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By Edward Keller

THE present ruling principle in shop and factory, induced by conditions of. keen competition, is to do the greatest amount of work in the shortest time, or in other words, to secure the greatest output at least cost, a condition which generally necessitated the substitution of machinery for manual labor. The chemical laboratory in our industrial establishments has remained a factor of minor importance, and, for this, reason, not only has progress been permitted to lag, but the methods of analytical work have been carried on along individual traditional lines. Some works-laboratories are equipped with such conveniences as Gooch filters, suction-pumps, compressed air, shaking-machines, centrifugal machines, crushers, etc., yet there is much room for improvement, particularly in laboratories of metal smelting and refining plants, in which long series of filtrations and stirrings are performed singly by hand in a slow and laborious manner. There are also many other instances in which collective handling appears rational. As a rule the chemist wastes much time by such manual labor, which, in a modern establishment and under up-to-date management, could be more advantageously applied to useful chemical work; and such higher chemical work is gradually and surely becoming recognized as an essential extension of old-time methods of assaying. While it maybe said that in some laboratories, boys and not chemists do the manual labor, it should be borne in mind that all chemical work requires care and accuracy and in these respects boys are naturally a source of concern to the responsible chemist. Moreover, the cheapness of child-labor is largely offset by the increase in the expense-account of laboratory materials, caused chiefly by breakages resulting from care¬lessness. Having; been authorized by the Anaconda Copper Mining

Mar 1, 1905

[Trans. No. Place Date Vol. Page 1, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.* .... May, '71.. 1 3 2. Bethlehem, Pa Aug., '71.. 1 10 3 Troy, N. Y Nov.,'71.. 1 13 4. Philadelphia, Pa Feb., '72.. 1 17 6. New York, N. Y •.... May, '72.. 1 20 6. Pittsburgh, Pa..:.Oct., '72.. 1 25 7. Boston, Mass Feb., '73.. 1 28 8 Philadelphia, Pa.' May, '73.. 2 3 9. Easton, a Oct., '73.. 2 7 10. New York, N. Y Feb., '74.. 2 11 11. St. Louis, Mo.* May, '74.. 3 3 12. Hazleton. Pa Oct.. '74.. 38 13. New Haven, Conn Feb., '75.. 3 15 14. Dover, N. J.' May, '75.. 4 3 16. Cleveland, 0 Oct., '75.. 4 9] [ ]

Jan 1, 1925

By George B. Harrington

This paper is a brief description of the design and equipment of a new coal mine in southern Illinois, which has many features not common practice in shaft coal mining and which is laid out and equipped for such unusually large capacity that it promises soon to become one of the largest mining operations of its kind. Shaft sinking for the mine, New Orient, was commenced in May, 1921, by the Chicago, Wilmington & Franklin Coal Co. In October, 1924, the plant was practically completed and was producing over 6000 tons of coal per day. There is good prospect that within a few years, when the mine is fully developed and manned, the output will attain a daily rate of 12,000 tons. The coal seam at New Orient lies approximately horizontal, about 500 ft. below the surface, and may be said to run from 9 to 12 ft. in thickness. The tendency in Franklin County has been toward large mining units (5000 to 6000 tons per day) with great care being given to protection against fire and explosion hazards, and usually with quite elaborate surface plants permitting careful preparation of the coal into graded sizes comparable with those made in the anthracite region. The field is unionized, with uniform conditions of wages for various classes of work, hours, etc., and the Illinois mining laws are quite specific with regard to fireproofing and safety measures. These conditions make it difficult for any hut well-equipped and well-operated mines to meet the competition of the numerous fine properties of which this county can justly be proud. The coal company's property was already developed on the western side by the Orient mine—a much visited and written about operation (with which many of you are possibly familiar through the Department of Mines' film "The Story of Coal") which until recently held the 8-hr, production record with 8218 tons and usually ran quite consistently with production of slightly over 6000 tons per day. Experience at Orient wat naturally one of the greatest influences in determining the location and character of the New Orient.

