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By Robert B. Hoekzema

This Bureau of Mines report describes the history, characteristics, distribution, and mineral development potential of 21 lode gold deposits in or near the Chugach National Forest (CNF), AK. It includes findings from a 4-yr (1979 to 1982) mineral evaluation of the CNF conducted by the Bureau and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). This evaluation, undertaken to provide the U.S. Forest Service with mineral resource data for use in making decisions on land use, included site-specific mapping and sampling of more than 200-lode gold deposits. The data presented here were compiled from the findings of this 4-yr evaluation and from existing literature. Fourteen of the 21 lode gold deposits described in this report contain a combined identified resource of 117,750 short tons (st) averaging 0.55 oz/st Au and 0.2 oz/st Ag. Two mineralized felsic dikes in the Summit Lake-Palmer Creek area contain a combined identified resource of 18 million st grading 0.02 oz/st Au and 0.16 oz/st Ag. Identified resources were not determined for the remaining five deposits because of a lack of information.

Jan 1, 1987

By O. P. Hood, R. H. Kudlich

When a gasoline locomotive is used in a mine there is danger of the noxious gases of the exhaust vitiating the air, but if enough air is circulating in those parts of the mine in which the locomotive is used, these gases are so diluted that they are rendered harmless, and the health of the workmen is not affected. In some mines the use of gasoline locomotives is impracticable, though in the majority of mines where they have been tried they have proved to be safe and economical. To determine the limitations that should surround the use of these machines in mines so that they shall not be detrimental to health and so that their economic advantage may be retained, it is necessary to ascertain the volume and the character of the exhaust gases and the amount of these gases that may be safely allowed in the mine air, and also to determine safe conditions of operation. The problem is primarily one of ventilation and like all ventilation problems must be intelligently computed to meet the conditions of each mine. The investigation described in this bulletin was undertaken 'by the Bureau of Mines in an endeavor to obtain exact information on some of the basal questions involved in the use of gasoline locomotives in mines, this investigation being one of many that the bureau has been conducting in its efforts to increase safety and efficiency in mining.

Jan 1, 1915

The Particulate Mineralogy Unit has been established at the College Park, Maryland, Metallurgy Research Center. The Particulate Mineralogy Unit will have the responsibility within the Bureau of Mines for the characterization of particulate minerals which have potential for adverse environmental effects. The Unit will provide a focal point for identifying particulates in connection with environmental problems related to the activities of agencies such as OSHA, HEW, EPA, and MESA. The Particulate Mineralogy Unit is seeking to clarify the ambiguities surrounding the mineralogy of and terminology used for asbestiform minerals and other mineral particles. The Unit?s investigations of the morphology, composition, and structure of asbestiform minerals and their nonasbestos analogs have made its members recognized experts in this field. The information which it develops on the characterization of asbestos and other particulate mineral forms such as silica should provide a technically rational basis for decisions by regulatory agencies. Those desiring further information, contact Dr. W. J. Campbell, Program Coordinator, College Park Metallurgy Research Center, College Park, MD 20740, telephone: 301-344-4014. ALUMINUM: For over a month, domestic producers have priced 99.5 percent grade primary aluminum ingot at 48¢ per pound. In the same period, merchants raised ingot quotes by 1.5¢-2.5¢ to a range approaching 44¢-47¢ per pound.

Jan 1, 1976

By William H. Pomroy

The potential for large-scale fires in underground fuel storage and fuel transfer areas prompted the Bureau of Mines to study fire hazards in these areas and devise improved fire safety technology for use in these areas. This report describes the Bureau's research to characterize and quantify fire hazards in fuel storage and fuel transfer areas, develop guidelines for safe and efficient fueling system design, prepare specifications for automatic fire sensing and suppression systems for these areas, test prototype systems in the laboratory and in underground mines, and perform cost-effectiveness evaluations of the devised technology.

