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By Michael S. Wieland

Recognizing the dynamic nature and possible range of toxic concentrations in the impending fume cloud prior to undertaking explosive blasting can reduce potential hazards and mitigate related incidents. The scaled cloud model was formulated to predict the relevant (major) toxic components in fume clouds released by nonideal mining explosives used for surface blasting. Natural turbulence unceasingly disperses the toxic molecules, widening (inflating) the fume cloud while diluting the concentrations, ultimately rendering nonhazardous conditions. The threshold cloud size depends upon the type and quantity of total explosives used and the cloud's thermodynamic condition. Though the scaled theory works for fume clouds with irregular (odd) shape, an equivalent upright cylindrical form is useful for rendering simple riskhazard scenarios. The cylinder's projection downward on the underlying terrain yields a circular 'shadow' marking the region threatened, thereby permitting a rough estimation of the potential hazards, were the cloud to settle down there. Wind causes the cloud to drift while it expands, so the shadow travels while it grows, until the risk hazard process is truncated at the nonhazardous threshold. The overall relative fume toxicity (RFT) is taken from the traditional Russian RFT rule, which utilizes only the two fume components that tend to dominate the resultant toxicity: carbon monoxide (CO) and total nitrogen oxides (NOx). Tabulated constants that characterize the fume spectrum in the cloud model were resolved for ammonium nitrate (94%) with fuel oil (6%), ANFO-94/6, using a refined thermodynamic work-principle. Comparable results were found with the reduction factor technique, when test results from the underground fume chamber were readjusted to reflect nominal field shooting conditions.

By Justin C. I. Baulch, Robina Sharpe, Steven J. Downey, John P. Feenan, Kate M. Perrin

Since becoming a public company in October 2005, Neptune Minerals has continued to advance its primary aims. Major achievements in the last year have been: • Successful completion of two simultaneous New Zealand exploration programs, Kermadec 2007 (K-07) and Colville-Monowai 2007 (CM-07); • New discovery of an inactive SMS field on the Rumble II West seamount; • Focused exploration license applications over quality areas of known SMS mineralization in arc and back-arc settings in Japan, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI), Palau, and Italy; • Granting of licenses covering some 200,326 km2 of arc and back-arc within the EEZ of PNG and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM); • Targeting of an additional mineralization style with extensive applications in PNG covering Conical Seamount-style Au-rich epithermal mineralization; • Welcoming Newmont Mining, one of the World’s largest mining companies, as a major shareholder; • Commissioning a scoping study to investigate options for mining and processing of SMS; Marine Minerals of the Pacific: Science, Economics and the Environment UMI2007 · The University of Tokyo, Japan Baulch 2 37th Underwater Mining Institute · 15-20 October 2007 • Invitation to contribute to, and participate in, the Meteor M73/2 Tyrrhenian Sea research program. The Company has granted exploration licenses covering 263,000 km2 in New Zealand, FSM and PNG, and a further 362,000 km2 under application in Japan, PNG, Vanuatu, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau and Italy.

By James C. Cawley

This National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health study was conducted to focus future research on the most significant electrical problems in the mining industry. Data from 1,926 mine electrical accidents (including 75 fatalities) that occurred between 1990 and 1999 were studied. Coal and metalnonmetal operator- and contractor-reported data are presented. All data used in this analysis were MSHA closeout data, except 1999, which were preliminary data.

By M. I. Brittan, E. J. J. van Vuuren

Computer analysis, modelling and optimization of gold recovery plants of the Anglo American Group by M. I. BRITTAN M.Sc. (Eng.), M.S., Ph. D., (Member). and E. J. J. van VUUREN M.Sc., (Visitor). Multiple correlation and regression techniques are used to analyse gold plant operating records. Key variables m the process which Influence the gold recovery are Identified and assembled into a mathematical model. This constitutes a valuable tool for the optimisation of variables such as the rates of reagent addition and for assessing the economics of extending the plant. Substantial short term economic benefits have been realized. The techniques provide a rapid diagnostic service without interfering with normal plant operation. Quantitative results are presented and their implications examined. The value of the method is discussed.

