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Norton Co., the world's largest producer of abrasives, is enlarging its proppant operation. Proppants are strong chemical particles used to wedge open rock formations in deep oil wells, thereby increasing the well flow rate, sometimes as much as tenfold. Norton" aluminum oxide-based proppant is rapidly displacing less durable materials. The company is building the world's largest proppant plant in Fort Smith, AR. ALUMINUM--See also REFRACTORIES The price of primary aluminum ingot was increased by several producers in July. Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp., and Revere Copper & Brass Inc. increased the price of primary aluminum to 63.0 cents per pound, effective July I. Reynolds Metal s Co., Anaconda Aluminum Co., Howmet Aluminum Corp., and Marti n Marietta Aluminum Inc. increased the price of 99.5% primary aluminum ingot to 63.0 cents per pound, effective July 5, The Aluminum Company of America increased the price of aluminum ingot to 62.5 cents per pound, effective July 9. The range of prices at the end of the month was 58.5 to 63.0 cents per pound.

Jan 1, 1979

By E. D. Gardner

Ore and concentrate are transported on, the surface at western mining districts by (1) railroads, (2) surface trams, (3) aerial trams, (4) trucks, and (5) wagons, and (6) on the backs of animals. The daily and ultimate tonnage to be moved is the principal factor governing the selection of the method of transportation. Railroads are preferred when large tonnages are to be hauled over relatively long distances. The mine-haulage system may be extended or surface trams built to the mill or shipping point if a practical track grade is possible and if the distance is relatively short. Aerial trams have a special field of usefulness for transportation over steep or excessively rough terrain.

Jan 1, 1936

By A. L. Murray

First -aid training as an adjunct to safety is receiving more wide spread recognition in the industries every year . Moreover , the adoption of a program for giving firstaid training to practically all employees at a mine or plant is based upon the experience gained and good results obtained from standard first -aid instruction during the past two decades . In the near future industries that desire to maintain a low accident rate , to decrease compensation costs , to reduce lost time , and to build up an efficient , loyal working force , will recognize that training in first aid is one way of attaining these results with little expenditure of time and effort . Progressive organizations will require every man from the superintendent down to take first - aid training and not , as heretofore , only a small percentage of the working force . When employees learn that first - aid training can be applied not only at their daily tasks but in their homes and on tthhee highways ,, they will welcome the opportunity of learning how to care for injuries and perhaps save lives . In a limited way first - aid instruction was given to miners as early as 1899 . Later , in 1904 , a few of the companies in the Pennsylvania anthracite district inaugurated the distribution of first - aid packets to their employees and instructed them in the use of the contents . It remained , however , for a branch of the United States Government to grasp the real significance of widespread first - aid training as an effective means of saving life and minimizing suffering from the large number of accidents among workers in the mineral industries . The United States , owing to its vast resources , both natural and human , for

Jan 1, 1930

By Kenneth L. Cook

From March 1944 to July 1945 the Division of Geophysical Exploration of the Federal Bureau of Mines made magnetometer surveys of some of the principal iron ore deposits of the Iron Springs district, Iron County, Utah. The district comprises a belt about 23 miles long and 3 miles wide. Most of the large ore bodies are found as pods of replacement ore within a favorable limestone bed lying at the margins of three separate igneous intrusions in the district The magnetic surveys were confined chiefly to this geologically favorable zone at the margins. The iron ore is a mixture of magnetite and hematite. The magnetite content of the ore ranges from 14 to 58 percent. Magnetic anomalies of 1,250 gammas or more were usually found over the near-surface ore bodies. About 62,000 magnetometer stations were taken over a total traverse distance of about 300 miles. Outcropping ore bodies were surveyed to determine, insofar as was possible from the magnetic data, their probable length, width, depth, extent, strike, dip, and tonnage. Geologically favorable areas where no ore is exposed were explored in an endeavor to find new ore bodies. Favorable locations were determined for exploratory diamond drilling, both in areas of exposed ore bodies and in areas of newly discovered magnetic anomalies. Forty-five separate magnetic anomalies that indicate the possible existence of ore bodies were observed. Of these, 13 anomalies are caused by outcropping ore bodies of proved commercial size. Five are caused by non-outcropping ore bodies of proved commercial size which were discovered, in whole or in part, as a result of the geophysical surveys. Of the remaining anomalies, which lie in virtually un-tested areas where few or no ore bodies are exposed, six probably are caused by large, unexposed replacement ore bodies, nine are possibly caused by large, unexposed replacement ore bodies, and six are probably caused by unexposed magnetite veins of some small commercial importance,

Jan 1, 1949

Underground coal mine tracked vehicles have been studied to determine the state of the art and how brakes might be added to the coal haulage cars. Specific areas of interest are: brake sys terns, couplers, car trucks and car handling procedures. Problems related to adding brakes to the haulage cars appear to be: the limited amount of room to mount the brakes on the cars, brake line connection between rotary dump cars, achieving desirable braking characteristics without over complicating the system and keeping the installation cost to a reasonable figure. This document combines the information contained in the first issue of the "State-of -the-Art of Underground Coal Mine Tracked Vehicle Brake Systems," BRL Report No. 6080, with that contained in a subsequent monthly report.

