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By T. L. McCall

THE late Walter Herd1 in 1929 gave a full description of past and present conditions in No. 2 mine, Springhill, Nova Scotia, developed theories regarding the cause of these bumps and made certain suggestions regarding possible methods of future development. Recapitulating briefly from Mr. Herd's paper, the seam is bituminous coal, averages 9 ft. in thickness and has a well defined parting containing fusain about 14 in. from the roof. This roof coal is somewhat stronger than the rest of the seam and has a tendency to cling to the roof. The pitch of the seam where it is now being worked is about 20°. The first manifestations of bumps began when the room and pillar workings had reached a depth of cover of 1900 ft. and under continuously increasing depth of cover these bumps increased to such an extent, both in number and severity, that in the year 1924 it became apparent that some change in the system of extraction was necessary. After closely studying all the factors involved and benefiting largely by valuable out-side advice obtained by the Provincial Department of Mines of Nova Scotia,2 the system of working was changed from room and pillar to longwall retreating. Mr. Herd's paper described in detail three remarkable bumps in the year 1928 in April, July and October that affected the 5700-ft. and 5900-ft. East levels, the last bump being so severe both in intensity and in extent of damage done that this district was abandoned. The longwall workings to the west of the slope had been stopped in the year 1926 owing to an inbreak of water, coming from the flooded waste of No. 3 seam lying some 400 ft. vertically overhead. This inflow was not excessive, but a large quantity of water being impounded in the old workings it was considered advisable to take the prudent course and not incur the risk of possibly increasing the flow by further working. This district has remained idle ever since.

Jan 1, 1934

By R. A. Kinzie

In a conventional cement plant, the drying and heating of the raw material takes place in the upper section of a cylindrical kiln where the heat exchange is poor. In a Lepol kiln this part of the process is carried out on a traveling grate where the heat exchange is efficient. The increase in fuel economy justifies the greater complexity of the installation.

Jan 1, 1950

By O. W. Ellis

CERTAIN alloys1 that, as a result of quenching, are retained in the form of homogeneous solid solution are known to increase in hardness and strength on standing at room temperature or on heating at slightly elevated temperatures. Other alloys" that, on rapid cooling, are held in the form of homogeneous solid solution (as, for example, certain steels) behave in like manner on heating to somewhat higher temperatures. The observed increase in the hardness and strength of these alloys, referred to as "aging" or as "secondary hardness," is widely accepted as being occasioned, either in whole or in part, by the precipitation in submicroscopic form of such constituents as were held in supersaturated solid solution as a result of cooling in excess of a certain critical rate. In earlier discussions of the cause of age hardening or secondary hardness, the question of the hardness of the precipitated particles does not appear to have been raised. At present, however, the general opinion appears to be that age hardening and secondary hardness are occasioned by the precipitation of hard particles within the supersaturated solid substance.3 The authors may be wrong in their belief that the last is a prevailing opinion. Nevertheless, it is thought that the following experiments,

Jan 7, 1924

Jan 1, 1907

By Hugh Rose

THE properties of the company lie within the Pachuca district, State of Hidalgo, Mexico, connected by three railway lines with Mexico City, 55 miles southwest, and by two lines with Vera Cruz, 250 miles southeast. The ores were formerly divided by sorting into two classes, smelting and milling, the former averaging about 2 oz. gold and 335 oz. silver, the latter 0.12 oz. gold and 23 oz. silver. The smelting ores were sold to custom plants, principally the American Smelting & Refining. Co. at Aguascalientes. The milling ores were treated by the patio process at the Guadalupe Hacienda, at Pachuca. This patio was probably the largest in existence at the time and continued in active operation up to March, 1910. In January, 1910, the mines and patio were sold to English interests, represented by Camp Bird Limited. Two new companies were formed, the Compañia de Santa Gertrudis, S. A., to operate the mines, and the Compañia Beneficiadora de Pachuca, S. A., to build and operate a custom cyanide milling plant. (Fig. 1.) GEOLOGY The historical geology of the Pachuca district is described by Fred J. Pope as follows: 1. The most recent sedimentary rocks in the district belong to the Cretaceous period. 2. The Cretaceous rocks were penetrated by large intrusions of ande-site (referred to hereafter as primary andesite) which occur as elliptical dome-shaped masses, striking northwest-southeast. These andesite bodies are from 8 to 15 miles long and from 6 to 10 miles wide. 3. A period of erosion during which the contour of the andesite domes was changed. 4. Andesite flows (secondary andesite) which rest unconformably on the primary andesites.

