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By R. A. Isberg

This report describes the design and implementation of UHF radio and closed-circuit television systems in the Black River room and pillar limestone mine near Butler, Pendleton County, Kentucky. Prior to designing the radio system, measurements of signal attenuation on 812 and 466 mHz were made in the slope tunnel and in the straight and level crosscuts in the mine. Two distributed antenna systems fed by two sets of base stations provide approximately 75o coverage of the mine. Passive reflectors are used for extending signals into intersecting crosscuts and two-way signal boosters will be used to extend signals to the perimeter and obstructed areas of the mine. Fourteen mine vehicles were equipped with mobile radios equipped with digital identification, alarm and status encoders. Fifteen portable transceivers also were used. Six closed-circuit television cameras provide surveillance of critical transfer points of the belt conveyor system, and the loading dock at the base of the slope and an ash disposal area in the mine. Two-way radio communication and closed-circuit television have saved considerable man. hours, increased production, reduced maintenance costs and enhanced safety. Innovative developments were the use of passive reflectors and two-way signal boosters for extending signals into intersecting crosscuts, development of lightweight signal margin measuring equipment, modifications of mobile digital encoders to automatically send status information from mine vehicles such as numbers of loads of ore delivered, hot engine, etc., and the use of CATV technology for multiplexing audio, digital and video signals onto coaxial cables from the surface to the mine.

Jan 1, 1981

By Albert L. Toenges, Frank A. Jones

"INTRODUCTION The introduction of mechanized pining in coal mines, which has speeded loading, has emphasized the importance of efficient underground transportation systems. The purpose of this investigation is to study and analyze various systems now in use, and to derive conclusions therefrom. This report may be helpful to operators who are planning new systems of transportation or who are revising present systems to increase their efficiency. This paper is the first of a series on this subject and describes some systems of transportation utilizing rail haulage.ACKNOWLEDGMENTThe information used in preparing this report was obtained through the courtesy and cooperation of the officials of the companies whose mines wore studied. The descriptions of the transportation systems at the mines included herein have been checked for accuracy, and publication of the data has been approved by the executives of the several operating companies."

Jun 1, 1940

By K. P. Wang

Mining and metallurgy have had a long history in China, and resources there have always been considered promising. Under the People's Republic of China (PRC), a remarkable industrial renaissance is underway that should further gain momentum in the years ahead. Rapid development of minerals have not only brought the PRC prominence in industrialization, but also in world affairs. Chinese mineral developments, especially petroleum, have been increasingly in the news. Oil and gas may have great potential, but a very large coal industry is already in existence. The steel industry ranks fifth or sixth in the world. The PRC is also prominent in fertilizer, cement, and salt production. The export metals are well known. Also, the country is buying heavily in nonferrous base metals. The need to know and the intense interest in the subject have prompted this study. The world significance of Chinese minerals is pointed out. The history of growth and PRC's mineral supply position are reviewed. Evaluations are made of policy considerations and regional and technical factors affecting mineral development. PRC's mineral trade and efforts to obtain equipment, supplies, and know-how are assessed. Specific reviews are made of major mineral sectors, including coal and power, oil and gas, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, industrial minerals, and fertilizers and chemicals. The overall outlook is summarized.

Jan 1, 1975

By Xiaofei Guan, Adam C. Powell, Uday B. Pal, Srikanth Gopalan

This paper reports a solid oxide membrane (SOM) electrolysis experiment using an LSM– Inconel inert anode current collector for production of Mg and O2 at 1423K. The electrochemical performance of the SOM cell was evaluated by using various electrochemical techniques including electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, potentiodynamic scans, and potentiostatic electrolysis. The effects of Mg solubility in the flux on the current efficiency and the YSZ membrane stability during SOM electrolysis were discussed and examined through experiment and modeling. The electronic transference number of the flux were measured to assess the Mg dissolution in the flux during SOM electrolysis. A negative correlation between the electronic transference number of the flux and the current efficiency of the SOM electrolysis was observed.

