Search Documents

By W. H. Emmons

A DIATREME is a hole blown through a rock by gases, presumably of volcanic origin. Not all pipes of ore have formed by deposition of metals in such openings, but a considerable number have so formed. In this paper are described peculiar vein patterns that are believed to be incipient diatremes or "perforation pipes." Grading into this group is one showing thorough brecciation without rotation of fragments and into the latter a group of ore pipes showing brecciation with rotation of fragments-many of them with well rounded fragments. Also, volcanic craters or volcanic necks are explosion pipes. These may carry ore deposits along their contacts and some carry deposits within the pipes. As new data appear this group becomes increasingly impressive. It has been shown that veins are concentrated in and about cupolas of batholiths and that such veins commonly lienearly parallel to the long axes of cupolas as these are shown on plans. It would be supposed that conical cupolas would have radial patterns, but few vein systems exhibit radial patterns. It is probable that explosion pipes also may form in areas above conical cupolas. From these the gases escape more violently because the loads above them are less than above an elongated cupola where larger bodies of rock are affected. The hypothesis is sound mechanically, for the top of an elongated cupola is a line whereas the top of a conical cupola is a point.

Jan 1, 1938

By O. P. Dolph

SPANIARDS were probably the first to mine the rich surface ore in the veins cutting the rhyolite capping that outcrops on the hills of La Mazata, oil the Allyones side of the Magdalena valley in Jalisco, Mexico, although the name comes from a word of Indian origin meaning "deer". The camp is about 12 km. west of Magdalena, a town on the Southern Pacific Railroad, and about 17 km. north of Etzatlán, on the Mexican National Railroad, at an elevation of 4500 ft. The climate is subtropical with no extremes of heat or cold, the rainy season beginning in June and ending in October.

Jan 1, 1938

By AIME AIME

HENRY DAYTON WILDE-"Date," informally- manager- of the technical and research department of the Humble Oil & Refining Co., was born at Aguascalientes, Mexico, Sept. 25, 1900. He is a graduate in chemical engineering: M.S. from the University of Texas and I Sc.D. fro111 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. t For a year and a half in 1926 and 1927 he was a research : associate in the research laboratory of applied chemistry at M.I.T., under W. K. Lewis. In the latter year Dr. Wilde went with the Humble as head of the laboratory experimental division of its refining development department. In 1929 he was made director of production research. Dr. Wilde is the author of important papers in the TRANSACTIONS of the Institute, wherein are also mans dis-

Jan 1, 1938

By M. Albertson

UNITED STATES petroleum pro-dU6tion during 1937 materially exceeded? that of any previous year. Firm control of the production rate was maintained under State and Federal laws and aided by the' Interstate Compact. During the first ten months," crude oil prices were stable, except for a slight increase early in the year. Toward the end of the year, uncertainty of price structure be-came evident and a sharp reduction in allowable production was under way. Exploration for new pools and development of .pools already discovered continued active throughout the year. Production control agencies in Texas, and to a less extent in New Mexico and Louisiana, appear to have had increasing difficulty in holding crude oil output to allowable limits. The situation elsewhere is less well known but probably the same condition exists in other important producing States whether control is by State commissions or by unofficial bodies.

Jan 1, 1938

By Edward H. Robie

THE registration badges gave out, there were not enough programs, the Pioneer Hotel's rooms were insufficient, and some hundred applicants for banquet tickets had to be turned down at the Institute's Regional Meeting in Tucson, Nov. 1-5. Minor inconveniences these, however, occasioned by the fact that, optimistic as they are in Arizona, about half again as many partook of the week's activities as were expected. For this, the local program committee can be blamed-both the technical and social features were too attractive in quantity and quality. Seriously speaking, though, the Institute has probably never had a more successful Regional Meeting than this one. It being the first that has been held in Arizona in 22 years, no effort was spared to make it the distinctive gathering that it was.

Jan 1, 1938

By W. R. Barclay

IN MY general contact with industry I have become more and more impressed with the need for the closest possible co-operation between engineers and metallurgists, and particularly with the need for appreciation of the work that each group is doing to assist the other. Also, I am convinced that from time to time it. is vitally important to a true perspective of human progress in all its branches, and certainly a salutary corrective of undue optimism and pessimism to endeavor to carry the mind hack over certain periods in the advance of technical knowledge, and form some kind of broad estimate of what has been accomplished in the application of science to industry in the fields with which we, as individuals or groups, may for the time being be concerned. We cannot without some appreciable mental effort realize what our forerunners have dine For us. If the young engineer or metallurgist entering industry today could be suddenly transported to a quarter of a century ago, and be compelled to work with the materials then available and within the limitations of knowledge then attained, he would, on his return to present-day life, have a much greater appreciation of what has been accomplished before lie arrived on the scene, and, what is even more important, a far more acute sense of its inherent value to his profession. I propose here merely to indulge in a general summary of the subject of improved engineering metals and alloys rather than in details, and to deal exclusively with developments within my own experience.

