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[MINING METHODS PHILIP B. BUCKY, Chairman WILLIAM J. COULTER. Past Chairman J. B. HAPPER, Vice-Chairman LELAND A. WALKER, Vice-Chairman, CLYDE E. WEED, Vice-Chairman E. D. GARDNER, Secretary]

Jan 1, 1946

By E. J. Schmitz

The following abstract of an unpublished treatise, prepared by me, on the geological formations and minerals of the State of Alabama, is deemed of interest to the Institute. This State, called after the river of the same name (which, formed by the junction of the Coosa and the Tallapoosa, waters, with its tributaries, more than half the State), is divided by its main watershed into a larger southern district, sloping south and southwest, and drained into the Gulf of Mexico, and a smaller northern district, sloping generally north and west, and drained into the Tennessee. Geologically the State may be divided (according to historical geology) according to the different formations it exhibits, among which I include the Azoic, the existence of which in Alabama has been doubted by some; or it may be divided (according to structural geology, as closely related to topography) into a north and northwestern, a middle, and a southern zone.

Jan 1, 1884

By Leo L. Van Sambeek

An understanding of the creep and yield behavior of salt is required for the rock mechanics design aspects of solution mining. Most previous studies of salt behavior have been performed on small specimens of salt under homogeneous stress conditions; i.e., uniaxial and triaxial tests on specimens <0.002 m3. The corejacking test is a larger scale test (-0.75 m3) with inhomogeneous stress conditions that provides data on the structural response of salt. Interpretation of the responses from eight such corejacking tests provides verification of the requisite constitutive parameters required to predict salt behavior at different levels of stress and temperature. These constitutive parameters are not those studied in the usual laboratory test. Corejacking test results show almost inseparable elastic and plastic closures simultaneous with the corejack pressurization. Very rapid closure (on a relative basis) continues for a period of time after the pressurization. This rapid closure is shown to be both continuing yield deformation and creep deformation. After the period of rapid closure, the closure rate approaches a constant value. Numerical modeling of the corejack tests using a creep law containing both transient and steady-state creep functions does not provide results that agree with the responses measured in the corejack tests. Using an experimental design technique plus additional numerical modeling that includes yielding of the salt, results in identification of the significant parameters which allow agreement. The significance of the results from the study is demonstrated by comparing the postulated stability and creep response of a solution-mined cavern using the previous understanding of salt behavior and the understanding developed from this study.

Jan 1, 1985

By C. H. Mathewson, Robert Maddin, W. R. Hibbard

A satisfactory mathematical relationship between shear, elongation and change of orientation in the axial straining of a single crystalline rod or wire may be based on a simple model in which blocks, representing glide lamellae, glide over one another and rotate so as to maintain the original fixed position of the axis as the wire elongates.&apos; Obviously such a model gives no information concerning strain-hardening or the atomic adjustments at the sliding surfaces and their influence on the internal structure of the blocks. Moreover such an operation could be conducted with rigid blocks only by using self-aligning grips or a flexible attachment which would permit the adjacent blocks to freely assume their changing orientations. There are many unsolved problems (see Andrade2) concerning the manner in which nature departs from the simple model in permitting the essentials of slip, rotation and elongation to occur along with strain-hardening and the appearance of glide lamellae of various dimensions and special characteristics, not fully appreciated at the present time. This paper describes part of an extensive investigation on the development and characteristics of glide ellipses in single crystalline alpha brass rods and is especially concerned with the observation of cross-slip in crystals oriented wholly within the range of slip on a single system according to the generalizations first presented by Taylor and Elam in 1923.³ Experimental Procedure Half-inch rods of alpha brass (nominally 70 pet Cu, 30 pet Zn)* were converted into single crystals by melting and gradual solidification in a graphite mold according to the Bridgman method.4 In order to remove any coring, the crystals were homogenized at 800°C for 16 hr and tested by etching with a 50 pet nitric acid solution. The back-reflection Laue technique as described by Greninger6 was used for determining the orientations of the crystals. Standard stereographic operations were employed to locate the specimen axis in a triangle of the Taylor and Elam3 projection so that the slip plane and direction could be predicted. The lineage structure reported by Buer-ger6 was present in the crystals used in this investigation. However, only crystals were used in which the internal differences in orientation did not exceed two degrees. Very little is known concerning the effect of the presence of a lineage structure on the detailed mechanism of plastic deformation.

