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By D. S. Kingery, F. F. Kopsch

The practice of using two or more main ventilating fans is common at large coal mines throughout the coal-mining industry. To assure adequate and efficient ventilation at may mines, such multiple-fan systems are necessary. The hazards associated with interrelated ventilating currents if a fan fails are controversial, and to date little effort has been made to study this specific problem and to determine corrective measures. The obvious questions are: 1. Is there a hazard? 2. Under what circumtances does it exist? 3. How serious is it? 4. What are corrective measures? Most members of the mining fraternity agree that reduced quantities of air and changed airflow patterns introduce potential hazards, especially where gaseous conditions exist when mechanized methods are used in concentrated mining 0 The seriousness of the hazard depends on the ease with which methane accumlates in face areas or haulage roads, the quantity of methane in workedout areas, and the extent to which reversed air currents interfere with escape and recovery operations after mine fires or explosions. These studies cover three mines and give the distribution of air for the specific conditions show. Each mine probably has somewhat different airflowpressure relationships between fans. This depends on the number of fans, the

Jun 1, 1959

By W. R. Hardwick

This paper describes block -caving methods and practices of the Bagdad Copper Corp. in Yavapai County , Ariz . It is one of a series being prepared by the Federal Bureau of Mines on mining methods , practices , and costs in various mining districts of the United States . The story of the Bagdad caving operation is of particular interest because the ore body was not as thick as at other mines where the method had been successful . At Bagdad the caving method worked very well as a smallscale operation of 300 tons per day but was abandoned when production was increased to 2,000 tons per day . The Bagdad mine is in western Yavapai County , Ariz . , about 22 miles northwest of Hillside , a station on the Phoenix -Ash Fork branch of the Atchison , Topeka & Santa Fe Railway system ( fig . 1 ) . Copper ore now is mined by open -pit methods . The ore is concentrated , and the concentrates are trucked to Hillside and shipped by rail to a custom smelter . Some molybdenum sulfide is produced as a byproduct . This report gives a brief history of the district , describes the ore de- posit , and outlines the methods of prospecting , exploration , and estimation of ore . Development and former underground mining , including stope preparation , stoping , and transportation , are described . Extraction of ore , production rates , miscellaneous operations related to mining , wage and contract systems , and method of concentration are described . The final section discusses mining costs . The underground mine was visited by the author several times between 1937 and 1942 , and some information has been drawn from personal notes . The property again was visited in June 1957 , and maps and plans for this paper were furnished by the company at that time ; they have been edited to conform with Bureau of Mines format . The underground mine could not be visited then because it had been closed in 1948 when open -pit mining was begun .

Jan 1, 1959

By James Westfield

Following is a resume of activities of the Division of Coal-Mine Inspection that have had a favorable effect on health, safety, and the reduction o1 injuries at coal mines: 1. The Federal Mine Safety Code for Bituminous Coal and Lignite Mines of the United States was issued originally by the Director of the Bureau of Mines July 24, 1946, after consultation with management and labor representatives of the coal-mining industry. The code has been used by Federal coal-mine inspectors while inspecting bituminous coal and lignite mines as a basis for determining the existence of unhealthful and unsafe conditions and practices in these mines. A revised code was issued by the Secretary of the Interior October 8, 1953, after further consultations with representatives of management and mine workers and was incorporated by reference in the 1952 and subsequent bituminous coal wage agreements. The agreement of May 29, 1946, between the Secretary of the Interior, acting as Coal Mines Administrator under authority of Executive Order 9728, and the United Mine Workers of America, covering bitumi¬nous coal and lignite mines in Government possession, charged Federal coal-mine inspectors with the responsibility of making periodic investigations of the mines and reporting to the Coal Mines Administrator any violations of the Federal Mine Safety Code. Federal coal-mine inspectors also had temporary authority to close mines found to be imminently dangerous, but such authority (under Executive Order 9728) was removed June 30, 1947, when Government control of the mines was terminated.

Jan 1, 1959

By A. A. Bakewell

This information circular, which describes mining methods and practices at the Baguio Gold Mining Co., Philippine Islands, is one of a series being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on mining methods, practices, and costs. Since January 1952, Baguio Gold Mining Co. has operated its rehabilitated mine and mill in the Baguio district. Postwar labor and supply costs are three or four times prewar costs, whereas ore tenor and tonnage are about the same. Ore reserves remain approximately the same, but deeper and more spreadout operations add to increasing costs. Recently the company has acquired an adjoining property, which may lengthen its life substantially. Costs and general operations are more or less typical of the district, which includes three other active gold mines. Gold ore mined in the district totals approximately 4,300 tons per day.

