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By Fred D. DeVaney and

The coercimeter, as its name implies, is an instrument for measuring the coercive forcet of magnetic substances. It was developed by Davis and Hartenheim in the Special Studies Section, Metallurgical Division. A detailed description of this apparatus may be found elsewhere.2 The coercive force determinations of magnetic materials are interesting because of the relationship established by Gottschalk,4 who showed a linear relationship between the magnetization coercive force and the specific surface of comminuted particles. The value of this relationship in determining grinding efficiency has been shown by Dean.3 The determination of the surface contained in the subsieve sizes has always been a difficult problem for investigators. They made approximate measurements of the surface of coarse materials by sizing on screens, but for the determination of the surface of the sub-sieve sizes it was necessary to make detailed grain counts or elutriation tests, or to study dissolution rates. The technical literature contains many references to other methods for determining these surfaces, either by some special apparatus or by mathematical calculations based on distribution lines. Many of the methods are long and tedious, and the results of some, at least, are questionable. he turbidimeter gives quick results on ground cement. By using magnetite as the material to be ground, a simple determination of its coercive force by the coercimeter, requiring 10 minutes or less, can be transposed directly and accurately into units of relative surface. This subject has been pursued further by the U. S. Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, Rolla, Mo., and the following is a description of the results.

Jan 1, 1939

By W. E. Keck, Paul Jasberg

The flotative properties of the principal minerals in Michigan's potential iron ores have been investigated to develop methods of bene-ficiation for the ores. One of these minerals, magnetite, is of considerable importance as a source of iron. Study of its flotation was similar to that of hematite1, another iron mineral in these potential ores. The present research consisted essentially of: (1) a survey of the literature on magnetite flotation, (2) the preparation of pure magnetite, (3) the development of laboratory procedure and (4) flotation experimentation. Literature on Magnetite Flotation.—For the purpose of this discussion, the results of previous work on the flotation of magnetite can be summarized as follows. The mineral has been floated with pine oil2, and it has also been separated from synthetic mixtures with silicates by the use of the same reagent2. Magnetite and apatite in iron-ore slimes have been separated by flotation of apatite with sodium palmitate3. These data were utilized in the present investigation. Preparation of Magnetite.—The pure mineral was prepared from the magnetic-separator concentrate of an iron ore (obtained from the Wither-bee Sherman Corporation, Port Henry, N. Y.). This concentrate was slowly comminuted with laboratory rolls and pulverizer to pass 65-mesh and was then tabled several times. Tabling yielded a relatively coarse magnetite concentrate, tailing and slimes. The two latter materials were rejected insofar as the present work is concerned, and treatment of the magnetite (table concentrate) was continued by separating it into — 65 + 200 and — 200-mesh sizes. Separation of the sizes was made by first dry screening and then wet screening. The —200-mesh material was rejected to eliminate possible introduction of error into flotation

Jan 1, 1939

The American mining industry is vigorous today because it is young. At a time when the ore deposits of central Europe, for example, were being exploited actively, those of the United States were lying practically untouched. The founding fathers of our republic were not interested in mineral wealth because they were ignorant in such matters; their preoccupations were with defence against the Indians, the clearing of the forest, and the starting of agriculture in their new domains. They had no idea of establishing a mining industry. The Indians whom the American colonists dispossessed had no mines; they used only the metal that was to be found lying on the surface of the ground. Their arrows and spears were tipped with flint, which likewise called for little digging, if any. The native copper that glacial action had torn from the lodes of the Lake Superior region and had carried into the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi was employed in the making of earrings, bracelets, knives, and scrapers. The same useful metal was found in many other places, in Virginia and Carolina, in Vermont and New Jersey, for example, but the Indians did not know how to melt it, much less how to smelt the ore, therefore they shaped it into tools and implements by hammering. Fortunately for them the hammering of the metal caused it to harden and therefore to become serviceable for implemental use. It is doubtful if they obtained the copper by actual mining, that is, by digging or excavating; it is true we find traces of such operations in the Keweenaw .peninsula of Michigan, but we have no

