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By H. H. Evinger, M. Muskat

Although the shooting of oil wells for the purpose of increasing production has been practiced since 1866, present-day shooting technique has been arrived at almost wholly by a process of trial and error. The difficulties attending either a theoretical analysis of the problem or an experimental attack become apparent when one actually embarks on a theoretical investigation or attempts to formulate an intelligent experimental program. The literature on the subject consists mainly of descriptions of current practice, scattered eye-witness accounts of events following the shooting of a well, and vague speculations on the mechanical processes involved. In contrast to quarry blasting, the results of oil-well shooting cannot be determined by means of visual inspection, and it is perhaps for this reason that only one attempt at what approaches a direct experimental attack has been reported in the literature.' In these experiments, charges of liquid nitroglycerin were exploded in holes drilled in a sandstone outcrop. In order to observe the character and extent of the resulting fractures, the rock was blasted away so as to expose the original shot holes. After all this had been done it was found impossible to distinguish the fracturing due to the original shots from that due to the subsequent blasting. The enlargement of the holes due to the pulverizing action of the shots was measured and an attempt was made to determine the effectiveness if sand tamping. Only five shots were made and few definite conclusions could be drawn. Some small-scale experiments to deter-mine the effect of tamping were performed by Snelling and IIalL2 Small charges (zo grams) of dynamite were detonated at the bottom of a cylindrical hole in a lead block and the resulting enlargement of the hole was taken as a measure of the effectiveness of the explosion. It was found that when the shot was tamped with a sufficient amount of sand or clay, the volume enlargement was approximately double that found when no stemming had been used. The properties of the explosives have been the subject of much study by the manufacturers, the U. S. Bureau of Mines, and various other agencies. For example, velocities of detonation for many commercial explosives are to be found in the Blasters' Handbook, issued by the Du Pont company. Many other properties are given in a treatise on the subject by Naoum.~ The shock wave that accompanies the detonation of high explosives has been studied photographically by Payman4 and others. The hydrodynamical theory of the shock wave has received much attention, and an extended theoretical treatment is given by Bateman.6 Two aspects of the well-shooting problem will be considered in this paper; namely, the fracturing of subsurface strata, and possible damage to casing. With respect to the former of these, several calculations have been made giving the stresses in the rocks surrounding the shot. In order to arrive at numerical results at all, however, it is necessary to introduce a great many simplifying

Jan 1, 1941

By M. Muskat, H. H. Evinger

Although the shooting of oil wells for the purpose of increasing production has been practiced since 1866, present-day shooting technique has been arrived at almost wholly by a process of trial and error. The difficulties attending either a theoretical analysis of the problem or an experimental attack become apparent when one actually embarks on a theoretical investigation or attempts to formulate an intelligent experimental program. The literature on the subject consists mainly of descriptions of current practice, scattered eye-witness accounts of events following the shooting of a well, and vague speculations on the mechanical processes involved. In contrast to quarry blasting, the results of oil-well shooting cannot be determined by means of visual inspection, and it is perhaps for this reason that only one attempt at what approaches a direct experimental attack has been reported in the literature.' In these experiments, charges of liquid nitroglycerin were exploded in holes drilled in a sandstone outcrop. In order to observe the character and extent of the resulting fractures, the rock was blasted away so as to expose the original shot holes. After all this had been done it was found impossible to distinguish the fracturing due to the original shots from that due to the subsequent blasting. The enlargement of the holes due to the pulverizing action of the shots was measured and an attempt was made to determine the effectiveness if sand tamping. Only five shots were made and few definite conclusions could be drawn. Some small-scale experiments to deter-mine the effect of tamping were performed by Snelling and IIalL2 Small charges (zo grams) of dynamite were detonated at the bottom of a cylindrical hole in a lead block and the resulting enlargement of the hole was taken as a measure of the effectiveness of the explosion. It was found that when the shot was tamped with a sufficient amount of sand or clay, the volume enlargement was approximately double that found when no stemming had been used. The properties of the explosives have been the subject of much study by the manufacturers, the U. S. Bureau of Mines, and various other agencies. For example, velocities of detonation for many commercial explosives are to be found in the Blasters' Handbook, issued by the Du Pont company. Many other properties are given in a treatise on the subject by Naoum.~ The shock wave that accompanies the detonation of high explosives has been studied photographically by Payman4 and others. The hydrodynamical theory of the shock wave has received much attention, and an extended theoretical treatment is given by Bateman.6 Two aspects of the well-shooting problem will be considered in this paper; namely, the fracturing of subsurface strata, and possible damage to casing. With respect to the former of these, several calculations have been made giving the stresses in the rocks surrounding the shot. In order to arrive at numerical results at all, however, it is necessary to introduce a great many simplifying

Jan 1, 1941

By Wilfrid R. Foster

The industrial importance of the sillimanite group of minerals depends upon the beneficial properties exhibited by porcelains and refractories in which substantial amounts of these minerals are utilized as raw materials. The presence of "sillimanite" (now known to be the closely related mineral, mullite) in conventional porcelains and refractories has been known since before the turn of the century. As early as 1906 German investigators observed a direct correlation between the "sillimanite" content of a porcelain and its electrical and mechanical properties. Acting upon this discovery, U. S. Bureau of Standards investigators during World War I developed improved pyrometer tubes and spark plug porcelains, by increasing substantially the amount of "sillimanite" at the expense of quartz. The success of these experiments, first reported in 1918, at once aroused a lively interest in the location of natural sources of sillimanite and its related minerals. As a result of diligent search, the large andalusite deposits in California were discovered in 1919. Within the next several years large deposits of kyanite and sillimanite in India and kyanite in the United States had been reported. The search for these minerals in quantity, by both private and governmental agencies, has continued unabated during the ensuing forty years. A number of domestic deposits of kyanite have been worked during the past 30 years. Of these, only the Virginian and South Carolinian deposits are currently in substantial production. The only commercial andalusite production in the United States has been in California and Nevada. A dumortierite deposit in Nevada, known since 1917 but ignored for want of a commercial use, began production in 1925. A topaz occurrence in South Carolina has yielded a small production since about 1940. Domestic production of andalusite, dumortierite and topaz had virtually ceased by 1950. There has never been any commercial development of domestic sillimanite deposits. Kyanite has been mined almost continuously in India since about 1922. The remoteness of the large deposits of Indian sillimanite had caused it to be neglected until 1949. In that year sillimanite production began, and it has continued to the present. South African andalusite has been marketed from the 1930's until the present time. From 1944 to 1955 Kenya, British East Africa, was an important producer of kyanite. Commercial deposits of kyanite in Ontario, Canada should soon be in production. The first production of kyanite in Europe began in Austria in 1953. No commercial deposits of mullite are known anywhere in the world. It is of interest to note that synthetic mullite, which as "sillimanite" first elicited interest in the A12O3-rich aluminosilicate refractories, has enjoyed a marked increase in production in recent years. This is a result of the gradual depletion of known deposits of high-quality kyanite and related minerals."' Composition The sillimanite group includes kyanite, andalusite, and sillimanite, all having the same chemical composition (A12O3•SiO2) but different physical properties. Two other minerals, dumortierite and topaz, are also included in

