Search Documents

By M. W. Cox, V. F. Hollister

Exploration for metallic mineral deposits is carried on by those special adaptations of methods which the explorer believes will yield most economically or satisfactorily the particular answer sought. In this project the usual methods of geologic observation, recording, and interpretation, when combined with magnetic geophysical methods and geochemical soil sampling, led to disclosures of appreciable zinc mineralization where none was visible in surface exposure. Since 1945 considerable work has been done with geochemical prospecting methods, chiefly in determining the presence and distribution of various elements existing in minor amounts in rocks, soil, vegetation or waters of mineralized areas. Such work, in which the U. S. Geological Survey has taken the lead, finds a ready place in the field repertoire of the exploration geologist as a supplement, not a substitute, for other methods. The Chollet project was carried out in 1951 by the American Smelting & Refining Co. near its Van Stone mine in northern Stevens County, Wash., in the area shown in Fig. 1

Oct 1, 1955

By R. V. Whetsel, V. R. Garfias

The production of petroleum in Mexico during 1933 totaled 33,430,-000 bbl., or 625,000 bbl. more than in the previous year. This is the first time since the peak in 1921 that the declining trend of output has been reversed. Drilling activity in the proven areas of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Northern fields increased substantially during the year. The completion of two producers in the Poza Rica area south of Tuxpam and a shallow gas well in the Camargo district near the American border were the outstanding features of development. Late in September the Northern fields and the oil port of Tampico were swept by a hurricane followed by floods which caused loss of life and heavy damage to the City of Tampico and to transportation, tank farms and refineries. For three weeks, owing to the silting of the Tampico Bar and destruction of terminal facilities, no oil could be shipped for export. About half the wells of the Northern fields were closed for a period of 30 days. The prompt and effective steps taken by General Macias, chief of military operations, prevented the spread of epidemics and any serious aftermath of the catastrophe.

Jan 1, 1934

SUMPEARY OF CURRENT PRACTICES History The outcrop and surrounding area of Comincots Sullivan Mine was originally mined by small open cuts on surface and small open stopes underground to which shafts and adits were driven for access. When it was established that a commercial grade of ore was available, an adit was driven on the 4600 level (feet above sea level), and OM was extracted by larger scale open stoping leaving supporting pillars where necessary. After the depth of the ore body was proven to the 3900 level and an adit driven at this level, many miles of drifts, crosscuts, raises and sublevels were driven for the extraction of the ore above this level. Larger open stopea were extended from this development. The mining method was, and to a very limited degree still is, a benching method. Due to the strong hanging wall in this area of the mine, stopes with a width of 100 feet or more were opened. In 1931, because the orebody was proven to extend below the 3900 level, a winze was sunk from the 3900 level to the 3350 level. From this winze three intermediate levels were opened. Following a plan of development well in advance of production requirements, further sinking was done by winzes and eventually a large shaft was raised to surface. Prior to 1958 the 2850 level was bottom which since that time has been extended to the 2500 level. Open stopes were developed and mined as this area was opened up.

Jan 1, 1970

By J. G. McCullough

The paper is a general description of the U.S. lead and zinc industries as they are now compared to ten years ago and the effect of recent world-wide developments. Topics of interest concerning lead are the present and potential growth of the lead-acid battery business, the potential hazards of having one outlet for a major proportion of production, the expanding U.S. secondary lead production, the hardships of stringent hygiene and environmental regulations and the future supply and demand outlook. The present poor condition of the U.S. zinc industry caused by an oversupply of zinc metal - mostly in Europe - is discussed and also the shifting markets influenced by the automotive programs to reduce the weight of cars and the continuing high mine production due to the mixture of metals contained in the massive sulphide deposits which contain a major portion of the zinc metal reserves. This is all tempered by technical advances in die casting and the emphasis on the protecting of steel with zinc to prolong its useful life. New U.S. mine and smelter production facilities will be restrained due to lower cost foreign zinc from better grade ore deposits and the insistence by Governments for refining capacity to be constructed in the country that the ore is mined.

