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By J. A. Cavallaro

This Bureau of Mines report describes the preparation characteristics of 10 coal samples collected from the significant coal-producing mines of Lucas, Mahaska, Marion, Monroe, and Wapello Counties in Iowa, with special emphasis on physical desulfurization. All 10 samples were of high sulfur content as received, ranging from 4.2 to 10.4 percent; the organic sulfur content ranged from 0.8 to 3.8 percent. The pyritic sulfur content of the samples could be appreciably reduced by crushing and washing and provided pyritic sulfur reductions ranging from 36 to 75 percent. Crushing to 3/8-inch top size and removing the sink 1.60 specific gravity material would provide float coal products containing 3.5 to 6.0 percent sulfur. However, these coals could be burned at utility plants utilizing SO2 removal processes with efficiencies ranging from 70 to 88 percent and still be in compliance with the current Federal SO2 emission regulations for stationary sources.

Jan 1, 1973

By John J. Sammarco

The U.S. Bureau of Mines is conducting research into computer-assisted mining, which requires investigation of new techniques for development and application of computer-based technologies. Today's technology can require significant effort in software development, as has become evident in the early stages of this Bureau research. Technologies for software automation, such as computer-aided software engineering (CASE), are available. This report explores CASE, its general features, and its importance in software development. Information is presented to assist in selection and application of the variety of CASE tools and methods for automating various stages of software development. When evaluating CASE for use, it is important to examine tools that support an organization's existing methods of software development. Support for existing hardware platforms must also be examined. Merely selecting a "good" CASE tool does not insure success. Thorough evaluation of implementing CASE is also critical. Subjects to evaluate for CASE implementation include organization culture, support from management and end users, training resources, and pilot projects. Organizations that benefit the most from CASE evaluate CASE features with respect to their needs and they properly implement CASE.

Jan 1, 1990

By Ned Baker

This report describes the development, construction and testing of a hydrogen-fueled underground mining vehicle. A hydrogen burning engine and a hydride fuel system, both previously developed, were installed on a modified utility vehicle, together with the necessary controls. In tests and in actual use, the vehicle performance in terms of speed, acceleration, and gradeability exceeded that of the standard, unmodified vehicle.

Jan 1, 1985

By W. H. Young

In response to increasing national energy requirements. highlighted by the continuing growth in demand for coal for the generation of electric power the output of bituminous coal and lignite in 1965 passed the 500-million-ton mark for the first time since 1956, thus emphasizing the steady up-ward trend from the recent low of 403 million tons in 1961. There were corresponding upward trends in consumption, exports mechanization, and productivity. Production.-The output of bituminous coal and lignite in the United States in 1965-512 million tons-was 5 percent greater than the 487 million tons produced in 1964. The gain was attributed largely to expanded consumption by the electric utilities, greater use at coke ovens, and an increase in exports.

Jan 1, 1967

[~lis is the f'fth in a ~erieG of reports on properties of commercial motor fuels, made in accordance 1,'Vi t:h fl cooperative ae,ree-ment betwGon tho Cooperative Fuel ReRRarch (e.F.R.) Committee and the Bureau of I ines of the Dcpart~ent nf the Interior. The first report gave data on motor r-asolino~ sold during the wintor of 935-36.31 Thi~ report covers 84 brands of ga~oline represented by l,722 samples exclurling the Pacific Coast. T 3)Se J.rom th~. ?~'tcific Coast IV .ro avnrL)f:od b~r tho Pacific Coa!3t tecilnical group "bofore o8ing submi ttcd ruld arc p~.lbl:'shcd GX Gtl~r as they were submi tted. In some areas r~lJort~ . erc roceivod f~om ~ ix to eicht compD.l1ie~ on the same brands of gasoline. whoruar. in other areas only one company reported on a brond. Thut., it CU .. "! be senn that BO .. 0 uf the dnt ;.U'e more rCY>l'c entat vc thM others. The inclusion of r~0rts fro:n several ci tie. w' thin somo of tho di stricts has ir.rpr,)vcd the report by reducinc; tr.e numb~r of brand rcportel by only ono company. ]

Jan 1, 1938

[~lis is the f'fth in a ~erieG of reports on properties of commercial motor fuels, made in accordance 1,'Vi t:h fl cooperative ae,ree-ment betwGon tho Cooperative Fuel ReRRarch (e.F.R.) Committee and the Bureau of I ines of the Dcpart~ent nf the Interior. The first report gave data on motor r-asolino~ sold during the wintor of 935-36.31 Thi~ report covers 84 brands of ga~oline represented by l,722 samples exclurling the Pacific Coast. T 3)Se J.rom th~. ?~'tcific Coast IV .ro avnrL)f:od b~r tho Pacific Coa!3t tecilnical group "bofore o8ing submi ttcd ruld arc p~.lbl:'shcd GX Gtl~r as they were submi tted. In some areas r~lJort~ . erc roceivod f~om ~ ix to eicht compD.l1ie~ on the same brands of gasoline. whoruar. in other areas only one company reported on a brond. Thut., it CU .. "! be senn that BO .. 0 uf the dnt ;.U'e more rCY>l'c entat vc thM others. The inclusion of r~0rts fro:n several ci tie. w' thin somo of tho di stricts has ir.rpr,)vcd the report by reducinc; tr.e numb~r of brand rcportel by only ono company.]

