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By Charles M. Stone, Dale S. Preece

Introduction The Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) is a national program dedicated to storage of large quantities of crude oil in leached salt caverns in the Texas-Louisiana gulf coast area. The program has required storage in existing caverns at each site and includes plans to leach new ones. The structural stability of each cavern depends on the behavior of the surrounding salt. In the past cavern stability has been predicted based on experience with other caverns in the vicinity. With the development of good non-linear finite element structural computer programs, it is possible to predict stability before the cavern is created. An important step in verifying the applicability of these predictive methods is comparison of analytical and field data. The analytical data come from finite element analyses of a specific cavern where the laboratory determined material properties and an approximation to the cavern geometry are used as input. These comparisons have been made for caverns in the Bayou Choctaw Dome (Louisiana) and Eminence Dome (Mississippi) with reasonably good correlation being obtained between measured and predicted volumetric response of the caverns. This paper discusses 1) the acquisition of material properties, 2) the finite element program SANCHO, and 3) the comparison of analytical and field data for each of the caverns.

Jan 1, 1982

By Robert L. Russell, Henry W. Zimmerman

The Bunker Hill mine in the Coeur d'Alene mining district at Kellogg, Idaho, has been a major producer of Pb-Ag-Zn ores since its discovery in 1887. The mine has produced over 29 million tons of ore from some 20 to 25 veins and ore zones and now covers an area approximately 1 mi long by 0.5 mi wide. The active section of the mine extends from 2500 ft above sea level to 1600 ft below sea level. Ore production is presently at the rate of about 1700 tpd. A 2-mi adit, the Kellogg tunnel, at the 2500 elevation provides access to the main shaft area. Ore is hoisted to the adit level through a 5000-ft. 50º-inclined shaft extending to the lowermost haulage level 1200 ft below sea level. Primary shaft service for men and materials is supplied by three major internal inclined shafts equipped with double-drum hoists. Present production requires ten levels to serve for main line track haulage. These range up to 5000 ft in length and are either 200 or 400 vertical ft apart. Also, many intermediate levels exist throughout the mine.

Jan 1, 1971

By Jonathan S. Jackson, Bruce P. Ream

Leach water management is one of the few areas in dump leaching subject to operator control. As such, it is of considerable importance. Theoretical considerations indicate that high leach solution application rates are inefficient in washing solubilized copper from dumps. The high rates cause unnecessary dilution of copper values, raising unit recovery costs. Use of excessive amounts of leach solution also cools dumps, resulting in reduced leaching rates. This paper reviews leach solution application methods and details the results of field tests run to determine the benefits and feasibility of low versus high application rate techniques of applying water to dump surfaces.

Jan 1, 1980

By R. M. Wilhelm

HIGH-TEMPERATURE thermometry,, as treated in this paper, deals with the measurement of temperature in the range 100° to 550° C. The lower limit corresponds to the temperature of boiling water at normal atmospheric pressure, the upper limit is approximately the highest temperature to which mercury in a glass thermometer may be safely subjected.1 In this range., the domains of pyrometry and thermometry overlap somewhat, for high-temperature resistance thermometers and thermocouples generally classed as pyrometers are often used below 550° C. This paper will be confined to high-temperature mercurial thermometers, and indicating and recording thermometers of the vapor pressure, liquid or gas filled, and bimetallic or graphite-metal expansion types, a classification of which is as follows: CLASSIFICATION OF THERMOMETERS GENERAL CLASSIFICATION SUBDIVISIONS Mercury in glass Laboratory- Etched or engraved stems (mercurial) Enclosed scale (Einschlus) Industrial Vapor pressure Indicating and Pressure Liquid filled recording Gas filled Bimetallic Graphite-metal expansion

