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By Sara J. Davenport

The human race has been exposed to copper for thousands of years, as copper and gold were the metals first used by man (1). if According to Ramazzini (2), "of all the metals that man's ingenuity has contrived to dig out of the bowels of the earth, iron and copper are the most useful, far more so than silver and gold." Workings of copper in the oldest known copper mine associated with the smelting of this metal have been traced back to 4300 B. C. Facts revealed by archeological research in India, Austria, Hungary, France, Italy, and Spain indicate that the use of copper probably began about 5000 B.C. (3), and that about 4000 B.C. a copper age came intermediate between the stone and bronze ages (4). Copper ores are rather widely distributed and are found in nearly every country. Many of the copper minas of Europe have been worked since before the Roman Empire. The must important mines in Europe occur in the district around Huelva, extending into Spain and Portugal. The German deposits are located mainly about Mansfeld (Rhenish Prussia); they have been worked continuously for 1,000 years. Some of the mines in Africa have been worked by the natives for centuries, and China has produced copper from shallow pits for thousands of years. India also has many ancient mines worked in the early centuries (2).

Jan 1, 1953

By J. G. Kirby

According to the annual Bureau of Mines survey of refinery capacity, there were 343 petroleum refineries in the United States as of January 1, 1953, with a total daily crude-oil throughput capacity of 7,638,661 barrels. Compared with the previous year, this represents a decline of 7 in the total number of refineries, but a gain of 305,776 barrels in daily crude-oil throughput capacity. The capacity of the average refinery to process crude oil increased to 22,270 barrels, a gain of 1,319 barrels during 1952. All refining districts reported increases in installed capacity for the year, with Texas Gulf Coast accounting for 28 percent of the increase; California, 21 percent; and the Indiana-Illinois-Kentucky district, 18 percent. Additional crude-oil capacity under construction January 1, 1953, was 60 percent greater than at the beginning of 1952. The total reported, 509,721 barrels daily, is a record high for refinery expansion. In addition to the new facilities under way, facilities for 127,755 barrels daily are being installed to replace those that are obsolete. Four new refineries were under construction at the beginning of the year, and three of these are now in operation. Plans for five' new refineries have been announced, but actual construction has not been started.

Jan 1, 1953

By O. S. North

As recently as the late 1920's there Were few indications that a 15-million-dollar-a-year industry would ever grow out of the mineralogic curiosity vermiculite. Today, it is an important industrial commodity, used primarily as an insulating material and lightweight aggregate, but with a wide range of other applications. The quantity of crude vermiculite produced and used in the United States increased 14-fold in the 17 years between 1935 and 1951. The vermiculite minerals are of secondary origin, formed by hydrothermal alteration of an ultrabasic igneous rock, generally pyroxenite, or by alteration of phlogopite or biotite mica or possibly other similar minerals. According to different authorities, vermiculite may originate either by direct hydrothermel means, by the weathering of biotite or phlogopite, or by a combination of these two agencies. Vermiculites frequently occur at or near the contacts of an acid intrusive rock, especially a pegmatite dike, with a basic or ultrabasic country rock.

Jan 1, 1953

By Charles A. Steen

Publication of this information circular results from an invitation extended to the Bureau of Mines by the Utex Exploration Co. to visit the company mine, on the Mi Vida claim about 39 miles southeast of Moab, in the Big Indian mining district, San Juan County, Utah. The Bureau is pleased to present this record of the Utex mine -- a property that in the relatively short period of 4 months has become one of the major uranium-ore producers on the Colorado Plateau. The ore deposit was discovered in July 1952 by Charles A. Steen, a geologist-prospector, now chief geologist of the Utex Exploration Co., in tae course of drilling the first diamond-core borehole in the Big Indian district. High-grade ore, 14 feet thick, was penetrated by the borehole. Sinking of a shaft, from which to develop the ore body, was begun in October, and the first shipment of ore left the property December 6, 1952. Ore production, as recorded on ore-settlement sheets received by the company up to July 15, 1953, totaled 16,000 tons averaging, 0.51 percent U305 and 1.25 percent V205. Discovery of the ore body and the large production of ore were achieved without any financial assistance from the Government.

Jan 1, 1953

By J. Venter

The history of firedamp is the same as that of coal: The initial stage was the accumulation of vegetation, which was converted into peat under certain local conditions, then lignite, bituminous coal, and finally anthracite. These deposits ceased to increase owing to inundation that deposited earthy sediment, sometimes as much as several tens of meters (several tens of yards). The vegetable matter, whether it was covered with sediment or not, began to ferment. The basic organic components of the vegetable matter are: Cellulose, lignin, and wax and resin in varying proportions, according to the different kinds of vegetable matter. There are, in addition, some impurities, generally mineral.

