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By P. -É. Boileau, M. Smets, T. Eger, J. Boutin

Long-haul dump (LHD) vehicles used in underground mining are known to expose workers to important levels of whole-body vibration1. These vehicles are generally designed without suspension and may be categorized as small or large LHDs depending on whether their respective load capacities are lower or larger than 3.5 cubic yards. While the majority of older vehicles are equipped with a rigid or unsuspended seat, more recent LHDs often incorporate a suspension seat. The objective of this study was to define the vibration spectral characteristics of most commonly encountered large and small LHD vehicles operating in mining operations. This was done in an effort to categorize the vehicles in terms of vibration spectral classes to be reproduced on a laboratory whole-body vibration simulator to assess the vibration attenuation performance of a typical LHD suspension seat. Methods Vertical vibration measured at the seat attachment point of 8 small and 8 large LHD vehicles operating underground in typical mining operations under loaded and unloaded conditions was considered as the basis for defining the spectral classes. By regrouping the data collected for each LHD vehicle size and load condition, the overall distribution of acceleration power spectral density (PSD) of measured floor vibration was determined over the 0.5 to 20 Hz frequency range. Mean and envelopes of maximum and minimum values of PSD spectra were computed to define the spectral classes, along with the corresponding values of frequency weighted rms acceleration determined in accordance to the ISO 2631-1 standard2. These spectra were further used to calculate the displacements needed to drive a whole-body vibration simulator consisting of a platform supported by two servo-hydraulic actuators having a total stroke of ±100 mm. For validation purposes, the vibration acceleration spectra measured on the simulator were compared with the target spectra representing the spectral classes. Finally, the vibration transmissibility characteristics of a typical suspension seat were determined under sine sweep excitation using both a rigid mass load and a human subject having a mass of 62 kg and 85 kg, respectively. The SEAT value, representing the ratio of seat to base frequency-weighted rms acceleration, was further measured under each of the defined LHD vibration spectral classes by loading the seat with an 85 kg subject. Tests were repeated three times and the mean SEAT values were determined to assess the seat’s ability to reduce exposure to whole-body vibration in LHD vehicles. Results Three spectral classes applicable to both loaded and unloaded conditions were defined as shown in Figure 1: one for large and two for small LHDs. The influence of load on frequency-weighted rms acceleration was found to be negligible for large and Class I small LHDs, while a shift of the peak acceleration PSD to lower frequencies was noted for the loaded vehicles. The influence of load was found to be more important for Class II small LHDs. Table 1 provides a

Jan 6, 2006

1. Data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) indicate that a total of 241,502 employees worked in surface mining locations in 2003, corresponding to 212,113 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers. • Surface employees accounted for 84.6% of all mining employees. • The majority of surface employees (73.7%; n = 177,927) were mine operator employees as opposed to contractor employees. • Stone operator employees comprised the greatest percentage (27.2%; n = 65,743) of surface employees.

Feb 1, 2005

By E. G. King

Many of the rare-earth oxides are now commercially available in pure form and they have a variety of potential technical uses. Thermodynamic data for these oxides, however, are rather sparse. It is one of the functions of the Bureau of Mines to fill the need for this type of information. This report gives the results of low-temperature heat-capacity and high-temperature heat-content measurements by the Bureau of Mines of lanthanum sesquioxide. The entropy at 298.15° K. was evaluated and heat-content and entropy increments above 298.15° K. were obtained to 1,800° K. The results were combined with the known heat of formation at 298.15° K. to derive heats and free energies of formation at higher temperatures. Sufficient information is now available to permit reliable thermodynamic calculations involving lanthanum sesquioxide within the temperature range 298° to 2,000° K.

Jan 1, 1961

Montana's coal reserves are estimated to be more than 120 billion tons, 24.6 percent of U.S. reserves. Montana's reserves are the largest in the nation. Coal fields are located throughout the state, primarily east of the Continental Divide. Three of the state's 17 coal fields have producing mines. Coal resources range from lignite to high volatile bituminous; however, most of the coal currently mined is subbituminous. Although Lewis and Clark mentioned the presence of coal along the banks of the Missouri River in Montana in 1805, the first major mine was not opened until 1867, at Chestnut, Montana, near Bozeman. The mine at Chestnut served Fort Ellis until the mine was bought by the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1883. By 1900, underground coal mining had developed throughout the state, primarily to supply fuel to the railroads. In the 1920s, large-scale surface mining began in Colstrip to fuel railroad steam engines. Currently, all coal mined in the state is produced from surface mines. The Office of Surface Mining granted the Montana regulatory program conditional approval April 1, 1980, followed by final approval February 1 1,1982. Montana's Abandoned Mine Lands Program was approved November24,1980, and its emergency program was approved August 18, 1983. A Federal Lands Cooperative Agreement was approved May 8, 1981.

