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By O. Cuscoleca

The Austrian plants at Donawitz and Linz were the first to blow steel with high purity oxygen. The paper shows how the process was developed and gives a survey of the results achieved to date. Compared with open hearth steel of equal quality, the obvious advantages of oxygen steel are the low investment and conversion costs. The nitrogen content of oxygen steel is not higher than that of good open hearth steel. Rimmed and killed steel products made by the oxygen process are superior to rimmed and killed steel products made by the best open hearth process. TWO new steel plants using the principle of making steel with high purity oxygen went into operation in Austria, one at Linz (Vereinigte oster-reichische Stahlwerke) in November 1952 and the other at Donawitz (dsterreichisch-Alpine Montan-gesellschaft) in May 1953. An estimated 330,000 metric tons were produced by the two plants in 1953, the first year of operation. In 1954 production by Austrian plants- using the high purity oxygen approach will be raised to 450,000 metric tons. This will be in addition to facilities in Huckingen (Man-nesmann A. G., Düsseldorf, Germany), those planned and under construction at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (Dominion Foundries and Steel, Ltd.), and elsewhere. It is expected that by 1955 a total capacity of one million tons of high purity oxygen steel will be available. At the close of the last century, because of increasing availability of scrap, open hearth steel production forged ahead at an ever increasing pace. This caused world steel production to rise faster than pig iron production and finally to overtake it. In 1911 65 million tons of steel were produced against 64 million tons of pig iron. World steel production was 209 million tons in 1951, while pig iron output was only 147 million tons. The 1951 breakdown for steel shows 118 million tons made from pig iron, while the balance, 91 million tons or 44 pct of the total tonnage of steel produced, was made from scrap. This increase in crude steel production on a basis of high scrap consumption led to the world market scrap shortage and soaring scrap prices. In the United States and other nations, production of converter steel has fallen far behind that of open hearth steel. The surplus of processing scrap, un-absorbable by converting mills and thus a welcome source for open hearth and electric melting shops in the past, together with regular scrap purchases, no longer can meet requirements of both open hearth and electric steel production in Europe. In addition, recent modification of the basic bessemer process, blowing with oxygenated blast, substantially raised the scrap capacity of these plants. Any further expansion of world steel production will necessitate utilization of self-containing processes in regard to scrap because of the shortage.

Jan 1, 1955

By Thomas G. Murdock

EthIopia, the first country to be liberated from Axis domination, has recovered remarkably from the ravages of occupation and war. Mineral production has contributed significantly towards this recovery, as it has provided a means of obtaining foreign exchange and has given employment to hundreds of workmen whose maintenance otherwise would have presented a problem. Although primarily an agricultural country, never with a large mineral production, Ethiopia has within its borders a variety of minerals, both precious metals and nonmetallics. Some of these are important to the country as a national asset and others contribute greatly to local economy and can be expected to do so even to a greater extent in the future1 (Fig I). Physiography and Geology The Empire of Ethiopia is essentially a mountainous and volcanic country, in northeast Africa, situated principally between latitude 4° and 15°N and longitude 34° and 44°E. It is bounded on the north by Eritrea, on the northeast by French Somaliland, on the southeast by Italian Somaliland, on the south by Kenya Colony, and on the west by Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. These European possessions thus completely surround the country. Its access to the Red Sea is through Eritrea; to the Gulf of Aden, through French or British Somali- land ; and, to the Indian Ocean, via Italian Somaliland. These routes range in length from 40 to 250 miles. Ethiopia has an area of approximately 350,000 square miles, with a width from north to south of 625 miles, and a maximum length from east to west, along latitude 8°N, of about 875 miles. Physiographically the country is characterized by two very extensive sub-tabular plateaus: the Ethiopian Plateau to the northwest and the Somaliland Plateau to the southeast, separated by a long tectonic graben—the Rift Valley of the Galla Lakes and Danakil. The Ethiopian Plateau, deeply cut and notched by the drainage, slopes in a general northwest direction toward the Sudanese Plains and the valley of the Nile; the Somaliland Plateau slopes to the southeast, toward the Indian Ocean. The valley of the Galla Lakes and its extension to the northeast—the Awash River Valley, separates the plateaus, from Lake Rudolph to Danakil. This depression which constitutes a continuation or ramification of the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa joins in turn the trough of the Gulf of Aden and the Danakil-Eritrean Rift, continuations of the Red Sea and the Jordan Valley. The general basement of Ethiopia is made up of very old rocks, usually considered as Archaen.2 These rocks are represented by the metamorphic crystallines, such as gneisses, different kinds of schists, included lenses of crystalline limestone, and massive intrusives such as granites, diorites, and syenites, all cut by

