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By G. S. Rice, R. V. Wheeler

"In September 1923, a proposal was made through official diplomatic channels by the British Safety in Mines Research Board to the United States Bureau of Mines for ""closer cooperation between the two countries in investigations into the causes and means of prevention of mining dangers."" This proposal was cordially accepted by the Bureau of Mines and was officially approved.In the spring of 1924 cooperation was .formally begun. It contemplated, as stated officially, ""full exchanges of information, a joint program of research, and periodic exchange of personnel so as to assure concordant results. By making the resources of both organizations available it will hasten the attainment of results, will secure better: checks for, accuracy, and in the end will save money for both by avoiding duplication and repetition.""This joint work has been carried-on successfully since that time and has developed valuable results, reports on which have been issued from time to time. The progress report which follows gives the results of the studies and work carried on in 1929.During 1929 all the phases of our cooperative research, begun in previous years, have developed normally. The exchange of formal monthly reports on all programs of mutual interest has been continued and has proved an invaluable, means of maintaining contact between the investigators of both organizations. There has been no diminution in the exchange of routine progress reports on specific subjects or in direct correspondence. The interchange of personnel has been maintained, and we can say that the mutual benefits to be derived from this form of cooperation are so great as to be difficult to overestimate. It leads to an appreciation of methods of research and modes of thought in the interpretation of results obtainable in no other way, and engenders a frankness and intimacy which must continuously enhance the value of future cooperation.Dr. S. R. Katz, who was assigned for service with the Safety in Mines Research Board in April, 1928, returned to America in May, 1929. During his stay in England he completed, in cooperation with members of the board's staff, the equipment of a gas-mask laboratory and designed and tested a new form of gas-mask canister. A publication of the Safety in Mines Research Board dealing with this investigation has been prepared and approved and will .be .issued in the near future. In additions Dr. Katz imparted to those with whom he was associated much of his knowledge and technique regarding his particular subjects. He delivered two lectures to the board's staff, the subjects be ""Gas Masks"" and ""The Intensity of Odors"", and gave papers before the Midland Institute of 'lining Engineers and the Birmingham University Mining Society on the subject of ""Industrial Gas Masks""."

Jun 1, 1930

By Wendell R. Peters

Shallow underground voids resulting from early coal mining and other resource recovery activities over the past several decades are now being recognized as a significant cause of ground subsidence problems in developing urban areas. Uncertain knowledge of abandoned coal mines also imposes potential hazards in coal excavation operations since water inundation or the release of methane gas is a pricnipal hazard when mine excavation operations break into an abandoned mine. U.S. Army requirements for an effective method for detecting and mapping subversive man-made tunnels have resulted in a surface-operated automatic earth resistivity survey system with a digital computer data processing system. Field tests aimed at demonstrating the system performance resulted in successful detection of tunnels having depth-to-diameter ratios up to 15 to 1. Under the sponsorship of the Bureau of Mines, a similar system was designed and constructed for use in the detection of coal mine workings. This report discusses the hardware and software aspects of the system and the application of the high-resolution earth resistivity method to the survey and mapping of abandoned coal mine workings. In the field tests reported, the targets of interest were both air-filled and water-filled workings.

Jan 1, 1980

By Raja V. Ramani, Robert L. Frantz

"The House/Senate Joint Conference Committee has instructed the Bureau of Mines to have the Advisory Committee on Mining and Mineral Resources Research review on an annual and simultaneous basis each generic mineral technology research center (GMTC). In order to accomplish that review promptly and uniformly, committee members have revised and approved an in-depth questionnaire. That document formed the basis of their review. The information provided by that questionnaire was an important factor in their recommendations concerning the future direction of the program; a presentation was made at the last National Plan Update.The comprehensive nature of the questionnaire and the scope of the information contained therein make it an excellent retrospective of the Center. Having a clear vision of where the Center has been and knowing where it is now will help guide it into the future. It is felt that such a detailed view of the Center's facilities and research program will be of value to Center personnel and Advisory Committee members.Each aspect of the questionnaire has been examined, answered in detail, and documented throughly. With the completed questionnaire as a guide, this volume examines the research program, Center personnel presently active on GMTC projects, number of graduate degrees granted with GMTC support, GMTC publications, degree of individual interaction, technology transfer, the reference center, GMTC equipment and facilities, and any envisioned plans for future research. It is hoped that this volume will serve as a review of the years 1984-1988, the first four years of the Center's operation."

