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By Fermont F. Clarke, Others, Paul Zinner

"INTRODUCTION The Edison mine comprises workings on two irregular spodumene-bearing pegmatite dikes which outcrop near the town of Keystone in the southern portion of the Black Hills of South Dakota. The Bureau of Mines conducted an investigation of the Edison mine as part of a comprehensive study of the lithium mineral-production possibilities in the Black Hills area. The work was undertaken during the Second World War, when the demand for certain lithium salts and compounds exceeded the then small productive capacity of the industry.During the course of the project, the Bureau of Mines completed 13 diamond core-drill holes, aggregating 2,114.5 feet of drilling. Twenty-six cannel samples were taken from the main Edison shaft, and 13 miscellaneous samples were obtained to permit analysis of the efficiency of phases of mining and sorting operations. Metallurgical tests were made by the Bureau of Mines to investigate the feasibility of beneficiating spodumere-bearing ores from the Edison mine. 3/"

Apr 1, 1948

By Edmund S. Leaver, R. S. Dean, T. L. Joseph

The metallurgy of manganese has developed along the lines of iron metal¬ lurgy. Enough high-grade ore has Been available so that by reduction with carbon it could be turned into an iron-ma.nga.nese alloy and a slag containing some 9 to 15 percent manganese. More siliceous ores have been smelted in the blast furnace to form iron-silicon-manganese alloys called spiegel. When lower-grade ores came in for serious consideration, which lias only been since l°l4, two types of processes received the most consideration — hydrometallurgical processes to produce a concentrate which could be smelted like the higher-grade ore and processes involving concentration of the manga¬ nese from manganiferous iron ores by preferential reduction of the iron (184)1. Special chapters in this bulletin are devoted to the production of ferro¬ manganese from ore, the hydrometallurgy cf manganese, and the Bureau of Mines modification of the preferential reduction process. Other methods of producing manganese alloys from low-grade or refractory ores have been suggested and may find future application. Manganese has a very high affinity for sulphur and is particularly adaptable to concentration by matte smelting. According to Betts (26), manganese silicate may be smelted with pyrite to give manganese sulphide and iron silicate. This method would be applicable to concentration of either the silicate or carbonate ores. The sulphide, once obtained, could be roasted to oxide and reduced in the usual way. Another possibility for the production of manganese from silicate ores involves their reduction by silicon or manganese silicides. Swedish Patent 52290, February 25, 1925. covers the reduction of a slag rich in manganese by silicon-manganese alloy containing more than 10 percent silicon, Joseph H. Brennan (38.) describes the concentration of manganese iron ores by partial reduction with silicon. Beckett (7,4,19) describes the reduction of manganese dioxide with a manganese silicide for the production of standard ferromanganese. Beckett gives as a typical alloy, manganese 64.4, silicon 24.6, and as a typi¬ cal ore, 5S.5O manganese as MnO^. The product of the reaction between these two is 80.11 percent manganese and 1.22 percent silicon.

May 1, 1934

By K. E. Stanfield

[Asphalt ~~d road oil ar8 the principal products manufactured from Wyor.1in~ Ilblack oilo" \r,hich, beca.use of th?lir hig.~ E\.sphal t and hig} sulfur COi.1Jce~1t, .!?re difficult e':ld costly to refine into hi?;h-gra.de motor f 101s, burning oils. and lucri ants by presont mothods. Accordin~ly. the demand for truHle asphaltic renidl urn for the construction of roade aJ1.d other uses is 3. controlling factor in the quantity of crud~ oil prod ICed. The increasiilg -u.tilization of special aST>ha.lts as ine}""Pensive bonding, in-]

Jan 1, 1941

By Charles L. Kimbell

Virtually every available measure of total world mineral industry activity demonstrated that 1982 was little, if any, better for the industry than 1981 had been. Levels of production, trade, and consumption for virtually every major commodity declined; unit prices for most commodities fell, particularly in terms of constant dollars, and as a result of cutbacks in output and lower prices, capital available for investment within the industry was reduced. These conditions, coupled with the existence of considerable idle capacity, tended to retard investment, although there was an upturn in U.S. oil industry investment overseas. Despite the overall depressed situation of the world's mineral industry, there were indications of possible improvements in market economy countries near yearend, as output of some materials increased marginally and as prices for some mineral commodities reversed their downward trends. The downturns in total world mineral industry activity were not universal from the viewpoint of individual countries. Indeed, output of a number of commodities increased in centrally planned economy countries, and these gains were insufficient to offset declines in market economy countries, thereby sharply altering the proportion of total world output accounted for by each of these two groups of countries. There was a similar shift in consumption on a percentage basis.

