Search Documents

By ALBERT F. J. BOARDEAUX

(Canal Zone Meeting, November. 191(j.) I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 1. Historical. ALLUVIAL gold was first discovered in Guiana in 1852, in the sands of the Arataye river; by Paulino, a Brazilian convict. During the following years, gold was found also in the rivers Orapu, Cirubé, etc. In 1873 the famous placers of the Sinnamary system were opened: Saint-Elie, Dieu-Merci, Adieu-Tat, and Couriége. This group of mines has produced nearly $10,000,000, according to official records, not including the gold that escaped the taxes. The discoverer was a mulatto named Vitalo. Except in a few rich spots, the gold was rather evenly distributed along the creeks. In one instance, gold was found in the red dirt from the slope of a hill, which, after transport to the creek, gave an amount of 150 kilograms. The placers of the Mana system, Enfin, Elysée, Pas-Trop-Tot, date from 1878, and their production has been about $5,000,000. In 1888, the Awa placers, along the boundary between the French and Dutch Guianas, on the Maroni and its tributaries, were discovered. They have yielded $12,000,000. The only industrial company,, the Dutch Guiana French Mining Co., produced in 15 years about 2,500 kg. of gold, worth $1,500,000. From 1893 dates the famous Carsewene discovery, in territory then in dispute between France and Brazil. A settlement was made recently in favor of Brazil, by arbitration of the Switzerland State Council. Carsewene is said to have pro-duced about $18,000,000 in six years (1894-1900), but not even one-fourth of the production went through French Guiana and

Nov 1, 1910

By W. O. Hotchkiss

RECOVERY and profits in the mining business do not go hand in hand. Some part of an orebody can usually be recovered at a lower cost per ton than the whole orebody or a higher proportion of it. Similarly, the total of the profits that may be made from mining an orebody is in itself not a true measure of the value of the business. The yardstick for money value should be present worth, and this is particularly so for purposes of com-parison. A simple example, well within the bounds of practicability, illustrates these points: Assume a mine to have known ore reserves of 4,000,000 tons. The ore is of uniform grade but is so situated that 1,000,000 tons could be mined more cheaply than the remainder. Present operations are on the basis of complete recovery of the ores. Output is 100,000 tons per year at a profit of $1 per ton. It is estimated that the 1,000,000 tons of readily accessible ore could be mined at the same production rate but at a profit of $2 per ton. For an output of 100,000 tons each year at a profit of $1.00 per ton, the mine will have a life of 40 years; will produce $4,000,000 of total profit, and, at Hoskold rates of 8 and 4 per cent, will have a present value of $1,104,690. If only the easy one-quarter of the ore is considered, with an output of 100,000 tons each year, at a profit of $2.00 per ton, that part of the mine will have a life of 10 years, will produce total profits of $2,000,000, and at rates of 8 and 4 per cent will have a present value of $1,224,800. . Under conditions such as these, then, one-quarter of the reserve ore promptly mined is worth some 10 per cent more than the entire reserve would be on an average basis extending over the longer period. Assume further that one-half, or 2,000,000 tons, of the reserves could be promptly mined at the same yearly rate of 100,000 tons at a profit of $1.50 per ton. Then this part of the mine would have a life of 20 years, would produce total profits of $3,000,000, and would have a present value of $1,320,630; approximately 20 per cent greater than for the whole ore-body on an average basis for the longer period.

Jan 1, 1936

By Robert H. Hafner, Irvin R. Kramer

IN recent years considerable interest has been shown in surface-alloyed metals, particularly those of chromium (chromized steels), which have excellent corrosion [ ] resistance under a variety of severe conditions, and may undergo bending and flanging operations without spalling. An early method1 employed to produce a high-chromium case on steel was developed by Kelley in 1921. It consisted of heating a low-carbon steel in intimate contact with powdered chromium in the presence of hydrogen at temperatures sufficiently high to permit diffusion of chromium into the steel. The usefulness of this process was limited because the extremely high temperatures of 1200° to 1400°C. (2200° to 2550°°F,) caused excessive grain growth and warpage, Louenstein and Ulmer2 packed iron castings in ferrochromium and com- [ ] mon salt, and heated for approximately three hours at 930° to 1040°C. (1700° to 1900°F,). A recent and more practical method of depositing chromium on steel surfaces has been developed in Germany by Daeves, Becker and Steinberg3-8 and in Russia by Izgaryshev and Sarkisov.9 This process consists of passing gaseous chromium chloride over the steel to be chromized at temperatures of 900° to 1000°C., or packing them in a porous, ceramic material that previously had been saturated with chromium chloride. They reported obtaining a chromized layer, 0.004 in, thick, on low-carbon steels. Later, Daeves4 established a relationship between the carbon content

Jan 1, 1942

By F. T. Havard

(Canal Zone meeting, November, 1910.) I. INTRODUCTION. THE present truce in litigation between Western smelting and ranching interests gives opportunity for a summary of the results achieved by metallurgists in condensing fume and de-acidifying furnace-gases. In the absence of complete records of past experiments, there has been a good deal of unnecessary duplication of attempts and' failures. Yet, especially under the recent policy of our large corporations, looking to the economic recovery of the values of by- and waste products, original and, in some cases, effective measures have been developed by American metallurgists. In the case of Bliss vs. the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., the Montana Supreme Court, recognizing the progressive efforts made to render the flue-gases innocuous, and the value to the community of the smelting company's operations, refused to hamper its work, and returned a verdict in favor of the defendant. In the trial, the experimental firms of the company in the so-called "affected region" were proved to be thriving perfectly, showing that immunity was guaranteed to vegetation and stock by the wide distribution of the sulphurous acid gas in the dry air of Montana. Indeed, L. S. Austin has proved that by the time the fume is 4,000 ft.. distant from the stack, the percentage of sulphurous acid has been diminished from 2.28 to 0.00045; and Angus Smith has shown that rain must contain 40 parts per million of free acid before vegetation is affected. The arsenic in the stack-gases is but a very small part of the original content of the ore, of which 80 per cent. and over is rejected in the concentrator and furnace waste-products or recovered in the flues. Nevertheless, neither the peace in Montana nor the armistice

