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By Charles H. Jacoby

During the past three decades an ever increasing number of uses for underground storage space has been developed. In some instances, the value of the space created has been so great that the host rock has been wasted. The preferential use of salt to host underground cavities is based on numerous factors, the primary two being low extraction costs and low permeability. Both dry and solution mined cavities have been created for the storage of a variety of materials. As the demand for underground storage and disposal grows, so must our selectivity of the materials to be stored.

Jan 1, 1985

By M. G. Corson

Information regarding the use of ixanganese alloys has hitherto been incomplete and available only from widely scattered sources. This paper attempts a systematic description of properties and uses of alloys other than manganese bronze, manganin and duralumin, which are probably the only non-ferrous alloys associated with manganese in the minds of most metallurgists. Properties of Manganese Manganese can react either acid or basic; it is hard to obtain in the pure state; it has two different crystalline lattice structures, both of the cubic system, one stable above 850" C. and the other below 650" C., both coexisting in the intermediate range. Although the commercial product is hard and brittle, the pure metal seems to be ductile. In fact Zhemchuzhny, in Russia, was able to obtain ductile manganese and draw it to fine wires by the simple expedient of adding about 3 per cent. copper to the alumino-thermic product. Copper most probably brings the sili-cides, aluminides, nitrides and carbides present in the commercial product into a much less harmful form of distribution. One industrial use that can be foreseen for wrought manganese articles is as anodes for electrolytic processes in sulfate and nitrate solutions, particularly with high voltages. A practically insoluble skin of manganese peroxide is likely to form in such cases and an insoluble and strong anode material will be available. Manganese as a Scavengek Because of its activity manganese might become the most efficient scavenger and refiner of copper, were it not for the fact that 0.01 per cent.

By Nicholas M. Short

Many a geologist or driller has wished he could somehow climb into a borehole to see for himself what fractures looked like. Or why recovery was poor. Or how the bit was actually lost. Now it is possible to do the next best thing to climbing into the hole. TV cameras are being used for a close-up look at borehole conditions. Ever since television was invented, geologists and others interested in subsurface conditions have wanted a TV camera that could be used in the narrow confines of a borehole. But development of such a camera was slow, mainly because of the need for compact size. Not until the late 1950's did the technology of electronic miniaturization develop to a point where a camera satisfactory for the purpose could be put together.

Jan 1, 1963

By Carl Zapffe

The manganese ore reserves of Lake Superior, because of their location and nature, have recently achieved a rnarked degree of importance as compared with the world's manganese reserves. To appreciate fully the significance and the adequacy of this reserve, one should understand how such ores are used, where obtainable, the quantity used, possible avenues for increasing use or application, and the chemical and physical characteristics of the available ores. Only with those data at hand, is it possible to arrive at a convincing answer to the question whether the reserves of manganiferous iron ores are adequate to satisfy the annual demand of the presently known iron ores for the full life of the latter. That they should last is vital; and to ascertain whether they will last was the purpose of the present investigation, which marks the first attempt to study these Lake Superior reserves. The Lake Superior region possesses and supplies the full assortment of iron ores needed for the conversion of ore into pig iron and steel ingots and castings. These ores are named bessemer, low-phosphorus and high-phosphorus non-bessemer, manganiferous and siliceous; and to include the term aluminiferous would be in keeping with the most recent nomenclature adopted by some dealers. About 35 or 40 years ago, perhaps less, most of the Lake Superior ore which is being used today was the material then considered either useless or too poor for immediate use; perhaps it was considered no more than a future reserve. An examination of the analyses of ores and the guarantees in the sales of those older times convince one that the opinions of those days must have been governed by only small differences in analyses. Some grades of ores used today in substantial amounts were used most sparingly only one or two decades ago. The relative quantities of the different ores used are ever changing; and, bit by bit, the metallurgy and the opinions are ever changing and the prejudices against certain ores and practices decrease. This is unquestionably more pronounced for the manganiferous ores than for any other kind. If, when using the present data for manganiferous ores, we will only be content to make allowances for the same experiences other kinds of ores