Jan 1, 1960

By Thomas L. Kesler

I all of the 14 million tons of kaolin produced in Georgia through 1949 had been mined from a single deposit 20 ft thick, it would represent a mined-out area of less than 1 sq mile. This measure of depletion is in such strong contrast with the large size of the area shown in Fig. 1, from which most of the output has come, that there has developed an optimistic outlook concerning future supplies of kaolin equal in grade to that already mined. Dozens of mines are widely but not evenly distributed within this area, which consists mostly of parts of Twiggs, Wilkinson, and Washington counties. There are scarcely half a dozen kaolin mines elsewhere in the state that have been appreciably productive, although the areas in which they occur may have good possibilities. Most of the efforts to find new deposits, therefore, will be confined to the area shown in Fig. 1, for it is here that the industry has established its facilities, and prospecting is encouraged by relatively numerous outcrops and opened deposits of kaolin. The Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers drain the area. They and their main tributaries have flat, swampy floodplains covered with alluvium and for the most part thickly wooded. The divides between these streams are intricately dissected by the minor tributaries, which are spring-fed in steep-walled, cirque-like heads. Gullying and under-cutting are active along the streams but are partly controlled by unusually dense vegetation. The mean altitude is about 350 ft above sea level, and locally the relief ranges up to 200 ft. The area is near the inner margin of the Coastal Plain, and is underlain by Cretaceous and Tertiary formations. Its general location is shown in black in Fig. 1. The division between the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont plateau is actually a very sinuous line, the fall line, marking the extent to which erosion has stripped the Coastal Plain sediments from the southeastward-sloping surface of the crystalline rocks of the Piedmont. Cretaceous Host Formation The kaolin deposits, which are described in the succeeding section, occur sporadically in lenslike bodies in a thick series of poorly sorted clayey sands constituting the lowermost of the Upper Cretaceous formations, the Tuscaloosa. The basis for this correlation has been reviewed by Cooke.1 The same formation has been termed the Potomac group by Ladd2 and the Middendorf formation by Smith' in reports on the kaolin deposits. In another report, Veatch4 called the formation the Tuscaloosa but correlated it with the Lower Cretaceous. The Tuscaloosa in this area consists of fine to very coarse sands, commonly cross-bedded, which contain widely different proportions of white, pink, and yellow kaolin and considerable white mica. A few of the coarser beds contain quartz grains up to 3 in. in length, with bodies of pure white kaolin of equal size that appear to have been formed by the weathering of feldspar grains in place. In the kaolin-producing area, gravel and cobbles occur mainly at the base of the formation. Fig. 2 shows the relations of the Tuscaloosa and its kaolin deposits to the adjacent formations. Its base, on the eroded surface of the crystalline rocks, dips southeastward 50 to 60 ft to the mile, according to LaMoreaux.5 The upper surface of the Tuscaloosa is also an unconformity,

Jan 1, 1952

By Thomas L. Kesler

IF all of the 14 million tons of kaolin produced in Georgia through 1949 had been mined from a single deposit 20 ft thick, it would represent a mined-out area of less than 1 sq mile. This measure of depletion is in such strong contrast with the large size of the area shown in Fig. 1, from which most of the output has come, that there has developed an optimistic outlook concerning future supplies of kaolin equal in grade to that already mined. Dozens of mines are widely but not evenly distributed within this area, which consists mostly of parts of Twiggs, Wilkinson, and Washington counties. There are scarcely half a dozen kaolin mines elsewhere in the state that have been appreciably productive, although the areas in which they occur may have good possibilities. Most of the efforts to find new deposits, therefore, will be confined to the area shown in Fig. 1, for it is here that the industry has established its facilities, and prospecting is encouraged by relatively numerous outcrops and opened deposits of kaolin.

Jan 10, 1951

By Stephen Zorn

INTRODUCTION The process of financing mining projects in developing countries has changed greatly in the past 15 years. New methods of financing, notably the use of syndicated Eurocurrency project loans, have appeared, and direct equity financing by transnational mining corporations has become less significant. These changes are of particular importance to developing countries which have many mineral deposits still awaiting development, or even discovery. If major new mines are to be financed, host governments will need to obtain more sophisticated information than has hitherto been widely available as to the various sources of finance currently available and as to possibilities for innovative approaches to financing, such as the combination of several different kinds of financing in a single package. This paper reviews the major sources of mining finance potentially available to developing countries and highlights those problems in obtaining adequate financing that developing country producers have begun to experience in the last few years and that are likely to persist through the 1980s. Section I surveys the major types of mining finance; section II reviews specific financing problems, including (a) the withdrawal of the transnational corporations from developing countries, (b) inflation and the size of new projects; (c) developing country indebtedness, and (d) competition among projects in different countries. SOURCES OF DEVELOPING COUNTRY MINING CAPITAL1/ There is a wide range of financing mechanisms which are potentially available to developing countries with economically viable mining projects., Moreover, these financing mechanisms have not been fully exploited by developing countries, and more aggressive pursuit of financing by the governments of these countries may well reveal greater possibilities in respect of any particular project than may initially have appeared. However, virtually all the funds available from these sources are available only to projects which meet the standards of viability acceptable to lenders and others in the business community. If a project does not, for example, promise to generate a discounted cash flow rate of return of at least 15 per cent on total funds employed, or if it does not appear likely to generate sufficient cash flow in the early years of production to cover debt service requirements with a comfortable margin in reserve, most of the sources of financing will not be available. Only where a government has its own financial surplus (as in the case, for example, of the industrialization program of the Saudi Arabian government) can it effectively undertake projects which do not satisfy the definition of economic viability that is accepted at any given time by the worldwide financial community. Internal Sources In Developing Countries Internal financing capacity in developing countries is restricted to a relatively small number of countries - typically those large enough to support a well-rounded industrial sector, in which mining is only one of a number of dynamic industries. While there are large mining companies in certain other countries, the ability of such companies to finance new projects (or even, in some cases, to generate the cash necessary to maintain existing levels of production) is highly problematical. Within developing countries, the possible sources of internally-generated mining finance are the following: (1) state-owned enterprises; (2) private capital; (3) the banking system, and in particular those financing agencies that have a special involvement with the mining sector; and (4) direct budgetary appropriations.

