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Investigate and demonstrate the possible use of low-density (45-lb/ft3) foam concrete for sealing abandoned mine openings. Although foam concrete has been used in the construction and geotechnical industries for some decades, it has not previously been used in abandoned mint shaft reclamation. Approach A structurally engineered permanent mine seal for an abandoned coal mine shaft, using low-density foam concrete and other appropriate structural materials, was designed by the Bureau and installed at a field site, the No. 22 Shall in Logan County, West Virginia. The field work was conducted by a private contractor under the supervision of the West Virginia AML Section (WV AML). The No. 22 Shaft is situated immediately adjacent to a frequently traveled county road. A few feet away from the shaft is a branch of Pine Creek. On the other side of the road is a railroad line that serves an active mining operation located several miles away. The shaft measures 9.5 by 9 feet in cross section and is about 300 feet deep. It was used at one time as a dewatering shaft and still contains two large-diameter dewatering pipes with steel drive shafts inside them. Before the beginning of the reclamation, the shaft included a concrete cap a few inches thick, with a 4 - by 5-foot access opening covered by a steel grate. The interior of the shaft was quite humid, and considerable flow of water at the bottom of the shaft could clearly be heard from the surface. Methane tests were conducted that showed the shaft to be clear of this gas.

Jan 1, 1992

By T. E. Swigart

In the production of oil end gas, engineering methods have been applied less than in any other branch of the oil industry. While refineries, gasoline plants, pipe-line and other transportation systems, and even drilling wells to a great extent, take advantage of engineering skill, the tendency has been to assume that the handling of producing wells is merely a mechanical and routine matter. At present few companies employ engineers to study oil and gas production methods with a view of increasing the general efficiency of recovery, but in vie, of the advancement in other lines of the petroleum industry by the application of engineering principles, does it not seem likely that the production branch may benefit also by engineering studies? Engineering applied to the handling of producing wells falls under two general headings, - first, the efficient handling of wells from the time of their inception in order to obtain the greatest possible ultimate production, and, second, the rehabilitation of old properties that have been handled carelessly in their early lives. To date, the engineering work that has been done on oil production problems falls mostly in the second class. For example, the use of vacuum and the application of compressed air have proved successful in some instances in stimulating wells of low gas pressure. These methods are costly to apply and are adapted to small wells in which the gas is almost exhausted, or in which the original gas pressure is negligible. The experiments described in this paper fall under the first heading, as they were made with an idea of learning toe probable extent to which the gas production of an oil well can be curtailed while gas in the sand is still plentiful, and thus saved for doing work during the later period of a well's life. Because of the scope of the experiments, this paper does not include a discussion of back pressure on flowing wells or for purposes other than cutting down the gas produced with each barrel of oil.

Jan 1, 1922

By Carl Fisher

A microseismic roof fall warning system was field tested in Western and Eastern coal mines in the United States to better define the capabilities and limitations of the microseismic method in predicting roof fall Microseismic event and energy type data were obtained and documented for twenty-three coal mine roof falls. Field test results indicate that both the microseismic event and energy methods, as applied in this development effort, have a high probability for successful application in a commercially practical roof fall warning system. Based on the results and experience obtained during field testing, a commercial prototype microseismic roof fall warning system was designed and constructed. Although it was the intent of the program to field test the commercial prototype system, delays in equipment fabrication and contract time limitations did not permit field testing.

Jan 1, 1980

By John S. Dunning

This is one of a. series of papers being prepared for and published by the United States Bureau of Mines, describing raining and milling methods at crushed-stone plants throughout the United States. These papers are designed to disseminate technical information regarding the methods used. The cost tabulations represent operating expenditures only and not total production costs. It is recognized that publication of total production costs might in man; instances cause embarrassment to individual producers as well as to the industry as a whole. However, operating costs are essential to technical discussion and study of the methods employed. The attention of the reader is specifically called to this differentiation in order that the scope of the cost tabulations shall not be misunderstood. This paper deals with the quarrying and crushing methods used at the Avon Mountain trap-rock quarry of the Atlas Sand, Gravel & Stone Co., in West Hartford, Conn.

