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Minerals are vital to any industrialized civilization. Annually, the United States uses more than 4 billion tons of new mineral materials, or about 40,000 pounds per person-about half being mineral fuels and the other half being metals and nonmetallics. Stable and economic domestic mining, mineral, metal, and mineral reclamation industries are essential to the economy. The value of United States energy and processed materials of mineral origin exceeds $200 billion annually. Although a number of minerals are imported, especially some designated as "strategic and critical," most U.S. mineral supplies are derived from the domestic mines and processing facilities that you will be seeing, reading about, and visiting as you use this visitor guide. We hope you enjoy your experiences. This pamphlet, a guide to mining and mineral operations that may be observed or visited and some other points of interest relating to minerals, is intended to aid tourists and students who are interested in mining. Some may wish to study our Nation's romantic past; others may plan to enter the minerals industry as a career; still others may have a primary interest in conservation practices. The pamphlet is also intended to aid State and local officials, Chambers of Commerce, and mining firms in answering some of the many questions of tourists and students.

Jan 1, 1977

By C. C. Clark

This report presents the results of tests conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Mines to determine the transport characteristics of highly concentrated paste backfill mixes made from dewatered total mine tailings. The slurry concentrations of the mixes were all above 78 pct by weight with slumps ranging from 6.4 to 16.5 cm (2.5 to 6.5 in). Laboratory material property tests and full-scale pumping tests were conducted using pipe diameters of 102, 128, and 154 mm (4, 5, and 6 in) and a positive-displacement pump. The results indicated that the tested backfill mixes can be successfully transported as a stiff paste and identified the influence of and the interaction among the various mix and system variables.

Jan 1, 2010

By E. R. Palowitch

Coal wasted with mine refuse represents losses in overall recovery of merchantable coal to the mine operator and a concomitant reduction in domestic reserves of available coal. Fraser, Kelley, and Graham3/ in studying the available coal in mine refuse in the Pittsburgh district of western Pennsylvania have estimated that at least 1 ton of mine refuse is produced for each 10 tons of merchantable coal and that 20 percent of this mine refuse might be recovered as salable coal by mechanical cleaning. SUMMARY This investigation dealt with the mechanical recovery of coal from wine refuse by a dense-medium washery employing pulverized mine rock as the dense medium and operating at a rate of 175 tons per hour. Two types of mint refuse were tested: Freshly mined and that .which had been mined 2 years before and piled on a waste dump.

Jan 1, 1955

By James H. Aase

[This study provides data on the physical and hydrological makeup of the ,t hakes waterway system and forecasts quantities, traffic patterns, and ping cost of prospective bulk mineral commerce projected to be transported it. Factors affecting the shipping cost of iron ore, bituminous coal, imestone were quantified and integrated into a computer program that can d to estimate costs under varying sets of conditions. Combined ship of iron ore, bituminous coal, and limestone in 1995 were estimated at million tons. The cost of operating the U.S. vessel fleet for trans-ng an indicated 80 percent of this traffic tonnage was projected to be $163. 5 million.]

Jan 1, 1970

By Rolland L. Blake

The Bureau of Mines investigated the mineralogy, tonnage, and beneficiating characteristics of oxidized (nonmagnetic) taconite iron resources of the Western Mesabi Range as part of its program to insure adequate future domestic mineral supplies. Magnetic taconite currently provides about 95 pct of Mesabi production, but the large tonnages of oxidized taconite between the magnetic deposits will be needed to help meet future domestic demand for iron ore. Three bulk samples that represent large tonnages from the Western Mesabi Range were selected to determine their mineral composition and liberation by light optical microscopy and to test their beneficiating response. This report describes the mineralogy and liberation characteristics of the three samples of the Biwabik Iron-Formation for 26.5 mi (42.7 kID) from Keewatin to Grand Rapids, MN. (Details of response to beneficia-tion were reported previously.) The samples represent mostly material from the Lower Cherty Member of the Biwabik-Iron Formation, although one sample included some Upper Cherty Member. Minerals of all three samples were quartz (chert), hematite, goethite, and minor to trace amounts of magnetite, iron carbonate, and iron silicates. It was concluded that the oxidized taconites of the Western Mesabi Range represent a subeconomic indicated resource that can be selectively mined and beneficiated as a future large source of iron feed for steelmaking.

