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By Frank G. Miller

Controlling natural-water drives to effect efficient and economic production of petroleum, through wells, from reservoir sands and rocks is a problem of major importance in the oil-producing industry. Water-drive fields are characterized by large quantities of mobile water under high pressure immediately below the oil in the flanks or extraneous parts of reservoir formations. Hence, the water, which is in fluid connection with the oil and a source of a large proportion of the energy available for moving it, advances up-structure to replace it. This phenomenon of water moving crestward into the oil-bearing parts of the reservoir and replacing oil is termed edgewater encroachment. The mechanism by which oil is flushed out and continually replaced by water as the hydrocarbon content of the field is depleted must be understood if natural-water drives arc to be used successfully to, induce efficient recovery of oil from its reservoir rocks. Until recently, the function of water in the production of oil has been somewhat obscure and was not given the consideration it deserved in early petroleum production-research programs because of the greater importance associated with and the effort devoted to investigations concerning the relations of natural gas to production of oil. Thus, with virtually no fundamental information at hand, it is not surprising that at first edgewater was considered a necessary evil, and the manner in which it was dealt with depended largely on the experience of the operators. During the intervening years, however, .practical information on encroachment of edgewater in oil sands has been widely disseminated as a result of studies of oil-field depletion, and many theories pertaining to petroleum-reservoir energy and performance have been advanced; these theories necessarily included consideration of edgewater as an integral part of the reservoir fluids and a source of energy for propelling hydrocarbon fluids through the reservoir and to the surface of the ground.

Jan 1, 1941

By Shibu John

The COREX® process is beside the FINEX® technology the only industrially realized alternative to the blast furnace route for the production of hot metal. Changes in the raw material sector in respect of decrease in quality, strictly enforced environmental laws and positive operation results of COREX® reference plants make it worth to carefully re-evaluate the COREX® technology in comparison with the traditional blast furnace technology. Integrated Plant concepts based on COREX® offer solutions for future challenges of the iron- and steelmaking industry, which include: economical hot metal production; efficient and highly economic export gas utilization (power generation, DRI production, syngas production for chemical products); lower raw material cost, higher raw material availability; environmental friendly high grade steel production. The economic evaluation of different COREX® gas based plant concepts in comparison with the traditional blast furnace route shows that the COREX® technology is highly competitive in the challenging iron and steel producing environment.

Aug 17, 2017

By George A. Morgan

The production and processing of crude petroleum and natural gas are the dominant economic sectors of the Middle East. The 15 countries that constitute the region accounted for 28% of world crude petroleum output, 17.2% of world natural gas plant liquid production, and 5.3% of world dry natural gas production. Only Cyprus and Lebanon were not crude petroleum producers. About 66% of total world crude petroleum reserves and 31 % of total world natural gas reserves are in the Middle East. Transportation and port facilities in the region are geared to expediting efficient and rapid shipment of these materials. Export sales of these fuels provide funding for further diversification of the mineral industry. Additional development of downstream facilities for producing energy-intensive metals such as aluminum and byproducts of the fuels such as petrochemicals and fertilizers can be expected. Earnings from the industry are also channeled by several Governments in the region to mineral industry projects in Africa and elsewhere. Several countries in the region own major petroleum refineries and distribution facilities worldwide. Petroleum prices rose overall during the year owing to the invasion by Iraq of Kuwait in August 1990. Output from both countries, the fourth and fifth largest producers, respectively, in the Middle East, was negatively affected by the war. Kuwaiti crude oil wells and pipeline facilities suffered extensive war damage while exports of petroleum and petroleum refinery products by Iraq ceased owing to a U.N. embargo. The embargo also impacted Jordan, an exporter of phosphate and potash. Shipments of crude petroleum by pipeline from Iraq through Saudi Arabia and Turkey and by vessel through the Persian Gulf were terminated. However, the loss in production from Iraq and Kuwait was more than made up by accelerated output from other Middle East and world producers. Saudi Arabia, in particular, with its excess production capacity, accounted for the largest portion of the increase.

