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By Roy E. Dickerson, W. M. O Connor

The production of crude petroleum of the Bacuranao field, Cuba, fell off rapidly because no new wells Mere drilled. In December 1938, the total was 15 bbl. per day. The estimated average from this serpentine field for the year is 20 bbl. per day. The Motembo area produced an estimated average of 160 bbl. per day. Production in July was 215,946 gal of gasoline, or 165 bbl. per day. In August production was higher because a new well in the concession, the Luisa Marcela, produced 189 drums the first day and required pit storage. The Atlantic Refining Company of Cuba started a deep test upon a long, narrow, surface-defined anticline 3 km. south of Remedios, a town on the north coastal plain of Santa Clara province, in December 1938. The Atlantic Refining Co. is doing extensive seismograph arid gravity-meter work in Matanzas arid Santa Clara provinces. The Shell company was rigging for a deep test in western Havana province at a location about 2 km. west of the town San Antonio dc los Banos New Petroleum Law More serious attention was given by some of the major oil companies to the development of petroleum in Cuba as a, result of the passage of a Petroleum Law ill that country on May 9, 1938. Under the old mining lam of Cuba, which gave no special treatment to petroleum, the usual provisions giving reasonably satisfartory guarantees to encourage investmerit of foreign capital were either entirely lacking or were 30 ambiguously expressed as to require legislative action. Under the new law, Government royalty is fixed at 10 per cent with the provision that it will be reduced to 9 per cent on crude petroleum that is refined in Cuba. Royalty to the surface owner is 1 per cent. A surface tax on a sliding scale from 10¢ to 406 per hectare per year is applicable to all exploitation concessions granted under the law or adapted to its provisions. So export tax is payable upon petroleum. Stability of taxation

Jan 1, 1939

By W. M. O Connor, Roy E. Dickerson

The production of crude petroleum of the Bacuranao field, Cuba, fell off rapidly because no new wells Mere drilled. In December 1938, the total was 15 bbl. per day. The estimated average from this serpentine field for the year is 20 bbl. per day. The Motembo area produced an estimated average of 160 bbl. per day. Production in July was 215,946 gal of gasoline, or 165 bbl. per day. In August production was higher because a new well in the concession, the Luisa Marcela, produced 189 drums the first day and required pit storage. The Atlantic Refining Company of Cuba started a deep test upon a long, narrow, surface-defined anticline 3 km. south of Remedios, a town on the north coastal plain of Santa Clara province, in December 1938. The Atlantic Refining Co. is doing extensive seismograph arid gravity-meter work in Matanzas arid Santa Clara provinces. The Shell company was rigging for a deep test in western Havana province at a location about 2 km. west of the town San Antonio dc los Banos New Petroleum Law More serious attention was given by some of the major oil companies to the development of petroleum in Cuba as a, result of the passage of a Petroleum Law ill that country on May 9, 1938. Under the old mining lam of Cuba, which gave no special treatment to petroleum, the usual provisions giving reasonably satisfartory guarantees to encourage investmerit of foreign capital were either entirely lacking or were 30 ambiguously expressed as to require legislative action. Under the new law, Government royalty is fixed at 10 per cent with the provision that it will be reduced to 9 per cent on crude petroleum that is refined in Cuba. Royalty to the surface owner is 1 per cent. A surface tax on a sliding scale from 10¢ to 406 per hectare per year is applicable to all exploitation concessions granted under the law or adapted to its provisions. So export tax is payable upon petroleum. Stability of taxation

Jan 1, 1939

By A. W. Griffith, R. G. Beverly, W. A. Millsap

THE Grand Junction Pilot Plant, operated by National Lead Co. Inc., for the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, is engaged in the amenability testing of orebodies to establish design and cost data for commercial mills and to test new processes for recovery of uranium from ores. Test work was performed to study the effects of several variables on leaching of uranium ores in carbonate solutions. Many of these variables had been investigated in the laboratory, but pilot plant tests were desirable to evaluate their importance in semi-works equipment and to predict optimum operating conditions for future commercial mills. The results of these tests should serve as a guide in selecting the most efficient and economical method of leaching uranium ores amenable to a carbonate process. This article is concerned with a process in which uranium is extracted from the ore by a hot Na2CO3- NaHCO3 solution; the uranium-bearing solution is separated from the solid residue by filtration, and uranium is then precipitated by chemical means.

