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By S. P. Holt, Robert S. Sanford

"INTRODUCTION The wartime demand for iron ore and alloy steel on the west coast revived interest in iron reserves in western United States and Alaska. Magnetite was known to have been the most abundant metallic mineral at some of the old copper mines on Prince of Wales Island. In the summer of 1942, the Bureau of Mines began a program of preliminary investigation followed by core-drilling two magnetite deposits on the island.The Poor Man iron deposit on Kasaan Peninsula, Prince of Wales Island, Southeastern Alaska, was examined in August 1942 by Robert L. Thorne, associate mining engineer of the Bureau of Mines, and John C. Reed and B. N. Goddard, geologists of the Federal Geological Survey in September 1942 the area was mapped geologically and a magnetic survey was made by the Geological Survey. In October and November 1942, a more thorough preliminary examination, which included cleaning out and sampling old adits and trenches, was made by thesenior author, Robert L. Thorne, and Aner W. Erickson, engineers of the Bureau. J. G. Shepherd, a consultant of the Bureau, spent two weeks in March and April 1943 investigating the Poor Man and other deposits on Kasaan Peninsula. Core drilling was completed in June 1943.L. A. Warner, of the Geological Survey, examined all cores and interpreted structural data revealed by the drilling."

Oct 1, 1946

By D. W. Butner

This report is concerned with the conditions affecting the methods and costs of mining phosphate rock in that part of the western phosphate field that is in Bear Lake and Caribou Counties in southeastern Idaho ( see fig . 1) . The area was selected because it contains most of the known phosphate reserve and because its geology has been studied more extensively than that of other sections . Deposits of phosphate rock on public land may be leased from the Government under the terms of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 , subject to the regulations of the Bureau of Land Management . Public interest in phosphate production is growing , as shown by an increasing number of applications for leases . Two mines are being operated steadily for the production of phosphate rock by companies that have also the necessary processing plants for the manufacture of fertilizer . Total western phosphate - rock production in 1947 is reported by the Economics Statistics and Division of the Federal Bureau of Mines to have been 1,193,000 long tons , mined in Idaho , Montana , and Wyoming . The average grade was 30.7 percent of contained phosphorus pentoxide (P205 ) ; the average value at the mines was $5.67 per long ton . Idaho contributed 905,000 tons , or somewhat more than 75 percent of western production . Western fertilizer plants took 23 percent of total production; 76 percent was exported . Strip mining accounted for 75 percent of the Idaho tonnage; the remainder was stoped from underground workings . Rock must contain a minimum of 30 percent P205 to be commercially useful for the production of superphosphate fertilizer by current acid treatment methods . Research by corporations and Government agencies has been directed toward the use of lower - grade ore . So far , only by smelting can rock containing as little as 25 percent P205 be used economically . Any development of processing or use pattern that would render the mining of , say , 20 percent rock profitable would have important effects in reducing the unit cost of mining . In the search for metallurgical improvements , consideration should be given to the saving of valuable components of the rock, such as vanadium and fluorine , both of which are present in the beds .

Oct 1, 1949

By R. W. Stahl, H. E. Sanford, J. B. Benson

Immediately following the capitulation of Germany in World War II, the German State was occupied by various allied forces, who supervised all indus- trial activities in the area. Coal production is vital to the industrial life of Germany, and most of the coal is mined in the American- and British- occupied zones of western Germany. The British-occupied zones include the Aachen and Ruhr districts, from which approximately 90 percent of the coal is obtained. Figure 1 is a map of the Ruhr district. Because of the magni- tude of the task of insuring an adequate supply of coal and the necessity for united action, it was deemed best to reorganize the coal-producing facilities in the British zone undor the joint supervision of American and British authorities. As a result, the UK/US Coal Control Group was established accord- ing to the organization plan indicated in figure 2. Headquarters for the group was established at Essen, in Villa Huegol, the prewar home of the Krupp family (fig. 3). One of the many problems recognized immediately by the UK/US Coal Control Group was the necessity of preventing disasters and reducing accidents to work- men in mines undor military-governmont control. Consequently, the United States Bureau of Mines was requested to furnish the services of qualified men to search for the hazards incident to coal mining and to prepare comprehensive reports on the results of their investigations. The authors, who wore selected for this task, spont about a year in Germany and visited all except a few of the smaller mince. Whereas their principal purpose was to investi- gate safety conditions, somo of the operating conditions and practices also wore studied. The results of the studies and investigations are embodied in this circular with the hope that some useful information will be disseminated to the mining industry of the United States, including supervisory officials, safety directors, engineers, and mine workmon.