Jan 1, 1949

Coal was found in many places in Montana by the early explorers and trappers but no commercial development was made until 1876, and very little coal was produced before 1885. All available data are given in Table 79 taken from U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin 356. [ ]

Jan 1, 1942

The Library of the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 10 P.M., except on holidays. It contains about 70,000 volumes and 90,000 pamphlets, including sets of technical periodicals and publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library, through its Library Service Bureau, can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive especial attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references and photographic copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining maps, and to furnish general information on the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape.

Jan 11, 1917

By N. Mungan

Formation damage, i.e.. reduclion in permeability, has been generally attribuled to clay minerals which expand or disperse upon contact with water that is less saline than the connate water. Luboratory, studies show that penneahility reduction can also occur in formalions containing only nonexpandable clays such as illite or kaolinite, and can be caused also by changes in pH. Furthermore, pH changes can damage even formations that are essentially free of clays. It is suggested that permeability reduction is due to the small passages being blocked by particles, which may be dispersed clays, cemenlion material or other fine parricles. These particles are dislodged by dispersion of clays due to changes in salinity or by dissolution of calcareous cement by acids, or of silicaceous cement by alkaline solutions. In working with reservoir cores, it was found that extracted cores damaged more easily and extensively than nonextracted cores. The extent of damage depended also on tenlperatltre. INTRODUCTION Permeability is an important property of porous media and has been the subject of many studies by engineers and geologists. Many of these studies are conccrned with formation damage, i.e., reduction in permeability, resulting from exposure of oil-producing formations to water substantially less saline than the connate water. This effect causes understandable concern since during drilling, completion and production phases formations are often exposed to fresh water. The damage resulting from contact with relatively fresh water has been attributed to expansion and dispersion oF clay minerals. During laboratory investigation of the use of NaOH as a wettability reversal agent to increase oil recovery from oil-wet reservoirs, several cores used in the displacement studies suffered loss in permeability. Despite the traditional usage of NaOH for conditioning aqueous mud systems, the role of the caustic filtrate in wellbore damage seems to have been overlooked. Browning2 as recently reported on the effects of NaOH in dispersing clay minerals but he was concerned only with complications that may arise in drilling massive shale beds. The following study was made to examine the role of pH and salinity changes in core damage. Where cores from reservoirs were used, tests were performed with extracted and nonextracted cores both at room and reser- voir temperatures, since it was felt that the test environment and core condition may affect the results. Because of its limited coverage and exploratory nature, this study is not intended to provide answers to field formation damage problems. It is hoped that it will encourage research into new aspects of the permeability reduction problems, particularly those allied to new recovery and production processes. PROCEDURE In all permeability tests, fluids were pumped through the cores at a constant volumetric rate. Only deaerated fluids and reagent grade chemicals were used. The fluids were passed through two ultrafine filters before injection to remove any entrained particles. The cores, with the exception of the unconsolidated cores, were mounted in Hassler holders. Water was used to transmit pressure to the sleeve. The inlet endpiece had two entry ports which permitted scavenging one fluid with another to avoid any mixing in the small holdup volume. The cores were flushed with CO2 gas, evacuated for 5 to 6 hours and saturated with the first liquid at a pressure of 1,000 psi for 24 hours to eliminate any free gas from the cores. Pressure differences up to 20 psi were measured by transducers, calibrated in inches of water and continuously recorded. For greater pressure drops, gauges were used. All reservoir cores were cleaned with a light refined mineral oil, then with heptane, and finally dried with CO2. Compatibility tests showed that no precipitates formed when mineral oil and the crudes were mixed. Some cores were extracted in Dean-Stark-type solvent extractors using xylene and trichloroethane and dried in a vacuum oven at 450F. Each test consisted of a sequence of water, test solution, and again water flow. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION STUDIES IN BEREA CORES Salinity Contrast Berea cores 2-in. in diameter and 12-in. long were cut from sandstone quarried in Cleveland, Ohio. The clay minerals were identified by X-ray diffraction to be chlorite, kaolinite, illite and incerlayered illite. Flow of fresh water or 30,000 ppm brinc does not cause any permeability reduction (Fig. 1). However, after injection of brine the core is readily damaged by fresh water. Damage starts almost instantly as the fresh water injection is begun, and at a cumulative injection of 1.2 PV fresh water, the permeability has dropped from 190 to 0.9 md. Upon continued injection, the effluent contains clay minerals dislodged from the core. The final core per-

