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By Donald A. Bruce

Pregrouting is an extremely important part of many rock tunneling projects. However, poor and unsatisfactory performances have been frequently recorded often with very severe consequences, technically and financially. This paper, based on personal knowledge of several relevant case histories, provides recommendations with respect to specification drafting, drilling, water pressure testing, and grouting methodologies, and cementitious grout mix design principles. Even given that the logistical challenges facing tunnel pregrouting from underground will prevent all the sophistication and innovations of contemporary dam foundation grouting being practically implemented, there is still opportunity and need to change “traditional” approaches.

Jan 1, 2005

By Joël P. T. Kapusta

Although Peirce-Smith converting remains the workhorse in matte converting, the copper and nickel industries are still confronted with production hindrances such as tuyere blockage, excessive refractory wear and limits in the oxygen enrichment levels of the blast air. The knowledge acquired on high-pressure gas injection technology as well as the invention of the concentric tuyere for steelmaking led to the development of the Air Liquide Shrouded Injector (ALSI) technology for copper and nickel converting. Following a technology demonstration in 1997-98 with four shrouded injectors installed in a Peirce-Smith converter, Falconbridge Limited implemented ALSI Technology on a commercial scale in May 1999 as an integral part of its new Slag Make Converter at Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The paper presents the various aspects of commissioning ALSI Technology, as well as the operating changes and injector design modifications over the five years the shrouded injectors have been in operation.

Jan 1, 2005

By Peter E. Price

Salt dome hosted metallic sulfide deposits are the product of a complex evolutionary system involving halokinesis, cap rock development and diagenesis, and the generation, migration, and accumulation of basinal brines and hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons play an important role in: (1) the production of calcite cap rock which hosts some of the metallic sulfide and sulfur concentrations, and (2) the generation of the reduced sulfur available for metallic sulfide precipitation and sulfur formation. Hydrocarbons and related fluids also are involved in the transporta¬tion and remobilization of the metals. Hydrocarbon consumption, in the course of cap rock development and sulfide mineralization at Hockley dome, is estimated to have been 6.4 million barrels of oil or 114 million cubic feet of methane. Mineral textures, including cap-rock banding, sulfide bands in anhydrite, and fine sulfide mineral banding indicate both episodic fluid influx and fluid compositional differences through time. Features such as pyrite "shells" and sphalerite and marcasite hemispheres may have been localized by hydrocarbon droplets and /or bacterial colonies. Marcasite mineralization in shallow strata above and flanking Hockley dome is best developed over the western and southern parts of the dome. This pattern mimics the known distribution of sulfide mineralization, which is dominantly marcasite, in the underlying cap rock. The iron sulfide paragenetic sequence in the sediments is pyritohedral and cubic + pyrithohedral pyrite followed by marcasite which is encrusted by cubic pyrite. Sulfur isotopic averages for the three stages are +20.8, -20.2, and +6.4 per mil, respectively. These values generally coincide with cap rock sulfate (+20 per mil), cap rock hosted metallic sulfides (-20 to +4 per mil), and sulfur in hydrocarbons (+5.8 per mil). Hydrocarbon compositions indicate provincial variations in oil composition and generation history. Long Point and Boling domes, which have an intergrown sulfide-sulfate-sulfur mineral assemblage indicative of mixed reducing-oxidizing environment, contain oils that are less mature than Hockley dome which appears to be more mineralogically segregated. Sterane biomarker compositions of the oils at Hockley, Long Point and Boling domes indicate a local, dominantly terrestrial source. An oil sample from supracap sandstones on the northeast flank of Hockley dome contained over 750 ppm combined Fe, Zn, Pb, and Co, indicating that hydrocarbons are carrying or remobilizing metals. Cap rock calcite and anhydrite also exhibit provincial variations in strontium isotopic ratios. Calcite and anhydrite cap rocks from several sulfide mineralized domes in the Houston diapir province have strontium isotopic ratios that are more radiogenic than Jurassic sea water (>0.7078). A calcite sample within massive sulfides at Winnfield dome also has a high 87Sr/86Sr ratio (0.7085). Variations in strontium isotopic ratios with strontium content indicate the mixing of at least three Sr-bearing fluids in the cap rock environment, one of which may have been the metal carrier. Anhydrite residues from diapiric salt have strontium ratios up to 0.7100, considerably more radiogenic than Jurassic seawater. These high ratios indicate either that salt and anhydrite recrystallized sometime post-Jurassic in the presence of a fluid with a high 87Sr/86Sr ratio, or that they precipitated in the Jurassic from a fluid with a higher 87Sr/86Sr ratio than Jurassic seawater. Salt domes with cap rocks containing metallic sulfides have only been found in basins that have geopressured zones. Waters from geopressured zones in the vicinity of mineralized salt domes have salinities that are two or more times higher and iron and base metal concentrations that are three to one thousand times higher, than geopressured fluids from other parts of the basin.

