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Commodities statistics and other information are available through the following three systems: Internet Access: To acccess the USBM Gopher server on Internet, connect to: gopher.usbm.gov port 70, using gopher client software. Or contact the Systems Administrator for technical questions: Matt Klevemann, 412-892-6499 (klevemmc@miner.usbm.gov) These USBM materials are available on Internet, with more to come in the future: Publications and other research findings, including this bimonthly publications list, newsletters, tech transfer updates, enviromental technology research, health and safety information. USBM software products Media materials and speeches. Mines Data: Computer bulletin board. Log on via modem through 202/501-0373, or call 202/501-0406 for technical assistance. Mines FaxBack. Return fax service. 1. Use the touch-tone handset attached to your fax machine's telephone jack. (ISDN [digital] telephones cannot be used with fax machines.) 2. Dial 202/219-3644. 3. Listen to the menu options and punch in the number of your selection, using the touch-tone telephone. 4. After completing your selection, press the start button on your fax machine.

Jan 1, 1995

By G. L. Hundley

An anhydrous chlorination process has been developed by the Bureau of Mines for the production of copper, ferric oxide, and sulfur from chalcopyrite. The first part of the process is a chlorination step in which elemental sulfur and a mixture of iron-copper chlorides are produced. This paper describes the second step of the process in which the copper and iron chlorides are reacted with oxygen to selectively convert the iron chloride to ferric oxide and chlorine leaving the copper in the chloride form. The chlorides are pulverized and dropped countercurrent to a flow of oxygen in a vertical 20-cm-diam. reactor at 800° C. By leaching with brine, the copper chloride may be separated from the insoluble iron oxide and reduced to copper powder by electrowinning. It has been demonstrated that 70 to 80 pct of the iron can be converted to oxide in a single-stage operation with a chlorine content in the offgas of 80 pct. After removal of the oxygen, this chlorine could be recycled to the chlorination step. A two-stage operation will convert 98 to 99 pct of the iron in the mixture to insoluble oxides. The offgas from the second stage contains 70 pct chlorine.

Jan 1, 1974

By F. S. Crawford

During the course of a study of the safety organizations of the various iron mining companies in the Lake Superior district considerable in¬ formation regarding the methods of safety inspection in use was obtained which may be of value to other companies beginning safety work or contemplat¬ ing changes in their methods. A short description of the safety-inspection methods of eleven of these companies is given in this paper, and in the appendix are illustrated a number of forms used for safety inspections by several of the companies. Most of the companies whose methods are described use few forms for formal inspection. The one long form (10) attached which is used for a general in¬ spection by the safety inspector appears to present a good method for enabling the inspector to check all branches of his inspection and to assure himself that everything has been covered. All names of companies have been deleted from this paper and from the forms because the object is to disseminate information of constructive value rather than to point out the methods of particular companies by name.

Aug 1, 1931

By T. R. Strombotne

The purpose of this report k to document a contract undertaken by TSA Systems, Incorporated for the United States Bureau of Mines to develop a commercially available source of a continuous, working,, level detector for the measurement of radon daughter products in various working environments. The basic radon measuring technique was devised by Robert Droullard and Robert Holub and has been applied here. For further details or purchasing information contact: TSA Systems, Incorporated 4919 North Broadway Boulder, Colorado 80302

Jan 1, 1982

By D. C. Dahlin

The Bureau of Mines investigated the Ketchem Dome tin prospect in east-central Alaska to evaluate the tin resource. The studies included field investigations, mineralogical characterization, and concentration of the tin-bearing minerals. The tin mineralization consists of cassiterite (Sn02), which occurs as grains disseminated in a greisen (quartz-mica) matrixo A bulk sample from the largest and best-developed greisen vein exposed at Ketchem Dome contained 0.51 pct Sn. Concentration of the cassiterite by gravity table methods resulted in a product that contained 56 pct of the tin at a grade of 41.4 pct Sn. The mineralization exposed at Ketchem Dome is typical of greisen found in the area and elsewhere in interior Alaska.

Jan 1, 1987

By E. R. Palowitch, A. W. Deurbrouck

The Bureau of Mines reviewed available data on the effect of crushing high - sulfur coals for the liberation of impurities in the light of increasingly stringent air pollution regulations . The survey , which provided information on Appalachian region coals only , indicated that such important coalbeds as the Upper and Lower Freeport and the Upper Kittanning show significant sulfur reductions when crushed to 14 - mesh top size . For many other coalbeds amenability to sulfur liberation by crushing was indicated , although too few samples were available to draw firm conclusions .

