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By F. L. Bosqui

A. L. BlomFIeld, Denver, Col. (communication to the Secretary.*) — Mr. Caldecott says on p. 67: "The Dorr thickener shown, while a useful device when crushing with cyanide solution for removing surplus solution from slime pulp prior to air-lift agitation or vacuum filtration, is not adapted to effect as complete a separation of water from settled slime as the ordinary intermittent settlement and decantation." This statement might have passed muster in this country several years ago when. the Dorr thickener was a new device, but its use in hundreds of mills in the United States has demonstrated that as thick a product is being discharged from it as was obtained from the intermittent settling which it has supplanted. • It is interesting to note that recent investigation, especially the work of 11. 6. Coe and G. H. Cleveilger,' in the March Bulletin of the Institute, under the title: Laboratory Method for Determining the Capacities of Slime Settling Tanks, has developed the general theory of settlement and explains the results obtained in practice. Just as free settlement is a function of surface area, so thickening after the zone of free settlement is passed is a function of time. The time required is obtained by the capacity or volume provided in the settler for this thickening zone. Each pulp is a problem in itself, both in regard to free settlement and to time required to reach a commercially finished thickness. Some pulps require 48 hr. and more to reach a density of 40 per cent. solids; others no coarser to the screen test reach a density of 65 per cent.' solids in a fraction of that time. In thickening any pulp a point is reached where the increase in density is so slow as to be commercially unprofitable. When any part of the pulp has reached this point it should pass on for treatment—its place in the thickener should be occupied by pulp which has not yet reached the commercial limit. By doing this the whole volume of the settling tank is kept in active use. Thus the continuous thickener keeps the whole tank at work to its commercial limit, while the intermittent settler has much of its volume occupied at times by pulp which is either quite finished thickening or at least thickened past the commercial point. The mechanical efficiency of the continuous thickener can be the only argument for limiting this statement. In my own experience I have never

Jan 1, 1916

By Edwin Ludlow

To THE members of the American Institute of Mining and? Metallurgical Engineers who were fortunate enough to be able to attend the Fiftieth Anniversary at Wilkes-Barre, it was brought home that commercial anthracite requires not only expensive mining but that the milling or preparation of it is also a costly operation, requiring very large capital expenditures and high maintenance and labor costs. The great trouble that coal men meet in discussions of coal problems today is the difficulty the average coal user, especially in the East, finds in distinguishing between anthracite and bituminous coals. They are two entirely separate problems and yet the people who are burning coal complain bitterly of the high cost of anthracite and quote the figures furnished in regard to the prices of bituminous coal and feel that the anthracite operators are making an excessive profit, without realizing the enormous difference in the cost of production in the two fields. The great difference that can be marked is that in this year of industrial depression the prices of anthracite have been not only maintained but have increased during the summer, while the price of bituminous coal has been continually dropping since the first of the year, and yet the same law of supply and demand governs both anthracite and bituminous. In order to understand the situation the two problems must be considered from their separate points of view.

Jan 1, 1921

New York Meets first Wednesday after first Tuesday of each month. DAVID H.-BROWNE, Chairman, JOHN H. JANEWAY, Vice-Chairman. F. E. PIERCE, Secretary, 35 Nassau St., New York, N. Y. P. A. MOSMAN, Treasurer. LEWIS W. FRANCIS. Boston Meets first Monday of each winter month. HENRY L. SMYTH, Chairman. . ALFRED C. LANE, Vice-Chairman. HENRY A. WENTWORTH, Secretary-Treasurer, 60 India St., Boston, Mass. ROBERT H. RICHARDS, ALBERT SAUVEUR. Columbia Holds four sessions during year. Annual meeting in September or October. FRANK A. ROSS, Chairman. RUSH J. WHITE, Vice-Chairman. LYNDON K. ARMSTRONG, Secretary-Treasurer, P O. Drawer 2154, Spokane, Wash. FREDERIC KEFFER, FRANCIS A. THOMSON.

Jan 11, 1915

By Arthur T. Ward

DESPITE the intense preoccupation of most of those members connected with the mining, concentration, and reduction of iron ores, the luncheon and subsequent technical session of the Eastern Magnetite Committee were exceedingly well attended. Many of the older faces were absent, but new ones took their places. More than sixty, all told, took in the technical session. Chairman Crockett opened the session by calling upon Meredith E. Johnson, whose paper, with its accompanying graph, was in reality a comprehensive historical review of iron mining from colonial days to the end of 1941. with some notes on current expansion which indicates that New Jersey is destined to become a still more important. factor in the production of magnetite ores.

