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By E. Baker, David Donoghue

Legal and legislative matters constituted the outstanding features of proration in Texas in 1932. From East Texas emanated most of the political, legal, technical and industrial activity. Conroe and Thompson developed into fields of major importance. Proration orders were issued by the Railroad Commission on many of the producing fields of the Gulf Coast and West Texas not covered in previous years. In Yates, Penn Pool, Winkler, Van, the Panhandle, North Texas and West Central Texas there were 110 changes of importance, except in allowables. New proration schemes were introduced in East Texas, Conroe, Thompson, Saranosa, Government Wells, Tuleta and Howard-Glasscock. Little progress was made in administration or technical development. Legal and Legislative Matters Proration first began in Texas in 1927 as a voluntary attempt to divide the market outlet of a field on an equitable basis. The statutes then in existence were considered somewhat archaic and the Railroad Commission's authority was limited. Subsequent efforts to strengthen the laws were not wholly successful. The 1929 Conservation Act made no mention of market demand but declared that the term "waste" did not mean " economic waste." With the passage of the Pipc Line Act of 1930, providing for ratable purchasing, it was the opinion of many lawyere that a legal means of proration had been found. The 1931 law had ths same provision as that of 1929 with respect to economic waste but specifically prohibited limiting of production to market demand. The law passed Nov. 12, 1932, omitted reference to economic waste and specifically provided for limitation of production to reasonable market demand. Vigorous attacks were being made in State and Federal Courts on the constitutionality of the laws and the validity of the Commission's orders. In Peoples Petroleum Producers, Inc. et al. vs. Lon A. Smith et al., which had been heard before a three-judge U. S. District Court in Houston on May 28, 1932 and again on Sept. 19, the Court's decision for plaintiffs, released Oct. 2, influenced in a large measure the calling of the Legislature and the passage of the Market Demand Law on Nov. 12.

Jan 1, 1933

By L. E. Young

MUCH has been said and written on this subject and probably little new can be said. However, the point of view of the operating company changes from time to time, and more stress may be laid upon a subject today than was done some years ago, and it is with this changing point of view that the following observations are presented: The writer wishes to limit the discussion to views of a company mining bituminous coal, particularly to what the production department expects of the college grad¬uate. In an editorial in MINING AND METALLURGY for February, 1929, entitled "Is. Mining Engineering Passing?" it is stated that: It is not by accident that mining engineering courses have been general rather than special and form even today the only general engineering courses widely offered and followed by engineering students.'* * * even in this age of specialization, the mining engineers remain a body characterized particularly by broad knowledge.

Jan 1, 1929

By D. M. McFarland

IN mining, quarrying, and construction, drilling and blasting have an important influence on the operations that follow. If the fragmentation of material being disrupted is inadequate, loading and transportation equipment will not operate at or near full capacity. Any operator faced with this difficulty should not be satisfied until he is convinced by a careful study of his methods of drilling and blasting that no improvement can be made. Rock in a certain quarry in Ohio seemed to defy any grade of explosive or means of detonation that the explosives industry had to offer. The average result of a blast was that a great part of the burden would be pushed out from the face in a number of large sections that would jokingly be referred to as "boxcars." These were no credit to the explosives man and a costly problem for the quarry company. Such blocks retard shovel operation as they have to be uncovered and subjected to secondary drilling and blasting which, if extensive, is an expensive operation. It was an attempt to improve the fragmentation obtained in primary blasts that led to the development of milli-second-delay electric blasting caps. The reasoning that prompted the trial was that even with wide spacing of the drill holes it seemed that the burden was separated too quickly from the face by the cutting action of the explosives from hole to hole. If the time of firing of the holes could be regulated so that

