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By S. C. Dhara

A process of solvent extraction and separation of platinum group metals (PGM) and gold using primary, secondary, tertiary, and quarternary organic amines has been briefly described. The effects of amine structures; the use of diluents; the principle of synergism and antisynergism in the mixed extractants; the oxidation states of metal ions are explained in the amine extraction process of precious metals.

Jan 1, 1984

By Yoshinao Nakada

In many experiments involving electropolishing such as electropolishing during deformation and electrothinning of deformed metals for electron microscopy, it is usually assumed that the specimen temperature is the same as the temperature of the polishing bath. In order to test this assumption, the interior temperature of aluminum single and polycrystals was measured while they were being electropolished. Specimens were 1/4 by 1/4 by 6 in. and were of 99.99 pct purity. A small hole 1 in. deep was drilled axially at one end of the specimen so that a copper-constantan thermocouple could be inserted. The electropolishing solution was 4 parts methanol (reagent grade) and 1 part perchloric acid (70 pct). The electropolishing was performed using an apparatus shown in Fig. 1. The electropolishing solution was stirred by a motor-driven stirrer and was cooled to —5°C with a mixture of methanol and dry ice. Electrolyte temperature was measured and remained at -5°C during the electropolishing. Current density of 0.3 amp per sq. cm was used. When the current was turned on, after about a 5-sec delay, the temperature began to rise rapidly until it reached 65°C. In order to determine whether the temperature measured was localized, the thermal expansion of the specimen was meas-

Jan 1, 1965

By C. E. Ells, A. Sawatzky

The effect of neutron irradiation on tensile properties of the Zr-2.5 wt pet Nb-0.5 wt pet Cu alloy has been evaluated for integrated neutron fluxes up to 3 x 1020 n per sq cm (E > 1 Mev). Specimen temperature during irradiation was normally 300°C. The material was studied both in annealed and in quenched and aged conditions. When the alloy (fab-ricatedfrom sponge zirconium) is quenched from a temperature =40°C below the a + ß/ß transformation and aged 6 hr at 535oC, neutron irradiation up to the maximum studied has little effect 071 reduction in area, although there is a drop in uniform elongation and the yield strength is increased by = 25 pct. Conversely, irradiation of the alloy in an annealed condition can result in much greater changes in properties, with yield-strength increases of up to 200 pet. The dose dependence of irradiation hardening obeys the saturation equntion proposed by Makin and Minter to explain hardening in copper and nickel: Act = C[1 - exp(-Døt)/1/2 A rnodel is proposed to explain the effect of niobium content and metallurgical condition on irradiatiotz behavior. THE Zr-Nb alloys form a class of material susceptible to marked strengthening by quench and age heat treatment. With niobium concentrations as low as 2.5 wt pet, strengths can be developed which are double those of annealed zircaloy-2.1 Since the neutron-capture cross section of the Zr-2.5 wt pet Nb alloy is nearly identical to that of Zircaloy-2, significant gains in power-reactor neutron economy could be obtained by replacing stressed in-reactor components of Zircaloy-2 with the heat-treated Zr-Nb alloy. When the solution heat-treatment temperature is in the high (a + ß) phase, then the tensile properties of the quenched (and aged at 500°C) material have been shown to be relatively insensitive to neutron irradiation.1-3 Addition of small quantities of copper to the binary Zr-2.5 wt pet Nb alloy gives a useful reduction to the corrosion rate in air and carbon di- oxide,&apos; and a ternary alloy of composition Zr-2.5 wt pet Nb-0.5 wt pet Cu was chosen for one component in the Douglas Point Reactor. This application utilizes both the corrosion resistance to a moist air-carbon dioxide environment and the strength developed by a quench and age heat treatment. By suitable choice of solution heat treatment and aging temperatures, tensile properties of the ternary alloy can be made nearly identical to those considered as optimum for the binary alloy. One effect of the copper addition, however, is to give marked changes in the aging kinetics of the alloy.&apos; For this reason, it appeared that neutron irradiation might promote overaging in the ternary alloy, particularly at the elevated service temperature (=300°C). This paper describes the effect of neutron irradiation on the tensile behavior of the Zr-2.5 wt pet Nb-0.5 wt pet Cu alloy in several metallurgical conditions pertinent to its use as a reactor material. The metallurgical conditions included those for which aging occurs in the unirradiated material, and fully annealed conditions for which a higher degree of thermal stability could be expected. 1) EXPERIMENTAL Two batches of alloy were used, both made from sponge zirconium. The fabricator&apos;s analysis of principle constituents showed no significant difference between the two batches, Table I. The rod material was rolled to 1.5 in. diam, and then swaged to final sizes of 0.5 to 0.375 in. diam at nominal temperatures of 785" and 625°C for the AM and AS batches, respectively. Subsequent hydrogen analyses at CRNL confirmed that the hydrogen concentration of the as-received rod was indeed <20 ppm. However, it was found that the (a + ß)/ß transus for the AM material was approximately 25°C lower than that of the AS material, indicating rather more difference in oxygen concentration than given in Table I. Except for a small difference in yield-point behavior, the tensile prop-

Jan 1, 1965

By D. H. Woodard, G. W. Geil, W. D. Jenkins

In a series of papers, the authors and their associates have shown the influence of four important factors on the technical cohesion limit.3-l6 By "technical cohesion limitv is meant the technically determin-able resistance to fracture. The four importarlt factors are the stress system, plastic deformation, temperature, and the strain rate, The influence of any one of these factors may be represented by a curve of cohesion limits, although only one point on the curve may represent actual fracture. As the term "fracture stress" has come into general use with the same significance as technical cohesion limit, the authors are here using the shorter term with the understanding that it does not always refer to actual fracture. The previously mentioned series of papers contains ample evidence that plastic extension increases the fracture stress of any polycrystalline metal, In a recent paper of the series,l5 moreover, it has been shown that the effect of plastic deformation on the fracture stress cannot be attributed to reorientation of internal flaws but is a work-strengthening effect, similar to the effect on the flow stress, $ Plastic deformation of steels, however, may not only cause work hardening, but may result in additional hardness because of strain aging. Some evidence that strain aging affects not only the flow stress but also the fracture stress, has been presented in a recent paper.14 In that paper, a study is made of the influence Of Plastic deformstion at room temperature on the fracture stress of ferritic steels at -188°C. The study is based on the results Of two-stage tests. In the first stage each specimen was extended a predetermined amount at room temperature; in the second stage the specimen was tested to fracture in liquid air. In most Of these tests the specimen remained in the testing machine during the interval of about one hour between the first and second stages, it was kept under a tensile load of about 500 lb and maintained at liquid air temperature. The effects of various amounts of .plastic deformation on the fracture stress were thus determined and curves were obtained to represent the influence of plastic deformation at room temperature on the stress at brittle fracture in liquid air.14 Two specimens Of ingot iron, however, were removed from the testing machine at the end of the first stage and several days elapsed before the specimens were tested to fracture in liquid air, As shown in Fig 8 of that paper," the points representing fracture of these specimens are far above the curve representing the results of two-stage tests without a rest interval between the stages. The evidence thus indicated that the fracture stresses of these two specimens were increased not

