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By I. Iwasaki, R. H. Heerema

The presence of calcium and magnesium ions in iron ore pulps that are upgraded by selective desliming can result in indiscriminate flocculation of both iron oxide and siliceous gangue slimes. The removal of these alkaline earth cations in pulp solutions by chemical precipitation was ineffective as a means of deflocculation of quartz. It was shown by using various techniques (electron micrographs, abstraction, and streaming potential measurements, and cationic flotation tests) that heterocoagulation between the precipitates [Mg(OH)2, hydroxyapatite, and CaCO3] and quartz particles was the reason behind that observation. In addition, the precipitates adversely affected the recovery of quartz by cationic flotation, due to slime coating, a case of heterocoagulation. Magnesium hydroxide produced a uniform layer of coating across the quartz surface, while hydroxyapatite and calcite produced discrete, localized deposits dotting the surface.

Jan 1, 1981

By N. A. Richard, A. E. Austin, R. E. Maringer

AS part of a detailed study of the structure of metallic meteorites, the concentration and distribution of iron and nickel in the various phases of meteor -itic iron have been measured using an electron-probe microanalyzer. The specimen used was cut from a position about 3 in. below the surface of the Grant meteorite, a one-half-ton iron specimen (containing 9.35 pct Ni) found in New Mexico some years ago. A photomicrograph showing the general Widmanstztten structure, somewhat typical of iron meteorites, is shown in Fig. 1. The line across which the analyses were made is indicated by arrows. This area was chosen so as to evaluate the iron-nickel concentration in the three principal phases visible in Fig. 1. These phases, in the language of meteoritics, are kamacite, taenite, and plessite. Kamacite is the a-

Jan 1, 1960

By E. H. Lovitt, A. C. Skerl

After nine years of continuous operation it is a good idea to take stock of the geological concepts that guide the working of a mine. This is a welcome opportunity to discuss the Lovitt gold mine, which has been a challenge in both the geological and operational fields. The occurrence belongs to the extensive group of epithermal gold-silver deposits once worked so vigorously in the western states, Hungary, and New Zealand and still producing in Central America and the Philippines. These deposits are characterized by a relatively shallow vertical range up to 2000 ft, and often much less, and by bonanza orebodies of even more limited range. The area in which they occur is frequently widespread, so that exploration must be directed along and across the strike of known favorable structures in search of repetitions.

Jan 9, 1958

By Warren Weaver

Some of the advantages of the inductive method of electrical prospecting were emphasized in a paper by Dr. Max Mason. Since this emphasis was misunderstood by some to indicate a too exclusive interest in inductive methods, we are especially happy to help correct this impression by reporting on some of our work on surface potential methods. Earth Currents and Surface Potentials When two electrodes, A and B, are placed on the surface of the ground a distance d apart, and a 100-volt battery is connected across the elec- trodes, current flows from the positive electrode A to the negative electrode B. The current does not pass directly from A to B along the straight line joining these two points. In fact, a negligible amount of the total current chooses this direct path, and the flow actually takes place

Jan 1, 1929

By T. I. Moore, L. A. Painter

THE electrolytic zinc plant of the American Zinc Co. of Illinois was described by Davidson' in 1944. Since then, improvements as well as expansion of the plant facilities have been made. In order to increase the production of high grade zinc which was needed for war purposes, an expansion program designed to double the slab zinc capacity was started in 1942 and completed in March 1943. This expansion was propagated by a contract between the American Zinc Co. of Ill. and the Defense Plant Corp. The contract included the facilities of the Fairmont City, Ill., property of the American Zinc Co., where a suspension-type roaster with contact acid plant, cadmium distillation furnace, Waelz oxide and densifying plant, and horizontal retort furnaces were installed. The expanded Monsanto, Ill., plant and the additional facilities of' the Fairmont plant were designed to integrate the metallurgical treatment of zinc concentrates for the production of special high grade zinc at Monsanto with the production of acid, cadmium, high grade zinc from furnace skimmings and the Waelz treatment of leach residue at Fairmont. In general, the original flowsheet was not changed, except for the addition of the filtering, drying and reclaiming of leach residue, and the treatment of purification cake for the recovery of copper, cadmium sponge, and zinc. Fig. 1 is a flow diagram of present operations. The original plant facilities, desi-gned for 50 tons daily production of slab zinc, had some units which were more than adequate. Therefore, in expanding the facilities to 100 tons per day, it was not necessary to double all operating components. Table I gives the comparison of the changes made in the unit operating components for the original facilities, 1941, the 1943 expansion, and the 1951 facilities. During the past 11 years a number of improvenients have been made resulting in: 1—an increase in slab production, 2—higher recoveries on the calcine treated, 3—better quality of slab zinc produced, 4—higher current efficiencies, and 5—less man hours Table I. Changes in Operating Facilities Operating Unit 1941 1943 1951 Calcine unloading (pneumatic), 10 tons per hr 12 calcine unloading track hpr. and elev., 60 tons per hr 1 Calcine storage, tons 1,000 2,000 2,000 Leach tanks, 35 vol. tons. No. 3 5 6 slurry mixing 6x6 ft stainless tank, No. 1 Ball mill. 4.5 rt x 16 in. conical. No. 1 CLassifier duplex, No. 1 1 Thickeners. 50 it diam. No. 2 9 2 Filter thickeners, sq ft '-- Moore filters, sq ft 5.760 11,520 Drum filters, 10 ft diam x 16 ft, No. 3 3 Rotary arlers, No. 1 2 1st stage Cu-As purificatlon tank. 90 vol. tons, No. 3 Solution heaters, No. 3 Filter press, 30x30 bronze, No. 4 Zinc dust purification tanks, 45 vol tons. No. 3 5 4 Filter press, 36x36 bronze, No. 3 5 3 Cadmium recovery plant: Process tank. No. 5 2 Cake roaster, 20 ft diam x 4 hearth. No. 1 Filter press, 24x24, No. 4 1 Sponge wash box, 4x6 ft, No. 1 Evaporative cooling unit (vacuum), No. 1 Purified storage tank, vol. tons 400 400 400 Cell acid storage, vol. tons 400 400 400 Electrolytic cells, No. 180 372 372 Cell room ventilation, cu ft per min 35,000 125,000 125,000 Cell cooling water. gal per min 1,500 2,300 2,300 Deep well 16 in. x 95 ft, 1500 gal per min, No. 2 3 3 Melting and casting furnace, 130 ton. No. I Furnace fume scrubber unit, No. 1 Dross drums, No. 2 Dross roaster, 8 ft diam x 8 hearth, No. 1 Electrolysis power conversion, kw 6,250 23,750 23,750 Power transformers, 13,800/440, kva 1,000 1,500 2,000 Steam boilers fire tube, 15 psi, lb per hr 12,000 18,000 18,000 Steam boilers water tube. 125 psi, Ib per hr 30,000 Air compressor, 2 stage. 300 cu ft per min. 100 psi, No. 1 2 Air compressor, 1 stage, 300 cu ft per min, 20 psi, No. 1 Vacuum pumps, 18x7, 720 cu ft per day, No. - - . Vacuum pumps, 24x11, 1.633 cu ft per day, No. 3 3 Building area, sq ft 60,854 113,568 115,000 per ton of metal produced. In the summer of 1944, the "reverse" leaching process was placed in operation and since it has been described,' no further description will be given. Other facilities and changes which have contributed to the process improvements were the scrubbing of fume from the melting and

