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By R. W. Raymond

In a former paper (Trans., xvi., 770) I gave the text of the archaic mining law of the State of New York, together with some comments upon its curious provisions. In that connection I pointed out two facts : first, that the law seemed to have originated in the schemes of private parties, who were satisfied with those parts of it which concerned them particularly; and secondly, that the remaining provisions had been hitherto quite inoperative, for the reason that mines of the character to which they referred had not been discovered in the State. Since 1888, when that paper was written, the New York Legislature has passed several acts relating to mines as follows: 1. Chapter 394, Laws of 1890. This provides for an inspection

Jan 1, 1895

By J. S. Aronofsky

The results of polentiometric model studies and numerical computations are described. The purpose of these studies was to determine the influence of the mobility ratio on flooding efficiencies during water encroachment in petroleum reservoirs, in systems of regular well geometry. The direct line drive well pattern having relative spacing distances of one and one-half to one was investigated for water to oil mobility ratios of 10. 1. and 0.1. The results of these studies indicate that the pattern Sweep efficiency i.; very dependent upon the mobility ratio. INTRODUCTION The almost universal occurrence of water in the immediate neighborhood of oil-hearing sands lends considerable emphasis to the desirability of having a rational analysis of water encroachment into petroleum reservoirs. This problem has 1)become increasingly important with the accelerated use of water injection for secondary recovery operations. The water encroachment problem has been studied from both the theoretical and experimental viewpoints by Muskat.' He has formulated, in a precise manner, differential equations to express flow in a water encroachment system, and rigorous analytical solutions have been developed for the linear, radial, and spherical cases.' However, it becomes exceedingly difficult to solve the encroachment problem rigorously for any general two-dimensional system in which the shape of the two-fluid interface is not immediately evident from the geometry of the system. The difficulty lies in the fart that a rigorous analytical solution requires that the shape of the two-fluid interface be known simultaneously with its instantaneous posititon and with the pressure distribution on both sides of the interface. Although this paper concerns the study of the two-fluid system of oil and water. the methods described in the paper are generally applicable to other systems of incompressible and immiscible fluids in which the displacing fluid sweep-the displaced fluid down to a residual value. In each region it is assumed there is only one mobile fluid and its mobility is constant throughout the region. The Same procedure. with minor alteration, is applicable for gas injection systems provided the assumption can be made that both the displaced and displacing gases can be described by steady state formulas. For the particular two-fluid problem considered in this paper, there is a relative permeability. K, and a viscosity. p. associated with the water zone, and a different permeability and viscosity associated with the oil zone. The K/p (mobility value associated with a particular volume element of the porous medium. at any instant of time. will depend upon whether the element is ahead of. or behind the advancing interface. It is assumed that all volume elements ahead of the interface are characterized by the K/p value for oil, while all the elements behind the interface are characterized by the K/p value for water. That is. the K/p value in the oil zone is constant throughout the oil zone. and the K/p value in the water zone is also constant but different from the value in the oil zone. The symbols are defined at the end of the paper. The well pattern chosen for initial study is the direct line drive; the swept-out area at breakthrough was determined by two different methods which are described in the section on theory. These are: 1. Potentiometric analyzer 2. Numerical computation The use of the potentiometric analyzer for studying water flooding problems is adequately described in the literature, particularly for cases where the mobility in the water zone is assumed equal to the mobility in the oil zone." ' 5

Jan 1, 1952

By J. R. Hoffert

ON Oct. 27, 1941, the Sanitary Water Board of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania called a meeting of the representatives of the coal operators in the Schuylkill River Basin, and frankly suggested to the operators that they "clean up their house" before someone else came in and did it for them; that they should not emulate the railroads with their "public be damned" policy and its fateful results. It had been four years since the passage of the antipollution law of 1937, a law which exempted silt from collieries until such time as a practical method existed for the removal of their water polluting properties. It had been fifteen long years since Sisler, Frazer and Ashmead concluded that 900 million tons of culm and silt had been deposited in Pennsylvania's streams in the process of preparing five and a half billion tons of anthracite for the world's consumers. Fine coal was being "mined" in the streams by "washeries" and river dredges downstream from the collieries, and silt banks no longer held back the endless black stream entering the Schuylkill at the rate of 350,000 tons per month. The coal operators were apparently working on the outmoded assumption that each ton of fine coal prepared displaced a ton of larger sized, more profitable coal. The meeting between the Sanitary Water Board and the coal operators signaled the beginning of the end of Pennsylvania's pollution problems. As a result a committee was formed at that meeting by the operators to find out what conditions were at each colliery. The Bureau assisted in the indication of methods of measurement and sampling and in the development of forms for reporting the needed data. One large producer had its chief engineer supervise the gathering of the information concerning the quantity of waste waters, the amount and sieve analyses of the waste solids, and the existing means for retaining

