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By Charles Will Wright

THE HIGHLY SPECIALIZED heavy air transport services to mining regions, such as exist in the New Guinea gold fields and in northern Canada, have been even more essential in the development of mines in Peru. Few nations have been con- fronted with greater natural obstacles to transport than has Peru, and without the plane it would have been impossible to get the machinery and supplies for the construction of power plants and mills to many of these interior mines, situated as they are over high mountain ranges, with muleback the principal means of transportation. As the mines within a district become important producers and warrant the expenditure, the mule trail is being replaced by automobile roads to connect with the railway stations and with the airports.

Jan 1, 1940

THE strike and dip of bedded formations is readily determined by trigonometry if some marker horizon is intercepted by three holes. If no marker can be identified and if orientation of the cores is unknown, as is the usual case in diamond drilling, the determination still can be made readily by the use of a stereonet if the bearing, inclination, and angle the bedding makes with the core axis is known for each of the three holes. Such determination, valid only if the bedding orientation is fairly uniform within the area drilled, is considered simpler, faster, and more effective than any solution previously published. Method: The steps of this procedure are as follows: 1) Mark north and south poles on tracing paper placed over stereonet.* 2) Plot the three diamond drillholes by drawing a line from the center of the net in the direction of the bearings of the holes. Then rotate the paper until each line, in turn, lies along the equatorial diameter of the net; the end of each line is determined by the inclination of the hole measured in degrees from the periphery toward the center of the net along the equatorial diameter. Fig. 1 illustrates a vertical hole and a hole inclined at —23" due east. 3) With the projection of one diamond drillhole along the equatorial diameter, measure from the end of the hole, to the east and then to the west, a dis- tance in degrees equal to the core axis-bedding plane angle. Find two more points by measuring the same number of degrees north then south along the great circle from the end of the drillhole. Draw a circle, the center somewhere along the direction of the projection of the drillhole, to connect these four points. Draw circles for the other two diamond drillholes in the same manner. See Fig. 1 for two circles representing core axis-bedding plane angles of 35" and 23" and Fig. 2 for these plus a third circle representing a core axis-bedding angle of 42" in a hole bearing S 50 W inclined at —52". 4) Rotate the tracing paper until one great circle on the stereonet is found which is tangent to all three of the circles or parts of circles derived in the previous step. Trace this great circle on the paper and join its ends with a straight line passing through the center of the net. The bearing of this line is the strike of the bedding. In Fig. 2 the bedding strikes N 77 E. 5) Rotate the paper until the strike is along the polar diameter of the net. The dip of the bedding is determined by measuring along the equatorial diameter the distance in degrees from the periphery of the net to the great circle derived in step 4. The dip of plane illustrated in Fig. 2 is 55" to the N 13 W. Fig. 3 indicates the solution for three holes whose bearings and inclinations are N 20 W and —43o, due E and —30°, S 30 W and 23" with core axis-bedding angles of 30°, 50°, and 43" respectively. The bedding (stippled area) strikes N 44 W and dips 70" to the southwest.

Jan 1, 1956

By AIME AIME

ORGANIZATION of The Federated American Engineering Societies was effected at the organizing conference of national, local, state and regional engineering and allied technical organizations at the Cosmos Club, Washington, D. C., June 3 and 4. Thus is brought into being the greatest national engineering society in the world. The object of the organization is to further the interests of the public through the use of technical knowledge and engineering experience, and to consider and act upon matters common to engineering and allied technical professions. Prominent engineers from all parts of the country, representing more than 75 engineering societies, with an aggregate membership of more than 125,000, participated in the organization. The constitution as adopted by the conference, calls for the creation of s managing body to be known as the American Engineering Council, and its executive board. The belief was expressed that the entire organization would come to be spoken of as the American Engineering Council. The council is to coordinate the activities of state councils and of local affiliations whenever these activities are of national or general importance or may affect the general interests of engineers. Representation in the council is to be according to membership of the component societies.