Jan 1, 1973

By W. L. Cooley

Electrical accidents occurring in coal mines from 1975 through 1979 were categorized and analyzed. The data was searched for common electrical hazards, common activities on the part of those injured, and common negligent or careless behavior. The most common electrical hazard was abnormal arcs or sparks, the most common injured activity was handling energized trailing cables, and the most common careless behavior was failure to de-energize circuits before working on them. The accident data was combined with mine production statistics to form a normalized electrical accident rate. It was found that some mines have consistently more lost workdays per man-hour worked than do other mines. Bureau of Mines electrical safety research contract expenditures were reviewed to judge whether the research effort was directed to those areas which are related to the most accidents. In some cases it was not. A method was devised and utilized to estimate the relative cost to the mining industry to implement certain safety measures developed through Bureau research, and also to estimate the potential safety benefits. Some safety changes are recommended, others are not. MSHA regulations were reviewed for effectiveness in preventing electrical accidents, and suggestions were made for discontinuing, clarifying, or otherwise modifying the regulations.

Jan 1, 1981

By John Wilson

This report describes the performance of Phase I of a project to design, analyze, and demonstrate a multilift longwall mining method applicable to mining coal seams twelve (12) feet or more in thickness. A non-simultaneous multilift operation is the most viable thick seam mining technique for introduction to the United States coal industry. In the case of the proposed site at Emery, Utah it will result in an increase in coal extraction from 30% with present methods to at least 50% and possibly more. The major technological advance involved in this project is mining a lower lift under a previously mined upper lift. To accomplish this, entries must be developed and maintained beneath the upper lift gob. This will necessitate the use of steel supports at frequent intervals throughout the lower lift' entry system. This has not been done in the U.S. to date. An economic analysis of the project indicates that, while this method will result in a higher than average cost per ton for coal mined, the coal would be competitive with current-operation in the area.

Jan 1, 1976

By D. Harrington

This paper is a revision of Information Circular 7380, by D. Harrington and J. H. East, Jr., published in 1946, entitled ?Safe Storage, Handling, and Use of Commercial Explosives in Metal Mines, Nonmetallic Mines, and Quarries.? Issued soon after the close of World War II, this earlier circular described the unprecedented increase in the production and use of commercial explosives during the war as a result of expanded industry and the tremendous demand f or metals and minerals. In the years following World War II, the production and use of commercial explosives in the United States have continued to rise. Hence, the Bureau of Mines presents these revised figures through 1952. In rewriting this Wormation circular, most of the text prepared by Harrington and East has been retained, with newer statistical information compiled by Seth T. Reese, Accident Analysis Branch, and V. E. Wrenn, of the same branch.

Jan 1, 1954

By Louis J. Sousa

In November 1989, the U.S. Bureau of Mines sponsored a 2-day conference to stimulate thinking and discussion about changing materials technologies and implications for the Government's materials information programs. On the first day of the conference, speakers provided overviews of developments occurring in each of the major materials groups. Emerging technological developments, applications, economic and national defense significance, intermaterial competition, and potential market growth in advanced plastics, polymer composites, ceramics, metals, and electronic materials were described. In general, the speakers forecast advanced materials market growth rates in excess of overall gross national product (GNP) though high costs will tend to limit growth outside of aerospace, defense, electronics, medical equipment, and other typically high value-added businesses. On the second day, a wide range of speakers representing several facets of the materials community described how advances in materials technology are creating a need for new types of data, statistics, information, and analysis. Reflecting the speakers' broad range of organizational, professional, and personal perspectives, an array of information needs was identified. Most requirements, however, seemed to fall into one of five major categories: Federal materials research activities, material standards, market and economic information, health and safety, and public policy.