Jan 1, 1984

By Jeffrey Y. Foley

The Bureau of Mines sampled surface exposures of podiform chromite in the Caribou Mountain-Melozitna ultramafic belt in the Kokrines-Hodzana Highlands, central Alaska. Fieldwork began in 1979 as part of an assessment of the mineral potential of lands adjacent to the trans-Alaska pipeline corridor, for the Bureau of Land Management, and continued through 1981 as a Bureau of Mines investigation. The belt comprises six complexes of which the three closest to the pipeline corridor were investigated. Concentrations of chromite disseminated in dunite host rock make up mineralized intervals ranging in thickness from less than an inch to 5 ft and in grade from 3 to 23 pct chromium. The largest occurrence has an exposed strike length of 80 ft. Bulk surface samples were collected from 10 of these exposures, and beneficiation tests on the samples produced concentrates of metallurgical, refractory, and subindustrial grades. Part I--this report--describes the fieldwork; part II--1C 8916--describes the beneficiation work.

Jan 1, 1983

By Victor E. Kral

"SUMMARYA preliminary examination of the Buena Vista iron deposit was made in June 1942 by Paul E. Pesonen, mining engineer of the Bureau of Mines. Subsequent examinations were made by D. W. Butner, of the Bureau, in March 1943, and by the author in July 1944, who recommended exploration by diamond drilling, trenching, and sampling. Work on the project was done during the period March 28 to May 26, 1945.Property holdings, comprising 16 claims known as the Buena Vista group, are situated in sec. 4, T. 24 N., R. 34 E., Mount Diablo base and meridian, north Churchill County, about 37 miles east of Lovelock, Nev.Three diamond-drill holes totaling 575 feet were drilled; 45 small pits and ten trenches, totaling 435 linear feet, were excavated, and 84 channel samples totaling 862 feet were obtained under supervision of the Bureau.Purpose of the project was to determine the possible downward extension of the mineralized sections exposed in the outcrops and to determine grade of the ore.Bureau work was confined to one claim only - the Iron Mountain."

Jun 1, 1947

By Les A. Beckett

The Bureau of Mines has developed MULSIM/BM, an improved computer program using the boundary-element approach for geomechanical analysis of mine plans in single or multiple coal seams. This Information Circular presents the improved features of the MULSIN/BM program. The four major improvements are the following: (1) Ability to specify up to 26 material property sets. (2) A new material model capability for gob and inserted materials such as packwalls or cribs. (3) Ability to model a large area with a grid of undivided blocks and to subdivide only a specified fine-mesh portion of these blocks into elements. (4) Specification of extraction ratios for the undivided blocks. In addition, an interactive graphics mesh generator program was written to accompany MULSIM/BM. A complete user's guide and program listings are included within the appendixes. The MULSIM/BM and mesh generator programs are available on tape from the National Technical Information Service.3

Jan 1, 1988

By G. B. Shea, R. A. Cattell

This resume of the work of the Petroleum and Natural - Gas Division of the Bureau of Mines for the fiscal years 1940 and 1941 is the second of a series. of progress reports . It brings forward from the 1939 annual report information on the course of activities of the division in carrying out its objectives of increased conservation and better utilization of petroleum, natural gas, and related resources through a coordinated program of research and fact - finding . It discusses, also, special assignments. executed for other Government agencies, which in recent years have constituted a considerable part of the division's work ." . In the present national emergency, in which petroleum is so essential , many of the Bureau's research activities bear directly on the availability, conservation, and use of petroleum for national defense . Accordingly, during the past year attention has been focused for the most part.on.problems associated with the needs of national defense . Several long-time researches , which in themselves are potential sources of desirable knowledge , were judged to be of secondary importance under present conditions and accordingly were suspended . Studies also were oriented in line with rapidly changing conditions to meet the demand for accurate findings on short notice . The Petroleum and Natural - Gas Division has experiment stations at Bartlesville , Okla . , and Laramie, Wyo . , a field office at Dallas , Tex . , and a field office and laboratory at San Francisco , Calif . It also operates the Government helium plant near Amarillo , Tex. In addition to the helium operations , some of the petroleum and natural - gas research activities are conducted at the Amarillo plant .

