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By Sidney Powers

CONTENTS PAGE Distribution of fields 4 History of development 6 Origin of oil 7 Structure,, accumulation and migration 8 Reservoir rocks 9 Methods of drilling and exploration to Oil-field statistics 12 Description by regions: United States: Appalachian region 12 East-central states 17 Kansas 18 Oklahoma 19 Texas 24 Arkansas 32 Louisiana 33 Mississippi -.. 34 Rocky Mountain region 34 California : 37 Canada 41 Mexico 43 Cuba 46 Bibliography 46 THE purpose of this brief account of the occurrence of petroleum in North America is to make available to those who have a knowledge of geology, but who are not engaged in the petroleum industry, a few salient facts about the location of oil and gas fields, their productivity, the important structural types of accumulation and the age of the rocks containing petroleum. A few useful data and statistics are furnished, yet not complete statistics that are available elsewhere. Geology has been treated in simple terms because the reader is presumed to have little interest in the names of formations and of oil sands. Mineral deposits are more or less analogous. Whether oil or metals, minerals are found in rocks, largely in sedimentary rocks which carry water or have at one time carried it. A genetic or accumula-

Jan 1, 1931

By John J. Gilman

BECAUSE of their layerlike structure, zinc crystals exhibit strong anisotropies for almost all physical and chemical properties. This should, and indeed does, greatly influence the plasticity of zinc for various crystal orientations. At low temperatures, the investigator of this plastic anisotropy is plagued by the great variety of deformation modes that operate. However, at high temperatures (250° to 419°C) only two deformation modes predominate: basal (0001) and prismatic (1010) glide. Furthermore, since strain hardening is virtually absent at high temperatures, the plasticity for these two modes of deformation can be very simply described by means of two equations of state. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the experimental behavior of basal and prismatic glide in zinc crystals, and to interpret this behavior in terms of other physical properties (in particular, the thermal expansion coefficients and the elastic constants) using the theory of dislocations. Fig. 1 defines the two planes of the zinc structure that will be discussed. Glide occurs very readily on the basal planes at all temperatures, and there is a very large literature on this subject. Much of the literature has been reviewed by Schmid and Boas;' it will not be reviewed here. Kolesnikovl was the first to show that if basal glide is circumvented by stressing a zinc crystal parallel to the basal planes (giving zero shear-stress on the basal planes) then, at temperatures above about 320°C, glide on the first-order prism planes occurs. His results have recently been confirmed by Cahn, Bear, and Bell." These previous workers have established the existence and crystallographic elements of prismatic glide; the present paper is concerned with the stress, strain rate, and temperature relations of prismatic glide as contrasted with basal glide. Experimental Methods The crystals were square ones, 6x6 mm, that had been grown in precision Pyrex tubes by a method that is described in detail elsewhere.' Most of the crystals were 99.999+ pct Zn (New Jersey Zinc Co. CP grade). Some were alloyed with 0.1 -+-0.005 atomic pct Cd, and chemical analysis showed that almost all of the added cadmium persisted through the crystal-growing process. For measurements of nonbasal glide, crystals were oriented with their basal planes parallel to both the rod axis and one of the flat faces of the square cross section. However, the orientation of the close-packed directions [1210] with respect to the rod-axis was variable. For basal glide measurements, the angle between the basal plane and the specimen axis was 35". The orientations were measured by the Gren-inger back-reflection X-ray method. The problem of finding a suitable method of gripping the crystals was the most serious experimental obstacle that arose. Because of the large plastic anisotropy of zinc, the usual gripping methods were unsatisfactory. Some methods that were tried were: high melting-point solder, making heads on the ends by locally melting a crystal, and electroplating nickel on the ends to form enlarged portions. For all these methods, the regions of the grips were weaker than the crystals themselves. Finally, two methods were decided upon: bend tests and direct machining of tensile specimens. In the bend tests, specimens were loaded as simple beams so that gripping was not a problem. The beams were 1 in. long and the axis of bending was parallel to the hexagonal axis of the crystals. For the crystals that were machined into tensile specimens, brass bars with slots in them were used to support the crystals, and thereby minimize the distortions due to machining. The crystals were glued into the brass bars with plastic cement which was later dissolved away with acetone. See Fig. 2, left. No clamps were used near the crystals and the machining was done using a milling machine with a fly-cutter. The tool bit was very sharply pointed to minimize burnishing. The feed was less than 1 mil per cut. The depth of cut was 2 mil for roughing cuts, and % mil for the finishing cuts. This machining method produced surface layers of tiny recrys-tallized grains only 2 to 3 mil deep, and the bodies of the crystals were not measurably disturbed. After the crystals had been machined and removed from the brass holders, they were chemically polished until about 5 mil had been removed from all their surfaces. The polishing reagent consisted of equal parts of concentrated HNO,, 30 pct H3O and ethyl alcohol; it is described in detail elsewhere." A typical crystal is shown in Fig. 2, right. The I-shaped faces are normal to the hexagonal axis of the crystal; otherwise the projections at the ends would simply shear off when the crystal was loaded. The cross section in the 2?-in. gage length is 0.215x0.115 in. It was found that the polished

