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By R. J. Henry

This paper describing the mining practices at the Teck-Hughes mines at Kirkland Lake, Ontario, is one of a series being prepared by the United States Bureau of Mines on mining practices, methods, and costs in various mining districts. HISTORY Prospecting was begun in the neighborhood of Kirkland Lake in 1906, but staking did not take place until 1911. Gold-bearing veins were discovered by surface trenching in 1913 on the mining claims which now make up the Teck-Hughes Gold Mines (Ltd.). A small mill was erected in 1916 after the completion of some underground exploration. A transmission' line was built in 1917 to the camp to provide adequate power for a vigorous underground campaign. Also in 1917 the present management took control operations since 1916 have been continuous,' with a steady increase in production to date.

Jan 1, 1930

By Roswell W. Prouty

As part of a general plan for control and economic utilization of the waters of the Missouri River Basin as well as development of its inherent power resources, the Corps of Engineers of the United States Army has under construction a rolled earth dam near the site of old Fort Randall in South Dakota. The dam is in Charles Mix and Gregory Counties on the Missouri River at a point about 922 miles above its mouth. It is approximately 125 air-line miles southeast of Pierre and 55 miles southwest of Mitchell, S. Dak. The storage reservoir to be formed by the dam will extend upstream for 150 miles and, at maximum operating pool level, will cover an area of some 107,000 acres. It will have a storage capacity of 6.2 million acre feat.

Jun 1, 1949

By H. D. Hess, C. P. Mabie

This report describes in detail the results of petrographic research conducted on 21 phosphate ores representing important deposits in southwestern Montana , southeastern Idaho , and northeastern Utah . The ores are described and categorized by mineralogical and chemical composition , thermal behavior of organic carbon , and textural constitution . Descriptive and genetic classification schemes applicable to western phosphate ores are discussed ; results from related studies made of the collophane mineralogy are also presented . The latter studies were centered on determining unit - cell dimensions and CO₂ , P2O5 , and fluorine content of collophane concentrates of 11 high - grade phosphate- rock hand specimens selected solely for this purpose . On the basis of this investigation , operational methods have been developed for quantitatively describing textural and compositional features that are likely to be significant in determining the response of phosphate ores to conventional beneficiation treatments ; systems for classifying the ores in relation to these features have been proposed . Studies to date point out distinct textural and compositional variations in the western phosphates and illustrate their importance in determining optimum beneficiation procedure .

Jan 1, 1964

By W. P. Yant, R. R. Sayers, H. W. Shoaf, John Chornyak

"The contemplated use of dichloro-difluoro methane in domestic and commercial refrigerating appliances and in air-conditioning equipment for Public buildings and possibly homes, brings attention to the health hazards involved in a wide potential exposure of the public to vapors of another new product, and for the first time to vapors of an organic fluorine compound. The objective in the development of this new refrigerant, however, has been the mitigation of health and explosion hazards in automatic refrigeration, and accordingly these factors have been given primary attention. Early in the development, the Bureau of Mines was requested to make a laboratory study of the toxicity and potential hazard:"" and it was on the basis of the results of this work and the results of a preliminary investigation made in another laboratory5 that the compound has been selected for commercial use. Although the investigation conducted by the Bureau of Mines is still in progress, information has been obtained to indicate the order of the toxicity and the magnitude of the health hazards involved in the use of dichloro-difluoro methane as a refrigerant. The following is a summarized report of the work completed to date:Additionally work rich is in progress at the present time includes a determination of the lethal time-concentration curve for animals and a study of the response of persons within the range of safe concentrations.The writers desire to jive acknowledgment to T E. Midgley, Frigidaire Corporation, Layton, Ohio, for suggesting the investigation, for arranging for the cooperation of the Frigidaire Corporation, and for advice during the experimental work; to Robert A. Kehoe, The Eichberg Laboratory of Physiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio; and E. R. Hayhurst, college of Medicine, Ohio State University, for consultation and advice in planning the work; and to the following employees of the Bureau of Mines for assistance in performing the experimental work: L. M. Berger, chief scientific aid, S. J. Pearce, junior chemist, and Ethel B. Stead, technician."

