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By Nelson Severinghaus

Crushed stone leads all industrial mineral, except cement in annual value of production in the United States. It is also interesting to note that crushed stone value is exceeded only by that of fuels, cement, and iron ore among all mineral products of this country. An industry which started with hand-sledging to produce smaller sizes of broken stone for hard surfaced improvement of roadways as designed by McAdam in England about 1815 has grown into a complex industrial giant. Most of this growth started with the invention of a mechanical rock crusher just under one hundred years age (1858) by Eli Whitney Blake. This invention made possible the production of greater tonnages of smaller sizes of broken stone and greatly accelerated its use for Macadam road pavements and for railroad ballast. Stones Used for Crushing All three of the major geologic classifications of stone, sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic, are widely used in the production of crushed stone. Satisfactory physical and chemical properties can be found in each type so that economic availability becomes the prime determinant for development. Table 1 lists more common rocks of the three main groups with average values of specific gravity and toughness as measured by Deval test. This widely used classification was suggested by C. E. Lord, of U. S. Bureau of Public Roads. The physical properties were compiled by D. O. Woolf in "The Results of Physical Tests of Road Building Rock," U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin 76. It should be noted that the figures given in Table 1 are averages. Very substantial variations in the physical properties of rocks within any one classification will occur. The solid surface of the earth was first made up of igneous rocks resulting from the solidification or crystallization of molten material upon cooling. These igneous rocks were disintegrated into sand, clay, and gravel by the weathering action of wind, water, chemicals, [ ] and temperature changes. The products of weathering were transported by wind and streams until they reached less turbulent areas such as oceans or lakes and were deposited. Chemical deposition between grains of sand or clay or the physical action of pressure and heat then solidified them into sedimentary rocks

Jan 1, 1960

By M. J. Blackburn

The phasal equilibria in TI':Al alloys has been studied Ry transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction, and X-ray diffraction. It is shown that three-phase fields exist below the transformation, viz.: a disordered hexagonal solid solution a; an ordered hexagonal phase based on Ti3Al, aa; and a two-phase region. (a + (YZ) , occurring between the single-plzuse fields. The size. disiribution, and morphology of- the a, phase in the two-phase region is shown to be dependent upon the alloy composition and heat treatement. The ordering process in the a, phase leads to the formation of anliphase domain boundary networks; the contrast and stability of these networks is shown to be dependent on alloy composition. A new and relatively simple phase diagralil for the systemm is constructed. The phasal equilibrium at the titanium-rich end of the Ti:Al system has long been the subject of considerable controversy. crossleyl has recently reviewed the phase diagrams that have been advanced for the system and in his turn proposed yet another one. There would seem to be general agreement that a phase exists at a composition at or near Ti& with an ordered hexagonal DO,,-type structure. However, several other phases have been proposed; for instance, Ence and ~ar~olin's' diagram includes two phases, Ti2A1 and Ti3A1, in the region up to 25 at. pct Al. The position of the proposed phase boundaries varies over a considerable compositional and temperature range, a point graphically illustrated in Fig. 1 of Crossley's paper.' It is perhaps germane to briefly examine the techniques used by other workers in the establishment of the phase structure. These fall into three categories: 1) X-ray diffraction, the only limitation of which is the rather low intensity of superlattice reflections in this system.3 Thus, superlattice reflections become increasingly difficult to detect in the more dilute aluminum alloys. 2) A considerable amount of optical microscopy has been performed"2'4 and it will be shown in a later section that many of the obscure mi-crostructures that have been observed can be attributed to hydrogen contamination. It is concluded, therefore, that such observations should be interpreted with considerable care. 3) The variation of some physical property with aluminum content has been measured.5"7 These methods are a useful indication of the existence of a transformation, but are usually insufficient in themselves to identify the transformation. The results using these techniques will be considered in more detail in the discussion. In this paper, the phase structure of alloys containing up to 25 at. pct A1 has been studied by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray techniques, and the results are used to generate a new and relatively simple diagram for the titanium-rich end of the Ti:Al system. EXPERIMENTAL A series of alloys containing 5.05, 10.16, 13.39, 13.99, 14.40, 20.83, and 25.05 at. pct A1 were obtained in the form of hot-rolled sheet 0.02 in. thick. These alloys contained 0.10 to 0.15 pct 0. Thirty-gram arc-melted buttons were prepared from iodide titanium and 99.99 A1 which contained 16.1, 16.9, 18.2, 19.0, 21.6, 22.2, 23.0, and 23.9 at. pct A1 and had an average oxygen content of 0.03 pct 0. The differences in oxygen content did not appear to influence the nature of the phase transformations which were found. Oxygen content may affect the temperature of these transformations, but insufficient samples of the high-purity alloys were examined to answer this question. The heat treatment of alloys was performed in dynamic atmosphere and vacuum furnaces or in helium -filled silica capsules. A special vacuum furnace was constructed to provide a high quenching rate in which rates of 4000°C per sec were obtained using water as the quenching medium. As pointed out by Crossley,' it is important to avoid heat treatment in the a - [} phase field as the resultant segregation of the alloy into the two phases containing different amounts of aluminum can persist through subsequent treatments leading to ambiguous results. It will be demonstrated later that step cooling of specimens from the a phase region can also lead to anomalous effects. Thus, all solution treatments were carried out in either the a or 3 phase fields followed by water quenching and subsequent isothermal annealing at various temperatures. X-ray analyses were performed on a diffractometer on fine-grained bulk specimens. The value of long-range order parameter, S, wa_s calculated from the integrated intensity of the (1211) reflection. In general, the intensity of the (1011) superlattice reflection was compared with that of the (2021) fundamental reflection to correct for experimental differences between measurements. Thin foils for electron microscopical examination were produced by electropolishing using the technique described in an earlier paper.8 Dark-field techniques were employed to a large degree in this investigation using the gun-tilt method. Finally it should be noted that the lattice parameters of the D01,-type superlattice are approximately related to the disordered hexagonal phase parameters by Crf - c, and 2ad - a, where the subscripts s and d refer to the ordered and disordered unit cells, respectively.

