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By Summer S. Smith

The year 1916 broke all previous records of mineral production in the Territory. As a consequence, there has been a noteworthy increase in the number of mines in active operation or under development, though the greater part of the increased output is the result of greater activity at mines already producing rather than of opening new mines. Owing to available funds not being sufficient to meet the cost of travel in the interior of the Territory during the winter months, the Federal mine inspector was unable during the spring to visit the placer mines of the interior as has been his custom in the past. However, by working in close cooperation with the Territorial in- spector, who left Juneau in June to take the first boat down the Yukon to Fairbanks after the spring break-up, it was possible to visit hurriedly all the larger mining centers of the Territory. The Territorial inspector covered the districts from Fairbanks to Nome and the Federal inspector covered those of southeastern and south- western Alaska. A number of applicants have begun mining coal on ground held under free-use 10-acre permits, and have furnished coal for local use. The larger leasing units in the Bering River and Matanuska coal fields have been advertised and applications for leases have been submitted. These applications came too late in the fall for active development to begin before the end of the year. The Government railroad has been built from Anchorage to the center of the Matanuska coal field, and private interests have under- taken the building of a standard-gage road from a point known as Goose City on Controller Bay to Canyon Creek, in the Bering River field. Capital has become interested in the oil fields on Controller Bay, and plans have been made for more active exploration and production. The work of the Federal mine inspector is still handicapped by the lack of funds for additional field assistants and of the office ac- commodations necessary for carrying on the work with the efficiency that its importance warrants.

Jan 1, 1917

By Eugene T. Sheridan

The 25th annual survey of the peat industry by the Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior, disclosed that 79 companies produced and sold peat from 81 operations in 21 States in 1958. Peat is a carbonaceous deposit, formed under water or in a water-saturated environment from plant material. It is the first stage in the development of coal and, when properly dried, can be used as fuel. Although 98 percent (estimated) of the total world production is used for energy purposes, the status of peat in the United States is somewhat unique in that none is used for fuel, and practically all is consumed as an agricultural product, chiefly for soil improvement purposes. The domestic peat industry has expanded rapidly since World War II, and production in 1958 was 327,813 net tons valued at $3,445,767. More than one-half million ton of peat was consumed in the United State in 1958, however, as 269,096 tons was imported.

Jan 1, 1959

By C. J. Wilhelm, John M. Devine, Ludwig Schmidt

"Steel tanks often corrode rapidly in oil fields where the Gas produced with crude contains an appreciable quantity of hydrogen sulphide. In many instances working tanks have been discarded after only six months of service because of failure induced by corrosion.Aluminum has been used for some time in the fabrication of certain equipment incidental to the handling of oils containing hydrogen sulphide gas in solution, and has exhibited no carious corrosive action. These uses indicated that aluminum tanks,be equally effective in counter- acting hydrogen sulphide corrosion. Consequently, in the spring of 1920, an all-aluminum stock tank of 500 barrels capacity and a ""composite"" tank of equal capacity, having a steel bottom and bottom ring and an aluminum top and top ring, were placed in service on the State-Lassiter lease of the Gulf Production Co, in Crane County, Tex. These tanks were under observation for one year, the toot being sponsored by the Gulf Production Co., the Aluminum Co. of America, and the Parkersburg Rig and Reel Co. The results of this preliminary test sustained the belief that aluminum is highly resistance to hydrogen sulphide gas and likewise indicated the type or grade of aluminum which could be most economically used for lease tankage. However, in this preliminary test the tanks were not subjected to contact with the quantities o highly concentrated brines such as often are associated and produced with crude oil. Therefore, it was suggested by representatives of the aluminum Co. that additional tests be made to include production conditions in large quantities of brine would be handled, for pact experience had shown that aluminum often is susceptible to the corrosive action of brines."

