Search Documents

ASIDE from the John Fritz Medal, in which the Institute partici¬pates through its representation on the John Fritz Medal Board, the Institute itself has three major awards to make annually and one special prize for excellence in technical papers, as follows The Robert W. Hunt Medal and Prize, The J. E. Johnson, Jr , Award, the James Douglas Medal, and The Lewisohn Platinum Prize to senior members. ROBERT W. HUNT MEDAL AND PRIZE The partners of Robert W. Hunt established a fund which was presented to the Institute at a fitting ceremony on May 27, 1920, to establish an annual medal and a sum of money to be awarded under the following rules¬ 1 The award shall consist of two prizes, first of a gold medal, second of a sum of money, a certificate to accompany each prize. The money prize shall not be awarded to -a member over 40 years of age, but under unusual circumstances, both prizes may be allotted to one person provided that he is not over 40 years of age. In general it will be understood that the Committee shall award the money prize to the younger men, rather than the medal 2 The awards shall be made not oftener than once a year to that person or persons contributing to the Institute the best original paper or papers on iron and steel The scope of the term "iron and steel" shall be determined by the sub-committee considering the awards In general, papers dealing with the practical side of the subject have preference over those dealing with the theoretical side m recognition of the fact that Captain Hunt's main contributions to the industry have been in the improvement of production and quality of material. 3 A sub-committee of three to five, including the Chairman of the Iron and Steel Committee, shall be appointed by the Iron and Steel Committee annually to adjudge the award subject to approval.. , 4 The awarding committee shall submit its report to the Iron and Steel Committee at its October Meeting, and the award be certified to the Secretary of the Institute in time to permit the presentation to be made at the Annual Meeting of the Institute. 5 The recipient of the award shall be designated "The Hunt Medallist " This prize is administered by the Iron and Steel Committee.

Jan 1, 1923

By F. A. Kjellin

The problem of smelting steel by electricity attracted years ago the attention of inventors, and as early as 1879 C. W. Siemens constructed his first furnace for the smelting of metals, especially steel. His furnace was of the arc type in which the voltaic arc was formed between a carbon electrode and the metallic content of a crucible, the length of the arc being regulated by an electromagnetic device. This electric furnace, as well as others of similar construction, has the inconvenience that the source of the heat—the voltaic arc—possesses a temperature of 3,700' C., which is much

Jan 1, 1904

By E. W. Edson, F. W. Hertal

In some fields the problem of mud fluid is simple and easy of solution. But in the Ventura Avenue field the acquisition and disposal of good drilling mud is not the least of the problems that confront the operator. In fact, mud fluid in the Ventura Avenue field is a very important factor in the drilling of the wells. It is quite probable that many of the factors affecting mud in this field will not be found in most of the fields with which the reader is familiar. However, in the fields where the mud fluid causes no apparent problem it is probable that some of the points brought out in this paper could be used to economic advantage. In fields where caving and squeezing formations and high gas pressures are present, as in the Ventura Avenue field, it is believed that application of methods outlined will be of great assistance in drilling wells. On account of the sandy nature of the formation and the lack of suitable shale bodies in the strata drilled through in the Ventura Avenue field, the wells make practically no mud during drilling. It is necessary therefore to supply drilling mud to the wells that will carry the drill cuttings to the surface, and also will " wall up" the drill hole and prevent the sandy formations from caving. Mixing and Handling Mud Fluid The clay used to make the mud fluid is obtained from a shale stratum in the upper Pico (Plioccne) formation found about a mile on either side of the field. Since high gas pressures and caving formations were first encountered in the Ventura Avenue field and mud fluid was needed to combat them, the mixing of this mud fluid has gone through a process of evolution. First, the clay was mined and hauled to the derrick, where it was shoveled into the well and left for the churning action of the bit to mix into a mud in the hole. The next move was the construction of a mixer to mix the clay to a mud fluid which was pumped into the well. These mixing