Jan 1, 1977

By Robert C. Beckstorm

Russia produced over one-half of the world's petroleum in 1901. It dropped to a low figure in 1920 during the reorganization of the new government. Since then it has had a remarkable growth under the constant demands from the Central Bureau at Moscow. The five-year plan called for the development of all industries, many of which had permitted their equipment to gat out of repair or become obsolete, so that when the magic wand of authority demanded that they double, triple or quadruple their former production they looked to the oil industry for aid. This plan made necessary the building of new factories, dams and power stations; the developing of mines and agriculture, and in many places the building of cities and railroads. Exports were the solution and petroleum was the logical one to carry the load of development of the more backward industries. It had a ready market and fields located advantageously for transportation, which was cheap, and there was sufficient oil to meet the market demands at that time, as domestic consumption was not great. The building program demanded new and modern machinery and technical aid from abroad. FIG . 1.-PETROLEUM Money was necessary and petroleum was the impor- 1925-1931. PRODUTION IN RUSSIA tant product of exchange. This accounts for the rapid development of the old fields, the search for new ones and the building of refineries and transportation facilities. Fig. 1 shows the advance in production since 1925. There has been a. steady increase since 1920, and with the improved drilling equipment and improved methods it will increase as long as the now proved fields continue to produce new wells. The fields of Baku and Grozny have yielded 95 per cent of this production. The Cara Chukur field, which is being developed at the present time, is an extension of the Surakany at Baku and may be considered a part of the old field. New fields are being

Jan 1, 1932

By BION J. ARNOLD

WE can, I think, rightfully claim, irrespective of our faults, that engineers must, in order to last as engineers, possess the qualifications of integrity, stead- fastness of purpose, ability to think straight, and to apply these qualities consistently and continually in their everyday work. All engineers know this, most of them conform, and in order to drive it home I might, if 'clothed with proper authority, preach to you at length, but I shall not take the chance. So I only want to make a suggestion or two to the young engineers. Have an ideal and work toward it. You will have your disappointments and your temptations but keep your record clean, and if anyone says you are foolish or ugly, or homely, or that you need a guardian, take the criticism with a smile, for he may be able to prove his contention; but if he attacks your integrity, strike at once and fight hard, for he has assailed not only your character but your principal asset as an engineer.

Jan 1, 1929

By William P. Blake

Eureka has for several years past been known as one of the most important centres of production of argentiferous lead in the country. The average daily yield is now one hundred tons of lead bars, in which the silver and gold of the ore is concentrated. The value of this lead, called " bullion," is about $300 per ton. To produce this quantity of metal, about four times the weight of ore, or say four hundred tons, is required. Most of this ore is supplied by the two leading mines of the district, the " Eureka" and the " Richmond," adjoining claims on Ruby Hill, about two miles from Eureka. There are, however, many other mines from which considerable quan-