Aug 31, 1989

By J. A. Baicker

A prototype borehole probe for ore grade determinations by means of in-situ neutron activation analysis was designed, built, and tested in a two-phase program. Phase I dealt with the design and fabrication of a borehole logging system for operation in 7.6 cm (3 in.) diameter or larger boreholes. It consisted of a 5.06 cm (2 in.) diameter borehole probe containing an intrinsic germanium detector, a canister-type solid cryogen cooling system, cooled FET preamplifier, linear amplifier, high voltage supply, analog-to-digital converter, microprocessor-based multichannel analyzer, buffer memory, bi-directional cable link, power supplies, and a Californium-252 neutron source. A surface support vehicle was designed and outfitted. A minicomputer system was constructed and software developed and tested. In Phase II the system was field tested at several mine sites. The system was calibrated, tested, improved, and demonstrated in a variety of applications. Tests were performed at sites pertinent to uranium, iron, coal, copper, silver and gold. Technical feasibility was demonstrated for all these applications except gold; the gold results were inconclusive. In-situ neutron activation analysis using high resolution gamma ray spectrometry was found to be a potentially viable logging method for are grade analysis under certain conditions.

Jan 1, 1984

By C. M. McKinney

This report presents analyses of crude oil from most of the fields in the United States producing 2,500 barrels per day or more. The purpose of the report is threefold : 1) To present detailed analyses of crude-oil samples from as many al possible of the important fields in the United States. On January 1, 1947, there were 340 fields producing 2,500 barrels & day or more. Analyses for 283 of these fie1ds are presented. Fifty-seven fields have been omitted because the Bureau of Mines did not have analyses or the crude oils being produced. As one sample was not representative of the promotion from several of the fields, two analyses are given for each field of this kind. (2) To compile these analyses, many of which have not been published previously in a single report. Since the publication of Bulletin 291 in 1928, there has been no report showing analyses of crude petroleum from fields throughout the United states, but a number of separate reports according to area or state have been issued. Many of these are out of print. (3) To provide a means of ready comparison of the properties of crude oils from different areas of the United states.

Jan 1, 1948

By P. L. Sibrell

Previous research by the U.S. Bureau of Mines has shown that autoclave cyanide leaching of used automobile exhaust catalysts for recovery of platinum-group metals (PGM) is technically feasible. The purpose of this work was to investigate the chemistry of the dissolution of PGM in cyanide solutions in more detail. Where possible, samples of pure, elemental PGM powders or foils were used instead of automobile exhaust catalysts, because of their greater purity. Ultraviolet spectra revealed that Pt and Pd were solubilized as the square planar tetracyanometallate (II) complexes, while Rh was solubilized as the octahedral hexacyanorhodate (III) complex. This explained the poor recovery of Rh from solution by carbon adsorption, solvent extraction, and ion exchange observed in earlier research, because of the higher anionic charge and size of the octahedral complex. Leaching rate studies showed that the rate of solubilization was greatest for Pd, followed by Pt and Rh. Although the rate of chemical reaction was the controlling step for the dissolution of elemental Pt and Rh samples, the rate of pore diffusion was rate limiting for PGM in catalyst samples.

Jan 1, 2010

By G. R. Strimbeck

Experimental work is report on the gasification of 90-percent through 200-mesh, strongly coking Sewickley-bed coal with oxygen and with steam in three temperature ranges, namely, 2,700° to 3,400° F., 1,600° to 2,000° F., and 230° to 250° F. Thirty-one runs have been made, during which 56,000 pounds of coal have been charged to the generator at feed rates of 200 to 450 pounds of coal per hour. The average results, not the optimum results, are given in the following tabulation:

Jan 1, 1950

By H. J. Heinen

A technique offering promise as a metallurgical processing sequence the recovery of molybdenum (Mo) from the sulfide mineral--molybdenite?was investigated. The method consists of two steps: (1) electrosynthesis of pure dimolybdenum carbide (Mo2C) from molybdenite (MoS2) and (2) interaction of Mo2C and molybdic oxide (MoO3) to produce pure molybdenum metal. Two molten salt systems were satisfactory for electrosynthesizing Mo2C. The first was a mixture of potassium chloride (KCl), potassium fluoride (KY), and sodium metasilicate (Na2SiO3), and the second consisted of sodium fluoride (NaF), KF, sodium tetraborate (Na2B4O7), and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3). Yields up to 0.42 gram of Mo2C per ampere-hour were obtained. The carbide, mixed with monitored amounts of MoO3, was converted to molybdenum metal of 99.9 percent purity by sintering at 1,500° C.

