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By Claude W. Sill

In the course of a series of investigations on vanadium deposits of the western United States, the Bureau of Mines collected many hundreds of samples for chemical analysis. As uranium is often associated with these vanadium minerals, they were also analyzed for uranium, which was pound to be absent in a large percentage of the samples. Since the usual methods for determining uranium are laborious and time-consuming it is very desirable to have some simple qualitative test that can be applied prior to a quantitative analysis to determine whether uranium is present or absent and thus save the time and expense of applying the quantitative analysis to the large proportion of samples containing no uranium. To be acceptable, the test should be specific for cranium, sensitive enough to detect small amounts of uranium, and. simple enough to make it worthwhile to apply. The available methods for detecting uranium lacked one or more of the desired characteristics. Eventually, however, a method was worked out that satisfied all the requirements. This method is probably more specific and sensitive than the usual qualitative methods for uranium, and its simplicity and speed of application make it ideal for testing samples prior to quantitative analysis.

Jan 1, 1945

By Frank K. McIntosh

The Wood mine area was investigated by the Bureau of Mines in -1941 by a magnetic survey and a gravitational survey. Surface trenches were excavated, and diamond-drill holes were bored at the strongest anomalies developed in common by the two surveys. In the last century', several widely separated bodies of chromite with some magnetite had been exploited in a 'serpentine belt near its contact with schist. At one time this district held a virtual monopoly on the production of chromite. Known ore bodies now are exhausted. Owing to the relatively high specific gravity of chromate compared to normal rocks, a gravitational survey was run to determine which magnetic anomalies were worthy of diamond drilling. Linear feet of trenching totaled 1,710 feet. Ten holes were diamond drilled, which totaled 2,272 feet. The log of the drilling is shown in the text in a tabulation of drill-hole data.

Jan 1, 1948

By Yael Miron

Two recent unplanned detonations occurred during blasting operations in sulfide-bearing ores in a Nevada gold mine. Other premature detonations have also reportedly occurred at other Nevada, California, and Arizona operations within the past few years, with increasing frequency. Unplanned or premature detonations can be extremely hazardous to life and can cause extensive property damage. A miner was injured in one of these occurrences. This report, by the U.S. Bureau of Mines, is intended to acquaint personnel involved in such mining activities with the basic causes for these accidents. These causes include the exothermic oxidation of pyrite (FeS2) and formation of ferrous sulfate (FeS04), the exothermic and energetic reaction of the ferrous sulfate with ammonium nitrate-fuel oil (ANFO)-based explosives, and the associated elevated temperatures that can set off detonators and explosives in the boreholes. Recommendations for safe operation by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the Bureau, and the mine involved with the recent incidents include monitoring temperatures in the blast holes, analyzing for sulfate and ferrous ions, and limiting the time between loading and firing in accordance with conditions in the blast holes. Other procedures for safe operations should fit specific conditions in, the mines.

Jan 1, 1992

By R. T. Johansen

The wettability of petroleum reservoir materials by water and crude oil has been recognized as an important factor in determining waterflood behavior. The problem of simulating and studying reservoir conditions and characteristics, to produce laboratory results congruous with field experience, has been examined by many methods. (1, 2, 3, 4).4/ The most generally accepted approach to this problem is determining wettability of the porous medium by imbibition methods; or, after solvent extraction, predetermining the wettability of the samples by coating the surface of the medium to render it preferentially oil-or water-wet (3, 5). The emphasis of wettability studies has been placed on the characteristics of the reservoir materials with little consideration being given to the fluids themselves. Therefore, the wetting tendencies of crude oils have been investigated by a recently developed method (6). Imbibition and the more general phenomena of capillary pressure are the most direct ways to measure wettability. The simplest type of capillary pressure observations involves the use of an interfacial-tension capillarimeter, which does not produce as separate values either interfacial tension or contact angle. Actually, these quantities do not have independent significance in reservoir engineering, and the property of wettability they are intended to evaluate is given, immediately by capillarimetric measurements.

Jan 1, 1961

By E. W. Pehrson

In making any canvass of secondary metals great care must be exercised to avoid duplication or exaggeration of net consumption. One of the major difficulties is to trace the metal accurately as it passes through the many cycles of manufacture. Greater or less duplication probably occurs in any canvass. The manufacturer of tin plate, for instance, purchases primary pig tin exclusively as a raw material. Most of it goes into the coating on the steel sheet, but a substantial part emerges in the form of byproducts such as scruffs and drosses. These are sold to other plants, where they are used in the manufacture of alloys and chemicals. Alloys and chemicals, however, are not necessarily articles for final consumption. The alloy may be sold in ingot form to a bearing manufacturer, who, in turn may produce some scrap, which he may sell to still' another plant that may make still other products. There is a considerable return of tin in the form of waste products from chemicals sold to the silk industry. Even tin plate does not represent an ultimate use of tin because the tin-can maker produces large amounts of clippings, which are sold to detinning plants, where the tin is recovered and used again for some other purpose. Thus the degree of duplication in consumption statistics depends on the point in the industrial cycle where consumption is measured.