Jan 1, 1879

By Stephen G. Dardaganian

Pore volume compresibilitieu measured in the laborutory on core .samples are reported for typical reservoir .sarrrl.rtorres at reservoir pressure. These cornpressibilities ore different for each reseriloir sample and cannot be correlated to porosity. The compressihilities are a1so functions of presslire. In recent years several authors have pointed out the importance of including pore volume compressibility of the reservoir rock in certain reservoir engineering calculations. Hall' showed that in calculating the hydrocarbon volume of an undersaturated reservoir from the production per unit change in reservoir pressure, the neglect of rock compressibility could, in the extreme case of low porosity rock, lead to results in error by a factor of two. Hawkinsl' and Hobson and Mrosovsky showed that both rock and interstitial water compressibilities must be included to achieve satisfactory accuracy in this calculation. Although rock compressibility is an important reservoir property in these calculations, very few data are available. Hall' made compressibility measurements on a few samples in a small pressure range. No other direct pore volume compressibility measurements have been reported. Geertsma' discussed the elasticity of reservoir rock but did not present any new data. In this paper, rock compressibilities suitable for reservoir calculations are reported for a variety of sandstones typical of U. S. reservoirs. The measurements were made through a range of pressures which is also typical of reservoirs. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Plugs 1 in. in diameter and 2- to 3-in. long were diamond drilled, 14 from cores from seven oil-bearing or potentially oil-bearing sandstone, one from a quarried sandstone, and another from a shallow, oil-free, pure orthoquartzite. The plugs were extracted in toluene, vacuum dried, and then weighed. The plugs were then saturated with kerosene and reweighed. This gave pore volume. They were then again extracted in toluene. vacuum dried, and jacketed in 0.004-in. thick copper foil. A short length of -in high pressure tubing led from the jacket. The jacketed sample was then saturated with kerosene and placed in the hydraulic pressure cell as shown in Fig. 1. Movement of the mercury slug showed the change in pore volume of the sample under a given pressure change. Temperature was about 72" F for all measurements. Before taking any measurements, the external pressure on the sample was raised to 10,000 psig and kept there for several hours. This formed the thin copper jacket around the plug. 7-he pressure was then removed and the sample left at least overnight, during which time it recovered its original pore volume. An external pressure of 12,000 psig was then applied and held constant. The change in pore volume was noted as the internal pressure was raised in 1,000 psig increments to 10,000 psig. The internal pressure was then reduced to zero, again noting pore volume changes,

By R. Schuhmann, O. W. Moles

at temperatures of 1150°, 1250°, and 1350°C for liquid copper sulphides ranging in composition from saturation with Cu to about 21.5 pct S. From the experimental data, activities of Cu, S, and Cu2S in the melts were calculated. Also, the results furnish a new determination of the location of the curve showing the compositions of Cu-saturoted sulphide melts in the CU-S constitution diagram. THE "white metal" made as an intermediate L product in converting copper matte to blister copper is a matte approximating Cu2S in composition. It has long been known that liquid Cu-S mattes can exist at a given temperature over an appreciable composition range, with S:Cu ratios ranging up from a lower limit corresponding to equilibrium of the matte with a liquid Cu phase. The Cu-saturated matte has somewhat less S than Cu2S, although previous measurements of the compositions of Cu-saturated mattes are not in good agreement.'" As the S:Cu ratio approaches and slightly exceeds that for Cu2S, the partial pressure of sulphur gas over the liquid matte rapidly approaches atmospheric pressure,5 so that Cu-S melts with much more S than Cu2S can be made and handled only in pressure apparatus. Accordingly, the liquid copper sulphides of interest in copper smelting and readily studied experimentally fall in a relatively narrow composi- tion range about Cu2S. The freezing points of Cu-S mattes show a maximum of 1129°C near the composition Cu, dropping to 1105oC for Cu-saturated mattes having less S and dropping under 1100°C for higher S mattes.' Estimates of the sulphur pressure and other thermodynamic properties of liquid Cu,S were made by Kelley; based on extrapolations from equilibrium measurements on solid Cu,S. More recently, Cox and coworkers' studied equilibria in the reaction: Cu,S + H, e 2Cu + H,S over the temperature range 700" to 1250°C. They measured equilibrium H2S:H2 ratios presumably with both the sulphide and the metal phase present, so that their data above the melting point of Cu,S should measure the S pressure of Cu-saturated sulphide melts. The sulphur pressures of liquid copper sulphides of several S:Cu ratios at their freezing points can be estimated from data given by Posnjak, Allen, and Merwin." However, beyond these few data, no systematic study seems to have been made of the relations of sulphur pressure and other chemical properties of liquid copper sulphides to composition and temperature. The measurements of the sulphur pressures of liquid copper sulphides reported in this paper represent a first step in the quantitative study of the chemistry of mattes. Similar work is planned on

