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By L. F. Stutzman, George Thodos

A new graphical method, which is a modification of that proposed by Buckley and Leverett', is presented for the determination of the displacing fluid saturation at breakthrough for frontal drive mechanisms. This method is applicable to all types of fluids, which may be either soluble or insoluble in the oil at reservoir and injection conditions. This adaptation has unique advantages in handling problems in which either liquids or gases are the displacing fluids. INTRODUCTION In the displacement of oil from a reservoir with water or gas injected into the formation or by the expansion of a gas cap, the determination of breakthrough or flood advance is important to define the initial and subordinate phases of the operation. Thus, the determination of the displacing fluid saturation at breakthrough is fundamental to the establishment of over-all reservoir production. Methods for analyzing this saturation and for calculating production rates have been previously reported1,'*".". All of these methods utilize the rate equation for linear flow developed by Buckley and Leverett1. xs = QT - Qn/A? (?fu/?Su) .....(1) Sp where f, represents the volumetric fraction of displacing fluid in the total flowing fluid within the reservoir as is defined by: fo = 1/1+ ku/kd µn/µn .......(2) Since the time, ?, necessary for the flood front to travel distance ?X is unknown, Eq. 1 cannot be solved directly for the determination of the breakthrough point. Therefore, it becomes necessary to solve Eq. 1 simultaneously with an equation representing a fluid bal-ance on the reservoir behind the flood front. To develop such a fluid balance equation, it has been assumed that the fluid composition is uniform in the reservoir behind the flood front. Based upon this assumption, the follow-ing equation can be derived from a material balance on the displacing fluid: x = (?X) s Dx ? x=0 [ Snx - Sn1 ] dx = QT - Qn/A? It is readily observed that the displacing fluid satura-tion behind the flood front, Snx, may be determined through the simultaneous application of Eqs. 1 and 3. Although the approach may vary, this objective re-mains the same for all of the previously mentioned graphical or analytical methods. After Sox is determined, it is then possible to calculate the gas-oil and/or water-oil ratios and the rates during the initial and subordinate phases of production, and thereby define the production history of the reservoir. In this presentation only the de-termination of Snx is considered, and the reader is re-ferred to the several texts in reservoir engineering2,4,5 for a complete discussion on the methods for establish-ing the production history of a reservoir. PROPOSED METHOD FOR DETERMINING Snx Since at any time the quantity, QT - Qn/A? is a constant, Eq. 1 may be expressed in differential form as follows: dxsn = QT - Qn/A? d (? fn/? Sn) sn .....(4) Eq. 4 may be substituted directly into Eq. 3 to obtain: ? fn/? Sn ? [ Snz - Sn] QT - Qn/A? d ( ? fn/? Sn) = QT - Qn/A? ...............(5) Eq. 5 simplifies to the expression: ? fn/? Sn ? [ Snz - Sn] QT - Qn/A? d ( ? fn/? Sn) = 1 ....(6)

Jan 1, 1958

By Sidney Katell

This report covers the period January 1963 through December 1963; it is a continuation of the series that began with the publication of Information Circular 7516 in October 1949. Also, it is the fifth in a series of reports prepared under a cooperative agreement between the Bureau of Mines and the American Association of Cost Engineers. The agreement provides for the publication of an annual cost bibliography with the work load involved in the preparation shared equally. The abstracted articles, concerned with all facets of cost engineering in the field of chemical and petroleum plants and related subjects, are from the following sources:

Jan 1, 1964

Future climate variability and change will impact on mining operations and their attendant communities. To minimise this impact, early and informed risk management is warranted. However, research into the risks posed by climate to the Australian mining industry has so far been limited. We are conducting a systematic study of the mining life-cycle to identify the main areas of vulnerability and adaptive capacity of operations and communities. This project aims to assess what adaptation activities are currently being undertaken within the mining industry and its communities across Australia and to develop a risk management approach that will aid the adaptation of practices in and around the industry, better assuring the security of people, jobs, revenue and the environment under changed or extreme climate conditions. The Canadian mining industry was recently assessed through a similar study, which found that many mining companies perceive a real risk to mining from climate change in the future, despite few companies being actively involved in managing such risk. At a workshop held by CSIRO involving mining specialists, the most vulnerable stage in the mining process in the Australian context was assessed to be production. In particular, impacts on water and energy supplies and also transport and infrastructure were of high concern. Additionally, heat stress on workers and equipment, changes in groundwater flow and increases in geohazards were also identified as important factors in the short and long term if problematic climate events become more extreme or more frequent. Risks in the planning and post-mine stages were also identified. Based on literature reviews and preliminary discussions with mining experts, here we present an initial assessment of the climate adaptation issues relating to mining and its associated communities and describe our future work plans in this area.

