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By George M. Fowler, R. E. Illidge

Part I. Developing BY GEORGE M. FOWL INTRODUCTION The Tri-State district comprises an area of about 2000 square miles in southwestern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, and north [ ] eastern Oklahoma. The part that is in and contiguous to Missouri is still sometimes designated as the Joplin district (Fig. I). EARLY OPERATIONS Mining operations in what is now the Tri-State district date from about 1848 and have been continuous to the present. Apparently the first discoveries of ore were made about the same time near the present sites of Joplin, Oronogo, and Granby. Lead minerals were found at grass roots, probably in shattered rock in shallow excavations, then these minerals were followed in shear zones to deeper horizons. The mining of zinc followed. Before 1874, zinc ore was worthless and discarded as waste. According to published records, the total production of lead to that date was 49,000 tons of metal from 70,000 tons of concentrates. PRODUCTION The aggregate ore production from the Tri-State district was recorded at interval

Jan 1, 1943

THE CHAIRMAN (DR. A. R. LEDOUX).-If there ever was a question in the mind of anybody as to whether there are some mining engineers, I think if they would look in the door tonight they would decide there are. We meet here tonight not only to enjoy a smoke and other incidentals which are permitted us in these days, but with a more serious thought in our minds, because that flag, with its 540 stars, only begins to show the number of our membership that are serving the country. We are thinking of them, and when we consider how many of those men are also citizens of one or another of our allied countries, we can imagine that many are tonight thinking of us and perhaps have received, even at the front, notices of our annual meeting and are wondering what we are doing tonight; so our thought this evening will be going out to them, going out to those of our number who are serving in the khaki or in the blue, or in other activities denied to some of us for one reason or another; but, gentlemen, there is one thing we will do now, we will rise and sing together r the Star Spangled Banner. Gentlemen, not only are American citizens here tonight, not only representatives of our country on the Speakers' platform, but. there are representatives of our Allies, and we are going to have the privilege of listening to one or two of the latter, a citizen of the great British Empire and a citizen of France. We will first have the pleasure of hearing Capt. Hodder-Williams. He has been loaned to us to take charge of training Columbia University students, after two years or more in the trenches, and lie carries with him the only German thing in this room, a German bullet in his shoulder. That has not affected either his spirit or his

Jan 4, 1918

By Francis Rich

BEFORE the world-wide depression, the primary purpose of most blast-furnace operators was to produce a maximum tonnage of pig iron per day for each furnace in blast. Some attention was paid to the conservation of labor and raw materials, but the idea was well established that low-cost pig iron was attainable only when each furnace was pro-ducing a high tonnage. After the depression had set in, the picture changed considerably. Each blast-furnace operator was forced to run his plant in a manner that best fitted the economical set-up of his company. A great deal of thought was expended on the different methods of operation, always with the idea of making each product in a way that would best serve his company financially. Because of this abnormal condition, the blast-furnace man was compelled to indulge in various practices of which many had been believed to be next to impossible up to that time. The ultimate purpose of these innovations was either one or a combination of the following: 1. To produce only enough pig iron for immediate consumption at a minimum cost. 2. To produce gas for boiler or mill use to supplant some higher priced fuel. 3. To consume the coke produced at the coke plant, which was often viewed as a byproduct. 4. To protect the cash position of the company. These conditions were met by diverse methods, some of which were: 1. Slow or decreased wind. In some instances the blast blown was held as low as 25 per cent of the normal volume. 2. Intermittent operation, in which the furnaces were shut down or "fanned" at frequent intervals.

Jan 1, 1935

By G. M. Webster, G. E. Dawsongrove

The use of percussion-type side-wall cores as an aid in detection and evaluation of hydrocarbon shows and in examination of rock properties has become increasingly popular in recent years. Sidewall coring has an advantage over normal bottom-hole coring methods in that the zones may be surveyed with the electric log prior to selection of sample depths. This allows an efficient sampling of all zones of interest, a procedure not possible with bottom-hole coring techniques unless the costly procedure of continuous coring is utilized. Percussion sidewall coring presently provides the most rapid and lowest cost method of obtaining sidewall cores. It has been recognized for some time that certain discrepancies exist between core analysis data obtained from percussion cores and data obtained from other types of core Samples. This paper presents existing field and laboratory data that were available to the authors. Several examples of comparative core analysis data obtained from various fields are presented along with photomicrographs of thin sections of conventional and percussion cores. The results of this investigation are presented to throw more light on the possible disturbed condition of percussion sidewall cores. SAMPLE DISTURBANCE AND FRACTURING The principal cause of discrepancy between conventional core analysis data and percussion sidewall core analysis data is believed to be the shattering and re-adjustment of the grains due to the large impact shearing forces produced by mechanics of percussion coring. Figs. 1 through 5 are photomicrographs of thin section slides of formation samples obtained by means of diamond cores, conventional cores, and percussion sidewall cores. Figs. 1 and 2 show samples of the