Jan 8, 1916

By G. Ferrara

The reserves of lead and zinc ores in the metalliferous district of Iglesias in south-western Sardinia are today estimated at about 30 million tons, grading from 4 to 10% Pb + Zn. Of these reserves, about 40% are in the mines owned by AMMI Sarda S.p.A. The working of these resources goes back to ancient times. Not infrequently, traces of old Roman workings and remains of ancient implements are come upon in the higher parts of some of the ore bodies. Exploitation of these mines on larger scale, however, dates from the middle of the 18th century. Initially, the more accessible zones of the ore bodies and the richer ores were worked - the galena and the rich oxidized ores (calamine* with 25-35% Zn), which were often found in large masses, the enormous empty cavities of which still remain. The poorer grade deposits have been gradually rendered workable by the development of technology - the perfecting of the

Jan 1, 1970

By S. J. Hruska, G. M. Pound

The critical supersaturations for appreciable nucleation rate of cadmium crystals on copper and glass substrates at 186°Kwere measured as a junction of thermal-beam energy over a range of source temperatures between 616" and 839OK. There was no effect of source temperature on critical super saturation. This implies that the adsmbate prior to nucleation is in thermal equilibrium with the substrate. THE deposition of metallic vapors on solid substrates has been found to exhibit a critical behavior in that the rate of formation of deposit increases markedly when the intensity of the vapor source is increased slightly.* Evidence of the ability of sub- where Je is the flux which would arrive if the substrate were equilibrated with bulk condensate at the adsorbate temperature. The following work was undertaken to test this hypothesis. A) Energy Exchange Between Metallic Vapor and Substrates. When a freely translating atom collides with a stationary solid body its energy and momentum undergo changes which determine whether the atom is reflected or adsorbed. An atom is considered to be reflected if it returns to a freely translating state after remaining under the influence of the body for only a time comparable to the period of oscillation of atoms on the surface. An atom which remains for a longer time is said to be in an adsorbed state. The parameter which describes the energy transfer occurring at the interface is the thermal-accommodation coefficient which may be defined in terms of energy as Ei = average energy of impingent atoms, Eeq = average energy of an emergent atom which has equilibrated with the substrate, and Eem = average energy of an emergent atom. If a temperature is assigned to each of these energies, we have at as defined by Knudsen.2 Since this allows no distinction between reflected and evaporated atoms, a more specific definition is introduced for the present purposes, namely 71 = probability that an impingent atom is transferred to an adsorbed state, aj = thermal-accommodation coefficient for reflected atoms, and aTc = thermal-accommodation coefficient for adsorbed atoms. During a time t,, the mean stay time, prior to evaporation the adsorbed atom (adatom) will interact with the substrate and this will have the net effect of transferring the adatom towards a state of

Jan 1, 1964

By C. D. King

The key to maximum production of ingots for the war effort is maximum production of pig iron. For any given furnace and ore, the most important single influence on blast-furnace production is the quality of the furnace coke. It is generally recognized that undoubtedly deterioration of Pittsburgh coking coals will be accelerated by the depletion of some of the better grades of coal; the extension of mine mechanization, with attendant degradation of coal quality; and the opening of new coal fields, some of which are known to be fairly high in sulphur. All of these factors, contributing as they do to higher ash and sulphur, and not infrequently to inferior quality of coke, made it desirable that an extensive study be undertaken to determine the effect of washing some coals that closely approximate the average chemical composition of coking coals to be expected in the future by the subsidiaries of the United States Steel Corporation in the Pittsburgh district. It was deemed advisable to study the improvement obtained by washing such coals and to determine the need for supplementing the existing coal washery at Clairton to assure continued maximum production of pig iron from presently available furnace stacks. The existence of the coal washer at Clairton made it possible to conduct tests on coals used in raw form and on similar coals after washing. This study covers an investigation of the quality of furnace coke as affected by washing coking coals, and is confined to the use of 100 per cent high-volatile Pittsburgh seam coals from Fayette and Greene Counties in the manufacture of furnace coke. It covers the improvement in chemical and physical properties as well as the degree of uniformity in coke obtained by washing these coals, and includes the effect on blast-furnace production and practice. The test period involved is four months; the plants, Clairton by-product coke plant, and the Carrie No. 1 and No. 2 blast furnaces at Rankin, Pa., Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation. Clairton By-product Coke Plant and Coal Washer The Clairton by-product coke plant carbonizes 30,800 net tons of coal daily in 22 batteries containing 1482 ovens. Three oven sizes are used, commonly known as wide, medium, and narrow types, recognizing the difference in oven width, These ovens also differ in height and length. The present coal washer has a daily capacity of approximately 14,000 tons, leaving 16,800 tans to be carbonized in raw form. Washed coal is used on all the narrow ovens and on three of the six batteries with ovens of medium width, raw coals being used on all the remaining ovens. The customary arrangement is

