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By C. H. Riggs

This report presents pertinent data on all active water-flooding projects in Washington County, Okla., and describes in detail the operation and production history of five representative floods. The flooding of partly depleted oil-bearing sands to produce petroleum that would not be recovered by other methods is becoming increasingly important to the oil industry. In 1942, two water-flooding projects in Washington County produced 35 barrels of oil daily from 90 developed acres. In March 1951, 4,000 barrels of oil was being produced daily by the injection of 58,000 barrels of water on 19 active projects covering 1,645 acres. Several projects are being extended, and new operations are being initiated. Figure 1 shows the location of the active water-flooding projects in Washington County. The yearly oil production from Washington County increased from 1,076,000 barrels in 1948 to 1,720,000 barrels in 1950, owing principally to the effects of water flooding. To March 1951, permits to flood more than 8,000 acres in Washington County had been granted by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

Jan 1, 1951

By A. F. Robertson

"INTRODUCTION This report is supplemental to R.I. 4178 and deals with the work accomplished between June 15, 1945, and September 7, 1945, on the Mitchell-Hodge mine, Grady mine, Albea and York property, and Cuzzort property.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSIn its program or exploration of mineral deposits, the Bureau of Mines has as its primary objective the more effective utilization of our mineral resources to the end that they make the greatest possible contribution to national security and economy. It is the policy of the Bureau to publish the facts developed by exploratory project as soon as practicable after its conclusion. The Mining Branch, Lowell B. Moon, chief, conducts preliminary examinations, performs the actual exploratory work, and prepares the final report. The Metallurigcal Branch, O. C. Ralston, chief, analyzes samples and performs benefication tests.Acknowledgment is due Mitchell H. Kline, chief, Raleigh Division, Mining Branch; Abraham L. Fox, acting chief, Raleigh Division, Metallurgical Branch; and Rowe McCrae, district engineers, U.S. Bureau of Mines, Gainesville,"

Jan 1, 1946

By d&apos, Kathleen J. Amico

THIS SUMMARY appears in Minerals Yearbook volumes I and III, which cover mineral production in the United States, its island possessions, the Canal Zone, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as the principal minerals imported into and exported from the United States. The several commodity and area chapters contain further details on production. A summary table comparing world and U.S. mineral production also is included. Mineral production may be measured at any of several stages of extraction and processing. The stage of measurement used in the chapter is normally what is termed "mine output." It usually refers to minerals in the form in which they are first extracted from the ground, but customarily includes for some minerals the product of auxiliary processing operatons at or near mines.

Jan 1, 1963

By Robert H. Peters

This U.S. Bureau of Mines report identifies the types of serious accidents that occur most frequently at small underground coal mines and describes the strategies that could help prevent these accidents. A wide variety of methods for improving safety are suggested, including improvements in the design of equipment, work procedures, work schedules, safety programs, and emergency response plans, as well as techniques for diagnosing the potential hazards associated with new technologies and work procedures. Some of the papers in this volume focus on preventing specific types of mining accidents--ones associated with materials handling (primarily back injuries), equipment maintenance, improper machine guarding, and ground failure during retreat mining. Although the recommendations in this volume are heavily influenced by research performed at underground coal mines in the Appalachian coalfields, most of the papers contain advice that is equally pertinent to almost any type of mine.

Jan 1, 1994

By E. D. Eastman

There are three researches upon the specific heat of water vapor by the method of explosion that are sufficiently advanced in technique and suitable in plan to justify careful study of their results , with the double purpose of fixing the best available experimental values and indicating the attainable accuracy of the method. These three researches comprise the work of Pier , Bjerrum , and Siegel.5 The work of earlier date than Pier's suffers from obvious inaccuracy of measurement , while the experiments more recent than Siegel's , such as those of Womersley6 , of Bone and his collaborators , and of Maxwell and Wheeler , 8 are for the most part not well designed for the accurate determination of the heat capacities in question . Some of the errors to which they are especially subject have been discussed by David and by David and Thorp.

Sep 1, 1930

By A. N. Fried

One of the important problems confronting oil producers in appraising the possibilities of secondary recovery in many California fields is the effect of viscosity on oil recovery by water flooding. In January 1954 there were 554 fields and/or pools, in the State, that produced 1 million barrels daily, and 138 of these pools produced approximately 267 thousand barrels daily of heavy crude oil having gravities below 200 API. Many of these fields are nearing the end of their primary economic life and still have high residual-oil saturations, a favorable factor in water flooding. The crux of the problem is whether or not enough oil can be recovered from these fields by water flooding to make the operation economically successful. Some experiments on the relationship between viscosity and oil recovery have been made by other investigators, but in most instances the viscosity of the oils used in the experiments was lower than the viscosity of the oils found in many of the heavy-oil fields in California. A study was undertaken, therefore, to determine the relationship between oil viscosity and recovery over a wider range of viscosities and to compare the experimental results with those predicted by theoretical calculations.

