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By Edward H. Robie

NEVER before have the annual company reports in the mineral industry field exhibited the typo-graphical art so abundantly as does the current crop. Time was when most company reports made a drab appearance and dry reading, mostly confined to financial data and text that gave little information to the public or technical men. Now, the dollar statistics assume less importance. Considerable information is given on what is going on at the company's plants, new equipment being installed, new methods, properties under development, ore reserves and grades, and similar information of interest to professional men working in the field. We have one suggestion for further improvement: The names of the officers and directors of the company are always given, but only a few companies give the names of the principal operating officials. We think, in the case of a mine for example, that the name of the general manager, his assistant, the mine and mill superintendents, and any other top operating officials who have been largely responsible for the success of operations, are worthy of mention. The reports are now widely read and this recognition is due them. Conspicuous among the annual reports that we happen to have seen, in point of typographical attractiveness, are that of the Texas Co., celebrating its fiftieth anniversary with a gold-plated cover and gold printing inside; and that of Noranda Mines Ltd., with a red and black cover that would attract attention anywhere. Comment on economics, taxes, and labor give an excellent picture of what our industry is facing. Consider the following, from the report of the Union Oil Co. of California:

Jan 1, 1952

By F. Julius Fohs

TAKING into consideration the present state of geologic knowledge and present economic status of the oil industry, we have attempted to outline the six principal districts in which oil occurs and new pools may be expected. The map, Fig. 1, also shows the location of the present productive pools-about 100 in number. The unshaded areas represent territory where drilling depths to known sands are prohibitive with present development and pumping methods, or such sands are absent or give promise of such small production that deep wildcat tests are unwarranted. They include, also, territory where the oil-source materials are absent or not of the right type; and where shales are insufficient in the stratigraphic section to prevent the escape of oil and gas. Some doubtful districts are also included, such as the Pecos Valley, where the percentage of rigid beds, sandstones and limestones may be too great; and the Nacogdoches oil field, where small shallow production is obtained but where deep or large production is unlikely. The map is not offered as final but in the hope that it may prevent the expenditure of large sums in attempted development of unlikely territory and as the warning that those who drill in the unshaded territory do so at great risk. Those who drill in such territory should have large sums available for pioneering and experimenting and only attempt it if they can well afford to lose the money expended. Search in the shaded or cross-hatched areas is hazardous enough and should only be undertaken after detailed geologic surveys. Out of a total area of 256,000 sq. mi., the oil and gas districts comprise about 80,000 sq. mi.; the territory embraced in these districts is shown in the shaded portions. This may ultimately be increased somewhat by the addition of some minor districts, but such additions will be offset by territory probably now included in the unshaded areas. The shaded areas probably contain 98 per cent. or more of the ultimate production of the state, despite the fact that they represent only 31 per cent. of the total area.

Jan 3, 1924

By M. Muskat R. D. Wyckoff

The phenomenon called "water-coning" is that, observed in many oil wells, in which bottom water gradually and frequently sudderlly displaces a part or all of the oil production when a certain rather critical production rate from the well is exceeded. To follow in detail the process of the formation of a water cone as it breaks through the oil zone and enters the well bore is a problem so complex as to make a theoretical analysis practically impossible. However, an analytical treatment of the flow system before the water has broken through and during the time that it lies statically beneath the oil zone with an elevated or "coned" surface can be carried through under certain approximations. To present an analysis which shows the essential characteristics of the coning mechanism is the purpose of the present discussion. Physical Basis of Theory and Meaning of Approximations As will always be true for flow systems where true water-coning is at all possible, the water will be supposed to lie beneath the oil zone because of its density contrast with respect to the oil. In fact, tinder the usual field conditions, when the pay horizon is reasonably homogeneous, the water most frequently enters the well through the lower zones, but even when it enters from intermediate zones it may, in the later life of the well, displace the bottom layers of oil, thus resulting in a system wherein the oil is effectively floating on the water.