Jan 1, 1953

By H. E. Hawkes, D. A. Barr

Time variations in the copper content of the sediments of streams draining mineralized areas were studied in two areas of contrasting climatic environment, one in northern and one in southern British Columbia. In each area, samples were collected and observations made of rainfall, stream discharge and air and water temperature at intervals throughout the summer season. Samples were analyzed for total and cold-extractable copper. Results showed a weak inverse relation between cold-extractable copper and discharge in two out of the three test sites in the southern area, and a decrease in ratio of COld-extractable to total copper over the duration of the test period at a highly anomalous site in the northern area. In suspended rock flour resulting from glacial erosion of mineralized rock in the northern area, virtually all the copper was found to be soluble in cold, dilute hydrochloric acid. None of the variations observed is sufficient to cause serious problems in geochemical sediment surveys. Systematic collection and trace analysis of stream sediments has seen wide application in recent years as a method of primary prospecting in primitive areas. Common practice is to collect fine-grained samples of sediment either from the active channel or from the flood plain near the channel. Samples are dried, sieved and the -80-mesh fraction analyzed after breakdown of the sample by a relatively strong attack, such as by fusion or by treatment with hot perchloric acid. Drying, sieving and rigorous chemical attack requires established facilities, either in a well equipped central laboratory or in base camp. Thus analysis for total metal involves a substantial delay from the time the samples are collected until the analytical data can be reported. An alternative system uses a cold aqueous extrac-tant in place of the hot acid or flux.4 Advantages of the cold-extraction techniques are that kits can be prepared for use directly at the sample site and that, in some problems, the patterns in cold-extractable metal, usually abbreviated cxMe, are more useful as ore guides than the patterns in total metal.' In the course of operational geochemical sediment surveys, a problem that has come up repeatedly is failure to reproduce anomalous values or patterns by resampling the same areas. The mystery of the vanishing anomaly has led to speculation as to whether there is a significant variation in the metal content of sediment samples with the weather or with the time of year. Review of the published literature shows that a number of experiments have been carried out on time variations in the metal content of stream water.1,2,5,7-9 The only published report on time variations in stream sediments that has come to the authors' attention, however, is by Govett,3 working in Northern Rhodesia.

Jan 1, 1963

By W. S. Cavender

The Round Mountain mining district, Nye County, Ne- vada, was discovered in 1906 on claims owned by Lewis D. Gordon. Initial mining operations uncovered gold veins of spectacular richness, and within a few days of discovery, Gordon sold his controlling interest for some $87,000. From this sale emerged the Round Mountain Mining Co., predecessor of Nevada Porphyry Gold Mines, Inc., the latter destined to become the major property owner in the area. Vein mining in the district continued sporadically into the early 1930s, yielding 9.3 Mg (330,000 oz) of gold plus substantial silver credits from approximately 626 kt (690,000 st) of ore. In addition to the lode deposits, the early miners recognized the placer potential in the alluvial fan material accumulated around the west and north sides of Round Mountain itself. Intermittent placer operations were carried out for a number of years, and in the 1940s and 1950s, Round Mountain Gold Dredging Co. worked the placers under a lease from Nevada Porphyry Gold Mines. The last placer operation terminated in 1959 when it, like some of its predecessors, proved uneconomic. Total placer production for the district is estimated at 3657 km (4 million yd) of gravel containing 59 Mg (210,000 oz) of gold and possibly 2.0 to 2.3 Mg (70,000 to 80,000 oz) of silver. Round Mountain is a small hill situated on the east flank of the Toquima Range in central Nevada. The hill is com- posed of relatively flat-lying Tertiary rhyolitic ash flow tuffs, which overlie Paleozoic metasediments and Cretaceous granites. Throughout the surrounding Round Mountain mining district, most of the known gold ores occur in the tuffs, although the metasediments and granites are also mineralized. Mineralization is structurally controlled, principally by a series of northwest-trending shears and shattered zones. Vein, stockwork, and disseminated ores occur, usually containing simple quartz-pyrite-gold mineral assemblages. The gold itself is electrum, having a silver content of 30% to 40%. In September, 1967, Elwood Dietrich, a prospector and mine promoter, obtained a purchase option on the 4452 ha (1 1,000 acres) of mineral rights held at Round Mountain by Nevada Porphyry Gold Mines. The original option had a buy-out price of $1 million and was established through Dietrich's friendship with officers of Nevada Porphyry. In April, 1968, Dietrich conveyed his option to Ordrich Gold Reserves Co., a partnership created by a group of west coast investors, mostly employees of the airline industry. There- after, Ordrich invested considerable funds in trying to test and develop the property, but soon recognized the need to seek financial and technical support from the mining industry. In December, 1968, Dietrich contacted Wayne Cavender, then Regional Geologist, Southwest, for Copper Range Exploration Company (CRX) in Tucson, Arizona, and made a data presentation. Shortly thereafter, Cavender was appointed Manager of Exploration and Chief Geologist for Copper Range Co. (parent company of CRX), New York City, and he asked C. Phillips Purdy, CRX Regional Geologist, Northwest, to make an initial property examination. Purdy's one-week field study took place in March, 1969, and resulted in a recommendation that CRX pursue its investigation of the property. The presence of low-grade gold mineralization in both the alluvial gravels and in the bedrock was verifiable, but the placer was deemed to have the greater immediate economic mining potential. At that time, gold was in the $1.41/g ($40 per oz) price range. Working from Purdy's information, Cavender decided to attempt acquisition of the property, and the first in a long series of negotiations was initiated with Ordrich. Basically, CRX felt that the placer had a promising potential for several reasons, including (I) past operators had recovered free gold but not the gold contained in the pebble fraction of the gravels; (2) past operations appeared to have been ineffectively designed or managed and not costefficient; and (3) the price of gold appeared to be poised for an upward move. Negotiations with Ordrich were prolonged and difficult, with CRX competing against several ma* mining companies, but finally an agreement was reached, effective June I, 1970. Gold was then back to $35. It is believed that, in

