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During the past 60 or 90 days, the metropolitan newspapers have published much concerning unemployment throughout the nation and the efforts of the Army and various other bureaus for finding work for the returning soldiers. The United States Employment Service has 2000 bureaus throughout the country, which Nathan A. Smyth, Assistant Federal Director, states have placed more than 2,400,000 persons in employment. The Engineering Societies Employment Bureau, which, since December, 1918, has been endeavoring to put all returning engineers in touch with employers who need efficient men, has produced results that are very gratifying to the Secretaries of the four Founder Societies under whose direct management the Bureau operates. During this period, 1615 men have registered at the Bureau's office in the Engineering Societies Building; not all of these, however, are unemployed. Many are ex-army and navy men, who in passing through New York on their way home, look over the field in the hope of making a change for their own benefit before returning to their former positions. During this period, 427 positions vacant have been filed, 2300 of which positions have been filled from the men registered. The letters mailed by this Bureau amount to about 1000 a month and the number of personal calls at the office, 1600. The lowest number of positions filled has been in mining, but the lowest number of registrations is also from mining men. While in February idleness throughout the nation was increasing at the rate of 35,000 a week, under date of Mar. 7, Arthur Woods, a special assistant to Secretary of War Baker, states that there is a material improvement in the unemployment situation and that the problem is no longer a serious one. It is recognized that' the improvement wrought in each individual by his military training and experience has so increased his value that it is 'not only unfair, to ask these men to accept their old jobs at the old wages, but it is probably very unlikely that they will be willing to do so. This plain statement of improvement may not carry conviction to everyone but a concrete example will show its validity. Take the example of a young man under 21, bright and intelligent, with only a high-school education who was employed, before being drafted, on purely manual labor. He shows up well under military training and is made a corporal; he makes good and is appointed a sergeant; and finally becomes top sergeant, which requires him in many ways to handle the entire company of 250 men. The result is; even if he has not been tried by the fire of battle, he comes out of the army with a feeling of self-confidence and capacity that was entirely lacking when he went in and he has had actual experience in handling a larger body of men than the average mine foreman at twice his age, and he has had twice the average amount of detail work to take care of.

Jan 4, 1919

By William T. Schneider, Taylor Cole

Drilling in West Texas during 1941 was more active than in any year since 1937, a total of 2325 wells having been drilled. Pre-Permian exploration was the greatest in the history of the area; 106 wells tested pre-Permian formations during the year. Wildcatting reached the peak since 1937, with 135 wildcats, of which 20 per cent were producers. The wells were drilled to a greater average depth than in any previous year. Slim-hole drilling was the common practice, using drilling equipment that is largely portable. Because of deeper drilling, more attention was paid to mud fluids, especially the use of materials to reduce water filtration. There has been slight improvement in the protection of the pay horizons while drilling by the use of reverse circulation, and drilling-in with oil as well as low water-filtration muds. The practice of setting and cementing the oil strings through the producing formation and perforating opposite the pay zones has increased in the fields producing from sands. It is doubtful whether this practice is of unusual value in dolomitic limestone fields. There have been few if any technological improvements in obtaining necessary information on the pay sections penetrated, by coring, core analyses, better sampling, and more detailed drilling time. However, more operators are beginning to realize the necessity of good samples. For a proper study of the reservoirs in West Texas, it is essential that better samples be obtained, that more core analyses be run, and that better methods of obtaining drilling time be initiated. It should be noted that increased drilling speeds and slim-hole drilling have tended to reduce coring and core recovery and have not aided in obtaining good subsurface samples. In fact, fast drilling speeds and slim-hole drilling have reduced the cost of drilling operations, but with the sacrifice of much needed subsurface information. Larger quantities of slower-reacting acid are being used per well. There has been improvement in shooting, in that a greater number of quarts per foot have been used and an attempt has been made to concentrate the shots opposite the pay zone. The use of mud logging to determine the characteristics of the pay section increased considerably over the year 1940. There has been a slight increase in obtaining reservoir information in the new fields, such as bottom-hole sampling, bottom-hole pressures, and records of gas, oil, and water withdrawals. However, there is great need for more data on these subjects, particularly accurate information regarding gas and water volumes. There are three repressuring projects and a fourth is nearly ready for operation in the Kermit field. There is one repressur-ing project in the Payton field and one in the North Ward field. So far, the gas-injection projects have not shown very impressive results. As yet, there are no water-flooding projects or water-disposal projects in West Texas. Not including gathering lines within the fields, 222 miles of feeder pipe lines were

