Search Documents

By John D. Sullivan

In leaching copper ores knowledge of the rate of dissolution of the copper minerals and of the impurities is desirable. With knowledge of these two factors and data as to what minerals are present in the ore the metallurgist has an excellent start on planning a leach¬ing cycle to fit that ore. The rate of dissolution is rather difficult to predict, and the time required to leach a given ore may differ markedly from that required by another ore. The whole study as related to mixed oxidized and sulphide ores is one of relative rates of dissolution of the different copper minerals and the impurities in sulphuric acid and in ferric sulphate. The aim of leaching is to choose a cycle and strength of solvents to ex¬tract a maximum amount of copper and a minimum of impurities. The consumption of reagents per unit of copper dissolved is a function of the strength of the reagents used and the relative rates of attack on copper minerals and impurities. An opportunity may exist of ob¬taining the kind of electrolyte wanted for electrolytic precipitation and yet of saving on the consumption of reagents by modifying the strength of ferric sulphate and of sulphuric acid during the cycle to fit the time needed for dissolving the sulphide and oxidized minerals present. Former papers have considered the rate of dissolution of azurite, malachite, tenorite, chrysocolla, cuprite, chalcocite, boruite, and covellite in common leaching solvents. A paper soon to be written will consider some of the less important copper minerals. The present paper considers the rate of dissolution of copper from ores of the Southwest in sulphuric acid of varying strength and the ratio of sulphuric acid consumed to copper dis¬solved. In this study two ores containing the copper principally in an oxidized condition were used. A study of other ores, especially those containing high percentages of sulphide copper minerals, would be desirable, but since consumption of acid has paramount interest,

Jan 1, 1931

The condition of the domestic mining industry is obviously affected by the cycles in general business conditions. This study, the results of which are presented in a series of 78 charts, attempts to examine the interrelationships between the general business indicators and the major statistical measures for the base-metals industries during the cycles in the United States economy following World War II. For these industries the cyclical problem is perhaps less acute than the secular-trend problem. However, short-run fluctuations in production and employment do have very important impacts upon the welfare of the regions which derive a significant portion of their income from base-metals mining and processing industries. Any information concerning the normal patterns of development as the industries enter into a cyclical recession will permit better forecasts and perhaps help promote measures to alleviate the distress that occurs. Also, a systematic study of the comparative movements among the statistical measures during a series of cycles can bring to the fore the economic causation involved, and perhaps, after intensive study, can lead to a better method of short-range forecasting for these industries. This study has not fully achieved these aims. However, observations which significantly aid the interpretation of the current monthly statistics on these commodities are made, and some very general conclusions are drawn. The charts are presented so the interested people can examine them and draw additional conclusions. The charts refer specifically to cyclical analysis. The technique of indexing each cycle to its turning point effectively subordinates the longer term trend movements of the data. Thus, certain general conclusions flowing from this study and from the continuing economic research of the Office of Chief Economist will aid the reader by clarifying the frame of reference within which the charts should be examined.

Jan 1, 1961

PRODUCTION of cesium, cesium salts, and rubidium salts in the United States declined somewhat from 1961 levels; rubidium production was virtually unchanged. Imports of pollucite declined because consumption was supplied partially out of inventory. Domestic Production.-About 50 tons of pollucite was reported mined at the Tin Mountain mine in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich., MSA Research Corp., Callery, Pa., and Penn Rare Metals, Inc., Revere, Pa., produced a total of 159 pounds of cesium. Rubidium production remained essentially the same as in 1961. Shipments of the two metals by these companies and by American Potash & Chemical Corp., Trona, Calif., totaled 279 pounds. Production of cesium and rubidium salts by American Potash & Chemical Corp., Penn Rare Metals, Inc., and Rocky Mountain Research, Inc., Denver, Colo., declined substantially during 1962.

Jan 1, 1963

By A. W. Fahrenwald

[In studying coarse sand flotation3/ the question of the relation between fineness of grinding and mill capacity logically arose. Everyone familiar with present fine-grinding practice knows that the capacity of a ball mill or similar mill is determined, among other things, by the fineness of the finished product. Undoubtedly a great many mining companies must have a good deal of data directly bearing on this point, yet no quantitative relationship between ball-will capacity and fineness of finished product has been established. The experimental study presented here is an effort to establish this relationship in a semiquantitative way. The subject is a tremendously large one and grows in complexity as the study becomes more searching. In this work the power consumed by the mill in the various experiments was not determined end neither vas the steel consumption measured; mill capacity only was considered.]

