Search Documents

By S. C. Schaeker, A. W. Schlechten, A. H. Larson

PARRAVANO and Malquori' studied the equilibrium of H2S-Hz with molybdenum and its lowest sulfide which they believed to be MoS2. Mc Cabe' has shown that its composition is actually Mo2S3 and determined its dissociation pressure by means of Knud-sen effusion measurements. Stubbles and Richard- son3 have recently studied the equilibrium of gas mixtures of H2S-HZ with the two-phase solid mixtures of Mo-MozS3 and Mo2S3-MoS2. The latter investigators found that M02s3 deviated slightly from the stoichiometric composition, but they did not determine the homogeneous region of the disulfide phase. Morimoto and Kullerud, studied the Mo-S system by quenching, microscope, and X-ray methods and concluded that the disulfide is stoichiometric. The present investigation was concerned with the measurement of the sulfur vapor pressure variation with composition at 1100°C in the homogeneous region of "MoS2". These measurements were made by reacting: 1) molybdenum powder (99.97 pct Moj with sulfur vapor, and 2) MoS1.g9 (formed by reaction of Mo + H2S) with sulfur vapor in a quartz capsule. Conditions were controlled to form an equilibrated phase within the homogeneous region of the disulfide. The quartz capsule was sealed off initially under a vacuum and the residual gases were gettered by titanium powder contained in one end of the capsule. A mixture of Mo + S or MOS,., + S was in the other end. The section containing the titanium powder was heated for 24 hr at 700°C and then removed by flame sealing. The end of the capsule containing the charge was then heated to 1100°C. The other end of the capsule was maintained at a temperature which would produce the desired sulfur pressure in the capsule (liquid sulfur distilled from the charge mixture was retained in this end). After equilibration, the capsule was removed from the heating assembly and rapidly air-cooled. It is assumed that equality existed between the total sulfur pressures (PT) in the two ends of the capsule and not between the partial pressures of the different molecular species (S, SZ, Three separately controlled heating elements were used to maintain the proper temperature gradient over the length (approximately 12 in.) of the capsule. A thermocouple-Wheelco "Capacitrol" system was used for temperature control of the two end heating elements within 2"C. The center heating element was controlled directly by a " Power -stat". Separate controlling and measuring thermocouples were used for both end heating elements. Pt-Pt(l0 pct Rh) thermocouples were used for 1100°C and Chromel-Alumel thermocouples were used for lower-temperature control and measurement of the assembly. Silver foil was wrapped around the end of the capsule containing the liquid sulfur to insure a constant temperature zone. The thermal gradient over the entire length of the capsule was measured to: 1) ascertain that the length of the constant temperature zone of the liquid-sulfur end and the sulfide end was sufficient, and 2) ascertain that the liquid-sulfur zone was the zone of lowest temperature. The data obtained in this investigation are shown in Fig. 1 and Table I. The total sulfur pressure (PT) and p(S2) were calculated from the data of Braune et UZ.~ The compositions of the equilibrated disul-

Jan 1, 1964

By Donald L. Everhart

SOONER or later intelligent exploration for uranium leads to these questions: Where did the metallic ions that formed the orebodies come from? What processes and geologic factors were involved in ore replacement? These matters, of course, make a big difference in how best to look for orebodies. Before these questions are discussed it might be well to point out other factors bearing on the subject. The whole business of uranium exploration is only a little over ten years old, participation by the public is only about six years old, and real interest and activity by more than a few large mining companies has arisen only in the past two or three years. Throughout this short period, uranium exploration has been affected by the unique influences of necessary security measures and by division of the over- all job into individual projects by a large number of specialists in diverse fields. This has meant that a normal interchange of information on the nature of uranium deposits has really only just begun. Com- pared to the vast amount of published studies on iron, copper, lead, zinc, and gold deposits over the past 50 to 75 years, current knowledge of uranium deposits is in its infancy and much of the pertinent information is still scattered about in a number of unpublished sources. The volume of reports on all phases of uranium exploration is now beginning to mount at a remarkable rate, and geologists with widely varying specialized backgrounds in uranium geology are engaging in spirited debates over the origin of uranium and the relative importance of geologic controls of various deposits.