Jan 1, 1938

By Frank T. Sisco

DURING the past year the iron and steel industry of the world as a whole operated on a satisfactory basis. No discoveries nor new processes of outstanding importance were announced either here or abroad, although rumors of such were persistent. In general, the efforts of operating and research men in the iron and steel industry seemed to be confined to improving quality and reducing cost, not a new aim, for the same efforts have been noted in nearly all of the annual reviews of the industry for at least fifty years. Most published papers on blast furnace or steel-making practice were of minor importance, at least when judged by the criterion of radical change in process or product. If the number of reports in the technical journals, or articles in the trade press, is used as a basis for comparison, continuous-mill sheet is still the most important single product of the industry; papers were published detailing the results of the investigation of various phases of the

Jan 1, 1938

By William B. Plank

AN outstanding development in the field of education for the mineral industries during the past year has been an unprecedented eagerness by young men for college training in this field. The enrollment of students in the 53 mineral technology schools in the United States in 1936-'37 reached the all- time high of 7190. This represented an increase of 43 per cent in two years and was about ten per cent of all engineering students. Of these 7190 students only 980 graduated and were available - for positions in the industry. That the supply of graduates did not equal the demand can be substantiated by every school dean and by the personnel agents of many mining, metallurgical, and petroleum companies. Some of these companies last summer inaugurated the plan of employing, for the

Jan 1, 1938

By Earle E. Schumacher, Alexander G. Souden

IN the field of physical metallurgy it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep abreast of the recent develop¬ments since the diversity of investigations is so great and the literature so voluminous. The purpose of this review is to present the more important advances in the nonferrous field during the past few years, the topics discussed being classified broadly as fundamental and practical. The former includes those studies that have done most toward developing the basic science of metals and alloys, and the latter includes technical developments and applications. With the rapid growth of the metal

Jan 1, 1938

By Carle R. Hayward

THOUGH recent months have seen a rapid decline in lead-smelting activity and consequent uncertainty as to the future, the first half of the year showed progress in keeping with similar activity in other metals. Demand for scrap increased and various lead-bearing materials found their way to plants producing secondary lead. Some of these materials introduced complications into normal smelting procedure and were the cause of many conferences among plant officials attempting to find the most satisfactory method of treatment. If a blast furnace is to do itself justice it must be run with an open charge. Troubles inevitably result when materials are added to a charge which tighten it up and pre- vent free burning of the coke and con- sequent rapid smelting with a clean hearth This fact has long been recognized by plants producing primary lead, but only recently only it received the attention it deserves.

Jan 1, 1938

By Ronald C. Whiting

SINCE the advent of what has been aptly called "chemical flotation," about 1920, the number and complexity of the various chemicals used in practice have increased enormously. Over 300 patents have been issued dealing exclusively with flotation reagents, and many of these embrace from two or three up to a score or more of specific compounds. The exact number of compounds actually finding a practical use in flotation would be difficult to determine, though the U. S. Bureau of Mines gives an annual list by groups.

Jan 1, 1938

By James Tucker MacKeni~ie

BORN in Florida, educated in Ten¬nessee, employed all his life in the iron industry of Alabama, J. T. MacKenzie is truly of the South. In courtesy, hospitality, as well as in accent of speech, he is true to the tradition of the South. His alma neater, the University of the South, has given him the honorary degree of Doctor of Science for his achievements in metallurgy. He has been active in many technical societies; has received the Whiting Medal of the American Foundrymen's Association for his work in the advancement of gray iron metallurgy, and is chairman of the gray iron division of the A.F.A.; was instrumental in initiating the Alloys of Iron Research of the Engineering Foundation and has served as a member of its Alloys of Iron Committee since the Committee's organization.

Jan 1, 1938

By Charles W. Frey

OF all the machinery used in mining work, mine cars are probably the most abused. They are hauled through water and muck, up hill and down grade, whipped around curves, bumped and jerked, and exposed to the ravages of the weather. However, as a general rule their lubrication is not altogether neglected. The mine operator may not heed the extra drag that a frozen conveyor bearing gives, but he is all too aware of the increased load that faulty mine car wheels put on his power plant. When the circuit breakers begin to fly, and when his mine loco- motives come out with only half the cars that they were able to carry a month before, then neglected mine car wheel lubrication becomes apparent, and woe to the person responsible.

Jan 1, 1938

By Sherwin F. Kelly

MANY baffling problems of crustal geology-of warping and folding, elevation, subsidence, and great dislocations of the earth's surface-may now be on the verge of yielding to the science of geophysics. Electric, magnetic, gravitational, geothermal, and seismic methods are being turned to the gathering of geological evidence buried by deep layers of rock, or lying beneath the waters of the oceans. In this hope, B. L. Miller expresses the opinion that these geophysical studies will sup- ply useful data bearing-on some of the more theoretical problems of North American geology. Among these for example, is the explanation of how Appalachia disappeared. This ancient land mass is supposed to have foundered beneath the Atlantic Ocean after the close of the Paleozoic era and the question arises, was it warped or faulted downward? The geophysical data, though meagre, indicate that the surface of the dense, basal rocks, the probable remnant of ancient Appalachia now underlying the Continental Shelf, slopes downwards to a depth of some two miles below sea level at a distance of 140 mi. from shore: thus suggesting that the subsidence was the result of warping downward rather than abrupt faulting.

