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By R. T. Hukki

This paper presents a series of equations for mechanical ball wear, relating parameters of ball size, mill speed, and mill diameter. The fundamental equation, Eq. 12, presented here is introduced to correlate these basic parameters and thus define and clarify the concept of ball wear. This equation is offered as a general rule, which may be modified to apply to individual problems of grinding. BALL wear as observed in grinding installations is the combined result of mechanical wear and corrosion. Corrosion should be a linear function of the ball surface available. Ball corrosion, however, has been studied so little that its effect, although of great importance, cannot be included in the analyses given here. In a separate paper' it is shown that 1 n = 0.7663 np----=— rpm [1] vD P = c, np D kw [2] T=c²(np)n De tph [3] In these equations n — actual mill speed, rpm np = calculated percentage critical speed D = ID of mill in feet P = power required to operate a mill, kw T = capacity of a mill, tph C¹ and c² - appropriate constants in = exponent of numerical value of 1 5 m 1.5 Exponent m is the slope of a straight line on logarithmic paper relating mill speed (on the abscissa) and mill capacity (on the ordinate). It is generally accepted, although not sharply defined, that ball wear in mills running at low (cascading) speeds is a function of the ball surface available. Accordingly, the wear of a single ball may be considered to be a homogeneous, linear function of its surface and of the distance traveled. Thus dw = f¹(d2) . f2(ds) [4] where dw is the wear of a single ball in time dt, d the diameter of the average ball in ball charge, and ds the distance traveled by the ball in time dt. Indicating that ds - a D n dt, the wear of the average ball in time dt becomes dw = f¹(d2) . f2(Dn dt) 1 --- f¹ (d1) f² (D c3 np-----— dt) \/D = c,d² n, D dt The rate of wear of the average ball is given by dw/dt. dw/dt = c, d² np D lb per hr [5] The weight of the ball charge per unit of mill length is a function of D The number of balls of size d in the ball charge is = f³(D2)/f4(d³). The rate of wear of the total ball charge equals the number of balls times rate of wear of the average ball. Thus rate of total ball wear = — . (dw/dt) w. c, . (l/d) . n,, D lb per hr [6] which is the equation of ball wear in low speed mills. In a mill running at a low speed, grinding is the result of rubbing action within the ball mass and between the ball mass and mill liners. When the speed of the mill is gradually increased toward the critical, the impacting effect of freely falling balls becomes increasingly prominent in comparison with the rubbing action. Reduction of ore takes place partly by rubbing, partly by impact. The share of the freely falling balls in the reduction of ore reaches its practical maximum at a speed somewhat less than the critical; at that speed grinding by rubbing has decreased to a low value. It may be reasonable to think that size reduction by freely falling balls should reach its theoretical maximum at the critical speed, if the fall of the balls were not hindered by the shell of the mill beyond the top point; grinding by rubbing would cease at the critical speed. As a first approximation, wear of freely falling balls may be considered to be a homogeneous, linear function of the force at which they strike pieces of rock and other balls at the toe of the ball charge. The force equals mass times acceleration. The mass of a ball is a function of d3 and its acceleration is a function of the peripheral speed of the mill. The wear of a single ball of size d representing the average ball in a ball charge will therefore be w¹ = f3(F) = f (d3) f7 (v). [7] Indicating that v = D n, and n = c³ np 1/vD, Eq. 7 becomes W1 = cn d3 np Do.5 lb per hr. [8] Total wear of the ball charge equals number of balls times the wear of the average ball. Number of

Jan 1, 1955

By J. Charles Miller

THE expansion of facilities for rapid transportation of perishables by train, truck and airplane has necessitated consideration of refrigerants of a minimum weight and volume per pound of cooling and has stimulated the use of solid carbon dioxide commercially. The gas probably has not had wide application in the past in air-cooling equipment for mines, theaters or buildings, owing to its thermodynamic properties, as will be deduced from examination of Table 2. However, consumption of the liquid in carbonating beverages remains a dominant factor. In addition to these uses, carbon dioxide is employed to a limited degree as an explo-sive in the liquid form, as a freezing agent in plumbing, in laboratories for low-temperature work, and in the manufacture of golf balls. SOURCES The principal sources of the gas at present are coke ovens, lime kilns, breweries and other fermentation plants, all of which are within easy reach of markets. Natural sources, however, have not received the consideration they merit, mainly because of their isolation. It is asserted by some manufacturers that the carbon dioxide gas produced from wells is unsatisfactory because it often contains impurities that are difficult to remove, while that produced as a byproduct is much purer or contains impurities that are easier to remove.

