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Discussion of the paper of W. R. Shimer and F. O. Kichline, presented at the New York Meeting, October, 1913, and printed in Bulletin No. 81, September, 1913, pp. 2361 to 2377. ALLERTON S. CUSHMAN,* Washington, D. C.:-I have been much interested in Mr. Shimer's valuable contribution. The apparent fact that the oxides of certain metals which are not reduced by hydrogen per se, are reducible when the oxides are dissolved in iron in small quantity, is brought out for the first time, and is worthy of the careful attention of investigators. The Ledebur method has been subjected to considerable criticism, owing to the alleged fact that it did not measure the oxygen combined with impurities. Personally I have found the method extremely helpful in spite of the minute quantities of oxygen with which it deals. Mr. Shinier points out that the highest oxygen he obtained by over-blowing was 0.074 per cent., while the minimum quantity in a properly finished steel was in the neighborhood of 0.02 per cent. The Ledebur method is used as a constant check on the quality of heats made in practice under my direction. In dealing with a very pure commercial iron, we should expect to find and would find difficulty in galvanizing sheets made from a heat running 0.07 per cent. oxygen. In fact, we do not like to have the oxygen rise above 0.03 per cent. I am inclined to agree with the author that excessive oxygen leaves a bath of metal in a very short time, but nevertheless I believe it takes only a very little combined oxygen to begin to make its presence felt in the pickling and galvanizing department, when sheet metal is the product manufactured. As Mr. Shimer points out, the higher the carbon, the lower the oxygen danger, and it is partly for this reason that the manufacture of carbon-free metal in the open-hearth furnace has to be so very carefully watched and controlled from the furnace through to the finished product. It is quite possible that, there is a critical temperature of dissociation between iron and oxygen, although the critical points may vary in baths of different carbon content. Unfortunately, the accurate determination of the temperature of a molten bath at the time of pouring or teeming is a very difficult matter. For a long time I have been wishing that there were some reliable data which would indicate the effect of the tem-

Jan 12, 1913

By Frederic E. Carter

THERE have been many attempts to prove that platinum was known to the ancients, but since no traces of the metal have been found in the relics of early times, it must be concluded that it was not known to them. As far as records go, it was actually first discovered in the 16th century in a Spanish mine on the Pinto River in South America; from which source it received its name of Platina del Pinto (little silver from the Pinto). It was more or less of a rarity and was a subject of interest to a few chemists only, until the year 1822 when the metal was first discovered in Russia. In 1819 there were noticed in the washings of the gold sands of the southern part of the Ural Mountains, grains of a heavy white substance, but it was not until three years later that this substance was found to contain platinum. While at first the amounts of platinum brought from the Urals were meager, prospecting soon disclosed rich deposits extending over a considerable area, and nuggets from 10 to 20 lb. were by no means rare. This discovery assured to chemists an ample supply of platinum for their crucibles, etc. The ore is now found in various parts of the world but the richest deposits are still found in the Ural Mountains. The platinum of commerce is obtained entirely from alluvial deposits at depths varying from 6 to 40 ft. The sand and gravel of former river beds are subjected to a series of screenings and washings to effect the separation of the ore. Actually, probably all gold-bearing gravel beds of the world contain platinum, and it is more than likely that large quantities of platinum ore have been thrown away with the black sand washings from gold placer deposits. This is especially true of the alluvial deposits of the Pacific Coast in California and Oregon. Platinum ore is usually found in the form of rounded or flattened grains of "sand," and occasionally in irregular lumps of the size of peas. Large nuggets are very rare. The ore has a metallic luster and is distinguished by its steel gray color, but shows light gray streak when rubbed on a hard white surface; it has a high specific gravity, 16 to 19; is infusible in the hottest blast furnaces, and insoluble in any single acid. Platinum ore is a complex body consisting of the metal in combination with varying proportions of the other members of the platinum group; iridium,

Jan 1, 1928

By Herbert Ives

THE incandescent gas mantle is of considerable interest from the standpoint of temperature measurement because it presents a series of apparent contradictions to the established laws of radiation on which are based some of our best methods of temperature determination. One of these contradictions is that the mantle of least brightness (of the commercial thoria-ceria group) is the one having the highest temperature; this, though explicable without any violation of radiation laws, was long a stumbling block to the understanding of the performance of the mantle. Another anomaly is that the energy radiated by the mantle decreases with the rise of temperature, thus apparently invalidating total radiation methods of pyrometry, based on the fourth-power law. The discussion of methods of measuring mantle temperature which follows, is largely taken from an extensive study of the physics of the Welsbach mantle. 1 The incandescent gas mantle consists of a skeleton of refractory oxide of very light weight and open structure, formed by the ignition of a cotton or silk "stocking" previously thoroughly impregnated with salts of certain rare earths. The mantle of commerce is a mixture of approximately 99 parts of thorium oxide with 1 part of cerium oxide. This mixture, discovered largely by accident, gives luminous radiation many times greater than that from either of the constituents taken alone. It is customary to speak of the thoria as the "base" and the ceria as the "colorant," and the commercial mantle represents one of a family in which an oxide of low emissive power is employed as a base, which will assume a high temperature, while a small amount of some other oxide of high visible emissive power is added, which will reduce the temperature of the mantle but little. This is, in general, the most efficient- way, from the standpoint of visible emission, to utilize a substance of high emissive power in the visible spectrum. But it is not necessary. that two substances should be employed to produce a radiator