Aug 1, 1910

By Robert J. Linney

In the latter part of the year 1943, it was decided to experiment with diamond-drill blast holes in the Old Bed magnetite mine at the Mineville mines of the Republic Steel Corporation, in sections of the ore body where vertical dimensions were large and where development for sublevel bench stopes had already been done. Other possibilities of application for this drilling method were in the reclamation of old floors and pillars in the pitching folds of the Lower Old Bed ore body and in the reclamation of large vertical pillars in the "21" Bonanza-Joker ore body. The cross sections and views of the two ore bodies will show the conditions to which the diamond-drill method has been applied. The Lower Old Bed magnetite ore body is lenticular and dips approximately 30° toward the southwest and strikes generally southeast and northwest. An intensely folded structure, which pitches generally on an axis approximately at right angles to the strike, is continuous from the uppermost old workings down to the present bottom of the mine, and probably continues with depth. On successively lower levels this folded structure becomes greater in vertical dimensions and the two folds are closer together in a horizontal dimension. As shown in Fig. I, this folded structure gives to parts of the ore body considerable vertical dimensions, which provide areas that were developed for sublevel bench stoping above a slushing drift, as shown in Fig. 2. It was in one of these previously devel-oped sublevel bench stopes, No. 26 on the 1185-ft. level, that the diamond-drill blast-hole method was applied for mining the upper sublevel. The lower sublevel was underhand-bench-drilled to the finger raises of the scram drift below. The roof of this stoping area began to break and spall on the lower sublevel, causing the roof to become inclined. Along the hanging wall of the stope this reached an elevation about half way between the two sublevels. A smooth schistose seam in the hanging wall causes the ore to break away freely. Therefore, if bench mining had been carried on in the upper sublevel, a dangerous condition of poorly supported benches would have resulted. When the drillers were slashing across the sublevel te footwall and hanging wall to make a bench, spdlling roof of the opening below would probably have carried away part of the bench, and would have left a dangerous place in which to continue underhand benching. A 6 by 8-ft. raise had been driven between the lower stope and the upper sublevel about 200 ft. from a manway. It was decided to use this raise for a starting cut and to arrange holes as shown in Fig 3, so that a slot would be opened across the ore body between the footwall and hanging wall. This slot would then be used for the purpose of breaking into the ore, by blasting vertical rings of holes drilled at right angles to the axis of the pitching folds as nearly as possible. Layouts of this slot drilling and the rings adjacent are

Jan 1, 1946

By Alfred H. Bell, George V. Cohee

Illinois produced 146,788,000 bbl. of oil in 1940, or nearly 11.0 per cent of the total for the United States, and ranked fourth among the oil-producing states. Its production was only slightly less than that of Oklahoma, which produced 11.5 per cent of the national total. Illinois' production in 1940 represents an increase of 55 per cent over the previous year, when it amounted to 94,912,000 barrels. The development of the Devonian limestone in the Salem and Centralia fields is largely responsible for the increase in production during 1940 Production from the Devonian limestone in these two fields was estimated to be 36,698,000 bbl., or 25 per cent of the state's total production (Table I). The increase in production during June, when the state's daily average production attained a peak of 518,200 bbl. for the week ending June 29, was due to the Devonian production at Centralia (Fig. I). The initial production of the best Devonian wells in the Centralia field was as high as 12,000 bbl. in 24 hr. Daily average production in IIIinois for 1940 was 400,000 bbl. of oil, but actually daily production fluctuated widely during the year. At the beginning of 1940 daily production was approximately 330,000 bbl. During the first hali of the year it in-creased irregularly to the peak in June mentioned above and as the prolific Devonian producing areas were drilled up, the state's daily production declined rapidly during July and continued to decline, although more slowly, until the end of the year, when the daily production was approximately 325,000 bbl. The daily average production per well in the new fields at the end of the year was approximately 40 bbl. (Fig. I). Oil from the Devonian was also produced in the Bartelso field, Clinton County, the Sandoval field, Marion County, and the Irvington field, Washington County, bringing the estimated total production from the Devonian limestone to about 26 per cent of the state's total production, The remainder was obtained largely from the Mississippian system. About 2 per cent of the total was from Pennsylvanian and Ordovician strata. The decline in the Devonian limestone production has been so rapid that the 1941 output from this system will probably be only a small fraction of that of 1940 unless large new reserves are discovered. The "Trenton" (Ordovician) limestone has been tested in two wells in the Centralia field and both were small oil producers at a depth of about 4000 it. The "Trenton" also was found productive in the Salem field at a depth of 4500 ft. (Table 5). The initial production of the discovery well, which was completed shortly after the end of the year, was 130 bbl. on pump. Other wells drilled early in 1941 had initial productions averaging 172 barrels. The outlook for 1941 is for a continuation of drilling activity in Illinois, but at a declining rate (Fig. I, upper curve). The most active area at the end of 1940 was in the deep basin area in Wabash, Edwards, White, and Hamilton Counties.

