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By N. A. C. Smith

[The beau of Mines made its first survey of motor gasolines sold throughout the United States in 1915, a second in 1917, and a third in April. 1919. These surveys shored that motor gasoline had become notably less volatile during each two-year interval. In order to ascertain whether this change was continuing, it was planned to institute semi-annual surveys, the first of which teas made in January, 1920. Contrary to expectations based on the previous surveys, the average volatility of the gasoline tested at this time was practically identical with that of the average volatility of the gasoline from the same districts in 1919. The next survey, made in July, 1920, showed a very marked decrease in volatility but as it has long been recognized that the volatility of motor gasoline manufactured for sale during the summer months is loss tan that of gasoline made and sold during the winter, part at least of the change was attributed to this factor. The average boiling point of the samples collected in the present survey is 263 degrees Fahrenheit, as compared with 264 a year ago. This shows that the average gasoline marketed at the present time is fully as volatile as that marketed a year ago. There has been, however, a noticeable change in the character of the product: the initial boiling point and 20 per cant point are lower than a year ago, whereas the 90 per cent and end-points are higher, which indicates a greater proportion of gasolines made by blending casing-head, or natural gas-gasoline, and naphtha.]

Jan 1, 1921

By Curtis D. Edgerton

The Pittsburgh Mine Map Repository of the Bureau of Mines serves as a basic reference file for the archival preservation of mine map data of mines east of the Mississippi River. About 22,000 of an estimated 500,000 available mine maps have been microfilmed A computerized index serves as the mechanism for retrieval of any microfilmed mine map. The operation, equipment, and index are described in the report.

Jan 1, 1974

By R. W. Stahl

Gas accumulation and dust suspension are the major safety hazards in coal stockpiling and reclaiming operations. This report presents a schedule of safety precautions and plant design features devised by the Bureau of Mines to reduce danger from these and other sources.

Jan 1, 1965

By Franklin B. W. Woodbury

The Bureau of Mines, as part of its goal of helping maintain an adequate supply of minerals to meet national economic and strategic A needs, is evaluating alternative technologies to treat oxidized taconites. Since process control is an essential element in the application of these process technologies, research was performed on a prototype monitoring system utilizing a Californium-252 (252-Cf) neutron source and a thermal neutron capture-gamma ray spectra analysis method to measure the amount of iron and percent solids in process slurries. The prototype system was used to monitor the concentrate and tailing streams in a 900-lb/hr flotation pilot plant during continuous around-the-clock tests. The iron content of the process slurries was determined by measuring the total peak areas under the capture spectrum peaks at 7.626-7.632 MeV, the associated escape peaks at 7.136-7.122 and 6.626-6.612 MeV, and the iron doublets at 4.900 and 4.998 MeV. A potential method for determining the percent solids in process slurries using the 2.22 MeV hydrogen capture peak is discussed. Results of this work demonstrate a potential method for providing process control parameters using the data from thermal neutron capture-gamma ray reactions.

Jan 1, 1980

In 1962 and 1963, two in situ combustion pilot tests were conducted in the shallow Second Venango sand near Reno, Pa. Because of poor oxygen utilization and lack of production response, both tests were considered failures and were terminated. The area was then relatively inactive until late 1966, when a development well drilled near the 1963 test site had surprisingly good production in what was considered to be a pressure-depleted reservoir. Other wells drilled in and around the old thermal pilot areas also came in as good oil producers. This report presents a study of the increased oil production from the Second Venango sand in the Reno area, and the apparent connection of the present production response and the old thermal pilot tests. Apparently combustion occurred in the Second Venango sand after the 1962 and 1963 experiments were terminated and, supported by large volumes of air left in the reservoir after the 1963 test, generated carbon dioxide which helped repressure the formation. This field evidence of combustion warrants another pilot experiment to further explore the use of properly designed in situ combustion techniques in increasing production from the Second Venango sand.