Jan 1, 1935

By C. H. North, L. E. Lynd, W. W. Anderson, H. Sicurdson

Since the composition and structure of the beach sand concentrates correspond so closely to what would be expected of ilmenites that have been altered by oxidation and leaching, there is no reason to postulate the existence of the hypothetical compound, arizonite, to account for the composition of titaniferous beach sand concentrates. The four concentrates studied are examples of the different products that can result from various degrees of alteration of primary ilmenite. CONSIDERABLE uncertainty is revealed in the literature regarding the nature of the titanium minerals which make up the bulk of the heavy, opaque fractions of numerous beach sand deposits of the world. An investigation was made, therefore, of beach sand concentrates of North Carolina, Florida, Brazil, and India. Magnetic concentration, X-ray, and microscope data were obtained which show that these concentrates consist essentially of ilmenite and its alteration products. The alteration, brought about by oxidation and leaching of iron values, has resulted in upgrading the ores to a range of 56 to 64 pct TiO², as compared with 52.7 pct in ilmenite of theoretical composition. Conclusions drawn regarding the nature of the dominant titanium-bearing mineral in beach sand deposits have been based mainly on chemical composition, specific gravity, and petrography. This material has usually been referred to as ilmenite or weathered ilrnenite.: It has also been referred to as arizonite because in chemical composition it resembles an Occurrence in in which was described by Palmer' in 1909. The chemical composition of Palmer's arizonite corresponded closely to the formula Fe²O³ . 3TiOs. From approximate measurements of crystal angles on a large imperfect crystal with rounded faces, the

Jan 1, 1955

By Samuel M. Cassidy

The exact date of man's first use of coal is lost in antiquity. The discovery that certain black rock would burn was undoubtedly accidental and probably occurred independently and many times in the world over thousands of years. It is quite likely that these independent discoveries were made when primitive man chanced to build camp fires on exposed ledges of a black rock, then was amazed when it caught fire. The Chinese recorded the use of coal 1100 years before the Christian Era and from the Bible we learn that King Solomon was familiar with coal in what is now Syria. In Wales, there is evidence that the Bronze Age people used coal for funeral pyres, and it is known that the Romans used this fuel. There are other ancient references. So the knowledge that coal would burn, and even some uses of that knowledge, go back thousands of years. However, practical and consistent use of coal seems to date to England in the Middle Ages. COAL IN AMERICA In the Americas, there is evidence here and there of occasional use by the Indians. However, the first recorded discovery of coal, in what is now the US, was by French explorers, who reported an outcrop exposure on the Illinois River in 1679. Following this, other discoveries were made by French and British explorers, but the first recorded actual usage was in Virginia in 1702, where a French settler was granted permission to use coal for his forge. Earliest recorded commercial mining was in 1750, from the James River coalfield near Richmond, VA, a deposit now abandoned. Besides local consumption from this field, shipments were made to Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. During the Revolution this coal was of importance in the manufacture of shot and shell; so important, in fact, that the British sent an expedition in 1781 to destroy the iron works and

Jan 1, 1981

By F. E. Poulson

The discovery of two new fields, Van, in East Texas, and Darst Creek, in the Balcones fault zone, is the outstanding development in 1929. The first six months was one of the most inactive periods in the history of East Texas. Five of the interior salt domes, which had been so eagerly sought as a result of the Humble Oil & Refining Co.'s strike on the Boggy Creek dome in 1927, were drilled with discouraging results, and the Boggy Creek field itself had fallen far short of expectations. Kelsey, a structure of considerable magnitude and extent in Upshur County, was equally disappointing; the Amerada Petroleum Corpn.'s initial test on this structure was dry. The situation improved in the latter half of the year. On Oct. 13, 1929, the Pure Oil Co. discovered the Van field. This gained for East Texas a permanent place in point of future potential production. There was a similar reaction in the Balcones fault zone. The Salt Flats (Bruner) field, the important discovery of 1928, proved its rating as a second Luling, but on account of repeated failures to extend the productive zone, wildcatting during the first half of 1929 in the Luling district was dilatory. In July, however, Darst Creek, a third fault-line field of majori mportance producing from Edwards limestone (Lower Cretaceous), was discovered. Retarded as development in this field has been by various attempts at proration, interest in the Balcones fault zone fields centered on Darst Creek as the year 1929 drew to a close. Development in East Texas Fields Discovered during 1929 Van.—The discovery well, Jarman No. 1 of the Pure Oil Co., is near the town of Van in the southeastern part of Van Zandt County, Texas. It is 55 miles northeast of the Powell field in Navarro County and 45 miles west of north from the Boggy Creek field in Cherokee and Anderson counties. Early in 1927, the Van area was submitted to seismographic exploration and outlined as a large anticline, the apex of which seemed to be