By L. C. Uren

Field studies and laboratory research have established the fact that the expulsive force which drives petroleum into wells, from the reservoir sands in which it is stored by nature, is primarly an expression of the energy latent within compressed natural gas dissolved or occluded in, or otherwise associated with the oil. Each barrel of oil produced is forced into the recovery well by the expansive energy of a certain volume of compressed gas, originally stored with the oil in the pores of the reservoir rock; and each cubic foot of gas so produced with the oil and expanded to atmospheric pressure reduces by so much the total natural energy available for oil expulsion. This relationship between the volumes of gas and oil produced has seemed so important that petroleum production technolo-gists have come to regard the "gas-oil ratio," or the "gas factor" as it has been more conveniently termed, as a measure of oil-production efficiency. Different methods of oil recovery and production devices are now Com pared on this basis and estimates of ultimate recovery obtainable through their use are considered by many to be inversely proportional to the values of their respective gas factors. The writer has been among those who have given support to a widcspread movement toward a proper recognition of the significance of the gas factor as a guide in the control of producing oil wells, and does not wish to oppose its more extended application. It seems necessary, how-cvcr, in view of the almost elemental faith with which the principle of the gas factor has been received in many quarters, to point out that it is a most complex factor, and one which cannot be regarded as an absolute index of production efficiency without due regard to other contributing factors by which it is influenced to an important degree. Variables Influencing Gas Factor The mere recording of a low gas factor, obtained through the use of some method or device, does not necessarily imply efficient oil production; and conversely, a high gas factor does not always signify inefficient recov-

Jan 1, 1928

By AIME AIME

IN ORDER to carry on its work most effectively, the Committee on Industrial Organization (now known as the Committee on Industrial Relations) consists, of .a number of sub-committees, each composed of a chairman and members who are especially fitted to carry out the work designated by its title. With only one or two exceptions, all of these committees made reports at the New York meeting of the Institute, in February of this year, abstracts of which follow.

Jan 1, 1920

By W. H. Somerton

The effects of drilling variable on rotary drilling rates and efficiencies have been studied by a series of laboratory drilling tests. TWO-cone 1.25-in. diameter hits were used to drill vertically upwards into rock samples at corltrolled weights and rates of rotation. Shale, sandstone and specially prepared concrete samples were used in this study. Power input to the ririllirig systeln was measured and drilling chips collected for energy — .size reduction studies. Reasouably good correlations between drilling variables and rates of penetrotion were found. Qrrantities that are difficult to evaluate include rock strength parameters and the effects of bit wear. Effects of bit size and geormetry require further investigation. Analysis of the drilling chips confirmed the premise that, for rocks containing two or more mineral constituents of diflerent strengths, a greater amourrt of rock breakage occurs in the weaker constituent. Drilling conditions which required greater amounts of energy produced finer drilling chips. As bit tooth wear progressed, drilling chips became finer. Efficiency of rotary drilling as a rock breakage mechanism was extremely low. Comparison was made with theoretical energy requirements and with energy requirements for size reduction by comminution methods. INTRODUCTION Many technological developments and innovations have made possible the successful drilling of oil wells by the rotary method to depths exceeding 20,000 ft. Bigger, more powerful rigs, better steels, improved bit design and more careful control of the circulating system have all contributed to this success. Despite these advances comparatively little is known regarding the basic mechanism of rock breakage by the rotary drilling process. Future improvements and, in particular, reduction of drilling costs will undoubtedly require a clearer understanding of the variables controlling effectiveness and efficiency of rotary drilling. Rotary drilling is inherently an inefficient means of producing rock breakage. Loss of energy in transmission from the surface to the cutting mechanism may be large, thus limiting the total amount of energy which may be applied to rock breakage. Increased efficiency may be realized by improved energy transmission methods such as the turbodrill. Conversion of transmitted energy to rock breakage by use of rotating cutter teeth is likewise inefficient. Improvement of cutter efficiency has been obtained essentially by empirical means —changes in bit tooth size, shape and spacing, and tooth deletion to give clean bottom-hole patterns. The present work was undertaken to investigate the factors controlling rates of bit penetration under laboratory drilling conditions. Laboratory drilling apparatus is shown in Fig. 1. The effects of rock strength and bit wear on drilling rates were investigated. Drill cuttings were analyzed to determine the character of breakage and to compare this with other methods of producing rock breakage. VARIABLES INVOLVED IN ROTARY DRILLING Some of the variables controlling bit penetration rates can be studied conveniently by dimensional grouping. R/DN f(F/D2S) or

