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By J. Ritchey

This report describes the engineering feasibility and economic advantages of using a mobile bridge-type cross-pit belt conveyor system in conjunction with a large dragline to excavate and transport spoils in a typical Western surface coal mine. The studies show that such a system could be built to survive operational and climatic mining conditions, and that its implementation would offer a reduction in both acquisition and operating costs versus conventional mining units of comparable capacity. Reclamation costs can also be significantly reduced, and the total reclamation process accelerated, making the cross-pit conveyor system attractive to mine owners and environmentalists alike.

Jan 1, 1976

By C. J. Hall

Twenty eight pulse release sulfur hexafluoride tracer gas field tests were run in a multi-level multi-vein hard rock mine to measure leakage ventilation. The mine had numerous underground booster fans and gob filled old stoping areas and consequently numerous leakage paths. The tests proved that the equipment and methods developed by the USBM can be used successfully in complicated ventilation circuits. The leakage quantities varied each time a major change was made in the main ventilation circuit. Usually leakage quantities had to be remeasured after a main ventilation change, but measurements could be duplicated for anyone configuration except under certain defined circumstances. The characteristics of an individual leakage path could be determined from the difference between the measured sum of two paths and the calculated characteristics of one of the paths. Many leakage paths could not be evaluated accurately on one shift. Comments are made on equipment performance and field techniques. Programs for the calculation of gas concentrations and recirculation from measured data and for the mechanical integration necessary for a calculated leakage characteristic have been written for an HP 9810 and are included.

Jan 1, 1975

By M. M. Fine

Research on the solid-fuel reduction of Knob Lake iron or was conducted to upgrade lean and high-grade ores and recover metallized products suitable for ironmaking or steelmaking. The program included bench-scale tests plus a number of continuous campaigns in a 34-inch by 36-foot rotary kiln. In the laboratory, metallizations in excess of 90 percent were achieved by reduction of crushed ore with lignite at 950° C. Subsequent grinding (to minus 200 mesh) and wet magnetic separation yielded concentrates analyzing less than 3.0 percent SiO2 and more than 90 percent Fe. Virtually complete recovery of the iron occurred. During early continuous tests the crushed ore created a serious ringing in the kiln which was solved by balling the fines with bentonite. Unfortunately, at this temperature (950° C) the bentonite militates against the concentratability of the metallized product. For example, a run on direct-shipping ore produced concentrates of 89.5 percent Fe and 4.5 percent SiO2. At 500° C the adverse effect of bentonite disappeared and concentrates of 88.4 Fe and only 2.5 percent SiO2 resulted. However, with comparable feed r Los, the metallization dropped to 73 percent.

Jan 1, 1969

By Kenneth H. Johnston

This report describes in detail three waterflooding projects and a pres-sure-maintenance project in Butler and Cowley Counties, Kans., that will be visited on the 1963 annual spring tour of the Kansas-Oklahoma Waterflood Association. Among the unique features of the projects are the flooding of five oil-producing horizons separately with injection water furnished by two water treating plants. Discussion of the individual projects includes information on their early history, the source and treatment of the injection fluids, oil production decline curves, and the results of water injection on oil production.

Jan 1, 1963

By Fred D. DeVanery

"INTRODUCTION Although galena is the most common lead-bearing mineral, is easily concentrated by gravity methods, and is readily susceptible to flotation, nevertheless some galena-bearing orebodies have within them small deposits of lead ore that fail to give a high recovery when treated by the customary milling methods.The secondary minerals, cerussite and anglesite, which result from natural oxidation of galena, cause losses when the customary method of lead-ore concentration is practiced. The identification of oxidized lead-ore minerals and the efficient concentration of a lead ore taken from the oxidized portion of an orebody which has previously yielded poor recoveries mere the objects of a recent investigation. Thus the ore examined was selected from a large orebody. The work was undertaken at the Mississippi Valley Experiment Station of the United States Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, Rolla, Mo.DESCRIPTION OF OREThe ore was of a brownish color owing to oxidation of some of the iron minerals to limonite. The lead content was 6.80 percent, and a cursory examination showed that most of the lead was present as galena. Small amounts of sphalerite, siderite, and pyrite were readily identified. The chief gangue mineral was dolomite, accompanied by smaller amounts of calcite and glauconite."

Jun 1, 1933

By H. P. Rue

The Bureau of Mines has recently collected two samples of crude oil from wells in the Greasewood Flat area of northeastern Colorado. Sample 31310 was taken from the Continental Oil Co.'s well Briggs No. 1 which care in or September 27, 1931, with a maximum production of 940 barrels per day. Sample 31311 was taken from tie Reiter-Foster Oil Co. Is well Ida Johnson No. 1 which came in on August 24, 1931 with a maximum production of approximately 1000 barrels per day.