Jan 1, 1949

By G. W. Geil, D. H. Woodard, W. D. Jenkins

In a series of papers, the authors and their associates have shown the influence of four important factors on the technical cohesion limit.3-l6 By "technical cohesion limitv is meant the technically determin-able resistance to fracture. The four importarlt factors are the stress system, plastic deformation, temperature, and the strain rate, The influence of any one of these factors may be represented by a curve of cohesion limits, although only one point on the curve may represent actual fracture. As the term "fracture stress" has come into general use with the same significance as technical cohesion limit, the authors are here using the shorter term with the understanding that it does not always refer to actual fracture. The previously mentioned series of papers contains ample evidence that plastic extension increases the fracture stress of any polycrystalline metal, In a recent paper of the series,l5 moreover, it has been shown that the effect of plastic deformation on the fracture stress cannot be attributed to reorientation of internal flaws but is a work-strengthening effect, similar to the effect on the flow stress, $ Plastic deformation of steels, however, may not only cause work hardening, but may result in additional hardness because of strain aging. Some evidence that strain aging affects not only the flow stress but also the fracture stress, has been presented in a recent paper.14 In that paper, a study is made of the influence Of Plastic deformstion at room temperature on the fracture stress of ferritic steels at -188°C. The study is based on the results Of two-stage tests. In the first stage each specimen was extended a predetermined amount at room temperature; in the second stage the specimen was tested to fracture in liquid air. In most Of these tests the specimen remained in the testing machine during the interval of about one hour between the first and second stages, it was kept under a tensile load of about 500 lb and maintained at liquid air temperature. The effects of various amounts of .plastic deformation on the fracture stress were thus determined and curves were obtained to represent the influence of plastic deformation at room temperature on the stress at brittle fracture in liquid air.14 Two specimens Of ingot iron, however, were removed from the testing machine at the end of the first stage and several days elapsed before the specimens were tested to fracture in liquid air, As shown in Fig 8 of that paper," the points representing fracture of these specimens are far above the curve representing the results of two-stage tests without a rest interval between the stages. The evidence thus indicated that the fracture stresses of these two specimens were increased not

Jan 1, 1949

By Willard C. Lacy

Rather than attempting to present a summary of the many and highly varied papers that have been presented at this symposium on sampling and grade control, I will attempt to extract the general philosophy of analysis and approach, and attempt to identify the trend of future developments. First, the term "sampling" is used with its broadest connotations. A sample consists of a representative portion of a larger mass, and must represent the mass not only in the grade of contained metals or minerals, but also in all other respects in terms of mineralogy and mineral quality (1, 5), deleterious materials, recoverability of economic components, physical behavior, geophysical response (I), and even archaeological and environmental aspects (7, 11). The sample must be taken from a locality and in such a manner and quantity that it is representative of the larger rock mass. This calls for complete and accurate geological control and an understanding of the nature and distribution of the contained chemical and physical elements and a record of the effectiveness of the different sampling methods. Second, value of a given mass of ore material is based upon its profitability - the difference between recoverable value and costs to achieve recovery, beneficiation and sale. There is a strong movement in mining geology control toward more complete analysis in determining cutoff grades and in grade control, as illustrated by the kriging of metallurgical recovery factors as well as grade at the Mercur Mine (8). To achieve a "profit- ability factor" as a guide for economic mining practice requires further integration of: 1) the value of contained metal or mineral, 2) percentage recovery of values, 3) dilution of ore with waste rock, 4) addition to, or loss of value as a consequence of by-product materials or deleterious components, 5) cost of producing a saleable product plus mini- mum profit to justify the effort (cutoff), and 6) cost of land restoration (7, 11). All these parameters vary with the rock type, rock structure, mineralogy, depth, geometry, mining and metallurgical methods, but they must be sampled and analyzed if sampling and grade control are to reflect profitability. A wide variety of deposits has been presented at this symposium; each deposit with its own problems and special solutions. Deposits containing high unit-value components, e.g. precious metals and diamonds, present special problems in the obtaining of accurate samples and generally require statistical analysis control methods or may disregard or modify occasional high or occasional low values, based upon experience (12 ) Grade control may be accurate for the long term but may vary for the short term. Bulk sampling is always essential. Deposits containing metals or minerals with low unit value are very sensitive to transport costs, and they are often very sensitive to small amounts of deleterious components or differences in physical or chemical behavior. Problems of sampling and grade control change with the genetic type of deposit, with the stage of deposit development and with the size of the information base. Precious metal epithermal deposits (2, 6, 8), because of rapid vertical zonation and erratic lateral distribution of values, have always been difficult to evaluate and maintain grade control and ore reserves. On the other hand, evaluation and grade control are relatively easy in bulk-low- grade deposits (4, 13). However, these deposits generally have a low margin of profit and are sensitive to mining and beneficiaton costs, price fluctuations and political costs. Industrial mineral deposits (5) often must be evaluated on the basis of their behavior, rather than by chemical analysis. Environmental impact generally increases with the scale of the operation, but certain elements or minerals have especially high impact effects (7, 11). In the exploration phase there is no production control of sampling procedures and careful geological observations are particularly essential. The greatest number of problems is related to the oxidized outcrop where the chemical environment of the ore body has changed and the contained values may have been enriched, depleted or values left unchanged (2, 6). Present evidence suggests that gold values may be very mobile under certain conditions (2, 6) and stable under others. Everything must be sampled in detail. Principal values and by-product or deleterious elements may vary dependent upon their position within the soil profile. Such factors as geomorphic position, erosion rate, vegetation, climate, etc., may affect the interpretation (1, 3). During the development phase it is equally easy to overtest, to have "paralysis by analysis," as to undertest (3, 6). Bulk samplng and testing are

