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By Arthur Zentner

THE PAST YEAR saw important developments in all the main branches of zinc metallurgy, which can only be douched on briefly here. Vertical Retort Smelting-The New Jersey Zinc Co. reports their operations to be about as last year when the number of vertical retorts at the Palmerton plant was increased from 16 to 28. The first unit of eight vertical retorts at Oker, Germany, to treat the Rammelsburg complex ore was completed early in the year. A second unit has been under construction and is probably ready to start operations about this time. Each unit is rated for 10,000 metric tons of zinc per year. A plant of 40,000 metric tons annual capacity is the goal. A reflux plant was also built to make high-grade zinc. The plant program is being -carried forward with government finan¬cial assistance, as was the case with the electrolytic zinc plant at Magdeburg. Government subsidies cover mining and 'smelting, and allow for depreciation and reasonable return on invested capital, according to U. S. Bureau of Mines reports.

Jan 1, 1938

By Harvey T. Gracely, Mark J. Woodhull

DURING the past few years a marked refinement has taken place in the design of electric power shovels for the mining industry, increasing their digging ability and speed of operation without adding to their total weight. The increase in pay load has been accomplished by a more rigid engineering analysis of shovel design, involving the adoption of new special alloy steels, new sections, and new welding methods. Emphasis has been placed on lightness with increased strength, which is most clearly shown in the front-end equipment where dipper, handle and boom are new in design, material, and construction.

Jan 1, 1938

By S. A. Swensrud

REPORTS from smelters show that all were so occupied with the in- creased production called for during the first half of the year that little time was devoted to metallurgical developments. Improvements which have been made such as gas-firing and other alterations ill the reconstructed Hayden smelter, will require time for reporting. The labor situation at all plants held the most prominent place and put all other problems in the background. Coming events of considerable importance concerti the construction of two new smelters. The Chino unit of Nevada Consolidated which has long had its concentrate smelted at the El Paso plant of the American Smelting and Refining Co. is constructing its own smelter at the property in New Mexico. The newest Phelps Dodge development of the Clay ore body at Morenci, Ariz., will call for another new smelter.

Jan 1, 1938

By AIME AIME

AWRDED jointly by the four AW Founder Engineering Societies the John Fritz Medal is generally regarded as the most signal honor that American engineers can confer on a fellow engineer. The roll of 34 recipients contains the names of Lord Kelvin, George Westinghouse, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas. A. Edison, George W. Goethals, Guglielmo Marconi, and Michael I. Pupin; and among members of the A.I.M.E. now living, Sir Robert A. Hadfield, Herbert Hoover, and Daniel C. Jackling. On the evening of March 1 7 the name of Paul Dyer Merica was formally added to this list of illustrious engineers when the medal was presented to him at a dinner at the Metropolitan Club in New York. The citation read. For important contributions to the development of alloys for industrial uses. Arrangements for the dinner were made by the following committee representing the four Founder Societies: R. C. Allen, George S. Davison, A. A. Potter, and J. B. Whitehead.

Jan 1, 1938

By J. B. Newsom

IN the September 1936 issue of MINING AND METALLURGY the pioneer work of boring a 5-ft. shaft to a depth of 1125 ft. at the Idaho Maryland mine in California was described. Later, a Bureau of Mines Information Circular (No. 6923) gave additional data. In re¬cent months still further progress has been made in this technique through the sinking of a 5 1/2-ft. shaft for Pickands, Mather & Co. at their Zenith mine, Ely, Minn. The present work was done with new carefully designed equipment and several experienced men so that progress, as shown below has been much better:

Jan 1, 1938

By AIME AIME

IT its annual meeting on Oct. 21 and 22, the Engineers' Council for Professional Development announced the selection of J. P. H. Perry. vice-president of the Turner Construction Co. and prominent civil engineer of New York City as its new Chairman. He succeeds C. F. Scott, who becomes Chairman of its Committee on Professional Recognition. S. L. Tyler, Secretary of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, succeeds A. B. Parsons as ECPD Secretary. R. E. Doherty is Vice-chairman. C. E. Davies remains as Assistant Secretary, as do R. L. Sackett as Chairman of the Committee on Student Selection and Guidance, O. W. Eshhach as Chairman of the Committee on Engineering Training, and Karl T. Compton as Chairman of the Committee on Engineering Schools.