Jan 1, 1965

By F. K. McIntosh, A. F. Robertson, T. J. Ballard

"INTRODUCTION Molybdenum deposits occur in Halifax County, N. C., near the eastern border of the Piedmont province. The deposits are associated with a small granite body about 2 miles long and half a mile wide. Molybdenite is the principal ore mineral and is found as disseminations or thin stringers in quartz veins and occasionally in the enclosing granite or schist wall rock.The deposits were investigated by Almon F. Robertson and Charles J. Cohen, engineers of the Bureau of Mines, in 1942 and 1943, who recommended that the deposits be explored to supplement reserves of critical war minerals.The Bureau made the initial exploration of the deposits in July 1943 and continued its work to January 1944. Drilling was resumed from July to December 1946 to test the deposits at &eater depth than had been attempted during the previous exploration."

Dec 1, 1947

By P. A. Cox

Guidelines are provided for the design of explosion-proof electrical enclosures that will meet MSHA certification requirements according to Part 18, Title 30, of the Code of Federal Regulations, and fulfill their intended service underground. The guide covers only those aspects of design which affect enclosure strength, ruggedness, endurance and flame path, i. e., the enclosure ability to properly contain an internal explosion. Internal static and explosion pressures, external impact and thermal heating load are treated as well as the proper selection of materials and welding procedures.

Jan 1, 1985

By Otto Ruhl

The Oronogo-Webb City-Duenweg district is in the northeastern part of the Tri-State zinc and, lead field. Its metal-mining history dates from the early 1850's. For some years prior to 1918 it ranked as the leading producing area of the entire Tri-State field, but by 1920 most of its mines had been abandoned and allowed to fill with water. Its mine operators had-been attracted, to the newly discovered and richer deposits around Picher, Okla. In 1943, the Orenogo Mutual Mining Co. was exploiting the Oronogo Circle deposit in the northern end of the district, and the Federal Mining & Smelting Co. was preparing to mine on its holdings in the southern part near Duenweg. The area between these two operating units ranked as the largest single block of ore reserves under water in the Tri-State field. In 1942, engineers of the Bureau of Mines, in collaboration with the William Stewart Engineering Co. of Joplin, collected all available mine maps, mine reports, and logs of old drill holes in the inundated area. From a careful study an appraisal of these data, the reserves in the block were calculated at 20,647,800 tons of ore containing 606,440 tons of 60-percent zinc concentrates and 46,970 tons of 80-percent lead concentrates. The ore was estimated to contain 1.76 percent recoverable zinc and 0.18 percent recoverable lead.

Jan 1, 1949

By Michael E. Henderson

The U.S. Bureau of Mines (BOM) constructed the Hydraulic Transport Research Facility (HTRF) to investigate the hydraulic parameters relating to the transport of coarse coal. To achieve these goals in a timely and efficient manner, the Bureau contracted to Boeing Services International, Inc. (BSI) the responsibility of operating the HTRF and providing technical support. This data report is a summary of the testing and data results for the period from 16 September to 1 November 1983. The testing covered herein is for coarse 2-in by a (minus 50 mm) Pittsburgh Seam coal in a 12-in (3 00 mm) pipeline, at velocities ranging from 5 to 18 ft/s (1.5 to 5.5 m/s) and at concentrations ranging from 15 to 55 pct.