Jan 1, 1932

By Eugene N. Cameron

Pegmatites occur in abundance in certain areas of South West Africa and in adjacent parts of northern Cape Province in the Union of South Africa. Some of the pegmatite deposits were prospected before World War I, and intermittent mining was done during the period between the two World Wars. The deposits of the Jooste lithium mines became an important source of lepidolite, and beryl, columbite-tantalite, wolframite, and other minerals were produced. Since World War I1 prospecting and mining have been carried on vigorously, with the result that South West Africa produced nearly 3000 tons of beryl during 1949 through 1953, together with more than 40,000 tons of lithium minerals, chiefly lepidolite and petalite. Small amounts of tantalite, columbite, and other minerals have also been produced during the postwar period. Most of this mineral production has come from two pegmatite areas roughly outlined in Fig. 1. One is the Karibib-Omaruru area of north central South West Africa. The second is the northeastern part of the Orange River pegmatite area, which extends into adjacent parts of Namaqualand, in northern Cape Province of the Union of South Africa

Sep 1, 1955

By J. Morgan Clements

PETROLEUM has been known in Japan since at least 668 A. D., for a picture shows the presentation, during that year, to the Emperor Tenchi (Tenji) of "burning water" and." burning earth" by his subjects from Echigo Province, which today is the largest producer of petroleum in Japan. The burning water was doubtless petroleum and the burning earth either bituminous shale or oil-soaked earth or rock from near the oil seepages. The early methods of getting the oil were simple and similar to methods used today in Japan and in China. Where the seepages occurred, trenches or shallow wells were dug along the seepages and allowed to fill with oil which was then bailed out; in some cases, they filled with oil and water and overflowed. During the 300 years following 1500 A. D:, the use of petroleum in Echigo Province seems to have increased considerably, as compared with earlier centuries, and records show that in 1818 the depth of the wells had been greatly increased. Doubtless, they passed through the seepages and tapped the shallow oil-bearing strata; probably some of these deeper wells were dug before that time. The real value of petroleum was not recognized until early in the Meiji era, which began in 1868, when the Japanese learned that the kerosene that was being imported was derived from petroleum. Guided solely by information obtained from books, they refined the oil and increased the depth of their wells in order to increase the production. The deepest well, dug by hand, about this time was 894 ft.1 (273 m.) and by 1874 the recorded production reached 3499 barrels. In 1876, Benjamin Smith Lyman prepared geological maps of the Echigo oil field, which were the first. of such geological maps made in Japan, and based on these a more enlightened development of the oil fields began; the. Japanese, however, still dug the wells by hand. Toward the end of the '80s, an American well-drilling outfit was secured, but the efforts to use it failed from lack of experience by the operators. In 1888, a complete well-drilling outfit was, purchased and American oil-well

Jan 7, 1922

By Herbert Banks Johnson

DURING the past 10 or 12 years very little information has been made generally available concerning the commercial possibilities of separating materials by means of static electricity; and yet during that same period important improvements have been made in various branches of the science of electricity, which, when taken together, and applied to electrostatic separation, have resulted in important improvements in that art as well. For example, much improvement has been made in high-voltage electrical equipment such as full-wave vacuum-tube rectification and improved mechanical rectification. Great strides have likewise been made in the development of insulators for high-voltage work, not only in the materials used but also in the design of the insulators themselves. Again, in another field, the development of air-conditioning equipment has improved the technique of controlling the surface condition, through drying or humidifying, of the various materials that are passed through the electrostatic separator. In many authoritative publications and textbooks, the electrostatic separation process is declared to require a balance far too sensitive for general commercial application. For example, one publication1 in the past has referred to an unfavorable effect on the process caused by varying atmospheric conditions such as humidity. Some2 have even gone so far as to state that sunlight and shadows may seriously affect the separating efficiency of the process. Such statements may have been true in the early development of the art, when the source of static electricity was derived from a friction disk machine, such as the Wimshurst. The Blake Mosher equipment and the work of Huff in applying motor- generator sets, transformers and mechanical rectification overcame much of this kind of objection to the commercial application of the electrostatic separating process. Another objection made periodically is that it is generally considered necessary to feed the particles into the electrostatic field in a stream that

