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By D. Harrington

"One of the underlying reasons for the establishment of the United States Bureau of Mines was the desire to promote greater safety in the mining and allied industries. Safety continues to be an important feature in the work of the bureau, and during the fiscal year 1929-30 the Bureau of Mines allotted $387,510 to the safety division out of a total appropriation of $2,249,670 (other than for helium).The safety division personnel consists of 22 engineers, 2 mine safety commissioners, 3 senior foreman miners, 18 foreman miners, 16 first-aid miners, 16 clerks, 10 cooks, and 3 laborers, a total of 90 persons. These safety workers are distributed through the 10 districts into which the United States has been divided for administration purposes. During the year 3 engineers, 1 senior foreman miner, 4 foreman miners, and 4 first-aid miners left the service. In general these men left the service to take up more lucrative positions.The 10 all-steel mine-rescue cars have headquarters as follows: Car 1, Reno, Nev.; Car 2, Raton, N. Mex.; Car 3, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Car 4, Terre Haute, Ind.; Car 5, Pineville, Ky.; Car 6, Pittsburg, Kans.; Car 7, Huntington, W. Va.; Car 8, Duluth, Minn.; Car 9, Butte, Mont.; Car 10, Des Moines, Iowa. There is also a mine-rescue car with headquarters at Juneau, Alaska. In addition, there have been established 11 mine rescue stations as follows: Birmingham, Ala.; Berkeley, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; Evansville, Ind.; Jellico, Tenn.; McAlester, Okla.; Norton, Va.; Vincennes, Ind.; Wilkes Barre, Pa.; Salt, Lake City, Utah; and Pittsburgh, Pa.Every mine-rescue car and station is fully supplied with equipment and devices for use in case of mine fire or explosion, and at each station is an up-to-date automobile truck. At time of amine disaster the bureau's forces are immediately placed at the disposal of the authorities, State or company, with a view to giving such assistance as may be desired or available.The activities of the safety division at ordinary times are directed largely to securing and disseminating data on safety in mining. Among the numerous studies made, or being made, concerning safety and health in mining are those in connection with the causes and methods of prevention of mine explosions, explosibility of dust and gases, explosives and blasting, haulage, electricity, falls of persons or material, ventilation, dusts, high temperatures, timbering, lighting, machinery, and in fact practically anything which results or may result in acci¬dents of any kind in or around mines."

Nov 1, 1930

Updraft sintering of lead concentrates was introduced at Port Pirie in 1955 and since that time a considerable amount of investigational work has been carried out in the laboratory and on the plant with the objective of improving both the understanding of the process and its practical application.From this work it is now possible to predict trends in design and operation, which should result in capital savings and increased efficiency of future updraught plants.INTRODUCTIONOver the last 70 years a remarkable advance has been made in the method of preparing lead concentrates for smelting in the Port Pide blast furnaces of The Broken Hill Associated Smelters Pty. Ltd. (RH.A.S.). Beginning in 1889 with heap roasting, the process progressed to Ropp roasters and Huntington-Heberlein pots in various combinations, then to multiple small Dwight Lloyd (D.L.) downdraught machines. In 1940 two large 10 ft by 50 ft D.L. downdraught machines were installed, and finally in 1955 updraught sintering was ,introduced with the installation of the present 10 ft by 99 ft sinter machine.At the time this last machine was built it was the first unit of its type and thus, of necessity, an experimental machine. During the eight years it has been operating a considerable amount of investigational work on sintering has been carried out both on the plant and in the laboratory.It is now felt that sufficient information is on hand to predict at least tentatively, some of the future developments in lead sintering, whereby both the quality of the sinter and the rate of production may be improved. This will result in a considerable reduction in smelting costs.

Jan 1, 1964

By Martina Cadorin

Activated nanoporous biocarbon (aNBC) was prepared using E. grandis wood as a precursor material. Oxidated activated nanoporous biocarbon (ox-aNBC) sample was obtained from the aNBC by oxidation with nitric acid. The samples were tested as Pt nanoparticles catalysts support for ethanol oxidation reaction and as electrode materials for supercapacitors. The porous structure, chemical properties, and the structural and morphological characteristic of the materials were correlated with their electrochemical behaviour. Biocarbon materials showed similar high specific surface area. The oxidation treatment increases the content of the oxygenated and nitrogenated surface functional groups but without appreciably change in the nanostructure characteristic. The aNBC supported Pt nanocatalyst has better electrocatalytic performance for EOR. Oxygenated functional groups have a marked effect on the supercapacitors electrode behaviour, increasing the total electrical capacitance by pseudocapacitive contribution, but with a negative effect on the cell electrical resistance and cell response time.