Jan 1, 1953

By B. P. Martinez

A process for regenerating spent pickle liquor is proposed in which some of the water is evaporated at atmospheric pressure and ferrous sulfate is precipitated as monohydrate crystals..Equilibrium conditions are set for a slurry of crystals in a mother liquor containing 5 percent FeS04 and 45 percent E2S04, by weight, and boiling at about 235° F. The slurry is pumped continuously to a filter, and the mother liquor from the filter is pumped back for reuse in the pickling tanks. The net result of the process is to remove ferrous sulfate in the regeneration plant at the same rate ac it is produced in the pickling tanks. This process is integrated with the steel-pickling operation and controlled by the pickling requirements for particular steels. Spent pickle liquor is removed for regeneration continuously from both batch and continuous picklers at higher acid concentrations than would be dumped to waste because no acid is neutralized or discarded. However, the process is not designed to keep a sulfuric acid concentration stronger than 25 percent in any pickling tank. To retain flexibility in the pickling operation, all acid makeup is added to the pickling tanks. Rinse waters are used as water makeup for the pickling tanks. To further minimize waste of acid in the rinse waters, improvements of rinsing practices are outlined.

Jan 1, 1953

By M. A. Elliott

Diesel-powered haulage equipment has recently been tested and approved for permissibility by the Bureau of Mines for use in mining in the United States. Achievement of this advance in safety involved extensive studies, both in the testing station (2, 3, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)3/ and in the field 1, 4, 13, 30), of the operating characteristics of diesel engines in relation to the toe of such engines underground. The results of these studies formed the basis for establishing the requirements that should be met by diesel-powered haulage equipment approved for permissibility. Considerable interest has been manifested in the development of diesel-powered haulage equipment fur mines. The purpose of this paper is to retrace briefly the course of this development and to answer such questions as: What is the history of the use of diesel engines underground? Why has the Bureau of Mines been interested in the development of diesel-powered haulage equipment for use in mines?

Jan 1, 1953

By D. Harrington

This paper is a revision of Information Circular 7380, by D. Harrington and J. H. East, Jr., published in 1946, entitled ?Safe Storage, Handling, and Use of Commercial Explosives in Metal Mines, Nonmetallic Mines, and Quarries.? Issued soon after the close of World War II, this earlier circular described the unprecedented increase in the production and use of commercial explosives during the war as a result of expanded industry and the tremendous demand f or metals and minerals. In the years following World War II, the production and use of commercial explosives in the United States have continued to rise. Hence, the Bureau of Mines presents these revised figures through 1952. In rewriting this Wormation circular, most of the text prepared by Harrington and East has been retained, with newer statistical information compiled by Seth T. Reese, Accident Analysis Branch, and V. E. Wrenn, of the same branch.

Jan 1, 1954

By D. D. Blue

To insure domestic production of aluminium for, essential civilian and defense uses, the Government, under authority of the Defense Production Act of 1950, programed and promoted an aluminum-expansion program that will more than double the primary production capacity that existed in 1949. In view of this vastly increased production, the raw materials, with respect to both quantity and sources, are reviewed. The raw-material consumption pattern, the requirements during an expansion period when excess quantities of materials for starting up new facilities are consumed, and the probable requirements for production of 1.7 million tons per year of primary aluminum are discussed. The raw materials that presented the most difficult supply problems were bauxite, electrical power, and fluoride salts, and the supply pattern for these materials probably will undergo changes. A major part of the electrical energy for the increased capacity was to come from thermal generation, Jamaica-was to become a major source of bauxite, and synthetic fluoride salts were replacing natural cryolite in increasing quantities. Other raw-material requirements discussed are: Soda ash; lime, and limestone; starch; filter cloth; fuel; alumina; the carbonaceous materials, green and calcined petroleum coke, high-and low-temperature pitch and coke or anthracite; cryolite; aluminum fluoride; the materials going into production of synthetic fluorides, acid-grade fluorspar, and sulfuric acid; and labor. INTRODUCTION The raw materials for the aluminum industry that have received the most publicity are bauxite, the ore that supplies elemental aluminum, and electrical energy, the means by which aluminum oxide is reduced to metal. A number of other important materials are, however, required in large quantities in the production of primary aluminum metal.

Jan 1, 1954

By L. B. Berger

This information circular is a revision of I.C. 7238, Danger from Carbon Monoxide in the Home, by L. B. Berger and H. H. Schrenk, issued in April 1943. Each winter brings its toll of deaths and serious accidents from the deadly gas, carbon monoxide. Newspapers carry warnings to the public of the, dangers of this gas, and frequent news items report the finding of persons dead at unconscious from the effects of carbon monoxide, yet these accidents continue. Either these warnings are not read, or they are unheeded by people who feel that, "It can't happen to me." It can happen to you carbon monoxide is no respecter of persons.

