Search Documents

By Richard W. Lodge

Mr. H. R. Batcheller, of the class of 1894, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while experimenting with chlorine gas on a certain lot of roasted concentrates, met with the following difficulties: 1. A poor extraction of the gold. 2. A very large consumption of chlorine gas. 3. Inability to precipitate all of the gold from the solutioil containing the AuC1,. 4. The bullion obtained was very base. These difficulties were the same whether the chlorine was generated from H2SO47 MnO29 and salt, or whether H2SO, and bleaching powder were used. They may be accounted for partly by the presence of some arsenic left in the roasted ore, and partly by the presence of copper in the solution containing the AuCI3. It was therefore suggested to try the effect of bromine on a similar lot of ore. The use of this element is, of course, nothing new, but in the following experiments it seemed to present many advantages over chlorine. The material worked upon consisted of some concentrates containing 2.31 ounces of gold per ton, and 34.26 per cent. of arsenic, which would correspoild to about 74.4 per cent. Of

Jan 1, 1896

By E. A. Anderson

In 1918 the American Society for Testing Materials held a symposium2 on what was then known as season cracking. The sessions included six papers, all on brass. During the ensuing 26 yr., many new workers have come into the field and several other metals have been found subject to failure by stress-corrosion cracking when the right combination of stress and environment is achieved. It is not surprising, therefore, that the present symposium has brought forth 29 papers covering alloys of seven important metals. The phenomenon of stress-corrosion cracking is not necessarily confined to these seven metals. Dix3 has stated, "Indeed, it is probable that ingenious investigators can find solutions which will stress-corrosion crack any known metal or alloy." Mears, Brown, and Dix4 have indicated that stress- corrosion cracking failures are not necessarily limited to metals but may include the plastics. It is to be expected that the increase in the number of metals known to crack in service and the general emphasis on such failures at a symposium such as this will alarm many to whom the subject is un- familiar. Such alarm is not justified by the record. It is true that stress-corrosion

Jan 1, 1945

JAMES DOUGLAS Dr. James Douglas, twice President of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and one of its principal benefactors, died in New York on June 25, 1918, at the age of 81 years. After a life of extraordinary activity, failure of his health compelled him to retire about 2 or 3 years ago, and in view of his advanced years his death was not unexpected. His funeral was held at the Church of the Mediator, on June 26, and was attended by representatives of the American Institute of Mining Engineers and of the Canadian Mining Institute. His body was then taken to Quebec for burial in the family plot. An extended notice of Dr. Douglas, prepared by Dr. R. W. Raymond, will be presented in the September issue of the Bulletin. LEWIS NEWTON BAILEY Lewis Newton Bailey died of pneumonia at Camp Merritt, N. J., April 30, 1918, at. the age of 34 years. He was Master Engineer, .Senior Grade, in the Fourth Regiment, U. S. Engineers; and although he was offered a commission as First Lieutenant shortly after enlisting, he preferred not to accept it until he had reached France. By those who knew him well, this lack of eagerness for promotion will be recognized as consistent with his whole character.

