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THE great subject of interest in American affairs during February was the consideration of the proposed soldier bonus. This proposal was based upon the idea that, because most of the workers of the United States had enjoyed high wages during war, the soldiers were entitled to "adjusted compensa-tion" in order to equalize things. It overlooked the fact that the soldiers, themselves, had the opportunity to enjoy high wages in 1919 and 1920, when rates were highest. Apart from this, the whole project was founded on fallacies and involved what would be nothing less than economic crime. Although it looked as if the measure were destined to be railroaded through Congress, so great a storm of protest was pelted upon Congress that the present outlook is that the whole project will be abandoned. There was probably some increase in the physical volume of business during February. A rise in prices for agricultural products assisted the farmers mate-rially. These developments, however, are not to be construed as presaging any general upward movement. On the contrary, the current year is to be contem-plated as one of serious labor troubles, following inevit-able reductions of wages. These began in February in the form of an extensive strike in the cotton textile industry of New England, accompanied by some rioting in Rhode Island. The coal miners have had numerous conferences, without coming to any encouraging results, and the stage appears to be fully set for a general strike beginning Apr. 1. About the only question now is whether this will comprise both the bituminous and anthracite miners. If the latter refuse to go out, no serious shortage of coal is anticipated, the belief being that the existing stocks together with the output of the non-union mines will supply the demand, which is sub-normal even now. In the metal industries, lead and zinc were dull but stable. The weakening tendency in iron and steel that was manifest during January appeared to be checked, at least temporarily. Copper was charac-terized by a distinct weakness and a considerable decline in the market. This downward movement was inspired by the news during January that several of the important mining companies were taking steps to resume production. During February the demand for copper, both foreign and domestic, was poor.

Jan 3, 1922

THE strike of the coal miners began on April 1, as had been expected, the entire force of unionized miners-both anthracite and bituminous-going out and making this the most widespread strike of record. Up to the present writing there has been no serious inconvenience to industry in general, the accu-mulated stocks of coal being large and the non-union mines having continued to make a substantial production. However, the union labor leaders, having concentrated their efforts toward inducing the non-union miners to go out also, met with some measure of success in certain fields and created a shortage of coking coal, which caused iron makers to bank a few furnaces. The strike of textile workers in New England spread further. Here and there, throughout the country there were sporadic troubles with the builders. Rail-way labor was the subject of continued palavers, which did not get anywhere. On the whole the events of April were in line with the forecast that this would be a year of labor troubles. In domestic politics, the soldier bonus bill, having been passed by the House, went to committee consider-ation in the Senate. Public opposition to it manifestly waxed. On the floor of the Senate the tariff bill was under consideration and is drawing nigh to passage, without there being much consideration of its probable economic consequences. It is going to be a very high tariff and there is much in it that is equivalent to subsidizing small and normally unprofitable industries at the expense of the people as a whole. Abroad affairs were more quiet, superficially at least; than they were in March. In Egypt, India and South Africa things calmed, down, so far as we know, but in Ireland there was continued turmoil. The Irish, having won their freedom to the same degree as the Canadians, have entered upon violent quarrels among themselves, more over phrases than anything .else, so far as we can see. Lloyd George obtained a spectacular vote of confidence from Parliament and thus postponed, the exigency of a general election.

Jan 5, 1922

ON JUNE 7 the German Government handed to the French and Belgians a new proposal for reparations, which offered 1,200,000,000 gold marks annually, to be guaranteed as to 500,000,000 by a mortgage on the national railways, as to another 500,000,000 by a mortgage on industry, commerce, land and factories, and as to 200,000,000 by a luxury tax. The number of years for which this payment should run to be left to settlement by an international conference. This offer was taken under consideration by the French and Belgians, who instituted conversa-tions with the British in the hope of arriving, at some joint action with respect to the Germans. Up to the end of June nothing had been determined. In the meanwhile, the continued French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr seemed to develop a condition of guerilla warfare, considerable bloodshed occurring throughout the region. The second Lausanne Conference dragged on, the Allies being apparently unable to take any firm, joint stand, while the Turks increased their importunities and managed to get concession after concession. Early in June a revolution occurred in Bulgaria, the previous Government under Premier Stambulisky, based on the agrarian party, being forcibly thrown out by a bourgeois and military combination. This pro-duced considerable disorder in Bulgaria, outside of which country the nature and purpose of the revolution does not appear to be well understood. Stambulisky's partisans offered feeble, isolated resistance to the revolu-tion; in connection with which there was some blood-shed and Stambulisky himself was reported killed, although this was later contradicted. Professor Zan-kof, the new Premier, issued a statement, that the change of the Government was the result of discontent, that the foreign policy of the new Government would be peaceful, and that Bulgaria would continue to fulfill her international obligations, particularly the treaty of Neuilly. It was the opinion of London that the immu-nity from taxation enjoyed by the farmers under the agrarian regime is likely to he superseded by more equi-table taxation, and in general that the bourgeoisie will be better administrators of the public affairs In domestic affairs industrial activity continued at a high rate, but there was distinct relaxation in the demand for raw materials, and also in some manufac-tured goods. During June there were reductions of prices by many of the automobile tire manufacturers. There seemed to be also further contraction in the demand for automobiles.

