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By D. Harrington

"One of the underlying reasons for the establishment of the United States Bureau of Mines was the desire to promote greater safety in the mining and allied industries. Safety continues to be an important feature in the work of the bureau, and during the fiscal year 1929-30 the Bureau of Mines allotted $387,510 to the safety division out of a total appropriation of $2,249,670 (other than for helium).The safety division personnel consists of 22 engineers, 2 mine safety commissioners, 3 senior foreman miners, 18 foreman miners, 16 first-aid miners, 16 clerks, 10 cooks, and 3 laborers, a total of 90 persons. These safety workers are distributed through the 10 districts into which the United States has been divided for administration purposes. During the year 3 engineers, 1 senior foreman miner, 4 foreman miners, and 4 first-aid miners left the service. In general these men left the service to take up more lucrative positions.The 10 all-steel mine-rescue cars have headquarters as follows: Car 1, Reno, Nev.; Car 2, Raton, N. Mex.; Car 3, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Car 4, Terre Haute, Ind.; Car 5, Pineville, Ky.; Car 6, Pittsburg, Kans.; Car 7, Huntington, W. Va.; Car 8, Duluth, Minn.; Car 9, Butte, Mont.; Car 10, Des Moines, Iowa. There is also a mine-rescue car with headquarters at Juneau, Alaska. In addition, there have been established 11 mine rescue stations as follows: Birmingham, Ala.; Berkeley, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; Evansville, Ind.; Jellico, Tenn.; McAlester, Okla.; Norton, Va.; Vincennes, Ind.; Wilkes Barre, Pa.; Salt, Lake City, Utah; and Pittsburgh, Pa.Every mine-rescue car and station is fully supplied with equipment and devices for use in case of mine fire or explosion, and at each station is an up-to-date automobile truck. At time of amine disaster the bureau's forces are immediately placed at the disposal of the authorities, State or company, with a view to giving such assistance as may be desired or available.The activities of the safety division at ordinary times are directed largely to securing and disseminating data on safety in mining. Among the numerous studies made, or being made, concerning safety and health in mining are those in connection with the causes and methods of prevention of mine explosions, explosibility of dust and gases, explosives and blasting, haulage, electricity, falls of persons or material, ventilation, dusts, high temperatures, timbering, lighting, machinery, and in fact practically anything which results or may result in acci¬dents of any kind in or around mines."

Nov 1, 1930

By H. P. Greenwald

[For sarno years past the Safety in Minbr. Resaarch J30ard of Great Bri tr-dn ha:1 been making ar.. intensive Gearch for, traterials that \.'ould be 1!\ore ef-ficient than rock dust and th t 'could l1eplace it Jholly or in El:}rt as a muans of prevEll'ltine the propa 'tion' of 'c63.1~dust exnlosions in. mines21 In the course of this \o.'ork several rock c.ur--ts md numerous inorganic compounds I,/ere tested. The result w place incombus.ti ble substFlnces in two main groups~ (1) r.:ho se who sa effect' in suppre aeina Jlihe cor.lbustion of coal dUDt i 0 pro-]

Jan 1, 1940

By Albert W. Deurbrouck

This report describes the preparation characteristics of the significant coalbeds in Russell County , Va . Almost 2 million tons of coal was mined in 1961 ; 75 percent of the coal was cleaned mechanically in preparation plants in the county . The coal of Russell County is ranked as medium- to high- volatile bituminous , contains small amounts of sulfur , and generally requires some cleaning to reduce the ash content to limits acceptable for metallurgical purposes .

Jan 1, 1963

By J. M. Seward, W. D. Dietzman, M. E. Hawkins

Analytical studies of formation waters are widely used by the petroleum industry as an aid in solving problems such as identifying intrusive waters , corrosion studies , treating injection water , and choosing open or closed water- injection systems . The solution of a problem is often simplified when reliable analyses of the waters under consideration have been made previously . Chemical analyses and electrical resistivity measurements are presented on 267 samples from 74 fields in south Arkansas , and 199 samples from 80 fields in north Louisiana .

