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By Alvin Kaufman

The industrial revolution of the early 1800's and the subsequent remarkable progress in raising American living standards are based not only on a constantly improving technology but on an ever increasing use of energy from mineral fuels and waterpower. Industrial nations require inexpensive energy sources in order to grow. The more complex the economy, that is, the more intensive the processing of raw materials, the greater the energy needs of that economy. As a result of the current international economic expansion, the worldwide search for sources of low-cost energy has accelerated. As a part of this search there is considerable interest in the potential for commercial development of geothermal power, particularly abroad and in the western United States. This interest is indicated by the fact that 40 exploratory wells have been drilled in the California thermal areas alone during the 1955-62 period. Of these, 24 were drilled in The Geysers, Casa Diablo, and Salton Sea areas.

Jan 9, 1964

By F. A. Jerabek, H. L. Hartman

This study presents results of investigations in a small model of segregation in discharged fill slurry, the quantity of solids escaping in the drain liquid, and the relationship of solids to slurry concentration and discharge rate. Compressibilities of fine fill material, in dry and wet states and individual size fractions, are compared. Two terms are frequently used in describing the hydraulic placement of fill material underground: hydraulic stowing is mostly associated with the underground flushing of coarse-sized fill material, such as coal washery refuse; while hydraulic backfilling refers to placement of small-sized fill material, e.g., sand or classified mill tailings, mainly in metal mines. Characteristically, in backfilling, only a few hours may elapse between the time the material is hoisted as ore and redeposited as fill underground. Hydraulic filling was first used about 100 years ago to control subsidence in coal mines. It was subsequently adopted in many mining operations all over the world, but its basic concepts have never been adequately studied and analyzed. This is not surprising, when one considers the number of variables involved in the hydraulic backfilling operation. Recently, much work has been done on the problems of transportation of slurries in pipes. Comparatively less research work has been done concerning the physical properties of fill material (compressibility, cementation, permeability, etc.). Very little work has been done on the problems of fill placing, distribution, and segregation of fill material discharged in the mine void. It is the purpose of this paper to explore two of the basic, lesser known aspects of filling: segregation and compressibility in discharged fill slurry. Difficulties in observing the behavior of hydraulic fill slurry during the pouring operation underground, and insufficient knowledge to conduct any kind of meaningful theoretical analysis, suggest experimental model studies. The tests described in the following sections were conducted in the Rock Mechanics Laboratory of the Department of Mining at Penn State.

Jan 1, 1965

By C. S. Matthews, H. C. Lefkovits

The performance of depletion-type reservoirs at the stage in which the gas is at such low pressure that gravity is essentially the sole driving force has been investigated both theoretically and by use of scaled models. A simple theory is developed which completely explains the scaled model experiments. It also agrees with some field data. When the range of production rates to be considered is less than 25, the theory predicts that the production rate decline curve for homogeneous reservoirs in which there is a free surface will be of the hyperbolic type with n = 2: The theory gives a physical significance to the parameter y. INTRODUCTION This investigation was undertaken to determine a method for prediction of performance of reservoirs where gravity is the sole driving agent. Depletion-type reservoirs fall into this category after the pressure has fallen to some low value. Some examples of this type are found at Healdton ('Oklahoma), Oklahoma City (Oklahoma), Midway-Sunset (California), and East Coalinga (California). Generally the production rate per unit thickness is quite low in such reservoirs, with the conse- quence that this stage is sometimes called the stripper stage. However, per well production rates may be of the order of 50 B/D because of the considerable sand thickness open in some of the reservoirs. In the past, predictions of behavior of such reservoirs have been based on empirical extrapolation of the rate of production to the economic limit. Difficulties arise when new wells are drilled in the field or when production is artificially curtailed, since in such cases the decline rate of individual wells or leases changes and no clear trend can be detected. It was hoped that the present study would lead to improved methods for evaluation of such reservoirs. The study was initiated by building a scaled model for a particular field and by running a number of experiments on this model. Later a simple theory was developed which explained the laboratory results completely. The theory led, as shown below, to a hyperbolic-type decline equation which had been used previously' in a completely empirical manner. THEORY The General Case The problem to be treated here is the following: We are given a homogeneous cylindrical porous reservoir with exterior radius r, wellbore radius r., and height h,, containing, from the bottom up to a height hit oil, some gas, and interstitial water (see Fig. 1 A). The portion of the reservoir between K, and h, is filled with gas at low pressure, with residual oil, and with interstitial water. If at a time t = 0, the level of the oil in the wellbore is lowered to a height h,, what is the production rate from the reservoir at a time to The configuration within the reservoir at some instant

