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By Raymond B. Ladoo

"The name bentonite has been applied to a group or series of clay-like materials characterized by an alkaline oxide and alkaline earth content of 5 to 10 per cent, fine grain Giza, high absorptive powers, and usually very strong colloidal properties.Bentonite probably represents no mineral of fixed composition, and its physical properties vary considerably. The type material from Wyoming is light yellow or greenish yellow in color, but from other localities it may be cream colored, white, gray, pink, dark brown or even black. It is exceedingly fine grained, very plastic and highly absorbent. The appearance may be dull or powdeay, but a freshly cut surface usually has a waxy luster. Some varieties have the appearance of wax and may be cut into very thin, translucent shavings. The fracture of the type material is roughly conchoidal, that of other varieties is platey and shale-like, while still others have no typical fracture. Bentonite is highly absorbent; .hen wetted it will absorb more than three times its weight or seven times its volume of water. Some varieties when wetted with water expand to more than six times (some experimenters report eight times) their original volume. The wetted material is exceedingly smooth and soft and feels like soft soap. Unlike most clays, bentonite is easily fusible at a comparatively low temperature.Under a high-power microscope bentonite seems to consist of extremely small, more or less rounded, grains of uniform size, but the texture of most varieties is so fine that individual grains can not be distinguished.Some varieties when finely ground and thoroughly agitated with water will stay in suspension indefinitely, forming a translucent gelatinous mass. The addition of small amounts of acids or sodium chloride seems to have little or no tendency to raid coagulation or settling. Other varieties of similar analysis and appearance go into suspension more easily, but settle out again in a comparatively short time. It has been suggested that the material which stays in suspension indefinitely is a true colloid of the emulsion or lyophilic type."

Oct 1, 1921

By R. J. Gajan

As part of its research program on secondary metal refining, the Federal Bureau of Mines has developed a fast method for determining aluminum, iron, copper, cadmium, and lead in zinc-base alloys. The new method is intended for use by trained technicians in laboratories with inexpensive equipment. It can be used either in the analytical laboratories of the many small plants that are characteristic of the secondary metals industry or in laboratories engaged in basic research to improve refining processes. A complete analysis for the foregoing elements can be made in less than 3 hours from a single sample in solution. The method is especially helpful when a small amount of sample is available. Aluminum and iron are determined spectrophotometrically and the other elements polarographically. The new method is now being used for control analysis in metallurgical research, and the results compare favorably with previously used spectrographic methods. Luke and Braun4/ described a photometric method for the determination of aluminum in zinc diecasting alloys in which the aluminum was complexed with Aluminon reagent (ammonium salt of aurintricarboxylic acid), forming a red lake. An adaptation of this method was used for determining aluminum. Beers law is obeyed between 0.01 and 0.06 milligram of aluminum.

Jan 1, 1961

By R. S. Dewey

The purpose of this study was to assess the various aspects of public safety related to the thousands of abandoned or inactive underground mines found throughout Western Colorado. Review of available published mine inventories yielded data on over 8,000 abandoned underground mines. A random sample of 200 mines was then selected for field visits representative of mining activity in Colorado. Inspections of the openings at two hundred abandoned underground mines were performed recording descriptive information regarding the opening, the mine site, the surrounding area, the primary opening hazard, secondary hazards related to structures or dumps, other openings to the same mi ne, available construction materials, possible safeguard methods, and any special observations such as apparent activity, previous closure attempts, environmental constraints on construction, and access problems. Of the 200 mines visited, twenty mine openings representative of varying geologic, environ-mental, access, and mining conditions were selected for detailed low-cost safeguard application. Description of these safeguards is presented in narrative, itemized labor-materials equipment tabulations, and illustrations. Research into the regulations of mine closure and safeguards was also undertaken to determine jurisdiction of public lands. Recommendations were suggested to improve the awareness and ability to continue this program into an implementation stage.

