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By P. B. Altringer

Searles Lake, CA, contains the largest known domestic tungsten resource. The brines in this near-dry lake bed, located in the Mojave Desert 130 mi northeast of Los Angeles, contain an estimated 135 MMlb of tungsten. However, the low concentration of tungsten (0.080 g/L W03) in the supersaturated brine makes selective tungsten extraction very difficult. Although many brine chemicals are extracted from the lake, tungsten recovery was an elusive goal prior to Bureau of Mines development of an ion-exchange technique. This publication describes the Bureau process. The following subjects are ad-dressed: ? The Searles Lake tungsten resource. ? General problems associated with tungsten recovery. ? Bureau research objectives. ? Synthesis of ion-exchange resins. ? Development of a two-stage ion-exchange tungsten extraction and concentration procedure. ? Product recovery and purification. ? Economic evaluation. Flowsheets for recovering three products (calcium tungstate, sodium tungstate, and tungstic oxide) are presented and evaluated, as well as a summary of the research effort and potential applications.

Jan 1, 1985

By William H. Schiffbauer

The U.S. Bureau of Mines has been investigating methods and technology that may improve safety and production when applied to existing mining machines. Toward those goals, the Bureau has developed navigation systems that provide machine positional information while in the production area. This research has been limited in the past because the Bureau had only one type of mining machine to do experiments. Addressing this problem, the Bureau, along with Carnegie Mellon University, has developed a generic vehicle emulator, in the form of a wheeled vehicle with an onboard computer, known as the Locomotion Emulator, that provides a software-selectable vehicle emulation package. Preliminary testing by the Bureau has shown that the emulator can accurately imitate the maneuvers of the software selected vehicle type. Now the Bureau can test their navigation systems on different vehicle types without having to procure each of the vehicles. This report completely describes the emulator as well as all the modes in which it can be operated.

Jan 1, 1991

This report presents depth and producing rate statistics pertaining to oil reservoirs (or fields) in each of the 14 States that produced more than 20 million bbl of oil during 1965. The combined oil production was about 2.6 billion bbl, or 96 pct of the U.S. total. Data are presented for each of the 14 States, each Texas Railroad Commission district, and four geographical areas of Louisiana. About 8 pct of the total oil produced in the 14 States was from depths of lees than 2,000 ft, 24 pct from 2,000 to 4,000 ft, 22 pct from 4,000 to 6,000 ft, 16 pct from 6,000 to 8,000 ft, and 30 pct from 8,000 ft and deeper. The average production per well in the 14 States ranged from 4.4 bopd for wells less than 2,000 ft deep to 57.6 bopd for wells 8,000 it and deeper. Data indicate that 9.5 pct of the 460,968 wells produced more than 1.2 billion bbl or 46.6 pct of the total oil. Oil production from reservoirs (or fields) not undergoing stimulative recovery operations, such as steam, air, gas, or water injection, wee about 1.1 billion bbl or 42.1 pct of the total.

Jan 1, 1967

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) defines an independent contractor as any person, partnership, corporation, subsidiary of a corporation, firm, association or other organization that contracts to perform services or construction at a mine. Contractors that perform specific types of work are required to report the number of employees who work at coal mines and noncoal mines.

Jan 1, 2008

By J. V. Batty

The Bureau of Mines devised techniques involving the use of beta-and gamma-ray-emitting radioisotopes and successfully adapted these techniques to the density of mineralized flotation froths) the rate of flow of finely ground ore pulps) and the residence time of pulps in processing circuits. Specifically, the water and mineral loads of flotation froths were continuously measured by determining the proportion of a constant-strength beam of beta rays that was absorbed by the froth column. Continuous measurement of the rate of flow of an ore pulp was accomplished by measuring the changing width of a free-falling stream of the pulp with a collimated beam of beta rays. The residence time of solids in conditioning and resin-in-pulp circuits was accurately measured by following the progress through these circuits of a portion of the pulp that had been tagged with the gamma-emitting Ag110 radioisotope.

