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This is the third in a series of reports on properties of commercial motor fuels, made in accordance with a cooperative agreement between the Cooperative Fuel Research (C. F. R.) Committee and the Bureau of Mines of the Department of the Interior. The first report gave data on motor gasolines sold during the winter of 1935-36.3/ The second report gave the same data for motor gasolines sold during the summer of 1936)4/ As was the case with the first cooperative gasoline survey, reports were received for some areas from only one company and in other areas from two companies that did not in all instances report on the same brands of gasoline. In still other areas reports were received from five or six companies on the same brands of gasoline. Thus, it can be seen that data on gasolines are unequal in regard, to the number of reports that were averaged in calculating the data shown in table 1. The data from the Pacific Coast were averaged by the Pacific Coast technical group before submission and are published exactly as they were submitted.

Jan 1, 1937

This is the third in a series of reports on properties of commercial motor fuels, made in accordance with a cooperative agreement between the Cooperative Fuel Research (C. F. R.) Committee and the Bureau of Mines of the Department of the Interior. The first report gave data on motor gasolines sold during the winter of 1935-36.3/ The second report gave the same data for motor gasolines sold during the summer of 1936)4/ As was the case with the first cooperative gasoline survey, reports were received for some areas from only one company and in other areas from two companies that did not in all instances report on the same brands of gasoline. In still other areas reports were received from five or six companies on the same brands of gasoline. Thus, it can be seen that data on gasolines are unequal in regard, to the number of reports that were averaged in calculating the data shown in table 1. The data from the Pacific Coast were averaged by the Pacific Coast technical group before submission and are published exactly as they were submitted.

Jan 1, 1937

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in partnership with stakeholders in the mining and surface drilling industries, con-ducted research to develop engineering control technologies that reduce workplace noise exposure. The result of this research partnership is the development of a partial cab.

Jan 8, 2007

By William M. Hinton

This report describes the approach, procedures, and results of a program to develop training materials for roof bolter operators. The objective of the program was to design and produce a training sequence which would prepare roof bolter trainees for job performance. Data was collected and analyzed using the general procedures of Instructional Systems Development (ISD). Input data came from a previous roof bolter training analysis program. This data was expanded and structured through a series of ISD steps: objectives hierarchies, media selection, syllabus, lesson specifications, and train¬ing materials development. The resulting program consisted of an ordered sequence of 15 lessons. The media mix for the 15 lessons included lectures, slide-tape lessons, and hands-on instruction using operational roof bolters. Contents of all lessons were reviewed and approved by the Bureau. The key recommendations were to (1) validate the materials and measure relative effectiveness of media formats; (2) survey mines for training resources and conditions - match materials to user capabilities, rather than selection state of the art technology/media; (3) develop job performance aids (JPAs) rather than simulators; (4) create a style/media/JPA development guide for use in future projects of this kind.

Jan 1, 1982

By Steve C. Albrecht

The objective of this study is "to assess the impact of surface mining on soil compaction in the Midwest". The study revolves around a unique field sampling program targeted at four mine sites utilizing four distinct types of soil movement of midwestern prime land. Through the preparation of a final report for use as a guidebook, an assessment is made of the degree to which surface mining operations contribute to the soil compaction problem. The final report is formulated through the use of field study data as well as information gathered in an intense literature review. The final report centers on applying collected data to practical field applications. Soil sampling on the four mine sites centers on a comparison of natural and replaced soils for moist bulk density. This characterization evaluates changes in density and texture throughout the soil profile to a depth of 48 inches. Fertility of the topsoil is also assessed for natural and replaced soils. During field sampling and observations, a base of information has been gathered to compile a case study on each mine site. The report accesses the regulations in the prime farmland areas through the use of a matrix. The regulatory matrix allows easy access of mining personnel to State and Federal regulations.

Jan 1, 1982

By G. S. Rice

The Experimental Mine of the United States Bureau of Mines is a unique coal mine that serves as a large-scale testing laboratory. It is used primarily for testing the explosibility of coal-dust and gases but is also the workshop for many other kinds of research work of which the chief object is to increase safety in mining. The mine is situated in Allegheny County, Pa., about 13 miles southwest of Pittsburgh among the high hills of the west bank of the Monongahela River, at the northeastern edge of the gas-coal district of the Pittsburgh coal bed which extends south through the Connellsville coking-coal district into West Virginia. The Pittsburgh bed, of the Upper Carboniferous age, is one of the most extensive continuous coal beds in the United States, if not in the world. Throughout large areas it shows remarkable uniformity of thickness, levelness, and character of coal, which is a coking coal of high-grade bituminous rank. Its thickness in the northern part is 5 to 5 ½ feet and in the central and southern part is 7 to 9 feet.

