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By Jack R. Dymond, Ronald G. Senechal, Robert O. Rye, Cyrus W. Field, Joseph F. Whelan

Metalliferous sediments are present through- out much of the ocean basins and are locally prominent in the sedimentary column on and near the Nazca plate of the east-southeast Pacific Ocean. They typically have anomalously high concentrations of the transition metals, and those on parts of the East Pacific Rise, the Bauer Deep, and other basinal depressions may contain more then 12% iron, 4% manganese, 0.1 % each of copper and nickel, and geochemically significant amounts of zinc, cobalt, molybdenum, arsenic, beryllium, silver, and possibly gold. Statistical interprerarions of chemical data indicate that most metals in sediments on the East Pacific Rise were derived from a hydrothermal component related to submarine volcanism, whereas those in basinal sediments accumulated from both hydrothermal and hydrogenous components of sedimentation. However, concentrations of the metals are controlled more by the absence of biogenic and detrital components than by nearness to centers of hydrothermal activity.

Jan 1, 1983

Mining examinations are of several kinds and the scope of the investigation depends in each case upon the purpose for which the examination is made. A formal examination of a developed mine is an expensive undertaking; from one to several months are allowed for the work according to the size of the property; many samples are taken; investigation is made of the geological features, including, perhaps, a topographical and geological survey of the surface; the metallurgical treatment of the ore is studied; finally, a determination of costs is demanded. Formal examinations are made for prospective purchasers or as a basis for the consolidation of several properties, and occasionally, in the owner's behalf, to verify the work of resident engineers, or to determine the readiness of a mine for equipment and the kind and capacity of equipment it shall receive. A formal examination of a mine should not be undertaken until a preliminary examination has shown that it is justified. It is regrettable that some engineers are in the habit of prosecuting long and exhaustive examinations of properties whose lack of merit should be, and perhaps is, apparent from the start, or of continuing their investigation long after an unfavorable result is seen to be inevitable. This wasting of a client's money is a species of trickery difficult to prove, and therefore the more contemptible. Preliminary examinations are precisely what the term implies, and are undertaken to determine the advisability of making

Jan 1, 1932

By Charles Becker

THE practice of drying phosphate in Florida is as old as the industry, which began a little more than half a century ago. The methods, however, have changed considerably. At first, the natural process of exposure to the sun and air was used, later supplemented by wood fires beneath open-air stationary dry kilns and drying towers of various designs. It was not until the early nineties that rotary driers came into use, and at first they were of very small design and fired with wood. As the industry grew and tonnage increased, so likewise grew the number and size of rotary driers, until today the largest installations are 6 ft. up to 7 ft. 6 in. in diameter, and 55 to 60 ft. long, fired with crude oil. The reasons for drying phosphate rock are: (1) to eliminate freight on water in the shipment and (2) to facilitate the good grinding qualities required by the buyers in their acidulation. Phosphate pebbles vary materially in natural characteristics and each property has a direct bearing on the processing. In making comparisons of cost and operating conditions, the following are usually taken into consideration: 1. The hard dense pebbles, which contain very little interior moisture and 6 to 8 per cent total moisture, usually produced from the low-grade deposits. 2. The lighter, porous pebbles, which contain 4 to 5 per cent interior moisture and a total moisture ranging from 9 to 15 per cent. 3. The product of recovery operations using oily reagents, containing from 15 to 25 per cent moisture. 4. The size of the pebbles. Usually the plus 5-mesh material is considered as "coarse rock"; the minus 5-mesh plus 24-mesh is "fine rock," and the minute particles below 24 mesh are called "concentrate." 5. The amount of moisture allowed in the dried product. The practice is generally to dry down to 1.5 to 2 per cent moisture. There is, however, an actual range in guarantee of from 1 per cent maximum to 3 per cent maximum.

