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By A. E. Belton

The individual projections for large mines in the Pittsburgh coal seam in northern West Virginia are discussed with emphasis on roof control and ventilation requirements. All four mines use continuous miners with panel belts and rail for main line haulage. Both development and retreat-type mining are covered. There are a variety of mining projections being used currently in northern West Virginia. To discuss each would be impossible, so an arbitrary cross section has been selected in an attempt to indicate a fair degree of representation. Four mines, hereinafter referred to as Mines A, B, C and Dl will be discussed separately. The greater part of northern West Virginia coal production is mined from the Pittsburgh seam. This is the seam worked by all the mines discussed here. Although the coal bed outcrops at the eastern and southernmost points, these mines are all working in a depth ranging from 400 to 1400 ft below the surface. Some steep gracles have been encountered but are only considered local in nature; the overall average dip of the seam is 1 1/2 % northwest. In each of the operations the particular mining scheme used has proved advantageous, since they have been designed to satisfy particular equipment and/or physical condition requirements. So regardless whether such projections utilize a partial or full recovery principle, the productivity performances appear better than average. MINE A Full retreat is the basic mining approach for mine A, although current mining is primarily in the entry-driving stages to expand territory in preparation for pillar work. Only one section unit now on retreat. The average clean coal production at this mine is 7000 tons per day. Initially, a ripper-type miner was used for development at this mine. But with a rather weak roof overlying the coal bed and the greater horizontal span left at the top by a ripper machine, roof control became a critical problem. Even though roof bolts were used concurrently in the mining cycle for initial support, the majority of the roof in these entries

Jan 1, 1962

By Hans Lundberg

IN ORDER to comprehend the help and information that may be expected from electrical prospecting, it is necessary to have at least a general knowledge of the methods and principles involved in preparing and interpreting results obtained in the field. Electrical prospecting is rather complicated, both in theory and practice, and in order to make a brief description clear to the practical mining man it has been necessary to idealize and generalize the problems, at the risk of having such simplification criticized by the theoretical man. This simplification must not be misinterpreted as showing a lack of theoretical knowledge. FIG. 1.-FLOW OF CURRENT IN AND AROUND A CONDUCTING BODY. For its operation, electrical prospecting mainly depends on the fact that most metallic ores conduct an electric current much more readily than barren rocks. If an electric current flows through a block of ground within which a body of chalcopyrite is enclosed in country rock of schist, the current will find less resistance to its passage through the chalcopyrite than through the schist, even though the passage through the latter be much shorter. This is because the longer path through the chalcopyrite offers less resistance, owing to the superior electrical conductivity of the chalcopyrite (Fig. 1).