Jan 1, 1985

By Jr. Ensign C. O., J. W. Trammell

The two principal methods of room-and-pillar mining practiced at White Pine make it important to predict variations in the thickness and rock types of a stratum called the upper sandstone. In full column mining, the nearly barren upper sandstone occurs between two ore horizons (called upper shale and parting shale, respectively), and is mined as a part of the ore column. In general, full column mining is not practiced where excessive upper sandstone thickness causes full column ore grade to be substantially lower than parting shale ore. In parting shale mining, the upper sandstone forms the mine roof. Difficulty in predicting upper sandstone character arose because the extent and directions of its variations were not apparent in the property's diamond drilling, in which holes are spaced on 1000-ft centers. A study of sedimentary features, undertaken to improve the predictability of trends in the upper sandstone, led to an interpretation of the sedimentary environment in which the sandstone was deposited. Ripple marks, mud cracks, and cross-bedding, as well as other, less well known features, such as channel casts, flute casts, and current crescent casts, were mapped or recorded. These data, coupled with the knowledge of regional facies changes gained from studying drill core, show that the upper sandstone was deposited by a series of streams flowing northeastward over the underlying parting shale. Deposition of the lowermost bed of the upper sandstone, near the ancient shoreline, was locally preceded by erosion of the parting shale, and the greatest thicknesses of sandstone are found in channels scoured out of the parting shale. Awareness of the rather strong linear trends in the upper sandstone makes it possible to project continuous areas of thick upper sandstone through apparently isolated "highs" in the upper sandstone thickness contour map, which is based on drill-hole information. Since local exceptions to general stratigraphic trends exist, a method was also needed for esti- mating, in detail, the thickness and degree of shali-ness of upper sandstone forming the roof in active parting shale mining areas. Because locally the parting shale was thinned by erosion during the deposition of upper sandstone, parting shale thickness is inversely proportional to upper sandstone thickness. Utilizing information taken from short drill holes into the roof, curves were constructed for the correlation of parting shale thickness (measurable in the mine) with the upper sandstone total thickness, as well as the thickness of its basal member. The White Pine mine is situated in Ontonagon County, approximately 6 miles south of Lake Superior, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (Fig. 1). The orebody mined by White Pine Copper Co. occurs in the lowermost 20 to 25 ft of the Nonesuch formation, a series of middle- to upper-Keweenawan shales, siltstones, and sandstones. This paper discusses the solution of problems in ore grade control and mine planning arising from the presence of an essentially barren sandstone stratum within the orebody. THE OREBODY AND MINING TYPES A brief description of the orebody and mining methods is necessary to show how the upper sandstone affects mine planning and grade control. In the mine, the cupriferous zone of the Nonesuch shale is divided into three major portions, as shown in Fig. 2. Lying conformably on top of the Copper Harbor formation (or "lower sandstone") is the lower part of the orebody, the parting shale. The parting shale is overlain by the upper sandstone. On top of the upper sandstone, the basal portion (8 ft) of the upper shale is quite similar to the parting shale. Both the upper shale and parting shale are divided into a number of smaller stratigraphic units, each having a characteristic copper content, as shown by the histogram of Fig. 2. Other authors1'3 have dealt in detail with the stratigraphy and mineralogy of the orebody. However, in this article, we are concerned with the major subdivisions only, and it will suffice to note the low copper content of the upper sandstone, shown in Fig. 2. At present, two types of room-and-pillar openings are created in the orebody. In one type, called parting

Jan 1, 1964

By F. W. Osterwald, C. R. Dunrud

A continuously recording seismic network was constructed in 1962 by the U.S. Geological Survey to locate epicenters and record incidence of bumps (bounces, rock bursts) that occur in the bituminous coal mines of the Book Cliffs coal field near Sunny-side, Utah. The coal is mined because of its value as coking coal, although these bumps may be a hazard to life and property. Daily records of tremors caused by bumps for 1 3/4 years indicate that a seasonal pattern, as well as a daily pattern, exists for the number of bumps that occur in a given period. Maxima occur in May and June and November and December. Marked increases at 5-day to 9-day intervals are superimposed on these seasonal maxima. The largest bumps commonly occur during seasonal maxima when the rate of occurrence suddenly decreases and the amplitude of the individual bumps increases. Knowledge of this pattern may lead to prediction of general locations and periods of increased hazard from bumps. Experience to date has shown that prediction of precise times and locations of hazardous bumps is not possible, and may never be; primarily because even a small bump can be a hazard to life and property. Some bumps or bump sequences are actually composites, consisting or two or more discrete bumps a few tenths of a second to a few seconds apart. Violent and spontaneous releases of coal and rock from faces, ribs and roofs of mines (termed bumps or bounces by miners) are a common hazard to life and property in the coal mines located in the Book Cliffs near Sunnyside, Utah (Fig. 1). These bumps

