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By D. C. Seidel

This report describes generic procedures and equipment arrangements for conducting laboratory-scale hydrometallurgical and related waste-management experiments. It provides a starting point for personnel who have received or are receiving professional training, but do not have specific experience in laboratory procedures. With guidance, it also has application as a resource for technician training. The publication contains chapters on laboratory safety, feed-sample preparation, leaching, solids-liquid separation, and recovery from solution.

Jan 1, 1995

By Robert P. Apa

Energy Incorporated has prepared this final report presenting the results obtained from the program for extracting alumina from anthracite culm along with the recovery of energy. This work has been accomplished under the auspices of the U.S. Bureau of Mines with technical coordination through the bureau's Reno, Nevada facility. The objective of this program was to develop a process to recover alumina and energy from Northeastern Pennsylvania anthracite mining waste. The program included Identification of sufficient resources to support a commercial facility, identification of the operating parameters which maximize alumina and energy recovery, the development of a conceptual process design, preparation of material and energy balance(s), and the performance of a system economical analysis. The program was conducted in three major phases. In the first phase the program concentrated on selecting several anthracite culm banks capable of supporting a commercial alumina producing facility. The chosen banks were then sampled and analyzed leading to the selection of two banks which were chosen far testing. The Harry E. and Eckley culm banks were the ones selected. Material from these banks was tested in Energy Incorporated?s Idaho Falls, Idaho testing facility. Parametric testing was accomplished in an eight-inch-diameter fluidized bed test facility. The test program consisted of twelve separate tests. After critical operating parameters were determined, the second phase started: process development in EI's 18-inch fluidized bed test facility. Three material and energy balance tests were completed in this facility. Following these tests a 72-hour demonstration test was performed. The data acquired from these tests were used in the last phase: the process conceptual design and economic analysis. The design basis was a commercial scale facility capable of producing 500,000 tons of alumina per year for 15 years. Based on the test program, It is technically feasible to build and operate such a plant today. The facility would produce, along with the alumina, 81.5 MWe of electricity for outside consumption. A preliminary rate of return indicates that the plant is not feasible with today's economic conditions. An increase in the market price of either the alumina or the electricity is required to provide an attractive rate of return for the facility.

Jan 1, 1982

These proceedings consist of an introduction, nine descriptive papers, and a summary. The first paper is an overview of the respirable dust research program, the second paper describes the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration's proposed changes in the respirable dust enforcement program, and the third paper describes respirable dust measurement. The remaining papers, by Bureau and contractor personnel, describes methods of reducing the amount of respirable dust to which coal miners are exposed. Of the six methods of reducing exposure to respirable dust described, two are methods of preventing or reducing the amount of respirable dust raised during mining operations, two are methods of collecting or removing dust after it has been released into the mine atmosphere, 2nd two describe methods that are combinations of prevention and collecting .

Jan 1, 1977

By Elaine T. Cullen

Miners, like many skilled blue-collar workers, are not traditional learners. They have not always been successful in classroom-type settings, preferring to learn on the job in a hands-on environment. U.S. law requires that miners have a minimum of 8 hours of safety training annually, plus 40 hours for underground miners and 24 hours for surface miners when they enter the industry. However, miners rarely view this training time positively. In fact, it has been called “safety jail” by many, who regard it as a time to get a little extra sleep While mining has become far safer in the past 100 years, it is still a dangerous occupation. The Office for Mine Safety and Health Research, a part of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), has funded a project for the past 4 years to address this challenge. The purpose of the research was to find a way to develop effective safety training for these people. Miners are born story tellers. They share “near miss” stories, stories about master miners they have known, and stories about how things used to be. These stories not only pass along information about what will happen if a miner fails to respect the mining environment, they also instruct listeners in the culture of mining and the values that it embraces. Stories, it seems, are a way to get safety messages across to miners, especially inexperienced ones, and using older, wiser miners in these stories is an obvious choice. This paper will discuss how a series of training videos was developed, how “master miners” and story lines were chosen, and how the resulting videos have been received in the mining industry.

