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By Edward L. Burwell

The Bureau of Mines conducted laboratory experiments to determine the change during retorting in the apparent permeability and the degree of compaction of beds of broken oil shale. Grades of oil shale studied ranged from 20.6 to 46.7 gallons of oil per ton (gpt), and the simulated overburden pressures applied to the shale were from 300 to 900 psi. Linear regression analysis of the data produced equations describing the response of the oil shale. Oil shales of approximately 20 gpt experience only minor apparent permeability reductions under test conditions, but richer shales (30 to 50 gpt) lose essentially all permeability. The permeability reductions were accompanied by corresponding decreases in bed height that ranged up to 37 percent of the original bed height.

Jan 1, 1974

By Warren W. Krech

Rock property data is needed over a wide range of parameters for the optimum execution of rapid excavation research. Eight rock types were chosen by the Bureau of Mines for a standard rock suite for such research. Large rock blocks were quarried and the standard physical and mechanical properties measured and documented. The eight rock types that comprise the rock suite are Barre Granite, Berea Sandstone, Dresser basalt, Holston Limestone, Salem Lime-stone, Sioux Quartzite, St. Cloud Gray Granodiorite, and Westerly Granite. Geologic, petrographic, physical-property, and mechanical-property test data are reported for each rock type. The information is the first step in the building of a comprehensive property listing for the eight rock types. A limited number of rock cubes are available from the Bureau of Mines Twin Cities Mining Research Center for use by researchers to broaden the information available on the suite.

Jan 1, 1974

By Motohisa Kanda

The time and amplitude statistics necessary to adequately describe electromagnetic (FM) noise in mines are illustrated through computer software techniques. They are 1) Allan Variance Analyses (AVA), 2) Interpulse Spacing Distributions (ISD), 3) Pulse Duration Distributions (PDD), 4) Average Crossing Rates (ACR), and S) Amplitude Probability Distributions (APD). These statistics are illustrated using data taken from a rather large store of raw analog data recorded in operational mines. The curves generated for the illustrations characterize the noise environment in the mines from which the corresponding data were taken, and should aid in the design of reliable communication systems for such mines.

Jan 1, 1974

By L. Connolly, F. R. De Luca

"Rubber liners at Denison Mines Limited are used in 10 1/2x 24' low discharg0 pebble mills. These were originally 10 1/2 x 13 Dominion overflow type ball mills. Experience here shows that the wear of rubber and ni-hard lifters is approximately the same in the feed end half of the mill, while the wear of rubber lifters is much greater in the discharge half. The wear of rubber plates is considerably less than white iron in the feed end half of the Mill and slightly more in the discharge end half of the Mill. Rubber components are lighter to handle but their installation is time consuming. This leads to the conclusion that a combination of ni-hard lifters a~~ rubber plates is the most economical compromise in Denison's case, for the Mill. Rubber discharge grates are superior to steel grates, while steel feed end liners are superior to rubber.The Use of Rubber Mill Liners at Denison Mines LimitedGrinding is done in two identic0al circuits each consist-ing of one 10 1/2 x 14' Dominion overflow rod mill, two Dorr Oliver quadraplex rake type classifiers, two 10 1/2 x 24' Dominion low discharge grate pebble mills and ancillary pumps and conveyors for pebbles. There is one centrally located distributor box that receives the discharge of the 4 pebble mills and splits it out to the classifiers."

Jan 1, 1974

By T. R. Achenbach

1. This, the final report to the U. S. Bureau of Mines on the program with the subject title, presents the data obtained from June 29, 1973, to April 20, 1974. 2. Operating in the Illinois #6 coal seam, the effectiveness of foam opposed to water was compared in reducing respirable coal dust. A combination of 39 foam generators and 14 water sprays were used during the foam tests. Sixty one water sprays were operated during the water tests. Data from 24 shifts using foam and 21 shifts using water are presented. 3. Additional work on foam generator design should be undertaken to provide coverage to a wider area with foam. 4. The general attitude of those working on the foam program and with the miner at the face was positive. It is urged that the work be continued. 5. The minor respiratory irritations evidently caused by an aerosol effect of the surfactant should be investigated. 6. The statistical analysis of the tests will be made and reported by the U. S. Bureau of Mines.

