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By J. F. Wilson

An experimental investigation has been made of gas-driven slug displacements in a system of high gas saturation to evaluate the process for use in a California reservoir. Fluid compositions, temperature, pressure and core permeability duplicated reservoir conditions as closely as possible. The temperature was above the critical of the slug materials. The slug composition required for 100 per cent oil recovery in the linear flow systems was found to agree with that determined from equilibrium phase studies. A qualitative theory for the slug displacement of two-phase systems is proposed and found to be in general agreement with the observed flow behavior. The theory predicts that the length of the reservoir fluid-slug transition Zone will increase with increased initial gas saturation and decrease with increased oil swelling accompanying the composition change from reservoir oil to the critical composition. The precipitation of small amounts of an asphaltic phase during the formation of the transition zone had no adverse effects on the flow behavior of otherwise miscible systems. INTRODUCTION Despite the large number of recent publications relating to oil recovery by miscible displacement, little information is available concerning the behavior of crude oil-natural gas systems at conditions likely to be encountered in field application. The laboratory data reported here were obtained during an investigation of the possibility of using a gas-driven LPG slug in a partially depleted California reservoir. Seven gas-driven slug displacements employing slugs of different compositions and sizes were made in 26- to 27-ft long sandstone cores. The equilibrium phase behavior of the systems was also determined. The features of primary interest in this study are the following. 1. Data were obtained on the displacement of reservoir fluids at reservoir conditions. 2. A high gas saturation existed in the long cores at the start of the displacements. 3. The temperature of the studies was above the critical of the slug materials. 4. A comparison between the flow behavior and equilibrium phase behavior, as illustrated by a pseudo-ternary phase diagram, is afforded for a system of considerable complexity. THEORY Phase Behavior The use of the pseudo-ternary phase diagram to illustrate the phase behavior in miscible displacements has been discussed by Clark, Schultz and Shearin. Sie-vert, Dew and Conley and Arnold, Stone and Luffel' have presented both phase equilibrium and flow data for true ternary systems. For the true ternary, the application of the theory is straight-forward; for a reservoir system represented as a ternary, the theory undoubtedly gives a qualitatively correct picture. One purpose of this investigation was to see if the pseudo-ternary phase diagram could be used to predict with reasonable accuracy the conditions necessary for miscible displacements with actual reservoir systems. MiscIBLE Displacement of Two-Phase System A large number of papers "I3 have treated the miscible displacement of a single-phase fluid from both an experimental and a theoretical viewpoint. However, the normal field application of the process will be in a partially depleted reservoir. Often the state of the system will be such that the mobility of the gas phase is greater

By D Hill

In the Ngakuru area zeolite deposits occur in late Quaternary lacustrine vitric tuffs of the Ngakuru Formation and two of the deposits are being mined. The Ngakuru Formation overlies the Ohakuri Ignimbrite dated at c. 240 ka, and is overlain by younger alluvial sands and gravels. Individual zeolite deposits contain 50 - 80 per cent zeolite over a thickness of up to 45 m in thinly stratified vitric tuffs and are localised along NE-trending normal faults. Glass shards in the tuffs are replaced by the silica-rich zeolites mordenite and clinoptilolite. Amorphous silica (opal A), opal-CT, Kfeldspar and smectite are also present. The zeolites and other minerals are very fine grained (<10 8m), with open meshes of crystals that result in high porosities (52 - 70 per cent) in mordenite-rich tuffs. Zeolitic tuff samples typically have cation exchange capacities of 80 to 110 meq/100 g and internal surface areas of 25 - 58 m2/g, which combine to give high liquid and odour absorption capacities. The first zeolite deposit (Mangatete) was found in 1992, and this and the Twist Road deposit are worked by quarry benching into the side of hills. The zeolitic tuffs are dried and crushed to produce a variety of products including adsorbents for soaking up oil/chemical spills and animal wastes, animal feed supplements, water treatment, and sports turf and slow release fertiliser. The Ngakuru zeolite deposits formed at shallow depth (<100 m) along fault zones from reaction of glass-rich tuff beds with groundwater-diluted geothermal water during the late Quaternary, and are as young as 8500 yr BP from 14C dating of plant material in sinter associated with the Mangatete deposit.

