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By Robert E. Barieau

A list of 163 references to original experimental PVT data on helium is presented for the period 1895 to 1968. The list is complete as of the start of the Helium Centennial Year, 1968, to the best of the author's knowledge. Citations were keypunched for easy updating and are listed alphabetically by author.

Jan 1, 1968

By William H. Schiffbauer

One of the safety and health research programs of the former U.S. Bureau of Mines Pittsburgh Research Center was the evaluation of technology that will provide remote-controlled operation of mechanized equipment in underground room-and-pillar mining. The purpose of this effort was to enable workers to be located away from the hazardous and unhealthful coal extraction area (the face). As part of this program, advanced machine navigation and control technologies were developed for underground room-and-pillar and highwall coal mining that can be applied to commercially available mining equipment. These technologies use off-the-shelf components and a flexible control software architecture to minimize the effort required to adapt them to mining equipment. An accurate, reliable navigation system that can provide the mining machine's heading and location is a critical requirement for a remote-controlled mining system. After investigating several different types of navigation sensors, researchers selected the Honeywell Ring Laser Gyro Inertial Navigation System (INS) as showing the most promise. It was installed on a continuous mining machine at our Mining Equipment Test Facility. Extensive testing at an open pit (OP) site was also performed. This report describes the INS as it was employed on the mining machine in the laboratory, in the field, and OP tests, and provides the accuracy and performance results of the OP and highwalltests.

Jan 11, 1997

By Terry L. Muldoon

This report describes development and demonstration of an upgraded stench fire warning system for underground wines. Current systems, which have been used since before 1920, release an ethyl mercaptan mixture into the mines' compressed and/or ventilation air during emergencies. Miners, when smelling ethyl mercaptan, evacuate the mine according to predetermined plans. These systems, while simple, have problems with safety and reliability. The upgraded system overcomes these problems. The system uses a different stench agent, is less toxic, less nauseating, and less corrosive than ethyl mercaptan. These combined with the feature of thiophane not reacting with iron oxides, makes the upgraded system safer and more reliable. The system also uses a combination of two simple principles: a standpipe with pressure balancing to provide a constant head, and a sized orifice to control the rate of release of the stench agent. This system enables the mine to release the agent for a longer period which provides better coverage and to ensure that miners will not be exposed to potentially toxic concentrations of the stench agent. The system is easy to operate, requiring only the turning of two 1/4-turn ball valves. The upgraded system has been successfully tested during two evacuation drills at an underground uranium mine. Using three injectors (one on the compressed air line and one on each of two intake air shafts), the system exhibited significant improvements in warning times over the mine's existing system. This report provides a detailed description of the system design and its demonstrated performance in two mine demonstrations.

Jan 1, 1981

Two different techniques were used to make measurements of the absolute value of electromagnetic noise in an operating coal mine, Robena No.4, located near Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. One technique measures noise over the entire electromagnetic spectrum of interest for brief time periods. With present instrumentation, the spectrum can be covered from 40 Hz to 400 kHz. It is recorded using broad-band analog magnetic tape, and the noise data are later transformed to give spectral plots. The other technique records noise envelopes at several discrete frequencies for a sufficient amount of tine to provide amplitude probability distributions. The specific measured results are given in a number of spectral plots and amplitude probability distribution plots. The general results are that at frequencies below 10 kHz, power line noise within the mine is severe. Impulsive noise is severe near arcing trolleys, and at lower frequencies near any transmission line. Carrier trolley phone signals and harmonics are strong throughout the mine whenever the trolley phone is in operation. Additional information beyond that included in this report may be obtained from the authors, who are with the Electromagnetics Division of the National Bureau of Standards.

Jan 1, 1974

By W. G. Diamond

Lightweight aggregates have become increasingly important to the construction industry. From 1953 to 1960, the quantity of the aggregates used in concrete block, precast and prestressed concrete, and monolithic structures increased about 92 percent. The present study was conducted in Bureau of Mines Area IV which encompasses the South-Central States of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. This is an administrative area and does not delimit a market area or imply an economic unit. Because of the increasing importance of metropolitan areas in evaluating economic growth, significant data showing relationships between growth of the metropolitan areas and the lightweight aggregate industry are included.

