in a process characterized by certain elements. These were mentioned in chapter 1, but are reiterated briefly at this point: (1) detection of a problem, (2) definition or diagnosis, (3) consideration of available options, (4) choice of what is perceived as the best option given recognized needs, and (5) execution of the choice based on what has transpired [Flathers et al. 1982; Baumann and Bourbonnais 1982]. At any moment in this process, there are factors at play that have a large impact on one's ability to solve complex problems in a limited time: (1) an internal state [Hedge and Lawson 1979] is the sum of a person's psychomotor skills, knowledge, attitudes, etc.; (2) uncertainty [Brecke 1982] is caused by faulty or incomplete information received from the external environment; (3) stress [Biggs 1968; Jensen and Benel 1977] is generated both by the problem at hand and any background problem that may exist; and (4) complexity, as it is used here, refers to the number of elements involved that must be attended to. These variables are depicted in figure 5.1, and their relationship to each other and to an outcome is indicated. This schema is designed to suggest interaction, because while the judgment and decision-making process may be conceptualized as discrete stages, experience tells us that this is not the way people function in real-world situations.

Jan 1, 2000

By Michael Bradbury

INTRODUCTION A major change in financing exports in recent years has been the decreased importance of subsidized export credits, following the commitment of the OECD countries to eliminate the subsidy element. Subsidized export credit rates are now often more expensive than market rates as the financing for exporters has decreased in volume and importance. The forfait market, in recognition of this decreasing importance, provides a rapidly expanding source of nonrecource finance for exporters. The following is a step by step guide to what it is, how it works, its benefits and problems. WHAT IS FORFAITING? Forfaiting is not new. It has been used in Europe for about 25 years to provide export finance for both capital goods and commodities without recourse to the exporter. Although long the preserve of exporters in Germany, and more lately Italy, forfaiting is now used increasingly by exporters in Great Britain, the United States, Canada and Scandinavia. It is a fairly simple operation with easy straight-forward documentation. The transaction involves the purchase by the forfaiting bank of a bill of exchange or a series of bills without recourse to the exporter. These bills will have been drawn by the exporter, accepted by the importer, and will usually bear the unconditional guarantee of the importer's bank. They are normally drawn payable at intervals during the credit period agreed between importer and exporter and are purchased at a discount by the forfaiter. The exporter thus obtains his cash payment and the importer receives his credit period. The forfaiter collects the amount of the bills as they mature directly from the importer. Credit periods vary, depending upon the type of goods and the country and commercial risk of the importer. The period is generally between one and five years with six monthly maturities. The usual forfait currencies are US dollars. Deutschmarks and Swiss francs and others, such as sterling, French francs, and the Scandinavian currencies are being used more frequently. CHOOSING FORFAITING Most types of financing require the continued involvement of the exporter in the financial side of the transaction during the credit period. Forfaiting has certain comparative advantages. In particular, it is possible to forfait 100 percent of the risk without recourse to the exporter, unlike government sponsored export finance schemes, where some retention of the risk by the exporter is required. In addition, exports from country sources do not present problems and forfaiting can also cover trade within the EEC. Other benefits for the exporter are: (a) The exporter's balance sheet is improved; debts are turned into cash thus improving the liquidity of the company and enhancing its cash flow. And there are no contingent liabilities for bills of exchange. (b) If the sales contract is in a foreign currency forfaiting removes the risk to the exporter of adverse movements in foreign exchange during the credit period. (c) Fluctuations in interest rates during the credit period can be ignored since in forfaiting the transaction is usually done on fixed interest rate terms on a discount basis. (d) The political and transfer risks are taken by the forfaiter. (e) The commercial risk is taken by the forfaiter. (f) The costs of administration and collection etc. during the credit period are removed.