Jan 1, 1928

By T. J. Neil, C. B. Manula, O&apos

This paper describes a simulation model developed to analyze truck haulage problems as they are found in the open pit mining and construction industries. The model, using a computer, cycles trucks between their assigned loading and discharge points over a measured haulage route. Required parameters for model operation include the number and type of operating trucks and loading units, maximum truck acceleration and velocity, a realistic vehicular deceleration rate, and the ratio of ore to total material loaded at each origin. Equipment performance characteristics, system profile characteristics, and service time distributions are also included. Records are kept of all waiting times at the loading and discharge points and of any truck interference on the haulroads (moving queues), and a current journal of ore and waste production is maintained. In the pursuit of reduced truck haulage costs, management is confronted with three particular problems in truck and shovel mines. 1) What is the best assignment of trucks to shovels in the system? 2) If new equipment is needed, which new shovels and trucks will operate most effectively in the system? 3) Are any physical changes in the haulage layout warranted to increase productivity? For small open-pit mines the answers to these questions may be obvious. However, for larger operations complex problems are encountered with production and system configuration relationships usually being unknown. The mining simulator discussed here was developed to aid management in evaluating alternative pit-haulage schemes to reduce the risk involved in the selection and assignment of equipment in open-pit truck and shovel mining systems. There are two fundamental differences between this model and other truck haulage simulators: one is a difference of degree, the other a difference of kind. This model can simulate more complex systems than previous models by allowing transportation of material from multiple mine faces to multiple mine destinations and by being readily adaptable to a wide variety of mine layouts. The second difference that characterizes the model is the standard simulation of truck movements. This technique enables each vehicle to perform according to its mechanical capabilities and the physical profile of the haul road. Among the similarities between other truck haulage simulators and this model are the recognition of the probabilistic nature of certain service times in the system and the use of a digital computer to operate the model. The computer inherits the staggering computational and bookkeeping work loads and provides a means for compressing the time scale by allowing several days' operations to be simulated in a matter of minutes. DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM Basic aspects of the system analyzed here may be brought into focus by referring to Fig. 1, a schematic of the typical open pit truck-shovel operation programmed into the simulation model. A single stage materials handling scheme is employed to transport both ore and waste. Loaded trucks are directed to a crusher or stockpile if ore is being mined, while overburden is conveyed to a waste dump. Each shovel has a given number of assigned trucks and has two associated haulage routes, one for waste and one for ore. Up to 5 shovels and as many as 10 trucks per shovel (or a total of 50 trucks) can be operated in the model. Essentially the model, using a computer, cycles trucks between their assigned shovels and the proper discharge points over measured haulage routes. Required input parameters for model operation include the number of shifts to be simulated, operating time per shift, number and type of operating trucks and shovels, maximum truck acceleration and velocity, a realistic vehicular deceleration rate, and the ratio of ore to total material loaded at each shovel. Equipment performance characteristics, system profile characteristics, and service time distributions are

Jan 1, 1968

By L. Eaton, A. W. Last, J. L. Stevens

COPPER ore from Kennecott Copper's Ray mine, about 60 miles southeast of Phoenix, Ariz., is concentrated at the company's mill at Hayden, some 18 miles south of the mine. The Hayden mill is currently treating 16,000 tons of ore per day by flotation, using raconite, a crude butyl xanthate, as a collector for the sulfide copper minerals and lime as a pyrite depressant.1 The ore contains significant amounts of nonsulfide copper minerals, but recovery of these values has been low. The Hayden mill is now being modified to provide for treatment of future ores by leach- precipitation-flotation (L-P-F). This modification, costing about $5 million, is expected to reduce the loss of nonsulfide copper values and improve overall copper recovery by an additional 2 lb per ton of ore.

Jan 11, 1957

By W. K. Lewis, Lombard Squires, W. I. Thompson

The authors presented an article2† last year on colloidal properties of clay suspensions in which they attempted to sustain the position that the behavior of clay suspensions is due primarily to the mechanical interference of the platy particles, the nature and extent of the interference being profoundly influenced by the character of the surfaces of the particles, which in turn is determined primarily by the nature and amount of adsorbed foreign materials held on the surface of the particles by forces which are predominantly chemical in type. The following discussion is a continuation of that article to extend these same interpretative points of view to the behavior of clay gels. Insight into the mechanism of gelation is certainly of outstanding importance in the handling of drilling muds. In the former article it was suggested that the thin, flat plates that constitute the ultimate clay particles may build up aggregates by the overlapping of the ultimate plates face to face much longer and perhaps also much wider than the ultimate plates themselves, but not appreciably thicker. Exhaustive microscopic examinations of characteristic clays show no tendency for the larger particles, clearly visible under the microscope, to orient themselves in this way. It is true that the gelation of the clays is due primarily to the smallest particles, unresolvable other than by the ultramicroscope, so that the possibility of the deve1opment by them of an overlapping structure is not excluded. Furthermore, as one approaches the limit of resolving power of the microscope, the difficulty of observing accurately the shapes and relative positions of particles incresses excessively. However, in the absence of any observable tendency toward overlapping orientation of the large, visible particles, one hesitates to ascribe such a tendency to the smaller particles beyond the range of visibility. Should it develop that one must exclude the assumption of overlapping orientation, the explanations offered in the previous article are changed in only one respect; namely, one would now have to assume that the ultimate particles themselves have length, and probably also width, very large in comparison with their thickness.