Jan 1, 1938

This manual provides instructions for installling, operating, and maintaining protective canopies on the Joy Mfg. Co. cutter. These instructions are based upon two actual installations: one made in a mine and one in the factory. The parts list and engineering drawings for the protective canopies are included at the end of the manual. And a discussion of some alternative design concepts is also included. The manual can also be used for retrofitting other cutters with similar protective canopies. Skilled mechanics can determine if the instructions herein would be applicable to the other cutters and can determine any necessary modifications if they are not.

Jan 1, 1973

By John H. Weitz

Dolomite, heretofore regarded merely as a variety of commonplace limestone, has suddenly attained headline prominence, partly because of the increase in demand for dolomite refractories to line metallurgical furnaces now working at an unprecedented rate of activity, but chiefly because it has become an ore of the light-weight metal, magnesium, needed in vast quantities for the manufacture of war machines. A multitude of inquiries, chiefly from war agencies and prespective operators, for data not only on locations of dolomite deposits but on their size and quality, has made it necessary for the Bureau of Mines to assemble all information available on this important subject. From the Bureau's own records, published information, and correspondence, date on locutions, extent, thickness, accessibility, workability, and chemical composition of high-grade dolomite deposits throughout the United states were accumulated for presentation herein. The report includes about 1,000 tabulations of analyses and a map showing locations of the deposits. The uses of dolomite are discussed in Bureau of Mines Information Circular 7192, "Occurrences and Uses of Dolomite in the United-States," published in 1941. The cordial corporation of many State ecological surveys and various individuals who have contributed information is gratefully acknowledged.

Jan 1, 1942

By W. E. Robinson

Oil-shale kerogen was processed into oil and oil products before the first oil well was completed by Drake in 1859. However, because of economic and other advantages, natural petroleum has been the principal source of liquid fuels and lubricants since 1859 and is a convenient root of many [organic] chemicals in common use today. In recent years the difference has narrowed between the cost of producing liquid fuels from well petroleum and other sources. This narrowing of cost difference has resulted both from the increased cost of finding new sources of petroleum in the United States and the experimental demonstration of lowered costs for synthetic liquid fuels by the Federal Bureau of Mines and by industry. Available petroleum resources of this country are being reduced and eventually may be inadequate to meet the demand. Alternate means of assuring an adequate supply of liquid fuels for this country include the development of processes for utilizing other carbonaceous materials such as oil shale and coal.

Jan 1, 1960

By G. L. Oldright

In the first paper of this series (R. 1. 4333) on the cooperative work with the Eagle-Pitcher Mining & Smelting Co., changes in the nature of the sinter feed were measured by corresponding changes in the retorting temperatures necessary to distill zinc at the best rates; the firing schedules summarized such changes. In this paper, third of the series, are noted same of the changes in practice that were brought about by the need to treat more fused, glassy, and "hard" sinter, as the operators qualify it. Losses of uncondensed zinc were increased by adding zinc-bearing materials from which? the zinc was readily distillable to hard sinter requiring higher-temperatures for zinc distillation. The rates of zinc distillation were increased by grinding the fuel finer; there were few benefits and loss of dust on grinding the sinter finer, unless the fine ?coal and fine sinter were brought into contact by pelletizing, and the pellets made but little dust.

Jan 1, 1948

By Paul M. Tyler

Calcium chloride is a conspicuous example of a former waste product that has found a place for itself in the onward march of civilization. Formerly considered a troublesome constituent of the effluent sewage of many chemical manufacturing plants and salt works, it has now become a commercial product of substantial importance, with sales aggregating almost six million dollars in 1929. The point has not yet been reached where it would seem profitable to undertake large-scale production of calcium chloride as a main product, but as a byproduct it has become an item that warrants serious consideration by all who are in a position to recover it at sufficiently low cost. The largely increased demand for bromine and for certain magnesium salts, which are likewise potential byproducts associated with calcium chloride in most salt-works bitterns (and brines generally), adds further impetus to commercial research directed toward the fuller utilization of the natural saline resources of the United States.

