Search Documents

By Xavier B. Starnes

"INTRODUCTION The Krausse Estate property was the site of the first lead silver mining in western Kentucky, which began with the sinking of the Andrew Jackson shaft in 1835 3/. The earliest miners considered fluorspar of no value and threw it upon the waste dump, but Crittenden County later became an important part of the western Kentucky and southern Illinois fluorspar district 4/, which has produced about 90 percent of the fluorspar mined in the United States. By 1945, approximately 35,000 tons of fluordpar ore had been produced from the Estate property.This property can be reached by traveling west from Marion on Highway 60 from 2.5 miles, than northward 3 miles. The road from the paved highway to the mines is very rough but not impassable even in bad weather. Ore is hauled 5 1/2 miles by truck to custom mills at Marion, a town of 2, 000 population, where the Illinois Central Railway was a freight station.Hurricane Creek runs through the eastern part of the property. The surface slopes steeply upward to west from the creek, and the topography is rough. The top of the hill is about 150 feet above the creek.The climate permits working throughout the year, but spring rains cause surface water to enter mine and water apparently drains southward along the fractured fault zones, so that when no water is being pumped at properties north of the Krausse Estate a heavy flow comes on the Krausse."

Sep 1, 1946

By Donald W. Mitchell, John Nagy

Observations made on coking of coal, deposition of soot, dust transport, flame, violence, and related phenomena following experimental coal-dust explosions are summarized. Data are given on gas explosion pressure, flame length, flame velocity, and variation of these parameters with concentration. Conclusions from these observations are useful in preventing similar occurrences in operating mines and serve as a guide in improving safety.

Dec 1, 1963

By John C. Machisak

INJURY DATA and experience at, coal mines in the United States for 1953 and 1954 are presented in this publication with a minimum of interpretation and comment because of the numerous tables required to afford detailed comparisons between the 2 years. Corresponding tables for 1953 and 1954 follow in consecutive order under the following general sections: (A) General injury experience: Tables 1 to 11: Contain current data on number of fatal and nonfatal injuries, frequency and severity rates, and average severity and time-loss rates. (B) Selected injury data: Tables 12 to 85: Contain current data on causes of injuries, distribution of injuries by part of body injured, days of disability, extent of hand and machine loading, experience by employment and production groups, and various other operating factors and physical conditions related to the occurrence of injuries at the Nation's coal mines.

Jan 1, 1958

By Richard L. Sanford

This report summarizes the results of an update on a previous Bureau of Mines grant (G0264026), and includes 5 additional years of computer pro-gram development. The directory includes a sampling of computer usage in operating and manufacturing companies, consulting firms, computer companies, research organizations, universities, and various governmental agencies. References to computer applications throughout the industry are presented as well as comments on program availability. The work effort on the updated directory concentrated on programs that are available to the public and are well documented.

Jan 1, 1982

By C. W. Owings

The Bureau of Mines has conducted a survey to determine potential exposure of mine workers to dust produced in connection with intermittent rock drilling in coal mines. Eighteen mines in 3 states were visited, and 30 different operations were observed, as follows: 10 drilling in draw slate, 8 drilling top rock for brushing or grading, 2 drilling in the coal face, 4 drilling in the bottom, 2 drilling top rock for overcasts, 2 drilling in faults or boulders, 1 drilling for roof bolting, and 1 drilling for trolley hangers. Dust respirators were worn by drilling crews during 16 of the 30 operations. Three hundred thirty-two samples of air-borne dust were collected during the survey. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The information in this report is based on samples collected and observations made in bituminous-coal mines. Operating officials at these mines have contributed to this study, and their cooperation is gratefully acknowledged. All samples were counted by Thomas B. Kirby, chemist, and Dominick A. Ambrosia, scientific aid, and were analyzed by Gretta S. Baur, physicist, and Patricia M. Gussey, scientific aid, of the Health Branch of the Bureau of Mines.

