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A. Scott Reid, London, Eng. (communication to the Secretary*) :—As a constructor of several glass mine-models, .I have read with much interest the description of the model of the Montana-Toriopah mine-workings by Edmund D. North.

Jan 1, 1910

As is known to representatives on Engineering Council, the Patents Committee of Council has collaborated with the similar committee of National Research Council in developing a scheme for the improvement of the method of dealing with patents in this country. The staff of the Patent Office is itself actively engaged in this effort. Out of the report prepared by the National Research Council, and approved and adopted by Engineering Council as the report also of its Patents Committee, remedial legislation has taken form. Three hills have been introduced, known as H.R. 5011, a bill to make the Patent Office independent of the Department of the Interior or any other department, and to simplify the procedure of the Courts with reference to assessment of damages or profits for infringement of patents; H.R. 5012, a bill to establish a single Court of Patent Appeals; and H.R. 7010, a bill to increase the force and salaries in the Patent Office. Chairman Charles A. Terry, of the Patents Committee, requests that representatives of Engineering Council write to their congressmen, urging the passage of these hills and so far as convenient, request their friends to do likewise.

Jan 9, 1919

By P. Martignan

UNTIL quite recently, Alsace was the only district in France where petroleum could be found in somewhat industrial quantities. The Pechelbronn fields produce, however, only about 80,000 tons a year, which represent approximately one-eighth of the domestic consumption. Much research work has been done in Alsace to find the prolongation of the Pechelbronn fields, but instead of oil the drillings revealed the existence of large deposits of potash. This can be easily explained when one remembers that the Pechelbronn oil is of the Oligocene period, and that in the Alsatian stratification the Oligocene lies immediately on the Keuper, i. e., on the strata that originate from a period during which the largest salt and potash deposits were constituted. Before the war, and mostly at the end of the last century, some wells were drilled in. various districts of France where some analogies could be found with the Alsatian geology, the borings being mainly made in the Triassic and Tertiary beds. They led to negative results. After the war, the growing importance of oil urged the necessity of resuming the explorations. But it. is our belief that this was greatly facilitated by the enacting of new legislation, which is embodied in the Mine Act of May 16, 1922.

Jan 3, 1925

By Eugene Guccione

FOREWORD-Back in October of last year, I approached three of the largest commercial banks in the country to solicit an article about the role of commercial banks in mine financing. "We'll be delighted to cooperate with you in any way we can," was the stock response. As the September 1975 deadline approached, however, every bank officer I had contacted almost a year earlier informed me that he couldn't write such an article be- cause of "prior commitments," "an excessive workload," or "vacation schedule," etc. This was not a total surprise. Any commercial banker will be truly delighted in talking with you, if you have a good mining prospect, a good reputation, a good batting average in your business-and if he has the capital you want to borrow. But what happens when banks themselves are illiquid? Much as they would like to help you, they simply can't. And most of them clam up.

Jan 9, 1975

By Takahide Wakamatsu, Douglas W. Fuerstenau

Contact angles on alumina are related directly to the adsorption of alkyl sulfonates at the solid-water interface and thus are strongly controlled by the pH of the solution, the concentration of surfactant, and the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl chain. As the pH of the solution is increased above the point of zero charge, sulfonate adsorption ceases and alumina remains hydrophilic. However, in neutral and acidic solutions, contact angles increase markedly in magnitude when the adsorbed sulfonate ions form hemimicelles at the solid-water interface. Under a wide variety of solution conditions, a limiting value of the contact angle is attained at the point of reversal of the zeta potential. Finally, contact angle phenomena are empirically correlated with the sulfonate adsorption density through the work of adhesion.