Jan 1, 1936

By Lombard Squires, W. K. Lewis, W. I. Thompson

The authors presented an article2† last year on colloidal properties of clay suspensions in which they attempted to sustain the position that the behavior of clay suspensions is due primarily to the mechanical interference of the platy particles, the nature and extent of the interference being profoundly influenced by the character of the surfaces of the particles, which in turn is determined primarily by the nature and amount of adsorbed foreign materials held on the surface of the particles by forces which are predominantly chemical in type. The following discussion is a continuation of that article to extend these same interpretative points of view to the behavior of clay gels. Insight into the mechanism of gelation is certainly of outstanding importance in the handling of drilling muds. In the former article it was suggested that the thin, flat plates that constitute the ultimate clay particles may build up aggregates by the overlapping of the ultimate plates face to face much longer and perhaps also much wider than the ultimate plates themselves, but not appreciably thicker. Exhaustive microscopic examinations of characteristic clays show no tendency for the larger particles, clearly visible under the microscope, to orient themselves in this way. It is true that the gelation of the clays is due primarily to the smallest particles, unresolvable other than by the ultramicroscope, so that the possibility of the deve1opment by them of an overlapping structure is not excluded. Furthermore, as one approaches the limit of resolving power of the microscope, the difficulty of observing accurately the shapes and relative positions of particles incresses excessively. However, in the absence of any observable tendency toward overlapping orientation of the large, visible particles, one hesitates to ascribe such a tendency to the smaller particles beyond the range of visibility. Should it develop that one must exclude the assumption of overlapping orientation, the explanations offered in the previous article are changed in only one respect; namely, one would now have to assume that the ultimate particles themselves have length, and probably also width, very large in comparison with their thickness.

Jan 1, 1936

By Wallce E. Pratt

The Philippine Islands have produced no oil commercially; nevertheless, oil is known to be present at various places in the is1ands.l Although all attempts to produce oil commercially have failed, no intelligent, persistent exploration has been carried out. The Richmond Petroleum Corpn. (a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Co. of California) and a syndicate headed by Ralph Arnold are at present engaged in exploring Bondoc Peninsula in Tayabas Province, one of the promising Philippine areas, in a manner that promises to test the petroleum possibilities adequately and intelligently. How can the petroleum resources of an entirely undeveloped area like the Philippines be estimated, where not even the areal extent of the various geologic formations is known? Obviously no calculated figure for assured future production can be derived. Yet a study of the evidence of the occurrence of petroleum, the character of the possible reservoir beds, the probable source rocks, the character and size of favorable structures, and the area over which petroleum-bearing rocks are known to occur, will throw some light on the question. The fact that rocks of the same geologic age and similar composition have been explored and are producing in Borneo, Sumatra, and Java to the south and in Formosa and Japan to the north also affect the problem, so that one can obtain some idea of the quantity of petroleum that may reasonably be expected from the Philippines. It is this measure of the possibilities rather than a definite calculation of petroleum reserves that is presented herewith. This paper will not attempt to describe, nor even to enumerate in detail, the occurrences of petroleum in the Philippines, as such data have already been published. Fig. 1 indicates the localities where

Jan 1, 1923

By Wallce E. Pratt

The Philippine Islands have produced no oil commercially; nevertheless, oil is known to be present at various places in the is1ands.l Although all attempts to produce oil commercially have failed, no intelligent, persistent exploration has been carried out. The Richmond Petroleum Corpn. (a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Co. of California) and a syndicate headed by Ralph Arnold are at present engaged in exploring Bondoc Peninsula in Tayabas Province, one of the promising Philippine areas, in a manner that promises to test the petroleum possibilities adequately and intelligently. How can the petroleum resources of an entirely undeveloped area like the Philippines be estimated, where not even the areal extent of the various geologic formations is known? Obviously no calculated figure for assured future production can be derived. Yet a study of the evidence of the occurrence of petroleum, the character of the possible reservoir beds, the probable source rocks, the character and size of favorable structures, and the area over which petroleum-bearing rocks are known to occur, will throw some light on the question. The fact that rocks of the same geologic age and similar composition have been explored and are producing in Borneo, Sumatra, and Java to the south and in Formosa and Japan to the north also affect the problem, so that one can obtain some idea of the quantity of petroleum that may reasonably be expected from the Philippines. It is this measure of the possibilities rather than a definite calculation of petroleum reserves that is presented herewith. This paper will not attempt to describe, nor even to enumerate in detail, the occurrences of petroleum in the Philippines, as such data have already been published. Fig. 1 indicates the localities where