Jan 1, 1941

By Alfred H. Bell, George V. Cohee

Illinois produced 146,788,000 bbl. of oil in 1940, or nearly 11.0 per cent of the total for the United States, and ranked fourth among the oil-producing states. Its production was only slightly less than that of Oklahoma, which produced 11.5 per cent of the national total. Illinois' production in 1940 represents an increase of 55 per cent over the previous year, when it amounted to 94,912,000 barrels. The development of the Devonian limestone in the Salem and Centralia fields is largely responsible for the increase in production during 1940 Production from the Devonian limestone in these two fields was estimated to be 36,698,000 bbl., or 25 per cent of the state's total production (Table I). The increase in production during June, when the state's daily average production attained a peak of 518,200 bbl. for the week ending June 29, was due to the Devonian production at Centralia (Fig. I). The initial production of the best Devonian wells in the Centralia field was as high as 12,000 bbl. in 24 hr. Daily average production in IIIinois for 1940 was 400,000 bbl. of oil, but actually daily production fluctuated widely during the year. At the beginning of 1940 daily production was approximately 330,000 bbl. During the first hali of the year it in-creased irregularly to the peak in June mentioned above and as the prolific Devonian producing areas were drilled up, the state's daily production declined rapidly during July and continued to decline, although more slowly, until the end of the year, when the daily production was approximately 325,000 bbl. The daily average production per well in the new fields at the end of the year was approximately 40 bbl. (Fig. I). Oil from the Devonian was also produced in the Bartelso field, Clinton County, the Sandoval field, Marion County, and the Irvington field, Washington County, bringing the estimated total production from the Devonian limestone to about 26 per cent of the state's total production, The remainder was obtained largely from the Mississippian system. About 2 per cent of the total was from Pennsylvanian and Ordovician strata. The decline in the Devonian limestone production has been so rapid that the 1941 output from this system will probably be only a small fraction of that of 1940 unless large new reserves are discovered. The "Trenton" (Ordovician) limestone has been tested in two wells in the Centralia field and both were small oil producers at a depth of about 4000 it. The "Trenton" also was found productive in the Salem field at a depth of 4500 ft. (Table 5). The initial production of the discovery well, which was completed shortly after the end of the year, was 130 bbl. on pump. Other wells drilled early in 1941 had initial productions averaging 172 barrels. The outlook for 1941 is for a continuation of drilling activity in Illinois, but at a declining rate (Fig. I, upper curve). The most active area at the end of 1940 was in the deep basin area in Wabash, Edwards, White, and Hamilton Counties.

Jan 1, 1941

By D. C. Porterfield

ProUuction of crude oil in Venezuela increased from 186,134,000 bbl. in 1940 to 2~8,131,ooo bbl. in 1941, or 22.6 per cent, to establish a new all-time high for the country. While the average production for the year was 625,000 bbl. per day, production during the month of December 1941 averaged 751,000 bbl. per day, and during the last week of the year, 766,000 bbl. per day. Production from the Lake Maracaibo basin averaged 454,000 bbl. per day during the year, or 72 per cent of the total for the country, compared with 73 per cent of the total produced in 1940. Drilling during the year was approximately on the same scale as in 1940, with 438 wells completed in 1941 as compared with 429 the year before. Exploratory completions decreased from 18 in 1940 to 6 in 1941. Of the drilling operations in 1941, 56 per cent was concentrated in the Lake Maracaibo basin and 44 per cent in eastern Venezuela, success being 98 per cent in the Lake basin and 83 per cent in the east. Successful completions for the country as a whole amounted to 92 per cent of the total wells drilled. Exploratory drilling in 1941 resulted in the discovery of three new fields, all in eastern Venezuela; viz., Guara, about II km. to the northeast of the Oficina field but on a separate structure; Santa Rosa, which is east of El Roble field on a structure forming a part of the major Santa -Ana- San Joaquin-El Roble uplift; and Santa Barbara, which is southwest of the Jusepin field on an extension of the main Jusepin anticline. At the close of the year three wildcats were drilling, all of which showed prospects of obtaining production; that is, Mercedes No, 2 in central Guarico, Las Ollas No. I on the Anzoategui-Guarico border near the town of Zaraza, and Quiamare No. I in Anzoategui northeast of the town of San Mateo. In spite of heavy withdrawals and the resultant natural decline in the potentials of older producing areas, new drilling during the year increased the potential production of the country from an estimated 780,000 bbl. per day at the end of 1940 to an estimated 810,000 bbl. per day at the end of 1941, or approximately 4 per cent. Since domestic consumption of petroleum products is insignificant compared with total production, exports of crude and products during the year increased in line with production. Crude exports totaled 196,800,000 bbl., compared with 158,400,-000 bbl. in 1940, and exports of products were 26,100,000 bbl., compared with 21,900,000 bbl. the year before. Exports of crude from Venezuela to the United States amounted to 36,500,000 bbl. In addition, about 2,200,000 bbl. was imported in bond into the United States for transfer to Canada. Total refining capacity of the country in 1941 was approximately 125,000 bbl. per day, including a crude-conversion plant with a capacity of 32,000 bbl. per day, capable of making fuel oil only. Three plants with a capacity of 121,000 bbl. Per

Jan 1, 1945

By Robert S. Dewey

Drilling in West Texas during 1942 was substantially less than in the previous year. In all. 1267 Wells were drilled, as compared with 2325 wells in 1941. Of these 1267 wells, 1052 oil wells, 10 gas wells and 69 dry holes were drilled in proven fields and 36 oil wells, one gas well and 99 dry holes were wildcat operations. Of the 36 wildcat wells completed as oil producers, 16 led to new field discoveries, three found new productive horizons in old fields, and 17 extended the productive limits of established fields. Where semiwildcat drilling took place along established productive trends, there was often no sharp demarcation between wildcat wells that extend field limits and normal development to fulfil lease obligations, other than the arbitrary classification of a well as a wildcat if it was drilled at a distance of 2 miles from a producing oil well. The dry hole drilled on the edge of a field may have proved a more hazardous operation than a semiwildcat drilled several miles from production but favorably located on structure. The percentage of successful wildcatting ranges from 26.5 down to 14 per cent, dependent upon the degree of inclusion of the semiwildcat operations. Irrespective of which figure was used, the West Texas area maintained its better than average exploratory position. No doubt a number of factors may have influenced the extent of the 1942 development. Among those arising from the economic dislocation attendant on the war effort, the following are worthy of note. Owing to inductions into the armed forces and shipyard competition for mechanically trained men, experienced drilling personnel was sharply reduced, thereby increasing drilling costs and well-completion hazards. Replacement labor has not met the same standard of responsibility or workmanship to which the oil industry has grown accustomed. Increased military consumption of aviation gasoline and other crude products, coupled with decreased domestic consumption of lower-octane gasoline, has stimulated the market demand for the types of sweet crude most readily processed with available refinery equipment to meet war requirements, and has depressed the market demand for the sour West Texas crudes. As a majority of the purchasers of West Texas crude normally ship a substantial portion of sour crude to the refineries on the Atlantic seaboard, the loss and diversion of tanker service between Gulf Coast and north Atlantic ports have further curtailed the market demand for this type of crude oil. As some purchasers of crude oil were able to move by pipe line their West Texas trunk-line capacity to Midwestern refining centers, they were not impelled to curtail purchases of West Texas crude. The varying ability of the purchasers of crude oil to market West Texas crude was reflected back to various fields to which they were connected, causing an unequal distribution of production as among fields and operators. The pipe-line runs from the West Texas-New Mexico area decreased from approximately 354,000 bbl. Per day in January to about 265,000 bbl. in December 1942. .Approximately 2,991,000 bbl. of West