Jan 1, 1985

By A. B. Cummins

THE past year has been of unusual interest for industrial minerals. It is increasingly evident that requirements for these raw materials move with general economic trends. Thus, with a peak year in the construction, chemical and petroleum industries, the nonmetallic mineral industries have been brought into the complex maze of an economy in which military spending is in the billions and in which the national income and wholesale commodity prices reached new levels. Many industrial minerals are of first rank essentiality in the defense effort and its supporting industries, and since some of these are of limited supply and others dependent on imports, the problems of procurement, distribution and conservation of available supplies make a complicated pattern. Despite some drawbacks and weak spots, the industrial mineral industries have, in general, met the national situation with great credit and many new production records have been set. The general accomplishment in 1951 should be one of satisfaction with confidence for the future. Difficulties, unsolved problems and uncertainties should not obscure the general trend which many consider optimistic. Prices in the main have been upward, in line with the inflation spiral, but nonmetallics appear with some exceptions to be behind the general increases. Labor difficulties have not been serious throughout the year. Retarding influences in expansions and planning have been the uncertainty of the Korean and international situations and a lack of confidence by many in the government economic program and its ultimate impact on the economic structure. It must also be kept in mind that stockpiling, unless all-out war develops, reaches a level and then ceases to be a major sustaining factor in the mineral markets. In accordance with the Defense Production Act of 1950 various control agencies have been set up to establish the desired rate of stockpile acquisitions. The objectives are subject to change depending on availabilities and needs-military, industrial, and civilian. In some minerals there has been disagreement on actual stockpile requirements, and there is some feeling that the needs of defense might be better met if more funds went into the development of new sources of supply of scarce raw materials and more materials were released to industry at this time. Nonmetallic minerals on the strategic and critical list of the Munitions Board as of July 1951 were: Group I; asbestos, some types; bauxite, refractory grade; beryl; celestite; chromite, chemical and refractory grades; columbite; corundum; diamonds, industrial; fluorspar, acid grade; graphite, some types; kyanite; manganese ore, battery and chemical grades; mica, some types; quartz crystals; rare earths; sapphire and ruby; talc, steatite, block; and Group II; bauxite, abrasive; cryolite, natural; diamond dies; graphite, crystalline fines; iodine; mica, muscovite block, stained and lower; rutile; selenium; talc, steatite, ground; zirconium ore, zircon. Details on the current status of stockpiling inventories are not available. The Defense Minerals Exploration Administration has, since April, executed 39 contracts for the exploration of nonmetallic minerals, including twenty for mica, seven for beryl-mica, six for asbestos, three for sulphur and one each for monazite, steatite talc and fluorspar. Total value of these contracts came to $892,059, of which the Government's participation amounts to $689,247. There were on hand at year's end another 97 applications for exploration aid on nonmetallic minerals in twenty different

Jan 1, 1952

By Subhas G. Malghan

Feldspathic deposits occur widely throughout the United States, but North Carolina, California, Connecticut, and South Carolina accounted for over 80% of the total domestic feldspar output for the year 1973.1 Pegmatites and granites constitute the major feldspar reserves of the United States, 2 and in addition, feldspar is produced as a byproduct by firms whose major products are spodumene and mica. 3 Feldspar flotation is practiced in the United States, Mexico, Finland, Norway, West Germany, Japan, and the USSR. According to the US Bureau of Mines estimates, the production of feldspar in the United States and rest of the world were 704,000 and 2,514,000 t, respectively. Feldspar is principally used as a flux in making glass, pottery, porcelain, enamel, tile, and other ceramic products. In recent years, the domestic feldspar industry is faced with a number of problems. As a result of increased cost of energy and the introduction in 1972 of new legislative programs relating to air, water, and noise pollution, land-use restrictions, and mined-land rehabilitation, the production costs have increased. Apart from the increased cost of operation, an operational problem exists with the feldspar producers in North Carolina, especially those in the Spruce Pine area. This problem is concerned with the use of hydrofluoric acid in the feldspar flotation. Feldspar producers in Spruce Pine, NC, have been discharging process waste water into the North Toe River. The mill waste water contains active fluoride ions. Fluoride in excessive concentrations is undesirable in waters used for drinking. It is stated that water containing 0.9-1.0 ppm fluoride will seldom cause mottled enamel on children's teeth; and for adults, concentrations less than 3-4 are not likely to cause endemic cumulative fluorosis and skeletal effect. Although the literature on this subject is rather confusing and inconclusive, the inference that concentrations over 4 ppm may affect bone structure is clear. According to the recent Federal Register,4 maximum fluoride level of 1.4 ppm at 79°-98°F is considered to be adequate and safe for the protection of health of the consumers. The EPA and state environmental agencies have accelerated their drive to reduce water pollution on a faster schedule. By 1977, the EPA specifications for maximum contaminant level of fluoride ions in the discharge waters of feldspar milling operatins is expected to be reduced to 2.0 ppm. The other problems of using hydrofluoric acid are the following: toxicity, hazards of handling and storage, and high cost as compared to other inorganic acids (almost 16 times the cost of sulfuric acid). In order to reduce fluoride levels in mill discharge waters, mining companies have taken the following steps: I) Recirculating a part of their mill water. Even though recirculation of mill water seems to be a novel method of reducing fluoride contamination of the discharge water, there are certain operational and handling problems. 2) Conducting research on the treatment of fluorides in mill waste water. The technology of treatment of fluoride ions has received considerable interest in the recent years. A recent research report5 estimates that the cost of fluoride ion removal to meet the present specifications in the feldspar industry is approximately $0.25/t of ore processed, and about $0.50/t of feldspar produced. At the request of the feldspar producing industries in North Carolina, the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Minerals Research Laboratory has taken up a research program directed towards overcoming the fluoride ion pollution problem. After a close study of the operational, technical, and economic aspects of feldspar flotation, it was decided to attempt to replace the conventional hydrofluoric acid process. Conventional Feldspar Flotatin Using Hydrofluoric Acid Since the inception of the feldspar flotation process using hydrofluoric acid by O'Meara2,6 the process has achieved a great commercial success. In the conventional flotation separation of feldspar-quartz, hydrofluoric acid is used to suppress quartz and activate feldspar, and a long chain amine salt (acetate or chloride) is used as a collector. The bulk of amine collectors used in current feldspar operations are applied as the water-soluble acetates of the free-base amines. These products are pastes or waxy solids which are available in a range of acetic acid neutralization levels generally 50 to 100% neutralized. In spite of the problems mentioned in connection with the use of hydrofluoric acid, this process is extremely stable with respect to changes in the process variables. With the exception of a few operations, alaskite and pegmatite are the major sources of feldspar.7 In the flotation treatment of a pegmatite that contains iron-bearing minerals (heavy minerals), mica, feldspar, and silica, a logical order of removal presents itself considering the following:8 1) Mica is readily floated by an amine collector in a pulp pH 3.5. Some iron-bearing minerals will usually respond to amine collector in acid circuit with the mica concentrate. 2) Since iron minerals tend to occur invariably in the feldspar concentrate, it is desirable to remove most of these prior to feldspar flotation. A fatty acid or a petroleum sulfonate collector used in this flotation step in acid circuit will float iron-bearing minerals. 3) Using hydrofluoric acid to maintain pH of 2.5, an amine collector employed in a final step will float feldspar away from silica, usually leaving the latter in the tailing as a high-grade silica concentrate. The problems connected with the flotation separation of feldspar-quartz arise due to the similarities in their chemical structure. Therefore, any reagent system that is likely to succeed in feldspar-quartz separation should have adsorption affinity towards one of the minerals and depression effect towards the other mineral.

