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By Jay W. Hawkins

Under an approved remining program, mine operators can remine abandoned coal mines without assuming legal responsibility for treatment of the previously degraded water, as long as the discharging waters are not further degraded and other regulatory requirements are satisfied. A U.S. Bureau of Mines review of 105 remining permits in Pennsylvania indicates that remining results in substantial reclamation of abandoned mine lands, utilization of significant quantities of coal, and reduction of contaminant loads (acidity and iron) from degraded mine drainage discharges. Normality tests performed on the water quality and flow data indicate generally nonnormal distributions and extreme right-skewness, tending toward lower values. The water quality of underground coal mines was observed to be more highly degraded in terms of acidity, iron, and sulfate than that of surface coal mines. The optimum baseline sampling scenario is 12 months in duration at a frequency of one sample per month. Analysis of water quality and flow rates before and after remining indicates that a majority of the mines exhibited either no change or a significant decrease in pollution rate because of remining. The discharge flow rate was the dominant controlling factor when the post-remining contaminant load was significantly better or worse than the baseline (pre-remining) load.

Jan 1, 2010

By J. C. Edwards

To have the capability to predict the development of localized spontaneous heating within a porous coalbed that is subjected to forced air ventilation or in an otherwise quiescent environment in which buoyancy develops, the Bureau of Mines developed three time-dependent mathematical models, which were used to calculate the temperature increase associated with chemisorption of oxygen by the coal. In each model, spontaneous heating is driven by an Arrhenius first-order reaction between the oxygen and coal. Two models are two-dimensional, and one is one-dimensional. In the first two-dimensional model, a constant-velocity forced convection airflow is specified; and in the other, buoyant flow is allowed to develop in the absence of forced convection. The third model evaluates the airflow from Darcy's law and a specification of the pressure at the surface of a one-dimensional porous coalbed. Numerical computations demonstrated how each model could be used to predict the onset of spontaneous heating when the porous coalbed was subjected to constraints of an imposed internal heat source or a high temperature airflow. The effects of particle size and coalbed compaction upon spontaneous heating were examined with the third model.

Jan 1, 1990

By Thomas Fraser

"INTRODUCTION The Santa River Valley of northern Peru contains extensive deposits of a good-grade anthracite that offer one of the most accessible sources of solid-fuel supply for South America. This region is served by the narrow-gage railroad of the Corporation Peruana del Santa, which taps the coal fields along the Chuquicara River and terminates at the port of Chimbote, where facilities have been provided for loading coal into ocean-going vessels.This Government-sponsored corporation is prosecuting a vigorous program of development in this region, envisaging an intensively industrialized area around Chimbot Bay, fueled and powered by the anthracite of the upper valley and a hydroelectric generating plant now being constructed in the Cahn del Fate, where the Santa River has cut through the coastal range of the Andes.This development also includes the construction of extensive irrigation works to greatly expand agricultural production in the valley and thus estab¬lish the basis for a prosperous, well-balanced, industrial and agricultural community. It is hardly necessary to point out the importance of the local anthracite-mining industry to this general plan.At the invitation of the Peruvian Government, through the agency of David Dasso, chairman of Corpoacion Peruana del Santa, a technical mission was sent to Peru in March, April, and May 1945 to examine these coals and assist the corporation in promoting preparation of the coal for most effective use in the contemplated expansion of industry and trade."

Feb 1, 1948

By Edward A. McClatchie

A novel nondispersive electro-optical gas analyzer has been designed, fabricated and tested. The instrument is based on a pressure modulated absorption technique. Key features of this new gas analyzer technique include long-term zero and calibration stability. The technique was investigated for the gases carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The delivered analyzer was capable of measuring the three species CO, CO2 and NO2. It is a compact (300 cu in) package, is battery powered and weighs 15 lbs. Some thirty readings of each gas may be made on a single battery charge.