Jan 1, 1936

Consumption and intensity of use trends for 12 metals, by industrial end use, were estimated for 1972 through 1982 by the Bureau of Mines and U.S. Department of Commerce. The trends were then forecast through 1993 using standard statistical methods. The intensity of use measure selected is the quantity of metal consumed per constant dollar output of a specific industrial sector. The metals studied were aluminum, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, nickel, the platinum-group metals, tin, titanium, tungsten, and zinc. Average annual growth rates for the following 4 of the 12 metals increased from 1972 to 1982 as follows: aluminum, 1.00%; platinum-group metals (consisting of platinum, palladium, and iridium), 8.83%; titanium, 7.82%; and tungsten, 6.09%. Consumption for the remaining eight metals decreased at average annual rates ranging from 0.58% (copper) to 5.37% (manganese).

Jan 1, 1986

By Robert J. Evans

Reclamation costs were estimated for 20 coal surface mining operations in the Appalachian and Midwestern Coal Supply Districts (these two districts were divided into three multi-State regions). The cost data were obtained through onsite observations, interviews with mining company personnel, and the authors' cost estimating procedures. The cost data are presented in terms of dollars per acre, dollars per ton of coal produced, and dollars per cubic yard of overburden moved during backfilling. The reclamation process is divided-into three cost categories: Premining planning, backfilling, and revegetation. The average total reclamation costs for the three regions are $2.77 per ton of coal produced and $8,168 per acre. As the result of comparisons of reclamation costs by region, by mining method, by slope, and by size of operation, the most important reclamation cost difference is between area mining methods ($1.73 per ton) and contour mining methods ($3.81 per ton). The Federal Bureau of Mines conducted this study to determine as accurately as possible the actual costs involved with the reclamation of coal surface mined land done in conjunction with active mining operations.

Jan 1, 1975

By L. J. E. Hofer

THIS BULLETIN analyzes and summarizes research at the Bureau of Mines dealing with the preparation, properties, and reactions of iron carbides in the period 1948-60, part of which was sponsored by Wright Air Development Laboratories. The objective was to develop better catalysts for the synthesis of methane and higher hydrocarbons from hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The investigations resulted in the first adequate characterization of epsilon iron carbide, which later proved to be an important intermediate in the tempering of martensite in steel. At temperatures near 170° C, the carbon in carbon monoxide reacts nearly quantitatively with finely divided alpha iron to form an iron carbide in which the metal atoms occupy the positions of the close packed hexagonal arrangement with lattice parameters of ao=2.754 A and co=4.349 A. The carbide has a composition within 2 atomic percent of that required for the formula Fe2C, a Curie point of about 370° C, a specific magnetization of 160.4 ergs per gauss-gram Fe at 50° C, and a ferromagnetic moment of 1.70 Bohr magnetons. Epsilon iron carbide can be converted to chi iron carbide by thermal treatment at 343° C for about 70 hours. The chi iron carbide so formed has a Curie point of 247° C, a specific magnetization of 142.5 ergs per gauss-gram Fe at 50° C, a ferromagnetic moment of 1.72 Bohr magnetons per iron atom, and a paramagnetic moment of 5.5 Bohr rnagnetons per iron atom. Direct synthesis of this carbide from carbon monoxide at 240° C indicates a composition within 7 atomic percent of that required for Fe2C. Chi iron carbide can be converted to cementite at 550° C in about 315 minutes. The theta iron carbide so prepared has a Curie point of 210° C, a specific magnetization of 147.3 ergs per gauss gram Fe at 50° C, a ferromagnetic moment of 1.72 Bohr magnetons per iron atom, and a paramagnetic moment of 3.9 Bohr magnetons per iron atom. Pure chi iron carbide reacts to form theta iron carbide by the elimination of free carbon. In the presence of an excess of free iron in intimate contact with the carbide, chi iron carbide reacts with the free iron to form theta iron carbide. The second reaction proceeds at an appreciable rate at 320° C and can be used to snythesize finely divided theta iron carbide with no free-carbon impurity at low temperatures. The ease of the reaction in the presence of free iron suggests that chi iron carbide is an intermediate in the tempering of epsilon iron carbide to theta iron carbide as it proceeds in steels. Experiments on carbon steel show that the magnetic moment of the iron atoms in martensite is about 2.2 Bohr magnetons per atom, a value approximately the same as that of the iron atoms in alpha iron. The Curie points of epsilon iron carbide, chi iron carbide, and theta iron carbide were found -in various specimens of tempered steel to be 10° to 20° C lower than normal values. This shift is probably the result of manganese in solid solution. Preparations of various compositions of epsilon iron carbonitrides show many effects of extensive isomorphism between epsilon iron carbide and epsilon iron nitride. The action of carbon monoxide on finely divided alpha iron at 400° C results in free carbon deposits containing filaments about 0.1 micron in diameter and several times as long. The filaments are characterized by nuclei of dense material located midway from each end of the filament. Although carbiding to near completion at 240° C over periods of about 300 hours produces a preparation containing no appreciable percentage of epsilon iron carbide, very brief periods of carbiding of the order of a minute result in the formation of detectable epsilon iron carbide even at temperatures as high as 325° C. The data indicate that epsilon iron carbide is an intermediate in the formation of chi iron carbide during its formation from carbon monoxide in the gas phase. Attempts to convert cementite to chi iron carbide by cold work increased the Curie point but did not change the X-ray powder diffraction pattern.

