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By T. E. Sterner

The Bureau of Mines investigated the use of a chromatographic gas analyzer in determining the concentration of combustion products in gas produced during field and laboratory thermal oil-recovery tests. Several parameters (carrier-gas flow, cell current, sample size, and temperature) known to affect quantitative analyses were studied using a commercially available dual-column, dual-detector chromatographic gas analyzer which had been modified to provide close control of these variables. The apparatus made possible a much closer control of air-and gas-injection rates and provided adequate data for performing material-balance calculations and for determining oxygen utilization during the laboratory and field combustion tests. The chromatographic analysis also aided materially in evaluating and measuring bypassing and gas travel times and in detecting high-permeability zones that were present in the reservoir.

Jan 1, 1965

By W. L. Heidenreich

This report describes the methods and results of field investigations conducted by the Bureau of Mines between December 1956 and December 1957 on seven deposits of nickel-cobalt-iron-bearing laterite and weathered serpentine near the west coast of Puerto Rico east and south of Mayaguez. These deposits were named, for purposes of identification, Guanajibo, Punta Guanajibo, Las Mesas, north and south deposits of the Rosario Southeast group, and the west and east deposits of the Maricao Southwest group. In addition, the lower 17 miles of the Guanajibo River Valley was tested at widely spaced intervals for possible concentrations of magnetite and chromite in the alluvial sands. The objective of the investigations was to appraise, by drilling and sampling, the two largest deposits--the Guanajibo and Las Mesas. Testing of the smaller deposits was much more restricted. Field investigations consisted of mapping, drilling with power auger, sampling drill-hole sections, and pre-paring samples for chemical analyses, mineralogical studies, and metallurgical tests. The work was financed jointly under a cooperative agreement by the Bureau of Mines and the Economic Development Administration, an agency of the Puerto Rican Commonwealth.

Jan 1, 1959

By John E. Pahlman

The U.S. Bureau of Mines has continued its investigation of chemical additive drilling fluids that produce a zero surface charge (ZSC) on a rock to better define the boundary conditions of the phenomenon. Laboratory drilling tests were performed on Minnesota taconite, Tennessee marble, and Sioux Quartzite using diamond-impregnated coring bits or tungsten carbide spade bits. Drilling fluids were made from chemical additives such as inorganic salts, cationic surfactants, cationic polymers, acids, or nonionic polymers in either distilled, deionized water (DDIW), mine pond water, mine well water, or tap water. These additives were tested below, at, and above their respective ZSC concentrations. Penetration and bit life improvements obtained with ZSC concentration solutions ranged from 88 and 56 pct, respectively, to over 650 pct and over 400 pct, respectively, for the additives tested. Polyethylene oxide (PEO) was found to be the best additive for ZSC-controlled drilling because a continuous range of PEO solution concentrations produced the enhanced ZSC-controlled drilling performance.

Jan 1, 1989

By Kenneth M. Earl

In its investigation of deposits of strategic minerals, the Bureau of Mines did some diamond drilling at the Almedia deposit In an endeavor to find an additional source of supply of lead and zinc. It is reported that in 1816, lead and zinc minerals were found in the limestone quarries near the boundary line between Scott and Center townships. In an attempt to develop these minerals in paying quantities, an alit was driven for several rods into a bluff Just west of the present Almedia mine, This is believed to be the Web mine, mentioned briefly by Parker Cleaveland in 1816. In 1901 the Almedia mine was developed by an open cut and three shafts. The hoisting shaft at the time of drilling by the Bureau of Mines was sounded to a depth of 115 feet. A concentrating plant reportedly made shipments to Hamburg, Germany, for reduction. The deposit is in a somewhat slaty limestone. The ore occurs in a northeast fracture zone along the strike of the limestone and dips to the southeast. Old miners state that the ore appeared as large chunks of galena and sphalerite. In 1949, to investigate the downward extension of the oreshoot, the Bureau of Mines drilled four holes aggregating 1,126.3 feet.

