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By W. N. Logan

A survey of geological conditions, production and prices in Indiana oil fields. Shows no production and indefinite prospects from the sub-Trenton formation; good production and much untested territory in Trenton formation; and fair production from the Pennsylvanian with fair prospects for the future in both the Pennsylvanian and Mississip-pian formations. THE petroleum industry of Indiana made somewhat notable progress during the year 1923, considering the number of handicaps it encountered. The price of labor and materials continued to have an upward slant while the price of crude oil took a decidedly downward course. In spite of these adverse conditions, the quantity production will closely approximate that of 1922, when it passed the million-barrel mark. The progress of the industry in Indiana should be considered fairly satisfactory as long as the present production is maintained. In other words, if the loss of production from the waning old wells can be offset by the production from the new for a period of 10 or 15 years longer, the industry may have cause for congratulation.

Jan 3, 1924

By T. M. Olson, B. G. Lewis

The adsorption of selenite on bentonite, kaolinite, and an iron--coated illite was studied to determine the importance of several soil variables on selenite removal from uranium mill tailings pond seepage. Adsorption capacities of the clays of selenite varied by orders of magnitude and decreased in the following order: illite > kaolinite > bentonite. Maximum adsorption of selenite on the clays was observed between pH 2.5 and the clay's zero-point-of-charge. Substantially less selenite was adsorbed on these clays in actual mill tailings solutions than in model systems. Virtually all selenite was removed from the tailings at pH 7. The principal removal mechanism at this pH is suggested to be the adsorption of selenite on freshly precipitated metal hydroxides. It is concluded that selenite can be removed from tailings seepage in soil or in clay liners in the presence of kaolinitic clays and iron oxides. Selenite would also tend to be removed from tailings seepage in calcareous strata.

Jan 1, 1984

By Theodore H. Eyde

The porphyry-copper province of southwestern United States and northern Mexico constitutes the largest copper-producing region in the world. More than 20 deposits discovered since World War II are being exploited or in the process of exploration and development. Because of the remarkable success in discovering new deposits, exploration activity continues at a very high rate and deeper targets are explored each year. Exploration programs for deeply buried porphyry-copper deposits require a reevaluation of the conventional exploration techniques. Though surface induced-polarization techniques have about reached their practical detection limit, aeromagnetics will play an increasing role in the exploration activity as will downhole logging tools. In addition to a valid geological concept, any successful exploration program for porphyry-copper deposits in the southwest must have two other essential ingredients: money and guts. Unfortunately many exploration programs in the southwest are underfunded and doomed to failure. Future exploration will demand more joint venturing in which larger and more expensive exploration programs can be successfully funded by groups of companies or syndicates.

Jan 1, 1975

By Howard Eavenson

SOME time ago, in a conference considering the mechanizing of a group of mines, I was asked if I knew of any data showing the relative frequency of accidents due to the use of 275 or 550-volt current inside mines and having a recollection of seeing some in print, the answer was made that I would find what was available. Subsequent search failed to find any pub-lished records of any kind giving such figures and none of the compensation agencies of whom inquiry was made were able to supply any, excepting the Pennsyl-vania Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau, which had some data covering a few months for some companies in that State. The inquiry was confined to the three largest producing States, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Illinois. The inspection departments of neither of the first two had any such records, and in Illinois, only 275 volts has been allowed inside the mines for many years. A laborious inquiry has resulted in the data, shown in Table 1, which on this account was confined to the years 1921 and 1925, the latter being the latest figures available. In each State, to find the mines using 275 and 550-volt current respectively, it was necessary to list the mines from the Coal Catalog, and then to complete the list by inquiries from the companies directly, from Operators' Associations and from Inspection Depart-ments. As the mines not electrified, and those using

Jan 5, 1928

By G. M. Ritcey

The concentration of metals in the solution, the .value of the metal being recovered, together with the flow through- put, may singly or in combination conbribute to the decision on the possible use of solvent extraction. Also, as noted earlier, the upstream and downstream aspects of the overall process have to be considered. The economic considerations may be divided into: 1. Capital investments 2. Operating costs Capital Cost The capital costs can be influenced by the following: 1. number of stages; 2. kinetics; 3. coalescence; 4. entrainment; 5. flow rates and ratios; 6. building requirements; 7. ancillary equipment; 8. environment constraints or requirements; 9. engineering design.