Jan 6, 1923

AUGUST began with a reminder that warfare was still in progress in the world, in that the Greeks, still at war with Turkey, threatened Constantinople in spite of the small British and French forces of occupation and opened a vista of international dangers. There was in this, moreover, a recollection that religious questions in India had prevented the British from permitting a real settlement of the Turkish question, wherein the absence of Russia as a great power is missed. Civil warfare also continued in Ireland and China. Even in the military way the world is far from being at peace. Bloody fighting between the Fascisti (anti-communists) and the com-munists in Italy led to several provinces being put under martial law, but after a while these disturbances were quelled. In the latter part of the month the assassination of Michael Collins in Ireland produced a great shock. From China, however, there came rather favorable news, indicating the early reintegration of that country, which sooner or later ought to play an important part in world affairs. Economically, instead of there being any improve-ment, there grew a clearer perception of how bad things really are. Italian politics were in chaos through inability to find anyone to accept the premiership and assume the all but hopeless task of averting national bankruptcy. The French, too, began to see their own position in true colors, and especially to see how in reconstruction they had incurred debts on the strength of what they hoped to collect from Germany, with at last the understanding that the Germans could not pay and that France herself was thereby put in a desper-ate economic position. As for the Germans, them-selves their Reichsbank defaulted on ordinary bills early in August. As the month wore on the value of marks fell more and more and at the end it appeared that Germany was on the verge of economic collapse. On Aug. 7, another international conference (with America again absent) was assembled in London, this being the thirteenth since the war, and there was a general feeling that it would be the last. The prime question was what is to be done about the German reparations, but underlying was the whole subject of the entente. The conference opened like a meeting of importunate creditors, doubtful whether the debtor had any tangible assets. On Aug. 14 this conference broke up without coming to any useful conclusion. Indeed, the acrimony among the premiers was so sharp that even the entente between Great Britain and France was endangered. The international situation was saved only by the Reparations Commission excusing the Germans from the payment of 50,000,000 gold marks that come due on Aug. 15 But although the entente was nominally preserved there is no longer any illusion about the interests of Great Britain and France being different and that henceforth they will play their own hands. The London conference was really an effort to maintain the partnership, and it failed.

Jan 9, 1922

IN international affairs, the great event of June was the meeting of representative bankers at Paris -for consideration of the arrangement of a large loan to Germany. The conference dissolved in futility. Following this abortive conference, the delegates to the parley at the Hague assembled there on June 15. America is not represented at the Hague, any more than at Genoa. The British view the conference seriously and have Leslie Urquhart, the highest authority on Russia, attending in an official capacity. The Irish had their election and voted by strong majority in favor of the treaty with Great Britain, which was happy, but the general situation in Ireland is miserable. In China there were spectacular military and political events. Economically, Japan was in trouble. Conditions are becoming better in India, although no yet settled. Egypt has troubles still. Australia has a better chance for welfare, following the overthrow of its labor govern-ment early in April last. In Europe it is hard to discern any improvement except in Great Britain. Business in Great Britain has been slowly widening. The future of Great Britain, which is chiefly an in-dustrial country, depends on finding employment for its, 1,750,000 idle men. Personalities figured largely in June. Lenin's health was represented as having failed so that the govern-ment of Russia has had to be-turned over to a trium-virate. All of this has been denied. It is clear that some. mighty events are transpiring there. The assassination of Doctor Rathenau in Germany is probably also an occurrence of portent. The murder of Field Marshal Wilson, in London, tended to in-crease anger in England against the Irish. In the United. States the attention of Congress was concentrated on the soldier bonus, the tariff bill and the subsidy for shipping. All of these projects are economically bad and are of the same nature, viz., the allotment of a bounty to some classes of people, without consideration to the general national interest and welfare.