Feb 1, 1950

By L. H. Banning

In the fall of 1953 the Philippine Bureau of Mines, under a Foreign Operations Administration Technical Assistance (FOA-TA) program, began a systematic investigation of the nickel content of the well-known Surigao laterite areas, on the island of Nonoc northeast of Mindanao, to determine the occurrence, distribution, and grade of nickel contained in the laterite and in the subjacent serpentine. At the same time, a technical review of the possibility of producing commercial ferronickel from the nickeliferous materials in the Philippine Islands was made, and a smelting process was suggested. The proposed process would be similar to that developed by the Federal Bureau of Mines for the reduction of the nickeliferous serpentine occurring in the Nickel Mountain ?deposit at Riddle, Oreg. The potential avail-ability of electric power from the Maria Cristina facilities at 3 mils per kw.-hr. would enhance the economic possibility of this program. Development of an economically feasible process for recovering nickel from the nickeliferous serpentines and laterites should lead to the establishment of a new industry in the Philippines, to the development of a source of nickel in the Far East, of which at present there is none, and to partial solution of the problem of supplying the free world with nickel. Enough preliminary reconnaissance had been completed by early 1954 to permit sampling of the deposit for metallurgical investigations. The FOA then requested the Federal Bureau of Mines Northwest Electrodevelopment Laboratory, Albany, Oreg., to conduct preliminary electric smelting studies on nickeliferous serpentine and laterite samples.

Jan 1, 1955

By G. R. Hopkins

The average heat requirement per barrel of crude processed in the United states rose from 555,000 B. t. u. in 1939 to 579,000 B. t. u. in 1940, although crude runs increased from 1,237,840,000 barrels to 1,294,162,000 barrels in that period. Thus the almost invariable rule that the average amount of heat needed to refine a barrel of crude oil declines when total crude runs to stills increases was broken. (See fig. 1.) The reasons underlying the apparent loss in fuel efficiency in 1940 are quite obscure. There is little question but that the principle of heat exchange, the most important fuel saver, was used as extensively in 1940, as in 1939. A few companies replaced purchased power with electricity made at their plants, but for the country as a whole purchased electricity increased 7 percent, as compared with a 5-percent gain in crude runs to stills. Furthermore, the premise -the more complex the products the more fuel required -does not hold, as the yield of ?complex" products, including gasoline, declined in 1940.

Jan 1, 1942

By D. Harrington

"A tabulation is printed below showing the accident record of the thirty-two mines of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co., in Montana, for the years 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919 and 1920, with summation for the six years. The table gives the number of shifts worked by each mine with the serious plus fatal accident rate for each 10,000 shifts worked.It is seen that in a total of 16,460,767.5 shifts worked by employees of the company's mines during this six-year period, there were only 2,005 serious and fatal accidents and of these, 200 were fatalities, leaving 1,805 serious accidents (a serious accident being one in which 14 or more days' time are lost). This is at a rate of 9,120 shifts per serious accident and at a rate of 82,304 shifts per fatality. Hence, if 300 days be adopted as a year's work, there would be one fatality per 274.3 years of work in these mines and one serious accident for every 30.4 years work.According to Bureau of Mines Technical Paper 286, (Metal-mine accidents in U. S. in 1919, by W. W4 Adams), during the years 1916, 1917, 1918, and 1919, the metal mines of the United States worked a total of 210,548,640 shifts and had 39,705 serious accidents. During the same years, according to the following tabulation, the mines of the above-mentioned company worked 11,958,978 shifts and had a serious accident rate of 0.995 accidents per 10,000 shifts worked. If the metal mines of the United States, working these 210,548,640 shifts, had this company's serious accident rate of 0.995 serious accidents per 10,000 shifts, the total number of serious accidents would have been only 21,000 or the country's metal-mine serious accidents would have been reduced nearly one-half, and there would be 18,705 fewer serious accidents than actually occurred."

