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By Forrest T. Moyer

THIS CHAPTER of the Minerals Yearbook (Volume III) contains overall injury experience for coal mines, both anthracite and bituminous coal, coke plants, petroleum and natural gas, peat, and asphalt and related bitumens (native); metal mines, metallurgical plants, including ore-dressing plants and primary nonferrous reduction plants and refineries; nonmetal mines; nonmetal mills; sand and gravel operations; slag (iron blast-furnace) plants; and stone quarries and their related plants. Volume I of the yearbook contains a chapter showing injury experience and employment data treated separately by categories: Metal mines, nonmetal mines, quarries and their related plants, metallurgical plants (ore-dressing plants and primary nonferrous reduction plants and refineries are shown separately), nonmetal mills, sand and gravel plants, and iron blast-furnace slag plants. Volume II contains injury and employment experience in the fuel industries (anthracite, bituminous coal including lignite, coke, petroleum and natural gas, native asphalt and related bitumens, and peat). Injury and employment data were collected from coal producers on the regular mandatory basis as required by the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act (30 U.S.C., sec. 455). Similar data for 1962 from metal, nonmetal (except well and brine operations), stone, and sand and gravel producers were collected by a. mandatory reporting system under the provisions of the Act of September 26, 1961, Public Law 87-300 (75 Stat. 649). Before 1962, these nonfuel producers reported voluntarily to the Bureau of Mines. Producers of all other minerals (fuel and nonfuel) reported the requested injury and employment data voluntarily to the Bureau for 1962, the same as in preceding years.

Jan 1, 1963

By M. G. Zabetakis

At ordinary temperatures and pressures methyl ethyl ketone (MEK)-air mixtures containing between 2.0 and 11 vol.-pct. MEK and methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK)-air mixtures containing between 1.5 and 7.5 vol.-pct. MIBK are flammable. However, MEK-bromochloromethane (BCM)-air mixtures containing at least 6.2 vol.-pct. BCM and MIBK-BCM-air mixtures containing at least 7.0 vol.-pct. BCM are nonflammable. Also, MEK-BCM-air and MIBK-BCM-air mixtures containing less than 18.7 vol.-pct. oxygen are nonflammable. To assure the formation of nonflammable mixtures when mixed with air, MEK-BCM vapor mixtures must contain at least 1.6 vol. BCM per volume MEK, and MIBK-BCM vapor mixtures must contain at least 2.8 vol. BCM per volume of MIBK; these quantities of BCM would be produced by liquid mixtures containing 55 vol.-pct. BCM in the first case and 60 vol.-pct. in the second. An MIBK-BCM-trimethylene chlorobromide mixture containing equal volumes of each liquid forms nonflammable mixtures with air at ordinary temperatures and pressures. The same is true of a liquid mixture containing 34.6 pct. (liquid volume) BCM, 34.b pct. perchloroethylene, 15.4 pct. MIBK, 7.7 pct. toluene, 3.85 pct. ethyl amyl ketone, and 3.85 pct. trimethylene bromide.

Jan 1, 1960

By J. M. Seward, W. D. Dietzman, M. E. Hawkins

Analytical studies of formation waters are widely used by the petroleum industry as an aid in solving problems such as identifying intrusive waters , corrosion studies , treating injection water , and choosing open or closed water- injection systems . The solution of a problem is often simplified when reliable analyses of the waters under consideration have been made previously . Chemical analyses and electrical resistivity measurements are presented on 267 samples from 74 fields in south Arkansas , and 199 samples from 80 fields in north Louisiana .

Jul 1, 1960

By Spencer P. Howell, Munroem Charles E.