Jul 1, 1960

By W. H. Strickland, R. H. King

Ultrasonic ranging sensors are inexpensive, have no moving parts, have no lenses to clean, are normally small and unobtrusive, and can measure distances through moderate amounts of dust, smoke, and humidity, so they are well suited to underground mines. In the work reported here, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Mines, researchers tested ultrasonic ranging sensors for their abiity to define rib line features for computer-aided navigation of underground mine mobile equipment. The investigation began with laboratory tests of field of view, angle of incidence, intersensor variation, and ranging accuracy of the individual rangers in a ring array produced by Denning Robotics of Wilmington, MA. The results showed that the sensors have good accuracy and low variability. Additional experiments at AMAX's Henderson Mine showed the sensors could accurately and reliably measure the distance to mine features, including convex and concave corners and rib intersections. The results showed that when used properly, the ranger data are accurate enough for reliable mine vehicle navigation When used incorrectly, ultrasonic rangers do not provide the anticipated data. Therefore, this report explains the principles of ultrasonic range measurement, describes the ranger's strengths and weaknesses, and explains proper ranger use and data analysis.

Jan 1, 1993

By James W. Townsend, William H. King

"INTRODUCTION As a byproduct of its mineral investigation program, the Bureau of Mines has developed a number of operating devices and techniques worthy of note. This paper, prepared under the direct supervision of Paul T. Alisman, chief, Salt Lake City Division, Mining Branch, and under the general supervision of Lowell B. Moon, chief, Mining Branch, reports upon ore such technique.The Wright borehole-surveying instrument developed at the Homestake mine, Lead, S. Dak., has been described in several publications. 3/ For the benefit of those to whom the publications are not available, the instrument is described here. However, this article will be concerned mainly with the technique developed by the Federal Bureau of Mines for using the instrument.In the use of the Wright borehole-surveying instrument, it was found advantageous to develop a standard practice of operation covering type of film, preparation and care of film, loading film in instrument, placing instrument in container, exposure time, unloading film from instrument, development of film, and determination of dip and strike from film impressions."

May 1, 1947

By Laurance L. Oden, Jack C. White, Alan D. Hartman

The U.S. Bureau of Mines, under a Memorandum of Agreement with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), established design criteria for a facility to field residues from municipal waste combustion. This facility, which is available to potential users on a cost-sharing basis, is also applicable to a variety of inorganic waste materials from smelting or melting operations. The design consists of a mechanical feed handling system, electric arc melting furnace, fume-off gas handling system, and thermal oxidizer for final off gas treatment. Screw conveyors and a bucket elevator deliver up to 2,000 Ib/h of minus I-in material to a three-phase electric arc melting furnace. This unique 800-kVe A furnace has a water-cooled shell and roof to minimize interaction of the melt with the refractory lining. The volume of the hearth below the slag taphole is approximately 1.2 st of steel. The furnace is sealed, allowing atmosphere control within the furnace and fume duct by nitrogen or inert gas injection. A jet-pulsed baghouse removes particulate from the off gas and serves as an acid gas scrubber. The clean off gas is heated to 1,800' F for 1 s in a propane-fired thermal oxidizer before being vented to the atmosphere.

Jan 1, 1993

By Etienne Audibert

No satisfactory theory has yet been advanced to explain what takes place when an explosive is fired in a mixture of firedamp and air. The only means of measuring the danger is to fire the explosive into the gas mixture and note the effect, but the conditions of firing must be chosen carefully. This report is presented in the hope that it will assist in determining what method to use. The experiments have been designed to show the effect of the principal factors involved in the conditions of firing, and the results give information that seems to have some value.

Jan 1, 1940

By Emery Chilton, Charles Taylor, Mark Senk, Linda McWilliams

Three-axis ultrasonic anemometers are used to study airflow in the NIOSH ventilation gallery where ventilation in an underground mine is simulated. In this study, performance characteristics of this anemometer are evaluated and the effects of sensor orientation and sampler location on flow readings are examined. The study results provide guidelines for more effective use of the ultrasonic anemometers in the ventilation gallery.

Reduce mine worker dust exposure by capturing airborne coal and quartz dust generated by a continuous mining machine. Approach Install a water-powered scrubber system operating at 1,000 psi on the side of a continuous miner boom. Dusty air under the boom is drawn through the scrubber, and cleaned air is discharged into the face return. How It Works Most coal mines use exhaust face ventilation to send fresh air over the miner operator, and contaminated air behind the line curtain to the section return. The difficulty with exhaust face ventilation is that the line curtain should be within 10 feet of the face for maximum effectiveness. If the line curtain is not extended properly, or water sprays for dust control are poorly installed, dust rolls back toward the operator. A scrubber mounted on the mining machine will effectively reduce this dust rollback and the dust in the return airstream.

