Search Documents

By Samuel M. Cassidy, John A. Garcia

In some districts of the bituminous coal field the problem of constructing bulkheads to seal off water under pressure is becoming increasingly important. Recently this matter has been brought very much to the front by the loss of a large Illinois mine due to failure of a bulkhead that separated it from several old, flooded mines. As this great misfortune has provoked much inquiry about proper bulkhead design, it is felt that a description of the successful and extensive water-sealing practice at three mines that have different natural conditions will be of considerable interest to those connected with properties having a present or future water problem and to engineers that may have to design safe bulkheads of economical construction. These three mines are the Saxton and Dresser, near Terre Haute, Ind., and the Hegeler, near Danville, Ill. All three have water conditions that make it necessary to regularly seal off all worked-out sections of the mine, and there are considerably over a hundred bulkheads in each. AS far as the writers know, these three mines are the only ones in the bituminous coal fields of the United States with anything like so large a number of water seals and experience, although a number of other mines are known to have a few bulkheads. More detail will be included herein on the Saxton mine than on the others, as the writers are more familiar with it. General Mining System All three of the mines use the same general panel room-and-pillar system, which consists of rooms turned both ways off room entries and a solid block of coal left on all sides of the completed panel except on the cross-entry side, where a heavier pillar is pierced by two entries for haulage and air. On completion of the panel the two entries arc sealed and the panel is then isolated from the rest of the mine. Owing to water conditions, no pillars are pulled; recovery inside the panel barrier pillars is approximately 65 per cent.

Jan 1, 1938

By Samuel M. Cassidy, John A. Garcia

In some districts of the bituminous coal field the problem of constructing bulkheads to seal off water under pressure is becoming increasingly important. Recently this matter has been brought very much to the front by the loss of a large Illinois mine due to failure of a bulkhead that separated it from several old, flooded mines. As this great misfortune has provoked much inquiry about proper bulkhead design, it is felt that a description of the successful and extensive water-sealing practice at three mines that have different natural conditions will be of considerable interest to those connected with properties having a present or future water problem and to engineers that may have to design safe bulkheads of economical construction. These three mines are the Saxton and Dresser, near Terre Haute, Ind., and the Hegeler, near Danville, Ill. All three have water conditions that make it necessary to regularly seal off all worked-out sections of the mine, and there are considerably over a hundred bulkheads in each. AS far as the writers know, these three mines are the only ones in the bituminous coal fields of the United States with anything like so large a number of water seals and experience, although a number of other mines are known to have a few bulkheads. More detail will be included herein on the Saxton mine than on the others, as the writers are more familiar with it. General Mining System All three of the mines use the same general panel room-and-pillar system, which consists of rooms turned both ways off room entries and a solid block of coal left on all sides of the completed panel except on the cross-entry side, where a heavier pillar is pierced by two entries for haulage and air. On completion of the panel the two entries arc sealed and the panel is then isolated from the rest of the mine. Owing to water conditions, no pillars are pulled; recovery inside the panel barrier pillars is approximately 65 per cent.

Jan 1, 1938

By Stanley D. Michaelson, Norman Weiss

This was a year of realization. Some years are for planning and development, some for designing and building, others for fulfillment. With greater hopes and plans for the future than ever before, the year 1954, nevertheless, will be remembered principally because of project completion. Among copper mines, for example, there were Silver Bell, Copper Cities, Bisbee, Yerington, and White Pine. In iron, there were the Humboldt, Coleraine, Cerro Bolivar, and Eagle Mountain. In asbestos, Johns-Manville's new mill at Asbestos, Que. In uranium, completion of the ninth mill on the Colorado Plateau-Kerr-McGee's at Shiprock, N. M. In research, 1954 marked the completion of Kennecott's Research Center in Salt Lake City, one of the historic forward strides in the science of minerals beneficiation. The year was fruitful in other directions as well. Investigations of a fundamental nature were on the upswing, and pilot plant projects have also increased in size and number. Progress in new reagents and equipment was greater than normal. It can already be conservatively predicted-from the technological point of view-that 1955 and 1956 will be tremendous years.

