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In 2004, a total of 4,401 stone mining operations reported employment to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Stone mines comprised 30.4% of all mining operations.

Sep 1, 2007

By H. F. Weaver

The 19th National First-Aid and Mine Rescue Contest was held in the Civic Center, Charleston, w. Va., on October 2, 3, and 4, 1961. The meet was sponsored by the Bureau of Mines and the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association, in cooperation with State mine inspection agencies, management and labor of the mineral extractive industries, and other groups interested in safety. The Arrangements Committee, as authorized by the General Committee, made the necessary arrangements for conducting the 1961 contest. Members of the Arrangements Committee were: George Trevorrow (chairman), Bituminous Coal Operators' Association; James B. Benson, Southern Coal Producers' Association; Charles Ferguson, United Mine Workers of America; Harry Gandy, Jr., National Coal Association; and James Westfield, Bureau of Mines.

Jan 1, 1962

By Jeffrey H. Welsh

This report presents a study on the use of computerized, continuous remote monitoring systems for fire and explosive atmosphere safety in underground coal mines. The effects of these systems on the safety level in mines are investigated, and the relationship between mine safety regulations and computerized, continuous, remote monitoring is analyzed.

Jan 1, 1982

By E. C. Pattee

A mobile spectroscopic laboratory was completed by the Bureau of Mines in 195 to provide a rapid, inexpensive means of field testing samples for beryl¬lium and other associated metals of possible commercial importance. Spectro-copes have been used in laboratories for many years in various types of research and routine analyses, but this spectroscope is probably the first mobile unit. The laboratory provides for spectroscopic, radioactivity, fluorescent, and limited chemical tests of samples. The unit has been a valuable reconnaissance tool. It has been used to search for beryllium, cesium, columbium, tantalum, rubidium, and lithium in Idaho, Washington, and Montana. Several very low grade deposits of these elements were found, and occurrences of other important elements were identified; however, none are of economic importance. The spectroscope permits the detection of elements by analysis of visible light produced when elements in a small powdered sample are volatilized in an electric arc., A total of 70 elements can be detected; 29 can be detected at or below 0.01 percent, Electric power for the arc is supplied by a gasoline motor-driven generator, Equipment is housed in an aluminum van, mounted on a 4-wheel-drive vehicle for easy maneuverability on mountain roads, A trailer with crushing, pulverizing, and splitting equipment permits the reduction of samples to a small representative pulp.

Jan 1, 1963

By John C. Franklin

Water-based epoxy sealants were examined during a 2-year period to deter-mine their effectiveness as barriers to radon release in uranium mines. Radon emanation rates from uranium ore samples were monitored for extended periods in the laboratory before and after sealant application. Reduction of radon flux due to the coating of laboratory samples was approximately 80 percent. Test chambers in a dormant uranium mine were monitored to determine both short and long-term barrier effectiveness. These field studies of the seal-ants indicated radon flux reductions exceeding 50 percent relatively soon after application and nearly 75 percent about 1 year later. An unexpected complication to early monitoring in the form of a large radon emanation increase, believed due to added moisture, is discussed.

Jan 1, 1977

By David S. Brown

What troubles me so often about debates over the environment, which I have heard since I entered government in the late 1960's, is that the issues are so often presented as a false dilemma--the either-or fallacy in logic. The either-or fallacy allows only two possible choices: Either protect the environment or exploit it. In reality, however, there may be a few more options. The diverse, often competing, values that the Earth offers require us to weigh and balance those options through a range of policy options. A quality environment and economic growth and opportunity are not mutually exclusive. First, let me acknowledge that I support a set of resource values recognized in U.S. laws and deemed important down through history for the success of free, progressive, and secure societies: the importance of access to raw materials. Increasingly, however, mineral raw materials have been viewed at best as not particularly relevant to a sophisticated, technologic society, and at worst monstrously destructive of our natural environment. Both perceptions, in my judgment, are wrong.

Jan 1, 1989

By G. R. Strimbeck

This is a report on experimental work on development of a gasification process operating at near atmospheric pressures and using finely pulverized coal entrained in oxygen and steam. The gasifier was designed by The Babcock and Wilcox Co. in cooperation with engineers of the Bureau of Mines Morgantown station. The test work discussed in this report covers the first 34 tests made in the pilot plant in which a strongly coking Sewickley-bed coal, ground to either 70 or 90 percent through a 200-mesh screen, was used.