Jan 1, 1925

By Eckley B. Coxe

I wish to call the attention of the Institute to a peculiar variety of anthracite which occurs in the Buck Mountain vein at our collieries at Drifton, and in the same and other veins in different localities in the anthracite coal-fields. It is known among the workmen as iron-gray or cast-iron. It has a dull, greasy appearance, as if a piece of ordinary anthracite had been rubbed with a dirty and greasy rag and allowed to dry. It was formerly considered a very impure coal containing a high percentage of ash, and was picked out of the coal and thrown away. But the following analysis of it and of its ash, made by Mr. J. Blodget Britton, of Philadelphia, shows that such is not the case, the percentage of ash not being much higher than that of the ordinary anthracites as they are prepared for market. ANALYSIS OF COAL. Water,.........4.36 Fixed carbon, by difference,.. 84.90 Volatile combustible matter,. . 3 48 Ash,..........7.26 100.00 The carbon proved to some extent to be of the nature of graphite, and slowly combustible. ANALYSIS OF ASH. Silica,.........25.66 Sulphur,........ .17 Alumina,........27.03 Phosphoric acid,.......21 Ferric oxide,.......42.83 Alkali, undetermined matter and Lime,.........1.56 loss,.........60 Magnesia,........1.83 Manganous oxide,......11 100.00 We recently collected a quantity of the substance and made a fire with it, in an ordinary stove, which was kept up several days. We found that it burned with intense heat, and apparently as freely as our other coal does. Mr. Britton is probably right in his view, that the difference in appearance is not due to impurities in the coal, but to the fact that the carbon is in a more or less graphitic form, as many of the standard coals are no purer. I bring this before the Institute as I know that a large quantity of this valuable fuel is thrown away every year, on account of its supposed impurities.

Jan 1, 1879

By William P. Blake

(Canal Zone Meeting, November, 1910.) A DEPOSIT of manganese-ore near Tucson, Ariz., merits notice by reason of the peculiar form in which it occurs, and as a striking. example of ore-deposition by vadose upward capillary flow of metal-bearing solutions with concentration at the surface of the country-rock. This deposit occurs at the northern end of the Coyote mountains, about 40 miles west of Tucson, upon the outcropping beds of porphyritic rock, which appear to be partly-metamorphosed strata of volcanic tufa, probably of late Secondary or of Tertiary age. The strata dip northward at a low angle, and present a series of basset-edges in parallel lines of outcrop, east and west, facing the south and extending over many acres. Successive groups of these outcrops, from 5 to 20 ft. in breadth, are coated with oxides of manganese in lustrous black films and crusts, shining in the sunlight like polished ebony, and covering the whole surface of the rock above the soil. Seen at a little distance, these croppings look like solid ledges of massive and pure ore; but closer inspection and a few blows of the hammer reveal their true nature as a superficial coating allied in origin to the blackened shining surface of rocks exposed in desert-regions, familiarly known as " desert paint" or "desert varnish,"' similar to the phenomena described by me in a former paper, but much thicker and heavier. * By reason of the death of the distinguished author, this communication, probably his last communication to technical literature, is published without revision of the proofs by him. A term first given y G. K. Gilbert. See Rocks, Rock-Weathering, and Soil; by George P. Merrill, p. 256 (New York, 1897). Superficial Blackening and Discoloration of Rocks, Especially in Desert Regions, Trans., xxxv., 371 (1905).

Sep 1, 1910

By W. A. Ver Wiebe

Spurred on by the very high demands for new crude supplies resulting from World War 11, the oil men of Kansas strained every effort in 1943 to find as many new pools as possible. In all, 1761 test wells were drilled, ,of which 895 were successful in finding new oil supplies and 32 in finding new gas supplies. The total number of wildcat wells drilled in Kansas was 577, including the so-called "extension wildcats," which are located less than 2 miles from production. As a result of the very determined effort to find new oil reserves, 49 of the wildcat test wells found new oil pools in western Kansas and 7 found new oil pools in eastern Kansas. There were 289 rank wildcat tests, and among these 28 were successful ventures. They are responsible for 26 of the new oil pools recorded for the year and 2 of the new gas pools recorded. The ratio of dry holes to producing wells among such rank wildcats is thus approximately 10 to I (289 dry and 28 good). This compares with a ratio of II: I in 1942 and 6:1 in 1941; the same in 1940 and 5:Iin 1939. With nearly all wells flowing to their maximum economic capacity, the total production for Kansas during 1943 reached a new high; that is, 107,700,000 bbl., compared with 97,000,000 during the previous year. Similarly, the amount of gas sold during 1943 made a new high point on the production curve. The total amount was 122 billion cubic feet, compared with about 98 1/2 billion cubic feet for the year previous. As usual, the large Hugoton field of south- western Kansas accounted for approximately half of the total gas production. Highlights of the Year Despite the fact that 56 new pools were found in Kansas during 1943, it must be admitted that the future reserves of the state have not been increased greatly. Most of the new pools seem to be of minor value, although it is admittedly impossible to gauge the future production of any pool in Kansas with any exactitude. Judging by the later performance of some of the pools found in 1942 and in 1941, less than five of the new pools are likely to make any great contribution to the state's future oil reserves. Taking up the counties of Kansas in alphabetical order, the following statements summarize the highlights of the year. In Graham County, the Morel pool was extended to the southeast and this pool now promises to become one of the important pools of western Kansas. Several of the older wells have already contributed more than I000,000 bbl. of oil, and such a figure is considered very satisfactory in Kansas. In McPherson County, important new reserves were found by persistent drilling in township 17 S., R. I. W., the most northeastern township of the county. Many new wells in older pools and discovery wells in new pools make this region look promising. The Lindsborg pool, which had a sensational revival during 1942, was also extended in a number of directions and has now become a rather large producing area with a fairly high future potential capacity.

