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By A. D. Garman

This paper presents one of a series of digests of foreign mining legislation and court decisions which is being prepared in advance of a general report relative to the right of American citizens to explore for minerals and to own and operate mines in various foreign countries . This interpretation of the laws of Haiti has been prepared from the best available information in Washington, but is released subject to correction and amplification , if necessary , by the proper American diplomatic and consular officers to whom it is being referred through the courtesy of the Department of State .

Sep 1, 1930

By John W. Frey

This paper presents one of a series of digests of foreign mining legisla- tion and court decisions which is being prepared in advance of a general report relative to the rights of American citizens to explore for minerals and to own and operate mines in various foreign countries. This interpretation of the laws of Trinidad has been prepared from the best information available in ashington but is released subject to correction and amplification, if necessary, by the proper American diplomatic and consular officers to whom it is being referred through the courtesy of the Department of State.

Sep 1, 1930

By George J. Carter, George H. Todd, Hal J. Kelly

In July 1956, the Bureau of Mines and the J. R. Simplot Co. participated in evaluating and beneficiating drill-hole samples from the Bovill, Idaho, clay-silica deposit and in tests of the beneficiated products. The geology, mineralogy, beneficiation, and potential uses of the clay and quartz fractions of the Bovill deposit are described. Test work showed that a filler-grade clay having an apparent spectral reflectance of 78 percent can be made by bleaching, and by removing some of the submicron-size particles. A quartz product suitable for the manufacture of glass containers can also be made.

Dec 1, 1963

By Lloyd A. Morley, Robert Stefanko

In addition to explosion-proof enclosures, the IEC has published recommendations: 1. 79-2 Pressurized Enclosures, 2. 79-3 Intrinsic Safety, 3. 79-5 Sand-Filled Apparatus, 4. 79-6 Oil-Immersed Apparatus, and 5. 79-7 Increased Safety. All these are valid methods of electrical hazard reduction and find wide use in industries other than mining. Magison (52) discusses in detail each technique and, therefore, such an examination will not be repeated. Two other systems, lamina and labyrinth, are but variations of common explosion-proof enclosures and, therefore, will not be cov¬ered. (34,35,46,53,54,61) By examining other national authorities' opinion, the following will investigate each system's applicability to coal mining. Intrinsic safety applies to any system which is incapable of re¬leasing sufficient energy to be an electrical hazard. (49) Not one foreign country contacted disagreed with the concept, and they find these systems totally acceptable. Only South Africa does not accept oil-immersed apparatus, but no reasons were given. (62) Healy (27) stated that Queenlands, Austrailia would accept all techniques, yet some were still to be employed. Japan specifications allow for all but sand filled. (42,43) Increased safety or Protection Type "e" is an approach in hazard reduction in which special design considerations are applied to ensure an extremely low probability of electrical or mechanical breakdown

Jan 1, 1974

By Thomas H. Dubaniewicz

Thirteen miners died as a result of 2 explosions in the Jim Walter Resources No. 5 mine near Brookwood AL in September 2001. Both explosions were ignited in intake air entries, and both were probably ignited by electrical equipment. With few exceptions, permissible equipment is not required in intake air entries of US underground coal mines Researchers with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory. studied the electrical equipment ignition sources for the Brookwood and other w disasters to develop recommendations for preventing similar disasters Adherence to National Electrical code® requirements for flexible cords installed in hazardous (classified) locations may have prevented the second massive Brookwood explosion. The 30 CFR Part 7 requirements for battery assemblies should be reevaluated, taking into consideration United Mine Workers of America recommendations and the Zone 1"increased safety" standard requirements for battery assemblies, Class 1 Division 2 or Zone 2 explosion protection techniques are recommended for intake air equipment so that they do not present a methane air ignition source under normal operation before mine power is shut down during emergencies Battery powered circuits intake air that are likely to remain energized during emergencies should be protected by more stringent protection techniques, to protect rescue/recovery personnel. Index Terms -Class 1 hazardous location, mine explosion, flexible cord, battery assembly, permissible equipment

By Robert F. Chaiken, Thomas H. Dubaniewicz, Gregory M. Green, Kenneth L. Cashdollar