Jan 1, 1992

By X. Gumede

A model is being developed to quantify the benefits for mining houses resulting from the reduction in greenhouse gas and energy consumption by the application of innovative blast designs in addition to direct financial benefits throughout the mine to mill value chain. The conversion from shock tube initiation systems to electronics and some changes to powder factor measured on an open pit mine had previously been used to show significant improvement on blast outputs. Benefits were realised on drilling, blasting, loading, hauling and beneficiation. Quantification of the relationship between powder factor and reduced greenhouse gasses is investigated in this study. The study has highlighted new data that must be recorded and hence some assumptions were made as to fuel consumption and the energy in crushing was obtained from the Bond work equation. The mine to mill projects in an open pit platinum mine and a quarry produced energy savings and reduced greenhouse gas emissions associated with the careful application of explosives and blast innovations. The less fines project showed an increased carbon footprint. The model provides a new insight into how project feasibility should be decided based on economic and environmental viability.

Jan 1, 2012

By Edith Lafontaine

Modern underground mines operate fleets of mobile production equipment including drill jumbos, long-hole drills, load-haul-dump machines, trucks and bolters. Their availability has a substantial impact onto production cost and thus onto mine profitability. Through appropriate collection of pertinent data and information, use of adequate performance measures and their analyses, mine operators can identify the most promising and cost effective opportunities to get more from their equipment and to reduce the overall cost. This paper presents results of the study aimed to review and analyse means and measures used to quantify equipment availability and its contributing factors (reliability, maintainability and maintenance support) in several Canadian underground mines. It overviews current reporting procedures, sources, quality and quantity of the data and information collected as well as examines performance measures and their definitions used by the surveyed mines. Problems concerning data acquisition as well as meaningfulness and usefulness of the above mentioned metrics are also discussed. The paper concludes with some suggestions and recommendations concerning several aspects of equipment availability assessment. It is believed that the latter may become a more useful tool for mine operators in their efforts to reduce production cost than it seems to be the case at present.

May 1, 2007

By R. R. Vandervoort

The creep behavior of Nb(Cb), Ta, Mo, and W was determined under conditions of constant atomic dif-fzisivity, constant stress to elastic modulus ratio, and nearly equivalent grain size, and the steady-state creep rates obtained from these tests were correlated with calculated stacking fault energies for the metals. These results, in conjunction with similar data for several fccMetals,13 suggest that stacking fault energy may influence the creep strength ofbcc metals. The interrelationship between steady-state creep rate, subgrain size, and stacking fault energy was examined. It was found that the subgrain size for a given creep stress, increased as stacking fault energy increased, but that this relationship did not cormpletely account for the effect of stacking fault energy on creep rate. The crystallography and energetics of stacking fault formation in bcc metals has been discussed by a num-ber of authors,1-5 and impurity stabilized stacking faults on (112) planes have been observed in Nb,6,7 w,8,9 Fe,] and V" by transmission electron microscopy. However, a crucial question is whether or not stack-ing faults influence the mechanical strength of bcc metals. Potentially, stacking faults could increase strength by reducing the mobility of the partial dis-locations bounding the fault, by acting as barriers to slip dislocations, and by retarding the climb of dislo-cations during high-temperature deformation. The objective of this study was to seek a correlation be-tween creep strength and stacking fault energy for several bcc metals; namely, Nb, Ta, Mo, and W. The creep behavior of most polycrystalline metals and alloys at high temperatures and moderate stresses can be described by the following relation:11,12 im=Af(s) where i, = minimum creep rate, A = constant, j(s) = a function involving metallurgical structure, a = applied stress, E = average elastic modulus at the test tempera-ture, w = constant (equal to 5 for most pure metals), D = diffusion coefficient. One factor in the structure function F(s) which sig- R. R. VANDERVOORT, Member AlME is Research Metallurgist, Process and Materials Development Division, Chemistry Department, Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, University of California, Livermore, Calif. Manuscript submitted February 28, 1969. IMD nificantly affects the creep resistance of fcc metals is stacking fault energy, and creep rate has been shown to vary directly with stacking fault energy to the 3.5 power." In the latter investigation, four fcc metals of widely different stacking fault energies (Ag, Cu, Ni, and Al) were creep tested at a constant stress to modulus ratio of 1.21 x 10-4, at a constant diffusivity of 2.7 x 10-12 sq cm per sec, and at nearly equivalent grain sizes of about 0.7 mm. The creep data were then correlated with stacking fault energies. In the present study, a similar procedure was followed. All materials used in this work were consolidated by powder metallurgy techniques. Impurity contents in the as-received materials are listed in Table I. Chemical analyses showed that no measurable contamination of the test specimens occurred during pretest annealing treatments or creep testing. Specimens with a gage section 0.75 by 0.125 by 0.050 in. were creep tested in tension in a vacuum of less than 10-9 torr. Deformation at temperature was measured by tracking fiducial marks on the gage section of the specimen with an optical comparator. Optical deformation measurements also permitted observation of the macroscopic characteristics of the deformation Table I. Typical Specimen Impurity Content, ppm Nb Ta Mo W C 45 10 155 6 O 185 30 4 10 N 30 6 3 2 H 5 I 1 <1 als 3 10 2 15 Ca <5 I3 5 Cr 5 <3 10 <5 Cu 10 50 2 15 Fc 10 10 150 35 Ni 2 150 20 <5 Si <I0 1 3 <10 Ta 100 Ti 10 8 1 Zi 15 50 1 3 Table II. Test Conditions for Constant Stress-Modulus Ratio of 6 X 10.&apos; and Constant Diffusivity of 2.7 X 10-12 sq cm per see, and Grain Size Values for the Given Pretest Annealing Treatments Literature references Pretest Annealing for E and D Treatment Stress, Temperature, ___"&apos;Values__ Grain Tempera-Metal psi "C E D Size, mm ture, .C Time hr Nb 745 1525 14 15 to 17 0.83 1650 I Ta 1220 1770 18 19.20 O.91 1800 I Mo 1975 1630 18 21 0.77 2200 I W 2140 2265 18 22 040 2400 5