Jan 1, 1923

By F. Twyman, D. M. Smith

Those chemists (they are still greatly in the minority) who use the spectroscope, use it very often, and find it almost indispensable. As a means of detecting minute quantities of the metals it is unrivalled. A metal can be readily distinguished in the presence of any other element, compound, or mixture without the necessity of separation. The qualitative analysis of the metallic constituents of a substance, which the spectroscope gives so easily, is a sure basis for planning a chemical analysis. As the determination of each element proceeds the purity of precipitates may be checked as often as desired. If, possessing these advantages, the spectroscope has been neglected in general chemistry, it is not surprising that it was neglected in metallurgical chemistry; for many of the impurities which are of industrial interest, even when they are present in a metal or alloy in small quantities, are not then always easily detected by the examination of their visible spectrum. The history of the development of the art has been given in Bureau of Standards 19cientific Paper No. 444. The Development of Analysis by Spectrogbaphy Fig. 1 shows, by means of photographs taken with a quartz spectro-graph, what a valuable region of the spectrum is excluded if one has a visual instrument only. Wave length 4023 is about the end of the visible spectrum, the region from 3800 to 1854 being invisible. It is easy to understand then how it is that the vigorous resuscitation of spectrum analysis which has commenced in the last few years has been associated with the use of the quartz spectrograph; notwithstanding that the most useful instrument for the general inorganic chemist to have at his elbow, after the balance, is a good visual spectrometer.(1) 1 The revival of spectrum analysis is to be attributed chiefly to the work of W. N. Hartley with his co-workers, and to A. de Gramont. Hartley,

By Rixford A. Beals

Dry grinding without balls is feature of this mill now in use in three countries on two continents. Materials being ground commercially include iron ore, gold ore, asbestos rock, and slag. New large beneficiation plants have been using an almost standardized crushing and grinding flowsheet. Typically a primary gyratory is followed by several stages of fine crushing and grinding is often carried out in a rod mill operating ahead of one or more ball mills. The clearly labeled trend is to an increasing number of stages with a decreased reduction ratio per machine. Current Aerofall mill installations represent a complete reversal of this trend-one mill replaces the several stages of crushing and grinding a more conventional flowsheet would call for.

Sep 1, 1955

By Henry B. Smith, S. Paul Lindau

ThREe years ago it was decided by the management to granulate the matte that is produced in the smelter of the St. Joseph Lead Co. at Hereulaneum, Mo., thereby doing away with a large amount of labor in handling the matte and in subsequent crushing. On Mar. 1, 1915, the granulator was put in operation and up to Jan. 1, 1916, 18,735 tons had been granulated. The four blast furnaces have a daily output of about 280 tons of pig lead and 100 tons of matte assaying about 11.0 per cent. Pb. It is expected that projected improvements in roasting methods will eliminate more sulphur from the charge, and cut down the matte-fall to about one-half of the present figure. The blast furnaces are tapped into movable forehearths or settlers, 6 ft. by 4 ft. by 22 in., the slag overflowing into 27-cu. ft. slag cars which are hauled to the dump by electric locomotives. Previous to the adoption of granulation, the matte was tapped from the forehearths into small slag pots which were dumped after cooling. The matte cakes were broken with sledges, and transported to the crushing plant for fine crushing and screening. Here the matte was reduced to 1/4-in. size before being fed to the roaster bins. A Wedge and a Holthoff mechanical furnace are used for preroasting before sintering on the Dwight and Lloyd machines. The matte is returned to the furnaces as an iron flux until the gradually accumulating copper content reaches about 7 per cent., after which it is put aside to be concentrated in a small copper blast furnace, the resultant high-grade matte being sold. When the matte does not settle readily from the slag, two settling devices are often used, the second one being a large catch-pot, which gathers any matte that may overflow from the forehearth, the slag then overflowing from the catch-pot into the slag cars. When full of matte, the catch-pot is removed, allowed to cool, and the contents broken and crushed. a With the present plan of granulating, the matte is tapped into 6-cu. ft. iron ladles. These are transported to the granulating plant by a 5-ton

