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By Richard D. Miller, Geraldine P. Norrell

This publication contains routine analyses and related source data for 295 natural gas samples from 18 States collected during calendar year 1963 as part of a continuous survey of the United States for occurrences of helium in natural gas. This survey has been conducted by the Bureau of Mines since 1917. The analyses published herein were made by mass spectrometer and a special helium analysis apparatus, which are described in Bureau of Mines Bulletins 4863 and 576.4 Five previous publications have been made to present the results of 5,998 gas analyses made by the Bureau of Mines Helium Activity , prior to 1963. The first three , Bulletin 486,5 Bulletin 576,6 and Bulletin 617,7/ contain analyses and source data on 5,214 gas samples collected from 1917 to January 1 , 1961. The fourth and fifth publications , which are published as Information Circulars , supplement the three Bulletins and contain 784 analyses of samples collected during 1961 and 1962. The present Information Circular is the third annual publication supplementing the three Bulletins .

Jan 1, 1965

By J. W. Paul

This report is one of a series of papers on coal mining methods and costs which are being prepared through the sponsorship of the U. S. Bureau of Mines for the purpose of bringing to the industry a knowledge of methods as they are used at the present time, and data on certain features which govern costs, safety, and conservation. The methods employed are, influenced by local conditions with respect to the character and dip of the coal, the nature of the, roof and the thickness of the overburden, and the means employed for roof support and its control.

Jan 1, 1929

By John Nagy

Large-scale tests in the U.S. Bureau of Mines Experimental Coal Mine show that the explosion hazard of coal dust on shuttle-car roadways can be con-trolled by proper application of water, dry rock dust, a saturated solution of ammonium phosphate, or mixtures of water or the water-phosphate solution with rock dust. The experiments were made with loadings of 1.0 and 5.0 pounds of mine size coal dust per linear foot of entry, and with a 3-or 4-inch-thick layer of coal rubble on the floor, The data from the tests with mine-size coal and rubble are comparable. The water contents of the dust loading were determined from samples collected just prior to initiation of a gas-air mixture in an ignition zone at the face Dust samples were collected 1 inch deep from the coal-rubble deposit. One experiment was made with the dust in the coal rubble bound with latex applied as a water solution by spray. The binding action was inadequate and explosion propagation was obtained.

Jan 1, 1970

By O. C. Blade

This report on the properties of aviation gasolines and aviation jet fuels produced in the United States during 1956 was made under a cooperative agreement between the American Petroleum Institute and the Bureau of Mines of the United States Department of the Interior. Analytical data are presented for 120 samples of aviation gasoline and for 38 samples of aviation jet fuel. The analyses were made on samples typical of the manufacturers' 1956 production in their laboratories and the results submitted to the Bureau of Mines for compilation. The products of 20 manufacturers of aviation gasolines and of 17 producers of aviation jet fuels are represented.

Jan 1, 1957

This is the eighth in a series of reports en properties of commercial meter fuels, made in accordance with a cooperative agreement between the Cooperative Fuel Research (C. F. R.) Committee and the Bureau of Mines of the United States Department of the interior. The first report gave data en meter gasolines sold during the winter of 1935-36.3/ The present report, covering 1,679 samples, represents the products of 118 companies plus these from the Pacific coast, which were averaged by the Pacific Coast Technical Group before being submitted and are published exactly as they were submitted. The throe groups of data en samples of regular, premium, and third-grade gasolines arc averaged separately. The number of samples and brands representing each grade are as follows: Regular price, 869 samples, 76 brands; premium price, 452 samples, 45 brands; third-grade, 358 samples, 82 brands. In this report the same marketing districts are retained as were used in the preceding report, and as far as possible the actual sampling points in each area arc indicated on table 1.

Jan 1, 1940

By Robert W. Smith

In a certain application2/ it was necessary to compute the beta function B(p, q) for a certain set of values p and q. Since t he set of p and q values was much mo re finely spaced than those in any published tables, the authors decided to make their results available in this report. In connection with this application the functionB(p, q) was needed at various points in the p, q plane at intervals of 0.05, 0.05<p = q< 10.00. Fletcher, Miller, and Rosenhead2/ state that the only tables available in the desired range are those of Rearson.4/ However, the interval used by Pearson was not small enough for the present application. For this reason it was decided to calculate B(p, q) for p = q =0.05 (0.05) 10. 00.2/ This table is published because of the fundamental importance in mathematical analysis of the complete beta function.