Jan 1, 1933

By Larry G. Stolarczyk

Jan 1, 1980

By John G. Parker

Important quantities of gold, silver, platinum-group metals, selenium, tellurium, and arsenic are recovered in the processing of copper concentrates. The objective of this Bureau of Mines study was to determine the occurrence of these elements in copper ores and to trace their distribution during subsequent processing steps. The study describes the important areas supplying concentrates, precipitates, and unrefined copper to the copper smelting and refining industry in a composite of the years 1971-74. The relative importance of these areas as a source of the respective byproducts is assessed. The lack of certain quantitative and assay data, recycling of dusts and slags, and the addition of scrap to the feed often complicates calculations and estimations of the byproducts in the smelter-refinery throughputs. Such volatile or low-boiling point elements as arsenic, selenium, and tellurium may be lost in gaseous and other emissions in various processing stages, or they may be concentrated in slags and residues for which samples were not available. The effects of antipollution legislation to improve control of sulfurous and other emissions that may affect recovery of certain byproducts was noted. A section on newer technology illustrating hydro-metallurgical techniques that may affect the recovery of minor metals is included.

Jan 1, 1978

By Virginia E. Gleason

In this report, recommendations are made for programs to develop workable techniques to stop or prevent acid mine drainage formation in those underground coal mines where acid production could take place. These recommendations include development of mine closure technology, development of surface water infiltration control procedures, study of the effect of roof collapse on mine water characteristics, evaluation of the long-term effects of flooding underground mines above drainage, investigation of the effectiveness of section sealing in active mines, development of a simple model for predicting mine water quality and quantity, preparation of a manual on mine drainage abatement procedures, and development of a program to disseminate information on mine drainage abatement to the coal industry. These recommendations are based on an in-depth evaluation of information acquired over years of research on acid mine drainage formation, on numerous laboratory and field studies of methods of preventing or minimizing acid mine drainage formation, and on review of the geological, hydrological, and mineralogical factors involved. There are 772 references.

Jan 1, 1978

By Pramod C. Thakur

In This Chapter [Origins of coalbed methane Reservoir properties of coal seams Thresholds for coal seam degasification Methane emissions in mines Methane drainage techniques How to transport gas safely in mine pipelines and Economics of coal seam degasification Recommended publications on coal seam degasification are Gas Control in Underground Coal Mining [Creedy et al. 1997], Coalbed Methane Extraction [Davidson et al. 1995], and Methane Control for Underground Coal Mines [Diamond 1994].] ORIGINS OF COALBED METHANE AND RESERVOIR PROPERTIES OF COAL SEAMS Origins of coalbed methane. Coal seams form over millions of years by the biochemical decay and metamorphic transformation of plant materials. This coalification process produces large quantities of byproduct gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide. The amount of these byproducts increases with the rank of coal. It is the highest for anthracite, where for every ton of coal nearly 1,900 lb of water, 2,420 lb (20,000 ft3) of carbon dioxide, and 1,186 lb (27,000 ft3) of methane are produced [Hargraves 1973]. Most of these gases escape to the atmosphere during the coalification process, but a small fraction is retained in the coal. The amount of gas retained in the coal depends on a number of factors, such as the rank of coal, the depth of burial, the type of rock in the immediate roof and floor, local geologic anomalies, and the tectonic pressures and temperatures prevalent at that time. The gases are contained under pressure and mainly adsorbed on the surface of the coal matrix, but a small fraction of gases is also present in the fracture net-work of the coal. Methane is the major component of gases in coal, comprising 80%–90% or more of the total gas volume. The balance is made up of ethane, propane, butane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, oxygen, and argon.

