Pu b l i s h e d o n th e 1 5 t h o f e a c h m o n t h a t Sa l i s b u r y Ho u s e, Lo n d o n, E.C. 2 , f o r Mi n i n g Pu b l i c a t i o n s, Lt d.
Editor : F. Hi g h a m, A .R .S.M ., M .Sc., Assoc.Inst.M.M.
Manager : S t . J. R. C. S h e p h e r d , A .R .S.M ., D .I.C ., F.G .S. Chairman : H. E. F e r n , O.B.E., J.P
T e le p h o n e : M O N a r c h 9 4 16 . T e le g ra p h ic A d d re ss : Oligoclase. C o d e s : M c N e ill, b o th E d itio n s , & B e n tle y.
Br a n c h Of f i c e, N e w Y o rk : A m e r. I n s t. M . & M .E . Su b s c r i p t i o n! i ? « ? e r 5n n u m ’ in c lu d in g p o stag e .
\. U .S .A ., $3 p e r a n n u m , in c lu d in g po stag e.
Vol. L X X V . No. 4. L O N D O N , O C T O B E R , 1946.
P R I C E O N E S H I L L I N GC O N T E N T S
P A G E
Ed i t o r i a l
Notes ... 206
A dvisory Council for Scientific and In d u stria l Research ; L ite ratu re on Mine S afety ; R.S.M. R egister ; Silver Coinage ; In te rn atio n a l Technical Congress in P aris;
In stitu tio n Visit to Billingham.
The F u tu re of Tin ... 207
An exam ination of th e p resen t position.
B ritish G u ia n a ... 208
A ttention is called to a recen t Im perial In s titu te lecture.
Mo n t h l y R e v i e w ... 2 0 9 Ne w Co m p a n i e s Re g i s t e r e d... 2 1 2 Di v i d e n d s De c l a r e d... 2 1 2 Me t a l Pr i c e s ... 2 1 2 Ar t i c l e s
Diam ond Drilling from a Decked R aft S. V . Griffith 213
A n arrangem ent for testin g piers o r steep banks.
T an talite in W estern A u stra lia 217
An account of th e W odgina deposits.
Some Ancient Gold W orkings in E gypt R. F. St. G. Lethbridge 219
A lt b u sm an ’s holiday ’ ’ th a t brought a glimpse of th e p ast.
H azards to H ealth : H eavy Lifting W. Schweisheimer 227
A w arning against over-exertion. .
Or e Dr e s s i n g No t e s... 2 2 8 Cyanide R egeneration ; D u st in Mills ; Canadian Tin ;
Copper-Lead F lo ta tio n ; A m algam ation Reviewed.
Le t t e r t o t h e Ed i t o r
" M ining Efficiency " . . . . R . B . A llw right 232 En g i n e e r i n g Lo g... 2 3 3 Bo o k Re v i e w .
H a rris o n ’s " E x am in atio n , B oring, an d V alu atio n of A lluvial a n d K in d re d Ore D ep o sits ’’ ... ...H . H . W atson 237
Ne w s Le t t e r s
V a n c o u v e r... 2 3 8
R esident E n g in e e rs ; M ineral P ro d u c tio n ; Atlin » P o rtla n d C a n a l; V ancouver ; Omineca ; Cariboo ; Similkam een ; Osoyoos • Nelson ; Yukon ; Alaska.
Toronto ... 241 Gold Production ; Porcupine ; K irkland Lake : N orth-
W estern O n ta r io ; M anitoba ; Quebec.
Melbourne ... 2 4 3 Broken Hill P ro p rietary ; Re-soiling of Dredged Areas ;
Zeehan Silver-Lead Field ; W estern A ustralian Gold O u tp u t; Gold a t M ount M onger; M orning S ta r ; O ra B anda A m algam ated.
Pe r s o n a l... 2 4 6 Tr a d e Pa r a g r a p h s ... 2 4 7 L o n g y ear G opher D rill... 248 D avid B row n G e a rs... 248 R u sto n O il-Engined L o co m o tiv es... 250 Me t a l Ma r k e t s ... 251 St a t i s t i c s o f Pr o d u c t i o n ... 2 5 3 Pr i c e s o f Ch e m i c a l s... 2 5 5 Sh a r e Qu o t a t i o n s... 2 5 6 Mi n i n g Di g e s t
Mill R e c o r d e r s ... H . E . T . H a u lta in 257 G round C ontrol in D eep Mines
C. J . Irvin g 259 T im ag am i L ake, O n tario
W . W . Moorhouse 262 M ining an d M illing a t K ing Isla n d Scheelite 265 M ica in I d a h o ... G. C. Reed 267 V erm iculite in S o u th A f r ic a ... 269 Re c e n t Pa t e n t s Pu b l i s h e d... 2 7 0 Ne w Bo o k s, Pa m p h l e t s, e t c... 2 7 0 Se l e c t e d In d e x
t o Cu r r e n t Li t e r a t u r e 271
4—5 205
L
AST m o n th it was sta te d th a t Lord R iverdale was retiring from th e position of chairm an of th e A dvisory Council for ed ucational cam paigns connected w ith safety m a tte rs to have a com plete range of Technical Congress The principal objects of th e Conference are, it is sta te d :— (a) ToOCTOBER, 1946 207
sumers were in general able to obtain supplies of the m etal a t prices th a t were acceptable. provide for th e situation th a t m ust eventually arise when o u tp u t increases beyond th e level Metal M arkets’ correspondent, the basic price for th e m etal sold in this country was Statistical Bulletin (September, 1946) of the In tern atio n al Tin Research and Develop average half-yearly production in 1941, when th e o u tp u t reached its peak. The
Tin, of course, occupies a peculiar position.
