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By William J. McDonough

Advanced materials are polymers, metals, and ceramics fabricated as intermaterial compounds, alloys, or composites. The resultant components have higher strength-to-density ratios, greater hardness and wear resistance, and one or more superior thermal, electrical, or optical properties when compared with traditional materials. Advanced materials, the basis for many of today's emerging technologies, offer savings in total energy consumption, improved performance at reasonable cost, and less dependence on imports of strategic and critical mineral resources.

Jan 1, 1992

By Thomas D. Kaufmann

Introduction What drives the price of gold? Supply and demand, of course. But in ways far different from the forces that drive the prices of other major metals, such as steel, aluminum, and copper. Gold, in fact, is one of the few commodities where both buyers and sellers are happy when the price goes up. Current production, production costs, and variations in production have little influence on its price. Gold inventories are so tremendous that current production has small impact on the amounts available to the market at any time. Worldwide gold inventory and production The world's inventories seem to be between 78 and 98 kt (2.5 and 3 billion oz). Since biblical times, the gold miners of the world have produced about 98 kt (3 billion oz), mostly in this century. Only small amounts have been thrown away and most of it - more than 78 kt (2.5 billion oz) - remain in bullion, coins, or jewelry. About 40% is held by central banks and other governmental authorities, 30% by private individuals as bullion or coins, and about 30% as jewelry. Except for some of the jewelry and the few industrial applications, this inventory is constantly available in marketable form at a price. By comparison, gold production is indeed small. The US Bureau of Mines estimates that the world produced 1.5 kt (50 million oz) of gold in 1986. Consequently, production increased world inventories by only 2%. Variations in production have a negligible or very short-term effect on the supply and, consequently, on the markets for gold. Although South Africa mines about 40% to 50% of the world's annual production, continuing labor strife there does not seem to have ruffled gold prices. Determining gold's price Gold prices, however, do determine cutoff grades in the mines and, thus, do influence production. Nonetheless, changes in production have little impact on the inventory supply. Consequently, it has small influence on the price of gold on the market. With a fairly stable supply, price changes are driven by changes in its demand. Unlike other metals, very little of the demand for gold comes from industry. Dental, electronic, and other industrial uses for gold consume less than 46.6 t/a (1.5 million oz per year). It would be safe to assume that such uses are less than 124 t/a (4 million oz per year) for the entire world. Variations in the 124 t (4 million oz), compared to a supply of 78 kt (2.5 billion oz) of supply can have only a negligible effect. Production net of industrial uses adds perhaps 1% annually to world inventories. This could, in time, affect markets. The increase, however, is mostly absorbed by population growth - more people wanting to own gold - and by gold being put in more attractive forms, such as coins. As an ancient Lydian king discovered, minting bullion permits

Jan 9, 1987

By Roberto Antoniolli

"IntroductionSINCE ancient times, the precious metals have played an important role in influencing the course of history. Silver and gold happened to occur, although in small amounts, in those countries where the early civilizations developed. Their persistent brightness certainly amazed the primitive people, who also found it easy to shape them into ornaments •and implements. Ever since then their properties have made them seem desirable possessions.Use of precious metals as money was the natural consequence of man's desire for them. The possibility of changing an ornament into a tool or food at any time, and the ease with which such medium of exchange could be carried and hidden, further increased the demand for the two metals.Silver was probably discovered after gold and copper, and was undoubtedly found by prehistoric man as native silver. The oldest silver articles have been discovered in Chaldean tombs and date back to 5000 B.C. The earliest ascertained producers of silver were Asia Minor and the Iberian Peninsula. The Romans worked deposits in Spain, Britain, and France. In the Middle Ages, some silver was extracted from German deposits, and near the end of the Middle Ages systematic workings were carried on at Freiberg, Schneeberg, and Joachimsthal (1).Before the discovery of the New Continent, the Aztecs and Toltecs in Mexico, and the Incas in Peru, had made extensive use of silver. In the 16th century the Mexican deposits became the largest source of the world silver."

