Search Documents

This is the second of a series of reports on properties of commercial motor fuels made pursuant to a cooperative agreement between the Cooperative Fuel Research (C.F.R.) Committee and the Bureau of Mines of the Department of the Interior. The first report gave data on motor gasolines sold during the winter of 1935-36.3/ These gasoline surveys report results of inspections, in oil-company laboratories, of samples of gasoline obtained by representatives of oil companies from service-station pumps in marketing areas throughout the country. In the present survey are presented inspection data on 239 samples of regular-price gasoline, 166 samples of premium-price gasoline, and 157 samples of third-grade gasoline, a total of 562 samples collected during the summer of 1936.

Jan 1, 1937

This is the second of a series of reports on properties of commercial motor fuels made pursuant to a cooperative agreement between the Cooperative Fuel Research (C.F.R.) Committee and the Bureau of Mines of the Department of the Interior. The first report gave data oil motor gasolines sold during the minter of 1935-36.3/ These gasoline surveys report results of inspections, in oil-company laboratories, of samples of gasoline obtained by representatives of oil companies from service-station pumps in marketing areas throughout the country. In the present survey are presented inspection data on 239 samples of regular- price gasoline, 166 samples of premium-price gasoline, and 157 samples of third-grade gasoline, a total of 562 samples collected during the summer of 1936.

Jan 1, 1937

By R. H. Nielsen

A new, cheaper precipitation scheme has been developed to produce purified zirconium oxide, Technical-grade sulfuric acid is used to precipitate a basic zirconium sulfate from a hot dilute hydrochloric acid solution. With close control of temperature, pH, and zirconium - sulfate ratio, excellent purification and complete zirconium recovery can be attained. The process has been successfully applied for 3 months and has proved to be a more satisfactory procedure than the ammonium phthalate process used previously. INTRODUCTION The Northwest Electrodevelopment Laboratory of the Federal Bureau of Mines has developed and improved the Kroll process for the production of pure ductile zirconium and hafnium. metal. Since 1946 over 1 million pounds of zirconium sponge metal has been produced, mostly high-purity material for the Atomic Energy Commission

Jan 1, 1956

By E. P. Youngman

Gold and precious stones were mined in Egypt in prehistoric times. This mining, carried on at intervals, extended over thousands of years, until about 1300 A. D. Then ensued a dormant period of several hundred yoars. In the mean- time Europe made great rogress in mining practice, metallurgy, and geology and sent out various expeditions during the nineteenth century to investigate ancient mines. But the exploratory work produced no material results, and not until the beginning of the present century did actual mining recommence. The reopening of old gold mines in Rhodesia aroused interest in London and Paris, and these cities provided the capital necessary for the investigation of the ancient minee in West Africa and Egypt. Speculation resulted in the division of most of the uncultivated area of Egypt and the Sudan into huge concessions, and a number of expeditions were made; but after an unprecedented activity in West Africa, roaction set in, and the flow of capital ceased. The concession- aires, mostly individuals with insufficient capital and with a misconception of the initial difficulties of communication, water supply, and labor, allowed

Jan 1, 1932

By J. W. Thompson

RAILROAD GRANT-MDIERALS. Diatomaceous or infusorial earth when found in such quantity and quality as to render lands containing deposits valuable therefor are mineral lands within the meaning of the mining laws and must be excepted from grants to the Central Pacific Railway Company. Central Pacific Ry. Co., In re, 45 Land Decisions, 223, p. 226. RAILROAD GRANT-CLASSIFICATION, If any evidence of minerals is found upon lands within a railroad grant and the showing is sufficient in the opinion of prudent and qualified persons to warrant further exploration and expenditure, with reasonable prospects of success, then the land can not be classified as nonmineral and is not subject to the grant to a railroad company. But where there is no present indication of minerals nor any geological evidence upon which to base a mineral finding, land should not be classified as mineral, or held for further classification and reserved from the railroad's grant, upon the surmise that future prospects might disclose evidences of minerals. Southern PacUl.c Ry. Co., In re, 45 Land Decisions, 326, p. 329. INDEMNITY SELECTION BY RAILWAY COMPANY, Under section 3 of the act of July 2, 1864 (13 Stat., 365), and the joint resolution of May 31, 1870 (16 Stat., 378), the Northern Pacific Railway Company could take coal and iron land within its primary or grant limits. It could not base an indemnity selection upon the claim that certain land was coal or iron in ;;haracter, as such land was not lost to it as part of the grant. But the company was authorized to select other lands in lieu of those lost because of their mineral character, but the word "mineral" did not include iron or coal, and, accordingly, the railroad company was entitled to take coal lands under its indemnity selection.