Jan 8, 1918

By Arthur Wade

The most important development in connection with the search for oil in Australia during 1940 was on the legislative side. Prior to 1939 legislative enactments in the various states with regard to prospecting for petroleum were such as to prohibit large-scale effort and to bar the major oil companies from operating. The preparation of the Wade Model Bill for the Commonwealth Government in 1939 and the acceptance of the Bill in principle by all States, has gone far to remove these obstacles. Amending Acts, largely based on the Alodel Bill, have now been passed by all States with the exception of New South Wales and Tasmania. In New South Wales an Amending Bill is being drafted, while the Govern-ment of Tasmania is preparing to introduce an Amending Bill provided there is any demand for it. Noteworthy developments followed immediately on the passing of these Amending Acts. The Shell Company (1)1 and the Superior Oil Company of California (2) too$ up large areas in Queensland and com-menced work during 1940. Caltex acquired a big tract of country in the Kimberley district of Western Australia (3) and has made application for an area in the Territory of Papua. An Australian company, The Phoenix Oil Extraction Co., has obtained a permit to prospect over an extensive area bordering the south coast of Western Australia (4). Other developments are foreshadowed. The Shell Company is making an intensive examination of its area in Queensland (I). Geological, geophysical and aerial surveys are in progress. Caltex has three geological parties in the held in Western Australia while Superior Oil Company of California has done some geological work in the interior of Queensland (2). None of these concerns envisages a drilling campaign in the near future. Much exploratory work is necessary. Further work has been done by the companies that were already operating in 1939, though an important Australian company - Oil Search—has abandoned the work of prospecting in Australia. This company has subleased its holdings, at North West Cape in Western Australia (;), to Caltex on a royalty basis. The company also maintains its holdings in, and connection with, the Australasian Petroleum Company Proprietary Limited, which is a combination of Standard Oil (New Jersey), Anglo-Iranian and Oil Search. This company is operating in the territories of Papua and New Guinea. Drilling Victoria.—Although a good deal of drilling was done in the LaBes Entrance Tertiary Basin of Victoria (7), no appreciable production of oil was obtained. In order to test the extent and possibilities of the oil-bearing sand in this region, the Commonwealth and State Governments jointly put down six scout boreholes to depths of between 1200 and I500 it. The results were nega tive. A deeper exploratory horehole put down by the Governments at Seacornbe, or 26

Jan 1, 1941

By Arthur Wade

The most important development in connection with the search for oil in Australia during 1940 was on the legislative side. Prior to 1939 legislative enactments in the various states with regard to prospecting for petroleum were such as to prohibit large-scale effort and to bar the major oil companies from operating. The preparation of the Wade Model Bill for the Commonwealth Government in 1939 and the acceptance of the Bill in principle by all States, has gone far to remove these obstacles. Amending Acts, largely based on the Alodel Bill, have now been passed by all States with the exception of New South Wales and Tasmania. In New South Wales an Amending Bill is being drafted, while the Govern-ment of Tasmania is preparing to introduce an Amending Bill provided there is any demand for it. Noteworthy developments followed immediately on the passing of these Amending Acts. The Shell Company (1)1 and the Superior Oil Company of California (2) too$ up large areas in Queensland and com-menced work during 1940. Caltex acquired a big tract of country in the Kimberley district of Western Australia (3) and has made application for an area in the Territory of Papua. An Australian company, The Phoenix Oil Extraction Co., has obtained a permit to prospect over an extensive area bordering the south coast of Western Australia (4). Other developments are foreshadowed. The Shell Company is making an intensive examination of its area in Queensland (I). Geological, geophysical and aerial surveys are in progress. Caltex has three geological parties in the held in Western Australia while Superior Oil Company of California has done some geological work in the interior of Queensland (2). None of these concerns envisages a drilling campaign in the near future. Much exploratory work is necessary. Further work has been done by the companies that were already operating in 1939, though an important Australian company - Oil Search—has abandoned the work of prospecting in Australia. This company has subleased its holdings, at North West Cape in Western Australia (;), to Caltex on a royalty basis. The company also maintains its holdings in, and connection with, the Australasian Petroleum Company Proprietary Limited, which is a combination of Standard Oil (New Jersey), Anglo-Iranian and Oil Search. This company is operating in the territories of Papua and New Guinea. Drilling Victoria.—Although a good deal of drilling was done in the LaBes Entrance Tertiary Basin of Victoria (7), no appreciable production of oil was obtained. In order to test the extent and possibilities of the oil-bearing sand in this region, the Commonwealth and State Governments jointly put down six scout boreholes to depths of between 1200 and I500 it. The results were nega tive. A deeper exploratory horehole put down by the Governments at Seacornbe, or 26