Jan 9, 1957

By V. W. Aubel

Among the iron-bearing ores of the world, the titaniferous iron sands of New Zealand are probably the least known to American engineers. This is not surprising in view of the fact that American ironmasters look with disfavor on any, even domestic, ores containing over 1 per cent. titanium. The possibilities of smelting titanium-bearing ores in the blast furnace are still undetermined, but the problem of their efficient reduction is becoming more important each year. There seems to be little inclination on the part of American furnace operators to tackle this problem, and they will no doubt continue to utilize the non-titanium ores at their command, leaving research and experiment to those countries not so fortunately endowed. New Zealand has, however, been intensely interested in her deposits of titanium-bearing iron sand, and during the last 50 years considerable English and New Zealand capital has been expended on this problem. The extent of the New Zealand iron-sand deposits is almost beyond measure. From Patea north to Manuka Heads, along almost the entire west coast of the North Island, these deposits exist. Wherever there is beach sand along this 300 mi. of coast line, the sand is iron bearing. It varies considerably in grade; but wherever the contour of the coast affords small bays and inlets, large dunes are found that are remarkably uniform in quality. Several of these large deposits, especially those at New Plymouth and Patea, are noted for their high iron content. The dune at New Plymouth runs between 55 and 60 per cent. of metallic iron; the panning action of the prevailing westerly winds and northwesterly currents has no doubt resulted in this concentration. Whatever the origin of this material may be, there is no doubt that deposition is going on continuously. At New Plymouth, a small artificial harbor, protected from the drifting sand by a large breakwall, has been dredged. Here sailing vessels have for years been loaded with iron sand for ballast by means of a crane and grab bucket operated from the wall of the breakwater. Thousands of tons of sand have been removed from this spot yet each succeeding storm renews the supply. The sand dune shown in Fig. 1 has been tested to a depth of 50 ft. (15 m.) without losing its

Jan 1, 1920

By K. E. Merklin, F. D. DeVaney

Students of the modern blast furnace seem unanimously agreed that they are observing a major revolution in practice. Rather than changing construction and operation of the furnaces, most of the great advances now under way deal with the raw materials feed. Prepared burdens have gained increasing significance during recent years. Sizing, concentration, and agglomeration have all become bywords to greater production and reduced operating costs. The remarkable results with test furnaces in which self-fluxing sinter makes up part or all of the ore charge foretell even greater improvements. Other investigators have reported many of these advances, and it is enough to predict here that more and more operators will turn to the use of self-fluxing sinter.