Jan 3, 1955

By Y. Kondo, A. M. Gaudin

A combined method for sizing in the sub-micron range was developed using centrifugation and gamma emission. Its essential features are: 1) Centrifugation of suspended mineral in water carried out at 4°C where water has its maximal density and zero temperature gradient of density 2) Gamma activition of the sample suspension induced by irradiating it in a nuclear reactor prior to centrifugation 3) Measurement of the activity of a beam of suspension as it is sedimenting in the centrifuge, using a scintillation counter provided with a discriminator. Albite, the sodium feldspar, was used as feed to the comminution step, and the induced gamma activity of Na24 was measured. Dissolved sodium ion caused a a non-settling activity in the measurement. Other "noise" is due to scattered gamma radiation from albite particles in the centrifuge outside of the line of sight. These two activities were obtained sep arately and subtracted from the total activity counted. The relative solid concentration in the suspension under the collimating slit is proportional to this net activity. The cumulative weight per cent of undersize particles was calculated and plotted against size on logarithmic scales. The relationship was found to be linear down to about 30 mµ. The specific surfaces calculated from particle size distribution agree with those measured by krypton gas adsorption. The measurement of particle size distribution of comminution products has been of interest in clarifying the mechanism of the process. The Gaudin-Schuhmann equation1,2 relates the cumulative percentage undersize, y, to relative particle size x/k. The particle size, x, and the size modulus, k, together with the distribution modulus, m, characterize the particle size distribution, m is the slope of a plot of log (y) against log (x/k). This equation has been verified for ground particles down to 1 micron in size.3'4 For particle sizes smaller than a few microns, the precision and facility of sedimentation and microscope techniques become questionable. Use of a centrifuge which shortens settling time from weeks to hours is attractive. Many centrifugal methods have been proposed; however, determination of the solid concentration of the suspension at a reference level as a function of time is difficult, and sampling the suspension is likely to introduce errors. Measurement of particle size distribution by X-ray absorption in gravitational5 and in centrifugal6 sedimentation have also been tried. In these methods, the absorption coefficient for the solid is independent of size, since the wave lengths of the X-rays and gamma-rays are orders of magnitude smaller than the particles. Radiometric techniques7 in size distribution measurement have been developed within the last several years. They offer advantages over usual gravimetric and optical methods. PRINCIPLE OF METHOD The combined method of centrifugation and gamma emission for sizing in submicron range described in the present paper has the following essential features. 1) Centrifugation is carried out at 4 ± 0.1°C. Convection currents in the water phase due to density changes caused by temperature variation may disturb completely the settling system. To avoid this difficulty, the unique property of water having zero temperature gradient of density at 4°C is used. 2) Prior to size measurement the sample suspension is irradiated in a nuclear reactor and gamma activity induced. The gamma activity of the particles sedi-mented radially is measured by a scintillation counter provided with a discriminator. By this method, interruption of centrifugation by withdrawing samples is avoided and the counting rate at any time represents the solid concentration in the suspension at the level of the collimating slit of the centrifuge at the particular time at which the measurement is made. 3) By proper selection of the feed material and of the comminution device, gamma activities of foreign

Jan 1, 1964

By Richard H. Olson

"Rarely in our technological society does the discovery of a new class of inorganic materials result in such a wide scientific interest and kaleidoscopic development of applications as has happened with the zeolite molecular sieves." The foregoing, the opening sentence in a landmark volume on zeolite molecular sieves by D. W. Breck (1974), is, if anything, an understatement. Zeolites were recognized as a new group of minerals in the 1750s, but it was not until 1930 that the first analysis of the crystal structure of a zeolite mineral was made. In the late 1940s research workers at Union Carbide Corp. began a program of zeolite synthesis and study which has resulted in one of the major research achievements of all time. Naturally, with the vast research and development efforts devoted to the synthetic molecular sieves, Union Carbide became concerned in the mid-1950s about its position should minable deposits of natural analogues be discovered. Zeolite minerals have diverse origins, and even a brief discussion of these is beyond the scope of this paper. The early work on zeolites was confined to igneous rock occurrences (e.g., amygdules and veins) which were formed by "space-filling;" these crystals tend to be euhedral, thereby rendering them appealing to both mineralogists and collectors. During the first year or so of Union Carbide's exploration (which began in mid-1957) attention was devoted solely to such igneous occurrences. A landmark paper by Bramlette and Posnjak (1933) heralded the potential significance of the occurrence of zeolite minerals as alteration products of vitric ash and similar materials. In the summer of 1958, full attention was directed by Union Carbide to the search for deposits of this type in the western United States. Since then, such exploration has been continu-