Jun 10, 1921

By P. D. Lohn

The objective of this program was to develop nozzle designs to maximize the effective cutting length of a water jet. The results of the theoretical program directly support the Bureau of Mines Borehole Mining Program and their experimental program to improve the rock cutting capability of water jets. The borehole geometry requires turning the flow by 90 degrees and accelerating through the nozzle within a restricted length. Several suggestions for turning the flow are offered. The borehole space limitations constrain nozzle length, to the extent that a standard 13-degree tapered nozzle (6-1/2 degrees half angle) is too long to fit in the borehole, at production flow conditions. The design technique developed is computationally economical and enables examination of a large number of shapes and flow conditions. The nozzle design is based on design criteria of minimization of boundary layer thickness at the nozzle exit and minimization of the possibility of separation and cavitation. Six flow conditions, including pressures to 4500 psi and flow rates to 400 gpm, were examined, Best shapes were determined for all flow conditions. The best shape for a borehole reining application consists of an initial 4th degree polynominal (quartic) at the entrance followed by a straight section with a twenty degree (half-angle) taper at the exit.

Jan 1, 1976

By Oliver C. Ralston

[This paper is an expanded revision of a report entitled "Froth Flotation and Agglomerate Tabling of Nonmetallic Minerals, " published in Transactions of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (vol. 40, November 1937, pp- 691-726) and prepared a year previously. Revisions embodied herein brine the data up to January 1, 1938. References have also been added to make the earlier paper more complete for the period it covered.]

Jan 1, 1938

By Russell G. Warncke

"This report is based primarily on a study of safety conditions and practices followed in the coal mines of Japan. Not all of the coal fields in Japan were studied, but typical mines in the largest producing areas and a fair cross section of coal-mine-safety conditions observed during February to April 1948 are described.Information was obtained through investigations conducted in the mines, discussions with mine-management officials and representatives of labor unions of the various mines visited, and examination of records and statistics from the various offices of the Coal Board of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and from the Coal Association of Japan. Statistical data covering the same subject, obtained from different sources, varied in many respects and apparently were reported inaccurately, but such discrepancies can be attributed to different methods of reporting and compiling statistics.It is difficult to correlate the high fatal and nonfatal injury rates that prevail in Japanese coal mines with the conditions observed in the mines. Virtually all mines visited were attempting to prevent accidents and explosions, by apparently following known safety precautions for the prevention thereof. Some commendable safety innovations were observed at several mines; they indicated that mine officials are giving thought and consideration to hazardous conditions that affect their particular mines.Naturally, the operating officials and management were anxious to impress the writer with their interest in accident prevention and safety. Operating officials were found to be receptive to safety and wore interested in formulating definite safety programs. Some nines had well-planned and well-organized safety programs, which, if put into effect, would contribute greatly toward reduction of accidents.The approach to safety in Japan is quite different from that in the United States, especially the concept of personal responsibility for accidents and the extent to which the individual should be protected against hazards. Management is responsible for providing and maintaining safe working conditions. Collaboration between management and worker, as understood in the United States, does not exist in Japan.Increase in accidents since the cessation of hostilities is the result of unsettled economic conditions in the coal industry, influx of inexperience workers, and breakdown of discipline among the miners, who have been organized into unions. Those unions are greatly influenced by ""leftist"" tendencies.It was observed that the Japanese mine worker is fatalistic by nature and has little, if any, noticable safety consciousness. The most urgent major requirements to reduce accidents in the coal mines are to train the worker in accident prevention and instruct him regarding the inherent hazards of his occupation.Revision of the mining laws would help to reduce accidents if the companies would comply with such laws and provide safer working places and if the workers would cooperate with management and observe and comply with such laws as are enacted for their protection."

Dec 1, 1949

By Richard D. Smith

The Bureau of Mines evaluated the emission control methods, including the capital investments and operating cost, necessary for further reducing lead levels in ambient air at the Glover, Herculaneum, and Buick smelter-refineries in Missouri and the East Helena, MT, smelter. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed more stringent lead in ambient air standards than those currently in effect. This report presents theoretically achievable lead emission reductions and estimated capital and operating costs. Lead emission inventories theoretically can be reduced from 1985 levels by 2,421 lb/d at the three Missouri operations by containing and filtering fugitive emissions within structural enclosures and baghouses. The aggregated capital and operating costs in 1986 dollars using conventional environmental and workplace technologies are estimated to be $250,014,100 and $18,507,800, respectively. Estimated total incremental cost is $0.063/lb as refined lead. Additional regulatory costs attributable to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSKA), U.S. Department of Labor, workplace standards are included since proposed environmental controls may otherwise degrade workplace conditions. Continuous drossing is evaluated as an alternative to conventional OSHA controls. Substituting continuous drossing for conventional work- place technology results in an estimated aggregated capital and operating costs of $258,344,800 and $15,719,600, respectively. Estimated total incremental cost is $0.062/1b as refined lead. For comparison, the average open market price of refined lead during the first quarter of 1986 was $0.184/lb.

