Search Documents

By Charles S. Robinson

The Henderson ore body is east of the Continental Divide in the Front Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, about 80 km (50 miles) west of Denver. The ore body is being developed for mining by workings that extend more than 1100 m (3500 ft) below the topographic surface. During construction of the mine workings, ground water in fractures in cystalline rock has been encountered. From 1969 to 1973, Charles S. Robinson & Associates, Inc., in cooperation with the engineering and geologic staffs of the Climax Molybdenum Company, a division of Amax Inc., studied the ground water geology of the Henderson mine development area. Detailed geologic record( of the Henderson mine were available as a result of the exploration, evaluation and development of the mine. Records of the flow, chemical composition and temperature of the ground water at and near the surface, from the entire mine, from portions of the mine, and from exploration holes drilled in the mine, were kept as the mine was developed. Where possible, ground water pressures in drill holes and changes in pressure with time, were recorded. The geologic, hydrologic and chemical data were correlated. The following conclusions were drawn from the correlations: The ground water in the Henderson mine occurs in fractures in Precambrian igneous and metasedimentary rock and in a series of Tertiary intrusive rocks. Two zones of ground water were recognized; an active zone, in which the fracture systems are recharged and discharged annually into the surface water system, and a passive zone, in which the fractures were filled with water in the geologic past. Discharge from the passive zone is through mine workings that intersect the fracture systems. Discharge from a fracture or fracture system is initially high but decreases with time. The rate of decrease in flow (or pressure) is exponential. By measuring the change in flow with time, it is possible to calculate the amount of flow at some given period of time in the future. Based on changes in rate of flow and pressure, and the geology, and assuming rates of mining of the ore, it will be possible to predict the volumes of water that will have to be handled during the life of the mine and the area around the mine that will be drained by the mining operation.

Jan 1, 1979

By John D. Wiebmer

Kansas, with its thin seams and tough overburden, may not be anyone's first choice for a coal mining operation. But there are operators making it pay through careful attention to mining techniques and aggressive marketing in the local region. One of the few Kansas coal operators is Bill Patch, who has been in the business for 28 years. Beginning with a single dragline operation near his home in Welch, Okla., Bill's Coal Co. weathered some lean times during the "soft" coal market of the 1950's and 1960's. But his tenacity paid off when new markets began opening up, and the company has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. In 1975, the Fort Scott mine opened in Bourbon County, Kansas; in 1976, the Porter mine began production in Wagoner County, Okla.; in 1977, the Fulton mine opened near Fulton, Kansas. In addition, the original Welch mine in Oklahoma is still a producer, and this year the company will open a new mine at Chetopa, Kansas.

Jan 9, 1978

By G. H. Walrod, J. M. Mutmansky, Y. J. Wang

The selection of a shaft size for ventilation purposes is a classic problem of concern to mining engineers. This presentation is concerned with the sizing of conventionally-sunk circular shafts with concrete or shotcrete linings. Costs of sinking shafts of three different depths, from 150 m to 300 m (500 ft to 1000 ft), and six different diameters, from 4.27 m to 7.32 m (14 ft to 24 ft), were obtained through questionnaires to shaft contractors. The primary objective of the economic model presented is the balancing of detailed annual capital and operating costs to achieve the minimum overall cost of the shaft installation over its life. The economic model is similar to previous analyses but treats several of the individual cost categories in an updated fashion. Included in the paper is a detailed analysis of the effects of varying power costs on optimal shaft size. Also included are a statistical analysis of current shaft costs and comments on the choice between shotcrete and concrete linings.

Jan 1, 1979

By David B. Campbell

Production of both metallurgical and thermal coal represents a significant sector of the mining economy of British Columbia. The coal measures are located in the Rocky Mountains, and the majority of the coal is produced by open pit mining. The coal seams occur interbedded with siltstones, sandstones, mudstones, and shales. Consequently, large volumes of waste rock are generated in the course of open pit mining. The waste rock is consigned to waste rock piles that of necessity must be developed on moderate to steeply sloping terrain. Some of the waste dumps currently under development will ultimately contain in excess of 500 million cubic meters of material, and some of the proposed waste piles will attain heights in excess of 300 m. These waste piles must be developed in a manner that will assure their stability through all stages of development, as well as over the long term after mining operations have been completed. This paper describes methods of waste dump development, factors affecting stability, modes of potential failure, and a simple method for monitoring movements to provide a warning of pending unstable conditions.

