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By THEO L. JOHNSTON

In preparing for war , Japan built an iron and steel industry that ranked high with other industrial nations . Deficient in raw materials for making iron and steel , it had to acquire the bulk of its iron ore and much of its coal and scrap iron from foreign sources . Steel manufacture, and fabrication , however , were reserved mostly for the Home Islands , where modern integrated plants produced the implements of war . The vulnerability of relying on imports during the war was recognized early, and steps were taken to exploit iron-ore deposits and develop treatment processes on the Home Islands in order to be as self - sufficient as possible . Although the industry had expanded considerably, the capacity of the large plants still was insufficient for military requirements, so other meth- ods of producing iron and steel were adopted, which in some ways illustrate the desperate effort made to supply the war machine. In developing the iron and steel industry, modern practices of other countries were studied and followed with modifications to suit Japanese con- Aitions. German and American technical ability and equipment played a large part in the program; however, the Japanese had competent furnace technologists capable of obtaining proper equipment performance. For the most part, the standard practice consisted of smelting iron ores in blast furnaces and then refining the pig iron to make steel in open-hearth furnaces. Electric furnaces played an important part, especially in the manu- facture of alloy steels. Various other methods yielded minor but significant production. Among the various other treatment processes used, the production of sponge iron in rotary kilns 'probably was the most important in producing melt- ing stock for steel making. Of special importance was the fact that sponge iron made from low-grade ores contained critical metals, such as nickel and chromium, so that the results were more significant than was generally believed.'

Mar 1, 1948

A Helix Pressure Gauge to Indicate roof bolt loads was designed, fabricated and field tested. The gauge indicated loads between 3,000 and 15,000 pounds with a ± ten per cent error. The coat of fabrication of the gauge was estimated to be $3.39 including an assumed overhead and profit per indicator for a series production of 5,000 unite. The unit can be read on a bolt to within ± 1,000 pounds load from a distance of twenty feet.

Jan 1, 1974

It is now widely accepted that horizontal stress is present nearly everywhere underground. Often it is more severe than the vertical stress. It is a major cause of roof control problems in underground mines. The AHSEM computer program contains two modules to improve mine layouts for control of horizontal stress. For development, the user specifies the orientations of the maximum horizontal stress, the entries, and the crosscuts. Angled crosscuts may be used, and the angles may be different for the right- and left-hand crosscuts. AHSEM then shows the user how the stress condition would vary as the entry and crosscut orientations are changed. The second module is for longwall mining. Severe stress concentrations can make headgate conditions hazardous when the entries are improperly oriented. AHSEM shows whether a particular longwall orientation and extraction sequence places the headgate corner in a stress concentration or in stress relief. It also estimates the magnitude of the stress concentration.

Apr 1, 2003

By David E. Morse

Burundi, a small central African republic located between Tanzania and Zaire, remained essentially a nation of small family farms in 1978-79 with approximately 95% of the population engaged in subsistance agriculture. Coffee and tea continued as the nation's major export commodities. Mineral exports, small tonnages of cassiterite, wolframite and bastnasite, accounted for an estimated 3% of total exports in 1978 and 2% in 1979, or $2 million2 in both years. Burundi's major mineral imports in 1978-79 were cement, iron and steel, and refined petroleum products. Abnormal weather conditions, a drop in world coffee prices in 1978, and the conflict in neighboring Tanzania and Uganda in late 1978 and early 1979 combined to re-strict economic growth in Burundi during 1978-79. The gross domestic product (GDP) posted a gain of 6.7% in real terms for 1978 and an estimated 2.5% for 1979 which was significantly less than the 13.7% recorded in 1977, a time of high world coffee prices. The manufacturing and construction sectors were hard hit in 1979 by the conflict between Burundi's eastern neighbors because of transport disruptions which made building materials and manufacturing inputs almost unobtainable.

