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By Joseph Gersic

The U.S. Bureau of Mines assessed mineral resources of the BLM Malheur-Jordan Resource Areas (MJRAs) in southeastern Oregon in 1993 and 1994. The study relied heavily on acquiring and analyzing existing data. In order to efficiently handle and analyze a large quantity of data, a minerals information management program, informally called MINFO, was developed as a frontend for three databases created to store basic information gathered during the minerals resource assessment. The MINFO program will also provide the BLM with a method of tracking and updating minerals information in the future because program modules in MINFO allow the addition of new data and the correction of errors, creation of print files, transfer of data to other database formats, exportation of data to other software packages, and creation of AutoCAD script files to be used in conjunction with AutoCAD to produce maps. The report specifically identifies significant past and present mineral exploration and development activities and possible areas of future mineral exploration and development. These areas are informally designated as areas of development interest or ADIs. The report contains a scenario of what mineral development might reasonably occur in the foreseeable future if the BLM does not substantially change its present resource management plan, and it shows the possible socioeconomic impacts of that development. The uncertainty of the political and economic situation makes it extremely challenging for the USBM to accurately predict a reasonably foreseeable development scenario. The reasonably foreseeable development (RFD) scenario developed by the USBM for the BLM indicates short-term RFD of minerals should have a negligible socioeconomic impact, and longer-term RFD of minerals should have a slight socioeconomic impact on the MJRAs. The mining industry is facing a rapidly changing business and regulatory environment in Oregon. Several signal changes have occurred recently, including State regulations that require significant bonding prior to the startup of "chemical process" mining, an initiative by a special interest group to stop all chemical process gold mining within the State, and an opinion by the Oregon Attorney General (AG) banning all forms of placer mining without exemption. In the AG opinion, not even gold panning is allowed, and the prohibition applies to mining claims on Federal lands. The State legislature may amend the statute to allow small scale placer mining to occur, as was allowed under an AG opinion issued in 1982. These and other changes occurring at the local, State, and National levels are making it more challenging for the mining industry to operate in the United States. Several epithermal gold properties in the MJRAs attracted the mining industry's interest. Only the Grassy Mountain Project of Newmont Grassy Mountain Corporation may be developed in the next few years. It is probable that at least two other properties will be developed if Grassy Mountain is successful. Mining companies are waiting to see the effect recently promulgated State mining regulations and more stringent proposed regulations, particularly bonding regulations, may have on Grassy Mountain. Resources of bentonite, diatomite, and zeolite are abundant. The almost Ubiquitous stone, sand and gravel, and semiprecious gemstone resources also were examined. Little environmental or socioeconomic impact is expected from reasonably foreseeable development of these mineral resources.

Jan 1, 1994

By Allen D. Look

In the prevention of accidents in milling operations, the proper installation and guarding of electrical and mechanical equipment, safe clearances, good housekeeping, adequate fire protection, adequate ventilation, dust and fume control, and good illumination, as well as safe practices, are essential. In the new concentrator of the Magna Copper Co., Superior, Ariz., many safeguards were incorporated and safe practices instituted to minimize accident hazards. The purpose of this paper is to describe some of these features and practices.

Jan 1, 1951

By Wilbur L. Webb

This publication reports on the design, fabrication and test of an Improved methane monitor system for compliance to 30CFR75.313. The system will Initiate automatic shutdown of mining machinery when excessive concentrations of methane are encountered. The prime consideration: In the design were small size, Improved accuracy and reliability, fast response and a transient resistant power supply capable of reliable operation from any mine power source. The power supply contains an internal battery that provides operating power to the detection system prior to mining machine start-up or after machine shutdown. This report documents the development program from conception through in-mine testing.