By Richard L. Ash, J. H. Kelley, W. H. McCracken, William Bellano, J. D. Morgan, D. R. Mitchell

Rubber-tired shuttle cars are finding increased use as gathering units in under-ground mines. As the name implies, they shuttle back and forth between the loading machine and the section transportation system. In many mines their use has in-creased the efficiency of the loading and gathering operations, resulting in increased output per man employed and decreased costs per ton. A car motivated by cable reel is shown in Fig I, and a car with battery power in Fig 2. A brief chronological account of the development of rubber-tired haulage equip-ment follows: 1936. J. H. Fletcher1 installed his first unit for the Blue Bird Coal Co., Carrier Mills, Illinois. This unit consisted of a battery-powered industrial tractor and a trailer with drop-bottom doors. The coal was transported for short distances to a hopper for discharge into mine cars. 1938. A battery-powered self-contained shut-tle car with rubber-tired wheels was built by the Joy Manufacturing Co. Two units were installed for the Katherine Coal Co., Lumberport, West Virginia. The shuttle car consisted of a materials-receiving body with a conveyor in the bottom to move the coal forward during loading and to unload the coal at the discharge station. 1938. A cable-powered shuttle car with four-wheel drive and four-wheel steer was developed by A. L. Lee. Special wheels mounted on king pins on the car permitted all four wheels to be steered. The cable reel was driven by a torque motor to give the cable proper tension during the payout and uniform tension when rewound on the reel. 1940. A Joy shuttle car equipped with trolley poles and a cable reel was developed to operate on a double trolley-wire system.2 This unit was installed at a potash mine of the International Minerals and Chemicals Corporation at Carlsbad, New Mexico. It is believed to have been the first installation of its kind, and the first of shuttle cars for handling material other than coal. 1941. Truck haulage3 was introduced in the Tri State District by the Eagle-Picher Mining and Smelting Company. Storage battery electric trucks were rebuilt to handle a bottom-dump trailer. 1941—Joy shuttle cars were installed in a mine of the United States Gypsum Company, Oakfield, New York. 1943—Joy shuttle cars were installed in several bauxite mines.4,5 1945—Joy shuttle cars installed in a lime-stone mine. Because of the nature of bituminous coal beds trackless equipment has had its greatest application in bituminous coal mining. Usually a shuttle car is filled by a continuous type of loader. In Fig 3 is shown a continuous machine loading coal into a battery-powered shuttle car, 48-in. coal. However, intermittent types of load-

Jan 1, 1949

By Rollin Farmin

"SWELLING GROUND" delivers pressure on mine timbers that originates in expansion of the wall rock, whereas "heavy ground" delivers only gravitative pressure. Of the several possible causes considered, the swelling is attributed to the physical surface action of water on gouge and flaky rocks at the periphery of the mine opening.