Jan 1, 2005

By J. R. P. Aguirre

Minerales Monclova, S.A. de C.V. (MIMOSA) is owned by Grupo Acerero Del Norte (GAN). This company has 4 underground coal mines and 1 open pit to feed it?s steelmaking facilities located in the city of Monclova in the North of México in the state of Coahuila. The current underground mines are Mine 3, 5, 6 and 7 and the future projects are Mines 8 and 9. In the last years Mines 2 and 4 have been closed because they finished their coal resources. The remaining mines have bigger production and developments requirements in order to accomplish the goals of the company. The mines have been working in deeper and gassier areas. These conditions have required improvements in the ventilation design and methane control systems for all the mines. In some cases the ventilation of some of the MIMOSA?S mines has been increased 80%, and besides this, an intensive methane drainage program has been applied using horizontal in-seam boreholes and gob wells. The short-term ventilation plan includes the construction of 3 new vertical shafts with 5 and 6 meters diameter for Mines 5, 6 and 7 and the purchasing of bigger new main and backup fans for each one of these mines. One of these vertical shafts and the purchasing of the first 2 fans is already in process. This paper will explain the evolution and results of the ventilation and methane drainage systems in MIMOSA and the ventilation planning for the future years.

Jan 1, 2009

By L. W. Higley

It is estimated that well over 20 million lb of chromium and 8 million lb of nickel, plus other metal values, are diverted annually to furnace dusts, mill scale, and contaminated swarfs in the domestic stainless and other specialty steelmaking industry. Little inroad has been made toward the in-plant recycling of these wastes to reclaim the metal values. The Bureau of Mines has devised a process for recovering about 90 pct of the chromium and molybdenum and well over 90 pct of the nickel and iron from stainless steelmaking furnace dusts, swarf, and mill scale. Other metals such as manganese are also recovered. Initial laboratory results were confirmed and expanded to include a wide variation of stainless steelmaking waste mixtures. Later experiments have included specialty steelmaking wastes other than from stainless steelmaking. Significantly, the ease of technology transfer has been demonstrated by a number of industrial-sized (19-ton) commercial electric furnace heats, in which the pelletized wastes represented some 10 to 20 pct of the furnace charge, replacing part of the normal scrap charge. Results of these successful large-scale trials are presented. Some information is also presented on incorporation into the pellets of chromium-bearing particulate wastes originating from other than steelmaking production. Cost evaluation indicates the process is economically attractive.

Jan 1, 1982

By S. Banisi, M. Pourkani, A. Kargar, D. Hamidi, M. Sarvi

"Flotation circuit of the Sarcheshmeh copper mine, which processes 40,000 t/d of ore at 0.9% Cu, consists of rougher, cleaning and recleaning stages. To study the stage recovery of copper, one of the eight identical flotation banks was selected for sampling. It was observed that 17% of copper goes to the tailings and the lowest copper recovery was for particles coarser than 105 microns. The third five-cell unit of this bank not only did not recover appreciable amount of copper but also decreased the concentrate grade. The grade of the last five cells was lower than the feed grade suggesting that mixing of the concentrates of the three units was not beneficial. To alleviate the problem, the concentrate of the first four-cell unit was directed to the cleaners feed box (i.e., by- passing the regrind mill). This increased the overall copper recovery by 1.7 %. Also rather than the current practice of adding the reagents only at the feed tank (i.e., 100-0-0%), various combinations of stage addition were examined. It was found that 75-25-0% addition regime could increase the total copper recovery by 1.3%. At the recleaning stage in order to increase the final copper concentrate grade, a froth washing system was used. To ease the maintenance of the system, a shower type washing system was installed. The optimum wash water superficial flowrate was found to be 0.06 cm/s. Continuos sampling of the recleaners with and without wash water over a period of two months showed an increase of 1.5% in the final copper concentrate grade at constant overall copper recovery.INTRODUCTIONThe Sarcheshmeh copper ore body that may rank as third or fourth largest in the world contains 1 billion tonnes averaging 0.9% copper and 0.035% molybdenum. It is located in southeastern Iran and has been processing 40 000 t/d of ore since 1982. The mine produces 100 000 tonnes of copper and 2200 tonnes of molybednite concentrate per year.After three stages of crushing, the ore with a F80 (80% passing size) of 12.7 mm is fed to eight parallel ball mills in closed circuit with cyclones to produce a product 70% finer than 75 microns. The concentrate of rougher flotation circuit is ground; rougher tails constitute the main component of the plant final tailings. A concentrate with an average grade of 31% Cu (chalcocite and chalcopyrite) is obtained after cleaning and re-cleaning stages. Total recovery of the plant varies between 83% and 87%, depending on operating conditions and ore type."

