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By Jr. Frost

Helium used as a tracer gas in petroleum reservoirs continues to show great promise as a new tool for the oil and gas industry, according to tests conducted jointly by the Bureau of Nines and The Pure Oil Co. in-the Cabin Creek field, Boone and Kanawha Counties, W. Va. Helium, when used as a, tracer gas, is mixed with natural gas being injected into a reservoir for secondary recovery of oil, recycling, pressure-maintenance, or other purposes. Three separate experimental helium tracer-gas tests were run in the Cabin Creek, W. Va., field, wherein helium was added as a tracer to the natural gas that was being injected into the oil-bearing Berea sandstone. The results obtained in each test permitted determining the direction and rate of travel of the injected gas, calculating the volume of injected gas in the gas produced at the various wells, and determining the nature of the transition from natural gas to injected gas during a gas-injection program. Data were obtained on the effects obtained from waves of injected gab containing 1 percent and containing 5 percent helium and from a wave of essentially pure helium injected into the formation.

Jan 1, 1950

By J. B. Umhau

During 1928 the United States consumed 73,270 long tons of virgin or primary tin, which was approximately 7.5 per cent more than the 68,198 long tons con¬sumed in 1927 and equaled 41 per cent of the world's production in 1928 (approximately 178,000 long tons). Consumers' stocks amounted to 9,268 tons on January 1, 1928, and 8,587 long tons on December 31, 1928, a net reduction of 681 tons. In addition to the virgin tin accounted for above, 12,106 long tons of secondary metallic tin were used by manufacturers of tin products in 1928. These figures are the result of an inquiry addressed by the Bureau of Mines to manufacturers to determine the amount of metallic tin used by them; in reply, 1,307 establishments reported consumption in 1928. The distribution of the amount consumed by various uses, as shown in the allowing tabulation based on Bureau of Mines canvasses for 1927 and 1928 in comparison with consumption by uses reported by the War Industries Board for 1917, emphasizes the fact that new uses for tin have been developed in only minor or insignificant amounts. Furthermore, although the studies for recent years show that some older uses have been discontinued, the amounts involved were all small and insignificant. Variation in consumption from year to year parallels the fluctuations in demand for the already well-established tin products. For example, the manufacture of bearing metals and solders for motor cars and trucks required 19,000 tons in 1928 compared to 16,000 tons in 1927; the canning industry continues to require the greater portion of the tin plate and also much solder. Growth in the electrical and the more recently developed industries (aeroplane, refrigerators, radio, etc.), while affecting total consumption of bearing metals, solders, etc., has made little change in the proportions required for these basic methods of using tin.

Jan 1, 1929

By Wm. O. Vanderburg

This report on the mining and milling of tungsten ores is the second part of a general study of the domestic tungsten industry. The first part, comprising general information on tungsten, has been printed as Bureau of Mines Information Circular 6821. The purpose of these papers is to increase efficiency in the mining, preparation, and utilization of the tungsten resources of the United States. The tungsten industry forms so small a part of the vast mining and metallurgical operations of the illation that private metallurgists have not had enough inducement to give special attention to the recovery of tungsten minerals from the ores, and many of the small companies are financially unable to undertake research work. A study of the milling of tungsten ores reveals that further improvement is possible, especially in the treatment of slimes. Recent experimental work by the Bureau shows that the flotation process is applicable to certain tungsten ores. The future of the tungsten industry it the United States depends to a great extent on utilization of the low-grade deposits of the contact-metamorphic type.

Jan 1, 1935

By Scott W. Hazen

This report describes exploration for lead-zinc ores at the Madonna mine between 1945 and 1953 by the Utze Lode Co., the Bureau of Mines, and the company with Government financial aid under the Defense Production Act of 1950. The Madonna mine yielded silver, lead, and zinc with a net smelter value of over $5,000.000. from 1882 to 1924. The mine was inactive from 1924 to 1942 when the Utze Lode Co. acquired the property. Possibilities for finding ore in the mine, especially at depth, were considered favorable. The Utze Lode Co. began rehabilitating the Madonna mine in 1945. An exploration program, which consisted of winze sinking and drifting, failed to produce commercial are.

