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By Robert S. Sanford

The Broughton and Ring magnetite deposits in Essex County, N. Y., are thought to be in a mineralized belt that extends from the Lake Sanford mining district to Lake Champlain and passes through the Mineville district. The country rook is syenite-gneiss, similar to that in the Mineville area. The Bureau of Mines conducted a vertical magnetometer survey of the area. On the Broughton properties there are no indications, magnetically, of magnetite in any degree of concentration. 'On the ding properties a number of sharp, localized magnetic anomalies were observed. One core-drill hole was bored to a, depth of 48.3 feet, also, to test one of the strongest anomalies. The field work was in progress from December 1943 to July 1944. Although no iron ore was intersected by' the drill hole, it showed that the amphibolite rook, at a depth of 6 to 100 feet below the surface, contained enough magnetite and iron sulfides to account for the anomalies recorded by the magnetometer survey.

Jan 1, 1949

By WILLIAM F. McMURRAY, James O. Lewis

The Bureau of Mines is investigating the technology of petroleum and its products, the investigation including well-drilling methods and the transportation, treatment, and utilization of petroleum and of natural gas, with especial reference to the prevention of waste and to increased efficiencyin the development of oil and gas resources in land belonging to or controlled by the Government. During. the winter of 1912-13 the enormous waste of the gas encountered while drilling for oil in the Cushing field, Oklahoma, called forth protests from various sources, and appeal was made to the President of the United States and to the Secretary of the Interior in behalf of the landowner and of the public in general. The facts were wanted regarding the amount of waste and the technical conditions that were responsible for practices causing it. An investigation was ordered and conducted under the direct supervision of the late J. A. Holmes, the first Director of the Bureau of Mines. R. S.Blatchley was sent to investigate the amount of waste going on in the Mid-Continent flelds.s In the latter part of March, 1913, J. A. Pollard and A. G. Heggem were sent to Oklahoma to study well-drilling methods with reference to the waste of gas from wells on Indian lands and to suggest means of preventing the waste of natural gas on such lands. Pollard and Heggem decided that the mud-laden fluid process, which had been used successfully for some years in Texas, Louisiana, and California was the method that would meet the situation most efficiently and economically. The method was accordingly demonstrated in Oklahoma. In 1914 Congress provided for the employment of six oil and gas inspectors to supervise oil and gas mining operations on lands of the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma and to conduct investigations with a view to the prevention of waste. Positions under this appropriation have been held by William F. McMurray, James O. Lewis, Harry D. Aggers, Ralph R. "Weed,George W. McPherson, James C. Fowler, Louis W. Courtney, and Carl H. Beal, the technical work of these men being directed "byW. A. Williams, chief of the petroleum division, Bureau of Mines. After careful and impartial investigation of conditions in Oklahoma, these men also decided that the mud-laden fluid process was the one best adapted to prevent further wastes. In 1915 laws were passed by the State of Oklahoma that provide for the conservation of natural gas and oil, authority being given to the corporation commission to make rules and regulations and to employ agents to enforce them. After hearings and investigations, the corporation commission reached substantially the same conclusions as the Federal agents regarding the importance of the wastes and the best methods of conserving the gas. Technical Papers 66a and 68b were published by the Bureau of Mines in December, 1913, and January, 1914, respectively. Technical Paper 66 deals with the mud-laden fluid process in general and No. 68 with its application in Oklahoma. The interest aroused by these publications has been so widespread that within two years the first editions have been practically exhausted. Rather than reprint these publications, it has been considered advisable to replace them with the present report, which includes the results of more recent investigations. The methods of using the mud-laden fluid are an outgrowth of the rotary drilling system, which was developed in Texas and later employed in Louisiana and California. Some of the principles of the use of mud fluid had been observed and used to a limited extent for a long time in cable-tool drilling. So far as known it was first used successfully with a circulator and cable tools in the Coalinga field, California, in 1906,Harry D. Aggers, one of the contributors to this paper, working on the well. The part of the Bureau of Mines has been to call attention to its merits and to demonstrate its practical use in fields like those of the Mid-Continent.

Jan 1, 1916

By Sandip K. Mukherjee

This report presents the results of the economic analysis of several applicable alternatives to increase airflow in four underground coal mines. Pressure-quantity surveys were conducted underground and measurements were also made at the main mine fan(s). The existing ventilation networks were modeled using the modified Penn State ventilation simulator. The applicable alternatives were simulated. Performance data obtained from these simulation runs were utilized to conduct the cost-effectiveness analysis. The costs for each of the alternatives included capital, operating and maintenance costs. These costs were expressed as annual ventilation costs per active section in terms of dollars per elm taking into account the economic life associated with each of the alternatives. The benefits were expressed as increased airflow quantity in the critical sections. A section of this report also deals with comparison of simulator predicted air quantity values against air quantity values measured underground. The computer outputs for each simulation run are presented in Volume II of this report.

