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By C. S. Finney, John Mitchell

The decline of the beehive coking industry was inevitable, but it had filled the needs and economy of its day. A beehive plant required neither large capital investment to construct nor an elaborate and expensive organization to run. The ovens were built near mines from which large quantities of easily-won coking coal of excellent quality could be taken, and handling and preparation costs were thus at a minimum. The beehive process undoubtedly produced fine metallurgical coke, and low yields were considered to be the price that had to be paid for a superior product. Few could have foreseen that the time would come when lack of satisfactory coking coal would force most of the beehive plants in the Connellsville district, for example, to stay idle; and if there were those like Belden who cried out against the enormous waste which was leading to exhaustion of the country's best coking coals, there were many more to whom conservation was almost the negation of what has since become popularly known as the spirit of free enterprise. As for the recovery of such by-products as tar, light oil, and ammonia compounds, throughout much of the beehive era there was little economic incentive to move away from a tried and trusted carbonization method simply to produce materials for which no great market existed anyway. With the twentieth century came changes that were to bring an end to the predominance of beehive coking. Large new steel-producing corporations were formed whose operations were integrated to include not only the making and marketing of iron or steel but also the mining of coal and ore from their own properties, the quarrying of their own limestone and dolomite, and the production of coke at or near their blast furnaces. As the steel industry expanded so did the geographic center of production move westward. By 1893 it had moved from east-central to western Pennsylvania, and by 1923 was located to the north and center of Ohio. This western movement led, of course, to the utilization of the poorer quality coking coals of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. These coals could not be carbonized to produce an acceptable metallurgical coke in the beehive oven, but could be so treated in the by-product oven. By World War I the technological and economic limitations of the beehive oven as a coke producer were being widely recognized. After the war the number of beehive ovens in existence dropped steadily to a low of 10,816 in 1938, in which year the industry produced only some 800,000 tons of coke out of a total US production of 32.5 million tons. The demands of the second World War led to the rehabilitation of many ovens which had not been used for years, and in 1941, for the first time since 1929, beehive ovens produced more than 10 pet of the country's total coke output. Production fell off again after 1945, but the war in Korea made it necessary once more to utilize all available carbonizing capacity so that by 1951 there were 20,458 ovens with an annual coke capacity of 13.9 million tons in existence. Since that time the iron and steel industry has expanded and modernized its by-product coking facilities, and by the end of 1958 only 64 pet of the 8682 beehive ovens still left were capable of being operated. Because beehive ovens are cheap and easy to build and can be closed down and started up with no great damage to brickwork or refractory, it is likely that they will always have a place, albeit a minor one, in the coking industry. The future role of the beehive oven would seem to be precisely that predicted forty years ago by R. S. McBride of the US Geological Survey. Writing with considerable prescience, McBride declared: "A by-product coke-oven plant requires an elaborate organization and a large investment per unit of coke produced per day. Operators of such plants cannot afford to close them down and start them up with every minor change in market conditions. It is not altogether a question whether beehive coke or by-product coke can be produced at a lower price at any particular time. Often by-product coke will be produced and sold at less than cost simply in order to maintain an organization and give some measure of financial return upon the large investment, which would otherwise

Jan 1, 1961

By W. P. Shinn

In a paper contributed by W. A. Goodyear, M.E., on "Water Gas as Fuel," read at the Boston Meeting, February, 1883,* the following statenlent was made: "The latest experiments on a scale of some magnitude in our citier, in the way of heating buildings and furnishing power for manufacturing purposes, have been by the distribution of high-presslire steam through pipes laid in the streets. Hilt these experiments (1) have not hitherto been very successful; and when we consider the high cost and (2) the great and unavoidable loss of heat and power, which always accompany the conveyance of high-pressnre steam to any considerable distance in pipes, to say nothing of (3) certain practical difficulties in the management of the pipes themselves, (4) it is evident that all such methods must eventually disappear before a system which can furnish a cheap gas of great heating power, easily distributed wherever wanted, without requiring pipes to stand pressures of 50 to 75 pounds per square inch, and (5) without keeping the whole mass of ground in the streets through which it passes hot, gratis, for a distance of ten or fifteen feet, in all directions around the pipes!' For the purpose of controverting Mr. Goodyear's statements in regard to steam-distribution in cities, I hare numbered the points made in his indictment, my principal object being, not a professional discussion of the technical and theoretical merits of steam vs. watergas, but a simple statement of facts, in regard to the present state of the street system of steam distribntion. Taking Mr. Goodyear's points in their order: 1. Concerning what he terms " These experiments," saying that they " have not hitherto been very successful," I propose to show, that the problem of stearn-distribution has passed beyond the experimental stage, and that its practical solution is highly successful. This will be shown by the facts hereinafter fully set forth. 2. "The great and unavoidable loss of heat and power whicn always accompany the conveyance of high-pressure steam to any con-