Jan 1, 2014

By Ken Goering, Steve Kral, William Gleason

"Once every four years, the global mining industry gathers in Las Vegas, NV for MINExpo International. According to the show’s organizer, The National Mining Association (NMA), about 44,000 people attended the three-day show from Sept. 26-29. It was a show that featured the latest and greatest in equipment and technology. It also served as the backdrop for a snapshot of the state of the industry and while the picture of a global industry is never completely clear at any one time, one thing that is evident is technology has become a major force in the way mining is done.Had it not been for the awe-inspiring “iron” that was on the show floor in the form of haul trucks and shovels weighing hundreds of tons, one could be forgiven for thinking that they were at the Consumer Electronics Show. From training simulators designed to give a realistic experience of operating mining equipment to virtual reality technology that can take the user into the depths of an underground mine or the middle of a mapped ore deposit, an overriding theme of MINExpo 2016 was that the mining industry is connected like never before.In the north hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center was the GE Mining booth that was designed to showcase its efforts to help create a mine that will be connected from the front office to the face of the underground wall or bottom of the openpit. GE Mining called its booth a digital mine, and it included a suite of technologies that can improve performance, reliability, safety and operations. GE Mining said it views each mine as a mini-city, requiring power, water and transportation. Intelligent, real-time monitoring across the mine allows operators to make data-driven decisions that improve equipment reliability and optimize mine operations for substantial savings. And GE Mining was just one of many exhibitors showing off software that allows various types of equipment to communicate. Its booth sat in the shadow of the Komatsu booth with its new 360-t (400-st) 980E-4 haul truck that included GE’s 360-t (400-st) electric wheel motor. This is just one example of how technology is connecting machines, operations and people around the world and how mining is moving forward."

Dec 1, 2016

By Enrique Monge Gordillo

Si bien el fierro es el metal más barato en la industria minera, el incremento de su demanda y agotamiento gradual de sus depósitos, genera que su costo se eleve progresivamente. Por tal motivo, el objeto del presente texto describe el proceso de consumo del hierro y acero y su repercusión en el mercado occidental a través de cuatro capítulos: El primero, refiere a la demanda de hierro y acero tanto en Estados Unidos, los depósitos en Québec y Labrado en Canadá, el tratamiento y comercio de minerales de hierro; el segundo, a las operaciones mineras en Canadá y América Latina como las de Canadá, Venezuel, Brasil, Chile, Perú, México, Colombia, Cuba, Santo Domingo, Argentina, entre otros países; el tercero, revisa las plantas de hierro y acero en América Latina como las de Brasil, México, Chile, Argentina, Colombia y Perú, mientras que el último, refiere la industria de fierro y acero en los Estados Unidos, producción de fierro cochino y costos e importaciones del acero.

Jul 20, 1959

By Basil B. Zavoico

The production of all Russian fields incressed from approsimatctly 74,000,000 bbl. during 1926-27, to approximately 83,000,000 bbl. during 1927-28. Of this amount Baku was responsible for 54,.500,000 bbl., Grozny for 25,800,000 bbl., and Emba for 1,200,000 bbl. Accordingly, the proportional importance of the Grozny oil field has been considerably increased, the present production being twice that of 1913. The most notable factor of production during 1927-28 was the importance of gushers; 40.8 per cent. of the total was thus obtained. In the Baku fields 26 per cent. of the total, and in Grozny 74.2 percent'. of the total were produced by naturally flowing wells. This may be explained by the reduction in authorizations for drilling by the central authorities, and, accordingly, the local trusts increased the production to the planned figures at the expense of the proved prolific reserves. In Baku region, the Surnkany oil field produced 36.1 per cent. of the total Baku production, or an equivalent of 53,800 bbl. per clay, the largest percentage coining from the fifth horizon. Nest year's plans call for continual development of that horizon as well as of the sixteenth horizon in the Bibi-Eibat field, which was opened lately. In the Grozny fields the New Area (Bellik) WAS responsible for 79.4 per cent. of the total production. The authorized plan for 1928-29 production calls for 92,200,000 bid., and a reasonably accurate estimate for 1932--33 production is placed at. 156,000,000 bbl., with Baku contributing 101,800,000 bbl., Grozny 44,100,000 bbl., Emba 6,200,000 bbl., Kuban 2,100,000 bbl., Saghalien Island 1,400,000 bbl., and Russian Turkestan 400,000 bbl. In connection with recent discoverices in the Baku area these figures art. quite conservative. The average production per well per day in the Baku oil fields was 49.2 bbl., in Grozny 175 bbl.; in detail, Surakany oil field averaged 250 bbl., and the New Area in Grozny 514 bbl. per day. New completions in all Baku fields averaged 264 bbl. per day, and in Grozny 970 bbl. pel. day. These figures show a considerable progress in the technical developnlent of all fields, compared even with the prerevolution figures, since all the mprovements are noted in the fields that arc over 30 years old.