Jan 9, 1919

By W. R. Purcell

An apparatus is described whereby capillary pressure curves for porous media may be determined by a technique that involves forcing mercury under pressure into the evacuated pores of solids. The data so obtained are compared with capillary pressure curves determined by the porous diaphragm method, and the advantages of the mercury injection method are stated. Based upon a simplified working hypothesis, an equation is derived to show the relationship of the permeability of a porous medium to its porosity and capillary pressure curve, and experimental data are presented to support its validity. A procedure is outlined whereby an estimate of the permeability of drill cuttings may be made with sufficient acuracy to meet most engineering requirements. INTRODUCTION The nature of capillary pressures and the role they play in reservoir behavior have been lucidly discussed by Lev-rett', Hassler, Brunner, and Deah12, and others. As a result of these publications the value of determining capillary pressure curves for cores has come to be generally recognized within the oil industry. While considerable attention has been directed toward the subject in an effort to provide a reliable method of estimating percentages of connate water, it has been recognized that capillary pressure data may prove of value in other equally important applications. This paper describes a method and procedure for determining capillary pressure curves for porous media wherein mercury is forced under pressure into the evacuated pores of the solids. The pressure-volume relationships ob- tained are reasonably similar to capillary pressure curves determined by the generally accepted porous diaphragm method. The advantages of the method lie in the rapidity with which the experimental data can be obtained and in the fact that small, irregularly shaped samples, e.g., drill cuttings, can be handled in the same manner as larger pieces of regular shape such as cores or permeability plugs. Based upon a simplified working hypothesis, a theoretical equation will be derived which relates the capillary pressure curve to the porosity and permeability of a porous solid, and experimental data will be presented to support its validity. This relationship aplied to capillary pressure data obtained for drill cuttings by the procedure described provides a means for predicting the permeability of drill cuttings. METHODS FOR DETERMINING CAPILLARY PRESSURES Several techniques have so far been employed in determining capillary pressure curves and these fall into two principal categories: (1) Liquid is removed from, or imbibed by, the core through the medium of a high displacement pressure porous diaphragm (2) Liquid is removed from the core which is subjected to high centrifugal forces in a centrifuge4,'. There are? however, certain limitations inherent in both methods. The greatest capillary pressure which can be observed by method (I), above, is determined by the maximum displacement pressure procurable in a permeable diaphragm which at the present time appears to be less than 100 psi. An even more serious limitation of the diaphragm method is imposed hy the fact that several days may be required to reach saturation equilibrium at a given pressure; hence, the time re- quired to obtain a well-defined curve may be measured in terms of weeks. Furthermore, to date, no suitable technique for handling relatively small, irregularly shaped pieces of rock, such as drill cuttings, has been reported and, therefore, measurements must be made, in general, on cores, or portions thereof. The centrifuge method offers the distinct advantage over the porous diaphragm method of arriving at saturation equilibrium in a relatively short time by virtue of the elimination of the transfer medium for the liquid. The calculation of capillary pressures from centrifuge speeds is somewhat tediousa, however, and the equipment required is fairly elaborate. While there exists the possibility that this method might be adaptable to the determination of the capillary pressures of cuttings, this particular ramification has not been investigated, as far as is known. In view of the limitations of the two principal methods for determining capillary pressures, the apparatus described in the following sections has been devised in order that difficulties previously encountered might be circumvented. MERCURY INJECTION METHOD FOR DETERMINING CAPILLARY PRESSURES Theory The methods described above for determining capillary pressures are characterized by the fact that one of the fluids present within the pore spaces of the solid is a liquid which "wets" the solid, i.e., the contact angle which the liquid forms against the solid is less than 90" as measured through that phase. For these "wetting" liquids the action of surface forces is such that the fluid spontaneously fills the voids within the solid. These forces likewise oppose the withdrawal of the fluid from the pores of the solid.