Optical technologies have progressed rapidly in the past 15 years. One application of laser technology in underground coal mines currently under evaluation is the remote measurement of explosive methane gas. Federal regulations require that atmospheric monitoring systems used in gassy underground mines where permissible equipment is required shall be intrinsically safe. Mine Safety and Health Administration criteria for the evaluation and testing of intrinsically safe apparatus and associated apparatus contain no specific guidance for optoelectronic components such as diode lasers. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is conducting a study to help provide a scientific basis for developing appropriate safety guidelines for optical equipment in under- ground coal mines. Results of experiments involving ignition of methane-air mixtures by collections of small heated particles of Pittsburgh seam coal and black iron oxide are reported. The inert but more strongly absorbing iron oxide targets consistently ignited methane-air mixtures at lower powers than the coal targets. Minimum observed igniting powers for laser energy delivered by 200, 400 and 800 pm core fiber optic cables and directed onto iron oxide targets in methane-air atmospheres were 0.6, 1.1, and 2.2 W, respectively. Comparisons with the results of other researchers are made. A thermal layer theoretical approach to describing the process is included as an appendix.

By Doug Tesarik

The study of neutrinos?particles infinitesimally smaller than atoms?would be significantly advanced if a deep underground facility were available that would filter out unwanted cosmic radiation. Encouraging progress has been made in satisfying the criteria for such a facility with the selection of the Homestake Mine in Lead, SD, by the National Underground Laboratory Committee as the recommended site for a National Underground Science Laboratory (NUSL). The Homestake Mine is America?s oldest and deepest underground mine, and its well-maintained infrastructure to depths of 2438 m below the surface makes the mine an excellent site for such a laboratory. The investigation reported here is an initial study of the stability of the first of the proposed chambers. A cylindrical room with a dome-shaped roof and floor was analyzed in three dimensions using the finite-difference program FLAC3D. The results were compared to recommended support requirements based on Barton?s Tunneling Quality Index, Q. Based on model results and observations from previous mining studies, large rooms with 50-m roof spans can be constructed and will remain stable at 2141 m below the surface in the Poorman Formation when the rock is reinforced with cable bolts. Construction may be possible at lower levels in the Yates Formation if more extensive laboratory strength tests confirm initial results.

Jan 1, 2002

By James R. Jones

"The General Leasing Law, which provides for the leasing of deposits of coal, oil, oil shale, gas, phosphate, and sodium in public lands, was approved February 25, 1920.One of the outstanding features of this legislation is the fact that it opens for prospecting and exploitation lands and deposits which have been withdrawn from public use, some of them for several years, pending enactment of legislation better fitted to control the mining and utilization of the particular mineral deposits referred to. These lands are not only made available to the public, but they are opened up under a system which defines better than was ever done in the pas the rights which may be acquired under it.The oil operator, for example, under this legislation will know definitely the extent of the rights he has acquired, as well as the legal conditions under which his expensive drilling and other work of exploration are to be conducted. No longer will he be harassed by the possibility that while he is spending his capital in drilling operations in an effort to make a discovery of oil, his legal rights be contested, in which event the superiority of his claim can only be upheld -- if at all -- after long and expensive litigation. By the same token the coal operator will now be free from the embarrassing restrictions of the old coal-land laws respecting the amount of such land which may be purchased by one person.At the same time that these advantages are being enjoyed by the operators, the public will be guarded against wasteful methods of drilling and mining the oil and gas, and coal deposits, and the other mineral substances enumerated in the act, to the end that these products of Nature, which can not be replaced, may be utilized with a minimum of loss."

Mar 1, 1920

By Maria I. De Rosa

The U.S. Department of Energy Pittsburgh Research Center2 conducted experiments with mine conveyor belt samples in a 20-L furnace and in a laboratory fire tunnel to measure and compare the major toxic gas concentrations evolved during the combustion of the materials. The toxic gas concentrations, measured simultaneously through a multiport sampling device and treated as yield values, included hydrogen chloride (HO), hydrogen cyanide (HeN), oxides of nitrogen (NO, treated as NO), and carbon monoxide (CO). The data obtained from the two experimental systems were in good agreement. Correlations were developed for the toxic gas yields as a function of the percentage of chlorine (for HO gas), nitrogen (for HCN and NO, gases), and carbon (for CO gas) contained in the original materials. The toxic gas yields were also used to calculate a toxicity index (TI) parameter to assess the potential gas toxicity of belt materials during a fire. Furthermore, the TI and the mass loss burning rate values were used to calculate a toxicity hazard (TH) parameter to estimate the toxic gas hazard produced by a burning belt in a ventilated system. Results show that polyvinyl chloride (PVC) belts released higher HC1 concentrations because of the higher chlorine content; styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) belts released higher CO, HCN, and NOz concentrations because of the higher carbon and nitrogen contents. The TI's, however, were greater for the PVC belts due primarily to the higher levels of HC1 produced. The fire tunnel data indicate that the SBR belts can bum with higher mass loss rates than the PVC belts, resulting in a potentially higher toxic hazard (higher TH values) even though their TI values were lower than those of the PVC belts.