Jan 1, 1979

By Arthur Hockman, Howard W. Jaffe, Howard F. Carl

THE problem of establishing practical techniques for evaluating natural corundum ores arose from the desire to improve the existing purchase specifications for crystal corundum procured by the Federal Government for stockpiling. Such purchase specifications had been developed for a large number of products, including minerals and ores considered to be critical and strategic because of the country's dependence on foreign sources of supply. It will be apparent to anyone considering the subject of purchase specifications that the determination of whether or not a submittal meets the specifications is a prime consideration. Consequently satisfactory specifications for minerals should not only incorporate physical, chemical, and mineralogical requirements that are practical but should also establish the means by which both buyer and seller can be assured that materials meet stated requirements. The Munition Board's Material Purchase Specification for corundum, dated February 1954, covered two grades of crystal corundum intended primarily for abrasive use. It established limits of size and of composition: Grade A, at least 95 pct +3 mesh and 92 pct alumina (Al2O3); Grade B, at least 95 pct +7 mesh and 90 pct alumina. It also specified that "of each lot of material, not less than 95 percent shall have a hardness equal to or exceeding nine (9) on Moh's Scale." These specifications were unsatisfactory for several reasons. They did not allow the purchase of lower grades of corundum being used by industry. Neither did they specify exactly what a corundum ore actually was, except that it should contain so much alumina and have a certain scratch hardness. Nothing was said about the abrasive qualities of the material that was to be purchased primarily for abrasive use. During the period 1946 to 1948 supplies of the two grades defined in the then current specifications continued to decrease. Early in 1949 industry recommended that the finer sizes of corundum known as "crystal corundum concentrates," ¼-in. to 16-mesh material, be added to the stockpile specifications and that lower grades of crystal corundum also be included. In the spring of 1949 the National Bureau of Standards and the Bureau of Mines were asked by the Munitions Board to cooperate in developing more practical specifications for grading natural corundum ores. The National Bureau of Standards indicated that it would investigate physical test methods for determining abrasive characteristics of corundum, and the Eastern Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines at College Park, Md., stated that it would consider the mineralogical aspects of the problem. Members of these two agencies, in consultation with representatives of the Office of Materials Resources of the Munitions Board and of the Federal Supply Service of the General Services Administration, and with the cooperation of industrial suppliers and consumers of abrasive corundum, developed, in a fairly short time, more practical specifications for six grades of corundum ores. The new specifications, issued January 1951, were for corundum, natural crystals, as by this time high-purity synthetic corundum was available and widely used. Nevertheless, for certain specific applications the natural product was preferred over the synthetic material. It has been extensively used in forming snagging wheels. It breaks into more or less cubical particles, whereas artificial corundum fractures into splintery shapes. These produce irregular cuts in glass, while the more symmetrical shape produces a more uniform ground surface. For this reason natural corundum has been preferred for certain types of lens grinding. Pure corundum is clear, colorless alpha alumina (A12O3), but it is rarely found in nature in this form. The most important gem varieties include the blue and yellow sapphires and the ruby. Minute impurities of titanic oxide impart a blue color,

Jan 1, 1955

By Orville R. Lyons

THE relative performance of coal washing equipment, or the effectiveness with which any type or make of equipment removes impurities from coal, has been most difficult to evaluate in the past. The most widely used yardstick is the Frazer and Yancey efficiency formula developed in 1922,1 but Yancey in a later article states that "washers treating coals of different density composition or operating at different densities of separation cannot be compared directly on the basis of this criterion."' Prior to and since 1922, a variety of other methods has been used for comparison purposes, including the distribution curve, the error area, and the "ecart probable" or probable error. Yancey and Geer in discussing these methods conclude, "Performance can be evaluated in a number of different ways, with the choice of the proper method to use being dictated by the objectives of the investigation and the data available."' It is true that performance can be evaluated in a variety of ways, but if the equipment is to be evaluated on an effectiveness basis, there should be only one universal comparison method. Varying methods have been used because one universal comparison method has not been found or developed. In the article previously quoted, Yancey and Geer state in clear terms the primary concept for a universal comparison method: "One of the simplest, and certainly one of the most obvious evaluations of washery performance is the quantity of sink material in the washed coal and the float material in the refuse. If the washery products are tested at the density at which the washing unit is operated, the sink in the washed coal and the float in the refuse represent material that has been misplaced." The quantity of misplaced material was used as a criterion of washery performance by Lincoln in 1913,8 by the United States Bureau of Mines in 1938,4 by Hancock in 1947,3 and by the national French research agency Cerchar in recent years.2 In 1950 Anderson' proposed the use of this criterion as an efficiency value to replace the Frazer and Yancey formula. However, none of the above-mentioned investigators used the misplaced material concept in a manner that would provide universal coal-cleaning equipment comparisons. The Correlation Theory The ideal coal cleaning process would treat all sizes and would make a perfect separation at any given specific gravity. All material lower in density than the desired value would report in the coal product and all material higher in density would report in the refuse product. Unfortunately, no known cleaning process achieves this goal and there seems little likelihood that any process yet to be invented will do more than approach it. When coal is treated in volume under operating conditions, it is impossible to avoid mechanical entrapment, fluctuations in throughput and effective gravity of separation, and the creation of turbulent currents, even when a true heavy-liquid bath is used and the feed is closely sized and contains little intermediate gravity material. This being so, it is possible to appreciate the difficulties inherent in trying to obtain a perfect separation when treating a wide range of sizes and a feed containing high percentages of intermediate material, using turbulent currents to help create the effective separation gravity, under operating conditions which normally tend to be on the overload side. When coal is separated from refuse in any coal cleaning equipment, some refuse always reports to the coal and some coal to the refuse; the writer therefore assumed that there should be a relationship between the total amount of misplaced material produced by any given piece of equipment and the difficulty of separation as represented by the percentage of near gravity material in the feed. With small amounts of near gravity or ±0.1 material in the feed there should be less misplacement of material than would occur with large amounts of near

