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By Robert E. Johnson

THE MILDEST recession of the postwar period ended in the first months of 1961, and the economy climbed steadily during the remainder of the year. The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) Index of Industrial Production climbed from a low point of 102 (1957=100) in February to 115 in December, a rise of 12.5 percent. But economic activity for the year as a whole was only 1.5 percent higher than the 1960 level, as measured by real gross national product (GNP). Although activity increased throughout 1961, much of it was merely regaining ground lost in the decline during the second half of 1960 and the first months of 1961. The FRB index did not re ain the July 1960 high of 110 until June of 1961. Mineral fuels did not fully share in the economic recovery. The (FRB) crude oil and natural gas index rose only 5 percent between February and December. Although the index of monthly coal production increased 11.5 percent during the year, the February level was so low that total production for the year was the lowest since 1954. Total production of energy measured in Btu's was up slightly (1 percent) during the ear. Coal production was down; production of crude oil and natural gas was up. Calculated consumption paralleled production-total up slightly, coal lower, and crude oil and natural gas higher. The most interesting product developments were in coke and residual fuel oil. Sales of coke showed a sharper drop than steel

Jan 1, 1962

By Warren E. Morrison

The continuing high-level performance of the domestic mineral and mineral fuels industries during 1966 was sustained by the longest business upturn in the Nation's history. Spurred by consumer demand at home and the defense production requirements of the Viet-Nam war, the rising trend of economic activity during the year was reflected in the upward movements of the major economic indicators. At yearend the gross national product (GNP), representing the value of all goods and services produced, stood at $740 billion, $58 billion greater than in 1965. Corrected for price changes, the real value of GNP in terms of 1958 dollars was $648 billion and represented an annual increase in economic activity of 5.4 percent. Some 74 million persons were employed during the year out of a total population of 196.8 million, while unemployment fell below 4 percent. The Federal Reserve Index of Industrial Production averaged 156 for 1966, up 13 points from the previous year. However a jarring note in the 1966 expansion, and one which affected the mineral industries in particular, was the increasing pressure on prices and the threat of inflation. From 1961-65 economic growth was facilitated by relatively stable wages and prices and only mild inflation. During the period average wholesale prices hardly moved while average consumer prices rose only about I percent per year. But this long run of relative price stability ended during 1966 when consumer prices rose 2.9 percent and wholesale prices were up 3.2 percent from the previous year.

Jan 1, 1967

By Joseph A. DeCarlo

This publication presents a tabulation of oven-and beehive-coke plants in the United States as well as pertinent statistical data on the number, capacity, kind, and condition of the ovens. Coke is an essential raw material in pig-iron production and the coal-chemical materials produced during the coking process are used to manufacture fertilizers, paints, plastics, synthetic rubber, explosives, detergents, nylon, pharmaceuticals; dyes, and many other products necessary to the high standard of living in this country. In table 1 the oven-coke plants in the United States on December 31, 1959, are listed. This shows the name and address of the company, location of the plant, classification or type of ownership, number and type of ovens, annual coke capacity, and the coal-chemical materials produced. The "furnace" plants I are those owned by iron and steel companies and most of them are integrated with blast furnaces to facilitate transportation of raw materials for steel making. Furnace plants represented 87 percent of the total coking capacity and their average annual capacity was 1. 3 million tons. The "merchant" plants are those associated with chemical companies, gas utilities, as well as those that produce metallurgical, industrial, and residential-heating grades of coke and coal-chemical materials for sale on the open market. These coke plants are smaller than furnace plants and in 1959 their average coke capacity was only 520 thousand tons annually. On December 3l, 1959, there were 54 furnace and 20 merchant oven-coke plants in existence in the United States.