Jan 1, 1968

Since the introduction of water cooled test rings the operation of cupelling retort bullion has not alone been sImplified, but has also been the means of concentrating the bullion for the fining test in a much shorter time.The first water cooled test ring which I used was rectangular in shape, inside dimensions 5 ft. 3 in. x 2 ft. IQ in., and made of i in. mild steel plates, with a water space of 9i in. x 3t in. However, it was found that as soon as the filling commenced to wear and the litharge came in contact with the jacket, the plate was gradually affected on the lines of the wash, caused by the blast. After a while the inside steel plate went beyond the factor of safety, and was then substituted on the sides and the front of the test ring by a tin copper plate, which has stood now for the last five years without showing the least signs of wear or leakage.The test remains in use as long as the bottom is regarded as safe, and toward the end of the life of the test the litharge is allowed to work against the copper plate.

Jan 1, 1901

By Esther Carrera Martinez

Caraiba Metals is the sole brazilian copper custom smelter. The sulfur present in the various concentrates processed is recovered as sulfuric acid and oleum ,which are sold in the local market For quality assurance purposes, a study was carried out in order to determine how to control the arsenic content in the acid, allowing the continuous processing of concentrates with high levels impurity, The study was based on the process parameters of the washing towers and mist precipitators, Others process variables were investigated and their effects were used in support to confirm the results, After many analyses performed some interventions to improve the quality of the acid were implemented in the plant, which proved to be successful even by using a conventional purification system,

Jan 1, 1996

By D. F. Scott

Seismic tomography, as used in mining, is based on the principle that highly stressed rock will demonstrate relatively higher P-wave velocities than rock under less stress. A decrease or increase in stress over time can be verified by comparing successive tomograms. Personnel at the Spokane Research Center have been investigating the use of seismic tomography to identify stress in remnant ore pillars in deep (greater than 1220 m) underground mines. In this process, three-dimensional seismic surveys are conducted in a pillar between mine levels. A sledgehammer is used to generate P-waves, which are recorded by geophones connected to a stacking signal seismograph capable of collecting and storing the P-wave data. Travel times are input into a spreadsheet, and apparent velocities are then generated and merged into imaging software. Mine workings are superimposed over apparent P-wave velocity contours to generate a final tomographic image. Results of a seismic tomographic survey at the Sunshine Mine, Kellogg, ID, indicate that low- velocity areas (low stress) are associated with mine workings and high-velocity areas (higher stress) are associated with areas where no mining has taken place. A high stress gradient was identified in an area where ground failed. From this tomographic survey, as well as four earlier surveys at other deep underground mines, a method was developed to identify relative stress in remnant ore pillars. This information is useful in making decisions about miner safety when mining such ore pillars.