Jan 1, 1917

By D. E. Wolfson, D. A. Reynolds, F. W. Smith

IN 1948 the U. S. Bureau of Mines began a three- phase program to evaluate the extent and quality of U. S. coking coal: 1) a factual appraisal of known recoverable reserves in beds of mineable thickness, 2) a study of preparation characteristics, and 3) a study of carbonization properties. A previous paper presented the methods used in assessing reserves.' Although this investigation is only partly completed, data on coking properties of the Pittsburgh district coals are now available. The results are presented in this article. When coals are selected for manufacture of metallurgical coke more factors must be considered than for any other major use, as no basic industry requires coal of such high quality and uniformity. This is particularly true in the Pittsburgh district, where blast furnace practice is based on use of cokes from high quality coals. Although it is true that inferior coals are carbonized in other industrial areas, both here and abroad, the Pittsburgh coals are the best economically obtainable in the required tonnages, even though they are not the most desirable for metallurgical use.

Jan 3, 1957

By W. J. Sharwood

(San Francisco Meeting, September, 1915) CUPELLATION is well known to be one of the most effective methods of separating silver and gold from base metals and other impurities, as well as one of the most accurate means for their estimation. In the latter application it consists in absorbing in some porous medium the fused lead. oxide formed by the oxidation of the lead "bath," which carries with it the oxides of other base metals present. It has long been recognized that small amounts of both silver and gold were removed and absorbed together with the base metals, as well as being to some slight extent volatilized, and in work of the highest accuracy a correction is made for the "cupellation loss." Thus. in the assay of bullion this is done by means of "proofs" of like composition, which are manipulated throughout in precisely the same manner as the assay pieces, and are assumed to lose or gain like amounts. In the case of certain very rich ores and commercial products the loss is adjusted by assaying the cupel itself and recovering the precious metal absorbed, but this doubles the labor and does not remedy the loss by volatilization. Arbitrary tables have been drawn up by various authorities with the object of enabling a correction to be applied without the use of a check. These have been of very limited practical use owing to the fact that a number of factors affect the losses sustained. For a fixed amount of precious metal the loss varies with the amount of lead used, with the nature and amount of the impurities, with the porosity of the cupel, with the air supply, and above all with the temperature at which cupellation is carried on. Pure silver loses relatively much more than gold, but the loss in either is diminished by au addition of the other metal. The concentration of precious metal in the litharge increases as the concentration in the lead increases, but little work has been published connecting the two. If all other conditions remain the same the actual total loss increases, but the percentage loss diminishes, with an increase in the weight of precious metal treated.

Jan 8, 1915

By Alfred F. Brainerd

HAVING had considerable practical experience in the management of colored mining labor in the South, I have thought a few observations upon its peculiarities might interest those not personally familiar with it. In mining, as in all other departments throughout the South, this class of labor is largely in excess of any other; and its characteristics need to be known and duly taken into consideration by those who may be charged with the conduct of southern enterprises. The colored laborers are fervently religious, intensely superstitious, improvident, and usually good natured and happy,—in a word, they are like children. That strong religious emotions do not involve necessarily a moral sense highly developed in the direction of ethics, is shown in the propensity of the colored population for chickenstealing, and in the brutal fights and other outbreaks of which they are not infrequeutly guilty, upon any slight provocation. It is only fair to say, however, that many individuals among them are in the highest degree steady and trustworthy. To one accustomed to seeing white miners at work in the middle, northern or western States, the colored miners seem somewhat slow and lazy. But their efficiency is greater than it appears to be. The almost tropical sun of midsummer beats upon their unprotected heads