Jan 1, 1953

By A. B. Needham

The Great Eastern nickel deposit is located in the western foothills of the Virgin Mountains in the Copper King or Bunkerville district situated in the southeastern part of Clark County, Nev. It is covered by a group of eight claims that can be reached by turning south from U. S. Highway 91 at Riverside, Nev., and driving about 12.6 miles southeast over a winding mountain road, which rises from about 3,000 feet to 4,000 feet in elevation. The climate is dry, with only a small amount of rainfall throughout the year. The temperature ranges from hot during the summer to short periods of freezing weather during the winter months. The vegetation is of the desert variety, and no timber is available for mining. Water for mining purposes would have to be pumped from lower areas. A granitoid gneiss comprises the largest part of the rock outcrops. It has a steeply dipping foliation that strikes about N. 75° E. The gneiss was intruded by basic dikes, which in turn were intruded by pegmatite dikes. The ore occurs as lenticular bodies formed by the convergence of several pegmatite dikes within the main dike. The principal sulfide minerals are pyrite, pyrrhotite, and chalcopyrite, which contain a small amount of nickel. Late in the year of 1939, the Bureau of Mines undertook an exploration project on the Great Eastern property to extend or delimit the known mineralization. Underground work, consisting of 590 feet of drifting and crosscutting, was completed in September 1940, and 1,091 feet of diamond, drilling for downward extension of an ore body in the Lower edit, which was completed in February 1941.

Jan 1, 1950

By Roy H. Poston

This paper sets forth the mode of ore occurrence, characteristics of ore and country rocks, methods of exploration, development, and. ore extraction, and the costs of underground operation at No. 8 mine of the St. Louis Smelting and Refining Works of the National Lead Co. located near the southern extremity of the Southeast Missouri lead district. The author acknowledges the assistance of E. T. Campbell, geologist, in the preparation of the paragraphs on the geology of the ores. HISTORY The first record of mining in St. Francois County, Mo., concerns more or less shallow semisurface "diggings" which were worked about the year 174-2. In 1864, however, the discovery of the disseminated deposits, the present source of lead, was made on property near the town of Bone Terre. Winslow has estimated the lead-ore production in this county prior to 1869 to be 59,526 tons.3

Jan 1, 1929

By H. J. Heinen

Malononitrile [CH2(CN)2J, which forms a carbanion in basic solutions, was investigated as a potential leachant for gold and was shown to be an effective extractant in alkaline pulps. Malononitrile was comparable to equal molar quantities of sodium cyanide (NaCN) in leaching gold from an oxide ore and yielded 10 to 20 percent higher recovery in leaching a refractory carbonaceous ore, although dissolution was slower with malononitrile than with cyanide. Complete recovery of the gold from the pregnant solutions was achieved by coprecipitation with a lead salt on zinc dust; the leachant was shown to be capable of regeneration and recycling a limited number of times. Addition of an anion-exchange resin to the carbonaceous pulp containing malononitri1e increased gold recovery from 67 to 95 percent. Some malononitrile derivatives were also shown to be gold solvents.

Jan 1, 1970

By W. H. Tomlinson

During the 9 years ended December 31, 1938, 188 fatalities resulted from preventable accidents in and around the coal mines of Indiana; 173 of these occurred at underground mines and 15 at stripping or open-cut operations. In addition, there may have been other unrecorded fatalities during this period. The two organizations receiving notice of accidental deaths at coal mines in this State are the Division of Mines and Mining and the Indiana Industrial Commission. Only deaths occurring at underground mines employing 10 or more men are reported to the former, as neither strip mines nor underground mines employing fewer than 10 men cone within the purview of the Indiana mining law. The mine inspectors have no Jurisdiction over this latter group of mines and do not inspect them. Fatalities at small "wagon" mines and open-cut operations are supposed to be reported to the Industrial Commission; however, in many instances deaths at small mines are not reported, the only record being a death certificate filed with the county or corporation health officer. Thus, many deaths in small mines escape attention, especially when the victim succumbs some time after the injury was received. The data presented here on fatalities in Indiana, during the past 5 years include several instances in which the only record available is a death certificate; possibly others have been overlooked. From 1934 to 1937 the fatality record was progressively worse, that of the larger underground mines in 1937 being more than twice the average for these mines for the previous 4 years and only slightly less than twice the average for all mines, including open-cut operations. The increase in deaths during 1937 was due to two explosions, with 20 fatalities in one and 2 in the other. The number of deaths in the larger underground mines was considerably less in 1938 than in the previous 4 years, but there was no improvement in the number of fatalities at the small mines, or at open-cut mines.