Jan 1, 1954

By M. S. Seehra, R. S. Pandurangi

"INTRODUCTION Silica and kaolin (a layer aluminosilicate) are among the major constituents of most coal mine dusts.' Whereas kaolin is cytotoxic in vitro but nonfibrogenic in vivo in humans and experimental animals,2-4 the cytotoxic and fibrogenic potential of silica is rather well established.5 Wallace and co-workers 6-8 have studied the cytotoxic potentials of both native and surface-modified silica and kaolin and inferred that retoxification is slow in the case of occluded silica vis-à-vis native silica. Recent epide¬miological studies indicate that silica concentration alone in a mine dust, as determined by transmission IR spec¬troscopy (TIRS), does not correlate well with the pro¬gression of coal workers' pneumoconiosis. 9 This obser¬vation has led to the suggestions that silica particles occluded by clays such as kaolin may not be fibrogenic. This proposal requires accurate estimations of kaolin, silica, and occluded silica. The current method of silica analysis in a mine dust sample employs TIRS of the 797- cm -1 band of silica, although its accuracy, as well as that of x-ray diffraction studies, is no better than 25 % , even in a laboratory-generated dust.° In this paper we have employed the techniques of diffuse reflectance spectros¬copy (DRS) and photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS), in conjunction with an FT-IR spectrometer, for the quan¬titative determination of silica in laboratory-generated silica-kaolin mixtures.One of the main advantages of DRS and PAS is that, in these techniques, problems arising from sample prep¬aration of the KBr-based disks used in TIRS are avoided. There are, however, several other considerations (e.g., particle size effects and saturation phenomenon) which complicate the use of DRS and PAS for quantitative work. 10-25 In this paper, we have carried out a systematic comparison of the quantitative abilities of the two tech¬niques, as applied to the silica-kaolin mixtures, with par¬ticular attention to the saturation behavior of several bands with different absorption coefficients. In particular, we show that a weaker band for silica at 1875 cm-1 is suitable for quantitative purposes, and that quantitative accuracy is higher in DRS than in PAS. Details of this work are given below."

Mar 1, 1992

By J. Baicker

A two-inch diameter probe containing an intrinsic germanium detector, a canister-type solid cryogen cooling system, cooled FET preamplifier, linear amplifier, high voltage supply, analog-digital converter, microprocessor, buffer memory, bidirectional cable link, and all power supplies has been designed, assembled and tested. A surface support vehicle was designed, built and outfitted. A mini-computer system was constructed and preliminary software developed and tested. A special handling system for a Cf-252 neutron source was designed and has been ordered. The entire system (less the neutron source) is ready for its first field tests. Lab description of the system is presented.

Jan 1, 1978

By E. V. Potter

"INTRODUCTION The oscillator and amplifier system described in this paper was developed specifically for driving sound generators of the type developed by H. W. St. Clair and described by him in an article 3/ published several years ago in the Review of Scientific Instruments.Nevertheless, with little or no alteration it can be used to drive any vibrating system in which the vibrating member must be driven at its resonant frequency; the only restrictions are that the driving mechanism be electrical in nature and that the vibrating member be accessible so that some type of pick-up can be coupled to it. Operation of the automatic frequency-control element in the oscillator, however, depends entirely on the operating characteristics of the vibrating member; therefore, in order to completely explain the operation of the circuit, it will be necessary to describe the construction and operation of the vibrator used with it. Only the essential features and characteristics of the vibrator will be described in this article, and the reader is referred to St. Clair's 4/ report for further details."

May 1, 1943

By Donelson A. Robertson

Literature was searched and cases of alleged water well damage were investigated. Occurrence of ground water in Appalachia is primarily in low yield, fractured, water table aquifers. Four test sites were chosen based on geographic and geologic diversity. Test wells were drilled at each site and base line data on water quality, static water level, and drawdown characteristics were obtained before surface mining commenced. Blast induced ground vibrations were measured at the surface by the wells at levels up to 5.44 inches per second maximum resultant particle velocity. Measurements made at the bottom of wells indicated that vibrations were considerably attenuated at depths of 140 to 160 feet. No direct evidence of change in water quality or well performance was produced by blast vibrations, but removal of downslope support by excavation does cause lateral stress relief which permits the water-bearing fractures to become more open. This additional storage capacity causes the static water level to drop and for well-bore permeability to improve. Static water level recovers if sufficient recharge is available and well performance is

Jan 1, 1980

By Harold Bailie

The purpose of this Bureau of Mines report is to furnish information on mining practices applied to flat-bedded fluorspar deposits in southern Illinois. It presents new and improved operating procedures and specialized techniques applicable to deposits of this type. All of the operating mines of the Ozark-Mahoning Co. in this area have been opened by vertical shafts which connect with levels consisting of haul-age ways, stopes, and loading stations. The stoping practice used locally called room and pillar, is open stoping with pillars left at different distances and diameters. To facilitate haulage and drainage, the mines are worked from openings turned off the main haulage drift on a grade to conform with the dip of the ore beds. The ore is predominantly fluorspar with smaller amounts of galena and sphalerite that contain traces of cadmium and germanium. The principal gangue minerals are limestone, calcite, shale, barite, and sandstone. The rock hardness ranges from relatively soft shale to hard, abrasive sandstone.

Jan 1, 1960

By C. H. Elder

A 5-hole pattern was drilled from the surface at a site near Oak Grove, Jefferson County, Ala., to degasify the gassy Mary Lee coal bed in advance of mining. Gas and water production was monitored for 1 year, 4 months to allow gas flow to stabilize fully. A thickened water stimulation treatment was designed and applied in one hole of the pattern to evaluate this degasification technique for the Mary Lee coalbed. A gas production rate of 70,000 fts/day after stimulation treatment indicates that the use of vertical boreholes coupled with hydraulic fracturing in advance of mining the Mary Lee coalbed would provide for more rapid degasification and could provide a possible source of natural gas.

