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By Eugene Stephenson

CRITICAL analyses of the work expended in producing oil by the utilization of gas energy have appeared in the publications of Shaw,1 Pierce and Lewis,2 and Herold,3 authors who have ably discussed the factors which must be taken into consideration in comparing energy consumed per barrel in various wells which are flowed by means of gas-lift. However, two distinct phases of oil production are concerned with the ratio of gas energy consumed to oil produced. One of these phases is the gas-lift, which utilizes the differential gas pressures for the purpose of flowing oil, whether these pressures be natural reservoir pressures or be induced by artificial compression of gas or air. The other phase has to do with prorating oil production in pools which are operated either as units, or are subject to such restrictions as those imposed at Oklahoma City by the Corporation Commission, or, by similar controlling groups in other fields. An abundance of literature is available relative to the problems of flowing wells by gas-lift, but the first suggestion that the energy of the gas within the oil and gas pool might serve as a basis for proration, appeared in the timely article by McWilliams.4 Much of the. dissatisfaction with proration in certain fields is because some operators feel that besides the hazard to the wells which accompanies the test, the method of allocating production on the basis of the "potential" gage is inequitable and gives some operators a distinct advantage over others.5 The most severe penalty may be exacted from the most progressive operators or those who attempt to produce their oil with a minimum quantity of reservoir gas. If :no difficulties ever

Jan 1, 1931

By Ernst M. Cohn

The demonstrations of the "Silent Sentry" by Union Carbide Corp. in 1957 and of a special tractor-plow by Allis-Chalmers in 1959 ushered in the technology era of fuel cells. The idea for direct conversion of chemical to electrical energy, first published in 1801 by Davy in England and Ritter in Germany, has been kept alive by a few people through 150 years: Grove built the first hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell in 1839; Mond and Langer made electrolyte contributions around 1890 that are still used today; Baur worked on coal-based cells from 1900; Bacon started his work in the '30's, which resulted in the first multi-kilowatt unit in the '50's; Davtyan studied molten-salt electrolytes in the '40's, followed by Ketelaar in the '50's; and Justi developed highly active electrodes in the '50's, to name only some of the pioneers. Despite the tremendous increase in research and development of fuel cells, these direct energy converters are still in their infancy. They will find their functional application in space, where power density must be maximized and product water utilized. These early systems will provide valuable experience in system engineering and reliability.

Jan 9, 1964

By L. L. Seigle

Free energies, heats, and entropies of mixing of solid Fe-Au alloys have been measured by the galvanic cell method between 800° and 900°C. A positive deviation from Raoult's law and a large excess entropy of mixing were observed, both attributable to lattice distortion caused by the disparity in component atom sizes. Since the terminal solid solutortiontions are not regular, thermodynamic properties computed from the location of the mis-cibility gap do not agree well with measured quantities. The electromotive force data suggest some changes in the existing Fe-Au phase diagram. ALTHOUGH a considerable amount of information has been accumulated about the thermodynamic properties of metal solid solutions which exhibit negative deviation from Raoult's law, particularly those in which ordering occurs, relatively few experimental measurements have been made on solutions with positive deviation. This is due to the infrequency of broad homogeneous regions suitable for experimental measurement in solutions of this type, since any marked positive deviations from ideality lead to restricted solubility and the formation of miscibility gaps. Thermodynamic data reported in the literature for such systems have usually been calculated from the location of the miscibility gap boundaries under the assumption that the entropies of mixing are ideal, i.e., the terminal solutions are regular.' One of the few binary systems with both positive deviation and a wide homogeneous range in the solid is the Ni-Au system. A recent investigation of solid Ni-Au alloys' revealed that the entropies of mixing were much larger than ideal and consequently thermal data computed from the phase boundaries assuming regular solutions were seriously in error. Theoretical considerations put forward by Zener indicated that high entropy values should generally be associated with systems possessing a miscibility gap in the solid, when this is due to differences in the size of component atoms. These facts suggest that the regular solution assumption is a poor approximation for many solid solutions with positive deviation and that reliable thermodynamic data generally cannot be obtained by conventional methods from the location of miscibility gap boundaries. The Fe-Au system, Fig. 1, resembles the Ni-Au system in certain respects. The presence of a miscibility gap in the solid indicates a large positive deviation from ideality, but there is nevertheless an extensive single phase region suitable for experimental measurement. The following investigation of solid Fe-Au alloys was carried out in order to obtain additional data on the thermodynamic properties of metal solid solutions with positive deviation from Raoult's law and to further compare thermodynamic data computed from miscibility gap boundaries with those measured experimentally. Experimental Method The thermodynamic properties were derived from measurements of the potential developed between pure solid iron and Fe-Au alloys in a high temperature galvanic cell. The experimental apparatus and technique were the same as those used for the Ni-Au alloys and described in a previous report.' Cell electrodes were 1/16 in. diam rods swaged from chill-cast ingots and annealed for one week at 850°C. The alloys were prepared by melting fine gold granules under argon with pure iron obtained from the National Research Co. The cell electrolyte was

