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By Loyd R. Kern

A procedure for determining the behavior of a reservoir under a gas or water injection program was reported by Buckley and Levertt in 1942.1 This method, which allowed the calculation of the phase saturation distribution behind the front of a displacing fluid, has been extended to apply to a more general situation. The reservoir may initially contain flowing quantities of the displacing fluid, or the fluid in the reservoir may be above saturation pressure SO that solution effects are present. Production may occur behind the front as in the case of a well which is produced after breakthrough of the displacing fluid. The calculating procedure is simplified in that the graphical integration necessary to determine breakthrough saturation is eliminated by performing a direct integration and the graphical differentiation necessary to determine saturation distribution is eliminated by representing the displacing phase fraction of the flowing stream by an empirical equation. This representation results in simple expressions for the producing gas or water/oil ratio and cumulative production. INTRODUCTION A method for the calculation of the saturation distribution behind the front (interface between the displaced and displacing phases in a gas injection or water flooding operation) was reported by Buckley and Leverett in 1942. The method leads to a curve for the saturation distribution which is double-valued; consequently, part of' the curve was interpreted to be physically meaningless. That part of the curve which has physical significance was determined by a graphical integra-tion (material balance). In this paper it is shown that the integration may be performed analytically with a resulting equation for the saturation of the displacing phase at the front. The case in which the displacing fluid is initially flowing and the case in which the reservoir is initially above the saturation pressure so that some injected gas goes into solution are included in the integration. The calculations are considerably simplified by representing the fraction of the flowing stream which is oil by an exponential function of saturation. The methods is extended to apply approximately to reservoirs in which wells located between the injection well and the front are produced. An illustrative example utilizing the methods presented is included. RESERVOIR BELOW SATURATION PRESSURE In the case of a water flooding operation or in the case of a gas injection operation in which no gas goes into solution in the displaced oil, the equation for saturation in a linear flow system as a function of time and position as given by Buckley and Leverett is where* q = total reservoir volume flow rate, rvb/day A = cross sectional area of system, sq ft / = porosity of formation x = distance from injection point, ft t = time, days Pj = saturation of the displacing phase /dx velocity of planes of constant saturation, ft/day *The nomenclature used here is not the same as that used by Buckley and Leverett A complete nomenclature is given in Appendix A.

Jan 1, 1952

By Ralph W. Edie

"IntroductionTHE GOLDFIELDS AREA in northern Saskatchewan has be-come important in recent years because of numerous discoveries of pitchblende. The area is underlain by rocks of Precambrian age and, because of metamorphism and hydrothermal alteration, the geology in the vicinity of the pitchblende deposits is exceedingly complex and presents a challenge to all geologists •working in the district. This paper is a contribution to the geological literature of the area and presents a description of rock types, supplemented with petrographic, chemical, and spectrochemical data.Field work in connection with this paper was carried out during the summers of 1948, 1949, and 1950 while the writer was employed as assistant geologist for the Crown Corporation, Eldorado Mining and Refining ( 1944), Limited, Gold-fields area. Laboratory work was undertaken at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology during the winter months of 1949-50 and 1950-51 and extended through the summer of 1951.With the exception of SiO2and FeO, all of the new analyses ( 1) presented were carried out by quantitative spectrographic techniques under the supervision of Dr. L. H. Ahrens at M.I.T. Many of the techniques have only recently been developed at that Institute and detailed laboratory procedures have not yet been published."

Jan 1, 1952

By R. A. Cattell

The peacetime activities of the Bureau's petroleum and natural-gas program have been reoriented to serve the needs of a national-defense program. When the United Nations sent troops to Korea after the North Korean Army crossed the 38th parallel in the latter part of June 1950, the Bureau's coordinated national program on petroleum and natural gas, with each major project forming an essential member of its framework, was carefully reviewed by those in charge of the work. As a matter of fact, the era of normalcy in which the petroleum and natural-gas research of the Bureau of Mines prospered during the fiscal year 19502/ was no sedative to the need for alertness on a national-defense front. The program, although conducted along peacetime lines in general, was scanned critically and repeatedly during that period to see where - if the need should arise -the emphasis could be shifted from peace to defense or war. Judging from the experience of two wars, it would not be long before the Bureau would be asked to use its trained technical personnel in applying techniques already learned in peacetime research to the requirements of munition and fuel needs of national defense. Near the end of January 1951, petroleum and natural-gas engineers of the Bureau of Mines began a comprehensive study of reservoir conditions in the Canyon Reef fields of Scurry, Borden, and Kent Counties, Tex. This work was preceded by published analyses of crude oils from Scurry County as early as April 1950. Well-informed persons in industry have estimated that these fields hold reserves that will yield 3 to 6 billion barrels of stock-tank oil. Although generally accepted good operating practices have been followed, engineering tests have shown that the natural energy, except in some favorable parts of the reservoir, will not be adequate for obtaining a high percentage of recovery. Correct information regarding the extent and availability of this vast reservoir of hydrocarbons is therefore of great concern to the Petroleum Administration for Defense in carrying out its responsibilities under the Defense Production Act.