Jan 1, 1980

By Francis C. Lincoln

"INTRODUCTION As part of a general investigation of the zinc-producing area of southwestern Wisconsin, the Bureau of Mines undertook a limited amount of exploratory drilling in the immediate vicinity of the New Dale Rundell mine, in the Mifflin District of Iowa County, Wisc.The work was carried out during the early part of 1945, at a time when all effort was being directed toward increasing production of metals important to the Nation's war program. Bureau of Mines engineers decided to conduct exploration at the New Dale Rundell mine after a preliminary study of available data showed a reasonable possibility of indicating an important deposit. Before the Bureau of Mines investigation, 50 holes had been drilled in the vicinity. Of this number, 18 encountered ore of minable grade. Subsequently the mine was developed and operated for a brief period; however, work was stopped before all of the ore disclosed by drilling had been mined. There appeared to be a correlation between the ore shown by the drilling in the New Dale Rundell mine and another disclosure some 1,500 feet to the northwest. The Bureau of Mines exploration was pinned to explore this possible correlation. Of the 7 holes drilled by the Bureau of Mines, 3 disclosed minable ore beyond the limits of previous drilling."

Aug 1, 1946

By Rogers F. Davis

This publication has been prepared to supply manufacturers and industrial users a listing of mobile diesel-powered equipment and subassemblies approved and certified by the Bureau of Mines for use in noncoal mines. Testing of diesel-powered equipment is one phase of the Bureau's program of health and safety that concerns approval of electrical and diesel equipment designed to prevent explosions, fires, shocks, or toxic hazards in underground mines, when such equipment is used and maintained properly. Manufacturers submit machinery and component parts to the Bureau for study of their design, safety features, and use. Equipment must pass exacting tests and must meet strict requirements established through research and experience and listed in the Bureau's permissible schedules before the Bureau approves it as permissible for safe use in mines.

Jan 1, 1963

By L. Kaufman

Fifteen boride composites were synthesized by hot pressing and evaluated by physical and incendivity testing as non-sparking tool materials. The incendivity tests, conducted at the U. S. Bureau of Mines, Albany Research Center, compared the boride compo-sites with standard cobalt-bonded tungsten carbide material used for coal cutter bits. Two titanium diboride composites and two zirconium diboride composites out-performed cobalt-bonded tungsten carbide in wear resistance and reduced tendency to cause ignitions. However, three of these candidates exhibited undesirable chipping. The remaining candidate, a TiB2-(Ni, Cu) composite, did not chip, nor did it cause ignitions at levels where cobalt-bonded tungsten carbide tools caused ignitions in the incendivity tests. Thus, this material appears to be a logical candidate for further development.

Jan 1, 1973

By C. F. Jackson

This paper describing the mining practices at a mine in the Southeast Missouri district is one of a series being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on mining practices, methods, and costs in the various mining districts of the United States. The conditions, operating methods, and practice described in the following pages arc those obtaining at a property in the Southeastern Missouri lead belt, St. Francois County, Mo. This property is the eldest in the county and is a consolidation of a number of separate mines originally opened up as individual operations many years ago. Present-day operations have necessarily to be adapted to suit the older levels, stones, and pillars, and also the recovery of ore from worked over areas which was considered too low grade to mine in the earlier days constitutes a different problem than that of development and mining in virgin ground.

Jan 1, 1929

By C. E. Reistle

The generation of steam for drilling operations has visually been accomplished in the past by the use of portable locomotive-type boilers without the aid of auxiliary equipment or advanced for economizing fuel or water consumption. This has been due primarily to the fact that the steam-generating plant of a drilling well must necessarily be of temporary and portable design, and the amount of steam generated has not been considered sufficient to justify the additional expense necessary to obtain more economical operation. However, with the constantly increasing depth to which oil wells are being drilled and the use of larger and heavier equipment, the steam requirements have reached a point where equipment and methods that were previously considered as applicable only to permanent plant installation can be and are being used to a decided advantage by the more progressive operators. As an example of the present-day requirements and the rapidly increasing steam consumption in rotary drilling, a comparison between the requirements during the intensive drilling period in the Seminole end Oklahoma City fields of Oklahoma is of interest. In the Seminole field. There the approximate depth of rotary drilling was 3,500 feet, the general practice was to use three 85 to 90 or 100 horsepower A. P. I. code boilers operating at a working pressure of 175 to 200 pounds per square inch. The fuel end water consumption was approximately 450 to 500 thousand cubic feet of gas and 700 to 750 barrels of water per day. In the Oklahoma City field, where the average drilling depth is approximately 6,500 feet, the general practice is to use either four 100 or 116 horsepower or three 123 horsepower A.P.I. code boilers, operating at a pressure of 250 pounds per square inch. The fuel and water consumption varies from 550 to 750 thousand cubic feet of gas and from 1,000 to 1,500 barrels of water per day.