Jan 1, 1965

By Alfred H. Bell, Virginia Kline

In 1944, Illinois produced 77,413,000 bbl. of oil, or 4.6 per cent of the total for the United States, and continued to rank sixth in the nation in oil production. This represents a decrease of 6 per cent from 1943, when- the total Illinois production was 82,256,000 bbl. This decrease was much less than the 23 per cent decrease in 1943 from production of the previous year. The principal factor in arresting the production declinc, which had been going on since 1941, seems to be the increased drilling that followed the relaxing of the Federal Government's rules in regard to well spacing. The daily average production for 1944 was approximately 212,000 bbl. Daily averages by months were as follows: Jan......... 219,000 July........ 206,000 Feb......... 220,000 Aug......... 211,000 Mar........ 216,000 Sept......... 209,000 Apr......... 211,000 Oct......... 210,000 May........ 213,000 Nov........ 209,000 June........ 209,000 Dec......... 205,000 During the year, 1991 wells were drilled for oil and gas in Illinois as compared with 1791 in 1943, an increase of II per cent. Of the 1991 wells, 430 are classified as "wildcat" as compared with 461 in 1943. Twenty-eight new pools (Table 2 A) were discovered in 1944 as compared with 29 in 1943. Changes in federal drilling regulations, permitting closer spacing of wells, resulted in a drilling program that emphasized development of proved acreage rather than wildcatting. Data on production and drilling by fields are given in Table I; data on annual production and drilling for Illinois, in Table 3. Discoveries Twenty-eight new fields (Table 2 A), 42 extensions (Table 2 B), and 39 additional producing zones in existing fields (Table 2 C) were discovered in 16 counties in Illinois during 1944. Of the 28 new fields, one was abandoned during the year, 14 were one-well fields, eight others had not more than 6 wells, one had 8, one had 9, one had 11, one had 15, and the largest new field, Roaches North, had 28 producing wells at the end of the year. In all, 109 wells were producing in these new fields on Jan. 2, 1945, as compared with 111 wells producing from 29 new fields at the end of 1943. . The average initial production of the discovery wells of the 28 new fields was 129 bbl. of oil and II bbl. of water, a notable decline from the average initial production of 194 bbl, of oil and 15 bbl. of salt water for the 1943 discovery wells. In fields discovered since 1936, the total number of oil wells producing at the end of 1944 was 12,335. Productive Acreage The area of proved production in the new fields (discovered since 1936) increased from 144,335 acres at the end of 1943 to 173,485 acres at the end of 1944 (Table I), an increase of 29,150 acres. Of this increased area, 1720 acres are in fields discovered during 1944 and 27,430 acres are in extensions of fields discovered earlier.

Jan 1, 1945

By R. W. Shearman, F. Weston Starratt

A new center for mining and metallurgical research is developing at Sterling Forest, N. Y., under the auspices of Union Carbide Corp. Here is to be located the Union Carbide Nuclear and Ore Research Laboratories. In truth, history has repeated itself; the Sterling Forest area in the days of the Revolutionary War, and for many years thereafter, was the mining and metallurgical center of the US. For in these Ramapo hills along the New York-New Jersey border, iron ore was mined, pig lion was cast, and the weapons of war and the plowshares of peace were forged. Before embarking on an historical pilgrimage to yesteryear-a brief description of Sterling Forest. Located in Orange County, N. Y., near Tuxedo, immediately north of the New York-New Jersey State line, and just west of the Erie Railroad and the New York State Thruway, Sterling Forest is approximately 35 mi from New York City. Title was acquired in 1956 from the Harriman family by City Investing Co. Its President, Robert W. Dowling, has established himself as a city planner, having conceived such projects as Pittsburgh's Gateway Center and Philadelphia's Penn Center. A unique, self-contained community -is planned that will contain light industry and centers for research and engineering. Colonies of homes will be interspersed throughout the 20,000 acres of forest land, lakes, and rolling hills. Culture will not be neglected, for Sterling Forest will be the new home for the annual Empire State Music Festival The Sterling Forest Gardens, 125 acres of landscaped woodland and streams, will become the "world's largest permanent floral showplace" The Sterling Forest International Research Building was opened earlier this year, and designed to provide all facilities needed by small growth research companies. The first major company to acquire land to construct research buildings at Sterling Forest is Union Carbide. 1763 ... Discovery of iron ore In turning back the pages of history, a fascinating story can be told of special interest to the metallurgist, the mining engineer, and perhaps even the sociologist. For, where new communities are planned today, older communities had been born, matured, and died. In these hills had lived the. iron miners, the blacksmiths, the lumbermen, the masons, and the teamsters that had given America its start in heavy industry. This was the area where the forests were crisscrossed with many wood roads that brought logs to the charcoal pits, and iron ore to the furnaces. Men make history. Our story brings forth many names of men known as ironmasters, or as industrial leaders-Hasenclever, Faesch, Erskine, Townsend, Ryerson, Parrott, Cooper, Hewitt, Jay Cooke, and Harriman. The name Sterling is derived from a Scotch Lord, the Fifth Earl of Stirling (in its earlier spelling). Lord Stirling was one of seven Englishmen granted a patent of land in the Ramapo hills by Queen Anne in 1707, known as the Cheesecock Patent. He sent an agent, Cornelius Board, to America in 1730, with the express purpose of looking for copper deposits. While he found no copper in his travels up and down the Ramapo Valley, he did find iron ore in two localities: first, in the vicinity of what is now Ringwood, N. J.; second, five miles to the north. There he constructed a forge and furnace at the edge of a lake in 1736, naming the land Stirling Property, after his patron. In 1740, the Ogden family in Newark bought land from Board at Ringwood and began smelting of iron in 1741. The Ringwood story Soon, a genius in the person of Peter Hasenclever appeared on the scene. He was attracted by an advertisement in the New York Mercury for March 5, 1764, in which David Ogden of Newark offered