Jan 1, 1948

By David Donoghue

Efforts made in the year 1930 and in previous years restricted production in most of the fields of Texas to a point that was satisfactory, at the beginning of 1931, to the majority of producers and buyers. In the Panhandle, North Texas and West Central Texas districts, a few operators with refinery affiliations or contracts either ignored, or by virtue of injunction suits, did not comply with the Railroad Commission's orders, and there was some oil sold at less than posted prices, which, with the Oklahoma City difficulties, caused the first general price reduction. More could have been done perhaps to help the situation on the Gulf Coast and in the Laredo district, but natural advantages are not readily surrendered. East Texas Proration troubles in 1930 were insignificant when compared with those of 1931. In January, 1931, efforts were begun to convince the producers and citizens of East Texas of the necessity of curtailment. Opposition quickly developed and meetings were held in the towns of the region and proration denounced vigorously. Notwithstanding a strenuous campaign for additional legislation waged by many producers, the regular session of the State Legislature refused to strengthen the conservation laws and passed only the Marginal Well Bill, designed to prevent the Commission from prorating small wells. The Railroad Commission held a heated hearing on East Texas in the latter part of March. During April the Commission issued three orders based on the Yates plan for the proration of the East Texas field. Each succeeding order raised the allowable for the field. In June the opposition held more mass meetings at which a plan based on acreage was endorsed. Apparently on the theory that any plan was better than none, the Commission issued an order on July 2 embodying some of the features of the proposed plan, limiting production to 250,000 bbl. per day, and dividing the producing area into 20-acre units participating equally in the outlet. Owing to the bringing in of many wells and the many violators of the Commission's orders, production increased to such an extent that prices went as low as 5c per barrel.

Jan 1, 1932

By C. Max Bauer

THE most important development in the petroleum industry in Montana, during 1924, was the bringing in of the Hepp well on May 12, by the Midwest Refining Co. This followed three years of active prospecting and drilling in the state by this company. The well is located 35 miles west of Billings, in Stillwater County, and makes a high-grade paraffin oil from the Dakota sand at a. depth of 3825 ft. After flowing for several months at the rate of 150 bbl. per day, the well has been shut in for lack of storage, awaiting further development in the field. TABLE 1. Production Cat Creek and Kevin-Sunburst Fields Month Kevin-Sunburst Pipe- Estimated Cat Creek Pipeline Estimated line Runs Fuel Oil Used Runs Fuel Used January 3,214 0 133,400 140 February 3,250 0 134,248 490 March 11,989 595 163,129 910 April 116,897 1,155 125,918 980 May 179,726 2,310 152,179 770 June 126,131 2,697 122,270 910 July 132,173 2,170 118,034 770 August 202,001 2,695 142,313 1,120 September 187,201 2,135 110,012 350 October 162,589 1,995 121,683 350 November 130,392 2,520 139,900 350 December 107,465 1,780 124,169 0 Total 1,363,028 20,052 1,581,255 .7,140 There are two producing oilfields in the state-the Cat Creek and the Kevin-Sunburst, which produced a total of 2,971,475 bbl. in 1924. The only other field of proved value is Soap Creek, which contains a heavy black oil and is shut in for lack of marketing facilities. Gas is produced for local use at Havre, Chinook, and Baker, and a carbon-black plant is located at Baker.

Jan 3, 1925

By W. N. Logan

A survey of geological conditions, production and prices in Indiana oil fields. Shows no production and indefinite prospects from the sub-Trenton formation; good production and much untested territory in Trenton formation; and fair production from the Pennsylvanian with fair prospects for the future in both the Pennsylvanian and Mississip-pian formations. THE petroleum industry of Indiana made somewhat notable progress during the year 1923, considering the number of handicaps it encountered. The price of labor and materials continued to have an upward slant while the price of crude oil took a decidedly downward course. In spite of these adverse conditions, the quantity production will closely approximate that of 1922, when it passed the million-barrel mark. The progress of the industry in Indiana should be considered fairly satisfactory as long as the present production is maintained. In other words, if the loss of production from the waning old wells can be offset by the production from the new for a period of 10 or 15 years longer, the industry may have cause for congratulation.