Jan 1, 1930

By C. W. Davis

During the second year of its existence, the Ore-Testing Section has actively prosecuted work in the standardization of testing methods, in conducting routine tests and analyses for other Government agencies, and in the determination of recommended processes for the treatment of representative ores from mining districts. Close cooperation has been maintained between the members and units of this Section and those of other Sections, J. A. Woolf and J. B. Clemmer have continued to act in an advisory capacity and R. E. Head has contributed valuable assistance in the microscopic examination of ores and metallurgical products that did not respond readily to standard treatment methods.

Jan 1, 1938

By C. W. Davis

During the second year of its existence the Ore-Testing Section has actively prosecuted work in the standardization of testing methods, in conducting routine tests and analyses for other Government agencies, and in the determination of recommended processes for the treatment of representative ores from mining districts. Close cooperation has been maintained between the members and units of this Section and those of other Sections. J. A. Woolf and J, B. Clemmer have continued to act in an advisory capacity and. R. E. Head has contributed valuable assistance in the microscopic examination of ores and metallurgical products that did not respond readily to standard treatment methods.

Jan 1, 1938

By M. C. Malamphy

A general description of the activities and results of bauxite investigation by the Bureau of Mines at its bauxite project in Saline and Pulaski Counties, Ark., has been given in Report of Investigations 4251. The factual data obtained during the project are reported in a series of Reports of Investigations beginning with No. 4251, of which this is the fifteenth. The data are accompanied by maps showing the location of holes drilled and the deposits developed. Each area upon which work was done is reported by halt townships. Each bauxite deposit investigated was assigned a name and a number for ready reference and identification and its location and name are shown on the appropriate half-township map. The description of each half township is followed by a description of each deposit developed in that half township. The 14 halt-township maps and 77 detail maps of the bauxite deposits in this series of reports give the locations and numbers of all the holes drilled on the project except the deep holes drilled to test the geophysical anomalies. The locations of those holes show on figure 13 in volume 1. The Descriptions of the deposits developed are followed by complete detailed logs of the drill holes. Many of the widely spaced exploratory holes did not discover bauxite of minable thickness and grade. The pertinent information obtained from the widely spaced exploratory drill holes has been summarized and tabulated, and a table for each halt township is given with the discussion covering that area.

Jan 1, 1948

By K. Zipf, Z. T. Bieniawski

"An extensive mixed-mode fracture toughness testing programme was conducted on coal from three coal fields. A special mixed-mode testing fixture for coal and other geologic materials was developed together with reliable specimen preparation procedures. Dynamic modulus measurements made on each of the 116 fracture toughness specimens showed that these coals exhibit certain degrees of anisotropy. The fracture toughness testing programme systematically varied the loading rate, specimen orientation and fracture loading mode. Loading rate did not significantly effect the fracture toughness over the quasi-static range tested. Orientation did have a significant effect on measured fracture toughness. In the coals tested, the divider orientation and arrester orientation had higher fracture toughness than the short transverse orientation. Data showed that one orientation could have almost twice the fracture toughness as another. The fracture toughness testing enabled certain evaluations of three mixed-mode fracture theories: maximum tangential stress, maximum energy release rate and strain energy density theory. Due to the extreme heterogeneity of the coals tested, definitive conclusions regarding the best mixed-mode fracture theory are not possible; however, data do tend to support the strain energy density theory. INTRODUCTIONThe major aim of this research is to ·develop a fundamental understanding of how fine· fragments of coal (respirable dust) are generated during a fracture process. In a related paper [l], a hypothesis was presented for the mechanism of fine fragment formation during a generic coal material/cutting tool interaction. In this hypothesis, fine fragments are created during coal material/cutting tool interactions that are best described as general mixed-mode fracture processes. Data are required on the mixed-mode fracture behaviour of coal, the physical character of the newly-created fracture surfaces and the character of the inherent flaw structure of the coal material. Accordingly, a test programme was designed that provided some information in each of these areas. The testing effort seeks to measure critical fracture toughness under mixed-mode loadings as a material parameter characterizing in part the tendency of various coals to generate undesirable quantities of fines and respirable dust."

