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By Donald E. Hendrickson

A new prinicple of side dumping front end loading for underground mucking machines has completely changed the concept of underground loading and haulage equipment arrangement both in production and development work loading. Versatility and adaptability of this type of machine permits combinations with a broad range of haulage means not possible with -conventional overhead loaders. Steel "armored" conveyors serving this type of loader are replacing conventional rail mounted car haulage to give a continuous loading operation and effect important economics of reduced manpower, faster loading rates and fewer working areas for a required production. First used in Germany this easy to control and highly efficient means of placing rock from the muck pile on or into haulage means has advanced the art of underground rock loading more in the past three years than any other advancement since the first successful small crawler mounted air powered loader was introduced in 1954. Bucket type loaders with a relative new side dump principle are gaining in popularity for underground loading. They are replacing conventional overhead loaders in present applications and becoming first choice in new ones. Primarily for hard rock development and production loading they are also widely used in production loading of coal and other soft materials. This discussion briefly traces the historical development of hard rock underground loaders to the new side dump type and its present population. In more detail various applications, loading techniques and the advantages of operation, production and economy with the side dumper in hard rock loading will be dealt with.

Jan 1, 1966

By Ralph Husack

The Bureau of Mines investigated the effect of gamma radiation on reactions between Pennsylvania anthracite and fluorine and chlorine. In the tests with fluorine about 90 percent of the coal reacted at 350° C to form volatile products whether or not irradiation was employed. Up to 0.8 ml of liquid products per gram of anthracite was collected. Among the 25 com-pounds indicated by gas chromatography, fluoroform and l,l-difluoroethylene were tentatively identified from their relative retention times and perfluoro-cyclopentane from its infrared spectrum. In addition, a clear, hard, wax, probably a fluorocarbon, was formed at 45° C in both the presence and absence of radiation. With chlorine there was no significant difference due to radiation, and preliminary tests indicated that the chlorine reacted more with the organic matter of anthracite at 200° C than with inorganic matter. At 400° C the results were inconclusive because of excessive corrosion in the reaction vessel.

Jan 1, 1966

By J. McCreedy

"The addition of Portland cement to hydraulic sand fill has resulted in the production of stable and self-supporting cemented sand fill. The use of cemented fill in the mines of The International Nickel Company has resulted in substantial economies in timber requirements, de-creased dilution of ore and greater flexibility in mining methods.Coupled with special mining techniques, it has permit-ted mining by both cut-and-fill and shrinkage stoping methods to much greater depths than heretofore. The use of cemented sand fill has permitted revisions to undercut-and-fill mining which have significantly improved the efficiency of this method.Automated mixing systems have been developed for preparing cemented sand fill in surface sand plants on a continuous throughput basis. Control of cement-sand mixtures is obtained by the use of a mass flow measuring system and weighing cement feeders."

Jan 1, 1966

Continuous, steady-state laboratory flotation tests showed that the recovery of cha1copyrite from a naturally occurring ore, under conditions closely resembling those of plant practice, could be expressed in terms of a first order rate equation.Tests on full-scale plant flotation cells, using impulse tracers, indicated ideal mixing of the pulp in the cells.It was demonstrated that values of first order flotation rate constants can onlv be obtained from conventional methods of analysis in special cases.Analysis of a plant sampling campaign by the author supported a first order kinetic equation for two mineral species, and for the individual size fractions of one of these.The effect of stage-addition of reagents is interpreted in kinetic terms.

Jan 1, 1966

By R. A. Friedel

THE UTILIZATION by the Bureau of Mines of infrared and ultraviolet-visible spectrometry in connection with coal research has led to some basic improvements in methods, including a calibration method, a quantitative assessment of infrared spectral energy sources, and the development and perfection of infrared filters and cells. The adoption of a micropipet method to flush organic samples into absorption cells permits the investigation of vapors from organic liquids and the identification of volatile organic compounds. The spectral method has been used to investigate the infrared spectra of metal chelates, the charge-transfer complexing properties of aniline and nitrobenzene, an infrared method for determining the presence of methane in coal-mine air that has been adopted for use in enforcing the regulations of the National Coal Mine Safety Act, and atmospheric pollution including smog and odor-causing oxidation and decomposition of organic materials. Correlation of spectra and structure of organic compounds, particularly aromatics, was studied.

