Search Documents

By Wilton Johnson

Native asphalt was produced in 1982 by five companies in two States, Texas and Utah. Bituminous limestone, used primarily as a paving material for street and road repair, was produced by White Uvalde Mines and by Azrock Industries, Inc., Uvalde County, Tex. Historically, gilsonite, a solidified hydrocarbon found only in Utah and Colorado, had been mined by American Gilsonite Co. and by Ziegler Chemical and Mineral Corp. from properties near Bonanza, Uintah County, Utah. During 1982, Hydrocarbon Mining Co., a subsidiary of the Oberon Oil Co., entered into a joint venture with Miocene Resources Inc. of Novato, Calif, to form Hydrocarbon Resources Co. for the purpose of mining gilsonite about 50 miles south of Vernal, Uintah County, Utah. Under the agreement, Hydrocarbon Mining contributed gilsonite-bearing properties held by lease or sublease as well as mining equipment to the venture. The property contained leases totaling 760 acres with probable reserves of 268,000 tons of gilsonite. Miocene Resources provided the partnership with a minimum of $200,000 to develop two of the leases and were to be responsible for management of the mining operations.2

Jan 1, 1983

By Duane L. Abata

This work, conducted under Bureau of Mines contract, deals with the development of a computer graphics software package that will: 1. display mine ventilation schematics and other representative Illustrations for a real-time data acquisition system under development by the Bureau, and, 2. utilize the Bureau-owned Minefire and Ventilation Code for display of ventilation on and contamination predictions. The software package has been written try operate on a 64K, Z-80 based microprocessor-computer. The project has been divided into two phases. The first phase dealt with the development of the graphics software The sec rind phase dealt with the retrofit of the Minefire and Ventilation Code to the Z-80 microprocessor-computer.

Jan 1, 1984

By Alexander May

The Bureau of Mines conducted studies to determine if phosphogypsum, a waste material from the processing of phosphate rock, contains hazardous toxic materials as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and whether leaching of these toxic materials and radium may occur. Samples of the phosphogypsum stockpiled material were evaluated using the EPA extraction procedure, atomic absorption, neutron activation, x-ray diffraction, and chemical and physical means. Radiological tests performed used both the germanium-lithium and emanation methods. The data show that the phosphogypsum stockpiles are not hazardous toxic waste as defined by EPA criteria. Trace elements and radium are not leached from the phosphogypsum stockpiles. Absorption of trace elements and radium by phosphogypsum is the major reason for their not being leached. The standard error of measurement of radium concentrations was 4.7 pCi/g.

Jan 1, 1983

By Reinhardt Thiessen

Views and conceptions of the origin, composition, and general nature of coal differ so widely that to determine the real extent of actual knowledge is no easy matter. The chemist finds difficulty in attacking the chemical problems and the engineer lacks a broad chemical basis for the study of his problems. Thus the economical and efficient utilization of coal in the industries suffers from a lack of knowledge of the composition of coal itself. Most scientists interested in this matter, as has been brought out in discussions during the recent investigation of coal problems, appear to have only a vague idea of the components of coal and their origin. Some are even in doubt as to whether substances derived from the wood and resins of plants form a part of coal; and few seem to have more than the dimmest idea of what are the components of coal, the condition in which these now exist, and the transformations that they haye undergone. Although during the paiilt century or more many co.rrect observations have been made and recorded, these were falsely or inadequately interpreted, so that many of the interpretations rendered are contradictory. As a result there has been great confusion. Many of the observations made in the past, although accurate and correct, could not be explained, because the principles involved in a correct solution of the problem were not then known. For example, Parkinson, Hutton, Petzhold, Guembel, and others made valuable discoveries regarding the processes by which plant substances are transformed into coal, but as the principles involved are those of colloidal chemistry, a science not known to the scientific world of that time, the observed facts could not be interpreted and the solution of the whole problem was blocked. The explanation of the true meaning of the alternating bright and dull bands so familiar in all ordinary bituminous coals afforCls another example. This banding has been observed and recorded from the earliest times, and has led to the forming of many false theories. Some gAologists, for example, have endeavored to explain the bands as due to alternating climatic conditions during the coal-forming period. Had the geologists known the true nature of coal they could not have made this mistake nor many others made in the past. To fill in a few of these gaps and to clarify some of the existing confusion is the aim of this paper. The immediate cause that led the author to investigate further the composition of coal and the origin and structure of its constituents was that when an attempt was made to discover the meaning of the coking and noncoking properties of coal a more exact knowledge of the nature of coal was required than was then available.