Jan 1, 1964

By S. M. Runke

The purpose of the work described in this publication was to determine, on a pilot-plant scale, the practicability of concentrating low-grade bauxite deposits to render them suitable for the extraction of alumina. In 1941, when it became apparent that the United States might soon be drawn into war, the government, through its various agencies and bureaus, began to stimulate and increase production from domestic reserves of bauxite, which is the principal raw material for the production of aluminum. This activity, which was centered in Arkansas, where 95 percent of the domestic reserve is situated, reached peak production when enemy submarine warfare greatly hindered imports from foreign sources. During this period the average domestic production in Arkansas rose from approximately 300,000 long wet tons to something over 6,000,000 tons in 1943.

Jan 1, 1949

By E. G. King

This publication presents original thermal data for a typical variety of perlite and supplies basic information for use in computing energy requirements in processes for expanding perlite. Perlite has been defined by Raiston 4/ as any silicious lava containing dissolved water in sufficient amount to errand into bubbles when the material is quickly heated to a suitable point in the softening range." The uses of expanded perlite in) the construction and ceramic industries have been discussed by Ralston 4/ and King. 5/ The work described here had a dual purpose: (1) It was desired to ascertain quantitatively, using a typical variety of perlite, just how firmly the contained water is held, and (2) it was desired to obtain basic thermal data sufficient for energy-requirement calculations in processes for expanding perlite.

Jan 1, 1948

By Forrest T. Moyer

Injury experience in the coal-mining industry was worse in 1965 as both the frequency and severity rates of injuries increased 2 and 6 percent, respectively, over comparable data for 1966 (tables 1-8). The retrogression in the safety record during; 1965 resulted frog the less favorable record at bituminous-coal mines, which more than offset the improved injury experience at anthracite mines. The 259 fatal and 11,138 nonfatal injuries occurred at a rate of 45.77 per million man-hours of exposure and resulted in a severity rate of 8,960 days lost per million man-hours. Although the number of fatalities was the second lowest annual total in the recorded history, it was 17 higher than in 1964. At anthracite operations the total of 6 fatalities in 1965 was the lowest annual figure in statistical history. The annual numbers of nonfatal injuries at ill coal mines and the resulting rates of occurrence have varied little in the past 5 years (table 1). The total days lost from all injuries rose from 2.1.3 million in 19b4 to 2.23 million in 1965 (table 5). Fatal and permanent total injuries, with a standard time charge of 6,000 days each, accounted for 1,650,000 days; Permanent partial injuries, 191,932 clays; and temporary total disabilities, 383,911 days. The severity rate for fatal injuries was 6,241, 8 percent higher than in 1964, and the nonfatal severity rate of 2,718 days lost per million man-hours was 2 percent higher than in the preceding year. The average severity of permanent partial injuries ire; 730, or 48 days fewer per injury than in 1964. The average days lost for each temporary total injury was 36 days in each year.

Jan 1, 1968

By J. P. BONARDI, C. W. Davis, R. B. Moore, J. W. MARDEN, S. C. Lind, J. E. Conley

The rare metals are becoming increasingly important to our industries. Rare-metal alloys have properties which indicate that we are only on the threshold of the possibilities of their utilization, not only in making nonferrous alloys, but also as special steels. Not only are their uses broadening rapidly, but the metals are affecting our industries in other ways. The oxides and some salts are used as pigments; others have medicinal value. The pure metals are made into filaments for incandescent lamps, and targets for X-ray tubes. By their efficient use in alloys, the weight of automobiles is reduced, • and the wear and tear on tires and roads is thus minimized; in machine shops they help to give greater efficiency to tools and reduce production costs. Their development has marked a milestone in the progress of civilization. There has been considerable uncertainty regarding analytical methods for the rare metals. A great deal has been published, but the weak and the strong points of the various methods have not been investigated as carefully as is needed. The Bureau of Mines at its Rare Metals station in Colorado necessarily had to do a great deal of analytical work in connection with the metals covered by this bulletin, which aims to give the results of the experience so acquired. No claim for much originality is made, although some published methods given have been modified, and some new ones have been developed by members of the staff. The principal methods available were studied critically, and it is to be hoped that the work will assist those interested in analytical work in connection with the metals named.

