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Coal research and technologic work by the Bureau of Mines covers a broad program of investigation aimed at conservation and utilization of this important natural resource. Conservation is served by a constant search for higher efficiencies in mining, preparation, and use. Increased utilization is sought through various projects that probe new ways to use coal and expand existing coal markets. This report, the twenty-eighth in the series,3 gives the highlights of Bureau of Mines coal research and technologic work in 1963. The scope and complexity of the program makes it virtually impossible to report all progress on every project, even tor a 12-month period. Full insight into each project can be gained only through intensive review of basic objectives, past accomplishments, and current status of the work. Details of the work are given in numerous publications issued by the Bureau and its laboratories and centers located throughout the country.

Jan 1, 1964

Coal research and technologic work by the Bureau of Mines covers a broad program of investigation aimed at conservation and utilization of this important natural resource. Conservation is served by a constant search for higher efficiencies in mining, preparation, and use. Increased utilization is sought through various projects that probe new ways to use coal and expand existing coal markets. This report, the twenty-eighth in the series,3 gives the highlights of Bureau of Mines coal research and technologic work in 1963. The scope and complexity of the program makes it virtually impossible to report all progress on every project, even tor a 12-month period. Full insight into each project can be gained only through intensive review of basic objectives, past accomplishments, and current status of the work. Details of the work are given in numerous publications issued by the Bureau and its laboratories and centers located throughout the country.

Jan 1, 1964

By R. A. Meyer

A table that greatly simplifies determination of metastable transitions in mass spectra has been prepared. All the mathematically possible metastable transitions of any compound whose molecular weight lies between 26 and 150 can be determined from the table without calculation. The method of utilizing the table is described, using selected peaks from the spectrum of normal butane for illustration. In the mass spectrometer, ions are formed in the isatron and accelerated through a series of slits. Most of these ions reach the collector without further change, but a few dissociate in transit to form new ions. These ions appear in the mass spectrum at neither the mass--to-charge ratio (m/e) of the original ion nor that of the new ion. A formula that relates the appearance of these new ions to the ion from which they were formed is: [ ]

Jan 1, 1957

By M. H. Kline

Round Mountain is one of a number of locations investigated by the Bureau of Mines in its search for manganese deposits during the early phases at the strategic minerals program. The Suiter mine, on Round Mountain, had provided some 5,000 tons of manganese concentrates during the period 1917 to 1919, and early in 1941 prospecting by the Virginia Hardwood Lumber Co. in this same area had discovered manganese on what later became known as the Hall Pit. These promising indications encouraged the Bureau to begin an exploration project in search of additional reserves of manganese on Round Mountain in January 1942 (fig. 1).

Jan 1, 1948

By Steven J. Page

Since 1982 standard calibration materials recommended for respirable crystalline silica analysis by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) P7 Infrared Method and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) X-ray Diffraction (XRD) Analytical Method 7500 have undergone minor changes in size distribution. However, a critical assumption has been made that the crystalline silica in ambient mine atmosphere respirable dust samples has also remained essentially unchanged in particle size distribution. The objective of this work, therefore, is to compare recent particle size distributions of underground coal mine dust and the silica component of these dusts with estimated aerodynamic particle size distributions of calibration standard materials MIN-U-SIL 5, Berkeley 5, and SRM 1878 used by two crystalline silica analysis techniques. This work provides resolution to a previously reported discrepancy involving the proper sample dilution for the particle sizing method used. Dust impactor sampling data for various locations in 13 underground coal mines were collected between 1991 and 1998 and analyzed for the respirable mass median aerodynamic diameters. The data suggest that the MSHA P7 Method will underestimate the silica content of the sample by at most 8.5 % in the median size range of 0.9–3.6 µm and that it is unlikely one would obtain any significant error in the MSHA P7 Method analysis when the method uses Berkeley 5, MIN-U-SIL 5, or SRM 1878 as a calibration standard material. The results suggest that the NIOSH Analytical Method 7500 would be more appropriate for a dust sample that is representative of the total (no cyclone classifier) rather than the respirable airborne dust, particularly since the mass fraction in the size range below 4 µm is usually a small percentage of the total airborne dust mass. However, the NIOSH Analytical Method 7500 is likely to underestimate the silica content of an airborne respirable dust sample by only 5–10 %. The results of this study also suggest that any changes that may have occurred in the median respirable size of airborne coal mine dust are not significant enough to cause any appreciable error in the current methods used for respirable crystalline silica analysis.