Jan 7, 1922

APRIL BEGAN with increased disorder in the Ruhr and some blood-shed. The war cloud in the East disappeared, however, with the signifi- cance by the Turks of their intention to return to Lausanne to negotiate a treaty of peace with the Allies. The French occupation of the Ruhr continued during April without there being any spectacular develop-ments. Of course there was surliness on the part of the Germans. In the meanwhile the statesmen on both sides were intimating what they might give and what they might take, sounding the sentiment of their respective populaces. The British Government found that its revenue for the last fiscal year has been greatly in excess of expenses. The surplus was applied to reduction of the debt. A consequence of this development has been a reduction in British taxes for the ensuing year, which has naturally created a much better feeling in Great Britain. On the other hand the unemployment situation in Great Britain caused increasing alarm. At the begin-ning of April about 1,500,000 men were out of work and the thought was developing that this might be not merely a temporary emergency, but a long continuing condition. The uneasiness of the workers themselves began to be exhibited in increasing strikes and threats of strikes. There were important domestic events during April. The six miners who were on trial in Illinois for the Herrin massacre were acquitted, following which the State dropped further prosecutions on the ground that Williamson County is so thoroughly under labor domina-tion that justice could not be had there. The Supreme Court of the United States on Apr. 10 handed down a decision that an act of Congress fixing minimum wages for women in the District of Columbia was unconstitu-tional, being interference with the freedom of contract included within the guarantees of the fifth amendment. Advances of wages became more general during April. The leading event under this head was the action of the United Steel Corporation putting into effect an.11 per cent. increase in the wages of common labor on Apr. 16, by virtue of which the rate per hour was raised from 36 c. to 40 c. This was dictated by competitive conditions, the labor difficulties of the steel industry being due less to a scarcity of men than their disinclination to take jobs in that industry while the building and other industries were paying as high as 60 c. per hour for similar work.

Jan 5, 1923

AN earthquake caused an upheaval in Japan, started fires which destroyed large parts of Tokio, Yokohama and Hakone, and with tidal waves and other consequences extinguished some 68,000 lives and much property right at the beginning of September." Also on Sept. 1, the Italians, offended by the murder of members of the Albanian frontier commission by Greeks, occupied the Island of Corfu, which was viewed as an act of war by Italy against Greece. An appeal by the Greeks to the League of Nations was flouted by the Italians. One of the consequences of these affairs was to throw discredit upon the League of Nations and to excite doubts whether it would be able to survive. On Sept. 19, Greece made the formal apology to the Allies collectively and following that the Italians with-drew from Corfu. During this month also the embroilment between Italy and Jugoslavia over the matter of Fiume came again into prominence. In Bulgaria there was a communist uprising which was promptly put down by the government. The whole country was put under martial law. On Sept. 13 there began a military revolution at Barcelona, in Spain. On Sept. 14 the king of Spain accepted the revolution and charged the leader with the formation of a new government. Cosgrave was reelected president of the Irish Free State, without there being any disorder. Great Britain paid the remainder of her silver debt to the United States, thus writing finis to the Pitman Act. The position of Germany went from bad to worse during September. The mark has become valueless and the business that is being conducted is largely on a gold basis once more, in terms of dollars and pounds sterling. Chancellor Stresseman announced Sept. 24 that the German government had decided to abandon pas-sive resistance to the French and Belgians immediately and unconditionally.

Jan 10, 1923

AT THE beginning of November, Mussolini had firmly established himself at the head of the Italian Government. He himself referred to the ascendancy of the Fascisti as the result of a revo-lution and bluntly informed Parliament that it was to vote, as a matter of form, as he ordered, or else be dissolved. One of the great consequences of these events in Italy was the impetus that they gave to simi-lar movements in other countries of Continental Europe. Another great event of the month in world affairs was the repudiation by the Turks of the Mudania agreement and their notification to the Allies that the latter must evacuate Constantinople and allow the Dardanelles to be closed. This had the effect of once more consolidating Great Britain, France and Italy in so far as this question is concerned, and there was prompt refusal to accede to the demands of the Turks. With the advent of November, both the United States and Great Britain were in- the throes of political contests. The result of the American election was a landslide against the administration and especially was it an expression of agrarian discontent and a declara-tion in effect that our domestic affairs are not good in spite of political representations that they are. In Great Britain, the Conservatives were put in power by a substantial majority in Parliament, but the fact that the Labor party became numerically the second party instead of the Liberals and that it polled about 40 per cent. of the total popular vote affords ground for misgivings, especially when it be considered that the Labor party was standing on distinctly socialis-tic and communistic principles. In Russia, there was a sitting of the Third Interna-tionale, to which Lenin in a speech made a quasi-confession of the failure of the communistic experiment in Russia. He admitted, moreover, that Russia could not industrially reconstruct herself without capitalistic help. Nationally the country is making progress. During November, the Far Eastern Repub-lic surrendered to the Soviet, which thus carried Russia back to the shore of the Pacific.