Jan 1, 1942

AVING started to tell you of working potter's clay for making crucibles and shells, the wish came to me to tell you of the practice of this art also. Although it may seem at first glance to be outside the order and purpose of my writing, he who considers well will see that it is not unrelated to it but proper, since it is wholly dependent on the agency and power of fire if it is to be brought to its perfection. Moreover, the potter's glazes and colors are all substances of various metals or impure minerals and therefore belong to fire. Since it is my intention to treat of fire, minerals, and metals for you, I surely should not have omitted this, particularly because it is a necessary art which enriches and is greatly praised both for its ingenuity and its beauty. The art of the potter has two sources as its principal basis. One comes from the art of design, the other from various alchemical secrets and elemental mixtures. In regard to these, I find that, in my opinion, all this art depends in the last analysis on four things: on good judgment in general, and on the art of design so as to be able to make the vessels beautiful and of good shape, as well as to ornament them with painting; after baking them well the first and second times, the next thing is to know how to make and apply the glaze well and to paint them with varied and appropriate colors. The fourth is to see that you have good, fine clay without small stones or lumps-indeed this is to be considered as the first thing. Now this that I have called clay is what many call cretaceous earth and some call argil. It is found and dug up when the masters wish to make use of it and is put in a container to be moistened. When it is moistened, it is beaten on a bench with an iron rod and very well prepared. Mixing it carefully, every small stone, lump, or other hardness that it contains is removed and cleaned away. Then a shaft [145V] of iron is fitted as the journal in a large wheel. On the other end of the journal a small wheel is made which forms an instrument for working that is called a lathe. Having put some clay on this, it is made to rotate by pushing with one foot, and, by rotating it, vessels are worked into a pleasing shape and size. Then they are taken off and put on a board to dry. After drying artificially or naturally they are painted red,

Jan 1, 1942

HeRbeRT Haas,—(communication to the Secretary*).—Fig. I plainly shows that the comparison of the steam-turbine and Diesel-engine plants was made on a basis of 6,000 kw. continuous operating load. The tabulation of costs for an 8,000-kw. load is merely done to show the relation of increased output on the unit power costs. Both plants would sacrifice their reserve capacity, which is to insure continuous operation, if operated to generate 8,000 kw. continuously; unless Mr. Hawkins advocates the operation of one of the turbines at 33.33 per cent. overload, retaining the other as a standby, which, besides overtaxing the turbine, results in a great loss of efficiency. It would be well for Mr. Hawkins to qualify certain of his statements. Thus, under the caption "Diesel Engines, Selection of Units," he says that '(two of the largest Diesel-engine builders take the position that, in the present state of the art, they would not attempt to put out units over 1,000 kw.;" he should qualify it by saying that "two of the largest American Diesel-engine builders take the position that, in the present state of the art in the United States, they would not attempt to put out units over 1,000 kw." The reason that American manufacturers restrict themselves at present to units of that size is to be found not so much in a lack of experience in building large units as in a lack of a sufficient demand for them in the United States to justify the heavy capital outlay connected with the development of such engines. There are relatively few localities in the United States where fuel prices are as high as they are in the South-, west, and regions of high fuel prices are sparsely settled and have a very limited demand for power. Where low fuel prices obtain, steam turbines are active competitors of Diesel engines for large power plants, particularly when the station load factor is low. As most of the American manufacturers of Diesel engines work under license agreements with European manufacturers, which limit their market to the United States and its possessions and Canada, a further limitation is imposed upon them, leaving to European firms practically the entire world as a market. The greater number of power plants range in size from 300 to 1,000 hp.; the average size of the central station, on a basis of all central stations in the United States, not greatly exceeding 500 kw.; in these sizes it is hard for steam engines to compete with Diesel engines, unless fuol oil prices are excessively high, and coal prices very low, or the exhaust steam is used for heating purposes.

