Search Documents

By Albert E. Long

During the summer and fall of 1948 the Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the U. S. Geological Survey, conducted 6xperiments in diamond core drilling in the Phosphoria formation in southeastern Idaho and southwestern Wyoming. Nearly all of the diamond core drilling in the Phosphoria formation has been done by mining companies interested in finding and developing phosphate-bearing beds amenable to stripping. The recovery of sludge; and enough core (usually 30 to 60 percent) to identify certain marker beds produced by current drilling practices meets both the primary requirement of mining companies in determining depth of overburden and their secondary need to determine the phosphate content of relatively thick minable units whose general composition and nature are already fairly well established.

Jan 1, 1949

By Burton J. Thamer

Radon emanation coefficients of 0.02 to 0.55 were measured at moisture contents ranging from dry to saturation in eighteen different ores. The emanation coefficients rose from a minimum when dry to a plateau usually starting at 5-20 percent of saturation. A model, using measured pore-size distributions, suggested that the radium mineralization may be confined to annular layers about 0.02 micrometers thick around pores. Radon's diffusion coefficient was determined as a function of moisture. The techniques involved comparing a disc's exhalation as a function of time whether or not the disc had a distributed source. The model was free of approximations and included the effects of porosity and adsorption. An increase of diffusion coefficient with moisture for one or two ores was explained in terms of a model's equation for the diffusion coefficient in terms of both volume and surface diffusion. Radon's adsorption coefficient was determined on a uranium ore.

Jan 1, 1981

By Eric L. Trist

The objective of this contract was to review the results of the Rushton Mining experiment in work organization and design, to explore the extension of knowledge gained from Rushton to other underground coal mines, and to conduct a search for a potential mine site for a demonstration project. The primary focus of the contract was on a search process to provide the research team with the opportunity to evaluate the different potential experimental sites, in order to select one or more with the highest potential for success. This search process also provides the various levels of union and company officials the opportunity to fully understand the context of the research before making a decision on whether to participate. While the search project failed in its attempt to locate a specific mine site, the research team believes that this is not a rejection of the actual project but rather extreme caution because of the uncertainty within the UMWA.

Jan 1, 1978

By H. Foster Bain

The war has brought about many changes in the Western States, and some have deep pr sent or potent al economic significance. The West has been feeling severe growing pains for a number of years. Especially since the beginning of preparation for national defense and through the period of

Jan 1, 1945

By Erle C. Donaldson

Subsurface injection of liquid and slurry-type industrial waste is being used as a means of waste disposal. This survey conducted by the Bureau of Mines shows that the method can be economically and environmentally attractive if the proper precautions are taken, especially when the alternative is cursory treatment and discharge at the surface. Attention is called to petroleum technology and experience that can be applied to subsurface waste injection. Part 1 of this report is a discussion of the general aspects of subsurface waste-injection systems. Part 2 is a general discussion and review of the literature concerning the geologic formations available for injection in the United States. Part 3 is a discussion if 15 case histories including information on the source and nature of the waste and the geology, surface equipment, well completion, and operation of the systems.

Jan 1, 1974

By Karl E. Starch

This Bureau of Mines report is a background study of severance taxes on mineral production. The rates, bases, and other features of State severance tax legislation as of March 1978 are presented, as are the amounts of State severance tax collections for fiscal year 1977, Some statistical comparisons between severance tax collections, total State tax collections, and total value of mineral production in the States involved are presented to portray the relative importance of severance taxes both in State tax revenue systems and in mineral industry revenues. A general discussion of the purposes and principles of taxation, the unique nature of a mining enterprise, the various types of taxes imposed on mineral production, and the character and rationale of the severance tax and its impacts on mining firms sets the severance tax in perspective. A bibliography of materials on the severance tax is included.