Jan 1, 1957

By W. L. Saunders

It has been estimated that the value of the mineral products of the United States is about $2,000,000,000 a year; that about $25,000,000 is expended annually for explosives and that about double this sum is paid in wages where blasting is done. The value of the mineral products does not adequately express the importance of the industry involved in the excavation of rock and ore because of the enormous sums of money expended in tunnel driving, in quarries, and in open-cut excavation generally. We know that the Catskill Aqueduct in the neighborhood of New York, which is now nearing completion, has cost some $165,000,000 and that about one-third of this may be rated as rock excavation. These illustrations are given in order to call attention to the great importance of an industry the extension and development of which in our industrial life depend so much upon the economics of rock drilling. Reference has been made to the new Catskill Aqueduct. There are three aqueducts leading into New York, each built at periods separated by some 20 years of time. The first one, known as the Old Aqueduct, conveys the waters of the Croton river to New York City in a manner which reminds one of the old Roman aqueducts, the ruins of which are still in evidence. The engineers who laid out these old conduits sought to direct their lines around the hills and into the valleys, at all times avoiding the rock. When it was necessary to cross a river or a deep ravine, a bridge or causeway was constructed. High Bridge, over the Harlem river, is an arched masonry viaduct differing in no essential features from the aqueducts of the Romans. When the second Croton Aqueduct was built, about the year 1890, the art of drilling rock had been so far perfected, and the use of explosives, through the invention of dynamite, had become so general, that this waterway was planned and executed on straight lines, following rather than avoiding the rock. The second Croton Aqueduct is a tunnel through rock, about 32 miles in length; material gneiss, almost as hard as granite. Its construction was made practicable by sinking

Jan 1, 1914

By Frank W. Harris

The strength of hard drawn copper wire is a question of considerable importance to both manufacturer and consumer. Unlike steel and alloy wires, in which strength is governed by both chcniical and physical considerations, t,he high conductivity required for copper wire in the clcc-trical industry generally precludes the possibility of obt,aining tensile strength through the use of alloys. Consequently, this strenglh is largely a rnatter of the ~hysical structure, and all factors known to affect this structure, such as rolling temperature, die contours, lubricants, drawing speeds, etc., arc matters of prime importance. The experiments described here have becn carried out dl~ring the past year at the Baltimore plant of the American Smelting & Refining Co., in connection with a general investigat,ion of sorne of the questions mentioned above, with the object of studying thc physical ~t~ructure of hard drawn copper wire and the influence of ccrtain factors on t,hat st'ruct.ure. The work has been of an exploratory nature, rather than con~prehensivc., but it was thought that the result,s might prove of sr~fficient general interest tjo warrant their publicatlion. The bulk of the hard drawn coppcr wire used in places where strength is an important factor is rnanufacturcd to strict specification, based USU-ally in the United States on thab of t,he Arrlerican Society for Tcst'ing Materials (B-1-23). This specification calls for almost as high a, valuc of t,ensilc strength, consistent with elongation, as it is possible pract'icnlly to obtain, and only physically perfect mlaterial can be relied on to lliect such a specification. Obvious defects, such as laminat'ions protluc:etl through fins in bhe original rods or brittleness duo lo ovt~rdrawing, arc. usually recognized and need only passing refercncc. Laminatlions can be detected by twisting and untwisting the wircx several times; they will show up on the surface in the form of fins. Pig. 1 shows a very bad example of this defect. Thc wire may bc perfectly smooth before twisting hut, when such larrlinations arc3 prcstmt they will readily show up under this treatrncnt. This trouble is caliscd by sirriilar defects in the original rod produced by overfills in rolling. Fig. 2 shows the cross-section of the rod from which thc wire in Fig. 1 was drawn.

By M. W. Ditto

THe conversion of the beehive coke plants, in this country, to byproduct plants has been slow, because the coal supplies were near the centers of the steel industry. With the growth of this industry, especially with its development around Chicago, it became necessary to transport large tonnages of coal from the eastern districts and then convert it into coke. The losses due to transportation costs were partly offset by the value of the byproducts recovered. To save the transportation costs, it was desirable that the coal deposits of Indiana and Illinois be utilized. This coal had always been classified as non-coking; it was also considered unsuitable for the metallurgical field because of the high ash and sulfur contents. The conditions, however, were promising enough to start experimental and development work, which crystallized in the design of the Roberts coke oven. The fundamental features of most coke ovens, with respect to the application of heating gas and the recovery of byproducts, are the same and, in the last few years, the tendency has been toward the better application of heating to the walls, higher thermal efficiency, and, by the control of heating conditions, the increase of byproduct yields. Structural features also have been improved and the use of high-grade refractory material has allowed the use of higher temperatures with the resulting higher rated capacity per oven per day. Great improvements have been made in both recuperators and regenerators, particularly with reference to the individualizing of each oven with respect to its adjacent oven, so that each can be operated as a unit if desired. The highest development of the flue type of oven has been applying individual regenerators for the recovery of waste heat. After some research work, it was found that the high-volatile Illinois coals could be utilized for coke by obtaining the better application and control of the heating conditions in the oven. Most of this high-volatile coal that had been used gave a good coke structure under certain conditions. The fact that coke was occasionally made from this coal, demonstrated the possibiity of making coke from it at all times pro-

