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By Arno C. Fieldner

In view of the widespread interest in the production of synthetic liquid fuels from solid and gaseous fuels to supplement declining reserves of petroleum, and the many requests that are now being received for information on the subject, this bibliography of Bureau of Mines contributions has been compiled. In addition to the publications issued by the Government in printed or mimeographed form, references are included to articles written by the Bureau staff for the technical press and to cooperative reports of work done jointly with States, colleges, and industries. References are given under each section in chronological order. Bureau of Mines bulletins, technical papers, and Minerals Yearbooks are printed and are obtainable at the prices indicated from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. If no price is given, the publication is out of print. The price of entire volumes of the Minerals Yearbook or of reprints of certain chanters may be obtained upon request. Any orders or remittances in payment for these publications should be cent directly to the Superintendent of Documents and not

Jan 1, 1945

By Carl Belser

In 1925 the Park Utah Consolidated Mines Co., after several years of experimental work, installed a system for signalling from cages which has been operating efficiently and with low upkeep costs for the post 19 years. The system was adopted for a large western metal mine but was later abandoned be arse of the constantly shifting shaft alinement. Recently the system has been studied and probably will be put into service at two other large mines. One of the principal reasons wry the system has not boon adopted more widely has been the lack of adequate details both as to the desirability of having such a system and as to its construction and operation. Previous signaling, systems contained undesirable features, such as charged bare wires extending the full length of the shaft. Under the direction of O. N. Friendly, then general superintendent of the Judge Mining & Smelting Co., the present system, entailing the use of a samll current at low voltage, was gradually developed. Many of the refinements in the system wore contributed by Leonard Wilson, consulting electrical engineer, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Jan 1, 1945

By D. Harrington

Although for many years considerable attention has been given to devising safe and efficient methods of using explosives, with some success, relatively little has been done to provide satisfactory storage facilities for them. This was known long before the present war began, but it was emphasized during the past 30 months? inspections of explosive magazines by employees of the Bureau of Mines in administration of the Federal Explosives Act of December 26, 1941. These inspections have revealed woeful in adequacy as well as definite hazards and the urgent need for obtaining better storage facilities either by remodeling old magazines or constructing ink new ones that would afford suitable protection for the contents against theft, fire, deterioration, and detonation. The purpose of this paper is to offer suggestions and to show by sketches and drawings some of the fundamental features of suitable magazines. Type of construction and available materials differ with different; localities, but the information herein contained can be applied to most magazines, whether already constructed or the construct: on of which is planned. It is hoped that this information will be helpful and will aid persons who are trying to provide suitable storage for explosives end detonators. It is also hoped that States and cities will be made aware of the unbelievable laxity practiced in storing explosives in the United States and will take some remedial action.

Jan 1, 1945

By R. R. Sayers

The increasing use of hydrogen fluoride (annual consumption now exceeds 500,000 pounds (1)4/) directly and its occurrence as a byproduct of the utilization of fluorine compounds in the mineral industries, especially in metallurgical processes and in the refining of petroleum products, has aroused interest in its toxicity, and a brief review of the literature, with special reference to the hazard of poisoning in the mineral industries, seems to be opportune. Recently, residents in the vicinity of aluminum plants have been complaining of injury to livestock and vegetation as well as to their own health from the gases discharged into the air during operation of the plants, hydrofluoric acid gas apparently being the offender. The comparatively recent utilization of hydrofluoric acid in the alkylation process for the production of high-octane gasoline has raised the question of the hazard of poisoning in the petroleum Industry. In addition, the use of fluorine-containing refrigerants has extended the potential al exposure outside of industry (2).

Jan 1, 1945

By Peter Grandone

Steel and iron pipe lined with cement to protect it against corrosion has been used in the municipal water systems of the New England States since about 1870. In most recent years, the petroleum industry adopted cement-lined pipe to forestall corrosion, particularly in those areas where large quantities of corrosive brines and hydrogen sulfide are associated with the oil produced. Many of the oil companies had on hand large quantities of corroded pipe, normally disposed of as scrap, which could be cleaned, lined with cement, and returned to service. It was soon learned that after the so-called scrap pipe was lined with cement much of it could serve fully as well as new cement-lined pipe. The demand for lining used pipe with cement resulted in the establishment of several processing, plants in the Mid-Continent oil-producing area. Today six cement-lining plants serve the areas three in Oklahoma and one each in Kansas, Texas, and Illinois. All of these plants have lined large quantities of used pipe for the brine-disposal systems of western Kansas, Illinois, and east Texas and also for the operators of water-flooding projects in northeastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas, where large quantities of brine and fresh water are being injected into the oil-bearing formations as a secondary oil-recovery method. Since war demands during the past 2 years have created an acute shortage of steel, the need of reclaiming used pipe for the expansion of oil-producing operations has become more evident than ever before. Thus the new industry (about 6 years old) - lining used pipe with cement - is saving large quantities of steel at a critical time by reclaiming used pipe and preventing further- corrosion.