Jan 1, 1961

By H. P. Stüwe

HE recent papers of Aust and Rutter112 have again brought to mind the importance of certain "special" orientation relationships between the lattices of two fcc crystals on the mobility of the grain boundary separating them. No theoretical treatment of this problem has been offered till now. The only principle published so far that has given an indication why certain orientation relationships should be "special" is the counting of "coincidence sites" according to the suggestions by Kronberg and Wilson.3 The "coincidence plots" published by these authors show, for instance, that two fcc lattices rotated by 38 deg around a common (111)-axis have 1/7 of their lattice sites in common. Such an orientation relationship is also characteristic for high boundary mobility. The accuracy of the orientation relationship needed for high mobility is not too rigid. Deviations up to 10 deg from the ideal orientation seem to be tolerable as can be gathered from the experimental data.'j4 The auestion arises, then. how the density of coincidence sites will be affected by a deviatioi from mathematical accuracy. This can be checked by a simple model. Two sieves are prepared, the arrangement of the holes corresponding to lattice sites on a (111)-plane in a fcc crystal. They are placed upon each other, Fig. 1. One is kept fixed, the other is rotated around an axis pushed through one hole in common to both. The light falling through holes of both sieves is then a measure for the density of coincidence sites. If the diameter of the holes is very small, light intensity is contributed only by holes the centers of which coincide "exactly." If the diameter of the holes is rather large, some intensity will be contributed by

Jan 1, 1962

By D. R. Parrish, K. W. Beaver, H. W. Wood, R. W. Rausch

A pilot test of forward combustion in the Shannon pool, Salt Creek field, Wyo., is described. The Shannon sand, 950-ft deep, contains a heavy (25" API), viscous (76 cp) oil. Natural reservoir energy is limited. Primary production, intermittent since 1889, recovered only about 2 per cent of the oil in place. The field is operated by Pan American Petroleum Corp. for the Midwest Oil Corp., the owner. The original pilot was a 1.32-acre five-spot. The expanded pilot has eight producing wells surrounding a roughly triangular area of about five acres with the injection well near the center. A control or comparison well was also recompleted in another part of the field. Operation of the pilot has been little different front an ordinary gas drive. Little special equipment was found to be absolutely necessary. Except for some use of a temperature-resistant cement, all wells were conventionally completed. In spite of poor oxygen consumption, the over-all performance of the pilot has been good. Total oil recovery to June 1, 1961, was 73,971 bbl. The wells of the original pilot alone had produced about 24,000 bbl, equivalent to 50 per cent of the oil in place, when fire breakthrough at the first well occurred. These wells have now produced oil equivalent to more than 74 per cent of the oil in place in the original pilot area and production is continuing. It appears that ultimate recovery will approach theoretical maximums before the wells must be abandoned. Performance of the pilot has been encouraging, and expansion to a fieldwide combustion operation is being investigated. INTRODUCTION The results of both laboratory investigations and field tests of underground combustion have been reported previously.' However, most of the field tests were primarily experimental. More information and experience are needed before forward-combustion operations can be engineered with confidence. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a successful pilot test of forward combustion. These re- sults should increase confidence in forward combustion as a practical method for commercial oil recovery. HISTORY OF THE SHANNON POOL The Shannon pool is located on the north end of the Salt Creek field in Natrona County, Wyo. It is approximately 50-miles north of the city of Casper. The Shannon pool's3 discovery well was completed in 1889, making this one of the oldest oil fields in the Rocky Mountain region. Three more wells were drilled in 1890. First production was hauled in wooden barrels by horse and wagon to the railroad in Casper. In 1894 a small refinery, the first in Wyoming, was built in Casper to process the Shannon crude. In the following years the field changed hands several times. It appears that each new owner did some development drilling as several wells were completed in each of the years 1895, 1902, 1905 and 1912, with negligible development in the intervening years. Forty-eight wells were drilled in this period, but many were later abandoned. Discovery of the more prolific Salt Creek field proper ultimately forced suspension of operations at the Shannon pool. After 1915 there was only sporadic production, mostly to supply cheap boiler fuel to drilling rigs in the Salt Creek field. But even this was discontinued in 1931. Since then the pool had been dormant until the recent operations, which are the subject of this paper. The Shannon pool is now owned by the Midwest Oil Corp. Field operations are conducted for Midwest by Pan American Petroleum Corp. THE RESERVOIR Fig. 1 is a map showing subsurface contours of the Shannon pool. The reservoir is on a nose of the Salt Creek anticline dipping to the north at about 500 ft/mile. The trap is provided by a shallow fault on the updip side of the productive area. The downdip limits are bounded by water, but this water has not provided an effective source of reservoir energy. The Shannon sand outcrops at many places in the immediate vicinity, providing good surface indications of the Salt Creek anticline. At the Shannon pool the sand has been lowered by faulting and is overlain by about 900 ft of shale and other sands. The Shannon sand consists of two members. The upper, a water sand, is about 40-ft thick and is separated from the lower member by several feet of sandy shale. The oil pay occurs in the lower mem-