Jan 1, 1938

By Frederic Benard

PRIOR to 1936, the Ontario Refining Co. received all incoming blister copper from The International Nickel Company's smelter in the usual form of 460-lb. cakes, or slabs. These were received in open cars in lots of 250 pieces. At the refinery the cakes were unloaded onto narrow-gauge cars, for convenient handling and pickup by charging cranes. In March 1936, an investigation was started on the feasibility of trans-ferring converter copper in the molten state from the smelter to the refinery anode furnaces, a distance of 114 miles. Although common in steel practice, the transportation of blister copper in this form had not previously been attempted and a preliminary study of the various factors involved was therefore necessary. For this purpose, a series of experiments was made in which molten copper, removed at different stages during the furnace cycle, was held in a small portable holding furnace. This vessel was essentially a refractory-lined steel cylinder provided with ports for filling and emptying, heated by an oil burner. Dimensions of the steel shell were 3 ft. 10 in. diameter by 7 ft. 3 in. long, and thickness of refractories depended oil the design and combination used for the particular experiment. The vessel was filled with approximately 2 ½ tons of copper at a predetermined temperature, the lining having been preheated to a definite point by means of an oil burner. All openings were well luted and temperature readings were made every 15 min. by means of an immersion-type thermocouple. In this manner the rate of heat loss resulting with different refractory design could be developed. The ratio of exterior surface to weight of metal was taken into consideration in comparing the experimental results with what might be expected for a full-sized unit, and observations were also made on type and degree of slag accretion. It was not possible to get as much information on this latter point as desirable, but all evidence showed that the problem would be control of slag build-up rather than attack oil refractories.

Jan 1, 1938

By R. E. Head

Under existing economic conditions, the treatment of gold ores occupies an outstanding position in metallurgical activity. The increased price of gold has automatically brought about a reclassification of old dumps and low-grade orebodies, and many that formerly were considered valueless are now being vigorously investigated and worked. This situation has developed problems that have taxed the ingenuity and ability of metallurgists to the utmost. Some gold ores give a high extraction of gold by standardized methods of treatment; other ores of apparently similar character yield but a relatively small percentage of their gold when treated by the same processes. Surface Contamination The experience gained by microscopic study of numerous gold ores and tailings has shown that there are pronounced differences in the physical characteristics of the minerals composing them, more especially of the gold. Repeated studies of tailings from flotation and cyanidation of gold ores has established the fact that surface contaminations on gold particles are often directly responsible for high gold losses; comparison of gold particles isolated from flotation concentrates and the resulting tailings have showed that the clean gold has been recovered and the tarnished or contaminated gold invariably lost in the tailing. Obviously, it is not possible to make such a comparison of gold ores treated by cyanidation, as the clean gold has been taken into solution; but when the gold found in cyanide tailing has a tarnished or coated surface, one may infer, with a reasonable degree of certainty, that the clean gold has been extracted. This premise is supported by experimental evidence obtained by isolating particles of tarnished gold and exposing them to cyanide solution in small parting cups. In one such experiment, tarnished gold particles picked from a cyanide tailing showed but slight evidence 01 dissolving at the end of 27 days. In this test, a cyanide solution of 1.6 11). per ton was used and the leach solution was decanted arid renewed every

Jan 1, 1939

By Frederic Dewey

HAVING shown1 the difficulty of assaying so-called cyanide bullion and the extreme variations often found in the results, an investigation was undertaken to discover if possible the causes of these variations by a series of tests upon the specific action of various metals during cupellation. Zinc.-In order to test the effect of zinc, 48 assays were made in sets of 6, 2 rows of 3. The charge for the middle cupels consisted of 500+ mg. Au, 1,125 mg. Ag, 10 mg. Cu. To the end cupels 50, 75, 100 and 125 mg. Zn were added, and a set of each proportion was cupelled with 4 and 8 grants Pb. The cupels were assayed and showed the following gold contents in milligrams, the figures being arranged as the cupels stood in the muffle: TABLE 1 50 Mg. Zn 75 Dig. Zn 100 Mg. Zn 125 Mg. Zn 4 grams, Pb 0.2S 0.25 0.2S 0:29 0.27 0.34 0.33 0.28 0.41 0.31 0:30 0.36 0.30 0.33 0.34 0.31 0.31 0.29 0.35 0.37 0.42 0.41' 0.34 0.38 8 grams, Pb 0.40 0.43 0.42 0.38 0.36 0.43 0.35 0.34 0.41 0.33 0.37 0.37 0.54 0.17 0.59 0.44 0.43 0.43 0.38 0.39 0.41 0.57 0.38 0.46 _ In many instances the zinc does not appear to affect the cupel gold, but various exceptions are apparent, generally in the cupels in the back row. With 100 and 125 mg. Zn, in some cases the Zn burned with its characteristic flame before it could alloy with the other metals. Also, less fusible oxidized lumps were observed during the cupellation and some cupels showed a scum. In order to lessen the premature burning out of the Zn, an alloy of 2 parts Ag to 1 part. Zn was used. A uniform charge of 500,+ mg. Au,