Jan 1, 1952

By Wolfgang O. Gluschke

INTRODUCTION Virtually all countries have general legislation covering most aspects of mining and mineral processing, including investment and tax laws, safety and health regulation, and specific rules applying to exploration reporting procedures. Yet most developing countries negotiate individual agreements with foreign investors for major mineral projects, in particular when all or part of the expected output is exported. Such agreements are known under several different names, as for example concession agreement; technical assistance agreement or service contract; management agreement; production sharing contract; joint venture; or contract of work. The objectives and conditions governing such contracts are as diverse as these titles are. While a mining project is only one among a large mumber of similar undertakings in industrial countries, in most developing countries such projects usually have a dominating position within the country's economy. The general legislation is often inadequate and insufficiently detailed to cover all aspects of large projects with extensive foreign inputs and international markets. Therefore, the need for specific arrangements. Specific arrangements may also become necessary due to the complexity of markets for mineral products, the large number of participants - equity partners, suppliers, financial institutions, buyers, etc. - or economic and political conditions in the host country and fiscal regulations in the home country of the investors. Most agreements are concluded between governments, or government agencies, in developing countries and private industry headquartered in developed market economies - Canada and the United States of America in North America, Western European countries, Japan, South Africa and Australia - or, in some instances, with state-owned firms in these countries. There are fewer agreements between developing countries and the centrally planned economy countries - Eastern Europe and the USSR - which cannot be considered here because of absence of adequate information. Agreements can be concluded at any of the different stages from exploration through closing of a mine. While most contracts are negotiated at the time when a potentially viable ore body has been delineated and investigated sufficiently to anticipate a realistic time for commencement of production, other agreements start with "grass-roots" exploration, during operation of a mine, smelter or refinery or, exceptionally, after a temporary shutdown. While several major provisions are included in all types of agreements, others are covered in much more detail (or not at all) in some contracts reflecting the specific work programme of each project. While it is realized that subdivision and classification of complex contractual relations is necessarily arbitrary to a certain extent, such grouping is useful in practical terms, especially for the non-specialist. The following discussion, therefore, will start with a description of the major forms of contractual relation - concession, investment contract, joint venture, management agreement, service and production sharing contracts. Major issues covered in all, or almost all, agreements will then be dealt with. These include stages of development, corporate structure and control, fiscal arrangements, infrastructure development and environmental law, and dispute settlement and renegotiation. FORMS OF CONTRACT RELATIONS There has been marked change in the type of agreement entered into during the 1960s (and before) and the early 1970s and the period thereafter. While straight "concessions" - granting of exclusive rights to foreign investors over a certain deposit or areas with little restriction or well-defined obligations - were the rule during the first half of this century, more complex agreements have evolved since. Some of these cover every conceivable aspect, foreseen or only possible, and define rights and obligations of all partners to the last detail. Over the years, agreements have without doubt become more beneficial for the developing host countries, in part as a result of well-publicized nationalizations, as for example in Chile, and in part due to changed attitudes in all countries

Jan 1, 1985

By John S. Brock

INTRODUCTION The Oxford Dictionary says that the word "promoter" has usually been used in an opprobrious sense since at least 1876. This popular image of mining promoters is of cigar-chomping shysters and Brooklyn-Bridge vendors, improving their standard of living with the aid of funds raised through the sale of stock to little old ladies. It is unfortunate that mining promoters are considered crooks until they can prove their integrity and honesty by finding a mine. A common rule of thumb states that for every 1,000 prospects, 100 come to be drilled, and one becomes a mine. However, it is also a statistic that there have been mining promotions, where money raised has gone elsewhere than into the ground; Junior exploration companies can be handy vehicles for unscrupulous financial activity. One must remember though that every stock exchange has had its share of sound mining promotions that, because of the one in 1,000 odds, have failed for legitimate reasons. The promoter must be able to rationalize the worth of a mineral discovery which, on an industry- average basis, probably cost more to find than the discounted value of its net return, which return is not an assured percentage of invested capital, and furthermore, is ultimately from a wasting asset. So, it is easy to understand why the promoter must constantly justify the credibility of his operation to his grubstakers during the course of the "five phases of exploration," those being (1) euphoria, (2) disillusionment, (3) search for the guilty, (4) punishment for the innocent, and (5) distinction for the uninvolved. The promoter with the exploration organization that does not have the benefit of positive cash flow, by definition for the sake of this article, works for a promotional outfit, a Junior Company, that must raise its exploration budget from a variety of sources. Promotion, as discussed here, will not entirely refer to the formation and operation of a joint- stock company but rather to the overall methods of raising risk capital for mineral exploration ventures from outside sources. THE NECESSITY OF PROMOTION In Canada, the publicly financed Junior Company has had an enviable record of mine-finding success. In the Province of British Columbia alone, the discovery of fifteen out of twenty-four mines has been as a result of the activity of the Junior Company (B. C. & Yukon Chamber of Mines, 1977). In the Province of Ontario, one research study indicated that between 1951 and 1974 the 'Juniors' spent only 28 percent of the total exploration funds but were responsible for 62 percent of all economic discoveries (Freyman, 1978). The reasons for the success of the Juniors are tied to a variety of factors, the main one being personal initiative based on incentive. In other words, the principals, or their employees have 'a piece of the action.' The smaller companies can operate faster and more efficiently than their larger counterparts. The Junior Company is also destined to take some bigger risks, the 'long shots,' many of which efforts by virtue of the Junior's perseverance coupled with a touch of 'ore is where you find it' philosophy, result in major discoveries. The individuals, syndicates, private and publicly financed Junior Companies, because of high costs of exploration and development, cannot hope to finance most mineral prospects all the way to production. Exceptions do exist, those being the lower capital cost, small, high-grade deposits. Private investors and publicly financed Junior companies, therefore, can usually afford to finance most exploration through the initial drill-testing stage. The major resource company will enter a mining deal with a Junior Company usually by way of option or joint venture agreement, and will finance to production to earn an equity in the prospect or the Junior Company or both. The conventional lending institutions, banks and government agencies, will usually only participate through loaning a portion of capital

