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By W. J. Fene

A comprehensive study of all bituminous coal-mine fatalities occurring in Pennsyl¬ vania during the 5-year period, 1926-1930, was made to try to determine the factors that in¬ fluence accidents which cause these fatalities. During this study some two thousand reports of fatalities were reviewed, and pertinent information as to causes and influencing factors were tabulated therefrom. These tabulations are discussed in detail, and in some instances recommendations are made with a view to reducing the hazards in certain classes of these accidents.

Sep 1, 1931

By Elaine Aparecida Santos Carvalho Costa

Esse trabalho tem como objetivo produzir e caracterizar uma rocha artificial composta por chamote e brita e uma resina epoxídica, visando obter um material nacional oferecendo uma alternativa econômica e ecológica. Primeiro foi determinada a composição granulométrica de maior empacotamento dos resíduos, para a produção dos corpos de prova foi utilizado vibração, vácuo e compressão. Os corpos de prova foram submetidos a ensaio físico, ensaio de flexão, desgaste abrasivo e resistência ao ataque químico. As rochas produzidas artificialmente apresentaram propriedades mecânicas dentro da faixa esperada e propriedades físicas abaixo do esperado quando comparada com outras rochas artificiais, se mostrou resistente ao ataque químico e resistente ao desgaste abrasivo, podendo deste modo ser empregadas para piso de alto tráfego.

Oct 30, 2017

By Cláudia Lisiane Fanezi da Rocha

Softwares desenvolvidos para análise das propriedades mecânicas em máquinas de ensaio de tração facilitam o trabalho rotineiro de caracterização dos materiais. No entanto, estes aplicativos não apresentam informações importantes como cálculos da incerteza de medição, cabendo uma análise da confiabilidade dos resultados obtidos por esses programas. O presente trabalho se propõe a comparar os valores dos limites de escoamento, de resistência, do módulo de elasticidade e da deformação final obtidos através do software Instron Bluehill® com os valores calculados através da análise minuciosa dos dados provenientes dos instrumentos de medição (célula de carga, extensômetro, sensor de deslocamento). Busca-se, assim, fornecer informações que auxiliem o trabalho de técnicos e engenheiros, além de estimar o erro percentual e desenvolver uma metodologia periódica para a garantia da confiabilidade da máquina de ensaio.

Aug 7, 2018

By W. A. Grosh

Records show that much of the lead produced in the Upper Mississippi Valley lead-zinc field was taken from natural openings along crevice systems at shallow horizons or at the surface. During the early history of the district, the shallow deposits were worked intensively; but in recent years the production of lead, except as a byproduct of deeper mining for zinc ores, has not been significant. Considering the methods of early mining, the character of mineralization, and the fact that galena can still be found on the surface of the old digging areas, it was reasoned that enough mineralization might remain on and above bedrock to permit, through the use of modern equipment and methods, economical re-treatment of surface material in the digging areas.

Jan 1, 1960

By I Zulkarnain, H Permana, R A. Binns

Through an ambitious but relatively low-cost program of marine fieldwork, laboratory investigations and technology-transfer and training activities, three Indonesia-Australia-led marine expeditions were undertaken aboard KR Baruna Jaya VIII between 2001 and 2003. These IASSHA (Indonesia-Australia Survey for Submarine Hydrothermal Activity) cruises have sought to discover and investigate a variety of potential ore forming hydrothermal systems in a range of tectonic settings. All cruises have been successful, both scientifically and from the point of view of training, creation of capabilities and capacity building for such research in Indonesia. Over 60 scientists and technicians from Indonesian and Australian institutions and agencies have been involved. Three new sites and a possible fourth site of hydrothermal activity were discovered in the Sangihe arc in northern Sulawesi. Surveys in the Tomini basin tested a hypothesis based on previous data which suggested this might be an isolated anoxic, brine-filled basin over 2000 m deep where igneous heat sources existed to generate hydrothermal mineralisation. The bay, however, was found to be open to adjacent deep ocean circulation, and there was no evidence of massive base metal sulfides. Subdued evidence of hydrothermal activity was found in the Sunda Strait associated with the famous Krakatau volcano and the extension of the seismically active Semangko Fault. The BANDAMIN program (Indonesia-Germany) covered a portion of the Banda arc in eastern Indonesia, and also found evidence of recent hydrothermal activity and epithermal sulfide mineralisation.