Jan 1, 1917

Jan 1, 1944

By Rossiter TV. RAYMOND, Charles H. Snow, THEODORE DWIGHT

SECRETARY'S NOTE.-The complete list of all officers of the Institute will be found on p. iv. of this number of the Bulletin. The following explanation may recall to old members, and convey to new ones, the relations of the two governing bodies, as determined by the, Certificate of Incorporation of the Institute, and the Constitution and By-Laws adopted in accordance therewith. The body legally responsible for the business management is the Board of nine Directors (three elected annually to serve three years), which elects its own officers. This body, for reasons of practical convenience, is composed of well-known members, residing in New York City, and able to attend, without serious inconvenience or expense, the necessary meetings of the Board. The officers of this Board are legally the officers of the Institute. But, apart from business manage-ment, the Board exercises no control over the election of members, or the professional and technical work of the Institute, except that its vote is required to elect honorary members, upon the recommendation of the Council. The Council is a. body, constituted in all respects (except that it has no Treasurer) like the Council existing before the incorporation of the Institute, in January, 1905, and charged with all duties and powers, except those which the Board of Directors must legally perform. It elects members, appoints the times and places of professional meetings, and controls the publication and distribution of papers and volumes, etc. Its members (President, Vice-Presidents and Councilors) are elected by the members of the Institute, voting in person or by proxy, and after publication of the nominations received ; and it is intended to repre¬sent, as far as practicable, both the professional and the geographical distribution of the membership. Consequently, whatever professional honor attaches to official position belongs to membership in the Council, rather than in the legal Board of Directors. This remark implies no disparagement of the members of the latter body, every one of whom has served, or is now serving, as a member of the Council. But it is only fair to explain that their election and continued re-election as Directors is simply a matter of legal convenience.

Mar 1, 1906

Jan 1, 1944

By AIME

To be born in the East, reared and educated in the West, to do graduate work in Germany, leading to the doctorate in metallurgy, and to wind up-for the time being at least-in the Middle West as head of one of the outstanding mining and engineering schools of the country, is a unique career. Curtis Laws Wilson, dean (and in most respects, president) of Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy at Rolla, is a native of Baltimore. He came to Anaconda in 1918 and in due course was graduated from Montana School of Mines, with an exceptional record. In 1921, after experience in metallurgical research at Anaconda, he became instructor in metallurgy at his alma mater. Because of his ability as a teacher, he rose rapidly to head of the department after special work at Columbia in 1923-24. In 1927, Wilson was granted leave of absence to study physical metallurgy under the great Tammen at Goettingen, and returned with his doctorate to his work at Montana School of Mines. His major metallurgical interest was then in age-hardening of copper alloys. Also after his return to Montana Mines, Wilson started

Jan 1, 1948

By Charles R. Keyes

Continued discussion of the paper of Charles R. Keyes, Trans., xxxix., pp. 139 to 169, 850 to 856, and Bulletin Ho. 34, October, 1909, pp. 945 to 947. CHARLES R. KEYES, Des Moines, Iowa (communication to the Secretary*):-It is with pleasure that I acknowledge the value and interest of the historical notes on early mining at Lake Valley, contributed by Messrs. MacDonald and Courtis. In my own paper there was no attempt to enter into this phase of the subject; partly for reason that the intention was to take up this in detail in another connection, partly because there was not space enough to. devote to it in a brief geologic paper, and partly on account of the fact that the strictly mining features are quite distinct from the purely geologic characteristics. As may be inferred from its perusal, the brief historical paragraph prefacing my paper was in reality geologic in its bearing. The events referred to therein relate to the published information concerning the geologic structure. The personages principally mentioned were noted merely to show how the names of several of our most distinguished scientists came to be closely associated with that of Lake Valley. Far from my intentions was it to slight the memory of any , of that brave band who, with lives in their hands, took so active a part in the early development of the mines. The value of their records is perhaps much greater than that of any published notes. The narratives of Messrs. MacDonald and Courtis are as thrilling as many other experiences related of that time and place. Few of us at the present time can appreciate the dangers of that early day, when the fierce Apache all but swept the. white man from that part of the country, when renegades from Texas overran the land, and when the outlaws of the nations took their last stand before advancing civilization. In marked contrast do we to-day reach Lake Valley by means of the 11 iron horse"; and out of a luxurious Pullman