Jan 3, 1950

HAVING promised you to write concerning the nature of ores in particular, I must tell you some general facts, especially those concerning the places, kinds, and manner of their existence as well as the tools which are used. However, you must know that according to good investigators these ores are found in many parts of the world. They show themselves almost like the veins of blood in the bodies of animals, or the branches of trees spread out in different directions. Indeed, careful investigators of minerals, wishing to show by analogy how ores are located in mountains, have drawn a large tree with many branches, planted in the middle of the base of a mountain. From its principal trunk extend various branches, some thick, some slender, exactly like real trees in mature forests. They think that these grow and enlarge continually and draw themselves toward the sky, ever converting into their own nature the most disposed adjacent materials so that finally the tips arrive at the summit of the mountain and emerge with clear sign, sending forth, in place of leaves and blossoms, blue or green fumosities,* marcasites with small veins of heavy mineral, or other composition of tinctures. From these things, when they are found, it is possible to make certain inference that such a mountain contains ores, and as the signs are more or less, so are the minerals plentiful and rich or poor. For this reason the prospectors for these things take heart according to the manifestations that they find, and with hope and certainty of profit they take all possible pains to mine with skill and expense those things that the signs have indicated. Often there are ores of such a kind and quality that they raise a man in wealth to the skies. For this reason men penetrate with eyes of appraisal and judgment within the mountains and see almost exactly the places where there is ore and the

Jan 1, 1942

By M. Schmellenkamp

By comparing two longwall operations, one begun in 1956 and the other in 1960, the author is able to demonstrate the increases in production and performance made possible by longwall mining. These achievements have been brought about by continuous development of longwall mining equipment and associated roof supports. Because of this progress, longwall mining is able to provide, under proper conditions, high production per man-shift, remarkable cost savings, dependable roof control, safe working conditions and truly continuous production. It may seem odd that the title of this paper is not simply "Longwall Mining" but instead "Progress in Longwall Mining." However, the word "Progress" definitely has its place in longwall mining. If it had not been for progress in the development of longwall mining equipment and roof supports, the longwall mining method would not be able to compete in production and performance with modem coal mining machines. The longwall mining method was practiced at the beginning of the century and there were several successful operations in coal fields in Illinois. In those early days of longwall mining, the coal was undercut by hand 2 to 2.5 ft at the bottom of the seam and packwalls were built in the gob to support the roof. The roof eventually subsided and the weight of the subsiding roof was used to ride the face and break the undercut coal. Utilizing natural weight to soften the coal face is still practiced in modern longwall mining; however, the packwalling method has been replaced by the caving method and the roof is now supported by yielding steel roof supports and forepoling steel headers. The purpose of these yielding-type roof supports is to provide a safe working area for the crew along the entire longwall face, to permit continuous mechanical mining across the prop free face, and to provide a strong resistance for the roof by forming an even breaking line at the gob for the roof to cave. Roof supports and associated forepoling headers should be kept as close as possible to the face in order to prevent a caving between face and supports, especially under friable roof. This means that the coal should be extracted in small slices, allowing only a narrow roof area to be exposed and unsupported. The coal planer with its relatively high cutting velocity of 75 ft per min provides such an extraction of coal and has proved its high performance under difficult mining conditions. Since 1951, several longwall faces in southem West Virginia and Pennsylvania which have been equipped with the coal planer and friction-type manual roof supports have been successfully operated. Compared to today's longwall mining, these longwall faces required such a large crew, primarily to handle the roof supports, that the actual high production per shift was charged with too high a labor cost, thereby decreasing the tons per man. Yet, even then the longwall faces outperformed the conventional mining system under the same conditions. In order to demonstrate the progress that has been made in the development of longwall mining, a comparison will be made between a longwall face in Arkansas which was installed in 1956 and a modemized longwall face started in 1960 in southern West Virginia. LONGWALL MINING IN 1956 The 320-ft longwall face was developed in a 32-in. thick coal seam near Greenwood, Ark. The method of mining the 320-ft coal block was the advancing system in which three entries on either side of the face were driven ahead of the advancing longwall face. The face was equipped with a coal planer and a Panzer conveyor; timbering was done with wooden timbers and cribs. The roof supports were set without any pattern. The crew to operate the planer and to handle the roof supports (timbers and cribs) consisted of 15 men per shift. During a period of approximately eight monthsof single shift operating time, the average tonnage produced in this relatively low seam amounted to about 263 tons of clean coal per shift. To show the development in the coal plow from then until now, it should be pointed out that the standard plow was used in this operation. The plow was equipped with rigid bottom bits which could not be adjusted if the plow started to climb, thereby leaving bottom coal to be recovered by pick hammers end causing delays in production. The height of the plow