Jan 1, 1927

By David W. Mitchell

WHILE pure magnesium does not corrode rapidly the presence of even very small quantities of certain other metals accelerates corrosion remarkably. Because magnesium is such an electropositive metal (E° = +2.34 volts)' the presence of substances that permit galvanic activity is extremely undesirable. It is stated that as little as 0.017 pct of iron in magnesium causes a marked increase in the corrosion rate.2 Magnesium and its alloys are commonly melted in iron or steel pots; consequently the commercial metal has the opportunity to pick up iron if it has that tendency. Quantitative data on the solubility of iron in magnesium are of practical as well as of academic interest. Some magnesium alloy castings tend to have large grain size unless suitable treatment is given to the liquid metal just prior to casting. One method of grain refinement consists of "superheating" the metal just prior to casting. "Superheating" is heating to a temperature 100 to 200°C above the casting temperature and holding for a short period of time. Superheated metal has a much finer grain than unsuperheated metal. A satisfactory explanation of this phenomenon has not been forthcoming. One hypothesis attributes the grain refinement in the superheated metal to precipitation of some phase that is miscible at the temperature of superheat but not miscible just below the casting temperature and which is thought to provide nucleating centers for crystallization. This phase, if the foregoing hypothesis is correct, would probably be a metal or an intermetallic compound. Of the metals likely to be found in magnesium alloys, iron is one of the most likely candidates for the role of grain refiner for iron occurs in small quantities in all commercial magnesium and magnesium alloys. A. Beck' states that magnesium, in either the liquid or the solid state, cannot dissolve iron and that iron exists as a finely divided suspension which does not settle out because of its extreme fineness. Beck also presents a micrograph showing a large iron dendrite in magnesium but does not comment on the crystallization of iron from a solution supposed to contain none. It is doubtful that dendrite formation from suspended iron would be possible. This suspension theory is the basis of patents4 covering the removal of iron from magnesium by allowing the iron particles to act as nuclei for the formation of primary magnesium crystals which can be separated by segregation. Also covered by patents is the removal of iron by the addition of another metal to form an intermetallic compound with the iron which, because of its increased particle size, is able to settle out of the molten metal. Here, too, quantitative information on the extent of iron solubility in liquid magnesium is of more than theoretical interest. M. Hansen,5 in his critical collection of the data on binary alloys, states that iron is not soluble in liquid magnesium. W. R. D. Jones6 who studied the physical properties of low iron magnesium alloys observed a

Jan 1, 1948

By Raymond A. Bradbury

The first diesel-powered Scooptram has now been in service for 21/2 yr at the I-C mine of Martin County Coal Corp. It has become the workhorse of the operation, being used around the clock many days. The fleet of nine 20-ton capacity Teletrams used behind three Jeffrey Heliminers now have more than 1 1/2-yr experience in the Coalburg mine. They have been exposed to some difficult conditions which, include steep grades, water, mud, and rutted roadways. These units have proven to he both rugged and powerful. The safety components and shutdown systems make these haulage units very safe for underground coal mines. A clean-burning engine, a satisfactory exhaust conditioning system, and good ventilation are the keys to maintaining a safe and healthful atmosphere for the underground operators and other employees.

