E . J . Me h r e n, Vice-President
Problems
0 1the Coal-Mining Industry
Engineering EditorYolume 25 NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 21, 1924 Number 8
T hose M assachusetts Coal T ests
I N TH IS issue O. P. Hood records his findings in M assachusetts as to the ą u a n tity of ash in an thracite.
It is a little d istu rb in g to read th a t it is necessary to take 1,000 lb. samples. Portentously we are told th a t a correct method of sam pling coal has been devised and th a t to th is end 1,000-lb. samples m ust be taken.
How bold it is to ąuestion such a redoubtable standard as this seems to be! B ut th e dictum is so positive th at it sounds convincing. However, perhaps it is not more necessary to take a thousand pounds th an to carry
•pi
to ten places when calculating horsepow er from the area of a piston or to use ten places of decimals in calculating co-ordinates fo r a m ine survey.
A fter all there is in the lives of all of us som ething more im p o rtant th a n m eticulous accuracy. Some people will haggle over a cent and lose a dollar, will fuss over three or fo u r inches in th e w idth of a farm and then to save the expense of ano th er survey will take the next a rea on f a ith ; m easure to hun dred ths of a foot yet fail to close a survey by fo u r or five m inutes.
The B ureau of M ines seems possibly in danger of this.
It would do well to have a stan d ard less m eticulous and apply it more often. I t seems too much like c u ttin g down a fo re st to find how m any board feet can be obtained from it.
The public is not so much in terested as to w hether its coal has one or two p er cent more or less ash th an a certain stan dard, b u t it is in terested in knowing th a t it does not have tw enty or th ir ty per cent more and in stopping all those who a re p u ttin g such unburnable rubbish in the home, th e facto ry and the m arket.
The law is not so much to exhibit a u th o rity w ith the responsible producer b u t to m ake m attin g unbearably hard fo r the irresponsible m an ju s t as soon as he trie s to get into the m arket.
T rying to m ake too close and too expensive a survey will resu lt ultim ately in no survey being made. As engineers and not th e o rists th e B ureau of M ines should seek to serve th e public in th e m ost practical way pos- sible, and th a t is done not by attem p tin g too much refinement in analysis b u t by a bro ad er survey of con- ditions w ith less p e rfe c t analyses.
We are not convinced by th e arg um en t th a t as the value of a ton of coal is g re a te r th a n th a t of a ton of ore so larg e a sample should be taken. The ore is improved by crushing. T h a t indeed is th e first step in beneficiation. Coal is spoiled by th e same process.
Crushing coal is n ot a beneficiating step b u t a degrading one. The difference is no t one of words b u t of facts.
If all the coal w ere b e tte re d by crush in g , the operator willingly would let th e governm ent crush it all and take a 50-ton sample, b u t seeing th a t th is is not tru e even a 1,000-lb. sample looks large.
To rev ert to an o th er phase of Mr. Hood’s papers, in large lette rs should be w ritte n th e fa c t th a t the F u re a u found dealers m ixing d irty and clean coals together,
hoping to make the d irty coal salable. The ex ten t to which this is done, especially in tim es of shortage, should make an th racite operators take action. The public is shown shipping slips from responsible oper
ators and is delivered coal in which th a t com pany’s product may form only a smali percentage.
A gainst th e D ay o f R ain
W H EN it is fine w eather, says the old proverbial saying, it is needless to re p a ir the roof, and when it rains the roof cannot be repaired. This holds tru e of correcting the evil of d irty coal. J u s t now th ere is not much trouble w th coal ąuality and th e public clamor is stayed, so why fuss about th e m a tte r? L et it lie, is the generał dictum. N evertheless d u rin g th is fine w eather is the best tim e to re p a ir the roof of in d u stry and not during th e day or days of rain.
Today the ind u stry can take m atte rs in its own hands.
It can convince the public th a t it m eans business. When a strik e th reaten s or comes it will be too late. The public may—probably will— enact some s ta tu te th e in dustry will not like. Before it does so the coal producer will be besmirched. He m ay get m ore th a n governm ent inspection. He may get governm ent reg u latio n ; even governm ent ownership. A little shingling of the roof now may save more d rastic action later.
No one can hide one’s face to th e fa c t th a t du rin g all shortages of an th racite and bitum inous coal all kinds of impure product found its w ay into th e m arket. In the anth racite region men, e ith e r from th a t region or from others, loaded culm banks unwashed. Men who knew nothing more about coal th an th a t a n y th in g re- motely resem bling it would sell w ent in to th e business of producing it or a t least of g a th e rin g it up.
