The Bureau of Mines, in carrying out one of the provisions of its organic act to disseminate information concerning investigations made-prints a limited free edition of each of its publications. When this edition is exhausted, copies may be obtained at cost price only through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. The Superintendent of Documents is not an official of the Bureau of Mines. His is an entirely separate office and he should be addressed: SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. The general law under which publications are distributed prohibits the giving of more than one copy of a publication to one person. The price of this publication is 15 cents. First edition. October, 1919. 660 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF MINES. By VAN. H. MANNING, Director. INTRODUCTION. On July 1, 1918, the Bureau of Mines was centering its efforts on war work, on doing what it could to aid the Government in bringing victory to the United States and the Allies. The suspension of hostilities on November 11 necessarily caused an abrupt change in many details of the work being done. The bureau was confronted with the need of enabling the mineral industries of the country to meet most effectively the inevitable difficulties that would confront them during the transition from the strain of war to the resumption of the normal activities of peace. Investigations in progress were stopped or given a new direction; plans for the future were changed; new investigations were proposed; work was concentrated on those investigations that promised to be most beneficial to the mineral industries during the period of transition and readjustment. Established by Congress (37 Stat., 681) in 1910 for the purpose of conducting scientific and technologic investigations concerning mining and the preparation and utilization of mineral substances with a view to the increase of health, safety, and efficiency in the mineral industries, the bureau continued to study mine gases, rescue and first-aid training for miners, the utilization of coal with greater efficiency, the development of ways to utilize domestic minerals to replace minerals formerly imported, the prevention of waste in the production, transportation, and utilization of petroleum and natural gas, and the development of processes whereby deposits of minerals now unworked may become available as sources of supply. In addition the bureau conducted special investigations relating to new methods of producing various substances, administered the provisions of the law controlling the manufacture, sale, and use of explosives during the war, and gathered and disseminated information in regard to sources of supply of economic minerals throughout the world, the political control of these minerals, and the variations in demand at the principal markets, from month to month. 140922°-INT 1919-VOL 1- -44 661 In the course of its work the Bureau of Mines cooperated with the Department of War, the Department of the Navy, the Department of Agriculture, the United States Fuel Administration, the War Industries Board, the Capital Issues Committee of the Treasury Department, the Council of National Defense, the War Trade Board, the Emergency Fleet Corporation, the United States Shipping Board, the Bureau of Standards, the National Research Council, and also with other bureaus of the Department of the Interior. ! Some of the accomplishments of the year are briefly noted below. The purely war work of the bureau has been described in some detail in Bulletin 178. War investigations coming within the scope of the present fiscal year are given brief mention in the present report. SOME NOTEWORTHY RESULTS OF THE YEAR'S WORK. In cooperation with the War and the Navy Departments continued work on plants for recovering helium, a rare gas needed for balloons. and airships, from natural gas, and demonstrated the merits of the processes used. Completed the construction, in cooperation with the War Department, of a plant for manufacturing sodium cyanide by the Bucher process. In cooperation with the War Department developed a plant for the manufacture of nitric acid by the oxidation of ammonia. Investigated mining and milling problems at mineral deposits throughout the country in order to ascertain the available supply of war minerals, and how these minerals could be produced more efficiently. Issued reports showing the markets for various ores, minerals, and metals, and giving data on the status of various mineral industries. Made a thorough study of the manufacture of sulphuric acid in the United States. Completed a comprehensive review of the explosion tests of coal dust at the experimental mine near Bruceton, Pa. Determined the value of the geophone, a device for detecting sounds transmitted through coal and rock, in recovery work, with especial reference to its use in locating mine fires and in communicating with miners entombed by a disaster. Continued the study of the subsidence of the surface over coal mines in Illinois in order to ascertain what system of mining will • Manning, Van. H., War work in the Bureau of Mines, 1919. Issued in four parts, as follows: Bulletin 178-B. War minerals, Nitrogen fixation, and Sodium cyanide, pp. 39-61. Bulletin 178-C. Bulletin 178-D. do the least damage at the surface while permitting the largest recovery of coal. Completed, in cooperation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the appraisal of the segregated coal and asphalt lands in eastern Oklahoma which belong to the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations. Investigated, in cooperation with the Public Health Service, dust and ventilation conditions in mines in Arizona. Through field demonstrations showed operators and well drillers how large wastes of oil underground may be prevented by cementing oil wells so as to prevent water from entering the oil sands. Gave the Bureau of Internal Revenue a method for estimating the future and ultimate production of oil fields, and thus determining depletion allowances in taxation. Issued monthly reports on the operations of petroleum refineries throughout the United States, showing the output of the refineries and the amount of crude oil they used. Studied methods of preventing losses of oil under ground through the infiltration of waters into oil sands. Determined the advantage of the circulator method of drilling oil wells. Cooperated with State officials of Wyoming in formulating a proposed law governing the drilling of wells in that State. Investigated casing troubles and fishing methods in drilling oil and gas wells. Cooperated with State officials of Illinois in remedying troubles from underground water in oil fields. Determined the effects of various factors on the production of gasoline from heavy oils by the vapor-phase cracking process. Made a nation-wide investigation of the grades of motor gasoline being marketed. Demonstrated the value of absorption for recovering gasoline vapors in the residual gas from compression plants for obtaining gasoline from natural gas. Gave further attention to the recovery of oil from the oil shales of Colorado and Utah. Continued investigations of the fusing temperature of the ash of different coals in order to show the liability of the coals to clinker. Ascertained the suitability of American graphites for various pur poses. Began a comprehensive investigation of the white clays of the United States and the value of these clays in the ceramic industry. Began an investigation of the dolomite deposits of the Eastern States and the possibility of using calcined dolomite as a refractory material for lining furnaces. Cooperated with the Geological Survey of Ohio in making a survey of the fire clays of that State. In cooperation with the State of Idaho investigated the treatment of complex lead-zinc and copper-iron sulphide ores by flotation. Investigated the fuel value of the lignite in the Nenana field, Alaska. Continued investigations of the treatment of molybdenum ores. As a result of the examination of methods of purifying crude graphite developed improvements in milling practice. Studied the possibility of substituting domestic for imported graphite in the manufacture of crucibles. Cooperated with the War Industries Board in measures to reserve an adequate supply of platinum for war requirements. In administering the act regulating the manufacture, sale, possession, and use of explosives during the war; supervised the work of about 14,000 licensing agents throughout the United States and its insular possessions; investigated accidents at explosive plants; examined magazines for storing explosives; and began prosecutions against violators of the provisions of the act. During the year trained 9,781 miners in first-aid and rescue methods at the mine safety cars and stations, as compared with 8,851 in the fiscal year 1918. Investigated causes of 29 mine accidents, 19 in coal mines and 10 in metal mines. Determined the limitations of Army gas masks for use at fires and in industrial plants. Sampled coal mines for the Navy Department and prepared reports on the quality of coal and the methods of mining and preparing it for market. Continued work on the explosibility of coal dust from different mines, thereby gaining additional information on how coal-mine explosions can be prevented or limited. Developed a new method of signaling danger to miners underground by the injection of an ill-smelling substance into the compressed-air lines supplying mining machines and pumps. Continued tests of explosives to determine their suitability for use in mines and quarries. Two new explosives were approved as permissible for use in dusty or gaseous coal mines. At the end of the year there were 162 explosives on the permissible list. Made further tests of an explosive made of liquid oxygen mixed with carbonaceous material and investigated its suitability for mining work. In cooperation with State mine inspectors, collected and published monthly reports on fatalities at coal mines throughout the country. |