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By W. L. Cooley

Electrical accidents occurring in coal mines from 1975 through 1979 were categorized and analyzed. The data was searched for common electrical hazards, common activities on the part of those injured, and common negligent or careless behavior. The most common electrical hazard was abnormal arcs or sparks, the most common injured activity was handling energized trailing cables, and the most common careless behavior was failure to de-energize circuits before working on them. The accident data was combined with mine production statistics to form a normalized electrical accident rate. It was found that some mines have consistently more lost workdays per man-hour worked than do other mines. Bureau of Mines electrical safety research contract expenditures were reviewed to judge whether the research effort was directed to those areas which are related to the most accidents. In some cases it was not. A method was devised and utilized to estimate the relative cost to the mining industry to implement certain safety measures developed through Bureau research, and also to estimate the potential safety benefits. Some safety changes are recommended, others are not. MSHA regulations were reviewed for effectiveness in preventing electrical accidents, and suggestions were made for discontinuing, clarifying, or otherwise modifying the regulations.

Jan 1, 1981

The complex organic chemicals in coal differ from those in petroleum mainly by the ratio of carbon atoms to hydrogen atoms; this ratio is about 2 for coal and 1 for petroleum. By changing the ratio, coal can be converted into compounds similar to those found in petroleum. In. very simplified form, omitting here the special conditions required, the paths by which this can be done are: [ ] Part or all of the coal is first gasified by reaction with steam and oxygen, either in a gasifier or while the coal is still in place underground. The resulting gas is mainly hydrogen and carbon monoxide, with impurities that .must be removed before further processing by one of the following routes.

Jan 1, 1959

By H. C. George

This bulletin deals with prime movers, power-transmitting machinery, and the surface equipment and methods used to pump oil wells. It does not discuss geological problems nor the methods and equipment used in drilling or at flowing oil wells. Much of the presentation is by photographs and drawings which are described in the text. Underground equipment and methods for pumping oil wells will be discussed in a later publication of the Bureau of Mines.

Jan 1, 1925

By L. H. Duschak, C. N. Schuette

In the years 1850 to 1923, the United States produced 2,426,000 flasks- (73,600 metric tons) of quicksilver worth $120,500,000. California yielded 2,195,000 flasks of this total; the remainder came from Texas, Oregon, Nevada, and A.rizona. Most of this metal has been extracted from low-grade ores, those containing less than 0.5 per cent mercury or 10 pounds per ton. The finished product or " virgin metal" is made at the mine and shipped in flasks. Quicksilver is unique in being the only metal that is liquid at ordinary temperature. Because of this and other physical and chemical properties, it is perhaps more indispensable to industry than any other metal. On the other hand, the quicksilver industry of the world is of vanishing significance" when compared to the major mineral industries with respect to quantity and value of product, capital invested, or the number of men employed. The peculiar value of quicksilver is due to the fact that in some of its applications no substitute is available and in others the substitutes would be unsatisfactory or extremely expensive. Scarcely a branch of science or industry fails to make some use of mercury or its compounds. As a detonator for explosives, mercury fulminate holds first place and in safety and reliability could be replaced only by the highly expensive silver fulminate.t vThrough its use in detonators and in the metallurgy of the precious metals quicksilver is of special importance to mining. In medicine,in the manufacture of electrical apparatus, the production of pigments and antifouling paints, and the general field of experimental science quicksilver is equally indispensable.

Jan 1, 1925

Research 82 highlights significant studies conducted during the past fiscal year at Bureau facilities and offices. Readers who want more information about the projects and studies summarized here can contact the researchers whose names and locations appear with each summary. General information on Bureau of Mines programs is available from the Office of Technical Information, 2401 E Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20241. A listing of principal officials, a location map of field facilities, and a selected bibliography of publications and patents issued on Bureau developments during the past 3 years are provided.

Jan 1, 1982

By Sidney Katell, JOHN H. FABER, BRYCE L. MADDOX

The information abstracted from the various publications appeared in the magazines under such headings as Business and Industry , Chemical Engineering Developments , Companies in the News , Headlines of the Month , Industrial News , Industry , Refining and Gas - Processing News , Refining News , What's Happening , and others . Although most items are related to chemical and petroleum plants , a few pertain to related fields , such as markets , drilling costs for petroleum , and field prices of crude oil . Certain articles discuss various aspects of cost -estimating procedures or description of processes . Cost bibliographies prepared by other groups are discussed in items 70 and 271. The two references can be considered as supplemental to this report , since the amount of overlap in the contents is insignificant .

