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By Ronald P. Hollenbeck

Samples of clays, shales, and slates from 29 locations in the Appalachian Region of Alabama and Georgia were tested and evaluated to determine their suitability as raw material for the manufacture of lightweight aggregate by the rotary-kiln method. Samples from 11 locations in Alabama (one each in Etowah, Lawrence, and Morgan Counties and two each in Colbert, Cullman, Tuscaloosa, and Walker Counties) and one location in Walker County; Ga., produced satisfactory lightweight aggregate.

Jan 1, 1969

By Frank J. Wiebelt

Work on the Abbott-quicksilver property was part of the general program of th~ Bureau of Mines in its investigation of domestic mineral resources, which are essential to national defense or industry and of which our present or probable future supplies are inadequate. The mine was discovered in 1862, and the intermittent production up to 1947 has totaled around 37,500 flasks of quicksilver. Output has come from ore shoots formed in the vicinity of fault intersections in a narrow zone composed of lenses of silicified serpentine breccia interbedded with shale. Work by the Bureau included the drilling of six diamond-drill holes aggregating 2,845 feet. Several possible ore zones were intersected by the drill holes. Field work was begun in April 1948 and concluded in October of the same year. This report gives detailed results of the diamond drilling and a brief account of the history and description of the ore deposits.

Jan 1, 1949

By G. G. Campbell

The Bureau of Mines in cooperation with Quaker State Refining Corp. conducted two underground-combustion oil-recovery experiments in the Venango Second sandstone in the Reno pool, Foster-Rena-Oil City field, Sugar Creek Township) Venango County, Pa.) to determine the applicability of the process for reservoirs producing Pennsylvania-grade paraffin-base crude oil. Tests were terminated when analyses of produced gas showed that a self-sustaining combustion front did not exist. It was thought that insufficient fuel had been deposited in the formation. Laboratory retort tests made after the second field test was concluded showed that crude oil from the Reno area would deposit enough fuel to support combustion if air flux, temperature, and time were maintained within defined limits.

Jan 1, 1967

By Liming Yuan

In order to reduce fire hazards caused by spontaneous combustion in longwall gob areas, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study is being conducted by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to simulate the spontaneous heating of coal in longwall gob areas. A CFD model was first developed to model the spontaneous heating process in a two longwall panel district using a bleeder ventilation system with a stationary longwall face. The spontaneous heating is modeled as the low-temperature oxidation of coal in the gob using kinetic data obtained from previous laboratory-scale spontaneous combustion studies. Heat generated from coal oxidation is dissipated by convection and conduction, while oxygen and oxidation products are transported by convection and diffusion. CFD simulations were then conducted to model the spontaneous heating in longwall gob area with a bleederless ventilation system. A single longwall panel with a bleederless ventilation system was simulated. The effect of gob permeability on the spontaneous heating was also investigated.

Jan 1, 2009

By H. E. Powell

Basic data were recorded on the decompositions that take place during thermal decomposition of siderite (FeC03). Both the naturally occurring and a synthetically prepared mineral were studied by differential thermal, thermo-gravimetric, X-ray-diffraction, and chemical (including gas) analyses. Thermal decomposition was studied in the media of dry air, moist air, dry carbon dioxide, dry helium, and dry carbon monoxide and at atmospheric and at reduced pressures. Results showed the thermal decomposition of FeC03 to be an extremely complex process, dependent on environmental factors and side reactions that cannot now be completely controlled. Therefore, full understanding of the reaction involved must depend on additional research with advanced evaluation techniques.