Jan 1, 1976

By Robert B. Hall, Charles W. Bauer

Alunite, KA13(SO4)2(OH)6, was used from the 15th century until early in the present century as a source of potash alum and aluminum sulfate. Since early in this century its use for this purpose has declined to virtually nil with acid treatment of bauxite or clay replacing alunite as a source of alum. During the First World War alunite served as an emergency source of potassium sulfate fertilizer in the United States and Australia. More recently, alunite has been investigated as a nonbauxite ore of aluminum, with potassium sulfate and sulfuric acid as recoverable byproducts. The Soviet Union established a commercial-scale plant in the mid-1960s producing cell-grade alumina from alunitic ore and recovering byproduct potassium sulfate and sulfuric acid. Interest in nonbauxite ores, including alunite, is expected to continue in countries that presently are dependent on imports of bauxite or alumina to support their aluminum industries. The US has the largest aluminum producing and fabricating industry in the world but imports more than 90% of its aluminum-bearing raw materials. This chapter reviews the status of alunite as a potential source of aluminum with byproduct fertilizer, and the resources available to support this industry, whenever this becomes economically feasible. Historical Background Alunite has received little attention until recently, yet for centuries it held a higher place than many of the industrial minerals considered essential today. The deposits of alunite at Tolfa, northwest of Rome, were mined almost continuously from 1462 until about the middle of the present century (DeLaunay, 1907; Lombardi, 1977). The potash alum made from the alunite, called Roman alum, was a valued commodity in international trade, being used in the making of paper, in tanning leather, and as a mordant in textile dyeing. The industry at Tolfa is said to have been controlled by the Vatican and was a source of revenue for the Papal State until fairly recent times (Lombardi et al., 1977). Since early in the present century, the preferred method for making alum has been by acid treatment of bauxite, clay, or other aluminous material, so that alunite has fallen into near-total disuse as a source of alum chemicals. Appreciable quantities of mixed alunite-kaolin rock still are quarried in the Tolfa district for use by the Italian cement industry (Lombardi and Mattias, 1979), but the role of this material in the making of Italian cement is not clear. A large deposit of alunite-bearing rock in Chekiang province, mainland China, is said to have yielded a "great quantity" of alum over a period of several centuries (Yih, 1931). During the 19th century, alunite deposits in France, Spain, Australia, and other countries were exploited as raw material for making potash alum and aluminum sulfate. Interest in alunite was revived during the First World War, not for alum, but as an emergency source of potassium sulfate fertilizer. Large veins of nearly pure alunite had just been discovered on Alunite Ridge, 11 km southwest of Marysvale in Piute County, Utah (Butler and Gale, 1912), and these were quickly brought into production for making potash fertilizer to replace supplies cut off from the famous deposits at Stassfurt, Germany. An estimated 225 kt of Marysvale alunite was mined and processed at that time (Callaghan, 1973). Similarly, Australian alunite deposits were mined as a source of potash fertilizer during both world wars (Hall, 1978).

Jan 1, 1983

By E. N. Silverman

Mixtures of' MnS, ZFeO-SiO,, ZMnO.SiO, FeO, and MnO were prepared synthetically and used to study the planes ZFeO. Si0,-ZMnO.SiO,-MnS, FeO-MnO-MnS, and Fe0-MnO.Si0,-MnS in the quaternary system. Because the oxides and silicates studied flux MnS, inclusions in this system are partly liquid during rolling. Also, oxygen can modify subsurface inclusions through the reaction MnS + FeO—FeS + MnO during the soaking of ingots and the reheating of blooms and billets. NONMETALLIC inclusions in steel have long been a subject of study and conjecture because the properties of many steels are known to be affected by the the kind and amount of inclusions present. In free-machining steels, the type of inclusion present has a direct bearing on their machinability; in other steels, cleanliness is important and metallurgists direct their efforts at reducing the amount of non-metallic inclusions. Thus, the accumulation of knowledge about the formation and behavior of inclusions during all stages of steelmaking and processing should aid in improving the quality of steels and decreasing the production costs resulting from rejections. Previous studies of inclusions have contributed greatly to our understanding. The investigators have generally examined inclusions in finished steel. Boulger, Moorehead, and Garvey1 found that in Bessemer steels, low silicon contents results in globular sulfide inclusions with attendant high machin- ability ratings. Van vlack2 also found that low silicon contents favor inclusion morphology that contributes to high machinability ratings. Boquist and Stoll* found that silicon content affected sulfide inclusions and machinability of blooms, billets and bars more than did the finishing temperature in the range between 1775° and 2075°F. Carney and Rudolphy3 studied the distribution of sulfur, manganese, silicon, and carbon in a commercial ingot of resulfur-ized steel and found that silicon was concentrated near the bottom. This helped to explain why bottom cuts had poorer machinability. Klinger and Koch4 developed techniques for extracting inclusions from steel, and the technique devised by Gurry, Chris-takos, and stricker5 for extracting carbides can also be adapted to the study of inclusions. A different approach to the study of inclusions in steel consists of synthesizing the constituents that form inclusions and determining the phase eauilibria in the system that contains the constituents. The resulting phase diagrams can then be used to determine the effect of the various constituents upon each other. In this way, it becomes possible to under-