Jan 1, 1942

By Taylor Cole, William T. Schneider

Drilling in West Texas during 1941 was more active than in any year since 1937, a total of 2325 wells having been drilled. Pre-Permian exploration was the greatest in the history of the area; 106 wells tested pre-Permian formations during the year. Wildcatting reached the peak since 1937, with 135 wildcats, of which 20 per cent were producers. The wells were drilled to a greater average depth than in any previous year. Slim-hole drilling was the common practice, using drilling equipment that is largely portable. Because of deeper drilling, more attention was paid to mud fluids, especially the use of materials to reduce water filtration. There has been slight improvement in the protection of the pay horizons while drilling by the use of reverse circulation, and drilling-in with oil as well as low water-filtration muds. The practice of setting and cementing the oil strings through the producing formation and perforating opposite the pay zones has increased in the fields producing from sands. It is doubtful whether this practice is of unusual value in dolomitic limestone fields. There have been few if any technological improvements in obtaining necessary information on the pay sections penetrated, by coring, core analyses, better sampling, and more detailed drilling time. However, more operators are beginning to realize the necessity of good samples. For a proper study of the reservoirs in West Texas, it is essential that better samples be obtained, that more core analyses be run, and that better methods of obtaining drilling time be initiated. It should be noted that increased drilling speeds and slim-hole drilling have tended to reduce coring and core recovery and have not aided in obtaining good subsurface samples. In fact, fast drilling speeds and slim-hole drilling have reduced the cost of drilling operations, but with the sacrifice of much needed subsurface information. Larger quantities of slower-reacting acid are being used per well. There has been improvement in shooting, in that a greater number of quarts per foot have been used and an attempt has been made to concentrate the shots opposite the pay zone. The use of mud logging to determine the characteristics of the pay section increased considerably over the year 1940. There has been a slight increase in obtaining reservoir information in the new fields, such as bottom-hole sampling, bottom-hole pressures, and records of gas, oil, and water withdrawals. However, there is great need for more data on these subjects, particularly accurate information regarding gas and water volumes. There are three repressuring projects and a fourth is nearly ready for operation in the Kermit field. There is one repressur-ing project in the Payton field and one in the North Ward field. So far, the gas-injection projects have not shown very impressive results. As yet, there are no water-flooding projects or water-disposal projects in West Texas. Not including gathering lines within the fields, 222 miles of feeder pipe lines were

Jan 1, 1942

By Francis P. Sinn

LOW prices have made 1938 a difficult year for the zinc industry of the world. Particularly in the United States, output had to be radically curtailed to bring production into line with consumption. Despite these unfavorable conditions, some additional plant construction is contemplated. In Jugoslavia, through co-operation with the Government, Trepca Mines is lo build a zinc plant to produce 10,000 metric tons annually, the plant to be ready for operation in July, 1941). Cerro de Pasco is proceeding with its plans for an electrolytic plant in Peru. A pilot plant, to be ready next summer, is under construction. In eastern Canada an electrolytic plant is planned in Quebec to treat concentrates from Yoranda and other mines but no defi-

Jan 1, 1939

By Charles E. Locke

CONTINUED expansion of gold mining in 1935 led to further developments in treatment methods. In base metals and non-metallics progress is also noted, coincident with greater activity. Statistics are not available yet for 1935 but the trend is shown by 1934 when nonferrous ore mined in the United States was 35,840,737 tons, or 45 per cent more than in 1933. The amount concentrated was 27,167,530 tons or 75.80 per cent of the ore mined, and flotation was used in whole or part on over 96 per cent of the ore subjected to concentration. In the crushing field a new model of the Fahrenwald crusher is promised soon. The Symons fine-reduction cone crusher and Traylor secondary crusher continue to gain as intermediate crushers. A new book entitled "Crushers for Stone and Ore" by William T. W. Miller appeared. The Hadsel mill has been improved still further and a number of installations are in satisfactory operation showing economical power consumption and low wear. An attempt in a