Jan 1, 1950

By Michael G. Zabetakis, Aldo L. Furno, Henry E. Perlee

The Bureau of Mines conducted an experimental study with liquid and gaseous hydrogen to determine the hazards associated with the use of liquid hydrogen as an ionizing particle detector in bubble chambers . The glass window , the vacuum chamber , and the vent system were investigated . In addition , a study was made of the detection and ignition of escaping hydrogen and of the available electrical equipment for use in hydrogen atmospheres . Materials such as tempered glass , aluminum , and stainless steel are not penetrated readily by the small fragments formed when fully tempered glass is shattered and propelled by hydrogen at initial pressures up to 100 psig ; long , slender fragments from untempered glass may penetrate thin walls of relatively soft materials such as rubber gaskets and lead . Hydrogen can be vented satisfactorily from a vacuum chamber with a well - designed vent system . However , the rapid leakage of hydrogen into the surrounding air is a serious problem because the available detectors are satisfactory only when the accumulation of hydrogen is slow . Much of the electrical equipment currently available was designed for use in hydrogen- air atmospheres .

Jan 1, 1963

By R. O. Dannenberg

The Bureau of Mines conducted laboratory investigations with the objective of developing an alternative process for recovering cobalt and copper from complex sulfide concentrates. Processes currently used depend largely upon precipitation techniques to remove impurities and recover cobalt from sulfate liquors prepared by oxidative pressure leaching of the sulfide concentrates. The Bureau conducted bench-scale research on a process for treating cobaltite concentrates, comprising (1) oxidative pressure leaching, (2) jarosite precipitation followed by H202 oxidation and pH control to remove iron and arsenic, (3) copper solvent extraction with a mixed hydroxyoxime-amine extractant, (4) copper electrowinning from recirculating acidic strip liquor, (5) selective cobalt extraction from copper solvent extraction raffinate with a phosphinic acid extractant, and (6) electrowinning of cobalt from a recirculating weak acid strip liquor. Overall cobalt and copper recoveries were 91.7 and 84.1 pct, respectively. Electrowon products assayed 99.8 pct Co and 99.89 pct Cu.

Jan 1, 1987

By John J. Mulligan

The Bureau of Mines investigated reports of mineral deposits within 10 miles of the route of the proposed pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. No producing lode deposits or lode prospects of possible national economic significance were found. Measured placer deposits in the route are or slight value except possibly some deeply buried gold placer deposits in the Fairbanks and Livengood Quadrangles. The pipeline corridor crosses five belts of minerals having potential economic value: (1) The north slope of the Brooks Range (oil, gas, oil shale, coal, phosphate); (2) the south slope 01 the Brooks Range (copper, gold); (3) the Livengood area (gold); (4) the Fairbanks area lead-silver, antimony); and (5) the Wrangell Mountains-Denali copper belt (copper-gold). The Jarvis Creek coalfield, an eastern extension of the Nenana coalfield, is on the north side of this belt. Scattered along the corridor across the Chugach Mountain and in the vicinity of Valdez are a wide variety of metallic deposits that make up the eastern margin of the Chugach gold belt but do not seem to constitute a well-defined zone.

Jan 1, 1974

By R. L. Rough

The Bureau of Mines analyzed rotary-coring-operations data to compare mud and air as coring mediums, and to compare core recoveries, penetration rates, and cost data for the respective mediums as part of an investigation of the susceptibility to secondary-recovery techniques of petroleum reservoirs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. This report describes the rotary-diamond coring equipment and operations employed while coring 20 wells--10 cored using mud, and 10 cored using air. Data relevant to the draw works, rotary-table power, drill pipe, drill collars, core barrel, core head, mud pumps, or air compressors are tabulated. Average bit weight and rotary speed, core recovery, and penetration rates are listed for each formation cored. In general, core recoveries were better from the mud-cored wells, whereas penetration rates were faster for the air-cored wells. Coring costs were about the same for single-formation wells cored with either mud or air; however, costs increased considerably when multiple-formation wells were cored with air.