By E. Douglas Sethness

The uranium industry is booming. In Texas alone, there are about 22 different companies with active exploration programs. Twelve solution mines have been permitted; three surface mines have been authorized; and two mills are currently in operation. However, the industry also has a problem, and that is the disposal of radioactive wastes. Over the past several years, stories concerning nuclear wastes have appeared frequently in the news. One of the most frequently cited cases occurred in Grand Junction, Colorado. In 1966, after ten years of investigations, the U. S. Public Health Service (PHS) discovered that tailings from a uranium mill were being used as fill material and aggregate for local construction purposes. It was estimated that between 150,000 and 200,000 tons of material had been removed and used under streets, driveways, swimming pools, and sewer lines. In addition, tailings had been used under concrete slabs and around foundations of occupiable structures. Further studies prompted the Surgeon General to warn that the risk of leukemia and lung cancer could be doubled at the measured radiation levels. More recently, the L. B. Foster Company discovered that its building site in Washington, West Virginia, was radioactive. While digging a foundation, the ground erupted and a ball of fire 30 feet high shot out. Evidently, the dirt was laced with radioactive thorium and zirconium, a potentially explosive mixture contained in a Nigerian sand which had been used by the previous site owners in the manufacture of nuclear fuel rods. Just this month we have read about legal suits to stop exploration for a nuclear waste disposal site in Randall County, Texas. The U. S. Department of Energy is trying to locate a deep underground nuclear waste depository for final burial of over 76 million gallons of high-level wastes. The problem is acute, the wastes are accumulating at a rate of about 300,000 gallons per year. Nor do these numbers include the spent fuel elements from nuclear power plants that are in temporary storage facilities. Fortunately, public awareness of these and other related issues is high. Unfortunately, the differences in the waste products from the nuclear fuel cycle are not always apparent to the general public. There are two distinct types of radioactive wastes: "high-level", which consist of spent fuel or wastes from the reprocessing of spent fuel; and "low-level", which, in general, are by-product wastes. There are numerous non-technical definitions that can be applied to help the layman differentiate between high-level and low-level wastes. For this latter purpose, it is best to think of them in terms of what we can see and feel. In general, high-level wastes are physically hot and can cause acute radiation sickness in a short period of time. Low-level wastes are not hot, but may cause chronic health effects after long exposure. The wastes which we are concerned with in the uranium mining and milling industry are low-level wastes. As recently as ten years ago, there were very few controls or regulations governing tailings disposal methods. At the same time, mine reclamation was not enforced through either state or Federal laws and the long-term viability of abandoned tailings ponds was not assured. The regulatory climate has changed significantly in the last decade, however. The low-level radioactive wastes generated by uranium mining and milling are generally contained in a tailings pond. Approximately 85-97% of the total radioactivity contained in uranium ore is present in the mill waste that goes to such tailings ponds. The isotope Radium-226 is probably the most potentially harmful radioactive parameter in the ponds. Radium emits gamma radiation and is also an alpha particle emitter. Because gamma radiation is very penetrating, it presents a potential health problem when a source is located external to the body. Gamma radiation will go through the body, causing damage to each cell encountered on the way. Although alpha particles have very little penetration capability, they can cause extensive cell damage. For this reason, alpha particles are a problem after inhalation or ingestion. Radium creates a health hazard by both of these mechanisms. Radium decays to radon gas which can be inhaled and serve as an alpha particle emitter. Additionally, radium is very soluble and readily enters the natural hydrologic cycle if allowed to leach from a tailings pond. With a half-life of 1620 years, radium has plenty of time to be taken into the food chain and end up in our bodies, emitting alpha particles. Because the potential health problems are better understood today than ten years ago, and because the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has developed increasingly stringent government regulations, the uranium mining industry applies a high level of technology to the disposal of nuclear wastes. In most cases, low-level radioactive wastes are disposed of at or near the site where they are produced. There are six commercial burial grounds for low-level wastes, but it would not be economical to ship all mine or milling wastes to these sites. The on-site disposal methods most often used are ponding

Jan 1, 1979

By Arthur Baker III

The orebodies are long bedding-plane lenses of chalcopyrite and sphalerite, associated with garnetite masses. Most of the orebodies are within a 50-ft thickness of Cambrian limestone; other Paleozoic limestones and dolomites are locally metamorphosed but only slightly mineralized. Pre-mineral faults are numerous, but shallow folds were the main ore-localizing structures. JOHNSON camp is in the northwestern part of Cochise County, Ariz., about 50 miles east of Tucson. The nearest major mining districts are Tombstone and Bisbee, respectively 27 and 50 miles to the south, and the Superior-Miami-Globe-Ray porphyry copper group, about 90 miles northwest. Like many mining camps of the Southwest, Johnson camp is said to have been worked by the Spaniards. The first production on record was in the early 1880's, when an unknown amount of oxidized copper-silver ore in the Peabody mine was mined from replacement orebodies in the Pennsyl-vanian Naco formation. From 1904 to 1911 outcropping oxidized ores in the Cambrian Abrigo formation were worked, and an estimated 100,000 tons of copper ore were shipped. In 1912 the first large sulphide orebody of the district, the Republic Manto orebody, was discovered, and in the following few years some 250,000 tons of predominantly sulphide ore were shipped. The average grade of this ore was approximately 4.5 pct Cu, 6 pct Zn, 0.8 oz. Ag, and 0.001 oz Au. The Republic, Copper Chief, and Mammoth mines were the principal producers during this period. Mining ceased in the district after 1920, and until 1943 only small-scale leasing operations were carried on. In 1943 all the mines that had been productive were acquired by the Coronado Copper and Zinc Co., the present operators, and in the 10 years since that time the district production has amounted to approximately 350,000 tons of milling ore averaging 2 pct Cu and 6 pct Zn. Most of this ore was produced from the Republic and Mammoth mines, but since 1950 a large part of the production has been from the new Moore mine. The total known production from the district, then, is about 3/4 million tons of copper and copper-zinc ore of low grade. All of this ore was produced from orebodies associated with garnetite in the middle member of the Cambrian Abrigo formation. In addition to this known production, an unknown tonnage of ore was extracted from the Peabody mine orebodies that lie in the Pennsylvanian Naco formation. Published information on the geology of the district is limited. Aside from brief references in various mining journals, only three papers on the district have been published.1-3 One of these is a U. S. Bureau of Mines report on a diamond drilling program, one is a brief paper on the general geology of the district, and the third is a report on geochemical experiments, with a section on the occurrence of the orebodies. The last two are by John Cooper, of the United States Geological Survey, who has done much detailed work in the area. Stratigraphy The rocks of the mineralized area are Paleozoic sediments ranging in age from Cambrian to Penn-sylvanian. Several disconformities are present in the stratigraphic column, the most important one being between the Cambrian Abrigo formation and the Devonian Martin formation. There are no angular unconformities. Within the district, the Paleozoic sediments lie in a fairly uniform monocline, striking northwest and dipping 30" to 50" northeast. This local monocline is part of a domal struc-ture centered in the Little Dragoon mountains to the southwest. The Texas Canyon stock, a quartz monzonite body intruded probably during the Laramide revolution, lies south of the mineralized area (Ref. 2, p. 33). The Paleozoic rocks dip away from the stock, and on the surface are separated from it by at least 1500 ft of Pre-Cambrian rocks. The outcrop pattern of the northeastern edge of the stock suggests that it may dip gently northeastward, passing below the mineralized area at moderate depth. No quartz monzonite has been found in mine workings or diamond drill holes, which reach to depths of 1000 ft. The only igneous rock found in the mineralized area is a lamprophyre dike cutting the Naco limestone in and near workings of the Peabody mine. With the exception of the lowermost beds—the Bolsa quartzite and the shaly lower member of the Abrigo formation—the Paleozoic sediments are predominantly carbonate rocks, Fig. 1. The middle member of the Abrigo formation, which contains the principal ore-bearing beds, is limestone, with thin shale partings throughout most of its 250-ft thick-ness. Near the top of this member is a sandy bed some 25 ft thick. The upper member of the Abrigo formation and the lower half of the overlying Devonian Martin formation are dolomitic, with num-