Jan 1, 1963

By W. G. Woolnough

It is perhaps a little difficult for Americans fully to appreciate the slow progress in the search for oil in Australia. Conditions are so different from those in the United States that methods must also differ considerably. Australia possesses an area almost exactly equal to that of the United States, but has a population of less than 7,000,000, and this population is concentrated almost entirely around the eastern and southern coasts of the continent. There are, therefore, vast "empty spaces" entirely unpopulated or exceedingly sparsely populated. The emptiness is due not to any lack of energy or initiative on the part of Australians but to the arid and waterless character of much of the country's interior. Throughout the greater part of the area that is comparable with the Mississippi drainage area of the United States, there is not a single flowing stream, and over most of it the rainfall is less than 7 in. a year. This hinders exploration and geological survey, and also isolates from potential markets many of the regions that otherwise might be considered worth prospecting. Also, Australia consists of six independent and sovereign states. With the establishment in 1901 of the Commonwealth of Australia, the states retained complete control of lands and mineral rights. Each state has its own petroleum legislation, and the absence of a central controlling authority has tended to confusion and to the introduction of many complications in oil prospecting. There are three major "territories," administered by the Federal Government; namely, the Northern Territory, enclosed between the northern parts of Queensland and Western Australia, within Australia itself, and the Territories of Papua and New Guinea in the island of New Guinea. Land and mineral legislation in these territories is not uniform. Furthermore, during the late twenties there occurred an orgy of company flotation and indiscriminate drilling, wQch resulted in the discovery of some definite indications of oil in three of the states and two of the territories, but which failed to develop any producing oil field in the common acceptation of the term. Much money was squandered,

Jan 1, 1938

By George Scott

MANY requests for information as to the possibility of washing coals to some predetermined percentage of ash or sulfur have suggested that the producers aim to satisfy some degree of purity set by the user of the fuel, rather than to attain the greatest economic benefit to all concerned. This paper is written to show that the highest economic purity of washed coal can be determined from washability studies of the raw coal, costs of mining and washing coal, and data on the effect of ash and sulfur on the value of the coal for the particular use for which it is intended.

Jan 1, 1929

By U. C. Tainton

IN reviewing progress in zinc metallurgy during the last year or so one is reminded of the premise on which H. G. Wells based his "Food. of the Gods," namely that growth does not and cannot take place smoothly and steadily, but occurs in a series of bursts and intermissions: "It is as if every living thing has to accumulate force to grow, grows with vigor only for a time, and then has to wait for a space before it can go on growing again."

Jan 1, 1937

By AIME AIME

SIR HENRY CORT HAROLD CARPENTER, F. R. S. professor of metallurgy at the Royal School of Mines, was presented with his Honorary Membership certificate in the A.I.M.E. on Oct. 18, at a luncheon in his honor in the Abraham Lincoln room of the Savoy Hotel in London. The presentation luncheon was attended by some thirty distinguished representatives of the academic and industrial British metallurgical world, all friends and acquaintances of Sir Harold. Frank W. Harbord and