Jan 3, 1960

By P. D. Southgate

VIBRATION, both ultrasonic and sonic, can affect the course of a variety of metallurgical processes. Reports of work on this subject have appeared at intervals over the last twenty years and a thorough review has been made by Hiedemann,' who gives a full list of references. It has been established that both refinement of structure and outgassing of the melt can be produced in most metals with sufficiently intense vibration. Many of the experiments in this field have been carried out using alloys of direct commercial interest in production- type casting equipment. Here a different approach is adopted, and simple binary alloys which exhibit different types of structure are used to facilitate examination of the effects produced under well-controlled conditions. Results from this kind of experiment should enable the basis of larger scale experiments with similar types of materials to be better substantiated. The alloys selected for this work are: 1) aluminum of 99.2 pct purity, the principal impurity being iron, near 0.4 pct; 2) A1-1.8 pct Fe, which is near eutectic composition; 3) A1-4 pct Fe—the second phase, of composition FeAl3, forms distinct acicular crystals; and 4) A1-12 pct Si—although this is of eutectic composition, the silicon normally appears in the form of large plates. Experimental Method There are three practicable methods by which acoustic vibration can be transferred to liquid metals: a) vibration of the whole of the container; b) electromagnetic induction; and c) insertion of a vibrating probe into the liquid. Method c is chosen here, and a frequency of 8 kc per sec is used. The end of the probe is electrically heated so that the metal near it will be the last to solidify. This ensures that vibration is transmitted directly to the liquid metal without passing through any solidifying and pasty intermediate region, which would attenuate acoustic waves severely. In addition, the heating prevents solid metal adhering to the probe, with consequent detuning. The transducer assembly is shown in Fig. 1. A stack of Permendur laminations 30 cm long acts as a half-wave vibrator and a winding along its length carries polarizing and energizing currents. It is joined by a half-wave coupling bar to a mild steel exponential horn, which tapers from 3.8 to 1.1 cm diam. A stainless steel stub 3 cm in length is welded on the free end. The assembly is supported by a plate located at the node of the coupling bar. Acoustic radiation losses are minimized by allowing the free end of the transducer to protrude above the surface of the cooling water. The exponential horn serves the function of matching the acoustic output impedance of the transducer to the radiation resistance of the probe into the melt. Electrical drive is provided by a 1 kw generator. Measurements of probe vibration amplitude during melt treatment are obtained from a gramophone pick-up with the needle attached to the wide end of the horn. This device is calibrated with a microscope before use. Liquid aluminum is very actively erosive and solution of materials with which the molten metal comes into contactcauses difficulties. Erosion of the probes in particular can be severe since it is greatly accelerated by the vibration. Tests of various acous-

Jan 1, 1958

By J. W. Goss, M. J. Coolbaugh

Most grouting has been done to stop water flaw in mines and for stabilizing foundations of various man-made structures, a survey of the U.S. literature reveals. Apparently Sun Manuel is one of the first mines in this country to use grout extensively underground for strengthening and stabilizing ground in drifts, shafts, and stations. A comparison with other procedures as well as details of the Sun Manuel program are covered. The employment of pressure grouting as a ground stabilizer at the San Manuel Copper Corp. mine reduces delays in both development and production, lowers costs, and makes possible safer working conditions. It specifically reduces delays in haulage operations and permits the maintenance of normal ventilation. In development work this grouting allows faster excavation by cementing together highly fractured or broken ground that otherwise would require extensive cribbing or spiling. In drift repair, it consolidates the loose or fractured rock over the timber or steel drift supports, thus decreasing the frequency of repair, lessening the hazards from falling rock, and curtailing delays due to blockage of drifts by muckpiles and repair operations. Pressure grouting is the process of pumping an accurately controlled mixture of cement and water into loose, fractured, or porous rock. The ratio of water to cement varies according to the nature of the rock encountered, from the thinnest mixture of 30 gal of water per sack of cement, used to fill very fine fissures, to very thick grout of 5 gal of water per sack of cement, used to fill large fissures or extensive areas of loose, broken rock. The pumping pressures at San Manuel vary from about 100 to 1000 psi, depending upon the compactness of the rock, while at other mines the pressures sometimes go as high as 5000 psi. In order to grout an area in which ground water is encountered, the pumping pressure of the grout must be increased by an amount equal to the pressure of the ground water. GROUTING IN DEVELOPMENT WORK The areas under development at San Manuel include many sections of loose, highly fractured rock. Prior to the advent of the grouting program, drifts, shafts, and stations in these areas could not be excavated without utilizing extensive support such as cribbing, spiling, and breast boarding. This slowed down the development work and increased the costs considerably over that required for excavating in more competent ground. Now, when a particularly bad area is contacted, the mining is temporarily stopped while the bad portion of drift or shaft is grouted. After the grouting is completed, the excavating is resumed with an approximate decrease of 50 pct in lost time and costs. Grouting in Drifts and Turnouts: The grouting procedures and patterns used in drifts and turnouts are very similar. The standard procedure for grouting such a turnout is shown in Fig. 1. After the ground is supported as well as possible with cribbing or lagging, the gaps between the back lagging and side lagging are plugged with empty cement sacks or additional timber, if necessary. The ground surrounding the proposed turnout is then grouted in two stages. In the first stage, the broken and caved rock is drilled and grouted to a depth of 5 to 10 ft, depending on the depth of the broken rock. This stage forms a grouted seal that allows higher pressures to be used at depths beyond 10 ft without developing excessive leaks at the face. After a grout hole is drilled, a 10-ft long pipe is wedged tightly into it with empty cement sacks. Grout is then pumped into the hole until the pressure reaches 200 to 300 psi, and the pipe is subsequently removed if it hasn't become cemented in. No more than one hole at a time is drilled and grouted because the grout has a tendency to go from one hole into another, plugging up the latter. Five or six holes are usually adequate for the first 10 ft of grouting. Experience has shown bentonite to be a useful admixture to the grout, particularly when it is indicated that the grout is being lost into large fissures or voids. Bentonite increases the plasticity of the grout enabling it to remain in place more easily until it has begun to set. In the second stage, the longer holes are drilled through the previously grouted rock, after which the