Jan 1, 1944

IN the preceding chapter on thermochemistry and the reactions in and between metal and slag phases and in the following chapter on fuel combustion the main emphasis is placed on the equilibrium or "static" conditions. This equilibrium viewpoint is not concerned with the rate of change in the process or with the mechanisms or paths followed between initial and final states. The questions of just "how it works" and "how fast" belong to the kinetic aspect of any process; their answers are helpful in speeding up or slowing down and thus controlling its operation, and also in understanding its limitations. Any treatment of kinetic factors in the open hearth such as is attempted here and in Chapter 22 must at present be largely qualitative and incomplete. We are only beginning to get quantitative data on rates of reaction and diffusion at high temperatures, as indicated in Chapter 15. Empirical data in the literature on furnace operating rates do not help much to illuminate the details of gas-flow patterns and the complexities of heat flow in the many parts of the furnace system. This chapter is intended to give the reader an introduction to the problems of the flow of gases through the furnace system and the flow of heat in this system. An adequate discussion would require several times the space available here; it is possible here only to outline a few fundamentals and to indicate some of the conditions of heat and gas flow peculiar to the open hearth. Several good general treatments of these subjects may be found in the literature (see references at the end of the chapter). For the designer of open-hearth furnaces, the principles of gas flow are of paramount importance. They are also important to the operation of the process, at least to the extent of a general qualitative picture of the movement of gases in the system. MOTION OF GASES IN FURNACE DUCTS Fluid flow in general can vary between the extremes of laminar or streamline flow with a minimum energy loss, to irregular

Jan 1, 1951

By C. D. King

The key to maximum production of ingots for the war effort is maximum production of pig iron. For any given furnace and ore, the most important single influence on blast-furnace production is the quality of the furnace coke. It is generally recognized that undoubtedly deterioration of Pittsburgh coking coals will be accelerated by the depletion of some of the better grades of coal; the extension of mine mechanization, with attendant degradation of coal quality; and the opening of new coal fields, some of which are known to be fairly high in sulphur. All of these factors, contributing as they do to higher ash and sulphur, and not infrequently to inferior quality of coke, made it desirable that an extensive study be undertaken to determine the effect of washing some coals that closely approximate the average chemical composition of coking coals to be expected in the future by the subsidiaries of the United States Steel Corporation in the Pittsburgh district. It was deemed advisable to study the improvement obtained by washing such coals and to determine the need for supplementing the existing coal washery at Clairton to assure continued maximum production of pig iron from presently available furnace stacks. The existence of the coal washer at Clairton made it possible to conduct tests on coals used in raw form and on similar coals after washing. This study covers an investigation of the quality of furnace coke as affected by washing coking coals, and is confined to the use of 100 per cent high-volatile Pittsburgh seam coals from Fayette and Greene Counties in the manufacture of furnace coke. It covers the improvement in chemical and physical properties as well as the degree of uniformity in coke obtained by washing these coals, and includes the effect on blast-furnace production and practice. The test period involved is four months; the plants, Clairton by-product coke plant, and the Carrie No. 1 and No. 2 blast furnaces at Rankin, Pa., Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation. Clairton By-product Coke Plant and Coal Washer The Clairton by-product coke plant carbonizes 30,800 net tons of coal daily in 22 batteries containing 1482 ovens. Three oven sizes are used, commonly known as wide, medium, and narrow types, recognizing the difference in oven width, These ovens also differ in height and length. The present coal washer has a daily capacity of approximately 14,000 tons, leaving 16,800 tans to be carbonized in raw form. Washed coal is used on all the narrow ovens and on three of the six batteries with ovens of medium width, raw coals being used on all the remaining ovens. The customary arrangement is

