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By John C. Machisak

THE INJURY data and experience at quarries and related plants of the United States are presented in this publication under the following general sections (A) General injury experience: Tables 1-3: Current data on number of injuries, injury-frequency rates, location, accident agency, degree of injury, and related employment data. (B) Injury experience at different kinds of quarries: Tables 4-5: Current data on number of injuries, injury-frequency rates, location, accident agency, degree of injury, and related employment, data. (C) Injury experience by States: Tables 6-20: Current data on the number of injuries, injury-frequency rates, accident agency, degree of injury, and related employment data. (D) Selected injury data: Tables 21-30: Current data on various selected factors of operating conditions at different kinds of quarries, including employment size-groups, length of shifts, comparative severity of injuries, and injury data and related employment experience at dimension-stone and nondimension-stone quarries and at underground quarries. (E) Historical injury experience: Table 31: Injury and employment data on the quarrying industry for 1911 through 1957. Statistical data on injuries and related employment in the quarrying industries have been collected annually from the operating companies since 1911. Reporting to the Bureau of Mines is voluntary; there is no Federal law compelling operators of quarries and related plants to supply such data. Data presented herein may not be complete for the entire industry. They are however, believed to be representative of the hazards common to all quarry and related workers. Moreover, the figures are comparable as between States-a significant fact in view of the lack of uniformity among the States with regard to the classes of injuries covered by State reports and other factors that tend to make it impracticable or impossible when using State records to

Jan 1, 1960

By John J. Mulligan

Since 1941 the Federal Bureau of Mines has been conducting an intermit-tent program of placer and lode investigations to evaluate the potential tin resources of the western Seward Peninsula tin belt. Previous investigations were made in the Potato, Cape, Brooks (Lost River), and Ear Mountain areas. As part of this program the Bureau made a reconnaissance of reportedly tin-bearing stream gravels in areas adjacent to the previously worked tin deposits at Lost River and Potato Mountain. The objective of the reconnaissance was to determine if additional areas might be favorable for lode or placer exploration. The work was begun late in the fall of 1956 and completed during the following summer. The streams sampled were the Lost River and York Creek in the Brooks Mountain area and the Anikovik River and Kigezruk and Baituk Creeks in the York area. Samples were obtained by churn-drilling methods employing conventional placer-evaluation procedures. Holes were drilled at wide intervals at sites chosen as being representative of drainage areas rather than of individual gravel deposits. Minor to trace amounts of tin were found in the gravels of all these streams, but the highest grade was 0.35 pound of tin per cubic yard in the gravels of Lost River below the mouth of Tin Creek. Small amounts of gold were found on Baituk Creek and in one hole on the Anikovik River; the highest grade did not exceed 10 cents per cubic yard. Traces of scheelite and barite were found on York Creek, chromite was encountered in one hole on the Anikovik River, and minor amounts of titanium minerals (probably derived from basaltic intrusives) were found in the York area.

Jan 1, 1959

By Edward L. McHugh

Twelve properties in the Riverside Mountains have moderate to high potential, for silver, gold, copper, and molybdenum. Six properties in the Big Maria Mountains have moderate potential for zinc, lead, copper, silver, iron ore, and limestone. The Big Maria Mountains also have occurrences of building stone. Four properties in or near the study area have low-grade gold-silver-copper resources totalling more than 300 thousand tons (270,000 t). An estimated 29 million tons (26 million t) of limestone and dolomite, and 620,000 long tons (630,000 t) of iron ore are in the Big Maria Mountains section of the study area. INTRODUCTION The Big Maria Mountains Wilderness Study Area covers about 50,538 acres (20,453 ha) near the Colorado River in eastern Riverside County, California (fig. 1). The study includes portions of both the Big Maria and Riverside Mountains. It lies north of Blythe, California and south of California Highway 62 in the Mojave Desert province of the California Desert Conservation Area. The study area consists of two mountain ranges surrounded mostly by broad alluvial slopes or bajadas. It extends for 25 mi (40 km) from the Riverside Mountains on the north, to the south end of the elongate Big Maria Mountains.