Jan 1, 1985

By F. W. Lee

Historical-From the beginning of time, all ingenuity of mankind has been concentrated upon the methods of finding gold and unusual deposits in the earth. An illustration (Fig. 1) from the old treatise by Agricola, "De Re Metallica," published in 1580, will serve to show the im-plicit faith of that generation in divining methods. However, it was not until 1920 that real progress was made in prospecting by using the latest advances of the physical sciences. The public interest was stimulated by the successes of these methods on the part of commercial oper-ators, and governmental agencies received many requests for information concerning their relia-bility. There were also, in the late 1920's.high- pressure mine-promotion schemes which used geophysical methods in a very questionable manner, symbolized in Figure 2 as of 1928 by an elec-trified forked stick. Authoritative information concerning such practices for public protection was needed to curb such notorious undertakings. Dr. Scott Turner, then Director of the United States Bureau of Mines, thoroughly understood the situation and was first in the governmental de-partments to recognize the possible value of a study of modern prospecting methods. The Bureau of Mines began this investigation by employing Drs. A. S. Eve and D. A. Keys of McGill University for short periods in the summer in 1927. Their first publication [see 1 of "References" at end of paper] served to illustrate the fundamental scientific principles which underlie geophysical prospecting. This was followed by a second publication [21 giving the results of field-tests. In the light of the rapid improvements during the intervening ten years, these two papers take a historical position. Later a full-time position under Civil Service was planned by the Bureau of Mines for con-tinuous investigations and research concerning geophysics and its applications to prospecting. It was Turner's idea that. since the oil-industry had been making very rapid progress with good results, if mineral mining could also benefit to the same degree, it would be of great help to that industry.

Jan 1, 1940

By M. H. Caron

BASIC U. S. Patent 1,487,145 on ammonia leaching of nickel ores was issued to the author on March 18, 1924. Equivalent patents in other countries were obtained later. The Dutch Syndicate Brikcarbo became interested in the process in 1935; and a couple of years later the late Dr. H. Foster Bain sent samples of Surigao laterite iron ore to Delft and witnessed tests made there on this material for the Philippines Commonwealth. As a result, the author was asked in April 1940 by Dr. Bain to go to the Philippines to erect and take charge of a pilot plant for the process. The World War prevented carrying out this proposal. The Dorr Co. also became interested in the process at about the same period. The investigations by the Freeport Sulphur Co. on the process as applied to the Cuban nickeliferous laterites, which resulted in the Nicaro enterprise, and the results of this operation have been well described elsewhere.1,²,³,4,5 This Nicaro plant was, in operation for almost two years, and during this period produced about 10 pct of the world nickel production from laterites containing 1.35 pct nickel. This plant and its operation were war measures and, in view of this, activities were suspended in April 1947. The results obtained fully demonstrated the technical feasibility of the process and its economical aspects on a commercial scale. In this respect, it should be understood that it is probable that improvements may be made by further development, and that there are possibilities for advantageous application of the process to garnierite and similar ores with higher values in nickel than the laterite iron ores at Nicaro. While the articles cited above have given a certain amount of information, no general article containing all the important process data has been pub- lished. Since the process is of more than local interest, a fuller knowledge of the fundamental and practical factors of the method may be welcome to those interested in this new field of metals technology. The author, accordingly, takes pleasure in submitting this article to the AIME as it represents in a condensed form the results of many years of research. The brief outlines of the fundamental and other factors and the explanation of observed phenomena are presented with as little discussion of details as possible, consistent with clarity. It is a special satisfaction to the author to make some contribution of his own in return for the benefits of the many valuable publications issued by the Institute during his thirty years of membership. Ores Adapted for Ammonia Leaching: All nickel and cobalt ores which originate from weathering of peridotites or similar basic rocks having sufficient values are suitable for treatment by the ammonia leaching process after a preliminary reduction under proper conditions. The formation of these deposits was probably as follows: In the course of time the basic rocks were attacked by atmospheric agencies; MgO and SiO2 were gradually leached out, and secondary nickel minerals formed, such as garnierite, a hydrated silicate of nickel and magnesia. These secondary products are, however, not stable. They decompose in a further stage of weathering and ultimately only a relatively small residue of insoluble oxides remains, known as laterite iron ore with a small nickel content and very little cobalt. Under these mantles of laterite, richer nickel values may be found, usually indicated by the occurrence of garnierite. The more the ore is disintegrated by nature, the higher the iron content and the better the nickel extractions that may be expected therefrom. Table I shows extractions that may be expected from different types of ores, assuming treatment of -200 mesh products and that all precautions have been taken for obtaining maximum extractions. As for the distribution of the various nickel minerals and compounds that may be present, great variations may occur from locality to locality as well as vertically in a deposit. From such "run of

Jan 1, 1951

By William E. Galloway, Gary E. Smith, Christopher D. Henry

INTRODUCTION Studies relating to the Oakville aquifer as presented in this report and by Henry et al. (this volume), are part of a larger , comprehensive examination of regional and local stratigraphic, hydro- geologic, and geochemical parameters within the Oakville Formation recently completed by the Bureau of Economic Geology. The Oakville serves both as a major Gulf Coast aquifer and an important uranium host (Fig. 1). Regional and local controls on hydrodynamics and hydrochemistry have important implications for hydrochemical exploration, the establishment of premining baseline parameters, and the design of post mining restoration procedures. Investigations of the Oakville Formation were de- signed for the purpose of determining the response of the aquifer to uranium extraction and were funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under grant numbers R-805357-01 and R-805357-02. Physical Stratigraphy Physical stratigraphic analysis shows that the Oakville Sandstone, a lithostratigraphic unit deposited by a major coastal-plain f luvial system, consists of five mappable, component depositional elements (Figs. 2 and 3). Each major component element is the product of one or more rivers traversing the Miocene coastal plain. In turn, each river possessed a unique sediment load, discharge characteristics, and source terrane. Consequently, each element exhibits distinguishing geometric and compositional parameters that potentially influence the flux and hydrochemical evolution of contained ground waters (Galloway, Henry, and Smith, in preparation). The Oakvil le Sandstone, as mapped and interpreted as a lithostratigraphic unit in the study area, corresponds closely to the Jasper aquifer system, an equally well-defined Gulf Coastal Plain hydrogeologic unit (Baker, 1978). Principal surrounding hydrogeologic units include the underlying Catahoula confining system, the Jasper aquifer system itself, and the overlying Burkeville confining system (lower Fleming mudstones). The Evangeline aquifer system includes much of the Fleming Formation. The Jasper aquifer system is bounded above and below by relatively less transmissive, finer grained confining systems, although absolute transmissivity varies greatly within both the Jasper and confining units. Lithostratigraphic and hydrogeologic boundaries coincide almost exactly within the Hebbronville flu- vial axis (Fig. 3). Correspondence of geologic and hydrostratigraphic boundaries is good within the George West axis; farther to the northeast the correlation of the Jasper aquifer with units mapped as Oakville Formation diverges to varying degrees. A complete analysis of these trends and a study of the depositional facies comprising the Oakvillle are included in Galloway, Henry, and Smith (in preparation). REGIONAL HYDROGEOLOGY The stratigraphic, compositional, and structural framework of the Oakville Formation and the mosaic of interrelated depositional facies that are combined in this framework play a key role in defining the hydrogeology of the Oakville. Furthermore, a combination of climate and hydrogeology, as well as past and present socioeconomic conditions, has determined water and land use patterns within the region of Oakville outcrop. Utilization of Oakville Ground Water Stratigraphic control for determining which wells produce ground water from the Oakville aquifer was established by preparing structural and isopach maps of the Oakville Formation using regional electric log cross sections. Surface elevation and screened interval data (or total well depth, if open-hole completion techniques were used) from each water well, combined with the stratigraphic data, allowed accurate assessment of the producing aquifer for individual wells. Information on well and screen depths, water levels, and usage of water from