Jan 1, 1936

The age of specialization has made man increasingly dependent on a larger number of different metals and minerals. Overexploitation during World War II and lavish squandering of irreplaceable mineral wealth in the past has resulted in the rapidly approaching exhaustion of some of the major domestic ore sources. History clearly points out that the United States cannot continue to be a world power on an "import to survive" policy. A constructive program of development and appraisal of the nation's mineral wealth, including the planned conservation of her resources, must be adopted. Strictly speaking, conservation of minerals must mean the orderly exploitation of our resources and the prevention of waste in use, with due regard for the future. Real concern for the future may not extend beyond a few generations. Eventually science and invention should take care of the problems arising from shortages of some minerals, and the national defense aspects of domestic deficiencies can be provided for by stock piling and other measures. Early conservationists had this viewpoint; but with a rapidly developing industry and population, a farsighted policy that would deny full realization of immediate ambitions became unpopular. Consequently, the politically minded conservationist broadened the concept to include "prudent use of resources" and brought under the conservation umbrella

Jan 1, 1950

Fourteen members of the Board and officers nf6re present; and seven guests. Prof. E. K. Judd was appointed Managing Editor of the Institute's publications.

Jan 11, 1917

By L. D. Fetterolf, G. T. Mahler, W. M. Peirce, R. K. Waring

UNTIL recently, the only commercial method of producing magnesium has been fused salt electrolysis, despite a considerable amount of experimental work on the direct reduction of magnesium oxide. In this early work, a number of investigators demonstrated that magnesium oxide would react with any one of several reducing agents to produce magnesium vapor, but that the mixture of magnesium oxide and reducing agent must be heated to a high temperature even in a vacuum. In particular, it was demonstrated that silicon and aluminum are effective reducing agents and that when either of these is used the magnesium vapor can be condensed to massive metal. In spite of this knowledge, no successful commercial reduction process was developed, at least in this country, because of the operational difficulties imposed by the requirement of high temperature and vacuum and because of the high cost of the reducing agent. The outstanding experimental work done by Pidgeon, who carefully reviewed all of the known methods of making magnesium and then selected ferrosilicon reduction, overcame some of the operational difficulties. The process developed by Pidgeon comprises briquetting a mixture of calcined dolomite and reducing agent, pre-heating the briquets to about 600°C. in an externally heated alloy retort, reducing the MgO with silicon in an evacuated horizontal alloy retort heated externally to about 1150°C., and condensing the magnesium vapor to a solid in a cold extension of the retort projecting beyond the fr6nt of the furnace. A major advantage of Pidgeon's process is that the retort is not cooled down between charges. Earlier investigators had used apparatus that necessitated cooling and reheating of the retort between charges. Early in January 1942, when the War Production Board was considering the Pidgeon process for quickly increasing the production of magnesium, The New Jersey Zinc Co. offered to have a research investigation of the process carried on, with the hope of assisting in its further development. This offer was accepted, and a two-retort pilot plant was built at Palmerton and put in operation on Jan. 29, 1942. An intensive investigation of certain phases of the process was carried out in the ensuing four months. This investigation was completed in the last part of May 1942, and the pilot plant was then shut down. Subsequently, The New Jersey Zinc Co. was requested to have further development work done on the process, and a more extensive investigation was undertaken in August I942 under contract with the War production Board and under the super- vision of the War Metallurgy Committee. This paper describes the phases of the investigation that are thought to .be

Jan 1, 1944

By F. E. Rizzo, L. R. Bidwell, D. F. Frank

THE use of galvanic cells for the determination of oxygen activities has spread rapidly since the suitability of calcia-stabilized zirconia as a solid electrolyte material was first demonstrated by Kiukkola and Wagner.' In many of these investigations:-7 including several at ARL, the free-energy changes for various oxidation-reduction reactions involving the oxides FexO, NiO, and Cu2O have been measured as a means of assuring that a cell apparatus is functioning properly. As a result, a large quantity of data pertinent to the calculation of the high-temperature standard free energy of formation (?GO) of these oxides has been accumulated. AGFexo has been carefully measured in many independent investigations, using a variety of techniques, and consequently is accurately known. chipmans has used this informa-