Jan 1, 1884

By Charles Will Wright

ALTHOUGH the United States has long led all other countries in both the production and consumption of mineral products, the trend seems definitely toward an increasing dependence upon foreign sources of supply. This is not to take the position that we are either a have or a have-not nation. For years we shall continue to secure a large proportion of our needed minerals: from our own mines, but we must face the fact that this century has seen "a more thorough and intense development of the mineral resources of the United States and a greater depletion of its irreplaceable mineral reserves than has occurred in most other countries. An audit of our mineral production given in the attached charts discloses the extent of our deficiencies. Because of these facts, low-cost foreign sources offer a promising field for the investment of a portion of our mining capital and an opportunity to obtain for the United States a greater supply of strategic metals and minerals. How. ever, to reach this end, the industrialist investing in the foreign field must have the full co-operation and strong backing of the Federal Government and the involved Federal agencies.

Jan 1, 1947

By J. B. Clemmer

PRODUCTION of magnesium metal in the United States during the past decade has increased from less than 600,000 lb. in 1928 to more than 4,800,000 lb. in 1938.1 The growing industry has stimulated interest in methods of production and in sources of raw material. All of the present domestic production is from brines. However, the availability of large tonnages of magnesite in the state of Washington, together with the possibility of cheap power, have created interest in the utilization of magnesite for the production of magnesium metal as well as for other purposes. Magnesite, the carbonate of magnesium (MgC03), usually is associated with lime-stone (CaCO3) and dolomite (MgC03 CaCO3). It occurs in crystalline and microcrystalline (sometimes termed amor-phous) forms.2 The more common crystal-line mineral is found in various shades of white, gray, yellow and brown, the colors being due to impurities, chiefly iron. Magnesite has a hardness of 3.5 to 4.5 and a specific gravity of 3.0 to 3.1. It forms rhombohedral crystals in the hexagonal system, having a vitreous, pearly luster. The quarries and mines of the Northwest Magnesite Co. near Chewelah, Wash., are large producers of magnesite for refractories.

