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By H. D. Outmans

A method has been developed for determining the relative water wet-tability (fraction of the surface wet by water) of porous media. This method involves the adsorption of methylene blue dye from an aqueous solution onto the solid surfaces of rock contacted by the injected dye solution. Experiments on Berea snndstone cores have shown that water-wet cores adsorb a large amount of dye from solution. In oil-wet cores, however, the injected aqueous dye solution is prevented from contacting the adsorptive surfuces by a film of oil and virtually no dye is adsorbed. This method was tested by experiments on mixtures of water-wet and oil-wet sand. Using the dye adsorption method, it was possible to determine quantitatively the fraction of water-wet and oil-wet sarzd in such mixtures. The dye adsorption test is readily applied to determinitrg the relative water wettability of fresh oilfield cores. The cores are not extracted before testing. Observed values of the wettability of field cores tested to date have varied from 100 to 6 per cent water wet. INTR OD UCTIO N Recent articles1 ' have emphasized the important role that wettability plays in almost all phases of reservoir rock behavior. It has been shown that wettability has a profound effect on the interstitial water saturation, residual oil saturation, capillary pressure, relative permeability, waterflood behavior, and resistivity index of oilfield cores. A quantitative investiga- tion of the effect of wettability on these core properties is severely handicapped by the lack of a simple technique for measuring the wettability of a porous medium. If such a technique were available, it would provide investigators with a means of gaining insight into the distribution of phases within a core. A number of qualitative methods of estimating wettability are known. These include contact angle measurements, flotation tests and studies of displacement pressure: imbibition7 and relative permeability data.' Using these tests, it is usually possible to classify a core as water-wet, oil-wet, or some intermediate degree of wettability. One recently proposed method involving measurement of nuclear magnetic relaxatione offers promise of determining quantitatively the fractional wettability of cores. The equipment is rather elaborate and necessary treatment of the cores before testing probably alters the natural wettability. This latter point also applies to most of the cited qualitative methods. This paper presents a new technique for determining water wettability of cores; it is based on measurements of the dye adsorption capacity of the core. This method has the advantage of requiring relatively simple equipment and involves minimum handling of the core before testing. It is important to distinguish between the various concepts of wettability referred to in the literature. The term "wetting" is defined by Bartell as that phenomenon which occurs when a solid and liquid phase come in contact in any manner so as to form a solid-liquid interface. A preferentially water-wet solid is defined by Jennings in terms of the advancing contact angle in the solid water-oil systems. Brown and Fatt regard fractional wettability as the fraction of the total surface area that is preferentially oil-wet or water-wet. However, none of these definitions adequately describes the type wettability measured by the dye test. This calls for the introduction of a new term, "relative water wettability", which we define as the fraction of the total surface area of a core contacted by injected water. DESCRIPTION OF METHOD The ability of a porous medium (especially the clays) to adsorb large quantities of surfactants, dyes, etc., is well known. It is reasonable to assume that a substance can be adsorbed from solution onto a solid surface only if the solution contacts the surface. In this connection Shapiro" has shown by experiments on silica gel that completely dry gel will adsorb methyl red dye from a benzene solution. On the other hand, if a film of water more than several molecules thick is present on the silica gel, the adsorption capacity of the gel for the dye is drastically reduced. Thus, a study of the dye adsorption capacity of cores should give some clue as to the fluid distribution on the surface of the core. TEST OF METHOD As a qualitative check on this theory, dye adsorption tests were run on similar Berea sandstone cores (Table 1, Cores 1-5). Cores saturated initially with water and flooded with 0.01 per cent aqueous methylene blue adsorbed 0.58 mg dye/gm of core. Similar cores saturated initially with water, driven to irreducible water with oil, and then flooded with the same dye solution also adsorbed 0.58 mg dye/gm of core. Another core, treated with a 5 per cent Dri-Film solution, dried and saturated with oil (Soltrol) adsorbed no dye when the dye solution was injected. These tests confirm