Jan 1, 1970

By E. P. Barret

Differences in the reducibility of iron oxide materials have been recognized for a long time. Limonites are deoxidized more readily than hematites, and unaltered magnetites are the most difficult to deoxidize. Sinters are found between hematites and magnetites and vary considerably in reducibility, depending on the sintering practice followed and on the degree of fusion of the product. The increased activity in the beneficiation of taconite recently has made available a new blast-furnace raw material, namely, iron oxide pellets made from magnetic taconite concentrate. Many of the data in this paper apply to these pellets, or glomerules, as they were called when this method of agglomerating iron ores was first considered. To clarify the terms applied to iron oxide materials in this paper, the following definitions are given. Agglomeration is the general term applied to all methods of compacting or consolidating fine iron oxide materials. Sinter is the product from a Dwight-Lloyd or Greenawalt sintering machine. Pellets are formed by balling fine, moist oxide in a rotating drum at room temperature, followed by heating in a shaft furnace to a temperature below that of incipient fusion to develop a permanent bond. Nodules are formed by heating the iron oxide material to incipient fusion in a rotary kiln. Briquets are formed in a mold under pressure, with or without the addition of a binder, and burned to develop a permanent bond.

Jan 1, 1949

By W. A. Young

To initiate this project a critical evaluation of the pre-sent phosphate mining industry in the Western phosphate field was conducted. Mines were visited, mine operators were interviewed and pertinent literature studied. Three phosphate mining enterprises were reviewed and mining cost estimates prepared. The report discusses the present state of phosphate processing, rock alteration and location. New ideas and concepts are proposed to improve the recovery of phosphate rock from the Phosphoria formation. The report evaluates two variations to the present phosphate open pit mining methods, which were developed to improve the economics of mining phosphate and to better accomplish necessary reclamation and accelerate the time for environmental recovery. A material handling system using conveyor haulage will eliminate the need for trucks. Terrace haulback utilizes safety benches to haul and dispose of waste in the mined out pit. Ore will be removed from the pit via an inclined, cable-supported mobile conveyor.

Jan 1, 1980

By William L. Crentz

Late in the nineteenth century en active coal-mining industry was begun in the Lower Freeport bed near Reynoldsville, Pa., where the bed thickened to more than 10 feet in places . The coal was readily accepted as an excellent steam fuel. Much of the thick coal his been depleted, but there are many areas where the deposit averages about 14 feet in thickness. As the more desirable mining sites were worked out in the Lower Freeport bed, other beds were exposed from which will come the county&apos;s major cowl production in future. The Lower Freeport bed is still the most important bed in Jefferson County from a production standpoint. The Lower Kittanning bed is second. Sporadic mining is being done in the Upper Freeport, Upper Kittanning, Middle Kittanning, Clarion, and Brookville beds. Strip mining has permitted recovery of much coal that could not be mined profitably by conventional underground methods.

Jan 1, 1953

By Reed Thorne

To many people, rescue from elevated, sometimes vertical, locations brings about thoughts of heroism mixed with brawn and self-sacrifice. Images are conjured of cliff rescues where the technical effort is hanging from a few seemingly small nylon ropes hundreds of feet above the ground. Such is the vertical realm of technical rope rescue. This is a technical field in which the author serves professionally as battalion chief of (rope) operations for a northern Arizona fire district, and as a private sector instructor to mines in the United States and Canada.

