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By J. D. Wheeler, H. W. Mathews

AS predicted by Messrs. Fuqua and Thompson, in last year's paper on West Texas1, 1935 saw a marked increase in activity in this area over recent years. Both major and independent operators shared in the increased wildcatting operations, which resulted in the discovery of eight and probably nine new fields in this area. During 1935 there were 700 wells completed as compared with 468 in 1934 and only 236 in 1933. Of these completions 579 were producers with a total 24-hr. potential of over 700,000 bbl. It is estimated that the new fields discovered during 1935 added from 200,000,000 to 400,000,000 bbl. to the known oil reserve in West Texas. In addition to these new fields, many of the older producing areas scored marked extensions during the year. New Fields Goldsmith.—-The Goldsmith field, in west central Ector County, gives promise of being the year's outstanding discovery in this area. The discovery well was completed by the Gulf Production Co. in June at a depth of 4177 ft.; it gaged 275 bbl. of 36° gravity oil in 3 hr. through 85/8-in. casing on its first production test. The field has been extended to the east by wells drilled by Phillips and Pure on their Cowden block. Present indications are that the field may contain 10,000 productive acres, and this, together with the large flush production from only a small penetration into the pay, leads to the belief that Gulf-Goldsmith No. 1 was the outstanding Permian lime discovery of 1935. It is quite probable that production will prove to be continuous to the Landreth-Scarborough No. 1, 33/4 miles to the northwest, which was completed for a small producer late in 1934. Sand Hills (Ordovician).—From the standpoint of creating excitement, the outstanding West Texas test of the year was no doubt Gulf-Waddell No. 1, on the northwest nose of the Sand Hills structure. This test was started late in 1934 as a deep test to the Ordovician. Thc Ordovician was topped above 6000 ft,., considerably higher than expected. Oil shows in the Simpson were passed and the well was drilled down to the

Jan 1, 1936

By G. S. Hume

The total production of crude oil in Canada showed only a small improvement in 1936 over 1935, but developments of great importance took place in Alberta on the west flank of the Turner Valley field in the foothills southwest of Calgary. These have led to renewed activity in drilling such as has not been experienced for many years, and undoubtedly this will result in a very considerable increase in the oil production during 1937.

Jan 1, 1937

By Robert H. Richards

The object of this paper is to enlarge the field of settling velocities treated by me in my former papers, Close Sizing Before Jigging, and Sorting Before Sizing.' There seemed need of work both on coarser and on finer sizes. Messrs. A. Sidney Warren and M. L. Nagel undertook the investigation for the coarser sizes, from 12.85 mm. down to 2.05 mm. diameter. Their work, because of the closer spacing and because of the increased number of observations and consequent stronger averages, called for a revision of the former work. Messrs. G. A. Barnaby and Ralph Hayden undertook this part of the work, from 2.49 mm. down to 0.28 mm., which is near the limit of sifting. Their work covers the ground much more minutely and comprehensively than the former papers. There remained to be covered the portion of the field too fine for investigation with the sieves. This part, covering the range of grains from 0.48 to 0.03 mm., was undertaken by Mr. E. S. Bardwell. For it he used the elutriation method. 11. The First, or Coarsest, Section of the Field. The first desideratum in this investigation was a series of sieves for sizing the sands preparatory to making the tests. It became necessary, therefore, to decide on a sieve-scale for this purpose. A sieve-scale is a series of sieves in which the dimensions of the holes of the successive members form a series increasing by a definite ratio. There are three natural sieve-scales: 1, progressing by doubling the width of the hole for each suc-

Jan 1, 1908

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 Alvin L. Langstaff, Harold D. Raymond

The design of entry systems and mining panels in room-and-pillar oil shale mines seeks to optimize extraction while ensuring both short- and long-term stability of mine openings. Important criteria for optimization include the definition of allowable roof spans and minimum pillar dimensions. Factors considered pertinent to the design of roof spans and pillars are discussed in this paper. They include, but are not limited to, physical properties and grade of the oil shale, depth of burial, presence and frequency of partings and joints and adverse effects of blasting. Also discussed briefly are some of the ventilation and production considerations in mine design.