Jan 1, 1929

By H. W. Busch

In the course of examinations by representatives of the Bureau of Mines of several compressed-air systems in which explosions had occurred, samples were obtained of the carbon deposits that are formed normally in various parts of the systems by decomposition of the compressor lubricating oil. Experimentation with these carbon deposits has demonstrated that they contain a "carbon-oxygen complex" similar to that formed on coal and on other carbonaceous materials and generally recognized as being the cause of spontaneous heating of coal. The exothermic properties exhibited by such a complex are considered significant in relation to the possible initiation of combustion reactions that may lead to explosions or formation of carbon monoxide in compressed-air systems. This report discusses the occurrence of explosions and formation of carbon monoxide in the use of compressed air and presents results of experimentation conducted with carbon deposits from air compressors.

Jan 1, 1949

By Earl T. Hayes

THIS BIBLIOGRAPHY has been assembled to aid research by the Bureau of Mines, and others on high-purity tungsten. It appears approximately 50 years after the development of ductile tungsten-one of the first metals to be produced in a high-purity form. Requirements of the missile age are ever more demanding that engines rout hotter and space vehicles fly higher and faster. Thus, it has become necessary to reexamine all conventional materials of construction as well as to investigate new combinations. At this stage of our technology we have alloys capable of operation at 1,800° F. and several possibilities of developing some. that will be satisfactory up to 2,500° F. Strength-weight comparisons, detrimental to tungsten at, lower temperatures, disappear at this point, mid tungsten or its alloys appear to be the only metal capable of operation at truly high temperatures. The aim of this bibliography has been to include only references that concern improving the purity of tungsten-from processing the ore to treating the finished metal. In this sense it is a selected and not a critical bibliography. The period front January 1911 through February 1959 has been covered. Because repent literature has the greatest, value, most of the selected items refer to publications issued within the pest 5 years.

Jan 1, 1960

By Dexter C. Hatch

At MacIntyre Development of the National Lead Company, Taha s, New York,, the flotation plant was set up to recover ilmenite from the finer size fraction of the ore that cannot be efficiently treated in the main gravity-magnetic separa¬tion process. It was later expanded to handle the reground middlings from the tables wetherill magnetic separators. The ilmenite-magnetite ore is ground to minus 20 mesh in five 6 x 12 ft. rod mills in closed circuit with DSM screens. The minus 20 mesh screen undersize is pumped to four parallel sections each consisting of two rougher wet-magnetic separators and one cleaner separator for magnatite removal. The screen undersize from the fifth section is distributed to all four sections. The magnetite removed in the roughers is pumped back to the cleaners and the cleaner magnetite is dewatered in rake classifiers and carried by belt to the winter plant or the stockpile area. The nonmagnetic sands from rougher and cleaner magnetic separator are sized for table feed in eight pocket hydraulic sizers. The slime overflows from the Crocketts, the sizers, and the magnetite rakes are collected and pumped to three-inch cyclones for thickening and desliming. The cyclone underflow is the principal flotation plant feed.

Jan 1, 1962

By E. S. Moore

Although nickel was in use in alloys long before the Christian era, the metal was not discovered until 1751, when Cronstedt recognized it in niccolite from Sweden. The Chinese apparently used a nickel alloy, known as "pahfong" thousands of years ago and Persian coins dating farther back than 200 B.C. consist of a copper-nickel alloy similar to some of those now in use in coins. The pure metal was first prepared about 1775 and the metal was refined for commercial purposes some years later. The nickel industry did not attain much prominence until the ores in New Caledonia were discovered. Exports of ore from that country began in 1875 and since that date there has been an ever-increasing world output of nickel and a great expansion in the uses of the metal except during short periods of commercial and industrial depression. Previous to 1875, for a number of years, Norway was the chief producer, although the metal was mined also in Sweden, Finland, Italy, Germany, Austria, France, China, the United States and other countries. With the discovery of nickel deposits in the Sudbury district, Ontario, a new factor was introduced into the nickel industry and Sudbury has since become the overwhelmingly dominant feature in the world's nickel markets. Although nickel was first discovered in Canada as early as 1848 near the north shore of Lake Huron and nickel-copper sulfides were found in 1856 by surveyors working close to the present location of the important rnine at Creighton, in the Sudbury field, it was not until 1883 that any importance was attached to this field. In that year copper sulfide attracted attention where the main line of the Canadian Pacific railroad was being projected across Canada to the Pacific coast. Mining began near this discovery in 1889 but in the meantime operations had begun in 1886 in other parts of the field and by 1890 about 100,000 tons of ore had been raised. In the Sudbury field, as in Norway and at the old Lancaster Gap mine in Pennsylvania, the ore was first mined for its copper content and difficully in the refining of the copper led to the discovery of the important proportions of nickel in the ore. No. 3 property of the International Nickel Co., now known as the Frood, the greatest deposit in the