Jan 3, 1924

Application of technology to the search for new deposits went on apace in 1963. Traditional methods, aided by modern communications, were successful in some out-of-the way corners of the world that had not been adequately prospected, but the co-ordination of several mutually supporting techniques is necessary to define exploration targets in most areas today. Although these obviously include geophysics and geochemistry, which are treated elsewhere in this issue, geology continues to play a major role. As the search focuses on less and less obvious targets there will be more need than ever to "pull out all the stops." Any anomaly may have significance and must be evaluated as a possible lead. Ability to detect them increases as the laboratory workers refine techniques for measuring physical, chemical, and isotopic properties; it will be increasingly the responsibility of the exploration geologist to understand and apply these to economic problems. Simple propecting, the search for outcrops of recognizable ores of traditional types, was perhaps most successful for iron. Potentially large deposits of high-grade magnetite-specularite-hematite ore have been found in the Mary River area near the north end of Baffin Island. The ore holds up four hills that stand some 1500 ft above the surrounding country; obviously they were ripe for discovery by the first person to come across them, in this case Murray Watts, president of British Ungava Explorations, Ltd, As preliminary examination indicates a lump ore averaging 68 to 70% iron, these deposits may be commercial in spite of the unfavorable climate and their isolation from world markets.

Jan 2, 1964

By S. FROES ABRUE

No new oil fields were discovered in Brazil during 1945. Production for the year reached a total of 79.329 bbl., all coming from the four fields in the Baia basin; the Lobato-Joanes field produced 6728 bbl.; Aratu, 6717 bbl.; Candeias, 36,663 bbl. and Itaparica, 29,211 bbl. The total cumulative production from the Baia basin from 1939 to 1945 inclusive amounts to 210,000 bbl., all of which is utilized locally.

Jan 1, 1946

By Arthur F. TQggQrt

THE approximate status of education in ore dressing in 1871 is reflected by Rossiter W. Raymond in an article written at that time presenting the curricula and descriptions of the laboratories at the various mining schools in the United States. For the most part, the curricula in which ore dressing was taught were for mining engineering. They comprised courses in geology, mining, and pyrometallurgy about equal in point or credit weights; a short course in ore dressing, and a somewhat longer course in assaying; and courses in surveying, hydraulics, power, and strength of materials-all superimposed on a broad foundation of physics, chemistry, and mathematics. Some curricula contained a fair content of the humanities. Then, as now, the emphasis on fundamentals was greater in the older colleges and universities. The report on the Columbia School of Mines, then relatively young, emphasized that a large percentage of its students were college graduates. As technical and scientific knowledge grew, first metallurgy and then geology were set up as separate curricula. So far as curriculum designation is con-

Jan 1, 1947

The following tables showing the output of coal during the year 1913 have been secured y R. H. Morris, of Pocahontas, Alberta, Canada, for the use of the Committee through the kindness of John T. Stirling, Chief Mine-Inspector of Alberta. The principal mining districts are, Crow's Nest Pass, Calgary, Lethbridge, and Edmonton, the outputs from which were as follows: Tons Crow's Nest Pass 1,849,435 Calgary...: 627,461 Lethbridge ; 966,020 Edmonton 863,430 Total 4,306,346 Of this quantity there was exported to the United States, principally from the Crow's Nest Pass district, 138,201 tons of 2,000 lb., that being the ton used throughout the Province. This production consisted of lignite, bituminous coal, anthracite, coking coal and coal used in making. briquettes, as follows: Tons "Lignite coal" (lignitic?) 1,763,225 Bituminous coal 2,374,401 Anthracite coal 168,720 Coking coal 104,012 Coke produced 65,167 Briquettes produced 130,861 The only district in which coke was made is the Crow's Nest Pass district, and the entire product was consumed in Canada. The total number of persons employed is as follows: Above ground 2,231 Underground 5,837 Total 8,068 The per capita production was as follows: Tons of coal mined per employee 533 Tons of coal mined per underground employee 737