By John C. Edwards

Several experimental programs were conducted at the Pittsburgh Research Center to investigate the level of mine fire detection and alarm capability possible using state-of-the-art technology. These programs involved comparison of the response and alarm time of optical and ionization type smoke sensors to smoldering and flaming coal combustion in a smoke chamber. Coal combustion experiments conducted in the smoke chamber demonstrated that a CO concentration of 5 ppm above ambient corresponded to an optical density of 0.022m1. For the four smoke sensors for which a continuous analog signal was available, a smoke sensor alarm was defined as the average background signal plus ten times the peak-to-peak noise. This alarm criterion resulted in the association of the alarm for three of the four sensors with a smoke optical density of 0.022m-1. and 0.033m-1 for the fourth smoke sensor. The smoke sensors used in the smoke chamber studies were incorporated into large scale diesel fuel fire experiments conducted under normal ventilation conditions in the Safety Research Coal Mine (SRCM) at the Pittsburgh Research Center. These experiments showed that a diffusion mode smoke sensor alarmed earlier than a diffusion mode CO sensor; and, based upon the measurement of the optical transmission at the location of a pump mode ionization type smoke sensor that a pump mode ionization smoke sensor alarmed at an average smoke optical density of 0.021m" for the twelve experiments conducted. A series of 30 and 330 kW diesel fuel fire intensity experiments were conducted under zero airflow conditions in the SRCM. It was determined that :(I) thermal sensors are inadequate at 30 m from a 300 kW fire;(2) a diffusion mode ionization smoke sensor can be more effective for mine fire detection than a diffusion mode CO sensor;(3) recommendations can be made for sensor spacing in a mine entry based upon the measured CO buoyancy induced spread rates along the mine roof and the time for a developing coal fire to ignite a conveyor belt.

By Steven J. Page

Overexposure to airborne respirable crystalline silica dust can cause disabling or fatal respiratory disease, and mine worker exposure to silica dust continues to be an ongoing occupational health concern. Exposures of surface coal mine rock drillers to respirable crystalline silica are of particular concern. On surface coal mine drills, bailing air flushes the cuttings out of the drill hole. Conveyor belting material is typically used to fabricate a shroud around the drill deck in an effort to contain the drill dust so that it can be captured by a collector. Dust leakage from the drill shroud is usually the worst dust source problem on most drills. The focus of this work is drill shroud dust leakage and the relationships of various drill parameters on this leakage. Experimental data were obtained and used in combination with dimensional analysis to establish these relationships. In general, it is found that airborne respirable dust (ARD) concentrations vary in a direct relationship with shroud leakage area and in an inverse relationship with drill deck cross sectional area and shroud height. This work expands the testing and dimensional analysis previously reported for collector/bailing air flow ratios ranging from 2:1 to 4:1 to include ratios approaching 1:1. A semi empirical mathematical model has been developed and expanded to describe ARD generation on surface coal mine drills. Geometric parameters included are drill deck height and cross sectional area, shroud leakage associated with the deck shroud, and the operational parameters of bailing airflow and dust collector airflow. The relationships can be described by logarithmic functions and yield predictive ARD values, which fall in the range measured on operating drills for collector/bailing air flow ratios greater than 2. However, at values of collector/bailing air flow ratios of approximately 1.1, the amount of ARD shows minimal response, if any, to drill deck shroud improvements that do not result in near perfect seals. This is a condition that can occur in actual operation and is a substantially different result than previously expected and reported. Application of these results should provide mine operators with sufficient information to determine (1) the relative magnitude of their dust emissions, (2) where they should focus their efforts to reduce ARD emissions and (3) the improvement they could reasonably expect to achieve. Given that exposures of surface coal mine rock drillers to respirable crystalline silica are of particular concern, substantial reductions of airborne silica dust during drilling may be estimated and achieved through use of the analysis presented. Keywords: drill; dust; model; dimensional analysis

Jan 1, 2008

By Richard G. Geyer

One aspect of a program to improve the chances of survival following coal mine disasters is the development of a communications system which will allow surviving miners to make their circumstances known to rescue teams. Various communications techniques can be considered, including electromagnetic systems, acoustic systems, and hybrid systems. The electromagnetic and acoustic systems would be independent of existing mine communications systems and set up specifically for use in emergencies. Hybrid systems might use a short emergency link to existing telephone systems in the mine. Many variations are technically possible, and the primary task is in evaluating the relative merits of each, so that the most workable system can be selected.