Jan 1, 1930

those who are to lie in the torn fields of France. Today we read of Lieut. William Hague, whom we said good-by to hardly more than a month ago-—so clean, ao young, so strong—who, abandoning the professional career in which he had won such commendation and which held for him such promise, leaving his wife and his little boy to whom he was so dear, answered at once the call for men of his training, and is now dead "in the service of his country." There are many friends of that courtly and dignified gentleman James D. Hague who recall, both here and in Stockbridge, the parental pride in the promising lad of such a little time ago—the eager schoolboy at Milton, the rather grave youth at Harvard, his entry into new experiences in the Western mining world, and who, seeing him during his stay at Camp Upton, realized that the old Puritan stock was still sound and true—and now with him the struggle is over and the sacrifice made. Captain William Teasdale Hall Captain Hall, who was admitted to Junior Membership in the Institute in 1915, while still a student of mining at the University of Toronto, was killed in action in France on May 19, 1917. Captain Hall was born in Toronto in 1893, and received his academic training at Harbord College, from 1908 to 1911, when he entered the University of Toronto, School of Practical Science. During the three summer vacations of his university course, he was employed by the O'Brien mine at Gowganda, next by the McIntyre Mining Co., at Porcupine, and finally by the Mines Branch of the Geological Survey, which was conducting magnetic surveys to the north of Port Arthur. When war was first declared, Mr. Hall endeavored to join the artillery as an officer, and for the purpose secured a provisional lieutenancy with a Hamilton battery, but he did not receive an overseas appointment, and on being graduated as a mining engineer in 1915, he was offered a position in Chile, which he accepted. He left Toronto on May 27, 1915, and was engaged in Chile as a mining engineer for nearly a year. In the latter part of April, 1916, he decided to offer himself again for service at the front. He crossed the Andes and sailed for LiverpooI, where he landed on May 13, 1916. On May 27, 1916, Captain Hall was given a commission as a lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps, 21st Squadron. He went to the front on Sept. 1, 1916, and remained there continuously. His

Jan 1, 1920

By C. A. Hartnagel

In 1939 the production of crude oil in New York totaled 5,105,000 bbl. This marks the third consecutive year production of crude oil has exceeded 5,000,000 bbl. and only once has this total been surpassed—in the year 1882, three years after the discovery of oil in Allegany County, when the annual production was more than 6,000,000 barrels. The most gratifying feature of the industry was the increased demand for lubricants, which resulted in advanced prices for crude. From a price at the beginning of the year of $1.68 per barrel, six advances totaling 82c brought the year's closing to $2.50 per barrel. A further increase in price on Jan. 1, 1940, to $2.75 per barrel places the local industry in a strong position for the year's operations. Most of the oil production of the state is now obtained by water-flooding, and the industry is practically stabilized. No new pools have been discovered in over 25 years, and border drilling indicates little prospect of extending the boundaries of the fields beyond their present limits. Deep drilling to the Oriskany sandstone in and close to the present oil fields hay failed to find oil in substantial amounts. Altogether, the oil pools of New York have produced during the 60 years that they have been exploited approximately 125,000,000 bbl. of oil. Following the flush production of 1882, the annual production gradually dccrcased and the year 1912 marked an all-time low of only 782,000 bbl. In 1919, as a result of flooding operations, a definite upward trend in oil production was recorded. During that year also the production of oil by water-flooding methods as approved by Legislative action. In the 21-yr. period beginning with 1919, oil production in the state ha.: totaled 60,338,000 bbl. Thus it will be seen that by the aid of flooding methods nearly as much oil has been produced in the last 21 yr. as in the preceding 40 yr., although the Iatter period included the flush production in 1882. As there is little hope of extending the area of the present producing oil fields of the state, producers and refiners are concerned regarding the future life of the fields. It is encouraging to observe that earlier esti- Published by permission of Director of New York State Museum, Albany, N. P. Summarized at meeting; manuscript received at the office of the Institute March 20. 1940.

