Search Documents

By K. P. Wang

SIGNIFICANT general developments took place in the Far East during 1964, with far-reaching repercussions on the mineral and industrial economies of individual countries and the region as a whole. Japan, during this, "the Year of the Open Door," ushered in the era of industrial maturity, greater independence in economic policy, and expanded technical assistance to less developed countries. Symbolic of its dynamic economic growth is the fact that Japan out-produced the Federal Republic of Germany in steel during 1964 to take over a third-ranking world position. Mainland China, recovering from the "Leap Forward" debacle, made significant gains in industrial output. Mainland Chinese trade with Japan was on the upswing, and discussions were held between the Chinese and the Soviets for possibly resuming Soviet aid in industrial and mineral development. Meanwhile, United States aid to Taiwan was being phased out because of progress achieved. Rapprochement between South Korea and Japan was imminent late in 1964, a factor which may well affect South Korean mineral development. The Indonesian-Malaysian confrontation created economic difficulties in both countries. The war in Viet-Nam seriously disrupted industrial activities, particularly in the south.

Jan 1, 1966

By Earle S. Burnett

Rotating piston deadweight gages have been used for many years for measurement of pressure to several hundred atmospheres. They have been calibrated by comparison of fluid pressures produced by various loads bearing on the piston bases, as measured by corresponding heights of balancing columns of mercury. When expressed in appropriate units, these ratios of column heights to piston loads are called piston constants. Experimental arrangements and procedures for their determination are presented in this paper, followed by a discussion of their significance and of their subsequent applications.

Jan 1, 1966

Early in 1936 the Interstate Oil Compact Commission and other groups interested in forecasts of demand for petroleum requested the Bureau of Mines to make a physical inventory of crude-oil stocks in the United States. Accordingly, the 74th Congress -appropriated funds for conducting such a survey during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1937. In the discussions end hearings2/ relative to the need for the survey, the opinion was expressed that crude oil held is storage for long periods had lost so much of its gasoline content that the economic significance of total stocks should be discounted materially. Therefore, a primary objective of the survey was to

Jan 1, 1938

By J. R. Koehler

The U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) ground control research program includes several projects focused on developing design criteria for yielding-pillar-based longwall gate road systems. As part of this program, mining practices at the Sunnyside Mines, Sunnyside Reclamation and Salvage Co., Sunnyside, UT, are being documented to preserve the long history of yield pillar system evolution on the property. Published information describing the specific in-mine performance of the numerous gate road configurations utilized at the Sunnyside Mines is very limited. To overcome this deficit, USBM personnel interviewed 30 longtime mine employees representing nearly 700 years of mining experience at the Sunnyside operations. Mining conditions in 12 specific areas in the Nos. 1, 2, and 3 Mines were discussed in the interviews. Also, broad topics such as general mining practices, safety, and geology were often addressed during the discussions. Comprising the body of this report is an extensive record of the events and conditions experienced while mining the identified areas. In addition, eight significant conclusions were developed that accurately summarize the general opinions of the interviewed personnel regarding mining conditions and practices at Sunnyside.

Jan 1, 1994

By M. J. Ferrante

Enthalpy and entropy increments above 298.15° K were determined for cop-per sulfate between 298° and 1,000° K and for copper oxysulfate between 2980 and 1,146° K by the method of copper-block drop calorimetry. Enthalpies, entropies, and heat capacities are tabulated for both compounds. In addition, free-energy functions are tabulated for the sulfate. Equations representing the enthalpies are given for each compound.