Jan 1, 1941

By Michael Tenenbaum

The importance of semikilled steel as a high tonnage grade has long been recognized. The increasing severity of the applications for which semikilled steel is used makes it desirable to obtain further information regarding the features of open hearth practice and ingot structure that can affect steel performance in subsequent rolling and fabricating operations. Accordingly, an investigation is being carried out studying the structure of various types of semikilled steel ingots. This paper reviews some of the observations made and information gathered in this investigation. By definition, semikilled steel may be considered to include all nonrimming steels in which the natural shrinkage occurring during ingot solidification is offset to an appreciable degree by gas formation. Accordingly, this type of steel includes the entire range intermediate between rimmed and fully killed steel. The resultant ingot structures range from those of steels that have been capped to suppress a weak rimming action to those steels that have been killed in the furnace or ladle to the extent that no mold deoxidizer is required. A survey reported to the 1946 -AIME Open Hearth Conference' reviewed the practices being used at 28 major plants for the deoxidation of semikilled steel. It was found that most plants divide the deoxidizing additions between the ladle and the mold—many of the plants adding only minor amounts of deoxidizer to the bath or none at all. Silicon, aluminum and titanium were the only elements used for ladle and mold deoxidation. Mold deoxidizers were added as capping additions or as uniformly fed additions. Several practices were reported in which the steel was deoxidized in the ladle to the extent that little or no mold deoxidation was needed. No reference was made to grades capped by using special mold designs or special closures over the top of molds. .Accordingly, specific examples of this type of practice will not be considered in this paper. It appeared from this survey of deoxidation practice that semikilled steel can be divided into three types, namely, capped semikilled, in which aluminum is added near the end of pour or after shut-off, intermediate semikilled steels, in which aluminum is fed uniformly throughout the pour, and semikilled steels requiring no mold deoxidation. In an attempt to cover the ingot structures obtained by the range of practices reported in the preceding survey, three series of experimental heats were made using increasing amounts of aluminum, silicon and titanium for ladle deoxidizers. The ladle deoxidizers were added as stick aluminum, 50 pct ferrosilicon and 20 pct ferrotitanium (4 pct carbon), respectively. Two methods of studying ingot structures were used. Ingots were removed from production, burned longitudinally and machined to allow observation of the central pipe and coarse blowholes. During the machining operation much of the finely porous subsurface structure was obliterated. Accordingly, observations were also made

Jan 1, 1949

By Michael Tenenbaum

The importance of semikilled steel as a high tonnage grade has long been recognized. The increasing severity of the applications for which semikilled steel is used makes it desirable to obtain further information regarding the features of open hearth practice and ingot structure that can affect steel performance in subsequent rolling and fabricating operations. Accordingly, an investigation is being carried out studying the structure of various types of semikilled steel ingots. This paper reviews some of the observations made and information gathered in this investigation. By definition, semikilled steel may be considered to include all nonrimming steels in which the natural shrinkage occurring during ingot solidification is offset to an appreciable degree by gas formation. Accordingly, this type of steel includes the entire range intermediate between rimmed and fully killed steel. The resultant ingot structures range from those of steels that have been capped to suppress a weak rimming action to those steels that have been killed in the furnace or ladle to the extent that no mold deoxidizer is required. A survey reported to the 1946 -AIME Open Hearth Conference' reviewed the practices being used at 28 major plants for the deoxidation of semikilled steel. It was found that most plants divide the deoxidizing additions between the ladle and the mold—many of the plants adding only minor amounts of deoxidizer to the bath or none at all. Silicon, aluminum and titanium were the only elements used for ladle and mold deoxidation. Mold deoxidizers were added as capping additions or as uniformly fed additions. Several practices were reported in which the steel was deoxidized in the ladle to the extent that little or no mold deoxidation was needed. No reference was made to grades capped by using special mold designs or special closures over the top of molds. .Accordingly, specific examples of this type of practice will not be considered in this paper. It appeared from this survey of deoxidation practice that semikilled steel can be divided into three types, namely, capped semikilled, in which aluminum is added near the end of pour or after shut-off, intermediate semikilled steels, in which aluminum is fed uniformly throughout the pour, and semikilled steels requiring no mold deoxidation. In an attempt to cover the ingot structures obtained by the range of practices reported in the preceding survey, three series of experimental heats were made using increasing amounts of aluminum, silicon and titanium for ladle deoxidizers. The ladle deoxidizers were added as stick aluminum, 50 pct ferrosilicon and 20 pct ferrotitanium (4 pct carbon), respectively. Two methods of studying ingot structures were used. Ingots were removed from production, burned longitudinally and machined to allow observation of the central pipe and coarse blowholes. During the machining operation much of the finely porous subsurface structure was obliterated. Accordingly, observations were also made