Feb 1, 1942

By Carroll W. DeKock

Thermodynamic data for selected metal sulfates were critically evaluated and compiled as part of the Bureau of Mines program to provide a scientific base for use in developing new technology and predicting the feasibility of new processes. Values for Cp°, S°, H° - H°298, -(G° - H°298)/T, ?Hf°, ?Gf°, and log Kf as a function of temperature are given in tabular form. Thermodynamic data were compiled for VOSO4, Cr2(SO4)3, MnSO4, FeSO4, Fe2(SO4)3, CoSO4, NiSO4, Cu2SO4, CuSO4, CuO-CuSO4, ZnSO4, and ZnO-2ZnSO4, together with their stable hydrates.

Jan 1, 1982

By B. H. Clemmons, B. G. Saunders, R. H. Stacy

"INTRODUCTION This investigation was undertaken to determine the response of Birmingham (Alabama) red-iron ore to heavy-medium concentration. Specifically, the work involved a study of the efficiency of the process in separating coarse gangue diluents from the ore and an endeavor to evaluate the potential economic results. The investigative work was not intended, nor is it to be construed, to be adequately exhaustive in scope to enable immediate plant construction. Rather, the primary objective was to determine the grade of ore that could be produced by heavy-medium treatment and the resulting indicative or tentative benefits to be derived from such treatment. The latter, in turn, would determine the merits of the more exhaustive study that would be required for an ultimate decision on the heavy-medium treatment of the ores.The problem of avoiding excessive contamination of red-iron ores by shale and/or ferruginous sandstone has been before the operators of the iron mining industry of the Birmingham, Alabama, district for many years. Within the last two decades, increased mechanization of mining methods has increased this contamination to a considerable degree. In fact, general utilization of scraper loading and other mechanical methods of mining, in conjunction with small increases in the natural insoluble content of the ores, in some cases has actually resulted in the production of ""acid"" or excessively insoluble ore, where ""basic"" or excessively lime ores were produced formerly.The contaminating materials are derived largely from roof spells and natural parting seams in the ore, a condition that to some extent has been aggravated by the irregularity of the ore beds. The latter have been subjected to both primary and secondary folding in many places. Considerable faulting has taken place, also. In many localities these conditions render virtually impossible complete avoidance of ore contamination from the over and underlying sandstones and shales. However, in a few localities, where the ore beds are less disturbed and shale partings are absent, mining can and is being accomplished with relatively little dilution."

May 1, 1948

By Wesley G. Holtz

A project to demonstrate the feasibility of retorting oil shale by the Paraho vertical retort process was carried out at Anvil Points, Colorado during 1974 to 1976. As a part of the demonstration project, laboratory and field tests were performed to determine the physical and chemical properties of the retorted shale for use in the development of eventual full-scale disposal plans. The material which exits from the Paraho retort is classified as a non-plastic silty gravel by the Unified Soil Classification System. The particles have an apparent specific gravity averaging near 2.60 and a mass specific gravity averaging near 2.00. The material can be compacted by normal laboratory and field construction methods to about 90 to 100 pounds per cubic foot dry density depending upon the degree of compactive effort applied. The addition of moisture does not improve compactibility appreciably. When high compactive effort is applied the retorted shale is classed as impervious to water flow. The compacted retorted shale exhibits shear strengths in the same order as those observed for silty gravel soils. If the compacted material is cured (long tune simulation testing) prior to strength testing considerable strength gain can be obtained from cementing action. The amount of cementing developed is dependent upon heat treatment and other operating modes of the retort.

