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By R. D. West

Miscible displacenzent recovers all oil in the area contacted by the injected .fluid, whereas water or immiscible gas drives usually leave substantial amounts of oil as residual. However, the Door mobility ratios associated with a gas-driven miscible displacement cause the sweep pattern efficiency to be much lower than that obtained with water flooding. One way in which the sweep eficiency in a miscible displacement process can be increased is by decreasing the mobility behind the flooding front. This can be achieved by injecting water along with the gas which drives the miscible slug. This water reduces the relative permeability to gas in this area and thus lowers the total mobility. The main operating conditions for the simultaneous injection -vrocess are that a zone of gas exists between the miscible slug and the leading edge of the water and that a su,@cient amount of gas be injected with the water to form the pas volume which is being left in the water zone. Laboratory model studies have shown that the ultimate sweep pattern efficiency can be as high as 90 per cent for a five-spot flooding system. If gar alone is used as the driving medium an ultimate sweep-out efficiency of about 60 per cent would be obtained in the same system. I INTRODUCTION The miscible displacement processes are a step towards total oil recovery. Conventional gas or water drives usually leave 25 to 5.0 per cent of the oil as residual in the swept portion of the reservoir. This residual can be eliminated if the oil is driven by a fluid with which it is miscible. At some reservoir conditions natural gas will become miscible with the oil. This is the "high pressure gas process".' More often, the oil does not contain enough light hydrocarbons to cause the gas to become miscible with the oil at reasonable pressures. In these cases a small band of fluid which is miscible both with the oil and gas must be kept between them2. Less than 2 per cent of the reservoir volume of the slug material is needed to keep the displacement miscible. Both processes work in the same manner, recovering all of the oil in the portion of the reservoir contacted by the injected fluids. The only difference is the manner in which the miscibility between the oil and the injected gas is obtained. Previous publications have contained detailed descriptions of these processes.1,2,3,4 However, total displacement of the oil in the swept region does not guarantee an efficient recovery process. The amount of oil to be recovered is also determined by the fraction of the reservoir contacted by the flood. This fraction is largely determined by the mobilities of the fluids. (The fluid mobility is the permeability of the rock to that fluid divided by the fluid's viscosity, k/p). This. dependence of the fraction swept on the mobility ratio has been shown in previous studies. Fig. 1 shows the ultimate fraction swept in a five-spot system as a function of the mobility ratio. The small drawings show the location of the areas left unswept for two different mobility ratios. The ultimate fraction of the reservoir swept is here considered to be attained when the producing stream contains less than 5 per cent oil at reservoir conditions. THE GAS-DRIVEN MISCIBLE DISPLACEMENT Since there is no oil left in the swept region after miscible displacement the mobility in this region is very high. It is often 50 times the mobility in the unswept regions. This means that the fraction of the reservoir contacted by the injected fluid will be less for a gas-driven miscible displacement than for a conventional water or gas drive. For a five-spot injection system, water would contact the entire reservoir volume, and the low pressure gas would contact about 90 per cent of this volume, while a gas-driven miscible displacement would only contact about 65 per cent of the reservoir. This poor sweep efficiency often offsets the benefits obtained through miscible displacement. Fig. 2 shows what the recovery curves for the three processes might look like for a five-spot system. The curves show the fraction of the in-place oil recovered as a function of reser-

By P. G. West-Sells

At Barrick's Zaldivar Copper Mine in Chile, the addition of sulfuric acid to the ore going to heap leaching is a major expense. A process in which a portion of this acid is replaced by elemental sulfur added to the heap has been developed by Barrick and Westcoast Biotech that has the potential for significant cost savings. Initial shake flask tests with plant raffinate solution indicated that oxidation of elemental sulfur by a culture of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, some indigenous to the Zaldivar heap, showed a significant lag period. This lag period could be reduced by dilution of the raffinate, but dilution would not be economical to implement at Zaldivar. Short (0.75 m) column tests indicated that after the initial lag period, sulfur biooxidation occurred steadily and the acid requirement for obtaining the same copper recovery as the control without sulfur was reduced by as much as 13 kg/t. These tests were followed by taller (5.1 m) column tests that confirmed the reduction in acid consumption, with no negative effect on copper extraction.

