Search Documents

APPROXIMATELY 3500 people thronged the Hotel Statler from February 18 to 24 for the 173rd general meeting of AIME. It was a technical extravaganza in that 82 technical sessions were held, at which 500 authors presented some 350 papers. Fortunately, Jerry Peirce, outgoing President, didn't have, to preside at all the events although after his year's stint as President, he has more than a nodding acquaintance with some of the latest problems in the mining, metals, and petroleum industries. Although the Welcoming Luncheon on Monday noon was the official opening of the meeting, Local Section Delegates and the Board of Directors convened on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The large attendance and business like demeanor of these two groups was in accord with the energetic and competent service they have rendered the Institute through the year. To the applause of engineers and their wives who thronged the grand ballroom of the Statler for the Welcoming Luncheon, President Peirce introduced Oliver B. Hopkins, president of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and C. Gerow, secretary of CIM. Dr. Hopkins brought greetings from the CIM and expressed his satisfaction in the splendid spirit of cooperation that exists between the two Institutes. Dr. Hopkins is president, Interprovincial Pipe Line Co., Toronto, and counts as a close personal friend M. L. Haider, who is the 1952 President of AIME and lately of Toronto where he was a director and general manager of Imperial Oil Ltd. Mr. Haider will be known shortly as Mike to thousands of AIME members as he makes his Local Sections presidential tour. There was a pause in luncheon proceedings when Judge Harold R. Medina arrived amid the applause of the audience and somewhat breathless from his trip via motorcade from an antitrust trial against investment bankers at the courthouse downtown. With the Judge at his elbow, President Peirce took the opportunity in his introduction to good humoredly chide the Judge for the vixenish habits of public servants in their treatment of astute businessmen. The successful inventor who patents his inventions is a monopoly; the copper manufacturer who buys his competitors a drink is in collusion; but the business failure need only look to the government for a subsidy, Mr. Peirce pointed out. Judge Medina, quickly captured the admiration of his listeners. He spoke about justice, deploring partisan deals on nominations for judge-

Jan 1, 1952

The organization of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, 75 years ago, parallels the beginning of present-day steel-producing methods in the United States. This early association with the industry is emphasized by the fact that the first open-hearth furnace constructed and operated in this country was then only three years old, and the first commercial bessemer converter was just seven years old. Total steel production in the year 1871, as recorded by the American Iron and Steel Institute, was 84,000 net tons, of which 2,000 tons was produced by the open-hearth process, 45,000 tons by the bessemer, and 37,000 tons by the crucible, puddled iron, and other processes. The bessemer process had thus become the major source of steel production. Its capacity expanded progressively during the following decade, and by 1880 was the source of approximately 86 pct of total steel production. Most of this tonnage was made in eastern Pennsylvania and used in rail manufacture. At about this time, however, important changes began to occur which gave impetus to the production of steel on a much larger scale. The development of Lake Superior ores from 1870 to 1890 and the exploitation of the Mesabi Range in 1892 provided the industry with great quantities of high-grade ores. The abundance of coking coals and limestone in the region adjoining western Pennsylvania and the development of cheap water transportation on the Great Lakes tended to shift the center of iron and steel manufacture to an area west of the Allegheny Mountains. Encouraging these new develop-

Jan 1, 1948

By J. P. Lesley

The Pittsburgh coal-region, if we regard the greatness of its extent, the picturesque beauty of its scenery, the salubrity of its climate, its relative situation on the Continent, the fertility of its soil, its unrivalled mineral wealth, and its magnificent system of natural transportation, is, perhaps, the most valuable spot on the surface of the planet. Unlike the mythical Paradise inhabited by one man and one woman, it swarms with an abounding population, not living on the free gifts of nature without care and without toil, hut expending its energies in unremitting labor, reinforced by the most elaborate machinery, in the production of everything which mankinds needs or desires; and unlilte the Paradise of story from which flowed the four great rivers of the world in opposite directions, its own four rivers How from the surrounding world into it, to constitute by their union the great highway water-course which divides the Northern from the Southern States. These rivers are the Monongahela, coming from the south, the Yonghiogheny from the southeast, the Kiskiminetas from the east, and the Allegheny from the north. Uniting at the great city of pittsburgh, they constitnte the Ohio, which flows northwest and west, and then south and southwest, toward the Mississippi. The Monongahela has been made navigable by a system of dams and pools the Allegheny was navigable in its natural condition; the KisKiminetas was made navigable by a State canal which has been vacated ; and the Youghiogheny remains unnavigable. Railroads supplement the deficiencies of the rivers, follow their hanks, and share in the transportation for which the waters are not sufficient. Railroads and rivers concentrate at Pittsburgh; other railroads cross the highlands to the east and west; and branch roads ascend the side-valleys and ravines to the mines on the uplands. The whole region is a scene of life; towns and villages dot its surface in all directions ; hundreds of gangways open upon the sides of all the valleys, and deliver coal to trains of cars which move beneath them at water-level; furnaces and rolling-mills abound; hundreds of oil-wells furnish a flood of liquid fuel to pipe-lines

