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By George C. Lipsey

FOR many years the mining of coal and other minerals occurring in sedimentary formation has been planned according to information obtained by diamond drilling. Placer mines have used churn drills for sampling and estimating deposits, and some metal mines have used the method either wholly or in part. The diamond drill method, therefore, although not entirely new, has come into more prominence in the last few years. Several large-scale developments now being planned or in the production stage have used this method in varying degree. This paper will describe the operations of the Howe Sound Exploration Co., Ltd. at Snow Lake, Manitoba, where a gold mine was developed and equipped for mining and milling wholly on the basis of diamond drilling results. The property has been in operation nearly 3 years, so that results can be compared with the estimates and assumptions made from the diamond drilling. In developing the subject it is necessary to outline as briefly as possible the normal method of mining, from discovery to production stage. Table I sets forth these various stages, the methods of financing, the percentage of total cost, and the relative time interval required for each section of the work. The plan presented in this table cannot be applied to all mining developments, but it gives a basis on which to work. In Stages 2 and 3 the investment is moderate, and if the property does not respond favorably the options or interests can be terminated. Stage 4 represents a sizeable investment, and it is more difficult to drop the property after this part of the operation is completed. Stages 2, 3, and 4 may be repeated several times by diflerent groups or companies before Stage 5 is reached, but when Stage 5 has been started the total capital investment must be provided and there can be no turning back. It will be noted that there is a total of 116 units of investment in the overall cost if one company proceeds with Stages 2, 3, 4, and 5 in order. Stage 4, however, consumes time which is important when markets are being considered. Bringing a property into production when metal prices are low is much more difficult than when the prices are high, and if this stage can be set aside production is attained more quickly. When Stage 4 is eliminated the total becomes 86 units of cost for Stages 2, 3, and 5, but an adjustment of 14 units must be added to Stage 5. These 14 units represent the useable value of Stage 4. Thus Stage 4 represents an investment of 30 units if carried on before Stage 5, but 14 units if included with Stage 5. This is accounted for by the fact that development work can be accomplished more cheaply under Stage 5, since everything that is done is planned on a production basis with permanent services. Stage 4 must of necessity be governed by expenditures, and a great many temporary services, including housing and power plants, must be provided. The prospect shaft is a small one, and drifts,

Jan 1, 1953

By C. Williams, D. V. Carter

During 1943 five oil fields and two gas-condensate fields were discovered in the East and East Central Texas district. The New Hope field, discovered by Tide Water-Seaboard in Franklin County, is the most important oil discovery since the Hawkins field in 1940. At the close of the year two oil sands were producing and two additional oil sands were being tested. The gas-condensate fields of Appleby in Nacog-doches County and the Stewards Mill field in Freestone County had only one producing well each. The Carthage field was extended 3 miles north and 4 miles west. Another well that was testing at the year end indicated a probable eastward extension of several miles. The Quitman field, in Wood County, was the most active from the standpoint of drilling operations. Approximately 48 wells were complcted during the year. The second and third most active fields were Hawkins field, Wood County, and Kildare field, Cass County, respectively. Wartime restrictions of material, together with manpower shortage and Federal spacing regulations, reduced the number of oil and gas-well completions from 265 in I942 to 171 in 1943. This represents a drop of 35 percent, or approximately 1/3, enough to replace the 531 producing wells abandoned in the district during the year. No changes were made in the price of crude oil in the district in 1943. The district produced 177,652,940 bbl. of condensate and oil during 1943. This represents an increase of approximately 11 per cent compared with the previous year. The East Texas field, which is the largest and most important field in the district, had an annual production of 128,568,647 bbl. of oil, which is approximately 6.5 per cent more than the previous year, and represents 72 per cent of the district's production of condensate and oil for the year. The district had an estimated basic daily allowable of approximately 509,000 bbl. of oil on Dec. 31, 1943. The entire district produced approximately 30 pcr cent of the state's production for the year 1943. The Hawkins field, Wood County, was operated 271 days during the year and with an average daily production of approximately 52,488 bbl. for the year. This field, which is the second largest in the district, produced 14,224,164 bbl, of oil during the year. Changes in annual production in certain fields in the district can be attributed to their ability to produce at higher rates, the demand, and transportation facilities in the war effort. The East Texas field showed an over-all decrease in reservoir pressure of 8.30 lb. during the year. Indications were that through the first quarter of 1944 the return of salt water to the reservoir was having a beneficial effect. It is hoped that, as more and more water is returned to the reser-

