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By Ingvar Janelid

13.7-1. General. Iron ore mining in western Europe is mostly carried out underground and only a minor part is mined by open pit methods. Actual open pits of importance in this connection are, among others, Svappavaara in Sweden, Mo i Rana and Sydvaranger in Norway, Corby Mines, Colsterworth, and Scunthorpe in Great Britain, and in western Africa, Nimba and Bong Range in Liberia, and Kedia d’Idjil in Mauritania. The open pit mines of western Africa are of great interest in this connection as they are designed according to European practice and have accepted the same techniques, methods, equipment, etc. as the European mines. In the surface mining of limestone, granite, shale, etc., the technical conditions generally are similar with those in the iron ore mines. Some information will therefore be submitted from typical quarries. The geological conditions at the various iron ore mines and limestone and other quarries vary extensively. In Scandinavia the iron ores occur exclusively in Precambrian rocks. The ore is hard, mostly magnetite or hematite, folded and steep dipping, and hence accessible to surface mining only in the shallow sections. In the mines referred to, open pit mining will last for another 10 to 30 years, whereupon mining has to be continued by underground methods. In France the Minette iron ore has previously been mined in open pits but, because of increased overburden, mining underground with room and pillar methods now dominates. The iron ores are Jurassic, flatlying strata of oolitic type, containing chamosite, siderite, and brown hematite. The British iron ores are mostly of the same origin and appearance as the French deposits, but despite heavy overburden they are preferably mined from the surface. In western Africa, the iron ores are of the same type as in Brazil, i.e., itabirites with high-grade portions resulting from silica-leaching and weathering. The ore contains mostly brown and blue hematite and magnetite. Nimba and Kedia d’Idjil are very similar regarding ore quality and geology. Bong Range is a deposit of low-grade ore which has to be concentrated.

Jan 1, 1968

Annual Meeting,Wallace, Idaho, Nov. 15-16, 1913. The third annual meeting, which was also the eighth consecutive meeting and the second to be held in the Coeur d'Alène district, was held in Wallace, Idaho, Nov. 15-16, 1913, with side trips to Kellogg-Wardner, Larson, and Mullan, where several mills were visited. The meeting was held jointly with the Montana Section, about 50 members and guests being present. Headquarters were in the Samuels Hotel, sessions being held in the public library. The arrangements and program were in the hands of the following local committee: George W. Roddewig, W. Earl Greenough, H. M. Childs. At 2.30 p.m., Nov. 15, the first session was called to order by Prof. F. A. Thomson, member of the Executive Committee, adjournment being taken to the Mine Rescue car, where Mr. Anderson and his assistant entertained the visitors for nearly two hours by demonstrations of mine-rescue and, first-aid practice, after which the party visited the Hercules mill, mention of which was made in the report of last year when the Section visited the plant. There are, however, several important alterations and additions to the flow-sheet to be noted, such as substitution of Chilean and Hardinge mills for the Huntington mills in the regrinding department; rearrangement of the tables and slimers, with a noticeable addition of the later models of the Franz machines, and the installation of the Wyman flotation process, which has been tried out, or is being tested, with more than ordinary success, on the middlings in several of the mills of the district, the Green Hill Cleveland mill being provided with a 100-ton unit, partly described below

Jan 12, 1913

By J. E. Forciea, O. E. Palasvirta, L. G. Hendrickson

All pilot and commercial plants working with Mesabi Range taconite employ wet magnetic separation. Progress is being made with a dry magnetic process,9-11 but this has not yet been applied to taconite except in the laboratory and pilot plants. Flowsheets in all five plants are similar, including multiple stages of grinding, each followed by magnetic separation, which rejects a finished tailing. The flowsheet in Fig. 1 is used in the preliminary and commercial plants of the Erie and Reserve mining companies and in Unit C of Oliver's Pilotac plant. At Erie the desliming operation is omitted. In the Reserve plants two ball mills are used with each rod mill. Pilotac uses flowsheet 2 in Unit A-B and has also tested flowsheet 3. Principal differences in the three flowsheets are the number of grinding stages and the type of roughing. The terms open- circuit roughing and closed-circuit roughing are best defined by the diagrams.

