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By Max Mason

In 1923 a Western mining company was experimenting with the device of an inventor designed to locate buried ores by radio. Because the progress was slow and the results were confusing, the company began to doubt the usefulness of the method and invited me to review the whole question of the application of physics to ore detection. I was fortunate in securing the cooperation of several physicists who had worked with me during the war on the problem of submarine detection. This group has been increased and has been studying the problem of physical exploration for ores since that time. It was evident that the problem is a big one, with many angles of approach. Its general features may be set down, in rough outline, as follows: The soils, rocks and ores hidden beneath the surface differ one from another in many respects. These differences may be made to furnish a clew for the physicists working from the surface. To bring these differences into action the physicist creates some kind of an effect which penetrates into the ground and is distorted and reflected when it meets boundaries between different sorts of underground structure. In other words, he sends a message down, and the rocks and ore send back signals in reply. In picturing this process, we should not regard the ground as dense and impenetrable. The kind of messages used pass through the earth about as readily as a sound wave travels the air. If, then, the fundamental procedure is to shout down questions in the hope that an orebody will hear and answer back to us, it is clear that a large part of the expert's study must relate to the kind of questions best suited to the temperament and intelligence of orebodies. It will be easier for the ore to reply to some of our questions than to others, and it is for us to find the right questions. In certain cases, we are spared the necessity of using a messenger, because nature has already provided one. For example, we already have a terrestrial magnetic field which automatically and continually conveys messages from underneath. We also have available the earth's gravitational field which furnishes us

Jan 1, 1929

By Arthur C. Green

A group of 13 cities situated in Los Angeles and Orange counties in Southern California is engaged in constructing an aqueduct to carry water from the Colorado River at a point near Parker, Arizona, to a distribution point near Riverside, California. The aqueduct will have a total length of approximately 241 miles, and is designed to deliver 1605 cu. ft. of water per second, or a little more than one billion gallons per day. The aqueduct crosses a barren, desert waste and the project includes approximately 91 miles of 16-ft. tunnel. The large amount of tunnel driving that has been done in this country in the past few years has resulted in some remarkable developments in equipment and methods. The building of the Colorado River Aqueduct,, with its 91 miles of tunnels, has called on the best engineering knowledge in the country. New and better equipment has been designed for all phases of the work, and this equipment has been coordinated and adapted to the various conditions with a high degree of efficiency. The result has been that records for tunnel driving have been set under adverse natural conditions that exceed the estimates for progress under good conditions. All of the tunnels in the main aqueduct, except the Valverde and Bernasconi at the western end, have a finished diameter, inside the concrete lining, of 16 ft. Fig. 4 shows a section of the tunnel with the concrete lining in place. Fig. 5 illustrates the finished tunnel in three typical sections. The standard tunnel grade is 3.432 ft. per mile in the 16-ft. tunnels, but the Valverde and Bernasconi tunnels have a steeper grade and a finished diameter of 15 ft. 3 in. The rough bore of the large main aqueduct tunnels averages 12.95 solid cubic yards of material per foot of advance in timbered sections and 10.76 solid cubic yards per foot in unsupported sections. Tunnel Driving While the Conway mucker has been used on tunnel work for years, a larger and more powerful Conway was designed to meet the require-

Jan 1, 1937

By E. D. Gardner

Introduction Oil shale deposits have been exploited in various countries throughout the world, but generally with government aid. The oil-shale industry of Scotland perhaps is the oldest and best-known; the largest was conducted in Manchuria by the Japanese during World war 11 as a source of liquid fuels for military uses. In general, foreign oil-shale deposits that have been exploited are much lower grade than those in the western United States. Considerable interest began to be shown in western oil shales in 1916; the peak of activities was in 1923. The catlin operation, near Elko, Nevada, perhaps was the nearest approach in this country to an oil-shale enterprise on a commercial scale. Over 100 companies were formed, ostensibly for exploiting the oil shale; a large number of them, however, proved to be stock promotions only, which gave the embryo industry a black eye. The Bureau of Mines operated an experi-mental oil-shale retort plant near Rifle, Colorado, from September 1926 to June 1927 and again from April 1928 to July 1929, after which the plant was dismantled. By this time the East Texas oil fields had come ill and the country lost interest in substitute liquid fuels. During World War II the Nation again became concerned about the magnitude of its petroleum reserves. Congress (April 1944) directed the Bureau of Mines to build and operate demonstration plants to produce synthetic liquid fuels from coal, oil shales, and agricultural and other products; a five-year Program was authorized. *' a part of this program the Bureau of Mines has built, at Anvil Points near Rifle, Colorado, a retort plant and develOped an experimental mine to supply the plant with oil shale. An important part of the mining work at Rifle is to devise methods and select practices for mining the oil shale on a commercial scale at the lowest practicable cost. The product to be mined has a relatively low value, a fact that must be kept in in mind. The combined aim of those in charge of the mining and those in charge of retorting is to demonstrate that the shale oil can be produced at a cost per barrel corresponding to the current quotation for crude petroleum —or at least very close to it. Plans call for an uninterrupted flow of broken oil shale from the lace in the mine, through crushers, through the retorts and thence to the disposal dump. The disposal of the spent shale in the Ride area should present no unusual problem. Mining research has consisted so far of Paper studies of the general phases of the probleml determination of the widest Span that the roof Stone will stand safely unsupported, and drilling problems. underground development has not proceeded far

