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By H. K. Shearer

Oil production in north Louisiana in 1938 was 28,442,910 bbl., a decrease of 225,160 bbl., or less than 1 per cent, from 1937. The principal increases were at Cotton Valley, Lisbon and Zwolle. The greatest decrease was at Rodessa, with small normal declines in production of the old settled fields. Natural gas production from gas wells declined 15.9 per cent from 1937, but casinghead gas increased, so the decline in total production was only 6.9 per cent. Decline in completions was due to lack of proven areas for drilling, as well as price and marketing difficulties; and wildcat activity mas also less than in 1937. The increase in number of dry holes was due chiefly to shallow drilling in the old Caddo and Zwolle fields. Most important events in 1938 were the discovery of the Shreveport deep oil and gas field, extension of the Logansport gas-distillate field into Louisiana, development of oil production in the Bodeaw zone on the flanks of Cotton Valley, opening of deep gas-distillate production at Shongaloo, and completion of one well in a deeper horizon at Bluc Lake (Zwolle field). Geological Notes The deep drilling done in 1938 did not cause any important changes in geological correlation and nomenclature of the formations below the Upper or Gulf Cretaceous. The stratigraphic section of the Lower Cretaceous and deeper beds, with names used in the accompanying tables, as approved a year ago by the Shreveport Geological Society, is as follows:

Jan 1, 1939

By J. M. Davey

Lead-zinc sulphide ores at Mount Isa are currently treated at the rate of 180,000 long tons per 28 day period in the No. 2 Concentrator of Mount Isa Mines Limited. Prior to June 1966 lead-zinc ore was treated in part of the No. 1 Concentrator up to a rate of 70,000 long tons per period. Since 1955, two major changes in ore type being processed have occurred. Because of these changes, problems arising from treatment of the ore have altered and during the period several major changes in practice have been advocated and experimentally tested. Most of these flow sheets were developed with a view to overcoming one major problem in the ore. These were invariably abandoned as the Mount Isa lead-zinc ore contains a number of equally major problems all of which must be overcome in the treatment process. MINERALOGY The orebodies are situated in the Mount Isa Shale Group which is Proterozoic in age (Carpentarian System). The sediments consist dominantly of fine grained dolomitic, quartzo-feldspathic shales and siltstones. Specifically, the Mount Isa orebodies lie in the Urquhart shale formation which is characterised by sediments of high albite and orthoclase content denoting a large volcanic component. The Urquhart shales are approximately 3,500 feet thick and extend at least north and south of Mount Isa for 20 miles in each direction. In the area of the silver-lead-zinc orebodies the Urquhart shales are highly pyritic and have a relatively high carbon content. The

Jan 1, 1970

By H. K. Shearer

Oil production in north Louisiana in 1938 was 28,442,910 bbl., a decrease of 225,160 bbl., or less than 1 per cent, from 1937. The principal increases were at Cotton Valley, Lisbon and Zwolle. The greatest decrease was at Rodessa, with small normal declines in production of the old settled fields. Natural gas production from gas wells declined 15.9 per cent from 1937, but casinghead gas increased, so the decline in total production was only 6.9 per cent. Decline in completions was due to lack of proven areas for drilling, as well as price and marketing difficulties; and wildcat activity mas also less than in 1937. The increase in number of dry holes was due chiefly to shallow drilling in the old Caddo and Zwolle fields. Most important events in 1938 were the discovery of the Shreveport deep oil and gas field, extension of the Logansport gas-distillate field into Louisiana, development of oil production in the Bodeaw zone on the flanks of Cotton Valley, opening of deep gas-distillate production at Shongaloo, and completion of one well in a deeper horizon at Bluc Lake (Zwolle field). Geological Notes The deep drilling done in 1938 did not cause any important changes in geological correlation and nomenclature of the formations below the Upper or Gulf Cretaceous. The stratigraphic section of the Lower Cretaceous and deeper beds, with names used in the accompanying tables, as approved a year ago by the Shreveport Geological Society, is as follows:

Jan 1, 1939

By David Browne

THE literature dealing with the physical constants of nickel is so fragmentary and unrelated, that a synopsis presents unusual difficulties. It is only within the last few years that investigators have understood the importance of placing on record not only the determinations they have made but also the composition, physical treatment, and past history of the material investigated. For this reason much of the earlier literature is valueless. Determinations have been made of the same physical constants on samples differing widely in origin, composition, and treatment, and the results differ widely among themselves. In the first place nickel is almost as flexible a term as steel. Its physical properties are widely influenced by its composition and treatment. It absorbs large quantities of gases and is exceedingly difficult to prepare in a state of chemical purity comparable to gold, silver, or copper. It is vitally affected by thermal and mechanical treatment. Hence in the following pages the recorded literature, where quoted, must be accepted with a certain reserve and used, as far as possible, as a check on later observations, in which these important factors are noted. In every case where new determinations are given, an attempt has been made to record all available information concerning the composition and treatment of the material used so that the data may serve as steppingstones toward a wider knowledge of the properties of the metal. As this synopsis is an attempt by men of metallurgical training to do what should long before have been clone by physicists, it is to be expected

Jan 9, 1919

By C. O. Brawner

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE STABILITY AND STABILIZATION METHOD The most effective stabilization method and design can only be developed if the cause(s) and mechanics of the slide are known. Therefore, it is important that the stability be evaluated by an engineer who has had extensive rock stability experience. The most important factors that influence stability are structural geology, ground water, blasting and the mining method or methods. Structural Geology - The majority of failures in rock slopes occur along discontinuities in the rock (joints, bedding planes, shear or fault zones, etc.). Therefore, on all surface mining projects, the development and maintenance of a comprehensive structural geologic mapping program should be a first priority program that is considered a part of the operations function. This program should include mapping all major features - faults, shear zones and through going joints. All structural features which could influence stability should be mapped and presented in a structural domain format for the entire mine (Canmet, 1977). Where planes, wedges or blocks will be undercut by the mining excavation, shear strength and strain to failure tests should be performed on the joints, fault gouge and gouge-rock contact surfaces. These tests must be performed on the samples in the direction of potential slide movement and must determine the range of peak and residual shear strength values. A preliminary assessment of friction angle can be obtained from measurements of failed surfaces in the field (Figure 1) or from core sliding tests (Barton, 1981). An assessment must be made of the past geologic history of

Jan 1, 1983

By G. S. Hume

Activity in geological exploration and drilling continued in Canada in 1945 at about the same rate as in the previous year, but with disappointing results as far as new production is .concerned. Both in the foothills and on the Plains of Alberta, however, there are wildcat wells that have either given encouraging shows or some production, which are very important in relation to future developments. The normal decline of Turner Valley, the largest producing field in Canada, has continued, and this decrease has not been offset by new discoveries. In addition, the closing of the Canol pipe line on March 31, 1945, isolated the Norman Wells field in the Mackenzie River valley, and the outlet at present. is confined to supplying the relatively small local requirements. This

Jan 1, 1946

Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology, University of Idaho, Moscow, Ida. John W. Finch, Director. A list of publications will be sent upon application. A series of Bulletins and Pamphlets have been issued by the Bureau to date since 1920 Of the Bulletins, six are out of print, and a charge is made for eight. Each of the Bulletins, in the main, treats of the geology and resources of a particular district in Idaho, as follows (only available Bulletins listed): Bulletin 1, South central Idaho (1920), 15 cents, 7, North central Idaho (1924), 50 cents, 8, Bonneville, Bingham and Caribou counties (1924), 50 cents, 9, Boise Basin (1924), 50 cents; 10, Boundary County (1926), 50 cents; 11, Region about Silver City (1926), 50 cents; 12, Clark Fork district (1930), 50 cents, 14, Eastern Cassia County (1931), 50 cents, Press Bulletin 15, Teton County (1927), Bulletin 16, Melon Valley near Buhl (1927); 17, Concerning land slips near Whitebird, Idaho (1928) The 37 Pamphlets are issued free of cost, and each treats, also, in the main of the geology and resources of a particular district in Idaho Nos 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 17, 18, 20, 22, 25, 26, 30 and 35 are out of print Of those available, attention may be called to Pamphlet 6, Reported platinum occurrences near Coeur d' Alene (1925), 11, Bruneau River Basin, 12, Power and Oneida