Jan 1, 1944

By W. A. Ver Wiebe

Spurred on by the very high demands for new crude supplies resulting from World War 11, the oil men of Kansas strained every effort in 1943 to find as many new pools as possible. In all, 1761 test wells were drilled, ,of which 895 were successful in finding new oil supplies and 32 in finding new gas supplies. The total number of wildcat wells drilled in Kansas was 577, including the so-called "extension wildcats," which are located less than 2 miles from production. As a result of the very determined effort to find new oil reserves, 49 of the wildcat test wells found new oil pools in western Kansas and 7 found new oil pools in eastern Kansas. There were 289 rank wildcat tests, and among these 28 were successful ventures. They are responsible for 26 of the new oil pools recorded for the year and 2 of the new gas pools recorded. The ratio of dry holes to producing wells among such rank wildcats is thus approximately 10 to I (289 dry and 28 good). This compares with a ratio of II: I in 1942 and 6:1 in 1941; the same in 1940 and 5:Iin 1939. With nearly all wells flowing to their maximum economic capacity, the total production for Kansas during 1943 reached a new high; that is, 107,700,000 bbl., compared with 97,000,000 during the previous year. Similarly, the amount of gas sold during 1943 made a new high point on the production curve. The total amount was 122 billion cubic feet, compared with about 98 1/2 billion cubic feet for the year previous. As usual, the large Hugoton field of south- western Kansas accounted for approximately half of the total gas production. Highlights of the Year Despite the fact that 56 new pools were found in Kansas during 1943, it must be admitted that the future reserves of the state have not been increased greatly. Most of the new pools seem to be of minor value, although it is admittedly impossible to gauge the future production of any pool in Kansas with any exactitude. Judging by the later performance of some of the pools found in 1942 and in 1941, less than five of the new pools are likely to make any great contribution to the state's future oil reserves. Taking up the counties of Kansas in alphabetical order, the following statements summarize the highlights of the year. In Graham County, the Morel pool was extended to the southeast and this pool now promises to become one of the important pools of western Kansas. Several of the older wells have already contributed more than I000,000 bbl. of oil, and such a figure is considered very satisfactory in Kansas. In McPherson County, important new reserves were found by persistent drilling in township 17 S., R. I. W., the most northeastern township of the county. Many new wells in older pools and discovery wells in new pools make this region look promising. The Lindsborg pool, which had a sensational revival during 1942, was also extended in a number of directions and has now become a rather large producing area with a fairly high future potential capacity.

Jan 1, 1944

By AIME AIME

I am happy to welcome you to the twenty-third conference of the National Open-Hearth Committee, and our joint conference with the Blast Furnace Committee, of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. It is appropriate that, for our fifteenth year anniversary, we should meet in the hotel and the city where this Open-Hearth Committee was inaugurated in 1925. At that first meeting, only a handful of men from a number of steel companies met to discuss ways and means to start a movement to improve the practical and metallurgical technique of open-hearth operations among independent manufacturers, as the United States Steel Corporation had carried on for many years.

Jan 1, 1940

ALBERT Ladd Colby, who died suddenly of influenza at Torquay, England, on Apr. 30,1924, was born in New York City, on June 26,1860. He was educated in the public schools of New York, at the College of the City of New York, and received the degree of Ph. B. from the Columbia School of Mines in 1881. He continued his studies at Columbia, acting occasionally as assistant to Prof. C. F. Chandler, until 1883. For the next three years he was Assistant Professor of Chemistry in Lehigh University; then head chemist and metallurgical engineer of the Bethlehem Steel Co., at Bethlehem, Pa., occupying the latter position until 1903. As head chemist his active and inventive mind devised several improvements in apparatus for increasing the rapidity and accuracy of the analytical work; as metallurgical engineer, he was, from time to time, in charge of the blast-furnace, open-hearth, bessemer, and puddling departments; he had entire charge of the inspection, assignment, and economic use of all metallurgical materials, and he early gave his attention to the formulation of specifications for metallurgical materials—an activity in which he long held a distinguished part in this country, and as a representative of his own country in England and Europe. He also sewed as expert for his company in patent suits, again laying the foundation for valuable service later as a consulting engineer. In this latter capacity he was excelled by few, if any, contemporaries in the iron and steel industry. His mind was ingenious, thorough, clear, and keen, both in the preparation of evidence and its presentation to the Court. He very quickly appraised the value of evidence, or of an answer to a question, and knew how to secure the infermation, either from the available literature of any language, or by special researches or plant studies. In the executive control of literary research for patent purposes, his long training, infinite capacity for digging through long series of articles in English, German or French, and clear formulation of the vital subject matter for the guidance of assistants, made him invaluable. He was also an adept in collecting information on special branches of his profession. For example, when the science of metallography began to assume importance, he made the first really comprehensive bibliography covering the literature of all siderurgical countries; for the newly formed International Nickel Co. he gathered all the information extant on the subject of nickel steel, both in the literature and in the minds of experts in America and Europe. Two books testify to the thoroughness of his work in this capacity, vie.: "American Standard Specifications for Steel,"