Jan 1, 2001

By R H. Sibson

The gold province of Otago occupies an area of upwarped basement, the Otago Schist, comprising predominantly quartzofeldspathic and volcanogenic metasediments. This assemblage is the product of collisional tectonic deformation and associated metamorphism, mainly to lower greenschist facies, during the Rangitata Orogeny (200-100 Ma). Historically this region has produced 240 tonnes of gold, 4% (10 t.) of which was from the mining of Cretaceous goldquartz mineralised vein systems. Auriferous vein systems in the Otago Schist are mainly hosted within NW trending normal fault-fracture arrays, however NW trending reverse fault-hosted vein systems also occur. We propose that the Late Cretaceous-mid Tertiary Otago Schist structure represents a regional anticlinorium containing flexural folds of at least two wavelengths. The anticlinorium structure has been quantified by determining variations in angular discordance between schistosity and the Otago Peneplain, a Late Cretaceous-mid Tertiary erosion surface covering most of the Otago district. A structural model for the evolution of the post-collisional anticlinorium requires the cooling surficial zone (carapace) of a retrograding metamorphic belt to behave as an elastic lid. Erosion of topographic load on the carapace drove isostatic uplift, which was greatest in the tectonically thickened core of the orogen. In this way differential uplift produced flexural deformation in the elastic carapace, expressed as a large scale arching of the orogenic belt. Flexure created tangential longitudinal strains in the outer-arc, leading to extension and the formation of mineralised normal faults. These structures are separated by a neutral surface from shortening and associated mineralised reverse faults in the inner-arc. Our structural model predicts that the distribution of auriferous lodes should be localised about zones of maximum flexural curvature, where the tangential longitudinal strains are highest. As a result, NW-SE hinge regions separating schistosity dip domains in the Otago gold province may have new found significance as potential exploration targets.

Jan 1, 1995

By Sam S. Taylor

Subsurface disposal of oil-field brines was practiced in Oklahoma on a limited scale as early as 1925. The technique of subsurface injection has been improved immensely and has been applied with varying success in many oil-producing areas in Oklahoma, and elsewhere. This method of disposal, however, is only one of several methods available to operators of oil-producing properties, but, in contrast with usual methods of handling brines on the surface it eliminates the damaging effect of mineralized water on fresh-water supplies, vegetation, and aquatic and other animal life. Other methods of brine disposal approved by regulatory agencies in some States include (1) impounding in impervious ponds and solar evaporation, (2) controlled diversion into surface waters, and (3) recovery of the mineral salts of the brine. In most, States where oil is produced regulatory bodies authorize the use of one or more of these methods of brine disposal. In Oklahoma, for example, the Oklahoma Planning and Resources Board of the Conservation Commission has been authorized to adopt whatever methods or means may be necessary to prevent contamination by mineralization of all potable waters within the State.

Jan 1, 1942

By C. A. Cole

This work consists of research in cable fault location and the construction of four field-test units based on the research. Swept-frequency sounding of mine cables with RF signals has been the technique most thoroughly investigated. The swept-frequency technique is supplemented with a form of moving target indication (MTI) to provide a method for locating the position of a technician along a cable and relative to a suspected fault. Separate, more limited investigations involved high-voltage time domain reflectometry and acoustical probing of mine cables. Particular areas of research included microprocessor-based control of the swept-frequency system, a microprocessor-based fast Fourier trans-form for spectral analysis, RF synthesizers, transmit-receive switches, RF receivers, cable dispersion-compensation techniques, low-voltage multielement display systems, and techniques for injecting or recovering RF energy through cable walls in support of clamp-on fault locators.