Jan 1, 2007

By Barry K. McMahon

The fundamental problem in rock mechanics is accounting for the discontinuous and anisotropic nature of the jointed rock mass. It is this problem that makes rock mechanics distinct from the mechanics of steel, glass, or concrete. Existing mathematical models explain much of the behavior of rock cores in the laboratory but, in civil engineering at least, the rocks that matter are the ones that are already broken. On the other hand, the basically descriptive methods now used in engineering geology do not lend themselves easily to mathematical analysis. A set of indices of geological properties related to the strength and deformation characteristics of jointed rock is needed. Like the index properties used in soil mechanics these will probably not have precise mathematical meaning, but once correlations are established with large scale tests they can form a basis for the transfer of test results, obtained in one area under one set of conditions, to the prediction of rock behavior in another area under another set of conditions. Indices of rock properties are even more important in rock mechanics than in soil mechanics as the cost of testing is much higher. To be useful, these indices must be easily and quickly measured and give reproducible results when measurements are made by different people. In this paper the word "joint" means all naturally occurring rock fractures with less than 3 in. of clay or other soft coating material. EXISTING INDICES OF ROCK PROPERTIES A comprehensive review of indices of rock properties for intact rock is given by Deere and Miller.' They provide charts ". . . for estimating the strength or modulus properties for intact rock from the numerical indices obtained by either the Schmidt hammer, the Shore Scleroscope,

Jan 1, 1968

By S C. Goel

The Obuasi Mine in Ghana, West Africa is the largest producing gold mine in Africa, outside South Africa. The mine has changed from a mine producing from narrow vein, high grade quartz orebodies to a mine producing from wide, lower grade sulphide rebodies. Traditionally mining methods were cut and fill and sublevel caving. Now the preferred stoping methodologyis long hole open stoping. Transverse or longitudinal methods are both used, dependent on the orebody characteristics. The change has been technically, socially, economically and politicallychallenging and at times has tested the abilities of those responsible for the operation of the mine. However, the benefits have been many. Safety has improved significantly, ounces from underground have doubled. Productivityhas doubled and underground unit costs have reduced bya third. These achievements have allowed the Obuasi mine to staycompetiti ve in this time of falling gold price. During 1999 and 2000 a full review of the mining and processing operations was undertaken, and as a result, the mine is now in a phase of restructure. Efforts are being made across the mine to improve efficiencies and to reduce costs. The future for the Obuasi Mine is an exciting one.

Jan 1, 2000

By Saurabh Rastogi, Vikram Shishodia, B. Pitchumani

Comminution is a unit operation which consumes major part of energy in mineral processing industries such as fertilizer production. Ball mills are widely used for size reduction of a given ore to the liberation size that is required in further beneficiation processes. In grinding of materials much effort is concentrated on control of top size of the product and this results in production of fines, also creates secondary problems of pollution due to the difficulty in the collection of fine particles. The present work has been carried out to control product size distribution for rock phosphate grinding in an Industrial Ball Mill of 600 TPD. The plant data are taken for a given feed distribution and mill operating conditions. The information at various Ball Size distributions are collected. The comminution functions such as specific rate of breakage and breakage distribution functions are estimated by back calculation technique to solve the mass balance equation. A simulation program is written to study the product size distribution obtained for various ball size distribution.