Jan 1, 1966

By A. J. Naldrett

"Sulphurization of peridotite, that is 'to say reaction between sulphur from an external source and iron and nickel in the silicate minerals of the peridotite or in partially consolidated magma, is believed to be the me-chanism by which the small iron-nickel sulphide deposits associated with the ultrabasic rocks of the Porcupine district have formed.The pyrrhotite-pentlandite ore at the Alexo mine, Dundonald township, is localized by a shear that closely follows the lower contact of a peridotite lens. In the past, to account for this orebody, the magmatic segregation hypothesis has been advanced on the basis of textural evidence and the presence of the sulphides at the base of the lens. The nickel sulphide de-posits of the Porcupine, however, are not characteristically found along the basal contacts of bodies of peridotite. Furthermore, this study has shown that textures formerly thought indicative of magmatic segregation have been formed in certain deposits by the selective replacement of silicates by sulphides.At the Alexo mine, very minor amounts of pentlandite and heazle-woodite (Ni3S2) occur in the peridot-ite hanging wall adjacent to the ore. These sulphides are interpreted as having formed by sulphurization, the sulphur involved coming from the pyrrhotite-pentla.ndite ore emplaced along the shear. This reaction aureole raises the question of the role of sulphurization in the formation of the main mass of the sulphide ore. The very localized equilibrium that has been found to exist between sulphides and silicates in deposits throughout the area, the results of nineteen sulphur isotope determinations, and the abundance of pyrite and pyrrhotite in the volcanic country rocks of the Porcupine indicate that these deposits were formed by sulphurization rather than magmatic segregation."

Jan 1, 1966

By Zygmunt Kowalczyk

"A theory permitting the determination of expected surface deformations for planned underground exploitation is proposed and discussed in this paper. The relations between surface subsidence and various methods of mining are analyzed, and allowable horizontal .deformations for protected objects, according to the degree of their significance, are reviewed."

Jan 1, 1966

By W. L. Falke

This Bureau of Mines report illustrates critical path planning and scheduling techniques as applied to typical mining operations. Detailed examples of arrow diagramming and computer oriented applications of critical path methods are given. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is discussed briefly in comparison to the Critical Path Method (CPM).

Jan 1, 1966

By K. K. Clark, W. H. Somerton

The feasibility of reducing pressures needed to fracture formations by heating the borehole intensively has been investigated on a laboratory scale. Reductions in fracture pressures of heated Bandera, Berea and Boise sandstone cores were observed at various confining pressures, simulating reservoir stress conditions to a depth of 5,000 ft. Both permeable and impermeable borehole boundary conditions were tested. Three heating conditions were used in the tests. One group of samples was heated in a furnace to a temperature of 600C, cooled to room temperature., and then tested for fracture pressures. Two other groups of samples were heated with a borehole heater to maximum borehole wall temperatures of 625 and 792C, then cooled and tested. In all cases, heated samples showed substantial reductions in fracture pressures compared to unheated samples. The higher temperature borehole heated samples showed the greatest reduction, amounting to 70 per cent in the extreme case. In actual application to wells, it was concluded that fracture pressures may be reduced by 20 to 50 per cent by intensive borehole heating before fracturing. INTRODUCTION Hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells is an accepted and effective technique for increasing well productivity in many areas, but is notoriously unsuccessful in other areas. The technique becomes less interesting for production stimulation purposes when excessive fracture pressures are necessary. Formations which do fracture but require high pressures, probably form horizontal fractures. There is good evidence to indicate that some formations do not fracture at all, but yield plastically under high pressure. Thus, any technique which will make formations easier to fracture or will reduce fracture pressures is potentially interesting to petroleum producers. Horizontal fractures generally occur in planes of weakness, such as bedding planes, and at pressures equaling or exceeding the effective overburden stress. In the unusual case where planes of weakness do not exist, a slightly higher pressure must be applied to overcome the tensile strength of the rock. In general, high fluid-loss fracturing fluids are conducive to the formation of horizontal fractures.1 Vertical fractures, when they do occur, are initiated at pressures generally lower than overburden pressure and are favored by low fluid-loss fracturing fluids or impermeable boreholes. The pressure necessary to create a vertical fracture in an impermeable, elastic medium can be predicted from the so-called "thick-walled cylinder" equation: Pf = 2 or+ st.............(1) where pf = fracture pressure or = radial stress st = tensile strength of medium. This equation indicates that to fracture it is necessary to overcome a tangential compressive stress, induced by and equal to two times the radial confining stress, plus the tensile strength of the medium. If the above equation held strictly true for rocks, very little could be done to reduce fracture pressure. The tensile strength of the rock might be reduced somewhat, but any change in st would be small compared to the magnitude of the tangential stress at reasonable subsurface depths. Laboratory tests have shown that actual fracture pressures exceed values predicted from Eq. 1 by factors of 1.4 to 28.6.1,2 Eq. 1 thus does not properly describe the