Jan 1, 1987

The Minerals Data Source Directory is a compilation of descriptive information on the availability, content, and location of minerals data in the Federal Government. It is intended to assist Government personnel and the general public in locating and acquiring minerals information. Included in the Directory are descriptions of data bases, publications, information systems, and information offices containing data pertaining to ail aspects of mineral production, consumption, trade, and related information. These mineral data sources include the Federal agencies such as the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Mines and Geological Survey whose major mission is the collection and dissemination of mineral information. Also included are agencies such as the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, State, Transportation, and Treasury, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Environ- mental Protection Agency, the Federal Reserve System, the interstate Commerce Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, whose primary mission is the collection of data in nonmineral subject areas, but in which the mineral industry is a component.

Jan 1, 1983

This publication summarizes, for all interested parties, the research, development, and demonstration in-house projets programed by the Bureau of Mines for fiscal year 1980 (October 1, 1979 - September 30, 1980) under its Minerals Health and Safety Research program. The objective of these projects is to provide an ordered and sequenced series of advances toward the Bureau's overall goal of providing the system technology required to create a healthier and safer working environment for the Nation's mining and minerals processing workers.

Jan 1, 1980

By R. G. Warncke, J. H. East, D. Harrington

The mining industry of the United States has long been severely criti- cized because of its high rate of accident occurrence, not only as compared with other industries of the United States but also with the mining industries of other countries, particularly Europe. Statistics, often not strictly com- parable, indicate that the accident-frequency rate in all mining is currently about three times and the accident-severity rate is about seven times as great as the average for general industrial work in the United States. These fig- ures are by no means comforting to humanitarian mining men, irrespective of their status in the industry, and they constitute a challenge that certainly cannot continue to be ignored much longer. The picture becomes much darker when the above statistics are augmented with data indicating that on an exposure basis our mines (more particularly our coal mines) have accident rates two, three, or even more times as great as more or less similar mines in Europe, particularly England, Wales, Belgium, France, and Germany. The sting is alleviated to some extent by the knowledge that our coal mines produce about 4 to 5 times as much coal per man day as is produced in at least some European mines. However, all of these foreign acci- dent statistics should be analyzed carefully before we become very much con- cerned about them, because they are not strictly comparable, for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that foreign methods of compiling or recording accident statistics often differ materially from ours. Moreover, foreign mining and other conditions are definitely dissimilar to ours in many phases, and numerous other factors affect the comparability of foreign mine- accident statistics with those of the United States. Unquestionably, it should also be taken into consideration that the accident rate of the 140,000,000 or more constituting the populace of the United States as a whole is much higher than that of any other major country in the world and is two, three, or more times the rate of the European countries that have more favor- able mine-accident rates than those of the United States (table 1). Moreover, it is significant that the mine-accident-severity rate of British mines is about six times the average accident-severity rate of the major industries of the British Isles, or but little more favorable than the comparable figures in the United States; namely, that mining has an accident severity rate about seven times the average of about 30 of the major industries of this country.

Apr 1, 1949

By Stanley A. Feitler

This Bureau of Mines report deals principally with the resources and economic aspects of feldspar in the United States east of the Mississippi River. Although in a strict sense, all phases of the feldspar industry affect its economic structure, emphasis in this study is on supply, demand, and marketing. Although feldspar was originally mined for use in the manufacture of pottery and other ceramics, the glass industry, which began to use feldspar in the mid-1920's, now consumes more than half of the annual output. Most mining is open cut, and the methods used are similar to those used in mining crushed stone. Excess plant capacity has been chronic, and production is usually about 50 percent of capacity fur the industry as a whole. Since 1947, feldspar consumption has grown more slowly than the average for all U.S. industry. This has fostered intense competition, especially for the glass market. Prices have not kept pace with inflation, and profits are small. The trend of consumption through 1.970 for glass feldspar is expected to be upward; less rapid growth in consumption of ceramic feldspar is anticipated.

