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By E. Don Dilling, W. F. Holbrook, Lloyd R. Michels, James W. Pennington, Dwight L. Harris, Wm. F. Hergert, Cyrus L. Blogett, H. A. Doerner, Ernest A. Reige

"IntroductionA process for production of magnesium by carbothermal reduction was developed at Padentheirm, Austria, by the Austro Americanische Magnesit Corporation& an independent investigation of this and other processes was started in 1937 by the Bureau of Mines at Pullman, Wash., with the cooperation of Washington State College. 10/ A preliminary study of the Radentheirm pro¬cess, as revealed by the meager information then available, demonstrated the following two major disadvantages,The use of hydrogen for shock cooling requires an enormous volume of gas - about 1,000 cubic feet for condensing each pound of metal as a pyrophoric dust which must be completely separated from this gas. Then if the gas is to be recycled for repeated use, the CO produced by the reduction reaction must be separated from the hydrogen. These separations are costly from the standpoint of equipment and operation. 11/The condensate is an impure, pyrophoric metal powder that must be purified and converted to coherent form. This is accomplished by distillation or sublimation of the metal. Distillation on a large scale involves difficulties inherent in the high boiling point (1,107° C.) and the chemical activity of the metal. To avoid these difficulties, the metal is sublimed at 600° C. and of very low pressure. This is quite easily carried out as a batch operation but is a costly procedure. A continuous sublimation process has not been accompli shed."

May 1, 1945

By A. W. Ambrose

"A need exists for men in oil-field production work who correspond to the mining engineer of a large mining property. Some oil companies prefer to call such an employee a resident geologist, resident engineer, or a petroleum technologist. He should perhaps be more correctly termed a petroleum production engineer. The duty of such a man is to apply his scientific and geologic training practically to oil-field development work.He should be, by education, a mining, civil, or mechanical engineer, with a knowledge of geology and chemistry. Upon completion of his education, such a man should spend several years in the oil-fields. There are two means of gaining proper experience. The first method is to work for an oil company in making a detailed study of each well, collecting data on the history and production, followed by a preparation of good records, from which well logs can be prepared. From the well logs, the geologic cross-sections, peg-models, and structure contour maps can be made. These allow a comparable, detailed study of each well, which is necessary to solve many of the problems. Along with this the engineer should visit drilling wells daily for collection of samples of formations and for a proper study of how they drill. He should form friendly relations with the drillers and production foremen. The second method of gaining proper experience is to start work as a roustabout, pumper, or on the pipe¬line gang, finally working up to a tool-dresser. After three or four years of such work, the engineer may be classed as a petroleum production engineer."

Jan 1, 1920

By Xinquan Zhou, Rudolf E. Greuer

MFIRE, written in Fortran 77, is a computer program for ventilation state simulation in the steady state or transient state condition. It can be applied for the calculation of normal ventilation system planning or the analysis of the dynamic state variation in a ventilation system under thermal or mechanical disturbance. The state simulator MFIRE is a useful tool for mine fire fighting. In the case of a mine fire, mine ventilation engineers want to get some help to obtain more information, such as what is happening in the underground mine and how to control the mine fire, for correct decision making. By use of program MF'IRE, forecasts can be made on the variation of airflow, temperature, and contaminant distribution in a ventilation system during a mine fire. The paths which the contaminant takes at each time interval can be traced. The program MFIRE can be of assistance in the preplanning of escape routes. It can also be helpful during a mine fire emergency and mine recovery operation. Besides of offering the information of state simulation during a mine fire, MFIRE can be applied for state control by pretesting the suitability of the selected state control measures. It is to simulate the effects of the state control measures on the airflow distribution of a dynamic ventilation system. The testing result can be used for fire fighting in a similar real case of a mine fire. By employing empirical methods or a qualitative analysis like Budryk approach, ventilation engineers can choose different combinations of locations and sizes of control devices as samples of state control for an underground mine fire. Program MFIRE can simulate the different combination samples, that consist of a certain mine fue, the corresponding different control measures, and obtain the control effects. After the different control results are compared, the state control measure, which creates the best effect among the different state control measures, will be chosen for that fire case. When a mine fire, which is similar to one of the pretested cases, breaks out, the corresponding choice of the state control measure is applied to the ventilation system. It means that the simulator MFIRE has the function of indirect state control [10]. To achieve the above two functions, state simulation and state control, the mine ventilation system condition, sometimes, should be changed in a wide range to meet the requirement of the fire fighting. These wide system condition changes, such as adding operating fans, stopping or reversing fans, changing fan characteristics, adding regulators and making airflow shortcuts are represented in the time table of the input data set When the data files are changed in a wide range, however, an iteration divergence and some other computing errors in the distribution of airflow, temperature, and contaminant may occur. More serious logical programming and flexible selection on the algorithms are wanted to meet the request of the different data sets, to achieve correct state distribution simulation and improve the iteration convergence. To enhance the reliability and common suitability of program MFIRE, it is necessary to make investigation, analysis, and modification for the formal versions of MFIRE. The version 1.29, permitting dry .calculation, and versions 2.01/v2.0, permitting dry and humidity calculation, are widely applied