Jan 1, 1985

By Frank G. Miller, Ralph A. Seban

Problems relating to thermal methods of oil recovery have been given increasing attention during the past year. The nature of the physical and chemical processes underlying thermal recovery are not yet well understood. The need for pertinent basic information is recognized generally. One of the processes involved is the transfer of heat by conduction in oil reservoir rocks containing moving reservoir fluids. This technical note deals with heat conduction in a laboratory sand column filled with a moving hydrocarbon and therefore should be contributory to the presently inadequate fund of knowledge on thc over-all subject. In an analysis of the flow of vaporiziny propane through a horizontal column of sand, one of the present author9 demonstrated correspondence between thc measured values of pressure along the length of the column and those predicted by a theory which postulated that the enthalpy of the propane was invariable along the length of the column. This postulate way implied as a deduction from the principle of conservation of energy but the details of the deduction were not given. The specific purpose of this technical note is the presentation of these details both as an adjunct to the earlier analysis and to supply some additional details on the processes involved in this type of flow. Results disclose that rates of heat transfer by conduction, in the direction of fluid motion, generally would be small for systems of the type studied. FUNDARIENrAI. ENERGY EiQUAI-[ON The principle of conservation of energy may be applied to a section of the porous material on the basis that heat transfer, like fluid flow, is possible in the x direction only. Transfer of heat in the y and z di'rections is prevented by suitable insulation or by taking the medium as infinite in directions perpendicular to the x axis. For steady state heat conduction and conditions of steady fluid flow the principle of conservation of energy specifies that any reduction in the enthalpy rate increases the flow of heat in the same proportion. Stated mathematically, dH KA 87 —- = - — - — U) * dx W dx........ Lvhere is the flow of heat in the positive x W dx direction. TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION IN DIRECTION OF FLOW The column of sand used in the previoi~sly described research is divisible into three different flow regimes. each of which may be analyzed independently. In the entrance region the liquid approaches the saturation state. A transition region is postulated following the transverse section at which the saturation state of the liquid is attained. In this transition region gas and liquid phases are both envisioned as present, with no vaporization occurring and with fluid movement restricted to the liquid. The upstream end of the exit region is at the transverse section of the column where the fraction of the pore space occupied by gas first becomes great enough for gas flow and where vaporization of the liquid begins. Fig. 1 indicates schematicaHy the thermodynamic processes undergone hv the fluid in the three flow regimes.

Jan 1, 1956

By P. Hadzeriga

There are two places in the world where potash, trade name for potassium chloride, is economically recovered from naturally occurring brines by solar evaporation. One is at the Dead Sea and the other at Wendover, Utah. American Potash and Chemical at Trona, Calif. recovers potash from natural brines, but uses fuel to accomplish evaporation. Solar evaporation is always desirable, because of low costs, however artificial evaporation may be economical if a group of very valuable salts are recovered. This is the case for the American Potash operations at Trona. Solar evaporation is limited by low working temperatures, which in most areas of the world is between 18 and 45°C. In many cases the average working temperature is about 25°C. However, solar evaporation will have to accommodate itself to the highs and lows of each 24 hour period, and to the different average temperatures during the months of the year. Therefore, solar evaporation, although more economical than artificial evaporation, has a tem- perature limit which greatly reduces the chances of its application. The feasibility of solar evaporation as a means of recovery of values from a particular brine, may be evaluated by the use of phase diagrams showing the several components present. This paper is restricted to the five component system: C1-, SO4=, Na+, K+, Mg++, and H2O, which correspond to brines found at Wendover, Utah, the Great Salt Lake, and sea water bitterns. THE BONNEVILLE OPERATION AT WENDOVER, UTAH For more than 25 years Bonneville, Ltd., now a division of Standard Magnesium and Chemical Co. (recently acquired by Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp.), has been recovering potassium chloride from the brines found in the desert area just east of Wendover, Utah. Solar evaporation of the brines is possible as a consequence of relatively low precipitations (year average: 4.8 in.), and of dry and hot summer months. The brine, collected by a series of approximately 67 mi. of ditches crossing the desert, is fed into solar evaporation ponds. Evaporation which takes place from around the middle of May to about the end of September, permits the crystallization of approximately 90% of the originally present NaCl on what is called the "General Pond Area". Further evaporation,