Jan 1, 1975

By R. T. Hukki

IT is no great exaggeration to say that present grinding practice and economics are largely determined by lining design. A record of outstanding liner wear can be achieved with any liner surface pattern that will positively lock the outer layer or layers of grinding media. With no slippage, lining wear is bound to be slight. At the same time, popular practice calls for tumbling loads of about 50 pct of mill volume to obtain maximum grinding capacity. Innumerable parallel grinding investigations have verified that optimum speed for such a mill lies within 70 to 85 pct of theoretical critical speed. If the mill is speeded up to 100 pct of critical, little or no grinding can be accomplished. Earlier Work on Supercritical Grinding: First investigations concerning grinding at supercritical speeds seem to be very old. Remarkable work on the subject has been performed by White,&apos; and his experiments have been described and summarized by Richards.&apos; White&apos;s contributions seem to have passed unnoticed by Fahrenwald,2,3 whose extensive experiments have been well presented, yet apparently very little appreciated. Additional work on grinding at supercritical speed has been reported, e.g., by Lewenson and Tscherny,&apos; USSR; Anselm and Grunder,&apos;, Germany: and Rose and Evans." Great Britain. Subcritical and Supercritical Speeds: In the formula of the critical speed given in the textbooks of mineral dressing, no factor indicating the coefficient of friction is generally included. If this factor = 1.0, which is equivalent to grinding conditions in a mill provided with heavily ribbed lining, the formula of the critical speed holds as such and grinding is possible at subcritical speeds only. In a mill equipped with a smooth or relatively smooth lining, the numerical value of the friction factor in the denominator of the formula becomes <1.0, indicating that grinding at supercritical speeds should be possible in such mills. It has been recently shown by the author&apos; that a wide supercritical speed range will become available for grinding—and especially for fine grinding—if the basic conditions within the mill have been selected properly. Mathematical analysis of mill dynamics at supercritical speeds&apos; has indicated that the mill speed may be increased if: 1) total mass of grinding medium decreases, 2) mass of the individual grinding piece increases, and 3) the coefficient of friction between the outer layer of medium and the mill lining decreases. It is obvious that the mass of the individual grinding piece will be affected by its shape and by its specific gravity. The coefficient of friction decreases with: 1) increasing smoothness of liner surface, 2) increasing roundness of the grinding piece, 3) increasing fineness of material to be ground, 4) decreasing pulp density, and 5) decreasing hardness (abrasiveness) of the mineral to be ground. In a mill equipped with heavily ribbed lining, practically no size reduction will take place between the lining and the outer layer of tumbling medium, because slippage is prevented. In the overwhelming majority of today&apos;s mills the grinding accomplished is by virtue of cataracting and/or cascading media with some action within the tumbling charge. Sub-critical speeds only can be applied. In grate-type or peripheral discharge mills equipped with a smooth lining a tumbling load of any kind of common medium occupying about 50 pct of mill volume will behave in such a way that practically no slippage will take place. This has been verified in experiments run by the author in the laboratory and in pilot plant mills&apos; equipped with smooth lining. Again, the operation is limited to the subcritical range. In a mill with a smooth lining, grinding will be possible either at subcritical speeds or within a wide supercritical speed range as soon as the basic requirements for a desired speed are fulfilled. In a mill operated at supercritical speed, any point on the liner surface proceeds at a speed greater than that indicated by the formula of the critical speed, while any grinding piece situated in the outer layer of the medium against the lining proceeds in the same direction at a speed less than that indicated by the critical speed. This speed difference produces a very effective attrition grinding zone between the liner surface and the outer layer of the medium. The share of attrition grinding of the total grinding accomplished increases rapidly with increasing speed in the supercritical speed range. The smooth surface of the mill lining may be well illustrated by the surface of a bucking board. The outer ball layer may be similarly represented by the lower surface of a muller. If the bucking board, the material to be ground, and the muller all proceed in the same direction at the same speed, no grinding will result. This is the general situation in the mills of today. If, however, the muller is pulled with respect to the board, moving or stationary, grinding will be accomplished effectively. Although grinding in today&apos;s mills is primarily the result of cataracting and/or cascading media, the principal place of grinding at high supercritical speeds will be the attrition zone.&apos; In the mineral dressing laboratory of the State Institute for Technical Research. Helsinki, Finland, large quantities of different ores have been ground in a pilot plant ball mill (3x3 ft) at a top speed about 230 pct of the critical. With the same mill, theoretical investigations concerning the grinding characteristics of ball mills equipped with a smooth lining have been carried out up to the speed of 313 pct&apos; of the critical. With a smaller mill, the grinding characteristics with a variety of grinding media have been investigated at speeds up to 2000 pct of the

