Search Documents

By L. B. Slichter

IT has been estimated that rock exposures in most mining districts aggregate less than 1 per cent. of the total surface area.1 Conclusions concerning the hidden 99 per cent. necessarily have been based on knowledge of only a small fraction of the surface, and from this limited information the geologist has been obliged to deduce the approximate and general nature of the underlying formations. In the search for ore it is necessary to supplement this general picture with greater detail. Fairly accurate knowledge of relatively small zones is required. This knowledge is carefully sought in many different ways-detailed interpretations of geological history, the tracing of float, the use of test pits, of trenching, of drilling, and of other methods. Practical ingenuity, scientific brilliance, great perseverance and patience, and the expenditure. of large sums of money have all been a part of this search. The problem of exploring beneath cover with economy, and of obtaining essential information which this cover hides, is obviously a difficult one. It is also a very important one, for geologists inform us that already the story of the 1 per cent. exposed outcrops has been largely read.2 There remains the nearly virgin field comprised in the hidden 99 per cent., and the importance of this zone is bound to increase continually. In recent years, the problems connected with the exploration of this "99 per cent. zone" have attracted a constantly enlarging group of investigators and at present greater efforts than ever before are being made to resolve then. This work, in its various special aspects, has enlisted, beside geologists, the cooperative efforts of chemists, physicists, and mathematicians. The progress made in this development should be kept before those directing explorations in order that due advantage may be taken of a changing situation.

Jan 1, 1928

By W. D, D. W. Mounce, W. M. Rust

The almost universal acceptance of electrical logging by the petroleum industry calls for a critical examination of the physical bases of the common methods. This is particularly needed for the natural potential log. The conventional explanations are based on the phenomena of electrofiltration and electro-osmosis. However, experimental data show that they fail to give a basis that is quantitatively sound. Moreover, they lead to interpretations of details of electrical logs that are erroneous. It was found experimentally that when a plug of shale is placed in a chain of dissimilar electrolytes, a current flow results. Experiments on oil-well cores and fluids similar to those existing in wells show that potentials are set up which are in reasonable agreement with those encountered in electrical logging. Doubtless other sources of potential are important but this explanation not only accounts for much of the potential but also clarifies some fairly familiar examples of misinterpretations. Introduction The extraordinary value of electrical well logging as a tool for petroleum engineers and geologists is now so uni- versally recognized that it is not necessary to point out the ways in which it can be useful. It is sufficient to mention only the saving that has resulted from the elimination of much coring that would have been necessary under former practices and the considerable additions to reserves resulting from the discovery of sands missed in coring. Paradoxically, the very remarkable success that has resulted from the application of electrical logging to correlation and completion problems has cost some of its most consistent users dearly.' The fact that some operators have placed unwarranted faith in erroneous interpretations of electrical logs does not reduce the value of the logs. It should, however, make one pause long enough to ask why experienced users should be misled. The answer to this question is not hard to find. In nearly every case, the fault has been oversimplification. This is illustrated very aptly by the familiar interpretation and theory of the natural potential log. Recording and Interpreting Logs The natural potential log is extremely simple to record precisely enough for all present-day uses. One needs only an electrode, a cable to lower the electrode through the drilling mud, a recording meter and a surface ground connection. The electrode can be elaborate but need not be. A simple brass rod 2 in, in diameter and 2 or 3 in. long is quite satisfactory. The cable need not be particularly well insulated, nor need it have a very low resistance. The recorder can be a vacuum-tube 1 References are at the end of the paper.