Jan 1, 1945

By H. Foster Bain

The war has brought about many changes in the Western States, and some have deep pr sent or potent al economic significance. The West has been feeling severe growing pains for a number of years. Especially since the beginning of preparation for national defense and through the period of

Jan 1, 1945

By A. B. Hooker

A list of permissible mine equipment, tested and approved by the Bureau r. Mines previous to January l, i-)4, , was published in Bureau c Moines In ornation Circular 7207.3/ The l ,.t c -. that dote was complete as to equipmentthen available and in current Information Circular 7210,?+/ published as a supplement thereto, listed equipment approved during; the calendar 1942. Information Circular72x'3,_/ published as a second supplement thereto, ! listed equipment approved during the calendar year 1943. The present listis. Another supplement covering approvals issued during the calendar year 1c)44. The items are numbered crud to indicate the consecutive order in which each typo of machine or device was approved _.c?. in its particular classification. Thus Information Circular 7207 gave 1,t drills and drilling much fines on the Bureau'sactive.. d active list Ih: additional anal approval: were given in 1942 the three issued in 19 and one issued :n 1944- bring the total to `3. Item 111, under. Loading Machines and conveying appeared in lnformation Circular 7207. It is repeated ',tore to _how that on j,,l was granted Curia 1the optional of this loader when modified .'or 2 0. alt ciruits .]

Jan 1, 1945

By Ernest W. Johnson

Diamond, drilling of some blast holes in stoning operations is practised in at least two iron mines in the Lake Superior district - the Soudan mine of the Oliver Iron Mining Co., on the Vermilion range at Soudan, Minn., and the Anvil-Palms mine, operated by Pickands, Bather & Co., on the Gogebic range at Bessemer, Mich. Diamond drilling, at the Soudan nine has partly replaced percussion drilling because of the extreme hardness of the ore and of the lean formation. According to Wolff,4/ the jasper or lean formation in this mine is the hardest rock regularly drilled in any commercial operation.

Jan 1, 1945

By Oliver Bowles

In 1943 the Bureau of Mines began a review of trends in consumption and prices of the more important nonmetallic minerals. The first report covering building materials4/ appeared in December of that year. The present paper, which deals with chemical raw materials and fertilizers, is the second of the series. The 34 years from 1910 to 1943, for which statistics are presented herein, comprise periods of uneventful peace, unparalleled prosperity, industrial depression almost to the point of stagnation, and two wars of world proportions.

Jan 1, 1945

By A. C. Fieldner

The past full year of war has increased greatly the demand for virtually all kinds of fuel, and the Bureau of Mines research and service facilities have been extended to meet these unprecedented requirements. Liquid fuels, such as aviation and motor gasolines, are fundamental to modern warfare. Bituminous coal and anthracite are needed, not only to servo the expanded industrial program for which coal normally is used but also to replace natural gas, wherever possible, and fuel oil in the Eastern States, New England, and the Pacific Northwest. Railroad transportation with energy derived from coal is replacing much of the motor-vehicle transportation that has been stopped or curtailed to conserve rubber. Pulverized coal hoe been sound to be a satisfactory and cheaper substitute for fuel oil in metallurgical heating furnaces. Celloidal fuel - a mixture of coal dust and oil - may offer a partial substitution for curtain coal-burning equipment. Several industrial experiments have been made with this type of fuel. The expansion of the steel industry in connection with the war program has required a corresponding increase in the production of metallurgical coke and its associated byproducts - light oil, tar, ammonium sulfate, and surplus gas. If the war is of long duration and new reserves of petroleum are not discovered, wartime trends from fuel oil to coal probably will not be reversed.

Jan 1, 1945

During the interval 1929-41, geophysical exploration in Russia made considerable progress, as reflected in publications. The greater part of these publications was available during the preparation of Geophysical Abstracts and Ms been abstracted in them. The rest was not received and remained unaccounted for. A considerable portion of these lading publications are now listed in bibliographic form, in view of their interest to geophysicists. All publications entered in the bibliography are in Russian. 1. GRAVITATIONAL METHODS 1. Abakelia, M. S. The Organization of Gravitational Observatories in Transcaucasia. Problemy Sovetskoi Geologi, Moscow, vol. 6, No. 5, 1936, pp. 452-454.