The April General Meeting of the Institute was held in Kelvin House, Johannesburg, on 15th April, 1970, at 4.30 p.m. Mr J. K. E. Douglas (President) was in the chair. There were also present eight Fellows: Dr J. M. Bereza, H. Britten, R. C. J. Goode, C. E. Mavrocordatos, P. W. J. van Rensburg (Council Members), C. A. Border, D. E. French and S. D. Hill. Four Members, J. A. Boyd, P. Crawshaw, D. P. Hugo and A. H. Munro. Two Associates, including I. Robinson. Eleven Visitors, including A. B. Gould, P. M. Haupt, B. Needleman and A. F. Wentzel. Secretary, D. C. Visser. Total Present, 27. OBITUARIES The President: "It is my sad duty to announce the death of the following: Leslie Richard Ulyate, Fellow, who joined the Institute in 1939 and passed away on 10th March, 1970. Stanley Sterling, Fellow, and Corresponding Member for Canada, who joined the Institute in 1926 and passed away on 25th March, 1970. As a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased and in sympathy with the bereaved I would ask you all to rise and observe a few moments' silence." MINUTES The President: "May we confirm the minutes of the General Meeting, held on 21st January, 1970, as published in the March, 1970, issue of the Journal?" Agreed. MEMBERSHIP The President: "I have much pleasure in announcing that the names of the undermentioned candidates, having been published in accordance with By-Law 5.2.2., Council has elected them to membership of the Institute in the following grades: Associate: Rupert George CaIcott. Students: Clive Martin Davis, William Machiel Eksteen, Cecil John Tainton. From Student to Member: Dirk Johannes Hugo. "I welcome the newly-elected members to the Institute and congratulate the member who has been transferred to a higher grade." TALK AND FILMS The President: "Mr Ballantyne may I call on you to present your talk and films on the 'Continuous casting of steel'?" After the presentation of Mr Ballantyne's programme the President said, "Thank you very much indeed for your talk and films, Mr Ballantyne. This is a fast developing subject and we appreciate having such up-to-date information being made available to us, particularly those of us who are unable to go overseas for this purpose. We trust that you won't let the matter rest here, but will put everything down in a paper which we can publish at a later stage for the benefit of our members. Thank you once again." CONCLUSION The President: "I wish to thank members and visitors for their attendance, and now declare the meeting closed." The meeting closed at 6.10 p.m.

By W. Hurst

The authors of this paper, in substituting values in a material balance equation associated with a gas reserve and a water drive, cannot find sustainment of what the gas in place should be; therefore, their conclusion is that this type of problem dealing with gas reservoirs is insoluble. They have introduced the word, "cybernetics," based on the work of Norbert Wiener, that further extends this line of reasoning, namely, to the effect that the system is a "black box", and that the gas reservoir and aquifer can take on infinite aspects 'based upon their past performance, to quote the authors. The inference is that this black box is an unknown. which permits in computer programming to subscribe as many variables as possible to observe by adjustment of one to another those combinations of conditions that fit field behavior. This may satisfy those in this discipline whose dedication is to programming, but to the others this is a comparison to the rationalization of the combinational results of the throwing of dice—a probability procedure. In reservoir engineering we are more direct. We learn from the examination of individual we'll and field data exactly what is in this black box. I now come to the impasse that has confronted these authors in their machine calculations. In this I have reproduced from their own production data (Tables 1 and 2 of their paper) pressure vs cumulative gas produced. shown as Figs. D-1 through D-5. A perusal of any of these five plots, for the corresponding fields in the Po Valley, shows the straight-line relation of pressure vs gas produced, evidencing pressure depletion. The point I make is that in their fundamental production data, there is no variance from a straight line that can support a water drive.