Jan 1, 1983

By Charles T. Chislaghi

An economical, remotely operated (automated), temporary roof support (ATRS) has been developed by the Bureau of Mines for use on a single, fixed-head roof-bolting machine (squirmer) that operates in low coal seams (less than 42 in thick). The ATRS eliminates the need for squirmer operators and helpers to go under unsupported roof to set or remove temporary support prior to or during the roof-bolting cycle--a task that annually accounts for approximately 20 pct of all roof fall fatalities. The ATRS can be adapted to any squirmer used in the U.S. low coal fields. A prototype ATRS was field-tested at Imperial Colliery Co.?s Mine No. 20 in Eskdale, W. Va. The Mine No. 20 amended roof- control plan, which requires the use of the Bureau?s ATRS as temporary support during face bolting, has been approved by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), U.S. Department of Labor.

Jan 1, 1982

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 Gary A. Kingston

This examination of Pacific Northwest (Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington) ferrous scrap-industry operations, principally those in Oregon and Washington, points out factors influencing the supply and consumption of scrap materials, such as the complete dependence of steel ingot producers in these States on scrap as a metal raw material and the sizable quantity of scrap exported from Seattle and Portland to Japan. The pattern of the industry is presented as a movement of materials from their diverse sources to the consuming market. The geographic locations of the consuming industries in relation to the areas generating scrap materials and the movement pattern of the supply from source to destination strongly influences the cost of the commodity. The best measure of the scrap supply available in an area is experience in terms of how much scrap was withdrawn at a given price. Scrap availability is not finite, because the return of materials as scrap is secular and influenced by constantly varying market conditions. Steel ingot producers use 75 percent of the approximate 500,000 tons of scrap consumed in Oregon and Washington; steel foundries take 15 percent of the total; and iron foundries, ferroalloy plants, and other miscellaneous consumers utilize the remainder. Also, from 1955 to 1960 an average of about 200,000 tons has been exported annually from Oregon and Washington. The foreign exports are supplemented by lesser shipments to other steel producing States, principally in the western United States. From 1955 to 1960 the preferred and higher value heavy melting scrap grades accounted for about 60 percent of total withdrawals which varied between 600,000 and 950,000 tons annually. Total crap withdrawals from Oregon and Washington are projected to 1.8 million tons by 1985, 60 percent (1.1 million tons) of which will be heavy melting grades. No. 1 heavy melting scrap is most attractive to scrap consumers at $35 per ton or less. Price-supply relationships compared with projected scrap requirements indicate future prices possibly over $35 per ton. High prices over a long period could motivate the Pacific Northwest scrap consumers to produce steel from iron ore. However, technologic changes taking place at integrated steel plants could reduce scrap withdrawals from the Pacific Northwest, which might keep the scrap price sufficiently attractive to obviate production of competitive iron products by the Pacific Northwest scrap consumers.

Jan 1, 1964

Four taconite plants were studied to establish the extent of hazard to plant personnel which exists based on long-term exposure to noise. The criteria for evaluation include the 90 dBA and 85 dBA summations of partial exposures. Data from extensive interviews were used to determine all work stations or locations which employees occupied and how much time they spent in ach location in a typical working day. Noise level measurements at every designated location were then made. By means of a computer program, these time and noise level data were us d to find the optimum noise reductions which would be required throughout each plant to meet both noise criteria. Subsequently, each plant was examined in detail so that the apparent sources of noise for each of the locations requiring noise reduction could be delineated. In tabular form, this report presents the hazardous locations for each plant, the existing noise level, the optimum noise reduction which would be required to meet the current and proposed laws, and the sources of noise which produce the existing noise level.

Jan 1, 1977

By W. Timothy Adams

The production of natural abrasives varied in quantity and value compared with 1976. Output of tripoli-type materials was approximately the same in both quantity and value. Special silica stone products decreased in quantity and increased in value. Garnet production decreased both in quantity and value. The production of emery increased and the production and value of manufactured abrasive material was approximately the same. Foreign Trade Imports of abrasive materials were 23% more in value than in 1976, and exports plus reexports increased in value 10%. Net imports, the excess of imports over exports and reexports, were $35.3 million. The volume and value of all abrasive materials exported varied.

