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By O. B. Hopkins

Essentially all production for Peru came from the three established fields in coastal northwestern Peru (Fig. 1). These fields are known as La Brea-Parinas, Lobitos, and Zorritos, in order of importance. Together they produced 13,496,880 bbl., as compared with 15,838,605 bbl. in 1938. Zorritos Field.—Of the total production shown on Table 1, the Zorritos field was responsible for a relatively negligible amount estimated at 40,000 bbl. This small field, which is over 50 years old, was purchased by the Peruvian Government in the spring of 1939 from the Piaggio interests. The Government operated this field along with its near-by National Reserve areas, largely under supervision of Department of Mines officials, and the total production rate for both old and newa-areas was estimated to have increased by Oct. 1 to 166 bbl. per day. as compared with the 1938 average of 110 bbl. per day. Construction is said to have begun on a refinery that is to have a capacity of 1000 bbl. per day and is to include a gasoline-extraction plant, and on a pipe line to bring fresh water 20 miles from the Tumbes River. Lobitos Fields.—The Lobitos fields, some 70 miles south of Zorritos, produced approximately 2,650,000 bbl., or almost the same amount a* in 1938. La Brea-Parinas.—The International's La Brea-Parinas property, immediately south of the Lobitos property, produced 10,806,880 bbl., or 80 per cent of Peru's production. During the year 73 wells were drilled on the Estate, mostly in the semiproved area: 44 by rotary, 13 by cable and 16 by star rigs, as compared with 34 by rotary, 11 by cable and 20 by star in 1938. The most important of the several semiexploratory wells sunk was No. 3075, which late in December was brought in at a depth of 4500 ft. with an initial production of 1500 bbl. per day, based on

Jan 1, 1940

By O. B. Hopkins

Essentially all production for Peru came from the three established fields in coastal northwestern Peru (Fig. 1). These fields are known as La Brea-Parinas, Lobitos, and Zorritos, in order of importance. Together they produced 13,496,880 bbl., as compared with 15,838,605 bbl. in 1938. Zorritos Field.—Of the total production shown on Table 1, the Zorritos field was responsible for a relatively negligible amount estimated at 40,000 bbl. This small field, which is over 50 years old, was purchased by the Peruvian Government in the spring of 1939 from the Piaggio interests. The Government operated this field along with its near-by National Reserve areas, largely under supervision of Department of Mines officials, and the total production rate for both old and newa-areas was estimated to have increased by Oct. 1 to 166 bbl. per day. as compared with the 1938 average of 110 bbl. per day. Construction is said to have begun on a refinery that is to have a capacity of 1000 bbl. per day and is to include a gasoline-extraction plant, and on a pipe line to bring fresh water 20 miles from the Tumbes River. Lobitos Fields.—The Lobitos fields, some 70 miles south of Zorritos, produced approximately 2,650,000 bbl., or almost the same amount a* in 1938. La Brea-Parinas.—The International's La Brea-Parinas property, immediately south of the Lobitos property, produced 10,806,880 bbl., or 80 per cent of Peru's production. During the year 73 wells were drilled on the Estate, mostly in the semiproved area: 44 by rotary, 13 by cable and 16 by star rigs, as compared with 34 by rotary, 11 by cable and 20 by star in 1938. The most important of the several semiexploratory wells sunk was No. 3075, which late in December was brought in at a depth of 4500 ft. with an initial production of 1500 bbl. per day, based on

Jan 1, 1940

By H. M. St. John

MAINTAINING a satisfactory structure in brass and bronze castings has always been a foundry problem of great practical importance. While metallurgists and scientific investigators have not entirely ignored this matter, it has received less of their attention than has been given to iron, steel and the wrought copper and aluminum alloys. Investigation in this field has probably been discouraged to some extent by the complicated nature of the alloys involved. Hundreds of alloys are in more or less common use, most of them containing copper, zinc, lead and tin in-widely varying proportions. They also contain appreciable percentages of iron and antimony as impurities, and often phosphorus, which has been added as a deoxidizer and fluidifier. Small amounts of sulfur are usually present. It is not uncommon to find nickel, sometimes in rather substantial quantities. Traces of other metals are frequently present. So complicated and variable a mixture obviously offers difficulties in. any investigation of the various factors that influence the structure and other properties of the casting.