Jan 1, 1968

By Wolfgang Pietsch

Prior publications have shown that the structure and characteristics of direct reduced iron produced by direct reduction from iron ores or iron ore pellets depend on many parameters which include process variables, such as, reduction temperature, reduction gas composition, and type or origin of the raw material. Most of the published literature deals with direct reduced iron produced in the laboratory at theoretically interesting but commercially uneconomical or technically impossible conditions. Much of the work was carried out in pure carbon monoxide in pure hydrogen, or in such mixtures of carbon monoxide and hydrogen which are of no commercial interest. Other results were obtained at temperatures which are too high and would cause sticking in large scale plants. For this reason, work was initiated by Midrex Corporation to investigate the influence of raw materials and reduction temperature on structure and characteristics of direct reduced iron. The composition of the reducing gas used to prepare the samples for this study produces results corresponding to those obtained with a typical commercial gas. The temperatures at which reduction was carried out are in a technically feasible range. This paper reports on the results.

Jan 1, 1979

Application of Kutter's Formula to Gases Discussion of paper by F.-ERNEST BRACKETT, presented at the Pittsburgh Meeting and issued, as Pamphlet No. 1578-A-F, with MINING AND METALLURGY, June. 1926. C. S. WITHERELL, New York, N. Y..(written discussion).-There is no reason to doubt that the relationship between the rate of, flow and. the impelling force of all fluids can be expressed by a general typical equation that takes cognizance of all relevant factors such as density, viscosity (or its reciprocal, mobility) and nature of channel-walls. Most fluids that are commonly conveyed by flow in confined channels are so highly mobile that they may be considered non-viscous, hence for these fluids the factor of viscosity does not need to appear in the equation. Water is the outstanding example of this class of fluids and its dynamic behavior has been so thoroughly investigated that proven formulas pertaining thereto, be they rational or empirical, would naturally serve as prototypes for the other non-viscous fluids. As non-viscous fluids can be classed all gases and vapors, most unsaturated aqueous solutions, gasoline, alcohol, etc. Viscous fluids comprise those that have a sluggish flow such as most oils, tar, molasses, etc., the' high viscosity of which is due to shearing resistance between molecules, a force that must betaken into account in figuring the flow of fluids of this class.

Jan 10, 1926

By J. D. Jones

Unique aspects of tailing pond design aid reclamation facilities for three separate projects are described.

Jan 1, 1978

By E. Mcl. Tittmann

Deep-seated human instincts urge us to positively mark the passage of time. We celebrate the passage of each year. Years give way to decades, and decades to half centuries and centuries. At all these mileposts we are inclined to pause, take a look around and catch our breaths before embarking on the next leg. We are at such a point now and this meeting I am sure will give direction to the road ahead into the decade of the seventies. In looking around at this point, 1979, it is obvious to all of us that the environment in which we must mine, mill, smelt and refine lead and zinc has radically changed. These changes have, of course, occurred over a long period of time. They have, however, all been in the same general direction. They have all had the same motivation. The period of greatest contrast is probably the fifteen years just before World War II and the fifteen years following the end of that war. I thought that I might review briefly with you what seems to me to be four of the more important changes that have developed since World War II that profoundly affect our activities in the lead and zinc industry. I mentioned before that all these changes have been in the same direction; that is, they have all tended to restrict our freedom of action in pursuing our objective of producing lead and zinc on a competitive basis at a profit. Consequently, in discussing them you may think that I am merely viewing with alarm. This is not the intent. This is merely supposed to be an objective analysis. I think it appropriate before discussing these trends in detail to examine the position of lead and zinc today.

Jan 1, 1970

By E. J. Wasp, T. C. Aude, F. B. Raymer

The following paper deals with technical aspects of terminal facilities for western coal pipelines. The information is taken from the Ohio and Black Mesa pipelines and the proposed one in Wyoming. This paper first discusses the feed terminal, the product that it must produce, and the reasons for coal cleaning. Then in the delivery terminal section, the various methods of dewatering the coal and some recent innovative ideas on bunkering the dewatered product and storing the dewatered coal in large outdoor piles are discussed.