Jan 1, 1920

By Herman F. Kaiser, Charles S. Barrett, Robert F. Mehl

The copper-silver system presents several points of special interest in the study of segregate structures. The system is simple eutectic, with limited solid solutions terminal with the pure component metals. The extent of solid solubility decreases with decreasing temperature for both the copper-rich and the silver-rich alloys, thus offering a possibility for the formation of Widmanstätten figures and also a possibility for aging after quenching. In contrast to the structures studied previously the structures in this system are unique in their origin, for one terminal solid solution will precipitate the other, and vice versa. In most of the other systems for which crystallographic data on the precipitation (or transformation) process arc available, either intermetallic compounds or intermediate phases partake in the decomposition process; the absence of such phases thus distinguishes this system. The lattice structures of the two solid solutions are identical in type, differing in lattice spacing by approximately 10 per cent; because of this it seems difficult if not impossible to predict on the basis of present theory either the outward form of the precipitate or the lattice orientation relationships between matrix and precipitate. The eutectic temperature in the copper-silver system' is 779" C. At this temperature copper dissolves 4.3 atomic per cent (7.0 weight per cent) of silver in solid solution; this solid solubility decreases to zero at room temperature.² Silver at the eutectic temperature rctains 14.0

Jan 1, 1935

By Charles S. Barrett, Herman F. Kaiser, Robert F. Mehl

The copper-silver system presents several points of special interest in the study of segregate structures. The system is simple eutectic, with limited solid solutions terminal with the pure component metals. The extent of solid solubility decreases with decreasing temperature for both the copper-rich and the silver-rich alloys, thus offering a possibility for the formation of Widmanstätten figures and also a possibility for aging after quenching. In contrast to the structures studied previously the structures in this system are unique in their origin, for one terminal solid solution will precipitate the other, and vice versa. In most of the other systems for which crystallographic data on the precipitation (or transformation) process arc available, either intermetallic compounds or intermediate phases partake in the decomposition process; the absence of such phases thus distinguishes this system. The lattice structures of the two solid solutions are identical in type, differing in lattice spacing by approximately 10 per cent; because of this it seems difficult if not impossible to predict on the basis of present theory either the outward form of the precipitate or the lattice orientation relationships between matrix and precipitate. The eutectic temperature in the copper-silver system' is 779" C. At this temperature copper dissolves 4.3 atomic per cent (7.0 weight per cent) of silver in solid solution; this solid solubility decreases to zero at room temperature.² Silver at the eutectic temperature rctains 14.0

Jan 1, 1935

By W. P. Sykes

TUNGSTEN serves mankind in two major roles. The first of these is represented by the tungsten filament of the incandescent electric lamp, a common article of commerce. In the field of hard alloys it plays its second substantial part. A fortunate combination of physical properties in this metal ac- counts for its efficient service as a source of illumination. Tungsten melts at about 3400°C, has a relatively low vapor pressure and at the same time sufficient strength, both hot and cold, to serve satisfactorily as filaments, which may range in diameter from 0.060 to 0.0005 in. In the early days of the incandescent lamp, the pioneers realized the importance of using a substance of high melting point for the source of light. The metals osmium (mp approx. 2700°C) and tantalum (mp approx. 2850°C) were both employed to some extent. Tantalum actually attained some commercial importance in this field because it could be drawn into small wires of appreciable length. DUCTILE TUNGSTEN WIRE Before the year 1908, tungsten was considered a nonductile metal, since no one had succeeded in overcoming the brittleness so typical of the unworked metal at room temperature. The methods employed today in producing ductile tungsten wire were developed over a period of years. The process was largely determined by the exceedingly high temperature required to melt this metal. Even today the difficulties involved in producing an appreciable quantity of pure

