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By E. C. Lane

For a number of years the Bureau of Mines has been studying crude petroleum from the producing fields of the United States. During the past year 10 crude-oil samples have been collected and analyzed from the producing fields of Pennsylvania and New York. This report gives the results of these analyses and for the purpose of comparison also analyses of samples of crude oils taken previously from some of these fields. This survey includes samples from normal producing properties as well as from properties using stimulative production methods such as water flooding and repressuring. The outstanding feature of the survey is that the crude oils from tine various fields throughout this general area are similar in character and uniform in quality although they were produced from different sands and by various methods. Samples from fields in Venango County, Pa., however, appear to have a lower gasoline content than the others. This report includes two analyses reprinted from Bureau of Mines Bulletin 291.4/

Jan 1, 1938

By Carl G. Consalus

The Kemmerer Coal Company's Sorensen Mine is located approximately 7 miles Southwest of the Town of Kemmerer, Lincoln County, Wyoming. The coal it produces is delivered via conveyor directly to Utah Power and Light's Naughton Steam Generating Plant. The Plant went on the line in the spring of 1963 and the Sorensen Mine has been producing coal since February of that year. In this period, approximately 2, 000, 000 tons of coal have been delivered to the Plant. Present Sorensen mining operations are being carried out in the upper seams of the Adaville Formation. The formation contains, in some places, up to 30 coal seams of varying quality and thickness. Thirteen seams are considered major and are given numbers; the rest are considered splits off of the major seams and are so named. The lowest seam stratigraphically is the No. 1, or Elkol seam. So far, it has not been committed to power production but is being held in- reserve. It is the thickest seam with 80-90 feet of coal as its average thickness. The other major seams vary from 10-50 feet thick, with most of the seams averaging 17-26 feet of thickness. Each major seam has been opened at least once' to obtain a true gross sample of the coal's performance in the Plant.

Jan 1, 1967

By E. C. Lane

For a number of years the Bureau of Mines has been studying crude petroleum from the producing fields of the United States, During the past year 10 crude-oil samples have been collected and analyzed from the producing fields of Pennsylvania and New York. This report gives the results of these analyses and for the purpose of comparison also analyses of samples of crude oils taken previously from some of these fields. This survey includes samples from normal producing properties as well as from properties using stimulative production methods such as water flooding and rapressuring. The outstanding feature of the survey is that the crude oils from tike various fields throughout this general area are similar in character and uniform in quality although they were produced from different sands and by various methods. Samples from fields in Venango County, Pa., however, appear to have a lower gasoline content than the others. This report includes two analyses reprinted from Bureau of Mines Bulletin 291.4/

Jan 1, 1938

By W. Torres Pino, L. Mariscal Samaniego

The Ilo Smelter has been continuously operating since 1960 with Reverberatory furnaces and Pierce Smith converters producing blister copper. The original installed capacity of 1.134 tons per day of concentrated was expanded in 1976. A process of modernization started in 1995 and 1998 with the installation of an El Teniente Converter, a sulfuric acid plant and an oxygen plant to reduce the gaseous emissions to the atmosphere. With the official approval of the Environmental Compliance and Management Program (Programa de Adecuaci6n y Manejo Ambiental - PAMA) in January 1997, Southern Peru Copper Corporation made a commitment to capture 91. 7% of the S02 generated at the smelter by January 2007. After an evaluation of six different technologies, the ISASMEL T process was selected because it can be easily adapted to the present operation, has a lower capital cost and it is a simple process. The fast learning curve to reach the total capacity will allow to fulfill the PAMA commitment in time. The project construction is in process and SPCC is prepared for a successful start-up and transition of the current operations at the end of year 2006. This paper outlines the factors considered by SPCC in its choice of ISASMEL T technology and describes the construction and the start-up activities of the new facilities.