Jan 1, 1930

By W. M. O Connor, Roy E. Dickerson

The production of crude petroleum of the Bacuranao field, Cuba, fell off rapidly because no new wells Mere drilled. In December 1938, the total was 15 bbl. per day. The estimated average from this serpentine field for the year is 20 bbl. per day. The Motembo area produced an estimated average of 160 bbl. per day. Production in July was 215,946 gal of gasoline, or 165 bbl. per day. In August production was higher because a new well in the concession, the Luisa Marcela, produced 189 drums the first day and required pit storage. The Atlantic Refining Company of Cuba started a deep test upon a long, narrow, surface-defined anticline 3 km. south of Remedios, a town on the north coastal plain of Santa Clara province, in December 1938. The Atlantic Refining Co. is doing extensive seismograph arid gravity-meter work in Matanzas arid Santa Clara provinces. The Shell company was rigging for a deep test in western Havana province at a location about 2 km. west of the town San Antonio dc los Banos New Petroleum Law More serious attention was given by some of the major oil companies to the development of petroleum in Cuba as a, result of the passage of a Petroleum Law ill that country on May 9, 1938. Under the old mining lam of Cuba, which gave no special treatment to petroleum, the usual provisions giving reasonably satisfartory guarantees to encourage investmerit of foreign capital were either entirely lacking or were 30 ambiguously expressed as to require legislative action. Under the new law, Government royalty is fixed at 10 per cent with the provision that it will be reduced to 9 per cent on crude petroleum that is refined in Cuba. Royalty to the surface owner is 1 per cent. A surface tax on a sliding scale from 10¢ to 406 per hectare per year is applicable to all exploitation concessions granted under the law or adapted to its provisions. So export tax is payable upon petroleum. Stability of taxation

Jan 1, 1939

By R. Moldenke

Unlike the furnaces employed in the reduction of ores to mattes and metals, the foundry-cupola has only melting to do. This looks simple enough; and its development has progressed through centuries by cut-and-try methods; but there is still much to be learned concerning the causes which underlie the production of defective castings, even from first-rate materials. There are other differences between the smelter and the cupola. The former is usually, the latter rarely, run continuously. In the smelter there is some chance for experiment, since rich slags can be treated again; while in the cupola the metal must be good for casting from the first tap to the drop of the bottom ; otherwise, heavy damage will result. In the smelter, the object sought is the production of metal or matte with a minimum loss in the slag; whereas, in the foundry, a variety of castings of different compositions must often be run from the same heat, one after the other. Experience with the cupola has shown that the melting should take place, throughout the heat, in one zone, the zone of maximum temperature, which is clearly marked on the cupola-lining by the severe cutting action of the slag and iron oxide. The design and operation of the cupola must conform to this condition. This conformity having been secured, other considerations resolve themselves into those details of construction which will involve least trouble and cost of repairs. The very high temperatures required to melt iron and steel in the cupola, leaving the metal sufficiently superheated for casting, render the use of water-jackets inadvisable. It is always possible to patch up the lining at the melting-zone between daily heats; and the rest of the lining is seldom affected enough by abrasion and chemical action to require replacement oftener than once in nine months. The cupola is practically a shell of steel, lined with the proper refractory material, and provided with a sct of tuyeres for the admission of air to burn the fuel and melt the metallic

Jan 1, 1913

By J. P. Witherow

Mr. BIRKINBINE's description of the bad working and sudden chilling of the Warwick Furnace last summer, seems to me quite phenomenal in blast-furnace practice. During my connection with the management of blast furnaces for many years, in the anthracite, cake, and raw-bituminous coal districts, such a me has never come under my notice. It seems to me that the scaffold in the zone of fusion could not have established itself (so that the whole power of the engines, with a blast pressure ranging from 12 to 18 pounds per square inch, could not penetrate), unless the furnace was previously badly scaffolded and bridged in some of its upper sections, from 15 to 30 feet above the hearth level, either in the zone of chemical action or the beginning of the zone of fusion. Such a 'barrier to the upward gaseous currents would cause a suspension of combustion which may have superinduced the scaffold that is assumed to have existed in the zone of fusion. It is difficult to conceive that an agglomerated mass almost across the section of the lower bosh should have formed all at once, if the furnace was free and porous for the reaction of the gaseous currents, above. Therefore, I think, the Warwick furnace was by no means in as free, open, and fine internal condition at the time the trouble commenced as the description of its regular working would lead us to suppose. I do not question the accuracy of the statements relative to the output of iron, etc I merely claim that the phenomenta, as described, could not have been almost instantaneously developed, unless there had been an incipient scaffold and lodgment above the zone of fusion. I would state my hypothesis to be that the stock lodged or collected in some of its upper sections during fie process of blowing-in, on which, as a basis, more or less accumulations may .have lodged, and thus, indirectly, caused the formation of the suc-

