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By William E. Young

There are many large rhodunite-bearing veins containing manganese in the Eureka-Animas Forks area of the San Juan Mountains in Colorado. The Sunnyside vein is the largest known vein in the area. As observed on the surface, the vein is mineralized over 8,000 feet and attains a maximum width of 200 feet. The average width of the vein and its branches and ramifications is 58 feet in the area that was mapped in detail. The weighted-average analysis of surface and underground samples from the northeastern extension of the Sunnyside vein is 8 percent manganese. Most other known veins in the area have a similar manganese content. The Hidden Treasure vein lies southeast of the Sunnyside-No Name-Mastadon vein. The weighted average of the analyses of surface and underground samples from this vein is 13 percent manganese. Exposures of the Scotia-Silver Chord vein are visible over a strike length of 4,000 feet on Treasure Mountain. Diamond-drill holes show that the vein contains 10 percent or more manganese to a depth of 400 feet. The vein has an average width of 28 feet. The Independence vein is exposed on the surface for a distance of 600 feet and has an average width of 6 feet. Three cut samples taken across the vein had an average content of 20.7 percent manganese. Sampling of the outcrops of eight veins in the Placer Gulch area also indicates manganese. Numerous other veins cropping out in the surrounding area are similar to the outcrop of the. Sunnyside vein system mineralogically and are worth investigating.

Jan 1, 1966

By E. J. Murphy, A. P. Rowles, John C. Holtz

"INTRODUCTION The use of sheaths or hollow cylinders of flame-extinctive materials surrounding cartridges of permissible explosives has been developed during the last few years; the history of sheathed explosives in their salient development in Belgium was treated recently in a publication of the Bureau of Mines. 6/ This development is of great interest in explosives technology, for it holds possibilities of reducing further the ignition hazards that may cause many coal-mine disasters. The township interest in sheathed explosives in this country is attested by the passage of some State laws permitting the use of such explosives on shift 7/; inquiries are received in increasing numbers concerning the effects of sheaths on practical hazards as well as the general technology underlying their use."

May 1, 1943

By Alice M. Chieruzzi

This Country Documentation Report presents the development of economic indices for Zambia for the period from 1970 through 1981. The work done through the Bureau of' Mines, Minerals Availability Program, under Contract number J0225001. This contract calls for the development of twelve index time series describing factor input costs in the mining sector of 95 countries. The twelve index time series describe the costs of: 1) mining wages, 2) construction wages, 3) equipment and repair parts, 4) bits and related steel, 5) timber and lumber, 6) fuel, 7) powder and blasting agents, 8) tires, 9) construction materials, 10) industrial materials, 11) transportation, and 12) electrical power. These indices combined with weight factors being developed by the personnel of the Minerals Availability Field Office (MAFO) of the Bureau of Mines in Denver, Colorado, will be used to perform instantaneous updates of all costs relating to the mining industry. The indices were developed primarily for use in the Bureau's Minerals Availability Program in assessing the worldwide availability of nonfuel minerals.

Jan 1, 1983

By Jr. Smith

To investigate the effects of flow geometry on laminar flames, studies are in progress in this laboratory employing Bunsen-type burners with rectangular cross section. Interpretation of these studies requires a determination of the flow velocity at all points of the rectangular cross section for one dimensional steady laminar flow. In addition, values of the velocity gradient at the boundary for such flows are needed in the interpretation of blow-off and flash-back studies with burners of rectangular cross section. The hydrodynamical problem of steady laminar flow of a viscous fluid in channels of rectangular cross section was solved by Stokes. His results have been quoted by Love21 and by Dryden, Murnaghan, and Bateman,§/ and they have been discussed by Boussines and by Paschoud. It may be noted that the steady laminar flow of a viscous fluid in channels of rectangular cross section constitutes a hydrodynamical analogue for the problem of the torsion of an isotropic prism of rectangular cross section.