Jan 1, 1949

By L. Luini, E. Lee

An exploratory survey of the heat treatment response of commercial titanium alloys (Ti-150A, RC-130B, and MST 3AI-5Cr al-loys) shows a wide range of possible hardness and microstructural characteristics. The hardening is primarily dependent on the solid state transformation of the phase. An age hardening reaction which apparently is associated with ß decomposition and precipitation has been shown. Brittleness and notch sensitivity appear to be characteristic of age hardening to high hardness. Ductility, tensile strengths, and elongations are given. A NUMBER of commercially produced titanium-base alloys have been made available by the titanium metals industry. These alloys were developed to combine the light weight of titanium with increased strength through alloy additions. Usually the properties of these alloys are reported for material in the hot rolled and annealed condition. Since the production of commercial titanium has preceded the investigation of titanium-base alloy systems, the potential of these alloys is not well known. Although heat treatability has been indicated for these alloys, data on the response to heat treatment are quite limited. The heat treatability of titanium is based on the allotropic transformation of the high temperature, body-centered cubic ß structure to the low temperature, hexagonal close-packed a structure at approximately 1625 °F. This transformation in the pure metal is of little practical significance in heat treatment since the high temperature phase is not amenable to controlled transformation. Alloy additions serve to alter the transformation kinetics and permit control of the transformation by heat treatment variables. The effects of different alloys on the allotropic transformation in titanium classify them in two general categories,1 a stabilizing and ß stabilizing elements. The a stabilizers, represented by aluminum and oxygen, raise the temperature limits of the low temperature phase and introduce a two-phase a + ß temperature range. The ß stabilizers, represented by molybdenum and columbium, lower the equilibrium temperature of ß and give rise to an extended temperature range where both a and ß phases are stable. Another type of ß stabilizer, represented by iron, chromium, and manganese, introduces a eutectoid reaction. Some commercial titanium alloys belong to complex multiple element systems. Based upon the phase diagrams of the binary systems, the general effect of commercial compositions is to vary the stability of the high temperature phase and significantly alter its transformation characteristics. Therefore it is expected that the characteristics of alloyed titanium can be altered by heat treatment. The present investigation was undertaken to survey the variations in hardness, microstructure, and mechanical properties as affected by heat treatment variables. Commercial Alloys lnvestigated The commercially available titanium-base alloys selected for this investigation and obtained as 3/4 in. diameter hot rolled and annealed bars are listed in Table I. The producer did not determine the chemical composition of the Ti-150A heats X1052 and L685. The early heats of Ti-150A, prefixed with the letter X, were melted with tungsten-tipped electrodes and cast in approximately 500 lb ingots 12 in. in diameter. The heats prefixed with the letter L were melted under a revised melting practice yielding approximately 1300 lb ingots 16 in. in diameter. The final annealing treatment was at 1200" to 1250°F for 1 hr. The MST-3A1-5Cr alloy was melted in an induction furnace and cast in 7 in. diameter ingots. This practice produces high carbon material and some variation in the amount of carbides was found in different sections of the same bar. The RC-130B alloy was melted with a carbon arc. This alloy showed approximately 2 pct carbides. No large segregation effects were observed.

Jan 1, 1955

By Francis L. Vinton

THE eccentric theodolite I exhibit is one constructed by the Stack-poles of New York, from drawings, considerably modified, of Combes's theodolite. The telescope is on one side of the horizontal limb, and the vertical circle is opposite to the telescope; thus they nearly balance each other, making already the construction lighter than in the instrument of Combes, where the telescope and vertical circle are together on the same side, and are both balanced by a considerable weight. The instrument stands upon three levelling screws or feet, an improvement upon the old or general style of mounting a transit on four feet-for indeed the instrument is easier levelled, and, more-over, stands more stable on three than on four points of support. The general advantage of an eccentric theodolite is evident, namely, that it can measure any and all vertical angles, from 0 to 360, without being interfered with by the horizontal limb as is the transit; besides this advantage, it needs no preparatory adjustment or correction for eccentricity ; on the other hand, however, that correction

Jan 1, 1873

By M. J. Humenick, K. Garwacka

A laboratory experimental research project was conducted to evaluate the use of chlorine for the oxidative destruction of residual ammonia that may remain in ground water after in-situ uranium solution mining operations. The work tested the idea of injecting high strength calcium hypochlorite solution into the mining zone to convert ammonia to nitrogen gas as a final cleanup process for ammonia removal from the ground water system. This paper details ammonia removal efficiency as a function of chlorine dose, reactant, and product material balances, and how the concept may be used as a final ground water restoration process.