Jan 1, 1943

By Robert S. Dewey

Drilling in West Texas during 1942 was substantially less than in the previous year. In all. 1267 Wells were drilled, as compared with 2325 wells in 1941. Of these 1267 wells, 1052 oil wells, 10 gas wells and 69 dry holes were drilled in proven fields and 36 oil wells, one gas well and 99 dry holes were wildcat operations. Of the 36 wildcat wells completed as oil producers, 16 led to new field discoveries, three found new productive horizons in old fields, and 17 extended the productive limits of established fields. Where semiwildcat drilling took place along established productive trends, there was often no sharp demarcation between wildcat wells that extend field limits and normal development to fulfil lease obligations, other than the arbitrary classification of a well as a wildcat if it was drilled at a distance of 2 miles from a producing oil well. The dry hole drilled on the edge of a field may have proved a more hazardous operation than a semiwildcat drilled several miles from production but favorably located on structure. The percentage of successful wildcatting ranges from 26.5 down to 14 per cent, dependent upon the degree of inclusion of the semiwildcat operations. Irrespective of which figure was used, the West Texas area maintained its better than average exploratory position. No doubt a number of factors may have influenced the extent of the 1942 development. Among those arising from the economic dislocation attendant on the war effort, the following are worthy of note. Owing to inductions into the armed forces and shipyard competition for mechanically trained men, experienced drilling personnel was sharply reduced, thereby increasing drilling costs and well-completion hazards. Replacement labor has not met the same standard of responsibility or workmanship to which the oil industry has grown accustomed. Increased military consumption of aviation gasoline and other crude products, coupled with decreased domestic consumption of lower-octane gasoline, has stimulated the market demand for the types of sweet crude most readily processed with available refinery equipment to meet war requirements, and has depressed the market demand for the sour West Texas crudes. As a majority of the purchasers of West Texas crude normally ship a substantial portion of sour crude to the refineries on the Atlantic seaboard, the loss and diversion of tanker service between Gulf Coast and north Atlantic ports have further curtailed the market demand for this type of crude oil. As some purchasers of crude oil were able to move by pipe line their West Texas trunk-line capacity to Midwestern refining centers, they were not impelled to curtail purchases of West Texas crude. The varying ability of the purchasers of crude oil to market West Texas crude was reflected back to various fields to which they were connected, causing an unequal distribution of production as among fields and operators. The pipe-line runs from the West Texas-New Mexico area decreased from approximately 354,000 bbl. Per day in January to about 265,000 bbl. in December 1942. .Approximately 2,991,000 bbl. of West

Jan 1, 1943

By Tomek Ulatowski

INTRODUCTION In 1974, Industrial Miners Mexico, S.A. (IMMSA), agent for the borrowers, was the largest privately-held mining, smelting, and refining company in Mexico (accounting for 32% of Mexico's nonferrous metal and coal production in 1974), the fourth largest company in terms of sales, and the second most profitable company in Mexico, excluding government wholly-owned and operated industries. The company was engaged in the mining, smelting and refining of coal, copper, fluorite, gold, lead, silver, zinc and related by-products for domestic consumption and export. A combination of favorable factors led IMMSA to propose an investment plan amounting to US$286 million for 1974 through 1978, of which US$150 million was to be financed. These factors included: Substantial profits in 1973 and 1974 Positive near-term outlook for metal prices Success of the reinvestment program in increasing productivity Substantial additions to proved reserves during 1973-1974 and Fiscal incentives provided by the Mexican government to stimulate investment in the mining industry. The primary purpose of the investment program was to construct a new electrolytic zinc refinery and to expand and modernize many of the company's existing mining and refining facilities. THE BORROWER Company History Compania Miners Mexico, S.A. was incorporated in the city of Monterrey in 1918 as a wholly-owned subsidery of ASARCO Inc. (formerly American Smelting and Refining Company, New York) for the purpose of mining and processing non-ferrous metals and related products. In compliance with the Government's Mexicanization program, ASARCO Inc. divested itself of 51% of its equity in Compania Miners Asarco, S.A. on June 30, 1965. Subsequently, ownership in the divested share was apportioned as follows: 15% ownership in Compania Miners Asarco, S.A. to a group of private investors, and 36% in trust for subsequent public sale. The company's name was changed to Asarco Mexicana, S.A. in 1965. Mexican ownership in Asarco Mexicans, S.A. was increased to 51% in 1967, following the purchase of the 36% share ownership held in trust, and then to 66% in 1974 when ASARCO Inc. divested itself of an additional 15% of its holdings in Asarco Mexicans, S.A. Following its 1974 divestiture of 15% of Asarco Mexicans, S.A., ASARCO Inc's ownership in Asarco Mexicana, S.A. was reduced to 34%. In 1974, the company changed its name for the second time to Industrial Miners Mexico, S.A. (IMMSA). Fiscal Agreement IMMSA entered into a fiscal agreement with the Mexican government in 1969. The agreement, which was renewed in 1974, provided for 100% of the production and export tax corresponding to the federal government with a minimum of 50% of the amount refunded to be reinvested in fixed assets. Further, the agreement permitted the company to