Jan 1, 1996

By Thomas C. Denton

ALL of the 45 political divisions of Africa were accessible to non-Communist world industry and commerce throughout 1964, although in some of them revolt and political attitudes presented problems. The position of the continent as a whole for mineral and mineral fuel resources, production, and oversea exports continued to improve. At yearend, significant quantities of a greater number of mineral commodities vital to industry and agriculture were being produced than in any other continent. This statement excludes Communist areas on other continents but might well hold true even if such areas were included. Deriving from its exceptionally diversified production, Africa furnished overseas industrialized countries as a w ole a greater variety of key mineral commodities than any other area. In addition, the value of mineral imports from Africa into the United Kingdom and continental non-Communist Europe probably exceeded the value of such imports from any other area if gold is included and mineral fuels excluded.

Jan 1, 1966

By John P. Capp

Information is summarized on the major uses of fly ash and prospects for utilization in agriculture and in brick and mineral-wool manufacture. Technological aspects of utilization are discussed and references are given to the work of many of the leaders in the fields of fly ash production, processing, and utilization.

Jan 1, 1970

By R. H. Schutz

This publication lists the respiratory protective devices approved by the Bureau of Mines as of December 31, 1968, and the names and addresses of their manufacturers. The purpose of this publication is to inform the public about approved equipment for safe use in mines and mineral and allied industries.

Jan 1, 1969

By J. M. Cummings

The importance of controlled sand properties to the production of quality castings has been recognized by foundry men for many years, but the maintenance of requisite standards results in a relatively high sand consumption, which in steel foundries, for instance, may range from half a ton to over one ton of sand per ton of finished casting. During the war, obtaining and maintaining adequate sand supplies became a serious problem in many foundries, owing to increased wartime production and serious &apos;bottlenecks&apos; in transportation. As a result, considerable interest was aroused in the possibilities of various sand reclamation systems by which up to 85 or 90 percent of discarded sand may be returned to a usable condition. During the past five years or so, a number of sand recovery installations have been made by both ferrous and non-ferrous foundries in Canada and the United States, and have resulted in substantial reductions in sand costs in every case. The possible benefits of sand reclamation are particularly apparent in British Columbia where no suitable sands for steel and heavy iron foundries occur naturally, and where freight costs on imported sands are considerably higher than initial selling prices. This is well illustrated by the fact that silica sand, which sells for about $2.00 per ton at pits in Illinois, is laid clown in British Columbia for around $11.00 or $12.00 per ton. The operating costs quoted for certain of the reclamation schemes, i.e. $0.25 to $1.50 per ton, may actually be no higher than the cost of waste sand disposal in city-located foundries. In view of the foregoing considerations, the British Columbia Research Council has undertaken a study of the possibilities for sand reclamation, with particular attention directed to its application in local steel foundries. No commercial occurrences of silica sand are known in the Province, and, with this in view, the Council previously investigated the possibility of recovering silica sand from local impure sands. Results were definitely encouraging, but it was felt that the present market is too small to permit economical production by the method developed.

Jan 1, 1947

By V. I. Kefeli

Public-private partnership efforts are working to create green landscapes from abandoned industrial sites. Fabricated soils, potentially an essential element of such landscapes, are designed to substitute for topsoil on the areas free from ground cover and plant community. The aluminosilicate matrix and humus form the soil micelle - the primary unit of any soil complex. Humus formation is a process based on carbon-nitrogen interaction. Sources of carbon can be materials rich in easily composted products like cellulose and polyphenols (plant leaves) or aged lignin polymers (saw dust from different woody plants). The pathways of carbon-nitrogen complexes are discussed. Properties of the fabricated soil components were examined by bio-tests and plant models.

Jan 1, 2002

By A. L. Anderson, J. T. Rybock

KEECO has developed the Silica Micro Encapsulation (SME) technology for the treatment of acidic, metal-laden waters. Utilizing a silica-based chemical formulation that entails chemisorption and micro-encapsulation of heavy metals in a permanent silica matrix, encapsulated particles settle quickly and are effectively isolated from the surrounding environment, producing a stable sludge that is characteristically non-hazardous. In a number of independently-verified pilot and full-scale applications (including the Bunker Hill Mine, Leviathan Mine, Wheal Jane Mine, and Meldon Quarry), SME has been proven highly effective. The technology has been featured in a number of mining publications and selected for innovative technology awards.