Jan 1, 1923

By H. A. Lesser, H. L. Stone, G. H. Bruce

ESSO PRODUCTION RESEARCH CO., HOUSTON, TEX. A mathematical model that represents the conduction heating of a rock formation of limited permeability is formulated. Heat is introduced by the injection of a hot condensing gas into horizontal fractures through the formation. The fractures are assumed to be equally spaced; the flow of fluid is linear. The model consists of three coupled partial differential equations and two functional relationships. Temperature histories for both fractures and formation are obtained by numerical procedures. Application of the model in predicting in situ heating of oil shale is illustrated with four sample cases. Influences of shale thermal diffusivity, fluid pressure in the fracture and fracture spacing upon heating rate are demonstrated. In all cases considered, several years were required to heat all the formation to 700F with 1,000F steam. Less than 32 per cent of the injected heat was utilized for heating the shale. To facilitate extensive calculations of this type, a set of seven dimension-less quantities are derived. With this dimensionless system, the effect of controllable parameters on economics can be explored. INTRODUCTION Vast deposits of hydrocarbons are contained in oil shale formations in the western United States and in other countries. These hydrocarbons, known as kerogen, are difficult to recover because they are immobile solids and because the rock formations in which they are found have very limited permeability. The kerogen can be converted through pyrolysis to recoverable liquids and gases if the formation temperature is elevated to the range 600 to 800F. To accomplish this heating, the formation might be artificially fractured and a hot fluid injected into the fractures. If the injection and production wells are vertical and the fractures horizontal, interwell communication will be established and the hot fluid will flow from an injection well to a production well. In this process, some of the heat in the fluid will be given up and conducted into the formation. Products of pyrolysis will flow from the heated rock matrix into the fractures and be produced, commingled with the injected fluid. The practicality of such a process is strongly influenced by the rate at which heat can be transferred from the hot fluids to the formation. An analysis of this heat conduction problem is the subject of this paper. Linear flow of a condensing gas through a set of horizontal, equally spaced fractures is considered. Temperature histories for both fractures and formation are obtained from numerical procedures. The analysis also applies to formations containing streaks of natural permeability instead of fractures. Heat flow problems similar to the one treated here have been studied by other workers. Thomas1 has solved a radial problem in which he considers the injection of a noncondensing gas into a single, horizontal fracture and approximates the temperature profile in the fracture by a step function. The solutions to other problems, which are less similar to the present problem than the one treated by Thomas, have been reviewed by Spillette.2 In addition to these mathematical studies, a field test of an in situ shale oil recovery process using hot natural gas as the injected fluid has been reported.3 The first part of this paper is concerned with the mathematical development of the problem. The differential equations, boundary conditions and functional relationships which describe the physical model are formulated and the equations are cast into finite difference form. The method of solution of the difference equations is discussed (Appendix B). The second part of this paper presents results computed for a typical oil shale formation for which steam at 1,000F is the injected fluid. Fracture spacing, horizontal and vertical thermal diffusivities

Jan 1, 1967

By M. W. Ditto

THe conversion of the beehive coke plants, in this country, to byproduct plants has been slow, because the coal supplies were near the centers of the steel industry. With the growth of this industry, especially with its development around Chicago, it became necessary to transport large tonnages of coal from the eastern districts and then convert it into coke. The losses due to transportation costs were partly offset by the value of the byproducts recovered. To save the transportation costs, it was desirable that the coal deposits of Indiana and Illinois be utilized. This coal had always been classified as non-coking; it was also considered unsuitable for the metallurgical field because of the high ash and sulfur contents. The conditions, however, were promising enough to start experimental and development work, which crystallized in the design of the Roberts coke oven. The fundamental features of most coke ovens, with respect to the application of heating gas and the recovery of byproducts, are the same and, in the last few years, the tendency has been toward the better application of heating to the walls, higher thermal efficiency, and, by the control of heating conditions, the increase of byproduct yields. Structural features also have been improved and the use of high-grade refractory material has allowed the use of higher temperatures with the resulting higher rated capacity per oven per day. Great improvements have been made in both recuperators and regenerators, particularly with reference to the individualizing of each oven with respect to its adjacent oven, so that each can be operated as a unit if desired. The highest development of the flue type of oven has been applying individual regenerators for the recovery of waste heat. After some research work, it was found that the high-volatile Illinois coals could be utilized for coke by obtaining the better application and control of the heating conditions in the oven. Most of this high-volatile coal that had been used gave a good coke structure under certain conditions. The fact that coke was occasionally made from this coal, demonstrated the possibiity of making coke from it at all times pro-