Jan 1, 1993

Porphyry type mineralization of Lower Cretaceous age in eastern Queensland has been recognized only from the easternmost part of the northern New England Orogen (Day, Murray and Whitaker, 1978), within the northern Yarrol Province (Horton,1982). Recent work about the Mt. Suthers (Pb, Zn, Ag, Cu, Au), Lug-e-nor (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, Au, Mo), and German Tully (Cu, Au, Bi) prospects suggest that there has been a phase of porphyry type mineralization within the Gympie Province, of Lower Cretaceous age, overprinting earlier Permo-Triassic phases. About the Mt. Suthers Prospect surface samples of shallow, medium to heavy textured soils derived from marine sedimentary rocks of Permian age, and extrusive and intrusive igneous rocks of intermediate composition and Triassic age, were analysed for Cu, Zn, Pb, Co, Cr, Ni, Fe, V, Mn and Ag. Whereas strong iithological control determined the distribu- tion of Cu (diorite) and of Cr, Ni, Fe and V ,sedimentary rocks), the distribution of Pb, Zn, Ag and of Cu, were determined by mineralization of faults by a cavity fill hydrothermal process. Gold is associated with the Pb, Zn, Ag mineralization. Co and Mn showed distributions independent of lithology and structure. The fault controlled style of mineraliz- ation at Mt. Suthers is repeated at other localities to the south; Calgoa, Marodian, and German Gully. Relative dating of structural features and isotopic dating of nornblende porphyrites (134-135 m.y.) near and related to those mineralized at German c;ully suggest a previously unrecognized phase of porphyry copper style mineralization in south-east Queensland of Lower Cretaceous age (Fig. 1).

Jan 1, 1987

By P. B. Venuto, E. T. Strom, S. A. Dixon, W. F. Johnson, T. C. Vogt

Prior to assessing potential for in-situ leaching, it is advantageous to identify the nature of the probable reactants in the ore horizon, including both the uranium species and those in the gangue material. We report mineralogical data on an areally-broad suite of samples from the Westwater Canyon Member of the Jurassic Morrison Formation in the Crownpoint area of the Grants Mineral Belt. Optical microscope, electron micro-probe, X-ray diffraction, spectroscopic and wet chemical analyses were conducted. In these samples, the uranium occurs predominantly as either coffinite or uraninite. The host rock is arkosic sandstone, comprised mainly of detrital quartz and feldspar. The minerals kaolinite and chlorite are present in claystone clasts and calcite occurs as a cement. Major trace elements include molybdenum, vanadium, iron, selenium and sulfur. Carbonaceous organic material is present in the ore and is intimately associated with the uranium mineral when it is coffinite. Geochemical, pyrolytic and 13C NMR analyses indicate organic material is probably a very mature, coaly-type kerogen derived from plant components.

Jan 1, 1982

By Richard A. Queeney, Lance G. Peterson