Jan 1, 1940

By Russell R. Trengrove

The Copper Canyon lead-zinc mine is in the Battle Mountain. District, Lander County, Nev. It was discovered in 1866 and mined for copper until 1935 and for copper and gold until l948, when the main production became lead-zinc ore. The rocks in the area are carboniferous (Pennsylvanian and Mississippian) sedimentaries that have been intruded by quartz monzonite of Mesozoic age. They have been intensely folded, faulted, and tilted. Lead-zinc ore occurs as sulfides disseminated along fractured zones in a conglomerate arid hornfels. Development was carried out by the Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the U. S. Geological Survey and comprised a study of the geology, making maps and. cross sections, and exploring the deposit by diamond drilling from underground. Eighteen holes were drilled, for a total of 2,594 feet. This report contains a brief history of the property and a description of mining methods and beneficiation of the ore, geology, ore deposits and drilling done by the Bureau of Mines. It also contains detailed analyses of the ore samples taken and logs of the holes drilled.

Jan 1, 1951

By Michael S. Miller

In 1987, 1988 and 1989, at the request of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Bureau of Mines studied the Sperry Creek Wilderness Study Area (OR-003-035; 5,600 acres) and the Gold Creek Wilderness Study Area (OR-003-033; 13,600 acres), plus an additional area (OR-003-033; 2,180 acres) adjacent to the Gold Creek Wilderness Study Area. The wilderness study areas and the addition are south of the Malheur River and are about 20 miles east of Juntura, Oregon. The wilderness study areas and the addition are underlain by volcanic rocks, predominantly basalt and rhyolite flows, breccias, and welded ash-flow tuffs. Lacustrine deposits containing diatomites occur mainly at the east side of the Gold Creek Wilderness Study Area and addition. Alluvium lies along the Malheur River, in terraces and fans south of the Malheur River, and along the floors of some creeks. Shear zones and faults have offset the rocks and provided channels for eruption of volcanic rocks and epithermal mineralization by hot springs.

Jan 1, 1989

By Michael D. Dunn

The Bureau of Mines evaluated a quartz schist formation within the Blue Joint Wilderness Study Area which was identified as having a "high potential" for copper-silver-cobalt-barium resources. Stratiform and remobilized copper occurs near, and bedded barite within, the study area. In addition, the black to gray Proterozoic quartz schist may correlate with the Yellowjacket Formation which contains cobalt-copper-gold-silver deposits at Blackbird, ID, about 30 miles to the south. Eighty soil and 43 rock samples collected across the quartz schist formation were analyzed for gold, silver, copper, cobalt, and barium. During the reconnaissance and sampling, particular attention was given to looking for malachite (copper carbonate) and erythrite (cobalt arsenate, also known as "cobalt bloom"). The sample analyses and geology in this localized area do not provide enough evidence to support the "high potential" designation for copper-silver-cobalt resources. Barium potential still appears high, however.