Jan 1, 1923

By E. S. Bumps, W. F. Craig, M. Baeyertz

Metallurgists have looked at fractures macroscopically for many years and have evolved a vocabulary in which such words as "cleavage," "brittle," "shear," "ductile," "granular," "fibrous," and "silky" are used to describe the appearance of the fractured surface; but the meaning of these words in terms of metal structure is not well established. Observations of the structural meaning of "brittle" and "ductile" fractures in plate steels have been made, notably, by Kramer and coworkers1 and by Tipper.2 Grossman3 has studied the fracture of tempered martensite and combinations of ferrite and martensite. Notwithstanding these and other less concerted attacks on the problem, present understanding of fracture rests more on assumptions and logic than on experiment. It is the purpose of this paper to add a little to the growing fund of experimental observations of the nature of fractures in steel. The particular fractures to be described were obtained in conventional impact testing of an ordinary structural steel shape. In impact tests of the Charpy type, the specimens fail in a characteristic manner that depends on the steel and the temperature of testing. With ordinary structural and many other steel products, an appropriate range of testing temperature will cause a considerable change in the energy absorbed before fracture. This change is known as the energy transition and is accompanied, more or less closely, by alteration in the appearance of the fracture. At testing temperatures below the transition, the terms "brittle," "cleavage," or "granular" are used to describe the fracture; above it, "ductile" or "shear" are often used. Within the transition, the fracture changes from "brittle" to "ductile" by a progression in appearance, wherein the "brittle" portion of the fracture becomes restricted to a smaller and smaller central area of the fracture, as the testing temperature is raised and the "ductile" type of fracture is approached. All this is well known to metallurgists. The specimens under consideration are of the conventional V-notch Charpy type. They were taken from a structural steel shape of the following analysis: C Mn P S Si 0.17 0.46 0.009 0.029 0.03 Both longitudinal and transverse specimens were tested and examined. Fig 1 shows the energy values plotted against testing temperatures in the usual way. The curves for both longitudinal and transverse specimens show an energy transition, although the maximum energy absorbed at testing temperatures above the transition is greater in the case of the longitudinal specimens. Fig 2 illustrates the changes in the macroscopic appearance of the fractures that are associated with the energy transitions shown in Fig 1. Macrographs of the fractured surfaces of the specimens have been identified with the fracture ratings at intervals on each fracture curve. The numerical fracture rating on the ordinate of Fig 2 indicates the percentage of the area of each fracture that was considered to be "brittle" on macroscopic observation. Such rating of the fracture type in impact tests is now customary in many laboratories. Hereafter the specimens will be identified by reference to Fig 2 as 90 pct "brittle," 80 pct "brittle," and so on, in accordance with this macroscopic evaluation of the appearance of the fractured surface. The discussion of the fractures is divided into three parts. The first two are concerned with the mode of fracture and its relation to general structural features. As the same metal-lographic features occur in both longi-

Jan 1, 1950

By H. G. Moulton

THE INCREASING scale of mining operations over the past decade, particularly in connection with the exploitation of large bodies of comparatively low-grade copper ores, has made necessary the study of the behavior of rock under failure. When extractions of as high as 40,000 tons a day are reached in steam-shovel operations and as high as 20,000 tons per day in underground mining operations, it is evident that excavations soon become of such size that the behavior of the rock will often be dependent on fundamental principles applicable to more or less homogeneous materials under stress, rather than on weathering or local planes of weakness. In the ordinary rock excavations encountered in civil-engineering practice, such as excavations for subways, highways, railroads, etc., rock faces are not carried to depths sufficient to develop any pressures, or consequently any failures, except those due to loose masses resulting from local planes of weakness. When, however, orebodies whose tonnage is measured by hundreds of thousands are to be extracted by steam-shovel operations in open pits, it is necessary to determine if possible in advance the slopes that the sides of the pits will assume, for these slopes influence the shape of the excavations and thereby the amount of ore that may be extracted by the open-pit method. When large orebodies are mined underground at depths of 300 to 500 ft. (91 to 152 m.) by caving methods, the surface subsiding as the ore is withdrawn, it is necessary to determine in advance the outermost limits of fracture in the subsiding surface, for on the delineation of these limits depends the location of surface improvements, mills, smelters, etc. and also the location of development work, such as hoisting shafts, main haulage levels, and all other underground openings that must remain undisturbed during the period of ore extraction. Heretofore, in civil-engineering practice, it has been assumed that earth and rock behave differently in failure. For the calculation of earth

Jan 2, 1920

By David R. Mitchell, Byron M. Bird

THE revision of this chapter has presented a problem in that heavy-medium jigging has come into the picture since the chapter was originally written (seven years ago), a practice in which an artificial medium is built up and maintained in the jig circuit. As this development makes the jig a "true" heavy-medium process, the method belongs in the chapter dealing with such processes. Although putting this development in its proper position in the book involves some repetition, this seems to be the best procedure, and it has been followed. As the chapter on jigs in its original form was intended to be more or less a handbook on jigging for the use of the practical man, and the great bulk of the material therein is still generally applicable, the text has been re-used in large measure. Two major changes should be noted: (1) the portion of the text relating to the refuse-withdrawing mechanism of the McNally-Pittsburg jig has been entirely rewritten, and (2) a description of the hutch valves on the Jeffrey jigs has been added. Jigging is the stratification of a mass of solid particles in upward and downward pulsations. The stratification usually is effected in a rectangular open-top container having a perforated bottom through which the pulsations of water are applied to the materials to be separated; in separating coal, to a mass of coal and refuse. Jigging usually is a continuous process involving three steps: (1) the reception of the raw coal, (2) the stratification of the coal and refuse so that the refuse settles to the screen plate, and (3) the overflow of the cleaned coal and the withdrawal of the refuse collected on the screen. The jig is the most universal washer ever devised. It is handling in practice a wide range of closely sized coals and ores, mixed sizes of coal from 8-in. to 0 through 3/4-in. to 0, and mixed sizes of ores down to 7/32-in. to 0and even smaller. It is treating materials ranging in specific gravity from that of gold at 19 to that of coal at 1.30. It is handling feeds in which the proportions of high-gravity materials range from 90 per cent or higher, as for some iron ores, to 10 per cent or less for some coals. It is handling feeds containing all shapes of particles-round, rectangular, and flat. It is handling simple separation problems and difficult separation problems.