Jan 1, 1985

By John T. Galey

Production of crude oil for 1940 in southwestern Pennsylvania was off nearly 70,000 bbl., largely as a result of the great number oi abandonments, together with the lack of extension of the Washington and Green County pools. Oil wells completed numbered 51, which is 26 more than last year, but the total initial production of 259 bbl. is only 18 bbl. greater than in 1939. There was an increase of 72 over last year for a total of 209f gas wells. However, 68 7 dry holes were drilled, which is 40 more than a year ago. Thus, 328f wells were drilled during the year, and rigs are erected or drilling is progressing on 59 t more. Shallow Development Oil.—Butler County led in number of oil wells completed, with a total of 27 for an initial production of only 69 bbl. Washington County, with 12 new oil wells, one of which made 40 bbl. from the Fifth sand in S. Franklin township, has 95 bbl., while in Allegheny County 9 wells gave an initial of 86 bbl. for the highest Per well average in the area. This initial was given a considerable boost by one 35-bbl and another 2;-bbl. well in West Deer township, where the Fourth sand produced at 1840 feet. Greene County had only one oil well completed during 1940, and Washington County had 12. The subnormal totals for these counties may be explained by the higher cost of completions and the declining price of crude. The first price change in crude during the year occurred on May 22, when a 25 cut was made. A second 25 cut was made July 12, and was followed by a 156 cut on .Aug. 28. This price held until Nov. 12, when there was a restoration of 156. On Dec. 17 a second 156 increase was put into effect, bringing the price to $I.So per barrel. Gas The large increase in the number of gas wells completed may be attributed to three factors; namely, the recently discovered production possibilities of moderately deep, hitherto little tested horizons, together with increased demand and price. The latter has been made possible by a recent decision of the court, which ruled restraining the public service Commision's prohibition of a raise in the minimum monthly charge to small consumers by one of the major gas companies. A portion of the revenue derived in this manner is being passed along to the producer in the form of higher prices in the field. This higher field rate will remain in effect until a new ruling is made, when it will be reduced in proportion to the reduction of the monthly minimum charge. In an effort to extend the chambers Dam Fifth sand oil pool southwest from Amwell township, Washington County, several wells have been drilled. One of these, in Morris township, washington County, had an initial of 3.2 million cu. ft. open flow from the Big Injun sand. This indicates an entirely new productive area for the latter horizon. Allegheny County had one spectacular well in South Fayette township-—at a depth of about 2500 ft. a 4-million-CU. ft.

Jan 1, 1941

By John T. Galey

Production of crude oil for 1940 in southwestern Pennsylvania was off nearly 70,000 bbl., largely as a result of the great number oi abandonments, together with the lack of extension of the Washington and Green County pools. Oil wells completed numbered 51, which is 26 more than last year, but the total initial production of 259 bbl. is only 18 bbl. greater than in 1939. There was an increase of 72 over last year for a total of 209f gas wells. However, 68 7 dry holes were drilled, which is 40 more than a year ago. Thus, 328f wells were drilled during the year, and rigs are erected or drilling is progressing on 59 t more. Shallow Development Oil.—Butler County led in number of oil wells completed, with a total of 27 for an initial production of only 69 bbl. Washington County, with 12 new oil wells, one of which made 40 bbl. from the Fifth sand in S. Franklin township, has 95 bbl., while in Allegheny County 9 wells gave an initial of 86 bbl. for the highest Per well average in the area. This initial was given a considerable boost by one 35-bbl and another 2;-bbl. well in West Deer township, where the Fourth sand produced at 1840 feet. Greene County had only one oil well completed during 1940, and Washington County had 12. The subnormal totals for these counties may be explained by the higher cost of completions and the declining price of crude. The first price change in crude during the year occurred on May 22, when a 25 cut was made. A second 25 cut was made July 12, and was followed by a 156 cut on .Aug. 28. This price held until Nov. 12, when there was a restoration of 156. On Dec. 17 a second 156 increase was put into effect, bringing the price to $I.So per barrel. Gas The large increase in the number of gas wells completed may be attributed to three factors; namely, the recently discovered production possibilities of moderately deep, hitherto little tested horizons, together with increased demand and price. The latter has been made possible by a recent decision of the court, which ruled restraining the public service Commision's prohibition of a raise in the minimum monthly charge to small consumers by one of the major gas companies. A portion of the revenue derived in this manner is being passed along to the producer in the form of higher prices in the field. This higher field rate will remain in effect until a new ruling is made, when it will be reduced in proportion to the reduction of the monthly minimum charge. In an effort to extend the chambers Dam Fifth sand oil pool southwest from Amwell township, Washington County, several wells have been drilled. One of these, in Morris township, washington County, had an initial of 3.2 million cu. ft. open flow from the Big Injun sand. This indicates an entirely new productive area for the latter horizon. Allegheny County had one spectacular well in South Fayette township-—at a depth of about 2500 ft. a 4-million-CU. ft.

