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By D. G. Collins

As part of its effort to develop ways to maximize resource recovery, the Bureau of Mines investigated the extraction of vanadium from Western phosphate beneficiation tailings with H2S04 and/or H3P04. Dissolution of the vanadium was accomplished by digesting a mixture of acid and a 50-pet-solids, tailings-water slurry. In the most effective method investigated, vanadium and phosphorus were leached by digesting the slurry at a constant boiling temperature (1000-1100 C) in a stirred reactor. In batch tests, maximum vanadium dissolution was 95 pet. In continuous-circuit tests designed to further evaluate vanadium dissolution at con-stant boiling temperature in a continuously stirred reactor, vanadium dissolution ranged from 70 to 85 pet. An economic evaluation of the process demonstrated that H2S04 consumption is the major cost factor. Based on the value of the vanadium product with no allowance for a phos-phate product, the cost of producing the V205 is more than twice its value. The potential for profit would depend upon the value of the phosphate fertilizer produced from the impure H3P04 remaining after vanadium extraction.

Jan 1, 1985

By Robert J. Hundhausen

This information circular is one of a series of Bureau of Mines reports dealing with mining and milling methods and costs . It describes the operations at the Little Pittsburg mine in the Pine Creek area of the Coeur d'Alene mining region near Kellogg , Idaho . The mine and mill have been operated successfully from 1942 to the present .

Feb 1, 1948

By Andrew Allan

During recent years underground production for the Pennsylvania anthracite region has reached the lowest output per man per day figure of the last decade and a half. This fact, combined with increased unit costs for labor and material, has forced the market price of anthracite ever higher. Over the years the mines have become deeper, and haulage distances have increased, thus adding to the mining costs. The industry now recognizes the need for new mining techniques to offset increasing costs. The Federal Bureau of Mines, through its Anthracite Research Laboratory, is engaged in a program of underground-mining research in cooperation with anthracite-producing companies to aid in reestablishing the economy of the region by introducing methods and/ or machines that will reduce underground-mining costs and, at the same time, enhance the safety of the workmen.

Jan 1, 1953

By David E. Emerson

An improved method and apparatus for determining the impurities in helium by preconcentration and subsequent analysis by mass spectrometry are described. Preconcentration of the impurities is accomplished by passing a known volume of helium, at slightly above atmospheric pressure, through a metal coil and trap assembly immersed in liquid helium. The concentrated impurities are then analyzed by mass spectrometry. This method can detect impurities in the range of 0.01 to 600 ppm with an accuracy of better than ±0.05 ppm at the 1-ppm level. One operator can analyze 15 samples in an 8-hour day.

Jan 1, 1970

By P. R. Tisot

This report discusses the waxes made from shale-oil wax distillate, a specific fraction obtained- from crude shale oil. The plate wax crystals Were exceptionally well suited to solvent extraction. Methyl ethyl ketone was the preferred dewaxing solvent.' The quantity of wax recovered at 32°F was 18.8 percent of the wax distillate, or 6.6 percent of the crude shale oil. The laboratory batch processes used for separating the wax from the distillate and subsequent refining were based .upon conventional petroleum methods. Three grades of shale-oil waxes were made and designated as crude, semirefined, and fully refined. The solvent-extracted wax consisted mainly of paraffin and olefin hydrocarbons. The physical Properties of the fully refined shale-oil wax were the same as er corresponded closely to those of Billy refined petroleum paraffin wax. Inasmuch as the crude and semirefined shale-oil waxes can be separated and refined in much the same manner as petroleum waxes, the cest of manufacture should be about equal to that for making petroleum paraffin wax. The cast of making a fully refined shale oil wax will be somewhat greater than for making .a fully refined petroleum paraffin, due to the loss of the oleofinic material from the shale-oil wax by acid treatment and the increased quantity of acid required for its removal. An analytical method for the determination of wax in shale-oil dietillates, a list of the physical properties that wore determined for the waxes, and the method for testing those properties are given in the appendix to this report

Jan 1, 1950

By Perry N. Halstead

This report describes two goniometers that, by simple manipulation, can be used to ascertain the attitude of a joint, vein, or fracture plane observed on the planar projection of a borehole photograph taken with an NX borehole camera of the type developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. One goniometer was designed to interpret photographs taken in vertical drill holes and the other for photographs taken in inclined drill holes. In practice, several measurements are made on each photograph with the goniometer. These data are then substituted into mathematical equations, which are derived in this report and the attitudes of fracture planes are determined.