Jan 1, 1985

An evaluation of blasting procedures in surface mining operations was undertaken to determine means for improving safety. The objectives of the study were to: 1. Develop guidelines for safer blasting practices 2. Specify changes or additions in regulations concerning the use of explosives 3. Identify areas in which additional knowledge needs to be developed. As a basis for the evaluation, an idealized blasting cycle was prepared. Developed in the form of a scenario of surface mining operations, this synthesis of good mining practices served as the standard against which observed activities were compared. Blasting hazards were divided into two categories: those known to exist and those which are potential. Known hazards were identified in terms of situations which have actually resulted in explosives-related accidents. The evidence for known hazards was obtained primarily from MESA records of mine accidents. Potential hazards were identified by observation of mining activities and consultations with mining, explosive industry and government regulatory agency personnel.

Jan 1, 1977

By Rollie P. Dobyns

The K.M.A. reservoir was discovered to be oil bearing at a depth of 3,719 feet on March 11, 1931. Extensive development, however, was not begun immediately, because the discovery well had a low initial daily oil production, and market conditions for oil were unfavorable. Development of the field progressed slowly for the next 6.5 years. In the latter part of 1937, a wildcat well approximately 2 miles southwest of the discovery well was drilled on a magnetometer high and completed with an initial flowing production of 2,018 barrels of 430 A.P.I.-gravity oil in 12 hours. Rapid development of the southwestern part of the K.M.A. field was begun immediately and continued until over 700 wells were drilled and approximately 12,500 acres proved oil productive. Because of the large size of the entire K.M.A. field, this report is limited in scope to the southwestern part only, and the discussion that follows pertains to this area only. The closing date for production statistics is August 1, 1949. The K.M.A.? structure is a complex anticline having a maximum closure of 250 feet, and the K.M.A. formation is composed of sediments that grade from limestone through sandy lime and limy sand to sandstone with thin streaks of shale. Two "distinct members of the K.M.A. formation, zone I and zone II, are oil productive. Core analyses indicate the average porosity to be 16.5 percent for zone I and 16.1 percent for zone II. A relationship was established from core data, which showed the correlative permeabilities to be 42.1 millidarcys for zone I and 39.5 millidarcys for zone II, whereas the arithmetical averages of the permeabilities were 84 millidarcys for zone I and 216 millidarcys for zone II. Connate-water saturations were 17.5 percent for zone I and 20.0 percent for zone II. The porosity-saturation method, using a thickness-correction factor, was employed to calculate the volume of 168.1 million barrels of stock-tank oil initially in place in the reservoir. Analyses of the reservoir oil indicate that, although the initial reservoir pressure was 1,750 p.s.i., the original reservoir oil was saturated to only 1,300 p.s.i., at which pressure 1 barrel of stock-tank oil contained 525 cubic feet of ea~ in solution.

Jan 1, 1952

By A. J. Kraemer, H. M. Thorne

The following account of oil-shale operations in Australia is based upon infor- mation obtained by the authors while visiting Australia from September 15 to October 7, 1947, supplemented by published data, and augmented by analyses of samples of oil shale and its products at the Oil-shale Research and Development Laboratories of the Bureau of Mines at Laramie, Wyo. The primary objective of the authors' trip to Australia was to obtain, first hand, information regarding the equipment and methods used by National Oil Proprie- tary, Ltd., at Glen Davis, New South Wales, in mining oil shale, extracting oil from it, and refining the shale oil. This company was operating the only oil-shale plant that had been active in Australia since 1945. The plant comprised an oil-shale mine, 104 modified Pumpherston (Fell) retorts in 2 batteries, a hele refinery, and a 3-inch gusoline pipeline to the railroad loniing terminal t Sun Junction, 30 miles away. There were, also, the usual and necessary any uralities, such as a power house, mechanical shops, offices, and laboratories One Information regarding the company's operations was wance because of its bear- Ing upon the synthetic liquid fuels program of the Bureau of Mines, pursuant to the Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act of April 5, 1944 (30 U.S.C., 321-325, as amended). objective of the Bureau's program. In accordance with the maniate of the Act, is to furnish American industry cost and engineering data necessary for the development of synthetic-liquid fuel industry, and an obvious means of obtaining some of these data is to learn how oil shale is being mined and retorted and how shale oil is re- rined in countries where these operations have been conducted on a plant scale for many years. The authors spent 2 weeks at the plant of National Oil Proprietary, Lt., at Glen Davis, and were afforded every opportunity to obtain letailed and specific information regarding all aspects of the company'a operations.