Jun 1, 2010

By M. Ribeiro, P. So, P. Wong

Electrowinning is a process by which metals, such as copper or nickel, are recovered from aqueous electrolyte solutions resulting from the extraction of the metal ion from an acidic or basic leach solution. The electrolyte or “pregnant” solution is customarily forwarded to an electrowinning "tankhouse." In the tankhouse, the metal ions are deposited on cathode plates by electrodeposition and then recovered from the cathode plates. Other processes may be employed with other metals, such as nickel, zinc, among others, to produce an electrolyte from which their respective metals are obtained. During the electrowinning (electrodeposition) stage, elemental metal is plated out at the electrowinning cathode and oxygen evolves at an insoluble anode. The evolution of oxygen gas forms bubbles which entrain strong acid electrolyte, carrying it into the air above the electrowinning tank in the form of a fine mist or spray when the bubbles break. An acidic mist is generated above the electrolyte. This mist or spray then spreads throughout the electrowinning tankhouse. The acidic mist is corrosive and a health hazard and can cause extreme discomfort to the skin, eyes, and respiratory systems of tankhouse workers, especially during hot weather conditions. Polyfluoroalkyl based products (PFAS) have been widely applied as anti-misting agents in the electrowinning of metals in an acidic electrolyte. Functionalized PFAS compounds, however, have come under increased scrutiny by the EPA due to their impact on human health and the environment. There remains need for improved acid mist suppression agents for electrolysis and electrodeposition, particularly for products free of fluoroalkyl components.

Feb 1, 2023

By Zay Jeffries

IT HAS been known for centuries that iron and steel could be hardened by cold hammering and that the metal could be restored to the normal condition by heating to a red heat and cooling either rapidly or slowly with nearly pure iron and slowly with steels containing considerable carbon. The art of tempering steels is also very old. When a medium- or high-carbon steel is quenched from a cherry-red heat, the hardness is increased; this hardness can be reduced by heating to various temperatures below the lower thermal critical point, which is near 700° C. The present paper will not consider these old and well-known changes in iron and steel below the thermal critical range but will confine itself to the more unusual changes, some of which have been studied recently. Stromeyer,1 for example, in 1886, reports that both working steel and heat treatment of steel in the blue-heat range are highly injurious. Recently, however, some metallurgists believe that the straightening of warped steel forgings at a blue heat produces a beneficial effect on the metal.2 The Engineering Division of the National Research Council has constituted a committee on Physical Changes -in Iron and Steel Below the Thermal Critical Range, which has the following personnel: R. R. Abbott, H. C. Boynton, William Campbell, J. V. Emmons, F. B. Foley, H. J. French, H. M. Howe, Zay Jeffries (chairman), F.C. Langenberg, J. A. Mathews, P. D. Merica, A. H. Miller, J. H. Nelson, G. A. Reinhardt, W. E. Ruder, H. F. Wood: This committee is studying several aspects of the physical changes in iron and steel. The results, reported in the literature and obtained by recent experimentation, will be given; this will be followed by a general theoretical discussion of the more important

Jan 2, 1920

By R. T. Dec

A review is undertaken of existing mathematical models of compaction process in roll press. The example of plane-strain, plane-stress model is presented together with comparisons between computed and experimentally recorded pressure distribution in roll nip region. Next, the discrepancies between predicted and measured values are discussed and practical method based on experimental optimization of compaction process using laboratory roll press is proposed. Examples of the selection of optimum roll press operating parameters for calcium oxide fines, sodium chloride and iron oxide dust are presented to illustrate advantages of the method. Finally scale up procedure is discussed for estimating the performance of commercial size roll press based on the data collected on laboratory size equipment.

