Search Documents

Jan 1, 1944

Jan 1, 1949

By P. P. Gregory

The rate of drilling operations in the West Texas district during 1940 was approximately equal to that of 1939. The total number of wells dillled in the area during the year was 1834, of which 1716 were completed as oil producers, 12 were gas wells and 106 were dry holes. The number of wildcat wells drilled during the year was comparatively small. The drilling of inside locations in proven areas and the drilling of wells for the purpose of extending the productive limits in producing fields constituted the bulk of development during 1940. Gaines County led all other counties in the district in the total number of oil-well completions. The oil production totaled 83,345,381 bbl., the highest figure for any year since proration was begun. The 1940 oil production exceeded the 1939 production by approximately four million barrels. Discoveries While comparatively few new oil-producing areas were discovered during 1940, it appears that the oil production found in simpson lime in the Abell field, pecos County, was an outstanding discovery for the year. This was the second Ordovician discovery in Pecos County. Taubert, McKee & Siemoneit located its discovery well, V. W. Crockett No. 1, set. 4 1/2 H. & T. C. R.R, co, survey in the Imperial area of northwestern Pecos County. The top of pay was encountered at 5270 ft., and the well was bottomed at 5357 ft. in simpson lime, on act. 17, I940. The initial production was 928 bbl. of 43" gravity sweet oil in 11 hr. 23 min., flowing naturally through 2-in. tubing with gas-oil ratio of 783 cu. ft. per barrel. Following the completion of the discovery well, large blocks of land were leased in the area, and several locations were made toward the close of the year. There is every indication that the Abell field will become a major producing field in the West Texas district. There was no pipe-line outlet for the field at the end of the year. Shipley-Silurian field, discovered by the Gulf Oil Corporation, appears to be another major addition to the oil reserves in 1940. The discovery well, Wristen Brothers No. 5, is in sec. 18, block 5, H. & T. C. R.R. Co. survey in Ward County. The well was drilled to a total depth of 9187 ft. and was plugged back to 7075 ft. The Silurian lime section was acidized with 3000 gal., from 6993 to 7075 ft., and on Dec. 5, 1940, the well was completed for initial production of 3040 bbl- of 32.2" gravity oil in 24 hr., flowing through tubing. Todd Deep field, Crockett County, was discovered by the Continental Oil Co. et al. The discovery well, J. S. Todd No. 2, set. 29, block WX1 G.C. & S.F. R.R. Co. survey, was completed on April 3, 1940. The top of pay was encountered at 5623 ft., and the well was bottomed at 5691 ft. for initial production of 1613 bbl. of 40.6' gravity oil flowing naturally through 2-in. tubing. The pay section was found in Strawn lime of Pennsylvanian age. There were six producing wells in the field at the end of the year. This appears to be another major discovery in 1940. There was no pipe-line outlet in the field at the end of the

Jan 1, 1941

By P. P. Gregory

The rate of drilling operations in the West Texas district during 1940 was approximately equal to that of 1939. The total number of wells dillled in the area during the year was 1834, of which 1716 were completed as oil producers, 12 were gas wells and 106 were dry holes. The number of wildcat wells drilled during the year was comparatively small. The drilling of inside locations in proven areas and the drilling of wells for the purpose of extending the productive limits in producing fields constituted the bulk of development during 1940. Gaines County led all other counties in the district in the total number of oil-well completions. The oil production totaled 83,345,381 bbl., the highest figure for any year since proration was begun. The 1940 oil production exceeded the 1939 production by approximately four million barrels. Discoveries While comparatively few new oil-producing areas were discovered during 1940, it appears that the oil production found in simpson lime in the Abell field, pecos County, was an outstanding discovery for the year. This was the second Ordovician discovery in Pecos County. Taubert, McKee & Siemoneit located its discovery well, V. W. Crockett No. 1, set. 4 1/2 H. & T. C. R.R, co, survey in the Imperial area of northwestern Pecos County. The top of pay was encountered at 5270 ft., and the well was bottomed at 5357 ft. in simpson lime, on act. 17, I940. The initial production was 928 bbl. of 43" gravity sweet oil in 11 hr. 23 min., flowing naturally through 2-in. tubing with gas-oil ratio of 783 cu. ft. per barrel. Following the completion of the discovery well, large blocks of land were leased in the area, and several locations were made toward the close of the year. There is every indication that the Abell field will become a major producing field in the West Texas district. There was no pipe-line outlet for the field at the end of the year. Shipley-Silurian field, discovered by the Gulf Oil Corporation, appears to be another major addition to the oil reserves in 1940. The discovery well, Wristen Brothers No. 5, is in sec. 18, block 5, H. & T. C. R.R. Co. survey in Ward County. The well was drilled to a total depth of 9187 ft. and was plugged back to 7075 ft. The Silurian lime section was acidized with 3000 gal., from 6993 to 7075 ft., and on Dec. 5, 1940, the well was completed for initial production of 3040 bbl- of 32.2" gravity oil in 24 hr., flowing through tubing. Todd Deep field, Crockett County, was discovered by the Continental Oil Co. et al. The discovery well, J. S. Todd No. 2, set. 29, block WX1 G.C. & S.F. R.R. Co. survey, was completed on April 3, 1940. The top of pay was encountered at 5623 ft., and the well was bottomed at 5691 ft. for initial production of 1613 bbl. of 40.6' gravity oil flowing naturally through 2-in. tubing. The pay section was found in Strawn lime of Pennsylvanian age. There were six producing wells in the field at the end of the year. This appears to be another major discovery in 1940. There was no pipe-line outlet in the field at the end of the

