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Recent Bureau of Mines research in earth grounding safety is documented in three separate papers. First, guidelines for the design of a 5- ohm borehole ground are presented. Next, an inexpensive practical means to construct a low-resistance bed in high-resistivity soil is described. Finally, a procedure that employs a commercial resistivity meter to measure shock potentials around grounded objects is explained step-by-step. These papers complement the material presented at an earlier technology transfer seminar and published as IC 8767.

Jan 1, 1985

By Thomas J. Peters

In 1979 and 1980, the U.S. Bureau of Mines and U.S. Geological Survey conducted a mineral survey of the 15,600 acre (6,310 ha) Freel Peak RARE II area (No. 5271) in the Lake Tahoe Management Unit. This study by the Bureau of Mines indicates that potential for economic mineral resources in the area is slight. The only mineralized structures in the area consists of two quartz veins. One quartz vein, at the Mountain Top Mine (fig. 1), located by Fred Denner in 1932, is estimated to contain 2,000 tons (1,800 t) of silver and copper-bearing resources. Chip samples from the vein averaged 0.61 oz silver per ton (20.91 g/t), and 1.59 percent copper. The narrow vein is not economically mineable. The other quartz vein is poorly exposed and contains traces of molybdenum. A second reported molybdenum occurrence could not be substantiated.

Jan 1, 1982

The condition of the domestic mining industry is obviously affected by the cycles in general business conditions. This study, the results of which are presented in a series of 78 charts, attempts to examine the interrelationships between the general business indicators and the major statistical measures for the base-metals industries during the cycles in the United States economy following World War II. For these industries the cyclical problem is perhaps less acute than the secular-trend problem. However, short-run fluctuations in production and employment do have very important impacts upon the welfare of the regions which derive a significant portion of their income from base-metals mining and processing industries. Any information concerning the normal patterns of development as the industries enter into a cyclical recession will permit better forecasts and perhaps help promote measures to alleviate the distress that occurs. Also, a systematic study of the comparative movements among the statistical measures during a series of cycles can bring to the fore the economic causation involved, and perhaps, after intensive study, can lead to a better method of short-range forecasting for these industries. This study has not fully achieved these aims. However, observations which significantly aid the interpretation of the current monthly statistics on these commodities are made, and some very general conclusions are drawn. The charts are presented so the interested people can examine them and draw additional conclusions. The charts refer specifically to cyclical analysis. The technique of indexing each cycle to its turning point effectively subordinates the longer term trend movements of the data. Thus, certain general conclusions flowing from this study and from the continuing economic research of the Office of Chief Economist will aid the reader by clarifying the frame of reference within which the charts should be examined.

Jan 1, 1961

By W. H. Schiffbauer

NIOSH has developed an active proximity warning system called HASARD (Hazardous Area Signaling and Ranging Device) for warning workers as they approach known dangerous areas around heavy mining equipment and other dangerous work zones. HASARD is composed of a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter generates a 60-kHz magnetic field using one or more wire loop antennas. Each antenna is adjusted to establish a magnetic field pattern for each hazardous area. The receiver, worn by the worker, is a magnetic field strength meter. The received signal is compared against preset levels which are calibrated to identify levels of danger. The receiver outputs can include visual, audible, and vibratory indicators and it can also be made to disable machine functions. HASARD was field tested on a Joy 12 continuous miner, a Komatsu 210 M Haulpak, and on a highwall launch vehicle. Slight modifications were made for each application. HASARD provided warnings as designed and proved to be rugged enough to withstand the harshest of production environments.

By John C. Machisak

THIS INFORMATION CIRCULAR contains injury and employment data for all stone quarries in the United States for the Calendar year 1960. This publication contains statistical data on injuries and employment pertinent to the stone quarries and related operations, such as the manufacture of cement and lime, rock dressing etc., but excludes statistics for clay and sand and gravel operations. Data for these commodities may be found in other Bureau publications. Reports received from the operators are voluntary responses to the Bureau's request for information; therefore, the figures may not be complete for the industry. However, since these data contribute greatly to the promotion of safety, every effort has been made to make them representative of the industry.

Jan 1, 1963

By D. E. Wolfson

The Bureau of Mines carbonized 35 coal samples from Logan and Mingo Counties) W. Va., at 900° C using the Bureau of Mines-American Gas Association method, and determined yields of products and physical properties of cokes. Twenty samples represented the No.5 Block, Stockton, Chilton, Cedar Grove, Lower Cedar Grove, Alma, No. 2 Gas, and Eagle beds in Logan County, and 15 samples represented the Coalburg, Buffalo Creek, Winifrede, Cedar Grove, Lower Cedar Grove, Alma, and No.2 Gas beds in Mingo County, W. Va, Chemical analyses were determined for all coals. All coals in both counties rank as high-volatile A bituminous. Most of the coals are chemically suitable for metallurgical coals. Coals with accept-able ash and sulfur contents can be used as major constituents in coking blends with higher rank coal to yield coke with satisfactory properties for blast furnace use.