Jan 1, 1917

By N. S. Dalal, Xianglin Shi

"Electron spin resonance (ESR) spin trapping experiments have been carried out to investigate the mechanism of sulfite oxidation em¬ploying 5,5-dimethyl-l-pyrroline-1-oxide (DMPO) as a spin trap. The results show that sulfite autoxidation, catalyzed by Mn(II), involves not only the SO-3 radicals but also the •OH radicals. An addition of H2 02 to the sulfite aqueous medium significantly increases the •OH radical formation. This result provides new clues to the chemical mechanism of the sulfite oxidation and the sulfite toxicity.INTRODUCTIONStudies of the oxidation of the sulfite (SO 2-/3) ions under various conditions are of high current interest because excessive exposure to sulfite is toxic and the origin of this toxicity seems to involve sulfite oxidative pathways [1]. An important fact is that human exposure to sulfite is on the increase [1,2]. Some of the increase in the sulfite exposure is linked to the fact that SO2 is a major air pollutant [2] and in aqueous media SO2 exists in equilibrium with SO2-/3. In addition, beverages and foods are common sources of sulfite intake. For example, sulfite is used extensively in the wine industry as an inhibitor of yeasts and bacteria and is present in finished wines in concentrations up to 6 mM [1]. Sulfite is also often added to dehydrated fruits, vegetables and soups, as well as fruit juices and beer [1,3,4]. Because of these, the mean daily intake of sulfite from diet (in the United States) has been estimated to be between 0.0014 and 0.14 mM/kg body weight [1]. At such high levels, sulfite exposure can have toxic effects, such as the induction of an acute asthmatic state [5,6]. Sulfite also appears to have adverse genetic effects [7] and can act as a mutagen or comutagen [8] and a cocarcinogen [5,7-9]."

Jan 1, 1990

By F. F. Netzeband

This report relates to the sulfur industry of seven States--Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas--and is part of a national study of the sulfur industry by the Bureau of Mines. Markets as used in this report are divided into two components for individual analysis-- (1) supplier markets which include regional Frasch and byproduct sulfur producers and (2) consumer markets which include processors and manufacturers requiring sulfur in their operations The term sulfur as used in this report includes brimstone, native sulfur, elemental sulfur, or sulfur equivalents.

Jan 1, 1964

Cutter roof failure, a ground control problem that frequently results in massive roof failure, is common in coal mines of the Northern Appala-chian Coal Basin, causing delays in production and posing a safety hazard to mine personnel. The Bureau of Mines is conducting research on the causes of cutter roof failure to gain a basis from which to predict and prevent its occurrence, and to support such roof when failure occurs or is imminent. Research conducted at the Greenwich Collieries North and South Mines, in central Pennsylvania revealed a correlation between the presence of clastic dikes and formation of cutter roof failure. The research con-sisted of in-mine mapping of geologic and deformational features, rock pressure monitoring, core recovery and evaluation, and in situ stress measurement. It was found that roof failure increased in areas where the occurrence of clastic dikes was most frequent, especially where two or more clastic dikes intersect. Staggering of crosscuts prevented the extension of cutters and deterred the occurrence of large falls extending over several break-throughs. In addition, trusses and cribbing were effective in stabilizing clastic dikes and inhibiting the development of cutter roof failure when employed immediately or shortly after mining.

Jan 1, 1987

By R. V. Higgins

Tarner (1),3/ Muskat (2), and Schilthuis (1) have presented methods of calculating oil recovery by the expansion of dissolved gas with and without return of gas to the reservoir. Although electronic computers have eliminated the tedious and time-consuming calculations (4) required by each of these methods, many petroleum engineers do not have access to electronic computers. For these engineers a short method is presented that uses the Tarner method as a base. Moreover, for engineers who have access to computers and have not as yet prepared a program, the short Tamer method requires less computer time than the long iterative methods. In the proposed short method, no plotting of the calculated data is required to determine a point of intersection described in the original Tarner presentation, as only one calculation is needed to determine the value sought, or two calculations if greater accuracy is desired.

Jan 1, 1960

By Peter H. Toepfer

Hydraulically emplaced, classified mill sands long have been used for stope fill. Entrained water drains rapidly from this type of fill through openings between the sand grains. Slimes are removed to facilitate drainage of the water, thereby lowering dangerous hydrostatic pressures in the fill. Use of unclassified mill tailing as practiced at the Dayrock mine is a recent development and represents a fundamentally different approach to the problems of inhibiting the development of hydrostatic pressures within the stope fill. At the. Dayrock mine, mill tailing is used to form a densely packed fill of sand and slime particles relatively impervious to additional water.