Jan 1, 1941

Jan 1, 1943

Jan 1, 1948

Table

Jan 1, 1910

By J. J. Brown

Wilkes-Barre Meeting, Julie, runs., THE ore-hearth was the earliest type of furnace used in smelting Mississippi Valley lead-ores, which are very pure, and low in silver-content. The first smelters made no attempts to recover lead from the smoke; and since about 15 per cent. of the lead -in the charge escaped in this manner, early practice with the hearth was decidedly wasteful. At most of the large smelting-plants blast-furnaces with auxiliary roasters were substituted for the hearths long ago. But, upon the introduction of the Lewis and Bartlett bag-process for collecting fume, the ore-hearth was used by companies engaged in the manufacture -of pigments, simply on account of the large percentage of fume made by it. In fact, the extraction of lead was kept down by the use of hot blast and other devices. During recent years, however, several smelting companies have realized that the preliminary roasting of galena for the blast-furnace is not economical, and have, therefore, replaced the roasting-furnace with a modification. of the old Scotch hearth, in which a large percentage of the lead in a charge is recovered directly as pig-lead, while the remainder passes partly into fume and partly into slag low enough in sulphur to be charged into the blast-furnace without further treatment. The results obtained have proved so satisfactory, both As to recovery and operating-expense, that one eminent metallurgist has predicted the universal use of the ore-hearth on non-argentiferous ores. The-ore-hearth, thus employed as an adjunct to a blast-furnace plant, is rather a desulphurizer than a smelting-furnace proper,-the chief object being to make a blue slag suitable for the cupola-furnace. Hence, no special care is taken to obtain from it a large lead-extraction. * Head of Department of Ore Dressing and Metallurgy, Oklahoma School of Mines and Metallurgy, Wilburton, Okla.

May 1, 1911

Allan Gibb, Mount Perry, Queensland, Australia (communication to the Secretary):—In drawing conclusions from his observations, Mr. Van Liew has apparently overlooked the reduction in weight that takes place in the content of the converter. The percentage-compositions of the matte, etc., are not directly comparable for determining the rate of elimination of the impurities; and, in the absence of exact weights (which in such an operation could not be obtained), it is necessary to determine the relation between the impurities and the copper with which they are combined at various stages, in order to get data that are comparable. Owing to a portion of the copper being removed in the slag, etc., the weight of copper in the converter is not a fixed quantity, but.it is sufficiently approximate to permit very reasonable comparison. The analytical data given by Mr. Van Liew, reduced to this basis (a ratio between the impurities and the copper with which they are combined), are shown in the table on page 958. From this table it will be evident that Mr. Van Liea's conclusions as to the source of heat at digerent stages are not quite correct. During the first 10 minutes, no iron is scorified, the heat being derived from the oxidation of the sulphur, of which 7 per cent. of the total is removed in this time. Prom