Jan 1, 1938

By Carl Zapffe

JUST as 85 per cent of the total ore produced annually in the United States comes from the Lake Superior region, so does one of its six producing districts-the Mesabi --dominate that region both as to production and total reserves; also in ore Treatment, Mesabi practice is dominant. Therefore, in discussing future reserves or ore treatment one may visualize one big district with five smaller districts as so many satellites. In considering the future less thought need be given to processes than to, economic policies. For thirty years experimental work has now been in progress and every possible ore-treatment process now known has been given attention. This work was started when there was no recognizable danger of running short of ore because of rapid consumption. Thirty years ago the annual production had just progressed beyond the twenty-million bracket for the first time. Today fifty million tons is considered a small production, and last year the aim was for 65 million. At the recent rate of production the life of the estimated reserves of good ore is about 35 years. All who know the local terrain are convinced that, unlike thirty years ago, the chances for discoveries of new big deposits are nil; treatment of lean ores obviously is to become an all-important topic.

Jan 1, 1938

By Paul. D. Merica

I LIKE to look upon the award this year also as a recognition of the importance of metallic materials of construction to the engineer and of the active progress which I believe is continually being made in almost all branches of that field today. It has been said that metals are the material backbone of industry and technology. Well in that case, I suppose we metallurgists are industry's bonesetters. And it is possibly not inappropriate that we should occasionally give some atten¬tion to those bony structures of our industrial activities upon which engineers in other fields hang their manifold and striking creations. What is going on in the field of metals development? Well, in the first

Jan 1, 1938

By Walter C. Holmes

IN the recently published book entitled "Man in a Chemical World," by A. Cressy Morrison, the several pages discussing explosives were included in the chapter on "Serving Industry." Such a classification is entirely correct, as blasting explosives function only as a tool for accomplishing certain useful work, a tool which is completely destroyed in one use. Explosives are so important to industry and to modern society, in fact, that it seems impossible to imagine the existence of civilized nations without access to commercial explosives as ready servants. Two main types of explosives are now in use, the low-velocity or deflagrating type, such as black powder, which is adapted for use in coal mining and other applications where a slow, heaving effect is desired, and high explosives of the dynamite type,

Jan 1, 1938

By Roger E. Barthelemy

PRIMITIVE mining and metallurgy has today almost disappeared. Probably the only remaining tribal tin mining and smelting is practiced by the Laotian natives in one of the less known tin areas of the world. This district lies almost a thousand miles from the sea along the Mekong River, one of the longest rivers in the world, that marks the border between Siam and Laos, one of the five states forming French Indo-China. Less than twenty years ago it took more than two weeks' travel on elephant-back to reach the spot and today it still takes many days of travel, using all kinds of transportation from automobiles to native

Jan 1, 1938

By J. MURRAY RIDDLELL

AN increase of 18 per cent in the production and consumption of all metals last year was readily met by the mines, but more than an average amount of development work was made necessary. Mining methods were improved appreciably; open-pit operations ad¬vanced more than underground practice: and the transportation phase of mining progressed to a greater extent than the other related functions. A new belt-conveyor system of mining was placed in operation at the Spruce open-pit iron ore mine at Eveleth, Minn. The gathering portion of the belt system was installed beneath the surface of the open pit, following closely the bottom rock, in especially provided drifts; beyond it inclined upward to the surface and finally discharged into a 500-ton shipping pocket. Length of the belt was 4500 ft. net vertical lift 386 ft. and capacity 750 long tons per hour. The mined ore found its way to the belt through one of three vertical raises, whose horizontal section was 10 by 10 ft. Each raise was equipped with a grizzly, crusher, pan-type feeder, and auxiliary equipment. Transportation of the ore from the working faces of the pit was accomplished as follows: (1) Two raises were equipped with tower and anchor stations, 3-cu.yd. drag scrapers, and related power units; (2) the remaining raise was provided with electrically driven power shovels and 20-ton trucks mounted on pneumatic tires. This installation has entirely replaced railway pit haulage and partly eliminated power shovels. In a similar

Jan 1, 1938

By W. E. STOKES

COMPANIES operating airplanes have had a relatively prosperous year, permitting them gradually to re- place old types of equipment. The pre-eminence of American-made planes, engines, and accessories has been challenged, either by foreign designs or by domestic patterns that have, for one reason or another. been licensed for manufacture abroad.

Jan 1, 1938

By AIME AIME

SIR HENRY CORT HAROLD CARPENTER, F. R. S. professor of metallurgy at the Royal School of Mines, was presented with his Honorary Membership certificate in the A.I.M.E. on Oct. 18, at a luncheon in his honor in the Abraham Lincoln room of the Savoy Hotel in London. The presentation luncheon was attended by some thirty distinguished representatives of the academic and industrial British metallurgical world, all friends and acquaintances of Sir Harold. Frank W. Harbord and