Jan 1, 1955

By Jos. R. Guiteras

This paper describes the pumping operations at the Ajax, Cresson, and Vindicator dines in the Cripple Creek mining district of Colorado during the summer of 1936. At that time the three mines wore pumping 6,500 gallons of water per minute into the Roosevelt drainage tunnel. Cripple Creek is the most important gold district in the State; it has yielded gold valued at over $365,000,000. The mines engaged in pumping are among the largest producing properties in the district. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to acknowledge the friendly cooperation of mine officials at the properties visited. At the. Ajax mine information was courteously given by Clayton Kissel, mine superintendent, and his staff; R. Y. Roby contributed the drawings. For information on the Cresson mine, thanks are expressed to Al H. Bebee, mine superintendent, and his staff, especially to Guy Rorabaugh, master mechanic, and to engineer Carlton. At the Vindicator mine, J. S. Anderson; mine superintendent, and Robert Welch, master mechanic, assisted; the latter furnished most of the information about that mine. Acknowledgment is also made of the cooperation of M. H. Salsbury, engineer at the Portland mine, who supplied technical data on the Roosevelt drainage tunnel.

Jan 1, 1937

By Victor V. Verbinski

This report presents the development of a raw coal concentration sensor for hydro-transport of coal and refuse (rock) from underground mines, and the results of an international test series carried out at the Colorado School of Mines Research Institute in Golden, Colorado, the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Hydraulic Transport Research Facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Saskatchewan Research Facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and the Steinkohlenbergbauverein Test Facility in Essen, West Germany. Test results are presented for a three-component sensor and also for the more rugged two-component (all nuclear) sensor.

Jan 1, 1988

By J. P. Dunford

This U.S. Bureau of Mines report describes the development of a yielding steel post for underground mine support. The report covers concept development, laboratory tests, modifications, and field evaluations. The objective of this work was to develop a stiff support member capable both of supporting high loads and yielding when excessive amounts of mine entry closure were present. The 6-to 7-ft steel post was designed to yield nearly 2 ft while maintaining a 45-ton (force) load. The post is a three-piece unit consisting of top and bottom telescoping legs and a separate foot bracket. It develops its load-carrying characteristics when the lower pipe, with an attached interference ring, is forced into the larger top pipe. Laboratory tests were used to determine critical loads and post performance for various post lengths. Field tests showed that the posts could perform in actual mining conditions. The post has the ability to provide support in highly yielding ground and also, because of its slender profile, enhance ventilation and provide more area for travelways and escapeways. The design is simple enough to allow for fabrication at most mine shop facilities.

Jan 1, 1989

By G. R. Fitterer, C. H. Herty

"INTRODUCTION Manufacturers and consumers of steel have come to realize during the past few years that cleanliness is of great importance in steels which must meet rigid specifications for various physical properties. Of equal importance is the consistent production of steel which is uniform in these properties. For maximum utility steels should be uniform not only from heat to heat, but also from ingot to ingot and within each ingot. In the manufacture of killed steels such as the higher carbon forging grades, uniformity as indicated by the usual chemical analysis in easy to obtain, provided that a normal top discard is taken, as is always the case in steels poured with hot—top practice. No such uniformity, however, holds true for the nonmetallic matter, which consists for the most part of the products of deoxidation of the steel.For a large tonnage of steels which go into articles manufactured by deep—drawing processes, killed steel has never been successfully applied because with the present deoxidation practice, low—carbon killed steel is almost invariably extremely dirty. To obtain the desired qualities for deep drawing, the steel is rimmed, — that is to say, deoxidized with manganese and perhaps a small amount of aluminum, — the resultant product being of high purity in the skin of the ingot, but very badly segregated at the center of the ingot, particularly in the upper—central section. This segregation necessitates a very heavy top discard, and one of the major segregates is carbon which renders the steel too hard to draw properly. If clean, low—carbon killed steel could be made successfully, much better ingot yields would be obtained than by the present rimming steel practice. Furthermore, banded structures and outside and inside seams, which are undoubtedly due in a large measure to blowholes in the ingot, are defects which are very difficult to control in rimmed steel. These defects would be minimized by clean killed steel."

