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"INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTSAt the request of the lessees, the Pearl tract was examined in February 1946, by Otto Ruhl, an engineer of the Bureau of Mines. From the evidence of old drill logs and from the few available records of mining operations on the Pearl and the adjoining Trussel (Big Tom) tract, it appeared that a relatively small churn-drilling program might develop enough lead-since ore to justify resumption of mining. In March 1946, funds were allotted for churn drilling, and the work was begun the following month. Ten holes totaling 1,933 feet were completed before the close of the project in August 1946. The work was under the general supervision of C. H. Johnson, chief, Rolla Division, Mining Branch, and under the direct supervision of the Bureau project engineers. 3/In its program of investigation of mineral deposits, the Bureau of Mines has as its primary objective the more effective utilization of our mineral resources to the end that they make the greatest possible contribution to our national security and economy, It is the,of the Bureau to publish the facts development by each project as soon as possible after its conclusion. The Mining Branch, Lowell B. Moon, chief, makes preliminary examinations and conducts investigation of mineral deposits. The Metallurgical Branch, O. C. Ralston, chief, participates in this program by making beneficiation tests and analyses. In the present project, no metallurgical tests were made, and for the sake of speed the samples taken were analyzed by a local commercial assayer. 4/"

Jul 1, 1947

By James A. Wasson

Because of the danger to life and property in a coal mine if an oil or natural gas well should be accidentally intersected during mining operations, certain precautionary measures should be carried out prior to entering previously unmined areas. The locations of all wells both at the surface and at the depth of the coalbed should be accurately determined. The condition of the well should be learned from surface observations, and more importantly, from subsurface examination by geophysical logging devices where possible. It is also desirable to learn the physical properties of the hydrocarbon-bearing rock formation and the hydrocarbon fluids. The major hazard presented by oil or natural gas wells to mining operations is that of explosion and fire due to the rapid release of gas into the mine atmosphere. Wellbore pressure, the principal index of danger, should be determined by one or more of the methods described and by a service company such as those listed in the appendix. Because of high pressures involved and the consequent hazard, much emphasis has been placed on underground storage of natural gas in areas containing minable coalbeds. Maps are shown of the principal coal producing areas and the locations of currently active gas storage reservoirs. A checklist has been included of factors to be considered when mining coal in an area where oil or gas wells exist.

Jan 1, 1973

By Donald Christofferson

This report documents the program conducted to demonstrate the application of a flywheel-powered propulsion system to underground mining shuttle cars. Such application can replace the present electrical trailing cable common to most shuttle cars and thereby eliminate those safety hazards, maintenance problems, and haulage route limitations inherent in the trailing cable. Described are the activities undertaken to specify and design a flywheel of optimum size, shape, and material; to identify the best concepts of input and output systems; and to achieve installation of the power package into a shuttle car. The resultant Flywheel-Powered Shuttle Car is an FMC Model 6L shuttle car, 6-ton capacity, 20-ton gross vehicle weight, powered by a flywheel system with 4.5-kilowatt-hour usable energy. The completed vehicle was delivered to the Bureau of Mines in Bruceton, Pennsylvania, for testing and evaluation.

Jan 1, 1986

By H. C. Miller

Several agencies of the Federal Government are engaged in research and fact finding relative to petroleum and natural gas, and others are concerned with carrying out the provisions of specific laws that affect these natural resources in their broad aspects. The Bureau of Mines, however, is the only Federal agency designated by law to engage in research in oil and natures gas production, chemistry, refining, and

Jan 1, 1941

By Thomas G. Murdock

The possible contribution of an improved mineral economy to the further advancement of the lesser developed regions of the world is a vital consideration today. Many of the newly independent countries recognize the problems and the challenge involved in orderly development of mineral resources. Some countries are inventorying resources, planning development, and encouraging local and foreign participation. The Malagasy Republic, composed of the island of Madagascar and the immediately adjacent islands, formerly the French Overseas Territory of Madagascar, is one of the members of the French Community which achieved independence in 1960. It is making real progress towards improving its mineral economy, an effort particularly remarkable considering the generally unfavorable geographic location of the area with respect to world markets and what is, after all, a comparatively sparse economic mineralization in the light of discoveries to date. Most of the development of the Malagasy econorny before independence was fostered by French private enterprise, although the State participated in some ventures. Since independence, the Government has encouraged private investment from a variety of sources through favorable legislation and has indicated that legitimate investment projects that will further advance social and economic programs will be welcome.

