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By Donald I. Bleiwas

The U.S. Bureau of Mines has evaluated the potential availability of nickel from 36 deposits or districts in 16 market-economy countries (MECs), analyzing more than 95 percent of production in those countries. This study indicates the quantity of nickel available on the basis of net production costs and total costs with a 0-pct and a 10-pct discounted cash flow rate of return (DCFROR). Costs of production are expressed in dollars per pound of recovered nickel. The study also indicates sensitivities of the cost of production to energy, labor, and other factors. The studied deposits and properties contain approximately 33 Mmt of recoverable nickel. About 26 Mmt of nickel is potentially recoverable from laterite deposits, of which 4.5 Mmt can be produced at $2.50/lb or less with a 0-pct DCFROR. Approximately 7 Mmt of nickel is potentially recoverable from sulfide deposits, of which about 6.3 Mint could be produced at $2.50/lb or less at a 0-pct DCFROR. The price of nickel averaged above $6.00/lb in 1988. Sensitivity studies performed for both laterite and sulfide deposits indicate that the total cost of producing nickel from laterites is most sensitive to increases in energy costs and that the total cost of producing nickel from sulfide deposits is most sensitive to increases in labor costs; sulfides are also affected by changes in revenues from byproducts.

Jan 1, 1991

By O. H. Metzger

This is one of a series of papers being published by the Bureau of Mines on mining areas and districts in the Western states. It describes mining and milling practices in the vicinity of Wickenburg in Maricopa and Yavapai Counties, Ariz. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author acknowledges the aid and cooperation of the operators of the mines visited. Reports of geologists and engineers who previously visited the area were drawn upon freely. Individual acknowledgments are made in the text.

Jan 1, 1938

By A. Iannacchione

Major Hazard Risk Assessment (MHRA)1 is used to help prevent major hazards, e.g., fire, explosion, wind-blast, outbursts, spontaneous combustion, roof instability and chemical and hazardous substances, etc., from injuring miners. The structured process associated with MHRA helps to characterize the major hazards and evaluate engineering, management and work process factors that impact how a mine mitigates its highest risk. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) studied the application of this technique to US mining conditions through a field-oriented pilot project. Risk assessment teams used in the pilot project were primarily composed of mining company personnel. Ten case studies were performed over a wide cross-section of mines. These mines were representative of the important mining commodities in the US minerals industry, i.e. coal, metal, non-metal, and aggregate. Also, the sizes of the mines ranged from small to large and were located across the country. The ten case studies demonstrate that most US mines have the capability to successfully implement an MHRA and that the MHRA methodology produced additional prevention controls and recovery measures to lessen the risk associated with a select population of major mining hazards. The basic ingredient for a successful MHRA is the desire to become more proactive in dealing with the risks associated with events that can cause multiple fatalities. A successful outcome is marked by a thorough examination of existing prevention controls and recovery measures. When pressed to consider more controls to further mitigate the risk, a well-staffed risk assessment team was able to identify additional controls. For these mining operations, it was important to add additional controls, even if they were not required by existing mining regulations, to lower the risks associated with the major hazards under consideration. If a mining operation is not willing to commit its best people to an MHRA or will not provide them with sufficient time to see the process through to its conclusion, the MHRA output may prove to be useless. Additionally, if a mining operation is not prepared to discuss its major hazards in an open and honest fashion and to present the findings of the risk assessment in a written report, the MHRA output will be unclear, and attempts to monitor or audit important controls may not be possible. A MHRA is most effective when the mining operation possesses 1) a proper understanding of its hazards, 2) experience with informal and basic-formal risk assessment techniques, 3) proper facilities, machinery and equipment, 4) suitable systems and procedures that represent industry Best Practice, 5) appropriate organizational support with adequate staff, communications and training, 6) a formal and thorough plan for emergency response, and 7) a safety risk management approach that is promoted and supported at all levels of the organization.

Jan 1, 2008

The United States Bureau of Mines frequently receives requests for information regarding the details of its organization and the nature of its activities. In response to such an inquiry a series of articles outlining the work of the bureau as a whole and of its different divisions was prepared and published in the United States Daily, Washington, D. C., during November, 1929. These articles are reprinted here in the hone that they may assist in giving the public a more complete understanding of the aims and purposes of the bureau and the methods by which it is laboring for the attainment of safer conditions and more efficient methods in American mineral industries. An index of these articles, with the dates of 'their publication in the United States Daily, is given below.