Jan 1, 1962

By A. C. Stoddard

Early in the present century, prospect-ing was active in the area of the present Miami district. There were plenty of blue and green copper outcroppings, but very little ore of a grade that would stand shipping costs had been uncovered. Late in the first decade of the century, tunnels were driven into the north and south slopes of the Inspiration ridge, and two of them exposed disseminated copper sulphide ore. This was the original discovery of such ore on the ground of what eventually became the Inspiration Division of the consolidated company. By 1910 exploration of the ground area was well along and by 1911 underground development had been started. In the next few years a large tonnage of disseminated copper ore had been proven— sufficient to justify the expenditure of several million dollars in mine development and for mine equipment plus large sums for treatment plants. The mine and treatment plants were placed in production July 1, 1915. To Jan. I, 1945, there had been produced from the mines of the Inspiration Consoli-dated Copper Co., more than 106,000,000 tons of ore. Nearly all of this tonnage had been recovered by block caving. GeologIcal and EconomIc FActors Block caving is a mining system based on the fact that if a mass of rock has a sufficient number of fractures and planes of weakness the mass will disintegrate if the support of an area of sufficient size is taken away—that is, "undercut." If the material that caves away from the bottom of a block is drawn off the spalling is progressive. There is a limit to the speed of this spalling or caving action, which varies with the structure of the rock being caved. If the rock is drawn at a rate faster than the caving rate, and if this drawing is continued too long, a void may be created that could make a very dangerous condition if the area should drop as a block and force the air below the uncaved rock out through the raises and drifts. This can be a very destructive force. On the other hand, if the broken material is not drawn fast enough the swell of the material in place to broken material would pack the mass until it was almost solid again and could not be drawn without much blasting, or perhaps even partially undercutting again. Geologically therefore it would seem that any rock with seams and fractures would cave; but for block caving there should be enough seams and fractures in a limited area so that such an area will cave and produce a product that can be drawn safely, rapidly enough and at a cost justified by the value of the product being drawn. At the Inspiration the disseminated ores occur in two formations, the Pinal schist and the Schultze granite. There is no material difference in the grade of the ore formed in the schist and in the granite. The chief copper minerals are chalcocite, malachite, azurite and chrysocolla. Other copper minerals occur in limited quantity.

Jan 1, 1946

By Arthur E. Bousu, C. T. Eddy, L. W. Eastwood

THE recrystallization and grain-growth phenomena of cold-worked metals have considerable industrial importance because of their role in the fabrication of metals. For this reason, and because of the general academic interest in the subject, these processes have received considerable attention since the time of J. E. Stead's paper1 on The Crystalline Structure of Iron and Steel. There are considerable differences of opinion regarding the theory of recrystallization and grain growth and also differences in the observation of the modus operandi of the processes themselves. The value of many of the existing quantitative data on grain growth is decreased by the failure to distinguish between the grain sizes just after complete recrystallization and those resulting from coalescence. For this reason also, the value of the diagrams of stable grain sizes, like those produced by . Bass and Glocker2 and Czochralski3, is lessened in so far as an interpretation of the facts of recrystallization is concerned. It is hoped that the data presented in this paper will help to clarify and to simplify the facts relating to recrystallization, and at the same time will show that some of the present-day conceptions are untenable. A paper on the theory of recrystallization with additional data will be completed in the near future by the writers.