Jan 1, 1954

1. The following recommendations should apply to all mines, tunnels and underground quarries, but to opencast quarries only in so far as persons can be exposed to dust injurious to health. General In the present state of knowledge, all duets liberated in mining, tunneling and quarrying operations should be considered potentially injurious to health if breathed in sufficient quantity; dusts containing free silica should be considered specially injurious to health, the injurious particles being below 7 microns in diameter.

Jan 1, 1954

By H. C. Young

This paper deals with roof bolting in Alabama coal mines and iron-ore mines from the time it was introduced in early May 1948 to May 1, 1953, a 5-year period. The Tennessee Coal & Iron Division of the United States Steel Corp. began systematic roof bolting in early May 1948 in a coal mine and in an iron-ore mine, which had some of the poorest roof conditions in the Alabama mines. After the efficiency of roof bolting had been proved by the Tennessee Co. it was gradually adopted by other companies throughout the State, until in May 1953 approximately 53 percent of Alabama's total coal production and 100 percent of Alabama's total iron-ore production, mined underground, was being produced from roof-bolted areas. Statistics in this report will show the advancement made in roof bolting in the 5 years and also the amount of roof bolting that was being done as of May 1, 1953. Significant progress has been made in the coal and iron-ore mines of Alabama in reducing the roof-fall fatality rates during the past several years by adopting systematic roof bolting. The groundwork was laid through successful experiments early in 1948 by the Tennessee Coal & Iron Division of the United States Steel Corp. in cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Mines. This experimental work was based upon the previous experience of the St. Joseph Lead Co.2/ in its Southeastern Missouri mines.

Jan 1, 1954

By Alfred L. Ransome

The plan to develop a standard system of names and definitions of regions and districts in Alaska was borne of the need for a tool to use in statistical and economic studies of the mineral industry of the Territory. The purpose of this report is to present to the mineral industry, and to those individuals interested in the mineral or allied industries in Alaska, the system used by the Bureau of Mines in connection with its legal function of collecting and disseminating mineral statistics. It is hoped that the specific descriptions given will result in a more complete understanding of what is meant by the regional and district names that appear in publications of the Bureau of Mines relative to the mineral industry of the Territory. Problem of Standardization of Names and Definitions The question might be asked, does the naming and defining of regions and districts in Alaska present a problem relative to the establishment of a standard? Is it necessary to establish a standard?

Jan 1, 1954

By Warren Hastings

This paper describes the methods and costs, in units of labor end materials, of sinking a 7 compartment vertical shaft 1,261 feet through a fractured, water-saturated formation. The shaft, designed for hoisting 2,500 tons a day, is at Friedensville, Lehigh County, Pa., approximately 6 miles south of Allentown and Bethlehem. It was sunk by the E. J. Longyear Co. under contract to the New Jersey Zinc Co. Preparation for shaft sinking W8A begun July 1, 1947, and sinking was completed August 18, 1952. A total of 604,858 man hours was required to sink the shaft.

Jan 1, 1954

By P. M. Gruzensky

A survey of the literature has been made covering the extraction of bismuth from raw materials, its separation from lead, and its subsequent refining. The use of aqueous, nonaqueous, and fused electrolytes in electrolytic refining is reviewed. This literature survey has been prepared preliminary to some proposed investigations concerning the electrometallurgy of bismuth, and, although an effort has been made to cover a majority of the applicable references, a critical review was not attempted and no assertion is made that this manuscript is exhaustive in nature. Titles of publications in parenthesis are translations from the language in which the reference was originally published.