Jan 1, 1940

By F. M. Morris

A large reserve of thick coal in southwest Virginia was developed by Clinch-field Coal Co. in 1957-1958 to produce a nominal rate of 1500 tph raw coal. Operation features coal cleaning in transit. Refuse removed averages 35 pct. Evolution of plant from initial conception to completion is discussed, selection of means applied is explained, and performance to date us design expectation is described. The long-range plan calls for ultimate handling capacity of 40,000 tpd raw coal with anticipated clean coal capacity of 26,000 tpd on a three-shift basis. From a materials handling viewpoint, the Moss No. 3 operation is principally of interest as an ensemble. Generally speaking, it uses time-tested equipment and ideas but some of these are employed on a scale that may be new in the industry. At present about 20,000 tpd of raw coal are being handled. This is expected to increase to 40,000 tpd as soon as business conditions justify it. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the evolution of the plant as to materials handling practices, to describe briefly the equipment and methods used, and to comment on performance in certain areas. The subject divides itself naturally into four phases: 1) operations at the mines, 2) transportation from mines to plant, 3) raw coal handling into the plant, and 4) transportation of refuse away from the plant. OPERATIONS AT THE MINES The coal reserves for Moss 3 are in southwest Virginia where Dickenson, Russell, and Buchanan Counties come together. This area contains about 15 square miles and over 100,000,000 tons of coal. Here the No. 4 (Tiller) and No. 5 (Jawbone) seams of the Norton Formation lie so closely together that for practical purposes, they constitute one seam of coal. This seam, which is called the Thick Tiller, varies from 10 to 18 ft in thickness and underlies Sandy Ridge, a mountain cresting between 2400 and 3300 ft above sea-level. At 18-ft seam height (which is considered to be the maximum practical mining height) the parting between seams will be about 3 1/2 ft thick and each bench of coal will be about 7 ft thick. Depending on the amount of impurities in the seams Drover. total reject in this height coal may approximate 50 pet by wt. It will average about 35 pet for the property as a whole. The first move in developing this resource was made in 1953 when contour maps of several square miles around Duty, Va., including all the known outcrop, were made by photogrammetry. At this time, it was felt the prospective operation would be served by the Clinchfield Railroad and a photogrammetric route survey was made by this railroad from Haysi to Duty. Study of the resulting maps indicated only one site—adversely owned—which might accommodate the size washing plant to be erected. Water resources of a dependable nature seemed nonexistent. In 1954 bulk washability tests were made on the Tiller Bench at the Moss No. 1 preparation plant. The tests indicated this portion of the seam, mined separately, would wash to 4 pet ash with good recovery. Also in 1954, development of Moss No. 2, south of Sandy Ridge, was begun. This mine is in the Tiller Seam where it is about 100 ft below the Jawbone Seam. The reasons for developing a mine in the normal Tiller Seam before tackling the Thick Tiller seemed compelling: Railroad service could be established quickly, communications were better (though not good!), more was known of the seam (it had been mined in the years 1911 to 19241, and there was no essential property to be acquired. After some legal skirmishing, the Norfolk & Western Railroad was granted the right to serve the new mine. Three decades earlier the old mine had been served by the Clinchfield Railroad. The event which triggered active development of Moss 3 was the Appalachian Power Co.'s decision in 1956 to build a 450,000-kva power plant on Clinch River at Carbo. This solved the problem of marketing the steam coal which inevitably must be a product of a mine in the Thick Tiller. Management promptly decided to build the preparation plant at Carbo where an excellent site was owned; where railroad service existed; where telephone service could be obtained; and where roads, bridges, and water supply were tolerable.

Jan 1, 1961

By R. D. Carnahan, G. A. Stone, R. J. Arsenault

An experimental technique has been developed for carrying out a dynamic tensile stress-strain test in which plastic strain is measured continuously throughout the microstrain region extending through the macroflow region to total deformations of 5 pet. The tests were carried out on niobium, samples having interstitial impurity levels of 160 and -800 ppm at temperatures ranging from room temperature down to 100°K. A band spectrum of activation energies was obtained from calculations based on the measured activation volumes and temperature dependence of flow stress. The inability of a single rate-controlling process to predict such a phenomenon has led to the proposal that several sequential rate-controlling dislocation mechanisms are operative in the preyield micro-strain region. These are thought to be: the motion of geometrical kinks, the formation of double kinks in edges, and finally in the macrostrain region the formation of double kinks in screws. In less pure niobium the effect of interstitial impurities is shown to be dominant in the microstrain region, suggesting that a fourth probable mechanism is overcoming interstitial barriers instead of geometrical kink motion and the formation of double kinks in edge dislocations. THE principal fundamental aim of most mechanical properties studies of crystalline solids is to determine the dislocation mechanisms responsible for the plastic behavior. The extension of such studies to the region of preyield microstrain behavior has received renewed attention in the past few years as the details of macroscopic flow behavior have become better understood. For the most part, microstrain studies have been carried out using one of two variations of a single experimental technique.1 The first method involves loading the sample at a constant extension rate to a predetermined stress level (less than the macroscopic yield stress), instantaneously unloading, and then determining the extent of plastic deformation to a sensitivity of 10"6. The microscopic stress-strain curve is then constructed from the results of a repeated series of such individual measurements, each of which involves loading to an incrementally higher stress level, by relating the accumulated plastic microstrain for each step to the maximum applied stress in that step. The second variation, also carried out by step-wise increases in stress, measures the total strain to a sensitivity of ~10"6 and relates the maximum stress to the area of closed hysteresis loops that are generated under certain conditions (namely, prestrained samples). The foregoing methods have yielded interesting information about the nature of preyield deformation and plastic response to stresses below the yield stress, but they offer certain disadvantages for studying the dynamic behavior of dislocations. In the first method it is physically impossible to specify a plastic strain rate inasmuch as the test sample is reexposed, as it is loaded to its maximum stress in a particular step, to lower stresses at which flow will take place. The strain corresponding to a given stress level on the stress-microstrain curve thus generated will then always be greater than that at the corresponding stress level of a truly dynamic test carried out at the same extension rate. The second method has been used to obtain correlations with dynamic macroscopic flow parameters by applying dislocation damping theory to the hysteresis loop areas.2 The approach has had some success but suffers in that only samples that have been prestrained a few percent can be studied. Although the stresses

