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By Michael J. Beus

This Bureau of Mines report describes a tunnel stress relaxation gage (TSR) developed to measure initial radial displacement around full-sized underground openings. The TSR technique was shown to be a valid concept in previous field verification tests. Sensitivity has been improved by employing a titanium alloy cantilever in the transducer head, which also permits a deeper sensor location. Use of improved fabrication methods such as stainless steel bellows and sputtering techniques and use of an environmental chamber for testing greatly increased overall reliability. A miniature data acquisition system (DAS) was interfaced directly to the transducer for increased versatility and containment entirely within a borehole. The present TSR system is suitable for use around full-size underground excavations, particularly machine-bored openings. Field evaluation of the improved instrumentation verified the design goals.

Jan 1, 1978

By Theodore L. Turner

This Bureau of Mines report describes calcination of kaolinitic clay in a direct-fired 2-1/2- by 24-ft rotary kiln at 750° and 775° C. Methods for preparing kaolin feed materials and characterization of calcined products are discussed. Approximately 99 pct of the alumina in a typical eastern Georgia kaolin was soluble in HC1 after calcination at either 750° or 775° C.

Jan 1, 1982

This Bureau of Mines report reviews the information presented at the Sixth Mineral Waste Utilization Symposium cosponsored by the Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, and the IIT Research Institute. Environmental scientists and engineers from nine countries participated in the symposium, which was held May 2-3, 1978, at the Chicago campus of IIT Research Institute. The 56 papers presented on the reclamation and recycling of mining and mineral wastes, municipal solid waste, industrial wastes, and scrap metal are summarized herein.

Jan 1, 1980

The Bureau of Mines analyzed the cycle of secondary gold to determine the quantity of gold not being recovered from scrap, and to identify areas for research to increase the supply of gold from scrap. Secondary gold in 1967 was estimated to be 2.4 million troy ounces; this excludes secondary gold which is recycled within consuming plants. Firms contacted included consumers using about 41 percent of the gold in 1967, And refiners that recovered about 90 percent of the secondary gold. Results of the study indicate that loss of gold is small, and refiners and consumers are accelerating programs designed to reduce recovery costs. With the increasing generation of low-grade industrial scrap, research is needed to improve present recovery techniques and to develop methods to accelerate the flow of secondary gold back to supply.

Jan 1, 1970

This Bureau of Mines report contains the proceedings of a symposium cosponsored by the Bureau of Mines and the University of North Dakota concerning utilization and technology of Western coals and lignites. The symposium, the sixth in a series, comprised 12 papers.

Jan 1, 1972

A prototype EM Location System was fabricated and tested at the Geneva Mine near Dragerton, Utah. This system consisted of six manpack transmitters and six manpack receivers covering the frequency band from 900 Hz to 2900 Hz as well as a six channel receiver designed for use, in a helicopter. Tests showed that EM signals from lightweight (3/4 lb) transmitters could be detected both on the surface and from a helicopter through as much as 4450 ft of relatively high conductivity (2 X 10- 2 mhos/m) overburden. Furthermore, the resulting field strength profiles could be used to determine source location to within 150 ft of the actual surveyed location in the mine. Modifications were made to a Monitoring, Locating and Communications System being tested at the Bruceton Mine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. These modifications have improved the performance and quality of the paging and voice telephony mode of the system. Subsurface receiver modifications have improved reception of voice downlink signals.

Jan 1, 1973

By Robert V. Berryhill

Reconnaissance studies of beach deposits along approximately 220 miles of the shoreline of Bristol Bay, Alaska, were made to determine if more detailed investigations were warranted. In addition to preliminary mapping of the deposits, samples were obtained from auger borings spaced at 1-mile intervals in key areas; shovel samples were collected to supplement the borings. Most samples were roughly concentrated in the field; magnetic separation tests, petrographic analyses, and determinations for radiometric equivalent uranium, gold, platinum, iron, and titanium were made in the Bureau of Mines laboratory at Juneau, Alaska. Spot samples from some beaches along the shores of the Alaska Peninsula indicate small deposits containing up to 10 percent recoverable titaniferous magnetite; some larger deposits were indicated to contain from 1 to 2 percent total heavy metal, principally as titaniferous magnetite. Significant amounts of other commercial minerals were not detected.