Jan 1, 1953

By J. Koster

[In lQ jG thc E'lcct,ro:~(: L7.l :~u..-ic:ll S;%cti ?n of t?c :I. tcIl~tr,-;lcal 3:vi cioa, ?U~CE~U of lv!irtos, bc,~m an 9.ct iv.t In-:?*t ik7;5i GI of r.:ct.l-;c?;is for rccovcrin,; niclrel, cop?ir, an2 ?? cciou:; ~ot-1 c 1;-on or; :; of tile 3unl~crvi~.l~~ tiistrict in C1ni.k Coult:r, !Icl.r. ]

Jan 1, 1939

By Jos. R. Guiteras

This paper is one of o. series describing mining and milling methods and costs being published by the United States Bureau of Mines. It presents the results of a study of the Alice mine by the writer in December 1936. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Acknowledgment is made to J. Fred Johnson, mining engineer off the American Smelting & Refining Co., for permission to visit the property; and to Arthur F. Johnson, general superintendent at the property, for his friendly cooperation in contributing the information contained in the paper.

Jan 1, 1939

By G. B. Gait

This report is the third in a series concerning the Bureau of Mines program for microfilming maps of abandoned mines in the Pennsylvania anthracite region; a catalog of the microfilmed maps of mines in the Lackawanna Basin of tile Northern anthracite field is presented. Previous reports IC 8274, published in 1965, and IC 8379, published in 1968, were catalogs of microfilmed maps of mines in the Eastern Middle anthracite field and Wyoming Basin, Northern anthracite field, respectively , Additional catalogs will be published as the microfilming of significant mining areas is completed.

Jan 1, 1970

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 C. T. Anderson

In July 1947, the U. S. Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the Air Materiel Command, started an investigation of zirconium alloys with the object of determining the suitability of such alloys for high-temperature applications. This report covers the preliminary study of about 25 zirconium-rich alloy systems with respect to preparation, fabrication, tensile properties, metallographic structures; constitution, and heat resistance. Obviously, each system could not be investigated thoroughly, and this publication can be regarded only as a first approach. The more promising individual alloy systems will be studied in greater detail and reported in subsequent publications. The study of zirconium alloys on such a scale has been made possible by the U.S. Bureau of Mines developments in the past 5 years On producing zirconium metal. This basic process is similar to that developed by Kroll for producing ductile titanium metal and consists essentially of reducing zirconium chloride by means of molten magnesium. The Northwest Electrodevelopment Laboratory at Albany, Oreg., has produced several thousand pounds of ductile metal in this manner and has a pilot plant producing over 300 pounds of metal per week. Alloys were prepared by melting Bureau of Mines zirconium and the best available grade of alloying element in graphite, with suitable provisions for preventing oxidation. The ingots were quartered longitudinally and sheath-swaged at 850° c. to 3/8-inch diameter rod. Two of those rods were send to Wright Field for room-temperature and 1,200° F. tensile properties. The remaining two sections were used for metallographic, hardness, heat-treatment, and heat-resistance studies. The salient features of this investigation are summarized in table 1.

Jan 1, 1950

By Jr. Gabler

World resources of platinum-group metals appear ample for the foreseeable future; however, political and economic events in the last two decades have caused concern over the availability and reliability of an uninterrupted supply. Because of this concern, the U.S. Congress requested that the U.S. Bureau of Mines initiate a study of the flow of platinum-group metals in the economy that would delineate and quantify the production areas in which metal values are lost. As a result, the Bureau has developed a computerized commodity flow model for strategic and critical materials. Major attributes of this flow model are as follows: (1) it is generic and applicable to most commodities and (2) it can be updated as supply, demand, and/or production data change. The original model developed for cobalt, with slight modifications, was used to track the flow of platinum-group metals. This report follows the flow of platinum-group metals through their metallurgical, catalytic, and chemical applications and highlights areas in which significant losses occur because of downgrading, export, or disposal. The study indicates that materials containing about 63,426 kg of platinum-group metals were lost or could not be traced in 1989, representing about 63 pct of U.S. domestic consumption.

Jan 1, 1991

By Joseph J. Wallace

1. The Investigation shows that there are six coal beds of major importance in McDowell County from the standpoint of present production - Pocahontas No. 3, Pocahontas No. 4, Pocahontas No. 5, Sewall, Beckley, and Pochontas No. 6 - and five beds of minor importance - Iaeger, Douglas, Welch, Pocahontas, No. 9, and Eagle. The Pocahontas No. 3 bed contains the largest remaining, known reserves. 2. Known measured, and indicated reserves in all beds, based on a minimum thickness of 174 inches and on 1,800 tons per acre-foot of coal in place, are estimated at 2,217 Trillion short tons as of January 1, 1951. Of this total, 1,731 million short tons are in beds 28 inches and more thick. Areas in each bed were omitted from the estimate because available data relative to the bed characteristics are too meager to make an estimate that conforms with the definitions of measured and indicated coal adopted for this study. Should future drilling or development prove reserves in these area, such reserves should be added to he total estimated reserves.

