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By F. Rosenblum

An on-stream particle size analyzer (PSA) based on the sedimentation principle has been developed to the commercial prototype stage and tested at a concentrator. The current instrument gives a direct reading of the weight % finer than any two sizes, although the capability exists for providing a complete size distribution through the sieve and sub-sieve range. The readings obtained at intervals of about 10 minutes are derived from 0.5-L samples of slurry cut from the monitored stream. The accuracy of the PSA meets the requirements of process control.

Jan 1, 1984

By P. E. Demmler

PHOSPHORUS combines with copper in various proportions, forming true alloys, some of which are of commercial importance. These materials find wide application as deoxidizers and as a means of introducing phosphorus into other alloys, as in phosphor-bronze. Phosphor-coppers containing 10 and 15 per cent. of phosphorus are the commercial grades that are most generally offered. Each has certain advantages when used in making other alloys. The 10 per cent. grade of phosphor-copper has an advantage over the 15 per cent. in that it has a much lower melting point and can be prepared by certain methods with a much lower loss in phosphorus. The 15 per cent. grade has the advantage of lower freight rates per unit of phosphorus and, by the method to be described, a uniform product can be prepared with practically no loss of phosphorus. Alloys of copper and phosphorus containing any desired percentage of phosphorus lower than 15 per cent. can be prepared by melting together the requisite amounts of copper and 15 per cent. phosphor-copper. Processes for making phosphor-copper may be divided into two classes as follows: (1) Those depending on the smelting of phosphate rock or superphosphate of calcium with copper or copper-bearing materials, and coal or other carbonaceous material; (2) those depending on the direct combination of metallic copper and elemental phosphorus. A number of formulas for preparing phosphor-copper according to the first method have been published. The Metal, Industry' gives-the following: Superphosphate of calcium, 60 lb.; granulated copper, 301b.; finely powdered coal, 10 lb. Similar formulas are given by Brannt2 and others, and detail 'variations are covered by patents, such as those of L A Jeffs3 and H A Webster.4

Jan 8, 1920

By Frank A. Wilder

The most important process in a gypsum mill is calcining the crude mineral. There seems, however, to be little progress or change in calcining methods. This would not be surprising if the industry was not, in other ways, developing. The demand for gypsum in its various forms, however, is growing rapidly. The output has more than doubled in six years, while the value of gypsum products, through the introduction of higher priced. specialties like wall board, has nearly trebled in the same period. In other industries, under somewhat similar conditions, calcining in rotating cylinders, either by direct or indirect heat, has replaced the method that still prevails in gypsum mills. Efforts were made to use rotary calciners in manufacturing plaster of Paris in the early days of the industry in America; 25 years ago rotary calciners were in use in Germany. At that time there was great diversity of opinion in regard to their merit. In 1923, the output of calcined gypsum in the United States was 3,101,378 tons. About nine-tenths of this material was calcined in kettles, the remainder in rotary calciners. The ratio was about the same 10 years ago. During these 10 years, rotary calcining made relatively no gains, and there were no important changes in the construction of kettles. In their manipulation, the only change of consequence was in connection with the length of time that the gypsum is left in the kettle. For wall-plaster purposes, all producers who had not previously done so changed from second-settled to first-settled calcined gypsum, thereby reducing production costs and improving the plasticity and sand-carrying capacity of their plaster. Nevertheless, in the few mills in which they were installed, rotary calciners continue to operate, with possibly one or two exceptions, and to be highly successful. In these 10 years, the Cummer type of rotary calciner has disappeared. All rotaries now used are of the cement-mill type with a diameter of 6 or 7 ft. and length of 80 to 120 feet.

Jan 1, 1925

By Paul Soros

The cost of shipping British coal by water to domestic and ex- port users has been expensive. The traditional transportation system functioned as follows: coal in up to 50 different grades was accumulated in railway cars at several loading ports; on the arrival of a vessel, cars were dumped in the desired order to produce the required blend. It was a direct rail- road-to-water interface. Railroad freight was high because of the poor utilization of the large number of small (14, 18 or maximum 28-ton capacity) hopper cars required. Ocean freight was high because the ships were small, mostly on the order of 1500-3000 dwt and even these took a long time to load. Assembling and loading larger cargo presented a challenge in logistics to the ports, the railways and the coal washeries. The accommodation of larger bulk carriers was hampered by a tidal range of up to 24 ft which led to the development of impounded harbors, with locks that limit the size of vessels.