Jan 1, 1933

By W. H. Emmons

A DIATREME is a hole blown through a rock by gases, presumably of volcanic origin. Not all pipes of ore have formed by deposition of metals in such openings, but a considerable number have so formed. In this paper are described peculiar vein patterns that are believed to be incipient diatremes or "perforation pipes." Grading into this group is one showing thorough brecciation without rotation of fragments and into the latter a group of ore pipes showing brecciation with rotation of fragments-many of them with well rounded fragments. Also, volcanic craters or volcanic necks are explosion pipes. These may carry ore deposits along their contacts and some carry deposits within the pipes. As new data appear this group becomes increasingly impressive. It has been shown that veins are concentrated in and about cupolas of batholiths and that such veins commonly lienearly parallel to the long axes of cupolas as these are shown on plans. It would be supposed that conical cupolas would have radial patterns, but few vein systems exhibit radial patterns. It is probable that explosion pipes also may form in areas above conical cupolas. From these the gases escape more violently because the loads above them are less than above an elongated cupola where larger bodies of rock are affected. The hypothesis is sound mechanically, for the top of an elongated cupola is a line whereas the top of a conical cupola is a point.

Jan 1, 1938

By W. R. Ingalls

IN THE years immediately preceding 1914, the American people earned an aggregate income of 33 to 34 billion dollars, of which they saved about five billion, the annual saving being expressed mainly in the form of houses and railway extensions; to a less extent in public utilities, public improvements, factories and mines; and to a very small extent in foreign investments. It appeared needful that we should save and invest annually in these ways about 15 per cent. of our aggregate income in order to keep the development of our plant, so to speak, ahead of our steadily growing needs. The common knowledge that at present our housing and railway facilities are inadequate suggests immedi-ately that we have been running behind the pre-war ratio of reinvestment. Since 1919, we have not had any carefully prepared, authoritative estimates of the national annual income. However, with some experience in this subject, I have ventured to make rough estimates, which rest on solid foundations, although some rather empirical develop-ments are involved. Such estimates would be consid-ered good work in this field if they fell within limits of 10 per cent., plus or minus. Even so, these data are more useful when quickly available than more accurate data that are belated; for recognizing that there is a margin of error we can at least get a reasonable and approximate idea of how things are going.

Jan 2, 1923

By W. F. Brace, James D. Byerlee

Although prediction of failure of rocks may be ultimately possible without knowing in detail how failure occurs, understanding of this process is certainly of fundamental interest in rock mechanics. Of the various failure mechanisms, probably brittle fracture is of greatest interest. Recent reviews have brought this subject nearly up to date (Hock,1 Price,2 and Jaeger 3) and here, we summarize certain recent developments. As our understanding of brittle fracture is derived almost solely from laboratory studies this will amount to a review of certain laboratory experiments. New studies in four areas are pertinent; these concern 1) the volume changes which accompany brittle fracture, 2) the propagation of cracks in compression, 3) certain frictional characteristics of rocks and minerals at high pressure, and 4) the law of effective stress for crystalline rocks. Our objective here is less to present an entirely consistent, complete picture of how a rock fractures than it is to emphasize gaps in our understanding and, thus, suggest areas that need further study. Progress is still painfully slow in this field and perhaps this approach will stimulate new work. OBSERVATIONS Although the behavior of large rock masses is most often the concern in rock mechanics, the number of large-scale experimental tests is still vanishingly small. Our experimental observations arc, by and large, still made on small, relatively flaw-free, rock samples. Here also we report the behavior of small samples.