Jan 1, 2004

A series of petrological studies were carried out on the characteristics of alteration and mineralisation in mainly structural-controlled (Deep Star, Meikle, Deep Post) and predominantly lithological-controlled (Post-Betze-Screamer and West Leeville) gold deposits in the northern district of the Carlin trend, Nevada. Alteration and mineralisation in these deposits are hosted in a sequence of calcareous clastic units of the Devonian Popovich Formation, into which have been emplaced a number of Jurassic intrusions, and syn- to post-mineral Eocene dikes. Four hydrothermal events have been recognised in these deposits: an initial Devonian base metal system and early diagenesis; a Mississippian stage of alteration in conjunction with burial metamorphism; contact and hydrothermal alteration and base metal-gold mineralisation associated with the emplacement of the Jurassic intrusions; and a Carlin-style gold system related to Eocene magmatism.

Jan 1, 2004

By V. Dentoni

The paper deals with the assessment of the visual impact generated by surface mining and quarrying. Previous research works proved the applicability of an indirect method based on the elaboration of digital images through which the extent of the visible altered area and the chromatic contrast with the surrounding environment is calculated. The resulting level of visual impact allows an objective comparison among different cases as far as the evaluation procedure is univocally defined. The article illustrates the application of the method to a number of selected quarries located within the Sardinian territory; different issues are discussed such as the choice of the viewpoints from which the pictures are taken, the influence of the distance from the quarry to the selected viewpoints, the light condition and the orientation of the quarry faces. Moreover, the visual impact level obtained from pictures taken at the same time with five digital cameras are compared in order to evaluate the contribution on the overall uncertainty.

Jan 1, 2008

By Ananta L. Yennamani

Blast movement measurement (BMM) transmitters are a practical method to measure three-dimensional (3D) rock movement because of blasting. The BMM transmitters are activated, programmed and installed in specially designed drill holes prior to the blast and the BMM detector locates the transmitters after the blast. The BMM software then calculates and summarizes the 3D movement of each BMM transmitter ball. This information helps to redefine the ore and waste boundaries and enables improved ore and waste selection, resulting in a genuine step change in grade control. The BMM program was carried out at Newmont Mining Corp.?s Phoenix Mine, in northern Nevada near the town of Battle Mountain. The mine is in a historic mining district that contains gold, silver and copper. The geology of the pit consists of different formations made up of sandstone, siltstone, limestone, chert-pebble conglomerate, shale, skarn and quartzite, to name a few. Some of the rock is extremely hard and a powder factor of up to 0.5 kg/t (1 lb/st) is required to get adequate fragmentation to ensure sufficient throughput through the crusher and the mill. The result of using such a high powder factor translates into considerable blast movement and heave. This movement means that the ore/waste digging polygons estimated by the ore control engineer from sampling the initial blast holes will no longer be located in their original posi-tions. The purpose of this project was to test the measurement method and to see if locating the digging polygons in the broken muck pile and excavating to those polygons will improve grade control through the mill. Case studies (Zhang, 1994), (Taylor, 1995), (Gilbride, 1995), (Harris, 1997), (Taylor, 2003), Barrick Goldstrike (Gold-strike Mine, 2008), Ruby Hill Mine (Hilkewich, 2009), (Porcupine Mine, 2005) and (Aguirre, 2010) have shown that, by accounting for the blast movement, there is a potential to increase mineral recovery by as much as 25 percent for individual blasts for only a modest cost increase.