Jan 1, 1981

By Takashi Ohya, George V. Keller, Richard G. Geyer

One aspect of a program to improve the chances of survival following coal mine disasters is the development of a communications system which will allow surviving miners to make their circumstances known to rescue teams. At present, it appears that an electromagnetic system may be most practical. The development and design of an effective electromagnetic communications link for signalling between mine workings and the surface requires knowledge of pertinent physical properties of the rocks overlying the mine workings and the characteristics of the ambient noise against which a communications signal must be recognized. Knowledge of the overburden electrical transmission properties is useful not only for determining a practical operating transmitter frequency at a given mine, but also for ensuring the best possible electromagnetic coupling for routine or emergency communication purposes. Field studies of the electrical transmission properties of the overburden of coal mines in Colorado, Illinois, and Pennsylvania generally show that a rela- tively uniform and unimodal electrical conductivity distribution exists provided that the region has not been subject to considerable structural or metamorphic deformation such as that observed in the Gary District of West Virginia. Measurements of ambient surface electromagnetic noise levels at several mines in Colorado, Illinois, and West Virginia were taken and analyzed and are presented in the form of amplitude histogram plots both as a function of frequency and time of day. These amplitude histograms may be used in conjunction with overburden resistivity data in implementing an uplink communications beacon system which will yield a specified signal-to-noise ratio at the surface. Numerous C.W. field transmission tests were made in various coal mining environments with use made of either a buried vertical-axis transmitting loop or a short insulated grounded current line. These transmission tests were made from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz in frequency and at several geographic surface receiving sites. The results of these field measurements show, in general, good agreement with theoretically calculated results. Since the produced surface magnetic field from a buried vertical-axis loop source or the produced surface horizontal electric field from a buried horizontal current line show better agreement with theoretical results, they could be used for beacon location system. One criterion would be in detecting the equatorial and polar null lines of the horizontal electric field component which is normal to the direction of emplacement of a buried transmitting line current source. A second criterion would be in the surface mapping of the maximum in the vertical magnetic field directly over a vertical-axis loop transmitter and the associated null in the vertical magnetic field at a horizontal offset distance which is about 1.4 times the depth of burial of the transmitter. Finally, a third criterion would lie in the surface mapping of the null in the horizontal magnetic field directly over the vertical-axis beacon and the associated maximum in the horizontal magnetic field at an offset distance from the transmitter axis of half the depth of burial of the loop transmitter. In mapping the vertical magnetic field over a buried vertical-axis loop transmitter, the size effect of the transmitter loop must be taken into account when the separation distances between the transmitter and receiving sensor are less than ten times the effective radius of the source loop; increasing the size of the transmitting source relative to the source-receiver separation distance shifts the null in the vertical magnetic field to greater offsets. In mapping either the vertical or horizontal magnetic field over a buried vertical-axis loop transmitter, care should be exercised in ascertaining that measured nulls and maxima are along radials through the axis of the buried source loop. For the main part, coupling experiments show that ambient electromagnetic noise in coal mining districts is less of a problem above 1000 Hertz. But secondary and perhaps undesirable maxima and null phenomena (as well as penetration problems) would occur in many coal mine provinces in the behavior of the surface horizontal magnetic field (over a buried vertical-axis loop transmitter) if transmission frequencies as high as 10 kHertz were used.

By Lester G. Morrell

THE WORLDWIDE economic expansion that has characterized the first 3 years of the 1960's continued through 1964 and was reflected in North America by strength in the industrial economy of the United States, which again was dominant. Advances in production were recorded in virtually all industries, including the mineral industry; 1964 mineral production established a new high, 5.4 percent above the previous peak recorded in 1963. However, the percentage increase in value of North American mineral production was slightly below overall economic growth. For industry in general, consumer demand held firm throughout the year and overall commodity prices averaged 2 percent higher than in 1963. Wages and salary payments also were up. With the single exception of the dock strike in the United States, the year was free of serious labor troubles and unemployment in both Canada and the States was at a low level. Despite the Viet-Nam situation, relatively tranquil international relations contributed to the forward movement of North American business. Total gross national product (GNP) for Canada and United States, in current dollars, was estimated at US$672.2 billion; 6.8 percent above the previous year's figure. Combined national income in 1964 amounted to US$546.9 billion, which was nearly 7.0 percent more than in 1963. In 1964, gains were recorded in each of more than 50 metals, nonmetals, and fuels commodities that comprise the North American output. The greatest category increase was 13 percent in metals, which was in part attributable to the 14 percent rise to a new record in value of iron and steel in United States, a 29 percent higher value of Canadian iron ore and a 57 percent rise in Canadian zinc. Despite a moderate decline in prices of iron ore and iron and steel products, generally favorable markets and rising prices for metallic ores and metals were a stimulant to the metals industry. Nonmetallic materials, with a total value in excess of US$5.25 billion were 7.3 percent higher than in 1963. High levels of highway and building construction and expanding demand for fertilizers and chemicals continued throughout the year. Noteworthy output increases were recorded for lime,