Aug 3, 2005

By Frank G. Schwartz

VARIABLES OF composition and environment affecting storage stability of gasoline-type fuels were studied, utilizing radioactive tracers and other analytical techniques. Changes in gasoline composition brought about by aging were determined and correlated with gum formation. The amounts of reaction of selected gasoline components, measured by radioactive tracers, were determined in a gasoline-type blend and in a mixture of 17 selected pure gasoline components. The data show that sulfur compounds, nitrogen compounds, polycyclics, and olefins enter into gum-forming reactions. Certain sulfur and nitrogen compounds were found to be most reactive in the gum-forming process. Results of this study indicate that the aromatic constituents of gasolines may contribute substantially and directly to gum formation. A mixture of tetralin and indan-type compounds is reactive, and this mixture appears to be the main aromatic portion entering into gum formation. A secondary but significant amount of naphthalenes also appears to have reacted in the gum-forming process. Analyses of the sulfm compounds in a fresh and an aged fuel indicated that elemental sulfur, hydrogen sulfide, thiols, sulfides, and disulfides were depleted during aging, but thiophenes and residual sulfur compounds were not depleted by fuel deterioration.

Jan 1, 1964

By Raymond B. Ladoo

Toward the end of 1920 , the average grades of ground feldspar offered to the pottery industry were so poor and so generally unsatisfactory that many of the largest consumers decided to take active steps for their own protection . A few of the potters made arrangements to grind their own feldspar , while others asked the Bureau of Mines to make a detailed study of the problem and to suggest methods of improvement . Accordingly such a study was undertaken, the partial results of which are outlined in this preliminary report . The outstanding features of the present feldspar industry which are of interest in this connection are stated below. (1 ) Many grinding companies do not own or control all or even a major part of their sources of crude material , but buy in job lots from many sources . (2 ) There is great need of more adequate engineering and chemical control over mines and mills . ( 3) ~ Out of date , inefficient methods and equipment for mining and grinding are in common use . (4) Little or no cooperation exists between feldspar producers , but on the contrary many feldspar companies are exceedingly secretive . This tends towards (a) preservation of obsolete methods ; ( b ) want of knowledge of the essential features of production , market requirements , and the relation between total milling and consuming capacities of the country; ( c ) inefficient and often mistaken trade practices ; ( d) unprofitable and even ruinous competition in dull periods . (5) The small size of many feldspar deposits precludes maintenance of an efficient organization at each individual mine . ( 6 ) Many of the best deposits of feldspar situated close to railroads are becoming depleted , which results in gradual lowering of grades , and increase in cost for better grades . (7) There is a lack of exact mowledge of the ceramic properties and behaviour of feldspar by some consumers , which results in ( a) purchase of feldspar on the basis of price alone , thus encouraging low production costs at the expense of quality , and ( b) inefficient and expensive cross- hauling of both crude and ground feldspar .

Jan 1, 1922

By T. A. Evans

The Bureau of Mines conducted a Laboratory and pilot-plant investigation of the flotation of iron sulfides from zinc-lead mill tailings near Platteville, in south-western Wisconsin, at the North Central Experiment Station, Minneapolis, Minn. The procedures used and the results obtained in this investigation are described in this report. Samples for laboratory tests were obtained from each mill in the district, namely, Calumet & Hecla, Inc., Eagle-Picher Co., Vinegar Hill Zinc Co., and Tri-State Zinc, Inc. The sample fat pilot-plant work was obtained from the Davis Mining Enterprises mill.

Jan 1, 1957

Many USBM research and information products are available through the systems or formats listed below: Mines FaxBack: Return fax service. 1. Use the touch-tone handset attached to your fax machine's telephone jack. (ISDN [digital] telephones cannot be used with fax machines.) 2. Dial 202/219 3644. 3. Listen to the menu options and punch in the number of your selection, using the touch-tone telephone. 4. After completing your selection, press the start button o your fax machine. Mines Data: Computer bulletin board. Log on via modem through 202/501-0373, or call 202/501-0406 for technical assistance. CD-ROM: This USBM disk is updated quarterly and sold by GPO's Superintendent of Documents. For information on the latest product, please contact Rodger Wedgeworth, 202/501-9557. Internet/World Wide Web: Text and graphics. Access via PC-based browsing software such as Netscape or Mosaic. Universal Resource Locator (URL) is: http:/www.usbm.gov Internet/Gopher Server Text and tables only. Using Gopher client software, access via port 70 as follows: gopher.usbm.gov Internet System Administrator: webmaster@usbm.gov (or contact your local System Administrator).

