Search Documents

By H. A. Bright, H. C. Vacher, J. G. Thompson

The methods employed for the determination of oxides and oxygen in ferrous materials may be roughly classed in two groups, "wet" methods and "hot" methods, the first group including the iodine, electrolytic, mercuric chloride, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, and chlorine methods; the second group including the vacuum-fusion and hydrogen-reduction methods. The wet methods depend upon preferential solubility in a selected medium to separate the metallic portion of the sample from the oxygen-containing constituents. Subsequent analysis of the insoluble residue permits the isolation and separate determination of individual oxides and compounds. The hot methods depend upon the reduction of the oxide constituents of the sample by means of carbon or hydrogen at elevated temperatures. With the exception of the recently developed fractional vacuum-fusion method, the hot methods do not identify individual oxides and compounds but yield only a single value representing the sum of the oxygen contents of several or all of the oxide constituents present. With such diversity in the principles and aims of the different groups, it is not surprising that concordance of results by different methods has usually been difficult to obtain. The present cooperative attempt to define more rigorously than has been possible heretofore the accuracy and limits of usefulness of the various methods, originated in correspondence between Dr. John Johnston, Director of Research of the United States Steel Corporation, and other interested metallurgists. The plan was, briefly, to submit identical samples to a number of laboratories for analysis by different methods and to collate the results of these analyses. The project was endorsed by the Iron and Steel Division of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers at the annual meeting in February, 1933, and has been conducted under the joint sponsorship of the Iron and Steel Division and the National Bureau of Standards. The latter organization undertook

Jan 1, 1937

By H. M. Ziesemer

PRIOR to 1909 that mountain of porphyry, known as. Sacramento Hill, had remained hardly touched but had always aroused suspicions as to the presence of ore within.. During that year, exploratory work was started by underground methods; drifting and raising continued until 1913. It was proved that a mineralized zone existed, the limits of which had not been determined; so, because of the lower costs of exploratory work and the greater desirability of vertical sections, it was decided to prove the extent of the ore zone by churn drills. Drilling continued until the year 1917, when it seemed almost certain that the horizontal limits of the orebodies had been determined. Ore continued in depth in one direction beyond a point where it was economical to explore by churn drilling; this extension is still being developed by underground methods. The irregularities of the boundaries of the ore zones, together with the variable grades of ore encountered, made it necessary to drill on the corners of 100-ft. squares. Two ore zones were proved, known as the East and West Orebodies. The Sacramento Hill porphyry stock intruded into the Dividend fault. The fault ran roughly east and west with a dip to the south, having pre-Cambrian schists on the north against Paleozoic limestone on, the south. This intrusion was accompanied by a silica breccia on the south periphery, along the limestone contact side. The ore lay in the silica breccia and in the porphyry, some distance from the breccia. No ore was found in the heart of the porphyry mass on the north side, along the schist contact. The West Orebody is elliptic in shape, having a major axis of 1200 ft. (366 m.) and a minor axis of 800 ft. (244 m.); these diminish with depth until, at 300. ft., the axes are 500 ft. and 300 ft., respectively. The ore consists of chalcocite, some bornite, chalcopyrite, and considerable pyrite in a silicious gangue. About 30 per cent. of the copper is caused by

Jan 2, 1922

The Sub-committee on Coal Mining, since its appointment, has been collecting data about subsidences in coal mines in this country, and thinks that almost all of the available data about occurrences of this sort in bituminous mines has been collected. Similar data is being compiled for the anthracite regions, which it is hoped will be ready for the 1927 meeting. As most of the bituminous seams are nearly level, the records obtained give the problem in its simplest form, without complications due to the pitch of the seam. Copies of the questionnaire, Appendix A, were mailed to all of the coal operators' associations, to most of the large operating companies and to many engineers, with the request that any data on the subject be returned to the committee, or that advice of any subsidences known be given: the replies to most of the questionnaires were general, although some specific cases were given. Many of the companies were unable to reply to all questions, as they lacked the necessary data, but in nearly every case where accuratc data was available, it was cheerfully furnished, and any additional information requested was secured. All specific cases of subsidence were followed up by correspondence, and in several cases by personal inspection. Figs. 1 to 31 were made from the information furnished. Table 1 gives measurements of elevations taken in one case at intervals from October, 1913, to May, 1918. With one exception, where the evidence cannot be released on account of a lawsuit, it is believed that the cases submitted with this report include practically all that have happened in bituminous coal mining in this country of which actual measurements were secured. Some of these have been published by Young and Stoek,l and some have been secured from other publications. In collecting these data, the subcommittee had the Engineering Societies Library extend its bibliography to date; this list is given in Appendix B. To assist in the study of the problem, all of the subsidence literature in English was examined for cases in which spccific measurements were given, and the essential data for each case are shown in Appendix C.