Jan 1, 1949

By E. D. Gardner

INTRODUCTION OIL shale deposits have been exploited in various countries throughout the world, but generally with government aid. The oil-shale industry of Scotland perhaps is the oldest and best-known; the largest was conducted in Manchuria by the Japanese during World War II as a source of liquid fuels for military uses. In general, foreign oil-shale deposits that have been exploited are much lower grade than those in the western United States. Considerable interest began to be shown in western oil shales in 1916; the peak of activities was in 1923. The Catlin operation, near Elko, Nevada, perhaps was the nearest approach in this country to an oil-shale enterprise on a commercial scale. Over 100 companies were formed, ostensibly for exploiting the oil shale; a large number of them, however, proved to be stock promotions only, which gave the embryo industry a black eye. The Bureau of Mines operated an experimental oil-shale retort plant near Rifle, Colorado, from September 1926 to June 1927 and again from April 1928 to July 1929, after which the plant was dismantled. By this time the East Texas oil fields had come in and the country lost interest in substitute liquid fuels. During World War II the Nation again became concerned about the magnitude of its petroleum reserves. Congress (April1944) directed the Bureau of Mines to build and operate demonstration plants to produce synthetic liquid fuels from coal, oil shales, and agricultural and other products; a five-year program was authorized. As a part of this program the Bureau of Mines has built, at Anvil Points near Rifle, Colorado, a retort plant and developed an experimental mine to supply the plant with oil shale. An important part of the mining work at Rifle is to devise methods and select practices for mining the oil shale on a commercial scale at the lowest practicable cost. The product to be mined has a relatively low value, a fact that must be kept continuously in mind. The combined aim of those in charge of the mining and those in charge of retorting is to demonstrate that the shale oil can be produced at a cost per barrel corresponding to the current quotation for crude petroleum -or at least very close to it. Plans call for an uninterrupted flow of broken oil shale from the face in the mine, through crushers, through the retorts and thence to the disposal dump. The disposal of the spent shale in the Rifle area should present no unusual problem. Mining research has consisted so far of paper studies of the general phases of the problem, determination of the widest span that the roof stone will stand safely unsupported, and drilling problems. Underground development has not proceeded far