Jan 1, 1976

By A. U. Miller

Definite progress has been made in accident prevention in Illinois during the past few years; the State Department of Mines and Minerals is receiving excellent cooperation from coal companies and employees, the companies are making greater effort to maintain their mines in good condi- tion, and the employees are eliminating more unsafe practices. As a result, some coal companies have made commendable safety records that prove that coal can be mined with a comparatively low accident rate. However, there is need for further improvement, as the accident rate of the State as a whole is much higher than it should be. During the 55-year period 1882-1936, in- clusive, reports of the State Department of Mines and Minerals show a total of 7,005 (an average of 127.36 per year) men killed in and around the coal mines. Of this number, 6,425 (91.7 percent) were killed underground, 346 (4.9 percent) in the shaft, and 234 (3.3 percent) on the surface. Of the fatalities underground, 3,300 (51.3 percent) were killed by falls of roof, sides, or face coal, 1,167 (18.1 percent) by haulage, 639 (9.9 percent) by handling explosives, 579 (9 percent) by explosions, 151 (2.3 percent) by electricity, and 589 (9.1 percent) by other means. Of the fatalities in the shaft, 171 men (46.5 percent) were killed by falling down the shaft, 14 (41.6 percent) by the cage, and 31 (8.9 percent) otherwise. On the surface, 113 (48.2 percent) of the fatalities were due to railroad cars, 51 (21.7 percent) to machinery, and 70 (29.9 percent) to other causes. The fact that 7,005 lives (an average of 127.36 per year) were lost during 1882-1936 is sufficient evidence that in the past too little interest has been taken in safety by either the management or workers. A realization of this deplorable loss of life should act as an incentive to the industry to make greater effort to prevent accidents in the future. After an accident occurs, the facts pertaining to it become history, and anything that may be done afterward cannot change in any way the damage that has already been done, such as loss of life, personal injury, and destruction of property. The main benefit that can be derived from an acci- dent is that suitable procedure may be adopted and some lesson may be learned to aid in preventing a similar accident in the future. All accidents, par- ticularly serious ones, therefore should be investigated and an effort made

Apr 1, 1938

By David White

This paper is the result of a comparative study of ultimate coal analyses made and published by the United States Geological Survey. This study, at first casually undertaken to devise an acceptable classification of coals based on chemical analyses, was continued in connection with a microscopic examination of a number of the coals. The initial comparisons, made from a relatively small number of analyses, not only confirmed a previous conviction that the elimina- tion of oxygen incident to the development of a coal is economically far more important than has been generally suspected, but also showed that oxygen is very nearly as harmful as ash in coal. The immediate purposes of the present study were: (a) To deter- mine more definitely, from a comparative examination of a large number of ultimate analyses, the relative importance of oxygen as an impurity in various coals; (b) to illustrate the transition between various grades of coal of similar origin-transition mainly due to progressive devolatilization, brought about more or less directly by dynamic influences; (c) to ascertain the relative proportions of oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon in coking coals, especially with refer- ence to a theory tentatively framed to explain the coking quality; and (d) to forecast the probabilities of successfully treating a large number of coals so as to render them amenable, in a softened condition, to satisfactory study under the microscope. Although the hypothesis as to coking quality finds but partial support in the chemical analyses, its consideration has led to a method of predicting from an analysis with a fair degree of certainty whether any given coal will coke by the ordinary process. The unbroken transition between coals originally similar but now classed in widely different groups, whether of the same age or of different ages, as a result of dynamochemical action, appears demonstrated by the analyses as well as by field observation. This subject will not be

Jan 1, 1911

By H. E. Heide

"Before the war, the United States was the world’s leading consumer of tin, the industrial applications of which had become widespread. Domestic production was negligible, and requirements were met almost entirely by imports, principally from British Malaya, United Kingdom and China. Average annual imports for the years 1925-1929 amounted to 78,009 long tons.With the advent of war in Europe and signing of the Japanese-German pact, it was realized that foreign sources of supplies were threatened, and steps were taken by Congress to forestall critical shortages of tin and other minerals. These steps in regard to tin included stock-piling, improving reclamation and conservation, increasing South American production, constructing a smelter in the United States for treatment of tin, ores, and intensifying the search for domestic tin deposits. Annual imports were raised to 140,873 long tons by 1941. On 1945, annual imports had shrunk to 37,675 long tons and consumption had been reduced to 52,100 tons of primary and secondary tin but not tin content of scrap alloy.The Strategic Minerals Act, passed by the Congress in 1939, authorized the investigation of domestic tin deposits.As Alaska had supplied virtually all of the domestic output of tin, an investigation of Alaska deposits was undertaken in 1940 and 1941 by J. B. Mertie, Jr., and Robert R. Coats of the Geological Survey.The Lost River lode tin mine on the Seward Peninsula was examined by H. E. Heide of the Bureau of Mines in 1942. Possibilities for developing a significant amount of tin appeared favorable, and exploration of the ore bodies was started in August 1942."

Jul 1, 1946

The coal-bearing areas of Kansas cover approximately 18,800 square miles (23 percent of the state's total area). Coal in Kansas ranges from lignite to high volatile bituminous, located principally in the south-eastern part of the state. Kansas reserves are estimated to be 987,500,000 tons, approximately 0.2 percent of U.S. reserves. Coal beds generally occur in thin seams up to five feet thick. The overburden-to-coal stripping ratios in Kansas are among the highest in the nation, typically 20 to 1, with some ratios up to 35 to 1. The first commercial coal mining operation in Kansas opened in 1865 at Fort Scott in Bourbon County. As in other states, coal production in Kansas increased during the industrial revolution, and then fell as industry converted to alternative fuels. Production peaked in 1916 and 1917, with annual production of 7,250,000 tons. Coal production today is by surface mining methods. The Kansas regulatory program was approved April 14, 1982; the Abandoned Mine Land Program was approved February 1, 1982; and the emergency program authority was approved January 10,1989.