Jan 1, 1990

By R. V. Higgins

A computer program is presented to calculate the shape factors and volumes of cells from a potentiometric model, using coordinates of the inter-sections of the stream lines and equal potentials and a few additional coordinates. Shape factors are used in flow computations when the geometry is complicated. The program also includes computer instructions to divide the channels into cells of equal volume and to obtain the shape factor for each of these equal volume cells. An illustrated example using the potentiometric model for the waterflood of a seven-spot well-spacing pattern is presented. The information contained in the report is of value not only to those allied to the subject but also to others, because many of the techniques can be conveniently used in formulating other computer programs.

Jan 1, 1966

By R. A. Guereco

Accurate measurements of physical dimensions of a section of stainless steel capillary tubing are presented and used to develop two final working equations for an absolute gas viscosimeter. The effects of pressure and temperature on these dimensions are considered. The internal surface finish and nonuniformity of the capillary bore are discussed, as well as entrance, kinetic energy, gas slippage, and gas compressibility correction factors.

Jan 1, 1967

By H. B. Hill

The Lake Creek gas-condensate field, Montgomery County, Tex., Was discovered early in 1941 by the Superior Oil Co. The field, shown in figure 1, is approximately 37 miles northwest of Houston, Tex., about 11 miles north of the Tomball, and 10 miles west of the Conroe oil fields. The field is on the downthrown side of a pronounced fault zone, and the general structure is anticlinal, with the long axis trending northeast and southwest. Production is obtained from multiple sandstone reservoirs in the Wilcox group of Eocene age between the approximate depths of 8,820 and 11,840 feet below the surface of the ground.

Jan 1, 1948

Although coal is found in several locations in Virginia, almost all recent mining has occurred in the southwestern part of the state. Potentially minable reserves are estimated at 2.6 billion tons, slightly less than one percent of the national total. Coal ranges from high- to low-volatile bituminous, and seams average three to four feet in thickness. Virginia produces coal with higher BTUs (British Thermal Units) and a lower sulfur content than the national average. Historically its high quality has made Virginia coal attractive for metallurgical coke production and for the export market. Coal production and related industries have a significant economic impact in southwestern Virginia. In the seven coal- producing counties, coal mining is the major industry. In the two largest coal-producing counties (Buchanan and Wise), over 40 percent of total earning is derived from the coal industry. Virginia's regulatory program was conditionally approved December 15,198 1, and received final approval May 8, 1984. Its Abandoned Mine Land Program was approved with the regulatory program December 15, 1981, with emergency program authority approved November 13,1987.