Jan 1, 1992

By W. A. Selvig

"The purpose of the investigation described herein was to determine how closely different laboratories can check one another in making determinations of fusibility of coal ash with the De Graaf electric coal-ash fusion furnace: how well duplicate determinations by the same laboratory will check, and how the results with the De Graaf furnace compare with those of the standard gas-furnace method of the American Society for Testing Materials.4Thanks are due the following laboratories who cooperated in this study by making fusibility tests with the Do Graaf electric coal-ash fusion apparatus: J. J. Brennan, testing engineer, Northern States Power Co.; R. E. Gilmore, superintendent, Fuel Research Laboratories, Canadian Department of Mines A. T. Leavitt, president, and W. Mueller, chief chemist, Hamilton By-product Coke Ovens. Ltd.; Edgar Stansfield, chief chemical engineer, Scientific and Industrial Research Council of Alberta. Canada; and H. S. Vassar, laboratory engineer, Public Service Electric and Gas Co.The ash-fusibility determinations by the standard gas-furnace method were made in the Coal Analysis Laboratory of the Bureau of Mines at Pittsburgh under the direction of H. M. Cooper, associate chemist. The investigation was made at the suggestion of A. C. Fieldner, chief engineer, Experiment Stations Division of the Bureau of Mines.Routine determinations of the fusibility of coal ash are made in the laboratories of the United States Bureau of Mines by the gas-furnace method. This method was standardized after considerable experimentation5 on the nature of the fusion of coal ash and the various factors which affect its determination. The method was subsequently adopted by the American Society for Testing Materials as one of its standard tests."

Jun 1, 1930

By G. J. Conroy

Cable whip occurring during normal movement of a shuttle car can result in a personnel hazard and excessive tensions in the cable. This Bureau of Mines report discusses preferred payout and reel-in torque settings to reduce cable whip. A simplified adjustment procedure is described.

Jan 1, 1974

By D. J. Parker

Owing to its flexibility, convenience, economy, ands availability, electric power is peculiarly adapted to the needs of the coal -mining industry. Because of such obvious advantages, the application of electricity has in recent years become more and more extensive and is now a most important factor in the Nation's coal prediction. With the introduction of this type of power into coal mines certain new, specific, and well-recognized hazards resulted. The question arises, therefore: Has the industry met these hazards squarely and. effectively? With respect to some individual companies, the answer happily is in the affirmative; with respect to the industry as a whole, there is much room for improvement.

Jan 1, 1933

By M. Howard Berliner

The Harding pegmatite dike is well known for the production of spodumene and lepidolite in the period 1920 to 1930. It attained greater prominence during the last war by being the largest producer of domestic tantalum ore from the rare mineral microlite. The deposit is believed to be the only proved reserve of tantalum ore in the United States today. In 1943 the main portion of a large tantalum-bearing zone in the Harding dike was developed by the Bureau of Mines with the assistance of the Federal Geological Survey. Analysis of this zone from 39 diamond drill holes and quarry exposures showed a large deposit containing 2 pounds of microlite per ton and 21 percent spodumene, In September 1948, the Bureau of Mines resumed development of the deposit with a view to extending the tantalum-bearing zone farther to the southwest or delimiting the ore body. Seven diamond-drill holes failed to penetrate the ore zone in its southwestward projection, Much of the following general information is summarized from the report on the first exploratory work of the Bureau of Mines by John H. Soule.2/

Jan 1, 1949

In 1962 and 1963, two in situ combustion pilot tests were conducted in the shallow Second Venango sand near Reno, Pa. Because of poor oxygen utilization and lack of production response, both tests were considered failures and were terminated. The area was then relatively inactive until late 1966, when a development well drilled near the 1963 test site had surprisingly good production in what was considered to be a pressure-depleted reservoir. Other wells drilled in and around the old thermal pilot areas also came in as good oil producers. This report presents a study of the increased oil production from the Second Venango sand in the Reno area, and the apparent connection of the present production response and the old thermal pilot tests. Apparently combustion occurred in the Second Venango sand after the 1962 and 1963 experiments were terminated and, supported by large volumes of air left in the reservoir after the 1963 test, generated carbon dioxide which helped repressure the formation. This field evidence of combustion warrants another pilot experiment to further explore the use of properly designed in situ combustion techniques in increasing production from the Second Venango sand.