Jan 1, 1927

By E. J. Horwood

The varying physical character and large extent of the Broken Hill lode necesarily involve the employment of a variety of underground methods. The lode had its origin in an extensive fault plane traversing metamorphosed schists conformably, as a rule, with their beds of stratification. The underground waters carrying minerals in solution deposited their contents in the original cavities formed by the faulting action, and in the enlargements of these cavities due to dynamic forces brought to bear on the rocks, more especially on the hanging-wall side of the fault. This deposition was supplemented by metasomatic replacement of a portion of the original rock contents by the argentiferous sulphides of lead and zinc which form the staple products of the district. Although the orebody is practically continuous throughout the mines, its width varies greatly, ranging from a few feet to about 350 ft. The widest portions occur in conjunction with huge folds in the inclosing country rock, almost exclusively on the hanging-wall side. The ore in these folds pitches to the south in the southern half of the field, and to the north in the northern half; there are, however, undulations in these ore channels evidently due to compression of the rocks in the direction of the channels. In the earlier days, before the orebodies had been opened up, vertical cross-sections across these bulges in the hanging wall gave the lode the appearance of the "saddle formation," so well exemplified at Bendigo in Victoria; but subsequent development of the ore channels has long since proved that the formations in the two districts are entirely different. The depth reached by the zone of complete oxidation of the sulphides varies from about 259 to 550 ft, from the original outcrop, while partial oxidation extends in places below the 1,000-ft. level. The result of oxidizing influences has been the production of ore of every grade of cohesive-ness, from that of dry sand to that of hard compact rock. The methods of mining followed in this field, and even in individual mines, are varied in accordance with the character of the ore. The general practice of the field is to sink vertical shafts, generally on the foot-

Jan 1, 1916

By Earl F. Hanson

Fires in heavily timbered mines are disastrous, involving danger to both life and property. Some mines have been completely ruined or so heavily damaged that reopening them would not pay. Though few mines are entirely free from danger of fire, the risk is minimized by proper care and good design of plant. The Tintic Standard mine is at Dividend, Utah, in the famous Tintic mining district, about 60 miles south of Salt Lake City. The development of the mine was begun in 1907 by the late Mr. E. J. Raddatz and his associates. From the beginning, the work was hampered by high rock temperatures and the presence of high concentrations of rock gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Development work was carried on with great perseverance for nine years, and resulted in the discovery of ore in 1916. The total production of the Tintic Standard mine to Jan. 1, 1936, amounted to 1,664,388 tons of ore, having a gross value of $61,996,719. General Layout of the Mine The No. 2 shaft, which is the main working shaft of the Tintic Standard, is within the main orebody and is connected with the five other shafts. Their respective positions with respect to the No. 2 shaft are as follows: North Lily, 2770 ft. northwest with drift connections on the 700 and 900-ft. levels; No. 3 shaft, 670 ft. east connected through the 700-ft. level; Eureka Standard, 4550 ft. south, connected on the 900-ft. level; No. 1 shaft, 1470 ft. southwest, with connecting drifts on the 900 and 1250-ft. levels; Eureka Lilly, 2000 ft. southwest, with connecting drift and raise through the 1250-ft. level. The Tintic Standard orebody consists essentially of one continuous oreshoot extending from the 600-ft. level to the 1450-ft. level, with a cross-sectional area of approximately 70,000 sq. ft. at both top and bottom, reaching a maximum area of 215,000 sq. ft. between the 1100