Jan 1, 1964

By Alfonso W. Ovalle

INTRODUCTION The block-caving mining method is one of the most economical ways existing today to extract ore from nature. It is undoubtedly the least costly of the underground systems and moreover it compares favorably to open-pit mining. In addition to its low cost characteristic, the block-caving mining method permits a great extraction volume as can be exemplified by El Teniente's output capacity of over 22 million tons of ore per year. These characteristics of block-caving give assurance that, even though it is a very old mining system, it will be a good answer to the many future large massive low ore grade deposits to come and a1 so to rep1 ace open-pi t mining as such operations get deeper with higher stripping ratios. These are the reasons that induce further study of block-caving. In this paper block-caving at El Teniente is analyzed with due consideration to the major problems that this mine will encounter. Emphasis is given to the factors influencing the mining of soft ore which accounts for most of the ore to be extracted in the next ten years. A separate paper is devoted to a major modification introduced to block-caving hard primary ore at El Teniente by means of LHD equipment extraction. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT MINING Ore Production and Flow Over 62.000 tons per day of ore are extracted 359 days per year at the El Teniente Mine. The Teniente 8 train haulage level at 1.983 m takes 29.000 tons daily to the Col6n Concentrator. Two trains make the 8 km haul with 16 cars per train. Car capacity is 90 tons. The Teniente 5 train haulage level 298 m above takes 33.000 t per day to the old Sewell Concentrator. Ore is produced from three production areas in two different levels. The so called North Mine produces 42.000 tons daily from the Teniente 4 level 65 m above the Teniente 5 haulage level. The Central Mine produces 1.000 tons from the first hard rock block caved at the Te- niente 4 level. The combined 43.000 tons per day production is sent through inclined 2 m dia- meter raises to the Teniente 5 haul age level , where 33.000 tons are taken 2.5 km to the Sewell Concentrator and 9.000 tons are hauled 0.5 km to a 5 m diameter vertical ore pass which sends ore to Teniente 8. The haulage is by 7 trains, 15 gabble-bottom cars per train. Car capacity is 20 tons. The so called South Mine produces 19.000 tons per day from the Teniente 1 level 645 m above the Teniente 8 haulage level. Ore is transferred by 2 m diameter inclined raises to the Ten 1 Retram level 22 m below, where 5 trains with 20 Sandfor Day cars per train, 8 tons capacity per car, haul the ore 1.5 km to two vertical 5 m diameter ore passes which connect to Ten 8. Starting in 1982 the Central Mine will in- crease production to 6.000 tons per day. An in- dependent loop haulage system will start operat- ing at the Teniente 5 level to feed a new under- ground 1.372 mm (54 in.) gyratory crusher which will send minus 152 mm ore (9 in.) to Teniente 8. In two or three years time the North Mine will only feed the 33.000 tons to the Sewel 1 Concentrator with its old Teniente 5 haulage system. The Col6n Concentrator will be fed from the Central and South Mines. Figure 1 shows the transfer systems and ore flows. The Ore Body In plan view at the Teniente 4 level the ore body has a kidney shape 1.800 m long and between 400 to 700 m wide. The north-eastern section of the ore body was washed away by the Teniente River. At the Sub 5 Level, 125 m below Teniente 4, the mineralization completely surrounds the circular 1.000 m diameter steep-sided barren breccia pipe (Braden pipe) . The ore body rock is 73% andesite, 14% diori te, 13% dacite and 6% mineralized breccia. Most of this ore is secondary enrichment sulfides which apart from the dacite is strongly fractured being chal cocite, cove1ine , bornite and