Jan 1, 1978

By Benjamin N. Webber

During World War II the Pocos de Caldas bauxite deposits of Minas Gerais in Brazil yielded some 60,000 tons. Since then they have maintained a small but almost continuous production. Known for many years, the deposits have been reconnoitered by a number of geologists,1-4 but no dimensional study has been possible because there have not been enough exposures to show clearly the depth, bedrock, and habit of occurrence. The deposits are somewhat unorthodox in their occurrence mainly on steep slopes of mountainous terrain. Although the parent rocks are a sequence of alkalic intrusions that bauxitize readily under the proper conditions, bauxitization has not been the dominant weathering process in the area. It is limited to certain localities where important volumes of bauxite have formed by laterization of several rock types, each yielding a distinctive type of bauxite. Bauxitization may be observed in several stages and in both direct and indirect cycles of formation. The deposits are unique in being of demonstrably recent age, so that the conditions under which the bauxite formed are essentially those of the present time. The bauxitization sequence is postulated in Fig. 1.

Jan 8, 1959

By I. Ionel Gardescu

During the latter part of 1930 an agreement was reached among operators in Rumania to curtail the production of oil to about 100,000 bbl. per day. This agreement lasted only a few months and 1931 shows a new peak in production with an average yield of 136,900 bbl. per day as against an average of 116,600 bbl. per day for 1930. The total production for 1931 was 49,210,000 bbl.; an increase of 18.4 per cent over the previous year's production. It is interesting to compare the percentage production of the major companies to the potential production figures determined by the Government in September, 1930 (Table l), on the basis of which the proposed curtailment was to have been made. The three companies listed first in this table show an increase in average production for 1931 over their estimated potential production rating. This increase might be attributed at least in part to the recent development of the Boldesti field, which is controlled by these companies and of which the production at present is nearly 10 per cent of the total oil output for Rumania. Among the other fields, Moreni still holds first place with an output of 33.6 per cent, followed by Gura-Ocnitzei with 29.3 per cent. In both these fields the main source of oil is from the deeper Meotic sands. Other

Jan 1, 1932

By C. V. Millikan

TEMPERATURE measurement in wells is an old practice and geothermal gradients have been of interest to geologists for many years.1,2 Their application to the operation of oil wells is a more recent practice. It has long been recognized that temperature anomalies occur in drilling and producing wells but thermometers that could obtain a satisfactory record of the anomalies were not available.3 The normal geothermal gradient is con-sidered as being about one degree Fahren-heit for each 60 ft. of depth.4 This "nor-mal" gradient varies in different areas, but whatever it may be in an area there is little variation from the surface to as deep as the drill penetrates. The normal gradient is appreciably changed by gas expanding from the reservoir into the borehole or by the movement of fluid through a borehole while drilling, producing, or circulating. It is the resulting anomalies and abnormal gradients from which conditions in wells can be interpreted. Some of the applications of such interpretations are locating the position of oil or gas sands, permeable strata in a reservoir zone, gas-oil contact, source of water, casing leaks, and the top of cement behind casing.

Jan 1, 1940

By Klaus Schonert

The elements of a mill matrix and the classifier matrix de- scribing the grinding process depend on operating conditions, especially on the feed rate. Relationships between the matrix elements and the feed rate have a great influence on the stability of a closed circuit and its optimum point. These problems have been studied by means of computer simulation and different kinds of classifier characteristics have been considered. A circuit with a cross stream classifier has only a limited range where stable operation condition can be attained. Beyond the stable limit, the recirculation ratio increases rapidly and there is no correlation between feed rate of the circuit and feed rate of the mill. In comparison, a spiral stream classifier gives a wide range of stable operation. The recirculation ratio can be greater than in the case of the cross stream classifier if the feed rate is small. The results of the simulation provide a better understanding of the real behavior of closed circuit grinding.

Jan 1, 1969

By S. A. Ronlov

The importance of recognizing vibration problems during the plant design stage is emphasized in this paper. Often an experienced designer can recommend what type of support to use and how to tune the structure. However, obtaining sufficient information is a serious problem dealing with vibration. Vibration is a well known phenomena which, simply and generally, can be defined as a periodic motion. It is experienced in nature as caused by eerth- quake, wind, or ocean waves, and must be dealt with in the design of structure or ships. It must be realized that wherever there are moving or rotating elements, it is possible that unbalanced forces may induce vibration in the elements themselves, in adjacent parts, or in the supporting structure. Under certain circumstances, vibration will destroy machines or structures quickly and totally. The most widely known case is the total collapse of the Tacoma bridge when subjected to a wind of only 42 mph. Failures due to vibration of machines and/or their supports may occur in industrial plants where heavy equipment employed in the process must be supported and several machines are combined in close proximity. In the Metallurgical and Chemical Div. of The

Jan 1, 1962

By Dave H. Barnett, Brij M. Moudgil

The flotation technique as employed by Florida phosphate producing companies for the beneficiation of fine phosphate particles has been standardized over the years. Lower recoveries of coarse phosphate rock by froth flotation technique, however, led to the development of new methods based on skin flotation of phosphate agglomerates. Recent developments of floating coarse rock in large flotation machines have not yet convinced the rock producers of their higher separation efficiency. It is interesting to note that the selection of a particular machine is still based on equipment preference by an individual company as well as proven performance of a particular machine for upgrading a specific material. Various techniques which have been developed to beneficiate the coarse phosphate rock have been discussed. Performance of the individual techniques is presented.