Jan 1, 1934

By K. O. Bennington

Cancrinite is one eonstituentof "red muds," a high-volume waste product of alumina production by the Bayer process. The Bureau of Mines determined the thermochemical properties of cancrinite as part of a program to provide such data for minerals of industrial importance. Cancrinite [Na7.68(A16Si6024)(N03)1.68 (H2O)4.1] was synthesized by reacting aluminum silicate gel with a solution of NaOH and NaN03, and the composition was determined by chemical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. The heat of solution was determined by hydrofluoric acid solution calorimetry. The standard enthalpy of formation at 298.15 K, ?Hf°298, is ?Hf°298 = -3,487.97 ±2.6 kcal/mol, and the standard enthalpy of formation from the oxides and NaN03, ?H°298, is ?H°298 = -215.20 ±l.8 kcal/mol.

Jan 1, 1983

By Albert H. Clough

The West Lynn Canal subarea of the Juneau Mining District (JMD) is defined by Lynn Canal on the east, Davidson Glacier to the north, Icy Strait to the south and the Glacier Bay National Park Boundary to the west (figs. C-l and C-2). This area extends along the main-land west of Juneau (across Lynn Canal) northerly, to approximately 20 miles south of the city of Haines. The only roads in the area are relatively new logging roads at the southern end constructed to support a U.S. Forest Service timber sale. There is also local road access near the community of Excursion Inlet. Access to the remainder of the region is either by boat, aircraft, or 'foot. Helicopters provide the only time effective access to all but the coastal parts of the West Lynn Canal subarea. Coastal areas may be reached by small boat or float aircraft. There is an unimproved dirt airstrip just north of the mouth of the Endicott River. This airstrip is suitable for use by light aircraft. The subarea lies within the Tongass National Forest and is managed by the Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service. Approximately two-thirds of the forest lands are open to mineral entry under the current Tongass Land Management plan. The remaining forest lands comprise the Endicott River Wilderness area, which is closed to mineral entry. Private lands within the study area are sparse, with scattered homestead tracts along the coastal regions and in the Excursion Inlet area. Sealaska (Southeast Alaska Regional Native Corporation) also has land selections in the southern Chilkat Range. Tidal and submerged lands are owned by the State of Alaska.

Jan 1, 2012

By H. S. Auvil

[Coals of low-volatile rank cannot be coked without admixing large proportions of high-volatile cod in the used type of byproduct-coke oven, because they expend excessively and. exert side thrust, which ruins the oven wells. Some medium-volatile coals also give trouble. Since high-rank coals produce a strong, blocky coke, it is desirable to have the rank as high as practicable, particularly in the manufacture of foundry coke. Accordingly, it has become the practice to mix or blend high-volatile shrinking coals with as much low-volatile coal as possible and still have a mixture that mill not deform the walls or cause difficulty in pushing the coke. Occasionally, the safe limit of low-volatile cool has been exceeded and ovens have been damaged. It is desirable, therefore, to have a reliable method of determining the expending tendencies of mixtures before they are charged into the ovens. Furthermore, coal changes somewhat in its properties as mining progresses, end therefore, mixtures found to be safe at one time may cease to be so subsequently, particularly if nearly the maximum allowable percentage of low-volatile coal is being used. ]

Jan 1, 1938

By H. S. Auvil

[Coals of low-volatile rank cannot be coked without admixing large proportions of high-volatile coal in the usual type of byproduct-coke oven, because they expand excessively and exert side thrust, which ruins the oven walls. Some medium-volatile coals also give trouble. Since high-rank coals produce a strong, blocky coke, it is desirable to have the rank as high as practicable, particularly in the manufacture of foundry coke. Accordingly, it has become the practice to mix or blend high-volatile shrinking, coals with as much low-volatile coal as possible and still have a mixture that will not deform the walls or cause difficulty in pushing the coke. Occasionally, the safe limit of low-volatile coal has been exceeded and ovens have been damaged. It is desirable, therefore, to rave a reliable method of determining the expanding tendencies of mixtures before they are charged into the ovens. Furthermore, coal charges somewhat in its properties as mining progresses, and therefore, mixtures found to be safe at one time may cease to be so subsequently, particularly if nearly the maximum allowable percentage of low-volatile coal is being used.]

Jan 1, 1938

This report, the fourth in an annual series, outlines recent trends and developments in the minerals industry. Discussed are new methods, equipment, techniques, and systems used to more effectively extract and process mineral products. Environmental considerations, health and safety standards, price controls, inflation, material shortages, and more dependence on foreign imports were problems faced by the minerals industry. Although productivity increased for most mineral commodities, the annual rate of increase has slowed in recent years, indicating a maturing technological situation. Growing concern for energy resulted in increased interest and research in alternative fuel sources. The primary concerns of metallurgists were pollution control and improved efficiency and performance of metallurgical processes, especially for reduction of energy consumption.