Jan 1, 1981

By L. Hartsell Cash

INTRODUCTION Created in 1944 to help rebuild those economies, principally in Europe, which were seriously damaged or destroyed during the Second World War, the World Bank--or to use its correct name, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development-began its operational phase by making a loan to the Government of France to accomplish two tasks: (i) to import coal for space heating purposes; and (ii) to buy new machinery and equipment to help rehabilitate its coal mines. Once the thrust of reconstruction in postwar Europe was largely accomplished, the World Bank Group (for today the World Bank has three separate lending windows) turned to mobilizing funds to improve living standards in developing countries, which remains its primary goal today. Over this period of time, the World Bank Group has continued to assist the world mining industry in various ways and, since 1955 the World Bank Group has financed mining or mineral processing projects with loans/credits totalling $1.5 billion. The World Bank Group consists of two institutions--the World Bank itself and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which was founded as a separate institution in 1956 and three separate lending windows--the World Bank, the International Development Association (IDA), and IFC. The World Bank loans are provided at commercially-related interest rates but have grace periods usually of up to 3 to 5 years and repayment periods ranging from around 15 to 20 years. Since the World Bank raises its operating funds on the international capital markets in varying currencies and in varying interest rates, it relends a basket of currencies at floating interest rates which are fixed every six months to reflect the Bank's own borrowing cost. At the present time, the interest rate is just below 10% per year and in addition, a one-time front-end fee of 1/4 of 1% is charged. Also, a commitment fee of 3/4% per year is charged on the undisbursed amount of the loan itself. For loans to industrial and mining projects, it is normal to charge an additional guarantee fee of 1 to 1.5% in addition to the annual interest rate. This guarantee fee is payable to the government of the country in which the project is carried out since, by its charter, the World Bank is required to have the guarantee of the host government for each loan made in a specific country. By far the greatest source of lending funds within the World Bank Group is that of the World Bank itself and for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1984, the World Bank approved loans totalling $12 billion. The second lending window within the World Bank Group is IDA which performs the same functions as the Bank itself and has the same staff. Nevertheless, its loans (called credits) are made on much softer terms and are made to the poorest nations only. IDA funds are subscribed by the wealthier countries, usually as grants, and these are relent as credits to those countries with the lowest per capita income. IDA credits are made for 50 year periods, including 10 years of grace, to the government itself. The credits are interest free, but there is a service charge of 3/4% per year on the amount withdrawn and outstanding to defray the administrative costs of IDA. Credits approved during fiscal 1984 totalled $3.5 billion. The third lending window is IFC. While IFC is a separate corporation and operates quite separately from the World Bank and has its own staff and regulations, it works very closely with the World Bank on its overall approach to the mining sector and to a particular country. IFC's mission is essentially to supply venture capital and to stimulate development of the local private sector in capital markets as well as to promote the international flow of private capital to developing countries. Unlike the World Bank and IDA, the IFC does not lend directly to governments

Jan 1, 1985

The Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the National War Savings Committee, soliciting the support of patriotic associations in America in the sale of War Savings Stamps, has addressed the following letter to the President of the Institute: It is particularly desirable to have you urge the members of your association to give their assistance wholeheartedly, and to this end we urgently request that you write a letter to each of your members, outlining the aims of this campaign. That you may more easily draft your letter, we mention a few things in which your members could render a special service. Agencies and Sales Stations.-We desire immediately to establish several hundred thousand agencies and sales stations. It is as easy to sell a War Savings Stamp as it is in ordinary postage stamp, and we have launched a great drive to establish sales stations everywhere. The plan is simplicity itself! Your town, city, county or State Director can furnish you with supplies, posters and publicity matter. You can get the stamps from your post office or bank. Such stations should be at every pay window of manufacturing, industrial and mercantile establishments, and at every retail counter in the country. These stamps should be the easiest bought merchandise in the world, and when these agencies are established this end will have been accom-plished. Therefore, please lay extra pressure on the thought of immediately establishing these sales stations.