Jan 1, 1971

By S. C. Termes

The Bureau of Mines has used Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-1R) to study in situ reactions of aqueous solutions of potassium ethylxanthate with CU(II)-and Pb(II)-activated sphalerite plates, in which the plates were both the infrared-transparent windows and the reacting surfaces. A copper (I) ethylxanthate formed predominantly with Cu(II)-activated sphalerite, regardless of the activation time. The products formed on Pb(II)-activated sphalerite depended on the activation times; a short activation time (30 min) yielded a lead ethylxanthate-like product, but a long activation time (90 min) yielded a considerable amount of dixanthogen.

Jan 1, 1986

By J. K. Whyatt

During the past 2 years, U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) researchers reviewed an in situ stress investigation conducted in 1977 at a test site on the 4250 level of the Lucky Friday Mine, Mullan, ID. Although the field measurements of over core strain were found to be useful, significant deficiencies were found in the stress field estimation procedure. The stress field estimate was then updated to incorporate recent progress in statistical capabilities and new understanding of stress concentration factors for doorstopper cells, as well as to correct an error in the original stress solution procedure. Simple models were used to examine the possibility that systematic variations in material properties and stress fields existed at the site. These models succeeded in reducing the sum of squared error somewhat, but fell short of completely describing stress variations throughout the test site. This overcore measurement will be supplemented by two other measurements described in the second and third reports of this series. Other observations of stress field characteristics are discussed in the fourth report The final report will also characterize the natural in situ stress field in the vicinity of the Lucky Friday Mine. This work was undertaken to support USBM research on mining method design and rock-burst control for deep mines.

Jan 1, 2010

By V. A. Nieberlein

The purpose of this investigation is to determine the reserves of columbium (niobium) minerals in Arkansas and to develop metallurgical methods for concentrating the minerals and extracting the metal. The columbium resources of central Arkansas were explored by drilling and trenching, and a number of samples were taken. On the basis of this exploration the known reserves of the metal were estimated to be over 78,000,000 pounds. The reserves could possibly be extended by additional exploration to 150,000,000 pounds.

Jan 1, 1954

By L. H. Adami, E. G. King

The heats of formation of four sulfides --MnS ( alabandite ) , FeS ( hexagonal pyrrhotite ) , ZnS ( wurtzite ) , and CdS ( greenockite ) -- were determined by hydrochloric acid solution calorimetry . The heats of formation from the metals and rhombic sulfur at 298.15 ° K are , respectively , -51.01 ± 0.19 , -23.81 ± 0.24 , -45.86 ± 0.20 , and -35.70 ± 0.30 kcal /mole . The corresponding free energies of formation were calculated from the heats of formation and the pertinent entropy values .

Jan 1, 1964

By John C. Machisak

THE INJURY data and experience at quarries and related plants of the United States are presented in this publication under the following general sections (A) General injury experience: Tables 1-3: Current data on number of injuries, injury-frequency rates, location, accident agency, degree of injury, and related employment data. (B) Injury experience at different kinds of quarries: Tables 4-5: Current data on number of injuries, injury-frequency rates, location, accident agency, degree of injury, and related employment, data. (C) Injury experience by States: Tables 6-20: Current data on the number of injuries, injury-frequency rates, accident agency, degree of injury, and related employment data. (D) Selected injury data: Tables 21-30: Current data on various selected factors of operating conditions at different kinds of quarries, including employment size-groups, length of shifts, comparative severity of injuries, and injury data and related employment experience at dimension-stone and nondimension-stone quarries and at underground quarries. (E) Historical injury experience: Table 31: Injury and employment data on the quarrying industry for 1911 through 1957. Statistical data on injuries and related employment in the quarrying industries have been collected annually from the operating companies since 1911. Reporting to the Bureau of Mines is voluntary; there is no Federal law compelling operators of quarries and related plants to supply such data. Data presented herein may not be complete for the entire industry. They are however, believed to be representative of the hazards common to all quarry and related workers. Moreover, the figures are comparable as between States-a significant fact in view of the lack of uniformity among the States with regard to the classes of injuries covered by State reports and other factors that tend to make it impracticable or impossible when using State records to

