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By Arel B. McMahan

The U.S. Bureau of Mines investigated mines, prospects, and mineralized areas in the Owlshead Mountains Wilderness Study Area (WSA) in 1982. Within the WSA, subeconomic manganese, iron, zinc, and lead resources were identified at two mines; sample analyses indicate five other mines and prospects may have gold, silver, iron, manganese, and copper resources. Three mines examined adjacent to the WSA have identified manganese and iron resources; and sample analyses indicate manganese, iron, and gypsum resources may exist at two prospects. Greatest likelihood for future identification of mineral reserves is for manganese at the Black Magic Mine in the southeast part of the WSA. The southern half of the WSA contains nearly all identified mineral resources, and properties at which sample analyses indicate additional resources. The most significant are manganese and iron resources at the Black Magic Mine in the southeastern part of the WSA; and the Ellie, New Deal, and Owl Hole Mines adjacent to that part of the area. Manganese and iron minerals filled fractures and replaced limestone in brecciated and faulted contacts with intrusive granitic rocks. In the southwest corner of the WSA, sample analyses indicate four prospects may have gold and silver resources. These precious metals are in gouge zones along contacts where diorite has intruded volcanic rocks. A small identified resource at the Kennedy Boys Lead Mine in the western part of the WSA consists of quartz veins with zinc and lead minerals along a brecciated contact between granite and limestone roof pendants.

Jan 1, 1985

By Charles B. Kenaban

The possibility of using ultrasonic energy as a tool to improve the electrolytic deposition of copper and zinc from several electrolytes was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Mines. Sound with frequencies of 20, 26, 38, and 400 kilocycles per second and acoustical intensities of 0.25 to 1.5 watts per square centimeter was employed. Measurements of cell voltage, anode and cathode current efficiencies, and electrode potentials were made at various current densities. Effects of ultrasonics on the quality of the deposit and on anode corrosion also was noted. In the electrolytic recovery of copper from an acid copper sulfate solution at 50° C., adherent, well-consolidated deposits are normally obtained up to a current density of 30 amperes per square foot. As the current density is increased above this value, the deposits normally become progressively more spongy and less adherent. Ultrasonic irradiation resulted in adherent and well-consolidated deposits at current densities up to 300 amperes per square foot. Radiation also produced smaller grain size and preferred orientation of the copper crystals. In addition, radiation caused as much as 3-volt decreases in cell voltages at the higher current densities. These decreases were caused chiefly by depolarization of the anode, although small depolarization effects were also noted at the cathode. Radiation apparently did not greatly affect cathode-current efficiencies, but prevented excessive anode corrosion at the higher current densities and resulted in more uniform corrosion. Ultrasonic radiation at a frequency of 400 kilocycles per second was not as effective as radiation at the lower frequencies. Circulation of the electrolyte at rates up to 5 percent of the cell capacity per minute did not produce results comparable to those effected by ultrasonic radiation. Rapid rotation of the cathode up to 1,800 revolutions per minute gave results approaching those obtained with ultrasonics.

Jan 1, 1961

By Gerald W. Elger

To determine the feasibility of removing nonferrous metal impurities from automobile scrap by thermal treatment in a rotary kiln, the Bureau of Mines conducted four series of tests with synthetic scrap mixtures heated at various temperatures under oxidizing and reducing conditions. The treated scrap mixtures were melted in an electric-arc furnace and cast into small ingots for impurity evaluation. Analyses showed that the ingots were essentially free of residual metal impurities except for copper. Test data indicated that in an oxidizing atmosphere the percentage of copper removed increased with treatment temperature. Percent of copper removed in a reducing atmosphere was found not to be temperature dependent. A significant finding was that copper was embrittled under some of the operating conditions and was mechanically removed by fragmentation.

