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By William H. Spice

For the year 1943, exploratory drilling in South Central Texas continued on the sharp decline that started during 1942. Of the 3 counties comprising this district, as now revised to include the same area as is covered by District No. I, Oil and Gas Division, Railroad Commission of Texas, I5 counties are producing oil or gas. Only 29 exploratory wells were drilled during 1943, as compared with 51 exploratory wells in 1942, or a decrease of over 40 per cent. One new oil field and one new gas field were discovered during the year and a new horizon was discovered in an existing oil field. This cornpares with two new oil fields and an extension to an existing gas field in 1942. The one new oil field, South Washburn, in southeastern La Salle County, was discovered by Quintana Petroleum Corporation's No. I-D South Texas indicate in April 1943, flowing 4 bbl. per day, 48" A.P.I. gravity oil with an estimated 4 million cubic feet of gas from Wilcox sand at 6030 ft. This well i's the result of an extensive seismograph survey of the area. It is about 434 miles southwest of the same company's Green Branch field and by the end of the year one dry hole had been drilled to the southwest of this discovery. The one new gas field, which was not named, was located in eastern McMullen County by Edwin M. Jones' No. 102 Ezzell, in November 1943, for an estimated 8 million cubic feet of gas from shallow Jackson sand at 1222 ft. NO addi- tional wells have been drilled in this area, which may also be considered as an extension to the South Calliham field. The one new producing horizon was discovered in the South Campana field in southeastern McMullen County, by Argo Oil Corporation's No. 2-G Edrington, in January 1943, flowing 55 bbl. per day, 21' A.P.I. gravity oil with 40 per cent water from Government wells sand at 2609 feet. None of these discoveries were of major importance and subsequent development in these new areas has proved to be disappointing. Produc'tion for the district during 1943 totaled approximately 6,985,000 bbl. from about 3430 producing wells. This is an increase in production of about 5 per cent over 1942, but a decrease in producing wells of about 10 per cent under the number of wells producing in 1942 for the same district. Average production per well was 5.4 bbl. during 1943 as against 4.8 bbl. during 1942. Approximately 5,320,000 hhl. of this total production, or 76 per cent, was produced by the four Edwards lime fields, Luling, Branyon, Salt Flat, and Darst Creek, which are from 22 to 14 years old. The remaining production came from the 43 other active oil fields in the district. Drilling in the proven fields maintained approximately the same level as for 1942, with a total of 36 wells drilled. Of these operations, 21 were oil wells, one was a gas well and 14 were dry holes. This is a slightly better proportion of producers than for 1942. Washburn field had the greatest number of new producing wells drilled during the year, with a total of 10.