Jan 1, 1980

By George Rice

THE subject of dust explosions in coal mines first appears in the Transactions of this Institute following the first great mine disaster that happened in bituminous mines of the United States. This was the Pocahontas explosion, which occurred Mar. 13, 1884, causing the loss of 112 men. The operating company wisely asked the technical assistance of the Institute, requesting that a committee be appointed to investigate and report. This committee consisted of Messrs. Bramwell, Buck, and Williams, who, after careful study, reached the conclusion that the explosion was due "either to dust alone or to dust quickened by an admixture of fire-clamp too slight for detection by ordinary means." This is perhaps the first time in this country that coal dust was considered to be the chief agency in a mine explosion.. The report is given in the Transactions, vol. xiii, p. 237 (1885). It is particularly worthy of note that the committee called attention to "the necessity of full-sized tests and systematic experiments. " In the same volume of the Transactions, there is a most interesting paper reviewing the literature relating to coal dust, by E. S. Hutchinson, entitled Notes on Coal-Dust in Colliery Explosions. Mr. Hutchinson gives a historical account of observations on the part played by coal dust in mine explosions, beginning with Messrs. Lyell and Faraday's report on the Haswell colliery explosion in 1844, in which it is said "much coal gas had been made from this dust in the very air itself in the mine by the flame of the firedamp, which raised and swept it along, and much of the carbon of the dust remained unburned only from want of air." The subject lay dormant until 1875 when William Galloway began some coal-dust experiments in a small gallery at a mine in South Wales of which he was manager. At that time he considered the presence of firedamp necessary for continued propagation of a dust explosion; but in 1884, the year of the Pocahontas disaster, he stated that no earlier author-than himself had credited coal dust with being a principal factor in mine explosions, relegating firedamp to a secondary place.

Jan 10, 1914

By Joseph C. McCaskill

The writer assumes that this volume is not intended to serve as a source of statistics on international trade and that the reader is not interested in wading through a lot of statistical tables copied from the various reporting agencies. Generalizations therefore are made whenever possible and not always is the source of the information meticulously cited. The United Nations regularly publishes trade data on mineral commodities. E. J. Gealy, and C. L Kimbell, of the U S Bureau of Mines (USBM), work with these data and estimate that they cover approximately 78% of total mineral commodities traded. In addition the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) publishes analyses of certain trade data The most complete report of production and trade in minerals 1s probably the international volume of the U.S. Bureau of Mines Yearbook The latest available edition is for 1968, and some of the data in this edition cover only as late as 1967. Unless otherwise stated, the source of data used in the chapter is this Yearbook Other staff members of the Bureau were most helpful and cooperative They are not to be held responsible for conclusions or points of view to be found in the chapter. THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE The two and a half decades since World War II have witnessed an unprecedented growth international commerce The end of the war found the world economy seriously crippled. Many countries had suffered severe war damage; international trade was disrupted and nations had to resort to exchange controls and bilateral trading arrangements. The postwar recovery, however, was remarkably rapid Within two decades, world Income more than doubled, and world trade which was less than $60 billion in 1948 exceeded $200 billion in 1968, 8 and reached $278 billion in 1970.18 The growing world trade contributed to world prosperity which in turn fostered growth of trade. This dramatic growth of international commerce was made possible by the progressive liberalization of trade and capital movements by the major trading nations of the world which began immediately after the War and has not yet completely lost its steam. The modern-day stimulus of the expanded trade movement was the enactment by the Congress of the United States in 1934, of the

Jan 1, 1976

By executive order of the President, dated June 25, 1918, the investigation of matters relating to gas warfare, which had been initiated by the Director of the U. S. Bureau of Mines early in 1917, and had been continuously maintained and improved since, that time, was transferred to the recently created Division of Gas Warfare of the War Department. On the occasion of this transfer, both the President and the Secretary of War took occasion to speak most highly of the efficient service that had been rendered by the Bureau of Mines. It gives us great pleasure to reproduce here a letter from the President and from the Secretary of War, bearing on this subject and also to append a brief review of the work of the Bureau of Mines, prepared by its Director, Mr. Van H. Manning. The White House, Washington. June 26, 1918. MY DEAR MR. MANNING: I have had before me for some days the-question presented by the Secretary of War involving the transfer of the chemical section established by you at the American University from the Bureau of Mines to the newly organized Division-of Gas Warfare in which the War Department is now concentrating all the various facilities for offensive and defensive gas operations. I am satisfied that a more efficient organization can he effected by having these various activities under one direction and control, and my hesitation about acting in the matter has grown only out of a reluctance to take away from the Bureau of Mines a piece of work which thus far it has so effectively performed. The Secretary of War has assured me of his own recognition of the splendid work you have been able to do, and I am taking the liberty of enclosing a letter which I have received from him, in order that you may-see how fully the War Department recognizes the value of the services. I am to-day signing the order directing the transfer. I want, however, to express to you my own-appreciation of the fine and helpful piece of work which you-have-done, and to. say that this sort of team work by the bureaus outside of the direct war-making agency is one of the cheering and gratifying evidences of the way our official forces are inspired by the presence of a great national task. Cordially yours, Dr. Van. H. Manning, WOODROW WILSON. Chief, Bureau of Mines, Department of the Interior. War Department, Washington, June 25, 1918. MY DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: In connection with the proposed transfer of the chemical section at. American University from the Bureau of Mines to the newly constituted and consolidated Gas Service of the War Department, which you are considering, I am specially concerned to have you know how much the War Department appreciates the splendid services which have been rendered to the country and to the Army by the Department of the Interior, and especially by the Bureau of Mines under the direction of Dr. Manning. In the early days of preparation and organization, Dr. Manning's contact with scientific men throughout the country was indispensably valuable. He was able to summon from the universities and the technical laboratories of the country men of the highest quality and to inspire them with enthusiastic zeal in attacking new and difficult problems which had to be solved with the utmost speed. I do not see how the work could have been better done than he did it, and the present suggestion that the section now pass under the direction and control of the War Department grows out of the fact that the whole subject of gas warfare has assumed a fresh pressure and intensity, and the director of it must have the widest control so as to be able to use the resources at his command in the most effective way possible. The proposal does not involve the disruption of the fine group of scientific men Dr. Manning has brought together, but merely their transfer to General Sibert's direction. Respectfully yours, NEWTON D. BAKER.