Jan 1, 1967

By E. C. Harder

SINCE early in 1916, when it became apparent that the steel industry of the United States could not depend, for the duration of the war, on several important foreign sources of manganese and might have to depend entirely on domestic ores, the U. S. Geological Survey, with the assistance f several cooperating organizations, has made a comprehensive investigation of domestic manganese resources. The work has included field studies in a number of states as well as annual, quarterly, and monthly canvasses among operators concerning current and future production. In order that the interested public might have access to the important results of the studies, preliminary reports concerning the field work as well as periodic summaries of production were issued as promptly as possible. Although large deposits of rich manganese oxides appear to be lacking in the United States, small deposits of high-grade material are numerous and widely distributed and large low-grade deposits are found in several places. The principal districts in which high-grade manganese ore is mined, in the order of their importance as recent sources of production, are: Philipsburg district, Mont.; Butte district, Mont.; Southern Nevada region; Central California region; Bisbee district, Ariz.; Appalachian region of Virginia; Batesville district, Ark.; Tintic district, Utah; and Cartersville district, Ga. Scattered deposits of some importance are found in western Arizona, southern California, eastern Tennessee, southern Oregon, and central Utah. The formation of many manganese oxide deposits appears to be related to the physiographic histories of the regions in which they occur.

Jan 5, 1919

Minerals: When man first picked up an appropriately shaped stone and fastened it to a stick of wood to create a primitive axe or hammer he started down the long road of mineral dependency that has continued until today (Fig. 2). Though he did not realize it, that man and his stone axe created an extremely simple form of mineral economy. The struggle against extinction from that day has been fought with minerals. In addition to providing himself with a means to fight for survival, he also exhibited an increase in intelligence. As his curiosity was stimulated, his ability increased to provide himself with better mineral and metal weapons and tools. Today, when we examine the artifacts of past civilizations, we measure the degree of development that had been attained by the variety of metals and minerals possessed and how they were used. The metals employed are so characteristic of the level of intelligence that we have named the various stages of human progress by the metals that were most commonly utilized. Thus, mall went through the Stone Age, the 13ronze Age, the Iron Age and now has reached the Steel Age. The first period of mineral development, the Stone 4ge, began during late Pliocene time. In this first mineral age, prehistoric man began to shape stones by chip- ping off small pieces until the stone assumed the crude form he wanted. As his intelligence increased, he progressed to finer workmanship and turned out finished spear heads and barbed arrows. Throughout this very

Jan 1, 1950

IT will be recalled that the first professor of metallurgy in the United States, appointed in 1855, never really gave any instruction in metallurgy and gradually turned into a professor of mineralogy. Metallurgy was included with mining in the early curricula, two students who took the B.S. in mining engineering from the Polytechnic College of Pennsylvania in 1863 wrote their graduation theses on the metallurgy of copper and zinc, respectively. Even after Columbia School of Mines established, in 1868, a separate curriculum leading to the Ph.B. degree in metallurgy, very few students elected it,* preferring to take the mining degree, since they received in its curriculum nearly all the metallurgical instruction they would have in the metallurgical curriculum. For many years a large proportion of the men who attained prominence in metallurgical enterprises had taken mining rather than metallurgical degrees. METALLURGY Clifton Sorby's study of thin sections of rocks under the micro- scope, beginning in 1850, and its subsequent development by Zirkel and others, had made microscopic petrography a recognized department of, geological research as early as 1873. It was inevitable that the idea of studying polished metal surfaces under the microscope by reflected instead of transmitted light would occur to investigators. Sorby himself did it in 1864, and Adolph Martens and Floris Osmond may be especially named ', among the many European workers who, by the late eighties, had so developed the necessary techniques that they were able to photograph polished metal surfaces at magnifications as high

