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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,

By Frederic 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 had not been 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 had been 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 had been 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 Rex E. Cheek, Donald E. Menzie

The fluid mapper, a model relatively new to the petroleum industry, was used to study the effect of various mobility ratios on the areal sweepout efficiency for two typical spacing patterns. The experiments indicated the areal sweepout for the five-spot pattern varied from 51.8 per cent at a mobility ratio of 0.093 to 89.1 per cent for a ratio of 24.4. In the direct line-drive pattern, the areal sweepout varied from 58.7 per cent at a mobility ratio of 0.089 to 92.0 per cent at a ratio of 24.8. The fluid mapper may prove useful to determine quickly the effective areal sweepout for any well spacing. INTRODUCTION The effect of the mobility ratio on the areal sweepout efficiency during primary depletion of a water drive reservoir and during secondary recovery operations has recently become more widely recognized The mobility ratio, M, is defined as: _ kjp (displaced fluid) k/u (displacing fluid) where k = effective permeability u = viscosity When the displacing fluid is miscible with the displaced fluid, the permeabilities are equal and the mobility ratio may be expressed as a ratio of viscosities: u (displacing fluid) u (displaced fluid) The mathematical analysis for calculating the areal sweepout efficiency with mobility ratio other than unity is quite tedious.5,11 An experimental method by using a potentiometric model2 in a step-wise manner and in using an X-ray shadowgraph model3,12 with continuous fluid flow has been published. Several types of models have been used to study oil and gas reservoir performance. These models may be classified as physical, electrolytic, potentiometric, X-ray shadowgraph, and fluid mapper. The X-ray shadowgraph and fluid mapper are models relatively new to petroleum engineering and have not been used extensively for specific applications. The theory of the fluid mapper indicates it may be adapted to a study of areal sweepout efficiencies for various mobility ratios as well as other complex problems in petroleum engineering. The use of the model and results obtained when using displacing and displaced fluids of equal densities but different viscosities are discussed. FLUID MAPPER DEVELOPMENT H. S. Hele-ShawV eveloped a fluid mapper model based on the hydrodynamic theory. This theory is that in the steady flow of a viscous fluid between horizontal parallel plates spaced a very small distance apart, the effect of viscous shear is of such magnitude in the vertical plane that the motion in the horizontal plane is practically undisbrted streamline flow. Techniques developed by Hele-Shaw were not expanded and no additional developments in fluid mapper models were forthcoming until A. D. Moore, University of Michigan, published a series of papers starting in 1949, which describe the construction of a flexible and inexpensive model'h nd the fluid mapper technique for the solution of certain problems.' The essential components of the fluid mapper as developed by Moore are::.ln 1. A base slab. made of dental stone (calcium sulphate and water). which is shaped to represent the prototype. 2. Plate glass slightly larger than the slab and spaced