Jan 1, 1953

By G. Carman Ridland

IN conjunction with a geological investigation of the silver-bearing veins at Contact Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada, a survey was made with a Geiger-Müller counter of the gamma-ray emissions from the rocks in the vicinity of the mine workings. Discontinuous pitchblende veins have been encountered occasionally in the silver-bearing fissures, and the geophysical survey was undertaken with the hope that abnormally high gamma-ray intensities, if detected, might lead to larger and more continuous pitchblende discoveries. Before the instrument was used at Contact Lake, preliminary tests were made, first with laboratory specimens at Princeton University, and later over known pitchblende deposits at the Eldorado property, LaBine Point, N.W.T. The Geiger-Müller counter, as adapted for field use, is described; the technique of transporting and operating the instrument is outlined; and the general precautions to be observed are discussed. The results obtained at Great Bear Lake show that the instrument is capable of detecting not only a pitchblende ore shoot in a shear zone, but also the mildly radioactive "host rock" at a considerable distance from the ore body. Hence, use of the Geiger-Müller counter is urged, not just for the detailed search for an ore body in a shear zone, but for the detection of possible radioactive "host rocks" in large-scale reconnaissance surveys of unexplored regions made by prospectors and members of federal geological survey parties.

Jan 1, 1943

By William E. Ford, Edward Salisbury Dana

General Principles of Optics Optical Instruments and Methods General Optical Characters of Minerals 1. Diaphaneity 2. Color 3. Luster Special Optical Characters of Minerals belonging to the different Systems A. Isometric Crystals B. Uniaxial Crystals General Optical Relations Optical Examination of Uniaxial Crystals C. Biaxial Crystals General Optical Relations Optical Examination of Biaxial Crystals 306. Before considering the optical characters of minerals in general, and more particularly those that belong to the crystals of the different systems, it is desirable to review briefly some of the more important principles of optics upon which the phenomena in question depend. For a fuller discussion of the o tics of crystals, special reference is made to the works of Groth (translation by Jackson), Liebisch, Mallard, Duparc and Pearce, Rosenbusch (translation by Iddings), Iddings, Johannsen, Winchell, mentioned on p. 3 also to the various advanced text-goks of Physics. 307. The Nature of Light. - Light is now considered to be an electro- magnetic phenomenon due to a periodic/variation in the energy given off by vibrating electrons. This energy is transmitted by a series of periodic changes that show all the characters of ordinary wave phenomena. The light waves, as they are commonly called, possess certain short wave-lengths that are of the correct magnitude to affect the optic nerves. Other similar waves with longer or shorter wave-lengths belong to the same class of phenomena. Immediately beyond the violet end of the visible spectrum come the so-called "ultra- violet" waves with still shorter wave-lengths and on beyond these we have the X-rays and the "gamma" rays produced by radium. Of the waves having greater lengths than those of light waves we have the waves that give

Jan 1, 1922

By Carle R. Hayward

(Wilkes-Barre Meeting, June, 1911.) THE growing importance of metallography has caused a corresponding interest in the improvement of apparatus for preparing specimens of metals and alloys for microscopic examination. The purpose of this paper is to describe an electric heating-furnace, a grinding-and-polishing machine, and a device for mounting specimens, which are used in the metallographical work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These three pieces of apparatus were designed and made in the laboratory of the Institute, and. each possesses some original features which may be of interest. ELECTRIC HEATING-FURNACE., The accurate control of heat necessary for metallographic work is best obtained by the electric-resistance furnace. Unfortunately, however, even the platinum-wound furnaces deteriorate with use and ultimately burn out, while the cheaper resistance-materials are often short-lived. Since the resistance-coil must be replaced from time to time, it is of advantage to be able to make this change with as little trouble as possible, and this is an important feature in the furnace shown in Fig. 1. A is a cylindrical galvanized-iron can, with two handles, B. A porcelain tube, C, passes through the central hole in the cover of the can and rests upon the asbestos disk, D; the bottom of the tube is held in place by the asbestos ring, E. The space, F, around the tube is filled with powdered magnesia. G is an ordinary assay-crucible, with the cover inverted so as to present a smooth top for supporting a second porcelain tube, H. The latter is wound with ?Excello " resistance-tape, 0.014

