Search Documents

By Edwin M. Thomasson

Helium shipments for 1965 exceeded the volume shipped during the previous year for the 16th successive time. Shipments from Bureau of Mines helium plants were 698.6 million cubic feet, 2 about 4.7 percent more than in 1964. Production at Bureau of Mines plants totaled 757.4 million cubic feet, and an additional 3,549.6 million cubic feet was produced by private companies participating in the helium conservation program and purchased by the Bureau of Mines and stored underground for future use. The Bureau of Mines continued to sell helium at $35 per thousand cubic feet, the price established in 1961. Production and sales of helium increased from the one private plant operating entirely outside the Government's helium program. A second private plant was virtually complete at yearend, although actual production had not commenced.

Jan 1, 1967

By Eugene Fry

The Huber-Rydalch manganese property is in the Erickson mining district of Tooele County, Utah. The district covers the southern part of Simpson Mountains, a block rising abruptly above the surrounding desert floor (fig. 1). The Ruber-Rydalch deposits and other deposits in the Simpson Mountains manganese area were examined by Bureau of Mines engineers during 1940 and 1942 under the strategic minerals program. J. T. Pardee visited the district briefly in 1918. A. E. Granger and A. F. Shride, of the Federal Geological Survey, mapped the geology of the area in 1942 and 1943. The manganese deposits occur as veinlike masses in brecciated fault zones that traverse Cambrian and pre-Cambrian quartzite, quartzite conglomerate, and phyllite. The deposits now exposed near the surface represent the oxidized portions of primary mineralization originally containing rhodochrosite and rhodonite associated with quartz and calcite and small quantities of pyrite, galena, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite. The oxide ore is composed of manganite, pyrolusite, psilomelans, and wad in a gangue of quartz, calcite, and brecciated quartzite.

Jan 1, 1949

By R. M. Jimeson

Pressure-drop measurements through beds of granular iron, lathe turnings, steel wool, and parallel-plate assemblies were made at linear velocity and gas-density ranges expected in the Fischer-Tropsch hot gas recycle process.4/ Equations relating pressure drop, linear velocity, gas density, and bed porosity were derived. The results indicate that the exothermic heat of reaction can be removed at a lower cost by using catalyst beds with high porosity. INTRODUCTION The Fischer-Tropsch hot-gas-recycle process requires a catalyst offering low resistance to gas flow as one condition to economic feasibility. Conventional granular or spherical catalysts used during early development of the process in Germany did not meet this requirement. Large pressure drops across these beds made the cost of recirculating the gas excessive. The Federal Bureau of Mines is investigating the process by using novel and unusual catalysts that offer little resistance to gas flow. Pressure-drop measurements across these types of catalyst beds are discussed in this report.

Jan 1, 1959

By R. G. O'MEARA, Alexander M. Gow, W. T. SCHRENK

Lime is used extensively in the various industries. The National Lime Association in an excellent and recent bulletin lists 23 important in- dustries in which lime plays a vital role; and it thereby justifies the statement that "Lime is one of the most versatile and widely used reagents in the chemical and industrial world." There is, however, one application of this "universal" reagent which has not been mentioned. It is the use of lime in the flotation of ores. An appreciable percentage of the lime produc- tion is consumed by ore-dressing plants. The uses of lime throughout all the industries are more or less re- lated, but "lime" is a broad term; the varieties of lime are more mumerous than the limestones from which it is made, and its use involves a complicated technique. The interrelated application and growing importance of lime in flotation warrant this additional publication on the various "limes," with emphasis on those uses related to the function of lime in flotation. ཁྐྲ་ Lime in water treatment, cyaniding, and amalgamating will be men- tioned, after which its use in flotation will be taken up. This compendium was prepared by the Mississippi Valley Experiment Station of the United States Bureau of Mines and the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, Rolla, Mo.