By C. F. Cornell, R. C. Emmett, D. A. Dahlstrom

FOR many years the disk-type and cloth-covered drum filters have found widest application in liquid-solids separation, which uses continuous filters. The disk type is less expensive, occupies less floor space per square foot of filtration area, and requires negligible down time for filter media changing. However, because filter cloth is billowed out by the blowback in the cake discharge, it is very short-lived if the scraper blades are set too close. Consequently cake weight is very important in assisting cake discharge, which normally necessitates a minimum cake thickness of 3/8 to ½ in. Also, the vertical position of the disks eliminates the possibility of efficient cake washing for removal of soluble values. The disk-type filter is generally limited, therefore, to applications that require no cake washing and form relatively thick cakes within the normal range of filter cycle times. The conventional cloth-covered drum filter is a more flexible unit, permitting wider variation in the percentage of cycle time devoted to cake formation, dewatering, or washing, as required by the application. Thinner filter cakes can be discharged because a horizontal line across the filter medium at the location of the scraper blade is equidistant from the edge of the blade at all points. The scraper blade therefore may be set a short distance from the filter medium or, where wire winding is not used, a floating scraper can be utilized so that the contour of the cloth can be followed. The drum filter is generally employed when there are difficult filtering slurries with resultant thin cakes or when cake washing to recover soluble values must be practiced. Difficulties sometimes encountered in continuous filter operation can be summarized in the following four categories: 1) Low filtration and/or washing rates due to blinding of the filter medium. 2) Poor cake discharge resulting from sticky cakes, filter medium blinding, or too thin a cake for the particular type of filter. 3) High filter media costs caused by short life and frequent down times for cloth changing. This results from blinding or from abrasion by the scraper blade when cakes are thin. 4) Blowback of filtrate at cake discharge because not enough air passes through the cake to purge the drainage area and filtrate lines during dewatering. To reduce or eliminate blinding tendencies several modifications have been tried, for example, cover-cleaning showers, blowback under the feed slurry, and snap-blow cake discharge. In many cases, however, this simply retards the rate of blinding, since the filter medium is kept clean at its outer surface only by these methods. As blinding usually occurs within or on the back of the medium, the operator is finally forced either to remove the cloth and scrub the medium intensively with a cleaning solution or acid-rinse it on the filter—all resulting in down time, short cloth life, and additional costs.

Jan 1, 1959

By Charles Hart

In this paper it is the author's intention to show the extent and character of foreign ores now known to be available; these deposits may be in active production or held in reserve until economic conditions may make them active. He hopes to show the relation existing between these ores and the American supply, and which of the former are now producing or will in turn come into production when our better ores have been exhausted. This phase of this discussion must of necessity include some data as to the present rate of consumption and a study of the changes we may expect here and abroad in the general steel trade and its sources of supply in raw materials. It is obvious that the occurrence of coal, ore and limestone in relation to one another and the proximity of a market are the elements in control of this feature of the problem. If the foregoing situation is favorable, all the other questions may be solved, for it is clear that with proper basic conditions finance, labor and operations will fall in line. We present a short outline of the present methods of carrying on the foreign iron ore trade, believing that it is of general interest in comparison with our own highly specialized methods, and that with the exhaustion of our better ores we will be compelled to seek a part of our supply abroad. A partial list of iron ores, with incomplete analyses (Table I), is added, to give a better understanding of the general situation and explain to some extent the reason for things being as they are in the iron and steel trade of the world and to help in bringing this paper to an informing conclusion. The question of the world supply of iron ores has been a subject for study on the part of geologists and engineers for many years, and found its best results in the Eleventh International Geological Congress, appropriately held at Stockholm, Sweden, in 1910. The proceedings are published in two volumes and are undoubtedly the best records available on this subject at the date of publication. It should be borne in mind, however, that much has happened in the 20 years since these figures were assembled. There is just as much known ore at present as at that time, minus the quantity consumed, plus newly discovered reserves. The World War had great effect upon this situation; during that time explorations were greatly reduced and the settlements after the