Jan 1, 1944

By B. E. Grant

There are several exceptions from the practical operating viewpoint that might be taken with the paper. The author recommends using a "curve" in plotting safety factors of ropes and suggests that the U. S. Bureau of Mines change its present "step curve" method to the "curve" method. From an engineering theoretical point of view that is possible, but from a practical standpoint it is not possible. Rope manufacturers fabricate their ropes in diameter gradients of 1/16 in. to 1/4 in. which automatically sets up a step pattern gradient. If ropes were manufactured in the diameter gradients of 1/1000 of an inch or thereabouts, the curve method could be used. Also, from a practical standpoint, if an operator is to hoist from a depth of 4000 ft, for example, he will determine the size of the rope necessary for that depth, and it is only natural that he will have safety factor to spare at lesser depths, and in plotting this excess capacity the natural end result is a curve. The U. S. Bureau of Mines tables are set up so that the operator will know what size rope at the required safety factor he will need at his maximum depth. He is not concerned with lesser depths. W. A. Boyer (author's reply)-Mr. Grant states, "Rope manufacturers fabricate their ropes in diameter gradients of 1/16" to 1/4" which automatically sets up a step pattern gradient." There is no connection or relationship between the "size" pattern gradient and the present "factor of safety" step pattern gradient. The inherent factor of safety values for any particular size of rope with a given connected load when plotted for various depths is a curve, and with modern rope material and construction the inherent factor of safety curve is quite far removed from the present recommended factor of safety step curve. This is shown quite clearly in Figs. 3 and 4 of my paper.

Jan 11, 1954

By A. M. Gaudin

A GREAT number of hypotheses has been advanced to explain the complex phenomena that are encountered in flotation. In the days of bulk-oil flotation, when a large quantity of oil was employed, it was observed that the oil-mineral aggregate floated above the ore-pulp because of its lesser density. With the advent of froth-flotation this phase of the theory had to be modified to take into account the presence of air bubbles. The reason why the mineral-bearing froth of today rises to the top of flotation cells is, of course, because the air-mineral aggregate, with whatever reagent may be associated with it, is lighter than the pulp. In an attempt to explain froth-flotation the fact has been emphasized that certain minerals are wetted and therefore remain in water; while others are not wetted and therefore become associated in preference with air. Such an "explanation" does not explain facts, it merely states them; for instance, it does not explain why minerals are wetted under some circumstances and not wetted under others. Going somewhat further, the wetting or nonwetting of minerals by water has been ascribed' to differences in the angles of contact between oil droplets and mineral surface at the surface of the minerals. This explanation, however, was abandoned when soluble flotation reagents came to replace the so-called "insoluble" reagents. Another theory, sponsored about 10 years ago by Ralston,2 involves the effects of electric charges at the surface of the minerals particles and air bubbles. This theory, unfortunately, was not developed as fully as it seems desirable.

Jan 1, 1927

By Charles W. Wright

At most mines where large tonnages are handled, "bulldozing" or secondary blasting is an important and costly operation. To reduce the large blocks from primary blasting operations or stoping so that they will be small enough to pass through the chutes into the cars at the haulage level, and not too large for the crushing plant, requires blasting. Often this is done by placing a few sticks of dynamite on top of a block with or without a capping of mud, but to consume less dynamite and to promote safety, most secondary blasting is now done by blockholing, or the drilling of holes 6 to 12 in. long in the blocks, using only a part of a stick of dynamite per hole. Regardless of the method of blasting, however, the term "bulldozing chamber" is applied to the room where this work is done. Bulldozing chambers permit secondary blasting at all times in a safe place without disturbance to the other mining operations. The chambers are usually high above the haulage level and well below the stope level or open-pit floor. In most instances the material is passed through a grizzly in the bulldozing chamber, but sometimes no grizzlies are used. One to four raises extend from the chamber to the stope floor and one or two from the haulage level to the chamber floor. Occasionally large slabs of ore or rock choke the raises above the bulldozing chamber, and these have to be blasted by attaching a bundle of dynamite sticks on the end of a long pole and placing them up in the raise between the pieces causing the choke. This is called "chute-blasting." To give a picture of the progressive developments in the use of the bulldozing chamber, a few typical mines that show the application of this method to both metal and limestone mines have been selected for description here. Limestone mines have been included because many metal miners do not realize to what extent the nonmetallic, or rock, miners' are now applying metal-mining methods successfully in their operations. The bulldozing chamber is the "neck of the bottle" for some mines.