Jan 1, 1978

By R. R. Hornor, Geo. M. Hunt

The purpose of this paper is to point out some of the benefits and economies to be derived by the better selection , preparation, storage , preservation and utilization of mine timber , and to give some specific information on certain wood preservatives and processes suitable for mine timber preservation . The paper is based largely upon data obtained by actual experimentation and service tests conducted by the U. S. Forest Products Laboratory , Madison, Wisconsin, on wood preservation , covering a period of many years , and upon a field survey during the past summer by one of the mining engineers of the U. S. Bureau of Mines of some of the principal mining districts of Michigan , South Dakota , Montana , and Idaho , in which he made a general ' study of mine timber in metal mines , particular attention "being given to timber decay ; the conditions under which it takes place most actively ; the measures , if any , that are being used to combat it; and, finally, the advantages that might be anticipated in the use of chemically treated timber to prevent decay and thus prolong its life .

Feb 1, 1922

By Renpei Yoda

An investigation was conducted to develop columbium alloys with e1evated-temperature strengths higher than those exhibited by more common commercial columbium alloys, and attention was given to improving the oxidation resistance and ease of fabrication. Additions of carbon, aluminum, and chromium were made to some columbium-base alloys, and their effects on workability, recrystallization, oxidation resistance, and mechanical properties at elevated temperatures were explored. The additions were made to take advantage of (1) solid solution strengthening, and (2) precipitation hardening. Three alloys displayed good high-temperature properties with relatively good oxidation resistance at 1,000° C, and tensile strengths from 26,000 to 32,200 psi at 1,400° C. When the properties of these alloys were compared with those of commercial alloys, B-66 and FS-85 (1),4 the outcome was favor-able for the alloys studied in this investigation.

Jan 1, 1967

By G. S. Scott

Mine fires have occurred since the mining of coal was begun, and they are still occurring. The resulting economic waste may become considerable (219),3 especially if a fire is allowed to assume major proportions or to get beyond control temporarily. It is important, therefore, to act promptly whenever a fire is suspected and to have every action count. To do this effectively, it is necessary to know at the earliest possible moment and thereafter what is happening in a remote or inaccessible area. It is equally important to know before¬hand what may be expected as a result of any proposed combative measure. The logical method of combatting a fire demands the cooperation of both mining engineer and chemist. They should decide the course of action to be taken, drawing upon the mining engineer's intimate knowledge of the physical structure of the fire area, the cost and time required for proposed operations, and the probable efficiency with which they could be carried out, and upon the chemist's knowledge of the results to be expected therefrom.

Jan 1, 1944

By Robert W. Van Dolah

The prevention of fires and explosions involving the combustibles and oxidants likely to be found in flight vehicles requires a knowledge of the flammability and related characteristics of these materials. This circular is a compilation of the available charactersilics data for a series of combustibles and oxidants of current interest. Vapor pressure data are presented for fluorine, oxygen, chlorine trifluoride, nitrogen tetroxide, nitric acid, hydrogen peroxide, ethylene oxide, hydrogen, ammonia, pentaborane, unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine, monomethylhydrazine, hydrazine, and a series of hydro-carbons including decalin, tetralin, bicyclohexyl and other high-density fuels. In addition, flammability characteristics diagrams are included for each of the fuels in contact with air and, where available, other oxidants (for example, oxygen and nitrogen tetroxide). To assist in understanding these data, sections on definitions and theory and applications have been included. Each section is complete in itself and can be used separately. For example, a reader who is familiar with the general theory of combustion and detonation may find the data sections more useful than the definitions and theory and the application sections. However, since pertinent data are included in these sections, they should also prove useful to the experienced engineer interested in preventing fires and explosions.