Jan 1, 1957

By P. K. Guerrero, N. Arbiter

The correlation of power consumed by a tumbling mill with the dimensions, speed, and load has been attempted by three principal methods. One of these, the torque formula, has been reviewed critically elsewhere.' This approach, while analytical, disregards the individual motion and speed of the tumbling bodies and assumes that the gross geometry of the entire load is sufficient to establish the power requirement. A more general approach, using dimensional analysis, has been applied in this laboratory by the present authors1'1, and more recently by Rose.3 This disregards the internal conditions within the mill entirely and in effect is an empirical procedure for correlating data. Finally, the complete analysis of tumbling mill dynamics as first made by Davis' attempts to develop the power requirement from individual ball and rod paths and velocities. Although Davis' result is applicable only at a single speed for a given size and load it could be useful, since his optimum speed is at the upper limits of conventional tumbling mill practice. Where power values predicted by the Davis equation were compared with actual mill requirements, they were found too low for small mills and much too high for the largest mills. This suggested that the agreement with actual intermediate range requirements might be fortuitous, and the development of the equation was examined critically. The probable source of error was found to lie in an erroneous assumption made by Davis in converting the energy of ball or rod motion to power. With the same approach, but with different assumptions, a modified equation has been obtained which predicts results that are usually consistently high. This is to be expected, since it is assumed that there is no slip between load and shell and no interference among tumbling bodies. Both these effects should account for the difference. Development of Equation: When a cylindrical shell charged with a substantial weight of rods or balls is slowly rotated about a horizontal axis, the load surface first assumes an inclination that gradually increases to a maximum. Continued rotation results in failure within the load, characterized by a sliding of the top layers down the slope and a reduction in the angle of inclination. Further rotation again increases the angle, and the cycle repeats. If the speed is increased, there is continuous load failure and build-up and a continuous stream of rods or balls descends over the upcoming mass, which moves in circular arcs. At higher speeds the up-