Jan 1, 1886

By Thomas Kesler

THE Cartersville mining district, 35 miles northwest of Atlanta, Ga., has been of varying but continuous importance in the southern mineral industry during the past century. Noted chiefly for its production of brown iron ore, manganese oxide ores, barite, sienna, and magnesian limestone, the district and its environs have produced brick and tile clays, slate, gold, bauxite, and graphitic schist. Minor deposits of serpentine, sericite schist, copper ore, and red iron oxide have been prospected. The obvious deposits of brown iron ore, together with some associated specular hematite, were mined out years ago, although a little ore was left in the workings. Moderately steady production of sienna reached a peak about 1930, then declined rapidly. Manganese mining passed through a relatively active period from the World War to 1931, but has subsided to a small but rather constant output for the Birmingham market. How-ever, the White Manganese Corporation has prepared for possible increased production by constructing a new washer capable of handling about 300 tons of ore per day. Principal activity in the district proper has centered for some years in the production of barite and magne-sian limestone.

Jan 1, 1940

By E. E. Wark, J. Rogers, I. W. Wark, K. L. Sutherland

SOAPS have been used as collectors for many years, but only in the last eight years have other long-chain paraffin salts been used. It may be anticipated that these newer collectors will be used mainly with nonsulphide minerals, for which the xanthates and similar compounds are of little value. On the other hand, the xanthates are both cheap and effective for sulphide ores and seem likely to retain their present eminence in this field. During 1938 and 1939 two of us (E. E. W. and I. W. W.) commenced a comprehensive investigation of the principles underlying the use of paraffin chain salts as flotation reagents. This research was sponsored jointly by the University of Melbourne and a group of Australian mining companies.[t] A broad, semi quantitative survey was then made of the field covered in the present paper. This was followed in 1940 by further work by one of us (K. L. S.). In 1941 the investigation was taken over by the Division of Industrial Chemistry of the Commonwealth Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Australia. Discovery of some principles upon which are based the flotation of minerals by paraffin chain salts was followed by their application in the development of processes for the recovery of certain strategic minerals from their ores. Promising results in the flotation of cassiterite from various ores will be described in a subsequent paper. THE PARAFFIN CHAIN SALTS The basic requirements for a "collector" in flotation are that it should form a film over the surface of the mineral to be floated, and that this film should be orientated so that hydrocarbon (nonpolar) groups form the effective surface. When modified in this way, the mineral surface possesses some degree of air avidity. All investigators would agree with Taggart, Taylor and Ince23 that such a film can be produced only if the collector compound contains an active (polar) group to attract it to the mineral surface as well as the nonpolar group. One section of this large class of polarnonpolar compounds is the paraffin chain salts: CH3(CH2) „X where X signifies a polar group that ionizes in aqueous solution. Though the compound can ionize, it may be a weak or a strong electrolyte, and the hydrocarbon chain may be in the cation or the anion (Table I). Many compounds of similar constitution are available, but the usual polar groups are: -CO2Na, -SO3Na, -SO4Na, - PO4Na2, or an aminonitrogen group, the