Jan 1, 1949

By W. R. Purcell

An apparatus is described whereby capillary pressure curves for porous media may be determined by a technique that involves forcing mercury under pressure into the evacuated pores of solids. The data so obtained are compared with capillary pressure curves determined by the porous diaphragm method, and the advantages of the mercury injection method are stated. Based upon a simplified working hypothesis, an equation is derived to show the relationship of the permeability of a porous medium to its porosity and capillary pressure curve, and experimental data are presented to support its validity. A procedure is outlined whereby an estimate of the permeability of drill cuttings may be made with sufficient acuracy to meet most engineering requirements. INTRODUCTION The nature of capillary pressures and the role they play in reservoir behavior have been lucidly discussed by Lev-rett', Hassler, Brunner, and Deah12, and others. As a result of these publications the value of determining capillary pressure curves for cores has come to be generally recognized within the oil industry. While considerable attention has been directed toward the subject in an effort to provide a reliable method of estimating percentages of connate water, it has been recognized that capillary pressure data may prove of value in other equally important applications. This paper describes a method and procedure for determining capillary pressure curves for porous media wherein mercury is forced under pressure into the evacuated pores of the solids. The pressure-volume relationships ob- tained are reasonably similar to capillary pressure curves determined by the generally accepted porous diaphragm method. The advantages of the method lie in the rapidity with which the experimental data can be obtained and in the fact that small, irregularly shaped samples, e.g., drill cuttings, can be handled in the same manner as larger pieces of regular shape such as cores or permeability plugs. Based upon a simplified working hypothesis, a theoretical equation will be derived which relates the capillary pressure curve to the porosity and permeability of a porous solid, and experimental data will be presented to support its validity. This relationship aplied to capillary pressure data obtained for drill cuttings by the procedure described provides a means for predicting the permeability of drill cuttings. METHODS FOR DETERMINING CAPILLARY PRESSURES Several techniques have so far been employed in determining capillary pressure curves and these fall into two principal categories: (1) Liquid is removed from, or imbibed by, the core through the medium of a high displacement pressure porous diaphragm (2) Liquid is removed from the core which is subjected to high centrifugal forces in a centrifuge4,'. There are? however, certain limitations inherent in both methods. The greatest capillary pressure which can be observed by method (I), above, is determined by the maximum displacement pressure procurable in a permeable diaphragm which at the present time appears to be less than 100 psi. An even more serious limitation of the diaphragm method is imposed hy the fact that several days may be required to reach saturation equilibrium at a given pressure; hence, the time re- quired to obtain a well-defined curve may be measured in terms of weeks. Furthermore, to date, no suitable technique for handling relatively small, irregularly shaped pieces of rock, such as drill cuttings, has been reported and, therefore, measurements must be made, in general, on cores, or portions thereof. The centrifuge method offers the distinct advantage over the porous diaphragm method of arriving at saturation equilibrium in a relatively short time by virtue of the elimination of the transfer medium for the liquid. The calculation of capillary pressures from centrifuge speeds is somewhat tediousa, however, and the equipment required is fairly elaborate. While there exists the possibility that this method might be adaptable to the determination of the capillary pressures of cuttings, this particular ramification has not been investigated, as far as is known. In view of the limitations of the two principal methods for determining capillary pressures, the apparatus described in the following sections has been devised in order that difficulties previously encountered might be circumvented. MERCURY INJECTION METHOD FOR DETERMINING CAPILLARY PRESSURES Theory The methods described above for determining capillary pressures are characterized by the fact that one of the fluids present within the pore spaces of the solid is a liquid which "wets" the solid, i.e., the contact angle which the liquid forms against the solid is less than 90" as measured through that phase. For these "wetting" liquids the action of surface forces is such that the fluid spontaneously fills the voids within the solid. These forces likewise oppose the withdrawal of the fluid from the pores of the solid.

Jan 1, 1949

By Wilbur I. Duvall, Thomas C. Atchison

Over the past ten years a series of investigations have been conducted to determine some of the physical processes involved in breaking rock with confined concentrated charges. Detailed discussions of many of these investigations have been published elsewhere.1-6 Laboratory experiments made by other investigators using Hopkinson pressure-bar techniques have shown that solid materials are fractured in tension by the reflection of an incident compressive stress pulse at a free surface.7-12 In these tests a small charge of explosive is placed in contact with one end of a bar. Detonation produces some plastic flow and crushing of the bar near the charge and generates a compressive stress pulse that travels along the length of the bar. At the free end of the bar the compressive stress pulse is reflected back into the bar as a tensile stress pulse. If the tensile strength of the bar is exceeded during this reflection process, a tensile fracture normal to the length of the bar is produced, and the broken end of the bar moves forward with a constant velocity equal to the average particle velocity trapped in the broken fragment. The new surface formed by the fracture becomes the new free end of the bar that reflects the remaining portion of the incident compressive stress pulse. This process is repeated any number of times until all of the incident stress pulse is reflected.