Jan 1, 1886

In Bulletin J 1, recently published by the Traylor Engineering and Manufacturing Co., it is stated that the largest jaw crusher ever built has a jaw opening of 66 in. by 86 in. and weighs 680,000 1b. It is said to be in successful operation and has a capacity of 490 tons per hour crushed to 12-in. size; 415 tons per hour crushed to 10-in. size; 330 tons per hour crushed to 8-in. size. The same company, in its Bulletin G 3, gives a diagram showing the percentage of a crushed product which will pass through screens of different sizes of perforation from a machine adjusted to a certain size screen. This diagram is reprinted below for the information of our members and the following notes apply to it. In order to prevent an excessive amount of fines, crushing machines are usually set so that 15 per cent. of the product will be larger than the maximum size desired, and this oversize is then recrushed by smaller

Jan 10, 1916

By Warnie Flint

According to statistics that have been compiled by the National Safety Council, U.S. Bureau of Mines, American Medical Association, and other agencies, accidental injuries cause more deaths than all the leading diseases. There isn't anyone who is immune to an accident. Probably the best way to describe an accident is to say that it is an unexpected happening. The automobile driver isn't expecting a terrifying crash, the electrician isn't expected to be electrocuted, nor is the coal miner expecting the roof to fall on him. All personal injuries will not result in death. There is a multitude of victims who are living proof of what accidents can mean to an individual. These are the victims who are blind, paralytic, missing arms, legs, etc. In most instances the earning power of these individuals is gone, and they are utterly dependent upon family or welfare. For many years there seemed to be an attitude that prevailed upon industrial America that accidents were inevitable, and that so many fatalities and injuries should be expected. This, of course, was utter nonsense. Since the birth of such organizations as The National Safety Council, American Society of Safety Engineers, and the U.S. Bureau of Mines, much progress has been made in reducing accidents. The enactment of compensation laws greatly contributed to the progress that has been made. Does this mean that all accidents can be prevented? Unfortunately, it doesn't. Human psychology indicates that men will work unsafely or perform unsafe acts for the following reasons: 1) Lack of knowledge or skill. 2) Conflicting motivations, such as: (a) to be more comfortable, (b) to save time or effort, (c) to be accepted by a group 3) Physical or mental condition.

Jan 1, 1973

One of the most unusual assignments in the his¬tory of Loffland Bros. Co. is now in progress with the drilling of a 72-in. diam. shaft in Nevada for the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Projected depth being 3200 ft, by volume, this is the same as a 216,672-ft hole 83/4 in. in diam. Every aspect of the operation is king-sized. The 15,000-lb bit moves into position over the well on a specially-made railroad car riding on rails 14 ft apart. The single drill collar weighs 300,000 lb, is 60 in. in diam., and 43 ft long. The drill pipe is 133/s-in. 72-in. N-80 casing fabricated with special tool joints. The bit chews up 1.05 cu yd of rock for every ft of penetration (This is equal to the volume of 67.71 ft of 83/4-in. hole.

Jan 9, 1964

By D. Harrington

FROM 1870 to date, the coal production of Utah has been somewhat less than 85,000,000 tons. There have been at least three major disasters with total fatalities about 380; or approximately. 4.4 persons killed by mine explosions per million tons produced, a record that is decidedly bad. Even during the periods when there have been no disasters, such as the years 1914 to 1920, inclusive, the fatalities .in ordinary working ran about 5.4 per million tons produced, against 3.7 per, million tons. for the whole United States for the same years. The five-year period following the war, 1918 to 1922 inclusive, showed 4.7 fatalities per million tons, hence the fatality record in the coal mines of Utah has uniformly been in excess of the average of the coal mines of the entire country. Notwithstanding this poor record, Utah has given to the coal-mining world many excellent safety methods and practices and the Utah. coal mines in general take greater measures toward safe mining than do the coal mines of any other State; if practices and methods allowed and pursued in coal mines of other States were tried in Utah coal mines, there would be a succession of disasters. Utah's principal producing coal mines, operated by about eighteen companies and numbering less than forty, have comparatively thick seams. Very little coal under 5 ft. thick is being worked and practically none under 4 ft.; much, if not most, of the coal comes from seams in excess of 8 ft., some running as high as 30 ft. In thick seams in which coal is left on floor and roof, any dust found or made is entirely combustible. In addition, the thick seams induce the use of large capacity cars, handling which in rooms and other workings on fairly heavy grades (up to 10 or .12 per cent.) tends to cause haulage accidents. The thick seams give high ribs and roof, in which it is difficult to prevent slabs of coal or rock from dropping on workers and also difficult to keep free of gas and of coal dust. The coal is high volatile, running usually over 40 per cent and in some instances nearly to 50 per cent; hence is highly flammable. Most of the coals have very high resin content, the resin usually being in dust form, hence almost as highly flammable as black powder. At .least one-third of the mines give off methane and several give off other