Jan 1, 1947

By A. M. Skov, L. F. Elkins

First response to large-scale water flooding in the fractured very low permeability Spraberry sand has led to a new unique cyclic operation. Capacity water injection is used to restore reservoir pressure. This is followed by marly months production without water irzjection and the cycle repeated. Expansion of the oil, rock and water during pressure decline expels part of the fluids but capillary forces hold much of the injected water in the rock. At least with reservoir pressure restored and with partial water flood development, field performance has proved this cyclic operation is capable of producing oil from the nzatrix rock at least 50 per cent faster and with lower water percentage than is imbibition of water at stable reservoir pressure. INTRODUCTION The Spraberry Field of West Texas presents unusual problems for both primary production and water flooding. Extensive interconnected vertical fractures in the fractional-md sandstone permitted recovery of oil on 160-acre well spacing, but they made capillary end effects dominant. Primary recovery by solution gas drive is less than 10 per cent of oil in place. The concept of displacement of oil from the sand matrix by capillary irnbibition of water has led to field techniques which promise greatly increased oil recovery. Free exchange of laboratory research, reservoir information and results of field pilot tests among the various companies has been very important in development of this technology. Five units covering a total of 170,000 acres have been formed for water flooding, and 10 other areas covering an additional 175,500 acres are in various stages of unitization. Part of the Driver Unit reaching fillup first has demonstrated very unusual waterflood behavior and indicated numerous operating problems that will develop within and among the various units. SPRABERRY ROCK AND PRIMARY PERFORMANCE The Spraberry, discovered in February, 1949, is a 1,000-ft section of sandstones, shales and limestones with two main oil productive members: a 10-15 ft sand near the top and a 10-15 ft sand near the base. In part of the field some thinner intermediate sands are oil productive, and others are water bearing. All sands have permeabilities of 1 md or less and porosities of 8-15 per cent. Ordinary core analysis and electric and radiation logs are ineffective in differentiating between oil productive and nonprcductive sands. Sands capable of containing producible oil are best identified by mercury injection capillary pressure measurement and, in some cases, by core water saturation. About 3,500 wells have been drilled in the 500,000-acre trend. Vertical fractures were observed in practically all Spraberry cores. Continuity and interconnection of fractures were confirmed by pressure interference among wells during early development.' Major fractures trend northeast-southwest as indicated by oriented cores and confirmed by five fluid injection tests, by analysis of the pressure transients observed during development,''' and by three interference tests in the Driver Unit Water Flood reported herein. Fracture spac- ing probably averages inches to a few feet. Spraberry wells typically produced 100-400 BOPD initially after hydrauLic fracture treatments. By 1962 oil production had declined to an average of 12 bbl/well/day, near the economic Limits of operation. Reservoir pressure had declined from 2,300 psi initially in the Upper Spraberry and 2,500 psi in the Lower Spraberry to 500-1,000 psi. Partial closing of the fractures with declining reservoir pressure is believed to be the cause of such low oil production rates at these relatively high reservoir pressures. Cumulative recovery of 208 million bbl of oil is 80 to 90 per cent of that recoverable by primary means. Performance of the entire reservoir is summarized in Fig. 1. IMBIBITION WATER FLOODING By 1952 reservoir performance indicated low primary recoveries. Most engineers, expecting serious channeling of injected fluids through the fractures, held little hope for secondary recovery. With its extensive background of research on the fundamentals of fluid flow within reservoir rocks, Atlantic's Research and Development Division on short notice in 1952 conceived that displacement of oil by capillary imbibition of water into the rock might significantly increase Spraberry recovery. Laboratory data reported by Brownscombe and Dyes scaled to probable reservoir conditions showed potential waterflood recovery equal to or greater than primary recovery with a 10-15 year flood life.= A pilot test using three 40-acre injection wells, one central producing well and 18 surrounding observation wells demonstrated technical feasibility of the process. Injection of 1.5 million bbl of water from November 1952 to August 1955 proved water entered the rock and displaced oil

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

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

By L. C. Raymond

Valuations in the mineral industry differ from those of other enterprises because mines and oil wells have a definite life so cannot be considered a perpetuity. This requires that in any mineral-property evaluation the recovery of invested capital is necessary during the life of the property. Capital writeoffs for nonextractive industries are assumed to be continuously plowed back to sustain the operation and produce yields on the capital invested. The extractive or mineral industry, however, generally attempts to return to the investor both interest and principal during the life of a property. Normally this is done currently and the dividend includes both items. Where the mineral properly possesses large reserves and the life factor approximates a perpetuity, the return on investment is generally comparable to that of industrial stocks. The valuation of a mineral property, at best, is based on educated estimates and judgment factors. This is particularly true as it relates to estimating selling prices over a long term or assessing the quality of management. Also, it is possible to make various assumptions as to rapidity of working out the deposit, varying time for start-up of operations, varying earning rates, so as to obtain different results with the same basic facts. Thus it is not surprising that two engineers, irrespective of their abilities, may not agree exactly even when given the same facts, but their results should be close enough to be used in establishing a fair value for trading purposes. The valuation is no better than the source of basic data and the soundness of judgment factors. Fundamentally the basic principles of mineral valuation are similar for base metals, sulphur, oil, or any other mineral. Each mineral, however, requires an engineer to have a knowledge of such factors as its occurrence, distribution, mining and processing methods, and marketing problems in order to gather and analyze all the facts and data that have a bearing on the earning potential of the property. PRESENT VALUE OF A MINERAL PROPERTY In essence the present value of a mineral property is a sum of money in today's dollars that future earnings from the property are worth. It differs