Jan 1, 1950

By Robert Lewis

THE Utah coal field to which the name Book Cliffs is applied runs in a northeast direction from Mt. Hilgarde, in Sevier county, along the escarpment of the Wasatch Plateau to the vicinity of Castle Gate, thence southeast along the Book cliffs, which lie to the north of and generally within sight of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad,. to the Colorado line. The Book cliffs form the southern escarpment of the West and East Travaputs Plateaus, and vary in height from 2,000 to 6,000 ft. At the base of the Wasatch and Book Cliffs escarpments is a broad plain known as Castle valley. The coal beds outcropping in the escarpments along this valley are worked on the largest scale of any in the State, and this particular area is known locally as the Castle Valley coal field. Geology The Book cliffs are capped by the Tertiary-Eocene-formation, consisting of varicolored shales; buff sandstone, conglomerate, and subordinate thin beds of limestone. Different sections show diverse stratigraphy. This is mainly the Wasatch formation, and lies unconformably upon the rocks of the Upper Cretaceous. Fig. 1 is a generalized section of the rocks of the. Book Cliffs field. The Mesaverde formation contains the cliff-making rocks of the Book cliffs, and is composed of massive sandstone interbedded with sandy shales and beds of coal and carbonaceous shale. The sandstone has greater resistance to erosion and the formation is characterized by escarpment ledges and cliffs. The shale is commonly sandy and is drab in color, but where it is associated with the coal it is usually carbonaceous. The sandstone is generally buff, though occasionally it is white, and in places red. The bedding ranges from thin to massive. In the lower part. of the formation the sandstone is red in

Jan 7, 1914

J. M. Wadsworth,' Okmulgee, Okla. (written discussion).—It seems to me that thc young man must first be absolutely sure that the work he has taken up is to his liking and then I would advise that he get into the practical end of it and learn as much about it as he can as fast as he can. For instance, in the refinery business the college man, graduated in chemical engineering, should ground himself by going through the various departments in a refinery and working in them until he is thoroughly familiar with the operating problems. In a short time he would be able to apply many things which appear in the abstract form in his college work and this would opcn up an opportunity for him to capitalize on them, promoting his own interest. I do not criticize the present-day college men as a class, but I have found that many of them come into your plant with the idea that mere possession of a diploma should insure rapid promotion; in a short time they are impatient and usually leave. We have found in employing men that the single attribute most difficult to find in them is a lot of energy and whole-hearted interest in the work at hand, and it seems to me that if a man combines these with a careful technical training he should be fairly well equipped to gamble on his future. They must learn that the biggest satisfaction to be gained in life is in their work. Procedure for Attaining Objective of Young Petroleum Engineer H. B. Fell,+ Ardmore, Okla. (written discussion).—Of course, the first thing to be ronsidered in any proposition is the ultimate objective that is desired to be attained. 1 presume that the desired objective of most of the young men graduating in petroleum engineering will be that of chief executive of one of the companies in the petroleum industry, or one of the allied industries, or to become an independent oil producer, or oil refiner, or possibly an oil distributor. The next phase then to be considered is the procedure which should most logically be followed to attain the objeckive of the indivitlual, since in these cases these young men will have been trained in a course in petroleum engineering and it would logically be presumed that the attainment of their objective should be through the operating end of the branch of the business with which they are connected. The operating end is, of course, the department of each branch of the business that develops the resources, or refines the products, or distributes the products, from which the profits are derived, and is a part of any business which is filled with enough interesting work to appease the desires of the most ambitious young men. In order to get the best possible training it would appear to me that the place for a young man to start after graduation would be at the bottom of that branch of the industry which he expects to follow. For example, if he is going in the producing end he can gct no better training than is secured by starting as a roustabout in the ficltl, where he romes in constant rontact with the character of work that is necessary