Apr 1, 1910

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Jan 1, 1938

By Allen H. Rogers

It has always seemed to me that there is a certain similarity between the work of the mining engineer and that of the doctor of medicine — each has very often to be governed in his actions by conditions which he cannot see. It is not necessary to detail the unseen conditions with which the mining engineer or geologist has to deal—the further extension of ore-bodies, the existence of new ones, the throw of a fault, the probable change in grade' or character of the ore with advance of the workings, are a few of the conditions which the mining engineer has to determine as well as he can from the deductions he is able to make from what he can observe. Just so the physician is often confronted with conditions that he can not observe. Probably less than half of human ills make a manifestation at the surface of the body from which definite and certain conclusions can be drawn. The diagnostician must observe various things and, from these observations in combination, conclude what his course should he to bring about the cure of the trouble. Both professions would be assisted immensely by any agency that would permit them to look below the surface, something that would make more certain the diagnosis which each is called upon to make. The physician has had such an agency since 1895, when Röntgen discovered the X-ray; which, by making possible shadowgraphs of the osseous portion of the human body, advanced immensely the diagnosis of bone lesions Later, with improvement in the technique and more understanding in the interpretation of what the photographic plate shows, other portions of the human anatomy could be examined and at the present time there is hardly an instance of internal disorder to which the aid of the X-ray is not called. Some organs are made opaque by administering mineral substances; in other cases, conclusions are drawn from barely perceptible shadows on the photographic plate. Generally the surgeon's knife is directcd with exactitude to the seat of the trouble and so not only is the difficulty revealed but the necessity for an exploratory operation is averted. What the X-ray is to medicine and surgery, geophysical prospecting methods are to the mineral industry. They give the mining engineer and geologist information regarding subsurface conditions which otherwise

Jan 1, 1929

By Ikuya Takase

INTRODUCTION Since the occurrence of the first oil crisis, coun-tries of the world, especially oil-importing countries have made sustained and vigorous efforts to lessen the dependency on oil as a source of energy supply. The adoption of "Principles of Coal Policy" by the IEA Ministerial Governing Board Meeting in May, 1979 was the first formal action taken by major energy consuming countries. At the Venice Summit in June, 1980, it was agreed that production and use of coal should be doubled over the next ten years. In fact, the world coal use in 1980 showed around a 10 percent increase over the previous year. Recently, we have seen an indication that the balance of oil supply and demand in the short term have eased. But I believe that it remains vital that we continue to encourage the development and introduction of alternative energy sources. Because, from the medium and long range viewpoint the recovery of the worldwide economy will lead us to increased oil requirements and thus we will be faced with the cyclical, structural tightening situation between the supply and demand of oil. Moreover, we are still convinced that the constraint of the supply capabilities of the Middle-East nations may be increasing in the long-term, since there still remains political uncertainties among these nations. Consequently, above all, coal is viewed as an alternative energy resource available for immediate expansion of use and is given as high a priority as nuclear power. In Japan, we regard coal as the most reliable alternative energy resource to replace oil. According to the "Alternative Energy Supply Targets" approved by the Cabinet in November, 1980, the level of coal imports is estimated to approximately double by 1990, while our domestic coal production will remain nearly at the same level. The transition from oil to coal is found in the recent import levels of coal---73 mil¬lion tons in 1980, a 23 percent increase over the 59 million tons imported in 1979. There was an upsurge in steaming coal imports, reflecting the transition in feedstocks---7.2 million tons in 1980, four times over the previous year's amount. Henceforth, from the medium to long range view, the demand for coal, especially that of steaming coal is forecast to continue to grow. The timely expansion of supply capabilities is our utmost concern and should be one of the most significant goals of our comprehensive policy. The Overseas Coal Investigative Committee, a privately organized advisory panel to the Director-General of the Natural Resources and Energy Agency of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), investigated means to secure a stable supply of overseas coal. The panel presented its interim proposals in August, 1981, recommending the diversification of coal import sources, extensive use of low rank coal, as well as enhanced international cooperation between coal producing and importing countries. THE CONTENTS OF THE COMMITTEE'S REPORT Four Points for Major Consideration In order to ensure a stable supply of overseas coal, Japan needs adequate policy measures consistent with the characteristics of coal resources and environmental requirements, giving consideration to Japan's status and the role she is expected to play in the areas. From the above, great importance should be attached to the following four points: All the components of the "Coal Chain" (Namely, the development of mine sites, construction of railroads, port loading facilities, coal shipping vessels, port receiving facilities, including coal centers and international transport facilities etc.) should be reviewed and reformed with steps taken to assure efficiency consistent with the entire coal chain system. The complete formation of a coal chain system requires such lengthy lead times and huge amounts of investment that necessary measures should be undertaken well in advance utilizing long-range projections of future demands and various economic surveys. Policy planning should be conducted taking into account of harmonizing stability and economics of the supply structure. For ensuring the long-term stability and expansion of the coal trade, international cooperation on a bilateral and multi-national basis should be encouraged. Mutual understanding and close relationships are essential to facilitate the formation of the supply system and to promote the extensive use of coal. Direction and Problems Related to Supply Stability Expansion of Supply Capabilities. World coal imports in 1979 amounted to 229 million tons, of which Japan's share amounted to 59 million tons, or one fourth of the entire amount. The imports of European and Asian countries accounted for 83 million tons and 7 million tons respectively. According to the examination of the Investigative Committee, Japan's coal requirement is estimated to be between 140-150 million tons by 1990, nearly the same level as announced in the Provisional Long-Term Energy Supply and Demand Outlook in 1979. This fore¬cast is-to be revised in April, 1982. Japan's demand is expected to be met through fiscal 1985; however, by 1990, the supply is estimated to fall short of demand, particulary, in the field of steaming coal. For the expansion of supply capability, first, mine development should be accelerated. The proposed