Jan 1, 1954

By A. W. Ambrose

The output or oil and gas rrom the producing fields in the United States is rapidly deelining. Coincident with this decline is a steadily increasing demand ror petroleum and its products, but at present there are no commercial substitutes ror gasoline and lubricating oil. Undoubtedly, many new fields will be discovered in this country during the next rew years. Indeed, there may be periods or temporary flush production that ror a rew months or a year or perhaps two years will afford a surplus. Such peaks are temporary and should not be given too much weight in considering the relation between petroleum supply and our national lire. In considering this problem we must regard a long period or time, and, ir we do that we shall see that domestic production will be unable to keep pace with consumption. Hence, the public good demands t~at the highest efficiency obtainable be practiced in the production or oil. To accomplish this end, the operator or to-day should so organize his rorces ror development and production that he recovers every barrel or oil that can be recovered at a profit. This necessarily involves the use or eeonomical and scientific methods or development a:nd production and the elimination or waste. The Bureau or Mines has ror years urged the conservation or petroleum and its products, and has pointed out that -such conservation should start before the oil is brought to the surface rather than arter it is in storage tanks. Losses or petroleum underground have undoubtedly been rar greater than losses in storage, in transportation, and in refining. The quantity lost usually is indeterminate, and hence difficult to express in terms or money, but by remembering that entire oil fields have been ruined by invadIng waters some idea may be gained or the importance or underground waste. The petroleum engineer is coming to be recognized as an extremely important aid in the intelligent development or oil fields. In this paper an effort is made to outline ror the engineer and producer a field or work whereby science and engineering not only can but have been applied practically. The mining engineer has been the direct- ing hand in the development of mines, and it is being recognized more and more that the petroleum engineer has a similar function in developing oil properties. Thispaper aims to show the general method of procedure in studying underground conditions in producing oil fields and how such study may not only correct but even prevent great unnecessary losses. Such work provides the company with maximum insurance for the field against loss and is accompliphed at minimum cost and minimum risk. Throughout the paper reference is made to oil wells and oil fields, but to a certain degree many of the suggestions relating to oil wells are applicable in the care and protection of gas wells and in solving gas problems.

Jan 1, 1921

By Jr. Sillers

To prove to .the satisfaction of all concerned that electrolytic manganese from our low-grade domestic ores could be substituted satisfactorily for ferro-manganese made from high-grade foreign fires, an extensive series of tests was conducted in cooperation with industry, in which electrolytic manganese pro-duced by, the Bureau of Mines at its Boulder City, Nev., Station was substituted for the ordinary ferro grades in the production of ferrous and nonferrous metals and alloys and welding-rod coatings. Over 1,200,000 pounds of manganese was given out for this purpose. The objectives of the tests were accomplished, and for some purposes electrolytic manganese was shown to be superior to other grades because of its high purity. The only serious objection that can be raised against electrolytic manganese is its price, which puts it out of reach for most purposes. Even if the price were to be lowered to a point where it would be in line with ferro grades, it is questionable whether electrolytic manganese from domestic ores could supply more than a small part of the needs of American industry because of the large volume of domestic ore that would have to be processed to supply a satisfactory feed for the electrolytic process. Thus, although electrolytic manganese is highly desirable from a metallurgical standpoint, it could not be expected to substitute for more than a fraction of our domestic manganese requirements.

Jan 1, 1952

By Albert H. Fay

This glossary is published by the Bureau of Mines as a contribution to the mining literature in the belief that it will fill a long-felt need. It contains about 20,000 terms; these include both technical and purely local terms related to metal mining, coal mining., quarrying, petroleum, and natural gas, and metallurgical works; names of useful, important, and common minerals and rocks; and geological terms. It presents in one comprehensive volume the available standard, technical terms relating to the mining and mineral industry, as well as provincialisms that have been or are now in use in English-speaking countries. The glossary also includes many terms relating to ceramics and. the clay industry, glass making, foundry practice, railway and building construction, electrical installation and power-plant equipment, and chemical terms relating to metallurgical practice. Complete lists of terms for each of these allied industries are beyond the scope of this glossary. Paleontological terms, although closely associated with geology, are far removed from mining and metallurgical operations, and for this reason have been omitted.

Jan 1, 1920

By Gordon T. Austin

The combined production value of natural abrasives, which consist of tripoli, special silica stone, garnet, staurolite, and emery, increased in 1987. The increase was, in certain cases, because the materials were used in nonabrasive applications, such as the increased use of tripoli as a filler and special silica stone material as a special-purpose crushed stone. The increased use of garnet as a blasting media accounts for most of its growth. Production and sales of garnet were at a record-high level in 1987. [ ]