Jul 1, 1951

By G. A. Apell

"SUMMARYThe quality of Moose Creek coal is considered superior to that of any now being produced in the Matanuska field of Alaska. In rank it is classed as roar coking high-volatile B bituminous coal.At present the Moose -Creek mines are accessible from the Glenn highway by 6 miles of well-maintained gravel road. The nearest railroad loading point is Moose Creek siding; 7 miles by road from the Buffalo mine. Palmer, 12 miles south of Buffalo mine, is the nearest town. Anchorage is 50 miles south of Palmer by road and-railroad.Core drilling and trenching by the Bureau of Mines revealed 2,375,500 short tons of coal in the Buffalo series on the Buffalo Coal Co. leasehold. Of this, 514,200 tons is considered measured coal and 489,900 tons indicated coal. Existence of deeper beds over the same length increased the tonnage of coal of all categories to 3,279,300 tons. The property has an assumed life, of 16 to 22 years, depending on the number of beds mined, based on an output of 500 tons of coal a day and 100-percent recovery. Coal from some of the beds car be marketed without washing however, a washery is necessary if all beds are mined. Beds in the Buffalo series not mined in the ""first mining"" will be irrecoverable at any later date.The Bureau of Mines completed exploration of approximately one-third of the local coal-bearing areas during 1943. Knowledge gained from this work makes it possible to investigate the rest of the area by drilling an estimated additional 5,000 foot of hole."

Dec 1, 1944

By James T. McCartney, Joseph D. Davis

For more than 10 years coke-oven technologists have been investigating the expanding properties of coal on a scale larger than that afforded by laboratory test tubes. Koppers 4/ was among the first to realize that coals can not be differentiated satisfactorily with respect to expansion in coke ovens by the simpler test-tube methods; in his first method 80 grains of fine coal were coked in a cylinder heated from the bottom, so that the zone of fusion (plastic layer) advanced from the bottom to the top. The scale of test was too small; it has been modified by other investigators, but without significant improvement in practical application of the results. Somewhat later Koppers and Jendne 5/ experimented with a small-scale coke even, one wall of which was movable, in which the layer-coking in a coke oven could be simulated closely. This oven was heated from both sides. Their results with this oven showed a peak in the time-pressure curves near the end of the coking, period when the two plastic layers, advancing from opposite walls, meet. They also found that although the smaller oven was heated from one side only and did not show the Pressure peak characteristic of two-sided heating, it still gave results entirely too high. Russell built an oven similar to the movable-wall oven of Koppers and Jenkner and compared results obtained in it on Beckley expanding coal with these obtained on the some coal in the Altieri 7/ small-scale apparatus. Both tests were conducted at the same constant pressure, but heating was from two sides in Russell's oven and from one side in the Altieri tester. Russell found that the two types of test gave comparable results under constant pressure conditions even though the heating procedures were quite different. He showed later, however, that a "borderline" coal 8/ that contracted in the Altieri tester at constant pressure developed a peak pressure of 4 pounds per square inch in the movable-wall oven heated from both sides at constant volume. He concluded from this that testing at constant volume gave results more accurately indicative of dangerous expansion tendencies than those at constant pressure. He also found that heating from both sides in this oven gave higher pressure than heating from one side only.

May 1, 1942

By A. D. McMahon

This survey is one of a series of Bureau of Mines publications designed to serve the needs of Government and industry for comprehensive information on mineral commodities and activities. Copper, a versatile metal, has been vital to all civilizations from pre-historic times to the present. Its essential value in antiquity and until the nineteenth century arose from its malleability and ease of working, its corrosion resistance and durability, its attractive colors in alloyed and unalloyed forms, and, of course, its availability. The principal uses were for tools, utensils, vessels, weapons, pipe, statuary and other objects of art, and for building and architectural purposes where formability, permanence, and beauty were necessary qualities. Utilization of copper based on these physical and mechanical properties has grown tremendously for commercial, structural, mechanical, architectural, and art items; and its capacity for forming numerous alloys has led to a myriad of applications from miniature copper and brass eyelets to huge bronze battleship propellers. The early nineteenth century marks the epoch of the greatest use of copper, transmitting electrical energy. This particular property of copper is fundamental to the spectacular growth of the electrical industry and all associated industries relying on electricity for power, light, and heat. More than half of all copper produced is used for transmission of electricity.