Jan 1, 1961

By I. Cadoff, E. Miller, K. Komarek

Jan 1, 1960

By H. B. Charmbury, D. R. Mitchell

Everyone in the coal industry from top management to the preparation engineer is vitally interterested in recovering as much salable coal as possible from the run-of-mine product. Coal losses from a preparation plant occur in the solid refuse material being discharged from the plant and in the bleed-off slurry from the water circuit. The refuse is generally hauled from the plant in solid form by trucks, conveyors, or aerial trams to the refuse or culm banks or it may be crushed and transported by hydraulic methods to refuse ponds or dams. The loss of coal in refuse material and the extent of this problem has been covered in another paver.' The loss of salable coal in the plant bleed-off slurry is one of the water circuit problems in coal preparation plants. Slurries originate at various places in the processing circuits and are usually disposed of by transportation to waste ponds known as slurry ponds. Even though the combustible material discharged as slurry and refuse from the plant is labeled a loss, the loss must only be considered temporary. There is a tendency at the present time to examine refuse and slurry losses and to reprocess these materials to recover valuable coal. Slurries from eight bituminous coal preparation plants in central and western Pennsylvania have been sampled and examined to determine the amount of recoverable coal in each. Examinations of the samples were made to determine the tons per hour of solids and the gallons per minute of water in the slurry; the size, ash, and sulfur analyses of the solids; and the sink-float characteristics of the larger solids. The extreme fines (—325 mesh material) from one of the samples has been examined further to determine the micron size fractions as well as the ash and sulfur content of the micron sizes. Collection of the Samples: Field trips were made to each of the plants where samples were obtained and discussions held with the preparation engineer prior to sampling. The flowsheet of the plant operation was studied and a time-period selected to obtain a representative sample. At least 20 1-gal samples of total plant bleed-off suspensions were collected at each plant in increments over designated periods belived to be typical of the plant flow Three of the samples were obtained from plants in the Pittsburgh area. Each plant supplied information on the capacity, operating time, type of cleaning equipment used, water and material balances, and auxiliary equipment. From the time required to collect given amounts of slurry and from the amount of solids in the slurry, total solids discharges from the plant were calculated and compared with the plant flow. Ash and sulfur analyses of the total solids were also checked, at some plants, with company figures. In all cases where checks could be made there was reasonable agreement between company figures and those reported here. Analysis of the Slurries: Representative fractions of properly agitated samples were examined in the laboratory to determine the specific gravities of the slurries. The solids and water were separated by filtration to check the weight of each so that the percent of solids in the pulp could be determined. From the resulting data, presented in Table I, it may be seen that the percent solids in the slurries ranges from 2.8 to 39.0 and the amount of solids from 2.61 to 45.61 tph. Size Analysis of Solids: Representative fractions of the slurries were permitted to settle and the clear water was removed by siphoning. The solids were then wet-screened at 28, 35, 48, 65, 100, 150, 200 and 325 mesh. Results of the size analyses are presented in Table 11. These results indicate the extreme variation of sizes and in most cases the degree of fineness of the solids. The amount of —325 mesh ranges from 22.5 to 84.5 pct and the amount of+200 mesh from 8.3 to 69.1 pct.

Jan 1, 1961

By H. H. Wade, N. F. Schulz

The large quantities of iron-bearing materials, including taconite, semi-taconite,* and other low-grade ferruginous materials occurring in Minnesota and elsewhere, constitute an important potential source of iron. Satisfactory grade and recovery of iron ore concentrate cannot ordinarily be obtained from these ferruginous materials by simple methods of beneficiation. Iron is distinctive in that the free metal and two of its oxides [magnetite (Fe2O3) and maghemite (gamma-Fe2O3) ] are strongly ferromagnetic. The successful magnetic separation of natural magnetite from taconite has already been established on a commercial scale. The iron in semi-taconite, however, occurs largely as goethite (Fe2O3-H4O) and hematite (Fe2O3) which do not respond to ordinary magnetic separation methods. Magnetic roasting converts these iron oxides to magnetite, which can, after liberation, be magnetically concentrated. MAGNETIC ROASTING Hematite undergoes a stepwise reduction when exposed at moderately elevated temperatures to a reducing atmosphere containing hydrogen or carbon monoxide: Fe2O3? Fe3O4 ? FeO ? Fe Since the desirable product in magnetic roasting is Fe3O4, the conversion is halted after the first stage by controlling the reduction potential of the gas mixture with water vapor or carbon dioxide. The reducing gas mixture must be such that the oxygen partial pressure at the solid-gas reaction interface will be maintained intermediately between the oxygen partial pressures in equilibrium with Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 at the prevailing temperature. Because of the rapid increase in decomposition pressure of Fe3O4 with increase in temperature, the practical upper limit of useful reaction temperature is about 1400°F, above which over-reduction usually occurs in atmospheres containing hydrogen or carbon monoxide. On the other hand, useful reaction rates usually occur only above 800°F. Goethite reacts similarly except that the combined water probably has to be driven off thermally before the reduction to magnetite occurs. Iron carbonate must also be decomposed thermally to an oxide before conversion to magnetite. Iron silicates are apparently not amenable to magnetic roasting. The rate of penetration of the reaction toward the interior of a given ore fragment is dependent on the chemical composition and physical structure of the solid. Most ore fragments tested here reduced satisfactorily to 1/4-in. depth in less than 14 min at 1200°F. Some very dense fragments, however, were reduced to less than 1/32-in. depth under the same conditions. Determination of the optimum temperature, gas composition, ore fragment size, or time of exposure