Jan 9, 1954

S. F. EMMONS, Washington, D. C.: Papers of Collins, Vogt, DeLaunay, etc.-Mr. Collins tells us about facts in the veins of Cornwall that suggest secondary sulphide-enrichment is highly interesting; and I am free to confess that I have not studied the literature of that region as fully as I should have done. Nevertheless, even if it had been as familiar to me as it is to Mr. Collins, I should probably have hesitated to draw theoretical conclusions without having seen the mines myself; for the personal equation and the point of view of the observer play, perhaps, a larger part in the study of ore-deposits than in that of any other natural phenomena. One important purpose of my paper, and its publication at the time of the Washington meeting, was to call forth remarks from other geologists upon deposits with which they were personally familiar, or to lead them to re-examine such deposits with the idea of secondary enrichment in mind. Mr. Collins's remarks on Rio Tinto, which he has the advantage of personally knowing, are also interesting. With regard, however, to his suggestion-advanced as an apparent argument against our theory-that the re-precipitation of copper from cupric sulphate solution by pyrite can hardly take place there, since it would upset the commercial process, I would remark that, while he is undoubtedly right as to the fact, it does not militate against the reduction and re-precipitation of cupric sulphate in veins; since on the surface, as at Rio Tinto, there is free access of air, and consequently an excess of ferric sulphate, whereas in depth the ferric sulphate would have been mostly reduced to ferrous sulphate, and (there being no excess of acid to hold it in solution) the small amount of copper in the presence of an excess of iron sulphide would be precipitated either as sulphide or as native copper. To Professor Vogt's analogous remarks, that in his experience sulphuric acid is formed only in subordinate amount in the attack of sulphides by ferric sulphate, I would say that Dr.

Jan 1, 1902

The San Manuel district of Arizona was first prospected prior to the Civil War, but there was little or no production until 1881. Small operators tried to develop ore bodies from time to time after that without success. Then, in 1917, a drilling program was carried out; but it did not indicate a copper content of interest. Finally, in the 1940s, the U. S. Geological Survey drilled the property and obtained indications of a mineralized area. At that time, Magma Copper and its principal owner, Newrnont Mining Corporation, drilled many deep holes through the gravels and conglomerates and in 1948 proved an ore reserve of 367 million tons of 0.785% copper sulfide ore. Underground exploration and development were started in early 1948, and in 1953 design and construction of the surface facilities commenced. By the end of 1955 plant construction was completed. The ore deposit of disseminated pyrite, chalcopyrite, chalcocite, molybdenite, silver, and gold is in quartz monzonite porphyry gangue. Mine production, which is entirely underground, is by full-gravity block-caving. Initially, ore mined at a rate of 36,000 tpd was hoisted through two identical shafts. From the 5,000 ton coarse ore bins located at the collar of each shaft, the ore was hauled by a shuttle service rail- road in 100-ton bottom-dump rail cars a distance of seven miles to the rail bin. Fragmentation from block-caving supplemented by underground grizzlies at the loading stations controlled the oversize material to give a feed size acceptable to the two 7 ft standard Syrnons crushers. During operation, however, it became evident that a large amount of secondary breaking in the grizzlies was necessary to produce a suitable feed for the standard crushers. The decision was then made to install primary gyratory crushers on the surface adjacent to the shaft site ore bins. Under each 5,000-ton coarse ore bin, an 8ft by 20 ft (2.44 m by 6. 1 m) apron feeder transfers the ore to a 13 ft 6 in. by 10 ft (4. 1 m by 3. 05 m) grizzly set at 6 in. (152 mm) and sloped at 45 degrees. About 65% of the ore passes the grizzly and thus bypasses the 42 in. by 65 in. (1.07 m by 1. 65 m) Allis -Chalmers gyratory equipped with a Hydroset mechanism and having an open side setting of 5 ½ in. (140 mm). Grizzly undersize and crushed ore drop onto a 6 ft by 30 ft (1. 83 m by 9. 14 m) variable- speed apron feeder for transfer to a 54 in. by 90 ft 5 in. (1.37 m by 27.6 m) inclined conveyor equipped with a tramp iron detector. Indication of tramp iron automatically stops the conveyor and both apron feeders. When the iron is removed from the belt by the operator,