By F. A. Rutledge

The W. E. Dunkle mine, sometimes called the Costello Creek coal mine, is 8 miles N. 20° W. of Colorado Station on the Alaska Railroad. The presence of coal in this area has been known since the district was extensively prospected for gold between 1911 and 1915. At that time, coal from this deposit was used by miners for blacksmithing. The increased demand for coal resulting from government defense projects in Alaska led to exploitation of this deposit in 1941. The inability of Alaska coal mines to supply the quantity of coal required by public and private consumers and by the armed forces in Alaska was responsible for establishment by the Army of the Coal Procurement Section of its Alaska Department. It proposed to investigate the deposits and to expedite production from the Alaskan coal fields. The Bureau of Mines closely cooperated in this program. The quality of the Dunkle coal and the favorable location of the deposit caused it to be one of the properties chosen for investigation under a joint Army-Bureau of Mines-Geological Survey program.

Jan 1, 1948

By T. A. Klinefelter

KYANITE and the related minerals sillimanite, andalusite, dumortierite, and topaz are natural aluminum silicates that can be used in production of mullite (3A1203?2Si02), a superduty refractory material. Kyanite and sillimanite are the dominant ones because of their greater abundance. The only other kyanite-group mineral presently used for mullite production is andalusite. Mullite is not an absolutely essential material as other refractories can be used in the same heat range. However, it is a highly satisfactory one. It is the only compound of silica and alumina that is stable at high temperatures. It has low thermal expansion and is very resistant to corrosive melts and to thermal shock. For these reasons mullite refractories have a much longer life than standard fire-clay refractories under the same conditions. Worldwide, excluding U.S.S.R., the refractories industry consumes about 150-000 short tons annually of kyanite group minerals and synthetic mullite.

Jan 1, 1961

By Vance G. Leak

A technique for recovering copper and steel from metallic scrap has been developed by the Bureau of Mines based on preferential melting in molten salt baths at 1,150° to 1,250° C, The molten salt, preferably barium chloride or calcium chloride, both minimizes oxidation of the metals and promotes heat transfer. Cleanest separations (0.01 percent copper remaining in iron) have been achieved by pretreatment (dipping or spraying) with sodium sulphate or sodium silicate, which alters and coats the surface of the iron to inhibit the alloying or brazing with copper. An economic evaluation of the process was carried out on six combinations of sweating media and inhibiting reagents. On the basis of the postulated model, a cost of about $0.20 per pound of copper recovered has been determined for the sweating treatment operation.

Jan 1, 1973

By F. D. DeVaney

Metallurgists and coal-washing engineers have used heavy liquids for years in studying the characteristics of ores and coal. By such means true separations can be made between the various specific-gravity increments in the materials examined. To use of heavy liquids has permitted determination of the possible grades of tailings and concentrates by specific-gravity methods on any particular size, and therefore the size to which the ore must be crushed to free the valuable material. The simplicity of float-and-sink separation and the high degree of efficiency attained in the laboratory are factors that commend the method for commercial concentrations.

Jan 1, 1940

By F. D. DeVaney

Metallurgists and coal-washing engineers have used heavy liquids for years in studying the characteristics of ores and coal. By such means true separations can be made between the various specific-gravity increments in the materials examined. To use of heavy liquids has permitted determination of the possible grades of tailings and concentrates by specific-gravity methods on any particular size, and therefore the size to which the ore must be crushed to free the valuable material. The simplicity of float-and-sink separation and the high degree of efficiency attained in the laboratory are factors that commend the method for commercial concentrations.

