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By Daniel T. O’Brian

Exploration targets and results in the mining industry are commonly summarized in terms of tonnage and grade. Business appraisals require, as additional information, the expected profit or loss implied by the physical summary. The early incorporation of knowledge gained through financial analysis computations can provide a means for economically resolving many common exploration and development problems. Examples of such applications from the activities of exploration planning, reconnaissance, land acquisition and develoment planning follow. While prospecting for mineral deposits, geologists are frequently asked what they have found or hope to find. The response is usually descriptive, such as: "50 million tons of 1% copper," and the economic implications are deferred until a capital investment decision is required. At that time a financial analysis integrating the four analysis components-tonnage and average grade above cutoff grade, capital and operating costs, product value, appropriate profit or loss accounting-are completed.

Jan 10, 1969

By Donald W. Gentry

Many firms in the minerals industry are facing enormous capital-equipment requirements for existing operations, planned expansion programs, pollution control systems, etc. Yet, because of existing economic conditions, mining companies find it increasingly difficult to obtain reasonable financing for the acquisition of large, high-cost capital equipment. One way of obtaining the use of mining and other major pieces of high-cost capital equipment is through leasing. The popularity of this approach is evidenced by the growing number of leasing companies, equipment manufacturers, and financial institutions now offering this service to their customers. Indeed, leasing has become a billion-dollar industry, and many commercial banks have developed sizeable portfolios in this area. "Should we buy or lease?" This question eventually comes up whenever a mining company needs additional major capital assets. Unfortunately, many buy-or-lease decisions are made on an emotional basis-rather than on a proper financial evaluation that would yield the…

Jan 9, 1975

By Olin G. Bell

At the beginning of the year 1935 the older fields in Southwest Texas, and particularly those discovered during 1934, had been practically delimited and only normal development continued. As a result, operations in this area were somewhat slowed down. Shortly after the first of the year, however, activity in the area was greatly accelerated, due largely to the fact that the Loma Novio field, discovered during the last few days of 1934, indicated the presence of a new productive trend east of and parallel to the Government Wells field and also indicated the presence of a new productive horizon, the Loma Novio sand, approximately 100 ft. lower than the Government Wells sand zone. Other discoveries during the year greatly augmented the activity in the district. During the year there were 651 oil wells, 53 gas wells and 275 dry holes drilled in this area during the year. Most of the operations were in the Government Wells, Cole, Loma Novio, Seven Sisters and Lopez fields. New Fields Four new fields were discovered during 1935 as follows: Seven Sisters and Piedra de Lumbre in Duval County; Loma Alto in McMullen County; and Lopez in Webb County. Seven Sisters Field.—The Seven Sisters field, opened in May, was the direct result of a systematic search for new productive areas northeast of the Loma Novio field. The first producer, Harvey & Henderson NO. 1 Chernosky, survey 226, was completed in the Labbe (Chernosky) sand at 2220 ft. However, the second producer, Santa Clara Oil Co. No. 1 Welder in survey 385, drilled about one mile south of the discovery well, failed to find production in the Labbé sand and was carried on down and completed in the Government Wells sand at 2473 ft. with an initial production of 20 bbl. of oil per hour. These two discoveries, in the Labbé and Government Wells sand, started an active leasing and drilling campaign in this part of Duval County and drilling operations continued especially active throughout the remainder of the year.

Jan 1, 1936

By Olin G. Bell

At the beginning of the year 1935 the older fields in Southwest Texas, and particularly those discovered during 1934, had been practically delimited and only normal development continued. As a result, operations in this area were somewhat slowed down. Shortly after the first of the year, however, activity in the area was greatly accelerated, due largely to the fact that the Loma Novio field, discovered during the last few days of 1934, indicated the presence of a new productive trend east of and parallel to the Government Wells field and also indicated the presence of a new productive horizon, the Loma Novio sand, approximately 100 ft. lower than the Government Wells sand zone. Other discoveries during the year greatly augmented the activity in the district. During the year there were 651 oil wells, 53 gas wells and 275 dry holes drilled in this area during the year. Most of the operations were in the Government Wells, Cole, Loma Novio, Seven Sisters and Lopez fields. New Fields Four new fields were discovered during 1935 as follows: Seven Sisters and Piedra de Lumbre in Duval County; Loma Alto in McMullen County; and Lopez in Webb County. Seven Sisters Field.—The Seven Sisters field, opened in May, was the direct result of a systematic search for new productive areas northeast of the Loma Novio field. The first producer, Harvey & Henderson NO. 1 Chernosky, survey 226, was completed in the Labbe (Chernosky) sand at 2220 ft. However, the second producer, Santa Clara Oil Co. No. 1 Welder in survey 385, drilled about one mile south of the discovery well, failed to find production in the Labbé sand and was carried on down and completed in the Government Wells sand at 2473 ft. with an initial production of 20 bbl. of oil per hour. These two discoveries, in the Labbé and Government Wells sand, started an active leasing and drilling campaign in this part of Duval County and drilling operations continued especially active throughout the remainder of the year.

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By Hans Neuberger

In our everyday life, visual perception plays perhaps a more important role than any of the other senses with which we are equipped by nature. It is, therefore, quite understandable that the average person associates with the term ''atmospheric pollution," clouds of dust, palls of smoke or deposits of soot, phenomena which are so familiar to the residents of industrial cities. On the other hand, "air" is usually considered the prototype of the invisible, of the intangible, and any suspensions in the air which do not conform to this concept, are regarded as foreign to the atmosphere and thus as "pollution." According to Webster, the term "pollution" implies uncleanness, impurity, in short, something undesirable. Although the scientist often accepts popular concepts, he is generally inclined to suspect that apparently "obvious" phenomena imply, literally, "more than meets the eye." To show that this suspicion is also justified with regard to atmospheric pollution, is the objective of this discussion. It will be shown that what seems foreign to the air at first sight, is by nature an integral part of it, and that the more important aspects of pollution generally escape attention. The Atmospheric Constituents We can distinguish two classes of atmos-pheric constituents: the Permanent gases, chiefly nitrogen, oxygen, traces of argon, neon, and others, and the variable constituents which include water in its different states, carbon dioxide, ozone, and various suspensions, either in gaseous, liquid or solid form. These suspensions, known by the collective term "Aerosol,"20 will be considered in detail. Dust There are two general types of aerosols: the first type is represented by the socalled "neutral" particles,3 commonly known as dust and experienced by everyone, as it is the more conspicuous type of suspensions. It often represents a special problem to the mining engineer, the mechanical engineer, the industrial engineer, and many other professional men. Dust consists of finely divided solids derived from weathering, drilling, handling and preparation of rocks and coal. Dust may also consist of organic or inorganic particles resulting from manufacture of a variety of products such as flour, rubber, lime and steel, from traffic on land be it on the highways, on rails or in city streets, from decomposed vegetation or from volcanic eruptions. Perhaps the most reviled member of this class of suspensions is the soot and fly ashes from coal fires and other combustion processes. The cosmic source of dust, namely the injection of meteoric matter into the atmos-,,here, is of minor significance because the concentration of particles is exceedingly small despite the relatively large mass of material which invades the earth's atmos-phere from space.

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