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By George C. Branner

This Bureau of Mines report presents information on the origin, collection, movement, and consumption of iron and steel scrap in California and Nevada. As far as practicable, information is presented on a grade basis. The iron and steel scrap industry in California is important from the standpoint of employment, economic essentiality, and dollar value. About 16,000 persons are either directly or indirectly employed on a full- or part- time basis in the collection, preparation, and sale of iron and steel scrap in California; in 1957 about 70 percent of the tonnage of products of California steel mills, valued at $271 million, was derived from scrap; the value of scrap in 1957 ($117 million) is about $10 million greater than the value of portland cement produced in California that year. The iron and steel scrap industry in Nevada is small.

Jan 1, 1960

By T. A. Klinefelter

"INTRODUCTION During the development work on sponge iron by the Bureau of lines it was desired to produce a product of maximum density for the furnace. One means of doing this would be to make a plastic mixture of the ground ore and extrude as pellets or large slugs or brick shapes.If a pelletizing Process is employed, the pellets must be strong enough to resist breaking when rolled and tumbled in going through the rotary kiln. If a brick-making process is employed, the brick must be strong enough to withstand handling and considerable pressure when stacked in the kilns.The study had two objectives: first, to find a binder of sufficient strength throughout the early stages of curing and heat treating and, second, to determine the degree of curing and heat treatment necessary to prevent disintegration under normal working conditions.Although the investigation had as its primary objective the processing of sponge iron, the data should interest other industries in which non plastic or poor-bonding slimes are a problem."

Jan 1, 1946

By Lippe D. Sadwin

A high-speed streak camera method for making equation of state measurements (shock and particle velocities) on samples of rock under dynamic load conditions is described. Experimental data are given for tests on 12 samples representing 5 rock types. Analysis of these data shows that the method is practical and that good reproducibility of results can be obtained. The pressure range covered in the tests was from 1 to 50 kilobars.

Jan 1, 1966

By T. D. Ralston

This Bureau of Mines report presents a mathematical model for heterogeneously catalyzed chemical reactors operating under turbulent conditions. The model includes reaction kinetics on the catalyst surface as well as diffusion of the reacting components within the reactor. Three applications of the model to tube-wall methanation reactors are discussed. The first application is a computation of catalyst activity from measured reactor data. This result is then used in a reactor sizing problem and a problem of reactor simulation with recycle. In addition to the reactor model, a novel approach to solving the recycled reactor problem is given.

Jan 1, 1974

By Mark I. Copeland

The formation of A1203 dispersoids 0,14 and less in size in dilute iron-aluminum alloys by internal oxidation in wet hydrogen and dispersion strengthening of iron by application of the technique to iron powder were found to be feasible by the Bureau of Mines. In flowing H2-1.5 H20 gas, A1203 dispersoids 0.1w and less in size formed (at 650° to 750° C) in Fe-l and 2 Al sheet material but not in Fe-3 or 4 Al alloys. With higher temperatures and/or higher H2O/H2 volume-ratio gases, A1203 and FeA1204 dispersoids >0.14 in size formed in all the sheet materials- Minus 100-mesh Fe 2 Al powders were internally oxidized under conditions that promoted formation of fine A1203 particles in sheet material, and then the oxidized powders were hydrogen reduced, sintered, extruded, and evaluated. During internal oxidation, fine A1203 dispersoids formed within the powder grains, and coarse FeA1204 particles formed on the powder surfaces and grain boundaries. The FeA1204 content was essentially eliminated during sintering by reacting with the unoxidized aluminum that remained in the center of the larger internally oxidized powders. The tensile strength at 800° C depended upon the aluminum-oxygen weight ratio of these elements in the extrusions and reached a maximum of 17,000 psi. The stress-rupture strengths at 800° C of the better alloys were comparable with those of type 310 stainless steel.

Jan 1, 1972

By W. Hermanson

This report, which covers the period from January 16 to October 21, 1974, describes the work performed in compliance with the requirements of contract no. H0242028 and modifications 1 and 2 thereto. The purpose of the contract was to further reline and modify three of the canopies (shuttle car, loader, and roof drill) which were developed under contract no. H0220031, and to conduct further testing and demonstration of the relined designs. Modifications I and 2 involved conducting further in-mine evaluations of the face. drill and cutter canopies, also developed under contract no. H0220031. In addition to the canopy modifications, the contract involved an evaluation of an operator's seat concept for a shuttle car which was developed for the USBM by another contractor.

