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By H. P. Greenwald

[In many coal-mining countries, during he pest decade, there have seen made extended studies and accurate measurement of movement of roof strata, tests of the physical properties of specimens cut therefrom, and tests of the strength of end load on artificial supports. Naturally, such studies have been more extensive in European countries, where mining conditions are less favorable than in the United States. As a part of its work in the conservation of coal resource and prevention of accidants in mines, the Bureau of brines began systematic measurements of the movement of roof strata to in coal mines in the fall of 1935. It was decided- that, in the beginning, work on a rapidly retreating rib line in a mechanized mine would give the greatest amount of information in a reasonable time. To this end w cooperative tine agreement was made with the Pittsburgh Coal Co., through Dr. L. E. Young, vice: president in charge of operations, for conduct of work in that company's Montour 10 mine operating in the Pittsburgh coal bed. This paper gives an account of the methods used in the investigation, excerpts from the data obtained, and such generalizations as appear to be justified.]

Jan 1, 1937

By H. P. Greenwald

[In many coal-mining countries, during he pest decade, there have been made extended studies and accurate measurement of movement of roof strata, tests of the physical properties of specimens cut therefrom, and tests of the strength of end load on artificial supports. Naturally, such studies have been more extensive in European countries, where mining conditions are less favorable than in the United States. As a part of its work in the conservation of coal resource and prevention of accidents in mints, the Bureau of Mines began systematic measurement of the movement of roof strata to in coal mines in the fall of 1935. It was decided that, in the beginning, work on a rapidly retreating rib line in a mechanized mine would give the greatest amount of information in a reasonable time. To this end a cooperative agreement was made with the Pittsburgh Coal Co., Dr. L. E. Young, vice president in charge of operations, for conduct of work in that company's Montour 10 mine operating in the Pittsburgh coal bed, This paper gives an account of the methods used in the investigation, excerpts from the date obtained, and such generalizations as appear to be justified.]

Jan 1, 1937

Reduce the potential for injuries in underground mines by providing an alternative to manually lifting and holding heavy roof-support beams. The Problem I-beams, rail sections, and wooden cross-beams are often used in mine haulageways where extensive roof support is needed. Studies by the Bureau of Mines have shown that many mines must resort to manually lifting, moving and installing these beams. Such manual-handling activities have the potential for causing injury to mine workers, particularly back injuries. I-beams used for roof support can typically weigh from 400-500 lbs. Rail sections weigh about the same as the I-beams. Wooden beams can weigh from 200 to 300 lbs. To lift a single beam usually requires the efforts of 3 to 5 mine personnel.

Jan 1, 1988

By Edward A. McClatchie

A novel nondispersive electro-optical gas analyzer has been designed, fabricated and tested. The instrument is based on a pressure modulated absorption technique. Key features of this new gas analyzer technique include long-term zero and calibration stability. The technique was investigated for the gases carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The delivered analyzer was capable of measuring the three species CO, CO2 and NO2. It is a compact (300 cu in) package, is battery powered and weighs 15 lbs. Some thirty readings of each gas may be made on a single battery charge.

Jan 1, 1980

Geophysical Abstracts 1 - 86 wore issued in mimeographed form by the Bureau of Mines; Abstracts 87 - 111 were published in bulletins of the Geological Survey; Abstracts 112 - 119 were issued in mimeographed form by the Bureau of Mines as Information it ion Circulars 7256, 7257, 7267, 7273, 7285, 7292, 7303, and 7310. 1. GRAVITATIONAL METHODS 7786. Barton, D. C.3/ Case Histories and Quantitative Calculations in Gravimotric Prospecting. Am. Inst. Min. and Meat. Eng., New York, Tech. Pub. 1760, 1944, 49 pp.

Jan 1, 1945

By Sally A. Shoop

Thirty-seven blasts have been monitored using either three or four seismographs, at four coal strip mines and at a limestone quarry. Statistical analysis of the data shows that square-root, cube-root, and site-specific scaling methods predict peak particle velocities with about the same (low) degree of reliability. Some mines have peak particle velocities that are significantly lower or higher than the U.S. Bureau of Mines averages (Siskind et al., 1980). This suggests that the option provided by the proposed regulations (Office of Surface Mining, 1983), to adjust blast designs based on site-specific measurements could be highly beneficial both to operators and to the public. The frequency spectra reveal that the predominant frequencies were generally less than 50 Hz but several blasts had a significant amount of energy up to 125 Hz. In some cases the vibration energy was concentrated at frequencies corresponding to the delay intervals.