Jan 1, 1944

By Jan Law

Problems of oil recovery are attacked from the approaches dictated by the two strikingly dissimilar complexes that comprise an oil reservoir—the fluid complex and the interstitial complex. Knowledge of the fluid complex, due to labors in the fields of fluid mechanics and physical chemistry, has far outdistanced knowledge of the interstitial characteristics of the sand complex. This paper is concerned with the latter and applies the technique of statistics to petrographic facts—namely, porosity and permeability—dealing with what might be called petrometry. Statisticians have long worked within the problem of reconstruction of a universe oi variables by means of samples that comprise a small percentage of the universe from which the samples were drawn. Core-analysis data comply with the requisite of random sampling as stipulated by theoretical statistics. A basic concept of statistics employs t.he following substitution: 1. The results of sampling are arranged as a frequency distribution. 2. The observed frequency distribution is compared with a mathematically precise distribution. 3. If a sufficiently good agreement is found between the two, the precise distribution is substituted in all subsequent operations involving characteristics of the sampled material. This mathematically precise distribution is also known as the normal curve, curve of error, the probability, the Gaussian, and the bell-shaped curve and is describable with but two figures. Further, these two figures, the arithmetic average and the standard deviation, are subject to mathematical manipulation. This paper demonstrates that, in some cases in the Dominguez field of Southern California, if sufficient core-analysis samples are taken over not too great a thickness of sediments, the resultant permeability and porosity assemblages give satisfactory agreement with ilormal curves. It is shown that the indications are strong that oil wells wherein a satisfactory agreement is found are predictable as to productivity. Since the predictions are made by employing the laws of chance that are operative within sedimentation, it follows that the mechanism by which the predictions were made is a basic concept of reservoir mechanics. Therefore, tentative examples are given of the application of normal curves to the solution of problems of primary and secondary recovery. Nature of Permeability Frequency Distributions Core-analysis data are made available as a tabulated depth vs. permeability profile. The nature of the distribution of permeability values within a given strati-graphic interval may be approximated from an array constructed with samples plotted in the order of their appearance with depth (accession number) against their permeability value in millidarcys. A wide variation in the nature of the distribution of K (permeability) values for

Jan 1, 1944

By Ferit Gurses

Extensive coal and lignite deposits exist in Turkey. Bituminous coal is the nation's principal mineral resource; important not only as fuel for the industrial development of the country, but also as a means of obtaining foreign exchange. Of the electrical power generated during 1939, 82.8 per cent was derived from coal.' It is anticipated that the lignite deposits will be one of the major sources of power for the electrification of the country. Bituminous Coal The locations of the four principal bituminous-coal2 basins are indicated on Fig. 1. The Eregli-Zonguldak basin lies on the Black Sea northwest of Ankara; the Canakkale basin lies near the junction of the Dardannelles; the Trakya basin is in European Turkey northwest of the Bosphorus and the Erzurum basin lies far to the east. The Eregli-Zonguldak basin is the most important of the four. This coal basin was discovered in 1829 but did not arouse interest until 1848; up to 1865, its annual production had not exceeded 50,000 metric tons. In 1865, during the Sultanate, working of coal mines was started by the Navy department, and the annual production was 61,145 metric tons. In 1908, the Minister of Commerce and Agriculture was authorized to develop the whole coal basin. Production reached 264,397 metric tons in 1910, and during 1915-1922, preceding the revolution, the total produc- tion of the basin was' 2,676,043, or an average of 334,000 metric tons annually. The period of national revolution that followed was marked by a steady increase in coal production in Turkey, although world production decreased, because of the crisis of 1929-1932, about 52 per cent. ARea and Geology of the Coal Basin The geology of the Eregli-Zonguldak area is not yet completely known. The basin begins -at Gungazi, to the west of Eregli, and extends to Sogutozu, a distance of about 106 miles. The coal beds, however, appear only in places and the overlying Cretaceous strata hide them elsewhere. This area includes the most important centers, such as Kandilli, Alacaagzi, Teflenli, Kozlu, Gelik (see Fig. 2). The geological sequence of the district is correlated with the Cretaceous of the Balkans; which is, in turn, a prolongation of the Alpine zone. Geological surveys made by G. Ralli, R. Zeiller and P. Arni3 show that the Eregli-Zonguldak formations fall into three natural divisions. Series a, The Alacaagzi in the district of that name (Fig. 2), is of the Culm stage. The strata strike generally east-west and dip about 30" south. This series appears also around Kandilli and Camli, with a steeper angle of dip, but the deposits there lack regularity. The Alacaagzi stage appears also farther east, to the south of Kozlu and Gelik. The Alacaagzi series contains 15 seams of an average thickness of 2 ft. of good coal. Series b, the Kozlu, best represented in Zonguldak, Kilimli, Catalagzi, and between

