United States Bureau of Mines

Industry: Mining

Number of terms: 33118

Number of blossaries: 0

Company Profile:

The U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) was the primary United States Government agency conducting scientific research and disseminating information on the extraction, processing, use, and conservation of mineral resources. Founded on May 16, 1910, through the Organic Act (Public Law 179), USBM's missions ...

sands-and-slimes process

Any cyanidation process for gold ores that involves separation of two portions in a classifier, and separate treatment of sands by percolation and slimes by agitation.

Industry:Mining

mafite

Any dark mineral in Johannsen's classification of igneous rocks.

Industry:Mining

acoustical well logging

Any determination of the physical properties or dimensions of a borehole by acoustical means, including measurement of the depth of fluid level in a well.

Industry:Mining

crystal defect

Any deviation from perfect periodicity in a crystal structure. Some defects depend on temperature, mainly point defects; others depend on the specific history of the crystal. The presence of defects alters the physical properties of crystals. Compare: Frenkel defect; point defect; line defect; volume defect.

Industry:Mining

coal interface sensor

Any device that indicates the boundary between the coal and the surrounding strata either at the roof or the floor. Aids the machine operator or control system controls in positioning the coal-cutting head.

Industry:Mining

bit

Any device that may be attached to, or is, an integral part of a drill string and is used as a cutting tool to bore into or penetrate rock or other materials by utilizing power applied to the bit percussively or by rotation.

Industry:Mining

heat exchanger

Any device that transfers heat from one medium to another or to the environment.

Industry:Mining

nuclear powerplant

Any device, machine, or assembly thereof that converts nuclear energy into some form of useful power, such as mechanical or electric power. In a nuclear electric powerplant, heat produced by a reactor is used to make steam, and the steam drives a turbine generator in the conventional way.

Industry:Mining

permissible blasting device

Any device, other than explosives, for breaking down coal that is approved by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Industry:Mining

powder-metal bit

Any diamond bit, mechanically set, in which finely divided metal powders are used as a matrix to hold the diamonds in place.

Industry:Mining