Jan 1, 1985

By A. U. Seybolt

The solubility limit of oxygen in columbium has been determined in the range between 775&apos; and 1100°C by means of lattice parameter measurements and microscopic examination. The solubility is a function of temperature and varies, in the range given above, from 0.25 to 1.0 pct O, respectively. BECAUSE of the marked deleterious effect of oxygen upon the mechanical properties of some of the transition metals, it is desirable to know something about the solubility of oxygen in these metals. The brittleness caused by oxygen in solution is particularly marked in the case of the group VA elements, vanadium, columbium, and tantalum. The solubility of oxygen in vanadium has already been reported in an earlier paper,&apos; and Wasilewski2 has given a value (0.9 wt pct) for the solid solubility of oxygen in tantalum at 1050°C. Brauer3 in 1941 investigated the Cb-0 system up to Cb2O5, but made no real effort to investigate the extent of oxygen solubility in the metal. He made the observation, however, that this solubility must be less than 4.76 atom pct (0.86 wt pct) oxygen. This estimate was made from X-ray diffraction results on the alloys CbO, CbO, and CbO; all alloys consisted of the terminal (Cb) solid solution plus CbO, but the last alloy containing 4.76 atom pct 0 showed only three very weak CbO lines. It is surprising that Brauer, by examining only three alloys, arrived at an estimate of the solubility which agrees very well with the results to be reported herein. Experimental Procedure A columbium strip obtained from Fansteel Metallurgical Products was cut into strips, 0.020x1/2x2 in. Two holes, about 3/16 in. in diameter, were made near the ends of the strips in order to hold them against a flat steel block for mounting in a General Electric X-ray spectrometer for lattice parameter measurements. The same holes were used to hang the specimens inside a fused silica vacuum furnace tube which was part of a Sieverts&apos; gas absorption apparatus. The apparatus and method of adding oxygen gas has been previously described.1 According to the supplier, the columbium obtained had the analysis given in Table I. After degreasing the samples, approximately 0.001 in. was etched from each side of the samples in order to remove possible surface impurities from the last rolling operation. For this purpose the following cold acid pickle was found satisfactory: 8 parts HNO3, 2 parts H2O2 and 1 part HF. Various Cb-O compositions were obtained up to 0.75 wt pct O by the gas absorption and diffusion technique. After the sample had absorbed all the oxygen gas added at 1000°C, an additional 24 hr was allowed for homogenization. This treatment appeared to be adequate, as shown by the linearity of the lattice parameter-composition plot. More concentrated alloys were prepared by arc melting mixtures of Cb and Cb2O5 since it was very time-consuming to make Cb-0 alloys in the neighborhood of 1 pct O, or over, by the diffusion method. When the flat strip specimens were used, they were ready for the X-ray spectrometer after cooling from the Sieverts&apos; apparatus. The cooling rate obtained by merely allowing the hot fused silica furnace tube to radiate to the atmosphere (when the furnace was lowered) was sufficiently fast to keep the dissolved oxygen in solution. Arc-melted alloys were reduced to —200 mesh powder in a diamond mortar, wrapped in tantalum foil, sealed off in evacuated fused silica tubes, and then heat treated as indicated in Table 11. The fused silica tubes were quickly immersed in cold water without breaking the tubes after the heat treatments. The tantalum foil prevented reaction between the fused silica and the sample; there was no reaction between the powdered samples and the foil at 1000°C, but some trouble was experienced at 1100°C. At this temperature level a reaction between the sample and the foil was sometimes observed, which resulted in erroneous parameter values. Experimental Results Hardness Tests: Since most of the X-ray samples were in the form of flat strip, it was convenient to obtain Vickers hardness numbers as a function of oxygen content. Compared to the V-O case,&apos; oxygen hardens columbium much more slowly, presumably because of the larger octahedral volume in colum-bium (about 12.0 compared to 9.3Å3 in vanadium), hence, requiring less lattice strain for solution. The plot of VHN vs wt pct O is shown in Fig. 1.