Jan 1, 1959

By M. A. Schimmelpfennig, A. D. S. Gillies

Loss of visibility due to the occurrence of atmospheric fogging in underground mine airways can lead to longer travel times and loss of production efficiency, an increase in the frequency of vehicular and foot traffic accidents and difficulty in checking rock surfaces for instability and loose material. Where hot and humid surface air meets colder underground air, conditions for fog formation may be present. Further, suspended particulate matter from diesel exhausts or stoping operations together with slow movement of air along passageways may contribute to formation. This study describes an investigation being undertaken with the cooperation of Kennecott&apos;s Ozark Lead Co. to identify causes of the problem.

Jan 1, 1984

By Charles E. Barker

Jan 1, 1985

By J. H. Nead, T. S. Washburn

The grades of commercial steel produced in large quantities can be divided into two general types from the standpoint of ingot structure— killed and rimmed. Killed steel covers a wide variety with carbon contents throughout the range of the steel portion of the iron-carbon diagram, and is the kind usually used in the production of alloy steels. Rimmed steel is normally associated with carbon ranges under 0.30 per cent, and is not yet used to a large extent in alloy practice, except for copper-bearing steels. The fundamental differences in the ingots made from these two types of steel can be seen most easily in Figs. 1 to 7. In the rimmed ingot shown in Figs. 5 to 7 there are two lines of blowholes approximately parallel to the sides and coming together at the top and at the bottom of the ingot. In the killed ingots shown in Figs. 1 to 4 these blowholes arc not present. Also, the rimmed ingot has no well defined pipe, as compared to the deep pipe on the killed ingots, and there are numerous primary blowholes in the lower portion of the rimmed ingot perpendicular to the surface and close to it, while on the killed ingot there are no blowholes of this type in the ingot shown in Fig. 1 and very small ones close to the surface in the lower part of the ingot shown in Figs. 2 to 4. With respect to the presence of pipe and the primary blowholes, the structure may vary considerably in both rimmed and killed ingots, therefore these cannot be considered as fundamental structural characteristics differentiating the two types of steel. The primary blowholes in rimmed ingots may be much less pronounced than those in the ingot shown in Figs. 5 to 7—as, for example, in "ingot iron," which is entirely free from them. An example of a cross section of an ingot-iron ingot is shown on page 16 of "Research and Methods of Analysis of Iron and Steel," published by the American Rolling Mill Co. (1920). A certain amount of pipe may also occur in rimmed ingots, though it is normally porous and not as well defined [or deep as in the killed ingot of Fig. 1. In killed ingots, primary blowholes may occur near the surface, as in Figs. 2 to 4, and

Jan 1, 1937

By S. J. CRAIGHEAD

IN 1912 the United States Smelting Refining and Mining Company made a large investment in a number of coal properties in Utah and in 1915 a subsidiary, the United States Fuel Co., was organized to take over these properties. Operations started in 1916 and the Company soon became, and remains, one of the major coal producers of the State. It now produces approximately one million tons of coal annually, which is about 22 per cent of Utah&apos;s output. The U. S. Fuel Co. owns large reserves of good coal and is in a position to expand operations with the industrial growth now taking place in the West. Traveling through the Western States, one is struck by numerous advertising signs portraying the picture of jovial Old King Cole of nursery rhyme fame. His rotund figure and beaming countenance are the symbols of Utah King Coal, the product of the King mine of U. S. Fuel Co. King Coal is a by-word of quality coal throughout all the Western States.