Jan 1, 1936

By E. W. Shilling Harwick Johnson

The separation of hematite by hysteretic repulsion was first brought to the attention of the public in 1922, by W. M. Mordeyl. Three years later another paper2 was published and after another four years a third paper3 appeared in the South African publications. Certain data were lacking in these papers. In order to continue the work intelligently a knowledge of the shapes of the hysteresis curves for certain minerals was very necessary. This information was not available until the present year4. It was known that reduction of certain ores rendered them amenable to this process of separation but definite data in the form of curves showing exactly the effect of such treatment were lacking. Probably our best source of information on the separation of minerals by the use of alternating-current magnetic fields today is the reports from the U. S. Bureau of Mines5"7. It is not the purpose of this paper to tell the reader in detail how to make a commercial separator. Experimental models have recently been made? and the results obtained have been so good that it is the opinion of the authors that the public will soon take an active interest in the subject and its development. The writers have constructed a separator that is considerably different in construction and operation from the two types described by Mr. Davis. This will be described, but the real purpose of this paper is to outline certain experiments and give curves showing data that have a fundamental bearing upon the practical construction of a separator of this type. Specular hematite is usually considered nonmagnetic; that is, it is very feebly magnetic as compared to some other minerals. If specular hematite is placed in a steady magnetic field there is no apparent attraction. At the moment of closing the switch, however, some particles may be seen to move. If the field is alternating, the particles are con-

Jan 1, 1936

By M. Muskat, H. G. Botset

Any information that will increase the accuracy of our knowledge of the conditions prevailing in petroleum reservoirs should be of direct value in the determination of the proper operating technique as well as in the estimation of reserves and of ultimate production. The obvious method of obtaining this information is by studying a sample of the reservoir rock and its contents. In any such study, the problem of primary importance and maximum difficulty is that of getting the core to the surface in such a manner that its original fluid content is undisturbed, which has so far proved to be an impossible task. Though it might be rash to say this will never be done, it is certainly safe to assume that a, method for the recovery of a core at the surface in its undisturbed original state may not be developed in the immediate future, and certainly will not be forthcoming without a great deal of costly experimentation. Therefore any information that may be obtained that will help to correlate the state of a core (its fluid saturation) at the surface with its condition at the time it was drilled should be of value to the petroleum industry. The experiments described in this paper were undertaken with the purpose of determining, if possible, any relationship that might exist between the saturation of a core at the surface and its original fluid content. No consideration has been given to the question of contamination by penetration of drilling water, since this problem has been extensively studied by other investigators.1-3 Furthermore, it was regarded as outside the scope of these experiments, which were concerned only with the effect of pressure reduction upon the liquid content of cores. In an experimental study of this sort involving a large number of variables, accurate control of all factors is very important. The essential and obvious procedure is to vary systematically one factor or condition while keeping all the others constant, which necessarily involves a rather protracted and sometimes tedious experimental program. The procedure adopted was essentially very simple, and consisted merely in filling a given core with fluid (gas and oil, gas and water, or

Jan 1, 1939

By Emil Gathmann

Steel as it is poured, or teemed, into the mold for forming the ingot may be broadly separated into two divisions; i.e., effervescing or gassy steel, also termed evolution steel, and non-effervescing or killed steel, also termed solution steel. Between these primary divisions there are various types having the characteristics of both divisions but really nut belonging to either; such steels are termed semi-piping, rising, or wild, as the type may be. True effervescing steel should contain large volumes of gases, which are evolved while the metal is being teemed from the ladle nozzle into the mold, and continue to escape while the temperature of the steel is falling prior to its solidification the top of the ingot remaining liquid, due to the evolution of gases, until an ingot skin of considerable thickness has been formed. These gases consist principally of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, and ammonia. It is generally understood that nitrogen gases are the first evolved and these form the skin blowliolcs, troublesome at times, in the solidifying ingot. Ingots made of effervescing steel will always contain a large number of blowholes. Such blowholes are not deemed objectionable in certain products if they occur well inside the ingot where they will not be subjcct to oxidation upon cooling, reheating, and rolling or forging of the ingot. Very little top or bottom discard is taken from this type of ingot, as pipes, or large shrinkage cavities, at the upper portion of the ingot do not usually occur, the difference in volume between the liquid and the solid steel (6 to 10 per cent.) being compensated by the innumerable blowholes distributed throughout the body of the ingot. Of the 40,000,000 tons of steel made in the United States during the year 1919, at least 35,000,000 tons of ingots were made of gassy or semi-gassy steel. Killed, or solution, steel is termed true piping steel from the characteristic pipe or shrinkage cavity that usually occurs in the uppermost central portion of the ingot.