Jan 1, 1932

By J. I. Paige

The Bureau of Mines studied methods for recovering unreacted titanium minerals and petroleum coke from titanium chlorination plant wastes prior to neutralization treatment with lime. The objective was to recover valuable raw materials and to reduce the amount of waste materials that must be treated for disposal. Samples of solid wastes were physically beneficiated by gravity concentration (tabling) to recover titanium minerals containing 69.0 to 92.4 wt-pct Ti02 and by selective carbon flotation to recover petroleum coke containing 94.0 to 96.8 wt-pct C. Laboratory data indicate that the recovered titanium mineral would decrease the amount of solid waste to be disposed of from 32.8 to 53.9 wt-pct. The recovery of coke would further decrease the amount by additional 32.9 wt-pct. Preliminary tests conducted on recovering vanadium, chromium, and columbium from liquors obtained by leaching chlorination residues also have shown that (1) 97 pct of the vanadium was extracted from leach liquors in a two-stage solvent ex-traction procedure and (2) 58 pct of the columbium and 40 pct of the chromium were separated from the leach liquors by an ion exchange technique using a strong acid resin.

Jan 1, 1982

Research personnel from the Bureau of Mines, a representative of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and research contractors for the Bureau of Mines met with other Government and industry representatives at three seminar locations in December 1980 to discuss the findings and products of Bureau research on mine safety training. The research program is aimed at providing assistance to the mining community in its efforts to reduce industrial-type, human-error accidents through research establishing performance based methods and media for employee training. Research emphasis is directed toward development of baseline materials and instructional models; development of methods for structuring and evaluating health and safety, supervisory, and occupational training; and the continued investigation and application of current learning and simulation technology that could significantly enhance the effectiveness of training opportunities.

Jan 1, 1981

By Ruth F. Brinkley

This circular describes the activities and publications of the Bureau of Mines, Explosives Research Laboratory4 for the fiscal year 1960 (July 1, 1959 -June 30, 1960). Part 1 describes briefly the principal projects that were active during the report period, and presents some data not scheduled for publication elsewhere in the near future. Certain of the results are only preliminary and should be regarded as tentative, pending the findings of the completed investigation. Publications that appeared during the report period are listed and described briefly in part 2. In general, the research activities reported in these publications antedate fiscal year 1960. The published material relating to activities that are still current is indicated by references in part 1.

Jan 1, 1962

By T. F. Myners

This paper, describing the concentration methods and costs of Witherbee, Sherman and Company at Mineville, N. Y., is one of the series of papers on milling methods and costs being prepared by the United States Bureau of Mines. It deals principally with the production of high-grade concentrate. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The author is indebted to C. F. Jackson, principal mining engineer, United States Bureau of Mines, to A. M. Cummings, general superintendent of Witherbee, Sherman and Company, and to the company's engineering staff, for assistance in preparing this paper.

Jan 1, 1932

By G. W. Jones

During the course of an investigation by the Bureau of Mines into the causes, behavior, end control of anthracite-line fires, it was observed that the carbon monoxide disappeared from a scaled fire area much more rapidly than could be explained oil the basis of leakage of gases. Two suggestions were offered for this high rate of disappearance; (1) That the carbon monoxide was oxidized at temperatures below 150° C, by either the anthracite or its ash (tests on many anthracites have shown that at temperatures above 150° C carbon monoxide is liberated in the oxidation products when air is passed through it); (2) that the carbon monoxide was oxidized by micro-organisms present in the sealed area.

Jan 1, 1939

By B. W. Gandrud

This is the third report published by the Bureau of Mines concerning the washability of Black Creek coal. Both of the former reports.5/6/ dealt with the Black Creek coal at the Bradford mine, Dixiana, Ala., near the northeastern extremity of the Warrior field, whereas the present report is based on float-and-sink tests of coal from what is presumably the Black Creek bed near the southern extremity of the field. Although the Yolande Coal & Coke Co., owners of the property at Yolande No. 6 slope, consider this opening to be on the Black Creek bed, the authors do not feel that there is as yet positive proof that this correlation is correct. There has been little or no development of the Black Creek bed in the Yolande Basin in the past, and a positive identification of the bed at Yolande No. 6 will have to await further exploration and development. The Yolande No. 6 is an exploration slope 3/4 mile north of Rockcastle, Ala. The slope is approximately 400 feet from top to bottom on a dip of 180. As far as the authors can ascertain, coal has never been produced commercially from the Black Creek bed in the southwestern part of the Warrior field. Exploration work in the past has indicated that the Black Creek coal in this area is extremely friable and high in sulfur. Extreme friability would naturally discourage its use as a domestic and railroad fuel, and high sulfur content would be a disasvantage in its use for coking coal. The present study of this coal has been made with particular reference to sulfur elimination on the assumption that it would make a good coking coal provided enough of the sulfur could be eliminated by washing.

Jan 1, 1939

By Piyush K. Dutta

This report describes the design, development and manufacture of a prototype quiet hard rock stoper drill and results of its field tests. It is shown that the stoper drill noise level can be reduced from 118 dBA to below 100 dBA by using this design. The design concept of this drill is based on a valveless independent rotation system, use of an integral muffler and pivot mount. The drill was manufactured in a standard commercial drill manufacturing setup and organization. The design and production technology proved that commercially viable quiet drills can be made available for mine use.