Jan 1, 1930

By A. W. Fahrenwald

Many factors enter into the efficient operation of the reciprocating type of gravity concentrator. Earlier investigators who studied these factor invariably used natural (crushed ore) products for their experiments, but in the present study synthetic products were used. The variables considered were (1) specific gravity of the sand grains, (2) size of sand drains, and (3) shape of sand grains comprising the table feeds. It is recognized, also, that the percentage relationship of the different kinds of grains is a factor affecting results. This factor is variable in one group of experiments but is thereafter kept constant.

Jan 1, 1929

California's coal resources are estimated to be 100 million tons, of which 50 percent is lignite, 40 percent subbituminous, and 10 percent bituminous. The occurrence of coal in California is rather limited and is restricted generally to the foothill regions of the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Significant quantities of coal have been mined in five areas: Ione in Amador County, Alberhill in Riverside County, Stone Canyon in Monterey County, CorralHollow in Alarneda County, and Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County. Most of the coal was rnined in the early 1900s and was used locally for fuel. Current mining operations are located in Amador County near the city of Ione. The two producing mines supply fuel to a mine-mouth co-generation power plant. The fuel coal is processed prior to burning to extract montan wax. Because California does not have primacy, coal mining in the state is regulated by the Office of Surface Mining's Albuquerque, New Mexico, Field Office.

Jan 1, 1992

By Howard F. Carl

"INTRODUCTION Talc is a hydrous magnesium silicate mineral found throughout the world in deposits of economic importance. This mineral occurs in different physical forms and varying degrees of purity, both of which affect its ultimate commercial usage. Talc is used in finely ground condition by the ceramic, paint, paper, rubber, cosmetic, and other industries. Most domestic talc production is of this type. Talc also occurs, although much less frequently, in massive, fine-grained, fairly homogeneous bodies; the impure varieties are the familiar soapstones, and the purer form is frequently called ""steatite."" Because of certain properties, the purest grades of this massive variety have a monetary value about 20 times that of the ground talc.One desirable property of this massive talc is its amenability to accurate cutttng, machining, and working in many ways, similar to a hard wood or soft metal, and then firing without warping or appreciable shrinkage into a hard, refractory ceramic body. Consequently, shapes that cannot be formed conveniently by molding and pressing can be produced readily with ordinary machine tools. When talc is fired to about 1,100° C., it is converted to a ceramic body with certain very desirable physical properties. This fired material has a hardness and toughness frequently superior to steel. It is a refractory and an exceptionally good electrical insulator. When formed from a high-grade talc essentially free from iron, it has unusually low dielectric losees, even at very high frequencies."

Feb 1, 1945

By H. Kenworthy

"INTRODUCTION ..Although the occurrence of iron ore in Missouri was recognized by Marquette as early as 1673, the first known mining and smelting operation was conducted in 1815. This operation was near Arcadia, Iron County, the first of its kind west of the Mississippi-Ohio River system. Several small furnaces of short life were erected in Missouri in the ensuing 30 years. However, until the extensive deposits of Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob were opened between 1843 and 1850, the state remained a minor producer of iron. It was this district which was chiefly responsible for the prominent position Missouri held in the iron industry until the late 1880's. At this time the easily minable high-grade ores became exhausted and the discovery of the immense Lake Superior deposits depressed the raw-ore price to such an extent that any mines ceased to operate. 3/Small yearly production of iron ores continued in Missouri to the present. Owing to war demands for hard ore suitable for open-hearth steel, the M. A. Hanna Co., through its subsidiary, the Ozark Ore Co., reopened the Iron Mountain, deposits and installed new equipment in an old concentrator to handle the low-grade ores left from previous operations. At present, ore production is from open pits, but underground mining is contemplated in the future. About 2,000 tons a day of iron ore is treated by gravity concentration of material from the open pits in the immediate vicinity. The concentrate is shipped to the Birmingham, Ala., district and to Granite City, Ill., for smelting. The coarse tailing is sold for ballast and concrete aggregate. The iron requirements of the concentrate stipulated by the purchaser are not difficult to meet, but the phosphorus is frequently higher than desired. For 1946 the concentrates averaged 54.18 percent iron and 0.235 percent phosphorus with low sulfur. The Ozark Ore Co. concentrate, however, sometimes contains as much as 0.40 percent phosphorus. The phosphorus in ores from those portions of the deposits wherein the phosphorus occurs with siliceous gangue is readily rejected in the milling, but in much of the ore the phosphorus is associated with the iron and concentrated with the iron minerals. Selective mining is impossible owing to the spotty occurrence of the phosphorus mineral. Often within 5 feet the ore will change from low phosphorus to high phosphorus, and it would be expedient to find a method of rejecting enough phosphorus at the mill from the latter type of ore to meet the phosphorus specification."