Jan 3, 1918

By Julian Kennedy

When it was decided to erect these furnaces the company also decided to use the Cowper type of stoves. It was, however, desirable to improve upon the plan of the stoves then in operation, to avoid, if possible, some defects which had shown themselves in them. The stoves now in use at Furnaces " A," " B," and " C " are of the well-known type of Cowper stove, having a circular combustionchamber placed at one side of the stove, and a regencrator with crescent-shaped section, resting at the bottom oil cast-iron glatings, which are supported in turn by cast-iron girders, the products of combustion passing up the chamber, down through the flues of the regenerator, and thence to the chimney. The objection to this shape of stove, that the gases would not pass down the parts of regenerator lying beside and behind the combustion-chamber—the horns of the crescent, as it were,—did not apply to the newer form of stoves, with combustion-chamber having a straight wall next to the regenerator; but. there were other defects, the principal ones bring the small size of the openings through the regenerator and the material used for supporting it. The small passages (4" X 4") soon choked up, and when a part of them became entirely closed, not only was the effective heating surface greatly diminished, but as the remaining opening were not sufficient to absorb the heat

Jan 1, 1882

COLUMBIA SECTION S. S. FOWLER, Chairman., J. C. HAAS, Vice-chairman, LYNDON K. ARMSTRONG, Secretary-Treasurer, 720 Peyton Bldg., Spokane, Wash. W. H. LINNEY. J. F. MCCARTHY. On July 15, 16, and 17, 1918, through the good offices of Secretary Stoughton, and the courtesy of War Department officials, Columbia Section was able to secure a series of moving pictures which were presented under the auspices of the Spokane Engineering and Technical Association.. The title was "The Way Out," representing the activities of individuals who had lost an arm, a leg, or both, yet whose apparent misfortunes were made the stepping stones to advancement in various human activities. The exhibitions were given at Natatorium Park in the evening, each of the three performances being attended by 1000 per-sons. Later the films were shipped to Kellogg, Idaho, where they were shown in the principal playhouse one evening to a full house. On July 31, 1918, the Columbia Section participated in the luncheon and other entertainment in honor of Alfred D. Flinn, Secretary of the Engineering Council, who made a trip through the country to meet different classes of engineers, members of the National Societies, for whom he had a message. The entertainment was under the auspices of the Spokane Engineering and Technical Association, Mr. Peter Mogensen presiding. The luncheon was held in the Elizabethan Room, Davenport Hotel, at noon, 35 engineers being present, of whom about one-third were our members.

Jan 9, 1918

By G. Rinelli, A. M. Marabini, V. Alesse

Salicylaldehyde, a chelating agent for tin, has been found to function as a collector for the flotation of cassiterite. Infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance studies clearly show that salicylaldehyde can form a chelate compound in bulk and at the surface. Results are also given for the flotation of a tin ore with this reagent.

Jan 1, 1976

By Öner Yücel, M. Zeki Dogan, A. Metin Ger

Technical and financial feasibility studies conducted at the Middle East Technical University, in Ankara, Turkey, have revealed that a 400 km long prospective slurry pipeline between Hasançelebi and Iskenderun could efficiently and economically transport iron concentrates, with a size of 55%-325 mesh and of amounts varying between 0.25 and 8.0 million tonslyear. Particularly for annual throughputs above 500,000 tons, favorable results have been obtained regarding the processing of the ore, the applicability, the transport cost, and the foreign ex- change currency savings.