Jan 1, 1985

By Wallace W. Key

Mineral raw materials produced in California, other States, and foreign countries were purchased for consumption in quantities valued at over $60 million at 800 of the 1,200 chemical plants operating in California Fn 1960, according to questionnaires completed by company officials. These and other data received from mineral consumers, producers, dealers, and Government agencies formed the basis for this the first of a series of reports designed to present the intricate features and relationships controlling mineral raw material supply and demand in California industries. The results of this study indicated certain changes in use patterns of minerals in chemical manufacturing; a shift in requirements from metals to nonmetals, from inorganics to organics, from natural to synthetic materials, and from distant to local sources of supply.

Jan 1, 1965

By Wallace W. Key

Mineral raw materials produced in California, other States, and foreign countries were purchased for consumption in quantities valued at over $60 million at 800 of the 1,200 chemical plants operating in California Fn 1960, according to questionnaires completed by company officials. These and other data received from mineral consumers, producers, dealers, and Government agencies formed the basis for this the first of a series of reports designed to present the intricate features and relationships controlling mineral raw material supply and demand in California industries. The results of this study indicated certain changes in use patterns of minerals in chemical manufacturing; a shift in requirements from metals to nonmetals, from inorganics to organics, from natural to synthetic materials, and from distant to local sources of supply.

Jan 1, 1965

By D. Randolph Berry

The United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) awarded a contract to Foster-Miller, Inc. to develop guidelines for the storage and use of Self-Contained Self-Rescuers (SCSRs) in underground non-coal mines. An SCSR is a device capable of supplying, in an emergency, one hour of self-contained oxygen (no breathing of mine air). The information and recommendations in this report were developed primarily from three sources: discussions with mine representatives (including management, labor, and government), site visits in underground mines I and a detailed analysis of every reported non-coal accident which produced d hazardous atmosphere during the 5-year period 1976-1980 -plus ten other major incidents from prior years. Volume IV has three major sections: Recommendations and Discussion (Section 2), Analysis of Mine Accidents (Appendix A), and a Summary of Discussions with Mine Representatives (Appendix B).

Jan 1, 1983

By W. S. Landers

Nine high-volatile bituminous Utah coals were carbonized singly and in blends with low-and medium-volatile bituminous coals. Of the 9 coals, 2 are in commercial use as the base coals in blends that produce industrially accept-able metallurgical coke, while 7 are regarded as weakly coking and are not used commercially in coking blends. The carbonization tests were made in a la-inch diameter, cylindrical retort, using 50-pound charges. Sunnyside coal blended with autogenous char generally produced larger and stronger coke than was yielded by straight Sunnyside coal. The volatile matter of the char and the concentration of the char in the blend appear to be important parameters influencing coke size and strength. A blend of 10 per-cent autogenous char of 7.2-percent volatile matter with Sunnyside coal yielded coke that was larger, stronger, and of higher apparent specific gravity than coke produced from an industrial coke oven blend consisting of 15 percent medium-volatile coal and 85 percent Sunnyside coal.

Jan 1, 1967

By Wilbert J. Huff

The organization of the Explosives Division has been outlined in two preceding publications., The activities of the various units for the fiscal year 1939 are described hereafter: I. INFLAMMABILITY OF GASES AND VAPORS DETERMINATION OF EXPLOSION HAZARDS OF COMBUSTIBLE GASES AND VAPORS IN MINES AND INDUSTRIES (a) Determination of Limits of Inflammability of Gases and Vapors The following hitherto unpublished limits of inflammability were determined during the past fiscal year.

Jan 1, 1939

By Wilbert J. Huff

The organization of the Explosives Division has been outlined in two preceding publications.3/ The activities of the various units for the fiscal year 1939 are described hereafter: I. INFLAMMABILITY OF GASES AND VAPORS DETERMINATION OF EXPLOSION HAZARDS OF COMBUSTIBLE GASES AND VAPORS IN MINES AND INDUSTRIES (a) Determination of Limits of Inflammability of Gases and Vapors The following hitherto unpublished limits of inflammability were determined during the past fiscal year.

Jan 1, 1939

By Matthew J. Sheridan

The Bureau of Mines study described in this report was conducted in the Denver, Colo., area (1) to summarize existing conservation practices as related to the most beneficial utilization of deposits of sand and gravel; (2) to identify the conflicting positions of the aggregate producer, the mineral owner, nearby residents, and local government officials responsible for determining land status and for issuing operating permits; and (3) to show the need for planning in Denver and in other expanding communities toward obtaining the benefits of conservation of our rapidly dwindling mineral resources. In order to determine the effects of urbanization on the Denver aggregate industry, interviews were held with owners of sand and gravel operations, with producers of concrete and bituminous pavement, with city and county planning and zoning personnel, and with representatives of various interested organizations. The conservation and ultimate utilization of deposits of construction raw materials near expanding urban areas can best be accomplished by long-range land-use projection and the requesite cooperation of technically advised planning and zoning administrators, government officials, mineral producers, and land developers.

Jan 1, 1967