Search Documents

By J. P. Rider

Operating practices and resulting production from longwall faces are continually improving. Consequently, longwall operators are continually seeking to improve the dust control capabilities on longwalls. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has been conducting dust surveys at longwalls throughout the country in an effort to document the types of controls that are being used and to quantify the relative effectiveness of these controls. To date, surveys have been completed at longwalls in Alabama, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Utah, and West Virginia. In addition NIOSH has been reviewing longwall dust parameters provided by mine operators to MSHA to assess the status of dust control technology being used throughout the industry. Results from the underground dust surveys and information obtained from MSHA will be summarized in this paper to provide an update on longwall dust control technology and practices.

By John W. Brown

Electrical resistivity surveys were conducted at three sites in Wyoming in an attempt to detect underground rubble zones in oil shale and to determine their size and resistivity contrast. The zones were detected at Rock Springs sites 4 and 5, but none were detected at Green River site 1. The resistivity of the rubble zones at sites 4 and 5 is greater than that of the surrounding rock. The zones at sites 4 and 5 are concluded to be roughly ovaloid in shape, with a horizontal diameter of 33 m and a vertical thickness of 24 m. Both rubble zones and the blasting that created them are considered to be centered at a depth of 24 m.

Jan 1, 1972

By Ad. Breyre

[Internal-combustion engines have been used in Belgian mines for a long tine. As early as 1899, the use of these engines underground was considered, but the general policy was to prohibit such an application unless ministorial permission was granted' in special instances. At that time only gasoline engines were available, and a few of these were installed as stationary engines, although in general they were replaced later by electric or compressed-air motors. However, the number of gasoline locomotives continued to increase. Regulations governing the use of these locomotives soon were formulated and as early as 1920, when a now set of regulations was promulgated, the use of gasoline locomotives in mines could be authorized by the Provincial Inspection Department and no longer depended on obtaining a ministerial decision. Since 1931 this authorization may be given by the Chief Inspector of Mines, Director of the Mining District. Since 1920, safe practices have boon incorporated in the regulations.]

Jan 1, 1940

By Ad. Breyre

Internal-combustion engines have been used in Belgian mines for a long time. As early as 1899, the use of these engines underground was considered, but the general policy was to prohibit such an application unless ministorial permission was granted in special instances. At that time only gasoline engines were available, and a few of these were installed as stationary engines, although in general they wore replaced later by electric or compressed air motors. However, the number of gasoline locomotives continued to increase. Regulations governing; the use of these locomotives seen were formulated and as early as 1920, when a new set of regulations was promulgated, these of gasoline locomotives in mines could be authorized by the Provincial Inspection Department and no longer depended on obtaining a ministerial decision. Since 1931 this authorization may be given by the Chief Inspector of Mines, Director of the Mining District. Since 1920, safe practices have been incorporated in the regulations.

Jan 1, 1940

By Seth C. Scharfer

"As part of the Bureau of Mines effort to provide thermodynamic data for the advancement of mineral technology, the Gibbs energies of formation of MoS2 (molybdenite) and WS2 (tungsten disulfide) were determined with high-temperature galvanic cells employing stabilized Zr02 (zirconia) as the electro¬lyte. In the temperature range from 867 to 1,209 K, potential measurements were obtained for the cellPt, MoS2 , Mo02 , SO2 = 1 atm // Zr02 // 02 = 0.0112 atm, Pt, with the overall cell reactionMoS2(c) + 3 02(g, 0.0112 atm) = Mo02 (c) + 2 S02(g). (1)These results, combined with the best available values for Gibbs energies of formation (?G°f) of Mo02 (molybdenum dioxide) and SO2 (sulfur dioxide) from the literature, give the standard Gibbs energy of formation of MoS2, ?G°f, for the reactionMo(c) + S2(g) = MoS2(c) (2)?G°f = -96.681 + 43.76 x 10-3T±0.538 kcal/mole, (3)where temperature (T) is expressed in Kelvins.Similar measurements in the temperature range from 872 to 1,210 K were obtained for the cellPt, WS2 , W03 , SO2 = 1 atm // Zr02 // 02 = 0.0114 atm, Pt, with the overall cell reactionWS2(c) + 3.5 02(g, 0.0114 atm) = W03 (c)+ 2 S02(g). (4) Combination of these results with the best available data of ?G°f for W03 (tungsten trioxide) and SO2 from the literature gives the Gibbs energy of formation of WS2 in the temperature range from 872 to 1,210 K for the reactionW(c) + S2(g) = WS2 (c)(5)?G°f = -92.429 + 43.88 x 10-3T ± 0.280 kcal/mole. (6)A third-law analysis yields a standard enthalpy (?H°f) for the reaction298Mo(c) + 2 S(rh) = MoS2(c), (7)?H°f = -67.36±0.60 kcal/mole, (8)298where the standard states are pure crystalline MoS2 / and rhombic sulfur."