Jan 1, 1940

By E. O. Wagner, V. F. Parry, W. S. Landers

Following investigations by the Denver Bureau of Mines on drying fine coal in the entrained state, Texas Power & Light Co. employed the fluidized technique to upgrade Texas lignite for use in power plants. Because of the rapidly rising cost of natural gas in Texas the company agreed to cooperate with the Bureau of Mines in studying further the upgrading of lignite by low-temperature carbonization, since potential value of the tar would help off- set the cost of fuel. Considerable interest was aroused, therefore, when Aluminum Co. of America decided to use dried lignite in its 240,000-kw power plant at Rockdale, Texas, operated by Texas Power & Light. Carbonization of coal before burning in a power plant is not new. Plants in Germany have been operated for many years on carbonized brown coal and lignite briquets produced in large integrated plants. Large-scale experiments in carbonizing pulverized coal with hot flue gases were made 30 years ago at Milwaukee, and many inventors have proposed other processes. In the U. S., technical and economic problems have prevented successful operation of large plants on carbonized coal, but new techniques of handling solids in fluidized beds may overcome these difficulties, particularly if the higher volatile noncoking coals are used.

Jan 1, 1956

By V. D. Perry

Mineralized breccia pipes, because of their wide-spread occurrence and close structural relations to some of the world's great ore bodies, are objects of unusual interest for mining engineers and geologists. The literature contains many references to them, but it is questionable whether their genetic significance and economic importance have been sufficiently emphasized. The purpose here is to stress these features, relating them to the field facts, for the particular benefit of younger generations of geologists who, confronted with and sometimes confused by the growing flood of geochemical, geophysical, and other specialized research approaches, may be reassured that mappable field relations remain a foremost guide to a better understanding of ore deposits. A mineralized breccia pipe is a pre-mineral, breccia structure which has controlled the circulation and deposition of subsequently introduced mineralization. It is composed of relatively rotated angular or rounded rock fragments, set in a mineralized matrix. A pipe in plan outline may be circular, oval or approach polygonal form, with a steep to vertical axis proportionately much greater than its horizontal dimensions. The pipe is a steeply plunging, chimney-like mass of brecciated rock cemented with later minerals.

Jan 4, 1961

By O. W. Ellis

IN VIEW of the extensive use of the brasses and bronzes in engineering practice it is indeed surprising that so little scientific work has been done on the oxides in these alloys. Recognition of the ill effects of these compounds is universally accorded, both in foundry procedure and in such specifications as cover the melting of these useful mixtures. In the latter, limits, for example, are placed on the proportions of scrap metal in the charge, and clauses governing the use of fluxes are included, the addition of fluxes to the charge being made with the object of avoiding oxidation during the process of melting and of subducing and separating non-metallic matter from the melt.1 In the manufacture of brass it occasionally, though rarely, occurs that the virgin metals, copper and zinc, alone are used. In the event of virgin metals being employed, that of the higher melting point is always melted first. If it is melted under suitable conditions, little or no oxidation will occur. Whether oxidation has occurred or not, however, can best be determined by microscopic examination of a sample taken from the melt.

Jan 1, 1930

By D. M. Bondurant

AT the present time, the coal industry is greatly interested in any method or machine that will cut the cost of producing a ton of coal, while at the same time producing a product of quality and grade suitable to the customer. Comparatively new and, as yet, little known, auger mining is proving a profitable method of coal recovery. It may be used for the production of low-cost, high-quality coal with equal success from both the hard-to-mine seams, those with banded impurities and bad roof conditions, and the more easily mined seams as classified according to conventional mining methods. A number of units are now in operation and production information is available that should be of particular interest to coal operators and of general interest to anyone associated with the coal-mining industry. Auger mining refers to coal extraction with large size augers capable of drilling to great depths and having a high capacity. Consideration of the equipment and methods used in drilling an ordinary shot-hole will give a picture of auger mining on a smaller scale. At present, auger mining is used largely for recovery of coal from the highwall after strip mining becomes uneconomical because of the type and the thickness of the overburden which must be moved. Coal augers have many of the advantages of present continuous mining machines, along with many more. The four distinct operations of conventional mining-—cutting, drilling, shooting, and loading— are eliminated and replaced by the combined operation of boring and conveying of the coal. The coal recovery auger is an adaptation of the horizontal rock drill used for drilling shot-holes to shatter and loosen overburden in strip mining operations. During the war the Becker County Sand and Gravel Co. of Summersville, W. Va., experimented with drilling coal with 6 and 9-in. rock augers. The results led to the successive development of the 20, 24, 30 and the 36-in. machines, the latter having appeared in the coal fields within the past six months. Because of the great success of the smaller size