Jan 1, 1966

By R. B. Tippin, J. S. Browning

The feasibility of multistage heavy liquid cyclone beneficiation of spodumene was successfully demonstrated in this investigation. The indicated recovery for the multistage circuits was mathematically estimated as continuous test runs would be necessary to determine the true influence of a middlings recycle. In the three-stage circuit, both the concentrate analysis and spodumene recovery exceeded 90%. The two-stage circuits were unable to simultaneously yield an acceptable produce with a satisfactory recovery. With the Nation&apos;s growing industrial mineral requirements, the U.S. Bureau of Mines has undertaken the task of investigating new mineral dressing techniques and improving the existing concentrating methods of ore beneficiation. One such project is the gravity concentration of minerals using heavy liquid separation (HLS).1-3 Heavy liquid separation is based on the simple principle that a material, whose specific gravity is less than the density of a solution, will float on top of the liquid and a material with a greater specific gravity will sink. Heavy liquid separation techniques were developed in the laboratory over half a century ago but the process has yet to be commercially adopted. In the past, commercial operations have failed because of numerous problems.4 Industrial interest has recently been reactivated because of engineering advances. The number and quality of the heavy liquids suitable for mineral processing has increased while the cost has sharply dropped. New and improved liquid recovery systems5,6 are under consideration with present emphasis on 1) solvent extraction, 2) thermo-evaporation, and 3) water washing. The toxicity of the heavy liquids7 presents a problem, but throughout the chemical and mining industries, many similar hazardous materials are safely handled. A distinct advantage of using heavy liquids is its ability to provide a near perfect separation of fine-sized mineral particles even when the specific gravities are close. Effective separations have been made on minerals down to 200 mesh and with a density

Jan 1, 1968

By H. E. Gross

A plausrsle method of drilling beyond the continental shelves is set forth with limitations of the method. The continental shelves comprise the water-covered portions of land masses out to 600 ft. of water, or roo fathoms. The problems and possibilities of drilling beyond this depth are discussed in this paper. Introduction Much attention is being given the problem of developing petroleum beneath the open sea. Geophysical surveys have been made 26 miles offshore1 from the continental United States, and onco offshore ownership is established it is likely that there will be drilling for oil on the continental shelves. More than two years ago the author presented the means for drilling in deep water.2 at the fall meeting of the Petroleum Division of the AIME at Los Angeles. His concepts then were based on the use of rigid foundations suitable for drilling in water up to 600 ft. deep. The present paper suggests a method for drilling in deeper water. Possibilities and Problems of Drilling beyond the continental shelves It being conceded that because restricted deep-water portions of the hydrosphere might contain oil in commercial quantities, and that at any rate it is pertinent to know more of the nature of the lithosphere beneath the hydrosphere, the possibilities and problems of drilling beyond the continental shelves should be set forth. Drilling in open water would offer few if any advantages over drilling on land. These are: 1. The ocean transportation is available to deep-water drilling sites, and extensive pipe lines and roads are unnecessary. 2. Refinery facilities and markets perhaps are established on the near-by shore where adjacent fields on land are nearing depletion. 3. There is freedom from jungle pests and tropical diseases. 4. Competitive drilling is less likely. 5. Extensive areas attractive for development arc not yet under lease or concession. Disadvantages are great and numerous: 1. Storm hazards from wind and wave. 2. Expensive foundations, either rigid or floating. 3. Shutdown times because of weather. 4. Marine Regulations of Federal Bureaus in addition to customary regulations on land. 5. Frequent difficulty in moving men and materials to and from drilling platforms. 6. Extra precautions required in open sea. For drilling in water more than 500 or 600 ft. deep, rigid foundations2 become too costly, and floating foundations must be used, and they must meet the following requirements:

Jan 1, 1947

By A. J. Lynch

There are two factors which are important in the development of automatic control systems for mineral preparation and concentrating processes. They are the availability of accurate and reliable on-line measuring instruments and an understanding of the effects of important variables on process behaviour. The state of automatic control for the different processes depends on the progress which has been made in these areas and this varies considerably. This is illustrated by discussion of four processes, wet ball milling and hydraulic classification, wet autogenous milling, sulphide flotation and dense medium separation in coal preparation plants. In each case the process characteristics, current control practice and future developments are discussed. Particular problems which have delayed progress are discussed.