Jan 1, 1881

By C. Y. Wang

China now leads the world in antimony production, having contributed during recent years something over 60 per cent. of the world's production. The history of the antimony industry of China dates back to 1897 when the Tai Shing Co. was formed, under contract with the Hunan Bureau of Mines, for the smelting of the ore to crude; and in 1908 the Wah Chang Mining & Smelting Co. was formed for the smelting and refining of the ore and crude to regulus. The writer was then asked to take charge of the erection and control of this first plant for regulus production in China and has, since then, been more or less connected with the antimony industry in this country. This paper contains the results of many years' experience in connection with the Wah Chang Mining & Smelting Co., Changsha; the Pao Tai Mining & Smelting Co., Wuchow; the Loong Kee Smelting Works and the To-Cheng Smelting Works, Hankow; as well as information gathered from various other small smelters, scattered in different parts of the Provinces of Hunan, Hupeh, Kwangsi, and Kwangtung. An idea of the growing importance of regulus production in this country can be gleaned from the fact that, within a period of about 8 years, the export of regulus from Hunan alone jumped from 3 tons in 1908 to about 6000 tons in 1915; that a production of about 23,000 tons of regulus per year could easily be effected from all the smelters, as tabulated below, most of which were erected a year or two ago under the stimulus of the war booms, if the price at Hankow were to stay somewhere about $900 (Mexican) per ton, half of what it was at its height, thus enabling the utilization of ores from the hinterlands of the provinces; and even under the present ruling of prices and the closing of the less favored smelters, the production of regulus should not be less than 12,000 tons per year.

Jan 1, 1919

By Arthur F. Taggart, T. C. Fitt, A. W. Thomas

IT was noticed early by operators that high recoveries and flocculation of the sulphide minerals were closely correlated in agitation-froth flotation. Later, this readily visible flocculation was found almost invariably to be due to the binding together of the oiled sulphides by minute air bubbles, and is now known to be characteristic of pulps in which at least one of the mineral species is coated with an insoluble collecting oil. In 1930 it was reported1 that in differential flotation a correlation exists between Brownian movement of particles in the pulp and their nonfloatability, and that Brownian movement and dispersion are likewise correlated, whence it would appear to follow that dispersion of a mineral particle in a flotation pulp denotes a particle condition unfavorable to flotation. In 1934 it was postulated2 that Brownian movement, dispersion and nonfloatability all flow from the condition of the surface of the dispersed particles. It was also postulated at that time that the surfaces of dispersed particles are ionized, the ionized compound being a product of reaction between a component of the particle and a. component of the pulp, of a mass solubility of the general order of a fraction of a milligram to 15 to 20 mg. per liter. It was then further asserted, and has since been confirmed by Bankoff,3 that sulphides so conditioned with soluble collectors as to be floatable flocculate without the intervention of air bubbles as binding media. The present paper comprises an inquiry into the nature of the bound and counter ions in zinc sulphide dispersed by sodium arsenate. A part of its findings was mentioned in the 1934 paper above cited.2 The tests show that: I. When powdered granular zinc sulphide is immersed in aqueous solutions of sodium arsenate, arsenate ion is abstracted from solution and anchored to the solid surface, while sulphate and lower sulphoxy ions are concurrently displaced therefrom in substantially stoichiometric quantities. 2. The ion counterbalancing the anchored arsenate ion is zinc. 3. Dispersion and Brownian movement of zinc sulphide are concurrently maxima at an arsenate-ion concentration lying between 0.01 and 0.001-molar sodium arsenate. 4. Any condition or reaction that tends to remove the zinc arsenate coating from the zinc sulphide particles decreases dispersion and Brownian movement concurrently. EXPERIMENTAL Three samples of zinc sulphide were used. Lot I was C.P. zinc sulphide, washed well beyond absence of chloride, as shown by test with silver ion. Lot 2 was prepared by precipita-

