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By Wesley A. Grosh

The Allah Cooper mine, in Louisa County, Va., formerly was a producer of lead and zinc. It was believed that the critical shortage of leach and zinc and the fact that some ore had been produced at this mine justified exploration of it. A preliminary examination was made on April 30, 1943, by J. E. Hill, a Bureau of Mines Engineer. Diamond drilling was done on the property from November 30 to December 18, 1943, to determine whether the sulfide body extended to depth. One hole drilled to a depth of 650 feet and located so as to cut the Allah Cooper ore shoot about 150 feet below the lowest known mine workings failed to disclose sulfide vein at that depth.

Jan 1, 1949

By Noel N. Moebs

The Bureau of Mines measured surface subsidence above four small coal mine room-and-pillar sections in southwestern Pennsylvania, to obtain preliminary information on the magnitude and character of selected parameters, such as angle of draw and maximum subsidence, which are essential to the development of subsidence prediction methods. Data varied widely at the four sites; this is attributed to local geologic and mining conditions. Surface deformation at each site was of a magnitude normally associated with severe structural damage.

Jan 1, 1982

Provide an accurate, simple, alternative means of evaluating the safety of mine electrical ground systems which has little or no negative impact on mine productivity. The Traditional Evaluation Method The Code of Federal Regulations requires all mines to safely ground their power systems to earth. Effective earth grounding reduces shock hazards to mine workers operating electrical equipment, protects equipment from damage by voltage transients, and provides a means of detecting and locating ground faults. Once an earth ground bed has been constructed, its level of resistance has traditionally been used to gauge the safety of the entire grounding system. Bed resistance measurements are normally performed using a ?fall of potential? technique with a current return electrode placed at a remote location, If the resistance measured is acceptably low, then the bed is assumed safe.

Jan 1, 1985

Develop methods to detect and repair poorly functioning dust collectors on roof bolters. Approach In conjunction with a research project to reduce silica dust in coal mines, a variety of roof bolting machines operating under different conditions were examined to find out how much these machines were contributing to the silica dust problem. Results The investigation concluded that if the bolting machines' dust collector is properly maintained, very little dust can be measured in the air, even with minimal airflow over the bolter. Poor maintenance, however, frequently results in high dust levels. Three major problem areas were found. These were: (1) filter leaks, which allowed dust to escape, (2) accumulations of dust in the collection system, and (3) low airflow at the bit due to hose, fitting, and relief valve leaks.

Jan 1, 1984

To find solutions for common safety problems encountered in the handling of trailing cables, based on observations at many different surface mining operations. Approach Practices in handling trailing cables were Investigated through personal visits to over 40 mines, supplemented by visits to cable manufacturers and cable repair service companies. The most effective solutions to the safety problems en-countered were noted and are described In the project final report. Examples are given in this Technology News. Accident Experience Most cable-related injuries occur as a result of workers lifting, pulling, tripping, or being struck by the cable. The Table gives the frequency of occurrence for injuries reported during a recent 3 1/2 year period.

Jan 1, 1982

Reduce spillage hazards and contamination when adding hydraulic nil to mining machine reservoirs. Approach An easily transported module, that delivers hydraulic oil directly into mining machines, was built and tested. How It Works The Hydraulic Oil Delivery Module is carried, from the oil storage area to the equipment needing oil, in the bucket of a scoop or other utility vehicle. Oil is pumped into the module reservoir from storage, or out of the module reservoir into the machine being serviced, through a long hydraulic hose. During long-term testing, the 115 foot long delivery hose made it possible to replenish the hydraulic oil in mining machines at the face with only limited interruption to the mining operation. (Figure 1 shows one! version of the module.) The compact Hydraulic, Oil Delivery Module consists of: an oil reservoir: a pump driven by a hydraulic motor; two high pressure, low volume oil lines, filters; and a low pressure, larger capacity delivery hose equipped with quick-connect-couplers. The high pressure oil lines are connected to the scoop's hydraulic power takeoff, which supplies the power to pump oil in or out of the module reservoir.

Jan 1, 1977

Determine the effectiveness of remining operations in reducing contaminant load (acidity, iron, and sulfate) of discharges emanating from abandoned surface and underground coal mines. Background Until the implementation of remining initiatives, most States had regulations that held the operator remining an abandoned site responsible for preexisting acid mine drainage (AMD) discharges. For example, if a mining. company wanted to remine an area hydrologically connected to an existing AMD discharge, the company became responsible, as soon as the site was activated, for treating that discharge to meet effluent standards. If the mining operation improved the quality of the discharge, but the discharge failed to meet effluent standards, the company was held accountable for perpetual treatment. Because of this regulation, most mine operators avoided abandoned sites with minable coal reserves and AMD discharges. However, changes in remining legislation allow coal companies to be released from treatment liability as long as the post-remining pollution load does not exceed the pre-remining level. If remining can improve water quality through improved mining and abatement techniques, abandoned mine land (AML) areas that previously were liabilities could become

Jan 1, 1994

By I. D. Shah

Thermal decomposition of copper (II) sulfate (CUS04) and copper (II) oxy-sulfate (CuO?CUS04) are important steps in the overall oxidative roasting of covellite (CuS) and chalcocite (Cu2S). Nonisothermal thermogravimetric techniques were used to investigate the decomposition reactions in flowing Na and air. Thermal decomposition of CUS04 and CuO?CUS04 followed "linear" kinetics with an apparent activation energy of 55±2 and 66±3 kcal per mole decomposed, respectively. These apparent activation energies comply with those previously reported when isothermal kinetic techniques were used. The addition of oxygen decreased the rate of decomposition, while small amounts of iron which were admixed with CuO?CUS04 did not have a significant effect. Neither oxygen nor iron had any appreciable effect on the apparent activation energy of the decomposition reaction.

