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By George M. Schwartz, Ian L. Reid

THE Soudan mine in the Vermilion district of northeastern Minnesota is the oldest iron mine in the state. It has shipped ore every year since 1884 and still contributes a yearly quota of high grade lump ore. No comprehensive report on the Vermilion iron-bearing district has appeared since Clements' monograph,' but Gruner2 discussed the possible origin of the ores in 1926, 1930, and 1932, and recently Reid and Hustad have added data on mining and geology .3, 4 For many years geologists of the Oliver Iron Mining Div., U. S. Steel Corp., have kept up to date a series of plans and vertical sections of the Soudan mine. In connection with mine operation considerable diamond drilling has been done, and this, together with the mine openings, has permitted a reasonably accurate picture of the structure of the orebodies and wall rocks. It has long been evident to geologists familiar with the mine that the ores were not a result of weathering, a point emphasized by Gruner in 1926 and 1930. As the deeper orebodies were developed it also became clear that replacement had played an important part in their development. In recent years it has been recognized that other iron ores were formed by replacement, as Roberts and Bartly5 have argued strongly for the deposits at Steep Rock Lake. On the basis of these facts G. M. Schwartz suggested to members of the Oliver staff that it would be desirable to study the evidence of replacement, particularly the possible alteration of the wall rock which would be expected if the replacement was a result of hypogene solutions. Rock Formations: The formations directly involved in the iron orebodies of the Soudan mine are few though far from simple. The country rock is largely the Ely greenstone of Keewatin age consisting of a mass of metamorphosed lava flows, tuffs, and intrusives which have been more or less altered by hydrothermal solutions. The predominant rock is chlorite schist. Interbedded with the original flows and tuffs are a series of beds and lenses of jasper to which the name Soudan formation has been applied. In the Vermilion district the term jaspilite has been used for interbanded jasper and hematite. According to modern usage these jasper or jaspilite beds do not comprise a formation separate from the Ely greenstone, inasmuch as the beds of jasper are interbedded with the flows and tuffs of the upper part of the greenstone. It would more nearly accord with modern usage to consider the Soudan beds a member of the upper part of the Ely formation. Because of incomplete rock exposure and exploration the number of interbedded jaspilite beds is unknown. In the mine, however, as many as nine major beds of jasper are known on a cross-section of one limb of the syncline, with an equal number on the other limb. In addition diamond drill cores show beds of greenstone down to half an inch in thickness. The thin beds are probably always tuffs. Structure: Rock structure in the Soudan area is complex, and because there are no recognizable horizons within the greenstone it is extremely difficult to work out the details. Generally speaking, the major regional structure is an anticlinorium, the axis trending east-west, with a westerly pitch. The Soudan mine is related to a synclinal structure on the north limb of the anticline about a mile from the west nose of the folded iron formation. The general structure at the mine is that of a closely folded minor syncline on the major regional anticline. A cross fault has dropped the east side so that the bottom of the syncline has not been reached, whereas to the west it is well shown by the mine openings and diamond drill exploration. Throughout the mine the beds of jasper, and ore-bodies that have replaced the jasper, normally dip northward at angles of 80" or steeper. In detail the jasper beds are extremely folded, probably as a result of deformation while they were still relatively unconsolidated. Orebodies: Ore in the Soudan mine is mainly a hard, dense, bluish hematite. Locally ore has been brecciated and cemented by quartz. The vugs commonly occurring near the borders of orebodies are lined with quartz crystals. They seem to have formed as part of the ore-forming process and are evidence that no folding or compression of the ore has taken place. The orebodies are numerous, varying greatly in size. Many lenses of high grade hematite are too small to be mined. Some of the larger orebodies have been followed vertically for as much as 2500 ft and horizontally up to 1500 ft. The large ore-bodies are extremely irregular in outline in the plane of the beds of jaspilite. In width they are more regular, as they are strictly governed by the width of the jaspilite beds and the greenstone wall rock, which seems to have resisted replacement by hematite. At many places the orebodies replace the jaspilite completely and have a footwall and hanging wall of greenstone. At other places either one or both walls may be jaspilite. Geologists who have studied the orebodies in recent years agree that evidence for the replacement origin of the hematite bodies seems conclusive. AS noted above, many of the orebodies replace jaspilite beds from wall to wall with no evidence whatever of compaction. The replacement origin is also supported by details of the banding which is characteristic of the