Jan 1, 1987

By G. W. Grove, H. R. Burdelsky, F. E. Griffith

"INTRODUCTION The work of using a system of air locks in unsealing a mine in Ohio following a fire probably was one of the outstanding jobs of its kind in a medium-thick coal bed.The fire in this mine, thought to have been of electrical origin, was discovered at about 1:30 a.m. on December 11, 1941. Forty-four men were working in the affected section at the time; 5 escaped unassisted, and 37, who had barricaded themselves, were rescued. The bodies of two men, who had succumbed after breathing fumes given off by the fire, were brought part way out of the mine before it became necessary to seal the mine.Direct attempts to extinguish the fire with water were abandoned when hazardous amounts of 'carbon monoxide, methane, and other inflammable gases were detected in return air passing through the main haulageway and escape-way of the mine.The mine was completely sealed on the surface at about 8 p.m. on December 12, 1941, with the two bodies remaining in the mine. Sixteen days after the mine had been sealed, the two bodies were recovered. This was accomplished by air-locking through a partitioned-off stairs compartment of a ventilation shaft. This work was done under adverse barometric and atmospheric conditions.A method for collecting representative air samples from the immediate fire area was used successfully by utilizing a vacuum pump on about 10,000 feet of existing water line that had been broken near the fire area.The immediate fire region was sealed, and confined to a relatively small area; the remainder of the mine was recovered, and operations were resumed February 9, 1942, or 59, days from the time of sealing the mine on the surface. This recovery was made by air-locking the main entries inby from the shaft and No. 2 right-face entries.The distance between air locks averaged about 500 feet, and as each new set of seal stoppings and air locks was completed, the old or outby seals were taken out and the area between was ventilated. In ventilating this area, it was often necessary to use line curtains to direct the air into dead-end places."

Oct 1, 1947

By C. C. Anderson, H. H. Hinson, H. J. Snhroeder

"INTRODUCTION The Eunice field is one of a group in southeastern New Mexico producing oil and gas from so-called limestone-type reservoirs in which the productive strata are dolomite or dolomitic limestone ordinarily, wells in reservoirs of this type show wide differences in their productive characteristics, indicating erratic variations in porosity and permeability. Often there is a large difference in total footage of actual ""pay"" penetrated in neighboring wells and the vertical distribution of the ""pay"" within the productive strata varies. In the Eunice field there are few easily recognizable geologic markers to indicate true structural conditions of the oil-productive section, due to horizontal and vertical gradation in chemical compositions and lithologic characteristics of the strata. Geologic markers are found some distance above the oil-producing zones in this field and consequently they indicate only the general structure. Furthermore, no direct relation has been found between the general structure and the accumulation of oil within the reservoir.Many problems in well-completion and production practice have been met in the Eunice field because of erratic variations in porosity, permeability, in vertical distribution of ""pays,"" and the apparent departure from ordinarily accepted relations of oil accumulation to structure. A detailed study of the position and characteristics of the oil- and gas-producing zones aids production procedure. The methods employed in studying the Eunice field, discussed in this paper, may be applicable to other limestone-type reservoirs."

Jul 1, 1939

By William A. Beck

"The Piedmont Manganese Belt extends from Taliferro County, Georgia, 70 miles in a northeasterly direction through Greenwood County, South Carolina, and conforms with the trend of the Piedmont Province. The total area of the belt is reported to be about 1,000 square miles, and the maximum-width is about 24 miles.Manganese has been known to exist in the belt since 1845. M. Tuomey mentioned a deposit in the Edgefield district on Hard Labor Creek in South Carolina in a report on the geology of South Carolina published in 1848.Ore was first mined about the time of the first World War, when the Colley mine, near Lincolnton, Ga., was. Opened. The only operation in the area at present is that of the Abernathy & Kehaya Mining Co., at McCormick, S. C.The geographical position of the belt is from west longitude 82° 57’, north latitude 33° 39' to west longitude 82° 06', north latitude 34° 08'. The towns of Washington and Lincolnton, Ga., and McCormick and Greenwood, S. C., are in or near the belt.An exploratory project of the Bureau of Mines was started on the McCormick, S. C., deposit in April 1944, and trenching, test pitting, and hand-auger drilling-were done on a small scale until early in October 1944. (Fig. 1.) In November 1944 work was begun on a property 12 miles north of McCormick, known as Parsons Mountain, which is leased to M. H. McKnight by the United States Forest Service. From March 15 to March 24, 1945, work was done on the property of Mrs. H. B. Ross, which is known as the Morgan farm.The Abernathy & Kehaya manganese mine contains what is locally known as the Dorn gold mine; mineral rights on the property were owned by M. G. & J. J. Dorn, Inc."