Jan 1, 1985

INTO their great Pacific Northwest counting house went the members of the Industrial Minerals Division recently, to count their blessings amidst the scenic grandeur and mineral wealth of the State of Washington. From their vantage point in Seattle, those who attended the IMD's fourth Pacific Northwest meeting turned their sights to the South and Southeast, scanned Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Utah, and predicted a very healthy economic future for their region. The praises of Idaho's booming phosphate industry were sung by Earl W. Murphy, secretary of that State's Chamber of Commerce. He said the establishment of Fort Hall, on the banks of the Snake River near Pocatello, first turned the eyes of the world toward what is now the center of the greatest known deposits of phosphate rock-the section adjacent to the common corners of Idaho, Wyoming and Utah. With the founding of Fort Hall, Mr. Murphy said, historians will also rank the construction of the first electric furnaces for the production of elemental phosphorous as equally significant in the commercial history of the West. Those furnaces were installed only last year by the Westvaco Chemical Div. of the Food Machinery & Chemical Corp. at Pocatello, at a cost of $8 million.

Jan 7, 1950

By Maurus Seet

Mainland China, with one-fourth of the world's population and one-tenth of its coal production, can no longer be ignored as a considerable force on the world energy scene. In terms of annual productivity, China's 300 million tons of coal rank third behind the Soviet Union with 655 million and the United States 557 million (1968 Minerals Yearbook. USBM). When viewed from another angle, 1967 figures show that increased productivity from all coal-producing continents, with the exception of North America, was led by Chinese-dominated Asia with a 19% gain. Not unpredictably though, China, on a per capita basis, is closer to the bottom of the list among members of the industrial community. Despite its misspent youth, and despite the set- backs caused by the Big Leap Forward of the late 50's and the Cultural Revolution of the late 60'S, the People's Republic has managed to make some impressive strides in developing its coal industry over the past twenty years.

Jan 1, 1971

Jan 1, 1941

By Francis L. Vinton

THE eccentric theodolite I exhibit is one constructed by the Stack poles of New York, from drawings, considerably modified, of Combes's theodolite. The telescope is on one side of the horizontal limb, and the vertical circle is opposite to the telescope ; thus they nearly balance each other, making already the construction lighter than in the instrument of Combes, where the telescope and vertical circle are together on the same side, and are both balanced by a considerable weight. The instrument stands upon three levelling screws or feet, an improvement upon the old or general style of mounting a transit on four feet for indeed the instrument is easier levelled, and, moreover, stands more stable on three than on four points of support. The general advantage of an eccentric theodolite is evident, namely, that it can measure Any and all vertical angles, from 0 to 360, without being interfered with by the horizontal limb as is the transit; besides this advantage, it needs no preparatory adjustment or correction for eccentricity; on the other hand, however, that correction

By H. A. Guess

For a number of years I have used for the commercial wet assay of lead generally the ammonium molydate, and occa-sionally the ferrocyanide method. These well-known methods need no detailed description here. In the ore-selling and ore-buying establiahments of the West, 90 per cent. of all wet lead-assays are made by one or the other, and at least nine-tenths of this proportion by the molybdate method. A procedure so well-established must have merit; and, in

Jan 1, 1905

Jan 1, 1940

By D. S. Newton

Introduction Historically the production of zinc dust has been based upon residual and secondary zinc. Using horizontal retorts filled with diecasting scrap, galvanizers drosses and sweater billets, dust has been produced by condensation into static condensers on a 24 hour cycle. Although fairly flexible as regards input materials the process is not amenable to close control of the product, is labour intensive and unless carefully run can cause fume problems. With a steadily increasing demand for zinc dust of consistent properties and higher quality there is a demand for an improved method of manufacture in which dust can be produced continuously and which is capable of close control thus ensuring a minimum amount of oversize or unsaleable material. The Process in use in the works of Imperial Smelting Corporation (Alloys) Ltd. in England, and in Canada and Holland, satisfies the criteria stated above, and has proved to be easy to control with a minimum labour demand.