Jan 1, 1968

By E. Wittenau

This paper describing the concentrator practice of the Copper Queen Branch of the Phelps Dodge Corporation at Bisbee, Ariz., is one of a series of papers on milling methods and costs being prepared by the United States Bureau of Mines. The Copper Queen Concentrator treats 4,000 tons of copper ore daily by preferential flotation, whereby the copper sulphides are floated and considerable iron pyrite is depressed. During 1929 the heads to the concentrator averaged 2.15 per pent of copper, the recovery was 91.32 per cent of the total copper, and the concentrates produced contained 12.92 per cent of copper.

Jan 1, 1931

By M. A. Mahtab

This report presents a new procedure for analyzing the orientations of rock fractures in an engineering site. This procedure, coded in a computer program, identifies clusters or groupings among the fracture orientations and calculates (1) the mean orientation of the fractures within each cluster and (2) the dispersion or scatter among these fracture orientations. Data points are represented by intersections of joint normals with the upper hemisphere, which is divided into 100 equal-area quadrilateral patches. The points in adjacent patches where the Poisson distribution test shows significant concentrations are assigned to a single cluster. For a cluster whose fracture orientations follow Arnold's hemispherical normal distribution, a confidence interval for the fracture orientation mean is calculated by applying Fisher's estimates. The technique is applied to the treatment of three examples.

Jan 1, 1972

By H. L. Gilbert

Zircon sand may be reacted with sodium hydroxide at 600° C. to form sodium zirconate and sodium silicate. Sodium zirconate is water insoluble and so may be washed free of sodium silicate. The sodium zirconate may then be converted to zirconyl chloride by the action of hydrochloric acid and the zirconyl chloride crystals separated by cooling the solution. This approach produces zirconyl chloride of satisfactory purity with less cost than is involved in buying anhydrous zirconium chloride and converting it. A proposed design for a plant is given, INTRODUCTION This work was conducted by the Rare Metals Branch as a part of research on zirconium at the Bureau of Mines Northwest Electrodevelopment Laboratories, Albany, Oreg., under the guidance of S. M. Shelton, Regional Director. The work was supervised by W. W. Stephens, head of the Rare Metals Branch (now with Carborundum Metals Corp.).

Jan 1, 1954

By E. C. Lane

This paper is the first putt of a report giving the results of the Bureau of Mines' twenty-third semiannual survey of motor gasoline marketed in the United States. A companion report, Part II, is in preparation and will give a more detailed discussion of the whole survey. Results of the determination of copper-strip corrosion, color, sulphur content, copper-dish evaporation residue, and gum content as given by the Bureau of Mines steam-oven method will be presented in the second paper, which will also include the prevailing retail price and the tax at the time the sample was taken. This paper deals specifically with data relative to gravity, Reid vapor pressure,' and distillation (method 100.13).6 The samples tested were divided into "competitive-price gasolines" and "premium-price motor fuels," a method of presentation that was begun with the twenty-second semiannual survey. A total of 312 samples were collected from service station pumps in 20 cities throughout the United States. Of this number of samples, 207 were "com-petitive-price gasolines" and 106 were "premium-price motor fuels." All of the samples were collected in March, 1931, and analyzed at the Petroleum Experiment Station of the United States Bureau of Mines at Bartlesville, Okla. "Competitive-price gasoline" includes those fuels that are sold at the generally recognized local base price and all fuels that are sold below that price. All fuels that are sold at an advance over the generally recognized base price are placed in the class of "premium-price motor fuels." These fuels include Ethyl gasolines, benzol blends, "high-test" fuels, and those fuels that owe their "anti-knock" rating to the process of manufacture rather than to the addition of other material such as Ethyl fluid or benzol. The term "high-test" is generally applied to motor fuels that are more volatile than the regular competitive-price gasolines. "High-test" fuels may also have a high anti-knock rating.