Jan 1, 1978

By A. L. Engel

STRICTLY speaking, ore-dressing does not commence until after the ore is in the mill bins, but where complex ores are treated and their minerals separated to make the best commercial concentrate with the lowest economical tailing, ore-dressing problems begin and often center in the mine itself. This does not refer to the grade of the ore, but rather to the frequent condition in which metallurgical results radically different from customary are obtained because of changes in the character of the ore treated. Different varieties of ore can usually be identified as coming from well-defined depths or zones in the mine, or from known sections of the orebody. Varying degrees of alteration of the ore, inclusions of harmful gangue material, or variations in the quantities of component metallic minerals are often causes of temporarily bad metallurgical results in otherwise successfully operated plants, especially those employing differential flotation to. recover several valuable minerals contained in the ore.

Jan 1, 1931

By F. P. Dewey

Recent discussions have furnished to the members of the Institute much information concerning aluminum and its applications. The present paper will be devoted almost entirely to the description of a process by which the metal is produced in the form of alloys. The characters which especially distinguish the Heroult process consist in electrolyzing a mass of molten alumina (Al2O3), and at the same time alloying the separated aluminum with a heavy metal, the heat necessary for the fusion of both the alumina and the alloying metal being supplied by the direct passage through the molten Al2 0, of an electric current of high amperage and low voltage. The process has been in active operation at Neuhausen in Switzerland for about two years. It is also in active operation at Froges in southern France. Both these locations were selected for this purpose on account of the presence of large and desirable water-powers. The apparatus consists of a carbon containing-vessel, which may be a single crucible for small operations, or may be built up of slabs or blocks of carbon for large and industrial operations. When built up of slabs or blocks, the whole is surrounded by an iron casing. In the earlier crucibles this iron casing was cast around the carbon, in order to secure close electrical contact. This, however, has been found unnecessary; and in the later crucibles the casings consist of plates bolted together, while pulverized carbon is packed between the carbon blocks and the iron. Electric conductors are united direct to this iron casing, and the current passes from this through the carbon lining to the interior of the crucible. By this

Jan 1, 1890

By Arthur F. Taggart

The quality of aggregate materials is. of major importance in governing durability and permanence of concrete structures. The problem of selecting suitable aggregate materials is two-fold. Geological factors include the type and character of the aggregate source, presence of known or suspected reactive constituents, and presence of thermally incompatible materials. Laboratory investigations include petrographic studies, soundness and reactivity tests, and tests of thermal properties. The importance of each factor in the selection of satisfactory aggregate material is considered in detail.

Jan 1, 1950

By Howard N. Eavenson

ALL of the matters so far taken up by the Institute Committee on Stabilization of the Coal Industry will be of help, but it seems to be that under present conditions not very much can be expected until the railroad situation has been improved. As an instance of this, I would cite the fact of our experience at our mines in West Virginia and Kentucky. During 1917 and 1918 at our West Virginia plants we produced for our own consumption, practically entirely in the Chicago district, about 4,750,000 net tons of coal. In 1919 our output was reduced to 3,500,000 tons, this being caused partly by the shortage of orders in the few months following the armistice, but more particularly by The car shortage which began last September and continued throughout the remainder of the year, with the exception of December. This car shortage has been more acute since the first of the year, and while we now have an actual capacity here of 20,000 tons daily and have the equipment to produce it, with the possible exception of a few houses, we are able to average only about 12,000 tons, and in consequence, about 30 per cent. of our by-product ovens in the Chicago district are idle, and a number of blast furnaces are down for the want of coke. These figures, of course, refer to conditions before the strike of switchmen in April was started.