Jan 1, 1941

James W. Malcolmson died suddenly on Dec. 26, 1917, at Kansas City, Mo., where he had made his home for the past ten years. He was born at Dover, Kent, England, on Oct. 6, 1866. He graduated from the Royal School of Science, London, England, in 1889, and almost immediately after graduation came to Mexico, accepting a position with the Michoacan Railway and Mining Co., as mining and mechanical engineer. His work in the mining profession was carried on principally in Msxiac and the United States. • In 1888, he married Katherine Haden Krause, of Woolwich, Kent, England, and leaves, besides his wife, five sons and one daughter. During Mr. Malcolmson's long and successful career as a mining engineer, he was connected with the following companies: from 1889 to 1893, with the Michoacan Railway and Mining Co., as mining and mechanical engineer; from 1893 to 1898, in various capacities with the Kansas City Smelting & Refining Co.; after the consolidation of the Kansas City Smelting & Refining Co. with the American Smelting & Refining Co., he remained as manager of the mining department in Mexico of the American Smelting & Refining Co. until 1902. In 1902, he located in El Paso, and took up the practice of his profession as a consulting engineer. While there, he was consulting engineer for the famous and rich Pedrazzini mines at Chispas, in the State of Sonora. He was instrumental in organizing the La Republics mine in Chihuahua, and for a time acted as consulting engineer for the property. He remained in El Paso until 1907 and then moved to Kansas City and became associated with the United States & Mexican Trust Co., as consulting engineer. In 1909, he became connected with The Lucky Tiger Combination Gold Mining Co., as its consulting engineer, and continued in this connection and in the general practice of his profession as consulting engineer until his death.. His general policy in connection with the Lucky Tiger company was always a progressive one and the success of the enterprise can be largely attributed to him and his good judgment. Mr. Malcolmson contributed several articles to the Institute at different times, one of them being on the ore deposits of the Sierra Mojada Mining District, in 1901. Much of his work was in Mexico, and during his long residence in that country he acquired a very thorough knowledge of the Mexican people and their customs. During the revolution, from 1910 to 1916, this knowledge was of great value in connection with his work for the Lucky Tiger company, and often assisted greatly in keeping the property going. Mr. Malcolmson was one of the very widely known men in his profession; he was everywhere held in the very highest regard, and his position among men in the mining profession was an enviable and honorable one. At the time of his death, besides being consulting engineer for the Lucky Tiger company, he was interested in mines in the Miami zinc fields and was acting as consulting engineer for two of the operating properties there. He invested to quite an extent in real estate when he moved to Kansas City in 1907 and his investments in this line proved successful.

Jan 1, 1920

By John N. Dew, William L. Martin, `

This paper describes the results of a laboratory investigation conducted to obtain data for an evaluation of the in situ combustion process as a method of producing crude oil from reservoirs. Air and fuel requirements, rates of advance, com-bustion temperatures, and coke and fluid distributions are presented. The mechanism of oil recovery by in stiu combustion is discussed. Five crude oils ranging in gravity from 10.9 to 34.2"' API were prodrrced from a semiadiabatic, uncon-.solidnted sand pack by in situ combustion. Experimental conditions were varied over a wide range in order to determine the inter-relation-.ships of process variables. The mini-mum air flux requirement for self-sustained combustion was found to he less than 10 scf/hr-ft'l. The rate of advance of a self-sustained combustion zone was found to be nearly proportional to the air flux at the combustion front. The effects of presrure and injected air flux were studied in a series of experiments using a 21.2" API crude. A minimum air require-ment was observed at an air .flux of 20 scf/hr-ft'. The oil saturation con-sumed as fuel averaged 5.5 per cent of pore volume. The effect of air pressure was, found to be .small for experiments having high combustion eficiencies. This study should promote a better understanding of the problems and mechanisms involved in labora-tory investigations and field applications of the in situ combustion pro-cess. The data presented will be use- ful in the interpretation of results of field tests. When tempered with volu-metric sweep efficiencies, the data can be used in making preliminary economic appraisals of the process as applied to reservoirs containing high porosity unconsolidated media. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this work was to obtain laboratory data for an evaluation of the in situ combustion process as a method of producing crude oil from reservoirs. In situ combustion basically consists of (1) injecting air into a reservoir through selected input wells to create an air sweep through the reservoir, (2) igniting the crude at the injection well, and (3) propagating the combustion front through the reservoir by continued air injection. By this means, oil is swept toward producing wells in the area. The fuel for combustion is supplied by heavy residual material (coke) which has been deposited on the sand grains during distillation and cracking of the crude oil ahead of the combustion front. Recovery of petroleum by a combustion or heat wave process is not a new idea. F. A. Howard was granted a patent in 1923 on a process in which air and a combustible gas were pumped into an injection well and ignited.' Russian engineers reported on field experiments with a crude oil gasification process in 1935'. Other known early field tests include those conducted near Bar-tlesville and Ardmore, Okla., in 1942." More recently completed field tests include an inverted seven-spot by Sinclair Oil Co. in the Delaware-Childers field, Nowata County, Okla.'; a three-well and an inverted five-spot test by Magnolia Petroleum Co. in Jefferson County, Okla."."; and a test by California Research Corp. in the Irvine-Furnace field in Kentucky. The Worthington Corp. has completed a test in cooperation with the Forest Oil Corp. in Clark County, 111.l Several field tests are now in progress. Sinclair has acquired a 600-acre lease in the Humboldt-Chanute field, Allen County, Kans., and is under way with a large-scale operation. Three field tests are under way in California. The General Petroleum Corp. is conducting an inverted five-spot pattern test in the South Bel-ridge field in Kern County under a cooperative agreement with 11 other companies, including Continental Oil Co. California Research Corp. is conducting a four-well pattern test in Midway-Sunset field near Maricopa, and Richfield Oil Corp. is under way with a test in the Ojai field in Ventura County. Although the published information is valuable concerning results of field tests, little laboratory data other than that reported by Kuhn and Koch5 are available to aid in appraising the tests from a technical or economic standpoint. Engineering data needed to evaluate the process include the amount of air required per barrel of oil recovered, minimum injection rates which will support combustion, rates of advance, air required per unit volume of reservoir cleaned, amount of oil recovered, and amount of oil consumed as fuel. The present laboratory investigation was undertaken to provide these data for that portion of the reservoir swept by the combustion zone. The first phase of this investigation was exploratory in nature and was conducted at injection pressures less than 100 psig. Data were ob-