Jan 12, 1973

By G. P. Moore

BOLIVIA still remains among the oil countries that have proved oil acreage but no production which is being marketed. No steps have been taken during the past year to provide facilities for transport of Bolivian oil to market nor are any known to be contemplated for 1930. The only active operator to date is the Standard Oil Co. of Bolivia, subsidiary of the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey. The potential production from completed wells is practically unchanged from the 1928 figure of 6000 bbl. daily. As far as is known, there has been only one completion during the year 1929. This is the Machareti well, which is about 50 km. north of Villa Montes along the road to Charagua. The well is reported at about 250 bbl. daily initial production. The gravity of the oil is not known but is presumed to be about 40" Bé., the average for the region. The Standard Oil Co. of Bolivia has five strings working on various parts of its concession. No new locations have been made definitely. Company Activities There was no change in the situation of American holdings in Bolivia during 1929. The oil rights of an English company, acquired under a special colonization contract with the Bolivian Government, are being negotiated in New York and may mean the entrance of another of the large American oil companies in Bolivia. The Sucre Syndicate sold its holdings to the Standard Oil Co. of Bolivia during the past year. .A local company called the "Aguila Doble" was formed during 1929 to drill a well or wells near the town of Cochabamba on structures mapped by a local geologist. It is reported that the Government is buying about one-fourth of the capital stock of this company for 500,000 Bolivianos (about $180,000). The company has not yet raised sufficieht funds to buy drilling equipment so that no operations have been started. According to the statements published in La Pas, this company has acreage on seven anticlinal structures near Cochabamba. This area lies about 8500 ft. above sea level on the eastern Hank of the Andes Moun-

Jan 1, 1930

By B. E. Parsons

Curtailment of production of crude oil, to the extent of effecting an approximate balance in supply and demand, was a problem confronting the oil industry in California throughout the year 1930. At the beginning of the year, with drilling operations only slightly checked, the California industry faced a steadily increasing potential production, an actual production in excess of market requirements and stocks of crude oil and refined products which had reached staggering proportions. During the year, the intensive development of the Playa Del Rey field and extensions to several oil fields, together with flush production from numerous large wells from both new and old fields, caused a steady increase in the state's potential production to a record peak in November of 1,186,000 bbl. daily. Despite the burden of this steady stream of flush production and the handicap of incomplete cooperation in several fields, curtailment successfully lowered the trend of crude oil production in California, except for the period of an open-flow test to determine actual potential production in several important fields in February. Under the curtailment programs in effect, the state's production of crude oil for the year was reduced 22 per cent. under the production of 1929 and even slightly under the production for the years 1927 and 1928. The total stocks of crude oil and refined products were reduced 2.7 per cent. during 1930, as compared to an increase of 30 per cent. in total stocks of all products during 1929. Drilling operations were reduced 28 per cent. as compared to drilling activities during 1929. Voluntary curtailment of drilling programs by many operators, particularly the major companies, accounts for the greatest portion of the reduction in drilling activity. The decline in drilling activity at Santa Fe Springs and in the east-side fields of the San Joaquin Valley was more than offset by development in new fields and extensions to deeper zones of old fields. There were 755 new wells completed during 1930, as compared to 910 completions in 1929. At the close of the year, 220 wells were drilling in the oil fields of California, 9 of which were being drilled in search of deeper producing horizons.