Jan 1, 1930

By Julien F. Phillips, Donald E. Garrett

The production of soda ash from natural sources is one of the United States' oldest industries. The London Company, which financed the settlement of Jamestown, in the fall of 1608 exported in its first cargo from Virginia " . . . trials of pitch, tar, glass, frankincense, and soap-ashes."1 This last product, a crude mixture of sodium and potassium carbonates obtained by the burning of wood in iron pots, was the commercial soda ash of its day, used in the infant soap, glass, and bleaching industries. Besides having a good cash value, its production helped to clear the land, and it was a compact, easily shipped commodity. The extra high potassium content of these American "pot-ashes" gave them an added market as a fertilizer, a field that they dominated until the opening of the Strassfurt deposits in 1860. This form of natural soda ash disappeared forever from commercial importance with the introduction of the Le Blanc process (1791), and later the Solvay process for manufacturing soda ash. The Solvay process was rapidly accepted in the United States, and has accounted for most of the country's soda ash production since 1884. It was not until the western part of the country began to be developed that natural soda ash was again produced. A number of lakes, playas, and springs west of the Rocky Mountains were found to be rich in this mineral, and climatic conditions were ideal for its easy recovery by solar evaporation. The production of natural soda ash from these deposits has become a steadily growing industry in the United States. Production A summary of the production and value of natural sodium carbonates in the United States is presented in Table 1. Prior to 1927 the principal output came from several different companies at Owens Lake, California. Then production at Searles Lake, California, began to [ ] increase until it became the most important source. In 1948 the sale of crude trona from Green River, Wyoming, commenced and since that time production from these latter two areas has been about equal. Table 2 lists the four

Jan 1, 1960

By R. B. Basham, C. W. Macune

Very small anomalies in oil well temperatures are detected and measured by recording the difference in temperature existing between two thermally sensitive elements which are Spaced several feet apart on a small diameter carrier and lowered into the bore hole. The elements operate in a balanced electrical circuit, sending only a reference signal to the surface as long as normal gradient temperatures are encountered. When either element enters a temperature disturbance, the circuit is unbalanced and produces large recorder deflections for minute anomalies. The system is highly sensitive to small changes in thermal gradients caused by gas or fluid movements and to the boundaries between beds of different thermal conductivities. Typical logs show successful applications of the process to locating gas and water leaks in casing, gas entry. and gas-oil contact. INTRODUCTION Temperature measurements in oil wells have been made for many years in the search for additional sub-surface data. It has been generally agreed that many conditions in the bore hole cause temperature anomalies which, if located and measured, could yield useful information. But it has been recognized also that many of the irregularities, such as those produced by small water and gas leaks in casing, might be very small and therefore difficult to detect with certainty.' Although tem-perature measurements have been made which show anomalies of less than one degree deviation from normal gradient temperatures, the results are usually uncertain and unconvincing. The general practice, therefore. has been to apply temperature surveys only to well conditions known to produce appreciable disturbances, such as large gas movements and cement hydration. The recent demand for additional data has focused attention on the problem of making dependable temperature measurements in the many instances when anomalies are small but none the less significant. It was for the purpose of detecting these minute irregularities in bore hole temperature that the program described in the following text was undertaken. It is emphasized that this presentation is not offered as a complete study, for the process is still partially experimental. But it is believed that the results obtained thus far will be of interest to the industry and will indicate some of the system's potential usefulness. DIFFERENTIAL MEASUREMENT The chief value of differential measurement lies in the fact that a difference between two factors can be measured with a scale of values best suited to that difference, a scale that might be cumbersome or impractical if applied to the factors themselves. When it is known that all factors will be nearly equal in value, and therefore the differences consistently small, it is possible to select a scale which will permit very accurate measurement of the differences. This advantage is in contrast to the difficulty of measuring small increments of a single variable, where the increment must be measured by a large scale which is suitable for measuring the entire factor. Gradient temperatures are usually measured under this latter condition where temperature measuring apparatus must have a scale extending over the range of expected temperatures, say 50' to 25O°F, and it becomes almost impossible to detect small irregularities of less than one degree. The use of large strip chart recorders and divided multiple ranges tend to amplify the small anomaly and make it more pronounced. But the instability of instruments, both