ESTIMATES of the stacking fault free energy of copper reported in the literature show an extensive divergence of results. Based on measurements of dislocation node radii, Thornton et al.7 find the lower limit of stacking fault energy to be 60 ergs per sq cm: Jossang and coworkers4 estimate the same value should be less than 40 ergs per sq cm. Assuming stacking fault free energy to be twice the coherent twin boundary free energy, Valenzuela8 reports 72 ergs per cm, while Inman and Khan2 cite a value of 24 ergs per sq cm. which can no doubt be accounted for by almost complete absence of interstitials in solution. However, the minute concentration was sufficient to permit observable recovery of dislocation damping. Assuming a dislocation density of 1010 CM -2 and an average loop length of 0.5 , a concentration of interstitials as low as 0.01 at. ppm is sufficient to reduce dislocation damping by more than a factor of ten. The concentration of interstitial solute atoms in Ferrovac E-0.15 pct Ti was thus estimated at 0.01 at. ppm < (C + N) < 2 at. ppm. The absence at elevated temperature of strengthening due to interstitials, Fig. 1, was therefore anticipated in the titanium alloy. The temperature dependence of the flow stress below 300°K was unaffected by addition of either titanium&apos; or zirconium.&apos; Observed, however, was an initial difference in the absolute value of the flow stress below 320oK, Fig. 1. Grain size may account for the difference; the grain diameter of Ferrovac E was 30 to 45 µ and that of Ferrovac E-0.15 pct Ti 65 to 90 µ. Although second phase particles in the form of titanium carbides and nitrides precipitated in the Ferrovac E-0.15 pct Ti alloy, the spacing was too large to produce any strengthening effect. The mechanical properties measured, therefore, were inherent to the bcc lattice. 1W. C. Leslie and R. J. Sober: Trans. ASm, 1967, vol. 60, pp. 99-111. 2 H. Conrad: Journal of Metals, 1964, vol. 16, pp. 582-88. 3 A. S. Keh and W. C. Leslie: Materials Science Research. H. H. Stadelmaier and W.W.Austin, eds., vol. 1.pp. 208.50, Plenum Press, New York, 1963. 4A. S. Keh, Y. Nakada, and W. C. Leslie: Dislocation Dymmics, Rosenfield, Hahn, Bement, Jr., and Jaffe, eds., pp. 381-406, McCraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1968. &apos;W. J. Bratina, J. T. McCrath, and H. E. Rosinger: Can. Met. Quart., in press. 6 W. J. Bratina, J. T. McGrath, and D. Mills: Suppl. Trans. Japan Inst. Metals. 1968, vol. 9, pp. 436-43. &apos;H. E. Rosinger and C. B. Craig: Can. Met. Quart., In press. %. Mills. J. T. McGrath. and W. J. Bratina: ScriptaMet,, 1968, vol. 2, pp. 311-13. The purpose of this note is to present the results of a direct measurement of the stacking fault free energy in copper. The present method avoids both the question of interaction forces of nodal dislocations and the assumption that the coherent twin boundary free energy is one-half that of a stacking fault. Fig. 1 shows a transmission electron micrograph of a stacking fault intersecting a high angle grain boundary in copper: Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of the intersecting interfaces. To produce the specimen, pure copper was rolled to 0.002 in. thickness and annealed for several hours at 875°C. These foils were strained in tension to l04 µ in. per in., and rean-nealed to 8 min. Recrystallization and/or grain growth were not observed during the second anneal, indicating that intersections such as Fig. 1 are equilibrium configurations. Many such stacking faults were observed, but few were noted as intersecting grain boundaries in well-illuminated areas. The intersection of Fig. 1 was well away from the specimen edge. Since similar defects have not been observed in fully recrystal-lized and annealed copper, it is felt that this defect is due to the tensile straining. Electron transmission