Jan 1, 1952

By Thomas V. Falkie

The new international fact of life that has emerged in the 70's is that foreign energy sources can no longer be considered either reliable or low in price. As a result, the United States is turning its full attention to its domestic energy resources. The figures about proved domestic reserves are often used to reassure us about the Nation's energy future: assuming a 50 percent recovery factor, there are at least 219 billion tons of recoverable bituminous coal and lignite, of which 31 percent is available by surface methods; proved reserves of crude petroleum and natural gas liquids total 34.3 billion barrels and 6.4 billion barrels, respectively. There is also about 4 billion tons of recoverable anthracite coal, a premium low-sulfur fuel of high heating value, which is all but priced out of the market because of the high costs of producing it. Total fossil fuel resources are even larger, although there are no guarantees concerning how much might become usable, and when, and at what cost. The figures, however, are impressive. They include the equivalent of about 200 billion barrels of oil potentially recoverable from high grade oil shale; 100 billion barrels in "heavy oil" deposits; and the equivalent of 25 to 35 billion barrels of oil in domestic deposits of "tar sands," and substantial quantities of conventional oil and gas resources. There is also the prospect of a significant increase in electric power generation

Jan 1, 1975

By Hillary W. Clair

An equation is derived for the rate of reaction of a sphere of metal oxide in a restricted enclosure through which a reducing gas is flowing . The equation takes into consideration the reaction rate coefficient , transport through the gas and through the porous shell of reduced oxide , the rate of gas flow , and the volume of the enclosure . The equation serves as a model for predicting the course of reduction of a particle of metal oxide in a shaft furnace .

Jan 1, 1964

By Jerry E. Olson

In 1988, at the request of the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Bureau of Mines studied additional areas, encompassing 11,303 acres, on the east and west sides of the 20,727-acre Badlands study area (Olson, 1987) in order to evaluate their identified mineral resources. The Badlands study area additions are located in Crook and Deschutes Counties, OR, about 10 and 18 miles east of Bend, OR. No mineral resources were identified. The additional areas studied are underlain by Tertiary-and Quaternary-age basalt flows which are largely covered by a veneer of sand and silt. No mines, prospects, mining claims or mineralized areas occur within or near the Badlands study area additions. Slab lava of marketable grade and quantity was not found in either area. None of the study area is of current interest for geothermal resources, but the eastern study area addition has been leased (1984) for oil and gas.

Jan 1, 1989

Safe operation and system integrity are two important properties of a mine hoist electrical system. Previous methods used to assess these systems, though rare, have involved extensive downtime and required skilled personnel. The recommended design considerations presented in this report are for a proposed automated system that will perform real time measurements, calculations, and recordings of pertinent performance data. Included are equipment installation and test procedures to be used with the system. The report also contains descriptions of the hoist performance criteria, and how they are to be collected.

Jan 1, 1985

By John A. Organiscak

Laboratory and underground studies were conducted by the Bureau of Mines to evaluate the effectiveness of a water-powered scrubber and a brattice partition to create a clean split of air for longwall workers at the tailgate. In simulated laboratory tests, the system was very effective in creating a clean split of air. Observed system efficiencies were 74 and 84 pct with induced airflows of approximately 2,000 and 2,500 cfm, respectively. Underground evaluations indicated that the system was capable of reducing respirable dust at the tailgate. The first underground evaluation resulted in protection efficiencies of 30.7 and 42.5 pct at scrubber water pressures of 150 and 450 psig, respectively. A 33.7-pct protection efficiency was observed in the second underground evaluation with a modified partition and the scrubber operating at 250-psig water pressure. To be most effective, the system should have the scrubber operating at a flowrate of 10 gpm at 500 psig to deliver a maximum quantity of cleaned air behind a well-sealed partition.

Jan 1, 1983

By S. L. Ausmus

The work covered in this report is a continuation of an earlier feasibility study by the Federal Bureau of Mines and points out improvements in the skull-melting method for casting reactive metals such as titanium, zirconium, and hafnium. Machined graphite molds with laminated sections can be reused many times. Large tube sections can be produced by spin casting. Graphite powder is the best expendable mold material, but binders for this use must be compounded carefully. The effects of current and furnace atmosphere on the dependent variables of the casting technique are shown. Because of developments in casting technology for titanium which eliminate the basic problems of melting and pouring the metal, opportunities for improvement in the method have increased. The mold material and gate and riser configurations require particular attention. The limits of application of the casting method have yet to be defined. New knowledge in anyone of these areas could result in marked improvements and simplifications in casting methods.