Jan 1, 1923

By R. H. Fernald, C. D. Smith

When the United States Geological Survey began operations at the coal-testing plant erected at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis, Mo., in 1904, it had already outlined a comprehensive plan for the systematic study of coals, lignites, and other mineral fuels with reference to their suitability for particular purposes and the methods by which they could be utilized most efficiently. Recognizing the need of information on the relative economy of producer gas as compared with steam for power purposes and the lack of comparable tests of American coals in the gas producer, the Geological Survey undertook investigations of the merits of different coals as producer fuel for the purpose of promoting efficiency in the utilization of the nation's fuel supplies. These investigations were carried on at St. Louis, Mo., and, later, at Norfolk, Va., and Pittsburg, Pa. The aet of Congress approved May 16, 1910, transferred the fueltesting work being carried on by the Geological Survey to the Bureau of Mines. This bureau is conducting producer-gas tests at P~ttsburg, Pa., and is publishing and distributing reports relating to all the fuel tests made by the Survey. These investigations into the possibility of generating producer gas in a commercial way for power purposes from the various fuels of the country have been associated with steaming, briquetting, coking, and other tests, all of which supplemented an examination into the nature, extent, and distribution of the fuels. The tests have all been made with carefully selected representative samples and carload lots of materials procured specially for the purpose by experienced collectors.

Jan 1, 1911

By George A. Morgan

Output of minerals was insignificant in 1981 and made a negligible contribution to the gross national product (GNP), estimated at $1.2 billion.2 Agriculture accounted for 40% of CNP and manufacturing accounted for 10%. The chief source of income was indirect taxes levied on traffic through the Port of Cotonou, an entrepôt. Trade statistics for Benin were incomplete and dated. Major trading partners were France and other members of the European Communities. Benin was a member of the West African Monetary Union and as such must coordinate its foreign currency, reserves, interest rate structure, and fund transfer with other member countries. Its currency, the Communauté Financière Africaine franc (CFAF), was fixed to the French franc.

Jan 1, 1983

By Andrew Brown

"In recent years operators of brown-ore mines have shown increasing interest in .the reclamation of ore heretofore lost in tailing ponds. In January and February.1945 the author made a preliminary survey of the ponds in the Russellville district, Franklin County, Ala. The Russellville district (fig. 1) was chosen for the preliminary work because it contains many large ponds in a comparatively restricted area. All important properties in the district were visited with Charles R. Wilson of Russellville, who has been familiar with the Franklin County brown-ore industry since 1890; with Edmund Craddock and W. S. Blackburn, managers of the two washers now operated near Russellville by Shook & Fletcher Supply Co., and with S. A. Britton, manager of the Sloss-Sheffield Steel & Iron Co. washer. The larger ponds were measured roughly and tonnages estimated. and samples taken from different areas were analyzed and beneficiated at the Southern Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines; Tuscaloosa, Ala.The ponds explored were the Sloss No.1 (Ensley); the Sloss No. 8, and the Sloss No. 4-5, which are among the largest in the district and so located, within an area of .three square miles (see fig. 2), that ore from all of them could be-treated,one centrally located washer.Actual work was begun on May 9. Between that date and June 30, when field work was completed, 246 holes in ponds were drilled and sampled, and 15 additional holes were put down primarily to test the drill .in different types of ground with a view to its possible utilization in other types of prospecting. Samples from all holes were analyzed for iron content; samples from 13 holes were sized and analyses made for each size fraction, and six large samples have been composited for beneficiation tests.Brown iron ore has been mined in the Russellville district since 1815, when the first blast furnace in Alabama was built in NW1/4 sec. 10, T. 7 S., R. 12 W., about 3 miles southwest of Russellville (19).-J The furnace was abandoned before the Civil War, and mining continued on a small scale until 1888, when Enoch Ensley began to mine the ridge between Russellville and Pain Creek. His first washer, Ensley No. 1, was about 300 feet south of the junction of the present Tharptown road with the Waco spur of the Southern Railway."