Jan 1, 1922

By A.A. Grubb, F.L. Wolf

The tests here described were rrlade to obtain information regarding costs, efficiency, etc. of baking cores in an oil-fired oven and two electric ovens, which were installed, early in 1920, in the core room of The Ohio Brass Co. and were used almost continuously during the rest of that year. Operating costs were rather high so a complete test was undertaken early in 1921. The ovens will be referred to as Nos. 1, 2, and 3. Nos. 1 and 2 are electric ovens of different makes while No. 3 is an oil-fired oven made by the firm that made No. 2. The three arc. equipped with similar ventilating devices. They have full-height doors at front and rear. The cores are placed on iron racks, which arc lifted by Cowan trucks and rolled into the ovens through the front doors. When baked, they are removed through the rear doors. Fig. 1 shows the general plan of the elecric ovens while Fig. 2 shows the plan of the oil-fired oven. Oven No. 1 is 91 in. (231 em.) wide, 83 in. (210 em.) high. and 79 in. (200 cm.) deep, inside measurements. The walls are constructed ill panels about 18 in. (46 cm.) wide and 43/16 in. (10.6 em.) thick, packed with blocks of insulating material and covered with sheet iron. Thc concrete floor oil which the owns set is 13 in. (33 cm.) thick. 4 recess about 5 in. (13 cm.) deep was cut in the floor to provide room for the heating units. Channels and plates supported on I beams serve as supports for the trucks and racks. The ventilating system consists of a Sirroco No. 11/2 fan, connected so as to draw air from the top of the oven or from the room, through damper C, and to deliver it either to the bottom of the oven or to the floor; the delivery is controlled by the vane A. The fan 2nd pipes are covered with 1/4-in. (6.3 mm.) asbestos-cement lagging. The heating units have a capacity of 91.4 kw. and arc located along

Jan 1, 1923

By H. E. Rorschach

Activity in the oil and gas fields of Oklahoma was more pronounced in 1935 than in 1934, with 2320 completions, an increase of about 21 per cent. The state produced approximately 185,000,000 bbl. in 1935. Osage County and shallow pools in northeastern Oklahoma showed considerable activity. The assembly of a complete table of the oil fields of the state (Table 1) was not achieved, as many of the early records of operators and pipe line companies are not complete, and data for the older fields will perhaps never be fully tabulated. Table 1 includes all of the new fields and most of the important fields of the State of Oklahoma. Increased Field Activities The discovery of large production in the deep Simpson group in the old Fox field in Carter County in the southern part of the state, the discovery of new producing horizons in the Fitts pool, and the extension of Wilcox production in the "Mansion" area at Oklahoma City were the outstanding developments in Oklahoma in 1935. Wildcatting resulted in the discovery of new pools such as Jesse, Hoyt, Grayson, South Keokuk, Wofford, Britton and Stillwater. The Fitts and Edmond pools were rapidly developed during the year. Fox Pool.—Deep production in southern Oklahoma became a reality in October when the Williams No. 1 well of Carter Oil Co. and others, in the Fox pool, began producing oil at the rate of 10,000 bbl. per day from a depth of 8088 ft. After flowing wild several days, the well was killed after pipe stuck and a difficult fishing job resulted. The job had not been completed at the end of the year 1935. This test, considered one of the most important oil discoveries in the Mid-Continent area, opened the entire South Oklahoma area to a deep exploration campaign for Simpson production and production in the Pennsylvanian series on the south flank of the Arbuckle Mountains.