Jan 1, 1920

By Roy S. Nutter

An expert system advisor consultant to assist a coal mine section foreman is described in this report. The system is designed for an underground continuous miner section that is being specifically used for longwall development. The system provides three methods of operation that include normal operational mode for use underground, a training mode for use in training section foremen under controlled classroom conditions, and a demonstration mode that is free running. The Face Decision Support System or FDSS, is designed to interface with section environmental monitoring equipment and section production monitoring equipment that may appear in the future. This provides automated reprioritzation of the section foreman's job list from the system. The system 1S written in LASER which is written in C and is operated under the UNIX operating system. The objective of the entire FOSS system is to ensure that no job or piece of information important to safety or to production is forgotten because of the immediate problems confronting the section foreman.

Jan 1, 1988

By J. D. Sargent

Selenium might be described as a paradoxical element, being either a metal or a nonmetal, a conductor or nonconductor, amorphous or crystalline, colorant or decolorant, and a hydrogenator or dehydrogenator. Selenium was discovered in 1817 by the Swedish chemist, Berzelius, while studying flue dust from the lead chambers of the sulfuric acid works at Gripsholm, Sweden, The ordinary stable form of selenium is a crystalline, grayish solid with semi-metallic luster. It melts at 217° C., boils at 684.8° C., and has a density of 4.79.

Jan 1, 1955

By Chas. F. Jackson

During the current business depression the Bureau of Mines has received many inquiries concerning placer mining, the prospects for men of small means to make wages by small-scale placer operations, the locations of placer deposits in the United States, methods of working placers on a small scale, and allied subjects. It has therefore seemed desirable to prepare a circular covering, in nontechnical language, the principal questions which have boon referred to the Bureau of Mines for answer. There are a number of bureau publications dealing with placer mining, most of which are now out of print, but which may be consulted in the larger libraries. Other articles on placer mining nave appeared from time to time in the technical press and several good textbooks have been written on the subject. A partial bibliography of this literature appears at the end of this paper. A recent pamphlet published by the Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology to assist the prospector and inexperienced small operator has received wide and favorable attention and is recommended as a useful reference. In the present paper no attempt will be made to cover the subject of placer mining in a comprehensive manner, but discussion will be confined to elementary questions of particular interest to persons of limited experience.

Jan 1, 1932

By D. L. Soreck

The hazards to the public posed by abandoned mine shafts are well documented. As private development encroaches on previously mined areas, the potential for fatalities and serious injuries from abandoned mine shafts increases. The U.S. Bureau of Mines has conducted research into cellular concrete as a material for sealing these openings. The current work involves testing the characteristics of cellular concrete before and after it had been pumped or dropped from different heights into a simulated mine shaft. Cellular concrete was pumped vertically up to and subsequently dropped from heights of 18 and 37 m into concrete forms. Wet density measurements were made at multiple sampling points in the test circuit. Air content determinations and uniaxial compressive strength testing were conducted. Research results showed significant loss in air content and changes in the characteristics of cellular concrete during pumping or dropping from various heights. Recommendations on effective use of cellular concrete for sealing abandoned mine shafts are made.

Jan 1, 2010

By P. M. Sullivan

A physical beneficiation flowsheet was designed by the Bureau of Mines for reclaiming and recycling metal and mineral values contained in municipal incinerator residues, and a continuous processing plant was installed. Residue samples collected from incinerators located in various parts of the country were processed at a rate of 1/2 ton per hour. Continuous screening, shredding, grinding, magnetic separation, and gravity concentration techniques were applied to produce metallic iron concentrates, clean nonferrous metal composites, clean fine glass fractions, and tine carbonaceous ash tailings. Research to develop systems for refining and upgrading the reclaimed metals and glass into marketable products is also underway. From the engineering data developed in the continuous processing plant, evaluations of the capital and operating costs for plants with capacities of 250, 400, 670, and 1,000 tons of dry incinerator residues per day were made. Research on a parallel system to separate and recover the metals, minerals, glass, paper, and plastics from raw, unburned refuse it currently underway, as are studies on the use of air classification to separate the refuse into organic and inorganic fractions.

Jan 1, 1971

By G. E. McElroy, A. S. Richardson

"Experiments in the determination of friction factors for fan-pipe installations were carried on in a Butte mine during the fall and winter of 1922-23, under a cooperative agreement between the Bureau of Mines and the Anaconda Ccpper Mining Co. The results have been summarized in a separate paper,*** and this report, which is one of several giving more detailed data, discusses the methods used and the application of the results to fan-pipe practice.The use of canvas and galvanized-iron pipe, 8 to 20 inches in diameter, with small fans, usually electrically driven blowers, is an important factor in the ventilation of metal mines and is increasing in coal mines and long tunnels. In the Matte district the standard installation is an electrically driven small blower fan and 8 to 16 inch canvas pipe.The application of available data on friction losses in sheet-metal pipe to mine installations was doubtful, and very little has been published on canvas pipe, except general statements that the friction looses are greater than in galvanized-iron pipe. Experiments by Weeks and others,**** who determined friction losses under laboratory conditions for a few typical materials used in mine equipment, supported the statements.In 1918, one of the authors (Richardson) conducted tests for the Anaconda Copper Mining Cc. on the friction losses in canvas-pipe systems and the beet type of centrifugal blower for use with such pipe lines. He obtained the average total resistance per unit of length in use, without reference to the variable conditions of the lines. The results were of great value in developing more efficient equipment for average service conditions, and indicated that average friction losses for the commercial canvas tubing then used by the company were equal to or lees than these given for galvanized-iron pipe. Later on, the particular canvas tested was discarded for a heavier and more service-material."