Jan 1, 1967

By Joseph M. Singer

This research project had two main objectives: (1) To identify the smoke limits of gaseous fuel-air mixtures and (2) to obtain and evaluate basic chemical information on the formation of smoke in very rich flames near the smoke limit. Such information would do much to establish the circumstances for car-bon deposition in gas appliances and in other types of combustors. Based on tests with ethylene and propane, these studies showed the following: 1. Smoke limits are related to the yellow-tip limits of the fuel. Previous research established sufficient data to permit prediction of yellow-tip limits on gas burners using a wide variety of fuels. The present study of smoke limits deals only with ethylene-air flames, but the concept that was developed is probably applicable to other fuels.

Jan 1, 1962

By William A. Beck

The Construction Aggregates Corp. operates a plant for processing sand and gravel from two deposits in Ottawa County, Mich. The bulk of the sand is obtained from a sand dune on the shore of Lake Michigan, and the gravel is dug from a glacial-drift deposit farther inland. Mining is done with draglines, and the material, both at the digging site and in the plant, is moved mainly by systems of conveyors. The Ferrysburg plant serves customers along the Great Lakes, which is unusual for a business normally local in character. Annual production exceeds 1-1/2 million tons of sand and gravel as concrete aggregate and 200,000 tons of core sand for foundry use.

Jan 1, 1962

By Willis Beckering

The Bureau of Mines designed a cell having four variable compartments in series to facilitate analysis of multicomponent mixtures. Use of the cell considerably decreases the time required for differential absorption analyses. A solution of a major component is placed in each compartment, and the light absorbed by each of these components is varied by increasing or decreasing the path length of the appropriate cell. Simple calculations then establish the amount of the component present. In analyzing unknown mixtures, compensation is made for compounds known to be present, and the differential spectrum representing components not accounted for is recorded and analyzed.

Jan 1, 1966

By R. Hogg, T. F. Dumm

"It is generally agreed that dust characteristics play a role in the development of Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis (CWP). Unfortunately, there is a serious lack of information on what the characteristics of mine dust actually are and how they vary among different mining regions, coal seams, etc. This paucity of data can generally be attributed to the serious problems encountered in collecting sufficiently large quantities of dust for conventional analytical procedures.Personal samplers are widely used in coal mines for regulatory and enforcement purposes. Generally, these provide information only on the total (respirable) dust loading in the mine atmosphere and on the mineral matter (primarily quartz) content of the respirable dust. A procedure has been developed by which samples collected with a slightly modified personal sampler can be analyzed for particle size distribution, total mineral matter content and elemental composition, in addition to the standard mass and quartz measurements. These analyses could readily be performed on a routine basis. Shape analysis by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) could easily be included if appropriate shape criteria are established. Extension of the procedure to include the determination of complete size/specific gravity (composition) distributions is quite straightforward provided sufficiently large samples (at least 10 mg) can be collected. Typical sample sizes for a personal sampler carried by a miner for one shift range from about 0.5 to 2 mg.The basic procedure was developed and evaluated using synthetic mine dust prepared in the laboratory. Field tests in three working mines in Pennsylvania and West Virginia have confirmed the applicability of the approach to the real world. Particle size distribution measurements on mine dust collected in the modified personal sampler were found to agree closely with the results of simultaneous in situ measurements obtained using cascade impactors."

Mar 1, 1989

By Charles B. Kenahan

Application of ultrasonics in the electrolytic deposition of metallic manganese and manganese dioxide from sulfate electrolytes had several effects. Ultrasonics produced finer-grained deposits of electrolytic manganese at all current densities than obtained in normal cell operation, but at high current densities it resulted in less adherent deposits. Ultrasonic radiation did not affect cell voltage or cathode current efficiency. In the electrodeposition of manganese dioxide at 70° C., ultrasonic-; increased the current efficiency and decreased the cell voltage at a current density of 9 amperes per square foot, but it had little effect at current densities above this. The decrease in cell voltage was caused by the depolarizing action of ultrasonics at both anode and cathode. Ultrasonic radiation produced a smooth, glossy, adherent, and pit-free deposit at all current densities and at each temperature. Radiation had no effect on current efficiency or cell voltage at 90° C. Ultrasonics was more effective than conventional agitation in producing all of these effects.

