The role of natural gas in meeting the world energy demand has been increasing because of its abundance, versatility, and clean burning nature. As a result, new gas exploration, field development, and production activities are under way. This is especially true in places where natural gas was (until recently) labeled as “stranded.” Because a significant portion of natural gas reserves worldwide are located across bodies of water, gas transportation becomes an issue. We are dealing with many unique issues and facing many challenges in the entire “food chain” (upstream to midstream and downstream) of natural gas engineering.

The solution to this problem depends on your background in geology, chemistry, physics, and your familiarity with various laboratory instruments. Here are some possibilities Cut a fresh piece of each sample. Drop cold HCL on the freshly cut surface and observe. The limestone (Core A) will react vigorously with the cold HCL, releasing CO2 in the process. The sandstone (Core B) and dolomite (Core C) will not react with the cold acid. This simple test identifies the limestone conclusively.

Next, heat the HCL almost to its boiling point and repeat the test with the hot HCL on the two remaining samples (Cores B and C). The dolomite will react with the hot acid but the sandstone will not. This test distinguishes the dolomite from the sandstone. <...>

Soils are aggregates of mineral particles; and together with air and/or water in the void spaces, they form three-phase systems. A large portion of the earth’s surface is covered by soils, and they are widely used as construction and foundation materials. Soil mechanics is the branch of engineering that deals with the engineering properties of soils and their behavior under stress.

This book is divided into 11 chapters: “Soil Aggregate, Plasticity, and Classification,” “Stresses and Strains: Elastic Equilibrium,” “Stresses and Displacement in a Soil Mass: Two-Dimensional Problems,” “Stresses and Displacement in a Soil Mass: Three-Dimensional Problems,” “Pore Water Pressure due to Undrained Loading,” “Permeability,” “Seepage,” “Consolidation,” “Shear Strength of Soil,” “Elastic Settlement of Shallow Foundations,” and “Consolidation Settlement of Shallow Foundations.” This chapter is a brief overview of some soil properties and their classification.

It is assumed that the reader has been previously exposed to a basic soil mechanics course.

It is a privilege to introduce “Advances in Applied Strategic Mine Planning”, a collection of technical papers addressing core aspects of the sustainable, responsible and optimal development and utilization of Earth’s mineral resources. In a world of uncertain markets, mismatches between demand and reserve base growth (supply), emerging technologies, and new technical challenges and solutions, this book aims to support knowledge dissemination and mobilization of new concerns, concepts, methods and technologies.