"Introduction;As in the case of TNT previously presented*, this report presents the results of an investigation to discover the safest and best way of utilizing picric acid for industrial blasting purposes. It describes the physical and chemical properties of this explosive, gives precautions to be observed in handling, packing, preparation of cartridges, and holes, presents the results of field tests in blasting stumps and bowlders, and compares the results with those obtained from dynamite.The investigations reported herein were undertaken and this paper has been prepared, solely to aid in the salvage of the surplus picric acid accumulated for war uses and released by the declaration of the armistice. No funds were available nor have any been appropriated with which to defray the expense of converting this picric acid into any other form or to prepare any explosive mixture from it. The sole problem was to find appropriate uses for this military picric acid in existing needs and to show that it can be efficiently used in carrying out essential civil projects.It is not intended by this publication to promote the use of picric acid as an industrial explosive further than is necessary for the proper utilization of this surplus. On the contrary, the authors believe that picric acid by itself is unlikely to come into general use as an industrial explosive, chiefly because of its cost but also as shown by the clouds of smoke it emits on explosion and the nature of the reactions it undergoes because we do not obtain from it its highest efficiency. As demonstrated in its previous use in Joveite, better results and higher efficiencies may be obtained by mixing picric acid in proper proportions with sodium nitrate or ammonium nitrate, to more completely oxidize the picric acid, and another nitrosubstitution compound, such as nitronaphthalenes, with which do desensitize and waterproof the composition formed. By such admixture not only may the energy resident in the picric acid, be more fully utilized but the cost of the resulting blasting explosive should be much less than that of picric acid."

Apr 1, 1921

By J. E. Wilson

The Pittsburgh carbonization laboratory of the Bureau of Mines has determined the expansion or contraction of more than 300 coking coals in a modified Bethlehem-type sole-heated expansion tester. Information on the actions of coals or blends of coals when coked is extremely valuable to operators of commercial-scale coke ovens. Coals that expand abnormally or beyond expectations can cause extensive damage to coke ovens and result in costly shutdowns and repairs. Although test results for many of the coals have been given in various Bureau of Mines publications, considerable information was not published. Thus, it is the purpose of this report to furnish coal operators and the coking industry with a current appraisal of the expanding properties of all coals tested by the Bureau before September 1, 1958. These data should be useful in the normal long range planning of coal and coke production and will be essential if the demand for coking coals increases abnormally or when reserves of higher grade coals are depleted.

Jan 1, 1959

By B. W. Madsen

The Bureau of Mines conducted a large-scale (6.4 t), long-term (2,165 days) test to gain a better understanding of the leaching characteristics of chalcopyritic ores. An ore sample containing 0.77 pct Cu was leached in a fiberglass column by downward percolation of acidified ferric sulfate solutions. Three sets of leaching conditions were investigated: (1) ambient temperature leaching, (2) elevated temperature (50° to 60° C) leaching, and (3) elevated temperature leaching after inoculation with thermophilic bacteria. Leaching at ambient temperature resulted in a copper extraction rate of 0.44 pct per 100 days. Increasing the temperature to 50° to 60° C resulted in decreased activity of natural mesophilic bacteria, and the leaching rate decreased to 0.22 pct per 100 days. The pH was lowered from 2.0 to 1.6, and nutrient solutions that contained thermophilic bacteria were added. This procedure resulted in an increase in the ferric-to-ferrous iron ratio and an increase in the copper leaching rate. However, the increased leaching rate was not sustained, and 120 days after inoculation the bacterial activity declined, the ferrous iron content increased, and the copper leaching rate decreased.

Jan 1, 1983

By Edward G. Cunney

Track in underground bituminous coal mines was investigated, and technology was taken from other industries in order to obtain information on conditions that impair the safety and efficiency of the track and to develop guidelines and useful information on the construction, inspection and maintenance of mine track. Volume 1 contains information on the investigations, observed track conditions, useful technology from railroads and other industries, derivations of track condition descriptors and recommended limits, conclusions, and recommendations. Volume 2, Guidelines, contains recommended standards and practices for mine track. It includes the relation of track conditions to safe speeds; descriptions and limits for measurable track features such as gage; descriptions of conditions for track components that are normally not measurable, such as subbase soils; construction requirements and techniques, inspection requirements and methods; and methods for managing and performing track maintenance work. As a research product, it does not repeat the summary or derivations. Volume 3, Inspection Handbook, summarizes recommended standards and procedures from Volume 2 and provides related information for' ready reference by inspectors in the mines. As a research product to be used in mines, it does not repeat the summary, derivations or references.