Jan 1, 1964

By V. K. Zworykin

THROUGHOUT its development the science of electronics, like so many other branches of science and industry, has been indebted to the metallurgist. Metallurgy has provided the electronic engineer with conductors to furnish passage for electrons outside of his evacuated tubes; it. has developed tungsten and tantalum wires for emitting electrons and various refractory metals and alloys suitable for electrodes, which receive them and guide them within the tube; finally it has supplied ferromagnetic materials both for shielding electronic apparatus from magnetic fields and for forming highly concentrated fields for deflecting electron. Today I hope to show you that electronics has not been altogether ungrateful for this assistance. More specifically, I wish to indicate the role that the electron microscope, a relatively recent product of electronic engineering, is playing even now in the study of metals. Every metallographer is aware that his standard metallographic microscope will not reveal structural detail involving separations smaller than a certain fraction -at the very best a tenth-of a micron. This limitation, he knows, is a consequence of the fact that the wave length of the light employed for forming the image has this order of magnitude. It is, thus, a property of all light microscopes. To overcome it, a different imaging medium must be employed. The existence of such a medium became evident when it was demonstrated' that electrons were affected by magnetic and electric fields with axial symmetry just as light is affected by glass lenses; these fields, or "electron lenses," curve the paths of electrons reaching them from an object located on the axis of symmetry in such a manner that, at some distance from the lens, a true image of the object is formed, Furthermore, although a wave length may be ascribed to electron beams just as to light, this wave length is much shorter; for electrons accelerated through a difference of potential of 50 kilovolts, the wave length is only about one hundred-thousandth of that of visible light: Actually, the electron microscopes of today resolve detail one hundred times as fine as light microscopes; if the maximum useful magnification of the latter is taken to be a thousand, that of electron microscopes is one hundred thousand. THE ELECTRON MICROSCOPE Since electrons are readily scattered and absorbed by matter, specimens to be observed in the electron microscope must be prepared to be less than one micron in thickness; furthermore, the interior of the microscope must be carefully evacuated to prevent collisions between the electrons and the molecules of the air. Finally, as already mentioned, the lenses are formed by axially symmetric magnetic or electric fields, and not by any material medium such as glass. Apart from these basic differences, the electron microscope closely

Jan 1, 1943

ARTHUR CROWFOOT, Morenci, Ariz. (communication to the Secretary*).-In order to set at rest any doubts in regard to the reasons for selecting the Callow pneumatic flotation process for use in the concentrators of the Arizona Copper Co., Ltd., at Clifton and Morenci, I am presenting the following facts gained from the results of test work carried out on the Callow and Cole-Bergman types of flotation machines at Morenci. Prior to the comparative test of merit between the Callow and Cole-Bergman machines, many months' time and a large amount of money had been expended in the development and testing of the Cole-Bergman machine, and it was necessary to decide quickly what make of machine was best to install. The Callow pneumatic flotation process was recommended for installation in our concentrators for the following reasons: The results indicated: 1. That the Callow system made the highest extraction of copper values from the feed treated. 2. That the Callow system was simpler to operate and could he operated it a lower cost. 3. That the Callow system operated with a lower air pressure. (The question of the actual power consumption of the two types of machines was not definitely settled at this time.) During the official test period the Callow flotation apparatus showed an additional recovery of from 1 to 1.5 lb. of copper per ton more than the Cole-Bergman machine, this difference being maintained by further treatment of the tailing from both machines. The simplicity of the operation of the Callow flotation system is one of its notable features, two operators per shift being able to handle 90 standard cells and blower equipment.

Jan 7, 1917

By David B. Reger

The value of carbon ratios in determining the boundaries of possible oil deposits appears to have passed the hypothetical stage. The theory that the ratio of fixed carbon in pure coals is an invariable index of incipient metamorphism in both surface and underground rocks and that it may be applied in defining the limits of petroleum, advanced by David White,' has been received with keen interest by many petroleum geologists. Detailed isocarb maps have been prepared of the Pennsylvanian area of North Texas and Eastern Oklahoma by M. L. Fuller.² A similar map of the coal-bearing area of West Virginia is given here. An isocarb3 is a line showing an equal fixed-carbon percentage, pure coal basis; the term has been proposed by David White to supersede a less expressive nomenclature. The term carbon ratio is applied to the pereentage of carbon in pure coal after water and ash have been eliminated. As a comparatively small number of analyses have been made on this basis, it is usually necessary to compute the ratio by dividing the fixed carbon of the proximate analysis by the sum of the fixed carbon and volatile matter of the same analysis. Many thousands of proximate analyses have been made by the West Virginia Geological Survey, covering nearly every county in which coal is found. Numerous others have been made by the U. S. Geological Survey and the U. S. Bureau of Mines, but as uniformity of results is best secured by adhering to one set of analyses, the tests of the West Virginia Survey have been cxclusively used.

Jan 1, 1921

By M. C. Leverett

THE behavior of mixtures of immiscible liquids in porous solids is of rapidly increasing interest to those engaged in the production of petro-leum. The operation of artificial water-floods and the control of natural ones immediately raise questions concerning the fundamental nature of such processes. Moreover, it is now recognized that often water occurs dispersed throughout the rock from which the oil issues into the well,1 and thus tends to move toward the well simultaneously with the oil. The work reported here is a laboratory investigation of the simultaneous, steady-state flow of oil and water through the same column of uncon-solidated sand. It is thus directly related to the situation in which water occurs in oil-producing sands; it may have less direct implications for the displacement of oil from sands by water. However, it is to be clearly understood that the experiments to be described were performed pri-marily to obtain information of a more or less fundamental nature, and are not an attempt to reproduce, on laboratory scale, any part of an oil field. The dynamic behavior of a system in which oil and water are flowing simultaneously through sand is best described in terms of its "effective permeability" to either phase. For incompressible fluids flowing through a system of uniform cross section, the effective permeabilities to the two phases, in darcys, may be defined by the equations:

Jan 1, 1938

By Joseph D. Weeks

NOTE BY THE SECRETARY.—This address having been made the object of much hostile comment, arising, as Mr. Weeks believed, in large part from misunderstanding of its purpose and meaning, was, by his express direction, withheld from official publication in the Transactions until he should have so modified or added to it as to make such misunderstanding impossible. His illness and death prevented him from executing this intention; and, consequently, the only version of the address now in the Secretary's hands is one of which the author had forbidden the publication. Under the circumstances, therefore, it seems best to publish, in this place, only some portions of the address and its appendixes which have a historical value and are beyond controversy, giving at the same time a summary of its general nature, based upon the original manuscript and upon correspondence with Mr. Weeks. For this summary, the Secretary is alone responsible. The address was essentially a restatement of well-known and established facts, which it interpreted as proving that, of the three elements of the Bessemer process (namely, the pneumatic principle, the successful mechanical application of that principle, and the recarburization with spiegeleisen), William Kelly was the first inventor of the first, Bessemer of the second, and Mushet of the third. Mr. Weeks used the words " original inventor " in the sense (as he explained in one place) of first inventor, and neither asserted nor believed that Bessemer's con-

Jan 1, 1897

JOHN W. BELL,* Montreal, Canada (written discussion?).-Mr. Hardinge's "hammer" theory is, I believe, a sound one; but, unfortunately, at the very place in the Hardinge mill where there should ,be a large number of small "hammers," there is room for only a very few. The results in Mr. Van Winkle's paper seem to indicate that the practical development of the theory can best be accomplished by stage crushing, using cylindrical mills. It would be very interesting to know if any stage-crushing experiments have been made at Inspiration with Marry mills. Mr: H. Kenyon Burch says:1 "The Marcy mill also proved to be a most excellent intermediate crusher, handling as high as 800 tons of 3-in. feed and under, to pass an 8-mesh screen without return of oversize." It seems reasonable to suppose that a large part of this output would be a finished- product; consequently, if it were possible to send the oversize from two of the primary mills to one secondary mill using balls of small diameter, a considerable saving in power might be realized, provided it were not necessary greatly to enlarge the secondary mill. It does not seem reasonable to suppose that fine material can he crushed as quickly or as efficiently in a primary ball-mill as in a re-crushing mill especially designed for that work. Experimental data, of course, are essential in deciding questions of this kind.

Jan 4, 1918

By G. W. Thomas

A simplified mathematical model of underground conduction heating in a system of limited permeability is presented. The model applies to underground retorting of oil shale, or to reservoirs containing extremely heavy oils. We assume that heat is introduced at a constant rate into a horizontal fracture which communicates between wells. The radial temperature distribution along the fractured surface is approximated by a step-function. Heat transfer away from the fracture is assumed to be by vertical conduction, and all convection effects are neglected. The model also takes into account the possible temperature dependence of thermal conductivity. A general expression for calculating the growth of the step-function temperature distribution with time is derived. The use of this expression and solutions to the one-dimensional heat equation make it possible to construct isotherms. Expressions for calculating .oil recovery, well spacing and heat efficiency are also given. An example calculation is presented for the conduction heating process in oil shale. Finally, the effect of the heat transfer coefficient between the gas and the fracture boundaries is investigated. INTRODUCTION Thermal recovery processes of oil recovery fall into the four general areas of hot fluid injection, forward combustion, reverse combustion and conduction heating. The first three of* these processes have been rather extensively studied in the past decade from both the experimental and theoretical points of view. As a result, it is possible to make reasonable engineering predictions and analyses of these processes. Little attention has been devoted, however, to the conduction heating process other than to note its possible utility.I To a certain extent, conduction heating cannot be divorced from the other regimes cited above, insofar as these provide the source of heat energy. In the conduction heating process, heat is introduced (either by combustion in the forward or reverse mode or by hot fluid injection) into a small fraction of the total reservoir thickness. This fraction may be either a streak of high permeability or an interwell fracture. Heat penetrates by conduction into the adjacent, less permeable regions of the oil-bearing rock, where the direction of conduction is essentially perpendicular to the streak or fracture. The heated product then drains by gravity or is gas driven to production wells. Conduction heating is probably most applicable to systems containing immobile bitumens such as tar sands and oil shale deposits and perhaps to low-permeability reservoirs containing highly viscous crudes. The mechanism also acts in combination with other thermal processes where fingering or overriding of a bed occurs. It seems probable that in at least one field test, conduction heating of this type was very influential.2 In this presentation we give a first approximation to some of the quantitative aspects of conduction heating. Marx and Langenheim3 treated a similar problem where they focused attention upon the injection interval, which spanned the total reservoir thickness. In their model, conduction heat losses to the bounding media imposed a practical limit on the calculated heated area. In the present study, however, we shall confine the injection interval to a small fraction of the reservoir thickness and assume it has no heat capacity. We therefore direct our attention to regions outside the injection interval into which the conduction of heat is beneficial. In particular, we will endeavor to locate specific isotherms in the media bounding the injection interval. Furthermore, we will construct our model to allow the thermal conductivity to vary arbitrarily with temperature. Thus the model will be applicable to underground retorting of shale where variations in thermal conductivity may be important. THEORY We consider the rock matrix to have no or, at best, a very limited permeability; consequently a

