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By Stewart K. Griffiths

A general method-of-lines numerical approach for modeling gas driven fractures has been developed and tested. The numerical solutions agree very well with known similarity solutions for laminar and turbulent flow. Acceptable accuracy is obtained with a very few numerical grid points and with modest execution times. The model has also been checked against the results of several field tests, in which air was used to drive axisymmetric fractures into permeable tunnel-bed tuff.

Jan 1, 1984

By O. Morfín

The most probable source of Pb contamination in the perennial reach of Aravaipa Creek, Arizona, has been determined using Pb isotope ratios and total metals analyses of samples collected from the ephemeral and perennial reaches and mine wastes located in the Aravaipa Mining District . Previously, elevated levels of Pb, Cd and As in fish in the perennial reach of Aravaipa Creek, a protected wilderness area,, were assumed to be due to off-site transport from abandoned flotation tailings piles located at Klondyke, Arizona upstream of the wilderness area.Our work replaces this inference with isotopic data that allows us to confirm this hypothesis. The Pb/Zn deposits of the district were mined between the late 1890s and the late1960s, with the most significant ore production coming from one deposit in a rhyolite dike swarm on the Western front of the Santa Teresa Mountains, a granitic pluton of Cretaceous-Tertiary age (~65 ma). Mineralogy has been well constrained across the length of the lode system: Pb and Zn sulfides predominate in the NW sector, and a mixed suite of hypogene/supergene Pb sulfide and Pb oxide minerals comprises the majority of its SE corner. Total metals analyses and comparison of metals ratios serve to constrain the source and transport of certain metals within different parts of the system. Pb isotope ratios in samples, obtained by ICP-MS analysis, define two distinct contributors. The first end-member (208Pb/204Pb = 38.513 to 38.721 and 207Pb/204Pb= 15.550 to 15.598) is characteristic of the mixed, oxide/sulfide ores at the SE end of the deposit. A second end-member (208Pb/204Pb = 38.855 to 38.946 and 207Pb/204Pb = 15.610 to 15.625) characterizes samples taken from the NW, purely Pb sulfide end of the lode. Pb isotope ratios from perennial reach sediments are closely correlated with ratios given by samples from the Klondyke tailings site and by Pb sulfide samples from the NW sector, the primary source of ores processed at Klondyke.

Jan 1, 2003

By Paul Javor

Optimization of a process is achieved by selecting, 'from all the known options, the most beneficial method of obtaining a product. It is rare that the optimum process is arrived at by conventional methods, because of the great amount of time required for developing and comparing all the options. On the other hand, it is now possible, by means of an optimization program based on special mathematical formulas involving an algorithm and implemented by a computer, to plot the optimum process realizing considerable savings and in a reasonably short time. The flow sheet arrived at in accordance with the optimization program described in this paper investigates and develops all the possible options and, with the aid of the computer, makes it possible to select the most economical ore beneficiation process. The options in an ore beneficiation process are all the possible trajectories that can be traced through the particle sizes to which the ore is reducible in the extraction of its valuable minerals. Although an ore can have a wide range of composition and several valuable minerals that can be extracted, this paper is concerned with the special case in which only one mineral is extracted from the ore and in which the maximum allowable percentage of impurities in the end product is defined.