Jan 1, 1977

By T. F. Dumm, O. Trass, V. R. Koka, L. G. Austin

"The size distributions of carefully screened 2 size fractions of ground materials were determined using a Microtrac laser dif-fractometer. The size distributions were fitted to the empirical function P(x) = 1/[1 + (x50/x)1] where P(x) is cumulative mass fraction less than Microtrac size, x. The standard deviation of A for a 50 second test time was approximately 0.5, so that seventeen test times give a mean with an estimated error within t 0.25 (95% confidence level). Values of were 5.44, 4.82, 4.40 for a coal ground under different conditions, indicating statistically different shape distributions; the average value for mica was 2.91 owing to the high aspect ratio of the particles. The ratio of x50 to the geometric mean sieve size was 1.2 for the coal and 0.70 for mica.1 IntroductionKoka and Trass have presented evidence [1,2] that materials ground in the Szego mill [3] give different shapes depending on the milling conditions. The variations in shape were deduced qualitatively by viewing SEM photomicrographs of selected 1/2 screen fractions. This paper quantifies their observed differences in shape by using measurements of the size distributions of screen fractions examined in a laser diffractometer [4] (Microtrac, Model 7991). The basic concept is that particles of 'a given ""screen"" size will give a wider distribution of ""Microtrac"" size when the particles are flaky with high aspect ratios, and a narrower distribution when the particles approach the cubical and spherical geometries.2 TheoryAustin and Shah [5] have shown that coal screened within a 1. 1/2 upper-to-lower sieve size range will give rise to a much wider distribution of Microtrac size. They found that the screen interval of irregular fragments of comminuted coals or quartz gave Microtrac size distributions which could be described by the simple function"

Jan 1, 1988

By Paul Biggs

This Bureau of Mines report provides information on 138 waterflood projects in Wyoming. Injection was in 25 producing zones and 65 fields. Specific data presented include field location, discovery and development, water supply and injection, oil and water production, estimates of oil in place, and oil recoveries by primary and secondary methods. The 138 projects studied will, if successful, recover about 800 million barrels of secondary oil. Almost all of the injection water is from deep water wells.

Jan 1, 1970

Investigate and demonstrate the possible use of low-density (45-lb/ft3) foam concrete for sealing abandoned mine openings. Although foam concrete has been used in the construction and geotechnical industries for some decades, it has not previously been used in abandoned mint shaft reclamation. Approach A structurally engineered permanent mine seal for an abandoned coal mine shaft, using low-density foam concrete and other appropriate structural materials, was designed by the Bureau and installed at a field site, the No. 22 Shall in Logan County, West Virginia. The field work was conducted by a private contractor under the supervision of the West Virginia AML Section (WV AML). The No. 22 Shaft is situated immediately adjacent to a frequently traveled county road. A few feet away from the shaft is a branch of Pine Creek. On the other side of the road is a railroad line that serves an active mining operation located several miles away. The shaft measures 9.5 by 9 feet in cross section and is about 300 feet deep. It was used at one time as a dewatering shaft and still contains two large-diameter dewatering pipes with steel drive shafts inside them. Before the beginning of the reclamation, the shaft included a concrete cap a few inches thick, with a 4 - by 5-foot access opening covered by a steel grate. The interior of the shaft was quite humid, and considerable flow of water at the bottom of the shaft could clearly be heard from the surface. Methane tests were conducted that showed the shaft to be clear of this gas.

Jan 1, 1992

By S. J. Aresco

The Bureau of Mines has been active in promoting the purchase of coal for Government use under specifications that define the requirements in terms of heating value of the coal, expressed in British thermal units, and the composition as shown by proximate analyses. To these, when required, are added the ash-softening temperature, the free-swelling index, and the Hardgrove grind-ability index. Under most of these specification contracts the bidders guarantee the quality of the coal, and that guaranteed by the successful bidder becomes the standard of his contract. The deliveries are sampled in accordance with instructions4 issued by the Bureau of Mines; the samples are analyzed in the Bureau laboratory to determine whether the coal is of the quality guaranteed by the contractor; if it is not, a price adjustment is made. Analyses of the delivered coal and tipple samples (samples collected at mine tipples as coal is being loaded into railroad cars or trucks) provide valuable data for use in evaluating future bids. In addition, the continuous sampling of coal as delivered is a check on the practical results obtained in burning the coal.