Jan 1, 1949

By T. A. Rickard

The writing that is effective is woven with a fine texture into an agreeable pattern; it is free from knots, loose threads, and stray fluff. The instrument that weaves this literary fabric, whether it produce a homely sock or a lordly tapestry, a simple story or a learned 'Itreatise, is a disciplined intelligence, as sure as a steel needle, as precise as a swift loom. The simile breaks down at this point, for the product of the pen is instinct with the human spirit and therefore transcends in beauty anything made by a mere machine. If words are to be woven into eloquent meaning, they must be well knit. Upon the relation of words to each other and of groups of words to other groups, known as phrases, clauses, and sentences, depends the success of writing as a means of trans¬mitting thought from man' to man. To be understood beyond question, you should know not only what your words denote but how to build your sentences; you must not only choose your words aright but construct your sentences properly. A sentence is a combination of words that makes complete sense; it says something about something. ' A clause is a subordinate sentence or a sentence within a sentence. A phrase is a group of words without a predicate; it makes sense, but not complete sense. For example: I shall wait for a few minutes before I go home: The whole statement is a sentence; "I shall wait" and "before I go home" are clauses; "for a few minutes" is an adverbial phrase. The orderly arranging of words and of combinations of words is called `syntax'; and from the original Greek form, ouvaeis (suntaxis), is derived the Greek name for an editor,

Jan 1, 1931

By Ralph Sweetser

THE Round Table. on Qualities of Pig Iron, under the auspices of the Joint Committee on Qualities of Pig Iron, which is made up of members of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, the American Foundrymen's Association, the American Society for Testing Materials, the Gray Iron Institute, and the. Malleable Iron Institute, was held at the Palmer House, Chicago, Ill., on Oct. 1, 1935. PROCEEDINGS R. H. SWEETSER,* New York, N. Y.-Seven years ago last June we had a round table on qualities of pig iron1, and at that time the foundrymen were out with their battle-axes for the blast-furnace men, and the open-hearth men were doing the same thing. After that meeting there was really a determined effort to find out about the qualities of pig iron, and great progress has been made all along the line. This afternoon we want to have a frank discussion of the qualities of pig iron, whether it is the molten pig iron going into the steel plant, or cold pigs going to the different foundries. We ought to hear something from Dr. J. T. MacKenzie, who is chairman of the Joint Committee, and from Mr. R. E. Kennedy, the tech-nical secretary. J. T. MACKENZIE, t Birmingham, Ala.-As a result of that meeting in Chicago, there was considerable agitation in the Foundrymen's Association to develop a set of tests for pig iron. One of the difficulties was that nobody talked the same language on shrinkage, draws, live iron, dead iron, and so forth, which were the main com-plaints against pig iron. By request of a committee of the Foundrymen's Association, the Bureau of Standards ran a comprehensive set of tests that did develop the prin-ciples governing the optical pyrometer as applied to cast iron and pig iron. Then the Bureau went on further with the fluidity test, and developed a method for the absolute changes of volume at the freezing point.