Jan 12, 1958

By William F. Harris, Joseph Easha

FOR many years basic control of refinery operations depended on visual observation of small chill specimens poured at various intervals during processing. The oseto of these samples was related to the physical and chemical properties of the metal. Since the =setn is dependent on many factors other than oxygen content, this method, while giving a general indication of the condition of the copper, does not accurately measure the oxygen content. For the last 3 years a modified vacuum fusion procedure which enables the operator to determine the oxygen content of the copper within 1 5 min of sampling has been in use at the Westinghouse Copper Mill. For use with this apparatus a sampling technique has been developed which gives oxygen values representative of the oxygen content of the wire bar. The sampling technique is based on a statistical study, which compared the oxygen content of the laboratory sample of copper poured at the same time a wire bar was being poured, with the oxygen content of the wire bar. The apparatus used for the determination of oxygen in copper is shown in Fig. 1 and is essentially the same as previously described but with one important modification. A very porous fritted glass disc has been inserted in the tubing between the manom- eter and 40/50 ground glass joint. The fritted disc retains the copper vapor and copper particles in the furnace section and prevents contamination of the mercury in the manometer. Without the disc the manometer became difficult to read after a few weeks of operation. In earlier work1 it had been established that the simplified vacuum fusion apparatus used at the Copper Mill gave essentially the same results as a con-vential vacuum fusion apparatus. However, for this study it was necessary to determine the difference, if any, between the oxygen content of the wire bar and the oxygen content of the small chill sample used for the oxygen analysis. This correlation was established by taking a chill sample at the same time wire bars were being poured. The wire bar being poured at the time the chill sample was taken was marked and removed for further analysis. The copper is sampled at various times during refining and cast into laboratory size samples with the mold shown in Fig. 2. The mold is made of cold rolled steel and is 2 in. high and 2 1/2 in. in diam. The large upper portion of the cast sample is used for measurement of the conductivity of the copper, The lower portion which is a rod about 1/4 in. diam by 3/4 in. long is used for determination of the oxygen content. This portion of the sample weighs about 5 g which is approximately the size sample used for the analysis. The only preparation neces-

Jan 1, 1962

By W. Rostoker, R. P. Elliott, B. W. Levincer

Phase equilibria in the Ti-Cr-Mo system have been investigated for alloys containing 100 to 40 pct Ti in the temperature range 550° to 1300°C. Five experimental isothermal sections and a surface of incipient melting are presented in addition to a summary projection of the space. Seven vertical sections have been constructed from the isothermal sections. A STUDY of the system Ti-Cr-Mo was undertaken as part of a program sponsored by Watertown Arsenal toward the development of titanium-base phase equilibrium diagrams of potential technical importance to alloy development. The scope of the investigation included the composition range contained by the titanium corner and the line of 64 pct Ti (all compositions are by weight) and the temperature range 550" to 1100°C. A surface of incipient melting was constructed from measurements on a large number of alloys. The system Ti-Cr has been established.&apos;-? The phase diagram is characterized by a wide miscibility field of the solid solution at elevated temperatures and a eutectoid reaction of the type: (15 pct Cr) + TiCr, (685C). The a solid solution has a very limited capacity for solution of chromium (< 0.5 pct Cr). The intermediate phase TiCr2 has at best a very narrow composition range. It has been shown that two allotropic modifications of this phase exist. However, this behavior does not appear to be perceptibly reflected in the form of phase boundaries of the type + TiCr,. In the system Ti-Mo,9-10 the phase is stabilized to successively lower temperatures with increasing molybdenum content. There are no known intermediate phases. The a solid solution is limited to less than 0.5 pct Mo. Because of the very extensive range of the phase, the ternary system was ideally suited to the determination of the phase boundaries by the parametric method of Andersen and Jette." A parametric surface was constructed to provide the necessary basis for the application of this method. Preparation and Treatment of Alloys More than 60 alloy compositions were prepared for the study of this system. Alloy buttons of 10 grams were arc-melted in a nonconsumable electrode furnace using inert atmosphere protection and a water-cooled copper crucible. The construction and operation of this type of melting unit have been adequately described elsewhere.&apos;&apos; To insure complete solution of alloy additions, the buttons were remelted alternately on top or bottom as many as five times. This was accomplished by a suitable mechanism for "flipping" over the ingots. Iodide titanium (99.97 pct Ti) was used as the alloy base. An especially high quality chromium (99.9 pct Cr) was obtained from the National Research Corp. Molybdenum sheet (0.005 in.) of 99.9 pct purity was used.