Jan 1, 1937

pAbad, Leopoldo F., Min, Engr,, Div. of Mines, Bureau of Science Manila, P. 1. '23 Abadilla, Quirico A,, Geol., Lago Pet. Corp Box 172, Maracaibo, Venezuela, '20 Abbey, Robert Graham, The W. W. Sly Mfg, Co Train Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. '21 Abbott, A. N., Mines Supt., Mazapil Copper Co., Ltd Concepcion del Oro, Mexico, '28 Abbott, Clarence E., Mgr., Mines & Quarries, Tenn, Coal, Iron & R. R, Co,, 1242 Brown Marx Bldg,, Birmingham, Ala. '04]

Jan 1, 1928

By Gary Beerkircher

The mine hoisting equipment that is selected and installed at a mine is the lifeline of the mine, and therefore the proper selection of equipment will save a lot of time and money during the life of the mine. Various types of mine hoist designs &e available today, and each has their advantages and disadvantages. Double Drum Hoists, Single Drum Hoists, Friction Hoists and various special designs of these are available but should only be used on applications where they are suitable. There have been several new drive systems for mine hoists which have come into the picture in the last ten years, and they in turn must be evaluated along with the existing drive systems for each hoist application. It does not make sense to properly select the hoist mechanicals, and then have a drive system that turns out to be a bottleneck. This paper will attempt to cover the above noted systems - both the hoist selection and hoist drive system that will provide the mine with a reliable and economical hoisting system. I. Mine Hoist Types There are two basic types of mine hoists available in the world today: the drum hoist on which the hoist rope is actually stored during the hoisting cycle, and the friction (Koepe), which merely passes the rope over the wheel during the hoisting process. Following is a general outline of each type of hoist and the hoisting applications that they are suitable for. First let us consider the simple Single Drum Hoist. As a Service or Production Hoist with cage or skip in balance with a counterweight, a Single Drum Hoist can efficiently service one or more levels since the location of the counterweight at anytime is not important. As a Production Hoist with skips in balance the Single Drum Hoist is best used for single level hoisting. All rope adjustments for proper spotting must be done manually for the Single Drum Hoist. This has to be done periodically to compensate for rope stretch. A variation of the Single Drum Hoist is the divided drum hoist. If multi-layer winding is necessary the Single Drum Hoist must have a divider to allow a separate compartment for each rope. If a counterweight is used with a divided drum application the counterweight rope can be wound on a smaller diameter (Figure 2). Consequently, it moves a lesser distance than the main conveyance and rope adjustment problems are reduced.

Jan 1, 1975

By W. M. Albrecht, M. W. Mallett

The solubilities of hydrogen in titanium and several of its alloys were determined at 600 to 1000°C and pressures of 0.05 to 10µ of mercury. Solubility increases with increasing beta phase in the alloys. Factors found to affect degassing rates are specimen size and presence of thick surficial oxide. Removal of hydrogen by heating in vacuum and in flowing inert atmospheres was studied. Practical curves predicting minimum degassing times are presented. THE presence of hydrogen in titanium and titanium alloys has detrimental effects on the mechanical properties of the metal.'"," The hydrogen content of commercial titanium is sometimes of the order of 200 ppm by weight' and varies with alloy composition. As a consequence, titanium and some titanium alloys as normally processed are sometimes not ductile unless treated to lower the hydrogen content. The best known hydrogen-removal treatment is heating the material in a vacuum. The rate of removal (degassing) at a give temperature determines the duration of the treatment required to attain a satisfactory low hydrogen level.

