|
|
Books > Professional & Technical > Other technologies > Mining technology & engineering
Since the beginning of the US shale gas revolution in 2005, the
development of unconventional oil and gas resources has gathered
tremendous pace around the world. This book provides a
comprehensive overview of the key geologic, geophysical, and
engineering principles that govern the development of
unconventional reservoirs. The book begins with a detailed
characterization of unconventional reservoir rocks: their
composition and microstructure, mechanical properties, and the
processes controlling fault slip and fluid flow. A discussion of
geomechanical principles follows, including the state of stress,
pore pressure, and the importance of fractures and faults. After
reviewing the fundamentals of horizontal drilling, multi-stage
hydraulic fracturing, and stimulation of slip on pre-existing
faults, the key factors impacting hydrocarbon production are
explored. The final chapters cover environmental impacts and how to
mitigate hazards associated with induced seismicity. This text
provides an essential overview for students, researchers, and
industry professionals interested in unconventional reservoirs.
Situated among the North Cascade Mountains of Washington State, in
the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area, Miners Ridge contains vast
quantities of copper. Kennecott Copper Corporation's plan to
develop an open-pit mine there was, when announced in 1966, the
first test of the mining provision of the Wilderness Act passed by
Congress in 1964. The battle over the proposed "Open Pit, Big
Enough to Be Seen from the Moon," as activists called it, drew the
attention of both local and national conservationists, who vowed to
stop the desecration of one of the West's most scenic places.
Kennecott Copper had the full force of the law and mining industry
behind it in asserting its extractive rights. Meanwhile the U.S.
Forest Service was determined to defend its authority to manage
wilderness. An Open Pit Visible from the Moon tells the story of
this historic struggle to define the contours of the Wilderness
Act-its possibilities and limits. Combining rigorous analysis and
deft storytelling, Adam M. Sowards re-creates the contest between
Kennecott and its shareholders on one hand and activists on the
other, intent on maintaining wilderness as a place immune to the
calculus of profit. A host of actors cross these pages-from cabinet
secretaries and a Supreme Court justice to local doctors and
college students-all contributing to a drama that made Miners Ridge
a cause cElEbre for the nation's wilderness movement. As locals
testified at public hearings and writers penned profiles in the
nation's magazines and newspapers, the volatile political economy
of copper proved equally influential in frustrating Kennecott's
plans. No law or court ruling could keep Kennecott from mining
copper, but the pit was never dug. Identifying the contingent
factors and forces that converged and coalesced in this case,
Sowards's narrative recalls a critical moment in the struggle over
the nation's wild places, even as it puts the unpredictability of
history on full display.
The hands of Cornish miners bore scars of one of the most
sophisticated traditions of hard-rock mining in the world.
Toughened "Cousin Jacks" brought generations of toilsome
underground experience to the Americas from one of the oldest
mining regions of the world. Once here, their skill with granite
and ore won their fame as the industrial elite of western mining
camps. Heirs of a perfected system of excavation, a valuable
terminology, and the technical edge of a culture immersed in
sinkings, stopes, and winzes, they were the world's best hard-rock
miners. Pioneers in American mine operation, Cornish miners
utilized tribute pay to raise output and made themselves partners
with a grueling industry. Expertise made them company men,
superintendents, captains, and drillers, with their success
dependent almost entirely on their own initiative, coolness, and
skill. They are part of a culture that has survived because its
very roughness gave a resilience and durability that could be
transplanted and take root in an alien soil. The courage and
determination of these "Cousin Jacks" in their struggle against
overwhelming odds is dramatically illustrated in numerous personal
stories. The Atlantic crossing, and the journey overland to the new
mining districts, were exhausting trials. Although their skill in
working with rock and water was soon recognized, the extremes of
weather and temperature, strange sicknesses, the constant danger of
accidents, and the lawlessness of the camps, all made life hard to
endure. Many did not survive to send home for their families, yet
the majority persevered to spread their legendary mining skills and
to bring social as well as religious stability to mining areas that
extended from Wisconsin to California. In the continent-wide search
for bonanzas, Cornish miners and their families played a vital part
in the opening-up of the American West, and in the shaping of
modern industrial America. The author follows them across the
Atlantic to the lead mines and farms of Wisconsin, along the trails
to Oregon and Death Valley, the Sierras and the Sacramento in
California, then to the copper and iron ranges in the Hiawatha
country of Upper Michigan; from there to the silver and gold
canyons of the Rockies and the notorious Comstock Lode in Nevada,
and finally to the deserts of Utah, Idaho, and Arizona. Originally
published in 1967, this new edition contains an updated
introduction by Dr. Todd. With extensive footnotes and index,
handsomely printed on acid-free paper stock with cloth cover which
is stamped in gold foil on the spine and cover.
|
|