Jan 1, 1989

By Michael Rieber

Mineral economics interfaces the mineral sciences and engineering with finance and economics in the analysis of appropriate questions facing the minerals and energy industries. Its practitioners include those trained in the earth sciences; mining, petroleum, and geological engineering; metallurgy and mineral preparation; as well as finance, information systems, economics, and statistics-most usefully in one or more combinations. Allowing for some overlap, three general areas may be identified: evaluation, economic analysis, and resource appraisal. Evaluation begins with mine investment analysis (exemplified by Gentry and O'Neil, 1984) and process costing, for which the STRAMM Handbook (Anon., 1977) provides a well-known basis for mining and beneficiation. But it extends from property appraisal, often used for the determination of taxes and royalties, through the determination and comparison of transport costs (e.g., Richer and Soo, 1977), and to benefit/cost analyses of externalities. Economic analysis, the subject of this section, is displayed in rigor and extent both theoretically and as applied to commodity classes in Vogely (1985), but it is implicit though apparent throughout Lefond (1983). The text edited by Vogely places minerals in their aggregative context with economic growth and trade, proceeds to the theoretical analysis of minerals and their markets, analyzes the structure and performance of the major mineral sectors, and concludes with policy issues: fuel, nonfuel, and environmental. Resource appraisal employs quantitative methods for the estimation of mineral and energy resources. It moves through geologic, geophysical, and geochemical properties to the identification of estimation procedures for mineral endowment and for the economic measure of stocks and flows of specific minerals (Harris, 1984). It can be used to estimate the probable amount of a specific resource remaining in a given region and has been used to project sites in a specific

Jan 1, 2008

By Mark S. Sanders

There is a growing awareness among mining professionals that the human factor plays a significant role in safety and productivity. Since the 1960's, the science of human factors, or ergonomics, has been making inroads into the mining industry, and a considerable amount of research has documented human-factor-related mining problems and solutions. This Bureau of Mines report is directed toward summarizing the application of human factors to improving safety, productivity, and the general physical and psychological working conditions of miners. The aim of this report is to familiarize the readers with the role of human factors in the mining industry and the benefits that can accrue by systematically applying available human factors principles and data. The text contains 10 chapters dealing with human, equipment, and environmental factors. Each chapter builds on the previous chapter; therefore, it is recommended that the chapters be read sequentially However, if the report is used as a supplemental text, say in a mining safety course, chapters can be assigned in any order to supplement other readings.

Jan 1, 1988

By E. D. Gardner

This paper is the second of a series of three on placer mining in the western United States. The first paper4 discusses the history of placer mining in the Western States and the production of placer gold, geology of placer deposits, location of placer claims on public lands, sampling and estimation of gold placers, and classification of placer-mining methods, together with hand-shoveling and ground-sluicing. This paper deals with hydraulicking, sluice boxes and riffles, recovery of gold and platinum from placer concentrates, treatment of amalgam, and marketing of placer gold. The discussion of sluice boxes and subsequent subjects in this paper applies to all forms of placer mining. The third paper deals with dredging and other forms of mechanical handling of placer gravels, and drift mining.

Jan 1, 1934

The Black Hills Mineral Atlas briefly summarizes all important data available on the mines and mineral deposits in the Black Hills that have been explored, developed, mined, or located. The purpose of the atlas is threefold; First, from available data the general potentialities of the Black Hills region can be determined, although it is not possible to calculate actual ore reserves; second, it will provide the necessary basic information regarding a given property or commodity for further detailed study; and third, the compilation is a comprehensive directory of Black Hills deposits.

Jan 1, 1955

By Albert H. Fay

This glossary is publi~hed- by the Bureau of Mines as a contribution' to the mining literature in the belief that it will fill a long-felt need. It contains about 20,000 terms; these include both technical and purely local terms related to metal mining, coal mining, quarrying, petroleum, and natural gas, and metallurgical works; names of useful, important, and common minerals and rocks; an<lgeological terms. It presents in one comprehensive volume the available standard, technical terms relating to the mining and mineral industry, as well as provincialisms that have been or are now in use in English-speaking countries. The glossary also includes many terms relating to ceramics and the clay industry, glass making, foundry practice, railway and building construction, electrical installation and power-plant equipment, and chemical terms relating to metallurgical practice. Complete lists of terms for' each of these allied industries are beyond the scope of this glossary. Paleontological terms, although closely associated with geology, are far removed from mining and metallurgical operations, and for this reason have been omitted. In a compilation of this magnitude, it is difficult, within a reasonable time to verify all definitions as to the latest usage. Much verifying was done and it is hoped that the best and latest definitions have been used. Reference to the publications cited will enable the reader to determine approximately the period when the definition was used. Definitions in use by engineers of high national or international reputation are given first preference. When definitions from different sources are the same, credit is given to the earlier author as being the original or nearest to the original source. Immediately following each term the name of the locality wherein the word is presumed to have originated or is widely used is given, where such information is available. The name of the author or source from which the definition was obtained follows the definition, and serves as a key to the publications listed. The terms selected from the various glossaries and publications examined have been compared with the Webster,