Jan 1, 1936

By C. M. White

CITIZENSHIP is a rather abstract subject on which a great deal could be said-a subject on which a great deal is said -and still one which too many of us seldom think about and seldom work at. Too many of us engineers and business men have but a vague idea of citizenship. We think that if we go to the polls on election day and obey the laws scrupulously, with the exception of an occasional traffic violation, we are pretty good citizens and are doing our duty by our city, state, and nation. But when you think it over, that's a very passive observance of the important right of counting oneself a citizen of a country. There is nothing very positive in that attitude. There is nothing that indicates that we have sufficient interest to really go out and do a job for the -welfare of our country, forgetting any personal advantages or inconveniences that might arise. In other words, this type of voting-on-election- day, law-abiding citizenship does not keep us awake a single minute; it does not take any particular thought or require the expenditure of any time or energy.

Jan 1, 1939

By Ian Wark

IN an earlier paper1 measurements of contact angles due to the effect of xanthates on mineral surfaces were reported. The solutions in which these measurements were made differed widely from those of modern flotation circuits. It is intended, however, by introducing, one at a time, the other principal reagents of flotation, to approach gradually the solu-tion composition of flotation liquors. The work now described is an attempt to determine the effect of one of the most important of these reagents-namely, sodium cyanide-on the establishment of air-mineral contact. The work has been carried out for the following companies: Broken Hill South, North Broken Hill, Zinc Corporation, Electro-lytic Zinc of Australasia, Mount Lyell Mining and Railway, and Burma Corporation. Since the effect of cyanide is inseparably connected with the alkalinity, the results cited below deal with the mutual effects of alkalis and cyanide. Alkalis alone exert a significant effect on the air-mineral contact but comparatively large amounts are required. Since the addition of a small amount of cyanide greatly decreases the degree of alkalinity necessary for the suppression of contact at surfaces of any of the minerals experimented with (except galena) and since alkalis are rarely used alone in practice, little attention has been paid to cyanide-free solutions. It was shown in the previous paper that, excluding the dixanthogen effect, whenever contact was practicable at all in an ethyl xanthate solution the angle of contact was 60°. There is, therefore, less necessity to measure equilibrium contact angles; in fact, the experiments herein described have generally been conducted with a view to determining whether contact is possible and not to measuring the actual value of the contact angle. The separations which have generally to be effected in dealing with complex sulfide ores are: (1) galena from sphalerite, pyrite, etc.; (2) sphalerite from pyrite and/or gangue minerals; (3) copper minerals from pyrite and gangue minerals; (4) pyrite from gangue minerals; (5) chal-

Jan 1, 1933

By Paul F. Kerr, Donald M. Hausen

Fine colloidal gold near Carlin, Nevada is disseminated in leached carbonate strata of the Roberts Mountains Formation in the Lynn "window" of the Roberts Mountains thrust fault. The ore body is generally stratiform and is more or less conformable to altered beds near the top of the formation, underlying Devonian limestones. Two sequences of mineralization are recognized: ( 1) an earlier base metal-barite assemblage related to early Cretaceous intrusives (121 ± 5 m.y.), and (2) a later low temperature Au-As-Hg-Sb assemblage of near surface emplacement. The earlier sequence consisting of sparse galena and sphalerite in barite with anomalous amounts of zinc, lead, nickel and copper, associated with dikes of dacitic composition, is of little economic importance. The later sequence of gold, realgar, cinnabar, and stibnite associated with extensive silicification and argillic alteration of limestone beds, has resulted in important deposits of gold. Argillic alteration of hydrothermally leached carbonate strata has provided the environment in which the most prominent gold deposition took place. Carbonate minerals in the limestone host rock have been replaced by microcrystalline quartz and chalcedony to form stratiform silica masses and recrystallized lenses of euhedral quartz. Zones of porous silicification are light gray to white, elliptical in shape, and more or less follow bedding. Silicification is bordered by argillic alteration and pyritization. Deposition of gold usually lies in a zonal pattern that encircles chimney areas of silicification.