May 1, 1930

By William C. Smith

Roof support, an important aspect of ground control, involves maintaining roof competency to ensure a safe and efficient mining environment. Wide variability in rock quality and stress distributions requires a systematic approach to roof support design that satisfies specific goals. The success of past roof sup-port in reducing the incidence of roof falls has been primarily attributed to safer roof bolting practices. However, roof falls continue to be the number one occupational hazard in underground coal mines. This U.S. Bureau of Mines report presents a general overview of roof bolting and other roof support methods used in the United States. Characteristics of bad roof and associated roof failure theories are briefly presented as background to roof support. Methods of detecting and monitoring roof behavior and/or bolt performance provide essential feedback on roof support requirements. A discussion follows on roof bolt design that assimilates roof and support parameters into useful equations or nomographs to help decide what bolt types to use and how they should be installed under different roof conditions.

Jan 1, 1993

By R. L. Loofbourow

The adjacent towns of Rouyn and Noranda, centers of the Rouyn mining district of western Quebec, are 360 miles by air line almost duo north of Toronto. Rouyn is reached from the main lines of the Canadian National Railways and the Canadian Pacific Railway at North Bay, Ontario, by the Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway and its subsidiary, the Nipissing Central Railway. Noranda is the southwestern terminus of a branch from the Canadian National Railway between Winnipeg and Quebec. The Rouyn mining district is a part of a mineralized zone that has been traced for a distance of 140 miles from Kirkland Lake in Ontario eastward into the Province of Quebec to the Pascalis district. From Rouyn the mine is 5 miler almost duo south over a gravel rend built by the company with assistance from the Province of Quebec.

Jan 1, 1933

By S. J. Aresco

The Bureau of Mines has been active in promoting the purchase of coal for Government use under specifications that define the requirements in terms of heating value of the coal, expressed in British thermal units, and the composition as shown by proximate analyses. To these, when required, are added the ash-softening temperature, the free-swelling index, and the Hardgrove grindability index. Under most of these specification contracts the bidders guarantee the quality of the coal, and that guaranteed by the successful bidder becomes the standard of his contract. The deliveries are sampled in accordance with instructions4/ issued by the Bureau of Mines, the samples are analyzed in the Bureau laboratory to determine whether the coal is of the quality guaranteed by the contractor and, if it is not, a price adjustment is made. Analyses of the delivered coal and tipple samples (samples collected at mine tipples as coal is being loaded into railroad cars or trucks) provide valuable data for use in evaluating future bids. In addition, the continuous sampling of coal as delivered is a check on the practical results obtained in burning the coal.

Jan 1, 1957

By Terry L. Muldoon

The Bureau of Mines conducted an investigation to quantify microphone response variations that could result when the microphone is worn by a worker, as with a personal noise dosimeter, and to suggest an optimum placement and orientation of the microphone for noise exposure measurements. Previous studies have shown no significant variations in a diffuse field. This investigation, therefore, was conducted in the free-field conditions of an anechoic chamber using an anthropometric dummy as a subject, and broad band noise as the acoustic stimulus. This investigation established that, in a free field, the wearer's body does significantly affect microphone response; the response variations are a function of azimuth, and location and orientation of the microphone. Results suggest that locating the microphone on top of the subject's shoulder, oriented parallel to the body axis, should yield data comparable to that obtained using a sound-level meter.