Jan 1, 1952

By O. D. Sherby, J. E. Dorn, C. D. Wiseman

MCLEAN' has shown that the total strain obtained during creep of aluminum polycrystals arises exclusively from the mechanisms of 1) microscopically observable slip, 2) subgrain tilting, and 3) grain boundary shearing. Extensive analyses, however, suggest that the high temperature creep of metal polycrystals is controlled by a single thermal activation process."" These somewhat contradictory observations might be reconciled if it could be shown that the activation energies are identical for each of the mechanisms isolated by McLean. Such identity of the activation energies, of course, would demand that the same unit process controls the functioning of each individual mechanism. Under these conditions the activation energies for creep of single metal crystals and polycrystalline aggregates and for grain boundary shearing should be identical. This paper is primarily concerned with the possible identity between the activation energies for high temperature creep of single crystal and polycrystalline metals. In addition, comparisons will also be made between the activation energies for creep of single crystals and polycrystals with previously reported activation energies for grain boundary shearing.0"8 Materials and Techniques The same high purity aluminum, lead, and tin were used in the creep tests for single crystals and polycrystalline aggregates. Single crystals of aluminum and tin were prepared by the strain-anneal technique, whereas lead single crystals were prepared by growth from the melt. The tensile creep stress was maintained constant by Chalmers-Andrade parabolic-type lever arms. Strains were measured to &0.0002 in. per in. with rack and pinion type extensometers, and temperatures were maintained to within & 0.2"C of the reported values by mercury-thermoregulated resistance-heated silicone oil baths. The previously reported unambiguous technique for determination of the activation energy for creep was employed throughout this investigation.' ." It involves periodic abrupt small changes in temperature during the course of creep, accomplished by rapidly replacing one creep bath at temperature TI by a second bath at T,. The abrupt change in creep rate from i, to & attending the abrupt change in temperature is due exclusively to the change in temperature, since both the stress and the substructure are identical the instant before and the instant after a change of temperature. Therefore, all other factors being identical where AH is the activation energy for creep and R is the gas constant. Results Typical examples of the creep rate vs creep strain data during temperature cycled creep tests of single

Jan 1, 1958

By W. N. Lacey, D. F. Botkin, B. H. Sage

Joule-THomson coefficients for two natural gases were determined at pressures up to 600 lb. per sq. in. throughout the temperature interval between 70" and 310°F. From these primary data and available information relating to the isobaric heat capacities of the components at infinite volume, the heat capacities of these gases were computed throughout the above-mentioned range of pressures and temperatures. The enthalpies of the gases were computed as a function of state and the results compared with values obtained by several methods of prediction currently available. Table i .—Composition of Gas Samples Components Gas A Gas B Carbon dioxide................ 0.0090a 0 .042 0 Methane...................... 0.8255 0.8385 Ethane.......................0.0901 0 .0637 Propane....................... 0.0462 0.0374 Isobutane..................... 0.0074 0.0039 n-butane................ ...... 0. 0126 0 .0095 Isopentane.................... 0.0032 0.0016 n-pentane..................... 0.0022 0.0011 Hexanes and Heavier........... 0.003& 0.0023 Experimentally determined Joule-Thom. son coefficients for natural gases afford a satisfactory means of checking the accuracy of prediction of their thermodynamic properties from the behavior of the components in the pure state and in binary mixtures. Relatively small samples of these natural gases were available, together with their analyses, and the Joule-Thomson coeffi- The Joule-Thomson coefficients were determined by measuring the change in temperature resulting from the passage of the gas through a porous thimble with a known pressure difference and under such conditions that the process was substantially isonthalpic. The details of the apparatus employed for this purpose have been described.' It is believed that the changes in temperature and pressure were ascertained with an uncertainty of not more than 0.3 per cent. However, as a result of deviations from steady flow, it is probable that uncertainties as large as 2 per cent may exist in the measured Joule-Thomson coefficient. The gases utilized in this work were taken from high-pressure separators and were dried prior to use by passage over calcium chloride at pressures in excess of 300 lb. per sq. in. The gases were subjected to the conventional fractionation and Orsat analyses. The results are recorded in Table I. The composition is typical of gases from such sources, with the possible exception of the presence of significant quantities of carbon dioxide in each of the samples. The experimental results obtained for the two natural gases are graphically Portrayed in Figs. I and 2. The experimental