Jan 1, 1954

By Leroy E. Schulze

A review of development and a reevaluation of uses of the hydraulic air compressor are suggested by the constant changes in technology, which frequently make an old art valuable in solving current problems. Contacts with research workers in various branches of engineering indicate that this older method of producing compressed air may not be familiar to some or that its salient features might be useful in solving problems involving uses of compressed air. Briefly, a hydraulic air compressor may be described as an inverted siphon, consisting of an intake head where water and air are mingled, followed by a gravity-fall tube in which air is intimately mixed with the water and is compressed as the water pressure increases during the fall down the tube, then a separating, or stilling, chamber in which air bubbles rise to the surface of the water and collect in the upper portion of the chamber at a pressure equal to the weterhead maintained by the height of water in the discharge leg of the circuit. The water, which now contains only the fraction of air that has gone into solution, passes out of the separating chamber and rises up the discharge leg to the surface, which is, of course, at some suitable distance below the level of the intake. Present-day applications include (1) utilizing low hydraulic heads, which otherwise have little commercial values; (2) utilizing low hydraulic heads in reclamation work to supply compressed air, or in some instances to produce a small suction, for air-lift pumping (or for operation of air motors), with minimum attendance and without need for electric power; (3) utilizing medium heads, as at dam and lock installations, to produce compressed air for pneumatic operation of airlifts, gates, valves, and rubber gate seals; (4) utilizing underground waters, as in mines, to produce compressed air for general mine use; (5) using this method of isothermal compression of air in combination with standard compressors wherever hydraulic head is available, thereby securing the advantages of low-temperature intake to the mechanical compressors and reduction of moisture content below that of atmospheric air; (6) development of large air supply at pressures up to 150 p.s.i.g., which, after performing work in reciprocating or centrifugal expansion cylinders, is available at temperatures approximating -50° F. Possibilities in freezing and reheating should be mentioned which may prove economical for obtaining uniformly dry air for process work, wind-tunnel tests, or large air-conditioning installations, such as ventilation of underwater traffic tunnels, and may be economic for supply of supercharged air to gas-turbine plants.

Jan 1, 1954

By A. T. Coumbe

The first survey 3/ covering sales of liquefied petroleum gases was made in 1930 by the Bureau of Mines, which at the time was under the United States Department of Commerce. This original canvass covered national totals for 1922 through 1929, and most of the supply came from natural gasoline plants. The 1930 report showed approximate totals for butane and propane and for butane-propane mixtures and pentane grouped together. No attempt was made to breakdown the national sales by various uses until 1931, when the quantities for domestic or household consumption, gas manufacturing, and industrial requirements, including miscellaneous uses were indicated. As the market for these liquid petroleum gases expanded and as new uses came into importance, their respective quantities were shown separately in the annual survey. Sales for internal-combustion engine fuel and for raw material for chemical plants were first taken out of the industrial total in 1936. During World War II liquefied petroleum gases became important as feed stock diverted to synthetic rubber plants, and consequently the survey was broadened to cover this particular demand, beginning in 1944. Pentane was dropped from the survey after 1943, as, being liquid at atmospheric pressure, it is not considered as one of the liquefied petroleum gases and furthermore, the quantity reported made up less than 1 percent of the total sales. Thirteen producing companies reported to the Bureau in the first survey made in 1930, and in the 1952 canvass about 130 producers--petroleum refiners and natural gasoline companies--and about 1,300 dealers cooperated by filing schedules showing a breakdown of their sales. Their 1952 deliveries of approximately 4.5 billion gallons of liquefied petroleum gases were equivalent to about 3.4 billion gallons of gasoline or 3.1 billion gallons of distillate fuel oil.

Jan 1, 1954

By James Westfield

This report covers the calendar year 1953 and has been prepared and submitted in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 106(a) and Sec. 212(c) of the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act (66 Stat. 692; 30 U.S.C. Secs. 451-483). During this first full calendar year of operations under the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act, the coal-mining industry of the United States attained the best injury records in its history - improving the former best records (made in 1952) by 91 fatal and 10,020 nonfatal injuries. Whereas, the mandatory provisions of the act were intended and designed to prevent major mine disasters, apparently the effects have reached beyond the scope thereof in reducing mine accidents generally.

Jan 1, 1954

By J. H. McClain

In the last 3 years' operation of the zirconium-production plant, zirconium metal has been employed to good advantage in many applications. The most frequent use has been in situations requiring resistance to attack by hydrochloric acid. In this service, it has been shown to be a serious competitor to Hastelloy. Zirconium also has excellent resistance to most other corrosives end could be considered for use as an all purpose metal. For example, this report cites 18 applications in hydrochloric acid, 4 applications in sulfuric acid, 5 applications in phthalic-hydrochloric acid, 3 applications in wet hydrogen chloride-chlorine atmospheres, and 2 applications in fused caustic.

Jan 1, 1954

By S. J. Davenport

The increased consumption and importation of fluorspar and cryolite (1)3/ in recent years, and especially the addition of fluorine compounds to drinking water in the United States, have aroused renewed interest in the properties of such compounds and possible health hazards incident to their use. It has been suggested that the issuance of a revision and elaboration of Information Circular 7311, The Hazards of Hydrogen Fluoride Poisoning in the Mineral and Allied Industries, which hay been out of print for some time, would be opportune. Fluorine minerals have been known since the Middle Ages. Fluorine was isolated in 1886 by Moisson (2).

Jan 1, 1954