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By Mark D. Zoback, Bezalel C. Haimson

INTRODUCTION A Workshop on Hydraulic Fracturing Stress Measurements was convened by the authors in December 1981 in Monterey, California under the auspices of the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. National Committee on Rock Mechanics. There are now over a dozen groups of investigators around the world who are actively using the hydraulic fracturing method for making in-situ stress measurements. Because of the extensive recent experience of these different groups, the Workshop enabled forty investigators from eight countries to comprehensively assess the status of the method. Based on the presentations and discussions at the Workshop, in this paper we briefly discuss the current status of the hydraulic fracturing stress measurement method concentrating on problem areas where further research needs to be done. A complete account of the presentations at the Workshop will be available through the Proceedings of the Workshop which will be published by the U.S. National Committee on Rock Mechanics in early 1983. The most exciting aspect of the Workshop was the discovery by the various groups of investigators that others were having very similar experiences with the method. The consensus among the different groups of investigators at the Workshop was that they were recording very similar pressure-time data in the field, they were able to interpret them in similar ways, and they were achieving results that were quite encouraging because of several factors. First, the results at various locales were found to be internally quite consistent. This was reported by investigators from Germany (Rummel, Baumgartner, and Alheid, 1982), Japan (Tsukahara, 1982), Australia (Enever, 1982), and the U.S. (see, for example, Haimson, 1978, 1982a; Zoback

Jan 1, 1982

By J. B. Goddard

In situ leaching of uranium by aqueous ammonium carbonate containing oxygen or hydrogen peroxide as oxidant results in the partial dissolution of sulfides. While some of the sulfide sulfur is oxidized to sulfate, a considerable portion is oxidized only to thiosulfate and polythionates. Polythionates poison the ion exchange resin used to extract uranium. At the Palangana operation in south Texas, the trithionate ion (S3062-) was found by infrared spectrometry to be the major resin poison. Treatment of ion exchange feed solutions with hydrogen peroxide only resulted in partial conversion of reduced sulfur species to sulfate. Trithionate conversion was particularly slow. Poisoning of the resin also occurred from the ammonium chloride eluant, which built up trithionate because of recycling. This was essentially eliminated by chlorinating the eluant before yellow cake precipitation.

Jan 1, 1986

By Edward L. Estabrook

This paper gives a brief account of the geologic and production problems encountered in the Grass Creek oil field, the methods used in their solution, and the beneficial results obtained from the work. The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance received from J. H. Pearson and Miss Ninettta A. Davis in the collection of the data and the preparation of the cross-sections. Permission for its publication was given by the officials of the Midwest Refining Co. and the Ohio Oil Co. The Grass Creek oil field is located in Ts. 98-99 W., R. 46 N., Hot Springs County, Wyo. The productive area includes about 2 1/2 mi. (4 km.) on the apex of a great anticlinal fold occupying more than 150 sq. mi. Fig. 1 shows the structural contours of the field. Oil was dicovered in the field in June, 1914; development proceeded rapidly and production rose to a maximum in 1918. The marketed production has been approximately as follows: Barrels Barrels 1915.................... 94,073.5 1918................... 2,946,774.27 1916................... 1,404,183.97 1919................... 2,000,584.84 1917.................... 2,780,697.51 1920................... 1,485,080.94 About 350 wells, 800 to 1500 ft. (243 to 457 m.) deep, have been drilled to reach the upper oil sands; two companies, the Ohio Oil Co. and the Midwest Refining Co., operate the entire field. The principal producing sands in the field are members of the Frontier Formation, a series of sands and shales occuring in the upper portion of the Colorado Group of the Upper Cretaceous seriee. These Frontier, or "Wall Creek" sands are also productive in the Salt Creek, Big Muddy, and Elk Basin fields and, therefore, are much the most important reservoirs of light oil in Wyoming. At Grass Creek, the sands in the Formation are more numerous than in the other fields and much less uniform in thickness and character. Usually, eight distinct beds are encountered and in some wells twelve sands have been reported. The formation above