Jan 1, 1968

By Max Boehmer

(Pittsburg Meeting, March, 1910.) AFTER 30 years of development and after an output of $350,000,000 in value of gold, silver, lead, zinc, and copper, there has not been published a satisfactory explanation of the origin of the immense deposits of the Leadville district. The original examination find survey of Leadville by members of the U. S. Geological Survey was a most magnificent piece of work, but their attempt to explain the origin of the ores was based upon the then-accepted theory of lateral secretion, originated by Sandberger, which theory was afterwards disproved in many cases by further development in numerous districts. This theory contended that the ore in the veins had been leached by surface-waters from the eruptive rocks in the immediate vicinity, and it had its origin in the fact that the neighboring eruptive rocks all contained, to an appreciable degree, the several metals found in the ore-deposits. But the practical miner, reasoning in a simple manner from the condition of things as he found them underground, soon discovered the fallacy of this proposition. He reasoned that, in the case of the Leadville deposits, this theory could not be true, because, if the ores were leached from the overlying eruptive rocks by surface-waters, they would as a matter of necessity be controlled by the action of gravity, and the main bodies would collect in- natural depressions of the underlying limestone, and at all points where such depressions existed. But this was not in accord with the channels of ore as he found there ; and hence the theory of lateral secretion in this district was never accepted. Another objection to it consisted in the fact that large areas within the ore-bearing district contained no ores whatever, although their formation was the same, and the same limestones were covered by the same thick sheet of

Feb 1, 1910

By A. H. Daane, W. J. Wunderlin, B. J. Beaudry

In an earlier study at this laboratory,' the authors investigated the solid solubility of holmium in copper, silver, and gold, and also the melting point of the first eutectic on the noble-metal-rich side in these systems. In a more recent study of the solubility of rare-earth metals in gold at this laboratory. Rider, Gschneidner, and McMasters2 noted that the reported eutectic temperature in the Ho-Au system was lower than the corresponding eutectics in systems of dysprosium and erbium with gold. A redetermination of the eutectic temperature in the Ho-Au system with the same alloy used in the original study showed the eutectic temperature to be 810°C instead of 778°C as originally reported. (The eutectic temperatures in the Ho-Ag and Ho-Cu systems were also redetermined and were found to be 795" and 864°C compared to 787° and 868°C, respectively, which were reported originally.) Since this large change in eutectic temperature made the solubility data appear questionable, new alloys were prepared, heat-treated, and examined metallographically. The procedure of sample preparation and heat treatment used in the original work' was followed except longer heat treatments were used ranging from 7 days at 600°C to 6 hr at 900°C. The results obtained are shown in Fig. 1. There is good agreement between the two studies in the maximum solubility of holmium in gold. Since the slope of the solvus is less pronounced in the present study, the extrapolation to 550°C shows a solubility of 1.6 wt pct Ho in gold compared with 1.0 wt pct in the original work. Since additional data were obtained and longer heat treatments were used in the present study, the larger value is believed to be more accurate. The authors wish to express their appreciation to P. Rider and K. A. Gschneidner. Jr., for bringing this discrepancy to their attention, and also to D. Thompson for assisting in the present study.

