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By John Hays, Hammond

IT is both a pleasure and an honor to be a guest of the Institute and I thank you, Mr. President and fellow-members, for giving. me the opportunity of meeting you this evening. My esteemed friend, President Smith, has requested me to do a bit of "reminiscing" as to the earlier years of my career as a mining engineer, which has now covered a period of fifty years. Let me reassure you by promising that my narrative will not include all the experiences I have had over that long period. You will, I trust, pardon what might seem egotistical but I do not see how a personal narrative could well be otherwise.

Jan 1, 1928

By J. B. Urnfileb

THE function of gas in the development and production of oil has far reaching consequences that should be emphasized. The technical aspects of the subject have recently had a great deal of attention but less thought has been given to fundamental concepts underlying oil and gas law and the many customs and practices that have grown up in the industry. I shall re- view briefly the advance in knowledge of the subject and attempt to relate these concepts to legislative, judicial and operating problems. Early writers on oil and gas in Pennsylvania noted their close association in oil pools and their contemporaneous decline in output; also, that as gas pressure decreases so does production, that new offset wells reduce the output of existing wells, and even that tubing a well lengthens its flowing life. Expanding gas was deduced as the principal expulsive force. These fundamental observations had been made at least as early as 1880.l They were treated, however, as academic considerations and did not greatly influence law or practice for many years except to instil into all operators an urgent desire to hasten offset drilling to obtain as much of the flush as possible.

Jan 1, 1932

By Samuel H. Dolbear

THE value of a mine is basically dependent on its capacity to yield profits. Since the ore must be mined, treated, and sold, some of it in various future years, there is a risk involved as to future costs, selling price, and working conditions. It cannot be expected that the economic condition existing at the time of valuation will continue unchanged for long periods in the future.

Jan 9, 1953

By DAVID F. McFARLAND

THE making of courses of study and curricula has long held first place as the favorite pastime of educators. As a game, this activity is as fascinating to some as golf or bridge, 'and the golfer's hope of a low score is matched by the teacher's ambition to some day evolve a sequence of studies that shall prove the ideal preparation for a life of maximum service and, profit. There are few in, this gathering who have not tried their skill at this game and still fewer are those who have been long satisfied by the product of their efforts. A curriculum is hardly printed in the college catalog before conditions arise which seem to make changes desirable, and strong will power is needed to maintain the program long enough to give it a fair trial. Metallurgical curricula are not less subject to change than others, 'and; indeed they have seemed, at times, to change more rapidly than other curricula because of the changing 'needs of the industries and the demand that the graduate be trained to meet the new conditions. Metallurgical practice is constantly proving that "time makes ancient good uncouth," and the graduate metallurgist is required to adapt himself to newer and

Jan 1, 1930

By Reino Kurppa

The Pyhäsalmi mine of the Outokumpu Co. is located in central Finland (Fig. 1). The deposit was discovered in the autumn of 1958. Construction of the mine was started a year later, and production began on Mar. 1, 1962 (Fig. 2). At present, 750,000 metric tons (mt) of ore and a nearly equal amount of country rock are mined annually. Slightly over one-half million tons of various concentrates are produced per year, of which 85% is pyrite concentrate, 10% zinc concentrate, and 5% copper concentrate. The pyrite concentrate is treated in the company's pyrite smelter,1 yielding elementary sulfur, sulfur dioxide, and iron-oxide cinders, as well as electric power. Thus all the sulfides, totaling 75% of the ore, are of economic value. This is a fact which had a bearing on the development of the stoping method. GEOLOGY The ore is of breccia type containing fragments of country rock of varying sizes. It is coarse-grained pyrite ore containing sphalerite and chalcopyrite as a matrix between the pyrite grains. Only small amounts of pyrrhotite have been observed in certain marginal parts of the orebody. The ore averages 0.85% Cu, 3.0% Zn, 38% S, and 33% Fe. The orebody extends from the surface down to at least 500 m, which is the lowest level from which present information has been obtained. Horizontally, the orebody is 650 m long. It is 75 m wide at its central part, narrowing towards the ends (Fig. 3). At a depth of 115 m, the orebody suddenly narrows down to a thickness of 25 to 30 m. In the northern part of the orebody, the dip is 50° to 70°, but elsewhere it is almost vertical (Fig. 3).