Jan 1, 1944

By Joseph P. Hodgson

In 1880, mining operations were commenced at the Copper Queen mine. The famous Queen ore body, which extended to the surface, was first quarried from a large open cut in the outcrop. The ore body was followed down to the 300 level with the Queen incline, and stoped. This, we believe, marks the introduction of square setting in the Bisbee district, which is still the method most generally used. Orebodies The orebodies in the Copper Queen mine occur in the limestones, and the main portion of the ore has been mined from the Abrigo, Martin, and Escabrosa limestones. mile the orebodies outcrop in the extreme western end of the mine, the general dip is to the east and south, at an angle of about 20°, although this dip is not by any means regular, being, in fact, very irregular locally. The ore is remarkable for its variableness in character, some of it being very soft, requiring a large amount of timber, and other portions consisting of extremely hard sulphides. The orebodies, in general, while remarkable for their continuity, are very irregular, both as to shape and size. The mine having been in operation so many years, and mining having been prosecuted over such a large area, the operations have caused the shrinkage of the overburden, and there is a constant movement, which is shown by large cracks and interstices in the surface rocks, which largely contribute to the very high deadwork or maintenance cost of the mine. It is surprising that for year 1913 it cost almost $400,000 just for the one item of repairs and dead work in this property. Haulage and Hoisting The underground openings have been extended in the neighborhood of 200 miles. The ore hoisting is performed at a centrally located shaft, the Sacramento, to which all the ores from different parts of the mine are conveyed by electric haulage, of which there was slightly over 9 miles in operation in 1913. The hoisting levels at the Sacramento shaft are placed 200 ft. apart, commencing at the 400 level and continuing down to the 1,600 level, the average hoisting distance being 1,000 ft. The

Jan 1, 1915

Jan 1, 1936

By George T. Wickes

Several years ago, Mr. Robert A. Cook described and illustrated in our Transactions a mechanical coke-drawer, patented in 1891 by Mr. Thomas Smith of the Thorncliff Iron Works, Sheffield, England, and first introduced in the United States in 1896, at the coking-plant of the Latrobe Coal Co., Latrobe,Pa. This machine has not received any very extended application in this country, although it was successfully used in two places for a number of years. The present paper describes a new and simpler machine, containing few wearing-parts, and capable of withstanding continued rough usage. Anything which tends to prolong the general use of bee-hive ovens will be welcome to those who are interested in cheapening the cost of producing coke in such ovens, especially if it provides satisfactory mechanical means, replacing the hard labor involved in drawing coke by hand with the old-fashioned " duck bill." The difficulty of finding efficient coke-drawers, especially during the summer season, and in the South, is notorious. Yet, notwithstanding the great improvements that have

Jan 1, 1906

By C. S. Barrett

W. Hofmann, J. Ziegler, and H. Hanemann—Having dealt with the same alloys in the winter 1941 to 1942, we want to give a short report on the generating of the hexagonal kappa phase by deforming the supersaturated alpha phase, which we then observed. This work was delivered as a Doctor of Engineering dissertation to the Technical University of Berlin by J. Ziegler in 1942. It still exists in two copies, somewhat damaged, a brief publication of it having been issued in Fiat-Review. Our work was started from the alloy Tombasil with 4.5 to 5 pct Si, 14.5 to 14 pct Zn, the rest Cu. Torpedo propellers were die cast from this alloy in Germany during the war. In order to improve this alloy, annealing was tried. By this treatment the alloy became at the same time harder and more brittle. A further research of this process was made in the Got-tingen University30 and the "Institut fÜr Metallkunde" of the Technical University of Berlin. It soon was apparent that the Cu-Si diagram at our disposal15,31,32 would not fit the observations. For this reason the pith of the matter became from then on the Cu-Si system. At that time we did not know of Smith's* and Andersen'sm latest diagrams. We first knew of them from Dr. Barrett's publication. Twenty-two alloys containing 2 to 11 pct Si were melted in a nitrogen atmosphere and generally homogenized for 2 to 4 hr at 800 °C. Part of the samples were then annealed at 700°, 600° and 500°. Annealing was followed by quenching in water. The phases corresponding to the various temperatures were identified by X-ray and microscopy. The Debye-Scherrer photographs generally were made of filings. The latter were produced after the last anneal of the samples, then equally annealed another 30 min in evacuated glass tubes and quenched in water. In the region of concentrations examined, the Cu-Si phases already known to us were observed: alpha, kappa (then called beta by us), gamma. By hot exposing an alloy of 7.69 pct Si at 800" and 750°,