Jan 12, 1922

AT THE beginning of February the British Government announced acceptance of the American terms for funding the war debt, the main features-being as follows: Interest rate of 3 per cent. for the first 10 years and then 3 ½ per cent. up to the final extinguishment of the debt at the end of 62 years. The interest from the time since the loans were made to the actual beginning of the funding arrangement to be recomputed at 4 1/4 per cent. instead of the 5 per cent. rate now in effect. Congress ratified the contract respecting the British debt. The ship subsidy bill was relegated to the rear, which is indeed an end to the project. The natural consequence of this will be a liquidation of the Govern-ment's shipping business. The joint committee on the reorganization of Govern-ment departments made its report to the President. In general this seems to offer a well-considered plan for the coordination of Government service. The pro-posals respecting the bureaus that are particularly associated with the mining industry may be subject to criticism. According to the committee's plan, the Geological Survey remains in the Department of the Interior, but the Bureau of Mines and the compilation of the statistics of mineral production are transferred to the Department of Commerce. The Lausanne conference among the European powers came to an end early in February, without any treaty having been signed, owing to the refusal of the Turks to accept the ultimatum of the Allies. Theoreti-cally this left conditions in a state-of war between the Allies and Turkey. However, no actual movements have resulted. The French and Belgians continued to hold the Ruhr district of Westphalia, extending their lines and administration of the region. The Germans adhered to the policy of passive resistance. In the Parliament of Great Britain the French and Belgian policy was plainly declared to be unwise and dangerous. French and Belgian industries, moreover, were troubled by strikes among their own coal miners for higher wages. The Poles and Lithuanians engaged in border war-fare;. the civil war in Ireland continued. The rest of the world was quiet insofar as military operations are concerned.

Jan 2, 1923

By Stewart B. Nelson

With the pending U.S. ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the subject was raised as to the Convention's potential impact on U.S. ocean science. The Ocean Studies Board (National Academy of Sciences) elected to convene a two-day workshop in October 1995 to consider the potential impacts and to determine whether or not they warranted a more formal and intensive study. A review of the workshop discussions and deliberations concerning the matter of UNCLOS and U.S. ocean science will be presented.

Jan 1, 1996

By J. R. Johanson, A. W. Jenike

"A solid flows out of a bin provided that the outlet is sufficiently large so that stable obstructions to flow do not develop. The geometry and surface finish of a bin and the construction of the feeder determine the type of flow pattern which then develops within the bin. The pattern, in turn, affects the uniformity and consistency of the stream, segregation, caking, degradation, live capacity and the action of level measuring devices.In most bins now in operation, material flows toward the feeder through a channel which forms within the stationary solid. This is referred to as funnel flow. If the hopper of the bin is sufficiently steep and smooth and the feeder capable of drawing material across the whole area of the outlet, all the solid flows whenever the feeder is in operation; this is referred to as mass flow. Mass-flow bins are usually far superior to funnel-flow bins; their initial cost is also usually higher.The paper describes the design criteria used in deter-mining the minimum bin outlet needed for flow and the bin geometry needed for mass flow."