Jan 1, 1996

By John R. Bitler

A computerized napping system was developed by the Bureau of Mines to provides procedures for the rapid and inexpensive display of coal reserve data. Mapping system output consists of two types of maps, point distribution and contour (isopleth), which can be produced for data (coal analyses) associated with a point location (outcrop, drill core, or mine samples). These locations can be in the form of latitude and longitude or Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid coordinates. The mapping area can range in extent from as small as a single county to as large as a multistate region. The mapping system utilizes programs developed at Harvard University, in addition to several modifications developed by the authors. The primary advantage of this system is that it enables the display of a rapidly changing data base and computerized map generation without the intermediate steps of digitizing and overlaying to produce base maps. The mapping system is applicable to any regional mineral reserve or resource study for which point location data are available. Included are example maps of the distribution of data points and contouring for sulfur content of the Upper Freeport coalbed in this western Pennsylvania demonstration area.

Jan 1, 1977

By M Miller

Operators of nickel laterite pressure acid leach and gold pressure oxidation technology frequently employ a series of steam condensing heaters to preheat the leach feed slurry. The heaters are an economic pinch point û although the thermal performance of the heaters is critical to overall process viability and operating cost minimisation, they are also a significant capital item and must be sized accordingly. Despite this, discussions of the factors underlying heater design are conspicuously absent from technical literature, and existing operations feature a conflicting range of heater sizes and configurations. This variety would suggest that at least some of the chosen heater designs are oversized. As part of its detailed design stage, the Ravensthorpe Nickel Project (RNP) constructed and tested a pilot plant heater to develop an understanding of the heating process and to ensure that the RNP heaters were appropriately sized. This testwork used RNP slurry at design density and viscosity on a 450 mm diameter, 6500 mm high column. The pilot plant testwork demonstrated the intrinsic efficiency of the direct steam condensation heating process, which was essentially independent of slurry density and viscosity. Presence of non-condensable gases in the steam phase decreased the heat transferred in certain circumstances, but heater performance remained consistent with thermodynamic limitations. Stagewise heat transfer within the column was rapid, and suggested either a very high slurry surface area or excellent heat transfer within the slurry phase. While the testwork did not set out to distinguish between these effects, physical evidence pointed to droplet formation in the inter-tray shower zone, giving a high heat transfer area. For scale-up purposes, the key facts were that the heat transfer rate was not limited by using high viscosity slurries and heaters could be designed using the principles applied to the smaller of those in existing operations. This paper discusses existing slurry heater designs, the current understanding from open literature, the pilot plant testwork, results and analysis, and scale-up to commercial sized equipment.