Jan 1, 1963

By Thomas G. Murdock

The possible contribution of an improved mineral economy to the further advancement of the lesser developed regions of the world is a vital consideration today. Many of the newly independent countries recognize the problems and the challenge involved in orderly development of mineral resources. Some countries are inventorying resources, planning development, and encouraging local and foreign participation. The Malagasy Republic, composed of the island of Madagascar and the immediately adjacent islands, formerly the French Overseas Territory of Madagascar, is one of the members of the French Community which achieved independence in 1960. It is making real progress towards improving its mineral economy, an effort particularly remarkable considering the generally unfavorable geographic location of the area with respect to world markets and what is, after all, a comparatively sparse-economic mineralization in the light of discoveries to date. Most of the development of the Malagasy economy before independence was fostered by French private enterprise, although the State participated in some ventures. Since independence, the Government has encouraged private investment from a variety of sources through favorable legislation and has indicated that legitimate investment projects that will further advance social and economic programs will be welcome.

Jan 1, 1963

By W. T. Benson

Peacetime production of mercury in the United States is controlled by world mercury prices, with significant lags to be expected between price increases or decreases and resultant increased or decreased production. Twenty-four mercury-bearing mines and prospects in widely separated districts in western and central Nevada and one property on the Nevada-Oregon border were examined and sampled. The purpose of the project was to determine if some of the properties warranted more extensive exploration work to obtain information on possible reserves of commercial-and sub-commercial-grade ores. The investigation of mercury deposits in Nevada was sufficiently widespread and indicated several areas of interest in the State that merit further exploration work.

Jan 1, 1956

By Arthur L. Crawford, R. E. Head, Glen Burgener, F. E. Thackwell

"INTRODUCTION This report embodies the results of a detailed statistical microscopic examination of the ore and the mill products of the Silver King Coalition Mines Co., Park City, Utah.The study was conducted under the joint auspices of the United States Bureau of mines is cooperation with the University of Utah at Salt Lake City, Utah. The work was done in the cooperative Microscopic Service Laboratory, which was equipped by contributions from the following companies: Utah Copper Co., International Smelting & Refining Co., American Smelting & Refining Co., United States Smelting, Refining & Mining Co., Tintic Standard Mining Co., Silver King Coalition Mines Co., and Park Utah Consolidated Mines Co. The salaries and the other costs involved in operation of the laboratory were met by contributions from certain supporting companies. In addition to the regular personnel of the laboratory the Bureau of Mines contributed the part-time services of a microscopist-consultant to direct and assist with the technical work.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe authors acknowledge the courtesies extended by the Silver King Coalition Mines Co., through its general manager, M. J. Dailey, in furnishing the various ores and products on which the study was made, together with general information concerning the problems encountered or recognized in connection with the milling of the Silver King ore."

Jun 1, 1934

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

Jan 1, 1995

By George W. Huseman, W. D. Mcmillan

"INTRODUCTION Feldspars represent one of the most abundant groups of minerals and constitute nearly Go percent of the material contained in the igneous rocks. They are grouped in a series of related aluminum silicates with varying amounts of potash, soda, and lime. .Approximately 85 percent of the feldspar produced in the United States is used as a flux in the production of glass, pottery, enamel and sanitary ware, brick, and tile. Notwithstanding the abundance of feldspar in the earth's crust, the only deposits that are worked to any extent are the pegmatites or coarsely crystalline dikes where natural segregation of the constituents facilitates recovery of the feldspar with a minimum of free quartz, mica, tourmaline, garnet, and other iron-bearing minerals that are detrimental in most ceramic industries.Although there are three glassplants and numerous other ceramic industries in Texas, all of the feldspar used in these plants is from other States. In the Llano region of central Texas, however, there are numerous coarse pegmatite dikes consisting primarily of feldspar and quartz in ratios up to 3 to 1. One of the more important of these dikes is the Badu Hill deposit in Llano County, Tex., which was first described by Carl Chelf 4/ in 1942. Following an examination of the deposit by W. D. McMillan, engineer in charge of the Texas field office of the Bureau of Mines, in January 1946, a proposal was made to investigate the deposit by core drilling in cooperation with the Department of Ceramic Engineering, University of Texas. This report presents the results of the cooperative investigation, which was begun April 24, 1946, and completed May 17, 1946."