Apr 1, 1946

By S. M. Shelton, R. B. Fisher, M. M. Fine

"INTRODUCTION The Batesville manganese district lies in the southern part of the Ozark region, mostly in Independence County but partly in Sharp, Izard, and Stone Counties of north central Arkansas.Oxides, carbonates, and silicates of manganese are found in the district. 4/ Carbonate ores have been mined from time to time, but the reserves of potentially commercial ore are chiefly black manganese oxide minerals.The district has produced manganese ore for many years. lip to and including 1933, 160,804 long tons of ferruginous manganese ore (10 to 35 percent manganese) and 140,277 long tons of metallurgical ore (35 percent or more manganese) were shipped;./ most of it was wad orThe term ""wad ore,"" used locally to designate the soft, clayey de¬posits of oxide ore, is a partial misnomer. The ores contain a soft, low-specific-gravity mineral of indefinite composition, which can be designated as wad, but coarse and fine particles of psilomelane and hausmannite, with a smaller proportion of braunite, pyrolusite, and indefinite manganese silicates, are also present. Large and small lumps of high-grade, hard manganese oxide minerals are found, frequently embedded in a soft, black matrix of fine particles of manganese oxides mixed with gangue."

Jul 1, 1942

By A. G. Starliper

Research was conducted by the Bureau of Mines to determine feasible roasting methods for the removal and the recovery of germanium, cadmium, and lead as enriched fractions from sphalerite concentrates. The two types of roasting processes studied were: (1) Batch, with a stationary bed, and (2) continuous, with a suspended bed, Results indicated that either method gave satisfactory metallurgical recoveries} but the continuous process is recommended because of inherent advantages. Final products were enriched fractions that could be treated by conventional methods for production of metallic germanium, cadmium, and lead. In the batch process, the concentrates were placed in a large tube furnace and heated at 1,080° C, an average of 3 hours. During the heating period, inert, reducing} or sulfur-laden gases were passed over the stationary charge to convey the sublimed metal sulfides from the hot portion of the tube to a lower temperature condensing zone at the end of the tube, where the metal sulfides were collected on baffles and recovered. In the batch and fluidizing roasting processes alike, the gases passed over or through the charge and served only as carriers for the sublimates and as suspension media in fluidization roasting. Since both processes depended on the volatilization, at relatively high vapor pressures, of the sulfides of germanium, cadmium, and lead, it was imperative that very little oxygen come in contact with the charge to alter the sulfide minerals. Germanium has a high affinity for oxygen, but in this instance it was buffered by being in solid solution in zinc sulfide.

Jan 1, 1961

By L. C. IlsLey

A list of permissible mine equipment, tested and approved prior to Jan 1, 1937, was published in Bureau of Mines Information Circular 6942 • .ll The present list inc ludes additional equipment approved during the calendar yea r 1937. The ma terial has been listed und er the same. headings as th ose used. in Information Circular 6942. The number that appears at the beginning of each it em represents the number o f this type of ma.chine appr.oved including the machine in questi on; for instance, the miing ma.chine numbered 70 was the seventiet h co al cutting ma chine design for which approval has been isnued. All of the equipment listed represents new designs except that covered by the first item, that is, 57 under the • heading nLoading Machines and Conveyors. 11 This item covers the approval of the 500-volt design of a machine the 250-v olt design of which was approved on January 17, 1935. The system under wich these devices were tested permits the manu-. facturer., after his equipment has passed certain tests prescribed by the 'Ui"eau of Mines, to mark his equipment with a seal showing that it has been approved by the Bureau. These tests are designed to insure t hat equipments hav,e the minimum requirements for safety in use. The only object of the :Bureau in making such tests and publishing lists of permissible equipment is to help decrease the hazards of mining.

Apr 1, 1938

By Jerry E. Olson

In 1988, at the request of the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Bureau of Mines studied additional areas, encompassing 11,303 acres, on the east and west sides of the 20,727-acre Badlands study area (Olson, 1987) in order to evaluate their identified mineral resources. The Badlands study area additions are located in Crook and Deschutes Counties, OR, about 10 and 18 miles east of Bend, OR. No mineral resources were identified. The additional areas studied are underlain by Tertiary-and Quaternary-age basalt flows which are largely covered by a veneer of sand and silt. No mines, prospects, mining claims or mineralized areas occur within or near the Badlands study area additions. Slab lava of marketable grade and quantity was not found in either area. None of the study area is of current interest for geothermal resources, but the eastern study area addition has been leased (1984) for oil and gas.

Jan 1, 1989