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By WALTER B. JONES

PIG iron was first produced in Alabama in 1818 from limonite or brown ore and since then much of this ore has come from the so-called mineral district of northern Alabama, especially along the Cretaceous-Paleozoic contact. For many years the Russellville district in Franklin County, where the first blast furnace was erected, produced more than 100,000 tons of brown ore annually. Limonite has been reported at many places in the Coastal Plain region, where the formations are of Mesozoic and Cenozoic age, but these scattered deposits were never considered to be of much commercial importance. However, in the last three years a considerable quantity of this ore has been scraped up and shipped, particularly from the city of Greenville in Butler County.

Jan 1, 1938

By Frank Firmstone

IN April, 1873, No. 2 furnace at the Glendon Iron Works being out of blast, it was decided to alter it from an open to a closed top. The three side flues, through which a part of the gas was formerly taken off, were 15 feet below the top, and as, for various reasons, it was not convenient to cut new flues through the brickwork at the top, as is commonly done with closed-top furnaces, a modification of Coingt's charger was employed. This apparatus, as figured by De Vathaire,* consists of a cup or hopper, like that used with the cup and cone, and a central pipe for taking off the gas, which descends some distance into the furnace, and has a projection around it forming a seat for a ring of a triangular cross-section, which closes the opening between the cup and the central gas-pipe. The charge is put into the cup, and by lowering the ring, is thrown into the furnace, a part going outside of the ring toward the walls, and a part through the inside toward the gas-pipe. In this form the apparatus was not applicable, for: 1st. With a gas-pipe three feet in diameter, in a top eight feet in diameter, the openings left by lowering the ring would not be large enough to let lump coal pass through. 2d. For the charger to shut tight, the ring must bear equally against the projection made for it on the gas-pipe, and against the edge of the cup. This would not be difficult to effect when the apparatus is first put up, but a comparatively small change in the relative position of the parts, such as is almost certain to occur from expansion, would cause the ring to touch the pipe or the cup, whichever happened to be the lower, first, and leave a leak between it (the ring) and the other. In the plan adopted (Fig's. 5 and 6, Plate I), the central opening in the ring is closed by the bottom of the gas-pipe, whereby more room is left for the passage of the stock when the charger is open, than if the pipe descended into the furnace; and the pipe, instead of being rigidly supported, rests on the ring, when the charger is closed, and follows it for two or three inches as it opens, until stopped by the counter-balance lever C. When the ring is raised to close the furnace top, it comes in contact first with the bottom edge of the gas-pipe, then both are raised to¬gether, until stopped by the ring touching the edge of the cup. In this way a good joint is made at both places. * Etudes our lea Haut Fourneaux, page 108.

Jan 1, 1874

By V. F. Swanson

At the AIME meeting in Tampa in Oct. 1966, an empirically developed equation was presented which allowed the calculation of free settling velocity for any sized particle: 1 [ ] This equation requires the use of two parameters a and p which are coefficients derived from boundary layer theory.2 It was possible to develop values of a and p for several minerals by back calculation of published data. The original equation had one major flaw. When the fluid density exceeds the density of the solids, the solution to the equation becomes imaginary. A flaw was indicated also by the fact that galena and sylvite both having cubic cleavage, did not have similar values for a and b. Galena gave calculated values of a = 1.082 and g = 3.11, while sylvite gave values of a = 1.870 and p = 2.56. These flaws prompted further study of the equation, resulting in the following empirical modification: [ ] It is obvious a real solution of the equation is possible for all values of ps and p. When PL > PS, V is negative, indicating that the particles will rise against the attraction of gravity. The validity of the modification is borne out by the fact that when values of a and p were back calculated for galena and sylvite using the modified equation, both minerals gave values of a = 1.038 and p = 3.01. With the modification shown in Eq. 2, Newton's friction factor becomes [ ]

Jan 1, 1976

By AIME AIME

A CORPORATION would go into bankruptcy if its affairs were conducted as are those of the state of New York, according to the Committee on New York State Government Reorganization of the American Engineering Council of the Federated American Engineering Societies, in a report to the chairman, of the Joint Judiciary Committees of the Senate and Assembly. The report, just made public, was signed by the three members of the committee who were appointed by Herbert Hoover. They were H. de-B. Parsons, chair- man, Paul G. Brown and Lewis B. Stillwell. Although the American Engineering Council is a national organization, it decided to aid in governmental reorganization in New York State because of the magnitude of the task. The Council's committee in its report urged the passage of three state reorganization amendments for consolidation of departments, an executive budget system, and a four-year term for the higher state officials. In the words of the report :

Jan 1, 1921

By Bradley Stoughton

A LL over our great country I have been privileged to see, during the last six weeks, the manifestation of a new spirit among engineers. Partly under the inspiration of leaders whose influence has been felt not only nationally, but internationally, - partly through the recognition of the service that engineers have been able to render to the nation during the recent crisis, a new self-consciousness has been acquired by the individuals, and now this self-consciousness seeks expression in opportunities for service and participation in public affairs. The engineer . no longer sees himself a mere reservoir of information to be tapped when some one is in need of cold facts, no. more an administrator of mere material things, but a potential administrator of- public affairs, a citizen and a human being, with the responsibilities, as well as the privileges of citizenship.