Jan 1, 2005

By C. T. Holland

This discussion is concerned with those com-J- paratively infrequent bumps that eject material from the failed mass with enough energy to wreck heavy machinery and seriously injure or kill people. In such cases there is a loud report, and the pressure waves set up in the mine atmosphere wreck ventilation controls several hundred feet from the site of the failure. Vibrations are induced in the earth's crust which may be detected several miles from the point of origin, and explosive gases may be released in large quantities." Usually a dense suspension of dust is produced from the failed mass, together with dust placed in suspension by the resulting air blast. These rock bursts or bumps have also been called mountain shots, bounces, pillar bursts, and crumps. Such occurrences, when extensive, are serious catastrophes, and may force abandonment of the mine.' CAUSES OF ROCK BURSTS Rock bursts in coal mines have occurred in sev-eral places under diverse geological conditions, mining methods, and/or practices. A study of many such occurrences indicates that they depend on the following conditions: 1) cover thickness of 500 ft or more, 2) cover composed of strong members and having a strong member lying close to or on the coal bed, and 3) a floor that does not readily heave. The minimum thickness of cover under which coal mine rock bursts occur is based on observation. Under unusual circumstances involving very strong roof members and/or mining systems, and/or practices especially likely to induce bursts, a burst conceivably could occur under less roof. Under special circumstances rock bursts have occurred in marble quarries almost at the surface.' Furthermore, under very heavy cover it is likely that controlling roof members need not be as strong and as close to the coal bed to cause bumps. Just what constitutes a strong roof or roof member is open to question. Obviously the strength of a roof member is determined by its thickness, the distance between bedding planes across which little or no bond exists, the spacing and development of joints, and the inherent strength of the rock material. Strata sections showing roofs under which rock bursts in coal mines have developed are illustrated in Fig. 2. In several instances the strength of rocks composing the roof of mines developing bumps has been tested. The tests (Table I) show that these rocks develop considerable strength in compression, bending, and shear and that in some cases the strengths are very high. No quantitative data are available concerning joints in roof members over coal beds where rock bursts have occurred, but the author has examined many mines subject to bursts and has received the impression that joints in the shales immediately over the coal beds are always present and well developed. In the main sandstone or conglomerate members themselves, however, where observed, he has yet to see a fracture system indicating well developed joints. Undoubtedly joints are present, but the evidence indicates that they are few, poorly developed, and widely spaced. In a mine subject to bumps, moreover, actual measurements of roof spans up to 225 ft between supports under a cover of about 800 ft have been made before roof failure occurred. Such spans signify strong roof. In coal beds subject to rock bursts, the bottom rock is usually a sandy shale. A few tests (Table I) have been made on the floor rock of coal beds. Observations in mines indicate that they are usually weaker than roof rocks and that under load they show more plastic effects. Observation in ground subject to bursts invariably indicates a relatively strong floor highly resistant to heaving, although some heaving may occur. Other factors listed as favorable to rock bursts are: 1) mountainous surface; 2) steeply dipping beds; 3) proximity of faults, folds, and other similar geologic structures. Many bursts have occurred in mines under mountainous country, although many bursts in mines under a surface with little relief indicate that thickness of cover, not relief, is the essential factor. In steeply dipping beds, many bursts occur in mines that are essentially flat, and rock bursts have been recorded in beds dipping as much as 35o Most rock bursts in the U. S. occur in beds that dip less than 10 pct. It is also true that most U. S. coal is produced from beds dipping less than 10 pct. Geologically, faults are regarded as providing stress relief, but in the vicinity of faults, as well as sharp folds, it would seem that residual stresses could be present. The fact that rock bursts occur in areas remote from faults and sharp folds suggests that their presence is not necessary for this phenomenon to take place. There have been many bursts close to faults and folds, and it may be assumed that occasionally such structures accentuate their occurrence3 The conditions and circumstances under which they occur, coupled with the effects produced, leave In the Crowsnest Pass coalfield, British Columbia, a rock burst is estimated to have released 1.8 million cu ft of methane.

Jan 1, 1959

By C. Q. Cupps

Rate of gas diffusion in reservoir oil has been investigated in an effort to explain the variation in oil characteristics observed in the Weber Sandstone reservoir, Rangely field, Colorado. Coefficients of gas diffusion were determined experimentally for the Rangely oil system and used in a mathematical simulation of gas diffusion during the probable life of the Rangely reservoir, estimated at 65 million years. The simulator involved solution of Fick's law for diffusion in two dimensions by the method of finite difference and successive over-relaxation. The results show that continuing gas diffusion is a logical explanation for the variation in oil characteristics at Rangely and that the pattern of gas distribution by diffusion in an asymmetrical reservoir will not conform to structural contours as originally proposed.