Jan 1, 1943

By John C. Calhoun, Raymond G. Loper

Theoretical calculations for the decline of pressure and the variation of instantaneous producing gas-oil ratio with increased cumulative production have been made for reservoir systems under various producing drawdown values and for various spacings. These variables have been included by a modification of previously Published techniques. This consists essentially of utilizing a radial system flowing gas and oil in a succession of steady state calculations. The results of the calculations do not show any variation in the predicted behavior of the internal gas drive reservoir when either the drawdown or the spacing are changed. The prediction of performance on an internal gas drive reservoir has been presented by various authors. ',"' These predictions are in the form of a pressure decline and an instantaneous producing gas-oil ratio as a function of cumulative oil withdrawal. In making these predictions a basic assumption has been that the saturation of the reservoir is uniform throughout at any time, or that the pressure differential imposed on the reservoir system is zero. Because of these assumptions the validity of such predictions has been questioned. Their application to actual systems, where saturations are not uniform and where producing differentials exist, has been a hazardous procedure. The authors cited have used different methods of approach to the derivation of equations for making their predictions and for arriving at a solution of both equations, but basically the same relationships are utilized in each case. In all instances the instantaneous producing gas-oil ratio is calculated from the equation: In utilizing this equation an average reservoir pressure and an average reservoir saturation must be known, the former to define ß, v, s, and uo/ug and the latter to define kg/ko. Predictions can be made, therefore, only for the conditions of a uniform reservoir saturation and a uniform reservoir pressure. This restriction of requiring a uniform oil saturation can be resolved by applying two-phase steady state flow for the radial system to the reservoir's history. Radial steady state flow is defined when the ratio of phases flowing,

Jan 1, 1949

By Chester Washburne

COLOMBIA has an almost ideal situation with respect to the world's markets, being only a short distance from the Panama canal and the West Indies. The sailing distance from its Caribbean ports to New York is less than that from Tampico. Geographically, Colombia consists of three systems of broad mountain ranges separated by two long narrow valleys. The Cauca River valley separates the Western or Coastal range from the Central range. On the west side of the Coastal range are the Atrato and San Juan Rivers. The Central and Eastern ranges are separated by the Magdalena River valley. In the department of Santander the Eastern range divides, one branch continuing northward as the Cordillera of Perija, the other turning eastward across Venezuela as the Cordillera of Merida. Between these ranges is the great basin occupied by Lake Maracaibo. These valleys consist mainly of long narrow reëntrants or tongues of Tertiary sediments between the older rocks of the mountain ranges. The late Miocene and younger sediments seem to have been deposited in separated basins, but the Cretaceous and possibly some earlier Tertiary strata were laid down more or less continuously over a great part of .Colombia and Venezuela. These strata were subsequently folded into the present ranges. The deposition of the Cretaceous and of some of the Tertiary was in a great sea, the main land mass being in Brazil, with land probably along some of the cores of the present mountain systems. The sediments, except the Lower Cretaceous, vary markedly in character and thickness. An illustration is seen in the massive series of non-marine conglomerates and sandstones of the upper Magdalena River valley, near Honda, which are almost wholly wanting in the coastal sections where marine sediments prevail. The oldest rocks bearing on the search for oil are the black carbonaceous and bituminous shales, limestones, and cherts of the upper part of the Lower Cretaceous. These probably are the main source of oil in both Colombia and Venezuela. They include thick bodies of true "oil shale. Above the carbonaceous and bituminous beds, lies a series of many thousand feet of clastic sediments. The most noticeable and easily recognizable formation among these clastic sediments is the "coal-bearing series," which may be either upper Cretaceous or Eocene. The

Jan 6, 1922

By H. W. Kropholler, L. A. Cramer, E. T. Woodburn, J. C. A. Greene

A generalized mathematical structure is proposed whereby internal species mass flows within a flotation network are defined uniquely by a matrix of enhancement factors. An element of the enhancement factor matrix is defined as the ratio of the mass flow of that species leaving a given cell in the concentrate to the species mass flow leaving the same cell in the tailings. To predict the enhancement factors, knowledge of flotation kinetics effects is required. Recently experimental data has become available relating to the performance of industrial flotation circuits which indicate that the discrete or discrete-distributed kinetic schemes are capable of reasonably effective simulations. These simulations show the importance of including froth effects. The prediction of performance of networks from small-scale batch tests on flotation streams shows that the model for the froth phase used in the simulations does not scale-up well and that aeration effects are also difficult to predict. The network analysis should be useful in differential flotation of complex ores and it is disappointing-in this context that little information on the kinetics of activation and depression is available.