Jan 1, 1959

By H. B. Smith, B. Egererg

In a previous paper1 the authors dealt with the physical properties of cold-rolled and heat-treated Britannia metal of the approximate composition Sn, 91 per cent., Sb, 7 per cent. and Cu, 2 per cent. It was found that cold rolling to more than 50 per cent. reduction produced a continuous softening of the metal when measured by the Brinell machine, whereas the Shore instrument indicated increased hardness; that the strength of the material followed the Brinell hardness and that the metal therefore became weaker the more it was cold-rolled; and further, it was found that hardness and strength could be largely restored to the cold-rolled metal by "baking" for about one hour at any temperature between 200" and 450" F., the melting point. The higher the baking temperature, the more effective was the heat treatment as far as increased hardness was concerned. It seemed to be of little importance whether the metal was soaked or not at the baking temperature for a great length of time and the rate of cooling seemed to be immaterial. The present paper deals with the same alloy and more particularly with the resistance towards various forms of stress — tensile, bend and deep drawing. The metallography of Britannia metal has in part also been covered and an explanation attempted for the abnormal behavior of this alloy. Tensile and Bend Tests Two ingots 73/4 in. wide, 11 in. long and ¾ in. thick were cast from the same pot. One ingot was cold-rolled in one direction to a strip 0.241 in. thick, which furnished the tensile test specimens; the other ingot was rolled in the same way to 0.253 in. and furnished the specimens for the bend tests. The ingots were cast as described in the previous paper and cold-rolled in six passes.

Jan 1, 1930

By Chas. H. Behre, Arbiter. Nathaniel

Two outstanding factors characterize most undertakings in the mineral industries: (1) mineral deposits are not equally distributed over the earth but are localized by natural processes, and (2) the mineral industries are largely based upon wasting assets. Neither of these factors is invariably true, for a few mineral materials, such as water, are essentially world-wide and others are replaced periodically by processes not unlike crop production. Indeed, with some, such as the salts in the sea, the supply is cyclic in short or long periods, whereas others, like water, though locally or periodically in short supply, are essentially inexhaustible. But to the extent that most minerals are limited to certain areas and are "permanently" consumed, any industry founded upon them, by implication, demands great care in planning for the most effective extraction-the essence of wise and conservative expenditure. Several less unusual yet also truly fundamental factors in the economics of the mineral industry are those involving (1) the various kinds and properties of mineral materials, which influence their use; (2) their geo- logic and geographic availability; and (3) the techniques unique to their discovery, exploration, and utilization. This chapter is designed primarily as a brief background for later ones and as a summary of the several un- usual or at least special factors and of their effect upon the economics of the mineral industry. The social and political and especially the economic aspects of the industry are the main subjects of this volume and are dealt with in extended fashion in subsequent chapters. Fundamental Characteristics of Mineral Deposits DEFINITIONS Minerals are naturally occurring compounds of nonliving matter, each technically defined as having (1) a chemical composition that may vary

Jan 1, 1959

By W. H. Coghill, A. M. Gow, M. Guggenheim, A. B. Campbell

The object of this paper is to discuss the fundamental principles of ball milling and to present some observations which have been made in laboratory and plant investigations. The discussion will be limited to wet grinding of ores in cylindrical mills, but doubtless many of the principles involved will be equally applicable in the other fields of fine grinding in which mills of the same type are used. In the concentrators of the United States there are about 650 ball, rod, or pebble mills, operating or ready to operate, and these have about 100,000 connected horsepower. For grinding in cement plants there is about three times this connected horsepower, and other industries have an unestimated amount, all used for the general type of grinding that is to be discussed here. It is true that these figures do not represent stupendous amounts of power, but when one considers that ball milling is often the ((bottle neck" in a concentrator and that it often accounts for the largest single item in the cost sheet, the importance of a comprehensive understanding of the principles of ball milling can be appreciated. Much of the past literature devoted to the subject has been concerned with the Kick-Rittinger dispute over evaluating grinding, or with dissertations on ball paths and the closely allied impact versus attrition hypotheses, or with the exclusive consideration of certain specific variables, such as mill speed or circulating load, irrespective of the other factors in operation. Such subjects may be dismissed with but little discussion in what may be called, by comparison, a new philosophy in the study of ball milling. Briefly, this '(new philosophy" consists of using power as an index of the mill operation, and investigating grinding from the standpoint of set and induced varisbles, with emphasis on the latter.

