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By H. T. Van Ells

The following is a brief description of the cost accounts in effect at the mines of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. The accompanying chart, Table I., shows the distribution of labor, materials, and redistributable accounts to the various operating and repair accounts. OperatiNG. Development. Owing to the fact that every mine has its peculiarities in formation and methods, the question of arriving at what charges should be included under the head of " Development" is one that has occasioned considerable thought and comment, and in the cost sheet of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. this account has been sub-divided to show the expenses of breaking ground, tramming, timbering, shaft sinking, up-raising, and cutting stations and skip chutes. It has always been the policy of the company to charge the entire cost of this work to operations monthly, whether the mines are producing or not, also the cost of the opening up of new mines; and only surface construction and additions are charged to capital, excepting original machinery installed for operating pumping plants. Explanations of the charges to the various sub-accounts follow : Breaking Ground.—Work performed in driving cross-cuts from the station, or cross-cuts from the drifts, and diamond-drill work, for the purpose of discovering or developing ore bodies. Tramming.—Cost of tramming waste produced by cross-cuts mentioned above. When waste is hoisted to another level to be used for filling, the charge to this account stops at the station, and when hoisted to surface the charge includes tramming from the collar of the shaft to the dump. Timbering.—Cost of timbering the cross-cuts mentioned above includes the cost of handling and framing such timbers, but does not include the wages of station tenders and top carmen.

Jan 1, 1914

The Enquirer of October 13, 1835 carried a letter signed "G," calling attention to the great number of Virginians who were leaving the state and to the lack of enterprise shown in not developing the ample natural resources available. He mentioned coal in particular and in closing said: "Besides the coal mines owned by individuals, the Black Heath company of colliers are carrying on extensive operations. Owing to the derangement of the currency, and the immense expenses incurred in boring and sinking new shafts, I understand that their dividends have not yet been so large, as they may be confidently expected in future.-Another company, under the title of the Midlothian Coal Mining Company, is now about being organized by the Messrs. Wooldridges of Chesterfield, for the purpose of establishing an extensive coal business. Having examined the lands embraced in the charter and the principles upon which the company is designed to be organized, I am persuaded that more productive stock can no where be found. The charter embraces a space nearly equal to a mile square, adjoining the mines of the Black Heath company, those of Mr. N. Mills, and those of Stone Henge, which space must contain coal of great thickness of excellent quality, as the strata of coal of those other mines pass through it; exhibiting a field so extensive, that centuries may elapse before it is exhausted. A shaft has been sunk on these lands, from which a very large quantity of the best coal is being raised. The terms of the charter require the Proprietors to sell one-half of these lands and mines, from the sale of which they will appropriate $100,000 as permanent capital, to purchase hands and engines, and to sink other shafts to work the property and thus going into operation with such decided advantages, as to produce a profit as great as a reasonable man should desire. Here is an opportunity for investing capital, which I think should satisfy the wishes of many Virginians who speak of emigrating. Will they not embrace it?-I have confined my remarks to the coal mines, because they are in the heart of our State, and their operations are familiar to many who can verify the statements. I might extend them to the other mineral treasures of our State; but if I do so, they must be reserved for another number, this being longer than I intended, and perhaps longer than you can conveniently find room for in your crowded columns. G." In January 1828 the Tuckahoe Canal Company was authorized to construct a canal along Tuckahoe Creek, from the James River up the stream about five miles; later this was amended to allow the use of the stream with a depth of water of two feet, no tow path was required, or provided: A toll of one cent per bushel was collected and the canal company made large profits. The service was so poor that in December 18, 1835, John G.,

Jan 1, 1942

By Lewis M. Haupt

IT has given me great pleasure to read, in the papers recently pub lished by this Society, the discussions on the subject of Technical Education, which were developed at the joint meeting held at the Franklin Institute in June, 1876; and since it was impossible for me to be present, I desire to improve this my first opportunity of adding the weight of my testimony and experience to what has been so ably presented by others. It is a subject about which the people need to be kept agitated, that their views may expand with the demands made for a higher and more thorough education. It is the public at large, the capitalist, the manufacturer, and the laborer, who are to be benefited more or less by this elevation of the standard of our professional schools, and it is but just, therefore, that the schools should look to them for the means with which to accomplish so de sirable an object. It is no doubt to the interest of a metallurgist to employ a skilled laborer who will prevent waste by properly proportioning his ma terials ; by regulating the supplies of air and fuel; by arranging his plant in the most economical manner, arid by disposing of his products to the greatest advantage. The engineer is benefited by selecting for an assistant a person able to determine the values of his factors of safety for the same materials in different forms and positions, avoiding expensive suits for damages and cost of reconsiruction; he should be able to so locate a road as best to fulfil the requirements of a through traffic, arid yet develop local industries. But I need not multiply instances to show what all will readily concede, viz.: the advantages of a theoretical education ; that was fully demonstrated at the previous special meeting, but it is still an open question whether the practical instruction should precede, accompany, or follow the theory.

