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By Glenn C. Reed

This report is one of a series based upon investigations made and being made within the Missouri River Basin in Montana by engineers of the Bureau of Mines , Albany Branch , Mining Division . These investigations are made primarily to provide preliminary information to the Department of Interior agencies and to others concerned with planning the proposed Federal power development within the Missouri River Basin . The present report has been designed to permit public distribution of factual data obtained . The field investigations were made during the late fall of 1947 and the summer of 1948. Information on mineral occurrences in several areas in Sweet Grass County also are included in this report because of their close proximity to Park County . Practically all known metallic mineral deposits within Park County were investigated ; some nonmetallic mineral deposits also were investigated. The investigations of the metallic mineral deposits in Park County cannot be considered complete ; some long inactive mines and prospects on which little or no information is of record may have been missed . Many of the underground openings , especially at the long inactive properties , no longer are accessible ; consequently , much of the information regarding history their and development necessarily has been obtained from available Federal and State publications .

Feb 1, 1950

By K. C. Dean

Fine-sized mineral wastes discarded by ore milling plants require stabilization to prevent air and water pollution. Stabilization has been attained by physical, chemical, vegetative, and combination procedures. Vegetative reclamation is preferred to physical and chemical stabilization but is diffi¬cult to achieve because the wastes are sterile, contain deleterious inorganic salts, and lack the essential nutrients and physical characteristics required for sustaining vegetative growth. Methods now have been developed for attain¬ing vegetative growth on all but excessively acidic, basic, or saline tailings at costs ranging from $120 to $650 per acre. The cost for stabilizing tail¬ings requiring more intensive treatment techniques may range upward to $1,750 per acre. This report summarizes procedures developed by the Bureau of Mines and industry for vegetating amenable tailings, lists costs for the various processes, and suggests procedures that may be applicable for stabilizing saline and pyrite-containing tailings. Ridged planting beds, drip irrigation, and deep-furrow planting techniques are suggested for stabilizing saline wastes. A combination of mill tailings and sewage sludge can be used for pro¬ducing synthetic soils, and layers of sewage sludge buried under a layer of tailings offer promise of inhibiting acid formation from oxidation of sulfides in mineral wastes.

Jan 1, 1974

By G. R. Hopkins

[A new record in fuel efficiency at petroleum refineries was established in 1939, when a the average e B.t.u. requirements per barrel of crude oil processed declined to a new low of 557,000 B.t.u. (see fig, 1).]

Jan 1, 1941

By K. K. Kershner

Nickel having a purity of more than 99.99 percent with reference to metallic impurities was electrodeposited at the Rolla Metallurgy Research Center of the Federal Bureau of Mines. The production of high-purity nickel is in keeping with the current trend in technologies for producing metals with lower and lower percentages of impurities. To understand more fully the role to be played by nickel by itself and as a component in many alloys, the element must be in a state of high purity. Procedures are outlined for purifying nickel solutions by precipitating and filtering off impurities. Details are given for using the purified solutions as electrolytes in depositing high-purity nickel. The elecneleposited nickel contained 0.0005 to 0.002 percent each of cobalt, copper, aid iron together with spectrographically detectable traces of aluminum, magnesium, and silicon. The deposits were smooth and dense; the crystalline structure was typical of an electrodeposited metal. Some preliminary experiments for purifying nickel solutions by liquid-liquid extraction are also described in this report. Tests of this type were limited since more encouraging results were obtained by other methods of purification.

Jan 1, 1961

By D. Randolph Berry

The U.S. Bureau of Mines awarded a contract to Foster-Miller Associates, Inc. (FMA) to provide recommendations on the safest, most practical methods for complying with new regulations requiring that all underground coal miners have a self-contained, self-rescuer (SCSR) -a device capable of supplying, in an emergency, 1 hr of self-contained oxygen (no breathing of mine air). This report develops information and recommendations which could be used during the early stages of nationwide compliance, especially in the areas of inspection, testing, and underground storage of SCSRs. Volume I contains an Executive Summary, Introduction, Definitions, Recommended Guidelines for District Managers and Mine Operators, and a Storage Plan Checklist and Sample Form.