Jan 1, 1920

By Ivan E. Goodner, Charles H. Fulton

The subject of the constitution of copper-iron mattes has received considerable attention in recent years by Keller,' Belles,2 Hofman,3 and Gibb and Philp.4 Still more recently Friedrich, Röntgen, Wiedmann, Heyn and Bauer, and Leroux have published, in some instances, elaborate researches on the various systems of the sulphides, and the snlphides and their respective metals, which enter into the constitution of mattes, and have added very greatly to the knowledge of the subject. The work of Friedrich has been especially fruitful. But to' date no effort has been made to correlate the data obtained in the latter researches and apply them to the study of the product called " matte," which is made in such large quantities by copper- and lead-smelters. In this paper we propose to determine, by metallographic and chemical means, the constitution of copper-iron and copper-lead-iron mattes in the light of the recent data above mentioned. We do not discuss copper-nickel mattes or speisses (artificial arsenides). The paper is divided into three sections: I. A review and discussion of the various binary systems of the metallic sulphides, and the binary systems of various metals and their respective sulphides entering into the constitution of mattes; also a discussion of the physical properties of these sulphides. II. A description of the results obtained from the chemical and microscopic examinations of the samples of copper-iron and copper-lead-iron matte obtained from various plants.

Jan 1, 1909

By AIME AIME

HIS many admirers regard the "official"' candidate for president of the Institute in 1934 as far above the average in ability and capacity; but perhaps his outstanding characteristic is dependability. Some men of great brilliance succeed indifferently because they cannot be relied upon. When Howard Nichols Eavenson undertakes to do something he either does it, or he proves to his own satisfaction that the particular object is not attainable. And the latter outcome is exceptional because his judgment is so good that he generally foresees the impossibility and selects in advance a practical alternative. Though a tireless worker he is pretty sure that his energy is not spent futilely.

Jan 1, 1933

By Fred P. Dewey

Early last March Mr. Jerome Coldren, an old miner add prospector, undertook a prospecting tour through the western part of Kansas, and discovered a very peculiar bed of rock, which yielded a white metal on fusion with soda. Mr. W. D. Church, city chemist at Topeka, examined the metal and found it to contain nickel. This discovery created much excitement, and was at first doubted. Many samples of the material, from a range of twenty miles, were sent to the Smithsonian Institution for examination ; and in every instance a qualitative test showed the presence of nickel, although the amount appeared to vary greatly. The ore is quite different from any other nickel-ore. It consists of a quartzose conglomerate from bean-size down, with much decomposed material between the pebbles, and the whole cemented by a more or less manganiferous limonite. In the qualitative tests, the nickel appeared to vary with the manganese. In all the tests, simple treatment with HCI dissolved a great deal of AI2O3. The principal deposit is near the top of a small hill on the divide between Smoky Hill river and Butte creek. The surface-rock is the conglomerate, and, at varying distances, stains of the limonite appear and gradually increase ; so that the ore is simply the lower portion of a bed of conglomerate which has been heavily charged with the manganiferous limonite. Below the conglomerate is a layer of selenite; below this, a soft sandstone, containing well-preserved fossils, and below the sandstone, a shale. From 2 to 6 per cent. of nickel in selected samples has been reported by different chemists; but the following two analyses on large samples show the average composition of the material:

Jan 1, 1889

JOHN W. BELL,* Montreal, Canada (written discussion?).-Mr. Hardinge's "hammer" theory is, I believe, a sound one; but, unfortunately, at the very place in the Hardinge mill where there should ,be a large number of small "hammers," there is room for only a very few. The results in Mr. Van Winkle's paper seem to indicate that the practical development of the theory can best be accomplished by stage crushing, using cylindrical mills. It would be very interesting to know if any stage-crushing experiments have been made at Inspiration with Marry mills. Mr: H. Kenyon Burch says:1 "The Marcy mill also proved to be a most excellent intermediate crusher, handling as high as 800 tons of 3-in. feed and under, to pass an 8-mesh screen without return of oversize." It seems reasonable to suppose that a large part of this output would be a finished- product; consequently, if it were possible to send the oversize from two of the primary mills to one secondary mill using balls of small diameter, a considerable saving in power might be realized, provided it were not necessary greatly to enlarge the secondary mill. It does not seem reasonable to suppose that fine material can he crushed as quickly or as efficiently in a primary ball-mill as in a re-crushing mill especially designed for that work. Experimental data, of course, are essential in deciding questions of this kind.

Jan 4, 1918

By Benjamin C. Craft

Oil and gas development in Louisiana during 1935 brought this state at the close of the year up to fourth place in the nation as a producing area. A review of development in North Louisiana centers around Rodessa, the most important reserve discovered in this area in many years. While the producing limits have not been defined, this discovery is one of the major developments of the year. New gas fields were discovered in Lincoln, De Soto and Bossier parishes. The Lincoln Parish discovery, completed flowing a highly saturated gas from the Glen Rose, further indicates the importance of deep-seated prospects in the interior salt-dome area. Minor extensions were made at Sligo and Pine Island. During the year, 126 oil wells and 103 gas wells were completed in North Louisiana as compared with 144 oil wells and 68 gas wells during 1934. The North Louisiana oil production was 9,617,405 bbl. as com-pared with 9,274,050 bbl. during 1934, an increase of 343,355 bbl., while the gas production increased 18 billion cu. ft. in 1935 over its 1934 figure. The Louisiana Department of Conservation gage of Nov. 1, 1935, shows an open-flow capacity of 4,563,725,000 cu. ft. per day from 941 wells in the Monroe field and 682,770,000 cu. ft. from 159 wells in the Rich-land field. A great deal of leasing continues in North Louisiana as a result of the Lincoln Parish discovery and development in the Rodessa field, especially in Bossier, De Soto, Winn, Lincoln, Bienville, Webster, Ouachita and Richland parishes. South Louisiana's position as an area of important reserves was further proved during the past year. Increased drilling resulted in the discovery of seven new fields: Lafitte, Garden Island Bay, Tepetate, Bunkie, St. Martinsville, Jeanerette and Big Lake. New sands or producing horizons proved productive in 15 of the proven fields. The total oil production for South Louisiana during 1935 was 40,731,-056 bbl. as compared with 23,255,437 bbl. during 1934. There were 222 oil and gas wells completed in South Louisiana during 1935 as compared with 214 oil wells during the previous period. Drilling during

Jan 1, 1936

By George C. Stone

WHEN George C. Stone, a Director of the Institute, and so well known to our Members in connection with the Institute's many activities was abroad in 1.919, he secured an interesting collection of these coins, which appeared in Zinc, a publication by the New Jersey Zinc Co. Regarding this collection of coin, Mr. Stone says: "During the war, all gold and most of the silver disappeared, making small change very scarce. As the French Government was fully occupied by the war, it allowed various Chambers of Commerce and other bodies to issue money, both paper and coins. Many of the latter were made of zinc, and I secured several while in Paris. We had all heard of the Belgian and German zinc coins, but I imagine few knew how many different kinds there were. The accompanying plates show both sides of those I got. I took all that the dealer had; but he said that there were a number of others in existence. The coins in the bottom line were issued by the Germans in Belgium during the war and all are still in common use. The first two in the next to the bottom line are German. All of the others were issued by Chambers of Commerce or corporations. A few have been nickel plated; these look and wear much better than the others. "Coins" made of pasteboard were also issued by similar bodies, also notes.