Jan 1, 1952

By A. B. Dyes, P. H. Braun, B. E. Cole

This paper presents a reservoir engineering analysis of the performance data for a waterflooding project in the Johnson Lease, South Ward field. This type of engineering analysis adds to the knowledge of the mechanics of water flooding. This study reveals that in general (a) high ultimate areal sweep-out efficiencies (95 to 100 per cent) can be expected, and (b) cross-flow among strata of different permeabilities during the fill-up phase can have an important influence on the behavior and should be dealt with in studying reservoirs for water flooding. The analysis further showed that the recovery predictions based on what was considered a consistent interpretation of core data and logs were low because little contribution was assumed from the low permeability, oil-bearing sand sections which have apparently yielded considerable waterflood oil. This project has yielded in excess of 2 1/2 times as much oil by water flooding as by primary depletion. These very favorable results were achieved without the use of any special injection well completion techniques. However, all of the low permeability material war included in the section open to injection despite its poor estimated primary yield. LEASE PERFORMANCE HISTORY The South Ward field lies in the southeast corner of Ward County near the southern tip of the tremendous Yates trend. Deposition of sand bodies along the seashore reefs during the latter part of the Permian period established what have turned out to be ideal conditions to form a great number of independent productive sands. Probably, these reservoirs in Ward and Winkler counties are providing operators with some of the nation's richest sources of secondary oil reserves through the use of waterflooding techniques. In South Ward field water has been very successfully used to flood oil from the Bennett sand occurring at a depth of about 2,300 to 2,400 ft. About 150 ft above the Bennett sand reservoir, the Grand Falls sand produced gas from a large cap extending over most of the field. The Atlantic Refining Co.'s 320-acre W. D. Johnson lease (Fig. 1) is on the northwest edge of the structure with only gas cap apparently present in the Grand Falls sand. The Bennett sand under this lease is oil productive, however, having a gross sand thickness averaging about 80 ft with a net of 18 ft of fairly clean, highly permeable sand, and about 36 ft of oil-bearing sand with low permeability and high water saturation. The lower permeability sand is interbedded with numerous layers of lime, shale, and anhydrite. Radioactivity logs from 12 wells and cores from two, examples of which are shown in Fig. 2, reveal that the total Bennett sand pore volume is about 71,000 bbl/acre. The estimated initial water saturation averages 41 per cent in the 54 ft of sand considered to contain oil; thus, also considering an estimated 18 per cent oil shrinkage, the lease originally contained about 34,000 bbl of oil per acre. Original pressure was probably about 1,400 psig. PVT correlations indicate that the reservoir fluid was originally saturated with gas. After discovery of the field in 1930, Atlantic completed the first well on the Johnson lease in March,

Jan 1, 1958

By D. A. Keyes

International Minerals & Chemical Corp. (Canada) Ltd. is presently exploiting by underground mining a potash-rich zone in the middle Devonian Prairie Evaporite formation near Esterhazy, Saskatchewan. Of the three main potash-bearing horizons denoted by Goudie as zones 1, 2 and 3 only the 1ower. two are present at Esterhazy and mining is confined to the lower or zone 1 horizon. The area in which the evaporites were deposited, although flanked on the west by a zone of geosynclinal deposition and tectonic activity, has been subjected to only very gentle epeirogenic activity. The sylvinite ore is coarsely crystalline and occurs in well-defined beds. The halite, sylvite and insoluble content of the ore bears a direct relationship to the lithological units, but the carnallite cuts across the beds. Local concentrations of salt produce blank spots in the ore horizon. Some of these appear to be salt-filled, post-ore channels and cracks while others have been formed by brines emanating upward from below the ore. INTRODUCTION International Minerals & Chemical Corporation (Canada) Ltd. is operating an underground potash mine near the town of Esterhazy in eastern Saskatchewan. The deposit was discovered by IMC in 1955. Subsequent drilling outlined extensive high-grade reserves, and in 1957 shaft sinking and plant construction began. Production from Yarbo No. 1 Shaft commenced in September, 1962 and quickly reached the initial capacity of one million tons of muriate product per year. Production is currently being expanded to 1.6 million tpy. The single mining level is 3140 ft below the surface at No. 1 Shaft. GENERAL GEOLOGY The Esterhazy district lies within the Interior Plains region of Canada and on the northeast rim of the Williston Basin (Fig. 1). Average dip of the rock formations in this area is about 40 ft per mile to the southwest. The potash ore occurs in the Prairie Evaporite formation of the Middle-Devonian Elk Point Group. The Prairie Evaporites are overlain by 3000 ft of Paleozoic shales and limestones and by Jurassic and Cretaceous sandstones and shales (Fig. 2).