Jan 1, 1966

By G. R. Hopkins

[Apparent progress in economy at petroleum refineries, as measured by the average amount of hest units required to refine a barrel or crude oil, received a set-back in 1938, when the average rose to 567,000 B. t. u., compared with 562,000 B. t. u. in 1937 (see fig. 1). The primary factor in the rise in average heat requirement's per barrel of crude oil refined in 1938 was the decline in total runs to Invariably the average requirement increases when crude inn to stills decline, and vice versa. In other words, annual gains in fuel efficiency at refineries are masked by the degree to which the capacity is utilized. Additional crude runs give lower average heat requirements in two grays first, because they are mane with the expenditure of cc-comparatively small amounts s of auxiliary heat, and, second, because additional runs generally represent simple topping operations. In 1938 crude runs to stills declined 1.6 percent (from 1,183,440,000 barrels in 1937 to 1,165,015,000 barrels in 1938), but the total heat consumption declined only 0.4 percent, or from. 663,866 billion B. t. u. in 1777 to 660, 56 billion in 1938.]

Jan 1, 1939

By Frank E. Cash

The iron-ore ranges in the Lake Superior district are the liarquette in Michigan, Menominee and Gogebic in Michigan end Wisconsin, and the Vermilion, Mesabi, and Cuvuna in Minnesota. These ranges produce about 85 percent of the iron ore mined in the United States. Accident experience in connection with this production is better than that of the regions producing the remaining 15 percent. Production and shipments vary slightly from year to year but closely approximate each other over a period of years. During the 4-year period 1940 to 1943, inclusive, 323,667,599 long tons of iron ore was shipped from the Lake Superior district.4/ Michigan and Wisconsin shipped 65,386,608 tons, or 20.2 percent of the total, and employed approximately 15,000 men; Minnesota shipped 258,280,991 tons, or 79.8 percent of the total, and employed approximately 10,000 men. The tons produced per man employed is much, greater in Minnesota than in Michigan and Wisconsin owing to the large open-cut production in Minnesota.

Jan 1, 1945

By G. R. Hopkins

[Apparent progress in fuel economy at petroleum refineries, as measured by the average amount of .seat units required to refine a barrel of crude oil, received a set-back in 1935, when the average rose to 562,00 B. t. u., compared with 562,000 B.t.u. in 1937 (see fig. l). The primary factor in the rise in average heat requirement's per barrel of crude oil refined in 1938 wan the decline in total runs to Invariably the average requirement increases when crude ins to stills decline, and vice versa. In other words, annual gains in fuel efficiency at refineries arc masked by the degree to which the capacity is utilized. Additional crude runs give lower average e heat requirements in two ways - first, because they are mane with the c expenditure of comparatively small amounts of auxiliary heat, and, second, because the additional runs generally represent simple topping operations. In 1938 crude runs, to stills declined 1.6 percent (from 1,183,440,000 barrels in 1937 to 1,165,015,000 barrels in 1938), but the total heat consumption declined only 0.4 percent, or from 663,866 billion B. t. u. in 1777 to 660, 56 billion in 1938 .]

Jan 1, 1939

By Martin S. Oudenhoven

This report describes the results of a Bureau of Mines investigation in which the stress concentrations and distributions caused by inclusions in a strained elastic plate were determined, Finite element analyses were made for 168 models containing single inclusions of elliptical, ovaloidal, and rectangular shape. The variables studied included: horizontal-to-vertical loading ratios, (Sh/Sv) of 0,0.33,0.5, and 1.0; width-to-height ratios (w/h), of 0.25, 0.5, 2, and 4; and Young's modulus of inclusion to Young?s modulus of plate ratios (K ratios) of 0.33, 0.5, 2.0, and 5.0. The results show that the theory for elliptical inclusions can accurately predict the average stress along the x and y axes of symmetry for circular, ovaloidal, and rectangular inclusions from the width-to-height and K ratios. The actual inclusion shape was insignificant, suggesting that the average stresses in other inclusions of irregular shape (orebodies) can be estimated with the theory for an elliptical inclusion. An application of this technique to mining problems is presented. The stresses in the elliptical inclusions were uniform throughout the inclusion for all the models studied.

Jan 1, 1972

By M. J. Ferrante

The Bureau of Mines recovered rhenium powder from scrap tungsten alloy containing approximately 25 percent rhenium. Oxidation of the scrap at 950° C separated volatile rhenium heptoxide from tungsten trioxide. Minor amounts of tungsten, iron, and nickel were removed by selective precipitation from a rhenium solution from which was recovered crystalline ammonium perrhenate. Experimentation showed that hydrogen reduction of minus 325-mesh ammonium perrhenate at 1,000° C produced rhenium powder averaging 2.1 microns in size (Fisher Sub-Sieve method). The powder contained <50 ppm of total metallic impurities and 1,070 ppm of total interstitial impurities. Sintered compacts had a density of 95 percent of theoretical. Approximately 96 percent of the rhenium contained in the scrap alloy was recovered.