Jan 1, 1966

By K. K. Kelley

"In an earlier consideration of the vapor pressure of iron 3/ it was found necessary to estimate the specific heat of gaseous iron to write satisfactory free-energy-of-vaporization equations for the several forms of iron. That the specific heat of gaseous iron will exceed greatly the classical value of Cp = 4.967 calories per gram-mole per degree is evident from even a cursory Lamination of its spectrum. The two lowest energy states are separated by only 416 cm-1, which is small enough so that the second state is effective, theoretically, at below room temperature. Such phenomena are by no means uncommon, but, while they have been recognized with substances that ordinarily are encountered as gases, classical gaseous specific--heat values still are used, often without question, for the vapors of metals and other elements that are solids under ordinary conditions. The following calculations for iron and copper gases are presented to illustrate the sort of deviations from classical values that are encountered with metal gases.The methods employed in calculating from spectroscopic data of thermodynamic quantities such as specific heat, entropy, and free energy have been described, in detail by Giauque 4/ and others. These will be briefly reviewed here. It is customary to separate the translational energy of a molecule from the rotational, vibrational, and electronic energies. In the case of monatomic gases, only translational and electronic Energies are involved. The classical expression for the specific heat of a mona¬tomic gas, Cp = 4.967, deals only with energy stored in the molecule as translational energy and consequently is valid only in temperature ranges in which no appreciable number of molecules undergoes a change in electronic state."

May 1, 1937

By NEFE NONE

Possible New U.S. Half-Dollar. - Tile George Washington Commemorative Coin Act, H.R. 3133, was introduced in the House and approved by the House Banking Committee. It would allow the minting of at least 10 million commemorative silver half-dollars the size of the same coin produced before 1965. A companion bill, S. 1228, was introduced in the Senate. Taxes and the U.S. Minerals Industry. - The General Accounting Office completed a report to Congress on "Assessing the Impact of Federal and State Taxes On the Domestic Minerals Industry." the study presents a quantitative method to assess the effect of taxes on profitability, and suggests ways to use taxes or tax credits to help marginal mine operations and possibly to increase mineral production, Limited copies of the 139-page report are available free of charge from U.S. General Accounting Office, Documents Handling & Information Sevices Facility, P.O. Box 6015 Gaithersburg, Md. 20760.

