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By S. Grinsfelder

Although wildcatting was hampered by the general overproduction and low price of crude, several developments, worthy of note in the history of the petroleum industry in the Rocky Mountain region, were made in 1927. This district records production from six new fields, two of these having been heretofore productive of gas. Deeper pay horizons were found in two other oil fields. In order to facilitate transportation from fields, six new oil pipe lines were completed or in the course of construction at the end of the year, and one line is proposed for 1928. Four gas lines were completed, one was under construction, and one was proposed for 1928. The total production in 1927 in the Rocky Mountain district was 29,591,379 bbl.,' a decrease of 7,771,991 bbl., or 21 per cent., fro111 the previous year. This was occasioned by natural decline and the general curtailment of production and drilling. A review of the development by states follows. Colorado Production from horizons in the Morrison and Sundance at Craig and at Ilrs Dome, and the bringing in of the deepest producing well in the Rocky Mountain district on North McCalluin anticline (Waltlrn) in Jackson County are the outstanding developments for the year in Colorado. In March the Midwest Refining Co.'s Parkinson 21 SD, SW SE, Sec. 22 T p. 4 N R 92 W, Iles Domr, Moffat County Colorado, found gas in sands in the Morrison estimated at 15,000,000 cu. ft., and at 3242 ft. an oil sand was encountered in the Sundance. Initial production from this horizon was 2575 bbl. in this well. This structure previously was only productive of water in the sands of the Dakota group but has been producing shale oil from horizons in the Benton. The second well completed by the Midwest Refining Co., No. 18 SD in Sec. 23 was also productive of gas in the Morrison and made an initial of 300 bbl. from sands in the Sundance. By the end of the year three other wells wrrc nearing the completion stage but none of them indicate that they will be as big producers as the discovery. To date the productive area has

Jan 1, 1928

By O. C. Wheeler

The total oil production from Colombia during 1939 amounted to 23,774,151 bbl., constituting a new high record. Of this amount the Tropical Oil Co. produced 22,374,151 bbl. from its De Mares concession and the Colombian Petroleum Co. produced 1,400,000 bbl. from its Barco concession beyond the eastern Andes. The Socony Vacuum Oil Co. produced a small amount of crude from its Las Monas wells north of the Sogamoso River in the Magdalena Valley for consumption on its own property, but this is not included in the figures given above. The South American Gulf Oil Co. provided the outstanding development in the country by the completion, late in the year, of its 12-in. pipe line from the Colombian Petroleum Company's Barco concession to the coast at Covenas. This was a notable accomplishment, achieved in the face of tremendous natural obstacles. With the completion of this line there are now two crude-oil outlets from the interior of Colombia to the coast, the other being the Andian National Corporation's line down the Magdalena Valley from Barranca Bermeja. The Barco property becomes the second major producing area in Colombia. The acquisition of prospectivc oil lands continued at about the same level as during the prcvious year. Most of the lands taken up or applied for had their subsurface rights vested in the National Government. Relatively little interest was taken in the leasing of privately owned lands. Tropical surrendered its Putana concession on the Sogamoso River after finding it to he nonproductive. The status of applications for National lands that had been accepbed or on which concession contracts had been awarded at the end of the year is shown in Table 3. In the Magdalena Valley wildcat drilling in the search of new fields was conducted to the east of Puerto Berrio by the Compania de Petroleo Shell de Colombia, Compania Coloinbiaila de Petroleos El Condor and by the Sociedad Nacional del Carare; further down the valley to the cast of Puerto Wilches, the Socony T'acuum was drilling two wildcats. No discoveries resulted from this exploratory work. On the Barco conces-