Apr 1, 1931

By J. J. Forbes

The Coal Mine Inspection Branch of the Health and Safety Division, Bureau of Mines, was established to carry out the provisions in Public Law 49, 77th Congress, H. R. 2082, approved May 7, 1941. The series of major disasters that beset the coal-mining industry in 1940 aroused public interest in mine-safety measures, and the act 18 the direct result of this rekindled interest. Under the provisions of the act, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Federal Bureau of Mines, is authorized and empowered to make, or cause to be made, annual or necessary inspections and investigations in coal mines, the products of which regularly enter commerce or the operations of which substantially affect commerce. The principal functions of the Federal coal-mine inspectors are to determine the causes of accidents and occupational diseases in coal mines and then endeavor to eliminate or ameliorate them (1) by revealing, through personal conferences with mine personnel, correspondence, and published reports, the unhealthful and unsafe conditions and practices existing in the mines and (2) by recommending practical means for correcting the conditions observed. The act does not provide any enforcement powers, and therefore compliance with the inspectors' recommendations is not mandatory; it does give Federal coal-mine inspectors the right to enter coal mines for inspection purposes.

Jan 1, 1951

By Max J. Spendlove

This Bureau of Mines publication reviews current recycling trends in the United States. Although near-term prospects are poor for recycling most present wastes, urban refuse is an important exception. Such wastes comprise a mine above ground, and much less processing energy is normally required to recycle the constituents of urban ore than to obtain them in equal amounts from natural raw materials.

Jan 1, 1976

By Peter Grandone

Steel and iron pipe lined with cement to protect it against corrosion has been used in the municipal water systems of the New England States since about 1870. In most recent years, the petroleum industry adopted cement-lined pipe to forestall corrosion, particularly in those areas where large quantities of corrosive brines and hydrogen sulfide are associated with the oil produced. Many of the oil companies had on hand large quantities of corroded pipe, normally disposed of as scrap, which could be cleaned, lined with cement, and returned to service. It was soon learned that after the so-called scrap pipe was lined with cement much of it could serve fully as well as new cement-lined pipe. The demand for lining used pipe with cement resulted in the establishment of several processing, plants in the Mid-Continent oil-producing area. Today six cement-lining plants serve the areas three in Oklahoma and one each in Kansas, Texas, and Illinois. All of these plants have lined large quantities of used pipe for the brine-disposal systems of western Kansas, Illinois, and east Texas and also for the operators of water-flooding projects in northeastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas, where large quantities of brine and fresh water are being injected into the oil-bearing formations as a secondary oil-recovery method. Since war demands during the past 2 years have created an acute shortage of steel, the need of reclaiming used pipe for the expansion of oil-producing operations has become more evident than ever before. Thus the new industry (about 6 years old) - lining used pipe with cement - is saving large quantities of steel at a critical time by reclaiming used pipe and preventing further- corrosion.

Jan 1, 1945

By Michael G. Zabetakis, Aldo L. Furno, Henry E. Perlee

The Bureau of Mines conducted an experimental study with liquid and gaseous hydrogen to determine the hazards associated with the use of liquid hydrogen as an ionizing particle detector in bubble chambers . The glass window , the vacuum chamber , and the vent system were investigated . In addition , a study was made of the detection and ignition of escaping hydrogen and of the available electrical equipment for use in hydrogen atmospheres . Materials such as tempered glass , aluminum , and stainless steel are not penetrated readily by the small fragments formed when fully tempered glass is shattered and propelled by hydrogen at initial pressures up to 100 psig ; long , slender fragments from untempered glass may penetrate thin walls of relatively soft materials such as rubber gaskets and lead . Hydrogen can be vented satisfactorily from a vacuum chamber with a well - designed vent system . However , the rapid leakage of hydrogen into the surrounding air is a serious problem because the available detectors are satisfactory only when the accumulation of hydrogen is slow . Much of the electrical equipment currently available was designed for use in hydrogen- air atmospheres .