Jan 1, 1972

By Parry. V. F., W. S. Landers

"INTRODUCTION Approximately 1,250,000 tons of 2-1/2-inch and 1-1/2-inch slack, representing over half of the output from 40 to 50 mines, is produced in the Denver region each year. Part of this slack is made by crushing lump, and some of it is rescreened to make pea and modified pea sizes measuring 1-1/2 inches by 2-1/2 inches and 3/4-inch by 1-1/2 inches, round-hole. Modified pea is popular as domestic stoker fuel. Approximately 900,000 tons of slack 0 by 2-1/2 inches, 0 by 1-1/ 2 inches, and 0 by 3/4-inch in size are consumed by industrial plants, the principal consumers being a large power plant and the beet-sugar industry. The power plant uses annually 250,000 to 275,000 tons of pulverized fuel and can pulverize slack of any size, while the sugar factories consume about the same quantity of coal in stokers. The sugar factories store about 110,000 tons of 2-1/2-inch slack under water from January to October, and burn the remainder of their consumption directly during the campaign season from October to December. For this purpose, sugar-factory power plants can use any size of slack, which is recrushed to pass a 3/4- or 1/2-inch screen before burning on chain-grate stokers. About one-third of the 2-1/ 2- inch slack produced in the field is used in smaller industrial plants that employ stokers.Certain factors affect the utilization of 2-1/2-inch slack in the Denver region. The increasing production of hydroelectric power has reduced the consumption of coal at power plants slightly. If more hydropower is generated, the trend of consumption of slack might be downward, unless industrial activity offsets this greater output. Rapid increase in number of domestic stokers during recent years has necessitated preparation of greater quantities of stoker coal, with the result that more lump is crushed, and preparation facilities are changed. At present about 19 percent of the coal produced is crushed to meet the constant demand for industrial fuel as well as the increasing but variable demand for the small domestic stoker sizes. The quantity crushed has increased 12 percent during the last 6 years. These factors are shifting constantly. The trend toward the use of clean and smaller sizes for domestic stokers gives a slack having a larger proportion of fines. In future, even greater quantities of small stoker coal probably will be prepared, and the resulting greater quantities of small slack will have to be used for industrial purposes."

Aug 1, 1942

By Max L. Glenn

As part of its goal to minimize requirements for mineral commodities through conservation and substitution, the Bureau of Mines conducted research to develop molybdenum as a potential substitute for superalloys containing the strategic and critical materials, nickel, chromium, and cobalt. Since molybdenum requires protection from oxidation at high temperatures, several complex oxides of the spinel and perovskite structure were investigated to determine which possessed the greatest potential for use as oxidation-barrier coatings. Two spinels (MgCr204 and MgA1204) and five perovskites (BaHfO3, YCrO3, NdCrO3, BaZrO3, and LaCrO3) were selected for testing. Various high-temperature prop¬erties that are important for oxidation-resistant coatings were examined, including diffusion rates of oxygen and molybdenum, recession (vaporization) rates, hardness, erosion resistance, sinterability, reactivity with molybdenum, and ease of application. From the evaluation of high-temperature properties, two spinels (MgCr204 and MgA1204) stand above the other oxides as possible coatings for molybdenum. However, laboratory coatings of MgCr204 at 1,360° C (2,480° F) are equivalent or inferior to currently available MoSi2 coatings; laboratory coatings of MgA1204 may be comparable under limited conditions to currently available MoSi2 coatings at the same temperature.

Jan 1, 1979

By Lester J. Crow

A preliminary survey was performed to investigate the impregnation of relatively weak, porous volcanic tuff and a relatively strong, dense sandstone with five different monomers. Increases in compressive strengths by factors of 2 to 5, and elastic moduli by factors of 2 to 3.5, are reported for natural rocks (tuff., sandstone, dacite), which were impregnated with five monomers (methyl methacrylate; chlorostyrene; 40 percent TMPTMA-60 percent styrene; 40 percent TMPTMA-60 percent chlorostyrene; 60 percent polyester-40 percent styrene); polymerization took place after monomers were forced into the rock. Impregnation was performed (1) by pressurizing rock specimens from one end, or (2) by a vacuum-soak operation. Polymerization was accomplished by either radiation or chemical initiation techniques. Strength improvement is dependent on (1) the type of monomer used, (2) the amount of polymer incorporated into the rock, and (3) the degree of water saturation of the rock. Water saturation strongly reduced the effectiveness of the method for the polymer systems tested. The more viscous monomers (for example, 60 percent polyester-40 percent styrene) were more effective in displacing the water from the rock, and compressive strengths of wet rock were doubled with these systems. Water saturations ranging from 25 to 100 percent of maximum saturation gave essentially identical results. Further tests on other types of mine rock; including shale and coal, are planned. Water-compatible polymer systems should be developed, or present systems should be suitably modified. For application to tunnel stabilization, design studies evaluating the improvement in rock strength and its influence on the support system are also recommended.