Jan 1, 1952

T. H Aldrich '96 Walter H. Aldridge '89 R M. Atrater, Jr '97 James B Bailey '00 Samuel Barker, Jr. '00 John F Berry '93 Charles A Bohn '93 H. A Brassert '99 Victor B. Buck '98 Frederick Burbidge '87 Frederick P Burrall '97 John Cabot, Jr '99 William McC. Cameron '97 W Gaston Caperton '94 Norman Carmichael '99 Alvin B. Carpenter '97 Charles A Chase '00

Jan 1, 1952

COLLECTIVE bargaining, hereto-fore loudly proclaimed as one of the stout timbers of the Republic, has passed from the picture. The coup de gr[a]ce was struck by the President of the United States when he ignored his vested legal prerogative and seized the steel industry by the dubious authority of, his "inherent powers." Autocratic judgment by a single official replaced arbitration by the steel industry and labor union. This is the outcome of a battle which has been bitterly waged for months in the hazy atmosphere created by well oiled propaganda machines. Prior to government intervention, there was no clear picture of the issues at stake. All parties concerned marshalled their accountants to conjure up figures proving their respective contentions. The results were fed into public relations departments for embellishment and dissemination. Thus, the public was asked to believe on one hand, that the steel worker, who is second only to the coal miner in hourly wages, was entitled to an increase in pay and other benefits. Nothing was said about the effect-of such an increase on the national economy. Industry in turn pointed to declining profits after taxes, but failed to mention the more than a billion dollars spent on plant expansion, in addition to the payment of substantial dividends for 1951. With the intervention of the administration, the immediate issue became clear to freedom-loving Americans. Is the executive branch of the government above the law, or is it supposed to uphold and carry out the .laws of Congress? The present administration forgot that it is a servant of the public and has become despotic. The American people must obliterate this dangerous precedent which has been set by the administration or accept the. ominous consequences of submission. Fortunately, the strongest weapon of the citizen-the ballot -still remains. When democratic procedure is restored, stabilization of the economy will continue to challenge us. This is the main public stake in the steel controversy. Only a solution based on bed-rock democracy will work. If the emergency is real, and we must assume that it is, this is the time for sacrifice. Industry and labor must meet without rancor to resolve wage contracts through collective bargaining. The government role, under emergency conditions, must be to objectively maintain wage, and price ceilings in the interest of stabilization. Political expediency cannot be permitted to' influence these controls. Politics and not the public weal have been the guide lines for too long. We are at the cross roads. By all sober judgment, this is the time for Americans to take a militant interest in their government today. Tomorrow will be too late.

Jan 1, 1952

By J. B. Zadra

During the investigations of the occurrence of manganese in the western United States, the Bureau of Mines received a 100-pound sample of manganese ore from the Doyle-Smith property, Yuma County, Ariz. Laboratory tests were made to determine the amenability of this ore to standard ore-dressing methods of concentration to produce a marketable-grade product. The Doyle-Smith claims are in northern Yuma County, within 15 miles of the Artillery Peak deposit. The lot of ore used in the test work was taken from the outcrop of a large, massive, irregular bed of oxide manganese ore found on the claims.

Jan 1, 1952

Rougher Cells The photo shows one of three carloads of new Denver Equipment Co. rougher flotation machines destined for a single customer. [ ] Low level froth overflow on both sides, and double impeller mechanisms in an open-flow type tank, were designed to enable control of variable conditions in the rougher circuit for better metallurgy. Intense agitation and aeration are claimed, for effective recovery of low-grade mineral particles. Standard parts are used, interchangeable with regular Denver Sub-A units. The Super Rougher is now in production and a 2-cell No. 24 machine will be displayed at the Mining Show. Circle No. 1 Fans A line of industrial fans built for air or materials handling is available in eleven sizes from 670 to 44,000 cfm capacity from Westinghouse Electric Corp. The air hand¬ling wheel has backwardly-inclined blades. Circle No. 2 Trolleyphones The Femco Trolleyphone, plug-in model, 2550 series, is offered as a simple mine or mill communications system by Farmers Engineering & Mfg. Co. More compact, easier to install and service, the new model is powered from existing trolley wire or power line. Circle No. 3

