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By H. B. Hill

The discovery of the Oklahoma City field and its rapid development into one of the major oil-producing districts is an outstanding epoch in the history of the petroleum industry not only of Oklahoma but also of the United States. The relatively great depth to which the wells were drilled and the large initial production of high-gravity oil are of special significance. The field has boon under proration almost from the time that its development began, and many new production problems have developed out of the changed conditions of operation. The discovery well was first tested in December 1928 at a depth of 6,402 feet, with an initial production of 4,847 barrels of 38,5.° A.P.I. gravity oil, and several months later was, completed at a depth of 6,624 feet, The large initial production, the high pressure, and the large gas volume in the different horizons of the discovery well suggested the potential possibilities of gas and oil, production in formations of Pennsylvanian and pre-Pennsylvanian age.

Jan 1, 1933

By F. R. Cattoir

The Federal Bureau of Mines refined chromium from an aqueous electrolytic process in molten sodium chloride-chromium chloride electrolytes. Oxygen and nitrogen contents were reduced by a factor of 10 to 40, but most other impurities were little changed. The product usually contained a little more iron than the feed. Since iron was entering the bath from the iron pot and the graphite liner at a nearly constant rate, contamination of the chromium deposits by it was more serious at low currents and deposition rates. A few runs in an iron cell with a nickel liner yielded chromium containing one half as much iron as the feed, but up to 1.5 pct. nickel. In all cases the anode feed lay in the bottom of the container, which itself was used as the anode connection. With a 12-in. cell, variations in applied voltage from 0.05 to 1.5, in current from less than 10 to over 100 a., and in initial cathode current densities from less than 100 to over 2,000 a./sq.ft. had little or no effect upon the analysis of the metal produced) except for iron content. Changes in bath analysis from 3 to 11 pct. chromium were also without effect. These changes did bring about large differences in the physical forms of the crystals obtained. The thick heavy crystals produced at low voltage and current contained voids which made them difficult to leach free of chlorides. Easiest to leach were the thin leaf-like crystals obtained at around 1 v.

Jan 1, 1960

By Charles W. Huggins

To determine the nahcolite and dawsonite content in oil shales, the Bureau of Mines compared X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, thermal methods, and a previously published method by Smith and Young based on the selective solubility of sodium compounds. The Smith and Young method and a new method based on the weight of carbon dioxide produced by thermal decomposition are recommended for determining nahcolite. X-ray diffraction and the Smith and Young method are recommended for determining dawsonite. X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and differential thermal analysis were useful for identifying other minerals in the samples.

Jan 1, 1973

By N. Greninger

The Bureau of Mines conducted a laboratory study of the measurement of the water and rock dust (RD) contents of synthetic mine-type coal dust (CD) mixtures using a commercial unit for measuring water content and several prototype radiometric units for measuring the RD content. The RD content ranged from 50 to 100 wt pct and the added water (AW) ranged from 0 to 15 wt pct. The total water (TW) content (intrinsic (IW) and AW) of a small dust sample could be readily measured automatically by essentially untrained personnel using a commercial unit. The RD content of a sample containing only IW could readily be measured by moderately trained personnel using several radiometric units. With gamma-ray devices, about 300 g of sample is needed. With the improved beta-ray device, about 25 g of sample is needed. With dry mine dust samples, the estimated RD error range for gamma-ray devices is 0.8 to 2.3 pct and 0.5 to 1.0 pct for beta-ray devices. However, the radiometric measurement of RD content was questionable if the dust mixture also contained AW or if it was uncertain whether the dust mixture contained AW.