Jan 1, 1935

By Norman B. Pilling, George P. Halliwell

The effects of lead and tin up to maximum contents of about 0.1 per cent. each, in the presence of oxygen between 0.04 and 0.30 per cent., have been studied. Tin is retained efficiently in the oxidized condition, whereas lead is not. An approximate relation between the lead-oxygen and tin-oxygen contents is deduced which, if observed, permits the presence of these elements without detrimental effect. Excess of lead beyond this limit affects ductility and rolling properties adversely and an excess of tin correspondingly diminishes the conductivity. It is shown that copper carrying a combined lead and tin content of several hundredths per cent., yet fully equal in quality to electrolytic wirebar, may be produced under commercial conditions. Tin is not normally found in more than bare traces in current grades of American electrolytic copper, and lead is rarely found to more than a few thousandths per cent. In the electrolytic refining of copper these metals do not present great difficulty in separation and their presence in any considerable amount in copper that has been refined by this method need not be tolerated. On the other hand, the effect of these elements is not entirely academic, as a considerable tonnage of scrap copper liberally contaminated with them has been reclaimed by the fire-refining process into metal with a residual lead and tin content of several hundredths per cent., yet having excellent working properties and fully equal in quality to current grades of electrolytic wirebar. Such copper has been found entirely suitable for use in the manufacture of electrical apparatus. In the absence of oxygen, tin is known to depress the conductivity rapidly, and lead to impair ductility and the rolling properties, yet the effects of these metals on commercial grades of copper—i. e., copper containing from 0.03 to 0.10 per cent. of oxygen—apparently has not received systematic attention. Occasional reference is made to the fact that in the presence of oxygen lead may be tolerated, yet Addicks says,1 in regard to overpoling: "The unstable condition can be controlled by adding certain substances, notably lead, in small quantities, but as mere

Jan 1, 1926

By D. Weinstein

Yieldilzg in annealed arc-cast molybdenunz in torsion was studied as a function of strain rate and tem-perature. The temperature dependence of the yield point for different strain rates was used to calculate a heat of activation for the yield point. The heat of activation was not a constant but was approximately a linear function of the stress at yield. It is proposed that the rate effect in yielding is determined in part by a site place-change of C (or other interstitial atom) in the metal. THE low-temperature embrittlement phenomenon in metals and alloys has been known to exist for a long time. Although a transition from ductile to brit-tle behavior has been observed in some close-packed hexagonal metals1 and a face-centered cubic alloy, the most common class of metals exhibiting this be-havior has a body-centered cubic lattice structure. For example, a ductile to brittle transition has been observed in iron,3 molybdenum,4 chromium,5 colum-bium,6 and tungsten.7 In the present investigation, molybdenum specimens were tested in torsion over a wide range of temperatures at three widely separated strain rates, and the temperature for onset of embrittlement was determined. Characteristic of body-centered cubic metals and closely associated with plastic deformation is the appearance of a sharp upper and lower yield point. Theoretical explanation of the yield point in iron and low-carbon steel is due to Cottrell,8 who attributes the phenomenon to the pinning of dislocations by the formation of impurity atmospheres around the dislocations. These atmospheres tend to lock the dislocations and make them more difficult to move. The stress required to move a dislocation and thereby cause plastic deformation is greatly increased, and thus an upper yield point is observed. In addition, theoretical analysis,9 as well as experimental observations, show that the upper yield point is strongly a function of temperature. The upper yield point is observed to decrease with an increase in testing temperature, and above a certain temperature (-700° K in iron) it no longer appears. This is consistent with the concept that thermal vibrations will help free a dislocation from its atmosphere, so that the external stress required to free a dislocation from its pinning atmosphere decreases with increasing temperature. Furthermore, with increasing temperature the equilibrium concentration of impurity atoms around a dislocation decreases exponentially with the result that the dislocation is less firmly pinned. In Cottrell's theory of yield point a static model is visualized in which the pinning atmospheres, particularly interstitial atoms, are immobile, and the dislocations are anchored to stationary positions in the lattice. However, experiments1,7 show the upper yield point to be time-dependent or a function of the rate of straining, a high strain rate causing a high upper yield point. Present theory does not adequately account for the rate dependence of the yield point, and the exact function of the interstitial atom is not under stood. Nevertheless, observation of the temperature dependence and rate dependence strongly suggests that the upper yield point phenomenon is due to the interaction between dislocations and pinning atoms, and that a diffusion mechanism is important in determining the yield point.