Jan 1, 1929

By Allen V. Heyl

This old district is a major zinc and lead source and minor copper and barite source. Ores are chiefly in the Galena Dolomite and in limestones and dolomites of the Decorah and Platteville Formations, all of Middle Ordovician age. Locally, deposits have been mined from Lower Ordovician dolomites and Upper Cambrian sandstones. Small deposits of lead, zinc, and iron sulfides have been found in Upper Ordovician Maquoketa Shale and in Lower and Middle Silurian Edgewood, Kankakee, and Hopkinton Formations. No post-Precambrian igneous rocks are known in the region, and the granitic and metasedimentary Precambrian basement rocks unconformably underlie the district at depths of 1500 to 2000 feet. The strata are gently flexed and faulted, probably largely the result of gentle compressive and rotational adjustments in the underlying crystalline basement, especially along lineaments between basement blocks. Folds of three orders ·of magnitude are recognized, and many related reverse, strike-slip, and normal faults of small to moderate displacements are present. Zinc-lead deposits are commonly linear, arcuate, or elliptical in plan. Most ore occurs as vein fillings in fractures and as breccia fillings and lining vugs, but some is in bedded replacements and impregnations of wall rocks. The ore is in shears, small reverse and bedding- plant faults, joints, and solution-slump structures related to intermediate and small folds. The main primary minerals in their general sequence of deposition are quartz, illite, dolomite, pyrite, marcasite, cobaltite(?), sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, millerite, barite, and calcite. Wall-rock alterations include solution of the carbonate rocks, silicification, dolomitization, clay alteration, and sanded dolomite. Oxygenisotope, trace-element, lead-isotope, and sphalerite- stratigraphy studies are in progress. Fluid inclusions in sulfide and gangue minerals are filled with concentrated brines at 120° to 40°C. Sulfides are directly replaced by supergene minerals above the water table at 50 to 100 feet in depth. In this relatively cool climate and limestone environment, smithsonite is in pseudomorphs after sphalerite; solution transport and redeposition of supergene minerals are rare. Ore genesis is postulated by rising hot-water solutions-a mixture of heated connate, magmatic, and meteoric waters.

Jan 1, 1968

Joseph W. RichaRds, South Bethlehem, Pa. (communication to the Secretary*): The hold experiment of Mr. James Gayley in drying the blast used in the Isabella furnace has attracted the attention of the whole metallurgical world, and has given rise to a wide discussion of the reasons for its great success. Mr. Gayley and the capitalists who backed him in his work deserve congratulations on the success of the venture, not only because it succeeded, but because they have been rewarded far beyond the maximum that could be expected from theory or probability. To state the case in its simplest terms, all that could have been predicted was: (1) that the removal of the moisture from the blaet would result in the saving of the heat required for its decomposition, representing from 3 to 5 per cent. of the heat-value of the coke used; hence about that quantity of fuel might be saved; (2) that the furnace would be somewhat more independent of variations in the weather; (3) that the campaign would be a little hotter; and (4) that the speed of the blowing-eugines would be decreased, at least in amount proportionate to the reduction in temperature of the air led to them. I do not think anyone anticipated a much larger output per day. The results actually attained were: (1) the furnace made an increase of 24.86 per cent. in the output of pig-iron per day; (2) it consumed 19.6 per cent. less coke per ton of pig-iron made; (3) the blowing-engines were run 15.8 per cent. slower; and (4) the saving in power made up for the power required to run the refrigerating-plant. In addition, the blast was hotter; the waste-gases cooler, because of their smaller volume; and there was a greater proportion of carbon dioxide to carbon