Jan 1, 1931

By R. V. Ramani, C. B. Manula, A. Owili-Eger

That a close analogy exists between the flow of air in mines and the flow of current in electrical networks- has been known for a long time. The laws that have been used to solve series and parallel electrical circuits have been used to solve for the equivalent resistance in mine ventilation problems. Kirchhoff's current and voltage laws have also been adopted in solving mine ventilation network problems. It will be best to define a few terms here regarding networks, and with reference to Figure 1, these definitions can be elucidated. Figure 1 can be represented by the network in Figure 2 without losing any essential details. 1. A junction is a point where two or more airways meet. 2. The segment of a roadway connecting any two junctions is known as a branch. 3. A mesh is a closed path through the network. In the above network, B, C, D and F are the junctions, CF and CD are two of the branches and CFDC is a mesh. Kirchhoff's current law states that the sum of currents entering a junction. Applying this law to the junctions in the ventilation network, one obtains for junctions C and F, the following relationships: JUNCTION C: Q1 = Q4 + Q3 (1) JUNCTION F: Q2 + Q3 = Q5 (2) Similar relationships can be drawn for other junctions. Kirchhoff's voltage law states that in any complete electric circuit, the algebraic sum of the emf's must equal the algebraic sum of the voltage drops. In mine ventilation, the square law (Atkinson's

Jan 1, 1975

By R. V. Lundquist

This report describes results of tests on the desilication of solutions resulting from the leaching of lime-soda sinters. Desilication was accomplished by heating the solutions in an autoclave. A liquor relatively free of silica was obtained after 30 minutes of heating at 200 p.s.i.g. in the presence of lime. The addition of lime improved desilication, but the rate and efficiency of desilication was effected by the quality of lime used. The optimum quantity of lime for effective desilication was about 6 grams per liter. A lesser quantity gave poorer desilication, and a greater quantity increased the alumina loss without improving desilication. The alumina loss was approximately proportional to the lime added. A complex structure, called artificial noselite in this report, was the only silica bearing compound detected in the desilication precipitate. Other compounds present were Ca(OH)2 (calcium hydroxide), CaCO3 (calcium carbonate), and Ca [A1(OH)6]2 (hydrated tricalcium aluminate). Sodium carbonate in the leach liquor retarded the formation of the calcium aluminate; hence it decreased the alumina lost to the precipitate. The extraction of alumina from aluminum silicate materials by the limestone soda-sinter process has been investigated by the Bureau of Mines for many years. The process consists of the following major operations: Blending the aluminum silicate with limestone and soda ash in such proportions that dicalcium silicate and sodium aluminate are formed on sintering; leaching the sinter in a carbonated caustic solution to extract the soluble alumina; purifying the leach liquor by the precipitation of soluble silica (this precipitate is designated desilication precipitate in this paper); precipitating alumina trihydrate from the purified liquors by carbonating with carbon dioxide gas; and calcining the trihydrate to alumina. Commercial grades of

Jan 1, 1962

By Joseph J. Wallace

1. From the standpoint of known recoverable reserves, the following is the order of importance of the beds: Upper Kittaoning, Lower Kittanning, Upper Freeport, Lower Freeport, Middle Kittaning, Clarion, Pittsburgh, and Redstone. 2. mown measured and indicated reserves in all beds, based on a minimum thickness of 14 inches and on 1,800 tons per acre-foot of coal in place, me estimated at 1,859 million short tons as of January 1, 1952. Of this, 1,351 million short tons me in beds 28 inches and more thick. Areas in each bed were omitted from the estimates because available data relative to the bed characteristics are too meager to make an estimate that conforms with the definitions of measured and indicated coal adopted for this study. Should future drilling or development prove reserves in these areas, such reserves should be added to the total estimated reserves.

Jan 1, 1953

By S. C. Termes

To help develop the basis for new fine-particle separation methods, the Bureau of Mines has investigated the use of cross-linked starches containing four chelating groups--carboxylate, iminodiacetate, dietha-nolamine, and xanthate--as flocculants for selected metal oxide and hydroxide mineral fines. It was found that those starches capable of interacting with the mineral surface by a chemisorpti,on mechanism (as indicated by zeta potential measurements) produced the highest recover-ies and'grades of the metal oxide or hydroxide when flocculated from a binary mixture with quartz. The effects of pH, dispersing agent, stirring rate, stirring time, and starch dosage on selective flocculation were studied for binary mixtures of hematite and chromite with quartz. Floc strength becomes important in achieving maximum recoveries by mechanical postflocculation separations.