Jan 7, 1917

By Ernest Gayford

This is a nontechnical paper on flotation, subdivided under three general headings: (I) Definition of flotation; (2) what flotation is now doing in Utah; and (3) what is the future of flotation? Definition T. A. Rickard defines flotation' as "the act or state of floating," from the French flottaison, water-line and flotter, to float. The dictionary defines flotation as "the science of floating bodies." The flotation process is a method of concentrating ores by frothing. Weinig and Palmer,2 define flotation as follows: What is the flotation process? Briefly, it consists in the agitation of finely divided ore in water containing bubbles of air or gas, a small amount of oil and, usually, other reagents, soluble and insoluble; under these conditions the small particles of native metals, sulfides, arsenides, antimonides, selenides and tellurides show a tendency to attach themselves to the films of the bubbles, and are thus carried to the surface of the water. The oxidized gangue minerals, such as quartz, feldspar, limestone, hematite, etc., show much less affinity for the bubbles, are easily wetted by the water, and either remain in suspension in the water, or sink to the bottom of the vessel. If the bubbles are sufficiently stable they can be removed, carrying their load of sulfide-mineral particles with them. Thus there can be effected a separation of the two classes of minerals from each other, assuming that the grinding has been sufficient to unlock all of the particles of different composition. The separation does not depend upon differences in specific gravity of the various minerals; in fact, the sulfides are usually heavier than the oxides, and some of the heaviest sulfide minerals are the easiest to float. A particle of mineral may be so large, however, that its weight will counteract its affinity for the film of the bubble. In most cases the ore must be fine enough to pass a screen having at least 48 meshes to the linear inch. Taggart3 defines flotation as follows: Flotation is a method of wet concentration of ores in which separation of mineral from gangue is effected by causing the mineral to float at or above the surface of a body of liquid pulp while the gangue becomes or remains submerged. The method

Jan 1, 1928

By William P. Blake

In another paper I have described in general the close association of zinc-blende and iron pyrites in the ore-deposits of southwest Wis consin. These two minerals generally occur together at the same horizon, a sheet of one being overlain by a sheet of the other; and also the pyrites is disseminated through the blende to such a degree that the latter is rendered comparatively worthless for the produc tion of spelter. Ordinarily the pyrites, which is mostly the trimetric marcasite variety, occurs in about equal quantity with the blende and is separated by hand-culliug and chipping; but there are large de posits where the ores are so closely mixed that they can neither be separated by culling nor by any mechanical method. The specific gravity of the two minerals is so nearly the same that attempts often made to effect even a partial separation by jigging have proved un. successful. The smelters of zinc-ores in the Mississippi valley will not take ores which carry more than 7 per cent. of iron; and it is therefore necessary to cull the massive ('jack" with great care and at consid erable expense, in order to bring it up to the market-standard of purity. The results of trials to effect a separation of blende and pyrites in other regions have been equally unsatisfactory. The literature of this branch of metallurgy abounds in examples. In Wisconsin efforts have been made in the past to " burn " the mixed ores in heaps, in order to soften or destroy the pyrites, and facilitate its separation from the massive blende. The same method has also been resorted to when galenite is mixed through the substance of the blende, for the purpose of disintegrating the ore, so that it could be separated by jigging. The custom was to pile the ore and the fuel together. As might have been expected, the results were far from satisfactory. As is usual in heap-roast ing, some portions of the ore were overheated and decomposed; zinc was lost by volatilization; the galenite in some portions was