Jan 1, 1960

By Eliot J. White

The physical properties and clay mineral content of the major oil-producing formations in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming were determined by analyses of cores from 100 wells. Interrelationships were established among permeability, restored water saturation, clay content, and bulk swelling capacity of the crushed sample and used to estimate the susceptibility of the formations to water damage. The ratio of water permeability to gas permeability (kw/ki) offers a convenient scale for semiquantitatively estimating the water sensitivity of sands. The irreducible water saturation was also found to have a similar relationship to the clay mineral content and the water sensitivity of the sands. The average relation of water permeability to gas permeability is different for each sand, as shown by the curves, and the relative positions of the curves indicate the degree of water sensitivity of each sand from which the susceptibility to water damage may be estimated. How accurately these estimates show formation behavior under field operations will not be known until studies of field performance can be made. The water permeabilities of the Muddy, Minnelusa, and Tensleep sands average about the same as the gas permeabilities, and these sands are classified as insensitive. The water permeabilities of the Sussex and Shannon sands, at the other extreme, are much less than the gas permabilities [when average ki is 30 millidarcys (md), kw is 6.1 md], and these sands are classified as highly water sensitive. The sensitivities of the five other sands are between these extremes.

Jan 1, 1962

By Rudolf E. Greuer, Linneas W. Laage, Xinton Chang

UNIT OF MEASURE ABBREVIATIONS USED IN MFIRE FT foot FT3/MIN cubic foot per minute LBM•MIN2/FT4 pound mass times minutes squared over feet to the fourth FT2/HR square feet per hour BTU/HR*FT*F British thermal unit divided by hours times fimes feet times degree Fahrenheit IN W G inches water gage FT3/MIN cubic feet per minute FT2 square feet FT3 cubic feet LBM, pound mass F Fahrenheit IN W G /CFM2 inches water gage per cubic foot per minute squared PERCENTAGE percent BTU/MIN British thermal unit per minute MFIRE BAT PROGRAM cls echo off echo MFIRE activated mfire0 echo Wait a moment for loading the program if EXIST zheng chg mfirel if EXIST zheng chg mfire2 if EXIST zheng chg mfire1 if EXIST zheng chg erase zheng chg if EXIST hang chg erase hang chg if EXIST yunzhi fan copy yaodong.ion+yunzhi fan yaodong ion if EXIST yunzhi fan erase yunzhi fan if EXIST xintan chg copy yaodong xin+xintan chg yaodong ion if EXIST xintan chg erase xintan chg if EXIST yaodong xin copy yaodong.xin mfire out if EXIST yaodong.xin erase yaodong.xin if EXIST net erase net echo Your output is saved in file MFIRE OUT MFIRE0 FOR PROGRAM CHARACTER•50 A OPEN (10,FILE='NET',STATUS='UNKNOWN',FORM='UNFORMATTED') NETWW=0 WRITE (10) NETWW OPEN (21,FILE='ZHENG CHG',STATUS='UNKNOWN',FORM='UNFORMATTED') A=) ' B=0.0 WRITE (21) A WRITE (21) A,B

Jan 1, 1990

By A. V. Hooker, E. J. Coggeshall

"The Bureau of Mines for some time advocated the firing of all blasts in coal mines as single shots, and this method of firing is the general practice in American bituminous-coal mines. All single shots can be fired with permissible single-shot units so designed that they will not ignite mixtures of methane and air.If several shots in a face are fired singly it is necessary to return the face after each shot. In some mines having steeply pitching coal seams, this may be dangerous or even impossible, under these conditions shots are usually fired simultaneously.Several shots cannot be fixed simultaneously with permissible single-shot blasting units, and safe types of multiple shots blasters are not readily available. This means that the firing of multiple shots in gassy mines is usually accompanied by the possibility of gas ignition as the blast occurs.Tests have been made at the Pittsburgh Experiment Station to determine the possibility of developing safe types of multiple-shot units suitable for such use, or of applying other type safely in gassy sections of mines where firing shots singly is impracticable.The tests may be divided into the following four groups:1. Tests to demonstrate hazard in the use of existing types of multiple-shot units of the portable generator type.2. Tests to show the electrical characteristics of multiple-shot generator units relative to the possibility of preventing igniting sparks and of modifying the design and application of such units in furthering safety."

