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By M. G. Zabetakis

This publication contains highlights of a 4-hour lecture and demonstration by the Bureau of Mines on the fire and explosion hazards of flammable liquids and solids, oxidizing materials, corrosive liquids, and compressed gases. The authors first presented this material as part of a 2-week course given to officers and enlisted men at the U.S. Coast Guard's Dangerous-Cargo Handling School, established at Fort Eustis, Va., in 1959. The Bureau was asked to present the lecture and demonstration because of the extensive experience of its researchers in handling certain harardous commodities.

Jan 1, 1961

By Patricia R. Devine

This appendix documents the mathematical approach to deriving the components of change presented in this report. The formulation closely follows that contained in Chapter IV of the documentation for the BEA 1977 Input-Output Tables.' The basic elements for the calculations include the "use" matrix (U), the "make" matrix (M), and any of the ten columns of final demand (generically represented by the symbol y). The use matrix contains information about changes in the technological processes of production, while the make matrix describes the nature of secondary product production in each industry. We adhere to BEA conventions in maintaining careful distinctions between commodity output (c) and industry output (x). The industry-by-industry 1-0 tables supplied by NYU for use in this analysis are square matrices, with the number of commodities and the number of industries both equal to 85. The BLS table for 1982 (commodity by industry) was aggregated and adjusted to be consistent with the earlier tables. The three basic steps for estimating components of change proceed as follows for each column of final demand. 1) Calculate the actual change in output of each commodity for each of the four time periods: 1963-72, 1972-77, 1977-82, and 1963-82.

Jan 1, 1988

By Lulie H. Crump

Salient information on reserves, production, and consumption of fuels and energy by State is summarized in this Bureau of Mines publication. Reserve and production data are shown for each of the fossil fuels (coal, crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas) and for uranium. The consumption data of each of the major consuming sectors (household-commercial, industrial, transportation, electric power, and miscellaneous) are broken down by energy source (coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower, and nuclear). In addition, total energy consumption in the Nation in 1973 is compared with consumption in 1972 and 1974 (preliminary data).

Jan 1, 1976

By Martin Smirlock

A novel instrumentation system has been developed which enables simple, quick, and accurate measurement of vehicular dynamics within low speed ranges. The system, consisting of a microwave transceiver and microprocessor data acquisition and reduction system, measures the deceleration dynamics of low-speed mining and construction equipment. It makes the basic measurement, calculates key parameters such as average deceleration, initial velocity, stopping distance, and brake system delay time, and produces autoscaled graphs of velocity, acceleration, and displacement versus time.

Jan 1, 1981

By B. W. Gandrud

This is the third report published by the Bureau of Mines concerning the washability of Black Creek coal. Both of the former reports5/6/ dealt with the Black Creek coal at the Bradford mine, Dixiana, Ala., near the northeastern extremity of the Warrior field, whereas the present report is based on float-and-sink tests of coal from what is presumably the Black Creek bed near the southern extremity of the field. Although the Yolande Coal & Coke Co., owners of the property at Yolanda No. 6 slope, consider this opening to be on the Black Creek bed, the authors do not feel that there is as yet positive proof that this correlation is correct. There has been little or no development of the Black Creek bed in the Yolande Basin in the past, and a posy-tine identification of the bed at Yolande No. o will have to await further exploration and development. The Yolande No. 6 is an exploration slope 3/4 mile north of Rockcastle, Ala. The slope is approximately 400 feet from top to bottom on a dip of 18° As fax as the authors can ascertain, coal has never been produced commercially from the Black Creek bed in the southwestern part of the Warrior field. Exploration work in the past has indicated that the Black Creek coal in. this area is extremely friable and high in sulfur. Extreme friability would naturally discourage its' use as a domestic and railroad fuel, and high sulfur content would be a disasvantage in its use for coking coal. The present study of this coal has been made with particular reference to sulfur elimination on the assumption that it would make a good coking coal provided enough of the sulfur could be eliminated by washing.