By Y. Boissonnas

INTRODUCTION, The transalpine rail routes in Switzerland are well over one hundred years old. As the established routes no longer meet the demands of the continually increasing volumes of rail traffic between north and south, two new routes through the Alps were planed. The old Gotthard rail line is in fact a mountain railway. The northern and the southern access ramps?with a maximum speed of 80 km/h and a maximum slope of 2.2%?reach the old Gotthard rail tunnel at an elevation of approximately 1,100 m above sea level. This is approximately 900 m higher than the city of Milan. In 1992, the Swiss electorate people voted with an overwhelming majority in favor of the project to build the new base routes through the Alps. The Swiss voted again in 1998 in favor of the financing proposal for the new infrastructure. Swiss Federal Railways together with the BLS Lötschbergbahn were commissioned for the realization and management of the Gotthard and Lötschberg routes. AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd., founded by Swiss Federal Railways, was given the task of managing the design and realization of the Gotthard route until the start of regular service. In the meantime the shorter Lötschberg Base Tunnel was open to traffic in 2007

Members are advised that the Council has decided to change the format of the Journal from the present size to the standard international A4 size with effect from August, 1969. By making this change we will be conforming to more general practice today in regard to publications and this should effect certain economies and facilitate selling of advertising space. It has been arranged that in future the publication of the Journal, including advertisement sales, will be handled by Kelvin Publications (Pty.) Ltd. who are already doing this work satisfactorily for the Mechanical and Electrical Institutes. While making these changes, the opportunity is taken of redesigning the outer cover of the Journal to incorporate the new coat of arms. The Council trusts that these changes will meet with the approval of members.

THE first session of this meeting was held Tuesday evening, in the chamber of the Common Council, the President, Mr. David Thomas, in the chair. Mayor Carroll, of Troy, gave a cordial welcome to the Institute, which was responded to, on behalf of the Institute, by the first Vice-President, Mr. R. W. Raymond. The Council reported the names proposed for membership with recommendation for election. The following named gentlemen were duly elected: Anthony, J., . .Williamstown, Pa. Babcock, George, . . .Troy, N. Y. Blake, Theo. A., . . . . . . Sa n Francisco, Cal. Blossom, T. M., . . . . . . New Pork. Boalt, James A., . . .San Francisco, Cal. Bowman, Amos, . . . . San Francisco, Cal. Chester, Prof. A. H., . .Clinton, N. Y. Dewey, C., . Pittsfield, Mass. Dock, Gilliard, . Shamokin, Pa. Emerson, O. D., . .New York. Endres, John J., . .Pittsburgh, Pa. Firmstone, Frank, . Easton, Pa. Fowle, W. B., . Philadelphia, Pa. Frazier, Prof. B. W., . . .Bethlehem, Pa. Gardner, George A., . New Pork. Goodyear, Watson A., . .6an Francisco, C al. Griswold, Chester, . Troy, N. P. Griswold, J. A.,* . . .Troy, N. Y. Hague, J. D., . . .San Francisco, Cal. Hahn, 0. H., . .Eureka, Nev. Harkness, T. C., . . . . . . Wilkes-Barre, Pa Harris, Samuel, . . .Hudson, N . Y. Henry, &. T., . Oxford, N. J. Holley, A. L., . .Brooklyn, N. Y. Howe, H. W., . . .Troy, N. Y. Hunt, Dr. T. Sterry, . Boston, Mass. Jannet, J., . Troy, N. Y. Knapp, John A., . .New Pork. Laughlin, Henry A., . . .Pittsburgh, Pa.

By Takashi Ito

Numerous studies have examined the distribution of deep-sea manganese deposits throughout geologic history. Here I summarize the recent results, focusing on the frequency of occurrence, burial age and mechanism, and the paleoceanographic implications.

By R. Hammen

Processes are needed to rapidly and cost-effectively produce highly pure lithium salts for the rechargeable battery sector. Lithium purification is a chemical engineering challenge, due to the low concentration of lithium compared to sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and transition metal ions commonly occurring in lithium brine resources. We describe a Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) process that rejects sodium and potassium, while binding lithium and other higher valent ions. Lithium is then harvested by selective displacement from the SPE column. The rapid equilibration kinetics of SPE composites enables these ion separations to occur in a small SPE column and in one column stage. The chemical parameters of the process are described.