Jan 1, 1944

By Charles C. Rodd

Prior to 1938, proration procedure in Kansas required the physical testing of wells in order to set up a basis for allocating production. Subsequently the use of liquid-level data and bottom-hole pressure data was authorized on certain types of wells as a basis for calculating well capacities, thereby permitting wells to be tested at low rates and with small volumes of production. This paper gives some attention to the equipment used for obtaining liquid-level data but in general it is devoted to the theoretical and physical factors involved in well testing by drawdown methods. These tests are divided into two classifications: (I) liquid-level data used directly to calculate capacities, and (2) liquid-level data and liquid-level measuring equipment used in connection with other data to determine bottom-hole pressure. Equations and calculations for both types are shown. Well capacities calculated from fill-up data have not been used generally but offer a simple means of testing some wells. Theoretical factors and calculations for such tests are shown. In the state of Kansas, proration laws required that the "ability of a well to produce" be given consideration in state allocation orders and for many years this was the only factor used in prorating the allowed oil. The "ability of a well to produce", was the quantity of oil that could be obtained from a well in a prescribed period, usually 24 hr. Early in the history of State-regulated proration, Kansas operators realized that, unless some restriction were placed upon equip- ment, the competition between producers to obtain large well "potentials" might result in a race to install the largest pumping equipment. Consequently, restrictions were placed upon the size of tubing and length of pump stroke that could be used in pumping wells during potential tests. Later, restrictions were placed also upon the size of tubing and chokes that could be used in flowing walls. Despite the restriction setup, better pumping equipment was designed and installed, pumps were improved, and various devices were invoked to obtain high rates of production for short periods of time. By 1937 pumping cycles of forty to forty-five 54-in. strokes per minute were not uncommon, and numerous wells had produced at the rate of 3500 bbl. per day for short periods. Such production was far beyond any rate that could be long sustained. Equipment necessary to take "potentials" was several times larger than that needed for normal producing purposes, and repairs and replacements required by the high pumping speeds were excessive. Also, many operators suspected that the high rates of production main tained during '"potential" tests were conducivc to early water encroachment. By 1938 large-scale physical testing of wells in Kansas ended, the use of the bottom-hole pressure gauge had become common, engineers and operators were becoming familiar with the term ''productivity index," and bottom-hole pressure was being used as a factor in allocation in many areas. There were many drawbacks, however, to large-scale use of

Jan 1, 1943

By B. Otto Pixler

Mud-analysis logging provides identification of the fluid content of formations drilled by the rotary method and permits the accurate correlation of oil and gas shows with the depth. Mud-analysis logging eliminates much coring and has an especially important application in drilling programs when coring is particularly hazardous or the electric log is difficult to interpret correctly. An appreciation of the factors that influence the results of the mud analysis, such as rate of penetration, mud properties, coring, and characteristics of reservoir rock as related to the "flushing effect," permits a better understanding of the mud-analysis log. Recent studies of the relationship of the two gas readings obtained by the gas-detector instrument have proved significant. The difference between the total combustible gas reading and the higher molecular weight gas reading indicates the presence of methane. With few exceptions, zones not showing an increase of methane probably can be condemned. Mud-analysis logging furnishes valuable information, which generally cannot be obtained by other methods. Introduction Logging by mud analysis of wells drilled with rotary tools is a direct method of locating oil-and-gas-bearing formations. The use of this method of logging has increased each year until now more than 20 field units are being used in 13 oil-producing states and in some foreign countries. Several papers1-9 have been published in the petroleum trade journals describing in detail the equipment and the application of mud-analysis logging. This paper will discuss briefly the method and review its application and some of the late developments. Method As the drilling of a well progresses, the drilling bit dislodges and disintegrates a cylindrical section of the formation. If oil or gas is contained in the pore spaces of the cylinder, some of the contents of these porous spaces will be entrained in the drilling fluid. In wall logging by mud analysis, the mud is continuously examined for oil and gas on its return to the surface, and the results are correlated back to the actual depth of the hole at the time the mud was clearing the eyes of the bit. The test for gas is made by diverting a portion of the circulating mud from the flow line to a separator or gas trap, where the mud is thoroughly mixed with air and a portion of the gas entrained in the mud is removed. A stream of air is drawn coun-tercurrent to the flow of mud in the gas trap, thus materially assisting the separation of the gas from the mud. The air-gas mixture is then drawn into a "hot-wire" gas-detector instrument where the percentage of the combustible gas is determined. The presence of oil in the formation drilled is detected by a physical examination of the drilling mud under ultraviolet light. A sample of the mud is treated to reduce the surface tension and gel strength, after which it is placed in a viewing box. This box is so constructed that all external light is excluded and so that the sample may be subjected selectively to either ultra-