Jan 1, 1920

By Ralph Arnold

Since 1915, when Elk Basin field was brought in, eight oil fields have been developed in Montana and the production has arisen from 50,000 bbl. in 1916 to 8,000,000 bbl. in 1926. The production for 1927 was 5,121,600 bbl. and the total up to the end of 1927 was 27,138,239 barrels. The eight fields, with their year of discovery are: Elk Basin, Carbon County (1915); Devil's Basin, Petroleum County (1919); Cat Creek, Petroleum County (1920); Soap Creek, Big Horn County (1921); Kevin-Sunburst, Toole County (1922); Lake Basin, Stillwater County (1924); Pondera, Pondera and Teton counties (1927); and Bannatyne, Pondera and Teton counties (1927). About 170 wildcat wells have been drilled in the state of which 8 were successful and 162 gas wells or dry. Hence, only one out of 21, or 5 per cent. of the wildcats have been successful. The average depth of the wells has been 1600 ft. and the average cost $32,000 apiece. • Up to Jan. 1, 1927, a total of 1376 wells have been drilled in the producing oil and gas fields of the state, of which 904, or 66 per cent., were successful oil wells; 82, or 6 per cent. were gas; and 390, or 28 per cent, were dry. The percentage of dry wells is excessive as compared to the wells in other states, due to the uncertainties of limestone reservoir rocks. The total production of oil to Jan. 1, 1927, has been 22,016,639 bbl. and of gas 7,265,330,000 cu. ft. The average price at the well for the oil has been $1.47 per bbl. and for gas about 4 c. per 1000 cu. ft. The value at the point of consumption has been about 23 c. per 1000 cu. ft. The total revenue derived from crude oil has been $32,277,119, and from gas 8350,613, or a total income to the producer of $32,727,832. Each well drilled in the state has already (to Jan. 1, 1927) averaged a return of over $21,000. The total number of domestic (Montana) oil and gas companies organized, since the first in 1885, has been 844, of which 702 are still alive and 142 dead. Oil and gas companies registered for operation within the state to Jan. 1, 1927, but with outside charters, are 143, of which 66 are alive and 77 are dead. Outside the few distributing companies, which are included in these figures, the grand total of 997 companies which have

Jan 1, 1928

By J. R. Guard

Development of electrical power in coal mining has been an outstanding example of adaptability. It has accommodated itself to new inventions, changing mining methods, increasing demands, increasing safety requirements and many other new conditions. With the appearance of the continuous miner in the mining machinery picture, those engineers interested in the application of electricity to mining have been thinking about what new combination of electrical apparatus will best suit this newcomer. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the relative costs of supplying d-c versus a-c power to mining equipment with particular reference to continuous miner setups. Assume that a-c power will be delivered to the mine at some high voltage suitable for transmission to the various substation locations. Typical voltage for this purpose is 4000 volts. The problem then is to change the power to some kind of power suitable for driving the motors of mining equipment. For safety and other reasons the voltage to be delivered to the motor terminals must be under 600 volts.

Jan 1, 1950

By AIME AIME

FEW indeed are the sections of the country where trained or partly trained workers have not already been hired by a war industry plant or will be within the near future. Yet right in the midst of the heavily industrialized East lies the anthracite area, home of a million people, whose productive power has persistently been by-passed either by private industry or by the Government Plant Site Board. The chief reason given for not locating war plants in the area is that it is not within the strategic zone, but in numerous instances elsewhere this rule has been waived. Furthermore, the anthracite region is well protected on all sides by mountains and is at all points more than 100 miles inland. Continued depression in the anthracite industry and a crippling blow dealt by the war emergency to the production of silk and rayon goods, the chief manufacturing activity of the area, have resulted in a heavy migration, particularly of trained young workers, into near-by industrial areas. At least 50,000 people are currently unemployed, with the likelihood of an increase in coming months, and as many families are on relief.