Jan 1, 1954

By H. M. Chance

In the early part of 1893, I had occasion to make for the owners a professional examination of the Rich Patch tract; and, with their permission, I present in this paper, omitting the commercial portions of my report, those portions which may be valuable to future students of that region. Location, Topography And Geology. The Rich Patch tract comprises about 9000 acres, located about 3 miles west of Low Moor, on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, in Alleghany county, Va., and immediately adjoining the Low Moor property. In shape the tract is roughly quadrangular, being about 3 miles broad in a northerly and southerly direction, by about 6 miles long from east to West. Potts creek and Jackson river run along its northern boundary. It is drained by Hayes Gap run, Mill branch and Laurel creek, which flour north into Potts creek, and by Karnes creek, which flows northeasterly through the Low Moor property into Jackson river. The topography of the tract is shown by the accompanying map (Fig. I), and need not be described here. The valleys are cut down from 1000 to 1500 feet below the mountain summits, which generally reach an altitude of about 3000 feet above tide. The geological structure of the district is indicated by the geological cross-sections shown in Figs. 2 and 3. These sections show that the formations underlying the property extend from the Lower Silurian lin~estones up to the Devonian slates, including the numbers of the Paleozoic system of rocks as defined by the geological surveys of Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York, from No. 11. to No. VIII. • No. IX. Old Red Sandstone, No. VIII. Slates and Shales, Devoman-

Jan 1, 1900

By Lucien Eaton

THE accuracy with which detachable bits can be sharpened and gauged by grinding has made possible refinements in design that cannot be attained by forging. This applies particularly to gauging, where accuracy is of the greatest importance. Gauge changes of 1/32 in., and even 1/16 in., are now feasible, whereas 1/16 -in. changes are about the limit in accuracy for forged bits. These small changes in gauge are feasible, however, only with certain fundamental principles of design. Within reasonable limits the depth to which a hole can be drilled is dependent primarily upon the loss in gauge, or diameter, of the bit. In drilling there is always a certain amount of " overdrilling "-the bouncing of the bit in the hole and its rotation wear away the walls-so that the actual diameter of the hole is greater than the diameter of the bit. The amount of this overdrilling depends upon the kind of rock being drilled, and is sometimes sufficient to permit the use of the same diameter of bit for the full depth of the hole. If, for instance, a 1 ¾ -in. diameter bit overdrills 1/32 in. in diameter, and loses 1/64 in. in gauge in drilling 2 ft. of hole, the bottom of the hole is still 1/64 in. larger than the original diameter of the bit, and a new 1 3/4-in. bit can be used to drill the next 2 ft. If, however, the overdrill is less than the loss in gauge, the next bit must be of smaller diameter. The first requisite in reducing loss of gauge in drilling is to have the points and corners of the wings of the bit cut circles of the same diameter, thus producing a reaming surface with continuous bearing on the wall of the hole. The greater the reaming surface, the less the gauge loss that is to be expected. If the reaming surface, however, is too large, it may impede the rotation of the bit through excessive friction. This principle was probably first recognized in the design of the Carr bit (Fig. 1)) a bit with a single cutting edge of wide angle, a definite reaming edge, and a large center hole. The same idea was followed in designing the double-taper cross bits, which are now standard almost everywhere Fig. 2 illustrates a typical double-taper cross bit. The taper from the point of the wing A to a little behind the corner B is 5° and from