"The building stone industry of Utah has developed slowly on account of the limited market offered. The state has large and varied deposits of granite, limestones, marble and onyx.Three cement companies manufacture Portland cement in the Salt Lake valley. Brick clay, fire clay and clay for sewer pipe is found in the vicinity of Salt Lake City and Ogden.Large deposits of gypsum have been found in several localities in Utah. The gypsum deposit near Nephi has been developed to be one of the most important plaster producers in the western country. This gypsum occurs in large quantities and is exceptionally pure.Oil and Oil ShaleVast deposits of rich oil shale occur in the Green River formation of the Tertiary rocks in the Uintah Basin, northeastern Utah. It is estimated by the United States Geological Survey that the basin contains at least 92,159,000,000 tons of shale which will yield as much as 15 gallons of oil to the ton when distilled. These shale deposits indicate that ultimately Utah will be one of the leading shale oil producing states of the country. Some development work and considerable experimental work has been done, but overproduction of petroleum and general low prices afforded little incentive to the oil-shale operator, consequently no commercial production has yet been established in Utah."

Jan 1, 1925

By George R. Cowan

A number of studies hare been reported of the effects produced in metals subjected to deformation by shock waves with maximum pressures ranging from tens to hundreds of kilobars. On the basis of the equations for the flow of mass, momentum, and energy through a stationary shock front, the macroscopic stress-strain curve for the resulting shock deformation can be calculated within narrow limits from the experimentally determined Hugoniol curve. In relatively weak shocks which are preceded by an elastic wave, the stress rises above the clastic limit only as plastic deformation proceeds cold thus the shock has a long toe. In strong shocks that override the elastic wave a high stress is applied without prior plastic deformation. A more important effect of increasing the shock pressure is the generation of shear stresses, called supercrilical shear stresses, that exceed the strength of the perfect lattice. A change in the mechanism of deformation is expected to result from the onset of supercritical shear. The shock disordering of ordered Cu3Au in strong shocks appears to be an example of such a change. It is suggested that the formation of fine twins in copper and nickel and the formation of structures which enable visible twins to be formed in the rarefaction ware, observed in copper and presumably in disordered Cu3 Au, are related to the occurrence of supercritical shear in shock dcformation. In recent years several studies1,2 have been made of the changes in structural and mechanical properties of metals produced by the passage through the metals of strong shock-compression waves ranging from about 50 to 800 kbar pressure. Recent work involving dynamic measurements of the shock compression "Hugoniot" curves 3-8 of many metals has developed techniques and provided data required to obtain the shock pressure and the (transient! plastic deformation produced in the shock-conlpression experirnents.9 Shock deformation has been found to be much more effective than slow deformation in changing the mechanical properties of metals, when the two are compared on the basis of equal plasti strain, Holtzman and Cowan9 made quantitative estimates of the shearing stress occurring in a shock front in a metal by assuming that the shearing stress is similar to that occurring in a shock front in a viscous, heat-conducting fluid, with the addition of a yield stress. Taylor's solution9 for a weak shock was used to estimate pairs of values of shearing stress and thickness of the shock front obtained by assumed choices of the ratio of effective kinetic viscosity to thermal diffusivity. It was noted from these values that. unless the shock front is extremely thin. heat conduction has slight effect, and the shearing stress is nearly independent of the mechanism of deformation. This mechanism does, however, determine the thickness of the shock front and the rate of strain. Furthermore, since the maximum possible shearing stress occurring in shocks of moderate strength does not greatly exceed the shear stress occurring in conventional slow deformation, the mechanism of deformation is not expected to be qualitatively different. The greater effectiveness of shock deformation in changing the mechanical properties of metals can be attributed partly to the fact that dislocations, when driven by near-conventional stresses, cannot keep up with the shock front, thus necessitating a higher dislocation density than required for an equivalent slow strain. The fast uni-axial strain occurring in the thin shock front would also be expected to cause a larger number of dislocation intersections to occur. In the upper range of shock pressures that have been studied the estimated values of the shearing stress exceeded the estimated shear strength of a perfect crystal. Under these circumstances it is reasonable to expect that the mechanism of deformation might be considerably different from that involved in slow deformation. Except for the observation by smith1 of twins in shocked copper, the effects of shock waves on metals did not show any obvious or large changes in properties that would indicate the onset of a change in the mechanism of deformation. The recent investigation of the effect of shock waves on ordered and disordered specimens of Cu3Au by Beardmore, Holtzman, and ever" showed a spectacular decrease in the amount of long-range order retained by initially ordered Cu3Au when the shock pressure was raised from 290 to 370 kbar. Since Dr. Holtzman and I suspected that this behavior probably was due to the onset of a shearing stress in the shock front in Cu3Au which exceeded the limiting shear strength of the perfect crystal. it was considered appropriate to examine directly the shock-front equations for a solid. and to obtain a sound estimate of the shearing stress occurring in the front using equation of state data obtained from shock studies. In this paper an estimate is made of the