Jan 8, 1925

By Harry J. Morgan

One of the greatest improvements in drilling equipment has been the development of hard facing metals which are welded by electricity or by acetylene to form a facing which protects the steel of the bit from abrasive wear. The main desirable characteristics of hard facing metals are resistance to abrasive wear, resistance to shock and perfect bond with underlying metal. Resistance to abrasion offered by various metals shows many anomalies. Compounds containing carbon, silicon and boron are the most important hard substances. Carbon, as diamond, silicon carbide and especially the carbides of iron, chromium and tungsten are the outstanding hard products in common use. Tungsten carbide is probably the most commonly used. It is made in the electric furnace and it is important to get the right amount of carbon and the correct crystalline structure in order to obtain the greatest hardness and greatest resistance to abrasion. It may be obtained in three main divisions: wrought, cast and casehardened. Insert hard metals are common. The method of application varies, but it is generally welded to the bit, placed in channels or in drilled holes and covered with a hard surfacing metal. Robinson' has given a very complete article on the use of inserts. Gregg and Küttner2 has discussed the metallography of tungsten carbides and given a good bibliography of the subject,. The time and expense of large-scale testing, together with variations in results, led to the development of a laboratory testing machine for determining the abrasive-resisting qualities of different metals. This machine consists of a motor-driven 40-grain, alumina-base corundum wheel, 8 in. dia., rotating at 30 r.p.m. It is run wet and dressed with

Jan 1, 1930

By O. B. Hopkins

There was no noteworthy development in the oil industry in Peru during 1933 and all activities were restricted to the producing fields. The output of the country increased above that of previous years but there still remained a substantial shut-in production at the close of the year. The total production during 1933 is estimated at 13,259,891 bbl., of which the International Petroleum Co., Ltd. contributed 11,205,-362 bbl. A relatively small amount of new drilling was undertaken during the year. The International completed only one new well although a number of the old producers were reworked and deepened. Comments on Tables There are four oil districts in Peru, as shown in Table 1, although only three of these are now being operated. The exhausted Pirin field was abandoned eight years ago. La Brea-Parinus.—The La Brett-Parinas fields are on the property of the International Petruleum Co., Ltd. in the westernmost part of Peru. These fields include a number of producing districts that are defined by complex fault blocks associated with anticlinal folds. Data covering all the items listed in the table are not available on these fields but can perhaps be supplied in part in the future. Lobitos and Restin.—These two fields belong to the Lobitos Oilfields Limited and are near the coast, 10 to 20 miles north of the La Brea-Parinas fields. According to the Department of Mines and Petroleum of Peru, 311 wells at Lobitos and 197 at Restin had been drilled to the end of 1927. Since that date there has been enough drilling to increase moderately these figures. The depth of wells is not available but it is believed that their average depth is slightly greater than in the La Brea-Parinas area. The productive horizons are of Eocene age. zorritos.—The Zorritos field is the northernmost in Peru and is operated by the Establecimiento Industrial de Petroleo de Zorritos. The field is on the coast about 70 miles north of Lobitos. The number of wells drilled in this field to the end of 1927 was 343, according to the Department of Mines and Petroleum of Peru. The depths of these wells are reported to range from 300 to 700 ft. The largest wells do not produce

Jan 1, 1934