Jan 9, 1919

By Glenn M. Boyce

This paper discusses the results of a laboratory testing pro- gram to determine the validity of hydraulic fracturing stress measurements in salt. Tests were performed on 15 cm diameter samples loaded under hydrostatic stress conditions to determine the influence of time, confining pressure, flow rate, borehole diameter, and packers on breakdown pressure. Tests were also performed in a polyaxial loading frame to determine whether or not hydraulic fracturing could be used to measure non-hydrostatic stresses. The test results indicate that the breakdown pressure is not affected by time delays of up to 64 hours between the application of load and fracturing the rock. Breakdown pressures were found to fall short of predicted elastic values at higher confining pressures for the hydrostatic tests. The ratio of the horizontal stresses in non-hydrostatic tests had no effect on breakdown pressures. Flow rate and borehole diameter variations were found to have a marked effect on breakdown pressures. Shut-in pressure values, which are generally used as an indication of the minimum stress value, exceeded the applied minimum stresses by 10 to 60% depending on the method of determination used. The lack of a relationship between breakdown pressure and horizontal stress ratio may preclude hydraulic fracturing from being used in salt as it is conventionally applied in brittle rocks.

Jan 1, 1984

By Julian Nardi

Pumping solids through a pipeline is not new but until very recently other means of transportation were cheaper. Many proposed pipelines for transporting solids, while technically feasible, have not been attractive enough to warrant the financial risk involved. In some instances, the difference in transportation cost was negligible. In others, the threat of pipeline competition resulted in a slashing of rates on existing transportation to the point where a pipeline could no longer be justified. In others, a competitive product was cheaper. FIRST IN PLACERS The earliest record of solids being transported in a pipe was in the late 1850s in California placer mines. Water under pressure was used to force gold-bearing gravel up through a pipe, from 30 to as much as 55 ft, to a point where it could be discharged into a flume or sluice.

Jan 9, 1959

By H. M. Woodrooffe

Three of the world's largest phosphate deposits are located in the USSR. These have an estimated reserve of 2,600 million short tons of elemental phosphorus. The best known lies in the Khibiny Massif, an alkalaic rock formation some 600 square miles in area with mountain peaks rising to an altitude of 3300 ft above the surrounding terrain. The Khibiny Massif is north of the Arctic Circle in the Kola Peninsula at a latitude of 67° 30' north and a longitude of 35° 30' east. It is connected by rail to Murmansk, 100 miles northwest, and Leningrad, 900 rail miles south.

Jan 12, 1972

By W. R. Ingalls

DURING 1921, the Oklahoma mines dominated the American zinc-producing industry. They comprised the only group that could produce under the adverse conditions that prevailed. At the beginning of 1921, there were about 34 mills in opera-tion in the Tri-state District, out of a total estimated variously at 150 to 200, and these were producing at the rate of about 5000 tons of blende concentrate per week. At the end of 1921, there were about 50 mills in operation. The Tri-state District rates about 80 men to the mine and mill, on-the average. SMELTING The zinc smelters-in 1921 experienced a disastrous year. All of them operated at greatly reduced capacity and probably most of them suffered loss in operations. Smelting costs came down to a considerable extent by virtue of drops in the price for coal, wage reductions and more efficient work, but these ameliorations were insufficient to enable the smelters to come out even. In the Illinois fields, wages at the end of 1921 had been reduced about 37 per cent. from the peak (middle of 1920), but coal continued to be very dear. The operation of works at a low rate of their capacity was a discouraging and expensive condition. At the end of 1921, the zinc-smelting capacity ,of the United States was as follows:

Jan 7, 1922

By S. S. Hedge, J. C. Ferm, J. T. Berger

The coal procedures described in this paper address the problems building a body of coal data that is accurate, precise, readily available, and easy to manipulate. The system is a set of interactive computer procedures consisting of a) data gathering (core hole and geophysical logs, their location, elevation, etc.) and standardized computer printouts, b) the graphic outputs of coded logs (log strips-scale variable) wing on-line electrostatic plotter, c) determination of seam continuity via relative movements of the log strips on an interactive graphic display terminal, d) calculation of the seam parameters (minable seam thickness, volume of non-coal material in the seam, ash and sulfur content of the raw or prepared product, roof and floor characteristics and other attributes relevant to mining), e) posting of seam parameters wing on-line drum plotter controlled by a microprocessor on-line to the minicomputer (PDP- 11).