Jan 1, 1944

By S. W. Ross

In 1936 a description of the plant (Fig 1) and process employed by the Electrolytic Zinc Co. of Australasia Ltd. for the recovery of zinc from zinc concentrate by the electrolytic process was prepared. † During the twelve years which have elapsed since the preparation of the earlier paper, several major changes in the metallurgy of the process have been introduced. It is the purpose of the present paper to give a general description of these changes and thus to bring up to date the description of the plant and process. Summary The major changes in Risdon practice since 1936 have been: 1. Replacement of two stage roasting by a preliminary roast followed by the flotation of all the leach residue and the roasting of the flotation concentrate. 2. Screening of all calcine fed to the pachucas. 3. Continuous leaching of calcine and improved classification of pachuca discharge. 4. Close control of hydrogen ion concentration during purification for iron removal. 5. Recovery of cobalt as a good grade oxide. 6. Production of part of the zinc output in the form of "four nines" metal (99.99 pct purity). 7. Closer spacing of electrodes thus increasing the potential output of cathode zinc per cell by 50 pct. Changes which are in prospect and for which construction work is proceeding at the present time involve the starting up of: 1. Two suspension roasters. 2. A contact acid plant to produce 150 tons‡ of acid per day and replacing the existing Mills Packard chamber plant. 3. Extra power station capacity to permit greater current flow to existing cell room units. This will increase the output of cathode zinc from about 245 to 290 tons per day. Plans for the future envisage the building of an ammonium sulphate plant, the first unit of which will produce about 50,000 tons per year, and improved treatment of zinc plant residue for the recovery of zinc, lead and other metals. At the end of this paper tables of metallurgical data are presented relating to the year ending June 30, 1948. Details of Changed Practice Output In 1936 the production of cathode zinc amounted to about 200 tons per day. This has since been increased to about 245 tons per day while plant extensions are practically complete which will permit of an output of about 290 tons per day in the near future. Roasting Division ROASTING POLICY A major change has occurred in the roasting policy. Twelve years ago the method in use was to carry out a two stage roast in the first stage of which sulphide sulphur was reduced to about 6 pct. The pre-roast calcine was re-roasted in modified Leggo furnaces using coal as fuel, sulphide sulphur being reduced to about 0.8 pct. The whole procedure was described on pp. 482491 of the earlier paper. Although this roasting procedure had certain advantages it possessed some distinct disadvantages. For instance, it appeared uneconomical to heat up the entire input of pre-roast calcine to roasting temperature by the expenditure of fuel in order to oxidise a few percent of sulphide sulphur. It was argued that if the pre-roast calcine were leached and a process could be developed for the recovery of a zinc sulphide concentrate from the leach residue, this concentrate, small in weight compared with the pre-roost calcine, would probably roast autogenously, thus virtually eliminating the expenditure of fuel as well as greatly increasing the weight of sulphur oxidised per square foot of furnace hearth area. The obvious method of producing a suitable concentrate from leach residue was by flotation. It will be recalled (see p. 495 of the earlier paper) that when two-stage roasting was practised the leach residue was classified, the granular fraction was ground and floated while the slime fraction was thickened, filtered and dried ready for shipment to a lead smelter. This process worked quite successfully. However, when trials were made of leaching a calcine carrying several percent of sulphide sulphur the granular fraction still floated well, but the slime fraction carrying 8-10 pct sulphide sulphur yielded very poor results when subjected to flotation. This fact held up the application of "pre-roast" leaching for many years. However, successful flotation of the slime fraction of leach residue was finally achieved and in August 1940 the slime flotation plant began operation, while the leach-

Jan 1, 1950

By W. N. Carr, J. R. Biard, B. S. Reed

An analysis of the semiconductor injection laser is presented which is based on a phenomenological model using device and material parameters. The intent of the laser threshold analysis is not to predict from theory the actual threshold current density but rather to provide a logical means of interpreting experimental results. The device and material parameters have been selected such that they describe both the threshold conditions and quantum efficiency of the lasev. A technique is proposed whereby the current required to obtain a population inversion is predicted from device 1-V characteristics. Experimental data are presented which support the analysis. THIS investigation is concerned with the characteristics of GaAs lasers fabricated in this laboratory. However, the assumptions used in these calculations should not limit their application to GaAs alone. It is felt that the analysis is sufficiently general to be useful in describing the operation of other semiconductor-laser materials. ANALYSIS heavily doped semiconductors to be considered. The absorption and/or generation of optical radiation may be completely specified in terms of q(E) and the probability functions f,,(E) and f,(E) which define the occupancy of the valence-band and conduction-band levels, respectively. The symbols used in this analysis are listed at the end. Following the approach of all' it can be shown that the effective gain coefficient, g, in the plane of a forward-biased P -N junction is g(E)=-ai@)[1-fv(E)-fc(E)] [1I In particular Eq. [I] holds for the photon energy at which lasing occurs, Ep. Throughout the following discussion Eq. [I] is considered only for the lasing transition E = Ep. For simplicity the functional energy dependence of the various factors is omitted in subsequent equations. Unless otherwise stated the symbols used represent the values at Ep. If the analysis is limited to the P-type side of the laser junction, the function q(l -f,,) is recognized as the band-to-band absorption in the P-type material at thermal equilibrium. Under forward-bias conditions the function f, is determined by the electron quasi Fermi level in P-type material. For sufficiently large forward bias the second term in Eq. [3] will become dominant and net gain will result; i.e., g will become positive. In order to simplify the subsequent analysis several assumptions are in order at this point. a) No conductivity modulation occurs. /„ is independent of f, and therefore go is a constant. b) The P-type material is heavily doped such that the degeneracy of the valence band permits popu-

Jan 1, 1964

By W. T. Isbell

Although the pressure to meet the heavy demand for lead still took precedence over new metallurgical developments in the field of roasting, smelting, and refining of lead in 1948 there nevertheless has been considerable activity in the experimental development of new processes and improvements as well as plans for the modernization of many plants both here and abroad. Increasing labor and material costs have stimulated the trend to greater mechanization, revamping of flow sheets, and construction of larger units wherever possible. Although there have been many serious labor stoppages in the United States, Mexico, and Europe, labor supply has improved in most plants even if it has fallen off in efficiency.