Jan 1, 1938

By Joseph T. Roy

MINING revival during the last few years has brought about a considerable increase in the number of gold and silver determinations made, noticeable in all branches of the industry but especially so in the business of a custom smelter. At East Helena, solely a custom smelter the assay department found that the four assay furnaces available were inadequate to handle the increased amount of work. These furnaces were of a standard design, having duplex muffles, one superimposed on the other; each muffle was 12 1/2 in. wide, 18 1/4 in. long and 6 in. high, and could handle 72 cupels or 20 fusions. Since the heat varied considerably between the upper and lower muffles, cupellations were not ruin in both at the same time. To speed up assaying, E. A. Meale, chief chemist, had the happy idea of enlarging a muffle furnace, originally designed by the Montana Power Co., so that one muffle would acconmmodate at least as many determinations as the duplex muffles. An order was given to the Denver Fire Clay Co. for a Carbofrax muffle of the size required and the local engineering department enlarged the furnace to accommodate the muffle. Details of the

Jan 1, 1938

By Harvey N. Davis

MUCH has been written and said during the last twenty years about the place of the engineer in modern life, about the fundamental role that he plays both in developing and in maintaining the material foundations of modern civilization, about the advantages, and also the dangers, of the machine age that he has inaugurated, about the Frankenstein problems that he has unconcernedly foisted upon a generation utterly unable to cope with them, and about the obligation that rests upon him to stop inventing machines and turn his almost legendary energy and skill to inventing institutions that will constitute a solution of the problems he has raised, and contrariwise about his utter inability to offer wise or useful counsel in fields outside the narrow boundaries of his technical training.

Jan 1, 1938

By AIME AIME

PAST President R. C. Allen, then State Geologist of Michigan, gave George Corless his first job-tracing ?magnetic? with the dip compass in northern Wisconsin. His second job was also with a man now Past President of the Institute-"Chief" Buehler, for whom he worked at Joplin three years. Then came seven years as geologist and later as assistant manager of the Chanute Spelter Co., a subsidiary of The American Metal Co., Ltd. His entrance into the oil business was not planned. During a lull in the zinc industry in July, 1926, he stopped at Houston, after a trip to the Rio Grande Valley, and was so impressed with the city that he decided to migrate. His first job there was with the Texas Company, whose impressive building across from the Post Office caught his eye after he had mailed a letter saying that he was settling in Houston and would not be home until Christmas. Some months later, A.I.M.E. Past President Philip N. Moore learned that he was in. Houston and wrote an unsolicited recommendation that resulted in his present employment with the Humble Oil & Refining Co. Today he is superintendent of the Gulf Coast Division of its production department. The Division extends from Jackson County, Texas, to New Orleans, and includes such pools as Sugarland, Conroe, Toni Ball, Thompsons, Anahuac, and Friendswood. -

Jan 1, 1938

By John Treweek

FOR many years the Homestake Mining Co. has devoted serious attention to the elimination of accidents, and ground is steadily being gained in this direction. In accident prevention work it is line-plunging with perfect teamwork and not the spectacular forward pass that brings progress toward the goal. In both surface plants and under- ground workings we regard "good housekeeping" as a first requisite for safety as well as efficiency. Under this term are included all types of safety guards and protective devices as well as cleanliness and orderliness it working places. Perhaps the most important factor in safety work is to arouse and maintain employee interest. The general morale and contentment of employees is of particular importance.

Jan 1, 1938

By Harold G. Moulton

IT is highly significant that engineers should seriously consider the interrelations of technology, economics, and government. It is indicative of the emergence of maladjustments and problems that perplex our thinking and frustrate our activities. Instead of a world in which scientific discoveries and their applications through engineering to the processes of wealth production are regarded as the royal road to progress, we now find science and engineering being made responsible, in no small degree, for our economic and social troubles; and the powers of government are even being invoked to stem the tidal wave of technology. Indeed, there is a deep-seated fear, manifested in the writings of some of our greatest scientists as well as in popular discussions, that science may destroy our civilization.

Jan 1, 1938

By AIME AIME

EVEN in the choice of his birthplace and parents, Donald B. Gillies indicated clearly the trend of his professional career. He was born on Nov. 4, 1872, at Bruce Mines, in Ontario. His father and mother came from the Isle of Skye, Scotland, to Nova Scotia, moved from there to Canada, and finally settled in the copper country in the northern peninsula of Michigan, where the senior Mr. Gillies followed mining as an occupation. Donald's early education was in the public schools and he graduated from Linden Lake (Mich.) high school in 1890. Following the family interest in mining he entered the Michigan Mining School, now Michigan College of Mining and Technology. There he was the rare student who excelled both in athletics and scholastic work. On the athletic field he was a crack football player and track roan. As early as 1890 lie established a record of 10 sec-

Jan 1, 1938