Jan 1, 1962

By Harry L. Washburn, Robert L. Llewellyn, W. J. Halvorsen

Many of the problems that occur in the preparation plant originate from practices in the mine. Impurities in raw coal can be in the seam itself or from extraneous material taken in mining from the roof or bottom. In the case of underground mines, the choice of mining equipment will affect the size consist and the amount of extraneous material included with the coal. Also, governmental regulations concerning the degree of rock dusting, gobbing underground, and cleanup have increased the dirt in raw coal. Sulfur dioxide emission standards, on the other hand, are pressuring the coal industry to clean coal more thoroughly. Coal supplied for coking purposes is nearly all upgraded by washing, while for the largest market, electric power generation, a high proportion is shipped as a raw product with processing, in whole or in part, only necessary when excess impurities are mined with the coal. This chapter will deal primarily with plants that process or wash coal to some extent (Fig. 1) and only incidentally with mines shipping raw run-of-mine coal crushed to a top size of, usually, 51 to 102 mm (2 to 4 in.), with little, if any, other treatment. JUSTIFICATION FOR COAL PREPARATION During the past decade, major changes have occurred affecting the market, profit, and long-range planning of the coal industry. Mining companies have become "partners" with consumers at many new and some old mines, both for steam and metallurgical coals. Coal properties have become "assigned" tonnages at mutually agreed upon conditions and prices. Lower unit-train tariffs have been instrumental in helping coal markets to compete against oil and nuclear energy. Coal prices for power plants are still on a Btu (British thermal unit)

Jan 1, 1981

By H. Kenyon Burch

INTRODUCTION THE Inspiration Consolidated Copper Co.'s plant at Miami, Ariz., was designed and built to make possible the profitable working of a low-grade, finely disseminated copper deposit containing 100,000,000 tons of ore averaging 1.64 per cent. in copper. From the-beginning it was evident that the-plant could not, be kept integral but that a break would have to be made somewhere in the flow-sheet, removing at least the concentrator to a site more suitable than any available near the mine. It was finally decided, after considering numerous arrangements, to do the coarse crushing at the mine, to store the crushed ore in a bin from which it could be loaded into railroad cars and to haul it to the concentrator, an excellent site for which was available about 1 ¾ miles from the mine. The original intention was to equip a plant to treat 7,500 tons of ore per clay, but through the acquisition and proving up of additional ore reserves, the introduction of the Ohio caving system, and the excellent results obtained in the test mill (which made it possible to treat a lower-grade ore than had been thought possible) it was evident that a plant of much greater capacity should be supplied. It was, therefore, decided to treat approximately 15,000 tons of ore per day, the duties of the four main divisions to be as follows:

Jan 9, 1916

By P. S. Miller, S. H. Ash

EXTENSIVE and diversified resources justify large populations and great industries. To carry on the business of commerce and meet the demands of large populations, the utilization of tunnels in some form for transportation purposes constitutes an important link in modern civilization. The driving of tunnels has been appropriated by the tunneling branch of the heavy-construction industry, and the progressive steps taken by modern tunnel builders were not even dreamed of 50 years ago. Great strides have been made toward more rapid progress in tunneling in the United States during the past 10 years. Tunneling consists of a definite cycle of operations developed from ideas that are crystallized and translated into action programs through various engineering phases that begin with the first preliminary survey and do not end until the job is completed. Once the line of the bore is established and a time set for the completion of the work, the face must advance according to estimates prepared before the work commences. This schedule must be followed in regular sequence from the moment the drills start against a new face of rock until they are ready again to drill the succeeding face, constituting a round.1 Mining is largely tunneling carried on under conditions often more inherently hazardous than actual tunnel construction, but for various reasons1 tunneling is more hazardous than mining in any branch of the mineral industry, On the other hand, obstacles are sometimes encountered in heavy-construction tunneling projects that when met in mining enterprises do not offer comparable tasks to avoid or overcome them. One of these is the existence of water under high pressures. In mining enterprises, various alternatives offer a solution in driving a tunnel, even to the extent of its discontinuance or the abandonment of the mine, but a "construction" tunnel usually must go forward because some important project depends largely if not entirely upon it. This paper describes an unusual method of driving a water-supply tunnel through rock carrying water under pressures and conditions that did not permit the use of ordinary tunneling methods. THE DELAWARE AQUEDUCT The new Delaware aqueduct is a Manhattan project of some magnitude; when completed, it will contain what probably will be, for some time to come, the longest tunnel in the world. Various features in its construction are currently described in the trade journals of the construction industry, and informative engineering details are given in the Delaware Water Supply News, published twice a month by the Board of Water Supply of the City of New York. Work was begun on this project on March 24, 1937. The tunnel will convey water from reservoirs at the headwaters of the Delaware River to the City of New York.