Jan 1, 1966

By Robert F. Kehrman

As with many new technologies, the rapid growth in solution mining for uranium has created uncertainties regarding the environmental impact of mining operations. In solution mining, the largest area of concern is the impact of the process on the quality of ground water supplies. As a result, a rapid and reliable technique of detecting lixiviant excursions is desirable. Such a method would replace the periodic sampling technique and should provide a more or less continuous monitoring method. To this end, resistivity techniques were evaluated as an alternate means of tracking lixiviant movement. A program was devised which had five specific tasks. These were: (1) evaluation of the techniques, (2) development of the most promising technique or techniques, (3) field testing of the techniques, (4) testing of the BuMines probe, and (5) reporting. The result of the analytical and field work is that various resistivity/ resistance techniques do provide a means of detecting lixiviant movement in Northern Wyoming. Surface and downhole galvanic surveys and controlled source audio magnetotellurics (AMT) were evaluated. All three techniques showed some degree of success.

Jan 1, 1979

By Raymond B. Ladoo

"The recent discovery and exploitation of petroleum territory have resulted in the enactment of new petroleum laws in most of the South American Republics. The activities in the discovery of these new fields were engendered by the knowledge of the fact that present producing fields must within well defined periods be exhausted. Oil operators were willing to take the initial steps in exploitation in the absence of legislation that applied strictly to petroleum operations. The enactment of modern legislation in many of these Republics encouraging and protect¬ing exploitations may cause tremendous oil activities in these countries, and the results may be comparable with the magnitude of the undertakings and the prestige of the companies now entering this territory.These, oil fields are admirably located for convenient distribution of petroleum by water to all the Nations using oil as fuel for shipping and industrial concerns. The oil markets of the western coast of South America will derive immense benefits from the Panama Canal. This navigation route brings these markets into direct ocean shipment with the Atlantic coasts of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres.One deterrent to oil production in the Republics of South America is the want of inland. transportation facilities, but the recent laws of these Republics without exception provide for acquiring rights of way for pipe lines and other modes of transportation; and doubtless the great interests and. syndicates already operating in these regions will, as production increases, provide ample pipe line transportation sufficient to convey to the coast the oil produced. It way be assumed, from the legal guarantees afforded, and from operating equipment and machinery that are now being concentrated that refineries will be erected at shipping points for the purpose of making these petroleum products accessible to the world."

May 1, 1921

By J. Douglas Causey

In 1984, at the request of the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Mines studied 29,020 acres of the 43,165-acre Terry Badlands Wilderness Study Area (MT-024-684) in order to evaluate its mineral resources. Within this report, these 29,020 acres are referred to as the study area. Located in Custer and Prairie Counties, MT, the study area is about 2 miles northwest of Terry. The study area is underlain by essentially flat-lying units of the Fort Union Formation of Paleocene age with some Quaternary alluvial deposits in stream valleys. No mines or prospects were found in the study area. Bentonitic clays and lignite coal units were examined and sampled; however, no clay resources or coal reserves were identified. Estimates of coal resources will be reported by the U.S. Geological Survey in a joint U.S. Geological Survey-U.S. Bureau of Mines publication. Gravel along the Yellowstone River, a source of agate for private collectors, could also be used as sand and gravel aggregate although material on the south bank of the river is closer to population centers and road systems. Clinker found in the study area could be a source of road metal, but is not well situated in relationship to areas of use. No geothermal resources have been identified although water suitable for direct heat applications may underlie the study area. All the area is leased for oil and gas exploration.