Jan 1, 1965

By K. H. Adams, T. Vreeland

The basal stress-strain behavior, dislocation density, and strain vale sensitivity of the flow stress uqere measured at room temperature on single crystals oj-zone-refined zinc , 99.999 pct Zn, and zinc containing 0.0025 and 0.02 wt pct Al. No significant change in the stvain rate sensitivity of the flow stress occurs with the addition of aluminum. Changes in dislocation substructure and nonbasal dislocation density were obserrled with the addition of aluminum. The effect of aluminum on the basal slress-strain behavior is explained in terms of changes in nonbasal dislocation density which determines the separation distance of junctions between basal and nonbasal dislocations. The onset of basal slip is associated with the breaking of attractive junctions. The chunge in basal dislocation density was found to be proportional to the one-third power of the plastic shear strain, indepedent of purity. THE effect of impurities in solid solution on the stress-strain behavior of single crystals has been the subject of many theoretical studies. These studies have generally concentrated on the interactions between impurities and dislocations to explain the hardening effeet of impurity additions. The theories that have been proposed include those of yott and Nabarro,&apos;l&apos; Cott-re11; Suzuki; and Fisher. In practice, it is generally difficult to predict the relative importance of the vari- ous effects due to impurities. In addition, secondary effects of impurity additions such as induced changes in dislocation density and substructure in the as-grown crystals have received little attention. Many experimental investigations have been conducted on the effect of impurities on the stress-strain behavior of fcc crystals. Hcp crystals have not received much attention except for the extensive work of Levine et a1.= on magnesium alloy crystals. Stuwe~&apos;&apos; has studied the effect of copper impurity on the critical shear stress of zinc crystals and has interpreted the results in terms of the impurity atmosphere model of Cottrell and Jaswon. This report presents the results of an experimental study of the effect of aluminum additions to zinc on the basal stress-strain curve and the strain rate sensitivity of the flow stress. Etch pit techniques were used to measure and characterize the dislocation density and substructure in the zinc alloy crystals. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Specimen Preparation. Compression test specimens of four different purities of zinc were prepared from CP grade zinc of 99.999 pct purity obtained from the New Jersey Zinc Co. An analysis of this material furnished by the supplier indicated the following impurities in wt ~ct: Pb = 0.0002; Fe = 0.0002; Cd = 0.00005; other <0.60011. A quantity of material of this grade was further purified by zone refining. Zone refining was carried out under a helium atmosphere by passing a double &apos;One furnace Over a 6-ft-10ng charge at the rate of 2 in. Per hr. * total of ten double zone passes were made before the charge was removed from the furnace. The first one third of each charge was used to grow single crystals. Quantities of two