Jan 1, 1974

By D. J. Bauer

Solvent extraction techniques were used to determine the extraction sequence of yttrium and the rare-earth elements in an amine solvent extraction system. Single-stage extraction with Primene 81-R resulted in separation factors of 3.8 between yttrium and dysprosium and 25 between yttrium and cerium. Yttrium was concentrated in the aqueous phase. EDTA and DTPA, as aqueous phase counterextractants, enhance separation factors in mine-rare-earth sulfate systems. Yttrium separation from heavy rare-earth elements exhibits marked sensitivity to the position of yttrium in the selectivity scale of the rare-earth elements with the sequestrants. Yttrium-ytterbium separation is more effective with EDTA, whereas yttrium-dysprosium separation is more effectively increased with DTPA.

Jan 1, 1963

By J. E. Schiller

The Bureau of Mines has investigated the surface charge of amphibole asbestos fibers and nonasbestiform cleavage fragments, as part of the Bureau's fundamental studies to provide new knowledge on the physical and chemical properties of the amphibole minerals. Microelectrophoresis was used to measure the electrophoretic mobilities, in water, of particles from six asbesti-from amphiboles and seven nonasbestiform amphiboles over the pH range of 5 through 9. The particles generally ranged in size from 2 to 5 µm wide by 10 to 30 µm long. The isoelectric point was determined for four of the minerals, and values were found to be between pH 3.5 and pH 5. The minerals studied had zeta potentials that generally ranged from -25 to -so mv in neutral solution. Attachment of colloidal positively charged AgI was also studied as a means of determining surface charge. Scanning electron microscopy of amphibole particles that had been in contact with aqueous AgI showed equal attachment of AgI to asbestos fibers and to cleavage fragments; the extent of AgI coating was the same for both. The electrophoretic mobilities of asbestos fibers were essentially the same as those of elongated cleavage fragments of the same aspect ratio (particle length divided by width). Blocky particles from both asbestiform and nonasbestiform specimens had lower mobilities.

Jan 1, 1980

By Richard Havens

Samples of low-grade oxide manganese ores were procured from two southern Utah properties by examining engineers of the Bureau of Mines during an investigation of manganese mineral deposits of continental United States. A 2-ton lot of ore was obtained from the Blackbird group of mining claims in Paiute County, 11 miles southeast of Marysvale, Utah. The deposit was described as an intrusive sheet or sill of altered brecciated rhyolite cemented together by manganese oxide minerals. A 2-ton sample from the Black John property, situated 32 miles northeast of Kanab, Kane County, Utah, was taken from open cuts on the vein. The blanket-type vein deposit consisted of nodules and streaks of manganese imbedded in compact gray clay.

Jan 1, 1949

By Ludwig Schmidt

[The use of vapor-tight tanks has proved so effective in reducing the evaporation losses of petroleum that today practically all operators are using this typo of equipment. It has boon shown, however, that vapor-tight tanks should be supplemented with additional measures which will further reduce evaporation. Probably the most effective use of the supplemental measures are found on the small producing leases where the breathing losses from vapor-tight stock tanks materially affect the volume and gravity of the stored oil. The breathing loss from a vapor-tight stock tank that is filled and emptied daily is a negligible quantity. Also, the filling loss, which on the average varies between 0.1 and 0.2 per cent, usually is not of a sufficient quantity to affect materially the value of the crude. However, the combined breathing and filling losses from a vapor-tight tank requiring several days to fill are of sufficient importance to warrant the use of measures in addition to the vapor-tight tanks. The breathing losses are caused by atmospheric variations. Probably the greatest are the changes in atmospheric temperature which cause changes in temperature of the vapors in the tank. During the day, as the temperature increases, the gasoline-saturated vapors in the tank expand and are forced out into the atmosphere. At night the vapors are cooled and contract, drawing into the tank fresh air, which becomes saturated with gasoline vapor and is forced out of the tank during the following day. In Addition to the maximum and minimums temperature variations there are many smaller variations throughout a twenty-four period caused by showers, clouds, winds, and other atmospheric conditions which likewise cause the tank to breathe. The two mist common measures used by lease operators for reducing breathing losses in vapor-tight tanks are, first, operating; lease tanks under pressure, and second, the use of light colored paints anti tank houses. In this report these two methods are discussed together with their adaptability to lease operation. Results of experimental observations are given which show the reduction of evaporation looses where these supplemental measures have been used.]