Jan 1, 1974

By Raymond E. Zimmerman

The cleaning of coal by the use of jigs is one of the oldest methods of separating coal from its impurities. Although in many situations jigs have been replaced by other methods, by far the largest percentage of coal today is still being cleaned by some form of jigs. Some piston- or plunger-type jigs are still in use throughout the world; however, the greater number are air pulsated, generally called the Baum jig, named after the original inventor, Fritz Baum of Germany. This standard jig, with slight modifications, has been in use for over 75 years. Up until recently, however, it has had certain limitations in obtaining the high performance and efficiencies required in modern coal preparation practice. TO improve its performance, some radical modifications have been made in its design and operation SO that there is now a Baum-type jig giving much higher performance in terms of capacity, efficiency and sharpness of separation- This new jig is called the Batac, and the purpose of this paper is to describe its characteristics and present data giving its performance in treating coarse and fine sizes of coal.

Jan 1, 1974

By Stephen G. Tough, Ted M. Noskiewicz

INTRODUCTION For many years, in Europe and in North America, pre-formed metallic and concrete segmental linings in tunnels have been used extensively as temporary and permanent ground support systems. In the United Kingdom the use of cast iron as a means of ground support in mining shafts dates from the first decade of the 19th century. Although at that time wood tubbing was extensively employed, cast iron was used in shafts at Wallsend and Percy Main collieries in the North East of England. The original form of cast iron tubbing consisted of cylinders which were lowered bodily into the pit and were built from the bottom up, but subsequently they were subdivided into segments which involved the making of vertical as well as horizontal joints. Principally, the practice of providing immediate pre-formed support developed because of the incompetent state of the surrounding ground and, although this still remains the over-riding consideration nowadays, several other factors are examined before finally deciding what type of lining to use. Other branches of sub-terranean technology such as tunnel thrusting or immersed tubes (both of which involve pre-formed linings) can provide alternative solutions to problems hitherto thought better solved by bored tunnelling methods. However, this paper will confine itself to those linings developed for the more traditional tunnelling methods. Usually the shape of segmentally lined tunnels is circular because this profile is the most suitable for bad ground and many tunnelling machines. This does not always lead to the most economic use of space within the tunnel and horseshoe or elliptical linings are sometimes used in suitable ground. The number of segments

Jan 1, 1974

Physical model testing at Bergbauforschung is done in two rigs, a roadway rig and a longwall rig. The loading of such models, in scale relation to the con- ditions in the collieries provides valuable guidance to the probability and nature of failures, and thus to support requirements, in structural, roofbolts and self- auvancing supports. The success of such modelling when related to subsequent underground designs put to use suggests that such methods of investigation could be extended to pillar extraction problems also.

Jan 1, 1974

By M. Shabbir

A study was made to determine the optimum conditions for precipitation of uranium from mill solutions using hydrogen peroxide. Precipitation tests were made on both synthetic and actual mill solutions. Parameters studied included amount of hydrogen peroxide, initial pH, reaction pH, time, and temperature. Also investigated was the effect of varied amounts of vanadium, molybdenum, and sulfate in the test solution on uranium precipitation and product quality. The optimum conditions for complete precipitation and high product quality were (1) the use of 150 percent of the stoichiometric requirement of hydrogen peroxide, (2) initial pH of 1.0, (3) reaction pH between 3.4 and 5.0, (4) 4 hours reaction time, and (5) ambient reaction temperature. The excess hydrogen peroxide requirement is partially dependent on the amount of impurities present in the feed solution. The hydrogen peroxide process appeared applicable to treatment of the several mill eluate and strip solutions tested. The experimental studies also indicated that the hydrogen peroxide technique gives substantially better product quality than that produced by ammonia precipitation.

Jan 1, 1974

The Kalgoorlie Golden Mile is proposed as an Archaean volcanogenic-type deposit, modified and redistributed along later-developed structures. Rich pyritctelluride and Green Leader gold mineralization is associated with the end phase of basic volcanism and, in a general sense, is confined to a broad interface zone between the products of marine basic volcanism and later acid volcanism. There is virtualIy no ore associated with the main body of acid volcanics.Green Leader is the local name of a type of ore that occurs at some igneous rock contacts in association with graphitic sediments and layered acidic tuffs. It is characteristicalIy green, of various shades, and commonly yields very high gold assays, the reasons for which are not apparent in hand specimen.Carbonates, carbonaceous shales, tuffites, rich gold ores, and acid and intermediate dykes, alI indicating a common heritage, are features common to the main ore hosts, viz. the Paringa Basalt (Calc Schist) and theGolden Mile Dolerite ("Quartz Dolerite Greenstone").Several probably related fracture systems have reconstituted most, but not all, of the original deposits into a large number of steep tabular lodes.Includes two sets of discussions and comments from later Proceedings volumes.