Jan 1, 1969

By W. M. Myers

[Utilization of small stone is recognized as one of the important problems of the lime industry. The term ?small stone' is used to designate material that is too small for calcination in tie shaft kilo. The maximum dimension A such stone rosy be placed at four inches. The introduction of any considerable quantity of stone having demensions lee: than this into the charge of a kiln impedes the draft and readers successful operation of the kiln difficult on impossible. Attempts design a shaft kiln which would calcine stall stone satisfactorily have not been successful to date. Thousands of tons of this small stone arc produced daily, and while part of it finds a market, for it has many uses, the profit is usually small an competition is teen and prices are low. Production of the material is, however, so greatly in excess of market that surplus of hundreds or possibly thousands of Jose axe place daily in stock piles and classified as waste. in a few instances a fortunate combination of circumstances, such as a program of or other work requiring large quantities of concrete aggregate, may mate it possible some quarries to market this stone later at a profit, teat in general the chances A profitable utilization are slight, and the quarry operator has the expense of handling this waste stone and providing a storage site for it. The brittle nature of limestone makes it impossible to quarry the stone and crush, it to size suitable for the shaft kilns without producing an excess of undesirable fines. Elimination of fines by changes in quarrying or crushing practices cannot lee expected. On the contrary, the adoption of more modern methods of quarrying in recent years has increased the proportion of small material. The tendency is to blast the roan with large charges of explosives and crush it with mechanical crushers, which produces more fines than the older methods of careful blasting with small char yes and sledging the rock by hand.. We increasing use of underground mining of limestone has also increased the production of small stone, as blasting in the confined space of an underground stope shatters the rocs more completely than quarrying in the open. The use of the very friable limestones, such as the limestone of Florida for the manufacture of lime adds a new factor to the calcination of small stone. These friable lime limestones have a low tensile strength and crumble in the kiln, causing trouble. Successful calcination of these stones is accomplished in specially]

Jan 1, 1926

By W. F. M. GOSS

For the purpose of procuring data that could be used in estimating the value of the briquetting process as applied to American fuels, the United States Geological Survey, in cooperation with other interests, began in 1904, at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, certain experiments involving the production and use of bituminous-coal briquets. It installed at St. Louis, and later at Norfolk, machines for the manufacture of such briquets, and the output of these machines has been tested in locomotive service on several different railroads in comparison with natural fuels. An elaborate and carefully executed series of tests involving the use of natural coals and of briquets made from the same coal, previously crushed, was carried out on a locomotive mounted at the testing plant of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Altoona, Pa.; and some preliminary experiments involving the use of briquets in marine service were made in connection with one of the Government's torpedo boats. A description of these tests is presented herewith. The results sustain the following general conelusions: 1. The briquets made on the Government's machines have well withstood exposure to the weather. and have suffered but little deterioration from handling. 2. In all classes of service involved by the experiments, the use of briquets in the place of natural coal appears to have increased the evaporative efficiency of the boilers tested. 3. The smoke produced has in no test been more dense with the briquets than with coal; on the contrary, in most tests the smoke density is said to have been less when briquets were used. 4. The use of briquets increases the facility with which an even fire over the whole area of the grate may be maintained.

Jan 1, 1911

By Everard Leland

This paper, describing the mining practices at the Pilares mine, Pilares de Nacozari, Sonora, Mexico, is one of a series being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on mining practices, methods, and costs in the various mining districts. At present (1930) practically all the mineral production from the Nacozari district is from the Pilares mine of the Moctezuma Copper Co., a subsidiary of the Phelps Dodge Corporation. The ore is mined for its copper but contains associated silver in small quantities.

Jan 1, 1930

By William H. Schiffbauer

The U.S. Bureau of Mines has been investigating methods and technology that may improve safety and production when applied to existing mining machines. Toward those goals, the Bureau has developed navigation systems that provide machine positional information while in the production area. This research has been limited in the past because the Bureau had only one type of mining machine to do experiments. Addressing this problem, the Bureau, along with Carnegie Mellon University, has developed a generic vehicle emulator, in the form of a wheeled vehicle with an onboard computer, known as the Locomotion Emulator, that provides a software-selectable vehicle emulation package. Preliminary testing by the Bureau has shown that the emulator can accurately imitate the maneuvers of the software selected vehicle type. Now the Bureau can test their navigation systems on different vehicle types without having to procure each of the vehicles. This report completely describes the emulator as well as all the modes in which it can be operated.

Jan 1, 1991

By Bernard S. Covino

The Bureau of Mines is conducting a study of methods to improve the efficiency of the process used to pickle stainless steels. A review of the literature on pickling of stainless steels showed that the chemistry of several process operations involved in the pickling of stainless steels is not fully understood, and that further research could improve the pickling efficiency. The benefits of this research would be a reduction in the annual loss of several thousands of tons of critical minerals such as nickel and chromium, and a reduction in the amount of solids and spent acid solution that are currently discarded. The conclusion from this review is that further research is needed in four operations that either directly or indirectly influence the pickling process: hot working, annealing, conditioning, and the actual operation of pickling, Laboratory studies of the pickling operation are presently in progress.