Jan 1, 1956

By G. R. FITT, S. R. B. Cooke, C. W. Davis, V. H. Gottschalk, C. G. Maier, C. E. Wood, R. S. Dean, S. B. THOMAS, John Gross, E. P. Barrett, T. L. Joseph

Lack of funds has prevented publication of much of the metallurgical work of the Bureau of Mines during the past 2 years . The present progress report covers studies in the direct production of iron and steel . The experimental work was carried out in cooperation with the universities of California , Minnesota , and Missouri . Complete reports will be published when funds are available .

May 1, 1934

By Barbee J. Scheibner

This Bureau of Mines report describes the geology and physical properties of core samples at the Sunnyside coal mine No. 1, Sunnyside, Utah, and was written in conjunction with the Single-Entry Program conducted at the mine. The objective of this program was to test the hypothesis that the single-entry system in the Sunnyside mine, supported in the center by open cribs and divided by a fire-resistant partition, is equivalent to or better than a two-entry sys-tem. Drill cores, taken underground at 15 sites in the single-entry study area, facilitated the construction of geologic cross sections of the entries. Physical property data obtained from the drill cores was used in a three-dimensional finite element analysis program to evaluate the stability of the openings, the support requirements, and the de formation characteristics of the roof and floor material. Data on 10 physical property parameters for 5 rock types plus coal are also tabulated and discussed.

Jan 1, 1979

By Thomas G. Murdock

ALTHOUGH the contribution of Algeria, including the Sahara, to the local economy and to world mineral supply was small for many years, the spectacular development of an important petroleum and natural-gas industry has changed the position of the country. In 1963 there were decreases in output of most mineral commodities, however oil and gas production forged ahead and established new records. The impact of adverse market conditions and especially the competition from lower cost producing areas was felt by both the metals and nonmetals industries. This and the general economic conditions related to the recovery of the country following the years of strife attending its emergence as an independent state combined to hold back production and development commensurate with resources. The principal events of the year were in the petroleum sector and included the first commercial production from several new fields, some new discoveries, the virtual completion of the first petroleum refinery in the country, and installation of additional pipelines. Progress was made toward the further utilization of the vast resources of natural gas and the provision of additional transportation and refining facilities. In the mining domain the government took over two iron-mining operations, and progress was made towards expanding production of phosphate rock and determining methods of upgrading the Tindouf Iron ores. Completion of the iron and steel plant near Bone was further delayed. The only coal mine reportedly closed down in late 1963.

Jan 1, 1964

By Joseph M. Singer

Having established that sodium chloride reduces the incendivity of explosives, the Bureau of Mines studied the effect of sodium nitrate in reducing ignition hazards. Gallery experiments showed that sodium nitrate reduced the incendivity of certain explosives to 8 percent natural gas in air but increased their incendivity to coal dust predispersed in air. Laboratory experiments using hot jets from explosions of stoichiometric mixtures of methane-oxygen-nitrogen showed that both sodium chloride and sodium nitrate reduced the incendivity to methane, to mixtures of coal dust and methane) and to coal dust. The difference between the gallery and laboratory results with respect to coal dust is attributed to temperature-time effects.

Jan 1, 1967

By B. W. Gandrud

[The Bureau of Mines is conducting an extensive investigation of coal preparation in the Alabama coal fields in cooperation with the University of Alabama coal-mine operators. In this investigation the drainage characteristics of typical coals from the Warrior and Cahaba fields were studied]

Jan 1, 1941

By E. E. Creitz

Application of the usual chemical methods to the determination of beryllium in the mineral-dressing products of a spodumene pegmatite was found to be unsatisfactory as to speed, accuracy, sensitivity, and range of analysis. A spectrographic method is described for the determination of beryllium. Samples are ground, mixed with borax, high-purity, flake graphite, and an internal standard; then they are fused, reground, pelletized, and excited with a high-voltage-spark discharge. Investigation of several spectrographic techniques to overcome matrix effects are described. The method developed gives results for beryllium in the concentration range from 0.002 to 5.0 percent; the average probable error of duplicate determinations was below 3.0 percent of the quantity present. INTRODUCTION The main source of beryllium in pegmatite is the mineral, beryl. Many of the conventional methods for the determination of beryllium in beryl are not suitable for control purposes because of lack of speed and accuracy, especially in the range below a few tenths percent. Beryl resists the usual chemical attack and can be lost in a hurried chemical analysis.