Feb 1, 1948

By C. W., Davie

"DEFINITIONDiatomaceous earth consists almost entirely of the silicious remains of minute flowerless aquatic plants known as diatoms. The name diatomaceous earth, therefore, is to be preferred to others such as trade names, inappropriate terms, or names correctly applied to some other product. The following names should, therefore, not be used for diatomaceous earth,-- kieselguhr, infusorial earth, diatomite, celite, moler, bergnehl, English rottenstone, tripoli, tripolite, fossil earth, desmid earth, white peat, tellurine, randanite, ceyssatite, or any trade name.FORMATIONDiatoms live in practically all kinds of water, fresh or salt, hot or cold, still or running and under different conditions of depth and pressure. These minute plants assimilate inorganic salts from their environment and produce skeletons of silica much as mollusks secrete lime and form their Shalls. When the diatoms die they settle to the bottom together with anything else which may be present, such as sand, clay or volcanic ash. The organic matter gradually disappears leaving the silicious skeletons of the diatoms which, with impurities, make up the deposits of diatomaceous earth. These deposits which are still being foamed at the present time and which were produced throughout very different epochs, were more prolifically formed in the Tertiary, so that the thickest beds so far discovered are of that Age."

Nov 1, 1925

By Elmer W. Pehrson

The recent establishment of an official price of 64.64 cents per ounce for silver by the President's order of December 21, 1933, has provoked discussion as to the effects of this move on the various metal-mining industries. To assist those of the mineral industry who are interested in this problem, the Bureau of Mines presents the following analysis of basic statistical data concerning; the relation of the silver price to the value of copper ores mined in the United States. The term "copper ore" as used herein includes all ores in which copper is the most abundant base metal paid for. In 1928, this class of ore contributed 98 percent of the total copper output of the United States.

Jan 1, 1934

This Bureau of Mines report reviews the information presented at the Sixth Mineral Waste Utilization Symposium cosponsored by the Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, and the IIT Research Institute. Environmental scientists and engineers from nine countries participated in the symposium, which was held May 2-3, 1978, at the Chicago campus of IIT Research Institute. The 56 papers presented on the reclamation and recycling of mining and mineral wastes, municipal solid waste, industrial wastes, and scrap metal are summarized herein.

Jan 1, 1980

By H. A. Tucker

This Bureau of Mines investigation was conducted to determine the appropriate quantities of rare-earth methals (REM) in the form of silicides to add to an alloy steel for the purpose of increasing toughness and ductility. The work was conducted in a vacuum induction furnace with the rare-earth additions required to deoxidize and desulfurize a simulated basic oxygen furnace (BOF) vacuum-degassed steel initially containing 0.013 to 0.016 percent sulfur. The product proved to be as good or better than the best basic electric furnace steel of the same composition made by the steel industry. Twenty-three experimental heats of 5 Ni-Cr-Mo-V steel were made, cast into 50-1b ingots, and hot-worked in a press and a rolling mill to ½ inch plates which were then heat-treated to 130/150 ksi4 yield strength. Impact and tension tests showed that the addition of 0.025 to 0.100 percent, or ½ to 2 lb per ton, respectively, of rare-earth metals when compounded with silicon were appropriate for increasing toughness and ductility. These quantities resulted in retained cerium contents between 0.014 to 0.025 percent, and increased the Charpy V-notch energy absorption and the percent reduction of area significantly as compared with base heats at the same sulfur content levels. All the test heats, including those with additions of REH of as much as 4 lb/ton, had greater Charpy V-notch energy absorption values than the base composition could have developed at the starting sulfur range of 0.013-0.016 wt pct.