Mar 1, 1935

By R. Blickensderfer

Test equipment that simulated frictional impacts between coal-cutter bits and mineral inclusions at a coal face during operation of a continuous coal mining machine was used by the Bureau of Mines in the laboratory to study the incendivity of impacts between various rocks, metals, and hard-metal alloys in an explosive mixture of air-7 pct natural gas. Quartzitic sandstone was found to be the most incendive of several rocks tested. Limestone concretions from a coal seam, known locally as "sulfur balls," sparked furiously but were not incendive. Among the metals tested, the type of steel used in commercial coal-cutter tools was the most incendive material tested. A l7-4PH stainless steel was less incendive and appears to be the most promising high-strength steel alloy, reasonably economical, for use in coal-cutter bits. Some hard-metal alloys, primarily titanium and zirconium diboride composites, were also evaluated as possible replacements for the conventional cobalt-bonded tungsten carbide used in the tip of coal-cutter bits. The metal-bonded diborides were generally less inc endive but more brittle than the conventional tungsten carbide. Carbonitride coatings on tool bits were also tested but found to have no advantage. The source of ignition during frictional impact between metal and rock was studied. Immediately after impact, a yellow flash was observed and a smear of metal near its melting point occurred on the rock. This hotspot on the rock, rather than the yellow flash or sparks or metal fragments, was observed to be the cause of the ignition.

Jan 1, 1974

By E. P. Carman

In this report, the Federal Bureau of Mines presents a summary of the occurrence, properties, and uses of some natural bitumens, using the layman's or dictionary definition of bitumens - that is, naturally occurring hydro-carbons. Emphasis is on the less common solid and semisolid bitumens, particularly those occurring or used to some extent in the United States. This comprises data from many sources and references to these sources for more detail than is given in this summary. This paper was prepared primarily to answer questions about some of the less known bituminous materials. The word hydrocarbons could just as well have been substituted in the title for bitumens, but bitumens was used, since an abstract of the paper was presented at a meeting where the major emphasis was on bituminous materials. The reader will realize that coals, of which only the more unusual such as the cannel coals and torbanites are discussed in this paper, are primarily mixtures of bituminous materials and carbon. The amount of bituminous material, or volatile matter, in coals is greatest in the lower rank coals and the unusual types described in this paper, and decreases as coal rank increases. However, since no method other than destruction of the original coal substance by heat is known that will separate the volatile matter from the carbon, it appears reasonable to classify the coals with other bituminous materials, particularly since bituminous coal - the most widely used coal - by its name indicates the combination of bituminous materials and carbon.

Jan 1, 1961

By James A. West

Near East region countries continued to supply a large share of the world's energy requirements in 1965. The area accounted for nearly 27 percent of estimated total world crude oil output and for about 60 percent of world exports of this commodity. Also, it was the source of more than 40 percent of the world's petroleum refinery products exports. Although other mineral industry activities remained relatively in? significant in comparison with petroleum, regional production and export of certain metallic and nonmetallic mineral commodities were of world significance. Of these commodities, chief in importance were chromium, copper, mercury, antimony, boron, potash, and phosphate Tack. The Near East region contains the largest and most productive oil resources in the world. Petroleum exploration and development operations during 1965 resulted in crude oil reserve additions of almost 8 billion barrels to increase proved reserves to 219 billion barrels at yearend, an amount equal to nearly 68.5 percent of the world's proved oil reserves. Near East countries' production of crude oil averaged a record 8.337,575 barrels per day in 1965, an increase of nearly 11 percent over that of 1964. On an annual basis, Kuwait continued as the leading oil producer in the Near East; however, Saudi Ayabia was a close second and its rate of production in late 1965 exceeded that of Kuwait. The major oil producing nations and their percentage of total area crude oil output was Kuwait, 26.0; Saudi Arabia 24.3; Iran, 22.3; and Iraq 15.9.

