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By Auguste J. Rossi

We cannot expect, within the limits of this paper, to treat this subject exhaustively, but will endeavor, in the following, to present it in as concise a manner as is consistent with a clear exposition of its importance. Ores of titanium, titaniferous iron-ores (that is, iron-ores containing a notable amount of titanic acid, TiO2,, say not less than 5 per cent., generally 10 to 20 per cent., and frequently more, up to 40 per cent. or thereabout), occur all over the world in immense quantity, " in mountain masses," constituting in some localities, as in Sweden, Norway, Canada, the Adirondacks (N. Y.), in North Carolina and other States of the Union, the geological formation itself, the igneous rocks having, in many places, been so permeated with the metallic oxides as to justify their being called iron-ores. As a rule they are Bessemer ores, quite free from phosphorus and sulphur, though not invariably so. When the percentage of titanic acid is very high, that of the iron is low, but the proportions do not necessarily vary in the same ratio; that is, a rich ore may contain more titanic acid than one lower in iron. The percentage of iron varies, being as low as 35 to 36 per cent. in real ilmenite. It is more generally not less than 50 to 55 per cent., reaching often an average of 58 to 60 per cent., and as high as 63 to 65 per cent. It is obvious that if these ores were to be considered in the same light as other iron-ores, equally rich in iron, they would form an excellent stock for blast-furnaces for years to come, as their supply might be called inexhaustible, and they could

Jan 1, 1903

By Wilson T. Lundy

The history of the production of sulfur from salt domes in Louisiana and Texas originated with the operations of the Union Sulphur CO. at Sulphur, La., followed by the Freeport Sulphur Co. at Bryanmound, Tex. Including the present development of Grande Ecaille by the Free-port Sulphur Co., which constitutes the tenth dome to be equipped for the production of sulfur in the Gulf Coast, less than 10 per cent of all the known domes have proved to contain sulfur in commercial quantities. The Grande Ecaille salt dome is in the tidal marsh of the Mississippi River delta in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. It is 10 miles southwest of the right descending bank of the river approximately 45 miles below the city of New Orleans and is within 4 miles of the shore line of the Gulf of Mexico. Terrain Characteristic of the delta region, the terrain consists of a low, flat, uninhabited area of marsh land intersected by many shallow lakes and bayous. With the exception of salt grasses, the region is devoid of vegetation and presents, in all directions, an unobstructed path to the vagaries of the winds. The general character of this area can be best visualized from the mechanism of its formation.' Offshore bars formed enclosing long narrow lagoons between the bar and the inner shore line, the lagoons communicating with the sea by means of tidal inlets. The water in the lagoons, being comparatively quiet, favored the deposition of fine debris composed of sand carried into the lagoons by action of the waves, tides and river-borne sediments from the land surface. As this material accumulated the bottoms of the lagoons were built up and eventually salt grasses obtained a foothold. The successions of growth and decay of these grasses formed a brown fibrous mat varying in depth from a few inches to several feet. This mat of vegetation virtually floats on an ooze that is several feet thick and is composed of alluvial sediments and very fine sand, and the whole is underlain by an unctuous clay. The decayed vegetation from the upper layer when dried has a peaty appearance.

Jan 1, 1934

By Jack White

W. I. Garms-—The authors state that when they added 11 tons of balls to the 45 pct volume ball load, the power needle did not budge. The question arises as to whether any increase in capacity accompanied the 11-ton addition. It is hardly conceivable that all of the balls making up the l l-ton addition were sterile. However, as the work done in the ball mill is not by kilo-watthours per se or balls per se but by kilowatthour-balls, it is possible that the kilowatthourballs in the mill before the ll-ton addition had a different amperage, voltage or robustage than those in the mill after the addition and that the overall outcome was that equal work was done before and after the addition. The authors can keep the efficiency that they got with the 45 pct volume 1-in. ball charge and get additional capacity by putting more kilowatthourballs to work in the form of the addition of 11 tons of 2-in. balls to the present ball charge, and subsequent makeup additions by weight of 20 pct 2-in. balls and 80 pct 1-in. balls. J. F. Myers (authors' reply)-—Mr. Garms points his finger at the 11 tons of "sterile" balls added to the Tri-cone mill. A fact so interesting to us that we felt it should be reported. Clearly, ball slippage at the existing mill speed prevented any further transfer of power from the shell to the ball mass. We agree that the kilowatthourballs would increase, were we charging rough 2-in. balls as suggested by Mr. Garms. The assumption is, of course, that we would get a corresponding increase in work done. Our reported data (CIME meeting, Vancouver, 1946) shows a gain of work accomplished of 7.6 pct as we decreased the ball size from 2 in. to 1% in. and a further gain of work accomplished of 2.1 pct when we went from 1 % in. to 1 in. The small ball results reported by H. R. Banks at Chapman Camp are also very convincing. In the case of 2-in. balls they would take the conventional ball path and start cascading. They would thus destroy the classifying pool over the "foot" of the