Jan 1, 1981

By C. E. Augustine, B. A. Landry, P. Nicholls

"Wien bituminous coal is burned in a hand-fired up-draft boiler used for heating purposes it has a decided tendency to produce smoke. A design of furnace and a method of firing and attendance that are satisfactory for fuels low in volatile matter, as anthracite or coke, are not necessarily Satisfactory for bituminous coals. It is therefore becoming common practice to use a special design of furnace for bituminous coals, in order to facilitate the combustion of the volatile matter and soot. This is done by (1) providing a larger combustion space to give more time for the combustion, (2) construction that will produce a better mixing of the gases and secondary air supplied over the fuel bed, or (3) keeping the gases at a higher temperature by preheating the secondary air, as may be done by surrounding them with refractory surfaces, or causing them to pass through a fuel bed of hot coke. A furnace may be built to use any or all of these methods of smoke prevention.In Bureau of Mines Technical Paper 303, Blizard5 and others give tests on a large heating boiler when burning coke, anthracite, and bituminous coal. Certair alternative furnace arrangements were used, but there was no material change in the furnace design for the various fuels. Since that time the manufacturer has made modifications in design to adapt it for use of bituminous coal, and additional tests have been made to determine how this change affected the production of smoke and the efficiency of the boiler."

Jun 1, 1929

By A. U. Miller

For many years Illinois has been one of the leading coal producers in the United States and as such its safety record has compared very well with the other large coal producing States , both in tons produced and millions of man -hours of exposure per fatal accident . ( See Table 25 in Bureau of Mines Bulletin 293. ) During the 10-year period from 1917 to 1926 , inclusive , the average production in the United States per fatal accident was 278 , 109 tons . The aver age for the State of Illinois for the same period was 409,249 tons . Illinois produced 450,464 tons per fatal accident, and in 1928 produced 390,630, tons , or an average of 419,721 tons for the 12- year period from 1917 to 1928 , inclusive . In 1927 During the year 1929 , the shipping mines of the State made a decided improvement in their record over any previous year . Table 1 shows the monthly production and the tons produced per fatal accident . During 1928 and 1929 safety work was actively carried on in Illinois . Safety meetings were held with mine officials , representatives of the State. De partment of Mines , and the United States Bureau of Mines . At these meetings mine hazards and accidents were discussed and remedies suggested for : their elimination in the future . It is believed that first - aid training was to a considerable extent instrumental in reducing accidents and in making the good safety records in Illinois during 1928 and 1929. During these years ( as well as in 1926 and 1927 to a somewhat less extont ) en intensive rirst-aid training campaign was con ducted in Illinois by the officials and members of the United Mine Workers of America , coal companies, State Department of Mines and Minerals , and the U. S. Bureau of Mines , Every first -aid class was made a safety meeting ; where accidents and general safety were discussed freely while teaching first aid. During this time , anproximately 25,000 persons were trained in first aid, and 17 coal companies were issued certificates for having 100 per cent of their employees. trained in first aid. Since January 1 , 1926 , more than 40,000 have received first -aid training in and around Illinois mines , and including those who received training previous to this date , it is believed that at least 90 per cent of the miners in Illinois have received first -aid training . This state ment is based on the fact that the labor turnover in Illinois is not large .

Apr 1, 1931

By J. P. Powell

Records show that systematic water flooding was begun as early as 1935 in Greenwood County and in 1937 in Butler County. Water flooding on some earlier projects in Greenwood County were described in a Bureau of Mines Report of Investigation.2/ This report presents a discussion of 4 projects -2 in Butler County, 1 in Greenwood County, and 1 in Butler and Greenwood Counties. The location of these projects is shown in figure 1. The projects have been in operation 6 to 12 years and have recovered about 6.6 million barrels of additional oil from the injection of 84.7 million barrels of water. Three of the projects take advantage of the elevation of the nearby hilly terrain, and water from the treating ponds flows by gravity through the filters into the clear-water tanks. By utilizing gravity flow, fewer pumps and less electrical energy is required, resulting in more economical operation.

Jan 1, 1956

By S. P. Holt, Robert S. Sanford

"INTRODUCTION The wartime demand for iron ore and alloy steel on the west coast revived interest in iron reserves in western United States and Alaska. Magnetite was known to have been the most abundant metallic mineral at some of the old copper mines on Prince of Wales Island. In the summer of 1942, the Bureau of Mines began a program of preliminary investigation followed by core-drilling two magnetite deposits on the island.The Poor Man iron deposit on Kasaan Peninsula, Prince of Wales Island, Southeastern Alaska, was examined in August 1942 by Robert L. Thorne, associate mining engineer of the Bureau of Mines, and John C. Reed and B. N. Goddard, geologists of the Federal Geological Survey in September 1942 the area was mapped geologically and a magnetic survey was made by the Geological Survey. In October and November 1942, a more thorough preliminary examination, which included cleaning out and sampling old adits and trenches, was made by thesenior author, Robert L. Thorne, and Aner W. Erickson, engineers of the Bureau. J. G. Shepherd, a consultant of the Bureau, spent two weeks in March and April 1943 investigating the Poor Man and other deposits on Kasaan Peninsula. Core drilling was completed in June 1943.L. A. Warner, of the Geological Survey, examined all cores and interpreted structural data revealed by the drilling."