Jan 1, 2011

By Gregory M. Dexter

Recent litigation in Pennsylvania between three coal-mining companies and a private water company resulted in the payment by the coal companies of the equivalent of about $500,000 to buy a new water supply to replace that which had been damaged by acid drainage from strip mining. An investigation of the relevant facts indicates that the water could have been treated by spending about $40,000 on equipment and $15,000 yearly for chemicals, labor, and power until the contamination could be reduced about 80 pct. The water company's supply, furthermore, had deteriorated largely by reason of dry weather before stripping was begun by the coal companies. Payment to the water company should not have exceeded $300,000 and could have been as low as $100,000. Strip mining of coal is common in Pennsylvania. The most important objection to it in Pennsylvania is generally acid pollution of runoff water. An outline of the methods, therefore, that could be used to reduce such pollution, to compare acid-contaminated waters, and to treat such waters to make them satisfactory for public and industrial use is worth-while. The watershed of the West P~M Water Co. covers about 4.5 square miles, 20 miles west of Pittsburgh, and has two 90,000,000 gal reservoirs sup- plying about 1,300,000 gal daily for public and industrial use of which 450,000 gal daily are for two railroads. The pollution arises from weathered derivatives of typical "Coal Measures"

Jan 1, 1949

By W. S. Landers

This bulletin is a detailed study of low-temperature, entrained-bed carbonization of a Texas lignite. The lignite studied was from the Sandow strip mine and is representative of the Rockdale formation of the Wilcox formational group. Carbonization was conducted in a continuous entrained-bed reactor at several temperatures in the 8801 to 1,52°C F range, and at air-coal ratios it the 0 to 10.30 scf/lb range (moisture- and ash-free basis). Carbonization rates ranged from 97.1 to 410.0 lb/hr (as-received basis), At the higher air-to-coal ratios employed, all or most of the carbonization heat was provided by internal combustion with air in the reactor. At the lower air-to-coal ratios, parts of the heat for carbonization was supplied externally. It was demonstrated that the entrained-bed carbonization of lignite is a complex reaction and that several variables, of which carbonization temperature, air-to-lignite ratio, and the average size of lignite are important, act together to influence both the carbonization yields and the properties of the resultant products, Process variables established by pant tests were used to design the industrial scale carbonizer operated at Rockdale, Texas, by the Texas Power & Light Company as agents for the Aluminum Company of America. Properties of the carbonization product obtained from the industrial scale reactor were essentially the same as those obtained from the pilot plant reactor operated under the same conditions.

Jan 1, 1968

By L. A. Alcorn, H. E. Camargo, G. Gwaltney

"One of the most pervasive diseases in the mining industry is noise-induced hearing loss. The exposure of miners to noise levels above the permissible exposure level results in hearing loss in approximately 80% of coal miners by retirement age. In this context, the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is conducting research to develop noise controls for longwall mining systems, which are used to extract half of the national underground coal production.From field measurements, previous research determined that the dominant sound-radiating components at the shearer of a longwall system are the two cutting drums used to remove coal. Due to the dimensions and complexity of longwall mining systems, the NIOSH project developed a validated finite element model of the cutting drum to use in predicting the sound radiated by the drum due to the excitation forces experienced in underground operations. This same model will be used to develop engineering noise controls for the drum. The excitation forces arise from the interaction of the cutting bits and the coal and are transmitted to the cutting drum through the bit holders. Due to the adverse conditions at the face, and a lack of instrumentation approved for underground use, the operational coal cutting forces have not been assessed before. To this end, NIOSH, in collaboration with Michigan Technological University, developed a self-contained, intrinsically safe instrumented bit to measure these forces.This paper describes the development of the instrumented bit and the measuring of operational coal cutting forces at three working coal mines. The measurements revealed that the forces have a flat spectrum, representative of the impact nature of these forces, up to around 100 Hz. Above this cutoff frequency, the force magnitude decreases at a rate proportional to the inverse of frequency squared."