Jan 1, 1970

Drilling is one of the most, significant cost components of any stoping or develop- ment operation. Two of the factors contri- buting to the drilling cost are the supply and servicing of consumable items such as drill rods and bits. The purchase cost of consumable items can be controlled to a large extent by using the correct balance of quality and price. However, the service cost is a less easily controlled factor and it is in this area where potential savings are significant. In June, 1976 a six month trial period was commenced at The Zinc Corporation, Limited and at New Broken Hill Consolidated Limited with two separate suppliers supplying and ser- vicing all longhole drilling parties (one supplier for each mine) at a guaranteed cost per metre. As a result of this six month trial period a new contract was commenced in December, 1976 with one supplier supplying and servicing all longhole drilling parties at both ZC and NBHC for a twelve month period. This concept has now been in operation for over twelve months and has proved to be a significant means of slowing down the increas- ing cost associated with drilling operations.

Jan 1, 1977

By H. E. Cline, T. H. Alden

A study zvas made of rate-sensitive plastic deformation and superplasticity in alloys of lead and tin. These alloys (lead, PO-19 pct Sn, Sn-38 pct Pb, Sn-2 pct Pb, tin) were extruded, aged at room temperature, or melted and resolidified to produce a variety of ~nicrostrnctures. Flow stress us strain rate data were obtained frorn tension tests for strain rates between 10-6 and 1 min-1. The curve log o .us log £ was S-shaped jor fine-grained materials and approxinzately linear for coarse-grained nzaterials. At constant grain size, the behavior was relatively insensitive to conposition. High rate sensitivity (d log o/d log k) and superplasticity occurred at intermediate strain rates in fine-grained materials and are believed to be associated with a transition with strain rate in the mode of plastic flow. This transition was shifted to higher strain rates with increasing temperataire or decrensing grain size. The high rate rneclzanisrn is presunzed to be slip, while rnetallographic evidence sug-gests that the low rate lnechanism is pain boundary sliding. PEARSON&apos; discovered that extruded eutectic alloys of Pb-Sn and Bi-Sn could be elongated as much as 2000 pct in tension. The ability for stretching decreased with aging time or annealing to increase the grain size. At high strain rates, or if the material was in the cast condition, normal ductility was observed. Following deformation of the extruded Pb-Sn eutectic at low rates, Pearson observed an equiaxed granular structure on an initially flat surface, while rapid straining produced elongated grains. He attributed the large deformation in the extruded alloys to the persistence of extremely small grains to a temperature sufficiently high for inter granular flow. Avery and backofen2 measured the strain rate sensitivity of the flow stress, m = d In old In 6, in the Pb-Sn eutectic and established a correlation between m and the tensile elongation. In the extruded eutectic alloy the strain rate sensitivity was 0.1 to 0.2 at rapid rates and the elongation was small, while at low rates m increased to 0.4 to 0.6 and superplastic elongation was observed. They also noted a grain size effect. In the case of the cast Pb-Sn eutectic the strain rate sensitivity remained at 0.1 over the range of strain rates of their experiment (3 x 10"3 to 2 min-I). These authors suggested that diffusional (Nabarro-Herring) creep was the mechanism by which deformation occurred at low strain rates, while climb-controlled creep occurred at high rates. Two predictions of this model are that, at low strain rates, the strain rate sensitivity approaches 1, i.e., Newtonian viscosity, and that the strain rate at constant stress varies as D/L2, where D is the coefficient of self-diffusion and L the grain size. More recently, a mechanical and microstructural investigation of the dilute superplastic alloy, Sn-5 pct Bi, has been done.3 The results show that the high strain rate sensitivity is associated with a transition with strain rate of the mechanism of plastic flow. At low strain rates, grain boundary sliding and its associated accommodation processes were evident, while at high strain rates quasi-uniform slip was concluded to be the dominant deformation process. The following experiments were performed to extend our knowledge of the phenomena of superplasticity to a larger range of strain rates, compositions, temperatures, and microstructures in the Pb-Sn alloy system. The question of why a cast structure does not exhibit viscous behavior although it appears to have a fine microstructure2 was investigated.

Jan 1, 1968

By Stuart Brashear, Lee Schettler

"The effect of water on several ANFO/emulsion blend ratios is documented by both physicalobservations and analytical testing to demonstrate the effect even small quantities of water canhave on water resistant blends."

Jan 1, 1996

Three complete connector assemblies and ten separate contacts were submitted to a series of tests to establish the connector permissibility and compliance with the Bureau of Mines&apos; research Contract H 0110423. Test Procedure TPC-0100 was coordinated, and the test plan approved by the Bureau as fully complying with the intent of the contract for the low voltage, medium voltage and high voltage A.C. connectors. The components and connector assemblies have been demonstrated in testing that they meet or exceed all the requirements of the test procedure.

Jan 1, 1972

By K. Moxham, B. McKeown

The South African gold and platinum deposits were formed in very different ways and yet both have many similarities. They are flat dipping tabular orebodies, extremely narrow and located in hard abrasive country rock. The mining methods employed are also similar. Primary access is via shafts or declines; secondary access is via haulages and cross-cuts; and tertiary access is from raises. The proposed solution for rapid access described in this paper is focused on the haulages and cross-cuts.

Jan 1, 2006

By Zhang Yangde

"This paper reports the clinical research work of Micro-explosion of Biliary Calculi . In theprogram the technique of directional micro explosion applied to disintegrate the biliarycalculi of body and decreases the rate of operation. Up to the present, 235 cases of biliaryduct calculi have been successfully treated by use of implusive force of micro-explosion .The success rate of blasting stones was 100% by the use of the directionalmicro-explosive instrument made by us , the once success ratio of micro-explosion was93.2% and tl~o rmulb of treatment were satisfactory. . Considering the density of theblood vesselsiD the human liver, limitation of space in the h~patic.ducb, the securiey andadaptation, we have designed two types of micro- explosives equipment called ZS device,electric initiation and nonelectric initiation to initiate explosion. The head diameter of thedevice ie 1.5-1.8 mm . It is applicable to all kinds of fiber endoscope by inserting ZSdevice under grossing eyes or TV set ."