Jan 1, 1958

By E. V. Cilento, K. A. DiGregorio, R. C. Lantz

"DIGREGORIO, K. A., E. V. CILENTO, AND R. C. LANTZ. A kinetic model of superoxide production from single pulmonary alueolar macrophages. Am. J. Physiol. 256 (Cell Physiol. 25): C405-C412, 1989.-A kinetic model was developed to describe the production of superoxide (02) by single pulmonary alveolar macrophages (PAM). Model predictions were compared with experimental results obtained from single rat PAM. The 02 was quantified by measuring the reduction of nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) to a diformazan precipitate (NBTH,) from video-recorded images of individual cells. The kinetic model considered three reactions: 1 ) the production of extracellular 02 from the reduction of oxygen by NADPH oxidase using intracellular NADPH as the substrate, 2) the subsequent dismutation of 02 to form H,O,, and 3) the reaction of 02 and NBT to form diformazan. NBT specificity for 02 was analyzed by comparing results in the presence and absence of superoxide dismutase (SOD) that catalyzes the dismutation of 02 to H,O,. Measured PAM heterogeneity was accounted for by varying the concentration of intracellular NADPH, its rate of depletion, and the concentration of intracellular NADPH oxidase in the kinetic model. Model predictions compared favorably with experimental results except when SOD was present. This discrepancy may be due to diffusional limitations because NBT is a relatively small molecule (818 mo! wt) compared with SOD (34,000 mol wt). In addition, the cell surface is both ruffled and negatively charged, which may introduce steric hindrances and/ or electrostatic effects, since SOD is also negatively charged, whereas NBT is positively charged.PULMONARY ALVEOLAR MACROPHAGES (PAM) protect the lungs by phagocytizing foreign debris and bacteria. This process is accompanied by the production of superoxide anion (02) at the surface of the plasma membrane (3, 31). Superoxide readily dismutates to form H20 2 and subsequently, other oxygen metabolites which have been shown to be both antibacterial and cytotoxic (21, 25, 35).Superoxide is produced from the reduction of extracellular O, at the surface of the cell membrane by NADPH oxidase by the following reaction (3, 4)"

Jan 1, 1989

By D. A. Elkins

This report is the second of a series of three that will evaluate, in order, the metallothermic, carbothermic, and electrolytic methods of magnesium production. The historical development of the carbothermic process is outlined. Production costs varying from 38.9 to 21.8 cents per pound of magnesium are estimated for different versions of the process. Additional suggested process modifications are listed. The technical and economic potential of the different versions are compared. Areas deemed most promising for future research on the process are delineated.

Jan 1, 1967

By Thys B. Johnson

Operations Research techniques for determining optimal shipping schedules and production and product allocation are discussed. A hypothetical mining operation model is formulated by the Bureau of Mines, and optimal production and product allocation are determined. The technique of sensitivity analysis is discussed and is used to illustrate the effect of the variability in a mining operation on the optimal production and product market plan.

Jan 1, 1969

By Xavier B. Starnes

"SUMMARYThe J. D. Price property is in Crittenden County, Ky., about 5-1/2 miles west of Marion. The Levias-Crittenden Springs fault system traverses the property. Mines on 3 miles of the same fault system immediately northeast have produced about 250,000 tons of fluorspar ore. The Keystone property, adjacent on the northeast, has produced about 150,000 tons of ore. 3/About 1934, lessees, sank a shaft upon the Price property to a depth of 111.5 feet and crosscut from the bottom of the shaft to the principal fault. No ore was found. Later, in 1942-43, they explored the same fault by core-drilling, but this project also was unsuccessful in finding ore.The author visited the property in September 1944, and subsequently the Bureau further explored the property by core-drilling three holes. No ore was found.ACKNOWLEGMENTSIn its program of exploration of mineral deposits, the Bureau of Mines has as its primary objective more effective utilization of our mineral resources to the end that they make the greatest possible contribution to national security and economy. It is the policy of the Bureau to publish the facts developed by each exploratory project as soon as practicable after its conclusion. This ex¬ploratory project was under the general supervision of E. D. Gardner, regional engineer of the Central Region, and 0. M. Bishop, district engineer, Bureau of Mines. The mining branch is under the direction of L. B. Moon. The work on the project was under the direct supervision of Xavier B. Starnes, mining engineer."

Jun 1, 1947

By F. L. Wideman

This report describes a computer program that is used for the calculation of the coordinates and elevations of subsidence survey pins located by intersection. This program was developed for the Federal Bureau of Mines by the Numerical Analysis Laboratory, University of Arizona. These calculations, although relatively simple, are both tedious and time-consuming when computed with a desk calculator and trigonometric tables. In this survey, a large number of pins were surveyed repeatedly, and it was evident that both time and money could be saved by using a digital computer.