Oct 1, 1923

By Steven K. Ruggieri

This report describes the use of the sprayfan auxiliary ventilation system for methane and dust control on continuous miner sections to potential users. The sprayfan auxiliary ventilation system is a modified water spray system which directs intake air to and across the front of a continuous miner to prevent build up of methane gas and dust concentrations. This user's manual contains practical information concerning sprayfan: a. Description and capabilities b. Design c. Installation d. Operation e. Maintenance. Underground tests, independent laboratory tests, tests by MSHA, and independent installations by coal producers have confirmed the performance of the sprayfan system. There are currently 150 sprayfan systems in operation in underground coal mines.

Jan 1, 1981

By Joseph Grumer

An instrumented spherical vessel has been used for many years to study laminar combustion waves. Concurrent measurements of flame speed and pressure-rise rates have led to evaluations of burning velocities, the pressure dependence of the burning velocity, and the expansion ratios of the gases passing through the combustion wave. For the most part, these studies have involved flames initially at atmospheric or subatmospheric pressure. The old spherical vessel used by the Bureau of Mines was not designed for use at elevated pressures. Moreover, being made of wrought iron, it was susceptible enough to corrosion to prohibit its use with many combustible mixtures that figure in industrial research. In mid-1956, under sponsorship of the Office of Naval Research, the Bureau undertook the development of a stainless steel spherical vessel capable of withstanding explosions of gaseous mixtures at initial pressures as high as 20 atm. and initial temperatures as high as 250° C. The design called for a double array (cross) of closely spaced small windows for observation of the flame as it traversed the vessel and a piezoelectric transducer to measure concurrently pressure-rise rates. Because no commercial contractor was willing to bid on the construction of such a vessel, it was built at the Bureau's Bruceton machine shop.7

Jan 1, 1961

By Raymond M. Stateham

Infrared and displacement studies were made of an unsupported roof in Kaiser Steel Corp.'s York Canyon coal mine, Raton, N. Mex. Monitoring of the roof continued until the roof over the area was caved. Loose slabs in the roof, about 6 inches thick, were detected by means of associated thermal anomalies, using remote-sensing infrared instruments. Displacement measurements taken during the study indicate that roof movement was cyclic in nature; the cycles appear to have been related to the mine work cycle (work days to idle days).

Jan 1, 1974

By E. R. Maize

[he scconG rcport of :his st?rI.org 8cdt with o3servatioi:s of conver- gence of roof an4 floor at t!x*re: ?.cc.-.tioris iri til~ ClVucible mine of kke Cru- cib1.o Fuel Co. Data on sl:'ociacnce ?.rd Lztcrcl mwe:~cnt cf the surface were .:lven for two of these areas, a-12 it was mentioned that ~lr~~ilar data were being obtained on a ?art of Pe:sc:rlvtzr.ia Fii~l?trr.y FE:, ~i!lic;l pcser: over the third area. 'I'hie hichw~ :LEO FasseE over t!lc ITenncoli::. :.line of the Bnckeye Coal Co. 9 milcs to ';he so-lth, cnd at P. l~tcr C'..att: ~.nr?r.,cc?r:cntS *.rere mnd.e to make similar observati on3 there. This y: pr mrnmri:.c n Czto obtnino? at those two locetionn,]

Jan 1, 1941

To improve the air quality in large-opening stone mines by developing better ventilation techniques, including appropriate fan selection in conjunction with air-coursing methods. Background Stone mines are the most common underground large-entry mines in the United States. Data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) for the year 2000 indicate that there were 162 active nonmetal underground mines in the United States, of which 117 were stone mines. Many underground stone mines are drift mines developed from previous quarry operations. Typically, these room-and-pillar mines have entries that are 20 ft or higher and at least 40 ft wide. These large dimensions lead to a very small ventilating pressure loss, even when significant air quantities move through the mine. This is especially true of drift mine operations where ventilating pressure losses of <0.25 in w.g. are common. Underground stone mines with shafts that are<200 ft deep typically have ventilating pressure losses that are <2 in w.g. The pressure losses through these mines are much lower than those of a typical coal mine or deep metal/nonmetal mine. Therefore, the ventilation techniques and principles are quite different. In addition, because of new MSHA regulations that limit the concentration of diesel particulate matter, these mines may need to greatly increase their ventilation airflow. Therefore, large-opening mines need a fan that can move large air quantities and operate at low static pressures. There are three fan types for mine ventilation: centrifugal, axial vane, and propeller. Centrifugal fans are uncommon in underground stone mines as they are often associated with mines requiring the highest of ventilation pressures. Axial vane fans are widely used in all types of mining operations. They are the most common fan type currently found in underground large-opening stone mines. However, they typically do not operate at low static pressures with high efficiency. Propeller fans are currently uncommon in underground stone mines. They are designed for low static pressures and large air quantities at higher efficiency. This fan type best suits the ventilation needs in large-opening stone mines?they produce large air quantities at low pressure losses. Mines with air shafts<100 ft long and at least 12 ft in diameter have fairly low mine static pressures and may also benefit from propeller fans.