Jan 1, 1946

By James Pollock

The possibility of colloidal deposition of cinnabar has been neglected. In opalite deposits cinnabar exists in particles within or near the colloidal size range. Colloidal processes have been admitted to be operative in hot springs and low-temperature deposits similar to most cinnabar deposits. Mercuric sulphide sols are stable to elevated temperature and pressure, and in nature probably are chiefly affected by the electrolytes in solution, dilution of colloid, and presence of protective colloids as silica. The stability of mercuric sulphide sols to electrolyte is measured, and shown to be greatly increased by dilution and by the protective action of silica. Mercuric sulphide sols follow the Schulze-Hardy valency rule, therefore the precipitating power of complex mixtures of electrolytes can be computed roughly. The stability of mercuric sulphide sols is shown to be greater than the equivalent precipitating power of the electrolytes in a hot spring depositing mercuric sulphide. It is concluded that finely divided or earthy types of cinnabar are colloidally deposited. Possibility of Collodial Deposition While colloidal solution has been suggested as a means of transport for a number of minerals, such as the sulphides of antimony, arsenic, and iron, it has been neglected in connection with mercury. This is surprising because there exists positive evidence that cinnabar is present in certain deposits in particles of colloidal or near colloidal size. Colloidal transport could result from either the rapid dilution or neutralization of alkaline sulphide solution bearing mercury coming in contact with deep ground waters, or from colloidal solution near the original source and subsequent flow to the point of deposition unchanged. That the dilution of a mercuric alkaline sulphide solution will precipitate mercury sulphide in colloidal form has been demonstrated a number of times and is easily confirmed. The dilution hydrolyzes the alkaline sulphide Na2S to the corresponding hydroxide and hydrosulphide NaOH and NaHS, and the diminution of the concentration of alkaline sulphide reduces the solubility. It is not the contention of this writer that colloidal deposition is the mode of transport of mercuric sulphide in all mercury deposits, but that the stability of a mercuric sulphide sol, as demonstrated below, in waters that are similar to those that have deposited mercuric sulphide necessitates consideration of this possibility in many deposits, especially those of the hot-spring and so-called opalite type. Evidence of Colloidal Deposition Ross1 has shown that most deposits of quicksilver are formed at low temperatures and pressures, and probably by solutions that have relatively simple chemical compositions. In most cases the solutions are probably similar to those observed in hot springs, and in two instances—at Steamboat Springs, Nevada, and Sulphur Bank, California—hot springs have been reported by Becker as actually depositing cinnabar.2 Opalite deposits were believed by early investigators to be surface phenomena

Jan 1, 1949

By John T. Awald

The Bradshaw Mountains of west-central Arizona cover an area of 1600 square miles and contain numerous old mines and prospects. The area has been geochemically sampled on a reconnaissance basis to relate mineralized areas to regional structure and rock types. Copper analyses of stream sediments have been classified and contoured to show the distribution of low and high backgrounds and low, intermediate, and highly anomalous areas. Contoured results are compared to geology and known mines. Several prospecting areas are indicated.

Jan 1, 1972

By J. C. Cordell, C. F. Weinaug

A study of the behavior of retrograde condensation from gas mixtures was made in the presence and absence of sand in order to determine if the condensed liquid would re-vaporize in the Presence of sand. Methane-butane and methane-pentane mixtures that would form liquids by retrograde condensation when produced from a constant volume cell were used. The methane-butane mixtures of similar composition were produced by three different methods. The first two were charged into an empty cell and were produced in one case within a period of 9 hr and in the other within a period of 3 days. The third mixture was charged to a sand-packed cell and produced within a period of 9 hr. The curves relating composition of the produced gas to pressure obtained from these experiments show that equilibrium was maintained as long as liquid was condensing. However, during the portion of the pressure decline where the condensed liquid should be revaporizing, equilibrium was maintained only when the mixture was produced from the sand-packed cell. The methane-pentane mixture is produced only in the presence of sand. The data obtained for this system also show that equilibrium is maintained at all times during the pressure decline. These results indicate that revaporization is aided rather than prevented by the fact that the condensate "wets the sand." The significance to the petroleum industry of the behavior of hydrocarbons in the retrograde region is becoming increasingly important because a large percentage of reservoirs being discovered today arc of the gas-condensate type. The important characteristic of a gas-condensate reservoir is the retrograde condensation of a liquid phase throughout the reservoir if the pressure is allowed to decline. In order to prevent the loss of this retrograde liquid in some of these reservoirs, they are "cycled"; that is, the material produced from the reservoir is processed to remove the heavier hydrocarbons and the light fractions are returned to the reservoir to maintain the reservoir pressure. Another method of producing these reservoirs is Pressure depletion. There are other methods but they are not in general use. Although a large number of factors are involved in determining the optimum method of producing a reservoir, only the problem of whether the retrograde condensate resulting from pressure depletion will revaporize from sand at equilibrium conditions is considered in this paper. Also the data are limited to the methane-n-butane and the methane-n-pentane systerns at loo°F and one type of sand. Three types of tests were run in order to compare the revaporization of retrograde liquid formed in a cell with that formed in a sand-packed cell, and to establish the effect of time. The results of tests presented in this paper indicate that both time and the presence of sand promote the revaporization of