Jan 1, 1960

By Lowell Stroud

Ten natural gases containing from 0.023 to 8.4 percent helium were investigated. In seven high-helium samples, the isotopic abundance of Ne21 was greater than in the atmosphere, being supplemented by 33 to 85 percent of "excess" or "radiogenic" Ne21. The ratio of He4/Ne21(rad) in these gases was evaluated and found to vary between 2.9 x 107 and 5.9 x 107 , a factor of approximately 2. Argon concentrations were determined by the isotope dilution method. The isotopic ratios of Ar40/Ar36 in the high-helium gases were from 5 to 75 times the atmospheric value, with the Ar40 being about 80 to 99 percent radiogenic in nature. The ratios of He4/Ar40(rad) in all 10 gases were evaluated and found to range from 4 to 18. The isotopic ratio of N14/N15 in four of the high-helium gases was essentially the same as in the atmosphere; in three cases it was approximately 5 percent higher than the atmospheric value of 272.0. The genesis of nitrogen and the relationship of nitrogen to helium in natural gases were reviewed and are discussed in terms of a theory for the concurrent generation of nitrogen, helium, radiogenic neon 21, and petroleum (hydrocarbon gases and liquids).

Jan 1, 1967

By E. D. Gardner

"In recent years efficient safety organizations have been considered essential at all well-managed metal mines. Statistics from numerous mines throughout the country show that the expense of operation of these safety departments is repaid many times by the saving due to fewer accidents. Men trained in first aid, mine rescue and fire-fighting are important parts of the safety organization at most mines. It is more desirable, however, to lay stress ma accident prevention and fire precautions rather than on first aid and fire fighting. Both of these phases of safety work have been well developed in the Globe Miami district. The co-operative mine rescue organization* in this district under Orr Woodburn, is one of the best in the country. Mine rescue teams are kept trained at all the mines and the oxygen breathing apparatus is constantly maintained in good condition. Miners are also trained in first aid, and are offered incentives to make themselves proficient both in mine rescue and first-aid work.The Old Dominion Company is among the leaders in the safety movement in the Globe-Miami district. The safety department at this mine was established January 1, 1914, and has been developed to a high degree of efficiency. W. G. McBride, general manager of the company, takes an active part in the safety work and has given Albert Talon the safety inspector, his active support in developing the organization. The success of the department is dos largely to the ability, tact, and personality of the men directing the work.The following description of the establishment and operation of the safety organization at this mine was prepared from information supplied by Mr. Tallon."