Jan 1, 1956

By R. B. Berg

Chlorite veins in the Silver Star district were of little interest to those who were mining gold and silver in the late 19th century. In 1975 unusually pure magnesian chlorite of the variety clinochlore was identified from a "talc" claim in this district. In 1977 tests by Cyprus Industrial Minerals showed that this chlorite was suitable for use in ceramics. Mining begun in that year continues. These replacement veins of chlorite in Precambrian quartzofeldspathic gneiss differ from nearby metalliferous veins to the northwest in both attitude and mineralogy.

Jan 1, 1984

By Jorge Munoz Reyes

There are three main oil areas in Bolivia (Fig. 1) although so far only one has yielded petroleum in commercial quantities. The Sub-Andean zone is along the easternmost ranges of the Andes, bordering the large eastern and northeastern lowlands. It extends from the Peruvian frontier, north of Lake Titicaca in a southeasterly direction towards the city of Santa Cruz and from there southward to the Argentine border. This zone forms a belt about 1200 km. long by 100 km. wide, and comprises a series of parallel, very rugged, low ranges. Oil has been known and utilized by the natives in these regions since colonial times, from the large number of seepages, which in modern times have led to the discovery of many fields. The second oil zone of Bolivia lies along the eastern and southern borders of Lake Titicaca, on the Andean high plateau, at an average altitude of 13,000 ft. above sea level. It comprises an area of approximately one million hectares (2,470,000 acres). Several seepages are known here, but little development has taken place, because of the difficulties encountered, as the greater part of the territory is covered by volcanic tuffs and ashes, which conceal the structure underneath. The third area is called the "Central zone," and is in the heart of the country, in the Department of Cochabamba, covering approximately five million hectares (12,350,000 acres). This area consists mainly of broad valleys flanked by low rolling ranges. Natural seepages are not known to exist, but there are secondary evidences of the presence of oil. The outcropping rocks are mainly Paleozoic (Silurian and Devonian sandstones and shales). Albertite and other forms of polymerized petroleum have been found in this region. Of these three main oil areas, only the first one is at present productive on a small commercial scale. This zone, developed almost exclusively by the Standard Oil Co. of Bolivia, a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, is divided from south to north into the following local fields: 1. Bermejo (On the Argentine border) 3. Sanandita 5. Camatindi 2. San Telmo 4. Caigua 6. Machareti

Jan 1, 1935

SINCE you have asked me many times in particular how those mirrors are made that are commonly called spheres,* and even though I have told you at other times, I do not wish to omit writing of it here again in detail, so that you may have as complete information as I can give you, both in order to satisfy you fully and because it belongs among the subdivisions of the subject that I have proposed. Concerning this, I first tell you that it was an ancient discovery, and in those times as today was celebrated, and worthily so. For the effects these mirrors produce are miraculous things incomprehensible to me, and the more I think about it the more I am bedazzled with wonder, nor do I know how to explain by theory of perspective the causes demonstrated by their effects. Marvelous indeed is the beauty of their shining clearness, but much more so is the fact that (according to the shape that the craftsman has chosen to give them) they reflect back the shadow of the things

Jan 1, 1942

References are in all cases to the earliest known editions. In the few cases where the first edition has been unavailable for consultation, the particular one studied is indicated. English translations are included when known, but not others. [ ]

Jan 1, 1942

By Edward H. Robie

HOW have recent events affected the general trend in world mineral production? What effect has the World War, with its resultant boom and depression, had on the long-term trend of output? Have all of the principal metals and fuels been similarly affected, or have some boomed or slumped much more than others? The trend of world production of coal, iron, the principal nonferrous metals, and petroleum is shown in the accompanying chart, covering the period from 1882 to 1931 inclusive-the last fifty years. The curves are plotted logarithmically to show the comparative trends. In the lower left-hand corner of the chart is a slope diagram to aid in visually evaluating. the average yearly rate of increase in production; from this one can easily see, for example, that the petroleum production curve indicates an average annual increase of around 8 per cent, and that up to the period of the World War the average annual increase in copper production was about 6 per cent.