Jan 1, 1961

By Kenneth R. Hancock

Iron oxides are unique in that they are the only significant colored mineral found in a natural state suitable for use as a pigment after being pulverized to pigmentary size. The current world production of iron oxide pigments is estimated by the author to be between 499 and 590 kt (550,000 and 650,000 st) based on 1979 data. The fact that highly colored natural deposits of iron ore are found throughout the world accounts for its use in prehistoric man's artistic cave paintings. These early artists did not realize that they had established man's first paint test fence which now has some 20,000 years of exposure. In addition to abundance, constituting about 7 % of the earth's crust, iron oxides have the advantages of low cost, permanency, and are not toxic. Through the centuries, succeeding civilizations have utilized iron oxides as a major source for decoration and protection when coloring was desired. In the last century the chemical industry has improved on nature by developing a complete range of synthetic iron oxide pigments which surpass the pigments produced from natural iron ores in uniformity, color quality, and chemical purity. In the United States alone, the combined production of natural and synthetic iron oxides produced sales of over $28,000,000 in 1970 (Stipp, 1970) and increasing to $97 million by 1980 (Spinrad, 1980). Nomenclature With the increasing importance of the synthetic iron oxides it is necessary to make a distinction between the natural or mineral pigments and the synthetic pigments. Natural pigments are those products which are derived from selected ores and should not be confused with iron ores mined for steel production. Iron ores that are mined for steel must be capable of being mined and reduced to iron on a commercial basis. These ores are selected on the basis of iron content and processing economics. It is therefore unusual when iron ores for steel production are suitable for use as mineral pigments. Natural pigment ore sources are selected for their special physical-chemical properties and can command a premium price. Synthetic pigments, and in this instance iron oxides, are those pigments produced from basic chemicals. Through chemical synthesis pigmentary sized particles are produced as opposed to comminution, the major procedure common to all natural iron oxide pigments. Classification An important characteristic of a pigment is its color and, therefore, a logical separation can be made on this basis. A. Yellow Iron Oxide Pigments 1. Natural mineral origin a) Goethite b) Lepidocrocite c) Ochres d) Siennas e) Limonite 2. Synthetic pigments a) Goethite B. Red Iron Oxide Pigments 1. Natural mineral origin a) Hematite b) Siderite (calcined) c) Pyrites (calcined) 2. Synthetic pigments a) Hematite C. Brown Iron Oxide Pigments 1. Natural mineral origin a) Umbers b) Limonite (calcined) c) Siderite (calcined) d) Goethite (bog ore or sulfur mud) 2. Synthetic pigments a) Blends of hematite, goethite, and magnetite