Oct 30, 2017

By J. W. Jamieson, J. Escartin, A. Steinführer

Evidence of hydrothermal activity on two Mid-Atlantic Ridge oceanic core complexes (OCCs), at 13º30’N (the Semyenov 1 through 5 fields) and 13º20’N (the Irinovskoe field) (Fig. 1) were studied using CTD casts, dredges, TV-grabs and SP surveys during previous research cruises to these sites (Cherkashev et al., 2013, McLeod et al., 2009). In late 2013, the Semyenov and Irinovskoe fields were revisited, this time with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) during the ODEMAR (Oceanic Detachments at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge) cruise on the French research vessel "Pourqoui Pas ?". Here we present the first visual surveys and direct sampling of these vent sites. High-resolution (~2 m) bathymetry of the 13º30’N and 13º20’N OCCs and their associated vent fields was collected during 4 and 5 AUV dives, respectively, using the GEOMAR AUV "ABYSS" (Fig. 1). These surveys were flown between 70 m and 100 m above the seafloor, typically at a constant height to reduce vehicle movement. The AUV was equipped with Eh, turbidity, and temperature sensors in order to detect active hydrothermal venting. Over twenty ROV dives with the ROV "VICTOR 6000" allowed for the visual exploration of the OCCs and collection of 59 hydrothermal rock samples from the vent fields. As a result of these exploration activities, the first robust estimates of the size of the deposits, and the geologic controls on sulfide accumulation at these sites can be determined.

Sep 1, 2014

By Florian Kongoli

Non-ferrous smelting slags .can contain magnesia, which substantially increases the liquidus temperature. One option to counter this increase is to flux with calcia. In this work, experimental liquidus measurements including new measurements on industrial slags have been compared with a FACT-based thermodynamic model, which predicts the liquidus surface of multi-component iron silicate smelting slags containing both magnesia and calcia. The predictions, which agree well with experimental results, are summarized in both isothermal and non-isothermal diagrams to give a quantitative description of the liquidus surface.

Jan 1, 1998

By James Ridenour

This report represents the first comprehensive accounting of lode mining sites in the Loon Creek mining district, Custer County, Idaho. Thirty-five mine and prospect locations have been added to the Bureau's Mineral Industry Location Subsystem (MILS) data base as a result of initial phases of a mineral appraisal of the River of No Return Wilderness; previously known locations were field checked and the updated information added to the data base. The district's major deposits are gold-copper-silver fissure-fillings hosted by biotite schist intruded by dikes ranging in composition from rhyolite to lamprophyre. These deposits contain a trace element suite similar to Tertiary pink granites and may be related to intrusion of the nearby Casto pluton. Continued firm gold prices could stimulate the search for precious metal occurrences in this and other mining districts in central Idaho.

Jan 1, 1983

Flat jack stress determinations in selected colliery roadways have revealed a range of measured stress from 330 lb/sq. in. tension to 3,750 lb/sq. in. compression. Photoelastic examination of loaded plastic and actual rock model mine openings has shown that the primary horizontal stress required to attain these measured stresses would be from one to three times the superincumbent vertical load.Examination of roof movement with a borehole extensometer and a series of anchors at various horizons to 30 feet in a vertical roof borehole showed that when a standing face was advanced the roof movement was practically confined to the lower two feet. The majority of this movement occurred during the 36 hours after mining at this face commenced.The use of a radioactive isotope and a scintillation counter in a pair of parallel boreholes is a sensitive and accurate method of roof bedding plane crack detection.INTRODUCTIONA knowledge of strata stresses is required to understand the deformation of an underground opening and, in particular, the roof behaviour. It is the aim of investigations currently being conducted by Australian Coal Association (Research) Ltd. to determine the stress existing around mine openings and the location and magnitude of roof movement.STRATA PRESSURE MEASUREMENTMost measurements of strata stress are performed at the surface of underground openings and the majority measure the change of strain resulting from stress relief. The accuracy of the measured value of stress depends upon knowledge of the rock modulus of elasticity. The flat jack method has the advantage that strain relief is restored by a measured stress applied directly by the jack. The rock modulus of elasticity can also be determined.