Jan 1, 1972

By William Wiehagen

This trainer?s guide is designed as a reference manual. The purpose is to offer information and examples to skills trainers to assist them in structuring training for new operators of Walk-Thru roof bolting machines. Trainers can use this manual as a resource for helping trainees learn, understand, and apply knowledge and skills. In this sense, the guide is not prescriptive. It is designed to offer information and trigger ideas on what might be done to accelerate learning to those who are new to the roof-bolting task. On-site trainers can modify this guide to fit their conditions, machines and equipment, and work procedures. They can integrate roof control plans, company policies and procedures, and operators? manuals from the manufacturers of the original equipment into this guide. Every trainee is different and will come to the job with varying levels of relevant knowledge and skills. The trainer?s decisions on where to start, how to organize the on-the-job and classroom training portions, and when and how to offer different aspects of the training will be based on (1) a pretraining assessment of the trainee?s knowledge and skills and (2) the trainer?s experience in conducting skills training. The ?Skill Check? section might be useful for deciding where training should start among miners who have underground experience but limited knowledge of roof-bolting techniques. Every job carries a learning curve and likely has a number of ?teachable moments? where significantly new knowledge and skills can be learned.

Aug 1, 2006

Provide a portable crushing capability to keep conveyor haulage close to the working face and permit more efficient and safer ore handling in low headroom, hardrock mines. Approach A readily portable jaw crusher is used which meets machine size, feed rock size, product size, and throughput requirements for low headroom, hardrock mines. How It Works The crusher is mounted on wheels to expedite frequent moves and to allow crushing of mined rock or ore near the working face. The crushed product is then placed on conveyor belts that are ex-tended as the crusher is moved. Keeping crushing and conveyor haulage near the face minimizes the haulage distances for trucks and loaders. Loading and haulage of run-of-mine ore is frequently the highest operational cost in underground mines. These costs can be significantly reduced by use of a belt conveyor, which is a common practice in coal and other soft mineral mines. The new low-profile hard rock crusher gives the same advantage of extensive belt haulage capabilities to low headroom, hardrock mines. The low-profile crusher will accept feed up to 30 inches when operating under 11 feet of headroom. The headroom required for crusher operation was reduced by tilting the jaws, feeding the crusher horizontally, and placing the eccentric shaft at the back or in a horizontal plane with the jaws. Material is fed by an

Jan 1, 1981

By Philip B. Lorenz

A Bureau of Mines feasibility study on the use of tracer pulses to assess the degree of fracturing in an underground formation consisted of three phases: 1. A laboratory study on sand packs and open tubes, which developed a correlation between dispersion of the pulse and size of the flow channels. 2. A test on a retort, 11 feet in diameter and 45 feet high, packed with shale rubble. Void volume was measured, but evaluation of channel size was not possible because of interference from the space unoccupied by the matrix. 3. A field test on an explosively fractured shale formation. Pressure, flow, and transit time led to qualitative estimates of fracture pattern, but quantitative detection of dispersion in the formation was overwhelmed by dispersion effects in the well.

Jan 1, 1973

"""Hazard"" is the general expression used by safety engineers to denote risk, or the danger to property or human beings from the contingencies peculiar to different industries. Where a business, family, or individual is subjected to possible financial loss from any particular hazard, it is customary and is considered good practice to insure for reimbursement of possible loss. Accordingly, we take out insurance for earthquakes, for fire, for accidents, etc., and are charged a different premium for each. The premium rate is based on our relative exposure to the hazard in comparison to the total loss to our particular class of business in our geographical location over a given period.Insurance, then, must be considered as the experience of a group rather than of an individual, and any individual may be fortunate or unfortunate over stated periods. Through the law of averages, the probability of loss because of exposure to hazard is becoming more accurately measured as experience is accumulated and data are analyzed.Lion human life came to have a financial value in the eyes of the law, and employers were held liable for losses through accidents to employees while on duty, insurance companies began to underwrite the accident risks of the different employers and divided them into classes based on the amount of risk involved. Premiums for compensation insurance are based on relative exposure, which is measured by pay roll. The premium is rated in proportion to the severity of losses established by statistical studies.' It soon became evident that the accident experience of employers in the some industry varied widely; that is, there were good and bad risked in the same line of business. This resulted in ""experience rating"" of premiums, meaning thereby that an employer with experience in accident cost was premium rated in proportion to his losses over a stated period (usually three or more years)."