Jan 1, 1980

By John F. Elliott

Six major trends that have had and are continuing to have major effects on the use and supplies of pig iron and scrap in the United States are (a) gradual replacement of the basic open hearth furnace (OH) by the basic oxygen furnace(BOF); (b) use of the electric furnaces for the production of plain-carbon steels, a trend which is closely related to the first; (c) United States changing from being a net exporter to a net importer of steel; (d) replacement of ingot casting by strand casting; (e) increased exportation of scrap; and (f) the lack of growth of the capacity of the U. S. steel industry to produce pig iron in the last 5 to 8 years. This report gives an analysis of the relationships between these trends and the use of processes for the production of raw steel in solidified form.

Jan 1, 1975

By S. McGinn

The Brunswick Mine Diesel Particulate Filter Study was one of several research projects initiated by the Diesel Emissions Evaluation Program (DEEP). The study was carried out at Noranda?s Brunswick Mine in Bathurst, New Brunswick by Noranda Technology Centre and Brunswick Mine personnel with the collaboration of Natural Resources Canada - Canada Centre for Minerals and Energy Technology (CANMET), National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Andreas Mayer of VERT, and diesel particulate filter (DPF) system suppliers. The study began in early 2000. Field evaluations continued for 20 months. The final report?authored by Sean McGinn?was submitted to DEEP in the Autumn of 2003.

Jan 1, 2004

By J. Gautam, T. Ong, W. E. Wallace, M. Keane, S. Xing, J. Harrison

"INTRODUCTIONOrganics extractable from respirable diesel exhaust soot particles by organic solvents have been known for some time to be direct acting frameshift mutagens in the Ames Salmonella typhimurium histidine reversion assay (Huisingh, et al). Upon deposition in a pulmonary alveolus or respiratory bronchiole, respirable diesel soot particles will contact first the hypophase which is coated by and laden with surfactants. To model interactions of soot and pulmonary surfactant, we dispersed soots in vitro in the primary phospholipid pulmonary surfactant dipalmitoyl glycerophosphorylcholine (lecithin) (DPL) in physiological saline. We have shown that diesel soots dispersed in lecithin surfactant can express mutagenic activity, in the Ames assay system using S. typhimurium TA98, comparable to that expressed by equal amounts of soot extracted by dichloromethane/ dimethylsulfoxide (DCM/DMSO)(Wallace, et al, 1987). Here we report additional data on the same system using additional exhaust soots and also using two other phospholipids, dipalmitoyl glycerophosphoryl ethanolamine (DPPE), and dipalmitoyl phosphatidic acid (DPPA), with different ionic character hydrophilic moieties. A preliminary study of the surfactant dispersed soot in an eucaryotic cell test system also is reported.MATERIALS AND METHODSSoots D4 and D6 were collected at two different times as scrapings from the exhaust pipe of a diesel tractor-trailer immediately after the engine was stopped. Surfactant dispersions were made by ultrasonic probe sonicating 25 mg of commercially obtained DPL, DPPE, or DPPA into 1O ml of O.85% physiological sterile saline (PSS) for 10 min at 40 watts power. For surfactant dispersions, 2.5 mg soot was mixed into 2.5 ml of the appropriate phospholipid dispersion. Mixtures were sonicated by 40 watts sonicator probe for one min, then incubated in the sonicator water bath for 30 min at room temperature; the mixture was then incubated for one hour at 37C while being rotated continuously. Dilution series were made with saline. For solvent extraction, 2.5 mg soot was mixed into 2.5 ml of DCM and incubated in a sonicator water bath for 30 min at room temperature. The sample was then mixed with 2.7 ml DMSO, placed in a dry bath at 45C, and the DCM evaporated under a stream of nitrogen gas until 2.5 ml of liquid remained. Ames salmonella/microsome assay utilizing TA98 for frameshift mutation was used for mutagenicity testing, with and without S9 activation, as described by Ames et al (1975). Unfiltered sample extractions or dispersions were preincubated with tester cells for 90 min at 37C : 0.1 ml of sample was mixed with 0.5 ml of PSS, or of S9 mixture, and 0.1 ml of an overnight TA98 culture incubated samples were then added to 2 ml of top agar supplemented with biotin and a trace amount of histidine, and overlayed onto Vogel-Bonner minimal media plates. After 48 hours incubation at 37C, revertant colonies were counted. Solvent controls were DMSO, DPL, DPPE, DPPA, and saline. Positive controls were trinitrofluorenone (1 ug/plate), for samples not treated with S9, and 2-aminoanthracene for S9 treated samples (2.5 ug/plate). All samples were assayed in duplicate. Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) assay was performed, following Lett, et al (1981), using V79 cells, of Chinese hamster pulmonary fibroblast origin. Stock diesel sample suspensions were made as 10 mg soot/ml DPL suspension, or 20 mg soot/ml in DMSO. Aliquots of these soot preparations were added to 15 ml of culture medium per sample flask to result in concentrations of 25, 50, and 75 ug soot/ml medium. After 12 hours incubation, 200 ul of 25 uM 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was added to each flask. After another 35 hours incubation, 200 ul of 10 ug/ml colcemid were added; and the cells were harvested three hours later. Cells were swollen by hypotonic saline, and fixed twice with methanol/acetic acid, and burst on microscope slides. Cells on the slide were stained with Hoechst 33258, exp"