Jan 1, 1967

By M. C. Malamphy, A. H. Reed, G. K. Dale, T. M. Romslo, A. Ollar

"PREFACEA general description of the activities and results of bauxite investigation by the Bureau of Mines at its bauxite project in Saline and Pulaski Counties, Ark., has been given in Report of Investigations No. 4251. The factual data obtained during the project are reported in a series of Reports of Investigation beginning with No. 4251, of which this is the fourth. The data are accompanied by maps showing the location of holes drilled and the deposits developed.Each area upon which work was done is reported by half townships. Each bauxite deposit investigated was assigned a name and a number for ready reference and identification, and its location and name are shown on the appropriate half-township map. The description of each half township is followed by a description of each deposit developed in that half township.The 14 half-township maps and 77 detail maps of the bauxite deposits in this series of reports give the locations and numbers of all the holes drilled on the project except the deep holes drilled to test the geophysical anomalies. The locations of those holes show on Figure 13 in Volume 1. The descriptions of the deposits developed are followed by complete detailed logs of the drill holes.Many of the widely spaced exploratory holes did not discover bauxite of minable thickness and grade. The pertinent information obtained from the widely spaced exploratory drill holes has been summarized and tabulated, and a table for each half township is given with the discussion covering that area."

Apr 1, 1948

By Gabriel S. Esterhuizen, Anthony T. Iannacchione

The roof rock in underground limestone mines in Northern Appalachia can be subject to high horizontal stresses in spite of the shallow depth of the workings. The high stresses can cause roof stability problems. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health staff have observed a distinctive asymmetrical mode of failure at the pillar-roof contact in two underground stone mines, which is different from the typical failure mode observed in response to excessive levels of horizontal stress. A dip of greater than 5° was identified as a possible cause of this mode of failure. Numerical model experiments showed that an increase in the dip of the workings can cause an increase in the stress at the up-dip corner of the roof beam. A case study is presented in which failure at the pillar-roof contact was observed where the dip of the workings was 7° in a high horizontal stress field. Numerical modeling showed that the relatively small dip of the workings could have induced stresses changes in the immediate roof that would explain the failures. The model results also showed that this mode of failure is less likely to occur if the limestone pillars contain weak bedding planes that provide stress relief. In addition, the results showed that for the conditions at the case study site, the stress in the roof beam was not sensitive to the thickness of the roof beam or to the excavation span. The high horizontal stresses at this site are an important contributing factor to the observed failures.

By George A. Morgan

The production and processing of crude petroleum and natural gas are the dominant economic sectors of the Middle East. Downstream processing of these mineral fuels to petrochemicals and fertilizers is a major investment opportunity. In 1991, the 15 countries that constituted the region accounted for 26 % of world crude petroleum output, 15.3 % of world natural gas plant liquid production, and 4.5 % of world dry natural gas production. Only Cyprus and Lebanon were not crude petroleum producers. Production of these mineral fuels all declined from that of 1990 owing to the Persian Gulf War, during which output from Kuwait and Iraq either ceased owing to war damage, or was embargoed. Prior to the war, Iraq and Kuwait were the fourth and fifth largest world producers of crude petroleum, respectively. In the war, virtually all of Kuwait's production and transport facilities were destroyed or damaged. Iraq's output was embargoed from export, with only domestic sales taking place. The embargo also affected Jordan, both in terms of transshipment of materials through it to Iraq and in exports of phosphate and potash. Shipments of crude petroleum by pipeline from Iraq through Saudi Arabia and Turkey and by vessel through the Persian Gulf were terminated. However, the loss in production from Iraq and Kuwait was made up by accelerated output from other Middle East and world producers. Saudi Arabia, in particular, with its excess production capacity, accounted for the largest portion, increasing crude petroleum output by 27 % to almost 3 billion barrels.