Jan 1, 1937

By L. G. Huntley

In view of the recent advance made in the knowledge of the nature and conditions accompanying the occurrence of oil and gas, and of the recent activity in drilling in Wyoming, Montana, and western Canada, a discussion of the probabilities of obtaining production in such a reservoir as the Dakota sand in general, and in particular districts, is thought by the author to be timely and likely to result in more intelligent operating in certain parts of the territory underlain by this sand. In Canada particularly it is thought that these general considerations have equal if not more significance in a consideration of the oil and gas possibilities of the formations than have the various local conditions. Age and Nature of Deposition of the Dakota Sand The Dakota is distinctive in that it is known to form a generally continuous sheet of sand underlying the greater part of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, North and South Dakota, Montana, and large areas in Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming. It does not seem to have been laid down in more or less isolated lenses, as has been the case with most oil-sand horizons. Except in northern Alberta, the Dakota sand contains fresh-water fauna, having been deposited very uniformly over these wide areas in shallow water with prevailing strong currents. In northern Alberta marine and brackish water conditions prevailed. In this district it forms the basal member of the Cretaceous sediments, directly overlying beds of Devonian limestone along a great unconformity in the Athabasca River valley and eastward. In southern and western Alberta it is underlain unconformably by the Kootenay shales (Lower Cretaceous), and by Jurassic and Carboniferous rocks. In the United States in South Dakota it was in places deposited upon Cambrian quartzites, and in other places directly upon the granite. In the State of Dakota, and in the

Jan 1, 1916

By Clarence Zener

[ ] THE present investigation started in an attempt to understand certain details of the decomposition of austenite, and of the effect of alloying elements thereon. As the investigation proceeded it became apparent that not only these details, but all the general features of austenite decomposition, could be understood in terms of fundamental physical principles. Since the direct applicability of these physical principles has not been previously recognized, it was decided to incorporate the original results of the investigation into a review of the general subject of the kinetics of austenite decomposition. This review constitutes the present article. An extended summary of the results is given on pages 27 to 30. This article, which deals with the kinetics of phase transformations, may appropriately be considered as a sequel to two recent articles1,2 from this laboratory on the equilibrium relations in medium alloy steels.