Jan 1, 1923

By Edward L. Estabrook

This paper gives a brief account of the geologic and production problems encountered in the Grass Creek oil field, the methods used in their solution, and the beneficial results obtained from the work. The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance received from J. H. Pearson and Miss Ninettta A. Davis in the collection of the data and the preparation of the cross-sections. Permission for its publication was given by the officials of the Midwest Refining Co. and the Ohio Oil Co. The Grass Creek oil field is located in Ts. 98-99 W., R. 46 N., Hot Springs County, Wyo. The productive area includes about 2 1/2 mi. (4 km.) on the apex of a great anticlinal fold occupying more than 150 sq. mi. Fig. 1 shows the structural contours of the field. Oil was dicovered in the field in June, 1914; development proceeded rapidly and production rose to a maximum in 1918. The marketed production has been approximately as follows: Barrels Barrels 1915.................... 94,073.5 1918................... 2,946,774.27 1916................... 1,404,183.97 1919................... 2,000,584.84 1917.................... 2,780,697.51 1920................... 1,485,080.94 About 350 wells, 800 to 1500 ft. (243 to 457 m.) deep, have been drilled to reach the upper oil sands; two companies, the Ohio Oil Co. and the Midwest Refining Co., operate the entire field. The principal producing sands in the field are members of the Frontier Formation, a series of sands and shales occuring in the upper portion of the Colorado Group of the Upper Cretaceous seriee. These Frontier, or "Wall Creek" sands are also productive in the Salt Creek, Big Muddy, and Elk Basin fields and, therefore, are much the most important reservoirs of light oil in Wyoming. At Grass Creek, the sands in the Formation are more numerous than in the other fields and much less uniform in thickness and character. Usually, eight distinct beds are encountered and in some wells twelve sands have been reported. The formation above

Jan 1, 1923

By Michael J. Messel

THE critical shortage of asbestos fiber in the world today brings to the foreground the question of locating and developing new deposits. The object of this paper is to discuss some of the more important factors which should be considered in the examination and valuation of a new asbestos enterprise. Some of the more important uses of asbestos fiber are for textiles, heat insulators, building materials, filters and a series of other uses. The properties of this mineral, such as fibrous structure, color, strength, silkiness and flexibility, coupled with resistance to fire, certain chemical action and decay make its application unique for certain industrial uses which consume over 500,000 tons annually. These same unique properties which make this mineral so valuable also make a deposit one of the most difficult to appraise accurately, because of the many undeterminable and varying factors which must be considered before a deposit can properly be termed commercial. The majority of the asbestos fiber today, having the above mentioned properties, is sold by grades which are based on fiber length. Present day fiber prices vary over a wide range from $800 to $225 for crude fibers and $300 to $20.00 per ton for milled grades. For valuation purposes a careful study should be made of existing fiber prices and markets. EXAMINATION OF DEPOSITS In carrying out prospecting and examination of a deposit, considerable caution is required to get the necessary information in the form that will have the most value for the final determination. There are two main classes of asbestos fibers, chrysotile and the amphiboles, the chrysotile being, by far, the most important both in abundance and uses. This paper will stress mainly chrysotile deposits, however, the amphiboles have many important uses, especially amosite and crocidalite. Their valuation presents special problems as other factors may be involved, especially as they are not graded according to any well defined and adopted standard but usually according to the use for which they are being supplied. Most chrysotile deposits occur in two main types of rock, (I) mainly in basic igneous, such as dunite and peridotite, (2) to a lesser extent in sedimentary rocks, such as dolomite and limestone. All of these require a certain degree of metamorphism to be favorable to asbestos formation. Approximately 90 pct of the asbestos deposits are derived from serpentinization of dunite or peridotite, whereby the magnesiumsilicate olivine was altered to hydrous magnesium-silicate serpentine. Under certain favorable geological conditions, this serpentine takes a fibrous form having a definite crystal structure, probably due to molecular rearrangement, and is known as chrysotile. The fiber veins are usually ir-