Jan 1, 1969

By W. A. Scheuch

DURING the present period of economic readjustment throughout the world, the daily press and technical journals have presented discussions km the control of production and its influence on expediting the return to normal times, and on preventing the recurrence of the present economic depression. The winning of materials from primary mineral substances includes the additional motive for controlling production be-cause the minerals represent a natural resource exhaustible by use and non-replenishable. The production of metals rep-resents one phase of the mineral industry's problem.

Jan 1, 1931

By George Riter

OUR mineral-land laws need revising so as to provide definite title at the outset to the mineral deposits within any definite piece of land. The laws as they now stand, especially those applicable to lodes, breed uncertainty as to rights of possession prior to patent; and to my mind this is the worst feature of all, worse even than the apex bugbear. It is now almost impossible for anybody to tell with certainty what mineral rights exist within any area that is not covered y patent, or whether any valid rights exist at all. Our system is unique in permitting individuals to appropriate and exploit mineral lands of the public domain without notice of any kind to the Federal government, and to relinquish them without any ceremony at all. The result is a clouded record that cannot be cleared' up until each claimant is put to some sort of final proof. In order to accomplish this, new Federal legislation will be required. The requirements for a mineral survey and the proceedings for patent have always been cumbersome and expensive; and perhaps out of regard for the poor claim owner, who can ill afford the outlay for that sort of thing, the law does not require him to go through it unless he chooses to do so. Consequently, every active mining district has become encumbered with tangled groups of doubtful or conflicting locations, whose rights and boundaries, when any valuable ore is found, must usually be determined by lawsuits that are as expensive and as distressing as the stakes are high. So deeply has litigation entered into our mining system that a claim whose rights have never been disputed would probably be set down offhand, y a miner of the old school, as of no value. Think of the litigation over rights of possession on the Comstock lode-12 leading companies involved in an aggregate of 245 suits within a period of less than eight years! Ambiguous local records; the chance of erroneously placed or obliterated monuments; doubt as to the sufficient performance of the statutory annual labor; uncertainty as to prior conflicting or overlapping locations; anxiety as to the changing attitude of the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service-such considerations as these make an unpatented mining claim an unclean thing in the eyes of possible investors. Is it any wonder that they keep themselves and their money at a safe distance,

Jan 7, 1914

By J. H. McCarthy, J. M. Botbol, R. B. McCammon, G. H. Gott

Four areas have been identified as favorable drill site locations for determining whether a suspected porphyry copper deposit exists in Rowe Canyon, NV. Favorability is bated on the similarity to a deposit model constructed from geochemical data for the porphyry copper deposit near Ely. Favorability is defined as the coincident number of positive anomalies for zinc, silver, aresenic, antimony, and iron. The favorable areas coincide with an observed magnetic high and areas in proximity to major faults.

Jan 1, 1983

By Horace W. Hindry

This paper presents the ingredients composing a type of oil-base mud that has been successfully used in drilling oil horizons in California, the effect of ingredient concentrations on physical properties, methods of handling at the well and possible advantages of a waterless drilling fluid with excellent plastering properties. INTRODUCTION AN oil-base mud is a rotary drilling fluid in which oil has been substituted for water as the principal liquid ingredient. In recent years such a mud has been developed and used successfully for drilling the oil horizons of wells in various California fields. There are several types of oil-base mud, but only the type that is currently used to any appreciable extent will be considered at this time. The oil-base drilling-mud compositions used by Shell Oil Company, Incorporated have been covered by several patent applications on which patents are expected to issue at an early date. The purpose of this paper is to present data on the fundamental design of the mud; the ingredients used and their specifications; the effect of ingredient concentration on physical properties; the selection of the proper mud; the facilities needed for handling the mud; and a general discussion [oil] drilling with oil-base mud. In view of the early stage of development of oil-base mud, the great number of variables, and the almost unlimited possible combinations of these variables, which in turn require extensive laboratory study, there are certain irregularities and omissions in the data presented here. However, it is believed that sufficient data are at hand to permit a fairly complete analysis of the characteristics of oil-base muds. In view of the excellent plastering properties of oil-base mud when properly proportioned, its use should: (I) minimize the possibility of impairing the natural flow potentialities of the producing horizon such as that resulting from infiltration of water from water-base muds; (2) permit smaller clearances for setting liners, since the mud sheath has no appreciable thickness; (3) eliminate the possibility of clogging the perforations of the liner with thick mud sheath; (4) facilitate the removal of the mud sheath from the walls of the hole, for its mud sheath has no appreciable strength; (5) assist in drilling through formations, such as "heaving shale," where water wetting appears to be a source of difficulty. (6) permit cores to be obtained without contamination from drilling water. FUNDAMENTAL DESIGN OF AN OIL-BASE MUD In the design of any rotary drilling mud it is necessary to select materials that will fulfill the following requirements: (I) act as the liquid medium and regulate the viscosity; (2) impart initial and final plastering properties; (3) give gel strength and structure in order to prevent settling; (4) serve as a weighting material. The