Jan 1, 1992

By A. C. Fieldner, S. H. Katz

"Introduction.Recent experiments (Fieldner, A.C., Katz, S.H., Kinney, S.P., and Longfellow, E.S., Poisonous gas from carbon tetrachloride fire extinguishers, Jour. Franklin Institute, October, 1920, pp. 543-565), by the Bureau of Mines have shown that carbon tetrachloride extinguisher liquids when applied to fires produce small quantities of irritating and poisonous gases which may be dangerous in very closely confined spaces where conditions are such that the user can not escape without breathing the fumes. The results of the experiments have been confirmed in an independent investigation by the Underwriters Laboratories (Nuckalls, A.H., Corrosive action and products formed when carbon tetrachloride extinguisher liquids are applied to fires, Nat. Fire Protection Assoc. Quarterly, vol. 14, January, 1921, pp. 221-236) who conducted similar experiments for the purpose of determining the corrosive action of these fumes on metals. Both investigations showed that carbon tetrachloride vapor, hydrochloric acid gas, and phosgene were produced in addition to the ordinary products of combustion, such as smoke, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The Bureau of Mines' tests were made by applying a one-quart extinguisher to a wood fire of excelsior in a gas-tight room of 1000 cubic foot capacity. The glass and metal construction of this chamber limited the experimental fire to very small dimensions. It was, therefore, deemed desirable to make a test on a larger scale in the entry of the Bureau's experimental mine in order to similate more nearly the practical use of carbon tetrachloride and other types of extinguishers in mines.Description of extinguishers.Two series of tests were made under identical conditions on different days. Commercial carbon tetrachloride extinguishers were used in the first series of tests and ""foamite firefoam"" extinguishers in the second series of tests."

Jun 1, 1921

By Gordon Bath

During the summer of 1946, the Division of Geophysical Exploration of the U.S. Bureau of Mines established several primary magnetic base stations near important iron-producing districts in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Stations were located in groups of four to six in six separate base-station areas, and each position was marked with a concrete monument. Differences in magnetic intensity between stations in these areas, as well as the difference between each area and a magnetic datum at the magnetic observatory of the Coast and Geologic Survey at Cheltenham, Md., were measured with a modified Askania magnetometer. Measurements also were made with a Hotchkiss superdip to study the usefulness of the stations for the calibration of instruments of this type. The work was planned and supervised by F. W. Lee, chief of the Division of Geophysical Exploration, and Edward F. Fitzhugh, Jr., chief of the Minneapolis Division of the Bureau of Mines. Special mention is due Harold B. Ewoldt, Bureau of Mines engineer, for his assistance in the field work, especially in locating and establishing monuments. Special mention also is due Clyde L. Holmberg, of the Bureau of Mines, for the magnetic measurements made with the Hotchkiss superdip. Helpful suggestions were received in the field from H. L. James, of the U. S. Geological Survey. Acknowledgment is made of the cooperation of Stephen Royce, Irving E. Beckwith, Arthur Johnson, and Josiah Royce of Pickands, Mather & Co., and A. E. Matson, of Butler Bros. The U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey furnished daily magnetograms from the Cheltenham Magnetic Observatory as well as calibration equipment and values of absolute magnetic intensity. Short-term forecasts of ionospheric conditions were obtained from the National Bureau of Standards.

Jan 1, 1951

By A. J. Kauffman

This study compiles data on the zircon resources of the Pacific Northwest States, Alaska, and California, to determine the productive capability of industrial concerns to make ductile zirconium and hafnium, and to investigate markets for the nonmetallic products of zircon. West coast zircon resources are large but mostly marginal to submarginal. Development of a stable and profitable zircon mining industry on the west coast will depend upon recovery and utilization of the other associated heavy minerals needed by regional and national markets. The west coast has the only completely integrated facility for processing zircon sand to reactor-grade zirconium and hafnium and for making fabricated products from these metals. The future of the zirconium metal industry appears to be good because of increased use of the metal for nuclear propulsion and power-generating plants.

Jan 1, 1965

By A. J. Kauffman

This study compiles data on the zircon resources of the Pacific Northwest States, Alaska, and California, to determine the productive capability of industrial concerns to make ductile zirconium and hafnium, and to investigate markets for the nonmetallic products of zircon. West coast zircon resources are large but mostly marginal to submarginal. Development of a stable and profitable zircon mining industry on the west coast will depend upon recovery and utilization of the other associated heavy minerals needed by regional and national markets. The west coast has the only completely integrated facility for processing zircon sand to reactor-grade zirconium and hafnium and for making fabricated products from these metals. The future of the zirconium metal industry appears to be good because of increased use of the metal for nuclear propulsion and power-generating plants.

Jan 1, 1965