Jan 1, 1974

By Robert Lee Stahl

Comprehensive field tests were made by the Bureau of Mines at the Schwartzwalder mine near Golden, Colo., to determine whether surface geophysical techniques could be used to detect and delineate faults in uranium deposits. The tests included seismic refraction, magnetometer, electrical resistivity, airborne infrared thermal scanning, and airborne photography. Of the several geophysical techniques tested in the field, horizontal resistivity profiling with electrode spacings in the range of 10 to 15 feet was most diagnostic of faults. The method is quick, inexpensive, and accurate and can be easily used by mining company personnel to detect and delineate faults.

Jan 1, 1974

Results obtained from small scale tests using Australian tin concentrates indicate that metallic tin containing less than 0·1 per cent iron can be recovered by a two-stage process using hydrogen and make-up chlorine. In the first stage the concentrate is ground,. pelletized, roasted, and reacted at 650°C with HCI and H2 to volatilize the tin as SnOI2. The volatilization reaction is conducted with cocurrent gas and solids flow because it was found that the use of cocurrent flow yielded a solids residue substantially free from FeCI2. The second stage uses a technique termed "reflux reduction" during which the SnOl2 produced by volatilization is reduced by hydrogen to form tin and a gas containing HCI and H2 of sufficiently high HCI tenor for recycle to the volatilization stage. The elimination of tin ranged from 98+ to 99·7+ per cent of the tin from concentrates containing 5 to 50 per cent tin, respectively. The process should be capable of continuous operation, and a tentative calculation has shown ,that a treatment rate of 12,000 tonnes of tin concentrate per year could be obtained in a volatilization reactor 1·1 m in diameter and 6·1 m high. The process may have particular application to finely divided concentrates containing less than 20 per cent tin.

Jan 1, 1974

By Robert Vergie

Like most of you, I would rather work on a job than talk about it. But it is fruitful to spend some time taking stock of important developments in the heavy construction field. One of the strongest recent movements affecting the industry has been the push for safety. I regret that it is a recent development. Not that builders were against safety. Too often though, it was easier to continue with dangerous old work methods than to try something new. Too often, it was easier for equipment manufacturers to build production tools with little consideration for worker safety. And too often, accidents and gruesome disasters occurred. The ultimate result of on-the-job injuries in construction and other industries was the Federal Government's Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Individual states were required either to accept OSHA or pass updated regulations at least as stringent as the Federal requirements. These new rules must be strictly obeyed -- not just because they carry civil and criminal sanctions -- but because they correct unsafe conditions and reduce hazardous acts. Though some OSHA measures have been criticized as superfluous, most of them do in fact save lives and limbs. Equally important, the tunneler who follows the new safety regulations can be fairly certain of an efficient, uninterrupted operation. Regulations do sometimes bring rewards.

Jan 1, 1974

The use of solid state detector and radioisotope x-ray source for x-ray fluorescence analysis is illustrated by analysis for iron, copper, zinc, tin, and lead in about 700 samples taken from Australian mineral process streams. Limits of detection based on counting statistics (3 standard deviations) range from 0·001 to 0·004 per cent by weight element. The analysis accuracy was usualIy between 2 to 10 per cent (rms) of the mean element concentration and was determined by comparison with assays supplied by mineral companies. In most cases the main cause of error appears to be due to this assay and not the x-ray fluorescence technique.Some potential fields of application of solid state detector and radioisotope x-ray source for analyses in the mineral industry are indicated.

Jan 1, 1974

By Rolland L. Blake

The Bureau of Mines is concerned with extracting minerals from residual geothermal brines after their heat content and some demineralized water have been recovered. This literature study is based on a survey of the literature and discussions with individuals knowledgeable on various aspects of the subject. This report examines the potential of the domestic geothermal mineral resources, considers the technical problems involved, and outlines possible effects on the environment from reservoir fluid withdrawal and reinjection. Geothermal resources in the Western United States were extensively explored during the 1960's. Limited development operations included exploratory drilling and operating wells producing hot brine, separating steam for experimental electric power generation, and recovering minerals in solar evaporation ponds or in extraction plants. Interest in the recovery of minerals and salts from geothermal fluids waned because of corrosion and scaling problems and low or no market value of the mineral products. Most of these problems can be controlled with existing technology and careful planning of processes and equipment. Extracting geothermal minerals is technically feasible, but the problems of low or no market value for major mineral products, and insufficient amounts of more valuably major products, make mineral recovery uneconomical at present.