Jan 1, 1983

By P. T. Brooks

This Bureau of Mines study describes a process for recovering nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, and chromium contained in complex waste superalloy grindings that, for lack of an economical domestic recovery process, are being largely marketed abroad. The process, devised by laboratory scale operations, includes scrap preparation, dissolution of metallics in hot chlorinated acidic liquor, carbon adsorption, three successive solvent extraction separations, and selective chemical precipitations. Nearly 90 percent of the nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, and chromium were separated and recovered as oxides, carbonates, and basic sulfate products.

Jan 1, 1969

By Charles D. Litton

This Bureau of Mines report presents a discussion of the essential components of pneumatic monitoring systems and their associated functions. Design criteria are presented which can be used for the design and fabrication of pneumatic monitoring systems having total system response times on the order of 15 to 30 min. To illustrate the utility of these design criteria, two detailed design examples are presented,

Jan 1, 1983

Major activities of the Bureau of Mines Explosives Research Center during fiscal year 1966 (July 1, 1965 to June 30, 1966) are reviewed briefly. Part 1 summarizes significant accomplishments of the projects that were active during the report period. Part 2 presents short abstracts of the publications that appeared in the Bureau series and in other media during fiscal year 1966. Publications issued after June 30, 1966, are noted where pertinent in foot- notes but are not abstracted. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Bureau of Mines gratefully acknowledges the support given through cooperative agreements by the following organizations to investigations conducted by the Explosives Research Center during fiscal year 1966: Manufacturing Chemists' Association. The Sulphur Institute.

Jan 1, 1967

By A. A. Bakewell

This information circular, which describes mining methods and practices at the Baguio Gold Mining Co., Philippine Islands, is one of a series being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on mining methods, practices, and costs. Since January 1952, Baguio Gold Mining Co. has operated its rehabilitated mine and mill in the Baguio district. Postwar labor and supply costs are three or four times prewar costs, whereas ore tenor and tonnage are about the same. Ore reserves remain approximately the same, but deeper and more spreadout operations add to increasing costs. Recently the company has acquired an adjoining property, which may lengthen its life substantially. Costs and general operations are more or less typical of the district, which includes three other active gold mines. Gold ore mined in the district totals approximately 4,300 tons per day.

Jan 1, 1959

By L. T. MCELVENNY, Robert B. McElwaine, M. Clair Smith

Production of mercury from the cinnabar deposits of the southwestern Arkansas mercury district began in 1931 , reached its peak in 1942 , and ended in 1944. The mines are now idle . Virtually all the cinnabar was obtained from deposits in a belt , about a mile wide , of steeply dipping sandstone beds in the overriding blocks of three thrust faults . The belt was productive for a length of about 27 miles eastward from eastern Howard County, through Pike County, into Clark County . During the early life of the district, Federal agencies watched and recorded its progress as a contributor of a strategic metal, and later, during the war, conducted investigations designed to advance its development . In 1941 , the Bureau of Mines and the U. S. Geological Survey cooperated in investigations on eight mineralized areas in the western part of the district , to wit : Hales mine , U. S. mine , Lulu Bell property, Hopkins Hill , East Gap Ridge , Gap Ridge , Parnell Hill , and Section 17 mine area . U. S. Geological Survey prepared both surface and mine maps and designated the areas to be investigated ; the Bureau did the drilling , trenching, and sampling involved in the investigations . Twelve holes , aggregating 3,539 feet of bore , were diamond drilled on six properties ; 5,309 linear feet of surface trenches were bulldozed in six areas and 19 samples taken from them ; and 86 underground channel samples were cut in two adits on one property . In 1944 , the Bureau of Mines measured mine dumps and calcine dumps in the district in an investigation of their mercury content . Two mine dumps and one calcine dump were sampled . The data pertinent to the work done by the Bureau are included in this report .

Oct 1, 1950

By Gerald P. Scanlan

Control of the dust produced by continuous mining machines in coal mines is generally obtained by water sprays from fixed nozzles mounted on the frame of the machine in back of the cutting head. Mounting the nozzles on the rotating head of the machine closer to the coal cutting bits may improve the efficiency of dust suppression. To test this concept, respirable dust measurements were made during 39 regular production shifts in an underground mine using a Joy 11CM continuous miner. The equipment used, difficulties encountered, and measurements obtained are described.

