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By W. D. Mcmillan

The Dempsey tract in Washington County, Mo., had a small production of lead-zinc ore from shallow workings. Old dumps from early-day lead mining contain about 25,000 tons of ore averaging about 3 percent combined zinc and lead. Because of the urgent war requirements for lead and zinc, the Dempsey property was examined by Otto Ruhl, formerly an engineer of the Bureau of Mines in August 1942 and selected for further investigation by churn drilling twenty holes totaling 1,309 feet were bored in the fall of 1943. The results of the work are presented in this paper.

Jan 1, 1948

By Jr. Hill

Laboratory metallurgical treatments of three high-iron bauxite ores from Arkansas were conducted to determine the relative effectiveness of experimental methods for recovering alumina and a commercially acceptable iron concentrate. The standard for evaluating recoveries from experimental processes was the Al2O3 recovery from Bayer digests of the crude ores; recoveries from digestion of the three ores were 74.1, 87.4, and 88.7 percent. Flotation, magnetic separation, or various combinations of digestion, calcination, and reduction-sintering, leaching, and magnetic separation of leach residues failed to produce Al2O3 recoveries as high as the standard. A high-iron-bearing fraction, containing between 68 and 78 percent of the total iron, was produced in a three-phase treatment involving a caustic, lime reduction-sinter of the crude ore, water extraction of Al2O3 from the sinter, and magnetic separation of the leach residue.

Jan 1, 1967

By CHARLES L. WRIGHT

Previous work.-The general plan of work outlined for the Government fuel-testing plant erected at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, at St. Louis, Mo., in 1904, included investigations relative to the briquetting of coals found in the United States. These investigations embraced the possibility of making satisfactory commercial fuels from lignite or low-grade coals which do not stand shipment well; of benefiting culm or slack coals that are wasted or sold at unremunerative prices; and of improving the furnace efficiency or ability to withstand transportation of good coals. This work was begun in 1904 and was continued in 1905, 1906, and 1907 as an essential part of investigations looking to the determination of methods for reducing waste and increasing efficiency in the utilization of the fuel resources in the United States. The initial briquetting tests at St. Louis, which included examination into the behavior of different coals or mixtures of coals in the briquetting press, experimental study of the merits of various substances used as binders, and consideration of the physical properties and resistance to weather and abrasion of the briquets, have been described.a They demonstrated that satisfactory briquets could be made from most coals, and that by briquetting the commercial value of many low-grade coals and lignites could be raised enough to more than cover the cost of manufacture. Norfolk plant.-The briquetting plant of the Geological Survey was moved from St. Louis, Mo., to Norfolk, Va., in 1907, along with the steam boiler and producer-gas equipment of the fuel-testing plant, as the closing out of the affairs of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the consequent removal of the buildings from Forest Park made a change of location necessary. Norfolk was selected largely with a view to the testing of coals for naval purposes, and because of facilities in the way of buildings and materials offered by the Jamestown Exposition Company. The work at Norfolk was chiefly devoted to making steaming and briquet tests of coals which reach the Atlantic seaboard at Norfolk and Newport News and are used by the navy and merchant marine. Two briquet machines were installed at the Norfolk plant, one being the English machine used in briquetting tests by the Geological Survey at St. Louis in 1905 and 1906, and the other an American machine. The briquets made at this plant were tested on locomotives of several railroads entering Norfolk and on the United States torpedo boat Buldle in comparison with the run-of-mine coal used in making them. Some of the tests were conducted by the railroads on their own locomotives, but those on the Biddle and on the locomotive of the Seaboard Air Line Railway were carried on by W. T. Ray and Henry Kreisinger, of the United States Geological Survey. Personnel.-Charles T. Malcolmson continued in general charge of the briquetting section after the removal to Norfolk until January 1, 1908. Walter J. Chapman continued in charge of operation of the briquet machines and of the observations reported under the heading "Details of manufacture." Charles L. Wright supervised the installation of the English briquet machine and later in the year continued the physical tests of briquets and the analyses in the chemical laboratory of the section until January 1, 1908, on which date he was placed in general charge of the work of the section. G. E. Ryder and Ralph Galt also continued with the staff, but the former was obliged to resign soon after the plant was in operation on account of ill health; the latter continued with the section as computer until the close of work on December 1, 1908.

