Search Documents

By B. J. Moore

This Bureau of Mines publication reviews U.S. helium resources as of January 1, 1973. These resources, estimated to be 693.7 billion cubic feet, are broken down into four classifications, as follows: helium in storage, 34.9 billion cubic feet; helium in measured helium-rich natural gas reserves, 119.5 billion cubic feet; helium in measured helium-lean natural gas reserves, 62.8 billion cubic feet; and helium in indicated or undiscovered natural gas resources, 476.5 billion cubic feet. The helium in undiscovered natural gas is considered a national resource; however, this gas may not be discovered depending on many factors beyond the scope of this paper, and most of the helium in natural gas will be dissipated as the gas is consumed for fuel and other purposes.

Jan 1, 1976

By O. C. Blade

This report on the properties of burner-fuel oils produced during 1956 was issued under a cooperative agreement between the American Petroleum Institute and the Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior, at the request of the Oil-Heat Institute of America and the petroleum industry. This survey is the second for this type of fuel, the first being made in 1955. 2/ The surveys are conducted to provide information on the characteristics of burner-fuel oils now manufactured for sale. They are similar in pattern to the diesel-fuel surveys, conducted since 1950, 3/ and are not intended to conflict with but rather to supplement them. The importance of fuel oil has resulted in the need for more information by the petroleum industry, manufacturers of heating appliances, and consumers regarding the types and qualities of the fuels currently being marketed. Samples of burner-fuel oil typical of their manufacture during the early part of 1956 were analyzed by the refiners in accordance with instructions from the subcommittee on fuel surveys of the Automotive Research Committee of the American Petroleum Institute, Results of the analyses were transmitted to the Bureau of Mines where the data were studied and compiled as shown in the tables of this report.

Jan 1, 1956

By J. R. Long

The Federal Bureau of Mines has pioneered the work of preparing ductile titanium on a large scale and has also determined the basic properties of this new and most interesting metal. A number of reports (1, 2, 3: 4, 5) have al-ready been published, and considerable interest has been aroused in a number of industrial and research laboratories. Some of these laboratories have also published results of their work on the pure metal. Although the properties of titanium itself are quite promising, it is apparent that considerable improvement may be expected by alloying titanium with other metals. That is, pure metals in general have shown relatively large improvements in properties when alloyed with other metals and titanium is not considered to be an exception to the rule. Therefore, the emphasis of the investigations now under way in the Federal Bureau of Mines Laboratories has been placed on the study of the alloys of titanium, particularly the titanium-rich alloys. While the main interest is in the properties of such alloys, proper direction and evaluation of the work require at least a rough outline of the phase boundaries of the alloy systems involved.

Jan 1, 1949

By Steven R. Ruggieri

This report documents the work performed and the results obtained during the field demonstration of the Remote Sealing System at the USBM's Jenny Mine near Inez, KY in the Fall of 1978. Although various portions of the Remote Sealing System had been used on a number of prior occasions, the field demonstration at Jenny Mine marked the first use of the complete upgraded system including the use of the inert gas generating system for seal placement and the first application of the new froth foam system. The objective of the field demonstration at Jenny Mine was to demonstrate the complete system by emplacing and evaluating several complete underground seals under conditions representing those of a mine fire situation. Several critical sealing conditions were identified including: ? High entry airflow ? Standing water (1 to 2 ft) in the entry ? Flowing water (150 gal/min) ? Irregular roof ? Sealing a 4-way intersection. Four seals were successfully placed under the conditions mentioned above. The demonstration served to verify proposed techniques to handle these conditions as well as to dispel any doubts about the system's capabilities. As a result of the successful field demonstration, the Remote Sealing Equipment is now under the jurisdiction of MSHA's Mine Emergency Operation ready for a mine fire emergency.

Jan 1, 1980

By J. A. Kosek

Work has been carried out under Bureau of Mines Contract HO 395132 to develop improved sensor cells for use in direct-reading detectors and diffusion exposure meters. A pumped CO sensor cell was developed which has a shorter response time, improved temperature cycle characteristics, and improved linearity and stability at high CO concentrations. Diffusion CO sensor cells have shown good response level stability and linearity up to 1000 ppm. In addition, a new sensor cell catalyst has been developed for NO2 sensor cells which has a much shorter response time and improved response stability characteristics.

