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By J. P. Walker

"INTRODUCTION Sponge iron has been made commercially since 1912 at a Swedish ceramic plant; and the product, known as Swedish disk-type nagger sponge iron, has an excellent reputation as a superior furnace feed wherever high-grade steels are made.The general procedure for making brickyard sponge iron was described frequent in Swedish technical journals before 1932 and at that time consisted in filling clay refractory containers, called saggers, with iron ore plus the necessary quantity of solid reducing agent and then firing in an ordinary ceramic kiln. Two types of sponge iron were made in this way: (1) An inferior, high-sulfur product obtained by mixing the ore and solid reducing agent; and (2) a high-grade, low-sulfur product made by filling the sagger with alternete layers of unmixed ore and reducer, yielding sintered disks of metallic iron particles.Swedish disk-type sponge iron of interest to the steel industry because it has a very low sulfur content, even when made by the use of low-grade, high-sulfur coals for reducing and firing. The Swedish product also contains little siliceous gangue residue and is almost phos¬phorus-free. To those features must be added the high metallic-iron content -90 to 96 percent - and freedom from even small amounts of the metals that are undesirable in steel making.The details essential for successful operation of this procedure are not known, especially as regards improvements said to have been made since 19;2. The Bureau of Mines therefore decided to determine some of these missing details, and this report records the results of the first set of experiments on the manufacture of brickyard or sagger sponge iron."

Sep 1, 1945

By D. Harrington

Every few weeks United States newspapers of 25 or 30 years age ran scare-heads telling of some mine disaster, which was a first-page attraction for a day or two and then was forgotton until another disaster occurred a few weeks later. Interspersed with these disasters were the so-called sniping mine accidents, causing the death of one or two mine workers. The summation of all types of mine fatalities usually exceeded 3,000 a year. In the period 1906-10, inclusive, there wore 84 major explosion disasters (or about 17 per year) in united States coal mines; the fatalities resulting from those disasters numbered 2,388 for the 5-year period. These frightful catastrophies helped to cause the total number of fatalities in our coal mines for the 5 years (including the fatalities from major explosions) to reach the enormous total of 13,288, an average of 2,658 per year. In addition, some hundreds of other typos of mining accidents swelled the annual fatality list to upwards of 3,000. This admittedly deplorable condition created so much Nation-wide comment that Congress was impressed with the necessity of having something done by the Federal Government with a view to trying to halt at least sonic of the excessive loss of life in our mines; in consequence, the Bureau of Mines was created and began to function in July 1910.

Jan 1, 1935

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 Charles A. Sorrell

This Bureau of Mines publication reviews the structural characteristics of crystalline phases and phase equilibria data for the system NaC1-KC1-AlC13-NaF-KF-AlF3, which encompasses a large number of molten salt fluxes currently used in aluminum recycling. Its purpose is to provide guidelines for research into the relationships between molten salt compositions and their physical properties, notably vapor pressures, densities, surface tensions, and viscosities, knowledge of which is essential to maximizing fluxing efficiencies and metal recovery and minimizing hazardous emissions and disposal problems. In addition, this report describes experimental determinations of sub-solidus compatibility relationships in the system, which is of the quaternary reciprocal type, containing 12 different stable 4-phase assemblages in the solid state. The compatibility diagram serves to define the important compositional planes across which important changes in properties are likely to occur.