Jan 1, 1988

By H. P. Greenwald

For some years past the Safety in Mines Research Board of Great Britain has been making an intensive search for. materials that would be more efficient than rock dust and that could replace it wholly or in part as a moans of preventing the prorogation of coal-dust explosions in mines5/ In the course of this work several rock ducts and numerous inorganic compounds were tested. The results place incombustible substances in two main groups; (1) Those whose effect in suppressing the combustion of coal dust is proportional to their capacity for absorbing heat, and (2) those that shoo much higher effectiveness than would be expected from their heat capacity. The first group includes several inorganic compounds and materials commonly ground for use as rock dust, such as shale, gypsum, and limestone. Outstanding examples of the second group are compounds of the halogens6/ with the alkali metals,7/ especially potasium and sodium8/. British investigators term those salts "inhibitors" because it is assumed that their presence has a hindering or inhibiting effect on one or more of the chemical reactions that together constitute combustion. In other words, the action of an inhibitor is postulated as chemical rather than physical; theoretically, the effect is to prevent liberation of energy instead of to absorb energy already liberated.

Jan 1, 1940

By Richard D. Miller

This publication contains routine analyses and related source data for 434 gas samples from 16 States. These samples were collected during calendar year 1961 as part of the continuous survey for the occurrence of helium in natural gas conducted by the Helium Activity of the Bureau of Mines. The analyses herein were made by mass spectrometer and Frost helium apparatus. The most important helium resource discovery made during 1961 was the Table Mesa field in San Juan County, N. Mex. This field, Which has an estimated recoverable helium reserve of 850 million cubic feet, is now supplying gas containing approximately 5.4 percent helium to the Bureau of Mines Navajo Helium Plant at Shiprock, N. Mex.

Jan 1, 1964

By Richard D. Miller

This publication contains routine analyses and related source data for 434 gas samples from 16 States. These samples were collected during calendar year 1961 as part of the continuous survey for the occurrence of helium in natural gas conducted by the Helium Activity of the Bureau of Mines. The analyses herein were made by mass spectrometer and Frost helium apparatus. The most important helium resource discovery made during 1961 was the Table Mesa field in San Juan County, N. Mex. This field, Which has an estimated recoverable helium reserve of 850 million cubic feet, is now supplying gas containing approximately 5.4 percent helium to the Bureau of Mines Navajo Helium Plant at Shiprock, N. Mex.

Jan 1, 1964

By H. W. GILLETr, E. L. Mack

The production of small heats of alloy steels on an experimental scale is often desirable in beginning the study of new alloy steels before large amounts of expensive alloys are used in heats of commercial size. Such small heats can sometimes be made up at crucible-steel plants, but few crucible-steel makers care to undertake experimental heats for other firms. Small electric furnaces offer some advantages over crucible furnaces for experimental work. Hansen1 in 1909 described a small 100-kilowatt single-phase, direct- arc furnace with a capacity of 50 to 300 pounds of steel, and such furnaces, of 200 pounds capacity or larger, are being successfully used by various firms for experimental work. They have the advan- tage of using the same metallurgical procedure as is used in prac- tice for larger electric furnaces. The very small sizes have the draw- back of lack of precision in controlling the carbon content of the steel. Small Rennerfelt two-phase, indirect-arc furnaces of 40 to 60 kilo- watts and small Industrial Electric Furnace Co. furnaces, single- phase with one electrode embedded in the hearth, of 25 to 50 kilo- watts, are also in use by a few firms for experimental work or for production on a very small scale. Hoskins carbon-plate resistor crucible furnaces are also sometimes used. Little seems to have been published on the use of these furnaces in making experimental alloy steels. Keeney' has given data on the making of uranium steels in a tilting Siemens furnace of 25 pounds capacity, and has described a small stationary Siemens furnace.

Jan 1, 1922

By William D. Riley

In order to evaluate the corrosion resistance of zirconium in mineral extraction processes, such as a clay-hydrochloric acid leaching process for extracting alumina, the Bureau of Mines conducted corrosion studies in HCl-AlC13-FeC13 environments. A series of weight loss and electrochemical tests were conducted at 25° and 65° C in aluminum chloride (AlC13) plus hydrochloric acid (HCl) solutions containing 0 to 1,000 ppm ferric ion. It was determined that zirconium, which normally exists in a passive state in chloride-containing solutions, undergoes pitting attack in solutions containing more than 100 ppm of ferric ion. It is also shown that an oxide film prepared in air at high temperature offers protection in acid solutions containing levels of ferric ion from 300 to 1,000 ppm.