Jan 1, 1966

By Constantine C. Popoff

This report reviews and analyzes, by a simple analytical and logical reasoning, the conventional methods of reserve computations of mineral deposits described in various domestic and foreign publications. It brings together, formulates, and evaluates the principles underlying interpretation of exploration data; and ties such principles to the proposed classification of methods. The material is discussed in sufficient detail to allow general application.

Jan 1, 1966

When Haematite Explorations Pty. Ltd. began prospecting for petroleum in 1960, there was only ill-defined geological evidence on the land bordering Bass Strait to support the belief that petroleum lay trapped in sedimentary formations beneath its shallow waters.A reconnaissance of the area, made in 1961 by the airborne magnetometer method, covered the waters and islands of the Strait and overlapped the Victorian and Tasmanian coasts. The survey indicated the presence of the Bass Basin (which is completely water-covered), assisted in outlining the Otway and Gippsland Basins, and showed that each basin contains sedimentary rocks over 10,000 ft thick. Information on the regional geology and minor volcanic activity was also obtained.Marine seismic surveys carried out from 1962 to 1965 defined these basins more accurately and showed the nature and structure of the thick sedimentary sections.Correlation of the seismic data with onshore wells identified the sediments as Tertiary and Mesozoic. Subdivisions of the former in all basins and the latter in the Otway Basin were made. These Tertiary and Mesozoic rocks are not seriously deformed and they have good prospects of containing petroleum.Possible structural and stratigraphic traps, recognized from the seismic record sections by petroleum geologists, are being tested by offshore drilling which began in 1964.

Jan 1, 1966

By Robert A. MacGregor

"Following several months of test work, water leaching in mined-out areas at Stanrock commenced on a production basis in February, 1963. A combination of fast high-pres-sure washing and rewashing of stopes on a predetermined cycle, and the intermittent sprinkling of low-grade heaps, using both fresh water and recirculated acid water, has proved most successful. There was also a correlation of daily sampling data points to a relationship between the leach water grade and the grade of the material being washed, the leaching time and the location along the dip. An increasing tolerance for uranium by the acid-producing bacteria is also indicated. A steady production rate of 10,000 to 12,000 lbs. of u.08 per month is being maintained, with an over-all mine water grade of 0.25 lb. per ton and a pH of 2.3."

Jan 1, 1966

By Merwin H. Howes

In constructing the NORAD Combat Operations Center, controlled blasting techniques were employed to achieve smooth walls and to avoid shattering the rock beyond excavation lines. Extraordinary measures were taken to stabilize the rock to permanently preserve the openings. Rock stabilization was accomplished by means of reinforced concrete and gunite linings, rock boltings, installation of chain-link fabric, and epoxy resin and cement grouting. A particular zone of weakness at a vital location was supported by exceptionally thick reinforced concrete lining, rock bolts, and cement grout.