Jan 1, 1983

By William S. Roberts

As part of the Bureau of Mines critical and strategic minerals program in Alaska, 34 high-purity chromian spinel samples were analyzed for trace and major element geochemistry and mineralogy. The samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and chemical techniques. Systematic differences in chemistry are evident when samples collected from the Chugach Mountains and their related extension are compared with chromian spinel samples collected from interior Alaska. Compared with the Chugach samples, the interior Alaska samples have higher average amounts of A1203, Fe203, Ti02, and NiO, have lower average amounts of FeO and Cr203, and exhibit greater dispersion in values. Considerable mineralogical variability of chromian spinel exists between and within individual Alaskan chromite-bearing ultramafic complexes. Of 34 samples analyzed, 25 samples are magnesiochromite, 5 are chromite, 3 are spinel, and 1 is hercynite. As a group the interior Alaska samples have a smaller average unit cell dimension than the Chugach group of samples. The chemical and mineralogical differences between the two groups of samples can be attributed to different genetic histories and may have implications for locating chromian spinel deposits amenable to standard beneficiating techniques.

Jan 1, 1985

By W. W. Scott

Measurements of the absolute value of electromagnetic noise and attenuation along a hoist rope were made in an operating hard-rock mine, Lucky Friday Mine, located near Wallace, Idaho. Spectra of electromagnetic noise generated by various pieces of equipment, spectra of specific noise signals at various depths, and noise and attenuation on the 4250 foot (1295 meter) hoist, were measured. Three techniques were used to make the measurements. First, noise was measured over the entire electromagnetic spectrum of interest for brief time periods. Data were recorded using broadband analog magnetic tape for later transformation to spectral plots. Second, noise amplitudes were recorded at several discrete frequencies for a sufficient amount of time to provide data for amplitude probability distributions. A third technique gave attenuation data through the direct measurement of field strength at various depths. The specific measured results are given in a number of spectral plots, amplitude probability distribution plots and amplitude curves as a function of depth.

Jan 1, 1974

By W. Hodge Caraway

This report presents the results of an evaluation of several indirect methods of measuring the water content of oil-reservoir rocks. The water content of oil-base cores is considered to be most nearly representative of the water content of the undisturbed petroleum reservoir and therefore, the direct method of measuring the volumes of water in cores cut in oil-base drilling fluid was adopted as a standard for comparison. The indirect methods evaluated included (1) displacement through a semipermeable membrane by air, (2) centrifuge, (3) evaporation, (4) mercury injection, (5) chloride dilution and (6) electric logs. Approximately 270 samples of cores from petroleum-reservoir rocks were used in the study. The cores, most of which were cut with oil-base mud in the hole, were taken from oilfields in California, Texas Gulf coast, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Alaska.

Jan 1, 1959

By L. C. IlsLey

A list of permissible mine equipment approved by the Bureau of Mines before January 1, 1940, was published in Bureau of Mines Information Circu- lar 71103. Information Circular 71584, published as a supplement thereto, listed equipment approved during the calendar year 1940. The present list contains the information given in those two circulars, as well as approvals issued during the calendar year 1941. It embraces electrically operated air compressors, coal drills, conveyors and loading machines, electrical equipment for mine fans, mining machines and trucks, mine pumps, rock- dust distributors, room hoists, storage-battery gathering and haulage locomotives, storage-battery power trucks and shuttle cars, mine telephones, junction and distribution boxes, electric cap lamps, flame safety lamps, electric hand and trip lamps, electric flood lamps, flashlights, methane detectors, and single- and multiple-shot blasting units. The equipment listed is not approved by the Bureau of Mines until found by inspection and test to comply with minimum standards of safety as outlined in "schedules" prepared upon the basis of many years of ex- perience in dealing with safety problems confronting the coal-mining in- dustry. The use of such equipment in mines that are known to be gassy,. as well as in those that may become so, is earnestly recommended in the interests of safety. This circular is published so that the industry may be kept informed as to the many types of machines, devices, and lamps that are available for reducing explosion and other hazards incidental to coal mining.

Apr 1, 1942

By W. P. DYKEMA

This report gins the results of a study conducted hy the Ilnreau of Mines for the purpose of informing the petroleum industry on the recent progress in the de,·elopment nncl application of the absorption process for recO\·ering gasoline from natural gas. The work has been undertaken entirely with regard to plant practice and for the purpose of describing the features and the operation of units of the plants now in use, the improvements that have been made, and the reasons for any ehanges eontemplated by the engineers in eharge· of the plants studied. Throughout the United States the impro,·ements in the absorption process that are under consideration by engineers not only widen practice so as to include gases at all pressures and percentages of gasoline content, but seem to be dewloping definite standards as to dimensions of towers, l"elocities of flow, saturation of oi~ areas of eooling surfaces, and quantities of menstruum to be circulated. Although perfect practice has by no means been attained, the writer belie,·es thnt a description of the current practice at ,·arious plants, including those ob,'iously more efficient features that each plant hns <le\"eloped and uses at one or another stage of treatment, will intere;; t and possibly help all persons operating or designing absorption plants.