Apr 1, 1931

By A. B. Needham

A number of the pegmatites in the southern Black Hills of western South Dakota contain sheet mica; and as the demand increased during World War II the area became an important producer of strategic qualities of mica. During this period of maximum activity, the U. S.. Geological Survey made detailed studies of the geological structural control, the mineralogical associations, and the production Of many pegmatites in the Black Hills. On the basis of results of this study, and at the suggestion of the Geological Survey, several of the pegmatites were examined by the Bureau of Mines, and a few were selected for further investigation. Accordingly, the White Bear, Silver Dollar, Buster Dike, and Hot Shot mines were diamond-core-drilled in 1947. The Hot Shot mine was investigated further by deepening the shaft and crosscutting the pegmatite in 1948. The mica-bearing deposits occur in lenticular intrusions of pegmatite in schists of various mineral composition. Eleven diamond-drill holes, totaling 2,111.4 feet in length, were completed on the four deposits. The shaft on the Hot Shot deposit was deepened 44 feet to the 112-foot level, and crosscuts were driven from the bottom of the shaft to the hanging Wall and foot wall of the pegmatite. This publication briefly describes the location, ownership, and history of the deposits and gives details of the work done by the Bureau of Mines and the Geological Survey.

Jan 1, 1950

By M. Clair Smith

The Sweetwater, Castro, Trinidad, New London, and Hilltop chromite properties are situated within an area 8 miles long and 1 mile wide between San Luis Obispo city and Morro Creek, San Luis Obiso County, Calif. Development work at this group of mines was a part of a long-range project by the Bureau of Mines to develop strategic mineral reserves in the United States in accordance with the Strategic Minerals Act of 1939. The junior author of this report participated in the preliminary examinations made in 1941 of the chromite deposits that later in the same year were the subject of more intensive investigation under the immediate supervision of the senior author. The ore occurs in lenses and kidneys in masses of dunite contained in large poridetite areas. Production has boon in the form of lump ore and concentrates from disseminated ore. Work by the Bureau of Miner included surveying, mapping, trenching, sampling, and assaying. It is summarized separately in the text under the name of each mine investigated. The report gives a brief history of the district, describer the concentrating plant of the Castro Associates, and gives detailed results on sampling and assays at the various proportion.

Jan 1, 1951

By M. M. Hassan

This report describes the analysis tools developed at West Virginia University which can be implemented to optimally design coal mine electrical systems. The basic analytical tools for all power systems are the load-flow and short-circuit analysis. Well known programs have been developed for analysis of ac transmission and distribution systems, but they are not applicable to a system which has combined ac/dc distribution, such as a coal mine power system. Furthermore, the topology of a coal mine electrcal system changes continuously due to the movement of the locomotives on the track. In the first section of this report, algorithms for carrying out load flow and short-circuit analysis of a coal mine electrical system are described. Results from the study of a typical coal mine system are presented. In the second section a method is described to optimally size power cables for cyclic loads. The method is based on the development of a thermal-electric model for a low-voltage power cable. Results from experimental verification of the model are also presented. These techniques are useful in the safe, efficient, reliable and economical design of the coal mine electrical power systems.

Jan 1, 1979

By Ronald F. Balazik

The introduction of "high-tech" materials such as new polymer composites presents significant competitive challenges and opportunities in conventional mineral markets. Moreover, rapid advances in materials science are critical to the resolution of important economic and strategic issues, including national competitiveness and import dependence. This Bureau of Mines study examines the displacement of conventional nonfuel mineral materials by certain new materials, specifically advanced plastics and ceramics. Analyses of substitution by plastics are conducted for five major U.S. industrial sectors: motor vehicle manufacturing, aerospace applications, building and construction, packaging, and heavy machinery production. Based on interviews with more than 60 scientists, executives, and other professionals engaged in materials development and sales, forecasts of substitution by plastics during the 1990's are made for aluminum, steel, and glass. In addition to these forecasts, study findings identify key factors that will influence the emergence of advanced materials in the next decade.

Jan 1, 1987

By A. A. Cochran

Bureau of MinesThe Bureau of Mines studied the development of practical methods for recovering manganese from the extensive domestic resources of low-grade ores and open hearth slags. A one-step operation was developed on a laboratory scale in which manganese and iron compounds are treated with chlorine, volatilized, and separated by selective condensation. Manganese recoveries of 90 to nearly 100 percent were obtained from 9 of the most important domestic ores. Analyses of the manganese chloride product indicated that it was suit-able for aqueous electrolysis with little additional purification. A complete, integrated process that provides for the recovery and recycling of chlorine is proposed. This process appears to have distinct advantages over previously proposed manganese recovery processes, and, in sharp contrast to leaching procedures, it is applicable to practically any manganese-bearing material.