Jan 1, 1931

By Howard A. Meyerhoff

Nonmetallic rock and mineral products are so diversified that any generalizations regarding the industries based upon them are of doubtful value and can be misleading. They are geared to every phase of the national economy and respond sensitively and immediately to any economic change, but the responses vary with the individual products. They are also affected by political and competitive factors to a degree that is disconcerting and, at times, ruinous to operators, owners, and stockholders of mineral properties. It is not unusual to find these special factors functioning in reverse of general trends insofar as individual products are concerned. As this summary is being written in the final weeks of 1949 production statistics for the year are not complete, but it is obvious that few, if any, new production records will be set, and that 1949 level, will, in general, be lower than those of 1948. The decline in output is not alarming and reflects in large part the tendency of users, who have been finding sources of supply more dependable to rely on prompt deliveries rather than on inventories to meet immediate needs. Except for the government's program of stock piling which, insofar as it has worked at all, is of more direct interest and benefit to foreign than to domestic producers, industrial inventories have been further reduced, and the neater balance between production and consumption has freed capital for the manufacturer and has cut down the serious hazard of substantial inventory losses. There are no quantity products and only a few special products that cannot be supplied in quick response to current demands. Normal development of a few nonmetallic industries has been retarded by the government's unpredictable application and irrational interpretation of antitrust laws, and by extension of preferential tariffs to new countries and new products. Synthesis is likewise a potent threat. in certain fields, but otherwise it is difficult to make a review of 1949 read much differently from a review of 1948. Changes have been qualitative rather than quantitative, except for a few operations that have been pinched out by the relentless competition that characterizes many of the industrial mineral industries.

Jan 1, 1950

By P. V. Faragher

A metal or alloy finds its place in commerce in proportion to its ability to serve certain purposes better and more economically than other materials. While there is some overlapping of the fields of application of the various metals under discussion in this symposium, each one has its uses for which it is especially adapted. While aluminum is the most recent of the metals to enter the field, the development of the industry has been based on its peculiar properties, by virtue of which new uses for non-ferrous metals have been created. There has been substitution of this new metal for other members of the group but there has been a far greater development in entirely new fields. In common with the other non-ferrous metals, aluminum is resistant to atmospheric corrosion. It also withstands the action of many of the common chemical reagents, strongly alkaline substances being the notable exceptions. The outstanding properties on which the application of aluminum is based are its low specific gravity and its ease of fabrication into the forms in which it is used. It is noteworthy that this property of specific lightness is retained in all the commercial aluminum-base alloys. This statement does not apply to aluminum bronze; this is more properly a copper-base alloy, since aluminum enters into its composition to the extent of only about 10 per cent. None of the commercial casting alloys of aluminum has a density exceeding that of the parent metal by more than about 10 per cent., and some are actually lighter. In the so-called "strong alloys" of aluminum in which strengths comparable to that of mild steel are developed by heat treatment, the greatest increase in density is only slightly more than 3 per cent., and one of these, also, is lighter than aluminum. This property of lightness combined with the desirable mechanical properties of the alloys, makes aluminum especially suited for parts of moving assemblies where saving in power, as well as a decrease in stresses resulting from inertia and vibration, are of importance.

By John A. Ames

AMERICAN pioneers first discovered "commercial" salt in western New York State. Geologists gave the classically correct name of Salina to the salt bearing strata of New York. Rock salt occurs in rocks of approximately the same age and stratigraphic position as New York's Salina "group", to the south and southwest, in western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and northwestern West Virginia. Sodium chloride and associated salts occur in brines throughout much of the same area as the rock salt. Brines also are found in areas well beyond the margins of that under which the rock salt lies, especially to the west in Ohio and to the south in West Virginia. The occurrence of the brines in the same area as the rock salt is almost always coincidental rather than indicative of a physical association.

Jan 5, 1950

NEW MEMBERS The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during the period Mar. 1 to 15, 1914: Members ADAMS, JOHN H., Cons. Engr First National Bank Bldg., Birmingham, Ala. ALEXANDER, WILLIAM H., Miner 80 Maiden Lane, New York, N. Y. AUSTIN, EDGAR TAYLOR, Asst. Smelter Supt., Mond Nickel Co., Ltd., Coniston, Ont., Can. BAKER, DANIEL, JR., Asst. Treas., Standard Lime & Stone Co. 524 Equitable Bldg., Baltimore, Md. BALL, MAX WAITE, Geologist U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. BARREN, HARRY B., Supt. Blast Furnaces, Inland Steel Co., Indiana Harbor, Ind. BAUMANN, HENRY N., JR., Amalgamator 365 Lynn St., Seattle, Wash. BLACK,, THOMAS B., Min. Engr Care Vulture Mines Co., Wickenburg, Ariz. BRADT, HARLAN H 429 West 111th_ St, New York, N. Y.