Jan 1, 2013

By J. W. Thompson

MEANING OF TERM, The term "minerals" when used in grants or in reservations or instruments of conveyance is not limited to metals or metalliferous deposits, whether contained in veins that have well-defined walls or in beds or deposits that are irregular and are found at or near the surface or otherwise. Byron v. Utah Copper Co., Utah, 178 Pacific 53, p. 58. The term "mineral" in its commercial sense has been defined as any organic substance found in nature having sufficient value sepa- rate from its situs as part of the earth to be mined, quarried, or dug for its own sake or its own specific use. Rockhouse Fork Land Co. v. Raleigh Brick & Tile Co., - W. Va., 97 South- eastern 684, p. 685. CONSTRUCTION AND MEANING. It can not be said that the term "minerals" includes only such substances as are procured by tunnelling and shafting, as much gold is procured by placer mining and rich deposits of manganese and other like ores are found upon the surface of the earth and are some- times obtained without either quarrying or mining. Rockhouse Fork Land Co. v. Raleigh Brick & Tile Co., W. Va. ——, 97 South- eastern 684, p. 685. GRANITE AS MINERAL. It has been determined that granite was included in a grant of minerals. Rockhouse Fork Land Co. v. Raleigh Brick & Tile Co., -W. Va., 97 South eastern 684, p. 685. See Armstrong v. Lake Champlain Granite Co., 147 N. Y. 495, 42 Northeastern 186.

Jan 1, 1919

By L. F. Ruppert, P. A. Freeman, R. C. Milici, S. J. Tewalt, L. J. Bragg

The U.S. Geological Survey has completed a dig-ital coal resource assessment of six of the top-producing coal beds and coal zones in the northern and central Appalachian Basin coal regions. These include the Pennsylvanian-aged Pittsburgh, Upper Freeport, Lower Kittanning, Fire Clay, Pond Creek, and Pocahontas No. 3 coal beds and coal zones. Resources were calculated on all of the coalbeds/zones, with the exception of the Lower Kittanning coal bed. Preliminary original resources are estimated at about 93 billion short tons (84 billion tonnes), of which about 66 billion short tons (60billion tonnes) remain. Much of the remaining coal in all five coal beds/zones is thinner [<3.5 ft (1.07m)] and deeper [>1,000 ft (305 m)] than the coal that has been mined, but economic resources are still available and mining in each coal bed/zones will continue throughout this decade and into the next given current market conditions.