Jan 1, 1927

By F. F. Hintze

In the group of minerals used in making this study, the cyanite is associated with quartz, mica, and feldspar in the schist. The amount of quartz is variable, but it is always an abundant mineral. Both large and small crystals of quartz occur in irregular masses, rarely ever showing crystal outline. Mica is of the clear and dark varieties, the larger crystals being dark as a rule, and the finer crystals of light color. The present mineralogical composition of the mina is rather variable, as most of the original biotite and muscovite have suffered alteration, and much secondary mioa is present as a result of alteration of the original mica and other minerals present, especially the larger cyanite crystals. A large part of the mica now found in the ore is chlorite, with varying amounts of Jefferisite and others, especially sericite. These are in the form of aggregates, or felt-like intergrowths filling the spaces between the quartz, cyanite, and feldspar.

Jan 1, 1931

By P. T. Brooks

Electrochemical machining sludge, a troublesome fluid waste product, was dewatered on a bench-scale basis by three alternative methods tested by the Federal Bureau of Mines. These methods would enable recycling 89 percent or more of the liquid content of the sludge and allow the dewatered solids to be dumped as landfill or processed further to recover contained nickel. Dewatering by vacuum precoat filtration was estimated to be the least expensive. Based on treating 20,000 gallons per day of sludge, precoat filtration costs were estimated as totaling 1.96 cents per gallon of sludge. Two options of an alternative method, comprised of acidification, reprecipitation, thickening, and filtration, were estimated to cost either 3.41 or 3.60 cents per gallon of sludge.

Jan 1, 1976

By Larry R. Powell

As part of the Bureau of Mines effort to establish a comprehensive subsidence data base for subsidence technology development, subsidence and related data are being compiled for various mining, geological, and environmental situations. This publication presents data for a longwall mining operation in the Northern Appalachian Coal Region. Vertical displacements and relative face positions are tabulated for 110 subsidence monuments. Measurements were taken twelve times during the eight months it took to mine the panel. Brief physiographic and geological descriptions of the mining site are presented along with a general account of the mining and subsidence monitoring methods.

Jan 1, 1981

By Charles Zahn

Gas chromatography is a method of separating mixtures of gases and volatile materials by entraining their vapors in a gas stream, which passes over an appropriate stationary phase. Two techniques are in common use: Gas-Liquid Chromatography, in which the stationary phase is a liquid supported on an inert solid, and Gas-Solid Chromatography, where the stationary phase is a solid adsorbent, such as charcoal or alumina. In both techniques components emerge from the column after a characteristic residence time. Gas chromatography is applicable as a qualitative or quantitative tool in a wide variety of problems in chemical research and processing. It may also be employed for purification and separation. A running bibliography on gas chromatography has been maintained at the Bureau of Mines synthetic liquid fuels laboratories, Bruceton, Pa., for several years for the benefit of research workers, who use chromatography as an analytical tool. Since the number of references grew and interest in the technique became more wide-spread, the Bureau is publishing this list rather than maintain it as a purely internal source.

Jan 1, 1958

By H. R. Beard

The Bureau of Mines investigated the absorption of radium and thorium from waste uranium leach liquor by clays and other materials. This work was conducted in support of the Bureau's goal of minimizing the environmental conflicts, impacts, and occupational hazards associated with mining and milling operations. Tailing and soil samples from New Mexico were evaluated for their potential to absorb radium and thorium from tailing liquors. Absorption ranged from 0 to 97 pct for radium and 0 to 60 pct for thorium. Some samples that readily absorbed radium were contacted with various salt solutions that could be present in tailing solutions to determine whether desorption would be a potential problem. The desorption of radium ranged from 0 to 75 pct. An alpha spectrometric method was used to determine the radium and thorium concentrations in the solutions and solids.

Jan 1, 1980

By Oleg Terichow

The Bureau of Mines studied the penetration of a slender cylindrical tube into a sand bed, simulating seafloor material under the application of a static load. The factorial experimental design was based on three factors: tube diameter, geometry of penetrating bit, and seawater saturation of sand, all of which were found to be significant in influencing the depth of penetration. The geometry of the penetrating bit, or shoe, is of major significance in the mechanics of penetration and should be considered the most important factor for additional study. Linear regression analyses of the load-penetration data show that the relationship is linear.