Jan 1, 2000

By Jayne Somers

Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas, accounting for 15 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions in 2005. Since methane has a much shorter atmospheric lifetime than carbon dioxide (CO2), reducing methane emissions can achieve considerable climate benefits over the next 25 years. Coal seams often contain significant quantities of methane and CH4 released to the atmosphere from gassy mines during coal extraction is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Methane (CH4) emissions from coal mining activities constitute approximately 6% of total global human-related methane emissions. Coal mines around the world have recognized that methane is a clean energy resource that can be captured and used productively. Coal mine methane (CMM) is currently utilized for power generation, natural gas pipeline injection, vehicle fuel, industrial process feed stocks, on-site mine boilers, mine heating, and home heating distribution systems. Upgrading mine degasification systems can often improve gas quality and create favorable project economics. The United States has been a leader in coal mine methane (CMM) recovery and use since the 1990?s. There are now 15 projects at active underground mines in the U.S., as well as 26 abandoned mine methane projects. Recovery and use projects at active underground U.S. mines reduced methane emissions by approximately 49 Billion cubic feet in 2010. In an exciting new development, a ventilation air methane (VAM) mitigation project at the CONSOL McElroy mine in West Virginia was installed by Verdeo. Operational since September 2012, this is the first commercial-scale VAM project in the U.S. and the project will reduce methane emissions by an estimated 920 MMCF/yr. As part of the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, actual data on methane emissions from underground coal mines was collected for the first time in 2011 and reported to U.S. EPA in September 2012. The data collected will help inform stakeholders, particularly the underground coal mining industry, of CMM emission sources on public and private lands. The detailed data will also shed light on the specific sources of methane from active underground coal mines and highlight project opportunities for the U.S. coal industry. The paper will cover U.S. coal mine methane emissions, U.S. CMM utilization and destruction projects, Federal policies and State incentives for CMM capture and utilization. 2011 CMM data from the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program Subpart FF will be analyzed and compared with previous U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory estimates. Other developments, including the voluntary carbon market, will be discussed.

Aug 1, 2013

By D. A. Karvonen

Although the economy in the Province of Saskatchewan has historically been agriculturally oriented, a major new source of wealth has been realized through natural resources such as petroleum and natural gas, coal and uranium and since the 1960&apos;s - potash. Potash or potassium chloride, in the form in which it is presently produced in Saskatchewan is used primarily as fertilizer, a source of potassium, one of three essential elements required for healthy plant growth with about 5 percent of production sold to the chemical industry for use in such products as soap and liquid detergent, glass and ceramics, textiles and some pharmaceuticals. Saskatchewan is estimated to have approximately 40 percent of known world potash reserves and its ten active mines account for some 25% of annual world production. The development of this resource was recognized to be important to the development of Saskathcewan. In an effort to guarantee a fair and lasting economic benefit to the Province of Saskatchewan the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PCS) was created on February 4, 1975 through an Order-in-Council under the Crown Corporation&apos;s Act and later on April 1, 1976, the Potash Corporation Act provided for its continuation. PCS was given the mandate to acquire ownership of a significant portion of the potash mining capacity in Saskatchewan and to establish an organization capable of operating the facilities, marketing the product and conducting all of the other activities necessary for a successful corporation competing in the world potash industry.

Jan 1, 1983

By John C. Cook

This was a study to identify and evaluate known technologies employing electromagnetic resonance phenomena in solid minerals for their identification and assaying, particularly assay logging of exploratory boreholes. A comprehensive literature search and study revealed some little known NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) techniques developed by Professor G. J. Béné&apos;s group at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. These are suitable for use in weak, inhomogeneous magnetic fields. Laboratory NMR tests of numerous U.S. ore minerals showed good identifying signals from phosphates, fluorspar, bauxite, oil shale, and spodumene (lithium) ores, but not from the copper, lead, antimony or manganese ores tested. Use of EPR "signatures" for such ores is suggested. A conceptual design for an NMR assay logging system is proposed.

Jan 1, 1978

By James E. Norman

[The flotation of mica is mentioned frequently in the literature, but must of the references have dealt with the recovery of mica by the old anionic collectors. The first use of the new cationic reagents indicated their superiority- as collectors in the flotation and a. agglomerate tabling of micas, feldspars, quartz, clay, and other acidic mineral, but the separation n of these minerals from each other necessitated study of the flotation of each mineral.]

Jan 1, 1941