Jan 1, 1936

By W. E. Wrather

CURTAILMENT of production was a matter of far more serious concern to the oil industry through 1933 than the search for new supplies of oil. The huge reserves of crude, built up during past years, instead of inspiring a feeling of security, were viewed apprehensively. The status of past laws and court decisions seemed to guarantee to operators the right to produce oil at will, and this entrenched privilege was so widely adhered to that the market was-in a constant state of chaos. The more modern idea of the ownership of oil in place and correlative rights gained headway slowly, since usually there were enough belligerent producers, staunch believers in the old established order, to defeat the efforts of the majority who sought to' introduce order and restraint. State regulatory commissions were unable to cope, with the rebellion among producers with the result that those who abided by proration rulings were penalized, while those who flouted the rulings and produced unrestrainedly were able to make profits on large volumes of flush oil even at low prices. This situation, known in the vernacular as the "hot 'oil" problem, became so acute that the industry was threatened with ruin. The low price for 36c A.P.I. in the Mid-Continent came in April. at 25c per barrel 'but gradually moved upward to the long-hoped for price of $1.00 per barrel in October, after the Federal Government had taken a hand in the matter and effectively allocated production among the oil producing states and materially curbed the "hot oil" runs.

Jan 1, 1934

By A. E. Seaton

In this paper it will be my endeavor to trace the development of the marine engine and its appurtenances, and the general progress that has taken place in marine engineering generally during the past fifteen years, rather with the object of attributing much of it to the successful efforts of the makers of iron and steel, thereby rendering my thanks to them for the valuable service they have contributed to my profession, than to recount what has been achieved by the skill, ability and perseverance of my colleagues in shipbuilding and engineering. The engineer has been at all times dependent on the ironmaster, and on more than one occasion his progress has been barred by the inability of the latter to overcome some obstacle to success in his manufacture. But on the other hand, it is equally true that the ironmaster has often been ahead of the engineer, and has been prepared, long beforehand, to supply that which would make a success for the marine engineer if he would avail himself of it.

Jan 1, 1891

By L. A. Schrider, J. A. Wasson

A method of predicting waterflood performance has been developed that combines certain facets of several previously published prediction techniques. The manner of combination has required the development and use of some new and some little-known relationships and has eliminated several of the weaker assumptions inherent in the original individual prediction methods. This approach, which was designed for computer solution, has removed the necessity of referring to plotted curves and permits the analytical prediction of water flood performance for a five-spot well pattern in either homogeneous or stratified reservoirs. The Predicted values are expressed in common oilfield units rather than in abstract or dimensionless terms. The calculation procedure has been programmed in FORTRAN IV and the entire program listing is available to potential users.* Introduction Prior to initiation of secondary recovery of oil by waterflooding, the possibilities of economic success or failure must be evaluated with the greatest practical accuracy. Although many prediction techniques are available, most, if not all, have serious limitations. In recent years, the Bureau of Mines has attempted to stimulate interest in the secondary recovery of oil from Appalachian pressure-depleted reservoirs. Waterflooding, because of its widespread acceptance and success, is the principal secondary-recovery method considered. During the life of the project, several performance prediction methods have been studied and applied. Because these methods, individually, have inherent assumptions and limi-tations, portions of some of them have been selected and combined in an effort to eliminate such shortcomings wherever possible. We believe that the resulting technique is as accurate as the necessary available data will permit and that it has several distinct advantages over previously published methods. Development of the Method The fractional flow equation developed by Buckley and Leverett' from Darcy's law is the fundamental mathematical statement describing immiscible fluid-fluid displacement in porous media. A generalized form of this relationship, whose derivation is readily available in the literature, is The formation dip, a, is usually very small in those petroleum reservoirs being considered for pattern waterflooding in the Appalachian area. Therefore. in many cases. a has an almist negligible value. In addition, Ap, the difference between the density of water and the density of oil, is relatively small. For these reasons the gravitational term may often be neglected. Capillary pressure is a function of saturation, which is in turn a function of distance from the upstream boundary of the system or the injection well. In this study it is assumed that the frontal zone of the waterflooding (or zone of capillarity) has negligible length and that only those saturations in the water-swept zone at breakthrough and later are of interest. As the distance in a waterflood pattern is comparatively large and the change in water saturation with distance is usually small, the change in capillary pressure with distance is negligible. The simplified form of the fractional flow equation is appropriate, therefore, in this application. Three variables must be considered in determining that fraction of the total fluid flow that consists of water: the viscosity ratio, saturation, and relative permeability ratio.