Jan 1, 1963

By Raymond B. Ladoo

Toward the end of 1920 , the average grades of ground feldspar offered to the pottery industry were so poor and so generally unsatisfactory that many of the largest consumers decided to take active steps for their own protection . A few of the potters made arrangements to grind their own feldspar , while others asked the Bureau of Mines to make a detailed study of the problem and to suggest methods of improvement . Accordingly such a study was undertaken, the partial results of which are outlined in this preliminary report . The outstanding features of the present feldspar industry which are of interest in this connection are stated below. (1 ) Many grinding companies do not own or control all or even a major part of their sources of crude material , but buy in job lots from many sources . (2 ) There is great need of more adequate engineering and chemical control over mines and mills . ( 3) ~ Out of date , inefficient methods and equipment for mining and grinding are in common use . (4) Little or no cooperation exists between feldspar producers , but on the contrary many feldspar companies are exceedingly secretive . This tends towards (a) preservation of obsolete methods ; ( b ) want of knowledge of the essential features of production , market requirements , and the relation between total milling and consuming capacities of the country; ( c ) inefficient and often mistaken trade practices ; ( d) unprofitable and even ruinous competition in dull periods . (5) The small size of many feldspar deposits precludes maintenance of an efficient organization at each individual mine . ( 6 ) Many of the best deposits of feldspar situated close to railroads are becoming depleted , which results in gradual lowering of grades , and increase in cost for better grades . (7) There is a lack of exact mowledge of the ceramic properties and behaviour of feldspar by some consumers , which results in ( a) purchase of feldspar on the basis of price alone , thus encouraging low production costs at the expense of quality , and ( b) inefficient and expensive cross- hauling of both crude and ground feldspar .

Jan 1, 1922

By Walter Murphy

For a number of years the Bureau of Mines has been studying the properties of crude petroleums produced in the United States and the Western Hemisphere. A number of reports have been published giving the analyses of crudes from the different field and regions as made by the Bureau of Mines Hempel method of analysis.4/ Several of these reports include analyses off crude oils from the Rocky Mountain region.5/ The search for new fields and new producing horizons in old fields in the Rocky Mountain region has been quite intensive during the last few years, and a number of discoveries have been made.

Jan 1, 1937

By E. P. Barret

Differences in the reducibility of iron oxide materials have been recognized for a long time. Limonites are deoxidized more readily than hematites, and unaltered magnetites are the most difficult to deoxidize. Sinters are found between hematites and magnetites and vary considerably in reducibility, depending on the sintering practice followed and on the degree of fusion of the product. The increased activity in the beneficiation of taconite recently has made available a new blast-furnace raw material, namely, iron oxide pellets made from magnetic taconite concentrate. Many of the data in this paper apply to these pellets, or glomerules, as they were called when this method of agglomerating iron ores was first considered. To clarify the terms applied to iron oxide materials in this paper, the following definitions are given. Agglomeration is the general term applied to all methods of compacting or consolidating fine iron oxide materials. Sinter is the product from a Dwight-Lloyd or Greenawalt sintering machine. Pellets are formed by balling fine, moist oxide in a rotating drum at room temperature, followed by heating in a shaft furnace to a temperature below that of incipient fusion to develop a permanent bond. Nodules are formed by heating the iron oxide material to incipient fusion in a rotary kiln. Briquets are formed in a mold under pressure, with or without the addition of a binder, and burned to develop a permanent bond.

Jan 1, 1949

By Charles L. Kimbell

The year 1977 generally was a year of growth in overall world mineral industry activity, although there were downturns in major elements of the world's iron and steel industries. The sharp upturns in market economy nation activities that were noted in 1976, following the reduced performance levels of 1975, were moderated, and in the centrally planned economy nations, overall mineral industry activity apparently continued to increase, but at a pace in keeping with that of 1916 rather than at the higher rates of the earlier 1976's. Noteworthy during the year, if only in a negative sense, was the inability of world powers to reach any significant agreement on issues relating to deep seabed mining. Interest from a commercial viewpoint centered around deposits or so-called manganese nodules. These materials, which indeed are chiefly manganese in terms of their content on a quantitative basis, really were of commercial interest primarily far their copper, nickel, and cobalt content. Participants at the Third United Nations Law of the Sea Conference looked into seabed mining rights, but reached no mutually agreeable decisions.