Jan 1, 1984

By Pol Duwez

IN the course of an investigation of the V-CO system, two intermediate phases were found. One of these phases corresponds approximately to the stoichiometric composition VCo and is isomorphous with the sigma phase in the Fe-Cr system.&apos; The second phase has the composition V3Co; its crystal structure is described in the present note. The alloys were prepared by mixing the two metals in the powder form, pressing a small disk weighing about 5 g at 80,000 psi, and arc melting this disk on a water-cooled copper plate in an atmosphere of pure helium. The details of this technique have been described.&apos; The vanadium powder was obtained from Westinghouse Electric Corp., Bloomfield, N. J. This powder is probably of very high purity, since when it is properly sintered or melted in the above-mentioned arc furnace, ductile specimens are obtained. The cobalt powder, from Charles Hardy, Inc., New York, contained 0.5 pct Ni, 0.1 pct Cr, and traces of Si and Fe. After melting, the V,Co samples were sealed in evacuated quartz tubes and homogenized for ten days at 800°C. Powder diffraction patterns were obtained with a 14.32 cm diam camera, using Ka copper radiation. The patterns were readily indexed on the basis of a primitive cubic lattice with a parameter equal to 4.675A. The density, determined by the immersion method, was 6.71 g per cu cm; hence the number of molecules per unit cell is approximately 1.95; i.e., 2. At this point, the possibility that the structure might be that of beta tungstena became apparent. The beta tungsten structure is described as follows: Space group 03,, — Pm3n 2 Co in (a) : 000; ?4lhYZ (hhl) reflection present only if 1 = 2n. Assuming this structure to be the correct one, intensities were computed by means of the usual eauation: 1 + cos220 I oc p F sin 0 cos 6 where F is the structure factor, 0 the Bragg angle, and p the multiplicity factor. The observed and calculated values of sin 0 and the intensities are given in Table I. The agreement between the observed and the calculated sin 0 is good and there are no flagrant discrepancies between the calculated intensities and those estimated visually. The (hhl) reflections for which 1 is odd are not observed, as required by the space group. In addition, the (410), (430), and (531) reflections are missing as expected, because of the special (a) and (c) positions in0%. However, six reflections—(llo), (220), (310), (411), (422), and (510)—which have very weak computed intensities were not observed. For these reflections, the structure factor is proportional to the difference between the scattering factors of the two atoms in the structure. Since the scattering factors of vanadium and cobalt are not very different, these reflections are weak. However, by using Ka chromium radiation, whose wavelength is just above the absorption edge of vanadium, the effective scattering factor of vanadium may be decreased by one or two units; consequently the difference between the cobalt and vanadium scattering factors is increased. It was, indeed, found that in a powder pattern taken with chromium Ka radiation, the three reflections (110), (220), and (310) were actually present. The three other reflections (411), (422), and (510), with spacings smaller than half the wavelength of chromium Ka, were obviously not obtainable with chromium radiation. All the experimental results appear to confirm the beta tungsten structure for V,Co. In this structure, each cobalt atom is surrounded by twelve vanadium atoms at 2.61A; each vanadium atom is surrounded by two vanadium atoms at 2.34A, four cobalt atoms at 2.61 A, and eight vanadium atoms at 2.86A. Acknowledgment This work was done at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract number W-04-200-ORD-455 with the Army Ordnance Department, Washington, D. C. The author wishes to thank this agency for the permission to publish the results of this investigation. References &apos;P. Duwez and S. R. Baen: X-Ray Study of the Sigma Phase in Various Alloy Systems. Symposium on the Nature, Occurrence, and Effect of Sigma Phase. ASTM Special Tech. Pub. No. 110, pp. 48-54. Philadelphia, 1951. 2 C. H. Schramm, P. Gordon, and A. R. Kaufmann: The Alloy Systems Uranium-Tungsten, Uranium-Tantalum, and Tungsten-Tantalum. Trans. AIME (1950) 188, pp. 195-204; Journal of Metals (January 1950). 3 M. C. Neuburger: The Crystal Structure and Lattice Constants of Alpha and Beta Tungsten. Ztsch. fiir Krist. (1933) 85, pp. 232-237.