Jan 1, 1984

By Joseph C. Kieffer

THE Duquesne property of the Callahan Zinc-Lead Co. is about 20 miles east of Nogales, in southern Arizona. One mine is near the mill, but most of the mill feed is hauled in by truck from a number of small mines. The same sulphides are found in all the ores, in general, but the amounts vary considerably. All ores contain silver, copper, lead and zinc minerals but one mine ships ore high in silver and lead and low in copper and zinc; while another mine ships ore high in copper and zinc, and low in silver and lead. The common sulphides are galena, carrying most of the silver; chalcopyrite; sphalerite, carrying iron in solid solution; and pyrite, in a gangue consisting of limestone, quartz and garnet. Mineralization, is fairly coarse. At the present grind of about 66 per cent minus 200 mesh most of the sulphides are liberated. A small amount of chalcopyrite is locked up with the sphalerite and cannot be liberated at an economic grind, and the copper carried into the zinc concentrate with the sphalerite accounts for the comparatively poor recovery of copper in the copper-lead concentrate. PRODUCTION OF TWO CONCENTRATES The milling problem, which was complicated by the extreme variation in the grade of the feed, was first attacked with the idea of producing a silver-copper-lead concentrate and a zinc concentrate, both with satisfactory grades and recoveries. By February 194I, it was felt that these objectives had been attained, when the grades of the various products and the recoveries were as shown in Table I. [ ] A rough outline of the flowsheet and reagents used is as follows: Minus ¾ -in. feed to a 7-ft. by 36-in. Hardinge ball mill working in closed circuit with a 36-in. Wemco classifier. The classifier overflow passes to the second cell of an 8-cell bank of No. I8 Special Denver Sub-A flotation machines (volume, 22.5 cu. ft. per cell). A rougher concentrate is removed from the second to the fifth cells inclusive, and returned to the first cell, which is the cleaner. A scavenger concentrate is removed from the sixth, seventh, and eighth cells, and returned to the third cell. Consump-

Jan 1, 1942

By D. S. Greig

There was a decline in the Italian oil production in 1933 and also in the footage drilled. A total of about 194,500 bbl. of crude oil was produced in the Emilia district of northern Italy from the same fields in production as in 1932. New drilling to the extent of 80,700 ft. failed to find new production to compensate for the decline in old wells, and no new fields were discovered in spite of an active exploration campaign by the government-owned company A.G.I.P., which has just completed the first year of a five-year exploration program. This company drilled a total of about 33,000 ft. The majority of its tests were drilled in the Po Valley upon locations selected by geophysical methods. This company is changing over to the rotary system for all future wells. It produced about 16,600 bbl. of oil from wells near Salsomaggiore and in the Po Valley. The Petroli d'Italia, which operates the old fields of Montechino, Valleja and Gratera south of Piacenza, has been doing normal development drilling in the endeavor to extend its present fields. Also it was drilling two exploration wells in the Torino district. It drilled a total of about 13,930 ft. and produced approximately 12,645 bbl. of very high-grade oil (specific gravity about 0.765). The Societa Petrolifera Italiana was occupied chiefly in exploratory drilling in the endeavor to extend its producing fields at Salsomaggiore and at Vallezza, south of Parma. It was also drilling one exploration well at Rile dell7Olio near Voghera on the line Milan-Genoa. It drilled a total of 33,849 ft. and obtained a production from its two fields of 165,273 bbl. It also produced 123,220 gal. of casinghead gasoline from Vallezza field absorption plant.