Jan 1, 1924

By Benjamin C. Craft

A review of development in North Louisiana during 1936 centers around the Rodessa field, in Caddo Parish. Continued extension of the

Jan 1, 1937

By P. D. Merica

MY remarks are addressed to the question whether a program of international mineral control can effectively serve as a means of maintaining world peace in the kind of world envisaged by the Atlantic Charter. They do not touch the quite different questions whether such control could be appropriately used for postwar punishment of Germany and Japan, or for other purposes. I assume also that the question relates, not to the transition period immediately following the war, but to the more normal years which we hope will succeed this. Finally, they deal primarily with metals and metallic minerals rather than with. oil or coal or other minerals, although they may be applicable also to these other nonmetallic materials.

Jan 1, 1944

By K. Sallmann

Spurred by a variety of factors, coal flotation is making headway among the preparation plants of West Germany. The author gives some statistics on German coal flotation plants and information on the properties of the feed and quality of the derived products. Types of machines and reagents used, dewatering practices, tailings disposal, and thickening operations are covered. There is special emphasis on the many-sided problems that confront German coal preparation engineers. The coal mining industry of West Germany is concentrated in three coalfields: the first on the Ruhr and the Rhein rivers, the second on the Saar river, and the third near the frontier between Germany and the Netherlands, around the towns of Aachen and Erkelenz. The total run-of-mine production of these three coalfields amounts to 736,000 tpd which come from 145 collieries. There are 121 washeries, 43 of them with a flotation plant. The total throughput of these 43 washeries is 280,000 tpd, out of which 26,000 tons (9.3 pet of the washery feed coal) are cleaned by flotation. The capacity of the individual flotation plants varies within relatively wide limits, the average being 40 tph and the capacity of the largest flotation plant being 120 tph. During the last few years, the number and size of flotation plants have been steadily increasing, although flotation must be looked upon as an expensive and rather complex cleaning process. The considerations which have led to the widespread application of flotation may be summarized as follows: 1) In making coking coal, it is seldom possible to add uncleaned fines to the coke oven charge, as their ash content is too high. If, however, the ash content of the fines is reduced to a maximum of 7 or 8 pet, they can be admixed to the washed and crushed small sizes without difficulty. This means, naturally that revenue is increased since the price of coking fines is always higher than the price for dust or uncleaned wet fines. 2) To prevent silicosis and pneumoconiosis, water infusion and spraying of the coal are practiced much more today than ever before. As a result, moisture content of run-of-mine coal has markedly increased and the washery feed coal contains more and more slurry instead of dry dust. The price of slurry, how- ever, is very low, and in many cases it is impossible to sell filtered raw slurry with a moisture content of 20 to 25 pct and, at the same time, 20 to 25 pct of ash. Reduction of the ash content of these slurries improves the possibility of dewatering them and, in this way, also enhances the marketability of this product. 3) The new severe laws and regulations against pollution of air and rivers make it necessary to de-dust coal better than in the past and to reduce the quantity of the waste water from coal preparation plants and their solids content to a minimum. 4) Even if there were no compulsory reasons to clean the fines, flotation will often lead to an increase in the overall yield. Although not the only application, it appears that the treatment of coking fines is the primary field for the flotation process in coal preparation. It must not be overlooked, however, that a series of arguments may be advanced against flotation: 1) Flotation is an expensive process because, in addition to the cleaning operation itself, the dewatering of the froth and the disposal of the tailings is very costly. 2) Operation of a flotation plant requires well trained personnel. 3) Filtered froth has about a 20 pct moisture content and, therefore, if mixed with the cleaned small coal it causes an undesirable increase in water content of the coke oven charge. For this reason it is necessary to take additional measures for dewatering washed small coal and this, of course, entails additional expense. 4) Disposal of flotation tailings involves very difficult problems, particularly in the highly industrialized regions. An investigation covering 32 flotation plants of Western Germany shows the following composition and properties of their feed:

Jan 1, 1961

By S. F. Ravitz

IN his excellent book on the Principles of Flotation, Wark1 makes the following sig-nificant statement concerning the theory of flotation: Two questions of first-rate importance must be considered . . . First, it must be decided whether the sulfide minerals require a collector in order that they may float, or whether as has been claimed, they possess an inherent float-ability and need no collector. Second, it must be decided whether the xanthate type of col-lector can react with or be adsorbed by the unchanged sulfide minerals themselves, or whether, as many claim, reaction with the collector is dependent upon initial oxidation of the mineral surface. In the theory of flotation there are no two questions of greater impor-tance than these. Ravitz and Porter2 presented evidence that galena can be floated without a col-lector, and even without any reagent, pro-vided oxidation products are thoroughly removed from its surface. They found also that thoroughly cleaned galena floated faster when xanthate was used than when a frother alone or no reagent was used, and that, without a collector, the recovery decreased gradually upon exposure of the mineral to air. Their work, however, has met with considerable criticism. 1(127),3-6 This paper is presented to answer the objections that have been raised, and to present additional data that confirm their results.

Jan 1, 1940

By T. Suzuki

LABOR. conditions have finally caused rock-drilling machines to supplant hand drillers in the Japanese mining industry, and have encouraged this study. During a period of three years 25,000 tests were made on 67 different American, Japanese, and European rock drills, using, respectively, the Paynter testing machine, and drilling in granite and limestone. Recorded were: air consumption, speed of rotation, torque of rotation, foot-pounds of striking energy, air pressures, input horsepowers, and speed of rock penetration. The author expresses his views on the interrelation of these factors and offers theoretical support, as well, by formulas based upon the mechanics of impact. He discusses the different designs of the valves, cylinders, piston hammers and rotation devices involved in the different types of rock drills, with respect to their merits and defects and offers conclusions about the factors that should be considered in the new design of a superior rock drill. The author's mathematical demonstrations and arguments for a value of "best feed clearance" of the drill bit from the rock are based upon the hand-operated screw-fed type of hammer drill. Automatic feeds have not been considered in this paper except for the tests on one drifter with air feed, 10 air-feed stopers, and some hand-held blockholers. The following classes of drills, with one of each model, size, or type, were tested: 23 heavy drifters, 34 light drifters and hand-held drills, and 10 stopers. They represented the following makes and models: 40 from the United States—namely, Ingersoll-Rand 18, 148, L-74, 24-70, N-72, N-75, R-72, 26, BAR-33, BCR-430, DCRW-23, RA-12, CA-31, CC-11; Denver 7, 107, WT-21, WT-31, WT-331, WT-337 (models WT with motor rotation, screw feed), 11, Waugh 93, 95; Waugh 16; Sullivan DR-6, DW-64, T-3; DP-321, DP-331; DA-21, DT-44, DT-421; Gilman AX-321 (motor rotation and air feed); Cleveland D-5; AIBQ, 44-SWR,

Jan 1, 1940

By T. Suzuki

LABOR. conditions have finally caused rock-drilling machines to supplant hand drillers in the Japanese mining industry, and have encouraged this study. During a period of three years 25,000 tests were made on 67 different American, Japanese, and European rock drills, using, respectively, the Paynter testing machine, and drilling in granite and limestone. Recorded were: air consumption, speed of rotation, torque of rotation, foot-pounds of striking energy, air pressures, input horsepowers, and speed of rock penetration. The author expresses his views on the interrelation of these factors and offers theoretical support, as well, by formulas based upon the mechanics of impact. He discusses the different designs of the valves, cylinders, piston hammers and rotation devices involved in the different types of rock drills, with respect to their merits and defects and offers conclusions about the factors that should be considered in the new design of a superior rock drill. The author's mathematical demonstrations and arguments for a value of "best feed clearance" of the drill bit from the rock are based upon the hand-operated screw-fed type of hammer drill. Automatic feeds have not been considered in this paper except for the tests on one drifter with air feed, 10 air-feed stopers, and some hand-held blockholers. The following classes of drills, with one of each model, size, or type, were tested: 23 heavy drifters, 34 light drifters and hand-held drills, and 10 stopers. They represented the following makes and models: 40 from the United States—namely, Ingersoll-Rand 18, 148, L-74, 24-70, N-72, N-75, R-72, 26, BAR-33, BCR-430, DCRW-23, RA-12, CA-31, CC-11; Denver 7, 107, WT-21, WT-31, WT-331, WT-337 (models WT with motor rotation, screw feed), 11, Waugh 93, 95; Waugh 16; Sullivan DR-6, DW-64, T-3; DP-321, DP-331; DA-21, DT-44, DT-421; Gilman AX-321 (motor rotation and air feed); Cleveland D-5; AIBQ, 44-SWR,