Jan 1, 1967

By Donald D. Smythe

This paper describes briefly the topography and geology of the region where the mica-bearing pegmatites are found and discusses prospecting, the quality of the mica, its preparation, and evaluation of the deposits. Muscovite mica occurs in a number of widely separated localities in Brazil, but production has come largely from deposits in the southeastern and eastern part of the State of Minas Gerais (Fig. I). There the deposits form a discontinuous zone, which starts at a point go km. north of the city of Rio de Janeiro and extends north for some 500 km., roughly parallel to the coast. A maximum width of 180 km. is reached along the Rio Doce. To the west in Minas Gerais, and extending east into the states of Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro, the mica zone proper is fringed by areas in which there are scattered occurrences of mica-bearing pegmatites. A few of these outlying deposits have produced commercial mica, but most of them are unimportant. To the southwest, in the State of Sao Paulo, there are a number of mines, which at one time produced a very considerable amount of sheet mica, largely as a byproduct of kaolin mining. These deposits, and a few others lying between them and the main productive areas to the northeast, appear to be the southwestern continuation of the strong Minas Gerais mica zone. In the vicinity of Conquista, just north of the Minas Gerais boundary in the State of Bahia, and still farther north, near Jacobina, there are several known mica deposits. Their location indicates that they may be the northern continuation of the main mica zone. The major part of Brazilian mica production has come from four areas within the mica zone proper; from north to south, Governador Valadares, Raul Soares, Espera Feliz, and Muriaé.. The first is go km. from north to south and reaches a maximum width of 180 km. The Raul Soares area extends 135 km. from northeast to southwest, and in places is 80 km. wide. The Espera Feliz area is 100 km. from north to south, and reaches a width of 35 km. The Muriai. area extends 150 km. from northeast to southwest and its width reaches 40 kilometers. Between the known productive areas, and in the areas directly to the southwest and to the north of them, little mica has been produced. These gaps, as well as certain irregularities in the outline of the mica zone itself, are to be ascribed either to lack of prospecting or to conditions preventing the discovery of mica, rather than to its nonexistence. Elsewhere in Brazil mica has been reported from eastern Goiaz, Ceará, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Sul, Matto Grosso, and Amazonas. Production from these sources is negligible at present. Because of the inferior quality of the mica from the more accessible of these localities, and the operational difficulties occasioned by the remoteness of others, it is improbable that they will become important producers for some time to come.