So bad was it along one line of railro ad th a t th e p rin - cipal producer caused th e coal in cars loaded by others to be sampled so th a t if an investigation came th a t company could assure Congress of th e real source of the coal and exonerate itself. The in v estigatio n never came, b ut th e indignation did, and th e p rin cip al coal company on th a t road, th e one connected w ith th e r a il
road, unąuestionably got th e blame and y e t had no chance to make a disclaim er.
In fact all th e big companies in th e a n th ra c ite region came in fo r a share of it, fo r when d irty coal comes into tb e m ark et th e o u tsta n d in g companies m u st b e a r the b ru n t. I t m ust be th ey who a re a t fau lt, says th e man on the stre e t, fo r see how rich th ey have become.
The average m an cannot u n d erstan d th a t a larg e com
pany m ore often grow s on honesty th a n on crooked dealing.
In the bitum inous field it w as little different. The w aste from w asheries m ysteriously disappeared being loaded into cars. Some of th is in fe rio r coal m ay have been sold fo r ju s t w h at i t was, and th e b u y er in th a t case m ay not have been deceived, b u t some doubtless were. H ere again th e whole in d u stry suffered. How-
267
268 C O A L A G E Vol. 25, No. 8
ever, it is not so detrim en tal when in d u strial purchas- ers a re defrauded. As they buy in carload lots they can m ake th e ir claims fo r dam age direct, and they can .go elsewhere in fu tu rę . B uying in large ąuan tities, it is w orth th e ir while to b rin g su it, and th e producer, know ing th a t fact, is obliged to be reasonably careful.
B ut the domestic buyer is often obliged to deal w ith one m erchant, no m a tte r how ill he serves him, and even if he has a choice the dealer m ay be able to con- vince him th a t th e coal was bought as a good product and th a t he is more sinned a g a in st th an sinning. F u r- therm ore, dealers can easily b rin g pressure on buyers.
A purch aser often fea rs to complain. He m ight be refused coal when next he w anted i t; he m ight even ąuietly be blacklisted. A fte r all it is difficult to remove coal from a cellar, and once th ere it stays th ere and th e buyer pays. C ertainly it does not pay to go to c o u rt fo r a w in te r’s coal or less.
“L et the buyer bew are” m ay be good E nglish and A m erican law. If, however, a m an gives us a bad bill or a bad dollar, do we believe th a t we. a re to blame and th a t we should have been on our g u a rd ? I t is well to rem em ber th a t much good law is bad m orals and to quote bad law in defense of the ąuestionable conduct
€ven of our u n fa ir com petitors is little b u t a folly.
J o h n , R ex , S till R u les
T HE loose talk about an im pending split in the United Mine W orkers because of dissatisfactio n w ith th e rule of John L. Lewis is not convincing. Lewis is in no worse position before his own people now than m ost other presidents of th e U nited Mine W orkers have been a t various tim es in th e ir invariably tem pestu- ous careers. Nobody can be head of the m in ers’ union w ith out serving as ta rg e t fo r all the decayed fru it w ithin th e reach of th e union m alcontents. There alw ays was and always will be rebels in th e union and some day they will run Lewis out ju s t as rebels so fre ą u e n tly have done to other presidents. B ut there a re no signs th a t Lewis is now on his way. He has a s m uch power as he ever had to make his people re- spect contracts.
The fa c t th a t reds m ade a loud noise in the m iners’
convention a t Indianapolis last m onth m eans nothing m uch. The total num ber of real radicals did not pass 250, b u t 250 reds, seeing th ey could w orry 1,700 in a convention, natu rally kept up th e ir disturbance. Quite a num ber of others joined in fo r fun, ju d gin g by th eir rem arks. A two-weeks’ m in ers’ convention simply m ust have a b it of diversion to break up th e droning of com- m ittee chairm en.
Even the fa c t th a t the ad m in istratio n had a close shave in th e one roli cali of the convention— a vote on th e ąuestion of w hether Lewis should be stripped of the pow er to appoint o rganizers— does not indicate th a t th e union is on the point of splitting. I t does mean, however, th a t d issatisfaction w ith Lewis on th a t par- tic u la r m a tte r is w idespread and th a t the feeling has rolled up so much in ten sity th a t som ething will have to be done about it. Lewis is c ra fty enough to do som ething.
