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By A. F. Robertson

"INTRODUCTION This report is supplemental to R.I. 4178 and deals with the work accomplished between June 15, 1945, and September 7, 1945, on the Mitchell-Hodge mine, Grady mine, Albea and York property, and Cuzzort property.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSIn its program or exploration of mineral deposits, the Bureau of Mines has as its primary objective the more effective utilization of our mineral resources to the end that they make the greatest possible contribution to national security and economy. It is the policy of the Bureau to publish the facts developed by exploratory project as soon as practicable after its conclusion. The Mining Branch, Lowell B. Moon, chief, conducts preliminary examinations, performs the actual exploratory work, and prepares the final report. The Metallurigcal Branch, O. C. Ralston, chief, analyzes samples and performs benefication tests.Acknowledgment is due Mitchell H. Kline, chief, Raleigh Division, Mining Branch; Abraham L. Fox, acting chief, Raleigh Division, Metallurgical Branch; and Rowe McCrae, district engineers, U.S. Bureau of Mines, Gainesville,"

Jan 1, 1946

By Michael S. Miller

In 1985 and 1986, at the request of the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Bureau of Mines studied the 17,000-acre Pyramid Peak planning area in order to evaluate its identified mineral resources. The planning area is located in Riverside County, CA, 15 miles south of Palm Springs. The planning area contains marginally economic resources of marble and mica, subeconomic resources of garnet and occurrences of gold and tungsten. The area is underlain by marble, quartzite, schist, migmatite, intrusive rock, and a wide zone of intensely sheared rock. Quaternary stream, landslide, talus, and colluvial material overlie the older rocks. Ten claims for marble in or overlapping the southwest and southeast parts of the planning area are current (1986). Many other current claims are outside the planning area, adjacent to or within 2 miles of the southwest and southeast corners. Hundreds of millions of tons of inferred, marginally economic marble in and near the planning area may be mined for cement or lime after other developed resources near markets are depleted or if large-scale construction or other markets develop nearby.

Jan 1, 1987

By J. Wade Watkins

One potential peaceful application of nuclear explosives is stimulating the production of liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons from essentially nonproductive deposits of petroleum, natural gas, oil shale, and tar sands. Within the United States the appreciable difference between producible proved reserves and ultimate reserves and resources of hydrocarbon deposits is of such magnitude that much petroleum, natural gas, shale oil, and bitumen will not be produced unless significant technological progress is made in production techniques. The shattering effect of contained nuclear explosives and, to a lesser extent, the heat produced, have been considered as stimulative forces when the thickness, depth, and nature of such deposits permit considering the use of nuclear devices. Mechanical production problems would be less in an oil or gas reservoir than in an oil-shale or tar-sands deposit. Also, tar-sands resources in the United States may not be adequate to warrant serious consideration of applying nuclear-explosives stimulation. Gas reservoirs should present the least-radioactive-contamination problem. The technical feasibility of using nuclear explosives cannot be evaluated fully at present. Additional information is needed on the effects of pressure, heat, and radioactivity on the solids and fluids of hydrocarbon deposits, the nature and extent of induced fractures in different rock media, and the possibility of isolating and confining or removing radioactive contaminants. Final technical feasibility can only be determined by a field test. If technical feasibility is established, economic feasibility will depend upon the comparative cost of producing hydrocarbons by nuclear explosives and by conventional means. It is probable that an economic comparison would favor nuclear stimulation only where devices of relatively high yield could be used practicably and safely.

Jan 1, 1964

By W. M. Myers

"The continued expansion of modern industry broadens the markets for minerals and their product. With these increasing demands new uses are being found for minerals that heretofore were considered as possessing no commercial possibilities. This tendency is reflected in the nonmetallic field in a constantly increasing demand for minerals formerly considered to be of scientific interest only, Furthermore, nonmetallic minerals of established commercial importance are used in new ways in various products, and this tends to expand the markets for these minerals. Some recent outstanding developments in applications of minerals are given in the following pages.The Andalusite GroupAmong the minerals that until recently were considered of scientific interest only, may be listed those of the andalusite group. This group is composed of the three minerals, andalusite, cyanite (or kyunite), and sillmanite, which are all forms of the compound Al2SiO5 (A1203, S1O2), and are therefore identical in chemical composition, but differ in physical properties,"