Jan 1, 1932

By Scott W. Hazen

COMPREHENSIVE summary is presented of results of several years of research at the Bureau of Mines Mining Research Center at Denver on adapting and applying techniques of statistical analysis in mine and mineral-deposit sampling and in computing grade and tonnage of ore for a mineral deposit. In addition to elementary statistical theory the material presented in the bulletin includes: (1) Certain special statistical techniques that have been found useful in mining applications; (2) problems, implications, and limitations that may be encountered in applying these techniques in mine sampling and evaluation; and (3) numerous examples to demonstrate application of the theory and techniques.

Jan 1, 1967

By Donald Christofferson

This report documents the program conducted to demonstrate the application of a flywheel-powered propulsion system to underground mining shuttle cars. Such application can replace the present electrical trailing cable common to most shuttle cars and thereby eliminate those safety hazards, maintenance problems, and haulage route limitations inherent in the trailing cable. Described are the activities undertaken to specify and design a flywheel of optimum size, shape, and material; to identify the best concepts of input and output systems; and to achieve installation of the power package into a shuttle car. The resultant Flywheel-Powered Shuttle Car is an FMC Model 6L shuttle car, 6-ton capacity, 20-ton gross vehicle weight, powered by a flywheel system with 4.5-kilowatt-hour usable energy. The completed vehicle was delivered to the Bureau of Mines in Bruceton, Pennsylvania, for testing and evaluation.

Jan 1, 1986

By E. S. Moore

ALTHOUGH nickel was in use in alloys long before the Christian era, the metal was not discovered until 1751, when Cronstedt recognized it in niccolite from Sweden. The Chinese apparently used a nickel alloy, known as "pahfong" thousands of years ago and Persian coins dating farther back than 200 B.C. consist of a copper-nickel alloy similar to some of those now in use in coins. The pure metal was first prepared about 1775 and the metal was refined for commercial purposes some years later. The nickel industry did not attain much prominence until the ores in New Caledonia were discovered. Exports of ore from that country began in 1875 and since that date there has been an ever-increasing world output of nickel and a great expansion in the uses of the metal except during short periods of commercial and industrial depression. Previous to 1875, for a number of years, Norway was the chief producer, although the metal was mined also in Sweden, Finland, Italy, Germany, Austria, France, China, the United States and other countries. With the dis-covery of nickel deposits in the Sudbury district, Ontario, a new factor was introduced into the nickel industry and Sudbury has since become the overwhelmingly dominant feature in the world's nickel markets. Although nickel was first discovered in Canada as early as 1848 near the north shore of Lake Huron and nickel-copper sulfides were found in 1856 by surveyors working close to the present location of the important mine at Creighton, in the Sudbury field, it was not until 188.3 that any importance was attached to this field. In that year copper sulfide attracted attention where the main line of the Canadian Pacific railroad was being projected across Canada to the Pacific coast. Mining began near this discovery in 1889 but in the meantime operations had begun in 1886 in other parts of the field and by 1890 about 100,000 tons of ore had been raised. In the Sudbury field, as in Norway and at the old Lancaster Gap mine in Pennsylvania, the ore was first mined for its copper content and difficulty in the refining of the copper led to the discovery of the important proportions of nickel in the ore. No. 3 property of the Inter-national Nickel Co., now known as the Frood, the greatest deposit in the