Jan 1, 1956

By F. P. Bullen

Empirical relationships between fracture stress, orientation angle, and diameter of crystal have been determined at 77°K. Orientation ranges of markedly different behavior were found—a law of constant normal stress&apos; of value a (diameter)-1/2 for the fracture of ductile crystals, and a condition of shear stress (or strain) for more brittle crystals. The observations are not consistent with current theories. An interpretation is advanced which is also applicable to observations on the effect of prestrain at room temperature on the subsequent fracture stress at 77°K and to the effect of cyclic stressing on the cleavage strength.&apos;&apos; The law of constunt normal stress&apos; and the brittle ductile transition are also explained. The interpretation is more consistent with the initiation of cracks by intersecting dislocations than with theories based on stress -concentration by dislocation arrays. ZINC single crystals are particularly suited to the study of cleavage because fracture occurs on the basal plane over a wide range of crystal orientations. Analysis of the conditions of stress and strain at fracture in crystals of different orientations should indicate which parameters control the cleavage process. Unfortunately, controversy has arisen over the correct empirical relationship between tensile fracture stress and orientation. Schmid&apos;s observations1,2 favored a &apos;law of constant normal stress&apos;, as observed in other materials.2 For zinc, however, the observed values are far below the theoretical strength and cannot represent the true limit of cohesion between neighboring atomic planes. Hence, the interpretation of such a &apos;law&apos; is not straightforward. Deruyttere and Greenough3,4 found a complex variation between tensile fracture stress and orientation; this variation did not agree with a &apos;law of constant normal stress&apos;. Two theories have been advanced to account for their observations: a) the propagation of cracks from low-angle boundaries,5 and b) the release of energy from piled-up dislocations during crack-propagation.4 The present work resolves the apparent discrepancy between the observations and shows that neither of the above theories are applicable to the tensile fracture of zinc single crystals. A phenomenological explanation, along the lines suggested by Gilman,&apos; is advanced and successfully applied to previously unexplained effects. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS &apos;Crown Special&apos; redistilled zinc was used, except for one comparison series op tests using &apos;Tadanac&apos; electrolytic zinc. Crystals of 1 mm diam, subsequently called &apos;1 mm crystals&apos;, were grown from the melt in vacuo in precision-bore Pyrex tubes internally coated with graphite. Several specimens 1 in. long were cut from each crystal and chemically polished. Jigs were used to minimize handling strains, and crystals were mounted in the Polanyi machine the day prior to testing to allow recovery from any such strains. One-mm crystals were chemically polished for long periods to obtain 0.1 mm (approx) crystals. One-mm crystals were cemented into miniature gimbals by &apos;Araldite&apos; casting resin. The Appendix gives the reasons for using gimbals and the results obtained by other methods. More complete details of all techniques are given elsewhere.7 The symbols and terminology used are as follows: X = orientation angle (angle between tensile axis and line of greatest slope in the basal plane). T = tensile stress (on true cross-section) S,N = shear and normal stress (components of T with respect to the basal plane) ? = shear strain D = crystal diameter. The subscript &apos;f&apos; will be used to denote values at fracture. PART I-ANNEALED CRYSTALS EXPERIMENTAL OBSERVATIONS One-mm crystals were used to establish the variation of fracture stress at 77°K with orientation at fracture (Xf), Fig. 1. For 18 deg = Xf = 55 deg, a &apos;law of constant normal stress&apos; was observed. For Xf > 55 deg, the fracture condition approximated to a constant shear stress. At Xf< 18 deg, twinning occurred before fracture so that the results were not typical of homogeneous single crystals,4,8— such specimens will not be considered herein. The dependences of fracture stress upon Xf were of similar type for 6 mm,* 1 mm, and 0.1 mm crystals,

Jan 1, 1963

By E. T. Hayes, A. H. Roberson, M. H. Davies

R. F. Dornagala and D. J. McPherson (Armour Research Foundation, Chicago)—I should like to compliment the authors for a workmanlike job in determining the partial phase diagram of a system comprised of two rnetals which are certainly not easy to work with. We are completing work at Armour Research Foundation on an Atomic Energy Commission-sponsored project for the determination of eight zirconium binary diagrams. Work on the Zr-Cr system has been completed and should be published within the next year. For our work, Westinghouse Grade 3 iodide crystal bar served as the zirconium melting stock. Johnson-Matthey, electrolytic chromium, specially treated for oxygen removal, was employed. The overall constitution of the system determined at Armour Research Foundation is in very good agreement with the present work. We found a eutectic at 18 pct Cr and 1280 °C, somewhat lower than the value reported. This temperature was confirmed by thermal analysis, incipient melting studies, and regular isothermal anneals. The eutectoid was located close to 1 pct Cr and 835°C by metallographic analysis of annealed specimens. Maximum solubility of chromium in /S zirconium was 4.5 pct at the eutectic temperature. Chromium solubility in a zirconium was less than 0.28 pct at all temperatures. We found the compound at 53 pct to melt around 1700°C, with an open maximum, but determined its crystal structure to be hexagonal close-packed (MgZn, type). The lattice parameters were in excellent agreement with those determined by Wallbaum in 1942. The diagrams are in substantial agreement, and .part of the differences are undoubtedly due to the use of different zirconium melting stock. M. K. McQuillan (Birmingham, England)—I read this paper with a great deal of interest, as it covered the same field as some work of my own.&apos; There are a number of points in the present paper on which I would like to comment. First, I should say that I, too, used zirconium prepared by magnesium reduction of the tetrachloride and electrolytically prepared chromium, and melted the alloys in a Kroll-type arc furnace. The purity of my alloys should, therefore, be comparable with the purity of those of the present authors, and any differences in our observations would not be expected to be attributable to this cause. The differences between my observations and theirs concern the presence of the eutectic, the temperature of the eutectoid, and the melting point of the compound. I would be very much interested in any further evidence the authors may have for the occurrence of the eutectic at 1380°C. During the course of my work I noted that a number of my alloys containing 60 to 90 pct Zr melted at about 1400 °C, and for a time assumed that a eutectic occurred at this temperature as described in the paper. On further investigation, however, I found that the structures of the as-melted alloys could not be made to fit in with this interpretation of the system. If a eutectic exists in this region of the system it would be expected that the as-melted alloys would show the usual type of cast structure, i.e., dendrites of the compound plus eutectic. This, however, does not occur, as may be seen from Fig. 9. The compound seen there is not dendritic in form, and the remaining material is by no means certainly eutectic. It may be argued that a compound such as ZrCrl would not form dendrites but would tend to crystallize in geometric shapes. In this case, however, I have evidence to the contrary, as on the chromium side of the compound, where a eutectic occurs at about 1545"C, the compound formed from the liquid takes on a conventional dendritic form, and the eutectic is observed in the interdendritic spaces in the usual way. There is no reason to suppose that the compound would behave differently in an alloy lying on the zirconium side of the compound composition if a eutectic existed there too.