Jan 1, 1971

By J. W. Faust, H. F. John

Generalized conditions for rod or ribbon growth by the twin plane re-entrant edge mechanism are given. It was shown that this mechanism can result in growth of twinned platelets from dilute metal solutions. The platelrts 01 the fee metals are faceted by (111) planes and contain two or more twin planes. Microsegregation traces were revealed in silver grown from a thallium solution. VOGEL has already set down conditions for dendritic growth;1 however, this was the normal single-crystal dendritic growth experienced during solidification. In this work it is desired to set down the crystallographic conditions that will lead to rod or ribbon growth with smooth facets. These are as follows. a) The growth must be crystallographically limited (i.e., faceted growth). b) In order to have directed growth, some mechanism must allow easier nucleation than two-dimensional nucleation. That mechanism is afforded by the re-entrant edges at twin planes.213 Thus there must be twin planes present in the rods or ribbons. c) The growth direction must lie in the twin plane. If not, the twin plane will grow to the face or side of the ribbon and the site of easy nucleation will be lost. d) The growth direction must be parallel to at least one plane of the faceting planes, and no set of the faceting planes can be perpendicular to the growth direction. A corollary to these conditions involves the number of twin planes necessary to maintain the indestructible re-entrant edge. The number depends on the crystal structure of the material. An analysis of the data available shows that a material whose faceting planes form an open figure requires at least one twin plane while materials whose faceting planes form a closed figure require at least two twin planes in order to form the indestructible re-entrant edges for extended growth. The conditions and an assessment of the possibility of rod or ribbon growth are given in Table I for several crystal systems. As can be seen the fee, diamond and zinc blende, or-thorhombic, rhombohedral, and one form of the hexagonal lattice systems can yield this type of growth, but not the bcc metals nor the hexagonal

Jan 1, 1965

By Enrique Touceda

For a number of years prior to the world war, the firm of Geo. H. Thacher & Co., of Albany, N. Y., was engaged in the manufacture of marine and other gray-iron castings. At the outbreak of the war the firm decided to specialize in the manufacture of propeller wheels. It attacked the problem, therefore, from a foundry point of view, seeking to produce a casting that would be so accurate that no subsequent machining would be required on the blades, also from the point of view of the ship builder. There were two general methods of manufacture, the shortcomings of which have been freely acknowledged. In the sweep method, the nowel, or bottom half-mold, for each blade is swept up by a spindle beam and pitch race, while the top half-mold for each blade is built up individually. In the pattern method one individual blade, with the hub or hub portion, is mounted on a spindle and the individual blade mold formed, the pattern is then rotated on the spindle to the position for the next blade, etc. In rare cases wheels were made from a solid pattern. Owing to the cost of the pattern, its failure in many instances to be correctly made, and (when made of wood) its early and sure distortion the disadvantage of this pratctice is obvious, while metal patterns in most instances were prohibitive in cost. In these methods both green-sand and loam molding was practiced. The casting produced by either method can be considered only as a blank from which the propeller must be machined. The back surface of each blade must be chipped to the templet and through this procedure chipped to such accuracy as will be required for a static balance. Inasmuch as the work done by the machine tool is confined to the driving face of the blades, not only is perfection most difficult, but corrosion will be greater because of the removal of the dense skin of the casting and the local strains set up by the pneumatic tool in chipping. To produce a finished 9-ft. propeller for a Navy destroyer required from 8 to 21 days of foundry work and about the same length of time for the machining. Through the use of the Thacher process, only as many hours are required, besides it is possible to produce a finished casting in perfect conformity with any particular propeller-wheel design.

Jan 1, 1922

By Enrique Touceda

For a number of years prior to the world war, the firm of Geo. H. Thacher & Co., of Albany, N. Y., was engaged in the manufacture of marine and other gray-iron castings. At the outbreak of the war the firm decided to specialize in the manufacture of propeller wheels. It attacked the problem, therefore, from a foundry point of view, seeking to produce a casting that would be so accurate that no subsequent machining would be required on the blades, also from the point of view of the ship builder. There were two general methods of manufacture, the shortcomings of which have been freely acknowledged. In the sweep method, the nowel, or bottom half-mold, for each blade is swept up by a spindle beam and pitch race, while the top half-mold for each blade is built up individually. In the pattern method one individual blade, with the hub or hub portion, is mounted on a spindle and the individual blade mold formed, the pattern is then rotated on the spindle to the position for the next blade, etc. In rare cases wheels were made from a solid pattern. Owing to the cost of the pattern, its failure in many instances to be correctly made, and (when made of wood) its early and sure distortion the disadvantage of this pratctice is obvious, while metal patterns in most instances were prohibitive in cost. In these methods both green-sand and loam molding was practiced. The casting produced by either method can be considered only as a blank from which the propeller must be machined. The back surface of each blade must be chipped to the templet and through this procedure chipped to such accuracy as will be required for a static balance. Inasmuch as the work done by the machine tool is confined to the driving face of the blades, not only is perfection most difficult, but corrosion will be greater because of the removal of the dense skin of the casting and the local strains set up by the pneumatic tool in chipping. To produce a finished 9-ft. propeller for a Navy destroyer required from 8 to 21 days of foundry work and about the same length of time for the machining. Through the use of the Thacher process, only as many hours are required, besides it is possible to produce a finished casting in perfect conformity with any particular propeller-wheel design.