Jan 1, 1970

By Ali M. Heidarieh Zadeh, Raghu N. Singh

The paper presents a stability investigation of shaft intersections and pit bottom roadways in the vicinity of upcast and downcast shafts at a colliery in the U.K. Aschemeof instrumentation was aimed at monitoring the strata displacement surrounding the pit bottom roadways and shaft intersections with a view to ascertaining the origin of the strata movement and effectiveness of the control measures. The bore- hole instrumentation results together with a theoretical analysis suggested that the cause of instability could be attributed to the drivage of a roadway within the shaft pillar. A semi-empirical technique was used to calculate the amount of support resistance required to reinforce the pillar to take additional abutment load. A rock bolting system was designed to provide a required increase in thrust capacity of the roadway support. The results indicated that roadway closure was effectively controlled after installation of bolts indicating efficacy of the control measures adopted.

Jan 1, 1982

The Anglovaal Group has released details concerning its new processes for recovering platinum group metals, stating that the Group's system, which involves batch processing and precipitation methods for these metals (PGM's), leads to faster recovery times, increased recoveries, and higher purities than the conventional process. Insofar as South Africa's Merensky Reef is concerned, the Anglovaal method of recovering palladium first (as opposed to platinum in the conventional process) enables it to use a much simpler process in the subsequent recovery of platinum and other metals. Because the processes give cleaner separations, the volume of material to be recirculated -and therefore the total volume of material in the recovery circuits- is reduced substantially.

Jan 3, 1976

By P. W. Bridgman

FLOW and fracture are admittedly complicated phenomena of which we are yet only partially masters. There is not even universal agreement as to the details of the language best adapted merely to describe the phenomena, to say nothing of any theory. Certain points of view, however, are widely held, and there are certain general expectations as to what sort of procedures will prove permissible. A complete description of any situation involving fracture would demand a complete history of all the variables in the control of the experimenter. The experimenter endeavors so to choose his independent variables that they are adequate to determine completely the situation in the sense that when an experiment is repeated on the same initial material and with the independent variables running through the same sequence, all the other measurable properties of the system will also run through the same course. It is, I think, the universal conviction that when we are dealing with phenomena of flow and fracture, the most important of the necessary variables are the external forces acting on the various parts of the body; when the force history repeats, with certain obvious restrictions such as that temperature must be constant and non- mechanical forces, such as magnetic field, must be small enough to be ineffective, then the history of all measurable properties will repeat; in particular the alteration of geometrical shape due to flow will run through the same course, and when fracture comes, the character of the fracture will be reproduced. Complete mastery of merely the descriptive aspects of flow and fracture would demand the ability to predict the entire course of flow and complete characterization of the final fracture for every possible combination of forces, varying in time in all possible ways, when applied to bodies of all possible shapes. This full situation is obviously of prohibitive complexity. The first stage in reduction to manage- able simplicity is to resolve the total situation into the sum of contributions made by small elements. Our thesis is that if each of the elements is adequately characterized, the behavior of the whole system is fixed. The element is usually taken of a simple geometrical shape, suggested by the mathematics best adapted to the particular situation. The forces acting across the faces of the elements are ultimately determined by the forces acting across the free faces of the whole system. The detailed process of finding the precise forces on the faces of all the elements in terms of the external forces involves the use of a special mathematical invention, the stress, a constructional quantity consisting of six components. The stress at any point in the body is determined by both the external force system and by the physical properties of the body at all points; quite different stresses prevail at the interior of bodies of the same shape under the same external forces in the elastic and plastic ranges. The forces on the faces of any element are, however, uniquely determined by the stress system at the element. Our fundamental thesis