Jan 1, 1904

THE Institute assembled on Tuesday evening, in the building of the University of Pennsylvania. In the absence of President Thomas, Vice-President Raymond occupied the chair. The Institute was welcomed in an eloquent and thoughtful address by Prof. J. P. Lesley, to which Mr. Raymond responded. Invitations were announced from the proprietors of Sellers' Tool Works, Whitney's Car-wheel Works, the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Lewis & Brothers' White Lead Works, the Southwark Foundry, Harrison's Boiler Factory, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Academy of Natural Sciences. The following gentlemen, being duly recommended by the Council as members and associates, were unanimously elected : Alexander, John S., . . . . . Philadelphia, Pa. Biddle, E. R., . New Pork. Britton, J.. Blodget, . . . . . Philadelphia, Pa. Brooks, Maj. T. B., . . . . . Marquette, Mich. Brown, D. P., . Pottsville, Pa. Canfield, Edw., . . . . . . Dover, N. J. Cogswell, W. B., . .Franklin IronW'ks, N. Y. Cornwall, Prof. H. B., . .New York. Edwards, Daniel, . . . . . . Danville, Pa. Estabrook, Juhn D., . . . . . Philadelphia, Pa. Firmstone, William, . . . . . Easton, Pa. Fritz, John, . . . . . . . Bethlehem, Pa. Gignoux, Charles, . . . . . . New Pork. Grant, E. M., . . . . . . . Tuskegee, Ala. Humphreys, A. W., . New York. Ingham, W. A,, . . . . . . Philadelphia, Pa. Keyes, W. S., . . . . . . Eureka, Nev. Kimball, Dr. J. P., . New Pork. Law, Charles, . Pittston, Pa. Neilson, W. O., . . . . . . Philadelphia, Pa. Newberry, Prof. J. S., . . . . . New York. Pearse, John B., . .Steel Works P. O., Pa. Ricketts, P. De P., . . . . . New Pork. Scranton, Col. Charles, . . . . . Ox ford, N. J. Sontag, Hugo, . . . . . . Cologne, Prussia. Steele, Thomas C., . .Summit, Pa. Wharton, Joseph, . . . . . . Philadelphia, Pa.

February 20th, 1872. THE Institute assembled on Tuesday evening, in the building of the University of Pennsylvania. In the absence of President Thomas, Vice-President Raymond occupied the chair. The Institute was welcomed in an eloquent and thoughtful address by Prof. J. P. Lesley, to which Mr. Raymond responded. Invitations were announced from the proprietors of Sellers' Tool Works, Whitney's Car-wheel Works, the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Lewis & Brothers' White Lead Works, the Southwark Foundry, Harrison's Boiler Factory, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Academy of Natural Sciences. The following gentlemen, being duly recommended by the Council as members and associates, were unanimously elected Alexander, John S., - Philadelphia, Pa. Biddle, E. R., - New York. Britton, J.. Blodget, - Philadelphia, Pa. Brooks, Maj. T. B., - Marquette, Mich. Brown, D. P., - Pottsville, Pa. Canfield, Edw., - Dover, N. J. Cogswell, W. B., - Franklin IronW'ks, N.Y. Cornwall, Prof. H. B., - New York. Edwards, Daniel, - Danville, Pa. Estabrook, John D., - Philadelphia, Pa. Firmstone, William, - Easton, Pa. Fritz, John, - Bethlehem, Pa. Gignoux, Charles, - New York. Grant, E. M., - Tuskegee, Ala. Humphreys, A. W., - New York. Ingham, W. A., - Philadelphia, Pa. Keyes, W. S., - Eureka, Nev. Kimball, Dr. J. P., - New York. Law, Charles, - Pittston, Pa. Neilson, W. G., - Philadelphia, Pa. Newberry, Prof. J. S., - New York. Pearse, John B, - Steel Works P. O., Pa. Ricketts, P. De P., - New York. Scranton, Col. Charles, - Oxford, N. J. Sontag, Hugo, - Cologne, Prussia. Steele, Thomas C. - Summit, Pa. Wharton, Joseph, - Philadelphia, Pa.

Jan 1, 1873

Jan 1, 1906

[ ]

Jan 1, 1938

By James T. B. Ives

The map exhibited* as an example of my method of construct ing geological strata-maps is essentially an educational appliance. The method, however, is available for the production of maps of comparatively small areas, which, I am confident, will be found of great practical value to mining engineers. Before stating how the method may be so applied I will briefly describe the map exhibited, as the easiest way of making my meaning clear. Almost any region might be taken. This map represents the eastern half of the United States; and the geology is that of the map issued by the Geological Survey, and revised and extended subsequently by Professor Hitchcock for your Institute. I use ten cards, of the colors used in the geological map, each having the geog raphy of the area printed upon it; and I superimpose these in the order in which the colors occur in the index to the map. I next cut away a portion of each card, excepting the lowest, leaving only so much of each as represents the exposure of the formation of that color plus all those which overlie it. When that is done, the whole, looked at from a distance, appears to be an ordinary geological map. Looked at more closely, however, the formations are seen to overlie one another, as in nature. The cards are covered with glass in a frame, which, hinged at the bottom edge, can be let down. The cards are then found to be all hinged in the same manner, and they, too, may be lowered, one after the-other. I am told by teachers of geology of great experience and the highest reputation that by this appliance they will be assisted in im parting to students the first facts and principles of geological sci ence. Having let down the whole series of cards, until that repre senting the Archaean is seen underlying all the rest, the teacher will gradually rebuild it. The Cambrian will thus be laid down upon the Archaean before the eyes of the class, the Silurian upon that,