Jan 1, 1967

By H. W. Sohns

A retort was constructed in which fine particles of shale, entrained in steam or other gaseous media, could be retorted at controlled temperatures and residence times and the effects of retorting variables upon quality and quantity of products could be determined. Studies of the effects of temperature upon products obtained from Green River (Piceance Creek Basin, Colo.) and Chattanooga (Tenn.) oil shales were completed. The feasibility of using the retort to process a shale of extremely high moisture content from Brazil also was investigated. Air was used as the entraining medium in a series of studies in which combustion of some of the products of retorting within the retort tube supplied a major portion of the process heat. In another series, shale oil from a conventional retort was cracked thermally to obtain data for comparison with results of retorting en-trained shale. In still another series the effects of rates of steam flow and solids feed upon rates of heat transfer from the furnace to the process stream were studied. Crushed quartz rather than oil shale was charged to the retort in this series. A study was begun in which raw shale was partly retorted, the products separated, and the partially retorted shale recharged to the retort. The shale was to have been recycled until it was completely retorted in an effort to improve oil yield by recycle retorting; however, the project was terminated before the investigation was completed.

Jan 1, 1959

By Arnold P. Pipilen

In a study of the principal factors affecting the transport of coal-water mixtures through a centrifugal pump and a pipeline, the interrelation between solids concentration, velocity, and pressure drop was established for a bituminous lump coal (minus 2 inch) in concentrations up to 48 weight-percent. An optimum concentration was found to exist for maximum capacity of a given pipe-line, and for minimum energy requirements per ton of coal. Coal size degradation by particle fracture took place in the pump; abrasion and attrition to form fines took place in both pump and line. A novel system of studying flow of solid-liquid mixtures in pipelines by the determination of relative sound intensities was developed.

Jan 1, 1966

By T. E. Gray

This report describes the preparation characteristics of the significant coalbeds in Harrison County, W. Va. It is one in a series of Federal Bureau of Mines reports planned to determine coals suitable for the production of metallurgical coke, either as mined or after beneficiation. Over 6.5 million tons of coal was produced in Harrison County, W. Va., in 1958, of which over 3.7 million tons was cleaned mechanically in seven preparation plants. All of the coal cleaned was from the Pittsburgh bed. It has been estimated that more than 1,816 million tons of coal remains in the county in beds 12 inches or more thick. The Pittsburgh and Redstone beds were selected by the Bureau for a study based on current production rates and estimated minable reserves. Sample locations were selected following a study of the literature, conferences with mining engineers and mining company officials in the field, and examination of the available sites. Six samples were collected from the Pittsburgh bed, and three samples came from the Redstone bed, Float-and-sink tests of the samples collected from the Pittsburgh and Redstone beds showed that neither coal could be upgraded to a metallurgical fuel under the standards set up for this study, even after intensive preparation. Finer crushing of the samples moderately increased the yields and slightly reduced both the ash and the sulfur contents in the 1.30-specific-gravity float fractions. Finer crushing slightly decreased the yields in the 1.58-specific-gravity float fractions, whereas it reduced the sulfur content 0.11 percent for the Redstone sample and 0.46 for the Pittsburgh sample.

Jan 1, 1961

By F. R. Cattoir, R. E. Cumings

Columbium metal was electrorefined in a fused - salt electrolyte . Excellent results were obtained in lowering the impurity content in a 94 - percent columbium anode feed material to produce a 99.8- percent - pure metal . The reductions of the major impurities follow : Oxygen from 19,800 to 500 ppm , carbon from 9,700 to 25 ppm , iron from 9,200 to 630 ppm , nitrogen from 2,100 to 90 ppm , and silicon from 750 ppm to not detected . Columbium with a purity of 99.9 percent was produced from 99.5- and 99.8 - percent grades of columbium. The investigation was devoted to the evaluation of a fused - fluoride - salt electrolyte ( KF - NaF- K₂ CbF, ) for electrorefining columbium. The effects of the columbium concentration and the voltage upon the product's purity were investigated . The effect on the cathode current efficiency of ampere - hours of deposition and the formation of a dual valence state of the columbium was also investigated .