Jan 1, 1995

By Rita D. Sylvester

"IntroductionThe Bureau of Mines was established in the public interest to conduct inquiries and scientific and technologic investigations concerning mining and the preparation, treatment, and utilization of mineral substances; to promote health and safety in the mineral industries; to conserve material resources and prevent their waste; to further economic development; to increase efficiency in the mining, metallurgical, quarrying, and other mineral industries; and to inquire into the economic conditions affecting these industries. The organic act of the Bureau, as amended by Congress and approved February 25, 1913, made it the province and duty of the Bureau to ""disseminate information concerning these subjects in such manner as will best carry out the purposes of this Act.""In accordance with this directive, the Bureau reports the findings of its research and investigations in its own series of publications and also in articles that appear in scientific, technical, and trade journals; in proceedings of conventions and seminars; in reference books; and in other non-Bureau publications. The number of these reports, the wide range of subjects they cover, and the variety of mediums in which they appear make the kind of list and index presented in this special publication both necessary and valuable. This issue describes reports and articles published during the period January I, 1965, to December 31, 1969. It supplements the 50-year list of Bureau publications issued from July 1, 1910, to January I, 1960;' the 50-year list of articles by Bureau authors published outside the Bureau from July 1, 1910, to January I, 1960;3 the 5-year list of Bureau publications and articles from January I, 1960, to December 31, 1964.' It includes all the material in the four annual lists of Bureau publications and articles from January 1, 1965, to December 31, 1968, as well as the Bureau publications and articles for 1969."

Jan 1, 1970

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 Michael W. Redifer

A Fortran IV computer program was developed to calculate the composition at equilibrium of products from a set of high-temperature gas combustion reactions. The program was used to develop high-temperature equilibrium concentration profiles for various constituents as a function of temperature and oxygen concentration. The computer program was specifically applied to reactions pertaining to the corrosion of superheater tubes in pulverized coal-fired boilers; however, it is useful for any multicomponent, multireaction scheme in which equilibrium constant data can be obtained and is comprised of gaseous reactants along with finely dispersed solids or liquids. General applicability of the computer program, including its limitations, are discussed along with detailed instructions for using the program.

Jan 1, 1973

By E. Don Dilling, W. F. Holbrook, Lloyd R. Michels, James W. Pennington, Dwight L. Harris, Wm. F. Hergert, Cyrus L. Blogett, H. A. Doerner, Ernest A. Reige

"IntroductionA process for production of magnesium by carbothermal reduction was developed at Padentheirm, Austria, by the Austro Americanische Magnesit Corporation& an independent investigation of this and other processes was started in 1937 by the Bureau of Mines at Pullman, Wash., with the cooperation of Washington State College. 10/ A preliminary study of the Radentheirm pro¬cess, as revealed by the meager information then available, demonstrated the following two major disadvantages,The use of hydrogen for shock cooling requires an enormous volume of gas - about 1,000 cubic feet for condensing each pound of metal as a pyrophoric dust which must be completely separated from this gas. Then if the gas is to be recycled for repeated use, the CO produced by the reduction reaction must be separated from the hydrogen. These separations are costly from the standpoint of equipment and operation. 11/The condensate is an impure, pyrophoric metal powder that must be purified and converted to coherent form. This is accomplished by distillation or sublimation of the metal. Distillation on a large scale involves difficulties inherent in the high boiling point (1,107° C.) and the chemical activity of the metal. To avoid these difficulties, the metal is sublimed at 600° C. and of very low pressure. This is quite easily carried out as a batch operation but is a costly procedure. A continuous sublimation process has not been accompli shed."

May 1, 1945

By E. P. Carman

1. DAVENPORT, S. J. Bibliography of Bureau of Mines Publications Dealing With Health and Safety in the Mineral and Allied Industries, 1910--46. Tech. Paper 705, 1948, 154 pp. 30 cents. 2. FJELDNER, A. C., FISHER, P. L., AND POLLOCK, M. B. Bibliography of Bureau of Mines Investigations of Coal and Its Products, 1940 to 1945. Tech. Paper 698, 1947, 53 pp. 15 cents. 3. GOOD, J. E., ABREU, ALVARO, AND FRASER, THOMAS. The Coal Industry of Brazil. Part 1. General Economy, Production, and Marketing. Tech. Paper 713, 1949, 38 pp. 20 cents.

Jan 1, 1954

By Martin Berman

Tables of 28 positions for all the transitions for nine common analyzing crystals for first, second, and third order reflections were compiled by the Bureau of Mines to facilitate elemental X-ray fluorescence analysis on multi-element systems. The tables are based on a compatible set of wavelengths for 2,346 observed X-ray transitions of the elements lithium to americium. The results are tabulated in order of increasing wavelength as well as by increasing wavelength for each element.

Jan 1, 1969

By C. M. Mason

The methods currently used by the Bureau of Mines to evaluate the sensitivity, strength, incendivity, gaseous products, and physical properties of explosives and hazardous chemicals are described. Included are the tests used to evaluate explosives which arc certified as permissible for use in underground coal mines.