Jan 1, 1985

By Jr. Allan

"Although the advantages of large-capacity air receivers for underground mines are plainly evident from published information about various installations in the United States and abroad, details of their construction are not generally known in this country., Ordinary present-day air-compressor installations servicing mining machines are designed to supply air at a specified pressure in sufficient quantity to meet the peak demand of the mine,2/ although this demand may exist for only a few minutes out of 24 hours and, as usually happens, eventually exceeds the capacity of the compressor. Most of the receivers provided with these compressors (to a certain degree of standardi¬zation) are capable of storing a volume of air approximately equal to that compressed in 1 minute by the machine.3, 4/ As a result, during peak-load periods the compressor operates at full load capacity without maintaining kick-off pressure. At other periods of the work cycle, production of compressed air is intermittent.At least one large mine5/ has adopted large-capacity receivers to reduce wear on its air-compressing system caused by the sudden demand of peak loads. Under the old system, the compressors jumped suddenly from half speed to full speed; boilers furnishing steam to the compressors were taxed heavily to provide the increased requirements of power; and machines using the air, among which were four large hoists, were required to operate at 65 pounds per square inch rather than at the 90 pounds per square inch for which the compressors were regulated. Operation of air machines, especially drills, at pressures lower than those for which they were designed decreases their efficiency and increases maintenance costs. In addition, air that comes directly from the compressors has had little opportunity to cool and dry enroute.6./ As a result, quantities of compressor lubricant and water are carried into the machines that use the air. When expansion occurs in the cylinder or turbine of such engines, the temperature of the air drops, and this oil and water is precipitated. The water washes away lubricating oils in the machine, causing poor performance and high cost of maintenance; the compressor oil, in addition to being a poor lubricant for compresed-air engines, exerts a corrosive action on gaskets and rubber hoses.7/Reduction of peak demands on air compressors by large receivers lowers power costs by establishing more nearly constant load factors,8/ and in some cases by permitting the use of smaller compressor capacity.8,9/Load factor is the ratio of average demand to maximum demand; a low load factor costs money.10/Elimination of high-peak demands raises the load factor by making the average and the maximum demand more nearly equal. Further savings may be made possible by large receivers where their use permits charging to be done at night in regions having lower power rates during that period.11/Where ordinary receivers are used, compressor breakdowns cause immediate work stoppages in the mine owing to lack of air. Similarly, the capacity of a large receiver has been known to permit uninterrupted work in the mine until the compressors have been returned to service.9/Large-capacity receivers, either steel-tank or underground rock-chamber, offer a practical solution of many existing problems by providing a sufficient reserve of compressed air within the pressure range required for efficient operation of machines to level off peak demands on the compressor. The com¬pressors operate when the demand has reduced the pressure in the receiver below the regulating pressure and until all air used from the receiver has been replaced. It has been found possible in at least two mines,8.9/ one of which the author has visited, to entirely eliminate one compressor and to obtain more efficient performance from the remaining one by the construction of an underground coal-chamber receiver.8/"

Jan 1, 1950

By L. D. Wyant

That natural gas-gasoline can be used to advantage as a refrigerant is suggested by the fact that the "make" tanks and other parts of the equipment of gasoline plants frequently become coated with frost. The experiments reported in this paper confirm this assumption and indicate that volatile gasoline can be use used to advantage in many refrigerating plants. The Bureau of Mines is making a study of wax distillates in order to find out why satisfactory lubricating oils and waxes can be made easily from certain crude oils and only with difficulty from others. In the commercial distillation of crude petroleum it is customary to separate the distillates into the following groups: (A) Gasolines and naphthas, (B) Kerosenes, (C) Gas oil, and (D) Wax distillate (consisting mostly of light lubricating oil together with small amounts of paraffin Wax).

Jan 1, 1923

By IRENE AITKENS

The Mining Law of 1910 , with amendments of 1914 and 1928 , is at present in force in the Dominican Republic . The first and basic mining law of the Republic was passed in 1876 , and although numerous changes and amendments have been made from time to time , the new laws and amendments thereto have not changed the original or basic law materially . However , these enactments have materially changed the legal methods governing the exploitation of the mineral resources of this country and have added new regulations and requirements to those concerning certain specific minerals , etc. The original or basic law still exists as it was first promulgated to protect the rights of the Dominican Republic itself , the rights of the landowner , and the rights of prospectors in general . The Mining Law of 1876 remained in force , without amendment , until it was superseded by the law of May 25 , 1904 , an enactment modeled after the Mexican mining law and designed especially to encourage the investment of