Jan 1, 1980

By T. A. Lang

Concepts and equations have been developed to quantitatively determine the stability of a rock bolted coal mine roof as a structural (beam-arch) member consisting of reinforced rock units. The equations take into account: rock bolt tension, length, spacing, and orientation; size of opening, strength and physical properties of the rock; and loads from distressed rock, and were critically reviewed using sensitivity analyses and the results available from relevant previous analytical and physical model investigations. It is concluded that they can essentially be validated by using small scale physical models and the full size mine entry model at the USBM Spokane Research Center. However, a comprehensive research program, including analytical and laboratory investigations and field trials in typical mines, will be required to define and validate criteria and standards for using the equations as a basis for a rational design code for rock reinforcement installations to replace the semi-empirical rules now being used. For example, these studies have shown that the practice of installing vertical roof bolts with a uniform spacing equal to the bolt length is inherently unsafe and that the spacing should be reduced near the walls to prevent shear failure of the roof strata. The development of such a rational design code would provide enhanced safety in coal mining operations and warrants a high priority in the Bureau's ground control research program.

Jan 1, 1981

Fossil fuel consumption in the United States increased markedly over recent years, and future demands expect to be even greater. Coal, this Nation's most plentiful natural fossil fuel, will play a key role in fulfilling these demands. With expectations of increased coal exploitation, the U. S. Bureau of Mines authorized this project, the objectives of whi.ch were to prepare an authoritative report on current surface coal mining technology, to define current problems and possible solutions, and to project future developments necessary to assure adequate surfaced mined coal production to meet the Nation's future energy needs. These objectives we're accomplished by an extensive review of available published literature and data gathering field visits to active surface coal mines throughout the country.

Jan 1, 1975

By M. J. Reasor, M. DiMatteo, J. M. Antonini, K. Van Dyke, Z. Ye

"The inhalation of silica has been shown to produce a dramatic inflammatory and toxic response within the lungs of humans and laboratory animals. A variety of cellular and biochemical parameters are used to assess the silica-induced lung injury. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the use of luminok:Jependent chemiluminescence as a new method to study inflammation in both phagocytic cells and lung tissue recovered from silicaexposed animals. Chemiluminescence, or the emission of light, accompanies the release of reactive forms of oxygen when phagocytic cells are challenged. In this study, male Fischer 344 rats were intratracheally instilled with either silica (10 mg/100 g bw) or saline vehicle. One day after the instillations. a marked increase in the chemiluminescence was observed in the lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage cells recovered from the silica- treated animals when compared with the saline controls. The light reaction was markedly decreased by either superoxide dismutase or N-nitro-Larginine methyl ester hydrochloride. Superoxide dismutase is involved in the enzymatic breakdown of superoxide anion. while N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrocholoride, a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, prevents the formation of nitric oxide. When superoxide anion and nitric oxide react. they form the highly oxidizing substance peroxynitrite. This study then implicates peroxynitrite as an agent that may be responsible for some of the oxidant lung injury that is associated with silica exposure. The use of luminol-dependent chemiluminescence may prove valuable as a method to measure the earliest events in the inflammatory process. and may be an adjunct in studying the mechanisms that produce inflammation. - Environ Health Perspect 102(Suppl 10):37-42 (1994) IntroductionResearch on inflammation has not produced a method that links the initial events of the process to the controlling events. Rather, a variety of parameters are measured that are the result of and not the basis of the inflammatory reaction. Parameters such as tissue weight, edema, blood flow, enzyme and protein release, or production of metabolites (prostaglandins, leukotrienes) have been used extensively. A method is needed that could be applied to cells of a particular type, groups of cells of different types, and even tissue, in an attempt to study the kinetics of the inflammation as well as being sensitive enough to monitor the early events of the process . Since inflammation is so complicated, the relationship between the control of the initial events and the oxidation process has never been explained nor studied in any derail."

Dec 1, 1995

By Koehler Stout

Previous work done by the authors of this report indicates that hydraulically-placed backfill can be strengthened several fold by various placement methods. Sunshine mill tailings were tested by these placement methods and strength increases up to thirty times were achieved over the ordinary placement methods. A computer simulation study of the test stope in the Sunshine Mine showed that a high-modulus fill absorbs up to 27% of normal stresses versus 7% for "normal" fill while reducing maximum convergence 28% versus 8% for "normal" fill. Although high-modulus fill was not placed in the test stope during this contract, various instrumentation was purchased, designed and built to record necessary data in the stope. Stress gauges were placed in the pillars and recorded data corresponded quite closely with theoretical projections.