Jan 1, 1974

By Arthur Redfield

THE year 1923 was marked by slight progress in exploring and developing the petroleum resources assumed to exist in Central America. Actual drilling for oil took place only in Costa Rica and Panama. The Sinclair Consolidated Oil Corpn., through its subsidiary the Costa Rica Oil Corpn., drilled in southeastern Costa Rica.. Its, Panaman subsidiary is reported to have abandoned drilling in Bocas del Toro. The Texas Co. drilled in Chiriqui, and the Panama Gulf Co. in Garachiné, Province of Darién. No oil was obtained in any of these wells;' shows of gas were met in Costa Rica. Concession hunting continued during the year. A number of concessions, several of which appear to be purely speculative, were submitted for ratification. Some confusion has been caused by overlapping concessions and claims to oil lands, caused partly by the imperfection of existing maps. A conflict between the Sinclair, and Gulf companies in Panama has been compromised. The Amory concession in central Costa Rica, held by the British Controlled Oilfields, Ltd., was voided by decision of the arbitrator, Chief -Justice Taft. Geologic exploration took-place in Guatemala and in Panama. The chief contribution of the year to Central American geology was a description by Katherine Van Winkle Palmer of Lower Miocene foraminifera and mollusks from southeastern Costa Rica. A new petroleum law was promulgated in Panama.

Jan 3, 1924

ENGINEERS AVAILABLE (Under this heading will be published notes sent to the Secretary of the Institute by members or other persons introduced by members.) A member of the Institute who has had many years' experience in office management for prominent mining engineering and metallurgical companies, and who is now located in the West, would like to secure an executive position with a firm or company engaged in mining or metallurgy, located in the East, and preferably in New York. No. 139. Member, aged 36, married, graduate mining engineer, 14 years' active experience as engineer, superintendent, and manager of large coal-mining operations. Wide experience in development and operation of

Jan 10, 1914

By William J. Millard

The Island of Trinidad has much the same geological history as the continent of South America. There are present in this area Cretaceous, Tertiary and Quaternary rocks, which were deposited in a basin covering eastern Venezuela and Trinidad, very much as rocks of the same age were deposited in the Maracaibo Basin in western Venezuela. Along the north coast there are metamorphosed and semimetamorphosed Cretaceous rocks which are found as semicrystalline limestone, schists and quartzites, etc. Both the Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks are petroliferous and are responsible for the production of oil in Trinidad and eastern Venezuela. The geological column in the oil-bearing region of Trinidad is shown below.

Jan 1, 1931

By J. L. Jernegan

IN the summer and fall of 1875, the author was present during a short smelting campaign at the Hall Valley works, and having had occasion to make a number of chemical analyses of the ores, fuel, and fluxes, deems that the results of the same, and also an account of the smelting operations, may be found of interest to members of the Institute. The mines and reduction works of the Hall Valley Silver-Lead Mining and Smelting Company (limited) are situated at Hall Valley, Park County, Colorado. The smelting works are located about half way from the mouth to the head of the above-named valley, and the mines high up on the mountains, near its head. The three principal mines of the company are the Whale, Leftwick, and Cold¬spring. They are all on different veins, running parallel to one another, with a general trend from southwest and northeast. The

Jan 1, 1877

By John A. M. E. Church

AT the last meeting of the Institute, a discussion arose upon the question, " Is them pressure in coke ovens ?" and many of the members seemed to think that the superiority of the Belgian furnace might be due to the fact that it is a completely closed chamber, in which the gases given off by the coal are, or may be, at more than the atmospheric pressure. It seems to me that this position is untenable, and that an examination of one of these ovens in operation will show, not only that there is no excess of pressure in the coke chamber, but that the contrary is true, and a partial vacuum exists. The Belgian or François oven consists of a rectangular chamber closed at the ends by sliding doors, and furnished with flues in the side walls and floor. The new charge is introduced at a time when the furnace is so hot as to cause immediate and copious discharge of the volatile constituents of the coal. The gases pass downwards through the side flues giving out their heat to the walls and thus to the coal. Underneath the floor air is introduced and the gases burn, producing intense heat. Heat is also reflected from the arched roof upon the coal which is therefore heated from all sides. The especial advantage which this construction was designed to secure is that no air is admitted to the coke-chamber. All the heat is produced by the combustion of the uncokeable gases, and the yield ought to be a maximum. It is so in fact, allowing for the imperfections inseparable from furnace construction and management. Sometimes the yield is in excess of the percentage indicated by assay, showing that

