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By Edward Sampson, Allan B. Griggs

Surveying of many holes drilled by the U. S. Bureau of Mines in the Metaline district has shown surprising deviations. The holes start in the Ledbetter slate (Ordovician) and pass into the underlying gently dipping Metaline limestone (Cambrian) at varying depths, locally in excess of 1000 it. All holes start vertical, but one had deflected as much as 35° at a depth of only 300 it. One hole was found to be deflected 70' at a depth of 1000 ft. These deviations were not indicated to the drillers by any action of the rods or machines. Analysis of the survey data in the light of the observed geology indicates that the holes deviate most in the Ledbetter slate and scarcely at all in the Metaline limestone. The upper part of the "limestone'" in most holes is a massive rock strongly altered by hydrothermal action and essentially homogeneous. The slate is only obscurely bedded but has a cleavage, varying from slight to strong, which is unrelated to bedding. Drill holes have deflected to become nearly perpendicular to the cleavage. Several plans and cross sections are submitted showing the behavior of various holes. Introduction The Metaline district of northeastern Washington has received much attention recently and has promise of becoming even more important as a source of zinc than at present. Exploration has been conducted largely by deep diamond drilling, and in the course of this work it was found that holes became seriously deflected. This paper deals with the nature and causes of these deflections. The district lies along the Pend Oreille River in the northeastern corner of Washington, about loo miles north of Spokane, 9 miles from British Columbia, and 15 miles from Idaho. Three mines are now in operation and for a number of years have furnished a considerable production of zinc and lead. The ore contains zinc and lead in a ratio of about 31/2 to I, and occurs in the upper part of the Metaline limestone of Cambrian age, the upper member of which, where unaltered, is a rather pure limestone. This is overlain by Ledbetter slate of Ordovician age. Ore has formed by replacement of limestone, commonly 100 to 200 ft. below the slate, in areas of gentle dip, resulting in extensive tabular ore bodies. In and near ore, limestone has been intensely altered to granular dolomite and fine-grained quartz, which, where it predominates, forms "jasperoid." As part of their war program, the Geological survey and Bureau of Mines of the U. S. Department of Interior have been cooperating in an investigation of the district. The exploration by the Bureau of Mines in 1943 and 1944 was conducted largely by deep diamond drilling in which as much as 1000 ft. or more of Ledbetter slate was penetrated before the ore-bearing Metalin-2 limestone was reached. During the course of this drilling it was found that holes were seriously deflected while traversing the Ledbetter slate.

Jan 1, 1949

By J. A. Herdlick

The Star mine, near Neihart, Cascade County, Mont., has been in continuous operation since the construction of a 50-ton bulk flotation mill in 1939. The mine was examined by G. N. Bennett, an engineer of the Bureau of Mines, in November 1942. At that time the life of the operation appeared to be limited and a program of crosscutting and core drilling were recommended. The program had as its objective the investigation of a promising undeveloped area lying west of the Star vein and, if possible, the development of enough reserves in this area to insure continuous operation during the war emergency. Development of additional reserves would then justify necessary changes in the mill in order to eliminate the heavy penalties imposed for excess zinc in the bulk concentrates. The Bureau of Mines work began in February 1944 and was completed in September 1944. The project was started by Wilder R. Brinton and continued by Thomas W. Oster, mining engineers in the Bureau's Montana district office. Beneficiation tests on are and concentrates were made after completion of the underground work. This report presents the factual data obtained during all phases of the Bureau's investigation.

Jan 1, 1949

By T. N. McVay, E. E. Creitz

Rather large amounts of titanium minerals and some zircon and monazite are being recovered from dune sands about I. miles west of Jacksonville Beach, Fla. The Mining Branch of the Bureau of Mines, Southern Experiment station, has been interested in developing additional large deposits of similar sands in other areas of Florida. The results of a field study have been published1 concerning the sands occurring on Trail Ridge which runs north and south about 30 miles southwest of Jacksonville. This investigation was undertaken in order to identify the opaque titanium minerals occurring in Trail Ridge and because of the economic importance of Florida titanium minerals. Nature of the Problem The minerals present in the heavy fractions (sp gr > 2.94) of the sands are principally opaque minerals; staurolite, zircon, sillimanite, tourmaline, kyanite, rutile, a small amount of corundum, traces of the zinc spinel gahnite and garnet. Epidote, monazite, hornblende and ti-tanite are present in other dune sands but these minerals were not noted in the samples collected on Trail Ridge. All of the minerals except those which are opaque can be readily identified by the usual petrographic methods. However, Opaque minerals cannot be examined satisfactorily by transmitted light. Polished sections of the opaque-mineral grains were examined but these sections did not furnish useful information. Consequently, it was necessary to use means other than the usual petrographic methods to identify them. Previous Investigations of Heavy Minerals in Florida Sands Martens2 has described the heavy minerals in the Florida beach sands and has classified the opaque minerals as ilmenite with minor amounts of leucoxene. Miller3 studied a number of sands collected by Ross and Mertie in Florida. He states that the material from the Florida beach and dune sands that commonly has been called ilmenite has essentially the chemical composition of the material that has been called arizonite.4 The x ray diffraction patterns of several samples indicated that the supposed ilmenite is essentially amorphous, with only weak lines corresponding to ilmenite, and hence the material is unlike the type of arizonite from Arizona. Opaque Titanium Minerals Rutile is essentially titanium dioxide. However, as pointed out by Dana,5 important amounts of Fe+2 and Fe+3 as well as Cb and Ta are reported in some analyses.