Dec 1, 1911

By AIME AIME

THE MILLING PROGRAM on Monday required a morning and afternoon session with a special luncheon of the Milling Committee in the Engineers Club at noon. Grinding and flotation were the main subjects of the papers which drew an attendance of fifty or more at each session. Under the direction of Chairman Arthur F. Taggart in the forenoon, all papers on flotation and general milling were considered, leaving the, after- noon free for crushing and grinding, with Dr. Galen H. Clevenger in the chair. The high spot was the first public presentation of the idea of size reduction of minerals by explosive shattering.

Jan 1, 1932

By B. T. Brady, Wilson Blake

One of the more widespread experimental procedures currently used in experimental rock and soil mechanics work involves the use of a short circular cylinder loaded axially between nonrigid end plates1-5 (Fig. 1a and b). It is widely recognized 6 that a number of undesirable features are connected with this test procedure ; the most noteworthy of these is the development of a nonuniform stress distribution throughout the specimen resulting from an elastic mismatch between the specimen and the end plates. In general, the end plates and specimen possess different elastic properties. As a result of this elastic mismatch, the uniform distribution of stress and strain applied to the end plates is altered at the interface, the degree of which is dependent not only on the magnitude of the elastic mismatch but also on whether there is any relative movement between the specimen and the end plate. A convenient measure of the elastic mismatch is the ratio (vp/Ep) / (v8/E3), where v and E are Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus and the subscripts s and p refer to the specimen and end plate, respectively. For most tests that use steel end plates, (v8/E8) is greater than (vp/Ep) ; i.e., the specimen tends to expand or contract laterally more than the end plates. Because of the frictional restraint offered by the end plates, shearing stresses are developed at the interface that, for compression testing, act inward producing a "clamping" effect (Fig. lc). The effect of this "clamping" is to produce a state of triaxial stress throughout the specimen. Fig. Id illustrates the coordinate system and stress nomenclature used. In a homogeneous, elastic two-dimensional plate loaded uniaxially at the edge, a uniform stress distribution is obtained at a distance from the

Jan 1, 1972

By HARRY H. SMITH

IT IS my understanding that, speaking broadly, the function of the engineering profession is to find how to do the thing required better for less money. Mechanical engineers, mining engineers, and the various other kinds of engineers are engaged in discovering and effectuating new and improved methods .of producing better goods and services at less cost to industry. The savings and advantages, thus, accruing ace reflected from time' to time in increased productive powers of industry and lower costs to the public which consumes the goods and services.

Jan 1, 1931

H. 0. HOFMAN, Boston, Mass (written discussion*).-The paper by Mr.. Pyne gives clear evidence of the difficulties the metallurgist is likely to encounter when he tries to recover in the blast furnace the metal from old chromite lining used as a refractory material in the copper reverberatory furnace. It appears that chromite cannot be fluxed at temperatures which usually prevail in copper blast furnaces. This calls to mind the freezing-point curve drawn by M. Simonis1 of mixtures of chromite and kaolinite. The chromite used in the experiments contained 52.9 per cent. Cr203, 22.6 FeO, 4.8 AI203, 9.6 Si02, .10.1-MgO; FIG. 1. the kaolinite was clay from Zettlitz with 98.5 per cent. clay-substance: The accompanying curve shows that the eutectic mixture with 35 per cent. kaolinite and 65 per cent. chromite freezes at Seger cone No. 15 (1435° C.), while kaolinite fuses at cone No. 35 (1770° C.) and chromite at cone No. 42 (2000° C.). The curve indicates that the difficulty in the blast furnace can be overcome by having at the smelting zone a temperature much higher than is usual in copper smelting; a charge composition similar to that prevailing at the Mansfeld copper smeltery -which gives with 23 per cent. coke a, slag of the composition Si02, .49.09; .(FeMg)0, 5.58; (CaMg)0, 16.02; A1203,-16.02-might flux and fuse chromite.