Jan 1, 1965

By Richard C. Barth

Fourteen field plots were established at active coal mines in the Northern Great Plains. A wedge was cut into spoil and backfilled with soil; soil depth ranged from 0 to 152 cm over a linear distance of 15 m. Perennial grasses were planted in each plot, and production was measured from 1978 to 1981. Based on spoil traits and biomass response patterns, plots were grouped into four types. Spoil for Type I plots was near neutral, slightly saline, nonsodic, and clay loam in texture. Perennial grasses reached maximum production with approximately 50 cm of soil depth. Spoil for Type II plots was characterized as sodic and fine textured; soil-depth requirements averaged 83 cm for maximum production. Spoil for Type III plots was characterized as strongly acid, and production increased throughout the soil depth range tested. Spoil for Type IV plots was similar to soil in chemical and physical traits; there was no production response to soil depth. Soil depth requirements were also dependent upon precipitation and species. In general, soil-depth requirements decreased in dry years and with use of introduced species. An appendix contains data evaluations on an individual plot basis.

Jan 1, 1982

By Peter Grandone

Steel and iron pipe lined with cement to protect it against corrosion has been used in the municipal water systems of the New England States since about 1870. In most recent years, the petroleum industry adopted cement-lined pipe to forestall corrosion, particularly in those areas where large quantities of corrosive brines and hydrogen sulfide are associated with the oil produced. Many of the oil companies had on hand large quantities of corroded pipe, normally disposed of as scrap, which could be cleaned, lined with cement, and returned to service. It was soon learned that after the so-called scrap pipe was lined with cement much of it could serve fully as well as new cement-lined pipe. The demand for lining used pipe with cement resulted in the establishment of several processing, plants in the Mid-Continent oil-producing area. Today six cement-lining plants serve the areas three in Oklahoma and one each in Kansas, Texas, and Illinois. All of these plants have lined large quantities of used pipe for the brine-disposal systems of western Kansas, Illinois, and east Texas and also for the operators of water-flooding projects in northeastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas, where large quantities of brine and fresh water are being injected into the oil-bearing formations as a secondary oil-recovery method. Since war demands during the past 2 years have created an acute shortage of steel, the need of reclaiming used pipe for the expansion of oil-producing operations has become more evident than ever before. Thus the new industry (about 6 years old) - lining used pipe with cement - is saving large quantities of steel at a critical time by reclaiming used pipe and preventing further- corrosion.

Jan 1, 1945

By Albert L. Toenges, Theodore R. Jolley

"The development of Alaska depends on the existence of an adequate fuel supply in the Territory. The need to investigate coal deposits was recognized as early as 1911, when the first investigations were conducted in Alaska by engineers of the Bureau of Mines.Conditions existing in the Bering River and Matanuska coal fields, as found by Dr. Robert A. Holmes, former Director of the Bureau of Mines, are described by the Honorable W. L. Fisher, former Secretary of the Interior.4/Following Dr. Holmes' investigation, a party of Bureau of Mines engineers headed by R. Y. Williams visited the Bering River field in 1912 in cooperation with the Navy Department. A detailed examination was made of the Bering River field, and 855 tons of coal were mined from three prospects on Trout Creek. This bulk sample was delivered to the Navy for steaming and other tests. A description of the work of the field party and results of tests of the coal by the Navy Department and the Bureau of Mines has been published.During 1920 to 1922, the comparative steaming properties of Alaska bituminous coal, lignite, and wood were determined by the Bureau of Mines.6/In the early 1920's, the Bureau of Mines established a coal laboratory at Anchorage, where Alaska coals were analyzed. Subsequently, this laboratory was transferred to the Alaska Railroad and was used by the railroad for coal and other tests.Since 1910, the Bureau of Mines has made analyses of coal from Alaska, and the results of these analyses have been published.7/ The coal analyzed was obtained from mines, tipples, delivered lots, and face samples of coal deposits, and these samples were obtained in the field by engineers of the Bureau of Mines and geologists of the U. S. Geological Survey.Because of the shortage of petroleum and petroleum products in Alaska during the war, low-temperature carbonization assays of coals from the Broad Pass, Forty-Mile, Matanuska, and Nenana fields were made by the Bureau of Mines, and the results were published.Coal beds in the Matanuska field contain interbedded impurities in the form of shale, clay, and bone. The coal should be cleaned mechanically to obtain a satisfactory fuel. A coal-preparation study of bituminous coal from the Eska and Evan Jones mines was made by engineers of the Bureau of Mines, and the results were published.9/Coal production in Alaska is less than the requirements, and coal is imported to make up the deficiency. The cost of this imported coal is high. Greater production is necessary to supply coal for Army installations, industry, and homes. At present, there is only one bituminous coal mine (Evan Jones) in Alaska. The output of this mine is used at Fort Richardson, Anchorage, and by the Alaska Railroad. The economic life of this mine is limited (reported to be 3 years), and its closing, because of accidents or exhaustion, will cause great hardship to the inhabitants of Alaska. There is need to develop new, modern mines for the production of bituminous coal in the Matanuska field."