A period of high prices for th e m etal has solders, bearings and other anti-friction m etals, an d bronzes it is indispensable.
Tin shortages can, therefore, cause “ b o ttle
necks ” in m any industries. There is th u s im perative reason for hastening the rehabilita
tion of th e F ar-E astern producers, which
already seems u n d u ly d e la y e d ; supply Potaro-T iboku triangle and ad jacen t districts, where im p o rtan t roads were being built u n d er G overnm ent auspices. Since th a t tim e Survey activities have been extended to cover th e whole country, from which, since 1884, some £32,000,000 of m inerals—chiefly gold, diam onds, an d b a u x ite—have been th e gold potentialities of th e Colony. Between 1917 and 1945 m ore th a n 9,000,000 tons of high-grade b auxite, valued a t £11,500,000, was exported. D uring th e recent war, when alum inium production was v ita l and E u ro pean sources of b au x ite fell under enem y control, b auxite production was increased fourfold—from 476,000 tons in 1939 to 1,901,000 tons in 1943. Over 6,000,000 tons
of th e m ineral was exported from th e Colony during th e period of hostilities. D iam onds valued a t £8,500,000 were produced in B ritish G uiana betw een 1901 an d 1945. P roduction geological investigation em ployed in B ritish G uiana Mr. Bracew ell urged th e need in sea walls, supports sugar and rice cultivation.
In lan d lies th e W hite S and Region, w ith
Geologically several groups are recognized.
The youngest are th e alluvial an d residual deposits, from w hich m ost of th e gold, diam ond, and b au x ite production is obtained, and th e Coastal S edim entary or W hite Sand
MONTHLY REVIEW
Introduction.—The w inter coal situation in this cou n try shows no sign of im provem ent Septem ber continue to reflect reduced profits, although th e latest figures show in particular th e effect of th e additional cost of living allowance now payable to E uropean em ployees, as this had retrospective effect from May 1 last. last shows a profit of £73,238 and an available to ta l of £307,726, of which £11,482 was
burg Consolidated Investm ent Company term inating th e agreem ent entered into in June, 1945, for prospecting certain of the Middlevlei interests in conjunction w ith others held by th e R andfontein E states Gold Mining Company. The Middlevlei com pany reports th a t drilling has indicated th a t
Shareholders of T ransvaal Gold Mining E states have been inform ed of the com pany’s in ten tio n to issue 151,056 new shares a t 30s. Johannesburg last m onth resolutions changing th e nam e of the com pany to Fixed share, while £5,131 was required for taxation, leaving a balance of £668,358 to be carried
Orange Free State.—The special resolution increasing th e capital of th e Free S tate 209
D evelopm ent a n d In v estm en t C orporation W eltevreden 59, approxim ately three miles n o rth -n o rth -east of O dendaalsrust, drilled
Southern Rhodesia.—The report of Bush- tick Mines (1934) for th e year ended Ju n e 30
The R hodesian Corporation reports a profit of £16,661 for th e y ear ended Ju ly 31 last, th e accounts showing an available to ta l of
£38,473, of w hich £20,000 is tran sferred to reserve.
Northern Rhodesia.—The decision of the copper com panies to postpone th e in tro duction of new rates for rock-breaking contractors pending a resum ption of concilia
tion proceedings last m o n th av erted a
OCTOBER, 1946 211 L td ., following th e re-opening of the property, is reviewed in a progress report recehtly developing and expanding the com pany’s rubber estates.
In a progress report issued last m onth shareholders of Brem ang Gold Dredging were inform ed th a t owing to the delay in obtaining Nigerian producers the price free alongside ship has been raised from £300 a ton to
£340 for the first half of 1946 and to £357 10s.
for the second half.
Kenya.—Prelim inary figures issued by R osterm an Gold Mines show a profit of
The accounts of Boulder Perseverance, L td ., for 1945 show a profit of £15,631 and a
South K algurli Consolidated reports a profit of £13,581 for the year to March 31 last, th e accounts showing £23,188 available.
Of this am ount a dividend and bonus totalling Is. 3d. a share require £8;594. In th e year utilized w ith additional equipm ent in enlarg
ing th e mill to tre a t double its present tonnage.
The capital has been provided equally and the b oard of th e new com pany consists of all and a debit balance of £5,049 carried forward.
The com pany is now engaged in th e investiga
The rep o rt of Sungei K in ta Tin D redging