Jan 1, 1948

By AIME AIME

WHEN I was getting data for my books on ore dressing, I traveled across the continent, visiting a great many mills, always accompanied by my vanning shovel, and I got to be a joke among the millmen. They would say "Here comes the Professor with his vanning shovel." With the aid of this vanning shovel, I examined the tailings of all the mills I visited and I found it to be universally true that they contained some extremely fine, free mineral. I looked everywhere to see if I could find a machine or a process that would save this fine mineral. But nowhere did I find anything that made any bid for success until I visited the Kennedy mill, with its Gates canvas plant, on the Mother Lode of California. There I found that the tailings of the Frue vanners were put into a one-spigot classifier of good design which yielded a spigot product entirely free from this fine, free mineral which only assayed 40c. to the ton in gold. The overflow was extremely fine and as¬sayed $3 to the ton. This overflow was fed to ten canvas tables each 10 ft. square, with the grain of the canvas running across the table to make for the roughest surface. The canvas used was No. 6 cotton duck sail cloth.

Jan 1, 1934

By Y. C. Liu, H. Margolin

Investigation of martensite habit plane in water-quenched Ti-Mn alloys was carried out in the range of manganese contents between 4.35 and 5.25 pct. On the basis of 22 measurements, the poles were observed to fall into two groups, indicating the existence of two habit planes. The Miller indices of the poles close to these two groups were found to be <334>ß and <344>ß. TITANIUM has an allotropic transformation at 882.1° ± 0.5C1 by which the high temperature ß (body-centered cubic) phase changes to a (hexagonal close-packed) phase. It is well known, as in the case of low carbon steel, that the unalloyed high temperature ß phase cannot be retained no matter how rapid the cooling rate. However, the addition of alloying elements usually lowers the transformation temperature continuously and stabilizes the ß phase to a temperature much lower than the allotropic transformation temperature in pure titanium. A typical example of this behavior is found with manganese-alloying of titanium. Fig. 1 shows the titanium-rich Ti-Mn equilibrium diagram as established by Battelle Memorial Institute.&apos; The addition of manganese lowers the ß transus line and the eutectoid reaction takes place at 550°C, the eutectoid composition being 20 wt pct Mn. However, upon quenching to room temperature from the ß field, the ß phase can be completely retained with much less manganese, see Fig. 2. If the composition is less than that required to stabilize the ß phase completely, a plate-like structure, similar to that of martensite in other alloy systems, appears as shown in Fig. 3. Much lower alloying content merely intensifies the amounts of these transformed structures, as shown in Fig. 4. This paper presents the results of an investigation of the habit plane of these martensitic structures in Ti-Mn alloys. Experimental Procedure Investigation of the pole of a given platelet was made using the two-surface method of analysis." In order that a given martensite trace on two surfaces be readily recognized both at low and high magnifications, it is desirable that only a small amount of martensite be present. From a review of the data obtained at Battelle Memorial Institute4 on quench hardening in Ti-Mn alloys and the results of Duwez" on transformation in Ti-MO alloys, it was decided that the most appropriate Ti-Mn composition for this study would be about 6 pct Mn. A group of alloys containing from 3 to 10 pct Mn was made to bracket this composition. The choice of the 6 pct alloy was apparently proper, since it was later learned that approximately 5.5 to 6 pct Mn is required to stabilize the ß phase on water quenching.

Jan 1, 1954

By R. J. Cowan

In the art of cementation a controversy has been going on for years as to whether solid or gaseous carbon is the active agent in carburizing steel. More recently opinion has crystallized into a compromise to the effect that carburizing is a gaseous cementation of steel in the presence of solid carbon. The importance of this theory has a particular bearing upon the work to be described. In the art of carburizing, use is commonly made of such words as &apos;&apos; Catalytic" "atomic," "nascent" and "activated," in an attempt to describe the process. These words are used indiscriminately. For instance, the gas is said to be "catalytic" and carbon to be "nascent," or vice versa. In using these expressions, investigators are confirming the acceptance in their minds of the active conditions of both gas and carbon in the cementation process. Reactions at Metal Surfaces For many years attention has been directed to the consideration of reactions that occur on metal surfaces. When heated under the influence of certain metals a complex gas will be broken down and one of the constituents thereof usually found to be very active chemically in combining with the metal. The process of nitriding is an example of this type of reaction. In this case ammonia (NH3) breaks down at the metal surface and the nitrogen which is thus liberated reacts with the surface to form a nitride whereas molecular nitrogen not so liberated is inert and will not react chemically with the metal. Whatever term or terms may be used to describe such reactions, the fact remains that they are highly important and valuable in their commercial applications. Since the metal surface plays so important a part in these reactions, it is evident that any accumulation of reaction products thereon interferes seriously with the progress of the reactions. For this reason it is desirable to remove all such products as rapidly as they are formed in order to bring active gas into contact with the surface and thus facilitate the desired reactions. This is accomplished best by conducting the operation in a continuous manner, thereby causing the reacting gases to pass over the