May 1, 1949

By P. G. Clites

This bulletin summarizes the results of Bureau of Mines research on the development of the inductoslag melting process. Inductoslag melting is an induction melting technique using a segmented, water-cooled, copper crucible. The process was developed as part of the Bureau's work on effective utilization of reactive metal scrap, and the process has been applied to melting Ti, Zr, Cr, Co, Fe, Ni, and V. Construction details are given for the segmented crucibles and for both an ingot furnace and a casting furnace. The melting process is described, and results of tests conducted with a variety of reactive metals are given.

Jan 1, 1982

By T. C. Shelton

The Bureau of Mines Contract No. H0101706 with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University was a part of a broad-scale investigation directed toward applied problems in mine safety and particularly toward preventing accidents and fatalities resulting from falls of roof and ribs in coal mines. Under the auspices of the Chemical Stabilization Program, Bureau of Mines, Spokane Mining Research Center, Spokane, Washington, the broad objective of the Contract was to conduct research for the purpose of studying the behavior of large engineering structures. Contract No. H0101706 consisted of two related but distinct tasks. TASK I was to make "Barodynamic Analysis of Large Mine Models," and TASK II was "Preparation of Undisturbed Rock Specimens.?

Jan 1, 1974

By Kenneth H. Johnston

For the past several years, Bureau of Mines petroleum engineers have arranged tours of selected waterflooding projects for the spring meetings of the Kansas-Oklahoma Waterflood Association. These tours are conducted to demonstrate unique operating methods and new field equipment and to provide additional opportunities for exchanging information. Each of these tours has been supplemented by a published report describing in detail the projects visited. This report has been prepared for distribution during the 1960 spring tour of four waterflooding projects in Greenwood County, Kans. (fig. 1). Three of the projects produce oil from the Bartlesville sand, and one produces from the Cattleman sand. The Bartlesville-sand floods have been in operation from 4 to 12 years and have produced about 3,910,000 barrels of waterflood oil from the injection of approximately 64,715,000 barrels of water, a cumulative water-injected to oil-produced ratio of 17 to 1. The Cattleman- sand flood, which has been operating for 3-1/2 years, has produced about 842,000 barrels of waterflood oil from the injection of approximately 9,305,000 barrels of water, a cumulative water-injected to oil-produced ratio of 11 to 1.

Jan 1, 1960

By Donald F. Reed

The bauxite deposits of Tippah and Benton Counties in northeastern Mississippi were developed by drilling as a part of the investigation by the Bureau of Mines of the domestic sources of supply of aluminum. The primary purpose of investigations of this nature was to provide essential information to the war agencies of the United States Government and to assist owners and operators of mining properties in the production of minerals vital to the prosecution of the war. These reports are based upon the field work of the Bureau of Mines and upon data made available to the Department from other

Jan 1, 1948

By C. F. Jackson

This paper has been prepared as a progress report in connection with the series of articles on mining methods and costs which are being published by the U. S. Bureau of Mines in the form of information circulars. Then enough circulars have been completed it is planned to publish a more complete and comprehensive paper in bulletin form dealing with the subject of underground transportation. Progress reports, followed by bulletins, will be prepared from time to time dealing with other subjects included in the general study of mining methods at individual mines, such as mine development, drilling, and blasting; stoping methods (each principal stoping method to be summarized in a separate paper); ventilation; wage, contract end bonus systems, etc.