Jan 1, 1990

By Andrew M. Leszcykowski

A 1981 U.S. Bureau of Mines investigation indicates the Panamint Dunes Wilderness Study Area (WSA) has one active (intermittent) mine,--borrow pit MS 242 owned by the California Department of Transportation (Cal Trans). This mine produces cinders for road base and traction grit. It contains about 900,000 tons of inferred reserves. Examination and sample analyses indicate the Panamint Dunes deposit, covering about 480 acres of the WSA, may have silica resources and the Green Quartz Claim may have copper resources. Carbonate rocks occur in the WSA, but stone resources have not been identified. Adjacent to the WSA, the Big Four Mine contains 35,000 tons of inferred subeconomic zinc-lead-silver resources, and may have additional resources. Sample analyses indicate the Apple 1 Claim, also adjacent to the WSA, may have silver-lead-zinc resources.

Jan 1, 1985

By Robert L. Mentch

CADMIUM is one of the metals apparently destined to remain relatively scarce. The en tire supply of primary cadmium is recovered as a byproduct, concurrently with the treatment of ores of other metals. Development of the cadmium industry is attributed to metallurgical improvements in the zinc industry; output depends almost wholly upon zinc production. Cadmium is a metal of specialized uses where its superior performance has developed a strong, expanding demand. The supply, however, has been relatively unresponsive to price because of its byproduct nature. Cadmium's outstanding properties would assure it a manyfold greater market if more were available at lower prices.

Jan 1, 1958

By Duane L. Abata

This work, conducted under Bureau of Mines contract, deals with the development of a computer graphics software package that will: 1. display mine ventilation schematics and other representative Illustrations for a real-time data acquisition system under development by the Bureau, and, 2. utilize the Bureau-owned Minefire and Ventilation Code for display of ventilation on and contamination predictions. The software package has been written try operate on a 64K, Z-80 based microprocessor-computer. The project has been divided into two phases. The first phase dealt with the development of the graphics software The sec rind phase dealt with the retrofit of the Minefire and Ventilation Code to the Z-80 microprocessor-computer.

Jan 1, 1984

By D. K. Caddel

Several problems exist with the present design of coveralls used by miners in low coal (seam height 48 inches or less). The back portion of the coveralls often tears when roof bolts or rough areas in the roof are hit. Movement in the shoulder area is restricted. Female low coal miners find it difficult to purchase coveralls that fit properly, and must remove both their hard hat and safety belt in order to urinate and defecate. The objective of this research was to design coveralls which would alleviate these problems. The following features were incorporated into the coveralls; padding in the upper back area to avoid tearing, an action pleat in the shoulders to increase mobility, an inseam zipper to more easily allow miners to perform their bodily functions, and reflective tape to increase visibi¬lity of the miner. A heavyweight denim fabric was used to increase warmth and durability of the coveralls. The coveralls were assessed K long four parameters (comfort, safety, worker productivity, and fabric suitability) using both an in-field assessment by low coal miners and simulation studies. The experimental coveralls proved superior to conventional coveralls along all four parameters. Work clothing sizes for female miners were developed.