Jan 1, 1906

By Lucien Eaton

THE use of filling in mines is less common in the United States than it is in Europe, where in some places it is required by law. In most cases the filling is placed by hand, and the material used for this purpose is the waste from development and that sorted from the ore in the stopes. When these sources provide an insufficient supply, additional rock must be quarried on surface or mined underground, or some other material :st be used. In different parts of the world sand, clay, gravel, culm, nulated slag, mill tailings, and even ashes, have been used as filling material in place of or in conjunction with rock. Of all the materials used for filling the best is probably clean sand. Gravel, finely crushed rock, granulated slag and coarse mill tailings are almost as good, and the methods used for placing and confining sand will apply equally well to any of these. The advantages of sand are its comparatively slight compressibility and the ease, economy and convenience with which it may be placed. On account of the voids, which necessarily occur in fills made of coarse waste, such fills will compress 10 to 25 per cent before they develop their full strength, whereas clean sand seldom compresses more than 5 per cent. Sand is especially desirable when practically complete filling is required, and sand derived from mill tailings, especially when not thoroughly cleaned, has been remarkably effective in sealing off and extinguishing mine fires. When natural sand is available on surface, or when it can be obtained from the mill tailings or tailings dump, the cost of using this material for fill will probably be considerably less than that of rock. In this paper it is not proposed to discuss all methods of filling, butt to describe some of the methods used for placing sand fill and to make a brief comparison of their merits.

Jan 1, 1932

THE CHAIRMAN.- This meeting is under the auspices of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, and I think the germ of the idea originated in the steel business. Last year there was a meeting of prominent people in the steel industry with the idea of getting together and discussing practical phases of their business, so that everybody could contribute and from that there might be benefit derived for the industry. Several months ago when Mr. Bain was in Salt Lake City, he and Mr. Oldright asked me what I, as an individual, thought of it. From that originated this idea of having the copper people come together to discuss reverberatory smelting and all its phases. In starting out, it seemed the best plan to ask members what particular subjects they wished to discuss first; that is, the ones that would be considered more important. We asked Mr. Oldright, or suggested sometime ago that the meeting be postponed until May because May is a lovely month in Salt Lake. There are a number of attractive features around the city. We have a number of smelters here and I think that probably the most of the benefit will be derived from talking in an informal way and visiting the various plants around. the valley. At any rate, speaking as a resident of Salt Lake, I am glad to see all of you gentlemen here, and hope you have an interesting and instructive time. The tentative list of subjects for discussion at this conference is as follows: Construction Walls, etc. Walls, proper design and thickness of brick for various types of charging. Bottoms, construction of. Binding steel, correct weight and arrangement, where thrust of arch should be taken. Refractory materials, feasibility of using different material in various parts of the furnace. Water jackets, where applicable. Should bricks be used inside of same. Gas space, proper design for, height of roof above bath, etc. Roof Shape of Roof, in hot zone and elsewhere, longitudinally. Construction of roof, in various zones, around openings.

Jan 1, 1930

Jan 1, 1886

By AIME AIME

MANY interesting papers, opportunity of seeing o1d friends, and an exposition showing all that is latest in equipment, all were factors in bringing a large crowd to Detroit during "Metal Week," October 2-6. The Institute's Iron and Steel and Institute of Metals Divisions held technical sessions at the Statler Hotel on October 4 and 5, and that hotel was also headquarters for the American Society for Steel Treating and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, both of which also had technical sessions. The American Welding Society and the Wire Association met at the Book-Cadillac Hotel, and the exposition was staged at Convention Hall, out Woodward Avenue. All in all it was a big week for men interested in metal working. One of them stated to your reporter on the train en route to Detroit that this was the one convention that he never missed, and doubtless others felt the same way about it.