Jan 1, 1954

By N. M. Levine

WHETHER the United States and its allies can W meet the challenge of a war brought by the Communists will depend largely on who wins the battle of steel production. At the present stage of the world situation, the United States and the other members of the Western family of nations have the lead on iron curtain countries. But we have no sure way of knowing what is happening at Magnetogorsk and other Russian iron and steel producing centers. We must also face the possibility that we may have to meet the challenge alone. The fortunes of war and world politics can strip us of friends and co-fighters quickly. The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are indicative of what the world can expect if war-madness ever grasps the earth again. Our domestic supply of high grade open-pit and underground iron ore is dwindling because of the drain of three wars and higher than ever civilian consumption. The production of iron ore and its eventual use in blast furnaces are the critical problems of an armed democracy today. The world crisis has led to efforts towards beneficiation for increasing ore supplies. The huge reserves represented by the magnetic taconites at the eastern end of the Mesabi, once in production, should provide us with a substantial portion of our native ore for many years. The estimated 10 to 20 million tons of concentrates annually can be increased in an emergency. If we had a certainty of peace for the next 50 to 100 years, the situation would be a stable, hopeful one, aided by importations of high grade ore from sources such as Canada and Venezuela. The hard truth is that we have little surety of peace tomorrow morning. Let us assume 'the U. S. could build sufficient processing plants for increasing production of magnetic taconites under the pressure of national emergency. We must also recognize the power of atomic warfare to contaminate an area as large as the Eastern Mesabi. Thus, it becomes imperative to seek some means of protecting our ability to produce the steel we may one day need to survive. The nonmagnetic taconites, completely dwarfing the magnetic taconites areawise as well as tonnage-wise, might provide us with this insurance. Present indications are that they will be considerably more expensive to treat, but in a desperate situation we might be very grateful for ores yielding 40 to 50 pct Fe recoveries at grades of 53 to 58 pct Fe carrying low phosphorus. The University of Wisconsin, because of the difficult iron ore situation in the state, has been working on the nonmagnetic taconite problem for the past three years in the hope of making a contribution toward its eventual solution. In Wisconsin, the Western Gogebic Range has been the state's most effective iron producing area. Today however, only two mines are in operation, both underground and approaching depths of more than 3000 ft. The range, however, does have a large supply of nonmagnetic taconites and presents a promising field for study. While the Gogebic offers one large source of nonmagnetic taconites, Michigan and Minnesota have even greater supplies of such material. Alabama, the northeastern states and the West all have low grade iron ore sources which might be utilized under extreme conditions. The Gogebic Range located in northeastern Wisconsin and northwestern Michigan has a total length of about 70 miles, about 45 of which are in Wisconsin. The iron formation averages 500 to 600 ft in width, dips 70' to the north and strikes at approximately N 63° E. The formation is sedimentary and consists of six distinct members characterized by alternating divisions of ferruginous chert and ferruginous slate. The footwall is generally quartzitic and the hanging wall of a sideritic slatey character. The iron minerals are mainly hematites with some magnetites, goethites, limonites and small amounts of siderite. In the area studied, very small amounts of iron silicates were observed. The magnetites occurred mostly in the Anvil-Pabst and Pence members, mixed with hematites and representing roughly about 10 to 20 pct of the total iron in the formation, thereby characterizing it as nonmagnetic. The gangue is of various forms of silica such as chert, opal and flint. Complete liberation of iron and gangue minerals is rare. There is always some iron present in the chert ranging from jasper-like solutions to fairly coarse iron oxide specks. Likewise, one always finds finely dispersed silica within the iron minerals. In late 1943 the Bureau of Mines carried out a trenching and sampling program in the two mile stretch between Iron Belt and Pence in Iron County, Wis. Preliminary work was based on samples from one of the four trenches cut by the Bureau of Mines. More detailed work following the preliminary analysis was then undertaken on samples composited from all the trenches, thereby giving a wider and more representative coverage of the area. A study of the

Jan 1, 1952

TWO very interesting sessions on mine ventilation were held on Monday. George S. Rice, chairman of the Mine Ventilation Committee, presided at the morn-ing session. Formal reports from two subcommittees were presented, as well as two technical papers. Daniel Harrington, for the subcommittee on metal mining, gave a most interesting report, devoting most of it to a review of the literature that had appeared during the past year, to the cooling of mine air, and to a discussion of mine fires. In the absence of Dr. R. R. Sayers, chairman of the Physiological subcommittee, Mr. Harrington gave a resume of that report. The main points covered were in connection with silicosis but some attention was also paid to the associated prob-lems of air cooling and humidity. The paper by Prof. W. S. Weeks on the "Air-Current Regulator" was briefed by Prof. A. C. Callen. Pro-fessor Weeks brought out the fact that the common application of Murgue's equivalent-orifice formula to regulator problems was incorrect, inasmuch as the dis-charge from the regulator was not released into the open air but into a slow-moving current beyond the regulator. He applied the shock-loss theory of Bordoni to the problem and worked out a formula for solving regulator problems, giving coefficients of contraction he had determined experimentally.