Jan 1, 1946

By George M. Enos, Robert J. Anderson

This paper gives a summary of tests made on the accelerated electrolytic corrosion of the tin brass, 70:29:1 copper-zinc-tin (admiralty metal), of different grain sixes in various electrolytes. There has been great difference of opinion as to the effect of grain size on the corrosion rate of brass, particularly in condenser-tube practice, but so far as is known no information has been published on the subject. It has been assumed, on the basis of the amorphous-cement theory, that fine-grained brass would corrode more rapidly than coarse-grained because the amorphous phase is more soluble than the crystalline and there is more cement per unit area exposed in the fine-grained material. In previous work on the corrosion of metals and alloys in acid mine waters from coal mines,1,2 it was found that the grain size, within a restricted range, had practically no effect on the corrosion of the brass 70:29:1 copper-zinc-tin: In the tests made, samples of three grain sizes were included; viz., 0.025, 0.035, and 0.075 mm. diameter (1600, 817, and 177 gr. per sq. mm., respectively), and the average losses on exposure to the most acid of three waters were 7.07, 6.80, and 6.72 mg. per sq. cm. per day (24 hr.), respectively. No distinguishing features were observed on microscopic examination of the corroded samples. In two other mine waters, the corrosion losses were substantially the same for the respective samples. These tests were -incidental to other tests and were not sufficiently comprehensive to warrant drawing definite conclusions. In further work with the accelerated electrolytic corrosion test, as developed recently in the Bureau of Mines, tests were made

Jan 1, 1924

By Floyd C. Kelley

The literature of the last decade is rich with information relating to the cause and means of control of grain growth in pure metals, but is deficient concerning the role diffusion plays in grain growth, although during this period many new products that depend on diffusion for their properties and success have been developed. Among these are cementation products, produced by calorizing, chromizing, and carbonizing, or by mixing, pressing, and sintering powdered metals such as Syke's iron-molybdenum die material, Genelite, and Elcon Metal (copper, tungsten) etc. This is a fertile field for new developments, but before it can be utilized to the fullest extent there must be a thorough invest,igation of the processes by which diffusion and grain growth take place. Grain growth plays no small part in the process and certainly the physical properties of these products depend largely on the grain size and state of equilibtiuni produced. The field of investigation does not end here, but may be extended to the effect of diffusion on impurities, segregations and dendrites in the broad field of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy. A number of years ago the author investigated several of these cases and noted, with striking regularity, the pronounced effect of diffusion in promoting recrystallization and grain growth. An example of this phenomenon is given in his paper on chromizingl which contained photomicrographs of large radial or columnar crystals produced by diffusion of chromium in the solid state. Another manifestation of this effect was discussed by Austen,2 who showed the part hydrogen plays in the decarburization of steel and the effect of diffusion upon the grain structure. Diffusion of Metals in Iron It seems to be a general law, whenever two metals are brought into intimate contact at a temperature at which diffusion takes place, that a comparatively rapid, or abnormal, grain growth results. The grains

By Will H. Coghill, P. H. Delano, G. D. Coe

DATA concerning the actual net energy required for pulverizing coal are lacking from the literature on coal pulverization. Power data given in the literature concern gross power and frequently include the power expended on the air blast or product-conveyor system, as well as power lost through friction in the pulverizer itself. Consequently, such data supply no information regarding the net energy consumed in pulverizing or the relative grinding resistance of various coals. In the study of coal pulverizing much work has been done on what is known as "grindability-index numbers," but grindability tests have seldom considered the energy input (that is, the "cause" part of the system "cause and effect"). There are many records of the effect, but even these have questionable value because the "grindability" tests did not make a pulverized product by a method comparable with commercial pulverizers. In many of the tests, only a selected part of the coal was ground, and the remainder continued to be an unknown factor. Furthermore, none of the grindability tests provide the balanced circulating load common to all modern commercial pulverizing. In order to obtain better understanding of the fundamental principles of coal pulverizing, the Bureau of Mines is investigating the "cause" phase; that is, the net energy input or net power excluding friction between the moving parts of the machine. As a first step in the investigation, it was necessary to design and construct a laboratory machine in which no friction-loss corrections are involved, which could grind and finish a minus-3/4 -inch feed, which could be emptied rapidly and completely, which could operate with a continuous feed and finish in an air separator; and, most essential of all, which would be equipped with a measuring device for recording only that portion of the total power consumed in actual pulverizing, hereafter referred to as "net energy input" or "net horse-powerhours." The channel-roller pulverizer here-inafter described is believed to meet these requirements. HISTORY OF THE MACHINE The work started when Ralph W. Smith, engineer, St. Genevieve Lime Co., St. Genevieve, Mo., was appointed one of the consultants of the Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior, in cooperation with the University of Alabama, to develop a machine for testing the abrasiveness of coal. Smith had already developed a machine for testing the abrasiveness of dentifrices,1 and it was thought the same principles might be applied to coal. Smith's machine had a revolving disk with an annular channel in which the sample was placed. Riding in the channel was a small block or runner of selected soft metal held