Jan 1, 1936

By Mark Sheppard

DuRing the winter of 1937, the writer visited a West Virginia stone quarry at which the overburden is stripped hydraulically. The quarry is in a bed of limestone, about 200 ft. thick, which outcrops on a hillside above a small river; the quarry face is 175 ft. high. The top of the stone is cut in all directions by erosion channels, which are filled with a tough, red clay. Some of the larger channels are 30 ft. deep and 8 ft. wide. The thickness of the clay overburden ranges from a few inches to 10 ft., the average being estimated as less than 3 feet. The topography of the district is rugged, and the hillside above the quarry face is not suited to the use of the usual mechanical methods of moving dirt. Until hydraulicking was started 10 years ago, the overburden was dug by hand labor, dumped to the quarry floor and transported to the dump in quarry cars. Cleaning deep channels was a slow and expensive process. When hydraulicking was started, the top of the quarry face was over 200 ft. above the level of the river. The pipe line was carried in a semicircle around the top of the quarry about 200 ft. from the face and about 50 ft. above it. As there is no adequate supply of water above the quarry, the water must be pumped from the river. As quarrying progressed the pipe line was moved until the discharge points are now over 300 ft. above the river. Water is pumped from the river by a four-stage centrifugal pump having a 5-in. intake and a 4-in. discharge. It is direct-connected to a 200-hp., 2300-volt, 1760-r.p.m. induction motor. At 1760 r.p.m. the rated capacity of the pump is 750 gal. per minute under a head of 600 ft. The pump is installed in a house of frame construction on the river bank, about 10 ft. above normal water level, which also houses the pump for the mill-water supply. Above the pumps are hoisting bays into which the motors are raised whenever the river reaches flood stage. An 8-in. suction line, equipped with a strainer and a foot valve, takes the water from a concrete sump at the edge of the river. The pipe line from the pump consists of 1750 ft. of 8-in. spiral steel flanged pipe and

Jan 1, 1938

By F. A. Champion

The work described in this paper was carried out in the Research Laboratories of the British Aluminium Company Ltd., under the general direction of A. G. C. Gwyer, Scientific Manager of the Company. In considering the effect of stress?corrosion conditions on metals, or the failure of metal through stress corrosion, it is evidently advisable to adopt a clear definition of the meaning of those phrases. There appears to be general agreement that stress-corrosion conditions may be defined as the continuous application of static stress to a metal while it is exposed to corrosive conditions, but recognition of the occurrence of true stress-corrosion in a metal is often a difficult matter giving rise to some confusion. For the purpose of this paper stress corrosion in a metal is defined as the acceleration of corrosion by the application of static stress. On this view it is necessary to test a metal not merely under stress-corrosion conditions, but also under the same corrosion conditions without the simultaneous application of stress, if the liability of the metal to stress corrosion is to be assessed. Failure of a metal under stress-corrosion conditions is sometimes quoted as evidence of stress corrosion (for example, by Althof(1)2), but this evidence is totally inadequate if the above definition is

Jan 1, 1945

By John K. Hammes, Stanley D. Michaelson

The material presented in this chapter is supplemental information on those significant aspects of open-pit copper mining that are to an extent unique and therefore not detailed in previous sections covering the fundamentals of open-pit mine planning, operations and maintenance. In addition, tabulated cost and operating data are presented for a variety of open-pit copper mines. 13.3-1 History. The history of the civilized use of copper began at the end of the Stone Age when man discovered that the red metal, in the form of native copper, could be readily worked into a variety of weapons and tools which simplified the primitive requirements for survival. Almost concurrently, the high value of these early copper products became so widely known that they soon assumed major importance as trading commodities. Copper and copper-alloyed artifacts, even though produced in very limited quantities by ancient miners and metalworkers in a few parts of the Near East and the Western Hemisphere, were so valuable that early warriors and traders carried them into nearly all the world's known areas of importance. As far as copper is concerned, the Bronze Age, at sometime around 8000 BC to 6000 BC, marked the vague, little-known beginning of metallurgy. Man learned to alloy the valuable red metal to make it harder and tougher; its use multiplied as did the variety of weapons and tools made with the gradually increasing metallurgical and fabricating skills. By 3000 BC bronze alloy products became relatively widespread ; copper mining activities assumed tremendous importance and the mines on the Isle of Cyprus developed into prized possessions of each Mediterranean empire from the times of Egyptian supremacy to well beyond the decline of the Roman Empire.