Jan 1, 2001

This report is the 22d in a series summarizing Bureau of Mines research and technologic work on coal and related investigations.2 3/ A summary of work published during 1957 and of work in progress is presented. Details regarding the subjects treated in the publications may be found by referring to articles cited in the footnotes. The objective of the coal work of the Bureau of Mines is to obtain information that will lead to improved production and utilization of coal, thus conserving a most important national asset.4 5/ Though studies of mining methods and exploration of various coalfields ma; contribute directly to improved production, no less so does the work in health and safety. The many problems relating to chemical and physical properties of coal reflect the need for an understanding of these properties for the most effective use of coal in its various fields of application and for the development of new methods of processing coal. Studies of existing and proposed processes of combustion, carbonization, gasification and hydrogenation of coal are necessary for increased efficiency in its use. Engineering service provided by the Bureau is of direct value in the conservation program in preventing waste. Stations where the main coal activities of the Bureau are carried out are shown in the following list:

Jan 1, 1959

By R. Frank Chiappetta

A new blasting technique has been developed by International Technologies, LLC. to eliminate subgrade drilling, lower ground vibrations, improve fragmentation and reduce explosive consumption. The new technique utilizes a uniquely designed borehole plug, with a bottom hole air deck and a predetermined stemming mass on top of the plug. This combination is referred to as the Power Deck?. Single holes and full scale tests were conducted by Blasting Analysis International, Inc. (BAI) to determine how the system works, the mechanisms behind its success and the best design parameters to use for the given rock conditions. Results have shown reduced or eliminated subgrade drilling, ground vibration reductions of up to 33%, reduced explosive consumption by 16 to 25%, and improved fragmentation by up to 25%. This paper summarizes the methodology, field test setups, analyzes procedures and results for one series of single hole and full-scale tests which were performed in a Pennsylvania, USA quarry.

Jan 1, 2004

By Samuel J. Kosa

The Monotube is a uniformly tapered high-strength steel shell pile manufactured for friction pile applications. The Monotube pile was developed in the early 1920&apos;s in Canton, Ohio. Its first commercial installation was an Ohio railroad trestle in 1926. The Monotube has been manufactured in the same Canton plant since its inception. The Monotube is produced in four diameters, 12, 14, 16 and 18 inches, with U. S. Standard Gage wall thicknesses of 9, 7, 5 and 3. The uniformly tapered Monotube section can be manufactured in one of three rates of taper.

Jan 1, 1993

By Daniel M. Flanagan

"Editor’s note: Each year, Mining Engineering features an industrial minerals review. Several people put in a fair amount of time in developing the material for this issue, all the while doing their own jobs. Thank you to the industrial minerals annual review editor, to the Industrial Minerals & Aggregates Division technical committee chair and vice chairs, and to the authors of the individual commodity profiles. Jim Norman, member SME, of Tetra Tech, is the industrial minerals annual review editor.Joe Garska, member SME, of Imerys, is chair of the Industrial Minerals &Aggregates Division’s Technical Committee.The technical committee vice chairs include:• Hyunjung Kim, member SME, of Chonbuk National University, agricultural materials.• Xihui Lin, member SME, of Kemira, ceramics and refractory materials.• Nikhil Gupta, member SME, of Virginia Tech, chemical raw materials.• Adam Rodriquez, member SME, of Penn State, construction aggregates.• LeDeana Roberts, member SME, of Imerys, fillers and pigments.• Harsha Kolla, member SME, of ChemEOR, sorbents, filters and process aids.• Edgar Blanco, member SME, of FLSmidth, specialty minerals.Their help makes possible this July industrial minerals issue. On behalf of ME readers, the editors thank them.During the past 25 years, U.S. ball clay production (the quantity sold or used by domestic producers) increased from 788 kt (869,000 st) in 1990 to an alltime high of 1.31 Mt (1.44 million st) in 2003 (Fig. 1). Housing construction within the United States, a leading market for ball clay-based ceramics and sanitaryware, began to decline in 2005, which resulted in a considerable decrease in sales of ball clay that continued through the 2008-2009 economic recession. After bottoming out at 831 kt (916,000 st) in 2009, ball clay production steadily increased through 2015 (Fig. 1). Estimated sales in 2015 were 36 percent higher than those in 1990 and 18 percent lower than those in 2003.Four companies (H.C. Spinks Clay Co., Imerys S.A., Old Hickory Clay Co., and Unimin Corp.), mined ball clay in five states during 2015. An estimated 1.7 Mt (1.18 million st) of ball clay valued at an estimated $47.5 million was sold or used by U.S. producers, a 4-percent increase from 1.03 Mt (1.14 million st) valued at $45.2 million in 2014. Approximately 65 percent of total ball clay production was air-float, 25 percent was crude or shredded and 10 percent was water-slurried"