Jan 1, 1922

By Heribert F. Broicher

As of 1998 German companies have been engaged in research and development of LIF analyzers for rock identification, i.e. for the fingerprinting of rock by the analysis of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). Test work in Germany, Sweden and South Africa showed the potential of this new technique, which operates online and in realtime (1). In 2003 the Finnish company IMA Engineering Ltd Oy commenced building and marketing LIF analyzers under the trade name OreSpex. Today, one OreSpex analyzer has been installed in the Kiruna Mine, Sweden to check the phosphorus content of train loads. In 2004 a second OreSpex analyzer was built for dilution control in the Argyle Diamond mine, Australia. In 2005 another LIF analyzer will be used for test work in various mines in the US. The principles of the technology and status of ongoing work are presented.

Jan 1, 2005

By G. A. Crowder

Far infrared spectra, most of them in the region 15-200 microns and for both the liquid or solution state and for the vapor state, were obtained for twenty-seven compounds.

Jan 1, 1965

By R. E. Sheppard, A. O. Martel

Zinc sinter plant fume is roasted to selectively sulfate the cadmium. Water leaching of the roasted fume recovers about 80% of the contained cadmium and produces solutions containing about 40 grams per liter cadmium and 10 grams per liter zinc. The solution is treated with sodium bichromate for lead removal. Cadmium sponge, precipitated with zinc dust, is briquetted, melted, and cast into commercial shapes. The residue from the water leach is acid leached with waste acid, solubilizing the zinc and residual cadmium. Impure cadmium sponge, precipitated with zinc dust, is separated from solution with cyclones and dewatered in a centrifuge. Air-oxidation- acid leaching of the impure sponge resolubilizes the cadmium. The resulting solution is neutralized, clarified, and treated for cadmium recovery with the water leach solution. The residue from the leached fume is water-washed and recovered in a centrifuge-thickener circuit. This residue contains lead sulfate and significant quantities of gold and silver. Manpower requirements are held to a minimum by automating operations within the Leach Plant.

Jan 1, 1973

By L. B. Underwood, C. J. Distefano

NORAD, when completed, will be housed in large chambers excavated out of the granite beneath the Cheyenne Mountain near Colorado Springs. A room and pillar layout for the chamber excavation was selected and executed. Many complex problems arose in designing a rock bolt system; this paper includes discussions on: rock strengthening following excavation, excavation and ground support problems, orienting rock bolts with respect to jointing systems, conducting pull tests, four-way chamber intersection problems, the need for grouting rock bolts, and loss of tension and permanency of anchorage in a rock bolt system. In the event of a sudden nuclear attack upon the United States, it is imperative that vital command and control centers have a high probability of survival. One such vital facility is the North American Air Defense Command Combat Operations Center at Colorado Springs, Colo. Known briefly as NORAD, this installation when completed will be housed in large chambers excavated out of granite beneath the eastern slope of Cheyenne Mountain (Fig. 1). The NORAD COC, a U.S. Air Force sponsored project, will serve as the primary collection and evaluation center for data concerning unknown aircraft, missiles, or space vehicles, which might bring destruction to North America. The data will be fed into high-speed computers and electronic equipment from outpost sources: radar, ballistic missile early warning stations and picket ships throughout the world. Electronically controlled display boards will make it possible to evaluate the tracking data instantaneously and to take appropriate defensive action.'