Jan 1, 1932

In the Texas Panhandle 277 oil wells and 60 gas wells were completed during 1942, as compared with 647 oil and 52 gas wells completed in 1941. Fourteen dry holes were drilled in the Texas Panhandle in 1942, of which five were wildcats, resulting in four failures and one gas-field discovery in Sherman County; the latter being Hazy-Herrington-Marsh No. I Bivins completed for 5,600,000 cu. it. ol gas from 2989 to 3226 feet. During the year 1942 the Texas Panhandle produced, by counties, the following quantities of oil:

Jan 1, 1943

In the Texas Panhandle 277 oil wells and 60 gas wells were completed during 1942, as compared with 647 oil and 52 gas wells completed in 1941. Fourteen dry holes were drilled in the Texas Panhandle in 1942, of which five were wildcats, resulting in four failures and one gas-field discovery in Sherman County; the latter being Hazy-Herrington-Marsh No. I Bivins completed for 5,600,000 cu. it. ol gas from 2989 to 3226 feet. During the year 1942 the Texas Panhandle produced, by counties, the following quantities of oil:

Jan 1, 1943

By F. F. Aplan

Pollution control will be of utmost importance in the 1970's. In this area, the mineral process engineer has a special competence to understand and remedy many pollution situations. There is an old adage that goes, "Build a better mouse- trap and the world will beat a path to your door." Would that it were so, but the reality of the situation is such that, just as a supplier must sell his machine, a professional man must sell his competence. It is a sad but true fact that mineral processing engineers have not done a very good job in selling their extensive competence in the control of a broad range of pollution problems. Recently one of our students visited a paper pulp mill where he was shown a foam fractionator used to remove paper pulp fibers from plant discharge waters. "Foam fractionator hell, that's a flotation cell!'' was his comment. Ah so, it would appear that large numbers of technical people consider themselves experts on "foam fractionation" Or is it that we have been very remiss in demonstrating the usefulness of our equipment and processes and our professional competence to solve, these pollution problems?

Jan 1, 1970

F. J. DE WILDE, Galena, Ill. (written discussion *) .-As it is impossible to spare the time for a lengthy discusson of this excellent paper, I am dwelling only on points where either the information is not clear or opinion differs radically from that of the authors. On page 1218, relative to oil rock, the authors state that the presence of oil rock is always taken as a favorable indication of proximity to ore. As thick, highly carbonaceous, oil rock has been found quite often in isolated patches outside of the district proper, the mere presence of oil rock is not always an indication of the propinquity to ore deposits. Regarding glass rock, I agree with the authors, that, generally speak-ing, sphalerite in the glass rock is spotty; however, they fail to mention that nearly all mines contain more or less ore in the glass rock, the usual location being near the toe of the pitch. On page 1220, they say that disseminated deposits are only found in, or close to, the oil rock. To refute this statement, I refer them to a typical disseminated deposit situated at the Adam and Eve shaft of the Frontier Mining Co. This deposit is located in the central horizon of the Galena dolomite, that is, in those sedimentaries containing flint nodules. Perfect crystals of sphalerite are found disseminated through-out the rock, and are commonly known by the miners as strawberry jack. I believe all top runs, or upper deposits as described above, should be classed as disseminated; physically the ore makes its occurrence in just such a manner.