Jan 1, 1911

By Michael G. Zabetakis, Israel Liebman, Henry E. Perlee

Flammability studies conducted to date on stratified methane - air and pentane - air mixtures in air indicate that location and extent of a flammable layer are affected by molecular diffusion , gas motion , and propagation of flame . In initially quiescent mixtures , the lower limit - of - flammability zone may be determined by assuming molecular diffusion alone governs mixing rate . The upper limit - of - flammability zone can be predicted in this manner only for stratified layers with small concentration gradients ( less than 0.2 volumepercent per inch ) ; where large concentration gradients are encountered ( for example , as much as 30 volume - percent per inch ) , the initial - mixture methane concentrations that yield flammable mixtures are larger than anticipated . Flames propagating through heterogeneous quiescent methane - air atmospheres in the direction of the concentration gradient exhibit flame speeds at any point that corresponds to the flame speed of the homogeneous gas mixture having the same gas composition as that of the point in the heterogeneous system . In flowing mixtures with large concentration gradients , the degree of mixing prior to ignition does not appear to affect the flame velocity and emitted radiation appreciably in a 6.5 - ft - diameter gallery .

Jan 1, 1964

By O. C. Blade

This report is one of a series made by the Bureau of Mines under a cooperative agreement with the American Petroleum Institute on the characteristics of commercial aviation gasolines. The series of Surveys is a continuation of like work conducted under aimil.ar cooperative agreements with the Coordinating Research Council, Inc. by the National. Bureau of Standards from 1940 through 1946 and by the Bureau of Mines from 1947 through 1949. A completed list of the series of surveys is given at the end of this paper.

Jan 1, 1951

By W. J. Kroll

The production of beryllium metal and its alloys is one of the most difficult tasks in metallurgy. In this report we shall examine the progress made in this work- in the last 15 years; taking into account the outstanding publications, including; those of the patent literature, and the information obtained during our 20 years? experience with this metal. The difficulties experienced' in producing elementary beryllium derive from the physical nature as well as from the chemical behavior of the metal and its compounds. Its oxygen affinity is about the same as that of calcium and a little higher than that of magnesium. Its chlorine affinity is much lower than that of magnesium, about equal that, of manganese, and little higher than that of aluminum. The sulfur and nitrogen affinity is probably almost the same as that of calcium for these elements, and beryllium carbide is probably more stable than aluminum carbide, A14C3. The intermetallic affinity of beryllium may be given in descending order, as follows: Nickel - copper - iron. It forms eutectics with -aluminum and silicon as well as with silver. It does not alloy with magnesium and only partly with calcium. Its oxide melts at 2,570° C., but CaO and BaO form readily fusible eutectics with BeO(65).3/ No igneous solvents are known for BeO, which behaves id this regard like Mgo. The beryllium silicate is a strong compound, the aluminete much less so; however, CaO easily displaces Be in the heated mixtures. The Anhydrous chloride hydrolyzes, and it cannot be made from aqueous liquors. It sublimes at 488° C, and melts at 405° C., The fluoride, which, is very Soluble in water, hydrolyzes also, but a kind of oxyfluoride of the approximate formula 2 BeO?5 BeF2 can be made from solutions by dessication. The fluoride melts at 800° C, and boils above 1,100° C. It forms very stable double fluorides with alkalifluorides, which have very low melting points and are fairly soluble in water. They are more stable than the analogous fluosilicates and the sodium fluoaluminate cryolite.

Jan 1, 1945

By V. A. Nieberlein

An extractive process was developed applicable to submarginal titanium deposits containing valuable minor constituents; such as columbium (niobium) and iron. The process consisted of reducing the mineral concentrate with coke at high temperature to form a carbide-suboxide sinter, chlorination in the 400° -500° C. range, and fractional condensation of the chlorides. The chlorination procedure recovered 97, 83, and 87 percent of the titanium from brookite, rutile, and ilmenite sinters, respectively, while simultaneous columbium recoveries on the same materials were 85, 50, and 87 percent.