Jan 1, 1941

By Willard L. Cumings, Benjamin L. Miller

(Glen Summit Meeting, June, 1911.) I. THE CAMAGUEY DEPOSITS. 1. Location. THE Camaguey brown iron-ore deposit covers the top of San Felipe hill, the nearest point of which lies 14 miles NW. of the city of Camaguey. While there are several low flat-topped hills in the vicinity covered with a more or less continuous mantle of brown iron-ore, the deposit of San Felipe hill is the only one of any size and importance, and the name "San Felipe district " is proposed for the region. The deposit extends in a NW-SE. direction for a distance of about 10 miles, with an average width of 5 miles. The location is shown in Fig. 1, a sketch-map of the eastern part of Cuba. Fig. 2 is a map of the San Felipe district. 2. Description. The district is mentioned by Spencer,1 who says: "The Cubitas iron-ore fields are situated from 12 to 15 miles north of Camaguey City, in the province of Camaguey Within an area measuring roughly 10 miles east and west and 4 miles north and south, there are several flat-topped mesas rising 300 to 400 ft. above the level of an almost featureless plain which extends for many miles in all directions except toward the north." With the exception of the discrepancy in his statements as to the distance from Camaguey and the area of the hill, which is over 50 sq. miles, his description is a very good one. Kemp 2 has the following to say of ores in Carnaguey Province * Geologist, Bethlehem Steel Co. + Professor of Geology, Lehigh University. 1 Bulletin No. 540, U. S. Geological Survey, p. 324 (1908). 2 The Iron Ore Resources of the World, printed by the Eleventh International Geological Congress, vol. ii., p. 795 (1910).

Mar 1, 1911

By M. R. Geer, J. D. Davis, H. F. Yancey

ALTHOUGH the mechanical cleaning of coal is carried out at plants on the surface, preparation is actually begun at the face in the mine. Here the character of the coal and the amount, character, and distribution of the impurities within the bed may be seen. Blasting methods, dust-allaying procedures, location of mining cut with respect to bands of impurity, and the practice of discarding segregated impurities underground, all have an important bearing on the successful operation of surface cleaning units. The most important single characteristic of both coal and its associated impurities from the standpoint of cleaning is specific gravity. Other characteristics related in one way or another to the preparation , of coal are rank, petrographic composition, structure and hardness, and friability. These and still other coal properties are discussed in the first section of this chapter and impurity characteristics in the second. COAL CHARACTERISTICS RELATED TO PREPARATION Rank As a result of work done over a period of several years by committees of the American Society for Testing Materials and the American Standards Association, standard specifications are now available showing the 'classification of coals according to rank and quality of grade.' The term "rank" expresses the degree to which the original coal-forming material has been changed by metamorphism through successive stages from peat to anthracite. Table 1 shows the classification of coals according to rank as devised by the committees of the organizations mentioned. The basic scheme of classification for the higher-rank coals is according to