Jan 1, 1931

By M. Streat, R. Y. Qassim

Summary This paper reviews the developments in uranium process technology as a result of modern trends in the design of ion exchange equipment. The operation of the Cloete-Streat fluidised bed contactor is described and pilot-plant development of this contactor for uranium slurry work at Imperial College is outlined. The properties of a suitable ion exchange resin for slurry treatment are discussed, together with a description of relevant rheological properties of ore suspensions. A prediction of ion exchange resin- slurry behaviour is presented in order to establish the feasible operating limits for this type of R-I-P contactor.

Jan 1, 1973

By A. P. Woods, J. A. Elias, A. J. Heckler

A method is described by whichX-ray pole figures and axis density figures may be plotted automatically. The X-ray data are obtained using a Siemens texture gonionleter and the Schulz reflection method. Composite sampling methods are used to obtain a full quadrant of the pole figure. The contour lines of the pole figure and axis density figures are drawn using a computer-controlled x-y plotter. The computer program used to draw the contours was obtained from ZBM. POLE figures used to describe crystallographic orientations of poly crystalline sheet materials are usually plotted manually from X-ray diffraction output in the form of a strip chart recording of the intensity distribution of a given crystallographic pole in physical space. Today&apos;s computers and associated plotting equipment now make it possible to plot pole figures and axis density figures automatically. Inverse pole figures have been determined by mathematically "inverting" X-ray pole figure data.&apos;-&apos; In general, these methods require complicated, time-consuming numerical calculations. A more economical but less accurate method is to determine the axis densities of low-index crystallographic poles using an X-ray diffractometer. When these axis densities are plotted in a unit stereographic triangle contour lines can be drawn to represent the axis density distribution. This can now be done automatically. Computers were used to plot pole figures by a method developed by Holland, Engler, and powers.&apos; In their method intensity ratios based on a random standard sample were obtained from a strip chart recording, and the stereographic (x, y) coordinates of these ratios were determined by a computer. Symbols characteristic of different intensity ratio levels were then plotted using an automatic x, y plotter and intensity contours were drawn manually. The present paper describes a method by which pole figures and axis density figures have been automatically plotted from digital data obtained from a Siemens X-ray unit. Plotting was accomplished using an IBM 1620 computer and a Calcomp 563 digital plotter. COMPUTER PROGRAM The computer program was obtained from IBM Systems Reference Library, No. 1620-CS-05X, and was designed to plot contour maps from randomly distributed data. It consists of a set of twelve separate subprograms, four of which were used in this work. The program takes a given distribution of data points and by a numerical method determines the values at mesh points of a square grid system superimposed over the input data. The output data from this program is in a form suitable for input to the contour plotting program. A smoothing program is also available which calculates new mesh point values from a continuous function fitted to neighboring mesh points. The degree of smoothing depends on the number of points around a given grid point which are used to adjust or smooth the grid value. The contour plotting program is designed to allow the user to specify the interval, scale, and annotation of the contours to be plotted. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Pole Figure Data Points. Diffracted X-ray intensities were determined using a Siemens texture goniometer and the schulzs reflection method. Due to geometric