Jan 7, 1914

By Alten F. Grandt

What is prime farmland? Can such land, once it has been surface mined for coal, be restored so that it will produce corn, soybeans, wheat, and alfalfa? What methods or practices are necessary to bring about restoration within a reasonable time so that crop yields will be equivalent to or higher than those of unmined prime farmland under high levels of management? These questions concerned land use researchers in Illinois as early as 1948 when the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station experimented with growing cultivated crops on surface mined land in St. Clair County (Grandt, 1949). This research was done almost thirty years before requirements of Public Law 95-87 were passed by the US Congress and signed August 3, 1977.

Jan 1, 1982

By H. E. McKinstry

LIKE nearly everything else, mining geology has been reconverting. Many geologists had been in military and other government service. Many more, with mining companies, had been working primarily toward increasing production from known reserves. All of these are turning now toward their normal peacetime endeavor-the search for new ore; for most mining companies, finding themselves with accumulated deficits in development work, are more than ready to go ahead with their postwar plans made a year or more ago but still stalled at the close of 1945 for lack of man power. These plans include not merely development in the old home camp but also wide exploration for new prospects both domestic and foreign. Most of the large concerns have geologists and engineers in the field in the United States, despite the outlook for higher mining costs here, and at least half a dozen strong American companies are already investigating opportunities abroad, notwithstanding past unhappy experiences in certain Latin-American nations which have welcomed capital but later found means of preventing investors from reaping the reward of their enterprise. A few of these new foreign expeditions are following well-planned programs, but too many, in their haste to get any sort of footing, are proceeding without well-considered policy. with the result that their geologists can do little more than desultory scouting.

Jan 1, 1946

All the TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS and CONTRIBUTIONS published in 1940 are available at Institute headquarters, unless otherwise noted. They are also on file in many public, university and technical libraries and, when so indicated in the list, may be found in the TRANSACTIONS. TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS in Classes A-Metal Mining, B-Milling and Concen-tration, H-Industrial Minerals, and I-Mining Geology are distributed in MINING TECHNOLOGY, which is issued every other month. Technical Publications in Classes C-Iron and Steel Division, D-Nonferrous Metallurgy and E-Institute of Metals Division are distributed in METALS TECHNOLOGY, which is issued twice quarterly. TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS in Class G-Petroleum Division are distributed in PETRO-LEUM TECHNOLOGY, which was issued quarterly in 1940 but will be issued every other month in 1941. TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS in Classes F-Coal Division, J-Mineral Industry Education Division, K-Mining Administration, and L-Geophysical Methods of Exploration are issued as separate pamphlets. An Institute member is entitled to one copy of any TECHNICAL PUBLICATION or CONTRIBUTION. Copies of TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS listed have been mailed to members of the Institute accord-ing to their registration by classes. CONTRIBUTIONS and other TECHNICAL PUBLICA-TIONS will be sent upon request. A member may purchase an additional copy of a TECHNICAL PUBLICATION or a CONTRIBUTION at one cent a page; minimum charge, 25¢. Nonmembers may purchase any CONTRIBUTION or a TECHNICAL PUBLICATION of the F, J, K, or L classes at the same rate, but the nonmember price per copy for METALS TECHNOLOGY, MINING TECHNOLOGY or PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY is $1.25 domestic, $1.35 foreign countries. TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS (separate pamphlet form), $2 per annum domestic, $2.50 foreign. METALS TECHNOLOGY, $7 per annum domestic, $7.80 foreign (Iron and Steel Division and Institute of Metals Division ferrous and nonferrous papers). MINING TECHNOLOGY, $6 per annum domestic, $6.60 foreign (metal mining, milling and concentration, Industrial Minerals Divi-sion, and mining geology papers.) PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY, $6 per annum domestic, $6.60 foreign. Bound volumes have been mailed to members that have requested them, and MINING and METALLURGY is mailed each month. A member is entitled to one volume a year on his membership and he may purchase for $2.50 one copy of a volume not already received; additional copies of the same volume, $5. Nonmembers may pur-chase the volumes listed, at $5 each, plus 60 cents for Canadian or foreign postage. Extra single copies of MINING AND METALLURGY, 25¢ current issue, back numbers 50¢ each to members; to nonmembers 506 current issue and $1 each, back issues. Subscription price to nonmembers and to members for extra copies, $3 per annum domestic, $4.00 foreign.

