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By Fredrick L. Johnson

In 1986, at the request of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Bureau of Mines studied 25,640 acres of the 29,680-acre Devil?s Garden Lava Bed, 21,040 acres of the 28,660-acre Squaw Ridge Lava Bed, and 9,100 acres of the 12,600-acre Four Craters Lava Bed Wilderness Study Areas (OR-D01-D02, OR-001-003, and OR-001-022, respectively) in order to evaluate their identified mineral resources. The study areas are located in Lake County, OR, about 50 air miles southeast of Bend. No mineral resources were identified in the three study areas. The areas are almost entirely underlain by recent lava flows. Cinder cones occur in each of the areas; however, the best cinder occurrences are in the Four Craters Lava Bed study area. Slab lava, of facing stone quality, is scattered throughout the Devil?s Garden Lava Bed study area, and to a lesser extent, in the Squaw Ridge Lava Bed study area.

Jan 1, 1987

By Charles A. Steen

Publication of this information circular results from an invitation extended to the Bureau of Mines by the Utex Exploration Co. to visit the company mine, on the Mi Vida claim about 39 miles southeast of Moab, in the Big Indian mining district, San Juan County, Utah. The Bureau is pleased to present this record of the Utex mine -- a property that in the relatively short period of 4 months has become one of the major uranium-ore producers on the Colorado Plateau. The ore deposit was discovered in July 1952 by Charles A. Steen, a geologist-prospector, now chief geologist of the Utex Exploration Co., in tae course of drilling the first diamond-core borehole in the Big Indian district. High-grade ore, 14 feet thick, was penetrated by the borehole. Sinking of a shaft, from which to develop the ore body, was begun in October, and the first shipment of ore left the property December 6, 1952. Ore production, as recorded on ore-settlement sheets received by the company up to July 15, 1953, totaled 16,000 tons averaging, 0.51 percent U305 and 1.25 percent V205. Discovery of the ore body and the large production of ore were achieved without any financial assistance from the Government.

Jan 1, 1953

By Milford L. Skow

MICA is a group name for a number of complex hydrous aluminum silicate minerals that have a sheet or platy structure and extremely variable and complex compositions containing various metallic ions, particularly those from the alkali group. Muscovite and phlogopite, the two varieties of significant commercial value, are the principal consideration of this report; muscovite has major importance industrially. The mica crystal, because of its laminated structure, can be split easily and accurately into thin films that are transparent, flexible, elastic, tough, and waterproof and have outstanding dielectric and insulating characteristics. This combination of properties is not duplicated in any other known substance. The world production of mica can be divided into two main classifications: (1) Sheet mica and (2) scrap mica (including flake mica). In general, separate divisions of the industry produce these two classes of mica, which differ widely in their uses and in the forms in which they are marketed. A glossary of mica terminology is given in appendix A.

Jan 1, 1962

By Paul M. Tyler

In 1939, American industry got, off to a poor start, slowed down further during the first quarter, quickened after May, speeded up still more when war broke out again in Europe, and ended the year at a pace close to an all-time record. The average index of general business activity for the entire year (105) was well ahead of that for 1938 (86), failed to equal that of 1937 (110), and fell behind the average for 1929 (119) by a wide margin. (Federal Reserve Bank yearly indexes in parentheses).

Jan 1, 1940

By D. S. Kingery

Recent Federal coal-mine inspections have revealed some good and some definitely hazardous practices and systems for transporting; handling, and storing lubricants in and about coal mines. Improper storage or handling of. lubricants in coal mines has caused disastrous mine fires or, by supporting combustion, has made fires from other sources more difficult to fight. Careless handling of grease and oil around electrical equipment wastes much oil and permits entrance of grit and foreign substances into the working parts, which causes excessive wear and increases the possibility, of electrical ignition.

Jan 1, 1943

By D. Harrington

Fire is always a serious-menace, whether in a residential or in an industrial region; in wartime it is particularly damaging in an industrial plant. The mining industry is especially vulnerable, as its plants are generally more or less isolated front centers of population and do not have access to modern fire-fighting equipment; moreover, owing to the transitory rapture of most mines, their surface structures; are often relatively flimsy and flammable.. Trained firemen seldom are available at or near mining plants to teach the fundamentals of fire-fighting to local fire brigades, with the result that efficiency in combating actual fires is lacking. Often the attitude "it can't happen here" is held by the management of a mining property, unless the plant has suffered a serious fire; even then lapse of time is very likely to induce forgetfulness as to the possible hazards. The necessity for producing metals for the prosecution of this war has increased management's responsibility. Whereas heretofore the loss of a plant or mill by fire meant merely monetary less to the stockholder of the company, now the national interest is affected, in that the nation suffers from loss of production of minerals indispensable for war purposes.