Jan 1, 1982

By Mary S. Esfandiary

U.S. scientists attempting to maintain continuous surveillance of scientific information are confronted with two acute problems: The steady, even spectacular; increase in the volume of such information and the fact that much of it is published in unfamiliar foreign languages, According to the National Science Foundation, almost one-third of the world's scientific literature is published in languages that are read by less than 5 percent of U.S. scientists. Most scientists in the United States must rely on abstract journals and translations to obtain information on developments in research and investigations conducted in the non-English-speaking countries. However, there are problems involved in procuring suitable abstracts and translations and in obtaining such information as cheaply and rapidly as possible.

Jan 1, 1961

By Allen S. Smith

Analysis of the helium content of a natural gas presents more than the usual difficulties encountered in applying the thermal--conductivity method because of the relatively small amounts of this inert gas present and the wide variation in the other constituents. However, the numerous advantages of this method and its adaptability to continuously recording and control instruments make it worthy of consideration. A specific application of the method described yields quantitative results only when used with gas mixtures of known qualitative compositions which vary within predetermined limits. Periodic analyses for the helium content of a producing gas well may be conveniently made by an absorption method3/ and a continuous analytical method is not necessary for this purpose. Natural gas containing 1.75 to 1.90 percent of helium produced from Government-owned wells is processed in the Amarillo (Texas) Helium Plant of the Bureau of Mines. The helium extracted in the plant is supplied to the Army and Navy, and the processed natural gas is sold to a commercial gas company4/. As complete recovery of the helium in the raw material is not economically practicable, the processed gas contains 0.1 to 0.3 percent of helium, depending upon conditions of operation;- Production is checked against the helium removed from the gas, which before the installation of the thermal--conductivity apparatus was calculated from the analysis of a cumulative sample of the processed gas. As conditions of operation affect the residual helium content to a large extent, a composite sample was an uncertain index of the efficiency of the process.

Jan 1, 1934

By W. D. Dietzman

This Bureau of Mines report presents a continuation of statistics pertaining to distribution of petroleum reservoirs (or fields), wells, and production by depth and producing rate classification in the United States. These statistics show the change that has occurred since results of a similar study were published by the Bureau of Mines in 1967. Data are presented in tabular form by State for the 18 principal oil-producing States and by subdivision for the two largest oil-producing States, Texas and Louisiana. Tabular summations and graphical illustrations are presented for the Nation. The data are classified by 4-barrel-of-oil-per-day rate increments up to 36 barrels and one increment of greater than 36 barrels of oil per day and by 2,000-foot depth increments up to 8,000 feet and one depth increment of greater than 8,000 feet. The overall average producing rates for States and the Nation have been published for many years, and although such rates are useful, they are very general descriptions of producibility. A breakdown of production, wells, and reservoirs by various depths and rates and by State or by State subdivision provides a more detailed description of producibility.

Jan 1, 1975

By GLADYS G. HEFFNER, William H. Waggaman, Edwin A. Gee

Thallium is one of the rare and relatively neglected elements that has recently assumed conspicuous importance. This element is widely distributed in nature but occurs in such minute quantities in most rocks and minerals that its recovery at present is only commercially feasible as a byproduct of other industries. World War II, with its unprecedented demand for products having special or unusual properties, led to a study of a number of the rarer elements that previously had been given comparatively little attention for one or more of the following reasons: 1. 2. Limited knowledge of properties. Small quantitios present in available raw materials. 3. High cost of concentration and recovery. Some of those rare elements, either alone or in the form of compounds, have already proved of such value for certain military and industrial purposes that their extraction from ores and waste products, oven at high cost, is fully justified. On the othor hand, further investigation of their character- istics, discovery of more adequato sources, and improvement in methods of con- centration and recovery would greatly broaden their field of usefulness and establish new and expanded industries. The current market for some of these elements exceeds the available supply. One of the functions of the Bureau of Mines is to study the properties of such elements in greater detail, locate the most promising raw materials from which they can be derived, and work out methods of extraction that will render the recovery of such elements more economical. The purpose of a serios of information circulars on the raror elements is to present in condensed form the facts and data so far available. This information may serve as a basis in planning more complete investigations loading to a full utilization of such elements.

Mar 1, 1950

By Oliver Bowles

Whiting or Paris white is a fine-grained preparation of calcium carbonate having a wide variety of uses. Until recent years it was prepared almost exclusively from certain north European chalks. With the curtailment of imports of European chalk during the World War of 1914-18, however, finely ground limestone, of domestic origin was used more extensively to satisfy the American demand.