Jan 1, 1971

The Cowarra gold mine is at latitude 36°O'S. and longitude 149°19'E. which is roughly 20 miles north-north-east of Cooma.The deposit was· originally worked towards the end of the last century, but the presence of sulphides associated with the gold in the primary zone caused cessation of work when that zone was reached.GEOLOGY AND MINERALIZATIONThe principal country rocks are sandstones and shales of Silurian and Ordovician age, both very strongly folded with structural pitches ranging from a few degrees to almost vertical. The mine proper is within Silurian rocks and the main orebody (there are several minor parallel bodies) is developed within a shear striking approximately north, dipping approximately 70° east, and ranging in width from 2 ft to 15 ft but averaging about 4 ft.This shear is impregnated with quartz and sulphides with which the gold is associated. The predominant sulphide is pyrite though pyrrhotite is commonly present in quantity.Arsenopyrite and bornite are present in smaller amounts.Stillwell (1936, 1937a, 1937b, 1938, 1941) has published five mineragraphic reports on the ore.The various levels have been mapped in detail (Figs. 1-3) and the No. 2 level plan (Fig. 1) shows the general relationship of shearing, as now indicated by mineralization, and faulting. There is no apparent connection between the fold structures and mineralization.Fig. 3 is a longitudinal projection showing the distribution of gold expressed as inch-ounces. The estimation of...

Jan 1, 1965

By N. Jovanovic, A. Vazirizadeh

"The main objective of this study is to find a solution to design a mass flow observer system with the minimum required sensors and maximum observability for a mineral processing plant. The second objective is designing a mass flow observer configuration with high reliability to manage sensor failures. This configuration will provide a robust monitoring system that increases plant availability and process measurement fault detection. Furthermore, the monitoring system is expected to improve process efficiency. In this investigation, the procedure of designing an observer system is presented along with three models to design the sensor network. The advantages and disadvantages of each models are discussed and finally the models result for an industrial case are presented and analyzed. INTRODUCTION The concepts of observability and redundancy of mass flow are directly linked with the ability to solve and estimate the mass flow. There are hundreds of streams in a process plant flowsheet, and for technical and economic reasons it is not possible to measure all mass flows. It is thus important to know for a set of measured streams, which of the unmeasured streams can be estimated. The concept of observability deals with this issue. It is also valuable to know whether a measured mass flow of streams can be estimated even if a sensor fails for some reason. Redundancy deals with this failure question. A stream is said to be observable if it can be estimated by using the measurements and/ or mass conservation equations. Also, a stream is redundant if it is observable even when its measurement is removed. Observability and redundancy analysis can be exploited for adding new measuring instruments. It can also play a useful role in efficient decomposition and data reconciliation problem (Narasimhan and Jordache 1999). The value of an observer system cannot be justified without considering its benefits. This justification is done through evaluation of data reconciliation, gross error detection and improving process performance such as outlined below:"

Jan 1, 2018

By R. J. Dippenaar, J. C. van den Berg

This paper describes an investigation into the prereduction of hematite fines in a fluidized-bed reactor as a means by which they can be prepared for direct smelting in a transfered-arc plasma furnace. A single-stage fixed fluidized bed reactor using the in situ gasification of coal was employed. It is shown that the hematite is reduced to magnetite at 1000 QC, the degree of reduction being limited by the inherent shortcomings of a single-stage reactor in which both the gasification and the reduction reactions have to occur. Methods by which the degree of reduction can be increased are suggested. The gasification process was studied in some detail, and three different reducing agents are compared. The dominating effect of the Boudouard reaction on the behaviour of the fluidized bed is clearly illustrated. Non-coking coals of high reactivity are best suited to this process, a finding that would complement the trend away from coke as a metallurgical reducing agent.