Jan 1, 1888

By M. Semchyshen, G. A. Timmons

The predominant orientation in both straight-rolled and cross-rolled molybdenum is the {100} [110] texture. Upon complete recrystallization, this same texture predominates, but there is less spread about the ideal orientation. A secondary orientation about the [111] direction as the axis develops in cross-rolled sheet. Compression-rolled sheet exhibits random orientation in the plane of the sheet. Some mechanical properties were measured at varying angles to the rolling direction to determine the effect of preferred orientation on anisotropy in molybdenum sheet which had been straight, cross, or compression rolled. THE development of the arc-cast process has made available large ingots of molybdenum from which it is possible to roll sheet of considerable size. It is anticipated that such sheet will be further fabricated by spinning, drawing, stamping, or forming. Anisotropy of physical properties caused by the preferred orientation developed in the sheet during rolling may be expected to affect the behavior of the metal when subjected to these fabricating operations. To produce a sheet which will be most amenable to the fabrication of a given shape by a particular operation, consideration should be given to the directions and magnitudes of plastic deformations produced in the operation. When possible, the rolling schedule should be controlled to develop a texture which favors the required deformation. The existence of preferred orientations in rolled molybdenum sheet has been reported by Jeffries,' Konobejewsky,' Fujiwara," Goss,' and Ransley and Rooksby." None of these investigators obtained sufficient X-ray data to permit the construction of pole figures; instead, they based their conclusions upon Debye-Scherrer patterns of a limited number of positions. Ransley and Rooksby devoted some attention to transcrystalline cleavage at 45" to the rolling direction, indicating that it is appreciable in polycrystalline material only when the crystals are in the ideally preferred condition, and that this condition is only approached if the metal has been rolled successively in two perpendicular directions. In a recent paper, Custers and Riemersmao introduced the first pole figures to describe the textures of straight-rolled and cross-rolled molybdenum sheet. To increase the knowledge concerning the generation and effects of preferred orientations in molybdenum sheet, an investigation was undertaken to determine the effects of variations in rolling schedule and annealing treatments on preferred orientation, and to correlate preferred orientations with some mechanical properties. The orientations of straight-rolled, cross-rolled, and compression-rolled sheet have been determined by X-ray analysis, both as-rolled and after recrystallization. Pole figures have been constructed to describe the textures produced by these various rolling procedures. Texture of Cast Molybdenum Ingots In the arc-cast process, molybdenum powder is pressed into a vertical column which is sintered to increase its strength as it proceeds downward into a water-cooled mold, where the metal is melted in an alternating-current arc established between the end of the formed powder electrode and the metal bath at the top of the growing ingot. Since the solid-liquid interface moves continuously upward in the mold, the crystal axes are not normal to the cold surface of the mold but have the curvature shown in Fig. la. X-ray analysis reveals that the cube axis is the fiber axis and that it is normal to the cold surface of the mold; that is, the [loo] direction is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the ingot. This substantiates recent work by