Jan 1, 1942

By Gary R. Gavan

This report presents the results of a research project that gathered detailed information on the composition of the population of mobile equipment used in U.S. coal mines. A computerized data bank containing over 19,000 pieces of coal mine equipment in use in 1976 was prepared with a data retrieval program. Operator protective structure technology is reviewed; field problems experienced with ROPS are discussed.

Jan 1, 1978

By Charles Will Wright

This paper has been written to aid the owner of a small gold mine or prospect in preparing a report on his property for the purpose of interesting capital. If an owner can afford to do so, he should employ a mining engineer of recognized standing and experience to examine and report on his property, but many owners of small -mines and particularly of prospects cannot make the expenditure required for this. Further, many of them do not know how to prepare a description which will cover those features of a deposit on which a potential investor promises his opinion as to its worth. If such an owner is convinced that he possesses an orebody of sufficient grade and size to warrant the required expenditure for a thorough investigation and wishes to present his property to prospective investors, then the following suggestions concerning the proper way to sample his deposit, estimate the tonnage of developed and probable ore, and prepare a report may be of assistance.

Jan 1, 1933

MR. RIGG: Gentlemen, I would like to welcome you all to the symposium this morning. My name is Jack Rigg, and I m a special assistant to Hollis Dole, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Mineral Resources. Hollis is not in town this morning, and I am here to pinch-hit for him. The first order of business this morning is remarks by the Honorable Russell Train, Under Secretary of the Department of Interior. Mr. Train. MR. TRAIN: Thank you, Mr. Rigg. Lest you think that Hollis Dole is not interested in this symposium, let me just say that fie is flying back from Australia just to be here. He is heading up a United States delegation in Australia meeting on resource problems in the Pacific. And I believe he will be here about noon.

Jan 1, 1970

By A. D. German

This paper presents one of a series of digests of foreign mining legis- lation and court decisions which is being prepared in advance of a general report relative to the right of American citizens to explore for minerals and to own and operate mines in various foreign countries. This interpretation of tie laws of Ecuador has been prepared from the best available information in Washington, but is released subject to correction and amplification, if necessary, by the proper American diplomatic and consular officers to whom it is being referred through the courtesy of the Department of State..

May 1, 1930

By A. L. Engel

Many western ores containing ;old, silver, and copper can be mined and concentrated at a profit only when the recovery of those metals is high and treatment costs are low. Usually, ores containing easily dissolved copper minerals, or copper minerals that become soluble to some extent through oxidation during treatment, present a real problem in cyanidation. Copper cyanide compounds are formed that tend to 'precipitate and that cannot yield regenerated cyanide and metallic copper on contact with zinc. This results not only in some loss of copper through solution in cyanide, but in excessive consumption of cyanide above the amount required for the extraction of Gold and silver. Any moans, therefore, of minimizing the: loss of cyanide while at the same time effecting high recoveries of the several values contained in the ore is of wide interest. A sample of typical low-grade ore of gold, silver, and copper, containing copper-sulfide minerals, was obtained from the MacLaren Gold Mines Co., Cooke, Park County, Mont., for laboratory investigation by flotation and cyanidation.

Jan 1, 1950

By G. B. Shea

In the search for possible future sources of petroleum products, the recovery and utilization of bitumens from the large outcropping deposits of bituminous sandstones in the United States have been under study by the Bureau of Mines for the past several years. The results of laboratory research in the adaptation of the hot-water separation process to recovery of bitumen from bituminous sandstones were reported in an earlier publication, on the Edna deposits near San Luis Obispo, Calif. This publication included analytical data on the cracked products and asphalts obtained from the extracted bitumen and on the cracking and distillation of the bitumen. Comparable hot-water separation tests have been run in the San Francisco, Calif., laboratory of the Bureau of Mines on quarry samples from the large deposits of bituminous sandstones near Vernal and Sunnyside, Utah. The bitumens were isolated from the extracts of the separation plant and analyzed at the Petroleum and Oil-Shale Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines, Laramie, Wyo. Part I of this report summarizes the general characteristics of the Vernal and Sunnyside deposits and discusses the hot-water separation process as applied to those bituminous sandstones and the results obtained. The separation tests showed that these bituminous sandstones also respond to treatment by the hotwater method of separation. The bitumen in the Vernal sandstone was extracted more readily by the action of hot water than was the Edna bitumen, which greatly simplified plant operation. The Vernal sandstone contains no water-soluble iron compounds, such as were found in the Edna sandstone, and, therefore, required no preliminary water washing. Recovery of bitumen from the Vernal sandstone was about 96 percent.