Jan 1, 1979

By Russell R. McLellan

Under the Heavy Metals Program, investigations were conducted at the old Badger dill placer mini in Nevada County California to collect data and information regarding drilling and sampling methods and deposit characteristics. The studies contributed to a team effort by five Bureau of Mines research groups to develop new or improved placer mining technology in the Tertiary gold-bearing channel gravel of northern California. This report describes the techniques used and the results obtained in the sampling and drilling stage of deposit delineation studies that were conducted by the Denver Mine Systems Engineering Group. Sampling included the collection and processing of 400 tons of largo and small volume samples from drill holes, underground workings, surface pits, and blast hole rounds. A total of 355 samples averaging 2,296 pounds per sample provided reasonably accurate data for analysis of the gold distribution. These studies indicate that the bulk of the gold is within 40 foot of bedrock in stacked, lenticular zones of cemented gravel that are largely confined to the relatively narrow, meandering course of the deepest portion of the bedrock channel. Drilling studies involved the testing of three types of truck-mounted drills including rotary, bucket and vibratory, none of which proved to be a completely versatile tool for sampling quickly and reliably both consolidated and unconsolidated gravel.

Jan 1, 2012

By BUREAU OF MINES

PLATINUM

Feb 1, 1922

Research workers From the Bureau of Mines and industry met with other government and industry representatives in Pittsburgh, Pa., on January 22, 1975, to discuss the results of research under the Bureau of Mines Noise Control Program. The program, aimed at reducing noise in mines, is functionally divided into three major areas: Instrumentation, personal protection, and noise abatement. This proceedings contains the opening remarks to the seminar and seven technical presentations based on various aspects of noise abatement and control.

Jan 1, 1975

By C. T. Baroch

This report summarizes cost data accumulated during 15 months of sustained operation of the Bureau of Mines Boulder City (Nev.) titanium plant, which had a capacity of about 1,350 pounds of titanium sponge per day. The plant was constructed during the 1952 fiscal year with funds supplied by the Ordnance Corps, Department of the Army. Its original purpose was to engage in process development work as a continuing phase of the Bureau of Mines policy to seek improvements in producing titanium metal. In early 1953 the Defense Materials Procurement Agency contracted with the Bureau of Mines for producing approximately one-half million pounds of usable ductile titanium sponge. Production began in May 1953, ended in September 1954, and yielded 492,503 pounds of acceptable metal. Operating costs covering this period of operation, with suggested depreciation and administrative costs, are given, as well as outlines of building and equipment capital costs. In addition, miscellaneous economic considerations are discussed, including labor and operating-time schedules.

Jan 1, 1956

By John Gross

Studies in grinding efficiencies carried out at the Midvale plant of the U. S. Smelting, Refining & Mining Co. and at the Tooele plant of the International Smelting Co. Were made possible by the cooperation of these two companies with the U. S. Bureau of Mines. Mr. Alan Probert of the U. S. Smelting, Refining & Mining Co. and Mr. E. C. Peterson of the International Smelting Co., devoted their entire time to the work during the respective tests, and their services are hereby gratefully acknowledged. It is a pleasure to acknowledge also the assistance and kindness of the staffs of both companies in making it possible, at considerable trouble and expense, to sample the entire mill circuits and in furnishing the necessary supplies and special apparatus required in the work.

Jan 1, 1929

By I. AITKENS

Quartz maintains a rather conspicuous position among gem stones , despite its being the commonest and, in its natural form, the most easily recognized of mineral substances . This prominence is due primarily to the extensive use of amethyst , which provides stones of the finest violet color , and also to the wide employment of yellow quartz ( citrine ) which is called topaz by jewellers and vies with the true topaz in color and brilliance . Unlike many less costly gem materials quartz is hard and durable .