Jan 1, 1944

By H. A. Saller, F. A. Rough

Studies of the V-U system have been made to determine the constitutional diagram. The diagram is fairly simple, since no intermediate phases are formed. Additions of vanadium lower the uranium melting point and allotropic transformation temperatures. The maximum solid solubility of vanadium in uranium is 12 atomic pct and the maximum solid solubility of uranium in vanadium is about 4 atomic pct. WITH the advent of high purity iodide vanadium,' it became of interest to study the alloying characteristics of vanadium and uranium. Alloys were prepared covering the entire system and were studied using a combination of metallographic examination and thermal and X-ray analyses. As a consequence of this work, the V-U constitutional diagram was evolved. In order to prepare suitable alloys for equilibrium-phase studies, it is desirable to have the purest possible starting materials. For this investigation, calcium-reduced vanadium, de Boer process crystal-bar vanadium, and good Mallinkrodt Chemical Co. uranium were used. The first work was done using the best vanadium then available, that being calcium-reduced vanadium produced at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory. Subsequently, the important features of the diagram were checked using alloys made with crystal-bar vanadium produced at Battelle. These checks are in agreement with the earlier work. Analyses of the starting materials are contained in Table I. Only minor amounts of any impurities were present in either the vanadium crystal bar or uranium. Nevertheless, care was exercised in selecting the uranium for the alloys. The procedure followed was to section the stock into suitable pieces for melting, and macroetch each piece. Only those pieces which appeared to be clean by macroetch examination were used for alloying. Experimental Procedure Melting: Alloys with 0 to 50 atomic pct V were induction melted in beryllia (BeO) crucibles under vacuum of 10 microns pressure or better. A number of remelts was frequently required to insure uniformity of the individual ingots. Although no visible reaction between the alloy and crucible was found in any of these operations, the alloys were checked by spectroscopic analysis. Only trace amounts of beryllium were detected in the alloys. Alloys containing 50 to 100 atomic pct V were arc melted in a water-cooled copper crucible under an atmosphere of helium. A tungsten electrode was used. Ingots of 10 to 15 g were produced readily by turning and remelting a few times. Such small ingots were necessary because high purity vanadium was not available in appreciable quantities at this time. After melting, the ingots were examined metal-lographically for segregation and were consolidated by remelting before fabrication was attempted. Spectroscopic analyses showed that only small amounts of tungsten were picked up during the arc-melting process. Fabrication of Alloys: Alloys containing up to 20 atomic pct V could be fabricated by rolling in air at 600°C with 5 min between passes. After each pass through the rolling mill the alloys were returned to

Jan 1, 1954

By David White

THE search for potash salts in the great "Red Beds? region of the Southwest, conducted for several years by the U. S. Geological Survey, the work being carried on for a part of the time in coöperation with the Bureau of Economic Geology and Technology of the University of Texas, has resulted in the discovery, within shafting depth, of potash salts, apparently of workable thickness and commercial quality, and prob-ably of great extent. Definite information is lacking as to the exact thickness of the potash beds, the size and boundaries of the areas underlain by workable strata, and the locations of the deposits richest and most favorably situated for exploitation. Briefly to review the salient features, of the general situation: We have in the great Red Beds region of the southwestern United States, embracing portions of central Kansas, western Oklahoma, eastern New Mexico, and northern and western Texas, .a series of sandstones. shales, anhydrite beds, clays and limestones, which; through an interval of 1000 ft., more or less, carry beds of salt, estimated by Darton1 to contain over 30,000 billions of tons of rock salt. It is the greatest known salt field of the world. At some points the intercalated beds of rock salt, one of which is reported by the driller to exceed 300 ft. in thickness, aggregate, accord-ing to the drillers' records, over 1000 ft. The sedi-mentary strata are similar in composition to those carrying the potash deposits of western Europe, and they were laid down at the same time and under condi-tions which, in many respects at least, were similar The stratigraphy and character of the beds are des-cribed by Darton2 and a, part of the area and the reported aggregate thicknesses of salt are shown, with some revision after Darton, in the accompanying map Fig. 1. The assumption that in the great areas of shallow evaporation basins spread over -the vast base-level region of saline deposition in the Southwest during Permo-Triassic time, potash salts were in some places, and at different stages, thrown down in crystalline deposits associated with the beds of rock salt, anhydrite, and gypsum, is, geologically speaking, more than reason-able. They are to be expected, and the conviction that they are probably present has long been held both in the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology and Tech-nology, under Dr. J. A. Udden, and in the- U. S. Geological Survey. Accordingly, for many years, efforts to determine whether potash deposits are present in this region have been made, though under very great difficulties, such as insufficient funds for boring, hack of drilling on private initiative in the more promising regions, hack of interest at first on the part of the drillers and companies, and, hater, inadequacy both of the methods of boring and of the sampling, to reveal in definite terms the thickness-of any saline stratum of given composition.