Jan 1, 1980

PURPOSE OF UPDATED ESTIMATE FOR MINERAL INVENTORY BLOCKS During the production stage of an open pit porphyry copper mine it was observed that the expected production grade, as determined from the block inventory estimates, often differed greatly from the head grade of ore delivered to the mill. It was determined that, for purposes of production scheduling and monthly forecasting, better in situ grade estimates for mining blocks were necessary. Because all of the bench blastholes were being sampled, and periodic holes were being drilled into the next underlying bench, much more sample data existed than was being used for estimating the grade of nearby mining blocks. It was reasoned that, by periodically updating the mineral inventory block file over the benches scheduled for mining in the next time period using all existing data, better estimates and forecasts for production grade could be made. BLASTHOLE SAMPLE DATA MANAGEMENT The collars of all blastholes in each mined bench were surveyed and assays run on the cuttings representing the full 12-m (40-ft) bench height. The blastholes range from about 5 to 6 m (16 to 19 ft) apart along the front of the bench as well as perpendicular to the front. Overbreakage often left larger spacings between successive blasts. Fig. 17-1 is a plan map of blastholes on a typical mine bench. All blasthole data were keypunched to a format resembling that of the 12-m (40-ft) composite assay data file as follows: [Collar Coordinates Compite Assoy Hole ID Northing East Elewotion Total Copper Oxide Copper] Because of the many blasthole samples available, and in order not to use excessive computer time for running kriged estimates for 30.5 X 30.5 X 12-m (100 X 100 X 40 ft) blocks adjacent to and beneath the mined area, the decision was made to average all the blastholes falling with each 15.2 X 15.2-m (50 X 50-ft) mined block, and use the mean value of the samples as a regionalized variable for purposes of assigning kriged estimates and estimation variance to adjacent unmined blocks. In other words, instead of using individual blasthole samples for making kriged estimates, the holes were grouped by blocks and assay values were averaged and assigned to the centroid of the holes within the block, which was then treated as a single regional variable for purposes of kriging. See Fig. 17-2. VARIOGRAM COMPUTATIONS AND KRlGlNG RESULTS With the many blasthole samples it was possible to compute directional and vertical experimental variograms for both sulfide and nonsulfide copper assays falling within the enriched mineral zone for the full 12-m (40-ft) sample support. Due to the close spaced drilling, excellent definition of the experimental variograms was possible, and the spherical model exhibited good fits. A three-dimensional kriging program was then run over the two or three mine benches involved in the inventory update, and estimated grades reassigned to all mining blocks falling within the range of the new blasthole assay data according to the anisotropisms of the deposit. Better confidence limits could then be assigned to scheduled mining blocks and better short- range forecasts made. An interactive kriging computer program was also applied for the purpose of determining the kriging variance or estimation of error for larger, irregular mining blocks representing the monthly production from a particular bench. The interactive program permitted the operator to enter the limits of the irregular block onto the screen of a cathode ray tube (CRT) as a series of points around the perimeter of individual gridded blocks making up the larger irregular block. The computer then was programmed to calculate the kriging variance of the larger block using all samples fall- ing within range. Thus the limits of estimated grade could be established at any confidence level. Fig. 17-3 illustrates the output from the interactive kriging program showing the sample points entering into the grade and kriging variance computations, and also the kriging coefficient assigned by the computer to each sample.

Jan 1, 1980

By E. C. Wade, R. D. Valentine

This paper describes a computer applications engineering system and it's use to apply a thermal dryer fan motor in a coal preparation plant. The computer hardware and software systems are described to indicate the general approach taken and a specific case study is reviewed to show how computer power is brought to projects in the coal industry.

Jan 1, 1983

By M. E. Wadsworth, I. B. Cutler

Coprecipitation of anionic and cationic polyelectrolytes has been applied to floccula-tion of several mineral systems. Results obtained in a study of the flocculation of kaolinite and hematite suspensions of polycationic and polyanionic electrolytes are presented. Greatly increased settling rates were observed following precipitation of positive and negative polyelectrolytes on the surface of finely divided minerals in aqueous suspension. The ratios of polycationic to polyanionic electrolytes required to produce maximum sedimentation have been shown to correspond closely with the equivalence points obtained by light scattering studies of systems containing the positive and negative polyelectrolytes by themselves. DISPERSION of colloids has been of interest to surface chemists for many years. Flocculation studies have been employed to evaluate the limits of colloid stability. In water suspensions, colloids become unstable and flocculate when the ( potential, the potential of the kinetic solvation sheath, falls to a value at which van der Waals forces may act to draw the particles together. This may happen through an adjustment of the pH of the suspension or by addition of a salt. Optimum conditions for rapid formation of large flocs are found in the region of minimum ( potential. In addition to these well known considerations, colloids in water suspensions are known to be flocculated by certain large organic macromolecules. These polyelectrolytes in some cases minimize the i potential and in other instances increase the attractive forces by supplying sites for hydrogen bonding.' Use of organic polyelectrolytes in flocculation of mineral colloids has increased rapidly in recent years. These materials are now recognized as indispensable aids to fluid-solid separations in many extractive metallurgical operations. They have been found to increase both the settling rate in thickeners and the filtration rate of filters. In the elucidation of the characteristics of these organic reagents as floc-culants in this laboratory, it was discovered that interaction of certain polyelectrolytes had a surprisingly good effect on flocculation of mineral colloids. Experimental Procedure: The anionic flocculants used in this study were Lytron 886 and 887, produced by Monsanto Chemical Co. Both reagents are copolymers of vinyl acetate and maleic anhydride. Lime is added to Lytron 886, whereas Lytron 887 is all organic. These reagents possess two carboxyl groups for each acetate group and are therefore anionic in character. The cationic reagents used were the Peter Cooper Co. 1-X and 2-X glues. The structures are not definitely known, but the re- agents are amines and are cationic in character. The glues were prepared in the chrome-alum form. Both types of reagents may be classified as polyelectrolytes in that they are high molecular weight polymers and ionize in water. All data presented are in terms of sedimentation rate, measured in 250-ml glass-stoppered graduated cylinders. With suitable precautions such measurements are fairly reproducible and provide a sensitive means for selecting important parameters such as pH, reagent concentration, and floc size and density.2 Agitation was standardized with five complete end over end cycles of the suspensions in the stoppered graduated cylinders.