Feb 1, 1926

By Harold R. Newman

The performance of Ecuador's mineral industry continued to be affected not only by depressed oil prices in recent years but also by natural disasters. In March 1987, Ecuador canceled foreign debt payments for the rest of the year and appealed for international aid because of a series of earth-quakes that destroyed villages and crippled the nation's oil industry. The earthquake destroyed a key section of the country's main oil pipeline and forced a halt to production and shipment of Ecuador's most important export product. Ecuador produces 240,000 barrels of oil per day and exports 144,000 barrels daily. Oil accounts for 60% of the nation's hard currency earnings. The Government of Ecuador asked the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil-producing countries to assume Ecuador's oil sales commitments. Ecuador agreed to pay the countries back in an equivalent amount of oil when it was able to resume exports.

Jan 1, 1989

By Wilbur I. Duvall

The Bureau of Mines presents a theoretical solution for the stresses and displacements in an infinite elastic plate containing a circular hole whose boundary is subjected to applied shear loads over four separated arcs. The results for the applied shear loads can be superimposed on the results for applied radial loads, given in a previous publication, to obtain a complete two-dimensional approximation of the stresses and displacements induced in the rock by tunnel boring machines anchored in a circular tunnel by means of four props. Analysis of the various solutions shows that the tangential tensile stresses induced on the boundary of the circular tunnel by applied radial loads can be minimized in the roof and floor of the tunnel by the application of appropriate shear loads to each of the four props. Thus when planning tunnel boring operations, consideration should be given to the in situ stress field in the rock and the induced stresses in the rock resulting from the applied radial and shear loads produced by the props of the boring machine.

Jan 1, 1968

By Martin Hertzberg

In this Bureau of Mines report, the optical detection of fires and explosions is considered fundamentally. The measured spectral radiances from methane-air ignitions are compared with the background irradiances from stray and ambient sources, and with the spectral sensitivites of various sensors. The comparison naturally suggests the optimum spectral ranges and signal processing logic that can uniquely characterize the ignition event. Both ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) are considered. Several alternate sensing methods are proposed and discussed. The development and testing of an IR system designed for use in ignition suppression devices in mines is described.

Jan 1, 1975

Improve the safety of mine workers by developing a means of forecasting impending roof falls in underground mines. Approach The Bureau of Mines, through in-house and contract research, has developed the Roof Fall Warning Device. This battery-operated, portable electronic system forecasts roof falls by detecting and interpreting high-frequency rock noise, The technology has shown potential for detecting stress-related failures in a variety of underground environments. How It Works All geologic materials produce high-frequency acoustic emissions when they encounter an increase in stress. These ultrasonic frequency range events ( >20kHz) are well above the audible range of human hearing, very small in amplitude and duration, and can only be detected with sophisticated electronic equipment.

Jan 1, 1990

By G. R. Friggens

A nuclear method for continuously monitoring the coalbed and ash levels and void formation in commercial-scale, fixed-bed, pressurized gas producers is proposed. Measurement of gamma ray transmission through the coalbed is the basis of the method. The coalbed level is monitored by detecting the trans-mission of gamma rays from a 1 to 2 Ci Co-60 source positioned on the outside wall of the vessel. Coal bridging or, alternatively, ash level is monitored by a 10 Ci Co-60 source at the center of the coalbed. Source activities and geometries are calculated for a 12-foot-ID producer designed to operate at 350 psi. Source capsule and detector specifications and operational safety are also discussed.

Jan 1, 1973

By Richard G. Burdick

This Bureau of Hines report describes an interface between a minicomputer and peripheral device, The logic used to develop the device is discussed briefly, after which the device is described in detail; complete construction and operational details are given. The report should aid both in duplicating this device and in designing similar devices for different uses.

Jan 1, 1975

By Fred N. Kissell

Methane flows and pressures were measured in mines in the Pittsburgh, Hartshorne, and Pocahontas No. 3 coalbeds. From the data, the permeability of each of these coalbeds was computed. It was found to depend strongly on the type of coal and on the amount of water in the coalbed, and it was found to increase with time. All of the coalbeds had a high-permeability zone adjacent to the face or rib, and the Pittsburgh bed exhibited directional anisotropy. Surprisingly, little or no overburden effect was observed.

Jan 1, 1972

By D. G. RUNNER

Information Circular 6148R, " Selected Bibliography of Minerals and Their Identification ," was issued in June 1929 , revised in July 1937, and again in October 1938. The popularity of this circular , combined with the desire to make it more comprehensive , has occasioned the preparation of this compilation of references . Where possible , date of publication , publisher, current price , and number of pages are given, although prices are subject to change at intervals . The references are grouped under the following headings : minerals , gems , rocks , geology, geomorphology, engineering geology , prospecting, mining . engineering, microscopy, technical dictionaries , and miscellaneous . For ready reference, the authors ' names are arranged alphabetically under each grouping . This list is not comprehensive, but contains only those references in most common use and which are generally available in public college libraries .

Sep 1, 1949