Jan 1, 1969

By Donivan L. Gordon, Fred H. Dorheim

Often, as viewed by the public and many in the mining industry, abandoned limestone and gypsum quarries offer a simple, economic solution to the twofold problem of solid-waste disposal and land reclamation. In a state where about 75% of the existing quarries are in hydrologic connection with carbonate aquifiers the rationale for considering the storage of solid waste in them must be critically examined. Consistent with the requirements of water resources protection, criteria are suggested to evaluate the potentiality of using abandoned limestone and gypsum quarries as sanitary landfill sites.

Jan 1, 1975

By T. F. Witherbee

It is proposed to give, first, a description of the works; second, a report of the first six months of the present blast; and third, such improvements as have been suggested by the practical working. The site selected for this furnace was, at the time of commencing work, October, 1872, entirely covered by the navigable waters of Lake Champlain. A coffer-dam was first built of cribs of round timber filled with stone, forming three sides, while the shore answered for the fourth. Considerable excavating was done with a steam-dredge, a hole being left for it to pass out. The opening was then built up, and the cribbing banked up with blue clay from the bottom of the lake, to render it water-tight and the dam pumped out; the remainder of the excavating being done by hand. All of the foundations, with the exception of the elevator-tower, and fifteen feet of the east side of hot blast, rest on the Potsdam sandstone, which forms the shore line, dipping into the lake at an angle of fifteen degrees. Owing to jogs in the formation, a much greater depth was found necessary than was at first anticipated, the foundation under the stack

By T. F. Witherbee

IT is proposed to give, first, a description of the works ; second, a report of the first six months of the present blast; and third, such improvements as have been suggested by the practical working. The site selected for this furnace was, at the time of commencing work, October, 1872, entirely covered by the navigable waters of Lake Champlain. A coffer-dam was first built of cribs of round timber filled with stone, forming three sides, while the shore answered for the fourth. Considerable excavating was done with a steam-dredge, a hole being left for it to pass out. The opening was then built up, and the cribbing banked up with blue clay from the bottom of the lake, to render it water-tight and the dam pumped out; the remainder of the excavating being done by hand. All of the foundations, with the exception of the elevator-tower, and fifteen feet of the east side of hot blast, rest on the Potsdam sandstone, which forms the shore line, dipping into the lake at an angle of fifteen degrees. Owing to jogs in the formation, a much greater depth was found necessary than was at first anticipated, the foundation under the stack

Jan 1, 1876

By F. F. Craig

The authors have done a commendable job in combining a number of recognized waterflood performance prediction methods into one composite method. The availability of a FORTRAN program for this composite method should encourage its widespread industry use. Pan American has had a computer program developed along similar lines for a number of years,' and it has received more use than any other reservoir prediction method. In three important stages of a pattern waterflood, the authors fail to consider fully the effects of water-oil mobility ratio on performance. This is discussed in the following paragraphs and modifications of the prediction method are suggested. During the early stages of a waterflood in a partially depleted formation, the injected water and its preceding oil bank move out radially from the injection wells. As pointed out in the author's paper the method of Yuster and Calhoun2 or predicting the water injection rate during this period assumes that the mobilities of the water and oil are equal. In his book, Muskat3 resents a modification of the Yuster-Calhoun approach that considers fully the influence of water-oil mobility ratio. In Muskat's method, the prediction of the injection rate-injected volume-time relationship is expressed in readily programmed dimension-less unts. At and following fillup the five-spot pattern consists of a water-invaded pattern with the remainder of the pattern containing only oil and connate water. In the paper, Eq. 18 is used to calculate the water injection rate at fillup. This equation considers that the entire pattern is invaded by water. To properly consider both the incomplete areal sweep of water and the water-oil mobility ratio, Eq. 18 should read:

Jan 1, 1969

By Charles C. Hawes

DETERMINATION OF SILICA OXIDE iron ores usually are found in intimate association with silica and phosphorus compounds. Their quantitative separation and purification sometimes present difficult problems to the chemist. Silicic acids may represent various degrees of dehydration. They are exeedingly weak, but combine with metallic oxides and form some of the most stable oxides in nature, the silicates. When iron ores are treated with hydrochloric acid, they yield practically all their iron. However, apart from rare exceptions, varying amounts of insoluble residues of silica, alumina, lime, magnesia and compounds of phosphorus, sulphur, titanium, chromium and others will be left. If the oxides of silicon, aluminum and titanium are present in small quantities, the insoluble residue is generally very small, but the presence of these oxides is more usual in larger quantities. Therefore, only a special treatment can break the bond between these elements. Ore Residues Acids remove the soluble constituent of the ore, leaving the insoluble residue, which chemically is rock or gangue and must be treated accordingly. Alkali carbonates are used frequently to break up the residue, but other fluxes have also been recommended, such as a number of lead and boron salts. The introduction 0f these salts, which offers certain advantages, requires, however, their removal before the other constituents can be analyzed, and this elimination is sometimes difficult. Usually in quantitative analysis silicates are dissociated by fusing them in a platinum crucible with sodium carbonate, thereby forming sodium silicate, Na2SiO3, sodium aluminate, Na2Al204, sodium titanate, Na2TiO3, and carbonates of other elements. All the carbonates are soluble in hydrochloric acid, but also some silicic acid is formed that must be rendered insoluble. To this end the solution is evaporated several times, as the first evaporation still leaves as much as 5 per cent of the silica soluble. Even after a number of evaporations, minute quantities of silica may be found with the iron and alumina present. Perchloric Acid as an Agent for Dehydrating Silicic Acid Perchloric acid, HC104, (60 per cent), has been used for years as a solvent, but few chemists have used it to dehydrate silica. It is derived from anhydrous perchloric C1207, which is most unstable and dangerous. Perchloric acid is a strong oxidizing agent, which boils at 203°C. It is more effective in rendering silica insoluble than any other known agent, and most rapid in action. After perchloric acid is added to a mixture containing silicic acid, the resultant solution is

Jan 1, 1945

By Charles C. Hawes

DETERMINATION OF SILICA OXIDE iron ores usually are found in intimate association with silica and phosphorus compounds. Their quantitative separation and purification sometimes present difficult problems to the chemist. Silicic acids may represent various degrees of dehydration. They are exceedingly weak, but combine with metallic acids and form some of the most stable oxides in nature, the silicates. When iron ores are treated with hydrochloric acid, they yield practically all their iron. However, apart from rare exceptions, varying amounts of insoluble residues of silica, alumina, lime, magnesia and compounds of phosphorus, sulphur, titanium, chromium and others will be left. If the oxides of silicon, aluminum and titanium are present in small quantities, the insoluble residue is generally very small, but the presence of these oxides more usual in larger quantities. Therefore, only a special treatment can break the bond between these elements. Ore Residues Acids remove the soluble constituent of the ore, leaving the insoluble residue, which chemically is rock or gangue and must be treated accordingly. Alkali carbonates are used frequently to break up the residue, but other fluxes have also been recommended, such as a number of lead and boron salts. The introduction of these salts, which offers certain advantages, requires, however, their removal before the other constituents can be analyzed, and this elimination is sometimes difficult. Usually in quantitative analysis silicates are dissociated by fusing them in a platinum crucible with sodium carbonate, thereby forming sodium silicate, Na2SiO3, sodium aluminate, Na2A1204, sodium titanate, Na2TiOs, and carbonates of other elements. All the carbonates are soluble in hydrochloric acid, but also some silicic acid is formed that must be rendered insoluble. To this end the solution is evaporated several times, as the first evaporation still leaves as much as 5 per cent of the silica soluble. Even after a number of evaporations, minute quantities of silica may be found with the iron and alumina present. Perchloric Acid as an Agent for Dehydrating Silicic Acid Perchloric acid, HCI04, (60 per cent), has been used for years as a solvent, but few chemists have used it to dehydrate silica. It is derived from anhydrous perchloric C1207, which is most unstable and dangerous. Perchloric acid is a strong oxidizing agent, which boils at 203°C. It is more effective in rendering silica insoluble than any other known agent, and most rapid in action. After perchloric acid is added to a mixture containing silicic acid, the resultant solution is