Jan 1, 1959

This report is the 22d in a series summarizing Bureau of Mines research and technologic work on coal and related investigations.2 3/ A summary of work published during 1957 and of work in progress is presented. Details regarding the subjects treated in the publications may be found by referring to articles cited in the footnotes. The objective of the coal work of the Bureau of Mines is to obtain information that will lead to improved production and utilization of coal, thus conserving a most important national asset.4 5/ Though studies of mining methods and exploration of various coalfields ma; contribute directly to improved production, no less so does the work in health and safety. The many problems relating to chemical and physical properties of coal reflect the need for an understanding of these properties for the most effective use of coal in its various fields of application and for the development of new methods of processing coal. Studies of existing and proposed processes of combustion, carbonization, gasification and hydrogenation of coal are necessary for increased efficiency in its use. Engineering service provided by the Bureau is of direct value in the conservation program in preventing waste. Stations where the main coal activities of the Bureau are carried out are shown in the following list:

Jan 1, 1959

By W. L. Dare

This information circular is one of a series published by the Federal Bureau of Mines in which the methods and costs of producing uranium ore on the Colorado Plateau are discussed. This report describes the three largest company-operated uranium mines of Climax Uranium Co. - the G-1, the Mineral Joe, and the Frank No. 1. Climax Uranium Co., a subsidiary of American Metal Climax, Inc., was [corporated] May 11, 1950, just 2 years after establishment of the domestic uranium program by the Atomic Energy Commission. Twenty-five years earlier Arthur H. Bunker, now chairman of the board, American Metal Climax, Inc., organized and operated the U. S. Vanadium Co. at Rifle, Colo.3/ Soon after Climax Uranium Co. was organized, it entered into a contract with the Federal Government to build a uranium-vanadium processing mill in Grand Junction, Colo. Under the contract Climax leased from the Federal Government certain uranium-bearing lands that had been withdrawn from public entry in 1948. From Minerals, Engineering Co. on June 12, 1950, Climax acquired other uranium-vanadium properties on Calamity, Outlaw, and Monogram Mesas in Colorado and on Polar Mesa and in the Yellow Cat area of Utah. To house the milling equipment, Climax leased the old Grand Junction sugarmill building of the Holly Sugar Co. Milling facilities, based on a then new process developed for treating both uranium and vanadium, were completed, and the plant went into production in 1951.

Jan 1, 1959

By L. G. Marshall

Gypsum mining and processing has been one of the principal industries in Iowa for more than 75 years. For most of that period, Iowa has ranked among the five leading States in the production of crude gypsum and of calcined-gypsum products. The Fort Dodge area accounted for 11 percent of the gypsum products produced in the United States in 1956. Before 1927 the output by the major companies came from underground operations, using a room-and-pillar stoping method. At present, all production comes from quarries. The quarry methods at the various properties are similar. This paper describes the quarrying, methods employed in the district and the type of equipment used by each company. The sections on history and geology are, in part abstracts from State annual reports and an Iowa Geological Survey publication.3/

Jan 1, 1959

By W. R. Hardwick

This paper describes mining methods and practices of the Morenci Branch, Phelps Dodge Corp., Greenlee County, Ariz. It is one of a series being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on mining methods, practices, and costs in various mining districts in the United States. A similar program, conducted from 1928 to 1939, was generally conceded to have contributed substantially to improving the efficiency of mining operations. The morenci open-pit mine (see photograph, fig. 1) is in southeastern [zona] (fig. 2), on U.S. Highway 666 about 5 miles north of Clifton, county at of Greenlee County. The concentrator and smelter are near the mine at an altitude of about 4,400 feet. Figure 3 is a map of the mine and plant.

Jan 1, 1959

By F. L. Wideman

This report describes the sinking of No. 3 shaft at the Westvaco mine. It is one of a series of publications of the Bureau of Mines on mining methods and practices in the United States. The Westvaco mine is in Sweetwater County, Wyo., approximately 23 miles northwest of the town of Green River (fig. I), There are no permanent habitations in the vicinity of the mine, and employees live in Green River or Rock Springs, Wyo., 14 miles us t of Green River. The mine plant is on a windswept, treeless plain, from which low buttes and flat-topped ridges rise. The altitude at the collar of No. 3 shaft is 6,351 feet. The climate is arid, with temperatures as low as 40° below zero in the winter. Blacks Fork, a tributary of the Green River and a perennial stream, flows near the mine.