Jan 1, 1946

By T. C. Poulter, B. M. Caldwell, D. E. Brink

The flash X-ray has been used more than a decade to study the configuration of the jet from a shaped charge. The high-speed, rotating-mirror smear camera has provided time-distance graphs of detonations and shock fronts in transparent materials, and the high-speed framing camera has given pictorial representations of the progress of explosive phenomena. Adequate means for measuring the paths and velocities of all parts of the shaped-charge cavity Iiner during the collapse phase have not existed heretofore. A technique enabling the single-lens framing camera to make stereoscopic photographs of the cavity liner while it is collapsing has been developed. Analysis of this photographic record gives the directions and velocities of various parts of the Iiner surface, permitting direct quantitative measurement where this has previously been impossible. Significant improvements in shnped-clrarge design are expected to result. INTRODUCTION The familiar oilwell jet perforating charge, generally referred to as a "shaped charge", is related to the Mun-roe charge first described by C. E. Munroe in 1888 and later by Neumann in 1910. It differs in construction from the Munroe charge in that its cavity is lined with some inert material (usually metal)', and it differs in performance by projecting a fast jet of dense liner material against the target instead of a stream of expanding detonation products. Fig. 1 represents a typical shaped charge in axial cross section. The charge is circularly symmetrical about its longitudinal axis. The cavity at the right is lined with metal, usually copper; and, with the exception of air, the liner is otherwise completely empty. High-explosive material is intimately in contact with the convex surface of the liner and extends in the other direction to the booster. This is a pellet of high explosive having somewhat different characteristics and serves to couple the detonator to the main charge. When the detonator is fired, a small hemispherical reaction zone of very high temperature and pressure occurs at its output end. The booster responds, adding its own latent energy to the reaction, thereby initiating the main charge. The reaction progresses throughout the main charge at a velocity of 7 to 8 mm/microsecond until all the explosive material has reacted. With a reaction pressure of about 160,000 atm, the surrounding material is moved rapidly away from the high-pressure zone. As the detonation proceeds along the cavity liner, moving from apex to edge, the liner is collapsed toward the axis of the cavity, where liner material from all parts of the concave surface converges. A zone of extraordinarily high pressure results. with only one escape path—outward along the axis. The particles from the liner, thus, become a jet of very high velocity, with a density characteristic of the material from which the liner was made. The kinetic energy of the jet, concentrated in a small area of the target, has great penetrating power. It overcomes the strength of any target, and the target material crumbles or deforms plastically to escape from the path of the jet. An unlined cavity charge, on the other hand, projects a turbulent body of hot gaseous material against a target and erodes the exposed surface. With equal quantities of explosive, the penetration effectiveness of an unlined charge is a small fraction of that of a lined charge. Given an explosive charge with a detonator at one end and an axially symmetrical metal-lined cavity at the other, one has a perforator of considerable potency. To maximize the penetrating and other desirable effects,

Jan 1, 1918

By R. L. Bleifuss

Most pellets swell only slightly during reduction, but some swell so enormusly that their increase in size is termed catastrophic. Since catastrophic swelling produces irregularities in blast furnace operation, an understanding of the phenomenon is of practical as well as theoretical interest. Observations have shown that catastrophic swelling is characterized by the growth of a network of fine iron filaments. Evidence is presented to show that the growth of these filaments is promoted by the presence of calcium in the magnetite lattice of the original ore. During reduction, the limited mutual solubility of CaO and FeO produces an unstable condition that inhibits the uniform nucleation of metallic iron. Other elements in the magnetite lattice whose oxides are continuously soluble in FeO in the critical temperature range have no effect. Magmatic segregation or pyrometasomatic replacements are the most likely deposits to contain calciferous magnetite. Over the past few years there has been an increasing concern throughout the iron and steel industry over the tendency of pellets to swell during reduction. Although the tendency for swelling is only one of several attributes that determine the behavior of pellets in the blast furnace, swelling-reduction tests are now part of the normal evaluation procedure of many pellet consumers. During a swelling-reduction test, pellets display either the moderate increase in size known as normal swelling, or the enormous expansion known as catastrophic swelling. This paper is concerned with the origin and control of catastrophic swelling and how it is enhanced or inhibited by the presence of minor elements. Swelling Behavior The swelling behavior of pellets during reduction is indicated in Fig. 1. The lower curve represents normal swelling and the upper curve catastrophic swelling.' During the initial stages of reduction, that is, up to about 20-25% reduction, the two curves are considered to be equivalent. Beyond this point normal pellets undergo a gradual decrease in size with increased reduction. By contrast, pellets which exhibit catastrophic swelling show a second dramatic expansion between 25 and 70% reduction. The initial normal swelling develops as the hematite of the pellet is successively reduced to magnetite, and then to wustite. Work by Edstrom' and others has shown that the reduction of hematite to magnetite is accompanied by a 25% volume increase, whereas the magnetite to wustite stage shows a volume decrease. The volume increase overlaps the wustite field because magnetite is formed simultaneously with the wustite during topochemical reduction of the pellet. The catastrophic expansion is clearly related to the wustite, to