Jan 1, 1968

By T. Tamagawa

Vaporization of zinc and mixing of zinc vapor with CO-CO2 mixtures were studied experimentally to prepare Zn(g)-CO-CO2-Ar mixtures with desired composition for investigating the condensation behavior and efficiency of zinc vapor. The vaporization rate of zinc was generally constant under given conditions, and could be increased by raising the flow rate of the carrier gas, temperature and vaporization area. The Zn(g)-CO-CO,,-Ar mixtures were quenched by a water-cooling sampling tube for measuring the actual composition of the mixtures in the reactor. The oxidation extent of the zinc vapor in the CO-CO2 mixtures had relation to the CO2/CO ratios and the temperatures. Under current conditions, it was necessary to employ the CO2/CO ratio below 0.125 for mixing the zinc vapor with CO-CO2 mixtures without oxidation. In addition, the appearances and zinc contents of the condensed zinc on the sampling tube were also examined.

Jan 1, 2001

By E. H. Fahmy, L. C. Uren

During recent years, oil producers have observed with interest the practical success which has attended the application of water as a medium for displacement of oil from its reservoir sands in the Bradford field of northern Pennsylvania and southern New York. Here, according to various authorities, additional recoveries of frorn 2,000 to 12,000 bhl. of oil per acre have heen secured by this method, after ordinary flowing and pumping. rnethods of production had practically reached the lower limit of economic operation. Notwithstanding the success which has attended the practical use of the flooding process in the Bradford field, oil producers in other regions are skeptical of its value when applied under physical conditions differing markedly from those which characterizc the Bradford field. Its usc would probably he construed as illegal in most of the oil-producing states. This general relnctance on the part of oil producers in other regions to accept the flooding process is due in large part to lack of infor-n~ation regarding the factors that influence its operation and efficiency. With the purpose of clarifying to some extent the issues involved, and of determining when the flooding proccess may or may not beeffee-tivcly ernployed, the writers have conducted a serics of laboratory exper-imentments under carefully controlled conditions, designed to indicate, the influence of various physical, chemical arid lithologic factors. These experments have not been conducted under conditions identical with those which exist at depths far below the earth's surface, so that direct quantitative comparisons with field results are not justified, hut it is believed that the experimental results at least warrant qualitative inter-pretations that may he applied to field conditions. The methods employed in the conduct of these experiments are briefly explained, and the results, together with the conclusions based thereon, arc presented. FactoRs Influencing Displacement of Oil froM SaNdS by WAteR- flooding Before presenting the experimental data, it, will he desirable to con-sider the manner in which the residual oil is retained within the oil sand

Jan 1, 1928

By Marshall B, Gee R. D

Geological data processing by machine enables'an increased rate of coverage, better supervision and control of field programmes, increased effectiveness of field operators, and vastly improved access to old and new field data. Even a system of restricted felxibility enables a mapping programme to be organ- ized and conducted independent of personnel changes, whilst elimination of much compilation time increases the rate of cover- age such that it relates to mode of transport and geological complexity rather than to personality factors. A machine is useful only if applied to tasks suited to its capabilities, and must be aimed at those types of mapping in which a limited number of attributes adequately define the problem, and the data is of a form suited to coding and is normally collected in sufficient abundance to make compilation wearisome. Machine systems are therefore unsuited to most types of lithological mapping and to most types of exploration in new areas, but have proved useful in many branched of cartographic geophysics (e.g. gravity and magnetics), and in cartographic Geochemistry.

Jan 1, 1969

By I. F. Walder

Mill tailings from skarn-type base metal deposits were studied in order to ascertain potential element mobility in response to weathering. Hypogene ore minerals are sphalerite, galena, and chalcopyrite, showing minor supergene oxidation to smithsonite, cerussite, and covellite. Gangue minerals are pyrite, pyrrhotite, magnetite, hematite, andradite and grossular gamet, hedenbergite, calcite, ankerite, and quartz. Foremost of the eleven tailing piles studied, the hypogene sulfide minerals show no or only incipient post-mining oxidation. Iron oxides and hydroxides form the main oxidation products in the tailings and are enriched in heavy metals. A distinction between pre-and post-mining oxide phases may be obtained based on petrographic observations which distinguish whole-grain versus partial grain replacement. Zn and Cd do not appear to be enriched in the weathering derived oxidation minerals and will be more easily leached from the tailings than other metals.