Jan 1, 1938

The meeting of the Institute at St. Louis brought together many members of the Women's Auxiliary, and Mrs. Philip N. Moore, who was nominated as the Director for the St. Louis Section, took the occasion formally to inaugurate the organization in that district. A meeting was held at the Planters Hotel, anti after discussion as to, the aims and objects of the. Auxiliary, officers were nominated for the' Section; the meeting then adjourned for two days, to he resumed in Joplin.. Here a very successful meeting was held, at which the Vice-Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer were elected. A great deal of interest was arouse under the able directorship of Mrs. Moore the St. Louis Section is likely to become a large and active organization. The president of the Women's Auxiliary, in opening the meetings, told the ladies present of the inauguration of-the-Society in February, 1917, and of the work which had been accomplished up to date. She told how the Society devotes itself to patriotic and humanitarian work along lines acceptable and interesting to the Mining Engineer, standing always alongside and behind the men of the profession. The Central Welfare Committee of the organization has three Sub-Committees: Foreign Relief, Emergency, and Americanization, and under one or other of those heads most of the work of the' Society has been done. Mr. Hoover was responsible for the inception of the Foreign Relief Committee, as its first work was the collection of funds for the supplementary meals for the Belgian Children. Under the energetic administration of Mrs. H. Knox, this sub-committee raised $12,100 in the period between the February meeting and the Declaration of war by the United States, when our government took over the entire duty of feeding starving Belgium. The organization of the Belgian Relief Committee, as it was styled, still remains, but the members are now asked to take up the question of relief in France. The President, Mrs. S. J. Jennings suggested at the St. Louis meetings that one way of working for the foreign relief alight be that all the members of the Auxiliary should, during the period of the war, forego all giving' and receiving of Christmas presents, except those they have been accustomed to give to the poor or in charity, and those they would give to the men in the services of the United States; that the money usually spent on the Christmas gifts should be put into a fund to be sent abroad for the fatherless children of France, as a gift from the families of the Institute. A good deal of discussion followed this proposal, as some of the ladies felt that children should have their Christmas gifts as usual. The Director of the Section emphasized the truth that the Christmas spirit was the .spirit of giving and sacrifice, and that no sacri-

Jan 1, 1918

By Paul A. Hodges

With plant start-up slated for early 1966, Palabora Mining Co. will take its place among the large copper mining properties of the World. Located near the town of Phalaborwa in the Lowveld area of Transvaal Province, approximately 250 air miles northeast of Johannesburg, Palabora is the result of a cooperative project between Rio Tinto-Zinc Corp. and Newmont Mining Co. Other large shareholders are American Metal Climax, Inc., Union Corp. Ltd., and Selection Trust Ltd. Earliest known mining activity in the area is thought to date back about 400 years, when the Bantu tribes were migrating southward from the great lakes of Central Africa. Old workings and hand tools have been found in numerous places on the flanks of Loolekop, the hill that contains the outcrop of the Palabora orebody. Nearby ruins of small furnaces give added evidence of the knowledge of copper smelting possessed by these natives.

Jan 3, 1966

By H. C. Johnson, J. K. Elliott

One of the primary requirements for successful operation of an enriched gas-drive project is to control the composition of injection gas. This can become a serious and difficult problem, particularly in cases where the enrichment material is being furnished from a number of field -produced gas streams. It is possible to effect control of the injection gas composition through frequent or continuous sampling; however, this can be extremely costly and, in many cases, impractical due to laboratory requirements of time. Another alternative would be to provide a calculation technique which would be flexible and sufficiently accurate to predict composition of the liquid and gas streams of interest at any point in the system. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a technique that was used successfully on an operating enriched gas-drive project for developing information which could be used for controlling composition of the injected gas. FIELD OPERATIONS The particular field (hereafter called Example field) in the example operation being discussed is composed of four oil reservoirs (A. B, C and E) and one gas condensate reservoir (D). Casinghead gas from the oil reservoirs and gas from the gas condensate reservoir are gathered through a field gathering system as shown in Fig. I for injection into Reservoir C. The gas mixture which is recovered from the five reservoirs for injection purposes is composed of gases liberated in 19 individual separators, each operating at a separate temperature and pressure. PROPOSED CALCULATION TECHNIQUE It is well known that vapor-liquid equilibrium calculations in general use throughout the petroleum industry can be used to predict reliably the phase behavior of hydrocarbon mixtures, particularly at pressures less than 1,000 psig. It is then a simple matter to account for the material on a ComPonent basis by m''ing flash and material balance calculations at each separation point in a hydrocarbon system. Accordingly, it was proposed to use vapor-liquid equilibrium and material balance cal- culations with a medium-sized electronic digital computer as a basis for developing a control procedure for use in controlling injection gas composition in the enriched gas-drive project. Although the approach is a simple one, the numerous vapor-liquid equilibrium calculations involved make the problem laborious; in this particular case, it would have been impractical to make sutficiently complete analysis without the aid of digital computing equipment. SAMPLING AND VERIFICATION OF CALCULATION PROCEDURE To obtain representative gas and liquid stream samples and to provide a quantitative measure of overall system Performance for comDarative purpLses, a thorough test of the field and plant system was conducted in the summer of 1957. Oil production at each battery was sta-