Jan 1, 1971

By Archer Wheeler

THE copper industry in the Province of Katanga, in the Belgian Congo, which is now controlled and operated by the Union Minere du Haut Katanga, had its inception many years ago in the vision of a Scotsman, Robert Williams, now Sir Robert Williams, Baronet. He it was who personally negotiated the mineral concession with King Leopold of Belgium, sent in the prospecting parties who located most of the present mines of the company, later arranged for the Belgian participation from which the present company was formed, and has been its active mentor ever since. The idea back of his efforts was the establishment of an industry on the Congo-Zambezi divide, of sufficient importance to draw up to it the head of the Cape to Cairo Railroad, the dream of Sir Cecil Rhodes, and the consummation of which he had left as a legacy to Mr. Williams, his successor. The reports of the prospecting expeditions showed that copper in profitable quantity was there, but many difficulties lay in the way of the establishment of the infant industry. The isolated location of the mines, various tribal wars, the Boer War, and many other factors contributed to making progress very slow. However, in spite of these difficulties the railroad was finally built and a blast-furnace plant erected at Lubumbashi, near Elisabethville, the capital of the Province. Operations of this plant were started in 1911, treating high-grade oxidized ores and producing pig copper by a reducing smelting. Production has been continuous since that time and the company has grown so that at present it ranks as the largest individual copper producer in the industry. It is a fitting monument to the foresight, optimism and driving force of its founder, and the progressive policies of his Belgian colleagues. In January, 1914, the Union Miniere du Haut Katanga engaged as its consulting engineer, Archer E. Wheeler, metallurgical engineer, at that time general superintendent of the Great Falls plant of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. Mr. Wheeler was commissioned by the Board of Directors to proceed into Katanga, and make all necessary investigations to enable him to report on a comprehensive development program, and to recommend a scheme of treatment particularly for their low grade

Jan 1, 1932

By J. S. Aronofsky, A. S. Lee

Results and experimental procedures are presented covering a preliminary laboratory investigation of the compaction of reservoir rocks and its effect on porosity and permeability. "Egective" compressibility was measured by subjecting core material to an overburden load and reducing pore pressure. Preliminary results showed relatively high effective compressibilities which varied from 1.8 X 10-' pore volume/pore volume /lb / in.~ for limestones to 7.7 X 10-6 pore volume/pore volume/lb/in.' and even higher for sandstone reservoirs conmining large amounts of fine clay material. It appeared from the initiol results that the effective compressibility of the material could not be correlated directly with porosity and that other factors, such as the amount of clay material present might have to be taken into account. The work to date has indicated that effective compressibility factors will have to be measured for the particular reservoirs heing studied. Oil permeability of core materid was measured under various effective overburden loads from 0 to 8,000 psi. It has been found than reduction of permeability in clean sands was relatively small and the results agreed with published data. For sandstones containing large amounts of clay, preliminary tests indicated very large reductions in permeability with increasing effective overburden pressures. It is planned to continue laboratory work on this phase because of its importance in low-permeability reservoirs. INTRODUCTION During the past few years increasing interest has been shown in the differences obtained between conventional laboratory measurements on cores at atmospheric pressure and those when reservoir conditions are simulated. Since these data are used as the basis for calculations and the prediction of reservoir behavior, their evaluation under reservoir conditions is most important. The effect of the compressibility of the rock upon the reservoir behavior, as fluid pressure declines, is an important subject which has been insufficiently studied. The total pressure on any plane through a reservoir is the result of the grain-to-grain rock pressure due to the overburden and the pressure of the interstitial fluid on the plane. As reservoir fluid pressure declines, the net load on the rock phase must increase, and the result is the compaction of the rock structure which produces a decrease in pore volume. Simultaneously, the rock grains expand into the pore space as the fluid pressure declines. The result of these two effects is defined as the effective compressibility of the rock and is expressed in units of pore volume/original pore volume/psi. Work was started by Imperial in 1954 on the effects of pressure on the porosity of reservoir rock. These studies established effective compressibility factors for some limestones and dolomites. Since that time effective compressibilities have been obtained for other Canadian and some U. S. reservoir rocks. In conjunction with the study of porosity, an investigation has also been initiated to determine the effects of pressure on permeability. One outcrop and several reservoir sandstone cores have been tested to date. ROCK COMPRESSIBILITY Apparatus anD Procedure A diagram of the apparatus used in these studies is shown in Fig. 1. The equipment was constructed so that a uniform pressure, equivalent to the reservoir overburden, could be applied by the oil pump and transmitted on all sides of the core through the Lucite sheath. The sample was completely saturated by circulating brine through the mounted core. Pressure in