Jan 1, 1951

By Jack White

W. I. Garms-—The authors state that when they added 11 tons of balls to the 45 pct volume ball load, the power needle did not budge. The question arises as to whether any increase in capacity accompanied the 11-ton addition. It is hardly conceivable that all of the balls making up the l l-ton addition were sterile. However, as the work done in the ball mill is not by kilo-watthours per se or balls per se but by kilowatthour-balls, it is possible that the kilowatthourballs in the mill before the ll-ton addition had a different amperage, voltage or robustage than those in the mill after the addition and that the overall outcome was that equal work was done before and after the addition. The authors can keep the efficiency that they got with the 45 pct volume 1-in. ball charge and get additional capacity by putting more kilowatthourballs to work in the form of the addition of 11 tons of 2-in. balls to the present ball charge, and subsequent makeup additions by weight of 20 pct 2-in. balls and 80 pct 1-in. balls. J. F. Myers (authors' reply)-—Mr. Garms points his finger at the 11 tons of "sterile" balls added to the Tri-cone mill. A fact so interesting to us that we felt it should be reported. Clearly, ball slippage at the existing mill speed prevented any further transfer of power from the shell to the ball mass. We agree that the kilowatthourballs would increase, were we charging rough 2-in. balls as suggested by Mr. Garms. The assumption is, of course, that we would get a corresponding increase in work done. Our reported data (CIME meeting, Vancouver, 1946) shows a gain of work accomplished of 7.6 pct as we decreased the ball size from 2 in. to 1% in. and a further gain of work accomplished of 2.1 pct when we went from 1 % in. to 1 in. The small ball results reported by H. R. Banks at Chapman Camp are also very convincing. In the case of 2-in. balls they would take the conventional ball path and start cascading. They would thus destroy the classifying pool over the "foot" of the

Jan 1, 1951

By RUSSELL C. FLEMING

THE important advances that have been made of recent years in mining and milling methods and in mechanical equipment at mines need no re- telling, but there has been a remarkable growth in one type of equipment which has gone nearly unnoticed. That is the increasing use of storage-battery locomotives underground. Since the war the number of these locomotives and their field of use have increased tremendously; their growing acceptance represents an al- most complete reversal of opinion from an earlier period when they were generally looked upon as in- adequate for the strain of mine service. At the time when storage-battery powered units were first making their bid for recognition, the use of power in haulage had already passed through several phases; hand tramming, rope haulage, compressed air locomotives, even gasoline locomotives, had all been used, ending finally in the general adoption of the electric trolley locomotive for practically all power-haulage requirements. It was, and is, conceded that the trolley loco- motive met more adequately the varied and severe conditions of mine service than any previous type of haul- age unit. Subsequent developments have had to endure comparison and surpass in performance that type of haulage before changes would be considered.