Jan 1, 1985

[In presenting this list of permissible explosives and blasting devices, the Bureau of Mines desires to call attention to pages 17 and 23, outlining the conditions in use under which, and only under which, the explosive or blasting device is permissible. In view of publications recounting trade practice favoring the use of a blasting device without stemming, particular emphasis is placed upon condition 4 on page 17 and condition 2 on page 23. An explosive or a blasting device enumerated in the permissible lists of thin Bureau is not permissible in use unless it is properly confined with clay or other incombustible stemming.]

Jan 1, 1941

In presenting this list of permissible explosives and blasting devices, the Bureau of Mines desires to call attention to pages 17 and 23, outlining the conditions in use under which, and only under which, the explosive or blasting device is permissible. In view of publications recounting trade practice favoring the use of a blasting device without stemming, particular emphasis is placed upon condition 4 on page 17 and condition 2 on page 23. An explosive or y blasting device enumerated in the permissible Lists of thin Bureau is not permissible in use unless it is properly confined with clay or other incombustible stemming.

Jan 1, 1941

By F. S. Crawford

Companies which have been engaged in safety work for a number of years are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that it is not enough to supply guards for various pieces of machinery and equipment and to supply safety inspection to see that rules are being carried out. Studies of many safety organizations have demonstrated that the accidents which could have been prevented by proper guards constitute only a small percentage of the total acci- dents, and amount to perhaps not more than 15 per cent. Evidently, if success is to be attained in preventing all accidents which it is humanly possible to prevent, a company must have the cooperation of every employee. Mining particularly presents probably the greatest hazards of any industry. Prevention of accidents. is made increasingly difficult because men often work alone, although generally in pairs, and only in the concentrated systems of mining do they usually work in groups of more than three or four. Supervision is difficult, therefore, and much reliance must be placed upon the individual workmen. In mining, as perhaps in no other occupation, it is of the greatest importance that individual workmen should receive continuous safety education. Within the last few years safety education has come to the front as one of the most important of accident-prevention measures, although it is true that its importance has been repeatedly stressed by the United States Bureau of Mines and other national safety organizations since the inception of the safety movement many years ago. A review of the safety educational methods of some companies in the Lake Superior district should be of interest. Perhaps better methods are in use in other parts of the country, but the methods shown have been instrumental in many cases in reducing the number of accidents. In one mine in the district whose methods are described the frequency of accidents has been reduced to zero within the last two years. A number of other mines in the district have recently gone into the class having no lost-time accidents for considerable periods of time. One company in the Lake Superior region, operating over 30 mines, succeeded during one month of 1930 in operating every mine without having a single accident which caused lost time beyond the day of the injury. Records like these are increasing in number, and while it is believed that they are the combined result of different means of safety activity, it is undoubtedly true that many of these results were obtained through safety educational methods.

Sep 1, 1931

By George S. Rice

"Soon after the armistice, an investigation was conducted by the writer on the use of liquid oxygen for explosive purposes in Germany, so far as the conditions of such investigation wore permitted at the time. The results of this inquiry were published in Technical Paper 243, entitled ""Development of Liquid Oxygen Explosives during the War.""Recently, through the courtesy of Dr. C. L. Parsons, former chief chemist of the Bureau, who was visiting Germany, and Mr. Chester L. Benson, of the American Expeditionary Forces in Germany, data was obtained from the Deutsche Oxhydric A. G., Surth near Cologne, (one of the principal manufacturers of liquid oxygen installation) concerning the number of plants which bad been installed in Germany during the period following the armistice. An analysis of the figures obtained shows the following installations in different kinds of mining operations:"

Sep 1, 1920

Lower workers' dust exposures during bag stacking while ergonomically improving the bag stacking process. Approach Install a new pallet loading dust control system which uses a push-pull ventilation technique along with a hydraulic lift table to control the pallet loading height throughout the entire loading cycle. How It Works A low-volume, high-velocity blower system operating at approximately at 120 cfm blows a stream of air over the top layer of bags on the pallet. The blower system is composed of two 3-inch air jets (approximately 1,200-ft/min velocity) directed toward an exhaust system on the opposite side of the pallet. As these air jets travel across the pallet, they en-train dust generated during bag stacking. The dust laden air is then captured by the exhaust ventilation system which draws approximately 2,500 cfm through an exhaust hood on the opposite side of the pallet.