Jan 1, 1968

By Frederic E. Carter

THERE have been many attempts to prove that platinum was known to the ancients, but since no traces of the metal have been found in the relics of early times, it must be concluded that it was not known to them. As far as records go, it was actually first discovered in the 16th century in a Spanish mine on the Pinto River in South America; from which source it received its name of Platina del Pinto (little silver from the Pinto). It was more or less of a rarity and was a subject of interest to a few chemists only, until the year 1822 when the metal was first discovered in Russia. In 1819 there were noticed in the washings of the gold sands of the southern part of the Ural Mountains, grains of a heavy white substance, but it was not until three years later that this substance was found to contain platinum. While at first the amounts of platinum brought from the Urals were meager, prospecting soon disclosed rich deposits extending over a considerable area, and nuggets from 10 to 20 lb. were by no means rare. This discovery assured to chemists an ample supply of platinum for their crucibles, etc. The ore is now found in various parts of the world but the richest deposits are still found in the Ural Mountains. The platinum of commerce is obtained entirely from alluvial deposits at depths varying from 6 to 40 ft. The sand and gravel of former river beds are subjected to a series of screenings and washings to effect the separation of the ore. Actually, probably all gold-bearing gravel beds of the world contain platinum, and it is more than likely that large quantities of platinum ore have been thrown away with the black sand washings from gold placer deposits. This is especially true of the alluvial deposits of the Pacific Coast in California and Oregon. Platinum ore is usually found in the form of rounded or flattened grains of "sand," and occasionally in irregular lumps of the size of peas. Large nuggets are very rare. The ore has a metallic luster and is distinguished by its steel gray color, but shows light gray streak when rubbed on a hard white surface; it has a high specific gravity, 16 to 19; is infusible in the hottest blast furnaces, and insoluble in any single acid. Platinum ore is a complex body consisting of the metal in combination with varying proportions of the other members of the platinum group; iridium,

Jan 1, 1928

By H. O. Jahns, R. A. Greenkorn, R. E. Haring, L. K. Shallenbarger

This paper is a study of the effects of heterogeneity on flow in an analog of porous media, the Hele-Shaw model. l-3 A set of experiments in heterogeneous Hele-Shaw models showed streamlines through and around heterogeneities of various sizes, shapes and levels. (A level, we define as the ratio between the transmissibility of the heterogeneity and that of the rest of the model.) The heterogeneities were restrictions or expansions of the flow stream analogous to variations in the transmissibility of porous media. The experimental data agreed well with numerical results and with an analytical solution, which we derived for a circular heterogeneity in an infinite field. This study considers the flow-stream distortion due to the shape, size and level of heterogeneities. Size and level are much more important than shape provided the heterogeneity is not long and narrow. Our analytical solution shows that a circular heterogeneity in a large field can be replaced by an equivalent circle of either zero or infinite permeability. The radius of the. equivalent circle is a simple function of size and level of the actual circle. INTRODUCTION With the availability of high-speed computers and numerical procedures to predict reservoir behavior, we are faced with an important question. How much information about the reservoir do we need to justify the cost of the computer in any given case? To answer this question, we have to know how various reservoir parameters affect flow behavior. Reservoir heterogeneity is one of these parameters. In this study, we used a simple, two-dimensional model of porous media, the hele-shaw model, to investigate the effect of heterogeneity on flow behavior. We restricted ourselves to linear, single-phase, steady-state flow in a rectangular field with a single heterogeneity at its center. The analogy between flow in Hele-Shaw models and in porous media is easily verified. Let us first consider a homogeneous Hele-Shaw model with constant plate separation h. (The Hele-Shaw model is constructed by placing two plates, usually glass, very close together and allowing liquid to flow between them. Streamlines are made visible by introducing colored fluid into the space between the plates at a number of points across the model.) We assume a cartesian coordinate system with its origin in the middle between the plates and the z axis directed perpendicular to the glass plates (Fig. 1). The fluid flow is always in a direction parallel to the glass plates and varies from a maximum value to zero in the very small distance from the middle (z = 0) to either plate (z = h/2). For slow motion of an incompressible fluid, neglecting inertia and body forces, we have the viscous flow equation: where p is the fluid pressure, p the viscosity, and v the velocity vector with components u, v and w in the x, y and z directions, respectively. In our rase. and the derivatives of 3 with respect to x and y are small as compared with the derivative in the z direction. Therefore, approximately, with Vp and v being two-dimensional vectors in the x-y plane. Two integrations with respect to z give

Jan 1, 1965

By D. M. Dunbar, H. C. SCHLILTZ

HE Chile Exploration Co.&apos;s mine and reduction plant are at Chuquicamata, Chile, on the eastern edge of the Atacama Desert, 163 miles northeast of Antofagasta, 80 miles from the Pacific Ocean, and 70 miles from the Bolivian border and at an altitude of 10,000 ft. Guggenheim Brothers started prospecting in -4pri1, 1912, and purchased the main property, in October of that year; the property is now controlled by the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., which acquired it in January, 1923. The orebody strikes north 10" east, and has a dip of about 64" west. The length, as far as developed, is approximately 1% miles; the width averages sightless than mile.