Jan 1, 1983

By R. Hoffmann

The Waelz process produces oxides of volatilizable metals from ores, metalliferous products and residues. The process was originally used for recovering zinc and lead, where tailings and residues containing those metals had accumulated at mines or smelters, but it is applicable for obtaining tin, arsenic or other volatilizable metals. It is useful when other methods of obtaining the metals from the ores or residues are too difficult or expensive or show too low a recovery. The Waelz process was developed in 1923 for the treatment of large calamine dumps in Upper Silesia, which showed zinc contents of 8 to 10 per cent. and lead contents up to 3 per cent. The rapid development of the process, from the first trials up to the plants now working or in course of erection, is shown in Fig. 1. The first industrial Waelz plant was started in 1925. Within two years the capacity of the working plants reached 700 tons material per day of 24 hr. During the year 1928 the daily capacity of the plants now at work or in course of erection will rise

Jan 1, 1928

By F. H. Kihlstedt

THE Larap iron deposits, 125 miles east of Manila, are the biggest high-grade iron deposits in the Philippines, and have in seven years produced nearly 4 million tons of 6o per cent ore. Magnetic surveying followed by churn and diamond drilling cheaply developed a score of million tons. The ore zone is a wedge of metamorphic rocks in fresh, Miocene sediments overlain by agglomerates, which seem to have filled a river valley eroded in the sediments. A mild overthrust of the competent agglomerates crumbled the shale in front. Solutions gradually turned it into more competent hornfels and deposited pyrite, then magnetite and pyrite in the pores. As the temperature rose large bodies of magnetite with some pyrite were deposited by replacement and in open cavities in tensional areas of overthrust shears. At still higher temperature magnetite and calcium-magnesium silicates formed other bodies in similar cavities, and finally the thrust zone was invaded by syenite porphyry, causing high-temperature alteration products. Possibly, as temperature abated, more high-grade ore was deposited. The complicated faulting indicates dynamic, chronological and spatial changes of mineralization rather than zoning in a static system. Noncommercial copper, molybdenum and some gold accompanied the iron mineralization. In the thirties the Philippines gained a justified reputation as a country of considerable mineral wealth. Traces of Chinese workings show that these earliest travelers and traders had in a small way exploited the latent gold resources in the Islands. The Spaniards continued this for centuries, but did not succeed in establishing any steady mining industry. Modern technology was required to get it started. The rapid development in the last decade before the war got its impetus from several financial factors, the return to sugar growers of previously collected taxes, the influx of Spanish capital during the civil war in [ ] Spain, the influx of Chinese capital when the Japanese started their "China incident," and others. Directly or indirectly much of this capital reached the mining industry; in particular, gold mining. Out of the turmoil of an exceptional mining boom emerged a sufficient number of good and well managed gold properties to send the production to a level above that of any single state in the United States at the time. Other ore deposits besides those of gold also received their share, and for a country without any heavy industries at

Jan 1, 1946

By W. T. Cardwell, R. L. Parsons

This paper discusses the practical problem of estimating a single equivalent permeability for an oil reservoir, or a portion thereof, whose actual permeability varies in an irregular manner. Limiting averages for general types of permeability variation are developed, and illustrated by examples involving important, specific types of variation. Introduction The theory of the flow of fluids through porous media1"4 is becoming increasingly important in predictions of oil-reservoir behavior. In practical applications, however, reservoirs are seldom found to which simple theory strictly applies. Actual reservoirs have complicated shapes and nonuniform permeabilities and porosities. This paper discusses the problem of estimating a single equivalent permeability for an oil reservoir, or a segment of an oil reservoir, whose actual permeability varies in an irregular manner. The equivalent permeability of a reservoir segment is defined as the permeability of a homogeneous segment of the same dimensions that would pass the same flux under the same pressure drop- It is the permeability value that can be used in simple theoretical formulas to calculate the reservoir behavior. To the authors' knowledge, previous theoretical calculationst on systems of nonuniform permeability have been carried out only by Muskat'"; and he has not dealt with irregular variations, except in writing down the general differential equation for the pressure in variably permeable systems.lb In practical work, many calculations necessarily have been made to estimate equivalent permeabilities from the permeabiiity profiles obtained by core analyses. Regarding such calculations, Johnston and Sherborne6 say: Simple arithmetic and weighted averages have been tried on many wells and it has been found that, where frequent sampling has occurred, the arithmetic average is as satis- factory as a weighted average. It is possible that the application of statistical methods to the analysis of permeability data as recently presented by Law8 may prove fruitful. L,, has made a valuable contribution in showing how statistical analyses may aid in picturing the characteristics of a reservoir from those of a necessarily limited number of core samples. It is believed however that the particular problem of the estimation of equivalent permeabilities can be most directly approached from a fluid dynamical viewpoint as given in the present paper. An example is presented of the use of the conclusions herein in conjunction with Law's method. Theory In order to approach the problem of heterogeneity simply, it is interesting to consider a square block composed of four smaller, homogeneous, square blocks of porous medium, two of which have a