Jan 1, 2014

By G. L. Zhu, Y. F. Wu, H. Nagaumi

A novel eutectic-type alloy Al12Si-HTC with high thermal conductivity has been developed by strict chemical composition control and heat treatment. The thermal conductivity of the alloy is about 30 % higher than that of current commercial Al12Si alloy. The Al12Si-HTC alloy has a silicon content of 10~12 wt.%, which provides excellent castability. Trace element strontium or calcium is added to modify eutectic silicon, and contents of transition elements such as copper, manganese are controlled in a low level. By appropriate heat treatment, thermal conductivity of the castings increases by 7.5 % and finally reaches 172 W/(m·K). It is found that eutectic silicon modification which makes average particle size finer than 2µm plays a dominant role in improving thermal conductivity, as well as further spheroidization of eutectic silicon and reduction of lattice defects in a-Al microstructure in subsequent heat treatment process. The alloy is successfully applied to produce a certain communication enclosure with complex finned structure by die casting process in industrial scale. The results of numerical simulation and thermal analysis experiments show that when manufactured by Al12Si-HTC alloy, the surface temperature of chips in the enclosure is reduced by 2.0~4.5 ? and the temperature distribution is more homogeneous compared with traditional Al12Si alloy.

Jan 1, 2015

By Matheus Neugebauer Motta

O alto-forno (AF) corresponde à principal rota de produção de ferro-gusa, matéria-prima do aço. O maior desafio para as usinas siderúrgicas, nos dias de hoje, é a redução do consumo de coque, principal combustível utilizado no AF. Diante disso, o processo de injeção de carvão pulverizado (PCI – Pulverized Coal Injection) é largamente empregado para substituir parte do coque utilizado por carvões de menor custo. A fim de estudar a combustibilidade de carvões e outros combustíveis sólidos com potencial para ser utilizado em PCI, o Laboratório de Siderurgia da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (LaSid-UFRGS) desenvolveu um simulador capaz de avaliar os fenômenos envolvidos na combustão desses materiais em condições semelhantes às encontradas no AF, permitindo selecionar combustíveis, ou misturas desses, que sejam mais apropriados ao AF. Um dos principais diferenciais do equipamento é a possibilidade de coleta tanto de gases de combustão quanto de char (resíduo da combustão). Portanto, a eficiência de combustão pode ser avaliada dessas duas formas. Este trabalho tem por objetivos apresentar a automação do ensaio de combustão realizado pelo simulador de PCI do LaSid-UFRGS e mostrar alguns resultados de ensaios realizados..