Jan 1, 1952

By Herbert Cremer

The United States,-the largest nickel consumer in the world, produces virtually no nickel from domestic ores. Dependence upon outside nickel - sources and increasing strategic, importance of nickel focused the attention of the United States on deposits within its boundries. The most likely domestic sources of nickel are low-grade oxide and silicate deposits, such as the Cle Clum deposit, Kittitas County, Wash., and the Riddle deposit, Douglas County, Oreg. The Federal Bureau of Mines, Northwest Electrodevelopment Laboratory, Albany, Oreg. has been investigating electric smelting of low-grade oxide and silicate nickel ores. These smelting studies have been on selective reduction to produce low-carbon ferronickel. Selective reduction is based upon the relative reducibility of: nickel, iron, and chromium, in the order named, when the charge contains insufficient carbon or other reductants to reduce the entire quantity of these metals present in the ore.

Jan 1, 1954

By E. R. Maize

[he scconG rcport of :his st?rI.org 8cdt with o3servatioi:s of conver- gence of roof an4 floor at t!x*re: ?.cc.-.tioris iri til~ ClVucible mine of kke Cru- cib1.o Fuel Co. Data on sl:'ociacnce ?.rd Lztcrcl mwe:~cnt cf the surface were .:lven for two of these areas, a-12 it was mentioned that ~lr~~ilar data were being obtained on a ?art of Pe:sc:rlvtzr.ia Fii~l?trr.y FE:, ~i!lic;l pcser: over the third area. 'I'hie hichw~ :LEO FasseE over t!lc ITenncoli::. :.line of the Bnckeye Coal Co. 9 milcs to ';he so-lth, cnd at P. l~tcr C'..att: ~.nr?r.,cc?r:cntS *.rere mnd.e to make similar observati on3 there. This y: pr mrnmri:.c n Czto obtnino? at those two locetionn,]

Jan 1, 1941

By Thomas J. Peters

In 1978, the U.S. Bureau of Mines and the U.S. Geological Survey completed a joint mineral survey of the Chemise Mountain and King Range study areas as mandated by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1916, Public Law 94-579. The U.S. Bureau of Mines examined all identified mineral prospects and deposits; the results of these examinations are included in this report. The U.S. Geological Survey studied the regional geology, geochemistry, and geophysics; the results of these studies are available in USGS Map MF-1196. No mineral resources were identified in either the Chemise Mountain or King Range study areas; however, a high-grade silver and base-metal occurrence, and minor manganese resources were identified in between the two study areas, within the King Range Conservation Area. The only mining activity in either area was a placer gold prospect on Honeydew creek in the northeastern part of the King Range study area. Three samples from this prospect contained no gold. The Chemise Mountain and King Range study areas are in a mountainous region along the coast of northern California, 230 road miles north of San Francisco, and 70 miles south of Eureka by way of U.S. Highway 101, through Garberville and Redway. The Chemise Mountain study area consists of 3,941 acres; it includes the 2,598-ft Chemise Mountain, and the cliff-lined seacoast southeast of Shelter Cove. a resort and fishing village. The King Range study area consists of 39.764 acres northwest of Shelter Cove, and includes the northwest-trending King Range with elevations above 4,000 ft. The Chemise and King Range study areas are underlain by deep-water marine sandstones, shales, and minor pillow basalts of the Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary Franciscan Subduction Complex. Mineral production was 1,650 tons of manganese ore within a manganiferous bed overlying pillow basalt at the Queen Peak mine southeast of the King Range study area. However, no significant manganese resources were found in the Queen Peak area. The Point Delgada area, directly south of the King Range study area, has prospects with high grade copper, lead. silver, and zinc. Exposures are inadequate to estimate resources; however, the metals may be associated with Franciscan volcanism (volcanogenic). The Chemise and King Range study areas may contain similar economic silver-rich, base-metal deposits.

Jan 1, 1992

This report describes the activities and publications of the Bureau of Mines Health and Safety Research and Testing Center, Pittsburgh, Pa., for the fiscal years 1960-65. It includes a discussion or work being conducted on roof control, dust explosions, ventilation, health, coal mine fire control, and electrical-mechanical testing, and an abstract of each paper published during the report period.