Jan 1, 1966

By D. Harrington

Although for many years considerable attention has been given to devising safe and efficient methods of using explosives, with some success, relatively little has been done to provide satisfactory storage facilities for them. This was known long before the present war began, but it was emphasized during the past 30 months? inspections of explosive magazines by employees of the Bureau of Mines in administration of the Federal Explosives Act of December 26, 1941. These inspections have revealed woeful in adequacy as well as definite hazards and the urgent need for obtaining better storage facilities either by remodeling old magazines or constructing ink new ones that would afford suitable protection for the contents against theft, fire, deterioration, and detonation. The purpose of this paper is to offer suggestions and to show by sketches and drawings some of the fundamental features of suitable magazines. Type of construction and available materials differ with different; localities, but the information herein contained can be applied to most magazines, whether already constructed or the construct: on of which is planned. It is hoped that this information will be helpful and will aid persons who are trying to provide suitable storage for explosives end detonators. It is also hoped that States and cities will be made aware of the unbelievable laxity practiced in storing explosives in the United States and will take some remedial action.

Jan 1, 1945

By R. J. Evans

The generation and disposal of solid waste from electric utility plants using a lime or limestone wet-scrubbing system and the potential effects on the environment were estimated for 1975 and 1980. The study indicated that in 1975 approximately 5.8 million tons of desulfurization solid waste (50 percent solids) will be generated. In 1980, when it is estimated that desulfurization will become commercially accepted, approximately 71.4 million tons of this material will be generated for disposal and/or utilization. The desulfurization waste material when combined with lime, fly ash, and water may have potential for use as a roadbase material, landfill reclamation, and synthetic aggregate.

Jan 1, 1974

By Ellis S. Hertzog, James R. Cudworth

Tremendous interest has been evidenced in the subject of dewatering and drying ooal for the past 10 years, and yet little effort has been made to summarize the literature, at least so far as this country is concerned. Only a few published articles have dealt solely with dewatering and drying coal. In most cases the subject has been discussed briefly, either in general terms or as to specific installations. It is desirable that a compendium be prepared collecting in one place information on the dewatering and drying of coal, the needs for this process in various fields, the available equipment, and the current American practice in regard to it. This work was underta..lten by the :Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the University of Alabama. New coal-washing plants in which various types of dewatering and drying equipment were in operation were visited in-Pennsylvania; Ohio, India...~a~ and Illinois. The dewatering·and drying of coel has .been studied in this coimtry by the Surface Preparation ·Committee of the ·coal Operato~s• Committee of the .American Mining ·Oongress. In GermaIJY .it has received the special attention of the Reichskohlenr·at, and in Great Britain of the Utilization of Fuel Commi-t-tee of the Insti ti.ite of Min"ing Engineers.

Apr 1, 1938

By W. J. Wenger

THIRTY-FOUR analyses of crude oils from the fields of the Four Corners Area of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah are presented and compared. The samples, taken from formations in four geological time periods, have high gravity and low-sulfur, -nitrogen, and -asphalt content. Generally, the oils are paraffinic in the low-boiling fractions, with increasing naphthenicity in the higher-boiling fractions. Oils from Cretaceous formations resemble other Cretaceous oils in the Rocky Mountains, but oils from Permian and Pennsylvania formations are unlike other oils of these ages in the Rooky Mountains. The differences in the oils are minor and cannot be used to distinguish between fields or between producing formations. With minimum special processing, the oils should yield large amounts of good-quality motor fuels. INTRODUCTION The only place in the United States where four States have a common junction is known as the Four Corners Area. This area (fig. 1) includes the northeast corner of Arizona, the southwest corner of Colorado, the northwest corner of New Mexico, and the southeast corner of Utah. It includes three major geological basins: The Black Mesa, the San Juan, and the Paradox. Major oil developments have occurred in both the San Juan and Paradox basins, but no discovery of commercial importance has been made in the Black Mesa basin.

Jan 1, 1960

By Carl W. Kelley

PRODUCTION in the United States of carbon black has increased from 20 million pounds per year in 1920 to over 2 billion pounds in 1964 valued at $156 million, mostly for consumption by the rubber-tire industry, which uses over 90 percent of total production. Production of over 2 billion pounds in 1964 is a 7.8-percent increase over 1963 and is the first time furnace black production has topped 2 billion pounds. Although 1964 channel black production dropped 6 percent below 1963, carbon black produced by the furnace process, which ac-counted for 92 percent of total production, increased 9 percent to 2,053 million pounds. Total shipments during 1964 amounted to 2,245 mil-lion pounds, a 7 percent increase. This growth parallels the expansion of the automotive and petroleum industries. Along with this expansion have been many advances, both in methods of manufacture and in the quality and variety of blacks available to industry. There are several kinds of carbon black, thermal, channel, furnace, lamp, and oil blacks. Until recently, channel has been the important black in rubber compounding. Following the introduction of the synthetic GR-S, and more recently of "cold rubber," it has been found that certain furnace blacks with particle size larger than that of the standard channel black give superior reinforcement. A great advantage of furnace black is that its yield per unit of gas feedstock is higher than that of channel black. The 184-million-pound increase in domestic carbon black sales was partially offset by a 37-million-pound decrease in exports. Decrease in exports especially to Europe, is expected to continue. In Europe, as in the United States, the major end use for carbon black is in the manufacture of automobile and truck tires. Although the number of automobiles in Europe is predicted to grow by about 7.5 percent per year, compounded until 1975, the increased demand will be met by a 20 percent increase in existing capacity and by the new plants being built in Europe by U.S. companies. Also) aromatic oils for producing furnace blacks are plentiful now that western Europe's chemical industry is switching to a petroleum base.