Jan 1, 1976

By John Fulton

Early in the year 1875, some difficulty was experienced in the " Old blast-furnaces " of the Cambria Iron Company, at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, arising from the increased use of native coke, prepared in Belgian ovens near the furnaces, in mixture with Connellsville coke, in the production of Bessemer pig-iron. This was the more surprising at that time, because a very caulplete coal-crushing and washing apparatus, after the Bradford plan, had just been put into successful operation, affording a pure coal for coke-making. It was confidently expected that this thorough cleansing of the coal would improve the quality of the coke and fit it for the increasing manufacture of Bessemer pig-iron. But the trouble with the native coke continued. Experiments in fuel charges-increasing and reducing them—failed to correct the irregular working of these furnaces. Increasing the charge of native coke produced abnormal heat at the top of the furnace, reducing it cooled the furnace below. At this stage of affairs, the Hon. Daniel J. Morrell, general manager of the Cambria Iron Company, requested the writer to make the requisite investigation to determine the nature of this coke-difficulty, and to ascertain why the Johnstown coke could not be used in blastfurnace work as well as Connellsville. This task at first did not appear to present any special difficulties, but subsequently it expanded into proportions that caused no little anxiety. The first effort was directed to procuring average samples of Johnstown and Connellsville coke. At this period of the investigation, it was assumed that the whole matter could be intelligently solved by comparing the chemical analyses of the two cokes: Johnstown Coke. Connellsville Coke. Moisture,.......... 0.30 Volatile matter,......... 0.46 Fixed carbon,.90.48 89.57 Ash,.8.96 9.11 Sulphur,.0.56 0.82 Phosphorus,..... 0.014 100.00 100.274 Analysts, T. T. Morrell. A. S. McCreath.

Jan 1, 1884

By S. M. Moos, R. E. Dugger

In reviewing available vacuum filtration equipment in this paper, several types of filters have been included which are probably not familiar to operators in the mining industry. However, it was felt that these units might be of interest in the event that an application should arise for the filtration of a product in the future that does not exist today. In addition, exposure of our industry to equipment used in other industries might have a tendency to be thought provoking and perhaps lead to the development of equipment and/or applications in our industry which do not necessarily exist at this time. Most innovations in filtration equipment have been confined to the improvement or design change of components and accessories, particularly reflecting the availability of materials of construction that have been developed. Recent developments in the application of horizontal belt filters have been innovative. The application of this unit as a substitute for or an adjunct to thickeners in a CCD circuit can certainly be innovative and perhaps provide a basis for reduction in capital and operating costs in this area. For example, mill tails are generally pumped at the highest possible density that will adequately flow. Tailings ponds and dams with their attendant design requirements are based upon this estimated water volume.

Jan 10, 1979

The purposes of composition are various; one purpose, for instance, is to make a record for the writer's own use, as in a diary. That does not involve responsibility to others. There is also the writing meant to influence opinion-to be persuasive and pleasing. With such writing we need not concern ourselves at this stage of our study. The prime purpose of technical writing is to be informative-to convey information; therefore it must be clear beyond the chance of misunderstanding. Such clearness is impossible if meaningless or ill chosen words are sprinkled through the text. Discard the trivial phrases that are constantly at your elbow. Brush aside a host of vapid superlatives. Metternich exclaimed: "The superlative is the mark of fools". It is a false emphasis, like the underlining in a school-girl's letter. For example, the little word 'very' can be deleted nine times out of ten; it is an impediment to terse and perspicuous writing, as the multitudinous hand-baggage of the British tourist is to his travel. 'Very' supposes comparison. A mine with a 1000-ft. shaft is very deep to the scribe who writes from the Joplin district, in Missouri, but it seems a shallow hole to a man living at Calumet, Michigan. A vein that is 10 feet across may be considered very wide at Cripple Creek, Colorado, but it is only a 'stringer' to the miner at the Homestake, in South Dakota. Ore assaying $20 in gold is very rich at Juneau, Alaska, where 10,000 tons of $1 ore is crushed daily, but it is relatively low-grade to the pocket-miner at Alleghany, in California. It is all a matter of comparison; unless the reader knows your standards of depth, width, or richness, your 'very' has no significance. "Where erosion was very rapid or oxidation very shallow"

Jan 1, 1931