Jan 4, 1922

By F.S. Norcross

Manganese has long been considered one of the United States' most important strategic raw materials. Its indispensabil-ity in steel manufacture makes it vital to the nation's industrial life. Coupled with this indispensability is the fact that domestic producers have not been able as yet to supply more than a small part of the nation's manganese needs; consequently the United States has had to depend upon such distant foreign sources as the U.S.S.R., British India, the African Gold Coast and Brazil for the major portion of its ore. The great bulk of the mineral is consumed in the form of ferromanganese, an alloy that averages 80 per cent manganese and 20 per cent mainly iron and carbon. Manganese is used as a deoxidizer and desulphurizer in steel manufacture. By combination with the residual oxygen and sulphur of the bath, it helps to produce a clean, sound metal. Approximately 14 lb. of manganese, it is estimated, is used in making one ton of steel. For standard-grade ferromanganese, the ore should have a minimum of about 48 per cent Mn and preferably more. Beneficiation methods have not yet been developed for making the immense low-grade deposits in the United States salable at prevailing prices. Dependence upon foreign sources thrust the United States into serious difficulties during the World War. At the start of hostilities in 1914, the nation was obtaining about four-fifths of its ore from the Eastern Hemisphere. Domestic production had been negligible, amounting to only 3000 to 7000 tons a year. As the war continued, shipments from the East, endangered by sea attack and blockade, dwindled rapidly. Imports from Brazil mounted. In this grave emergency, the United States, starting almost from scratch and under the stimulus of high prices, succeeded by 1918 in producing a peak of 3II,000 tons, about 35 per cent of its consumption that year. Since the war, the United States has depended upon foreign sources for more than nine-tenths of its high-grade ore. During 1936, 1937 and 1938, imports for consumption averaged 736,000 tons a year. During the same period, domestic shipments averaged 21,000 tons a year. Of the imports, the U.S.S.R. accounted for an annual average of 280,000 tons, the Gold Coast 208,000 tons, India 74,000 tons, and Brazil 72,500 tons. But India and Brazil, which in 1936 ranked third and fourth in the list of importers, were displaced in 1937 and 1938 by a new and much nearer source—Cuba. From less than I per cent of United States imports in 1931, the island republic increased its shipments to more than 27 per cent in 1938. Cuba's average for this three-year period was 97,000 tons, and its total for 1938 was 131,000 tons. History The story of the economic development of manganese in Cuba dates back to the Spanish-American War days. John Green-way, then one of Theodore Roosevelt's

Jan 1, 1943

By F. S. Norcross

Manganese has long been considered one of the United States' most important strategic raw materials. Its indispensabil-ity in steel manufacture makes it vital to the nation's industrial life. Coupled with this indispensability is the fact that domestic producers have not been able as yet to supply more than a small part of the nation's manganese needs; consequently the United States has had to depend upon such distant foreign sources as the U.S.S.R., British India, the African Gold Coast and Brazil for the major portion of its ore. The great bulk of the mineral is consumed in the form of ferromanganese, an alloy that averages 80 per cent manganese and 20 per cent mainly iron and carbon. Manganese is used as a deoxidizer and desulphurizer in steel manufacture. By combination with the residual oxygen and sulphur of the bath, it helps to produce a clean, sound metal. Approximately 14 lb. of manganese, it is estimated, is used in making one ton of steel. For standard-grade ferromanganese, the ore should have a minimum of about 48 per cent Mn and preferably more. Beneficiation methods have not yet been developed for making the immense low-grade deposits in the United States salable at prevailing prices. Dependence upon foreign sources thrust the United States into serious difficulties during the World War. At the start of hostilities in 1914, the nation was obtaining about four-fifths of its ore from the Eastern Hemisphere. Domestic production had been negligible, amounting to only 3000 to 7000 tons a year. As the war continued, shipments from the East, endangered by sea attack and blockade, dwindled rapidly. Imports from Brazil mounted. In this grave emergency, the United States, starting almost from scratch and under the stimulus of high prices, succeeded by 1918 in producing a peak of 3II,000 tons, about 35 per cent of its consumption that year. Since the war, the United States has depended upon foreign sources for more than nine-tenths of its high-grade ore. During 1936, 1937 and 1938, imports for consumption averaged 736,000 tons a year. During the same period, domestic shipments averaged 21,000 tons a year. Of the imports, the U.S.S.R. accounted for an annual average of 280,000 tons, the Gold Coast 208,000 tons, India 74,000 tons, and Brazil 72,500 tons. But India and Brazil, which in 1936 ranked third and fourth in the list of importers, were displaced in 1937 and 1938 by a new and much nearer source—Cuba. From less than I per cent of United States imports in 1931, the island republic increased its shipments to more than 27 per cent in 1938. Cuba's average for this three-year period was 97,000 tons, and its total for 1938 was 131,000 tons. History The story of the economic development of manganese in Cuba dates back to the Spanish-American War days. John Green-way, then one of Theodore Roosevelt's