By G. R. Pickett

Examples are presented which show that the velocity~ amplitude, attenuation and apparent frequency of several acoustic waves can be recorded in the borehole. Examination of such recordings, termed "character" logs, indicates that the wave types observed include a refracted compressional wave and a wave which travels with formation shear velocity. Laboratory data are used to show that compressional and shear wave velocities are dependent on porosity, effective stress and lithology; but that the change in reciprocal velocity per unit change in porosity is larger for shear waves than for compressional waves. We, therefore, conclude that. the accuracy of porosity determinations can sometimes be improved by use of shear wave velocities, provided that the shear wave amplitudes are large enough to delineate the shear arrival from the preceding compressional arrival on the character log. Borehole data are presented which show that the difference between shear wave and compressional wave reciprocal velocities can be used to predict porosities. This is a refinement which may allow the prediction of porosities from single-receiver acoustic logs without introduction of errors from borehole fluid traveltimes. Laboratory and field data are presented to show that the relationship between compressional and shear wave velocities can be used to indicate lithology. An example is presented to show that fractures usually cause a greater reduction in borehole shear wave amplitudes than in compressional wave amplitudes, an effect which may offer a more reliable means of detecting fractures. The complexity of the borehole acoustic wave train can rake presently available cement bond logs highly sensitive to the gate and bias settings used. The character log offers a means to circumvent possible misinterpretations by recording all amplitudes, from which the interpreter can select the appropriate data for evaluating the cement bond. Character logs may also be used as a quality control for open-hole transit-time logs when existence of small compressional wave amplitudes interferes with the proper functioning of bias-controlled timing devices. Evaluation of the potential uses of character log data is not complete; but a character log presented in a form convenient for routine use would be a desirable addition to currently available logs. To summarize, possible applications for such a log in formation evaluation include the following (1) quality control of transit-time logs, (2) refinement of porosity predictions, (3) determination of lithology, (4) improvement of fracture detection and (5) improvement of cement bond evaluation. Suggestions are made regarding the requirements for a suficient but practical character log for routine use. INTRODUCTION Acoustic logs have become a widely used porosity tool in formation evaluation. In addition, there is a growing application of acoustic logs in cement bond evaluation and fracture detection. These applications have mainly involved the use of logs of first-arrival transit times and amplitudes and have not included detailed studies of the complete signal. The purpose of this paper is to show that significant benefits in formation evaluation can be gained by a more complete use of the acoustic wave train generated in the borehole by an acoustic logging tool. We hope that this discussion will also stimulate further development of logs suitable for routine use so that these benefits may be realized. Examples of acoustic wave train logs, termed "character" logs, are presented to show that several identifiable acoustic waves are present in the borehole. The measurable characteristics of these acoustic waves and some of their relations to formation properties of interest are also discussed. The more obvious potential uses of character logs are listed, and some suggestions are made regarding the requirements for a sufficient but practical character log for routine use. CHARACTER LOGS Some 10 years ago, Vogel' and Summers and Broding' noted that the signals received uphole from an acoustic logging tool located in a borehole had a number of interesting characteristics. The logging tool consisted of two or more pressure transducers spaced on an acoustically insulated body (Fig. la). One of the pressure transducers was used as a transmitter to generate pressure waves in the borehole fluid. The other transducer served as a receiver to detect any pressure waves reaching it in the borehole. The receiver then converted these pressure waves to electrical signals which were transmitted to the surface and displayed on an oscilloscope as a record of time vs receiver-signal amplitude. Fig. lb is a schematic representation of a typical record. The interesting characteristics seen in the earlier' and subsequent experiments were (1)