Jun 15, 1957

Since its creation in 1910, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Mines has pioneered in the development of mineral technology, through research. From the very beginning, research on mine health and safety has been a dominating concern, and a responsibility that expanded markedly as a result of the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. Until the mid-1970's research on fuel technology and coal production also was an important part of the Bureau's work. But in the four years following the 1973 oil crisis, Congress established a reorganized Federal energy research apparatus in which all fossil fuel research-encompassing extraction, use, and conservation-was centralized. Today, the Department of Energy houses Federal research on coal mine production technology, while research on coal and noncoal mine health and safety and environmental technology, and on noncoal mine production technology, remains in the Interior Department as a continuing responsibility of the Bureau of Mines. In carrying out its authorized research programs, the Bureau conducts both short- and long-term re-

Jan 1, 2012

By Donelson A. Robertson

Includes a review of the state-of-the-art of explosives loading in the crushed stone and cement industries of South Florida and the development of a field test program for alternatives. Emphasis is on the loading of small diameter (2 1/4" or less) explosives. Test results ire evaluated for operational and economic feasibility. Details are described of an explosives loading method which involves placing cardboard tubes with external couplings through the hollow drill steel and then Loading explosives into the tube casings after the drill rig has moved off. This method eliminates the hazards peculiar to loading explosives Through the kelly bar. The alternative method can be performed by existing drill rigs with or without minor modification. With modification, improvement in yield per blasthole and/or primary crushing rate provides opportunity so offset some or all of the additional cost.

Jan 1, 1978

By William H. Pomroy

Spontaneous combustion fires involving high-sulfide-content ores are a relatively infrequent yet serious safety hazard in mining. They are also the cause of lengthy mine shutdowns because they typically occur in areas of a mine where abundant fuel material is present but which are inaccessible for fire fighting. This Bureau of Mines report describes research to design, fabricate, and test in the laboratory and field a system that warns of spontaneous combustion fires in metal mines. Overall performance of the detection system was found to be satisfactory, in that the system was capable of reliably detecting low levels of combustion products believed to indicate the preflaming stage of spontaneous combustion in metal mines. Installation of similar systems in mines with a high risk of spontaneous combustion is recommended. Principal operating problems and recommended corrective actions are also discussed.

Jan 1, 1987

By F. H. Willcox

This publication is the third of a series of reports on hazards and the prevention of accidents at blast-furnace plants that is being published by the Bureau of Mines, Technical Paper 106a being the first and Technical Paper 136b the second of the series. This bulletin, which is arranged in three parts, treats of the causes and prevention of blast-furnace breakouts, explosions, and slips. The first part discusses blast-furnace breakouts, the hazards therefrom, causes, and features of furnace design and methods of operation that tend to prevent breakouts or lessen their number, and points out safety measures to be adopted. The second part takes up the theory and causes of gas explosions at blast-furnace plants and reviews the better methods in use for handling gas. The third part analyzes the causes of hanging and scaffolding in blast furnaces, with the resulting slips that frequently cause injury to the plant and danger to the workmen, describes features of construction and furnace design and methods of operation employed to prevent hanging and slipping, and suggests precautions and safeguards.

Jan 1, 1917

By Oliver Bowles

Lime is of tremendous importance to modern industries. In agriculture it is regarded as essential to the continued fertility of many important regions; in building it is indispensable, and in the many ramifications of the chemical industries it is so necessary and so widely employed that it has been designated "the king of all the bases." Figure 1 shows a general view of a modern lime plant producing more than 500 tons of lime daily. In 1924 the production of lime was reported from nearly every State in the Union and amounted to more than 4,000,000 tons, valued at, nearly $40,000,000. For a production of that magnitude between 8,000,000 and 9,000,000 tons of limestone are required. The many problems involved in winning this great quantity of raw material from the natural rock and preparing it for the kilns have in the past received little attention from any governmental agency. Therefore, in compliance with a request from representatives of the National Lime Association in 1922, the Bureau of Mines began a study of problems in limestone quarrying in an effort to advance more economical methods of operation and the utilization of waste material. Field studies were made at many quarries, and the information thus compiled, besides data already at hand from work in other branches of the stone industries, were disseminated to operators in the form of mimeographed Reports of Investigations, eight of which were issued at intervals during 1922, 1923, and 1924. A questionnaire was appended to each report, and quarry operators were invited to contribute additional information obtained as a result of their actual experience and observation. Operators of lime plants have been cordial in their responses and have supplied the bureau with much valuable information. From the data thus obtained, supplemented by later field studies, the revised reports have been combined to form the major part of this bulletin, which is believed fairly to represent present knowledge on the subject of quarrying limestone for lime manufacture.