Jan 1, 1930

By R. W. Bartlett

The rates of oxidation of tungsten have been determined at temperatures between 1320" and 3170°C and oxygen pressures to 1 amn using a surface -recession measurement technique. Above approximately 2000°C and 10-6 atm the rate is independent of temperature and can be calculated from gas collision theory assuming a constant reaction probability, e, of 0.06. Oxygen molecules react at surface sites where oxygen atoms have previously chemisorbed. This provides a direct pressure dependence at low pressures but at high pressures tungsten oxide molecule s form an adjacent gas boundary layer which lowers the PO2 at the tungsten surface. A correction for this effect using free-convection theory fits the rate data over the entire oxygen-pressure range from 10-8 to 1 atrn as well as data using O2-A mixtures. Below 10-6 atrn and above 2000°C, e decreases with increasing temperature because of desorption of oxygen atoms. Below 2000°C the rate decreases with decreasing temperature at all oxygen pressures following an apparent activation energy of 42 kcal per mole and depending on (Po2)n with n varying between 0.55 and 0.80. MOST of the previous tungsten oxidation studies have employed gravimetric methods and have been limited to temperatures below 1000°C where the weight loss associated with evaporation of tungsten oxides is negligible compared with the weight gain from oxidation.' At higher temperatures, oxygen-consumption rates have been determined from pressure measurements, usually at constant flow rates, by Langmuir,2 Eisinger,3 Becker, Becker, and Brandes,4 and Anderson.5 The sensitivity of this method decreases with increasing pressure and, with the exception of Langmuir's work, these investigations were confined to pressures below 10-6 atm. Above approximately 1300°C, depending on the oxygen pressure, the rate of oxide evaporation is greater than the oxide-formation rate and the recession of the tungsten surface can be measured optically without interference from an oxide layer. This was first done by Perkins and crooks6 who heated tungsten rods in air pressures from 1 to 40 torr at temperatures between 1300" and 3000°C. The present investigation of the oxidation kinetics of tungsten at high temperatures emphasizes oxygen pressures from 10-6 to 1 atm. This is the range of interest for earth atmosphere re-entry applications of tungsten for which little data were previously available. APPARATUS The apparatus is a modification of the type used by Perkins and crooks.' Ground tungsten seal rods, 6 in. long by 0.125 in. diam, were mounted vertically between two water-cooled electrodes, one fixed and the other having free vertical travel. The movable counter-weighted electrode is prevented from undergoing horizontal displacement by three sets of runners mounted at 120-deg intervals. Electrical contact is made by means of a water-cooled mercury pool. A 24-in. vacuum bell jar having a volume of approximately 267 liters was used as the reaction chamber with the sample holder mounted in the middle of the chamber. Power was supplied from an 800-amp dc variable power supply. Temperature readings were made by means of a Latronics automatic two-color recording pyrometer. With this instrument, corrections for emissivity are not necessary provided the spectral emissivi-ties at two closely spaced wavelengths are equal. Supporting measurements were made with a micro-optical pyrometer corrected for emissivity of bare tungsten and window absorptivity. The micro-optical pyrometer was calibrated against a National Bureau of Standards calibrated tungsten lamp and both pyrometers were periodically checked against the melting points of tungsten and molybdenum using the oxidation apparatus. Above 10-6 atm, pressures were measured with an Alphatron gage calibrated against a McCleod gage. At 10-6 atm, a hot-filament ionization gage was employed. A magnified image of the self-illuminated tungsten rod was formed using a 360-mm objective lens mounted outside the bell jar. When the experiment exceeded 1 hr, the image was focused on a ground-glass plate about 10 ft from the tungsten rod at about X8 and the recession of the thickness of this image was monitored with a Gaertner cathe-tometer. When faster rates were encountered, a 35-mm time-lapse cinecamera with a telephoto lens and bellows extension was substituted for the ground-glass plate and cathetometer. Diameter recession rates were determined from the photograph image projected on the screen of an analytical film reader. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE After installing the rod in the apparatus and cleaning it with acetone, the system was evacuated to 5 1 x 10-5 torr. Before oxygen was introduced,

Jan 1, 1964

By A. M. Gaudin, C. S. Chang

Adsorption was measured for barium ion and laurate radical, using radioactively marked agents, over wide range of concentrations. Laurate adsorbed in absence of barium fails to float. With barium, flotation-effective laurate coating needs not exceed 5 pct of monolayer. Barium adsorption then is several fold larger. No barium laurate coating is obtained. IN general, fatty acids or their alkali salts do not cause clean quartz to float. However, the presence of multivalent ions, such as the alkaline-earth metal ions and heavy-metal ions, can activate quartz and thus make it respond to soap flotation. The mechanism of activation and soap flotation of quartz has been studied.'-' The problem was attacked by making flotation tests rather than by careful adsorption measurements on suspensions of ground quartz in solutions containing the activator and the collector. Attempts have been made to determine the adsorption of barium ion and calcium ion on quartz. The results have only qualitative value as the analytical methods were not adequately precise. Artificial radioactivity and progress in radioactivity detection have introduced a new analytical tool, which can have a sensitivity several orders of magnitude greater than that of other methods."-" In the experimental work described in this paper the radioactive tracers, barium 140 and carbon 14, were employed. Lauric acid was synthesized, having a radioactive carbon atom and was used with Ba" to study the adsorption of barium and laurate ions from aqueous solution on ground quartz. Flotation tests, using the vacuum flotation technique,' were run in conjunction with the adsorption experiments. The object of this investigation was to understand better the reaction mechanism of barium activation and soap flotation of quartz. Methods and Materials Quartz Sample Preparation: Lumps of hand-picked quartz, washed free of stains, were reduced in size to —20 mesh in laboratory crushers. The product was boiled in concentrated hydrochloric acid to remove the abraded iron. The cleaned product then was ground dry in a laboratory porcelain mill, using siliceous pebbles, to pass through a 200 mesh screen. The ground product was deslimed by sedimentation at 37 microns. This —200 mesh +400 mesh material was subjected again to boiling with concentrated hydrochloric acid, followed by washing with distilled water and further desliming. The cycle was repeated until no trace of iron could be detected in the wash liquor. During the final washing, the pH of the wash water was checked to insure the complete removal of the acid from the mineral. The quartz then was rinsed with conductivity water. The resulting product was dried in a drying oven and stored in mason jars. The impurities (spectrographic) were as follows: Al, 0.01 to 0.001 pct; Li, Mg, Mn, Na, each less than 0.001 pct; Fe and Cu not detected. The specific surface of the quartz sample was determined by the krypton gas adsorption method.' The average of two measurements was 881 sq cm per g. The calculated specific surface for 37/74-micron quartz particles, using a surface factor of 1.96; is 900 sq cm per g. This is in good agreement with the measured value of 881 sq cm per g. Beta-Counting Method: The radioactive isotope of barium used in the experimental work was barium 140. It has a sufficiently long half-life, 12.8 days, emits high-energy beta particles (up to 1.0