Jan 1, 1942

Impact Transition Temperatures of Some Pearlite-Free Mild Steels As Affected by Heat Treatments in the Alpha Range H. P. Tardif (Canadian Armament Research and Development Establishment, Quebec)—Mr. Josefsson is to be congratulated for his study of a most difficult subject and for the theories proposed to explain the re- sults. One point which, however, might not have received proper attention is that of the shape of the stress-strain curve at the yield point of quenched and furnace-cooled specimens and of specimens strain aged

Jan 1, 1956

By George M. Enos, Robert J. Anderson

An impoRtant factor affecting the rate and nature of corrosion of metals and alloys is the film, or coating, formed on the surface; and this may accelerate or retard corrosive action once started. The formation of films and coatings is intimately associated with the chemical composition and physical constitution of both the metal and the corroding medium. A film or coating may be either the corrosion product resulting from oxidation; that is, an oxide or salt, or a deposition of suspended matter from the corroding media upon the surface of the metal, or a mixture of both. The coating may adhere tightly or loosely to the surface of the corroded metal. In short, a film or coating is the reaction product of the corroding medium and the metal, which adheres to the surface of the metal and with which may be intermingled material from the attacking media not concerned in the chemical reactions. As the terms film and coating are used by different writers for very different things, distinction is made between the two, by the present writers, on the basis of thickness. Thus, a film is defined as a corrosion product or deposition, on the surface of a corroded metal, that is of such thickness that it cannot be measured by the metallurgical microscope. A coating, on the other hand, is of such thickness that it can be measured. If the resolving power of the 2-mm. (equivalent focal length) apochro-matic oil immersion objective (N.A. 1.4) is taken as the limit of the microscope, the limiting resolution is two lines that are 0.0002 to 0.0004 mm. apart. It is thus possible to measure coatings that are greater than 0.0002 to 0.0004 mm. thick. This thickness is equivalent to 50,000-

Jan 1, 1925

By E. J. Whittenberger, F. N. Rhines

The formation of casting porosity is viewed as a nucleation and growth process with solidification shrinkage and gas precipitation as cooperative driving forces. Experimental evidence evaluating the individual contribution of each force confirms the major premise that microporosity is nucleated by gas precipitation. Additional data disclose the effects of the identity and quantity of gas, the temperature range of freezing, and the freezing rate upon the amount and distribution of porosity in light metal castings. POROSITY, as it commonly occurs in metal castings, has been ascribed to the contraction that accompanies the freezing of the metal, to the evolution of dissolved gases from the liquid during cooling and freezing, and, most frequently, to a combination of the two.'" "Pipe" formation is universally associated with solidification shrinkage; spherical "gas holes" are understood to be retained bubbles of gas; but the origin of microporosity, which usually exhibits an irregular or scalloped outline when viewed in cross-section, remains a subject of continuing debate.", ' The present research constitutes an endeavor to show what parts are played respectively by shrinkage and gas evolution in the initiation and growth of micropores and what factors determine their number, size, shape, and distribution. A preliminary outline of the mechanism of cavity formation in castings will serve to coordinate the experimental findings that will be reported and will at the same time provide a general theory of the origin of casting porosity. Basic to the mechanism of cavity formation that will be proposed are the following established facts: 1—that liquid metals and alloys contract gradually during cooling down to the freezing range, where a relatively large contraction, known as the "solidification shrinkage," takes place (exceptions in bismuth and gallium being noted);' 2—that the capacity of liquid metals and alloys for dissolving gases diminishes with cooling until, in the freezing interval, a large decrease takes place (various exceptions being noted and excluded from present consideration) ;.: and 3—that freezing proceeds counter to the direction of heat flow, the freezing front most commonly being composed of a system of tapering dendrite stalks and side arms which are coarser the lower the freezing rate and which protrude into the liquid for a distance that is greater the longer the freezing temperature interval of the alloy and the smaller the thermal gradient.' The mechanism by which voids are generated