Jan 1, 1990

By A. J. Kraemer, H. M. Thorne

The following account of oil-shale operations in Australia is based upon infor- mation obtained by the authors while visiting Australia from September 15 to October 7, 1947, supplemented by published data, and augmented by analyses of samples of oil shale and its products at the Oil-shale Research and Development Laboratories of the Bureau of Mines at Laramie, Wyo. The primary objective of the authors' trip to Australia was to obtain, first hand, information regarding the equipment and methods used by National Oil Proprie- tary, Ltd., at Glen Davis, New South Wales, in mining oil shale, extracting oil from it, and refining the shale oil. This company was operating the only oil-shale plant that had been active in Australia since 1945. The plant comprised an oil-shale mine, 104 modified Pumpherston (Fell) retorts in 2 batteries, a hele refinery, and a 3-inch gusoline pipeline to the railroad loniing terminal t Sun Junction, 30 miles away. There were, also, the usual and necessary any uralities, such as a power house, mechanical shops, offices, and laboratories One Information regarding the company's operations was wance because of its bear- Ing upon the synthetic liquid fuels program of the Bureau of Mines, pursuant to the Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act of April 5, 1944 (30 U.S.C., 321-325, as amended). objective of the Bureau's program. In accordance with the maniate of the Act, is to furnish American industry cost and engineering data necessary for the development of synthetic-liquid fuel industry, and an obvious means of obtaining some of these data is to learn how oil shale is being mined and retorted and how shale oil is re- rined in countries where these operations have been conducted on a plant scale for many years. The authors spent 2 weeks at the plant of National Oil Proprietary, Lt., at Glen Davis, and were afforded every opportunity to obtain letailed and specific information regarding all aspects of the company'a operations.

Jul 1, 1951

By Janet Torma-Krajewski

Research has shown that an ergonomics process that identifies risk factors, devises solutions to reduce musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), and evaluates the effectiveness of the solutions can lower worker exposure to risk factors and MSDs and improve productivity. A review of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) injury/illness database indicated that 46% of illnesses in 2004 were associated with repetitive trauma and 35% of nonfatal lost days involved material handling during 2001? 2004. Even though these statistics show that MSDs significantly contribute to occupational illnesses and injuries in the U.S. mining industry, few mining companies have implemented an ergonomics process. Despite the many unique challenges in the mining environment, three mining companies partnered with the MSD Prevention Team at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health?s Pittsburgh Research Laboratory to demonstrate that an ergonomics process could be systematically implemented and effectively integrated with existing safety and health programs. Because these three mining companies were very different in organization, culture, and size, the ergonomics processes had to be modified to meet the needs of each company. A description of how these three companies applied ergonomics and the tools and training used to implement their processes is given. Prior to discussing the case studies, general information on the elements of an ergonomics process is provided.

Feb 1, 2009

By P. R. Bradley

This paper is one of a series , dealing with mining methods and costs , sponsored and published by the U. S. Bureau of Mines . Papers of this series are written by engineers and executives of mining companies , at the solicitation of the Bureau , and in accordance with an outline prepared by Bureau engineers , for the purpose of securing uniform presentation and conformable data . The property of the Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Co. is situated near the city of Juneau , Alaska , in what is known as the Harris mining district . Wholesale mining operations have been adopted on a large scale and 10,000 to 11,000 tons per day of gold- bearing ore are mined and sent to concentrators near Juneau . In addition to gold , the ore yields 0.6 ounce of silver and 13.0 pounds of lead to each ounce of gold recovered .

Oct 1, 1929

By Timothy A. Clancy

To help reduce the Nation's dependence on imported chromite, the Bureau of Mines is conducting research on the use of dolomites as an alternate material. Dolomite is a plentiful domestic resource and offers certain advantages as a refractory raw material. A review of the literature has indicated that there are many sources of high-purity dolomite in this country and that European nations use a greater proportion of dolomite refractories, primarily in steelmaking, than the United States, The Bureau of Mines characterized 14 domestic dolomites as to chemistry, density, mineralogy, microstructure, and thermal behavior, to develop baseline data on their suitability as refractory raw materials.

Jan 1, 1983

By Terry S. Cory

This report is a comprehensive summary of the results of the propagation measurements program conducted for the US Bureau of Mines under Contract H0366028. Data was gathered in the MF frequency range from a cross sample of six mines representative of the industry having typical wireless requirements. From the raw data which was gathered, a logical method of data reduction is presented which culminates in a set of average attenuation characteristics for all mines visited. These characteristics define a typical MF wireless system when the communication range requirements are known. Direct through-the-earth propagation and the range enhancement mechanism due to coupling on and off conductors are evaluated and related to the planning of a typical wireless MF communications system.