Jan 1, 1955

By R. M. Waterstrat

The phases occurring in the V-Mn system were studied by means of X-yay diffraction and metallo-paphic techniques, using are-melted alloy specimens annealed in the temperature range 800° to 1150°C and quenched. The bcc solid solution extends at 1250°C all the way from vanadium to 6-manganese. Below 1050°C the a-phase is formed, and the terminal a-manganese phase is stabilized up to about 900°C by vanadium in solid solution. IN the only previous general survey of the V-Mn system Cornelius, Bungardt and Schiedtl reported the existence of three intermediate phases corresponding to the approximate compositions VMn,, VMn, and V5Mn. The phase VMn8 has recently been identified as a o phase2 but the alloy VMn was found to have a bcc structure2 corresponding apparently to the vanadium solid solution rather than to the large cubic unit cell reported by Cornelius et al. 1 Subsequent work by Rostoker and Yamamoto3 has shown that the vanadium-base bcc solid solution extends to at least 15 pct Mn at 900°C. An alloy corresponding to the composition VMn, was examined by Elliott,4 who reported that the as-cast sample as well as samples annealed at 1200o and 1300°C had bcc structures, but that annealing at 1000°, 800") and 600°C produced two phases. One of these phases was apparently the bcc solid solution and the other resembled the o phase structure. Hellawell and Hume-Rothery5 established the phase relationships in manganese-rich alloys above 1000°C, and showed that the o phase in this system is replaced by the 6 Mn (bcc) solid solution at temperatures above 1050°C. These results suggest that a continuous bcc solid solution may exist above 1050°C between vanadium and 6 Mn. The present investigation was undertaken in order to develop more complete information in regard to this system. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS The alloys used in the present work were prepared by arc-melting electrolytic manganese having a minimum purity of 99.9 pct and vanadium lumps with a purity of 99.7 pct. The major impurities present in these metals were carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen and this would account for the small percentage of nonmetallic inclusions observed metal-lographically. The arc-melting was at first performed under a helium atmosphere and it was necessary to keep the melting times as short as possible in order to minimize the loss of manganese by vaporization. It was later found that the evaporation of manganese was considerably reduced when the melting was done under argon atmosphere. The final composition of each alloy was calculated by assuming that the total weight loss during melting was due to evaporation of manganese. Compositions which were calculated in this manner agreed reasonably well with the results of chemical analysis, as shown in Table I. Spectrographic analysis revealed the presence of contamination by tungsten, but in no case was the percentage of tungsten greater then 0.4 at. pct. The specimens were in each case broken in half and the fractured section was examined visually and microscopically for evidence of inhomogeneity. Each specimen was homogenized at temperatures near l100°C, as shown in Table I. After this treatment most specimens consisted of large columnar grains of the bcc vanadium solid solution. The etchant used in most of the metallographic work consisted of 20 pct nitric acid, 20 pct hydro-flouric acid, and 60 pct glycerine. It was found that this etchant would clearly delineate the phases present in these alloys although it does not produce any striking contrast between the phases. For certain manganese-rich alloys, a 1 pct aqueous solution of nitric acid was used. This etchant gave a brown color to the a-manganese phase, whereas the o phase was virtually unattacked and appeared very light as shown in Fig. 1. The etchants used by Cornelius et a1.l were found to produce spurious effects in some of these alloys. In particular, the vanadium-rich alloys etched in hot sulfuric acid often appeared to consist of two phases when both X-ray diffraction and etching with the glycerine-acid mixture indicated the presence of single phase bcc solid solution. A few percent of what appears to be an oxide or nitride phase was found at the grain boundaries and in the interior of the grains, especially in the vanadium-rich alloys. All alloys were annealed in sealed silica tubes containing 1 atm of pure argon and these tubes were then quenched in cold water. Although some manganese loss occurred during annealing, the loss seemed to be confined to the surface of the speci-

Jan 1, 1962

By W. M. Johns

The geological mapping of Lincoln and Flathead Counties was a five-year project undertaken by the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology. This paper, written by the Project Geologist of the survey, is primarily concerned with the stratigraphy of the Belt rocks encountered in mapping. Lincoln and Flathead Counties of northwestern Montana are underlain by sedimentary rocks of the Belt Series of Precambrian age. In only a very small part of the area, near Libby and Troy, have economic mineral deposits been worked with any success. Most of the area has been inadequately mapped as to geology. The region is crossed by the Great Northern Railway and served by the Pacific Power and Light Co.; officials of these two companies believed that with better geologic maps, prospecting might be stimulated and lead to the discovery of mineral resources that would contribute to new economic development within the area. A cooperative mapping agreement was proposed jointly by the two companies to the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology in May 1958, and thus was born the Kootenai-Flathead five-year project. The dual objectives of this project are: 1) the possible location of mineral deposits of economic value, and 2) the &apos;&apos;stimulation of prospecting exploration" by others. This was to be achieved by geologic mapping of some 6800 sq miles and by establishing a field office in Kalispell where prospectors could come to have their rocks and minerals identified and receive geological advice on their problems. This writer has finished four field seasons as Project Geologist and thus became familiar with the Belt section in the Libby, Yaak River, Ural, Thompson Lakes, Pleasant Valley, and Stryker quadrangles (see Fig. 1). Progress on the project is given in annual reports issued by the Bureau.* This *Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, Bulletins 12 (1959), 17 (1960), and 23 (1961). paper is concerned essentially with the stratigraphy of the Belt rocks so far encountered in mapping. PREVIOUS WORK IN THE AREA Willis28 made the first study of the stratigraphy and structure in the Lewis and Livingston Ranges of Glacier Park just east of the project area. In 1904, Daly made a study of the Belt rocks of the 49th parallel, using the names from bottom up, Creston, Kitchener, Moyie, and Gateway, for rocks ranging in age from that of Prichard to that of basal Missoula group. Walcott26 studied the Belt rocks exposed in the Mission Range (see Fig. 1) and other areas to the south of the area under discussion. Calkins and McDonald made a reconnaissance of northern Idaho and northwestern Montana in 1905. Calkins was the first to use Walcott&apos;s term &apos;Ravalli&apos; as a group name for the strata equivalent to the Burke, Revett, and St. Regis formations (see Table I). Clapp worked on the Belt of western Montana (including Lincoln and Flathead Counties) throughout his lifetime. The Fentons9 studied the Belt of Glacier Park and

Jan 1, 1962

By D. V. Carter, D. C. Williams

Four oil discoveries were made in east and east central Texas during 1940, three of which represented new fields. In the Chapel Hill field, Smith County, oil was found where formerly only gas and distillate were produced. The three oil fields discovered are: Hawkins, Wood County; Pittsburg, Camp County; and Tehuacana, Limestone County. Important extensions were made to the following fields: Bazette, Navarro County; Long Lake, Anderson and Leon Counties; Cayuga, Anderson, Freestone and Henderson Counties; Opelika, Henderson County; and Talco, Titus and Franklin Counties. At the close of the year 54 oil and gas fields were producing in the district. There were 13 other fields, 11 oil and 2 gas, which have been abandoned. The East Texas field led the district in the number of completions for the year. During the year about 622 wells (oil and distillate wells included) were completed and 80 wildcats were drilled. Production and Proration During the year 170,424,685 bbl. of oil (distillate production included) were produced in the district—a decrease of 2.6 per cent from the 175,053,729 bbl. (distillate production included) during the preceding year. The district&apos;s production for the year 1938 was 182,369,484 bhl. As usual, most of the district&apos;s annual production was in the East Texas field, which produced 139,095,694 bbl. (distillate production in- cluded) during 1940, or 81.6 per cent of the total oil produced as compared with 141,333,317 bbl. (80.7 per cent) for 1939. The December estimated daily average production in the district was 424,565 bbl. The district accounted for 34.9 per cent of the state&apos;s annual production, compared to 36.7 pcr cent of the state&apos;s 1939 production. The decrease in production for 1940 may be attributed to changes made in proration schedules. Any material changes in the district&apos;s annual production may be considered for the most part as a reflection of proration-schedule changes affecting the East Texas field, since it is by far the most important field in the area. The entire state was subject to 71 shutdown days for the year; the East Texas field to 131; and the Rodessa field (Cass County, Texas, portion) to 5 days. No important changes were made in field rules and regulations during the year regarding the allocation of oil in individual fields in this district. Discoveries The Hawkins field is in southeastern Wood County in and principally north of the town of Hawkins. Development to date indicates that the field is somewhat of an elongated anticline trending slightly east of north and the proved oil area appears at this time to cover approximately 4000 acres. The oil production has been secured from the Woodbine sand, Upper Cretaceous; a considerable quantity of gas has been encountered in the Sub-Clarksville formation (Eagleford shale) in the higher part of the structure. It appears that a free gas