Jan 1, 1953

By A. M. Gaudin, C. S. Chang

Adsorption was measured for barium ion and laurate radical, using radioactively marked agents, over wide range of concentrations. Laurate adsorbed in absence of barium fails to float. With barium, flotation-effective laurate coating needs not exceed 5 pct of monolayer. Barium adsorption then is several fold larger. No barium laurate coating is obtained. IN general, fatty acids or their alkali salts do not cause clean quartz to float. However, the presence of multivalent ions, such as the alkaline-earth metal ions and heavy-metal ions, can activate quartz and thus make it respond to soap flotation. The mechanism of activation and soap flotation of quartz has been studied.'-' The problem was attacked by making flotation tests rather than by careful adsorption measurements on suspensions of ground quartz in solutions containing the activator and the collector. Attempts have been made to determine the adsorption of barium ion and calcium ion on quartz. The results have only qualitative value as the analytical methods were not adequately precise. Artificial radioactivity and progress in radioactivity detection have introduced a new analytical tool, which can have a sensitivity several orders of magnitude greater than that of other methods."-" In the experimental work described in this paper the radioactive tracers, barium 140 and carbon 14, were employed. Lauric acid was synthesized, having a radioactive carbon atom and was used with Ba" to study the adsorption of barium and laurate ions from aqueous solution on ground quartz. Flotation tests, using the vacuum flotation technique,' were run in conjunction with the adsorption experiments. The object of this investigation was to understand better the reaction mechanism of barium activation and soap flotation of quartz. Methods and Materials Quartz Sample Preparation: Lumps of hand-picked quartz, washed free of stains, were reduced in size to —20 mesh in laboratory crushers. The product was boiled in concentrated hydrochloric acid to remove the abraded iron. The cleaned product then was ground dry in a laboratory porcelain mill, using siliceous pebbles, to pass through a 200 mesh screen. The ground product was deslimed by sedimentation at 37 microns. This —200 mesh +400 mesh material was subjected again to boiling with concentrated hydrochloric acid, followed by washing with distilled water and further desliming. The cycle was repeated until no trace of iron could be detected in the wash liquor. During the final washing, the pH of the wash water was checked to insure the complete removal of the acid from the mineral. The quartz then was rinsed with conductivity water. The resulting product was dried in a drying oven and stored in mason jars. The impurities (spectrographic) were as follows: Al, 0.01 to 0.001 pct; Li, Mg, Mn, Na, each less than 0.001 pct; Fe and Cu not detected. The specific surface of the quartz sample was determined by the krypton gas adsorption method.' The average of two measurements was 881 sq cm per g. The calculated specific surface for 37/74-micron quartz particles, using a surface factor of 1.96; is 900 sq cm per g. This is in good agreement with the measured value of 881 sq cm per g. Beta-Counting Method: The radioactive isotope of barium used in the experimental work was barium 140. It has a sufficiently long half-life, 12.8 days, emits high-energy beta particles (up to 1.0