Jan 1, 1940

By McDowell Graves, Joseph Jensen, W. D. Goold, M. L. Gwin

During the present year the Santa Fe Springs field has proved to be the most important oil field under development in the United States. Its production will exceed that of any other field. Without it, production within the United States would have been almost in even balance with consumption. The field has forced to the fore and compelled, more than any other single factor, serious consideration of the need of conserving the gas resources of the State of California. It has also contributed much to the development of new drilling equipment and important features in petroleum engineering, and has required the development of a new cement for use in deep wells because of high temperatures. It is the only oil field in the country where wells 8000 ft. deep have become so common that they are no longer given special attention. The field covers a little less than 1400 acres of land. In it 196 producing deep-zone wells have already been drilled since August, 1928, and 224 wells are still drilling. More wells may be drilled. This indicates that probably more than 450 wells will be drilled in the present campaign. In hardly a year's time it has caused the outlay of nearly $50,000,000 for drilling, and within the year 1929 it will have returned practically an equal amount of revenue. In contrast to conditions during 1923, when this field was once before an important and disturbing factor, the California oil industry has not been forced to refinance to meet the situation presented by such a large production of oil. There has been practically no unit selling and no stock selling, nor any unnecessary development far beyond the limits of the field. Production is now about 275,000 bbl. per day and gives every promisc of remaining at this figure or increasing to nearly 300,000 bbl. Six months from now the field should still be capable of producing more than 200,000 bbl. per day. Obviously, the need for conserving gas that would be blown to the air, incident to the production of so large a volume of oil, represents a problem in conservation deserving of the most serious attention of the oil industry and of the State of California.

Jan 1, 1930

By John W. Buch

NeaRly 25 years ago operating officials in the northern anthracite field were confronted with the problem of profitably mining virgin beds of thin coal (those 48 in. and under) or destroying them by mining underlying thick beds. To solve this problem costly hand-mining methods were replaced by cheaper mechanical methods, which eliminated the need for the lifting of bottom or the brushing of top in excessive quantities, which was essential if proper height for hand loading1 was to be provided. During this period long-face mining was an outstanding development. In its favor in comparison with any other method were the ease with which undercutting machines could be used, a differential in powder cost of about fifteen cents per ton in favor of this method over mining from a solid chamber or pillar face, and a greater production per day from a single working place, resulting in lower capital expenditures for a given total production, closer supervision and lower transportation cost. The long faces were drilled by jackhammer and undercut by machines. The coal from the cut was loaded into mine cars placed on the gangway road by means of a double-drum mechanical scraper engine and a mechanical V-type scoop. A tugger hoist was used to spot empty cars at the loading point from a supply placed at the operation by an electric mine locomotive. During loading the roof was supported by vertical wooden props paralleling the face. After the loading was completed the scraper engine and the ropes that had been used to propel the scoop in the loading of coal transferred the props to and along the face. A row of unfilled cogs was then built parallel to the new face and about 6 ft. from it. These cogs were usually made 6 by 3 ft., the longer dimension paralleling the face; they were placed on an average at 12-ft. centers. These wooden cogs were left in place and were buried later by falling roof. Attempts to remove them were never successful. When a new long face was started, the cog spacing would be increased to about 20-ft. centers. As successive cuts were made, weight would begin on the cogs, and they

Jan 1, 1940

By John W. Buch

NeaRly 25 years ago operating officials in the northern anthracite field were confronted with the problem of profitably mining virgin beds of thin coal (those 48 in. and under) or destroying them by mining underlying thick beds. To solve this problem costly hand-mining methods were replaced by cheaper mechanical methods, which eliminated the need for the lifting of bottom or the brushing of top in excessive quantities, which was essential if proper height for hand loading1 was to be provided. During this period long-face mining was an outstanding development. In its favor in comparison with any other method were the ease with which undercutting machines could be used, a differential in powder cost of about fifteen cents per ton in favor of this method over mining from a solid chamber or pillar face, and a greater production per day from a single working place, resulting in lower capital expenditures for a given total production, closer supervision and lower transportation cost. The long faces were drilled by jackhammer and undercut by machines. The coal from the cut was loaded into mine cars placed on the gangway road by means of a double-drum mechanical scraper engine and a mechanical V-type scoop. A tugger hoist was used to spot empty cars at the loading point from a supply placed at the operation by an electric mine locomotive. During loading the roof was supported by vertical wooden props paralleling the face. After the loading was completed the scraper engine and the ropes that had been used to propel the scoop in the loading of coal transferred the props to and along the face. A row of unfilled cogs was then built parallel to the new face and about 6 ft. from it. These cogs were usually made 6 by 3 ft., the longer dimension paralleling the face; they were placed on an average at 12-ft. centers. These wooden cogs were left in place and were buried later by falling roof. Attempts to remove them were never successful. When a new long face was started, the cog spacing would be increased to about 20-ft. centers. As successive cuts were made, weight would begin on the cogs, and they