Jan 1, 1985

By Robert M. Anderson

A popular perception by the public and many mining claimants, is that the 1872 Mining Law provides a statutory right to mine and extract minerals from the public lands. This perception in reality, is both true and false, depending on the mining claimants' ability to meet federal and state environmental, cultural and endangered species laws. Land use decisions and proposed legislation affect exploration and development opportunities in California. It is imperative that the mining industry involve itself in the planning process to ensure that BLM decision makers are fully informed of industry's knowledge and concerns. STATUTORY RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS "No other problem has such a sense of urgency and poses as profound consequences to the quality of life and the creation and distribution of societal wealth as how we protect the environment. Certainly, the environment is the single biggest issue facing mining and mineral activities in the new decade. David S. Brown The 1872 Mining Law was passed, ironically, the same year the nation's first National Park was established. It is a perception that the establishment of Yellowstone National Park was the beginning of the United States' earliest environmental movement; brought on, perhaps, by the rapid clearing of land for homesteading purposes and, the concern that many acres of the public domain were being disposed of through a multitude of public land laws. While there was an effort being made to designate some special and unique public lands as parks for preservation purposes, environmental concern and awareness did not lead to mandatory identification of environmental impacts and appropriate mitigation until the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act in 1970. Consequently, it is not surprising that the original United States Mining Laws of 1866, 1870 and 1872 had no mention of environmental protection. There have been numerous attempts to repeal the 1872 Mining Law over the last 50 years for a variety of reasons. Currently, there is a perception by the general public, media and even some in congress, the mining industry and BLM that a change is needed. The environmental organizations want the industry to be more accountable for reclamation and post mining uses. In Tn nEnvironmental Agenda for the Future," leaders of America's foremost environmental organizations state that the mining law "includes no protection for the environment," and therefore, should be reformed. We can all acknowledge, as stated above, that the mining law, per se, requires no "protection. However, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) clearly has the authority and the responsibility to fully "protect" non-mineral resources while providing for the extraction and processing of mineral resources by private industry. There are about 13 major federal laws that have indirectly or directly amended the mining laws to require Environmental, Historic and Cultural Protection." There have been many mining law case decisions about the statutory and constitutional rights of miners to explore open federal lands, "stake a claimg" and extract minerals. What needs to be fully understood is how federal laws, as enumerated on Table 1, may affect these rights. What follows is a description of

Jan 1, 1991

By John T. Galey

The outstanding developments of the year in southwestern Pennsylvania were the establishment of the Summit Fayette County gas pool and the gas pool in Nicholson township, Fayette County, and Monongahela township, Greene County, as major producing areas, and the indication of four new shallow gas pools. Curtailment of drilling for shallow gas is expected to follow order M68 of the Office of Production Management. Gas completions were approximately 70 per cent higher, oil completions nearly 25 per cent lower, dry holes were unchanged and drilling wells as of Dec. 31, 1941, nearly loo per cent higher than last year. Shallow Development Oil.—Outside Butler County, only 11 producers were drilled, with a total initial of 221 bbl. The best of these was in a portion of Gilmore township, Greene County, which ordinarily produces gas. This well flowed 77 bbl. in 11 hr., along with about one million cubic feet of gas from the Fourth (U.Dev.) sand. Washington County had a 10.20 and a 25-bbl. well in Morris township and a 20-bbl. well in South Franklin township. These were all in the Fifth Sand. The price of oil to Jan. 27 was $1.80 per barrel, when a 15¢ increase was made. This was followed by a raise of 20¢ on Apr. 23, 15¢ on May 21, 20¢ on June 18 and 25¢ on Aug. 14. The last increase was canceled on Aug. 23 by the Office of Price Administration, which pegged southwestern Pennsylvania crude at $2.40 per barrel. Gas.—An almost doubled initial production of natural gas is the result of the large increase in number of wells drilled. The outstanding discovery of the year was in the vicinity of Armbrust, Hempfield township, Westmoreland County, where a well drilled to what at first was considered the Bayard sand, but what is now known to be the Fifth (U.Dev.) sand, at 2100 ft. found nearly 5 million cu. ft. of gas. Since this completion 14 wells have been finished, only one of which was dry, giving a combined total open flow of approximately 15 million cu. ft. The sand is 35 to 40 ft. thick and the saturation extends through most of that thickness. Rock pressure, which is 1040 lb. per sq. in., is abnormally high. An area of only about one square mile has been proven but some of the 24 new wells drilling as of Dec. 31 will no doubt extend it considerably. This development has taken place in an area heretofore considered to have had little prospect. There were three good wells in other parts of Westmoreland County. One well in Franklin township, which had 12 million cu. ft, of gas in the Fifth sand, was entirely surrounded by dry holes but is still pro- . ducing at a high rate. In Bell township a 1.6 million cu. ft. well was found in the Speechley (U.Dev.) sand and in Washington township the same sand produced 2.7 million cu. ft. with shut-in pressure of 970 Ib. at 2820 ft. This well is offset by two dry holes and one well with a capacity of only 10 M cubic feet.