Jan 1, 1966

By J. U. Messenger

A technique is described whereby the resistance of an emudian to breaking can be quantitatively determined. Produced ailfield emulsions are usually the water-in-oil type and, accordingly, do not conduct an electrical current. However, there is a threshold of A-C voltage pressure above which an emulsion will break and current will flow. The more stable an emulsion, the higher the required voltage. A Fann Emulsion Tester, modified so that low voltages (0 to 10 v) can be accurately measured, is suitable. This technique has application in evaluating the effect of a demuksifier on the stability of an emulsion. Emulsions can, in essence, be titrated with demulsifiers by adding a quuntity of demulsifier, stirring, and measuring the voltage required to cause current to flow. Any synergistic effect of two or more materials added simultaneously can be followed accurately. A demulsifier that significantly lowers the threshold voltage (from 100 to 400 v to 0 to 10 v for the emulsions in this study) is effective and can cause the enlulsion to break. A demulsifier that will bring about this drop in the threshold voltage at low concentration ir very desirable. The technique is also well adapted for rapidly screening demulsifiers. INTRODUCTION Stable emulsions in produced reservoir fluids resulting from certain well stimulation and completion procedures are common problems. The use of suitable demulsifiers can often mitigate these difficulties. At the present time, a rapid and efficient method for selecting satisfactory demulsifiers is not available. It is badly needed. Reliance is now placed primarily on trial-and-error procedures. A new test method has been developed which permits a more rapid and precise selection of demulsifiers. It involves measuring the electrical stability potential of an emulsion before and after a demulsifier has been added. This paper describes this method and shows where it should have application in field emulsion problems. NATURE OF OILFIELD EMULSIONS Two immiscible components must be present for an emuhion to form; we are concerned here with crude oil and water. An emulsifier must be present for tin emulsion to be stable. J Emulsifiers can be substances which are soluble in oil and /or mter and which lower interfacial tension. They can be colloidal solids such as bentonite, carbon, graphite, or asphalt which collect at the interface and are preferentially wet by one of these phases. Unrefined crude oils can contain both types of emulsifiers, A popular theory is that, of the two phases in an emulsion, the dispersed phase will be the one contributing most to the interfacial tension.' Usually this phase contains the least amount of emulsifier. The stability of a water-in-oil emulsion is affected by the fol1owing: l) viscosity; (2) particle or droplet size; (3) interfacial tension between the phases; (4) phase-volume ratios; and (5) the difference in density between the phases. A stable emulsion is usually characterized by high-viscosity, small droplets, low interfacial tensions, small differences in density between its phases, and slow separatian of the phases. It also has low conductivity (high electrical stability potential). Water-in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions"' are both common; however, oil field emulsions are predominantly water-in-oil emulsions. The emulsions which commonly occur during oompletion and stimulation operations contain a combination of several of the following: acids, fracturing fluids (oil, water, acid), and formation water and oil. Produced emulsions usually contain formation water and oil. Emulsions form in oil wells because oil and water are mixed together at a high rate of shear in the presence of a naturally occurring or unavoidably produced emulsifier. During the completion and stimulation of productive zones, and while formation fluids are being produced, oil and water are very often commingled. These mixtures are formed into emulsions by agitation which occurs when the fluids are pumped from the surface into the matrix of the formation or produced through the formation to the surface. Restrictions to flow (such as perforations, pumps, and chokes)".'" increase the level of agitation; tight emulsions are more likely to form under these conditions. Often an emulsified droplet is an emulsion itself.'" Therefore, emulsion-breaking problems can be quite complex. The complexity can be even greater if a third phase (gas) is included. Demulsifiers operate by tending to reverse the form of the emulsion. During this process, droplets of water become bigger, viscosity is lowered, color becomes darker, separation of the phases faster and electrical stability potential approaches zero. Any of these effects could be followed as a means of determining emulsion stability. However, electrical stability potential is the most reproducible and most easily measured parameter for following the stability of a water-in-oil emulsion.