Jan 1, 1982

By E. P. Carman

1. CARMAN, EVERETT P., OPPERMAN, MARTHA, NISHIYANA, SALLY, AND RACOOSIN, LEE. Bibliography of Bureau of Mines Investigations of Coal and Its Products, 1945 to 1950. B. 528, 1954, 60 pp. 40 cents. 2. ROSE, HAROLD J. Industry-Sponsored Coal Research in the United States. Chap. in Proceedings: Fifth International Conference of Directors of Mine Safety Research. B. 489, 1950, pp. 9-12. $1.25. Minerals Yearbook 3. STRINER, HERBERT E., CARMAN, E. P., AND GOODING, RICHARD M. Review of the Mineral-Fuel Industries in 1952. Minerals Yearbook 1952, Fuels, vol. 2 (pub. 1954), pp. 1-28.

Jan 1, 1958

By H. P. Greenwald

[For sarno years past the Safety in Minbr. Resaarch J30ard of Great Bri tr-dn ha:1 been making ar.. intensive Gearch for, traterials that \.'ould be 1!\ore ef-ficient than rock dust and th t 'could l1eplace it Jholly or in El:}rt as a muans of prevEll'ltine the propa 'tion' of 'c63.1~dust exnlosions in. mines21 In the course of this \o.'ork several rock c.ur--ts md numerous inorganic compounds I,/ere tested. The result w place incombus.ti ble substFlnces in two main groups~ (1) r.:ho se who sa effect' in suppre aeina Jlihe cor.lbustion of coal dUDt i 0 pro-]

Jan 1, 1940

By C. K. Eilerts

Knowledge of the phase relations of the fluids that exist in the porous spaces of rocks constituting natural petroleum reservoirs and of the behavior of these fluids under various field conditions of operation is essential to the conservation of petroleum and natural gas and to their efficient recovery. The problem of determining whether these fluids axe in the liquid or gaseous state send of recognizing the transitions that may take place as the material in the reservoir is subjected to different conditions of pressure and temperature confronts many producers today, especially in certain fields. The subject has grown rapidly in importance since the discovery of and production from deeper reservoirs that have correspondingly higher pressures rind temperatures as compared with shallower

Jan 1, 1938

By R. V. Higgins

The results of two separate but related studies are given. In the first study, four equations were tested; the object was to determine which would produce a curve that would best fit data points that represent a trend of declining oil production in 90 California fields. Two conventional equations (the Arps and semilog) and two novel equations (extreme-c and double semilog) were tested. The curves were first fitted to the initial 9 years of the 15-year production data and then extrapolated for 6 years to determine how well the extrapolated curve would fit the data points. The generated curves were also extrapolated beyond the last data point to predict rates of future production. The results of the first study showed that no equation was clearly superior to the others in all respects. The semilog equation resulted in the best fit to production data for the first 9 years, but the Arps and extreme-c equations produced a better fit for the extrapolated data for the period of 9 to 15 years. The Arps and extreme-c also gave more realistic production rates when extended to the point where cumulative production equaled reserves. A second study was made to determine if the least-squares technique applied to the Arps equation would result in more accurate extrapolations. The merits of the logarithmic and the nonlogarithmic forms of the Arps hyperbolic equation were also tested. For the logarithmic expression, it was found that one of the constants of the Arps equation reached a value so small or so large that the equation was not applicable to the data of 40 of the 90 California fields. The nonlogarithmic form of the Arps equation was applicable to neither the same 40 fields nor to a few additional ones. When the data and the Arps equation were compatible, the use of the least-squares technique as compared with other methods improved the extrapolation accuracy somewhat.

Jan 1, 1971

By Arnold O. Tanner

The recession that took hold of the domes-tic mining industry in 1981-82 finally abated somewhat in 1987, resulting from increases in many commodity prices, especially in the metals sector, and from continuing success in lowering operating costs. By no means was the work finished; the mining industry was in a sense entering a new era. The struggle for survival was still very evident for many companies and various commodities, but increasing productivity and profits were accompanied by indications that these trends were more long term than short term. Raw nonfuel minerals produced in the United States during 1987 had an estimated value of $26.3 billion, an increase of $2.9 billion over the 1986 value. This is the fifth consecutive year that the value has increased. Except for a decrease in 1982, the value each year has increased since 1971, or 15 of 16 years. The value of raw metals production increased by an estimated 28%, an impressive improvement since the drastic fall in 1982. Industrial minerals growth was comparatively flat, with an estimated in-crease in value of 0.1 %, continuing a trend of the previous 2 years. Metal mine production dropped considerably in 1982 and maintained its resultant lower level until 1987, when production significantly recovered.