Jan 1, 1969

By R. C. Wang, W. M. McKewan

The behaviour of wire ropes used in mine hoisting is not well understood. In an effort to improve this understanding, the structure of round-strand wire ropes was analysed. This report provides a generalised mathematical model that completely describes the geometry of the wires. It consists of two sets of vector equations and is valid for any round-strand wire rope. One set of equations is used to trace the paths of wires that have the form of a single helix. The other is used for the paths of double helical wires. The specific model for a 33-mm 6x1 9 Seale, IWRC, right regular lay wire rope was presented as an example. The paths and the geometric properties of the wires which include the path length per lay of strand, the curvature, and the torsion were determined from this model. In future work, the model could be used to conduct stress analysis for the wires in the deformed rope at a given rope strain and also to study the effect of wear and breaking of wires on strength loss for the various round-strand wire ropes used in mine hoisting.

By G. W. Jones

[The determination of the ignition tcqornturc ol" dict:iyl cther and othylene in air ma o;GrT;en rir..ic&apos;r. is dcscribed In thin report J&apos;IF.R mqdo primarily for comparison rritll sinilnr d~ton:in:~tions of ot; cr co~~o~imS-r, in the same apparatus and using the r?.:?.r.~o 1a.borntorg t cchzllique The investigation was conducted at the 2ittsbur;;h Experiment Station of the United States wcau 02 hii2cs vritEl tl~c cooperation of licrclc & Co., Inc.]

Jan 1, 1935

By R. R. Wells

An important activity of the Bureau of Mines is the continual search for new sources of minerals. As a part of the investigation of strategic mineral deposits in the United States, samples of mercury ores were submitted to the Ore Dressing sections of the Salt Lake City and Albany stations for metallurgical testing. This paper gives data summarizing the results obtained from laboratory beneficiation studies of mercury ore samples submitted during the period 1941 to 1947. Ores tested included three from Jackson County, Oreg., one from Valley County, Idaho, one from Storey County, Nev., and one from Sonoma County, Calif. In general, the ores from Oregon were not amenable to concentration by flotation because of intimate association of cinnabar with other minerals or because of extremely low grade. One Oregon ore was amenable to direct distillation provided lime was added to reduce corrosion of the retort.

Jan 1, 1950

By R. W. Dalzell

The performance characteristics, efficiency, and operating pressure of jute line-brattice systems were studied under varying underground conditions; various fabric grades and installation methods were used. The test results indicate that line-brattice system efficiency is dependent upon the method of ventilation the method of installation, porosity of fabric, and size of tight rib area.

Jan 1, 1966

By H. S. Caldwell

Molten zinc, condensed from zinc vapor, was used by the Federal Bureau of Mines to leach aluminum from an aluminum-silicon alloy made by carbothermic reduction of silicious aluminum ores. Zinc requirements were minimized by re-fluxing condensed zinc in a low-pressure, Soxhlet-type distillation unit. The minimum ratio of zinc used to aluminum in the crude alloy was approximately 2:1. When the system pressure was reduced from atmospheric pressure to 100 microns or less, the rate of aluminum extraction increased by a factor of 20. Leaching rates were much higher when the zinc vapor was condensed directly on the crude alloy than when molten zinc was passed over the alloy in the absence of appreciable zinc vapors. Observations indicated higher extraction efficiencies from crude alloys containing greater amounts of iron. Complete extraction was obtained with negligible loss of zinc. Assuming complete removal of zinc, the aluminum products will contain 1 to 6 percent silicon and about 0.5 percent iron plus titanium. The leached crude-alloy residue is a highly friable spongelike material containing about 80 percent silicon, several percent iron and titanium, with the remainder aluminum. This extraction method has been patented (Patent 2,810,637) and assigned to the Government. Research and development investigations are continuing at the College Park Metallurgy Research Center.