Jan 1, 1949

By J. W. Galpin, V. L. Minear, W. D. Owsley, F. C. Sturges, B. H. Mott, R. H. Allen, W. W. Weigel, R. E. Moeller

By definition the word "grout" means a thin mortar, or a kind of plaster or cement, and "grouting" means to fill up or finish with grout. The words "cement," "plaster" and "mortar" mean a substance that is used in a soft state which subsequently hardens. Thus, grouting is the filling of void space with a substance that hardens. Construction cements are the most common substances used, either by themselves or in mixtures, but the term grouting is applied quite correctly when other substances such as plastics and certain chemicals are used. Also, the use of the term grouting to cover the filling of voids with materials that do not actually become hard, such as the flotation tailings used in grouting in the southeast Missouri lead district, should be considered correct, as some stiffening does take place and, anyway, it is a better descriptive term than any substitute. Engineers are interested in grouting because some of the materials with which they must work contain voids, and certain conditions can be improved if these voids can be filled with something solid and permanent. Grouting is done to accomplish several purposes: I. To stop the passage of fluids and gases, 2. To cement materials together to make them stronger, and 3. To prevent consolidation of materials by filling void space with something solid as a replacement for the air and water that could be forced out under load. The construction industry uses grouting extensively for all three purposes. Grouting is used to stop water percolation under and around dams. It is used to control water flow in tunnel driving and in shaft sinking. It is used to improve foundation conditions under civil engineering structures by permanently filling void space and thereby reducing settlement, or by cementing broken rock together and increasing its supporting strength. The oil and gas industry does a lot of grouting, primarily to stop the passage of gases and fluids. The search for oil at increasingly greater depths has meant greater investment per well, and the oil industry has spent large sums on development of improved drilling methods. This

Jan 1, 1949

By W. N. Lacey, B. H. Sage, J. S. Billheimer

A restricted ternary system made up of n-pentane, tetralin, and a purified bitumen was investigated at 70, 160, and 220 °F. Most of the experimental observations were at atmospheric pressure or at 200 psi." However, some experimental measurements were carried out at a pressure of approximately 8000 psi. It was found that the purified bitumen was precipitated from its solution or dispersion in tetralin by the addition of n-pentane and that the separation occurred at lower weight fractions of n-pentane at the lower temperatures. The bitumen-tetralin solutions show some colloidal characteristics at temperatures below 160 °F when near compositions at which the bitumen separates as a solid phase. At states remote from the phase boundaries and at temperatures above 160 °F these characteristics become less evident. Under these latter circumstances the mixtures tend to follow the behavior of true solutions, particularly in regard to the approach to heterogeneous equilibrium. An increase in pressure appears to increase the solubility of bitumen in tet-ralin-n-pentane solutions. This effect is more pronounced at temperatures above 160 °F than at lower temperatures. INTRODUCTION Asphaltic phases of plastic or solid nature have appeared in numerous instances during the recovery of petroleum from underground reservoirs. Such depositions occurring underground appear to have caused adverse production histories for particular wells or zones. Because of this field experience, it is desirable to understand the factors which influence the formation or separation of the asphaltic phases from petroleum. The problem is unusually complex because the number of true components involved is very large and the details of the phase behavior encountered are difficult to ascertain experimentally. The literature relating to asphalts, asphaltines, and bitumen is voluminous and widespread.' Only those references which are directly pertinent to the work at hand are cited. The separation of an asphaltic phase, hereinafter called bitumen? from naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixtures has been the subject of several investigations.2'3'4'5'6 It has been found that as many as four phases4 may be produced from a crude oil by the solution of a natural gas and propane at a pressure of 1500 psi and a temperature of 70 °F. The separation of bitumen from such naturally occurring mixtures results in at least one liquid phase which is substantially free of high molecular weight components.³ The influence of the solution of lighter hydrocarbons on the separation of bitumen from a Santa Fe Springs crude oil has been investigated. The results indicate that in the case of the methane-crude oil system, the quantity of plastic or solid phase separated reaches a maximum between 0.14 and 0.19 weight fraction methane and then decreases until negligible at higher weight fractions of methane. Similiar behavior was encountered in the case of mixtures of ethane and crude oil. The decrease in the quantity of the solid phase with an increase in the weight fraction of the lighter component appears to result from the formation of an additional liquid phase6 in which the bitumen is relatively soluble. The formation of this additional phase probably occurs at a weight fraction of methane close to that at which the quantity of separated solid reaches a maximum. A comparison of the deposition of bitumen in the field with the separation of asphalts from lubrication oil has been made' and apparently the phenomena are similar. The phase behavior of bitumen also appears to be comparable to that of coal tar."' The chemical and physical characteristics of asphalts and bitumen have been the subject of extended investigations which have been reviewed in some detail by Katz.¹º The conclusion was reached that the dispersion of bitumen in a number of organic liquids was not entirely colloidal since it was impossible to isolate individual dispersed particles even with the electron microscope. However, the evidence appeared to indicate that at states close to phase boundaries the extent of the dispersion of the phases influenced the equilibrium to a greater extent than is encountered in many simpler systems. From earlier study of field samples it became apparent that the phase behavior of bitumen-hydrocarbon systems was unusually complex. It was difficult to characterize in detail the phase behavior involved in naturally occurring hydrocarbon systems, even after a relatively extended investigation. For this reason, the study of a somewhat simpler system which still behaved in a similar manner became desirable. Three major constituents were necessary as-follows: a bituminous solid, a liquid constituent which was a reasonably good solvent, and a constituent in which bitumen was largely insoluble. A sam-