Jan 1, 1974

By E. L. Garton

Analyses of samples of crude oil from fields in West Texas have been published from time to time in Bureau of Mines reports.3/ Analyses of 100 samples of crude oil from West Texas) collected during 1946 to 1952) are presented in this report. The production of crude oil from the fields in this portion of Texas totaled 381,129,000 barrels4/ during 1951 - an amount greater than that of any previous year. Total cumulative production of this area through 1951 was 2,792,692,000 barrels.5/ Table 1 gives monthly production figures for 1951 and yearly totals for the preceding 10 years (1942-1951) [ ]

Jan 1, 1953

By F. A. Rutledge

The Bureau of Mines Investigated the Copper Bullion claims at Rua Cove on the east coast of knight Island in Prince William Sound, Alaska, during November-December 1948 and March-April 1949. This project was part of the Bureau of Mines program for developing critical and strategic minerals in Alaska, Mineralization at the copper deposit on the Copper Bullion group of claims is mainly pyrrhotate and chalcopyrite, confined to a northeast-trending shear zone in the greenstone 2,000 feet northwest of Rua Cove. The property has been partly developed by two adits, by a number of crosscuts from the upper adit, and by several diamond-drill holes.

Jan 1, 1953

By John C. Cook

This was a study to identify and evaluate known technologies employing electromagnetic resonance phenomena in solid minerals for their identification and assaying, particularly assay logging of exploratory boreholes. A comprehensive literature search and study revealed some little known NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) techniques developed by Professor G. J. Béné's group at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. These are suitable for use in weak, inhomogeneous magnetic fields. Laboratory NMR tests of numerous U.S. ore minerals showed good identifying signals from phosphates, fluorspar, bauxite, oil shale, and spodumene (lithium) ores, but not from the copper, lead, antimony or manganese ores tested. Use of EPR "signatures" for such ores is suggested. A conceptual design for an NMR assay logging system is proposed.

Jan 1, 1978

By Terry S. Cory

This report describes a complete system design methodology for medium frequency (MF) wireless radio systems for use in coal mines. The emphasis Is on AC mines where no trolley wire exists and, for which, conventional trolley phone communications can not be used. The report constitutes an MF system design handbook and includes a compendium of all previous MF technology elements as well as a reference Index with abstracts of all pertinent literature. A particular strawman system design analysis is Included for the Helvetia Coal Co. Lucerne #8 mine In the Upper Freeport seam.

Jan 1, 1979

By Ivor Hawkes

This report describes how longitudinal and bending stress waves in' percussive drill rods generate noise. It is shown that in practical drills the largest noise source is the bending waves, which are mainly generated because of imperfections in the piston, chuck, and drill rod alignment. Equations are presented which enable the noise spectra generated by the bending and longitudinal waves to be precisely predicted. Means for reducing the amplitude of the bending waves are discussed.

Jan 1, 1977

By C. H. McNaughton

The Tennessee Copper Co. operated two mines in the Ducktown district during 1928. The Burra Burra mine is much the larger operation and is the chief source of the ore smelted and treated in the, company's smelter and acid plant rat Copperhill, 4.5 miles from Ducktown. This mine operates steadily and furnishes a regular output of about 40,000 tons per month. The Eureka mine is operated irregularly and produces a much smaller tonnage of high-sulphur ore the rate of output depending upon the demand for sulphur. During 1928 about 60 per cent of the combined output of these mines was shipped directly to the smelter, and the balance was concentrated before shipment in the flotation plant located near the mines. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author acknowledges the assistance of Lamar Weaver, Assistant mine superintendent of the Tennessee Copper Co, and of C. F. Jackson, mining engineer, U. S. Bureau of Mines, in the, preparation of this paper, U. S. Geological Survey Professional-Paper 139, by W. H. Emmons and F. B. Laney, has been drawn upon for information contained 'in the paragraphs on history and geology.

Jan 1, 1929

By David J. Kusler

This report describes a rapid, reliable, and relatively simple method developed by the Bureau of Mines Pyrometallurgy Laboratory at Bruceton, Pa., for determining lime (calcium oxide) and magnesia (magnesium oxide) in various materials containing these constituents in greater than trace amounts. Optionally, titania (titanium dioxide) may be determined for the same sample. The accuracy of the method, suitable for most purposes, is shown by comparing the Bureau results with those obtained by accepted procedures. The method has been applied satisfactorily to the routine analysis of blast-furnace slags, for which purpose it was primarily developed, and to other calcareous compositions. In the Pyrometallurgy Laboratory it has replaced the standard methods previously used to determine lime and magnesia, and has been in general use by that laboratory for the past several years. The analysis time, generally under 3 hours, is considerably less than required by standard methods.

Jan 1, 1960