By C. S. Anderson

GEORGIA, since 1829, has produced nearly $18,000,000 from her gold mines, but in late years the output has dwindled to insignificance. In view of present universal efforts to increase gold production, it seems pertinent to record some recent observations in that field, briefly review its past and weigh probabilities of reviving gold mining there. Little in this paper can be claimed as new or original, and it does not present results of a detailed or profound investigation of the whole region. The Allatoona gold mine was reopened in January, 1932, and explored at greater depth during the period from January to June of that year. A number of other abandoned mines were visited, but since the workings, in common with most such mines in Georgia, were flooded or caved, underground conditions could not be examined. For a wider knowl-edge of the subject, a search was made through available pertinent literature and statistics, a bibliography of which is appended hereto. To all the sources obligations are gratefully acknowledged.

Jan 1, 1933

[Paragraph No. PREFACE ON ASSAYING I BALANCES AND WEIGHTS 2 Balances required for Assaying 13 How assay Weights are made 3 Assay Weights based on the Centner 18]

Jan 1, 1949

By Sam Tour

Some years ago, the writer described heat checks or thermal cracks that occur in die-casting dies.' The life of dies was considered in relation to. the casting temperature, the material used for the die and the heat to be absorbed by the die per unit volume of casting made. The mechanism of the action that results in thermal failure of dies was described. In the present paper the writer proposes to describe some additional observations in regard to heat checking, make one or two suggestions as to the method or methods for further attack of the problem, and give the results obtained on some work carried out along these lines. Importance of Heat Checking Heat checks in steel are the source of trouble in many industries besides that of die casting. Every shop where metals are subjected to hot working is searching for improvement and hoping for a cure. The development of a material of sufficient strength to be used as a die and yet devoid of the property of heat checking would be a godsend to many shops and many industries. The need for thorough study and research on the subject is evidenced by the wide variety of hot-working die steels on the market. It is peculiar, but true, that in practically every case the maker of the steel can give concrete evidence to prove his contention that his type of hot-working die steel is as good as or better than any other. A number of steel companies have several hot-working die steels from which choice can be made to fit a particular set of requirements. Possibly to expect one material to be universally the best hot-working die steel is unreasonable. In some hot-working operations, as in drop forging, the die must have great toughness to withstand the stresses developed; in other operations, as in hot piercing or punching, resistance to erosion at high temperatures, possibly defined as strength and hardness at elevated temperatures, is required. In still others, as in die casting, only sufficient hardness to resist scoring between moving surfaces is required, whereas the resistance to sudden changes in temperature must be at a maximum.