Jan 1, 1973

By Seth C. Schaefer

The Federal Bureau of Mines studied the Gibbs free energies of formation of chromous fluoride (CrF2), chromic fluoride (CrF3), and chromium (II,III) fluorides (CrF2.40 and CrF2.45) with high-temperature galvanic cells employing calcium fluoride doped with 1 mole-pct yttrium fluoride as the electrolyte. Free-energy changes were obtained from open-circuit potential measurements for the following cells: Cr, CrF2 // CaF2 // NiF2, Ni (a) NiO, NiF2 // CaF2 // CrF3 , Cr203 (b) CrF2 , CrF2.40 // CaF2 // NiF2, Ni (c) and CrF2 ?45 , CrF3 // CaF2 // NiF2, Ni (d) with the following overall reactions Cr(s) + NiF2 (s) = Ni(s) + CrF2 (s) (1) 3NiO(s) + 2CrF3 (s) = 3NiF2 (s) + Cr203 (s) (2) 5CrF2 (s) + NiF2 (s) = 5CrF2.4O (s) + Ni(s) (3) and 3.64CrF2.45 + NiF2 (s) = 3.64CrF3 (s) + Ni (s) . (4) These results were combined with the best available literature values of ?Gf° of NiF2, NiO, and Cr203 to deduce Gibbs free energies of formation for the chromium fluorides expressed as follows: ?Gf°(CrF2) = -179.31 + 24.33 X 10-3T ± 0.43 kcal-mole. (5) (858.1 - 964.9 K) ?Gf° (CrF3) _ -226.16 + 1.82 X 10-3T ± 0.79 kcal/mole (6) (880.8 - 957.8 K) ?Gf°(CrF2.40) _ -213.65 + 32.14 X 10-3T ± 0.44 kcal/mole (7) (0053.9 - 936.8 K) and ?Gf°(CrF2.45) _ -176.17 - 12.67 X 10-3T ± 0.80 kcal/mole (8) (875.1 - 937.6 K). Free energies and equilibrium fluorine pressures for three univariant and one bivariant equilibria are illustrated.

Jan 1, 1976

By William H. Schiffbauer

The U.S. Bureau of Mines has been investigating methods and technology that may improve safety and production when applied to existing mining machines. Toward those goals, the Bureau has developed navigation systems that provide machine positional information while in the production area. This research has been limited in the past because the Bureau had only one type of mining machine to do experiments. Addressing this problem, the Bureau, along with Carnegie Mellon University, has developed a generic vehicle emulator, in the form of a wheeled vehicle with an onboard computer, known as the Locomotion Emulator, that provides a software-selectable vehicle emulation package. Preliminary testing by the Bureau has shown that the emulator can accurately imitate the maneuvers of the software selected vehicle type. Now the Bureau can test their navigation systems on different vehicle types without having to procure each of the vehicles. This report completely describes the emulator as well as all the modes in which it can be operated.

Jan 1, 1991

By Earle S. Burnett

Rotating piston deadweight gages have been used for many years for measurement of pressure to several hundred atmospheres. They have been calibrated by comparison of fluid pressures produced by various loads bearing on the piston bases, as measured by corresponding heights of balancing columns of mercury. When expressed in appropriate units, these ratios of column heights to piston loads are called piston constants. Experimental arrangements and procedures for their determination are presented in this paper, followed by a discussion of their significance and of their subsequent applications.

Jan 1, 1966

By D. H. Desy

The Bureau of Mines studied the properties of copper that had been oxide dispersion-strengthened with 2 vol pct of either yttria or alumina. Compounds of copper and aluminum or yttrium, coprecipitated from aqueous solution, were converted to oxides; the copper was reduced, compacted, sintered, and extruded. For the resulting copper-dispersoid composites, room temperature tensile properties after annealing in hydrogen, elevated temperature tensile and stress-rupture properties, and electrical conductivity were determined. Compared with oxygen-free copper, copper-2 vol pct alumina or yttria had improved strength after annealing between 400° and 1,000° C, and improved elevated temperature strength, with little loss in electrical conductivity.

Jan 1, 1969

By Gordon Bath

During the summer of 1946, the Division of Geophysical Exploration of the U.S. Bureau of Mines established several primary magnetic base stations near important iron-producing districts in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Stations were located in groups of four to six in six separate base-station areas, and each position was marked with a concrete monument. Differences in magnetic intensity between stations in these areas, as well as the difference between each area and a magnetic datum at the magnetic observatory of the Coast and Geologic Survey at Cheltenham, Md., were measured with a modified Askania magnetometer. Measurements also were made with a Hotchkiss superdip to study the usefulness of the stations for the calibration of instruments of this type. The work was planned and supervised by F. W. Lee, chief of the Division of Geophysical Exploration, and Edward F. Fitzhugh, Jr., chief of the Minneapolis Division of the Bureau of Mines. Special mention is due Harold B. Ewoldt, Bureau of Mines engineer, for his assistance in the field work, especially in locating and establishing monuments. Special mention also is due Clyde L. Holmberg, of the Bureau of Mines, for the magnetic measurements made with the Hotchkiss superdip. Helpful suggestions were received in the field from H. L. James, of the U. S. Geological Survey. Acknowledgment is made of the cooperation of Stephen Royce, Irving E. Beckwith, Arthur Johnson, and Josiah Royce of Pickands, Mather & Co., and A. E. Matson, of Butler Bros. The U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey furnished daily magnetograms from the Cheltenham Magnetic Observatory as well as calibration equipment and values of absolute magnetic intensity. Short-term forecasts of ionospheric conditions were obtained from the National Bureau of Standards.