Jan 1, 1940

By E. R. Smith

ANALYSIS of the requirements for gun perforation equipment suitable for penetrating casing and cement showed that these points would be involved: (1) Powder charges electrically detonated under high fluid lieads and at remote distances. (2) Selective firing of sliots in sequence. (3) Sufficient velocity for the bullet to penetrate at least two strings of seamless casing and all cement beyond the strings. (4) Heat-treatment of steels to withstand great pressures and penetration. (5) Esclusiorl of fluid under extremely high hydrostatic pressure. (6) Stranded steel wire line acting as weight - suspending and current - carrying medium. (7) Firing controls operated above the surface. (8) Determining gun depth and suspended weight by means of the wire line. (9) Portability for field use.

Jan 1, 1936

By James Aston

A PROPER consideration of this subject is not confined to the technical channels of production and metallurgy. It concerns an industry, and should cover economic aspects which are of material importance in any program of development. The discussion may logically be treated under three subdivisions, as follows: (1) manufacture, (2) characteristics related to quality of material; (3) adaptability and exploitation of product. MANUFACTURE OF WROUGHT IRON The manufacture of wrought iron is the most ancient art of the ferrous metal industry. The eighty years or less of existence of processes identified with our modern "Age of Steel" is a relatively brief interval compared with the several thousand years associated with the production of wrought iron by man. From the primitive early methods of production, manufacture for many centuries followed the line of direct reduction. There were developments as experience was gained through the years; but man's needs for a strong, ductile, forgeable product were met by reducing the ore to metallic iron in a single-stage operation. Following the development several centuries ago of what has become our modern blast-furnace operation, manufacture of wrought iron was gradually transformed into a two-stage method of first producing cast iron and then refining this to the desired degree of forgeability; the forerunner in principle of today's scheme of manufacture of steel. The product retained the essential characteristics of highly refined base metal with iron-silicate slag incorporation, which were associated with the material resulting from direct reduction methods. Cort's invention of the puddling process in 1784 is a landmark in wrought-iron manufacture. It consisted essentially in adapting a coal-fired reverberatory furnace to the refining operation; thus lifting the industry out of the slough of

Jan 1, 1935

Jan 1, 1883

By Evan Just

DIRECT subsidies for mine production in this country began as an outgrowth of wartime 'price regulation. The price-fixing authorities realized that the volume of production to be required from domestic copper, lead, and zinc mines would invoke costs of production considerably higher than the established ceiling prices. Accordingly, beginning Feb. 1, 1942 the Premium Price Plan was set up, which undertook to pay premiums to mines for production in excess of quota, of 5¢ per lb of copper and 2Y4¢ per lb of zinc or lead. Quotas, except for small mines, were initially established at the average rate of production in 1941, but were later reduced arbitrarily on an individual basis. Subsequently, additional "B" premiums were set for lead and zinc of 2Y40 per lb and a further "C" zinc premium of 2%¢. Additional copper premiums were negotiated on an individual basis, mainly with small mines. Quotas under each of these successive categories were the production obtained at the next lower premium level. In other words, under ceiling prices of 12¢ for copper, 6,14¢ for lead, and 83¢ for zinc, it was possible for high-cost operations to receive prices plus premiums of 17¢ or more for copper, 12¢ for lead, and 16% 0 for zinc on a portion of their production. On the other hand, some of the larger operators received only slight premiums and in at least one instance none at all. The average price plus premium for copper was 12.25¢ in 1942 and rose to 13.65¢ in 1945. That for lead was 6.99¢ in 1942 and 8.73¢ in 1945, and for zinc it was 9.06¢ in 1942 and 11.200 in 1945.