Jul 1, 1947

By R. H. Sprute

The Federal Bureau of Mines conducted full-scale field tests in electro-kinetic dewatering and consolidation of slimes in cooperation with the Hecla Mining Co. at two of the firm's underground mines in north Idaho. To test the technique on new deposits, 4,000 ft3 of slimes from a collection sump, pumped into a watertight stope equipped with electrodes, were treated in two steps. Immediately after placement, direct current was applied using a floating electrode to hasten settlement of suspended fine particles. After removal of clarified water, the residue was further dewatered and hardened with electrokinetic treatment. In 25 hours, the material had become firm and dense with a surface capable of supporting workmen. In testing old deposits, 10,000 ft3 of slimes, placed in an unused tail drift 10 to 12 months previously, were treated. This material was sufficiently consolidated by electrokinetics to allow its removal from the mine with standard ore-handling equipment. In both tests, electrokinetic treatment densified slimes in a relatively short time with moderate power consumption.

Jan 1, 1976

By E. W. Parsons

Permanent support of the back is an important economic factor in maintaining a tunnel or other underground opening in condition to render the service for which it was driven. Timber has been most commonly used for support in tunneling and drifting because of its strength and ease of installation. Even when treated for decay, however, timber is subject to deterioration and, over a long period of time, should not be considered a permanent support. Concrete support or lining is permanent and has been used in tunnels of every size for many years but has been almost exclusively cast in place, a difficult, costly process. This report deals with the design and installation of precast concrete supports to combine the best features of both methods.

Jan 1, 1958

A major highlight of Fiscal Year 1993 is the completion of a new research facility dedicated to the advancement of robotics research and development. This new facility brings to the U.S. Bureau of Mines one of the largest and most unique facilities of its kind in the world. Located at the Bureau's Pittsburgh Research Center, the facility consolidates under one roof, all of the resource requirements of a first class automation and robotics research program. The Mining Robotics Development Center (MRDC) is the result of a major renovation of a large under-utilized warehouse-type structure and brings together the laboratories and offices previously housed in five separate buildings scattered throughout the Pittsburgh Research Center's 238-acre site. This new facility will support the computer-assisted mining research program, a high priority, multi-million dollar program that is expected to have a high impact on the health and safety of miners and coal productivity.

Jan 1, 1993

The last issue included a discussion of recent indications of a 1983 recovery and a brief analysis of the contribution of the U.S. mining industry to the gross national product (GNP). In this issue we present sales and other data indicating the strength of the 1983 recovery and quantitatively analyze the structural shifts that have taken place in the U.S. economy and mining industry since 1972, and changes in electricity consumption by the mining industry. U.S. Economic Recovery The tentativeness in the February/March issue of Minerals and Materials regarding the strength and sustainability of the U.S. economic recovery can now be replaced with a note of increased confidence. Real growth of GNP on an annual basis in the first quarter of 1983 was 2.5 percent, compared with 1.4 percent predicted in the Economic Report of the President.1/ Preliminary second-quarter 1983 data provide further cause for optimism. Recently released data indicate that consumer spending is playing a key role in the recovery. Retail sales have increased significantly across a wide array of goods, especially consumer durables, where sales increased 4 percent from March to April (table J) and were 12 percent higher in April [ ] than the 1982 monthly average. Consumer durable sales were led by sales of building materials spurred by the growth in residential construction, motor vehicles and parts, and household durables, including appliances and furniture.

Jan 1, 1983

By Robert S. Schechter

This report describes the development and application of PHASEQ/FLOW, a geochemical flow simulator capable of describing the dynamic changes in chemical composition of an aqueous solution during flow in a permeable medium. The solution components can react through intraaqueous reactions, redox, precipitation, or dissolution. The assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium ensures maximum generality with respect to the number of species and components possible; however, the fluid flow itself is limited to one-dimension. The report describes several applications: generic batch equilibria, flowing equilibria, uranium roll-front deposition, and roll-front leaching.

Jan 1, 1985

By H. B. Hill

The Salt Flat field, formerly called the Joe Bruner field, is located northeast of the town of Luling in Caldwell County, Tex. This field, which is a fault structure, approximately parallels and is about 5 miles east of the Old Luling field. The proved area is approximately 1,280 acres, on which 332 producing wells (September, 1930) have been drilled. The majority of the wells are producing from the Edwards limestone at an average total depth of 2,700 feet. A few wells are producing from the Austin chalk or from other formations above the Edwards limestone. The Wilcox formation is exposed, and the fault trace in places is scarcely evident. The strike of the structure is approximately N. 20 to 45° The displacement of the fault is probably 200 to 500 feet. The discovery well was completed in the Austin chalk by the Lutex Oil Co. during April, 1928. In October, 1926, the Sun Oil Co. completed the discovery well in the Edwards pay. This well was an important discovery, as it indicated the potential oil possibilities of the Edwards limestone in echelon fault structures. The discovery led to the development of the third fault field in the Edwards limestone and opened up a large area for future prospecting.