Jan 1, 1957

By R. R. Hartman, W. B. Agocs

IN the course of a return flight from Olympia, Wash., to Laramie, Wyo., an airborne magnetometer profile was recorded continuously. The level of flight was controlled at barometric levels along segments of the flight. Barometric altitude was changed from 3000 ft to a maximum of 12,000 ft above mean sea level to take care of topographic variations. Terrain clearance varied from 800 to 7300 ft. Horizontal positions were obtained by recording and tying to cities, towns, airports, river crossings, and other landmarks in the course of the flight. Figs. 1-6 show the course of the flight and the general geologic and tectonic features traversed. The flight line begins south of Olympia, Wash., and proceeds south across the Puget-Willemette depression to the Columbia River. Thence it proceeds eastward along the Washington-Oregon border across the Cascade Mts. and lava flows and the Umatilla basin to Pendleton, Ore. From Pendleton it traverses the Blue Mts. uplift of Oregon in a southeasterly direction, and then to the Boise basin of southwestern Idaho. The flight line swings in an easterly direction as it passes over the Snake River downwarp to the south of the Idaho batholith. It then passes over the northern portion of the Great Basin and the heavily overthrust area at the intersection of the Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming borders. The flight then assumes an easterly course to cross the series of basins and uplifts of southern Wyoming and terminates near the western flank of the Laramie uplift. It should be clearly understood that all statements in this article pertaining to the magnetics were interpreted on the assumption of elongate anomalies transverse to a single profile. Hence any theories or ideas advanced here are in line with future paths of research rather than trying to prove or disprove existing data. Magnetic Interpretation: Depth determinations were made by the slope method of Peters: which is stated as follows: "Draw a line in the maximum slope (at the point of inflection); draw a line whose slope is one-half this maximum slope; draw two lines parallel to this line tangent to the anomaly curve. The horizontal distance between the points of tangency is approximately equal to 1.6 times the depth [or the distance times 0.6251." Certain assumptions must be made for determinations of the causes of the magnetic anomalies:' 1) The anomaly is caused by a susceptibility change rather than basement relief. 2) Polarization of the basement rocks is in the same direction as the earth's inducing field. 3) The disturbing magnetic mass has a great horizontal length in comparison to its width and its sides are vertical and of great vertical extent. 4) The anomaly is unique and not affected by the anomalies from nearby sources.

Jan 1, 1957

By Zay Jeffries

IMAGINE a spinning sphere of hot matter about 8000 miles in diameter, rushing through space at a velocity measured in miles per second, and you have a rough idea of what our earth is supposed to have been like about two to four billion years ago. By applying all of the science known to man and, more especially, by determining the velocity of earthquake waves at different depths, making comparisons with meteorites, studying densities, compressibility of rocks and the nature of surface rocks, a fairly definite conception of the general constitution of the earth has been obtained.1 The earth is supposed to have a central core rich in iron containing a substantial amount of nickel and small percentages of several other elements. The density of the core is assumed to be about ten times that of water and the diameter about 4200 miles. An intermediate shell of density about 4, and thickness of about 1800 miles, is sup- posed to consist of heavy rocks including sulfides, oxides, and silicates. The outer rock shell, probably about 100 miles thick and with a density around 2.8, is thought to be composed mostly of silicates, becoming in general more siliceous as the earth's surface is approached. NATURE'S SMELTING OPERATION Nature seems to have subjected the earth to a stupendous smelting operation, burying beyond reach much of the metal that man recovers in his smelting practices. We live on the surface of Nature's "slag dump" and must be content, for the near term, to recover for man's

Jan 1, 1953

By Leonard Larson

DURING several years immediately preceding the adoption of wet-charge smelting at McGill, various necessary conditions affecting this procedure, such as plant rearrangement and the metallurgical nature of the concentrate produced at the concentrator, were fully considered. Wet-charge smelting is not altogether novel to the recently recon-structed smelter at McGill. A number of years prior to this improve-ment, when flotation methods were initiated at the concentrator, large tonnages of wet and (at that time) sticky flotation concentrate were charged directly into the reverberatory furnaces, because of the difficulty in handling the entire tonnage in the roasters. The plant had excess reverberatory units and this surplus furnace capacity was utilized to smelt raw flotation concentrate. During the years 1927 and 1928, a number of actual operating furnace test runs were made to determine in principle the feasibility of wet-smelt-ing operation. Results were encouraging, and in November 1932 the roasting plant was shut clown. For some time thereafter the wet feed was delivered directly to the reverberatory side-charging calcine hoppers already in place. Feeding the wet material through the old calcine hoppers and charge holes into the furnace involved considerable labor, but under the conditions existing at that time it was desirable to continue wet smelting even under the handicap of this laborious procedure. The smelting plant during this period was on a curtailed production basis, operating only about 15 days per month. The alternate starting up and shutting clown of the roasting plant presented a difficult problem and charging the wet material directly to the furnace entirely eliminated this difficulty. The roasting plant was never operated thereafter.