Jan 1, 2000

By Peter G. Kovalchik, Rudy J. Matetic, Susan B. Bealko, Adam K. Smith

Overexposure to noise remains a widespread and serious health hazard in the U.S. service providing and goods producing industries. Excessive noise can lead to poor verbal communication and reduce the ability to recognize warning signals. These dangerous work conditions can also cause stress and fatigue. Occupational hearing loss is a permanent illness, with no recovery currently possible. Method: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has recognized Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) as one of the ten leading work related diseases and injuries in the United States, and has emphasized its importance as one of the critical areas expressed in the National Occupational Research Agenda. Results: One of the most serious noise problems in the goods producing industries is the operation of continuous mining machines during underground coal mining. In order to minimize occupational hearing loss, noise hazards are “designed out” early in the design process. NIOSH is leading a national initiative called Prevention through Design (PTD) to promote this concept. This paper describes the quiet by design approach of a noise control that reduced noise exposures of continuous mining machine operators by 3dB(A) using the four functional areas of PTD, namely Practice, Policy, Research, and Education.

By José Raphael Olegário França

Separação eletrostática é o termo usado para todas as tecnologias de processamento que utilizam forças elétricas que atuam sobre partículas carregadas ou polarizadas sob um campo elétrico estático. O comportamento das partículas depende das suas propriedades elétricas, geométricos e tamanho das partículas. Portanto, a separação de espécies é possível se os parâmetros do campo elétrico e as propriedades elétricas diferentes das partículas são apropriados para o processo. No separador eletrostático de rotor as forças elétricas, combinadas com as forças gravitacionais e centrífugas agem sobre as partículas e são responsáveis pela separação mineral. No presente trabalho as forças eletrostáticas que agem no processo serão substituídas por um modelo de contato de coesão Hertz-Mindlin com JKR. O resultado apresentado, embora com limitações, conseguiu-se fazer uma boa estimativa do processo e alguns dos parâmetros do separador. Com a presente simulação é possível descrever o processo de separação além de permitir a redução de despesas de testes práticos, melhorar a compreensão das relações fundamentais, simular as influências dos diferentes parâmetros e por fim, estimar eventuais aumento de desempenho.

Aug 17, 2017

Reason Analysis of Impurity Containing and Technology Discussion of Quality Improvement for Low-Quality Iron Concentrate

Sep 13, 2010

By M. Akser, M. Tomas

Six Sigma is a methodology that uses a structured and disciplined approach to improve process performance (higher throughput, better recovery, lower cost, shorter cycle time, etc.). Specially trained people called “black belts” lead and manage Six Sigma projects. Black belts, with assistance from their team, ensure that projects follow the DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, implement and control) process phases. Timely completion of each project, with measurable deliverables, is key to Six Sigma’s significant financial success. Implementation of Six Sigma has been growing in recent years in a wide range of industries. The heavy mineral industry, like many other industries, could benefit from what Six Sigma has to offer. Specific Six Sigma project examples are included from DuPont’s Heavy Mineral Production Plant in Florida.

Jan 1, 2005

By Martin D. Conyac

A mineral resource survey of rock types and geologic structures indicates that the Mt. Henry RARE II area has low potential for the discovery of metallic minerals. Potential for coal and geothermal resources is negligible. Essentially, the Mt. Henry RARE II area has had no claim-staking activity, nor has any mine been developed in it. SETTING Size and Location The 23,000-acre (9,308 ha) "1t. Henry RARE II area (No. 1-666) lies within the Kootenai National Forest approximately 36 mi (58 km) north of Libby, Montana, in the Purcell Mountain; of Lincoln County. Irregularly shaped, the area measures roughly 5-1/2 mi (8.9 km) north-south by 8 mi (12.9 km) Past-west, and lies about 1-1/2 mi (7.2 km) south of the Canadian border.

Jan 1, 1982

In the office, on the wall to the right of my desk is a large map of the world. Some people stick pins in maps like this to show where they’ve been. If I did that my map would be a mess and look like a pin cushion. I was so fortunate to have been able to see how people live and blast in other parts of this beautiful planet. We l l , maybe some parts weren’t so beautiful and maybe some parts that were beautiful were hell holes for those living t h e re . Every time I re t u rn to the good old US of A, I say a small prayer in thanks for having been born and raised in a land of freedom and plenty. So many places and people have not been so blessed.

Jan 1, 2004

By Roberto Golchi

This article describes the method used to quantify the Environmental Impact for the mining, by drilling and blasting, of a borrow pit for a gravity-dam. The affected environment was broken down into a number of components, such as public health and safety, social relationship, air and water quality, flora and fauna. The effect of the various impacting factors from the mining activities, both directly and indirectly, was then calculated for each environmental component. To do this, each impacting factor was first given a magnitude, a number based solely on the range of scenarios possible for the impacting factor. A matrix of weighting factors was then derived to systematically quantify, and normalise, the effects of each impacting factor on each environmental component. The overall impact upon each individual environmental component was then calculated by summing the weighted magnitudes for all the impacting factors.