Jan 1, 1952

[ ]

Jan 1, 1938

The Committee submits the following report: The General Committee met in the Treasury Building at Washington on Oct. 6 and 7, 1919. At the first meeting, Cornelius P. Kelley was appointed chairman, and Paul Armitage, secretary of the Committee. Subcommittees were appointed on Invested Capital, on Mine Valuation, and on Depletion and Depreciation. These subcommittees were directed to meet separately and to report on Oct. 7 to the General Committee. On Oct. 7, the reports of these committees were submitted to the General Committee and on motion were received and referred to the Executive Committee for its information to be used as it deemed wise. A motion was carried that the Executive Committee be constituted a permanent committee to continue the work of the Committee, with full power to add to and increase its membership; that as thus increased it should constitute a permanent organization to act and cooperate with the Treasury Department in matters of mining taxation under the Federal Income and Excess Profits Tax Laws. Thereafter the Executive Committee met and formed a permanent committee as follows: Cornelius F. Kelley, chairman, 42 Broadway, New York City. J. L. Darnell, Office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Washington, D. C. J. Parke Channing, 61 Broadway, New York City. Walter Douglas, 99 John St. New York City. R. V. Norris, 542 Second National Bank Bldg., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. J. E. Spurr, care of Engineering & Mining Journal, 10th Ave. and 36th St., New York City. W. G. Swart, 808 Selwood Bldg., Duluth, Minn. J. P. Finley, 45 Cedar St., New York City. W. A. Williams, Bartlesville, Okla. F. S. Peabody, care of Peabody Coal Co., McCormick Building, Chicago, Ill. Matthew C. Fleming, 71 Broadway, New York City. H. B. Fernald, 54 Wall St., New York City.

Jan 1, 1923

By William Rawles

THIS report is the first of a series planned by The Mineral Inquiry, organized by the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers to make factual studies of the world&apos;s mineral resources in their political and international relations. The efforts of The Inquiry are directed toward filling certain notable gaps in available information, without duplication of many other investigations touching this field which" are being conducted by other organizations, public and private. Much of its work is indirect-suggesting topics for study by other individuals and organizations and aiding in their planning and correlation. The present report is designed to show the nationality of the commercial control of mineral resources, in addition to the geographic distribution of production by nation-in other words, the overlapping of political and commercial control. Detailed accuracy cannot be claimed for the figures presented. For some companies division of ownership by nationality has been very difficult to ascertain, as many companies are reluctant to dis-close the extent of their holdings in other corporations, and the impossi-bility of tracing all stock ownership is obvious. Also there are frequent changes in the distribution of stock control. The percentages given rep-resent only the participation that has been identified definitely, even though it is known in some cases with fair certainty that larger interests exist, as, for instance, American participation in foreign chromite companies. In bringing&apos; together these figures we have had the cordial co-operation of the United States Bureau of Mines, the United States Geologi-cal Survey, the Mineral Division of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, the Brookings Institution, and of many specialists connected with the mineral industries covered. The report does not cover the entire list of minerals. Coal, although it is one of the most important minerals, was omitted because not more. than one or two per cent of the world&apos;s production comes from mines that are owned by companies foreign to the countries where the coal is produced. Others, such as gold, are omitted because sufficient data have not yet been accumulated. It is hoped that some of these may be covered in subsequent reports. It is not our purpose here to discuss the significance of the figures sub-mitted, but only to point out the general nature of the problems on which they have a bearing.