Jan 1, 1966

By H. P. Hatch

Ash is a material that many people leave to nature to handle. Others sometimes sweep it under the rug to be disposed of by someone else. In our business we cannot do either. In fact the American Electric Power System spends many millions of dollars in plant investment costs to collect the material, and then many more millions to dispose it. In 1965 alone the coal fired steam generating plants in., the AEP System produced approximately 2,400,000 tons of ash, enough to fill 40,000 coal cars which would extend as a single train across the entire states of Ohio and Indiana. Even though our present ash production is large, this is only the beginning when we forecast the future growth of our system. By 1980 it is estimated that our generating capacity will expand to about three times its present size, and with coal as our primary source of fuel our ash production will increase proportionately to about 7 million tons a year.

Jan 1, 1966

By James Paone

This report shows the feasibility of predicting drillability, analytically, by using regression analysis techniques. The approach is new in diamond-drilling research. Further, the study shows that this technique may be of value to drill manufacturers and others in mathematically delineating performance characteristics of new drills in specific rock types. Another application might be the prediction of penetration speeds in extraterrestrial material based on the physical properties of the materials as samples become available. Prediction equations for penetration rates are presented for 9 rocks drilled in the laboratory and for 20 rocks drilled under field conditions. The prediction equations are based on drill operating parameters and on characteristics of the rock penetrated. No single physical property appeared consistently in the best predictor equations, and all the physical properties were found to be highly correlated with each other.

Jan 1, 1966

By Thomas M. Garland

A field study was made by the Bureau of Mines in cooperation with oil companies to determine the feasibility of changing the injection profile of water-input wells after water breakthrough at producing oil wells. A secondary objective was to study the particle size and quantity of plugging material required to change the input profile and the methods of applying these materials. Fifty-three injection wells were treated with various amounts and types of plugging materials and the injection profile was definitely changed in most of the wells treated. Increased efficiency of water injection after treatment was indicated by tracer surveys and injection-well performance. There were some indications that the rate of water production was reduced and the rate of oil production was increased as a result of selective-plugging treatments, but ,s found that an immediate change in the rate of oil and water production did not normally occur. In many cases, beneficial results from a treatment may never be observed in the rate of oil or water production due to the many factors that affect the performance of producing and injection wells.