Jan 3, 1918

By E. G. Leonardon

THE first to appreciate and foresee the value of applying electrical measurements to structural studies was Prof. Conrad Schlumberger, Professor of Physics at the School of Mines in Paris. One of his earliest practical undertakings in this line was carried out, in the field, at Fierville-la-Campagne, Normandy, in 1912. His book, published in 1920,1 still stands as an authoritative, fundamental treatise on the use of the electric current in geological studies, in spite of the rapid evolution of geophysics during the last seven years. A remarkable feature of this book is that, even then, it stressed the role of electricity in structural investigations and made public the first successful results obtained therewith. Stratigraphic studies have been pursued continuously by Conrad Schlumberger and his associates since 1912, the only interruption being the World War. The results attained demonstrate the wide possibilities of electrical exploration in structural work. This field of activity is, at the least, as varied and valuable as the search for ore. It is curious that until very recently it has so slightly attracted the attention of geophysicists and geologists on this continent. The purpose of this paper is to present briefly some examples of the practical application of the potential methods to geological studies. These examples are chosen from a number of problems solved in the field by our firm, in the course of its consulting practice. Certain fundamental points are briefly stated before the field operations and interpretations are described.

Jan 1, 1928

By Elmer R. Kaiser

COMBUSTION of coal and transfer of heat from flames and gases to boiler surfaces continue to be of great interest to engineers here and abroad. Numerous investigations have been in progress to improve furnace and boiler performance and economy. The importance of better understanding of the processes and opportunities for improvement is apparent when it is remembered that heat from at least 500 million tons of coal a year the world over is being transferred to boiler water at efficiencies ranging mostly between 50 and 90 pct. Even slight gains in efficiency, economy, and labor saving become very significant when multiplied by the enormous quantity of fuel consumed. Also the competitive position of the large coal, oil, and gas industries in satisfying the fuel consumers is greatly affected by the achievements made through technical progress with each fuel. This paper is part of a continuing activity of Bituminous Coal Research, Inc., to extend the knowledge of coal utilization for steam generation and to seek promising directions for future research and development in cooperation with others. Particularly in the latter regard, numerous interviews were held during the last three years to seek the experience and advice of boiler and combustion- equipment manufacturers, electric-utility executives, and fuel engineers. A wealth of published information was also reviewed, which together with the interviews pointed to the advisability of further work on ash and sulphur control.

Jan 3, 1954

By H. K. Work, H. B. Emerick

IN the past year the steel industry underwent an abrupt conversion from a war tempo to a highly competitive peacetime schedule. It is still too early to gain a comprehensive picture as to which of the measures in production metallurgy, that made the war effort so successful, will remain in the postwar production of steel, but many of them undoubtedly will fill an important place after the war. Considerable speculation has developed regarding the disposition of the war-born production facilities of the steel industry. These include new open-hearth and electric furnaces, as well as vast numbers of auxiliary, supplementary, and balancing units that increased and speeded up production beyond the normal capacities of existing melting furnaces and finishing mills. Although these facilities were installed primarily to help meet war requirements, consideration was also given, in planning, to their possible peacetime use. The new equipment is generally modern and efficient, and it seems reasonable to suppose that strategically located units will gradually be absorbed by various steel companies to supplement their own facilities, or to replace in kind, obsolete and inefficient equipment now ready to be scrapped. Some, however,

Jan 1, 1946

By Rodolfo V. de la Cruz, Richard E. Goodman

Knowledge of the initial state of stress in rocks provides a key to the solution of many problems in rock mechanics. The initial state of stress is part of the basic data required for rational design of structures in rock, since its redistribution when engineering activities are conducted is a primary load on the rock portion of the engineering system. Knowledge of initial and subsequent changes in the state of stress is also relevant in the study of active faults and crustal strain. The purposes of stress measurements are not generally well served by methods which disclose only one of the stress components at a point. Recently, interest has centered on overcoring methods which though ex- pensive and difficult have the important advantage of yielding data on three or more stress components. In a previous paper, the authors introduced a new method-termed borehole deepening-based on measurement of the deformations that occur close to the bottom of a borehole when it is deepened by further drilling without overcoring.l The proposed method is at a disadvantage when compared with over- coring procedures in that the quantities to be measured are somewhat smaller and the measuring environment is more hostile. However, the borehole deepening method presents three distinct advantages in comparison with overcoring procedures: (1) Using the same borehole, both the initial and the subsequent changes in the state of stress can be obtained by borehole deepening. Stress changes with time are