Jan 1, 1953

By J. S. Hromatko, L. J. Gurevich

In the course of the examination, at the BureLu of Standards, of fusible tin boiler plugs for the Steamboat Inspection Service, it became evident that an investigation should be undcrtaken to determine the precautions necessary in the manufacture of acceptable plugs. The results of the tests of these plugs show that their manufacture has improved, though at present not all of the plugs tested are, satisfactory. Table 1 gives the result of tests of some 1500 plugs from about 100 makers. Records of the tests show that several of the makers were able to produce satisfactory plugs with every pouring. The Steamboat Inspection Service has the following specifications for fusible plugs: "Fusible plugs for use in boilers of steam vessels under the jurisdiction of the Steamboat Inspection Service shall be made of bronze casing with the bore tapering continuously and openly from end to end, and filled from end to end with tin not less than 99.7 per cent. pure and to contain not more than 0.1 per cent. of lead and not more than 0.1 per cent. of zinc. The small end of the bore may be countersunk not more than 1/32 in. in depth and width, but no recess, thread, or cavity other than this countersink shall be allowed." Table 1.—Thirty-"five-mdh Testing Record of Fusible Plugs Causes of Rejection Inspection Period June-November, 1916.................. 311 32.8 47.2 3.8 11.5 15. 1 10.9 1 1.9 4.5 December, 1916-May, 1917............. 318 71.4 28.6 2.2 4.4 12.8 5.9 i ... 2.8 June-November, 1917.................. 228 73.0 27.01 ... 9.6, 5.2 9.6' ... 0.8 December, 1917-May. 1918............. 214 72.028.0 0.9 0.4 11.6 7.0 ... 7.9 June-November, 1918...............250 70.7 29.3 ... 2.0 20.0 5.2 ....2.8 December, 1918-April. 1919............ 23378.121.9 7.2 1.2 1 4.7 3.0 ... 6.0 Total 35 months....................1544.69.7 30.3 2.3 4.8 11 0 6.9 0.3 4.1

Jan 1, 1921

By G. M. Ritcey

Sulphuric acid leaching has been up to the present, the most popular of the leaching routes. Oxide ores are usually leached with sulphuric acid directly by dump leaching, as practiced at the Bagdad or Bluebird Mines in Arizona, or by vat leaching as done at Inspiration Mining in Arizona. Upgrading of the low-grade oxide ores by dump leaching followed by cementation of the copper from solution by scrap iron has been replaced by the leaching-solvent extraction-electrowinning route which results in a high purity product at the mill site at reduced production costs compared to previous practice. High-grade oxide ores, vat leached with H2SO4, can contain, for example, 25 g Cu/l and 25 g H2S04/,l, or higher concentrations of both, and are presently fed directly to electrorefining plants. Advantages of coupling solvent extraction-electrowinning with the low cost dump leaching instead of using cementation, are as follows (1): a) the production of high purity electrolytic copper rather than cement copper;

Jan 1, 1978

By D. Harker, M. J. Murphy

THE mechanism by which age-hardening takes place is still not completely understood. The principal theories range from the extreme of "precipitation-hardening" to that of "order-hardening," with many intermediate gradations. In the hope of obtaining new data on which to base a choice among the many theories, the authors have made electron micrographs of formvar replicas taken from metallic specimens at various stages of age-hardening. The results so obtained on an alloy of 2 per cent beryllium in copper and one of 20 per cent molybdenum in iron will be described in the following pages, as well as the technique used in preparing the replicas. PREPARATION OF FORMVAR REPLICAS OF METALLIC SPECIMENS This section is concerned with the techniques that have proved successful in preparing formvar replicas for studying the microstructure of metals with the electron microscope. Because of its simplicity and accuracy, the formvar replica1 method developed in the General Electric Research Laboratory has been used exclusively, since it is much simpler than the silica replica method of Heidenreich and Peck2 and produces as good results. The formvar method to be described requires a technique acquired only by practice, and no foolproof set of rules can be given. It is a rapid method and a replica can be obtained in less than five minutes under favorable conditions. This does not mean that perfect replicas can be produced every five minutes, but rather that one can well afford to take several strippings* in order to produce a replica of high quality. The metallographic technique required for replica work-very fine polishing and etching with very dilute solutions-is described here. It can be said, in general, that almost any surface that has been carefully prepared for a photomicrograph at 1000 or more diameters can be used to obtain a replica for the electron microscope. PREPARATION OF METALLOGRAPHIC SPECIMENS The preparation of the metallographic specimens is somewhat more exacting than that usually given to samples to be used for inspection under the light microscope. After much experimentation, it was concluded that the best method consists in polishing the metal through to the coarse cloth, then etching and repolishing on final cloth until the layer of distorted metal is removed. After this procedure has been completed, a dilute etch-to approximately the depth necessary for a micrograph at 1000 diameters-usually produces a sur-