Jan 1, 1968

By T. A. Rickard

An educated man is distinguished neither by his clothes nor by his knowledge; he is replarkable not for the things he says, but for the way he says them. You cannot even stand with him under an archway in the rain without finding him out. He may talk only of the weather. His words and his phrases alike may be simple. -at distinguishes him is the arrange- ment of his words; however desultory his talk, it will be method- ical; he has habituated himself to foreseeing the part to be played by each word he uses and the place to be taken by each sentence he utters. On the other hand, the uneducated man, though shrewd and well-informed, will relate facts and events as they recur to him, generally in disorder; in his effort to recollect and in his attempt to rectify forgetfulness he will pause irregularly, filling the intervals with meaningless phrases, such as "and then ", "and: so ", or 'said he to me", "said I to him"; and even the contipuous parts of his story will be told confusedly-because he has not learned the proper use of words.* My own experience as an editor of technical manuscripts has taught me that the misuse of 'that' and 'which' is a fruitful cause of obscurity and confusion. The relative pronouns have distinct functions, and no writer can express himself clearly until he has learned to discriminate between these I functions. For example:

Jan 1, 1931

By Charles E. Hughes

HERBERT HOOVER had to sit through an hour and a half of eulogy of himself at Carnegie Hall last night, said the Sun and New York Herald of Feb. 19. When his turn to answer came he remarked that, although one of the speakers had referred to him as a modest man, he would never, in view of this experience, be able to prove it. The occasion was the presentation by the Civic Forum to Mr. Hoover of its medal of honor for distinguished service, the only recipients in past years having been General Goethals, Thomas A. Edison, and Alexander Graham Bell. Only by distortion of intent could there be said to be anything political in the affair, which was carefully described by the chairman, Charles E. Hughes, as non-partisan. Nevertheless, the praise bestowed on the former Food Administrator by the former Republican candidate for President, proved specially interesting to a much applauding audience which filled the hall to the uppermost gallery. A piece of real news was supplied by Horace V. Winchell, whom Mr. Hoover succeeded on Tuesday as President of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. He said that Mr. Hoover, when in Europe after the . armistice, caused to be collected the literature of the war in all Europe.

Jan 1, 1920

By E. H. Rose

From the more distant members and some not so distant, the plaint is often heard that they cannot justify the expense and time required to attend the AIME Annual Meeting. Almost invariably, the reason given takes this form: "I just don't see that I would get enough out of it." Often the would-be clincher is added: "Besides, the meat of it all comes out in print anyway." Not long ago, a group of us who have seldom missed a meeting in recent years fell to discussing this phenomenon, and found ourselves in emphatic agreement that anyone holding such a belief indicates by his first remark that he does not know how to attend a convention, and by his second, proves it. He is, by and large, the man who has never been there, and of him, there are many.

Jan 1, 1949

By A. C. Wallace

THE development of the natural resources of any district of any magnitude, inevitably gives rise to many problems off title, usually due to the greatly enhanced value of the land. The development of the mining industry in the Quapaw Agency has been no exception to this general rule. Our problems, how-ever, have not been many or particularly serious. The Quapaws were allotted and patents issued by the United States Government in 1895. These patents contained a restriction against alienation for a pe-riod of twenty-five years. The effect of the restric-tion was to prevent the Indian from selling, leasing, or in any way encumbering his land. The Govern-ment, in a paternalistic spirit, sought to teach the Indian thrift and industry and to insure him a place of residence. This is evidenced by the first Leasing Act passed by Congress, which permitted only incom-petents and those physically disabled to lease their land for either agricultural or mining purposes. The able-bodied Indian was denied the right to lease. It soon became apparent to the Government, how-ever, that this was a mistaken policy, and in 1897 a General Leasing Act was passed by Congress and it was under this act that the mining industry in the Quapaw Agency was developed. The act, reads as follows: "That the allottees of land within the limits of the Qua- paw Agency, Indian Territory, are hereby authorized to lease their lands, or any part thereof, for a term not ex-ceeding three years, for farming or grazing purposes, or ten years for mining or business purposes. And said al-lottees and their lessees and tenants shall have the right to employ such assistants, laborers, and help from time to time as they may deem necessary: Provided, That when-ever it shall be made to appear to the Secretary of the Interior that, by reason of age or disability, any such allottee cannot improve or manage his allotment properly and with benefit to himself, the same may be leased, in the discretion of the Secretary, upon such terms and conditions as shall be prescribed by him. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this are hereby repealed." It was the interpretation of this Act that gave rise to our first serious problems. It will be noted that the Act says that "allottees of land" within the limits of the Quapaw Agency are authorized to lease their land. Thus, the first question was presented by the use of the term "allottee," and the question was as to whether or not Congress intended to limit the Quapaw Indian to the leasing of his own allotment or did Congress mean that the term "allottee" was synonym-ous with "Indian" and intend to give the Indian a right to lease both his allotment and his inherited land and was an Indian without an allotment an "allottee" even though he was a member of the Qua-paw tribe and the owner of the Quapaw land by in-heritance, and not being an allottee, could he lease his inherited Quapaw land under the authority granted in this Act?