Jan 1, 1952

By G. W. Reimers, S. E. Khalafalla

A colloidal solution of a ferrimagnetic material, such as magnetite, in a liquid that is immiscible with and lighter than water is projected for use in selective separation of particles according to their density spectrum. Magnetic levitation forces can be created as an antigravity field when the fluid is properly placed in an inhomogeneous magnetic field. When the gradient of the magnetic field is directed downwards, the levitation force in the fluid will be in an upward direction to float sinking nonmagnetic bodies by counterbalancing their density mismatch with the magnetic fluid. Several nonmagnetic objects with densities ranging from 2.50 to 11.35-g cm' were made to float or submerge at will in a 0.96-g cm' density fluid placed in vertical magnetic field gradients ranging from 0.1 to 1 kilo-oersted cm-'. The magnetic levitation force in dyne cm' was found to vary linearly as a function of the object-fluid density mismatch with a slope equal to one g, the acceleration due to gravity.

Jan 1, 1974

By E. S. Machlin, C. W. Chen

RECENTLY Chen and Machlin' proposed a mechanism for intercrystalline cracking in metals during high-temperature stressing. According to this mechanism the formation of voids at grain boundaries is primarily responsible for intercrystalline cracking. A model has been provided to demonstrate the initiation of submicroscopic cracks and voids at jogs of grain boundaries where grain boundary sliding is inhibited. Submicroscopic cracks can grow as a result of either further grain boundary sliding or localized tensile stress. In the former case, it is believed that grain boundary sliding produces more voids which link together to produce macroscopic cracks and which may lead to the eventual failure of the metal. Concurrently, Nield and Quarrell2 reported their interesting results obtained in a systematic investigation of intercrystalline cracking in two aluminum alloys under various creep conditions. Their observations are generally in agreement with the above mechanism, especially the conclusion that voids are formed as a direct consequence of grain boundary sliding. On the basis of the volume fraction occupied by voids, they could find no confirmation of vacancy condensation as the mechanism for void growth. Furthermore, an important feature of intercrystalline cracking has been likewise pointed out by them that the majority of cracks are not formed at grain corners. Nield and Quarrel1 meanwhile emphasized the importance of grain boundary migration by designating it as one of two main processes operative in the mechanism of crack formation during creep. The designation seems unnecessary because overemphasis of grain boundary migration only complicates the mechanism of void formation. There are two reasons which militate against the inclusion of grain boundary migration in the mechanism of void formation. In the first place, the formation of intercrystalline voids per se does not require grain boundary migration. Secondly, in addition to grain boundary migration, void formation may be minimized by any other process such as plastic deformation which is capable of relieving localized stresses around jogs. Chang and Grant3 have shown that intercrystalline cracking is prevented in aluminum by lattice bending in high stress regions. The influential role played by grain boundary migration in creep has also been realized in our studies. In several cases, voids did not appear at all in grain boundaries whenever grain boundary migration took place prominently during creep. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the effect of grain boundary migration on the formation of intercrystalline voids and other related rupture properties. Experimental evidence indicates that in an unstable grain structure void formation may be markedly modified by structural changes. The abnormally high ductility and the transcrystalline mode of fracture observed in copper at elevated temperatures reveals that effective grain boundary migration minimizes void formation. Grain boundary migration has long been known as a common high-temperature phenomenon in metals with the grain configuration in a nonequilibrium state. Its effect on ductility and mode of fracture has not been recognized until recently.4 Since the introduction of the term "Equicohesive Temperature," the conventional belief has been that below the equicohesive temperature the ductility of metals increases moderately with decreasing temperature until the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature of fracture is reached. In this temperature range, metals fracture in a ductile mode with a "cup-and-cone" fracture surface. Above the equicohesive temperature, ductility remains invariably low and decreases slightly with increasing temperature. The mode of fracture is strictly brittle and intercrystalline. Typical examples have been shown for a brass and copper in Fig. 1 and 9, respectively, in the paper by Greenwood, Miller, and Suiter.5 The observation in the upper temperature range that ductility of metals is low and insensitive to temperature may be explained in terms of void formation at grain boundaries. It is also in accordance with the findings of McLean6 and Fazen, Sherby, and Dorn7

