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By C. S. Matthews, H. C. Lefkovits

The performance of depletion-type reservoirs at the stage in which the gas is at such low pressure that gravity is essentially the sole driving force has been investigated both theoretically and by use of scaled models. A simple theory is developed which completely explains the scaled model experiments. It also agrees with some field data. When the range of production rates to be considered is less than 25, the theory predicts that the production rate decline curve for homogeneous reservoirs in which there is a free surface will be of the hyperbolic type with n = 2: The theory gives a physical significance to the parameter y. INTRODUCTION This investigation was undertaken to determine a method for prediction of performance of reservoirs where gravity is the sole driving agent. Depletion-type reservoirs fall into this category after the pressure has fallen to some low value. Some examples of this type are found at Healdton ('Oklahoma), Oklahoma City (Oklahoma), Midway-Sunset (California), and East Coalinga (California). Generally the production rate per unit thickness is quite low in such reservoirs, with the conse- quence that this stage is sometimes called the stripper stage. However, per well production rates may be of the order of 50 B/D because of the considerable sand thickness open in some of the reservoirs. In the past, predictions of behavior of such reservoirs have been based on empirical extrapolation of the rate of production to the economic limit. Difficulties arise when new wells are drilled in the field or when production is artificially curtailed, since in such cases the decline rate of individual wells or leases changes and no clear trend can be detected. It was hoped that the present study would lead to improved methods for evaluation of such reservoirs. The study was initiated by building a scaled model for a particular field and by running a number of experiments on this model. Later a simple theory was developed which explained the laboratory results completely. The theory led, as shown below, to a hyperbolic-type decline equation which had been used previously' in a completely empirical manner. THEORY The General Case The problem to be treated here is the following: We are given a homogeneous cylindrical porous reservoir with exterior radius r, wellbore radius r., and height h,, containing, from the bottom up to a height hit oil, some gas, and interstitial water (see Fig. 1 A). The portion of the reservoir between K, and h, is filled with gas at low pressure, with residual oil, and with interstitial water. If at a time t = 0, the level of the oil in the wellbore is lowered to a height h,, what is the production rate from the reservoir at a time to The configuration within the reservoir at some instant

Jan 1, 1957

By S. S. Clarke

The sheet-ground deposits of the Tri-State district, because they are fairly uniform in thickness (7 to II ft.)—rather flat, with an easy dip to the west—and cover a large acreage, offered a problem of improved transportation. Heading advance in this kind of mine is very rapid and track haulage requires a larger crew of trackmen than do other mines, and a heavy investment in track. The use of some type of rubber-tired truck equipment for underground haulage was under consideration for some time by the Eagle-Picher Mining and Smelting Co. The nature of some ore bodies made them not adaptable to truck haulage and some mines that did offer possibilities were equipped with other types of haulage, and the expected savings by the use of trucks did not offset the loss of investment that would be incurred in discarding other equipment. The decision was made to sink a new shaft, designed for skip hoisting, on the Blue Goose ore body, and then develop truck equipment. Developing Tractors and Trailers A study was made of internal-combustion engines for power units in the tractors, but the extreme difficulty of controlling air circulation, and the heavy cost of drilling large churn drill holes for blower installations, led to the adoption of a tractor with a storage battery. The storage-battery tractor that was on the market for mine haulage was impossible to obtain because all were needed for defense work. Several standard electric-truck chassis were purchased and rebuilt in the Eagle-Picher shops. The steering wheel was shortened and set vertical, permitting the driver's seat to be moved forward, and the frame was shortened enough to take the battery box and the fifth wheel support that carried the gooseneck of the dump trailer. The fifth wheel, or turntable, is of the ball and socket type. Tig. I shows the ball fastened to the gooseneck. The socket is split to permit introduction of the ball and is held by through-bolts, and the socket is welded to a ½-in. plate, which in turn is attached to the tractor frame. Smaller wheels and tires were put on to reduce over-all height. If it had been necessary, the spring: could have been reversed, or taken off entirely, to gain additional clearance. The tractors are equipped with 48-cell, 23-plate, 400-A.H. batteries. With the initial tonnage and mileage, the batteries were about 50 per cent down at the end of a shift. Tractors have truck tires 7.50 by 20, 8-ply, front and rear, the rear being dud. After four months of use, the .tires are beginning to show signs of failure.* In