Jan 1, 1983

By Oliver Bowles

The manufacture of lime is one of the oldest industries. Plants are distributed widely and furnish an essential raw material for numerous industries. The use of lime by the building trades, in agriculture, and in hundreds of manufacturing and chemical processes has created demands for a large production and has necessitated exhaustive research on methods of manufacture and uses. The bibliography of lime is an extensive one, but for the most part each publication has dealt with only certain operations. The purpose of this paper is to present a general picture of the industry as a whole. The abundant literature has been abstracted and quoted freely, and the National Lime Association has rendered valuable assistance in furnishing data for certain sections. Publications containing more detailed information on the various branches of the industry are referred to in the footnotes and in the bibliography.

Jan 1, 1936

By M. Jaffe

The data developed in this study establishes the technical and economic feasibility as well as the improved health and safety characteristics of a novel mining concept. The mining concept is a modified longwall technique using prestressed tendons for roof control, longhole blasting for fragmentation, and remote mucking. The technical feasibility was found to be dependent on the state of the art, while economic feasibility was found to be dependent on particular minerals and on supply and demand. Since these two conditions are not necessarily coincident in time the data is presented in the report in a manner that enables the mining engineer to perform a rapid preliminary technical and economic analyses for a specific property.

Jan 1, 1977

During the period 1979 thru 1982, Multi Mineral Corporation conducted a mining research program at the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Mines Oil Shale Mining Environmental Research Facility in the Central Piceance Creek Basin, Rio Blanco County, Colorado. The program consisted of mining, environmental and geotechnical research data and, the results are described in this report.

Jan 1, 1983

By R. S. Dean

The possibility of cheap electric power for a number of mining areas in this country has suggested to many the idea of electric smelting of nonferrous ores in small units at or near the mines. The electric smelting of nonferrous ores was tested fairly thoroughly 20 years ago by United States Bureau of Mines and by others, and the fact that it did not achieve continuing workable success in any instance is sufficient proof that it offered no advantages at that time.

Jan 1, 1937

By Charles V. Jude

This U.S. Bureau of Mines report presents a review and evaluation of existing and new backfilling materials and methods for their applicability to the problem of gate road stress reduction in deep retreat longwall coal mines. Candidate backfill materials include pulverized coal combustion fly ash, flue gas desulfurization, and fluidized bed combustion by-products from coal-fired electric power generation plants. Properties of both backfill and its component materials are presented, with particular emphasis on the unconfined compressive strength and elastic modulus of backfill mixtures. Hydraulic mix designs discussed in this report include high-water content slurry and low-water content paste fills. Three gate road stress-transfer-modification concepts are proposed to reduce abutment stresses in gate road systems. The first concept, packwalling, involves packwall construction behind the headgate shield inby the face and adjacent to the headgate pillars. The second concept, gob-filling, involves infilling a strip of gob inset from and parallel to the headgate using paste injection methods patterned after a technology recently developed in Europe. In the third concept, entry-filling, slurry fill methods are used to fill abandoned gate roads and crosscut entries inby the face.

Jan 1, 1995

By Paul C. Hyndman

The U.S. Bureau of Mines inventoried Federal mineral lands in Idaho and classified them in detail, section by section, according to their availability for mineral exploration and development as affected by legal restrictions and agencies' management practices. The Bureau also identified known mineral deposit areas (KMDAs) and areas conducive to oil, gas, and geothermal resources. This information is shown on maps (developed in part by geographic information system technology) that spatially compare the availability for mineral entry of Federal land with these KMDAs to demonstrate the extent and severity of restrictions on mineral entry. Idaho contains 53.1 million acres, 35.7 million (67%) of which is Federal mineral land. About 7 million acres of this land is within KMDAs that host medium-to high-value locatable mineral deposits; 36% of this land is available, 27% is slightly to moderately restricted, and 37% is severely restricted or unavailable. For the leasable minerals, about 1.8 million acres are within KMDAs that host medium-to high-value phosphate deposits, about 5.4 million acres are favorable for oil and gas resources, and 3.9 million acres for geothermal resources. The percentages of land availability are 30%, 45%, and 25% for the phosphate acreage, 38%, 34%, and 28% for the oil and gas acreage, and 43%, 30%, and 27% for the geothermal acreage.