Jul 1, 2016

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

Endless lines at service station gasoline pumps, limited travel at reduced speeds, thermostats set at an uncozy sixty-eight degrees in the dead of winter-these are but a few of the inconveniences and discomforts that awakened Americans to a realization that our domestic minerals resources, traditionally taken for granted, are not boundless. We begin to accept and practice principles of conservation, yet we are aware that this alone cannot appreciably forestall the inevitable depletion of our minerals, metals, and fossil fuels-resources critical to our Nation&apos;s economy. The key to warding off shortages is the development of technology that will insure a continuing, adequate supply of minerals and energy from reliable sources at the lowest possible costs to society and the environment. The mission of the Bureau of Mines is to develop this improved technology. Established in 1910, the Bureau of Mines of the Department of the Interior is the Federal Government&apos;s primary research arm in the minerals and fossil fuels fields. In addition to its research role, the Bureau keeps the Government informed of the Nation&apos;s mineral posture. The Bureau also seeks to stimulate private industry, through the awarding of grants and contracts, to produce minerals and fuels at a rate compatible with the country&apos;s increasing demands.

Jan 1, 1974

The ore, as sent to the sulphide mill, is a mixture, in varying proportions, of oxidized ore from above the 450-ft. level and sulphide ore from above and below (to date mainly from above) that level. The oxidized ore consists essentially of quartz, with varying amounts of kaolin and clayey material which passes into the slime and, in excess, creates a serious problem in settling. Pyrite may be present in small amounts. The gold is free and extremely fine.The ore, classed as sulphide, consists of pyritic material in a quartz gangue. The sulphides have been exposed to weathering, leaching by descending solutions and attack by ascending gases and actual burning. The alteration products occur in widely varying proportions and this variation adds to the difficulties in settling and control of grinding and flotation.Copper Minerals.-Chalcopyrite is the principal copperbearing mineral with smaller and varying amounts of covellite, which is sometimes associated with chalcocite, both these minerals being apparently of secondary origin.Examination of tailing by Dr. Stillwell has revealed all stages between clean chalcopyrite, chalcopyrite tinged with covellite, covellite with residual cores of chalcopyrite and clean covellite.The chalcopyrite is free floating, very few particles of clean chalcopyrite being observed in the tailing from granular flotation. The chief tailing loss is probably as chalcopyrite occurring as small inclusions in pyrite...

Jan 1, 1939

By Walter Murphy

For a number of years the Bureau of Mines has been studying the properties of crude petroleums produced in the United States and the Western Hemisphere. A number of reports have been published giving the analyses of crudes from the different field and regions as made by the Bureau of Mines Hempel method of analysis.4/ Several of these reports include analyses off crude oils from the Rocky Mountain region.5/ The search for new fields and new producing horizons in old fields in the Rocky Mountain region has been quite intensive during the last few years, and a number of discoveries have been made.