Jan 1, 1920

Most of the Indian coking coals are medium coking and of very high ash content. Beneficiation of these coals is a must for their utilisation in coke making. During washing while the ash content of the coal is reduced, the same is expected to affect the reactive-inert ratio and the proportion of various petrographic constituents in the clean coal. This will affect the coking behaviour, including the expansion characteristics, of such coal. An increase in expansion behaviour of coal increases the wall pressure and may damage the battery wall. Therefore, close monitoring of coking properties along with drop in ash is necessary for smooth use of the coal in coke ovens. An effort is, therefore, essential to understand the impact of washing on its coking properties. The studies were carried out with captive coals of Tata Steel, India. Three medium coking coal samples namely, VII A, VI A and XI SEB seam coals of West Bokaro Colliery were used for the study. The coal samples after washing to different ash levels were subjected to the following analysis: proximate, crucible swelling number (CSN), LT GK test, dilatometer and plastometer tests and petrography. The experimental data were then analysed to assess the relationship of various coking properties of the coal with its ash content. The studies clearly show that there is a strong impact of beneficiation of the coal on its coking behaviour. The impacts are more at lower level of ash in the clean coal. In general, the coking properties increase with a decrease in ash. This is primarily due to an enrichment of vitrinte materials in the clean coal and an increase in the reactive-inert ratio in the coals. However, the most important impact of the lowering ash is on the increase in the swelling nature of the coal. The coals with lower ash become highly expanding in nature. This may be very critical from operations of coke ovens point of view, especially stamp charged coke ovens. Necessary precaution should be taken in selecting the other coal blend constituents when these coals are beneficiated to a very low level of ash content.

Jan 1, 2014

By William L. Young

There is an old saying in Canada: "Mines are made as much as discovered." What follows is Young&apos;s perception of his experience developing and financing the Cochrane Hill gold mine project. In 1974, I came back from rutile and zircon exploration and mining in Australia. I became interested in a copper, lead, and zinc project in the Bathurst District, New Brunswick. Much field work had already been done but I was convinced that a reinterpretation of the geophysical work left room to enlarge on the known mineralization. So, with my own money I put a property deal together, found an underwriter willing to raise $100,000, and had a lawyer produce a prospectus. The prospectus was ultimately accepted for filing by the Ontario Securities Commission and I acquired funding and began work. It did not take many drill holes to determine that the interpretation was not geologically valid. However, while drilling was going on, geophysical and geochemical explorations indicated interesting anomalous zones elsewhere on the property. But by now the base metal market climate had soured and the $50,000 I had left was not enough to evaluate the new results. So I decided to farm out the property. A data folio was produced and the property was optioned to a major mining company, with Northumberland Mines Ltd. retaining a 20% free, carried interest. By 1976, the market for junior issues was so bad no under¬writer would even talk to a geologist and I still had the $50,000 in the bank and was looking for something to initiate. A Project That Went Nowhere Market research indicated that the Toronto area imported fine calcium carbonate fillers from Georgia, Alabama, and Vermont. I was aware of the specs and the fact that there is a large marble belt in Eastern Ontario. After some prospecting, I found an interesting deposit. The product was slightly high in silica and low on brightness. Research work eliminated the silica and corrected the brightness. So, with insufficient money we launched a feasibility study. This included diamond drilling, bulk sampling, special fine grinding and air classification tests, and an in-depth market survey. Our product was as good or better than those on the market. Our advantage was that delivery could be made by a two-hour truck haul to the customer. The present system of rail delivery had many problems, especially in winter. Despite everything looking rosy, we ran into a stone wall. The underwriters were singularly unimpressed because the public saw little glamour in a substance most people had never heard of. The issue would have been difficult-if not impossible-to sell. Banks and government agencies took the position that if we could get long term take-or-pay contracts then they would lend the required capital. None of the suppliers, however, would even consider a contract until production had begun and they could evaluate the production material. It was a classic "catch 22" situation. I have gone into this in some detail to show how tough the industrial mineral market can be. We eventually optioned this calcium carbonate property to a major corporation. The option agreement would give us a free, carried 15% and the right to buy up to 40% for contributing 25% of the production costs. But the experience left my company in poor financial shape. To survive, I think the entrepreneur-geologist must always have at least one project in reserve, an emergency plan. I had been searching out a new project to work on, after the calcium carbonate option was wrapped up. It was gold. Gold intrigued me and I knew quite a bit about Nova Scotian gold. I felt that with any rise in price, many of the former high-grade gold mines would have interesting potential for the larger, low grade portions of the deposits. That is how I happened on Cochrane Hill, where much work had been done in the early 1970s when gold as $4.82/g ($150/ oz). This time my timing was good. No sooner had Northumberland signed an option agreement than gold prices started to rise. In six months, they went to $27.331g ($850/oz). Even so, financing gold prospects in early 1980 was still not easy. It had been years since gold financing had been undertaken. A whole new generation of investors, with no knowledge of gold mining, had grown up. So, with accounting and legal council, we decided on a semiprivate "seed money" offering. Under the new Ontario Securities Act, this was a new-and partly tax sheltered-concept. At the time, it was very innovative.