Jan 1, 1943

By E. B. Harden, J. H. Harden

The practical use to which topographical models or relief-maps have been put, has within the last few years taken a wider range. They are rapidly coming into favor for other than purely scientific purposes, and their value for illustration and instruction is being more fully appreciated. Topographical maps; representing by contour-curve lines the elevations and depressions of the earth's surface, are now demanded in engineering work of nearly every description, and afford a ready means of bringing out the configuration of the country in a simple manner. A beautiful example of recent topographical mapping is seen in the seventeen sheets just issued by the Geological Survey of New Jersey. By reason of the inability of unskilled persons to understand the nature of a topographical map, it is sometimes necessary to con struct the same in relief, with the rivers, canals, railroads, etc., delin eated upon it. With the aid of such a map, problems in engineer ing science which would otherwise require expert assistance to explain them, are reduced to a simple and understandable form. Relief-maps are also of value to the geologist in working out the geological structure. To the instructor they present the most ready and efficient means of imparting clear and accurate knowledge of topography and kindred subjects. To the lawyer they are invalua ble in enabling him to bring into the court-room a representation of a part of the country with all its features accurately shown, to ex plain to the court and jury the special points about which litigation is pending and which would otherwise require long and laborious description. The application of the topographical map to business purposes is shown in a relief constructed by the writers for the Cumberland Valley Railroad Company and used by that company in the various ways of calling attention to the desirability of its route. This model is based partly on actual survey and partly on sketch topography. The horizontal scale is ,%, the vertical 1/19,200 of

Jan 1, 1888

By Basil B. Zavoico

Production of crude oil in the U.S.S.R. during 1940 is estimated at 222,600,000 bbl., as compared with the revised figure for the preceding year of 220,866,000 bbl., an increase of 0.79 per cent, and at least 20 per cent under the planned output. Baku district (Transcaucasus) remained the outstanding producing area, accounting for 72.33 per cent of the country's production, and this relative importance of the Apsheron Peninsula oil fields will probably continue lor many years to come. In the North Caucasus the Grozny-Dagestan area further extended its decline and the current production in this district amounts to only 6.06 Per cent Of the total U.S.S.R. output, as compared with 35.76 Per cent in 1931 The production of the Kuban-Maikop district remained virtually ullchanged from the preceding year, amounting to 7.64 per cent of the country's total. The Caucasian Province, therefore, in I940 produced 86.03 Per cent of the total production of the U.S.S.R. The promising new Permian Basin district, called Ural-Volga, and referred to sometimes as the "Second Baku," increased its production appreciably during 1940 and the output of that area amounted to 8.31 per cent of the country's total, as compared with 6.35 per cent during 1939. Production in the secondary districts of Russia continued unchanged though some new discoveries in the Emba salt-dome basin suggest that the output of that district may show some increase during the coming years. The drilling operations in Russia during 1940 reached a stage of virtual breakdown and the original footage plans were fulfilled only to the extent of around 50 per cent, while exploration drilling schedules were fulfilled only to the extent of about 25 to 35 per cent. This condition was due to the obvious lack of modern drilling rigs, of good drill pipe and of strong casing. Extended breakdowns occurred with deeper drilling, particularly because with few good drilling rigs available speed was being attempted with rotation rates that the inferior drill pipe and bits could not stand. Twistoffs and endless fishing jobs resulted. The difficulties became so serious a handicap to the Soviet oil industry that it was found imperative to order American drilling equipment and pipe in quantity, a policy that was never favored in the U.S.S.R because it requires expenditure of gold or exchange in major volume, and such exchange usually is reserved only to less bulky key items or to orders directly connected with armaments; also, oil-field machinery is very bulky and the prevailing lack of bottoms makes the transport of the indicated equipment a major problem. But little progress was similarly made in other branches of the Soviet oil industry. NO new major pipe-line construction work was undertaken, consequently the railroads continued to be overburdened with traffic that could be much more effectively handled by pipe lines. No new refinery construction of any magnitude was initiated, though several plants that had been in course of construction for several years were completed during 1940 and operation 554