Jan 1, 1965

By P. A. Hendricks

This U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) report identifies and evaluates factors responsible for metal/nonmetal (M/NM) underground mining accidents involving mobile equipment. Information regarding the occurrence and severity of the accidents, the type of equipment involved, the primary and contributing causes, and preventive measures is included. The goal of this report is to provide information that will aid mine operators and safety managers in the recognition of hazards associated with operating mobile mining equipment in an underground mining environment.

Jan 1, 1994

By F. J. Perzak

The Bureau of Mines conducted a study to develop a standard fire test for 5-gal containers used for storing combustible fluids in underground coal mines. A standard test method was developed which evaluates the performance of the container in a 4-min tray fire. Bureau investigators used the standard test method to evaluate several types of closed 5-gal plastic and metal cans in outdoor tests. Each can tested contained 1 gal of nonfire-resistant (NFR) hydraulic oil. A container failed the test if it lost its contents in any of seven trials. Contents spilled either as a result of thermal rupture or melting. Fewer than 10 pct of the metal containers failed this criterion, but all the plastic containers failed. The metal container failures were usual-ly due to tipping over during pressure relief, which spilled the NFR oil. Replacing the NFR oil in the container with kerosene resulted in failure of more than 30 pct of the metal containers. The standard tests and preliminary tests showed that plastic containers are not equivalent to metal containers in their ability to contain combustibles such as lubricants and greases in a fire. For solvents and lubricants more volatile than NFR hydraulic oil, approved metal safety containers are recommended.

Jan 1, 1985

By L. D. Tracy

This paper represents work conducted by the Bureau of Mines in cooperation with the Illinois Geological Survey and the Engineering Experiment Station of the University of Illinois.

Jan 1, 1926

By John E. Miller

Supercompressibility factors, Fpv, were derived from experimental compressibility data for five helium-nitrogen mixtures containing from 50 to 100 pct helium. These Fpv values are required as volumetric correction factors for or if ice meter measurement of "crude helium" (helium-nitrogen) purchased by the Government in a program of helium conservation. Although compressibility measurements were made by the Burnett method (2)3 - for pressures from 100 to 3,400 psia and temperatures from 40° to 100° F, Fpv values were needed only for pressures from 400 to 2,000 psia. Consequently, values at increments of 2° F, 2 pct helium, and 10 psia were tabulated only for the required pressure range. Values for pressures outside this range can be calculated from information shown in the tables. Values for the second, third, and fourth coefficients in the equation Z = 1 + BP + CP2 + DP3 are also included.

Jan 1, 1963

By B. C. Burgess

This paper, describing the milling practices at the Minpro plant of the Tennessee Mineral Products Corporation, Spruce Pine, N. C., is the first of a series being prepared by the U.S. Bureau of Mines on feldspar milling methods and costs in the various feldspar producing areas in the United States. It describes not only the latest practices in feldspar grinding but includes studies of the cost of producing ground feldspar. These cost studies, obviously of interest to every consumer and purchaser of feldspar and to all feldspar grinders, are also of value to the small operator, who is generally prone to understimate his real costs. It describes the latest practices in feldspar milling and includes detailed costs of grinding. The cost tabulations presented show operating expenditures only and not total production costs. Details of costs are given only to the extent that they are essential to the technical discussion and study of the methods employed. A description of the recently installed milling unit for the preparation of granular glasspar by graded crushing, and magnetic separation is of particular interest. It illustrates how highly specialized feldspar milling has become, and to what an extent grinders are going to supply consumers with the products best suited for their particular needs.