By Sidney Katell

This report covers the period January 1963 through December 1963; it is a continuation of the series that began with the publication of Information Circular 7516 in October 1949. Also, it is the fifth in a series of reports prepared under a cooperative agreement between the Bureau of Mines and the American Association of Cost Engineers. The agreement provides for the publication of an annual cost bibliography with the work load involved in the preparation shared equally. The abstracted articles, concerned with all facets of cost engineering in the field of chemical and petroleum plants and related subjects, are from the following sources: 1. American Association of Cost Engineers Bulletin. 2. Bureau of Mines Information Circulars. 3. Bureau of Mines Reports of Investigations. 4. Chemical Engineering. 5. Chemical Engineering Progress. 6. Chemical Week. 7. Coal Age. 8. Coal--Today and Tomorrow. 9. Coal Utilization. 3/ 10. Cost Engineering. 11. Hydrocarbon Processing and Petroleum Refiner. 12. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. 13. Nucleonics. 14. Oil and Gas Journal. 15. Petroleum Management. 16. World Oil.

Jan 1, 1964

By Paul J. Remington

The field data gathered as part of the measurements described in Volumes I and II were re-analyzed in the low frequency regime (.1 Hz to 1 Hz) where motion sickness normally occurs. These data were compared co the international standard ?ISO 2631 Addendum 2: Evaluation of exposure to whole body z-axis vertical vibration in the frequency range 0.1 to 1.0 Hz." For both underground mining machines and surface mining machines the results showed that one would not expect motion sickness to .be a severe problem. New field data were gathered on the vibration reduction performance of various seat designs found on surface coal mining machines. The vibration during normal operation was measured on the seat using the standard seat pad accelerometer package described in the previous two volumes and simultaneously on the floor of the machine at the base of the seat. Preliminary indications are that the so-called high performance seats used for operator vibration reduction do not offer significant improvement over conventional seats.

Jan 1, 1984

By Dale William Avery

Thirty mines and prospects were studied; 22 are within the Dolus Lakes RARE II area. Three properties within the area and one adjacent to it were determined to have indicated or inferred gold, silver, or molybdenum resources (fig. 1 and table 1) associated with quartz veins and shear zones or quartz-pyrite stockworks in granodiorite. Five other properties in the area and three just outside have potential for the discovery of gold and silver resources. Minor amounts of very fine-grained placer gold are in glacial outwash in and near the area. The John G. Carlisle Mine (fig. 1, no. 9) produced 120 oz (3.7 kg) of gold between 1897-1899. The Independence Mine produced 481 oz (15 kg) gold, 197 oz (6.1 kg) silver, and 189 lb (86 kg) of copper between 1926 and 1935. These mines are adjacent to the study area's northern boundary.

Jan 1, 1983

By Sidney Katell

This report covers the period January 1963 through December 1963; it is a continuation of the series that began with the publication of Information Circular 7516 in October 1949. Also, it is the fifth in a series of reports prepared under a cooperative agreement between the Bureau of Mines and the American Association of Cost Engineers. The agreement provides for the publication of an annual cost bibliography with the work load involved in the preparation shared equally. The abstracted articles, concerned with all facets of cost engineering in the field of chemical and petroleum plants and related subjects, are from the following sources:

Jan 1, 1964

By Robert E. Manning

At present, a need exists for more effective noise control in the coal-mining industry. In particular, new muffler designs with the required acoustic performance are needed for percussive pneumatic drills. Accordingly, the U. S. Bureau of Mines issued a contract to USS Engineers and Consultants to design a muffler capable of attenuating the noise from the air exhaust of a pneumatic drill. The specific objective of the contract was to design and deliver a prototype muffler that would attenuate the air-exhaust noise to 90 decibels on the A scale (90 dbA). The test drill used in this investigation was one used for roof-bolting purposes in coal mines. Using the combined approach of analysis by digital-computer program and experiment by simulated-noise tests, three prototype mufflers were designed and constructed at U. S. Steel Research. The mufflers consisted of a variety of resonator chambers and expansion-contraction chambers, and were of the following sizes: A muffler with a 3- by 5-inch elliptical cross section and about 8 inches in length. A muffler 5 inches in diameter and about 5-1/2 inches in length. A muffler 5 inches in diameter and about 10-1/2 inches in length. These mufflers were subjected to laboratory tests to determine their effectiveness in attenuating exhaust noise, mechanical noise, total drill noise, and simulated noise. All mufflers reduced the exhaust-noise level by about 25 dbA - from about 115 dbA without a muffler to below 90 dbA with a muffler - and thus were successful in meeting the contract objective. Field tests were conducted with the three prototype mufflers at U. S. Steel's Robena No. 4 Mine, and no icing problem was encountered. A fourth prototype muffler was designed to fit around the leg of the pneumatic drill. Tests showed that this kidney-shaped muffler also reduced the air-exhaust noise to below 90 dbA.