Jan 11, 1919

By H. S. Cannon, F. N. Rhines

IT. H. Hausner( Sylvunia Electric Products Inc., Bay-side, N. Y.)—The results reported by the authors are interesting because they contribute some information on the principles of sintering and also because of a certain practical value for the manufacture of powder . metallurgical parts in production. Pressed powder compacts are frequently sintered in a boat in several layers so that the lower layers are actually sintered under the weight of the upper layers and, therefore, are frequently deformed. The authors gave information on this deformation process by determining the effect of the load on the density. The experimental setup of the authors, however, has a disadvantage—that the sintering occurred in a cylindrical container so that the deformation was stopped in the direction of the diameter. The authors should have rather called this a study of hot-pressing than of sintering. I want to call the attention of the authors and others interested in sintering under load to the experimental work described by Dawihl and Rix.' These authors sintered cylindrical compacts under a lengthwise ten-sional load of 0 to 25 g and found that the shrinkage in length and diameter changes considerably with the load, but that the volume shrinkage is affected very little by the load. H. S. Cannon (authors' reply)—We wish to thank Dr. Hausner for calling attention to the experimental work of Dawihl and Rix. The fact that they found volume shrinkage little affected by varying tensional loads during sintering seems to support the contention that the forces due to loading are equivalent to and additive to the forces which cause densification. This contention is the basis of our comparison of sintering and creep.

Jan 1, 1952

By Paul Gordon, A. S. Iyer

Apreliminary investigation has been carried out on the annealing behavior of explosively deformed copper as compared to that of conventionally deformed copper, using hardness, stored energy, and the sharpening of X-ray spots on Debye rings as the measures of annealing. Some metallographic observations were also made. Two purities of copper were studied. The first was tough pitch copper obtained as a small piece from the guard ring of a sample explosively deformed to approximately 500 kbars.* The second consisted of mentedand deformed these samples quite badly so that only a few small fragments were available for the annealing experiments. As a result, little in the way of quantitatively significant data was gleaned from the measurements. However, several important qualitative differences between the annealing of explosively deformed and conventionally deformed copper have been observed. It is these effects which are described in this report. Fig. 1 presents the results of hardness and stored energy measurements during the annealing of the high-purity copper after explosive and after conventional deformation. The data for the conventionally deformed copper were taken from the work of Gordon;' in this copper it is evident that most of the stored energy is released concommittantly with the hardness drop. As shown in orddon's' investigation, these effect:: are definitely associated with recrystal-lization. In the case of the explosively deformed copper, on the other hand, a large fraction of the stored energy is released before any appreciable hardness change takes place. At 160°C about 40 pct, and at 170°C about. 80 pct, of the stored energy appears to have been released prior to the onset of softening, i.e., undoubtedly prior to recrystallization. In view of the facts that the hardness and energy measurements were made on separate samples and that there is reason to suspect that the intensity of the explosive deformation from sample to sample may not have been uniform, a check run was carried out in which both energq release and hardness changes were measured cnn the same sample. The results of this run, shown in Fig. 2, confirm the conclusion that much of the stored energy is released before the hardness begins to change appreciably. In an effort to obtain some idea of the activation energy associated with the early release of energy, a single callorimetric sample was annealed in two steps, first at 149.5"C and then at 159.5"C, Fig. 3.

Jan 1, 1962

By Sumner M. Anderson

Any discussion of outside support to Latin American mineral industries must concede at once the pre-eminent role of U. S. industry and business. American capital has developed the great copper resources of Chile and Peru, the lead-zinc of Peru and Mexico, the bauxite of Surinam and Jamaica, the petroleum and iron ore of Venezuela. American consumers have provided the market for their products. U. S. companies operating south of the border have trained Latin American geologists, engineers, chemists, and skilled labor-including metal, mineral, and fuel technicians-to new and greater competence. The industrial demands of World War II drastically altered world economics and concepts of U. S. foreign mineral requirements. In this country discovery of vital mineral resources fell far behind the alarming depletion rates, and there was new appreciation of the actual and potential importance of the world's less extensively explored areas. During the war and afterward, the task of supplying the nation's mineral requirements became greater than private industry could carry alone, and the Government assumed a position of continuing support.