Jan 1, 1949

By F. F. Poland

The purpose of this paper is to describe a new process for the refining of secondary copper-base metals and a specially designed high-temperature electric-resistor furnace used in the process for the distillation of zinc from these metals. The process was used for the conversion of nickel silver to cupronickel and to recover the zinc content in metallic form. It also proved applicable and economical for the treatment of scrap brass for separating and reclaiming the copper and zinc. The relatively large furnace developed for the distillation of zinc is described in detail, for it made economically possiblc the direct recovery of metallic zinc from scrap brass, which is a new step in the processing of such material. Considerable interest has been shown in the utilization of the distillation furnace for other metallurgical processes, where it is of advantage to operate in a controlled neutral or reducing atmosphere, or to avoid having the processed metal in contact with refractories other than carbon, or to operate at temperatures between 3000 and 4000°F. Purpose of Development It was recognized early in the war effort that nickel would become a critical metal. therefore all nickel stock and alloys containing relatively high percentages of nickel were frozen immediately. Among these alloys were considerable quantities of various grades of nickel silver, an alloy containing copper, nickel, zinc, and in some grades lead, also minor amounts of iron, manganese and other constituents. At the time there was no existing plant or process to eliminate the zinc, lead, and minor constituents so as to convert this metal to cupronickel, one of the important alloys needed by the U. S. Navy for condenser parts. Therefore the Bureau of Industrial Conservation of the War Production Board requested the executives of the leading nonferrous metal companies to have their metallurgical staffs study the problem of converting this metal to cupronickel conforming to U. S. Navy Specification 44T40. The composition specified therein is as follows: nickel, 29 to 32 per cent; zinc, 1.00; iron, 0.00 to 0.60; lead, 0.05; tin, 1.20; manganese, 0.00 to 1.00; total of other elemcnts (maximum). 0.50; copper, remainder. The problem in converting these alloys to cupronickel was the elimination of zinc, lead, iron, manganese, and other elements without appreciable loss of nickel to slags or other by-products. Revere Copper and Brass Incorporated, through its Research and Development Department, undertook to solve this problem. A Government-owned plant was built at Rome, N. Y., and there the conversion was made successfully.

Jan 1, 1949

By R. S. Sanford

The Claim Point chromite deposits are at tidewater near the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula in southwestern Alaska, The United States Geological Survey had a field party in the region from July until September 1940 under P. W. Guild, assistant geologist; maps and geological data were assembled and made available to the Bureau of Mines. A preliminary investigation of the deposits at Claim Point by the senior author during July 1941 was followed by surface sampling and core drilling to determine the quantity and grade of the ere, The Geological Survey was represented at the project by George O. Gates, geologist. Cores were checked and the structural data revealed by drill cores were interpreted. The principal chromite deposits have been sampled and delimitated by trenching and core drilling. Other deposits were trenched and sampled but were too small or too low-grade to warrant core drilling.

Jan 1, 1949

By S. Benedict Levin

In the spring of 1944, during the emergency In the supply of strategic mica, the Bureau core-drilled six aggregating 913 feet, at the Blister mica Trim. Cheshire County, N.H. These holes indicated a downward extension or the mica shoot which was being mined at that time and developed information essential for economic mining of the deposit.