By N. Jaffee, J. E. Dorn

An activation energy of 27,400 5 1000 cal per mole was obtained for the creep of poly crystaLline aluminum over the temperature range of 273° to 350°K, at strains varying from 0.003 to 0.230. Stresses varied fronz 2250 to 6000 psi, strain rates from 0.1145 x 10-5 to 29.5 x 10~s min.-1. A strain temperature-compensated time correlatzon was oblained indicating that the structure was depedent solely upon the strain at a given stress; X-ray diffraction analyses and tensile tests on precrept specimens verified this. PREVIOUS investigations1 have revealed that the apparent activation energies for creep of high-purity polycrystalline aluminum are insensitive to the applied stress, strain, and strain rate. On the other hand, the apparent activation energy is dependent on the temperature1,2 as shown by the data reproduced in Fig. 1. Each plateau of this curve is associated with a unique rate-controlling dislocation mechanism for thermally activated creep. It is now very well-established that over the high-temperature range, where the activation energy is about 35,500 cal per mole, the creep rate is controlled by the dislocation climb mechanism. 3 Over the intermediate range of temperatures, from about 260° to 370°K, another unique activation energy, namely 28,000 cal per mole, is obtained. Current evidence strongly supports the contention that cross slip is the rate controlling mechanism for creep in this case: 1) Crystal recovery can occur by a number of mechanisms prominent among which are climb and cross slip. Astrom,4 using the Borelius micro-calorimeter, reported rapid crystal recovery of cold-worked polycrystalline A1 at 340° to 370°K giving an activation energy of 28,000 cal per mole and additional recovery at 455° to 478°K giving an activation energy of 3 6,000 cal per mole. Whereas the latter recovery process was clearly associated with the dislocation climb mechanism, the former, 28,000 cal per mole process could have arisen as a result of the cross-slip mechanism. 2) Single crystals of high-purity A1 favorably oriented for octahedral glide exhibit an activation energy for creep of about 3400 cal per mole over the range from 0° to 400°K and that of about 28,O:O cal per mole over the range from 600° to 775°K . Whereas the lower activation energy process is accompanied by the development of sharp slip-band traces, the 28,000 cal per mole process was uniquely characterized by extensive cross slip. 3) Theoretical calculations by Seeger and schoeck6 suggest an apparent activation energy for cross slip in A1 of about 24,000 cal per mole and another theoretical estimate by Friedel 7 gives the observed 28,000 cal per mole as the theoretical activation energy. It is therefore consistent with this evidence to, at least tentatively, ascribe the 28,000 cal per mole creep process in A1 to the operation of cross slip as the rate controlling mechanism. Although creep has been rather well-explored in the dislocation climb range, very little, excepting perhaps the activation energy, is known about creep in the cross slip range. This investigation was undertaken, therefore, to reconfirm the activation energy for creep in polycrystalline A1 in the intermediate temperature range and to study the strain-time relationship for creep at a constant stress in the cross slip region. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE AND TECHNIQUE The three types of high-purity A1 alloy specimens described in Table I were used in this investigation. Specimens were milled from 0.100 in. thick cold-rolled sheets with their tensile axes in the rolling direction following which they were given a recrys-tallization and grain growth heat treatment at temperatures well above those which were subsequently employed in the creep tests.

Jan 1, 1962

By F. A. Olson, J. S. Cho, M. E. Wadworth

An infrared study of the states of hydration of MgSO4 revealed a hitherto unreported metustable dehydration state in the temperature range just below that of the stable anhydrous salt. Infrared, thermogvavimetric, and X-ray studies indicated that the state had bisulfate and hydroxide characteristics. A formula fitting all of the experimental evidence is hydrogen-bonded Mg(OH)HSO4, or possibly the chemically equivalent 1/2 Mg(HSO4)2. Mg(OH)2 Infrared spectra of the 7, 6, 1, and OH2O states of hydration are given as well as the spectra of the newly found state which is called the bisulfate state in this paper. Thermogvavimetric studies as a function of water-vapor pressure gave an enthalpy value of 16 cal per mole, and 25 eu for the conversion of the bisulfate state to that of the anhydrous salt. The free energies of the transition varied from 1.76 to 0.18 kcal per mole as the transition temperature varied from 279° to 336°C. The bisulfate state is believed to be of importance in catalytic dehydration phenomena using MgSO4 and may be of interest because of properties in sulfating reactions differing from those of the monohydrate. Also, an analogous state may exist as a hydration state of other sulfates. ANHYDROUS magnesium sulfate is a catalyst with a high degree of specificity for the dehydration of secondary alcohols.1'2 The only product obtained at the usual operating temperature range of 360" to 400°C other than the corresponding olefin is water. Thus, the bonding of water to the anhydrous salt as well as an understanding of the hydration states of MgSO4 became of interest in attempting to understand the catalytic mechanism better. In the process of this study using infrared, X-ray, and thermogravimetric analyses a dehydration state not previously reported was found. Proof of its existence, the nature of the state, and its role, if any, in the catalytic mechanism then became of interest. This paper is concerned principally with the first two aspects of this problem. Magnesium sulfate forms many hydrates, of which the monohydrate and heptahydrate (Epsom salts)3 are most important. Other hydrates4 are known with 1-1/4,5 l-1/2, 5 2, 4, 5, 6, and 12 H2O's. The hydrates with 1-1/4, 1-1/2, 2, 4, and 5 HzO's are unstable. The anhydrous salt is very stable thermally and has a strong affinity for water. It can be heated without additional decomposition to about 800°C.' At 900°C noticeable decomposition takes

Jan 1, 1964

By J. B. Morrow

BITUMINOUS COAL production for 1937 up to Nov. 27, was 400,000,000 ions, an increase of 3.43 per cent over the comparative period in 1936. The in- crease in consumption, however, was not so great as the increase in production. Stocks of coal, mostly in the hands of consumers, on Nov. 1 were 57,000,000 tons, compared to 44,400,000 tons at the same periods in 1936. The prospects were that both production and consumption for December, 1937, would be lower than for the corresponding month of 1936. , Anthracite production for the period ending Nov. 20 was 43,900,000 tons, com- pared to 48,500,000 tons for the corresponding period in 1936, or a decrease of 9.5 per cent. Production of mechanically loaded coal in. 1936 was approximately 57,000,000 tons, an increase of 17.5 per cent over