Jan 1, 1941

By C. C. Templeton, S. S. Rushing

Methods previously developed for the study of air-liquid displacements in microscopic capillaries (inner diameters of 3 to 40 microns) have been used to investigate oil-water displacements in capillaries initially filled with water. Displacement calculations assuming perfect displacement and no capillary pressure hysteresis yielded oil effective viscosities smaller than the macroscopic viscosities. For a given liquid pair, the oil effective viscosity decreased both with decreasing capillary size and with increasing oil-water viscosity ratio. This behavior can be explained by the existence of an annular water film (20 A to 260 A thick) on the capillary wall. When the capillary was first filled with oil, the ratio of the oil effective viscosity to the normal oil vircosity was highest for the first water displacement and decreased with subsequent displacements. Sometimes the oil effective viscosity ratio during the initial water displacement was greater than unity. INTRODUCTION In a previous paper1 a technique was described for studying air-liquid and liquid-liquid displacements in very small capillaries of uniform diameter, in the hope that such microscopic data would further the understanding of the nature of multiphase fluid flow through porous media. That paper contained comprehensive data for air-liquid displacements in Pyrex capillaries, with a few data for oil-water displacements in capillaries initially filled with water. The purpose of this paper is to present more complete results for oil-water displacements in capillaries initially filled with water, and to describe for the first time such observations in capillaries initially filled with oil. In this way the effect of the wetting history of the system upon the displacement process may be studied. METHODS The basic techniques employed were described in the previous paper.1 The measuring procedure and the working equations will be briefly summarized here and a few modilications will be pointed out. For the present study, temperature control within 0.l °C was obtained by placing the microscope and its immediate accessories in a thermostated air bath made of a steel frame covered with plexiglas. The water and oils used in this work were the same as in the previous paper,1 with the addition of "Medium Mineral Oil, U.S.P. supplied by the Harshaw Scientific Co. When the first liquid was introduced into the horizontal capillary, the air-liquid static capillary pressure Poc was measured along the observable length of the capillary. From the relation Poc = 4y cos 0/d, the capillary diameter d could be calculated from Poc if the "microscopic" air-liquid boundary tension, To = y cos On, was taken as equal to its known "macroscopic" value. This calculation involves assuming that cos 6 = 1 and that capillary size or the resulting high interfa-cial curvature has no effect on surface tension, or y cos 6, as was verified by our work, and also by that of Cohan and Meyers on air-liquid-solid systems. For several capillaries these calculated diameter values were compared with values measured visually with a filar micrometer eyepiece. For a given capillary the average values for the two methods agreed within 1 or 2 per cent, but the visual values were less reproducible than the calculated values. Further the calculated values were much less subject to personal bias and took into account any slight ellipticity that might be present. Hence diameters calculated from air-liquid Poc data were used throughout this paper. The second liquid was introduced in such a way that a single spherical interface separated the two liquids. Displacements were always made with a constant pressure, Pt, between the ends of the capillary. The times (t) at which the interface passed certain