Mar 1, 1924

By J. Wade Watkins

One potential peaceful application of nuclear explosives is stimulating the production of liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons from essentially nonproductive deposits of petroleum, natural gas, oil shale, and tar sands. Within the United States the appreciable difference between producible proved reserves and ultimate reserves and resources of hydrocarbon deposits is of such magnitude that much petroleum, natural gas, shale oil, and bitumen will not be produced unless significant technological progress is made in production techniques. The shattering effect of contained nuclear explosives and, to a lesser extent, the heat produced, have been considered as stimulative forces when the thickness, depth, and nature of such deposits permit considering the use of nuclear devices. Mechanical production problems would be less in an oil or gas reservoir than in an oil-shale or tar-sands deposit. Also, tar-sands resources in the United States may not be adequate to warrant serious consideration of applying nuclear-explosives stimulation. Gas reservoirs should present the least- radioactive-contamination problem. The technical feasibility of using nuclear explosives cannot be evaluated fully at present. Additional information is needed on the effects of pressure, heat, and radioactivity on the solids and fluids of hydrocarbon deposits, the nature and extent of induced fractures in different rock media, and the possibility of isolating and confining or removing radioactive contaminants. Final technical feasibility can only be determined by a field test. If technical feasibility is established, economic feasibility will depend upon the comparative cost of producing hydrocarbons by nuclear explosives and by conventional means. It is probable that an economic comparison would favor nuclear stimulation only where devices of relatively high yield could be used practicably and safely.

Jan 1, 1964

By R. E. Kennedy

The presence of combustible gases and vapors in air can constitute n extremely serious explosion hazard. This hazard is even greater when explosive mixtures are confined under high pressures, as the pressure can become tremendous immediately before the container is ruptured. Because of its interest in safety in mining and. allied industries, the U. S. Bureau of Mines has investigated the explosive properties of a number of gaseous and liquid compounds; the results of these investigations have been published in various government papers and journal articles. The increased use of liquefied, petroleum gases has intensified interest in the effect of high pressures on the explosibility of propane-air mixtures. The limits of flammability of natural gas-air mixtures have been determined at pressures ranging from 50 min. Hg to 3,000 p.s.i. As it is known that a combustible. gas or vapor cannot burn or explode when the oxygen content of the atmosphere is less than a certain value, critical values were determined for the oxygen content of atmospheres to which nitrogen had been added as a diluent. In this connection limits of flammability were determined for ethane in atmospheres containing added. nitrogen or carbon dioxide at pressures up to 900 p.s.i.g.

Jan 1, 1951

By M. B. Bransford

A calculation procedure was evolved by the Bureau of Mines for determining the heat-transfer characteristics of dilute gas-solid mixtures in an externally heated tube. The procedure accounts for differences in gas and particle velocities and covers a range of particle sizes. Heat transfer coefficients obtained by the calculation procedure are compared with values reported in the literature.

Jan 1, 1970

By Neal M. Muir, Robert S. Sanford, Bruce I. Thomas

"INTRODUCTION The presence of the zinc-lead-copper deposits an the north slope of Mount Eielson, Mount McKinley National Park, Alaska, has been known for many years. The deposits were examined by J. C. Reed, a geologist of the United States Geological Survey during the summer of 1931. In the summer of 1943 the authors and Clyde Wahrhaftig, a geologist of the Geological Survey, examined the deposits.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSIn its program of investigation of mineral deposits, the Bureau of Mines has as its primary objective the more effective utilization of our mineral resources to the and that they make the greatest possible contribution to national security and economy. It is the policy of the Bureau to publish the facts developed by each project as soon as practicable after its conclusion. The Mining Branch, Lowell B. Moon, chief, conducts preliminary examinations, performs the actual investigative work, and prepares the final report. The Metallurgical Branch, Oliver C. Ralston, chief, analyzes samples and performs beneficiation tests.Particular acknowledgment is due to Heine Kenworthy, who conducted the beneficiation tests under the supervision of C. Travis Anderson; to Clyde Wahrahaftig of the Geological Survey, who completed the Geologic and topographic maps, to Grant Pearson of the National Park Service; and to O. M. Grant and Mrs. Frank McGarvoy for their assistance during the examination."

Nov 1, 1947

By E. D. Gardner

This paper on the square-set system of mining embodies the results of a special study of the subject made as a part of the Bureau of Mines general investigation of mining methods and costs. Data for the paper were gathered by the authors during visits to mines using square-set mining, from Information Circulars prepared by consulting engineers to the Bureau on mining methods at individual mines, and from articles in the technical press and the Transactions of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. The square-set system of mining is very widely applied and is one of the oldest methods in use in the United States. It is mainly employed for extracting relatively high-grade ore in heavy ground. It is also useful in taking out pillars left in mining by other methods. It is used to some extent as an auxiliary method with many underground systems and as an alternate with cut-and-fill, shrinkage, and open-stope methods when heavy ground is encountered. In some cases as much as 50 per cent of the ore may be extracted by square-setting at mines listed as using some other method of mining. A large tonnage is mined yearly by square-setting, principally in the Western States.