Jan 1, 1982

By Rafael C. Castro, Geoffrey Hughes, Fredrick (Rick) Vincent, Philip H. Albert

Seven pairs of drop and ventilation shafts, between two and nine feet in diameter, will convey combined sewer flow to a 230-foot-deep, 26-foot diameter storage tunnel. This paper will present case histories for each site. Discussion will include functional requirements, program and site access constraints, structural design, geology, the variety of excavation and lining construction methods used, and lessons learned. Noteworthy observations include the importance of assuring competent ground sup-port at the soil-bedrock interface and of achieving tight verticality tolerance using both top-down and raise bore excavation methods.

Jan 1, 2007

Taking Up the AFN Corporate Challenge ?? About MAC ?? ?Towards Sustainable Mining? ??Mining and Aboriginal Peoples Framework ?? AFN-MAC Relationship ?? A New MAC Northern Initiative ??Social and Economic Progress ?? A View to the Future?

May 1, 2009

By R. W. Van Dolah

A premature detonation of an explosive charge occurred on January 30, 1961, at a face being prepared for blasting in the underground Jefferson Island Salt Mine, Diamond Crystal Salt Co., Jefferson Island, Iberia Parish, La. The accidental blast injured the powderman fatally; his helper was injured also, but recovered. The accident represents the first fatality reported to the Bureau of Mines in connection with the use of ammonium nitrate-fuel oil (AN-FO) blasting agents in underground mining in the United States. Representatives of the Bureau of Mines Explosives Research Laboratory, Pittsburgh, Pa., and field representatives of the Bureau's Health and Safety Activity conducted the investigation, upon request of the manufacturer of the ammonium nitrate being used and with concurrence by the mine management.

Jan 1, 1962

By Wayne Trudel, Eric Saderhold, Lloyd McEvers, Lori Clarke, Charles Lynn Bolin, Leroy Schutz

Editor’s note: This is the second part of a two-part series on how mine geologists added about 141t (4.53 million oz) at Newmont Mining’s gold operations in Nevada during 2003. Part one (ME, July2004, pp. 19-26) showed how cross-functional teamwork among mine geologists, engineers, metallurgists and operators added $65 million in revenues at Newmont’s Gold Quarry Mine. Part two deals with how this same cross-functional team added about 25.8 t (830,000 oz) of gold reserves and two years of life at the company’s LoneTree Mine. This was done through improved reconciliation methods, pit optimization designs and updated geotechnical parameters. Part two also discusses how Newmont’s Nevada mine personnel added about 62.2 t (2 million oz) of gold reserves at its Twin Creeks Mine, extending the mine’s life by several years. The Lone Tree Mine is a sediment-hosted, micron gold deposit. It is dominantly situated in the Golconda thrust footwall. The north-south trending Wayne Zone fault controls the highest-grade ores and

Jan 1, 2004

By J. -W. Kim, Y. -B. Kang, H. -G. Lee

The effect of SiO2addition on the decomposition of Li2CO3was investigated at temperatures up to 1000ºC. It was found that addition of SiO2greatly enhanced the decomposition of Li2CO3. The main decomposition reaction started at around 600ºC, and completed just above the melting point of Li2CO3. The major decomposition product was Li2O?SiO2irrespective of the Li2CO3to SiO2mixing ratio while both reactants were available. It was ascertained that a liquid layer betweenLi2CO3and SiO2particles formed and facilitated the decomposition reaction. The governing reaction of the decomposition was the one between the dissolved Li2CO3and SiO2in the liquid layer to form Li2O?SiO2. The decomposition rate was independent of the Li2CO3/SiO2mixingratio until either one had been completely exhausted. When excess Li2CO3existed, it further reacted with the initial product of Li2O?SiO2to form 2Li2O?SiO2. When SiO2was found in excess, on the other hand, no further reaction took place. This is attributed to the fact that uponLi2CO3exhaustion there is no liquid phase available to facilitate further reaction. The apparent activation energy of the decomposition of Li2CO3in existence with SiO2is 198 kJ mol-1.