Jan 1, 1971

By John B. Gayle

The coking time has considerable influence on the throughput of a coke oven, and for this reason a large number of papers dealing with the relationship between coking time and the different operating variables have been published. Although all factors known to influence the coking time have been studied, agreement has not been reached on several questions.2/3 Therefore, it appears worthwhile to evaluate any data that become available during investigations of the carbonizing properties of various coals and coal blends. Because it is expected that reports covering several different phases of this problem will be forthcoming as additional data-become available, the following study of the relationship between coking time and bulk density represents a report of progress on the overall investigation of factors influencing the coking time in slot-type ovens. The practice of including coarse coal in the blend going to the ovens to obtain increased bulk densities is well known. Similar increases have been realized by adding small quantities of oil to the coal mix. Although it would appear that such procedures provide inexpensive methods for increasing the capacity of existing coke-oven installations, Ramsburg and McGurl4/ point out that this increase is possible only if the additional coal can be carbonized in the same coking time as regularly employed without using abnormally high flue temperatures. This statement is in substantial-agreement with the position of Auvil and others5/ and implies that any change in bulk density may be accompanied by a corresponding change in coking time. On the other hand, a recent review of proposed methods for calculating the time required for carbonization6/ includes a number of equations that completely ignore the effects of variations in bulk density.

Jan 1, 1954

By R. V. Ramani, R. Stefanko, G. W. Luxbacher

The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 has dictated major changes in mine ventilation with regard to both air quantity and quality. Requirements have also been placed on the ventilation of beltlines, gob and face areas, and air velocities on trolley haulage roads are limited. Escapeways, separate from trolley haulage roads and on an intake split of air, must be maintained continuous to the surface. These and other similar requirements have not only precipitated several modifications to existing ventilation systems but also have greatly increased the complexities of new mine ventilation planning. It is apparent that the use of computers in ventilation system analysis and design is a necessity. SUMMARY Although computer oriented analysis of mine ventilation systems was introduced over two decades ago, it has yet to receive widespread acceptance in the United States. Central to this problem is the fact that, while many computer programs for network analysis have been developed, no attention has been paid to the development of computer input data. Consequently, without this foundation, program applications have been infrequent. This thesis has directly attacked this problem and has presented all pertinent information basic to the development of good computer input data. The areas that were covered include quantity measurement, pressure measurement, fan testing, survey data balancing, and the development of a network schematic from the ventilation survey results. These discussions on data collection and the corresponding reduction to computer coding have been illustrated by an application of a ventilation simulation program to an existing mine in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The use of a ventilation

Jan 1, 1977

By Michael Sokaski

A dense-medium cyclone pilot plant was built to clean 112-inch to 0 size coal. This pilot plant does not require the removal of the extremely fine material (usually minus 1/2-mm) from the feed, which is necessary in conventional dense-medium cyclone plants. The essential difference between conventional cyclone plants and the pilot plant is in the medium-recovery system. The latter uses a combination of sieve bend screens, classifying cones, and magnetic separators for medium recovery. Eight tests were run in the pilot plant at a feed rate of 5 tons per hour with four different raw coals and one crushed jig middling product. Sharp separations were obtained as indicated by an average error area of 27 and probable error of 0.047 for the 112-inch to 200-mesh size range. Magnetite loss averaged about 2.5 pounds per ton of feed. The influence of several factors on cleaning performance of the cyclone was investigated. The diameters of both the overflow and underflow orifices were found to be important for optimum cleaning performance, but these diameters could vary over a wide range without serious effect; however, if this range was exceeded, cleaning performance deteriorated. Better cleaning performance was obtained when the cyclone inlet pressure was increased from 9 psig to 13 psig. The size of the magnetite particles in the medium was found to have a substantial effect, and the best cleaning results were obtained with grade B magnetite. Demagnetizing the magnetite in an effort to decrease the effective particle size did not improve cyclone performance.