Jan 1, 1940

By W. V. Vietti, E. P. Hayes

OpeRations on the Texas Gulf Coast during 1936 increased materially over 1935. A number of new fields were discovered and a few of the older fields were extended, both by the discovery of deeper pay sands and by lateral expansion of the known producing horizons. Twenty-seven new fields have been discovered, of which 25 are oil fields and the others are gas fields that have every indication of becoming oil-producing areas. Amelia, Anahuac, Bay City, North Pettus, Placedo, Pickett Ridge and Tomoconnor have had major extensions. Production for 1936 amounted to 91,224,844 bbl., an increase of 21,627,033 bbl., or 31 per cent, over the 1935 production of 69,597,811 bbl. The number of producing wells at the end of 1936 was 6727, as compared with 4851 at the end of 1935. Proration has continued in force, thus decreasing the rate of depletion and the number of abandonments normally expected. New Fields A brief discussion of the new fields follows, in addition to Tables 1 and 2, which contain the general data on these fields. Aransas (McCampbell).-Buckingham and McCampbell No. 1 McCampbell was drilled to 7501 ft., then plugged back to 6560 ft. and completed in the Marginulina for a 100-bbl. flowing well on July 18. Bee County.—The Voss field, discovered by Swiger and Devonian's No. 1 Voss, and the Holzmark field, discovered by Miller and Donzis on the Holzmark farm, are both of the same type structurally and are caused by folding against a fault, one field being on one side of a fault and the other on the opposite side of the same fault. Brooks County.—-Standard Oil Company of Texas Garcia No. 1, the discovery well in the Alta Mew field, and Dick Young's Singer No. 1, the discovery well of Alta Verde, appear to indicate small fields. Garcia No. 1 was drilled to 8022 ft. and plugged back to 2485 ft., at which depth the well made 189 barrels. Lockridge.—This gas field was discovered by Gulf Production Company's Fairfield No. 1, in Brazoria County. It was originally drilled to

Jan 1, 1937

By P. G. Nahin, A. Grenall, R. S. Crog, W. C. Merrill

A progress report of an experimental investigation into the role of clay in reservoir performance is presented. The Paper gives some of the reasons for considering clay as a significant component and outlines the objectives of a broad field of stud) which it is intended to pursue. Descriptions of the analytical methods used are given; these include X-ray diffraction. elec tron miscroscopy, thin section petrography, infrared spec-troscopy, and cation exchange analysis. A suite of the more important clay minerals has been assembled and characterized l~y these methods for use as standards in core analysis. From the data obtained it appears that although no one method of analysis is diagnostic for all of the clay minerals the infrared technique shows considerable promise in this direction. For the present, one or more supplementary methods should be used to confirm the clay mineral identifications. The methods of analysis are applied to field cores taken from repesentative and widely differing strata especially as regards their susceptibility to damage by fresh water. well.; completed in the stevens and Gatchell zones in San Joaquin valley are I,articularly clear-cut examples of this behavior with stevens zone wells being more adversely affected by fresh water. cores from these zones have been studied and are discussed. It appears that differences in this behavior can be ascribed to differences in the nature of the contained clays. The value of the infrarecl spectra of the clay fractions in establishing the identity of the predominant clay minerals is given particular emphasis. INTRODUCTION It is a challenge to the technical resources of the petroleum industry that when the economic limit of production is reached, from 40 to 70 per cent of the oil in California reservoirs remains unproduced even by use of the best presently known methods of recovery. The magnitude of this abandoned volume of oil can be appreciated when it is considered that to 1950 in excess of 8 billion bbll has been produced from California reservoirs with estimated economically recoverable reserves in known fields and pools totaling nearly 4 billion bbl.24 If for every barrel of oil produced there is at least another barrel still in place, it is evident that the revenue obtained from the recovery of only a .few per cent of this volume would repay the cost of the required research manyfold. From well completion experience. production behavior, and a growing body of laboratory data it now appears certain that the mineral composition of a producing stratum has an important bearing on the productivity and ultimate yield. In addition to the organic component and water, the cores con,ist of gravel, sand. silt, and clay" in diverse variety of (a, composition and (b) texture. It is the composite effect of these two factors which is probably responsible in large measure for the way in which the oil flows to the well. The role of the clay and fine-size accessory minerals is not clear but there is a growing opinion, based on their physical and chemical properties, that it is a significant one. of particular importance are the prime facts: 1. The silt and clay fractions of the reservoir matrix possess the highest surface area per gram, and 2. The silt and especially the clay fractions are the most chemically reactive of the inorganic constituents present. Only within the last few years has the knowledge of clay mineralogy and the techniques of identifying the clay minerals reached such a stage as to enable reliable inquiry into the composition of argillaceous sediments.2,8,10,11,12,16,26 It is the purpox of this and succeeding papers to add to the fund of information on the role which these materials play in the production of petroleum from California formations by correlating their presence and associated properties with observed reservoir behavior. In the present paper attention is directed to their possible influence on damage by fresh water. OBJECTIVES The attack on this problem divides naturally into two broad phases: 1. Determination of the nature of the clays and their relationships to the other mineral components, and 2. Determination of the physico-chemical relationships between the clays and the interstitial fluids. In the work described in this paper the emphasis has been on phase 1, which stems logically from the necessity of identifying and understanding the materials to be dealt with in Phase 2. Based on the authors' present opinion that not all of the minerals which occur in oil-bearing formation are of equal importance in their effects on the flow and recovery of oil, it was decided to focus attention first upon the clay minerals content and then. later perhaps. work into the field of the normally larger size non-clay minerals and fractions. The