Jan 1, 1935

By H. R. Aldrich

THIS paper is not a treatise on the theory and practice of magnetic surveying. It merely presents a diagram upon which have been plotted observations taken with the simplest form of magnetic instrument, the lowly dip needle, over a large area astride the Lake Superior syncline of northern Wisconsin. The exposures of the underlying formations are not sufficiently great in number nor fortunate in distribution to have provided the fuller understanding of the geology which has been secured by the use of the magnetic observations as an auxiliary tool or accessory in the hands of the geologist. The diagram (Fig. 2) in large part speaks for itself if studied in connection with the geological map (Fig. 1) for which it is the main control. It is presented to demonstrate the extent to which the use of such methods may aid in the solution of geological problems in a covered country. The diagram is probably unique in assembling the expression of such a wide range of formations, affected by so wide a range of secondary processes, and deformed by so many different structures in terms of magnetic variation. Few geologists outside of the Lake Superior country have had any first-hand experience in the taking of magnetic observations and the interpretations of the results in terms of geological conditions; nor have the Lake Superior men gone with the methods far afield from the mere tracing of iron formations. In more recent years the oil companies have gone heavily into investments in magnetometers, balances, and dip needles in the quest of concealed structural anomalies which are the favorable loci of petroleum accumulation. But these geophysicists come back from the fields with their collections of observations facing the question of interpreting the geological meaning of their magnetic anomalies.

Jan 1, 1928

The North American Coal Corp. Increasing demand for coal, stimulated by the national energy shortage, and complicating and often conflicting, demands by government and ecology groups for better land reclamation methods continued to propel advances in surface mining technology during 1974. To meet current demands for coal (estimated at more than 700 million t for 1975 and 1.5 billion t in 19851, equipment manufacturers and coal operators concentrated on increasing the productivity of all surface mining equipment. The trend towards larger equipment, particularly in overburden removal, loading, and haulage machinery, prevailed during the year, notwithstanding the perennial debate over the economics and practicality of using large, inflexible equipment. Increasingly, the industry called on computers to monitor productivity and help design more efficient production systems

Jan 2, 1975

By J. C. Cook

In solution-mining of underground salt and similar minerals, using drilled wells for access, it is desirable to monitor the lateral growth pattern of the resulting fluid-filled cavern. Therefore, a process of seismic surveying from the surface of the ground has been conceived in which the amplitudes of waves reflected from and transmitted through the soluble formation are measured. The large acoustic impedance contrast between solid and fluid should produce striking amplitude anomalies, especially if shear waves are employed, since thick fluid bodies are opaque to shear waves. Horizontally-polarized (SH) shear waves are best for preventing conversion to P waves at the numerous horizontal interfaces in the ground. Field tests to date have shown that a truck-mounted, half-ton hammer striking horizontally against the end of a trench produces usable SH-wave energy at lateral distances up to about 850 ft. Horizontally-directed explosive wave sources were effective to about 2000 ft. Conventional magnetic-tape recording and processing were used, but with the detecting geophones oriented to favor SH waves. An irregular solution cavity in bedded salt at 500-ft depth has apparently been located by SH-wave and SV-wave reflections. Further field work is planned to corroborate and extend this result. The Brine Cavity Research Group, an association of 11 chemical and salt producing companies, is supporting this work. Major deposits of salt in tabular beds lie beneath some 300,000 sq miles of land in the central and northeastern U.S. This salt is a basic source of soda ash and chlorine, and has been extracted as brine from drilled wells for about a century. During the past two decades, the U.S. solution-mining industry, following the lead of European operators, has greatly improved the extraction process through the application of engineering and science.' In 1957, the Brine Cavity Research Group, an association of 11 chemical and salt producing companies, was formed. This group proceeded to attack certain common problems through the support of research. An outstanding problem has been that of determining the shape and location of the growing solution cavities in the underground salt, so that measures can be taken to maintain operating efficiency. The problem has been partially solved by the Dowel1 sonar mapping service, which employs a pulse-echo device lowered into the cavity through the well.2 However, the working range of this equipment is at present insufficient for large cavities, and echoes are not returned from highly sloping walls nor from behind such obstructions as rock debris. Therefore, an independent means of mapping the cavity, for example, from the surface without interfering with operation of the well, would be desirable. THEORY OF THE METHOD Seismic waves are the only physical agent known to be capable of sufficient resolution and penetration to define typical solution cavities from the surface of the ground. The geometry is unfavorable: cavity widths are generally less than half their depths below the surface; resolution and lateral location of boundaries and channels to within 50 ft at depths of 500 to 3000 ft is desirable. Conventional seismic surveying, as used for petroleum prospecting, is probably not the answer: isopach mapping, for example, is not thought accurate enough to define the cavity by the slight additional delay time it would introduce (of the order of 0.005 sec for a 50 ft-thick cavity in hard Paleozoic rocks). Refraction surveying has also been considered, but seismic specialists see little promise in it for this problem. In 1957, in correspondence with industry personnel, the writer suggested a seismic method based upon careful measurement of reflection amplitudes. As Table I illustrates, seismic reflection coefficients r for typical brine-rock interfaces are considerably higher than those for typical interfaces between different kinds of solid rock. This fact can be utilized in two ways, illustrated in Fig. 1: 1) If the cavity roof is reasonably flat (which it may sometimes be since the unsaturated top brine will be in contact with an insoluble rock stratum), extra-strong seismic reflections will be received from the salt stratum where the solid has been replaced by liquid.