Jan 1, 1943

By F. G. ROCKWELL

ALTHOUGH the diamond as a gem stone dates back many hundreds of years its use industrially, at least to any extend is recent. The old adage: "Use a diamond to cut a diamond" indicates that some industrial use was made of this material in cutting and polishing many years ago. It also put to various other industrial by the Romans. General industrial use however was never developed to any considerable extent until about the time of the first World War. It is definiely known however, that a Swiss watchmaker, M. Leschot by name, invented a diamond drill in or about the year 1862, Today, some 75 or 80 per cent of the total didamods produced are used in industry. There are two main classifications of diamonds : (1) carbonados or "black diamonmds," and (2) diamonds proper.

Jan 1, 1944

By R. C. Earlougher, F. G. Miller, T. D. Mueller, H. J. Ramey

There are many studies of flow in radial systems that can be used to interpret unsteady rerervoir flow problems. Although solutions for systems of infinite extent can be used to generate solutions fur finite ow systems by superposition, application is tedious. In this paper a step is made toward simplifying calcu1ations of such solutions for finite flow systems. Superposition is used to produce a tabulu-lion of the dimension1e.s.s pressure drop function at several locations within a bounded square that has a well at its center. The square system provides a useful building block that may be used to generate flow behavior for any rectangular shape whose sides are in integral ratios. Values of the tabulated dimensionless pressure drop function are simply added to obtain the dimensionless pressure drop function for the desired rectangulm system. The rectangular system may contain any number of wells producing at any rates. Furthermore, the outer boundaries of the rectangular system may be closed (no-flow) or they may he at constant pressure. Mixed conditions also may be conyidered. Tables of the dimensionless pressure drop function for the square system are presented and various applications of the technique are illustrated. Introduction In 1945, van Everdingen and Hurst' published solutions for the problem of water influx into a cylindrical reservoir. Since this problem is mathematically identical with the depletion of a cylindrical reservoir with a well at the origin, the van Everdingen-Hurst solution may be used to study the depletion problem. In their analysis, they assumed that the fluid had a small, constant compressibility such that flow was governed by the diffusivity equation For a constant production rate q starting at time zero, van Everdingen and Hurst showed that the unsteady pressurc distribution for both finite and infinite systems could be expressed in terms of a dimensionless pressure 'Sabulations of the dimensionless pressure drop for a unit value of r, were provided by van Everdingen and Hurst,' and later by Chatas.' Others also presented values in graphical or tabular form." If the radius of the well becomes vanishingly small, r,+ O, the line source solution may be used for Eq. 2 when infinite systems are considered. Eqs. 5 and 6 are excellent approximations for Eq. 2 under certain conditions: In 1954, Matthews, Brons and HazebroekV emonstrated that solutions such as Eq. 5 can be superposed to generate the behavior of bounded geometric shapes; i.e., the behavior of a bounded single-well system can be calculated by adding together the pressure disturbances caused by the appropriate array of an infinite number of wells producing from an infinite system. These wells are referred to as image wells. Matthews, Brons and Hazebroek considered systems containing a single well producing at a constant rate. This superposition can be represented analytically as

Jan 1, 1969

By E. H. Griswold

PETROLEUM production engineering is essentially the application of the laws of 'physics and mechanics to the production of oil. A true production engineer is one who can apply the principles of mechanics, hydraulics, thermodynamics, and other physical arts so as to facilitate' the efficient and economical recovery of oil. To this end he must have wide knowledge of practical field operations and a working knowledge of geology, with a thorough understanding of the underground state of the fluids which he seeks to control. Generally speaking, there have been two schools of production engineering, the California development and the Mid-Continent development. In California the preliminary production engineering was done by representatives of the U. S. Bureau of Mines and the State Mining Bureau, and was essentially subsurface work in regard to casing patterns, water shut-offs, and completion procedure, inasmuch as these were problems of the utmost immediate importance to the California industry. The oil companies were impressed with the value of such work and placed engineers, or more strictly speaking, engineering geologists on their field staffs. These men, realizing the need of further technical study in the mechanical phases of producing operations, added mechanical and mining engineers, and out of the blend developed what is now known as a production engineer.