Jan 1, 1948

By Donald D. Smythe

This paper describes briefly the topography and geology of the region where the mica-bearing pegmatites are found and discusses prospecting, the quality of the mica, its preparation, and evaluation of the deposits. Muscovite mica occurs in a number of widely separated localities in Brazil, but production has come largely from deposits in the southeastern and eastern part of the State of Minas Gerais (Fig. I). There the deposits form a discontinuous zone, which starts at a point go km. north of the city of Rio de Janeiro and extends north for some 500 km., roughly parallel to the coast. A maximum width of 180 km. is reached along the Rio Doce. To the west in Minas Gerais, and extending east into the states of Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro, the mica zone proper is fringed by areas in which there are scattered occurrences of mica-bearing pegmatites. A few of these outlying deposits have produced commercial mica, but most of them are unimportant. To the southwest, in the State of Sao Paulo, there are a number of mines, which at one time produced a very considerable amount of sheet mica, largely as a byproduct of kaolin mining. These deposits, and a few others lying between them and the main productive areas to the northeast, appear to be the southwestern continuation of the strong Minas Gerais mica zone. In the vicinity of Conquista, just north of the Minas Gerais boundary in the State of Bahia, and still farther north, near Jacobina, there are several known mica deposits. Their location indicates that they may be the northern continuation of the main mica zone. The major part of Brazilian mica production has come from four areas within the mica zone proper; from north to south, Governador Valadares, Raul Soares, Espera Feliz, and Muriaé.. The first is go km. from north to south and reaches a maximum width of 180 km. The Raul Soares area extends 135 km. from northeast to southwest, and in places is 80 km. wide. The Espera Feliz area is 100 km. from north to south, and reaches a width of 35 km. The Muriai. area extends 150 km. from northeast to southwest and its width reaches 40 kilometers. Between the known productive areas, and in the areas directly to the southwest and to the north of them, little mica has been produced. These gaps, as well as certain irregularities in the outline of the mica zone itself, are to be ascribed either to lack of prospecting or to conditions preventing the discovery of mica, rather than to its nonexistence. Elsewhere in Brazil mica has been reported from eastern Goiaz, Ceará, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Sul, Matto Grosso, and Amazonas. Production from these sources is negligible at present. Because of the inferior quality of the mica from the more accessible of these localities, and the operational difficulties occasioned by the remoteness of others, it is improbable that they will become important producers for some time to come.

Jan 1, 1948

W. N. Triplett (Geology of the Silver-Lead-Zinc Deposits of the Avalos-Providencia District of Mexico, P. 583) was born in Tecumseh, Mich., and attended the University of Michigan and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From 1912 to 1917 he worked for Moctezuma Copper Co., a Phelps Dodge subsidiary at Nacozari, Sonora, Mex. He served in Army as Second Lieutenant Field Artillery from 1917 to 1918 and from 1919 to 1922 returned to Moctezuma Copper Co. From 1922 to 1952 he has been with Compania Minera de Penoles, S. A., a subsidiary of American Metal Co., Monterrey, N. L., Mexico in Unit Dept. as chief geologist and at present is consulting geologist. Mining geology and operation is of particular interest to Mr. Triplett. He presented a previous paper before with M. W. Hayward entitled, "Occurrence of Lead-Zinc Ores in Dolomitic Limestones in Northern Mexico." Besides being an AIME member, he holds membership in Society of Economic Geologists. Fishing, hunting and photography are his favorite hobbies.