Jan 1, 1920

By Walter Bradley

MINING by hydraulic process of the important gold-bearing gravels of the Sacramento Valley in the basins of the Yuba, Bear and American rivers began in 1853, and continued at an ever-increasing rate for 30 years. In its most active days it reached an annual production of $15,000,000, and averaged $10,000,000 per year over the 30 years. During that period no provisions were made to prevent the debris from being dis-charged into the water courses, and ultimately large quantities of silt, sand and gravel were washed down to the lower valleys; filling channels, causing overflow of agricultural lands and difficulty in maintaining navigable depths in the Sacramento River. Agitation and suits filed because of these damages finally resulted in the injunction decision of Judge L. B. Sawyer,1 in the U.S. Circuit Court, Jan. 23, 1884, which closed down practically all hydraulic mining operations not having means to restrain their debris. In 1893 (approved March 1, 1893), Congress passed the act introduced by Representative Anthony Caminetti, of California, creating the California Debris Com-mission, composed of three officers assigned from the Engineer Corps of the U.S. Army, and since that time it has been legal and possible within the drainage systems of Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers to conduct hydraulic mining of gold-bearing gravels behind dams built under this commission's permit and supervision. In the watersheds of the Trinity and Klamath rivers, which flow directly to the Pacific Ocean and do not affect navigation or agriculture, operating permits from the California Debris Commission are not required. There is a measure of restriction there, however,. through what is known as the Trinity and Klamath River Fish and Game Dis-trict. Chap. 215, Stat. 1931, in order to secure relatively clear water for the fishing season, provides that between July 15 and October 15 each year there must not be discharged into these rivers debris that will cause a turbidity greater than a content of 50 parts per million in the

Jan 1, 1936

By Richard J. Robbins

Mechanical moles have developed through a tedious process of evolution. At times it has seemed that tunnel borers have been subject to the same Darwinian rules of evolution as their zoological namesakes who, despite their efficiency, are highly specialized and still restricted to soft soil conditions near the surface of the ground. HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS The Robbins Co. began its work in this field in 1947 with the development of a twin-bore continuous coal miner. Although these machines were used primarily in coal, two of the early prototypes were used to bore tunnels through shale. Disk cutters were first used on these machines and showed promising results as core breakers between drag-bit kerfs. In 1953, James S. Robbins and Assocs. undertook the development of a 25-ft 9-in.-diam circular tunnel borer for Mittry Construction Co. to be used at Oahe Dam in South Dakota (Fig. 1). This is believed to be the first rock tunnel-boring machine built since the end of the 19th century when short sections of the Channel tunnel were successfully bored in chalk from both the English and French shores. Another Oahe Dam machine was built in 1955, and then a series of three small-diameter machines for the company's first real experience with medium-hard and hard rock (Fig. 2) None of these three could be considered a success, although they laid the groundwork for the success that followed. Interbedded shale and limestone in Pittsburgh and hard limestone in Chicago quickly pointed up the weaknesses in these machines which were used by Perini, Dravo, and Healey. Among the problems were the high breakage rate of tungsten-carbide drag bits, too much flexibility in the drive shafts, failure of high-pressure hydraulic systems, chain-conveyor failure, and general lack of rigidity and strength. In 1956 another attempt at medium-hard and hard rock-boring proved this time to be a success and a significant turning point in the development