Jan 1, 1944

By M. E. V. Plummer, F. E. Beamish, J. C. Hole, J. M. Kavanagh

Prior researches have shown that the iron-copper-nickel content of platinum concentrates may be reduced by carbon to form a collecting alloy for the platinum metals in a manner exactly analogous to the formation of the lead fire assay button. The nature of the iron-copper-nickel alloys with the platinum metals has been investigated. Palladium and probably some of the other platinum metals form solid solutions with this alloy. ONE of the greatest known reserves of the platinum metals is to be found in the nickel, copper, iron sulphide deposits of Northern Ontario. The very large tonnage of copper-nickel ore processed makes the Sudbury district a significant world source of the platinum metals, the latter being recovered as byproducts in the electrolytic refining process for copper and nickel. Chalcopyrite, pentlandite, and pyrrhotite are carriers of the platinum metals;' these minerals contain from 0.03 to 2.0 ppm of the noble metals. The analysis of the above ores for the platinum metals necessitates an initial concentration of the minute quantities present in the ore. The method usually employed involves the extraction of the noble metals by molten lead with or without small proportions of silver. The lead is then separated from the precious metals by cupellation, a process which involves absorption by the cupel and volatilization of lead oxide, leaving the precious metals collected in a silver bead on the surface of the cupel. The collection by lead is probably achieved by a process of dissolution followed by some degree of segregation in the lead alloy since the cold button is seldom uniform in composition. With silver-lead alloys this process of liquation has been used to re- cover pure lead since, during the cooling period, crystals of pure lead separate and silver becomes concentrated toward the center of the solid.' Platinum and gold liquate in a manner similar to silver which may account for the successful recovery of platinum by fire assay even though it is considered insoluble in a solid lead medium. 3 In the case of iridium the liquation process may be a disadvantage in that the iridium may appear in the outer areas of the button and thus be lost mechanically during the handling processes. In any case the deficient alloying characteristics of lead for the platinum metals encouraged attempts to find an improved collecting alloy, and by analogy with aqueous extractions, preferably one in which solid solutions would be readily formed. Since, beyond a certain minimum solute to solvent ratio, the formation of a solid solution is accompanied by a lattice distortion, one would expect some relationship between the atomic diameters of any two metals and their tendency to form a solid solution. In one survey5 the hypothesis was put forward that when the atomic diameter of the solute differs by more than about 15 pct from the solvent, the "size factor" is unfavorable and the formation of a solid solution is restricted. On the other hand, when the atomic diameters are within this limit the size factor is favorable and solid solutions are readily formed, e.g. the transition metals of Group VIII having similar radii form solid solutions over wide ranges of composition.6 Even with a favorable size factor, elements having different crystal structures cannot form a continuous series of solid solutions. Cell dimensions alter as the concentration of the solute increases, causing a

Jan 1, 1962

By B. M. Larsen, W. E. Shenk, T. E. Brower

Shortly after our previous paper on this subject was printed1 we located a source of uncertainty in the results arising from the unexpected fact that hydrogen slowly reduces silica at 1100" C. in presence of iron, even when the iron nowhere touches the silica, although in absence of iron it does not do so. This difficulty has been completely obviated by the use of a small high-frequency furnace, which enables us to heat the specimen for analysis without raising the temperature of the silica vessel to a point at which any appreciable reduction of the silica glass occurs. We now describe this modification of procedure, and present some typical results obtained with it. For any given specimen of steel, the results are entirely definite and reproducible, but their precise significance is still open to some question, as indeed is true of all methods of oxygen determination SO far developed. Further elucidation of this question is to be expected from the cooperative comparison of the several methods now under way under the auspices of the Bureau of Standards at the instance of the Iron and Steel Division of the A.I.M.E. Apparatus The final form of apparatus we have used is identical with that described and illustrated in our previous paper, except for the substitution for the Globar furnace of a small high-frequency furnace actuated by a vacuum tube oscillator2 0f about 1.5 kw. capacity, and for a slight modification of the containing vessel. This transparent silica vessel is illustrated in Fig. 1 of this paper. Its enlarged portion is about 5 cm. in diameter and 13 cm. long. The silica tube for inlet of hydrogen is fused into this bulb and ends beneath the metal "bucket" holding the steel sample. This sample is in the form of fine millings. The "bucket" is suspended by a platinum wire from the cap of Pyrex glass. The high-frequency