Jan 1, 1873

By Philip S. Morse

THE Australian lead-smelting plants began to use charges carrying high zinc percentages somewhat earlier than was common with American plants. When lead smelting first started in Australia the immense deposits of oxidized lead at Broken Hill were available but later these oxidized ores became exhausted and were replaced by sulfides. This was before the days of flotation and these sulfides when concentrated carried about 1 per cent. of zinc to 6 per cent. of lead. The works of the Sulphide Corpn. at Cockle Creek was perhaps the pioneer in high-zinc slags but the Port Pirie plant of the Proprietary Co. was a close and very able second and has continued the work to the present time. The Cockle Creek lead furnaces remained in operation until shortly after the war when most of the Broken Hill companies combined and took over the Port Pirie plant to treat their concentrates. As it was the practice both at Cockle Creek and Port Pirie to carry 20 per cent. or more of lead on the charge, it was found that under these conditions of large amounts of zinc in the charge, good roasting was absolutely necessary and matte production was unwise. The Hunting-ton-Heberlein system of roasting was introduced and later the Dwight & Lloyd process. In this way, by roasting the sulfide portions of the charge as thoroughly as possible and making no matte, a method of smelting was developed where the slag over long periods carried as high as 20 per cent. ZnO without serious furnace troubles, and slags carrying even up to 33 per cent. ZnO have been reported. The zinc slags were not very different in appearance from the ordinary slags produced in American practice except that they gave off more smoke and fume on tapping. The slag usually ran hot and freely, coming from the tap in a full stream. Normally there was little crust on the sides of the furnace and the tuyeres gave no trouble though they were always rather dark. At the works of the Sulphide Corpn. it was the custom, on account of the labor situation, to shut down the furnaces during the Christmas holidays, thus giving a campaign of about 12 months. The furnaces at the end of the run usually showed no crust on the sides, though crusts always occurred at the back and front ends. A furnace campaign of 22 to 23 months has been made at this plant where both sides of the

Jan 1, 1929

Your esteemed favors transmitting my discharge as your representative on the War Minerals Committee have come duly to hand and the kind words of commendation contained are greatly appreciated. Like other war committees, The War Minerals Committee's business in Washington was to meet an emergency as best it could, and as soon as the emergency had passed pressure of personal responsibilities immediately scattered the individual members. A detailed report of the Committee's work is therefore impossible. But before the matter is closed I feel it incumbent on me to ask you to report to the Directors and the Council, and through them to the members of the Institute and of the Society, the inestimable value to our Committee of the unstinted support given by both your officers and members. The instant response to all requests for funds was of the greatest assistance in getting started with office force, stationery, etc., and led later to a regular organization in the Bureau of Mines, working under a special appropriation, which is still doing good work as the War Minerals Investigation under Dr. Spurr. The voluntary work of the special sulphur and manganese committees formed by the War Minerals Committee was of great value to the Government. Copies of private reports supplied were of much assistance. But the great service of engineers and geologists as a whole was rendered in connection with the passage of the War Minerals Bill by Congress. Though every assistance possible was rendered by the Bureau of Mines and the Geological Survey, by the close of 1917 our Committee had about reached the limit of its usefulness in the way of stimulating the various Government executive committees, bureaus and departments to a realization of the country's need of preparation for domestic production of "war minerals" and had found that special Congressional action was imperative if the war was to continue for anything like the time then generally feared. This was necessary not only 'to insure a. supply of war minerals but to make possible the appointment of some able mining administrator of large experience in the mineral industry who, with ample authority, could sit in the councils of the Government and see to it that the ever increasing autocratic powers the war was developing were used toward the mining industry so as to foster rather than crush the latter in its effort to produce sufficient raw material for war and essential civil requirements.

Jan 7, 1919

By Robert B. Paul

This paper describes the new lead smelter and refinery recently completed by the American Smelting and Refining company in Southeast Missouri.