Jan 1, 1968

By N. W. Sager, H. W. Mossman

The arrangement and general dimensions of the reverberatory furnaces and waste-heat boilers for the Nos. 2 and 3 smelting units at the McGill plant of the Nevada Consolidated Copper Corporation are shown in Fig. 1. Each of the two reverberatory furnaces has its own set of waste-heat boilers, and before February, 1932, each furnace, when it was in operation, delivered waste-heat gases to its own boilers only. In January, 1933, the idea was suggested of using some of the waste-heat boilers as economizers to operate in conjunction with the waste-heat boilers that were generating steam. The execution of this idea gave rise to the gas-flow scheme depicted in Fig. 1, the advantages of which were obvious, particularly so in view of the fact that for some months prior to the adoption of this scheme the smelting had been confined to No. 2 furnace, with No. 3 furnace and its boilers idle. The waste-heat gases from No. 2 furnace pass through the boilers serving this furnace as steam-generating units, thence through the original exit duct to a point where a bulkhead diverts the gases in a reverse direction through two of the boilers of No. 3 furnace. After the gases have traversed these two boilers, another bulkhead placed in the duct between No. 3 furnace and its boilers causes them to traverse still one more boiler, from which the gas path leads to the stack. In this scheme the last three boilers traversed by the gases, i.e., the boilers behind No. 3 furnace, function as economizers and preheat the feed water for the two steam-generating units directly serving No. 2 furnace. This discussion will give consideration to the results obtained in waste-heat recovery by the scheme shown in Fig. 1, and, further, will compare these results with those obtained before the boilers of No. 3 furnace were set up to act as economizers, but before going into the detail of heat generation, distribution and recovery, will present some additional details of the equipment. All boilers in this waste-heat plant are of the Stirling type. The two behind No. 2 furnace, acting as steam-generating units, of class 13, are 40 tubes wide and rated at 1112 boiler hp., while the three boilers behind No. 3 furnace, acting as economizers, are also of class 13, but 28 tubes

Jan 1, 1934

By Earl Oliver

Superficial observation of the petroleum stabilization movement in 1932 is disappointing. Threatened overproduction persisted; waste continued; proration was violated; gasoline taxes were evaded; and, as a consequence, chaos threatened the industry as the year drew to a close. However, comparison of the movement in 1932 with its beginning a few years ago, and analyses of those influences that promote its growth as well as those which retard it, disclose some reasons for encouragement. Stabilization, as we see it, is not merely a mechanical engineering problem. It involves social engineering. By which we do not mean it is possible, or even desirable, to change the nature of men, but rather that it is possible to set up procedure that will avoid causing them to clash. It comprehends consideration of physical objects that is clearly within the field of the engineer, but it considers them only in relation to their distribution, utilization and control in harmony with philosophies that motivate men and shape current conceptions of right and wrong, or of justice and injustice if those terms be deemed more acceptable. Stabilization cannot be effected without utilizing the knowledge of the engineer, but neither can it be effected without utilizing more than comes within his traditional field of activity. In discussing the problem herein we shall endeavor to treat it briefly from that consolidated viewpoint. Rapid fluctuations in supply have characterized the oil industry from its beginning; yet only within the past ten years has an understanding begun to develop regarding the extent of waste—the degree of dissipation of natural resources—that attends the operation of the industry under the practices and laws which control it in the United States. The extent and regrettable consequences of those wastes, their underlying causes and the ease with which they could be prevented are not yet generally understood even within the industry. Producing TomoRRow' s Oil Today The interests detrimentally affected by these economic evils are vastly greater than the mere welfare of the oil industry. The problem involves the nation's supply of gasoline and other petroleum products at