Jan 1, 1961

By Riki Kobayashi, D. L. Katz

The conditions at which methane and water form solid hydrates have been extended from 4,000 to 11,200 pounds per sq. in. The curve at high pressure had been in doubt because of Villard's report of a critical decomposition temperature. The paper explains the nature of the hydrate curve at high pressure and its dependence on fluid phase behavior. Extropolation of the methane hydrate curve indicates a pressure of 40,000 pounds per sq. in. will cause hydrates to form at a temperature of 100" F. INTRODUCTION The conditions under which natural gases form hydrates when liquid water is present have been studied by several investigators up to pressures of about 4,000 pounds per sq. in. The early work by Villard on hydrates of methane and ethylene13, ethane'', and propane14 included references to critical decomposition temperatures of the hydrates. Villard's work raised the question as to whether the pressure-temperature curve for methane-water hydrate continued above a temperature of 70.7°F. or whether this was the maximum temperature at which hydrates would form. This paper extends the experimental data on methane hydrate to 11,200 pounds per sq. in. A discussion of phase relations in the hydrate region for the hydrocarbons and of the methane-water system at high pressures is included. PREVIOUS WORK Villard suspected that methane hydrates could not be formed at temperatures above 21.5°C. (70.7°F.)la irrespective of the pressure of the liquid-vapor system. However, he was limited in his studies by his apparatus in 1888 to pressures not greater than 300 atmospheres (4,410 pounds per sq. in.) so that there has remained some doubt as to the existence of such a maximum temperature in this region. For the case of ethylene hydrates, however, Villard does specifically state the occurrence of what he terms a "critical temperature for the decomposition of the hydrates"13. Fig. lB shows a pressure-temperature projection of the three-phase locus, hydrate-ethylene rich liquid-vapor (H-L2-V) terminating at the critical locus in which L² and V assume similar properties. Throughout this paper the following phase designations will be used: H for hydrate, Ll for the water rich liquid. L2 for the

Jan 1, 1949

By Riki Kobayashi, D. L. Katz

The conditions at which methane and water form solid hydrates have been extended from 4,000 to 11,200 pounds per sq. in. The curve at high pressure had been in doubt because of Villard's report of a critical decomposition temperature. The paper explains the nature of the hydrate curve at high pressure and its dependence on fluid phase behavior. Extropolation of the methane hydrate curve indicates a pressure of 40,000 pounds per sq. in. will cause hydrates to form at a temperature of 100" F. INTRODUCTION The conditions under which natural gases form hydrates when liquid water is present have been studied by several investigators up to pressures of about 4,000 pounds per sq. in. The early work by Villard on hydrates of methane and ethylene13, ethane'', and propane14 included references to critical decomposition temperatures of the hydrates. Villard's work raised the question as to whether the pressure-temperature curve for methane-water hydrate continued above a temperature of 70.7°F. or whether this was the maximum temperature at which hydrates would form. This paper extends the experimental data on methane hydrate to 11,200 pounds per sq. in. A discussion of phase relations in the hydrate region for the hydrocarbons and of the methane-water system at high pressures is included. PREVIOUS WORK Villard suspected that methane hydrates could not be formed at temperatures above 21.5°C. (70.7°F.)la irrespective of the pressure of the liquid-vapor system. However, he was limited in his studies by his apparatus in 1888 to pressures not greater than 300 atmospheres (4,410 pounds per sq. in.) so that there has remained some doubt as to the existence of such a maximum temperature in this region. For the case of ethylene hydrates, however, Villard does specifically state the occurrence of what he terms a "critical temperature for the decomposition of the hydrates"13. Fig. lB shows a pressure-temperature projection of the three-phase locus, hydrate-ethylene rich liquid-vapor (H-L2-V) terminating at the critical locus in which L² and V assume similar properties. Throughout this paper the following phase designations will be used: H for hydrate, Ll for the water rich liquid. L2 for the