Jan 1, 1948

By AIME AIME

THE annual meeting of the Woman's Auxiliary to the A.I. M.E. is always held in New York, in con- junction with the annual meeting of the Institute in February. Business sessions, teas, dances, a theater party, luncheons, excursions, and many other interesting activities filled the four days to overflowing. In all ,216 women were present, from all parts of the United ,/ mates, and there were several from Canada. On Mon- ' day not only the visitors, but the New York members also, gathered around the registration desks, where Mrs. E. N. Wolfes, Mrs. S. J. Jennings, and Miss Georgene Davis saw that everyone was properly registered and provided with tickets to whatever functions she desired to attend. Greetings were eagerly ex- changed as friends met at the luncheon on the fifth floor, where the hostesses of the day were Mrs. J. D. Handy, Mrs. T. T. Read, Mrs. Sidney Rolle and Mrs. H. J. Wolf. In the afternoon, there were visits to art galleries and other interesting exhibits, arranged by Mrs. Frederick Laist. Mrs. W. H. Bassett was the hostess at a very delightful Thé damant at the Italian Gardens of the Ambassador Hotel. Many of the men attended this function also. In the evening the visiting ladies were entertained at a theater party, with Mrs. Wilbur Judson as hostess. The play that was seen was Gorki's "At. the Bottom."

Jan 1, 1930

By James Aston

A proper consideration of this subject is not confined to the technical channels of production and metallurgy. It concerns an industry, and should cover economic aspects which are of material importance in any program of development. The discussion may logically be treated under three subdivisions, as follows: (1) manufacture, (2) characteristics related to quality of material; (3) adaptability and exploitation of product. Manufacture of Wrought Iron The manufacture of wrought iron is the most ancient art of the ferrous metal industry. The eighty years or less of existence of processes identified with our modern "Age of Steel" is a relatively brief interval compared with the several thousand years associated with the production of wrought iron by man. From the primitive early methods of production, manufacture for many centuries followed the line of direct reduction. There were developments as experience was gained through the years; but man's needs for a strong, ductile, forgeable product were met by reducing the ore to metallic iron in a single-stage operation. Following the development several centuries ago of what has become our modern blast-furnace operation, manufacture of wrought iron was gradually transformed into a two-stage method of first producing cast iron and then refining this to the desired degree of forgeability; the forerunner in principle of today's scheme of manufacture of steel. The product retained the essential characteristics of highly refined base metal with iron-silicate slag incorporation, which were associated with the material resulting from direct reduction methods. Cort's invention of the puddling process in 1784 is a landmark in wrought-iron manufacture. It consisted essentially in adapting a coal-fired reverberatory furnace to the refining operation; thus lifting the industry out of the slough of

Jan 1, 1935

By H. C., Weed

THE Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co., located in the Globe-Miami district at Inspiration, Ariz., became a producer of copper in 1915. From 1915 until 1948, 116,278,000 tons of ore were produced from underground workings by the block-caving system of mining. In April 1948, open-pit ore production from portions of the ore body was started and earlier plans for block-caving in these areas were abandoned. The change was due to economic conditions. Prior to the war years Inspiration's costs of mining by block-caving methods were comparable to, or even below, the costs of some open-pit operations. By the end of the war these conditions were completely changed. Underground costs had risen steadily for labor and supplies. Difficulty was being experienced in finding competent underground men and underground development was almost hopelessly behind schedule. On the other hand, open-pit costs had been sharply reduced through the development of modern earth-moving machinery and plenty of labor was available for surface work.

Jan 1, 1950