Jan 1, 1968

By Thomas M. Garland

Reports that set forth the pertinent facts of existing secondary-recovery operations are an integral part of the work of the Bureau of Mines in promoting conservation and efficient utilization of the petroleum resources of the Nation. Knowledge of the success or failure of waterflood projects in an area is very useful to other operators. Although projects will not have identical results, information concerning the flood performance, method of operation, and difficulties encountered on one project will help operators to determine the feasibility of flooding a similar sand and to select the methods of operation most likely to prove successful. The increasing cost of discovering and developing new oil reserves, as well as the unending effort to reduce operating costs and increase ultimate oil recovery from known petroleum reservoirs, has required the petroleum industry to evaluate continuously the performances of various secondary-recovery methods. Waterflooding was recognized early by the petroleum industry as a possible means of increasing oil recovery. From the early accidental floods in Pennsylvania and through many haphazard attempts to inject eater into oil-bearing formations, waterflooding emerged as one of the more important methods of oil recovery. Waterflooding is important not only to the oil industry but also to the economy of the area concerned.

Jan 1, 1962

By John Millhiser, Margaret Bonarek, Dennis McLaughlin

This report contains a description of the contract activities performed by ENSCO, Inc. under contract No. H0178069. The purpose of this project was to enhance the Bureau of Mine's Cableless Electronic Survey System use to aid in the drilling of long (approx. 2000 feet) boreholes in coal. This drilling is performed as part of the methane drainage program. The system that was ultimately developed was field tested and demonstrated in actual in-mine drilling activities. The significance of this system as compared to previous drill survey systems is the fact that it surveys without having to be inserted and removed for each survey point. It is so designed that it can withstand the shock and vibration experience by the drill string during drilling. This means an increased productivity is now possible in that drill operators can determine drill bit positioning in a near real-time environment.

By Jerry W. Stengel

The Bureau of Mines subjected two manufacturers' chemical oxygen (K02) self-rescue breathing apparatus to a series of laboratory environmental treatments designed to simulate various conditions in underground coal mines. The environmental treatments consisted of extremes of temperature, shock, and vibration. The tests were designed to be used as predictors of the ability of the self-rescuers to survive those environmental insults with no degradation in their protection to the wearer. Based on the severity of the treatments, simulating conditions more severe than offered by the mining environment, the two apparatus tested should be able to withstand the abuse offered by the mining environment and still function as intended in an emergency. Correlation of these tests with results of long-term field evaluations is needed to provide confidence in the laboratory tests as predictors.

Jan 1, 1982

By Lloyd A. Morley

This annual report details progress under USBM Grant G0155003 during the project period of January 1, 1977 through December 31, 1977. The report contains four principal chapters covering accomplishments in the mine electrical safety research areas of continuous monitoring, battery and battery-charging safety, and computer modeling. Highlights of the work are summarized in the last report chapter.

Jan 1, 1978

This publication summarizes the in-house and contract research projects programmed for fiscal year 1984 by the Bureau of Mines under its Conservation and Development activity. The document provides a mechanism for interested parties to gain insight into projects of the Bureau's Conservation and Development research program. The objective of the Conservation and Development Program is to provide the technological advances needed to stimulate the mining of domestic deposits containing critical, strategic, and other essential minerals in compliance with existing regulations and at costs sufficiently low to be competitive in world markets. Research efforts are directed toward improving the fundamental understanding of processes and procedures involved in the production of minerals. The overall goals will be accomplished by investigating alternative mining methods to increase domestic production of critical and strategic minerals from low-grade deposits; expanding the technology for the economic and efficient extraction of minerals consistent with cost-effective compliance with environmental regulations; and advancing the technologies needed to insure an adequate supply of coal.