Jan 1, 1947

By Beverley S. Randolph

While our coal-mining practice, in regard to hauling on main roads, has advanced very rapidly in recent years by means of compressed air, electricity and ropes, that of gathering from rooms or working-places has remained almost stationary. Few large mines are without some method of mechanical haulage on main roads, but the gathering from working-places is still done almost entirely by means of animals or men. An effort to improve this has been made recently by the Consolidation Coal Company, under the direction of the writer, at its mines in the Georges Creek region. The seam worked is the Pittsburg bed, known locally as the " Big Vein." It is from 8 to 12 feet thick. Immediately overlying the coal there is from 5 to 6 feet of " rashings," consisting of thin alternating beds of shale and coal, which disintegrate rapidly on exposure to the air, and making a very treacherous roof. Rooms are driven from 12 to 15 ft. wide, with a single track close to one side. A line of posts is placed just far enough from this side to leave a clear space for the mine-car with a driver at the brake. This brings the post not far from the middle of the cross-bar, and provides more effectual support than if placed at the end. The tracks in these rooms are usually of 4 in. x 4 in. oak scantling, though of late years, owing to the advance in the price of lumber and the reduction in steel rails, more of the latter are being used. This track is laid by the miner. His pay for the work is included in the price per ton for mining. It is therefore, as a rule, unskillfully and often carelessly laid, and cannot be relied upon to carry safely any weight materially greater than the loaded mine-car. Compressed air was already in use on the main roads, driving motors weighing 30,000 pounds each, which were used to. bring the mine-cars that had been assembled from the rooms

Jan 1, 1904

By M. W. Strong

The technique of handling drilling muds varies somewhat, partly because of personal factors but mainly because of differences in formation, the type of problems, and the general drilling conditions in different localities. The much greater depths to which bore holes are now carried have made necessary closer attention to and great modifications of all aspects of drilling-mud technique. Increased depth means smaller hole, smaller drill pipe, smaller clearances, higher pumping pressures, higher differential pressures between shows and the mud column, less accurate control of the weight of the mud column, delayed receipt of formation data, and poorer samples. It means longer delays and greater hazards in rectifying mistakes or dealing with accidental occurrences. Equipment on a larger scale is necessary and more pains must be taken with layout. Lastly, the budget costs of raw materials have risen to high figures and economy of time and of direct monetary expenditure have come to mean much more than formerly. A mud laboratory is now part of the essential establishment of a modern oil field and to it current problems can be submitted for the most thorough investigation. The detailed chemical properties of all materials purchased or quarried have to be investigated. Detailed data on the physical properties have to be ascertained and research on improvement of material and its most efficient use has to be carried out. In this paper will be discussed the main mud problems of Iran, some of which are peculiar to local conditions while others are of the general type common to all workers in this subject. Underground Conditions In deep wells in Iran the normal overburden may consist of: (1) up to several thousand feet of marls with interbedded sandstones and limestones of varying porosity and permeability; (2) beneath this a chemical series of rock salt and anhydrites, containing various marls and thin limestones,

Jan 1, 1939

By M. W. Strong

The technique of handling drilling muds varies somewhat, partly because of personal factors but mainly because of differences in formation, the type of problems, and the general drilling conditions in different localities. The much greater depths to which bore holes are now carried have made necessary closer attention to and great modifications of all aspects of drilling-mud technique. Increased depth means smaller hole, smaller drill pipe, smaller clearances, higher pumping pressures, higher differential pressures between shows and the mud column, less accurate control of the weight of the mud column, delayed receipt of formation data, and poorer samples. It means longer delays and greater hazards in rectifying mistakes or dealing with accidental occurrences. Equipment on a larger scale is necessary and more pains must be taken with layout. Lastly, the budget costs of raw materials have risen to high figures and economy of time and of direct monetary expenditure have come to mean much more than formerly. A mud laboratory is now part of the essential establishment of a modern oil field and to it current problems can be submitted for the most thorough investigation. The detailed chemical properties of all materials purchased or quarried have to be investigated. Detailed data on the physical properties have to be ascertained and research on improvement of material and its most efficient use has to be carried out. In this paper will be discussed the main mud problems of Iran, some of which are peculiar to local conditions while others are of the general type common to all workers in this subject. Underground Conditions In deep wells in Iran the normal overburden may consist of: (1) up to several thousand feet of marls with interbedded sandstones and limestones of varying porosity and permeability; (2) beneath this a chemical series of rock salt and anhydrites, containing various marls and thin limestones,