Jan 1, 1953

By J. B. Cheatham

The influence of friction on the force required for an idealized bit tooth to penetrate a "plastic" rock is analyzed. The rock is assumed to obey the Coulomb-Mobr yield criterion and the tooth is represented by a two-dimensional sharp wedge. At the tooth-rock interface the stress field not only satisfies the yield condition but also is such that the ratio of the shearing stress to the normal stress is equal to the coefficient of friction. The solution relates the force on the tooth to the depth of penetration, the tooth angle, the coefficient of friction between the rock and bit tooth and the angle of internal friction and compressive strength of the rock. INTRODUCTION Most rocks are brittle at atmospheric pressure but exhibit ductility and increased strength as the confining pressure is increased. In a previous analysisl the force required for a bit tooth to penetrate a rigid-plastic rock was computed for two limiting conditions: (1) a perfectly lubricated tooth-rock interface which should correspond to a lower limit for the penetrating force, and (2) a perfectly rough interface which should provide an upper limit. Experimental results2 for rock indentation under confining pressure have confirmed that the analysis generally predicts upper and lower limits for the penetrating force as a function of rock properties and tooth angle. The present analysis extends the previous work to account for the friction between the rock and the tooth. ANALYSIS The force required for incipient plastic flow of an idealized model of a rock under a bit tooth is computed subjected to the following assumptions. BIT TOOTH 1. sharp two-dimensional wedge (end effects neglected) 2. rigid tooth (elastic deformation of tooth neglected) 3. displacement of tooth is normal to rock surface 4. friction exists between tooth and rock ROCK 1. semi-infinite, isotropic and homogeneous 2. rigid-plastic (elastic deformation of rock neglected) 3. non-work hardening (horizontal stress-strain curve) 4. Coulomb yield condition* (linear Mohr envelope) 5. smooth, flat surface According to the Mohr theory of failure it is assumed that failure occurs when the state of stress is such that the Mohr stress circle becomes tangent to an experimentally determined envelope. The Mohr failure curve is frequent1y approximated by a straight line and referred to as the Coulomb-Mohr failure criterion. If the rock is under sufficient pressure to be ductile we can use the linear envelope as a yield condition. The Coulomb-Mohr yield criterion is illustrated by Fig. 1 and is expressed by the following equation:l

By Harold A. Linke

THE following article presents notes and data compiled and computed by the writer for use in the determination of: size and slope of mill launders, details of junction boxes and downspouts, and distribution of pulp. It also includes pulp formulas, volume of discharge through bushings, paths of discharging streams, banking of turns and curves. In the design of a concentrating mill, the draftsman usually considers launders to the extent of providing ample "head" for transmission of pulp from one department of the mill to another. The superintendent of construction aims to build his launders wide and deep, and on a slope steep enough to ensure positive flow. So launders are laid generally on too steep a slope, with the result that the repair gang works to maintain launder bottoms and sides against the erosive action of the conveyed pulp. To this end many kinds of liners have been devised: concrete, mastic, white iron, glass, rubber. True, the reduction of slope to the point where a pulp will flow with minimum wear, will minimize labor and expense; but when the desired slope is not predetermined, the millman hesitates to readjust his launder slopes by cut-and-try methods. To the end that the desired size and slope may be found readily, the writer has: (1) conducted experiments with pulps of different specific gravity, screen analysis and dilution; (2) gathered a few graphic data from standard reference works (such as Peele's Mining Engineer's Hand- book and Taggart's Handbook of Ore Dressing); (3) computed several tables; and compiled results that have proved dependable for Utah Copper ore. It is quite possible that the following tables and graphs may not be applicable to all ores, but it is hoped that they may prove helpful, even in slight degree, in alleviating a portion of the trouble and migraine of some other millman.

Jan 1, 1939

By John Hays Hammond

The following notes are descriptive of a country as yet in its infancy as regards the advancement made in mining operations. Its inaccessibility and other militating circumstances have retarded progress in that direction. With the completion of the railroad, now under construction, having the city of Cali as its objective point, with the concomitant civilizing and developing consequences, it is certain that the slopes of the Cordilleras will prove to be a South American Eldorado. Deposits of coal, copper, and minerals other than those of the precious metals are known to exist in quantities which, under more favorable conditions of accessibility, etc., could be profitably mined. The Government of the United States of Colombia, I think, is disposed to encourage and foster mining enterprises. Articles designed for mining are admitted free of duty; the permanency of the government is, at least, as well assured as that of Mexico (which is not noted for its immutability), and a more sincerely friendly sentitment towards Americans prevails in the United States of Colombia than in Mexico. This paper is confined to a description of the property of the Cauca company's mines, and is intended rather as a preliminary notice than as an exhaustive report. The Cauca mining district is reached by the following route: New York to Aspinwall; to Panama; to Buenaventura, a port on the west coast of the United States of Colombia, distant thirty-six hours from Panama by steamer; to Cali in the State of Cauca. The State of Cauca is bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the northwest by the State of Panama, on the northeast by the States of Bolivar and Antioquia, on the east by Brazil and Venzuela, on the south by the Republic of Ecuador, and on the west by the Pacific. Ocean. It has a territory of 41,443 square miles, which is about one-tenth of the entire territory of the United States of Colombia. Its population, including the 50,000 savage Indians of the Caqueta (some of whom are cannibals), is nearly 450,000 souls, or about one-sixth of the population of the Colombian republic. Of these, one-fifth are whites (Spanish' South Amer-