Jan 1, 1970

By M. Gericke

Over the past few decades the commercial application of heap bioleaching technology for the extraction of base metals has become increasingly important, due mainly to the depletion of high-grade ore reserves. Heap bioleaching is widely used for the extraction of copper from secondary copper sulphide ores. The design and engineering aspects of the process have received considerable attention, but issues related to the microbiology of the process have been subjected to less rigorous scrutiny. The major role of micro-organisms in bioleaching processes is to catalyse the regeneration of ferric iron and protons, from ferrous iron and by sulphur oxidation respectively. It is accepted that even the most carefully engineered heaps are heterogeneous in terms of temperature, pH, the presence of anaerobic pockets, irrigation efficiency, and dissolved solutes. Since interactions between solution chemistry, mineralogy, and microbial populations exist in heaps, a better understanding of the correlation between microbial numbers and types with changes in these chemical and physical profiles with time would be beneficial during process design and operation of heaps, and could result in faster start-up times and higher metal recoveries. This paper reviews the role of microbiology in heap bioleaching processes. Aspects such as microbial diversity, identification and monitoring of cultures, inoculation strategies, colonization behaviour, and tolerance to metals and salts are discussed, and the potential contribution of the knowledge to the improvement of the operation and design of heap bioleach processes assessed. Conclusions are drawn with respect to the role of genetic engineering, heap inoculation practises, and remaining areas for future heap bioleaching research and development.

Jan 1, 2012

By Jean Rainville

Gold was first discovered in the central region of French Guiana in the mid 1860's. Production was based strictly from placer mining of the various rivers in the region. At the moment, a number of companies are actively engaged in hard rock gold exploration, concentrated in the northern and central regions of the country. The Franc-Or/BRGM joint venture in the Sophie-Repentir region of Central French Guiana offers an exceptional opportu­nity for the discovery of one or more million-plus ounce deposits of gold owing to a highly favorable structural setting in Precam­brian greenstones that host several known vein gold occurrences, some of which appear to occur near the border of a potassic granitoid intrusion. At this point in time, based mostly on predecessors' work, mineable reserves could be estimated to be in the 500,000 ounces range over the length of the property. The exploration campaign under way has the objective to delineate probable reserves of at least 2 million ounces that could be mined by open pit mining methods in the area. The program should be completed in the next 18-24 months. In order to efficiently and effectively evaluate this very large property area, all of the necessary camp, mechanical and drilling equipment has been purchased and is being transported to the property. Most of that equipment was purchased in Canada. The first drill target is the Repentir sector because of its access and the amount of detailed work that has been done by BRGM on that concession, but geological evidence suggests that many areas on the property could offer even more potential.

Jan 1, 1995

By Stanley A. Bunk, Desmond J. Bruyns

The purpose of roasting gold ores is to release for extraction, typically by cyanidation, the small particles of gold which are surrounded by refractory stone. The roasting simply opens up passages for the penetration of solution into the interior of the ore particles. This is accomplished by the removal by volatilization or formation of volatile oxides of certain constituents such as sulfur, arsenic or antimony. Temperature is an important parameter. High temperatures tend to form a dense iron particle rather than a "spongy" calcine. The dense iron particles result in lower gold recoveries. High temperature can cause melting of some components which also results in gold encapsulation. Roasting of refractory gold ore concentrates has been practiced for decades. Multiple hearth, rotary kiln and muffle reactors were first used for roasting. Fluid bed roasting provided a low capital cost, low maintenance technology with better process control and soon became the favored technology. The first fluid bed concentrate roasters were commissioned in the late 1940's. Early fluid beds were "bubbling" type. Environmental considerations did not significantly impact on the design. Feedstocks were highly exothermic and reaction rates were relatively rapid. Roasting today must compete with other technologies for treatment of refractory ores. Ore bodies which are not

Jan 1, 1993

By D. C. Lynch

While a sizable amount of data exist as to the activity and distribution of minor elements between matte and metal, there has been no unifying theory presented delineating the form of dissolution of these elements in molten sulfides. In order to alleviate that deficiency the literature concerning the behavior of As, Sb, Bi and Pb in mattes is reviewed. Models present in the literature, regarding the thermochemical behavior of minor elements, are tested, and new models are presented and evaluated using thermodynamic theory. The results of those analyses are used to predict optimum conditions for the volatilization of minor elements. The dearth of data on the behavior of minor elements in nickel mattes requires that this review focus on copper- iron mattes. An effort is made, however, to utilize basic knowledge regarding nickel sulfides and the interaction of nickel with the minor elements to predict the behavior of those elements in nickel-copper and nickel-iron mattes.

Jan 1, 1993

By Mark E. Schlesinger

A substantial database exists for the thermodynamic properties of many antimonide compounds, but these have rarely been compiled or critically discussed. An abbreviated version of a full?scale review of the thermodynamic properties of binary antimonide compounds is presented, focusing on the choice of experimental techniques.