Jan 1, 1952

By R. L. Marek

[An important problem in the efficient conduct of industry is that of helping the individual employee to formulate in attitude toward his work which will result in the reduction of accidents and the promotion of safety. Perhaps nowhere is the need greater for this type of psychological training of carefully selected men than at oil refineries whore both the raw materials and the finished products are highly inflammable and explosive in nature. However, the refinery organization usually is well adapted to educational safety activities -- much more so than in the producing, pipe line, and marketing departments where the personnel are more or less scattered; but the sore general principles of conduct hold true in any industrial organization. This problem of directing the attention of tie employees to their specific tasks or helping them to control and frequently eliminate hazards engendered by adverse mental attitude or emotion is met most satisfactorily by carefully selecting applicants and placing theta at jobs for which their ability best fits them. The subsequent training of these carefully selected employees to assure their Most effective work in accident prevention may be accomplished in a variety of gays, ouch as by personal supervision and instruction, inspections, drills, and by the studied use of well thought out safety pamphlets and posters.]

Jan 1, 1932

By R. L. Marek

An important problem in the efficient conduct of industry is that of helping the individual employee to formulate an attitude toward his work which will result in the reduction of accidents and the promotion of safety. Perhaps nowhere is the need greater for this type of Psychological training of carefully selected men than at oil refineries whore both the raw materials and the finished products are highly inflammable and explosive in nature. However, the refinery organization usually is well adapted to educational safety activities - much more so than in the producing, pipe line, and marketing departments where the personnel are more or less scattered; but the same general principles of conduct hold true in any industrial organization. This problem of directing the attention of the employees to their specific tasks or helping them to control and frequently eliminate hazards engendered by adverse mental attitude or emotion is met most satisfactorily by carefully selecting applicants and placing them at jobs for which their ability, best fits them. The subsequent training of these carefully selected employees to assure their most effective work in accident prevention mu be accomplished in a variety of ways, such as by personal supervision and instruction, inspections, drills, and by the studied use of well thought out safety pamphlets and posters. This procedure is simple in outline and not original in scope, yet the importance of selecting and training the personnel has, not been generally accepted by the petroleum industry until recent years. In 1926, the Bureau of Mines, while making a study of accidents in the petroleum industry, found that medical examinations of prospective employees were not receiving unanimous endorsement by all companies, and the point was stressed that the selection and allocation of employees was a problem requiring serious consideration in the petroleum industry.

Jan 1, 1932

By Joseph A. Corgan

The river- or dredge-coal industry of Pennsylvania is conducted on many of the rivers and creeks that drain the Pennsylvania anthracite fields. Coal thus recovered found its way into the streams as coal was being prepared for market by the anthracite industry proper, in the northeastern part of the State. The Principal rivers draining; the fields, those where dredging is taking place, are the Susquehanna, Schuylkill, and Lehigh. Several creeks - the Shamokin, Mahanoy, Wiconisco, and Swatara - also are productive sources of river or creek coal. Operations along the streams cover a wide territory, and along the Susquchanna alone; dredges are recovering coal for about 160 miles. Anthracite was a significant factor in the early industrial development of the United States. Industry used it to generate steam, and railroads used it as fuel for locomotives; but it probably was most important industrially in the smelting of iron ore. For more than a hundred years homes have been heated with this fuel. From the beginning of mining in 1807, to 1940, more than 4 billion net tons of anthracite had been prepared and shipped to market. In the preparation process much of the smaller-size coal and refuse found their way into rivers and creeks which carried the material many miles. This study is concerned with the recovery of that anthracite from those rivers and creeks.

Jan 1, 1942

By A. L. Engel

This report is a compilation of the results of preliminary tests on ores containing scheelite (calcium tungstate). In most of the ores, scheelite was the only value; but several samples contained other values, such as gold, base metals, or, in one instance beryl. These investigations were made to assist the development of domestic tungsten resources by establishing satisfactory treatment methods suitable for small-scale operations. The samples were obtained through the Mining Division of the Bureau of Mines and represent, for the most part, newly discovered deposits. A previous report2/ discussed laboratory test procedures. A less detailed description of test procedures is included in the present report. As is usual in an investigation of this type, only a limited amount of work was done on most of the samples to indicate the results that could be expected from simple treatment of the particular ore. The occurrence of scheelite and the texture of the minerals present differ greatly in individual ores and must be determined and considered in establishing such details of treatment as grinding to obtain optimum liberation of the minerals, the preferred type of gravity concentration, or possible further treatment by flotation.

Jan 1, 1954