Jan 1, 1963

By O. C. Blade

This report on the properties of motor fuels sold through service stations in the United States was made in accordance with a cooperative agreement between the American Petroleum Institute and the Bureau of Mines of the United States Department of the Interior. By agreement with the American Petroleum Institute, identification of the items is confidential. It presents analytical data for 4,954 samples, representing the products of 93 companies. The samples were collected during December 1955, January and February 1956. As in previous surveys, the gasolines covered by this survey include those from both large and small suppliers. The data were obtained by laboratories of various refiners, motor manufacturers, and chemical companies and submitted to the Bureau of Mines for compilation. A list of the National Motor Gasoline Survey reports published during the post 10 years is given on page 5.

Jan 1, 1956

By Robert L. Chufo

This paper describes a general purpose imaging technology developed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) that, when fully implemented, will solve the general problem of "seeing into the earth." A first generation radar coal thickness sensor, the RCTS-1, has been developed and field-tested in both underground and highwall mines. The noncontacting electromagnetic technique uses spatial modulation created by moving a simple sensor antenna in a direction along each axes to be measured while the complex reflection coefficient is measured at multiple frequencies over a two-to-one bandwidth. The antenna motion imparts spatial modulation to the data that enables signal processing to solve the problems of media, target and antenna dispersion. Knowledge of the dielectric constant of the media is not necessary because the electrical properties of the media are determined automatically along with the distance to the target and thickness of each layer of the target. The sensor was developed as a navigation guidance sensor to accurately detect the coal/noncoal interface required for the USBM computer-assisted mining machine program. Other mining applications include the location of rock fractures, water-filled voids, and abandoned gas wells. These hazards can be detected in advance of the mining operation. This initiating technology is being expanded into a full threedimensional (3-D) imaging system that will have applications in both the underground and surface environment.

By John R. M. Hill

The Bureau of Mines performed elastic-plastic, finite-element analyses to investigate the support performance of hydraulic backfill. A mathematical model was developed for two vertically adjacent stopes separated by a sill pillar. An exact duplicate of a working stope was not intended; however, the model did simulate a working stope to the extent that field measurements from an active stope could be used for comparative purposes. Using a predetermined mining sequence, the computer analysis simulated the mining operation as a series of incremental cut-and-fill steps. Computer results included a complete history of stope closure and pillar stresses throughout the mining sequence. With the mining sequence and rock properties held constant, three separate analyses were made using varying backfill properties. These cases included no fill,-low-to-medium-quality fill, and medium-to-high-quality fill. Results of these analyses show decreases in stope closure and pillar stresses as the backfill quality increases, thus reducing the possible occurrence of rock bursts. Predicted stresses within the backfill compare favorably with field measurements. A relationship between maximum stress normal to the stope wall and the ratio of relative fill stiffness to relative rock stiffness was also indicated.

Jan 1, 1974

By A. L. Engel

High extractions of lead, gold, and silver resulted from treatment of an oxidized, arsenical refractory ore by chloride volatilization. The ore was roasted in an oxidizing atmosphere at 1,000° C. for 1 hour. The chloridizing reagent was 300 pounds of CaC12?2H20 per ton of ore. Ninety-nine percent of the lead, 98 percent of the gold, and 96 percent of the silver, and only 6 percent of the arsenic, were volatilized. These results indicated that a satisfactory method could be developed for treating this type of ore. Recovery and separation of the volatilized values and developing metallurgical and operating data for this process require further investigation on a more extensive scale. Tests by gravity concentration, flotation, and cyanide leaching did not give satisfactory results.

Jan 1, 1958

By Foster Fraas

The electrical conductivity of minerals increases with increase in temperature as a result of the thermal activation of the electrons. Some oxidizable minerals have a change in the stoichiometric proportions after heating in air, and the conductivity does not return to the original value after cooling. Similar changes occur in reducing atmospheres. Other minerals, such as carbonates and hydrates, are completely decomposed. Electrical resistivity measurements on single particles when compared to standard separation measurements show that minerals having resistivities above 1013 ohms respond as nonconductors. Those below 1011 respond as good conductors.