Jan 1, 1970

By T. Sterry Hunt

I HAVE already referred to this interesting locality in the opening address, but at the request of some of the members of the Institute, brought before them specimens of the ore and the accompanying rock. The ore, which is cassiterite, is also met with elsewhere in Maine, at Paris and Hebron, but it there occurs associated with orthoclase, quartz, tourmaline, and beryl, in concretionary granite veins, which cut the micaceous gneisses of the White Mountain series. At Winslow the veins traverse an impure gray micaceous limestone, which is found in many parts of this region, and is subordinate to the same gneissic series. The veins, which are seldom more than an inch or two in thickness, are abundant through a considerable breadth of the rock, and are interlaminated with it, occupying places between the sedimentary layers, which are distinctly marked by different shades of color. Occasionally, however, they cut across the stratification for a little distance, showing that the disrupting action was not always confined to tearing the layers apart. The vein-stone consists of purple fluor-spar, and silvery white mica with quartz. In this gangue the cassiterite, nearly black in color, is disseminated in small crystalline masses, sometimes one-half an inch in diameter, and is associated with a little mispickel. I have only seen the veins as exposed at a single point, but was informed that similar veins holding the ore are met with at a distance of several thousand feet.

Jan 1, 1873

ABOUT 2 lb. of alumina (aluminum oxide) of high purity is required to produce a pound of metallic aluminum. Projected production of metallic aluminum in the United States is now seven to ten times the peacetime rate a few years ago. In the past, all the alumina for aluminum production in the United States has been obtained from bauxite. Part of the bauxite was mined in the United States--chiefly in Arkansas-and part was imported from Surinam. All of it was chemically treated in the United States to separate the greater part of the aluminum oxide from the bauxite, alkaline solutions being used, in a method known as the Bayer process. The ingredients of the bauxite other than alumina, such as the compounds of iron titanium, and silicon, constitute the tailings from the Bayer-process operation. This product contains sufficient iron to give it a red color and hence it is called "red mud." Lime and soda used in the processing, are also present. Varying amounts of alumina remain in the red mud, depending upon the characteristics of the bauxite, the effectiveness of the treatment, and in particular upon the amount of silica originally present in the bauxite. High-silica bauxites result in high alumina loss in the red mud.

Jan 1, 1942

By AIME AIME

THE Western States Joint Convention opened at Denver on Sept. 20, with about 400 registered the first day. Monday was devoted to the American Mining Congress, and the afternoon session was taken up with a discussion of the public land laws of the United States. Hubert Work, Secretary of Interior, and William Spry, Commissioner of the General Land Office, presented a comprehensive review of the origin and operation of the laws and argued against any general change in the system. Charles E. Winter, Congressman from Wyoming, marshalled the arguments in favor of turning over the public lands to the states within which they lie, and George H. Dern, Governor of Utah, presented a well-reasoned argument in favor of allowing the school sections to pass to the states regardless of their mineral or non-mineral character. The debate made it clear that in the West especially, there is strong feeling against any further development of the policy of reserving and leasing the public lands. Tuesday forenoon was devoted to the Silver Producers Association, F. H. Brownell and Charles A. Thomas being the principal speakers, and in the after- noon the American Association of Petroleum Geologists met with Alex. W. McCoy presiding, and Glenn C. Clark, J. V. Howell, and J. W. Beede presenting papers.

Jan 1, 1926