Jan 1, 1964

By M. E. Tyrrell

Research objectives were to determine the reasons for erratic behavior of semisilica horizontal zinc retorts in service; to investigate potential corrective measures including the possible utilization of more refractory materials in the retort body; and to delineate laboratory tests suitable for process control in the manufacture of retorts. Correlation of laboratory test results and data supplied by the cooperating smelters indicated that structural failures due to thermal shock and laminations in the retort body are largely responsible for the erratic behavior of horizontal zinc retorts in service. The most promising modifications made in the retort body and evaluated on a laboratory scale included finer grinding of the plastic clay fraction, substitution of mullite grog for calcined fire clay and grain alumina for silica, plus the use of an organic binder. Lamination-free extrusions having excellent thermal shock resistance were prepared from a mixture composed of 50 percent low-silica Missouri plastic clay through 100 mesh, 25 percent mullite grog through 6 mesh, and 25 percent alumina through 100 mesh. The mix was pugged under 28-inch vacuum with 1 percent ligno sulfonate binder in 12 percent tempering water. Laboratory tests suitable for process control in the manufacture of retorts are described.

Jan 1, 1969

The objective of this handbook is to provide the inspector with guidance for recognizing hazards from inhalation contaminants in above ground work areas of underground and surface metal and nonmetal mining and processing facilities and evaluating these hazards by collecting samples or making field determinations and interpreting the analytical results. Portions of the handbook that should prove most useful to the inspectors include a survey check list, rules for determining if sampling is required, list of most frequently encountered contaminants, list of candidate contaminants and their sampling conditions, interpretation of results, and a procedure for a health and safety inspection.

Jan 1, 2011

By R. S. Dean

As set forth in the decision of the Trail Smelter Arbitral Tribunal, dated April 16, 1938 This Tribunal is constituted under and its powers are derived from and limited by the convention between the United States of America and the Dominion of Canada signed at Ottawa, April 15, 1935, duly ratified by the two parties and ratification exchanged at Ottawa, August 3, 1935 (hereinafter termed "the Convention") . . . The duty imposed upon the Tribunal by the Convention was to "finally decide" the following questions: (1) Whether damage caused by the Trail Smelter in the State of Washington has occurred since the first day of January 1932, and, if so, what indemnity should be paid therefor? (2) In the event of the answer to the first part of the preceding Question being in the affirmative, whether the Trail Smelter should be required to refrain from causing damage in the State of Washington in the future and, if so, to what extent? (3) In the light of the answer to the preceding Question, what measures or regime, if any, should be adopted or maintained by the Trail Smelter? (4) What indemnity or compensation, if any, should be paid on account of any decision or decisions rendered by the Tribunal pursuant to the next two preceding Questions? In this decision reported to the Government of the United States of America and to the Government of the Dominion of Canada, the Tribunal answered the first question in its entirety and reserved decision on the other three questions in accordance with the following extract from their decision

Jan 1, 1944

The value of processed materials of mineral origin was estimated to have exceeded $310 billion in 1990. U.S. raw nonfuel minerals mine production in 1990 was estimated at $33 billion, a 3.1 % increase over that of 1989. The value of minerals production increased in all but 3 of the last 30 years. The metals component of production value has fluctuated much more than the industrial minerals component. This reflects the greater volatility of metal prices. In 1990, total employment in metal mining continued the increase that began in 1987. This growth was partially offset by a slight decline in employment in industrial mineral mining, resulting in an overall in-crease of 1.1 % to 179,100 in 1990. Continuing high (by historical standards) metal prices led to expansions at some mines, as well as opening or reopening of additional mines, resulting in increased employment.