Jan 1, 1961

By H. Conrad

The strain hardening associated with the creep of magnesium single crystals at room temperatu.Je was investigated by shear tests in which the direction of stressing was reversed a number of times after creep in a <100> direction. The strain hardening was strongly anisotropic; the largest amount occurring in the direction of flow and the least 180 deg to this. The time law for creep changed from a parabolic type to logarithmic for the first and subsequent reversals of stress. For a given stress the creep strain decreased significantly for the first and second reversals and then only slightly for subsequent reversals. The logarithmic creep constant a changed in a similar manner. A linear relationship was observed between the creep strain for a given reversal and the stress. The slope for the third reversal yielded a strain hardening coefficient 12 to 16 times greater than that observed for unidirectional flow. Al-though no recovery was observed upon resting at room temperature, the hardening resulting from stress reversals could be completely removed by heating to 450" C. PREVIOUS work1.&apos; indicated that the creep rate of magnesium single crystals tested in the temperature range of 78" to 364°K decreased with time. This was attributed to an increase in internal stress resulting from an accumulation of dislocations at internal obstacles. The object of the present investigation was to further evaluate the nature of this hardening by conducting tests in which the direction of stressing is changed after previous creep in shear in a given slip direction. Previous to 1950 three investigations indicated that a Bauschinger effect3 occurred for single crystals as well as polycrystals brass in tension compression,

Jan 1, 1960

By G. Donald Emigh

WESTERN phosphate resources which lie in Ida- ho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming, have seen great expansion of activity in recent years. Growth has been two-pronged: expansion in fertilizer use, and since 1949, into the elemental phosphorous industry. Elemental phosphorous, produced in the electric furnace, goes largely into chemical making. Phosphate ore was first recognized in the West about 1889. Production started in 1906, and for many years consisted of underground operations by small companies operating sporadically. In 1920 Anaconda Copper Mining Co. opened the underground Conda mine near Soda Springs in southeastern Idaho, and has maintained and increased its operations since then. About 1930 Montana Phosphate Products Co. began underground mining in Montana and has remained a steady producer. In 1945 San Francisco Chemical Co., one of the oldest companies in the western field, initiated strip mining at the Waterloo mine near Montpelier, Idaho, and later at Leefe mine near Sage Junction, Wyo. In1946 J. R. Simplot Co. began open pit mining at Gay mine near Fort Hall, Idaho. In 1950 Victor Chemical Works began underground development work in the area of Maiden Rock, south of Butte, Mont.: and has since mined there. Monsanto Chemical Co. began open pit mining near Soda Springs, Idaho, in 1951.

Jan 11, 1954

By V. J. Sikora, W. J. McGuire

Several years ago, we used an electric analogue computer to study the effect of vertical fractures on the productivity of wells in expanding fluid-drive reservoirs. The results of this work were used both as a guide to research and as a basis for the design of actual fracturing operations. In 1958, Dyes, Kemp and Caudle&apos; published portions of the data from this study. The results were released in 1959 to service companies for use in fracturing guides. The purpose of this note is to discuss the experimental conditions and assumptions which were made to derive the information which is already partially a matter of public record. ASSUMPTIONS This study applies to fractures which extend in a vertical plane symmetrically from the well. For simplicity, we chose to study the case of a well in a square drainage area with its fractures extending toward two of its nearest neighbors. We have assumed no migration of fluid across the boundary of this area. The quadrant shown in Fig. 1 models this system. We made the usual assumptions that the reservoir is homogeneous and isotropic, that the fluid is homogeneous and that production is effected by fluid-expansion drive. We also assumed that the fracture extends from top to bottom of the reservoir. Of more practical interest is our assumption that the fracture does not change the size of the drainage area. This premise is appropriate if all the wells in the reservoir are fractured in the same way. But where a single well is fractured, its drainage area may be enlarged at the expense of its neighbors. This could be of economic importance. The assumption that the fracture will not extend beyond the established drainage area of the well also limits the application of the results. Such long frac- tures will yield benefits in excess of those predicted here. When we assume homogeneity, we disregard the frequently observed zone of damage in the vicinity of the well. Where damage is severe, the benefits resulting from by-passing it will far exceed those predicted by this study. All comparisons were made of systems producing in the semi-steady state. By this we mean that equal volumes contributed equally to flow (pressure was dropping at a uniform rate throughout the system) when the rate of flow was observed. EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP We used the pool unit of an electric analyzer&apos; in this study. The squase drainage system of a well was rep-

By J. E. Lawver, B. J. Clingan, R. E. Snow

Response surface methodology is a well-known and powerful technique for determining optimum conditions in flotation systems. One disadvantage is the onerous task of the numerical calculations and curve plotting. This paper describes a system in which the investigator simply selects the range of several flotation variables after which the design of the experiment, data analysis, generation of response surface equations, and response surface plots are automatically carried out using a digital computer and a computer-driven curve plotter. Several typical response surfaces of important variables in phosphate flotation are presented as examples.