May 1, 1931

By E. J. Lintner, J. R. Thoenen

During the period 1937-40 and until peacetime research was superseded in 1941 by wartime activities , the junior author was engaged in studies regarding the relative efficiency of operating methods in quarries producing crushed stone for mineral aggregates . The results of some of these studies were published as reports of investigations in 1939 and 1940 ; / others were discontinued due to war demands on personnel and time . The published reports discussed the efficiency of particular quarry operations with respect to the time consumed and without reference to costs or mechanical factors . • At the time , the field data were collected for the published reports other data were collected relative to the relationship of the numerous variable factors inherent in the operation of a churn drill to the ability of the drill to produce blast holes . The churn drill is essentially a crusher and depends. for its performance upon the foot-pounds of energy it can impart to the cutting edge of its bit . The gravity stamp mill , so well-known in western gold mines , is essentially the same type of crusher . The ratio of foot- pounds necessary to crush the rock , to the total theoretical energy developed by the falling churn- drill tools , affords a good means of evaluating the efficiency of the tool . This does not include to tal over-all efficiency involving the mechanical equipment of the drill itself or its power unit .

Jan 1, 1947

By John A. Kost

Control of the dust produced by continuous mining machines in coal mines is conventionally attained by water sprays from fixed nozzles mounted on the frame of the machine behind the cutting head. In the tests conducted under this contract a so-called "wet-head" machine was used, where the spray nozzles were mounted on the rotating head itself, close to the coal-cutting bits. The tests were conducted at the Robena Mine of U.S. Steel Corporation, using Lee-Norse machines. Operating the wet-head machine and a conventional spray machine in turns in the same section, it was found that the wet-head produced approximately 25 percent less respirable dust and 60 percent less total airborne dust than the conventional spray machine. The wet-head also greatly improved the visibility of the cutting bits from the machine operator's position. Several difficulties had to be overcome before any meaningful tests could be conducted, including excessive pressure drops in the piping system and plugging of the nozzles from internal water contamination. The major obstacle, however, was the rotating water seals on the wet-head, which leaked excessively after only a few hours of operation. Only after several changes and plant and laboratory tests was a design found which permitted conducting the underground tests without appreciable water leakage.

Jan 1, 1976

By G. W. Murrie

A geologic study of the Mary Lee Group of coalbeds in the Black Warrior coal basin was undertaken to examine coal stratigraphy and determine regional trends and extent of the coalbeds. The area investigated encompasses 835 square miles in Jefferson, Walker, and Tuscaloosa Counties, Ala. More than 700 core logs were used to construct a structure map, coal, interval, and overburden isopachs, and cross sections. There is evidence that structure affected sedimentation. Coalbed isopachs indicate the Mary Lee Group was deposited in fluvial-deltaic and low-lying coastal plain environments. The Mary Lee coalbed is the only coalbed which is continuous throughout the area, commonly with two benches which have a combined thickness of 2 to 12 feet. The Mary Lee coalbed changes rank in the basin from high-through medium-to low-volatile coal. The methane gas potential of the Mary Lee Group coals is estimated to be greater than 1 trillion cubic feet. There is an excellent correlation between the orientation of surface cleats with those measured underground in the Mary Lee coalbed. The face cleats roughly parallel the axes of the area's folds and trend northeast-southwest.

Jan 1, 1976

By L. C. IlsLey, H. H. Clark

As part of its investigations of the causes of mine accidents and of the safest and most efficient methods of handling electricity underground, the Bureau of Mines undertook a study of the ignition of mine gases by the filaments of electric incandescent lamps. This bulletin describes the investigation in detail and gives a complete record of the results obtained.

Jan 1, 1913

By Seth T. Reese

REPORTS received from operating companies by the Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior, indicated marked progress in the reduction of injuries to employees in the coking industry in 1951 as compared with 1950. The fatality rate (0.14) per million man-hours of exposure declined 33 percent and was the second best performance since statistics on the industry were first collected in 1916. The nonfatal-injury rate (10.94), the best since 1940, declined 8 percent and was bettered only in 8 of the past 36 years. The nonfatal rate is based on all injuries resulting in loss of time for more than the remainder of the day on which the injury occurred. The exposure to hazard, as represented by the number of man-hours of work time during the year, was 7 percent higher than in 1950 and, except for the year 1943, was the highest since 1920. The fatality rate for men employed at beehive-coke ovens decreased 16 percent and the nonfatal-injury rate 23 percent, while the man-hours of work time or exposure increased slightly over 16 percent. The fatality and nonfatal-injury rates at byproduct ovens declined 33 and 2 ½ percent, respectively, while the number of man-hours worked increased 6 percent.

Jan 1, 1954