Jan 1, 1964

By J. H. East, D. Harrington

"INTRODUCTION Burning refuse dumps are a common and by no means pleasant sight in most coal-mining distracts; they have been and largely continue to be accepted as a necessary, if undesirable, adjunct to coal-mining operations. The odor, smoke, and fumes emanating from the burning dumps have caused much property damage, as well as aroused unfavorable public sentiment in the areas thus affected; and there is reason to believe that, in at least some cases, they have had an adverse effect on the health of certain communities, adjacent to mines. In some instances such communities have been owned or controlled by the mining companies and in others they are incorporated towns.After the start of World War II, it was necessary for Great Britain to take prompt and effective measures to extinguish or at least blanket the burning refuse dumps at collieries, since the fires served as beacons for the enemy planes; the problem thus became a matter of national security rather than one of local inconvenience. If the United States should become involved in a bombing war, these dumps might became a source of national danger, hence now is a propitious time to at least make a start on available methods of solving this problem. Much progress was made in Great Britain in extinguishing the dump fires that had burned for years and in preventing newly made dumps from taking fire.Burning refuse dumps have not been a national problem in the United States, but they are a nuisance and frequently a danger and often a fruitful cause of poor public relations on account of the odor and fumes. Many progressive coal-mining companies are taking effective and positive action in trying to extinguish old dump fires and to build new dumps so they are less likely to fire.The purpose of this paper is to provide information about the problem as well as on ways to extinguish refuse dump fires, to describe methods of constructing dumps that probably will prevent them from firing, and to point out some of the danger that exists when dumps are improperly built and when they are on fire."

Mar 1, 1948

By A. F. Colombo

The western Mesabi range nonmagnetic taconites containing about 34 percent Fe were evaluated by the Bureau of Mines in a 900-pound-per-hour pilot plant employing a selective flocculation-desliming-cationic flotation technique. The flotation step was a reverse flotation process and involved the flotation of the gangue minerals. The objective of the research was to increase the availability of domestic raw materials for the iron and steel industry. The beneficiated ores yielded concentrates containing 62 to 64 percent Fe and less than 5.5 percent Si02 with accompanying iron recoveries that averaged about 75 percent. Comparable flotation results were obtained with either fresh or 80 to 90 percent reclaimed water. Recycled waters having turbidities as high as 5,000 ppm Si02 did not affect the flotation process. Reclaimed waters containing residual calcium contents of less than 10 ppm gave better flotation concentrates than those containing 15 ppm.

Jan 1, 1976

By Ann G. Kim

Acid drainage from underground coal mines and coal refuse piles is one of the most persistent industrial pollution problems in the United States: This Bureau of Mines report reviews the acid mine drainage problem generally and describes research currently underway to combat it.

Jan 1, 1982

By Thomas M. Nasiatka

Tests with a high-pressure water jet were conducted in the steeply pitching Roslyn No. 5 bituminous coalbed in the Roslyn No. 9 mine, Roslyn, Wash., to determine the feasibility of extracting coal from pillars and from a solid coal face in development without drilling and blasting. During pillar mining, using a hand-held monitor, the best results were obtained with a 0.150-inch- diameter nozzle, a water pressure of 3,500 psi, and a flow rate of 38.5 gpm.3 The rate of mining and productivity were 0.74 ton per minute and 16.6 tons per man-shift, respectively. During development mining, using a monitor mounted on a roof jack, the best results were obtained with a 0.148-inch-diameter nozzle, a water pressure of 4,500 psi, and a flow rate of 40.0 gpm. In one section of the mine where the coal was relatively hard, the rate .of mining and productivity were 0.10 ton per minute and 5.7 tons per man-shift, respectively in another section of the mine where the coal was relatively soft, the rate of mining and productivity were 0.51 ton per minute and 8.3 tons per man-shift, respectively. The tests showed that hydraulic mining methods were more productive than conventional mining methods in pillar mining. In development the productivity of hydraulic mining depended primarily upon the coal hardness. Compared with conventional methods, hydraulic mining methods were less productive where the coal was relatively hard and equally as productive where the coal was relatively soft.