Jan 1, 2003

By D. R. Spears

As part of its mission to develop technology to assure a continuing supply of minerals, the US Bureau of Mines has investigated the flocculation of a Stillwater, MT, chromite ore. The ore was flocculated at different solids contents and at different stirring speeds to determine the importance and effect of hydrodynamic factors. In acidic and basic pH, the chromite ore was flocculated with high molecular weight polyacrylamides differing in the degree of hydrolysis. Polyacrylamides were found to bind to chromite ore particles through hydrogen bonding. The anionicity of the polymer and the pH affected the degree of polymer-particle interaction, which in turn affected polymer conformation at the surface. A polymer conformation with many loops and tails was used to explain high flocculation efficiency. It was found that such a conformation could compensate for poor hydrodynamic conditions.

Jan 1, 1992

By T. H. Eyde

Worldwide production of natural zeolites during 2001 was estimated to be about 3.5 Mt (3.85million st). Construction and agriculture continued to be the major consumers. Estimated production in North America during 2001, including the United States, Canada and Mexico, was about 40 kt (44,000 st). In the United States and Canada, the zeolitic tuffs are ground, extruded or modified for use as adsorbents, desiccants, ion-exchange media and carriers. In Mexico and the rest of the world, the zeolitic tuffs are cut into dimension stone that is used in construction. Zeolitic tuffs are usually composed of the minerals clinoptilolite, mordenite or both. They occur in a variety of colors and are easy to cut and shape. And they have low thermal conductivity. This construction application is classified with dimension stone rather than with chemical and agricultural uses.

Jan 1, 2002

By W. Hurst

The authors of this paper, in substituting values in a material balance equation associated with a gas reserve and a water drive, cannot find sustainment of what the gas in place should be; therefore, their conclusion is that this type of problem dealing with gas reservoirs is insoluble. They have introduced the word, "cybernetics," based on the work of Norbert Wiener, that further extends this line of reasoning, namely, to the effect that the system is a "black box", and that the gas reservoir and aquifer can take on infinite aspects 'based upon their past performance, to quote the authors. The inference is that this black box is an unknown. which permits in computer programming to subscribe as many variables as possible to observe by adjustment of one to another those combinations of conditions that fit field behavior. This may satisfy those in this discipline whose dedication is to programming, but to the others this is a comparison to the rationalization of the combinational results of the throwing of dice—a probability procedure. In reservoir engineering we are more direct. We learn from the examination of individual we'll and field data exactly what is in this black box. I now come to the impasse that has confronted these authors in their machine calculations. In this I have reproduced from their own production data (Tables 1 and 2 of their paper) pressure vs cumulative gas produced. shown as Figs. D-1 through D-5. A perusal of any of these five plots, for the corresponding fields in the Po Valley, shows the straight-line relation of pressure vs gas produced, evidencing pressure depletion. The point I make is that in their fundamental production data, there is no variance from a straight line that can support a water drive.

By E. J. Peuraniemi

Oxidation of chalcopyrite concentrate and two low-iron copper mattes were studied using a laboratory scale laminar-flow furnace simulating the phenomena taking place in different zones of the reaction shaft of a flash smelting furnace. In the experiments, screened fractions were fed into the furnace and sampled after short reaction time intervals by quenching them into a water film. Experimental conditions included temperatures of 1100 and 1300°C with reaction gas oxygen contents from 21 to 75 vol.%. Samples were analysed chemically for Cu, Fe and S to define removal rate of sulphur. Optical and scanning electron microscopy with EDS-analyser were used to examine the samples. In this paper, oxidation kinetics as well as ignition of particles are discussed. Changes in particle morphology, size, and composition are viewed to closely define the proceeding of the oxidation, and, consequently, to compose a detailed model of dust formation and reaction mechanisms. Data obtained in the experiments broadens the knowledge of physical and chemical phenomena in flash reactions and serves as reference for computer simulations.

