Report regarding the ongoing research and development related to the Army Gas-Cooled Reactor Systems Program. Includes status and progress of the program's projects, experiments, and data evaluations.

From abstract: Project Dugout was a chemical explosive row charge cratering experiment in hard rock conducted at the AEC Nevada Test Site as part of the Plowshare Program for development of nuclear excavation technology.

From foreword: The objective of this study is to determine the practical and economic use of nuclear for the production of electric power in the Pittsburgh district.

Abstract: Horse Mesa is in the Navajo Indian Reservation directly on the Arizona-New Mexico state line. Uranium-vanadium deposits in the Salt Wash sandstone which caps the Mesa are fairly widespread and small tonngges have been shipped from two mines. The deposits lie 60 to 75 feet above the base of the Salt Wash formation and possibly trend northwest parallel to ore trends on King Tutt Mesa, a mile northeast. Carnotite and vanoxite are the principal ore minerals. About 6,000 feet of wagon drilling is recommended to test two favorable areas. Continued exploration should be governed by results of this first stage drilling.

Introduction: Vanadium ore is being mined at many places in western Colorado, southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico (fig. 1). Eight mills in this region produced about 4,300,000 pounds of V2 05 in 1942, representing about 90 percent of the vanadium obtained from domestic sources. Although ore production has mostly exceeded mill capacity since 1937, production during the last half of 1942 averaged only about 19,000 tons or ore a month, whereas the capacity of these mills total about 22,000 tons a month. At the expected rate of ore production, ore stockpiles will be exhausted sometime in 1944, and these mills will then have excess capacity. With more intensive prospecting than now practiced, however, it is believed that sufficient reserves can be indicated to sustain capacity operation of these mills for several years. This memorandum is prepared to specify those areas that are considered most favorable from a geologic standpoint for developing large reserves of vanadium ore by prospecting. It is based on intensive studies by the Geological Survey since 1939 in most of the areas that produce vanadium ore.

From introduction: The general distribution of known deposits of vanadium-bearing sandstone, which also contain some uranium and radium, is shown in figure 1 1/ and Exhibit A, plate 53. 2/ During 1939-41 the Geological Survey made detailed geological studies of these deposits in the Uravan district, Montrose County, Colorado, as well as preliminary examinations in other parts of the Colorado Plateau vanadium region. In 1942 detailed geological studies were made o the deposits in the Egnar-Slick Rock district, San Miguel Co., Colo.; 3/ the Carrizo Moungains district, Navajo Indian Reservation, Arizona and New Mexico; 4/ the Placerville district, San Miguel County, Colo. 5/ and the Monticello district, San Juan Co., Utah. 6/ Since May 3, 1943, the Gelogical Survey has guided the Bureau of Mines program of prospecting these deposits in parts of Colorado and Utah.

Abstract: "A scheme is discussed in which D+ ions would be accelerated to about 100 kev in a conventional accelerator, then be sent through a gas target frmo which about half the ions would emerge neutral with very little scattering or energy loss; the neutral beam would then cross into a magnetic field and part of the atoms would be ionized and trapped by colliding with the already trapped ions. The smallest mirror machine with a central field of 30-40 kilogauss, 2;1 mirror ratio and β = 01 to 0.5 that would trap most of the neutral beam in the steady state, would be about a meter in diameter and require the order of hundreds of amperes of D+ ions into the neutralizer. The smallest stellerator with a field of 30 kilogauss and β = 0.1 that would trap most of the neutral beam would be about a meter long and require about 10 amperes of D+ ions. A preliminary mirror machine experiment that might be done using the 1/2-ampere, 100-kev D+ beam from the UCRL spare MTA injector is discussed. A method of starting these machine is discussed."

From abstract: "Experiments covering the coprecipitation of Thorium and Uranium peroxides are described on synthetic and actual 1300 cycle machine wash effluents."

The following report discusses the results of a survey that was initiated to ascertain the availability of uranium hydride in tonnage quantities.

The following document provides figures with all information that describe the heavy water moderated chain reacting pile at Argonne National Laboratory.

In a previous paper a method of measuring the equilibrium constants at various temperatures for the titular reaction has been described. This report applies the method to an investigation of the corresponding reaction of americium, representing a part of a systematic program of investigation of the thermodynamic properties of analogous reactions of lanthanide and actinide elements.

"A small quantity of a Np-237, the long-lived ancestor of the 4n + 1 series, has been isolated from a natural source. The Th-229 content of the Th-230 obtained from Belgian Congo pitchblende concentrate and of Th-232 obtained from Brazilian monazite has been determined indirectly through isolation of the Ac-225 daughter. The mass ratio of Np-237 to U-238 in the Belgian Congo pitchblende concentrate has been determined as (1.8 +/- 0.4) x 10-(-12). The mass ratio of U-233 to U-238 in the same ore deposit is found to be (1.3 +/- 0.2) x 10-(-13). The ratio of the respective neutron-capture cross sections of U-238 in the ore body for the (n, 2n) and (n, gamma) reactions is calculated to be (1.3 +/- 0.6) x 10-(-3) on the basis of the relative Np-237 and Pu-239 contents."

The following report discusses the building design and development of the reactor building, Building 1105, for Argonne National Laboratory, that is meant to house the reactor.

The following report examines a set of beryllium metal rods through pile radiation, taking measurements, and analyzing differences between irradiated and radiated rod samples.

The following report records a total of forty-nine graphite core samples that have been bored from process tube blocks in the Hanford piles with the intention to provide results to indicate that core boring is an entirely practical operation over bore scraping in obtaining powder samples.

The following report provides tables that measure the pressure of hydrogen fluoride at given temperatures and the hydrolysis of uranium tetrafluoride.

Abstract: "A model is presented for radiation damage to ductile metals that accounts qualitatively for the effects of radiation on the electrical and mechanical properties. The model consists of an agglomeration of interstitially displaced atoms into stacking faults in the lattice."

Discussing a reconnaissance of uranium-bearing deposits in the Yampa River Region, in Colorado

Surveying the northeast Grants district for possible uranium occurrences

A report discussing 28 claims contained in the Greagor group, owned by the J.R. Simplot Company.

This report deals with the uranium deposits at the Poison Canyon mine

A report regarding a survey of the condition of wells and springs in the Rio Blanco County, in N.W. Colorado.

The following report studies uranium and vanadium ore deposits found in the Calyx No. 3 mine in the Temple Mountain area of the San Rafael Swell in Utah.

Annual report describing progress on unclassified research programs funded by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission during the 1964-65 fiscal year.