Jan 1, 1989

By Joseph Chalmers

Stimulative methods of production, whereby the total recovery of oil from natural reservoirs is increased, have come into considerable prominence during the past 15 years. In many oil-producing areas properties considered ready for abandonment by ordinary producing methods have responded to some form of stimulation, and their economic lives have been extended. The stimulative method having widest application is the injection of air or gas into the reservoir formations through selected input wells and is commonly referred to as the "gas drive." As a result of the many successful "gas-drive" operations operators are depending more and more upon this method for increasing the ultimate recovery of oil from their properties. A number of factors influence the efficacy of different gases as propulsive agents in recovering oil from sands. Gases of high density and viscosity show a tendency toward a slightly higher efficiency than those of lower density and viscosity. The solubility of the gas in the oil also affects the efficiency of oil recovery. Not only does dissolved gas decrease the viscosity of the oil, but dissolved gas that expands from solution in the oil tends to increase the effectiveness of a "gas drive." Interfacial tension between the oil and the gas and its effect upon the recovery of oil by gas injection are factors of which little is known. Dr. A. G. Loomis expressed the opinion that interfacial tension probably plays a minor role in the recovery of oil, except under conditions that produce a gas-oil foam. In connection with the above physical properties that influence the action of a pressure medium, control of the injected volume of the pressure medium is perhaps the major factor. The rate of gas injection determines to a great extent the amount of slippage and the resulting efficiency of the operation. The importance of volume control is realized when one considers that frequently it is the only factor that is under complete control of the operator.

Jan 1, 1930

By F. A. Rutledge

The W. E. Dunkle mine, sometimes called the Costello Creek coal mine, is 8 miles N. 20° W. of Colorado Station on the Alaska Railroad. The presence of coal in this area has been known since the district was extensively prospected for gold between 1911 and 1915. At that time, coal from this deposit was used by miners for blacksmithing. The increased demand for coal resulting from government defense projects in Alaska led to exploitation of this deposit in 1941. The inability of Alaska coal mines to supply the quantity of coal required by public and private consumers and by the armed forces in Alaska was responsible for establishment by the Army of the Coal Procurement Section of its Alaska Department. It proposed to investigate the deposits and to expedite production from the Alaskan coal fields. The Bureau of Mines closely cooperated in this program. The quality of the Dunkle coal and the favorable location of the deposit caused it to be one of the properties chosen for investigation under a joint Army-Bureau of Mines-Geological Survey program.

Jan 1, 1948

By R. G. Warncke, Stanley M. Walker

The United States Bureau of Mines was created by an act of Congress in 1910 as a governmental agency to work , on a national scale , toward reducing the huge annual loss of life in the production and processing of the Nation's minerals . From 1906 to 1910 , inclusive , nearly 2,500 miners lost their lives in 84 major explosion disasters , and more than 13,000 suffered fatal injuries from all causes in the coal mines of the United States . Also , conditions in the metal and nonmetal mines were proportionately hazardous during this period , and the total loss of life in all mines and quarries exceeded 3,000 annually and approximately 250,000 workers suffered serious injuries . Under these conditions it is readily understandable why Congress took notice of this " high cost of mining" , and from the investigations and hearings of the day emerged the Bureau of Mines charged with the prevention of accidents and the preservation of the health of all those engaged in the mineral industry; this has continued to be a most important part of the work of the Bureau . Throughout its existence the Bureau of Mines has had no legal authority of enforcement , except during war years , when enforcement necessary to the national security was given to it . The Bureau believes that persuasion , with factual evidence , is the proper and best way to obtain compliance with the safety suggestions made by its engineers and scientists . There is no panacea for accidents , nor will any single " approach " , instill safety consciousness in all workers , and without it accidents will occur --and occur again . To persuade men to work safely, numerous forms of appeal are required to reach the various temperaments of workers in many types of mines operating under diverse conditions .