Jan 1, 1952

By Bernard S. Borie

THE U-A1 binary system has been studied by Kaufmann and Gordon.' They have shown that three intermetallic compounds occur in the system: UAl², UAl², and a third compound tentatively identified as UA15. UA1³ is simple cubic, a, = 4.26A. Its unit cell contains one formula weight, and it is iso-morphous with AuCu³. UA1² is face-centered cubic, a, = 7.72A, with eight formula weights per unit cell. Rundle and Wilson have shown that it is iso-morphous with Cu²Mg.² A Debye-Scherrer pattern of the Al-rich compound indicated a more complex structure than either UA1² or UA1³. The following is a report of an investigation of the crystal structure of this compound and a determination of its stoi-chiometric formula. A melt of uranium (99.9 pct pure) and aluminum (99.9 pct pure) was prepared which contained about 25 pct U by weight. It was cooled from 950" to 650°C at a rate of 500" per hr and then taken from the furnace and air cooled. An X-ray diffraction pattern of the ingot showed only lines of aluminum and the Al-rich compound. Filings from the ingot were reacted with a solution of sodium hydroxide, producing a fine black powder, the diffraction pattern of which showed no traces of aluminum. A comparison of the Debye-Scherrer pattern of our sample with the data published by Kaufmann and Gordon1 showed that it is identical with the Al-rich phase which they reported. Single crystals were obtained by cooling the melt more slowly (about 50°C per hr). After reaction with sodium hydroxide, the crystals appeared as small black needles attached to the ingot surface. Cell Size, Space Group, and Uranium Positions A series of Weissenberg photographs for rotation about two of the crystallographic axes, taken with copper radiation filtered through nickel foil, revealed an orthorhombic cell of dimensions: a = 4.41 ± 0.02A b = 6.27 ± 0.02A c = 13.71 ± 0.03A Reflections of the type hkl were observed only if: h + k + I = 2n, of the type hkO only if: h = 2n and k = 2n, of the type h01 only if: h + 1 = 2n, and of the type Okl only if: k + 1=2n. Hence, the cell is body-centered with an 001 glide plane. The evidence for the existence of the glide plane is the observed extinction of 23 possible re- flections of the type hkO with at least one index odd. There are only two space groups consistent with these data: C"" — I2ma and D28 2h — Imma.³ he possible sets of atomic positions for these space groups are: 12ma: (0 0 0; ½ ½ ½) + 4: (a) x 0 %; x % % (b) x ¼ z; x ¾ Z 8: (c) x y z; x y z; x, ½ + y, Z x, M - y, z Imma: (0 0 0; ½ ½ ½) + 4: (a) 0 0 0; 0 ½ 0 (b) 0 0 ½; 0 ½ ½ (c) ¼ ¼ ¼; ¾ ¼ ¼ (d) ¼ ¾ ¾ ; ¾ ¾ % (e) 0 ¾ Z; 0 ¾ z 8: (f) x 0 0; x 0 0; x 1/2 0; x ½ 0 (g) ¼ Y ¼; ¾ Y ¾; ¾ y ¼; 1 y ¼ (h) 0 y z; 0; ;; 0, ½ + y, z; 0, l/2 - Y, Z (i) x 1/4 z; x ¾ z; ¼ z; x ¾ z 16: (j) xy z; x y z; x y z; x y z; x, ½ + y, Z; x,½ - y, z; x, ½ - y, z; 11 1, + y,Z Though density measurements on different samples were found to vary somewhat, they were all within the range 5.7 * 0.3 g per cu cm. If it is assumed that the unit cell contains four formula weights of UAl,, it is 6.5 g per cu cm. If there were as many as eight uranium atoms per unit cell, the

Jan 1, 1952

THE following employment items are made available to AIME members on a nonprofit basis by the Engineering Societies Personnel Service, Inc., operating in cooperation with the Four Founder Societies. Local offices of the Personnel Service are at 8 W. 40th St., New York 18; 100 Farnsworth Ave., Detroit; 57 Post St., Son Francisco; 84 E. Randolph St., Chicago 1. Applicants should address all mail to the proper key numbers in care of the New York office and include 6c in stamps for forwarding and returning application. The applicant agrees, if placed in a position by means of the Service, to pay the placement fee listed by the Service. AIME members may secure a weekly bulletin of positions available for $3.50 a quarter, $12 a year. MEN AVAILABLE Geologist-Petrographer. Experienced subsurface geology and petrographic rock and mineral identification. Desires position as either geologist or petrographer. M-682. Geologist, 36, married, employed. Nine years' experience geology connected with engineering, includes planning and supervising core drilling programs, study of stratigraphy and structure, special problems, report writing. Three years' teaching experience. Desires responsible position offering opportunity for advancement with progressive concern. Will travel part time. Available reasonable notice. M-683. Mining Executive with record of accomplishment organizing and directing efficient low cost mining and ore dressing operations available for position in the United States. Broad experience engineering, mechanized mining, flotation, safety, union labor relations and preparation of reports. Married. Employed; available upon reasonable notice. M-684.