Jan 1, 1982

By Lewis T. Wright

(Pittsburg Meeting, March, 1910.) I HAVE long been aware that ferruginous copper furnace slags if fused in the electric arc will yield metallic iron containing copper, and in order to confirm this knowledge, and to obtain further information of the behavior of such slags in the high temperature and reducing conditions of the electric furnace, a number of samples of slag were fused in an experimental electric furnace. The results obtained, given in Table I., show that a very large amount of metallic iron was produced, and that this iron carried with it practically all the copper, gold, and silver, and more than 50 per cent. of the sulphur, of the original slag. The metallic buttons formed in the electric furnace were clean, hard, but not brittle.

Mar 1, 1910

By Olin G. Bell

At the beginning of the year 1935 the older fields in Southwest Texas, and particularly those discovered during 1934, had been practically delimited and only normal development continued. As a result, operations in this area were somewhat slowed down. Shortly after the first of the year, however, activity in the area was greatly accelerated, due largely to the fact that the Loma Novio field, discovered during the last few days of 1934, indicated the presence of a new productive trend east of and parallel to the Government Wells field and also indicated the presence of a new productive horizon, the Loma Novio sand, approximately 100 ft. lower than the Government Wells sand zone. Other discoveries during the year greatly augmented the activity in the district. During the year there were 651 oil wells, 53 gas wells and 275 dry holes drilled in this area during the year. Most of the operations were in the Government Wells, Cole, Loma Novio, Seven Sisters and Lopez fields. New Fields Four new fields were discovered during 1935 as follows: Seven Sisters and Piedra de Lumbre in Duval County; Loma Alto in McMullen County; and Lopez in Webb County. Seven Sisters Field.—The Seven Sisters field, opened in May, was the direct result of a systematic search for new productive areas northeast of the Loma Novio field. The first producer, Harvey & Henderson NO. 1 Chernosky, survey 226, was completed in the Labbe (Chernosky) sand at 2220 ft. However, the second producer, Santa Clara Oil Co. No. 1 Welder in survey 385, drilled about one mile south of the discovery well, failed to find production in the Labbé sand and was carried on down and completed in the Government Wells sand at 2473 ft. with an initial production of 20 bbl. of oil per hour. These two discoveries, in the Labbé and Government Wells sand, started an active leasing and drilling campaign in this part of Duval County and drilling operations continued especially active throughout the remainder of the year.