By J. S. Aronofsky

The first step in a quantitative analysis ot the mechanism of oil displacement by water in a fractured reservoir is usually conceded to be the solution of the differential equation describing the saturation distribution of two immiscible fluids flowing in a porous medium, where the capillary pressure is taken into account. In such a system the production mechanism may consist of displacement of oil both by the flow of water due to natural or artificially imposed pressure gradients and by imbibition, which implies a flow of water not due to external pressure gradients. Owing to the presence of the two oil displacement mechanisms, the mathematical model given by the differential equation intended to describe the system may not properly represent the behavior of the physical system. In fact, in the reservoir the rate of water advance may be very slow, and in the case of a fractured reservoir with a great number of large fractures, the pressure difference determining the flow of water through the matrix may be much less than 1 lb/'psi over lengths of a few feet. In such a case, imbi-bition (the exchange between oil in the matrix and water in the fractures resulting from capillary forces) may become, with time. a significant element of the production mechanism. It occurred Lo the authors, however, that without going into a physical analysis of the process of production, it might be possible by means of simple abstract reasoning to throw some light on the variation of recovery with time under conditions occurring in a highly fractured oil reservoir with rising water table. The object of this paper is to present both the reasoning and its application to a reservoir of the highly fractured type. Specifically, the analysis given here was undertaken to try to explain the increase of recovery (as defined later) with time as observed in this reservoir, without having to assume unlikely variations in the reservoir parameters with depth. This attempt has been successful as will become clear upon comparison of the computed recoveries with the actual field data. ABSTRACT MODEL Let us consider a small volume. of porous matrix saturated with oil at time, t = 0. Let the process of oil displacement by water start at time, t = t,,. At some time, t, the process will have terminated. Then a volume of oil equal to or smaller than the original oil contained in the matrix will have been produced. The first basic assumption that describes the model and guides the forthcoming reasoning is that the oil production from the small volume. dv, is a continuous monotonic function of time and that it converges to a finite limit. Such an assumption is not inconsistent with the results of laboratory waterflood tests as well as with results of imbibition tests where this is, in fact, observed. The second basic assumption is that none of the properties which determine the rate of convergence change sufficiently during the process to affect this rate or the limit. Let it be assumed that the form of the function of time relative to production from the matrix volume. dv, is given by where V,(t) is the volume of oil produced up to that time t. R is the limit toward which the recovery converges, A is a constant giving the rate of convergence, and V,(t) is the volume of oil originally in place in the volume, dv. It should be noted that recovery at time I will be understood here to he It follows that r. tends to R as t tends to infinity. CONSTRUCTION OF RESERVOIR FROM ABSTRACT MODEL Let the reservoir consist of a series of identical blocks of porous matrix stacked vertically and separated by fractures. Let each of these blocks satisfy the conditions of our abstract model. These conditions are: (1) that recovery is a continuous mono-tonic function of time converging to finite limit, and (2) none of the properties that determine the rate of convergence change sufficiently to affect the rate or the limit. Let water be rising in fractures so that oil production from any part of the block starts when the water comes in conLact with it. TOTAL RECOVERY FROM THE RESERVOIR COMPARED TO RECOVERY FROM A SINGLE MODEL ELEMENT As stipulated in Eq. 1, in the case of the abstract model,

By C. Gatlin, C. E. Nemir

A common cure of lost circulation is the introduction of granular bridging agents into the mud system. Many materials, such as ground nut shells, are used for this purpose. If the trouble causing void (fracture, fissure, vug, etc.) is not too large, the granular agent forms a "bridge" across or within the opening. Successively smaller particles in the mud stream then accumulate on and/or within this bridge until normal filtration is finally established. The efficiency of many bridging agents has been studied in the laboratory using various slot testers.',' Many investigators have remarked that a granular bridging material should have the proper particle size distribution. With the exception of the broad range specified in the patent of Goins and Nash,3 here is apparently no definition as to what this distribution should be. A bridge may be initiated when several particles of lost circulation material lodge against each other in a fracture or other void. Smaller particles then may bridge the openings between the larger, previously bridged particles. This process continues until the voids become quite small and the problem becomes one of filtration. It would seem logical that an optimum particle size distribution exists, i.e., one containing the proper quantity of properly sized material to fill the successively smaller voids of the bridge. The filtration characteristics of drilling fluids may be subject to a similar analysis. It has been clearly demonstrated by many workers that the filtration behavior of various muds can be altered by particle size control.'.' Slusser, et al, divided filtration into three periods and showed that particle sizes affecting a given period did not necessarily affect other portions of the filtration curve. An analagous problem is the proper sizing of gravel, liner slots and screen sizes in various sand-exclusion problems. Here the situation is reversed in that a proper "void" size, rather than the size of the bridging agent, is sought. The classic work of Coberly 9 forms the quantitative basis for most sand-exclusion processes. It is interesting to note that, in general, Coberly's work has been overlooked by most drilling-mud researchers. Other investigators have made various studies of the effect of particle size distribution .on drilling-mud properties. As a part of their studies, Fancher and Oliphant reported 30-minute filtration loss of a variety of mixtures of particle sizes.'' Gates and Bowie noted an effect of particle size distribution on filtration, as well as on other physical properties.' MAXIMUM DENSITY THEORY A maximum density mixture has been mentioned as the possible solution for both lost circulation and mud filtration problems. Furnas 12 derived mathematically a method for obtaining maximum density of beds of packed solids, having either a given number of component sizes or a continuous gradation of sizes. This work was verified experimentally by Anderegg.13 or mixtures having a continuous grading of sizes, the interval between sizes is taken as successive screen sizes of interval 2 The ratio of the quantity of each size and the next smaller size is given by the equation Fig. I, number of size intervals of ratio 2 taken from Furnas' paper, gives the value of n + 1 for any given values of + and K, where K is the ratio of the diameter of the smallest particles to the diameter of the largest particles. Measurement by weight assumes, of course, constant density for all particle sizes. Choosing the quantity of the smallest particle size as a unit weight, the required weights of the successively larger interials are then r1 r2 r3 . ®1,2,3. Thus, the grading curve of a maximum density mixture represents a geometric pro gression of ratio r.