Jan 1, 1949

By VlNTON H. CLARKE

Diamond-drill blasthole sloping has now been used for a long enough time to permit us to discuss fairly its problems from the ore-breaking angle and to attempt to peer into its future. To do this we have gathered information from many properties through questionnaires. The operators have indicated fairly well in their answers what they think of the method. The many variations of methods have by now been fairly well developed, and performance rates and. mining costs are well established at each property. All this can be laid down on paper with fair completeness. Now. knowing all this, what will the future of the method be? To attempt to look into the future of a mining method immediately brings to light many problems and variables. For instance: why were diamond drills used in the first place? What has the cost trend been? In what type of deposit has the method proved most advantageous? What will the future cost of diamonds be? What are the possible substitutes?

Jan 1, 1949

By H. W. Seamon

The data here given were obtained by 1500 tests made by the United Verde Copper Co. to determine the most economical air pressure for the operation of hammer drills under the varying conditions of use, and to investigate the variation in drilling speed at different air pressures. Twelve models of drills were used at gage pressures ranging from 40 to 130 Ib. No effort was made to harmonize theory and practice; but rather to formulate empiric rules that would cover the average variation of the results obtained. These rules on the performance of hammer drills, based on the air pressure as the main variable, however, are not necessarily of universal application, but they apparently satisfy the results obtained in this series of tests. The drilling conditions at this property vary widely; an average of twenty-one machine shifts to a 3-ft. (0.9-m.) round has been found necessary in some of the development work, while an advance of 56 ft. has been made in seven shifts in the "oxide" ground. This range precludes the adoption of one type of drill as a standard; consequently almost every kind of hammer drill sold in this country has been tested. At present, sixteen models are in use, of which two types of the heavy (150 to 160 lb.) mounted drills, one of the light mounted drill, one stoper, and two hand plugging drills are considered as standard. Method of Conducting Tests All machines were of the wet type, and were selected as being representative of the several types in use at this property; all had been in use from two to four months except the Waugh 66 and the Sullivan DX61, which were new. All machines were thoroughly overhauled before they were sent to the testing ground. Tests were made on the following machines: Ingersoll-Rand, No. 248 Leyner-Ingersoll, No. 18 Leyner-Ingersoll, No. 26 Baby Leyner, BCRW430 Jackhamer, and CCW11

Jan 1, 1922

The Library of the above-named Societies is open from 9 A.M. to 10 P. M. except on holidays. It contains about 70,000 volumes and 90,000 pamphlets, including sets of technical periodicals and publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions, are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library, through its Library Service Bureau, can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive especial attention. The Library is prepared to furnish references and photographic copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining maps, and to furnish general information on the geology and mineral resources of all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The tine spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape.

Jan 10, 1917

By John V. Beall

Never having done it before, it took us all day and until 11 at night to select and pack for a four-day back- pack trip up Lake Chelan last month. When we were through, we couldn't lift our own pack and Sylvia's, OUT spouse's, we barely managed to budge. Nevertheless, the next morning we were at the dock to board the Laldy of the Lake for the 3 ½ -hr boat trip to Lucerne. Our dress and accouterments creating the appearance of a veritable expedition into the wilderness made a sharp contrast with our fellow passengers, a senior citizens tour group from Spokane. We had come out to Seattle for the SME Fall Meeting and were taking advantage of the occasion for a vacation trip back to Lucerne and Holden where we had lived briefly 25-years ago, and a backpack trip up Railroad Creek from Holden to the Glacier Peak country, weather permitting. No matter what you say, weather is important, and this is one of the ingredients that went into making the SME Fall Meeting and Exhibit in Seattle, September 22-24, a thoroughly delightful experience for the 700 plus persons who attended. Seattle is a beautiful city, but with late September sunshine, which we experienced, it is the best. The second ingredient, is a swinging host committee. Under the leadership of Don Anderson and Tom Van Zandt, co-chairmen, and Mrs. Cecilia Reed, Ladies Program, superb hospitality and fine arrangements were blended. Earl Beistline, from Fairbanks, organized a two-day short course on arctic operations which preceded the meeting and drew an attendance of 44. Dick Robbins, in charge of arrangements, provided Masters-at- arms for technical sessions and a presentation of the colors by the U.S. Coast Guard at the Welcoming Luncheon. Eric Cheney's field trips ranged far and wide with events both before and after the meeting. David (Jeff) Kroft, capably managed audio-visual operations with a group of students from the University of Washington. Charles Hochmuth worked long, hard and effectively before and during the meet- ing on finances. Hank Reed, managed an authentic three-ring circus as Entertainment Chairman. His activities covered two cocktail receptions for all registrants and a dinner-dance. Dolph Campbell and Joe Hackbarth provided publicity by press and TV (see p. 37-40). SME's meetings have certain characteristics and possibly not all of these are known to everyone. The first of these is the deliberate involvement of the AIME Section in the area of the meeting. Most trade shows and conventions are run 100% by a professional staff and although SME staff could also do this, it has been our experience that a more friendly and better meeting results when the local members apply their talents. Actually SME only considers a site for a meeting after it has received an invitation from a Section. The knowledge of local conditions which Section committeemen bring to a meeting is of great value.