Jan 1, 1989

By B. K. Cantrell, K. L. Rubow

"Two source apportionment techniques have been applied by the Bureau of Mines to aerosol measurements in diesel equipped underground noncoal mines. The first technique is based on size selective sampling and the premise that the diesel exhaust fraction of the aerosol is predominately sub-micron in size while the mineral dust fraction of the aerosol is mostly super-micron in size. The second technique, Chemical Mass Balance (CMB) modeling, was used to referee the analysis of diesel and mineral dust aerosol concentrations with the size selective method.The size distribution data were modeled using a log-normal regression to parameterize the sub- and super-micron fractions of the sampled aerosol and to estimate the mineral and diesel contributions to each. For the mines visited, analysis of the size selective: samples yielded an average value for the fraction of the fine aerosol attributable.to mineral dust of 3 pct.'The CMB analysis, applied to both fractions of the respirable mine aerosol, yielded the amount contributed to each by the diesel· and dust aerosol sources. Less than 5 pct of the sub-microm fraction was mineral dust, however, as much as 20 pct of the diesel aerosol was found: ""in the super-micron fraction requiring a correction of the sub-micron fraction to account for the missing diesel mass. More accurate measurement will require a carbon specific analysis of the aerosol."

Jan 1, 1988

By Lester G. Morrel

THE RICH and varied occurrences of metallic ores in Australia, extensive nickel deposits on New Caledonia and phosphate rock on several widely scattered small islands were important aspects of the economy of the South Pacific area. Relatively small quantities of gold and nonmetallic minerals produced in New Zealand, Fiji, and the Territory of Papua-New Guinea remained important to the domestic economies of these islands, but had little importance to overall world mineral supplies. The value of mineral commodities produced in this area in 1964 was estimated at $658 million,3 compared with $585 million in 1963. The year's greatest commodity gains were in bauxite and aluminum, beryl concentrate, manganese ore, nickel smelter products, tin, and coal. Annual increases were recorded in virtually all countries and possessions in the area except Papua-New Guinea, where the drop in output of alluvial gold accounted for a decline of about $160,000. Mineral industry activities in Australia overshadowed those in all other parts of the South Pacific in 1964. Outstanding developments were the sales contract negotiations and physical preparation for exploiting the rich iron ore discoveries in Western Australia, the initiation of domestic crude oil production, the commissioning of two new steal mills and an alumina refinery and a start on the new alumina-aluminum project based on Cape fork bauxite deposits. The principal mineral development in 1864 in New Zealand was the progress on plans of the Newzealand Steel Co. to use indigenous iron sans as the resource base for a local steel industry. In New Caledonia, additions and expansion of the nickel mining and smelting facilities continued throughout the year. Plans for extensive geophysical studies were announced by the Government Geological Departments of British Solomon Islands and Fiji.