Jan 1, 1965

By George F. Dana

Oil yields, lithology, and stratigraphy have been evaluated for 15 cored wells and two sampled wells representing 10 square miles of the Tipton Member of the Green River Formation near Green River, Wyo. The area evaluated is being used by the Bureau of Mines for experimental production of oil from the oil shales in place. Lithology and oil yields were correlated to produce a stratigraphy diagram for the in situ study area, permitting precise designation of comparable sections. Because of lateral uniformity of oil shale, oil yields from eight cores and two sets of drill-cutting samples within a quarter section show the range of variation in average oil yield arising from experimental error. Variation in average oil yields from the seven cores representing the 10-square-mile study area lies within the expected experimental error. No difference in oil-shale richness across the study area is indicated. Average oil yields for three Tipton sections in the study area were deter-mined as follows: (1) The entire Tipton Member oil shale (about 145 feet thick), 13.3 gallons per ton; (2) the 40-foot upper rich zone, 21.0 gallons per ton; and (3) the 21-foot zone in which the Laramie Energy Research Center is conducting in situ experiments, 22.4 gallons per ton. One acre of the 21-foot experimental section represents 34,300 barrels of oil in place, and 1 acre of the Tipton's 40-foot rich upper layer represents 62,000 barrels.

Jan 1, 1972

By A. L. Engel

The Stayton Mining District in San Benito County, Calif., near Hollister, includes several square miles with many occurrences of antimony ore. The sample submitted for the test described in this paper came from a vein said to have been traced and sampled for 5,000 feet on the surface, 1,500 feet carrying 2-1/2 to 3 percent antimony and the remainder 1/2 to 2 percent. Thirty thousand tons 'With a content of 3 percent antimony are said to be blocked out. A drift of 200 feet on the vein has shown ore containing 4.2 percent antimony. The present sample assayed 3.8 percent. Previous flotation investigation of this are resulted in a recovery of only 71.6 percent in concentrates containing 56.8 percent Sb. It was desired to develop a method of treatment that would give better results. The antimony in the sample occurred as the mineral stibnite, Sb2S3, antimony sulfide.

Jan 1, 1949

By Bowles Oliver

"Modification of Quarry Process.Limestone beds are formed by processes of nature, processes that have been in operation for thousands and perhaps millions of years. Therefore, their com- position and physical properties are long-established and unalterable features over which man has no control. He must take them as he fields them.It is undoubtedly true that the character of lime depends largely on the nature of the parent limestone. A high-calcium lime cannot be manufactured from a dolomite, nor can a pure lime result from the calcination of an impure raw material. However, in the process of turning limestone into lime man is not entirely helpless in his control of quality. Even though a deposit is variable in character a single lime product of uniform quality may be produced by judicious quarrying. A single grade of product may not always be desired, the producer may wish to supply the needs of a variety of users each demanding U different grade or quality of lime such a series of graded products may be produced in part at least by modifying the quarry method. Thus, by changes in quarry practice a single product or a variety of products may be made. The latter problem will be considered at a later time, and the present paper devoted to the first named question' that of producing a single grade of lime from a deposit of variable rock,It is realized of course that uniformity in the product is influenced greatly by manufacturing processes such as calcining' hydrating' grinding or storage, but the present discussion is confined to the influence of raw materials only. In considering the various devices that may be employed it is realized that much remains to be learned, and it is hoped that many operators will contribute to the discussion as they have already done in connection with previous papers of this series."

May 1, 1923

By F. D. DeVaney

In the course of the investigation by the U. S. Bureau of Mines and the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy at the Mississippi Valley Experiment Station at Rolla, Mo., on the beneficiation of the low-grade manganese ores of the country, some samples from the Cuyuna District, Linn., have been examined. The work was done under the direction of W. H. Coghill, supervising engineer of the Mississippi Valley Experiment Station. Joseph and Kinney in writing about the relative importance of Minnesota deposits of low-grade ore compared to the total reserves say: "***It has been estimated that 26 to 35 million tons of ore contain 5 to 35 per cent of manganese, and the total domestic tonnage is from 75 to 48 million tons. The mean of these values is 30.5 million and 42 million tons, so it is seen that about 75 per cent of the reserves are in Minnesota." The manganese-bearing ores of the Cuyuna district maybe roughly grouped into two classes. The most abundant ore is of the low-silica, low-manganese, and high-phosphorus type called brown are. The other type is the so-called black ore, which is characterized by a higher manganese and silica content and by a lowe phosphorus analysis than the brown ore. As a general rule the brown ore carries less than 10 per cent of manganese while the black ore contains about 15 per cent and sometimes as high as 22 per cent of manganese.