Jan 1, 1939

The American mining industry is vigorous today because it is young. At a time when the ore deposits of central Europe, for example, were being exploited actively, those of the United States were lying practically untouched. The founding fathers of our republic were not interested in mineral wealth because they were ignorant in such matters; their preoccupations were with defence against the Indians, the clearing of the forest, and the starting of agriculture in their new domains. They had no idea of establishing a mining industry. The Indians whom the American colonists dispossessed had no mines; they used only the metal that was to be found lying on the surface of the ground. Their arrows and spears were tipped with flint, which likewise called for little digging, if any. The native copper that glacial action had torn from the lodes of the Lake Superior region and had carried into the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi was employed in the making of earrings, bracelets, knives, and scrapers. The same useful metal was found in many other places, in Virginia and Carolina, in Vermont and New Jersey, for example, but the Indians did not know how to melt it, much less how to smelt the ore, therefore they shaped it into tools and implements by hammering. Fortunately for them the hammering of the metal caused it to harden and therefore to become serviceable for implemental use. It is doubtful if they obtained the copper by actual mining, that is, by digging or excavating; it is true we find traces of such operations in the Keweenaw .peninsula of Michigan, but we have no

Jan 1, 1932

By Arthur A. Brant

Let us start back as far as possible, to the beginnings of this universe, some 5 billion or more years ago. This is a time interval that can be crudely underestimated by the moon-earth tidal friction effects that have increased the length of the day by about 1/1000 second per century-from a 5 to 7 hour day to its present 24-and have moved the moon away at 5 inches per year to its present 240,000 miles. The oldest stony meteorites from interplanetary space give an age dating of some 4.6 billion years, approximating the time of formation of our earth. Further, certain stars pulsate, the period of pulsation being related to their absolute brightness. Measuring apparent brightness and comparing, gives the distance away. Thus Hubble and Shapley of Harvard, from 1925 on, were able to show that the universe reached as far as our telescopes could scan. The Doppler shift of the hydrogen red lines could only mean that the nebulae, or galaxies, were moving away at velocities increasing with their distances, by 180 km/ sec velocity increase for every million light year&apos;s distance. In short, the universe is expanding like an exploded bomb.

Jan 4, 1964

By Messervey, J. P.

NOVA SCOTIA is sharing in the rapid advance of the mining industry that is one of the remark- able features of Canada&apos;s recent progress. The production of coal and gypsum has increased rapidly, and there has also been a marked development in the mining of gold, salt, zinc, copper and other minerals. Coal, the basis of the principal mining industry in the Province, was discovered by the early explorers on the shore of Cape Breton Island, and used by the garrison at Halifax as early as 1749. The first government record shows total annual sales amounting to 1668 long tons in the year 1785, while last year production was 6,643,000 long tons. The principal mines are discussed in a separate paper by Alexander L. Hay1.

Jan 1, 1928

A professional and special section of the United States Employment Service, Department of Labor, has been created for the purpose of aiding officers and men who have been discharged from military service, but who, for various reasons, cannot resume their former positions, to place themselves in industry without loss of time. Its work is carried out in conjunction with the Engineering Societies Employment Bureau. The machinery of this new professional section is being set up as rapidly as possible, and an office is already in operation at 16 East 42c1 St., New York. The work in the New York State district is under the direction of Mr. Henry Bruere, formerly City Chamberlain of New York City. Dr. Thomas T. Read, Chairman of the A. I. M. E. Committee on Industrial Organization, has charge of the clearance between the State offices of the Eastern States. This service is designed for the purpose of placing not only men in the engineering professions, but for all other kinds of professional and highly trained, skilled men. Full details regarding the qualifications desired in a man should be given, so that employers may be put in touch only with such available men as will fully qualify for the positions.