Jan 1, 1986

By A. L. Service

Idaho has nearly 6 billion tons of potential sources of phosphorite, 10 to 31 percent P2O5' above and within 100 feet below entry level, the largest potential of any State in the United States. In 1963 Idaho ranked third after Florida and Tennessee in total mine and marketable production of phosphate rock; Montana ranked fourth. This report describes phosphate deposits, mines, and prospects in 10 districts covering most of the Idaho phosphate field. All mine production of phosphate rock in Idaho comes from surface mines and is processed to phosphate fertilizers, phosphoric acid, and elemental phosphorus. Producing districts are Fort Hall (Gay mine), Trail Creek (Conda and Ballard mines), and Crow Creek (Georgetown Canyon mine). FMC Corp. and J. R. Simplot Co. at Pocatello have the largest elemental phosphorus and fertilizer production facilities, respectively, in the State, followed by Monsanto Co. and El Paso Natural Gas Products Co. (formerly Central Farmers Fertilizer Co.). The only other major phosphate processing plant in the State is the phosphoric acid and phosphate fertilizer complex at Kellogg operated by the Bunker Hill Co. In 1963 a plant was constructed and put on line at Monsanto, Idaho, to recover vanadium from ferrophosphorus produced by electric furnace operations in the area. El Paso Natural Gas Products Co. completed construction of a fertilizer and phosphoric acid plant near Conda in 1965. There is a small fertilizer plant producing phosphate fertilizers for local consumption in Soda Springs.

Jan 1, 1966

By P. H. Floyd

This report presents the results of laboratory and continuous mill-beneficiation tests conducted at the Bureau of Mines Northwest Electra Development laboratory, Albany, Oreg., on nonsulfide lead ore from the Sherman mine, Leland district, near Burke, Idaho. The predominant lead-bearing mineral in the ore sample treated was pyromorphite, a minor ore mineral of lead. Known reserves of pyromorphite lead ore in the United States are limited, although an appreciable tonnage of this type of ore is found in the Sherman mine. Very little pyromorphite is being mined in this mine or in the United States. This beneficiation problem presented a unique opportunity to study the mineral-dressing properties of a less widely known lead mineral, and consequently adds valuable knowledge to the ways of beneficiating ores containing nonsulfide lead values. This mineral-dressing problem was successful with conventional concentration methods of flotation and Gravity separation.

Jan 1, 1952

By R. V. Higgins, G. B. Shea

"FOREWORDIn the second year of World War II, the petroleum industry in California was taxed to near capacity to satisfy the expanded war demand for petroleum products, particularly fuel oil. With discoveries of crude oil in California declining and known reserves being depleted rapidly, conditions appeared to warrant study of the possibilities of utilizing the outcropping bituminous sandstone deposits in California for obtaining new sources of oil if the war should he prolonged. At conferences in Washington, D. C., with members of the Petroleum Administration for War and the Geological Survey, Bureau of Mines engineers emphasized the importance of determining the extent of those outcropping deposits of oil-impregnated rocks and of developing a practical process for commercial recovery of the contained bitumen to assure, if necessary, a supplementary supply of fuels. The desirability of such a study was recognized, and in July 1943 the Petroleum Field Office of the Bureau of Mines at San Francisco, Calif., in cooperation with the Geological Survey and the Petroleum Administration for War, initiated a study of the bituminouss sandstone problem. It was agreed that all mapping and geological work in connection with the study would be done by the Geological Survey, all engineering studies in developing a process for extracting the oil would be carried out, by the Bureau of Mines, and that the Petroleum Administration for War would aid in final adoption of the results in the field if circumstances warranted such action.Deposits of bituminous sandstones in California occur principally in the immediate region of the Coast Range mountains, notably at Pt. Arena, in Mendocino County, about 110 miles north of San Francisco; near Santa Cruz, in Santa Cruz County; in the Edna area in San Luis Obispo County; in the Sisquoc area in Santa Barbara County; and in the Ojai and Santa Clara Valleys in Ventura County. 4/ In addition oil-bearing sands outcrop near McKittrick and Maricopa, in western Kern County, and along the east edge of the Kern River oil field. Among the several prominent deposits of these source materials, those occurring near the cities of Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo, and the town of Sisquoc are the largess."