Feb 1, 1931

By Philip B. Grote

The deep ocean mining industry is in a pre-commercialization stage of development. In the context of a proper legal/regulatory regime, deep ocean mining system design, site survey, and operation technologies are capable of rapid evolution. The report recommends that the regulatory framework develop in parallel with the industry and presents a rationale for implementing this approach. The Government has several interests in deep ocean mining technology: (1) as a potential regulator, sound regulations should be based on an understanding of the technology; (2) as a potential monitor, survey technologies are relevant; and (3) as an estimator of strategic minerals supplies, it is important to understand the technology which allows economic access to deep ocean minerals. Thus, the major portion of the report presents an in-depth review of systems design, operations, and survey equipment and techniques.

Jan 1, 1979

By J. J. Forbes

Ventilation is the most important safety factor in the production of coal because on it depends the safety, health, and efficiency of those who work underground. Without adequate and efficient means of supplying fresh air to the working faces, mining could not have advanced as it has. The extent of the workings, the increase in mechanization, and the increasing use of electricity are largely responsible for changes in methods of ventialtion. Ventilation in the early, days of coal mining was accomplished by means of a natural draft, created principally by a difference in the weights of columns of air between the intake and return openings: Later the furnace was introduced for the purpose of increasing the quantity of air in circulation. Mines continued to become larger, their output increased, men were employed in greater numbers, and more fresh coal surfaces were exposed. Coal beds near the surface, and practically free from explosive gas became exhausted, and deeper beds that liberated methane were opened as development advanced. Mechanical ventilation became necessary and was first accomplished by disc-type steam driven fans she old-.fashioned steam driven disc fan has generally been supplanted by the powerful electrically operated centrifugal fans in use at modern coal mines. In order to be secure against gas explosions and provide ample fresh air for persons employed in large coal mines, air must be conducted through the mine to all working places and to all other unsealed parts of the mince in sufficient quantities to dilute and render harmless all dangerous and noxious gases.

Jan 1, 1929

By Forrest T. Moyer

THE injury data and experience in this bulletin are presented in three general sections. The first section contains general and detailed data relating to 1948 injury experience in bituminous-coal and Pennsylvania anthracite mines, separately and combined into totals for all coal mines. The related employment, worktime, production, and productivity data are given in each breakdown of the statistical data. Tables 1 through 22 constitute a subsection and present statistics on number of injuries, frequency and severity rates, average severity, detailed and major causes of injuries, injury records of the coal-producing States, distribution of injuries by part of body, and distribution of injuries by days of disability. Tables 23 through 45, the second subsection, present injury experience in bituminous-coal mines by various selected factors of physical or operating conditions that ma contribute to the occurrence of injuries. The degree of mechanical loading, productivity, size of mine by number of men working and by tonnage mined, thickness of bed, length of shift, number of shifts, type of cap lamps, rating of mine as gassy or nongassy, type of ventilation, and combinations of these factors influencing mine safety are presented in this group of tables. Similar data on Pennsylvania anthracite mines are listed in tables 46 through 63, which comprise the third subsection. The second section of the report contains the generalized annual injury records of bituminous-coal, Pennsylvania anthracite, and all coal mines from the earliest available data through 1948. Tables 64 through 97 list the number of fatal and nonfatal injuries, injury rates, and causes of injuries on an industry basis, the long-term injury records of each coal-producing State, and the related employment, worktime, and production data.

Jan 1, 1952

By A. J. Kraemer

For a number of years the Bureau of Mines has been conducting an investi-gation of crude petroleum from producing fields in the United States and the Western Hemisphere and has published a series of reports on these fields. Analyses of crude-oil samples from some oil fields of Louisiana are given in Bulletin 291. Analyses Of 26 representative crude oils from various producing formations of southern Louisiana are given in this report. These samples are from 14 fields in 10 parishes in the southern part of the State, usually designated as the "Louisiana Gulf Coast area."

Jan 1, 1934

By K. B. Higbie

The quantitative separation of tantalum from columbium has been obtained through several liquid-liquid extraction processes. The valuable metals are separated by selective extraction from organic feed solution using a mineral acid or by selective extraction from aqueous feed solutions employing an organic solvent. The greatest degree of separation was obtained when organic ketones, particularly methyl isobutyl ketone, were used. Approximately 200 combinations of various organic solvents and mineral acids were tested as possible separation systems in which the tantalum or columbium content was extracted from organic solutions of the anhydrous pentachlorides.