Jan 1, 1943

By M. R. Geer, J. D. Davis, H. F. Yancey

ALTHOUGH the mechanical cleaning of coal is carried out at plants on the surface, preparation is actually begun at the face in the mine. Here the character of the coal and the amount, character, and distribution of the impurities within the bed may be seen. Blasting methods, dust-allaying procedures, location of mining cut with respect to bands of impurity, and the practice of discarding segregated impurities underground, all have an important bearing on the successful operation of surface cleaning units. The most important single characteristic of both coal and its associated impurities from the standpoint of cleaning is specific gravity. Other characteristics related in one way or another to the preparation of coal are rank, petrographic composition, structure and hardness, and friability. These and still other coal properties are discussed in the first section of this chapter and impurity characteristics in the second. COAL CHARACTERISTICS RELATED TO PREPARATION Rank As a result of work done over a period of several years by committees of the American Society for Testing Materials and the American Standards Association, standard specifications are now available showing the classification of coals according to rank and quality of grade. The term "rank" expresses the degree to which the original coal-forming material has been changed by metamorphism through successive stages from peat to anthracite. Table 1 shows the classification of coals according to rank as devised by the committees of the organizations mentioned. The basic scheme of classification for the higher-rank coals is according to fixed carbon content, calculated to the dry, mineral-matter-free basis. Groups of lower rank are divided

Jan 1, 1950

By M. R. Geer, J. D. Davis, H. F. Yancey

ALTHOUGH the mechanical cleaning of coal is carried out at plants on the surface, preparation is actually begun at the face in the mine. Here the character of the coal and the amount, character, and distribution of the impurities within the bed may be seen. Blasting methods, dust-allaying procedures, location of mining cut with respect to bands of impurity, and the practice of discarding segregated impurities underground, all have an important bearing on the successful operation of surface cleaning units. The most important single characteristic of both coal and its asso¬ciated impurities from the standpoint of cleaning is specific gravity. Other characteristics related in one way or another to the preparation of coal are rank, petrographic composition, structure and hardness, and friability. These and still other coal properties are discussed in the first section of this chapter and impurity characteristics in the second. COAL CHARACTERISTICS RELATED TO PREPARATION Rank As a result of work done over a period of several years by committees of the American Society for Testing Materials and the American Standards Association, standard specifications are now available showing the classification of coals according to rank and quality of grade.' The term "rank" expresses the degree to which the original coal-forming material has been changed by metamorphism through successive stages from peat to anthracite. Table 1 shows the classification of coals according to rank as devised by the committees of the organizations mentioned. The basic scheme of classification for the higher-rank coals is according to

Jan 1, 1943

By H. B. Charmbury, D. R. Mitchell

Everyone in the coal industry from top management to the preparation engineer is vitally interterested in recovering as much salable coal as possible from the run-of-mine product. Coal losses from a preparation plant occur in the solid refuse material being discharged from the plant and in the bleed-off slurry from the water circuit. The refuse is generally hauled from the plant in solid form by trucks, conveyors, or aerial trams to the refuse or culm banks or it may be crushed and transported by hydraulic methods to refuse ponds or dams. The loss of coal in refuse material and the extent of this problem has been covered in another paper. The loss of salable coal in the plant bleed-off slurry is one of the water circuit problems in coal preparation plants. Slurries originate at various places in the processing circuits and are usually disposed of by transportation to waste ponds known as slurry ponds. Even though the combustible material discharged as slurry and refuse from the plant is labeled a loss, the loss must only be considered temporary. There is a tendency at the present time to examine refuse and slurry losses and to reprocess these materials to recover valuable coal.

Jan 1, 1960

By H. Wilhelm, E. L. Davis, W. A. Clark

MATHEMATICAL formulas for the analysis of the behavior of producing oil wells can be devised which will be correct for the assumed conditions. However, in an oil zone, variables always exist which are unknown, or to which. it is impractical to assign mathematical values. It seems apparent that one should reason back from observed facts to an analysis of causes, rather than start with a hypothetical reservoir with assumed properties and attempt to explain observed phenomena. In this paper we hope to throw some additional light on factors influencing production, especially edgewater behavior. OIL and gas are contained in reservoirs of either the sealed type or the edgewater type. In the former all the recoverable oil is produced by gas expansion only. In this type of reservoir, edgewater is not effective. This may be because of faulting or overlapping strata, or more often, probably, the edgewater pressure is ineffec¬tive on account of resistance or lack of head.

Jan 1, 1933

By A. W. Asman

An analysis is made of three different types of section production units that represent the manner in which most of the nation's bituminous coal is produced. The general delays and production characteristics of these sections are presented along with a method for evaluating section performance based on actual and theoretical production characteristics.