Jan 1, 1930

By Jr. Hazen

This report documents 653 sets of sample data involving 78,366 assays obtained from past exploration for various minerals and metals. Most of these data have been taken from published reports describing exploration projects, conducted jointly by the Bureau of Mines and the Geological Survey, for the Strategic Minerals Program from 1940 through 1949. Means and standard deviations have been computed for the exploration assay data and have been plotted on graphs for 22 minerals and metals. A mathematical model, based on the binomial distribution, has been developed to explain the configuration of the plots of the exploration means and standard deviations. The two statistics, mean and standard deviation, which describe assay data, have been used for simulating probability models. These probability models then have been combined with the binomial model of the exploration assays and related to the sequential decision process associated with exploration drilling for mineral deposits. These probability regions can be used to form the basis for sequentially predicting the probable range of the average grade of mineral or metal that may be expected as an exploration drilling program is continued after the initial discovery of mineralization has been made.

Jan 1, 1966

By S. Kraemer

Consumption of plastics has been growing in both the U.S. and world markets since the mid-1930s. This growth is due to plastics being used to make new products and as a replacement material for existing products. This paper develops an understanding of the replacement process by looking at the use of plastic, specifically PVC, in the construction pipe industry. History details the growth of the plastics industry and a discussion of the material selection process indicates the advantages and disadvantages of plastic pipe. Analysis shows that the use of plastic, as an alternative material for pipe, is having a significant effect on the cast iron, copper, clay, and steel industries. For the purpose of understanding the replacement process, three example residential systems were examined with a lifecycle cost analysis being performed. PVC was the material of choice in 1988 for all systems. Even though disposal cost was the one area where PVC was not the most cost effective, disposal costs were not sufficient to offset the overall advantage of using PVC on an economic basis. That plastic competes effectively with other materials, in terms of material properties and cost, indicates that further work should be performed to understand the impact plastics have on other material markets.

Jan 1, 1991

By Steven R. Munts

The U.S. Bureau of Mines investigated mines, prospects, and mineralized areas in the South Providence Wilderness Study Area (WSA) in 1982. No mines are currently operating in the WSA, however, the Golden Gift Mine in the southeastern part of the WSA produced $6,800 1/ worth of gold and silver and five mines adjacent to the east boundary of the WSA had a total production of about $3,500,000 1/ in gold, silver, lead, and copper. There is no recorded placer gold production. Over 350 lode and placer mining claims are in and immediately adjacent to the WSA. Of these, 74 were actively held (1982) and at least one area, which is partly within the northeast portion of the WSA, was being actively explored by private industry in 1982. Adjacent to the southeastern border of the WSA the Big Horn Mine contains an estimated 200,000 tons of indicated and inferred marginal reserves averaging 0.25 oz/ton gold; and the Hidden Hill Mine has 550 tons of subeconomic resources averaging 0.60 oz/ton gold. An additional 11,000 tons of marginally economic gold-bearing dump reserves average 0.17 oz/ton gold at the Bighorn, Hidden Hill, and the Buena Vista Mines and the Midas Touch Prospect. Sample analyses indicate eight mines and prospects in, and five adjacent to the WSA may have additional gold-silver-lead-copper vein-type resources. Five of these prospect areas may have a disseminated gold resource and one may have gold resources in a skarn. One prospect may have a porphyry-type copper-molybdenum resource. Although gold placer claims were filed sporadically throughout the WSA, none appears to have placer gold resources. Likelihood for mining is greatest at the Big Horn Mine; if a mill is built there, it could process Big Horn Mine ore, ore from the Hidden Hill Mine, and gold-bearing dumps at the Big Horn, Hidden Hill, and Buena Vista Mines and the Midas Touch Prospect. All of these resources are adjacent to the WSA; however, their development would increase likelihood for development of resources in the WSA. Two major fault zones (the Hidden Hill, and the Big Horn) appear to have controlled the mineralization at many of the prospects and mines. All of the prospects or mines with vein-type occurrences and resources are on or adjacent to one of these fault zones. Veins throughout the eastern half of the WSA contain various amounts of gold, silver, and copper; only veins near the Big Horn Mine and in the northeastern corner of the WSA contain lead. Some veins are as thick as 6 ft, are traceable intermittently for over 2 mi along strike, are sporadically mineralized, are encased in prophylitic, argillic, and phyllic altered host rock, contain pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, specularite, barite, or fluorite, and display multiple stages of quartz veining and (or) brecciation. Sample analyses at five prospects (map nos. 3, 18, 23, 24, and 31) indicate they may have disseminated gold resources. To date no oil or gas has been discovered within the WSA. However, some oil and gas leases are currently (August 1982) held within this study area.