Jan 1, 1953

One of the best known of the early mining districts of Nevada was that at Eureka, where gold was first produced in 1864. While the most productive period for the district was during the early 1900s, production was maintained until World War II. During this time it is said that the Eureka district produced as much as $200 million from over 3,200 km (2,000 miles) of tunnels and workings. The Windfall Mine was discovered in 1902; and a 100 ton cyanide plant was operated there during the periods 1907 to 1912 and 1932 to 1940. Since 1974, however, Windfall Venture has been operating a unique heap leaching facility on the site of the old Windfall Mine. Gold at the Windfall occurs primarily in the Cambrian Hamburg dolomite which has been "sanded" and in which the original cementing material has been destroyed. The gold is micron sized and is accompanied by anomalous amounts of arsenic and mercury; however, the ore is low in base metals which distinguishes it from the typical Eureka district ores. Mining the ore causes it to break down into very fine sizes, approximately 50% minus 150 microns (100 mesh). Conventional heap leaching by spraying proved to be impossible; and extensive test work on alternate methods, aided by the United States Bureau of Mines, was conducted using 9 m (30 ft) high columns and then large tonnage heaps. The leaching procedure adopted was to build 10.6 m (35 ft) high heaps on a 50 mm (2 in.) asphalt pad covered with a layer of gravel for drainage assisted by perforated pipe drains and gravel-packed sumps. A berm is constructed around the top of each pad and cyanide solution is allowed to “pond” on top of the heap. The resulting percolation is at the rate of 24 liters per sq m per hr (0.6 gal per sq ft per hr), a figure about 2.4 times the average used in other heap leaching operations. The dolomite furnishes its own protective alkalinity and no lime or caustic is used in the solution which contains 0.4 kg per mt (0.8 lb per st) of NaCN. Pregnant solution from the heaps averages about 0.7 g Au per mt (0.02 oz per st) with a cyanide content of about 0. 2 kg per mt (0.4 lb per st) and a pH of plus 9. Addition of NaCN brings the pH of the leach solution up to 11 to 12. Carbon adsorption of the gold was originally done in six enclosed columns mounted in a trailer but five conventional columns have been substituted as the size of the operations has increased. Carbon stripping is with hot caustic, cyanide and 10% ethanol solution. The

Jan 1, 1981

United Engineering Trustees, Inc. W. D. B. MOTTER, JR., '40 A. L. QUENEAU, '41 ALBERT ROBERTS, '39 The Engineering Foundation GEORGE D. BARRON, '40 F. F. COLCORD. '42 A. L. QUENEAU, '41

Jan 1, 1939

Jan 1, 1937

H. 0. HOFMAN, Boston, Mass (written discussion*).-The paper by Mr.. Pyne gives clear evidence of the difficulties the metallurgist is likely to encounter when he tries to recover in the blast furnace the metal from old chromite lining used as a refractory material in the copper reverberatory furnace. It appears that chromite cannot be fluxed at temperatures which usually prevail in copper blast furnaces. This calls to mind the freezing-point curve drawn by M. Simonis1 of mixtures of chromite and kaolinite. The chromite used in the experiments contained 52.9 per cent. Cr203, 22.6 FeO, 4.8 AI203, 9.6 Si02, .10.1-MgO; FIG. 1. the kaolinite was clay from Zettlitz with 98.5 per cent. clay-substance: The accompanying curve shows that the eutectic mixture with 35 per cent. kaolinite and 65 per cent. chromite freezes at Seger cone No. 15 (1435° C.), while kaolinite fuses at cone No. 35 (1770° C.) and chromite at cone No. 42 (2000° C.). The curve indicates that the difficulty in the blast furnace can be overcome by having at the smelting zone a temperature much higher than is usual in copper smelting; a charge composition similar to that prevailing at the Mansfeld copper smeltery -which gives with 23 per cent. coke a, slag of the composition Si02, .49.09; .(FeMg)0, 5.58; (CaMg)0, 16.02; A1203,-16.02-might flux and fuse chromite.

Jan 3, 1918

By Erminio Ferraris

The development of the mining industry in Sardinia dates from the application of the mining law of 1859, which, following the example of the French mining law of 1810, declared prospecting to be free, and suppressed the liens which had previously attached the mine to surface ownership. The first ore-dressing plants were installed by German engineers upon the classic models of the Harz and of Freiberg; but in 1880 Sardinia commenced to open a new path in that industry, utilizing the refuse from the mining of rich, selected minerals, of poor deposits, and of mixed ores. The first experiments were attempte to adapt the existing apparatus to local conditions, but progress was rapid, as was demonstrated already in 1887 by the calamine-dressing mill of Monte-poni, which exhibited a large plant designed in accordance with the experience gained, and constructed entirely in the machine-shops of the country, after new models and designs.' This example was followed two years later by the Sociékté Malfidano, with a large plant of the same sort, and with the reconstruction of the old-fashioned dressing-mill, built in 1880 by the Austro-Belgian Company. In 1900, almost all the mines of Sardinia had adopted the new designs, and the island contained 32 concen-trating-works, employing 2,000 h.p. and 1,924 workmen. Since that time, there have been added a large dressing-mill for blende at Gennamari, and two for calamine, at San Giovanni and at Masua, while the establishments at other mines have been enlarged and perfected. For the treatment of intimately mixed ores, a large establishment has been built upon the new

Jan 1, 1909