Jan 1, 1945

By R. H. Pemberton

The principle of airborne electromagnetic prospecting is well-known. The basic geophysical texts in most cases discuss the main elements involved in electromagnetic prospecting. However, there is certainly little information available to the public concerning the present types of airborne electromagnetic systems being flown today by both contracting companies and some of the mining companies which have their own instruments. This is unfortunate since it is difficult for those people not conducting such operations to understand thoroughly the large variation in the electromagnetic instruments available.

Jan 1, 1961

By B. G. Klugh

In a paper before the Institute at Wilkes-Barre, Pa., June, 1911,' Mr. James Gayley discussed the application of this process to iron-bearing materials. The same author² described the results of operations at the plant at Birdsboro, Pa. The purpose of the present paper is to present further discussion of some techuical details involved in the operation of this plant, and of the theoretical and practical relations of this product to blast-furnace practice. Since Oct. 1, 1911, the Birdsboro plant has been in operation at the blast-furnace of the E. & G. Brooke Iron Co. The results have been highly satisfactory, although the material treated, being chiefly the flue-dust currently made by the furnace or taker] from the accumulated stock-pile, was excessively high, and yet not uniform, in carbon, so that the desirable control or regularity of the amount of fuel in the mixture treated could not be maintained. Nothing could more forcibly demonstrate the flexibility of the process than the fact that, under these conditions, the sinter produced was, in all cases, of excellent quality. The Dwight & Lloyd process, as such, slid its present highly-developed mechanical appliances were described by Mr. Gayley in the paper above mentioned. While the repetition of some particulars will be unavoidable in this paper, it will be confined to features bearing upon the metallurgical principles involved. According to the principle of the process, the finely-divided iron-bearing material to be sinterecl is intimately nlixed with

Jan 1, 1913

By Dan G. Cojocariu, E. Ene-Danalache, I. Huber-Panu

A general model which represents not only batch but also continuous flotation in multi-cell machines is presented. This model considers both the size distribution and the distribution of flotabilities in a size class for valuable mineral particles in the pulp. The general expression is shown to reduce to several previously reported models. In addition, a number of new models are found to arise for different specific assumptions concerning the flotability distribution and/or the size distribution of the particles undergoing flotation. Several of these new models are tested experimentally using laboratory-scale batch and pilot-scale continuous data. Model parameters are estimated from this data and a comparison of calculated recoveries and those experimentally determined are presented. Finally, the influence of the feed rate, aeration rate and valuable mineral content of the feed on the recovery is examined.