Jan 1, 1989

By Robert J. Hundhausen

The Young America lead-silver-zinc mine in Stevens County, Wash., was investigated by the Bureau of Mines during parts of 1946, 1947, and 1948. Results of the investigation are described herein. The mine is 1/4 mile northeast of Bossburg, Wash., the nearest railway station. An excellent paved highway (No. 22) connects Bossburg with Colville, Wash., 23 miles to the south. The property was located in October 1885. It is credited with a production of 2,178 tons of shipping ore since 1901. The shipping ore averaged 7 percent lead, 7.7 percent zinc, and 16.1 ounces silver per ton. The property is under lease and option to Walter E. Morris and Perry Leighton of Colville, Wash. The deposit crops out on a steep limestone bluff overlooking the Columbia River. The country rock is a highly metamorphosed, brecciated, marbleized limestone (Northport formation).

Jan 1, 1949

Improve the accuracy of commonly-used mine air velocity measurement techniques. Approach The Bureau of Mines, through a contract with Ketron, Inc., conducted a detailed study to establish appropriate, generalized correction factors for commonly-used air velocity measurement techniques. The techniques used were centerline readings, continuous traverse and split traverse vane anemometer readings, and smoke cloud readings (see Bureau of Mines Bulletion 589 for details on the proper use of these techniques). The various measurement techniques were used at different mine test sites to measure different air velocities. The data collected from the test sites were used in a statistical analysis which determined a generalized correction factor for each measurement technique. The correction factor multiplied by the measured velocity was used to provide the true velocity.

Jan 1, 1984

By R. Clark Lantz, Charles Stanley, David E. Hinton

Morphometric examination of lung alterations following exposure to toxic and pathogenic substances is invaluable in detecting subtle changes which might otherwise be overlooked. Results, from evaluation of initial structural alterations, support and guide subsequent nonmorphological techniques and, when coupled appropriately, can lead to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of a disease. Morphometry is a technique which can be used to determine, quantitatively, the site, extent, development, and progression of a disease state. Determination of the extent of tissue and cellular involvement in the response to inhalation of silica has been performed in order to gain a better understanding of the development of fibrosis following inhalation of this toxicant. In addition, since silica has been postulated as one of the important pathogenic minerals in coal mine dust' it is important to understand the lung tissue response to silica prior to evaluating the effects of inhaled coal mine dusts. Male Syrian golden hamsters were placed in Hazelton 1000 inhalation chambers and were exposed to either filtered air (controls, n = 24) or filtered air plus 30 mg!m3 silica (Min-U-Si110,95%ofparticles < 5 um,n =24)for16hours per day, five days per week, for two weeks. Animals were returned to the animal quarters prior to subsequent tissue processing at 1, 4, and 12 weeks following exposure. This schedule was designed to allow time for the development of fibrosis. Lungs were fixed by intratracheal perfusion of ½ strength Karnovsky's fixative at a pressure of 20 cm H20 and tissues were taken for embedment and analysis at the light level. Determination of site, extent, and development of alterations was performed using a multitiered approach. Changes in large structures (airways, blood vessels) was determined prior to evaluation of changes at the septal tissue level. Data will be presented outlining the progression of changes. Results indicate the usefulness of morphometric analysis of lungs following inhalation of toxic substances in quantitatively defining the structural alterations.

Mar 1, 1989

By A. J. Forney

A high-Btu gas was made at the Bruceton, Pa., laboratories of the Bureau of Mines to demonstrate the feasibility of using the gas as a nonpolluting fuel for automobiles. The pilot plants at Bruceton were revised to combine the processes of coal gasification, gas purification, and catalytic methanation in one overall system. Tests in the Bureau&apos;s test automobiles at Bartlesville, Okla., showed the Synthane gas was less polluting than natural gas.