Jan 1, 1939

By E. R. Force, W. F. Cannon

Many large high-grade manganese deposits occur in marine-transgressive sedimentary sequences deposit fed on stable platforms, although the manganese mineralogy varies from carbonate to oxide facies and host lithologies vary from carbonate- to clay-dominated sections. Examples include the Nikopol and related deposits of the Soviet Union and Groote Eylandt, Australia. Recent work has shown that high sea-level stands are synchronous with stratified and stagnant oceans. We suggest that during transgressions and consequent anoxic events, the anoxic deep waters rich in dissolved manganese were dilute ore-forming fluids. Manganese was precipitated on the oxidized side of oxidation and alkalinity interfaces on shallow shelves. Where the precipitate was preserved, manganese ac- cumulated into ore deposits. Sedimentary manganese deposits have not been widely explored for in North America, nor are they always obvious in outcrop. Large areas of North America are underlain by rocks that we consider broadly favorable for such manganese deposits, and the disparity between the high potential but significant reserves of the United States is difficult to reconcile. Important undiscovered deposits seem likely. An area of Cretaceous rocks in South Dakota is presented as a possible location for a United States deposit analogous to foreign deposits described herein.

Jan 1, 1983

By C. A. Hartnagel, D. H. Newland

The market for Pennsylvania grade showed a drop both in demand and in prices, which reacted unfavorably on New York oil production, all of which comes under that classification. The output for the year in New York amounted to 5,045,200 bbl. The production in 1937 was 5,478,000 bbl., the largest in any year for the last half century or more. Falling prices, of course, affected new drilling. They declined from $2.20 a barrel, which was posted at the start, to $1.68 in the final months of 1938. With this came a reduction in the amount of oil that would be accepted by the refineries operating in the New York fields. Conditions therefore have combined to halt, at least temporarily, the growth of oil production in the state, which had experienced a steady gain for the last 15 years or more, the yield having risen from less than 1,000,000 bbl. to the round total of 5,500,000 bbl. in 1937. Practically all the oil now obtained is from old, developed fields. No new pools have been found in the last quarter of a century or more. The larger share comes from flooding the sands. Although there are many wells that still produce without the aid of the water drive, they are small and for the most part are pumped periodically. Of late, new drilling has been restricted mainly to that required to maintain existing flood projects. Because of the high initial cost and time required to put a flood into production, the depressed condition of the market has been a serious handicap financially, and, further, has been an unfavorable influence on the planning of operations to secure the maximum recovery of the oil. Unless market conditions improve, it is certain that the effects will be shown in the yield for some time to come. Gas Developments Drilling was active in the southwestern area, chiefly in Allegany and Steuben Counties, and some notable wells were brought in that tapped the Oriskany sandstone. Altogether 42 holes were put down in the two counties, of which 31 were listed as producers and 11 were dry. The new wells gave an initial daily flow of 239,000 M cu. ft. At the close of

Jan 1, 1939

By C. A. Hartnagel, D. H. Newland

The market for Pennsylvania grade showed a drop both in demand and in prices, which reacted unfavorably on New York oil production, all of which comes under that classification. The output for the year in New York amounted to 5,045,200 bbl. The production in 1937 was 5,478,000 bbl., the largest in any year for the last half century or more. Falling prices, of course, affected new drilling. They declined from $2.20 a barrel, which was posted at the start, to $1.68 in the final months of 1938. With this came a reduction in the amount of oil that would be accepted by the refineries operating in the New York fields. Conditions therefore have combined to halt, at least temporarily, the growth of oil production in the state, which had experienced a steady gain for the last 15 years or more, the yield having risen from less than 1,000,000 bbl. to the round total of 5,500,000 bbl. in 1937. Practically all the oil now obtained is from old, developed fields. No new pools have been found in the last quarter of a century or more. The larger share comes from flooding the sands. Although there are many wells that still produce without the aid of the water drive, they are small and for the most part are pumped periodically. Of late, new drilling has been restricted mainly to that required to maintain existing flood projects. Because of the high initial cost and time required to put a flood into production, the depressed condition of the market has been a serious handicap financially, and, further, has been an unfavorable influence on the planning of operations to secure the maximum recovery of the oil. Unless market conditions improve, it is certain that the effects will be shown in the yield for some time to come. Gas Developments Drilling was active in the southwestern area, chiefly in Allegany and Steuben Counties, and some notable wells were brought in that tapped the Oriskany sandstone. Altogether 42 holes were put down in the two counties, of which 31 were listed as producers and 11 were dry. The new wells gave an initial daily flow of 239,000 M cu. ft. At the close of