Jan 1, 1980

By R. F. Abernethy

A chemical method of determining microgram quantities of arsenic in coal was investigated by the Bureau of Mines to supplement a semiquantitative spectrographic method of determining arsenic in coal ash. In accordance with a method recommended by the International Organization for Standardization, 1-gram samples of coal are decomposed by wet oxidation with boiling sulfuric acid (H2S04) and nitric acid (HN03) to remove the organic matter. After heating to fumes of SO3 to remove HN03, the arsenic is separated as arsine by the action of zinc in H2S04 solution. The arsine is absorbed in dilute iodine solution in which the arsenic is determined colorimetrically by the molybdenum-blue reaction. Two modifications of the method for obtaining the arsenic in solution, in addition to the wet oxidation method, give satisfactory results. The modifications are (1) furnace ashing with MgO added to the coal, followed by treatment with H2S04, and (2) extraction of arsenic from the coal by dilute HNO3 without ashing. Float-and sink-tests show that arsenic is associated mainly with mineral matter in the three coals examined. High-temperature ashing tests show that very little arsenic is volatilized from coal ash below 1,000° C, but it is virtually all removed from the ash at 1,300° C.

Jan 1, 1968

Provide sound battery safety guidelines for mine workers who maintain mobile surface mining equipment. Approach Battery-related accidents account for about 5 percent of all nonfatal disabling injuries in coal and metal nonmetal surface mines. These accidents occur despite the fact that appropriate battery safety technology (maintenance-free batteries, cable removers, fault detectors, hot-jumping systems, etc.) exists. Mine operators are not always aware of the safety measures that could be taken because this safety information is widely scattered in numerous unrelated technical reports, vendor brochures, and journal articles. A literature search of these reports and a review of relevant industry standards, handbooks, and references on battery safety, followed by discussions with mining company and MSHA personnel, provided the Bureau of Mines with the background necessary to develop procedures for proper and safe battery usage. These procedures were condensed and written in nontechnical language to serve as guidelines in assuring battery safety during maintenance of mining equipment.

Jan 1, 1986

By D. E. Shanks

The Bureau of Mines surveyed a variety of inorganic ion-exchange materials to determine their suitability for removing valuable accessory elements and troublesome contaminants from metallurgical process and waste streams. Most of the materials, which included molecular sieves, heteropolyacid salts, and hydrous metal oxides, did not give adequate separations, did not have the necessary stability in strong acids or bases, or were not in a physical form suitable for ion-exchange use. Many of the suitable inorganic materials, especially the hydrous oxides, were capable of cation exchange with high capacity only in basic conditions, which caused hydrolysis of most of the cations tested. Multivalent anions, such as arsenate and phosphate, were easily removed from acidic solutions by hydrous oxides. Hydrous zirconia was the best material for this purpose. Multivalent anions were not easily des orbed because of compound formation; therefore, conventional ion-exchange techniques could not be employed. As an alternative approach, hydrous ferric hydroxide was used as a filter material to remove arsenate and phosphate from acid solutions. One gram of arsenic was removed from solution for each 20 g of ferric hydroxide. Ferric hydroxide is preferable to hydrous zirconia for use as a filter material because of low cost.

Jan 1, 1983

By F. W. Lane

[The rapid expansion of the petroleum industry, the steadily growing use of oil fuel or steamships, the increasing transportation of oil in tankers and the extensive use of petroleum oils for many land industries, has resulted in pollution of our coastal eaters by these oils. On account of the great importance of this problem to the petroleum and shipping industries its, the Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with the American Petroleum Institute and -he American Steamship Owners Association has undertaken to ascertain the extend of petroleum oil pollution along the coasts of the United States and to indicated the principal so arcs of such pollution. Certain typical methods and devices in use and proposed for the separation of oil from water, and for the disposal of oily castes from ships and industrial plants have been studied. An attempt has also been made to point out the nature of the fire hazard resulting from oil pollution and to indicate the effect of such pollution on bathing beaches.]

Jan 1, 1924

By Sean Gallagher

The restricted workspace present in low-seam coal mines forces workers to adopt awkward working postures (kneeling and stooping), which place high physical demands on the knee and lower back. Method: This article provides an analysis of injury claims for eight mining companies operating low-seam coal mines during calendar years 1996-2008. All cost data were normalized using data on the cost of medical care (MPI) as provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Results: Results of the analysis indicate that the knee was the body part that led in terms of claim cost ($4.2 million), followed by injuries to the lower back ($2.7 million). While the average cost per injury for these body parts was $13,100 and $14,400, respectively (close to the average cost of an injury overall), the high frequency of these injuries resulted in their pre¬eminence in terms of cost. Analysis of data from individual mining companies suggest that knee and lower back injuries were a consistent problem across companies, as these injuries were each among the top five most costly part of body for seven out of eight companies studied. Application/Impact: Results of this investigation suggest that efforts to reduce the frequency of knee and low back injuries in low-seam mines have the potential to create substantial cost savings.