Jan 1, 1934

By R. W. Raymond

The tidings of Mr. Hewitt's death, cabled to me at Rome, Italy, brought me a great shock as well as a sincere sorrow. I had left him, a few weeks before, not indeed in vigorous health, but still quite able to command recognition as a continued power in public affairs; and I thought him destined to enjoy for many years that final stage of a long, active and honored career, in which, having passed beyond the struggles and rivalries of business and of politics, his life and character could be justly appreciated by all men, like some noble work of art, already crowned, and marked henceforward "hors de concours." Moreover, he was, and would be to the end, not merely the passive recipient of admiration and esteem, but the source of iuspiring appeals, effective warnings and wise counsel. His rich and varied experience he had placed at the service of his fellows. His lightest word was weighty, and those who contradiEted him only injured their own cause thereby. Great trusts (true " trusts," in the old and proper sense of the term), like the Cooper Union, the Carnegie Institution, and others, still commanded his disinterested services. Great principles of liberty and of justice continued to be reinforced in perilous crises by his powerful advocacy; great measures were daily receiving from him a decisive impetus. No wonder it seemed to. us that this happy period of reward so well earned, and of beneacence so welcome to innumerable recipients of its blessing, must continue yet awhile. We did not expect the night instailtly to engulf the full-orbed sun. Nor, indeed, has this been our experience; in this instance, the sunset has left an afterglow more luminous than many a noonday. For the principal data contained in the following brief sketch of Mr. Hewitt's life, I rely upon memoranda personally approved by hirn, some months before his death, for my use in

Jan 1, 1904

By Lucien Eaton

THE accuracy with which detachable bits can be sharpened and gauged by grinding has made possible refinements in design that cannot be attained by forging. This applies particularly to gauging, where accuracy is of the greatest importance. Gauge changes of 1/32 in., and even 1/64 in., are now feasible, whereas 1/16 -in. changes are about the limit in accuracy for forged bits. These small changes in gauge are feasible, however, only with certain fundamental principles of design. Within reasonable limits the depth to which a hole can be drilled is dependent primarily upon the loss in gauge, or diameter, of the bit. In drilling there is always a certain amount of "overdrilling"-the bouncing of the bit in the hole and its rotation wear away the walls-so that the actual diameter of the hole is greater than the diameter of the bit. The amount of this overdrilling depends upon the kind of rock being drilled, and is sometimes sufficient to permit the use of the same diameter of bit for the full depth of the hole. If, for instance, a 1 3/4-in. diameter bit overdrills 1/32 in. in diameter, and loses 1/64 in. in gauge in drilling 2 ft. of hole, the bottom of the hole is still 1/64 in, larger than the original diameter of the bit, and a new 1 ¾ -in. bit can be used to drill the next 2 ft. If, however, the overdrill is less than the loss in gauge, the next bit must be of smaller diameter. The first requisite in reducing loss of gauge in drilling is to have the points and corners of the wings of the bit cut circles of the same diameter, thus producing a reaming surface with continuous bearing on the wall of the hole. The greater the reaming surface, the less the gauge loss that is to be expected. If the reaming surface, however, is too large, it may impede the rotation of the bit through excessive friction. This principle was probably first recognized in the design of the Carr bit (Fig. 1), a bit with a single cutting edge of wide angle, a definite reaming edge, and a large center hole. The same idea was followed in designing the double-taper cross bits, which are now standard almost everywhere.

Jan 1, 1939

By H. J. Wasson

DEVELOPMENTS in Venezuela during the past few months have been obscured by the hap-penings in Seminole and, more recently, those in southwest Texas. The question has been asked whether or not the opening of these vast new, prolific areas in the United States may not have depressed prices to a point so low as to give the developments in the Caribbean countries a serious setback. Nothing of the kind, however, has taken place, and on the contrary, there has been demonstrated the fact that Venezuela can profitably produce great quantities of oil under existing market conditions, and at the same time finance the foundation for further large expan-sion in the future. The three big factors which contribute to place Venezuela in a unique position and tend to insure the steady expansion of its oil industry are, in the order of their importance: I. Reasonable oil laws backed by a sound govern-ment, which comprehends the all-important fact that the country's prosperity depends on the prosperity of its industries, in a word, perceiving that the goose which lays the golden egg merits considerate treatment. II. The low cost of placing Venezuela oil on our At-lantic seaboard; not over $0.60 per barrel. III. The uniformly high average production per well and the large area of some of the individual pools. Under these conditions Venezuelan producers may be expected to continue steady and profitable ex-pansion even in the face of further market slumps. Their position is analogous to that of the low-cost copper producers, and unless artificial barriers, such as tariffs, come into play, Venezuela will steadily grow in importance. Within less than five years it should be second only to the United States among the oil-producing countries of the world.

Jan 10, 1927