Jan 1, 1965

By T. J. Neil, C. B. Manula, O&apos

This paper describes a simulation model developed to analyze truck haulage problems as they are found in the open pit mining and construction industries. The model, using a computer, cycles trucks between their assigned loading and discharge points over a measured haulage route. Required parameters for model operation include the number and type of operating trucks and loading units, maximum truck acceleration and velocity, a realistic vehicular deceleration rate, and the ratio of ore to total material loaded at each origin. Equipment performance characteristics, system profile characteristics, and service time distributions are also included. Records are kept of all waiting times at the loading and discharge points and of any truck interference on the haulroads (moving queues), and a current journal of ore and waste production is maintained. In the pursuit of reduced truck haulage costs, management is confronted with three particular problems in truck and shovel mines. 1) What is the best assignment of trucks to shovels in the system? 2) If new equipment is needed, which new shovels and trucks will operate most effectively in the system? 3) Are any physical changes in the haulage layout warranted to increase productivity? For small open-pit mines the answers to these questions may be obvious. However, for larger operations complex problems are encountered with production and system configuration relationships usually being unknown. The mining simulator discussed here was developed to aid management in evaluating alternative pit-haulage schemes to reduce the risk involved in the selection and assignment of equipment in open-pit truck and shovel mining systems. There are two fundamental differences between this model and other truck haulage simulators: one is a difference of degree, the other a difference of kind. This model can simulate more complex systems than previous models by allowing transportation of material from multiple mine faces to multiple mine destinations and by being readily adaptable to a wide variety of mine layouts. The second difference that characterizes the model is the standard simulation of truck movements. This technique enables each vehicle to perform according to its mechanical capabilities and the physical profile of the haul road. Among the similarities between other truck haulage simulators and this model are the recognition of the probabilistic nature of certain service times in the system and the use of a digital computer to operate the model. The computer inherits the staggering computational and bookkeeping work loads and provides a means for compressing the time scale by allowing several days' operations to be simulated in a matter of minutes. DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM Basic aspects of the system analyzed here may be brought into focus by referring to Fig. 1, a schematic of the typical open pit truck-shovel operation programmed into the simulation model. A single stage materials handling scheme is employed to transport both ore and waste. Loaded trucks are directed to a crusher or stockpile if ore is being mined, while overburden is conveyed to a waste dump. Each shovel has a given number of assigned trucks and has two associated haulage routes, one for waste and one for ore. Up to 5 shovels and as many as 10 trucks per shovel (or a total of 50 trucks) can be operated in the model. Essentially the model, using a computer, cycles trucks between their assigned shovels and the proper discharge points over measured haulage routes. Required input parameters for model operation include the number of shifts to be simulated, operating time per shift, number and type of operating trucks and shovels, maximum truck acceleration and velocity, a realistic vehicular deceleration rate, and the ratio of ore to total material loaded at each shovel. Equipment performance characteristics, system profile characteristics, and service time distributions are