Jan 1, 1952

By H. T. Clark

Within the last twenty years at least three sets of lattice constants for the room temperature (alpha, hexagonal close packed) phase of titanium have been reported in the literature. These values, summarized in Table 1, differ one from another by amounts far greater than can be explained on the basis of inaccuracies in parameter measurements. This paper presents new values determined for high purity titanium. It also details the effect of two elements, oxygen and nitrogen, on these parameters and shows that two of the previously reported values are probably in error because of the presence of one or both of these elements in the material used for examination. Preparation of Samples The titanium+ used for this study was prepared by the thermal decomposition of titanium tetraiodide7 on a hot titanium filament. This titanium rod was prepared for X ray examination by melting about 10 g in purified argon in an electric arc furnace on a cold hearth. This cast button was cold rolled to 0.040 in. thick sheet, cleaned, annealed in vacuum at 1000°C and cold rolled to 0.020 in. thickness. About 0.003 in. of surface material was then removed by hand grinding on papers to remove any contamination caused by the rolls and the sample was bent to the radius of the focusing camera. The sample was then vacuum annealed at 600°C, a temperature just high enough to cause recrystallization, producing a fine grained structure. Such a structure is essential in sheet specimens prepared for focusing cameras in order to have a sufficient quantity of grains to develop continuous diffraction lines. The use of sheet specimens rather than powder samples appears to be essential for the X ray examination of titanium. This is because of titanium's exceptionally high gettering power and its rapid absorption of adsorbed gases, water -vapor, and the like at annealing temperatures. While the effect of this contamination may be neglected for sheet specimens, its effect on 200-300 mesh powder is appreciable. Titanium alloys of oxygen and nitrogen were prepared by a technique simi- lar to that described above except that the required amount of the highest purity titanium oxide or nitride available was added prior to melting in the arc furnace. These materials were added by placing them in holes drilled in the titanium. A small weight loss invariably occurs during the melting of these oxygen and nitrogen alloys. This is believed to be due entirely to the loss of some of the powdered compound in the blast of the electric arc, an assumption which is justified on the basis that there is no weight loss during the melting of titanium metal and that wet analyses for nitrogen on representative samples have checked with the calculated analyses when it was assumed that the entire loss during melting was due to the loss of titanium nitride powder. These alloy buttons were reduced to sheet in the same manner as used for the unalloyed titanium. Experimental Procedure A North American Phillips 12 cm diam symmetrical precision focusing vacuum camera and copper radiation

Jan 1, 1950

By H. L. Riley, B. W. Gandrud

A froth flotation unit was added to the DeBardeleben Coal Corporation's Empire washer at Empire, Alabama, in the fall Of I94O following an investigation of possible ways and means of recovering coal values from settling-tank overflow or slurry. Officials of the DeBardeleben corporation hoped that some practical and reasonably economical way could be found for recovering fine coal from overflow water, although there had as yet been very little progress along this line in the Alabama coal fields. The Bureau of Mines was asked to cooperate in the project through its Southern Experiment Station, at University, Alabama. This paper presents a brief description of the process and the installation that resulted from the investigation of the overflow water or slurry problem at the Empire mine. The experimental data include' as a Part of this Paper were obtained during the course of the investigation in 1940 Since that time, however, the flotation unit has been running more or less continuously without significant operational changes and is still Performing pretty much in accordance with the data obtained in 1940. Flowsheet at Empire and Type of Coal Treated The Empire mine is developed on the Black Creek bed near the the border of the Warrior field. The coal in this bed is extremely low-ash and although there is an almost complete absence of bone coal and partings, the bed is so thin that, with mechanized mining, a high percentage of rock from roof and floor inevitably gets into the run-of-mine coal. The thickness of the Black Creek bed throughout the part of the Warrior field in which it is mined extensively is rarely over 30 in. and probably would average about 25 in, the coal is of the high-volatile A rank and of excellent quality, but as a result of admixture of roof and floor material, the run-of-mine product usually contains I ; to 20 pct rock by weight. he following is a proximate analysis on an "as-received " basis of a typical seam sample from the Empire mine:' moisture, 3.0 pet; volatile, 34.6 fixed carbon 58.3; ash, 4.1 This sample shelved 15,070 Btu per pound and 0.9 pct sulphur on a moisture-and-ash-free basis. In the Empire preparation plant the lump sizes above 3 in. are removed and hand-picked on a Marcus conveying Screen, the 3 to ? -in. size is removed by vibrating screens and washed in two Montgomery single-cell jigs, and the ?-in. to o slack is cleaned on four diagonal