Jan 1, 1938

By AIME AIME

AN IMPORTANT innovation in Alabama in the semi-longwall type of coal mining as applied to low-dipping thin seams has been introduced by the Galloway Coal Co., mining the Mary Lee high-ash seam which averages only 26 in. thick. The property is their Mill Creek mine, near Carbon Hill, Ala., in the Warrior coal field. The results, although not final, indicate that roof conditions can be successfully handled by this method without loss of walls, with a rate of recovery much above that possible with the room-and-pillar method, and at the low production cost necessary for this grade of coal. Double cross-headings are turned off a main haulageway on 60-ft. centers and driven 40 ft. wide with thin chain pillars between. These double entries are turned at 525-ft. intervals, leaving a solid block of coal 440 ft. across; that is, from the outside of one pair of headings to the inside of the next pair is 440 ft. The bottom, which consists of hard fireclay, is taken in these entries 8 ft. wide and 4 ft. deep for head room.

Jan 1, 1934

By Archibald Macmartin

THE Königin-Marien-Hütte is the only works in Germany where the Bessemer process is carried on by the direct method. The Besserner plant there, is arranged after the true English type, and the only resemblance to the Swedish mode of procedure is the dispensing with the use of spiegeleisen at the end of the "blow." In a new department of the establishment, started within three years, each of the converters is turned by means of a very neat and compact reversible engine, the steel shaft of which is an endless screw, which turns against the oblique cogs of a large wheel attached to the shaft of the vessel. An advantage which this arrangement possesses over the ordinary English hydraulic arrangement, is the fact that the endless screw suffices to turn the vessel, in either direction, any number of complete revolutions; while even the latest American improvements, so clearly explained to us by Mr. Holley at the opening session of this meeting, do not secure even one complete revolution without changing the angle of inclination of the hydraulic piston. In the endless screw arrangement, there being no limit to the working of the motor in either direction (no return-stroke necessary), the vessel can always, unless outside reasons demand the contrary, be turned around to any desired position by the shortest cut, whether backwards or forwards. Also, the diameter of the cog-wheel attached to the vessel can be made sufficiently great to avoid all unevenness of motion. In the old department the motive-power still continues to be hydraulic. If reports be true, the new department produces spiegelized steel, for the manufacture of all-steel rails. But the old department is still,' as from the beginning, devoted to the production by the direct method of steel for steel-headed rails. The most remarkable fact connected with this direct steel is the ease with which it welds to the iron' of the rail-packets, although no borax or other fluxing agent is used to facilitate the welding. It is very rarely that an exception occurs, and an ingot or a charge is discarded by the rail-mill. The mixture of pig-iron used for the production of this steel is melted in cupolas of very interesting construction (not to be de

Jan 1, 1874

By P. Somasundaran, D. R. Nagaraj

Based on our finding that commercial copper chelating solvent extractants such as LIX65NR and LIX63R are excellent collectors for copper minerals, a detailed study was made using several water-soluble chelating agents belonging to the class of aromatic hydroxyoximes and having a gradual structural variation. A basic study of the system salicylaldoximetenorite was also carried out. Microflotation tests as a function of concentration of oxime, pH, addition of copper, etc., using oxidic copper minerals such as chrysocolla and tenorite, and batch laboratory flotation tests using synthetic mixtures of quartz and oxidic copper minerals were carried out. The results have demonstrated that the hydroxyoximes studied have comparable collector property, and in all cases the oxime was found to be partitioned between the mineral surface and the copper in the bulk aqueous phase in the form of a bulk copper chelate. The occurrence of the latter could be accounted for by formation in the bulk phase of a chelate between oxime and copper released from the mineral and/or by the detachment of the surface chelate. The role of surface and bulk chelates in flotation is discussed based on the results of partitioning of chelating agent into bulk and surface chelates in the salicylaldoxime-tenorite system. The effect of structural aspects such as isomerism and substitution in the molecule on the collector property of the oximes is also discussed. Substitution on oximic carbon by alkyl groups is found to promote collector activity. Only the anti-isomer has the ability to collect.