Jan 1, 1974

By Raja V. Rarnani, Robert L. Frantz

More than 100 scientists from diverse professional backgrounds have contributed their expertise to the Dust Center as investigators. Approximately 50 researchers served as principal investigators, with responsibility for directing the work on Center projects, from experimental design and implementation in mines and in laboratories to coordination of efforts within the research infrastructure of the Center. The professional biographies which follow demonstrate the breadth and depth of research capabilities brought to the Center by its principal investigators.

Jan 1, 1995

By Robert H. Peters

Several significant problems associated with employee turnover among underground miners are described in this Bureau of Mines report. Although a vast amount of research has been conducted on turnover among employees in nonmining industries, there has never been an attempt to empirically investigate the causes of turnover among underground miners. This report presents the results of empirical research on employee turnover in other industries and describes and critiques the research methods that have been used to investigate turnover. Using the findings on employee turnover in other industries and known data about miners and the mining industry, a conceptual model of the factors that cause turnover among miners was generated. This model, which is expected to provide a basis for later empirical studies, is presented. Several recommendations for controlling miner turnover are also presented.

Jan 1, 1986

By Leland H. Johnson, D. O. Kennedy, John Hyvarenen

"SUMMARYA chronological list of accidents at metal and nonmetal mines and quarries (excluding coal mines) in the United States in which five or more lives were lost has been compiled. Many accidents were described in more detail because of their unusual features. Tables have been included to indicate the number of major disasters and fatalities by the principal product mined, by State, and by 10-year intervals prior to 1945. The number of men employed to indicate man-hours exposed is unavailable; therefore, a true picture of disaster data by principal product mined, by State, and by 10-year intervals is not possible. However, the data are presented to indicate the causes of major accidents and bring to the attention of those affiliated with metal and nonmetal mines and quarries the hazards involved and lessons that can be practiced to keep such accidents at a minimum.INTRODUCTIONThe Bureau of Mines was requested to compile a chronological list of accidents at metal and nonmetal mines and quarries (excluding coal mines) in the United States in which five or more lives were lost. Data have been assembled on accidents from all causes in these mines and quarries from the earliest available information (describ¬ing an underground mine fire in Nevada in 1869) to the last reported major accident (a fire at a company-owned bunkhouse in Arizona in 1945).The accounts of the accidents were taken from articles in the technical press and from published and unpublished reports of the Bureau of Mines. Many of the accidents have been selected for more detailed descriptions because of the unique circumstances and to show the variety of dangers involved.Tables are included to indicate the number of major accidents, with resultant fatalities, by the principal metal and nonmetal producing groups, by State, and by 10-year intervals previous to 1945. The interval 1869-1875 does not cover a 10-year span because of incomplete records previous to 1869.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe information contained in this report was obtained from the Engineering and Mining Journal from 1874 to 1947, the Mining and Scientific Press from 1908 through 1922, from various published and unpublished reports of the Bureau of Mines and from reports by State departments of mines. Daniel Harrington, retired chief of the Health and Safety Division; E. H. Denny, supervising engineer, District H; R. M. Loucks, mining engineer; and other engineers of the Division contributed much valuable information and assisted materially in the study."

Apr 1, 1949

By F. P. Haver

The Bureau of Mines has investigated the electrochemical reduction of lead chloride as a method for producing lead without the pollution problems associated with smelting. It was determined that high-purity metal (>99.9 pct Pb) could be obtained, using PbC12 prepared by ferric chloride leaching of galena concentrate: PbS + 2FeCl3?PbCl2 + 2FeC12 + S°. Optimum results in small-scale electrolytic tests were achieved with a bath consisting of 40 to 70 wt-pct PbCl2 dissolved in KC1-LiCl eutectic, an operating temperature of 450° C, a current density of 2.5 amp/in2, and an electrode spacing of 0.5 inch. In large-scale tests made to develop a cell design for commercial application, the optimum electrode arrangement proved to be a bipolar configuration with horizontal plates. This gave a current efficiency of 86 pct with an energy requirement of 0.52 kwhr/lb lead. To determine the effect of impurity buildup in the bath, 1,200 lb of PbC12 prepared by ferric chloride leaching of galena concentrate was electrolyzed over a period of 2 months. Little deterioration of the metal quality occurred in that time; all of the lead produced had a purity equal to or better than corroding grade (>99.94 pct Pb).

Jan 1, 1976