Jan 1, 1933

By Scott Turner

PRESIDENT SCOTT TURNER officiated as chairman of the opening session on mining methods, Monday morning, Feb. 15. The first paper was that of Max H. Barber on open-pit mining in the Lake Superior district, read by C. F. Jackson. W. L. Taylor stated that liquid-oxygen explosive had been tried but that the operators are satisfied with the explosives used; lb. of dynamite breaks one ton of rock. Although black powder is considered the most effective explosive, the factor of safety has decided in favor of high explosives. Lucien Eaton told of the Michigan Lime and Chemical Co.'s large L. 0. X. plant at Rogers City, Mich. Mr. Turner referred to this plant, also said that the Bureau of Mines is shortly to issue Bulletin 349 completely covering the use of L. 0. X. from its inception. W. D. B. Motter, Jr., gave some items concerning Chuquicamata, Chile. Twelve years ago the blasts moved 850,000 to 1,000,000 tons, but average shots now move 250,000 to 300,000 tons. One pound of L. 0. X. breaks 3.7 tons, against 3.1 tons by dynamite. Another speaker told of some large dynamite blasts in open pits, one of 360,000 Ib. in March, 1931, and another of 430,000 lb. to be shot in 1932. Tests have been made to determine the effect of large shots on the surrounding country. Mr. Taylor said that 4- and 5-yd. shovels were preferable to those of 8 yd.; their performance is better and cost is lower.

Jan 1, 1932

There were present twelve- Directors, the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary of the Institute, and fifteen guests. A committee of three was appointed to draft a suitable resolution of memorial of the services of Joseph Esrey Johnson, Jr. The committee consists of Joseph W. Richards, Chairman, J. V. N. Dorr and Allen H. Rogers. William R. Walker was elected a Director in place of J. E. Johnson, Jr., and Edwin Ludlow was elected a member of the Executive Committee in his stead. George C. Stone was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Membership in place of Mr. Johnson. The following resolutions were then adopted: RESOLVED, That a special business meeting of the Institute be and the same hereby is appointed to be, held at the office of the Institute, No. 29 West 39th Street, Borough of Manhattan, City of New York, on the 27th day of June, 1919, it 8.30 o'clock in the P. M. to consider and take action upon the proposal to change the name of the Institute to "American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, Incor-porated," and the further proposal to extend the corporate purposes of the Institute so that it shall, in addition to its other powers, be empowered to promote the arts and sciences connected with the economic production of the useful minerals and metals, and the welfare of, those employed in these industries, by all lawful means.

Jan 6, 1919

By A. A. Steel

(Spokane Meeting, September, 1909.) DURING. the summer of 1905 I was employed by the U. S. Geological Survey to investigate the geology, Mining, and preparation of barite in most. of the fields of the United States. The Eastern districts have been more or less completely described ; the Virginia field in detail by Thomas L. Watson, in his paper, Geology of the Virginia Barite-Deposits,' and other fields in abstract., including statistics of production and references to current literature, by various authors .2 There have also been published a few details of the occurrence of barite in the lead-mines of Washington county, Mo.3 The other accounts of this district are erroneous and meager, and since this field is the most important one in the United States at the present time, a detailed description of the local geology seems doubly desirable. Barite-deposits are scattered over nearly the whole of Washington and adjoining counties, but. the product, is all mined from the areas indicated upon the sketch-map, Fig. 1, and is shipped from the stations of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain &. Southern railway, between Blackwell and Potosi, from 45 to 60 miles SW. of St.. Louis. The topography is for the most part gently rolling, with slightly graded streams, usually less than 200 ft. below the higher hill-tops. Along Mineral fork and Indian creek are :some steep bluffs and cliffs, affording good exposures of the