Jan 1, 1956

By C. V. Davis

In the lnvestlg::ìt1on of mAthods for aSS8.7ing platin",. conducted by the Bureau ot MinAs, reoent experiments have d~velopad tha~ with ce..tain orei, especially when thr, quantity Of platinum 1s eonlidarablfl, nit'!le acid w111 not etfßct a iepard-Han of platinum and pa11adium. 'lhe following m;lthod has been found to be accurate and to reiu1 t in a complete S''lun''ation of' th~3:l metals. It is therefo 1" '!eeommei:ed that 1 t ba followed rath::r- than the method of separation with nitrio acid, givèn in Technical Pape'! 270.* At line 22, pagi 14, of that paper, bAglnnlng with ~tarm th,~ metals '.'ith dilute¡ nitrio acid," strikE out the rest of the paragraph, and substttutt~ the pro_t cedure g1 ven below. ?lunder and Thuringer.. have developed mnt¡iods for th"i sflparation of palladium from all the platinum metals exoept platinum bj m ,ans of dlmethy- 19lyoxlme. They state that the~ is no action for several hours if an excess of dimeth¡lglyoxime is added to an aqueous solution of ohloroplatinic acid in the cold, alio that only on boiling is the platinum pTecipi ated ¡~d than only PST't of the platinum i srenoved from the sUut1on. They found that palladium 1s p~ecipi tated quati tat! vely in the oold as (CaH 4N40 Pd) which is insoluble tn water, dilute hydroohlorio acid, dilute acetIc aofd or in 50~ ethyl alcbhol. All of their pT'90ipi tations we~p Carl". ied out ~hile the solutions were being heated. This caused a pal"tia~recipltation of the platinum along wi th the

May 1, 1922

By R. E. Head

"The microscopic work described below was engaged in primarily into ascertain the approximate proportions in which the copper sulphides existed in the ore examined, and by a comparison of the results obtained from a study of both head are tailing samples to supply data which might be of value in treating the ore by flotation. Incidentally, the physical characteristics and association of the sulphides were noted in order to determine the possible relation or bearing of these features on the present conditions of treatment. Since the copper in the ore occurred as three distinct sulphide minerals - chalcopyrite, chalcocite, and bornite each containing copper in different proportions, there appeared to be little or no possibility of obtaining the desired information by chemical methods of determination.Type of material examinedThe material examined was in the crushed condition and was said to be representative of the flotation feed or heads and the resulting tailing. No hand samples of the ore were examined nor any account taken of the physical condition and association of the minerals in place, because the possible value of the analytical results depended on conditions as they existed in the crushed ore. As the problems under consideration dealt only with the sulphide minerals, especially those of copper, the products from screen sizing were concentrated by hand panning and the gangue discarded. The concentrate obtained consisted almost entirely of the sulphide minerals, since the panning had been very carefully done. The object of this procedure was to obtain a sufficient quantity of high-grade sulphide material, from the sample of each screen size selected for examination, to permit its being so prepared for examination as to be representative of the physical characteristics exhibited by a large number of sulphide grains from each respective size, In the tests and investigations carried on by the company' treating the ore the following sizes had been used in tabulating data and basing conclusions:+48, +65, +100, +150, +200, and -200. These same sizes were used in the microscopic investigation, since the results obtained thereby could be most readily utilized for comparison with the results obtained in previous experimental work, together with deductions based on actual concentration of the ore on a commercial scale."

Jun 1, 1921

By Thomas J. Peters

The Danskin/South Fork Boise River study area is 40 air km southeast of Boise, Idaho. The 16,000-hectare, two-segment area is mainly underlain by Cretaceous-age granodiorite and an aplitic and pegmatitic complex of the Idaho batholith, Miocene-age rhyolitic tuffs and lavas, and late Tertiary-age basalt flows. No mineral resources were identified in the study area. One mine, The Flat Creek mine, which produced several ounces of gold and silver, was found in the study area. It is geologically similar to deposits in the Neal mining district, adjacent to the northwest corner of the area; gold mineralization occurs along east-northeast-trending faults and associated quartz veins, which dip moderately to steeply southeast, and within adjacent Cretaceous granitic rock. Samples indicate the Flat Creek deposit is not rich enough to mine underground, and near surface, open-pit-mineable deposit areas could not be identified. However, exploration is warranted there and also in the 7-km interval to mines in the Neal district, and for extensions of those mines. No evidence of geothermal activity was observed, although there are hot springs in the vicinity. Some alluvial (placer) samples from the interior of the study area contained free gold, but no substantial gravel deposits were seen.

Jan 1, 1993