Jan 1, 1933

By C. L. Karr

U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) research has shown that fuzzy logic and genetic algorithms (GA's) have great potential for industrial process control. A technique has been developed by the USBM in which GA's are used to substantially reduce the time needed to design fuzzy logic controllers (FLC's).This technique shows promise as an efficient, robust approach to developing control systems. The research described in this report is twofold. First, the basic approach to developing an FLC using GA's is presented. The GA-designed FLC is developed for a specific physical system, a pH titration system. Second, empirical results are presented in which variations in the FLC implementation are compared. Specifically, the effects of altering five aspects of the pH FLC are considered: (1) membership function form, (2) number of fuzzy classes, (3) the center-of-area method, (4) implication operator, and (5) fuzzy rule form. Results indicate that (1) the technique in which GA's are used to design FLC's is effective, and (2) when this technique is used, variations in FLC implementation have little effect on FLC performance in a chosen control problem.

Jan 1, 2010

Pillars with width-to-height ratios of less than 1.0 are frequently created in underground hard rock mines. The strength of slender pillars can be estimated using empirically developed equations. However, the equations can provide variable results when the width-to-height ratios approach 0.5. This paper investigates some of the issues affecting pillar strength at low width-to-height ratios in hard brittle rock. The investigation includes an evaluation of empirical pillar strength data presented in the literature and observations of pillar performance in underground limestone mines in the eastern United States, supplemented by numerical modeling in which failure processes and sensitivity of slender pillars to variations in rock mass properties are evaluated. The results showed that the strength of slender pillars is more variable than that of wider pillars. The numerical model results demonstrated the increasing role of brittle rock failure in slender pillar strength. The absence of confinement in slender pillars can result in a fully brittle failure process, while wider pillars, fail in a combined brittle and shearing mode. The onset of spalling in slender pillars occurs at or near the ultimate strength, while this is not the case for wider pillars. Slender pillars are shown to be more sensitive to the presence of discontinuities than wider pillars, which can partly explain the increased variability of slender pillar strength. Two examples are presented that illustrate failure initiation by brittle spalling and the sensitivity of slender pillars to the presence of discontinuities.

By Robert J. Willard

This chapter includes tables from 1983 that were not available in time for publication of the 1983 Minerals Yearbook, but does not include corresponding tables for 1984. The value of raw nonfuel minerals produced in the United States during 1984 was estimated at $23.2 billion, an increase of $2.1 billion over the value for 1983. This is the second consecutive year that the value has increased, and except for a decrease in 1982, the value for each year has increased since 1971, or 12 out of 13 years. In 1984, 16 out of 21 metal commodities increased in output while 5 metals decreased; 14 metals increased in value and 7 decreased. Of 46 nonmetal commodities. 37 increased in output while 7 decreased and 2 remained unchanged; 35 nonmetals increased in value and 11 decreased. These statistics are grounds for continuing the cautious economic optimism expressed in 1983. Despite the note of optimism, however, numerous problems plague the mining industry, weakening its stability and inhibiting its growth potential. The problems are a complex mix of international and domestic factors that have been building in the recent past, but have become even more troublesome in 1984.

Jan 1, 1985

By H. E. Perlee

Mathematical expressions are derived for the histories of the pressure, flame radius, mass fraction burned, and burned and unburned gas temperatures associated with a spherical flame propagating concentrically in a spherical vessel. The equations are solved numerically for a 9.5 pct CH4/air mixture using the best available information for the burning velocity, expansion ratio, and specific heat ratio. Calculated histories are in complete accord with experimental measurements. The accuracy of calculated histories is determined relative to errors in the system parameters, and it is found that 10 pct errors in either the burning velocity or the expansion ratio results in a 40-pct error in the pressure history. A 10-pct error in either burned or unburned specific heat ratio results in a 22-pct error &apos;in the pressure history. It was further established that the usual assumption of constant specific heat ratio is unacceptable, but equating the burned and unburned specific heat ratios result in no apparent error in the histories. The cubic law (P = Kt3 + Po) is derived and discussed, and it is found that the law is valid only during the early period (P<2 atm) of flame growth.

Jan 1, 1974

By John E. Pahlman

The Bureau of Mines conducted column-leaching tests on 25 domestic Mn ores to determine the feasibility of extracting Mn by in situ or heap leaching with dissolved sulfur dioxide (S02) solutions. The ores tested were obtained from deposits in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado. Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, and South Dakota. Dissolved S02 was found to be effective for leaching Mn; extractions greater than 90 pct were obtained with solution application rates of 1 mL/min from uncalcined, minus 2.5-plus 1.3-cm ore pieces. Leaching these ores with solutions containing only 5-wt-pct S02 and no added H2S04 resulted in Mn being selectively extracted over Fe except when Fe was present as goethite or siderite. Ca solubilization was inhibited by controlling the solution application rate (1 mL/min). The rate of leaching was found to be principally dependent upon the rate at which the leaching solution can penetrate the ore, since the solubilization of Mn upon contact with S02 was observed to be rapid. Despite low water permeabilities of the ores (as low as 10-2 to 10-4 darcy). greater than 90 pct of the Mn was extracted from even the largest ore pieces tested (approximately 10 cm in diameter). It appears, therefore. that leaching Mn opens up the pores, allowing penetration of the leach solution into the ore pieces.