Jan 1, 1963

By R. F. Zaffarano

Intergrated energy balances and energy flows were constructed and quantified for State, regional, and national levels from four separate supply and demand commodity balances for coal, dry natural gas, petroleum and natural gas liquids, and utility electricity. These commodity balances were integrated by source and sectors through conversion and aggregation of their components to energy equivalents expressed in British thermal units (Btu). A summarization of the total gross energy components of supply and demand for commercial energy derived from direct fuels, hydropower and nuclear power, based on individual States and regions, is tabulated for 1960 and 1965. Pertinent computerization details and more than 500 individual State and regional printout tables, in both original commodity units and Btu's, are shown. Using these data, energy flows between States and regions were calculated to identify surplus and deficit energy areas. Report emphasis is on the conceptual aspects of integrated energy balances, rather than on the development of missing State energy data.

Jan 1, 1969

By Kenneth H. Johnston

This report describes an in situ combustion project and three waterflood projects in Allen, Anderson, and Wilson Counties, Kansas, that will be visited during the 1964 annual tour of the Kansas-Oklahoma Waterflood Association. Among the unique features of the projects are the movement of heavy crude oil through the reservoir and into the wellbore with energy furnished by burning s portion of the crude oil therein. Another feature is the simultaneous injection of C02 and water, through separate tubing into input wells during early development, to increase injectivity at moderate pressures, Discussion of individual projects includes information on their early history, source and treatment of injection fluids, oil production-decline curves, and the results of water injection on oil production.

Jan 1, 1964

By Joseph H. Bilbrey

COBALT is a silvery gray metal which closely resembles nickel in appearance and properties although it is somewhat harder and more brittle. It is rather widely disseminated and is estimated to make up about 0.001 percent of the earth's crust as compared to 0.020 percent for nickel. Cobalt, one of the four ferromagnetic elements, is used for many magnetic applications. It is oxidation resistant, a property which when coupled with its moderately high melting point of 1,495° C., makes it useful in high-temperature applications. Although cobalt had been used by man as a coloring agent for glass and other ceramic products for 4,000 years, it was not isolated as a metal until 1742 and not established as an element until some 40 years later. Early in the 20th century, cobalt began to be used in alloys, and soon these applications displaced ceramics as the major consumer of cobalt. The use of cobalt in alloys gave considerable stimulus to production, and the world output of cobalt increased rapidly, rising from 400 tons in 1920 to 1,400 tons in 1930 and 5,500 tons in 1940. With the advent of the jet plane in the mid 1940's and the consequent increased need for cobalt-bearing high-temperature alloys, cobalt production again increased, reaching 7,900 tons in 1950. The increased demand for cobalt during the Korean war coupled with a large demand for stockpiling caused world production to more than double within the next 10 years, reaching a peak of 17,300 tons in 1959.

Jan 1, 1962

By Clarence Karr

AN EXTENSIVE characterization was conducted on the neutral oil components in a low-temperature bituminous coal tar. A total of tai individual compounds identified with respect to individual isomers, and at least 55 other compounds were indicated to be present. The amounts were determined in all instances. A comparison of isomeric distribution in the tar with thermo-dynamic equilibrium distribution, and kinetic distributions indicated that the composition of the tar largely reflected the structure of the coal from which it was formed. Detailed descriptions are presented for the separatory and qualitative and quantitative procedures for the characterization of the neutral oil component. These include micro fractional vacuum distillation, displacement liquid chromatography, gas-liquid chromatography, countercurrent distribution, and infrared and ultraviolet spectrophotometry. Descriptions are given for the synthesis of authentic specimens of alkylindenes, The ultraviolet and infrared spectra of 134 polycyclic compounds, ranging from alkylindenes to alkylphenanthrenes, either found in the distillable neutral oil, or thought likely to be present, are also given.

Jan 1, 1967

By D. E. Pollock, Andrew B. Cecala

It has long been known that ventilation is a cost-effective method to lower respirable dust concentrations in all types of mining applications. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has been working on a number of different research techniques that use ventilation as a critical component to lower respirable dust levels at surface and metal/nonmetal operations in the United States. This article presents five such research efforts. The first research area discusses how improving the ventilation flow patterns in an iron ore mill facility lowered respirable dust concentrations by 31 pct throughout the primary grinding area. The second research area examines how respirable dust levels were lowered at a dimensional stone shop by using air cleaning units suspended from the ceiling. A third area discusses how improvements in ventilation at underground limestone mines lowered respirable dust concentrations. The fourth area examines how improvements in dust filtration and pressurization systems significantly impacted the air quality in enclosed cabs of surface mining equipment. The last area presents a newly developed clothes cleaning technique. This technique uses an air spray manifold to blow dust from a worker’s clothing in an enclosed booth, which confines the dust for capture and removal by a baghouse dust collector. These research areas represent an array of different control technologies to lower respirable dust concentrations. Ventilation is an integral part of these control technologies.