Jan 1, 1963

By Robert E. Hershey

1. Estimates of reserves were made for three coal beds in Hamilton County the - Lantana, Sewanee, and Richland. Nine coal beds have been mined at one time or another in the county, but not enough information was available to estimate reserves in any beds other than the three given. 2. Known measured and indicated reserves for all beds, based on a minimum thickness of 14 inches and on 1,800 short tons per acre-foot of coal in place, are estimated to be 53 million tons as of January 1, 1954. Of this total 35 million tons is in beds 28 inches and more thick. Areas in each bed were omitted from the estimate because available data relative to the bed characteristics were insufficient for making an estimate conforming with the definitions of measured and indicated coal adopted for this study. Should future drilling or development prove re-serves in these areas, such reserves should be added to the total estimated reserves determined by this investigation.

Jan 1, 1956

By Wallace W. Roepke

Four bit designs, two conical and two radial, were tested in coal against a 60° conical reference bit to obtain data on orthogonal cutting forces and primary respirable dust generation. One conical and one radial design were modified by the Bureau of Mines for these tests. Results were mixed: One radial bit used substantially lower overall cutting forces and specific energy than the other bits and was the only cutter lower on energy and most forces than the standard 60° bit. How-ever, it generated more specific and total dust than any other bit. The four bits were also tested for incendivity, with a 90° plumb-bob bit as the reference. The frictional ignition tests were designed to simulate both trimming top rock and cutting such rock during advance on-sump. Results of these tests were also mixed. The radial bits were substantially less incendive than the reference bit and caused no ignitions in either top trimming or sump modes. Only the modified mushroom-tipped conical bit caused ignitions. Bits similar to this modified design should not be used on drum-type miners in gassy mine areas; in-stead, the other types of bits tested should be used to reduce ignition potential to a minimum.

Jan 1, 1983

By Thomas J. Peters

The Danskin/South Fork Boise River study area is 40 air km southeast of Boise, Idaho. The 16,000-hectare, two-segment area is mainly underlain by Cretaceous-age granodiorite and an aplitic and pegmatitic complex of the Idaho batholith, Miocene-age rhyolitic tuffs and lavas, and late Tertiary-age basalt flows. No mineral resources were identified in the study area. One mine, The Flat Creek mine, which produced several ounces of gold and silver, was found in the study area. It is geologically similar to deposits in the Neal mining district, adjacent to the northwest corner of the area; gold mineralization occurs along east-northeast-trending faults and associated quartz veins, which dip moderately to steeply southeast, and within adjacent Cretaceous granitic rock. Samples indicate the Flat Creek deposit is not rich enough to mine underground, and near surface, open-pit-mineable deposit areas could not be identified. However, exploration is warranted there and also in the 7-km interval to mines in the Neal district, and for extensions of those mines. No evidence of geothermal activity was observed, although there are hot springs in the vicinity. Some alluvial (placer) samples from the interior of the study area contained free gold, but no substantial gravel deposits were seen.

Jan 1, 1993

By F. T. Eddingfield, F. E. Wormser

"The premium on gold in London, reflecting the further depreciation of the pound sterling, has risen from about 22 per cent as noted in these reports for December, to about 28%. This will enable more South African gold mines to come into the profitably ;reducing class, and will also tend to increase the gold production from that region.Figures are now at hand showing the drop that occured in the sold output in the Transvaal, South Africa, during 1919, in which year 8,330,091 ounces of gold were produced against 8,418, 292 ounces in 1918, a decrease of 88,200 ounces. Annual gold output from this, the most important gold area in the world, has dropped almost one million ounces in the past three years, as the following table shows:Although the decrease in not as marked comparatively as that of 1918 over 1917, it is a further indication of the general world-wide curtailment of gold production, and the steady decline in production everywhere that is going on and will continue until some rational means is found to stimulate production, or until conditions return to normal.The subject of relief for the gold miner has received attention in all parts of the world, particularly in the United States and South Africa in the past few years, but in spite of all the plane that have been formulated to remedy the situation none have yet been adopted anywhere, due mainly to great danger of tampering with the gold standard. In the United. States a plan has advanced by H. N. Lawrie of the American Mining Congress to tax the new gold entering into manufacture of jewelry or the arts in general, as furnishing some measure of increased compensation to unprofitable gold mining.Gold production in Australia, as indication by figures issued by the Australian Mines department, shows a marked decrease, and for the first ten months of 1919 amounted to 914,957 ounces against 1,073,317 ounces for a similar period in 1918. Western Australia produces about two thirds of all the gold rained on that continent. The total gold production of Australia for 1919 will reflect the universal decrease in output.Ever since June 7, when the embargo on the export of gold Was lifted, there has been steady and heavy outflow of gold from this country, as a consequence of which considerable gold accumulated during the war has been exported. Changes in the gold money stock of the United States are shown by the following table:"