Jan 1, 1939

By Bruce K. Cantrell, Stephen W. Stein, David Hassel, Harvey Patashnick

The Mine Safety and Health Administration. Department of Labor, requires coal mine operators to measure compliance with federal re¬spirable dust exposure standards periodically using approved gravi¬metric samplers. However, the gravimetric approach, with its inher¬ent delays, cannot provide dust concentration data quickly enough to allow on-site correction of inadequate dust control strategies or re¬moval of personnel from harmful environments. Furthermore, alleged tampering with dust samples collected to determine compliance with standards prompted the Secretary of Labor to appoint a special Respirable Dust Task Group to study options to improve monitoring and control of respirable coal mine dust. The Mine Safety and Health Administration's Task Group recommended that the U.S. Bureau of Mines develop a fixed-site monitor that would provide continuous information to the mine worker and mine operator regarding dust levels and the status of compliance with the applicable respirable dust standard. In response to the Mine Safety and Health Administration's request, the U.S. Bureau of Mines is investigating several sensor tech¬nologies for continuously monitoring respirable coal mine dust. One of these technologies is the Rupprecht and Patashnick Co. tapered element, oscillating microbalance. The bureau is in the process of investigating the suitability of using this sensor in the high humidity and vibration environment of underground coal mines. Laboratory tests have indicated that, with modification, the sensor can meet the humidity and vibration requirements for underground coal mine use. Currently, the bureau is developing

By Seth C. Schaefer

As part of the Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, effort to provide thermodynamic data for the advancement of minerals technology, the Gibbs energy of formation of sphalerite (zinc sulfide) was investigated with a high-temperature galvanic cell employing stabilized zirconia as the electrolyte. In the temperature range 948 to 1,210 K, potential measurements were obtained for the cell Pt, ZnS + ZnO, S02 = 1 atm // Zr02 // Cu20 + Cu, Pt, with the overall cell reaction ZnS(c) + 3 Cu20(c) = ZnO(c) + 6 Cu(c) + S02(g). (1) These results, combined with the best available values of ?Gf° for ZnO, S02, and Cu20 from the literature, give the Gibbs energy of formation of zinc sulfide for the reaction Zn(l,v) + 1/2 S2(g) = ZnS© (2) ?Gf° = -64.223 + 24.02 X 10-3T ± 0.650 kcal/mole (3) (948-1,180 K; standard states - pure liquid zinc and S2 gas at 1 atm), and ?Gf° = -92.720 + 48.17 X 10-3 ± 0.650 kcal/mole (1,180-1,210 K; standard states - pure zinc vapor and S2 gas at 1 atm). A third law analysis yields for the formation reaction Zn(1) + 1/2 S2(g) = ZnS(c), (5) a standard enthalpy of formation as follows: ?Hf298.15 = -63.64 ± 0.700 kcal/mole.

Jan 1, 1978

By Kevin Hennings

Screening efficiency models developed to date rely almost exclusively on empirical formulas based upon large amounts of acquired operating data. A screening model was developed using a combination of empirical coefficients and explicit mathematical expressions which quantify screening phenomena. A series of screening tests was run to supply data for purposes of correlation and empirical coefficient evaluation. The model has been implemented as a digital computer program. The validity of the modeling procedure has been established by laboratory testing. Results generated by the model have been used to compile an applications handbook, which can be used to predict screening performance in lieu of using the computer program.

Jan 1, 1982

By F. A. Rutledge

The W. E. Dunkle mine, sometimes called the Costello Creek coal mine, is 8 miles N. 20° W. of Colorado Station on the Alaska Railroad. The presence of coal in this area has been known since the district was extensively prospected for gold between 1911 and 1915. At that time, coal from this deposit was used by miners for blacksmithing. The increased demand for coal resulting from government defense projects in Alaska led to exploitation of this deposit in 1941. The inability of Alaska coal mines to supply the quantity of coal required by public and private consumers and by the armed forces in Alaska was responsible for establishment by the Army of the Coal Procurement Section of its Alaska Department. It proposed to investigate the deposits and to expedite production from the Alaskan coal fields. The Bureau of Mines closely cooperated in this program. The quality of the Dunkle coal and the favorable location of the deposit caused it to be one of the properties chosen for investigation under a joint Army-Bureau of Mines-Geological Survey program.