Jan 1, 1993

By M. C. Malamphy

A general description of the activities and results of bauxite investigation by The Bureau of Mines at its bauxite project in Saline and Pulaski Counties, Ark., has been given in Report of Investigations No. 4251. The factual data obtained during the project are reported in a series of Reports of Investigation beginning with No. 4251, of which this is the fourth. The data are accompanied by maps showing the location of holes drilled and the deposits developed. Each area upon which work was done is reported by half townships. Each bauxite deposit investigated was assigned a name and a number for ready reference and identification, and its location and name are shown on the appropriate half-township map. The description of each half township is followed by a description of each deposit developed in that half township. The 14 half-township maps and 77 detail maps of the bauxite deposits in this series of reports give the locations and numbers of all the holes drilled on the project except the deep holes drilled to test the geophysical anomalies. The locations of those holes show on Figure 13 in Volume 1. The descriptions of the deposits developed are followed by complete detailed logs of the drill holes. Many of the widely spaced exploratory holes did not discover bauxite of minable thickness and grade. The pertinent information obtained from the widely spaced exploratory drill holes has been summarized and tabulated, and a table for each half township-is given with the discussion covering that area.

Jan 1, 1948

By M. C. Malamphy

A general description of the activities and results of bauxite investi-gation by the Bureau of Mines at its bauxite project in Saline and Pulaski Counties, Ark., has been given in Report of Investigations 4251. The factual data obtained during the project are reported in a series of Reports of Investigation beginning with No. 4251, of which this is the sixteenth. The data are accompanied by maps showing the location of holes drilled and the deposits developed. Each area upon which work was done is reported by half townships. Each bauxite deposit investigated was assigned a name and a number for ready reference and identification, and its location and name are shown on the appropriate half-township map. The description of each half township is followed by a description of each deposit developed in that half township. The 14 half-township maps and 77 detail maps of the bauxite deposits in this series of reports give the locations and numbers of all the holes drilled on the project, except the deep holes drilled to test the geophysical anomalies. The locations of the latter holes show on figure 13 in volume 1. The descriptions of the deposits developed are followed by complete detailed logs of the drill holes. Many of the widely spaced exploratory holes did not discover bauxite of minable thickness and grade. The pertinent information obtained from the widely spaced exploratory drill holes has been summarized and tabulated, and a table for each half township is given with the discussion covering that area.

Jan 1, 1948

By M. C. Malamphy

A general description of the activities and results of bauxite investigation by the Bureau of Mines at its bauxite project in Saline and Pulaski County, Ark., has been given in Report of Investigations 4251. The factual data obtained during the project are reported in a series of Reports of Investigations beginning with No. 4251, of which this is the eighth. The data are accompanied by maps showing the location of holes drilled and the deposits developed. Each area upon which work was done is reported by half townships. Each bauxite deposit investigated was assigned a name and a number for ready reference and identification, and its location and name are shown on the appropriate half-township map. The description of each half township is no followed by a description of each deposit developed in that half township. The 14 half township maps and 77 detail maps of the bauxite deposits in this series of reports give the locations and numbers of all the holes drilled on the project, except the deep holes drilled to test the geophysical anomalies. The locations at those holes show on figure 13 in volume I. The descriptions of the deposits developed are followed by complete detailed logs at the drill holes. Many at the widely spaced exploratory holes did not discover bauxite of minable thickness and gra.de. The pertinent information obtained from the widely spaced exploratory drill holes has been summarized and tabulated, and a table for each halt township is given with the discussion covering that area.

Jan 1, 1948

By Thomas E. Lobb, Harry C. Verakis

This article examines the factors related to injuries due to inadequate blasting shelters and blast area security, and identifies mitigation techniques. The key concepts are:(a) accurate determination of the bounds of the blast area, (b) clearing employees from the blast area, (c) effective access control, (d) use of adequate blasting shelters, (e) efficient communications, and (f)training. Fundamentals are reviewed with an emphasis on analyzing task elements and identifying root causes for selected blasting accidents. Mitigating techniques are presented along with discussions and examples.