Jan 1, 1952

By Edward H. Robie

MANY engineers currently are working harder than usual, in part because of the demands being made upon them for increased production in the war effort, and in part because engineers are in short supply so that there is more to do for those who are available. In some instances the question has come up as to what additional payment, if any, should properly be made for overtime work, and to what extent is such payment legally permitted under the rules of the Salary Stabilization Board. Most engineers employed in an executive, administrative, or outside salesman capacity are not paid for overtime. They are paid for doing a job instead of for the hours they put in, and are free to do all the unpaid home work they feel they should do after dinner, as well as to do a bit of thinking and worrying during wakeful hours in bed. But engineers employed in a strictly professional capacity normally have standard office hours. Some employers pay for overtime and some don't. Their practice as it existed on Jan. 25, 1951 may be continued. In the absence of such practice at that time, the Salary Stabilization Board says that the engineer may now receive additional compensation up to his straight-time rate for an extended work week. No formal approval of the Board is required. "A professional engineer," in the mind of the Board, "is a person employed in a professional capacity, who, by reason of his special knowledge of the mathematical and physical sciences and the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design, acquired by professional education and practical experience, is qualified to practice engineering." Inducted Engineers A letter from a young man just inducted into the service and fearful that his engineering training is not going to be utilized reached us last week from Fort Riley, Kan. The AIME, cooperating with the other Founder Societies, is doing what it can, through the Engineering Manpower Commission, to see that engineers are not being wasted in the military establishment. So we passed this young man's letter along to T. A. Marshall Jr., executive secretary of that Commission. Mr. Marshall tells us that the normal procedure now being followed by the Army in handling Selective Service inductees is to have them first complete 16 weeks of basic training before assignment to specialized categories. During that time they are classified. If one has an engineering degree he should be classified as scientific and engineering personnel at the end of the basic training period. He should then be transferred to a technical detachment and assigned an MOS (Military Occupational Specialties) reflecting his education. If a young man is looking for a commission, it might be added that the current policy in the Army is to transfer to OCS (Officer Candidate School) applicants for commissions in the infantry only. The local unit commander can give information on this point, based upon the aptitude shown in tests. In view of the current shortage of engineers, it is believed that a young man should seriously consider remaining in enlisted status unless he can obtain a commission in a branch of the service that can make full use of his technical skills. His work may thus be more to his liking even if his uniform is not. New York or Atlantic City? In which place is it preferable to hold the annual meeting of a professional society like the AIME-New York or Atlantic City? That is, a winter meeting. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers has held its recent meetings at Atlantic City, with increasing attendance and satisfaction. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers chose Atlantic City for its recent December annual meeting. Only twice has the AIME ever met in this famous seashore resort: in 1898 and 1904. Chief advantages of going to Atlantic City over New York are that technical sessions are better attended, there being little else to do there in Winter; the cost to members is less, and hotel facilities are better adapted to a large meeting. As to cost, take a banquet, for instance. The Chalfonte-Haddon Hall, which caters especially to winter conventions, charges about $7 for a banquet dinner of standard quality. A similar dinner at the Statler in New York would cost about $8.50, and about $10.50 at the Waldorf-Astoria. (The charge for tickets is somewhat greater than this because of the cost of music, programs, flowers, and other incidentals.) Rooms, too, are somewhat less at Atlantic City, two in a room being accommodated for about $7 per day each, compared with $7 to $10 at a headquarters hotel in New York. On the other hand, AIME headquarters is put to some extra expense for staff travel, food and lodging, and members living in New York and environs are forced to pay a hotel bill. New York, of course, has more varied amusements to offer, plenty of big stores, and the glamour of a big city. The choice may be discussed at the forthcoming meeting in New York. In the meantime if any reader cares to express an opinion one way or the other we shall be glad to hear it. College Scholarships Most parents of children in the later stages of high school find it necessary to give some consideration to the cost of a college education. Although salaries have increased substantially it seems that the cost of the necessities of life, such as food, housing, and maintaining the family automobile, have gone up even more, so the problem of financing the children's education is as acute as ever. Many overlook the possibility of scholarships, or feel that only a student at or near the top of his class has a chance to get one. As a matter of fact, close to 150,000 scholarships and more than 15,000 fellowships, worth some $42,000,000, are available in 1200 American colleges and universities. Those who are interested should send 55¢ to the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. for a 248-page publication just issued by the U. S. Office of Education, entitled "Scholarships and Fellowships Available at Institutions of Higher Education."