Jan 1, 1919

By JOE SIERAKOSKI, W. R. Hardwick

This paper , which describes mining methods and practices at the Johnson Camp copper -zinc mine , Coronado Copper & Zinc Co. , Cochise County , Ariz . , is one of a series being prepared by the Bureau of Mines on mining methods , practices , and costs in various mining districts of the United States . Johnson Camp is in the eastern foothills of the Little Dragoon Mountains in secs . 23 , 24 , 25 , and 26 , T. 15 S. , R. 22 E. ( fig . 1 ) . The mining property is in the low, rolling foothills at an altitude of slightly over 5,000 feet above sea level ( fig . 2 ) . The area is covered with scattered grass and small desert shrubs . The climate is mild , with hot summers and mild winters . The average annual precipitation is about 12 inches . The nearest surface water is the San Pedro River , some 12 miles west of the mine . The property is owned by the Coronado Copper & Zinc Co. , Los Angeles , Calif . This report gives a brief history of the property , describes the general geology of the area and of the ore deposits , outlines the methods of prospecting and exploration , and gives the methods of sampling and of estimating ore reserves . Development and stoping methods are explained . Underground transportation , ventilation , mine drainage , and safety measures also are described . The last section gives a brief description of the milling practice .

Jun 1, 1957

By Richard N. Spencer

Electric-furnace smelting for simultaneous recovery of zinc spelter and lead bullion from complex lead-zinc sinter was investigated. Reduction of lead and zinc was satisfactory. Condensation of lead and zinc vapor to pyrophoric metal powder in a water-cooled, shock-condensing system produced excellent recoveries. Metal-splash condensation to produce zinc spelter was unsatisfactory. Special smelting experiments differentiated the effects of several smelting parameters on zinc metal recovery. The principal cause for unsatisfactory zinc metal recovery was transfer of iron to the condenser and subsequent degradation of zinc in a mixture composed of lead and an iron-zinc intermetallic compound. Limitations of the process were determined. Slag-resistance open-bath electric smelting of complex lead-zinc sinter is not considered feasible.

Jan 1, 1967

By George S. Rice

The prevention of coal-mine explosions has been one of the chief purposes of the Bureau of Mines. In facti the first Federal appropriation relating to mining methods, in 1908, authorized the investigation of the causes of mine explosions and the possible methods of preventing them. When that investigation started the mining industry had not determined the real causes of a succession of terrible coal-mine explosions in various countries, culminating in the great disasters at CoulTièl'es, France, and Monongah, W. Va. Coal dust as an agent of widespread explosions had been under suspicion, and watering to allay the dust was recommended by some mining engineers but the watering of coal-mine dust was adopted in comparatively few mines of the United States and Great Britain, and had not been introduced widely in any country except Germany. Rock dusting, another method of preventing explosions of coal dust, was early tested with success by the Bureau of Mines in its fist gallery at Pittsburgh and, beginnig in 1911, at the experimental mine, Bruceton, Pa. Several of the fist publications i of the bureau suggested that rock dust be used in gaseous or dusty bituminous mines, and in 1915 Technical Paper 842 strongly recommended it. Since that time additional tests in the experimental mine have fully confied this :ft judgment.

Jan 1, 1924

By F. R. Cattoir

This Bureau of Mines study investigated molten salt electrorefining for beneficiating low-grade, high-carbon ferrochromium products which can be readily produced from domestic chromite concentrates. A second objective was to refine commercial ferrochromium into low-iron chromium products. Electrorefining of both types of ferrochromium in molten CaC12-NaCl-CrC12, CaCl2-MgC12-CrCl2, or KC1-LiCl-CrCl2 electrolytes produced chromium-iron products with virtual elimination of other impurity elements and some lowering of the iron content, Over 90 percent of the chromium present in the feed materials was recovered. The electrodeposited products were upgraded further by magnetic separation techniques into chromium containing less than 5 percent iron. The technical feasibility of preparing a premium chromium product from a low-grade, high-carbon ferrochromium made from domestic chromite was demonstrated. Chromium virtually free of carbon, oxygen, and silicon from high-carbon ferrochromiums was produced. In addition, the amenability of three commercial grades of ferrochromium to electrorefining and magnetic separation for preparing chromium metal containing less than 5 percent iron was determined.

Jan 1, 1969

By C. A. Mehring

[This paper, which describes the milling practice at the San Guillermo concentrator of the Compania Industrial "M Potosi", S.A., located at Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico, is one of a series of similar papers being prepared by the United States Bureau of Mines. The concentrator treats lead-zinc-silver ore at the rata of 2,300-2,400 tons of dry material daily and produces lead concentrate and zinc concentrate by selective flotation methods. The lead concentrate is smelted at the Chihuahua plant of the American Smelting & Refining Co., and the zinc concentrate is shipped to various European smelters.]