Jan 1, 1952

By Bernard S. Covino

The Bureau of Mines is conducting a study of methods to improve the efficiency of the process used to pickle stainless steels. A review of the literature on pickling of stainless steels showed that the chemistry of several process operations involved in the pickling of stainless steels is not fully understood, and that further research could improve the pickling efficiency. The benefits of this research would be a reduction in the annual loss of several thousands of tons of critical minerals such as nickel and chromium, and a reduction in the amount of solids and spent acid solution that are currently discarded. The conclusion from this review is that further research is needed in four operations that either directly or indirectly influence the pickling process: hot working, annealing, conditioning, and the actual operation of pickling, Laboratory studies of the pickling operation are presently in progress.

Jan 1, 1984

By R. A. Cattell

With the activities of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Division geared chiefly to problems directly connected with the war effort , the emphasis of the work under oil and gas development and production was to make engineering studies of selected reservoirs for the Petroleum Administration for War , to determine the extractable quantities of components in them, and to study the characteristics of these components for use in the manufacture of aviation gasoline and other products . The needs of the Petroleum Administration for War and the operators for specific data from gas - condensate fields were fulfilled , and , in addition , engineering data along lines of a forward - looking program of research on reservoir behavior were collected , which should be of great value in the postwar period . It is planned to publish many of these data as soon as conditions permit . The work of the Secondary Recovery Section had as its objectives in- . creasing the rate of production of crude petroleum and , which is more important , preventing the premature abandonment of wells in " stripper " and marginal According to the National Survey of Stripper Wells by the National Stripper Well Association in cooperation with the Interstate Oil Compact Commission , a total of 67,460 stripper wells was abandoned from January 1 , 1935 , to July 1 , 1942 , inclusive , with an estimated loss in proved reserves of approximately 216 million barrels . This survey also indicates that over 1.2 billion barrels of oil would be recovered by primary production from more than 290,000 stripper wells then in operation , and an additional 2.5 billion barrels of oil could be recovered from them by secondary production methods . The work of the Chemistry and Refining Section was oriented towards the optimum utilization of crude oils in the manufacture of aviation fuels for spark-ignition and jet - propulsion engines . The work involved intensive studies of superfractionation , hydrocarbon analysis , and the engine testing of fuels . Particular attention was given to the effect of sulfur compounds in the crude oils and in the fuels made from them . The research on thermodynamics is concerned with the experimental determination of precise and accurate values of the fundamental thermodynamic constants of pure hydrocarbons and related compounds . The data obtained in these investigations will be utilized for devising and improving chemical processes in which petroleum hydrocarbons are the raw materials . Without such data , much time and expensive material and equipment may be wasted in attempts to obtain reactions under conditions that the laws of thermodynamics rule out of consideration . Thermodynamic data are useful and required in the petroleum industry for calculations of heat balances in the design of furnaces , fractionating towers , and heat- transfer equipment . It is of utmost importance , also , to know the heat requirements of cracking and other chemical reactions so that heat may be supplied or dissipated in the proper proportions . These needs for thermodynamic data are being recognized more and more by petroleum -refining engineers . The responsibility for the production of helium for the Navy , the Army , other governmental agencies and non-Federal users is vested in the Bureau of Mines by an Act of Congress ( 50 Stat . 885 ; 50 U.S.c. 161-166 ) . The Helium Subdivision of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Division continued to meet all demands for helium .

Jun 1, 1949

By Frank J. Wiebelt

Work on the Abbott-quicksilver property was part of the general program of th~ Bureau of Mines in its investigation of domestic mineral resources, which are essential to national defense or industry and of which our present or probable future supplies are inadequate. The mine was discovered in 1862, and the intermittent production up to 1947 has totaled around 37,500 flasks of quicksilver. Output has come from ore shoots formed in the vicinity of fault intersections in a narrow zone composed of lenses of silicified serpentine breccia interbedded with shale. Work by the Bureau included the drilling of six diamond-drill holes aggregating 2,845 feet. Several possible ore zones were intersected by the drill holes. Field work was begun in April 1948 and concluded in October of the same year. This report gives detailed results of the diamond drilling and a brief account of the history and description of the ore deposits.