Jan 1, 1943

By K. M. Deen, E. Asselin

Hydrometallurgical processes, i.e., Cu extraction from a mineral concentrate and Zn electrowinning, are coupled in a battery-like system. A naturally-sourced CuFeS2 concentrate mixed with activated carbon is used as a positive slurry electrode separated by a membrane from the negative compartment. The Zn is deposited on the negative Al current collector from the circulating solution containing 100 g L–1 Zn2+ in 0.2 M H2SO4. In this battery-like system, both CuFeS2 oxidation and Zn deposition are possible during the charging cycle. The additional benefit of this setup is the energy storage if discharged by re-dissolving the Zn in the negative compartment. Cyclic charge/discharge testing revealed oxidation of the mineral concentrate supported by the Zn2+/Zn redox reaction. The coulombic and energy efficiencies increased monotonically to 95.6% and 43%, respectively, with approximately 7% Cu extraction during the first 10 charge/discharge cycles (completed in 2.4 hours). The discharge energy density also increased from 2.7 to 36.2 mWh L–1. In the following 90 cycles, the low energy (~14%) and coulombic (~33%) efficiencies that were obtained confirmed the progress of irreversible reactions e.g. Cu extraction from the mineral concentrate. Overall, approximately 16% Cu was extracted from the mineral concentrate over 100 charge/discharge cycles (or about 12.2 hours). INTRODUCTION Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) is the main economic copper-bearing mineral, which is generally processed through pyro-metallurgical methods to produce Cu. However, environmental challenges with smelting, depletion of high-grade ores and a large number of impurities (some toxic) have resulted in continued research aimed at the development of hydrometallurgical technologies to process CuFeS2. There are a number of different proposed hydrometallurgical routes in the literature to treat CuFeS2 concentrates, but only a few have attained commercial acceptance (Dreisinger, 2006). Zn is another commercially important metal that is mainly produced via acid leaching of roasted sphalerite (ZnS). The pregnant leach solution is rigorously purified to remove all the soluble metal impurities, particularly those that are electrochemically more noble than Zn and present large kinetic activity towards H2 evolution (Hu & Piron, 1992; Mackinnon, Brannen, & Fenn, 1987; Mureşan, Maurin, Oniciu, & Gaga, 1996). Metal impurities such as Cu, Co, Ni, Cd, Pb, Sb, As, Ge and Fe etc., if they exist in the leach liquor beyond the tolerance limits, can decrease the current efficiency during electrowinning and deteriorate the deposit quality (Alfantazi & Dreisinger, 2001). A complete flow sheet, describing the process steps of Zn metal production from mine site to pure metal is presented elsewhere (Brown, Meisenhelder, & Yao, 1983).

Jan 1, 2019

By R. Andre, R. L. Grayson, T. Simonyi

"Results from research directed at determining the reason(s) for the ""rank factor"" in correlations between coal workers' pneumoconiosis incidence and coal seam of employment are presented. Using compliance dust samples collected from two longwall panels operating in coal seams of widely different rank, respirable particles were identified by mineral species under manual scanning electron microscope (SEM) energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis and then further characterized by their physical diameter, general shape, and periphery angularity. Size fractional, mineralogical variations are presented.Of primary significance, the percentage of mineral particles from the higher rank coal seam that were uncontaminated by non-stoichiometric elements for a specific mineral species was twice that of those in the lower rank seam. The relationship held for each mineral species, including quartz. This fact may form the basis for the ""rank factor"" known to exist as well as provide a reason for the contradictory role of quartz and other minerals in previous CWP studies.An important subsequent research priority is now focusing on determining the percent¬age of all respirable dust particles that are minerals versus single-phase organic or multi-phase organic-inorganic complexes. This effort will be accomplished usingautomated SEM-EDX. The mineral purity factor will be developed further, but additional emphasis will be focused on determining the extent of inorganic inclusions in organic particles."