Jan 1, 1939

By Elmer W. Pehrson

THE founding of the American Institute of Mining Engineers in 1871 came at an unusually significant moment in the life of our country. The industrial revolution, in which mineral production played a major role, was just getting underway. The iron industry, established several decades earlier, was reaching sizable proportions. In 1871 pig-iron production was approaching 2 million tons, and the industry had spread as far west as Missouri and Wisconsin. The chief sources of iron ore were Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Michigan. The age of steel was in its infancy; production had not yet reached 100,000 tons per annum. The gold rush to California two decades earlier and the discovery of other gold and silver bonanzas in the West paved the way for the transcontinental railways, which were then being built and which contributed much to the subsequent development of the great copper, lead, and zinc districts of the Rocky Mountain area. Regular production of copper in the Michigan peninsula and of lead in Missouri and the upper Mississippi region had been established for many years but on a scale dwarfed by the quantities later required as technical progress, invention and enterprise made possible the rapid expansion of industry. Discovery of oil in Pennsylvania in 1859, the growing recognition of the

Jan 1, 1947

By William E. Hubbard

The production of the Texas Panhandle1 up to Jan. 1, 1932, was slightly under 179,000,000 bbl., 90 per cent of which came from Hutchin-son and Gray counties. About 21,500,000 bbl. were produced during 1931. This was about 35 per cent less than the 1930 production and the smallest annual production since the first boom started seven years ago. The present daily production is slightly under 55,000 bbl., which is the production permitted under statewide curtailment. The assumed potential for the purpose of curtailment is 108,708 bbl. and the actual capacity of the wells is probably in the neighborhood of 75,000 barrels. The total initial production of the oil wells completed in 1931 was 40,714 bbl. from 117 wells or 347 bbl. per well as compared to a 511-bbl. average from the 304 oil wells drilled during the preceding year. Gray County led with 71 completions and a total initial production of 29,209 barrels. Completions Two hundred wells were completed in the Panhandle in 1931, as against 526 in 1930. Of the year's completions, 117 were oil wells, 77 produced gas, and but six were dry holes. Of the 3197 wells drilled in the Panhandle to date, 2944 have produced oil, gas, or both, making the ratio of dry holes to producers about 1:11.7. Ignoring the 64 dry holes drilled in nonproductive counties the ratio becomes 190:2944 or 1:15.5, which is somewhat more favorable than that obtained at the end of 1930. Of the oil wells completed 374 have been plugged. Although it is but five years since the peak of drilling operations more than one-fifth of the oil wells in Hutchinson County have been plugged. The percentage of total wells plugged to total completed oil wells, by counties,

Jan 1, 1932

By Nicasio del Castillo

INTRODUCTION The tax structure of foreign mining investment into the United States has a significant impact on the financing and the profitability of the operation. For these reasons, it is critical for the foreign investor to develop and implement a well planned tax strategy that will enable its venture to: (1) reduce its U.S. income tax liability (2) lower U.S. withholding taxes when funds are transferred from the United States, and (3) decrease or defer home country taxation on its U.S. earnings ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF INVESTMENT A threshold business and tax consideration is the form in which the investment is to be made. The most common alternatives include: forming or acquiring a U.S. mining corporation, directly establishing a branch mining operation, or entering into a joint venture or partnership with a U.S. mining company. U.S. Corporations The most common structure through which foreign mining companies engage in business in the United States is to form a U.S. mining corporation. Forming a U.S. Corporation. If the investor decides to establish a new U.S. corporation the organization is relatively simple. No distinctions are made in the United States between "public" and "private" forms of incorporation. Minimum share capital is not usually required and share capital may consist of shares with no par value. Since corporate law is the responsibility of the individual states, the foreign investor must choose a state in which to incorporate. If appreciated mining property is transferred to a corporation solely in exchange for stock or securities in that corporation, and the transferors have control of the corporation (defined as at least 80 percent of all voting shares and at least 80 percent of all other shares) immediately after the exchange, no gain or loss will be recognized. However, if the transferors receive cash or other mining properties in addition to stock, any resulting gain may, in certain situations, be taxed to the extent of the cash and the fair market value of other property received. Acquiring an Existing U.S. Corporation. Acquiring an existing U.S. mining corporation is not as straight-forward as forming a corporation. This alternative may be accomplished through either a stock or an asset acquisition. Generally, with a stock acquisition the purchaser inherits all of the business and tax attributes of the former mining corporation. If the investor is able to acquire mining assets, however, the purchaser will usually be able to avoid any unknown or hidden liabilities that could be attached to an existing corporation. Another principal advantage in acquiring assets is that the purchase price may be directly allocated to the acquired mines or other mineral-related assets with the result that the assets' depreciable base may be increased. Assuming the domestic seller and the foreign purchaser can agree, it is generally advisable to allocate the purchase price in the sales agreement to specific individual assets. From the foreign investor's standpoint, it is preferable to allocate the purchase price to depreciable assets such as buildings and equipment versus an allocation to mineral land holdings or intangibles such as goodwill, which are generally not depreciable. It is not uncommon, however, for a seller mining company being acquired to insist for tax reasons that the investor purchase shares rather than assets. If the foreign