Jan 1, 1968

By E. M. Frost

"A new apparatus has been devised for quickly and precisely analyzing natural gas for its helium content. The following outstanding advantages make it far superior to any equipment now available for the purpose.3/4/5/6/1. It enables more rapid determinations to be made.2. It has far greater sensitivity than previous apparatus. 3. It is portable.Fifty or more samples may be analyzed in an 8-hour day with the new apparatus and procedure. A maximum of about 10 samples per day could be analyzed with previous apparatus. In the apparatus described, the volume of pure helium obtained from a sample is determined by measuring the pressures created by that pure helium when it is expanded into a constant calibrated volume. In older methods the pure helium separated from a sample is pumped into a burette and measured at atmospheric pressure. The new apparatus and Procedure used with it reduce the average time for an analysis from about 40 minutes to less than 10 minutes,Samples containing a few thousandths of a percent helium may be analyzed as readily as samples containing 1 percent or more, This was not possible with former apparatus. Duplicate samples containing a few thousandths of a percent helium have been analyzed, results checking to one ten-thousandth of a percent. Attempts to measure a corresponding volume of helium in a burette at atmospheric pressure become futile. The ability to determine very small quantities of helium has become of great importance recently in gas- and oil-field engineering studies such Os the utilization of helium as a tracer gas in following the movement of gases through underground structures.A complete apparatus was recently carried more than a thousand miles in a passenger automobile. It arrived without breakage, was .set up and ready to make an analysis in a few hours. .Former apparatus was not portable. The portability of the present apparatus permits taking the apparatus to the field for more efficient prosecution of field engineering problems. The only services required in the field are electricity, tap water, and a source of liquid air or liquid nitrogen.The principle involved is based upon the fact that large volumes of all the constituents usually found in natural gas, except helium, are adsorbed quantitatively on cocoanut charcoal that has been cooled to the temperatures of liquid air. A volume of sample is measured and transferred to a tube of cocoanut charcoal maintained at the temperature of liquid air. After adsorption of all the constituents other than helium, the charcoal tube is connected to a sensitive pressure-measuring device, and the Percentage helium originally in the sample is calculated from two pressure readings and the volume of the original sample."

Jun 1, 1946

By J. P. McCullough

In 1943, the Federal Bureau of Mines began a program of thermodynamic investigations of petroleum constituents and related compounds. These systematic, long-range studies, which were conducted in the thermodynamics laboratory of the Bartlesville Petroleum Research Center and are still continuing, have resulted in a substantial quantity of data valuable to the petroleum industry and science in general. As separate phases of these studies were completed, the findings were promptly reported in the scientific press. During the past 16 years, 89 journal articles, giving the results obtained for individual compounds and small groups of related compounds, were published, mainly in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and the Journal of Physical Chemistry. In addition, members of the Bureau staff have contributed six chapters to specialized reference books. This circular, prepared in response to many requests, lists these 95 published papers, giving an abstract of the contents of each, as well as titles, authors, and literature citations. The journal articles are listed in the order of their preparation, which closely approximates the chronological order of their publication; hence, the item number to the left of each citation corresponds to the assigned contribution number. For the convenience of the reader, the abstract section is followed by a condensed bibliography, arranged alphabetically by senior author and keyed to the abstracts by appropriate contribution numbers in parentheses after the entry.

Jan 1, 1961

By Verne E. Hooker

This Bureau of Mines report summarizes the results of modifications in the borehole deformation gage design and subsequent changes in the overcoring techniques. Modifications in the borehole deformation gage have greatly improved the creep characteristics and enhanced the versatility of the gage. In situ field tests in competent rock near St. Cloud, Minn., provided sufficient data to compare the reliability between gages and new techniques in obtaining good engineering estimates of stresses. Near-surface horizontal stresses at the test sites are compressive and biaxial in nature.