Jan 1, 1927

This report, 27th in a continuing series1, describes Bureau of Mines research and technologic work on coal and related investigations during 1962. While the brief discussion in each section of the report presents only the highlights of Bureau work during the year, details of many investigations can be found in publications cited in this text. Other work, reported here for the first time, will be covered in greater detail in later publications. Recent trends in coal research and technology both at home and abroad were reviewed in several publications2. Bureau research, as in the past3, continued to stress improved methods of mining, preparing, processing, and using coal. The program included a wide variety of applied and basic studies for developing information useful to the coal mining industry and the coal consumer while promoting wise conservation and utilization of our coal resources.

Jan 1, 1963

This report, 27th in a continuing series1, describes Bureau of Mines research and technologic work on coal and related investigations during 1962. While the brief discussion in each section of the report presents only the highlights of Bureau work during the year, details of many investigations can be found in publications cited in this text. Other work, reported here for the first time, will be covered in greater detail in later publications. Recent trends in coal research and technology both at home and abroad were reviewed in several publications2. Bureau research, as in the past3, continued to stress improved methods of mining, preparing, processing, and using coal. The program included a wide variety of applied and basic studies for developing information useful to the coal mining industry and the coal consumer while promoting wise conservation and utilization of our coal resources.

Jan 1, 1963

By C. A. Geffen-Fowler

This report, sponsored by the Bureau of Mines, presents the results of an examination of the safety of the Blind Shaft Borer (BSB) shaft sinking system and an alternative modified BSB design concept in comparison to conventional shaft sinking technology. Detailed study of the two systems was also performed to identify and recommend design changes for optimum safety conditions. A comparison of the BSB systems with conventional shaft sinking was made on the basis of relative risk levels. Risk incorporates both the frequency and the potential consequence of accidents. A safety evaluation of the component operations of the two BSB systems was performed using a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) methodology. The results of this analysis show generally that both BSB systems are safer than conventional shaft sinking. The potential risk of conventional shaft sinking operations could be reduced by over 30%, on the average, with the use of the original BSB system, and by an average of about 10% with the modified BSB. Design change recommendations to further improve the safety of these systems include better fire suppression systems, improved man haulage systems and more compact hydraulics. An operational safety manual was also developed for the modified BSB system.

Jan 1, 1981

By R. A. Isberg

This report describes the design and implementation of UHF radio and closed-circuit television systems in the Black River room and pillar limestone mine near Butler, Pendleton County, Kentucky. Prior to designing the radio system, measurements of signal attenuation on 812 and 466 mHz were made in the slope tunnel and in the straight and level crosscuts in the mine. Two distributed antenna systems fed by two sets of base stations provide approximately 75o coverage of the mine. Passive reflectors are used for extending signals into intersecting crosscuts and two-way signal boosters will be used to extend signals to the perimeter and obstructed areas of the mine. Fourteen mine vehicles were equipped with mobile radios equipped with digital identification, alarm and status encoders. Fifteen portable transceivers also were used. Six closed-circuit television cameras provide surveillance of critical transfer points of the belt conveyor system, and the loading dock at the base of the slope and an ash disposal area in the mine. Two-way radio communication and closed-circuit television have saved considerable man. hours, increased production, reduced maintenance costs and enhanced safety. Innovative developments were the use of passive reflectors and two-way signal boosters for extending signals into intersecting crosscuts, development of lightweight signal margin measuring equipment, modifications of mobile digital encoders to automatically send status information from mine vehicles such as numbers of loads of ore delivered, hot engine, etc., and the use of CATV technology for multiplexing audio, digital and video signals onto coaxial cables from the surface to the mine.