Jan 1, 1949

By Warren J. Jackson, John L. P. Campbell

Automatic recording of the radioactivity of the earth's formations provides a log of relative intensities that, if properly interpreted, can be applied to oil-field engineering. Production, engineering, and geological departments regard the radioactivity log as a forward step in the securing of more conclusive information for successful well completions. Explanations of the technique, together with some of the problems to which radioactivity logging have been applied, are presented in this paper. Introduction Those responsible for the completion of new oil and gas wells, or with planning workover operations on old wells, have followed closely the development of radioactivity well logging because they are interested in reducing the number of unknowns that usually are present in such work. Many operators have made use of the log, or are acquainted with at least one of the applications, but it is unlikely that any one operator is familiar with all of the many applications that are possible. The purpose of this paper is to present a representative example of each of the many applications, wherever the information has been released by an operator, and to illustrate by hypothetical examples other applications, releases for which have not been given. In this way, it is hoped that a better understanding of the scope of this new engineering tool may be obtained. Athough the literature contains many references that describe in detail the theory, development, and application of radioactivity well logging, a brief discussion of the technique may be helpful to those who are investigating the subject for the first time, All rocks contain radioactive material in varying concentrations. In general, shales contain relatively more radioactive material than sandstones or limestones. These radioactive materials disintegrate with time into other materials of lower atomic weight, and in that process of disintegration the rocks are emitting many rays, the most penetrating of which is the gamma ray. The intensity of emission of the gamma ray is proportional to the quantities of radioactive materials present. A higher rate of emission would be observed, therefore, opposite a shale than opposite a sandstone or limestone. Since measurable intensities of gamma rays are capable of penetrating as many as five concentric strings of casing, and as the gamma-ray intensity is relative to the formations, the measurements of variations in gamma-ray intensities offer a means of identifying cased-off formations in their proper stratigraphic sequence. TEe Gamma-ray Curve The measurement of gamma-ray intensi ties is accomplished by means of an ioniza-tion chamber that consists of a heavy cylinder, about 3 ft. long, that contains two insulated electrodes and is Med with an inert gas under high pressure. Under normal conditions no current will flow through the gas when an electrical potential is set up between the electrodes, but when

Jan 1, 1946

By John L. P. Campbell, Warren J. Jackson

Automatic recording of the radioactivity of the earth's formations provides a log of relative intensities that, if properly interpreted, can be applied to oil-field engineering. Production, engineering, and geological departments regard the radioactivity log as a forward step in the securing of more conclusive information for successful well completions. Explanations of the technique, together with some of the problems to which radioactivity logging have been applied, are presented in this paper. Introduction Those responsible for the completion of new oil and gas wells, or with planning workover operations on old wells, have followed closely the development of radioactivity well logging because they are interested in reducing the number of unknowns that usually are present in such work. Many operators have made use of the log, or are acquainted with at least one of the applications, but it is unlikely that any one operator is familiar with all of the many applications that are possible. The purpose of this paper is to present a representative example of each of the many applications, wherever the information has been released by an operator, and to illustrate by hypothetical examples other applications, releases for which have not been given. In this way, it is hoped that a better understanding of the scope of this new engineering tool may be obtained. Athough the literature contains many references that describe in detail the theory, development, and application of radioactivity well logging, a brief discussion of the technique may be helpful to those who are investigating the subject for the first time, All rocks contain radioactive material in varying concentrations. In general, shales contain relatively more radioactive material than sandstones or limestones. These radioactive materials disintegrate with time into other materials of lower atomic weight, and in that process of disintegration the rocks are emitting many rays, the most penetrating of which is the gamma ray. The intensity of emission of the gamma ray is proportional to the quantities of radioactive materials present. A higher rate of emission would be observed, therefore, opposite a shale than opposite a sandstone or limestone. Since measurable intensities of gamma rays are capable of penetrating as many as five concentric strings of casing, and as the gamma-ray intensity is relative to the formations, the measurements of variations in gamma-ray intensities offer a means of identifying cased-off formations in their proper stratigraphic sequence. TEe Gamma-ray Curve The measurement of gamma-ray intensi ties is accomplished by means of an ioniza-tion chamber that consists of a heavy cylinder, about 3 ft. long, that contains two insulated electrodes and is Med with an inert gas under high pressure. Under normal conditions no current will flow through the gas when an electrical potential is set up between the electrodes, but when