Jan 1, 1981

By James Paone

The Bureau of Mines studied the behavior of rocks at the initial state of crater formation that results from the stresses created under a drill bit to determine which mechanical properties of rock are important in rock fragmentation by drilling. Although a definite relation between the drilling strength and relevant mechanical properties has not been established, maximum yield strength of rock is apparently a parameter of drillability of rock. The strengths of rock were considered from the Mohr-Coulomb criterion from which the surface of failure was constructed. The results from previous tri-axial tests on Solenhofen limestone were adopted to verify the criterion of failure. Inelastic behavior of some rock types was observed under a low-velocity impact of a hemispherical bit and under static indentation with a similar bit. Quantitative determinations of strengths of Solenhofen limestone) Indiana limestone, and Tennessee marble were made under static indentation. The maximum yield strength estimated from the average stress over the indented area was used as the crushing strength of rock under a drill bit.

Jan 1, 1966

By H. W. C. Prommel

The increase in the price of gold in 1933 was the cause of starting many activities in gold prospecting and mining; it led to investigations of many of the so-called desert placers in the Southwest, which heretofore had not been deemed of commercial importance. Among these, attention was called to some of the gravel beds in the vicinity of the Randsburg-Atolia mining districts of Kern and San Bernardino Counties, Calif., in which gold and scheelite, (calcium tungstate, CaW04) were said to be present. Following a partial sampling and testing of the gravel, large-scale operations were begun in 1935. During the same year more detailed sampling and testing of the gravel beds were done by the author. During 147 days, 1,239 test holes 28 inches in diameter were drilled; their total depth amounted to 16,705 feet. These test holes furnished 2,495 samples of an average volume of 1.0583 cubic yards bank run each; all of the material was run through a sample mill constructed on the property. Original and rather unusual sampling and testing methods had to be used; milling and mining methods for large-scale operations also offered difficulties. The primary purpose of this drilling and sampling campaign was to determine, over a large area, the amounts of gold and scheelite recovered by placer methods such as were already in use on the property. This paper describes sampling and testing methods employed by the author during the 1935 drilling campaign. LOCATION The gold and scheelite placer deposit is in the Atolia tungsten mining district about one-half mile west of the small mining town of Atolia and about 5 miles south of Randsburg in the Randsburg gold-mining district. The deposit lies near the foot of the Rand Hills, in the Mojave desert. The territory is served by hard-surfaced roads from the north and south; Los Angeles is 150 miles to the southwest. A branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad passes within 5 miles of Randsburg.

Jan 1, 1937

By James J. Jessop, Richard E. Thill, Michael J. Friedel

As part of an investigation aimed at improving the health and safety and competitiveness of the mining industry, the U.S. Bureau of Mines evaluated the application of common offset radar profiling, using a 250-MHz ground-penetrating radar (GPR) system, for the detection of fractures in igneous rock. A series of radar reflection surveys were conducted to detect and delineate the extent of fracturing at various granodiorite and gabbro quarries and outcrops located in Minnesota. The application of radar profiling for detecting joints, sheeting fractures, shear zones, and depth to water table was demonstrated to be feasible with minimal processing. Radar reflection interpretations were verified by visual inspection of the rock mass and field mapping of local structure. The radar reflection section provides a simple, rapid, and cost-effective means for mapping of shallow (less than 10 m) small-scale fractures (greater than 0.25 cm) in igneous rock masses (characteristic of velocities between 0.061 m/ns for gabbro and 0.125 m/ns for granodiorite). Depth or distance estimates to fractures are within 10 pct of the actual, and time-shift compensation is necessary only when topographic irregularities exceed 30 cm.