Jan 6, 1982

Chromium, a critical mineral for which the United States is largely dependent on foreign sources, is the subject of a new report just issued by the Interior Department&apos;s Bureau of Mines. The report is the first in a new series called "Mineral Commodity Profiles" (MCP&apos;s). Designed to give an updated review of important events affecting critical minerals, it also presents a comprehensive description of industry structure, supply-demand relationships, technology, and outlook for the future.

Jan 1, 1977

By E. D. Gardner

This paper discusses small-scale lade gold mining and milling. It is abstracted from a bulletin being prepared by the United States Bureau of Mines entitled "Equipping, Developing, and Operating Small Gold Mines." Gold is widely distributed in the mountainous regions of the United States; relatively few deposits, however, can be profitably worked on a large scale. Because of the high intrinsic value of gold, ores containing this metal may be very rich; hence it is possible to mine profitably smaller bodies of gold ore than of the more common metals.

Jan 1, 1934

By Gordon T. Austin

The combined value of production of natural abrasives, which include tripoli, special silica stone, garnet, staurolite, and emery, increased in 1993. The increase in the value of tripoli production was the result of an increase in total production. Special silica stone experienced an increase in unit value but decrease in the quantity produced. Garnet showed a 19 % decrease in quantity and an 8 % decrease in value. Staurolite increased about 51 % in the quantity produced and 136 % in value compared with those of 1992. Staurolite&apos;s significant increase in value of production resulted from a 56 % increase in the unit value. The fused aluminum oxide industry showed an 8 % decrease in the quantity produced and a 13 % decrease in the value of production. The silicon carbide industry saw an 11 % decrease in the quantity produced and an 8 % decrease in the value of production. Combined, the industries decreased 9 % in quantity and 11 % in value compared with those of 1992.

Jan 1, 1993

By A. N. Baldwin

This report documents work performed under Bureau of Mines Contract J0265029 to study and develop two innovative mining systems: ? An underground auger capable of augering into the right and left ribs without repositioning the machine ? A conventional mining system employing recently developed innovative machinery. The report is separated into two volumes to document the two studies separately. Volume I describes work performed and the recommended concept for a bidirectional auger. Volume II describes the studies of mining equipment performance and mining plane developed to determine a conventional mining plan offering improved productivity.

Jan 1, 1977

By W. T. Adams

The production of natural abrasives var¬ied in quantity and value compared with 1975. Output of tripoli-type materials and garnet increased in both quantity and value; special silica stone products decreased in quantity and increased in value; the production of emery decreased. The production and value of manufactured abrasive materials increased for all types. [ ]

Jan 1, 1978

By F. W. Bradley

GOLD is a large subject. One could talk about its geological or mineralogical occurrences, prospect- i11.g for it, mining of .it, its metallurgy or its marketing; but I have decided to limit my discussion to gold as a business-that is, to its production and marketing. In the production of gold, it is necessary to consider the many possible sources, the quantities available, the capital and operating costs and the chances of price-breaking competition. So in the following remarks I shall endeavour to point out that though gold is found in every formation constituting the earth&apos;s crust, though it is possible to-find it free in great concentrated placer deposits on the surface, though there are still large unprospected areas of both the surface and the crust, though it may be possible to produce it by the cheapest labor on earth, and by processes not as yet developed, it still has an unlimited market at a definite price. There is no reasonable fear of disturbance by the finding of bountiful deposits, or by cheapening the cost of production due to devaluation, or by the development of any easy processes for direct, or for by product, production.

Jan 1, 1932