Jan 1, 1985

By Doris M. Hyde

The impact of mining activities on the economy in both 1983 and 1984 was minimal. The most recent available data on the gross domestic product (GDP) indicated a level of $1.6 billion in 1983.2 The estimated value for the production of cement, aragonite, and salt was about $17 million in that year, down from the estimated $20 million in 1982. No data are available on the economic impact of the large petroleum refinery at Freeport on Grand Bahama Island, but it represents the major mineral-related activity. Cement production remained at only a fraction of the 800,000 tons per year of plant capacity. The offshore search for hydrocarbons continued in 1984, and some companies were about to enter the third year of seismic and geological surveying around Andros and Grand Bahamas Islands. Getty Oil (Bahamas) Co. Inc.; Breoco Ltd., a subsidiary of REO Development Corp. of Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Natomas Petroleum (Bahamas) Ltd. were the first companies to be awarded exploration licenses. These companies were committed to drilling at least one well before the end of the third exploration year. Other companies actively engaged in exploration included Exxon Corp., Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCO), Chevron Oil Bahamas Ltd., and Esso Oil Bahamas Ltd. Geophysical Services Inc. (GSI) of Dallas, Texas, and Petroleum Services (Bahamas) Ltd. of Englewood, Colorado, ran another seismic survey line during 1984. This 1,533-mile line was in the Great Bahama Bank and Cay Sal Bank areas off the southeast Florida coast, and tied in with a 4,530-mile program GSI ran in 1981-82. These surveys were nonexclusive and publicly available through GSI.

Jan 1, 1986

By James S. Browning

The purpose of this investigation was to develop a dependable and economic method for recovering spodumene and mica from pegmatites of the type found in Gaston County, N. C. Laboratory batch tests and continuous flotation tests were made by the Federal Bureau of Mines to determine the feasibility of treating the ore by flotation to recover high-grade spodumene and mica concentrates. The spodumene flotation circuit yielded concentrates containing 6.50 percent lithia (Li20), with an overall recovery of 81.8 percent of the lithia in the ore, The mica circuit yielded concentrates containing 97.5 percent mica, with a recovery of 82.5 percent of the mica in the spodumene tailing.

Jan 1, 1961

By Arcy R., D&apos George

A process for removing sulfate from Great Salt Lake brines and other natural brines, including sea water, has been developed. Sulfate is quantitatively removed by precipitation as barium sulfate in a cyclic process employing ion-exchange techniques. Barium is continously recovered and recycled, and sodium carbonate and sulfur or sulfuric acid are produced as byproducts in quantities sufficient to more than defray the cost of desulfation.

Jan 1, 1967

By B. W. Dunning

The Bureau of Mines investigated the concentration and distribution of precious metals in the various fractions produced from mechanical processing of obsolete military electronic scrap. Whole avionic units, printed circuit cards, and electrical connectors were processed and analyzed. Materials recovered included baghouse lights, wire bundles, mag-netics, and metal concentrates from eddy-current and high-tension sepa-ration. Higher value fractions were processed by a commercial toll refiner for recovery of gold and silver. Lower value fractions were analyzed by the Bureau. Three fractions, the lights, wire bundles, and metallics from high-tension separation, contained most of the precious metals. Depending on the type of scrap feed, these fractions represented 34 to 60 pct of the original sample weight. Collectively, they represented 68 to 97 pct and 75 to 98 pct of the contained gold and silver, respectively.