Jan 1, 1981

By James R. Boyle

The value of mineral production in-creased 13% in 1977. Nearly all commodities registered an increase in production and value, continuing a trend that started in 1976. In addition, practically all commodities registered an increase in unit value. Alabama led the Nation in the production of crushed marble, was second in bauxite and scrap mica third in kaolin and oyster shell, and fourth in bentonite, dimension marble, and fire clay.

Jan 1, 1981

By R. O. Pynnonen

This publication is an analysis of reports to the Bureau of Mines of 44 fatal accidents that occurred during the operation of rubber-tired, front-end loaders in the mineral industry. The causes of the accidents, the nature of the work being performed, and recommendations for preventing similar accidents are included.

Jan 1, 1967

By L. Hoogenboom

Under contract (H0232044) to the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Mechanical Technology Incorporated made an experimental investigation of the feasibility of measuring the load in roof bolts using a magnetostrictive sensor. The program was aimed at developing an inexpensive, moderately accurate, load-sensing element suitable for permanent installation and use underground. A combination of a cylindrical load-carrying sleeve under the bolt head and 3 removable circular multipole inductive sensor around the sleeve was tested. Program tasks included: design and fabrication of several sensors; design and manufacture of a large number of experimental sleeves; definition of electronic instrumentation specifications; design and manufacture of electronic sensor readout; and evaluation and testing of many sensor-sleeve combinations. Sleeves of different materials, various lengths, diameters and areas - with and without various nickel coatings -were combined with several experimental inductive sensors that were operated over a wide range of carrier frequencies.

Jan 1, 1974

By Thomas O. Llewellyn

This U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) report presents a concise review on sources, processes, supply, and historical use patterns of domestic cadmium. It also covers a preliminary estimated cadmium material flow for the year 1989. This preliminary study contains information on cadmium and cadmium-bearing products in the United States. The data in this report were obtained from both published and/or unpublished sources of information. However, in order to estimate the fate of cadmium in each operation or application stage, some assumptions, judgments, and correlations were made by the USBM in an attempt to determine the material flows losses.

Jan 1, 1994

By Bernadette Michalski

Although hydrocarbons accounted for more than 60% of Bahrain's income and more than 80% of export earnings, this island nation sustained one of the more diversified economies in the Gulf Region. The availability of low-cost natural gas for electric power has fostered the development of a significant aluminum refining and manufacturing industry with emphasis on vertical integration. The Bahraini iron pelletization plant, closed since 1986 due to financial problems, was scheduled to reopen by early 1989. Commodity Review Metals.-Aluminum.-Aluminium Bah-rain Bsc (Alba) attained record high production levels in 1988 taking advantage of favorable aluminum prices, which averaged over $2,000 per ton as compared with less than $1,500 per ton in 1987. Net aluminum production was nearly 13,000 tons over design capacity. Fewer standard ingots (52,081 tons as compared with 79,685 in 1987) were produced as Alba concentrated on higher value added products such as rolling ingots (42,324 tons as compared with 32,125 tons) and extrusion billets (60,934 tons as compared with 46,618 tons).