Jan 1, 1933

By H. K. Work, G. H. Enzian

In the manufacture of steel for commercial purposes, the deoxidation practice used, i.e., the method and degree of deoxidation, is an important factor affecting the structure and mechanical properties of the finished steel. Deoxidation practice exerts a pronounced influence not only on the soundness of the ingots but also on the reaction of the steel to a number of mechanical and thermal treatments. The first mentioned effect of deoxidation is more or less obvious and was first demonstrated, though perhaps not fully appreciated, by Robert Mushet when, in 1856, he added speigeleisen to low-carbon bessemer blown metal. In 1861. Bessemer patented the addition of one pound per ton of silicon to his blown metal to "cause the metal to lie quietly in the mold." The second effect of deoxidation-—that is, the effect on the properties and behavior of the steel—is, one might say, more subtle, and certainly not as well understood as the first, although in many cases it is the more important consideration. This paper is limited to a discussion of only the second effect of deoxidation and: in particular, to the effect on the strain-sensitivity of low-carbon steels. General Discussion Originally it was thought that the function of a deoxidizer was to combine with the oxygen present in the steel as iron oxide and prevent its subsequent evolution as a gas. -More recently it has been realized that a deoxidizer does more than this. Frequent reference has been made to the effect of deoxidizers on the nitrogen in the steel, and some attention has also been paid to hydrogen. As a consequence of the above situation any study of deoxidation must be concerned with the gas content of the steel and the effect of the deoxidizer on the gases involved. The term "gas content" as used here refers to gases extracted from steel during melting in vacuum rather than to elements present in steel in the gaseous state. The extracted gases, at least in the case of oxygen and nitrogen, are generally accepted to be products of decomposition of oxides, nitrides, or other more complex compounds. The manner in which deoxidation affects the gas content of steel and the significance of gases in steel have been and still are subjects of considerable speculation. No attempt will be made here to give a complete discussion of the literature on this subject but a few references will be cited for purposes of illustration. N. Hamilton1 found a correlation between the oxygen content of alloy steel and the behavior of the steel during tube piercing. Davenport, Bain, and others associated oxygen with aging properties of steel while Köster5 and a number of others6-lo made similar claims for nitrogen. Daniloff, Mehl, and Hertyll stated that "deoxidation decreases the susceptibility of steels to aging directly

Jan 1, 1945

By R. W. Bartlett

Hydrometallurgical processes for copper flotation concentrates avoid the SO2 emission problems associated with smelting, but they require oxidation of copper to obtain solubilization during leaching. The resulting copper ions must be reduced to metal, which normally requires large amounts of energy or energy equivalent reagents such as hydrogen or iron. The conventional reduction method is electrowinning which is labor intensive and involves 35 to 40% of both the entire operating and capital cost of the better hydrometallurgical processes. There is considerable incentive to reduce the cost and energy required for producing copper ions from solution. Furthermore, it is thermodynamically possible to do this using sulfur contained in the concentrate itself. In fact, the thermodynamic potential of oxidizing sulfur from S+4 to the S+6 state is greater than required to reduce cupric ion to metallic copper.1 Realization of this potential in a practical process would significantly reduce the cost of hydrometallurgical processing of sulfide concentrates because sulfur would become a cost-free reducing agent. An apparently practical method is to use SO: and HSO3 ions, obtained by ammonia scrubbing of SO2 from a concentrate roaster gas, to reduce leached copper to metal in an autoclave. This reduction step is the Jumau 1907 A series of steps, including sulfite reduction, constituting a crude flowsheet was suggested by Parker in 1976.3 The present paper describes a detailed complete. sulfite process flowsheet based on materials and energy balances, discusses the chemistry, and discusses further work that is required to develop this process. Process materials, utilities costs, and energy requirements are projected to be unusually low because of the utilization of sulfur from the concentrate. Process Description The sulfite reduction process requires a copper concentrate containing approximately as much sulfur on a weight basis as copper. For those few concentrates that are deficient in sulfur, additional sulfur can generally be obtained by allowing more pyrite to float in the concentration process. The process steps, shown in [Fig. 1], are (1) a fluid bed roast of the concentrate, (2) a leach of the roaster calcine using recycled barren liquor from the reduction autoclave, (3) scrubbing of the SO2 gas with ammonium sulfite liquor to produce ammonium bisulfite, (4) reduction and precipitation of copper in an autoclave by combining part of the SO2 scrubber effluent (SO5

Jan 1, 1980

By G. R. Mansfield, W. B. Lang

THE third year of Government exploration for potash by the U. S. Geological Survey and the U. S. Bureau of Mines under the authorization of the act approved June 25, 1926 (Public 424-69th Cong.) is drawing to a close. The results thus far obtained are thought to be sufficiently interesting and satisfactory to justify the presentation of a brief preliminary account of the work. Review of Earlier Exploration The general geologic similarity of the Permian basin of Texas and New Mexico to the potash field of Germany had long ago suggested the possibility of the presence of potash salts somewhere in that basin, but petroleum exploration was then making little headway there and the necessary data could not be obtained. The discovery by Udden in 1912 of potash in brine from the Spur well in Dickens County, Texas, was the first direct evidence of its presence. In 1915-17 the U. S. Geological Survey drilled a test well with standard tools at Cliffside near Amarillo, but failed to find potash. Nevertheless, an observer has been kept in the field, at first in cooperation with the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology but since 1922 by the Survey alone, to secure data and samples from oil and gas tests. Since the discovery of oil in Reagan County in 1923 exploration by drilling has been rapidly extended to many parts of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The identification of the potash-bearing mineral polyhalite was first announced by the Geological Survey in June, 1921, the material having come from cuttings from the Bryant well in Midland County and the Burns well in Dawson County, Texas. Successive discoveries and announcements of similar purport aroused widespread interest in potash exploration, which culminated in the action by Congress already noted. Permian Salt Basin The Permian salt basin extends generally northeastward from western Texas and southeastern New Mexico through the Panhandle sections of