Jan 1, 1940

By John Buch

NEARLY 25 years ago operating officials in the northern anthracite field were confronted with the problem of profitably mining virgin beds of thin coal (those 48 in. and under) or destroying them by mining under-lying thick beds. To solve this problem costly hand-mining methods were replaced by cheaper mechanical methods, which eliminated the need for the lifting of bottom or the brushing of top in excessive quantities, which was essential if proper height for hand loading' was to be provided. During this period long-face mining was an outstanding development. In its favor in comparison with any other method were the ease with which undercutting machines could be used, a differential in powder cost of about fifteen cents per ton in favor of this method over mining from a solid chamber or pillar face, and a greater production per day from a single working place, resulting in lower capital expenditures for a given total production, closer supervision and lower transportation cost. The long faces were drilled by jackhammer and undercut by machines. The coal from the cut was loaded into mine cars placed on the gangway road by means of a double-drum mechanical scraper engine and a mechan-ical V-type scoop. A tugger hoist was used to spot empty cars at the loading point from a supply placed at the operation by an electric mine locomotive. During loading the roof was supported by vertical wooden props paralleling the face. After the loading was completed the scraper engine and the ropes that had been used to propel the scoop in the loading of coal transferred the props to and along the face. A row of unfilled cogs was then built parallel to the new face and about 6 ft. from it. These cogs were usually made 6 by 3 ft., the longer dimension paralleling the face; they were placed on an average at 12-ft. centers. These wooden cogs were left in place and were buried later by falling roof. Attempts to remove them were never successful. When a new long face was started, the cog spacing would be increased to about 20-ft. centers. As successive cuts were made, weight would begin on the cogs, and they

Jan 1, 1939

By F. F. Aplan, D. W. Fuerstenau

This chapter presents modern concepts of the flotation of nonmetallic minerals. In particular, it is concerned with such minerals as metal oxides, silicates, sulfates, carbonates, and halides. It is not the purpose to duplicate the two excellent, recent treatises by Gaudin l and by Sutherland and ark,^ but rather to expand their correlations of data, particularly in view of recent, ex- citing new experiments which are shedding new light on the principles of non- metallic flotation. Outstanding success has been achieved over the past 50 years in separating one sulfide from another or from the gangue constituents using a minimal amount of reagents. In contrast to this, selective flotation in nonmetallic systems is often difficult in that one class of compounds alone, the carboxylic acids, may float nearly the entire array of nonmetallic minerals under the appropriate conditions. Moreover, while lime, cyanide, sodium sulfide, and copper sulfate constitute the principal modifiers used to obtain selectivity among the various sulfides, the nonmetallic mineral flotation engineer is con- fronted with a vast array of modifying reagents. In sulfide and native-metal flotation, a strong chemical adsorptive bond is generally formed between the mineral and sulfhydral collector. In fact, re- cent radio-tracer studies show that below monolayer coverage as much as 98% of added mercaptan is adsorbed on the surface of gold.? Contrasted to this, Bloecher's data indicate that for the quartz-amine system only about 60% of the collector is adsorbed.4 This greater residual concentration in the solution results from weaker forces of adsorption in the quartz-amine system. In the flotation of nonmetallic oxide minerals, collector adsorption results from rather weak physical forces, primarily electrostatic attraction and van der Waals attraction between hydrocarbon chains. In the flotation of salt-type minerals, carboxylic acids are adsorbed both by physical and chemical forces. It is a study of the effect of the electrical forces superimposed on the chemical adsorptive forces that contributes most toward understanding nonmetallic mineral flotation. The need for quantification of general rules for the flotation of nonmetallic minerals is so great that Taggart 5 with unmasked sarcasm suggested that after trying anionic and cationic collectors:

Jan 1, 1962

Jan 1, 1920

FOR twelve successive years Canada's mineral production has shown a steady increase, rising from a value of $0.5 billion in 1945 to $2.06 billion in 1956, and the outlook for the future is one of continued growth. A great deal of credit for this growth must go to Canada's tax policies, which recognize that mines are difficult and costly to find, and that once found, they are a wasting asset. These tax policies take form under the Income Tax Act, which provides a tax- free period of three years on initial production for new mines and, after that period is over, allows all proper expenses of operation to be deducted from mine revenue. These allowable expenses include write-off of plant and pre-production development expenditures. From the resulting profit figure after this procedure, a further deduction of one-third is allowed for depletion before net taxable income is arrived at. Tax rates of 20 pct on the first $20,000 and 47 pct on the excess are then applicable to the net taxable income.

Jan 12, 1957

By Frank Firmstone

Discussion of the paper of John B. Dilworth, presented at the Pittsburg meeting, March, 1910, and printed in Bulletin No. 35, November, 1909, pp. 1041 to 1043. FRANK FIRMSTONE, Easton, Pa. (communication to the Secretary*) :-Mr. Dilworth's formulas and tables are of course correct, and the extinction will occur as calculated, provided the money periodically set aside for sinking-fund be really invested. and the interest compounded as assumed in the calculation. Actually, in almost all cases, such funds are used "in the business," in which case, in addition to the periodical charges for principal of the fund, additional charges must be made at the end of each period to cover the interest and compound interest on previous charges. The periodical charge for sinking-fund thus becomes a varying and continually increasing one until the date of extinction. On many accounts it seems more natural and convenient to make the extinction by a fixed periodical charge under the legal rule for partial payments, namely, that each payment should apply first to the interest due at the date of payment;: and any remainder, after this is satisfied, be deducted from the principal before the interest for the next period is calculated. The formula below is convenient for such calculations S, Principal to be extinguished. Q, Periodical payment or charge for sinking-fund. B, Balance unpaid at date of nth payment, but before that payment is made. r, Rate of interest per period per cent. n, Number of payments or periods. Then, B=S(1+r)n-Q(1+ r)n-(1+r) Received July 27, 1910.