Jan 1, 1937

By A B. Christie

Space-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data is becoming available over much of the world, includingNew Zealand. Radar imagery has a number of very advantageous features, including all-weather capability; it also has artifacts, such as layover, which require processing before these data may be used to best effect. &nbsp; This paper gives an outline of SAR, details the image processing required, and discusses the use of the first New Zealand Japan Earth Resources-1 SAR data to aid geological mapping on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Jan 1, 1994

By J. W. Thompson

SALE AND CONVEYANCE. DEED BY INDIAN ALLOTTEE OF UNSOUND MIND-BONA FIDE PURCHASER. The deed of an Indian allottee whose mind was unsound, but who was not entirely without understanding, is voidable if made before the grantor's incapacity has been judicially determined; and a purchaser of the original grantee who interposes the defense of a bona fide purchaser has the burden of showing a purchase for value and on failure to do so can not claim the benefit of a bona fide purchaser. Adams Oil & Gas Co. v. Hudson (Oklahoma), 155 Pacific, 220, February. 1916. PURCHASER OF MINING CLAIM-RIGHT TO FIXTURES. The purchaser of a mine equipped with an electric hoist, placed in the mine under a rental contract with the owner of the hoist and under an agreement to return it to the owner at the expiration of the term of hiring, can not claim and hold the hoist as against the owner where the agent of the seller explained to the purchaser that the hoist was not owned by the owner of the claim. Montana Electric Co. v. Northern Valley Mining Co. (Montana), 153 Pacific, 1017. p, 1018, October, 1915. AUTHORITY OF GRANTEE TO EXTEND LEASE. A deed conveying lands subject to an oil and gas lease under which the lessee had the right to drill or pay money in lieu of drilling at his option, and reserving to the grantor a share of the royalties under such lease, and expressly authorizing the grantee to lease the land for oil and gas purposes and to take the rentals, authorizes the grantee to extend the existing lease before the expiration thereof in consideration of the annual payment of money in lieu of drilling, as contemplated by the lease.

Jan 1, 1916

By C. P. Haller, S. J. Aresco, R. F. Abernethy

The Bureau of Mines has been active in promoting the purchase of coal for Government use under specifications that define the requirements in terms of heating value of the coal, expressed in British thermal units, and the composition as shown by proximate analyses. To these, when required, are added the ash- softening temperature of ash, the free-swelling index, and the hardgrove grind- ability index. Under most of these specification contracts the bidders guarantee the quality of the coal, and that guaranteed by the successful bidder becomes the standard of his contract. The deliveries are sampled in accordance with instruc- tions issued by the Bureau of Mines; the samples are analyzed in the Bureau laboratory to determine whether the coal is of the quality guaranteed by the con- tractor and, if it is not, a price adjustment is made. Analyses of the delivered coal and tipple samples (samples collected at mine tipples as coal is being loaded into railroad cars or trucks) provide valuable data for use in evaluating future bids. In addition, the continuous sampling of coal as delivered is a check on the practical results obtained in burning the coal. The Government purchased approximately 5-1/4 million tons of coal in fiscal year 1953. In connection with these purchases, the Bureau analyzed 11,435 samples. These are published for the use of Government officials and the public. A series of publications has been completed on coal analyses by States, or, where production is small in any one State, by groups of adjacent States. In addition to analytical data showing composition and quality of coals of the States, the publications con- tain brief descriptions of the geological structure of the coal basins, typical mining conditions in the various districts, the principal economic data of the industry, and the relationship of mine or channel samples to delivered and tipple samples. The present publication covers many States but deals only with the analytical data of the coals. Previous publications in this series are: Bulletin 516, Analyses of Tipple and Delivered Samples of Coal (Collected During the Fiscal Years 1948 to 1950 Inclusive); Report of Investigations 4934, Analyses of Tipple and Delivered Samples of Coal (Collected During the Fiscal Year 1951); Report of In- vestigations 4972, Analyses of Tipple and Delivered Samples of Coal (Collected During the Fiscal Year 1952). Following are the Bureau of Mines technical papers published by States, with their numbers: Alabama, 347; Alaska, 682; Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon, 696; Arkansas, 416; Colorado, 574; Illinois, 641; Indiana, 417; Iowa, 269 and 706; Kansas, 455; Kentucky, 308 and 652; Maryland, 465; Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas, 700; Missouri, 366; Montana, 529; New Mexico, 569; Ohio 344 (and Bulletin 499); Oklahoma, 411; Pennsylvania Bituminous, 590 (Supplement 645); Pennsylvania Anthracite, 659; Tennessee, 356 and 671; Utah, 345; Virginia, 365 and 656; Washington, 491 (Supplement 618); West Virginia, 405 and 626; and Wyoming, 484.