Jan 1, 1934

By Herbert M. Wilson

We of the employer class represent labor in the social organization and in industry just as truly as do those who labor only with their hands, and, because our labor is chiefly with our brains, the duty is all the more imposed upon us to use those gifts in which we excel in helping steer a clear course through the turbulent waters in which we are now enmeshed. Only their selfish engrossment in the daily tasks they were employed to perform could possibly have permitted the great majority of the intelligent and industrious German people to become terrorized by a handful of the idle, the vicious, and the criminal, whom the elections to the National Assembly showed to be in as pitiful a minority as they are in Russia, in this, and in other countries. It is the leisure unemployment of the I.W.W.'s, the Bolsheviki, and the Sparticans that has enabled them to devote their whole time to a concerted and aggressive struggle against the great majority of those of the world's workers who are unorganized, and who are therefore even in opposition one to the other. In union there is strength, and this was never better illustrated than by these conditions. The great fallacy of our previous attitude toward social and industrial problems has been the belief that labor, by which we commonly mean organized or physical labor, is something antagonistic to and having a different object in life from that great body of unorganized laborers who work with their brains. Our difficulty has been our lack of will or opportunity to think. The hurry of our daily struggle to earn our livelihood under the nerve-racking pressure of modern civilization has left us no opportunity for quiet thought and study. The physical laborer, and above all the laborer in the mines, on the other hand, has all his hours of toil in which to think over, in all their varied aspects, those problems that concern his immediate, personal well-being. As a result he has arrived at perhaps a more true appreciation of the facts of life in their relation to social and industrial conditions than we. Have we not too readily adopted the view that, as the managers of industry under the direction of capital, it has been our duty to think and act in opposition to labor, rather than to realize that we also are laborers, have like aspirations, and should participate in a free and aggressive solution of these problems rather than leave their solution

Jan 1, 1919

By W. H. Young, P. D. Torrey

The Eastern fields comprise a distinct geological and geographical unit, located in the northern part of the Appalachian geosynclinal prov-ince. In this area are the fields of New York, producing from rocks of Devonian, Silurian and Ordovician age; the fields of western Pennsylvania, where oil and gas occur chiefly in rocks of Mississippian and Devonian age; the fields of eastern Ohio, where oil and gas are obtained from rocks of Pennsylvanian, Mississippian and Silurian age; and the fields of West Virginia, where oil and gas are produced from rocks of Pennsylvanian, Mississippian and Devonian age. Many of these fields are of great antiquity in comparison to the age of the producing areas in a greater part of this country, and consequently in most instances it is impossible to obtain accurate historical statistics. In addition, the records of many of the more recently discovered fields are either unobtainable or are not sufficiently reliable to justify their incorporation in a review of this character. Rather than overemphasize certain fields and areas, where complete records are available, when there are many other fields of equal importance for which statistical data are not available, the authors have made a tabulation of development that does not take into consideration past operations and production. The records utilized in preparing this paper were derived largely from the scout reports of several of the larger companies, which generously made them available to the authors. These were independently tabulated by counties and townships, in order to eliminate as far as possible duplications and, excepting the Clinton fields of Ohio, where many of the smaller wells have not been individually reported, they represent the most accurate information available. Market conditions in both the oil and gas industry were far from favorable during 1932 and in consequence there was a total decline in drilling in the Eastern States, which is 22 per cent less than the number of completions in the preceding year. This decline was not constant over the entire area, as is shown in Table 1. The oil fields of both New York and western Pennsylvania were the scene of renewed drilling activity, which was largely restricted to the water-flooding operations in the Bradford and Allegany fields. Practically no new operations were started, but a certain number of new wells