Jan 1, 2004

By S. Kamalpour

It has been observed that the productivity of ferromanganese furnaces, and the stability of metal and slag compositions, vary considerably according to the type of coke used as reductant. However, the desired properties of coke for optimum furnace performance are not well understood. In this investigation, the behaviour of four cokes, which exhibited a wide range of performance in ferromanganese production, was investigated by means of laboratory simulations of reducing conditions in the furnace. The Stationary Charge in Controlled Environment (SCICE) technique was used to simulate the conditions in the furnace shaft. Batches of raw materials, mixed in the same proportions as used in practice, were heated at fixed rates to 900, 1100 and 1300°C then cooled. The mass loss was used as a measure of the degree of reduction. Conditions in the lower part of the furnace were simulated by means of melt-reduction experiments in which lumps of coke were drilled out to form crucibles in which enriched ferromanganese slags were reduced at 1500 and 1550°C then cooled. An examination of the raw materials and the cooled, reacted charges using a variety of analytical and characterization techniques enabled the sequence of reaction and changes in morphology of the raw materials to be followed. This enabled an understanding of the behaviour of the cokes during reduction to be developed, which was then used to explain the observed performance of the cokes in practice. By relating the observed behaviour of the cokes in the laboratory tests to measurable properties of the unreacted cokes and to their observed performance in practice, it was shown that to achieve high productivity and good furnace performance, cokes should be selected to have moderately high reactivity towards CO2 (Boudouard reactivity) relative to conventional iron blast furnace cokes.

Jan 1, 2004

By T. R. Curr, R. T. Jones

Keywords: Pyrometallurgy, Mintek, DC arc furnace, plasma, smelting, chromite, ilmenite, cobalt, slag, zinc fuming, dust, magnesium, laterite, ferronickel, arc modelling, Pyrosim, thermodynamics The Pyrometallurgy discipline at Mintek was initiated in the early 1970s, to support a growing ferroalloy industry in South Africa. In addition to a range of pyrometallurgical options, Mintek specialises in DC arc furnace technology and has pilot plant facilities up to 5.6 MVA, as well as a strong base in process and arc modelling. Industrial processes have been developed for ferrochromium production, ilmenite smelting, and cobalt recovery from slag. Recent work has been done on such processes as the production of ferronickel from laterite ores, the fuming and condensation of magnesium, and the recovery of platinum group metals from 'difficult' feedstocks.

Jan 1, 2006

For the purposes of this discussion it is assumed that contributors should express the thoughts that arise from their personal experience. So wide is the range of mineral deposits, and so varied the methods employed in their discovery and development, that no two geologists are likely to have been impressed with the same applications of their science. The author's own personal experience has been, during recent years at least, very largely concerned with the broader aspects of the employment of scientific method and geological knowledge to the problems of exploration and exploitation, for the guidance of the general public and governmental authority rather than of mine executives and directors. The view-point thus reached is likely to differ in many respects from that of men who are much more intimately concerned with the mining problems of a single metal or a single mining field, and for this reason a statement may perhaps supplement those from others whose experience has been markedly different.It may well happen that, at some not distant date in the future, when systematic and comprehensive instruction in economic geology is embodied in the courses- prescribed for mining engineers during their years of training, the author's comments will be quitesuperfluous; but at the present time they appear to him to call for expression.The Need for Training of Mining Men in Economic Geology.Contact over a period of many years with mining men who have had different kinds of training and experience has been convincing that there is a general reluctance to acquire a full rational understanding of the geological factors involved in exploratory and developmental problems. The correction of this attitude is regarded as vital to the industry and it is necessary to insist that the outstanding requirement of the present day is the utilization of all branches of geological, investigation in the field and the laboratoryby men who have had systematic and specialized training in these matters. The science of geology is many-sided, but is, nevertheless, whole and essentially indivisible. No one can afford to disregard any fraction of its content 'or any of its methods of investigation.The greatest advances have been made in the understarnding of the occurrence of mineral deposits by those whose knowledge Qfbasal principles, has been soundest, whose endeavour has been to ascertain all their relationships in space and time, whose attention to detail of all kinds has been keenest, and at the same time, whose capability to distinguish between major and minor features has been most marked.With the passage of the years and the accumulation of data from many lands, it has been possible to build up a great body of information regarding the primary deposition and secondary alteration of mineral occurrences, which is of the utmost value in guiding thesearch for new deposits to take the place of those that become exhausted. This heritage is due not only to the efforts of gifted in...