Jan 1, 1990

By Scott Turner

Many of you radio listeners have probably never seen a mine . You may be glad of it, but you should not forget that there is a vast army of men in this country who not only have to see mines , but have to work in them day by day in order that you may be supplied with many of the things you need. Specifically , nearly a million men work in the mines of the United States , 700,000 in the coal mines , 110,000 in the metal mines , 100,000 in other mines and quarries , and 75,000 in the oil and gas fields . On a stormy night , the average citizen is apt to think of the perils of the seaman . Particularly in the old days before steamships , many a prayer went up " God help the poor sailor on a night like this . " At the same time , the sailormen often expressed fear for the poor landlubber , exposed as he was to the danger of falling chimneys , swaying signboards , and uprooted trees . So with the miner . Many of you may pity him , for working underground in complete darkness except for feeble artificial lighting , mining coal or ore , drilling hard rock , handling explosives , and perhaps breathing vitiated air . On the other hand , on stormy days , with rain , snow or hail falling , and with the temperature low , or on hot bright days , I have often heard miners joke about the poor fellows who had to stay " on top, " and could not get " down below" where there was no wind , where no snow fell, where the temperature was unchanging , and where a man could have his own working place , arranged to suit himself , with little interference from meddlers and with no automobiles to dodge . So do not feel too sorry for the miner . He is quite apt to be a strong , healthy , hearty person , making pretty good wages , and fairly well contented with his lot .

Dec 1, 1930

By E. C. Lane

"INTRODUCTION The first important discovery of petroleum in New Mexico was near Dayton, Eddy County, where the Brown well was drilled in 1909, and small quantities of oil were produced. In 1911 and 1912 wells were drilled in McKinley County, but commercial production did not begin until the discovery of the Hogback field, San Juan County, in 1922. The discovery well in the Artesia field, Eddy County, drilled in 1923, gave impetus to active drilling in many areas. Since 1924 New Mexico has produced petroleum in commercial quantities and since 1930 the State has joined the ranks of the big produc¬ing States, being sixth or seventh in total production in recent years.Production by years. 1924 to 1940, inclusive, taken from annual figures in Bureau of Mines Minerals Yearbook, are given in table 1. The total production shown is 274,331,000 barrels. Andreas 3/ has published production figures for the year 1940 and a resume of all production to the end of 1940. Data from his report are presented in table 2 for each field sampled. The cumulative production, as given by Andreas, is 270,618,575 barrels."

Aug 1, 1942

By H. S. Chiang, S. S. Peng

"SummaryAir velocity distribution surveys on four mechanized longwall faces are presented and discussed. Although there are discernible patterns in the velocity distribution, there are wide differences in distribution in the cases examined. This can be attributed to differences in mining and face geometry. An important factor is air leakage into the goaf.IntroductionOver the past two years several intensive air velocity surveys have been carried out in West Virginia coal mines as part of a programme aimed at understanding dust transport mechanisms on mechanized longwall faces. These are presented here and some of the patterns of velocity distribution are discussed.Ventilation survey methodologyThe air velocity vector consists of three mutually perpendicular subvectors; the vertical subvector is directed toward the roof, one of the horizontal subvectors is parallel to the coal face and the other pointing to the gob. The air velocity which was measured in this paper is the horizontal subvector parallel to the coal face.To record the velocity distributions at the longwall faces, the surveying stations and the surveying points were established as follows.(1) The first station usually was set at the third support from the headentry T-junction. Within the first few supports, the air coming from the intake airway encounters a sharp right-angle turn at the T-junction, and forms a turbulent region close to the coal face. The intake air in this region is also influenced by the motors that drive the face conveyer. But when the air reaches the different. But for the same face the number was the same. The main air-travelling area was divided into six to 12 equally sized sub-areas, and each surveying point was situated approximately at the centre of the sub-area.The velocity survey was carried out by two persons, one reading the meter and the other taking down the readings. A complete survey at one station took about 5-8 min. Usually, the dimension of the cross-sectional area was measured during that time.A third person used the smoke tubes to observe the following: (I) the air movement patterns at different locations; (2) the extent and the direction of the air leakage; and (3) the machines' influence on the main airflow. At the same time he observed and recorded the roof conditions and the compactness of the roof-caving in the gob."