Jan 1, 1952

MORE than 5000 miners and suppliers descended upon Denver to make the American Mining Congress' four-day metal mining show one of the most extravagant equipment displays ever assembled in one place at one time. The most recent developments in equipment for mining, milling, and processing ore were shown by the 146 exhibitors at Denver's new City Auditorium which covers 57,000 sq ft of floor space. Other displays were placed in the open air opposite the auditorium site. Registration desks were opened Sunday, Sept. 21. A field trip to the Colorado School of Mines at Golden was the featured activity of the day. Official opening of the show took place on Monday, and presided over by Howard I. Young, president of American Zinc, Lead & Smelting Co.; Otto Herres, vice president, Combined Metals Reduction Co.; William J. Coulter, vice president, Climax Molybdenum Co.; Charles B. Stainback, Westinghouse Electric Corp.; and Merrill E. Shoup, president, Golden Cycle Corp. Convention welcoming addresses were delivered by a representative of Mayor James Q. Newton, of Denver, and Gov. Daniel V. Thorton of Colorado. Following the formal opening ceremonies a round table discussion dealt with the "Paley Commission Report" formally called Resources for Freedom. Participating in the panel were: Arthur H. Bunker and George R. Brown, members of the Paley commission; H. I. Young, president of the American Mining Congress; Horace M. Albright, president of U. S. Potash Co.; Evan Just, vice president, Cyprus Mines Corp.; Donald H. McLaughlin, president, Homestake Mining Co.; E. H. Snyder, president Combined Metals Reduction Co.; Simon D. Strauss, vice president, American Smelting & Refining Co.; Sen. H. C. Dworshak (R.-Idaho) ; Ira B. Joralemon, consulting engineer; Jess Larson, De fense Materials Procurement Agency; and Andrew Fletcher, president of St. Joseph Lead Co. The panel discussed the report for six hours, adding a great deal of information to the already voluminous amount which has been gathered concerning it. Three objections to the report frequently mentioned were: 1-the multilateral contract; 2-international buffer stocks; 3-international buffer stocks combined with limited quota arrangements. Points on which the panel commended the report were its recommendations for acceleration of topographic and geologic mapping of the United States and Alaska; recognition of the principle of percentage depletion for metals and minerals; and advocation of removal of the present limitations on the expensing of exploration costs applicable to minerals. Technical sessions were held throughout the four days of the meeting. Included in the program were: Progress in Mechanication; Small Mines; Public Lands; Open Pit Mining; Manpower-Labor Relations; Shaft Sinking; Roof Support; Taxation, Gold, Silver and Monetary Policy; Advances in Mill Practices; Special Conference on Strategic Materials; Uranium Mining-Atomic Energy; Prospecting and Exploration; New Metallurgical Processes; and Rock Breaking. About 45 papers and several panels were presented during technical sessions. Formal and informal social functions consumed the remaining time of the convention. Three locations were needed to handle the huge throng attending the Mining Jamboree Monday evening. The only other sponsored social function took place Thursday evening. A great many informal gatherings, chiefly convivial, were held in manufacturers' courtesy rooms-called wet stopes. Field trips included Cripple Creek, Pueblo, Climax -Leadville-Gilman, Colorado Plateau-Grand

Jan 1, 1952

By Robert Glass Cleland

THIS IS a history of a company whose roots run deep into the nation's past and whose field of operations has never been narrowly confined. The men who founded Phelps Dodge were men of initiative and imagination. They were men of strong convictions and upright character. They held fast to the simple virtues and traditions of the days when America was young. This heritage they passed on to their successors. From the very beginning, under such leadership, Phelps Dodge became a company of large affairs. It bought and sold, exported and imported, built factories and organized railroads, converted great forests into lumber, and operated coal and iron mines. Much of the iron, copper, and tin plate used in the United States for a generation was under its control. Its business abroad was extensive enough to warrant the organization of a separate partnership in England. Then, almost half a century after its foundation, the company began to substitute new activities for old and eventually transferred its major operations to the West, primarily to Arizona. The family partnership became a corporation. Exporting and importing gave place to mining and metallurgy. Phelps Dodge became one of the largest

Jan 1, 1952

By R. W. Allgood

"THE world-wide shortage of elemental sulphur, which became sharply apparent in 1950, has focused attention on the commercial exploitation of sulphur-bearing materials such as pyritic ores, sour natural gas, and smelter gases. Although there •are no known commercial deposits of elemental sulphur in Canada, there are vast quantities of these sulphur-bearing materials. The International Nickel Company of Canada and Canadian Industries Limited have for many years collaborated in an effort to develop economic processes for the recovery of sulphur from the smelter gas arising from Inco's metallurgical operation at Copper Cliff, Ontario. While sulphuric acid has been •produced at Copper Cliff for over twenty years, recent developments will result in a 60 per cent increase in acid production early in 1952 and, later in the year, in commencement of the operation of the largest single unit ever erected for the manufacture of liquid sulphur dioxide.The purpose of this paper is to discuss •briefly the general factors associated with the recovery of sulphur from the Copper Cliff smelter gases and to describe the sulphuric acid operations and the liquid sulphur dioxide development.Processes for the manufacture of elemental sulphur, liquid sulphur dioxide, and sulphuric acid from sulphur-dioxide-bearing smelter gases are well known and in some cases •highly developed."