Jan 1, 1933

By Nicholas J. Grant, Noboru Komatsu

Electron-micrographic studies and hardness tests were made of an internally oxidized dispersion-strengthened Cu-12 vol pct SiO2 alloy follozuing longtime annealing at elevated temperatures. The rate of coarsening of SiO2 particles and the relationship between hardness and interpavticle spacing were Dispersion -strengthened alloys exhibit a remarkable stability of structure and properties at elevated temperatures compared with conventional alloys; nevertheless, when they are exposed to high measured. The rate of coarsening of SiO2 particles is controlled by the decomposition of SiO, rather than by the diffusion rates of silicon or oxygen through the copper matrix. The mechanism of coarsening was also studied by using a diffusion-couple technique. temperatures, weakening takes place as a result of coarsening of the dispersed phase. The theoretical treatment of the coarsening of dispersed phases has been treated by Greenwood,1 wagner,, and others3 by considering the interfacial energy of dispersions and the diffusion of solute atoms. Recently, experimental work on the coarsening of relatively insoluble, finely dispersed cobalt particles in copper was reported by Livingston,4 and on aluminum oxide in nickel by Dromsky, Lenel, and Ansell;5 according to these investigations, the rate

Jan 1, 1964

By H. B. Goodrich

In considering historically oil development in Oklahoma, it must be recognized that basic evolutionary factors interlock and have an effect in common throughout the whole oil industry, regardless of locality or minor problems. Oklahoma, as the third in rank of oil-producing states (Texas being first and California second in production for 1929) has, like the rest, advanced to at least a partial recognition of the words, "Conservation," "Unitization," "Curtailment," "Prora-tion," and especially "Cooperation." Whether through altruism (of which there have been examples) or by exercise of good business common sense, Oklahoma operators realize that the oil business can run itself by cooperative action for the good of all. In this long-continued period of overproduction, Oklahoma has brought the advancing output down to limit of market requirements at least temporarily. Sources of Statistical Data For this paper, figures published by four recognized authorities were consulted. Between themselves these vary only a negligible per cent, in their totals. To be consistent, and on account of earlier availability the estimates published by the Oil and Gas Journal are mainly used herein, supplemented from other public and private sources. General Oil ProdCction in Oklahoma In 1927 Oklahoma's peak of all years was 276,022,024 barrels. In 1928 Oklahoma's total production was 247,500,851 barrels. In 1929 Oklahoma's total production was 252,229,474 barrels. The efforts of proration and curtailment programs on flush and semi-flush districts such as Greater Seminole, Oklahoma City, Logan County and others, with the natural decline of older pools, kept 1929 below 1927, but still the total was greater than in 1928. The total United States production for 1929 is herein taken as estiiated at 1,004,266,723 bbl.† Oklahoma produced 25.1 per cent. Of

Jan 1, 1930

By M. E. Lombardi

THE Coalinga oil field is located on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, California. The structure is in general a monocline, the edges of the oil horizon resting on the foot hills and dipping gently toward the east. One prominent anticline occurs plunging southeast. The earlier drilling was done in the foot hills comparatively near the outcrop and the wells were shallow. The sands were followed eastward and, in the case of the anticline, along the plunge, the wells becoming deeper and deeper until the depth of 4,000 ft. was reached and passed. There is nothing to show that the oil will not be found in quantity at still greater depth. In fact, some of the best producers have tapped the sand at close to 4,000 ft. The recovery of oil still farther to the east, and therefore at greater depth, seems to be mainly a question of drilling. In this territory the formations drilled through are chiefly sands and shales; they will not "stand up" in an open drilling hole; the casing has to be carried close to the bit, and it is always difficult to keep the casing free for any considerable distance. Ability to carry casing of comparatively large diameter without conductor pipes for distances of 2,000 or 3,000 ft. or over is desirable in such territory chiefly for two reasons. It makes it possible to enter the oil sand with a pipe of ample diameter; it eliminates one or more expensive strings of casing which act only as conductors for the water string, and furthermore, in territory where waters are encountered which corrode steel rapidly, it makes possible the construction of a rust- and alkali-resisting water string. It is always desirable to shut off top waters, which may lie within 100 ft. or less of the oil sand, with 10-in. pipe. Where the depth is so great that a practical weight of 10-in. pipe will not withstand the probable collapsing pressures, 8 ¼ in. at least is desirable. About the limit of rotary drilling to date in California seems to be the setting of the 10-in. string at 3,200 ft., although the rapid advance in rotary work during the past year seems to indicate that this depth may soon be increased. It is my purpose now, however, to treat only of cable-tool drilling.