Jan 1, 1968

By John Johnston

When I was honored by being invited to give the Howe Memorial Lecture, I decided to read Howe's book, "The Metallography of Steel and Cast Iron," published in I9I6—that is, about 25 years ago—in search of a text. I found the book written in fine, clear, attractive, yet precise style, as I expected, knowing that his father— Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, his mother— Julia Ward Howe, and all of his four brothers and sisters had lived in a New England literary atmosphere and had written books. This leads me to suggest that many authors of metallurgical papers and books could well study Howe's writings with a view to the improvement of their own. I failed to find a specific text, but did find a subject, for in reading his book I was struck by the few instances in which time is considered explicitly as a factor in the phenomena examined, and by the fact that many of the hottest arguments would have been settled had time been taken properly into account. Indeed, Howe hardly mentions time except in a rather incidental way, as in a few references to lag; for instance: The lowering of temperature at which the transformation occurs by rapid cooling . . . is a phenomenon of undercooling or lag. It is in part explained by the fact that the transformation itself is a time-consuming reaction which, setting in during a rapid fall of temperature, is naturally protracted till the temperature has sunk far below that at which it is due. He does discuss, quite fully, the iron-clrbon equilibrium diagram, as known at that time, introducing it by stating: As he is a reasonable man who is not deterred from using a hand truck for moving his trunk by the consideration that he has thus to move a trunk plus a truck, so am I reasonable in putting into your hands this useful, indeed indispensable. tool for mastering the ABC of iron metallurgy. Somewhat later, in introducing a discussion of the phase rule, which "it would be hardly proper to pass ... by without an attempt to outline its meaning," for "a clear exposition of its applicability or jurisdiction is needed to restrain the half-initiated from misusing it and the uninitiated from being misled by these misuses," he writes—and I quote his statement because we cannot properly discuss the influence of time on a process until we know the state of equilibrium which would ultimately be reached by the system under consideration: It is a most remarkable and valuable generalization, its conceptions help greatly toward getting a broad outlook on metallography, but its misconception has brought out a flood of obscuring writings. it tells us about the constitution towards which alloys tend, that which they reach when equilibrium is complete, when all tendencies have corrected themselves and have been complied with completely. Its application, in absence of true equilibrium, is like determining density with a telescope or even with a tuning fork; it is like the mad tea party at which the butter put into the works of the watch was the best butter. If the reader learns no more than to beware of attempts to dccipher the conditions of inequilibrium by a law which touches only the conditions of exact

Jan 1, 1942

By John Johnston

When I was honored by being invited to give the Howe Memorial Lecture, I decided to read Howe's book, "The Metallography of Steel and Cast Iron," published in I9I6—that is, about 25 years ago—in search of a text. I found the book written in fine, clear, attractive, yet precise style, as I expected, knowing that his father— Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe, his mother— Julia Ward Howe, and all of his four brothers and sisters had lived in a New England literary atmosphere and had written books. This leads me to suggest that many authors of metallurgical papers and books could well study Howe's writings with a view to the improvement of their own. I failed to find a specific text, but did find a subject, for in reading his book I was struck by the few instances in which time is considered explicitly as a factor in the phenomena examined, and by the fact that many of the hottest arguments would have been settled had time been taken properly into account. Indeed, Howe hardly mentions time except in a rather incidental way, as in a few references to lag; for instance: The lowering of temperature at which the transformation occurs by rapid cooling . . . is a phenomenon of undercooling or lag. It is in part explained by the fact that the transformation itself is a time-consuming reaction which, setting in during a rapid fall of temperature, is naturally protracted till the temperature has sunk far below that at which it is due. He does discuss, quite fully, the iron-clrbon equilibrium diagram, as known at that time, introducing it by stating: As he is a reasonable man who is not deterred from using a hand truck for moving his trunk by the consideration that he has thus to move a trunk plus a truck, so am I reasonable in putting into your hands this useful, indeed indispensable. tool for mastering the ABC of iron metallurgy. Somewhat later, in introducing a discussion of the phase rule, which "it would be hardly proper to pass ... by without an attempt to outline its meaning," for "a clear exposition of its applicability or jurisdiction is needed to restrain the half-initiated from misusing it and the uninitiated from being misled by these misuses," he writes—and I quote his statement because we cannot properly discuss the influence of time on a process until we know the state of equilibrium which would ultimately be reached by the system under consideration: It is a most remarkable and valuable generalization, its conceptions help greatly toward getting a broad outlook on metallography, but its misconception has brought out a flood of obscuring writings. it tells us about the constitution towards which alloys tend, that which they reach when equilibrium is complete, when all tendencies have corrected themselves and have been complied with completely. Its application, in absence of true equilibrium, is like determining density with a telescope or even with a tuning fork; it is like the mad tea party at which the butter put into the works of the watch was the best butter. If the reader learns no more than to beware of attempts to dccipher the conditions of inequilibrium by a law which touches only the conditions of exact