Jan 1, 1949

By Michael Tenenbaum

The importance of semikilled steel as a high tonnage grade has long been recognized. The increasing severity of the applications for which semikilled steel is used makes it desirable to obtain further information regarding the features of open hearth practice and ingot structure that can affect steel performance in subsequent rolling and fabricating operations. Accordingly, an investigation is being carried out studying the structure of various types of semikilled steel ingots. This paper reviews some of the observations made and information gathered in this investigation. By definition, semikilled steel may be considered to include all nonrimming steels in which the natural shrinkage occurring during ingot solidification is offset to an appreciable degree by gas formation. Accordingly, this type of steel includes the entire range intermediate between rimmed and fully killed steel. The resultant ingot structures range from those of steels that have been capped to suppress a weak rimming action to those steels that have been killed in the furnace or ladle to the extent that no mold deoxidizer is required. A survey reported to the 1946 -AIME Open Hearth Conference' reviewed the practices being used at 28 major plants for the deoxidation of semikilled steel. It was found that most plants divide the deoxidizing additions between the ladle and the mold—many of the plants adding only minor amounts of deoxidizer to the bath or none at all. Silicon, aluminum and titanium were the only elements used for ladle and mold deoxidation. Mold deoxidizers were added as capping additions or as uniformly fed additions. Several practices were reported in which the steel was deoxidized in the ladle to the extent that little or no mold deoxidation was needed. No reference was made to grades capped by using special mold designs or special closures over the top of molds. .Accordingly, specific examples of this type of practice will not be considered in this paper. It appeared from this survey of deoxidation practice that semikilled steel can be divided into three types, namely, capped semikilled, in which aluminum is added near the end of pour or after shut-off, intermediate semikilled steels, in which aluminum is fed uniformly throughout the pour, and semikilled steels requiring no mold deoxidation. In an attempt to cover the ingot structures obtained by the range of practices reported in the preceding survey, three series of experimental heats were made using increasing amounts of aluminum, silicon and titanium for ladle deoxidizers. The ladle deoxidizers were added as stick aluminum, 50 pct ferrosilicon and 20 pct ferrotitanium (4 pct carbon), respectively. Two methods of studying ingot structures were used. Ingots were removed from production, burned longitudinally and machined to allow observation of the central pipe and coarse blowholes. During the machining operation much of the finely porous subsurface structure was obliterated. Accordingly, observations were also made

Jan 1, 1949

By Nelson B. Russell, Donald C. Bond

The effects of various antifreeze agents on the formation of hydrogen sulphide hydrate have been studied. On a molar basis the relative lowering of Tm (the maximum temperature at which solid hydrogen sulphide hydrate can exist in equilibrium with the given solution) for the various agents is: sodium chloride 1.00, calcium chloride 1.71, methyl alcohol 0.57, ethyl alcohol 0.68, ethylene glycol 0.73, diethylene glycol 0.73, sucrose 0.87, dextrose 0.71. On a weight basis the relative lowering of TM is: sodium chloride 1.00, calcium chloride 0.91, methyl alcohol 1.08, ethyl alcohol 0.89, ethylene glycol 0.69, diethylene glycol 0.41, dextrose 0.23, and sucrose 0.15. Introduction The solid hydrate of hydrogen sulphide, H2S.6H20,1 is in equilibrium with water and liquid hydrogen sulphide at 85°F at a partial pressure of hydrogen sulphide approximately equal to the vapor pressure Of hydrogen sulphide at that temperature. At temperatures below 85°F, in the presence Of excess hydrogen sulphide (greater than the amount required to react with the water present) the hydrate is in equilibrium with liquid hydrogen sulphide at approximately the vapor pressure Of hydrogen sulphide. In the presence of excess water, the solid hydrate is in equilibrium with liquid water, containing dissolved hydrogen sulphide, at a pressure lower than the vapor pressure of liquid hydrogen sulphide at the same temperat~re.2 The lower the temperature, the greater the difference between the decomposition pressure of the hydrate and the vapor pressure of liquid hydrogen sulphide at that temperature. Conditions conducive to the formation of solid hydrogen sulphide hydrate may exist in wells producing a gas containing a high percentage of hydrogen sulphide under high pressure, or in the lead lines from such wells. This paper gives the results of tests made with various antifreeze agents which might be useful in decomposing the hydrate or in preventing the formation of the hydrate of hydrogen sulphide Apparatus Fig , shows a diagram of the apparatus used. The sample under observation was contained in a glass tube 34 cm long, having a 6 mm id and a wall thickness of 2.5 mm. The lower end of this tube was closed- with a plug of butyl rubber. The upper end of the tube was connected to a diaphragm gauge, with a stainless steel diaphragm, a manometer, a vacuum pump, and a cylinder of hydrogen sulphide, The tube was held nearly horizontal, with the liquid resting along the lower side of the tube. It was found that when the tube was held in a vertical position, it broke with ex. plosive violence as soon as it became filled with solid hydrate. Presumably this was caused by the expansion which occurred on solidification of the hydrate. The difficulty disappeared when the tube was held in an inclined position during the tests.