Jan 6, 2006

By C. O. Karacan, S. J. Schatzel, W. P. Diamond

In coal mining, longwall mining is a preferred method to maximize production by extracting large blocks of coal that have been outlined with a set of development entries. In U.S. mines, longwall panels are typically 305 m (1,000ft) wide (with a continual trend towards even wider panels), and usually over 3,050 m (10,000ft) in length. The increasing size of longwall panels, while helping to increase coal production, may also increase methane emissions due to the exposure of the mining environment to a larger area of fractured, gas-bearing strata. Thus, understanding the impact of increased panel widths on methane emissions, and designing gob gas ventholes and bleeder systems accordingly, can enhance the safety of the underground workforce by reducing their exposure to potentially explosive accumulations of methane/air mixtures. As part of its mine safety research program, NIOSH’s Pittsburgh Research Laboratory has initiated a reservoir modeling effort to better understand the interaction of the various geotechnical factors influencing gas flow within and to the underground longwall mining environment. A focus of this modeling effort has been 1) the prediction of the incremental amount of methane emissions to be expected due to increasing longwall panel widths, and 2) optimizing gob gas venthole completion practices to capture more of the gas in the subsided strata above longwall panels before it can enter the ventilation system of the underground workplace. The history matching phase of the study has been carried out on a 381-m (1,250ft) wide panel in the Pittsburgh Coalbed. Simulations have also been completed for a 442 m (1,450ft) wide panel to estimate the incremental increase in methane emissions and the performance of current gob gas venthole placement configurations. Additional venthole placement configurations were simulated to investigate options for optimizing methane capture from the subsided strata above the wider longwall panel.

By Steve Signer, Ed Mchugh

Recent studies by researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health indicate that shear loading contributes significantly to failure of bolts used for rock reinforcement in coal mine roofs, Laboratory tests on 17 bolts were conducted to study the behavior of roof bolts subjected to shear loading over a range of axial bolt loads, Fourteen strain gauges were attached to each bolt to measure axial and bending loads at seven locations along its length. The instrumented bolts were grouted through two high-strength concrete blocks, and axial tension was applied to as much as 75% of yield strength. With the block interface acting as a failure plane, shear loads were applied to the blocks at a constant rate of displacement to the ultimate strength of the bolts. The tests characterized the relationship of axial bolt loads to shear forces across a rock bedding plane and measured the distribution of axial and bending strain along the length of the bolts. 'These results will improve the selection of roof reinforcement in mine areas where high shear stresses are present, thus improving the safety of miners working in these areas.

By R. V. Higgins

"INTRODUCTION When nations throughout the world are pitted against each other in a war in which petroleum plays a major role, scientist and engineers of the petroleum industry must give serious thought to ways and means for recover¬ing greater percentages of oil from natural reservoirs than in the past. Petroleum and its products are vital to highly mechanized modern warfare, and the victorious nations will be those whose armies, navies, and air forces are supplied with adequate fuel oil, gasoline, and lubricants until the war is won.Efficient recovery of oil from underground reservoirs depends on many interrelated techniques; evaluation of the producing performance of wells upon the basis of their productivity indexes is one such tool. Oil wells usually yield oil at a maximum rate when first ""brought in"". The rate of production begins to decline soon after the first oil is delivered to the tanks, and although part of the decline usually can be attributed to natural reduction of reservoir pressure as oil and as are withdrawn from the reservoir, a larger proportion frequently is caused by greater saturation of water and as in the producing formation about wells and clogging of the pores of the sands by silt, organic salt, and insoluble hydrocarbons. If the maximum quantity of oil is to be recovered from reservoir sands and rocks by wells, it is then imperative that the ability of wells to produce oil be watched closely and all adverse influences that affect the case with which oil can flow to wells be corrected if possible."

Sep 1, 1942

By Robert M. Baker

This document details the method whereby Allen Corporation of America gathered and analyzed data and developed an annotated bibliography of metal and nonmetal mine fire reports (1950-1979). The primary objective of this program was to develop the annotated bibliography which included MSHA accident reports and periodicals. Two additional objectives were to gather data on non-reportable fires and to conduct statistical analyses on the data to delineate trends. Data was acquired from three major areas: periodicals, MSHA fire reports, and mine safety directors. Data was separated into reportable fires (at least ½ - hour duration or injury), non-reportable fires, and opinion data. The data was then analyzed by time trends, state, ore, ignition source, burning substance, location, equipment, detection, duration, injuries, fatalities, and successful extinguishing agent. The authors make a number of recommendations: (1) improved stationary electrical equipment design and fire protection, (2) improved design of mobile equipment to separate combustibles from ignition sources, (3) improved maintenance, (4) improved housekeeping, and (5) improved training. The document is divided into two volumes and an appendix. Volume I contains data acquisition procedures, data analysis procedures, and conclusions and recommendations. Volume II contains a chronological list of mine fires and fifteen indexes to assist the reader in locating fire incident report of interest. The Appendix contains the annotated bibliography of over 300 metal and nonmetal mine fire reports and journal articles and a list of non-reportable fires.