Jan 1, 1974

By R. R. Schehl

The Bureau of Mines analyzed the structure of a high-grade metallurgical coke, carbonized at different temperatures in the range 500° to 1,000° C, through X-ray diffraction studies. Growth in the crystallite size with increasing coking temperature was calculated from profile analysis and compared with values obtained from the radial distribution function. The carbonization temperature appeared to have little influence upon the stack height, whereas the layer diameters more than doubled in size between 500° and 1,000° C. These results are comparable to those obtained from other studies of poorer quality cokes.

Jan 1, 1974

By R. G. Bottge

To better understand those factors which increase mining costs in Alaska, a Bureau of Mines study was conducted to compare the estimated costs of operating a 100,000-tpd open pit copper mine located on a hypothetical ore body in the Lake Clark area, Alaska, with the costs of mining a similarly sized hypothetical copper ore body near Tucson, Ariz. The information derived should be beneficial to the State and Federal governments in appraising the potential for development of large, low-grade porphyry copper deposits in south-central Alaska. Conventional mining and concentrating methods were assumed, and capital and operating costs were derived using flowsheets and standard costing methods. The total price required for copper mined in Alaska and Arizona was $1.12 and $0.63 per pound, respectively, plus or minus 20 percent. These values were obtained assuming no leaching of low-grade copper, recovery of gold, silver, and molybdenum as byproducts, 100-percent equity financing, and a 12 percent discounted cash flow rate of return. The average domestic and international prices for copper in July 1973 were $0.60 and $0.916 per pound, respectively. The existence of a developed transportation and power system in Alaska would have reduced capital and operating costs subs tantially. The required price for copper would have declined from $1.12 to $1.05 per pound, plus or minus 20 percent.

Jan 1, 1974

By William Detty

An architect representing the Atlanta office of the Brick Institute of America periodically presents a slide lecture to interested groups entitled "The First 10,000 Years of Brick". The title signifies the fact that brick, man's oldest manufactured building material, has been around for quite some time and will continue to be utilized by architects and builders in the foreseeable future. This is not to say that the brick industry can rest on its laurels and ignore the competition presented by newer more innovative products. The industry will have to be equally inovative and market oriented in order to maintain its market share of the predicted construction boom between now and the year 2000. The implication is made, however, that brick can be produced under rudimentary conditions and that the desire to use the product has been long standing. In addition, history has sham that there has been plentiful clay available to produce the product. This paper is an attempt to assess the climate in which the brick industry will operate during the next 26 years. An analysis of regulatory conditions affecting the manufacture of the product will be followed by an assessment of the materials environment in which the industry will be operating. These factors are then reconciled with a projected demand for the product to determine the ability of the industry to satisfy future demand for brick. From a mineral point of view this paper will address itself generally to the availability of and demand for clay. However, other than a brief overview of the uses of other specific types of clay, it will concentrate on the clays utilized in the production of structural clay products, specifically brick.

Jan 1, 1974

By Roshan B. Bhappu

Stimulated by current $0.80 to $1.20 per pound price tag of copper, considerable interest and activity have been generated in the copper mining camps throughout the world, and especially in the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico copper belt. Under these economically favorable conditions, many of the marginal oxide-copper deposits, as well as newly discovered prospects, are under scrutiny for possible exploitation. For both the known deposits and new prospects, the big question facing the mine operator is the selection of the best method for processing these economically attractive oxide-copper deposits. Several variations of the hydrometallurgical processes are currently available for treating oxide-copper ores which can be mined by the open-pit method. Basically, these processes involve preparing the ore for application of an acid solution, applying the solution to the ore, and recovery of the metal from the pregnant solution. Dump leaching, heap leaching, vat leaching, agitation leaching and, in more recent times, in situ leaching or solution mining in combination with well established cementation process or the newly developed solvent extraction-electrowinning system have all been employed or have been investigated for the recovery of copper from oxide ores. Of these processes, dump, heap and vat leaching have been successfully practiced for treating oxide-copper ores. Agitation leaching is a relatively newcomer and has been adopted from the experiences of uranium and gold processing. Finally, the inplace leaching technique is the latest process to be suggested for possible treatment of oxide-copper ores.

Jan 1, 1974

By F. A. Olson, S. L. Pohlman

A unique method of measuring weight loss as a function 3 of time, with a sensitivity of 10-5 grams, while leaching copper minerals with a flowing acid leach solution has been developed. Kinetic results obtained coupled with visual and microprobe analyses show topochemical reaction for the leaching of chrysocolla with sulfuric acid. The kinetics follow a shrinking core model and show ion diffusion through a product layer, chemical reaction at the unreacted core interface and mass transfer through the boundary layer as being important.

Jan 1, 1974