Jan 9, 1918

By Orville R. Lyons

This paper presents a method whereby the amount of misplaced material and the difficulty of the separation can be used to compare coal cleaning equipment of all types, from effectiveness and capacity standpoints. The correlations presented do not include all types of equipment currently available, but the method can be used to evaluate any make or type of coal cleaning equipment, both old and new. THE relative performance of coal washing equipment, or the effectiveness with which any type or make of equipment removes impurities from coal, has been most difficult to evaluate in the past. The most widely used yardstick is the Frazer and Yancey efficiency formula developed in 1922,' but Yancey in a later article states that "washers treating coals of different density composition or operating at different densities of separation cannot be compared directly on the basis of this criterion."' Prior to and since 1922, a variety of other methods has been used for comparison purposes, including the distribution curve, the error area, and the "ecart probable" or probable error. Yancey and Geer in discussing these methods conclude, "Performance can be evaluated in a number of different ways, with the choice of the proper method to use being dictated by the objectives of the investigation and the data available."' It is true that performance can be evaluated in a variety of ways, but if the equipment is to be evaluated on an effectiveness basis, there should be only one universal comparison method. Varying methods have been used because one universal comparison method has not been found or developed. In the article previously quoted, Yancey and Geer state in clear terms the primary concept for a universal comparison method: "One of the simplest, and certainly one of the most obvious evaluations of washery performance is the quantity of sink material in the washed coal and the float material in the refuse. If the washery products are tested at the density at which the washing unit is operated, the sink in the washed coal and the float in the refuse represent material that has been misplaced." The quantity of misplaced material was used as a criterion of washery performance by Lincoln in 1913," by the United States Bureau of Mines in 1938,' by Hancock in 1947," and by the national French research agency Cerchar in recent years.' In 1950 Andersone proposed the use of this criterion as an efficiency value to replace the Frazer and Yancey formula. However, none of the above-mentioned investigators used the misplaced material concept in a manner that would provide universal coal-cleaning equipment comparisons. The Correlation Theory The ideal coal cleaning process would treat all sizes and would make a perfect separation at any given specific gravity. All material lower in density than the desired value would report in the coal product and all material higher in density would report in the refuse product. Unfortunately, no known cleaning process achieves this goal and there seems little likelihood that any process yet to be invented will do more than approach it. When coal is treated in volume under operating conditions, it is impossible to avoid mechanical entrapment, fluctuations in throughput and effective gravity of separation, and the creation of turbulent currents, even when a true heavy-liquid bath is used and the feed is closely sized and contains little intermediate gravity material. This being so, it is possible to appreciate the difficulties inherent in trying to obtain a perfect separation when treating a wide range of sizes and a feed containing high percentages of intermediate material, using turbulent currents to help create the effective separation gravity, under operating conditions which normally tend to be on the overload side. When coal is separated from refuse in any coal cleaning equipment, some refuse always reports to the coal and some coal to the refuse; the writer therefore assumed that there should be a relationship between the total amount of misplaced material produced by any given piece of equipment and the difficulty of separation as represented by the percentage of near gravity material in the feed. With small amounts of near gravity or k0.1 material in the feed there should be less misplacement of material than would occur with large amounts of near

Jan 1, 1953

By Orville R. Lyons

This paper presents a method whereby the amount of misplaced material and the difficulty of the separation can be used to compare coal cleaning equipment of all types, from effectiveness and capacity standpoints. The correlations presented do not include all types of equipment currently available, but the method can be used to evaluate any make or type of coal cleaning equipment, both old and new. THE relative performance of coal washing equipment, or the effectiveness with which any type or make of equipment removes impurities from coal, has been most difficult to evaluate in the past. The most widely used yardstick is the Frazer and Yancey efficiency formula developed in 1922,' but Yancey in a later article states that "washers treating coals of different density composition or operating at different densities of separation cannot be compared directly on the basis of this criterion."' Prior to and since 1922, a variety of other methods has been used for comparison purposes, including the distribution curve, the error area, and the "ecart probable" or probable error. Yancey and Geer in discussing these methods conclude, "Performance can be evaluated in a number of different ways, with the choice of the proper method to use being dictated by the objectives of the investigation and the data available."' It is true that performance can be evaluated in a variety of ways, but if the equipment is to be evaluated on an effectiveness basis, there should be only one universal comparison method. Varying methods have been used because one universal comparison method has not been found or developed. In the article previously quoted, Yancey and Geer state in clear terms the primary concept for a universal comparison method: "One of the simplest, and certainly one of the most obvious evaluations of washery performance is the quantity of sink material in the washed coal and the float material in the refuse. If the washery products are tested at the density at which the washing unit is operated, the sink in the washed coal and the float in the refuse represent material that has been misplaced." The quantity of misplaced material was used as a criterion of washery performance by Lincoln in 1913," by the United States Bureau of Mines in 1938,' by Hancock in 1947," and by the national French research agency Cerchar in recent years.' In 1950 Andersone proposed the use of this criterion as an efficiency value to replace the Frazer and Yancey formula. However, none of the above-mentioned investigators used the misplaced material concept in a manner that would provide universal coal-cleaning equipment comparisons. The Correlation Theory The ideal coal cleaning process would treat all sizes and would make a perfect separation at any given specific gravity. All material lower in density than the desired value would report in the coal product and all material higher in density would report in the refuse product. Unfortunately, no known cleaning process achieves this goal and there seems little likelihood that any process yet to be invented will do more than approach it. When coal is treated in volume under operating conditions, it is impossible to avoid mechanical entrapment, fluctuations in throughput and effective gravity of separation, and the creation of turbulent currents, even when a true heavy-liquid bath is used and the feed is closely sized and contains little intermediate gravity material. This being so, it is possible to appreciate the difficulties inherent in trying to obtain a perfect separation when treating a wide range of sizes and a feed containing high percentages of intermediate material, using turbulent currents to help create the effective separation gravity, under operating conditions which normally tend to be on the overload side. When coal is separated from refuse in any coal cleaning equipment, some refuse always reports to the coal and some coal to the refuse; the writer therefore assumed that there should be a relationship between the total amount of misplaced material produced by any given piece of equipment and the difficulty of separation as represented by the percentage of near gravity material in the feed. With small amounts of near gravity or k0.1 material in the feed there should be less misplacement of material than would occur with large amounts of near

Jan 1, 1953