Jan 6, 1959

By N. O. Gray, John Henderson

Hydrogen-reduction data for naturally occurring single crystals and Prepared polycrystals of dense hematite have been presented. Results cover the temperature range 400o to 1000oC, for particles from ten sources, ranging in size from 0.07 to 10 mm and in shape from spheres to cylinders, cubes, and thin slabs. A consistent pattern of behavior has been demonstrated for single crystals and the reduction mechanism shown to be temperature-dependent. Below 579oC reduction is a simple topochemical process but at higher temperatuves it is complex and occurs in two distinct stages. Prepared particles from these laboratories behave in a similar manner to the single crystals. Data from two investigators showing topochernical reduction of Prepared particles above 575°C are inconsistent with that for other dense hematites. It is concluded that topochenzical reaction should not be used as a model for generalized rate expressions for dense hematites. SINCE 1958, McKewan1-6 has brought to prominence a simple concept of dense hematite reduction. This model is that oxygen is lost from a hematite particle undergoing reduction only from an oxide-iron interface that recedes in such a way that the oxide remaining retains the original shape of the particle, i.e., reduction occurs topochemically. An adjunct to this concept is that any intermediate oxides in the transition from hematite to iron only form thin layers so that oxygen cannot be lost from the particle without movement of the oxide-iron interface. Further, the rate of oxygen loss from the particle is said to be proportional to the area of the receding interface so that the iron layer grows linearly with time and the over-all reduction process can be described by the equation where ro and do are the initial particle radius and density, respectively, R is the fraction of the original oxygen lost, i.e., the fractional reduction, at time t, and K is the rate constant. The idea of an underlying simplicity in hematite reduction is attractive because it gives a tractable basis from which general theories of hematite reduction can be developed and it has received wide support,7-14 based mainly on the large amount of data13 that can be fitted to Eq. [I]. However, despite the fact that this equation has been derived for dense materials, the bulk of the data that have been used to test it13 have been for materials of only about 90 pct of theoretical density (5.26 g cm-3) or less, so that its generality for dense hematites has not been demonstrated. In any case, as will be seen, adherence of reduction data to Eq. [1] does not necessarily imply that reaction occurs topochemically. In this work only data for hematites approaching theoretical density are considered and it will be shown that in only one study besides McKewan's is topochemical behavior observed over the whole range of temperature investigated. For the majority of materials a linear rate of interface advance is observed to complete reduction only when wustite is not a stable intermediate phase in the transition of hematite to iron, i.e., at temperatures below about 575°C. Above this temperature, reduction is an exceedingly complex series of reactions that takes place in two distinct stages and it is only in the first stage that reaction in any way resembles a topochemical process. This means then that, far from representing general behavior as has commonly been supposed, topochemical reaction for dense hematites is only a particular behavior that may be observed under some circumstances. EXPERIMENTAL Hydrogen-reduction data have been collected and cross-checked in these laboratories by three techniques, weight loss, collection of water evolved in the reduction reactions, and direct metallographic examination. Details of these techniques are discussed elsewhere," where it is shown that results obtained by the three methods are in close agreement. The weight-loss method, by which most of the results were obtained, consisted of hanging the sample in a platinum mesh basket from an Ainsworth Model AV-AU-1 vacuum recording balance inside a vertical l 1/4-in.-ID alumina tube furnace. Dry deoxidized hydrogen was flowed downwards through the tube at 2 to 4 liters min-1 (stp). Single crystals from two sources and artificial oxides from three sources have been examined. The single crystals were from hematite deposits at Yampi Sound, Western Australia, and Brazil, the latter being obtained from Gregory, Bottley and Co., London, U.K. The "Yampi Blue" crystals were hand-picked from washed, magnetically concentrated, sized fractions, -200 mesh BSS (mean diameter ca 0.07 mm) and —36 + 44 mesh BSS (mean diameter ca 0.4 mm) while 10-mm cubes were cut from the Brazilian crystals with a diamond saw. The starting materials for the prepared particles were hematites designated, respectively, "Specpure Iron Oxide", Laboratory No. S639 from Johnson Matthey & Co. Ltd., London, U.K., "Calcined Ferric Oxide" from B.D.H. Laboratory Chemicals Division, Poole, U.K., and "Pigment Grade Oxide", EPR-50, from C. K. Williams & Co., Easton, Pa., U.S.A. Approximately spherical particles were prepared from the artificial oxides by rolling the material, moistened if necessary, in a glass jar, and cylindrical compacts approximately 10 mm in diam and of approximately equal height were pressed in a steel die at 200 psi. These spheres and cylinders were subsequently fired in oxygen for 20 to 100 hr at 1370°C. The

Jan 1, 1967

By Haydn H. Murray, Sam H. Patterson

The term clay is somewhat ambiguous unless specifically defined, because it is used in three ways: (1) as a diverse group of fine-grained minerals, (2) as a rock term, and (3) as a particle-size term. Actually, most persons using the term clay realize that it has several meanings, and in most instances they define it. As a rock term, clay is difficult to define because of the wide variety of materials that compose it; therefore, the definition must be general. Clay is a natural earthy, fine-grained material composed largely of a group of crystalline minerals known as the clay minerals. These minerals are hydrous silicates composed mainly of silica, alumina, and water. Several of these minerals also contain appreciable quantities of iron, alkalies, and alkaline earths. Many definitions state that a clay is plastic when wet. Most clay materials do have this property, but some clays are not plastic; for example, halloysite and flint clay. As a particle-size term, clay is used for the category that includes the smallest particles. The maximum-size particles in the clay-size grade are defined differently on various grade scales. Soil investigators and mineralogists generally use 2 micrometers as the maximum size, whereas the widely used scale by Wentworth (1922) defines clay as material finer than approximately 4 micrometers. Some authorities find it convenient to use the term clay for any fine-grained, natural, earthy, argillaceous material (Grim, 1968). When used this way, the term includes clay, shale, or argillite, and some argillaceous soils. Even though no standard definition of the term clay is accepted by geologists, agronomists, engineers, and others, the term is generally understood by those who use it. Clay is an abundant natural raw material, and it has an amazing variety of uses and properties which will be discussed in this chapter. Clays rank among the leading industrial minerals in both tonnages produced and total value. Their importance is indicated in Table 1, which lists the 1978, 1979, and 1980 production and values according to the US Bureau of Mines (Ampian, 1980). Statistical data summarizing world production of kaolin, bentonite, and fuller's earth are compiled by the US Bureau of Mines (Ampian and Polk, 1981). The total world bentonite production in 1980 was 6,625,204 st of which the United States produced 4,184,619 st. The total fuller's earth produced in the world in 1980 was 1,952,600 st of which 1,534,000 st was produced in the United States. The total world kaolin production in 1980 was estimated at 22,971,000 st. Approximately 13 million tons of this total was produced in two countries, the United States and the United Kingdom. World production data on ball clay, fire clay, and miscellaneous clays are not available. As industrial minerals, clays are a complex group that consists of several mineral commodities, each having somewhat different mineralogy, geologic occurrence, technology, and uses. In this chapter these commodities are organized as follows: (1) bentonite and fuller's earth; (2) kaolin, ball clay, halloysite, and refractory clays; and (3) miscellaneous clay and shale. Bentonite and fuller's earth are grouped together because they are closely interrelated. Though bentonite is a term based on mineral composition and fuller's earth is a term based on use, the two are virtually inseparable, because much, but by no means all, clay sold as