Jan 1, 1920

By Wm. W. Adell

"These hydrocarbons belonging to the same chemical series as methane, having the general formula CnH2n have many chemical properties in common with methane and their addition to a lean gas charges the properties and burning characteristics of the gas in the same general direction although to a different extent. The hydrocarbons of this series do not readily enter into chemical reaction with other substances and therefore are incapable of combining with oxygen or polymerizing in the disturbing system and thus cannot cause gum and room troubles commonly met with in the distribution of manufactured gas.As the number of carbon atoms in the molecule increases, i.e. in proceeding from methane throughout the series, the oxygen requirements for the complete combustion of unit volume of the gases also increases; in other words, the calorific values of these hydrocarbons (as gases) increases from methane. Similarly the specific gravity increases from methane in the same order. In Table 1 are shown some of the physical constants and properties of a few of these hydrocarbons which hive bearing on their use for enriching gas."

Nov 1, 1927

By Raymond B. Ladoo

"The recent discovery and exploitation of petroleum territory have resulted in the enactment of new petroleum laws in most of the South American Republics. The activities in the discovery of these new fields were engendered by the knowledge of the fact that present producing fields must within well defined periods be exhausted. Oil operators were willing to take the initial steps in exploitation in the absence of legislation that applied strictly to petroleum operations. The enactment of modern legislation in many of these Republics encouraging and protect¬ing exploitations may cause tremendous oil activities in these countries, and the results may be comparable with the magnitude of the undertakings and the prestige of the companies now entering this territory.These, oil fields are admirably located for convenient distribution of petroleum by water to all the Nations using oil as fuel for shipping and industrial concerns. The oil markets of the western coast of South America will derive immense benefits from the Panama Canal. This navigation route brings these markets into direct ocean shipment with the Atlantic coasts of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres.One deterrent to oil production in the Republics of South America is the want of inland. transportation facilities, but the recent laws of these Republics without exception provide for acquiring rights of way for pipe lines and other modes of transportation; and doubtless the great interests and. syndicates already operating in these regions will, as production increases, provide ample pipe line transportation sufficient to convey to the coast the oil produced. It way be assumed, from the legal guarantees afforded, and from operating equipment and machinery that are now being concentrated that refineries will be erected at shipping points for the purpose of making these petroleum products accessible to the world."

May 1, 1921

By P. S. Haury

"INTRODUCTION Many ore deposits were discovered in the Wallapai Mining District, which covers the Cerbat Range in Mohave County, Ariz., during the early period of mining there from about 1865 to the 1890's. A considerable amount of production was obtained from shallow lead carbonate ores that carried considerable gold and silver.Mining was revived in 1906 and again during the First World War, and soma of the mines were deepened into the underlying sulfide zone. Substantial quantities of metal were recovered from two mines, the Golconda and the Tennessee-Schuylkill, that were, developed to depths of 1,600 and 1,400 feet, respectively. The Golconda is credited with $6,500,000 gross productions. 2/ This mine was not operated after 1917. The Tennessee-Schuylkill is still operating after a yield of about 300,000 tons of ore that averaged 4.33 percent lead and 7.74 percent zinc and contained an appreciable amount of gold and silver.Many of the old mines were reopened in 1942 or 1943 under the stimulus of premium prices for lead and zinc. A large proportion of this work was finished with loans from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. It was believed that a good deal of lead and zinc could be recovered from the mines if a custom mill for concentration of the ores was available locally."