Jan 1, 1971

By R. Schuhmann

Available thermodynamic data applicable to copper smelting systems are collected and tabulated, and the important gaps are pointed out. A few examples are given of estimations which can be made from the available data. An experimental research program is proposed to supply the thermodynamic data that appear most essential to better quantitative understanding of the chemistry of copper smelting. The proposed program is designed also to shed specific light on the practical problems of slag losses and magnetite behavior. OPPER smelting, from flotation concentrates to V-/ blister copper, is conspicuous among the large scale chemical processes which are conducted with only relatively incomplete knowledge of the physical chemistry involved. For example, no common metallurgy text explains adequately why copper enters the matte phase while iron enters only to the extent that sulphur is left over after satisfying the copper. Explaining this important phenomenon as a manifestation of the greater affinity of sulphur for copper than for iron is unsound because the affinities of copper and iron for sulphur are about the same at smelting temperatures. As will be shown, other affinities are really decisive in the relatively clear-cut separation of copper in the matte. In contrast, thermodynamic studies have contributed much to our understanding of copper refining, zinc oxide reduction, magnesium production, steelmaking, etc. For each of these processes, the important reactions are clearly recognized, and fair to good quantitative values of the free-energy changes and equilibrium constants are available. Such data have proved to be of constantly increasing practical value in process development and improvement. Work in other fields has furnished much thermodynamic data applicable to copper smelting systems. In fact, several promising starts have been made in applying such data to specific smelting problems. Kelleyl made an appraisal of the possibilities of recovering elementary sulphur from low grade matte. His calculations and compilations of thermodynamic data have represented the starting point for much of the work in this field, including the present survey. Huang and Hayward2 nd Aksoy3 used thermodynamic methods in the study of copper losses in reverberatory slags. Peretti4 used thermodynamic data in explaining the chemistry of converting. The recent publications of Darken and Gurry"." and of Darken,' dealing with the iron-oxygen and iron-silicon-oxygen systems, respectively, present equilibrium data that are applicable to copper smelting systems. Also additional data were reported recently on the affinity of sulphur for copper, manganese, and iron8 and on the sulphur pressures of iron-sulphur melts." The survey presented in this paper was made as the basis for planning an experimental program on the thermodynamics of copper smelting. Few researches on the chemistry of copper smelting have been reported in recent years, so that a reappraisal and coordination of old and new data are essential if further work is to take the directions of maximum value. The experimental program is now in progress, and the plan of attack is outlined at the end of this paper. Progressive Oxidation and Desulphurization of Copper-bearing Liquid Phases: The chemical activities of sulphur and oxygen are two of the most important thermodynamic yardsticks to be applied to copper smelting processes. Virtually the entire smelting and refining sequence involves a series of systems characterized by decreasing sulphur activity and increasing oxygen activity. In this section, therefore, an attempt is made to define and explain these activities in terms of equilibrium partial pressures of SO2, s2, and O,. Also, estimates of these quantities are presented, the estimates being based largely on calculations presented in a later section of this paper. The sequence of steps from raw flotation concentrate to fully oxidized copper ready for poling involves progressive and controlled oxidation. Iron is oxidized and enters the slag. Sulphur is oxidized and leaves in the gas. Table I summarizes several important features of this oxidation and desulphurization sequence, starting at the beginning of the matte blow in the converter. The top line gives in order the principal smelting and refining stages up to fully oxidized copper, plus the additional step, not used commercially, of oxidizing all the way to Cu,O. In the second line are shown the principal copper-bearing liquid phases which characterize the process. Through most of the sequence the copper