Jan 1, 1979

LIBERIAN ore has been called the richest iron ore mined in the world, and thus far, the output from the Liberian Mining Co.'s Bomi Hills mine has lived up to its reputation. Iron content has been variously given as 68.47 pct to 68.825 pct. A recent United Nations survey gave it first place, surplanting the previously top-rated Swedish product. The first shipment of Liberian ore to the United States reached Baltimore in June, 1952 and went into blast furnaces at Republic Steel's Cleveland plant, where excellent results were reported. The physical make-up of the ore was hard, dense lumps, free of fines and with ideal size distribution. The Bomi hills mines were scheduled to be in full operation by the end of 1952. At the close of 1951, 200,000 tons of ore had been delivered to Baltimore. Liberian Mining Co. states that production is about 90,000 tons of ore per month at present. Between 1200 and 1500 men are employed at the mine site, with about 25 pct of them Americans. The Bomi Hill project was financed with the aid of the Export Import bank, which loaned Liberia Mining part of the sum needed to initiate and put the development into production. No definite expansion plans are in the making but extensive diamond drilling is being pursued. Original estimates of annual production for Bomi Hills ran in the neighborhood of 1.5 million tons, but the figure is no longer applicable. Liberia's potential as an iron producing country has been known for a long time, but the physical obstacles in the way of large scale production were such as to prohibit even contemplation of the project. Until recent years, the only route from the mine site to Monrovia was a foot trail. Once to the coast, over swamps and unbridged rivers, the ore was still useless because of the lack of loading facilities. Transportation Solved One problem was solved with the completion of the artificial harbor at Monrovia. Harbor construction was well under way when the mine project began in 1948. The island location of Monrovia also made the building of a bridge across the St. Paul River necessary. The 980 ft reinforced concrete structure, accommodating railroad and vehicular traffic, was opened in 1949. Meanwhile, preliminary work on railroad construction started. Grading was completed quickly. In April, 1951, the first train made the trip from Monrovia to the Bomi Hills. About half of the cost of the entire project went into railroad construction. More than 2200 men, often forced to resort to primitive methods, were engaged in clearing a path through the heavy forests between the mine and port. Swamps were drained and filled, and bridges, including the William V. S. Tubman, named for the Liberian President, were constructed. At the port, a Robbins Conveyor Belt Co., orehandling plant was installed. Ships can be loaded from the stockpile at the rate of 3000 tons per hr and vessels need spend only one day in port. Liberian Mining is operating under an 80 year lease, giving the company exclusive mining rights to all minerals, except gold, platinum, and diamonds, within a 40 mile radius of Bomi Hills. The contract provides a fixed royalty to the Liberian Government of five cents per ton of ore extracted, and a premium -based on the New York market price for Bessemer-grade pig iron. The entire project started because an American,