Jan 1, 1941

By D. C. Williams, D. V. Carter

Four oil discoveries were made in east and east central Texas during 1940, three of which represented new fields. In the Chapel Hill field, Smith County, oil was found where formerly only gas and distillate were produced. The three oil fields discovered are: Hawkins, Wood County; Pittsburg, Camp County; and Tehuacana, Limestone County. Important extensions were made to the following fields: Bazette, Navarro County; Long Lake, Anderson and Leon Counties; Cayuga, Anderson, Freestone and Henderson Counties; Opelika, Henderson County; and Talco, Titus and Franklin Counties. At the close of the year 54 oil and gas fields were producing in the district. There were 13 other fields, 11 oil and 2 gas, which have been abandoned. The East Texas field led the district in the number of completions for the year. During the year about 622 wells (oil and distillate wells included) were completed and 80 wildcats were drilled. Production and Proration During the year 170,424,685 bbl. of oil (distillate production included) were produced in the district—a decrease of 2.6 per cent from the 175,053,729 bbl. (distillate production included) during the preceding year. The district&apos;s production for the year 1938 was 182,369,484 bhl. As usual, most of the district&apos;s annual production was in the East Texas field, which produced 139,095,694 bbl. (distillate production in- cluded) during 1940, or 81.6 per cent of the total oil produced as compared with 141,333,317 bbl. (80.7 per cent) for 1939. The December estimated daily average production in the district was 424,565 bbl. The district accounted for 34.9 per cent of the state&apos;s annual production, compared to 36.7 pcr cent of the state&apos;s 1939 production. The decrease in production for 1940 may be attributed to changes made in proration schedules. Any material changes in the district&apos;s annual production may be considered for the most part as a reflection of proration-schedule changes affecting the East Texas field, since it is by far the most important field in the area. The entire state was subject to 71 shutdown days for the year; the East Texas field to 131; and the Rodessa field (Cass County, Texas, portion) to 5 days. No important changes were made in field rules and regulations during the year regarding the allocation of oil in individual fields in this district. Discoveries The Hawkins field is in southeastern Wood County in and principally north of the town of Hawkins. Development to date indicates that the field is somewhat of an elongated anticline trending slightly east of north and the proved oil area appears at this time to cover approximately 4000 acres. The oil production has been secured from the Woodbine sand, Upper Cretaceous; a considerable quantity of gas has been encountered in the Sub-Clarksville formation (Eagleford shale) in the higher part of the structure. It appears that a free gas

Jan 1, 1941

By M. R. Tek, K. H. Coats, D. L. Katz

A large number of boundary value problems encountcred in unsteady-state heat transfer, fluid flow through porous media, neutron diffusion and mass transfer involve the solution of a linear, parabolic partial differential equation commonly refcrred to as the diffusivity equation, where U is the dependent potential variable. K is the diffusivity (hydraulic, thermal, neutron, etc.) and 1 is the time variablc. Solutions to Eq. I are available in the literature for a wide variety of initial and houndary conditions. The great majority of these solutions are ohtained for geometric boundaries corresponding to linear. cylindrical or spherical flow models. A typical engineering application where the solution to Eq. 1 is required is the calculation of underground water encroachment across the boundaries of oil or natural gas reservoirs, In this particular area of application, the reservoir boundary is invariably approximated by circular geometry. However. the areal shape of many reservoirs can be better approximated by elliptic rather than circular boundaries. Thus the need for a general method of solving the diffusivity equation in elliptic coordinates arises in this problem as well as in other engineering applications involving elliptic boundaries. The solution to the diffusivity equation usually in volves the Error Function for the linear flow model, Bessel functions for the radial flow model and trigonometric or Legendre functions for the spherical flow model. It is well known that the general solution to the diffusivity equation in elliptic coordinates involves Mathieu functions. The significance of Mathieu functions in the analytical treatment of the diffusivity equation in elliptic coordinates is discussed in the literature However, these references do not providc analytical solutions useful in practical engineering problems. The objectives of this papcr are the development of the equations describing the unsteady-state liquid flow through a porous medium with an elliptic inner boun- dary, the development of a numerical method of solving these equations and, finally, a comparison of the water encroachment quantities calculated from the elliptic flow equation with those calculated from the radial flow equation. While the specific problem treated in this paper relates to unsteady-state liquid flow through a porous medium, the basic equations and computational techniques devcloped will apply equally well to problems occurring in the other areas of engincering interest mentioned previously. The solution given here is limited to a single case in which thc outer boundary encloses an area 100 times that of the inner boundary. DESCRIPTION OF THE FLOW MODEL Fig. 1 shows the flow model upon which the calcu lations presented in this paper are based. The inncr and outer houndaries of the flow model are represented by two confocal ellipses with major and minor axes, respectively, equal to 2a1, 2b1, and 2a, and 26,. The height of the elliptic cylinder flow model is denoted by 17. The following assumptions are employed in the development 01 the equations governing the unsteady-state liquid flow through the described flow model. 1. Uniform porosity and permeability throughout the flow model