Jan 1, 1942

By GILBERT E. SEIL

GREAT advances in the preparation of ores for reduction to ferro-alloys have been made, although standard methods of reduction have been continued at most plants. Efficiencies, yields per furnace, and energy requirements per ton are generally better than previously attained. The advantages of sizing and conditioning of ore, fluxing stone, and coke have been realized. Conditioning varies from drying the furnace burden to chemical rearrangements to facilitate reduction reactions and sometimes to furnish some of the energy required for the reaction before the burden reaches the furnace. During the war period it is impossible to discuss in detail many of the advances made. They are subjects for postwar papers. However, the new procedures mentioned in the following paragraphs are indicative of the work already done and in progress.

Jan 1, 1944

By W. E. D. Stokes

WHEN history is written, the year of the blitzkrieg will go down as giving aviation its greatest impetus. No perceptible drop in military business, even with cessation of hostilities abroad, seems likely. The combined air force of the U. S. Army and Navy on July 1 was approximately 5000 planes, as against 50,000 planes currently discussed as necessary. Observers at the fronts are giving designers and metallurgists back home some realistic ideas to shoot at. As conventional runways reveal the location of airports to enemy raiders, operating bases are now masked. Difficult, often muddy and rough landing strips, requiring strong landing gears and exacting take-off and maintenance characteristics, are the specifications of war. This is "old stuff" to numerous mining operators in mountainous jungle areas where gradients up to 8 per cent are in more or less common use in such mountain landing fields. Although airplane building is not readily adaptable to assembly-line methods, a trend towards mass productions is now in evidence. Incidentally, a U.S. Army "Curtiss P-40" requires about 10,000 man hours of work to complete and is tied together with 75,000 rivets. During the past year a number of aircraft factories adopted the "shot-

Jan 1, 1941

By ELIHU THOMSON

IN 1877, Professor Thomson delivered at the Franklin Institute, [Philadelphia, five lectures on electricity. The object of the lectures and the demonstrations, which were numerous and many of them original even to the employment of special apparatus constructed by the lecturer, was to show clearly that electricity, of whatever name, was the same., differing only in tension (as it was termed) and in the current flowing, or quantity (the old term), in steadiness or in wave-like character. In those days, the textbooks divided the subject into statical and dynamic electricity, with sub-divisions such as frictional electricity, voltaic electricity, magneto electricity, electromagnetism, thermo electricity, and animal electricity. The well-known Ruhmkorff coil,' or spark coil as it is now called (as when used for the ignition of automobiles), was employed to step, up a battery current to a high-tension discharge which would charge condensers, such as Leyden jars.

Jan 1, 1921

By H. M. Roche

MAGNETITE mining and milling in the Eastern States was sharply curtailed in 1938, production showing a decrease of 36 per cent from 1936 and 57 per cent from 1937. Six mines, one in Pennsylvania, two in New York, and three in New Jersey were in operation, either part or full time, during the year. In recent years ten Eastern magnetite mines have been more or less active but since the World War the market for Eastern ores- has been spotty. The scrapping of Eastern merchant pig iron furnaces, imports of cheaply mined duty-free foreign ore, and high freight cost have been contributing factors.

Jan 1, 1939

By D. R. THOMAS

GENERALLY speaking, the production of other metals in Mexico fluctuates with that of silver. The first commercial discovery of mineral was in Taxco, Guerrero, in 1552. Five years later, the patio process was introduced at Pachuca, by Bartolome de Medina. In 1884, the main line of the Mexican Central R. R. was completed and a few years later, the National railway. In 1907, the patio process, after 350 years of successful operation, was replaced by cyanidation. Soon after the completion of the railroads, smelters were built at various points and provided means of treating ores that could not be treated by any of the processes existing at that time, such as patio, lixiviation, or pan amalgamation. As a result, a number of mines were developed along the railroads and even far \ out in the mountains. In order to facilitate the shipment of this ore to the smelters, purchasing agencies were established, which for a time were very profitable; most of these agencies are now permanently closed.

Jan 1, 1921

By R. W. Smith

IN the manufacture of portland cement, the basic and fundamental essential is a limestone uniformly rich in calcium carbonate and carrying less than 3 per cent magnesium carbonate. In searching for such a deposit, also having in mind quantity of rock, accessibility and quarrying facilities, the Pacific Coast Cement Co. discovered and developed its present quarry at View Cove on the east coast of Dall Island, Alaska. Dall Island is about 100 miles west of Ketchikan and 650 miles north from Seattle. It is 70 miles in length and 5 to 10 miles in width. The climatic conditions are much more favorable than would be expected. The temperature ranges from zero to 70 degrees. The precipitation is considerably more than at Seattle, although there was less snow during the last season than at Seattle. The island is rugged and mountainous; the vegetation is moss and grass and a large portion is timbered with spruce, hemlock and cedar. Some of this timber has market value. The limestone quarry is about 30 miles north of the extreme southern end of the island. The company acquired 240 acres which contain limestone of remarkable uniformity, the percentage of calcium carbonate being about 95. It is estimated that there is ample recover- able rock on the holdings to supply the cement plant at its maximum capacity for well over 100 years.