Jan 1, 1948

By E. P. Youngman

The mining law of British North Borneo is entitled " The Mining Ordinance , 1927. 113 The only mining regulation or rule available is " Rules 313 , 114 passed in accordance with article 26 of the ordinance of 1927. Before the passage of this legislation , the country had no specific law governing the granting of mineral rights , although the land law contained provisions relating to mining lands . The land ordinance of 19135 still controls in a few details . All references in this paper , unless otherwise specifically designated , are to the mining ordinance .

Mar 1, 1933

By D. Harrington

The mining industry of the United States has for many years possessed the dubious aistinction of having the poorest accident rate of all of the major lines of industrial endeavor in this country, and until recently there ras little or nothing to show that any material improvement might be expected. However, there are now numerous trends indicating that the corner has ceen turned at last, and it is strongly hoped that the mining industry is likely to follow the railroads, the cement and other industries in operating with occurrence of only a reasonable amount of loss of life and limb through accidents. The complete accident figures for metal and nonmetallic mineral mining for 1931 are not yet available, but fragmentary data shor that 1831 vill un- questionably have very low accident rates, probably the lowest in the history of our metal mines. One underground metal mine has produced over 14,000,000 tons of copper ore rithout a fatality; another metal mining company with an electric slovel operation has handled upwards of 75,000,000 tons of material, copper ore and waste, without the occurrence of a fatality; an iron-ore compan, which orns six mines (three underground, three open pit), has operated every one for a year or more without a lost-time accident with a con- siderable number of employees and a large production; and alot.er iron-ore producer with 30 mines and about 3,000 employees as an average of nearly 10 months of operation in 1931 without a lost-time accident. umerous other wonderful safety records of metal mines in 1931 indicate unmistaimbly tat the record of the noncoal mining industry of the United States as a role in 1931 will undoubtedly be found to be excellent. According to the latest relatively complete figures (those of 1930) available for the coal industry, fewer than 650,000 persons are employed in and around the coal mines of the United States, the figures indicating at a little over 493,000 people are engaged in bituminous mining and a little under 151,CCO in anthracite mining. Bureau of Mines complete figures suc that 2,053 persons were killed and 103,821 non-fatally injured in our coal

Dec 1, 1932

By H. G. Hammon

Uranium miners have been shown to develop lung cancer in direct proportion to the time of exposure in the mine and the concentration of radioactivity (cumulative working level).1 Radon gas is continually evolved from the uranium ore, but because of its shoe half-life, 3.82 days, it is soon decomposed into particulate daughter products, which along with the dust in the mine, become deposited in the miners' lungs. At present, massive ventilation is the only effective method of reducing the radioactivity concentration in the mines. However, the Bureau of Mines is evaluating the possibility of using coatings on the mine wall that will have sufficiently low permeability to radon that the gas will decompose into the particulate daughter products before it can permeate the coating. Permanently trapped in the coating, the daughter products would be prevented from dispersing in the mine atmosphere. Lawrence Livermore Laboratory was asked to aid in this investigation. The direct determination of radon permeability is more difficult than that of the other noble gases because of the short half-life of the gas and radioactive contamination of the apparatus. We felt that it should be possible to estimate radon permeation coefficients from other noble gas permeation coefficients. It was noted that the log of the diffusion constants for helium, neon, argon, and krypton, as reported by Meares2,3 plotted to a straight line-against the square of-the gas molecularddia meter. The log of the permeation coefficients also plotted to a straight line against the square of the gas molecular diameter. Thus, by determining the permeation coefficients of such gases as argon and krypton through various films and coatings, it appeared likely that radon permeation coefficients could be estimated. In addition we felt it should be possible to find some relationship between polymer structure and he noble gas permeation coefficient that would aid in the selection of coatings materials as radon barriers.