Oct 30, 2017

By D. D. Smith, D. P. Squier, E. L. Dougherty

A system of differential equations describing the temperature behavior of fluid injected at constant surface temperature in a well is derived and .solved analytically. A formula for the fluid temperature at any time and depth is given, as well us a special formula valid for very large times. These formulas are used to calculate temperatures for several typical cases. The results indicate that, initially, the temperature of the water entering the formation is considerably lower than the injection temperature. This condition lasts for only a short period— less than three days for most cases of practical interest. Following this highly transient period, during which the temperature of the fluid entering the formation builds up to about 50 to 75 per cent of the injection temperature. the system enters a quasi-steady state in which the temperature changes are very slow. After severl years, the bottom-hole temperature will still be 50" to 100°F lower than the injection temperature, hilt the heat losses may he tolerable. INTRODUCTION Predicting the behavior of a hot-water flood requires that the temperature of the water entering the injection interval be estimated. This report describes the development and solution of a system of equations which describes the temperature behavior of the injected water in the wellbore with certain simplifying assumptions. The only previous means known to the authors for describing such a process is that of Moss and White.' Their results appear to be close to those obtained by our method in the practical cases which were compared; this agreement is largely due to the fact that in our method temperature soon approaches a quasi-steady state, as was assumed in their method throughout. However, our model covers all times, is continuous (whereas the Moss-White model depends on breaking the depth into discrete intervals) and. we feel. more closely describes the physical problem. FORMULATION OF THE PROBLEM PHYSICAL SYSTEM AND ASSUMPTIONS The injection procedure consists of pumping water at a fixed surface temperature T., down an infinitely long cylindrical well or tubing of inner radius Any material exterior to the water column such as mud, casing, or cement is regarded as part of the formation. The general behavior of the system may be described qualitatively as follows. When the hot water is first introduced into the system, the temperature difference between the formation and the water is large, resulting in a high rate of heat transfer. As a result, the temperature adjacent to the wellbore rises very quickly. Because the segment of the formation adjacent to the wellbore largely controls the heat transfer rate, the heat transfer rate will become relatively constant when this portion has reached a temperature close to that of the water opposite it. The temperature of the water and formation then increase very slowly with time. The length of the initial highly transient period and the temperature of the water at its conclusion will be functions of depth, injection rate, injection-string radius, surface injection temperature and the physical properties associated with the water-formation system. The following additional assumptions were made. 1. There is no heat transfer by radiation in the system. 2. There is no heat transfer by conduction in the vertical direction in either the injection stream or the formation. 3. The linear volumetric and mass flow rate of the water is constant throughout the injection stream. 4. No horizontal temperature gradient exists in the injection stream. 5. The product of density and heat capacity is constant for both the water and the formation, and the formation thermal conductivity is constant. 6. Initially, both the water in the wellbore and the reservoir are at a temperature given by the (constant) ambient surface temperature plus the product of depth and geothermal gradient (assumed constant). At large distances for the wellbore (r m), the formation will remain at this temperature. 7. The water temperature and the formation temperature at r — r,, are equal for all depths D. DERIVATION OF EQUATIONS The differential equation satisfied by the fluid temperature T,(D, t), which is obtained by writing a heat balance on a cylindrical differential of volume dV of the injection string between the depths D and D i dD, is

By A. J. de Witte

It has been observed that upon invasion of a sand containing oil or gas and connate water by mud filtrate the hydrocarbons are more rapidly flushed by the filtrate than is the connate water.' In time, it appears that the following displacement pattern emerges: oil (or gas) is being swept ahead by connate water which, in turn, is pushed by invading fluid. Eventually the connate water may have "banked up" sufficiently to form a zone of appreciable thickness leading the invading front. In the extreme case, Fig. 1 shows how the situation will develop.' Immediately adjacent to the borehole (radius r) there is a zone, the invaded zone proper, where the connate water has been flushed out completely and which contains only residual oil or gas and mud filtrate. This zone (extending out to a radius ri) grades more or less abruptly into the next (thickness A), which contains only residual hydrocarbon and connate water. Beyond it, again more or less sharply bounded, extends the virgin formation with the original interstitial water saturation Sw. The various saturations are indicated in Fig. 1. The three zones generally will be marked by resistivity contrasts owing to their different fluid contents. As the connate water is usually more saline than the invading fluid, the second zone having a high connate water saturation forms a concentric cylindrical ring or annulus of low resistivity R, around the borehole.',' It will be referred to as the "low zone." Fig. 1 shows schematically the resistivity profile. It is clear that the phenomenon of a low zone could not occur in invaded water sands. The presence of a low zone, therefore, would be a qualitative indication of a hydrocarbon-bearing formation. Granted that the phenomenon is real, if it were pronounced enough to be detected, one might thereby have a means of locating oil or gas in the ground. This is the aim of the "displacement logging" method.' In any case, the presence of a low resistivity zone will affect the reading of electric logs. Using conventional log interpretation techniques, one must be aware of this and, if necessary, correct for it. Whether correction or detection should be the goal will depend primarily on the magnitude of the effect. The type of log which is likely to be affected most is the induction log. The current pattern of an induction log is concentric with the borehole. Any concentric ring of low resistivity, therefore, will tend to become crowded by current lines. This zone of maximum current density will obscure the relative contributions to the current conduction by other portions of a bed making, for instance, the contribution of the virgin formation less significant and thus detracting from the value or the induction log as an R, reading device. The present note is intended to ascertain the maximum possible effect of a low zone in the extreme case portrayed by Fig. 1 on three commercially available types of induction logs, sc., 5 FF 27, 5 FF 40 and 3 F 60. Type 5 FF 27 or 5 PF 40 is currently run in conjunction with a 16 in. normal and SP log. This combination is gradually replacing the regular electric survey (two normals and one lateral) as a standard log in many areas. On the basis of the scheme of Fig. 1 (sharp boundaries between successive zones), the thickness of the low zone may be computed for various amounts of infiltration measured by the ratio of invaded zone diameter to hole diameter D,/d. Referring to Fig. 1, we can set up a material balance for the water displaced from the invaded zone proper and the water present in the low zone. The volume of connate water displaced from invaded zone upon flushing by mud filtrate is: V1 = e p (r2 - r2) ? Sw . where c = bed thickness ? = porosity Su, = original connate water satu-ration. The volume of water finally accu-mulated in the low zone is: Vz = e p [(r1 -?)2 - r2 4] ? Sw . where SW1 = 1 — Sor = "water" saturation in the invaded and low zones both. The volume of water originally present in the low zone is:

Jan 1, 1958

By G. G. Morgis

A reasonably clear and broad definition of occupational disease as originated by the Supreme Court of Ohio is: "A disease contracted in the usual and ordinary course of events which from the common experience of humanity is known to be incident to a particular employment." An ailment does not become an occupational disease simply because it is contracted on the employer's premises. It must be one that is commonly regarded as natural to, inherent in, and concomitant of the work in question. The important distinction between accidental-traumatic injuries and occupational-disease injuries is that accidents occur at specific times, ordinarily are discovered readily, and usually leave no question as to the particular employer it whose development the accident occurred. On the other hand, occupational diseases may develop slowly, unknown to the employer and employee until disability occurs, and the injuries sustained are continuing disabilities over an extended period of time and may be incurred while the employee is working for one of several employers.

Jan 1, 1952

By Jaime Gómez, María Luisa Pecho

El presente trabajo de investigación aplicada tiene como fin dar a conocer los hallazgos experimentales obtenidos, a niveles de laboratorio y de Planta Piloto, sobre el comportamiento de los sulfuros comunes en la flotación con agua de mar

Sep 30, 2022

By Tassos Grammatikopoulos, Mike Johnson, Niels Verbaan

Seabed polymetallic nodules, which contain significant quantities of metals key to electrification (nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese) can be processed using several different metallurgical processing options, including direct smelting and subsequent hydrometallurgical refining of the copper/nickel matte, ammoniacal leaching (gas reduction or Cuprion), and acid leaching (often reductive). Many of these approaches suffer from reduced cobalt extraction, difficult physical performance, or overall circuit complexity in general, leading to increased risk to the overall project. SGS has considered pressure acid leaching of nodules for further investigation, as publicly shared data on this processing route stems from the 1970s and 1980s and is not always easily accessible. This paper will detail the series of tests conducted and provide updated results obtained (high Ni/Co/Cu recovery with limited Mn/Fe), as well as comment on the potential treatment options on the product solution and residue.

Feb 1, 2025

By Tassos Grammatikopoulos, Mike Johnson, Niels Verbaan

Seabed polymetallic nodules, which contain significant quantities of metals key to electrification such as nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn) can be processed using several different metallurgical processing options, including direct smelting and subsequent hydrometallurgical refining of the copper/nickel matte; ammoniacal leaching (gas reduction or Cuprion); and acid leaching (often reductive). Many of these approaches suffer from reduced cobalt extraction, difficult physical performance, or overall circuit complexity in general, leading to increased risk to the overall project. SGS has considered the pressure acid leaching of nodules for further investigation, as publicly shared data on this processing route stem from the 1970s and 1980s, and are not always easily accessible. This article details the series of tests conducted and provides updated results obtained — high Ni/Co/Cu recovery with limited manganese/iron (Mn/Fe) — as well as comments on the potential treatment options on the product solution and residue.