Jan 1, 1929

By F. B. Plummer

PERHAPS the greatest progress made in the technical methods of oil production during the last year has been in handling gas from the new fields that yield light distillate fractions. At least sixteen recycling plants have been perfected and installed in South Texas fields alone during 1939 having a daily capacity of more than one billion -2 cubic feet of gas and capable of producing more than a million gallons of distillate daily. The process consists of running the gas under pres- sure through especially designed plants, separating out the condensate, then compressing the gas to 3000 lb. or more, depending on the subsurface pressure in the formation, and injecting gas back into the reservoir to be produced again later, along with more of the liquid hydrocarbons, and again recycled. Hence production in these distillate fields in sense has changed from that of producing a constantly diminishing and much-wasted product to a more or less continuous manufacturing process, in which practically all the gas is conserved-a real triumph in engineering practice.

Jan 1, 1940

By E. Ray Webb

A interest to geologists and to mining and petroleum engineers is a laboratory method for determining the dip and strike of sub- surface structures, as well as the direction of fault planes traversing them. The information is derived by making use of the magnetic properties of borehole cores which must show visible representations of bedding or fault planes. Complete knowledge of these factors aids greatly in the successful exploitation of both ore and petroleum deposits.

Jan 1, 1940

By J. E. Tobey

THERE are a lot of good things about this great industry of ours. Let us stop commiserating and consider some of the things that are right in this business. Coal is number one in the basic material industries. Our civilization owes more to it than to any other basic commodity. We are literally immersed in the benefactions of coal. In cur man-made world it is indispensable and we are constantly surrounded by objects, materials, and services which owe their existence to coal. Practically all the important materials, such as iron, steel, brick, cement, lime, rubber, glass, cotton, and wood have felt its magic touch.

Jan 1, 1939

John S. Kennedy, Chamhersburg, Pa. (communication to the Secretary): The washing-plant described by Mr. Johnson is a good illustration of the advantages derived from a well-designed and care-

Jan 1, 1895

By Charles Janin

ONE of the most interesting features of the world's platinum situation has been the steady increase of Russian production, which had dropped to 11,000 oz. in 1920, but increased to 92,000 oz. in 1926, and to probably over 100,000 oz. for 1927. It is ex-pected that Russian production of platinum will, be-fore long, closely equal its pre-war production, or approximately 200,000 oz. annually. The world production before the war was around 250,000 oz.; that for 1925 has been estimated at 160,000 oz., and for 1926 probably 170,000 oz. The consump-tion of platinum has, however, decreased. The esti-mate of the International Selling Agency was a de-mand of 130,000 oz. new platinum against a normal pre-war demand of over 200,000 oz. The high price of platinum during the war gave an added impetus to the search for substitutes for the metal, and sev-eral were developed that are now used extensively in place of platinum. The demand for platinum for high-class jewelry, however, was not greatly affected by the high prices, but "white" gold did replace platinum in the cheaper jewelry. Colombia is the most important producer of plati-num, next to Russia, and the production has increased from around 10,000 oz. pre-war production to 55,000 oz. or more in 1927. In 1924 important discoveries of platinum were made in South Africa. Prior to these discoveries practically all platinum was recovered from alluvial deposits, and the South African opera-tions are first to work an ore profitably for the pri-mary recovery of platinum. A number of companies were formed to develop these deposits, but only a few made any real progress. Total production for 1926 was about 5000 oz. The United States production is unimportant; that in Canada has increased to around 9000 oz., principally as a by-product in nickel-copper ores.

Jan 5, 1928

By Arthur F. Wendt

The following experiments and researches were originally conducted by Dr. Heinrich Rcessler, chief of the German Gold and Silver Parting Establishment at Frankfort-on-the-Main, for the sole purpose of abating the nuisance created by the discharge into the air of the sulphurous and sulphuric acids generated in the process of parting bullion by sulphuric acid. The results achieved have, however, an important bearing not only on this process, but are of value in the manufacture of sulphuric acid and sulphate of copper from sulphurous gases derived from any source. It has now been in successful operation for a term of years at Dr. Roessler's own works, and has been lately introduced with satisfactory results at the royal mints of Kremnitz and Munich, and the well-known establishment of Johnson Mathey & Co., of London.

Jan 1, 1884