Jan 1, 1984

By Oliver Bowles

Calcareous rocks, of which the principal varieties are marble and lime¬stone, are used extensively for building and ornamental purposes. Onyx and travertine, subdivisions of these groups, are sufficiently distinctive in origin and use to merit separate classification. The purpose of this paper is to define the terms "onyx" and "travertine" and to describe the occurrences and uses of the materials bearing these names. ORIGIN AND CHARACTER Confusion exists in the use of the word "onyx." True onyx is a banded chalcedony, a form of silicon dioxide related to jasper, agate, and flint. Calcium carbonate is commonly deposited from solution in successive layers of varying color closely resembling onyx, and for this reason such calcareous rock is also called "onyx." To distinguish the calcareous from the siliceous

Jan 1, 1940

By David R. Hanson

Transient electrical noise events pose serious problems for data acquisition systems used in monitoring acoustic emissions in laboratory and field environments. The U.S. Bureau of Mines has designed and constructed a trigger discriminator circuit for use in ultrasonic acoustic emission studies. Designed for use with signals in the frequency range of 50 to 400 kHz, the instrument examines .incoming signals for frequency content, amplitude, simultaneity, threshold crossings, and number of channels above threshold. If preselected criteria on these properties are met, a plus 5-V pulse is output that may be used to trigger a data acquisition system, allowing rejection of noise events that do not possess useful information. The system was designed for four input channels, but may be expanded to more channels with minimal design changes.

Jan 1, 1995

By H. Herbert Hughes

Iceland spar is a variety of calcite ( calcium carbonate ) characterized by its purity , transparency , and perfection of crystalline structure . It takes its name from the country in which it was discovered . The actual demand for it is small , but the supplies of high - grade optical spar are so meager that the search for it has become international in its scope . Iceland spar is a scientific necessity , for without it research precision and technology would be hampered considerably . The earliest students of mineralogy were familiar with calcite , but the transparent variety was not discovered until early in the seventeenth century , when crystals of it were found in the bed of a stream in Iceland . It received little attention until 1669 , when Erasmus Bartholinus first recognized its powers of double refraction . The results of his investigation were published in a book , " Experimenta Crystalli Islandici , " which appeared in 1670. The law governing the action of the rerracted rays was discovered by Christian Huygens eight years later . The polarization of light rays in passing through Iceland spar was discovered in 1809 by Etienne Louis Malus , a French physicist , who published a paper describing the phenomenon . His work was closely followed by that of William Nicol , who in 1828 designed the Nicol prism which is still used as the source of polarized light in most optical instruments .

Jul 1, 1931

By L. D. Tracy

"This paper represents work conducted by the Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the Illinois Geological Survey and the Engineering Experiment Station of the University of Illinois.IntroductionThe present report covers conditions and mining royalties in District VIII of the coal fields of Illinois, as designated by the Illinois Geological Survey. The various districts have been described in the reports on the Illinois coal-mining investigations, carried on cooperatively by the Illinois Geological Survey, the engineering experiment station of the University of Illinois, and the U. S. Bureau of Mines. This district includes Vermilion and Edgar Counties, but as the coal-mining operations in Edgar County amounted to only 827 tons in 1923, the data here given have been confined to Vermilion County.A similar report on District VI (Williamson and Franklin Counties) has been issued as Serial 2722 of the Bureau of Minos.A description of geological and mining conditions, and a discussion of market and transportation facilities, have been included because these have an important bearing on the royalties specified and the general conditions of the lease.Mining ConditionsDistrict VIII is better known as the Danville district and in 1923 produced 4,177,000 tons of coal, or approximately L per cent of the total output for the entire State for that year, which was 79,300,000 tons."