Jan 1, 1957

By V. J. Lynch, A. L. Peyton

"INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARYThe Brewer mine, near Jefferson, Chesterfield County, S.C., was originally operated as a gold mines as late as 1890 this mine was reported to have been one of the large gold producers in the southeast,Occurrence of topaz on the Brewer property was not reported until 1935, when it was discovered by Pardee and Parks. 3/ of the Federal Geological Survey while they were investigating gold deposits in the Piedmont province.During the 1940's the Chemical Engineering Branch of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Electrotecbnical Laboratory of the Bureau of Mines at Norris, Tenn., investigated topaz from the Brewer mine to determine the possibilities of its use as mullite and for the production of calcium fluoride.From July 1950 through. April 1951 the Bureau of Mines conducted a diamond-drilling project at the Brewer mine to determine the grade and extent of the topaz deposits. Ten diamond-drill holes, totaling 2,344 feet, were completed, and 231 analyses of core samples were made during the course of the project.This report presents factual data relating only to the diamond-drilling project, The placer deposits on the Brewer property were previously investigated by the Federal Geological Survey 4/."

Aug 1, 1953

By Frank E. Cash

"INTRODUCTION The iron—ore ranges in the Lake Superior district are the Marquette in Michigan, Menominee and Gogebic in Michigan and Wisconsin, and the Cuyuna, Mesabi, and Vermilion in Minnesota. These ranges produce about 85 percent of the iron ore mined in the United States. Accident experience in connection with this production is better than that of the regions producing the remaining 15 percent. Production and shipments vary slightly from year to year but closely approximate each other over a period of years.This information circular supplements, continues, and combines the data in Information Circular 7321,2/ including figures of 1944 and 1945.During the 6—year period 1940 to 1945, inclusive, 481,485,475 long tons of iron ore was shipped from the Lake Superior district. 4/ Michigan and Wisconsin shipped 93,787,648 tons, or 19,5 percent of the total, and employed annually an average of approximately 14,300 men; Minnesota shipped 387,697,827 tons, or 80,5 percent, and employed annually an average of approximately 9,300 men. The tons produced per man employed is much greater in Minnesota than in Michigan and Wisconsin, owing to the large open-cut production in Minnesota."

Jul 1, 1947

By J. D. Davis

The carbonizing properties of No. 2-bed coal from the Bartoy mine and No. 5- or Miller-bed coal from the Wilkeson-Miller mine, both at Wilkeson, Pierce County, Wash., were determined by the Bureau of Mines-American Gas Association (BM-AGA) method. Tests were made in the 13-inch retort at 500°, 600°, and 700° C. and in the 18¬inch retort at 800°, 900°, and 1,000° C. Fischer low-temperature and United States Steel Corporation high-temperature assays were made and the results compared with those of the BM-AGA tests at corresponding temperatures. Agglutinating and plastic properties were determined, and chemical and petrographic analyses were made. The No. 2 bed is 58.5 to 88.0 inches thick at three points sampled in the Bartoy mine. The coal is 98 percent bright and contains only a trace of fusain. A composite of three mine samples contained 13.8 percent ash. The washed sample, which was used in the tests described herein, contained 11.4 percent ash, 2.2 percent moisture, and 0.6 percent sulfur upon the as-carbonized basis and 68.4 percent fixed carbon upon the dry, mineral-matter-free basis. The heating value was 15,183 B. t.u. per pound upon the moist, mineral-matter-free basis. No. 2 therefore ranks as a high-volatile A coal and is very high in that, rank. The ash softens at 2,910° F. Except for its ash content, which is higher than the limit of 9.0 percent specified by the American Society for Testing Materials, No. 2 coal fulfills the requirements of a coking coal. It also is classed as extremely friable, the friability being 88.0 percent. The agglutinating index (7.6 for the 15 : 1 ratio of silicon carbide to coal) is high, and the plasticity as indicated by the Gieseler test (60 divisions per minute) is low for a high-volatile A coal.