Jan 1, 1940

By R. J. Matetic, J. S. Peterson, P. G. Kovalchik

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has initiated a study of a roof bolter to reduce noise exposure to mine roof-bolter operators. An important segment of this research entails determining the affect of various drilling configurations on the performance (penetration rate) and sound power emissions when drilling into granite. Test conditions included using various combinations of rotational speeds and thrusts, using 2.54- and 3.49-mm- (1- and 1 3/8-in.-) diameter hexagonal and round drill steels, using vacuum and wet conditions and using drill media of differing compressive strengths. This paper details the affects of each of these variables on the performance and sound power level emission. When drilling into granite, it was found that wet drilling generated lower sound power levels and performed better than vacuum drilling.

By Bernard Lewis

This report summarizes the fundamental research and technical studies conducted by the Explosives Branch of the Bureau of Mines from July 1, 1943, to June 30, 1949. It is the thirteenth of a series of annual reports, which have aimed to bring to the reader a resume of the research results that have appeared in published form during each fiscal year. The work of the Explosives Branch covers a number of activities - explosives research, explosives testing, flame and combustion research, flammability of gases and vapors, dust-explosions research, and technical studies in the experimental mine. An important part of the work of the branch is fundamental research to advance our knowledge and understanding of explosion processes. Considerable emphasis has been placed on studies of ignition and flame stabilization, as it is felt that an understanding of these processes should assist materially in alleviating explosion hazards in coal mines. The results are also finding important application in the development of jet propulsion. Studies of the explosibility of gases, vapors, and dusts saving thousands of lives and are preventing the destruction of much property. In innumerable instances in which potential explosion hazards exist, safe operating procedures have been recommended from data taken in the Laboratory. Aware of the value to national security of research results of combustion, flame, and explosion, the Army, Navy, and Air Forces are actively supporting important phases of this fundamental research.

Jan 1, 1950

By James A. Brierley

Wastewater from uranium mines in the Ambrosia Lake district near. Grants, New Mexico, U.S.A., contains uranium, selenium, radium, and molybdenum. The Kerr-McGee Corporation has a novel treatment process for waters from two mines, sections 35 and 36, to reduce the concentrations of the trace contaminants. Particulates are settled by ponding, and the waters are passed through an ion exchange resin to remove uranium; barium chloride is added to precipitate sulfate and radium from the mine waters. The mine waters are subsequently passed through three consecutive algae ponds prior to discharge. Water, sediment and biological samples were collected over a 4-year period and analyzed to assess the role of biological agents in removal of inorganic trace contaminants from the mine waters.

Jan 1, 1981

By R. L. de Beauchamp

A preliminary investigation was made of the extraction of chromium from ferrochromium by low-temperature chlorination in the 3400 to 5250 C range. The objective was to devise a method for separating chromium from iron in high-carbon ferrochromium produced from domestic chromite concentrates. The majority of iron was removed as a volatile chloride; chromium was contained in the residue as a nonvolatile chloride, which was separated from carbon and unattacked ferrochromium by dissolution. A small rotary chlorination apparatus was designed, built, and used for the chlorination tests, and samples of commercial-grade high-and low-carbon ferrochromiums were chlorinated for comparison of chlorination characteristics. Low-temperature chlorination of three types of ferrochromium resulted in the removal of 81.9 to 91.6 percent of the iron content as sublimed FeC13. Recovery of chromium in a leach solution of the reactor product varied from 82.4 to 93.1 percent.

Jan 1, 1968

By J. G. Donaldson

Nickel containing less than 0.01 percent of total metallic impurities was produced at the Rolla Metallurgy Research Center of the Bureau of Mines by electrodeposition from purified electrolytes. The first report on this research4 described purification of electrolytes by selective precipitation and by liquid-liquid extraction. This second report describes a procedure: or electrodepositing high-purity nickel from electrolytes purified by passing a nickel ammine solution through a column of an ion exchange resin. The nickel electroplated directly from the ammine solution without further treatment; a titanium cathode and two platinum anodes were used. The nickel deposit was dense, smooth, and adherent, and contained less than 0.001 percent each of cobalt, copper, and iron, and spectrographically detectable traces of aluminum, magnesium, and silicon. Nonmetallic impurities in the nickel metal were carbon and sulfur, each present in concentrations of less than 0.01 percent. The results of several experiments planned to purify solid nickel salts by zone refining are also reported. These salts, after purification, were intended for use in preparing electrolytes for deposition of high-purity nickel. Results were not encouraging so that the more promising ion exchange procedure was emphasized chiefly.