Jan 1, 1953

By Hans E. Gustafsson

INTRODUCTION The Kiirunavaara iron ore mine is situated in northern Sweden about 150 km north of the Arctic Circle. The ore body has a sheetlike shape, stretches about 4000 m N-S dipping 60°E and has an average width of 85 m. The ore body is known to a depth of more than 1500 m. Mining at present has reached a depth of about 500 m. The mineral is a magnetite containing 66-68% Fe. The ore body was originally mined as an open pit from 1900-1957. From then on the mining method has been sublevel caving. Production for the last few years has been 20-25 million tons /year. Sublevel caving is a mining method with many merits. One of the most valuable is the ability of using a high degree of mechanization. Today, 25 years after sublevel caving was introduced at Kiirunavaara, the advantages of the method have been more or less exhausted, and the disadvantages are more obvious as the rock pressure increases with depth. One of the disadvantages is the high degree of waste rock in the hoisted ore. Today the waste rock content is about 25% by weight of which 20% comes from the caved rock. Second, we are calculating a relatively high loss of ore (20%). Third, selectivity is unsatisfactory when mining different grades of ore. Field testing sublevel shrinkage caving (MSTM) is primarily aimed at lowering the content of waste rock compared to sublevel caving. ECONOMIC TARGET A simple calculation shows that if the waste rock content can be lowered from 25 to 15% the operational costs of mining will be lowered by about 40 million SEK/year (US $9 million) at a production level of 20 million tons/ year. A 15% waste content is the target of the field test. In the long range a decrease in waste rock dilution will mean lower investment costs for deeper levels. DESCRIPTION OF THE MSTM MINING METHOD One reason for decision to carry out the field test was that with MSTM the development drifts from sublevel caving could be utilized and thus the project could start without delay. The only additional development work needed was the loading level. Fig. 2 shows a profile through the MSTM area 66-68% Fe. and Fig. 3 shows the loading level.