Jan 1, 1962

By Joseph Grumer

The range of composition of gases synthesized from solid fuels which are exchangeable with natural gas on current gas appliances was evaluated by theoretical principles. These principles consider primarily the flashback, blowoff, and yellow-tipping characteristics of air-entraining burner flames. It was found that complete identity between the synthetic and natural product is not necessary. Gases such as may be obtained by hydrogasification of coal and other solid fuels without the removal of unreacted hydrogen offer advantages in flame characteristics. Between 25 to 37 percent hydrogen can be tolerated in the sendout gas.

Jan 1, 1965

By R. L. Rock

The Bureau of Mines conducted radiation-ventilation studies in six large underground uranium mines to investigate the extent of radon-daughter exposure experienced by the miners and to analyze the ventilation systems to set what changes were required to achieve recommended radiation standards. The studies entailed tracing and measuring the mines' ventilating air, quantitatively and qualitaitively, from its entrance into the mines, through production areas, and lack to the surface. Pressures consumed in creating airflow through mine circuits were determined by altimeter surveys. Air quantities were measured with anemometers or by chemical smoke cloud methods. Air quantities delivered through tubing were determined using U-tube water gages to magnahelic gages to measure velocity pressures. Radon-daughters were filtered from mine air to measure alpha activity; activity levels were converted to "working levels," the established unit for reporting miner exposure. Attention was given to locating unnecessary contamination influx sources and recirculating air. The radiation-ventilation surveys showed that where basic principles of food ventilation were not followed, high alpha radiation levels invariably resulted. Some mines required more primary air for controlling radiation levels throughout active areas, but more efficient use of available air was generally possible. Premature contamination of intake air was prevalent where development Openings intersected ore or passed by worked-out stopes. Several auxiliary systems were inefficient in secondary distribution, recirculating air already too highly contaminated for ventilation. Many got these common problems can be traced try the lack of dine planning with radiation control in mind.

Jan 1, 1969

By J. E. Chilton

The U.S. Bureau of Mines has developed an intrinsically safe carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring system for mines by coupling a fiber-optic data telemetry (FODT) system with a prototype electro-chemical CO monitor. The CO monitoring system can be used in a coal mine as one component of an early fire warning system. This system may be used in belt haulage entries when the entries are used for supplying ventilation air to working places. The FODT accepts a 0.1-to 1.1-V analog signal from the monitor and converts it to pulses (0 to 5 V) at frequencies from 1.1 to 11 kHz that drive a light-emitting diode (LED). An electrically nonconducting fiber-optic cable carries the LED signal to a remote receiver. The receiver analyzes the incoming light signal and displays the measured CO concentration in parts per million. This report discusses the performance of the FODT system and characteristics of the CO monitor such as response times, linearity, and temperature and pressure effects.

Jan 1, 2010

By S. H. Ash

The United States Bureau of Mines has published relatively little on the flooding and unwatering of coal and metal mines. Bulletin 229, Fifty-Nine Coal-Mine Fires, published in 1927, contains several instances of the flooding of mines or sections thereof to extinguish fires but does not describe their unwatering. Report of Investigations 2649, Explosion Hazards Incidental to Unwatering Coal Mines, published in 1924, warned against the possibility of gas accumulations in flooded mines and indicated the precautions to be taken. Report of Investigations 2255, An Unusual Hazard in Reopening Long-Flooded Timbered Metal Mines, published in 1921, told of methane being pocketed and the danger thereof. The flooding of mines originates in many ways. At some mines flooding followed reopening after what was thought to be permanent abandonment; also, explosions have caused some mines to be flooded. Extinguishing fires, accidental encountering of underground streams or flooded old workings, and caves of strata admitting water from underground workings, water-bearing strata, or surface accumulations have also flooded all or parts of mines. Unfortunately, un watering often necessitates much study and causes apprehension largely because experiences in similar situations are not generally known, as few descriptions of successful or unsuccessful methods are available. The job has sometimes been contracted for outside the local management involved and has become a matter of record for the contractor only. As the cost-plus contract system often employed in the past is now known to be expensive, careful managements elect to handle the problem themselves, in line with the general policy of cutting expense where possible. This report describes specific in-stances of successful unwatering by operators.

Jan 1, 1933

By R. L. Montgomery

Electronegativities of the rare-earth elements were calculated from heats of formation. The values obtained from different compounds varied widely. The postulates of Pauling's electronegativity theory were interpreted for bonds that are primarily ionic; the study showed that many compounds obey rules of the form expected. Revised electronegativity values are given for the more electropositive elements, including the rare-earth metals (which are near magnesium in electronegativity). Estimates of un-known heats of formation are made from electronegativities and are compared with other estimates. INTRODUCTION Calculation of the electronegativities of the rare-earth elements is interesting to show how these metals stand relative to the other metals and to each other, and also possibly to systematize the thermochemical data on them.