Jan 1, 1983

By Charles Prasky

ABOUT five years ago the Bureau of Mines began a study, at Minneapolis, of the various methods for beneficiating the low-grade manganese deposits of the Cuyuna range. Several samples of green carbonate slate from the Cuyuna range, containing about 7 pct Mn and about 28 pct Fe, were obtained for this study. The component minerals in the carbonate slate formation were so intimately associated that mineral dressing methods were not suitable for concentrating manganese to a ferrograde product. Although upgrading of manganese and iron minerals has been effected by flotation methods, it appears that manganese cannot be separated from iron except by chemical means. Because the flotation studies at Minneapolis were carried out simultaneously with the hydrometallurgical studies, only crude slate was available for process testing. An important economic consideration in selecting any one of the several chemical methods proposed for recovering ferrograde manganese is the availability of the chemical reagent. Fortunately, large tonnages of sulfur are available on the Cuyuna range in low-grade pyrite and pyrrhotite deposits that are readily concentrated by flotation to a suitable feed for a sulfide roasting furnace as indicated by a Bureau of Mines investigation in 195 0-1951.1 The roasted residue from the sulfide concentrates is a potential source of marketable iron oxide. Therefore, if these sulfide deposits were employed in recovering manganese, utilization of two heretofore unused mineral deposits would be accomplished. Laboratory investigations of several proposed leaching processes were made as a preliminary step in the investigation of hydrometallurgical methods for the treatment of Cuyuna carbonate slate using sulfur as a chemical reagent. From results obtained in the laboratory tests, these leaching processes did not appear entirely suitable for treating Cuyuna carbonate slate. The method developed at the North Central Experiment Station and selected for a more intensive pilot-plant investigation has been termed the differential high-temperature sulfatizing process. Essentially, this sulfatizing process consists of the following steps, described in the order in which the small-scale pilot-plant investigations were made. The first and perhaps most significant step in the process consists of a sulfate roast. Carbonate slate is roasted in an atmosphere of sulfur dioxide gas and air. The overall chemical reaction for converting manganese carbonate to a sulfate at a high temperature in a sulfur dioxide atmosphere follows MnCO8 + SO2 + 1/2 0, = MnSO4 + CO2 (H077°O = —64,180 cal per g mol) .' The need for concentrated sulfuric acid is avoided. Fine grinding is not essential. Removal of carbon dioxide from the slate during roasting produces a more porous structure and permits easier permeation by the sulfatizing gas mixture. The temperature limits for this conversion of manganese have been established as 600" and 850°C. Iron sulfate is unstable and is not formed at these temperatures; phosphorus is not converted to a water-soluble form; and polythionates are not formed. The second step in the process consists simply of a water leach of the sulfatized product. Manganese sulfate in the sulfatized product is dissolved in water. Iron, phosphorus, and calcium remain in the leach residue as water-insoluble products. The third and final step consists of the recovery of ferrograde manganese oxide from manganese sulfate leach solution. Water is evaporated from the leach solution, and impure monohydrate crystals of manganese sulfate are recovered. The moist crystals are formed into pellets or extrusions and thermally decomposed to produce a ferrograde manganese

Jan 1, 1958

By James R. Finlay

At first blush one is tempted to say that iron-mines are like any other mines, and that principles governing miniug-property in general will apply to them. But there are certain considerations which seem to repay reflection. Gold and copper are more or less independent of transportation. The proof of this is that those metals are profitably mined and shipped from the remotest corners of the earth. Their value is determined by the cost of production on the ground. This is quite true of gold, not quite so true of copper, not at all true of iron. If New York were a. fishing-village and Chicago a swamp, Calumet & Hecla might still be a bonanza. The main element of its value is the 60 lb. of fine copper per ton which it produced for years. But the Mesabi Range is absolutely dependent upon the industrial activity in the United States. Iron-manu-facture in Europe would give it no value whatever. If Chicago and New York had a population of Peruvians or Hindus, the Hull-Rust mine would be as worthless a bit of landscape as any tundra in Alaska. I have discussed these facts more or less casually and dimly in my book on the cost of mining and in my report to the Tax Commissioners of Michigan.1 I shall try here to bring them out in more detail. I have already referred to some differences in the problem of mining as between the more precious metals, e.g., gold, and the less precious and more abundant minerals, like iron and coal; but it is interesting to note that the literature of the eco-