Jan 1, 1970

By James J. Olson

Previous Bureau of Mines studies of vibrations from quarry blasts have shown that the square root of the charge-weight may be used to group particle velocity data from various charge sizes, and that empirical propagation equations may be used to estimate vibration amplitudes. Particle accelerations of the sandstone roof of the White Pine Copper mine, Michigan, were measured to determine whether similar propagation equations may be developed for underground mine blasts. Vibration data from White Pine blasts were best grouped by scaling with the square root of the charge weight. Cube root scaling did not effectively group the data. The empirical propagation equation AW1/2 = 50,000 (R/W1/2)-2.21 where A is peak-to-peak acceleration in g's, W is the zero-delay charge-weight in pounds, and R is the distance from the blast in feet, may be used to estimate maximum vibration amplitudes from production sized blasts. Vibration differences among headings and types of explosive charge (AN-FO and dynamite), while statistically significant, were not a major factor in the estimation of maximum vibration amplitudes with an empirical propagation equation. Vibration differences between types of explosive charge were larger than the differences among headings, indicating that some reduction of vibration amplitude might be gained by using AN-FO rather than dynamite. Acceleration records from both White Pine's AN-FO and dynamite production blasts show that high intensity vibrations from the delayed portions of the blast (each delay interval = 25 milliseconds) were separate events, and that the zero-delay portion of the blast produced the maximum vibration amplitudes. If the pull of the underground blast round can be maintained, a reduction of the zero-delay charge-weight may effectively reduce the maximum vibration amplitude of the blast.

Jan 1, 1970

By R. D. Leitch

"INTRODUCTION This report is another of the series on the effect of drouth and low water on the pollution of streams by coalmine drainage. A previous report3 dealt with work on Bennett Branch of Sinnanahoning Creek, Pa. This report deals with the results obtained during a similar study of Black Lick Creek, Two Lick Creek, and Yellow Creek. All of these belong to the same drainage system. Two Lick Creek is a tributary to Black Lick Creek, and in turn Yellow Creek is a tributary to Two Lick Creek, as shown in Figure 1.Black Lick Creek was of such a volume that a seasonal investigation was not entirely feasible. Yellow Creek was found to have mines only near the mouth, except a few of status unknown to the writer at the extreme head-waters, and the stream was also more or less inaccessible for regular and frequent sampling. Two Lick Creek was found to be most suitable of the three.ACKNOWLEDGMENTThe work reported has been carried on under the direction and with the advice of Dr. R. R. Sayers, chief, health and safety branch, and W. P. Yant, supervising engineer, Pittsburgh Experiment Station."

Jul 1, 1931

By W. P. Diamond, B. M. Bench, C. M. McCulloch

This Bureau of Mines report describes photolineaments obtained from stereoscopic examination of vertical aerial photographs and by the Ronchi grating study of aerial photoindex sheets. The photolineaments are compared with the trends of oriented fracture systems procured by measuring the compass direction of joints in bedrock. The relative reliability of the methods is shown, and the results are presented in graphical, tabular, and written form. Analyses of field measurements of strikes of bedrock joints in the project area indicate for the most part two intersecting sets of major joints oriented N 76° W - N 15° E, and N 57° W - N 27° E. The analyses of lineaments determined by stereoscopic examination of aerial photographs show dominant trends of lineament zones of weakness to be an average of N 65° W - N 20°E. Analysis of lineaments found by Ronchi grid viewing of aerial photoindex sheets indicate dominant trends of N 70° W - N 27° E. The three methods give similar findings and verify the work of previous authors. The Ronchi grid method is a useful guide, but it cannot be substituted for the two more painstaking methods.

Jan 1, 1977

By Benjamin Petkof

Production quarry blasts in three rock types were photographed with a high-speed camera. Analysis of the films showed that step increases sometimes occur in the horizontal velocity of the broken rock. These step velocity increases were observed only in the first foot or so of rock movement. This observation indicates that the gaseous products of the explosion do additional work on the rock after it is crushed and cracked by the initial compressive-stress pulse and the reflected tensile-stress pulse. The observed initial fly-rock velocity is compared with the calculated fly-rock velocity for reflection spalling. A mechanism possibly causing the velocity increases is discussed. INTRODUCTION When a small concentrated charge of explosive is detonated at the bottom of a drill hole near a free surface, two modes of rock failure have been observed; both are associated with the stress pulse generated in the rock by the detonating explosive. The first mode of failure is the crushing and radial tensile cracking associated with the initial passage of the compressive-stress pulse as it propagates outward from the explosion. This type of rock failure is usually confined to the immediate vicinity of the charge hole. The second mode of failure is the tangential and radial tensile cracking associated with the tensile-stress pulse that is reflected from the free surface. This mode of failure is commonly called scabbing or spalling and has been shown to be a primary cause of rock failure in crater formation at one free surface. (3).4

Jan 1, 1961