Jan 1, 1957

Discussion of the paper of WALTER 0. SNELLING, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 100, April, 1915, pp. 695 to 704. A. F. LUCAS, Washington, D. C.-Are the results of the experiments in practical operation? WALTER 0. SNELLING.-There have been no large-scale operations up to the present. The necessary conditions of temperature are easily arranged for, but the required condition of pressure, 800 lb., is not so simple a matter. The company has been working on this problem, and at the refinery in Oklahoma work of this kind is now being carried on. The way in which an ordinary still will leak at 50 lb., and more at 100 lb., leaves some doubt in the mind of many as to what can be clone at a continuous working pressure of 800 lb. On the other hand, the fact that they are making ammonia abroad by a method which employs higher pressures and temperatures than anything involved in this method, leads me to believe that the difficulties, which will undoubtedly arise when this is attempted on a commercial scale, can be overcome. WILLIAM N. BEST, New York, N. Y.-Is there any change in the calorific value of these oils?

Jan 5, 1915

By J. P. Norris, W. T. Pettijohn

The Mufulira Copper Mine, Ltd., is in Northern Rhodesia, ten miles from the Belgian Congo border, and is one of the group of four operating mines comprising the Northern Rhodesian Copperbelt. The ore deposits at Mufulira are on the limb of a large syncline striking NW.-SE. and dipping NE. at about 45 deg towards the Congo border. The host rocks are well-consolidated, highly-silicified, felspathic quarzites of the lower part of the pre-Cambrian Séries des Mines of the Katanga. The ore rocks are underlain, unconformably, by the older "Muva Series," in this case hard, green, metamorphosed quarzites. There are three superimposed orebodies, the first, or upper, orebody averaging 40-ft true thickness with a strike length of about 5000 ft, the second, or middle, orebody of about 50-ft true thickness with a strike length of about 6000 ft, and the third or lower orebody of around 60-ft true thickness with a strike length of 8000 ft. The orebodies are separated by varying widths of waste, or very low-grade ore, from a few feet up to 50 ft. The middle and lower orebodies are so close together for a strike length of 3000 ft that they are mined as one orebody. In all, the mineralized zone is about 200 ft in true thickness.

Jan 6, 1950

By Howard N. Evanenson

WASTE of coal, or perhaps more properly the percentage of its recovery in mining, has keenly interested me during an experience of over a half century in coal mining. In the early part of that time and until a few years after World War I the use of better mining plans and supervision resulted in an increased recovery. Since then, and particularly since controlled prices have been effective and mechanized mining has been extensively practiced, the tendency has all been toward lesser recovery in mining. The purpose of this paper is not to criticize the methods being used, which after all are the result of economic forces, nor to point to any particular mining method or to any locality where the best recovery is obtained, but to call attention to the tremendous waste of our national coal resources that is constantly continuing. A possible method of reducing this loss will be suggested, but without any illusions that it will be followed or that such attention will be paid to it. AVERAGE RECOVERY The actual average percentage of recovery of coal in the ground is not known. Many papers giving figures of recovery have been published but no definite base of measurement has been agreed upon by those presenting the data. As an example, the Pittsburgh bed can be considered-it has produced a greater output than any other and has been sold or leased at higher prices in place than any other coal bed. Over a large part of its area where high prices have prevailed it has been customary for many years to draw pillars. In these mines it has been usually assumed that the average recovery was higher than in other beds and percentages of recovery of 85 to 95 per cent are usually said to be realized. In all of these mines, however, it has been customary to leave from 4 to 8 in. in the bottom, and 10 to 16 in. in the roof; thus from 14 to 24 in. of coal has been left in the mines out of a total seam thickness of about 96 in., or 15 to 25 per cent of the total coal. No attempt is made to mine this coal for metallurgical purposes, owing to its impurities, although this unmined coal is of excellent quality and better than much of the coal used for steam purposes. If we add to this discard the coal usually lost in mining and those parts of the bed that must be left because of bad seam conditions, barrier pillars, reservations for buildings, gas and oil wells, one can easily see that the actual recovery from this bed cannot be more than 65 to 75 per cent. In addition, the rooster or rider or wild coal over the mining bed often 3 to 4 ft. of coal, high in ash and sulphur but still good steam coal-is hardly ever mined, nor is any attempt made to mine it. It is safe to say that from a broad economic viewpoint not more than 50 to 60 per cent of the fuel value of this great seam is actually being recovered.