Jan 2, 1919

The Institute is custodian of funds for support of numerous gold medals and prizes and has representatives on boards awarding still others. Details regarding the Institute Awards are given below. The Institute is represented on the boards of the John Fritz Medal, the Hoover Medal and the Washington Award, in connection with the three national societies of Civil, Mechanical and Electrical engineering; and, also, in the case of the Washington Award, with the Western Society of Engineers. The Institute is represented with these four societies on the committee in charge of the Alfred Noble Prize.

Jan 1, 1939

The General Committee met in the Treasury Building at Washington on Oct. 6 and 7. At the first meeting, Cornelius P. Kelley was appointed chairman, and Paul Armitage, secretary. Sub-committees were ap-pointed on Invested Capital, Mine Valuation, and Depletion and De-preciation. On Oct. 7, the reports of these committees were submitted to the General Committee and were referred to the Executive Committee. A motion was carried that the Executive Committee he constituted a permanent committee to continue the work of the Committee, with full power to acid to and increase its membership, that. as thus increased, it should constitute a permanent organization to act- and cooperate with the Treasury Department in matters of mining taxation under the Federal Income and Excess Profits Tax Laws. Thereafter the Executive Com-mittee met and formed a permanent committee as follows: Cornelius F. Kelley, chairman, 42 Broadway, New York City. J. L. Darnell, office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Wash-ington, D. C. J. Parke Channing, 61 Broadway, New York City. Walter Douglas, 99 John St., New York City. R. V. Norris, 542 Second National Bank Bldg., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. J. E. Spurr, Engineering and Mining Journal, 10th Ave., and 36th St., New York City. W. G. Swart, 808 Selwood Bldg., Duluth, Minn. J. P. Finley, 45 Cedar St., New York City. W. A. Williams, Bartlesville, Okla. F. S. Peabody, Peabody Coal Co., McCormick Bldg., Chicago, Ill. Matthew C. Fleming, 71 Broadway, New York City. H. B. Fernald, 54 Wall St., New York City. William G. Mather, Cleveland, Ohio. Walter Fitch, Eureka, Utah. Arthur Thacher, 900 Security Bldg., St. Louis, Mo. John P. Gray, Coeur d&apos;Alene, Idaho. Paul Armitage, secretary, 233 Broadway, New York City.

Jan 12, 1919

By W. S. Stahmann, F. W. Bowdish

Previously published experimental data showing that both collectable and non-collectable sulfide films may be formed on chrysocolla were analysed, and chemical mechanisms were proposed for the formation of the films. A special technique was developed by which the quantity of sulfur adsorbed was determined for samples sulfidized under different conditions of pH and soluble sulfide concentration. The data on sulfur adsorption were used together with the expression for the equilibrium constant for the proposed reaction to indicate the validity of the chemical mechanism theory. A recent paper 1 about contact angle studies on chrysocolla reported the effects of pH value and sodium sulfide concentration during sulfidization upon the character of the surfaces produced. In each experiment the surface of a specimen of chrysocolla was prepared by grinding it with fine abrasive and washing it in tap water. The specimen was then placed in the sulfidizing solution for 10 min, rinsed in tap water, treated for 15 min in a solution containing 30 mg of potassium amyl xanthate per liter, rinsed in distilled water, and tested for air adhesion in a contact angle apparatus. The results, when plotted as in Fig. 1, showed an island representing conditions giving air adherent or collectable surfaces surrounded by conditions giving non-collectable surfaces. Particular interest may be attached to the region of non-collectability to the right of and above the island in Fig. 1, and to the boundry curve separating these two regions. It is apparent that at any pH from 4.0 to 6.0, where a collectable surface may be produced, a sufficient increase in the sulfide concentration results in a non-collectable surface. Thus it appears that too much soluble sulfide has a depressing effect upon the mineral, just as it has in sulfide flotation. This paper presents some speculations regarding the chemical mechanisms by which the collectable and non-collectable sulfide films may be formed and reports on a physical-chemical study intended to support these speculations. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS The experimental results presented in the previous paper were analysed in several ways in an attempt to understand better the chemical mechanisms involved. For several points on the boundary to the right of the region of contact in Fig. 1, molar concentrations of H+, OH-, HS-, and S= ions, as well as various ion concentration products, were calculated. Following the reasoning of Wark and Cox, 2,3 no single kind of ions may be credited with causing depression of the surface because none of them have a constant con-