Jan 1, 1943

By Paul M. Tyler

"In preparing this paper the writer has perforce depended mainly upon published information, including the catalogs and pamphlets issued by importers and dealers such as the Diamond Drill Carbon Co. and J. K. Smit & Zonen. Special acknowledgment is made to various articles published by S. H. Ball. The writer of this paper, however, is alone responsible for statements herein contained and since he has often found it necessary to rationalize apparently conflicting opinions of recognized authorities on this little-known subject, he will welcome constructive criticism from the trade.Two types of diamond are extensively used for industrial purposes. One type, known as bort or bortz (boort, boart, bowr, etc.), consists of diamonds of the gem variety but unfit for cutting into gems. They may be colorless, yellow, brown, or gray. The other type, carbonado, known in the trade as ""carbon"" or ""black diamond,"" differs greatly from the white diamond, being opaque and apparently amorphous or noncrystalline. Actually, instead of forming a large single crystal as in a gem stone, carbon diamond comprises a mass of microscopic crystals that interlock to form a tough, homogeneous material with no planes of cleavage. It is found in various colors -- black, dark green, brown, and gray -- but usually it has .a dark lustrous black surface, with a resinoid or submetallic appearance, often resembling fine-grained steel. Upon exposure to the air the broken surface gradually darkens to an ash-gray color. Ballas is a special type of carbonado in which the crystals are definitely-oriented around a central nucleus. They are harder and tougher than ordinary carbonado but are much scarcer. The Cape ballas is reputed to be not quite so tough as Brazilian ballas but tougher than carbon or bort.The diamond crystals are isometric and take a variety of forms. The cleavage is octahedral and well marked. A crack is easily -started parallel to an octahedral face, and bort or gem diamonds are notoriously brittle, especially when subjected to sudden shock. Even carbonado, while it has a high resistance to slowly applied pressures, may be chipped or broken by a sharp blow.Exposed to radioactive rays, the diamond becomes phosphorescent; this property is often utilized to distinguish it from quartz, topaz, or glass. The unusually high refractive index likewise aids in its identification in the case of a more or less transparent stone. At the temperature of the electric arc, diamond is converted into graphite, another form of Carbon but one of the softest mineral substances. At a much lower temperature, as low as 1,5620 F., the diamond may be burned like ordinary carbon in an atmosphere of oxygen, and according to some authorities there is danger of burning a diamond if overheated even in air."

Mar 1, 1932

By George C. Branner

This circular is concerned with eight nonferrous scrap metals as they generated, collected, prepared, and consumed in California. Brief reference also is included with respect to Nevada and Hawaii. Four of these scrap metals - copper, lead, aluminum, and zinc - are of major importance and make up about 95 percent of the total value, whereas the remaining four - antimony, magnesium, nickel, and tin - make up the remaining 5 percent. For convenience, the subject matter is divided into three parts, (1) Data with respect to the collection, preparation, and marketing practices that are common activities to all the nonferrous scrap metals; (2) separate discussions and statistical data with respect to each of the eight nonferrous scrap metals in California; and (3) data with respect to Nevada and Hawaii.

Jan 1, 1962

Real gross national product increased at a larger-than- expected annual rate of 8.3 percent in the first quarter of 1984, with both consumption and investment spending increasing significantly in real terms (table 1). Residential and nonresidential fixed investment increased at annual rates of 25.7 and 14.6 percent during the first quarter of 1984, and investment in nonresidential structures, which declined in 1983, also increased during the first quarter of 1984, nearly attaining its 1982 level. The annual level of personal savings increased $27.7 billion, while the personal savings rate (the ratio of personal savings to disposable income) increased to 5.8 percent during the first quarter. The increase in the personal savings rate comes as welcome news to analysts concerned over the flow of loanable funds to the private sector and the impact on interest rates in 1984 of increased private and Government demands. U.S. Minerals Industry Performance A major upswing in the performance of the metal mining sector occurred during the first quarter of 1984, with production increasing almost 11.2 percent from January to March, The recovery of the metal sector is also reflected in the performance of primary metal industry profits, which were positive during fourth quarter 1983 following seven consecutive quarterly losses (table 1). Two thousand nine hundred more metal mining production workers were employed in February 1984 than in February 1983.