Oct 1, 1948

By Albert E. Long

To date the commercial diamond bit setters have been principally interested in the speed with which they could produce a sharp, fast-cutting bit. Thus, a premium has been placed on setters who combine a high degree of manual dexterity with the ability quickly to select the Sharp points and edges of the diamonds and set them in the mold without lost motion. The premium on speed does not allow the setters the time, nor are they trained, to consider also the crystallographic structures of the diamonds which are the clues indicating the harder and more suitable working surfaces. Since early fall of 1949, the Bureau of Mines has been conducting a long-range series of experiments in which drill bort have been oriented in diamond bits in an effort to determine the effects and economic practicability of utilizing the hardest surfaces of the diamond crystal structure. The preliminary experiments completed to date indicate that a substantial saving in diamonds may be affected by using the harder areas of the diamonds as working surfaces in the crown of diamond bits. The experimental work is being conducted by the Bureau of Mines in the laboratories and full-scale mine of the Mining Research Branch, Minerals Technology Division, Region VIII, of the U. S. Bureau of Mines at the Mount Weather Station, Bluemont, Va.

Jan 1, 1951

By Rita D. Sylvester

THE BUREAU OF MINES was established in the public interest to conduct inquiries and scientific and technologic investigations concerning mining and the preparation, treatment, and utilization of mineral substances; to promote health and safety in the mineral industries; to conserve mineral resources and prevent their waste; to further economic development; to increase efficiency in the mining, metallurgical, quarrying, and other mineral industries; and to inquire into the economic conditions affecting these industries. The organic act of the Bureau, as amended by Congress and approved February 25, 1913, made it the province and duty of the Bureau to "disseminate information concerning these subjects 'in such manner as will best carry out the purposes of this Act.'" In accordance with that directive, the Bureau reports the findings of its research and investigations in its own series of publications and also in articles that appear in scientific, technical, and trade journals; in proceedings of conventions and seminars; in reference books; and in other non-Bureau sources. The number of these reports, the wide range of subjects they cover, and the variety of mediums in which they appear make the kind of list and index presented in this special publication both necessary and valuable. This issue describes Bureau reports and articles published during the period January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1964. It, supplements the 50-year list of Bureau publications issued from July 1, 1910, to January 1, 1960,2 and the 50-year list of articles by Bureau authors published outside the Bureau from July 1, 1910, to January 1, 1960.3 It supersedes the annual lists of Bureau publications and articles from January 1 to December 31, 1960,4 from January 1 to December 31, 1961,5 from January 1 to December 31, 1962,6 and from January 1 to December 31, 1963.7 The leading general and technical libraries of the United States maintain files of the Bureau's publications. A list of these libraries appears immediately following this introduction.

Jan 1, 2007

By J. Durkin

The Bureau of Mines has conducted field studies in coal mines throughout the United States to determine the effectiveness of electromagnetic techniques in locating miners trapped underground following a mine accident. Data from these tests have been used to generate models of expected signal and noise distributions as found above these mines. These distributions have aided in placing the expected performance of a through-the-earth electromagnetic communications technique into a probabilistic framework. Results show that at a 10% false-alarm rate, the expected probability o detecting a miner's signal" from a depth of 1000 ft is 54% at 500 ft it is 95%. These depths exceed the actual depths of 90 and 50%, respectively, of United States coal mines. Sensitivity studies have shown that at depth of 1000 ft, the probability of detection will improve approximately 2% for each dB of increase in signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio.

By G. H. Bennett

A field experiment was performed in a production unit of an operating copper room and pillar mine to compare the support capabilities provided by resin and mechanical roof bolts. Resin and mechanical roof bolts were alternately installed in eight intersections in a single entry. Rock mechanics instrumentation was installed to measure roof sag, bed separation, convergence, bolt pullout, torque, and strain. Bolt cost and installation time are included. Two analyses of the test were made. The analysis of the rock mechanics data showed there was no definite difference between the two bolting systems. From a broader analysis on a mine-wide basis it was concluded that resin bolts gave better support. A critical view of the experiment is given in the appendix.