Jan 1, 1964

By B. Barlin

Introduction The development of metallurgical practice at lambia Broken Hill is directly related to the change in mineralization of the deposits as mining progressed from the open pits to underground. The ore consists of a mixture of lead and zinc sulphide minerals, together with abundant silicates, carbonates and other oxidized minerals of these metals. The irregularity that characterizes the shape of the orebodies applies equally to their mineral content, which makes ore reserve calculations and the maintenance of a balanced feed to the metallurgical plants, problems of some magnitude. History The Rhodesia Broken Hill Development ,Company was formed in 1904 after an Australian prospector, T. G. Davey, discovered the outcrops in 1902. In the early years zinc ores were calcined for shipment but this proved uneconomic. Cerussite outcrops were then smelted directly in blast furnaces for the production of lead until 1929 when ore above the water level was exhausted.

Jan 1, 1970

By J. F. Sepulveda, J. D. Miller

Tar sand deposits in the state of Utah contain more than 25 billion bbl of in-place bitumen. Although 30 times smaller than the well-known Athabasca tar sands, Utah tar sands do represent a significant domestic energy resource comparable to the national crude oil reserves (31.3 billion bbl). Based upon a detailed analysis of the physical and chemical properties of both the bitumen and the sand, a hot-water separation process for Utah tar sands is currently being developed in our laboratories at the University of Utah. This process involves intense agitation of the tar sand in a hot caustic solution and subsequent separation of the bitumen by a modified froth flotation technique. Experimental results with an Asphalt Ridge, Utah, tar sand sample indicated that percent solids and caustic concentration were the two most important variables controlling the performance of the digestion stage. These variables were identified by means of an experimental factorial design, in which coefficients of separation greater than 0.90 were realized. Although preliminary in nature, the experimental evidence gathered in this investigation seems to indicate that a hot-water separation process for Utah tar sands would allow for the efficient utilization of this important energy resource.