Jan 1, 1970

By Alexander L. Holley

(WITH FIGURES ON PLATE I.) A CHARACTERSSTIC, and, to Americans, an amusing discussion of the three-high rail-mill, arose out of the reading of Mr. Lauth's paper on three-high plate-mills, at the Glasgow meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute. From the report of the meeting in the English papers, it appears that Mr. Menelaus, the celebrated rail-maker of Dowlais, could not wait for the discussion of Lauth's plate-mill, but launched at once into the British objections to the three-high rail-mill, which is quite another matter. The American mill, which is very different in principle and ar-

Jan 1, 1873

Jan 1, 1907

By J. B. Novak

The program describes preventive maintenance practices and controls applicable in situations where maintenance actions are triggered primarily by breakdown or part failure and specification and documentation of detailed maintenance practices are minimal or nonexistent. The presentation describes requirements of organization structure, program administration, implementation and operation, type of benefits expected, and actual benefits derived in selected areas. The principle objectives of the program are to provide quick, inexpensive, and effective controls over maintenance practices and requirements and to establish a nucleus of controls that subsequently can be expanded to cover all maintenance activities.

Jan 1, 1973

By Robert N. McIndoo

A good tire program must begin at the top; management must have an awareness of the tremendous potential for cost saving that tires represent. At Reserve Mining Co., tires account for 33% of the cost of maintaining its 44 tractor-trailer side-dump haulers and 22% of its 32 rear-dump trucks. In comparison, engine overhauls account for only 6% of the maintenance dollar. Doubling the present engine life would save only 3%. The open-pit mine, located near Babbitt, Minn., moves about 46 million t/y with its off highway fleet. Mine roadways total in excess of 160 km (100 miles) and about 1200 tires are in active use at any given time.

Jan 3, 1978

The Institute conducts jointly with the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers and American Institute of Electrical Engineers, certain activities as listed below, and is joint owner with them of certain properties. United Engineering Trustees, lnc. When Mr. Carnegie made his gift which made possible a home for the engineering societies, a separate corporation was organized to act as a holding company and to manage the common property. This was long known as the United Engineering Society, but the name has now been changed to one which more nearly reflects the real function of the corporation. It holds title to the Engineering Societies Building and to various funds placed in its charge and is managed by a Board of Trustees, of which three are chosen by each of the four societies, American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Institute of Electrical Engineers and American Society of Civil Engineers, which have equal and undivided interests in. the property. The land and building cost two million dollars. During the year 1934, the Constitution and Bylaws

Jan 1, 1938

C.A. MITKE, *Bisbee, Ariz. (written-discussion-? ).--The advantages of the incline-slicing system have' been ably pointed out by Mr. Scott in his paper in the November, 1917, Bulletin, and also by Mr. P. B. Scotland in the Engineering & Mining Journal, Apr. 7, 1917. From the standpoint of efficiency and economy this method is far superior to the top-slice system as generally practised. However, as regards ventilation, and the danger of mine fires, it is just as necessary to use a mechanical ventilating system in mines worked by this method as it is in those worked by the horizontal top-slice system. Mechanical ventilation not only improves working conditions in top-slice stopes but, if properly designed for the particular mine in question, permits an immediate attack to he made in the event of a mine fire with a greater degree of safety to the men. In the course of time, incline top-slicing will probably take the place of the horizontal top-slicing system just as the incline cut-and-fill has superseded the horizontal cut-and-fill stoping method. While incline top-slicing has been tried in several districts on a very limited scale with inconclusive results, the Coronado is the-only large mine at which it has yet been thoroughly tested, and there it proved to be a complete success. As Mr. Scott's figures show, the tonnage has been more than doubled, with a simultaneous reduction in costs. As has been the history with all other innovations in mining, considerable hesitation will probably be shown in introducing this method in other mines. For example, when the incline cut-and-fill system was put forward as a substitute for the horizontal cut-and-fill stoping method many mining men of good repute were doubtful of its success and post-poned its introduction as long as possible, giving as their reason certain geologic conditions which would make the incline cut-and-fill impracticable. At the present time, most of the mining companies in the South-west, who in the past had used the horizontal cut-and-fill system, have already changed over, or are in the process of changing, and have proved that in the majority of cases horizontal cut-and-fill stopes can be successfully operated under the incline cut-and-fill system. Large horizontal cut-and-fill stopes can now be found in only a few exceptional cases, and

Jan 3, 1918

Map

Jan 1, 1957