Jan 1, 1955

By L. R. Burdick, J. F. Barkley

"There is a general conceit in the coal trade that the moisture- and ash-free B.t.u. of coal from the same seam, and surely from the same mine,is substantially a constant; that calculation of the moisture- and ash-free B.t.u. value from the proximate analysis and B.t.u. determined in the laboratory will reveal whether a coal came from a given area or seam; and that, having this constant, the B.t.u. value of a coal sample can be calculated fairly closely upon a dry or as-received basis from the moisture and ash values of its proximate analysis.To illustrate with a simple example;"

Jun 1, 1941

By Gergely Markos

Uranium mill tailings represent a potential threat to the human habitat by containing large amounts of radioactive and chemically toxic substances in high concentrations. These: undesired components enter the human habitat in various pathways such as by erosion and water or air transport. The main objective of this investigation was to evaluate the actual movement and model the potential movement of contaminants by seepage of water from the tailings into the subtailings soil. This report represents various models of the movement of contaminants using both theoretical approaches and empirical evaluation of data available from other investigations. The data consist of field measurements and laboratory determi¬nations of major and trace cations, the dominant anions, pH, and Eh of moist solids, extracts, and waters from the tailings and surroundings. Evaluation and interpre¬tation of data were accomplished by using Eh-pH diagrams, various statistical methods and the WATEQFC computer program. Data analyses show that the critical area of investigating movement- is the interfaces between tailings and the external environment. The chemical differences at interfaces seem to result in a sink system for contaminants. The tailings-soil¬-water system shows extreme complexities because of chemical and physical hetero¬geneity of the system preventing the use of a single comprehensive model to represent real conditions. The validity of the simplifying assumption used has been shown and increasing complexity has been built into the models. Analogs of these models can be used for evaluation of similar systems.

Jan 1, 1981

By H. Britton

This bulletin is the seventh in the series of petroleum bibliographies published by the Bureau of Mines, Bulletins 149, 165, 180, 189, 216, and 220 being compilations for the years 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919-20, and 1921, respectively. In this bulletin the same general plan of classification of references has been followed, but several additions have been made. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Acknowledgment is made to the following organizations for the use of their libraries in the preparation of this bulletin: University of California, Stanford University, California State Mining Bureau, Union Oil Co. of California, Standard Oil Co. of California, and the Mechanics Mercantile Library of San Francisco; acknowledgment for their assistance is also made to H. H. Hill, C. P. Bowie, A. L. Foster, M. J. Gavin, H. C. Miller, E. B. Swanson, and Miss Louise Janssen, all of the Bureau of Mines, and to Miss Elizabeth H. Burroughs of the Union Oil Co. of California.

Jan 1, 1929

By Jaan Kiusalaas

This report is a self-contained User Manual for a computer program called SPASID -- Subsidence Prediction and System Identification. The program has two primary functions: (i) Precalculation of ground movements due to underground mining operations using the influence function method; (ii) Computation of influence function and site parameters from measured displacements. SPASID is written in FORTRAN and consists of four modules: (i) Preprocessor Module that prepares and maintains surface and mine data bases; (ii) Subsidence Computation Module that predicts movements of the surface; (iii) System Identification Module which is used to calculate the optimal influence function parameters, and (iv) Postprocessor Module for generating graphic displays of subsidence data. The last module is somewhat machine dependent but has internal documentation to indicate potential changes. All of the modules may be run in either batch or interactive mode. The manual does not assume previous knowledge of the influence function method or programming competence.

Jan 1, 1983