Jan 1, 1981

By W. S. Landis

In brief, this is the story of an attempt to Americanize a process originally developed in Europe. The story will be recited in two sections, the first dealing with the process as developed by the European engineers; the second containing the improvements and modifications of American origin, together with some details of the operating results of the unit as finally assembled. Developments in other directions in this same field have not, up to the present, pointed out an economic future for the process, therefore our record here is largely a report of development progress. Whether some particularly favorable location will be found at some future time for a commercial installation cannot as yet be foretold. The project is now at a standstill. The peculiar tools of the electrometallurgist should be of great interest to the zinc smelter. The low thermal efficiency of the zinc retort, its comparatively small-scale unit and its intermittent cycle as it stood in 1925, should make this art a particularly fertile field for the electric furnace. Yet in spite of years of work recorded in volumes of literature, and an expenditure of large sums of money, there is not a single electrothermic zinc smelter operating anywhere in the world. In this industry the electric furnace plays only a secondary part today. Historical The first serious proposal to use the electric furnace for the smelting of zinc ores was made by the Cowles Brothers in 1885, but their experimental work did not advance the art to any extent. The next investigator of this field was Dr. Gustav DeLaval, a Swedish engineer well known to the industrial world through his development of the centrifugal and the steam turbine. The DeLaval cream separator is a familiar household appliance in most parts of the world. Although Dr. DeLaval commenced his experiments in the field of electric zinc smelting in 1893, it was not until 1898 that he had a practicable furnace, even then operating but intermittently. His work was done at Trollhättan, Sweden. He continued to improve this early fur-

Jan 1, 1937

By T. A. Rickard

Among the names which won a world-wide fame during the golden age of the early fifties, Bendigo and Ballarat were to Australia, what the Yuba and Grass Valley were to California. The map of Victoria did not for a long time show the name of old Bendigo;* for this first and more distinctive name was replaced with the more English Sandhurst, just as the alluvial diggings gave place to quartz mining. Towards the close of last pear, steps were taken to give back the old name, as associated with the early days of rich alluvium, and more suggestive than the application taken secondhand from an English military academy. History. The first discovery of gold? in this district, was made in the autumn of 1851 ; but there has never been any certainty as to the day or the man. At that time the country around Bendigo Creek was a part of the Ravenswootl sheep-run, and its resemblance to the Forest Creek district (now Castlemaine), induced the first prospecting. It was late in November when the "rush" broke out; the shepherds left their flocks; the sylvan solitudes were disturbed by * The name of Bendigo is said to have been derived from a hut-keeper on the Ravenswood sheep-run, who on account of his fondness for " fisticuffs " was nicknamed Bendigo, after the prize-fighter of that name. It is not aboriginal, as is often supposed, but Spanish ; and equivalent to our Benedict. There must always be some confusion between the two names of Sandhurst and Bendigo; the town, and with it the gold-field, having been three tinies named. Several other old familiar names have been likewise unfortunately replaced by second-hand English ones; so that an old digger talks of Forest Creek when he means the modern Castlemaine, Mt. Ida for Heathcote, Growler&apos;s Creek for Bright, etc. I shall use the names Sandhurst and Bendigo interchangeably. The first discovery of gold in Australia, was made by E. H.Hargraves, February 12, 1851, near Bathurst in New South Wales. In August of the same year the discovery at Buninyong, near Ballarat, inaugurated the first of a series of rushes to the Victoria gold-fields.

Jan 1, 1892

By D. E. Hyatt

Many flotation plants practicing pyrite depression, mills leaching gold and silver ores, blast furnace facilities, and many metal plating shops share at least one common waste-water constituent of particular environmental concern-cyanide. In free or complexed form, cyanide ion is an emotionally and technically problematical reagent whose removal from water deserves attention. The initial consideration of the fundamental nature of soluble cyanides is followed by a discussion of decomposition or removal options for simple cyanide species. Complexed cyanide reactivity is discussed as it relates to ongoing or proposed methods for the decomposition or removal of soluble cyanides. New approaches to cyanide removal are discussed.

Jan 1, 1977

By R. S. Rickard

Chemical processing of ores has gained new im¬petus in recent years. The reasons are many. They range from the need to process ores that are difficult to beneficiate to the avoidance of pollution. Although many think of chemical processing as a hydrometallurgical operation there are other techniques. An example is chlorination. Chlorination, although examined and discarded by many investigators, is again being considered as a means of extracting uranium1, treatment of silver-lead ores2, and the recovery of base metals from pyrite cinder and ores3. Segregation roasting of copper and nickel ores, a process similar to chlorination, is another chemical treatment being revived.