Jan 1, 1945

By Cyril Stanley Smith

ARCHEOLOGISTS, by use of the terms Bronze Age and Iron Age, indicate that metals have in the past determined the character of civilization. The relatively simple discovery by a primitive metallurgist that the addition of tin to copper both facilitated the production of castings and increased the durability of the product enabled hunter, warrior, and housewife alike to do things never dreamed of before. Similarly, the smelting of iron and the discovery of hardening methods greatly changed the arts of peace and war. Discoveries of low-melting-point alloys for joining and for making household utensils, and perhaps the adornment of a feminine form by sparkling precious-metal jewelry, have at times changed the destiny of a country. Bronze cannon, the cast and wrought iron Watt engine, copper transmission lines, and aluminum alloy aircraft, are cases of particular metals making possible the realization of an improved engineering design. Perhaps of the greatest influence of all upon civilization was the development of type metal. The rapid increase in the rate of dissemination of knowledge dates from the day that the technique of the pewterer was utilized in making rapidly reproducible and accurately sized letters for printing. It was not movable type, but metal type that was important, for metal castings could be made of identically the same shape and size at an enormous rate, and possessed excellent inking and wearing characteristics.

Jan 1, 1946

By M. R. Geer, H. F. Yancey

0. R. LYONS*—I know that we are all interested in hearing about problems that other people have. To most of the people from the eastern part of the United States, this kind of coal preparation is completely different. It represents washing difficulties that most operators have never experienced, or, if they have, they have refused to consider them because there are coals that are much easier to wash and, therefore. they leave the more difficult ones alone for the time being. E. R. McMILLAN†—I think the au-thors have summarized the material very well. Dr. Yancey has spent a great many years in the study of washing coals, as has Mr. Geer. I might comment briefly on some of the plants that were mentioned, plants with which I have had some con-nection, particularly those of our own company, the Northwestern Improve-ment Co. I would like to point out this: that ill each case, a great deal of work was done in the way of preliminary studies of washability of the coal before plants were built. The first plant of any size built in Roslyn field was mentioned in the paper. This central cleaning plant was designed and built to handle coal from three different mines. I might say that prior to 1935, the year in which the plant was built, the coal was used largely as railway fuel, close to a million tons annually. But as mining increased in depth, it became increasingly difficult to separate and gob much of the impurities underground, with the result that the run-of-mine coal became so high in ash that the railroad eventually was forced to consider installing some kind of preparation plant at the mine. We spent about a year in preliminary studies in cooperation with the Bureau of Mines to find out the best type of plant that would clean the coal. The result, as Mr. Geer has explained to you, is a rather complicated plant, but it is doing a very satisfactory job. We have, however, made a number of changes and improve-n~euts since it was first built. The last addition was the, installation of a cen- trifugal drier to dewater the minus ¼ in. size. We are now contemplating installing heat driers for further drying of minus ¼ in. We use Vissac heat driers for drying the stoker coal, the ¾ to in. The demand for drier coal, for both railway and industrial use, is forcing us to further drying of the coal. The plant that was mentioned as having been built in Pierce County, during the war, was a government sponsored plant. I happen to have had some connection with its design, construction and initial operation. We did what we thought then, and still think, was a very thorough job of preliminary studies in cooperation with the Burea of Mines of the coal from that field. The plant was as good a plant as could be built with the equipment available at that time, 1943. The plant that was mentioned as having been built at Ravensdale for treating the McKay coal was rebuilt about two years ago, and in addition to the modified Elmore jig washer that was mentioned. we added a coucentrating table for re-cleaning the minus 3/32 in. Our object there was to produce a commercial