Jan 1, 1956

By Hugo E. Camargo

Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is the most common occupational disease in the U.S. with devastating consequences particularly in the mining industry. A study conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) revealed that 90% of coal miners have hearing impairment by age 50, compared to only 10% of those not exposed to occupational noise. According to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), Continuous Mining Machine (CM) operators account for 30% of workers exposed to noise doses exceeding the Permissible Exposure Level (PEL). This number becomes more dramatic considering that 49% of the total national underground coal production is extracted using these machines. In this context, NIOSH is conducting research to identify and control dominant noise sources in CMs. Previous noise source identification was performed using a Brüel &Kjær (B&K) 1.92-m diameter, 42-microphone phased array. These measurements revealed that the impacts from the conveyor chain onto the tail roller, and the impacts from the conveyor chain onto the upper deck are the dominant noise sources at the tail-section of the CM. The objectives of the work presented in this paper were: 1) To rank the noise radiated by the different sections of the conveyor, and 2) to determine the effect of a urethane-coated tail roller on the noise radiated by the tail-section. This test was conducted using an Acoustical and Vibrations Engineering Consultants (AVEC) 3.5-m diameter, 121-microphone phased array. The results from this new test show that a urethane-coated tail roller yields reductions in the tail-section of 2 to 8 dB in Sound Pressure Level in the frequency range of 1 kHz to 5 kHz. However, integration of the acoustic maps shows that the front-section and mid-section of the conveyor also contain dominant noise sources. Therefore, a urethane-coated tail roller in combination with a chain with urethane-coated flights that reduces the noise sources in the front and mid sections of the conveyor is required toyield a significant noise reduction on the CM operator?s overall exposure. These results show the applicability of phased array technology for low frequency noise source identification.

Jan 1, 2008

By Carl N. Anderson

This paper, which is one of a group presented by the United States Bureau of Mines covering mining practice in different districts, deals in particular with the methods employed in mining the horizontal type of zinc-lead orebodies of the West Baxter area of the Tri-State zinc and lead district. These orebodies, locally termed "sheet-ground" bodies, with their relatively low working faces and low tenor of zinc and lead, require changes in the mining practice which is used in the balance of the district. In addition to the general mining methods, this paper also describes the system of hand sorting employed prior to the direct milling of the ore. The Hartley mine is situated mile west of Baxter Springs, Kans., as indicated in Figure 1. Its general outline and the location of the shafts with respect to the milling plant are shown in Figure 2.

Jan 1, 1932

By Andrew Cecala, John Organiscak, William Heitbrink

Many types of heavy equipment used in the mining and construction industries use enclosed cabs to protect equipment operators from dust and noise exposure. Normally, when the equip- [ ] ment is new, manufacturers' deigned controls are effective at keeping the operator's exposure at acceptable level. However, as equipment becomes older and many components of the enclosure deteriorate, such as gaskets and seals, the effectiveness of the enclosed cab can be greatly reduced. This can cause excessive and dangerous exposures to respirable dust, especially when the ore or overburden contains crystalline silica.

By R. E. Tremoureux

This paper describing the methods and costs of quarrying limestone at Sloan, Nev., is one of a series of similar papers being prepared for and published by the Bureau of Mines on this industry in the United States. These papers are designed to disseminate information regarding the methods used. The cost tabulations represent local operating expenditures only and not total production costs. It is recognized that publication of total production costs might in many instances cause embarrassment to individual producers as well as to the industry as a whole. On the other hand, operating costs are essential to the technical discussion and study of the methods Employed. The attention of the reader is specifically called to this differentiation in order that no misunderstanding of the scope of the cost tabulations shall ensue. The quarrying operations at Sloan are interesting not only from a technical viewpoint and because of the magnitude of the deposit, but also because the quarry is located in a desert region far removed from the centers of population where lime is used. The quarry and plant are in Clark County, Nev., 20 miles west of Las Vegas, which is the nearest town to the site of the Boulder Canyon Dam. Sloan is on the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad connecting Salt Lke City and Los Angeles. The latter city is 280 miles from Sloan and it is the shipping, point for all supplies.

Jan 1, 1932

By Ott F. Heizer

This paper describing the mining practices at the mines of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Co., Inc., at Mill City, Nev., is one of a series being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on mining practices, methods, and costs in tie various mining districts of the United States. The author acknowledges the assistance of William C. Vanderburg, associate mining engineer, U. S. Bureau of Mines, in the preparation of this paper.

Jan 1, 1930