Jan 1, 1960

By R. E. Morgan

Two sizes of Pennsylvania anthracite were gasified in the new-type Lurgi pressure generator at the Dorsten, Germany, works of the Steinkohlengas, A. G. These tests demonstrated that Chestnut-size anthracite and a Rice-Buckwheat mixture containing 27 and 19 percent ash, respectively, could be gasified satisfactorily at an elevated pressure in a fixed bed with oxygen and steam. These coals were especially prepared to approximate a rough-cleaned coal and a washed and screened product. The operating data obtained from the two tests and materials requirements are summarized. A wide range of reactant ratios could not be tested, nor could optimum operating conditions be determined, as the generator was being used throughout the testing program, employing normal operating practices, to produce gas for the gas grid; and the most economical coal, steam, and oxygen ratios may not have been used. Comparative costs are presented of the raw materials required for producing a high-B.t.u. gas, based on the operational data obtained from these tests and, to some extent, on data extrapolated from laboratory experimentation. A flowsheet of a proposed process for producing a high-B.t.u. gas by Lurgi gasification, followed by methanation, is also included.

Jan 1, 1958

By Jr. Blake

This work was done to determine the technical feasibility of using the Pedersen process to produce cell-grade alumina and an iron byproduct from the high-silica and titania bauxites of the Pacific Northwest. Smelting of these bauxites with lime and coke at about 1,750° C in an electric arc furnace produced calcium aluminate slags in which at least 80 percent of the alumina was leachable by sodium carbonate solution. After a lime-desilication of the sodium aluminate leach liquors, neutralization of these solutions with carbon dioxide resulted in precipitation of an alumina hydrate of sufficient purity for calcination to cell-grade alumina. Recoveries of byproduct iron averaged over 90 percent; however, the iron contained about 1 percent phosphorous and would require additional refining. Additional small scale tests on these slags showed the following: (1) Titania had little effect on leachability if sufficient additional lime was added to form calcium titanate (CaO.TiO 2); (2) a slag containing about 14 percent silica required a slower cooling rate than one containing 7 percent silica for formation of high percentages of soluble aluminates; and (3) high-silica slags leached better at room temperature for long periods than at 65° C for shorter periods, but low-silica slags leached well by either method.

Jan 1, 1967

By C. K. Eilerts

Knowledge of the phase relations of the fluids that exist in the porous spaces of rocks constituting natural petroleum reservoirs and of the behavior of these fluids under various field conditions of operation is essential to the conservation of petroleum and natural gas and to their efficient recovery. The problem of determining whether these fluids axe in the liquid or gaseous state send of recognizing the transitions that may take place as the material in the reservoir is subjected to different conditions of pressure and temperature confronts many producers today, especially in certain fields. The subject has grown rapidly in importance since the discovery of and production from deeper reservoirs that have correspondingly higher pressures rind temperatures as compared with shallower

Jan 1, 1938

By C. H. Fisher, Abner Eisner

"INTRODUCTION Sulphuric acid of various concentrations has long been used as a reagent in the determination of olefins and aromatics in hydrocarbon oils 4 such as gasoline, kerosene, and neutral oils from coal—tar distillates. Despite its long use, however, there is no general agreement as to optimum conditions and concentration of acid, and numerous methods and modifications have been recommended. In most cases, treatment of the neutral oil with 60 to 90 percent sulphuric acid, followed by distillation to the original endpoint to remove olefin polymers, is recommended for the estimation of unsaturated hydrocarbons. The distillate thus obtained is taken as olefin—free oil and used in later stages of the anlysis. Aromatic hydrocarbons generally are determined in the olefin—free oil by suphonation with more concentrated acid (96 to 100 percent and fuming sulphuric acid are recommended), the hydrocarbons not attacked and removed as water—soluble sulphonic acids being considered as saturated hydrocarbons. In some cases the saturates are examined further by differentiatingbetween cyclic (naphthenes) and acyclic hydrocarbons (paraffins). Generally this is achieved by physical methods, although strong sulphuric acid is known to react preferentially with some types of saturated hydrocarbons,It was the purpose of the present work to make a general study of this type of analysis and to investigate the reactions of hydrocarbons under conditions often used in analyses that employ sulphuric acid reagents. Since previous work is not in good agreement, the optimum concentrations of acid for the different stages of the analysis were determined. Several sulphuric acid methods previously recommended and new modifications were compared, two synthetic solutions being used as the reference oil. The results obtained are presented below under separate headings."