Jan 1, 1994

By Kirk W. McCabe

RokLok binder is a two-component polyurethane system consisting of a polymeric isocyanate (Component A) and a polyol resin (Component B). The two chemicals are mixed and injected into the mine rock under pressure. The initial low viscosity enables the RokLok material to permeate many of the smallest fractures. About 3-5 minutes after injection, the reacting material begins to expand in the fractures; the reaction is completed after 1-2 hours, and the material sets to a mechanically strong binder which adheres tightly to the rock. The consolidated rack provides resistance to any further f movement w thin the strata. The RokLok binder injection system is fast becoming an important engineering tool for coping with adverse underground geological conditions. Two case histories discussed in this paper, a longwall mining problem and an entry-roof problem, demonstrate the effectiveness of using the RokLok binder system to help solve complex ground-control problems in a cost-effective manner.

Jan 1, 1981

By E. Nelson Fell

As this plant is the first ever erected in British Columbia for the treatment of tailings by the cyanide process, and as the ores of this, mine are of a character not unusual among gold-ores of this Province, it is probable that a description of the principal features of the plant, and of the methods employcd in its operation, may be interesting. These works were designed after a careful study of the process, in a small experimental plant, for a period of six months. During this period ten percolation-tests on charges of tailings of 1100 lbs. each, eight percolation-tests on similar charges of concentrates, and twenty-six tests 011 concentrates in a revolving barrel, were made, besides laboratory-experiments. The ore consists of a quartz gangue, containing a little lime and variable quantities of the sulphidcs of iron, lead and zinc. The following figures, giving the analyses of the ore before milling, and of the tailings after milling, which constituted the material to be cyanided, are based on the daily samples taken during February and March, 1901.

Jan 1, 1902

By P. R. PaeIay, A. Slibar

Using three-dimensional, stress-deformation rate equations for a Bingham plastic, an approximate solution for the laminar flow of drilling mud between the drill pipe and casing is given for the case when the velocity gradients due to axial flow are large compared to velocity gradients due to rotation. INTRODUCTION The fact that drilling mud can be treated, to a first approximation, as a Bingham plastic has been established by several investigators12,3,4,5. A Bingham plastic is a material that is rigid until a certain combination of stresses exceeds a critical value. When the stresses are sufficiently high to initiate flow, the reduced stresses have a constant ratio to the corresponding deformation rates at each point. Prediction of pressure and torque requirements to produce the desired flow of the material have been made by analytical solutions due to Bingham6, Reiner7, and Buckingham8. One part of the present means of calculation that requires clarification is the flow between the drill pipe and casing. Present methods treat the flow resulting from the rotation of the drill pipe separate from the flow produced by the axial pressure gradient. Since the non-linear behavior of a Bingham plastic implies that solutions cannot be superposed, the present analytical investigation was undertaken to obtain a solution to the problem of combined axial and tangential flow. Equations have been proposed for the three-dimensional flow of a Bingham plastic9,10,11 and it has been shown that the proposed equations lead to the usual solutions from the one-dimensional theory". Applying these equations to the flow between two concentric cylinders the problem of axial flow only13 and tangential flow only12 have been solved. In addition to the separate problems of axial and tangential flow between concentric cylinders, the authors have determined the relationship between external torque on the inside cylinder and axial pressure gradient necessary to initiate flow". The solution given in Ref. 14 points out the complexity of the present problem. The problem considered here is the case of simultaneous axial and tangential flow. The axial flow, necessary to keep the drill bit free of removed material, results from the axial pressure gradient. Tangential flow is present since the drill pipe rotates in the hole. The solution given here is valid when the shear stresses in the drilling mud due to rotation are small compared to the shear stresses resulting from the axial flow. This case for laminar flow can be encountered in oilfield drilling. STRESS-DEFORMATION RATE EQUATIONS A detailed derivation of the equations governing the behavior of a Bingham plastic is given in Ref. 10. This section briefly outlines the physical reasoning leading to this three-dimensional formulation of the stress-deforma-tion rate law. Experiments on a certain class of materials have demonstrated the following properties: (1) when a certain combination of the stresses is below a critical value no deformation of the material occurs, (2) to a first approximation this combination of stresses is independent of the hydrostatic pressure (negative average normal stress), (3) if flow occurs the ratio of the reduced stress to the corresponding deformation rate is constant at each point of the flowing material, and (4) incom-pressibility. For the one dimensional case of shear deformation, Bingham6 formulated the governing equation as dxx, = 0 for sxx < to and µdxx = s xx = to for sxx to , . where dxx is the shear deformation rate, sxx the shear stress, to the critical shear stress, and p the slope of the sxx vs dxx curve for dxx > 0. Fig. 1 shows the behavior for pure shear between two parallel plates. Taking into account the physical properties given above and assuming the critical combination of stresses to be measured by the octahedral shear stress, the fol-lowing three-dimensional equations have been proposed.