Jan 1, 1949

By Walter Rose, W. A. Bruce

Improved apparatus, methods, and experimental techniques for determining the capillary pressure-saturation relation are described in detail. In this connection a new multi-core procedure has been developed which simplifies the experimental work in the study of relatively homogeneous reservoirs. The basic theory concerning the Leverett capillary pressure function has been extended and has been given some practical application. Some discussion is presented to indicate the relationship of relative permeability to capillary pressure, and to provide a new description of capillary pressure phenomena by introducing the concept of the psi function. INTRODUCTION For the purposes of this paper the capillary character of a porous medium will be defined to express the basic properties of the system, which produce observed results of fluid behavior. These basic properties may be classified in the following manner, according to their relationship to: (a) The geometrical configuration of the interstitial spaces. This involves consideration of the packing of the particles, producing points of grain contact, and variations in pore size distribution. The packing itself is often modified by the secondary processes of mineralization which introduces factors of cementation, and of solution action which causes alteration of pore structure. (b) The physical and chemical nature of the interstitial surfaces. This involves consideration of the presence of interstitial clay coatings, the existence of non-uniform wetting surfaces; or, more generally, a consideration of the tendency towards variable interaction between the interstitial surfaces and the fluid phases saturating the interstitial spaces. (c) The physical and chemical properties of the fluid phases in contact with the interstitial surfaces. This involves consideration of the factors of surface, interfacial and adhesion tensions; contact angles; viscosity; density difference between immiscible fluid phases; and other fluid properties. Fine grained, granular, porous materials such as found in petroleum reser~oir rock possess characteristics which are expressible by (1) permeability, (2) porosity, and (3) the capillary pressure-saturation behavior of immiscible fluids in this medium. These three measurable macroscopic properties depend upon the microscopic properties enumerated above in a manner which defines the capillary character. Systems of capillary tubes or regularly packed spheres may be thought of as ideal and numerous references can be cited in which exact mathematical formulations are developed to show the relationships governing the static distribution and dynamic motion of fluids in their interstitial spaces. The capillary character of non-ideal porous systems such as reservoir rock also is basic in determining the behavior of fluids contained therein; although, in general, the connection is not mathematically derivable but must be approached through indirect experimental measurement. This paper gives consideration to the evaluation of petroleum reservoir rock capillary character. The methods employed may be applied to the solution of problems in other fields, and the conclusions reached should contribute to the basic capillary theory of any porous system containing fluid phases. In this paper, a modification of the core analysis method of capillary pressure is employed and it is intended to show that the capillary character of reservoir rock can be expressed in terms of experimental quantities. A very general method of interpretation correlating the capillary pressure tests with fundamental characteristics such as rock texture, surface areas, permeability, occasionally clay content and cementation is introduced. Eventually an attempt is made for establishing a method of deriving relative permeability to the wetting phase from capillary pressure data. The experimental evaluation of capillary character must be approached in a statistical manner if reservoir properties are to be inferred from data on small cores. This is implied by the heterogeneous character of most petroleum reservoirs, and suggests that considerable intelligence should be applied in core sampling. Finally, this paper supports the view that once the capillary character of a given type of reservoir rock has been established by core analysis, fluid behavior can then be inferred in other similar rock. Although no great progress has been made in establishing what variation can be tolerated without altering the basic fluid behavior properties, evidence will be presented to indicate that certain reservoir formations are sufficiently homogenous with respect to capillary character that the data obtained on one core will be useful in predicting the properties of other cores of similar origin. Tests have shown that cores under consideration can vary widely with respect to porosity and permeability and still be considered similar in capillary character. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS AND TECHNIQUES Various types of displacement cell apparatus for capillary pressure experiments have been described in the literature. Bruce and Welge; Thornton and Marshall; McCullough, Albaugh and Jones3; Hassler and Brunner; Lever-

Jan 1, 1949

By William F. Jahn

Because of the' situation in Europe during the summer of 1939, with the possibility of war and consequent curtailment or loss of supplies of tin to the United States, the Bureau of Mines undertook an investigation of domestic tin resources. This was permitted by the Strategic Minerals Act of 1939, which authorized investigation of possible domestic resources of strategic minerals necessary in a national emergency. The minerals selected were in short supply, and the United States depended almost entirely on imports to meet normal requirements. The Black Hills of South Dakota were selected for investigation as one possible source of tin because of the occurrence of the mineral there has been known since 1876, although production had never been important. The Tinton area, in the northern part of the Hills, had received the most attention and contained some minor indicated and inferred tin deposits.

Jan 1, 1949

By William C. Martin

"Consolidated Sudbury Basin Mines Limited owns two mines, 4 miles apart, near the southwest end of Sudbury Basin. The Errington mine lies close to the north boundary of Creighton Township and about 18 miles by car from Sudbury. The Vermilion Lake mine is in Fairbank Township, on the south side of Vermilion Lake.The first discovery of base-metal mineralization within Sudbury basin was made by James Stobie in 1897 at Stobie Falls on the Vermilion River, half a mile west of the Errington mine. A few years later Alphonse Oilier made a discovery of massive pyrite with base-metal sulphides near the west end of the present Errington workings.No work of consequence was done on these discoveries until 1924, when Joseph Errington acquired options on a large acreage of ground which was later taken over by the Treadwell Yukon Company Limited. After considerable diamond drilling this company sank No. 1 shaft in 1926. In the next three years, a large amount of underground development was done, a pilot mill was constructed and operated for two years. All operations ceased in 1931 with the fall in metal prices. While in operation the pilot mill treated 186,172 tons of ore the average grade of which was 1·07 per cent copper; 1 10 per cent lead; 4·60 per cent zinc; 0·03 ounces gold; and 1 70 ounces silver.Up to the time of closing in 193 l there had been completed at the mine 26, 790 feet of lateral work and 75,500 feet of surface and underground diamond drilling. The company records, however, showed no figures on ore reserves, except broken ore in stopes amounting to about 60,000 tons. A study of the plans, prior to reopening the mine in 1952, showed 1,450 lineal feet of ore (at 1952 prices) opened up by drifting on the 300-foot and 500- foot levels. It is clear that no comprehensive picture of the structure was had at this time. The orebodies were considered to be very irregular pods scattered through masses of quartzite-carbonate in a sheared zone about 800 feet wide. In some way the ore was believed to be related to the tuff-slate contact zone. With this picture it was impossible to make a reasonable ore estimate or even gauge the tonnage potentialities with any feeling of reliability."