Jan 1, 1982

By R. I. Williams

Kennecott Copper's mining activities in Arizona are conducted by the Ray Mines Div., located in Ray, Ariz., in the Mineral Creek mining district about 60 miles southeast of Phoenix. The Ray orebody lies in a mineralized zone belted on the east, west, and north by well defined faults. The orebody consists principally of schist with intrusions of quartz porphyry and diabase. The dominant ore mineral in the schist and quartz porphyry is chalcocite, with some native copper, and in most areas the orebody has been heavily oxidized. In the diabase the dominant ore mineral is chalcopyrite. Ore deposition in the schist portion is very erratic, with no apparent structural explanation. In 1873 silver prospectors opened the mining district, but it was not until 1899 that an English company made the first major attempt to exploit the copper deposits. This venture failed because of improper sampling and limited development work. In 1904 D. C. Jackling, Seeley Mudd, and Philip Weiseman became interested in the Ray Copper Co. and the Gila Copper Co., which later merged as Ray Consolidated Copper Co. In 1926 the Nevada Consolidated Copper Co. took over Ray Consolidated and in turn was taken over by Kennecott Copper Corp. in 1933. The extensive program of surface and underground development and exploration begun in 1907 continued through successive changes of management and ownership to the present time.

Dec 1, 1956

By R. V. Ramani, George W. Luxbacher

Computer simulation of mine ventilation systems, after a slow start in the early sixties, is gaining increasing acceptance for planning, design, and evaluation purposes. Numerous programs are readily available from government, university, consulting, and industry sources. The computer adage "garbage in, garbage out" is as applicable in ventilation engineering as in any other application of computers, and has been responsible for the questionable results obtained in some instances. The source of input data for a ventilation simulation is most often a pressure-quantity survey of the mine, or, in the case of a new mine, information derived from a survey of an existing mine which has conditions similar to those expected in the new mine. The crucial step is to generate simulation input data from the ventilation survey. Problems such as quantities that do not balance, pressure gradients opposite to measured air flow, differences in the pressure datum in a multi-shaft mine, modeling of leakage, and deviations in flow from the square law (H=RQ2) are frequently encountered and must be resolved. The purpose of this paper is to discuss these aspects and to propose procedures which can lead to input data for valid simulations of mine ventilation systems.

Jan 1, 1982

By H. A. Schwartz, A. F. Gorton, H. R. Payne

In a previous paper1 we published what we believed to be a correct stable equilibrium diagram for an iron-carbon alloy containing + 1.20 per cent. silicon. The purpose of the present paper is to record the results of studies concerning the effect of silicon on the location of the eutectoid points of both systems, including also certain incidental observations of general interest. We prepared white cast irons containing roughly 21/2 per cent. carbon, 0.05 per cent. manganese, and 0.03 per cent. each of phosphorus and sulfur, but of accurately known silicon contents which varied from 0.40 to 3.32 per cent. These were completely graphitized, and both A1 points determined, as in our previous work, the specimens being converted from the stable to the metastable condition and vice versa by appropriate heat treatments. Each stable alloy was heated to a few degrees above Arl for 3 to 7 hr., quenched and analyzed for total and graphitic carbon, the difference being the "combined" or, better, agraphitic2 carbon content of the saturated solid solution just above the eutectoid transformation. One specimen was lost through accident, and the 0.40-per cent. silicon material gave an anomalous result ascribed to difficulty in maintaining the stable system in the presence of but little silicon.

Jan 1, 1923

By H. R. Payne, A. F. Gorton, H. A. Schwartz

In a previous paper1 we published what we believed to be a correct stable equilibrium diagram for an iron-carbon alloy containing + 1.20 per cent. silicon. The purpose of the present paper is to record the results of studies concerning the effect of silicon on the location of the eutectoid points of both systems, including also certain incidental observations of general interest. We prepared white cast irons containing roughly 21/2 per cent. carbon, 0.05 per cent. manganese, and 0.03 per cent. each of phosphorus and sulfur, but of accurately known silicon contents which varied from 0.40 to 3.32 per cent. These were completely graphitized, and both A1 points determined, as in our previous work, the specimens being converted from the stable to the metastable condition and vice versa by appropriate heat treatments. Each stable alloy was heated to a few degrees above Arl for 3 to 7 hr., quenched and analyzed for total and graphitic carbon, the difference being the "combined" or, better, agraphitic2 carbon content of the saturated solid solution just above the eutectoid transformation. One specimen was lost through accident, and the 0.40-per cent. silicon material gave an anomalous result ascribed to difficulty in maintaining the stable system in the presence of but little silicon.