Jan 1, 2007

By Norman] [Seldle

This report describes the development of a mine machinery training system from initial conception through a task and skill analysis, a training system analysis, implementation of a prototype system, and initial validation of the prototype system. The objectives of the training are to improve safety and productivity simultaneously via complete, thorough training. A task and skill analysts was executed for shuttle cars, continuous miners, cutters, loaders, face drills, tractors, and scoops. The prototype training system is for shuttle car operator training.

Jan 1, 1976

By Juver Vélez

Este método de exploración consiste en la introducción con un equipo mecánico - hidráulico que ejerce presión y rotación sobre un tubo de metal el cual tiene en su inicio una corona con diamantes impregnados (denominada broca), al interior de la corteza terrestre, con el objetivo de extraer el material roca de profundidades a la superficie para realizar su identificación geológica y análisis varios; La perforación diamantina ha venido desarrollándose a través del tiempo y con la experiencia de los operadores, llegando a crear máquinas de gran capacidad para alcanzar grandes longitudes.

Sep 1, 2017

By H. D. Hess

This report presents the results of laboratory mineral evaluations conducted by the federal Bureau of Mines under the joint sponsorship of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the Bureau a! Ships, U. S. Department of the Navy. The major purpose of this investigation was to examine and evaluate zirconium minerals representing sizeable deposits in an effort to locate com¬mercial sources of high-hafnium ores. Although determination of the hafnium content was the principal objective, each of the zirconium minerals also was analyzed for combined zirconium-hafnium oxide, silica, uranium, thorium, yttrium, and cerium. The general laboratory procedure involved microscopic examination of the test samples, concentration of the hafnium-bearing zirconium mineral by standard laboratory techniques, and analysis of the derived concentrate by quantitative microscopic, chemical, and X-ray spectrographic methods. Of the several hundred samples tested under this program, 147 are discussed in this report, including 94 from domestic occurrences and 53 from widespread foreign sources.

Jan 1, 1962

By John C. Holtz

"INTRODUCTION Information on the gaseous products from the detonation of explosives has been obtained in two ways. In the first, the atmosphere in mines is analyzed after blasting, and in the second, the gases found after detonating an explosive in a testing apparatus are analyzed. The Bureau of Mines, in a cooperative research 3/ that compared data obtained in the field with those obtained in the testing station, showed that the results were not in entire agreement. The production of carbon monoxide was found to be governed chiefly by the oxygen balance of the explosive, but the production of oxides of nitrogen did not change in so simple a manner. Because of the increasing interest in correlations between the composition of the explosive and the production of toxic gases, it seemed desirable to continue the investigation.PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATIONAs field tests are both time consuming and expensive and as field results are affected by factors that are not always under control of or clearly evaluated by the operator, the purpose of this investigation is to develop a testing-station procedure that will reproduce the gaseous products quantitatively under known conditions analogous to those that may be expected in the field. In addition, the factors affecting the formation of toxic gases, particularly oxides of nitrogen, will be studied,"

Apr 1, 1940

By J. B. Zadra

Tungsten, a comparatively new metal, is one of the important strategic war materials. In peacetime, tungsten is widely used as a filament in elec¬tric lamps and electronic tubes and is a vital constituent of some of the most important industrial alloys. High-speed tool steel containing tungsten and stellite alloys containing cobalt, chromium, and tungsten are extremely hard and resistant to corrosion. These alloys and the tungsten carbides are unequaled as cutting tools and in other wear-resistant applications. They play a prominent role in the present era of mass production. Alloys containing tungsten resist oxidation at high temperatures and have been key alloys in the development of modern aircraft. The adaptability of tungsten to new uses is expanding, particularly in the high-temperature range. Domestic production of tungsten has come from a large number of deposits in 17 of the 49 States; but, of the total domestic output from 1900 to 1956, more than 80 percent was produced from mines in North Carolina, California, Colorado, and Nevada. The average tenor of the mined ore was less than 1 percent tungsten trioxide (W03).