Jan 1, 1976

By B. M. Larsen

AN increasing amount of attention is being paid to the possible influence of oxygen, in its several modes of occurrence in steel, upon some of the properties of the metal; but clearly investigations along this line are unlikely to yield significant results until reliable analytical methods for the determination of oxygen have been established. This paper presents some results of a study of an improved Ledebur method which aims to determine a definite portion of the oxygen; namely; that which presumably is present in diffusible form in the. solid steel. These more or less preliminary results lead us to believe that the oxygen so determined has some significance; their presentation at this time will, we hope, stimulate discussion of, and focus attention upon, certain rather neglected aspects of the problem. Considerable work has been done recently on methods of estimating inclusions and on the vacuum-fusion method for oxygen; with results which, however, are of somewhat questionable significance. It is commonly presumed that the oxygen in a bath of molten steel in a furnace is present partly as a separate phase consisting of suspended particles of oxides or silicates, partly in solution, the latter being probably the more important. Upon addition of a deoxidizer, it reacts with some portion of the dissolved oxygen and precipitates it as additional suspended particles; the oxygen not eliminated in this way, which remains in solution in the liquid steel, may be regarded indifferently either as dissolved oxygen or as dissolved FeO. When the steel is poured, some of the suspended particles rise towards the surface, others remain trapped in the finished steel, appearing as nonmetallic inclusions in amounts corresponding usually to about 0.01 to 0.03 per cent 02 in the steel. The dissolved oxygen may be partly eliminated as CO during freezing of the ingot, but some remains either in solution or in part precipitated as FeO. Finished steels may thus contain oxygen in several forms: (1) In non-metallic inclusions which are probably quite insoluble in the solid metal at all temperatures; (2) in solid solution which at lower temperatures may be supersaturated; (3) in FeO particles produced by relief of this

Jan 1, 1932

By Albert Sauveur

(New York Meeting, February, 1913.) IT is delightful to read a technical paper like that of J. E. Johnson, The Effect of High Carbon on the Quality of Charcoal-Iron, presented in October, 1912, at the Cleveland meeting of the American Institute of Mining Engineers.1 The clear, simple, and straightforward manner in which he describes his experiments and results makes you feel as if you had been, so to speak, at his elbow during the course of his investigations, while his method of procedure is so rational that you can fairly anticipate each step in the logical sequence of the tests performed. The following notes suggested by Mr. Johnson's paper are presented here in the hope that they may help, if only a mite, towards the final solution of a problem of considerable scientific and industrial importance.

Jan 3, 1913

Tooele Flue-type Cottrell Treater Discussion of the-paper of A. B. YOUNG, to be presented at the New York meeting, February, 1921, and printed to accompany MINING AND METALLURGY No. 162, June, 1920. HARRY V. WELCH,* Los Angeles, Calif. (written discussion).-The basic requirement in the electrostatic process of electrical precipitation is that gases containing solid particles in suspension are forced to pass through an electrical field consisting of an insulated high-potential wire, or other type of discharge member, and a grounded plate, or other, type .of collecting member. Commercial. operation and efficiency of precipitation are secured by electrical and structural arrangements to provide the maximum value of the variable factors modifying the degree of precipitation. That is to say: 1. A unidirectional flow, of high-potential current is vastly more effective in precipitation than a high potential alternating-current flow.

Jan 2, 1921

By W. P. Z. German

Some attention should be given to definitions. The term "unit operation " may have at least two meanings. One meaning is the merging of titles and the development and operation of the unitized area, as if it were one tract of land held under a single oil and gas lease, according to a definite program intended to accomplish a maximum recovery from the pool as a whole at a minimum of cost. It is incomplete when the royalty owners do not also merge their titles to their oil and gas rights in the area, and is complete when they do. The other meaning is not accompanied by any merger of titles, but the development and operation of the area is in accordance, as nearly as reasonably practicable, with such a program. This second conception may be nothing more than a cooperative development and operation plan, but in this paper it is regarded as more than that. If there cannot be unit operation without a merger of titles, it would seem that the state cannot require unit operation, for it cannot require a merging of titles; but if it may consist in requiring each and all of the leaseholders to develop and operate or to submit to a development and operation according to some such common plan as is referred to above without at the same time requiring a merger of titles, it would seem that unit operation may be required by the state. Whether the states have this power is the subject to be herein considered. If the state can so bind the several lessees, it also can so bind the several lessors. The writer does not know what would be an ideal plan for the development and operation of a pool; but it takes into account the fact that the accumulation of gas and oil is not uniform throughout the formation; that often free gas, highly compressed, occupies the upper portions of the reservoir, the oil with compressed gas in solution coming next in order; that at places oil is not overlain by free gas, and sometimes there are peaks where free gas is not immediately underlain by any oil; and the fact that these substances are held under a uniformly distributed pressure, generally referred to as "rock pressure." It also recognizes that the most efficient utilization of this naturally existing reservoir pressure in the recovery of the oil requires that there be no operation of wells completed into areas where gas only has accumulated, for this diminishes the