Jan 1, 1992

By Kenneth L. Kreamalmyer

"The demand for open-hearth iron ore and the existence of suitable smelting facilities in the St. Louis area seemed to warrant investigation of several Missouri iron-ore deposits of the filled-sink type. Preliminary examinations were made in the autumn of 1944 by an engineer3/ of the Bureau of Nines, and in December of the same year funds were allotted for the exploration of these properties by churn drilling. Three properties, the Silver Hollow Bank and the Newbauer and Coleman properties, were drilled. Work was completed May 8, 1945.The Federal Geological Survey and the Missouri Geological Survey and Water Resources assisted in the project by determining the stratigraphy from drill cuttings and by mapping the drilled areas.The properties explored are in the hilly section of east-central Missouri and are connected by all-weather graveled roads with various shipping points of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway system within 3 to 6 miles of each property.The Silver Hollow Bank, in sec., 8, T, 40 N., R. l W. Franklin County, Missouri, is in the Meramec State Game Reserve. The nearest town and shipping point is Sullivan, Mo„ which is 6 miles distant. The Newbauer property, in sec. 28, T. 41 N., R, 2 W., Franklin County, Missouri, is approximately 3 miles west of Stanton; The Coleman property, in sec. 14, T. 38 N., R. 3 W., Crawford. County, Missouri, is within a short hauling distance of the railway at Elayer, Mb. These are shown on figure 1.The region surrounding the explored areas contains a series of low-lying hills or ridges and narrow winding valleys drained by the Meramec River system. These hills seldom rise more than 200 feet above the valley floors, most of which are approximately 700 feet above sea level. Except for numerous small farms and a few small towns, the entire region is covered by a dense growth of timber and small brush. The St. Louis-San Francisco Railway system, U. S. Highway 66, and numerous all-weather State and county roads traverse the area."

Oct 1, 1945

By J. F. Barkley

"Conservation of fuel in boiler-plant practice is one of the major projects of the Bureau of Mines. The large central stations with their corps of trained operators and with refined equipment obtain relatively good efficiency. It is in the many smaller isolated plants that the large fuel wastes are apt to occur. Some operators seem to feel that their responsibility is largely expressed in the phase the phase ""carry the load,"" rather than ""carry the load and carry it efficiently."" Often equipment is not provided to give sufficiently accurate guidance to the operator.In within many such plants, it is interesting to note how frequently the same mistakes occur. The following quite typical example illustrates some of these circumstances and their effort on operation. The boiler plant consisted of two 1000 hp. boilers equipped with multiple retort under-feed stokers. These were horizontal water-tube boilers with horizontal baffling, having a high bridge wall at the back of the stoker. One boilers was used to carry a summer carry a winter load of about 1250 hp. The operators felt that one boiler was not sufficient to carry the winter load. No instruments are available for the operator's use, excepting the steam ores sure gases."

Mar 1, 1925

By George Quackenbos

The principal objective of this Program is the design, fabrication and testing of an Environmental System for operation in underground mines, to assess the effect of various mining systems on the contaminant levels near the mine face and within return airways. In order to determine the effect on airborne contamination in mines resulting from the development of new mining techniques, equipment and control systems, a Comprehensive Monitoring System is required to assess such contamination levels at critical and strategic locations and relate this information with ventilation parameters. The three variables to be sensed on a continuous basis are airborne dust concentration, methane concentration and ventilation air velocity. Each Monitoring Station will consist of a self-contained unit containing a power source and sensors to monitor the three above mentioned parameters. Ruggedness, reliability, ease 'of operation and intrinsic safety are important design objectives. Data gathered by each Monitoring Station will be fed to a Central Data Acquisition System by means of a portable transfer unit.

Jan 1, 1982

By D. Randolph Berry

The U.S. Bureau of Mines awarded a contract to Foster-Miller Associates, Inc. (FMA) to provide recommendations on the safest, most practical methods for complying with new regulations requiring that all underground coal miners have a self-contained, self-rescuer (SCSR) -a device capable of supplying, in an emergency, 1 hr of self-contained oxygen (no breathing of mine air). This report develops information and recommendations which could be used during the early stages of nationwide compliance, especially in the areas of inspection, testing, and underground storage of SCSRs. Volume I contains an Executive Summary, Introduction, Definitions, Recommended Guidelines for District Managers and Mine Operators, and a Storage Plan Checklist and Sample Form.