Jan 1, 1931

By Reinhardt Thiessen

Views and conceptions of the origin, composition, and general nature of coal differ so widely that to determine the real extent of actual knowledge is no easy matter. The chemist finds difficulty in attacking the chemical problems and the engineer lacks a broad chemical basis for the study of his problems. Thus the economical and efficient utilization of coal in the industries suffers from a lack of knowledge of the composition of coal itself. Most scientists interested in this matter, as has been brought out in discussions during the recent investigation of coal problems, appear to have only a vague idea of the components of coal and their origin. Some are even in doubt as to whether substances derived from the wood and resins of plants form a part of coal; and few seem to have more than the dimmest idea of what are the components of coal, the condition in which these now exist, and the transformations that they haye undergone. Although during the paiilt century or more many co.rrect observations have been made and recorded, these were falsely or inadequately interpreted, so that many of the interpretations rendered are contradictory. As a result there has been great confusion. Many of the observations made in the past, although accurate and correct, could not be explained, because the principles involved in a correct solution of the problem were not then known. For example, Parkinson, Hutton, Petzhold, Guembel, and others made valuable discoveries regarding the processes by which plant substances are transformed into coal, but as the principles involved are those of colloidal chemistry, a science not known to the scientific world of that time, the observed facts could not be interpreted and the solution of the whole problem was blocked. The explanation of the true meaning of the alternating bright and dull bands so familiar in all ordinary bituminous coals afforCls another example. This banding has been observed and recorded from the earliest times, and has led to the forming of many false theories. Some gAologists, for example, have endeavored to explain the bands as due to alternating climatic conditions during the coal-forming period. Had the geologists known the true nature of coal they could not have made this mistake nor many others made in the past. To fill in a few of these gaps and to clarify some of the existing confusion is the aim of this paper. The immediate cause that led the author to investigate further the composition of coal and the origin and structure of its constituents was that when an attempt was made to discover the meaning of the coking and noncoking properties of coal a more exact knowledge of the nature of coal was required than was then available.

Jan 1, 1920

By W. L. Dare

This information circular is one of a series the Bureau of Mines plans to publish describing the methods and costs of mining uranium on the Colorado Plateau. The Temple Mountain mining district is unique among the uranium-producing areas on the plateau. This relatively isolated mining district is in Emery County, Utah, on the eastern flank of the San Rafael Swell, about 35 miles southwest of the town of Green River. The district lies just within the eastern escarpment of the San Rafel Reef - a rampart of rugged and tilted sandstone cliffs that encircles the highly eroded core known as the Sinbad Country. The presence of petroleum matter found associated with the ore deposits, the occurrence of uranium in various formations, and the structural deformation caused by collapsed features have aroused a great deal of geologic interest. Mine development on Calyx Flat is distinctive, in that the ore deposits are worked through 36-inch calyx-drill holes.

Jan 1, 1957

By P. H. Francis

In This report, factors which currently enter into the design, manufacture, and quality assurance of explosion-proof enclosures are reviewed, with special emphasis given to the sealing concepts and sealants/cements, per se, for lenses. The physical and mechanical properties of a number of representative sealants and adhesives are measured, and found to exhibit great variance, with few discernible trends which might afford a firm base on which to establish minimum property standards. Accordingly, acceptance criteria for adhesives and sealants are suggested based on the survivability of an explosion-proof enclosure as a structure rather than upon the minimum mat real properties of its constituents. Procedures or surface preparation of adherends, and for quality assurance, also are proposed.

Jan 1, 1980

By J. E. Geier

This Bureau of Mines report reviews hypotheses for the mechanism by which water jets reduce the specific energy of cutting for drag bits. Several of these hypotheses are shown to be inconsistent with published evidence and new observations. The notion of a limiting cutting speed, above which water jets would be incapable of rendering assistance, is shown to be improbable. The hypothesis that seems most plausible is that specific energy reductions are mainly due to the erosion of crushed materials from in front of the bit. This hypothesis leads to a prediction that, for a given rock type and jet-bit configuration at a constant depth of cut, the reduction in bit forces should be a function of dM/dx, the jet energy spent per unit length of cut. This dependence upon dW/dx is shown to be consistent with other workers? results.

Jan 1, 1987

By Merwin H. Howes

In constructing the NORAD Combat Operations Center, controlled blasting techniques were employed to achieve smooth walls and to avoid shattering the rock beyond excavation lines. Extraordinary measures were taken to stabilize the rock to permanently preserve the openings. Rock stabilization was accomplished by means of reinforced concrete and gunite linings, rock boltings, installation of chain-link fabric, and epoxy resin and cement grouting. A particular zone of weakness at a vital location was supported by exceptionally thick reinforced concrete lining, rock bolts, and cement grout.

Jan 1, 1966