Jan 1, 1969

By Harry M. Roeser

As a result of the publication, several years ago, of some articles on determining the constants of empirical formulas, the determining the constants of types of curves used for estimating the production decline of oil wells was brought to the writer for study. Methods requiring the minimum of time and labor and the maximum of rigor were sought, as it appeared that the nature of the data from which such curves are computed and the relative uncertainty of occurrence of the events predicted from them did not justify close adherence to the theory on which the solution of such problems is ordinarily based. The technical deficiencies of the solutions presented in this paper, from the standpoint of the method of least squares, are readily apparent to those familiar with that method, but their presentation in detail here is irrelevant to the subject matter. However, it is the author&apos;s conviction, after a rather exhaustive study of the problem, that the value of the solutions lose little by the approximate application of the conventional theory. It must be understood by those who use these formulas that the solutions herein given, and the formulas based on them, are merely facilities to aid the valuation engineer in forecasting future events. It is assumed, also, that before application is made of them, prescient judgment based on the circumstances in each case, shows that the forecast has some probability of realization. On this basis only will these formulas be found useful.

Jan 1, 1925

By C. K. Leith

Conservation, narrowly and strictly considered, means the preservation in unimpaired efficiency of the resources of the earth; or in a condition so nearly unimpaired as the nature of the case, or wise exhaustion, admits. And broadly considered, it means more than the word itself implies, for it naturally includes an examination of methods whereby the natural inheritance of the human race may be improved; and still more broadly considered. and as used in popular discussion, it includes a treatment of the effects of productive conservation methods upon distribution. "Conservation means a sacrifice of the present generation to the future generations whenever it is carried too far. There is a sharp limit to the economic sacrifice that we may reasonably ask the private person to make for even the present welfare, and the limit is still sharper when we come to consider the interests of future generations." In a paper on the iron ores of America, presented to the Pan-American Scientific Congress at Washington, I have emphasized the fact that the reserves of iron ores in the two Americas are enormously in excess of the requirements of the present generation, in fact, so large that no shortage is to be anticipated for many generations in the future; that a large part of the value of iron ores is put into them by man&apos;s efforts to make them available. This fact is fundamental for the intelligent consideration of policies of conservation as applied to iron ore. As I interpret it, this fact makes it practically unnecessary that the present generation should make any especial sacrifice for future generations in the way of conservation of its iron-ore resources. Even if we were disposed to look forward to a period of 100 or 200 years, with a view to insuring the welfare of the people living at that time, it is doubtful whether any procedure we could now formulate would materially help them in the matter of iron ores, so large are the reserves available. In order that an appeal for conservation may be effective it must obviously favor the welfare of the present or immediately following generations; it must promise benefits to general and individual welfare during a period within the range of comprehension of the average man.

Jan 1, 1916

By G. Howell Clevenger

PAGE Introduction,............891 L Nature of Precipitates,.........892 11. Experimental Work Upon Alloys,......895 Silver,............895 Gold,............896 Conclusions,............896 111. Present Methods of Refining,.......897 1. Refining by Roasting,.........897 2 Refining with Acid,..........898 3. Smelting with Lead,.........902 Tavener&apos;s Method,..........903 Merrill a Method,.,........903 Comparison of Costs of Acid-Refining and Smelting Processes,. . 904 Detailed Costs of Refining Cyanide Precipitates at Lead, So. Dak., September 29, 1903,.........904 Cost of Acid-Refining at the Horseshoe Mill, Terry, So. Dak.,. . 907 IV. The Removal of Zinc by Distillation,.....908 Experimental Distillations,.....,...910 Analysis of Precipitates Used for Distillation-Experiments,. . 910 Discussion of the Results of the Distillation-Experiments,. . 915 V. General Conclusions,.........917 VI. Outline of a Proposed MEthod OF Treatment,.... 917 Introduction. Attempts to discover, for the cyanide process, a better precipitant than zinc have been unsuccessful. Hydrogen sulphide, sulphurous acid, ferrous sulphate, etc., precipitate gold and silver from cyanide solutions either not all or incompletely.