Jan 1, 1974

By R. B. Krog

As part of its mining health and safety research program, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a longwall methane emission and mining time study at a mine operating in the Pittsburgh Coalbed to access the methane emission consequences of mining a longer face. The methane emission contributors from the mining of a longwall face are: 1) gas released from the coal broken by the shearer, 2) gas emitted from the coal on the face conveyor, 3) gas emitted from the coal transported on the belt, and 4) background gas emitted from the coal face and from the adjoining ribs. Based on the results of the study, a set of site-specific mathematical formulas and constants were developed to characterize each of the four longwall emission contributors. The mathematical formulas were then applied to longer longwall face mining scenarios to predict the methane emissions from these faces.

Jan 1, 2006

By Frank E. Williams

This Bureau of Mines report describes 147 known fluorspar deposits in New Mexico and briefly mentions 54 miscellaneous occurrences for which little or no information was obtained. Most miscellaneous occurrences are minor and too poorly exposed to be considered more than prospects. History and production of fluorspar in New Mexico, type of deposition, mineralogy, uses, and grade specifications are discussed. Total mine production of fluorspar in New Mexico is nearly 641,000 tons of various grades of crude ore and hand-sorted material. Fluorspar deposits occur in 13 of the state's 32 counties. Grant, Valencia, and Luna Counties account for 86.4 percent of the total production. During the investigation, 141 deposits were visited. A total of 72 character samples was collected for assay, and 3 larger samples were collected for bench-scale metallurgical tests. Results of these metallurgical tests indicate that an acid-grade product can be obtained with 95 percent recovery of the CaF2 content of the crude ore.

Jan 1, 1966

By Frank E. Williams

This Bureau of Mines report describes 147 known fluorspar deposits in New Mexico and briefly mentions 54 miscellaneous occurrences for which little or no information was obtained. Most miscellaneous occurrences are minor and too poorly exposed to be considered more than prospects. History and production of fluorspar in New Mexico, type of deposition, mineralogy, uses, and grade specifications are discussed. Total mine production of fluorspar in New Mexico is nearly 641,000 tons of various grades of crude ore and hand-sorted material. Fluorspar deposits occur in 13 of the State's 32 counties. Grant, Valencia, and Luna Counties account for 86.4 percent of the total production. During the investigation, 141 deposits were visited. A total of 72 character samples was collected for assay, and 3 larger samples were collected for bench-scale metallurgical tests. Results of these metallurgical tests indicate that an acid-grade product can be obtained with 95 percent recovery of the CaF2 content of the crude ore.

Jan 1, 1966

By Xavier B. Starnes

"INTRODUCTION The Krausse Estate property was the site of the first lead silver mining in western Kentucky, which began with the sinking of the Andrew Jackson shaft in 1835 3/. The earliest miners considered fluorspar of no value and threw it upon the waste dump, but Crittenden County later became an important part of the western Kentucky and southern Illinois fluorspar district 4/, which has produced about 90 percent of the fluorspar mined in the United States. By 1945, approximately 35,000 tons of fluordpar ore had been produced from the Estate property.This property can be reached by traveling west from Marion on Highway 60 from 2.5 miles, than northward 3 miles. The road from the paved highway to the mines is very rough but not impassable even in bad weather. Ore is hauled 5 1/2 miles by truck to custom mills at Marion, a town of 2, 000 population, where the Illinois Central Railway was a freight station.Hurricane Creek runs through the eastern part of the property. The surface slopes steeply upward to west from the creek, and the topography is rough. The top of the hill is about 150 feet above the creek.The climate permits working throughout the year, but spring rains cause surface water to enter mine and water apparently drains southward along the fractured fault zones, so that when no water is being pumped at properties north of the Krausse Estate a heavy flow comes on the Krausse."