Jan 1, 1931

By M. G. Cheney

THE production record of the Sinclair-Moren pool, in southeast Young County, Texas, demonstrates that under efficient operating methods a single well may obtain normal oil recovery from an area of 100 acres or more. This record is the more surprising in view of relatively adverse reservoir conditions such as lack of water drive, moderate initial reservoir pressures and a consolidated sandstone reservoir with original permeability greatly reduced by processes of lithification. This case history is considered worthy of special study in view of the ever present problem of proper spacing of wells. Cupidity, abetted by the unrestrained law of capture, has in too many instances guided development and production methods without regard for sound economic and engineering principles. Largely as a result of ill advised spacing of wells, many oil fields have brought financial losses instead of deserved profit to those using capital, time and energy in this important business of adequately meeting the petroleum requirements of what is known as our modern civilization. In March 1923, the Sinclair Oil and Gas Co. obtained initial daily production of about 12,000,000 cu. ft. of gas and 1100 bbl. of oil in its first well near the center of a 372-acre lease on the L. P. Moren land, James Rose survey, Abstract 245. This exploratory test was drilled as a geological prospect of average promise, on a plunging anticline with possibly 10 ft. of closure as mapped on the outcropping limestone of upper Canyon (Pennsylvanian) age. In subsurface, the top of the producing res-ervoir is 16 ft. lower in this well than in the highest wells but probably 25 ft. above lowest closing contour. Wells No. 2 and 3 were drilled about 1/4 mile west and southwest near a normal fault with some 30 ft. of downthrow to the southwest. The producing sand was reached at a depth of 2512 ft. and drilled to 2529 ft. in the first well. This sandstone reservoir is of Millsap Lake (middle Strawn, upper Cherokee) age. It was absent in the second and third wells, which were abandoned at the depths of 3725 or more. In April 1925, a fourth well was drilled 600 ft. east and 24 ft. lower for top of sand than No. I. Production of about 100 bbl. daily was reported from 2521 to 2562 after an 80-quart shot. This well was drilled to 4560 ft., plugged back to 2575 and shot again; but was abandoned soon thereafter because of small production.

Jan 1, 1940

THE Copperton mill in reality was a sort of proving ground. It was. designed to serve three purposes: (1) to verify the accuracy of the mine sampling by actually treating substantial tonnages of ore, (2) to demonstrate on a reasonably large scale the percentage of the copper in the ore that could be recovered, and (3) to permit the testing of various kinds of machines and devices for crushing and concentrating the ore, so as to guide the engineers in designing the proposed 6000-ton milling plant at Garfield. As a matter of fact, it contained a lot of second-hand equipment sent by MacNeill and Penrose from the works of the United States Reduction &Refining Co. in Colorado; and it was by no means a model installation. Probably it would have been even less efficient, except for the skillful work of George O. Bradley and-Frank-G, Janney, both of whom had worked with Jackling at Mercur. Bradley was a mechanical engineer employed to design the plant. Later he directed the design of the concentrator at Garfield and remained as consulting mechanical engineer to the company until 1915. Janney, who afterwards became manager of mills, a position that he retained until his death in 1916, was a skilled mechanic at the Golden Gate mill at Mercur when Jackling built the plant in 1897. His flair was making machinery do what it was intended to do. He was not an ore-dressing engineer in a technical sense; but Jackling him- self was a specialist in this respect as well as in designing and construction and Janney's mechanical aptitude made him a particularly valuable man in the Utah organization. John McDonald, another of Jackling's Mercur associates, was the first mine superintendent. With practically all of the available funds earmarked for construction of the Copperton

Jan 1, 1933