Jan 1, 1930

The research described in this report was conducted under a cooperative research agreement between the U.S Bureau of Mines Twin Cities Research Center (TCRC), Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (CCI), and three operations in Northern Michigan managed by CCI: the Empire and Tilden surface taconite mining operations, and the Central Shops maintenance facility. All of these operations are in or near Ishpeming, MI. The Human Factors Research Group at TCRC is responsible for designing, planning, and conducting the research, and reporting on the findings. This project was carried out in order to investigate the high prevalence of back injuries being experienced by workers employed at the three CCI Northern Michigan sites, In an analysis of Company accident records for workers employed at these sites, it was determined that back injury problems confronting the CCI sites mirror those confronting the entire mining industry.

Jan 1, 1994

This study assesses whether Narragansett Basin coal deposits could be developed commercially in the near future. To do this, we identify the potential market for the coal, assess the price these users would be willing to pay for Narragansett coal, and this price to the expected costs of producing Narragansett coal. The study concludes that the major market, New England utilities, could burn bituminous coal from Pennsylvania or West Virginia at a lower total cost than Narragansett Basin coal, assuming expected mining conditions and emission policies. Therefore, the study concludes that Narragansett Basin coal resources could not be developed economically in the next ten years.

Jan 1, 1979

For 11 years, under authorization of the Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act of April 5, 1944 (30 U.S.C. 321-325), and amendments, the Bureau of Mines has carried on an extensive research and development program to establish methods for producing oil from coal and from oil shale. This act was passed by the 78th Congress primarily because of the stress of wartime demands for liquid fuels to supply our armed forces during World War II. The act was progressively extended by the 80th and 81st Congresses, as later peace-time demand for oil and oil products continued to increase.

Jan 1, 1956

By Thomas T. Read

I. INTRODUCTION. WHEN so much has been written upon a subject on which so little definite information is available as upon this, some reason must needs be assigned for adding to the volume of literature. A sufficient reason is found in the probable great future importance of China as a producer of mineral wealth. The present undeveloped state of mining in the Empire is due to many causes, among which the most important are the relatively simple needs of the population, the lack of transportation-facilities, the inelastic regulations governing the industry, and the superstitious reluctance of the people to make excavations which might disturb the spirits of the earth and air, or of ancestors. Iron is the metal most in demand, yet the needs of the population, until recently, only made necessary a production of approximately 0.5 lb. of iron per capita per year. The present annual production of iron for domestic consumption, in the United States, is nearly 600 lb. per capita. The curious state of development of transportation in this interesting country has been a greater handicap upon the mining industry than upon any other. The point upon which it hinges is the absence of a road-system. Except for a few military roads, now almost impassable, there are no roads in China; that is to say, there is no land which is set aside as a right of way, belonging to the commonwealth. Throughout the agricultural districts, generally speaking, the entire area is in private ownership, and the lines of travel are between fields. There is a constant struggle for existence between the owners of the land and the traveling public, with the natural result that the so-called roads usually

Mar 1, 1912

By M Araos, I Onederra

A novel explosive formulation that substitutes the use of ammonium nitrate (AN) with hydrogen peroxide (HP) as the main oxidising agent has been developed and tested as part of an Australian Coal Industry Research Program (ACARP) project. The main objective was to provide a step-change solution that has the potential to completely eliminate NOx fumes in blasting. The development of this HP/fuel-based explosive started with a comprehensive detonation characterisation program, consisting of unconfined velocity of detonation (VOD) measurements of samples at different diameters, densities and void sensitisation techniques. VOD results showed that the HP/fuel-based explosive mixtures behaved similarly to non-ideal commercial explosives; in that way mixtures could be tailored to achieve specific detonation performance targets. The next stage of testing in this development involved preliminary confined tests to evaluate the rock breakage potential of the HP/fuel-based explosive mixtures. Fully instrumented single-hole tests were conducted in a limestone quarry. Results from these preliminary trials confirmed the rock breakage performance of HP/fuel-based explosive mixtures. The confined VOD measured in one of the tests was 5100 m/s in a 102 mm diameter blasthole at a density of 0.96 g/ml. The corresponding borehole pressure measurement of this HP charge was 2.61 GPa with a detonation temperature of 2921°C. Based on near-field accelerations, both HP and ANFO charges displayed similar attenuation characteristics in the test conditions. Post-blast observations indicated that the breakage performance of the HP mixtures clearly reflected the in-hole detonation performance measurements obtained, confirming the ability of these explosive mixtures to both fragment and effectively displace the rock mass under evaluation. Further research work continues with the future commissioning of a prototype mixing and delivery unit, the successful completion and analysis of data from multiple-hole trials, and further characterisation work associated with product stability, reliability and performance under different geotechnical conditions.CITATION:Onederra, I and Araos, M, 2015. Detonation and breakage performance of a hydrogen peroxide-based explosive formulation, in Proceedings 11th International Symposium on Rock Fragmentation by Blasting, pp 565–574 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 24, 2015