Jan 1, 1941

By Will Mitchell

The classical definition of a beneficiation engineer as one who treats an ore in order to separate and discard worthless fractions by essentially physical means is obsolete. Technology in the profession has advanced so rapidly during the last two or three years that educators have not been able to coin definitions to keep up with the pace. In the past some people have hesitated to include leaching or even agglomeration as minerals beneficiation, because of the major chemical changes involved. This view has fallen by the wayside, especially because a majority in the profession have become actively involved in extraction and pyro processes that go far beyond the original definition of mineral dressing. To say that there is a great revival of interest in leaching is putting it mildly, for the uranium business, like the gold business, now depends almost entirely on leaching. This revival of leaching, long overdue in mineral engineering, has been stimulated this year, especially as a result of the relaxation of security restrictions surrounding the recovery of uranium from its ores. It has brought new unit operations to minerals beneficiation, namely ion exchange and solvent extraction. These operations have appeared as resin-in-pulp, solvent-in-pulp, and liquid-liquid systems. In many cases these leaching and separation procedures, now reaching the production stage, have been engineered by minerals beneficiators. The trend toward leaching has also had impact on the technology of beneficiating other nonferrous minerals, especially copper, manganese, columbium, tantalum, nickel, cobalt, titanium, and the rare earths.

Feb 1, 1956

By S. C. Dhara

A process of solvent extraction and separation of platinum group metals (PGM) and gold using primary, secondary, tertiary, and quarternary organic amines has been briefly described. The effects of amine structures; the use of diluents; the principle of synergism and antisynergism in the mixed extractants; the oxidation states of metal ions are explained in the amine extraction process of precious metals.

Jan 1, 1984

By C. R. Keyes

Discussion of the paper of C. R. Keyes, presented at the Chattanooga meeting, October, 190S, Bulletin No. 26, February, 1909, pp. 119 to 166. E. R. BUCKLEY, Flat River, Mo. (communication to the Secretary*) :-Some statements in the paper of Mr. Keyes relative to the nature and formation of the Ozark lead- and zinc-deposits seem to me erroneous and misleading, and I respectfully present the following criticisms, placing Mr. Keyes's original statements in quotations. Referring to the Ozark dome: (P. 127.) "It is a region that has been repeatedly upraised and planed off, until in the middle portion the oldest known' rocks only are exposed." Does he mean that the St. Francois mountains, which have always been considered as lying on the eastern flank of the Ozark dome, are the middle of the dome? Or does he mean that the Cambrian rocks of the generally-accepted middle are the oldest known rocks ? Certainly not the latter, and if the former, his idea of the middle of the dome is not in accord with that of others who are familiar with the region. (P. 138.) " . . . the ore-deposits are definitely associated with, or localized by, geologic structures of some kind that .produce in effect basins in which' the underground waters are impounded, or their flow retarded." This statement does not appear to be altogether consistent with the facts, since the ore- bodies of the Joplin district, as the rule, occur in those parts of the Mississippian formation which have a tendency to accel¬erate the flow of ground-water rather than retard it. I might name the open, breeciated ground near Joplin, Webb City, and Oronogo as especially noteworthy illustrations. The ore-bodies, everywhere, occur in positions where there must have been a free and copious circulation of dilute lead- and zinc-solutions in the presence of reducing constituents. The inequalities in the distribution of the ore-deposits are

Oct 1, 1909

By D. W. Fuerstenau

THE object of this article is to point out the experimental relationship which exists among contact angle, adsorption density, zeta potential, and flotation rate data. In each of the experiments discussed in this article, the surface properties of quartz, as a function of pH, were measured in solutions to which constant quantities of dodecylam-monium acetate were added. Morrow1 and deBruyn2 worked with solutions containing 4.08x10-5 moles per liter, whereas Fuerstenau3 and Seele worked with solutions containing exactly 4x105 moles per liter, but this difference is not significant. The pH of the solutions was regulated with HCI or NaOH in all cases. In each case, the addition of collector was constant, but the concentration of dodecylammonium ions decreased because of the formation of dodecylamine at higher pH values.2 Contact Angles: Gaudin and Morrow1 presented data for the contact angle of quartz in solutions containing 4.08x10-5 moles of dodecylammonium acetate per liter between pH 2 and pH 10.15. Using the same captive bubble techniques, the writer measured contact angles on quartz in solutions containing 4x105 moles of dodecylammonium acetate per liter at pH values ranging from 9.9 to 13.2. Both sets of data are presented in Fig. 1, in which the contact angle in degrees is plotted as a function of the pH of the solution. From pH 2 to about 8, the contact angle