Jan 1, 1988

By AMAN SONI, JONATHAN G. BAGGETT, Nino Ripepi, JUAN J. MONSALVE, Richard Bishop

Underground stone mines are vulnerable to karst void formations due to the erosion of carbonate rocks by groundwater flow. The voids or cavities may lead to hazards including ground collapse and sudden outflow of clay-rock sediments during the development of the mine. This study evaluates the effect of karst voids on the strength of pillars in an underground room-and-pillar limestone mine. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were interpreted to map the void boundaries inside a karst-affected pillar. A combination of LiDAR scanning and virtual discontinuity mapping is used to formulate the discrete fracture network (DFN). Discrete element modeling (DEM) helps simulate the effect of karsts and discontinuities in the pillar models with varying stress. It is observed that the cavities may lead to a significant reduction in pillar strength. Apart from posing a hazard to miners and machinery, any advance into these cavities may disrupt mine operations. This research serves as an initial step toward understanding the importance of pillar design in underground stone mines affected by karst voids to prevent local instability or pillar failures.

Sep 1, 2022

By G. S. Scott

It is sometimes desirable to know what changes in sizing characteristics would appear in screened coals if screens of different - size openings than those employed had been used . This report is concerned entirely with the application of the Rosin- Rammler law to a solution of this problem .

Dec 1, 1943

By H. H. Bein

Most western industrial sands are feldspathic and contain feldspars in variahle amounts. A few deposits will show alumina contents of less than one per cent while others will contain over twelve per cent alumina. Some industries are not especially concerned with the amount of contained feldspar but are interested only in color and in size gradations. Other industries, however, are very much interested in alumina content and set up quite rigid specifications as to this content. Several western plants are beneficiating crude sands both to reduce the iron content and to control the feldspar content. At present, most of these plants are using flotation processes for both controls although a few plants do use magnetic separators for the reduction of iron content. Some work has also been done with electrostatic separators for the feldspar-quartz splits. The Sand Division of Del Monte Properties Company, Pebble Beach, California, has been operating a flotation plant for iron removal and the separation of quartz and feldspar since 1950. As mentioned before, control of alumina, especially in the quartz product, is very important. Some users require an alumina content of less than two per cent and others will demand a product of less than one per cent Al2,O3,. The standard Quinolate method for determining alumina is lengthy and time consuming. The HF —H2SO4 evaporation step is especially critical and, if forced, spattering is apt to occur with a resulting loss of sample. Standard procedure is to evaporate to dry ness overnight at a low temperature. Even with forcing under optimum conditions the procerlnre will take two or three hours to complete. A new method has been developed which allows an alumina determination to be made, in 10 or 15 minutes, on a sample of the quartz product as it is being produced. This pocedure, although simply an approximation, has been most helpful in showing whether or not the product being formed is meeting specifications. This procedure has also allowed a great reduction in samples formerly taken and analysed by the orthodox method. Whether a sample assays 1.75% A12O3, or 1.95% .41,0, is not so important as the fact that it is below the allowable maximum of 2.00%. Similar thinking would apply to products required to contain less than 1.00% A1,0,. The step by step procedures for the method are as follows: 1. Collect sample, drain or filter, and dry. 2. Split sample through standard Jones sample cutter to quarter or eighth sample, depending on size of original sample taken, then split down to about 5 grams through Sepor micro-splitter. 3. Screen through 50 mesh sieve (U.S. Series) and reject undersize. 4. Weigh out 2 grams and place in platinum crucible. 5. Etch with 3-5 mls 38.40% HF for 1 minute at room temp. 6. Decant and wash. 7. Stain for two minutes in same crucible with a 1% water solution of Nigrosene dye. 8. Decant and wash well. 9. Dry.