Sep 1, 2025

The Brothers hydrothermal system is host to two very contrasting vent fields and to date, is the only known example of this kind for any submarine arc volcano in the world. Firstly, there is the NW caldera field. It is perched on the caldera walls and is up to 1,200 years old, and represents a more ?mature? system dominated by water/rock interactions, though there is also evidence for magmatic contributions to the hydrothermal fluids. It is host to relatively high temperature (~300°C), focused venting of metal-rich fluids. Large Cu- and Zn-rich sulfide chimneys occur at this site, with high concentrations (up to 90 ppm) Au apparent in some chimneys. Vent fluids of the NW caldera site show sub-seafloor phase separation is occurring at this site. Silica concentrations in these vent fluids are consistent with the vent fluid temperatures. Secondly, there is the cone vent field that is much younger, and which sits atop the summits of a main cone (the Upper cone) and an adjacent satellite cone (the Lower cone) that occur inside the caldera, near the southern caldera walls. This field is dominated by S-rich vents with vent fluids more diffuse, lower in temperature (<120°C), very gassy and acidic (to pH 1.9), and relatively metal-poor. Fluids of the cone site have Mg and SO4 concentrations higher than seawater values, indicating these ions have been added to the hydrothermal fluid and are not being depleted via normal water/rock interactions. Variability occurs between the two cone vent fields, with the diffuse discharge observed at the Upper cone volumetrically small and chemically different from the Lower cone. For example, from the vent fluid Mn, Li, Rb, and Cs concentrations, it is apparent that the Lower cone has experienced a lower degree of water/rock interaction (i.e., more reaction) than the Upper cone. Vent fluid pH is higher for Lower cone, consistent with more reaction and neutralization of acidic gases. Fe/Mn is lower at the Lower cone due to decreased Fe solubility at the higher pH. The lowest pH sample (1.9) is from the Upper cone that has 39.4 mmol/kg of SO4, consistent with input of magmatic SO2 and disproportionation to sulfuric acid and S or H2S. Thus, the Upper cone site could be interpreted to have a shorter reaction path and residence time between the point of magmatic degassing and the seafloor venting than the Lower cone site. Isotopic compositions of the NW caldera and cone vent fluids show evidence for magmatic water with negative dD and d180 values, while 3He/4He values show the Brothers hydrothermal system has shifted towards more magmatic conditions over the past several years with both sites affected by magmatic events. Similarly, vent fluid sulfide d34S values and those for sulfide minerals from NE caldera chimneys also indicate disproportionation reactions involving magmatic SO2. Minerals such as chalcopyrite, bornite, chalcocite, covelllite and euhedral grains of hematite occurring in high temperature chimneys from the NW caldera site are consistent with a more oxidizing, magmatic fluid, while bulk sulfide geochemistry data show evidence for a higher temperature suite of elements (e,g., Mo, Co, Se) associated with Cu-rich chimneys. Gold mineralization occurs in these high temperature chimneys and is associated with the most recent deposition of high concentrations of Cu, where d34S values are most negative. Geophysical evidence suggests that the top of a magma chamber occurs ~2.5 km below the caldera floor, beneath the cone site in the SSE quadrant of the volcano. Very low velocities of <1 km-2 are seen in the seismic data between the magma and the seafloor, and are indicative of gas release. Harmonic tremor data provide evidence for a 500 m pipe-like ?conduit? located above the magma chamber (and below the cone), linking it with the overlying hydrothermal system, providing a mechanism for magma-derived metals to enter the hydrothermal system under the cone site. The NW caldera and cone sites are considered to represent stages along a continuum between magmatic-hydrothermal and water/rock-dominated end-members.

Jan 1, 2010