Jan 1, 1949

By O. S. Perry, D. F. Kidd

"BEAVERDELL IS IN the Interior Plateau of British Columbia, 25 miles east of Penticton, B.C. In 1897, small but rich silver-bearing veins were found on Wallace Mountain, 2 miles east of Beaverdell. Production from the camp, at first of a modest character, started in 1901 and has never ceased. Over 90 per cent of the values in the ores have been in silver. Remaining values present are in lead, gold, zinc, and cadmium.There have been four principal mines in the camp. A fifth is approaching production. The four mines lie within a northeasterly trending rectangle about 5,000 feet long and 2,000 feet wide, the fifth mine being at the northeast end. From southwest to northeast the mines, with their silver production to Sept. 30, l 955, are: -Wellington Mine - 1,463,948 oz.Sally Mine (includes Rob Roy claim) - 1,930,124 oz.Bell Mine - 3,460,815 oz.Lass Mine - 12,557,956 oz.Other production - 331,252 oz.Total, Beaverdell Camp - 19,744,095 oz.The camp is near the centre of an area geologically mapped in 19 l l by L. Reinecke for the Geological Survey of Canada (1). The rocks of the camp comprise:1. Beaverdell stock of porphyritic quartz monzonite;2. Westkettle batholith of quartz diorite;3. Wallace formation of tuffs and lavas.The Wallace formation borders the east edge of the camp, and has been intruded by the Westkettle batholith. The batholith is the host rock for the orebodies. The Wallace-batholith contact dips gently east. Some of the Beaverdell ores at depth, while in the batholith, are under Wallace formation mapped on the surface above.West of the camp, Reinecke mapped a stock one by one and one-half miles in size, of porphyritic quartz monzonite, which he considered much younger than the Westkettle quartz diorite (I). Recent petrographic work by White and Dolar-Mantuani (3) suggests that in the vicinity of the camp the Westkettle batholith is more quartz monzonite than quartz diorite, and little different in composition from the Beaverdell quartz monzonite. They suggest a consanguinity with the Westkettle batholith."

Jan 1, 1949

By Pol Duwez, H. E. Martens

The high temperatures encountered in the operation of jet engines have imposed most drastic requirements upon the materials used in their construction. There are two different approaches to the materials problem connected with the design of parts in contact with high temperature gases. The first approach is to use a material which will perform satisfactorily at a temperature comparable to that of the gas. The second approach is to use a cooling system so that the material is maintained at a temperature appreciably lower than that of the gas. Besides the conventional method of cooling by means of a liquid in contact with the material exposed to a high rate of heat transfer, a less orthodox method consists of making the part to bc cooled of a porous material', so that the cooling fluid can be forced through the pores, In this scheme, the temperature of the coolant moving in a direction opposite to that of the heat flow increases gradually while passing through the porous material, and the coolant forms a protective layer on the surface exposed to heat, This method, referred to as ((sweat cooling," was pro- posed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in September 1944, and the experimental work on the preparation of porous metals was started early in 1945. The sweat cooling method opens new lines of research in powder metallurgy by extending the field of application of porous metals. The porous metals available at the present time are used mostly as bearings or filters, and a rather limited number of alloys are made for these applications. In addition, the fabrication of bearings or filters does not require a very close control of the permeability, while in the case of sweat cooling such a control is of primary importance. In designing a sweat cooled part it is imperative to assure a given rate of flow of coolant under certain conditions of Pressure drop. Generally, the Proper pressure drop and the rate of flow of coolant are deduced from heat transfer and design considerations, and consequelltl~ the Permeability of the Porous metal to be used is also determined. It is therefore necessary for the designer to have available a continuous series of porous metals covering a range of permeability as wide as possible. Contrary to the requirements established in the fabrication of filters, the actual pore size of a porous metal intended for sweat cooling is of little consequence, except for its effect on permeability. The tensile strength is likely to be of great importance for some applications. Since the tensile strength of a porous alloy decreases with increasing porosity, an important problem is to develop porous alloys having the maximum permeability with minimum porosity.