Jan 1, 1885

By G. W. Ostroot, S. Shryock

Cementing deep, high-temperature oil wells where static temperatures range from 350 to 400F has become routine in the part decade. In the United States there were 271 wells drilled deeper than 15,000 ft during 1963. Many of these wells had static temperatures higher than 400F. Bottom-hole static temperatures near 700F are now realities in the geother-mal (steam producing) wells of California's Salton Sea area. The detailed planning initiated prior to drilling the wells is discussed together with the methods, materials and equipment used in solving the cementing problems which are encountered. Data are also presented that lead to development of cementing compositions that provide adequate thickening time, do not retrogress in strength, and maintain low permeability under these extreme temperature conditions. Field data include the cementing programs used on eight relatively trouble-free geothermal steam wells in the Salton Sea area. INTRODUCTION Not too many years ago cementing oil wells with temperatures in the range of 300F caused considerable anxiety. In some areas of the United States it is now fairly common to cement wells having bottom-hole static temperatures in excess of 400F. We are now confronted with the problem of cementing wells with temperatures ranging from 500 to 700F. Temperatures in this order of magnitude are often found in geothermal steam wells. From where does this extreme heat emanate? There are many theories as to the source of this steam flow. The most widely held views are: (1) heat- ing of ground water fairly close to the surface by an intrusive mass of hot rock; (2) steam generation from a reservoir of metamorphic rock, normally found below 25,000 ft and not at the shallower depths of the Salton Sea reservoir; and (3) high-temperature gases (water vapor) escaping and migrating from molten or semi-molten rock (magma) at a considerable depth. Of these. No. 3 seems to be the most generally acceptable explanation. Heat from springs and fumaroles has been used for years as a means of heating and cooking; however, significant progress in harnessing the vast power of underground steam reservoirs has been relatively slow. The first large-scale attempt to use the heat generated by steam from wells was made in Italy around the beginning of the 20th century. In excess of 250,000 kw of electrical power is now being produced from holes around Larde-rello, Italy. Another very active drilling program was initiated in the volcanic area of New Zealand in 1949.' Natural steam for power projects in the United States began in the early 1920's. An early commercial steam field is located at the Geysers, approximately 75 miles north of San Francisco, an area discovered in 1847 and used for many years as a health resort. Steam originates from 15 wells that have been drilled since 1957. The present output from this project is 25,000 kw. Success of the Geysers operation has been responsible for several companies taking a careful look at the feasibility of producing steam for power generation in the Salton Sea area of Southern California's Imperial Valley. Geothermal steam activity in this latter area began in 1961 when O'Neill, Ashmun and Hilliard completed Sportsman No. 1, at that time the hottest wellbore in the world.' Since its References given at end of paver. completion seven additional wells have been successfully completed in this area. Many problems encountered in drilling steam wells had to be overcome to make the ventures successful. Formation temperatures encountered in the Salton Sea seemed to be a straight-line function (a gradient of 13F per 100 ft of depth).' This imposed severe conditions on all aspects of drilling and completion. This varied, to some extent, from gradients in the older geothermal areas. Not to be overlooked is the effect of these temperatures on casing creep or elongation by thermal expansion (Table I), because standard API flanged wellhead equipment makes no provision for this kind of performance. Floating equipment was redesigned, and changes in types of downhole equipment were made in an effort to eliminate anticipated problems. In the later completed wells, standard oil-well cementing equipment has been used. During the early development of geothermal steam wells there were some problems resulting from blowouts. However, these were eliminated in the deeper Salton Sea wells and no problems were encountered with the drilling mud. A sodium surfactant mud was used on the Sportsman No. 1 to drill from 2,690 to total depth. Nevertheless, it was necessary that a cooling system be added and the mud cooled before circulating it back into the well. The difficulty in evaluating the size of the steam area and its potential in terms of pounds of steam and years of productivity still has not been resolved. Economic complexities have also entered into the steam play in the Salton Sea. The wells at the Geysers were drilled at a cost of $15,000 to $20,-000, whereas the Salton Sea wells will cost more than $150,000. This cost differential has to some extent been accounted for because of the heavily

Jan 1, 1965

Scores of visitors who had never in their lives seen a piece of rough-and-ready mining machinery flocked around the display of Russian equipment presented as part of the Soviet Exhibition at New York's Coliseum. The Russian show, which ran from June 30 to August 10, presented an impressive view of an emerging technology. The exhibitors, however, made little attempt to appeal to the visitor who came only to be amused. In the mining show, as well as elsewhere throughout the exposition, the exhibits were devastatingly highbrow. If a coal mine's hydraulic roof support were "designed to support the prop- , free face front in longwall faces of flat seams, from 1.0 to 1.6 m thick, with medium-stable side rock," the visitors were told just that.

Jan 9, 1959

By C. R. Hocott

THE viscosity of the oil in the reservoir is one of the properties that influence its movement through the sand to producing wells. Measurements of viscosity, therefore, are pertinent to problems associated with well behavior and with the estimation of recoveries, and afford an indirect means for partial evaluation of various methods of controlling reservoir behavior. The effect of dissolved gases on the viscosity of crude oil has been determined,1,2 but no data have been published on the viscosity of repre-sentative samples of reservoir oils. This paper describes a simple instrument that has been used to determine the viscosities of a number of subsurface oil samples at the temperatures and pressures existing in the reservoirs, and presents the results of the determinations for typical fields.