Jan 1, 1992

By Norman L. Wimmler

Active placer mining in Alaska began near Juneau in 1880, but the first gold rush did not start until 1896; then the discovery of the Klondike brought gold seekers from all parts of the world. A few of the newcomers were experienced miners, but the majority knew nothing whatever of placer mining. Even those who were placer miners of much experience found entirely new conditions, notably frozen ground, that presented many difficult problems. As a result, numerous methods of mining and of thawing frozen ground were tried. From these trials the practice described in this bulletin has been developed. All known placer fields in Alaska have been mined to some extent, and some have been virtually exhausted. In most districts, however, there remain large quantities of low-grade gravel and also some small isolated areas of comparatively rich gravels which could not be successfully mined because of adverse physical conditions. These districts are now the scene of most placer mining, including dredging, hydraulicking, drifting, mechanical methods of open-cut mining, and ground sluicing (or booming) followed by " shoveling-in."

Jan 1, 1927

Tennessee is the largest federal program state in the nation, with 62 active surface and underground coal mines. Tennessee's coal resources lie in 22 coal seams in 22 counties. Twelve seams are being mined at this time. Mining in the northern counties is primarily in steep slope areas in the Cumberland Mountains. The relatively flat terrain associated with the Cumberland Plateau makes area-rnining the most common production method in Tennessee's southern counties. The State of Tennessee gained primacy August 10,1982, when its regulatory program was conditionally approved, subject to the correction of certain deficiencies. On May 16,1984, the Tennessee General Assembly repealed most of the Tennessee Coal Surface Mining Law of 1980, effective October 1, 1984. With this action, withdrawal of the state regulatory program was formalized, and on October 1,1984, the Office of Surface Mining's Knoxville Field Office became the regulatory authority. Tennessee is not eligible to receive funds for an abandoned mine reclamation program because it does not have an approved regulatory program. Accordingly, the Tennessee Abandoned Mine Lands Program does not receive federal AML grants. Since 1984, AML projects have been completed under cooperative agreements between OSM and the state; emergency projects are completed by the Office of Surface Mining.

Jan 1, 1992

By Robert L. Frantz

This report is a part of the project "Study of the Human Factors Aspects of an Automated Continuous Mining Section". The report covers three phases: Phase I Assessment of the Impact of the Automation Technology on Mining Health and Safety. Phase II Estimation of the Cost-Effectiveness and Productivity of Automation. Phase III Prediction of the Psychological and Organizational Impacts of Automated Mining, The investigation determines that the automation of a continuous mining section will improve the health and safety of the miner, increase productivity and decrease mining costs, result in a more attractive and desirable working environment, and result in a greater rate of return on capital investment.

Jan 1, 1977

In 2005, a total of 7,111 sand and gravel mining operations reported employment to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). ? Sand and gravel mines were the largest mining sector, comprising 48.5% of all mining operations. ? Sand and gravel mines were found throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

Sep 1, 2008

By Charles L. Kimbell

For the world mineral industry as a whole, the year 1981 was a period of continuation and, in some instances, an acceleration of negative trends extending back into 1980. Most available statistical data reflected stagnation or downturns in activity. Levels of production, trade, and consumption declined for a substantial number of leading mineral commodities, including, most notably, steel and petroleum. Investment, if not lower than in 1980, was evidently increasing at a more modest rate. Prices for major mineral commodities were generally lower, at least in terms of constant dollars, and in some cases even in terms of current dollars. Prospects of a major reversal of these patterns seemed dim. The mineral industry, however, was far from alone in this general downturn; most other elements of the national economies of the world's nations fared little better. General conditions of inflation, recession, and reduced industrial product consumption were reflected in most other sectors of the total economy. International political events continued to influence mineral output and flow but had less influence on overall levels of activities than on the geographic distribution of these activities. The Iran-Iraq war certainly played a role in reducing mineral industry activities in those nations, but the commodity most affected, petroleum, was available from other sources in sufficient quantity that, in the face of reduced demand, a substantial surplus developed.

Jan 1, 1983