Jan 1, 1949

By Frank D. Lamb, Lloyg H. Baning

"The crushed-stone industry has long been troubled with the problem of producing a more or less cubical product for use as concrete aggregate. Its seriousness varies widely for each producer, depending upon the character of the rock employed for raw material and the ultimate use of the crushed stone. For many construction uses, such as the macadam or bituminous-concrete- type road, flat pieces are not objectionable and may even be preferable to more cubical rock. However, most specifications for concrete require that the stone must be reasonably free from flat and elongated pieces.The rigid specifications set by many contractors have resulted in the rejection of coarse aggregate that, except for the presence of an excessive amount of flat and elongated pieces, would be entirely acceptable. In many instances, if an efficient, economical method of removing flat and elongated pieces were available, local producers could meet the requirements of the contractor and thus eliminate the necessity for importing more cubical material.A brief investigation of the problem of removal of flat and elongated pieces from crushed aggregate, carried out at the Eastern Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines, indicated that it is mechanically possible to remove flat pieces from crushed rock.TEST EQUIPMENTA number of mechanical devices are used by the coal industry for separating slate from coal; these depend upon the difference in shape of the crushed slate as compared with the coal. Such devices as shutter screens, spiral separators, and the Norman picker would be suitable for removing flat pieces from crushed rock in the same manner as they are used by the coal industry. None of these devices was immediately available for testing purposes, so an attempt was made to construct a simple device that could be used in commercial operations."

Sep 1, 1944

By William W. Adams

The quarrying and related industries of the United States made a large gain in employment (man-hours of work) in 1942 with a somewhat smaller number of men employed than in 1941. This was accomplished chiefly by increasing the number of workdays per man and also by increasing the length of the workday. In spite of the greater volume of work performed, the industry had a more favorable accident-frequency rate in 1942 than in the previous year. Accident and employment reports from operating companies showed that the industry employed 84,270 men for an average of 271 days per man in 1942, with a volume of work of almost 181 million man-hours. The average workshift comprised 7.93 hours, and the number of man-shifts worked totaled nearly 23 million. Injuries from accidents in and about the quarries and plants caused disability to 6,461 employees, 112 of whom died as a result of their injuries, including 28 employees whose lives were lost in a single disaster. The accident-frequency rate in the industry was 35.73 per million man-hours worked, comparing favorably with a rate of 40.11 for the previous year. However, the figure for 1942 included a death rate of 0.62 per million man-hours which, because of the disaster referred to, was considerably higher than the fatality rate of 0.44 for 1941. Had the disaster not occurred, the fatality rate for the industry for 1942 would have been 0.46. The major disaster in which 28 lives were lost occurred on March 26 at the Sandts Eddy quarry of the Lehigh Portland Cement Co. near Easton Pa.

Jan 1, 1944

By Almon F. Robertson

This is one of a series of reports describing investigations made within the Missouri River Basin in Montana by mining engineers of the Bureau of Mines, Minerals Division, Region II. The primary purpose of these investigations is to provide basic information to agencies of the Department of the Interior and other agencies concerned with the planning of power and other water developments in the Missouri River Basin. This report contains only such factual data as have been authorized for public distribution. Special precautions have been taken not to reveal any information or data considered to be confidential. The field investigations for this report were made during the fall of 1948 and the summer of 1949. Virtually all of the known metallic mineral deposits and some nonmetallic (industrial) mineral deposits within Judith Basin County were investigated. Most of the mines and prospects have been inactive for many years; most of the old underground mine workings now are inaccessible or only partly accessible. Consequently, much of the information on many of the mines and prospects necessarily has been obtained from available U. S. Government and State publications and from owners and local residents.

Jan 1, 1951

By David E. Siskind

The Bureau of Mines has studied the fracturing and associated damage occurring in the vicinity of blastholes from five shots fired in the shale pillars in the White Pine copper mine, White Pine, Mich. Four types of explosives (AN-FO, commercial extra dynamite, ammonia gelatin dynamite, and a low-density, low-velocity permissible) were used. Cores were taken from the blast region and examined by ultrasonic and petrographic techniques. Pulse wave velocities were measured across the core diameters, and thin sections showing cracks and changes in lithology were examined in an attempt to establish zones of damage. Cores from the blast regions and areas near pillar free faces were found to have abnormally low pulse velocities. Petrographic study of the thin sections showed that the negative velocity anomalies were caused by cracks in the cores. Crushing and extensive fracturing prevented meaningful measurements on core fragments from the immediate blast vicinities. Compositional, changes and other rock nonuniformities, such as joints and preexisting fractures, tended to mask detailed damage differences among the four explosives; however, the two most energetic explosives (extra dynamite and ammonia gelatin dynamite) produced damage zones two to three times as large as the AN-FO and low-velocity permissible explosives.