Jan 1, 1940

By R. G. Brown

Tars paper will present a general description of the different mineral belts in the Butte City region (limited, however, to the copper and contiguous silver veins) such as may serve to give an intelligent idea of the distribution and characteristics of the deposits, forming thus a groundwork of information, which it is hoped will have value, when later writers enter into particularized detail.

Jan 1, 1895

By W. F. Boericke

THE recent completion by the United States Aluminum Company of a $4,000,000 addition to its plant at Massena, N. Y., consisting of a large blooming mill and structural mill, gives this organization, a subsidiary of the Aluminum Company of America, the distinction of possessing the largest aluminum rolling mill in the world, as well as the first mil1 in this country to roll aluminum exclusively. The plant is located near the international boundary line between Canada and the United States, about 3 miles from the St. Lawrence River, to take advantage of the development of cheap hydroelectric power which is needed not only for the manufacture of structural shapes from the ingots, but in the reduction of alumina to the metal by the well-known Hall process as well. A power canal from the St. Lawrence River to the power house on the Grasse River at the plant provides for the waterflow, which, coupled with a drop of 47 ft. in 2% miles, generates 80,000 hp. through vertical turbines. An additional 60,000 hp. is purchased.

Jan 1, 1930

By A. L. Marshall, F. J Norton

The object of this investigation was to make a comprehensive study of the degassing of molybdenum in order to determine how rigorous a treatment was necessary to completely remove sorbed gases from molybdenum electrodes in vacuum tubes. Some work has also been done with tungsten, nickel, iron and carbon. As a logical development of this work it has been shown that the gas is present throughout the body of the metal and a study has been made of the solubility of nitrogen in molybdenum and tungsten and the rate, of diffusion of nitrogen through molybdenum has been calculated. Tests were made on molybdenum from all the commercial sources and no difference was discovered in the nature of the gases present, the amounts or the ease of removal. The reason for this was apparent when a study was made of the manner in which gases are absorbed by gas-free molybdenum. It is necessary to heat molybdenum to 1760°C. in a vacuum of the order of 0.001 micron for a time which varies lineally with the thickness, in order to obtain a condition in which no further gas is evolved by the sample. A sample so degassed can be handled and subsequently assembled in a tube and then degassed readily. The gases obtained from molybdenum are carbon monoxide and nitrogen, the nitrogen being the more difficult to remove. Apparatus and Technique The apparatus is shown in Figs. I and 2. It consisted of two units, a degassing system and an analytical system. Each had a bake-out oven, as shown surrounding the systems in the sketches. The system , will be traced, starting from the sample in the degassing system. A water-cooled quartz chamber surrounded the sample. The high-frequency coil, which heated the sample, extended only around this chamber and was cooled by an air blast. High-frequency power of 1800-meter wave length was obtained from a self-rectifying oscillator circuit with a maximum power input of 20 kw. A graded seal connected the quartz to the rest of the apparatus, which was of hard glass. The temperature of the molybdenum sample was observed by an optical pyrometer through an optical window about 40 cm. distant from the sample. Since the object viewed under these conditions was not a black body, true temperature was not observed, but the so-called "brightness temperature." The correction of this to true temperature is discussed in a later section. The apparatus was taken apart just above the graded seal; the quartz chamber was slipped off, washed with nitric acid, water and alcohol, and dried by an air stream. The old sample was removed by unscrewing the lower nut, and the new