Jan 1, 1973

By Arthur M. Hartstein

The Federal Bureau of Mines, under a contract with Ultrasystems, Inc., investigated the thermal oxidative degradation characteristics of conveyor belts used in underground mines. This included the determination of smoke evolution, glow characteristics, char yields, and the identification and quantification of all volatile decomposition products in the form of gram of specific product formed per gram of belt sample tested. In addition to these investigations, degradation studies were conducted on some pure ingredients used in conveyor-belt formulations. Three basic classes of belts were investigated: neoprene, polyvinyl chloride, and styrene-butadiene rubber compositions. The studies indicate that styrene-butadiene-based belts exhibit good flame resistance and are the least hazardous in regard to overall formation of toxic decomposition products. Under this program, thermogravimetric analysis was definitely established as a method of material differentiation.

Jan 1, 1976

By J. O. Lewis, Carl H. Beal

The material for this paper was collected for the most part by C. H. Beal during the years 1916, 1917, and 1918. Many of the conclusions reached in regard to the life of oil wells have already been published by the Bureau of Mines 1 but those presented in this paper deal particularly with the theoretical aspects of oil production. The report discusses some of the fundamental factors governing oil production, taking up first the conditions affecting the. amount of oil in the oil sand, then those factors that control the rate of production of oil wells, and then discusses several related problems, most of which deal particularly with the effect of the production of one well on that of another.

Jan 1, 1921

By Frank D. McGuirk

Underground coal mining is traditionally hazardous. Although many danger-prone human activities are now performed by mechanized equipment, this mechanization has itself brought new dangers to the underground mining industry, and the loss of life and limb has caused increased concern for mine safety. The 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act has precipitated a great deal of safety-related research on the part of the Government, industry, and private agencies. Much of this safety research has been focused on the new and varied man-machine interfaces caused by increased mechanization. Recent projects in this area have dealt with standardized controls, emergency shutdown capabilities (panic bars, strike plates, self-centering controls, "dead man" controls), and machine operator protective devices (fully enclosed cabs, canopies, side rails). There was a need for integration of the findings of current and past projects to move rapidly toward the smooth, orderly implementation of standardized operator work station designs for underground mining equipment.

Jan 1, 1975

By Carl Sunderman, Steve Signer

Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have developed several new tools for evaluating roof support performance. A miniature data acquisition system (MIDAS) was developed that can collect readings from up to 16 strain gauges at regular time intervals and store the readings for later retrieval. Three LED lights change from green to yellow, then red, based on the reading levels and/or rates of change of rock movement. This feature can be used to warn miners of rock instabilities. The system can be used with any strain-gauged support (resin bolt, friction bolt, cable bolt) or with a newly developed rock strain strip (ROSS) developed by NIOSH to measure rock strain. A ROSS is grouted in a hole drilled adjacent to the rock support to be evaluated; the deformed shape of the ROSS provides anchorage on either side of the strain gauges. Data from both laboratory tests and field evaluations are presented that describe the capabilities of both the MIDAS and ROSS instruments.

By Douglas F. Scott

In 1985, at the request of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Bureau of Mines studied an 11,980-acre part of the 33,300-acre High Rock Canyon Wilderness Study Area, CA-020-913B, in order to evaluate its identified mineral resources. No mineral resources were identified during this study, and no significant amounts of gold, silver, mercury, gem-grade opal, or placer gold are present. The study area is located in Washoe County, NV, about 53 miles southeast of Cedarville, CA. No mining districts or mineral production are known, and no oil and gas leases are in the area. No current claims are in the area; however, six placer claims were located in 1911 in High Rock Canyon near its confluence with Mahogany Creek.

Jan 1, 1987

By Sabri Ergun

Cost estimates and technical feasibility are compared for six chemical coal cleaning technologies. The comparison is based on conceptual application of the chemical cleaning methods for removal of pyritic and organic sulfur from a utility grade bituminous coal. The process layout includes receipt of 8,000 tpd ROM coal, fine coal pulverizing, desulfurization, and preparation of a compacted clean coal suitable for storage and shipment. The methods are: the Magnex iron pentacarbonyl process, the KVB dry oxidation process, the Battelle hydrothermal caustic leaching precess, the TRW Meyers ferric ion leaching process, the Ledgemont oxygen/water leaching process, and the Bureau of Mines/Energy Research and Development Administration air/water leaching process. Capital costs estimated for the desulfurization operation alone, scaled to 8,000 tpd, range between $14 MM and $122 MM, while estimated operating costs for desulfurization alone on the same scale of operation range between $7 and $17 per ton clean coal produced. Relatively little is known about the chemical cleaning of coal, and present cost estimates indicate that the method might not be competitive at its present state of development when used alone to clean utility grade coals for sulfur removal. The principal attractiveness of chemical coal cleaning lies in its potential for combination with physical cleaning to produce cost competitive compliance coals in a combined process with high-Btu yields.