Jun 1, 1921

By T. J. Ballard, Austin B. Clayton

"The Union Copper mine is in the Gold Hill district, Rowan and Cabarrus Counties, N. C.The mine was discovered in 1799 and first worked as a gold mine; but copper was encountered at depth, and the property became an important producer of copper. It is estimated that the mine produced 5,000,000 pounds of copper before operations were discontinued in 1907.As part of the strategic minerals program, the Bureau of Mines conducted a development project on the property from July 1943 to November 1943. Eight diamond-drill holes, totaling 2,500 linear feet, were drilled to delineate the ore body. Analyses of 205 core samples were made.Tabulations of sample analyses and drill-hole logs are presented in this report.The project work embodied in this report was under the immediate supervision of Austin B. Clayton, project engineer, and the general supervision of H. B. Ewoldt, district engineer for North Carolina and Tennessee. The preliminary report, written by Austin B. Clayton, was revised and the various figures redrawn for publication by T. J. Ballard under the general supervision of M. H. Kline, chief, Raleigh Branch, Mining Division.Acknowledgment is due the Metallurgical Branch for analytical determinations of the samples.The mine property is 1.5 miles southwest of the village of Gold. Hill, N. C. (fig. 1). Gold Hill is on U. S. Highway 52 between Salisbury and Albemarle and on a branch line of the Southern Railway. The latitude is 350 30' and longitude 80° 21 The tract consists of 553-1/2 acres in Cabarrus and Rowan Counties.A tentative list of the surface-rights ownership is as follows: William Hoy Barringer - 16 acres, A. W. Tucker - 1 acre, Frank Wagoner - 4 acres, and George Barringer - 3-1/2 acres, in Cabarrus County; A. W. Tucker - 2 acres, H. N. Hedrick - 54 acres, and William Atkins - 473 acres, in, Rowan County, N. C.The mineral rights are owned by Alfred Rossiter, Alice R. Hesslein? and the estate of the late Bella Rosenblatt. The attorneys for the owners are Neidle & Taylor, 6 East 45th Street, New York City.The Union Copper mine is in the Cold Hill mining district of North Carolina where gold was first discovered in 1799. The upper parts of the veins in the district were first worked for gold; however, the increase in the sulfide content of the veins with depth rendered the amalgamation process for gold recovery ineffective, and the mines were closed.The period of greatest activity at the Union Copper mine was from 1899 to 1906. At an earlier period the oxidized and leached part of the lode near the surface was mined from a working known as the ""big cut,"" the reported yield of which was $300,000 in gold.3/ The mine has not been operated since 1907.J. T. Pardee3/ lists the probable value of the production of the Union Copper mine as $1,050,000, of which about $675,000 was the value of some 5,000,000 pounds of copper produced."

Oct 1, 1948

By Charles D. Litton

An overview of state-of-the-art technology in fire detectors is presented by the Bureau of Mines regarding their use in the mining industry. Detectors are categorized according to the characteristics of a fire to which they respond. Operating principles of the various detectors, their application, and the advantages and disadvantages of each are discussed.

Jan 1, 1979

By G. L. Neumann

"INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARYThe Guymard mine in Orange County, N. Y., is reported to have been discovered in 1862 and mined until 1876, producing 10,000 tons of lead and zinc ore. 2/The property was examined by an engineer of the Bureau of Mines 3/ in 1948. Development work was done by the Bureau in April and May 1949 and March 1950. During these two periods four drill holes totaling 2,090 feet were completed. The mineralized sections of the core were sampled and assayed.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe diamond drilling was conducted under the general supervision of McHenry Mosier, chief, Mining Development Branch, Minerals Technology Division, Region VIII, and the direct supervision of Kenneth M. Earl and the writer as project engineers. Drill cores were logged by Paul K. Sims of the Federal Geological Survey. Chemical analyses were made by the Bruce Williams laboratories, Joplin, Mo., and the Minerals Processing Branch, Minerals Technology Division, Region VIII, Bureau of Mines, under the general supervision of Paul M. Ambrose, chief, and the direct supervision of Howard F. Carl, chief, Physical and Chemical Section.LOCATION AND ACCESSIBILITYThe Guymard deposit (see fig. 1) is on the west slope of Mount Hope, Orange County, N. Y., 1,500 feet northeast of Lake Guymard.Graham station, near the deposit, is on the Erie Railroad about 8 miles north of Port Jervis and 4 miles south of Otisville."

Aug 1, 1952

By R. R. Sayers

Carbon monoxide poisoning, as usually encountered, is an acute condition resulting from breathing atmospheres containing that gas. It is characterized clinically by headache, dizziness, weakness in the legs, increased respiration at first which later becomes irregular and depressed, collapse, unconciousness, and death; anatomically it is characterized by temporary changes in the red blood cells due to the combination of carbon monoxide with hemoglobin, and, in prolonged severe exposures, degenerative changes in various tissues of the body, especially those of the central nervous system. No race or nationality is immune or has a, special tolerance for carbon monoxide. From data at hand, it is known that both sexes are about equally susceptible. All ages are affected, but small percentages seem to have a more deleterious effect upon young animals and this is possibly true of children. Exercise, high temperature and humidity, and low oxygen content of en atmosphere increase the degree of poisoning for a certain concentration of carbon monoxide. Anything that lowers the physical fitness of a man, such as illness, overwork, or excesses of any kind, exaggerates the effects. More cases of poisoning from carbon monoxide occur in coal mines in the cold months of the year, because explosions take place more frequently during that period, also in homes where gas is used for beating purposes, and in garages from accumulation of automobile exhaust gases due to poor ventilation.