He will m anage, before the next convention, to use h is appointive power so judiciously th a t the issue will not be so form idable again. The chances are th a t o r
ganizers will give a b e tte r appearance, in the fu tu rę, of e a rn in g th e ir m onthly $300 pay checks. They will serve th e whole organization instead of its president.
Anyway, Lewis will devote m ore of his undoubted genius to m aking those o rg an izers popular w ith th e ran k and file. He nearly lost his rig h t to choose th e m ; he cannot afford such a loss. I f he could not appoint them , a few disloyal organizers, elected by d istric ts, m ight well produce a real schism in th e union. T here is no dangerous schism now. John L. Lewis, v irile as a power plant, still rules.
“ C o n so lid a te!” T h ey Cry
F EV ERISH movement tow ard consolidations of m ines in various bitum inous-coal fields is g ain in g headway daily. Operators both stro n g and weak tu r n th e ir thoughts upon it—th e form er in th e hope th a t it will improve conditions of operatin g and m a rk e tin g ; the la tte r in pure desperation. In some regions th e pro- posal is overshadowing alm ost every o th er subject except wages.
Of course, consolidations are logical a t a tim e like this. An in dustry 30 per cent overdeveloped and for years harassed by cut-throatism w ith in itse lf certainly needs stro ng er business u nits and few er fly-by-nights.
B ut consolidation is no panacea fo r all th e ills of coal.
I t should not be looked upon as a reju v e n atin g monkey gland to be h astily and recklessly in g ra fte d on any and all devitalized coal companies. I f such com panies can
not ju stify th e ir existence separately, consolidations should not and probably cannot save them .
The n atu ral desire to bunch to g eth e r fo r m utual protection has led operators to consider some grotesąue schemes fo r business groupings. M ost such schemes are hopeless. F o r instance, in a field w here m any smali producers have worked th e ir own undoing tim e and again by m utual d istru st and stealth y price cutting, w hat hope would th ere be in a “consolidation” which consisted only in th e various companies selling th rough a common agency ? T here would be no accurate control over the en tire output of the m ines involved. There would be no reduction of m ine costs th ro u g h central management. There would be much o p p ortu n ity for discrim ination as between m em bers. The cohesion of the group would be weak. It would fly a p a rt on smali provocation and upset th e m arket and conditions gen- erally. It would be no consolidation a t all. A ny half- hearted plan fo r weakly linking up m ines or p artially pooling p roperties is a fu tile dream .
The only perm anent and su b sta n tia l benefits from consolidation will be enjoyed by those p ro p erties which have an unquestioned rig h t to continue serv ing the public and which form n a tu ra l and logical groups under single ownership and control. How ever, we m ay expect to see and h ear a good deal d u rin g th e next few months about oth er so rts of coal p ro p ertie s being buffeted about th ro u g h one scheme a f te r an o th er until the elimination process has done its w orst.
But this consolidation wave will not engulf every independent company. I t will help n a tu ra l processes wash out bone and d irt, leaving th e in d u stry somewhat purged. While th is is going on, good o p eratin g men eyerywhere, both in consolidation and out, will con
tinue to be su rp rised a t th e ir own in g en u ity in w hittlin g
c own the costs of coal, th e m echanizing of m ines will
spiead apace, and abo ut 5,000 good p ro p ertie s will
continue prosperously to supply th e n a tio n ’s trem en-
dous demand fo r h a lf a billion or m ore tons of coal
every year.
F a m o u s O ld . M e r r u n a c M in e , w hicK fu r n is lie d . Coal lo Gon fecie rate Iron clacL of t h a t Name m Ciuil W ar
M in e is O w n e d b y M e r r im a c A n t h r a c it e C o .
a n d l i e s o n Norfórk. 6rW estem
a n d V ir u m ia n l^ .a ilv o a y s
Can the Valley Coal Fields of Virginia Compete With Tliose o f the Anthracite Region?
Coal Is Sem i-anthracite, Slightly Lower in Rank Than the Lykens V alley Product, but That Is an A dvantage
— Ash Content High, Being from 14 to 28 per Cent
M ORE prom ising th an the re s t of the coal areas of M ontgom ery, Pułaski and W ythe counties of V irg in ia a re those which have been named the Valley coal fields. They recently were examined by the U. S. Geological Survey and th e Geological Survey of V irg in ia to ascertain th e ir exten t and value.