Jan 1, 1936

By Olin G. Bell

At the beginning of the year 1935 the older fields in Southwest Texas, and particularly those discovered during 1934, had been practically delimited and only normal development continued. As a result, operations in this area were somewhat slowed down. Shortly after the first of the year, however, activity in the area was greatly accelerated, due largely to the fact that the Loma Novio field, discovered during the last few days of 1934, indicated the presence of a new productive trend east of and parallel to the Government Wells field and also indicated the presence of a new productive horizon, the Loma Novio sand, approximately 100 ft. lower than the Government Wells sand zone. Other discoveries during the year greatly augmented the activity in the district. During the year there were 651 oil wells, 53 gas wells and 275 dry holes drilled in this area during the year. Most of the operations were in the Government Wells, Cole, Loma Novio, Seven Sisters and Lopez fields. New Fields Four new fields were discovered during 1935 as follows: Seven Sisters and Piedra de Lumbre in Duval County; Loma Alto in McMullen County; and Lopez in Webb County. Seven Sisters Field.—The Seven Sisters field, opened in May, was the direct result of a systematic search for new productive areas northeast of the Loma Novio field. The first producer, Harvey & Henderson NO. 1 Chernosky, survey 226, was completed in the Labbe (Chernosky) sand at 2220 ft. However, the second producer, Santa Clara Oil Co. No. 1 Welder in survey 385, drilled about one mile south of the discovery well, failed to find production in the Labbé sand and was carried on down and completed in the Government Wells sand at 2473 ft. with an initial production of 20 bbl. of oil per hour. These two discoveries, in the Labbé and Government Wells sand, started an active leasing and drilling campaign in this part of Duval County and drilling operations continued especially active throughout the remainder of the year.

Jan 1, 1936

By D. C. Hilty

It has long been known that in melting high-chromium steels, some of the carbon might be oxidized out of the melt without excessive simultaneous oxidation of chromium, and that higher temperatures favor retention of chromium. The advent of oxygen injection as a tool for rapid decarburization of a steel bath permits significantly higher bath temperatures, and it was quickly recognized that the use of oxygen injection facilitated the oxidation of carbon to low levels in the presence of relatively high residual chromium contents. Up to the present time, however, specific data pertaining to the chro-mium-carbon-temperature relations in chromium steel refining have not been available. Individual steelmakers have evolved practices more or less empirically, but there has been very little real basis for predicting how effective any given practice can be in permitting maximum oxidation of carbon with minimum loss of chromium. The current investigation, therefore, was undertaken in an effort to establish the fundamental carbon-chromium relationship in molten iron under oxidizing conditions. As reported below, the equilibrium constant and the influence of temperature on that constant have been derived for the iron-chromium-carbon-oxygen reaction in the range of chromium steel compositions with what appears to be a fair degree of precision. The practical application of the result will be obvious. Experimental Procedure The laboratory investigation was carried out on chromium steel heats melted in a magnesia crucible in a 100-lb capacity induction furnace at the Union Carbide and Carbon Re- search Laboratories. The charges for the heats consisted of Armco iron, low-carbon chromium metal, and high-carbon chromium metal, the relative proportions of which were calculated so that the various heats would contain from approximately 0.06 pct carbon and 8 pct chromium to 0.40 pct carbon and 30 pct chromium at melt-down. When the charges were melted, the bath temperatures were raised to the desired level, and the heats were then decarburized by successive injections of oxygen at the slag-metal interface through a ½-in. diam silica tube at a pressure of 30 psi. The duration of the oxygen injections was from 30 sec to 2 min. at intervals of approximately 5 to 30 min. It did not appear that length or frequency of the injection periods had any significant effect on the results; cansequently, no effort was made to hold them constant and they were controlled only as was expedient to the general working of the heats. Between successive injections, the heats were sampled by means of a copper suction-tube sampler that yields a sound, rapidly-solidified sample representative of the composition of the molten metal at the temperature of sampling. This sampling device is a modification of the one described by Taylor and Chipman.1 An attempt was made to vary bath temperatures between samples, but it quickly became evident that, unless the variations were small or unless the new temperature was maintained for a minimum of 15 min. during which an injection of oxygen was made in order to accelerate the reactions, a very wide departure from equilibrium resulted. For most of the runs, therefore, temperature was maintained relatively constant at approximately 1750 or 1820°C. A few reliable observations at other temperatures, however, were obtained. Temperature Measurement The high temperatures involved in this investigation were measured by the radiation method, utilizing a Ray-O-Tube focused on the closed end of a refractory tube immersed in the metal bath. The immersion tubes employed were high-purity alumina tubes specially prepared by the Tona-wanda Laboratory of The Linde Air Products Co. These tubes were quite sturdy under reasonable mechanical stress at high temperature. They were unusually resistant to thermal shock, and chemical attack on them by the melts was slow. With care, it was found possible to keep these tubes continuously immersed in a heat for as long as 5 hr at temperatures up to 1850°C, before failure by fluxing occurred. The Ray-O-Tube—alumina tube assemblage was similar to those supplied commercially for lower temperature applications. In operation, the alumina tube was slowly immersed in the molten metal to a depth of approximately 5 in., and the device was then clamped solidly to a supporting jig where it remained for the duration of the run. A photograph of the equipment, in operation with Ray-O-Tube in place and oxygen injection in progress, is shown in Fig 1. When in position in a heat, the instrument was calibrated by means of an immersion thermocouple and an optical pyrometer. For calibration through the range of temperatures from 1500 to 1650°C, a platinum -platinum + 10 pct rhodium thermocouple in a silica tube was immersed alongside the alumina tube. Output of the Ray-O-Tube in millivolts and the