Jan 1, 1938

By W. A. James

NATURE endowed the Niagara Frontier with great resources but it was the molding of these resources by the early pioneers that assured its future development. This great industrial district of New York stretches along about fifty miles of shore line on the eastern end of Lake Erie and the Niagara River, embracing the two counties of Erie and Niagara, with the city of Buffalo about in the center. This location at the junction of the eastern end of the Great Lakes and the western boundary of the State, a great focal point of land and water, transportation, guaranteed the development of the Frontier. Although the first white settlers came to this section in 1784, it was not until after the turn of the nineteenth century that real development started. Perhaps the most significant influence in the early days was the completion of the Erie Canal between Buffalo and Albany in 1825. This then monumental achievement gave Buffalo an advantage in the race for the best trade route to the Western

Jan 1, 1938

By Frank L. Hess

BERYLLIUM is demanding more of the limelight, and the output of beryllium copper (containing 2% to~ 3 per cent of beryllium) seems to have grown 60 per cent above that of 1936, which was double that of 1935. There is increasing interest in beryllium-aluminum alloys and small quantities are being marketed at $50 per lb. for the contained beryllium. Other alloys also can be produced. Further price decreases for beryllium copper (now $23 per lb. for the contained beryllium) seem , possible and desirable. No difficulty has been experienced in obtaining beryl and a 'reserve stock has been built up. One supplier heretofore found reliable has offered to furnish 200 tons per month. Supplies during 1937 have come from the Black Hills in South Dakota, Colorado. India, and South America

Jan 1, 1938

By George M. Fowler

DURING 1937 the subject of mining geology was probably given more attention and more mining geologists were usefully employed than at any previous time. Of the many contributing factors the most important were: (1) a higher degree of prosperity in many countries, (2) a. better understanding of geologic phenomena, and (3) the apparently diminishing reserves of several important minerals. Mining companies have come to look upon geology with a growing appreciation of its aid in the more effective exploration and exploitation of mineral deposits. Most of the larger and more active companies have one or more geologists permanently attached to their staffs and some have well organized and efficiently managed geological departments. Even the smaller companies, who feel they cannot afford to employ a geologist on a permanent basis, are seeking the advice of competent men in this field with increasing frequency. One of the most significant trends has been the growing tendency to base exploratory work on more thorough geologic studies instead of empirical "hunches,"on which so much off the work in the past has relied. Likewise, mining companies are apparently more willing to expend larger sums on the basis of geologic possibilities in a district.

Jan 1, 1938

By F. R. Koeberlin

ABOUT thirty miles south of the port of Coquimbo, Chile, nestling in one of the western outliers of the main Andes range, lies the little mining town of Andacollo, a place whose history and traditions make up one of the most romantic pages in the life story of this southern republic. The beginning of Andacollo is shrouded in the penumbra of the pre-Columbian era, but its first mining activity probably dates from about the years 1440 to 1460. It was in the middle of the fifteenth century that the Inca Tupac-Yupanqui, grandfather of Atahualpa, conquered this part of Chile. His domain extended even as far south as the present site of Santiago, and perhaps farther, but was maintained with increasing difficulty against the fiercely independent and indomitable tribes of Araucanian Indians of the South.

Jan 1, 1938

By AIME AIME

THOUGH born in England-on Nov. 23, 1372 William Wraith was brought to this country at the age of ten. Eight years later he entered the University of Illinois, transferring to the Michigan College of Mines where he got his E.M. in 1894. For the next three years he was a mine surveyor for the fuel department of the Santa Fe Railroad. Then he got into the copper-mining industry, which has occupied his attention for the last forty years. First he was engineer, at Butte, for the Boston & Montana company, and then helped to build the Washoe smelter at Anaconda, of which he was assistant superintendent from 1906 to 1913. The Anaconda company then sent him to Salt Lake City as manager of its subsidiary.

Jan 1, 1938

By Harrison Souder

UNDER the stimulus of steadily in- creasing 'demands of the steel industry at home, and with the supply of available ores from abroad appreciably diminished owing to vigorous rearmament campaigns in Europe, production of Eastern magnetite ores reached an all- time peak in 1937. Although the figures given in the accompanying table are partly estimated (actual figures were available for eleven months only), it appears that 1937 production was nearly 47 per cent higher than that of 1936.

Jan 1, 1938

By J. O. CHESLEY

CURRENT widespread applications of aluminum in such industries as transportation, mining, and construction would have amazed the early proponents of its use, including Napoleon III, French Emperor Batik ill the middle nineteenth century, when aluminum was a precious metal, Napoleon had visions of making his army light and mobile through the use of aluminum for gun carriages, helmets, canteens, sabers, and similar articles. Whereas the emperor failed in his objectives, the modern Napoleons of industry have .been successful, and today aluminum finds its greatest applications wherever there is mass ill motion. Its lightness has made possible such modern marvels as the Union Pacific streamline trains, the Boeing and Douglas giant airships, and up-to-date mining equipment such as the new Calumet and Hecla mine skips.

Jan 1, 1938