Jan 1, 1984

By K. C. Dean

During the investigation of the occurrence of manganese deposits in western United States, the Bureau of Mines collected 2-ton samples from three oxide manganese ores in the Columbia and Elberta Mining Districts, Tooelo and Juab Counties, Utah. To determine the amenability of these ores to standard ore-dressing methods: of concentration, extensive laboratory tests were made. The Wildcat property, one of those sampled, is 7 miles east of Fairfield, Tooele County, Utah. The ore is described as a replacement deposit and occurs along fracture and bedding planes of shale and limestone. Experimental work was done on a sample taken from a stockpile at the mouth of the shaft. The Wildcat manganese ore is intermediate in grade (25.7 percent manganese) and contains clay as the principal gangue constituent. A high-grade product was obtained with high recovery of Manganese by simple washing.

Jan 1, 1949

"INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTSAt the request of the lessees, the Pearl tract was examined in February 1946, by Otto Ruhl, an engineer of the Bureau of Mines. From the evidence of old drill logs and from the few available records of mining operations on the Pearl and the adjoining Trussel (Big Tom) tract, it appeared that a relatively small churn-drilling program might develop enough lead-since ore to justify resumption of mining. In March 1946, funds were allotted for churn drilling, and the work was begun the following month. Ten holes totaling 1,933 feet were completed before the close of the project in August 1946. The work was under the general supervision of C. H. Johnson, chief, Rolla Division, Mining Branch, and under the direct supervision of the Bureau project engineers. 3/In its program of investigation of mineral deposits, the Bureau of Mines has as its primary objective the more effective utilization of our mineral resources to the end that they make the greatest possible contribution to our national security and economy, It is the,of the Bureau to publish the facts development by each project as soon as possible after its conclusion. The Mining Branch, Lowell B. Moon, chief, makes preliminary examinations and conducts investigation of mineral deposits. The Metallurgical Branch, O. C. Ralston, chief, participates in this program by making beneficiation tests and analyses. In the present project, no metallurgical tests were made, and for the sake of speed the samples taken were analyzed by a local commercial assayer. 4/"

Jul 1, 1947

By C. Q. Cupps, R. F. Zaffarano, J. Fry

Reservoir oil analyses from seven wells in the Greater Clareton area have been included in a study of the original characteristics of oil in the Newcastle sandstone reservoir . These data correlated with areal location of the wells show an increase of saturation pressure in a general north - south or downdip direction . The increase amounts to about 500 psi in more than 17 miles , which corresponds to a depth increase of about 1,600 feet . To facilitate application of the data to engineering analyses , average characteristics are given for arbitrary north and south divisions of the 22 - mile - long producing area . The downdip increase of saturation pressure is taken as evidence of updip diffusion of solution gas from a somewhat higher concentration at the bottom of the reservoir . This effect is opposite to that previously observed in two prominent high- relief reservoirs in the Rocky Mountain area . The increasingly greater saturation pressures southward or downdip in the Greater Clareton area suggest a continuing migration of fluids into the structure .

Jan 1, 1964

By Albert L. Toenges

This paper is the fourth of a series5/ that describes some methods and practices of mining coal mechanically where operations are conducted on more than one shift. Many inquiries have been received regarding methods of extracting pillars with mechanized equipment, and this paper deals primarily with this phase of mechanical mining. Some of the questions that have been asked are:

Jan 1, 1942