Jan 1, 1966

By A. R. Hendrickson, C. F. Smith

Hydrofluoric-hydrochloric acid mixtures have been successfully used to stimulate sandstone reservoirs for a number of years. Hydrofluoric acid (HF) has a specific reactivity with silica which makes it more effective than HCl for use in sandstone. Kinetics of the reactions of HF have been studied to determine the related effects of reservoir composition, temperature, acid concentration and pressure on the spending rate of HF. Secondary effects from by-product formation are noted and described. Predictions are made concerning the improvement in productivity resulting from HF treatment of skin damage. The kinetic order of HF reaction in sandstone was experimentally determined to be first order, i.e., the reaction rate is proportional to concentration. HF reacts faster on calcite than on clay, which, in turn, is faster than the reaction rate of HF on sand. Static conditions retard the HF reaction rate. As HF is forced into cores, there is a temporary reduction as a function of flow rate and acid concentration. Extensive deposition of calcium fluoride in acidized cores was not observed. Although some CaF, was defected, it was not considered a major source of damage in cores containing moderate amounts of carbonate. Other fluosilicates could be potentially more dangerous than CaF, in reducing permeabiliry. INTRODUCTION Hydrofluoric acid has been widely used in stimulation treatments since 1935, when mud acid was introduced to the petroleum industry. Originally, this hydrochloric-hydrofluoric acid mixture was intended to remove mud filter cake, but it has since been successfully applied to many other oilfield problems. Mud acid treatments have been unusually successful in sandstone reservoirs where hydrochloric acid is unreactive due to a lack of enough calcite in the formation. The relatively small amount of hydrofluoric acid present (2.1 per cent) reacts with sand grains, clays and traces of calcite which are generally present in sandstone reservoirs. Since hydrofluoric acid (HF) is the key to mud acid success, this research effort has been dedicated to gaining a more thorough understanding of the basic chemical and physical principles involved as HF reacts. Hydrofluoric acid's reactivity with silica makes it unique in application. Other mineral acids such as hydrochloric, sulfuric or nitric are unreactive with most silicious materials which comprise sandstone formations. A typical sandstone reservoir may contain 50 to 85 per cent silicon dioxide, more commonly called sand or quartz. Hydrofluoric acid reacts as follows: 4HF + SiO2 + SiFO + 2H2O The silicon tetrafluoride (SiF,) is a soluble gas, in some ways similar to CO2, and is capable of undergoing further reaction when held in solution by pressure. These reactions will be considered in detail later. Kinetics of the reactions of HF have been studied to determine the effect of reservoir composition, temperature and pressure on the spending of the acid. Secondary effects from by-product formation have been noted and described. The individual reactions of HF on quartz, glass and clay are reported. Mathematical correlations have been drawn, then applied to studies of HF spending in cores obtained from actual producing sandstone formations. The research reported herein is only the beginning of a continuing approach to better understanding and use of HF in petroleum reservoirs. THEORY AND DEFINITIONS Through the years, a concentrated effort has been made to understand the effects of many variables on hydrochloric acid (HCI) spending in limestone. Hendrickson el al., have given mathematical relationships for HC1 reactions which made possible the engineered approach to acidizing. The same variables—temperature, acid concentration, formation composition, pressure and permeability-porosity relationships—which affect HC1 behavior in limestone also govern HF behavior in sandstone. Insoluble by-products of HF reaction have been isolated and identified. Their effect on fluid flow has been measured under varying conditions in an attempt to evaluate the extent of possible damage and means of eliminating it. In general, HF follows the same reaction paths as HCI. It will react with limestone and dolomite with speed and ease. Thin sections of acidized cores show the reaction of HF with limestone or calcite faster than its reaction with either clay or sand. When HF reacts with calcite (CaCO,), theoretically, calcium fluoride (CaF2) is precipitated, and has been blamed as a major cause of reduced permeability. On the other hand, pH and pressure such as that encountered in an underground formation under acid treatment definitely retard CaF2 formation,' so the whole question of CaF, deposition in wells is a subject for study.

Jan 1, 1966

By Earle S. Burnett

Rotating piston deadweight gages have been used for many years for measurement of pressure to several hundred atmospheres. They have been calibrated by comparison of fluid pressures produced by various loads bearing on the piston bases, as measured by corresponding heights of balancing columns of mercury. When expressed in appropriate units, these ratios of column heights to piston loads are called piston constants. Experimental arrangements and procedures for their determination are presented in this paper, followed by a discussion of their significance and of their subsequent applications.

Jan 1, 1966

By John P. Weir

The planning of an underground mine for successful extraction of a bedded deposit in sedimentary rocks requires the integrated evaluation of many interdependent problems. The development and coordination of feasible solutions are the responsibility of the mining engineer. One of these problems will be discussed herein; this is the design and .layout of mine workings to secure effective control of the strata above and below the deposit. The objective is the simplest possible repetitive system permitting safe maximum recovery at optimum cost. Mining conditions to be encountered must be predictable. The best mining equipment is ineffective unless strata are controlled. Conversely, a mining layout is only of academic interest, if equipment can not be adapted to work it with adequate provision for ventilation, compliance with mining laws, proper ingress and egress and other practical requirements. Strata control, then, is but one of the mining engineer's problems, and the solutions must be worked out concurrently with solutions to other problems. Dr. Karl F. Fetters in his introductory remarks before the Fourth International Conference on Strata Control and Rock Mechanics at Columbia University said that mining engineering ?has come from the stage of empiricism backed by intuitive reasoning, to where it is based on fundamental scientific and engineering principles?. The standard curriculum in mining engineering now reflects such a change. In common with other branches of engineering education, less and less emphasis is placed on practical skills and more and more on broad scientific education. Science, research and the quest for basic truth are stressed, while descriptive courses and the teaching of specific skills are limited.

Jan 1, 1966