Jan 1, 1944

By A. L. Marshall, F. J. Norton

The object of this investigation was to make a comprehensive study of the degassing of molybdenum in order to determine how rigorous a treatment was necessary to completely remove sorbed gases from molybdenum electrodes in vacuum tubes. Some work has also been done with tungsten, nickel, iron and carbon. As a logical development of this work it has been shown that the gas is present throughout the body of the metal and a study has been made of the solubility of nitrogen in molybdenum and tungsten and the rate, of diffusion of nitrogen through molybdenum has been calculated. Tests were made on molybdenum from all the commercial sources and no difference was discovered in the nature of the gases present, the amounts or the ease of removal. The reason for this was apparent when a study was made of the manner in which gases are absorbed by gas-free molybdenum. It is necessary to heat molybdenum to 1760°C. in a vacuum of the order of 0.001 micron for a time which varies lineally with the thickness, in order to obtain a condition in which no further gas is evolved by the sample. A sample so degassed can be handled and subsequently assembled in a tube and then degassed readily. The gases obtained from molybdenum are carbon monoxide and nitrogen, the nitrogen being the more difficult to remove. Apparatus and Technique The apparatus is shown in Figs. I and 2. It consisted of two units, a degassing system and an analytical system. Each had a bake-out oven, as shown surrounding the systems in the sketches. The system , will be traced, starting from the sample in the degassing system. A water-cooled quartz chamber surrounded the sample. The high-frequency coil, which heated the sample, extended only around this chamber and was cooled by an air blast. High-frequency power of 1800-meter wave length was obtained from a self-rectifying oscillator circuit with a maximum power input of 20 kw. A graded seal connected the quartz to the rest of the apparatus, which was of hard glass. The temperature of the molybdenum sample was observed by an optical pyrometer through an optical window about 40 cm. distant from the sample. Since the object viewed under these conditions was not a black body, true temperature was not observed, but the so-called "brightness temperature." The correction of this to true temperature is discussed in a later section. The apparatus was taken apart just above the graded seal; the quartz chamber was slipped off, washed with nitric acid, water and alcohol, and dried by an air stream. The old sample was removed by unscrewing the lower nut, and the new

Jan 1, 1944

By R. E. Collins

The existence of fluid migration across fixed boundaries in oil and gas reservoirs has been known for many years. Several techniques have been developed in the past for estimating The rate of migration across fixed boundaries as an aid in planninng field development and in the valuation of oilfied properties. The principal de/errc7nt to the use of these techniques lies in the rather extensive reservoir and field data required for ca1cula1ion.s of fluid migration. For this reason, a new, simplified procedure has been developed which makes possible the calculation of fluid migration with a minimum of field and resrvoir data. This new technique is based on certain. solutions of the differential equations describing flour in the reservoir which assume, for the portion of the reservoir of interest, that the formation can be approximated by a homogeneous rock of uniforrn thickness, that only a Single mobile fluid phase exists, and {hut fluid production at the well is solely a result of expun.rioti of rile resersoir fluds. The results of the, present work are compiled in a set of curves. These curves can he used to calculate both rule and cummulative fluid migration when the abovc assumptions ore ju.r/ifiril. The only data required for such calcu1ations are the production hisrories of all wells in the field, the permeability and porosity of the reservoir., the, compressibility and viscosity of the fluid. and the shape of the reservoir, INTRODUCTION The migration of fluids across fixed boundaries in oil and gas reservoirs has long been recognized as an engineering and economic problem, but no methods for estimating the extent of migration during the development stage of a reservoir have been published. The investigation reported here has been directed toward providing a simple technique for estimating the extent of such migration and has therefore been restricted to the simple case of a homogeneous reservoir of uniform thickncss containing compressible liquids. It is assumed that only a single mobile fluid phase exists and that fluid production at the wells is solely by expansion of the reservoir fluids. Obviously, few, if any. reservoirs conform to these assumptions during their entire productive life. On the other hand, most reservoirs approximate fluid expansion reservoirs during their initial stages of primary production. Consequently, the present work should be applicable during the field development of most reservoirs, regardless of whether or not they ultimately are gas cap, dissolved-gas, or water-drive reservoirs. The mathematical analysis of this problem has been outlined in the Appendix, while the results of the investigation are presented in the following discussion. DISCUSSION OF CALCULATION PROCEDURE SLNGLE Well, Ini-iimite Reservoir The procedure for calculating fluid migrations is based on solutions of the partial differentia1 equations describing the flow of a homogeneous compressible liquid in a homogeneous reservoir of uniform thickness. This differential equation has the form of the well-known diffusion equation. The equation, as applicable to our problem, is where p is fluid density, is porosity, EL is viscosity, c is compressibility,* and k is permeability; .r, y and t are the space coordinates and time. Derivation of this equation is given in the Appendix. The analytical solution of this equation for a single well of negligible radius producing at a constant rate. q, from a reservoir of infinite areal extent for a time, 1. can he readily obtained. From this solution the rate of flow and also the cumulative flow across a straight line segment of length, 1, at a perpendicular distance. 6. from the well can be computed. One end of the line must be on the perpendicular joining the well to the

Quarrying and crushing 500 tons of limestone plus burning some 240 tons of limestone per day are the two initial phases in the production of borax, soda ash, sodium sulfate and related chemicals at Stauffer Chemical Co.'s plant in Westend, Calif. These processing steps have been upgraded in recent years by the installation of new primary and secondary crushers, an 8 x 340-ft rotary kiln plus kiln feed, control and cooling components-all designed and manufactured by Traylor Engineering and Manufacturing Division of Fuller Co. As a result of this new equipment, a new product- quicklime-has been added to the West End product family and considerable reductions have been realized in fuel and manpower costs.

Jan 1, 1965