Jan 1, 1933

By William G. Pariseau

There are important phenomena in rock and soil mechanics that cannot be explained in terms of theories of homogeneous, isotropic materials. Subsidence of strata about mine openings is an example. In-situ stress measurements in nonisotropic sedimentary and metamorphic rocks is another. Patterns of joints, faults, fractures, and similar geologic features impart directional mechanical properties to rock masses that are locally isotropic or anisotropic. On the geologic scale, the nonhomogeneity of composite rock masses may, in certain instances, be dealt with as homogeneous anisotropy. The mechanics of large rock masses can, therefore, be expected to involve considerations of anisotropy. The source of the anisotropy is not relevant. Once the scale of observation is selected and the material is defined accordingly, the analysis of stress and deformation proceeds without regard to the numerical values of the material constants. There are also important phenomena in rock and soil mechanics that cannot be explained in terms of linear elasticity, theory. For the mechanical description of anisotropic geologic materials capable of deforming beyond the limit of purely elastic strains, a plasticity theory is required. The purpose of this chapter is to present a plasticity theory for anisotropic rocks and soils. The proposed theory is based on the work of Hill in anisotropic metal plasticity and represents an extension of his work so as to include anisotropic geologic materials. The point of departure from metal plasticity theory begins with the inclusion of the normal stresses as linear terms in the yield condition, which plays a central role in plasticity. Once the yield condition is established, the plastic strain increments are obtained immediately through the principle of normality. For practical applications, some simplification of the three-dimensional theory is re-

Jan 1, 1972

By Mark Sheppard

DURING the winter of 1937, the writer visited a West Virginia stone quarry at which the overburden is stripped hydraulically. The quarry is in a bed of limestone, about 200 ft. thick, which outcrops on a hillside above a small river; the quarry face is 175 ft. high. The top of the stone is cut in all directions by erosion channels, which are filled with a tough, red clay. Some of the larger channels are 30 ft. deep and 8 ft. wide. The thickness of the clay overburden ranges from a few inches to 10 ft., the average being estimated as less than 3 feet. The topography of the district is rugged, and the hillside above the quarry face is not suited to the use of the usual mechanical methods of moving dirt. Until hydraulicking was started 10 years ago, the over- burden was dug by hand labor, dumped to the quarry floor and transported to the dump in quarry cars. Cleaning deep channels was a slow and expensive process. When hydraulicking was started, the top of the quarry face was over 200 ft. above the level of the river. The pipe line was carried in a semi- circle around the top of the quarry about 200 ft. from the face and about 50 ft. above it. As there is no adequate supply of water above the quarry, the water must be pumped from the river. As quarrying progressed the pipe line was moved until the discharge points are now over 300 ft. above the river. Water is pumped from the river by a four-stage centrifugal pump having a 5-in. intake and a 4-in. discharge. It is direct-connected to a 200-hp., 2300-volt, 1760-r.p.m. induction motor. At 1760 r.p.m. the rated capacity of the pump is 750 gal. per minute under a head of 600 ft. The pump is installed in a house of frame construction on the river bank, about 10 ft. above normal water level, which also houses the pump for the mill-water supply. Above the pumps are hoisting bays into which the motors are raised whenever the river reaches flood stage. An 8-in. suction line, equipped with a strainer and a foot valve, takes the water from a concrete sump at the edge of the river. The pipe line from the pump consists of 1750 ft. of 8-in. spiral steel flanged pipe and 800 ft. of 4-in. spiral steel flanged pipe. The connection from the pump