Jan 1, 1931

Geophysical Abstracts 1 - 83 were issued in mimeographed form by the Bureau of Mines; Abstracts 87 - 111 were published in bulletins of the Geological Survey. Abstracts 112 and 113 were issued in mimeographed form by tine Bureau of Mines as Information Circulars 7256 and 7257. 1. GRAVITATIONAL METHODS 7004. Campbell, R. B. Florida's Geological Structure and Gravity. Proc. Florida Acad. Sciences for 1540, Gainesville, Fla., vol. 5, 1541, pp. 73-84.

Jan 1, 1943

By Keith A. Heasley, Timotlly M. Barton

Historically, the surface subsidence over underground coal mines has been predicted using empirical profile or influence functions which have little or no connection to the actual mechanics of the subsidence- Without a mechanistic basis, establishing the exact site-specific parameters to use in these empirical methods has been problematic. A practical subsidence predictive method based on mechanics has the appealing capability of allowing the determination of site-specific parameters from fundamental properties of the overburden with minimal field calibration work. This paper presents a case study where a mechanics-based, boundary-element program is used to calculate the surface subsidence associated with several panels of a Northern Appalachian longwall coal mine. The program used in this case study is called LAMODEL, and it incorporates a frictionless, laminated overburden into a general purpose displacement-discontinuity code primarily designed for calculating the stresses and displacements in coal mines or other thin seam or vein type deposits. In this paper. the program is used to calculate both the underground convergence and the resulting surface subsidence at three longwalls. The subsidence results from the model are compared with field measurements and analyzed The results from the case study in this paper demonstrate that the laminated model with calibrated properties can easily provide fairly accurate subsidence predictions and is fairly flexible for fitting measured subsidence. However, additional subsidence predictive case studies are recommended in order to ultimately evaluate the potential of the laminated overburden model for practical subsidence prediction

By W. R. ARGYLE, R. A. SHERMAN, Henry Kreisinger, John Blizard, B. J. CROSS, A. R. Mumford

On entering the World War the United States was confronted with the necessity of building in a short time a large number of ships of tonnage adequate to transport troops and war materials to Europe and to carry food supplies to the allied countries, whose merchant fleets had suffered greatly by submarine warfare. The necessity of building ships quickly led to the formation of the United States Shipping Board, which was charged with the duty of developing an efficient organization for the purpose. Such an organization was developed under the name of the Emergency Fleet Corporation; it was under the control of the Government, but could conduct its business in the most direct way, like a private corporation. In order to build the largest- number of ships possible without drawing too heavily on the steel industry, which was already taxed heavily by the production of munitions, it was decided to build wooden as well as steel ships. These ships were built from a few standard designs to enable a large number of duplicate parts to be fabricated in inland shops and transported by railroad to the shipyards on the seacoast, where they were assembled into ships. In other words, the plan was to manufacture the ships rather than to build them. The shops on the seacoast were reserved to make those parts of the ships' equipment that could not readily be transported. The inland shops made the parts that could be transported to the seacoast by railroad. Among the more important parts of the ships' equipment to be standardized were the boilers. As the Scotch marine boiler in large units is bulky and can not be transported by railroad, and as, for the same capacity,much more steelis needed in its construction than for water-tube boilers, a few simple designs of water-tube boilers were developed that inland shops having ordinary equipment could make in large quantities.

Jan 1, 1924

By Peter Grandone, Ludwig Schmict

The injection of oil-field brimJs into subsurface formations containing mineralized water ·now is .recognizud as the most satisfactory and effective means of disposal in Kansas.· Other disposal ·methods, such as impounding brines in evapOTation nonds and controlled diversion into surface streams, have not prov-ed entirely successful, principally. because the volumes of brine to be disposed of were large, the soil f;?xtr~~mely porous, the net evaporation is low, and the rairiiall insufficient fc)r adequati.:~ dilution of the brine. The disposal of brine by subsurfaCE) inj'ection is often: more. expensive than by either of the above surface methods; nevertheless, surface dis:pos?,l ow.ing to the damaging effe-c.ts of· salt water to plant, animal and aquatic life and to potable water supplies has been:a long-continuing problem with many technical, economic, and 'legal·complexiti,2s

Aug 1, 1943