Jan 1, 1966

By William Seymour

"INTRODUCTION Byproduct-coke manufacture is one of our country's most essential in¬dustries; its importance was strikingly accentuated by the demands of World War II. This paper reviews recent progress in various phases of byproduct-coke operations for the production of metallurgical coke particularly that used as blast-furnace fuel.In the early days of the by-product-coke industry in the United States high-grade bituminous coking coals, both high-volatile or gas coal and low-volatile Pocahontas coal, were plentiful, and the selection and mixing of coals for coke-oven use were minor problems.The demands of World War I for the production of iron, steel, and coke aroused and stimulated new interest in the investigation of the reserves, characteristics, and properties of our coking coals. During that war the increased demand for coke reached a critical stage, and the shortage of high-grade coking coals necessitated the use of cols of inferior quality and of different coking characteristics than those previously used.The period of prosperity following World War I brought much progress and development in the by-product-coke industry. Methods of testing coal and coke were improved. The search for satisfactory coking coals was continued, and construction and design of byproduct ovens were improved."

Jun 1, 1946

By Lloyd Williams, H. K. Gibbs, William L. Crentz, J. W. Miller

"Reserves This investigation shows that the Poplar Creek is the most important bed in Scott County from a production standpoint. Although the Poplar Creek bed contains the largest reserve, the Big Mary has a larger recoverable reserve. Estimates of reserves also have been made for the Pewee, Red Ash, Windrock, Upper Pioneer, Jellico, and White Oak beds.Known measured and indicated reserves of coal, based on a minimum bed thickness of 14 inches and on 1,800 short tons per acre-foot of coal in place, are estimated to be 143 million tons as of January 1, 1954. Of this total, 74 million tons is in beds 28 inches and more thick. Areas in each bed were omitted from the estimate because available data relative to the bed characteristics are too meager for making an estimate that conforms with the definitions of measured and indicated coal adopted for this study. Should future drilling or development prove reserves in these areas, such reserves should be added to the total estimated reserves.Recoverable reserves of coal are estimated in beds 28 inches and more thick. This thickness is about the minimum now being mined by hand loading onto conveyors in the Appalachian region. The weighted average recovery for all beds in Scott County, as determined by this investigation, is 52.4 percent. This percentage is based on the total thickness of coal in the bed (less partings three-eighths inch or more thick) rather than on the thickness of the coal mined. Based on the weighted average percentage of recovery for all beds in Scott County, the recoverable reserves of coal are estimated to be 39 million tons as of January 1, 1954.Coal Analyses Chemical analyses of coal samples taken for this study show that the coal in Scott County is of high-volatile a bituminous rank except the Upper Pioneer bed, which is shown to be high-volatile B bituminous. The Pewee bed shows typical low-sulfur characteristics. The high ash and sulfur in the Big Mary are characteristic of that bed. The Poplar Creek is moderately low in ash and sulfur in areas where there is no parting in the bed."

Jun 1, 1956

By G. E. McElroy

[The ventilation of development faces In nines for diluting Gas or dist concentrations and, in hot nines for providing air-motion cooling effect, by fan-pipe units discharging high-velocity steams of air close to the face, is an important phase of mine ventilation. The effectiveness of such units depends largely on the air-flow distribution between the pipe discharge and the face, n subject on which little definite information is available. A study of the air flow from grills into rooms3/ has provided some basic data, but under conditions so different from mine fan-pipe installations in development ends that the data are of doubtful application to mine installations, owing to differences in air-flow conditions.]

Jan 1, 1940

By J. J. Forbes

The investigation of major and minor coal-mine disasters has been a routine function of the Bureau of Mines since its inception in 1910, and the facts obtained during such investigations have been used as a basis for determining the precautions that the managements and employees of many mines are observing to forestall similar occurrences. The Bureau has conducted research on roof-control and other mine problems, but a comprehensive study of other fatal accidents was not attempted until February 10, 1950, when the policy of investigating all coal-mine fatalities in the United States was approved by Bureau of Mines Director James Boyd. The investigations are being conducted by Federal coal mine inspectors functioning under the provisions of the Coal Mine Inspection and Investigation Act of May, 1941, Public Law 49; and reports covering the investigations are distributed to management, the State mine-inspection agency, and representatives of the mine workers' organization have jurisdiction at the mine.

Jan 1, 1951