Oct 1, 1946

By J. A. Herdlick

At the request of the War Production Board a preliminary examination of the Big Ben molybdenum prospect near Neihart, Cascade County, Mont., was made by the Bureau of Mines under G. N. Bennett, mining engineer, Bureau of Mines Montana district office, in September 1942. Formal investigation, consisting of sampling, core drilling, and metallurgical testing, was later undertaken and completed in 1943. Field work was directed by Robert D. O'Brien, mining engineer, Montana district office, under the supervision of E. W. Newman, supervising engineer, Montana district office. This report describes the deposit, presents the factual data obtained from the sampling and core-drilling operations, and summarizes the results of the metallurgical studies. The deposit was first located and prospected in 1922 by the present owner, Frank Mansikka of Neihart, Mont. Periodic examinations made by responsible mining interests were culminated in 1938 when the Federal Mining & Smelting Co. optioned and investigated the property. No ores have been produced from the deposit to date.

Jan 1, 1949

By M. J. Beus

The U.S. Bureau of Mines is conducting investigations to improve design methods for mining volcano-genic massive-sulfide (VMS) type deposits in environmentally sensitive regions. This study was conducted at the Greens Creek Mine, which is typical of many VMS-type deposits throughout southeast Alaska, and served as a case history for computer modeling and structural analysis. Results indicated that the finite-element design method provided reasonable comparisons with both the anticipated regional stress regime and the measured deformational response of the underground accessways. Investigators concluded that reasonable accuracy can be expected for stability analyses of proposed mine design scenarios at this mine using the results of this preliminary study.

Jan 1, 2010

By Northcutt Ely

This volume summarizes mining and petroleum legislation in 25 jurisdictions of East Asia and the Pacific. Within these jurisdictions, primary attention is given to requirements that must be met in each country for acquisition of rights to permit development of mineral resources. Coverage includes: First, identification of the controlling laws or statutes governing minerals acquisition and reference to the administrative authority; second, analysis of the laws governing mines and quarries and their products; and third, analysis of laws applicable to natural gas, petroleum, and related materials. Where pertinent, sections dealing with historical background or administration have been added. In countries where minerals are subject to control of States or Provinces, those areas are considered separately from the central government.

Jan 1, 1971

By Hal D. Peterson

In research sponsored by the Bureau of Mines, a technique was developed for simulation of heap leaching on uranium ores. The equipment used for this simulation consisted of 2-ft-diam columns, constructed in sections, such that ores as coarse as minus 4-in could be treated in bed depths ranging from 8 to 18 ft with test condition variations. The technique consisted of the separate steps of ore preparation, column loading, charge wetting, leaching, washing, and residue recovery. For the ores studied, sulfuric acid was found to be generally superior to alkaline lixiviants. The rate of uranium extraction by acid leaching proved" to be primarily a function of percolation rate, alkalinity of the ores and oxidant requirements of the ores. Column leaching was closely comparable to field-scale heap leaching in terms of uranium extraction rate and recovery results. Acid and oxidant requirements were lower for the field-scale operation. All column tests, as well as the field-scaly heap, achieved in excess of 96-pct uranium extraction on a Bear Creek, Wyoming ore.

Jan 1, 1985

By David J. Kusler

This report describes a primary or direct, continuously sampling, and automatically averaging gravimetric method for analyzing gaseous mixtures of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide) hydrogen, and (by volume measurement) nitrogen. The gaseous mixture is analyzed by passing it at a controlled and definite rate through a system that permits carbon dioxide and water retained by appropriate absorbents to be determined and the residual-gas volume (essentially nitrogen) to be measured. The accuracy and dependability have been established by comparison with very carefully conducted Orsat analyses. The method was developed for, and has been satisfactorily applied to, the analysis of blast-furnace top gas. It permits relatively attention free operation, using simple and low-cost materials usually found as basic equipment in the analytical laboratory. It provides, over a wide range of time or sampling intervals (from less than 1 to over 24 hours), the average composition, in terms of volume-percent, for those components usually determined in blast-furnace gas, if (as is usual) the flow rate of gas from the blast furnace is essentially constant over a selected analysis interval. Oxygen and methane are not determined; but, since these gases are normally absent or present only in traces, their analysis is seldom required.