Jan 1, 1942

THE discussion of this topic at the Open-hearth Conference at Detroit on Nov. 3, 1927, was opened by statements of the general principles involved, made by manufacturers of molds. Because of their general interest they are printed below. WILLIAM HAIL RAMAGE,* Hubbard, Ohio.-I did not come prepared to read a paper, thinking. the most I would be called upon to do would be to make a few, remarks by way of discussion. A number of our friends have pre-viously asked questions. similar to this which really does not permit a direct "yes" or "no" answer. If I may he pardoned for so doing, I believe it advisable to discuss rather what we consider the principal factors which in-fluence mold life. I think possibly a little undue weight has been given to the subject of the analysis of the metal. For the last eight years we have spent a lot of time, effort, and money investigating this very problem from a chemical, physical and microscopic standpoint. We have had the benefit of complete records and history of over 100,000 molds in service at a variety of plants and over long periods of time. Obviously, I cannot be so specific that I should divulge information that is really a trade secret. In our opinion the principal factors influencing mold life are: (1) design of the mold; (2) process of manu-facture, including workmanship; (3) care in the steel plant or what might be termed "the use or abuse" in the steel plant; (4) the analysis of the iron and the physical con-dition of it. Under normal conditions these factors are of importance in the order named, although in specific cases they might be rearranged in any order you choose. For instance, the best mold made can be destroyed in one or two pours by subjecting it to certain conditions which are occasion-ally met in steel plant practice. Obviously, in that case, nothing else matters but that one item. On the other hand, I have seen molds made of such a terrible design that it was a foregone conclusion it would have to be broken after the second pour of the ingot to get it out. In that case, nothing but design mattered. As to the effect of process of manufacture, let me cite a case. Some years ago there were two batches of molds sent to a certain company. They were the same sized molds, used under the same conditions and in the same kind of service. There were, 20 molds in each batch. The second batch sent gave ten times the life of the first batch. It is true that the design was changed a little, but not very much, and it was not. a bad mold to begin with. It is possible that the iron may have been better in the second consignment but not very much. In my opinion, it is con-servative to say that of the 900 per cent improvement in life, 5 per cent was probably due to better iron, 25 per cent to better design and the remaining 870 per cent to process of manufacture and workmanship.

Jan 2, 1928

By J. W. Stevenson

At this 5th U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium I would like to focus your attention on safety and the contribution of the ventilation engineer over the past 50 years. This conference affords us the opportunity to express, to listen, and to learn. As ventilation engineers it is indeed an exciting time--a time that not only stimulates our imagination but also pin points our aims in our quest to obtain zero fatalities by the year 2000, the goal expressed by William J. Tattersall, Assistant Secretary of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration. In the past, coal mine ventilation has often been unfortunately synonymous with explosions and resulting fires. Those not familiar with us do not recognize the painful evolution of the coal mining industry and particularly the evolution of mine ventilation. To put my presentation into perspective, I recently reviewed a U.S. Bureau of Mines Bulletin No. 586 - "Historical Summary of Coal-Mine Explosions in the United States 1810 - 1958 prepared by H. B. Humphrey Mining Health and Safety Engineer. This bulletin was published in 1960. Mr. Humphrey stated "In 1946, factors contributing to the explosions occurring from 1941 to 1945 were: (1) The rapid increase in the use of electrical equipment at face regions where gas and dust are most likely to be found; (2) the increased demand for coal with the desire to obtain maximum tonnage per machine at minimum cost, which in many mines has resulted in neglect of even rudimentary precautionary measures; (3) multiple-shift operation without provision of time for adequate maintenance of equipment, effective rock dusting, and testing for gas; (4) decrease in supervision owing to demands on supervisors for maximum tonnage and loss of competent supervisors to other employment; (5) lack of effective supervision, owing to numerous new conditions, some of them war-connected; (6) inability to obtain adequate equipment repair and replacement parts; (7) shortage of labor and inadequate training of coal-mine workers; and (8) failure of both miners and mining officials to show regard for safety in changing from hand-loading to mechanized methods". Most of the eight factors listed by Mr. Humphrey continue to affect our work lives as mining engineers. The increased demand for coal with the desire to obtain maximum tonnage per machine at minimum cost has never changed. The local and regionalized coal industry of the 40's is today competing against the world coal market. Our mines work or shut down based on cost. This has always been the case. During the five year time-frame Mr. Humphrey was documenting, 345 miners were killed in major explosions. A major explosion was one in which five or more miners were killed in a single accident. In addition, 105 more miners were killed in minor explosions for a total of 450. What a wanton waste of life. What fears, anxieties, miseries, and sufferings were created by these accidents. However, we must remember and keep in mind that the coal mining company officials, engineers, and foremen, the governmental agencies- federal, state, and local - were using the technical tools and knowledge available to operate the mines as safely as they could. Obviously mine ventilation engineering technology was woefully inadequate.