Jan 1, 1970

By B. E. Lindsly

The withdrawal of gas and/or oil in appreciable quantity from a natural oil reservoir causes the pressure within the reservoir to diminish, and if the oil is completely saturated with gas, this dissolved gas begins to evolve from solution. The liberation of gas from solution in oil causes the oil to change in several ways, the principal changes being: (1) reduction in volume or "shrinkage"; (2) increase in specific gravity (decrease in degrees A.P.I.); (3) decrease of energy in the oil; (4) increased viscosity; (5) increased surface tension. As the writer&apos;s investigations have been concerned more with the first three items than with changes in viscosity and surface tension the following discussion relates particularly to the volumetric shrinkage of the oil, to the increased specific gravity, and to the decreased energy in the oil, each caused by the liberalion of dissolved gas. One of the most surprising facts that have developed in the study of high-pressure well-head and "bottom-hole" samples is the great reduction in volume that occurs in some oils when the naturally dissolved gas is liberated. High-pressure samples taken from well heads in the Oklahoma City, Kettleman Hills and Ventura, Calif., fields decreased in volume from 11.2 to 40.5 per cent when the dissolved gas was liberated in reducing the pressure on the sample to atmospheric. The amount of shrinkage an oil undergoes when gas is liberated depends upon the quantity of gas liberated and also upon its composition. A given volume of the heavier gases, propane and butane for example, will occupy more space in the oil than an equal volume of methane. The reason for this probably is that the molecules of the heavier gases are larger than those of the lighter gases. When gases are not in solution, and particularly when they are at low pressures, the distance between the gas molecules is so much greater than the dimensions of the molecules themselves that the mere size of the molecules has little effect upon the space occupied by the gas, Avogadro&apos;s hypothesis, which in effect states that all gases under the same conditions have the same number of molecules per unit volume, relates to this phenomenon. The fact that the heavier gases occupy more space than the lighter gases in the oil, and

Jan 1, 1934

By Charles H. Moore, H. Sigurdson

When lime and magnesia are used as fluxes in the smelting of titaniferous ores fluid, digestible slags low in iron oxide and high in titanium dioxide are produced. The mineral phases present in such slags are (Fe,Mg)O.ZTiOp, CaTiO3, and minor amounts of silicate glass (or its devitrification products). The flux additions are added to the ore in relative amounts to crystallize a ratio of (Fe,Mg)O.2TiO2 to CaTiO, of near the eutectic proportions of 60 pct (Fe,Mg)O.2TiO2 and 40 pct CaTiOl. FeO.TiOz (ilmenite) remains present in the slag until the FeO content is reduced to approximately 8 pct. Optimum slag composition is obtained by reducing the FeO content to between 2 and 6 pct. Continued reduction shifts the (Fe,Mg)O.2TiO2 to oxygen deficient structures classified as MgTi306 and MgTi2O.. Further reduction yields titanium oxycarbides and freezes the melts. The(Fe,Mg)0.2TiO2 structure shows a complete isomorphous replacement of iron by magnesium. It also forms a solid solution compound with as high as 12 mols of TiO2 under reducing conditions without the occurrence of rutile or reduced titanium oxides in the slag.

Jan 1, 1950

During the year Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1916, 962 applications for member-ship in the Institute were received, as compared to 558 during the corresponding period in 1915. The lines along which the Committee has, worked during the year, group themselves under seven principal heads. Large Companies.-Early in the year a letter was addressed to each member of the Institute who is the executive head of an organization, pointing out to him the advantages that would accrue to that organization through having as many of its subordinate members as were qualified participating in the activities of the Institute. This was followed by a second letter to those who made no reply to the first. The response to these letters was very gratifying, 12 new members having been secured at a single plant, and smaller numbers at others. This was effectively supplemented by our President, who wrote the executive heads of some of the largest mining and smelting companies, pointing out to them the advantage to be derived from sending some of the junior members of their staff to attend the Arizona Meeting. One organization sent 24 of its younger men, many of whom were not members of the Institute, but who, subsequently sent in applications for membership. It is to be hoped that the precedent thus set&apos; will be acted &apos;on in -fuller measure in succeeding years.