Jan 1, 1983

By A. C. Noble, D. E. Ranta

Orebodies with intricate three- dimensional shapes (such as porphyry molybdenum deposits) are difficult to model using geostatistics or other computer- assisted methods. 'The strong trends in their spatial grade distributions occur as mathematically complex shapes and prevent the customary assumption of local stationarity that is required for accurate ore reserve estimation. "Zoned Kriging", a new method developed by AMAX, solves this problem directly by using the geologist's interpretation of the ore zones as a parameter in the kriging equations. The geological basis and methods used in the Climax ore zoning technique are reviewed and discussed relative to their application in zoned geostatistical modeling. The Zoned Kriging technique is described and demonstrated using data typical of mineral de- posits.

Jan 1, 1984

By Robert L. Slobod

In much of the work reported in the literature on long cores. true connate water value, probably have not been obtained because of insufficient flow of 011 to attain equilibrium. A -.satisfactory method for establishing connate water in long cores has been developed in which oil flow is maintained until no additiona1 water is displaced. INTRODUCTION Long cores have been used by sev-erals investigators in an effort to evaluate the efficiency of oil recovery for various producing schemes. The effects of many variables such as rate of displacement. pressure drop, volume of displacing medium, gas-oil ratio, inter-facial tension, and others have been investigated, and the merits of gas drive have been compared with water drive. In the older experiments no connate water was used. but in the more recent stndies the philosophy of the experiment calls for a core containing oil and connate water (irreducible water) as the starting point of the experiment. The method generally used to establish this condition in long cores involves dynamic' displacement wherein one or more phases are forced through the core. flow being maintained at a constant rate or at a constant pressure until a steady state is reached wherein there is no change of saturation with time. It is one purpose of this paper to point out that in much of the work reported in the literature true connate water values probably have not been obtained. The reason for this failure is pointed out. and a method for obtaining more reliable connate water values on long cores is presented. It is impossible at this time to completely evaluate the effect on the conclusions in the earlier papers resulting from the failure to obtain true connate water in the long cores, but some data are presented which indicate that serious errors may he present in many cases. MATERIALS AND APPARATUS Cores cut front outcrop sandstones (Strawn. Torpedo, and Elgin sandstones) with permeabilities of the order of 300 md were used. The major experiments were made with a core 18-in. long and 2-in. in diameter. Cores of the same diameter but only 12-in. long were used in a few tests? and in some work a core I-in. in diameter and 11-in. long was used. These materials were all somewhat bentonitic. 'To reduce the effect of such constituents, one of the cores (Torpedo No. 10) on which the most work was performed was acid extracted at the start of the experiment. Brine containing 50,000 ppm chloride and naphtha (Stoddard's Solvent) were used as the water and oil phases, respectively. The core was mounted in a rubber sleeve which forms the inner lining of a brass cylinder. In this arrangement2 the rubber sleeve is forced against the core by applying pressure to water in the annular space between the rubber sleeve and the brass cylinder wall. The core is therefore sealed in rubber so that all fluids introduced at the input end of the core flow through the core. With this equipment the core may be easily removed for inspection and analysis. Also, other cores may be introduced for study with no extra time for preparation such as is required when plastic mounting is used. When pressure or conductivity measurements are desired at intermediate points along tile length of the core, the brass cylinder comprising the outer jacket of the core holder is cut into section, of the desired length. Each section is then made up as an individual unit with its own rubber sleeve (see Fig. 1). The individual units are then butted up against a ring of plastic or other insulating material which carries an electrical contact for resistivity measurements and an opening which can be used for the measurements of fluid pressures. The individual units are forced tightly against the plastic ring separators and held in place with several tie rods. Inlet and outlet end butts of the same diameter as the core and several inches in length are provided to control the introduction and withdrawal of fluids and to complete the arrangement for sealing the core within the rubber sleeve. Fluid flow is maintained either by applying pressure to the liquid confined in a reservoir or by the use of a gear pump. The latter is preferable where continuous flow at a moderate rate over a long time interval is desired since a small volume of liquid can be readily recirculated using filters to prevent plugging of the core. EXPERIMENTAL The oven-dried core is weighed and is then completely saturated with brine