Jan 1, 1951

By L. F. Mondolfo, B. E. Sundquist

The undercooling associated with the nucleation of the secondary phase from the liquid by the solid primary phase was studied in sixty binary alloys by means of a hot-stage microscope. It was found that in a system of a and ß, a usually nucleates ß at low undercoolings, but ß does not nucleate a, except possibly at undercoolings approaching homogeneous nucleation. This behavior can be explained in terms of relative interfacial energies and shows that crystallographic disregistry is only a minor factor in heterogeneous nucleation from metallic liquids. PREVIOUS experimental work1-6 on nucleation of solids from liquids has shown that normally nucleation is heterogeneous, and that small solid particles present in the liquid are responsible for the nucleation. These experiments and the theory that has evolved from them have made apparent that there is a "characteristic undercooling" associated with the nucleation of the solid from a given liquid by a given impurity. Little is known, however, about the chemical and structural relationships between the nucleating agent and nucleated solid that control the effectiveness of the nucleating agent in catalyzing the nucleation, as measured by the required undercooling. A review of the literature has yielded seventeen undercoolingsL-6 for the nucleation of solid from liquid metals by "known" nucleating agents. All values come from experiments in which the metal studied was divided into a number of particles (10 to 300 pin diam.) much larger than the number of extraneous impurity particles so as to obtain a large number of particles free of foreign nucleating catalysts. Known nucleating agents are then introduced by coating the droplets with particles or a thin film of the catalyst. Six of the seventeen undercooling values referred to cases where, for various reasons, the identity of the nucleating species was not at all certain. Another six cases involved nucleating agents with a crystal structure that was not known. Four other cases involved undercoolings listed as greater than or equal to undercoolings which were very likely those for homogeneous nucleation. One investigation3 involved adding to droplets powdered oxides, carbides, and so forth that were doubtlessly covered with adsorbed oxide or nitride films. The highly variable nature of these films resulted in highly variable undercooling (as was also found in preliminary work in this investigation). It is apparent that the information on heterogeneous nucleation in liquid metals is too limited to give rise to any definite conclusions on the nature of the catalytic process. With these problems in mind a new method was

Jan 1, 1962

By CHRIS A. HARTNAGEL

For the second consecutive year, the production of crude petroleum in New York has fallen below the 5,000,000-bbl. Mark that had prevailed previously since 1937. In 1945, the output totaled 4,658,000 bbl., a decrease of slightly more, than one per cent from the 1944 production. This total represents 2 per cent of the stripper-well production of the United States, which in turn is I 3 per cent of the total annual yield of the nation's petroleum.

Jan 1, 1946

By B. M. Larsen

A discussion based on three commercial furnace tests and electrical analogue calculations is presented. It shows that while regenerator efficiency is mainly dependent on loading or relative amount of heat exchange surface plus the heat transfer coefficients as effected by flow velocity, the actual air preheat temperature can be high or low, largely independent of regenerator efficiency, mainly due to the diluting or unbalancing effects of cold air leakage into various parts of the furnace system. THERE are many signs of a renewal of interest in the heat regeneration aspect of the open hearth process, among them being the recent paper by Marsh,' the introduction of auxiliary checkers in the stacks of the Isley furnace design, and a number of recent installations of two-pass checkers in new and old furnaces. However, there are also signs of yielding to the usual temptation of oversimplifying a problem. Faced with the job of obtaining better draft on a furnace, for example, a good designer always recognizes that focusing attention on some one factor, such as height of the stack or capacity of the exhaust fan, does not make his problem any easier; rather he must look at the whole system, including such items as valve resistances, bends in the flues, and flow resistance in the waste heat boiler; then he must make his design in relation to the available draft so as to avoid any serious bottleneck in the system. Yet this example is really much simpler than the problem of air preheating, and again, the latter problem is not really made easier by concentrating on air temperature in uptakes and on the more obvious methods for making this air as hot as possible. Also to be considered are such things as the total amount of air needed theoretically for complete combustion at any selected fuel rate, together with that needed for oxygen absorbed into the bath and for burning the combustible gases given out from the bath, plus some excess air. Furthermore, how does this total air requirement relate to the regenerator efficiency at various loadings? How much of the total air equivalent in stack gases will come from preheated air passed through the whole length of the incoming regenerator and how much from air leakage into various zones of the whole furnace system? Does the effect of leakage air differ depending on whether it leaks into the ingoing regenerator, the furnace above floor level, the outgoing regenerator, or the stack zone? Over a number of years we have in this Laboratory experimented with methods for measuring hot gas temperatures; we have measured, approximately, the efficiency of a few regenerators on commercial furnaces and we have developed an electrical analogue' for calculations of regenerator efficiency. The whole problem is too complex to cover in one paper even with a more complete background of data than we possess, but we can attempt here to clarify certain aspects in a general way, hoping to assist specific plant studies on individual furnaces. Some of our earlier experience has been incorporated into chaps. 4, 19, 20, and 21 in the book "Basic Open Hearth Steelmaking,"" and on the assumption that this text is available to most readers, this discussion has been shortened by references to that book. The most recent design of a flowing-gas thermocouple which we are now using for measurement