By A. G. Loomis

Although secondary-recovery methods have not been applied widely in California, it is apparent that increasing attention and effort must be given to this phase of recovery if the State is to maintain its high rank as a petroleum producer. Steadily increasing demands for petroleum products and decreasing rates of discovery of new oil fields and rapid depletion of existing reserves emphasize the prospect of an adverse situation of supply and demand in the not-far-distant future. If the trend of discoveries becomes more favorable or if more complete economic recovery of the oil in place can be obtained by secondary recovery, this situation can be averted. Not only are these reserves of economic importance to the petroleum industry to meet increasing market demands, but economic reclamation of such reserves is an important conservation measure, which will prolong the productive life of many fields" Accordingly, progressive operators in California are alert to the possibilities of secondary recovery and have done much to implement such operations wherever feasible. Most of the operations are of the pressure-maintenance type} in which the reservoir pressure is maintained or partly maintained by injecting natural gas to increase oil recovery. The possibilities of recovering additional oil from stripper fields by gas drive and water flooding (including water disposal) also are being tested in experimental field projects. Table 1 summarizes gas and water-injection projects in California.

Jan 1, 1952

By S. J. Boone, A. Poschmann, C. Pound, A. Pace

San Diego’s Stadium Conglomerate consists of poorly cemented cobbles, gravel, sand, silt and clay. Conventional laboratory and in-situ testing is not suitable for characterizing its engineering properties. Although the formation is often considered a “rock” its behavior is more readily modeled using soil mechanics. Static and seismic design of a tunnel for the Mission Valley East light rail extension required that the stress-strain characteristics of the ground be identified over a broad strain range. Geophysical methods and field plate load testing were used to develop a full non-linear stress-strain model of the expected ground behavior. Quantification of the coarse material distribution was also required for selection of tunneling methods and construction considerations.

Jan 1, 2001

By J. W. Dini

Introduction The mission of the Materials Fabrication Division (MFD) is to provide fabrication services and technology in support of all programs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). MFD involvement is called for when fabrication activity requires levels of expertise, technology, equipment, process development, hazardous processes, security, or scheduling that is typically not commercially available. Customers are encouraged to utilize private industry for fabrication activity requiring routine processing or for production applications. MFD is .a large diversified service organization including approximately 400 full time employees. The group provides a wide variety of processes including all common machining and fabrications operations, laser and water jet cutting, electrical discharge machining, lapping, electron beam and laser welding, vacuum brazing, heat treating, forming, electroplating and metal finishing, optical polishing and grinding, vacuum coating, vacuum engineering and a variety of plastics operations. These operations occupy more than 1,250,000 square feet of floor space. For more detail on the many fabrication related services available from MFD, see Reference 1.

Jan 1, 1992

By K. B. Bengtson

This task report provides the process technology, preliminary design, capital and operating costs for a 25 TPD pilot plant to produce cell-grade alumina using a clay/hydrochloric acid extraction - HCI gas induced crystallization process. The report consists of six volumes: I - Process Technology and Costs; II and III - Equipment Lists, Specifications and Quotations; IV and V - General Specifications; VI - Drawings. The process was selected by the Bureau of Mines as the more promising method to produce cell-grade alumina from clay based on the results of the two previous task reports under this contract: Task I - Comparison of Six Processes (alunite, anorthosite-lime sinter, clay/sulfurous acid, clay/nitric acid, clay/hydrochloric acid evaporative and gas-induced crystallization) and Task 2 - Comparison of Two Processes (clay/nitric acid and clay/hydrochloric acid - gas induced (crystallization). The pilot plant process utilizes a unique dual crystallization process to produce aluminum-chloride-hexahydrate crystals having sufficient purity when decomposed to meet stringent alumina product specifications. The size of the 25 TPD pilot plant has been selected to permit scale-up to commercial size plants of equipment, technical and economic parameters. The capital cost estimate for the pilot plant, exclusive of fee and escalation, for a southeastern U.S. location is $52,311,000 expressed in 1979 dollars. The total time required to construct the pilot plant including engineering and procurement is 32 months. The operating cost to produce the estimated 9,000 tons of alumina required for testing in Hall cells is $40,91[0],190 expressed in 1979 dollars.

Jan 1, 1979

By A. J. Kauffman

This inventory of the industrial mineral resources of the Pacific Northwest indicates that each of the States comprising this great region annually produces nonmetallic materials valued at mans million dollars. Commodities or their products that have a large, localized market predominate. These include Portland cement, sand and gravel, stone, clay, and lime. The region's output of magnesite, vermiculite, pumice, and diatomaceous earth is outstanding. The magnesite deposits of Stevens County, Wash., are the largest and most important in this country. Mast of the domestic vermiculite production is obtained from deposits in Lincoln County, Mont. Oregon and Idaho rank third and fourth, respectively, as domestic pumice producers. Production data for diatomaceous earth show Oregon second and Washington fourth among the producing States.