Jan 1, 1959

By Hongwei Wang, PEIPEI CAO, Yongping Wu, JIANQIANG JIAO

In the fully mechanized top caving mining of steeply inclined, extra-thick seams with variable angles, the mechanisms of roof rock movement, failure, caving and filling are highly complex. This is due to the varying angle of coal seam in different areas, which makes rock–equipment stability control challenging. In this paper, the surrounding rock deformation and failure mechanisms, bearing structure of the overburden, and working characteristics of the supports are elucidated. The principle and key technologies of rock–equipment stability control are presented and applied to control the overburden of the regional failure and realize safe and efficient mining of the working face.

By Rogers F. Davis

This publication has been prepared to supply manufacturers and industrial users a listing of mobile diesel-powered equipment and subassemblies approved and certified by the Bureau of Mines for use in nongassy noncoal mines and tunnels. This revised and supplemented listing supersedes an earlier publication2 released in 1963. Testing of diesel-powered equipment is one phase of the Bureau's program of health and safety that concerns approval of electrical and diesel equipment designed to prevent explosions, fires, shocks, or toxic hazards in underground mines, when such equipment is used and maintained properly. Manufacturers submit machinery and component parts to the Bureau for study of their design, safety features, and use. Equipment must pass exacting tests and must meet strict requirements established through research and experience and outlined in the Bureau's permissible schedules before the Bureau approves it for safe use in mines.

Jan 1, 1968

By H. B. Menardi

THE history, geology, ore deposits and current mining operations of the Huitzuco district have been described by C. W. Vaupell1 and the current mill operations by David Segura.2 This paper completes the story of Huitzuco with a description of the reduction of the flotation concentrates. The predominant ore mineral in the Huitzuco deposit is livingstonite, a rare, mercury-antimony sulphide (HgS.2Sb2S3). Other associated minerals include cinnabar, stibnite and elemental sulphur. The gangue is largely limestone and gypsum. Former operators mined a selected grade of ore, from which the mercury was recovered by an expensive, inefficient operation. A consid-erable tonnage of rejects and fills, carrying mercury and antimony, was left in the mine. In order to recover both mercury and antimony from these fills and also from newly developed ore, a combination method has been developed, by means of which the livingstonite is concentrated by flotation and the flotation concentrates subsequently reduced to metallic mercury and antimony. An essential part of the flotation treatment, as developed by Segura, is the use of copper sulphate as an activating agent. A typical analysis of concentrates now being produced at the property is as follows: Hg, 7.73 per cent; Sb, 26.40; Fe, 1.20; S, 29.68; CaO, 11.50; MgO, 7.25; Si02, 1.63; A1203, 0.65.

Jan 1, 1939

By Alaina B. Hanlon

Keywords: Undercooling, Convection, Dendrites, Stainless Steel, Levitation Certain Fe-Cr-Ni stainless steel alloys solidify from an undercooled melt by a two-step process in which the metastable ferrite phase forms first followed by the stable austenite phase. Recent experiments have shown that the lifetime of the metastable phase is strongly influenced by flow within the molten sample. The current research will provide insight to why flow affects the metastable phase. This new understanding will lead to the use of convection to control microstructural evolution in spray-forming of stainless steels. Simulations using a commercial computational fluid dynamics package, FIDAP, yield a range of convective flow velocities that cause mechanical damage to the dendrites which is compared to experimental results. If the convective velocities are great enough that the dendrites bend, then low angle boundaries form at the points of collision. These result in high energy sites that could serve as nuclei for the stable phase.