Jan 9, 1978

By F. V. Lenel

Two years ago in Chicago a seminar was held on the theory of sintering of pure metal powders. As an introduction to this seminar D,.. Rhines1 gave an excellent survey of the literature on this subject, His method of presentatioll was to summarize the experimental observations on sintering and from them to develop a composite theory of sintering in which he combined all the important contributions to the theory into one organic whole. In contrast to the mechanism of sintering of pure metal powders, which, of course, al\vays takes place in the solid phase, sintering j,, the presence of a liquid phase, cannot be treated as one unified mechanism, such as the sintering mechanism of pure metals. The reason is that there are really several mechanisms depending upon the type of alloy system which is sintered and the field of its con. stitutional diagram ill which the sintering takes place, Two mechanisms have heen investigated and will be reviewed in this paper. Ill the first lnechanism the liquid is presellt during the entire time while the compacts are at the sintering temperature, In other words they are sintered between the liquidus and the solidus of the alloy system and are ~e~erogelleous during the entire sintering cycle. The second mechallism applies to alloys in which the liquid phase is formed during the sintering process, but disappears before the sintering process is completed through diffusion and formation of a solid solution. These alloys are therefore homogeneous at the end of the sintering cycle. This second mechanism is more complicated because of the two stages of sintering, the liquid and the solid, as they may be called. It is therefore not surprising that the few detailed investigations of sintering in the presence of a liquid phase have been concerned with heterogeneous sintered alloys, namely the tungsten-nickel-sinter ing which is the so-called "heavy alloy," and the cemented carbides. The mechanism of sintering of these systems is characterized by the fact that theoretical or near theoretical density is attained during sintering, while simultaneously a distinct grain growth takes place through solution of the smallest grains of the solid phase in the liquid phase and reprecipitation on the larger grains. In the first part of the survey this sintering mechanism which is called for short the heavy alloy mechanism is treated in detail. In the second part Of the survey experimental observations for the sintering of homogeneous sintered alloys where the liquid phase disappears before the completion of sintering are discussed. Much less systematic work has been done on these alloys to which the conlmercially important Porous bronzes and the iron-nickel-aluminum permanent magnet alloys belong. Emphasis will be laid throughout this survey upon the microstructural and density changes during sintcring because the Sintering mechanism can usually be described directly by these changes. Other

Jan 1, 1949

By W. H. Ashby, R. W. Cassingham, C. R. Blomberg, J. B. Justins

The Brookhaven field is one of several Basal Tuscaloosa reservoirs located in south-central Mississippi. It is a standstone reservoir, of erratic deposition and with several faults, having an approximate subsea depth of 9,800 ft. A large variation in permeability exists with a weighted average being 256 md. Estimated average interstitial water saturation is 45 per cent. The undersaturated reservoir fluid exhibits marked differences in physical properties with measured saturation pressures ranging from 733 to 2,255 psi. Early rapid decline in reservoir pressure caused the operating interests to unitize the field and initiate a program of pressure maintenance by gas injection. At the time gas injection was commenced, the reservoir pressure had fallen to nearly half of the original pressure with only 4.5 Per cent of the original oil in place produced. The reservoir pressure has since been maintained at approximately 2,750 psig, and cumulative production to date is 17 per cent of original oil in place. An analysis of field performance during gas injection is presented in detail. The program of pressure maintenance by gas injection is considered to be a success, since the expected ultimate recovery has been increased and the current production rate is in excess of 2 per cent of original oil in place per year. Performance has been better, anticipated ultimate recovery is larger, and total production costs are lower than for a similar Basal Tuscaloosa reservoir nearby, even though that field appears to have a more effective natural water drive. INTRODUCTION The history of the Brookhaven Unit is a testimonial for unitization and for the application of engineering techniques in the operation of an oil field. The operating and royalty interests in this field have mutually benefited from their early recognition of the need for unitization and pressure maintenance and from the forthright manner in which these were accomplished. The tangible benefits accruing to the participants in the Unit are: (1) income from gasoline plant products, (2) reduced lifting and operating costs from those of competitive operation, (3) maintenance of high levels of current income by mitigation of the inevitable decline in production rates inherent to natural depletion, (4) an increase in ultimate recovery of about 40 per cent over natural depletion operations. This paper should properly be considered a progress report; however, the performance of the field after five years of pressure maintenance clearly indicates that the ultimate success of the project is assured. LOCATION AND GEOLOGY The Brookhaven field is located in south-central Mississippi, about six miles from the town of Brookhaven. Production at Brookhaven