Jan 1, 1946

By R. Simon, L. Yarborough

This paper presents a correlation for predicting the critical pressures of gas-solvent-reservoir oil systems of the type encountered in gas and solvent injection processes. Experimental data from 14 systems were used to develop the correlation which expresses critical pressure as a function of composition, C7+ mol weight, and C7+ characterization factor. Critical pressures predicted by the correlation for the 14 gas-solvent-reservoir oil systems have an average deviation of 2.8 per cent of the experimental values. The correlation war used to study a wide variety of other hydrocarbon mixtures reported in the literature whose critical conditions are in the range of interest in oil recovery work (100 to 280F and 2,000 to 6,000 psia). Critical pressures predicted by the correlation had an average deviation, expressed as per cent of experimental value, of 5 per cent for 20 miscellaneous mixtures from the literature, and 6.4 per cent for I7 methane-butane-decane mixtures reported by Sage and Lucey. INTRODUCTION Predicting critical points of hydrocarbon mixtures is an important part of phase behavior calculations. If the critical point can be predicted for a specific mixture, the separation between the bubble-point and dew-point regions will be defined, and physical properties of the mixture can be calculated by using the principle of corresponding states. Numerous correlations for predicting critical points of hydrocarbon mixtures have been published. Six of these correlationsl-8 were for light hydrocarbons, and two correlations7,8 ere for high boiling-point petroleum distillates. Organick9 And Eilerts" presented correlations which combined the published data from both light and heavy mixtures, and these correlations became the only available methods for predicting critical pressures for wide boiling range mixtures. In the course of the authors' work on secondary recovery by gas and solvent injection, experimental data were obtained for 14 mixtures of dry gas, ethane-propane-butane solvents, and various reservoir oils. The critical pressures and critical temperatures of these gas-solvent-reservoir oil systems were in the range of 1,900 to 4,800 psia and 180 to 265F. The critical pressures predicted for the 14 mixtures by the correlations of Organick and Eilerts had an average deviation from the measured values of about 13 per cent. The authors felt that it was necessary to develop a better correlation for engineering calculations and the resultant correlation, which is presented on Figs. 1 and 2, predicts the critical pressures of the 14 mixtures with an average deviation of 2.8 per cent. The validity of the correlation was tested by applying the correlation to other hydrocarbon mixtures reported in the literature. This subject is discussed later in the paper. The authors feel that there is also a need for an improved critical temperature correlation for gas-solvent-reservoir oil systems. However, developing a critical temperature correlation is a significant study in itself and is not included in this paper. EXPERIMENTAL DATA The compositions and critical points obtained by the authors for 14 gas-solvent-reservoir oil mixtures are shown on Table 1. The methane concentrations in these mixtures varied from 20 to 63 mol per cent. The intermediate hydrocarbon group, consisting of ethane, propane, and butane, varied from 20 to 64 mol per cent, and the concentration of the C,, fraction from 10 to 20 mol per cent. The physical properties of the C,, fraction covered the range from light, paraffinic, nonasphaltic (Mixtures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10) to heavy, aromatic, and asphaltic (Mixtures 13 and 14).