Jan 1, 1982

By Michael Rieber

Commodity transportation by barge is possible on about 25,000 miles of navigable inland waterways in the contiguous 48 states. Barge operations are used chiefly for the movement of bulk raw materials ranging from farm products to iron ore, coal, and other bulky semi-finished as well as finished products such as steel, chemicals and petroleum [3,p.7-9]. The barge industry, unlike other transportation industries, is largely unregulated. This is because all liquid bulk commodities most dry bulk commodities transported by for-hire carriers and companies engaged in private transportation of their own commodities are exempted from Interstate Commerce Commission regulations. As a result, about 15 percent of the total ton-miles of barge traffic each year is under Interstate Commerce Commission regulation [13,p.14-25].

Jan 1, 1977

By J. Mitchell Linne

The principal mineral commodity in the Orleans Mountain RARE II area (No. 35019) is gold. Gravel deposits along the Salmon River contain placer gold. Lode gold with associated silver is contained in quartz veins. Many placer mining claims have been located within the study area in the Salmon River district. Four placer patents totalling 230 acres were issued for claims on the Salmon River between Lewis Creek and Forks of Salmon. On this same reach of river, adjoining and overlapping the study area boundary, approximately 3.3 million cu yd (2.5 million cu m) of gold bearing gravel with values ranging from $0.51 to nearly $5 per cu yd (50.66 to $6.50 per cu m) (gold valued at $400 per troy oz), are contained in three placers, the Bloomer, Pot Luck, and Horn (table 1). Within the study area boundary there are approximately 950,000 cu yd (726,000 cu m) of gold bearing gravel in these three placers. These three mines yielded nearly 12,000 oz (373,000 g) of gold and more than 300 oz (25,000 g) of silver between 1872 and 1913.

Jan 1, 1982

By Herbert H. Einstein

Instability of rock slopes often occurs in the form of excessive movement of bodies that are bounded by discontinuities. The well known limit equilibrium analysis for wedges and blocks suffer, however, from procedural simplifications and from the basic deficiency of limit eguilibrium analysis--the rigid body assumption. Thus, stability analysis for 2-and 3-plane wedges with a wide range of additional features regarding failure modes and external forces have been developed. The deficiency, due to the rigid body assumption, was corrected by an approach that includes the effects or the in-situ stress field and of the stiffness of discontinuities. The final step in making limit equilibrium approaches more valid was achieved with the method of artificial supports which makes it possible to identify among all possible failure modes the critical one and to determine the corresponding factor of safety. The analytical development includes the creation of appropriate computer codes and routines for programmable pocket calculators.

Jan 1, 1979

By Chris Jobes, Alan Mayton, N. Kumar Kittusamy, Dean Ambrose

NIOSH researchers conducted a study to compare seat designs on underground coal mine haulage vehicles. The objective of the study was to support prior findings that NIOSH-designed seats, which incorporated ergonomic design features (e.g., viscoelastic foam padding and low-back support), are improved designs. Based on measured levels of vehicle jarring/jolting and perceived discomfort, researchers evaluated four different designs - two in-use and two NIOSH-developed, ergonomic designs. Researchers collected data using a short questionnaire, a linear, visual analog scale, and accelerometers with a data recorder. Results showed that vehicle operators favored the NIOSH seats with added adjustability, low-back support, and improved seat padding over the existing seats. In addition, the measurements indicated all NIOSH seats performed better than the existing seat, under the no-load (worse of two) conditions, in reducing peak acceleration, crest factor, and RMS acceleration. The authors summarize the data collected and operator preferences for seat designs and different foam padding arrangements.

By A. E. Raddatz

In an attempt to develop technology to use domestic resources in place of imported bauxita, the Bureau of Mines investigated sulfurous acid leaching to extract alumina from kaolin. The process consists of leaching the calcined kaolin with a 30 wt-pct S02 solution at 60° C and 160 psig for 17 hours, fil¬tering the leach slurry, precipitating monobasic aluminum sulfite from the filtrate at 110° C and 60 psig, a& decomposing the sulfite in the spent liq¬uor at 150° C and 55 psig to produce crude alumina. Purification of the crude alumina was accomplished using a modified Bayer process. Results from closed-circuit tests employing the sulfurous acid process showed that overall extraction of alumina from kaolin was 67 pct. Production of 1 ton of alumina would require 3.6 tons of calcined kaolin, 0.7 ton of sul¬fur dioxide, and 8.4 tons of water. After purification by a modified Bayer process, the alumina product contained the following; impurities, expressed in weight-percent: Fa203, 0.009; S, 3.6; Si02, 0.07; Ti02, 0.002; K20, 0.017; and P205, 0.03.