Jan 1, 1971

By C. C. Furnas

Despite the fact that a great many industrial processes depend on efficient contact between a gas stream and a bed of broken solids for their operation, the data in the literature are very meager. Several investigations3 have been undertaken, but the work has been limited in scope and application. BUREAU OF MINES PROGRAM OF RESEARCH For the past 10 years the United States Bureau of Mines has been engaged in research with the object of formulating a more or less complete quantitative theory of the workings of the iron blast furnace. Obviously, in order to do this one of the essentials is to have considerable definite information on the laws of gas flow through beds of broken solids. This report in a brief summary of the experimental work on the problem which has been done at the North Central Experiment Station. The complete report with more detailed tabulation of the data and explanations of the experimental procedure is in process of publication in the form of a bulletin.

Jan 1, 1928

By G. R. Peterson

To determine the availability of aluminum from world bauxite resources, the Bureau of Mines investigated 139 bauxite deposits worldwide and evaluated the potential production of aluminum based on the demonstrated resources of bauxite ore from 91 mines and deposits in 22 market economy countries. The demonstrated resources of the bauxite mines and deposits included in this study represent an in situ resource of 20.2 billion metric tons of bauxite. Total identified bauxite resources in market economy countries amount to roughly 31.9 billion tons. Of the demonstrated resource, some 18.8 billion tons of bauxite considered minable provide a production potential of 3.6 billion tons of primary aluminum. Given the wide geographic distribution of bauxite deposits, stable supplies of bauxite for aluminum production seem assured well into the next century. However, a tight market situation could develop during the 1990's unless the real price of aluminum increases enough to stimulate massive new investments in production capacity, particularly in refining and smelting. This study indicates that a real price of at least $0.85 per pound (in January 1980 dollars) would be necessary to stimulate the required investments and provide a sufficient rate of return on invested capital.

Jan 1, 1983

By R. W. Van Dolah, N. E. Hanna, F. C. Gibson

Measures that were taken to eliminate noise resulting from explosives work at the Bureau of Mines facility at Bruceton , Pa . , are described . A method for monitoring sound transmission characteristics of the atmosphere and control of the explosives testing is presented as a noise control measure that offered partial relief during the period in which the modifications were made . Design details of the replacement gallery , used for permissibility testing of explosives , and the modifications of four types of bombproofs are given . Operation of the closed facilities are completely satisfactory , and the noise problem has been entirely eliminated .

Jan 1, 1964

By W. S. Wright, A. W. Tolonen

"INTRODUCTION The Mount Andrew iron deposit on Kasaan Peninsula, Prince of Wales Island, Southeastern Alaska, was examined in August 1942 by an engineer 4/ of the Bureau of Mines accompanied by geologists 5/ of the Federal Geological Survey. From October 20 to 27, 1942, two engineers 6/ of the Bureau of Mines made a further preliminary examination and took three large samples of magnetite and magnetite-copper ore for metallurgical testing. During the stunner of 1942 an investigation of the Mount Andrew-Stevenson-Mamie area, including topographic and geologic mapping and a magnetic survey, was made by geologist 7/ the Federal Geologically Survey. On May 31 and June 2, 1943, two Bureau of Mines engineers 8/ conducted a preliminary examination in which special attention was directed to trails, camp, and drill sites. They were accompanied on May 31 by L. A. Warner of the Geological Survey.During the period from September 1943 through September 1944 Bureau of Mines engineers 9/ completed a thorough investigation which included trenching, core drilling, and sampling. A Federal Geological Survey representative 10/ examined all trenches and cores for geological data.LOCATION AND ACCESSIBILITYThe deposit is situated at latitude 55º 31' N. and longitude 132º 18' W. on the north side of Kasaan Bay on Prince of Wales Island, Southeastern Alaska. The general location is shown on figures 1 and 2. The deposit is 5 miles southwest of the village of Kasaan and by water, 27 miles northwest of Ketchikan; the main tunnel portal is 7/8 mile north of the Mount Andrew landing on Kassan Bay."