Dec 1, 2002

By E. M. Murphy

Comparative data from ASTM method of test E-162 and large-scale trials in the Experimental Mine show that the flame-spread quality of brattice cloth and other ventilation control materials can effectively be evaluated by either method. Materials having a flame spread index of 25 or less, as determined by the simpler and more economical laboratory test ASTM E-162, do not present a serious fire hazard when used in coal mines.

Jan 1, 1972

By R. R. Trengove

This paper is one of a series published by the Bureau of Mines on mining methods and operation practices. It describes the open-pit mining method and operations of the Kaiser Steel Corp. Eagle Mountain iron-ore mine, which is in the extreme southeastern part of California 175 miles east of Los Angeles in Riverside County. Nearest town to the mine is Indio, which is 60 miles away by an excellent highway (fig. 1). Elevations at the deposit vary from 1,400 to 3,000 feet. Figure 2 is a plan map of the Eagle Mountain iron mine. Kaiser Steel Corp. built a model camp at the mine, with all modern conveniences (fig. 3). The camp, comprising 145 homes, dormitories, mess hall, commissary, post office, and recreational facilities for 600 people, is at 1,390-foot elevation. The area has winter-resort weather between October and May, with occasional drops of temperature to 25° at night. From June to September temperatures sometimes rise to 1200 during the day. Rainfall is scant, approximately 2 inches a year, the majority of which comes as cloudbursts during the summer months.

Jan 1, 1956

By J. P. Walker

"INTRODUCTION Sponge iron has been made commercially since 1912 at a Swedish ceramic plant; and the product, known as Swedish disk-type nagger sponge iron, has an excellent reputation as a superior furnace feed wherever high-grade steels are made.The general procedure for making brickyard sponge iron was described frequent in Swedish technical journals before 1932 and at that time consisted in filling clay refractory containers, called saggers, with iron ore plus the necessary quantity of solid reducing agent and then firing in an ordinary ceramic kiln. Two types of sponge iron were made in this way: (1) An inferior, high-sulfur product obtained by mixing the ore and solid reducing agent; and (2) a high-grade, low-sulfur product made by filling the sagger with alternete layers of unmixed ore and reducer, yielding sintered disks of metallic iron particles.Swedish disk-type sponge iron of interest to the steel industry because it has a very low sulfur content, even when made by the use of low-grade, high-sulfur coals for reducing and firing. The Swedish product also contains little siliceous gangue residue and is almost phos¬phorus-free. To those features must be added the high metallic-iron content -90 to 96 percent - and freedom from even small amounts of the metals that are undesirable in steel making.The details essential for successful operation of this procedure are not known, especially as regards improvements said to have been made since 19;2. The Bureau of Mines therefore decided to determine some of these missing details, and this report records the results of the first set of experiments on the manufacture of brickyard or sagger sponge iron."

Sep 1, 1945

By Bryan R. Carmenati

This report documents the need for formal health and safety, and equipment operations training in the mine construction industry. The outlines, objectives, and training texts were developed based on the recommendation of needs of mine construction personnel, and those of Dames and Moore (Safety Analysis of Shaft Sinking operations, 1977) and Kinton, Inc. (A Training Program for Conventional and Raise Drill Construction Personnel; Phase I, 1979). The training material samples contained herein (and under separate cover in its entirety) are designed to improve the safety and production of those in mine construction. An instructor-directed presentation is recommended. The results of the study are presented in the Findings and Recommendations section of this report.

Jan 1, 1982

By J. H. Wiggins

The evaporation of crude oil without doubt causes one of the largest single losses to which the oil is subjected after it is taken from the ground. The few days during which crude oil is stored on the lease before being taken by the pipe line, causes an aggregate loss per year from evaporation estimated at 122,100,000 gallons of gasoline in the Mid-Continent field alone. This has a value, at 22 cents per gallon, of $26,880,000 and represents about 3 per cent of the total gasoline produced in the United States from all fields and all sources. The following table shows this in more detail:

May 1, 1920