By Rossiter W. Raymond

I desire to call the attention of the Institute to an interesting experiment, which may turn out to be an indication of a valuable improvement in the manufacture of steel. As the members are aware, the addition of ordinary spiegeleisen, in the open hearth or Bessemer converter, to a bath of decarbonized iron, has a twofold object,—the recarbonization of the bath to a desired degree, and the remedy of the red shortness otherwise found to be inevitable in the final product. This red shortness is ascribed to the presence of oxide of iron in the molten metal; and it is supposed that the manganese of the spiegeleisen, uniting with the oxygen of such oxide, carries it into the slag. At the same time there is a small percentage of the manganese usually left in the cast steel, probably to the improvement of its quality. Whatever be the true explanation the effect of the manganese is acknowledged to be not only beneficial, but necessary. But the use of spiegeleisen containing high percentages of carbon limits the quantity that can be introduced, because the carbon must be limited if soft steel is desired. This inconvenience becomes so serious as to prevent the use of ordinary spiegeleisen in the manufacture of steel containing more than, say two-tenths per cent. of phosphorus; since the quality of the steel can be made tolerable only by reducing its contents of carbon in proportion as the

By N. H. Harrison, J. K. Rodgers, S. Regier

This paper presents comparisons of data obtained from a laboratory reservoir study and from a calculated behavior prediction with the actual production history of a condensate reservoir. A small non-commercial discovery was depleted under closely controlled conditions and the well fluids were sampled at frequent intervals. Data on the reservoir and production variables were accumulated on a fixed schedule. A laboratory reservoir study war made using the initial well fluid samples as charging stock. The production procedures and operating conditions were held constant throughout the study wherever possible and in general paralleled the field work. The well fluid compositions and the cumulative recoveries ar a function of the reservoir pressure were also calculated using conventional flash vaporization procedures and equilibrium constants. Comparisons based on the composition of the well fluid show good agreement, the laboratory study agreeing within experimental accuracy with the field work and the calculated data comparing equally well. The gas-oil ratios are also in good agreement, but with somewhat greater deviations at the higher pressures. In the overall picture, it is believed that a model st,~tiy can predict within experimental accuracy the production history of a condensate reservoir. Better equilibrium constants for the heavier hydrocarbons are needed in order to attain improved composition accuracy by calculation. INTRODUCTION In Aug., 1955, a gas condensate well was completed in San Juan County, Utah, that was initially thought capable of good commercial production. These conclusions were derived principally from core data and electric logs, which indicated good permeability, porosity and gas content. However, after the usual series of potential tests it was found that the reservoir pressure had declined some 22 per cent, and it was obvious that the zone tapped was but a small pocket or trap. It became apparent that, with a controlled depletion of a small reservoir, a unique opportunity was available to compare laboratory and calculated studies with an actual field depletion and to further the present knowledge of condensate reservoirs. FIELD WORK The Coalbed Canyon Well No. 1 was conventionally completed in the Paradox limestone formation to a total depth of 5,912 ft. The producing zone from 5,762 to 5,806 ft was perforated with four jet shots per ft. The wellhead and field equipment were also conventional, the major items consisting of a two-pass indirect fired line heater, a high- and a low-pressure separator with the necessary controls and accessories, gas meters, back-pressure regulators, flare stacks and condensate stock tanks. The initial testing of this well con-sisted of