Jan 1, 1959

By John C. Machisak

THIS INFORMATION CIRCULAR covers the calendar year 1055 and contains statistical data on employment and injuries pertinent to metal and nonmetal mining and to their mills and processing plants that are voluntarily reported annually to the Federal Bureau of Mmes. This report, unlike previous publications, lists not only production and development workers but also office employees associated with mining and milling or processing. The last publication m the series, Information Circular 7798, Injury Experience in the Metal and Nonmetal Industries, 1954, also contains unpublished injury and employment statistics for 1943 through 1953. The Bureau is authorized to request data on injuries and employment from operators in the metal- and nonmetal-mining industries. The information voluntarily submitted by these operators contributes immeasurably to the promotion of safety in the mineral mining industries as it discloses the hazards to which metal and nonmetal workers are continually exposed during mineral extractive operations.

Jan 1, 1959

By Sidney Katell

The present report, a continuation of the series of Bibliography of Investment and Operating Costs for Chemical and Petroleum Plants, is concerned with articles published from January 1958 through December 1958. The periods covered in previous reports are as follows: January 1930 - August 1948 I. C. 7516 September 1948 - June 1952 I. C. 7705 July 1952 - June 1954 1. C. 7751 July 1954 - December 1956 I. C. 7847 January 1957 - December 1957 I. C. The following sources were used to obtain the references to and the abstracts of the published articles included in this report: 1. Bureau of Mines Information Circulars. 2. Bureau of Mines Reports of Investigations. 3. Chemical Engineering. 4. Chemical Engineering Progress. 5. Coal Age. 6. Coal Utilization. 7. Cost Engineering. 8. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. 9. Nucleonics. 10. Oil and Gas Journal. 11. Petroleum Engineering. 12. Petroleum Refiner. 13. World Oil.

Jan 1, 1959

By C. M. Harrer

This paper describes the location and general features of iron occurrences in Colorado. Most of the deposits were examined; many are in forested and mountainous areas at altitudes of 5,000 to 13,700 feet. Iron is known to occur in 30 counties of western Colorado. Transporting the ore to market is a handicapping economic factor involving long truck and railroad hauls; the nearest purchaser of smelting ores is the Colorado Fuel and Iron Corp., at Pueblo, Colo. When the ore can be sold locally for special purposes and at higher prices than can be obtained at iron smelters, small-scale operations can supply that market.

Jan 1, 1959

By W. R. Hardwick

This information circular describes open-pit mining methods and practices of the Bagdad Copper Corp., Yavapai County, Ariz. It is one of a series being prepared by the Federal Bureau of Mines on mining methods, practices, and costs in various mining districts of the United States. A brief history of the Eureka district and of early developments at the [gdad] mine is given, and the are deposit is described with particular emphasis on those characteristics (physical, economic, or engineering) that affected the choice of mining methods. Prospecting, exploration, and sampling and estimating the tonnage and grade are outlined. Development of the open-pit mine is shown. Mining methods, including breaking ground, primary drilling and blasting, secondary drilling and blasting, loading, transportation, engineering, and operating control, are described. A brief summary of mining equipment is given. Percentage of extraction, production rate, mine drainage and water supply, wage, contract, and bonus systems, safety and fire prevention, and the processing plant also are described. The last section gives a breakdown of such costs as are available for publication.

Jan 1, 1959

By J. B. Elizondo

This paper, which describes mining methods and practices at the Piokee mining unit and the Piokee expertmental mining project of The Eagle-Picher Co. in northeast Oklahoma, is one of a series being prepared by the Federal Bureau of Mines on mining methods, practices, and costs in various mining districts of the United States. The Piokee unit, comprising the Piokee, Rowe, Lucky Syndicate, and parts of the Netta White and Otis White leases, is in the SW1/4, W1/2NW1/4SE1/4, and W1/2SW1/4SE1/4 sec. 17, T. 29 N., R. 23 E., Ottawa County, Okla. (figs. 1 and 2), The 200-acre tract is adjacent to the town of Picher and near the heart of the Picher field of the Tri-State zinc-lead mining district.