Jan 1, 1991

Universities have had a long history in the education of geology graduates, Analysis of this history reveals a record of success, as judged on a world basis. However there have been significant changes in the last 20 years that have impacted on the ability of universities to continue to provide their traditional style of geology education. These changes have increased in the last 10 years. In the teaching side, there has been a change in expectations. Additionally the increasing workload decreases the value of each academic to perform the tasks needed by the new education. In the area of research, the funds provided have continued to decline, in both real and absolute terms, and it is now necessary for universities to seek out funds to pay for their postgraduate research. Additionally, the universities have slipped into the error of what cahn only be termed "academic incest", and research student mobility has decreased to an undesirable level, stifling initiative and new ideas in a number of cases, The only solution is for Government monies to be "directed" - ie that the postgraduate student must leave his or her original university in order to receifve the research stipend/scholarship. On the government front, the government and its agencies have not adequately analysed and recognised the need for the redirection of education and research funds into the needy areas of science and technology, especially those that related to the minerals area.

Jan 1, 1986

By Joel S. Leventhal

The roles of organic matter in ore deposits are complex and represent a specialized effort in the larger subject of the geochemistry of ore deposits. The organic carbon cycle can be considered with particular emphasis to ore deposits in order to understand the origin and genesis of the organic matter. Organic matter may play one, several, or none of the following important roles in the formation of ore deposits: leaching, transport, concentration, reduction, and precipitation of metals. For deposits that contain organic matter, detailed field relationships and laboratory characterization of the organic matter are required to make an ore deposit model that Includes the organic matter and specifies its role(s). Examples of the involvement of organic matter in several types of uranium deposits are contrasted as being direct or indirect, syngenetic or epigenetic, and necessary or unnecessary. Examples of organic matter in deposits containing gold and lead-zinc, and In metal rich shale are discussed with respect to ongoing work and critical questions.

Jan 1, 2013

By J. E. Williamson

Introduction 1. Factors on Which the Design of the Roaster Plant was Based The roasting operation at Lake Shore, it was realized from the outset, would be profitable only if costs and losses could be reduced to a low figure. It was absolutely imperative that the operation should be self roasting over the whole range of tonnages and sulphur grades which might obtain during the life of the mine. The roasting operation could not bear the cost in fuel and labour of even a partially fired roast. To meet this requirement, it was necessary to resort to additional insulation in the construction of the roaster and to provide a more flexible means of rabble cooling than the conventional water jacket (see p. 31). A second basic consideration was that of handling a wet, putty-like concentrate. The operating costs of a drier ruled out the possibility of drying the charge before feeding it to the roaster. Moreover, the dusting which would result from charging a dry product virtually all -40 micron (325 mesh) in size would seriously handicap the use of a dryer. Dust lubrication (p. 3S) due to the back-mixing action of the Edwards rabbles, and the use of a Sullivan slapper ( p. 27) on the concentrate filter, completely solved the problem of handling the roast feed. The third consideration was the reduction of dusting to a sufficiently low point that a Cottrell or other dust collecting system was unnecessary. The Edwards roaster when properly supervised, it is believed, can be operated to give the minimum possible dusting. At Lake Shore, the evidence has been that less than 1 per cent dusting occurs at any time and that the greater part of the dust produced is recovered either in the spray tower or in the dust chambers.