Jan 1, 1935

By Louis V. Bender, R. E. H. Pomeroy, David H. Browne

E. P. Mathewson, Anaconda, Mont.—After hearing about the success of D. H. Browne with his furnaces, we in Anaconda decided we might venture into the field of pulverized coal for reverberatory smelting. We sent a delegation of investigators to see Mr. Browne and his work, and they returned, filled with enthusiasm, and said they would recommend it strongly.. We thereupon asked for an appropriation, and after some delay obtained the same and fitted up one furnace to use pulverized coal. We copied Mr. Browne's practice and his selection of machinery for drying and pulverizing coal; and we also copied the burner he used, which was a standard article on the market. We got an expert coal-dust machinery man to design our plant, and were very glad we did so as we avoided some of the unpleasantness that had been experienced at other plants through fires and minor explosions. I want to say, before describing our apparatus a little in detail, that we were quite familiar with the work of Mr. SÖrensen, the pioneer in the use of pulverized coal for copper smelting. Our attention had been called to it by Mr. Klepetko early in the game. And afterward we were familiar with the work done at Cananea by Mr. Shelby. We sent an expert to investigate the question 10 years ago. He examined the work of Mr. SÖrensen; and then went to the cement men and examined their work, and reported at great length that coal dust was the ideal fuel for them, as they took the ash from the coal and sold it as cement. He reported that coal-dust firing could not be made economical in reverberatory copper smelting, and his reasons were that a blanket of nonconducting material would cover the charge in a short time and insufficient heat would reach the charge proper, and we would have floaters over all our furnaces. The flues would be stopped by the dust that did not settle on the charge. We accepted that until our Irish friend got busy and showed us how to do it. Then we built a furnace which we thought was a slight improvement over Mr. Browne's. We put railroad tracks over our furnaces to draw the charge to the furnace. We had

Jan 1, 1915

By Sam Tour

Some years ago, the writer described heat checks or thermal cracks that occur in die-casting dies.' The life of dies was considered in relation to. the casting temperature, the material used for the die and the heat to be absorbed by the die per unit volume of casting made. The mechanism of the action that results in thermal failure of dies was described. In the present paper the writer proposes to describe some additional observations in regard to heat checking, make one or two suggestions as to the method or methods for further attack of the problem, and give the results obtained on some work carried out along these lines. Importance of Heat Checking Heat checks in steel are the source of trouble in many industries besides that of die casting. Every shop where metals are subjected to hot working is searching for improvement and hoping for a cure. The development of a material of sufficient strength to be used as a die and yet devoid of the property of heat checking would be a godsend to many shops and many industries. The need for thorough study and research on the subject is evidenced by the wide variety of hot-working die steels on the market. It is peculiar, but true, that in practically every case the maker of the steel can give concrete evidence to prove his contention that his type of hot-working die steel is as good as or better than any other. A number of steel companies have several hot-working die steels from which choice can be made to fit a particular set of requirements. Possibly to expect one material to be universally the best hot-working die steel is unreasonable. In some hot-working operations, as in drop forging, the die must have great toughness to withstand the stresses developed; in other operations, as in hot piercing or punching, resistance to erosion at high temperatures, possibly defined as strength and hardness at elevated temperatures, is required. In still others, as in die casting, only sufficient hardness to resist scoring between moving surfaces is required, whereas the resistance to sudden changes in temperature must be at a maximum.

Jan 1, 1935

By Frank A. Herald

Generally in Table 1 the unit for presentation of data is a field. For our purposes a field is defined as the whole of a surface area wherein productive locations are continuous. Such unit commonly includes and surrounds nonproductive areas. Such unit commonly includes a great variety of geologic conditions-—several units of continuous productive reservoirs of distinctly different structure and of distinctly different stratigraphy. Therefore it is hoped that our authors will subdivide "field" so as to enable students to make analyses that may have scientific and /or commercial value. As to each space in the tabulation, it is either (I) not applicable, (2) the proper entry is not determinable, (3) the proper entry is determinable, but not determinable from data available to the author, (4) the proper entry is determinable by the author. In spaces not applicable, the author will please draw horizontal lines; in spaces where the proper entries are not determinable, the author will please insert x; in spaces where the proper entries are determinable but not determinable from data available to the author, the author will please insert y; in spaces where the proper entries are determinable by the author he will, of course, make such entries. Generally, y implies a hope that in some future year a definite figure will be available. Inability to determine precisely the correct entry for a particular space should not lead the author to insert merely y. Contributions of great value may be made by the author in many cases where entries are not subject to precise determination. In such cases the author should use his good judgment and make the best entry possible under the circumstances. For many spaces, the correct entries represent the opinion of the author (for example, "Area Proved") and in such cases the entries need not be hedged to such extent as in cases where the quantities are definite yet can be ascertained only approximately by the author. In cases under definite headings but where figures are only approximate, the author may use 2. For example, if the total production of a field is known to be between 1,800,000 and 1,850,000, the author may report 1,8xx,xxx; or if the production is between 1,850,000 and 1,900,000, the author may report 1,9xx,xxx. Where a numeral is immediately to the left of x or y, such numeral represents the nearest known number in that position. As to quantity of gas produced from many fields the question will arise as to whether the figures should include merely the gas marketed or should include also estimates of gas used in operations and gas wasted. Although rough approximations may be involved, our figures should represent as nearly as possible the total quantity of gas removed from the reservoir. Wile we have not provided a column for showing the thickness of the productive zone, generally the difference between average depth to bottoms of productive wells