Dec 1, 1937

By T. R. Jolley

This publication describes the control of fires in inactive coal deposits in the Western United States, including Alaska by the Bureau of Mines. Material presented should contribute to a better understanding of the purpose, process, and benefits of the program. Forty fires were extinguished or controlled in the Western United States and Alaska from 1948 to 1958 under a national program directed by the Bureau's Health and Safety activity. Thirty-five fires were controlled by smothering; three were controlled by the isolation method; and two were extinguished by removing the burning coal, smothering it with incombustible material, and backfilling the fire zone. The fire-control projects were distributed as follows: Alaska 2, Arizona 1, Colorado 9, Montana 9, New Mexico 4, Utah 2, and Wyoming 13. The total cost of the 40 fires extinguished or controlled was $1,203,957. Of this cost, 12.8 percent was engineering and administrative and 87.2 percent was contractual services.

Jan 1, 1959

By V. R. Miller

The Bureau of Mines conducted research on substitute brazing filler alloys with properties similar to those of silver filler alloys in an effort to conserve silver and reduce hazards from cadmium emissions. Experimental work was conducted first on the commercial silver brazing alloys BAg-I, BAg-la, BAg-2, and BAg-3 to establish criteria for evalu-ating the substitute alloys. Properties investigated included the wettability of copper, brass, and steel substrates, and the strength of joints made with the filler alloys. A series of experimental alloys containing 50 to 60 pct Cu, 20 to 28 pct Mn, and 17 to 30 pct Zn was prepared and evaluated, together with Cu-Mn-Zn alloys with 5 pct Pb or 2 pct Ni. Wetting properties and joint strengths were not as good as those for silver filler alloys, and the high application temperatures reduced the copper and brass base metal strengths. However, experimental alloys containing 70 pct Cu, 15 to 20 pct Mn, and 10 to 16 pct Sn had wetting and strength properties approaching those of the silver filler alloys. The application temperatures for these alloys were high-er than those for silver fillers, but not as high as those for the Cu-Mn-Zn alloys. With the Cu-Mn-Sn alloy fillers, copper alloy joint members are less deteriorated by recrystallization than when applying Cu-Mn-Zn alloys. The Cu-Mn-Sn system has potential for further devel-opment as a substitute brazing alloy system, particularly if the melting temperature can be reduced by the addition of other elements without decreasing the ductility and wetting.

Jan 1, 1983

By Jack L. Henry, Davis E. Traut, L. R. Penner

The Bureau of Mines conducted solvent extraction batch tests to evaluate the usefulness of neodecanoic acid ( NDA) for extracting Co 3+ from ammoniacal leach liquors high in ammonium sulfate . This work is an outgrowth of previous Bureau research in which technology was devised for the recovery of cobalt , nickel , and byproduct copper from domestic laterites . The previously devised technology uses an oxidative ammoniacal sulfate leach to treat the laterite , and nickel and copper are then recovered from the leach solution by solvent extraction and electrowinning . This report deals with the subsequent solvent extraction of cobalt from the nickel - copper raffinate solution . The results showed that about 70 pct of the contained Co 3+ can be extracted batchwise at pH 8 using NDA ( a 10 - carbon - chain highly branched carboxylic acid ) . However , NDA had a solubility of approximately 0.6 to 0.8 g / L in aqueous raffinate following extraction , and this high solubility makes it impractical for use with alkaline solutions that are low in cobalt . In addition , the extracted cobalt species ( predominately cobaltic hexammine ) is not amenable to the electrolytic recovery of cobalt metal because of its extreme stability . This fundamental prob-