Jan 1, 1914

By C. O. Fairchild

THE meaning of temperature control can be extended to cover not only the control of temperatures' but also the control of processes through a knowledge of the temperatures involved. In this sense it has a very wide interest. A list of the industries in which temperature control is used in one way or another would cover nearly the entire industrial field. This discussion will be confined to the field of high temperatures. In practically all industries involving operations at high temperatures, pyrometers are used or men are paid for their ability either to estimate temperatures or gage an operation by some physical or chemical change or condition dependent on temperatures. As progress is made in the development of instruments and of methods for measuring temperature, some of these highly skilled artisans are learning the use of a new tool. Many processes have been, in recent years, improved by means of exact measurement thus substituted for estimation, but in a great many industries the pyrometer has had practically no opportunity to demonstrate its usefulness. The perfecting of instruments must be accompanied with a dissemination of the knowledge that new instruments are available and can be economically used. The demand at present, however, is ahead of the supply, and many industries are handicapped by the want of pyrometers. One of the highest paid skilled tradesmen of the present time is the man in the steel rolling mill who knows when proper working temperatures are attained. The metallurgist in his development of steels is continually demanding closer adherence to given temperature ranges in the processes, and the pyrometer is rapidly becoming indispensable. Properties of the finished products are being correlated with working temperatures and so closely that in some cases even the pyrometer is taxed to give the required accuracy. The greatest progress has been made in those industries in which the lower temperatures are used, particularly below 500° C. In this lower range automatic control has been highly developed.

Jan 9, 1919

By G. H. BUCHANAN

ALTHOUGH the nomenclature of the chemical tools of flotation is probably familiar to you, it will do no harm to review it; . In order to make the terms more real I have employed an illustration which likens flotation to an old-fashioned balloon ascension, such as we witnessed in boyhood at the county fair. The mineral to be floated is the aeronaut, conspicuous in his gilt-spangled tights, who is to be separated from you and me and the other small boys who are standing about, said boys being the g-a-n-g-u-e, or g-a-n-g, as we would have spelled it. The oil film surrounding the bubble is the counterpart of the silken fabric of the balloon, and bubble and balloon will rise for. the same reason, namely. that the fluid outside it is heavier than the fluid within. In flotation reagent nomenclature the material of which the bubble is made is called the "frother.",

Jan 1, 1930

By R. W. Brown, J. L. Loper

The process of sand erosion has been harnessed to perform a useful function—the directed perforating of oilfield tubular goods and formation rock. In this process the sand is carried by a liquid medium and the resrrlting slurry is forced through a nozzle at an extren~ely high velocity. Upon impingement against casing or formation, the fast-moving sand particles erode a perforalion in the casing followed by cavity formation in the medium behind the casing. The many factors influencing the rate and extent of this penetration are inherently difficult to establish experimentally. Equations describing submerged jet behavior have been applied to these conditions. The following paper develops the equations for predicting the performance of the perforating jet. INTRODUCTION The cutting power of high-velocity sand has been well known in the petroleum industry for many years. Sand carried by a high-velocity gas stream causes severe erosion. This effect has been the cause of numerous production problems in certain areas. It was logical to expect that this phenomenon would one day be adapted to useful industrial applications. Development of mobile, high-pressure, high-horsepower pumping equipment in the last decade has made this possible. The sand erosion process involves pumping a fluid containing abrasive solids through a set of nozzles at a high differential pressure (2,000 to 4,000 psi). The pressure conversion into kinetic energy imparts high velocity to the sand particles which, upon impact with the formation face or casing wall, erode the material in an organized pattern. This paper attempts to establish the effects of the various parameters and to predict the performance and limitations of the process. The following factors will be considered: nozzle differential pressure, perforation size, sand concentration, nozzle stand-off distance and backpressure. In general, this discussion is presented along theoretical lines and is substantiated by field results and data where reliable field data exists. POWER EQUATIONS The penetration rate of a high-velocity hydraulic jet is proportional to the power or energy of the jet at the point in quesion. The power of the submerged jet will decrease with distance (or penetration) into the cavity created by the jet. As the cavity is extended into the formation, the power of the jet diminishes to a value equal to the threshold cutting power of the particular formation which is defiined as the lowest power level at which the formation will be abraded by the jet. Obviously, when this point is reached, no further cutting of the formation can occur. It is assumed that this power level for a particular formation is a function of the hardness of that formation. The following equation can be written for the hydraulic process of formation abrasion.