Jan 1, 1951

By H. M. Chance

Stretching from New York southwestwardly to Georgia is a great range of hills and mountains consisting of pre-Palæozoic schists, slates, .and gneissic and granitoid rocks, known locally by many different names; in Pennsylvania as the South mountains, the Berkshire or Durham and Reading hills, and in Virginia and farther south as the Blue ridge. To the northwest of this range lies the " Great Valley," underlain by Lower Silurian limestones, and known as the Lehigh valley, Cumberland valley, Shenandoah valley, valley of Eastern Tennessee and Georgia and by other local names, but all these are parts of one valley, geologically and geographically continuous from New Jersey to Georgia. Lying upon and along the northern flank of this range of mountains, and dipping northwestwardly under the limestone of the valley, is the Potsdam formation (Primal or No. 1 of the Pennsylvania Geological Survey), which consists of sandstone or conglomerate overlain by slates. The latter are sometimes arenaceous and occasionally are replaced in part by sandstone. This formation varies from a few feet to several hundred feet in thickness. At the outcrop the slates are completely decomposed, oxidized or disintegrated, forming a belt of clay several hundred feet wide occupying the interval between the outcroppings of the sandstone and limestone. This clay-belt includes a more or less continuous series of iron-ore (brown hematite) deposite, which have been, and still are, extensively worked. The belt is more or less continuously milleralized with iron throughout its length, and hundreds of large deposits of ore have been developed and worked, producing many millions of tons of ore.

Jan 1, 1909

By Richard W. Lodge

Several methods, both wet and dry, for the assay of zinc-box residues from the cyanide process, have been described in recent years, and each of them has been claimed to be superior to all others. In the year 1901, a paper, entitled "Assay of Zincy Precipitates," was published ill the School of Mines Quarterly to the purport that the scorification method for the assay of zinc-box residues was absolutely unreliable. In order to shed light on this matter, the following experiments were undertaken by Messrs. C.B. Hollis and F. D. Kehew, undergraduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The zine-box residues used were obtained through the courtesy of Mr. H. R. Batcheller. The samples were very rich and varied greatly in the fineness of their condition. SCORIFICATION-ASSAYS. In the preliminary tests, the charge, which was weighed on a chemical balance, consisted of 0.1 Assay Ton of residues mixed with from 30 to 35 grammes of test-lead and placed in a 3-in. scorifier, over this an additional quantity of test-lead (from 30 to. 35 grammes) was placed for a cover, and borax-glass, varying in quantity from 3 to 15 grammes, was sprinkled over the top of each charge of the various assays for a cover. The charges were scarified in a muffle-furnace heated to the ordinary temperature which is used in scorification; in some cases the door of the muffle was left open, while in others it remained closed. Generally, the charges spit badly, especially in the assays that were made with door of the muffle left open, or in those in which the door was opened too quickly. The results of the preliminary assays showed: 1. That in order to obtain approxi-

Jan 1, 1904

By E. S. Machlin

The alternate processes by which solute atoms can limit the migration of grain boundaries have been considered. At the lowest solute concentrations the controlling process is "mechanical breakaway" in which the solute atoms affect the driving force and not the mobility. In the next higher range of solute concentration, solute atoms are bound to the boundary and diffuse by boundary diffusion along cusps in the boundary developed at the solute atoms. In this region the boundary velocity is controlled by the component in the direction of boundary migration of the rate at which the bound solute atoms can diffuse along the boundary. At still higher concentrations, it is predicted that boundaries break away from the binding solute atoms by thermal activation. The specific behavior Predicted is consistent with the observations of Aust and Rutter. The most striking agreement between prediction and experiment is that obtained for a range of solute concentration in which the boundary velocity is inversely proportional to the cube power of the solute concentration. MaNY models have been devised for the atomic steps in the motion of a grain boundary. McLean1 has listed some of these models and Aust and utter' have evaluated these and other models. If there are