Jan 1, 1936

By L. C. IlsLey

"The use of trailing cables on cutting machines, loading machines, and similar electrically operated apparatus is recognized as a necessary adjunct to the economical operation of such units. On the other hand, such cables because of their liability to failure from being run over by cars, locomotives, and other track-operated equipment offer one of the greatest hazards - indeed, probably the worst hazard - met with in the operation and maintenance of permissible equipment. Therefore, the Bureau of Mines is seeking ways of making the use of trailing cables less hazardous.Recently the bureau conducted an extensive investigation of both concentric and duplex rubber-sheathed trailing cables at the Pittsburgh Experiment Station. The results of this investigation were published in two reports.3 4In a larger part of portable motor operations in mines a double-conductor cable can be used. The investigation already mentioned indicated that it is feasible to construct a 2-conductor cable that will stand considerable abuse, such as being run over by loaded cars or light-weight locomotives without producing dangerous arcing in the cable either from grounds or short circuits. There are conditions where more than two conductors are necessary, and in such instances it will probably be necessary to use a cable less resistant to this kind of abuse.Schedule 2C, covering the tests of electric motored equipment, was approved February, 1930. This schedule provides for performance tests on trailing cables as follows;Trailing Cable Performance: The following performance test, optional with the manufacturer, is established for determining the suitability of trailing cables for use on permissible equipment. Trailing cables that pass this test will be especially recommended for this service.The cable will be placed across the two rails of a track and a 4-wheeled 7-ton car will be run over it 50 times. The speed of the car shall be approximately 3-1/2 miles per hour and potential shall be applied to the cable during tests. The cable will be shifted in position after each passage of the car thus giving 100 places over which two wheels have passed. To warrant special recommendation of the Bureau, a cable must neither become short-circuited nor grounded either to the rails or wheels in more than 10 per cent of the 100 places.The Bureau of Mines is prepared to conduct tests as outlined in the foregoing paragraphs to determine the suitability of trailing cables for use on permissible equipment. Application for such tests should be made to the Director, Bureau of Mines, Washington, D. C. Each application should be accompanied by a check for $25.00, made payable to the Treasurer of the United States, to cover the expense of conducting the test on a given size and make of cable."

Apr 1, 1930

By Diane Schwegler-Berry, Vincent Castranova, Chang-geng Moe, Jane Y. C. Ma, Mark D. Moore, Joseph K. H. Ma, Carl J. Malanga, Ji-Hee Kane