Jan 1, 1965

By H. W. Camp

RESEARCH is defined, scientifically, as a "sys- tematic investigation of some phenomenon, and also a search for hidden treasures." Chemists tell us that the hidden treasures of petroleum are far richer than the .products which have been best known to us. However, these secrets will be discovered only through intensive and systematic, as well as scientific, industrial research. Indeed, the scope of the subject is so great that such an intensive research program should be assumed by a centralized organization supported by the petroleum industry as a whole. Such organization would assume the responsibilities for investigation of new products and development of markets for such products. Gasoline, the chief product of the petroleum industry, has become a cheap commodity. The continual un-controlled overproduction of crude petroleum, the in-tensive competitive condition in the marketing of petro-leum products and the increase of refining efficiency and installing of cracking facilities, have all combined to lower the market value of gasoline. The lower cost of gasoline has all been passed on to the purchaser in the form of lower prices so that today the most important product can scarcely be manufactured at a profit. In other fields, manufacturing industries have diversified their products when faced by a similar situation. Thus, they have been able to widen their marketing outlook. Why cannot the petroleum industry employ the same tactics ? Right now we are hearing much discussion concerning the development of a wider market for existing petro-leum products and new products for existing or prospec-tive markets. For instance, we can cite recent develop-ments for use of propane, butane, and ethylene. Butane has been found to be an efficient and inexpensive re-frigerant, especially adapted to home refrigerating sys-tems. Propane and butane fractions of natural gasoline may be shipped under pressure and may be used as a substitute for acetylene in cutting torches in connection with oxygen. There is a possibility of substituting butane for gas oil in the carbureting of coal gas, as we know that butane contains practically the gas enrich-ment as the same volume of gas oil and should prove to be a superior product for this function. Ethylene, a hydrocarbon present in cracked gases, is finding an outlet for the artificial ripening of green fruits. The following table . shows the more general use of petro-leum products as now established.

Jan 4, 1928

By C. K. Leith

GENERAL GEOLOGY OF THE LAKE SUPERIOR IRON-BEARING AND COPPER-BEARING SERIES. THE geology of the Lake Superior region is of general interest, both from an economic and a scientific standpoint. The presence of large and rich iron- and copper-deposits has made a knowledge of the geology of the region necessary for purposes of exploitation and exploration. The ores of the region are contained in rocks of pre-Cambrian age, 'pith for most of the country up to recent years have usually been referred to as « crystalline schists " or " crystalline complex;" and regarded principally as metamorphosed basement-unit upon which the sedimentary rocks, beginning with the Paleozoic, were laid down. In the Lake Superior re¬gion this pre-Cambrian complex presents an unusual variety of rocks with determinable relations. It has been possible, with the large expenditures which-the magnitude of the iron-mining industry warrants, to work out their stratigraphy to a larger extent than has been possible in almost any other area of pre-Cambrian rocks. The real complexity of Lake Superior geology, the confusion of names and the multiplicity of reports covering small parts of the region, are such that interested persons, other than. geologists directly engaged in the work, may well hesitate to attempt to comprehend the geology of the region as a whole. The following paper is a somewhat elementary outline of the geology of the Lake Superior region with special reference to new developments not yet covered in published reports. Geological information concerning the region has been gath¬ered by mining companies, and by the geological surveys of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, and the United States.. Perhaps in no other part of the country have the mining men themselves spent such large sums in purely geological work. This has made possible the publication of ,reports and maps by the State and Government surveys in much less time and at far less cost than would have been otherwise possible. The. U. S. Geological Survey is the only organization which has covered all of the region on the United 'States side of the boundary, and as its reports include the in¬formation gathered by the mining companies and State organi

Mar 1, 1905

By C. M. Smith

DELEGATES from 26 Local Sections and- Divisions of the Institute had three stimulating sessions during the Annual Meeting, a few topics still remaining to be discussed after the two Monday sessions.. The final session was held on Thursday morning. An abstract of the discussion will be transmitted to each delegate present. The topics included: Student relations. Section operation, membership, employment, MINING AND METALLURGY, a new nonmetallic minerals Division. licensing of engineers, and increased allotments of money to Local Sections. Some of the Sections felt that the present limit of $250 allotted to them - from the national treasury was insufficient to carry on their activities, and that this maximum should he increased. A resolution to this effect was passed for transmission to the Board of Directors.