Jan 1, 1962

By K. D. Jacob, W. L. Hill

THE bulk of natural phosphates is comprised of calcium phosphates, which are usually apatites;1 calcium aluminum phosphates such as pseudowavellite;2 and aluminum phosphates, which occur in extensive deposits, notably on Grand Connetable Island.3 Nearly all deposits of current commercial value are apatite, often with admixed material of other classes. In the trade coarsely crystalline material, mainly fluorapatite of igneous origin, moves as apatite, whereas the fine-grained material of sedimentary origin is marketed as phosphate rock. The latter classification includes the phosphate shales in western North America. Although several genetic varieties of phosphate rock are recognized,4 most known reserves are of marine origin. Calcium phosphate is concentrated from Florida land pebble and Florida hard rock deposits and from Tennessee brown rock deposits. Phosphate Rock as a Fluorine Carrier: More than two decades ago Reynolds and Jacob surveyed the fluorine content of commercial phosphate rock from various parts of the world.3,5 Later these samples were reanalyzed by a new and more reliable method of determining flourine.6,7 The revised results with interim additions of new samples, published a few years ago in a brief summary,' are shown in Figs. 1-3. Through the points representing the respective varieties of rock medial straight lines are drawn. In some instances the lines are well defined by the points; in others, where scattering renders the position of the best line uncertain, the greater weight is given points near the end of the covered range. Wherever distinct varieties are not recognized among regional deposits the custom is to identify the sample with the geographical location of the deposit.

Jan 10, 1954

By Dr. O’Neil Thomas J., Donald W. Gentry

"October. This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February." -Mark Twain Although the preceding chapters describe the type of preliminary evaluation frequently performed in the mining industry, it has been assumed that input data are known with certainty-clearly an enormous simplification. In reality, estimates of ore grade, mining cost, metal price, etc., are subject to varying degrees of uncertainty due to the inability to predict the future with much precision. Management would probably not, for example, be equally attracted to two projects each offering a 20% DCFROI-one for a new gold venture in Nevada and the other for an undersea manganese nodule operation in the Pacific. The high risk with the latter investment tells the obvious; there is more to investment decision-making than a deterministic analysis using "best estimates" of input parameters. The science of decision theory normally distinguishes between decisions under uncertainty, where probabilities of various outcomes are unknown; and decisions under risk, where such probabilities can be estimated. The first case is rarely en- countered in practical capital investment analysis in mining, so the remainder of this chapter focuses on that class of problems where rational probability distributions for the future states of input variables can be estimated. RISK IN MINING Risk in the context of this chapter is the unforeseen deviation of individual cash flows from expected values for a capital project. For a mining venture, the source of this uncertainty could be any number of factors relating to such items as ore grade, ore reserve tonnage, operating costs, product prices, etc. With conventional *Adapted from O'Neil, T.J., 1979, "Procedures for the Preliminary Financial Evaluation of Metal Mining Ventures," Computer Methods for the 80s, A. Weiss, ed., AIME, New York, pp. 556-573.

Jan 1, 1984

By E. F. Kingsbury

ONE of the well-known and important uses of the noble or precious metals has been for electrical contacts. In fact, the elements of this group, comprising gold, silver and the six platinum metals, have been called "noble" because of their ability to resist- heat and corrosion, properties which were early found to be of importance in good contacts. Of these, platinum and its iridium alloys, palladium, and silver, have been extensively used. In recent years the electrical industry has been responsible for about one-eighth of the total consumption of the platinum metals in the United States. Information is not available as to what part of this one-eighth has been used for contacts but it is certainly an important one. SUBSTITUTES FOR PLATINUM During the past 20 years a considerable number of contact alloys have been proposed in the patent literature largely with the aim of more or less replacing platinum by gold or silver, and some of these alloys are finding increasingly widespread application as the reliability of their performance becomes established.. From even the partial data at hand it appears that this substitution by the less precious metals has replaced at least one-half of the amount of platinum that the entire electrical industry would otherwise be consuming at the present time.

Jan 1, 1928

By T. T. Chen, P. Pint

Based on the mineralogy, phase characteristics and compositions of the smelter feed, the smelter products and the smelter wastes, the sources and distributions of mercury and arsenic in the Afton copper smelter, Kamloops, British Columbia have been determined. Of the total mercury In the feed, approximately 33% is in solid solution in tennantite, 51% is in native copper and 16% occurs as mercurian silver. Arsenic in the feed occurs mainly as tennantite. Under current smelting conditions, 99.6% of the total mercury In the feeds enters the off-gas cleaning system. From this off-gas, about 1% of the total mercury, occurring as dust, is recirculated to the flotation concentrate; 4.6% of the total mercury is contained in SO2 scrubber sludge which is discharged to tailings. Approximately 78% of the total arsenic in the smelter reports in the copper products; 20% is incorporated in the dust and slag which are subsequently recirculated to the mill. Only 1.8% is rejected as scrubber sludge, and less than 0.2% 1s released to the mercury scrubber.