Jan 1, 1958

By Francois Clerf

IRON ORE fields are situated in both the East and West of France (see maps). The eastern deposit is by far the most important from a tonnage point of view, not only in France, but in all Europe. The ores of this region are known as minette, and are situated in the Lorraine ore fields and the Briey plateau. The iron ores of the West are those of Normandy, Anjou and Brittany. Before the war, a large number of important German companies had acquired considerable interests in these western fields and a heavy trade with Westphalia had begun. Recently, however, conditions have changed and some of the mines of Brittany and Anjou are now idle. From a geological point of view, in Anjou and Brittany, a series of synclines extends from the northwest to the southeast, containing a number of seams of varying thickness and generally intercalated in Silurian and sometimes in Devonian formations. The ore is generally a hematite or a magnetite. The composition varies from 48 to 52 per cent of iron and from 8 to 12 per cent of silica. Con¬servative estimates indicate a con¬siderable tonnage of workable ores (150,000,000 metric tons).

Jan 1, 1936

By S. C. Fall

The basic aims of the drilling and blasting program at the Mission mine are fourfold: 1. To provide 100,000+ tpd of broken alluvium and rock material for shovel excavation; 2. To obtain fragmentation that will permit the most efficient digging of the broken material and provide an acceptable crusher feed; 3. To conduct the drilling and blasting program in accordance with approved safety procedures; 4. To obtain these objectives at the lowest possible cost. The material that is mined from the pit is divided into four different rock types and the overlying alluvium. Each of these materials is broken by using procedures tailored to its individual characteristics.

Jan 9, 1965

By Joseph S. Malesky

The discovery and development of explosives mark one of the most important findings in the history of civilization. Without explosives our vast economic enterprise concerning the mining of coal, copper, iron, aluminum, and various other ores could not function. Explosives are used in all kinds of construction works, in the razing of old buildings, blasting of trenches, driving of tunnels, and in many other instances common to our everyday life. For these reasons explosives are rightfully referred to as the forerunner of progress. An explosive may be defined as a substance (usually a mixture) that, when flame or shock is applied, yields readily to rapid combustion or oxidation, accompanied by the formation of such relatively large quantities of gases as to produce much violence and pressure which, in turn, react against their surroundings and cause what is termed an explosion. By their very nature the action of explosives is destructive and disruptive of adjacent materials. Decomposition of explosives can occur through deflagration, which is rapid burning or combustion, as in the case of black powder, or through detonation, which is an almost instantaneous disruption, as in the case of dynamites and blasting agents. HISTORY OF BLASTING WITH EXPLOSIVES At one time workmen obtained stone blocks for building by grooving the rock with crude picks, driving wooden wedges into niches in the rock, and pouring water on the wedges; the swelling of the wood forced out the blocks. As late as the 17th century, fires were placed against the face of rock to crack it, and water was sometimes dashed on the heated rock to shatter it by sudden cooling. The progress of our country is synonymous with advancement of the improved manufacture and extended use of explosives. Coal had been

Jan 1, 1981