Jan 1, 1929

Some coal was mined in Wyoming for use at the forts as early as 1859, but the commercial development began in 1867, and mining increased with the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad. Tonnages produced are shown in Table 78. [ ]

Jan 1, 1942

By A. Satter

Studies of wellbore heat transtnission during the injection of a hot fluid, as either gas or liquid, have appeared in he literature. The present investigation takes into account the effect of condensation, which is of practical sig-nificance when considering steam injection operations. Calculation procedures are given for superheated and for saturated and undersaturated steam. Effects of injection rate, time, pressure, temperature and depth of a well on heat losses have been analyzed. The benefits of using a packer are discussed. Also presented are correlations for estimating heat losses involved during injection of saturated steam. INTRODUCTION Studies of wellbore heat losses during the injection of a hot fluid have appeared in the literature. Ramey&apos; has presented a useful solution for calculating temperature of a heated gas as a function of depth and injection time. Ramey and others have also presented solutions for the hot liquid case.&apos;. &apos; No method is available to take into account the effect of condensation, which is of practical significance when considering steam injection operations. This paper presents a method of estimating the quality of a condensing fluid as a function of depth and time. The approach is basically the same as that used by Ramey. The following injected fluids and conditions are considered in this study: 1. Injection of superheated steam A. Decrease in temperature until cooled to the saturated state B. Condensation until condensed completely into hot (saturated) water 2. Injection of saturated or undersaturated steam; condensation until condensed completely into hot (saturated) water. Although this investigation does not include cooling of water after steam is completely condensed, Ramey&apos;s solution for the hot liquid case can be used for this purpose. The effects of various process variables on heat losses During the injection of steam into a well are investigated. THEORY QUALITY OF CONDENSING STEAM Predicting the behavior of condensing steam flowing down the injection wellbore requires an estimate of the quality of steam, i.e., the mass fraction of vapor in the mixture. Let us divide the total depth of the injection well into several segments which might be, but do not have to be, of equal magnitude. Consider condensation within a given depth interval AZ, the bottom of which is located at a depth Z from the surface (Fig 1). The following equation, derived in the Appendix- relates the quality of steam at the bottom of an interval to that at the top of the interval:

Jan 1, 1966

By C. F. Austin, J. K. Pringle

In view of the many large differences in structure and physical properties between metals, plastics, and most rock materials, a continuing experimental petrodynamics program has been established at the U. S. Naval Ordnance Test Station. Part of this program has been to test the concepts of scabbing and corner fracturing in a typical coarse-grained rock. The results of this experimental program have shown very interesting differences between the formation of fractures in rock and the formation of fractures in other materials such as metals and plastics which are often used as models for rock behavior studies. The gross behavior of coarse-grained brittle solids subjected to impulsive loading has undergone abundant empirical investigation by mining organizations and by mineral research agencies. However, the fundamental response of coarse-grained brittle solids to impulsive loading has received little detailed study in recent years. The various organizations and agencies interested in rock-like brittle materials have broadly applied the stress wave interaction concepts of the impulsive failure of metallic samples to the behavior of granular brittle materials 1,2,3,4,5,6 Using the metallic sample approach for stress wave induced fracturing, an understanding of the fracture behavior of brittle materials which perhaps is not always appropriate has been established in the open literature. An excellent summary of the metallic sample approach is provided by ref. 7 which summarizes the general beliefs prevalent at present regarding the impulsive behavior of brittle solids: "In the blasting process, rock breakage occurs primarily from tensile slabbing, beginning at a free face and proceeding back toward the explosive charge. The tensile waves formed by the reflection of incident compressive waves from two or more free faces will collide in the rock, resulting in large localized tensile stresses. Fractures formed by the interaction of these tensile stresses begin at the apex of the free face planes and progress back into the rock as shown...."

Jan 1, 1964