Jan 9, 1951

By J. W. JESSUH

TO certain people the name of Northern Rhodesia brings only a vague recollection of a distant country somewhere in Africa; to others, it means a big game territory and the opportunity for excellent shooting; to some, a land of sunshine and peace; but to mining men the name signifies the land where the latest discoveries of copper ore are astonishing the mining world and bid fair, in a few years, to make Northern Rhodesia one of the largest copper- producing countries. There is a fascination about this part of the globe that is somewhat similar to southern California, and at the same time there is that feeling of mystery peculiar to a tropical climate. Perhaps it is the isolation, the fear of wild animals, or the influence of an undefinable something which cannot be expressed.

Jan 1, 1931

By D. W. Jessup

THE handling of native labor is offering an interesting problem that requires diplomacy. It is difficult to induce many of the men to leave their villages and enter into regular work. They do not feel the necessity of manual labor other than to obtain sufficient money to pay the annual hut tax and to buy a little clothing. The ground provides mealies (corn) which means food and beer, he hunts and catches fish, so why work? But gradually, as the native becomes more civilized, his wants increase and his ideas change; he now needs money to supply his desires and eventually he must work more. So in time it is hoped that the labor market will be better supplied.

Jan 1, 1931

By Dan E. Lewis, William E. Saegart

Similarities of certain geologic and mineralogic parameters are recognized among the various Philippine porphyry copper deposits. Lowell and Guilbert3 described a model of the typical porphyry copper deposit as the result of comparing numerous Western Hemisphere occurrences. Many of the characteristics of the Philippine porphyry copper deposits differ from the model developed by Lowell and Guilbert. A model of the typical porphyry copper deposit is presented and the characteristics of the Philippine model are compared with those of the Western Hemisphere model. Estimated Philippine copper production in 1975 was 242 446 mt. The total in 1948 was 2091 mt. This represents a 116-fold increase in copper production during the 28-yr period. The Philippines now rank seventh in total world production of copper.

Jan 1, 1978

By Albert E. Reed

THE development of the modern high-speed vibrating screen, together with the increasing availability of long-lasting stainless-steel screen cloth for relatively fine-mesh separations, means that more screen circuits will be used in the future. It seems pertinent therefore to examine a few characteristics of screen-circuit products, and especially the points of difference as compared with products of classifier circuits. The most noticeable change that takes place when substituting screening for classification in a grinding circuit is a substantial drop in the circulating load, owing to the greater ease with which the "fines" leave the circuit. Where circulating loads of 500 to 600 per cent are considered fairly normal in classifier grinding circuits, the grinding circuit equipped with screens for equivalent work will have a circulating load of only 20 to 75 per cent. As a result, the products of screen circuits will show a minimum of overgrinding or sliming as compared with a classifier circuit. The desirability of this characteristic will naturally vary according to the metallurgical requirement in each case. Because screen separations make a sharper division according to particle size, the products of screen circuits can be expected to show greater crowding of particles near the point of separation. These changes in product characteristics are so important that other factors, both in the grinding and concentration processes must be adjusted if the operator is to take full advantage of the increased tonnages and higher efficiencies available to him through the use of the screen circuit. One factor that too often is overlooked when changing to screen circuits is the importance of adjusting the ball-mill or rod-mill charge, to compensate for: (I) increased tonnage of new feed, (2) decreased circulating load, or (3) more granular character of feed. These same factors should also be taken into consideration for their effect on the various types of concentration or flotation equipment that may follow the screen circuit. Over a period of years, this equipment has generally been designed and adjusted to the product of the classifier, therefore it seems obvious that some research on the adjustment and adaptation of concentrating and flotation equipment to screen-circuit products will be most profitable to the operators. To illustrate the points mentioned above, the results from three recent installations follow, with data on the comparative characteristics of screen and classifier circuits. A range of separation from 10 to 48 mesh has been chosen, using two general types of screening equipment and two types of classifiers. The first of the installations of which the results are to be examined is that of an iron-ore installation where eastern magnetite was being concentrated prior to sintering. Fig. I shows the original grinding circuit, using classification, while Fig. 2 shows the same circuit equipped with a

Jan 1, 1945