Jan 1, 1952

LATEST estimates of Russian steel production for 1951 give rise to the belief that on at least one vital front, the Western bloc of nations has maintained a definite advantage. On the surface, we are outproducing the Eastern bloc by more than twice. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe estimates Russian output at 31.30 million tons, a 15 pct increase over the previous year. Production for the entire Iron Curtain is figured at 40.93 million tons. Western Europe alone produced 17 pct. more steel during the same period. The figures are misleading in one sense. We have no precise idea of how much steel is being used for arms. The Western nations are still expending much of their production for consumer goods, and you cant throw washing machines in a shooting war. It is significant to note that Russian production is well, beyond estimates made by world authorities prior to the current international situation. INTERIOR Secretary Oscar L. Chapman warns that the United States must make use of the resources of other nations or face mineral impoverishment once the time of struggle is over. He pointed out that the present struggle between two ideologies can leave the United States in such a state as to preclude anything but political' victory-with an accomp anying economic loss that will be irreparable. Chapman scored the attitude whereby conservation programs are looked upon as a luxury, pointing out that the nation faces an ever increasing need for action on that front. He also announced that the Bureau of Mines doubled its facilities for producing pure zirconium during 1950-51 at the request of the Atomic Energy Commission. Zirconium may be an important structural metal for atomic power devices. The Interior Secretary also said that the AEC has provided the Bureau with funds for the study of radioactive minerals and to help test and evaluate about 9000 ore samples believed to contain uranium.

Jan 1, 1952

PHILIP D. BLOCK, JR., vice president of Inland Steel Co., visualizes a fine future for the Menominee Range of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He sees a future unclouded by threat from foreign ore imports or the development of low grade ore processing in Minnesota. The statement was made during the opening of Inland's new Cayia mine near Crystal Falls. Inland, according to the vice president, is planning to use an increased amount of the high phosphorous ores found on the Menominee Range. He said that other steel companies will probably do the same, because the steel industry has learned how to use ores of high phosphorous content. He said: "I do not mean to imply that we can use an unlimited amount of high phosphorous ores or that we can burden our blast, furnaces with 100 pct high phosphorous ores, but we have reached the point where we can absorb a much larger percentage of these ores without any detrimental effects. Foreign ores and lowgrade Minnesota ores cost too much to offer real competition, Block said. Transportation costs from the Menominee range to steel producing centers in Chicago and on Lake Erie are less than for any other range in this country. In the meantime, the American operators of the Bomi Hills iron ore mine in Liberia, have reportedly signed a new agreement with the Government. Several months ago, President Tubman of Liberia expressed a definite dissatisfaction with the original contract. Informants state that the agreement only needs the approval of the Export-Import Bank, which loaned Liberian Mining Co. $4 million to develop the iron ore properties. Majority stockholder of the Liberian Mining is Republic steel, with 61.57 pct of the stock. Under the new contract, the Liberian Government will start to share in the profits when the indebtedness is liquidated and the return of invested capital accomplished, or April 1, 1957, whichever is earlier. Under the old agreement the Liberian Government received a 5 cent per ton royalty and an additional sum based on the price of pig iron. The royalty rate reached more than 17 cents per ton this year. After debt liquidation the Liberian Government will receive 25 pct of net profits for the first five years; 35 pct for the next ten years; and 50 pct thereafter. Until the Government starts to share in profits it will receive a royalty of $1.50 per ton in U. S. currency, in addition to royalties provided for in the old agreement.

Jan 1, 1952

A. A. Almstrom is mill superintendent for Barrue Mines, Barraute, Quebec. Frank A. Ayer, vice president of Copper Range Co., who has been in charge of the development and bringing into production of White Pine orebody in northern Michigan, has resigned. E. G. Bailey and H. S. Mudd were made honorary members of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Lee Bilheimer, graduate of Missouri School of Mines, has been employed as assistant mine captain at the Edwards, N. Y., div. of the St. Joseph Lead Co. Douglas C. Blackwell, recently graduated from the South Dakota School of Mines, is now with the Oliver Iron Mining Co. of Duluth, Minn. Joseph F. Brown has joined the Grand Junction Exploration Branch of the United States Atomic Energy Commission as a geologist.