Jan 1, 1980

By D. J. Coolidge, H. L. Sheakley

THIS paper does not deal with all sands used in the glass industry in Missouri; it covers only that used in the plate-glass factory at Crystal City. However, it is probably safe to say that other sands, pro- [ ] duced throughout the state for this purpose, are of identical nature. The glass sand used in Missouri is commonly called the St. Peter deposit, which is ascribed to the Ordovician Rock series in the form of sandstone. This St. Peter deposit, aside from a few small outliers, covers a large area of eastern Missouri. It forms, through a broad curve, the northeast margin of the typical Ozark region between Cape Girardeau on the southeast and Mineola, Montgomery County, on the northwest. The belt is extremely irregular, varying from one to ten miles in width; its length is 150 miles in a straight line. [ ] The outcrop near the entrance to the Crystal City mine appears in the form of a sandstone bluff approximately 30 ft. high, running along Plattin Creek (Fig. , I). Above the sand rock an overburden of Joachim limestone appears, which, thickens to nearly 300 ft. and forms the hill commonly called Buck Knob. Test holes, where drilled at various points and the drillers&apos; log indicate that the St. Peter deposit ranges in thickness from 63 to 71 feet. PROPERTIES OT THE ST. PETER SAND From an analysis of the glass sands of the St. Peter formation in Missouri, the follow-

Jan 1, 1942

By R. M. Goldhoff, J. W. Spretnak, R. Speiser

IT has been observed by Grange and Garvey&apos; that the homogenization of boron-treated steels could lead to complete elimination of the hardenability effect caused by boron. The experimental conditions leading to this conclusion involved the heating of steel specimens with and without boron at 2350°F for 24 hr. To prevent oxidation and decarburization, the specimens were encapsulated under vacuum in silica tubes. This observation of permanent deterioration of boron effect was noted in both a 0.63 pct plain carbon steel and a 0.25 pct C low alloy steel, both of which had been treated with ferroboron and homogenized at 2350°F for 24 hr. In another series of boron-treated steels which had been homogenized for shorter times, the effect was to reduce, but not completely eliminate, the boron effect. Under these circumstances, it was presumed that longer heating times would cause permanent deterioration of the boron effect in this series of steels also. Since the characteristic grain boundary constituent could not be formed in any of these steels after homogenization, it was concluded that possibly boron was being converted into an ineffective form through chemical combination resulting from prolonged heating at high temperatures. Assuming the validity of this observation, a series of experiments to establish the relationship between temperature of homogenization and kinetics of deterioration was contemplated. Initially an attempt was made to reproduce the results just described. For this purpose commercial lots of AISI 8640 and AISI 86B40 steels were used. The analyses of these steels appear in Table I. Hardenability evaluation was on the basis of the hardness of normalized sections. Grange and Garvey&apos; pointed out that these steels are air hardening to some extent and such a technique can be used. For these tests the specimens were held for 20 min in a salt bath at 1600°F and then cooled in still air. Several evacuated silica capsules containing pairs of the test steels were made up and heated for 24 hr at 2350°F. A number of failures occurred among these capsules, but evaluation of the specimens successfully treated indicated a complete deterioration of the boron effect. However, examination of the surface of the treated specimens showed that some reaction, probably with the silica tube, had taken place, since none of the specimens was bright. One further test was made at 2350°F for 12 hr, using a pair of specimens wrapped in tantalum foil prior to encapsulation. These specimens appeared bright after treatment, and their hardenability evaluation showed that no deterioration had taken place. Since these steels are extremely sensitive to de-boronization at high temperatures and particularly at long times of holding, the experimental observations raised some doubt as to the real occurrence of the permanent deterioration effect. To resolve this question an experiment was undertaken in which the high temperature portion of the treatment was completed in vacuum. For this purpose a molybdenum wound resistance furnace capable of maintaining good vacuum was used. All the pertinent accessories to this furnace were machined from molybdenum stock in order to withstand the high temperature involved in the experiment. With this equipment a temperature of 2400 °F was obtained and held under a pressure of 5x10-" mm Hg for 24 hr. A specimen of each of the two test steels was suspended in the furnace and both were heated simultaneously. Temperature was measured with a standardized Pt—Pt-13 pct Rh thermocouple, whose millivoltage at 2400°F was extrapolated from the standardization equation, good up to 2200°F. The complete evaluation of these specimens is shown in Table 11. The hardness values attained by each steel after normalizing, both before and after the prolonged high temperature treatment, remain the same. A microscopic study of the decomposition products present in the microstructures of specimens at various points in the heat treatment correlated with the hardness values observed. It seems that no permanent loss of boron hardenability effect occurs, at least in these Grainal-treated steels, when deboronization is circumvented. Acknowledgments This work was conducted under the sponsorship of the Aeronautical Research Laboratory, Wright Air Development Center, under Contract No. AF 18(600)-94, and their support and permission to publish is gratefully acknowledged. A note of thanks is also extended to the Republic Steel Corp. for supplying the materials used in the work. References &apos; R. A. Grange and T. M. Garvey: Factors Affecting the Harden-ability of Boron Treated Steels. Tro.ns. ASM, 1946, vol. 37, p. 136.