Jan 1, 1904

By William Reynolds

This paper deals with the results of a study of the application and development of mining machines for cutting out and removing dirt bands in bituminous coal beds. Face Preparation When one or more dirt bands1 occur in a seam of coal, the problem of elimination of impurities becomes manifest. The degree of completeness to which these impurities arc removed at the face has an important bearing upon labor costs, haulage costs and outside cleaning costs, and often the ash content of the product is markedly affected. Yet, because the present-day miller is paid for the number of tons he loads he often lacks interest in the quality of the coal. To insure a clean product, a system of penalties for dirty coal is enforced, but control of extraneous impurity content in the loaded coal is often inadequate and ineffectual when coal and banded impurity are shot as one. It seems only logical that to reduce the amount of impurities by proper face preparation before the men are permitted to load the coal is the most efficient method of preparation. Many mines with one or more bands of impurities in their seams are able to mine a desirable product with a comparatively small amount of surface preparation. In fact, three companies in West Virginia have recently changed their methods of fact* preparation, with most gratifying results. The first company (in the Kanawha field) after changing its cutting practice with the hope of relieving a sales problem, was rewarded by an approximate 3 per cent drop in ash in the product. Another company, operating in the same field, reduced its ash approximately 4 per cent by a change in cutting practice. The third company (in the Pocahontas field) found the wet washer inadequate in producing a marketable coal, and installed new cutting machines. Three cuts are now being made in each working place, and the results arc so satisfactory that the cleaning plant has been abandoned.

Jan 1, 1938

By William Reynolds

This paper deals with the results of a study of the application and development of mining machines for cutting out and removing dirt bands in bituminous coal beds. Face Preparation When one or more dirt bands1 occur in a seam of coal, the problem of elimination of impurities becomes manifest. The degree of completeness to which these impurities arc removed at the face has an important bearing upon labor costs, haulage costs and outside cleaning costs, and often the ash content of the product is markedly affected. Yet, because the present-day miller is paid for the number of tons he loads he often lacks interest in the quality of the coal. To insure a clean product, a system of penalties for dirty coal is enforced, but control of extraneous impurity content in the loaded coal is often inadequate and ineffectual when coal and banded impurity are shot as one. It seems only logical that to reduce the amount of impurities by proper face preparation before the men are permitted to load the coal is the most efficient method of preparation. Many mines with one or more bands of impurities in their seams are able to mine a desirable product with a comparatively small amount of surface preparation. In fact, three companies in West Virginia have recently changed their methods of fact* preparation, with most gratifying results. The first company (in the Kanawha field) after changing its cutting practice with the hope of relieving a sales problem, was rewarded by an approximate 3 per cent drop in ash in the product. Another company, operating in the same field, reduced its ash approximately 4 per cent by a change in cutting practice. The third company (in the Pocahontas field) found the wet washer inadequate in producing a marketable coal, and installed new cutting machines. Three cuts are now being made in each working place, and the results arc so satisfactory that the cleaning plant has been abandoned.

Jan 1, 1938

By Joshua E. Clayton

This remarkable gold and silver bearing district is situated on the middle fork of Boise River, in Alturas County, Idaho Territory, about eighteen miles north of Rocky Bar, and sixty-five to seventy miles, as the crow flies, east of Boise City, the capital of the Territory. This district lies in the very heart of one of the most wild and mountainous regions of Idaho. For many miles in every direction nothing can be seen but bold granite mountains, with deep narrow gorges cutting into their sides in every direction, rendering them almost inaccessible except to .the hardy mountaineer and adventurous prospector. The mountain sides are covered, in most part, by dense forests of pine, fir, and spruce timber. In every canon there are clear streams of pure running water that empty into the principal forks of Boise River. The only line of approach to this mountainous region at present is from the southwest, by way of Rocky Bar, the county seat of Alturas County, to which place there is a good wagon-road. From thence to Atlanta City, eighteen miles, the road, or pack-trail, passes over the high, steep range that separates the south and middle forks of Boise River. During severe winters this line of approach is closed up by deep snows for months at a time, thus leaving the district isolated, in the bosom of the grand old mountains. The geological formation is granite, of a coarse, friable texture, and in many places is traversed by numerous dikes of syenite, and three or four varieties of porphyry, which cut through the granite in easterly and westerly directions. The metal-bearing reins also have an easterly and westerly trend, bat are occasionally intersected by the dikes. The largest number of the gold and silver lodes are confined to a

Map

Jan 1, 1960

By V. S. Swaminathan

This year, Great Britain is looking back over a century to August 14, 1850, the day when the first "Act for the Inspection of Coal Mines" was passed in that country, an act which signaled the end of over two hundred years of hitherto uncontrolled and dangerous mining practices. It was back in the time of Queen Elizabeth that . thousands of pounds were invested in mining, particularly coal mining in England and Scot- land. By 1640 there were collieries producing 10,000 to 25,000 tons of coal per year. In the seventeenth century the Tyne district coal industry was organized into powerful partnerships, and coal took an even larger part in industry, as a source of power and as fuel for the iron industry. In the early 19th century a "phenomenal, almost devastating expansion" characterized Britain&apos;s coal industry, and it was sparked by a 111 pct in- crease in the population of England and Wales in the first half of the century. Coal production for those 50 years increased 470 pct and pig iron production was up 946 pct for the period 1801-51.