Mar 1, 1989

By Michael J. Griffin

Science involves the study of the nature and behaviour of natural things and the knowledge we obtain about them. Scientific endeavour leads to the unfolding of new knowledge and adjustments to our understanding and our behavior. To indicate that we ‘know’ something may merely mean we do not feel able to, or that we do not wish to, disagree with others who claim to know; or it may mean we have either heard about it, or studied it, or understand part of it, or accept that it is true, or have seen evidence to be convinced of its veracity. What do we ‘know’ about the health effects of vibration? There are many unknowns in the field of human responses to vibration. Not all would agree on what is known and what is unknown. This paper seeks to summarize what we know that we know, what it is sometimes claimed that we know, and what we know that we do not know about the relation between exposures to vibration and our health. It also speculates on what we do not know that we do not know. Hand-transmitted vibration What we know we know We know that exposures to hand-transmitted vibration result in various disorders of the hand, including abnormal vascular and neurological function. Not all frequencies, or magnitudes, or durations, of hand-transmitted vibration cause the same effects. What we may claim to know To enable exposures to be reported and compared, they are ‘measured’ and ‘evaluated’ using defined (e.g. standardised) procedures. This involves identifying what is to be measured and specifying how it is expressed by one (or a few) numbers. Summarising a vibration exposure in a single value involves assuming the relative importance of components within the vibration (e.g. different magnitudes, frequencies, directions, and durations), so standards define ‘weightings’ for these variables. The importance of the weighted values may also be suggested, allowing ‘assessments’ according to a criterion (e.g. the probability of a specific severity of a specific disease). Standards for the measurement and evaluation of hand-transmitted vibration define a frequency weighting and time dependencies that allow the severity of vibration exposures to be assessed and the probability of finger blanching to be predicted 1. What we do not know We do not know that the frequency weighting in current standards reflects the relative importance of different frequencies and axes of vibration in producing any specific disorder. We do not know whether the energy-based daily time-dependency inherent in A(8) reflects the relative importance of vibration magnitude and daily exposure duration. Consequently, the relation between A(8) and the years of exposure to develop finger blanching, as in an appendix to ISO 5349-1 (2001), is not well-founded. We do not know, or at least there is no consensus on, the full extent of the disorders caused by hand-transmitted vibration (e.g. vascular, neurological, muscular, articular, central), or the pathogenesis of any specific disorder caused by hand-transmitted vibration, or the roles of other factors (e.g. ergonomic factors, environmental factors, or individual factors). We know that acute

Jan 6, 2006

By Abdo F. Bayazeed

A survey of the underground injection of steel processing waste pickle liquor (WPL) was made by Bureau of Mines engineers. Hydrochloric and sulfuric acids WPL are being injected into deep wells completed in the Cambrian age Mt. Simon Sandstone Formation in Illinois and Indiana. The Mt. Simon Formation ranges up to 1,800 feet in thickness. The average depth of WPL injection wells is 4,000 feet, and injection is mostly by gravity flow at rates as high as 4,000 barrels per day. The details of the design and operating history of a WPL well located near Gary, Ind., are discussed. Laboratory tests showed that the Mt. Simon Sandstone is sensitive to fresh water. The adsorption of iron and neutralization of acids by sandstone cores from deep wells and an outcrop were determined.

Jan 1, 1973

By R. T. Johansen

A gradual decrease in injection rates commonly occurs as a water-flooding project becomes older. This decrease can be attributed to changes in reservoir conditions, such as swelling of clay minerals, fillup, or gradual plugging of the sand face. However, a rapid decrease in the rate of injection indicates abnormal behavior and is cause for alarm. Extreme plugging conditions can completely stop injections into a formation. Such behavior in wells was the main concern of the tests described in this report. An accepted method of alleviating this condition is by backflowing input wells - closing the supply lines to the wells and allowing the reservoir pressure to force water back into the wellbore and to the surface. If backflowing is not successful, a string of smaller diameter pipe sometimes is run inside the casing, and the sand face is flushed with a waterspray. More drastic treatment is to inject acid into the wellbore to dissolve extraneous matter, or even part of the reservoir material, in an attempt to restore the permeability of the sand immediately around the wellbore. Any of these procedures can he coordinated with bailing and swabbing of the well for cleanout purposes.

Jan 1, 1957