Jan 1, 1981

By O. C. Blade

"INTRODUCTION This report on the properties of motor fuels sold through service stations in the United States is a continuation of a series of reports made in accordance with a cooperative agreement between, the Coordinating Fuel Research (C.F.R.) Committee of the Coordinating Research Council (C.R.C.) 3/ and the Bureau of Mines of the United States Department of the Interior. The first of these reports presented data on motor gasolines sold during the winter of 1935-36.-4/ Further reports have been issued describing motor gasolines sold during the succeeding summers and winters to the summer of 1941 and during the winter of 1942-43 and the summer of 1943 5/ No reports were made on motor gasolines sold during the winter of 1,) 41-42 and during the summer of 1942. The present report presents analytical data for 1,356 samples, representing the products of approximately 103 companies. As in previous surveys, the companies covered by the survey include both large and small suppliers. Conforming to former reports, the data cover three groups of samples - regular-price, premium-price, and third-grade gasolines - and each group has been averaged separately. The number of samples, items and brands comprising each group is as follows: Regular-price, 770 samples, 286 items, and 94 brands; premium-price, 537 samples, 236 items, and 72 brands; third-grade, 49 samples, 31 items, and 18 brands. The meanings of these terms as used in the surveys are as follows:"

May 1, 1944

By C. A. Taylor, C. E. Munroe

"In blasting the explosion of the high explosives charge is initiated by means of a detonator. Consequently the successful operation of the whole system is, ab initio dependent upon the suitability and efficiency of the detonator used. A considerable number of methods for testing the efficiency of detonators have been devised. In a previous publication*** of the Bureau of Mines many of these were discussed after having been classified as direct and indirect methods.In 1910, W. O, Snelling, then explosives chemist of the Bureau, devised a direct method which depends on the extent to which a hard brittle material of uniform granulation, such as quartz sand, is pulverized by the explosion of the detonator when imbedded in it, and, as a container in which to carry out the tests, he devised the vessel known as the Bureau of Mines sand-test bomb No. 1. A brief mention of his work was made in a paper presented to the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania.****Later Storm and Cope made a very extended investigation of this method using sand-test bomb No, 1. Their paper***** contains a detailed, illustrated, description of sand-test bomb No. 1, with precise specifications of the sand and a minute account of the technique followed, together with a discussion of the data they obtained from the tests in this bomb of 112 detonators representing each of the grades from We, 3 to No. 10, inclusive. The average of results obtained by them are set forth in the following table."

Dec 1, 1923

By C. J. Hall

Twenty eight pulse release sulfur hexafluoride tracer gas field tests were run in a multi-level multi-vein hard rock mine to measure leakage ventilation. The mine had numerous underground booster fans and gob filled old stoping areas and consequently numerous leakage paths. The tests proved that the equipment and methods developed by the USBM can be used successfully in complicated ventilation circuits. The leakage quantities varied each time a major change was made in the main ventilation circuit. Usually leakage quantities had to be remeasured after a main ventilation change, but measurements could be duplicated for anyone configuration except under certain defined circumstances. The characteristics of an individual leakage path could be determined from the difference between the measured sum of two paths and the calculated characteristics of one of the paths. Many leakage paths could not be evaluated accurately on one shift. Comments are made on equipment performance and field techniques. Programs for the calculation of gas concentrations and recirculation from measured data and for the mechanical integration necessary for a calculated leakage characteristic have been written for an HP 9810 and are included.

Jan 1, 1975

By H. F. Feldmann

This work was done to provide thermodynamic, electrical, physical, and compositional data on the seeded combustion plasmas of seven coals for the design of MHD generators. The systems were assumed to be at equilibrium, and the design data were generated by solving for the composition of both gas and liquid phases with a digital computer. The coals reported in this study include a western subbituminous, a Pennsylvania anthracite, and five representative bituminous coals. The data include dewpoint temperatures of both slag and seed. A Mollier diagram for each coal is given to allow graphical generator calculations.