Jan 1, 1950

By Benjamin Smith Lyman

There seems to be dire need of repeated preachment against the too-frequent sad neglect of instrumental surveying and mapping in geological surveys. The value of the map as an illustration of the statements and opinions of a report is too apt to be overlooked; and its essential necessity in working out during its construction the proper conclusions from the observed facts is generally altogether misunderstood. Practical geology seeks, of course, to ascertain and indicate the character of workable or unworkable beds or veins, their depth, position, dip, and horizontal course, or strike, even below the surface; also their outcrops, and therefore, if workable, their extent; and so, taking account of their thickness and specific gravity, their weight in tons. It might, therefore, be called quantitative geology. For the study of more abstruse geological questions, too, it is in many cases necessary to gain some knowledge, or reasonable opinion, in regard to such hidden facts. In some cases, careful instrumental surveys are made; in others, from necessity or choice, there are few or no instrumental observations. It was said, 15 or 20 years ago, that there was an engineer in the anthracite-regions who was capable of telling, on first glancing at a new place, exactly what coal-bed was to be found there at a certain depth, and how thick—a splendid second-sight! "&apos; 0, there be,&apos; " you may be tempted to exclaim, " geologists &apos; that I have seen&apos; geologize &apos; and heard others praise, and that highly, not to speak it profanely, "&apos;—but let them pass without being fully characterized, lest the temptation towards profanity be altogether too strong. Yet such second-sight does not exceed the expectations of many men of imperfect geological knowledge, men who have heard of marvel-ously successful geological predictions, but are unaware of

Jan 1, 1910

Discussion of the paper of DAVID COLE, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1915, and printed in Bulletin No. 9S, February, 191.5, pp. 431 to 444. R. H. RICHARDS, Boston, Mass.-The Butchart riffle seems to violate, according to our preconceived notions, some of the very essential principles of the Wilfley riffle, and therefore ought not to succeed, but it does. On this account it must conform to other very important principles, or it would not succeed. It would beinteresting to know what these principles are which enable it to succeed. E. P. MATHEWSON, Butte, Mont.-I cannot, explain the principles on which this riffle acts, because I have not given it personal attention. All I can say is that I first saw the riffle in operation several years ago at the Steptoe Valley mill in Nevada, and I was told that a man had been around there guaranteeing that these riffles would make the table do twice as much work and do it better than with the ordinary Wilfley riffles. I heard nothing further about it for a long time. I heard about a year ago, from David Cole, the author of this paper, that the riffles were a success, and that he was using them at Morenci, and if, we were interested he would send the inventor to show us how they worked. As we knew of David Cole&apos;s reputation, we invited Mr. Butchart to come up and show us how his riffles worked. We did not have sufficient confidence in the invention to guarantee Mr. Butchart his traveling expenses, but lie came up entirely at his own expense and put in a set of the riffles on one table. It was known as a roughing table in our No.