Jan 1, 1966

By George S. Rice, W. L. EGY, H. P. Greenwald, L. M. JONES

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY. BY GEORGE S. RICE. PREFATORY STATEMENT. This bulletin describes the second series of coal-dust explosion tests conducted by the Bureau of Mines in the experimental mine near Bruceton, Pa. It covers a period from 1913 to 1918, inclusive, of more or less consecutive testing, during which many important conclusions were drawn regarding the way a coal-dust explosion may originate, the mechanism of an explosion, and the methods of pre- venting explosions and of limiting incipient explosions. The manuscript was prepared in 1918, but its publication had to be put aside during the World War for more pressing publications and it was not until this fiscal year 1922 that funds could be allotted for its printing. Meantime the general facts concerning methods of preventing explosions have been made known to the mining industry, with great advantage, it is believed, as explosions of coal dust in mines in the United States have become infrequent. This fact, however, must not lull the consciousness of mining men to the terrible potential danger that lurks in untreated coal dust. The experiments described in this volume should be of aid to them in planning to keep the ever present coal dust in an innocuous condition. The first series-reported in Bulletin 56, "First Series of Coal-Dust Explosion Tests in the Experimental Mine"-included only pre- liminary tests of the ability to start explosions of coal dust under the conditions in the experimental mine. After this fact had been determined and several violent dust explosions had been demon- strated before large audiences of mining men, the work had to be suspended in order that necessary repairs and extensions might be made in the fall and winter of 1911-12. Although the question of the possibility of coal dust causing explo- sions had been considered for more than a century, and much testing in laboratory apparatus and in small surface galleries had been done, coal-mining men generally did not believe that coal dust was explo- sive and considered that fire damp or gases of unknown composition were responsible for the mine explosions that had cost thousands of lives in the various coal-mining countries during the last century. As coal mines increased in number, size, and depth, explosions became alarming in their frequency. Finally came the Courriéres disaster in northern France, 1906, by which 1,100 lives were lost, and the following year in this country, the Monongah mine explosion, in West Virginia, which killed 361 men, and the Darr explosion, in Pennsylvania, which killed 239 men. These two disasters, both in December, 1907, led Congress to make an appropriation for an in- vestigation of the causes of mine explosions. The funds became available July 1, 1908, and the work was placed under the United States Geological Survey's technologic branch, with the late Dr. Joseph A. Holmes in charge. Before undertaking the investigations Dr. Holmes visited Europe, accompanied by the senior author of this bulletin, to study the methods foreign countries used to prevent mine explosions, to obtain details regarding tests being made in several countries, to procure safer explosives and better safety lamps for use in gaseous and dusty mines, and to study the methods used in coal-dust explo- sion tests in the recently completed galleries at Altofts, England, and Liévin, France, and in the older galleries at Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and Frameries, Belgium. At all of these stations the explosions tests were made in surface galleries. The Austrian gallery at Segengottes, near Brünn, Moravia, visited by the writer in 1911, is an underground gallery, but the testing done in it was limited, dealing with ignition of coal dust rather than with propagation. Although the results obtained in the foreign galleries had indicated that coal dust was explosive, mining men in the respective countries were of the opinion that the dust would not explode under mine con- ditions. This situation led Dr. Holmes to the conclusion that testing must be done in a real mine, to make certain that the conclusion would be reliable and would be accepted by the mining public as decisive.

Jan 1, 1922

By Thomas R. Bur

This method of performing general transformations by use of Eulerian angles greatly reduces the time required for the determination of values for the elastic compliance constants (sij), elastic stiffness constants (cij ), Young's modulus, shear modulus, or Poisson's ratio for any orientation the cartesian coordinate system in an anisotropic material.

Jan 1, 1969

By A. Visnapuu

The Bureau of Mines investigated carbonyl processing techniques for the recovery of the critical metals Ni, Co, Mn, and Cr from domestic primary and secondary sources. In most cases, the source materials require reductive precarbonylation treatment to metallize the contained Fe, Ni, and Co compounds to render them reactive with CO. The critical metals were recovered either by direct conversion to the respective carbonyls or as upgraded products by carbonyl removal of an undesirable metal. Best metal-to-metal carbonyl conversion was under CO pressure, from 80 atm upward, and at 1400 C. Carbonylation was accelerated by the addition of HzS in small quantities. CO pressure, temperature, promoter and pretreatment trends, and other factors enhancing metal carbonyl formation are presented.

Jan 1, 1987

By R. T. Johansen

The wettability of petroleum reservoir materials by water and crude oil has been recognized as an important factor in determining waterflood behavior. The problem of simulating and studying reservoir conditions and characteristics, to produce laboratory results congruous with field experience, has been examined by many methods. (1, 2, 3, 4).4/ The most generally accepted approach to this problem is determining wettability of the porous medium by imbibition methods; or, after solvent extraction, predetermining the wettability of the samples by coating the surface of the medium to render it preferentially oil-or water-wet (3, 5). The emphasis of wettability studies has been placed on the characteristics of the reservoir materials with little consideration being given to the fluids themselves. Therefore, the wetting tendencies of crude oils have been investigated by a recently developed method (6). Imbibition and the more general phenomena of capillary pressure are the most direct ways to measure wettability. The simplest type of capillary pressure observations involves the use of an interfacial-tension capillarimeter, which does not produce as separate values either interfacial tension or contact angle. Actually, these quantities do not have independent significance in reservoir engineering, and the property of wettability they are intended to evaluate is given, immediately by capillarimetric measurements.

Jan 1, 1961