Jan 1, 1989

By J. G. Richardson, K. H. Coats

During the initial growth of a gas bubble in an aquifer storage reservoir the injected gas tends to override the water. The resulting low displacement efficiency and high rate of gas travel down-structure make it difficult to maintain water-free production. This paper illustrates the use of two-dimensional, two-phase calculations to simulate this gas-water displacement. Calculations were performed for a stratified aquifer and for several homogeneous sands differing in permeability, porosity and thickness. Results are discussed and compared with performance predictions obtained from the simpler Buckley-Leuerett and Dietz formulas. This comparison indicates the necessity for the two-dimensional calculations in realistically simulating the gravity override of the water by injected gas. INTRODUCTION In recent years natural gas has been stored near markets in aquifers where insufficient storage capacity is available in depleted fields. Operators of these aquifer storage reservoirs have encountered technical problems relating to the gas-water displacement accompanying initial growth of the gas bubble. Injected gas tends to override the water, with a resultant low displacement efficiency and high rate of gas travel down-structure toward spill points. Low displacement efficiency makes if difficult to sustain water-free gas production. Sometimes the fingering of gas down-structure may be so pronounced that the injection rate must be severely curtailed, which excessively lengthens the time required for bubble growth. This paper is concerned with estimating — for given aquifer characteristics and fluid properties — the displacement efficiency, rate of gas movement down-structure and rate of gravity drainage of water behind the gas front. Several published articles relate to simulative capability necessary to handle this problem. The Dietz formula1 and Buckley-Leverett2 method have some applicability to the problem; Woods and comer3 reported one-dimensional, radial calculations which accounted for the two-phase flow of gas and water. Most recent research directed toward understanding aquifer behavior in relation to gas storage has concentrated on single-phase flow in aquifer.4 Douglas, Peaceman and Rachford5 presented a method for calculating multidimensional two-phase flow in reservoirs; their method has been applied in work reported by Nielsen and Tek,6 Blair and peaceman7 and Goddin.8 Refs. 5 and 7 show comparisons between experimental data and calculations similar to those employed here. One purpose of this paper is to illustrate the use of two-dimensional, two-phase flow calculations in simulating the difficult problem of water displacement by gas in a vertical cross-section. The pronounced fluid density and viscosity differences combine with the disparity in horizontal and vertical dimensions of the cross-section to pose one of the more difficult problems in reservoir simulation. The calculations described account for capillary and gravity forces, relative permeability and reservoir heterogeneity. An example reservoir is described and calculated results are presented for a variety of injection rates and values of permeability, reservoir thickness and dip angle. A second purpose is to compare the two-dimensional calculations with results obtained from the Buckley-Leverett and Dietz formulas. For this reason most calculations were performed for a simplified example reservoir to which the latter techniques might reasonably be applied. However, the computer program employed applies equally well to cases involving arbitrary spatial variations of permeability, porosity, reservoir thickness and dip angle.

By A. W. Effinger

The Bureau of Mines used regression analysis and applied statistical methods in an effort to rationalize the results of an experiment examining the effects of certain variables on carbon deposition in a reservoir for thermal recovery of petroleum. Although none of the 15 trials of the original experiment resulted in the response of weight-percent of carbon regarded by the experimenter as adequate, values calculated using canonical analysis in two trials yielded responses 33 and 54 percent higher than the minimum acceptable figure. The actual responses differed by less than 3 and 6 percent, respectively, from the predicted responses. Methods are described for defining a path of increasing response based on the minimum point and the response surfaces and for defining a set of values for the parameters in question, which result in increased response, A detailed explanation of the mathematical process used in this analysis is presented in the appendix for ease in computer programing the technique.

Jan 1, 1970

By F. F. Peng, Y. Xia

In modeling of hindered-settling bed separators, the published separation mechanisms are based on differences of particle density and size distributions, without the details of complexity of particles-liquid interactions. A fluid dynamic model for the separator is developed using Euler-Lagrange approach of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Fluid motion is obtained from solving the movement of liquid governing equations. The damping effect on flow pat-terns caused by the movement of particles resulted in liquid-particle coupling is included in the model. Effects of particle size, and particle density compositions, feed rate, feed water flow rate, upward fluidizing water flow rate, etc., are simulated in the 2-D separation model. Flow pattern effects on the separation of fine particles in the separators with center downward-flow and side cross-flow feed systems are investigated.

Jan 1, 2004

By B. D. Hanson

An interactive computer program has been developed by the Bureau of Mines which enables the user to identify the effect of cutting system changes on relative dust generation for longwall shearer drums. The program simultaneously evaluates machine and coal seam parameters, and those parameters which the user can control. The user can change one or more of these parameters at a time to determine their effect on relative dust generation, cutting forces, and/or cost. The program is written in the BASIC programming language. A complete program listing is included along with user instructions and sample outputs. This program is a more comprehensive version of the relative dustiness index (REDI) program described in Bureau Report of Investigations 8979.