By Dr. O’Neil Thomas J., Donald W. Gentry

Introduction “A Western mine is a hole in the ground owned by a liar. . ." -Mark Twain THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT DECISION Decisions pertaining to a firm's proposed capital investments can have vital short- and long-term consequences on the organization's ability to compete, and even survive.Capita1 investment decisions, in general, center around two fundamental activities: (1) allocating capital funds to specific investment projects or assets, and (2) obtaining necessary financing in such proportion as to increase the overall value of the firm. In essence these activities or decisions describe the science of finance (as contrasted with economics). Fimnce has been described in general terms as the study of how a present, known amount of cash is converted into a future, perhaps unknown, amount of cash (Archer, Choate, and Racette, 1979). Fundamental to understanding the science of finance and the capital investment decision process in general are the basic concepts relating to cash flow transactions, time, income generation (markets), expected returns, and risk. The functions of finance may be segregated into three fundamental decisions which a firm must address: (1) the dividend decision, (2) the financing decision, and (3) the investment decision. These decisions are interdependent and their joint impact on the objective of the firm must be considered. This book primarily addresses the concepts and components associated with the investment and financing decisions as they affect the practice of mine valuation. Responsibilities of Management A primary assumption incorporated in this book is that the fundamental objective of any firm is to maximize its value, or wealth of its owners (stock- holders). Here, the term wealth refers to the total current market value of the firm's assets. In the case of corporations, the wealth or value is considered to be represented by the market price of the firm's common stock. The price of the firm's common stock obviously will be affected by its investment, financing, and dividend decisions. Consequently, an optimal combination of these three decisions should maximize the value of the firm to its stockholders. It is important to point out that wealth maximization is a more appropriate and inclusive goal for the firm than profit maximization. Indeed, there is a difference between the two objectives in most situations. For instance, a firm can always raise profits by selling stock and investing the proceeds in treasury bills or certificates of deposit. This type of activity, however, would rarely cause net shareholder wealth

Jan 1, 1984

By G. P. de Forest, G. O. Hiers

The object of the experiments reported in this paper is to determine the eutectic composition of copper and tin and to determine the location of the part of the liquidus line immediately above the eutectic composition in copper. Three methods were used in the investigation: (1) the method of dissolving copper in a bath of molten tin at constant temperature, with the idea that when the bath was saturated with copper its copper content, by analysis, together with the temperature at which the saturation took place would locate a point on the liquidus line; (2) the method of the differential cooling curves, and (3) the method of microscopic examination. This paper is principally concerned with the results of the last two methods mentioned. The results of the first method, that of dissolving copper in molten tin, did not agree with the results of Miller,' by the same method, nor with the results of other investigators by other methods, nor yet with the results of the cooling-curve experiments and microscopic examination reported here. Solution of Copper in Molten Tin To determine the amount of copper that would be dissolved by molten tin at a given constant temperature the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 was used. It consists of a cast-iron pot a, 6 in. deep and 8 in. dia., well cleaned inside and dressed with graphite. This pot, which holds 15 lb. of tin, g, rests on a hot plate b with resistance winding c. The thermocouple d leads to a Wilson-Maeulen temperature regulator for maintaining the temperahre at the heating coils at a fixed temperature to within ±5°C. There is a shallow bath of solder e on the top of the hot plate to improve the thermal contact between the plate and the pot. An insulating jacket f of asbestos prevents the irregular radiation of heat from the apparatus. The copper stirrer h slowly rotates in, and is dissolved by the bath of molten tin g. This bath is protected from excessive oxidation by a layer of charcoal j. The stirrer h is fixed to the lower end of the iron tube k, which is so mounted that it can be driven by a motor with reducing gear. The temperature of the bath is indicated

Jan 1, 1930

By Orville R. Lyons

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

Jan 1, 1952

By G. B. Gould

EVERY mathematical statement of a measure of anything (as distin-guished from a count) is followed by a qualification always implied if not explicity stated--that the statement is only an estimate, which may vary from absolute accuracy within certain limits, according to the accu-racy of the measuring instrument. This basic fact, so obvious to engineers, is not so well understood by many that make use of laboratory coal tests. The tolerances that must be allowed in measurements of coal quality are very important in both their commercial and engineering applica-tions-and the significance of these tolerances depends upon the use made of the laboratory coal test. Only in recent years has there been any intensive study of this ques-tion of tolerances as applied to measurements of coal quality. There is very little in our published literature on the subject, and what has been published is not, readily comprehended by those who sell coal, or buy coal and use it, unless they happen to have made a study of the subject them-selves. There is great need for more widespread understanding of what has been discovered and how it applies to the use of laboratory coal tests. What follows is an attempt to condense into a few pages the results of the major investigations so far reported, and to explain their meaning in simple nontechnical language, with the addition of some recent illustrative experiments.

Jan 1, 1937

By B. D. Thomas

GRAVITY concentration is a general term designating processes for separating and sorting granular material by means of forces that depend on the density, size and shape of the particles. When these forces are applied to the particles the latter are caused to move, those of a given density along one path and those of a different density along another, until ultimately they are sufficiently separated to be removed from the operation of the process. The forces producing this separation are in general complex and, unfortunately, no completely rigorous analysis of them has as yet been devised. The science of the hydrodynamics of viscous fluids deals with the little that is known about the problem. Every observer of nature is familiar with the fact that an object moving in a fluid encounters a force of resistance. We have only to walk against a brisk wind or stir a cup of coffee, or observe the slow fall of a grain of sand in water, to experience directly the fact that such forces exist. The exchange of force between an object and a fluid in which it is moving operates on the fluid as well as on the object. Thus a sailboat may be set in motion by the force exerted by the wind on the sail; but the sail also deflects the wind-furthermore, the water in which the boat floats is set in motion by the force exerted by the boat as it cleaves through the water. The wind is thus enabled to do work on the water through the intermediary of the boat. In general, an object moving through a fluid encounters a force that opposes the motion and also acts to change the motion of the fluid. In gravity concentration we are dealing with this force of resistance acting on the granular particles that are to be separated. Furthermore, the motion induced in the fluid by a particle will in turn affect the motion