Jan 1, 1949

By M. N. Dunlap

This article summarizes the successful incorporation of a flash-flooding stream into the tailing-disposal system at the St. Joseph Lead Company's Federal Division mill, in St. Francois County, Missouri. The mill was built in 1906, by the Federal Lead Co., as its No. 3 mill for the concentration of southeastern Missouri lead ores, and damming Davis Creek was first considered in 1908. Plans were made also in 1925 and in 1937. Dam layouts varied from a reinforced concrete structure to a barrier built of tailings alone. .All were abandoned because of liability that would be incurred by flash-flood rupturing of an incompleted dam. By 1942 mill capacity had reached 12,000 tons daily and increasing tailing-disposal costs again focused attention on the Davis Creek basin. This time the problem of riskless dam building was solved. Moreover, most of the items that appeared in the answer were materials that normally required wasting and the major portion of labor involved performed functions that it mould normally have done, without constructive benefit, elsewhere. The new layout also made possible advantageous changes in mill-water supply pumping; static head being reduced from 514 ft to 9; ft, friction head from 4900 ft to 2860 ft, and pumping can be done now at periods of low power demand. The following facts about the Davis Creek watershed explain the 36-year reluctance to reach these, and other, benefits. Size: 3600 acres. Outline: roughly pear-shaped, 21/2 by 3 miles at the largest dimensions. Topography: mostly hill land with steep valleys. Relief: 760 minimum to 1153 maximum. Maximum rainfall: 3.36 in. per hour. Permanent water: none natural. Now 2200 gpm discharged through 16-in. drill hole from mine pumps underground. Geology: the 17 acres near dam centerline is Bonne Terre dolomite covered with sand and gravel eroded from Pleistocene beds that cap some of the hills. The remainder of the pond basin is on Davis shale. Soil cover: mostly second-growth timber with some abandoned fields; all subject to careless burning, which reduces water-retaining ability. Flood history: flash-flooding that had taken at least one life. Downstream values: two railroad bridges before creek intersection with Flat River. Immediately below confluence, a highway bridge, a low-water crossing, a few business establishments and several blocks of residences. In July 1942 the following segments of an ingenious plan were put into operation. A ditch 270 ft long, 16 ft wide and 51/2 ft deep was excavated to bedrock in the gravelly soil along the proposed dam's centerline. This excavation, which exposed many gravel-filled channels, was run full of slimes drawn from a riser set in the top of an adjacent tailings-disposal

Jan 1, 1949

By H. G. Doll

The S.P. log is shown to be a measurement of the potential drop along the drill hole, caused by ohmic effect in the mud. The notion of static S.P. is brought forward, and its relation to the S.P. log is discussed. Other factors influencing the shape and amplitude of the log are considered; attention is given to conditions encountered in practice. Numerous figures are given illustrating graphically the results; these figures are of particular interest for comparison with field examples. The S.P. log, although indicating permeability, is not an absolute measurement of permeability, nor of porosity, of the formations traversed by a drill hole. It is affected by several parameters, such as resistivity of formations and mud, thickness of formations, and others, which should be appraised carefully. Simple rules have been established for a better distinction of the boundaries of permeabl: sections, particularly in difficult cases, such as those encountered in highly resistive formations. A systematic application of the established principles will assist in obtaining more information from the S.P. log than was possible thus far; for instance, under favorable conditions, presence of oil may be detected, or amount of shale in sands may be estimated. Introduction The S.P. log, or spontaneous potential log, has been known and widely used during the last 15 years for the location of permeable beds traversed by drill holes.1,2 In electrical logging practice, the S.P. log is shown on the left hand side track of the record (as may be seen in later examples) where it can be easily correlated and interpreted with the resistivity curves located to the right. Usually, the S.P. log consists of a base line, more or less straight, having excursions or "peaks" to the left. The base line frequently has been found to correspond to impervious beds, while the peaks are usually found opposite permeable strata. Measurements which will indicate positively the presence of permeability in the formations, and which will give accurately the boundaries of the permeable zones, are of great importance in oil-field practice. Thus far, the S.P. log is the best approach to such determinations; unfortunately, its interpretation is not always evident. With respect to the base line of the S.P. log, it may be noticed that this line is not always at a definite location on the chart. Sometimes it may shift abruptly, while other times a gradual drift is apparent. As far as the peaks are concerned, their shape is not uniform; some are rounded while others are sharp. Also, from other data, it may be found that occasionally the peaks extend appreciably beyond the boundaries of permeable zones into zones which are not everywhere permeable. A comparison with permeability measurements made on cores has often confirmed that there was no definite correspondence between the magnitudes of the peaks and the permeability values. In the same geological horizon, it generally will be found that most of the thick and permeable for-

Jan 1, 1949

By M. G. Pelipetz

High-pressure, high-temperature hydrogenation of coal has been known and practiced for many years. A full' understanding of the mechanism in this process by which coal is converted to oil and gas must rest on a critical interpretation of the manner in which external variables influence the rate and the course of the coal-hydrogenation reactions. Same Bureau of Mines studies on the effect of temperature, catalyst, and rank of coal on these reactions have been published. The effect of pressure was not studied in this earlier work, and the effect of reaction time was complicated by the interruption of long reaction periods in order to refill the autoclave with hydrogen. It is the purpose of this paper to present data from more recent autoclave experiments that extend the results of Storch, et al, on the kinetics of coal hydrogenation. These data must be explained by any comprehensive theory of coal hydrogenation; their detailed evaluation, however, will be deferred until a later publication.