Jan 1, 1950

By P M. Hancock

The West Coast contains one of the world's giant placer gold deposits with production since the 1860s totalling some six million ounces (present day value NZ$ 3.6 billion). The deposits have been worked variously by hand, ground sluicing, hydraulicking and/or elevating, blocking out, deep leading and bucketline dredging. Since the sharp gold price rise of 1979 - 1980 gold production has increased steadily (in spite of the closure of the Kaniere dredge) to some 30 000 ounces (933 kg) in 1984. Production is primarily from some 100 medium scale mining, operations treating 50 - 200 000 m3 of auriferous late Pleistocene fluvial gravels year. In spite of their economic value the deposits remain only poorly investigated and many fundamental questions relating to the origin and formation of the deposits remain unanswered. This paper attempts to describe the geology of the deposits and outline a genetic model for their formation, and then discusses some of the economic aspects and current limitations and opportunities of the growing alluvial gold mining industry of the region.

Jan 1, 1985

By Martin Plante, Denis Hamel, Marie-Pier Bédard, Jeff McLaughlin

"The results and methodology for the optimisation of the zinc flotation circuit at the Matagami Mill using the 6-Sigma methodology are shown in detail while only the base line and final results are presented for the copper circuit. As a result of the six sigma project, the zinc concentrate grade was improved by 2% and the zinc recovery by 3%, with reduced dosage of reagents while the copper concentrate was improved by 2.4%. The process variation in the zinc concentrate grade and recovery was also reduced by over 50%. The main factors contributing to the project success were identified to be improvement in the plant measurement systems, an internal benchmarking exercise and statistically designed laboratory and in plant tests to guide the process improvement. The annual value to Noranda resulting from this project has been estimated at approximately $5 million.INTRODUCTIONThe Matagami concentrator started ore processing from the new Bell- Allard deposit in July 1999. Concentrator performance (grade and recovery of zinc and copper concentrates) was highly variable and work was ongoing to fix the sources of variation. In the mean time, Noranda embarked on its 6-Sigma initiative across the company. The 6-Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control) methodology was used in the two flotation circuits to reduce variation and improve performance. The statistical 6-Sigma methodology moves towards identifying and controlling critical process operating variables (the X' s) to achieve customerspecified performance (the Y's). The goal of the methodology is to describe a process in a numerical equation known as the transfer function, given as Y = f (XI, X2, X3.. .), where Y could be concentrate grade or recovery and examples of X's are reagent dosage, particle size, etc. With the transfer function, optimal operating conditions and control tolerances are established for the key X's to ensure the desired Y performance is obtained.Each phase of the 6-Sigma methodology is explained below with examples from the Matagami project."

Jan 1, 2001

By Clay Haynes

In 2005, Black & Veatch Corporation began designing a raw water conveyance system for San Luis Obispo County from Lake Nacimiento to the city of San Luis Obispo. The first element of the water transfer system will be a raw water pump station and lake tap. The wet well of the pump station will consist of a concrete lined shaft approximately 180 feet deep constructed in the very incompetent sandstone of the Vacqueros Formation. The lake will be wet tapped at approximately 172 feet below grade using a slurry earth pressure balance tunnel boring machine. The 48 to 72-inch finished diameter microtunnel will be approximately 500 feet in length. Construction is scheduled to begin in the winter of 2007.

Jan 1, 2008

Thickener Modelling - Incorporating Shear Effects

Sep 13, 2010