Jan 1, 1894

By Paul R. La Pointe

GEOTECHNICAL OBJECTIVES OF UCG PROGRAM Underground coal gasification (UCG) is one of several in situ extraction technologies for utilizing deep, otherwise unmineable coal. This technology involves the injection of air or oxygen into the target coal seam, ignition of the coal and recovery of product gases. Geotechnical characteristics of the coal and enclosing rock strata strongly influence the success of this Process. The flame front follows the coal cleats (Hill, 1979), and cleating and bedding control the manner in which coal collapses into the cavity, thereby affecting recovery efficiency (Ramirez and others, 1982). Moreover, coal seams typically behave as fracture dominated aquifers in which cleat orientations govern subsequent contaminant dispersal. For these reasons, the Anaconda Minerals Co. undertook a detailed study of fracturing within the Wyodak-Anderson Coal in the eastern Powder River Basin (PRB) near its Rocky Hill UCG test site (Fig. 1). STRESS HISTORY AND FRACTURING IN THE POWDER RIVER BASIN Vertical jointing, or cleating, in coals may arise from shrinkage shortly after deposition under low confining pressures, or later in time, soon after burial but after the coalification process is well advanced (Ting, 1977). There is much evidence to support the formation of cleating after coalification (e.g. Hawkes and Mellor, 1970; McCulloch and others, 1974), which suggests that the stress state existing at that time strongly influences cleat formation. McCulloch and others (1974) argue that the typically better developed face cleat forms parallel to the plane containing [ol] and [o2]. Where the relation between cleats and stess has been studied (McCulloch and others, 1974; Stone and Snoeberger, 1977; Ward, 1977; Kulander and Dean, 1978), the highly systematic face cleat strongly parallels the [o1] direction. Stone and Snoeberger (1977) report face and butt cleat measurements of N70E and N29W for the Felix Coals 220 m stratigraphically above the Wyodak at the Hoe Creek UCG site (Fig. 1). Structural trends also indicate the past state of stress in the PRB. Glaze and Keller (1963) suggest that the NE-SW regional compression during the late Permian formed major N-S fold lines and basement magnetic anomalies. Mapel (1959) describes folds having N60W and N30W rends in the northern PRB, as well as a large normal fault trending northeast. Glass (1976) also describes normal faults trending northeast. Similarly, Olive (1957) mapped normal faults

Jan 1, 1984

By T. E. Godson

AS this is the age of reform, a uniform mining law for North America is a moot subject for discussion at this meeting of the Institute. The question is one of peculiarly technical and, in many respects, local character. We all appreciate the value of the metal-producing industries and recognize the necessity and importance of a well-considered and evenly balanced mining law as a branch of our jurisprudence either for the Provinces or the Dominion as a whole. Mining has taken its place as a forempst industry and legislation that seeks to control and govern it is the concern of not only the active miner but the citizens of the state. A law that, through its charitable measures brings into being the prospector, the pathfinder and superstructure of all mining activity and industry! protects his interests, safeguards invested capital, and encourages and enforces development, possesses at least the salient requirements of a businesslike Act. The manner of doing so is, I think, one of local and internal concern. May I be permitted to say without presumption that of the five mining codes, or Acts, that we have in the Dominion of Canada born and bred within the Provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, some of them could be materially improved. In many respects they do not measure up to the times; they were no -doubt creations of merit at the date of their .birth but they have not been clothed in seasonable raiment as the years passed by. It is a stern fundamental principle that all natural resources are the inalienable property of the crown. If it is mineral land, then it follows for the protection of the state and the direct advancement of the occupant that the land should be developed as such. The method or machincry by which this must be accomplished is a matter of detail, not of principle. If the right to possession as a licensee depends on discovery, it is not inconsistent with the duty the crown owes to the state that a grant in fee should pass to the discoverer if there is imposed, after patent issues, a requirement of continuous work or the alternative of an acreage tax sufficiently burdensome to make it unprofitable that the land should be held in an undeveloped state. If this requirement is recognized, the mental distinction between a grant and lease ceases to exist. A

Jan 1, 1920

By A. R. Troiano, E. A. Steigerwald, F. W. Schaller

The initiation of localized cracking in hydrogenated high strength steel was dependent on the developmeni of a critical hydrogen conceniration and relatively insensitive to the magnitude of the applied stress. The stress was believed to influence the deluyed failure process by providing the means for grouping the hydrogen. On the basis of an assumed distribution law the observed changes in the lower critical stress as a function of notch acuity, yield strength, and temperature were predictable over a significant range of these variables. THE phenomenological characteristics of delayed failure in high-strength steel have been comprehensively investigated and the behavior has been attributed to the strong embrittling action of hydrogen.1-3 Delayed failure or, as it is also termed, static fatigue, is the most sensitive means of detecting hydrogen embrittlement since it allows the maximum time for hydrogen diffusion during a test.3 The nature of delayed failure cail be aptly described by four parameters which are schematically depicted in Fig. 1. The upper critical stress corresponds to the rupture stress in a conventional notch tensile test. The lower critical stress or static fatigue limit is the stress below which no delayed failure will occur. The incubation period is the time required for the formation of the first crack and the fourth parameter is the failure time. An increase in hydrogen content, notch acuity, or strength level of the material increases the susceptibility for delayed failure by decreasing the lower critical stress, the incubation period, and the time to failure.lY3 A decrease in test temperature prolongs the incubation period in accordance with the lower diffusion rate of hydrogen, and also de-