Jan 1, 2005

By A. C. Fieldner

All technical facilities of the Bureau of Mines have been geared for more efficient use and conservation of mining equipment, developing plans for safety, improving the quality of coal through better methods of preparation, studying the problems of coal storage and utilization, and extending the uses of coal5/ for the war and postwar economy. The Bureau is now analyzing all of the coal purchased by the Army and much of that required by the Navy. Work on boiler feed water was doubled over last year to meet the increased demand made by the War Department for protecting vital boiler plants in many new camps and defense plants. Progress has been made in safely storing coal to reduce dangers of spontaneous ignition to a minimum and to preserve coking power. Mixtures of oil and coal to be used as a substitute fuel have been investigated. Technical service on the conversion of plants to other fuels has been given to government agencies and private consumers. The possibilities of making motor fuel,

Jan 1, 1944

By J. W. Miller

An investigation was begun by the Bureau of Mines in 1948 to determine the preparation characteristics of American coals. Results of the investigation were planned to be reported on a county basis and from the data developed, to determine: (a) Which coals either as mined or after beneficiation by conventional preparation are suitable chemically under present standards for producing metallurgical coke. (b) Which coals require special and more intensive treatment in preparation than is now practiced. (c) Which coals cannot be considered potential sources of metallurgical coke regardless of preparation. This report is one in a county series that describes the preparation characteristics of the coals of Mingo County, W. Va.

Jan 1, 1956

By Edmund S. Leaver

[In previous reports5/ of ore-testing studies standard methods of conducting; test with precious-metal ores selected as representative of certain mining districts were discussed in considerable detail. In addition to standard tent procedures such as direct cyanidation, amalgamation, gravity concentration, and flotation, or a combination of these methods, it is sometimes necessary to apply other methods, such as preliminary roasting and washing of the calcine with plain or acidulated water before cyanidation. In all of this work standard tenting procedure has been supplements by he necessary assaying and analyses of original ore and test products.]

Jan 1, 1941

By L. H. McGuire, L. B. Berger

"During the period October 31 to November 4, 1944, tests were conducted by the Bureau of Mines in the Cascade Tunnel of the Great Northern Railway Cc. to determine the effects upon the tunnel atmosphere of the use of a Diesel freight locomotive through the tunnel. These tests were conducted at the request of the company to ascertain whether undesirable conditions might be caused by the discharge of Diesel engine exhaust gas in the tunnel, which was constructed for an electric haulage system and is not provided with equipment for mechanical ventilation. The use of Diesel locomotives on the division that includes the Cascade Tunnel was under consideration as a means of augmenting haulage facilities for the abnormal freight tonnage that must be handled during wartime.As the Bureau of Mines has received requests for information on the extent of contamination of the air of railroad tunnels by Diesel locomotives, this report was prepared to make available for general information the data obtained during the tests in the Cascade Tunnel. As the test locomotive is of a type used on other railroads, and as the bore and grade of the tunnel and the tonnages moved are comparable to such factors on other roads, the data should be sufficiently representative to be of general interest. The exceptional length of the Cascade Tunnel made it an excellent location for obtaining information on the composition of the tunnel air and on the movement of air induced in the tunnel by the passage of trains.The writers are indebted to C. O. Jenks, vice president of the Great Northern Railway Co., who arranged for the tests, and to the following personnel of the railroad who cooperated in the conduct of the tests: I. E. Clary, superintendent, Spokane Division, J. L. Robson, superintendent of motive power, oil and gas equipment, J. F. N. Gaynor, superintendent of electric operations, William Lowney, master mechanic, Spokane Division, and D. F. Marston and Verne Nelson, assistant superintendents of electric operations.The Cascade Tunnel is on the Spokane Division of the Great Northern Railway and pierces the Cascade Mountains some 49 miles west of Wenatchee, Wash. The west end of this division is electrified from Appleyard Station, 2 miles east of Wenatchee, to Skykomish, Wash., a distance of 73 miles. Until the described tests, only electric haulage had been employed through the tunnel since it was first opened to traffic in January 1929.The Cascade is the longest railroad tunnel in the United States - 7.79 miles. The tunnel is single-track, perfectly straight, concrete-lined, and is on an essentially uniform grade of 1.56 percent, ascending from west to east. The cross-sectional area of the tunnel is 314 square feet, the dimensions being shown in figure 1. Elevation of the east portal is 2,880 feet and of the west portal, 2,240 feet."

