The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1921-12-29
ACTIVITIES last YEAR BY
THE BUREAU OF MINES
EFFORTS CHIEFLY DIRECTED TO
IMPROVE METHODS AND
PREVENT LOSSES.

} In his annual report Just made to tn
secretary of the interior. IL. Foste
Balm, director OF the u. 5 bureau O
! mines, states that Investigations con
Quoted by the bureau in the course o
special effort to aid the mineral in
dustries to reestablish themselves OF
safe business basis to meet the re
newed foreign competition and thu
changed conditions of supply and de
mand of the postwar period, pOin
sums through the application OF i'm
proved methods in the production o
various mineral materials.
Metallurgy of Zinc to Be Investigated
The cost of production of zinc witt
the standard retort process, is now SC
high that it endangers the position OF
zinc as cheap metal. Plans have
been formulated for an investigation
thermic metallurgy Of zinc, with a
view to increasing the recovery of the
metal and lowering production costs.
The results OF an investigation regard
] ing the losses of fines in the tailings
of zinc metals in the Wisconsin des-
trict indicate that the use of concen-
trating tables of certain type will
greatly increase recovery. 1t is esti-
mated that this practice would have
added about $l,OOOOOO annually to the
value of the zinc output in this district
had it been in operation in 1917.
Important results in the utilization
of the low grade and complex ores OF
copper, lead. silver and zinc, which
constitute a great problem in the min
eral development of Utah, Colorado
and other Rocky mountain states. are
promised by the utilization of the
chloride volatilization process. The
sulphur dioxide teaching of porphyry
copper ores of Arizona holds the prom
Use of important developments for the
mineral Industry of the southwest.
Study of Low Grade Iron Ores.
The bureau investigated the proper
ties and possibilities of molybdenum,
of which the United States possesses
the largest known deposits, although
the country is relatively poor in high
grade deposits of some other import
ant alloying elements used in alloy
structural steels, such as automobile
steels. The bureau conducted studies
directed toward devising means for
Utilizing extensive deposits of low
do f,o, no no cd
profitably by present methods. These
studies included Investigations Of the
low grade iron ores of the Birming-
ham, Ala, district, the manganiferous
iron ores of the Lake Superior dis
trict, and the iron and steel situation
in the Pacific coast states.
An investigation of scrap losses in
aluminium alloy foundry practice
showed that the annual losses in the
United States amounted to $1,2OO,OOO
and that universal adoption of meth
DDS recommended by the bureau of
mines would probably result in a saw
ing of about 100000 per annum.
Melting losses in this industry, which
are largely preventable aggregate
about 5000, 900 yearly. A new method
was devised to simplify the collection
of radium emanating from radium
salts. Experiments are now in prog
ress to perfect the process and to de-
velop apparatus that can be recon-
mended for public use in laboratories
and hospitals.
About one-quarter of the bitumin
GUS coal produced in the United States
the waste of unburned coal and coke
in the ashes from boiler plants has
been investigated by the bureau. 1t !
has been possible to recover the great
er part of the unburned fuel by wash
ing the ashes on a concentrating table |
AS the result of a study of coal wash
ing problems of the state of Washing !
ton. one mine has built table washing |
plant to treat pile of refuse amount
ing to more than one million tons, es
hmated to contain 100000 tons of re-
coverabe coal of coking quality.
Explosives Investigated.
The bureau also conducted studies
the use of liquid oxygen as
an explosive. In cooperation with the
department of agriculture an investi-
cation was made of the use of cellu-
ose from corncobs in the manufacture
IF dynamite. Investigations were con-
iucted to determine the best and safest
conditions for the Industrial use of
g, 600, 000 pounds OF picric acid, held as
4 surplus by the war department Dur
ng the year the bureau called atten-
ion to the danger in using certain
ow-g grade foreign detonators, which
had been coming into the country in
arge numbers
A universal gas mask has been de-
'eloped by the bureau for protecting
he wearer against all poisonous gas
rot exceeding ? or 3 per cent concen-
ration in air where a safety lamp will
,urn A fireman's mask has been de-
-eloped. A small gas mask for the
Use of train crews in railroad tunnels
vas devised. Investigations made in