Jan 1, 1974

By G. B. Shea

"INTRODUCTION Much of the recent progress in increasing the efficiency of oil-well performance can be attributed to advancements in the art of cleaning wells. Through research and development by operators and service companies during the past decade, significant improvements in the application of engineering and chemical principles to well-cleaning technology have widened greatly the scope of ""clean-out"" methods to the end that greater ultimate recovery of oil will be attained.This report reviews recent improvements and developments on this important problem in California; it describes also the use of various methods and tools for cleaning wells to stimulate or revive their productivity. Developments in preventing and removing mud sheaths in well-completion operations also are described. The report is based on a field survey, supplemented by data from the technical and patent literature and from manufacturers' catalogs, which contain much valuable information.In preparing the material for publication as a Bureau of Mines report, the author has been fully aware of certain limiting conditions that attend the discussion of a subject such as that treated in this report. The following are examples:1. To a considerable extent, well cleaning in California is done with tools rented from service companies, and their representatives and employees are specialists in jobs of this type. They usually have working experience with their own equipment and methods which greatly exceeds that of persons whose interest has been casual or who have had no opportunity to study the subject in detail in actual practice. Many of the tools and methods are covered by letters patent for the protection that may be in developing and successfully applying these mechanical and chemical means of increasing the production of wells. Frequently several years have been required to perfect a given tool or technique, requiring relatively large investments to establish a service that is remunerative to those who have primary interest in a certain development and at the same time attractive enough to the operators of producing properties (because of greater quantities of oil delivered into the flow tanks) to warrant employment of or contractual agreements with a particular service group."

May 1, 1943

By Oliver Bowles

The Bureau of Mines issued three Information Circulars on marble many years ago (5), (6), (7).2/ They have long been out of print; furthermore, conditions have changed considerably in the industry in succeeding years. A presentation of current data is therefore desirable. This report furnishes general information on marble, including its properties, distribution of domestic and foreign deposits, methods and equipment used in quarrying and milling, economic and marketing problems, and recent advances in marble technology. INTRODUCTION Most marbles are crystallized limestone. The term "marble" is derived from a Greek word meaning to sparkle or flash, because the calcite crystals in marble sparkle as they reflect light. The word "marble" is employed frequently to mean a small ball used in the game of marbles with which nearly every child is familiar. Although the little spheres were originally of marble, few of those made in recent years contain that material; nevertheless, the expression "playing marbles" has persisted.

Jan 1, 1958

By W. W. Adams, T. D. Lawrence

"The National Safety Competition covering the calendar year 1934 was the tenth yearly safety contest conducted by the United States Bureau of Mines. Participating in the competition were 334 mines and quarries in 38 States. Five mining or quarrying companies, each the leader in its group for having established the best safety record during the year, were awarded the national safety trophies ""Sentinels of Safety.""Since these annual contests were begun 10 years ago by the United States Bureau of Mines the scope of the competition has been broadened materially, both as to the number of plants participating and as to the number of man-hours of exposure to accident hazards. Moreover, marked progress in the prevention of accidents has been achieved, as is indicated by an almost constant downward course in toe accident-frequency rates for the contest group as a whole during the past 10 years. On the other hand, the accident-severity rates for the group showed an upward trend during the first part of the decade and a downward trend during the latter part of the period except in 1930 and 1934; in each of those years a disastrous explosion with abnormally heavy loss of life occurred at the property of one of the participating companies.Because of the abnormal nature of the major disaster in a bituminous-coal mine in 1930 and 1934 the accident-severity rates for the bituminous group for those years are not strictly comparable with the rates for other years. The rates for bituminous mines for 1934 in the present report have therefore been computed on two bases; first, to exclude the record of the company that suffered the disastrous explosion and, second, to include the record of this company. The first rate represents the normal experience of the bituminous coal companies unaffected by the disaster and is therefore more indicative of the real trend of the accident rates for this class of mines from year to year. The latter rate shows the actual experience of all bituminous mines in 1934. The report of the competition of 1930 likewise showed the rates for the bituminous group as computed both with and without the disaster that occurred that year.The National Safety Competition is conducted by the United States Bureau of Mines in the interest of safety in the mining and quarrying industries. This object is accomplished directly through the efforts of the competing companies and their employees to win first place in the competition and thereupon receive well-merited and national recognition for their achievement. Indirectly the purpose of the contest is accomplished through studies by the Bureau of Mines of the facts contained in the accident reports which the competing companies furnish to the Bureau to enable the Bureau to compute the accident rates that are the basis for determining the winners of the contest."

Jun 1, 1935

By Y. Miron

'This report presents a U.S. Bureau of Mines study to identify the causes of self-heating events beneath the floor of a deep underground coal mine. Mine samples from both heated and unheated areas were examined by various techniques, including visual, microscopic, thermal, chemical, and instrumental tests. The combined results led to the conclusion that pyrite (FeS2) oxidation was the prime cause of the beatings. However, adiabatic oven tests of selected samples did not indicate the effect of the pyrite on the self-heating process, probably because of the experimental conditions. A fast, simple procedure to assess the concentration of pyrite in the mine samples was developed, g the reactivity of the sample with an aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).