Jan 1, 1951

By V. A. Nieberlein

The purpose of this investigation is to determine the reserves of columbium (niobium) minerals in Arkansas and to develop metallurgical methods for concentrating the minerals and extracting the metal. The columbium resources of central Arkansas were explored by drilling and trenching, and a number of samples were taken. On the basis of this exploration the known reserves of the metal were estimated to be over 78,000,000 pounds. The reserves could possibly be extended by additional exploration to 150,000,000 pounds.

Jan 1, 1954

By Loren R. Anderson

This Volume documents the use of the Cone Penetrometer data analysis computer programs VERT and HORZ. The programs are interactive in that they prompt the user for input data and allow correction and modification to be made. The programs read data from the results of cone penetrometer soundings and convert the data to values of tan ø. Mean, standard deviation, skew, kurtosis, linear trends and autocorralation are computed by the programs.

Jan 1, 1982

By C. L. Karr

U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) research has shown that fuzzy logic and genetic algorithms (GA's) have great potential for industrial process control. A technique has been developed by the USBM in which GA's are used to substantially reduce the time needed to design fuzzy logic controllers (FLC's).This technique shows promise as an efficient, robust approach to developing control systems. The research described in this report is twofold. First, the basic approach to developing an FLC using GA's is presented. The GA-designed FLC is developed for a specific physical system, a pH titration system. Second, empirical results are presented in which variations in the FLC implementation are compared. Specifically, the effects of altering five aspects of the pH FLC are considered: (1) membership function form, (2) number of fuzzy classes, (3) the center-of-area method, (4) implication operator, and (5) fuzzy rule form. Results indicate that (1) the technique in which GA's are used to design FLC's is effective, and (2) when this technique is used, variations in FLC implementation have little effect on FLC performance in a chosen control problem.

Jan 1, 2010

By M. R. Geer, H. F. Yancey

Fuel requirements of the Pacific Northwest have been increased greatly by the war . To the normal peacetime demands for fuel have been added the requirements of new industrial and metallurgical plants engaged in war production , the increased demand arising from expansion of existing industrial establishments , increased amounts of railroad fuel required to handle wartime traffic , and increased quantities of domestic fuel required by the influx of war workers . In the face of these augmented demands for fuel shipments of fuel oil have been curtailed , wood fuel which normally is an important factor in both industrial and domestic markets of the area is less abundant , and the production of coal in Washington has decreased sharply . The fuel requirements of the region have been met so far by shipping large tonnages of coal into the Pacific Northwest from Utah , Wyoming , Montana , and Colorado ; the quantity received from these States and Canada in 1943 amounted to 2,688,9124/ tons , 175 percent of the Washington production . or The proximity of the Washington coal mines to large centers of war production has resulted in widespread migration of miners to employment in shipyards and aircraft plants ; the ensuing shortage of miners largely accounts for the decreased production of coal in the State . Hence , strip mining , which requires relatively few workers and a shorter time for development , offers an attractive means of alleviating the local coal shortage and obviating the necessity of shipping coal from the producing areas of the Rocky Mountain States to the Pacific.coast . So urgent has been the necessity for augmenting local coal production that any coal property that promises to be amenable to strip mining , even though the coal may be inferior in quality , has warranted examination . Even low- grade coals that cannot compete in the normal market can be used locally , thus releasing better coals for shipment to critical centers. of consumption ... One such deposit of low- rank fuel examined by the Bureau of Mines is in western Lewis County , about 9 miles east of Toledo , Wash . The coal is lignitic and on the as - received basis has a heating value of 6,000 to 6,500 B.t.u. per pound . The property is of interest primarily because the physical conditions favor operation by stripping and offer opportunities for low- cost production with very low manpower requirement .