Jan 1, 1942

By John C. Cook

A 1-year program of exploratory research, to determine the feasibility of radar exploration in advance of coal mining, has been completed. Advance detection of obstructions including faults, clay veins, abandoned wells, and pyritic concretions would improve the safety and efficiency of mining. Initial calculations based on laboratory tests of the RF electrical properties of bituminous coals indicated feasibility; radar waves at frequencies below 100 MHz should be detectable through tens to hundreds of meters of coal and be well-reflected by clay, pyrite and metal obstructions. Using a proprietary, experimental, VHF short-pulse "mining radar" system, two cycles of field testing and equipment improvement were completed. Measurements were made in three bituminous coal mines, a quarry, and a salt mine. Comparisons were made with ground-penetrating radar equipment developed by others for salt dome exploration and for military tunnel detection. The proprietary mining radar equipment and techniques used were found to be the most effective known for coal exploration, but further improvements are needed; one major problem in all systems is interfering clutter signals arising in the equipment and from mine room reverberations through leakage coupling of the antennas to the air. Nevertheless, several practical goals have been achieved: excellent radar reflections were received and identified through up to 30 feet of coal; reflections from a wet, abandoned drill hole were identified by their polarization property and detected at distances up to 272 feet, and mine-wall reflections were detected at distances up to 735 feet (both through salt); propagation through and reflections from large vertical clay veins in coal were demonstrated; experimental results agree reasonably well with theory. The results and experience gained during the project affirm the feasibility of the method. They also provide a firm basis for the development of a practical radar technology for exploration in advance of mining. No Subject Inventions, as defined in the contract, were made in the course of this work.

Jan 1, 1971

By R. V. Higgins

A computer program is presented to calculate the shape factors and volumes of cells from a potentiometric model, using coordinates of the inter-sections of the stream lines and equal potentials and a few additional coordinates. Shape factors are used in flow computations when the geometry is complicated. The program also includes computer instructions to divide the channels into cells of equal volume and to obtain the shape factor for each of these equal volume cells. An illustrated example using the potentiometric model for the waterflood of a seven-spot well-spacing pattern is presented. The information contained in the report is of value not only to those allied to the subject but also to others, because many of the techniques can be conveniently used in formulating other computer programs.

Jan 1, 1966

By B. J. Moore

This publication contains analyses and related source data for 234 natural gas samples from wells and pipelines in 21 States and 1 foreign country. All of the samples were obtained and analyzed during calendar year 1975 as a part of Bureau of Mines investigations of the occurrences of helium in natural gases of countries with free market economies. This survey has been conducted in the United States by the Bureau of Mines since 1917. In late 1965, the survey was expanded to include foreign gasfields. The analyses published herein were made by mass spectrometer and n special helium analysis apparatus, which are described in Bureau of Mines Bulletins 4862 and 576.3 The results of the investigation of the occurrences of helium are published annually to make the information available as soon as possible to the gas industry and the public in general. Seventeen previous publications have presented the results of 10,831 gas analyses prior to 1975. The first 3, Bulletins 486,4 576,5 and 617,6 contain analyses and related source data on 5,218 gas samples collected from 1917 through 1960. The other 14

Jan 1, 1976

By G. E. McElroy

This report discusses the construction and use of an all-pressure psychrometric chart in which the requirements of simplicity of appearance and absolute accuracy have been waived, to a certain extent, to provide for the rapid determination of psychrometric data and for the rapid solution of air-conditioning problems of major interest to the mining industry. Many mines in which air-conditioning problems are important are situated at elevations far above sea level and embrace great differences in elevation - in excess of 8,000 feet in certain mines - throughout their airflow circuits. Under these conditions, the effects of variations in the pressure of the atmosphere upon the physical properties of the mixture of air and water vapor of which it is composed are considerable and should be taken into account in the solution of problems. The simple types of psychrometric charts in common use, such as the Carrier, Bulkeley, Hill, and Goff (American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers Guide), are not generally suitable, in that they are drawn for a single barometric pressure - 29.92 inches mercury.

Dec 1, 1947

By Edward D. Thimons

The Bureau of Mines developed a stopping design that allows the stopping to be blown down by strong blast forces without incurring any permanent damage. Trials with the new stopping, dubbed the quick-fix blowout stopping, have been conducted in the Bureau's Safety Research Coal Mine at Bruceton, Pa., and in two New Mexico uranium mines. Results have been favorable in all cases. Compared with conventional brattice stoppings or wood bulkheads, the quick-fix blowout stopping is easier and less time consuming to install, is easier to maintain, and in most cases is just as efficient an air barrier. There is same indication that the shape of the stopping makes it more resistant to blast fore s than the fabric stoppings now in use.