Jan 1, 1968

By Raymond L. Jones

With the inauguration of open-pit copper mining in Bagdad, Ariz., plans were formulated for a large scale leaching operation. Dump stockpiling was started almost immediately, but actual production was not initiated until spring 1961.

Jan 9, 1977

By W. A. Tiller, W. C. Johnston

A theoretical analysis of alloy solidification in which the effective partition coefficient, k, of the solute is allowed to vary as a function of interface position is performed. A variety of solute distm&apos;butions in the solid is predicted depending upon the functional dependence of k with interface position. Conversely, the variation of k with interface position required to produce a particular solute distributzon in the solid can be calculated. These preciictions have been tested by controlling the width of the momentum boundary layer in the liquid as a function of interface position with a rotating mugnetic field. One of the objects of controlled solidification is to utilize the freezing process for the preparation of crystals of specific materials containing a predetermined distribution of solutes. For example, a thermoelectric power generation material may exhibit a figure of merit, 2,&apos; as a function of temperature, T, and solute concentration, C, as illustrated in Fig. 1. If we wish to use this material in a device between the temperature limits T1 to T2 a significantly greater efficiency will result from the device if the thermoelectric element illustrated in Fig. 1 consists of a range of solute concentrations appropriately located with respect to the temperature distribution rather than using a sample of constant solute concentration. For this reason and many others2 we are interested in programming and controlling the solute distribution in a single crystal

Jan 1, 1962

By Harry L. McNeill

The Selective Media Process was developed by the author in a laboratory provided by The Steams-Roger Manufacturing Co. It is the outcome of an investigation into the possibilities of coarse beneficiation by sink and float without using the conventional heavy media. Commercial work to date has been limited to the treatment of minus 3/8-in. iron ore at the Hill Trumbull washing plant of the Cleveland Clifis Iron Co., at Calumet, Minnesota. Two cut away prints of the machine are shown (Figs. I and 2). A rotary conical impeller is mounted within a stationary cone (Fig. 2). This impeller is adjustable vertically by a 12-ton screw jack. The speed of the impeller can be varied from 14 to 32 r.p.m. by the Reeves variable-speed motor pulley mounted on the 7½-hp. motor drive. Attached to the bottom of the stationary cone is the automatic control valve for sink product, actuated by a ¼-hp. gear motor. The sink product is dewatered in a conventional drag driven by a 7½-hp. motor and discharged onto an inclined conveyor containing from 6 to 10 per cent moisture. Two plants are operated at the Hill Trumbull property. All the ore is first treated in a typical washing plant (Fig. 3). when treating "wash ore" a finished concentrate can be produced by the log washers and Akins classifiers, as the separation involves only fine silica (minus 48-mesh) and free iron. However, when "jig ore" is led to the washing plant the coarse