Jan 1, 2000

By M. Kawahata

Methane sensors using principle of catalytic oxidation of methane are employed for determination of methane content in ambient air of coal mines. Certain foreign gases or vapors in the air poison the catalyst of the sensor effecting the sensor's response. After literature search of poison compounds of Pt and Pd oxidation catalyst, experimental studies of catalyst poison kinetics were made for three siloxane compounds, tributyl-phosphate, monobromotrifluoromethane, and hydrogen sulfide, selected as poison vapors. Concentration range of the poison vapors was varied in a range from 3000 to 0.1 ppb (v/v). Three siloxane vapors produced strong catalyst poison effect, followed by tributylphosphate, hydrogen sulfide and monobromotrifluoromethane for the high concentration level of the poison vapors. The poison effects are influenced significantly by concentration of the vapors. Threshold poison vapor concentrations where effect of the poison vapors on the sensor is minimal were determined experimentally. Experimental studies were made further for prevention method of catalyst poison by adsorption techniques. Use of activated carbon cloth inserted on the sensor's head prevented catalyst poisoning efficiently.

Jan 1, 1981

The United States is rapidly depleting many of its most important minerals and fuels. The first two Annual Reports by the Secretary of the Interior, under the Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970, made us acutely aware that the natural resources that enabled this Nation to attain an unprecedented growth in terms of economic well-being, and to set an example of independent strength through the democratic process, are finite. Once they are depleted, large imports will be required. Simultaneously, competition for available supplies, especially of petroleum, is increasing in the expanding European and Japanese industrial communities and in the underdeveloped nations of the world. Even before the crisis of late 1973, the oil-producing nations of the world, principally in the Middle East, but including Canada and Latin America, were recognizing that the worldwide need for crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas could be translated into an unprecedented economic bargaining position. Thus, the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised the price of their crude twice during the first 6 months of 1973. By yearend the energy situation had be-come acute, and it seemed probable that regardless of current political developments, the era of cheap energy was over.

Jan 1, 1973

By M. J. Gregory

The Pebble Cu-Au-Mo deposit in southwest Alaska is one of the world's largest porphyry deposits. The western part of the deposit was discovered by Cominco America in 1987, who sold the project to Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., in 2001. Northern Dynasty discovered the high-grade eastern part of the deposit in 2004 and went into a 50:50 partnership with Anglo American PLC in 2007, forming the Pebble Limited Partnership (Lang et al., 2008). The Pebble Limited Partnership has continued to delineate the deposit through diamond drilling with the most recent resource estimate released in February 2010 (Pebble Limited Partnership, 2010). The Pebble deposit mineral resources comprise 5.94 billion tonnes of measured and indicated resources grading 0.78% Cu EQ, containing 55 billion pounds of copper, 67 million ounces of gold and 3.3 billion pounds of molybdenum. Also delineated are 4.84 billion tonnes of inferred mineral resources grading 0.53% Cu EQ, containing 25.6 billion pounds of copper, 40.4 million ounces of gold and 2.3 billion pounds of molybdenum (Pebble Limited Partnership, 2010). Resources are calculated using a 0.3% Cu EQ cutoff. GEOLOGY AND MINERALIZATION Deposit Geology The Pebble deposit is located in the Kahiltna terrane, between terminal strands of the north-east-striking Lake Clarke strike-slip fault. This fault represents an accretionary boundary and separates the Kahiltna terrane to the north-west from the Peninsular terrane to the south-east (Lang et al., 2008). The Pebble deposit represents a large magmatic-hydrothermal system centered on a group of 90 million year old porphyritic hornblende granodiorite intrusions. An east-west cross section through the southern part of the deposit (Figure 1A) shows the typical relationships between the various rock units which host sulfide mineralization. Sub-parallel ~96 million year old granodiorite and diorite sills were intruded into siltstones of the Jura-Cretaceous Kahiltna flysch. In the west, these sills were cut by a ~96 million year old alkalic intrusive complex composed of porphyritic monzonites and monzodiorites and related intrusion breccias (Bouley et al, 1995). The mineralized 90 million year old hornblende granodiorite intrusions cut all rock types and comprise four small stocks in the western part of the deposit and a larger pluton in the eastern part of the deposit. Recent deep drilling indicates that these intrusions coalesce at depth. The strongest porphyry-style mineralization is centered on the eastern granodiorite pluton and extends into the surrounding rock units (Figure 1A). The western half of the deposit crops out at surface, whereas the eastern side is un-conformably overlain by a cover sequence of Late Cretaceous to Eocene sedimentary and volcanic strata. The deposit was tilted 20º to the east during the Eocene.

Jan 1, 2012