By Roswell H. Johnson

What becomes of the water which must have filled the oil and gas sands at the time of deposition, has long puzzled students of oil and gas and has found expression in Munn&apos;s well-known article on the hydraulic theory. Both Munn and Clapp have pointed out that in the Appalachian field the deeper sands carry increasingly less proportionate amounts of water. It seems to me probable that the principal source of oil and gas has been in the shales in proximity to the sands which now contain these products. The sand spits which mark off the lagoons from the sea comply particularly with the requirements of a limited sand imbedded in shales rich in organic matter. Cunningham Craig has objected to this view that the rich organic muds of lagoons are found only at the surface. That such muds do extend to considerable depth 1 am assured by Prof. Douglas W. Johnson, who has made an extensive study of the Atlantic Coast marshes. As any particular sand body becomes weighted by a heavier and heavier overburden, the result of increasing deposition, a part of the very large percentage of water in the uncompacted sand and mud is forced out. The water percentage of freshly settled mud is vastly higher than that of the resultant shales, or even of a very porous sand. If beds of less compressible material meet or underlie the shales in question, there will frequently be a lateral motion along such beds to some point where the upward movement will be resumed. We find in our laboratory work here that oil, gas, and water have extremely slight capacity for gravitational sorting while in a state of rest, but when moving the gravitational sorting is readily accomplished. As the oil, gas, and water pass a body of larger pores, the gas, owing to its lack of capillary attraction, is retained in the large pores. This has been predicted by Washburne, Blatehley and others on the ground that the water has a higher capillarity and grips the finer pores in such a way that there will be a greater proportion of oil and gas in the large

Jan 1, 1915

By C. E. Shoenfelt

Wildcat drilling in the Rocky Mountain region did not suffer as large a decline in 1942 as was anticipated. The drilling program laid out by the Government at the beginning of the year stressed wild-catting operations and called for reduction of drilling in proved fields. The increased wildcatting campaign did not yield a great many new discoveries, nor important extensions to old fields. Several interesting wildcat wells were drilled in Colorado in 1942 but no new fields were discovered. The Wilson Creek field was extended and about 400 acres added to its reserves. In Montana two new oil fields and two small gas fields were discovered. The developments in the marketing situation had improved, however, making the prospects especially bright for 1943, as will be shown presently in the section on Montana in this report. In New Mexico eight wells were completed, which constituted discoveries ol either oil or gas but none of these was of major proportions. In Wyoming one new oil field and one new gas field were discovered, and one old oil field and one old gas field were extended. Most important was the disco-very of prolific oil producers in deeper sands in three old oil fields, of which one at least, Elk Basin, probably is of major proportions. Government Action On Dec. 26, 1942, President Roosevelt signed the O&apos;Mahoney bill, calling for a flat 12.5 per cent royalty on lands in the public domain. It is expected that the enactment of this bill will encourage wildcatting in the public land states. Opportunity for a full discussion of the problems of reserves and production was afforded at the hearings conducted on the O&apos;Mahoney bill by the minerals subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Public Lands and the statements submitted at these hearings last fall placed the situation, its causes and the logical remedy, clearly on record. It was established at the hearings that for several years the volume of oil discovered per wildcat well drilled has steadily declined; new fields discovered have not been of major proportions; drilling costs have advanced rapidly; a sharp decline in exploratory drilling took place in 1942, while the proportion of dry holes increased; the inescapable conclusion is that to find new reserves the search for oil must be intensified and much more wildcat drilling &apos; must be done. To ensure an adequate drilling campaign, the Petroleum Industry War Council, the Interstate Compact Commission and other representative oil organizations have voiced by resolution their opinion that an upward revision of crude prices is necessary to provide an incentive to the prospector to undertake the hazards of wildcat drilling, since statistics prove that only ope in five or six wells drilled results in actual production. Former Price Administrator Henderson rejected the recommendations for price increases and declared himself unalterably opposed to a general price advance, On the ground that such advances would contribute to inflation. Now that Mr. Hender-

Jan 1, 1943

By C. E. Shoenfelt

Wildcat drilling in the Rocky Mountain region did not suffer as large a decline in 1942 as was anticipated. The drilling program laid out by the Government at the beginning of the year stressed wild-catting operations and called for reduction of drilling in proved fields. The increased wildcatting campaign did not yield a great many new discoveries, nor important extensions to old fields. Several interesting wildcat wells were drilled in Colorado in 1942 but no new fields were discovered. The Wilson Creek field was extended and about 400 acres added to its reserves. In Montana two new oil fields and two small gas fields were discovered. The developments in the marketing situation had improved, however, making the prospects especially bright for 1943, as will be shown presently in the section on Montana in this report. In New Mexico eight wells were completed, which constituted discoveries ol either oil or gas but none of these was of major proportions. In Wyoming one new oil field and one new gas field were discovered, and one old oil field and one old gas field were extended. Most important was the disco-very of prolific oil producers in deeper sands in three old oil fields, of which one at least, Elk Basin, probably is of major proportions. Government Action On Dec. 26, 1942, President Roosevelt signed the O&apos;Mahoney bill, calling for a flat 12.5 per cent royalty on lands in the public domain. It is expected that the enactment of this bill will encourage wildcatting in the public land states. Opportunity for a full discussion of the problems of reserves and production was afforded at the hearings conducted on the O&apos;Mahoney bill by the minerals subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Public Lands and the statements submitted at these hearings last fall placed the situation, its causes and the logical remedy, clearly on record. It was established at the hearings that for several years the volume of oil discovered per wildcat well drilled has steadily declined; new fields discovered have not been of major proportions; drilling costs have advanced rapidly; a sharp decline in exploratory drilling took place in 1942, while the proportion of dry holes increased; the inescapable conclusion is that to find new reserves the search for oil must be intensified and much more wildcat drilling &apos; must be done. To ensure an adequate drilling campaign, the Petroleum Industry War Council, the Interstate Compact Commission and other representative oil organizations have voiced by resolution their opinion that an upward revision of crude prices is necessary to provide an incentive to the prospector to undertake the hazards of wildcat drilling, since statistics prove that only ope in five or six wells drilled results in actual production. Former Price Administrator Henderson rejected the recommendations for price increases and declared himself unalterably opposed to a general price advance, On the ground that such advances would contribute to inflation. Now that Mr. Hender-