Jan 1, 1955

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

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

By Donald H. McLaughlin

ZEST in the search for new supplies of metallic ores and petroleum is difficult to maintain with stocks of raw materials accumulating and with over- production rightly or wrongly blamed for most of our industrial troubles. Enthusiasm over new methods of prospecting has consequently diminished and exploration programs in many fields have been drastically cur- tailed. Very naturally the effects have been felt with particular keeness in highly specialized phases of the work, such as geophysical prospecting, for the feverish scramble for new areas in which to drill beneath magnetic or electrical anomalies has abated, and there is even a lull in the firing in the battle over salt domes on the Gulf Coast. It is unquestionably an unhappy time for many of the organizations dependent on this work, but in certain respects the situation may be beneficial in correcting unsound practices that .have grown up through the necessity for haste and for quick decisions. With the restriction of the field to the more competent workers by the harsh rule of survival of the fittest, a general improvement, not only in technique but in business methods, can be expected which may go far in restoring public confidence. Geophysical prospecting in the short period that it has been utilized in North America, has suffered severely both from over-popularity and from excessive abuse. The former evil now

Jan 1, 1931

By John C. Gifford, Charles L. Thomas

A unique and reproducible method is presented for the determination of water vapor in tough pitch wire bar copper. The procedure involves reduction of the water vapor with molten aluminum to form hydrogen, which is subsequently measured by mass spectroscopy. Average water vapor pressures within the porosities of the wire bar samples are calculated. Correlation is to exist between the specific gravities of the samples and their measured water vapor contents. The method should find application as a very sensitive means of detecting hydrogen embrittlement in copper. The nature and quantity of gases evolved and retained during the horizontal casting of tough pitch wire bar copper have long been of interest to the metallurgist. Considerable work has been done at this laboratory on the determination of these gases. The work has involved not only qualitative but also quantitative analysis, so as to provide a basis for a total accounting of the porosity which is associated with the cast product. From a knowledge of the gas-forming elements within the copper, and the practice of melting and protecting it with a reducing flame followed by contact with a charcoal cover in the casting ladle, the gases which one might expect to find in the pores of the cast product are sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and water vapor. Hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, and hydrocarbons would be other possibilities; however vacuum fusion-mass spectroscopy techniques employed at this laboratory have shown that no hydrogen sulfide and only traces of nitrogen and methane are present. It is highly improbable according to phillipsl that any sulfur dioxide could be evolved in wire bar copper with 10 ppm or less sulfur under normal freezing conditions. Mackay and smith2 have noted that porosity due to sulfur dioxide only becomes noticeable at concentrations above 20 ppm S. Investigation of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide by a variation in the method of Bever and Floe showed that these two gases could only account, at 760 mm and 1064°C (Cu-Cua eutectic temperature), for a maximum of about 25 pct of the total porosity in a wire bar having a specific gravity of 8.40 g per cu cm. phillips' has noted that no normal furnace atmosphere is ever sufficiently rich in hydrogen to cause porosity in copper from hydrogen alone. In addition, using a hot vacuum extraction technique for hydrogen,4 values have never been observed in excess of 10 ppb in tough pitch wire bar. On the basis of the preceding considerations of gases in tough pitch wire bar, only water vapor is left to account for the major portion of the porosity. Direct determinations of water vapor are virtually impossible at low concentrations by any presently known technique, due to adsorption and desorption within the walls of the apparatus used.5 The present investigation deals with a method for the determination of water vapor by an indirect procedure, using molten aluminum as a reducing agent to form hydrogen according to the reaction: 2A1 + 3H2O — A12O3 + 3H2 The evolved hydrogen can then be measured quantitatively by mass spectroscopy. EXPERIMENTAL A 10-g piece of 99.9+ pct A1 was charged into a porous alumina crucible (Laboratory Equipment Co., No. 528-30). Fig. 1 shows the crucible in place at the bottom of an 8-in.-long quartz thimble. A funnel tube with two l1/8-in.-OD sidearms extending at a 90-deg angle from each other was attached to the top of the thimble. One of the sidearms was joined to the inlet system of the mass spectrometer (Consolidated Electrodynamics Corp. Model 21-620A) via a mercury diffusion pump situated between two dry-ice traps. The copper samples were placed in the other sidearm, followed by a glass-enclosed magnetic stirring bar for pushing the samples into the crucible. All ground joints were sealed with vacuum-grade wax. The entire system was evacuated and the aluminum was heated with a T-2.5 Lepel High Frequency Induction Furnace for 21/2 hr at a temperature visually estimated to be 900°C. The temperature was then lowered and the hydrogen was monitored on the mass spectrometer until it was given off at a constant rate of about 4 to 5 1 per hr. This rate corresponded to a slope of 2 to 3 divisions per min on the X3 attenuation of a 10-mv recorder at a hydrogen sensitivity of approximately 100 divisions per 1. A micromanometer (Consolidated Electrodynamics Corp. Model 23-105)