Jan 1, 1942

By L. R. Duncan, O. M. Wicken

Magnesium, the eighth most abundant element in the earth's crust, is found widely distributed in a variety of minerals. Among the more commercially important ones are magnesite (MgCO3), brucite (Mg[OH]2), dolomite (CaMg[C03]2), and the salts magnesium sulfate and chloride often found in natural brines. Among other commercially important magnesium-containing minerals are olivine ([MgFe]2Si04), talc (H2Mg3[Si03]4), and serpentine (H4Mg3Si2O9). These are valuable because of desirable characteristics given them by the magnesium content and its placement in the particular crystal structure. These minerals are the raw materials for a host of products including magnesium metal and several grades of magnesia or magnesia-containing materials for refractories, fluxes, fillers, insulation, cements, decolorants, fertilizers, and chemicals. Considering only those minerals valued for their magnesia or magnesium content, over 85% of the material tonnages are processed to be used as refractories. Dolomite, which is used in enormous tonnages for its physical properties in construction, has an important use as a refractory raw material in its own right and, after calcination, as a precipitant for magnesium hydroxide, which is an intermediate for the production of magnesia or magnesium metal. Magnesia from the reaction of calcined dolomite (or limestone) with seawater or magnesium-containing brines has supplanted much of the production of magnesia from mined magnesite, particularly in the United States. The best known of the minerals directly and widely exploited for magnesia content is magnesite, one of the calcite group of rhombohedral carbonates which includes calcite (CaC03), siderite (FeCO3), and rhodochrosite (MnCO3) among others. The members of this group enter into a wide range of substitutional solid solutions when the positive ions have similar radii. The radii of magnesium and iron ions are within 6% of each other; hence, magnesite and siderite form a complete series of which breunnerite (ferroan magnesite) is a well-known end member. However, the radius of calcium ion is 36% larger than that of magnesium ion, and only limited substitution exists at each end of the MgCO3-CaCO3 series. Dolomite is not a member of the calcite group, but results when calcium and magnesium ions alternate in equal number in an ordered structure among carbonate ions. The result of these relationships is that calcite and dolomite, often found intermixed with magnesite, occur commonly as identifiable crystal entities which can often be separated to a varying degree from the magnesite by various beneficiation techniques. Magnesite, when pure, contains 47.8% MgO and 52.2% CO.. The pure mineral is sometimes, but rarely, found as transparent crystals resembling calcite, but, preponderantly, magnesite contains variable amounts of the carbonates, oxides, and silicates of iron, calcium, manganese, and aluminum. Magnesite may be either crystalline or amorphous (cryptocrystalline). The crystalline form has a hardness of 3.5 to 4.0. The color may range from white to black with shades of yellow, blue, red, or gray. The color is not a fundamentally significant indicator of purity, but in a given deposit, an experienced person can often roughly grade magnesite by assessing color and crystallinity. The crystalline form of magnesite occurs in

Jan 1, 1983

By Robert Hoy

If the reader finds that the basic information in a commodity chapter is insufficient, he can consult the appropriate sources in this chapter to find more detailed or more up-to-date information. In these days, technology develops so rapidly that this 4th edition will be somewhat out of date even by the time it is distributed. A comparison of this edition with the 3rd edition (1960) of Industrial Minerals and Rocks will clearly demonstrate how rapidly the scene changes. One of the best sources of new information, of course, is attendance at technical meetings. For example, the papers presented at the national and sectional meetings of AIME usually discuss new developments in the respective divisions of the society. Frequently this information is available in Preprints. In addition some are printed in Mining Engineering and/or the Transactions of the Society of Mining Engineers of AIME. Furthermore, other professional and trade journals contain articles pertinent to the field. A journal introduced in 1967, Industrial Minerals, published by the Metal Bulletin, Ltd., London, is an excellent source of information. The Mining Journal, Ltd., also in London, publishes a weekly journal, a Mining Magazine (monthly), and a Mining Annual Re- view. The latter covers the field from three aspects: (1) by commodities, (2) through technical developments, and (3) geographically. Other useful magazines and periodicals include Engineering and Mining Journal, Pit and Quarry, Rock Products, and World Mining, all published in the United States. In addition many new books related to industrial minerals have been published since the 3rd edition of Industrial Minerals and Rocks. Most of these, of course, are included in the bibliography of each chapter in this volume. Another excellent information source is the proceedings of the Forum on Geology of Industrial Minerals. This group, which held its 11th annual meeting in 1975, is sponsored by a state geological survey or another mineral agency on a rotational basis. The proceedings have been published by the various sponsors and are available as indicated in Table 1. Two major sources of basic industrial mineral and rock data in the United States, and also a good source for many foreign countries, are the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines. The two agencies publish many reports and maps on a variety of geo- logical and mining subjects. In addition, each agency has an indexed list of all their publications with a free service announcing new publications. (New Publications of the Geological Survey, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. 20242) and New Publications-Bureau of Mines, Publications Distribution Branch, U.S. Bureau of Mines, 4800 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213). The U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) publishes annually Minerals Yearbooks which provide statistical data on mineral products including production, consumption, imports and exports, as well as information on new developments. Another very useful USBM series is called Mineral Facts and Problems. Editions were published in 1960, 1965, and 1970. Three other major series of publications by the Bureau are Information Circulars, Reports of Investigations, and Mineral Trade Notes. The latter is particularly good for news of foreign developments. A new Professional Paper No. 820 of the U.S. Geological Survey, 1973, summarizes data on the mineral resources of the entire country. The USGS, in cooperation with USBM, other Federal and various state agencies, has also prepared summary reports on mineral and water resources of given areas which include

Jan 1, 1975