"Effects of Bisbenzylisoquinoline Alkaloids on Alveolar Macrophages: Correlation between Binding Affinity. Inhibitory Potency and Antifibrotic Potential. CASTRANOVA, V., KANG, J-H., MA. J. K. H., Mo, C-H., MALANGA, L. J., MOORE M. D., SCHWEGLER-BERRY, D.. AND MA. J. Y. C. (1991). Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol 108, 242-252. The Chinese have conducted extensive studies concerning the medicinal properties of plant products. In this investigation the ability of three bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids to inhibit particle-induced activation of alveolar macrophages was evaluated and this inhibitory potential was correlated with the ability of those drugs to bind to membrane components. Tetrandrine. i.e.. an herbal medicine used as an antifibrotic agent in China, was a potent inhibitor of particle-stimulated oxygen consumption, superoxide release, and hydrogen peroxide secretion by alveolar macrophages. Tetrandrine also exhibited substantial binding affinity for membrane lipids and alveolar macrophages. In contrast, tubocurine, an analogue with little antifibrotic potential, exhibited low binding affinity and had little effect on macrophage activation. Methoxyadiantifoline, an alkaloid of unknown antifibrotic potential, exhibited inhibitory and binding properties similar to those of tetrandrine. The data indicate that a strong relationship exists between the antifibrotic potential of these alkaloids and their ability to bind to alveolar macrophages and inhibit particle-induced activation of these phagocytes. These drugs should serve as useful probes to evaluate the role of alveolar macrophages in pulmonary fibrosis. © 1991 Academic Press, Inc.Chronic silicosis is a fibrotic disease resulting from occupational exposure to silica dust. It is manifested initially by an increase in the quantity of pulmonary surfactant (Dethloff et al., 1986). However, in later stages it is characterized by an increase in collagen formation and the development of concentric hyalinized nodular lesions in the lung (Ziskind et al., 1976). Although mechanisms for the progression of silicosis have not yet been completely defined, activation of alveolar macrophages by respirable silica particles is believed to play an important role in the etiology of this disease. Studies from our laboratory have shown that both in vitro and in vivo silica exposures result in a stimulation of macrophage release of reactive products capable of damaging the lung parenchyma (Castranova et al., 1990; Goodman et al., 1990). In addition, exposure of al¬veolar macrophages to silica results in the release of fibrogenic factors which enhance the proliferation of fibroblasts and the synthesis of collagen by these pneumocytes (Leibovich and Ross, 1976; Bitterman et al., 1982, 1983).The bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids, which represent the largest group among the iso-quinoline compounds isolated from the plant kingdom, are known to exhibit a broad rangeof pharmacological activities. Tetrandrine, for example, an alkaloid isolated from the root of Stephania tetrandra, has been tested for its antitumor, antihypertensive, and antisilicotic effects (Kupchan and Atland, 1973; Zeng et al., 1985; Yu et al., 1983). It is currently used in China as a treatment for angina, hypertension, and silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis (Li et al., 1981). Several related bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids such as methoxyadiantifoline and tubocurine have also been evaluated for medicinal effects. Methoxyadiantifoline has been shown to exhibit effects on the cardiovascular system similar to those reported for tetrandrine (Jia et al., 1988). However, to date, the antifibrotic activity of methoxyadiantifoline has not been evaluated. In contrast to tetrandrine, tubocurine, a structural analogue of this drug, has been reported to be relatively ineffective against fibrosis (Mo et al., 1982)."

Mar 1, 1992

By J. A. Herdlick

"INTRODUCTION The BeVan quartz crystal prospect in the Indian Creek mining district of Lemhi County, west-central Idaho, was examined by an engineer of the Bureau of Mines 3/ on July 9, 1943. As quartz crystals possessing peizoelectric properties were on the critical list of strategic war minerals, further exploration of the deposit was recommended. The Bureau of Mines exploration began in December 1943 and continued through January 1944. Additional trenching was completed during May and June 1944. This report presents the data obtained by this exploration.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSIn its program of exploration of mineral deposits, the Bureau of Mines has as its primary objective the more effective utilization of our mineral resources to the end that they make the greatest possible contribution to national security and economy. The Mining Division, Lowell B. Moon, chief, conducts preliminary examinations, does the actual exploratoiy work, and prepares the final report. The Metallurgical Division, O. C. Ralston, chief, analyses samples and makes beneficiation tests.The quartz crystals found during the exploration were examined and classified at the Bureau of Mines College Park, Md., laboratory and checked at the National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D. C.Fred BeVan, of North Fork, Idaho, and Edward F. Cenis, of the Montana Coal & Iron Company, Spoane, Wash., provided much information on the history and past production of the property."

Mar 1, 1948

By F. S. Kendorski

This report covers the work on developing criteria for determining when a hazard exists when mining stratified mineral deposits beneath bodies of surface water. The nature of water bodies is considered, the disturbance to the strata induced by mining is described, inundation case histories reviewed, reasonable water inflows derived, and methods of mining to prevent or minimize the hazard are presented. Criteria are given whereby effected industries and agencies can recognize a potential hazard and plan a mine accordingly, releasing considerable mineral reserves otherwise considered unminable.

Jan 1, 1979

By W. W. Adams, T. D. Lawrence, D. R. White

"This paper presents the results of the eleventh yearly accident-prevention contest, the National Safety Competition of 1935, conducted by the United States Bureau of Mines. Participating in the competition were 336 mines and Quarries in 37 States. Five mining or quarrying companies, each the leader in its group for having established the best safety record during the year, were awarded the national safety trophies 'Sentinels of Safety.Since these annual contests were begun 11 years ago the scope of the competition has been broadened materially, both as to the number of plants participating and as to the number of man-hours of exposure to accident hazards. Moreover, marked progress in the pre¬vention of accidents has been achieved, as is indicated by an almost constant downward course in the accident-frequency rates for the contest group as a whole during the past 11 years. On the other hand, the accident-severity rates for the group showed an upward trend during the first part of the period and a downward trend during the latter part, except in 1930 and 1934, when two disastrous explosions occurred with heavy loss of life, and in 1935, when there was an increase in the number of fatalities although no major disasters occurred. The accident rate for 1935, both as to frequency and severity, was higher than for 1934.The National Safety Competition is conducted by the Bureau of Mines in the interest of safety in the mining and quarrying industries. This object is accomplished directly through the efforts of the competing companies and their employees to win first place in the competition and thereupon receive well-merited and national recognition for their achievement. Indirectly the purpose of the contest is accomplished through studies by the Bureau of Mines of the fasts contained in the accident reports which the competing companies furnish to enable the Bureau to compute the accident rates that are the basis for determining the winners of the contest.The statistics that constitute the basis for determining the winning companies and the relative standing of all companies are prepared uniformly without regard to the States in which the companies operate, or to differences in classes of accidents covered by State laws relating to compensation for injuries resulting from industrial accidents."