Jan 1, 1932

By Brooks J. Klimley, Daniel M. Higgins, Grover R. Castle

Measuring The Economic Viability Of Resource Projects (A Western Surface Coal Project) The bankers approach to the analysis of a new "green fields" mining project is similar but different from the approach that the pining company might take. The purpose of this paper shall be to discuss the techniques that are used by mining companies and bankers as they try to measure the economic viability of mining projects. The analysis of these new projects (by both the mining companies and the banker) is based on a projected revenue stream and not on historical earnings or past perfomance because these projects are start up situations with no history to look to. The starting point in the analysis of these projections is the choice of the assumptions to be used in preparing these projections. After the assumptions have been determined and the projections are prepared then the projections are submitted to various tests in order to determine whether the project measures up to previously agreed upon minimum standards. In order to illustrate the analytical procedures used in evaluating a mineral project the writer has constructed a hypothetical case involving the development of a western surface coal mine (Property). The basic data in connection with this hypothetical new project is described in the next section of this paper. After the Description of the Project is a section which shows the type of analysis that a mining company might prepare in order to approach a bank for a loan and the final section illustrates the type of analysis that a bank might prepare in evaluating this loan request. Description Of The Project or Basic Data In Connection With Undeveloped Western Surface Coal Property An independent mining/geological Consultant's report has been completed on the Property which confirms that the Property contains 175 million tons of economically recoverable coal subdivided into the following reserve categories in accordance with U.S. Bureau of Mines and U.S. Geological Survey definitions: Measured or Proven 90,000,000 Indicated or Probable 50,000,000 Inferred or Possible 35,000,000 The owners of the reserves have chosen to drill up those reserves that are nearest to the subcrop and have not spent as much time on those portions of the Property which are on the fringes of the deposit where the overburden is thicker because the stripping ratio and hence the operating costs and capital requirements are higher down dip. The proven reserves are based on an average thickness of 80 feet, of which a mining recovery of 90% is projected. The overburden thickness varies from 0' to 280' with an average thickness of 127'. The overburden consists mainly of scoria, sandstone, gravel, shale and silty clay. 134 holes were cored (and analysis done on five foot increments) in the measured reserve on the following spacing: 100 foot centers to define the burn line; 1,320 foot centers to define the early mining areas; 2,640 foot centers to identify the later mining areas.

Jan 1, 1985

By Norman Weiss

Most papers on xanthate have dealt with principles rather than practice. On the assumption that many millmen are interested in knowing where and in what manner the xanthates are being used in mills other than their own, this paper will summarize the results of a recent survey of North American plants. A brief background story and a description of the xanthates will be followed with the results of that survey; then a few observations will be made on storage, feeding, and ore testing. The first xanthate was made in 1822 by Zeise of the University of Copenhagen. With commendable scientific detachment (or perhaps a bad cold) Zeise ignored a more pervading quality of the substance and named it for its color, after the Greek word "xanthos," meaning yellow. During the first 80 years of its recorded existence xanthate found use only in small quantity as an insecticide; after the turn of the century there was some further demand for it in the vulcanization of rubber. It was not until 1922, by coincidence the centennial of Zeise's discovery, that C. H. Keller of San Francisco, seeking sul-phidizing agents, recalled xanthate in connection with his experience years earlier when he had seen this material used in Europe to combat grape phylloxera. His successful tests with the new flotation reagent culminated in the basic xanthate patent (U. S. 1,554,216) in 1925. In the minds of many metallurgists the introduction of xanthate as a flotation reagent is identified with the beginnings of alkaline circuits, the first use of chemical collectors, and the beginning of selective flotation. Actually, these preceded xanthate by a number of years. The alkaline circuit in lead-zinc flotation was introduced by Lyster as early as 1912. In 1922 Sheridan and Griswold made their momentous discovery (Timber Butte) that alkali cyanides and zinc sulphate effectively inhibited the flotation of pyrite and sphalerite in pulps made alkaline with sodium carbonate or bicarbonate. The use of lime to retard pyrite in copper flotation began within two years after Ralston directed attention to its possibilities in 1917. These were the beginnings of modern selective flotation, which was practiced successfully on copper-iron ores at Nacozari in 1922, and at Inspiration, Cananea, and others only shortly afterward. In the lead-zinc mills, selective flotation was of even greater economic importance at that time. The Sunnyside plant of U. S. Smelting, Refining, and Mining Co. used the process earlier than 1920, and Consolidated, Timber Butte, and others soon followed. As a chemical collector xanthate was relatively a latecomer, for the Corliss patent of 1917 covered the first of these, alpha-naphthylamine, and the Perkins patent of 1919 the second, thiocarbanilid. Both of these were in extensive use before Keller's xanthate made its commercial debut in 1923. There is general agreement, nonetheless, that the introduction of xanthate was