Aug 1, 1946

By W. A. Young

Vermiculite deposits on the. Platt ranch, 12 miles southeast of Encampment Carbon County, Wyo., were investigated by the Bureau of Mines early in 1949. Major activity was centered on property held under lease by the Mikolite Mining & Development Co. (figs. 1 and 2). Vermiculite occurs in masses and lenses of varying size and as disseminations in altered hornblende diorite. Alteration of the host rock probably resulted from the proximity of dikes and irregular masses of pegmatite. Investigation of the Mikolite property consisted of surface trenching, diamond drilling, and sampling. Four trenches totaling 5,401 linear feet were excavated with a bulldozer and Diesel power shovel. Three diamond-drill holes totaling 600 feet were drilled from the surface to determine the character of mineralization at depth. Eighty-one bulk samples were obtained from the trenches, and 130 sludge samples were collected from the drill holes. Samples were analyzed, and ore-dressing tests were made in the Bureau of Mines laboratories at Salt Lake City.

Jan 1, 1952

By Charles B. Kenahan

A summary of Bureau of Mines research on utilization and disposal of solid wastes is presented, accompanied by an extensive bibliography of related publications. The Bureau's Solid Waste and Materials Recycling Program is directed toward four main areas of research, development, and demonstration: (1) extraction of mineral, metal, and energy values from urban refuse; (2) upgrading and recycling of automotive and related ferrous and nonferrous scrap; (3) utilization and stabilization of mine, mill, and smelter wastes; and (4) recovery and reuse of values from industrial waste products. A contract and grant program that supplements the in-house research and aids in the training of manpower in management of mineral-, metal-, and energy -based solid wastes is also discussed. This publication is an updating of Bureau of Mines Information Circular 8460 issued March 1970.

Jan 1, 1971

By Paul Meadows

The Buckrange reservoir, Stephens field, Ark., is approaching the economic limit of production under present operating conditions. Over 100 million barrels of oil remaining in the reservoir will not be recovered by primary producing methods. The Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the Arkansas Oil and Gas Com-mission, made the petroleum-engineering study presented in this report to aid operators in evaluating secondary-recovery possibilities in the reservoir and in planning secondary-recovery programs if their initiation is decided. The Stephens field, in Columbia, Nevada, and Ouachita Counties, Ark., is about 12 miles northeast of Magnolia, Ark., and 15 miles west of the Smackover field. Surface elevations in the area average about 240 feet above sea level.

Jan 1, 1956

Since roof falls in the vicinity of the working face in underground coal mines are a major source of fatalities and injuries in this country's coal mines, it is evident that the present systems of temporary support for use in this working area are ineffective. This seems to be chiefly due to the inconvenience of setting up heavy and awkward devices such as jacks, posts and the like, which also interfere with the movement of men and machines in this critical working area. This program was concerned with defining and testing commercially available materials that could be used as support elements in a more convenient flexible personnel shield. The objectives of this program were to: 1. survey the materials that might provide the support elements of a flexible-material personnel shield for use in underground coal mines and prepare a list of those materials which appear most suitable for use in coal mines. 2. prepare a proposed testing plan for the materials to be selected from the aforementioned list by the Bureau of Mines for further evaluation. The test plan was designed to provide the following information: a. Tensile strength. b. Proportional limit. c. Creep characteristics at room temperature. d. Elastic properties depicted by stress-strain curves. Properties were tested in two directions for woven fabrics. e. Density. f. Resistance to abrasion. g. Resistance to attack by mine atomsphere. h. Resistance to humidity. i. Impact characteristics.

Jan 1, 1972

By R. G. Warncke

In the 1953 National First-Aid and Mine Rescue Contest, 58 teams from 9 States participated, 14 teams from 6 States in mine rescue and 47 teams from 9 States in first aid. Three of the teams were combination teams in that the same team participated in both the mine rescue and first-aid contests. The States represented and the number of teams from each State are shown in table 1. [ ] The contest was conducted in accordance with the general rules prepared by the Rules Committee and approved by the General Committee of the National First-Aid and Mine Rescue Committee.