Jan 1, 1975

By E. P. Youngman

This paper is one of a series of digests of foreign minim legislation and court decisions that is being prepared in advance of a general report relative to the right of American citizens to explore for minerals and to own and operate mines in various foreign countries. This interpretation of the minim lams of Ceylon has been prey tired from the best available information in Washington and is released subject to amplification and correction, if necessary, by United States foreign-service officers. INTRODUCTION Ceylon has no basic mining law; the general rules governing the granting of mineral concessions and affecting legal titles of concessionaires are laid down in Ceylon Government ordinances or are found in the authorized forms for licenses and leases. The material available in the preparation of this digest is as follows:

Jan 1, 1933

By I. Liebman

The Bureau of Mines conducted experiments on coal dust explosion suppression. The investigation took place on a beltway in the double-entry of the Bureau's Experimental Mine. Using conditions that simulate those in a working mine, the investigation showed that a coal dust explosion can be readily initiated in a conveyor belt entry. Also, the explosion can spread into adjacent entries through opened crosscuts (stopping destroyed by explosion) to propagate for long distances even though the adjacent entries are rock dusted in compliance with regulations. Passive water barriers (water-filled tubs) were found to be effective in suppressing explosions on a beltway; however, barrier efficiency was reduced by opened crosscuts. The study indicated that the beltway barrier should be the distributed type consisting of continuous rows of water-filled tubs covering long distances along the entry. A plan is outlined for the installation of a water barrier system in a working coal mine for the protection of a beltway.

Jan 1, 1981

By E. S. Leaver

The gold that is not recovered by a particular process is refractory to that process. A study to determine how the refractory gold is associated in the ore constituents usually indicates the needed improvement in the process or additional methods for bettering recovery. In preliminary work, segregation of the various minerals, gangue or impurities, and data showing the reactions of each in the recovery method readily confines the refractory gold to a certain part on which extensive research can be directed. In this dissecting plan, the microscope is an important aid in locating the refractory gold but should be supplemented by chemical tests.

Jan 1, 1934

The Bureau of Mines annually publishes statistical data reflecting technological trends in the minerals industry (metals and nonmetals except fuels). This report outlines recent developments and trends and the technology outlook for mining practices and metallurgical processing based on a review of the minerals industry during the past 2 years. A historical statistical series which indicates trends in the minerals industry has been extended with 1970 data. In addition, data are given from a 5-year Bureau of Mines cyclic canvass of froth flotation plants. Data for 1970 are compared with those of 1960 and 1965.

Jan 1, 1972

By R. L. King, J. Cervik, A. A. Campoli

The Bureau of Mines performed laboratory experiments to evaluate the triboelectric effect of particulate-laden gas streams on polyethylene pipe at various velocity, humidity, dust-size, and dust-load conditions. Charges in excess of 10 kV were produced on the outside and inside surfaces of laboratory pipe samples, when exposed to 40 pct relative humidity (RH) gas stream containing coal dust. However, no charges were produced in laboratory tests that duplicated the over 75 pct RH and dust-free gas streams found in working underground pipelines. Bare cop- per wire, which is wound around the polyethylene pipe in a 1-ft (31-cm) spacing and grounded, eliminated the charge on the outside surface of the pipe, but not on the inside of the pipe surface,