Jan 1, 1974

By Wilbur Duvall

For the past few years the Applied Physics Branch has been investigating, experimentally, the generation and propagation of strain waves in rock. The strain waves are produced by the detonation of a high-velocity explosive placed in a small cavity in the rock. Strain gages mounted in the solid rock surrounding the cavity record the strain pulses propagated away from the source. Numerous strain-wave pulses have been recorded in different rock types for charges of various sizes and at various distances from the charge. Analysis of these records has shown, among other things, that there is associated with the strain wave a characteristic pulse width. This pulse width is dependent on the rock type and the distance from the shot point to the gage, but is apparently independent of the charge size or cavity size. Recent published literature on the generation and propagation of seismic waves indicates that the characteristic frequency of an elastic wave generated by an explosion should be a function of the rock type and the size of the cavity created by the explosion. Also, internal friction in the rock would produce absorption of high-frequency components, which would cause continual change in the shape of the pulse propagated. As the experimental data did not verify the expected change in pulse shape with cavity size, a theoretical investigation of the vibrations associated with a spherical cavity in an elastic medium was undertaken.

Jan 1, 1950

By Martin Berman

Tables of 28 positions for all the transitions for nine common analyzing crystals for first, second, and third order reflections were compiled by the Bureau of Mines to facilitate elemental X-ray fluorescence analysis on multi-element systems. The tables are based on a compatible set of wavelengths for 2,346 observed X-ray transitions of the elements lithium to americium. The results are tabulated in order of increasing wavelength as well as by increasing wavelength for each element.

Jan 1, 1969

By H. Reginald Hardy

This report is Volume III of a three volume final report dealing in general with the microseismic monitoring of a longwall coal mine. The research presented in Volume III was undertaken as part of the overall microseismic project in an effort to relate, if possible, observed micro seismic activity with surface subsidence. A discussion in regard to the correlation of these factors is presented in Volume I of the final report. Field measurements of subsidence carried out at a Central Pennsylvania Coal Mine are described. Comparative analysis of actual field results with data obtained using empirical and finite element techniques Has undertaken. Comparison of field results with published National Coal Board data revealed marked differences. The influence of stronger rock beds overlying the coal seam in the current study was assumed to I be the main cause. Use of the general Gaussian profile resulted in a satisfactory fit to the field data provided the value of the maximum field subsidence was used in the analysis. In general, when low tensile strengths were assumed for the associated rocks, finite element techniques gave results which compared well with the observed field data. The study also indicated that at shallow depths there is a marked difference in subsidence over dip and rise sides of the coal-face, maximum subsidence being shifted more towards the dip side. Finally, time-dependent deformations were shown to be insignificant shortly after mining operations ceased.

Jan 1, 1977

By Frank G. Horino

Drill cores from 18 exploratory holes that were drilled into the unleached saline beds were tested for mechanical properties by the Bureau of Mines. Test cores were primarily selected from zones L4B, R4B, L3, and R3A in the Piceance Creek Basin, Rio Blanco County, Colo. Regression analysis techniques were tried in an attempt to relate kerogen yield or apparent specific gravity to the parameters compressive strength, Young's modulus, and Poisson's ratio. Correlation coefficients were very poor, indicating that this type of analysis was not amenable to these data. Analysis of variance techniques were tried using a division of either greater than or less than 10% nahcolite together with the requirement of less than 3% dawsonite. Results showed that a larger percentage of nahcolite tended to lower the compressive strength and to increase Young's modulus. A second analysis was made using a division of less than 3% dawsonite and greater than 3% dawsonite together with the requirement of less than 1% nahcolite. For this analysis, a larger per-centage of dawsonite tended to increase compressive strength, Young's modulus, and Poisson's ratio. Mean compressive strength values were determined for the mining horizons of interest. Average physical properties for design purposes were also determined for the horizons of interest and for a proposed adit based only on logged geologic depths to these horizons. No consideration was given to percentages of nahcolite and dawsonite. Creep data obtained from nahcolite-and dawsonite-rich oil shales provides a best fit to a modified power equation.

Jan 1, 1978

By R. S. Conti

The US Bureau of Mines (USBM) has developed an inflatable feed-tube seal (IFTS) for high-expansion foam generators. The IFTS is a lightweight, portable, rectangular inflatable bag that can be used by firefighters to rapidly seal large openings, such as those in underground mines, and to simultaneously provide a feed-tube for a high- expansion foam generator. Thus allows fire-fighting foam to freely flow to the fire site and control or extinguish the fire. Studies indicated that a high-expansion foam plug will travel 183 m (600ft) down an entry with a 4.5% rise in elevation, before leakage of foam from around the inflatable partition.