Jul 1, 1936

By Liming Yuan

Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling is conducted to simulate spontaneous heating in a large-scale coal chamber with a forced ventilation system. Spontaneous heating is modeled as the low-temperature oxidation of coal using kinetic data obtained from previous laboratory-scale spontaneous heating studies. Heat generated from coal oxidation is dissipated by convection and conduction, while oxygen and oxidation products are transported by convection and diffusion. The water vapor transfer and the effect of heat of wetting are not modeled. The CFD model is validated by comparing simulation results with test results from U.S. Bureau of Mines experiments conducted in the coal chamber. The model predicts lower temperatures in the early stage but agrees well on the induction time for spontaneous heating. The effects of airflow rate and order of reaction on the spontaneous heating process are also examined. The calibrated CFD model is found to be useful for predicting the induction time for spontaneous heating in underground coal mines.

Jan 1, 2009

By Kenneth B. Higbie

PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON announced at midyear that the test flight of the A-It plane, the world's first super-sonic aircraft capable of flying 2,000 miles per hour, was made possible by "the mastery of the metallurgy 'and fabrication of titanium." Not all of the contributions made by the mineral industry in 1964 were acknowledged so widely. Yet the contributions were significant as the search continued for new and improved methods for providing metals and mineral products to meet the ever-expanding requirements of the world economy. This chapter reviews only a few of the metallurgical developments that resulted from U.S. and foreign research efforts. MINERAL BENEFICIATION Up-to-date theory 'and practice in the mineral ,Processing field in 1963 involved subjects such as autogenous grinding, high-intensity magnetic separation, and mill control by computers. These subjects were fully discussed at the Seventh International Minerals Processing Congress held in New York City during September.

Jan 1, 1965

By John Durkin

Electromagnetic narrow-band signals were transmitted through the earth at 27 coal mines located throughout the United States. From those Bureau of Mines tests, apparent earth conductivity values were derived based upon a homogeneous half-space model of the earth. The derived conductivity values were found to be inversely proportional to the transmitted frequency and mine depth. A linear regression model relating the logarithm of the conductivity to the mine depth was formulated, and the results indicate that the mine depth can be an adequate predictor of the apparent earth conductivity above coal mines. Apparent earth conductivity was found to decrease with mine depth.

Jan 1, 1984

By John Durkin

Electromagnetic narrow-band signals were transmitted through the earth at 27 coal mines located throughout the United States. From those Bureau of Mines tests, apparent earth conductivity values were derived based upon a homogeneous half-space model of the earth. The derived conductivity values were found to be inversely proportional to the transmitted frequency and mine depth. A linear regression model relating the logarithm of the conductivity to the mine depth was formulated, and the results indicate that the mine depth can be an adequate predictor of the apparent earth conductivity above coal mines. Apparent earth conductivity was found to decrease with mine depth.

Jan 1, 1984

By C. E. Arthur

The Bureau of Mines has investigated the problem of radioactive contamination using nuclear explosives to fracture petroleum reservoirs in an attempt to stimulate production. It was concluded that some contamination of petroleum products will almost certainly occur. However) the degree of contamination cannot be predicted except by a full-scale experiment) since simulating the problem in the laboratory is economically impossible because of the extremely high temperatures and pressures that must be reached in extremely short time intervals if a reasonable analog is to result.

Jan 1, 1965

By C. L. Brown

The frequency of mine fires during recent years, with an apparent increase in recent months, has focused attention on the necessity of reducing this hazard by every means possible. Investigation reports are available on 51 mine fires of electrical origin between August 15, 1949, and August 16, 1954. Nine other fires in the same period were suspected as being of electrical origin. Every mine fire is a potential hazard to underground workmen; it is remarkable that only six lives were lost as a result of these fires, since the injury list was very high. Modern mining methods, with increased power demands and extended distribution systems underground, involve greater electrical hazards and possibilities of costly production delays as a result of inadequate electrical service. Improvements in electric-power-distribution facilities in many underground coal mines is desirable. The purpose of this paper is to show the need for this improvement as revealed by studies and investigations of electric-power-distribution systems representative of those in a large number of coal mines.