Jan 11, 1958

The following resolution was prepared, by the War Minerals Committee and was submitted by it to the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, asking that it be passed by the Board and used to the best advantage to secure the end desired. WHEREAS, the steel industry of the United States is almost entirely dependent on the importation of foreign manganese ores, the consumption of which for the year 1918, it is estimated, will exceed 850,000 tons; and WHEREAS, the ships now engaged in transportation, especially from Brazil, are needed with ever increasing urgency for supplying our Army and Navy forces abroad; and WHEREAS, much shipping may be spared from manganese transportation and the domestic sources of manganese may be utilized, provided the steel manufacturers of the United States will cooperate to this end by taking advantage of the possibility, in open-hearth and Bessemer practice, of so called "residual" manganese, and by using spiegeleisen instead of ferromanganese, thereby following the example already set by three large and prominent steel producers; BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Mining Engineers urges the steel manufacturers of America, for patriotic reasons, to give immediate consideration to the development and utilization of domestic manganese ores; to use no ferromanganese, except for the manufacture of grades of steel below 0.15 per cent. carbon, to use domestic ores whenever possible in place of the high-grade imported ores; and to urge their associates and colleagues in this and other possible ways, to vie with one another in releasing ships for importation of any materials that cannot be secured or produced in this country.

Jan 1, 1918

By H. J. Wogner

STORAGE of natural gas in underground reservoirs is one of the most important developments in the natural gas industry in recent years. However, it is only when we consider this development together with proved fuel reserves, the know-how of the fuel technologist, and the possibility of making manufactured gas available over large areas, that we begin to appreciate fully the impact that underground storage of gas may have on the future growth and development of large areas in the United States. During the past winter, shortages of natural gas in the industrial East were given wide publicity and domestic consumers were requested to reduce their requirements to a minimum, so that war plants might have sufficient gas to continue operations. Curtailments would have been more drastic except for the fact that large volumes of natural gas had previously been stored in underground reservoirs. Storage of natural gas in depleted or partly depleted gas or oil sands is not new, having originally been tried, as far as I know, about 1915. About five or ten years later an attempt was made to store manufactured gas in a depleted gas sand. This proved unsuccessful at first because the gas was not properly cleaned and the impurities plugged the pores in the sand.

Jan 1, 1945

By F. N. Speller

ASIDE from the Tuesday symposium on gases in metals, the Iron and Steel Division swung into action for the first time on the third day of the meeting with a discussion of iron and steel alloys. Dr. E. S. Davenport opened the discussion on Wednesday morning by presenting the paper written by himself in association with E. C. Bain and W. S. N. wiring on the equilibrium diagram of iron-manganese-carbon alloys. A written discussion by Mr. Scott showed qualitative agree- ment, but some quantitative disagreement. Messrs. Marsh and Sisco discussed the paper at length, pointing out non- agreement of certain conclusions with the phase rule. Dr. Krivobok, although differing with the authors on some points, stated that in his opinion the information collected would be valuable in the practical use of these alloys.

Jan 1, 1932

Following the usual custom, three meetings are planned for the year. The Mid-Continent meeting will be held at Oklahoma City, Okla., Oct. 7 and 8, and the California meeting is planned for Los Angeles, probably also early in October. A program along the usual lines is under way for the annual New York meeting. Discussion and planning of the year's activity started in March. An effort is under way to secure papers dealing with some overlapping phases of engineering, petroleum geology, geophysics, law, economics, refining, etc. The main reason for attempting a program along these lines is the belief that unusually interesting technical papers can be obtained. The degree of specialization in the technical and related fields has permitted but few individuals to develop a sufficiently comprehensive viewpoint. Also, at times the developments in a particular field are capable of giving great stimulus toward much needed solutions of difficult problems in others fields of activity. With the coming of the period of restriction of production to market demand, many changes have occurred in policy and technique of petroleum production. Some changes have been advances, others have been of retrograde nature. It seems doubtful whether the adjustment to the condition of excess producing capacity has been complete or sound in some major respects. Many changes are in progress and others need to be initiated. The industry has excessive producing capacity so far as immediate market demand is concerned, but reserves for several years hence are generally believed insufficient. Exploration and discovery should go forward but development should proceed with caution and under control. Property rights should be clarified and protected for the new condition— without excessive cost for drilling wells that serve no purpose except that of giving some protection to property rights at the cost of an increased price to the consumer. Under the more steady condition of assured supply for the immediate future, as compared to the hand-to-mouth condition of wide-open production, a greatly advanced technique of development and production is possible and is being developed. Great progress has been made, but much remains to be done. Along some important lines progress can be effected only by better understanding between the engineer and the geologist, the lawyer, the politician, the geophysicist, etc. There is need