Jan 1, 1952

By J. E. Williamson

Introduction 1. Factors on Which the Design of the Roaster Plant was Based The roasting operation at Lake Shore, it was realized from the outset, would be profitable only if costs and losses could be reduced to a low figure. It was absolutely imperative that the operation should be self roasting over the whole range of tonnages and sulphur grades which might obtain during the life of the mine. The roasting operation could not bear the cost in fuel and labour of even a partially fired roast. To meet this requirement, it was necessary to resort to additional insulation in the construction of the roaster and to provide a more flexible means of rabble cooling than the conventional water jacket (see p. 31). A second basic consideration was that of handling a wet, putty-like concentrate. The operating costs of a drier ruled out the possibility of drying the charge before feeding it to the roaster. Moreover, the dusting which would result from charging a dry product virtually all -40 micron (325 mesh) in size would seriously handicap the use of a dryer. Dust lubrication (p. 3S) due to the back-mixing action of the Edwards rabbles, and the use of a Sullivan slapper ( p. 27) on the concentrate filter, completely solved the problem of handling the roast feed. The third consideration was the reduction of dusting to a sufficiently low point that a Cottrell or other dust collecting system was unnecessary. The Edwards roaster when properly supervised, it is believed, can be operated to give the minimum possible dusting. At Lake Shore, the evidence has been that less than 1 per cent dusting occurs at any time and that the greater part of the dust produced is recovered either in the spray tower or in the dust chambers.

Jan 1, 1947

By Karl A. Gschneidner

The magnetocaloric effect has been known for 120 years and has been utilized for cooling about 70 years. But in the last four years significant advances have been made to show that magnetic refrigeration is a viable and competitive cooling technology. Most of the work has focused on reciprocating devices, but rotary apparati are being developed. To date the magnetocaloric properties have been characterized for more than 200 materials. The magnetocaloric effect behaviors have been classified into three types of behaviors. The most common one is found in magnetic materials which exhibit a second order magnetic phase transition. Magnetic materials which exhibit a first order magnetic phase transition account for the second group of materials. Materials which exhibit multi-magnetic phase transitions make up the third group. The best candidate materials for magnetic cooling over the range from -4 to -1 350 K are also presented.

Jan 1, 2002

By W. Birch, G. D. Rangel-Sharp, L. Bermingham

For many years, the accepted method of Measuring the Velocity of Detonation (VOD) in blast holes has been to use an electric cable of a constant resistance per metre. Thus as the wire is consumed by the explosive in the blast hole, the change in resistance is monitored and when this data is plotted against the time period of the in hole explosion, the VOD can be calculated.

Jan 1, 2011

By Jerry L. Smith

Industry on a whole has not been very receptive to government prodding to implement waste minimization programs. Waste minimization has the appearance of substantial benefits, however, there are underlying difficulties and suspicions that need to be addressed before industry will support pollution prevention initiatives. They can be summarized as follows: - Human behavior resists change, uncertainty, and unknowns. - New waste minimization techniques are difficult to find and research. - Calculating the true cost of present waste practices as well as new techniques being considered is difficult and time consuming. - Getting a consensus opinion of all the individuals affected on the course or technique to be employed in a pollution prevention program. New software products have addressed many of the problems associated with implementing pollution prevention programs: They contain research on a large number of pollution prevention techniques and case studies; they generally are accessed by EPA ID number, chemical name, or synonym; and some programs have the option to print a comprehensive written user-specific pollution prevention program.

Jan 1, 1994

Commodities statistics and other information are available through the following three systems: Internet Access: To acccess the USBM Gopher server on Internet, connect to: gopher.usbm.gov port 70, using gopher client software. Or contact the Systems Administrator for technical questions: Matt Klevemann, 412-892-6499 (klevemmc@miner.usbm.gov) These USBM materials are available on Internet, with more to come in the future: Publications and other research findings, including this bimonthly publications list, newsletters, tech transfer updates, enviromental technology research, health and safety information. USBM software products Media materials and speeches. Mines Data: Computer bulletin board. Log on via modem through 202/501-0373, or call 202/501-0406 for technical assistance. Mines FaxBack: Return fax service. 1. Use the touch-tone handset attached to your fax machine's telephone jack. (ISDN [digital] telephones cannot be used with fax machines.) 2. Dial 202/219-3644. 3. Listen to the menu options and punch in the number of your selection, using the touch-tone telephone. 4. After completing your selection, press the start button on your fax machine.

Jan 1, 1995

This Bureau of Mines publication presents five papers given at a Technology Transfer Seminar on Metal Mine Fire Protection Research. Several seminars are held each year to bring the latest results of Bureau conducted and sponsored research to the attention of the mining industry as quickly as possible.

Jan 1, 1977