Jan 1, 1938

By Edward Halse

The occasional occurrence in metalliferous veins of rounded fragments of rock, matrix or ore, lying loose, embedded in clay, or enclosed in some kind of cement, may be attributed to four causes:— I. They have been washed in from the surface, or from an upper portion of the vein.. II. They are of concretionary origin. III. They have been produced by movements in the country-rock or in the walls of the vein. TV. They have been formed in situ, by the upward, downward or lateral flow of water in the vein itself. In this paper the word " conglomerate " is confined to a rock composed of rounded fragments or pebbles cemented together, as distinguished from a " breccia," in which the rock-fragments are angular. * I. Boulders and Pebbles which have been Washed in from the Surface, or from an Upper Portion of the Vein. In this type it is presupposed that the vein at one time communicated by a fissure or open space with the surface, or with the upper portion from whence the fragments have been washed. One well-authenticated occurrence was described long ago by Fournet. Owing, no doubt, to later dislocations in the lode, pebbles from an old alluvium and sands containing titaniferous iron, as well as fragments of wood, were found in a vein at Huelgoet, in France. " Toutes les parties tendres du filon de Pranal ou ces phenome'nes sont les plus prononces ont 6th excaves jusqu'a d'aasez grandes profondeurs par I' impetuosite des torrents, qui out depose la matiere alluviale.'"

Jan 1, 1906

By H. M. Wilson

The relation of labor to the accident rate in mines is admirably epitomized by Thomas T. Read in his paper presented at the St. Louis meeting, in the sentence "Reliance for accident prevention must be upon the individual worker himself." In connection with the inspection of mines for the fixing of merit premium rates for insurance under workmen's compensation, it has been the practice of The Associated Companies to allow 60 per cent, of the credits for safeguarding of the physical hazards of the mine and 40 per cent. for the human element. By "human element" is meant that inherent tendency of the industrial worker to be careless, negligent, or disobedient, in respect to his own safety, and after that also of his fellow workman. This is a tendency not only of the laborer or of the skilled miner, but of all human beings, working or traveling anywhere. This element of mine safety, sometimes called the moral hazard, has been admirably shown by statistics, compiled from the records of the Department of Mines of the Union of South Africa, to be due in about equal measure to the carelessness of the miner and to that of the operator. These statistics show that about one-half the fatalities in mines are due to the so-called hazard of the industry, or what is sometimes called the dangers inherent to work or misadventure. Of 2497 fatalities investigated, including over 200,000 employees, for a period of over 21/2 years, it was found that 17.5 per cent. were due to faulty plant or material, fault of the foreman, or of the management—in short were due to the operator; 17.1 per cent. to disobedience of orders, carelessness or ignorance of injured persons; and 5.9 per cent. through fault of others, including fellow workmen. The fault of the operator is evidenced by failure to give proper warning, failure to inspect, failure to furnish proper equipment, and neglecting to comply with the recommendations of the inspector. That education and training of the mine operator, as well as of the mine worker,

Jan 1, 1918

By Ralph Schilthuis

SEVERAL investigators1-8 have reported evidence of the existence of native or connate water in oil-and-gas-bearing strata. Both water and salt have been detected in cores of oil sands that yielded oil and gas exclusively when produced. Electrical logs often reveal unexpectedly low resistivity through oil and gas sands, indicating the presence of some material that is a considerably better conductor of current than oil and gas. Furthermore, calculations9 of the oil and gas content of reservoirs based upon production and reservoir-pressure decline data indicate appreciably lower values than are arrived at under the assumption that the pore space is occupied completely by oil and gas. ORIGIN AND OCCURRENCE OF CONNATE WATER IN OIL-AND-GAS-BEARING FORMATIONS The view has been expressed,10-15 and is generally agreed upon, that the expulsion of oil and gas material from source beds and the subsequent migration and accumulation occurred in the presence of salt water. As the strata that usually form reservoirs for oil and gas were laid down by, or in the presence of, ancient seas, the pore space within the strata must have been saturated with salt water before the entrance of the oil and/or gas. Thus, the accumulation of oil and/or gas in the upper regions of structures suitable for reservoirs must have required displacement of the connate water therefrom. In the absence of any forces other than gravitational, it would be expected that the displacement of the connate water out of the zones finally occupied by gas and oil would be complete, and that the vertical distribution of gas, oil, and water in a reservoir would be strictly in the order of their densities. Apparently, however, surface and interfacial forces that will not permit complete segregation of the fluids are active within the capillary spaces comprising a reservoir. The effects of these forces on both accumulation and production of oil and gas have been the subject of study by a number of investigators. 16-37