Jan 1, 1952

SAFETY in open-pit mining receives a minimum of notoriety, but its significance in profitable and efficient operation is as great as in other methods of mining. Open-pit operators from Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico, exchanging ideas on safety at a symposium during the recent annual meeting of the Arizona Section, AIME, discovered unanimity of opinion that the successful safety program depended on managerial and supervisory support with the vigorous cooperation of the employes. Safety Organization The operation of a safety program is dependent on the ability of management to project enthusiasm through the company organization. This requires a suitable method of communication to the supervisory and employee levels so as to approach them in a manner that will inspire cooperation. Safety committees comprised of various combinations of managerial, supervisory, and employe personnel are frequently used for this purpose. The open-cut mine of the Chino Division of the Kennecott Copper Corp., Santa Rita, N. Mex., operates its program through management, a full-time safety engineer, and two safety committees, the Departmental and Shops Safety Committee and the Central Safety Committee. The Departmental and Shops Committee consists of one employe from each department and shop and the safety engineer. The selected members serve for a period of one month. This committee meets once a month, the only representative of management being the safety engineer because it is believed that employes will speak more freely when their supervisors are not present. The duties of the committee are to report hazardous conditions and make recommendations, but the committee has no authority to approve or disapprove. The Central Safety Committee is comprised of supervisory personnel from all departments and shops, and one member of each of the five bargaining organizations. Members of this committee are permanent and hold meetings soon after the departmental group to take action on recommendations of the latter. The committee system insures participation of all levels of personnel in the accident-prevention program, thereby stimulating safety consciousness. The New Cornelia branch of the Phelps-Dodge Corp., uses three groups to conduct the safety program; the General Safety Committee, Division Safety Committee, and the operating-unit safety meetings. The unit safety meetings provide for active participation of employes in discussion of various phases of the program. Within these groups vigorous opinions regarding safety are often expressed and the workmen are critical if they recognize a digression from the adopted safe-practice procedures. These monthly discussions give the program vitality. The Division Safety Committee is composed of the division superintendent and the division department heads, and follows an established pattern in discussion of all phases of the safety program. The General Safety Committee, made up of the manager, division, and department heads, makes decisions on policies and procedures; it renders decisions on recommendations and suggestions. Management at the New Cornelia branch feels this system of safety committees and meetings has been active in advancing the program. Safety Codes In the open-pit mines of the Southwest, a safety code for operation or service of equipment, methods

Jan 1, 1952

By R. R. Bryan

SINCE the first applications of cyanidation to silver ores about 1906, treatment of ores in the Pachuca district has been entirely by straight cyanidation. Until about the year 1921, Real del Monte removed a sulphide concentrate (largely pyrite) by tabling in the cyanidation grinding circuit. The ores milled prior to the year 1935 were dry ores, ideal for cyanidation, and yielded 90 pct of the silver and 92 pct of the gold. Since 1934 there has been a notable increase in the refractivity to cyanidation of the average ores received by the mill. Tonnages of the former amenable ores have gradually been replaced by tonnages of more refractory ones, so that present average recoveries have fallen to 83 pct of the silver and 90 pct of the gold. During this period there has also been an increase in the content of base metal sulphides' in many of the ores although this increase is not always directly related to the increased refractivity. Since March 1950, the Cia. de Real del Monte has been developing a flotation treatment for some-of its ores before cyanidation. Suitability for flotation is judged not only by the base metal content, but also by the amount of additional recovery of silver and gold made possible by the combined treatment. Selection and segregation of ores most suitable for flotation before cyanidation is a difficult problem for the mines, and the best that can be done is a compromise that leaves much to be desired. Development of Pre-cyanidation Flotation at Real del Monte Much laboratory work has been done on flotation of ores from the Pachuca district, however, the data could not supply reliable information on the many factors connected with the economics of low-base metal-high silver ores. Pilot plant operations would be required. Pilot plant facilities were made available in March 1950, when it became necessary to close down Loreto's 100 ton per day selective flotation plant because of exhausted ore supply. The results of the 100-ton pilot plant tests indicated that a large part of our tonnage of cyanidation ores could be profitably treated by flotation, and a tonnage of 1100 tons per day was selected as the maximum tonnage of ore that the mines were likely to deliver, and because this tonnage fitted with the grinding capacity of this circuit. Equipment was ordered for the production of a single flotation concentrate. The conception of flotation before cyanidation, at that time, was the production of a single concentrate to be shipped to the lead smelter. The 100-ton pilot plant was immediately increased to 350 tons by installing additional flotation cells.. This. plant was operated continuously until the 1100ton plant was put in operation in January 1951. In July 1950, an increase in the quotation for zinc called for an investigation- of the possibilities of producing a zinc concentrate, and laboratory tests on the tailings from the 350-ton plant indicated that a

Jan 1, 1952

By J. G. Kirby

The total number of petroleum refineries in the United States decreased during 1951, while the total crude-oil charging capacity continued to increase. There were 350 refineries as of January 1, 1952, compared with 357 a year earlier, according to the annual Bureau of Mines capacity survey. A gain of 369,241 barrels in daily refinery crude through-put capacity during 1951 brings the total to 7,332,885 barrels daily. The capacity of the average refinery to process crude-oil was 20,951 barrels daily, an increase of 1,445 barrels daily over the previous year. Capacity added in the Texas Gulf district accounted for 36 percent of the total increase; the Indiana-Illinois-Kentucky district, 23 percent; the East Coast district, 19 percent; the Oklahoma-Kansas district, 12 percent; and the Texas Inland district, 11 percent. The California district was the only one reporting a decline in crude-oil refining capacity, the total being 14,200 barrels daily below the previous year. Reported as under construction January 1, 1952, was an additional crude-oil capacity of 282,680 barrels daily, an increase of 77 percent over the January 1, 1951, total of 160,100 barrels. The capacity now building is for the expansion of existing facilities, since no new plants had been begun as of the first of the year. Three or four companies have plans to build refineries in the Williston Basin area of North Dakota, but no definite locations or dates when construction will begin have been announced.