Jan 1, 1984

By Robert H. Mattes

The Lake Lynn Laboratory is a multipurpose mining research laboratory operated by the Bureau of Mines and located in Fairchance, Pa, It consists of both surface and underground facilities. The initial focus of the facility, scheduled for full operation in fall 1982, will be on the problems of fires and explosions in mines. The initial experimental explosion was fired on March 3, 1982. The intent of this document is to provide the reader with detailed information on the physical capabilities of the Lake Lynn Laboratory. Subsequent publications will focus on the capabilities of Lake Lynn as compared with those of other similar facilities worldwide, and a comparison of initial explosion test results realized at Lake Lynn and comparable results from the Bruceton Experimental Mines.

Jan 1, 1983

By Corwin L. Cooper

This vapor, which describes mining and milling methods and costs at the Knob Hill gold mine, is one of a series being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on gold mining and milling practices in the United States. The mining properties owned or controlled by Knob Hill Mines, Inc., are situated in the Eureka mining district on a country road 2 miles up Eureka Gulch from the town of Republic, county seat of Ferry County, Wash. The district is about 140 miles northwest of Spokane by road and 35 miles south of the international boundary line. The altitude at the mine office is 2,700 feet.

Jan 1, 1940

By R. G. Bottge

To better understand those factors which increase mining costs in Alaska, a Bureau of Mines study was conducted to compare the estimated costs of operating a 100,000-tpd open pit copper mine located on a hypothetical ore body in the Lake Clark area, Alaska, with the costs of mining a similarly sized hypothetical copper ore body near Tucson, Ariz. The information derived should be beneficial to the State and Federal governments in appraising the potential for development of large, low-grade porphyry copper deposits in south-central Alaska. Conventional mining and concentrating methods were assumed, and capital and operating costs were derived using flowsheets and standard costing methods. The total price required for copper mined in Alaska and Arizona was $1.12 and $0.63 per pound, respectively, plus or minus 20 percent. These values were obtained assuming no leaching of low-grade copper, recovery of gold, silver, and molybdenum as byproducts, 100-percent equity financing, and a 12 percent discounted cash flow rate of return. The average domestic and international prices for copper in July 1973 were $0.60 and $0.916 per pound, respectively. The existence of a developed transportation and power system in Alaska would have reduced capital and operating costs subs tantially. The required price for copper would have declined from $1.12 to $1.05 per pound, plus or minus 20 percent.

Jan 1, 1974

By Oliver Bowles

From remote antiquity stone has been employed for structural, ornamental, and memorial purposes. It was, and still is, so used because of its availability in innumerable localities and its architectural adaptability, dignity, substantiality, and durability. The principal varieties of stone used are granite, marble, limestone, sandstone, and slate. This report deals with granite. OCCURRENCE AND CHARACTER OF GRANITE Granites usually have been classed as igneous rocks derived from molten masses or magmas, but there is wide evidence that the origin of some granites may be attributed to regional metamorphism of preexisting rocks, rearrangement and recrystallization taking place without a liquid or molten stage. In any event granitization is a slow, deep-seated process.

Jan 1, 1956

By Scott Turner

The monetary metals , gold and silver , have recently been the object of such general interest that the United States Bureau of Mines has received many inquiries regarding them . Though requests for technologic information have been numerous , they have been exceeded in number by those concerned with economic aspects of these metals . The nature of the latter communications indicates that the public is not generally aware that various Bureau publications are available which deal with the economic situation of gold and silver . For this reason , it is deemed advisable to present a brief résumé of the papers which are obtainable from the Bureau or the Superintendent of Documents , together with the text of three articles recently prepared by the Director , reprints of which are not otherwise available . The Bureau of Mines compiles figures showing mine production of gold and silver , by districts and States , and cooperates with the Bureau of the Mint in determining the total annual output in the United States as a whole . 3 It recently established an annual canvass to determine the consumption of silver in the arts and industries of the United States , and published an economic paper covering such use in 1928 and 1929 , followed by an information circular on silver consumption by industry during the 2 years subsequent . A 4-year record is thus provided for those interested in utilization of silver . The Bureau has also published summarizations of all available data upon world production since 1493 of gold and of silver . It has , furthermore , rendered available a compilation of production- data of silver mines of the world , and an analysis of it , showing the proportions of silver and other metals contained in all the ores from which silver is derived . " All of these papers are concerned solely with putting into readily usable form statistical data and other factual material ; they do not offer theories or express opinions upon controversial questions related to these metals . Three other recent papers concerned with gold and silver are presented below in order to put them in shape for distribution by the United States Bureau of Mines . All three of them are by the Director of the Bureau . It should be noted that these papers do not commit