Mar 1, 1932

The Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) announced that the second unit at its experimental facility at Palestine, Tex. would begin production -in 1979, increasing the capacity of the facility to 30,000 tons per year. The plant uses an experimental process based on the electrolysis of aluminum chloride and reportedly uses 4 to 5 kilowatt hours per pound of aluminum produced, compared to an industry average of about 7 to 8 kilowatt hours per pound. Alcoa has reportedly signed a letter of intent with the Chinese government under which Alcoa will conduct feasibility studies on two new integrated aluminum projects and modernization of an existing aluminum plant. If the study results are favorable, Alcoa Engineers Inc. and the Import and Export Company of the Chinese Ministry of Metallurgical Industry could negotiate agreements to provide Alcoa technology and services for the projects.

Jan 1, 1979

By C. H. Johnson

The Big Jim mine of the United Eastern Mining Co. is at Oatman, Mohave County, Ariz. Oatman is in the foothills on the western side of the Black Mountains, at an elevation of about 3,000 feet. It is on a paved highway about 30 miles west of Kingman, the principal distributing; center for mining supplies in the district, and 25 miles from Topock, en the Colorado River. Both latter towns are stations on the Santa Fe Railroad; Oatman has no roil connection. Mining conditions are typical of western Arizona; water is scarce, no mine timber is available locally, and the winters arc mild and the summers hot. The supply of a killed labor is usually adequate, but in 1933-34 it w not more than sufficient for the restricted operations. Wages have been $4.00 to $4.50 for miners. Electric power was supplied from Kingman and cost about 2.6 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Jan 1, 1935

By Fred N. Kissell

This handbook describes effective methods for the control of mineral dusts in mines and tunnels. It assumes the reader is familiar with mining. The first chapter deals solely with dust control methods, regardless of the application. It is a brief tutorial on mining dust control and will be of help to the reader whose dust control problem does not conveniently fit any of the mining equipment niches described in later chapters. The subsequent chapters describe dust control methods for different kinds of mines and mining equipment. This includes underground coal and hard-rock mines, as well as surface mines, stone mines, and hard-rock tunnels. Because dust sampling has so many pitfalls, a chapter on methods used to sample dust is included. For those occasions when there is no practical engineering control, a chapter on respirators is also included. Except for those listed as ?future possibilities? in the longwall chapter, the dust control methods described are practical and cost-effective for most mine operators. If controlling dust were a simple matter, dust problems in tunnels and mines would have been eradicated years ago. Unfortunately, most underground dust control methods yield only 25% to 50% reductions in respirable-sized dust. Often, 25% to 50% reductions are not enough to achieve compliance with dust standards. Thus, mine operators must use several methods simultaneously, usually without knowing for sure how well any individual method is working. In fact, given a 25% error in dust sampling and day-to-day variations in dust generation of 50% or more, certainty about which control methods are most effective can be wanting. Nevertheless, over the years, some consensus has emerged on the best dust control practices. This handbook summarizes those practices.

Jan 1, 2003

By R. S. Rosso

A program to investigate the effects of hardened washers on the uniformity of roof bolt tension and the resulting ground control in an underground mine was carried out. The complete roof bolt installation and roof bolt loads, mine convergence, and bed separation were monitored for a period of five months. The results show no evidence to support or refute the theory that mechanical roof bolts offer better support when they are installed with a high uniformity of tension. Also shown is the fact that if the bolts are installed with a maximum deviation from the mean torque of ±15% the addition of hardened washers significantly improved the uniformity of the installed tensions in the roof bolts.

Jan 1, 1977

By Frank L. Hess

"New England" and "granite" if not synonymous are at least associated terms. Where there are granites that are not deeply eroded there are usually pegmatites, the most erratic of rocks, and of them New England has a full portion. Many of the New England pegmatites contain the rare alkalis - lithium, rubidium, and cesium. however, the same in homogeneity of the earth's crust that has made the New England pegmatites unusual, in that so many of them contain the rare alkalis, has likewise made the distribution of the rare-alkali minerals sporadic even in those pegmatites, and most contain only enough to furnish collectors with more or less ornamental and uncommon minerals. New England has long had numberless collectors of minerals, and the mineralogists of its various schools have published many papers on the pegmatitic minerals, including those of the rare alkalis, but none of the papers have dealt with estimates of quantities. In this paper we have tried to place the emphasis on quantity rather than on mineralogy.