Jan 1, 1955

By Arthur Notman

(San Francisco Meeting, September, 1915) SACRAMENTO HILL is a mass of granite porphyry intruded along a fault between Paleozoic sediments and pre-Cambrian schists in the Bisbee district, Cochise County, Arizona. The intrusion invaded both walls of the fault to a large extent, and the accompanying extensive mineralization of the Paleozoic limestones is the locus of the great high-grade copper orebodies of the Bisbee mines. Prior to 1909, although the presence of ore in the mass of the hill itself had long been suspected, systematic exploration had not been attempted. A few shallow pits on the surface here and there had disclosed some chalcocite with associated carbonates as stringers in a mass of strongly brecciated, silicified, and iron-stained porphyry. The workings in the surrounding limestones had penetrated the porphyry in a dozen or so places for some distance from the contact but had disclosed no ore. However, the rock had been largely altered to quartz and sericite and very thoroughly impregnated with pyrite and traces of the copper sulphides. A close geological study of the conditions, both surface and underground, strengthened these suspicions, and plans for prospecting the hill were made in 1909. Reference to the accompanying illustrations, Figs. 1 and 2, will give an idea of the general appearance of the surface. The mineralization is more intense in two main zones, one at the west end and the other at the east end of the hill. The outcrop of the hill is elliptical and approximately 3,000 ft. long by 1,400 ft. wide. The Sacramento shaft, which is the main hoisting shaft of the mine and situated at the east end of the hill, as shown by the accompanying map (Fig. 3), offered a convenient base for prospecting that end of the hill, while the workings from the Holbrook shaft offered a similar opportunity at the west end. The choice of level for the first work was determined by analogy with the most favorable depth for enrichment below surface observed in the other disseminated deposits of the Southwest.

Jan 8, 1915

By William Blauvelt

Tun technical and engineering problems in the manufacture of coke are today the problems of the byproduct oven. Except in a few special localities, practically no beehive ovens have been built in the United States for the last 5 or 6 years except as renewals of old plants, and during these years the total number of beehive ovens in existence has been steadily falling. On the other hand, the number of byproduct ovens has increased from 4624 in 1911 to a total of about 7660 in operation at the end of 1917; with 2800 building, this makes a total of about 10,460 which will be in operation in 1918, or shortly thereafter. Preliminary Government estimates place the total production of coke for 1917 at 56,600,000 tons, the largest tonnage in the history of the industry. Of this 34,000,000 tons or 60 per cent. was beehive, and 22,-600,000 tons, or 40 per cent. was byproduct coke. Some time in 1918 the production of byproduct coke should pass the beehive output, and when the byproduct ovens now building are completed the total byproduct capacity will be about 40,000,000 tons of coke per. annum, which is over 70 per cent. of the record-breaking total coke production of 1917. The reasons for these changes in the coking industry are familiar to all of us, and need not be discussed here.

Jan 3, 1918

By H. A. Baumann, A. J. Rostosky

EVER since the first installation of wet-washing methods of coal preparation, the removal of the water added by the washing process has created serious technical and operating problems. The rapid development and widespread adoption of wet washing has necessitated a corresponding development of dewatering methods and equipment. The amount of water retained by coal varies with the size of the coal. The moisture that is largely on the surface of the particles is easily shaken off coarse coal; thus coarse coal can be dried comparatively easily and quickly. Fine coal presents a larger surface area than does coarse coal, so its capacity for retaining moisture is greater. In fine coal, moisture below about 5 per cent is held between the coal particles and its removal is difficult. Draining and drying of the finer sizes is a major problem at many washeries. Two common problems of coal-washing practice that are intimately connected with dewatering and drying are the clarification of washery water and the prevention of stream pollution. The first field has been studied from many angles, including the use of coagulating and settling agents followed by vacuum filters to remove the solids, and the use of sludge tanks with dewatering screens incorporated therein. In many districts, the disposal of sludges into streams has been stopped by law. The lack of space for impounding sludges has created problems of disposal in other districts. Reduction in moisture means a saving in freight costs as well as the elimination of difficulties in unloading and storing. Excess moisture in coal causes it to freeze in localities where severe climatic conditions pre¬vail. Excess water in coals to be used in the production of coke and manufactured gas has a chilling effect on the walls of the oven or retort. Dryness of coal is important in producing good briquettes.

Jan 1, 1943