Jan 1, 1970

By S. M. Runke

An earlier Bureau of Mines report4/ reviewed and summarized all reports of investigations dealing with the coarse grained pegmatites of the Black Hills of South Dakota to dune 1951. It was proposed, and the hope was expressed in this report, that future progress in the development of the technology of the mining and beneficiation of the pegmatite deposits would be rapid enough to make it possible to issue annual progress reports. Although notable progress has been made in the treatment of pegmatite material, it has not been rapid enough to justify annual reports

Jan 1, 1954

By C. A. Kumke

The Korean crisis and the cessation of Russian manganese-ore shipments to the United States in 1950 reemphasized the almost total dependence of the domestic steel industry on foreign supplies for metallurgical-grade manganese ore. In this emergency, Congress authorized the Bureau of Mines to undertake experimental mine and process development work on the known large reserves of low-grade manganese ore in the Artillery Mountains region in Mohave County, Ariz. The objective of the work was to obtain the basic mining and metallurgical data needed to make specific plans for initiating exploitation of the deposits within 3 years if high-grade foreign ore could not be obtained during the emergency. The manganese deposits of the Artillery Mountains region are in an area of about 25 square miles on the north side of the Bill Williams River in southern Mohave County. Lasky, of the Federal Geological Survey, has estimated reserves at 175 million tons of manganiferous material assaying 3.5 to 4 percent Mn. Although the man¬ganese occurs in various Tertiary and Quaternary formations as both bedded and fissure vein deposits, the more important syngenetic deposits are found in upper and lower manganiferous zones in the sedimentary beds of playa and alluvial fan origin that constitute the Chapin Wash formation.

Jan 1, 1957

The Bureau of Mines is responsible for a broad spectrum of programs for meeting the diverse and changing mineral resource needs of the Nation. These programs are managed by the Director and two Deputy Directors, who formulate general policy and program direction from the Washington, D.C., headquarters. A senior advisory staff, consisting of the Chief Staff Officer, Chief Scientist, and Chief Mining Engineer, provides advice and consultation to the Director on a wide range of scientific and technical matters and acts on behalf of the Director to maintain liaisons with other government agencies, mineral industries, and professional societies. Bureau program activities are classified into two major functions: (1) Developing new and improved technology that will make the production and processing of minerals more efficient, safer and more healthful for mineral workers and the public, and more compatible with a quality environment.

Jan 1, 1979

By L. J. E. Hofer

"INTRODUCTION This paper is riot to be considered a complete survey of data on carbides; it is only an attempt to correlate the more reliable of the existing data of interest in connection with the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, and its purpose is to guide future experiment and thought.A general review of the literature on the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis will be published in the near future as a chapter by H. H. Storch for a book entitled, ""The Chemical Utilization of Coal,"" edited by H. H. Lowry. This chapter covers the literature up to l9). It is planned to bring the review up to date in a comprehensive bulletin on Synthetic Liquid Fuel Processes to be completed during the next year. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe author discussed the significance of the data with several members of the Physical Chemistry and Hydrogenation Section.THE PREPARATION OF CARBIDES OF IRON, COBALT, AND NICKELThe reaction of carbon monoxide with Fischer-Tropsch metals was first studied in a quanitaive way by Bahr and his coworkers. The contents of their first papers, 3/ 4/ 5/ which deal with the action of carbon monoxide on nickel, cobalt, and iron, will be described in the following paragraphs, together with the pertinent results of other investigators."

Jul 1, 1944

By M. M. Fine

The results of tests on oxidized lead ores from two properties are reported in this paper. The investigation was on a small laboratory scale only; no pilot-plant tests were made. One sample, from the Magajupa Mining Co., near Duenweg, No., contained coarsely crystalline and disseminated galena and cerussite, so both tabling and flotation were considered in the beneficiation. By this treatment of an ore containing 11.5 percent lead, a recovery of 79.5 percent of the lead was made in a concentrate containing 73.3 percent lead.

Jan 1, 1948