Jan 1, 1977

By Andrew M. Leszcykowski

In 1984, personnel from the U.S. Bureau of Mines examined 41,550 acres of the North Fork Owyhee River Wilderness Study Area for mineral resources. This study area, in southwestern Idaho, is underlain by tuffs and basalt of Tertiary age. There are no known mines, claims, or prospects in or near the area. The northeast and southwest corners of the area are covered by oil and gas leases or lease applications, but no known exploration has been conducted. On Nickel Creek and Pleasant Valley Tables, in the southern part of the area, thin flows of vesicular, moss-covered basalt occur that are suitable for use as decorative building stone. The stone available for exploitation crops out over several square miles. However, more suitable material, outside the study area, is closer to potential markets.

Jan 1, 1986

By Northcutt Ely

This volume summarizes mining and petroleum legislation in 45 African jurisdictions. Within these jurisdictions, primary attention is given to requirements that must be met in each country for acquisition of rights to permit development of mineral resources. Coverage includes: First, identification of the controlling laws or statutes governing minerals acquisition and reference to the administrative authority; second, analysis of the laws governing mines and quarries and their products; third, analysis of laws applicable to natural gas, petroleum, and related materials; and fourth, mention of laws regulating offshore operations. Where pertinent, sections dealing with historical background or administration have been added. In countries where minerals are subject to control of states or provinces, those areas are considered separately from the central government.

Jan 1, 1974

By Mirza A. Beg

The Piedmont physiographic province of east-central Alabama lies in a humid subtropical climatic zone. Such an area with mature land forms underlain by rocks rich in feldspars provides conditions condusive to development of gibbsite, a major source of alumina; a raw material for which the United States relies on foreign suppliers for 85 percent of its needs. Gibbsite occurs in the northern and inner sections of the Piedmont Province of Alabama in Coosa, Clay, Randolph, Chambers, Elmore, Tallapoosa and Lee Counties in soils and saprolite derived from amphibolites, granites, feldspathic hornblende gneiss and other gneissic rocks. The major occurrences of gibbsite are in areas underlain by hornblende gneiss in Chambers and Randolph Counties. This region provides the proper physiographic and mineralogical setting for large areas containing up to 25 percent of saprolitic gibbsite. These areas provide potential sources of alumina that could be used to meet the United States future needs. Narrow zones and pockets rich in gibbsite also occur in soil and saprolite derived from areally restricted feldspar rich zones of narrow linear amphibolites in the inner Piedmont and feldspathic zones in various granites distributed throughout the Piedmont.

Jan 1, 1982

By J. O. Lewis

In its efforts to reduce waste, and increase efficiencyin oil production, the Bureau of Mines is investigating methods of increasing the recovery from the underground sources of supply, which are the foundation of the petroleum industry and the many allied industries wholly or partly dependent on it. In the face of a demand that is increasing faster than the production and that, in the consensus of opinions of well-informed authorities, is soon likely to outstrip the productive capacity, it is well to consider whether it is not possible to extract more oil from the known sources of supply. It is universally acknowledged that by the usual production methods much oil is left underground, the general opinion being that at least 50 per cent of the oil in a field remains unrecovered when the field is abandoned as exhausted. From the writer's own investigations he believes the average recovery is even less, and if any considerable portion of this oil being left underground could he made available it would have a tremendously favorable influence on the petroleum industry and all the industries dependent on it. In this publication are considered the principles involved in increasing recovery and methods of extracting more oil from the oilbearing formations than by the usual ways of producing. These methods are: The use of gas or vacuum pumps, forcing compressed air or gas through the oil-bearing formations, displacing the oil by water, and better utilization of the natural pressures in the oilhearing formations. Especial attention is being given to a processcommonly known as the Smith-Dunn-for forcing compressed air through oil-bearing formations because it is believed to hold most promise for the future.

Jan 1, 1917

This report, the second in an annual series, summarizes information on latest technological developments and advances, and identifies trends in mining and metallurgy based on a review of activities in the minerals industry in 1971. Exploration and mining data obtained from an annual canvass are presented for 1971 and are compared with similar data obtained over the past decade.

Jan 1, 1973