Jan 1, 1967

By William O. Vanderburg

This paper gives the results of a reconnaissance of the mining districts in Humboldt County, Nev., made during the month of June, 19373/. During the field work, virtually all the mining districts in the county were visited and many data were obtained on a number of active and inactive properties. No attempt has boon made to include in this report all the properties in the various mining districts, and it should be emphasized that whether or not a property is mentioned herein has no being on its merit. The report covers the location of the various mining; districts, types of deposit, information on past operations and current activity, and general information likely to be useful to operators, investors, and others interested in mining. The geology of the deposits is discussed only briefly. The names of the various mining districts mentioned in this report are those generally used when they were organized for purposes of record and regulation. As organized, the districts embraced largo areas with no definite boundaries, and the names have little significance.

Jan 1, 1938

By Hillary W. St. Clair

This report describes an experimental method for determining parameters for the rate of reaction of CO2 with solid carbon. The method involves the simulation of a flow reactor by a mathematical model based on a hypothetical multistage reactor which permits calculation of the analyses of effluent gas and carbon consumed as functions of the flow rate and duration of the reaction. The method is applied to experimental data on the reaction of coke with CO2 in fluidized-bed and fixed-bed flow reactors. A method is described whereby two parameters may be determined simultaneously. The method involves a reiterative procedure that finds the values of the parameters that minimize the sum of squares of deviation between calculated and observed analyses of the effluent gas.

Jan 1, 1971

By Carl L. Bieniewski

U.S. molybdenum production increased fivefold from 18.2 million pounds in 1946 to 90.5 million pounds in 1966, and constituted 87.3 percent of the total free world supply in the 1946-66 period. Mining development in other free world countries in the next few years may reduce the magnitude of the U.S. position, although similar development planned for the United States may counteract some of the relative gains by those countries. In 1966 two-thirds of the reported molybdenum consumption in the United States by end uses was as an alloying element in steel. Molybdenum also has important use as an alloying element in iron and high-temperature alloys. Consumption of molybdenum metal for making fabricated parts has increased in the past few years, especially in the space and nuclear industries. Molybdenum compounds are used mainly for making pigment, catalysts, and lubricants. Based on producer reports of shipments of primary products to domestic customers, U.S. consumption of molybdenum increased from 16.5 million pounds of molybdenum in 1946 to 65.6 million pounds in 1966. U.S. molybdenum reserves are now estimated to be 5.9 billion pounds of recoverable molybdenum, an increase of 2.1 billion pounds above previous estimates. Molybdenum ores account for 71.4 percent of the reserves, copper ores for 22.3 percent and copper-molybdenum, tungsten, and uranium ores for 6.3 percent. Several methods for predicting future demand are illustrated and estimates of demand using these methods were made for 1975. Based on present capacities and announced company plans for future developments, estimates of annual production were made for 1967 through 1975 for the United States, Canada. Chile, Peru, and the free world. These data indicate that molybdenum production in 1975 for the free world is expected to be 246 million pounds with the United States producing 68.2 percent and Canada, Chile, and Peru 30.3 percent.

Jan 1, 1970

By R. G. Peluso

Methods and results of studies to determine friction and shock losses encountered in auxiliary face ventilation systems utilizing flexible, spiral-reinforced ventilation tubing are presented. The results, tabulated in graphic form, simplify fan selection and enable mine operators to design adequate auxiliary ventilation systems. Problem illustrates the use of graphs.

Jan 1, 1968

By Wilson Blake

This report presents the results of a 7-year Bureau of Mines program to review, revise, and make an effective engineering tool of the microseismic method of determining the stability of rock structures. The program consisted of developing new microseismic equipment and data analysis techniques and extensive field investigations to demonstrate the effectiveness and potential of the broad-band microseismic method. The guidelines for choosing the components of a microseismic system are presented along with approximate cost figures. Different microseismic systems are discussed, including completely automated systems. Procedures for conducting microseismic investigations and analyzing microseismic data are discussed in detail. Field situations which show the full value of the microseismic technique as an engineering tool are described.

Jan 1, 1974

By W. J. McKenna

This paper, describing the milling practice at tine lead-zinc concentrator of the International Smelting Co., is one of a series of papers on milling methods being prepared by the United States Bureau of nines. The concentrator is operated as a unit of the International Smelting Co. and is located about 40 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, at Tooele, Utah. The Tooele Valley Railroad, operating between the plant and Warner, Utah, a distance of 6.5 miles, makes connection with both the Union Pacific and Denver & Rio Grande Railroads.

Jan 1, 1933