Jan 1, 1949

By A. T. Beckwith

THE Lehigh Navigation Coal Company Inc. operates steep-pitch, relatively deep mines in the Panther Creek Valley, at the eastern end of the southern anthracite coal field. Commercially minable coal beds are the Mammoth,† Primrose, Orchard, and Buck Mountain,‡ their respective thicknesses average 50, 15, 1o and 12 ft. Sand slates immediately overlie and underlie these beds, though in some locations sandstone or conglomerate beds occur. Underground operations extend to a depth of 1200 ft. below the surface, and comprise a bulk of virgin work on the lower levels, and a small amount of remining on the upper levels. With increase in depth, ventilation has become a more important factor. DEVELOPMENT In early days slopes or drifts were driven in the outcropping coal on the hillsides. Subsequent development was by water-level tunnels, with portals above high water in Panther Creek. These tunnels have been maintained because they intercept and drain much water that enters the mined-out portion of the bed and otherwise would follow down to the deep workings. Below these tunnels, the coal was customarily developed by slopes. Muleways, which are zigzag chutes easy to travel, were also driven to connect lower openings with the water levels. When it became necessary to go still deeper, the slopes were abandoned, and vertical multicompartment shafts were sunk from the surface. Levels have been at vertical intervals of from 195 to 250 ft. Recent practice has been toward the latter spacing; splitting the total lift, however, by starting to mine from chutes extending halfway up to the level above. Chutes customarily are spaced at 50, 60 or 70-ft. centers along the gangways. At some mines, additional shafts have been sunk from the surface to the level containing the main pumping station, and these carry the discharge lines from the pumps. As the mines are ventilated by the exhausting system, both the hoisting and so-called water shafts serve as intakes. The main fan is always on the surface, and is connected with the return airways from the various levels by an air hole or a vertical shaft. For economy, when the present deepest levels were developed, main return-air shafts or air holes were not extended to the new level, but connections were made from the new level to that above by two or more holes. It is doubtful that this method will be continued, as complications in the system, increased resistance to flow, and other difficulties undoubtedly will counterbalance any economies this provision may afford.

Jan 1, 1942

By H. F. Yancey, O. L. Furse

For several years the Bureau of Mines at its Northwest Experiment Station, in cooperation with the Mines Department. of the University of Washington, has been studying the breakage and degradation of coal. The first phase of the study was devoted to the determination of the friability of many coals of various ranks and comparison of various methods for estimating friability.' A study of the relative ease or difficulty with which various coals are reduced to the fine size required for use as pulverized fuel followed the completion of this work. Baltzer and Hudson2 list twelve research organizations in the United States, two in England, one in Germany and one in Canada that are reported to be engaged on this problem; showing the general appreciation of the need for a simple method of estimating the grindability of different coals. Hardgrove,3 ho has advanced a method for estimating grindability, points out that pulverizer tests of different coals are incomplete and unsatisfactory. He compares such tests to that of a boiler test made without knowledge of the calorific value of the coal. Frisch arid Holder4 also stress the same point. They state that,

Jan 1, 1934

By James H. Pannell, John Dasher, Wilfred L. Freyberger, A. M. Gaudin

WHEN beryllium is bombarded by gamma rays under suitable conditions it evolves neutrons. This nuclear reaction, Bes + y + n + Be", [I] is utilized in the process that is described in this paper. The equation, which physicists often abbreviate to Bevy, n)Be" shows that a photon, y, is absorbed by the Be- sotope of beryllium which then emits a neutron, n, leaving Be8 as a residue." It has been determined that the threshold for this reaction is 1.63 mev; that is, gamma rays having an energy less than 1.63 million electron volts do not have enough energy to remove a neutron from the beryllium nucleus. The threshold value for the beryllium (y, n) reaction is lower than that for any other element. The next most sensitive element is heavy hydrogen (deuterium) whose gamma neutron reaction, D2 (-y, n) H1, has a threshold of 2.2 mev. Thus, gamma rays having an intensity between 1.63 and 2.2 mev will evolve neutrons from beryllium and from beryllium only. Nuclear reactions can be considered as occurring between a projectile and a target. The probability of the occurrence of any such encounter can be expressed in terms of the "cross section" of the target nucleus for the projectile and projectile energy. This cross section, then, is the area normal to the path of the projectile controlled by the target for the purpose of the reaction under consideration. Cross sections are usually expressed in barns, in which a barn is lo-" sq cm. The cross section for Eq 1 is very small, even for nuclear reactions, and of the order of 10"3 barns. It is therefore necessary that a high flux of gamma radiation at the appropriate energy be used to obtain an appreciable neutron yield. In view of the nuclear properties of beryllium it seemed that if pieces of beryllium ore on a moving belt were bombarded with an intense beam of gamma rays, those pieces which are rich in beryllium minerals would emit neutrons at a sufficiently high rate to make it possible to detect that emission, and to use it to actuate a mechanical device for removal of the active from the barren particles. The principal economic source of beryllium is the mineral, beryl. Beryl occurs mainly in pegmatites which are characteristically coarse grained. The suitability of mechanical concentration depends upon the size at which the desired mineral can be liber-

Jan 1, 1951

By John Langton

In determining what kind of pourer should be adopted for the works of the Moctezuma Copper Co. at Nacozari, Sonora, Mexico, certain considerations imposed by local conditions had to be taken into account. Water.—During most of the year the water-supply is abundant for all purposes, but it dwindles rapidly when the dry season sets in, reaching a minimum flow which is entirely undergrouad. It was evident, that with the greatest care in keeping down the unavoidable loss of water in milling and smelting, these operations and hence the capacity of the works mould ultimately be limited for about two months of the year by the small watersupply available at the period of minimum flow. Transportation.—The nearest railway terminus was in Arizona, at the international boundary-line; and the price of supplies at that point would be enhanced at Nacozari by the additional cost of a 90-mile wagon-haul. During the rainy season, transport to Nacozari was much impeded, and at times made impossible, by the condition of the roads. Hence, to insure continuous operation at the works, it would be necessary to provide for hauling the year's supplies, including fuel for power and coke for smelting, in less than eleven months. In other words, the average freight delivered daily at the works should be at least 10 per cent. more than the average daily consumption. For moderate quantities of freight, pack-carriage by burros is astonishingly cheap. But it has a capacity-limit which is generally very soon reached. A 200-lb. load, and 10 miles a day, 5 with and 5 without load, is the full capacity of a burro. This means one burro per ton-mile of the round trip; and,