Jan 1, 2012

By Robert T. Davis

An award is a form of recognition given for superior performance in a special field of endeavor. Each year awards are given by the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association and the National Safety Council to the coal-mining industry's underground and open-pit mines that have worked a specific number of man-hours without a lost-time injury. These awards have a dual significance in that they prove efficiency can be attained without injury to persons. Safety awards do not result from luck or good fortune but do result from sincere desire coupled with sufficient effort and cooperation to achieve a desired goal.

Jan 1, 1964

By Kenneth M. Maas

The Bureau of Mines inventoried the land availability for mineral exploration and development in northern Alaska and compared this land with known mineral terranes and mineral deposits, to quantify the potential for favorable location of mining claims for metalliferous mineral deposits. This report includes thirty-three 1:500,000-scale maps that depict land availability, and the accompanying text and tables relate availability acreage to areas of favorable mineral terranes. Three categories of land availability and ownership are identified, along with 12 subcategories of land status. Available land comprises approximately 14.5 million acres or 16% of the 90.3-million-acre study area; land available with restrictions accounts for 7.5 million acres or 8%; and unavailable land encompasses 68.3 million acres or 76%. Mineral terranes underlie 37.8 million acres or 42% of the study area; 5.3 million acres or 14% are available for mineral location, 2.8 million acres or 7% are available with restrictions, and 29.7 million acres or 79% are unavailable. There are 500 known mineral deposits or occurrences within the study area. This includes 271 lode deposits, of which 171 lie within a recognized mineral terrane and 55 are on available land. The remaining 229 are placer deposits.

Jan 1, 1987

By J. H. East

Potash is one of the essential chemicals used in fertilizing soil deficient in natural minerals . Europe uses a large tonnage of potash in the form of easily soluble salts , and this is particularly true of those countries where the natural minerals in the soil have been exhausted owing to intensive cropping of the land . The application of potash to the soil in these countries is essential if normal crops are to be obtained ; during the war , some European countries were unable to obtain sufficient potash , and productivity of the farming areas declined seriously . • The largest -known deposits of potash in the world ; with the possible. exception of Russia , occur in Germany , and the German output of processed salts constituted about 65 percent of world production prior to the war . The German potash-plant installations are large , modern , brick and steel construction and apparently built for a planned operation of many years . Two districts produced approximately 80 percent of the German potash; the Werra -Fulda district , near Vacha , had the largest production , and the Sudharz district , near Nordhausen and Sonderhausen , was second . (Fig . 1. ) Hannover and Stassfurt were two smaller producers . Potash fertilizers are rated in terms of potassium oxide (K20 ) . The usual basis for calculation of production or application of the salt is to reduce the potash content to 40 percent K₂0 .

May 1, 1947

By Raja V. Ramani

Productive and beneficial use of reclaimed surface-mined land is a concern of industry, government, and the general public. An investigation was conducted of current mined-land planning practices to aid in the development of a procedure for evaluating postmining land use potentials. This investigation considered both the industry and public planning approach to mined-land planning. It included a detailed review of the impact of regulation, factors that determine land use, and current site planning methods employed by the mining industry. The methods of this investigation included three in-depth case studies of surface mines in the eastern, central, and western United States. A site planning pro-cess has been developed and applied to the surface mine case studies to evaluate the economic, environmental and social impacts of postmining land use alternatives. In add it ion, guidelines are proposed to enhance the cooperation between local land use planners and surface mine planners, as well as to improve comprehensive planning with regard to mineral resources at the local and regional level.