Jan 1, 1938

By V. F. Hollister, M. Bernstein

The Copaquire porphyry copper deposit lies in an island of pre-Upper Tertiary rocks surrounded by Quaternary and Upper Tertiary formations. The pre-Upper Tertiary appears to be a horst block in a typical basin-range setting. Major right lateral faults have been mapped within the range from Chuquicamata north to Copaquire. All of the major porphyry copper deposits known in the block (e.g., Quebrada Blanca, El Abra, Chuquicamata, and Copaquire) are on or are very close to one of these major right lateral shears. In the Copaquire district, an epizonal igneous complex with diorite, quartz diorite, quartz monzonite, and intrusive dacite (in that intrusive order) invade folded Jurassic shale. Mineralization appears spatially and temporally associated with the quartz monzonite porphyry and dacite. Alteration zoning shows two separate core phyllic (quartz-sericite-pyrite) zones within one large argillic (clay-pyrite) zone. A propylitic (chlorite) zone is peripheral to the argillic zone. No potassic zone has been recognized yet at the surface. The intrusive petrology together with the phyllic, argilic, and propylitic alteration zoning as well as the chalcopyrite-molybdenite ore mineralogy characterize this deposit as being typical of the Lowell and Guilbert model. Copper and molybdenum minerals appear to be most strongly developed in the phyllic zone, in either a breccia or a zone of veinlets and stockwork which trend dominantly northeast, conjugate to the district's largest fault, the Sulfato fault. The setting is basically similar to that found in some other porphyry copper deposits in this block, in that the ore body is a zone of veinlets which appear to be genetically related to movement on a major north-south trending right lateral fault. The presence of the major fault in each deposit, and the speculative hypothesis that paleo-subduction zone operated at the time of mineralization, suggest the possibility that mineralization took place when a major fault permitted escape to the surface of cal-calkalic magma generated in a subduction zone as proposed by Ericksen. A hypothesis such as that proposed by Ericksen explains the near linearity of porphyry copper deposits in Chile, since the source of calc-alkalic magma would exist at about the same distance from a paleo-trench throughout the length of the paleo-subduction zone.

Jan 1, 1976

By David B. Reger

Oil and gas and their derivatives continue to be stable products in West Virginia. In the midst of the cataclysmic happenings of 1930 to 1934, which have swept away banks and practically destroyed many other enterprises of presumably nonspeculative character, the possession of a royalty or working interest in a few old oil or gas wells has prevented disaster in literally thousands of homes. These old wells yield their daily quotas of basic commodities, which the public must have. Fortunately, the facilities of disposal in the Appalachian Province are so ample and well managed that the owner of such equities may be reasonably certain that his proportionate share of existing markets will be afforded him without much effort on his part. In most cases these investments are free from encumbrance or hypothecation, therefore the main uncertainty is the date of ultimate exhaustion at the source. Generally, this is known to be fairly remote. The net result has been that individual owners part with such investments only as a last resort. In sharp contrast to the action of the small owner of wells or royalties who has prudently refrained from jeopardizing his rather certain income by drilling new wells that may be failures, or of which the product may not be needed for the moment, has been the plight of various promotional enterprises in natural gas. Many of these ventures have been operated by amateurish remote control and practically all have been overloaded from the start with bonds and debentures, which could only be satisfied in a rising and expanding market; and with operating costs that have been exceedingly high because of widely scattered producing units and large overheads. Many of these promotions are now in receivership or bankruptcy and in various instances the original units have been recaptured by former owners and have again become profitable by reason of personal operation and elimination of all forms of overhead expense. New Development In 1934, the State issued 524 permits for drilling. According to the trade journals, 553 wells were completed, with 184 oil wells, 274 gas wells and 95 dry holes (Table 3).

Jan 1, 1935