Jan 1, 1904

By Fred C. Bond

There is acute need for a method that will measure the size distribution of finely divided materials, particularly when the particle sizes are smaller than the openings of the finest screen cloth regularly available for testing. Several methods and types of apparatus are in common use, but none are entirely satisfactory for all purposes. The commonest methods are microscopic grain counts, elutriation by liquids or air, and sedimentation. Valuable results have been secured by air elutriating devices, typified by the Haultain Infra-Sizer and the Pearson Air Analyzer. These are especially useful in obtaining sized fractions that can be examined and analyzed separately. They are particularly advantageous because the sizes of the samples produced are adequate for a considerable amount of subsequent manipulation and testing. The sedimentation methods, such as the Wagner and Klein turbidimeters, and the sedimentation balance, do not deliver sized fractions, but they do provide a means for reasonably rapid comparative determina-tions of fineness and surface area, which are important in many industries. The sedimentation balance consists essentially of a balance pan suspended in a liquid that contains falling particles. These are weighed as they settle onto the pan, and the time rate of settling is determined. The size distribution is computed from the settling rate. The balance appears to be inherently more accurate than any of the other methods, and it has served a useful purpose in the study of numerous problems, but there have been limitations which have restricted its scope of application. Because of the essential simplicity of the method, it was felt that intensive investigation might lead to modifications that would make it a valuable tool [or the operators in industries that require precise information regarding the results secured from grinding equipment. A large number of size-distribution determinations below 200 mesh were required in connection with a particular research problem in fine grinding. The sedimentation balance was used in this investigation, and a technique was gradually developed that ultimately gave good results. A serious difficulty appeared early in the work. It was discovered that less material always settled on the sedimentation pan and more on the bottom of the containing jar than could be accounted for by calculation, and also that the material that settled to the bottom of the jar outside the edges of the pan was considerably finer than that on the pan. This segregation was so great that the distribution obtained for the finer sizes was obviously very much in error; material ground to about the degree of comminution of cement might have only 60 per cent of the calculated weight actually settling on the pan, and the error increased with the fine-

Jan 1, 1943

By William Hume-Rothery

I need not say how much I appreciate the honor of being asked to lecture to you, and how much I would thank you for your kind invitation. It is encouraging to feel that the abnormal restrictions of the war have been relaxed sufficiently to allow a free exchange of scientists between our two countries, and I hope that some of you will be persuaded to go to England, and to visit us at Oxford, so that I may repay a little of the kindness I have received from you. As this is one of the first lectures since the end of the war, I have thought it well to describe some of the advances in the theory of alloys which were made in the years between the two World Wars. From the point of view of theoretical science, these years have been of outstanding interest in the history of metallurgy. They have been years in which the development of new and more accurate experimental methods has led to the revelation of many new facts. At the same time, the theoretical developments have enabled some of these facts to be viewed as parts of a general scheme, and we may say that some of the foundations of metallurgical science have been laid. This work was naturally stopped by the Second World War, and it can therefore be reviewed as one definite stage in the development of our Science. To illustrate the new advances, I shall deal mainly with the alloys of copper and silver, since these have revealed many of the general principles. taken, and copper had been found to crystallize in the face-centered cubic structure (Fig I). The determination of this structure naturally was of immense importance in the understanding of our subject, because it meant that we were at last in a position to appreciate the underlying structure out of which the crystal of copper was built. The earlier science of metallography had shown that in many alloys of copper the addition of a second metal in not too large proportions resulted in the formation of a homogeneous alloy which was regarded as a solid solution of the one metal in copper. Fig 2, for example, shows the so-called equilibrium diagram of the copper-zinc alloys, and here you will see that there is a solid solution of zinc in copper extending to something of the order 35 to 40 at. pct zinc.