Jan 1, 1961

By W Zhu, J H. Zhao, H Ma

The permeability coefficient is an essential parameter for the study of seepage flow in fractured rock mass. This paper discusses the feasibility and application value of using readily available RQD (rock quality index) data to estimate mine water inflow and grouting quantity. Firstly, the influence of different fracture frequencies on permeability in a unit area was explored by combining numerical simulation and experiment, and the relationship between fracture frequencies and pressure and flow velocity at the monitoring point in fractured rock mass was obtained. Then, the stochastic function generation program was used to establish the flow analysis model in fractured rock mass to explore the relationship between flow velocity, pressure and analyse the universal law between fracture frequency and permeability. The concepts of fracture width and connectivity are introduced to modify the permeability calculation formula and grouting formula. Finally, based on the on-site grouting water control case study, the rock mass quality index is used to estimate the mine water inflow and the grouting quantity. The results show that it is feasible to estimate the fracture frequency and then calculate the permeability coefficient by RQD. The relationship between fracture frequency and RQD and the relationship between structure surface frequency and permeability follow an exponential function. The calculation results are in good agreement with the field monitoring results, which verifies the rationality of the calculation method. The relationship between the rock mass RQD index and the rock mass permeability established in this paper can be used to invert the mechanical parameters of the rock mass or to evaluate the permeability and safety of the rock mass, which is of great significance to the prediction of mine water inflow and the safety evaluation of water inrush disaster management.

Nov 29, 2022

By J. L. Rodda

A large amount of time has been devoted to the microscopical study of the copper-zinc alloys, emphasis naturally being placed upon the commercially important alloys of the system. Suitable methods are available for microscopically recognizing the two phases richest in copper, Per cent,by weight FIG. 1.-COPPER-ZINC EQUILIBRIUM DIAGRAM. (Frond National Metals Handbook, 1933.) but none appear to have been developed for the positive identification of the other phases. This is, however, accomplished, for the phases normally encountered, by an electrolytic method described in the following pages. Five phases of the copper-zinc diagram (Fig. 1) are considered for the purpose of this paper: the solid solution of zinc in copper, alpha (a); the intermediate phases, beta (ß), gamma (y), and epsilon (e); and the solid solution of copper in zinc, eta (n). Beta prime is not considered a separate

Jan 1, 1936

By G. N. Panagiotou

SIMPTOL, a computer simulation program written in FORTRAN IV for use with Cyber 171/8 System at the National Technical University of Athens, describes the mining operations in an opencast lignite mine operating Bucket Wheel Excavators, Conveyors and Stackers. The central objective of the program is to aid management in the selection of a BWE-Conveyor-Stacker System for a given lignite deposit and equipment layout. Much information can be gained from the program with proper manipulation of the input data, which refer to mining profile, soil characteristics, equipment specifications and availabilities and time study data. The other objective of the program is to aid production scheduling in terms of forecasting production rates of the system. The program has been applied to Kardia lignite mine to evaluate its usefulness to represent the actual situation of the system being simulated.

Jan 1, 1983

By Gilbert Thiessen

THE purposes of this paper are (1) to show that the mineral matter content of coal is satisfactorily represented by the Parr formula; that is, Mineral matter = 1.08 Ash + 0.55 Total sulfur (2) to compare ash-to-mineral-matter ratios with factors by which ash values must be multiplied in order that dry, factor-times-ash-free values shall equal Parr unit coal values; (3) to examine such ash-correction factors and to compare them with similar factors corresponding to certain simplifications or modifications of the Parr formulas and (4) to show that ash-correction factors used for simplification in calculating approximate unit coal calorific values cannot be. correctly used for the conversion of other determined values in an analysis to the unit coal basis, but that each type of calculation requires separate treatment in simplification.