Jan 1, 1950

By F. D. Rosi, Walter R. Hibbard, R. I. Herron, H. T. Clark, O&apos

Introduction and Previous Work In the search to find a copper-base alloy with high strength properties, it was considered that the addition of a small amount of an age-hardening element to a binary system with useful strength properties might result in a series of alloys of theeretical and practical importance. The copper-nickel system was selected for its basic properties and chromium was added as the age-hardening element in view of the small percentage involved and its decreasing solubility with decreasing temperature. A study of the Cu-Cr binary alloys was undertaken as a preliminary investigation. However, in view of the response of these alloys to heat treatment, the scope of this phase of the investigation was widened.

Jan 1, 1949

By George H. Ashley

It has been said that the Pittsburgh bed is the most valuable single mineral deposit yet known to man. The figures in Table 1 are presented in substantiation of that claim. Production and Value In order that the figures of Table 1 may have any weight, a statement must be made to show how they were arrived at. Because, to the writer's knowledge, no accurate separate figures ever have been kept of the production and value of the Pittsburgh coal bed, the states will be considered separately. Pennsylvania Accurate figures are obtainable for Pennsylvania for recent years because recent reports of the Pellnsylvania Department of Mines show the production from each mine and the bed worked at each mine. For recent years, therefore, it is only necessary to list the mines working in the Pittsburgh bed and add up their production. The value was obtained by treating each county separately, applying the average price for the county to the production of Pittsburgh coal in that county. Unfortunately for great accuracy, while production figures for individual mines are available for many years, the name of the bed being

Jan 1, 1938

By Keith Contor

The concept of using simulators to train operators of vehicles is not new. However, the Bureau of Mines initiated these programs to determine if computer controlled training devices would enhance production and improve safety in the coal mining industry. Two prototype devices have been constructed, tested and are currently operational. The continuous miner and dragline operator training systems both incorporate full scale operator stations using operational controls and displays. The operator interacts with the visual system through the cab controls to perform basic tasks and develop skills required for startup, operation and shutdown of the mining equipment. Data pertaining to the concepts and techniques applied during the design, development and evaluation of the training devices are presented. Descriptions of trainer designs and visual systems for training equipment are presented and the results of the system evaluation are summarized.

Jan 1, 1983

By T. H. Janes

NATURAL abrasives of some type are found in all countries of the world. In order of their hardness the principal natural abrasives are diamond, corundum, emery, and garnet, which are termed high grade, and the various forms of silica, including pumice, pumicite, ground feldspar, china clay and, most important, sandstone. The properties qualifying materials for use as abrasives are hardness, toughness, grain shape and size, character of fracture, and purity or uniformity. For manufacture of bonded grain abrasives such as grinding wheels, the stability of the abrasive and its bonding characteristics are also important. No single property is paramount for all uses. Extreme hardness and toughness are needed for some applications, as in diamonds for drill bits, while for other purposes the capacity of the abrasive to break down slowly under use and to develop fresh cutting edges is of greatest importance, as with garnet for sandpaper. In dentifrices, soaps, and metal polishes, of course, hardness and toughness are objectionable.

Jan 10, 1954

By E. A. Stevens

IT has been ascertained in recent years that certain rocktypes, geological formations and structural conditions may be used as fairly reliable guides, when prospecting in recognized mineral belts or mining districts, with a reasonable certainty of discovering "pay-ore;" and that such is considered as a practically established conclusion may be inferred from a perusal of the recent reports of the U. S. Geological Survey and the literature of the several scientific societies discussing minim, geology, and kindred subjects. Cripple Creek is no exception to this conclusion, and the rock-type or association, rather than the structural condition, is the most infallible guide.† These guides consist of four, possibly five, dike-rocks, three of which are extremely basic, while the fourth is an acid rock of an entirely dissimilar character. The basic rocks are nepheline-basalt, limburgite, feldspar-basalt and tephrite. There are grounds, however, for believing that the two latter are subdivisions of one type, and therefore will be described under one head. The acid rock is quartz-porphyry. Nepheline-basalt is-a rock encountered in but few localities elsewhere on this continent, and occurs in narrow dikes cutting various formations. When typical‡ it is composed of