Jan 1, 1957

By Basil B. Zavoico

Production of crude oil in the U.S.S.R. during 1940 is estimated at 222,600,000 bbl., as compared with the revised figure for the preceding year of 220,866,000 bbl., an increase of 0.79 per cent, and at least 20 per cent under the planned output. Baku district (Transcaucasus) remained the outstanding producing area, accounting for 72.33 per cent of the country's production, and this relative importance of the Apsheron Peninsula oil fields will probably continue lor many years to come. In the North Caucasus the Grozny-Dagestan area further extended its decline and the current production in this district amounts to only 6.06 Per cent Of the total U.S.S.R. output, as compared with 35.76 Per cent in 1931 The production of the Kuban-Maikop district remained virtually ullchanged from the preceding year, amounting to 7.64 per cent of the country's total. The Caucasian Province, therefore, in I940 produced 86.03 Per cent of the total production of the U.S.S.R. The promising new Permian Basin district, called Ural-Volga, and referred to sometimes as the "Second Baku," increased its production appreciably during 1940 and the output of that area amounted to 8.31 per cent of the country's total, as compared with 6.35 per cent during 1939. Production in the secondary districts of Russia continued unchanged though some new discoveries in the Emba salt-dome basin suggest that the output of that district may show some increase during the coming years. The drilling operations in Russia during 1940 reached a stage of virtual breakdown and the original footage plans were fulfilled only to the extent of around 50 per cent, while exploration drilling schedules were fulfilled only to the extent of about 25 to 35 per cent. This condition was due to the obvious lack of modern drilling rigs, of good drill pipe and of strong casing. Extended breakdowns occurred with deeper drilling, particularly because with few good drilling rigs available speed was being attempted with rotation rates that the inferior drill pipe and bits could not stand. Twistoffs and endless fishing jobs resulted. The difficulties became so serious a handicap to the Soviet oil industry that it was found imperative to order American drilling equipment and pipe in quantity, a policy that was never favored in the U.S.S.R because it requires expenditure of gold or exchange in major volume, and such exchange usually is reserved only to less bulky key items or to orders directly connected with armaments; also, oil-field machinery is very bulky and the prevailing lack of bottoms makes the transport of the indicated equipment a major problem. But little progress was similarly made in other branches of the Soviet oil industry. NO new major pipe-line construction work was undertaken, consequently the railroads continued to be overburdened with traffic that could be much more effectively handled by pipe lines. No new refinery construction of any magnitude was initiated, though several plants that had been in course of construction for several years were completed during 1940 and operation 554

Jan 1, 1941

By Jeffrey W. Nelson

Predictions of creep closure for periods ranging up to more than 1,000 years are needed for designing a radioactive waste repository in a salt formation. Such long-term predictions must be based on the use of laboratory and field test results extrapolated by numerical modeling. Laboratory test results are presented which show highly variable creep behavior for salts from different sites as well as salts from the same site. Comparisons of measured creep closures against predicted closures are presented for two deep boreholes in Louisiana salt domes and for an exploratory shaft and drift in southeastern New Mexico bedded salt (WIPP). These data illustrate the significant uncertainties involved in long-term closure predictions and indicate the critical need for site-specific, in situ closure measurements over extended periods of time for repository design.

Jan 1, 1984

By N. Arbiter, J. Steininger, C. C. Harris

Power consumption and operating variables in air-liquid systems for a wide range of operating conditions in the turbulent region have been correlated by two dimensionless groups involving the power ratio and the flow number. The form of the correlation was developed by considering flow balances related to the air-liquid composite density in the impeller zone. Data for two phase air-liquid systems, both from literature and from the present investigation, has been correlated with high statistical significance. Two phase solid-liquid and three phase gas-liquid-solid systems have also been correlated. The quantification of power requirements in the agitation of liquids is well established.1 Rushton, Costich and Everett have shown that, for mixers operating in the fully turbulent region with no vortex, the power number

Jan 1, 1964

By H. G. HYMER

B ECAUSE of its remote geographical position and inaccessibility, little is generally known of the mining and prospecting in Northern Rhodesia. In this rather new and promising region, the development of mines presents many difficulties. Although many mineral discoveries have been made, progress in .prospecting the huge mining concessions has been handicapped by the lack of roads, communication, transportation, native population and incomplete knowledge of geology.