Jan 1, 1969

By Carel Robinson

THE little coal mine at Otsego, in the Winding Gulf field of southern West Virginia was dying. In the history of coal mining thousands of mines have been successful at first, but usually a change occurred and profits ceased. Often be change was so gradual and extended over such a length of time that the fundamental causes did not stand out in sharp relief and their significance was not realized. Studies often reveal that the cause for failure was in the arteries that connect the producing places with the mine entrance. Profits continued so long as the working places were close to the tipple and while the thrill of newness aid ease of access resulted in effective supervision from day to day. The air- way and haulageway, the wire line and manway, may have been sufficient when the distance from the entrance was a few hundred feet, but were inadequate when this was extended for thousands of feet.

Jan 1, 1937

By E. H. Rose

From the more distant members and some not so distant, the plaint is often heard that they cannot justify the expense and time required to attend the AIME Annual Meeting. Almost invariably, the reason given takes this form: "I just don't see that I would get enough out of it." Often the would-be clincher is added: "Besides, the meat of it all comes out in print anyway." Not long ago, a group of us who have seldom missed a meeting in recent years fell to discussing this phenomenon, and found ourselves in emphatic agreement that anyone holding such a belief indicates by his first remark that he does not know how to attend a convention, and by his second, proves it. He is, by and large, the man who has never been there, and of him, there are many.

Jan 1, 1949

The visitors to the October meeting will be given opportunity to visit the coal fields in Illinois, adjacent to St. Louis, the steam-shovel operations near Pittsburgh, Kan., and the Oklahoma oil fields. The coal mines of Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas furnish fuel over all of the central region of the country. Especially at this time, this district is of importance because of the necessity of producing enormous quantities to meet the country's demand. Some of the mines produce as much as 5,500 tons in 8 hr., and. the total output of Illinois, alone, in 1916, was 63,000,000 tons. Visitors may see elaborate underground electric tram systems, large underground machine repair shops, surface plants equipped for rapid loading, and some of the most modern coal-washing installations. The conditions for mining here are somewhat simpler than in the east.

Jan 8, 1917

By AIME AIME

AT the Morenci branch of the Phelps Dodge Corporation, of which Frank Ayer is manager, several new types of machines that have been developed by Charles Mitchell, shop foreman in the drill steel shop, invite comment for their time and labor-saving qualities. Foremost of these is an adjustable gage-block and gaging device for attachment to drill-sharpening machines, developed and patent applied for by Mr. Mitchell. It replaces the blocks on the standard Ingersoll-Leyner drill steel sharpener No. 5. Features of the device are gage blocks with a flat surface which can readily be removed when worn and planed in any flat planer; blocks that can be adjusted with a templet to give a far more accurate gage than was formerly possible; and a center stop that is adjustable and can be accurately set to center any standard size drill steel.

Jan 1, 1930