Jan 1, 1972

By A. M. Cummings

Each mining district presents different problems as to the methods of ore extraction cad underground support, which are dependent upon the type of the ore deposit and the character of the inclosing rock. Mining costs, however, depend largely aeon the efficiency with which the methods employed underground are [applie] as well as upon the selection of the method best adapted to the physical conditions. The purpose of this paper is to present to the operator in other districts a detailed description of ho mining method used ins results obtained in tie exploitation of the bedded magnetite deposits of the Mineville district. The town of Mineville is situated in the Adirondacks, five miles west of Port Henry on Lake Champlain.

Jan 1, 1928

By Curtis D. Edgerton

The Pittsburgh Mine Map Repository of the Bureau of Mines serves as a basic reference file for the archival preservation of mine map data of mines east of the Mississippi River. About 22,000 of an estimated 500,000 available mine maps have been microfilmed A computerized index serves as the mechanism for retrieval of any microfilmed mine map. The operation, equipment, and index are described in the report.

Jan 1, 1974

By S. J. Hemberger, F. W. Lee, J. H. Swatz

"INTRODUCTION This investigation was undertaken in 1939 for the purpose of securing the necessary information relating to the field techniques and accuracy that would be needed for magnetically surveying State-wide areas. The Florida,peninsula was chosen for such a study for two reasons: First, because it is geologically ideal for such an investigation, since it comprises a series of unconsolidated, flat-lying Tertiary and Cretaceous sediments of low magnetic susceptibility covering a complex and much-folded crystalline basement comprised of rocks carrying strongly -paramagnetic materials; second, because information concerning the structural trends of the crystalline basement would be of great interest and Importance in the study of Appalachian orogeny and the relationship of the Florida Peninsula to both the Appalachian and Antilleantectonte systems. The results of this magnetic survey have clearly demonstrated that the magnetic anomalies reflect variations in the crystalline a basement. To the degree which the structures of the crystalline basement control the structures of the overlying sediments these results are useful for oil exploration.MAGNETIC OBSERVATIONSAll magnetic measurements were made with a vertical Aekania magnetic variometer having a temperature compensated needle. All observations were tied into two base stations located at Fort. Myers and Gaineeville, Fla. The absolute vertical magnetic intensities at these two bass stations were determined by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey within an accuracy of + 10 gammas. The accuracy of the base station variometer used in the present survey was of the order of ± 3 gammas. The sensitivity throughout the survey of the magnetic variemoter used on the traverses approximated 30 gammas per scale division and it is estimated that the probable error between stations along a traverse would be about + 5 gammas. Measurements were started on traverse C near Fort Myers and tied into the Fort Myers base station established by the Coast and Geodetic Survey. Twelve traverses, comprising 1,500 station observations, wore occupied between the Fort Myers and Gainsville base stations. When the cumulative total of these 1,500 interim observations was tied into the Gainesville base station it was found to differ by only 30 gammas from the value obtained by the Coast and Geodetic Survey for that base. The observations were adjusted for this difference."

May 1, 1945

By Thomas M. Barczak, Joe Bower, Jinsheng Chen

Pumpable roof supports provide an alternative longwall tailgate roof support and have grown in usage during the past few years. Heintzmann Corporation has been installing pumpable roof supports at the RAG Resources Emerald Mine in western PA since 1998, where they have provided effective roof control in their longwall tailgates. Despite the success of these supports in this application, questions remain regarding critical design issues for optimizing the use of this support technology. The support loading profile is characterized by a high initial stiffness with peak loading occurring at less than one inch of convergence, followed by significant load shedding with a post failure capacity comparable to that of wood cribbing. Therefore, the key to optimizing the support utilization is to provide sufficient load density to prevent convergence from occurring beyond the peak loading capacity. This requires an understanding of how the supports interact with the ground conditions, hence measurement of the ground reaction curve. In order to obtain this information, pumpable roof supports were instrumented to measure support loading. Roof deformation and roof-to-floor convergence measurements in the vicinity of the instrumented supports were also made. The experimental parameters for the installation were the support spacing and water-to-solids ratio of the grout, which controls the grout strength and ultimately the maximum capacity of the support. The study clearly shows that at this mine a 24-inch diameter support is fully capable of providing adequate ground control under depths of cover of 750 ft as only 50 pct of the available support capacity was utilized outby the longwall face. It was also shown that the 2.00 to 1 water-solids ratio, despite providing a slightly softer support response, is sufficient for maintaining the same degree of roof control provided by the traditional 1.75 to 1 grout mix. The 10-ft spacing of the supports did not cause any ground control problems outby the face. However, inby the face the performance of the support is degraded once the peak capacity of the supports is exceeded. It appears that the large load shedding behavior, which is characteristic of this support following peak loading, allows the immediate roof to separate. When this happens, the support is unable to regain control of the roof in time to prevent failure of the immediate roof beam.