Jan 1, 1950

By Milton Glicken

THE airborne geophysicist is a busy man these days. In his plane he may have the airborne magnetometer, the airborne scintillation counter, and the airborne electromagnetic surveying system. Each of these is an independent tool, but all require additional auxiliary equipment for locating the aircraft in space: recording altimeters and Shoran or aerial cameras. Now there is still another piece of equipment, the airborne magnetic gradiometer, an accessory to the magnetometer. To understand its uses, consider the function of the magnetometer itself. Aside from detecting magnetic ore, the airborne magnetometer finds greatest use in spotting intrusions of igneous material. Where there is enough contrast in magnetic susceptibility of igneous rock and adjacent formations, it outlines the intrusion. Certain minerals also influence the magnetometer directly, but with the exception of magnetite and possibly one or two others, their effect is weak and can be detected only when there is sufficient ore and the magnetometer flight passes very close to it. An igneous intrusion of infinite depth with vertical sides is represented on a magnetometer record by an anomaly, as in Fig. 1. Amplitude of the high depends on susceptibility contrast of the igneous rock. Generally speaking, the edge of the intrusion lies below the point of inflection of the curve, and this point, where the curvature changes from positive to negative on the magnetometer profile, would be near A in Fig. 1, with a counterpart, of course, on the other side. Location of the contact is one of the principal objects of the survey, but finding the precise point is not always easy, as inspection of the curve near A will show. Mineralization is often found at the contact zones, as at B. Magnetic effects, if detected, may be small, as in B', and when superimposed on the anomaly due to the instrusion they are very difficult to discern and analyze. Furthermore, if these small fluctuations are to be perceived by the magnetometer the vertical scale should be large. This increases the slopes of the anomaly and makes detection of small deviations and inflection points even more difficult. The airborne magnetic gradiometer was designed to help overcome these difficulties. What it presents is the first derivative of the magnetometer record with respect to time, that is to say, the slope at any point. Fig. 2 represents an actual magnetometer record (solid line) with the corresponding gradiometer record (dashed line) superimposed. Both records read from right to left. Vertical lines on the original magnetometer record are automatic steps designed to keep the pen from going off scale. The slope of any curve is greatest at the point of inflection or point where the curvature changes sign, and this point is a maximum (or minimum) on the gradi- ometer. The chief advantage of the gradiometer is that maxima or minima are much easier to see and to locate precisely; hence an accurate location for the point of inflection can easily be found. Note that points C and D are more sharply defined than C and D'. Similarly the small fluctuations of the original record, so important to the interpreter, are far more clearly shown at E, F, and G, than on the original record at E', F', and G'. Though not necessarily highs and lows on the gradiometer, they do show up clearly what would take a painstaking analysis to detect on the original magnetometer record. Will the gradiometer have a particular configuration which indicates an orebody? Not necessarily. The total intensity curve, or original magnetometer record, can display an orebody in various ways, depending on dimensions, orientation, latitude, and composition, as well as on direction, flight height, and instrumental sensitivity of the traverse. Where the total intensity can take on so many different shapes the gradiometer must vary too. It is generally recognized that interpretation of total intensity magnetometer records requires an expert analysis; the gradiometer can be of considerable assistance to the expert but it does not replace him. Mechanism of the gradiometer is simple. A Leeds & Northrup recorder in the aircraft records the magnetic gradient simultaneously with the total intensity, which is on another recorder. Fiducial marks are put on both records simultaneously and the speed of the paper through the recorders is kept the same on both. This makes it possible to place one record over the other for direct comparison. In the laboratory the flights are positioned on a map. Maximum and minimum points on the gradiometer, which can then be posted on the map at their proper locations, may be expected to fall along a trend crossing the direction of flight. Trends should indicate the edge of an intrusion, or some other important features, and when superimposed on the total intensity contour map help greatly to locate the points of inflection, or line of zero curvature.

Jan 1, 1956

Map

Jan 1, 1943