Jan 1, 1935

By Leason Adams

THE thermocouple as a device for the measurement of temperature is rivaled only by the platinum-resistance thermometer. Both instruments are capable of the highest precision, but the thermocouple, on account of its cheapness, ease of construction, and small cross-section, is finding a continually widening field of usefulness for industrial control as well as for laboratory measurements. Formerly, the thermocouple was subject to two disadvantages: errors due to lack of homogeneity of the metal and the labor involved in the interpolation between fixed points on the temperature scale. Former publications from the Geo-physical Laboratory have described the methods' for the selection and testing of thermocouple wire and have presented standard calibration curves2 for platinum-platinrhodiun and copper-constantan couples, so that the most important objections to the thermocouple as a precision thermometer have been removed. The calibration tables published in 1914 covered the range 0-1755° for the platinum-platinrhodium couple and 0-350° for copper-constantan. It has seemed desirable to extend the table for copper-constantan to -200 and also to include a table for the Hoskins thermocouple. Accordingly, in this paper, the new tables are presented, together with a brief explanation of their use; and, finally, certain diagrams and a paragraph on "cold-junction corrections" are given. Standard Calibration Tables.-In Fig. 1, which illustrates how the electromotive force (e.m.f.) of each of the three couples varies with the temperature, the temperatures of one junction are plotted as abscissas and the corresponding thermo-e.m.f.'s as ordinates. The second junction of the couple is supposed to be at 0°; the curves, therefore, pass through

Jan 9, 1919

AN indication that Mesabi Range iron use companies may develop their own flotation processes for low grade iron ores is the report that Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co. is adopting a variation of one of the oldest known methods at its new Michigan treatment plant. Basically, the method involves using fatty acids and fuel oil reagents. The idea was developed many years ago and should be free of patent control. With other laboratories working on the same tack, it seems to be a pretty good bet that they will come up with their own processes. Any outside process will have to offer considerable advantage or low royalty rate to get consideration. Much of the appeal of the fatty acid process is the cheapness of the reagent. One source is pulp paper liquor in semi-refined form. With stream pollution legislation acting as a strong pressure, paper companies have been seeking ways to dispose of the material. Wisconsin has even attempted to use it for road binder.

Jan 5, 1953

THE story of Miami really is two stories. First, that of an excellent Porphyry Copper mine, ably managed as a business enterprise, and always among the leaders in technical progress. Concentrating its first ore in 1911, it had by 1925 paid dividends totaling $30,000,000 or $40 per share on stock that had cost the public $5 per share in March, 1908. The ore, containing 2.5 per cent copper at the start, had become progressively leaner but the recovery had tended to improve. Production costs had gone up during the World War and the early post-war period; and had come down again. In all these respects it had followed the norm. If the mine had been abandoned as exhausted and the company had been liquidated late in 1925 (a program that had been given earnest consideration in 1924), Miami would have gone down into history a first-rate mining venture; as an active and progressive participant in the great Porphyry achievement. But Miami was not liquidated in 1925; instead it started to write the record of its second and really amazing story. Near the old mine was a large body of low-grade ore containing, in place, less than 20 lb. of copper to the ton, and without, incident- ally, any considerable sweetening of gold and silver. Any method of underground mining that was cheap enough would certainly entail some dilution, so that ore as sent to the concentrator necessarily would average much less than 20 lb. As a matter of record, the average for 1929 was 16.6 lb., from which 11.726 lb. was recovered as concentrate. As already said, the exhaustion of the older orebody during 1925 was foreseen; but in 1924 the decision was reached to enlarge the concentrator and develop a new mine. An expenditure of $2,500,000 was entailed in this program. By October, 1925, the

Jan 1, 1933

By Seishiro Hirakawa, Hiroshi Tokunaga, Hironori Nakamura

Two unique processes of reclaiming zinc from various secondary materials were developed and have successfully been operated for years by Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. These processes were established based on the characteristic and local energy conditions; i.e., (1) at Miike Smelter, located above the largest coal deposit in Japan, a combination of slag fuming and semi-blast furnace (MF)processes takes advantage of using coal and the carbon bearing briquette residue from the vertical retort plant as reducing agents, (2) on the other hand, at Kamioka Smelter, a direct reduction of zinc-bearing lead slag by using electric furnaces is of advantage in view of cheap electric power supply from our own hydraulic power plants. The former also consumes lots of zinc bearing fines and drosses from various steel plants, fabricators and secondary zinc smelters, while the latter, zinc leach residue from its own electrolytic plant