Jan 2, 1917

By Harry E. LeGrand

Most mine operations are hampered to varying degrees by excessive inflow of water into mines or scarcity of water for processing the materials. These internal problems are compounded in many cases by such external hydrological problems as lowering of ground-water levels in areas outside the mine properties, subsidence of ground surface, adverse geochemical changes, and pollution. The development of a mine below the water table disturbs the natural ground-water system, causing a convergence in the flow of water from a surrounding area. The mine becomes the apex of a depressed cone in the water table. The fact that mines are commonly located in complex and somewhat anomalous geologic environments prevents an idealized treatment of the mine as a well that would be similar to a water well in a homogeneous aquifer having isotropic conditions. Yet, adherence to some principles of ground-water behavior is helpful when combined with an understanding of the local geology. A program calling for an appraisal of all pertinent hydrological conditions prior to mining and during various stages of development should supply adequate information for mine officials to anticipate difficulties and to allow for corrective measures. Before and during mining operations there should be a mine hydrology framework and plan, in which there is continual upgrading of such considerations as anticipated actions, consequences of actions, remedial plans, and contingencies.

Jan 1, 1973

By C. Schlumberger

THE object of this paper is to describe the adaptation of electrical resistivity measurements to the particular case of exploration in which the surface is an expanse of water (river, lake, sea). Water in itself does not constitute an obstacle to electrical exploration. It is merely an overburden, which is fluid instead of being solid, and as a consequence the routine of the measurements has to be modified. Also, in many instances, the liquid under consideration is highly conductive (salt water). This introduces an additional difficulty into exploration work, and has to be overcome by the geophysicist. We do not propose to discuss here the basic principles of electrical resistivity measurements, which have been dealt with in various previous papers,1 but will simply recall the two fundamental techniques which govern its field application: 1. Horizontal exploration, or method of the resistivity map, in which a series of electrical measurements are carried out at various stations, keeping the same electrode spacing. Thus, a horizontal layer of the subsoil, of a practically constant thickness, is explored. 2. Vertical exploration, or "vertical sounding?2 method, in which a series of measurements are made with increasing electrode spacings at one or several stations. In this way, the apparent resistivity is deter-

Jan 1, 1934

By Carl Henrich

Aspen, the flourishing mountain- and mining-town of Pitkin county, Colorado, is located in the valley of the Roaring Fork, 11 miles above Glenwood springs, where that stream empties its waters into Grand river, a tributary of the Colorado. The Roaring Fork heads on the western slope of the Sawatch range near Grizzly peak, and runs in a general northwesterly direction to its junction with the Grand river. Of its numerous tributaries, Castle creek joins it just below the town of Aspen, the town being built on an extensive flat hounded on the northeast by the Roaring Fork and on the west by Castle creek. The latter heads at the junction of the Sawatch and the Elk mountains and flows northward between the two chains, until it empties into Roaring Fork. Opposite the town of Aspen, Hunter creek, coming westward from the western slope of Mount Massive, joins the Roaring Fork. About a mile north of Aspen, the bed of Hunter creek is at least 300 feet higher than that of the Roaring Fork at Aspen. Hunter creek forms thus, at its mouth, one of the best water-powers in Colorado. A portion of it is now utilized for electric lighting in Aspen, while in the near future, the whole of this magnificent natural power will be applied, through electric transmission, for hoisting, pumping and ventilating at different mines of the district. The mountain opposite the town of Aspen, on the east side of Hunter creek (which near its mouth flows southerly), is called Smuggler mountain, from the famous mine at the foot of it. On the other, or western, side of Hunter&apos;s creek (see map, Fig. I), a higher mountain rises, on the slope of which the regular dip of the Triassie or Upper Carboniferous red sandstone strata, alternating with white layers of the same rock, can be clearly seen from town. This mountain is called Red mountain, from the prevailing color of its rocky