Jan 1, 1952

By Hans-Jürgen Schaller, Horst A. Brodowsky

Activity coefficients of boron in palladium were determined at concentrations up to PdB0.23 by reducing B2O3 between 870" and 1050°C in a controlled H2-H2stream and measuring the resulting weight gain. The deviations from ideal behavior closely resemble those of the system Pd-H and are interpreted in terms of three principles: 1) The solute atoms occupy octahedral interstitial positions. 2) They donate their valence electrons to the 4 d and 5s bands of palladium, raising its Fermi energy. 3) The lattice strain energy is lower for two nearesl -neighbor interstitial particles than for two farther separate ones. SOLID solutions of hydrogen in palladium are a useful subject for studying thermodynamic aspects of the formation of alloys and of nonstoichiometric systems.1-3 The activity of hydrogen is readily measurable to a high degree of accuracy,4'5 even at low temperatures where the deviations from ideal behavior are more pronounced, and its simple structure facilitates an interpretation of these deviations in terms of a detailed model. Two effects are discussed to account for the non-ideal properties:3 An "electronic" effect, connected with the rise of the Fermi energy, as electrons of the interstitial hydrogen atoms enter the electron gas of the metal, and an "elastic" effect, due to an interaction of the regions of strain around each interstitial atom. The electronic effect is based on the idea that the lowest energy levels of the dissolved hydrogen atoms are higher than the Fermi energy, so that the electron will not occupy a localized state but enter into the electron band of the metal.6 The elastic effect is based on the observation that dissolved hydrogen distorts and expands the palladium lattice. The hypothesis is put forward that the elastic strain energy is lower for two adjacent dilatational centers than for two separate ones; i.e., they attract each other. The resulting pair interaction can be used to calculate an elastic contribution to the thermodynamic excess functions by means of one of the statistical methods. This model permitted a detailed description of the solution properties of hydrogen in palladium3 and in palladium alloys.798 An extension of the approach to describe the excess functions of substitutional palladium alloys is possible.9 In order to further test and refine the model, an investigation of other interstitial alloys was started. Palladium dissolves considerable amounts of boron in homogeneous solid solution.10 The palladium lattice expands linearly up to nB = 0.23 (nB = B/Pd atomic ratio), the highest concentration studied." The expan- sion, extrapolated for 1 mole of interstitial per mole of palladium, is 17 pct of the lattice constant of pure palladium vs 5.7 pct in the case of hydrogen.12 The fact that the lattice expands rather than contracts is a strong indication that interstitial positions are occupied. According to neutron diffraction experiments, hydrogen occupies the octahedral sites of the fcc lattice.13 Unfortunately, this direct evidence is not available for the Pb-B system, mainly because of the high-reaction cross section of boron with thermal neutrons. However, by way of analogy and on the grounds of the rather close similarities between the two systems to be reported here, it seems safe to attribute octahedral positions to the dissolved boron, too. At higher boron contents, compounds of stoichiomet-ric compositions are reported such as Pd3B, which has the structure of cementite,14 so that a close structural relationship seems to exist with the system r Fe-C. In their study of hydrogen absorption in Pb-B alloys, Sieverts and Briining noted that alloys with an atomic ratio of about nB = 0.16 are no longer homogeneous15 This observation was confirmed in an extensive X-ray investigation.11,16 The phase boundaries of two miscibility gaps were established. One two-phase region was stable below a transition temperature of about 315°C and extended from nB = 0.015 to 0.178. The other one extended from nB = 0.021 to 0.114 slightly above the transition temperature and had an apex at nB = 0.065 and 410°C. All phases involved have the fcc structure of pure palladium with lattice expansions proportional to their boron contents. The occurrence of miscibility gaps, i.e., the coexistence of dilute and concentrated phases, points to an energy of attraction between the dissolved particles, in the Pb-B system as well as in the Pd-H system. The filling up of the electron bands seems to be analogous, too, in the two systems, as indicated by the hydrogen absorption capacit15,17,18 and by the suscepti bility of Pd-B alloys.l8 In both types of experiments, boron acts as an electron donor. A chemical method was used to measure the activity of boron in palladium. Boron trioxide was reduced in a moist hydrogen stream: B2O3 + 3H2 = 2B + 3H3O [l] At known activities or partial pressures of boron trioxide, hydrogen, and water, the activity of boron could be calculated from the law of mass action. The equilibrium concentration of boron corresponding to this activity was determined as the weight gain of the sample. EXPERIMENTAL The samples consisted of small pieces of foil of 0.1 mm thickness and about 100 mg weight. The palladium was supplied by DEGUSSA, Germany, and stated to be