Jan 1, 1981

By W. A. Dunkley, W. W. Odell

About two-thirds of the manufactured gas supplied to the public by the gas plants in the Illinois district is cnrbureted water gas. The leading generator fuel is coke, ma.de in by-product c.oke ovens or in retorts, chiefly from eastern gas coals. During the fall and winter of 1917-18, when the demand for coke by war industries and the restrictions of the Fuel Administration in connection with the transportation of coke from eastern States made it almost impossible for many gas companies to obtain their coke requireml'nts, several water-gas plants had to use bituminous coal as generator fud. Many operating difficulties were encountered, some of which were solved more or less satisfactorily in different plants. A number of plants attacked the problem rather blindly because facilities for making tests were lacking and because technical men were too busy with labor and supply problems to study thoroughly the conditions involved or to ascertain what other plants had done with this fuel. It was therefore with the hope of assisting the gas industry during this critical period, and of promoting the use of Central District coals for gas making, that the Illinois Mining Investigations, a joint agency of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, the University of Illinois, and the Illinois Geological Survey Division undertook the, tests discussed in this paper. • This report was compiled under the auspices of a technical committee appointed by Gov. Frank 0. Lowden to promote the use of Central District coals in gas manufacture as a war measure. This committee included the following representatives of the various agencies concerned: U. S. Bureau of Mines, E. A. Holbrook and W. W. Odell; Illinois Gas Association, C. W. Bradley and R. B. Harper; University of Illinois, Dean C. R. Richards, Prof. S. W. Parr, and Prof. H. H. Stoek; State Geological Survey Division, F. W. De Wolf, G. H. Cady, a.nd W. A. Dunkley. F. W. De Wolf was chairxnan of the committee and E. A. Holbrook was secretary.

Jan 1, 1924

By Daniel S. Witkowsky

The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 provides few specifics to assist the non-fuel mining and mineral processing industries of the United States in achieving pollution prevention (P2) compliance. The U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) recognizes the absence of specific information to reduce pollution impacts from mining and mineral processing of hardrock and industrial minerals. Therefore, the USBM has prepared this publication to help reduce or eliminate environmental pollution and to assure the viability of these segments of the domestic mining industry. This report includes worksheets designed to help operators of mining and milling facilities to establish a P2 program. The report can also be used by citizen and environmental groups, State and local governments, and academia to gain an understanding of P2 as it relates to mining and mineral processing.

Jan 1, 1995

The 1965 Lignite Symposium, the fourth in a series and the third sponsored by the University of North Dakota and the Bureau of Mines, was held at Bismarck, N. Dak., on April 29-30, 1963. Them 7 symposia provide a forum for those interested in the technology and utilization of solid fuels, especially lignitic coals. As part of the meeting, a 200-mile field trip was taken including inspection of (1) the 200-megawatt, pulverized Lignite-fired Leland Olds plant of Basin Electric Power Cooperative, under construction near Stanton, N. Dak.; (2) the site of the Glenharold mine of the. Truax-Traer Goal Co., Division of Consolidation Coal Co., where a wheel excavator was being assembled; (3) the operating Beulah mine of Knife River Coal Mining Co., subsidiary of Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., near Beulah, N. Dak.; and (4) the 400-megawatt, hydro-electric Garrison Dam powerplant, near Garrison, N. Dak.

Jan 1, 1966

By Staff

A major emphasis of the U.S. Bureau of Mines is to perform research on the prevention of fatal accidents at mining operations. The leading cause of fatalities in the underground coal mining industry is groundfalls. This proceedings volume presents several new developments that are helping to prevent fatalities and reduce injuries by groundfalls. The papers focus on the problem from two different perspectives. About half of the papers present information and techniques that can be used to train and motivate miners to protect themselves from groundfalls. The other papers explain how to identify and respond to various geologic conditions that affect the stability of the mine roof. Of the 95 groundfall fatalities that occurred during 1986-90, 75% took place in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia. The rate of groundfall fatalities was much higher at small mines. During 1986-90, the rate of groundfall fatalities at mines employing fewer than 20 people was 4.3 times higher than the rate for larger mines. Because so many groundfall fatalities are occurring at relatively small mines in the southern Appalachian coalfields, many of the papers focus specifically on the needs of this category of mine operations.

Jan 1, 1992

By Robert W. Waytulonis

Mining regulations pertaining to the use of diesel engines were solicited from foreign countries with mining operations by the Bureau of Mines. Responses were received from 27 countries; the information received and U.S. regulations were reviewed, and those parts pertaining to the use of diesel engines in underground mining were synopsized according to the following subject categories: types of engines permitted, testing and certification procedures, fuel quality specifications, emission control requirements, procedures and frequency of testing exhaust gases, mine air quality and quantity (ventilation) requirements, procedures for testing mine air quality and quantity, and noise standards. All categories except the types of engines permitted and testing and certification procedures are summarized in tables. Contacts are provided for each country to facilitate inquiries concerning regulation revisions or interpretation.

Jan 1, 1987