Apr 1, 1926

By J. B. Janus

In connection with the purchase of coal under specifications for Government use, the Bureau of Mines in this report has compiled data on 81 mines located in 15 States. This annual report lists analytical data on the composition and quality of tipple and delivered samples of coal collected during fiscal year 1973. Tipple samples were collected by Bureau of Mines engineers at tipples as coal was being loaded into railroad cars or trucks. Ultimate analyses are given for most of the coalbeds listed. The deliveries were sampled at destination in accordance with instructions issued by the Bureau of Mines. All samples were analyzed in the Bureau laboratory at Pittsburgh.

Jan 1, 1973

By L. J. Froisland

The Bureau of Mines conducted a 4-year research program at Uravan, Colo., on a 2-1/2-acre reclamation plot on the slope of a uranium tailings pile that had been covered with mine waste rock. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of plant species, type of irrigation, type of fertilizers, and use of dust control chemicals on plant growth and surface coverage. Best grass coverage, nearly 100 percent with 240 plants per square foot, was developed in a section that was seeded with crested wheatgrass, fertilized with sewage sludge, and sprinkler irrigated. For comparison, a section that had been treated with commercial fertilizers developed 3.1 crested wheatgrass plants per square foot and 24 percent coverage without irrigation, and 8 plants per square foot and 75 percent coverage with irrigation. Results of spraying a dust control chemical were inconclusive. Russian-thistle invaded all test sections and ranged in density from 0.6 to 7.3 plants per square foot.

Jan 1, 1982

By A. C. Johnson

The Ellington manganese deposit in Reynolds County J Mo., had been known for some time; and limited exploration, consisting of test pitting and sinking a shaft 54 feet deep on the property, had been done by private interests. Late in 1941, the Bureau of Mines cleaned, deepened, and sampled many of the existing pits and dug and sampled 27 new ones. The shaft was unwatered and sampled, and several pockets of manganese ore were trenched to determine their extent. Samples were analyzed and beneficiation tests on 1 ton of the ore were made at the Rolla, Mo., station of the Bureau of 'Mines. Results of the investigation indicated that the deposit was small and low in manganese content.

Jan 1, 1948

By David E. Siskind

The Bureau of Mines has studied the fracturing produced in the vicinity of large-diameter blastholes in Lithonia granite. Cores were taken from the vicinity of AN-FO production blasts and examined using a total of seven laboratory and field measurement techniques to delineate zones of damage and evaluate the effectiveness of the seven diagnostic tests for fracture-state determination. Laboratory measurements of acoustic pulse velocity, porosity, permeability, compressive strength, and Young's modulus indicated the extent of fracturing with the acoustic techniques providing the best means of distinguishing between fractured and unfractured core. A severely fractured zone was found to extend approximately 25 inches (64 cm) from the center of the 6-l/2-inch blastholes, equivalent to 8 blast-hole radii. A second zone, characterized by a lesser degree of fracturing extended from 25 to 45 inches (64 to 114 cm) or 8-to l4-blasthole radii. Beyond 45 inches (114 cm) the rock was undamaged.

Jan 1, 1974

By Ruth F. Brinkley

This report is the 17th of a series originally issued annually, and more recently bienially, to acquaint the reader with the work of the Division of Explosives Technology, Federal Bureau of Mines. It differs from preceding reports in that its material is presented in two parts: Part I reviews briefly the overall activities of the Division during fiscal years 1955 and 1956;4/ part II presents in abstract form, the publications of the Division during that period. As it is not unusual for research completed in the course of one report period to be published only in the following period, the Bureau believes that the present approach will give a more accurate presentation of its work for the period considered. The Bureau hopes too, that the somewhat more concise presentation will prove convenient to the reader.5/ PART I -RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGIC ACTIVITIES The activities of the Division during fiscal years 1955 and 1956 reflected the steadily growing preoccupation with factors affecting the safety of permissible explosives and those affecting the tests used for approval of these explosives. Findings by a team of French investigators prompted a study of the influence of atmospheric moisture on the ignition of firedamp by

Jan 1, 1961