Jan 1, 1963

The Taupo Volcanic Zone inNew Zealand and the Philippine Mobile Belt in the Philippines are characterized by active subduction, active volcanism and high seismicity. The main factors affecting characteristics of geothermal systems in both countries are: tectonic setting, source magmas, maturity of the systems, and depth to the degassing magma body. Within New Zealand, geothermal systems are grouped into arc- and rift-type. Fluids in arc-type systems contain high amounts of volatiles (<20%), with high CO2/Cl, CO2/He, and N2/Ar ratios. Mantle-type volatiles predominate in rift-type systems. Philippine geothermal systems are largely arc-type, the topography is rugged, leading to the separation of water and vapour upflows, as opposed to the overlap found in New Zealand. The relatively shallow depths of degassing magma bodies in the Philippines results in steeper geochemical gradients, leading to higher proportions of arc-type magmatic water (>40%) and higher Cl contents (3000 - 10 000 mg/kg), Maximum temperatures are also higher, reaching up to >400¦C. Arc-type alteration assemblages in New Zealand and the Philippines are similar. Because Philippine geothermal systems are less mature, have higher temperatures and steeper geochemical gradients than New Zealand ones, advanced argillization is more widespread occurring down to depths of 2000 m. Mineral phases are more varied due to the active input of magmatic waters and the formation of vapor conditions at depth, forming P04-, B-, Li-, Ce-, F-, and Cl-bearing minerals at high temperatures. In the Philippines, high temperature magmatic-hydrothermal to contact metamorphic assemblages containing biotite, amphiboles and pyroxenes are relatively common, but rare in New Zealand.

Jan 1, 1995

By Lon Santis, Dale Ramsey

The use of aircraft to support blasting operations in mines, quarries and construction sites goes back to the early days of aviation. Invaluable at times, aircraft use has been limited by cost, the unpredictability of weather impacts and other factors. Recently several technologies have matured to open up a new way to acquire aerial data with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly called drones. Equally important, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has recently implemented an exemption process and rulemaking to implement the commercial use of UAS into the United States’ National Airspace. The skies are opening for many applications of UAS. The most notable may be photogrammetry, which is the science of making measurements from photographs, especially for determining the exact positions of surface points.

Jan 1, 2016

By Paul Swatkowski

A Note About Copyrighted Material ??Permission to Use? has been granted ?Teachthe7habits ?Think win/win (4thHabit) ?Don?t stop here ?i.e., buy the book

Jan 1, 2009

By W. A. Wood, H. M. Bendler

Cylindrical fatigue specimens of OFHC* copper were subjected to alternating torsion while under axial tension. The superimposed tension strongly influenced the fatigue life of the specimens as well as causing characteristic changes in the structure of the fissures that form and develop throughout the life of the specimen. A further effect of the superimposed tension is a continuous extension of the specimen throughout its life in a manner formally similar to creep at elevated temperatures. RECENTLY, studies of the structural changes leading to fracture of metals by fatigue have been made by a technique which reveals, in section, the lattice distortion arising from slip movements inside the metal and the disturbances built up by these slip movements at the metal surface.1'2 According to this approach, fatigue develops as follows: a) fine slip movements concentrate in bands, producing little strain-hardening and thus permitting abnormal totals of plastic strain before fracture and, therefore, abnormal amounts of lattice distortion along each slip band; b) both forward and backward slip movements occur in each band which, according to their distribution across the band, may build up surface disturbances that include sharp notches; c) these notches early in the life of a specimen penetrate the distorted slip zones and transform them into deep, fine fissures; d) the fissures on continued cycling locally saturate the metal and cause local collapse in the form of a microcrack. Thus, the significant consequence of fatigue or cyclic