Apr 1, 1911

By H. E. Wilborg, G. V. Henderson

This chapter deals with those sands employed by foundries for the manufacture of cores and molds used in the casting of such common metals as steel, gray iron, ductile iron, aluminum-based alloys, and copper-based alloys. Most metal is cast in "green sand" molds in which the sand mixture, consisting primarily of silica, clay, and water, forms a plastic material. This plastic material is rammed around a pattern in a split box called a flask, then the box is separated, the pattern is withdrawn, and the metal is poured. These green sand molds are broken apart when the metal has solidified. The sand is then remixed and a new mold made for the next casting. To a lesser extent silica sand is mixed with resins or oils and, after forming, the mixture is hardened by either heat or chemical reaction. In any case, the foundry mold or core is used just once before being broken up and remixed for manufacturing another core or mold. By far the greatest consumption in the foundry is of those types of sand high in silica, low in clay (under 0.5%), and occurring in numerous locations thoughout the United States. Consumption End Uses Foundry sands fall into four distinct categories: silica sand, lake sand, bank sand, and natural molding sand. Silica sand is a general term used to describe washed, graded, dried, and cooled clay-free sands which are found in many parts of the United States. They generally contain 90 to 100% silica but vary greatly in chemical analysis and grain structure. Lake sand is the sand dredged from Lake Michigan or dug from the dunes bordering that lake. Bank sand is composed primarily of silica grain but containing up to 5% clay. It is shipped in both the damp and dry state but the normal processing of bank sand consists only of drying and scalping. Occasionally two different grades of bank sand are blended prior to or during loading. Natural molding sand is a term used to describe a sand containing sufficient clay as mined to be suitable for molding purposes. Clay content may vary from 10 to 24% with the balance of the material consisting primarily of silica sand. These sands range in fineness from one peaked on the 20 mesh to one which contains more than 50% of the particles passing the 270 mesh. Lake sands are relatively coarse and are used in great quantities for the production of automotive castings. Bank sands and natural molding sands are gradually phasing out as the production of castings becomes more a science and less an art. The vast majority of foundry sands used today are those known as the silica sands and lake sands. Foundry sands are used in two basic ways. The majority are used in the green or uncured state with the balance used in the cured or set state. Green sand is grain bonded with clay and contains varying amounts of water to plasticize the clay in order to bond the grains together. Green sand is either naturally bonded or "synthetic" sand. The naturally bonded molding sands are generally found in the Hudson River Valley of New York State, Cumberland County in New Jersey, and in Tennessee and Mississippi. Synthetic sand is molding sand compounded in the individual foundry. It is made up primarily of graded silica sand, western or southern bentonite, water, and carbonaceous and/or cellulosic materials. Green sand is used primarily in making molds. The use of naturally bonded green sand has been declining for many years, primarily because naturally bonded sands are more difficult for the foundryman to find and control. Synthetic green sand, on the other hand, can be

Jan 1, 1983

By AIME AIME

ABOUT 55 attended the general session of the Nonferrous Metallurgy Committee on Wednesday afternoon. In opening the proceedings the Chairman, Frank G. Breyer, served notice of his intention to make an early start this year in securing papers for his committee. He voiced the thought that more importance should be attached to the prompt publication of data on new advances in practice; the record of technical progress should be written before the sharpness of the current image becomes blurred by the veil of time. As an illustration, Mr. Breyer declared that great strides have been made in the zinc industry during the past nine years, whereby zinc ore is converted directly to the oxide in large mechanical furnaces, yet the literature is confined to patents.

Jan 1, 1933

By J. Kent Smith

VANADIUM is generally spoken of as a rare element; but, even in the light of our resources as known a couple of years ago, this description could be accepted in a qualified sense only. In fact, vanadium is very widely distributed, being a constituent of most clays, while even caustic soda has been shown to contain almost regularly a minute proportion of it, although the quantity in each case is so small as to render impracticable the extraction of the metal there from with profit. The opening-up of a large deposit of vanadium sulphide ore in South America has put a new phase on the commercial outlook of vanadium, the technical value of which for the improvement of steel has been proved by rigorous scientific investigation.

Sep 1, 1907

By AIME AIME

THE non-ferrous 'metals industry of the Soviet Union found itself in a very low position at the beginning of the reconstruction period in 1922, due to the absence of modern smelters and the run-down condition of the existing ones. Up to. 1924 there was no great demand for newly smelted non-ferrous metals due to the considerable stocks' of copper, zinc, lead, tin and aluminum in the courtry and also to the undeveloped condition of Soviet industries. However, in 1925 it became necessary to obtain new stocks of non-ferrous metals and in that year 12,000 tons of zinc, 14,000 tons of lead and 2,000 tons of tin and aluminum were imported into the U. S. S. R.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

LEWIS EMANUEL YOUNG was elected a Director of the A.I.M.E. at the last Annual Meeting as a representative of District '4, including. Ohio, West Virginia, and western. Pennsylvania and New York. He also represents the Coal Division, in which industry lie has actively participated- for nearly twenty years. Dr. Young was horn in Topeka, Kan., Oct. 1, 1873, received mining degrees from Penn State and ,-Iowa. State, and a Ph.D., from Illinois. The first part of his professional life was spent in teaching first as instructor in mining at Iowa State, second .as professor of mining at the Colorado School' of Mines, third as director of the School of Mines and Metallurgy at Rolla, Mo., and finally he taught business