Jan 1, 1946

By Charles E. Glass

The stabil ity of engineered embankments subjected to earthquakes has received considerable attention in the last 10 years, but most of the effort has been directed toward stability of earth dams. Based upon past performance, earthquake- induced failures on non-impounding mine waste structures will likely correspond to small, local slumps or debris slides, and their stability should be considered as an integral part of mine economic planning. As such, stability considerations should include earthquake hazard, characteristics of earthquake ground motion, dynamic slope stability, and the impact that waste-dump failures have on mine operations. Numerous techniques have been proposed for analyzing the stability of embankments subjected to earthquakes. Before choosing an analysis technique, it is worth noting two important differences between the dynamic response of waste embankments and natural slopes. First, waste embankments respond as structures having unique modes of vibration, which causes embankment motions to differ from nearby ground motion. Second, because of embankment response, accelerations can be different at embankment crests than elsewhere in the structure and occur at frequencies that do not correspond to input ground motion. Because of these factors, embankment response should be calculated prior to slope stability assessment. In this paper several analysis techniques designed to calculate slope stability are evaluated, and conventional pseudostatic techniques are shown to be inappropriate for dynamic considerations. Techniques to calculate dynamic stability should include embankment response, all characteristics of earthquake motion, and roughness along failure planes as input, and should provide a displacement time-history of the slide mass as output. Two techniques satisfy this criterion, and in this paper the LADRS technique is recommended for its versatility and simplicity.

Jan 1, 1985

By L. F. Wright

Operations of these two mining companies have some superficial similarities-geographical location, production rates, comparatively large ore reserves; but any critical comparison of mining and milling procedures or of economics must take into account the striking differences in geological environment and mineralogy of the respective ore deposits. The properties are only about 20 miles apart on an upland surface of moderate relief (part of the Interior Plateau of central B. C.) which occupies an area east of Thompson River between the towns of Ashcroft and Merritt. Being in the "dry belt" of British Columbia, water conservation is necessary at both operations.

Jan 12, 1963

By P. Barnes

The object of this paper is to make a brief comparison of the outlines of several forms of ports for steel-melting turnaces, in reference chiefly to the proper mixture; of the gas and air, and to the direction in which the flame is thrown down into the interior of the furnace. In the illustrations on the accompanying plate, Fig. 1 shows a form of port designed by M, Pernot, of St Chamond, France. This is used with the dome roof preferred by him fur the revolving bottom that bears his name. From No. 1 has been derived No. 2. This is shown on the plans of Mr. A. L. Holley, and from them three large furnaces have been built and put into operation by the Springfield Iron Company. Fig. 3 shows an outline proposed by Messrs. Richmond & Potts for the Pernot furnace. In this the ports are brought in under an arched roof of nearly the ordinary form, instead of over the top of the roof, as with the dome of M Pernot, Fig. 4 shows a furnace as built by Krupp of Essen, Prussia, for fluid refining, or " washing "-—to use the briefer French term. in this the gas and air come into contact in broad sheets one above the other, Fig. 5 shows the form used by Messrs. Richmond & Potts