Jan 1, 1945

By Miles L. Silberman, Edwin H. McKee, John H. Stewart

Three, major suites of igneous rocks were erupted in the Great Basin in middle and late Cenozoic time. The first resulted in eruption of andesitic rocks in the northern Great Basin between 42 and 34 m.y. ago. Between 34 and 17 m.y. ago this igneous activity migrated to the southwest, ending about 17 m.y. ago with the onset of crustal extension and north-south- trending Basin and Range (rift) faulting. The second volcanic suite erupted between 17 and 8 m.y. ago in the northern Great Basin. The third volcanic suite consists of andesitic and rhyolitic lavas and some basalt erupted between 22 to 7 m.y. ago in the western Great Basin along the northwest transcurrent Walker Lane fault zone. Hydrothermal ore deposits are associated with all suites of igneous rocks.

Jan 1, 1977

Jan 1, 1951

By J. J. Kanter

There has been much research and commercial development in recent years in the use of chromium and nickel in steels of various types, including those intended for high-temperature service. By "high-temperature steels" are meant those specifically designed for service at elevated temperatures in steam plants, oil refineries and other industries where high-temperature operations are conducted. This paper is devoted to some preliminary data on the effect of silicon on certain of the most popular chromium-molybdenum steels now being used in quantity by the refining industry and includes a short statement on the influence of copper in steels intended for high-temperature service. Uses of Silicon Next to oxygen, silicon is the most widely distributed and abundant of the earth's substances. Although classed as a nonmetal, it is highly important in the metallurgy of all steels, having been used for years as an efficient and economical degasifier and deoxidizer. Silicon is added to various steels in the form of ferrosilicon, generally at the end of the heat so as to avoid oxidation losses. With acid steels it is added in the furnace (also in the ladle) and generally with basic steels is added in the ladle, so as to avoid reaction with the basic lining through high-temperature acidic reaction with silica, which may be formed by oxidation of the silicon alloy. Several grades of ferrosilicon are available, containing, respectively, 15, 50, 75 and 90 per cent Si. By far the largest tonnage produced is the 50 per cent grade although the 75 and 90 per cent ferro-silicons are used as ladle and furnace additions in the manufacture of steels of high silicon content. The introduction of silicon into steel as an alloying element is well known in connection with high-yield-strength constructional steel for bridges, ships, car construction, etc., and it is also well known as an alloy-

Jan 1, 1938

By J. Charles Miller

Natural carbon dioxide has recently been exploited in the United States in consequence of oil and gas developments in the Western States and the growing demand by transcontinental and transoceanic shippers for solid carbon dioxidc. The discovery by drilling of commercial deposits resulted in consideration of its geographic and geologic distribution and occurrence. Its wide distribution in nature is evidenced by its occurrence in the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. The question of origin of carbon dioxide involves consideration of theories similar to those concerning natural hydrocarbons, although available evidence favors an inorganic rather than an organic source. Areas favorable to development of commercia1 production appear to be those in proximity to igneous rocks or in the vicinity of decadent volcanic activity, where, it has long been known, the gas is evolved either free or dissolved in the waters of fumaroles, geysers or mud pots. Structure contour maps are presented showing the Wagon Mound anticline in New Mexico and the Farnham anticline, Utah. A well drilled on the latter supplies gas to a 20-ton plant manufacturing solid carbon dioxide at Wellington, Utah, on the Denver and Rio Grande R.R., whence it is shipped to surrounding territory and to the West Coast. Before funds are invested in a plant for the manufacture of liquid or solid carbon dioxide, whether supplied by wells or springs, an effort to ascertain the volume of gas available is advisable. The use of present methods of estimation of gas reserves with modifications to account for the quantity absorbed by any water present in the producing formation is recommended. The Farnham anticline is used as an example and computations are made of the probable volume of gas originally present in the structure. No attempt was made to compute reserves in the Niland area, California, for the reason that in such areas it is believed the volume is indeterminate. Introduction Carbon dioxide, in liquid and solid form, has found a wide variety of uses other than its primary application in carbonating beverages. It is now used in more than 40 different ways, ranging from cooling or freezing to use in gas or liquid form for mechanical purposes, chemical industry, explosive, fire extinction, and tire manufacturing. Undoubtedly the chief supply of carbon dioxide is obtained from industrial plants or artificial sources and until recently natural deposits of the gas have received little consideration. Few will question the utility and perhaps dependability of artificial sources, which possess the advantage over