Jan 1, 1985

E. L. BLOSSOM, New. York, N. Y.-That this paper deals with a real problem is illustrated by a statement made to the speaker a few months ago by the manager of a silver-lead property: "Our ore contains 60 per cent. silica on which the smelters are penalizing us heavily, and they are not able to take all our stuff even then. We have simply got to find some method other than smelting for getting the silver and lead out of our ores. We have had experts down here and have investigated flotation, leaching and volatilization, of which processes the latter is by far the most promising. We are continuing investigation." I was somewhat concerned in certain chloride volatilization experiments which we carried on in Denver in 1903, working on a carload of ore from Butte. Now being connected with the Cottrell process, by which method the fumes will undoubtedly he recovered if they solve the volatilization problem, I have looked into the matter again, and believe it can be developed into a commercial process. On a laboratory scale, working With silver-lead ores, experimenters have obtained a volatilization of over 90 per cent. of the total values in 30 to 60 min, on quantities of 1 to 5 lb., using a roasting dish and a muffle. That looks very good, and would be entirely commercial. On attempting to duplicate these results in a reverberatory furnace, they found that it is more likely to take 8 hr. firing to yield 75 per cent. extraction, which is not commercial at all, as it requires too much time, labor, and fuel, and the whole process is too slow. Of course it can be done, because we have done it in the laboratory.

Jan 1, 1918

By J. Poijärvi, J. Rastas

Recently, when increasing attention has been paid to mercury for environmental reasons, the interest of several plants is directed to the removal of mercury from roaster and smelter gases. When Outokumpu Oy built its zinc plant at Kokkola in 1969, intensive development work was started to find an efficient and economic method for mercury removal from roaster gases. A process was developed, after laboratory research and pilot plant tests, to eliminate and completely recover mercury from the roaster gases. The process was commissioned in 1970. The behaviour of mercury in the roasting process and several possible methods of removing it from gases are discussed in this paper. Theoretical investigations and empirical tests show that the removal of elemental mercury from gases by sulphatization is very efficient. Further, it is stated how the technical process was built on this idea. The zinc sulphide concentrates contain small quantities of selenium, chlorine and fluorine. The role of selenium in the process is described. Similarly, the behaviour of chlorine and fluorine in the roasting, sulphatizing and scrubbing units has been discussed. Finally, the recovery of purified mercury and selenium from the precipitates is described.

Jan 1, 1973

By Phillip J. Maddex, Ole Skaarup

The quite diverse backgrounds of the authors and their mutual interest in reducing transportation costs has produced some interesting innovations. A few words about their background will tell the reason for this joint paper. . . One is a shipping executive with a background of shipowning, ship management, ship and cargo brokerage and chartering, and most facets of the steamship industry, both American and International. The other is a chemical engineer, thoroughly brought up in the American chemical and mineral industries, with several top managerial positions behind him. They began cooperating when U.S. Borax was contemplating a change in its export shipping program and studying the freight cost for shipping borax from The mines in the Californian desert to Europe, and eastern U. S. markets. In the 20 Mule Team days, borax was exported in 50 pound bags. In 1960 it was still shipped in 50 pound hags. Three main products were shipped: two were anhydrous, and all three were sensitive to impurities. The products were bagged at the plant in the Mohave Desert, and shipped about 150 miles by rail to the port in Los Angeles. From Los Angeles, shipment was made by Conference steamship lines at Conference rates. Anyone who has shipped bagged material to Europe by steamer knows that the tab is anywhere from $20 to $30 or more per ton.