Jan 4, 1914

NEW MEMBERS. The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during the month of June, 1913: Members. ANGERER, VICTOR, Vice-Prest. and Genl. Mgr., Wm. Wharton, Jr. & Co., Inc., 25th St. and Washington Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. BULLOCK, ALLYN, Min. Engr Hazleton, Pa. CUNNINGHAM, NOEL, Met. Engr., Hollinger Gold Mines, Ltd., Timmins, Ont., Canada. ESTABROOK, EDWARD L., Supt. of Colliery 436 Center St., Ashland, Pa. GATES, A. 0., Instructor Purdue Univ., La Fayette, Ind. LUDLUM, ALBERT C., Prest., New York Engrg. Co., 2 Rector St., New York, N. Y. MILLER, HERBERT F., Met. Engr P. 0. Box 142, Verona, Pa MORTON, ELMER T., Min. Engr Clifton, Ariz. MURFIT, RICHARD H.. Fdv. Asst Hess Steel Castings Co., Bridgeton, N. J. QUAYLE, THEODORE W., Chief Sampler, Metcalf Mines, Arizona Copper Co., Metcalf, Ariz.

Jan 7, 1913

By A. N. Roberts, N. W. Stump

New developments in on-stream analysis using immersed radioisotope gages including results from plant installations are described. The control of grinding and flotation using a small digital computer has been complemented by this development. A control scheme for grinding, which is based on maximum throughput at constant product size, and preliminary work in flotation control are also outlined.

Jan 1, 1975

Jan 1, 1920

Jan 1, 1916

By Robert E. Delavault, Harry V. Warren

IN the worldwide search of buried orebodies and for entirely new areas of mineralization, geo-chemistry is taking on an increasingly important role. Indeed, geochemistry itself is splitting into various specialties-hydrogeochemistry, pedogeo-chemistry, and biogeochemistry. This article primarily relates to developments in these fields in British Columbia, but many of the remarks are applicable to the whole continent.

Jan 10, 1953

By William P. Blake

The late Dr. Ebenezer Emmons of Albany, one of the geologists of the Survey of New York and the author of The Taconic System, brought to notice as early as 1838" a peculiar concretionary and lamellar form of phosphate of lime, to which he gave the name Eupyrchroite, from the Greek words for fire and color, with the pefix

Jan 1, 1893

By Guy D. Bruno

Through the remainder of this century, world consumption of fluorine per ton of primary aluminum produced will continue to be substantially reduced. Growth of the primary industry will offset some of the unit consumption, but demand for new fluorine sources will decline sharply. Continued application of dry fume scrubbing system will be the most significant factor in reducing demand.

Jan 1, 1979

By Guy D. Bruno

Through the remainder of this century, world consumption of fluorine per ton of primary aluminum produced will continue to be substantially reduced. Growth of the primary industry will offset some of the unit consumption, but demand for new fluorine sources will decline sharply. Continued application of dry fume scrubbing systems will be the most significant factor in reducing demand.

Jan 11, 1978

President MRS. FREDERICK LAIST 24 Tompkins Road Scarsdale, N. Y. First Vice-president MRS. LOUIS D. HUNTOON Pleasantville New York Second Vice-president MRS. REED W. HYDE 84 Mountain Avenue Summit, N. J. Third Vice-president MISS MADELINE P. STONE 49 West 11th St. New York, N. Y. Fourth Vice-president MRS. JOHN J. LINCOLN Elkhorn, McDowell Co. West Virginia

Jan 1, 1932

President-Mrs Andrew E Beer, 25 Sutton Place at 58th Street, New York 22, N Y. First Vice-President-Mrs. Edward H Thaete, Schuyler House, Fort Hill Village, Scarsdale, N. Y. Second Vice-President-Mrs Michael L Haider, 3 East 84th Street, New York 28, N. Y. Third Vice-President-Mrs Stephen Krickovic, 2275 Country Club Drive, Bridgeville, Pa

Jan 1, 1960