Jan 1, 1962

By H. S. Price

This report discusses the development of a mathematical model that describes the flow of methane only and methane and water in a coal bed during mining operations. Because of the complex geometry, boundary conditions and fluid properties, the model is based on a numerical solution to the equations describing flow. The goals for the development of this model and requirements to which it complies are for the most part expressly stated in Request for Proposal No. 50110752. In addition to the capabilities specified under the scope of work the model can handle an anisotropic porous medium and a source term has been added which will simulate, somewhat, the effects of desorption. This term will be pressure dependent. The effect of time on such a term is only taken care of in the change of pressure with time. This source term will have the dimensions of Mcf/day/Mcf pore volume. It will be a part of the input data to be supplied by the user and will be entered as a table of rates versus pressure. These models consider the fracture system as the main porosity. All computed results pertain to the fractures. The source term mentioned above represents the flow from the matrix porosity into the fracture. Such flow should be small compared with the flow between fractures since these models handle only one porosity structure system.

Jan 1, 2012

By John M. Gomes

The preparation of tungsten carbide by molten-salt electrolysis was investigated. Sodium tungstate in the electrolyte and carbon from the graphite anode were the source materials, Optimum results were obtained with an electrolyte consisting of 83 mole-percent sodium chloride and 5.7 mole-percent each of sodium tungstate, sodium metaborate, and sodium hydroxide; a temperature of 1,000° to 1,025° C; an anode current density of 37 amp/dm2 or less; and an initial cathode current density of 150 amp/dm2. The yield was approximately 0.45 g/amp hr. The electrolytic tungsten carbide product contained approximately 5.4 weight-percent combined carbon as compared to 6.1 weight-percent for pure tungsten carbide. Microhardness of the electrolytic tungsten carbide, determined with a 50-gram load, varied from 3,480 to 3,970 dph. The material was friable and could be ground in a laboratory ball mill to less than 400-mesh particle size.

Jan 1, 1969

By W. P. Yant

[At the majority of mines where flame safety lamps are used either as working lights or as a means of detecting gas, no check it made on this condition of the various parts of the lamp and their assembly other than a visual ink inspection. Although this inspection should be made carefully in view of tae serious consequence that may follow Vie use of a faulty lama, In many instances the inspection is of a perfunctory nature. The Bureau of Mines has therefore designed a small box or gallery for testing lamps for defects and improper assembly before they are taken into the mine. The test simulates the condition when a lamp is extinguished by its introduction into an explosive mixture and the operator attempts to relight the wick while the lamp contains the explosive mixture. This test is more rigorous than merely subjecting a lighted lamp to an explosive methane-air mixture. In the latter test the products of combustion tend to blanket the propagation of flame from within the lamp to the exterior, especially if there are defects at the top of the gauzes. Moreover, when the lighted lamp is subjected to an explosive methane-air mixture the methane builds up slowly within the lamp until the lower inflammable limit is attained, whereupon a feeble explosion occurs within. If the nonlighted lamps is first filled with the methane-air mixture that gives the maximum violence and is than ignited, the dampening effect of products of combustion is obviated and the strain on defects is]

Jan 1, 1930

This dictionary is published by the Bureau of Mines as a contribution to the mining and mineral literature in the belief that it will fill a recognized need. Several attempts have been made over the years to revise Albert Fay's Glossary of the Mining and Mineral Industry which first appeared in December of 1918. Frank L. Hess of the Bureau of Mines worked on a revision, but his untimely death prevented its completion. Subsequently, the writer was employed to compile and edit this dictionary in cooperation with the technical staff of the Bureau of Mines. Fay's glossary contained about 18,000 terms with 27,000 definitions; the present compilation contains about 55,000 terms with approximately 150,000 definitions. These terms are of both a technical and local nature, and they apply to metal mining, coal mining, quarrying, geology, metallurgy, ceramics and clays, glassmaking, minerals and mineralogy, and general terminology. Petroleum, natural gas, and legal mining terminology, unless of a general nature, has been excluded, as has been foreign terminology where there is an English equivalent. Several thousand Spanish-American mining terms that appeared in Fay's compilation have been removed to make way for the thousands of new English terms that have evolved over the years. Those Spanish-American and Mexican terms still used in the Southwestern United States have been retained.