Jan 1, 1933

By L. C. IlsLey

Most State enacting bodies have deemed it necessary to specify a maximum speed at which men may be hoisted or lowered in mine shafts. Since most mine cages are not closed in, as are passenger elevators in office buildings, and since, ordinarily, neither the starting tin g nor stopping of the cage is as general as that of these elevators, such regulations are all the more necessary for the comfort and safety of the men. It is also quite generally recognized that it is dangerous to over-crowd cages. Hence, a number of States have limited the number of men that may be on cage at one time.

Jan 1, 1939

By Otis E. Perkins

This paper is one of a series being prepared for the United States Bureau of Mines to disseminate technical information retarding the methods used in mining nonmetallic minerals. The cost tabulations represent operating expenditures only and not total costs. It is recognized that publication of total costs might in many instances cause embarrassment to individual operators as well as to the industry as a whole. On the other hand, operating costs are essential to the technical discussion and study of the methods employed. The attention of the reader is specifically called to this differentiation in order that no misunderstanding of the scope of the cost tabulations shall ensue. This paper deals particularly with methods and costs of dredging, classifying materials, and transportation at the plant of the Ross Island Sand & Gravel Co. of Portland, Ore. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Harold Blake, general manager of the company, and of A. V. Kramer, cashier in charge of the plant office.

Jan 1, 1933

By W. W. Adams, T. D. Lawrence

"Despite the manpower shortage and other difficulties of operation in war time, the National Safety Competition of 1943 for the promotion of safety in the mineral industries of the United States was notable for having a larger enrollment of mines and quarries than in any other year except 1941 and 1942 since the yearly safety contests were inaugurated in 1925. The competition was also notable for having a larger number of man-hours represented by the competing companies than in any previous contest except that of 1942. The ratio of accidents and days of disability resulting from accidents to the number of man-hours of work performed was more favorable than in 1942; the accident-frequency rate was lower and therefore better than in 13 of the 19 years during which the annual safety competitions have been conducted, and the accident-severity rate was better than in 16 of the 19 years.The National Safety Competition is a yearly safety contest conducted by the Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior. Companies that win first place in their respective group in the contest are awarded a bronze trophy, ""The Sentinels of Safety,"" which is provided by THE EXPLOSIVES ENGINEER magazine. Competing companies are segregated into six groups: Underground bituminous-coal mines, underground anthracite mines (in Pennsylvania), underground metal mines, underground nonmetallic-mineral mines, open-cut mines (without regard to kind of mineral produced), and open quarries (without regard to kind of stone produced). The bronze trophies are retained by the six winning companies for 1 year and are then transferred to the winners of the succeeding year's contest. On the pedestal of each trophy is engraved the names of the winners of the trophy. With the award of the trophies for 1943, therefore, the pedestal of each trophy bears the names of 19 winners."

Aug 1, 1944

By J. A. Organiscak

Quartz dust is one of the most significant ongoing health concerns in coal mining today. Since the early 1980&apos;s, the U.S. Bureau of Mines has conducted numerous studies in underground and surface coal mines to identify the sources of quartz dust and its fundamental characteristics. This report presents data and conclusions obtained from these studies. The two most significant quartz dust sources were found to be the continuous miner excavating rock and the highwall drill operating in a rock overburden. The percentage of quartz was found to be higher in the smaller size fractions of dust when significant amounts of rock were mined by the continuous miner. Another factor theorized to affect quartz dust generation and size characteristics is the morphology of the quartz-bearing rock. Several laboratory studies were conducted to investigate capture efficiency of water spray technology and flooded-bed scrubbers with respect to the particle size of the dust. Water sprays and flooded-bed scrubbers were both found to be less efficient on smaller dust particles, and the scrubber was particularly less efficient on quartz dust. These results indicate that quartz control technology should be directed at controlling smaller sized dust particles.

Jan 1, 1990

By E. C. Lane

This paper is the second report of the results of the United States Bureau of Mines twenty-third semiannual survey of motor fuel marketed in the United States. The first paper, reporting data relating to gravity, vapor pressure, and distillation range of the samples, was published as Report of Investigations 31293. A third and concluding paper giving the results of other tests will be published as soon as these tests have been completed. The present paper deals with the data of the twenty-third semiannual survey presented in accordance with the revised specifications for United States Government motor gasoline. The sample numbers used are identical with those used in Report of Investigations 3129, with additional data included for copper strip corrosion (method 530.22).4 and sulphur content by the lamp method.5 Three hundred and twelve samples were collected and analyzed in this survey. Two hundred and seven samples were competitive-price gasolines and one hundred and five samples were premium-price motor fuels.6

Jan 1, 1931