By Ed D. Thimons, Douglas E. Pollock, Andrew B. Cecala, Gregory J. Chekan, Jay F. Colinet, John A. Organiscak

Researchers at the Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL) of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) work to reduce respirable dust exposures in mining operations. One focus of this research is silica dust control for surface and underground operations in the metal/nonmetal mining industry. PRL researchers analyze dust sampling results from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to identify high-risk occupations to guide research efforts. Research is then conducted in an effort to improve existing technologies and/or develop new controls for reducing worker exposure to airborne silica dust. During the last few years, PRL researchers have conducted research related to the following goals: improving protection provided by enclosed cabs on mobile surface mining equipment, reducing dust generation from surface drills, reducing dust levels in iron ore operations, and developing a new method to clean dust from workers’ soiled clothes. A description of each of these controls and subsequent dust reductions quantified through site surveys will be provided.

By David Oyler, Craig Compton

The The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL) is continuing to investigate the behavior of fully grouted roof bolts in the weak roof rock of the Safety Research Coal Mine (SRCM). This paper describes the results of three studies: • A series of 24 pull tests of bolts installed fully grouted and overcored to leave 12 inches of grouted bolt. The tests compared the pull-out performance of offset-head roof bolts with that of standard 5/8-inch bolts; • A second series of 24 tests that compared the pull-out loads obtained by bolts installed with 1 ft of resin (a Short Encapsulation Pull Test or SEPT) to that of fully grouted bolts overcored to leave only 12 inches of grouted bolt, and; • An investigation into the pressures generated during the installation of fully grouted resin bolts. All of the bolts installed and pulled were overcored and removed from the roof after the pull tests to allow inspection of the resin. The first study found that there was no significant difference in pullout load between the offset-head bolts and the standard bolts. The second study, comparing the SEPT bolts and the partially-overcored fully grouted bolts, indicated that SEPT can significantly underestimate bolt anchorage grip factor, suggesting that the SEPT is a conservative measure of actual bolt performance. Significant loss of resin to cracks in the roof was observed in the bolts overcored in the SRCM. The third study explored one possible explanation for the resin loss, high pressures generated during bolt installation. These tests employed bolts installed in strain gauged steel tubes. The results confirmed that significant pressures (greater than 4,000 psi) can be generated during bolt installation. The results of the pressure tests, combined with the observations of resin loss in bolts installed in the SRCM, suggest that under some circumstances resin loss and under-encapsulation could take place and lead to degraded bolt performance. Glove fingering was observed in all recovered bolts to various degrees. The limited comparative data suggested that the effect of glove fingering ranged from slight to moderate. Complete mixing of the resin was observed on all of the 40 bolts recovered (28 fully grouted and 12 SEPT). Australian and U.S. resins were compared and the Australian resins were observed to have much smaller catalyst compartment areas and lower resin viscosities. These differences are suggested as potential explanations for occasional resin mixing problems noted in Australian resin bolt installations.

By E. H. BURROUCHS

This bulletin is the third of the series of yearly petroleum bibliographies being published by the Bureau of Mines. The two preceding, Bulletin 149 and Bulletin 165, were for the years 1915 and 1916, respectively. In arranging the references the same general scheme has been followed, but as in those bulletins, several changes and additions have been made in the classifica.tion, the more important being in the classes " Development and production " and "Refining and refineries." German periodicals for 1917 were not procurable and references to articles in those and in other foreign journals that were not available have been credited to the sources from which they were procured.

Jan 1, 1920

The Bureau of Mines annually publishes statistical data reflecting technological trends in the minerals industry (metals and nonmetals except fuels). This report outlines recent developments and trends and the technology outlook for mining practices and metallurgical processing based on a review of the minerals industry during the past 2 years. A historical statistical series which indicates trends in the minerals industry has been extended with 1970 data. In addition, data are given from a 5-year Bureau of Mines cyclic canvass of froth flotation plants. Data for 1970 are compared with those of 1960 and 1965.