Jan 1, 1937

By Hamish D. S. Miller

Currently the underground potash mines in Canada extract about 40% of the available ore, leaving the other 60% behind in the form of stabilizing pillars. The presence of water in the overlying formations requires that any disturbance due to mining be such that no water will enter the workings. This paper deals with the factors that influence the stability of the rock surrounding the mine excavations and looks at the effects of these factors when a system of increasing the extraction is considered.

Jan 1, 1983

By L. S. Panyity

The question of natural-gas supply is receiving careful consideration in many parts of the country, as in the winter months it is quite a problem to have on hand sufficient gas to satisfy the demand. Increasing the output of wells by the application of vacuum has been tried with various results and large companies have attempted to keep up the supply with gas compressors. The possibility of storing natural gas in the sands of exhausted gas pools has been 'tried in a few instances with satisfactory results. This method may prove of practical value in solving the problem, especially in the case of towns that formerly obtained gas from their immediate vicinity but now must search for new pools. In all cases, only part of the available supply is utilized during the warm weather, so that many wells are shut-in, yet during the winter months, the supply is not sufficient even with all the wells on the line; in such cases it would be of great value if a large volume of stored gas were on hand, obtained through wells that would have been standing idle during the summer. Idle producing wells having considerable "rock pressure" will force gas into the exhausted, or storage wells, and this gas will be used only when the regular supply falls short (Fig. I). If two gas wells of different

Jan 1, 1920

By G. Lavagnino

The old Telegraph mine lies on both sides of Bear gulch, a short branch of Upper Bingham canon, and nearly in the center of the group of mines called the Bingham Mines, about twenty-seven miles southwest of Salt Lake City. It is considered, by local miners as the most important mine of the district. The geological formation consists of Weber quartzites, with subordinate conformable limestones and shales, alternating with porphyritic rocks. These widen towards and connect with the massive backbone of the Oquirrh mountains, while the quartzite develops itself on the slope broken through by Bingham canon. The porphyry not only runs between the strata, but also cuts across them, isolating large portions near the mountain mass, and again on a smaller scale it penetrates some joints in the quartzite. It is a crystalline felspathic rock, containing variable proportions of quartz, mica, hornblende, chlorite, and iron pyrites as accessories. In places, it takes a less distinct or almost uniform fine-grained structure. It has a gray or greenish, and, when much altered, also a reddish or even white color. The quartzite is a fine-grained or almost compact grayish-white or bluish or reddish quartz-rock, containing in places fine scales of mica and grains of iron pyrites as accessories. The raised, folded, or broken masses show well-defined bedding-joints, and their general dip is 35 to 50 degrees towards north or northwest. In the porphyry occur metalliferous veins with a prevailing N.E.S.W. strike. These are in general narrow veins; their principal contents are not dissimilar from those of the other deposits; but there is considerably less oxidation near the surface and the ore is mostly richer in silver and gold. In the quartzite the ore-deposits generally occur on the joints of bedding. The more important deposits occur either in clearlydefined contact-veins or, more often, in somewhat vaguely-defined mineralized zones, that could be called contact-zones. These comprise several masses of more or less altered or decomposed rocks and the newly-distributed products of their mechanical and chemical decomposition, such as breccia and clay in seams or in more irregular bodies..

Jan 1, 1888