Jan 1, 1959

By R. W. Stahl

A survey of firefighting facilities and practices in coal mines conducted by the Bureau of Mines3/ showed such variations in equipment and apparent attitude toward fire protection that a comparison with other industry seemed advisable. Although other industry is confined generally to surface operations and the hazards probably are not as great, the same general methods of extinguishment are employed, so that the cost and protection at least should be comparable. An investigation of industry other than mines revealed a generally greater emphasis placed on fire-combating equipment, fire-brigade training, fire-fighting facility inspection, and fire-hazard elimination, as well as a greater average expenditure for fire protection.

Jan 1, 1959

By A. J. Kraemer

This report on research and experimentation by the Federal Bureau of Mines on technologic and scientific problems of the petroleum and natural gas industries presents a resume of work from July 1, 1953, to June 30, 1956. The preceding report, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1953,3/ indicated continuation of the Bureau's program of petroleum and natural gas research of world-wide significance, which began in 1910. The petroleum and natural gas research of the Bureau of Mines is divided into five main categories: (1) Production of petroleum and natural gas, (2) transportation and storage, (3) petroleum chemistry and refining, (4) thermodynamics, and (5) economics.

Jan 1, 1959

By James W. Pennington

MERCURY, also widely known as quicksilver, ranks tenth in quantity in world output of nonferrous metals. However, its unusual and desirable combination of properties- liquid liquidity at ordinary temperatures, high density, uniform volume expansion, electrical conductivity, ability to alloy readily, high surface tension, chemical stability, and toxicity of its compounds -gives mercury an industrial and military importance out of proportion to the small physical size of the production industry. Although mercury has been known and used for over 20 centuries, until the 16th century consumption was small and chiefly in medicine. Since then mercury's applications have paralleled scientific advancements, kind current principal uses of mercury are in electrical apparatus, industrial and control instruments, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and the electrolytic prepa¬ration of chlorine and caustic soda. Other materials may be substituted for mercury in come applications; yet, for those uses that require mercury's unusual combination of physical and chemical properties, there is no ideal substitute.

Jan 1, 1959

By Alexander E. Morrow

Oxygen breathing apparatus for use in mines was introduced to the United States in 1907. Despite their intended purpose of safeguarding lives, the apparatus led to the deaths of many men because of inherent or developed defects in the equipment, lack of training,, physical shortcomings of wearers, and improper procedures. The Bureau of Mines pioneered in research and training to curb logs of life among users of such apparatus and promoted development of safer equipment and procedures. As a consequence, deaths have been far less frequent. In 1944 the Bureau issued Information Circular 7279, Loss of Life Among Wearers of Oxygen Breathing Apparatus. That publication listed the case histories of 26 deaths that had occurred since the introduction of such equipment to American mining. The author, the late G. W. Grove,3/ asserted that further loss of life could be avoided if good equipment were used, teams were properly trained, and the basic principles of safe procedure were followed. This publication is a sequel to I.C. 7279 and contains information on eight deaths among wearers of oxygen breathing apparatus that were overlooked in the original compilation. It also describes the single death that occurred since I.C. 7279 was published.

Jan 1, 1959

By D. E. Redmon

Exploration of hidden mineral deposits becomes increasingly important as known ore reserves are depleted. The primary objective in any exploratory program is to obtain enough reliable information to evaluate accurately the potential of the mineral deposit. Constant improvement in equipment and technique has established drilling as one of the most valuable methods of exploration. This paper presents the results of studies of several drilling methods currently used in the search for uranium deposits in sedimentary formations from surface drill sites. Also presented is a description of drilling with wire-line equipment from an underground location in metamorphic rocks. The studies were conducted in the Colorado Plateau area and in northwestern New Mexico and Wyoming. Statements of a general nature pertain to conditions or situations existent in those areas.

Jan 1, 1960

By R. J. Leary

A small electronic digital computer employing punched cards has been used to facilitate the solution of a variety of problems in Bureau of Mines pyrometallurgical research. In this work the computer has been found to be economical for solving both simple problems that occur repeatedly and those involving complex or iterative calculations. Each of these classes of problems and their respective solutions are described. These small computers can be used effectively by researchers when they work in consultation with a computer specialist. Close team work produces the required solutions in less time, and, oftentimes, in a more useful form. Participation in programming by researchers develops in them a skill for evaluating the suitability of problems for electronic computing.

Jan 1, 1960