Jan 1, 1928

By M. L. Brashears

IN the last 15 years industrial use of ground water has more than doubled, and in 1951 amounted to 5 billion gallons per day. A similar sharp increase in the utilization of ground water for irrigation and public-water supply occurred in the same period. In many areas rapid increase in withdrawal from wells has taken place almost entirely unhampered by regulatory control and with little or no integration of effort. As might be expected, the chief interest in many regions has been maximum production rather than sustained perennial yield. As a result, widespread depletion of underground reservoirs and deterioration of the quality of the water stored in them has taken place in many areas, even though total pumpage in the United States is far below ultimate potential. Of even more concern is the fact that excessive withdrawal has drawn salt water into the reservoirs beneath many heavily populated centers along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts, causing costly abandonment of pumping plants.' Many hydrologists expect that consumption of water will rise rapidly in the near future, and some predict that industrial requirements will more than double in the next decade.2,3 Thus it appears likely that the draft on many already heavily pumped underground reservoirs will be greatly increased and the search for additional sources of usable ground water intensified in years to come. In view of this, industry as a whole will be forced more and more to recognize the potentialities and limitations of ground-water reservoirs and to utilize them more effectively to prevent costly water shortages and disruption of production. Through painful experience, some industries are already well aware of the need for effective water utilization, and have managed individually or through joint effort to check trends threatening to deplete underground reservoirs completely or to impair the quality of the water. Various remedial measures have been used to bring about successful management of local or regional ground-water resources. Of these, replen-ishment of aquifers by recharge wells or basins has played an important role in overcoming some ground water problems. Artificial recharge of underground reservoirs by water spreading has been practiced successfully in the United States for many years. In the West it has become an important method of salvaging flood run-off for irrigation of crops and maintenance of public water-supply reserves, and it is used to some extent in parts of the East. Artificial recharge by means of wells, on the other hand, is a relatively new development. Until recently it was employed in only a few areas, principally along the East coast. For the last few years, in the ever increasing search for additional water supplies, industry has had greater recourse to this method. Utilization of recharge wells to control the temperature and quality of underground water supplies is also being considered seriously. Operation of recharge wells, like water spreading, is governed largely by local conditions. It requires water relatively low in turbidity, whereas in some areas water spreading has been used successfully with water of high turbidity and silt content. However, water spreading must be employed in large areas and can be carried on effectively only where aquifers crop out at the surface. Recharge wells can be used in limited space. Recharge wells are similar to production wells except that the water flows in the opposite direction. Thus any water-bearing bed that will yield water to wells may be recharged by wells. Often, however, the water available for recharge is of a different character and temperature from that existing in the ground-water reservoir and if transmitted directly underground from a recharge well to a production well might require expensive or difficult treatment before it could be used. Fortunately the physical characteristics of reservoir beds, which control the movement and behavior of ground water, are generally not homogeneous. Moreover, the movement of ground water is very slow because of the frictional resistance of the reservoir beds. By taking full advantage of hydrologic and geologic conditions, it is therefore possible in many instances to bring about favorable changes of temperature and dilution as the water moves from the recharge wells underground to the production wells. Furthermore, if the natural quality or temperature of ground water is unfavorable for industrial purposes, recharge wells may be used to introduce water of more favorable quality or temperature into the ground-water reservoir. When water is discharged into a recharge well, the head in the well is increased. Because of this, a cone of elevation is produced on the water table or the artesian pressure surface in the area surrounding the well. The cone of elevation is similar to the cone of depression produced around a pumping well except that the apex of the cone is above the water table or artesian pressure surface. Thus if a recharge well and a production well tapping the same water-bearing bed are close together, as would be the case at many industrial plants, some of the water discharged from the recharge well would be drawn into the production well within a short time. Under such conditions it is apparent that water of unfavorable temperature and chemical characteristics should not be used for recharging. The more important ground-water reservoirs in the United States often consist of alternating layers of impermeable beds and porous material that will yield water readily to wells. Physical characteristics of individual beds in a ground-water reservoir may not persist over great distances, the impermeable layers grading into beds that will yield large quantities of water. Thus the water-yielding material in underground reservoirs, whether large or small,

Jan 1, 1954

Jan 1, 1948

By N. Schapiro, R. J. Gray, G. D. Coe

A petrographic and chemical investigation was conducted to determine the occurrence and distribution of the organic and inorganic forms of sulfur in various size and specific gravity fractions of a high volatile, A-rank, Pittsburgh seam coal. The investigation was conducted to aid in the resolution of the problem of how metallurgical coke of lower sulfur content can be produced from high sulfur coals. The Pittsburgh raw coal contains about 2.4% S in two dominant forms: pyritic and organic. Pyritic sulfur constitutes about 57% of the total sulfur in the raw coal and occurs in macroscopic and microscopic-size particles. A plant cleaning process mechanically separates between 50 and 60% of the pyritic sulfur, mainly the macroscopic particles. The organic sulfur constitutes 41% of the total sulfur in the raw coal and 55% of the sulfur in the washed coal. Thus, organic sulfur is not reduced by physical methods of separation. Organic sulfur occurs in all the coal entities, but in general, increases as the exinoid content of the coal increases. In this study, it was found that carbonizing certain selected low gravity coal fractions containing an average of 0.45% pyritic sulfur and 1.01% organic sulfur produced cokes containing an average of 0.22% pyritic sulfur and 0.91% organic sulfur. However, the organic sulfur in the coke is probably derived in part from the heating of pyrite in the presence of carbon. Thus, the total sulfur in the coal carbonized is the most important factor affecting the sulfur content of the coke produced. Concentration of microscopic pyritic and organic sulfur in the middling-type coal indicates the necessity for rejecting as much of this material as is economically feasible. Most of the sulfur introduced into the blast furnace originates from the coke. Although the sulfur content of the hot metal can be controlled by the addition of flux, the flux used restricts the productivity of the furnace by displacing ore and requires first to be smelted; therefore, low sulfur coke is highly desirable. Since the sulfur content of coke is dependent upon the sulfur content of the coals from which the coke is produced, low sulfur coals are required to produce low sulfur coke. In the western Pennsylvania area, large quantities of good coking coal are available from the Pittsburgh seam, but this coal unfortunately contains relatively large quantities of sulfur. To provide information that might be useful in reducing the sulfur content of this coal in the cleaning process, an investigation was conducted to determine the physical and chemical forms in which this sulfur occurs and with what petrographic components it might be associated. The Pittsburgh seam coal, like most other coals, contains two dominant forms of sulfur: one occurs as the minerals pyrite and/or marcasite and is referred to as pyritic sulfur; the other is combined with the coal substance and is called organic sulfur. Pyritic sulfur is amenable to physical methods of separation, whereas organic sulfur is not. Pyritic sulfur particles must be freed from the surrounding coal if they are to be removed in the washing process. Generally, this requires crushing; the required degree of crushing being a function of the size and distribution of the pyrite. The present investigation was conducted to 1) determine the size, distribution and association of sulfur-bearing minerals in the coal and 2) to determine whether the organic sulfur has a preferential association with specific coal entities. If a preferential association exists, this knowledge may be useful in devising a method for organic sulfur reduction. In addition, a study was made to determine the extent to which pyritic and organic forms of sulfur in the coal contribute to the sulfur in the coke produced from this coal. A representative 3%-ton sample of raw coal was crushed to —3 in. and screened into square-mesh sizes: 3 to 1 in., 1 to % in., % to % in., % in. to 10 mesh, 10 to 35 mesh, and 35 to 200 mesh. Separate samples of the -200-mesh fraction and the all-size composite were also collected. Each size fraction (except the -200 mesh) was fractionated on heavy liquids of the following specific gravities: 1.280, 1.300, 1.325, 1.350, 1.375, 1.400, 1.425, 1.450,