a series of flow potential and pressure build-up tests during which some 30 MMcf of gas was produced. The reservoir pressure declined from an estimated 2,300 to 1,782 psig during this period, from which it was concluded that the reservoir was very small. In order to approach steady-state conditions in the reservoir and so provide optimum conditions for making comparisons, the field depletion was programmed to approach, if possible, constant production conditions. Bi-hourly readings were taken of the tubing pressure, the pressure and temperature of the separators, oil and gas rates, and other pertinent operating data. The gas rate, as indicated by the orifice meter, was held constant by the adjustment of the choke in the line heater. The temperature of the first stage separator was held constant by adjustment of the line heater jacket temperature. Practical considerations of production made the maintenance oi a constant gas rate impossible. The test started with a gas rate of 4 MMcf/D and a separator pressure of 250 psig. This rate was maintained until the choke was fully opened. The gas rate then declined with the falling tubing pressure and production was continued until the rate was about 2

By Omid Marzoughi

In this research, both the kinetics and the mechanisms of the roasting of a sphalerite concentrate from the Bafgh mining complex in Iran were investigated. The oxidation process was performed in a muffle furnace in air and the effects of time and temperature on the degree of oxidation of the zinc sulfide sample were quantitatively studied. The experimental data were fitted to the shrinking core model. In the temperature range of 650–800 °C, the rate-controlling step was the chemical reaction between the zinc sulfide and oxygen with an activation energy of 103 kJ mol−1. On the other hand, in the temperature range of 850–950 °C, the rate-controlling step was oxygen diffusion with an activation energy of 50 kJ mol−1. Also, the roasting process was studied using thermogravimetric (TGA) and derivative thermogravimetric (DTGA) techniques.

By Rad B. Langston, Ted J. Williams, John A. Marjerison, Rimas T. Pakalnis, Tom M. Brady, Doug C. Bayer, Mark J. Bren

Underhand cut and fill mining methods are used at the Lucky Friday, Stillwater, and Galena mines in the western US in an effort to safely mine in difficult ground conditions and as a primary mining method where access below the ore is limited. The method has evolved at each mine to meet the unique situations associated with their milling procedure and mine layout. Details of the operational aspects of the backfilling and mining cycles at each mine are presented in this paper, accompanied by a summary of the mechanical properties of the backfill and its in-situ geomechanical behavior.

By Patrice Favreau, R. F. Ph. D. Professor Emeritus Favreau

After Nobel invented dynamite, blasts were carried out by trial and error, without the use of equations based on the fundamental principles of Chemistry and Physics, although everyone accepted that shock waves were involved; but no equations were available to calculate their intensity. Around 1950 however, M.A. Cook proposed a procedure to calculate the thermochemistry of an explosive, and thus evaluate theenergy released during the explosion of a fully confined explosive. Some blasters then began to use theEnergy Factor; the latter, however, does not subdivide the energy into its three kinds of activities necessaryfor a successful blast, as demonstrated in 1968 by reference 2, namely i) the shock wave which weakensthe rock; ii) the stress field SS which fully fragments the rock; and iii) the release of the stress SS whichcauses the fully fragmented rock to burst out with the velocity necessary to move the rock into the muckpile. The article explains that the way to achieve a successful blast is by insuring that the explosive energy divides properly into the weakening action of the shock wave which is necessary to prevent large collar blocks and toe, and into adequate stress field intensity SS which is necessary to obtain good fragmentation size distribution at the crusher, as well as adequate burst out rock movement to achieve easy mucking.