Jan 1, 1925

By Haydn H. Murray, Sam H. Patterson

The term clay is somewhat ambiguous unless specifically defined, because it is used in three ways: (1) as a diverse group of fine-grained minerals, (2) as a rock term, and (3) as a particle-size term. Actually, most persons using the term clay realize that it has several meanings, and in most instances they define it. As a rock term, clay is difficult to define because of the wide variety of materials that compose it; therefore, the definition must be general. Clay is a natural earthy, fine-grained material composed largely of a group of crystalline minerals known as the clay minerals. These minerals are hydrous silicates composed mainly of silica, alumina, and water. Several of these minerals also contain appreciable quantities of iron, alkalies, and alkaline earths. Many definitions state that a clay is plastic when wet. Most clay materials do have this property, but some clays are not plastic; for example, halloysite and flint clay. As a particle-size term, clay is used for the category that includes the smallest particles. The maximum-size particles in the clay-size grade are defined differently on various grade scales. Soil investigators and mineralogists generally use 2 micrometers as the maximum size, whereas the widely used scale by Wentworth (1922) defines clay as material finer than approximately 4 micrometers. Some authorities find it convenient to use the term clay for any fine-grained, natural, earthy, argillaceous material (Grim, 1968). When used this way, the term includes clay, shale, or argillite, and some argillaceous soils. Even though no standard definition of the term clay is accepted by geologists, agronomists, engineers, and others, the term is generally understood by those who use it. Clay is an abundant natural raw material, and it has an amazing variety of uses and properties which will be discussed in this chapter. Clays rank among the leading industrial minerals in both tonnages produced and total value. Their importance is indicated in Table 1, which lists the 1978, 1979, and 1980 production and values according to the US Bureau of Mines (Ampian, 1980). Statistical data summarizing world production of kaolin, bentonite, and fuller&apos;s earth are compiled by the US Bureau of Mines (Ampian and Polk, 1981). The total world bentonite production in 1980 was 6,625,204 st of which the United States produced 4,184,619 st. The total fuller&apos;s earth produced in the world in 1980 was 1,952,600 st of which 1,534,000 st was produced in the United States. The total world kaolin production in 1980 was estimated at 22,971,000 st. Approximately 13 million tons of this total was produced in two countries, the United States and the United Kingdom. World production data on ball clay, fire clay, and miscellaneous clays are not available. As industrial minerals, clays are a complex group that consists of several mineral commodities, each having somewhat different mineralogy, geologic occurrence, technology, and uses. In this chapter these commodities are organized as follows: (1) bentonite and fuller&apos;s earth; (2) kaolin, ball clay, halloysite, and refractory clays; and (3) miscellaneous clay and shale. Bentonite and fuller&apos;s earth are grouped together because they are closely interrelated. Though bentonite is a term based on mineral composition and fuller&apos;s earth is a term based on use, the two are virtually inseparable, because much, but by no means all, clay sold as

Jan 1, 1983

By Thomas T., Read

DESIRABLE as it is to summarize what has been set forth in preceding chapters, the task can only be approached with great hesitation. What follows represents the personal views of the author at the moment of writing, reserving the privilege to change them on more mature reflection or in the light of further evidence. With that reservation they may be stated somewhat as follows. Education for the mineral industries falls into two categories; general education and technical vocational, using the word vocational not in its usual sense but to signify preparation for specific activities, in which sense a law school is a vocational school. Even at the beginning, as indicated in the first chapter, mineral industry education was partly general and, partly technical and that relationship still persists, because technical education requires a firm basis of general education. Our general American system is to provide free public&apos; general education through the twelfth grade, or completion of high-school work, though there are already many technical vocational high schools, and even in a community where nearly all the young people are preparing for entrance to college there will be some who wish to qualify for employment at the end of the high-school course, or even on completing junior high. Our educational system, therefore, has not only to provide education for those who intend to proceed beyond the twelfth grade but also for those who, for a variety of reasons, may wish or be forced to cease full-time education at any level between the first and twelfth grades. This study has been chiefly concerned with the problem of what kind and how much technical education to provide for those who have completed the twelfth grade and who wish to make their living in the mineral industries. The obvious fact that the mineral industries employ all sorts of trained persons,

Jan 1, 1941