Jan 1, 1963

By Milton H. Fies

Although pig iron from iron ore and red cedar charcoal preceded the mining of coal by many years, for tradition says that Alabama iron was used to shoe the horses of Andrew Jackson's soldiers, coal was not produced until 1830. In that year, coal was mined in Tuscaloosa County, in the vicinity of what is now the University of Alabama, and shipped on flat boats (obviously during the wet season, for there were many shoals) down the Warrior River to Mobile. About that time, the first railroad, the Decatur & Tecumseh, was being constructed in northern Alabama to overcome the obstructions to freight traffic caused by the now well-known Muscle Shoals in the Tennessee River. This railroad was patterned after a railroad at Mauch Chunk, Pa., which was used for hauling anthracite from the Panther Creek valley. The Alabama railroad, which required about four years to complete, was 46 miles long and was used solely for the transportation of cotton. Although it was a failure, it demonstrated the practicability of the undertaking, and the succeeding railroads, which were begun in 1834, 1848, 1852, and 1853, added immeasurably to the development of the coal resources of the state. Between the years 1830 and 1860, practically all the coal mined in the state was dug from the outcrop near the river or from the river beds, and shipped by boat to Mobile. Transporting coal down the Warrior River was an undertaking of great risk, required much skill, and frequently had heavy losses. It is recorded that this coal was sold to the gas company in Mobile in 1844; it was most likely mined from the Black Creek Seam. In 1914, on the completion of Lock 17, the Warrior River became a navigable stream from 9 miles above Cordova, Ala., to Mobile and offers a great opportunity for the future development of the coal resources of the state. Coke for foundry use was first made in Alabama in 1855. It was 21 years later, however, in 1876, that pig iron was made from Alabama ore with Alabama coal.

Jan 1, 1925

By A. W. Fahrenwald

The physics and chemistry of the flotation process are not well understood. Many papers dealing with the theory of flotation have been published but most have been narrow in their viewpoint. No theory advanced has done more than explain, more or less satisfactorily, various isolated phenomena. Scientists have done little with the problem, doubtless because they have not seen sufficient of the practical side of the subject to have their interest aroused. Any attempt to explain the mechanism of flotation that considers only contact angles, surface tension, adsorption, the floating of needles, flocculation, or any other single and narrow phase of the question is sure to be disappointing. Flotation is a problem of colloid chemistry and must be studied as such. In a broad general way, flotation is a process involving and operating by virtue of surface reactions. The term "surface reactions" may be open to criticisms. Many chemists give the term "reactions" a definite and restricted meaning and to such the term may connote change in atomic grouping in strict stoichiometric ratios. While Langmuir looks upon adsorption as a reaction, and there is much evidence in support of this view, we may look on adsorption as a physcial process as far as this paper is concerned. The term seems well suited to the work in general. Presumably these reactions are reactions between the same kinds of forces (electrical) and differ only in degree and in the surface manifestations produced. This premise seems logical if we accept the theory that the atoms of dl elements are made up of grains of electricity, having mass and charge, called electrons; and that atoms differ from one another only in the number and arrangement of the electrons about a positive nuclear