Jan 1, 1949

By Otto F. Pfordte

The silver-ore-deposits of the famous district of Cerro de Pasco were discovered in 1630 by Huari-Capcha, an Indian shepherd. In the early part of its history, the district yielded enormous riches. The records from 1784 to 1846 (excluding five years, 1821-25, during which civil war prevailed) show a product of 2,323,526 lbs. of silver; and the value of the total product since the discovery may be estimated at about $565,000,000. The town of Cerro de Pasco is situated in the province of the same name, department of Junin, Peru, 14,250 feet above sea-level. The nearest railway station is on the line of the Callao and Cerro de Pasco R.R., at a distance of about three days' travel on horseback. The population of the town numbers about 6000, mostly native Indians. Mines.—The mines are mainly located in the immediate neighborhood of the town and partly even under the principal streets, being distributed in several very large open cuts 250 to 350 feet deep called tajos, which extend in a nearly direct north and south line west of the town and are known as Tajo de Santa Rosa, Tajo Tingo or Portachuelo, Cajac Graude, Cajac Chico, Salsipuedes, Avella Fuerte, and several smaller ones. Tajo de Santa Rosa, the largest and most southerly, is closely connected on its north side with Tajo Tingo; while the others are entirely separate and lie northward in the order given ; the extreme ends of the series being about a mile apart. Besides these, there are Tajo Descubridora a short distance east of Sta. Rosa and Tajo Matagente, about half a mile north of the main plaza in the town of Cerro de Pasco. The argentiferous deposit consists mainly of a ferruginous sandstone, while the neighboring country-rock is limestone, conglomerate and slate. The judicial fixed point from which all mining claims are measured, is a cross erected on a small elevation east of, and between tajos Sta. Rosa and Tingo, called Santa Catalina. This important

Jan 1, 1895

By Ernest R. Lilley

While American scientific literature contains much information upon geologic conditions controlling the production of oil in Rumania, copper in Chile, and other fuel and metallic resources in many foreign countries, it is singularly lacking in data about the nonmetallics outside of the United States. Thus, though the United States is the outstanding market for European high-quality refined kaolin, and for the chinaware, porcelain, and other products of the European ceramics industries, American literature contains only the briefest references to the deposits from which the raw kaolin utilized is obtained. To the writer, to whom has come in the past year the opportunity of visiting a number of these deposits personally, they have proved of extreme interest both commercially and geologically. It is the latter phase that is discussed in this paper. The older and now largely crystalline rock areas of France, Germany, and other parts of western Europe contain numerous pegmatite dikes of which the upper portions have been subjected to surface weathering and kaolinization in much the same way as those of the eastern portion of the United States. Like the latter, the European pegmatite kaolins have long been known for their freedom from iron and other impurities offensive to the china and porcelain manufacturer. Unfortunately, they are also, like the American deposits, individually of small size and noted for their high costs of production. Deposits of sedimentary clay similar in many respects to the high-quality sedimentary kaolins of Georgia and South Carolina are known and worked, notably in southern Germany and in the Newton Abbott district of Devon and Dorset in England. In general, their relationship to the parent rock from which they were derived is more evident than in the United States and the individual deposits are of smaller areal extent and less regular in outline. While these deposits are of considerable economic importance they did not, because of their similarity to deposits in America, attract and hold the interest of the writer to the extent that several other types of deposits did. It is to the latter, which are so different from the kaolin

Jan 1, 1932

By Frank C. Greene

Drilling in Missouri in 1945 dropped slightly from the preceding year. The only notable development was that in the Ballard area in Bates County, where a number of farmers drilled private gas wells with an average depth of a little more than 30o feet. Table 1 gives a summary of activities by counties. The total footage drilled was 36,186 ft. of which 20,489 ft. was by cable tools and 15,697 ft. by rotary tools.

Jan 1, 1946

By Rudolph G. Wuerker

THE Krupp-Renn Process,[1] has been successfully used to treat low-grade iron ores, laterites, titaniferous sands, and other minerals, and before World War I1 25 units were built by the Krupp-Grusonwerk, Magdeburg, Germany. J. J. Howard[2] has shown theoretical advantages of the pyro-metallurgical treatment over conventional approaches; and the process was described by R. Durrer[3].

Jan 1, 1951