Jan 1, 1955

By K. F. Anderson

The increasing number of oil-productive reservoirs in the Ellenburger formation has emphasized the need for information pertaining to the hydrocarbon recoveries that may be obtained from such reservoirs. Most of the space available for accumulating hydrocarbons in the Ellenburger formation is derived from fractures, which makes it difficult to estimate reserves or probable recoveries. The Ellenburger reservoir in the Big Lake field was selected for study because it is one of the few near-depleted reservoirs in the area. The experience gained in operating and developing this reservoir has been and should continue to be a helpful guide to operators both in predicting recovery and establishing methods of development and operation In similar reservoirs. Development and production data were gathered from different sources. The writers have compiled and interpreted these data to estimate the ultimate recovery of hydrocarbons. In addition to the estimates of ultimate recovery, the report contains sample calculations and estimates of theoretical recovery based on different methods of operation. The calculations presented in this report indicate that the Ellenburger reservoir is 95 percent depleted and that the ultimate recovery of hydrocarbon liquid from the oil reservoir and gas cap combined will he 4-0 barrels per gross acre-foot of reservoir rock. An estimated 32 barrels of condensate per gross acre-foot of reservoir rock in the gas cap has been recovered, and the estimated ultimate recovery of crude oil will be 47 barrels per gross acre-.foot of rock in the crude-oil reservoir.

Jan 1, 1954

By Howard J. Pincus

The purpose of the study is to investigate the effects of fracture fillings and associated alteration on the mechanical behavior of rocks. Experimental results are presented for 98 specimens from the Climax mine, which were tested since the annual report (May 1973). The conclusions reached are based on both these results and those reported in the annual report. The locations studied are the Climax and Henderson mines in Colorado and the San Manuel mine in Arizona. The rock types studied from each location are from: 1) Climax, medium-grained granite, fine-grained granite, granite porphyry, schist, and gneiss; 2) Henderson, rhyolite porphyry; 3) San Manuel, quartz monzonite and quartz monzonite porphyry. A description of the rocks was made including: color, texture, mineralogy, composition and fabric of fracture fillings, density, apparent porosity, and optical diffraction patterns. Unconfined and triaxial compression tests were run on the Climax and San Manuel specimens. Sonic velocities were measured during the compression tests; Shore sceleroscope hardness was measured before the compression tests. Conclusions are that some relation appears to exist between compressive strength and the following properties and features for all specimens: dynamic Young's modulus, sonic velocity, density, rock composition, slope of velocity curve, composition and fabric of fracture fillings-veinlets, and apparent porosity. There appears to be some relation between compressive strength and Shore scelerscope hardness for the quartz monzonite (San Manuel). A relation appears to exist between texture and compressive strength and the extent of failure on fracture fillings for schists, gneiss, and fine-grained granite (Climax). The amount of swelling clays (montmorillonite, hydromicas, etc.) present in the rock and the relative number of fractures in which they constitute of major portion of the fracture fillings are related to the strength of the rocks. Possible tests for checking the amount of these clays present is presented including saturation, dyes, and X-rays. A useful index relating to rock strength, as revealed in this study, is the presence of swelling clays in detectable abundances. These clays can be detected in the field with a simple wetting and striking test; in the laboratory they can be detected by X-ray and dye methods.

Jan 1, 1974

By Merwin H. Howes

Gnome shaft, situated about 24 miles southeast of Carlsbad, N. Mex., was designed and sunk by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission for conducting a peace- time experimental nuclear explosion in the thick salt beds of the Permian Salado formation. Excavation was started July 1, 1960, and completed July 26, 1961. The 10-foot diameter shaft, lined with concrete through the rock section, was sunk 1,216 feet. A drift was driven approximately 1,140 feet on the 1,200- foot level terminating in a shot chamber. On completion of 100 feet of shaft, by means of a truck-mounted crane, facilities were installed for conventional sinking. About 709 feet of rock and 506 feet of salt were encountered in the shaft. Salt beds at this place are reported to be over 1,200 feet thick. The overlying rock section varies greatly in composition and thickness of beds and contains a 28-foot bed of water-bearing dolomite. The aquifer was sealed to facilitate shaft sinking and to prevent water-seepage damage in the salt section of the shaft. Sealing was accomplished by grout injection through holes drilled into the aquifer and by grouting behind the concrete liner.

Jan 1, 1963