Sep 1, 1946

By J. B. Cunningham

Lithium in the form of metal, salts, and alloys is particularly important because of increasing industrial uses resulting partly from wartime developments. Lithium carbonate and lithium strontium nitrate, which impart a brilliant red color to a flame, are used in pyrotechnics. Lithium chloride and fluoride are used in fluxes for welding aluminum to dissolve the oxide coating on the aluminum and prevent oxidation of the molten metal. Lithium carbonate is used in ceramics in raw alkaline glazes because of its unusual fluxing properties. The use of 9 to 12 percent lithium carbonate permits a marked increase in the amounts of alumina, calcium, and silica that may be Used and results in a more stable glaze with sufficient alkalinity to produce vivid copper blues and other typically alkaline colors. Lithium stearate is used as a grease in airplane engines because of its ability to withstand wide changes in temperature. In view of its great affinity for nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, phosphorus, carbon, and silicon, lithium has an excellent scavenging action on molten metals. It forms stable nonmetallic compounds of low specific gravity or gases that are eliminated at pouring temperatures. Lithium is generally added to the melt in the form of a lithium-calcium alloy consisting of 50 percent of each ingredient or as an alloy of 98 percent copper and 2 percent lithium. The lithium-calcium alloy added to cast iron before pouring, acts as a scavenger and increases the fluidity of the melt. This alloy also is said to increase the corrosion-resistant properties of stainless steel alloys and to improve their polishing qualities.

Jan 1, 1948

Our mission is help ensure our country has an adequate, dependable supply of minerals and mate al to meet its national security and economic needs at acceptable social, environmental, and economi[c] costs. We do this by promoting and encouraging private enterprise in the development of viable and stable mineral industries through the transfer of innovative extraction, processing, recycling, an environmental technologies; our use of cooperative partnerships with industry, academia, an government; our timely, authoritative worldwide mineral intelligence; our advocacy of public policies based on good science and sound economics.

Jan 1, 1994

By H. F. Weaver

The 17th National First-Aid and Mine Rescue Contest was held in the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, Louisville, Ky., October 2, 3, and 4, 1957. The meet was under the auspices of the Federal Bureau of Mines and the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association, in cooperation with the National Coal Association, United Mine Workers of America, State mining departments, local mining institutes, and coal operators' associations. The Arrangements Committee, as authorized by the General Committee, made all the necessary arrangements for conducting the 1957 contest. Members of the Arrangements Committee were: Harry Gandy, Jr. (chairman), National Coal Association; James B. Benson, Southern Coal Producers' Association; Charles Ferguson, United Mine Workers of America; George C. Trevorrow, Bituminous Coal Operators' Association; and James Westfield, Federal Bureau of Mines.

Jan 1, 1958

By David R. Jessey

This volume contains the detailed mine site reports written by the WAPORA, Inc. and KETRON, Inc. staffs. It is a companion Appendix Volume to Control of Water Pollution from Surface Mining Operations. Copies of this report are maintained on Open File at the U.S. Bureau of Mines Research Center, Spokane, Washington.

Jan 1, 1981

By George L. Gates

This report presents is an evaluation by the Federal Bureau of Mines of the effect of clay-water, brine, and oil-base drilling fluids on the productivity of test wells drilled on the Umiat anticline in U.S. Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 in northern Alaska. Eleven, wells were drilled on the Umiat structure as part of the U.S. Navy's extensive exploration of the Reserve during 1944-53 to determine the possibilities for oil production. The Federal Geological Survey cooperated in the exploration program and has published a comprehensive report3/ on the geology of the area and case histories of the wells. The re¬port also includes the results of special studies by the Bureau in connection with the drilling and coring of well 9 with oil-base mud in hole and was the source of much of the information used in preparing this publication. Of the eleven wells, four were drilled with rotary tools and water-base mud (one of the water-base muds was an oil-in-water emulsion mud), five were drilled with cable tools with brine in the hole, one was drilled with cable tools with brine in the hole and later reamed with rotary tools and crude oil, and one was drilled with rotary tools and oil-base mud. Although all of the wells penetrated sandstones that contained oil and gas, some were productive and others were not. The latter two wells, one completed with crude oil in the hole (with some added brine) and the other with oil-base mud, had the greatest productive capacities. The wells drilled with cable tools and brine in the hole had lower productive capacities. In contrast, two of three wells completed with rotary methods and fresh-water drilling mud and the well com¬pleted with rotary and emulsion mud were unproductive.

Jan 1, 1960