Jan 1, 1983

By G. L. Oldright, Virgil Miller

"INTRODUCTION The first ten papers of the series on smelting in the lead blast furnace described the operation at the custom smelter of the International Smelting Co., Tooele, Utah, and at the plant of the Bunker Hill Smelting Co., Kellogg, Idaho, which handled a very rich lead concentrate. These previous papers may be considered a picture of the traditional lead smelter treating custom ores and of the smelter that will treat the type of product likely to be made in the future - lead concentrates of an increasingly rich grade.The great plant at Trail is of special interest to those smelting lead products containing much zinc and faced with the necessity of transforming all of their byproducts into commodities which may be sold profitably. The plant is equipped to produce electrolytic zinc, lead, copper, silver, bismuth, and cadmium. Part of the sulphur evolved from treating the ores is converted into sulphuric acid. Complete fertilizers for agricultural purposes are also produced.The smelter of lead ores has long considered that zinc is one of the most difficult ingredients that he has to handle. Even with the gretat improvement in flotation practice today, the residues from electrolytic zinc plants leaching zinc concentrates must still be smelted for their lead content. Of the total gangue material not separated from the lead concentrate sent to the smelter, zinc is still one of the most notable in percentage. The most successful way of coordinating the over-all operations of a concentrator, an electrolytic zinc plant, and a smelter provided with a plant for re-treating the blast-furnace slag for its lead and zinc content must be of interest to many treating complex ores.ACKNOWLEDGMENTThe data in this paper were collected in cooperation with the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Co. of Canada, Limited, and its entire technical staff. Detailed acknowledgments of assistance received are given in the papers from which this one is briefed."

Sep 1, 1934

By R. A. Cattell

With the activities of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Division geared chiefly to problems directly connected with the war effort , the emphasis of the work under oil and gas development and production was to make engineering studies of selected reservoirs for the Petroleum Administration for War , to determine the extractable quantities of components in them, and to study the characteristics of these components for use in the manufacture of aviation gasoline and other products . The needs of the Petroleum Administration for War and the operators for specific data from gas - condensate fields were fulfilled , and , in addition , engineering data along lines of a forward - looking program of research on reservoir behavior were collected , which should be of great value in the postwar period . It is planned to publish many of these data as soon as conditions permit . The work of the Secondary Recovery Section had as its objectives in- . creasing the rate of production of crude petroleum and , which is more important , preventing the premature abandonment of wells in " stripper " and marginal According to the National Survey of Stripper Wells by the National Stripper Well Association in cooperation with the Interstate Oil Compact Commission , a total of 67,460 stripper wells was abandoned from January 1 , 1935 , to July 1 , 1942 , inclusive , with an estimated loss in proved reserves of approximately 216 million barrels . This survey also indicates that over 1.2 billion barrels of oil would be recovered by primary production from more than 290,000 stripper wells then in operation , and an additional 2.5 billion barrels of oil could be recovered from them by secondary production methods . The work of the Chemistry and Refining Section was oriented towards the optimum utilization of crude oils in the manufacture of aviation fuels for spark-ignition and jet - propulsion engines . The work involved intensive studies of superfractionation , hydrocarbon analysis , and the engine testing of fuels . Particular attention was given to the effect of sulfur compounds in the crude oils and in the fuels made from them . The research on thermodynamics is concerned with the experimental determination of precise and accurate values of the fundamental thermodynamic constants of pure hydrocarbons and related compounds . The data obtained in these investigations will be utilized for devising and improving chemical processes in which petroleum hydrocarbons are the raw materials . Without such data , much time and expensive material and equipment may be wasted in attempts to obtain reactions under conditions that the laws of thermodynamics rule out of consideration . Thermodynamic data are useful and required in the petroleum industry for calculations of heat balances in the design of furnaces , fractionating towers , and heat- transfer equipment . It is of utmost importance , also , to know the heat requirements of cracking and other chemical reactions so that heat may be supplied or dissipated in the proper proportions . These needs for thermodynamic data are being recognized more and more by petroleum -refining engineers . The responsibility for the production of helium for the Navy , the Army , other governmental agencies and non-Federal users is vested in the Bureau of Mines by an Act of Congress ( 50 Stat . 885 ; 50 U.S.c. 161-166 ) . The Helium Subdivision of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Division continued to meet all demands for helium .

Jun 1, 1949