Jan 1, 1934

By Shulin Nie

The detonability of a chemically gassed emulsion explosive has been studied in recent tests, after the study of three micro-balloon sensitized emulsion explosives. Blasting experiments in steel pipes and computer simulation have been carried out. This study showed that the gassed emulsion explosive and the micro-balloon sensitized emulsion explosives have different desensitization features. Namely, the gassed emulsion explosive can recover its detonability very rapidly after the pressure vanishes, in contrary to the micro-balloon sensitized explosives.

Jan 1, 1997

By Jacob Lychenheim

IN connection with the manufacture of special Beseemer pig, containing .030 per Cent. or less of phosphorus, it was found that the phosphorus in anthracite varied so greatly that it was necessary to sample and analyze each car-load. This, of course, in addition to our routine work, involved a considerable amount of extra trouble, and some experiments were made, with the view of cutting down the time and labor of the determination to a minimum.

Jan 1, 1895

Several common ratios used for determining spontaneous combustion activity rely on comparing the amount of various products of oxidation with the amount of oxygen consumed to produce these products. As coal gets hotter, oxidation reactions become more efficient meaning more products produced for less oxygen consumed. There are many problems associated with accurately determining the true amount of oxygen used. These problems relate to the monitoring technique (and its associated uncertainties) used to generate the results, deficiencies in the established equations utilized in calculations, dilution with other gases and other sources of oxygen depletion. Typically the oxygen deficiency is over estimated, resulting in the under estimation of the indicating ratio. For this reason the use of ?one off? calculations to determine the status of the underground environment is not recommended. Instead trends of these ratios should be used to identify increases which indicate an increase in oxidation intensity. This paper outlines problems associated with the monitoring techniques and equations used to determine the oxygen deficiency.

Jan 1, 2009

By I. Iwasaki

Platinum group elements (PGE) are often found in arsenide and sulfarsenide minerals as inclusions in copper-nickel bearing gabbroic rocks. Major losses of platinum in flotation have been attributed to the poor recoveries of the arsenic minerals. Flotation characteristics of a synthetic nickel arsenide and arsenopyrite were studied through rest potential and oxidation rate determinations, surface analyses, and micro-and batch-flotation tests. The use of nitrogen during grinding and flotation together with copper activation improved the PGE recoveries from Duluth Complex ores. The flotation behaviors of the sulfarsenide minerals are still unresolved. The role that electrochemical interactions play among arsenides, sulfarsenides, sulfides and grinding media on their f10atabilities is discussed.

Jan 1, 1988

The advantages of quantitative environmental risk assessment techniques over the more commonly used qualitative approach is widely accepted. One important parameter related to the level of risk is the extent and geographic spread of pollutants. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide a powerful and highly flexible tool that increases the sophistication of the risk assessment methodology. Through spatial representation, the estimated risk becomes more comprehensive, thus facilitating the decision making process. In addition, valuable qualitative information can be incorporated into the risk assessment procedure with the help of GIS. This paper illustrates a methodology for quantifying risks posed to human health, by exposure to contaminated land, in a manner, which gives a measure of the uncertainty in the assessment and preserves the spatial distribution of the risks. The case study utilised to illustrate the methodology is a large industrial area around a number of decommissioned minerals production and processing sites with known high heavy metal loads at Lavrio, Greece. The spatial distribution of Pb concentration in soils was derived from 425 soil samples collected over a total area of 120 km2. Indicator kriging was used to quantify the spatial distribution of the risk and related uncertainty and the results displayed in map form using GIS.