Jan 1, 1973

By Rudolf E. Greuer, Linneas W. Laage, Xinton Chang

All output is saved in the file MFIRE OUT m the di¬rectory and on the disk containing the program The file can be inspected with a text processor and sent to a print¬er, if needed CONTENTS OF OUTPUT FILE The comment lines, reference temperature, air densi¬ty, a table of the units of measure for the results, and the average values are shown at the beginning of MFIRE OUT All input data will be shown in the output file if LOUT on Control line number 1 is _<-1 For each contamination source, a new branch will automatically be setup The new airway and junction ID numbers will not interfere with the original numbering scheme of the data file Next are the results of the selected simulation(s) in the following order network balancing, network balancing considering temperatures, transient-state modeling, and altered equilibrium due to fire and distribution of the contaminants. Depending upon the contents of the data file, and the simulation selected, attention, warning, and error message will be shown at locations where calculations resulted in unusual conditions

Jan 1, 1990

By T. E. Marshall, D. R. Dolinar, T. M. Barczak, T. P. Mucho

Over a portion of the older limestone mine workings at the NIOSH Lake Lynn Laboratory, a mining health and safety research facility, a large sinkhole formed caused in part by the intersection of several tightly spaced joint sets and unusual weather conditions. The anticipated propagation of the associated roof failures threatened to encroach upon a portion of the facility’s secondary escapeway. To protect the escapeway, two cribs walls and over 80 cable bolts were installed. In addition, extensometers were installed to monitor roof movement in the escapeway. However, a large roof fall associated with the propagating roof failures in the sinkhole area partially destroyed one crib wall where the adjacent escapeway was not reinforced by cable bolts. Recent roof movement information indicates that this area is still active. Based on these measurements, steps have been taken to stabilize this portion of the escapeway. This paper discusses roof monitoring, the roof movement, the large roof fall, propagation of the roof failures, and the recent support measures undertaken to stabilize the escapeway.

By E. C. Lane

"INTRODUCTION This is the fourth in a series of reports on properties of commercial motor fuels, made in accordance with a cooperative agreement between the Cooperative Fuel Research (C.F.R.) Committee and the Bureau of Mines of the Department of the Interior. The first report gave data on motor gasolines sold during the winter of 1935-36 3/. The second resort gave the same data for motor gasolines sold during the summer of 1936 4/. The third report of the series gave the same data for motor gasolines sold during the winter of 1936-37 5/.This report covers 63 brands of gasoline represented by 1,136 samples excluding the Pacific Coast. Those from the Pacific Coast were averaged by the Pacific Coast technical group before being submitted and are published exactly as they were submitted. In some areas reports were received from five or six companies on the same brands of gasoline, whereas in other areas only one company reported on a brand. Thus, it can be seen that some of the data are more representative than others."

Dec 1, 1937

By J. E. Tiffany, Z. C. Gaugler

This supplement has been prepared to furnish information on amendments to the regulations that were approved by acting secretary of the Interior on June 24, 1946, while this report was in the press. Page 14, item 2, and page 20, item 4, have been amended by the addition of the following footnote: "Pending the development of a satisfactory multiple-shot permissible blasting unit, a blasting unit of Type II, Class A, covered by Federal Specification WB 411, December 31, 1941 (with or without Amendment 2, June 16, 1945), may be used until Decem- ber 31, 1947. Should a satisfactory multiple-shot permissible unit be made available prior to that date, this interim approval may be terminated." Page 14, footnote / has been amended to read as follows: "The use of charges over 1-1/2 pounds and not exceeding 3 pounds is approved pending further investigation. The approval, which may be withdrawn at any time, expires December 31, 1947, unless renewed. For charges over 1-1/2 pounds, the following additional requirements must be observed: (1) Shot holes must be 6 feet or greater in length. (2) Explosives must be charged in a continuous train with no cartridges deliberately deformed or crushed, with all car- tridges in contact with each other, and with the end cartridges touching the rear of the hole and the stemming, respectively. (3) The permissible explosive must be one showing toxic gas omission that will place it in either Class A or Class B."