Jan 1, 1937

By Charles Will Wright

THE HIGHLY SPECIALIZED heavy air transport services to mining regions, such as exist in the New Guinea gold fields and in northern Canada, have been even more essential in the development of mines in Peru. Few nations have been con- fronted with greater natural obstacles to transport than has Peru, and without the plane it would have been impossible to get the machinery and supplies for the construction of power plants and mills to many of these interior mines, situated as they are over high mountain ranges, with muleback the principal means of transportation. As the mines within a district become important producers and warrant the expenditure, the mule trail is being replaced by automobile roads to connect with the railway stations and with the airports.

Jan 1, 1940

By AIME AIME

FRANK T. SISCO is a native of Lawrence, Kansas. He received his earlier education in Clinton, Iowa and his university training at the University of Illinois. His experience in the steel industry has included service in the chemical, testing, and metallurgical departments of the Illinois Steel Co., of South Chicago; the Hess Steel Corp., of Baltimore; the IJ. S. Naval Ordnance Plant at Charleston, W. Va.; and the American Steel and Wire Co., Waukegan, Ill. He severed for seven years as chief of the metallurgical laboratories of the U. S. Army Air Corps at Wright Field, Dayton, before coming to New York in 1930 to become metallurgist and editor of the Alloys of Iron Research, the position he now holds.

Jan 1, 1940

September steel production established a new record for a 30-day month with 9,034,000 tons. It was the highest of any month since March. Output of ingots and steel for castings was 535,000 tons more than was poured in August 1952, and 373,000 tons over the total for September 1951. Prime Minister Daniel F. Malan touched a gold button to start South Africa' a first uranium plant into production on the premises of the West Rand Consolidated Gold Mine, near Krugersdorp, Transvaal, 25 miles west of Johannesburg. Uranium oxide is being extracted from mine tailing after removal of the gold. Thirteen gold mines in the region are scheduled for uranium production. Defense Materials Procurement Agency signed an agreement-with the Bagdad Copper Corp., Bagdad. Ariz., for expansion of the firm's facilities to enable delivery of at least 27 million lb of copper a year and 91,0000 lb of molybdenite. It is said that the company will spend about E million on the expansion.

Jan 1, 1952

By Nelson Taylor

WITH the extensive deposits of potash minerals which have been dis-covered in the southwestern states, and their rapid development, a permanent. American supply of potassium compounds is now assured. The 325-year history of the potash industry in this country has been told by H. I. Smith1, of the U.S. Geological Survey, and the more recent activities of the Survey and of American potash companies were described last year by the same author2. In fact, it may be stated that so great is the productive capacity that two mines in New Mexico and one in California are able to supply more than half a million tons of crude and refined salts over and above that produced for agricultural purposes. The era of scarcity has given way to an era of superabundance. This situation makes it desirable for the potash producer to look for other applications for his product, and it is with this in mind that the writer presents some information pertaining to present and possible future uses for potassium compounds in the ceramic industry.

Jan 1, 1936

By William S. Springer

A NEW preparation plant has been put in operation to treat coal from the recently opened Concord mine, located about 15 miles west of Birmingham, Ala., by the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co., a U. S. Steel subsidiary. The mine produces metallurgical grade coking coal from the American seam for use as coke in the company's blast furnaces at the Fairfield and Enseley works. The capacity of the operation is 1000 tons of run-of-mine per hr, approximately half of which is delivered to the by-product coke plant at Fairfield after beneficiation to metallurgical grade. The remaining portion of the mine run is rock and refuse removed during preparation. No boiler coal or other fuels are produced by this mine.

Jan 12, 1950