Jan 1, 1961

By Joseph Hays

MORE years ago than I care to admit I conferred the title of "combustion engineer? upon my-self since nobody else would confer it. I thought at the time, and for some, years thereafter, that my field was limited to the precincts where the fuel was being burned, but I found that I could stand in the door of the furnace room and hear distressed heat units calling for help all over the plant. Some of them were over-worked, others were compelled to do useless work, and still others, anxious to render a proper account of themselves, were not permitted to do any sort of work at all and were utterly wasted. The combustion engineer has something to do at that interesting occasion when the heat unit is being born in the furnace, but his responsibility does not end there. He must follow the little fellow throughout the entire period of its hectic existence in the plant and see that it gets a fair chance and a square deal everywhere. I fear that the general impression of the combustion engineer's duties is much as mine was in the beginning; that his job is limited to the implements and processes incident to the specific operation of converting fuel into active, heat energy and of applying it to the boiler, the still, or what-not, with the least possible waste. But is it not true that a heat unit saved in a remote corner of the plant means just as much to the fuel account as another saved at the furnace? And if nobody else is looking after the heat units out on the range why should the combustion engineer spend all of his time hanging around the corral? If combustion engineer is not a broad enough title to cover the man in charge of a general heat unit rescue campaign call him any-thing else you please. The job is all that counts. The name means nothing. A skunk by any other name would smell as bad. The greatest field I have ever found for general "heat rescue" work is the oil refinery. In refining we first put heat into the oil and then take it away from the vapor. The greatest heat losses occur during the cooling operation, but there are losses, many of them preventable, either wholly or partly, at every step of the several processes in oil refining.

Jan 3, 1928

By Walter W. Bradley

Mining by hydraulic process of the important gold-bearing gravels of the Sacramento Valley in the basins of the Yuba, Bear and American rivers began in 1853, and continued at an ever-increasing rate for 30 years. In its most active days it reached an annual production of $15,000,000, and averaged $10,000,000 per year over the 30 years. During that period no provisions were made to prevent the debris from being discharged into the water courses, and ultimately large quantities of silt, sand and gravel were washed down to the lower valleys; filling channels, causing overflow of agricultural lands and difficulty in maintaining navigable depths in the Sacramento River. Agitation and suits filed because of these damages finally resulted in the injunction decision of Judge L. B. Sawyer,' in the U.S. Circuit Court, Jan. 23, 1884, which closed down practically all hydraulic mining operations not having means to restrain their debris. In 1893 (approved March 1, 1893), Congress passed the act introduced by Representative Anthony Caminetti, of California, creating the California Debris Commission, composed of three officers assigned from the Engineer Corps of the U.S. Army, and since that time it has been legal and possible within the drainage systems of Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers to conduct hydraulic mining of gold-bearing gravels behind dams built under this commission's permit and supervision. In the watersheds of the Trinity and Klamath rivers, which flow directly to the Pacific Ocean and do not affect navigation or agriculture, operating permits from the California Debris Commission are not required. There is a measure of restriction there, however, through what is known as the Trinity and Klamath River Fish and Game District. Chap. 215, Stat. 1931, in order to secure relatively clear water for the fishing season, provides that between July 15 and October 15 each year there must not be discharged into these rivers debris that will cause a turbidity greater than a content of 50 parts per million in the