Jan 1, 1980

This chapter summarizes data on crude mineral production for the United States, its island possessions, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Included also are tables that show the principal mineral commodities exported from and imported into the United States, and that compare world and U.S. mineral production. The detailed data from which these tables were derived are contained in the individual commodity chapters of volume I and in the State chapters of volume II of this edition of the Minerals Yearbook. Although crude mineral production may be measured at 'any of several stages of extraction and processing, the stage of measurement used In this chapter is what is normally termed "mine output." It usually refers to minerals or ores in the form in which they are first extracted from the ground, but customarily includes the product of auxiliary processing at or near the mines.

Jan 1, 1977

By Shail J. Butani

In 1986 the Bureau of Mines conducted a probability sample survey, Mining Industry Population Survey, to measure such employee characteristics as occupation; principal equipment operated; work location at the mine; present job, present company, and total mining experience; job-related training during the last 2 years; age; sex; race; and education. The population estimates are necessary to properly analyze the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) injury (includes illness and fatality data) statistics; that is, to compare and contrast injury rates for various subpopulations in order to identify those groups that are exhibiting higher than average injury rates. This report uses the survey's results to characterize the U.S. sand and gravel mining workforce from March through September 1986. Similar reports have been prepared for the metallic, stone, and nonmetallic mining industries, as well as for the entire metal and nonmetal mining (includes metallic, stone, sand and gravel, and nonmetallic industries) sector and the coal mining sector.

Jan 1, 1988

By Elaine T. Cullen

Human beings are natural storytellers and story listeners. We learn very early that stories entertain us, but also give us the ?rules? about what is expected of us and how to make meaning of our experiences. Stories are integral to our lives, and have great power to change or influence how we think or how we react. They are an innate part of how we learn, and have obvious benefits to trainers or educators who are trying to impact what and how we learn. This paper and presentation discuss the social and cultural power of stories, and how they have been used to develop training for skilled blue-collar workers. Included will be examples as well as suggestions for trainers on where to find stories, what type of stories to pay attention to, and how to use them to improve occupational safety training.

Jan 1, 2008

By Roger M. Sherman

[Investigation of mine land characteristics, evaluation of irrigation systems, and evaluations by the mining industry, determined that irrigation is a feasible method for aiding revegetation of coal mined lands in western arid and semi-arid regions. The various regions studied displayed a commonality of characteristics which enables, independent of the site or region, the recommendation of solid set irrigation. Irrigation should be supplemental by complimenting natural precipitation and be should implemented on a temporary basis.]

Jan 1, 1980

By Donald F. Reed

Deposits of gray hematite occur in two districts in Talladega County, Ala., the Emauhee-Tallasechatch and Weewoka, both in the; vicinity of Wintorboro, 50 miles east of Birmingham. The deposits were investigated by the Bureau of Mines in 1945 and 1944. Approximately 15,000 feet of diamond drilling was done and 6,000 linear feet of trenches excavated and sampled.

Jan 1, 1949

By C. M. Harrer

Reconnaissance investigations were made of 129 iron occurrences in Arizona to determine their extent, attitude, and potential; character samples were analyzed to determine their quality and impurities; and pioneer metallurgical investigations were made on character samples to present their metallurgical problems. Some factors influencing past and potential western iron markets are discussed. The location, features, qualities, extent, and potential of iron occurrences and some associative resources--limestone and dolomite, coal, petroleum and natural gas, power, and water are discussed. The most abundant iron minerals are magnetite and hematite. The higher grade deposits are extensive contact-metamorphic or pyrometasomatic replacements of calcareous Paleozoic to Proterozoic rocks associated with intrusives. Large low-grade deposits of great potential are present as Precambrian taconite, semitaconite-, and jaspilite-like iron formations of magnetite-hematite. Iron occurs also as low-grade concentrations of magnetite in extensive alluvial deposits. Nonferrous metallurgical slags, nearly 100 million tons, are considered a potential source of iron. Various accessory elements are associated with the iron minerals and these pose metallurgical and economic problems.

Jan 1, 1964