Aug 1, 1947

By F. J. Wiebelt

Production of small tonnages of asbestos has been reported from 18 California counties; 16 additional counties have occurrences of asbestos. The counties in the northern part of California that have had a recorded production are: Alameda, Amador, Calaveras, Contra Costa, E1 Dorado, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Shasta, Siskiyou, Trinity, and Tuolumne. No deposit in the State has maintained consistent production. Serpentinized peridotites (potential chrysotile-bearing rocks) are widely distributed in the coast ranges, Klamath Mountains, and western foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

Jan 1, 1958

By George S. Rice, J. W. Paull, R. R. Sayers

"Standard rock dust for use in the rock dusting of coal mines might be defined tentatively as powdered mineral, light colored and free of carbonaceous matter and free silica, all of which will pass a 20-mesh screen while 50% of it will pass-through a 200-mesh screen.Such dust may be prepared from limestone, gypsum, anhydrite, or shale free of sand and flint. For the initial rock dusting of the average nongaseous bituminous mines enough standard rock dust should be applied so that the combustible content of the resulting mixture of rook dust with mine dust shall not exceed 45%, a range somewhere between 35% end 45% being the practical objective sought.All entries, slopes or passageways and room necks should be rock dusted.Additional safeguards are:a.,Rockdusting roomsb.,Scattering of dust in vicinity of shots before firing.c.,Placing of barriers in the mouths of panels, cross-entries and other key positions.Redusting becomes necessary whenever the combustible content of the mine dust exceeds the permissible maximum. This should be determined by regular, systematic sampling, followed by a simple analysis of the samples for combustible content. A Bureau of Mines volumeter for measuring the density can be used for the determination of combustible content."

May 1, 1924

By Eliot J. White

The Bureau of Mines tested cores from 35 wells from 14 oil-producing zones in southern Illinois, southern Indiana, and western Kentucky to determine why rates of water injection were apparently low in some zones. Since these zones contain only minor amounts of clay minerals, it is concluded that permeability reduction results from movement of dislodged silica particles and other material, including the clays, that lines the pores. Both single-phase and two-phase permeability measurements, however, indicated that most samples had only low to moderate water sensitivity, so that permeability reduction due to such particle movement should usually not be of practical significance. The effective permeability to water was considerably lower than the effective permeability to oil during two-phase flow measurements, as is typical of most reservoir rocks. It can be concluded, therefore, that relatively high injection pressures will be required in waterflooding thin zones or zones having low permeabilities.

Jan 1, 1966

By G. B. Gait

This report is the fifth in a series concerning the Bureau of Mines program for microfilming maps of abandoned mines in the Pennsylvania anthracite region. A catalog of the microfilmed maps of 47 of 49 major mines and 18 independent mines in the Southern field is presented. Previous reports included catalogs of microfilmed maps of mines in the Eastern Middle field, the Wyoming and Lackawanna Basins of the Northern field, and the Western Middle anthracite field.

Jan 1, 1978

By T. Muldoon

Literature review and extensive field survey of line and check curtain materials and practices showed: ? Miners, in general, know how to set tight curtains, and do so when needed. ? The tradeoff is economic; tight ventilation is labor-intensive. Line and check curtain techniques found are catalogued and evaluated. A fieldworthy 10 ft extensible brattice to maintain a 10 ft setback was found in use in two mines on continuous miner faces. This technique was evaluated in the laboratory for leakage and methane control at the face. Significant results include: 1) Air leakage through a gap in the extensible curtain depends upon the ratio of the cross-sectional areas between entry and return as well as gap area; 2) Gap shape has no significant effect on methane concentrations at the face -increasing gap area diminishes ventilation effectivness; and 3) Substantial reductions of CH4 concentrations at the face were accomplished by brattice extensions with gaps of up to 5 ft2 in area. An "inby hook," inserted in the roof automatically to make possible the deployment of a longer (20 ft) brattice extension in the context of a remotely controlled miner, was tested in various roof types. Insertion of this design succeeded only in coal.

Jan 1, 1982