Jan 1, 1962

The key aspects of process metallurgy that distinguish platinum group metal (PGM) concentrate smelting from that of other base metal sulphide concentrates are presented. These differences include considerably higher input chrome and magnesia contents that directly raise the slag liquidus temperature and have the potential to increase accumulations of refractory spinels. Most importantly, the higher processing temperature required for PGM smelting and the resulting very high matte superheat lead to considerably more onerous smelting conditions than those typical of other smelting operations. This has presented challenges to furnace design and integrity, especially when coupled with the progressive intensification of smelting, involving doubling, and then redoubling, of furnace power inputs over the past 20 years. These power increases have been enabled by increasingly more advanced furnace cooling and structural technologies. Key technologies include strong constant-force spring-loaded bindings acting in three dimensions to minimize infiltration of superheated matte into brick joints, and robust well-cooled tapholes for reliably tapping the superheated matte. The result has been substantially improved productivity, and reduced smelting capital cost outlay per unit of production. A significant challenge, which was not anticipated, presented itself in the form of insidious corrosion of the furnace lining, and especially high-intensity copper cooling elements. Investigation of corrosion in related industries eventually identified chloride-accelerated sulphidation', and this term has been retained as it generically describes the most pertinent aspects of the accelerated low-temperature wear of copper coolers observed in PGM smelting. In addition to discussing the corrosion mechanism, this paper describes a number of solutions that were developed jointly by Anglo American Platinum and Hatch to address the copper corrosion problem. First, new monitoring technologies allowed furnaces to be operated more safely for a longer period of time. Second, a system for replacing corroded coolers from outside the furnace during a fast 'hot' shutdown minimized the impact on furnace operating factor and hearth life. Finally, a corrosion-resistant graphite-protected cooler design significantly improved furnace campaign life, and heralds a more lasting solution to cooler corrosion in PGM furnaces.

Jan 1, 2013

By H. J. Uananisa, M. J. Papo, C. W. Siyasiya, W. E. Stumpf

"SynopsisThe need to reduce weight while maintaining good mechanical properties in materials used in the automotive industry has over the years seen an increased exploitation of various steels to meet this new demand. In line with this development, the ferritic stainless steel family has seen a wide application in this industry, with the AISI 436 type increasingly being used for automotive trims and mufflers for exhaust systems, as well as a significant part of this steel’s application being for the manufacture of wheel nuts and wheel nut caps in trucks, mainly through the deep drawing process. However, there have been reports of some poor surface roughening of this material during deep drawing, with tearing and/or cracking also reported in some instances. This has been suspected to possibly be associated with some local differences in localized mechanical properties between grains and grain clusters of the rolled and annealed material.In order to investigate the poor surface roughness exhibited by AISI 436 ferritic stainless steel (FSS) during deep-drawing, Lankford values (R-mean and ?r), grain size, and microtextures of various sheet samples from this steel were studied. The chemical composition range for the samples was 0.013–0.017% C, 17–17.4% Cr, 0.9–1% Mo, and 0.4–0.5% Nb. The steels were subjected to various hot and cold rolling processing routes i.e. involving industrial direct rolling (DR) or intermediate annealing rolling (IR), and the drawability and final surface qualities of the steels were compared. It was found that the DR route gave an average R-mean and ?r value of 1.9 and -1.4 respectively, while the IR route yielded an average Rmean and ?r value of 1.6 and 0.52 respectively. The high ?r value for the DR processing route had a substantial adverse effect on the drawability. IR samples exhibited a smoother surface finish on visual inspection, while clear flow lines were visible on the DR samples, despite the fact that DR is the preferred industrial processing route due to the reduced production costs it offers. This observation was also confirmed through SEM examinations. The difference in the surface quality was attributed to microtexture. However, the mechanism responsible for this difference still needs to be identified."

Jan 1, 2015

By Ignaz Lichtig

[IN CONNECTION with its work on the conversion of coal to liquid cud gaseous fuels,3 the Bureau of Mines has always striven to keep informed of developments in this and related fields so that unnecessary duplication of effort could be prevented and so that useful ideas, presented in scientific and technical literature, could be evaluated as quickly as possible. Thus the E has compiled expensive literature and patent abstracts on the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis4 and hydrogenation d e venation of coal at elevated h temperatures and pressures.5 6 This publication differs from the references just given in that it covers patent applications, which may or may not have been approved for issuance as a patent, and also includes later material. The patent literature is, of courses, a valuable source for new ideas. German patent, have been particularly useful in this field because both processes for the complete conversion of coal to fluid fuels originated in Germany and were thoroughly investigated there because of the shortage or of indigenous fluid fuels. Among the German literature relating to these processes are patent applications. In contrast to the United States, Germany has a system in which applications are published before the final patents are issued. This arrangement permits the public to view all the applications and not just those for which a patent was granted as is done in the U.S. system. When main of the invention are judged not patentable by the German Patent Office, such documents nevertheless may contain useful ideas for scientists and engineers.]