Jan 1, 1889

By Walter Rose

It is the purpose of this note to call attention to the circumstance complicating the attainment of uniform gas-liquid distributions in multi-phase flow systems, and especially in those of the so-called Hassler type.&apos; Although the complication arises directly as a consequence of gas compressibility and the dependence of fluid distributions on interfacial curvature phenomena, little reference to the problem has yet appeared in the literature.&apos; In fact, it is only the paper of Geffen et al.3 which gives any experimental evidence that a problem exists. On the other hand, previous authorsl,4,5 have made the tacit, albeit fallaceous assumption that uniform gas-liquid distributions automatically are established in linear flow systems by the expedient of maintaining the pressure gradients equal in the flowing gas and liquid phases. Such a device, it can be shown, will succeed only if the immiscible fluids are both equally compressible or both essentially non-compressible. Another necessary condition required before uniform fluid-fluid distributions can be achieved is that the porous matrix is isotropic. Uniform fluid saturation distribution conditions obtain in isotropic media only when the curvature of each interface of contact between wetting and non-wetting fluids is everywhere the same throughout the interspaces. This is a necessary condition which follows from the consideration that variation in interfacial curvature gives rise to finite capillary pressure gradients and therefore to variation in the saturation distribution. That this is not a sufficient condition follows from the consideration that hysteric possibilities allow for different saturations even though the capillary pressure gradient is zero. In any event, it will- be recalled that it is the intent in the Hassler scheme of relative permeability determination&apos; to obtain initially (by the capillary pressure drainage or imhibition process) uniform conditions of fluid distribution in the core sample, and then to maintain this uniformity during mixture flow so that the resultant fluid mobilities which are calculated will refer to steady-state transfer under fixed conditions of uniform saturation. If the flowing fluids are incompressible, it is recognized that employment of the same value of the pressure gradient in each fluid will result in maintenance of the initially obtained condition of zero capillary pressure gradient. On the other hand, the consequence of gas compressibility is that the gradient in the gas pressure varies from point to point in the flowing stream. and since the pressure gradient in an incompressible liquid is constant it is thus impossible to maintain zero capillary pressure gradient during the simultaneous flow of gas-liquid mixtures. Therefore, one would expect to observe a variation in the gas-liquid saturation in the directions of the capillary pressure gradients, depending in magnitude on the particular way saturation changed with capillary pressure. In order to formulate the manner gas compressibility effects prevent the attainment of uniform gas-liquid distributions during mixture flow, consider a linear flow system of unit length. As noted, it is necessary to assume an isotropic medium (viz. one where permeability is independent of position and direction). One then can arbitrarily set the pressure

Jan 1, 1951

By Walter Rose

It is the purpose of this note to call attention to the circumstance complicating the attainment of uniform gas-liquid distributions in multi-phase flow systems, and especially in those of the so-called Hassler type.&apos; Although the complication arises directly as a consequence of gas compressibility and the dependence of fluid distributions on interfacial curvature phenomena, little reference to the problem has yet appeared in the literature.&apos; In fact, it is only the paper of Geffen et al.3 which gives any experimental evidence that a problem exists. On the other hand, previous authorsl,4,5 have made the tacit, albeit fallaceous assumption that uniform gas-liquid distributions automatically are established in linear flow systems by the expedient of maintaining the pressure gradients equal in the flowing gas and liquid phases. Such a device, it can be shown, will succeed only if the immiscible fluids are both equally compressible or both essentially non-compressible. Another necessary condition required before uniform fluid-fluid distributions can be achieved is that the porous matrix is isotropic. Uniform fluid saturation distribution conditions obtain in isotropic media only when the curvature of each interface of contact between wetting and non-wetting fluids is everywhere the same throughout the interspaces. This is a necessary condition which follows from the consideration that variation in interfacial curvature gives rise to finite capillary pressure gradients and therefore to variation in the saturation distribution. That this is not a sufficient condition follows from the consideration that hysteric possibilities allow for different saturations even though the capillary pressure gradient is zero. In any event, it will- be recalled that it is the intent in the Hassler scheme of relative permeability determination&apos; to obtain initially (by the capillary pressure drainage or imhibition process) uniform conditions of fluid distribution in the core sample, and then to maintain this uniformity during mixture flow so that the resultant fluid mobilities which are calculated will refer to steady-state transfer under fixed conditions of uniform saturation. If the flowing fluids are incompressible, it is recognized that employment of the same value of the pressure gradient in each fluid will result in maintenance of the initially obtained condition of zero capillary pressure gradient. On the other hand, the consequence of gas compressibility is that the gradient in the gas pressure varies from point to point in the flowing stream. and since the pressure gradient in an incompressible liquid is constant it is thus impossible to maintain zero capillary pressure gradient during the simultaneous flow of gas-liquid mixtures. Therefore, one would expect to observe a variation in the gas-liquid saturation in the directions of the capillary pressure gradients, depending in magnitude on the particular way saturation changed with capillary pressure. In order to formulate the manner gas compressibility effects prevent the attainment of uniform gas-liquid distributions during mixture flow, consider a linear flow system of unit length. As noted, it is necessary to assume an isotropic medium (viz. one where permeability is independent of position and direction). One then can arbitrarily set the pressure