Jan 1, 1930

By C. E. Jordan

The fundamental properties of dielectric separation were studied to provide insight into the design and operating characteristics of a dielectric separator. Force equations on mineral particles were derived and evaluated experimentally. Responses to variations in the electrical voltage and frequency, feed rate, particle size, dielectric fluid, and dielectric constant were tested theoretically and experimentally, using a 5-cm-diam dielectric separator. High-dielectric mineral recovery was proportional to the calculated effective dielectric force volume (EDFV) that surrounded each drum-electrode wire. Electrode spacing was the most sensitive design parameter; spacing of less than 0.4 cm was required for a good separation. Dielectric separation was effective for separating minerals with dielectric constants that differed by approximately 2 or more.

Jan 1, 1985

By E. C. Lane

For a number of years the Bureau of Mines has been studying crude petroleum from the producing fields of the United States, During the past year 10 crude-oil samples have been collected and analyzed from the producing fields of Pennsylvania and New York. This report gives the results of these analyses and for the purpose of comparison also analyses of samples of crude oils taken previously from some of these fields. This survey includes samples from normal producing properties as well as from properties using stimulative production methods such as water flooding and rapressuring. The outstanding feature of the survey is that the crude oils from tike various fields throughout this general area are similar in character and uniform in quality although they were produced from different sands and by various methods. Samples from fields in Venango County, Pa., however, appear to have a lower gasoline content than the others. This report includes two analyses reprinted from Bureau of Mines Bulletin 291.4/

Jan 1, 1938

By E. C. Lane

For a number of years the Bureau of Mines has been studying crude petroleum from the producing fields of the United States. During the past year 10 crude-oil samples have been collected and analyzed from the producing fields of Pennsylvania and New York. This report gives the results of these analyses and for the purpose of comparison also analyses of samples of crude oils taken previously from some of these fields. This survey includes samples from normal producing properties as well as from properties using stimulative production methods such as water flooding and repressuring. The outstanding feature of the survey is that the crude oils from tine various fields throughout this general area are similar in character and uniform in quality although they were produced from different sands and by various methods. Samples from fields in Venango County, Pa., however, appear to have a lower gasoline content than the others. This report includes two analyses reprinted from Bureau of Mines Bulletin 291.4/

Jan 1, 1938

By C. A. Pearson, W. D. Dietzman, M. E. Hawkins

Results of chemical analyses and electrical resistivity measurements of 422 samples of oilfield brines from 120 east Texas fields in Railroad Commission of Texas Districts 5 and 6 are presented in tabular form . These samples represent water from all of the major petroleum- productive formations in the area . Water analyses and electrical resistivity data , when fully utilized by proper study techniques , are useful tools in the solution of many engineering problems such as detection of well leaks , identification of water sources , and interpretation of electrical well logs . In the area included in this study , these representative data should facilitate the solution of problems in which water analysis and water resistivity are factors .

Jan 1, 1964

By R. E. Coleman

The molecular species occurring at the mineral-reagent interface of the galena-aqueous potassium ethyl xanthate system was studied by developing a technique for using an attenuated reflection method in conjunction with standard infrared spectroscopy procedures. Lead ethyl xanthate was detected from the infrared spectra of all galena surfaces treated in the pH range of 7 to 11. At pH 8.5, lead ethyl xanthate formed as a film chemically bonded to the galena surface. A solvent extraction sampling method was employed with infrared spectroscopy to obtain quantitative data on the lead ethyl xanthate removed from the galena surface. The data showed that between pH 7 and 11 thy quantity of lead ethyl xanthate physically adsorbed decreased as the pH was decreased; in the same pH range, the quantity of free lad ethyl xanthate in the aqueous medium remained constant, and the amount of unreacted xanthate varied.

Jan 1, 1966