Jan 1, 1957

By C. G. Wilson

DURING the course of some experiments on the plastic deformation of gallium a standard stereo-graphic projection was prepared with (001) at the center and it was felt that this might be useful to others working with single crystals of gallium. The stereogram, given in Fig. 1, was made using the following crystallographic data (Bradley, 1935):

Jan 1, 1962

By John Chipman, Peter J. Koros

The distribution of copper between liquid silver and liquid iron, Fe-C, and Fe-C-Si alloys was studied at 1600°C. From the data and the activity of copper in silver obtained from the phase diagrams, the activity coefficients of copper in iron up to 3 atomic pct are log y, = 0.90 — 2.4 N, and y": = 8.0. The effect of carbon up to saturation is expressed as log y = 1.8 Ni. The effect of silicon up to 11 atomic pct is insignificant. SLOWLY rising copper content of steel being produced is focusing attention on the lack of information on the behavior of copper in liquid steel. Chou&apos; measured the activity coefficient of copper in liquid iron through its distribution between liquid silver and iron. He obtained a value of 9.12 at infinite dilution. Chipman&apos; calculated the activity coefficient of copper in liquid iron at 1600°C from the phase diagram and obtained a value of 12. Ameiln and Pfeiffer- investigated the possibility of removing copper from liquid steel through the use of lead, silver, and bismuth as solvents. They also calculated that the activity coefficient of copper in liquid iron would be increased five or sixfold by addition of 4 pct C. Langenberg and Lindsay&apos; are investigating the effectiveness of lead and sodium sulfide in removing copper from liquid iron. The experimental method was similar to that used by Chou&apos; and Chipman and Floridis." Silver, copper, and iron were melted together, the copper distributing itself between the two layers so that at equilibrium a,.,, (in Ag) - a,.,, (inFe) and N,.,, (in Ag) yc,, (inFe) (in Ag). [21 N,.,, (inFe) Thus, from the concentration of copper in each layer and the activity coefficient of copper in liquid silver, the activity coefficient of copper in liquid iron can be calculated. The effect of an alloying element such as carbon on the activity coefficient of copper can also be determined from its effect on the distribution, provided the new element is essentially insoluble in silver. The one serious limitation of this method is the increasing mutual solubility of silver and iron in the presence of a third component. The mutual solubilities of pure iron and silver are negligible, but increase with increasing copper concentration beyond the range investigated. Ag-Cu System—The activity coefficient of copper in silver at 1600°C had to be estimated, since direct experimental data are not available. Kawakami" measured the heat of mixing of Ag-Cu alloys at 1200°C by a calorimetric technique. Scheil&apos; calculated the heat of mixing in this system by use of the phase diagram, assuming that the solution is random and that the heat of mixing is independent of temperature. The terminal solid solution may be assumed to obey Raoult&apos;s law within the requirements