Jan 1, 1963

By E. P. Youngman

The mining law of Chosen, which was made effective April 1, 1916, was promulgated as ordinance 8, December 24, 1915, in accordance with the provisions of articles 1 and 2 of law No. 30 of 1911. The new le repealed the mining law, Fo. 3 of 1906, and the placer mining law, No. of 1906, and in effect annulled all prior mining legislation. An amendment to the mining law of 1916 (by virtue of law No. 30 of 1911) vas. passed December 16, 1918, as ordinence o. 17. The detailed regulations, which were to supplement the law proper, and rich in all probability follow closely the regulations in force in the Empire, were not available. Unless otherwise indicated, references in this paper are to the mining law of 1916.

Mar 1, 1933

By J. M. Goris

The U.S. Bureau of Mines, in a cooperative project with the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, and Homestake Mining Co., Lead, SD, conducted in situ monitoring and numerical modeling of rock masses supported with cable bolts in two mechanized, cut-and-fill stopes and a shaft pillar at the Homestake Mine. Extensometers were used to measure rock displacement, while cable bolt strain gauges were installed to measure loads on both conventional and birdcage cable bolt supports. These instruments provided an assessment of rock mass behavior during mining as well as essential data for verifying results from computer analyses. The numerical modeling program FLAC was used to analyze cable bolt patterns and supports. Results from the evaluation study indicated that cable bolt strain gauges and extensometers were effective instruments for monitoring the behavior of rock masses supported with cable bolts. Also, numerical modeling of the 4S-48N stope using the FIAC code provided displacement values comparable with measurements from field extensometers.

Jan 1, 1993

By Ronald H. Church

As part of the Bureau of Mines health and safety research program in strata control, a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) system capable of pene-trating approximately 10 ft into the mine roof has been devised to identify anomalistic conditions. The GPR system consists of a transmitter with carrier frequencies of 250, 500, and 1,000 MHz, utilizing a dipole antenna, and a receiver, consisting of a dipole antenna fed into a sampler with a time base housed in a storage oscilloscope. A computer was utilized for data acquisition and data processing. Data analysis by computer enhancement revealed recognizable return ra-dar signatures from the middle man rock and main roof of the test site. These stratigraphic anomalies can be cataloged for recognizable fea-tures, which from the past history of the mine may have been shown to create strata control problems. Early recognition of such features could lead to immediate corrective actions and result in the saving of lives.

Jan 1, 1985

By R. T. MacMillan

A number of chemical techniques have been applied to manganese ores from three areas of Aroostook County, Maine. Although large tonnages of these ores have been proved, they are low grade, and their exploitation has awaited a suitable beneficiation scheme. As conventional ore-dressing methods had failed to yield satisfactory results, attention was turned to chemical procedures. Leaching with dilute (7-percent) H2S04 extracted over 90 percent of the manganese from ore of the Dudley farm area, consuming 3.8 pounds of acid per pound of manganese extracted. Ores from the Littleton Ridge and Maple Mountain-Hovey Mountain areas were less amenable to this treatment, yielding approximately 80 and 60 percent of their Mn content, respectively. To increase the percentage extraction of manganese in the latter two ores, a number of factors were varied, including (1) acid concentration in the extracting solution, (2) ratio of acid to Mn in the slurry, and (3) preliminary heat treatment of the ore with a reducing agent. Other acids, including HNO3, HC1, and H2SO3, were tried also; however, no significant improvements in the Mn leached from Maple Mountain-Hovey Mountain ore were made. The manganese extraction of Littleton Ridge ore was raised to 90 percent by providing 9 to 11 pounds of HNO3 per pound of Mn in the ore.

Jan 1, 1954