Jan 1, 1993

By Bradley C. Paul

Similar rock formations exhibit great variability in resistance to fragmentation during crater blasting. This observation was made during an attempt to calibrate the Kuz-Ram blast fragmentation model for crater blast geometries used in a modified in situ mining method for copper. The KuzRam equation is used to predict the fragment size distribution from blasting and includes a term called the "rock factor" to account for the fragmentation characteristics of the material. A data base of field scale crater shots in oil shale was available to supplement more limited data on copper ores. First, the blast geometry terms of the Kuz-Ram formula were modified to fit field data with various crater blast geometries. Rock factors were chosen to center the predicted curve on the curve representing observed fragmentation. Next, five possible sources of variability in rock factor were investigated: the grade of the oil shale, the aspect ratio of the charge, the type of explosive, the charge depth, and the rock itself.

Jan 1, 1989

By R. Buisman, K. Reyneke, M. Fullam, J. V. Brown

Most mineral processes currently in use, such as flotation, spirals, gravity concentrators, etc., are only effective over a small range of sizes, hence the upstream need for technology to accurately classify fines by size. The Pansep’s design is revolutionary. Slurry is fed onto connected mesh sections that move without bending or vibration, in a circular motion. Both sides of the screen mesh are utilized, so Panseps are self-cleaning and has half the footprint of other mesh-type screens. Developed in South Africa in 1997, the Pansep has proved itself very effective as a wet fines screen to effectively classify fine mineral fractions from 50 to 2,000 micron (325 to 10 mesh).

Jan 1, 2001

The mining industry views with the utmost concern, legislative or administrative action that inherently reduces the scope for exploration activity. Is there any basis for this concern in relation to Victoria? This paper will outline the role of the Department of Minerals and Energy and the main features of legislative provisions affecting exploration effort. The practical difficulties that confront the Department and explorers alike will be examined. The importance of industry representation to influence the direction that policy and legislative review might take, will be highlighted. Above all, the paper will establish that one essential duty of government is to ensure the provision of appropriate mining titles and security of tenure.

Jan 1, 1982

Discussion of the paper of Frederic P. Dewey, presented at the Cleveland Meeting, October, 1912, and printed in Bulletin -No. 70, October, 1912, pp. 1075 to 1101. EDWARD KELLER, Perth Amboy, N. J. (communication to the Secretary *) :-Mr. Dewey, in his paper, offers a liberal addition of new data to those already to be found in the technical literature on this subject. However, now as before, the work issuing from the U. S. mints and assay-offices conveys the impression that systematic sampling in those institutions is more or less a secondary consideration, the chief attention being given to the principle of producing approximately homogeneous bars; recourse being taken to remelting or refining the bullion. This practice has been definitely rejected in the realm of copper-bullion sampling, for the reason that in such operations there are always unaccounted losses. Does not the same objection hold true for gold-bullions; although, perhaps,in a lesser degree ? Differences of opinion would seem justified on the following statements made by Mr. Dewey: 1. "Only two classes of alloys can form homogeneous bars-those that are solid solutions, and the eutectics."

Jan 3, 1913

By W. Trask

The state of the art in crawler transporters for loads to 3 kt (3300 st) is sufficiently advanced to allow compilation of job cost figures showing the economics of tracked vehicle use under a wide variety of circumstances. Initial costs, cost per ton of capacity, and operational and maintenance expenses are presented. Data is derived from participation by the Neil F. Lampson Co. in more than 3 Mt - km (2.05 million st - mile) of crawler operation during the past 16 years. The effects of economics on future design trends will be examined with particular reference to versatility, portability, and capacity.

Jan 1, 1987

Alan Stanley (Titanium Dioxide Analysis of Maclntyre Ore by Specific Gravity, P. 971) is currently head of the General Metallurgical Group of the National Lead Co. He has been with National Lead since 1946, after serving with the USAAF as a first lieutenant of engineers during World War II. A native New Yorker, he graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1942 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. Since joining National Lead he has been a flotation supervisor, in the high tension pilot plant, and done sinter testing. He is an AIME member and presented one other paper before the Institute, Sintering Characteristics of Minus 65 and 20 Mesh Magnetite. Stanley plays the piano in his leisure moments.

Jan 1, 1952