Jan 1, 1976

By C. M. Brinckerhoff

Safety work in mining at the Andes Copper Mining Company, Potrerillos, Chile, is divided into three parts: (1) accident prevention, (2) fire prevention and protection, and (3) silicosis prevention and control. In the company's operations a steady campaign has been waged to reduce accidents and silicosis, and to prevent fires. In the following pages the safety record for the past twelve years will be examined and the methods explained by which the accident rate was reduced. Table 1 contains yearly data pertaining to the scale of the mining operations and the accident record. Block caving is used for all ore production and the tonnage mined has averaged 30,000 short tons per day for the past seven years. Table 2 classifies 44 fatal accidents which have occurred since 1935. The leading causes of accidental death are transportation of ore and use of explosives, followed in order by persons falling, falls of ground, and by asphyxiation. In the case of serious accidents, however, the greatest cause is falls of ground, followed, in turn, by ore transportation, persons falling, explosives, and asphyxiation. Accident Prevention The improvement of the safety record was obtained by a combination of many factors. In surveying the results at Andes for the past twelve years, it is possible to select some features of the present operation which have contributed to the accident record. The most important of these are: (1) good staff planning, (2) good equipment, (3) an alert safety organization, and (4) education and selection of the workmen. GOOD STAFF PLANNING As a result of good staff planning, the mine has good working conditions, namely, good ventilation, moderate temperatures and humidity, and good lighting. These factors not only reduce accidents but also improve efficiency. In haulage work, accidents have been reduced by having traffic move in a forward direction only. The latter makes possible a one-man train crew. Trains are centrally dispatched from loading drifts which are interconnected by signal lights, so that when a train in a lateral drift is given permission to move into a main line drift, a red light signals in all other lateral drifts in that area. Good track is maintained, and safety niches are required at all switch throws. Since safety niches were provided there have been no fatal or serious accidents at such points. All main line haulage drifts are illuminated by electric lights. Haulage drifts are kept clean. Adequate clearance has been provided between cars and between cars and the sides of the haulage drifts. The 4 1/2 ton Cranby type cars are equipped with roller bearings, and the 10 ton loconlotives with trolley shoes instead of wheels. These two features are responsible for improved ore haulage conditions and contribute to greater efficiency and safety.

Jan 1, 1950

(Members are urged to send in for this column any notes of interest concerning themselves or their fellow-members) The following is a partial list of members and guests who called at Institute headquarters during the period Mar. 10, 1917, to Apr. 10, 1917. Frederick R. Ahbe, Athens, Pa. Frank M. Leland, San Francisco, Cal. J. L. W. Birkinbine, Philadelphia, Pa. Edwin Ludlow, Lansford, Pa. Samuel D. Bridge, Monterrey, Mex. E. P. Mathewson, Toronto, Canada. J. R. Buchanan, Pasadena, Cal. E. V. Matlack, Webster Grove, Mo. G. M. Colvocoresses, Humboldt, Ariz. E. C. Potter, Clearwater, Mont. F. G. Cottrell, Washington, D. C. R. B. Stanford, Bluefields, Nicaragua. H. N. Eavenson, Gary, W. Va. R. S. Ransom, Jr., Newark, N. J. H. T. Fisher, Englewood, N. J.. M. L. Requa, San Francisco, Cal. E. P. Fleming, Salt Lake City, Utah. John A. Rice, El Paso, Tex. F. L. Garrison, Philadelphia, Pa. W. E. Rice, Ringwood, N. J. W. M. Grant, So. Bethlehem, Pa. Lewis A. Riley, Philadelphia, Pa. J. F. Hanst, Negaunee, Mich. Hallet R. Robbins, Vancouver, B. C. H. D. Hibbard, Plainfield, N. J. Allen H. Rogers, Boston, Mass. B. B. Hood, Chrome, N. J. A. A. Stevenson, Philadelphia, Pa. Henry M. Howe, Bedford Hills, N. Y. Wm. Huff Wagner, Johnstown, Pa. Hennen Jennings, Washington, D. C. E. E. Watts, Denver, Colo. Oscar Lachmund, Greenwood, B. C. Samuel S. Wyer, Columbus, Ohio. H. W. Aldrich, after ten years of service with the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., at Anaconda, has resigned and accepted a position as general superintendent for the Ladysmith Smelting Works, at Ladysmith, B. C. Charles E. Bunker, formerly superintendent of the Keystone mine, has been appointed superintendent of the Bunker Hill mine near Amador City, Cal.