Jan 1, 2010

From time to time the Bureau of Mines has interpreted and applied certain provisions of the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act and Federal Mine Safety Codes, primarily for the guidance of Federal Coal Mine Inspectors. Although interpretations of the Act have appeared in the Federal Register, the Code interpretations and practical applications have not been published. In response to many requests from representatives of the coal-mining industry, the Bureau is publishing this information to promote better understanding of those provisions that may be misinterpreted or misapplied. INTERPRETATIONS AND APPLICATIONS Two Federal Mine Safety Codes are discussed in this report, namely the Federal Mine Safety Code for Bituminous-Coal and Lignite Mines of the United States, Part 1, and the Federal Mine Safety Code, Anthracite Mines of the United States, Part 1. In this circular the word Codes refers to both directives; Code* refers to the code for bituminous-coal and lignite mines; Code? refers to the one for anthracite mines. Act* refers only to bituminous-coal and lignite mines.

Jan 1, 1963

By George H. Holmes

This paper is one of a series being prepared by the Minerals Division of the Bureau of Mines on mining and milling methods and practices at various mines in the United States. It describes such methods at the Caselton mine of the Combined Metals Reduction Co. The Caselton mine and mill are in secs. 28 and 29, T. 1 N., R. 67 E., M. D. B. & M., Lincoln County, Nev., about 10 miles by paved highway south- west of Pioche, Nev. (fig. 1). the history of the district and company This circular summarizos operations, describes physical features, labor and living conditions, the geology, ore deposits, and the ore. Prospecting and exploration methods are outlined, and shaft sinking, drifting and crosscutting, and raising are covered under development methods. In the soction on mining mothods, stoping and slushing are discussed, following which are descriptions of underground transportation, hoisting, ventilation, drainage and sampling, and surveying. The surface and crushing plants are described, and milling practices are presented in dotail with explanation of the filter plant and assay office. Safoty practices and the company organization are described in the concluding sections of the circular.

Nov 1, 1950

By A. L. Murray

First -aid training as an adjunct to safety is receiving more wide spread recognition in the industries every year . Moreover , the adoption of a program for giving firstaid training to practically all employees at a mine or plant is based upon the experience gained and good results obtained from standard first -aid instruction during the past two decades . In the near future industries that desire to maintain a low accident rate , to decrease compensation costs , to reduce lost time , and to build up an efficient , loyal working force , will recognize that training in first aid is one way of attaining these results with little expenditure of time and effort . Progressive organizations will require every man from the superintendent down to take first - aid training and not , as heretofore , only a small percentage of the working force . When employees learn that first - aid training can be applied not only at their daily tasks but in their homes and on tthhee highways ,, they will welcome the opportunity of learning how to care for injuries and perhaps save lives . In a limited way first - aid instruction was given to miners as early as 1899 . Later , in 1904 , a few of the companies in the Pennsylvania anthracite district inaugurated the distribution of first - aid packets to their employees and instructed them in the use of the contents . It remained , however , for a branch of the United States Government to grasp the real significance of widespread first - aid training as an effective means of saving life and minimizing suffering from the large number of accidents among workers in the mineral industries . The United States , owing to its vast resources , both natural and human , for

Jan 1, 1930

By B. W. Gandrud

[The Bureau of Mines is conducting an extensive investigation of coal preparation in the Alabama coal fields in cooperation with the University of Alabama and coal-mine operators. In this investigation the drainage characteristics of typical coals from the Warrior and Cahaba n fields were studied. Tire main purposes of this study has been to evaluate no nearly as possible relative influences of certain factors on rate of drainage and to determine whether the drainage characteristics of coals from different beds or from different mines on the soma bed differ materially. A further objective was the development of a laboratory drainage test that would predict approximately the rate at which any coal will drain after having been loaded into a railroad car in a saturated condition. The study has been confined to samples of slack coals - that is, coals from which none of the fine sizes have been removed. The samples ranged in upper size limits from 7/16 inch to 3 inches. It did not seem necessary to study nut and egg sizes, that is, sizes from which the fine coal has been removed by screening, as these lose water so rapidly by natural drainage that they present no serious problem in dewatering after treatment in a washer. The significance of drainage characteristics of Alabama coals is apparent in view of the fact that not less than 70 percent of Alabama?s total coal product is subjected to wet washing before being materials.]

Jan 1, 1941