Jan 1, 1941

By Walter P. Jenkey

[ ] I. THE REDUCING ACTION OF CARBON AND OF HYDROCARBONS. Carbon has long been recognized as one of the most powerful reducing agents in the deposition of ores. Investigations, made by myself, of the zinc- and lead-deposits in Southwest Missouri, in the region centering about Joplin, where the formation of the metallic sulphides has been due to the action of bitumen, carbonaceous shales and bituminous coal, Lace afforded abundant evidence that the solid oxygenated hydrocarbons, particularly, when in fine powder and in suspension in the waters circulating through the ore-bodies, are the most energetic and powerful reducing agents known. Bitumen, liberated by the decomposition of the ore-bearing limestone, is found in the Joplin mines in all degrees of fluidity and hardness, dependent on the amount of oxidation it has undergone. From semi-fluid maltha it grades into partly oxidized mineral-pitch, which, by further oxidation, changes to hard asphalt, finally breaking up, from continued absorption of oxygen, into a fine powder resembling in appearance powdered coal. In this condition oxidized bitumen, from its light gravity, is transported readily in suspension in the underground circulating-waters. Bituminous coal and black carbonaceous clays and shales occur as surface formations, often in intimate association with

Jan 1, 1913

By J. Charles Miller

Natural carbon dioxide has recently been exploited in the United States in consequence of oil and gas developments in the Western States and the growing demand by transcontinental and transoceanic shippers for solid carbon dioxidc. The discovery by drilling of commercial deposits resulted in consideration of its geographic and geologic distribution and occurrence. Its wide distribution in nature is evidenced by its occurrence in the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. The question of origin of carbon dioxide involves consideration of theories similar to those concerning natural hydrocarbons, although available evidence favors an inorganic rather than an organic source. Areas favorable to development of commercia1 production appear to be those in proximity to igneous rocks or in the vicinity of decadent volcanic activity, where, it has long been known, the gas is evolved either free or dissolved in the waters of fumaroles, geysers or mud pots. Structure contour maps are presented showing the Wagon Mound anticline in New Mexico and the Farnham anticline, Utah. A well drilled on the latter supplies gas to a 20-ton plant manufacturing solid carbon dioxide at Wellington, Utah, on the Denver and Rio Grande R.R., whence it is shipped to surrounding territory and to the West Coast. Before funds are invested in a plant for the manufacture of liquid or solid carbon dioxide, whether supplied by wells or springs, an effort to ascertain the volume of gas available is advisable. The use of present methods of estimation of gas reserves with modifications to account for the quantity absorbed by any water present in the producing formation is recommended. The Farnham anticline is used as an example and computations are made of the probable volume of gas originally present in the structure. No attempt was made to compute reserves in the Niland area, California, for the reason that in such areas it is believed the volume is indeterminate. Introduction Carbon dioxide, in liquid and solid form, has found a wide variety of uses other than its primary application in carbonating beverages. It is now used in more than 40 different ways, ranging from cooling or freezing to use in gas or liquid form for mechanical purposes, chemical industry, explosive, fire extinction, and tire manufacturing. Undoubtedly the chief supply of carbon dioxide is obtained from industrial plants or artificial sources and until recently natural deposits of the gas have received little consideration. Few will question the utility and perhaps dependability of artificial sources, which possess the advantage over

Jan 1, 1941