Jan 1, 1957

THREE regional meetings are planned for this summer and fall following the spring meeting held under the auspices of the Iron and Steel Committee and the Ohio Section at Cleveland in April and in lieu of a general fall meeting of the Institute. Plans for all of them are maturing rapidly. Excellent programs and. interesting visits to points of local tech¬nical interest are already assured. THE SALT LAKE CITY MEETING This meeting will be under the auspices of the Milling Committee and the Utah Section. It will be one of the features of the joint convention held the week of August 22 to 26 with the Western Division of the American Mining Congress. The Congress will be responsible for the general arrangements and for the program on the first day. The following general committees have been appointed:

Jan 7, 1927

By Robert S. Dewey

AS a result of drilling operations during 1943, West Texas again added sufficient new oil reserves to replace the oil produced during the year, but failed to maintain its position in currently available reserves because the deeper discoveries will require years for development. Drilling failed to provide the additional oil necessary to meet the increase in current and anticipated market demand. Although 13.3 per cent of the total footage drilled was in wildcat exploration, the ratio of oil discoveries to total wildcats was less in 1943 than in 1942, but comparable to that in 1941. Of the 732 field wells completed, 270 were at Slaughter, 55 at Wasson, 45 at Mascho and 31 at North Cowden. As of Dec. 31, 1943, there were 361 drilling wells including 71 wildcat and 290 field wells; 19.7 per cent were wildcats. It is anticipated that the percentage of wildcats of the total wells will be higher during 1944 than in either 1942 or 1943. Tables 3 and 4 present a three-year comparison of drilling activity and illustrate the downward trend of development that has been in effect during that time. Because of development lag in the deeper Ordovician fields, several years elapse before 2 sufficient number of wells is completed to give a substantial producing rate. As these new oil reserves cost more to find, and will cost more to produce on a barrel basis than the oil marketed during the year, their reserve replacement value to the industry is less in money. Costs While complete costs for deeper drilling are not yet available for analysis, it is evi- dent from the data on drilling rates to comparable depths, contract prices, and general increases in costs, that the cost of drilling has risen approximately 20 per cent during the year. One representative drilling contractor estimates that the average drilling time on a 5000-ft. field well has increased nearly one third and that out-of-pocket costs have increased a dollar per foot. Three major factors contribute to this increased cost: (I) less experienced labor, (2) deterioration in mechanical equipment and expendable material, and (3) increased contract prices. In the past, when there were more drilling rigs than wells to be drilled, some contractors would cut their drilling profit to keep their personnel and rigs working. As this practice is no longer necessary, the contract prices are adjusted upward to assure a profit. On deep and difficult drilling, contracts are let on a cost plus basis. A number of mechanical difficulties have become evident. Inferior quality of steel used in drill pipe and rock bits has added appreciably to drilling time and cost. Contractors are experiencing delay in obtaining repair work and repair parts for prime movers. As the length of drilling time required an shallow-field wells has not increased in proportion to that on deeper wells, it seems that the medium-sized drilling rig is better adapted mechanically than the heavy one to the work imposed. One of the main deficiencies in the heavy rig equipment is inadequate pump capacity. Drilling Mud The increasing amount of deep drilling has emphasized the importance and relationship of good mud to efficient and suc-