Jan 1, 1983

By J. S. Tosh

The Federal Bureau of Mines has investigated the equilibrium of the system potassium carbonate (K2C03) potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) potassium bisulfide (KHS) carbon dioxide (C02) hydrogen sulfide (H2S) water (H20). Partial pressures of hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and water vapor were measured at 70° to 130° C. over solutions of 20-, 30-, and 40-percent-equivalent potassium carbonate containing from 20 to 3,000 grains of equivalent hydrogen sulfide per gallon of solution. This study was made to obtain equilibrium data for evaluating the feasibility of using solutions of hot potassium carbonate for removing, hydrogen sulfide from gas mixtures. The equilibrium partial pressure of hydrogen sulfide may be correlated with the ratio of the molal concentrations of the solutes (KHC03) (KHS)/ (K2CO3). The relationship is shown graphically for the 30- and 40-percent solutions. Once this ratio is determined, the partial pressure of hydrogen sulfide can be obtained from the curves. The equilibrium data show that effective removal of both carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide can be achieved simultaneously with hot solutions of potassium carbonate.

Jan 1, 1960

By M. R. Yenchek

The U.S. Bureau of Mines designed and constructed sensitive and coordination-free ground-fault relays (GFR's) for use on mine power systems. First, a list of GFR attributes for mine ac utilization applications was compiled. These practical guidelines specified design, construction, transient immunity, reliability, and operating criteria. The time-current characteristics of the ac and dc units, subsequently fabricated, were designed to be below the human electrocution threshold. The significant and highly variable capacitance of high-voltage distribution cables was found to preclude the sensing of ground currents in the milliampere range. However, the coordination-free system developed for high-voltage distribution should enhance safety by significantly decreasing response time to ground faults. Implementation of the sensitive GFR technology in the mining industry has the potential to eliminate the majority of injuries and nearly all the deaths resulting from contact with energized components.

Jan 1, 1990

By d&apos, Kathleen J. Amico

THIS SUMMARY is identical to the summary given in volume III of this series of mineral production in the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii), its island possessions, the Canal Zone, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and of the principal minerals imported into and exported from the United States. For further details on production see commodity and area chapters. A summary table comparing world and United States mineral production also is included. Mineral production may be measured at any of several stages of extraction and processing. The stage of measurement used in the chapter is normally what is termed "mine output." It usually refers [ ]

Jan 1, 1958

By J. A. McAllister

In the course of a study of domestic Manganese resources, 2-ton representative samples of ore were taken by Bureau of Mines' engineers from the Payday claim, Weber County, and the Newcomb-claims, Rich County, Utah. The Payday No. 1 deposit is situated 13 miles northeast of Huntsville, Weber County, Utah. The manganese ore is a. replacement deposit in limestone and consists of manganese oxides imbedded 'in clay and also as the cementing agent consolidating small pebbles and pieces of quartz and limestone.

Jan 1, 1949

By W. T. Millar

"INTRODUCTION The purpose of the Star Lake project was to investigate, by geophysical surveying and diamond drilling, the magnetite deposits in the northwestern Adirondacks, the ultimate objective being to increase iron production in eastern United States,ACKNOWLEDGMENTSIn its program of investigating mineral deposits, the Bureau of Mines has as its primary objective the more effective utilization of our mineral resources to the end that they make the greatest possible contribution to the national security and economy. It is the policy of the Bureau to publish the facts developed by each project as soon as practicable after its conclu-sion. The Mining Branch, Lowell B. ""Moon, chief; conducts preliminary examinations, performs the actual investigative work, aid prepares the final report. The Metallurgical Branch, Oliver C. Ralston, chief, analyzes samples and performs beneficiation tests.The chemical and spectrographic analyses included in this report were performed at the Eastern Experiment Station of the Bureau of Lines at College Park, Md., under the general supervision of J. B. Zadra, chief, College Park Division, Metallurgical Branch, and under the immediate direction of Dr. Alton. Gobriel in charge of the laboratory service unit.The mineral exploration was under the general supervision successively of John D. Bardill, district engineer, and McHenry Mosier, chief, College Park Division, Mining Branch. The work was done under the immediate supervision successively of J. P. Ryan, N. A. Eilertsen, and W. T. Millar, project engineers."

Sep 1, 1947