Jan 1, 1945

Geophysical Abstracts 1 - 86 wore issued in mimeographed form by the Bureau of Mines; Abstracts 87 - 111 were published in bulletins of the Geological Survey; Abstracts 112 - 119 were issued in mimeographed form by the Bureau of Mines as Information it ion Circulars 7256, 7257, 7267, 7273, 7285, 7292, 7303, and 7310. 1. GRAVITATIONAL METHODS 7786. Barton, D. C.3/ Case Histories and Quantitative Calculations in Gravimotric Prospecting. Am. Inst. Min. and Meat. Eng., New York, Tech. Pub. 1760, 1944, 49 pp.

Jan 1, 1945

By W. J. Kroll

The production of beryllium metal and its alloys is one of the most difficult tasks in metallurgy. In this report we shall examine the progress made in this work- in the last 15 years; taking into account the outstanding publications, including; those of the patent literature, and the information obtained during our 20 years? experience with this metal. The difficulties experienced' in producing elementary beryllium derive from the physical nature as well as from the chemical behavior of the metal and its compounds. Its oxygen affinity is about the same as that of calcium and a little higher than that of magnesium. Its chlorine affinity is much lower than that of magnesium, about equal that, of manganese, and little higher than that of aluminum. The sulfur and nitrogen affinity is probably almost the same as that of calcium for these elements, and beryllium carbide is probably more stable than aluminum carbide, A14C3. The intermetallic affinity of beryllium may be given in descending order, as follows: Nickel - copper - iron. It forms eutectics with -aluminum and silicon as well as with silver. It does not alloy with magnesium and only partly with calcium. Its oxide melts at 2,570° C., but CaO and BaO form readily fusible eutectics with BeO(65).3/ No igneous solvents are known for BeO, which behaves id this regard like Mgo. The beryllium silicate is a strong compound, the aluminete much less so; however, CaO easily displaces Be in the heated mixtures. The Anhydrous chloride hydrolyzes, and it cannot be made from aqueous liquors. It sublimes at 488° C, and melts at 405° C., The fluoride, which, is very Soluble in water, hydrolyzes also, but a kind of oxyfluoride of the approximate formula 2 BeO?5 BeF2 can be made from solutions by dessication. The fluoride melts at 800° C, and boils above 1,100° C. It forms very stable double fluorides with alkalifluorides, which have very low melting points and are fairly soluble in water. They are more stable than the analogous fluosilicates and the sodium fluoaluminate cryolite.

Jan 1, 1945

By W. J. Kroll

Despite the fact that barium minerals are plentiful and widely distributed in nature, this element is one that we do not yet know how to prepare cheaply in metallic form. This is due to its chemical activity, as evidenced by its great affinity for fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and sulfur. Furthermore, it forms a very stable subchloride and subfluoride, which prevents isolation of the metal by fusion electrolysis from a halide bath. A good survey of the metallurgy of barium calcium, arid strontium has been made recently in Light Metals (54,55).3/ Metallic magnesium (46), calcium (83), barium, and strontium (27) reduce each other's oxides. Proof of this can be found in the activation of BaO after reduction with Mg, which leads to the formation of so-called "Maquenne" mixtures (58) used for absorbing gases. However, it is impossible to extract the reduced metal- from the residue, a fact that Guntz (25) attributed to the formation of barium suboxide. There is no necessity for presuming the formation of such a compound, as it has boon established that in the reduction there is always formed an alloy of the alkaline-earth metal with the magnesium, which is capable of producing hydrogen when brought into contact with water. The reduction of alkaline earth-metal oxides with aluminum was observed by Mallet (57) in 1877, but recent investigations have shown that the end product of the reaction is an alloy of aluminum with the alkaline earth metal (1,2). Silicon also has been suggested as a reducing agent, and the results obtained are the same (84,85).

Jan 1, 1945

By D. Harrington

The greatly extended use of the underground trolley-locomotive system for hauling coal without doubt was one of the most important factors in the rapid progress of coal mining and the increased production of coal in American coal mines during the period 1910-20. Much of the superior efficiency of production of our underground coal and metal lines should also be credited to the trolley locomotive system. The trend to mechanization of mines during the past 15 years, mere particularly the past 5 years, with higher production per man employed and greatly accelerated advancement of working places, has required increased use of trolley locomotives, necessitating larger equipment, higher speeds, and more 'frequent turn over of pit cars. This is re¬flected in increased size of locomotives and the use of larger mine ears (some with a capacity up to or over 10 tons); moreover, heavier rails and larger-size trolley wires have boon or ought to have boon installed. Trolley-locomotive haulage has proved to be rapid; economical, efficient, and productive; nevertheless; in spite of these advantages, so-many hazardous features and, unsafe conditions are involved and the price paid in life and property is so high as to justify the statement that the system should be scrapped if it cannot be operated under reasonably safe conditions. Since bare trolloy wires were introduced into underground mines, they have boon responsible for the death of hundreds of diners, property damage totaling millions of dollars, an indeterminate loss of tonnage through the abandonment of mines or parts of mines, and loss of time after disasters caused by fires or explosions originated by the trolley haulage system.