Jan 1, 1962

By C. P. Bowie

For years many oil producers have believed that often low-pressure oil- and gas-bearing strata have been over coked in fields where the rotary system of drilling has been used. Collom3/ gave as a reason for this con¬dition that because the mud fluid was thick, the oil or gas stratum was plastered and sealed as the tools passed through it and no oil showed at the surface. Although this observation was made 15 years ago, it may often still be true notwithstanding modern developments in coring and electrical logging. Operators have believed, also, that mud fluid does not solidify behind the casing. Lewis and McMurray4/ stated: "All the evidence obtainable from practical experience points to the fact that the mud fluid properly mixed and employed does not solidify behind the casing, even in deer wells and after long periods."

Jan 1, 1937

By Joan Weinberg

Real gross national product (GNP) grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.2% in the third quarter, down from a revised 3.0% in the second quarter, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Commerce (table 1). The slowdown in the rate of growth was attributed to the summer drought, a larger trade deficit, and a decline in Federal spending for defense. Exports slowed from the second quarter, as the dollar, compared with other industrial country currencies, edged up. Imports of both consumer goods and capital goods rose sharply, with consumers buying more foreign cars, computers, and electrical machinery. Although net exports of goods and services deteriorated slightly from the second quarter, the U.S. trade position continues to be much improved from 1987 and first quarter, 1988. Business spending for new plant and equipment rose at a 4.6% pace, well below that recorded earlier in the year. The 3.5% increase in consumer expenditure was accounted for mainly by nondurable goods and services; expenditure for durable goods--those products lasting more than 3 years--rose only 0.4%. Inflation, as measured by the fixed-weighted GNP price index, rose at an annual rate of 4.9% in the third quarter. Prices rose slightly less than they had in the second quarter, when inflation reached a 6-year high. In September, 1988, the President signed a U.S.-Canada free trade agreement (FTA) which will eliminate all tariffs and most nontariff barriers between the two countries by 1999, thereby creating the world's largest open market. In 1987, U.S.-Canadian bilateral trade totaled $161 billion. The expansion of trade is expected to generate 5% higher growth for Canada and up to 1 % higher growth for the United States by the end of the century. The higher growth for the United States translates into an estimated 750,000 jobs, and $2.4 billion in exports. Canadian parliamentary approval of the agreement is still required before the treaty can take effect. The debate in Parliament is continuing, and the issue is not expected to be resolved until after the November 21 election.

Jan 1, 1988

By Edward D. Thimons

This Bureau of Mines report presents expected levels of air pollutants in the face areas of oil shale mines, based upon data collected by the authors and previous investigators. Ventilation requirements to maintain these pollutant levels below their threshold limit values and Federal and local mine air quality standards are discussed. Two practical face ventilation systems are discussed in terms of actual in-mine test experience.

Jan 1, 1986

By Loren R. Anderson

This volume documents the use of the probabilistic slope stability program PROBISH. The probabilistic slope stability program is an interactive program and is essentially self-tutorial. It prompts the user for the required input data as it is needed, and allows the user to correct mistyped data before analysis is initiated. The program computes safety factor probable Width of failing and probability of failure for a given circular failure surface. Four example problems are included to illustrate its use.

Jan 1, 1982

By Dennis R. Kasper

This study evaluates selective environmental impacts of two distinct in situ mining techniques. In situ leaching of uranium, porphyry copper and native copper and in situ borehole (slurry) mining of uranium, sandstone, and pebble phosphate ores are the techniques and minerals investigated. The potential impacts onsite in the desert southwest (porphyry copper), Michigan (native copper), Texas and Wyoming (uranium), and Florida and North Carolina (phosphate) are addressed and discussed. The study emphasizes those impacts which are unique to in situ solution leaching and borehole slurry mining. Impacts which are characteristic of all construction projects in the general geographical areas investigated, such as socioeconomic effects on surrounding communities and site-specific impacts, such as rare and endangered species, are beyond the scope of this study. For each of the in situ processes and associated ores investigated, the physical and chemical characteristics of the systems are described, the toxicity of the leaching solutions are presented, and the potential impacts on the environment are developed.

Jan 1, 1979