Jan 1, 1977

By Robert C. Dyni

The Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the Solution Mining Research Institute conducted surface and subsurface investigations over five solution-mined salt cavities in the Hutchinson, KS, area. The purpose of these investigations was to determine the mechanisms that lead to the formation of sinkholes above collapsed solution cavities. Of the five salt-solution cavities investigated, four had collapsed and produced sinkholes prior to the time of the investigations; the fifth cavity was considered stable. Exploratory drilling and coring operations were conducted at all five sites; surface stability monitoring was conducted at three of them. The results of these studies indicate that excessive dissolution at the salt-shale contact of each collapsed cavity produced large, unsupported roof spans that ultimately exceeded the structural integrity of the overburden. The stable cavity was not exposed to excessive dissolution at the salt-shale contact; this limited the roof span and ensured a stable cavity. The data also show that surface settlement in the vicinity of the two surface-monitored sinkholes continued for approximately 7 years after the sinkholes formed, indicating that the rubble piles of the collapsed cavities were undergoing gradual consolidation.

Jan 1, 1986

By Theron A. Klinefelter, Sidney Speil, Sidney Gottlied

"INTRODUCTION The investigation of domestic talcs by the United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Mines, was initiated in December 1941 at the request Gen. Charles Hines of the United States Army. The urgency for such study was expressed by General Hines as follows:The radio-manufacturing industry has recently been expanded by the Army to provide sufficient, capacity for defense needs, and considerable concern has been expressed by the supply Arms and Services over maintaining continued availability of supplies of the necessary raw material. These ceramic products are used by the Signal Cores in all Army radio equipment, and to a greater degree in the new special ultra-high-frequency equipment. The Air Corps has recently become a user large amounts of radio-grade ceramics for aircraft spark-plug covers required for high-altitude operations. In addition, the use of this material is essential to the proper functioning of the radio-navigation aids of the Civil Aeronautics Board.Progress in the Bureau of Mines studies on talc was made available to representatives of the Army and Navy through frequent interim reports. Through the efforts of the several war agencies concerned with raw-materials supply and the domestic talc producers, the condition of scarcity that developed in 1942 passed to one of ease in 1943, and has so continued to date. Tentative estimate of reserves delineated indicates a supply of high-grade steatite sufficient to meet military war requirements for at least 4 or 5 years."

Apr 1, 1945

Throughout October, U.S. producers priced unalloyed 99.5 percent aluminum ingot at 53¢ per pound. Dealers, in last month's domestic market, were quoting unalloyed ingot at a range of 45.5¢-46.3¢ per pound. Costa Rica recently issued a proposal to Japanese aluminum smelters to participate in an integrated aluminum-refining project which would include bauxite development. The project reportedly would include a 600,000-kilowatt hydroelectric power station, a 600,000-metric-ton-per-year alumina plant, and a 300,000-ton-per-year primary aluminum smelter. Two U.S. firms--Aluminum Co. of Amerjca (Alcoa) and Martin Marietta Co.--and several European aluminum smelters are also said to be interested in taking part in this project. Alcoa conducted a feasibility study for the Costa Rican Government in 1970 and estimated the bauxite reserves to contain 150 million metric tons.

Jan 1, 1977

By E. G. King

The Bureau of Mines made experimental determinations of the heats of formation of forsterite and chrysotile at 298.15° K. The heat capacities of two polymorphs of serpentine, chrysotile and antigorite, were measured over the temperature range from 50° to 298° K and the entropies at 298.15° K were evaluated. The heat content of antigorite above 298.15° K was measured to 850° K. These thermochemical data were combined with other pertinent data to give heat and free energy of formation values at high temperatures. Free energy values are given for the reaction, forsterite + water = brucite + serpentine at different temperatures and pressures.

Jan 1, 1967

By J. R. Alldredge

This Bureau of Mines report presents a computer code that has been developed for describing and testing the statistical distribution of general continuous data sets. The statistical distributions used include the normal, lognormal, exponential, chi square, gamma, and uniform. Histograms for observed and expected values are plotted for each distribution. An example using geologic data obtained from a study of the geometric properties of natural fractures in oil shale rock illustrates the use of the computer program, GDIST.

Jan 1, 1977

This Kaiser Engineers report on the feasibility of surface mining on the North Slope of Alaska has considered the quantity and quality of the North Slope deposits with attention paid to the economic, technical, and environmental constraints of the mining systems suggested for the three candidate minesites at Kukpowruk River, Elusive Creek, and Kuk River. Site selection, based on coal rank and quality as well as seam thickness and geometry, also considered demonstrated and hypothetical reserves relative to three mining systems (dragline, shovel, dragline and shovel), mining equipment requirements, infrastructure, and transportation relative to the Arctic environment and costed for potential markets. Throughout the report the delicate permafrost environment has received particular consideration. Recommendations based on the technical, economic, and environmental feasibility of mining the coal deposits of Northern Alaska by surface mining techniques have resulted in two conclusions: 1. The coal deposits can be mined with currently available technology; 2. It is uneconomic to mine these coals given current coal resource estimates, costs, and market conditions. A literature survey is included in appendix.

Jan 1, 1977