Jan 1, 2009

By Gabriel S. Esterhuizen, Jarek Jakubec

In 2000, Laubscher’s Mining Rock Mass Rating (MRMR) classification system was updated and published. The new system brought a few fundamental changes that were in direct response to the challenges and problems encountered when applying the classification system in the mining environment, specifically caving operations. The fundamental changes introduced into the MRMR system in 2000 were the abandonment of the Rock Quality Designation (RQD) as an input parameter, accounting for healed and cemented joints, and the concept of rock block strength. The objective of this paper is not to discuss the role and usefulness of classification systems; the fact that classification systems are widely used in every stage of mining projects speaks for itself. This paper discusses some of the experiences gained with the MRMR 2000 system in various mining projects and shows how the changes to the system have resulted in improved assessment of rock mass conditions. Issues related to core logging for rock mass assessment are also presented.

Jan 5, 2007

By L. D. Tracy

This is the third of the series of reports on coal-mine royalties and leasing conditions in Illinois. The results of the study of District VI were published as Serial No. 2726, January, 1926, and those of District VIII as Serial No. 2745, April, 1926, of the Bureau of mines. The counties of Macoupin, Sangamon, and Montgomery, which are three of the principal coal-producing areas in the northern part of District VII, have been chosen for this report because these counties cover an entirely different part of the State than do the two districts already covered. Some leases in, Randolph and Washington counties are included as they are in the southern part of the district, and the data happened to be readily available.

Jan 1, 1926

By McHenry Mosier

This paper constitutes the third progress report on a national survey of the use of detachable bits in metal mines. It presents comparative costs of drilling with conventional and detachable bits and describes the operating practice in rock drilling and the reconditioning of drill steel and bits at 10 mines not discussed in previous reports.3/ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report has been prepared with the assistance and cooperation of the officials and staff members at the mines visited. Costs and other data at individual mines were developed and furnished by the operators.

Jan 1, 1937

By Timothy J. Rohrbacher

This report presents a U.S. Bureau of Mines study that incorporates coal mining factors, coal recovery factors, and economic factors into the definition of an economically recoverable coal resource. The relationship between these factors to the Energy Information Administration's estimate of U.S. coal resources-the "Demonstrated Reserve Base"-is discussed. The Boltsfork 7 1/2-minute quadrangle in eastern Kentucky was selected as the study area. Results indicate that of the original 280.2 M tons of resource in the quadrangle, only 99.8 M tons (35.6%) is recoverable at a mining cost of $25 per ton or less.

Jan 1, 1994

By Gennaro G. Marino

The Bureau of Mines and the University of Illinois investigated surface characteristics and damage to structures from mine subsidence over a room-and-pillar coal mine in Hegeler, IL. Data on three adjacent subsidence sags and associated structural damage were collected, summarized and evaluated. The subsidence sags developed over a 10-year period and took place above a modified room-and-pillar operation mining the Herrin (No. 6) coal at a depth of 130 to 135 ft. Surface vertical displacements of 3.0 to 3.5 ft resulted from extracting 6.1 to 6.4 ft of coal. Ground movements associated with sag formation severely damaged three houses and a radio station building, broke numerous utility lines, and structurally distorted three radio transmission towers. The radio station was remodeled and the towers repaired, but the three houses were subsequently demolished. Surface waters collecting in the subsidence depressions caused failure of radial ground transmission systems. The following subsidence profile characteristics were determined at the radio station and one of the houses, respectively: profile slopes, 0.02 and 0.07; maximum curvatures, 2.3 x 10-4 ft-1 and 3.0 x 10-4 ft-1; and angular distortions, 6.6 x 10-3 and 62.0 x 10-3. Although the house was more severely damaged than the radio station, both structures are classified as severely to very severely damaged.

Jan 1, 1986

By J. T. Matson

This paper describing the mining practice at the Pecos mine of the American Metal Co. of New Mexico, a subsidiary of the American Metal Co., Ltd., is one of a series being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on mining methods, practices, and costs in the various mining districts of the United States. The mine is producing about 18,000 tons per month of zinc-lead-copper ore, chiefly by the square-set and cut-and-fill methods. Costs are given for 1927, 1928, and 1929, the whole producing life of the mine to date.

Jan 1, 1930

By Liming Yuan

A study of the ignition of non-fire-resistant hydraulic fluid sprays was conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Both an open flame and a hot steel surface were used as the external heat sources. With the open flame as the heat source, the minimum oil temperature and minimum spray nozzle pressure that resulted in an ignition were measured. The effects of the distance between the open flame and the nozzle and the nozzle orifice diameter on the ignitability of the hydraulic fluid sprays were examined. With the hot surface as the heat source, the minimum surface ignition temperature was determined. The degree of oil atomization and the relative direction of oil injection with respect to the hot surface are discussed. The ignition of oil sprays from the impingement of oil jets onto a vertical surface was also investigated. Finally, the results are compared with those obtained for fire-resistant hydraulic fluids. Keywords: Ignition; hot surface; open flame; hydraulic fluid

Jan 1, 2006