Jan 3, 1928

By W. E. Bonini, E. A. Hickok

IN the course of an investigation directed toward expanding ground-water facilities in Essex and Morris counties, New Jersey, the Board of Water Commissioners of the city of East Orange authorized a seismic-refraction survey' for the purpose of de-lineating bedrock topography below unconsolidated overburden. Results of the survey were highly satisfactory and led to the preparation of a comparatively detailed bedrock contour map. Knowledge of the bedrock depth and configuration was an important aid in selection of sites for test drilling. The portion of the East Orange Water Reserve under consideration is in the flood plain of the Pas-saic River about 10 miles west of Newark, N. J. The flood plain is about 175 ft above mean sea level and is bordered by low hills rising to elevations of approximately 250 ft. The bedrock underlying the Water Reserve consists of sandstone and shale of the Triassic Brunswick formation and is covered everywhere by deposits of unconsolidated glacial outwash sand and gravel, lacustrine clay, and recent river silt as much as 150 ft thick. Yield of wells in the sandstone and shale averages 100 to 200 gpm. Since production wells constructed in the sand and gravel aquifer in the buried river valley shown on the contour map (Fig. 1) yield 300 to 1400 gpm, it was proposed to locate additional production wells in this buried valley, where the yields per well would be maximum. In 1939 and 1946 the East Orange Water Dept. had electrical-resistivity surveys made to determine depths to bedrock. From the resistivity data the exploration company prepared a bedrock contour map. A well field expansion program begun in 1955 utilized this information to locate sites for test wells along a predicted northward extension of the buried valley in which existing production wells are located. After several test wells (wells 201-205) had been drilled, it became apparent that the resistivity information was unreliable." For example, test well 201 recorded bedrock at a depth of 72 ft, whereas the resistivity depth determination was 130 ft. As a consequence, the test drilling program was temporarily suspended and a seismic survey was under- taken to determine the topography and extent of the buried valley known from well records to underlie the existing well field. In the first phase of this study, several seismic shot point locations were placed at sites where well logs had been obtained previously. This procedure is necessary in a new area to determine whether the seismic method is applicable and what degree of accuracy is to be expected. At the East Orange Water Reserve, depths obtained from the shot points near test wells 202, 203, and 204 were within 8 to 11 pct of the depths logged (Table I). With this assurance that accurate results could be obtained, additional seismic spreads were located on the Water Reserve. Using a portable refraction seismograph, in the fall of 1955 a crew of four men shot a total of 29 reversed seismic spreads in a period equivalent to six field days. Charges as heavy as 3 1b of 40 pct dynamite were necessary at a few places to overcome ground vibrations caused by traffic on nearby highways. At most other sites, a 1-1b charge was sufficient. Travel-time plots were made for all spreads, and depths and true velocities were calculated according to formulas for multiple sloping layers by Ewing, Woollard, and Vine.' The plot of spread 7 (Fig. 2) is typical of the short spreads in which bedrock was shallow—about 50 ft in this case. Where there were not enough arrivals through the bedrock to define the high velocity bedrock line, the spreads were lengthened. This was done by placing shots on line several hundred feet away from each end of the line of geophones. It was then possible to construct complete reverse plots for both short and extended shot points (see spread 27, Fig. 3). Four individual depths were calculated from each extended spread. Three and in some cases four seismic layers were observed. The surficial layer had a velocity range of 900 to 1200 fps, the lowest velocity recorded. This seismic layer is above the water table and is interpreted as recent river silt. The bedrock had the highest velocities, which ranged from 10,600 to 16,400 fps. Intermediate velocities ranged from 4500 to 6800 fps. In every case the intermediate layer was within

Jan 1, 1959

By Milton Fies

ALTHOUGH pig iron from iron ore and red cedar charcoal preceded the mining of coal by many years, for tradition says that Alabama iron was used to shoe the horses of Andrew Jackson's soldiers, coal was not produced until 1830. In that year, coal was mined in Tuscaloosa County, in the vicinity of what is now the University of Alabama, and shipped on flat boats (obviously during the wet season, for there were many shoals) down the Warrior River to Mobile. About that time, the first railroad, the Decatur & Tecumseh, was being constructed in northern Alabama to overcome the obstructions to freight traffic caused by the now well-known Muscle Shoals in the Tennessee River. This railroad was patterned after a railroad at Mauch Chunk, Pa., which was used for hauling anthracite from the Panther Creek valley. The Alabama railroad, which required about four years to complete, was 46 miles long and was used solely for the transportation of cotton. Although it was a failure, it demonstrated the practicability of the undertaking, and the succeeding railroads, which were begun in 1834, 1848, 1852, and 1853, added immeasurably to the development of the coal resources of the state. Between the years 1830 and 1860, practically all the coal mined in the state was dug from the outcrop near the river or from the river beds, and shipped by boat to Mobile. Transporting coal down the Warrior River was one of great risk, required much skill, and frequently had heavy losses. It is recorded that this coal was sold to the gas company in Mobile in 1844; it was most likely mined from the Black Creek Seam. In 1914, on the completion of Lock 17, the Warrior River became a navigable stream from 9 miles above Cordova, Ala., to Mobile and offers a great opportunity for the future development of the coal resources of the state.

Jan 9, 1924

By G. D. Cody, D. S. Beers, B. Abeles

The thermal diffusivity (thermal conductivity divided by specific heat) of Armco iron has been measured over the temperature range 30º to 1025ºC. The results are in good agreement with the thermal diffusivity computed from published values of thermal conductivity and specific heat, except near the Curie point and at the a to y phase transition, where the measured diffusivity undergoes rabid variations. The differences observed are ascribed to a rapid variation in the electronic thermal conductivity near the Curie point, and a decrease in the lattice thermal conductivity, at the a to ? phase transition. A major difficulty in measuring the thermal conductivity of materials at high temperatures is the determination and elimination of radiation losses. It has been shown, however, that in measuring thermal diffusivity D (thermal conductivity/specific heat) radiation losses can be taken into account exactly.' In order to test the performance of a newly designed apparatus for measuring thermal diffusivity of solids,' we measured Armco iron to an accuracy of 2 pct in the temperature range 30" to 1025°C. This material was selected since both the thermal conductivity,3'4 k, and specific heat,5 C, are known accurately in this temperature range and thus the measured values of D could be compared with D computed from the pub-

Jan 1, 1962