Jan 5, 1915

By I. Fatt, D. N. Saraf

A method is described for measuring two- and three-phase relative permeabilities in sandstones or sand packs using a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique to determine fluid saturations. Two- and three-phase relative permeabilities have been determined on Boise sandstone using the NMR technique of saturation measurement. Three-phase relative permeability to water was found to depend only on the water saturation, whereas three-phase permeability to oil depended on both the water and oil saturations. Relative permeability to gas in three-phase flow was found to depend only on the total liquid saturation. INTRODUCTION Three-phase relative permeabilities are extremely useful in calculating field performance for reservoirs being produced by simultaneous water and gas drives. Three-phase relative permeability data are also needed for analyzing solution gas-drive reservoirs which are partially depleted and are being produced by water drive. Some thermal recovery processes involve three-phase flow which require three-phase relative permeability data for predicting reservoir behavior. Unfortunately, three-phase relative permeability measurements have rarely been made. Also, because of the scarcity of three-phase data, it has not been possible to date to relate other measured rock characteristics to the relative permeabilities with a great certainty. Leverett and Lewis,l Reid2 and Snell3 have reported three-phase relative permeability data on unconsolidated sands. Leverett and Lewis used ring electrodes spaced along the length of the sand sample to measure the resistivity of the sample which was assumed to be monotonically related to brine saturation. Gas saturation was determined from pressure-volume measurements. Oil saturation was obtained by material balance on the cell containing the sand sample. This method is involved and time consuming. Another difficulty arises from the fact that the resistivity of the sand is a function not only of saturation of brine but also of the distribution and saturation history of the brine in the pore spaces. Reid2 used a gamma ray absorption technique for measuring liquid saturation. This method has the disadvantage that total liquid saturation rather than oil or brine saturation is all that can be measured and still another method is required to determine the saturations of individual components. snel13 used a neutron bombardment method which also required a separate determination of the individual component saturations. Caudle et al.4 measured three-phase relative permeability on consolidated sandstones using vacuum distillation for determining fluid saturations. Distillation after each reading makes this technique very lengthy and time consuming. Corey et a1. 5 and Naar and Wygal 6 measured three-phase relative permeability on sandstones by the capillary-pressure method. Semipermeable diaphragm assemblies were used at each end of the core specimen to keep the water phase in the core. Gravimetric methods were used to determine fluid saturations. Sarem7 recently reported an unsteady-state method for measuring three-phase relative permeability on sandstones. This method is an extension of Welge&apos;s method8 for measuring two-phase relative permeability. Although Sarem&apos;s method is simple and comparatively fast, the assumptions involved may oversimplify the problem. Sarem&apos;s assumption, that in all rocks relative permeability to each fluid will depend only on the saturation of that fluid, seems to be rather unrealistic. Neglecting capillary effects at the end of the core is also a weak assumption. Donaldson and dean9 measured three-phase relative permeability using a method similar to Sarem&apos;s.

By R. Schuhmann

D. W. Fuerstenau (Associate Professor of Metallurgy, Dept. of Mineral Technology, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.) In his excellent paper, Dr. Schuhmann has proposed a mechanism for conlrninution which can be utilized to explain a number of phenomena which have been observed in the size reduction of solids. The difference between the product obtained from a ball mill and from a rod mill can readily be explained by Dr. Schuhmann&apos;s hypothesis. Consider that the size distribution of the product from each comminution event is given by y; - 100 (x/ki) (1) where Yi is the cumulative percent finer than size x, ki is the size modulus, and is the distribution modulus for the single comminution event. The total product from a cornminution operation will be the summation of the products from all of the individual cornrninution events. If the size moduli from the various comminution events range from kl to kn , the size distribution of the total product will be a straight line on a log-log plot only to a particle size equal to k ,. Considering 100 volurnes of feed, the value of y for x equal to kl is Riven by where y is the cumulative percent finer than size kj, z is the number of comminution events of kind i, and vi is the volume of each particle crushed. y=z1 qv1+z2 qv2 (k1/k2) +.............zn qvn (k1/kn) (3) F or particle sizes greater than k1 7 e. 6. x = k3, the value of y will be given by k3 A y = z1 qv1 + z2bv2 + Z3uV3 + zn zn qvn (k3/kn)(4) Only when x is equal to k, will y equal 100. &apos;Thus, the total product from a comminution operation will be a straight line on a log-log plot strictly up to a particle size equal to kl and above that size the line will curve so that y will equal 100 for the coarsest particle or k, (see Fig. 1). The actual shape of the size of distribution curve will depend upon the relative number of conmninution events of different kinds. In the case of ball milling, the ratio kn/kl may be pite large and there will be considerable deviation at the coarse sizes in a Schuhmann plot. kIowever, the grinding action in a rod mill is such that fine particles are protected from the rods by the coarse particles. Consequently, kn/kl will be quite small and the product from a rod mill will give a straight line Schuhmann plot almost to y equal 100%. In his paper, Dr. Schuhmann also has presented a very straightforward definition of grindability derived from the basic energy equation E = Ak-a (5) where E is the energy required to comminute a material to a size modulus of k and A is a constant. According to Dr. Schuhmann, the grindability of a material is the volume of material comminuted finer than unit size per unit of energy expended, this being 1/A. For comparison of grindabilities at any size two numbers are required, both = and 1/A, and anyone tabulating grindabilities should give both of these numbers. Concerning the experimental determination of grindabilities, if the material being comminuted possesses distinct cleavage, the energy re quired for comminution is given by E = Ak-(a-y) (6) where y is small number less than = . Because of cleavage, less energy will be required for comminution. To be certain that cleavage does not affect the gindability of the material being tested, it is suggested that the method used by Dr. Charles for determining grindability be used to ascertain if the deviation exponent y is zero or finite. R. Schuhmann, Jr. (Author&apos;s Reply) Dr. Fuerstenau&apos;s interesting comparison of rod milling and ball milling