Feb 1, 1910

By A. M. Khan, I. Fatt

A new type of steady-state thermal conductivity apparatus is presented and described. Results of measurements on Berea sandstone, Solehofen limestone, Bandera sandstone and Bakelite are presented. The measurements were made in a two-hour period at temperatures up to 80C and axial stress to 125 bars. Results show that the thermoelectric heat pump and tbermistor-controlled electric heater can be used in a steady-state apparatus for measuring thermal conductivity of mck. Steady-state is reached within two hours. With Urethane foam insulation, not more than 3 per cent of heat is lost by radial flaw. The apparatus can be used as a comparator or for absolute thermal conductivity determinations. INTRODUCTION Calculations of heat flow through the earth, both for scientific purposes and engineering design, require thermal-conductivity data on rock. However, the high variability of rock often makes handbook thermal-conductivity data of little value. For engineering purposes in particular, it is desirable to have measured data on samples of the rock mass under study. Laboratory methods for measuring thermal conductivity of rock use either time-dependent1-3 or steady - state temperatures .4,5 The time -dependent (transient) techniques give thermal diffusivity from which thermal conductivity can be calculated if the specific heat and density of the sample is known. Most transient techniques require lengthy and involved sample preparation. Also, the accuracy tends to be low. Steady-state techniques are more exact and are the most commonly used. The steady-state methods, however, also have their difficulties. A long time is often required to reach steady state, troubles have been encountered in establishing good thermal contact between the heating and cooling elements and the rock sample, and unaccounted-for heat losses are difficult to prevent. In this paper we present a description of a new type of steady-state thermal conductivity apparatus. With it, measurements have been made in two hours at temperatures up to 80C and axial stress to 125 bars. Sample preparation is simple and no thermal conductivity standard is needed.6 APPARATUS Our steady-state apparatus is an improvement . over the conduction pile used by Zierfuss and van der vliet4 and Somerton.5 A linear heat flux is established through a conduction pile consisting of the rock sample and a standard material of known thermal conductivity in series. The thermal conductivity of the sample is calculated from the ratio of the temperature drop across the sample

Jan 1, 1966

By AIME AIME

ALL technical men who are planning to visit the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago this summer-and all reports indicate that it will be worth visiting-should try to be there during Engineers' Week, beginning June 26. At that time most of the national engineering societies of the country will hold important meetings in that city. Engineers will thus have an opportunity not only to see the Fair at a time when special programs have been arranged for their benefit, but will have the opportunity to meet their professional brothers and to attend technical sessions of direct interest to them. The A.I.M.E. headquarters will be at the Stevens Hotel, and it will be to the interest of every Institute member who expects to attend the Fair at that time to secure his accommodations as promptly as possible. A request to the Chairman of the Chicago Section, A.I.M.E., or to the Secretary's office in New York, will bring a copy of the program as soon as it is available, together with any in- formation desired about hotel accommodations or other matters. The Chairman of the Chicago Section is J. R. Van Pelt, and his address is Museum of Science and Industry, 1525 East 53rd St., Chicago.

Jan 1, 1933

By ALBERT F. J. BOARDEAUX

(Canal Zone Meeting, November. 191(j.) I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 1. Historical. ALLUVIAL gold was first discovered in Guiana in 1852, in the sands of the Arataye river; by Paulino, a Brazilian convict. During the following years, gold was found also in the rivers Orapu, Cirubé, etc. In 1873 the famous placers of the Sinnamary system were opened: Saint-Elie, Dieu-Merci, Adieu-Tat, and Couriége. This group of mines has produced nearly $10,000,000, according to official records, not including the gold that escaped the taxes. The discoverer was a mulatto named Vitalo. Except in a few rich spots, the gold was rather evenly distributed along the creeks. In one instance, gold was found in the red dirt from the slope of a hill, which, after transport to the creek, gave an amount of 150 kilograms. The placers of the Mana system, Enfin, Elysée, Pas-Trop-Tot, date from 1878, and their production has been about $5,000,000. In 1888, the Awa placers, along the boundary between the French and Dutch Guianas, on the Maroni and its tributaries, were discovered. They have yielded $12,000,000. The only industrial company,, the Dutch Guiana French Mining Co., produced in 15 years about 2,500 kg. of gold, worth $1,500,000. From 1893 dates the famous Carsewene discovery, in territory then in dispute between France and Brazil. A settlement was made recently in favor of Brazil, by arbitration of the Switzerland State Council. Carsewene is said to have pro-duced about $18,000,000 in six years (1894-1900), but not even one-fourth of the production went through French Guiana and