Jan 1, 1991

By John B. Ivey

This is a geologic study of the U.S. Bureau of Mines Oil Shale Tract in the Piceance Creek Basin of Rio Blanco County, Colorado for the preparation of a set of detailed surface geologic maps, measurement and identification of joint attitudes and frequencies, and the classification and mapping of the soils of the area.

Jan 1, 1978

By Christopher C. Jobes

Computer-assisted control of a mining machine can place the operator in a safe, remote location. A guidance system aids remote positioning of a mining machine by determining its position and heading. The mechanical position and heading system (MPHS) is one of several guidance systems being developed at the U.S. Bureau of Mines. The MPHS uses linear position transducers (LPT's) to provide navigation information during face maneuvers. This report presents an overview of the MPHS theory and implementation, including recent design modifications made for more successful underground testing. This report also presents the experimental setup and procedure for the underground test. The test showed that the MPHS provides reliable and accurate results and can, therefore, provide useful guidance information for face navigation.

Jan 1, 1992

By W. E. Foreman

A mathematical model was developed to assess the costs for reclamation of surface mining using the shovel overcasting operation, the front end loader operation, and a backfilling operation. A literature review was made of the present laws in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia pertaining to surface mining and of the various parameters that influence the input data for a mathematical model. It was determined that the working mathematical model would have to be applied on an area to area basis, preferably on a permit by permit basis in the area where surface mining was being done. To this end, a flexible model was developed with input data obtained from the area of study. The results of the study show that the cost per ton of coal for reclamation can be estimated for various reclamation levels. Validation of the model was done for selected permits from Virginia. It was determined that the permits could easily be used for input data to the model.

Jan 1, 1974

The revised estimate of coal production in January 1977, is 39 million tons -- down 12 mi 11 ion tons compared with production in January of last year, largely as a consequence of the snow storms and cold. The major coal-hauling railroads operating in Eastern and Midwestern States reported to the Bureau of Mines that they loaded approximately the same number of cars for the week ended February 5, as in the preceding week. The Bureau of Mines estimates that U.S. coal production for the week ending February 5, 1977, was approximately 8.5 million tons, or nearly 3.5 million tons less than production for the corresponding week in 1976. Coal production from January 1 - February 5, 1977, was approximately 47.8 mi 11 ion tons compared with production of 63.5 million tons for the corresponding period in 1976. As of the first week in February, river and truck shipments of coal in the Eastern U.S. were about one-half of the normal traffic. Despite the freezing weather and ice and snow conditions of rivers and highways and reduced rail shipments, there was reportedly little or no shortage in coal supply to consumers. Inventories at electric utility plants and steel company coke plants at the beginning of the severe weather were sufficient in most cases for at least 30 days" operations. There have been no reports of coal shortages at other industrial plants.

Jan 1, 1977

Law of the Sea. - The Ninth Session of the Law of the Sea Conference resumed July 28 at Geneva and will run for 5 weeks. The 160-nation Conference began in 1973. Two of the major factors to be discussed are the transfer of technology to the UN-controlled Enterprise or mining authority, and how the 36-member Council will make decisions. As the session completed its third week, delegates expressed little hope of completing a treaty text this year. There was a feeling, though, that substantive issues might be settled so that a treaty text can be completed next year. The Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act signed by the President on June 28, provides an interim regulatory procedure for ocean mining activities conducted by U.S. nationals that may be superseded by a law of the sea treaty.

Jan 1, 1980

By J. Adkins

This document presents a description of the results of a project aimed at producing a broad description of current mining training programs and an evaluation of their effectiveness with respect to reducing mine injuries. Aggregate training and injury data were used to evaluate the overall training effort at 300 mines as well as specific efforts in twelve categories of training course objectives. From such evaluations, recommendations were derived with particular emphasis being placed on identifying program characteristics that tend to be associated with effective training. Recommendations were also formulated with reference to role changes in industry and government interaction with respect to training programs, new or additional training programs, changes in the types of course materials and training methodologies, and recommendations concerning new areas for investigation.

Jan 1, 1976