Jan 1, 1976

By Russell R. Trengove

Core samples from an ore horizon 2,000 feet below the surface were successfully obtained by rotary drilling at the property of the Eureka Corp., Eureka, Nev. The ore was soft and friable; cores were not obtained previously with diamond drills. Whipstocking was used to get samples in a zone 200 feet from a vertical hole. A technique in shipstocking, by which the direction and deviation of the holes were controlled by means of nonfriction-type survey instruments, was successfully employed.

Jan 1, 1956

By Howard E. Rollman

South Central United States, an area including Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, is a net exporter of refractories. Nearly $45 million of these materials was shipped in 1954 from plants in the area, compared with area consumption of $18.5 million. About 88 percent of all refractories production is concentrated in Missouri. The prevalent consumption pattern, however, is one of localized shortages. For example, although Texas uses more than half of the refractories consumed in the South Central United States, production of refractories in Texas is relatively small. Also, the apparent self-sufficiency of the area is in terms of value produced rather than in terms of products consumed. Nearly all of the $6,425,000 nonclay refractories consumed in the area were shipped from other States. Local resources possibly could be developed for making refractories to serve markets that currently are being supplied from outside the area. Since other industries are growing rapidly in the area, the market for refractories is expected to continue to grow--more rapidly than the national market. The Missouri refractories industry is economically important nationally. Nearly one-fourth of the clay refractories produced in the United States are made in Missouri. Moreover, Missouri produces most of the higher grade clay refractories, about 62 percent of the high-alumina refractories, and 85 percent of the superduty refractories. The competitive position of the Missouri refractories industry is strong. The national market for clay refractories and the market in the South Central United States are expected to continue to grow. The ratio of net income to the value of refractories shipped in Missouri is larger than the national average.

Jan 1, 1960

By R. W. Lewis

Spectrochemical procedures were developed using dc arc excitation for the determination, in parts per million, of 18 impurity elements in electrorefined beryllium and high-purity beryllium oxide. The metal samples were dissolved in dilute hydrochloric acid, evaporated to dryness, and converted to the oxide in a muffle furnace at 900° C. Germanium oxide was added as an internal standard for the determination of 15 of the elements, copper oxide for boron and molybdenum, and neodymium oxide for calcium. The average coefficient of variation was 11 percent with the exception of copper, which averaged about 43 percent.

Jan 1, 1962

By G. R. Strimbeck

The Federal Bureau of Mines has been developing processes for producing synthesis gas directly from coal, oxygen, and superheated steam. An atmospheric-pressure pilot plant was constructed and operated to: 1. Determine the operability of the plant for gasifying coals of different ranks under various operating conditions. Listed in decreasing order of rank, these coals included a Pennsylvania anthracite, a bituminous A coal from the Sewickley bed, West Virginia, and a subbituminous C coal mined in the Lake de Smet region of Wyoming. 2. Determine the effect of varying operating conditions on: (a) Standard cubic feet (std.c.f.) of oxygen and pounds of coal of different rank required to make M std.c.f. of product gas (carbon monoxide plus hydrogen); (b) carbon gasified, percent; (c) exit-gas temperature, degrees F.; and (d) heat loss, B.t.u. per pound coal. 3. Compare the gasification characteristics, indicated in item 2, of coals of different rank: Bituminous A, anthracite, and subbiturninous C. 4. Determine the concentration of dust in the gases produced and the efficiency of dust removal, and investigate the relation between the sulfur content in the coals gasified and the gases produced.

Jan 1, 1960

By William J. Campbell

This study was a part of two programs: The first, to develop and evaluate high-temperature refractories; the second, to investigate reaction-rate kinetics and phase equilibria in the sinter step of the lime-soda process for the recovery of alumina. High-temperature X-ray diffractometer techniques are to be used extensively in both programs. This paper summarizes developments in the field of high-temperature X-ray diffractometers through 1959, evaluates various furnace designs, and describes briefly the X-ray diffraction facilities of the Federal Bureau of Mines. A more detailed description of the equipment and its calibration is planned in a future paper on thermal expansion and phase inversion of rare-earth oxides.

Jan 1, 1961