Nov 1, 1910

By J. A. Berger, R. J. Towner

The pjPocesses of polygonization and subgrain growth were followed in slightly stretched 99.99 pct A1 single crystals heated for cumulative times at 400°, 500°, and 600°C. Changes in sub-grain size and boundary angle were determined from measurements on X-ray micrographs. CAHN1, 2 studied polygonization in stretched and heated aluminum single crystals of 99.99 pct A1 using various techniques, including etch pits, Laue patterns, and a slight restretching of heated specimens to reveal small changes in lattice orientation by the direction of new slip lines. He found that kink bands, which had well-defined boundaries lying in a plane perpendicular to the slip direction (at least in the early stages of deformation), formed during stretching. Also, he noted that bending occurred about the <211> axis lying in the (111) slip plane perpendicular to the <110> slip direction. His studies of polygonization were largely confined to the kink bands rather than to the weakly bent matrix regions between bands. The minimum temperature required to bring about polygonization was established at about 450 "C. Guinier and Tenevin used a focusing Laue X-ray diffraction technique to study polygonization in aluminum single-crystal specimens of 99.99 pct purity. Stretching the crystals 5 pct in tension caused a widening of the focused Laue spots. After heating for 4 hr at 450°C, their method revealed no change in the specimen. Above 450°C polygonization was detected and further annealing near 600°C led to subgrain growth. They concluded that the orientation of the crystal relative to the axis of deformation had no marked effect on polygonization. Gay and Honey-combe4 using an X-ray microbeam technique found that polygonization did not occur in a stretched aluminum crystal heated at 250oC, although some decrease in the yield strength occurred. When the temperature was raised to 475oC, the asterism became broken up as a result of polygonization. Honeycombe5 noted that reflections on X-ray mi-

Jan 1, 1961

By Charles H. Jacoby

The solution mining of evaporites has a history of approximately 5,000 years. The insitu leaching of metalliferous ore will have many of the same characteristic problems which have confronted industry for years in the production of evaporite minerals. Basically we will be converting the less soluble forms of valuable metals into their more soluble salts and producing these in much the same manner as, for example, sodium chloride. There are a number of problems which we are faced with that are more complex and complicated and, therefore, will require a higher degree of sophistication than previously employed. One of our most important undertakings will be the clearcut definition of the problems involved. While a great deal of expertise can be drawn from the solution mining of evaporites and the oil industry, problems peculiar to the hydrometallurgical field will need to be solved. One of these is the introduction of permeability into an impermeable rock so as to expose the sought after values of metals which by volume are infinitesimal when compared with sodium chloride, potash or other type water soluble mineralization. After establishing this permeability which will be miniscule when compared to a solution cavity, there will be the maintenance of this permeability. In general, salt deposits are of a somewhat uniform chemical composition and thus their chemistry was relatively simple. Each metalliferous ore body is somewhat unique in its chemistry and will need to be treated accordingly.