Jan 1, 1952

By V. C. Allen

THE Tri-State Zinc, Inc., Galena, Ill., was confronted with the problem of securing ore from a deposit because the hoisting shaft was several thousand feet from the mill. The orebody is several thousand feet long, averaging 200 ft in width and 60 ft in height and opened up by vertical shafts some 300 ft deep. Mining is by the room-and-pillar method. During the initial operation the ore was loaded by conventional electric 1/2-yd boom-and-dipper shovels and hauled to the shaft by 8-ton diesel trucks. This underground ore loading and hauling was well adapted to the conditions and productive of low costs per ton. However, with the mill situated as mentioned, a triple handling of all broken rock was necessary: l—from the stope to the shaft by truck, 2—up the shaft by skip br can into the surface hopper, and 3—by truck from the surface hopper to the crushing plant at the mill. In addition to the repeated handling, serious troubles were encountered during the winter because of freezing in the shaft hopper. Consideration was given to either moving the mill to the new orebody or to the construction of a second mill. The presence of other orebodies to be mined at a later date made the first alternative impractical while the capital outlay for a second mill, when the present plant of approximately 850 tons per day was deemed sufficiently large for the total reserves, made the second alternative also unwise. It was decided to retain the mill in the originals location and continue to move the ore to it. The idea of driving an inclined adit from the surface to the bottom of the orebody suitable for truck haulage and big enough to allow the passage of all mechanical equipment was conceived. Among the apparent advantages of such an incline were: 1— Direct haulage from the stope to the mill without rehandling. 2—Elimination of virtually all grizzlies. Trucking from underground to the mill would do away with all hoppers, chutes, gates, and skips and make the maximum rock size dependent solely on the size of the shovel dipper at the mine and the crusher opening at the mill. 3—Less secondary blasting would be needed. 4—Ease of transporting equipment and supplies underground. Shovels and trucks could be taken through the incline intact. 5—Equipment could be brought to the surface for repairs and servicing without loss of time. The same advantages of ease in moving would be present in the handling of men, steel, powder, and supplies. 6—There would be far less difficulty in increasing the amount of tonnage that could be moved by truck up an incline than would be found in attempting to increase the capacity of a shaft. 7—All the broken ore in the stopes would serve as bin capacity, as it would take the breakdown of all of the loading and hauling equipment to have the same effect as a delay in shaft hoisting. 8—All danger of men being trapped in the mine as a result of shaft fire or power stoppage would be eliminated. 9— Virtually all trouble from severe winter conditions would be eliminated by the direct haul underground to the mill. The decision was made to proceed with the driving of an inclined adit. The topography of the surface between the orebody and the mill was such that it was possible to locate the portal at a point 170 ft above the mine floor and 1800 ft horizontally from the central point of the orebody to the south and 2500 ft from the mill to the north. A grade of 10 pct was found to be optimum for continuous truck haulage when the various factors of speed, safety, and truck maintenance were all considered. The incline as driven was consequently 1700 ft long on 10 pct grade and 12 ft high by 17 ft wide in cross section. The tunnel-driving equipment was chosen so that it could be used in mining after the completion of the tunnel. Drilling was done with a jumbo with two Joy jibs mounting 3-in. drills, loading with an Allis-Chalmers diesel-powered, front-end loader of approximately 11/4-yd capacity, and hauling by Koehring Dumptor trucks of 8-ton capacity, diesel-powered. The width of the tunnel allowed the end loader and Dumptor to be placed abreast. Since the Dumptors can be driven either forward or backward with equal facility, loading was accomplished without turning around either machine throughout the loading operation. The crew in addition to the tunnel foreman was comprised of three men per shift at the start and in the later work, four men. Each crew could perform any part of the working cycle. If the drilling was completed and the round blasted in the middle of a shift, the same men would proceed with the loading and hauling. Since the mine already had been drained to the bottom levels, no water was encountered. At the halfway point the tunnel was widened for approximately 100 ft to permit trucks to pass. The total cost of the tunnel excluding the capital outlay for equipment, which was all continued in use in the subsequent mine operation, was $60,363.00 or $35.50 per ft. The tunnel was completed at the end of June, 1949 and has been in continuous use since that time. In the five months from July to November inclusive, 106,049 tons have been transported to the mill or an average of 835 tons per day. No unforeseen disadvantages have been encountered and the advantages which had been predicated before the adit's construction have been more than realized. As previously mentioned, the deposit is worked by the room-and-pillar system with occasional faces up to 125 ft high. Except in driving development drifts when diesel-powered, front-end loaders such as were used in the tunnel are employed, all shoveling is done by Yz-yd boom-dipper type shovels electrically driven. These units need a width of 25 ft and a height of 14 ft in which to operate. All hauling is by diesel trucks, mainly Koehring Dump-tors. Roads are maintained with caterpillar tractors and a road grader. The tonnage output from the

Jan 1, 1952