Jan 1, 1951

By W. C. Merrill, P. G. Nahin, A. Grenall, R. S. Crog

A progress report of an experimental investigation into the role of clay in reservoir performance is presented. The Paper gives some of the reasons for considering clay as a significant component and outlines the objectives of a broad field of stud) which it is intended to pursue. Descriptions of the analytical methods used are given; these include X-ray diffraction. elec tron miscroscopy, thin section petrography, infrared spec-troscopy, and cation exchange analysis. A suite of the more important clay minerals has been assembled and characterized l~y these methods for use as standards in core analysis. From the data obtained it appears that although no one method of analysis is diagnostic for all of the clay minerals the infrared technique shows considerable promise in this direction. For the present, one or more supplementary methods should be used to confirm the clay mineral identifications. The methods of analysis are applied to field cores taken from repesentative and widely differing strata especially as regards their susceptibility to damage by fresh water. well.; completed in the stevens and Gatchell zones in San Joaquin valley are I,articularly clear-cut examples of this behavior with stevens zone wells being more adversely affected by fresh water. cores from these zones have been studied and are discussed. It appears that differences in this behavior can be ascribed to differences in the nature of the contained clays. The value of the infrarecl spectra of the clay fractions in establishing the identity of the predominant clay minerals is given particular emphasis. INTRODUCTION It is a challenge to the technical resources of the petroleum industry that when the economic limit of production is reached, from 40 to 70 per cent of the oil in California reservoirs remains unproduced even by use of the best presently known methods of recovery. The magnitude of this abandoned volume of oil can be appreciated when it is considered that to 1950 in excess of 8 billion bbll has been produced from California reservoirs with estimated economically recoverable reserves in known fields and pools totaling nearly 4 billion bbl.24 If for every barrel of oil produced there is at least another barrel still in place, it is evident that the revenue obtained from the recovery of only a .few per cent of this volume would repay the cost of the required research manyfold. From well completion experience. production behavior, and a growing body of laboratory data it now appears certain that the mineral composition of a producing stratum has an important bearing on the productivity and ultimate yield. In addition to the organic component and water, the cores con,ist of gravel, sand. silt, and clay" in diverse variety of (a, composition and (b) texture. It is the composite effect of these two factors which is probably responsible in large measure for the way in which the oil flows to the well. The role of the clay and fine-size accessory minerals is not clear but there is a growing opinion, based on their physical and chemical properties, that it is a significant one. of particular importance are the prime facts: 1. The silt and clay fractions of the reservoir matrix possess the highest surface area per gram, and 2. The silt and especially the clay fractions are the most chemically reactive of the inorganic constituents present. Only within the last few years has the knowledge of clay mineralogy and the techniques of identifying the clay minerals reached such a stage as to enable reliable inquiry into the composition of argillaceous sediments.2,8,10,11,12,16,26 It is the purpox of this and succeeding papers to add to the fund of information on the role which these materials play in the production of petroleum from California formations by correlating their presence and associated properties with observed reservoir behavior. In the present paper attention is directed to their possible influence on damage by fresh water. OBJECTIVES The attack on this problem divides naturally into two broad phases: 1. Determination of the nature of the clays and their relationships to the other mineral components, and 2. Determination of the physico-chemical relationships between the clays and the interstitial fluids. In the work described in this paper the emphasis has been on phase 1, which stems logically from the necessity of identifying and understanding the materials to be dealt with in Phase 2. Based on the authors' present opinion that not all of the minerals which occur in oil-bearing formation are of equal importance in their effects on the flow and recovery of oil, it was decided to focus attention first upon the clay minerals content and then. later perhaps. work into the field of the normally larger size non-clay minerals and fractions. The