Jan 1, 1970

By J. L. Lehman, J. D. Sudbury, J. E. Landers, W. D. Greathouse

A full scale field experiment on cathodic protection of casing answers questions concerning (1) the proper criteria for determining current requirments, (2) the amount of protection provided by different currents, and (3) the transfer of current at the base of the surface pipe. Three dry holes in the Trico pool in Rooks County, Kans., were selected for cathodic protection tests. The three holes were in an area where casing failures opposite the Dakota water sand often accur in less than a year. Examination of the electric togs showed the wells to be similar to other wells in the field where casing in four of seven producing wells has failed. The three holes were cleaned out and cased with 75 joints of new 51/2-in. 14-tb J-55. Each joint was visually inspected and marked before it as run. The casing was bull plugged and floated in the hole 50 that the inside might remain dry and free of excessive attack. Also, if a leak occurred, a pressure increase could be observed on gawge at the surface. Extensive testing was done, including potential profiles, log current-potentid curves and electrode measurements from both surface and downhole connections. Based on these data, a current of 12 amps was applied to one well and 4 amps to mother. The third well was left to corrode. During the two-year period when the casing was in the ground, [he applied current was checked weekly, and reference electrode measurements were made about every two months. Three sets of casing potential profi1e.c were run. When the three strings were pulled, each joint was examined for type of scale formed, presence of sulfate-reducing bacteria, extent of corrosion nttnck and pit depth. Since the pipe was new when run, quantitative determination of the protection provided by current was possible. This is the first concrete field evidence to help resolve the many arguments about the proper method for selecting adequate current for cathodic protection of oilwell (-using. INTRODUCTION A casing string is run when a well is drilled. This pipe is supposed to protect this valuable "hole in the ground" for the life of the well. Often the casing does not last the life of the well; it is with these casing failures that this work is concerned. The cost of repairing a casing failure varies from field to field—from as much as a $30,000 per leak average in California to $5,000 per leak in Kansas. Additional costs other than actual repairs are also important. These include formation damage, lost production, etc. Casing damage caused by internal corrosion is important in some areas. Treatment normally consists of flushing inhibitor down the annulus, but further research is being done on control measures. The test described in this paper is concerned only with external corrosion. The problem of casing failure from external attack has appeared in several areas including western Kansas, California, Montana, Wyoming, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi. Cathodic protection is currently being used in an attempt to control external corrosion. From reports in the NACE there are thousands of wells currently under cathodic protection. The quantity of current being applied ranges from 27 amps on some deep California wells to a few tenths of an amp being supplied from magnesium anodes on wells in Texas and Kansas. Considerable field and laboratory effort1,9,5,6 was exented on the problem of cathodic prctection of casing, and it became fairly obvious that this method could be used to protect wells. Early workers showed that current applied to a well distributed itself over the length of the casing and was not concentrated on the upper few hundred feet. Basic cathodic protection theory had shown that corrosion attack could be stopped by applying sufficient current. The problem resolved itself, then, into one of trying to decide just how much current was necessary. Various criteria were utilized in installing the many existing cathodic protection installations. These methods included the following. 1. Applying sufficient current to remove the anodic slope as shown by the potential profile." 7. Applying enough current to maintain all areas of the casing at a pipe-to-soil potential of .85 v.' 3. Applying the current indicated by a log current-potential (or E log I) curve." 4. Supplying the current necessary to shift the pipe to-soil potential .3 v." 5. Applying 2 or 3 milliamps of current per sq ft of casing."

By P. Hazebroek, C. S. Mathews, E. E. Allen, H. C. Lefkovits

A rigorous study was made of the behavior of reservoirs composed of horizontal layers, unconnected except at the well and filled with a compressible fluid. The report is presented in two parts. Part I deals with the practical implications of the results obtained; Part 11 contains the mathematical derivation of the solution. The main portion of Part I is concerned with application of the results to reservoirs composed of two layers. Relative rates of depletion of the layers are studied, and it is shown that differential depletion between layers exists in the transient stage of the reservoir, which generally is of an order of magnitude longer than the transient stage in a single-layer reservoir. In the transient stage, the more permeable layer is depleted faster than the less permeable. However, the reservoir approaches a steady-state situation where both layers contribute equally to production. Theoretical build-up curves from such reservoirs are presented, and the influence of a skin effect and flow into casing and tubing are also evaluated. The build-up curves are predicted to have, first, the familiar logarithmic straight-line section and, subsequently, a rising and flattened section. The results found are compared with an extension of an approximate theory, and it is found that this simplified theory is applicable over most of the life of the reservoir. Extensions to reservoirs containing more than two layers are indicated, and examples of the performance and build-up curves for three-layered reservoirs are presented. The theoretical results on build-up curves were applied to field examples of such reservoirs, and satisfactory results were obtained. From the build-up curve, the pemeability-thickness product, the wellbore damage and the static pressure are obtained. However, it apparently is not possible to determine the properties of the individual layers from the combined build-up curve. A large number of reservoirs have been found where the producing formation is composed of two or more layers of differing physical characteristics, such as permeability and porosity, and where also the thicknesses of the layers differ. Since in general a differential depletion should exist between the layers of such reservoirs, it would be advantageous to know the amount of the differential depletion under a given production history. It also would be valuable to know the pressure behavior, because it could be undesirable to produce a reservoir in such a manner that the pressure in one of the layers would have fallen below the bubble point of the oil at a time when another layer might still be virtually undepleted. The determination of static pressures in shut-in wells with slow build-up is another feature of importance in layered reservoirs. If the behavior of the reservoir differs appreciably from the predicted behavior of a single-layer reservoir, the type of analysis for build-up curves suggested for single-layer reservoirs is not applicable. Several authors have treated the problem of finding the pressure and production characteristics of multilayer reservoirs. Horner treated the problem of n layers in an infinite field, the layers being connected only at the well. Tempelaar-Lietz2 has presented an approximate treatment of the characteristics of a bounded reservoir composed of two layers of different permeabilities and equal thicknesses. Homer gave no information on differential depletion between layers, and the treatment of Tempelaar-Lietz was not applicable for prediction of pressure build-up behavior. In addition, it was thought that a more rigorous treatment than the one by Tempelaar-Lietz would be valuable in determining the range of validity of this solution. The present study, therefore, was made of a bounded reservoir composed of two or more layers,