Jan 1, 1935

By E. R. Borcherdt

IT is notable that the first large-scale mine operation equipped entirely with detachable bits was the Badger State mine of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. in Butte, Montana, just 30 years ago. This mine in 1922 was producing approximately 1200 tons of ore per day. Much of the data presented in C. L. Berrien's article' describing the development and installation of the Hawkesworth detachable drill bit were obtained from these operations. As in any pioneering effort, no precedent existed and many difficult problems required solution, so that the changeover to detachable bits at all Butte hill mines was not completed for 6 years. There was widespread disbelief as to the probable efficiency of the new installation. Some attempts were made in 1931 by the owners of the Hawkesworth patents to interest Ontario gold mine operators in the bit. These efforts were not successful, but they undoubtedly stimulated thinking which resulted in the invention and patenting of several well-known Canadian detachable bits, one of which is now a widely used throwaway bit. The success of the Butte installation also led to the development of the threaded type of bit connections by several well-known manufacturers, and in 1935 these bits were introduced to the mining industry on a national scale. The original Hawkesworth bit was not provided with a water hole but, depended upon water passing through the clearance opening between the tongue in the bit and the groove in the rod to flush cuttings from the drill hole, see Fig. 1. In December 1935 it was found that this method of introducing drilling water to the bit face resulted in high dust counts. To correct this a water hole was drilled on the central axis of the bit, passing through the tongue. Unfortunately, quenching water would rise through the small water hole, spot-hardening the tongue to cause breakage, never completely eliminated. In the fall of 1936 large-scale tests indicated that savings would be effected by use of a threaded type of bit, which was therefore adopted as standard for all Butte mines. This type of bit was used until 1947, when it was superseded by a one-use slip-on type. Since the first use of the Hawkesworth bit every detachable bit of importance has been investigated, and where advantages which might reduce costs or increase efficiency were indicated, substantial tests of the bit were carried on in the Butte mines. When tests demonstrated the advisability of changing from one kind of detachable bit to another the change was made at one level or in one area each day until the new rod and bit equipment was used throughout the mine. This involved a minimum of cost and disruption of drilling. Intelligent selection of a detachable bit to obtain optimum results requires careful consideration to achieve a balance between the three principal types of equipment used in the drilling process: 1—drill bits, 2—drill steel, and 3—drilling machines. Optimum results imply maximum output and minimum cost per unit of output. Since every rock type differs in drillability and it is generally impractical to provide equipment for more than one or two types of rock which may occur in one operation, selection of equipment must encompass average drilling conditions. However, on exceptional occasions several widely differing conditions may make it mandatory to provide equipment best suited to each condition. The choice of rock-drilling equipment is a most controversial subject and one that is further complicated by unreliable and frequently misleading performance claims. Small operators without the means for making accurate evaluations of equipment frequently suffer from these over-enthusiastic claims. It is apparent from experience in rock drilling throughout the world that rock drillability is not alike in any two places, and that selection of proper equipment can only be made after conducting thorough trials of various types of equipment. Some recent drilling tests in tactite and hornstone at the Darwin, California mine of the Anaconda Co. present some interesting clues on rock drillability. Microscopic examination of thin sections of these rocks reveals that mineral composition and rock texture are equally important in governing drillability. The Darwin hornstone is at times so abrasive that the carbide bit cutting edges become flattened to 3/32 in. in 2 to 4 ft of drilling, and some carbide bits were dulled to this point after 9 to 10 in. of drilling. This wear was determined to be the proper point for resharpening to eliminate carbide insert breakage or breakage of the steel rod when drilling with 1½ to 1?-in. bits, with a drifter of 2 3/4-in. diam and 90 to 100 psi air pressure, see Supplement A. Before considering the merits of various bit designs it may be well to review the mechanics of drilling rock with percussion drills. A sharp bit cuts by penetration and chipping. The amount of penetration governs the amount of chipping and depends upon the contact area of the cutting edge, the foot-

Jan 1, 1954