Jan 1, 1950

By Will Mitchell, Ford F. Miskell, C. L. Sollenberger

THE taconites in general are hard, tough ores, difficult to grind. Liberation of iron mineral constituents usually is accomplished by grinding the ore through at least 100 mesh, and often it has been found necessary to grind substantially through 325 mesh to achieve satisfactory recovery and grade in the concentration process. Because of the fineness of grind required and the enormous tonnages of material contemplated for treatment in the future, costs resulting from grinding media wear and power consumption, together with capital investment required for comminution, approach astronomical figures. Economy in any one of these elements per ton of material ground could very well reflect a considerable saving to the ferrous industry in yearly costs. With this in mind, the Research Laboratories of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. have launched a program to discover means of effecting this economy. The initial phase of the work as described here deals with a heat treatment of crushed raw ore, followed by thermal shock in cooling, for the preparation of rod mill feed. Several investigators 1-5 have noted an improvement in the grindabilities of ores treated in this manner. One investigator2 subjected low grade iron ores to heat treatment in an electric furnace. Basing his conclusions on screen analyses of crushed products, he observed that treated ore was more easily crushed than the untreated. He reported that observation of the treated and untreated ore through a microscope revealed cracks following the grain boundaries in treated ore, whereas no cracks were present in untreated ore. However, few if any have quantified the improvement in terms of total hp hours saved, reduction of wear of grinding media, or reduction of capital costs of grinding equipment involved. By means of Bond rod mill and ball mill grindabilities6 and by comparative wear tests, the conditions maintained during this investigation have been definitely evaluated. Heat treatment experiments have been made on a batch scale in a muffle furnace, followed by continuous scale experiments in a rotary kiln under various conditions of temperature, atmosphere, retention time, and quenching to determine the combination that would give the greatest improvement in the grindability of a taconite without affecting adversely the magnetic susceptibility of the magnetite. From these data, relative costs have been calculated for grinding both untreated and heat treated ore on a basis of plant capacity of 120 tons per hour. Heat requirements for a rotary kiln, as well as the kiln capacity required for the treatment, have been estimated. For these tests 50 tons of ore were obtained from the Aurora mine of the Erie Mining Co., Hibbing, Minn. The ore was reported' to have been selected from the magnetic portion of the lower chert horizons. An average chemical analysis of this portion is shown in Table I and an approximate mineralogical analysis is shown in Table II. No attempt was made to differentiate between the various silicates because the compositions vary widely on the different horizons and depend on the degree of oxidation. Minnesotite, however, is the predominant silicate. The siderite grains were dispersed throughout the ore but were essentially associated with the rock-forming minerals. In a series of preliminary tests in which batches of -6 mesh ore were heat-treated in a muffle fur-

Jan 1, 1952

By H. Evans, L. A. Hunt

In the pellet-producing industry it is sometimes claimed that "The pellets are made in the concentrator," or that "The key to good pellets is in the balling operation." However, one claim is generally agreed on: If you can put in, on, and through the indurating furnace a good green ball of Proper size and adequate strength to withstand the handling, load, dehydration, and thermal shock until it is properly heat-hardened, you will have the pellet product you desire-that is, a "competent" green ball. The strength requirements that enable a competent green ball to withstand the environment of the indurating furnace are usually less restrictive than those for transporting the green ball from its source of production to the furnace. Experience has shown that different types of material may have different balling characteristics which may impose limitations on the quality of the green ball that can easily be produced under normal conditions. Therefore, if a specific material will produce a green ball that meets the physical requirements for competency in the furnace, but not for handling or transportation, various practices must be instituted to overcome this deficiency. In other words, if a normal handling system is too rigorous for the green balls that can be produced under standard conditions, then "handling with care" should be tried.

Jan 5, 1967

By AIME AIME

T HE Mining Methods Committee held its initial meeting* on Tuesday afternoon, with F. W. Bradley in the chair and W. Y. Westervelt as vice- chairman. The first paper to be presented was "A Plea for a U. S. Court of Patent Appeals," for which Kenneth W. Greenawalt ably pleaded. The paper (which was published in full in last month's issue) is so carefully prepared that no synopsis can do it justice. It discusses the opposed views of some patent lawyers and other lawyers and members of the judiciary as, for example, Chief Justice Taft who is quoted as saying in 1921: "I think it is a great deal better to take a first class lawyer and a first-class judge and make him a good patent expert than it is to take a patent expert and try to make him a first-class lawyer and a good judge." Mr. Greenawalt argued the need for specialized scientific and engineering interest and understanding to enable a lawyer or judge to prepare or interpret patent specifications and decide the originality necessary for a valid invention. He proposed the special U. S. Court of Patent Appeals to also counteract the costly confusion and injustice now ruling where a patent may be declared valid in the courts of certain States and invalid by the courts of other States.

Jan 1, 1930

By Hugo L. Johnson, Robert Wallace

THE Midvale plant of the United States Smelting Refining and Mining Company consists of a flotation mill for concentrating sulphide ores of lead and zinc by differential flotation to produce three separate concentrates, one of lead, one of zinc, and one of iron pyrite; and a lead smelter for smelting ores and concentrates to produce base lead bullion, The plant, including its shops, laboratories, office, railroad yards which serve both mill and smelter, and areas reserved for tailing ponds and slag dumps, covers 646 acres on the right bank of the Jordan River at Midvale, Utah. It is twelve miles south of Salt Lake City and sixteen miles east of the West Mountain mining district at Bingham Canyon from which is drawn a large part of its ore supply. Custom ores are treated as well as the product of Company mines.

Jan 1, 1948