Jan 1, 1938

By Charles R. Keyes

PAGE. I Introduction,........674 11. Occurrence............ 676 III. Geology of Death Valley BoRate-Region,....677 1. Surface.Relief ......677 2. Geologic Formations,....680 3. Geotectonics,..684 IV. FURnace Canyon Deposits..686 1. General Features..686 2. Geologic Structure..688 3. Ores.....690 4. Typical Section ...691 V. Lost Valley Deposits...693 VI. Mojave Desert Deposits..693 1. Distribution....693 2. Geologic Structure ........694 3. Ores............ 696 VII. Santa Clara Valley Deposits .699 1. Distribution....699 2. Geologic Structure..700 3. Ores.....700 VIII. Ventura County Deposits..701 IX. Geologic Occurrence of Borax .701 1. Original Sources...701 2. Solfataric Borax...702 3. Lacustrine Borax...703 4. Marsh Borax....703 5. Terranal Borax...704 X. Chemistry of Natural Borates.... 705 1. General Considerations.....705 2. Composition of Saline Waters...706 3. Solubility of Components....707 4. Time-Element in Water.Concentrations . 707 5. Effect of Temperature.....708 6. Effect of Pressure......709 XI. Occurrence of Other Commercial Salines,.... 709 I. Introduction. A complete transforrnation has taken place in the borax industry during the year 1908. A most remarkable factor in

Jan 1, 1910

By Niels Hansen

The substructure formed by drawing at room temperature in aluminum (99.5 and 99.998 pct purity) and in recrystallized aluminum aluminum-oxide products containing from 0.2 to 4.7 wt pct of aluminum -oxide was examined by transmission electron microscopy, and the flow stress of the drawn materials was measured by tensile testing at room temperature. A sub-grain structure was present after a reduction in area by drawing of 10 to 20 pct, and the subgrain size was observed to decrease with increasing deformation. The tensile data show that the increase in flow stress (0.2 pct offset) by drawing from 10 to 95 pct depends on the reduction in area, not on the composition of the materials. Dispersion strengthening and subgrain bowzdary strengtlzening contribute to the flow stress, and these strengthening processes have been found to be linearly additive. The flow stress (0) can be related to the subgrain size &) by the Petclz relation = uo + k . t, where go is dependent on the composition of the products and k is approximately the same far all materials. THE microstructure of dispersion-strengthened aluminum aluminum-oxide products consists of small oxide plates distributed in an aluminum matrix. The matrix structure depends on the manufacturing history, and in hot-worked as well as cold-worked products the matrix is divided by subgrain (or dislocation) boundaries. For hot-extruded products it has been shown1 that dispersion strengthening and subgrain boundary strengthening are linearly additive, and the flow stress (0.2 pct offset.) at room temperature has been related to the subgrain size (ts) by a Petch equation,2,3 s = so + k . ts-1/2, where s0, increases with increasing oxide content. For cold-worked products containing subgrains no systematic work has been reported, and it was the aim of the present study to examine the microstructure and the relationship between the flow stress and the subgrain size for such products. The behavior of' aluminum aluminum-oxide products depends on the purity of the aluminum matrix, and aluminum of the matrix purity (99.5 pct) was included in the investigation. The literature contains few data about the behavior of this impure aluminum, and aluminum of a higher purity (99.998 pct) was therefore also examined. As regards the relationship between the flow stress and the subgrain size in cold-worked dispersion-strengthened products, no systematic work has been reported. For aged cold-worked structures containing fine precipitates (Fe-Mo carbide) a Petch relation has been found,4 and it has been shown that the k value NlELS HANSEN is Head, Metallurgy Department, Danish Atomic Energy Commission, Research Establishment Riso, Denmark. Manuscriot submitted January 9, 1969. IMD is approximately the same as in iron, whereas the s0 value is higher owing to the presence of the precipi-tates. Investigations of metals such as tungsten,' ferrous metals,4,6 and molybdenum7 cold drawn or swaged at room temperature have shown that the flow stress can be related to the subgrain size by a Petch relation when ts is taken as the subgrain size perpendicular to the direction of deformation. For aluminum no work has been reported on the relationship between the flow stress and the subgrain size after deformation at room temperature, whereas for aluminum tensile strained at different temperatures in the range -183" to 375°C a Petch relation has been found by taking ts equal to the subgrain size.' In the present study two aluminum materials (99.998 and 99.5 pct) and three aluminum aluminum-oxide products (containing 0.2, 1.0, and 4.7 wt pct oxide) were drawn at room temperature to reductions in area from about 10 to about 95 pct. The structures were studied by transmission electron microscopy, and the flow stress (0.2 pct offset) was measured at room temperature. EXPERIMENTAL Materials. The materials are given in Table I together with the chemical analysis. The three aluminum aluminum-oxide products were manufactured from aluminum powder that had been compacted and Table I. Chemical Analysis of Materials Al203 Fe SI Material wt pct wt pct wt pct 99.998 pct* - 0.0004 0.0012 Aluminum 99.5 pctt - 0.36 0.16 Aluminum AlMD13† 0.2 0.16 0.12 Aluminum- -Oxide AlMD105† 1.0 0.26 0.18 Products SAPISML960s† 4.7 0.22 0.19 *Other impurities: O.0004 pct max each of Cu and Zn (supplier's analysis). †Other impurities: 0.03 pct max Cu. 0.02 pct max each of Mn, Mg, Zn, Ti. Table 11. Mean Diameter of Aluminum-Oxide Particles in Extruded and in Cold--Drawn Aluminum Aluminum-Oxide Products Mean Diam. of A1203-Plates* Material State A AlMD105 Extruded 540 Cold Drawn 97 pct 510 SAP ISML 960 Extruded 770 Cold Drawn 95 pct 820 *The standard deviation of the mean is approx. 5 ±pct.

Jan 1, 1970