Jan 1, 2006

By Robert F. Mehl

METALLURGISTS are properly interested in papers dealing with subjects ranging from the theories of the metallic state to very practical details on the use of metals. A review of theoretical metallurgy naturally excludes papers concerned with the usefulness of metals and limits itself to those concerned purely with the science of metals. Even in this more limited field the reviewer is confronted with thousands of papers dealing with facts and theories of metallic behavior, from which he can select only a few hundred. The selection is necessarily highly arbitrary. Certain classes of papers definitely fall within the scope of this review. Thus, papers on the deformation of metals, on the structure of alloys, on recrystallization, to select only a few, are fully represented. Other subjects, which verge on what is generally accepted as the science of metals, such as the magnetic properties of metals, the less familiar electrical properties and theories, adsorption of gases by metal surfaces, and the like, are treated scantily. Particular attention is given to reviews of subjects that fall with in the groups chosen; in a summary such as this, which is largely in the nature of a progress report, capably written reviews are of importance, particularly since the monograph and text book literature is so meager in this field. THEORIES OF STATES OF AGGREGATION The electron theory of metals and the relation between possible electron structure and the magnetic properties have been discussed (317.307)† the electron theory of liquid metals, especially with respect to electrical conductivity, has been considered(306).

Jan 1, 1935

By Robert Mehl

METALLURGISTS are properly interested in papers dealing with subjects ranging from the theories of the metallic state to very practical details on the use of metals. A review of theoretical metallurgy naturally excludes papers concerned with the usefulness of metals and limits itself to those concerned purely with the science of metals. Even in this more limited field the reviewer is confronted with thousands of papers dealing with facts and theories of metallic behavior, from which he can select only a few hundred. The selection is necessarily highly arbitrary. Certain classes of papers definitely fall within the scope of this review. Thus, papers on the deformation of metals, on the structure of alloys, on recrystallization, to select only a few, are fully represented. Other subjects, which verge on what is generally accepted as the science of metals, such as the magnetic properties of metals, the less familiar electrical properties and theories, adsorption of gases by metal surfaces, and the like, are treated scantily. Particular attention is given to reviews of subjects that fall with in the groups chosen; in a summary such as this, which is largely in the nature of a progress report, capably written reviews are of importance, particularly since the monograph and text book literature is so meager in this field.

Jan 1, 1935

By Robert Mehl

METALLURGISTS are properly interested in papers dealing with subjects ranging from the theories of the metallic state to very practical details on the use of metals. A review of theoretical metallurgy naturally excludes papers concerned with the usefulness of metals and limits itself to those concerned purely with the science of metals. Even in this more limited field the reviewer is confronted with thousands of papers dealing with facts and theories of metallic behavior, from which he can select only a few hundred. The selection is necessarily highly arbitrary. Certain classes of papers definitely fall within the scope of this review. Thus, papers on the deformation of metals, on the structure of alloys, on recrystallization, to select only a few, are fully represented. Other subjects, which verge on what is generally accepted as the science of metals, such as the magnetic properties of metals, the less familiar electrical properties and theories, adsorption of gases by metal surfaces, and the like, are treated scantily. Particular attention is given to reviews of subjects that fall with in the groups chosen; in a summary such as this, which is largely in the nature of a progress report, capably written reviews are of importance, particularly since the monograph and text book literature is so meager in this field.

Jan 1, 1935

By A. Ersoy, M. D. Waller

Because of a shortage of diamonds for the drilling industry in the 1970s, efforts were made to develop synthetic diamonds. The resulting development of polycrystalline diamond compacts (PDC) enabled the evolution of a new generation of rotary-drilling drag bits. Bits based on PDC cutters were very successful in drilling soft, abrasive and medium strength rocks. However, because of their thermal instability, they failed rapidly when drilling hard rocks. Thermally stable diamond (TSD) was then developed for hard-rock drilling. The rate of penetration (ROP) and bit life significantly influence the drilling cost. The ROP and the life of the TSD bits or cutters are affected by a number of complex factors. However, in laboratory testing and infield operations, the principal factors that need to be considered in predicting drilling and wear rates are bit design characteristics, bit operating parameters and the characteristics of the penetrated rock. These characteristics are comprehensively reviewed for both laboratory and field drilling results using TSD bits. Optimization of these parameters increases the drilling rate, prolongs the bit life and reduces the drilling cost.

Jan 1, 1998