Jan 2, 1915

By J. A. Bownocker

THE production of oil in Ohio, in 1924, was characterized by no marked or surprising change. Low prices and the absence of promising territory made the year quiet. As is well. known, Ohio has reached a state of "settled production," and the most that can be expected for the ensuing few years is to maintain the output at approximately the present figure 1921 7,335,000 1922 6,781,000 1923 7,085,000 Geographically, the Ohio fields may be divided into three areas, each of which gets its main supply of oil from a different stratigraphic horizon.

Jan 3, 1925

By Thomas M. Drown

IN a communication to this Institute at the Baltimore meeting, February, 1879,* on the "Determination of Silicon in Pig Iron and Steel," the method recommended was the treatment of the metal with nitric acid until action had ceased, and then evaporating with sulphuric acid until the nitric acid was nearly or quite driven off After filtration of the siliceous and carbonaceous residue, and washing with hot water and hydrochloric acid, a silica was obtained, on ignition, which was quite pure. Since this paper was read before the Institute, we have had large experience with the method, and * Transactions, vol. vii, p. 346.

Jan 1, 1880

By F. C. Miller

THE metallurgical fuel of Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico has been a very tardy member in the caravan of western industrial progress. The history of western coke has naturally been closely related to the development of the metallurgy of iron and steel and the precious metals, in the State of Colorado. It was at Leadville, with a population of 300 in 1877, that the Sentinel was published by Richard S. Allen. The Sentinel gave very full accounts of the various mineral discoveries at the new town of Leadville, which found their, way to the more widely circulated journals of the East, and attracted the attention of many people. At the close of 1878, a census showed a total of 5040 persons. The first smelter was established in 1877, at Malta, two miles from Leadville, by A. R. Meyer, but was not successful. It was succeeded by the Harrison Reduction Works, in 1878. The La Plata began with one furnace in June, 1878, and in 1879 had four furnaces in active operation. These furnaces used charcoal for fuel, and, because of hot tops, suffered a tremendous loss in lead and silver. This difficulty was overcome by the erection of 50 single-bank 10-ft. beehive ovens at Crested Butte, Colo., in 1880. The slack coal sent to these ovens was very pure, and yielded a coke carrying as little as 4.5 per cent. ash. Among the pioneers in the Leadville district were Grant, Eddy, James, Billings, Eiler, and Dickson. To these men the West owes the present expansion of its mining industry, and the erection of metallurgical processes for the treatment of precious metals.

Jan 8, 1918

By W. B. Devereux

I have observed three deposits of iron ore in Pitkin County, which present unusnal characteristics, and wliich seem to throw some light upon the genesis of iron ores under certain conditions. They occur in the precipitons mountain ranges, forming spurs on the Pacific slope of the main continental backbone. The first is a body of limonite, lying upon the side of a high mountain, which forms part of the base of Hayden's Peak. This limonite forms a sheet of considerable area, and is thin at the edges, and about 3 feet in thickness in the central portions. It is conformable with the slope of the mountain side, and rests upou the eroded rocks, but is not comformable to them. The ore is laminated and shaly in texture, and has the physical characteristics of the hard limonites, such as are found in the Marquette District, Lake Superior. It is covered with loose earth and rocks, from 1 to 2 feet in thickness. Much of the ore is filled with impressions of' spruce leaves, such as are found in the forests now covering the slope of the mountain. In the rocks forming the mountain, iron pyrites occurs in bodies, and this limonite probably owes its origin to such a body not far distant. Not far up the mountain large masses of conglomerate are now forming, the cementing material being a similar hydrated oxide of iron. The iron is