Jan 1, 1972

By J. T. McCartney

OPTICAL PROPERTIES of U.S. coals of differing rank have been investigated by the Bureau of Mines, for about 20 years. These investigations have been remade to further the development of an objective basis for petrographic analysis of coal and to add to knowledge of the structure and composition of coal and coal components by determining their optical constants in various regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Various experimental techniques have been used in these studies, including determination of reflectance from bulk specimens and transmittance of thin and ultrathin sections, interferometry, electron microscopy, and election diffraction. Similar studies leave also been made of graphite, the end product of coal metamorphism. The bureau of Mines conducted the first U.S. investigation of reflectance properties of coal components, laying the foundation for petrographic analysis based on arbitrary reflectance classes and for automated reflectance analysis of coals. Optical constants of coals of differing rank and of graphite have been determined in the ultraviolet-visible-near infrared spectrum. Maxima in the optical constants of graphite were observed in the ultraviolet region and were interpreted to be related to transitions of electrons between the valence and conduction bands. Similar maxima for coals, especially high-rank coals, appeared to be characteristic of the presence of graphitelike layers. A special application of optical theory to absorbing, anisotropic materials like graphite and high-rank coals has been developed. Electron microscopic and electron diffraction studies of coals have revealed various ultrafine structures in coal components and have shown the evolution of an oriented, crystalline graphite structure in high-rank coals.

Jan 1, 1967

By Robert H. Lambeth

There are no identified mineral resources in the Italian Peak RARE II areas, and there are no producing or developing mines within or adjacent to the study area. Several prospects are in RARE II area M-4945, Idaho, but none were found in the area I-1945, Montana. The Viola Mine (fig. 1, no. 15) vicinity and the Heart Mountain vicinity along the west and south borders, respectively, are being prospected. There has been no recorded production from mines within the study area, but between $2.5 million and $5.0 million worth of lead, silver, and zinc were produced in the adjacent Birch Creek district - dominantly from the Viola Mine - from 1882 to 1889 (Anderson and Wagner, 1944, p. 14). The Viola and other mines in that district are possibly, on basin-margin, carbonate-hosted, lead-silver-zinc deposits stratabound within the Devonian Jefferson Formation. Previous studies have considered them to be hydrothermal, replacement orebodies. Mineral occurrences in the Heart Mountain area are possibly black-shale hosted uranium-vanadium deposits in the Mississippian-Devonian McGowan Creek Formation or perhaps the underlying Devonian Three Forks Formation. The Jefferson and McGowan Creek Formations underlie many scattered segments of the study area. The deposits and occurrence; are not sufficiently exposed to determine tonnage and grade, but sampling indicated moderate resource potential at two properties just outside the study area, the Viola Mine and the Elkhorn Group (fig. 1, no. 33). Local residents indicated there are several thousand tons of zinc-bearing resource; at the Viola line. A 23-ft (70-m) drill hole intercept near Heart Mountain et the Elkhorn Group adjacent to the stuny area contained 0.15 percent uranium oxide

Jan 1, 1983

By Sam S. Taylor

The disposal of oil-field brines by injection into subsurface formations other than fresh-water-bearing strata is a positive method of eliminating the harmful effects of mineralized water on fresh-water supplies, vegetation, and aquatic and other animal life. The methods used most generally for the disposal of brines produced with oil are (1) impounding in evaporation ponds, (2) controlled diversion into surface streams, and (3) injection into subsurface formations. Various States recognize one or more of the methods as legally authorized procedure. As a general rule, impounding brine in ponds and solar evaporation have not been entirely successful, principally because of the large volumes handled; the porous nature of the soil, and the low rate of evaporation. Likewise, the diversion of brine into freshwater streams by controlled dilution has not proved satisfactory in some areas, especially in parts of Kansas and Oklahoma where the rainfall is relatively low, because it has been impossible to obtain enough fresh water for such dilution.

Jan 1, 1939

By D. Randolph Berry

The United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) awarded a contract to Foster-Miller, Inc. to develop guidelines for the storage and use of Self-Contained Self-Rescuers (SCSRs) in underground non-coal mines. An SCSR is a device capable of supplying, in an emergency, one hour of self-contained oxygen (no breathing of mine air). The information and recommendations in this report were developed primarily from three sources: discussions with mine representatives (including management, labor, and government), site visits in underground mines I and a detailed analysis of every reported non-coal accident which produced d hazardous atmosphere during the 5-year period 1976-1980 -plus ten other major incidents from prior years. Volume IV has three major sections: Recommendations and Discussion (Section 2), Analysis of Mine Accidents (Appendix A), and a Summary of Discussions with Mine Representatives (Appendix B).

Jan 1, 1983