Jan 1, 1981

By Whitman E. Brown

"As part of a Nation-wide program of the United States Government to develop natural resources, funds were made available to the Bureau of Mines for the investigation of the ""Reduction of Iron Ores by Solid and Gaseous Fuels."" These investigations are concerned with the direct production of iron from its ores without the use of a blast furnace. Many processes have been proposed for the low-temperature reduction of iron oxides, but few have been developed to commercial use. High-quality sponge iron is produced com-mercially only in Sweden.The cost of iron production depends in part on the grade of the ore and increases with decrease in grade. The substitution of cheap natural gas in a sponge-iron process for expensive coke in smelting in the blast fry pace would partly compensate for the use of low-grade ores. If a process can be developed in which inexpensive natural gas can be used as fuel and reducing agent, the large deposits of low-grade iron ore and the natural-gas resources of east Texas may be utilized in the commercial production of sponge iron.Sponge iron may possibly be used to supplement scrap iron, pig iron, or, in special instances, wrought iron. Sponge iron will vary but slightly in composition and will contain little or no nickel, cobalt, manganese, copper, and other allowying metals. It is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain choice scrap iron of nonalloy composition. Pig iron contains 1.5 to 3.0 percent silicon and 3.0 to 4.5 percent carbon. Sponge iron generally contains less carbon than pig iron.The Madaras Steel Corp. in Longview, Tex., built a set commercial-scale sponge-iron plant which was intended to be operated in connection with a steel foundry. The process is based upon the reduction of preheated iron ore, with hot reducing gases under pulsating pressure. Although the Madaras Corp. had previously experimented with the production of sponge iron by reducing the ore with pure hydrogen, several attempts to use a re-formed natural gas as the reducing agent in this pilot plant were unsuccessful. The Bureau of Mines leased this plant and conducted an extensive investigation of the Madaras process on a semicommercial scale.The experiments were not entirely satisfactory, partly because of mechanical difficulties and partly because the reducing gas was not of the best quality. However, much information on the production of reducing gas by re-forming natural gas and on the reduction of iron ore with re-formed natural gas was obtained.The sponge iron produced contained approximately 0.1 percent phosphorus; and, after melting in an electric furnace, the iron contained approximately 0.15 percent phosphorus. The results of attempts to improve the ore by ore-dressing methods were not encouraging."

Aug 1, 1946

By Carl H. Beal

The oil industry in the United States is further advanced than in any other country, because of American initiative and the development of industries dependent in some way on petroleum or its products. For this reason the output has constantly increased (fig. 1), and as a result this country has produced more than half of the total output of the world. Trw total past output of the world is approximately 7,000,000,000 barrels of 42 gallons each; of this the United States produced about 4,000,000,000 barrels, or about 57 per cent. The limit of production in this country is being approached, however, and although new fields undoubtedly await discovery, the yearly outpnt must inevitably decline, because the maintenance of a given output each year necessitates the drilling of an increasing number of wells. Such an increase becomes impossible after a certain point is reached, not only because of a lack of acreage to be drilled, but because of the great number of wells that will ultimately have to be drilled. According to figure 1, the daily production per well each year has increased during the last few years. However, this increase is abnormal, being caused by the new pools brought in. Although such a condition may continue for several years, the average production per well will finally begin to decrease on account of the lack of new pools to make up for the normal decline in production of the old ones.

Jan 1, 1919

By Richard E. Thill

The Bureau of Mines' Oil Shale Data Bank (OSDB) was created in 1976 to serve as a centralized source for the storage, retrieval, and dissemination of technical literature, patents, and information on research projects in oil shale. Thousands of bibliographic references, patents, and research projects relating to the mining of oil shale have been identified, abstracted, and indexed according to selected keyword topics. The resulting data bank listings are contained in three sections, each with a separate keyword breakdown for use in rapidly identifying references pertaining to a specific subject. All references cited in the OSDB were published prior to an established cut-off date of May 1, 1981, when a redirection of Bureau of Mines programs resulted in the loss of project funds and the subsequent phasing-out of data bank operations. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The oil shale data bank listings are the result of a team effort of the project staff. The contributions of Jimaleen Jansma for keypunching, information acquisition, and data entry, and John Brandenburg and Sandra rake for keywording and information acquisition are gratefully acknowledged. Appreciation is expressed to the staff members of the Smithsonian Science Information Exchange, Washington D.C. for their cooperation in supplying data on recent research projects in oil shale for inclusion in the OSDR listings. Appreciation is extended also to the staff of the Gallegos Research Group for assisting with computer services to obtain the final printouts and transfer of files onto magnetic tape.

Jan 1, 1982