Jan 1, 1943

It is always the case with heavy and cheap materials that the area within which they can be economically used depends upon the cost of transportation, and in those days of poor roads and no mechanical means of haulage on them, coal could only be moved a few miles from the mine by any other means than water. The need of better means of transport to the areas west of the mountains had been urged by Washington and many other leaders, but the first turnpike over the Alleghenies only reached the Ohio River at Wheeling, W. Va. in 1818. The James River and Kanawha road reached the Ohio in 1831, that from Winchester, Va. to Parkersburg in 1838, and the road through the Cumberland Gap was completed in 1797. None of these affected the coal industry excepting indirectly by building up some of the river towns which coal could reach. The inadequacy of roads alone to carry the traffic of the rapidly growing interior communities was demonstrated only a few years after the National Pike was completed, and in the early 1820&apos;s several of the states embarked upon the construction of a canal system, which had been under discussion for some years. The Erie Canal was opened in 1825 from Lake Erie to the Hudson River through New York; Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland had already started similar projects designed to bring traffic to their principal cities from the interior. The Pennsylvania Canal was started from Columbia, as a railroad extended from Philadelphia to that point, and it followed the Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers to Hollidaysburg; thence to Johnstown, a distance of 36 miles, where it consisted of partly railroad and partly inclined planes, the boats being hauled up, and lowered down the planes; from Johnstown the canal followed the Conemaugh, Kiskiminitas and Allegheny Rivers to Pittsburgh, 104 miles. Boats first reached Pittsburgh by this route in 1834. The Chesapeake and Potomac Canal followed the Potomac River from a point above Alexandria above the falls, to Cumberland. This canal was chartered in the eighteenth century and a portion of it was used by traffic in 1800. It was too small to be of much use and was abandoned, and later after many legal and financial vicissitudes was completed to Cumberland, traffic from there starting late in 1850. This date, however, was long after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had been completed to

Jan 1, 1942

By R. F. Nielsen, D. E. Menzie

The object of this study was to determine if crude oil could be produced successfully by a process of crude oil vaporization using carbon dioxide repressuring. This process appears to have application to highly fractured formations where the major oil content of the reservoir is contained in the non-fractured porosity with little associated permeability. Crude oil was introduced into the windowed cell and carbon dioxide was charged to the cell at the desired pressure. A vapor space was formed above the oil, and the crude oil-carbon dioxide mixture was allowed to come to equilibrium. The vapor phase was removed and the vaporized oil collected as condensate. Samples of all produced and unproduced fluids were analyzed. Tests were also performed to evaluate the amount of vaporized oil that can he produced by rocking from a high to a lower pressure. The carbon dioxide repressuring process was applied to a sand-filled cell to investigate the performance in a porous medium. A test was performed to evaluate how the condensate recovery changes as the size of the gas cap in contact with the oil changes. INTRODUCTION This study has been directed toward a relatively new process of vaporization of crude oil designed to increase ultimate production of hydrocarbons through the application of carbon dioxide to an oil reservoir. Suggested advantages of carbon dioxide repressuring of a petroleum reservoir are: (1) reduction in viscosity of liquid hydrocarbons due to the solubility of carbon dioxide in crude oil, (2) swelling of the reservoir oil into a larger liquid-oil volume with a resulting increase in production and decrease in residual oil saturation due to an increase in the relative permeability to oil, (3) displacement of more stock-tank oil from the reservoir since the residual liquid is a swelled crude oil, and (4) gasification of some of the hydrocarbons into a carbon dioxide-hydrocarbon vapor mixture. Balanced against these advantages are several detrimental factors which must be evaluated; i.e., high compression costs and corrosion of well equipment and flow lines. Some of the more outstanding contributions to the study of carbon dioxide injection have been reviewed in order to furnish a basis for a continuation of research pertaining to this method. The literature reviewed1-8 has been limited to that dealing with carbon dioxide repressuring processes or with carbon dioxide-crude oil-natural gas phase behavior. Articles relating to carbonated water injection and literature published on the use of low pressure carbon dioxide gas injection in water flooding have not been included in this study. In 1941 Pirson5 suggested the high pressure injection of carbon dioxide into a partially depleted reservoir for the purpose of causing the reservoir oil to vaporize and thus produce the oil as a vapor along with the carbon dioxide gas. By reducing the pressure on this produced mixture of hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide at the surface, it was proposed to separate the hydrocarbons from the carrier gas. He theorized that essentially all the oil in a reservoir could be produced by simply injecting enough carbon dioxide to vaporize the residual oil. This present investigation deals with the vaporization of a crude oil by carbon dioxide, the molecular weight and gravity of the vaporized oil product and the characteristics of the residual oil after several repressuring cycles with carbon dioxide. An attempt is made to evaluate the merits of a vaporization process for the crude oil rather than a flow process where the oil recovery is determined by relative permeability considerations. Such a vaporization of crude oil by carbon dioxide repressuring appears to have possible use in a highly fractured formation where the major oil content of the reservoir is contained in the non-fractured porosity with little permeability. The carbon dioxide flows into the fractures, contacts the crude oil in the matrix and vaporizes part of the crude oil; this vaporized oil is produced and recovered and the carbon dioxide is reinjected again. The specific problem of this study is to attempt to answer this question; Can crude oil be produced successfully (technically, but without economic considerations) from a petroleum reservoir by a process of vaporization of the crude oil by carbon dioxide repressuring? DEFINITION OF TERMS AS APPLIED IN THIS STUDY Carbon Dioxide Contact: One cycle in which carbon dioxide was injected and bled off. Condensate: The hydrocarbon liquid which was condensed out of the mixture of hydrocarbon-carbon dioxide vapor upon reduction of the pressure of the vapor. Hydrocarbons Produced (HCP): All the hydrocarbon!, which were vaporized by the carbon dioxide repressuring process and were removed from the cell during any specific cycle or carbon dioxide contact. Hydrocarbons Unproduced (HCU): All the hydrocarbons which were not vaporized by the carbon dioxide