Jan 1, 1924

By Dwight K. Smith, Greg Carter

Studies have been conducted on The properties of many deep well cementing compositions to determine their Strength behavior over curing periods to 180 days at elevated tem-peratures and 3,000 psi pressure. This pressure results in essentially the .vat, compressive strength as that obtained with much higher pressures in ac-cordance with the findings of an API subcommittee ' These different compositions include API C1asses A, E, and F cements containig additives such as retarders, berrtorlite, heavy weight materials and pozzolans. All compositions except mixtures of Poz-zolrrrts and hydrated lime show from mild to severe degrees of strength lass over a temperature rang from -730 to 320" F after setting. Pozzolatl-time compositions actually gain in strength with time at these high temperatures. Other chemical find physical properties evaluated to observe their inter-relation.ship with Strength loss show very little correlation except in per-meability. As retrogression in strength increases, the permeability of set cement increases. X-ray difraction patterns on the set products indicate the formation of certain compounds having little or no strength value in those cementing compositions where strength loss was more severe. INTRODUCTION As a result of the growing trend toward deep well completions, a study has been made on the properties of the various cementing slurries presently in use at elevated temperatures and pressure. The strength of these compositions is of prime importance in selecting the most suitable material for use at high temperatures, to determine WOC time and the proper time to perforate with a minimum of shattering. Of primary interest in this investigation was the strength behavior of various compositions currently in use, and the effect of additives on cement after long periods of curing under severe conditions. Earlier investigators have pointed out that the strength of some cements will increase with increasing curing temperature to about 220 to 340" F, but at higher temperatures a loss in strength occurs at extended time intervals. Studies by the API Mid-Continent District Study Committee on Oil Well Cements' outlined a testing procedure whereby field conditions of temperature and pressure could be simulated in the laboratory.' It was observed that retarded cements undergo changes at elevated temperatures and some lose as much as 50 per cent of their early strength when cured at high temperatures. The scope of these tests was limited to curing periods of 1 to 28 days; additives were not covered in this study. Saunders and Walker' found that the use of additives influenced the strength behavior of cements at high temperatures, but studies were conducted only to a seven-day curing period. Ludwig and Pence' conducted an investigation of two types of cements under elevated pressures and temperatures in an effort to explain the causes of this loss in strength phenomenon. It was observed that with retrogression in strength there were other physical and chemical changes which took place as the cement aged. Today there are a number of cementing compositions available for use at well depths below 10,000 ft. Since all these earlier investigations were limited in curing time as well as the number and type of compositions studied, it was believed that a more extensive study should be conducted on the properties of cements at elevated temperatures, and this work should include those compositions actually in general field use at this time.

On the following pages are abstracts of papers published by the Institute during the year 1931 as Technical Publications, Preprints, and in bound volumes. For abstracts of papers that appear in bound volumes in 1931 but that were published as Technical Publications in 1930, see the Transactions, 1930. Papers that appear in the volume in which this list is printed are not abstracted here. Many of the Technical Publications have been reprinted in bound volumes. Information regarding this disposition, and number of pages in each paper, may be found in the list beginning on page 616. The abstracts are grouped as follows: Page Page Metal Mining....................... 578 ing and Metallography of Non-Milling and Concentration........... 578 ferrous Alloys)................586 IronandSteel...................... 580 Coal Division.. ................ 592 Petroleum and Gas.............. 598 Mctallurgy......................... 585 .............. 613 Institute of Metals Division (Found- Geophysical Prospecting......... 613 Metal Mining Use of Models for the Study of Mining Problems. By Philip B. Bucky. (Tech. Pub. No. 425, 12,000 words.)—This paper describes a research project undertaken to provide a means of studying the behavior of weighty structures such as mines, dams, foundations, etc., with models of the same material in the laboratory. The paper shows that in general it can be done. The underlying theory is explained, the apparatus which was developed and built to do this is described, and the results of laboratory experiments with sandstone mine structures are given. There is discussion of the accuracy of results with the present equipment, the model size necessary, and of the size and type of equipment necessary for the obtaining of results of practical value in the field. Milling and Concentration Ball Mill Studies, I. By A. W. Fahrenwald and Harold E. Lee. (Tech. Pub. No. 375. 25,000 words.)—This paper presents the results of an extensive experimental study of some of the numerous elements entering into ball mill grinding. All apparatus used was equipped with ball bearings. Every experiment was accompanied by a power measurement accurate to 0.005 hp. Quartz was used. Each element studied, such as ball load, was varied systematically. Power curves were obtained for the mill for three general sets of conditions; namely, (1) balls only (2) balls and quartz and (3) balls, quartz and water. For each general condition, power curves were obtained for various mill speeds, ball loads and ball sizes. For conditions 2 and 3, feed sizc and weight and pulp dilution also were studied as variables. The mill output, in grams of finished product per unit of time, was obtained for each test. In a general way, output (mill capacity) paralleled the power data and this attached

Jan 1, 1931

By Douglas A. Sloan

Who would believe that young elementary school children could understand something as complex as the mining industry? The Challenge The challenge of accomplishing this is tremendous. An examination of Canadian school children indicated that they knew very little about the world of work in general, and hardly anything about the mineral resource industry in particular. It calls to mind the story about two youngsters who decided to play house. The little girl played her role well as she went about the house doing things she had watched her mother do every day. When it was the little boy's turn, he grabbed his lunch, waved goodbye to his "wife," jumped on his bicycle and pedalled furiously down to the end of the driveway-where he stopped. The youngster explained that he saw his dad go out of the driveway each morning, but he didn't know where he went, or what he did on the job. When you stop to consider the number of families today with two working parents, you can begin to appreciate the importance of the opportunities for role identity provided by this project. The Approach The challenge of teaching the school children of Canada about the world of work and, specifically, the mining industry is the challenge which the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy met with the Curriculum Development Research project. It started when a small, dedicated group of Vancouver members met Dr. Doreen Binnington. After this meeting, Dr. Binnington, an expert in curriculum development at the University of British Columbia, set herself to develop a curriculum program for the elementary shcools which accomplishes two main goals: It uses the "Identity Approach," developed by Dr. Binnington, an expert in curriculum development at the enable students to understand and appreciate the contribution of people, in this case, working with mineral resources. It has pupils enthusiastically exploring the importance of rocks, minerals, and the mining industry in their lives [(Fig. 1)]. Evolution of the Curriculum Development Research Project When the curriculum development research project was presented to the Vancouver Branch of the Canadian Institute of

Jan 1, 1981