Jan 1, 1970

By George Rice

WHEN miners in the interior coal fields of the United States began the practice of blasting the coal without undercutting, or what is known as "shooting off the solid," many explosions resulted, some of them of great extent and 'violence, and attended with large loss of life. One of the means adopted for preventing this large loss of life, though not preventive of explosions, was to employ shot firers to discharge the shots when all the other employees had gone out of the mine at the end of the day's shift. This system still prevails in most of the Central and Southwestern mines. Following the disaster at Winter Quarters mine, Utah, May 1, 1900, in which 200 lives were lost, a system of firing shots electrically from outside and when the men were out of the mine was adopted at the mines of the Utah Fuel Co.1 This system has also been used in France in certain mines that are subject to instantaneous outbursts of carbonic acid gas. These outbursts generally occurred at shot-firing time, on account of the blasts releasing the gas held in crevices under high pressure. The system was also adopted at a number of other mines in Utah, at the Cokedale mine, Colorado, at the Dawson mines, New Mexico, and in some mines of the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. in the Birmingham Ala. district; and more recently in certain mines in Iowa and Kansas. At first there was considerable trouble from misfires, and in a few instances from premature firing, while men were in the mine, through the shot-firing lines becoming crossed with power lines. Fortunately, however, no loss of life resulted from such premature firing within the knowledge of the writers, and latterly this danger has been reduced to a minimum by certain measures of precaution. The proportion of misfires, or failures of individual shots to fire, has also been reduced to a very small

Jan 10, 1914

By James Aston

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

Jan 1, 1935

By J. J. Cosgrove, J. E. Warren

A general model which approximates the effect of cross- flow has been developed to give a practical method for predicting the waterflood behavior of a stratified reservoir. The model is based on a modification of Dietz's theory and allows for variations in both the permeability and hydrocarbon pore volume. In the particular cases considered, it is assumed that the permeability can be characterized by a log-normal distribution and the hydrocarbon pore volume by a normal distribution. A simple graphical method which enables the practicing engineer to predict the behavior of a stratified system is presented The results obtained by the proposed method are compared with those obtained by the Dykstra-Parsons method. As a result of this study the following conclusions have been drawn: (1) The effect of cross-flow in a stratified system can be appreciable, particularly at very favorable or very unfavorable mobility ratios; (2) Under normal conditions, the effect of variations in the hydrocarbon pore volume can be neglected; and (3) The failure to use all of the available permeability data can lead to large errors in the prediction of the behavior of a stratified reservoir. INTRODUCTION Various methodshavebeenproposedto characterize and to predict the waterflood behavior of a stratified reservoir. Most of the methods assume that the reservoir is composed of discrete homogeneous continuous layers. With this model, the degree of stratification can be measured by several parameters based on core-analysis data. Among these are the Lorenz coefficient1 and the variation of a log-normal permeability distribution? The behavior of stratified systems is usually predicted by the Stiles, Dykstra-Parsons method or some modification of these. In both of these methods the reservoir is divided into discrete homogeneous layers with no cross-flow between layers. In the Stiles method the mobility ratio is assumed to be equal to unity while in the Dykstra-Parsons method it is allowed to take on any value. Other predictive methods have been proposed; method allows for cross-flow between the beds and a method by Schmalz and Rahme6 correlate.s the recovery directly with the Lorenz coefficient. In this new approach, which is essentially a continuous analog of Hiatt's method, the effects of both mobility ratio and cross-flow between the beds have been included. It is assumed that the permeability can be represented by a log-normal distribution and the hydrocarbon pore volume or porosity by a normal distribution. These types of distributions have been observed by several authors, 1,2,4 and most field data seem to confirm their observations; e.g., if these distributions are assumed and there is a 1:l correspondence between porosity and permeability samples, the commonly encountered linear relationship between porosity and the log of permeability is obtained. Since, in many field cases the permeability and poro sity data are truncated or cut-off at predetermined upper and/or lower values, the effect of discarding part of the data was investigated with the proposed method. A better technique for truncating the data is suggested. THEORY In the derivation of the method to be described in this paper the following assumptions are made: 1. Capillary forces are negligible per se; their effects are only manifest in the relative permeability curves. 2. The fluids are immiscible, incompressible and homogeneous. 3. The reservoir is horizontal and uniformly thick; it is initially liquid saturated i.e., connate water and oil. 4. The reservoir is composed of discrete layers, each having its own permeability, porosity and connate water saturation; each layer is homogeneous,

Jan 1, 1965