Nov 1, 1949

By H. P. Greenwald

For some years past the Safety in Mines Research Board of Great Britain has been making an intensive search for. materials that would be more efficient than rock dust and that could replace it wholly or in part as a moans of preventing the prorogation of coal-dust explosions in mines5/ In the course of this work several rock ducts and numerous inorganic compounds were tested. The results place incombustible substances in two main groups; (1) Those whose effect in suppressing the combustion of coal dust is proportional to their capacity for absorbing heat, and (2) those that shoo much higher effectiveness than would be expected from their heat capacity. The first group includes several inorganic compounds and materials commonly ground for use as rock dust, such as shale, gypsum, and limestone. Outstanding examples of the second group are compounds of the halogens6/ with the alkali metals,7/ especially potasium and sodium8/. British investigators term those salts "inhibitors" because it is assumed that their presence has a hindering or inhibiting effect on one or more of the chemical reactions that together constitute combustion. In other words, the action of an inhibitor is postulated as chemical rather than physical; theoretically, the effect is to prevent liberation of energy instead of to absorb energy already liberated.

Jan 1, 1940

By G. L. Oldright

In the previous study that has been made by the authors on smelting in the lead blast furnace,4 the furnace examined was one that operated under conditions that have been considered as more or less normal up to the present time. That is, although the furnace had in its charge a large portion of sinter, it also handled considerable quantities of naturally oxidized direct-smelting ore. Other ingredients, such as the limestone, were also added as fairly coarse material. The charges contained only about 24 per cent of lead. Until the changes incident to modern flotation began to take effect, many lead plants doing semicustom smelting in districts where competition was keen and much of the bonanza ore was exhausted were faced with the difficulty of obtaining enough lead to get a sufficient "lead fall" in the blast furnaces to clean the slag thoroughly and to separate it from the lead. A charge containing 24 per cent of lead would have been considered a very rich one by such smelters.

Jan 1, 1931

By G. L. Oldright

In the previous study that has been made by the authors on smelting in the lead blast furnace, the furnace examined was one that operated under conditions that have been considered as more or less normal up to the present time. That is although the furnace had in its charge a large portion of sinter, it also handled considerable quantities of naturally oxidized direct-smelting ore. Other ingredients, such as the limestone, were also added as fairly coarse material. The charges contained only about 24 per cent of lead. Until the changes incident to modern flotation began to take effect, many lead plants doing semicustom smelting in districts where competition was keen and much of the bonanza ore was exhausted were faced with the difficulty of obtaining enough lead to get a sufficient "lead fall" in the blast furnaces to clean the slag thoroughly and to separate it from the lead. A charge containing 24 per cent of lead would have been considered a very rich one by such smelters.

Jan 1, 1931

The 1967 Lignite Symposium was held at Grand Forks, N. Dak., on April 27-28, 1967. This was the fifth of these technical meetings and the fourth which was cosponsored by the University of North Dakota and the Bureau of Mines. These symposia have provided a meeting place where current developments concerning technology and utilization of solid fuels (lignite) are presented. There was a registration of 255 persons from 24 States, the District of Columbia, six Canadian Provinces, Germany, and India. Many segments of coal or energy oriented organizations at many levels were represented. During the meeting, 18 presentations were made covering developments in electrical power generation, mining, estimation of reserves, combustion, gasification, and chemical and speciality uses of low-rank coals; these are com-piled in this Information Circular to provide a record of the symposium and to permit wider dissemination of the information. Proceedings of the other meetings have also been published.3

Jan 1, 1968

By Jon K. Ahlness

The Bureau of Mines conducted laboratory and field experiments to determine tne amount of permeability reduction in uranium sandstone after its exposure to different drilling fluids. Seven polymer and two bentonite fluids were laboratory-tested in their clean condition, and six polymer fluids were tested with simulated drill cuttings added. Sandstone cores cut from samples collected at an open pit uranium mine were the test medium. The clean fluid that resulted in the least permeability reduction was an hydroxyethyl cellulose polymer fluid. The greatest permeability reduction of the clean polymers came from a shale-inhibiting synthetic polymer. Six polymer fluids were tested with simu-lated drill cuttings added to represent field use. The least permeability reduction was obtained from a multipolymer blend fluid. A field experiment was performed to compare how two polymer fluids affect formation permeability when used for drilling in situ uranium leaching wells. For this test, the polymer fluid with the best laboratory results (multipolymer blend) was compared with a commonly used polymer fluid (guar gum) that gave poorer laboratory results. When fluid injection rates for the four wells drilled with the guar gum were compared with those for the four drilled with the multipolymer blend, no statistically significant difference was found.