By R. A. L. Black, J. E. Jennings

The problems of slope stability in open cast mines are examined. A criterion, the instantaneous stripping ratio, is suggested for use in the design of pit slopes and as an index of control at all stages of the exploitation of the orebody. This criterion may also be related to safety and to the maximizing of profits. Two approaches to safe design of slopes, one from the point of view of soil mechanics and the other from the point of view of rock mechanics, are described and critically compared. The effect on slope stability of the regional tectonic stress field is discussed. Explanation is given of the application of the Terzaghi effective stress concept to problems in both soil and rock environments, including possible effects when borehole deformation techniques are used to measure stresses in rock in situ. A company embarking on open cast mining is faced with two basic questions: 1) will the venture be profitable and 2) can it be carried out with safety? The two questions are obviously interrelated because both depend upon the slope angles adopted for the pit. The cost of open cast mining depends largely upon the stripping ratio, defined as the volume of overburden that must be removed to the volume of ore recovered. The steeper the slope angles, the more favorable the stripping ratio, but the stability of the slopes, and therefore the safety of men and materials in the pit, require that the angles be made relatively flat. Consequently, the design depends upon a compromise: the slopes must be steep enough to result in economical mining and flat enough to ensure safety. Today there is a world trend towards deeper mining by open cast methods. This is mainly due to the higher cost of underground mining and the lower cost of open excavation resulting from the introduction of large modern earth and rock-moving machinery. Deeper open cast mining has led to a very great increase in the volumes of wasted overburden, and much thought is being given to the considerable economic benefits which would result if pit slopes could be made steeper by even one or two degrees. The result has been an increasing interest in research into slope stability problems in the expectation that the application of scientific principles will provide solutions leading both to economies and to more predictable operation of the mines. In at least four places, the U.S., Australia, Western Germany and Southern Africa, comprehensive investigations are at present in progress, and it is the object of this paper to review some of the more important aspects of these programs. RELATION BETWEEN ECONOMY OF OPERATION AND SLOPE ANGLES The main object of any industrial enterprise in a free economy is to make a profit. In mining, where profits must be made from a wasting capital asset, a further definition of the profit motive is imposed, namely that the economic aim should be to maximize the total possible profit. But since profits deferred for a number of years are not as valuable as profits that are immediately available, it is usual to discount deferred profits at some rate of interest which reflects their current or present value in the hands of the investor. Thus, in mining the logical aim can be defined more closely still: to maximize the present value of the total future profits. In commercial terms the present value represents the market value of the operation as a going concern. Many factors enter into the forecast of current and future profits. They include the volume of production, the price of the salable product and the cost of production. Current profits can be estimated with reasonable accuracy by the operating engineers; but it is the task of economists and management to assess future trends in the mineral markets and in the economy as a whole, and together with the engineers, they can then estimate the future cost and profitability of the mining operations. In open cast mining, the rate of ore production once decided on remains a virtually constant factor unless a major change in the capital structure of the mine is made. But one factor over which the operator has a considerable measure of control is the ratio of the volume of ore mined to the volume of waste over-

Jan 1, 1963

By Guy D. Bruno

Through the remainder of this century, world consumption of fluorine per ton of primary aluminum produced will continue to be substantially reduced. Growth of the primary industry will offset some of the unit consumption, but demand for new fluorine sources will decline sharply. Continued application of dry fume scrubbing systems will be the most significant factor in reducing demand.