Jan 1, 1937

The plans for the activities of the Petroleum Division for the coming year do not differ materially from those of the past several years. The fall meeting is scheduled for Oct. 12 and 13 and is to be held at Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Division, of course, will take part in the annual meeting of the Institute at New York. A fall meeting will also be held in California at approximately the same time as the meeting at Tulsa. A number of papers are to be presented at the two meetings simultaneously. The various committees are at work arranging the programs. The Division will continue to be active in its various fields of endeavor, such as stabilization, production reviews, and economics, but special stress is to be laid on the engineering and research fields. In the past the Division has served as a forum for open and frank discussion of problems confronting the engineers in the oil industry. It is hoped that it will continue to function in this capacity. Papers presenting original ideas and extending the boundaries of knowledge and understanding in the field of petroleum production will be welcomed. Members who have interesting information to contribute should not wait until called upon by one of the Committees, but should offer a paper at the earliest opportunity. The past year has seen a decided strengthening of the control over production, with prospects of even more rigid control in the future. It is essential that production programs under such control be carefully planned and it is highly desirable that petroleum engineers take an active part in the planning, to insure efficient production of oil and minimize the waste of this natural resource. At a time like this, when it is difficult to keep the production of oil within reasonable limits, it may seem unnecessary to improve the efficiency of production methods, but, as has been aptly said, the trouble is not that we have too great a reserve of oil but that we are producing tomorrow's oil today. Therefore it behooves those who are entrusted with the engineering and scientific phases of production to learn how to get the greatest yield economically possible from the present and future fields in order that we may enjoy the advantages of petroleum products for a long time to come.

Jan 1, 1934

By A. T. Yu

As the first loads of Noamundi iron ore rumbled into the new 54-in. Gyratory Crusher on March 30, 1968, one of India's largest and most modern iron ore processing complexes began operations. The completion of the $13 million mining and processing complex brought to a successful conclusion the second chapter of a phased expansion program initiated in 1958 by India's gigantic Tata Iron and Steel Co. The completed complex will yield annually 2.5 million tons of washed, sized ore and sinter fines destined for Tata's furnaces at Jamshedpur. Hewitt-Robins Div. of Litton Industries was awarded the turnkey project on the basis of world- wide competitive bids. Eighty miles southwest of the city of Jamshedpur, Noamundi lies on an approximate geographic grid of 22º-5' latitude north and 85º-30' longitude east. The mine is approximately 600 ft above sea level.

Jan 11, 1968

By Ta M. Li

Recent economic and environmental setbacks have not slowed Occidental Oil Shale, Inc.'s program aimed at the commercialization of oil shale. In fact, the firm expects to have a 795 MI (500C) bbl) per day production unit working by the end of 1976. The key to Occidental's ambitious program is an in situ method that extracts the valuable oil by retorting the shale in place. The process will require practically no water and will leave the spent shale in place underground. Additionally, all plant operations are to be located within the mine. These factors thus serve to make the operation attractive from an environmental viewpoint, in contrast to proposed conventional schemes which call for extensive underground mining, crushing and grinding at the surface, and construction of a massive surface retorting facility.

Jan 12, 1976

By F. Cadena

Hiwassee Darn, now under construction by the Tennessee Valley Authority on the Hiwassee River, a tributary of the Tennessee River, will require aggregate for approximately 800,000 cu. yd. of concrete. Near the damsite deposits of natural sand or gravel are not available and graywacke, a rock that is found in abundance, suggested itself as a likely source of manufactured aggregate. Graywacke is a metamorphosed sandstone composed principally of a mixture of quartz (65 per cent), mica (25 per cent), and feldspar (10 per cent). Other minerals are present in negligible amounts. The rock varies in different parts of the quarry from very fine to a coarse grain containing particles of about ¼ in. maximum size, although the bulk of the deposit is medium grain. Extensive tests showed that graywacke would be suitable as a source of both coarse and fine aggregates. The aggregate plant available for use at Hiwassee Dam consisted of the coarse-aggregate and sand plant used on the Norris project. The coarse-aggregate plant had also been used at Chickamauga Dam. Although most of this plant equipment is now in use at Hiwassee, the present flowsheet is not only different from that at Norris and Chickamauga but is also unique as compared to the flowsheet of the average crushed-stone aggregate plant. It is hoped that this paper will show the importance of proper arrangement of equipment if the optimum in flexibility and capacity is to be attained. Flowsheet Rock is ioaded by 3-yd. electric shovels into 12-yd. dump trucks, which carry the rock to the primary crusher, a 42-in. Superior McCully gyratory unit set at 4¾ in. (Fig. 1). The primary crusher discharges directly onto a 42-in. inclined belt conveyor, which carries the product to a surge storage pile with a maximum live storage capacity of approximately 3000 tons. A concrete tunnel under this storage pile houses the feed end of a 36-in. belt conveyor (conveyor B) fed by a 36 by 66-in.

Jan 1, 1942