Jan 1, 1984

By J. G. Kirby

The number of petroleum refineries in the United States continued to decline during 1954, and according to the Bureau of Mines annual survey there were 326 refineries with a total daily throughput capacity of 8,420,630 barrels, as of January 1, 1955. The increase in capacity for the year was 413,733 barrels daily, while the number of refineries declined 11. The capacity of the average refinery to process crude oil increased during 1954 from 23,759 barrels daily to 25,830. Breaking down the crude-oil capacity increase, by refining districts; 32 percent was installed at refin¬eries located in the Texas Gulf Coast district, 25 percent in the East Coast district, and 13 percent in both the Louisiana Gulf Coast and the California districts. The Appalachian No. 1, Texas Inland, and New Mexico refining districts reported declines in capacity during the year. Additional crude-oil capacity under construction, January 1, 1955, totaled 146,800 barrels daily. Included in this total are 4 new refineries, 1 each in California, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Washington. In addition to the' new facilities, equipment producing 1.49,550 barrels daily is being replaced.

Jan 1, 1955

By Austin Gudmundsen

"The smoke nuisance, like many other undesirable and longstanding features in our present civilization, is still with us. On reviewing the situation we are astonished to find no authentic record of a major smoke-abatement campaign that has succeeded in eliminating a smoke nuisance, in spite of the fact that the problem has been with us since the use of bituminous coal began. We might well ask ourselves where the trouble lies; is the problem impossible of solution? We can not blame the average citizen for harboring this thought as a conviction. He has been urged for so long but sees so little evidence of progress. He has repeatedly been assured by the scientist and the engineer in most convincing terms that smoke. is unnecessary, that it can be avoided; small wonder is it that he is beginning to distrust so-called authority on the subject.On the other hand, the scientist and engineer are entirely within their rights. We all know that even high-volatile coal can be and is now being burned with no visible smoke. We know that even small domestic heating furnaces, with favorable conditions and with proper care, can be fired by hand without producing much smoke. And we know that when such equipment is fitted with suitable stoking devices, little or no smoke results. What, then, is the answer?Perhaps we may learn something from a critical examination of a typical smoke-abatement problem. Probably one of the most enlightening campaigns that has been waged in the United States is that of Salt Lake City, Utah; therefore, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the important aspects of this particular case."

Apr 1, 1930

By J. W. Higgs

This paper, describing the operation of the Gifford Hill & Co. plant at Hoot Spur near Texarkana, is one of a series being prepared for and published by the United States Bureau of Mines on methods and costs of mining and preparing gravel and sand throughout the United States. These tapers are designed to disseminate technical information regarding the methods used. The cost tabulations represent local operating expenditures only and not total production costs. Although the publication of total costs might not be advisable in some instances yet a knowledge of operating costs is essential to the technical discussion and study of methods employed. The attention of the reader is specifically called to this differentiation in order that no misunderstanding of the scope of the cost tabulation shall ensue. The plant described combines some features of dredging and some of dry-pit operation, as material is excavated in a dry pit with a drag line, hauled to the plant in standard-gage cars, and then pumped. This operation should be of special interest to operators whose deposits contain a large quantity of clay.

Jan 1, 1936

By W. J. Wenger

Analytical, geographical, and geological data on 67 samples of crude oils from Utah are presented, along with some correlations and interpretations. Most of the, geologic formations that produce oil in other areas are also productive in Utah; and as in many other locations, the Permian, Pennsylvanian, and Mississippian formations account for the major amount of the total oil produced in the State. Some anomalies and unusual phenomena are noted. Although most Utah oils are low in sulfur, a sample containing the highest percentage of sulfur ever recorded by the Bureau of Mines is among the oils discussed in this paper. Most of the oil from the major producing formations in Utah is low in sulfur; the same formations produce high-sulfur oils in adjoining Rocky Mountain States. Some Utah oils are both waxy and asphaltic, an unusual combination of characteristics. Correlation index curves for some oils are shown suggesting compositional differences in oils from different producing formations. Production statistics trace the rapid rise of oil production in the State after the first commercial discovery in 1947 and indicate a decline in amounts produced since 1959, the year of peak production in Utah.

Jan 1, 1971