Jan 1, 1959

By R. L. Hopkins

Fifteen alkyl cycloalkyl sulfides and three dicycloalkyl sulfides were synthesized to provide reference compounds in the search for these classes of sulfur compounds in crude oils. In synthesizing sulfides by alkaline alkylation the order in which the reactants were added was shown to determine the yield and purity of the product.

Jan 1, 1966

By P. G. Clites

The Bureau of Mines developed techniques for induction melting of titanium in a split, water-cooled copper crucible. Calcium fluoride, which was used as an inert slag cover during melting, formed an insulating layer of solid slag between the ingot and the crucible wall. This thin layer of slag effectively insulated the ingot from the crucible and prevented the molten metal from shorting across the slits between adjacent segments of the crucible. The technique provides a means of melting loose titanium sponge and scrap and eliminates the need for fabricating a consumable electrode. This report describes the equipment developed and compares ingots produced from two varieties of titanium sponge, from titanium scrap, and from previously melted titanium with ingots prepared by vacuum-arc melting and electroslag melting. A melting scheme was also proposed and evaluated whereby loose titanium sponge was consolidated into a first-melt ingot for vacuum-arc remelting.

Jan 1, 1969

By D. A. Rice

As part of its mission, the U.S. Bureau of Mines continues to develop technologies that will enable cost-effective compliance with environmental requirements. To this end, investigations to improve the kinetics of chalcopyrite dissolution by simultaneous grinding-leaching in ferric sulfate solution were conducted using the Bureau-designed turbo mill. The development of such a hydrometallurgical process would provide a nonpolluting alternative to conventional smelter technology. The effects of mill rotational speed and volume percent solids on the leaching time and energy required for copper extraction from chalcopyrite were evaluated. The results of this laboratory study have shown that the simultaneous grinding-leaching of chalcopyrite concentrate using the turbomill is technically feasible with essentially 100 pet extraction of copper being possible at 90° C. An optimal energy consumption of 1,153 kW?h/st of copper leached was found in batch testing with the mill operating at 400 rpm with a slurry containing 35 vol pet chalcopyrite. This energy consumption, while higher than other proposed leaching processes (about 600 kW?h/st), is of the same order of magnitude. Further refinement of the energy requirements would require additional testing using a continuous circuit. Leaching times of less than 1 h, for 80 pct copper extraction, are achievable using the turbomill grind-leach process.

Jan 1, 2010

By James P. Bennett

The Bureau of Mines investigated the role of imported natural flake graphite in dolomite-carbon refractories used in steelmaking processes. Fundamental engineering data were obtained to enable the evaluation of substitute materials. Changes in oxidation resistance (2,000° F), hot strength (2,750° F), and deformation under load (2,7500 F) caused by 10-wt-pct additions of five different kinds of natural flake graphite and increasing quantities (0 to 30 pct) of a 90-pct-carbon natural flake graphite were studied. Results indicated that carbon purity of 10-wt-pct-graphite additions did not influence hot strength or deformation under load. When the quantity of 90-pct-carbon graphite addition varied between 0 and 30 wt pct in a dolomite-carbon brick, hot strength was highest and de-formation under load lowest with 10-wt-pct additions. As hot strength test temperature was increased from 5000 to 2,750° F, the strength difference observed between 0-and 30-wt-pct additions of a 90-pct-carbon graphite became smaller. Additions of a boron-treated graphite caused significantly higher strength and lower deformation under load at high temperatures, while an addition of ball clay significantly reduced strength and increased deformation.

Jan 1, 1987

By H. D. Jacobs

The Federal Bureau of Mines, as part of a program to insure future raw material needs for the iron and steel industry, undertook research to beneficiate the oxidized taconites from the western Mesabi range in Minnesota. The data presented were obtained by applying the Bureau-developed selective-flocculation/cationic-flotation process to the second of three oxidized taconite samples. These three samples are representative of an estimated 10 billion tons of ore analyzing 30 to 40 pct iron. The experimental work was performed in a 900-lb/hr pilot plant. Treating the ore sample (36.1 pct Fe) with the Bureau's process produced commercially acceptable concentrates averaging 63.5 pct Fe and 4.3 pct SiO2, with an average iron recovery of 84.6 pct.

Jan 1, 1980

By Phillip N. Yasnowsky

This Bureau of Mines report summarizes State severance taxes imposed on minerals and mineral fuels, provides a hypothetical example of how a State severance tax affects selected components of a firm's income statement, and uses the Bureau's Minerals Availability System (MAS) to estimate the effect of assumed changes in State severance tax rates on copper recovery cost at given levels of potential copper availability. A reduction of the rates to zero or a doubling of them results in changes in costs that are of the same order of magnitude as the cost of transporting copper to the United States from major foreign producing countries.

Jan 1, 1982