Nov 1, 1947

By A. C. Fieldner

In the course of its investigations on the properties of coal and in rendering fuel-inspection service to other agencies of the Government, the Bureau of Mines has accumulated a comprehensive file of coal analyses that includes data on virtually every coal field of commercial importance in the United States. As knowledge of the composition of coal is potentially valuable to every user of coal, the Bureau publishes its analytical records. Before 1921 such publications contained analyses of coal from all parts of the United States; individual analyses or average analyses of a series of shipments of coal were given with the name and location of the mine producing the coal. Beginning in 1921 the analyses were published by separate States because the quantity of data had become so great. The separate papers published to date, with Bureau of Mines Technical Paper numbers, are as follows: Alabama, 347; Arkansas, 416; Colorado, 574; Illinois, 634 and 641; Indiana, 417; Iowa, 269; Kansas, 455; Kentucky, 30S; Maryland, 465; Missouri, 366; Montana, 529; New Mexico, 569; Ohio, 344; Oklahoma, 411 ; Pennsylvania (bituminous), 590; Tennessee, 356; Utah, 345; Virginia, 365; Washington, 491 and 618 (618, published in 1941, supplements 491); West Virginia, 405 and 626; and Wyoming, 484. From time to time the various papers will be revised to include later analyses and other data. The Bureau of Mines annually receives many inquiries as to the composition of coals obtained from specific localities or, conversely, as to the localities from which a given kind of coal may be obtained. This paper presents a summary, in tabular form, of the composition of commercial coal resources of the country. Specimen analyses are given exemplifying the analysis of coal mined in each coal-producing county, or, where it was feasible, coal from each bed in each county; also, ranges of analyses, within which the composition of most of the coal represented will fall, are given where there were enough analyses to permit satisfactory determination of the ranges. In addition, the degree of metamorphism from lignite toward anthracite of much of the coal is indicated by the classification by rank. This classification reveals to more experienced users of coal some of the general properties of coal, that is, whether the flame will be long or short, whether the coal will cake in the fire, and how it is likely to behave on exposure and in storage.

Jan 1, 1942

By R. W. Van Dolah

The Bureau of Mines t.ced its investigations into sympathetic detonation of ammonium nitrate (AN) and ammonium nitrate-fuel oil (AN-FO) to define the scaling law for safe separation from detonating AN-FO. Both missile- and non-missile-producing AN-FO donors, weighing up to 5,400 pounds, were employed with acceptors of the same size. The usual cube-root scaling law was not confirmed; exponents for the relationship S = f(Wx) for AN were 0.51 with non¬missile-producing donors and 0.61 for missile-producing donors. For AN-FO an exponent of 0.80 was indicated in the missile-producing case. AN-F0 in polyethylene bags appeared somewhat more easily initiated than bulk AN-FO. The efficacy of barricades in protecting AN charges was investigated. detonation distances were reduced from one-third to one-seventh when filled barricades were employed. The investigation was extended to dynamite with both types of donors. With 1,600-pound missile-producing donors and an equivalent weight of dynamite, initiation would be expected in 50 percent of the trials at 167 feet. The corresponding value in the non-missile case was 67 feet. The data developed in this program of sympathetic detonation will allow the development of a rational set of safe separation distances for AN, AN-FO, and explosives.

Jan 1, 1966

By James F. Devine

This Bureau of Mines report describes tests conducted at three sites to determine if, and to what extent, a vertical presplit fracture plane placed between a blast point and detection point will reduce vibration levels. Statistical analyses indicate that the presplit fracture plane did not reduce the vibration level.

Jan 1, 1965

By T. L. Iapalucci

To determine the behavior of chlorine in coal combustion, the Bureau of Mines burned 10 chlorine-containing coals, high-, medium-, and low-volatile, in a laboratory-scale pulverized-coal combustor. At carbon-combustion efficiencies of 94 to 98 percent, 1.6 to 7.1 percent of the chlorine or an average of 4 percent of the chlorine in the coal was retained in the ash; the balance, predominantly hydrogen chloride, was evolved in the combustion gas. Sulfur retention in the ash ranged from 2.3 to 10.7 percent or an average of 6.3 percent, Addition of alkali and alkaline earth carbonates to a medium-volatile coal containing 0.27 percent chlorine by preferentially reacting with the chlorine increased the Cl/S atom ratio in the ash, Lithium carbonate addition at 0.43 percent and K2C03 at 1.59 percent increased the C1/S ratio in the ash from 0.2 to 0.6.