Jan 1, 2003

By A. R. Kinkel

The Shasta copper-zinc district of northern California lies in the foothills of the Klamath Mountains at the northern end of the Sacramento Valley. It contains two main areas of base-metal ore deposits, the East Shasta and West Shasta districts shown in Fig. 1. The East Shasta includes the area from the Afterthought mine, near the settlement of Ingot on U. S. highway 299 East, to the Bully Hill mine, on the north side of the Pit River, 9 miles to the north- west. The West Shasta, a well-defined northeast- trending district about 8 miles long and 2 miles wide, west of the Sacramento River, Fig. 2, is the western part of the ore-bearing area formerly known as the Shasta copper belt. Referred to in the older writings as a copper arc, this belt was thought to form a crescent extending entirely around the head of the Sacramento Valley, the convex side to the north. Recent studies by the U. S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the California State Division of Mines show that there are two districts, one at each end of the so-called copper arc, which are distinct in geologic structure and ore occurrences, and that there is only sporadic and unconnected copper mineralization between them.

Jan 2, 1955

By Lawrence L. Davis

This chapter includes tables for 1981 that were not available in time for publication of the 1981 Minerals Yearbook, but does not include corresponding tables for 1982. The value of raw nonfuel minerals produced in the United States during 1982 was estimated at about $20 billion, a decrease of $5 billion compared with that of 1981. The decline in value is the first since 1971 and is the largest percentage drop since 1938. Although the domestic mining industry continued to be troubled by difficulties in attracting capital and by import competition from countries with lower overall production costs, the principal cause of the decline was sharply decreased demand brought on by the worldwide economic slowdown. Metal commodities were impacted most severely with only 4 of 21 metals registering production value gains and only 3 of 21 showing production quantity increases. Overall metal production value decreased 37% from that of 1981, a reflection of the domestic slowdown in the automobile and construction industries, which are major metal users, Overall production value of nonmetals decreased 12% compared with that of 1981, with only 14 out of 44 nonmetals showing increases. Nonmetal production quantities increased over 1981 for only 6 of the 44 nonmetals.

Jan 1, 1983

By E. S. Leaver

THE purpose of this paper is to describe, in a general way, gold-dredg-ing operations in California, with particular reference to unusual features, including types of deposits and recent attempts to improve the recovery of the gold. DREDGING AREAS The gold-bearing formations that traversed the western slope of the Sierra Nevadas for a north and south distance of some 300 miles furnished the immediate source of the gold found in most of the placer deposits of California.. Erosion through a long period carried the gold, together with various forms of partly disintegrated material, to lower elevations and formed placer deposits. Through the classifying action of water in motion, the coarser gold and heavier material of various kinds were deposited relatively near the source; consequently, in' the higher moun-tain country, old river channels were worked feverishly during the early California gold-rush days because of their high gold content. With the working out of these known high-grade channels, and from the knowledge thus obtained of prehistoric stream beds, drift mining was started and flourished until about 1890. Even today many drift mines are operating with the objective of opening other old Tertiary river channels that have been covered by volcanic flows.

Jan 1, 1937

By Gregory M. Molinda

Difficult mining conditions in deep western U.S. Iongwalls have necessitated the use of novel tailgate support systems. Extreme ground movement in these yielding gate systems has caused operators to utilize secondary support systems which match yield and strength characteristics with expected ground reaction. Other benefits include ventilation and safety gains, as well as lower costs. Recently, the use of novel support has been tried at longwall mines in other U.S. coal basins. One of the main considerations is the capability of the support to maintain an adequate airway for gob ventilation in gassy eastern coal mines. In one large Pennsylvania mine working the Pittsburgh seam, a number of support configurations were monitored over a 2,300 ft tailgate test area. The test included 4-pt wood cribs, Link-N-Lock cribs, Propsetter yieldable posts, cable trusses, and vertical cable bolts. Ground reaction, and thus support performance, was documented by roof sag and convergence instruments, ventilation measurements, and photographs. Various combinations of standing support and cable truss and vertical cable bolts provided adequate support for ventilation and safe escape. A cribless configuration consisting of only cable trusses and vertical cable bolts was inadequate to provide inby gob ventilation to the next open crosscut. Instrument ground movement data and visual documentation are presented.

Jan 1, 1997