Jan 1, 1929

By L. S. Kolbert, C. H. Baab

Introduction In June 1981, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) issued a report titled "Control Systems in Coal Preparation Plants" to determine the status of instrumentation and automation systems in the coal preparation industry. EPRI concluded that the control systems presently being employed in the US coal preparation plants "are relatively primitive compared with those in other mineral processing industries; and analytical instrumentation is virtually non-existent." With tighter specifications on the quality of steam coal, interest is increasing in more sophisticated control systems. One type of device that is currently assisting the preparation plant operator optimize and control the coal cleaning process is nuclear based instrumentation. Nuclear instrumentation includes methods for measuring weight, level, and density as well as for performing elemental analysis on coal. Major Features and Benefits of Nuclear Measurement and Analysis Systems There are many features and benefits of nuclear instrumentation. The major benefit is that nuclear instrumentation is non-contacting. The measuring heads do not contact the process materials. This enables measurements of corrosive, abrasive, or high temperature materials with no loss of performance, reliability, or useful life. Also, there are no moving parts to wear or be fouled by dust or corrosion. Installation is simple and inexpensive. For instance, density gauges are simply clamped onto existing pipe runs. Weigh scales and level switches usually require nothing more than welding brackets to customers' equipment. Once installed, routine maintenance can be performed without interrupting the process. Thus, nuclear instrumentation is highly reliable and easily installed and maintained. The operating life of the instrumentation is virtually unlimited. Principle of Operation Nuclear belt weigh scales, point level switches and density gauges all operate on the gamma-ray transmission principle. A beam of gamma radiation from a radioisotopic source is projected through the process material either on a belt, in a vessel, or in a pipe. Opposite the source is a radiation detector whose electrical output is proportional to the intensity of the radiation it absorbs. Gamma radiation is part of the same electromagnetic spectrum that encompasses light, infrared, and x-rays. In many respects, gamma radiation behaves much like light. However, it is far more penetrating and can be transmitted through considerable thickness of materials that are opaque to visible light, e.g., several inches of steel. Types of Nuclear Instrumentation in Coal Preparation Plants There are four types of nuclear instrumentation presently being employed in coal preparation plants. They are: •Belt Weigh Scales •Point Level Switches •Density Gauges •Coal Analysis Equipment. Each type of instrumentation has a number of potential applications within the plant. What follows is a discussion of three different types of devices and their applications. Weigh Scales In coal preparation plants, weighing instruments are used for measuring material throughput, totalized weight, and batch weight on conveyor belts and other transport equipment. They are also used on drag chain conveyors, vibrating conveyors, and screw conveyors. Weighing is important for receiving the run-of-mine coal, controlling mass flow, scheduling production, and loading and shipping the washed coal to market. There are two basic types of weighing instruments: gravimetric and nongravimetric devices. Gravimetric devices are units which measure the pull of gravity on the material being weighed. Nongravimetric devices are not dependent on the force of gravity on the sample. Nuclear weigh scales are the most prevalent nongravimetric devices used. The nuclear weigh scale works on the same basic principle as other nuclear gauges. The greater the quantity of material placed in the path of a radiation beam, the more radiation will be absorbed by the material. In weigh scales, Cesium 137 source is generally placed above the moving stream of material so that the radiation is directed through the material. An ion chamber radiation detector is on the opposite side of the material. The radiation passing to the detector generates a signal which is inversely proportional to the weight of the material present. This signal is amplified and integrated with the speed of the process flow yielding the weight. The weight is indicated and can be totalized for throughput, batch control, etc. In conclusion, radiation weighing methods have become well established in the coal preparation industry throughout the world. As mentioned before, this device finds its most

Jan 1, 1985

By David W. Kennedy, Stephen P. Harrison

In the past few years, a new system has been developed for ventilating longwall panels in some gassy coal mines in the Northern West Virginia area. This system utilizes a five or six foot diameter air shaft to ventilate a group of three or more longwall panels dependent on conditions. This shaft exhausts all the air needed to, ventilate the active longwall and adjacent gob areas. By law, this bleeder fan can handle double the maximum methane concentration allowed in a normal return air course. As a result, the methane that must be diluted by the primary ventilation circuits is reduced. This new ventilation system was first conceived by mine management as a means of coping with a sudden shift in production mode that occurred a few years ago. Formerly, production often consisted of room and pillar mining with continuous miners. The high methane liberation rate was handled by driving entries around a large block of coal prior to mining. This isolated the future mining area from the adjacent coal seam and allowed a major portion of the trapped in situ methane to bleed off. Also, these bleeders served to exhaust return air from the mining area. Once the bleeders were established, productive mining could start. When the decision was made to shift production mode from continuous miners to longwall mining, some of the bleeders did not encompass large enough unmined areas under the old ventilation system to initiate longwall production. Also, many other established continuous miner section bleeders were either improperly positioned or too restricted for longwall ventilation. Unfortunately, standard bleeder development can take up to two years' time. In order to eliminate the old style bleeder system and maintain or increase the margin of safety for ventilation, the bleeder shaft system was conceived. With this system, the only entries developed are those necessary for the longwall, significantly reducing the production delay. In this area, the Pittsburgh #8 coal seam dips to the northwest. As a result of this dip, the bleeder shaft is constructed in the northernmost set of tailgate entries. In this manner, groundwater accumulations can be pumped to the surface and bleeder entries kept dry. During the initial longwall entry development, the bleeder fan can be used to ventilate entries adjacent to virgin coal where significant methane liberation often occurs. Once longwall production starts, the bleeder shaft exhausts the entire air quantity necessary to safely ventilate the longwall. As the bleeder entries deteriorate, the air quantity and pressure characteristics must be increased. The extreme flexibility of the centrifugal fan used at the surface allows the air quantity and pressure to be adjusted without stopping the fan. This improves safety by decreasing the possibility of a methane buildup resulting from the fan being out of service. The bleeder shaft system of ventilation, developed by mine management in Northern West Virginia, can provide a safe means for effectively ventilating longwall panels in excessively gassy mines. This system should be considered where mining conditions are comparable.