Jan 1, 1955

By E. G. King

Sodium-aluminum and calcium-aluminum silicates are important rock-forming minerals. While many of them are of only theoretical interest, several are of practical importance--as ceramic raw materials and as potential future sources of aluminum. Heretofore, thermodynamic data for these minerals were incomplete; and in many instances missing data were difficult to estimate reliably. This has seriously hampered thermodynamic calculations pertaining both to the natural formations of these minerals and to their decomposition in sintering and fluxing reactions. This paper reports the results of the Federal Bureau of Mines measurements of low-temperature heat capacities of four crystalline silicate minerals--dehydrated analcite (NaAlSi2O6), hexagonal anorthite (CaA12 Si208), lawsonite (Ca2Al2Si2080?2H20), and leonhardite (Ca2Al4Si8C24?7H2O). It augments previous similar measurements of related minerals, which were summarized recently.4 The measured heat-capacity data were used to derive entropy values for the four minerals at 298.15° K. Some relations between these entropy values and those of other similar minerals were discussed. These relations illustrate the difficulty of estimating entropy values of tertiary (or higher) silicates.

Jan 1, 1961

By D. W. Frommer

As one phase of a general problem of recovering sulfide slimes, mineral-dressing research was conducted on flotation tailing from the St. Joseph Lead Co., Bonne Terre, Mo., mill to recover a significant portion of the residual, finely divided galena. Production of a high-grade concentrate was not part of the immediate objective. Only a reasonable ratio of concentration of lead sulfide slime was sought, since the problem of upgrading by mechanical or extractive processes would be considered in the later stages of this study. The results show that, from a feed material averaging 0.20 percent lead (about 70 percent finer than 400-mesh), a recovery of up to 45 percent could be effected by flotation in rougher concentrate analyzing up to 6.5 percent Pb. These results were obtained by using larger quantities of various xanthates and sodium sulfide than used customarily in mills. Sodium sulfide, which is ordinarily detrimental to flotation of galena, was beneficial in this case.

Jan 1, 1959

By Wing G. Agnew, Albert E. Long

"SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONSTests conducted at Mount Weather indicate that clear water is the best bit coolant and cuttings-removal medium for diamond drilling. All of the mediums tested did show that drilling speed increased when drilling with the faster feed ratios (greatest pressure on the bits). In no case, how¬ever, did the increased drilling speed amount to over 16 percent, and even in a long hole the slight increase in drilling speed would be more than offset by the extra time consumed in setting up.Bit wear was excessive when lubricating agents were used, the most footage per bit was obtained when drilling with clear water in the normal manner, and the next best footage was obtained when drilling with circulated water containing no lubricating agent. The diamonds showed little or no wear in any of the bits, and all bits cut well throughout the tests. They were only taken out of service when erosion of the cast metal had progressed to the point where the diamonds were about to roll out. The lubricating agents evidently hold some of the cuttings in suspension, which in turn help to cut the rock but also wear the metal of the bit.No hard-matrix bits were tested, and it is possible that one or more of the lubricating agents might increase the efficiency of such a bit by keeping it sharp and doing away with the necessity of sharpening by sand blasting. Some tests are planned with hard-matrix-type bits and the same lubricating agents used in the tests under discussion, but it is realized that any drilling advantage gained by the bits sharpening themselves may but at least partly offset by excessive wear of the Pump parts."

Jan 1, 1945

By Charles B. Carpenter

In general terminology, the West Texas Permian Basin companies the area south of the Texas Panhandle and west of the Bend Arch or Central Basin region. It is outlined more definitely by geologists however, as that area underlain by the south half of the Permian Salt Basin4/ and includes Scurry, Mitchell, Sterling, Howard, Glasscock, Reagan, Crockett, Upton, Midland, Martin, Gaines, Andrews, rotor, Crane, Pecos, Ward, Winkler, and Loving Counties in Texas, and.. Lea and Eddy Counties in New Mexico. The oil fields of the area, of which more than 70 have been discovered, are shown in fire 1. Approximately 4,200 producing oil wells have been drilled in these fields. Oil has been produced from limestones and dolomites of Permian age in most of the fields in the West Texas Permian Basin. Some of the fields produced oil from sandstone beds above the limestone, and in two fields production has been found below the limestone in formations of Ordovician age.

Jan 1, 1936