Jan 1, 1970

"The mountains of Utah contain one of the largest deposits of high grade bituminous coal in the world. According to the United States Geological Survey, there are 13,130 square miles of land known to contain workable coal, and these extensive fields contain 196,000,000,000 tons of coal. More remarkable than the extent of the coal fields is the thickness of the coal beds. Over three-fourths of the output of coal in Utah is recovered from beds ranging from 8 to 17 feet in thickness, as compared to one-eighth of the output of the entire country from such beds. In 1917, Utah mined one-third of its coal from seams at least 16 feet thick, compared to one-half of one per cent of the total bituminous output of the country from like seams.Coal at Wales, in Sanpete County, and in the vicinity of Coalville, Utah, was, it is reported, the first discovered by white men in the state. Wales claims the distinction of having produced the first coal mined in Utah. Two men, who had been coal miners in Wales, learned of the coal from an old Indian chief who called it ""rock that would burn."" In 1857, the town of Wales was founded and coal mined, and in 1858 some coke was manufactured and hauled by ox team to Salt Lake City. South of Wales is Castle Valley, in Wasatch Plateau field. From 50 to 60 miles of the Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Monterey, California, lies in Castle Valley. The coal in this field may or may not have been known at the time the trail was used extensively. The first published reference to this coal, however, was made by a party of the Corps of Topographic Engineers in their journal for October 11, 1853.After the completion of the Union Pacific railroad in 1869, mining on a commercial scale was attempted. In 1876 the Utah and Pleasant Valley railroad commenced operations between Scofield, in Carbon county, and Springville, Utah county, and following the year 1878, when the Rio Grande Western railway began construction through the Carbon county field, development increased until in 1900, when large smelters commenced operations in Salt Lake valley and gave coal mining in Utah an impetus that first carried it to an annual output of a million tons. During the past fifteen years many new mines have been opened, and with the construction of the Utah railway, an exclusive coal road, from the properties of the United States Fuel company in Carbon and Emery counties to connect with the Union Pacific system at Provo, the state reached a maximum production of 6,005, l 99 tons in 1920."

Jan 1, 1925

Established as a Division January 15, 1932 John C Calhoun, Jr, Chairman O Cutler Shepard, Vice-Chairman J R Van Pelt, Jr , Past Chairman Thomas A Read, Secretary-Treasurer Dept of Mining and Metallurgical Engrg University of Illinois Urbana, Illinois

Jan 1, 1956

The selection of a particular machine for production drilling is the most critical drill evaluation the pit engineer is called upon to make. It is a true engineering design problem requiring value judgments. Generally, the procedure follows these steps: (1) Determine and specify the conditions under which the machine will be used, including such service factors as labor, site, weather, etc. (2) State the objectives for the rock-breakage phases of the production cycle of operations--considering excavation and haulage restrictions, crushing capacity, production quota, and pit geometry-in terms of tonnage, fragmentation, throw, etc. (3) On the basis of blasting requirements, design the drill-hole pattern (hole size and depth, in- clination, burden, spacing, etc.) (4) Determine the drillability factors and select the drilling methods which appear feasible for the kind of rock anticipated. (5) Specify the operating variables for each system under study, considering drill, rod, bit and circulation fluid factors. (6) Estimate and compare performance parameters, including costs. Major cost items are bits, drill depreciation, labor, maintenance, power and fluids. (7) Select the drilling system that best satisfies all requirements with the lowest over-all cost.

Jan 10, 1967

By Richard H. Zinszer

APPLICATION of electric logs has been used in correlation of subsurface structure to determine the size and shape of the oil reservoir. [ ] Such a knowledge is hardly complete until saturation and productivity are determined for the various horizons. It is difficult to use electric logs successfully for this purpose because of the many factors that influence the curves. In this work an effort was made to establish an empirical correlation between formation resistivity for a series of electric-log curves and water saturation and oil productivity of sand. Electric logs were obtained by recording with 10 different electrode spacings through the same interval of a well. In the analysis of these curves all factors except two, a dependent and independent variable, were held constant. The interval studied had been cored and a large number of samples were analyzed in the core laboratory in order to compare the values of permeability and saturation with the measured values of formation resistivity. Results of this analysis indicate: (I) the depth to which mud filtrate enters a sand body, (2) a correlation between permeability and sand resistivity for shallow penetration depths, and (3) that the water saturation for an oil sand can be determined from the measured sand resistivity after making suitable correc- [ ] tions for sand thickness. The proceduer in the last method depends on a correction for thickness factor and a theoretical curve. The accuracy of the theoretical curve is now being tested in the laboratory.

Jan 1, 1944