Jan 1, 1943

Taking the Long View THE present international situation has serious implications for this nation. The possibility of total war is no more appalling than the threat of making the United States permanently into an armed camp. A period of ten years under such conditions could mean a Communist victory without firing a shot-if the present trend toward statism is allowed to continue. As individual citizens and as members of the mining profession we have the power to oppose the march toward socialism. We must not adopt shortsighted policies dictated by self-interest, but must endeavor to size up the situation as a whole and act according to what will be best in the national interest. The economic picture for the metal mining industry under present emergency conditions is apparently bright. Demand for metals exceeds supply. But there is danger that fluctuating prices will bring Government regulation. Care must be exercised in our pricing policies, or the calamity of Government intervention will be inevitable. President Truman's "loophole" reference to percentage depletion early in the year caused a brief flurry of excitement, but now that the immediate threat is over the industry has lapsed into sommolence on this subject. Special tax privileges accorded the mining industry because of inherent risks should be guarded by a continuing propaganda campaign to educate Congress and the public. If this is not done we may find ourselves losing the necessary tax protection which we now possess by a capricious act of legislation. Stockpiling minerals from abroad certainly lengthens the life of our own mineral resources. The present consumer demand for the base metals indicates foreign sources of supply for stockpiling. However, this is only one facet of the problem. For strategic military reasons it is necessary that the United States have quick sources of all minerals within our national boundaries. Undeveloped mineral deposits do not meet this need so that where it is possible to encourage our own mineral development by stockpile purchases, it should be done. A need exists for an overall controlling agency that would make purchases for the stockpile according to military necessity, current metal market conditions, and so as to strengthen the mining industry. In the course of the history of the United States we have been engulfed in several wars by the necessity of protecting our economic rights abroad trading privileges-and also because of moral obligations. Disregarding the moral side, it is difficult to reconcile fighting wars to protect world freedom of trade when in peacetime we attempt to restrain such trade by tariff barriers. When it comes to accepting subsidies from the Government in one form or another it is difficult to overlook the immediate personal gains and see in the future that where the Government lays out capital it becomes a partner in the business and not a silent one. It is apparent that hope for the traditional American way of life cannot be bought without some self-sacrifice; and we cannot wait for the other fellow to start it because it is the responsibility of each individual citizen. By taking the long view our course should be apparent and not diverge sharply from our own personal benefit.

Jan 10, 1950

By I. Hawke, K. Barron

I. Hawkes (Postgraduate School in Mining, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, England) — The photoelastic stressmeter is proving to be a very practical tool for 'in-situ' measurements in the fields of civil and mining engineering and Barron's article has therefore come at a very opportune time, supplementing as it does, the considerable amount of laboratory and field data which is being accumulated.1,2,3 There are however several points relating the application of Barron's conclusions to the practical use of the meter which require further elucidation. EASE OF READING If the photoelastic stressmeter is to have a wide application, the fringe orders must be easily measured. The system adopted by the writer and his colleagues at Sheffield for the uniaxial stress case is to read the fringe order at the 45 point, 0.20 in. from the center (11/4 in. diam meter). This procedure has been recommended because the fringes not at this point form a very distinct 'eye' which is obvious even to those who have had little experience with photoelastic fringe patterns. Barron points out that this point can also be used up to a stress ratio of 0.33 and in practice this is normally done. In biaxial fields above a ratio of 0.33 the 'eye' is no longer apparent and the fringe order must be ascertained at some other point. The writer and his colleagues experimented at various points and finally chose a point at a distance 0.175 in. (11/4 in. diam meter) on the minor stress axis and fixed this point on the meter by inserting a collar of this diameter. This procedure enables the 'eye' technique to be used for uniaxial stresses as the 'eye' falls outside the collar; any other technique for biaxial patterns would require lines to be engraved on the meter itself and reading difficulties would be experienced by all but the most highly trained. It is interesting to point out that in a great many field applications ranging from underground pillars to building foundation piles the stresses measured have been uniaxial. In such cases, reading the fringe order has been simple even for unskilled persons. SENSITIVITY The photoelastic stressmeter acts as an inclusion, and as such its theoretical behavior is as described by Barron's mathematical analysis. When considering its practical application, however, it must be remembered that rocks and concrete are not mathematically ideal substances. The theory relates the fringe order in the meter to the stresses and the E (Young's Modulus) and the µ (Poisson's Ratio) values of the surrounding material. There is of course no unique E or µ value for rocks or concrete. These values change both with stress level and time load application sometimes to the order of 300%. We at Sheffield have very accurately calibrated the photoelastic stressmeter in a wide range of materials and have also measured the average E values for these materials. The results prove that the meter sensitivity

Jan 1, 1965