Jan 1, 1945

By Sara J. Davenport

Hydrogen sulfite has been listed (1)3/ as a possible hazard in 50 occupations, many of which are in the mineral industries. The effects of its occurrence in the petroleum industry made themselves felt more than two decades ago, resulting in a comprehensive study (2) of the toxic gases from Mexican and other high-sulfur petroleum products. The mining industry, likewise, has had cause to guard against this gas. Enough hydrogen sulfide has been found in coal and some noncoal mines during normal operations to cause severe eye irritation, some serious illness, end even fatalities. It is usually a product of the decomposition of sulfur compounds and may be produced by burning explosives containing sulfur; the gas in harmful qauntities is formed by the use of block blasting powder or by the use of dynamite in blasting sulfide ores. Hydrogen sulfide is readily soluble in water, and enough may be released from water streams in coal and noncoal mining to cause fatal poisoning it is found sometimes in stagnant water underground, particularly where ventilation currents are absent, and great care must be exercised when accumulations of such waters are disturbed, as exposure to comparatively low concentrations of the gas evolved therefrom has caused fatal accidents.

Jan 1, 1945

By D. Harrington

Although the explosion-fatality record for the fiscal year 1944 showed considerable improvement over those of the preceding 4 years, it is still fur from creditable, and the coal-mining industry and agencies interested in the prevention of coal-mine accidents should not be satisfied until accidents from explosions and fires are eliminated. In view of present knowledge of the methods of preventing explosions and fires, such disasters are inexcusable and discredit the mining industry. Despite this knowledge, far too many coal¬mine operators and employees continue to follow procedures that have resulted in disasters in the past. Included in the appendix to this circular are a number of safety measures designed to prevent coal-mine explosions and fires and metal-mine fires. Their adoption is essential if explosions and fires are to be prevented, as certainly they should be. An epidemic of disastrous mine fires of electrical origin during the past 2 years emphasizes the need for better methods of protection of underground electrical circuits. At present, committees of mining-electrical engineers, electrical-equipment manufacturers' representatives, and others are cooperating with the Bureau of Mines seeking means to solve this problem.

Jan 1, 1945

By Carlton E. Brown

This report contains information on the cells or containers used to hold a known small depth (usually 1 mm. or less) of the dust-containing liquid from impinger, 5/6/ filter-paper,7/ and other samples collected from the air while the particles revealed by a microscope (equipped with a 16-mm., 0.25- or 0.50-N. A. objective and ordinarily used with axial light-field illumination) are counted in order to obtain an index of the concentration of dust in the sampled air. Information is given on such subjects as the kinds of cells available, kinds used, actual depths of cells, and construction of simple, inexpensive cells. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The interest, encouragement, and assistance received from H. H. Schrenk, chief chemist of the Health Division, in the preparation of this report are gratefully acknowledged, as 'is all other assistance received.

Jan 1, 1945

The revised inspection standards or recommendations herein have been prepared for use in Federal inspection of bituminous-coal and lignite mines. They succeed a compilation of similar standards published as Bureau of Mines Information Circular 7268 in December 1943 and employed as a guide in Federal inspections since that time. Important alterations and additions have been made because of changes in mining, practice and temporary shortages of some safety equipment; moreover, several previous standards have been found not generally applicable and have accordingly been deleted. Mining methods and equipment continue to change, and new hazards and new safeguards are introduced. Consequently, these standards are subject to revision from time to time. Questions from the coal-mining industry regarding these standards and suggestions as to changes and additions thereto will be welcomed and considered carefully when the next revision is made. Many constructive criticisms from the mining industry have been considered in preparing this edition.

Jan 1, 1945

Geophysical Abstracts 1 - 86 were issued in mimeographed form by the Bureau of Mines; Abstracts 87 - 111 were published in bulletins of the Geological Survey; Abstracts 112 - 120 were issued in mimeographed form by the Bureau of Mines as Information Circulars 7256, 7257; 7267,`7273; 7285, 7292, 7303, 7310, and 7324. 1. GRAVITATIONAL METHODS 7933. Ansel, E. A Eine Untersuchung zum Problem der Isostasie (An Investigation Regarding the Problem of Isostasy). Gerlands Beitr. Geophys., Leipzig, vol. 59, 1942, pp. 16-26.

Jan 1, 1945