Jan 5, 1917

By P. D. White, J. T. Moss, J. S. McNiel

Results of experimental work on the in situ combustion process were first published in this country in 1953' when Kuhn and Koch described results of a three-well test in Jefferson County, Okla. Shortly there-after Grant and Szasz2 described field studies in Nowata County, Okla., in which several modifications of the basic combustion process were investigated by injection of various oxidizing gas mixtures other than air. In the past five years speculation concerning this method of oil recovery has continued, with a number of interesting papers on various aspects of in situ combustion appearing in the literature3,4,5,6,7. However, only one of these' provided actual engineering information on pattern-type field experiments. The primary objectives of the Oklahoma three-well test were to check operation of specially designed electrical ignition equipment and evaluate problems associated with initiation of combustion in a natural oil sand reservoir. Immediately following successful completion of this test in the Pontotoc sand, plans were activated for a second field experiment to be conducted in the same sand a short distance away. The objective of this second field test1 as to establish a relationship between field observations and information derived from laboratory experimentation and computations. Secondary objectives of the test were to develop operating tech- niques and define operating problems, and to obtain information that would assist in the economic and engineering appraisals of the process. Careful planning was required since this test was designed with the hope of providing basic information on the characteristics and operation of a combustion drive. It was necessary to include test facilities which would not only permit precise control and measurement of the process variables but would also provide sufficient flexibility of control to insure that variables in the combustion process could be studied during the course of the test under a wide range of conditions. In order to accomplish these objectives elaborate instrumentation and several control wells were included in the design of the test installation. This type installation was felt to be well suited for an experimental study, but was in no respect intended as a counterpart of a commercial-scale operation. PRELIMINARY LABORATORY WORK An important objective of the field experiment, as stated previously, has been to obtain reliable data on operating variables which might be compared with similar data obtained in laboratory combustion tests. The value of successful correlations between quantities that can be measured in the laboratory and those obtained in a full-scale commercial venture has been well established for other industrial processes. The difficulty of following a process underground should make such correlations even more essential here. Also. approaching the field test phase of development of in situ combustion, it was considered desirable to precede design of test equipment with laboratory combustion studies under a variety of conditions to establish likely ranges of variables. These included temperature, air injection rate, frontal advance rate and produced gas composition.

The Library of the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 9 P.M. on all week-days, except holidays, from September 1 to June 30, and from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. during July and August. The Library contains about 55,000 volumes, including sets of technical periodicals and the publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive special attention. The Library is prepared to furbish references and copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining-maps, and to furnish general information as to the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape. The members of the Institute can be of service to the Library by forwarding copies of mining-reports, maps privately issued, and similar material, which will be classified, indexed, and made available to other members. Suggestions for additions to the Library, either by purchase or personal solicitation as gifts, will be welcomed. It is hoped that members while in the city will use the Library freely, and assurance is given that most careful service will be rendered to them.

Jan 10, 1913

The Library of the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 9 P.M. on all week-clays, except holidays, from September 1 to June 30, and from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. during July and August. The Library contains about 55,000 volumes, including sets of technical periodicals and the publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive special attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references' and copies of articles on-mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining-maps, and to furnish general information as to the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape. The members of the Institute can be of service to the Library by forwarding copies of mining-reports, maps privately issued, and similar material, which will be classified, indexed, and made available to other members. Suggestions for additions to the Library, either by purchase or personal solicitation as gifts, will be welcomed. It is hoped that members while in the city will use the Library freely, and assurance is given that most careful service will be rendered to them.

Jan 7, 1913