Jan 1, 1973

By N. S. Dalal, B. Jafari, F. H. Y. Green, V. Vallyathan

"INTRODUCTIONThe mechanistic details of the biological events leading to coal workers pneumoconiosis (CWP) are not yet fully understood, despite several decades of extensive epidemiologic1.2 and laboratory studies.2-6 Epidemiologic studies1.2 have shown, for example, that the incidence and severity of CWP differ markedly in the different regions and mines at comparable exposures, but laboratory investigations2-6 have demonstrated only partial correlation of the epidemiologic data with the differences in the mineral composition and the rank of coal mined. In particular, while epidemiologic data indicate1.2 direct correlation of the· prevalence and severity of CWP with the rank (i.e., % carbon content) of coal, this correlation has not been established by laboratory4'6 and animal exposure3 studies. In order to explain these results, in 1980 Artemov and Reznik' suggested that perhaps they arise from the fundamental differences in the surface properties of the coal. dusts inhaled by the coal miners and those used in the laboratory studies: while the miners inhale freshly fractured coal particles, henceforth called the 'fresh' coal dust, the laboratory studies generally utilize 'aged' coal dusts (i.e., dusts that have been stored for many days or even longer). Reznik and Artemov' used electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy to show that the mechanical crushing of some Soviet Union coals generated organic free radicals and that the concentration and the decay times (hence the reactivity) of these radicals were higher for the coals of higher ranks. Since some of the radicals decayed within a few minutes in air, the authors surmised that while these radical species could lead to certain specific pathogenic reactions at the sites of mining operations, this might not be the case in the laboratory studies, due to the conventional use of 'stored' dusts which would be expected to contain significantly smaller free radical concentrations. This is consistent with the recent findings that, standardized, aged coal dusts exhibit minimal cytotoxicity. 8While the above mentioned work of Artemov and Reznik7 did suggest a possible new clue to the pathogenesis of CWP (i.e., the role of the coal based free radical species), no direct biological/cytotoxicity data were provided to show that 'fresh' coal dusts were, indeed, more pathogenic than the 'stale' ones. Because of the rather significant implications of the Artcmov-Reznik hypothesis to the understanding of 1hc biochemical mechanism and, hence, the strategies for the eventual containment of CWP, we have initiated a comparative study of the free radical formation and cytotoxicity properties of freshly crushed coal ·particles. As done by Artemov and Reznik, 7 we have used the ESR technique as the direct method of measuring the concentration and decay kinetics of the coal based free radicals. Our preliminary ESR studies on two Pennsylvania coals, a bituminous (carbon content 72 % ) and an anthracite (95 % carbon) coal, have confirmed the Artemov-Reznik finding that the crushing-induced free radical sites are higher on the coals with higher carbon content (i.e., higher rank).9-11 In the present work we describe our more recent results of a parallel study of the time dependence of the decrease in the free radical content of a freshly made anthracite dust (as measured via ESR) and that of the dust's cytotoxicity potential as measured by the extent of hemolysis of (sheep) erythrocytes. We have also investigated the effects of free radical scavengers on the cytotoxicity potential of the dust and deduce that indeed the free radicals could play a significant role in the initial events in the mechanism of the cytotoxic effects due to the inhalation of coal dust inhalation."

Jan 1, 1990

By Kenneth D. Winters

This Bureau of Mines report presents a Fortran IV computer program for the structural analysis of (1) protective canopies used in underground mines to protect equipment operators from roof falls and (2) rollover protective structures (ROPS) used in surface mines to protect equipment operators during vehicle overturn accidents. The program, entitled PLASTIC CANOPY, permits rapid and inexpensive calculation of the ultimate strength and deformation characteristics of a canopy for a variety of static loading conditions. The structure is modeled as a series of interconnected beam and/or plate elements. Stresses in, and displacements of, each structural element are computed and printed out at the yield strength of the canopy, at several intermediate load levels between the yield and ultimate strength of the canopy, and at the ultimate strength of the canopy. Other features of the program include prediction of buckling of a beam member under combined axial compression loading and bending, plotting of the input geometry of the structure, and plotting of the deformed shape of the loaded structure. Program description, input instructions, program listing, and four example problems are included.

Jan 1, 1979

By Donald F. Reed

The bauxite deposits of Tippah and Benton Counties in northeastern Mississippi were developed by drilling as a part of the investigation by the Bureau of Mines of the domestic sources of supply of aluminum. The primary purpose of investigations of this nature was to provide essential information to the war agencies of the United States Government and to assist owners and operators of mining properties in the production of minerals vital to the prosecution of the war. These reports are based upon the field work of the Bureau of Mines and upon data made available to the Department from other

Jan 1, 1948