Jan 1, 1984

Long range expansion plans begun in 1966 by The International Nickel Co. of Canada, producer of over 50% of the free world supply of the white metal, are so mammoth as to give rise to the speculation that something might have to burst at the seams. From an annual level of capital expenditure of $35 to $70 million, the company jumped in 1967 to $145 million in new capital investment and will come close to $200 million in 1968. Inco expects to spend $700 million in the next five years, beginning in 1968, for new mines and surface facilities in Canada. The program involves the opening of nine new mines within the next 3 1/2 years, expansion of producing mines, and construction of new plants and modernization and expansion of established ones to process the increased ore production. Beyond this, the company is committed deeply in developing new sources of nickel abroad. Any one of these new projects, if proven economic, would necessitate expenditures of about $100 million or more. For Inco, the economic strain was relieved without a rupture this spring when Henry S. Wingate, company chairman, reported' at the stockholders annual meeting that $150 million had been raised by the sale of bonds. This marked the first time in 32 years that the company had gone into debt.

Jan 10, 1968

By William Emmons

THE problem of the metalliferous veins has always been an outstanding one in the science of ore deposits. In recent years interest has been stimulated by Spurr, who maintains that veins have consolidated from magmas that have densities as great as the densities of ordinary rocks. Lindgren published a noteworthy paper1 in 1926, in which he supports the theory that veins are deposited chiefly by hot waters. Lindgren's paper was discussed by Singewald, Spurr, Kemp, Anderson, Colony, Bateman, Porter and others. The discussion, in the main, was centered on the interpretation of fragments that are included in veins. This paper also treats the problems of fragments in veins and includes a reply to a review by Spurr2 of a bulletin by Larsen, and myself published by the United States Geological Survey on the geology and ore deposits of Creede, Colorado. Mineral veins containing fragments of the wall rock are common. At many places the fragments are completely, isolated, one from the other, and are entirely surrounded by vein matter. It has been stated that the vein matter around the fragments was heavier than the fragments and that the latter were floated in a magma. J. E. Spurr, who is the leading advocate of this hypothesis,4 urges that normal mineral veins were deposited by solutions heavy enough to float fragments of the country rock, and it is mainly on this relation that he bases his theory that veins are deposited by solidification of magmas. If it can be shown that vein-forming solutions have a specific gravity greater than rock (2.77), one is justified in regarding them as true magmatic solutions. It is shown later in this, paper,. however, that at Lead, S. D., water not more highly concentrated' than ordinary drinking water is depositing vein matter around fragments of schist and of steel in such a manner that the fragments are completely isolated and completely surrounded by the mineral cement.

Jan 1, 1928

By Allen Garrison

IT is the purpose of this article to present. the results of an investiga-tion of certain clay and shale suspensions having viscosities that are materially influenced by fluid motion, and to discuss the bearing of these results, upon the choice of policy in the control of drilling fluids. A previous article described the design and the characteristics of an instru-ment adapted to measure the viscosity of plastic suspensions during continuous uniform motion and at a variety of speeds.1 It has long been recognized that the viscosity of a clay suspension depends on the past history of the fluid motion. Since an abundance of literature is available on this phenomenon,2 it is not necessary to describe it in more than general terms. It is usually observed that rapid motion reduces the viscosity of a clay suspension, and that some time is required for the viscosity to fall to its equilibrium value after the steady motion is started. On reducing the speed of motion to some lower value, the viscosity again rises, but it also requires some time to attain a steady viscosity value at the slower rate of motion. Thus clay suspensions are usually observed to be increasing in viscosity as time passes when the measurement has been immediately preceded by fluid motion that was more rapid than that employed in the measurement. And it is usually observed that the viscosity falls as time passes when the measurement has been preceded by more quiescent conditions. Reed,3 and Broughton and Hand4 have reported a condition of observa-tion of clay suspensions in which the viscosity was observed to fall during the first few moments of steady motion, and rise thereafter. The characteristics of the new instrument are particularly well adapted to studies of this kind. With it we have been able to observe all of the phenomena described above, and it is important to understand their nature because they all occur at some time during normal drill-