Jan 1, 1947

Prospecting methods used in Tennessee have gradually improved with the years, as required by depletion of the easily accessible and shallow deposits and the universal trend toward mechanization, and as necessitated by exploring deeper beds, often occurring under limestone and flinty overburden. In the early days it was a very simple matter to dig pits by hand, using a plentiful supply of local farm labor to expose relatively shallow deposits of "brown rock" under shallow clayey overburden that would stand up without timbering. Visual inspection of the exposed phosphate and expert judgment of the "grade" analysis, aided by a "biting" test to reveal presence of unwanted silica, furnished most of the information required. All this might be helped by a few samples sent to the local chemist† who supplemented his income by judicious trading or tanning a few bear skins. The extra curricula activities did not affect the accuracy of the analysis which hold up even under present day standards. Some shot and core drilling was done in Hickman County, mostly for the limestone-like blue Phosphate deposits. The next step was the use of a 4-in. posthole auger, hand operated as described by Guenther, followed by a completely mechanized rig, as described by Pickard. Both these methods are practically adapted to the prospecting of the relatively soft brown rock deposits at moderate depths of clay overburden. For prospecting in areas of deeper overburden, such as are often found in Hickman County, up to 150 or even 200-ft depths, a modified core-drilling method is described by Guenther. Johnston describes a special diamond-drilling technique, developed by TVA, to penetrate flint horizons, which was adopted by the International Minerals in chemical corporation to prospect in Hickman County where deposits had previously been prospected at considerable expense and with difficulty, by small, temporary, hand-dug shafts.

Jan 1, 1948

By W. M. Mobley

The coal industry in Alabama, centered in Birmingham, has pioneered coal-bene-ficiation practice in the United States. The nature of the coal seams and mining methods employed have necessitated use of equipment and methods best adapted to the local conditions. Although all of the 30 or more coal seams now being mined in the state receive beneficiation, only the three most important producers of coking coals, the Pratt, Mary Lee and Black Creek, are discussed in detail. Nature of the seams, washability characteristics and equipment used are given as examples of the extent of work and progress in this field. The coal seams in Alabama are relatively thin and pitching, making mining difficult and expensive. Most of them are characterized by thin partings of rock or shale in the seam itself, as well as laminations of bone and rash. Mechanical mining methods have increased the occlusions from roof and floor to such an extent that nearly all the coal mined in the state must receive some treatment before it can be put on the market. During the year ending Sept. 30, 1943,' 18,129,792 tons of coal were mined in the state and 14,364,177 tons, or 79.2 per cent, received treatment. Excluding from the total the 1,223,014 tons produced by small wagon mines and the hand-picked lump coal, the amount re- ceiving beneficiation would be more than 90.00 per cent. This is, by far, greater than in any other coal-producing state. The earliest record of coal beneficiation in Alabama was the installation in 1890 of an experimental Lurig washer by Alexander Cunningham, for the Sloss Iron and Steel Co. at its blast furnace in Birmingham.2 In 1894 the Jeffrey Manufacturing Co. introduced the English Robinson washer, a combination of a hydraulic classifier and centrifugal machine. Erskine Ramsay, who has contributed so much to the coal industry, saw its possibilities as well as its mechanical defects and soon had his inventive mind at work. He added a sludge tank of his own design, and many Robinson-Ramsay washers were installed in Alabama and other states. The Stewart jig appeared in 1900, followed by the Montgomery jig in 1910 and both have found extensive use. Increased interest in this field led to new designs, such as the American, Elmore, Burke and Faust. The first Baum-type Norton jig was operated in 1930 and within the last five years six large installations of this type have been made by the McNally-Pitts-burg, Jeffrey and Link-Belt Companies. Wet-washing tables were introduced in 1922 but not extensively used until recently. The two most popular types are the Deister-Overstrom and Deister Plat-O. The coal-cleaning equipment used in Alabama has been relatively simple, yet efficient, but as the amount of impurities in the raw coal has been increased by mechanical mining and labor costs have become higher, much interest has been shown in sand cones, froth flotation and

Jan 1, 1947

By R. H. Smith, A. C. Polk

The physical properties of the materials are listed, together with a short explanation of how this material binds the sand grains together without materially reducing the effective permeability of the sand. The chemical can be used in wells with bottom-hole temperatures ranging from 105°F to more than 350°F A description of the equipment required and the techniques used for applying these plastics to the wells is included. Introduction Recovering oil and gas from unconsoli-dated sand formations offers one of the most troublesome of all production problems. These sands generally present no particular trouble while drilling is in progress, but after the well has been completed and a pressure differential has been established across the face of the producing zone, the formation begins to L'slough," resulting in "sanding up" of the well. The term "sanding up" means that sufficient volumes of sand have moved into the well bore or casing to cause a serious reduction or complete halt of all flow of oil, water or gas. In rare cases a well may produce only a small amount of sand and still continue to flow or pump, the sand being carried to the surface in the fluid stream. However, in such instances, the result may be a costly repair bill due to the effect of the sand on surface and pumping equipment. The difficulty of producing petroleum from sands that are loosely cemented has long been recognized by petroleum engineers but only within the last few years has any new approach to the problem been undertaken. This involves the use of plastics that are capable of bonding the individual sand grains in place without materially reducing the effective permeability of a formation. The successful application of plastics for the consolidation of poorly cemented sands is relatively recent but now it is widely used in many of the more difficult areas on the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana. This relatively new use of plastics1 in the oil fields has been preceded by much laboratory and field research on the use of various chemicals2,3 for solving numerous well-completion and work-over problems. Plastics now are being used successfully to control gas-oil and water-oil ratios,4'6 in zone isolation, the repair of casing leaks, the elimination of caving in cable-tool drilling wells6'7 and in the setting of linerss and casing.9 Sand-consolidating plastics, however, are basically different from all others in that they must not form an impervious seal. Field Practices The approach to the sanding-up problem usually has been the mechanical obstruction of the movement of the sand grains.