Jan 1, 1942

By Homer Turner

COALS, other than anthracite, have been so thoroughly studied under the microscope during recent years, that we now know what kinds of plants and what parts of plants form the bulk of lower rank coals from peat to bituminous coal. The microscope has also shown the state of preservation of such vegetation as well as the nature and distribution of products of plant decay. These and further details have been ascertained mainly through the employment of two methods of attack, section cutting and maceration. Anthracite has failed to respond to these methods, so well adapted to the study of lower rank coals and, therefore, has been neglected by investigators to such an extent that there is much doubt as to its microscopical characteristics. The object of this paper is to lift anthracite from its realm of obscurity by demonstrating the wealth of microscopical detail that is revealed when reflected light is used on a properly polished and etched surface and, further, to show the relationship between anthracite and bituminous coal.

Jan 2, 1925

By G. E. Agar, P. L. De Bruyn

Flotation is an important example of a chemical process by which one solid may be separated from other solids in a mixture. In contrast to other chemical processes such as leaching and smelting, separation of solids by flotation is characterized by the establishment of contact among three phases. In froth flotation these three phases are the solid to be floated, an aqueous electrolyte solution, and a gas, usually air. The gaseous phase may be re- placed by an organic liquid phase or this organic liquid phase may be added deliberately as a fourth phase. To gain an understanding of the flotation sys- tem, it is therefore necessary to study the chemical and physical properties of surfaces and to establish the effect of changes in composition of the bulk phases on the nature of the three interfaces, solid-gas, solid-liquid and liquid- gas. With very few exceptions inorganic solids are completely wetted by the aqueous phase so that the first step in flotation is to replace partially the solid-liquid interface by a solid-gas interface. This displacement process is accomplished by the addition of suitable reagents to the aqueous phase. The resultant surface reaction leaves the solid surface with a hydrophobic film. Although the primary objective of these reagent additions is to alter the solid surface, chemical reactions between the added chemical species and those species derived from the dissolution of the solids are unavoidable. For a quantitative description of such reactions and for the determination of the feasibility of a proposed reaction, we rely on available thermodynamic data. The application of thermodynamic principles to flotation systems has contributed much to our understanding of flotation. The changes in thermodynamic properties such as free energy and chemical potential are accessible to experimental determination, and a knowledge of their magnitude allows us to develop and predict a chemical mechanism oy which a solid becomes floatable. In this chapter it will be assumed that the reader has a working knowledge of the general principles of thermodynamics and solution chemistry. A complete discussion of the physical chemistry of flotation must include a treatment of solubility relations, complex ionic equilibria, reaction potential, and the elements of electrochemistry, especially those dealing with reversible electrical cells. The principles related to all of these features of the flotation system will not be discussed in this chapter. The discussion will be concerned with the thermodynamics and electrochemistry of surfaces and the electrical double layer model of the interface.

Jan 1, 1962

By E. A. H. Tays, F. A. Schiertz

In 1893 the Anglo-Mexican Mining Company, Limited, purchased the Guadalupe and adjoining mines, and, after opening up the Guadalupe, constructed a 20-stamp mill, which was started in August, 1894. Although the results were extremely profitable (the ore being very rich and carrying much free gold) they were not satisfactory, because the tailings were found to average about $20 per ton in gold. Early in 1895 the late Mr. James E. Mills made for the company a very thorough study of the subject, and decided that the tailings could be treated most advantageously by the cyanide process. In view of this opinion, Mr. Henry R. Batcheller, of Boston, was sent down in the winter of 1895-96 to experiment on a working scale. Mr. Batcheller was successful; and, during 1896-97, built a cyanide-plant with a capacity for treating 1500 tons per month. This was run until May, 1899, when all the sands suitable for the process had been treated. The mill was stopped about the same time for lack of ore; but no tailings from the mill had gone to the dump since October, 1897, as the values they contained after that date were far too low to warrant further treatment. When the cyanide-plant was stopped there still remained on the dump about 16,000 tons of slimes, consisting of about 75 per cent. of clay-slimes and 25 of sand-slimes. The successful treatment of this very unfavorable material is the theme of this paper. Fig. 1 is a view of the hacienda, taken in 1897.