Jan 1, 1947

By C. Travis Anderson

 The general conclusion of earlier investigators was that the action of sulfur dioxide on manganese oxides of Cuyuna ores was not sufficiently pre- ferential to be attractive as the basis for a commercial process. Bradley4/ and his coworkers discarded it for leaching with boiling ammonium sulfate solution, and Sweet5/ used a baking operation to render the iron insoluble. These results were confirmed by the early tests in the present investigation, which were made on brown ores (Sagamore), using acid additions, because at that time the Technologic Committee on Manganese held the opinion that these ores constituted the major available reserve in the Cuyuna district. However, when it appeared that the black ores, or the formation in which they occur, were a possible source of a large tonnage of manganese, the use of sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid leaching was again reviewed, and a satis- factorily preferential action on the manganese was found. It was originally thought that the use of sulfuric acid ahead of, or at least with, the sulfur dioxide simplified the process, particularly by preventing formation of dithionates. Removal of the phosphorus from the solution by neutralization with lime or fresh ore was suggested. The tests recorded in this report indicate that it is not practicable to use enough acid to prevent formation of dithionate and that the value of excess sulfuric acid is doubtful, particularly in regard to satisfactory manganese:phosphorus and manganese:iron ratios.

Jul 1, 1942

By Gerrit V. R. Goodman

Supplemental water sprays were placed along the sides of a continuous mining machine to improve suppression and confinement of the dust cloud under the cutting boom to re- duce downwind dust levels. Using a full-scale mock up of a continuous mining machine, preliminary work showed that these side sprays improved suppression of the dust cloud and redistributed this cloud under the cutting head. This led to reductions in dust levels around the machine and in down- wind airways for some positions of the mining machine. This testing also showed that side spray effectiveness was influenced by the distance from the fresh air ventilation device to the cutting surface, termed the ventilation setback distance. These sprays produced larger reductions in machine and re- turn dust levels at smaller setback distances than at larger setback distances. These side sprays then were installed in similar locations on a mining machine at an underground coal mine operation to evaluate their effectiveness for im- proving suppression and capture of dust by the flooded-bed dust scrubber. Although sampling could not be conducted successfully in the return, sampling around the mining ma- chine and at the machine operator showed that dust levels decreased with use of these sprays. Further analysis showed that these sprays were most effective at the smaller setback distances, a result confirmed by full-scale laboratory testing. Keywords Occupational Health, Dust Sampling, Coal Mining. Continuous Mining, Control Technology

By J. A. Zimrner, R. J. Tirnko

The roles of main mine fans in underground mines are to induce airflow and continuously re- move hazardous gases and dust. While most larger mines use multiple fans to accomplish these tasks, many smaller mines employ only a single fan. This paper concentrates on those mines having only one fan to provide ventilation needs. If this fan should cease to function, it is likely that methane concentrations will in- crease in some areas of the mine. As a safety precaution, Federal Regulations require that personnel must be- gin evacuating the mine within fifteen minutes after fan stoppage. Powered haulage can be used to transport workers to the mine portal as long as travel is through areas where hazardous levels of methane are not expected. To determine where methane will accumulate along haulageways during a fan stoppage, air samples must be taken at specific areas and analyzed for hazardous gases. During this study, procedures were developed for measuring methane levels along the haulegeways that are used to exit a mine following stoppage of the main mine fan. Methane levels were measured in four different mines at selected underground locations during four planned fan stoppages. In these mines the measurements taken only at the specified locations showed that, if workers had used electrically powered haulage to exit the mine following a fan stoppage, the methane accumulated along haulageways during fan stoppages would not have significantly increased the risk of an ignition.

By Kenneth L. Cashdollar

This paper is an overview of and introduction to the subject of dust explosions. The purpose is to provide information on the explosibility and ignitability properties of dust clouds that can be used to improve safety in industries that generate, process, use, or transport combustible dusts. The requirements for a dust explosion are: a combustible dust, dispersed in air, a concentration above the flammable limit, the presence of a sufficiently energetic ignition source, and some confinement. An explosion of a fuel in air involves the rapid oxidation of combustible material, leading to a rapid increase in temperature and pressure. The violence of an explosion is related to the rate of energy release due to chemical reactions relative to the degree of confinement and heat losses. The combustion properties of a dust depend on its chemical and physical characteristics, especially its particle size distribution. In this paper, the explosion characteristics of combustible dusts will be compared and contrasted with those of flammable gases using methane as an example. These characteristics include minimum explosible concentration, maximum explosion pressure, maximum rate of pressure rise, limiting oxygen concentration, ignition temperature, and amount of inert dust necessary to prevent flame propagation. The parameters considered include the effects of dust volatility, dust particle size, turbulence, initial pressure, initial temperature, and oxygen concentration. Both carbonaceous and metal dusts will be used as examples. The goal of this research is to better understand the fundamental aspects of dust explosions.