Jan 1, 1974

R. F. MCELVENNY.- Over 20 years ago I went back East on a little tour of copper companies to see how copper was handled and fabricated, and I met a Mr. Bassett who took me through the Waterbury branche of the American Brass Co. I have not seen this gentleman for 20 years, but I have a letter from him that I would like to read to you. &apos;The American Brass Co. Waterbury, Conn. May 19, 1930. To the-Salt Lake City Conference on Reverberatory Smelting Practice: Through the courtesy of Mr. Scott Turner, Director of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, Mr. G. L. Oldright has been temporarily released from his regular duties to act as your secretary. We have asked him and Mr. McElvenny to make the necessary preliminary arrangements and to present to you at the opening session the greetings of the officers and&apos; directors of the Institute. I am very glad that it has been possible for you to come together under the auspices of the Institute and that the acceptance of our invitation has been so very unanimous. Such an acceptance of the invitation to this meeting indicates your interest in getting together for an exchange of technical data and ideas. We anticipate that this meeting will be of real service to the smelting industry through your open discussion and exchange of ideas, and we sincerely hope that you will form an organization which will arrange for future meetings of a similar nature. While it probably may not be desirable to. distribute the minutes of this conference except to the members who take part in it, we hope that later the Institute publications may be enriched by such matter as you think it desirable to have published; and also, that some of you may be able to offer technical papers for the Institute publications. I hope that you will find a permanent organization desirable and trust that it will be possible for you to form such an organization so that conferences may be regularly called. We hope that you can make use of the Institute organization and that we can be of real service to your industry. With best wishes for your success in this undertaking, I am Most cordially yours, W. H. Bassett, President.

Jan 1, 1930

By L. B. Slichter

Prospecting is certainly the world&apos;s biggest and best gambling business. It is a game where the chips cost many thousands and where many millions, even billions, can be won. An attractive feature of this gamble is the fact that the players are free to rig the odds as favorably as possible. Only the limited bounty of nature, the restrictions of the laws of the land, the competition from other players, the limited sagacity of the player himself— only these, and other factors, restrict the possibilities for large winnings. Today probably about half the land surface of the earth remains to be searched for signs of ore visible at the surface. It is fortunate that so much land still remains for exploration by relatively economical methods. Looking to the future, it is a good guess that the costs of finding ore will increase in response to increasing technical difficulties. To continue to achieve profits from prospecting, it will become necessary to analyze the business more skillfully, in a more and more sophisticated manner. Whenever feasible, qualitative concepts must be replaced by their quantitative equivalents, improvements, and extensions. THE GAMBLE The fact that prospecting is a gambling business reminds us at once of the elementary rule known as the law of gambler&apos;s ruin. I hesitate to mention so simple a rule in this company of experts. This rule expresses the rather serious chance of going broke when the odds for success are small, merely by a normal run of bad luck regardless of the long-run expectations of gain. The only sure way of avoiding this special risk of gambler&apos;s ruin is to have enough capital, and the will, to continue the play many times and thus ride out the inevitable runs of bad luck. For example, if the probability of success is one in ten for each venture, there is a 35 pct chance that ten successive ventures will fail in a row. But if one has the capital to continue the play through a run of 100 failures, then the chance of gambler&apos;s ruin is only 5 in 100,000. Almost any management, I suppose, would be under terrific pressure to cease the play during a long run of bad luck. To continue to prospect under such circumstances requires great confidence in the premises, and a firm conviction in the long-term expectation of profit. There is evidence which I shall mention that in the future even the strongest companies may not have the necessary capital to prospect on the ideal scale. Joint ventures will be very desirable as a means for extending the available venture

Jan 1, 1961

By Paul W. Zimmer, Carl E. Dutton

Iron ore in the Menominee district is mined from two iron-formations of middle Precambrian age. The older formation is present in the northeastern part; is composed mainly of hematite, magnetite, quartz, and minor silicates; and contains about 34 per cent iron. The rock has been so coarsened by meta- morphism that concentration of magnetite and hematite is feasib!e, and pellets containing more than 60 per cent iron are being produced. The older formation is also present in the southeastern part where it has 1:een only slightly metamorphosed. Ore containing more than 50 per cent iron was formerly mined from local residual concentrations of iron oxides from which silica had been sufficiently leached, or replaced by iron oxide, or affected by combinations of these processes. The younger iron-formation occurs in the western part of the district and, if unaltered, is interlayered siderite and chert. The ore in this area also contains more than 50 per cent iron and formed as local residual concentrations but in two stages. The siderite was converted to iron oxides (hematite and "limonite"), and silica was contemporaneously or subsequently removed by leaching, or replacement, or combinations of these processes.

Jan 1, 1968