Jan 1, 1972

By F. Garacia, J. Cervik

Gob holes are routinely used by the mining industry to vent methane from gobs and to prevent it from entering the mine ventilation system. In some cases, flows from gob holes are measured by centering an anemometer on the end of a discharge pipe. These measurements are erroneous and tend to be high by as much as 30 pct. The Bureau of Mines deter- mined method factors (correction factors) for anemometer measurements taken in this manner. Method factors for 4-, 6-, and 8-in (10.2-, 15.2-, and 20.3-cm) ID pipe are 0.68, 0.71, and 0.78, respectively. Comparisons between horizontal and vertical flows indicated no significant change in method factors. Consequently, the method factors for horizontal pipe flows can be applied to vertical upward flows.

Jan 1, 1987

Provide better ventilation for mines by reducing air leakage around stoppings. Approach Most stoppings are constructed of concrete blocks and trowelled-on mortar and are not very airtight. Bureau of Mines research has shown that brushing on modified mortar containing fiberglass and/or other additives, that enhance strength and adhesion, minimizes air leakage around and through the stoppings. Airtightness is an important factor in building stoppings since an airtight stopping will provide for more efficient ventilation airflow and more cost-efficient use of the mine&apos;s ventilation system. How the New Technique Works After broken floor and rib material is removed, the stop-ping faces are covered with one or two coats of modified

Jan 1, 1982

By Robert L. de Beauchamp

The Bureau of Mines reviewed aluminum chloride technology to determine the problems associated with its preparation from minerals, and to ascertain the best areas for research to solve these problems. Commercial AlC13 production processes are described and the ?state of the art? for the preparation of AlC13 from aluminous materials is evaluated. Areas for further research are indicated.

Jan 1, 1969

By Almon F. Robertson

"INTRODUCTION At various times, North Carolina has supplied small quantities of brown-iron ore to the furnace o the South. Between 1917 and 1920, the quantity reported to the Federal Geological Survey was 126,000 tons. Most of this came from Cherokee County. 3/In furtherance of the program initiated by the Bureau of Mines to develop additional reserve of iron ore during the emergency, the Cherokee County deposits were examined by an engineer 4/ of the Bureau of Mines, and work was recommended on,12 properties.The project was begun in April 1944 and continued intermittently until April 1945, when work was stopped. During this period, eight properties were explored, and an additional property was mapped.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSIn its program of exploration 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 national security and economy. It is the policy of the Bureau to publish the facts developed by each exploratory project as soon as practicable after its conclusion. The Mining Branch; Lowell B. Moon, chief, conducts preliminary examinations, performs the actual exploratory work, and prepares the final report. The Metallurgical Branch, R. G. Knickerbocker chief, analyzes samples and performs beneficiation tests. Both these branches are under the supervision of Dr. R. S. Dean, assistant director."

Nov 1, 1946

By J. Ronald Lawter

The purpose of the work described in this report was to measure the effects of diesel engine emissions on the air quality of work areas in a coal mine. Concentration measurements of a number of diesel related air contaminants were made at the Martin County Coal Corporation Mine in Inez, Kentucky. Compounds measured included carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, nitric oxide, and nitrogen dioxide. In addition, concentrations of the two classes of odorous compound;, aromatic hydrocarbons, and oxygenates were obtained along, with aldehyde concentrations. Surveys were made of the mine by odor analysts to determine the perceived intensity of diesel-produced odors. It was found that the concentrations of the measured species were well below their Threshold Limit Values. Odor intensity levels in the moderate to strong range were observed in the mine.

Jan 1, 1977

By Jacqueline H. Jansky

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), U.S. Department of Labor, did a linear analysis for a new underground coal mine in Grant County, WV, through the interpretation of LANDSAT imagery and high-altitude, color-infrared aerial photography, to identify areas of potentially unstable roof in advance of mining. The Bureau of Mines included this mine in its ongoing study of the correlation between geologic features and linears. Three years after the analysis, after mining had progressed through the plotted linears, a cooperative Bureau-MSHA study evaluated the effectiveness of the linear plot in predicting areas of unstable roof and defined the geology associated with the linears. Adverse roof conditions at this mine include roof falls, potted-out roof, water inflow, and local areas requiring supplemental support. At the time of this study, 34 pct of the mine workings were within 200 ft of a plotted linear. Fifty percent of the adverse roof area in the mine occurred within this area. The primary geologic anomaly associated with the linears is an increased frequency of jointing. The majority of the plotted linears coincide with the prominent joint orientations. Additional features observed in the linear zones include roof rolls and a sandstone channel that cuts into the coal seam.

Jan 1, 1983