Jan 1, 1944

By Robert S. Dewey

AS a result of drilling operations during 1943, West Texas again added sufficient new oil reserves to replace the oil produced during the year, but failed to maintain its position in currently available reserves because the deeper discoveries will require years for development. Drilling failed to provide the additional oil necessary to meet the increase in current and anticipated market demand. Although 13.3 per cent of the total footage drilled was in wildcat exploration, the ratio of oil discoveries to total wildcats was less in 1943 than in 1942, but comparable to that in 1941. Of the 732 field wells completed, 270 were at Slaughter, 55 at Wasson, 45 at Mascho and 31 at North Cowden. As of Dec. 31, 1943, there were 361 drilling wells including 71 wildcat and 290 field wells; 19.7 per cent were wildcats. It is anticipated that the percentage of wildcats of the total wells will be higher during 1944 than in either 1942 or 1943. Tables 3 and 4 present a three-year comparison of drilling activity and illustrate the downward trend of development that has been in effect during that time. Because of development lag in the deeper Ordovician fields, several years elapse before 2 sufficient number of wells is completed to give a substantial producing rate. As these new oil reserves cost more to find, and will cost more to produce on a barrel basis than the oil marketed during the year, their reserve replacement value to the industry is less in money. Costs While complete costs for deeper drilling are not yet available for analysis, it is evi- dent from the data on drilling rates to comparable depths, contract prices, and general increases in costs, that the cost of drilling has risen approximately 20 per cent during the year. One representative drilling contractor estimates that the average drilling time on a 5000-ft. field well has increased nearly one third and that out-of-pocket costs have increased a dollar per foot. Three major factors contribute to this increased cost: (I) less experienced labor, (2) deterioration in mechanical equipment and expendable material, and (3) increased contract prices. In the past, when there were more drilling rigs than wells to be drilled, some contractors would cut their drilling profit to keep their personnel and rigs working. As this practice is no longer necessary, the contract prices are adjusted upward to assure a profit. On deep and difficult drilling, contracts are let on a cost plus basis. A number of mechanical difficulties have become evident. Inferior quality of steel used in drill pipe and rock bits has added appreciably to drilling time and cost. Contractors are experiencing delay in obtaining repair work and repair parts for prime movers. As the length of drilling time required an shallow-field wells has not increased in proportion to that on deeper wells, it seems that the medium-sized drilling rig is better adapted mechanically than the heavy one to the work imposed. One of the main deficiencies in the heavy rig equipment is inadequate pump capacity. Drilling Mud The increasing amount of deep drilling has emphasized the importance and relationship of good mud to efficient and suc-

Jan 1, 1944

By Hugh S. Spence

IN MAY, 1930, G. LaBine and E. C. St. Paul, prospect¬ing round the southeastern shore of Great Bear Lake, in the North West Territories of Canada, discovered pitchblende at what is now LaBine Point. At the same time, they also found native silver in a small sheared break on an island lying off the point. Late in 1930, samples of the pitchblende were sent to the Mines Branch, at Ottawa. The material consisted of several fair-sized slabs of botryoidal pitchblende banded with a brownish quartz. A small amount of chalcopyrite was visible as small particles and fine veinlets, and the pieces were rather heavily stained a yellowish-green by secondary copper-uranium salts. Analyses were run in the Mines Branch Ore Dressing Laboratories on two samples, and small-scale concentration tests were made on one of them. The results of this work were published in a Memorandum Series report (No. 48) of the Mines Branch, in March, 1931.

Jan 1, 1932

By Ingvar Janelid

DURING the last ten years, in the effort to save manpower and costs, methods of drilling and blasting in Sweden have changed and developed in a revolutionary manner. These developments have been accompanied by extensive alterations in methods of tunneling and in mining technique. Since the end of the 1940&apos;s there has been a 100 pct change-over in Sweden to the use of tungsten carbide tipped drill steel. Both investigations and practical results have shown clearly that a tungsten carbide chisel bit fastened directly on the drill steel is the most economical for Swedish conditions. This applies to drill steel up to the longest size it is practical to handle. In terms of drilling footage, durability of the drill steel and the tungsten carbide bit is generally the same. In this respect, therefore, a detachable bit offers no advantage over integral steel. Transportation of integral steel to the grinding plant, instead of detachable bits only, involves heavier work, but this is counteracted by placing grinding plants closer together or by grinding at the working place itself. The drilling rate with integral steel is higher, the trouble of changing bits is avoided, and the difficulties which always arise with joints are eliminated. At present steel dimensions are usually 7/8 in. with a shank 41/4 in. long, whereas the international standard shank was formerly 31/4 in. The longer shank renders possible a better guide control of the steel and consequently longer life for the rotation chuck and the water-flushing pipe. After extensive experiments and investigations, agreement has been reached in Sweden on certain series of standards, shown in Table I. Other steel dimensions are, of course, available for special purposes. The standard drill-steel set begins with a 34-mm diam and has a length interval of 2 2/3 ft. On the other hand, for ordinary drifting it has been proved more economical to use greater length intervals on the steel, so only one steel change is required for a 61/2-ft round. Moreover, owing to the relatively close hole spacing necessary in a drift round, it has been possible to reduce the diameters of the tungsten carbide bits. This results in faster and cheaper drilling. As shown by the table, the lengths of drill steels for normal drifting are 33/4 ft and 71/2 ft, with 29 and 28-mm diam bits. During the last few years operators have begun to use 3/4-in. drill steel in place of the 7/8-in. drill steel chiefly employed earlier. This is a valuable development in drilling technique, particularly in view of

Jan 1, 1955