Jan 1, 1923

By J. A. Gutierrez-Rodriguez, R. J. Purcell, F. F. ApIan

"Based on contact-angle measurements and the work of adhesion equation, the hydrophobicity of a wide variety of coals was found to decrease with decreasing rank, fixed carbon and total carbon content and with increasing oxygen and hydroxyl content. The estimated hydrophobicity, based on the water-sessile-drop contact angle, is '\.. 20% for lignite, increases with increasing rank up to a maximum of 'V70% for low (LV) and medium (MV) volatile bituminous coals and then decreases somewhat for anthracite. Using the captive-bubble technique, the calculated hydrophobicity ranges from '\.. 0% (below HV A bituminous rank) to a maximum of 55% for L V-MV coal. The former estimation is believed to be the more accurate. While the water-sessile-drop contact angle as measured on a polished-coal surface is usually larger than that shown by the captive-bubble method, the two values were found to converge at""' 95% relative humidity. It is proposed that the surface of coal consists of three kinds of sites: strongly hydrophobic, weakly hydrophobic and hydrophilic. The sessile-drop technique measures the total hydrophobic sites whereas the captive-bubble method measures only the more strongly hydrophobic sites. A water film covers the weakly hydrophobic sites preventing their detection by the captive-bubble technique.INTRODUCTIONCoal is a mixture of the degradation products of plants and of mineral matter. The appearance and properties of a specific coal is determined by the nature of the original vegetation and the extent of the physical and chemical changes which have occurred after deposition. The coalification process may be considered to have started with peat formation followed by a transition to lignite due to burial under sediments and metamorphic processes. Further metamorphic transformation to bituminous coals and, finally, under intense metamorphic action, to anthracite causes the carbon content and rank of the coal to increase. With such a wide variation in their genesis and composition, equally wide variations in the degree of hydrophobicity of different coals may be expected. It is the purpose of this paper to provide a means of estimating the hydrophobicity of a given coal sample based on rank parameters."

Jan 1, 1989

By F. E. Block

This investigation was made as part of a larger program to develop basically new methods for preparing yttrium metal in high-purity form. It was performed under a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the Federal Bureau of Mines. Laboratory-scale tests were made to devise methods for preparing high-purity, anhydrous yttrium trichloride, for reducing the yttrium trichloride with sodium or lithium, and for consolidating the resulting yttrium sponge into ingots.

Jan 1, 1960

By Nabil A. Bibawy

The U.S. Bureau of Mines has established a method for the calibration of class 2 and class 4 standards of mass using a procedure from designs developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This method produces a weight calibration that is within 1.0 pct of the balance sensitivity. A set of four 1-kg weights yielded a standard deviation of 3.25 mg compared to ±2.91 mg balance sensitivity. The method employs the use of a high-accuracy balance to measure the difference between a set of weights calibrated by NIST and the set to be calibrated. The error of the balance is included in the error for each weight calibrated.

Jan 1, 1989

By D. P. Desmond

The U.S. Bureau of Mines investigated leaching automobile catalysts with sodium cyanide (NaCN) solutions at high temperatures to recover platinum-group metals (PGM). The feed was virgin monolith rejects, used monolith, and used pellet catalysts. Leaching with a 5-pct NaCN solution for 1 h at 160° C dissolved over 97 pct of the PGM in the virgin monolith, over 85 pct of the PGM in the used monolith, and over 90 pct of the PGM in the used pellet catalyst. Over 99.8 pct of the dissolved PGM was recovered as a precipitate by heating the solution to 250° C for 1 h in an autoclave. The cyanide complexes were decomposed, and free cyanide was destroyed.

Jan 1, 2010