Jan 1, 1913

By William Buell

As used in connection with open-hearth or other high-temperature operations, "insulation" refers to a multitude of substances, natural or manufactured, that have the one principal property of preventing the flow of heat by conduction to a greater degree than refractories can prevent it, the principal properties of the latter being resistance to tem-perature and/or chemical action. The term "control" as commonly applied to the mechanization of management functions is inappropriate without qualification, for without some degree of control of every operation we could produce no steel worthy of the name. Although grouped together in this paper, insulation and control in open-hearth furnaces have little, if any, interrelationship, therefore the paper is made up of two distinct parts.

Jan 1, 1935

By James R. Gage

THE lead deposits of Missouri may be divided into three districts, the southwest, middle, and southeast. As too much time would be required to devote a detailed account to each district, only a description of the modes of occurrence of the lead ores in the southeast district will be given. The lead mining region proper of Southeast Missouri is embraced in an area of about twenty-five miles in width by about one hundred in length. The country embraced in this district is very broken, and traversed by ridges from one hundred to three hundred feet in height, with an occasional knob rising higher. Porphyry forms almost the entire substructure of the region, with here and there outcrops of granite. The crystalline rocks were eroded into ridges and valleys before the deposition of the limestone took place. These porphyries are older than the Silurian limestones, and "belong (according to Pumpelly) to the Archaean (Azoic) formation, of which they may be the youngest member in Missouri. They are the near equivalents, in point of age, to the great iron-bearing rocks of Lake Superior, New Jersey, and Sweden."12/02/2007

Jan 1, 1875

By H. l. Burghoff

DURING the course of preparation of crystals of alpha brass for an investigation of their creep characteristics, a number of critically oriented crystals were produced. In each of these specimens, P0, the specimen axis, lay near some important crystallographic direction or on or near the border of two possible slip systems. Because of the unusual nature of their orientations, it was considered of interest to deform these speci-mens in simple tension and to study orientation changes and any unusual occurrences, different from what would be expected for specimens in which only one slip system had distinctly the highest maximum resolved shear stress. Choice of actual operating slip system in a crystal offering an immedi-ate possibility of two slip systems would be expected to be due to chance, defect, or some inhomogeneity. Even in an ideally perfect crystal so oriented, the natural oscillations of the atoms about their lattice positions would give rise to a condition wherein one slip system would be favored over the other at the critical shear stress. In the large, nonperfect crystals of the present investigation, slip on both systems, but in different portions of the specimen, might occasionally be expected.

Jan 1, 1940

By Carle R. Hayward

The growing importance of metallography has caused a corresponding interest in the improvement of apparatus for preparing specimens of metals and alloys for microscopic examination. The purpose of this paper is to describe an electric heating-furnace, a grinding- and polishing-machine, and a device for mounting specimens, which are used in the metallographical work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These three pieces of apparatus were designed and made in the laboratory of the Institute, and each possesses some original features which may be of interest. Electric Heating-Furnace. The accurate control of heat necessary for metallographic work is best obtained by the electric-resistance furnace. Uufortunately, however, even the platinum-wound furnaces cleteriorate with use and ultimately burn out, while the cheaper resistance-materials are often short-lived. Since the resistance-coil must be replaced from time to time, it is of advantage to be able to make this change with as little trouble as possible, and this is an important feature in the furnace shown in Fig. 1. A is a cylindrical galvanized-iron can, with two handles, B. A porcelain tube, C, passes through the central hole in the cover of the can and rests upon the asbestos disk, D; the bottom of the tube is held in place by the asbestos ring, 3. The space, F, around the tube is filled with powdered magnesia. G is an ordinary assay-crucible, with the cover inverted so as to present a smooth top for supporting a second porcelain tube, H. The latter is wound with " Excello " resistance-tape, 0.014

Jan 1, 1912