Jan 1, 1951

By H. L. Marcus, P. W. Palmberg

As can be seen from the phase diagram A1-W1 the equilibrium solubility of tungsten in aluminum is practically nil at room temperature. By quenching from the liquid state (50,000°C per sec), Varic, Burov, and Kolesnicenko2 obtained A1-W solid solutions up to 0.15 at. pct W. The quenched alloys were in the form of foils, 0.2 to 0.3 mm thick. Considering the results of Duwez and Willens,3 it is obvious that this thickness, which makes impossible a sufficiently rapid quenching, was the main reason for the relatively low content of tungsten dissolved in aluminum found by Varic.2 he present note shows that the metastable solubility of tungsten in aluminum can be appreciably extended in aluminum-rich A1-W alloys. The quenching technique and the procedure employed for the preparation of the alloys have been described previously.475 The resulting quenched flakes varied in thickness from 1 to 20 µm from experiment to experiment. However, the measurements of the lattice parameters were carried out only with flakes thinner than 5 µm. The areas of quenched flakes were between 0.1 and 15 mm2. The quenched flakes were placed into a 0.3-mm glass capillary tube which was then mounted in a 114.6-mm-diam Debye-Scherrer camera. Straumanis asymmetric film position and nickel-filtered CuKa radiation were used. The lattice spacings were computed taking X(CuKa1) = 1.54050A for resolved and ?(CuKa) = 1.54178A for unresolved doublets. All specimens were rotated at room temperature, 26" +2°C. The lattice parameters were estimated from extrapolation against the Nelson-Riley function. It was estimated that the error in the lattice parameter of the measurements on a single film lies within +0.0004A for lower and about +0.001A for higher concentrations of tungsten. The lattice parameters of the metastable solid solutions A1-W are plotted vs the concentration of tungsten in Fig. 1 together with the parameters measured by previous investigators.' Each point of the present measurements represents a determination of the lattice spacing on different quenched flakes, for a given concentration of tungsten. With experimental accuracy, the lattice parameters of the metastable solid solutions fall on the straight line passing through the already known data.' As estimated from the uncertainties in the lattice spacings of the solid solutions, the alloys were homogeneous within 0.1 at. pct W. The solubility of tungsten in aluminum-rich A1-W solid solutions obtained by a very rapid quenching technique is increased to about 0.95 at. pct W. This value is 6 times greater than the amount known up to now. -he lattice parameters of the resultant aluminum solid solutions with higher concentrations of tungsten than 0.95 at. pct W did not remain constant AUGER electron spectroscopy has been used to clarify the role of impurities in the embrittlement of AISI 3340 steel. Analysis of fracture surfaces has shown that the embrittled condition is correlated with appreciable antimony segregation at grain boundaries. The low temperature (400" to 600°C) temper embrittlement of low alloy steels containing various combinations of Cr, Ni, Sb, Mn, P, Sn, and As has been examined extensively for many years. General reviews of the area have been made by McMahon1 in 1968, LOW' in 1959, woodfine3 in 1953, and Holloman4 in 1946. Recent work by Low, Stein, Turkalo, and LaForce5 has done much in separating the alloy and

Jan 1, 1970

W. B. PRICE,* Waterbury, Conn. (written discussion??.-It has been our experience, especially in cupro-nickel, that manganese has been very beneficial, not only, as stated by Mr. Braid, in removing sulfur, but also for its property of reducing oxides, thus making the metal more fluid, and enabling it to be poured at a lower temperature; this, in turn, prevents softening of the graphite pots and the absorption of carbon. It also acts very effectively in keeping the carbon in solution in the cupro-nickel, in the combined form. However, in the case of cupro-nickel, to obtain all these benefits it has been found necessary to keep the manganese content as near 0.25 per cent. as possible. Manganese also is very effective in diminishing the amount of blisters in cupro-nickel. So far as I am aware, both from personal experience and from the experience of others who have been engaged in the manufacture of nickel-silver and cupro-nickel, manganese used either in the form of pure metal or as manganese-copper alloy (30 Mn, 70 Cu) gives better results than any other flux. While this may seem a strong statement, manganese is the natural flux for nickel-silver and cupro-nickel.

Jan 12, 1918