Jan 1, 1949

By W. R. Bull, J. R. Roos

A method is described whereby the true financial value of each constituent of each concentrate can be calculated. Each value is then compared with what this value would be in a perfect separation. The difference in each case represents the loss incurred by each aspect of an inefficient separation. The relative magnitudes of these losses indicate those avenues of plant investigation and research that offer the highest potential reward. The metallurgical efficiency of a concentration operation is difficult to express because there are two criteria of performance, namely, grade and recovery. Neither of these alone gives any indication of the effectiveness of an operation and, if they are combined in some formula, it must be empirical and unreliable because of many external factors. Since milling is an operation performed as one step in the most profitable overall method of producing a metal or other end product, the main objective of mill operation should be to make a maximum contribution to this maximum profit. When concentrates are sold to custom smelters, the income from the operation, and the costs, may be calculated. When concentrates are further processed by another division of the same company, and there is no formal financial relationship between, say, the milling and smelting divisions of the company, the mill superintendent's job is less well defined. But even so, if the mill superintendent works as though he were selling his concentrates, and uses reasonable, if fictitious, conditions of sale, then he can get a good indication of the effectiveness of his operation by calculating his "Economic Recovery". ECONOMIC RECOVERY This is a method used as a basis of operation by several mills and has been described in the literature. Very briefly, the "standard" of operation is taken as that of a mill separating the ore into perfectly pure concentrates with 100% recovery of each mineral in its respective concentrate. For example, a 4%Pb, 4% Zn ore (galena and sphalerite), would provide a lead concentrate weighing 4.62% of the feed and assaying 86.6% Pb and a zinc concentrate weighing 5.97% of the feed and assaying 67.1 % zinc. These perfect concentrates are (hypothetically) shipped to the appropriate smelters, freight and treatment charges and payments calculated, and the net return obtained. This is the optimum financial return for the operation of the mill and is used as the standard. Now the return for the actual, real-life, mill operation is calculated in the same way, and the ratio of the two is termed the Economic Recovery. Many additions and modifications may be made in any particular case. For example, if the zinc mineral is marmatite, the optimum grade of the zinc concentrate may be set lower than 67.1%. If silver is present, it will be recovered 100% in the lead concentrate in the perfect operation. Similarly, cadmium will be recovered 100% with the sphalerite. Mr. Weiss' paper' mentions a case where, because of extremely fine intergrowth between the valuable mineral, chalcocite, and pyrite, the optimum grade of copper concentrate was taken as 45% Cu instead of the theoretical 80%. Each operation will present its own possibilities in this way.

Jan 1, 1970

By J. D. Pelletier

SAN MANUEL orebody is a disseminated copper deposit in quartz monzonite, monzonite porphyry, and diabase. Quartz monzonite, which is Pre-Cambrian1 in age, is exposed in an area including No. 1 and No. 4 shafts and extending about 2400 ft southeast from No. 1 shaft. It is also exposed in the bottom of No. 2 shaft and in a zone roughly 500 to 1200 ft southeast of No. 2 shaft having its long dimension along a northeast-southwest axis. Churn drilling has shown all these exposures to be parts of a contiguous mass of quartz monzonite lying within and beneath the ore zone.

Jan 7, 1957