Jan 1, 1923

Jan 1, 1943

By R. R. Wilson, Robert Henderson

The Cassidy Colliery operated by the Granby Consolidated Mining Smelting & Power Co., Ltd., is situated about 9 miles in a southerly direc tion from the city of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. The coal seam worked, which is called the Douglas bed, outcrops in the western part of the property, dipping easterly, and is opened by a slope 7 by 14 ft. in the clear, and is timbered by 12 to 14-in. framed sets of timber, 4 ft. center to center. A separate manway provides for a traveling road and at the same time forms an intake airway. The general average of the dip of the seam at Cassidy is 18º, and varies in thickness from 1 to 25 ft., averaging about 8 ft. The main slopes follow straight down the dip a distance of 4845 ft. At the bottom of the main slope two rock tunnels were driven a distance of 1500 ft. to the south, cutting through a fault, and opening up an area in the same seam which is known as No. 7 South Section. The coal is found in this section at a vertical depth of 1560 ft., and is very soft and friable. The immediate roof is a strong, sandy. shale overlain by massive sandstone while the floor is a light-colored shale, hard when freshly exposed. It does not soften materially on exposure. In the folding of the coal measures a great thrust caused a movement along the coal seam as indicated by the slickensided nature of the coal. The floor has buckled and this has rolled and squeezed the coal so that with rare exceptions it shows no normal bedding but curved slip planes, which frequently start at right angles to the floor, curving upward and then in the direction of the dip. As such planes are slickensided it is probable that there is a coating of clay which is more or less impervious to gas. Outbursts of Gas and Coal Outbursts of gas and coal have occurred in this mine previous to 1921, but not until June 14 of that year was a complete record kept of them. No outbursts occurred above the fourth levels, or, in other words, until a vertical depth of about 900 ft. was reached. Since that time quite a

Jan 1, 1927

Jan 1, 1966

Jan 1, 1943

By Fred W. Menzl, Raymond E. Sutton

GABBS, Nev., in Nye County, is 140 miles southeast of Reno and about 31 miles north of the Southern Pacific railroad at Luning. The townsite lies at the eastern edge of Gabbs Valley, and plant and quarry operations are in the foothills of the Paradise Range at elevations from 5000 to 5900 ft. Hard-surfaced roads connect with main U. S. high- ways on the north and south. Historical Background: Brucite, a magnesium hydroxide mineral, was discovered in the Gabbs area in 1927 and magnesite, the magnesium carbonate, was found later on claims originally staked and worked for the tungsten mineral scheelite. The brucite is on a granodiorite contact and the magnesite is usually some distance away from the granodiorite

Jan 7, 1957

By J. Eldridge, K. L. Komarek

Activities of aluminum in solid Fe-Al alloys have been determined between 0 and 75 at, pct Al and 1100" and 1400°K by an isopiestic method in which iron specimens, heated in a temperature gradient, are equilibrated in a closed all-ceramic system with aluminum vapor. The activity of aluminum in these alloys shows a strong negative deviation from Raoult's law at low concentrations but increases rapidly above 40 at. pct Al. The enthalpy and entropy of mixing me both negative. For an alloy with equiatomic composition the values are: HM = -7300 cal and SM = -0.85 eu. Sodium chloride has been added at lower temperatures to accelerate the evaporation of aluminum. Equations have been derived to calculate activities of aluminum from experimental data. THE Fe-Al system has been the object of a great number of investigations.' Most of these studies have been concerned with the phase diagram and specifically with the order-disorder reactions in the range of solid solutions of aluminum in iron. The results have been compiled by Hansen2 and presented as a complete phase diagram, Fig. 1. More recently, Taylor and ones' have found that both ordered and disordered alloys can exist in the a field up to the solidus curve separated by a line starting at 18.75 at. pct Al at room temperature up to 37 at. pct Al at 1375°C. Chipman and coworkers4-7 have studied repeatedly the activity of aluminum in liquid dilute Fe-Al alloys. They have measured the distribution equilibrium of aluminum between liquid iron and

Jan 1, 1964

Executive SIDNEY J. JENNINGS, Chairman GEORGE D. BARRON J. E. JOHNSON, JR. EDWIN LUDLOW ROBERT M. RAYMOND Membership KARL EILERS, Chairman LEWIS W. FRANCIS J. E. JOHNSON, JR. LOUIS D. HUNTOON ARTHUR L. WALKER Finance GEORGE D. BARRON, Chairman CHARLES F. RAND BENJAMIN B. THAYER Library E. GYBBON SPILSBURY,1 Chairman ALEX C. HUMPHREYS3 GEORGE C.' STONE2 J. H. JANEWAY4 BRADLEY, STOUGHTON Papers and Publications BRADLEY STOUGHTON, Chairman

Jan 7, 1918