Jan 1, 1939

By Chung Yu Wang

MINING ENGINEERING presents the fourth in a series of articles on strategic minerals. Preceding it are "Cobalt" in January, "Sulphur" in May, and "Nickel" in August. Here, an authority in the field analyzes the resources, production, uses, defense impact and future outlook of Tungsten

Jan 10, 1951

By S. P. Kinney

Sulfur has been one of the most troublesome elements encountered since the earliest days of iron smelting, and this problem will become of increasing importance as the higher sulfur coke is used, because of the rapidly diminishing supply of low-sulfur coals suitable for the manufacture of metallurgical coke. The deleterious effect of sulfur in iron and steel is well known; therefore, except in special cases, it is desirable to make the iron produced by the blast furnace as low in sulfur as possible. Sulfur enters the furnace in all of the raw materials, but principally in the coke. It comes out of the blast furnace distributed between the iron and the slag; very little passes out of the furnace with the gases. The mechanism of the reactions that cause the sulfur of the coke to pass into the slag and iron has not been studied to any great extent, although the character of the end products, and the conditions controlling the distribution of the sulfur between the iron and slag, are fairly well known. In the iron, the sulfur occurs as ferrous sulfide; or manganese sulfide in case of iron high in manganese. In the slag, the sulfur is present mostly as calcium sulfide. The presence of free sulfur1 and sulfates in blast-furnace slags is to be accounted for on the basis of oxidation of the calcium sulfide after the slag is tapped. The generally accepted reaction for the relation between the ferrous sulfide in the iron and in the coke, and the calcium sulfide in the slag, is that given by Howe? FeS + CaO + CDFe + CaS + CO

Jan 1, 1923

By G. St. J. Perrott

During the past year, the Bureau of Mines has carried on an investigation of liquid-oxygen explosives (L.O.X.) to supplement the work described in previous publications.' The present paper gives results of the first part of this work, which was a laboratory investigation of the properties of typical combustibles used in L.O.X., and the relation of these properties to the absorption and retention of oxygen by the explosives and their explosive characteristics. No attempt will be made to describe the development of liquid-oxygen explosives, because this phase of the subject has been well covered.2 The L.O.X. cartridge consists of a paper wrapper filled with an absorbent combustible material that is saturated with liquid oxygen by soaking it therein. After saturation, the cartridge is removed from the liquid and fired with fuse and cap, or electric detonator, in a manner similar to other explosives. Certain types of cartridge may be detonated with fuse alone, requiring no cap to initiate the detonation. ' By suitable variation of the nature and density of the combustible, cartridges having a wide variety of explosive characteristics may be made.

Jan 1, 1925

By L. S. Reid, R. L. Hunntington

The study of the flow of oil and gas mixtures through oil-bearing formations has received special attention from the petroleum industry within the past few years, and has resulted in a series of research projects based upon various phases of the flow of heterogeneous fluids through porous media. Obviously, the low cost of producing oil during the flowing life of a well makes it desirable to obtain production by natural flow as long as possible and to effect a maximum recovery of oil and gas by the utilization of reservoir energy through efficient methods based upon a thorough knowledge of reservoir characteristics. Despite the extensive research that has been carried out, there is little information available on the behavior of oil and gas mixtures flowing through reservoir formations. This makes it impossible to predetermine the optimum operating conditions for flowing wells. A differential pressure must exist in the reservoir in order to induce flow toward the well. It is a well established fact that with homogeneous fluids the relation of pressure drop to linear distance traveled is a straight-line function as long as the flow is viscous. However, in regard to gas-saturated oils, a number of investigators1l,2,3 have reported that the flow characteristics are materially altered as some of the lighter hydrocarbons are liberated from the oil to form gas while the fluid passes through the reservoir. Most of the work done has been concerned primarily with steady-state flow of liquid-gas mixtures. Cloud1 has studied the effects of saturating crude petroleum oils with various gases, together with the resultant pressure gradients under steady flow conditions, noting that unsaturated oils flowed faster and yet maintained lower pressure gradients than saturated oils. The work of Wyckoff and Botset4 has constituted a major step in the interpretation of heterogeneous fluid flow; especially their concept of

Jan 1, 1938