Jan 1, 1961

By Forrest T. Moyer, J. I. DAVIS, JOSEPH H. SCHUSTER, E. K. ELSNER

The National Safety Competition conducted by the Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior, is held each year for the purpose of promoting safety in the mineral industries of the United States. Since the program was inaugurated in 1925, twenty-three safety competitions have been held. This publication is a report of the results of the contests held in 1944, 1945, 1946, and 1947. The names of plants that have been awarded "Sentinels of Safety" trophies and Certificates of Achievement in Safety dur- ing these years, together with a summary of their achievements in injury prevention, are listed. Statistical data covering the injury experience of all plants entered in the annual contests also are included in this publi- cation. The injury statistics of these plants, arranged in the six groups of the competition, are the only data on injury severity at mineral operations available to the Bureau of Mines. Interest in the National Safety Competition has increased steadily. The number of participating plants has increased from 210 in 1925, the first year of the competition, to the record number of 494 in 1946. The widening scope of the competition means that a steadily increasing number of the mines and quarries in the United States are participating in a program that will supplement their other activities in promoting safety. Safety competitions have long been recognized as instrumental in stimulating and holding the interest of employees and officials in accident-prevention work. During the years covered by this report, conditions in the mineral industries of the United States were hardly conducive to setting records in accident prevention. During the war years, handicaps were especially severe- loss of skilled employees to the armed forces or to higher-wage war industries, greater production by a smaller force of workers, relatively high rates of labor turn-over, the longer workday in effect through 1944 and 1945, and difficulties in obtaining repairs and replacement for badly worn machinery. Even the immediate postwar period has brought no abatement of the tremendous pressure upon the mineral industries for greater production. Although there was a decrease of 18 in 1947 from the record enrollment in 1946, these oper- ations worked 160,525,025 man-hours, the greatest number of man-hours of exposure to mining hazards in any year of the contest except 1942. Despite the accelerated pace at which the mineral industry worked during the 4 years covered by this report, participants in the National Safety Competition have achieved creditable performances in the promotion of safety. In fact, the injury-severity rate in the enrolled plants in the 1947 contest was 7.315 days for each thousand man-hours worked, the lowest by far in the history of the National Safety Competition. The injury-frequency rate of 42.155 for each million man-hours of exposure to mine hazards in 1947 marks a favorable trend downward from the rate of 50.577 in 1946, which was the

Dec 1, 1949

By Erik Sherer

Indonesia is poised to become a major player in the Pacific Rim thermal coal markets. Although the colonial Dutch developed numerous coal mines in the late 1800&apos;s for steamship bunkers and domestic fuel, Indonesia&apos;s coal industry has only recently begun to actively participate in the growing global marketplace. This export coal is primarily the result of the commercial development of coal mines in eastern Kalimantan by foreign contractors. From virtually no coal exports in the late 1980?s, Indonesia&apos;s coal industry has increased its exports to approximately 15 million metric tons (Mmt) in 1992. In 1992, Indonesia was the world?s sixth largest exporter of steam coal, By the year 2000, Indonesia projects that it will supply approximately 25 percent of the seaborne thermal coal requirements of the Pacific Rim countries. Although limited quantities of this coal may enter the European and U.S. markets, high qualities, low production casts, and favorable transportation rates will make Indonesian coals very competitive in the rapidly growing Pacific Rim markets. This study examines the Indonesian coal mining industry and compares it to the U.S. coal mining industry. This report is the sixth in a series of coal exporting country studies requested by the House Appropriations Committee. Previous studies examined the Colombian, Canadian, Australian, South African, Polish, and Venezuelan coal industries.

Jan 1, 1994

By O. C. Blade

Production of crude petroleum in the Middle East (southwestern Asia) and in South America has increased greatly during recent years and has become a significant factor in the world&apos;s production of crude oil. Crude oil from fields in the Middle East increased from 256,164,000 barrels in 1946 to 305,833,000 barrels in 1947 and 417,201,000 barrels in 1948. Production from South American fields increased from 446,417,000 barrels in 1946 to 518,652,000 barrels in 1947 and 574,837,000 barrels in 1948. Crude-oil production from Canadian fields increased from 7,726,876 barrels in 1947 to 12,370,875 barrels in 1948, most of the increase being attributable to two fields, Leduc and Redwater, both represented by analyses in this report. Present indications are that production of crude petroleum from all these regions will continue to increase.

Jan 1, 1950

By W. S. Sanner

Seven samples were analyzed from the major reserves of the Bottom Red Ash bed, Northern anthracite field. The data show variations in thickness and geo-logic structure and in the amount of coal that can be recovered. Recovery of market-grade (less than 17 percent ash) coal is high for all samples, ranging from 76 tp 95 percent in the 3-1/4-by 9/16-inch sizes. The occurrence of coal containing less than 5 percent ash varies from 19.5 to as much as 57.5 percent. Crushing the coarse sizes to minus 9/16 inch increased recovery of market-grade coal in six of seven bed samples. Crushing released sufficient impurities to cause substantial increases in yield of coal containing less than 5 percent ash for all samples. Analyses of the float coal indicate that the quality of coal is comparable for all samples.

Jan 1, 1967