Jan 1, 1881

By F. Cadena, Fred C. Bond, Walter L. Maxon

Grinding is one of the major problems in present-day milling practice, and in many cases, it represents one of the main items of expense. It becomes necessary from time to time, to compare grinding practice in one plant with that in another plant, and in making such comparisons, it would be very desirable were there available accepted standards of grinding resistance for the materials involved. Such a set of grinding constants would also be of considerable value in planning new grinding installations. There have been some tests published, notably those of Lennox,' which have been generally cited as a basis for such comparisons. Most of the tests made have been based upon open-circuit grinding, in which a weighed sample of the ore was crushed to pass a certain mesh, and was then ground under certain conditions, either wet or dry. Grinding was continued until a certain desired fineness was attained, and the comparisons based on the grinding time, or the samples were all ground for a certain specified length of time and comparison based upon the screen analysis of the products. Such methods have been acceptable where the ore was to be ground in open circuit. However, in modern milling practice, many grinding problems involve closed circuits wherein the oversize returns to the mill and a large circulating load builds up. A method of testing that does not take the circulating load into consideration might yield results quite different from those to be expected in practice, because the minerals in the ore that offer maximum resistance to grinding will accumulate in the circulating load up to an equilibrium value. Thus the nature of the ore charge in the mill at any instant may differ greatly from that of the new feed, with a consequent error in the rate of grinding determined by such a method. For example, let it be assumed that an ore to be tested consists of equal parts of difficult grinding mineral and easy grinding mineral. This is to be compared with an ore used as a standard, and consisting of minerals which are all of about the same grindability. If a comparison

Jan 1, 1935

By E. C. Houston

THE presence in the Tennessee Valley of extensive deposits of olivine, a silicate of magnesium and iron that contains approximately 28 per cent magnesium, has been recognized since 1896 when Lewis8 published a survey of basic magnesium rocks of western North Carolina. A recent field survey by T.V.A 7 showed that more than two hundred million tons of high-grade olivine occurs above local drainage levels in western North Carolina and northern Georgia. Except for sporadic attempts to work the olivine for its nickel and chromium contents,10 the ore received little attention industrially until 1926 when Goldschmidt3 suggested its use in the manufacture of refractories. Only one instance is recorded of an attempt to utilize the ore commercially for its magnesium content;" in this case a process was used in which olivine was treated with sulphuric acid, the resultant mixture was leached with water, and the leach solution was purified and evaporated to form epsom salts, which was the end product. As a part of its program of contributing to the development of the natural resources of the region, the Tennessee Valley Authority became interested in the olivine deposits as a source of metallic magnesium because of their high magnesium content and proximity to hydroelectric power. Studies were undertaken to determine the feasibility of producing magnesium chloride by extraction of olivine. The experimental work was carried out successively at the T.V.A. Minerals Testing Laboratory, Norris, Tenn., at the Georgia State Engineering Station,* Atlanta, Ga., and at the T.V.A. laboratory at Wilson Dam, Ala. The present paper describes a process, developed through the pilot-plant stage, whereby magnesium chloride suitable for reduction to metallic magnesium can be prepared from olivine by extraction with hydrochloric acid and subsequent purification. Research on the magnesium-from-olivine process, originally intended for peacetime use, was given impetus by the shortage of magnesium that existed at the beginning of the current world war. By the time the process was sufficiently developed to justify a proposal for its inclusion in the war program, the shortage had been met by expansion and development of other processes. However, it is believed that the magnesium-from-olivine process may have advantages that will warrant consideration of its use after the war, when the economics of the various processes rather than production on a wartime scale will be the criterion for commercial production of magnesium. DESCRIPTION OF PROCESS Metallic magnesium is produced electrolytically by the Dow and the Elektron