Jun 1, 1946

By W. G. Brunner

The slurry wall technique has undergone an evolution from its invention to its today’s status. In the early stages slurry walls were built with cable grab, later on with much stronger hydraulic grab and last but not least with the use of the cutter technique. The cutter allows thick walls with high verticality to extreme depths through hard soil and rock formations. With the rising demand of the construction of watertight diaphragm walls different joint systems have been developed. In addition to the rapid development of excavation systems it was necessary to improve slurry treatment and desanding plants, especially in conjunction with high performance trench cutters. Deep mixing methods can be used economically for the construction of cut-off or excavation support walls where other systems such as traditional soldier beams and lagging walls would yield unsatisfactory performance, where the installation of vibrated or driven sheet piles could cause vibration induced settlements and where concrete diaphragm walls would be time consuming and expensive. The new CSM method can largely replace the more conventional single or multiple auger methods of soil mixing or jet grouting. The cutter tool is similar to a cutter used in diaphragm walls or cut-off walls and is operated with a Kelly mounted on a drilling rig or rope suspended on a crane jib or mast of a base carrier. With this system much deeper walls can be installed and even hard soil layers can be penetrated.

Jan 1, 2007

By Robert Lee, Jeff Corace, Rob Cyr

Blasting in the heart of the historic Byward Market District of Canada’s capital, Ottawa, presents a unique set of challenges. The obvious difficulties arising on projects requiring blasting within 3 m (10 ft) of 125 year old buildings in various states of disrepair have been encountered and successfully dealt with countless times before. The complexities increase exponentially when tenuous property boundaries, unknown structural details, litigious histories and the need for encroachment agreements lead to individuals with competing interests all able to impact the same operation. Blasting on three projects in the Market was started in early 2005 after months of negotiation. Ultimately, the potential for the projects to proceed hinged on the ability to successfully disseminate blast data to the various stakeholders. As part of the agreements drawn up, property owners demanded immediate notification of the measured vibration levels with contract provisions including clauses such that any exceedance of the USBM criteria immediately triggered project shut down and complete blasting program redesign, and approval by all parties. With stakeholders located in various cities and, in some instances, on various continents, a conventional attended monitoring strategy would not satisfy the requirements. In response to the critical reporting need, Explotech Engineering Ltd. installed unattended monitoring stations around the sites, all incorporating wireless telemetry. After each blast, data was automatically transferred from the monitoring stations to a web-linked server via the wireless network, where it was immediately available to project stakeholders through a password protected website. The solution required a unique blend of data acquisition, telemetry, database, and security technologies, all married to produce a reliable system that was easy to maintain and use. While these types of systems were originally developed for use as permanent monitoring networks in operating mines and quarries, monitoring professionals are increasingly benefiting from the technology on temporary building projects that have typically been the realm of attended monitoring strategies. Globally, this has emerged as a solution to provide more timely access to data for stakeholders, and to minimize the legal exposure from multiple violations of vibration limits. As this trend is likely to continue, the regulated vibration control industry is likely to see a continued shift in technology development to leverage wireless networks and the Internet to continue to improve data transfer, archiving and distribution.

Jan 1, 2006

By D. R. Gagnon

Mining companies are continually looking for product-ivity and efficiency improvements with their equipment to reduce operating costs. This paper will review the results of a productivity analysis conducted at the Luscar Ltd. Boundary Dam and Bienfait mines near Estevan, Saskatchewan using a Computer-Aided Earthmoving System (CAES) installed on a track-type dozer. The CAES TTT system is a Global Positioning System that provides the operator with constant survey guidance. The study includes a productivity comparison between two similar test sites, one with the aid of the CAES system and the other, without. The CAES TTT system shows a productivity improvement of between 20 and 35% in the reclamation slope leveling application. Even with the CAES TTT system deactivated, some of the advanced features of the system were used to: retain terrain data for volume calculations; track the equipment position; and, accurately record and separate idle time from working time.

Jan 1, 2002