Jan 1, 1965

By J. S. Kennedy, M. M. Fine

"INTRODUCTION Barite is one of the major industrial minerals whose production has increased considerably in the last 10 years. In 1935 domestic production of barite was 218,075 tons and. had increased by 1944 to 515,136 tons. 3/ Most of the primary uses for barite and barite products were developed before 1935, so the increase in barite production reflects the growth of industry in general rather than any recent developments in barite technology.The principal uses for ground and crushed barrite are as a weighting agent in heavy drilling fluids, as a filler in rubber and other materials, as a pigment and extender in paints, and as a flux in glass melt. In addition, a considerable' quantity of barite serves as the raw material for the manufacture of lithopone and barium chemicals.Specifications for barrite vary widely and depend primarily on the use to which the material is put. The primary requisites for barite used in heavy drilling muds -are that it have a minimum specific gravity of 4.2 and be very,low in soluble salts. A minimun barium sulfate content of 92 percent may be specified; but this is less important than the gravity. 4/ In addition before consumption the material must be ground to '92 percent minus 325-mesh. 5/ Lithopone and chemical manufacturers require a minimum of 94 Percent barium sulfate, a maximum of 1.0 percent iron oxide, and not more than a trace of fluorine. 6/ Barite used as fillers in light-colored products should be of fairly high grade, but the filler used in dark products may be considerably lower grade.Glass barite should contain a minimum of 96 percent barium sulfate, not more than 3 percent moisture, a maxium of 0.2 to 0.4 percent iron oxide, and not more than a trace of titanium oxide. Particle size is a matter of some importance in glass barite, also. 7/"

May 1, 1948

By R. F. Abernethy

Recent investigations in the United States and in other countries have produced considerable information on the nature and occurrence of minor elements in coal. The possibility of recovering certain elements, particularly germanium and uranium, from coal ash and other coal products has received considerable attention. Some flue dusts are potential sources of germanium, and certain lignite deposits are potential sources of uranium, but industrial recovery of these elements has been limited to small quantities for technical and economic reasons. Considering the large amount of coal mined annually, a small percentage of a rare element may have industrial significance if an economical method of recovery can be developed. In 1944 information on the occurrence of rare elements in coal was reviewed in Bureau of Mines Technical Paper 669 (46).3 This report is a revision of that paper with the view of summarizing published information available for United States coals, and pertinent information concerning coals of other countries. Selected references from the original paper are retained. New references do not include all preliminary reports when more permanent literature describing complete projects is available. Consequently, the list of references should not be considered complete.

Jan 1, 1963

By Robert S. Warfield

The Federal Bureau of mines and U.S. Geological Survey conducted exploratory investigations and geologic mapping in the Wishbone Hill district of the Matanuska coalfield almost continuously from 1942 through 1958. These investigations delineated reserves of high-volatile bituminous coal necessary to supply the rapidly expanding military and civilian requirements in the Anchorage area. This report describes the program conducted by the Bureau of Mines from 1949 through 1958, and briefly summarizes previous investigations, the results of which have already been published. The coal-bearing structure on both the north and south limbs of the prominent Wishbone Hill syncline was explored by 8,719 feet of churn drilling and 25,460 feet of diamond-core drilling. A total of 33 holes were drilled ranging in depth from 60 to 2,114 feet. To supplement the drilling operations, bulldozer and dragline trenching were undertaken at key locations; about 25,000 cubic yards of dragline trench were excavated in the vicinity of the old Premier mine.

Jan 1, 1962