Jan 1, 1981

By Lester G. Morrell

While developments in Australia dominated the minerals industry of the South Pacific area, New Caledonia's nickel, manganese ore from New Hebrides, gold from Fiji and New Guinea, and phosphate rock from several small islands were significant in world supplies of those materials. The total value of mineral commodities produced in this area in 1965 has been estimated at about $763 million an increase of nearly 16 percent over the value reported in 1964. Increases were recorded in mineral production value with respect to that of 1964 for all of the countries except Papua-New Guinea where lower gold output resulted in a drop of about $300,000 and in the several phosphate-producing islands that collectively recorded a value decline of around $1.3 million. Exploration and development activities continued at an intensified level, not only in Australia and New Zealand but also in the British Solomons, Bougainville, and Fiji. Substantial additions to world supplies of iron ore and bauxite are assured and recent discoveries of natural gas, manganese ore, and nickel combine to give Australia a brilliant mineral outlook. Important discoveries of copper on Bougainville Island and on Vanua Levu, the north island of the Fiji group, and a gold mine on Misma Island were being developed during the year, with plans for early production underway. In New Zealand progress has been made on the New Zealand Steel Company project, and preliminary appraisal of a new titano-magnetite beach sand resource on the South Island has aroused considerable industrial interest. Extensive geophysical investigations were carried out in the British Solomon Islands and on Fiji's goldfields. The expansion program that will double output of products by New Caledonia's Société Le Nickel continued through 1965, and several foreign private companies have expressed a desire to initiate additional industries based on nickel prospects in New Caledonia.

Jan 1, 1967

By Vernon C. Davis

"INTRODUCTION This report describes the work done and presents the data obtained from limited diamond drilling at the lead-zinc deposits cf the Belle Eldridge Gold Mines, Inc., in Lawrence County, S. Dak. during the summer and fall of 1943. The work was undertaken in an effort to increase reserves and step-up production of zinc and lead so vitally important to the war program.The geology, topography and existing mine workings were mapped and studied. Subsequently, six vertical core-drill holes were put down from surface sites.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSIn its program of investigation of mineral deposits, the Bureau of Mines has as its primary objective the more effective utilization of our natural resources to the end that they make the greatest possible contribution to national security and economy. The Mining Division, Lowell B. Moon, chief, conducts preliminary examinations, does the actual investigative work, and prepares the final report. The Metallurgical Division, Oliver C. Ralston, chief, analyzes samples and makes beneficiation tests, if such are necessary.Special acknowledgment is made to John Paul Gries, geologist, South Dakota School of Mines, for mapping and interpretation of geology and topography, logging of cores obtained, and his assistance in guiding the drilling."

Mar 1, 1948

By Vernon O. Markworth

This report contains the results of tests performed on three large diesel engines to determine their ability to meet selected criteria of the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration Regulations for equipment used in gassy, non-coal mines. Study efforts were first directed toward determining the types of equipment expected to be used in underground oil shale mines. Three typical engines in the 800-1200 horsepower range were then selected for testing. Intake flame arresters, exhaust scrubbers, and water jacketed exhaust system were designed and built for each engine. During testing, each engine was evaluated for its gaseous emissions output, adequacy of the exhaust gas cooling system, ability to withstand internal explosions, and adequacy of the flame arresters. Surface temperatures of the engine and exhaust cooling system were determined under full load operation.

Jan 1, 1978

By J. W. Miller

Depletion of coals most suitable for metallurgical fuel has made necessary a general survey of coking coal reserves in the United States. These investigations were begunn 1948 at the joint request of the Munitions Board, Department of Defense, and a number of coal companies. This report, which is one in a series, by counties, describes the preparation characteristics of the coals of Harlan County, Ky. From these data it is possible to determine: (a) Which coals, either as mined or after beneficiation by conventional preparation, are chemically suitable under present standards for producing metallurgical coke, (b) Which coals require special and more intensive treatment in preparation than is now practiced; and (c) Which coals cannot be considered to be potential sources of metallurgical fuel regardless of preparation.

Jan 1, 1955