Jan 1, 1945

By T. M. Allen, W. H. White

THE Greenwood-Grand Forks area of southern central British Columbia, known as the Boundary District, has a long history of mining exploration and production. At the turn of the century this was the premier copper mining camp in the British Empire, its total production amounting to some 20 mil- lion tons. Most of this ore came from the great Granby mines at Phoenix, but the Motherlode mine at Deadwood camp, 6 miles to the west, and several mines in Summit camp, 5 miles north of Phoenix, made important contributions. The large deposits were exhausted in 1918 and the district since has seen only desultory exploration and salvage operations. The orebodies are mineralized skarn zones in limestone members of a thick series of Upper Paleozoic sedimentary and volcanic strata. Chalcopyrite is the primary ore-mineral. Copper carbonates and silicates occur sparingly in outcrops, but the oxidized zone generally is very shallow. Much of the surface is mantled by glacial drift which in most places ranges in thickness from 2 to 15 ft. In some of the hanging valleys, however, the glacial drift may be as much as 100 ft thick and may assume drumlin-like forms.

Jan 1, 1954

By Donald H. Yardley, A. Aly Selim

An economic simulation model was developed to predict the amount of copper recovered from copper oxide deposits, and the cost of producing it as a function of the deposit parameters. The economic simulation model includes programs for fragmentation design and cost, copper extraction, solution distribution and recovery, effluent solution cut-off grade, and financial analysis. Cost and price indices were also developed to evaluate the economic feasibility of in situ leaching operations as a function of their starting date. Application of the models to various hypothetical properties having the same area and different ore thickness shows that the effluent solution cut-off grade does not vary with the ore thickness nor with its grade. The percent of copper recovery is, however, shown to increase with the increase in the ore thickness and is independent of the ore grade. It is also shown that while the profit per unit of extracted copper increases with the increase in ore grade or ore thickness, the rate of return on total investment does not show any correlation.

Jan 1, 1979

By W. J. Schuster

*Original Pages Missing From Book HANNA COAL CO., Division of Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Co., operates three large under- ground mines in eastern Ohio. The section of Pitts- burgh No. 8 coal seam in which these mines are located varies in thickness from 52 to 64 in. It is immediately overlain by a stratum of shaly material 12 to 15 in. thick locally known as draw slate, which is structurally very weak and which disintegrates rapidly upon exposure to atmosphere. Immediately above the draw slate as it is normally found is a band of extremely high ash material 6 to 12 in. thick known as roof coal or rooster coal, and above this is a stratum of conglomerate material varying from 4 to 10 ft in depth. Overlying the conglomerate is' a relatively thick stratum of limestone, the first stable material above the Pittsburgh coal seam in eastern Ohio. With the method of full-seam mining that has been adopted, draw slate is shot down, loaded with the coal, and removed in the preparation plants. The roof coal then becomes the permanent roof. The major problem in mining the No. 8 seam in eastern Ohio is control of the roof. Since the strata above the draw slate contains no material with a structure firm enough to provide self-support, the roof begins to sag in a relatively short time after the coal and draw slate have been removed. The problem thus becomes one of getting temporary safety posts under this roof as quickly as possible to prevent a break or separation from occurring either in the roof coal or in the conglomerate above it.

Jan 5, 1954

By G. Kinder, R. Gilges, W. Stoker, R. Davey

The Bingham Canyon Mine, located 48 km (30 mi) southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, is operated by Kennecott Copper Corporation's Utah Copper Division. This operation is the world's largest open-pit copper mine and produces 96 000 tons (106,000 st) ore and 327 000 tons (360,000 st) waste each day. This material is loaded by large electric shovels and transported by both truck and rail haulage. To meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act of 1970 (as amended), new facilities for the control of smelter emissions were required and are now nearing the final stages of construction. The facility will be capable of treating all the output from the mine, some 2,530 tons (2,789 st) per day of combined concentrate and precipitate. Costing $280 million and necessitating the replacement of reverberatory furnaces with continuous smelting vessels, the plant, with its massive and complex gas handling and acid-making facility, is required to remain on-stream with the minimum of pollution control equipment outages to conform with Federal Regulation 52.2325. As part of this giant effort, the smelter planning team and supervisory staff considered that new, well organized, highly flexible, readily available maintenance information was essential to assist the maintenance personnel in the performance of their duties.

Jan 1, 1979