By M. C. Malamphy

A general description of the activities and results of bauxite investigation by the Bureau of Mines at its bauxite project in saline and Pulaski Counties, Ark., has been given in Report of Investigations 4251. The factual data obtained during the project are reported in a series of Reports of Investigation beginning with No. 4251, of which this is the eleventh. The-data are accompanied by maps showing the location of holes drilled and the deposits developed. Each area upon which work was done is reported by half townships. Each bauxite deposit investigated was assigned a name and a number for ready reference and identification, and its location and name are shown on the appropriate half-township map. The description of each halt township is followed by a description of each deposit developed in that halt township. The 14 halt-township maps and 77 detail maps of the bauxite deposits in this series at reports give the locations and numbers of all the holes drilled on the project, except the deep holes drilled to test the geophysical anomalies. The locations of those holes show on figure 13 in volume 1. The descriptions of the deposits developed are followed by complete detailed logs of the drill holes. Many of the widely spaced exploratory holes did not discover bauxite of minable thickness and grade. The pertinent information obtained tram the widely spaced exploratory drill holes has been summarized and tabulated, and a table for each halt township is given with the discussion of that area.

Jan 1, 1948

By Robert L. Lagace

This final report documents the work done by Arthur D. Little, Inc. (ADL) on behalf of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Pittsburgh Mining and Safety Research Center (PMSRC), on Contract R0122026 (which began in August of 1971). Under this contract ADI provided technical assistance to the Bureau on a task basis on virtually all aspects of the Bureau's programs related to present and planned emergency and operational communications and miner location systems for underground coal mines. The work consisted of independent investigations, analyses, experiments, breadboard and prototype hardware development, workshops and technology transfer seminars on mine communications, and on-going evaluations and guidance related to the Bureau's contracted programs on electromagnetic noise, mine communications systems, and trapped miner location. This final report documents the work in two volumes, Volume I, "Emergency and Operational Mine Communications," and Volume II, "Seismic Detection and Location of Isolated Miners." The Tables of Contents of both Volumes are included in each Volume. Phase I of the contract was devoted to performing an in-depth assessment of electromagnetic noise measurements taken by several contractors and other investigators, and then defining a new noise measurement program and instrumentation system tailored to obtain the necessary but missing noise data. These data are required for use in the design of new emergency and operational communication systems. This work, and the follow-on coordination and guidance activities of ADL on this noise measurement program in subsequent phases of the contract, are treated in Part One of Volume I.

Jan 1, 1974

By N. Kumar Kittusamy

ALTHOUGH MANYSTUDIES HAVE SHOWN an association between operating heavy construction equipment and symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), little research has been performed that systematically characterizes the exposure of operating engineers to ergonomic hazards. This study evaluated: 1) vibration at the seat/operator interface;2) transmissibility of vibration in the Z-axis; 3) psychophysical ratings of vibration level and vibration discomfort; and 4) postural requirements of the job. Results indicate that the digging operation had higher levels of total weighted acceleration than high- or low-idling conditions. Transmissibility data showed that the seat amplified vibration, particularly in the lower frequencies. Seats demonstrated that they may not be sufficient in protecting operators from long-term effects of vibration exposure. High positive correlation was found among subjective ratings (vibration discomfort and vibration level), but moderate positive correlation was found between subjective ratings and quantitative vibration levels. Postural evaluations revealed that the operators were required to assume awkward postures of the neck, shoulder and trunk while performing their jobs. Work-related injuries and illnesses pose a continuing threat to the health and well-being of American workers. The construction industry has been historically recognized as having higher rates of fatality, injury and illness than other industries (McVittie285+; BLS). In 1994, an estimated 218,800 lost-work-day injuries were reported in the construction industry (BLS). Construction also had the second-highest incidence rate for sprains and strains. Although the industry has made progress since then, injuries and illnesses, including MSDs, continue to because for concern.

By Doris M. Hyde

The 350,000-barrel-per-day Bahamas Oil Refining Co remained closed throughout 1986. Financially troubled Charter Oil Co., joint owner of the refinery with Chevron Oil Bahamas Ltd., agreed in principle to have Chevron assume full ownership in return for canceling debts owed Chevron. Finalization of the agreement was pending at yearend. Burmah Oil Ltd. took more than a $30 million loss on the sale of its interest in South Riding Point Grand Bahama Transshipment Terminal to South Riding Point Terminal Holding Ltd.

Jan 1, 1988