Jan 1, 1951

By Luther B. Eames

J. V. N. DORR, New York, N. Y.-I have read Mr. Eames&apos; excellent paper on this&apos; subject with great interest, for besides being connected with the design and installation of the first modern countercurrent decantation plant, he was associated with me in the development of the thickener in the Black Hills some years earlier, and has now been operating the largest plant that has used this method of treatment. His, discussion, of the influence of different factors on the results obtained is quite thorough, but several features I think may not be apparent to the reader who has not studied the subject carefully. 1. Grade of Ore That Can Be Treated.-Mr. Eames has shown graphically that&apos; the assay of all solutions increases directly as the grade of the ore treated. He has not emphasized, however, the fact that, as most operators prefer to keep the assay of pregnant solutions down below a certain figure in order to insure complete precipitation, an increase in ore value beyond a certain point means a proportional increase in solution precipitated and therefore not only an increase in the percentage of dissolved gold recovered, but an actual descrease in tailing loss. The importance of the influence of the percentage of moisture in the underflow on loss is made clear, and I. may add that unless it is quite evident that pulp can be safely settled to 50 per cent. solids, or more, it is usually advisable to use a continuous filter at the end of. a decantation plant to reduce losses in cyanide and gold. Dissolution in Thickeners.-The influence of a change of solution on silver dissolution has long been emphasized and most gold operators have. recognized the annoying way in which a gold ore after being agitated until nothing more can be dissolved will loosen up again when almost ready for the dump after the dissolved metal has been removed by decantation or filtration. Continuous decantation gives favorable conditions for this additional dissolution and a chance to recover most of what is thus dissolved. This is especially true if an extra tank is used in the series and barren solution added at the second tank from the end instead, of the first, as shown in Mr. Eames&apos; Fig. 1. It can be calculated that the use of this tank will reduce the mechanical loss of cyanide by one-third and cut the gold loss as well; but the saving in gold or silver that may dissolve when the pulp is first diluted with weak solution may be as important.

Jan 4, 1917

By Harry Roeser

Short cuts for determining the constants of oil decline curves, with the method of least squares as a starting point, are presented and applications made to practical examples. The nature of the raw data does not justify rigid adherence to the orthodox theory but does lend justification to convenient methods of approximation within reasonable limits. If the conventional form y = kxn were changed to y = k(x + c)&apos;, methods of determining the curves would be simplified and greater uniformity in calculated results would probably follow. As A result of the publication, several years ago, of some articles on determining the constants of empirical formulas, the determining the constant&apos;s of types of curves used for estimating the production decline of oil wells was brought to the writer for study. Methods requiring a minimum of time and labor and a maximum of rigor were sought, as it appeared that the nature of the data from which such curves are computed and the relative uncertainty of occurrence of the events predicted from them did not justify close adherence to the theory on which the solution of such problems is ordinarily based. The technical deficiencies of the solutions presented in this paper, from the standpoint of the method of least squares, are readily apparent to those familiar with that method, but their presentation in detail here is irrelevant to the subject matter. However, it is the author&apos;s conviction, after a rather exhaustive study of the problem, that the value of the solutions lose little by the approximate application of the conventional theory. It must be understood by those who use these formulas that the solutions herein given, and the formulas based on them, are merely facilities to aid the valuation engineer in forecasting future events. It is assumed, also, that before application is made of them, prescient judgment based on the circumstances in each case, shows that the forecast has some probability of realization. On this basis only will these formulas be found useful.

Jan 6, 1924