Jan 1, 1945

By Joseph D. Davis

The term "fusain" was first adopted from the French by the American geologist J. J. Stevenson in 1911, according to Wheeler, (1),3 who applies it to that portion of coal resembling charcoal, which he treats as one of the four ingredients of banded bituminous coal. The term has since been adopted by American writers. The Germans use it with slightly different spelling - namely, fusit. It is the equivalent of "mother-of-coal" and "mineral charcoal" of the earlier British writers. The English word fusain is also applied to "a crayon of fine charcoal" and is derived from the Latin root fusus. OCCURRENCE OF FUSAIN IN COAL AND ITS RECOGNITION Fusain is fairly widely distributed in coals of all ranks in varying amounts. It is almost always present in very thin sheets between the bedding planes of the banded coal constituents and presents a jet-black silky appearance who n the coal is split away. As fusain has little cohesive power the coal splits readily along the planes where it occurs. Such fusain bands often attain appreciable thickness -- frequently 1/4 to 3/4 inch. -Beet (2) has reported a maximum thickness of 2 inches for fusain partings, and Sinnatt (3) has found it in the form of plates and lumps; one lump taken by him from the Peacock mine weighed 3-3/4 pounds. Bore (4) has found it in coal balls. Sinnatt (3) states that fusain occurs in two forms, "the first a hard compact variety occurring rather rarely, which can not be pulverized by pressure of the fingers the second type is the common substance" -- that is, a very friable, easily pulverized material. The writer has also found the two types of fusain in the same coal bed and has observed that the hard variety contained considerable calcium carbonate, which probably entered the material in situ by infiltration. Sinnatt further remarks that the layers of fusain (soft type) usually contain less moisture than the coal (or lose it more readily on exposure), and when exposed they quickly change to flocculent powder so that the fines of the coal as mined are likely to contain a major proportion of this substance.

Jan 1, 1929

By William W. Adams

Progress made by the quarrying and related industries of the United States during 1939 included increases in the number of men employed and the number of man-hours worked and reductions in the death and injury rates per million man-hours of exposure to risk. Forty-seven States reported quarries in operation; in each of 26 States the industry employed 1,000 or more men. Of these 26 States, 16 reported lower accident rates than in 1938. Among the operations of various types for which separate figures are published in this bulletin, the limestone, lime, and cement groups reported lower accident rates. During 1939, 79,449 men were employed in the quarrying industries. The period of operation of the plants averaged 236 clays per employee, with a total working time that equaled nearly 144 million man-hours. Accidents at the plants resulted in 48 deaths and 5,204 disabling injuries among the workers. Expressed as frequency rates, the accidents represented 0.33 fatality and 36.18 injuries for each million man-hours of work performed during the year. The major cause of fatal accidents inside the quarries was falls or slides of rock or overburden; nine deaths were reported from this cause. Four men were killed by explosives and four by falls of persons. Nonfatal injuries inside the quarries were clue chiefly to handling materials; about one-sixth of the total number at all operations in connection with quarries and related plants were in this class. Flying objects also caused numerous injuries, although only about one-half as many as did handling materials. Next in numerical importance were injuries from falls of persons. Then followed accidents caused by falls or slides of rock or overburden and accidents caused by machinery.

Jan 1, 1941

By Frank J. Wiebelt

Work on the Abbott-quicksilver property was part of the general program of th~ Bureau of Mines in its investigation of domestic mineral resources, which are essential to national defense or industry and of which our present or probable future supplies are inadequate. The mine was discovered in 1862, and the intermittent production up to 1947 has totaled around 37,500 flasks of quicksilver. Output has come from ore shoots formed in the vicinity of fault intersections in a narrow zone composed of lenses of silicified serpentine breccia interbedded with shale. Work by the Bureau included the drilling of six diamond-drill holes aggregating 2,845 feet. Several possible ore zones were intersected by the drill holes. Field work was begun in April 1948 and concluded in October of the same year. This report gives detailed results of the diamond drilling and a brief account of the history and description of the ore deposits.

Jan 1, 1949