Jan 1, 1986

By G. R. Fitterer

In the manufacture of steel by any process the refining period involves the partial elimination of the metalloids carbon, manganese, phosphorus, and silicon, by virtue of their reactions with ferrous oxide. At the end of this refining stage the metal consists chiefly of iron in which small amounts of these materials are dissolved. Unless some deoxidizer is added to the steel at this time, the reaction between carbon and ferrous oxide will continue with such force that it is impossible to form sound steal in the ingot molds. Instead, the product will exhibit a marked porosity due to the formation and trapping of carbon monoxide-the product of the reaction mentioned. However, if deoxidizers are added, steel may be obtained which is dense and free from gas bubbles. At the same time the deoxidation products will remain in the steal as impurities. For example, silicon additions form Si02 or combinations of Si02 and FeO. Additions of manganese form deoxidation products consisting of various proportions of MnO and FeO. It is also quite obvious that simultaneous additions of manganese and silicon will form oxide combinations either in the binary system MnO-SiO2 or in the ternary system FeO-MnO-SiO2. Work at the Pittsburgh Experiment Station of the United States Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the Metallurgical Advisory Board, involved the study of such deoxidizing reactions and their products. In this connection considerable information is necessary concerning FeO, MeO, Si02, and Al 203, and their various combinations. Some of the most needed data are the melting points of all of these materials. At the outset of this work ordinary methods of melting point determinations were found to be inadequate for various reasons, and the procedure finally selected involved the use of the micropyrometer with occasional corroboration by quenching methods, The reasons for this selection, together with a description of the apparatus, are given in the following pages.

Jan 1, 1932

By H. R. Shell

Fluorphlogopite mica was synthesized from inexpensive and abundant olivine, clay, feldspar, and sand (plus K2SiF6). The raw materials were melted in crucibles and in an internal resistance electric furnace. The melts yielded >95 percent mica. The major difficulty encountered was incomplete settling of the highly dispersed ferroalloy. This problem was not completely solved. Reducing agents tried in melts of 300 to 400 pounds were carbon, silicon, and silicon carbide. Carbon slowly reduced the iron of the raw materials, with much fuming. Silicon apparently was oxidized ahead of the melting and was ineffective under the conditions obtained. By far the best reducing agent was silicon carbide. With silicon carbide, fuming did not occur and ionic iron content of the mica flake approached 0 percent. However, even with SiC, the highly dispersed globular iron did not completely separate from the mica portion. The fluorphlogopite made during this investigation should be suitable for metallurgical use. A byproduct ferroalloy containing about 5 percent nickel, 3 to 5 percent chromium, and some cobalt was obtained. Because of the highly dispersed metallic ferroalloy, the mica was not deemed suitable for electrical or electronic uses.

Jan 1, 1962

By Sara Jane Boles

In recent years the interest in rare-earth compounds as refractory materials has exceeded the available literature on the subject. While some basic properties, such as density and melting point, of the more readily available rare-earth compounds have been reported in the literature, relatively few papers can be found that deal comprehensively and primarily with high-temperature refractory properties and applications of rare-earth oxides, carbides, sulfides, and nitrides. Therefore, this bibliography has been pre-pared for the use of the ceramic industry as a guide for locating and utilizing the scattered and frequently fragmentary information available. The term "rare earths", as applied in the literature search for this bibliography, is understood to include the following elements: cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium, samarium, terbium, thorium, thulium, uranium, and ytterbium. (On the periodic chart, these elements appear as numbers 57 through 60, 62 through 71, 90, and 92.) It is emphasized that many of the abstracts included are from papers in which the rare-earth compound or compounds are treated along with several other ceramic materials, are mentioned only secondarily, with primary interest placed on a more commonly used refractory material, or are used as part of a mixture of materials formed experimentally and reported on in the paper. As the better known rare-earth materials, such as the oxides of uranium, thorium, and cerium, appear more frequently in the literature, they also appear more frequently in this collection. Articles abstracted include only information on the basic properties that are of interest to the refractories investigator. References to crystal lattices and related topics are generally excluded from this publication. The temperature 1,500° C. has been set arbitrarily as the lower limit for reported data on thermal properties. However, because of the scarcity of information, some reports are included in which data are limited to those obtained at lower temperatures. Many of the articles abstracted include lists of references that will be of additional assistance in pursuing specific lines of investigation.

Jan 1, 1962