Jan 1, 1988

By P. Coleman, J. C. Kerkering, S. Iverson

Fault tree analysis is a systematic safety analysis tool that proceeds deductively from the occurrence of an undesired event (accident) to the identification of the root causes of that event. One recurring mine safety problem—a dozer falling into a void over a drawpoint on a coal surge pile—was analyzed using available, inexpensive fault tree programs on a personal computer. The analysis identified basic and intermediate events that led to the burial of the dozer and graphically depicted the interrelationship between these various subordinate events as well as the various chain of events leading up to the primary event. A sensitivity analysis on these probabilities showed which events had the greatest influence on dozer burial in a coal surge pile.

By L. R. Burdick, J. F. Barkley

"The agglomerating index of coal is an index based upon the nature of the coke residue left when the standard volatile-matter determination of the well-known proximate analysis is made. In this determination a small amount of coal is heated in a container to about 950° C. (1,742° F.), at which temperature the volatile matter is driven off, leaving a coke formation. The coke residues for various coals are quite different in physical structure: and, for some time past, work has been done on studies of the nature of these residues in connection with the coking of coal. In 1934 Gilmore, Connell, and Nicolls proposed use of the agglomerating index for indicating the dividing line between noncaking coals and those having weakly caking properties. 4/ Its use was adopted in the standard classification of coals by rank as a requisite physical property index to differentiate semianthracite from low-volatile bituminous coal and also high-volatile ""C"" bituminous from subbituminous ""A"" coal, as shown in table 1, the standard coal classification adopted by the American Society for Testing Materials and the American Standards Association. 5./In studying the agglomerating properties of coals based on the coke residue the Bureau of Mines has adopted the notation given in table 2. Coals that in the volatile-matter determination give a coke residue either in the form of an agglomerate button that will support a 500-gram weight without pulverizing or a button that shows swelling or cell structure are considered to be agglomerating."

Nov 1, 1938

Provide reasonably priced, reliable fire protection for large walking draglines. Approach Fire hazards on large draglines were analyzed, then appropriate automatic fire sensing and suppression systems developed and in-mine tested. How It Works Five fire hazard areas identified for special attention are: electrical control room, high voltage transformer enclosures, circuit breaker rooms, collector ring/roller path area, and the automatic lubrication rooms. Automatic fire sensing and suppression systems were separately designed for each area. The design of each system was tailored to the hazards and equipment protected. Spot thermal sensing and Halon 1301 suppression were specified for the electrical

Jan 1, 1981

By T. O. Llewellyn

The Bureau of Mines investigated the use of a heavy liquid in combination with fluid cyclones to separate brucite from a Nevada ore on a continuous basis, using a mixture of dibromomethane and trichloroethylene having a density of 2.44 grams per cubic centimeter. Single-stage cyclone separation produced a concentrate that contained 84 percent of the total magnesia at a grade, on a calcined basis, of 95.6 percent MgO.

Jan 1, 1974

By Franklin B. W. Woodbury

The Bureau of Mines undertook the development and evaluation of a system to provide a simultaneous, on-line determination of both iron and silica in iron ore beneficiation streams as part of a program to improve the efficiency to mineral separation processes, Californium-252 (252-Cf) was the neutron source used in the system for measuring the amounts of silica and iron in bulk slurries by thermal neutron capture-gamma ray spectra analysis. The theory of thermal neutron capture-gamma ray reactions and their potential application to mineral processing stream analysis is discussed. The prototype system and supporting software developed by the Bureau is described. During the initial phase of the work, both simulated and actual pilot plant slurries were investigated using a 60-to 32-µg 252-Cf neutron source. The percent solids of the slurries was ranged from 2 to 40 percent and the silica and iron content ranged from 1.5 to 83 percent and from 10 to 65 percent, respectively. Accuracy of the determination of the components in the solids was dependent upon the percent solids in the slurry.

Jan 1, 1980

By Jacqueline H. Jansky

The Bureau of Mines conducted a study to determine the relation-ship between geologic features and linears. Cleats, kettlebottoms, and roof rolls were mapped and superimposed on the linear plots for a coal mine in West Virginia. No clear relationships were evident. This may be due, in part, to the mining practice of leaving head coal, which obscures geologic features that may exist in the roof. Future studies should concentrate on mines where roof is extensively exposed.

Jan 1, 1982