Jan 1, 1969

By Thomas J. Peters

The King Mountain study area is centered about 120 air km northwest of Blackfoot, and 30 air km north of Arco, Idaho. The study area makes up the southern one-third of the northwest-trending Lost River Range--the highest mountain range in Idaho. The area is predominantly underlain by Paleozoic-age marine limestone and lesser dolostone, with a relatively small inlier of silica-rich, Ordovician-age quartzite. There are vast, unquantified resources of these industrial minerals present; however, special markets need to be developed for these resources which are near enough for transportation costs to be competitive. Five prospects were found in the study area; however, only one, the Elbow quartz silica prospect, contains resources and current claims. There has been no mineral production in the study area.

Jan 1, 1993

By J. L. Hoffman, F. W. Wood, R. A. Beall, W. E. Anable

For melting and purifying reactive and refractory metals , two electronbeam furnaces have been constructed and operated on the principle of highpowered vacuum diodes . It was necessary to design the vacuum and electrical systems , mechanical features , and operating procedures to cope with dynamic conditions . Vacuums of 10-5 torr , tens of kilowatts of power at 5 to 10 kilovolts , and the evolution of impurities at thousands of liters per minute constitute a challenging combination . The furnaces have been used to melt either button specimens weighing several hundred grams or , by feeding material as a consumable electrode , small ingots weighing several kilograms . Hafnium is among the metals that can be purified . For example , hafnium starting material with Rhn 94B was softened to Rhn 70B after 2 hours of melting under a 25 - kw electron beam , and impurity levels were reduced as follows : Oxygen , from 700 to 350 ppm ; nitrogen , from 71 to 20 ppm ; hydrogen , from 6 to 1 ppm ; aluminum from 75 to < 20 ppm ; chromium , from 80 to < 10 ppm ; iron , from 100 to 40 ppm ; and silicon , from 40 to < 20 ppm .

Jan 1, 1963

By D. Harrington

Insofar as prevention of mine explosions is concerned, it is apparent that the coal-mining industry has profited but little from experiences during the past 15 years. The fact that explosions can be prevented if well-known preventive measures are adopted and conscientiously carried out appears to warrant the conclusion that many coal-mining people are indifferent to the hazards that may result in explosions. Although the principal burden of preventing explosions is upon the management, and much of the evident carelessness in failing to place in effect and to enforce suitable precautions, is assessable directly against management, the worker also has a very definite responsibility, and numerous explosions have resulted because of his failure to carry out his part in accepted principles of safety. The record of fatalities from mine explosions during the past 5 fiscal years has been anything but encouraging or about which coal-mining people can take pride; more men were killed by explosions (673) than were killed from the same cause during the preceding eight years combined (577). During each of the fiscal years 1942 and 1943, 152 fatalities resulted from explosions, compared to 163 during the fiscal year 1941, 206 in 1940, and only 16 in 1939.

Jan 1, 1944

By M. L. Wouden

In the late 1970&apos;s, the Bureau of Mines began to examine the criteria for reestablishing vegetative cover on coal strip mine spoils near Glenrock, WY. A 9-acre plot, consisting of (1) spoils covered with topsoil, (2) spoils without topsoil, and (3) spoils treated with sewage sludge, was constructed. These plots were seeded with Tegmar intermediate wheatgrass (Agropyron intermedium), Fairway crested wheatgrass (A. cristatum), and Critana thickspike wheatgrass (A. dasystachyum). After 5 yr, the topsoil had about 70 pct plant coverage. Revegetated spoils, without topsoil addition, averaged approximately 30 pct plant coverage, and sewage sludge-treated spoils had about 45 pct plant coverage. Comparison of grass types showed the intermediate wheatgrass produced greater surface coverage.

Jan 1, 1986