Jan 1, 1949

By Enid C. Plante

This paper deals with the flotation of the mineral fluorite (calcium fluoride) and of two associated gangue minerals, calcite and quartz. The aim of the investigation was to produce "acid-grade" fluorite, which must contain less than one per cent of silica. Several reagents are used successfully in practice for floating fluorite from its ores. Oleic acid is the most widely used collector, usually at temperatures above 60°C, with sodium silicate as a dispersant for quartz and quebracho or tannin to depress calcite. Sulphides (e.g., galena) are often removed first by xanthate flotation. Many investigators23 report results in which more than 80 pct of the fluorite is recovered in a concentrate assaying 96 pct or more of fluorite and less than I pct of silica. This investigation was undertaken with the intention of floating the gangue, which is the minor constituent of the ore, from the fluorite. Hence emphasis was first placed on the cationic compounds that float quartz. No satisfactory separations were obtained in this way, and other reagents were investigated to discover whether these were more effective than oleic acid in floating fluorite from quartz in the usual way. The first part of the paper describes experiments with several long-chain collectors available commercially. Most of this work has been by captive-bubble and cylinder flotation tests, with some batch tests in a flotation machine. The second part describes the use of sodium cetyl sulphate as a collector for fluorite and includes laboratory tests and extension of the work to batch tests in the flotation machine. A method for determining the adsorption of sodium cetyl sulphate on fluorite has been developed and is described. Theory of Collection by Paraffin-chain Salts It may be assumed that these compounds are adsorbed at the mineral surface in one or more of three ways outlined by Kolthoff:12 1. Exchange adsorption between lattice ions in the mineral surface and collector ions in solution. Closely related is adsorption by the collecting mechanism postulated by Taggart,17 in which there is metathesis between the collector and the mineral cation or anion. 2. Exchange .adsorption between adsorbed gegen ions (p. 67, ref. 19) and collector ions in solution. 3. Adsorption of nonelectrolytes (polar-nonpolar) without displacement of adsorbed ions. With cationic collectors, inorganic cations in the solution (e.g., hydrogen ion) compete with the collector ions and therefore act as depressants, while inorganic anions have the same effect with anionic collectors. From this follows the general conclusion that ions of the same charge as

Jan 1, 1949

By Enid C. Plante, K. L. Sutherland

Practical metallurgists are unanimous in stating that oxidation of mined sulphide ore adversely affects separation of the constituent minerals under standard conditions in a mill. Frequently, the need for different operating conditions in different plants is attributed either to the extent of oxidation of the mineral surfaces or to soluble oxidation products. The investigations reported in this paper study the effect of oxidation on the primary condition necessary for flotation, namely that of adhesion of an air bubble to the mineral. Oxidation Products from Sulphide Minerals Weinig and Carpenter1 state that the relative rates of oxidation of some sulphides are: FeAsS > FeS2 > CuFeS2 > ZnS > pbS > Cu2S tetrahedrite. They also show that oxidation is rapid at first, that sulphides of older geological formations are more stable than those of recent date and that mixtures oxidize more rapidly than any one mineral alone. The more rapid oxidation of mixtures is borne out by results of Gottschalk and Buehler2 who found that PbS, zns and cus oxidized 8 to 20 times faster when pyrite was present. Only the end products of oxidation, sulphate and the metal ion, were identified in these tests. Gaudin3 states that pyrite is difficult to oxidize in the laboratory. Winchell,4 using pyrite containing 99.98 pct FeS2, allowed water to percolate through a bed of this ground material. At the end of three months only a trace of Fe+++and So4- were found. Even after 10 months the quantity of Fe+++ was only 7.8 mg and SO4- 25.5 mg per liter of percolating solution. Car-michael5 confirmed Winchell's results on the slow oxidation of pyrite. Usually the oxidation of sulphide surfaces has been conducted in neutral or acid solutions, the acidity being caused by the oxidation products. Eliseev and Nagir-nyaka found that treatment of pure pyrite with lime gave only thiosulphate, but considered it possible that thiosulphate was obtained not by oxidation of the pyrite itself, but by oxidation of calcium disul-hide. Mitrofanov7 suggested that thiO~ulphate was formed by the following process: oxidation of sulphide to give free sulphur (this frequently happens with marcasite), followed by oxidation of the sulphur to sulphur dioxide and reaction of the sulphur dioxide with sulphur to give thiosulphate. Ferric and ferrous hydroxides, or similar compounds, were shown to be present. The Research Staff of the United Verde Copper Co.8 treated ore from the United verde mine with lime. Thiosulphate, sulphide and polysulphides were stated to be

Jan 1, 1949