Jul 1, 1933

By Sidney Katell

This report, covering the period January 1969 through December 1969, is a continuation of a series that began with the publication of Information Circular 7516 in October 1949. It is the 11th in a series of reports prepared in cooperation with the American Association of Cost Engineers. The abstracted articles are concerned with all phases of cost engineering in the field of chemical and petroleum plants and related subjects. They are from the following sources: 1. American Association of Cost. Engineers Bulletin. 2. Bureau of Mines Information Circulars. 3. Bureau of Mines Reports of Investigations. 4. Chemical Engineering. 5. Chemical Engineering Progress. 6. Chemical Week. 7. Coal Age. 8. Coal Mining and Processing.

Jan 1, 1970

By R. W. Stahl

Methane, a highly explosive gas evolved during the coal-formation process, is one of the hazards of mining most difficult to overcome. It is retained between particles of coal and entrapped in strata overlying and underlying the coal beds to a degree dependent upon the permeability of the enclosing strata. Considering that methane might be encountered at any time during the mining of coal, attempts have been made through the years to minimize the sources of ignition at coal-mine faces, such as the introduction of permissible electric equipment, the prohibition of smoking and open lights, and the development of safer explosives. The sparks created when mining-machine picks contact sandstone or iron pyrites2/ constitute one source of ignition, always recognized as a possibility but never greatly emphasized in the United States until recently, when ignitions began occurring with rather alarming frequency and in widely scattered coal-producing areas.

Jan 1, 1956

By Charles G. Patmon

This paper describing the methods of dredging and treatment of gold-bearing gravels at the Lancha Plana Gold Dredging Co.'s dredge is one of a series of similar papers being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on mining practices, methods, and costs in the various mining districts of the United States. The dredge is located near the Mokelumne River, 12 miles west of San Adreas, Calif.; it is accessible by an improved dirt road from Jackson, which is about 20 miles distant.

Jan 1, 1932

By J. W. Thompson

OIL AND GAS AS MINERALS. Oil and gas within the ground are minerals and the fact that they have attributes not common to other minerals because of their fugitive nature or vagrant habit, and the disposition to percolate, and the possibility of their escape from beneath one part of the surface to another, does not remove them from the class of minerals. Texas Co. v. Daugherty (Texas), 176 Southwestern, 717, p. 719, May, 1915. OWNERSHIP OF TAILINGS-ABANDONMENT. A corporation engaged in milling- and the reduction of ores deposited the tailings therefrom upon a portion of its own land lying in a gulch through which water flows at times in great volumes and with great force' and notwithstanding all reasonable efforts by dams and otherwise to retain its tailings, the tailings eventually were forced upon the lands of an adjoining owner; these tailings were valuable and their retreatment, intended by the mill owner, profitable; and the fact that the tailings were so washed down upon the lands of the adjoining owner and permitted to accumulate and remain for some considerable time is not sufficient to show an abandonment on the part of the owner of the tailings, where it is clear that the owner had no intention of so doing, but on the contrary, always intended to conserve and retreat the tailings.

Jan 1, 1916

By Roy L. Soderberg

The Bureau of Mines has conducted substantial research on the design, construction, and operation of metal and nonmetal tailings ponds. This design guide, like related Bureau publications that preceded it, is produced to assist the industry in the management of mill tailings disposal. It covers the site selection, sampling, laboratory testing, design, construction, operation, and inspection of tailings embankments. The effects of environment, topography, and hydrogeology are also included, and various methods of stability analysis and factors affecting stability are reviewed. Because of the diversity of problems encountered in tailings embankments, specific solutions are not intended. The guide is, however, a useful checklist for designers, operators, and inspectors of this type of structure.

Jan 1, 1977

By Frederick C. Kohout

An advanced water-in-oil emulsion hydraulic fluid has been developed which meets defined laboratory performance criteria and which has given fully satisfactory results in a one-year underground mine test in two continuous miners. A novel method of monitoring fluid water content was demonstrated and incorporated into a test kit for use at or near the mine site. Test fluid fire resistance integrity as measured by the MSHA Schedule 30 procedure was maintained during the test and important fire resistance test variables identified.

Jan 1, 1979