Jan 1, 1980

President MRS. THOMAS T. READ 9 Windmill Lane Scarsdale, N. T. First Vice-President MRS. FELIX E. WORMSER Acorn Lane Larchmout, N. T. Second Vice President MRS. W. SPROTT BOYD The Carlyle, Madison Ave. and 76th Street New York, N. Y. Third Vice-President MRS. LOREN W. KEMP El Chico, Plainfield Avenue Metuchen, N. J.

Jan 1, 1944

By R. T. Murrill

BLOCK-SIGNAL and dispatching systems have been in use on surface railways for years, but only recently have they been applied to underground mining conditions. Formerly, all ore was moved underground by hand tramming; the surface openings were numerous and fairly close to the ore being mined. As the tramming distances increased, animals were brought into service. Then came the locomotive, and since its introduction, haulage lines have gradually been reduced to fewer levels and to fewer surface openings until more than 20,000 tons are being handled daily on one level in some of the larger mines. Under the, se conditions many trains must use the same-tracks, and signal systems have become necessary. In some cases it has been found more advantageous to use train dispatchers than to install signal devices. The dispatcher may be simply a flagman at a busy point or he may have mechanical signals to operate at more distant points. At the inspiration mine, Inspira-tion, Ariz., the station is equipped with a switch-con-trol board, whereby the dispatcher throws electrically all track switches in a certain block, which gives him complete control over all trains passing through that block. In a few cases, dispatcher stations are established in connection with a signal system.

Jan 2, 1922

By W. R. Hibbard Jr., T. Michalak

THAT the amount of deformation and annealing time influences the recrystallization temperature of cold-rolled copper has been well established. Evidence that the recrystallization temperature can be affected by the deformation texture has been reported by Brick and Williamson,% ho found that copper straight-cold-rolled to 99 pct reduction to produce one deformation texture and copper cross-cold-rolled to 99 pct reduction to produce a second and different deformation texture correspondingly recrystallized at different temperatures to different textures. The purpose of the present work was to study more thoroughly the effect of the deformation texture on the recrystallization of cold-rolled copper. Experimental Procedure The copper used in this investigation was commercial OFHC copper (nominally 99.985 pct Cu) in the form of 0.500-in. plate. Qualitative spectro-graphic analysis showed only a slight trace of iron and a trace of silver. No analysis was performed to determine the exact content of the iron and silver,

Jan 1, 1958

By J. M. Duke, A. J. Naldrett

Significant resources grading less than about 1% nickel occur in magmatic sulfide deposits of two types. In the Mt. Keith type, extensive zones of disseminated nickel sulfides occur in the central portions of certain synvolcanic dunite-peridotite sills of komatiitic affinity in Archean greenstone terranes. In the Duluth type, disseminated copper-nickel sulfides occur near the basal margins of intrusions of flood basaltic affinity associated with intracontinental rifring. In both types, the parent magmas became saturated with sulfide following the onset of fractional crystallization and the separation of the immiscible sulfide melt was accompanied by the precipitation of a relatively large proportion of silicates. The abundant silicate crystals impeded the coalescense and accumulation of the sulfide droplets with the resulting formation of large but low grade deposits.

Jan 1, 1983

JUST as I have taught you to refine silver in a small way and to make assays, so now I wish to teach you how to make cupeling hearths in place of these little cupels when you have silver in large quantities. This is done in four ways, as I have seen, but all are alike in the end and differ very little one from the other. There are some who make use of a furnace with a vault built with bricks above the cupeling hearth. There are some others who use in place of this an iron hood like a large cover. There are some others who use only heavy dry sticks of oak or some other thick wood. Others have certain long plates of terra cotta that cover the whole hearth in three or four pieces; the two of these that adjoin have [56] a hole in the middle that leads exactly into the middle of the cupeling hearth, and through this they put in the material and the lead, according to the practice I shall describe.