Jan 1, 1884

By I. Plaskin

Interaction of sulfide minerals and native metals I with reagents in flotation is largely determined by particle-surface changes resulting from action of the medium and dissolved gases. A number of early studies were devoted to the selective action of various gases on minerals.' Mc-Lachlan' paid attention to oxygen as the most active gas affecting flotation properties of sulfide minerals. Opposing views were expressed concerning the influence of sulfide oxidation on xanthate flotation: Taggart3 recognized the positive influence of oxygen, and I. W. Wark4 rejected it. Shvedovh ffered the hypothesis of partial oxidation. As to the influence of such gases as hydrogen" and carbon dioxide on mineral floatability, opinions also differed. Effect of Oxygen on Sulfide Mineral Flotation: Research on the influence of oxygen and other gases on the floatability of sulfide minerals and native metals has been carried out at the Institute of Mining of the USSR Academy of Sciences in

Jan 1, 1960

By Erwin Zodrow

An elaborate model for the magnetite distribution and genesis in the Smallwood mine, Labrador, based on factor analysis with orthogonal and oblique rotation of the factors, was proposed in an earlier paper. However, it is implicit in that model that variances of one variable shared with all others (communality) are estimated. To avoid the problem of communality estimation in the present investigation, a different type of factor analysis is used which (1) emphasizes the shared variances, and (2) attempts to eliminate, as much as possible, errors associated with the estimation of communality and sampling (unique variance). The samples for the present analysis are not the commonly employed oxide percentage variables, but counts of mineral species in specified areas of thin sections from drill core in the Smallwood mine: quartz, magnetite, calcite, and specular-hematite minerals. The counting procedure for mineral species is similar to modal analysis differing from it principally in the aspect of texture recognition. The constant area in which mineral species are counted is dependent primarily on

Jan 1, 1975

By D. B. McDyre

THE object of this study was to compare variations in slag volumes with tap changes while maintaining all other factors constant. This meant: 1. Same type of heat (Spec. SAE 1030). 2. Same charging material (3500 lb foundry, 4000 lb bought scrap). 3. Same amount of sand by weight to fix slag line. 4. Same method of melting with the exception of tap changes. 5. Same method of weighing slag after each test. The equipment of the Dodge Steel Co. consists of a 132-ton Heroult furnace lined with silica brick, using three 8-in. electrodes and a 2000-kva transformer, with four tap changes. In the melting practice we use a Fischer Carbanalyzer and a Herty viscosimeter and try to standardize all heats by making necessary carbon and slag adjustment before boil to keep all heats as uniform as possible.

Jan 1, 1947

By William G. Krantz

The increased service demands on some of the products of the National Mallcable Castings Co. prompted it about eight years ago to investigate the electric furnace, both in America and in Europe. The process had already been sufficiently developed in Europe to lead us to believe that the electric furnace would most nearly meet our requirements. After further investigation and consultation with the highest authorities on the subject, we decided upon the Heroult type as the simplest and most practicable. In 1910, we built a furnace of this type, of 300 Ib. capacity, for experimental purposes, and although it was crudely constructed the quality of the material we were able to make justified the installation of a 6-ton Heroult furnace in 1912. This furnace has three electrodes, 17 in. in diameter, uses three-phase, 60-cycle current, and is equipped with Thury regulators, which give US good regulation and a uniform load on the line even when cold melting. The power factor of the furnace is 04 per cent. Since July, 1912, the furnace has been in continuous operation, producing up to the present time over 20,000 tons of both carbon and alloy steels of varying analyses and of exceptional quality. Both cold-and hot-metal charges have been used, with a power consumption of about 150 kw-hr. per ton in the case of hot-metal charges and from 500 to 600 kw-hr. per ton in the case of cold charges. The electric energy consumed varies according to the final analysis of the steel and the amount of refining required. Too much cannot be said about the refining possibilities of the electric furnace, for no other method of steel manufacture can compete with the electric in this respect. In proper operation lies the whole secret of success. That steel has been made electrically means nothing, for when the furnace is operated under oxidizing conditions the quality is no better than that of open-hearth material; but when properly made, electric steel is as good as

Jan 1, 1916