Jan 1, 1947

By Harry L. McNeill

The Selective Media Process was developed by the author in a laboratory provided by The Steams-Roger Manufacturing Co. It is the outcome of an investigation into the possibilities of coarse beneficiation by sink and float without using the conventional heavy media. Commercial work to date has been limited to the treatment of minus 3/8-in. iron ore at the Hill Trumbull washing plant of the Cleveland Clifis Iron Co., at Calumet, Minnesota. Two cut away prints of the machine are shown (Figs. I and 2). A rotary conical impeller is mounted within a stationary cone (Fig. 2). This impeller is adjustable vertically by a 12-ton screw jack. The speed of the impeller can be varied from 14 to 32 r.p.m. by the Reeves variable-speed motor pulley mounted on the 7½-hp. motor drive. Attached to the bottom of the stationary cone is the automatic control valve for sink product, actuated by a ¼-hp. gear motor. The sink product is dewatered in a conventional drag driven by a 7½-hp. motor and discharged onto an inclined conveyor containing from 6 to 10 per cent moisture. Two plants are operated at the Hill Trumbull property. All the ore is first treated in a typical washing plant (Fig. 3). when treating "wash ore" a finished concentrate can be produced by the log washers and Akins classifiers, as the separation involves only fine silica (minus 48-mesh) and free iron. However, when "jig ore" is led to the washing plant the coarse

Jan 1, 1947

By M. E. Wadsworth

"For his creative efforts in explaining the electrochemistry of sulfide mineral leaching systems." Leaching reactions that occur during the dissolution of selected base metal sulfides and metals are considered in terms of surface reactions and the influence of intermediate or final products formed. These products may be solid layers, requiring solid phase diffusion for the reaction to proceed, or ions in solution that can influence the kinetics by controlling the mixed potential of the solid. Three general types of reactions are proposed to explain observed rates of reaction. Examples are presented for non-oxidative and oxidative leaching of galena (PbS), anodic dissolution and oxidative leaching of molybdenite (MoS2) and cyanidation of silver and gold.

Jan 1, 1986

By R. M. Larsen

The Rocky Mountain region is defined with some variations for different purposes or by different organizations. For oil and gas development, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, and Utah are included in the order of their apparent importance. Portions of adjoining states, such as North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Arizona, Nevada, and Idaho, arc attributary to this region, but have little or no oil or gas production. Nebraska and New Mexico are considered separately (see pp. 412 and 415), and most of the discussion in this report will be confined to Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming. Utah has produced about 200,000 bbl. of oil from the San Juan and Virgin fields, which are isolated and shut in at present. The Clay Basin field in northeastern Utah produces natural gas and distillate, and the Farnham field in central Utah produces carbon dioxide gas. Other Utah areas of some interest are listed in Table I. The Cedar Creek (Baker-Glendive) field in southeastern Montana extends into North Dakota, but is listed under Montana. The other states are in the main wildcat areas, and exploration in 1944 was at a minimum. However, geological and geophysical parties are reviewing them for further testing. Oil production in Colorado, Montana and Wyoming was 459,000 bbl. more than in 1943. Increases of 713,000 bbl. in Colarado and 731,000 bbl. in Montana offset a loss of 985,000 bbl. in Wyoming. This was the first decline in Wyoming since 1938. Field production figures and state totals are given in Table I. Total drilling activities in these three states and Utah increased from 687 wells making 1,442,511 ft. of hole in 1943 to 916 wells making 2,245,803 it. in 1944. Wildcat drilling increased from 163 wells making 331,193 ft. of hole in 1943 to 171 wells making 389,144 it. in 1944. These figures include all drilling wells making footage, not starts or completions, and represent an all-time high in drilling. The year 1944 witnessed the greatest concentration of seismograph activity that the region has had. The Rocky Mountain Oil Scouts Association reported that in 1943, the previous peak year, 91 crew months of work were performed; in 1944, the time was 254 crew months. About 67 per cent of the work was in Wyoming, 18 per cent in Montana, and 12 per cent in Colorado. Twenty-three blocks totaling 400,000 acres were reported assembled in Colorado, and 161 blocks totaling 4,000,000 acres in Wyoming. Information about other states was not given. Fourteen unit agreements were approved by the Department of the Interior, as compared with 13 in 1943. The 1944 agreements were all in Wyoming. In five of the unit areas, oil or gas discoveries were made, four were dry, and five were drilling Or pending&apos; Oil companies find it advantageous to unitize blocks containing any proportion of public domain. Units for

Jan 1, 1945