Jan 1, 1932

By Richard E. Thill

The Bureau of Mines' Oil Shale Data Bank (OSDB) was created in 1976 to serve as a centralized source for the storage, retrieval, and dissemination of technical literature, patents, and information on research projects in oil shale. Thousands of bibliographic references, patents, and research projects relating to the mining of oil shale have been identified, abstracted, and indexed according to selected keyword topics. The resulting data bank listings are contained in three sections, each with a separate keyword breakdown for use in rapidly identifying references pertaining to a specific subject. All references cited in the OSDB were published prior to an established cut-off date of May 1, 1981, when a redirection of Bureau of Mines programs resulted in the loss of project funds and the subsequent phasing-out of data bank operations. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The oil shale data bank listings are the result of a team effort of the project staff. The contributions of Jimaleen Jansma for keypunching, information acquisition, and data entry, and John Brandenburg and Sandra rake for keywording and information acquisition are gratefully acknowledged. Appreciation is expressed to the staff members of the Smithsonian Science Information Exchange, Washington D.C. for their cooperation in supplying data on recent research projects in oil shale for inclusion in the OSDR listings. Appreciation is extended also to the staff of the Gallegos Research Group for assisting with computer services to obtain the final printouts and transfer of files onto magnetic tape.

Jan 1, 1982

By J. E. Johnson

IT is the purpose of the present paper, while not excluding chemical considerations, to deal more extensively with some of the physical and mechanical aspects of the blast-furnace process, and to point out its dependence in these respects on well-known laws. The quantity and cost of ore and flux required to make a ton of iron being determined by circumstances over which the furnace-man, under given conditions as to quality and quantity of product, has commonly little control; the principal item of cost, apart from the saving of labor, which he can aspire to reduce, is that of fuel. To determine the limits of possibility in this direction is clearly the first step in d practical inquiry; and this step is represented herewith in Fig. 1, a diagram showing the total useful effect obtained from a pound of fuel under various conditions, and thus permitting direct comparison, under any given conditions, between actual results and the maximum possible results. The following statements will explain the basis upon which this diagram has been constructed. One pound of fuel, containing 90 per cent. of fixed carbon (which represents average conditions), is taken as the unit. The degree of oxidation of the carbon is measured by the ratio of the two oxides of carbon contained in the top-gases. It is necessary to remember that a considerable quantity of carbon is brought in as carbon dioxide by the flux, and to take account of it and of its condition. It is here considered that the carbon dioxide liberated by the limestone does not affect the analysis of the toll-gases, and that the ratio of CO to CO., will remain unchanged by the addition of limestone; enough CO, being reduced by the solution

Sep 1, 1905

By Alfred Traverse

The Brandon lignite is a small deposit of very low rank coal near the village of Forestdale in the town of Brandon, Vt. It occurs in association with other sediments, principally sands and silts. This lignitic coal has attracted considerable scientific interest since the middle of the 19th century because of the abundance of fossils in the sediment and the rarity of lignite in New England. A cooperative investigation has been developed by E. S. Barghoorn, W. Spackman, and the author in which different phases of the problem have been worked on in a coordinated research program. This paper presents results of an investigation of the very abundant fossil pollen and spores and some other microfossils of the deposit. The studies on which this manuscript is based were made in large part at Harvard University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Ph. D. degree.

Jan 1, 1955

By Charles J. Kucera

Today's highly publicized issues of resource development and environmental protection are not new. But recently these issues have been played one against the other, and some would have us believe they are mutually exclusive. Why? Because modern man has realized that the shortest route to achieving economic progress is to subdue nature. He extracts mineral resources from the earth to provide the raw materials upon which other processes and services are based. But often in his search for economic progress he finds that other highly- held values (e.g., an unspoiled environment) have been violated. The natural response is a counter action - to attempt to protect nature. But this response is basically unsatisfactory because it is reactive.

Jan 1, 1979

By H. H. Schrenk

The purpose of respiratory protective equipment is to prevent the inhalation of harmful or objectionable atmospheres. Although constituents or contaminants that may render an atmosphere irrespirable or objectionable are numerous, they may be classified broadly as follows: I. Gaseous substance: n. A. Toxic. B. Inert (oxygen deficiency). II. Particulate matter (dispersoids). A. Solid. a. Dust (formed by disintegration). b. Pure (formed by condensation). B. Liquid. a. Mist (formed by disintegration). b. Fog (former by condensation).

Jan 1, 1940

By Bernard Lewis

During the past 10 years the technical investigations conducted by the Explosives Division of the Mine and Explosives Bureau of the Bureau of Mines have been described in a series of summarizing reports prepared by Wilbur I. Huff, consulting explosives chemist of the Bureau. These reports covered the…

Dec 1, 1947