Jan 1, 1942

By Maxwell Adams

CONSIDERABLE interest has recently been developed in sage-brush oil because of its possible utilization as a flotation agent in the mining industry. A list of some of its physical properties, together with the method used in its extraction, may prove of interest at this time. Something over a year ago, a study of the essential oils in desert plants was begun in the Chemical Laboratory of the University of Nevada. None of the oils so far studied possess properties of special interest to engineers, except the oil of sage, Artemesia tridentate, which has exceptional power as a flotation agent. This plant, known as common sage brush, also called black sage, is widely distributed over the semi-arid West, being found quite generally on most of the dry plains and mountains west of Missouri. The method of extracting the oil followed in these experiments is very simple. The leaves, twigs and small branches are placed in an airtight drum, having a capacity of about 27 cu. ft. Steam is admitted through a number of small openings at the bottom of the retort, and the pressure maintained at 20 to 25 lb. per sq. in. for 3 hr. The escape of the steam from the retort is regulated by allowing it to pass through a stop-cock into a condenser. The water in the receiver is drawn off from time to time and the oil, which is insoluble and floats upon the water, is thus collected. At the end of 2 hr. most of the oil has been driven out, though traces continue to come over for a much longer time. By raising the pressure, the time required could probably be shortened and the yield increased, but the lack of laboratory equipment has prevented the carrying out of this experiment.

Jan 9, 1916

M. G. CORSON.'-I am not going to discuss any of the papers presented but merely the question of season cracking of brass in general. Alpha brass has been known for nearly 500 yr. and from the very beginning a number of articles were made from sheets of this alloy by the process of spinning. Metal turning lathes were not yet known but wood turning lathes already existed and the wood turners used to make the mandrils and do the brass spinning themselves. Cases of season cracking were known even then. In 1915 I was connected with a small company doing a certain amount of brass spinning. Before the war its products never gave cause for complaint but their war-time products were cracking too frequently. The reason was, that due to the exigencies of war an excessive speed-up was attempted and the material simply could not take it. Today corrosion cracking of brass is most important in the case of cartridges for small arms ammunition and shell cases for large guns. The cracking takes place in storage and too frequently it is explained by the hypothetical presence of vapors of ammonia. However, I had the experience of purchasing some 20,000 rounds for the old Vetterli rifle from the Swiss government in 1905. The rifle and the cartridges were obsolete for many years and those which I bought were stored for at least 10 yr. None of them was found to be cracked or to crack in use. And the reason again was in the amount of work used in manufacturing the cartridges between anneals. The machinery today is more powerful and the amount of

Jan 1, 1945

By Stanley J. LeFond, Neal Davis

Drilling an oil well or most other types of drilling or coring is no longer a simple and uncomplicated operation. Drilling today at depths which exceed 30,000 ft is hazardous and requires personnel with long and varied experience in drilling. It also requires extensive experience and knowledge in the use of materials which are added to the drilling fluid or "mud," more often than not materials utilizing an industrial mineral. The drilling fluid can vary from a simple mixture of water and "mud" to a very sophisticated, scientifically compounded drilling fluid. Industrial Minerals Used in Drilling Fluids Industrial minerals which are commonly used in oilwell drilling and completion are listed on [Table 1]. The most important minerals, determined by sales, are bentonite and barite. The other minerals listed are either used to achieve a specific purpose or are used regularly but in limited quantities. The main suppliers of drilling fluids internationally are Magcobar Div., Dresser Industries, Inc.; Baroid Div., National Lead Co.; IMC Drilling Mud Co., (a subsidiary of International Minerals and Chemicals Corp. and Halliburton Co.) ; and Milchem, a division of Baker Industries. Most of the industrial minerals are found in North America, with barite mines and processing plants located in Nevada, Arkansas, Missouri, and Arizona, and bentonite mines near Graybull, Wyo. Other mines, such as those in Nova Scotia, are capable of shipping to South America and to the European and Middle East countries. Most of the materials processed by any of the suppliers must conform to specifications set by the American Petroleum Institute (API) or the Oil Companies Material Organization (OCMA). These specifications provide for uniform physical and chemical properties of the materials to be sold on the open market.

Jan 1, 1975

By Thomas N. Williamson, Victor Zeni

A 6-ft diam core drilling machine has successfully completed seven mine shafts in Virginia and West Virginia to depths as great as 465 ft. There is no practical depth limitation to this new system-a potential method in formations not easily penetrated with other large-scale drilling programs-and higher penetration rates and larger diameters are possible in some formations already being drilled successfully by other methods. The core barrel on the machine is fitted with rolling cutters such as those used on oil field rotary bits, so that less torque is required than with other large- scale drilling systems. The core is made with a wider kerf than is achieved with other coring methods, providing more working room for core drilling.

Jan 4, 1957