Jan 1, 1947

By Keith L. Harris

Recent data indicate a marginal decline in overall growth in world economic output from 3.1% in 1985 to 2.9% in 1986 (table 1),2, 3 Many nations experienced slower economic growth because of the huge trade imbalances existing between the United [ ] States and Japan and the Federal Republic of Germany, the U.S. budget deficit, and the growing Third World debt. Some developing nations, however, experienced booming growth. Declining prices for energy and nonenergy commodities and the fall of the dollar against the currencies of major industrial countries benefited several developing countries--energy importers and exporters of manufactured goods with currencies tied to the U.S. dollar, which were able to expand markets in the industrialized nations. The drop in commodity prices increased demand in industrial countries and depressed it in developing countries. Lower demand in the developing countries contributed to a decline in the real net exports from industrial countries. As a result, output growth in industrial countries declined from 3.0% in 1985 to 2.4% in 1986, despite growing internal demand, Average output growth of developing countries increased from 3.296 to 3.596 during the same period, however, primarily because of the low prices of their products and the strength of demand in industrial countries for those products. Developed country output growth was extremely uneven, however. For example, the economic output of nonfuel exporters grew 5.4% in 1986, while that of fuel exporters dropped 0.7%.

Jan 1, 1987

By R. J. Hundermark, L. R. Nelson

"The critical importance of tap-hole design and management for furnace performance and longevity is explored through examining some of the specific matte, metal, and slag tapping requirements of non-ferrous copper blister and matte converting and smelting, ferroalloy smelting, and ironmaking systems. Process conditions and productivity requirements and their influence on tapping are reviewed for these different pyrometallurgical systems. Some critical aspects of the evolution of tap-hole design to meet the diverging process and tapping duties are examined. Differences and similarities in tapping practices and tap-hole management are reviewed. Finally, core aspects of tap-hole equipment and maintenance are identified – aspects that are considered important for securing improved tap-hole performance and life, so pivotal to superior furnace smelting performance. IntroductionThe sheer diversity of tapping configurations used on industrial pyrometallurgical operations is at first bewildering. They range from historical tilting furnaces without tapholes to modern eccentric bottom tapping (EBT) tilting and/or bottom slide-gate electric arc furnaces; to classical single tap-hole multiphase tapping (e.g. metal/matte and slag); to dedicated phase tap-holes (e.g. dedicated metal/matte-only and slag-only); to dedicated phase multiple tap-hole configurations (up to eight metal/matte-only tap-holes and six slag-only tap-holes); to more esoteric metal/matte-only siphons and slag overflow skimming, e.g. Mitsubishi Continuous Process (Matsutani, n.d.). This can be further complicated by periodic batch tapping; consecutive tapping on a given taphole; alternating tap-hole tapping practice; near-continuous slag-only tapping, with discrete batch matte/metal tapping on higher productivity, but low metal/matte fall (<20% by mass feed) Co and Ni ferroalloy and platinum group metal (PGM) matte furnaces; near-continuous tapping through batch tapping of individual tap-holes that are opened consecutively (Tanzil et al., 2001; Post et al., 2003); to fully continuous tapping on coupled multi-furnace cascades (Matsutani, n.d.)."

Jan 1, 2016

By John R. Bradley

The object of this paper is to survey and analyze the bearing of economic nationalism, competitive sources of energy, and technologic developments on international trade in coal with especial reference to the competitive position of the leading coal-exporting countries in the Italian market, the largest in the Mediterranean region, and the Brazilian market, the second largest in Latin America. The political, economic, and financial disturbances caused mainly by the World War have resulted in an amazing situation. Especially since 1930 have conditions been complicated.

Jan 1, 1936