Jan 1, 1961

By A. Eilers

Although the process to which I refer in this paper has been in successful operation for nearly five years, during which time it has been introduced, superseding all other processes having in view the same end, in almost every lead refinery in the country, no description of it, giving economical data, has ever appeared in print, nor has the process been known in its details to any considerable number of engineers beside those conducting it at their works. A discussion of this subject at the present time becomes especially interesting in view of a late publication in the Prussian ministerial organ for Mining and Metallurgy, by Dr. Wedding, in which the method of treating the zinc-silver-lead alloy by distillation, as finally settled upon at Tarnowitz, is very minutely and fully described. It is the more interesting, because in that article reference is made to the American method in an unfavorable light, while, at the same time, it is clear from the article itself, that the most important details of the process, besides the one that it is conducted in black-lead retorts, mere not at all understood. In publishing herewith the details of our American method, one of my objects is to invite comparisons between our simple and direct process and the elaborate one at Tarnowitz. In extracting the silver from work-lead by means of zinc, it is always the intention, in this country, to obtain a zinc-crust so rich in silver that the rich lead resulting from subsequent distillation

By T. D. Teimann, R. L. Stone

The rate of extraction of silica from certain Wisconsin and Minnesota taconites was investigated by autoclave digestion in sodium hydroxide solutions over the temperature range from 296° to 416°F. Rates obtained were from 7 to 254 g mol per cm2 per sec giving activation energies from 15,000 to 19.000 cal per mol. Activation energy was found to increase with increase of sodium hydroxide concentration. Digestion of different forms of quartz indicated the rate of extraction to be solely a function of surface area under similar conditions of digestion. The results of an experimental investigation on the caustic extraction of silica from certain Wisconsin and Minnesota taconites were presented in a recent publication.&apos; It was shown that residual concentrates containing as much as 65% iron can be produced by this method. The occurrence of silica as a micro-crystalline variety of quartz with high specific surface area gave correspondingly high mean rates of extraction in solutions of sodium hydroxide. The present paper extends this previous work by presenting the results of a study of the specific rates of extraction of silica from these ores as related to temperature, sodium hydroxide concentration and variety of quartz. Calculated activation energies for the dissolution of silica are presented and some possible mechanisms are discussed. TACONITES The low-grade siliceous iron ores investigated included taconite from the Wisconsin Gogebic range and a semi-taconite2 from the Minnesota Mesabi range. These are adequately described in the former paper1 and by the U. S. Bureau of Mines. The principal iron minerals are hematite (Fe2O3) and goethite (Fe2O3 . H2O), while the gangue is essentially a microcrystalline variety of quartz. Minor amounts of other minerals are present. Typical analyses show the Wisconsin taconite to contain approximately 28% Fe and 54% SiO2 and the Minnesota semi-taconite 39% Fe and 39% SiO2. Analyses of the actual samples used are given in Table I. The taconite samples were prepared for digestion by reducing the original ore to minus 200 mesh in a Braun pulverizer. QUARTZ Three varieties of quartz were studied in the investigation: Ottawa sand, chert and chalcedony. The Ottawa sand was obtained from the Ottawa Silica Co. The chert and chalcedony came from Wards Natural Science Establishment. A minus 200 plus 400 mesh fraction of the Ottawa sand, used as a surface area standard, was repeatedly washed in hot concentrated hydrochloric acid followed by distilled water before autoclaving. The other two varieties were used directly after grinding through 200 mesh in a laboratory hammer mill. Analyses of these samples appear in Table 11. Microscopic examination of the silica samples by the oil immersion method showed that the Ottawa sand consisted of clean, uniform spheres of quartz with little deviation in size from a mean diameter of 82µ determined by a distribution count. The other two varieties consisted almost entirely of microcrystalline aggregates of quartz crystals; the aggregates ranged from 10 to 70µ. The individual crystals in the chert aggregates were estimated to be of the order of

Jan 1, 1964