Jan 11, 1978

By L. G. Evans, C. Rampacek, G. A. Freeman

A large aggregate tonnage of oxidized and mixed oxide-sulfide copper ore of the southwestern U.S. is not amenable to conventional flotation concentration or sulfuric acid leach treatment. Most of the ores contain chrysocolla as the principal oxide copper mineral, for which no successful commercial flotation method has yet been developed. Acid leaching some ores is not feasible since they contain substantial quantities of calcite and other acid-consuming constituents. Other ores decrepitate during leaching or contain excessive slime and clay minerals which cause plugging of the ore beds.

Jan 10, 1961

By Glenn C. South, Charles C. Russell

A primary factor in the selection of coals for making coke at high temperatures is the amount of pressure the coal will exert upon the oven walls when carbonized in modem by-product ovens.l-3 This factor has become increasingly important in recent years because of demands for increased throughput and higher coke yields. As a result of the increasing necessity for assessing coals in regard to their carbonization pressures, more and more research work is being directed toward developing labora-tory-scale tests for predicting carbonization pressures and for showing how blends of coking coals may be modified to eliminate pressures liable to damage coke-oven walls. The specific reasons have never been defined as to why some blends of coking coals develop dangerous carbonization pressures and others do not, therefore specific procedures to eliminate dangerous pressures could not be prescribed. It is true that the major processes occurring during carbonization have been described by many writers,4 and there is a general agreement on the ideas of the changes that occur as coal is transformed into coke. However, there is little evidence relating the processes occurring during carbonization to the pressure developed and the available evidence is very incomplete and often contradictory. This deficiency arises in part from the fact that the fundamental causes of pressure development have not been defined, at least from experimental data, and in turn this is the result of the lack of satisfactory testing equipment for studying the problem. Operating experience has shown several ways of reducing or eliminating dangerous pressures,5 but probably none of these ways is applicable to all blends of coking coals, and such empirical methods often lead to production of inferior coke. They are trial-and-error methods, not designed to remedy specific causes of pressure development. The number of laboratory-scale testing devices designed to estimate the carbonization pressures that result when coals are carbonized in commercial ovens is probably well over a hundred.6 Few of these instruments have remained in use for any length of time, either because the predictions were not sufficiently accurate or, more often, because too many exceptions were found. Often testing devices are operated without any attempt at duplication of conditions in commercial ovens and erroneous and contradictory results are frequently obtained. Therefore, it has seemed desirable to study the properties of coal itself and to determine any relationships between the properties of the coal and the carbonization pressures developed. Relationship between Properties of Coal and Carbonization Pressure Attempts to determine relationships between various properties of coal and carbonization pressures, for the most parti have been indirect because no satisfactory and reliable laboratory testing device has

Jan 1, 1944

By Clifford J. Lewis, James L. Drobnick

Vexed with competition from relatively high grade foreign orebodies, perplexed by marginal, low grade domestic orebodies, and ironically faced with the fact that practically every metal needed in our economy is available domestically in ample quantity in the ground, our mining industry awaits the advancements in beneficiation technology that will bridge the gap between the ground and the market place for our presently unexploited mineral reserves. Among the vast number of research and development projects underway in the metals mining industry, there are a few chemical techniques in metals winning that, with further development or wider application, could have a profound effect on the industry. These techniques include the Imperial Smelting and Refining Process for complex lead-zinc ores, chlorination and fused salt procedures, the liquid ion exchange process, and the field of non-aqueous leaching. IMPERIAL SMELTING PROCESS The Imperial Smelting and Refining Process is of interest because it offers a possible economic route for the processing of complex zinc-lead-copper ores. The process represents the outcome of the combined efforts of metallurgists and engineers of Imperial Smelting Corporation. Ltd., the United Kingdom Subsidiary of the Consolidated Zinc Corporation, Ltd., and is the subject of patents throughout the world. This process is essentially the employment of the blast furnace for the production of zinc. Zinc has always resisted blast furnace technology, primarily because of the difficulty of condensing zinc vapor from dilute gases. The Imperial Smelting Process employs a blast furnace working at ordinary pressures and in a system which is able to con- dense a blast furnace gas of a very low zinc content.

Jan 11, 1963