By R. S. Sherwin

The extractive metallurgy of primary aluminum from its ores is discussed with special attention to the production of alumina from high grade ores by the Bayer process, including differences between American and European practice and a brief description of some processes for lower grade ores and the electrolytic reduction of the oxide to aluminum. METALLIC aluminum is not found in nature, but the oxides, hydroxides, and especially the silicates are plentiful. The estimated percentage of in in the crust of the earth is about 8 pct while that of iron is about 5 pct. By far the larger portion of this is combined with silica in the form of various clay minerals and igneous silicate rocks. From the point of view of extractive metallurgy of aluminum, these are low grade ores while the better qualities of bauxite are the high grade ores. There have been various definitions of bauxite but perhaps the best definition at the present time is that bauxite is a rock or earth commonly used as an ore of aluminum or its salts in which the aluminum is present predominantly as a hydrate or a mixture of hydrates and hydrous oxides. It contains varying amounts of oxides of silicon, iron, and titanium and traces of compounds of some of the less common elements. The silica is mainly combined with alumina as clay or clay minerals which are hydrous aluminum silicates, although a part of it may be present as quartz sand. On the American continents, the alumina is mainly present as gibbsite, Al2O3 . 3H2O, and the same may be said of the best known deposits of the Dutch East Indies and some of the deposits in India. In France and other countries in Europe as well as in Africa, the alumina is present mainly as boeh-mite, A12O3 . H2O, but in some of these deposits it is mixed with minor amounts of gibbsite. Some other deposits, such as those in the islands of Haiti and Jamaica, evidently contain two or more hydrates or hydrous oxides of alumina in varying proportions. Perhaps the main portion of the alumina may be present as gibbsite and boehmite with the proportion between the two varying rather widely. In the silicate minerals, including clay, the alumina is chemically combined with silica and has not been separated satisfactorily by mechanical or physical ore-dressing methods. Low grade bauxites are mixtures of hydrates, usually gibbsite or boehmite, with clay, iron oxides, etc. In some low grade bauxites, it is possible to separate a portion of the gibbsite or boehmite, which may be present as relatively hard and coarse particles, from soft or finely divided clay minerals by log washing or similar methods. This has been applied to the product of some mines or parts of them, but on other ores it is not applicable. In some cases the gibbsite or boehmite is almost as fine and soft and of nearly the same specific gravity as the clay minerals so that washing and gravity separations are not successful. The iron oxide, the clay minerals, and a part of the titanium minerals are often so finely dispersed in the ore that any of the physical mineral separation methods, including separations by gravity, particle size, flotation, and electrostatic or magnetic separation, have not been commercially SUCCESSFUL except on relatively small lots of ore. For these reasons, the only available methods of separation on the general run of ores have been methods which would be classed as chemical rather than physical or mechanical separations. Aluminum oxide can be reduced by carbon at temperatures above 1800°C to form metallic aluminum and aluminum carbide or nitride. The temperature for rapid reduction of aluminum oxide to metallic aluminum is about the boiling point of aluminum and above the temperatures necessary to reduce iron, silicon, and titanium so that the direct reduction of an aluminum ore with carbon will produce an alloy of aluminum, iron, titanium, silicon, etc., which may be mixed with carbides and nitrides. Also a large amount of the reduced aluminum may be lost as a vapor except in the presence of some alloying agent such as copper or other metals. While it is possible to refine such alloys or mixtures so as to produce commercially pure aluminum, the methods which have been found are too expensive for the present market. One direct reduction method which found limited commercial use in Germany during World War II was the direct reduction of a mixture of clay containing very little

Jan 1, 1951

By R. S. Cartwright

TWO types of automatic drilling controls, the Halliburton and the Hild, are now available and are coming into more or less general use in deep drilling. The primary function of both is to maintain a safe limit of torque on the drill pipe, this being accomplished by automatically controlling the weight or pressure on the cutting tool. Neither type will necessarily increase drilling speed, but by permitting advantage to be taken of "breaks" in the hole higher average cutting speed may be maintained. The control is essentially a safety device, and should be considered as such. It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss the merits of drilling controls, although the advantages over manual feed at the brake drum are obvious, but rather to point out some of the limitations. The Halliburton Control The Halliburton control is designed to operate during drilling through the agency of the draw works. Automatic and constant control of the torque on the bit is governed by clutches on the control itself, and the line shaft to drum shaft drives on the draw works. In operations other than drilling the control is simply a jackshaft between prime mover and draw works. It is, of course, adaptable to any type of power. Because control of the torque on the bit is dependent on the various ratios or clutch combinations available on the Halliburton control and the draw works, it follows that there are certain limitations in points of control. Table 1 shows the possible ratios which can be obtained with the control and a popular type of three-speed draw works, it being assumed that the highest possible gear combination—the combination which when engaged will suspend the least amount of weight—has a value of 1.00. According to the table there are "blind spots" in the series. This is true particularly among the lowest ratios, which are most used to suspend the major part of the weight when great depths are reached. It will be noted that there is a difference of nearly three units in the value of the

Jan 1, 1929

By Harlowe Hardinge

THE sound made by ball, pebble and rod mills has long been used by the operator as the "telltale " of their operation. The nature of this sound depends upon local conditions and the type of mill used. By experience an operator can tell whether the mill is running properly or not. Some operators are able to detect the difference in sound much better than others and get better results running the same mill under the same conditions. The automatic operation of a mill using sound as the fundamental means for maintaining control presents many problems. The satisfactory solution of these problems requires, for given operating conditions, a greater average output, with improved product for subsequent processing, than can be obtained by manual control. RELATION OF SOUND TO USEFUL GRINDING ENERGY Experience has taught us that there is a difference in character as well as in intensity of sound between a mill grinding wet and one grinding dry, in open or closed circuit, to obtain a coarse or fine product, on the same material, to say nothing of the effect with a variety of different materials. Broadly speaking, a wet-grinding mill operates best at a lower sound level than the same mill grinding dry, with other conditions the same. Several reasons for this variation in sound intensity under these conditions can be advanced, but the important point is that there is a difference, based upon practical results. Since these reasons may be more or less involved, and may be subject to much discussion, only one will be considered here. It is apparent that two balls hitting together or a ball striking the lining, if there is no intervening material, will produce the maximum sound. If a complete cushion of material is placed between the balls or ball and liner, so that the energy is dissipated without doing useful work, the balls will be unable to create enough pressure or force to fracture the particles, and the sound will be at a minimum. At some point in between-that is, where there is sufficient material between the balls or ball and liner so that the ball will fracture the particles without mashing them unduly-the sound

Jan 1, 1939