Jan 1, 1982

By V. G. Mooradian, John T. Norton

THE diffusion of metal atoms into the crystal lattice of another metal and the assumption of regular positions to form a homogeneous alloy are some of the most fundamental phenomena of structural. metallurgy. The mechanism of this process has been the subject of a great deal of study from many viewpoints, but the picture is still far from complete. It is generally believed that if one metal is to diffuse into another, the first must have some solubility in the second1. This means that the solvent must be able to accommodate the stranger atoms, either on points of its own lattice or in the interstices between, without losing its own crystallographic identity. It is also a general observation that cold-working is a distinct aid in the diffusion process, causing it to take place with greater rapidity at the same temperature or with the same speed at a lower temperature. There is considerable doubt, however, as to the real significance of the deformation in its effect on the diffusion mechanism. Several factors associated with the cold-working. may be responsible for the increased diffusion rate. The plastic deformation causes a distortion of the solvent lattice, which may be an aid in the assimulation of atoms of another kind. There are many references2 in the literature that suggest that some distortion or "loosening" of the lattice is necessary for atomic migration and that diffusion cannot take place in the undis-

Jan 1, 1935

By John V. Beall

Copper production in the. United States in 1972 amounted to 1,658,000 tons according to the USBM. This figure is up over 1971 but falls below 1970 production of 1,719,101 tons. This report is essentially about the status of copper mining operations in the U.S. and is an update and expansion of the report "Southwest Copper-A Position Survey" published in [A=], October 1965. At that time, the trend was toward using larger equipment to mine lower grade ore and toward the expansion of dump leaching practice. That trend continues today but, it is overlain by intensive activity to comply with existing environ¬mental legislation and uncertainty over proposed revisions of venerable laws governing mining. In the U.S. today there is, practically speaking, no excess smelting capacity so that expansion of copper production through the startup of new mines is inhibited. Owners of a large undeveloped orebody would have to decide before going into production whether to sell the concentrates offshore, which has many problems, whether to try one of several unproved chemical processes for producing refined metal from concentrates or embarking on the construction of a traditional pyrometallurgical plant in the face of considerable uncertainty over the pollution standards that eventually must be met. The situation is such that not only is the present rate of U.S. copper production threatened but the ability to meet projected increased demand in the years ahead may have been severely retarded.

Jan 4, 1973

By J. F. Blandy

IN October last, I was call upon to examine a copper deposit in the South Mountain, near the Pennsylvania and Maryland boundary. The specimens shown me contained oxides and carbonates with native copper, and were similar to some that had been described to me some years ago as existing at the Luray Gap in Virginia. An examination of Rogers's Report on the Geology of Pennsylvania, led me to expect to see his so-called "Primal Formation," such as exists throughout the southeastern district of the State. I was therefore much surprised on arriving at the summit of the Western Maryland Railroad to find myself on familiar ground. Instead of the "Primal" as I had known it in Southeastern Pennsylvania, I soon decided that the rocks were identical with the "Lake Superior Copper Formation." My visit was unfortunately a short one, part of two days, and in that time I had to pass over a good many miles, but I saw sufficient to convince me that instead of the Lake Superior Copper Formation being a local geological feature, it would have to be considered as a widely extended series of rocks. I was unable to even approximately estimate the thickness either of the trap zone or other members, schists and slates, of the series. In an article on the Copper Range of Michigan, prepared by C. P. Williams and myself in 1862, and published, in vol. xxxiv of the American Journal of Arts and Sciences, we endeavored to divide that range into zones, according to the character of the traps. The limited nature of the explorations at that time made this work very imperfect. Subsequent explorations have confirmed my notes then

Jan 1, 1879