Jan 5, 1928

Jan 1, 1967

By Frank Haas

THE public generally has-become aware that there is something wrong with the coal industry and a clamor has arisen for an explanation if not a remedy for this disorder. It is only reasonable that this Institute be looked to for a diagnosis to show the way for some other .agency to prepare the patient for prescription or operation. The subject is extensive, widely diversified, and beyond the efforts of an individual to cover completely; one of the objects of this paper is the initiating of a symposium on the non- technical factors essential to an understanding of the bituminous coal industry. The present condition of the coal industry cannot be described in a few words but, in effect, it resolves itself into a simple statement: The average coal operator is losing money notwithstanding a firm conviction on the part of the consumer that he pays too much for his coal. Without enumerating the many and varied. factors which contribute to this condition, this paper will be devoted to the interrelation of taxation and ownership of coal and its effect on finance

Jan 1, 1930

By Roshan B. Bhappu

This is the Centennial year of AIME and many of us reading this issue of ' will be getting ready to attend the Centennial Celebration in New York from February 26 through March 4. The officers of the Division sincerely hope that a large number of our members will attend the fine technical sessions and social functions arranged for this really big meeting. The year 1971 will be a crucial one for MBD. This SME Division is a working group organized "to furnish a medium of cooperation among those interested in the basic unit processes and unit operations of minerals beneficiation; and to promote the advancement of this branch of mineral technology through meetings for professional intercourse, and to stimulate the preparation, reading discussion and circulation of papers connected therewith." No one can deny the worthiness of these objectives or minimize the efforts that Division officers and members have made to attain them. Much has been done over the past several years to achieve a smooth-running and effective MBD organization. However, there is still room for improvement and much more needs to be done in order to provide the best possible services for the membership and the profession.

Jan 1, 1971

The new Ceramic Engineering Building of the University of Illinois is to be formally dedicated on Nov. 20 and 21. The occasion will be made one of great interest to the clay-workers of the country. It is expected that the exercises will be attended by many representatives of the architectural, structural, mining, geological, chemical, and manufacturing interests. In connection with the dedication exercises, an industrial conference will be -held, in which a number of topics of current interest to the ceramic engineer, the clay-worker and the manufacturer will be discussed by well-known experts. : The number of students registered in the College of Engineering of the University of Illinois eleven days after the beginning of registration - for the new year, is as follows: Architecture, 116; Architectural Engineering, 167; Ceramic Engineering, 46; Civil Engineering, 190; Electrical Engineering, 266; Mechanical Engineering, 273; Mining Engineering, 25; Municipal and Sanitary Engineering, 26; Railway Engineering, 34; total, 1,143. The enrollment of students in the whole University, not including the College of Medicine, the College of Dentistry and the School of Pharmacy, which are located in Chicago, is 5,21.4.

Jan 10, 1916