Jan 1, 1968

By Martin J. Gavin

"Before discussing oil shales it may be well to consider briefly the conditions surrounding the petroleum industry in the United States, because these largely explain why so much interest is being manifested in oil shales. The United States is not only the greatest producer of petroleum in the world, its output amounting to about 65 per cent of the world's total production; but is also the world's greatest consumer, using more petroleum than it produces within its own borders. For the past four or five years it has been necessary to import oil at a continually increasing rate to make up the deficit between domestic production and domestic consumption. Experts who have made a close study of the future supply and demand for, crude petroleum are satisfied that under present production practice and with the development of possible undeveloped productive areas, the gap between domestic consumption and production will steadily .increase.As possible solutions for the impending domestic shortage of oil, various expedients are receiving attention. These may be grouped under three heads, as follows:(1) Temporary measures, such as curtailment of consumption, development of more efficient methods of production, and more efficient utilization of supplies of petroleum still available. It is unlikely that there will be any great curtailment in consumption of petroleum in the United States; rather, consumption will continue to increase unless a real shortage of oil actually forces curtailment of consumption. The other two possibilities mentioned deserve, and are resolving, serious thought. Much experimental work along these lines, some of which has already yielded excellent results, is being done. Obviously, however, any of these remedies are temporary ones only, so far as regards domestic production of petroleum."

Oct 1, 1920

By Jr. Sillers

To prove to .the satisfaction of all concerned that electrolytic manganese from our low-grade domestic ores could be substituted satisfactorily for ferro-manganese made from high-grade foreign fires, an extensive series of tests was conducted in cooperation with industry, in which electrolytic manganese pro-duced by, the Bureau of Mines at its Boulder City, Nev., Station was substituted for the ordinary ferro grades in the production of ferrous and nonferrous metals and alloys and welding-rod coatings. Over 1,200,000 pounds of manganese was given out for this purpose. The objectives of the tests were accomplished, and for some purposes electrolytic manganese was shown to be superior to other grades because of its high purity. The only serious objection that can be raised against electrolytic manganese is its price, which puts it out of reach for most purposes. Even if the price were to be lowered to a point where it would be in line with ferro grades, it is questionable whether electrolytic manganese from domestic ores could supply more than a small part of the needs of American industry because of the large volume of domestic ore that would have to be processed to supply a satisfactory feed for the electrolytic process. Thus, although electrolytic manganese is highly desirable from a metallurgical standpoint, it could not be expected to substitute for more than a fraction of our domestic manganese requirements.

Jan 1, 1952

By G. R. Hopkins

"Refiners are generally considered solely as fuel producers, but actually they also comprise a group one of the largest consumers of fuel. For example, during the year 1929 the refineries-burned 51,544,000 barrels of oil as fuel, or the equivalent of over 5 per cent of the crude oil processed in that year. In addition enough other fuels - coal, natural gas, refinery or still gas, and petroleum coke - were utilized to raise the total fuel consumption based on B. t. u. equivalent to more than 10 per cent of the heat value in the total crude oil run to stills. Refineries utilize fuel chiefly as the heat-forming element distillation, but also under-boilers in the formation of steam used in refining, for the heating of buildings, and in the generation of electricity.In the early days of refining, the problem of fuel utilization and fuel economy was of scant importance to the refiners. Margins of profit were comparatively high and the major portion of the operatros1 attention was directed toward increasing their throughput. However, the keen competition that has prevailed in the refining industry over the past five years or more has taught the refiners that their expenses, one of the largest items of which is the cost of fuel, must be curtailed. Thus in 1925 the refiners used an average of 829,000 B. t. u. to refine a barrel of crude oil, wheras by 1929 this average had been reduced to 639,000 B. t. u., a decline of 23 per cent (see fig. 1)Since 1925 oil has ranked first as a refinery fuel (see fig. 2). The use of natural gas increased during 1926 and 1927 but declined in 1928 and 1929. On the other hand, the use of refinery gas has grown rapidly in importance. Coal has shown a steady decline in use at refineries since 1925. Petroleum coke has never supplied more than a very small fraction of the total fuel requirements, although there has been a steady increase in its use."

Sep 1, 1930