Jan 1, 1943

By W. R. ARGYLE, R. A. SHERMAN, Henry Kreisinger, John Blizard, B. J. CROSS, A. R. Mumford

On entering the World War the United States was confronted with the necessity of building in a short time a large number of ships of tonnage adequate to transport troops and war materials to Europe and to carry food supplies to the allied countries, whose merchant fleets had suffered greatly by submarine warfare. The necessity of building ships quickly led to the formation of the United States Shipping Board, which was charged with the duty of developing an efficient organization for the purpose. Such an organization was developed under the name of the Emergency Fleet Corporation; it was under the control of the Government, but could conduct its business in the most direct way, like a private corporation. In order to build the largest- number of ships possible without drawing too heavily on the steel industry, which was already taxed heavily by the production of munitions, it was decided to build wooden as well as steel ships. These ships were built from a few standard designs to enable a large number of duplicate parts to be fabricated in inland shops and transported by railroad to the shipyards on the seacoast, where they were assembled into ships. In other words, the plan was to manufacture the ships rather than to build them. The shops on the seacoast were reserved to make those parts of the ships' equipment that could not readily be transported. The inland shops made the parts that could be transported to the seacoast by railroad. Among the more important parts of the ships' equipment to be standardized were the boilers. As the Scotch marine boiler in large units is bulky and can not be transported by railroad, and as, for the same capacity,much more steelis needed in its construction than for water-tube boilers, a few simple designs of water-tube boilers were developed that inland shops having ordinary equipment could make in large quantities.

Jan 1, 1924

By John W. Colburn

A tractor-integrated version of an explosive ripping system was developed for mining application. This system utilizes diesel fuel and a tractor-mounted blower supplying 30 psig compressed air to a two-stage combustion chamber to produce a high pressure (600 psia) gas charge. The charge is rapidly released into the rock formation near the tip of the ripper. The system, mounted on a D9 tractor, was tested at several quarry and mining operations to investigate rock fracturing effectiveness. Although the results of comparative ripping passes conclusively demonstrated that the system increases rock fracture, performance of the system is strongly dependent on rock morphology and properties as well as basic performance of the tractor-ripper. The theory of conventional and explosive ripping modes is described and existing correlations of seismic velocity and ripper performance are shown to be in error.

Jan 1, 1977

By S. H. Ash

THIS REPORT covers the third in a series of five projects into which the Conowingo tunnel system has been divided for geographical and practical reasons. It outlines the work constituting Project No.3 that consists principally of the following: (a) To sink the No. 15 shaft and extend the Alden, Sugar Notch, Baltimore No.2, and Laflin shafts from their present depths to tunnel level; (b) to drive a tunnel off these shafts to connect with the western end of the tunnel in Project No.1 (Lackawanna) and to a point 1 mile south of the No. 15 shaft; (c) to construct an emergency pumping plant at the No. 15 shaft, complete with 3 centrifugal pumps of 200-cubic-foot-per-second (c. f. s.) capacity each, and a discharge-water shaft and a discharge tunnel for conducting the water from the pumping plant into the Susquehanna River; and (d) to construct a lateral tunnel 1 mile long off the main tunnel in the vicinity of the No. 15 shaft, to be known as the Wyoming lateral. The project, as outlined, is a self-contained drainage unit that will permit unwatering inundated mines and safeguarding active mines in the Wyoming Basin of the Northern field and also will handle the water in the Lackawanna Basin, thus permitting the temporary pumping plant provided in Project No.1 to be discontinued. The pumps installed in the temporary pumping plant provided in Project No.1 can then be moved to the emergency pumping plants recommended in Projects Nos. 2 and 3, to be installed as the third or standby unit.

Jan 1, 1955