Jan 1, 1947

History of Reverberatory Smelting in Montana, 1879-1933. By FREDERICK LAIST (Trans, vol 106 31,800 words ) The development of the art of reverbera¬tory smelting from 1879, when smelting first started in Butte, up to the present time is described. The paper traces the development of the reverberatory furnace, as regards both constructing and operating, from the initial 10-ton furnaces to the present-day 600-ton furnaces and the changes in operating practice which accom¬panied the gradual enlargement of the furnaces and the reasons therefor are described and explained The results obtained from an investigation (made in the course of the Carson litigation) into the various methods of charging reverberatory furnaces are given These investigations proved that the method of charging a reverberatory had very little to do with its performance It was also found, at the same time, that the depth and extent of the bath maintained in the furnace had very little to do with its performance Numerous operating results are included and the article is illustrated Development of Copper Converting at Butte and Anaconda. BY WILLIAM KELLY AND FREDERICK LAIST (Trans , vol 106 4400 words.) This paper is based on recollections of one of the authors, W M Kelly, who has been identified with the development of smelting and converting at Butte and Anaconda since early times The article starts with a description of the circumstances surrounding the first intro¬duction of copper converting at the Parrot Works in Butte under the Manhes patents It briefly recounts the difficulties which were encountered and the steps taken to overcome them Among these were the absence of means for punching tuyeres in the original converter This difficulty was overcome crudely by drilling holes in the windbox opposite the tuyeres, said holes being closed by wooden plugs Later these plugs were replaced by steel slides and still later by the Dibblie ball valve, which has remained standard ever since The development of the converter from both struc¬tural and operating standpoints is traced from the early beginning to the present day Developments in Lead and Copper Converting at Tooele. BY B L SACKETT (Trans, vol 106. 3900 words) This paper shows the development at this Utah lead and copper smelter from separate converting of the two kinds of matte produced to a more efficient and economical treatment of the combined mattes This was accompanied by the use of relatively large amounts of silicious ore in the converting of lead matte as well as copper matte, which greatly improved the quality of converter slag produced, both from the standpoint of its copper content and its desirability for

Jan 1, 1935

By John C. Calhoun, J. E. Warren

A study of waterflood efficiency, given in terms of oil recovery at water breakthrough and u1timate recovery, has been made on short, consolidated Pyrex glass cores rendered oil-wet by chemical treatment. Contact angle. interfacial tension, permeability and porosity were the variables considered. Oil and water viscosities, core length and velocity of flooding were held constant. The data permit interfacial tension, contact angle, porosity, and permeability to be grouped into a scaling coefficient along with viscosity, velocity of flooding and length of core. Correlation of the .scaling coefficient with recovery at water breeakthrough is found to follow prediction; correlations of ultimate recovery demand a scaling coefficient different from that which correlates breakthrough recovery. The work indicates that, with proper control, a group of similar natural cores, of permeability plug size, call he correlated 10 indicate basic flooding performance. INTRODUCTION The fraction of oil recovered from a porous medium is related to both reservoir conditions and production techniques. An investigation of all factors that enter into this relationship is necessary in order to arrive at the optimum method of exploitation for oil reservoirs. To define this relationship, laboratory studies have been made by a great many investigators. However. an important obstacle arises if the results of these experiments on water flooding are to be applied to practice. Ditferences in behavior are to be expected between reservoirs of the dimensions encountered underground and those used in laboratory work. Factors which play an important role under laboratory conditions may be of no consequence in reservoirs. Laboratory operating practices generally differ from field operating practices. Thus. a mere understanding of the mechanism of the displacement of oil by water is not enough. It is just as necessary that the process be analyzed dimensionally to give continuity and validity to the conversion from laboratory to field. The theory of oil displacement that has come to be accepted by the majority of those who are associated with reservoir mechanics had its beginning in the work of Leverett¹ and Buckley and Leverett2. The banking of oil, observed by many previous workers, was described by the "fractional flow" and the "frontal advance'' equations. The validity of the Buckley-Leverett theory was substantiated by the experimental and theoretical work of Terwilliger et al³; moroever, the theory was extended by the introduction of the idea of a "stabilized zone" to describe the banking of oil. Levine5 showed that the Buckley-Leverett equations gave reasonable agreement between calculated and experimental breakthrough recoveries only if the capillary pressure and gravity terms were included. Rapoport and Leas1 investigated the properties of linear floods and showed that both breakthrough and maximum recovery are related to a "scaling coefficient'' derived from the Buckley-Leverctt equations. Jones-Par-ra and Calhoun6 presented another scaling coefficient which included both viscous and capillary variables. Such scaling coefficients should suffice to predicl waterflood efficiency. However, some experimenters report data which does not appear consistent with the healing coefficient approach. For example, Engelberts and Klinkenberg7 conducted an extensive series of experiments on a dimensional model which contained a

Jan 1, 1956