Jan 1, 1958

By David J. Raden

INTRODUCTION Economic deposits of phosphate are found at shallow depths (80 ft.) in central and northern Florida (Figure 1) where they have been mined since the late19th century(l).The present (1978) mining rate is approximately 40 million short tons per year of product (called “phosphate rock1”), which represents approximately 80% of the total U.S. production and 30% of the world production. The principal use of Florida phosphate is for the manufacture of fertilizer. There are 10 major mining companies and 20 active mines in Florida at the present time, strip mining approximately 5000 acres per year. The ore, known as "matrix," consists of gravelly clayey sands containing phosphate minerals (principally carbonate fluorapatite), quartz, and clay minerals. The clay to phosphate ratio is generally about 1:1 by weight and the sand to phosphate ratio ranges from, 1:1 to about 3:1. Mining is done by large electric draglines, which strip and cast the sandy overburden soils, generally 10 to 40 feet deep, and remove the matrix, generally 10 to 25 feet deep. Dragline bucket capacities are generally 20 to 45 cubic yards, but range up to 65 cubic yards. Mining cuts are usually 300 to 500 feet wide and up to several thousand feet long. The ore is cast into an earthen sump where high pressure water guns are used to slurrify it. Centrifugal pumps move the slurry through a pipeline to a beneficiation plant where the phosphate rock is separated from the waste sand and clays.

Jan 1, 1979

YEARS ago, when metal mining was more an adventure than a well-organized business, it was often said (with some color of truth) that unless a mine could stand bad management or mismanagement, it was not much good. Today, the natural excellencies of an ore deposit are merely a challenge to the engineers to exploit it as skillfully, as efficiently, and as profit- ably as possible. A vast amount of competent and imaginative engineering management (which includes economic analysis no less than the technologic arts of mining ore and treating it) has been required to make New Cornelia the smooth-running and successful operation that can be seen at Ajo today. New Cornelia was acquired by the Phelps Dodge Corporation when it absorbed the Calumet and Arizona Mining Company in 1931. Next to Morenci, it doubtless is the corporation's biggest asset. It in no way detracts from the achievement of Phelps Dodge engineers to say that they had an admirable ore deposit to work on. New Cornelia ore, as mined, is relatively low in grade and the deposit is by no means the largest of the Porphyries; but it has these attractive features : (1) It is peculiarly suitable for opencut mining because: (a) The overburden of waste rock lying above the ore deposit was (it has long since disappeared) almost negligible. (b) The deposit is roughly circular in horizontal section, with the horizontal dimensions four to five times as great as the maximum thickness. (Nevertheless, eventually some underground mining may be desirable.)

Jan 1, 1957

By Paul I. Eimon, Byron R. Berger

INTRODUCTION Epithermal silver-gold deposits form at low to moderate temperatures in near-surface environments. These deposits are found in all rock types, but historically, the most important deposits occur as veins in volcanic rocks (e.g., Creede, Colorado; Pachuca, Mexico) and as replacements in sedimentary sequences (e.g., Mercur, Utah; Carlin, Nevada). Increases in the open-market prices for silver and gold in the last few years have resulted in renewed interest in precious metals and the economic viability of large-tonnage low-grade deposits. These bulk-mineable deposits form as replacements in permeable horizons or as stockworks in the up- per parts of otherwise bonanza-type hydrothermal systems and newly recognized systems that erupted onto the surface as hot springs, fumaroles, or geysers. Large tonnage low-grade de- posits were an unconventional resource prior to price increases; however, now they constitute one of the main sources of precious metals in the United States and the importance is growing worldwide. This paper presents conceptual geologic- geochemical models of epithermal precious-metal deposits derived from studies of productive deposits throughout the world. Much of the data presented is not new. However, the interpretation of the data in terms of current concepts of hydrothermal processes is new. This paper deals with idealized and general ore-forming mechanisms, and no attempt is made either to explain the origin of the different chemistries of ore- forming fluids or to examine all of the variations in specific deposits due to local structural controls and host-rock compositions.

Jan 1, 1983