Jan 1, 1902

By K. H. Kilgren

At high formation pressures the distillate produced from a gas-condensate reservoir may be black in color. In this event the dense gas phase existing above the dew point is correspondingly dark. Volumetric phase data and an analysis of a reservoir fluid exhibiting these characteristics, together with a description of the visual equilibrium cell in which these observations were made, are presented in this paper. INTRODUCTION Previously the author, like many others in the oil and gas industry perhaps, tacitly assumed that the expressions black or dark oil system, crude oil system and bubble-point system were synonymous. Crude oil reservoir fluids are bubble-point systems and yield a black or dark stock-tank oil of relatively low API gravity. Conversely, a clear or amber colored trap distillate of high API gravity is assumed indicative of a dew point system or a gas-condensate reservoir fluid. This broad classification appears satisfactory for shallow reservoirs, but as the following study demonstrates, may be misleading when applied to deep reservoirs. Theoretically, there is no reason to exclude the possibility of producing a dark, low-gravity distillate from a gas-condensate reservoir. At sufficiently high values of pressure and temperature, heavy, dark-colored hydrocarbons may exist in the vapor state of a multi-component system. If enough dark-colored components are present in the reservoir vapor phase, the resulting condensate will be dark. The reservoir fluid investigated in the present study supports this contention. Stock-tank production was black in color and measured 29" APT gravity. From outward appearances, the liquid closely resembled a medium gravity crude oil. Experimental measurements proved the reservoir fluid was in reality a gas-condensate system. Volumetric phase data for this high-pressure system and a description of the visual cell in which the study was conducted successfully are presented in this paper. THEORY Phase behavior of a reservoir fluid can be predicted accurately with reference to a pressure-temperature phase diagram. If the reservoir temperature is lower than the critical temperature of the hydrocarbon fluid in place, bubble-point behavior will be observed. If the reservoir temperature lies between the critical and cricondentherm temperature, dew point behavior and retrograde condensation will occur. For reservoir temperatures above the cri- condentherm, only a single gas phase can exist in the reservoir regardless of pressure. Providing the composition of the reservoir fluid were known, it would be possible to predict the critical temperature and estimate the phase behavior from equilibrium relationships. However, the usual practice is to obtain a sample of reservoir fluid, subject it to varying pressures at the reservoir temperature and observe the phase behavior experimentally. The latter method was used to obtain the data reported here. WELL AND TRAPPING INFORMATION A summary of pertinent data for the well from which the reservoir fluid was sampled is presented in Table 1. This well is located offshore Louisiana. Except for the pressure which substantially exceeds hydrostatic pressure, the information does not appear unusual. Prior to the sampling program, the well was produced for 22 hours at a stock tank oil rate of 139 B/D. Average trapping conditions and gauging data for the six-hour test period that followed are summarized in Table 2. Samples of the first-stage trap gas and liquid were obtained during the latter portion of the test period. Ambient temperature remained 5 to 10F below trap temperature and presented no problem for sampling. Surface wind and moderate foaming of stock-tank oil presented some difficulty in obtaining accurate stock-tank gauges. SAMPLE ANALYSIS Compositions of the gas and liquid samples are shown in Table 3. The trap gas was analyzed by isothermal chromatography which revealed only a trace of heptane in the stream. The trap liquid was initially analyzed by low-temperature fractional distillation, yielding a bottom product of heptane and heavier components. Specific gravity of this fraction was measured and the mol weight was determined by freezing point depression. The hexane and lighter overhead gas collected during distillation was

Jan 1, 1967