Jan 1, 1960

By J. J. Bourquin

"The Keely mine at Dagger, Indiana, is one of the few mines that is being operated successfully on a cooperative basis. This shaft mine is developing 133 acres of coal in the Indiana No. 6 bed, which here averages 5-1/2 feet thick and. lies about 110 feet below the surface. Thirty seven (37) miners and twenty (20) company men or day man are employed, and the daily output is around 300 tons. Practically the entire production is sold by contract for railroad use. No mining machines are used and all coal is produced by pick work.The mine was originally owned and operated by the Stockton Coal. Co. of Dugger, but about eight years ago it was leased to Mr. Roy Price. He sub-leased the property to ten miners, who formed an association known as the Dugger Mutual Coal and Mining Co., to work the mine cooperatively.At first many difficulties were encountered; the cooperative idea is an old one, but the practice was new to those interested. Some of the men were energetic, ambitious workers; others were inclined to let their associates produce the coal but wanted to share in the profits. In time, after a hard struggle and many changes in the personnel of the company, business-like methods were adopted and the mine was put on a paying basis."

Feb 1, 1983

By V. Castranova, K. Van Dyke

"I. INTRODUCTIONA mechanism which is present in leukocytes and capable of releasing histamine from rabbit platelets was first described by Barbaro and Zvaitler in I966. A soluble mediator between rabbit leukocytes and platelets was also detected by Siraganian and Osier in 1971. This factor was isolated and characterized in 1971 by Benveniste et al. and named platelet activating factor i PAF). It was shown to be released from rabbit basophils through an antigen - IgE-dependent mechanism. The presence of PAF in human leukocytes' and its aggregation and releasing effects on human platelets were also demonstrated. Chemical analysis has shown that PAF is a glycerophospholipid with a choline polar head group. an ester-linked acyl chain at the second carbon and a nonester link at the first carbon.' The structure of the mediator was found to be 1-O-alky1-2-acetyl-sn-glyceryl-3-phosphoryl choline and it has been chemically synthesized.""' A variable portion exists in the alkyl group attached to the first carbon which can have a variety of molecular sizes such as C and C (where Cu is more abundant). Recent work by Pinckard et al."" has shown that there are at least five variations of the alkyl group.PAF has been shown to have a broad range of biological effects. Release of PAF from alveolar macrophages may be important in asthma, allergy, and shock states. In a rabbit model of antigen IgE anaphylaxsis. PAF can induce all of the effects of antigen challenge and. therefore is presumed to be a key mediator in production of anaphylaxsis. In addition to aggregating and degranulating platelets it is a potent chemoattractant."" and causes contraction of guinea pig ileum contraction of lung tissue and enhanced capillary permeability PAF has important effects in the kidney and is also known as the renal hypotensive factor proposed by Blank et al. who found the structure of PAF independently of Benveniste et al.' In producing these responses. PAF acts by a receptor-like mechanism. In platelets. PAF selectively desensitizes itself but not thrombin or collagen. In smooth muscle tissues a similar phenomenon occurs with anaphylatoxin or other stimuli.In vivo. PAF probably acts in concert with other agents in producing its various biological effects. It causes platelets to release histamine serotonin and RCS (rabbit-contractile substance formed from prostaglandins PPG2, PGH2 and TXA2) which contracts rabbit aorta. PAF can cause cells to release SRS-A and leukotriene B."

Jan 1, 1989

By J. F. Barkley

During the present war emergency, under the urge of the Federal Government to store coal, the following; questions are arising n the minds of coal users: (a) Will the coal lose any of its heating value in storage? (b) Will it slack and give a smaller-size coal? (c) Will its burning characteristics change in any way? (d) Will it catch fire from spontaneous combustion? (e) What precautions should be taken when storing coal? In regard to the loss of heating value of coal in storage, tests made by the Bureau of Mines show that the loss commonly has been overestimated. Various types of storage tests were made on New River, Pocahontas, Pittsburgh Gas, and Sheridan Wyoming coals. The following is quoted from Bureau of Mines Bulletin 136, Deterioration in the Heating; Value of Coal During Storage, by H. C. Porter and F. K. Ovitz:

Jan 1, 1942

By Helen W. Lang

This report describes a monitoring system applied by the Bureau of Mines to provide rapid, continuous determination of the main constituents of exhaust gas during the Bureau's approval schedule testing of diesel engines for under-ground use. Commercially available continuous analyzers with strip chart readout are employed for nitric oxide (mass spectrometric), carbon dioxide (nondispersive infrared), methane (NDIR), carbon monoxide (NDIR), and oxygen (polarographic). Good correlation is obtained between the continuous instrumental results and those obtained by batch chemical and gas chromatographic methods.

Jan 1, 1969