Jan 1, 1988

By Paul Torrey

IN his recent article, Stanley C. Herold described some of the principles involved in oil-field rejuvenation. The purpose of this paper is to present certain facts, based upon observations of systematic water flooding of oil sands in the Bradford and Allegany fields of northwestern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York, which, it is believed, will partially substantiate Mr. Herold's opinions. The writer gratefully acknowledges his obligation to the Forest Oil Corpn., the Kendall Refining Co., the Petroleum Reclamation Co., W. J. Healey, of Bradford, Pa., and the Producers Oil Corpn., of Olean, N. Y., for information included in this article; and he is especially indebted to Jerry B. Newby, of the Petroleum Reclamation Co., for helpful suggestions and criticism in the preparation of the paper. It is obvious that, in the calculation of mathematical formulas for the prediction of oil recovery, uniform conditions must be assumed; otherwise, the applicability of the results of such work will be, by necessity, restricted to the area or individual property for which they were designed. Geologic and physical conditions are so variable throughout the fields where water flooding is practiced that it is difficult to devise methods that can be universally applicable. However, it is believed that there are certain fundamental principles which, when applied with specific modifications designed to meet the conditions existing in local areas or individual properties, may yield considerably greater recoveries of oil.

Jan 1, 1927

By K Firmin

The Mt Tom Price orebody of Hamersley Iron Pty Limited consists of a folded hematite - shale sequence capped by a layer of goethite. Consequently, variations in iron content occur within the ore body, and as the overall grade is below that required to make specification products, selective mining must be carried out. A necessary preliminary to quality control of products based on selective mining is the production of advance data on the tonnages and grades of material to be expected in future mining areas. Bench plans showing zones of different grades and types of material anticipated are prepared from structural geological information. The grades of materials on a bench are essentially governed by the positions and attitudes of the shale bands. Quality control is exercised by blending different grades and types of material in primary crusher feed. Iron grade is the prime grade consideration although sometimes the level of phosphorus content must be considered. Pre-production grades are determined from assay of samples taken from blast hole cuttings. As shales are more friable than hematite, product fines are always lower in iron grade than the lump product. The realisation of contract specification grade is more difficult with fines than with lump, so maintaining the correct fines grade becomes a prime factor in quality control. Control of fines grade is presently effected by aiming for an appropriate feed grade to the primary stockpile. Studies to estimate fines grade directly by qualitatively taking into account material types are in progress. Quality control measures are checked by monitoring the crushing and screening plant output, and taking appropriate compensatory actions in the mine when required. Minor fluctuations in quality of fines can be blended out on stockpiles. The quality control measures described ensure constant quality products, and a good recovery of high grade material from the deposit.

Jan 1, 1971

By R. L. King

This report describes a method for designing and constructing ground beds that has been developed under the sponsorship of the Bureau of Mines. The procedures for designing and constructing a driven-rod ground bed with a resistance of 5 ohms or less are given. Some of the theory of soil resistivity and fall-of-potential resistance measurements is included. Results of a bed constructed at the Bureau of Mines mine car roadway are presented.

Jan 1, 1978

By Edward A. Nowatzki

The purpose of this paper is to present an example of the application of a theoretically derived mathematical model for track-soil interaction to the evaluation of the mobility of large-scale mining equipment used in open pit operations. The model described by Karafiath and Nowatzki (1978) and presented in detail by Karafiath (1978) was used to predict the performance characteristics of four different bucket wheel excavators (BWEs) on rwo types of copper mill tailings at various moisture conditions. The BWEs considered In the analyses are two-and three-tracked continuous excavators. Most have boom-mounted rotating buckets and swinging side- or rear-discharge conveyors. The analyses were performed at the request of Dames and Moore for the Kennecott Corporation's proposed remining of selected tailings deposits at the McGill, Nevada, concentrator. The objectives of the analyses were to determine whether BWEs would have sufficient mobility In the tailings deposit to achieve satisfactory production rates, and TO compare the predicted performance of the various BWEs evaluated. Good qualitative agreement was obtained between the results of the theoretical analyses performed for the McGil1 operation and the actual performance of BWEs in two South African gold mine tailings impoundments.

Jan 1, 1980