Jan 1, 1961

By A. Asadi

Subsidence phenomenon as an unwanted consequence of underground mining can cause problems for environment and surface structures in mine area. Surface subsidence prediction for inclined and steep seams has been given less attention than horizontal seams due to the difficulties involved in the extraction of such coal-seams. This paper introduces a new profile function method for prediction of surface subsidence due to inclined coal-seam mining. The results of calculation with the new function indicate that the predicted value has good agreement with the measured data. Keywords: subsidence; coalmining; caving mining methods; longwall mining; profile function.

Jan 1, 2005

By P. Schmieder

"The close vicinity of mining companies to other sites that are used for commercial and residential purposes or to areas under conservation as well as the fact that the people become more and more sensitive to emissions have led to a negative attitude towards mining operations in the neighborhood. It is above all the use of drilling and blasting techniques that give rise to objections, in the course of which demands for more environmentally-friendly production methods have been voiced. It is in this context that production methods without the use of explosives are considered as an option. After all, the use of such production methods is the only alternative for some quarry operators. The question is what are the true benefits of these techniques and what is the relation between a possible improvement of the environmental effects on the one hand and the technological potential as well as the costs on the other. It is intended to assess the mining techniques for solid rock in their entirety. This paper will therefore look at the aspects for assessing mining techniques in the context of their environmental impact and the costs."

Jan 1, 2005

By Dean Millar

Clean, green, cheap compressed air can be produced efficiently and renewably by modernization of a 19th century technology ?The hydraulic air compressor has no moving parts ?After commissioning, the Ragged Chutes HAC operated for 70 years, only being stopped twice for repairs to the intake heads ?Operates using hydropower from Montreal river ?Produced air for ~29 silver mines in Cobalt, 20 km distant

May 1, 2013

By Fookes R. A, Bunch K, Gravitis V. L, Watt J. S

The combustible volatile matter in coal mine roadway dusts (CVM) has been determined using x-ray backscatter techniques. The correlation between x-ray and chemical techniques is reasonably good for the 92 samples from collieries on the Bulli seam, and the maximum error expected at the maximum level of 11· 5 weight per cent CVM permitted in the N.S.W. Coal Mines Regulation Act, 1912, as amended, is about ± 2·5 weight per cent. This x-ray technique can be used only when the combustible volatile content of the coal matter (cvm) varies within a limited range, and a separate calibration is required for each coal seam.Portable equipment based on a radioisotope x-ray source ahd digital ratemeter makes possible simple and rapid analysis, and with adaptation to use in coal mines should lead to much more comprehensive testing- ofroadways and hence improved overall prevention of coal dust explosions.

Jan 1, 1977

The estimation of the spatial variation of the b-value of the Gutenberg- Richter relationship is important for both the general interpretation of the mechanism of rock mass response and seismic hazard assessment. The interpretation of b-value as a parameter of rock mass response is discussed in this paper. The methods applied to evaluate the spatial variation of b-value and the algorithm for obtaining the magnitude of completeness and b-value for subsets of data are presented with some verification analyses. The algorithms presented enable the automation of a spatial evaluation of b-value.

Jan 1, 2014

By D E. Gadd

Since October 1972, New Zealand Steel Mining Ltd has loaded around ten million tonnes of ironsand concentrate from single-point mooring buoys located off-shore at Taharoa on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. Before the first off-shore loading system was installed a considerable research effort was applied to proving the slurry loading technique. Subsequently the system has been expanded and a new buoy, pipelines and pumping system were installed in early 1978. Since then 110 000 DWT class ore carriers have been loaded at rates of around 2600 tonnes per hour through twin submarine pipelines. This paper reviews the operation of the ship loading system and attempts to answer the question: 'If the Taharoa operation were to be planned in 1980, would the same research spending be necessary or have published research results since, made such practical tests unnecessary?'

Jan 1, 1980