Jan 1, 1984

By D. K. Steele

The domestic primary copper industry generates in excess of 600 million t of mining and mineral-processing waste annually. Most of the waste poses negligible environmental threat, but a small fraction, because of toxic or corrosive characteristics, may be subject to regulation under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) or other pertinent regulations. Among the wastes generated by various copper producers are flue dusts, slags, refinery-bleed solutions, and. acid-plant wastes. The U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) has researched methods to mitigate the environmental threat posed by copper-processing wastes while recovering valuable metals from these materials. Acid-leach processing of flue dusts has been demonstrated feasible along with sulfide treatment of liquid refinery wastes and acid-plant-bleed and gas-cleaning solutions to precipitate dissolved metals. In, addition, the feasibility of removing copper and molybdenum from slag, as well as stabilization of precipitated sulfide wastes by vitrification, have been investigated.

Jan 1, 2010

By B. I. Ferber

Toxic and explosive atmospheres are discussed, along with some of the instruments commercially available for their detection. No attempt has been made to evaluate the accuracy of anyone device. This circular has been prepared primarily to aid mine inspectors in selecting suitable instruments for underground gas detection.

Jan 1, 1972

By C. J. Wilhelm

Brine produced from subsurface formations may be employed successfully instead of fresh water as a flooding, medium in the secondary recovery of oil. The feasibility of this substitution has been proved in the shallow "shoestring" area of eastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma, where the supply of fresh water often is limited. In this procedure all brine produced with the oil is returned to the formation and thus is prevented from contaminating streams and fresh-water supplies. This report includes a detailed description of a "flood project" in eastern Kansas studied by the Bureau of Mines. In an attempt to determine whether brine, when handled properly, can be used as effectively as fresh water in flooding oil from partly depleted, formations, an analysis was made of all .own conditions that influence flooding.

Jan 1, 1941

By C. J. Wilhelm

Brine produced from subsurface formations may be employed successfully instead of fresh water as a flooding, medium in the secondary recovery of oil. The feasibility of this substitution has been proved in the shallow "shoestring" area of eastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma, where the supply of fresh water often is limited. In this procedure all brine produced with the oil is returned to the formation and thus is prevented from contaminating streams and fresh-water supplies. This report includes a detailed description of a "flood project" in eastern Kansas studied by the Bureau of Mines. In an attempt to determine whether brine, when handled properly, can be used as effectively as fresh water in flooding oil from partly depleted formations, an analysis was made of all known conditions that influence flooding.

Jan 1, 1941

By Oliver Bowles

The manufacture of lime is one of the oldest industries. Plants are distributed widely and furnish an essential raw material for numerous industries. The use of lime by the building trades, in agriculture, and in hundreds of manufacturing and chemical processes has created demands for a large production and has necessitated exhaustive research on methods of manufacture and uses. The bibliography of lime is an extensive one, but for the most part each publication has dealt with only certain operations. The purpose of this paper is to present a general picture of the industry as a whole. The abundant literature has been abstracted and quoted freely, and the National Lime Association has rendered valuable assistance in furnishing data for certain sections. Publications containing more detailed information on the various branches of the industry are referred to in the footnotes and in the bibliography.

Jan 1, 1936

By William W. Aljoe

The hydrologic characteristics of two abandoned underground coal mine sites, near Latrobe, PA, and Uniontown, PA, were investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Mines for possible implementation of alkaline injection into the mine pools as a means of abating their acid discharges. The Latrobe site was chosen for a one-time application of alkaline injection to achieve a partial, short-term neutralization of a limited portion of the mine pool. A quantity of alkaline reagent (sodium hydroxide) sufficient for a one-time neutralization of the water in this portion of the pool was added. Although nearly all of the neutralizing reagent had moved away from the injection wells within 6 weeks, no evidence of neutralization was noted at the mine discharge during the study period. This lack of neutralization probably occurred because the injection wells did not intercept a primary flow path through the mine. Criteria for successful application of alkaline injection at this or other sites include (1) positive identification of the primary flow paths through the mine pool and (2) addition of quantities of alkaline reagent sufficient to neutralize the entire volume of the pool along the primary flow path.

Jan 1, 2010

By G. W. Jones

In cooperation with the Edison Electric Illuminating Co. of Boston, Mass., and the Boston Consolidated Gas Co., a survey has been conducted continuously since 1929 by the Bureau of Mines to determine the general hazards of combustible gases and vapors in manholes of the Edison Electric Illuminating Co. The New England Telephone & Telegraph Co. also has cooperated in the investigation, and tests have been made in its manholes since May 1, 1933. Yearly reports6/ on the results obtained since the beginning of the survey have been published. The method and procedure of conducting the survey in 1936 were the same as heretofore.

Jan 1, 1938