The m ost im p o rta n t ques- '■.ions concerning these coal ireas a r e : W hat is the ąuality of the coal? Is it an a n th ra - o,ite, and if so can it success- fully compete w ith th a t of Pennsylvania? I f it is not an anthracite, has it distinctive properties of its own th a t will please th e consum er and lead him to continue its use?
The accom panying table con- tain s all th e recent governm ent analyses of th is coal. These should be carefully studied by anyone who contem plates in- vesting in th is field or handling
the coal, fo r they afford the m eans of d eterm ining th e rank, grade and m ark et possibilities of th e fuel.
Coal Is Now her e a True An t h r a c it e
The Geological Survey rep o rts unąualifiedly th a t this coal is not an a n th ra cite. An an th ra cite, according to the accepted m eaning of the term , is a coal so Iow in volatile co n stitu en ts th a t it b u rn s w ith a bluish flame only and not th e sh o rt yellowish flame th a t is charac- te ristic of the Valley coals. A com parison of the analyses of sam ples of a n th ra c ite shows th a t in coals which bu rn w ith a blue flame th e volatile m a tte r is one-tenth or even less th an one-tenth of the fixed carbon.
Note— T h e f a c ts in t h is a r tic le a r e s u p p l i e d b y U . S. G e o lo g i- oo i q , i » m . --- x ...b l i s h a p r i n t e d r e p o r t .
This relation generally is expressed as the ąuotient of the percentage of fixed carbon divided by the per- centage of the volatile m atte r. This is called th e fuel ratio. The fuel ratio s of the Valley coals are given in the last column of the table of analyses. T his table shows th a t the coal of hig hest ra n k from the Valley
fields has a fuel ra tio of 8.5.
The fuel ra tio of a n th ra c ite o f th e lowest grade is 10, so th a t all the coals here considered are below th e ran k of a tru e an th racite.
This coal evidently is not an a n th ra cite and should not be placed upon th e m ark e t under th a t name. The next question is: H as it d istinctive p ro p er
ties which will enable it to c o m p e t e w ith P ennsylvania a n th ra c ite or w hich will cause it to be so liked by th e con
sum er th a t he will p re fe r it to any oth er coal on the m ark e t?
The answ er to th is ąuestion m u st depend largely upon how well the Valley coal is p rep ared before m arketin g, but if it can be so tre a te d th a t th e ash will not exceed 8 per cent th is coal m ay possibly obtain a m ark e t of its own th a t can be held a g a in st all comers.
The coal w ith which the Valley product is m ost often compared is the Lykens Valley coal, which occurs a t the west end of the S outhern A n th rac ite field of Penn- sylvania. This coal comm ands a su b sta n tia l prem ium above th e h ig h est ran k or “d ry ” a n th ra c ite , because it contains more volatile m a tte r and th e re fo re b u rn s w ith a sh o rt yellow flame th a t m akes it a ttra c tiv e as a g ra te fuel. Its h ig h er p ercentage of volatile m a tte r also- makes it ig n ite m ore readily th a n o rd in a ry a n th ra cite, and th is is an o ther po in t in its favor.
The Yalley coals a re slig htly lower in ran k th a n th e'
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII As the supply of Pennsylvania anthracite is decreasing and its price is steadily mount- ing there is an eager and growing demand for a satisfactory and cheap substitute.
Many of those proposed are more or less satisfactory, but one of the most promising, especially for use in the Middle Atlantic States, the M ississippi Valley, and the Great Lakes region, is a semi-anthracite that is mined in fields in southwestern Virginia, in or near the Great Valley, in Montgomery, Pułaski and W ythe counties.
iiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiMiMiiiiiiiMiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiM
270 C O A L A G E Vol. 25, No. 8
Lykens Valley coal, b u t they a re not Iow enough to be called smoky coals, and conseąuently th ere seems to be no reason why these V irg in ia coals should not find a s ready a m arket as the Lykens Valley coal, provided th e ash is reduced to the percentage above noted.
I f the Valley coal is not an an th racite, w h at should it be called? I t has ju s t been shown th a t th is coal should not be classed as an th ra cite because its per- centage of volatile m a tte r is too high, b u t th e analyses show th a t it is only slightly below th a t rank. In other words, it m ust necessarily fali into the next lower rank.
The next ran k below an th ra cite is sem i-anthracite, and
* th is ran k includes coals whose fuel ratio s rangę from 5 to 9.9.
The table of analyses shows th a t practically all the coals of M ontgomery, Pułaski and
SouthernW ythe counties fali w ithin th is rank,
th o u g hthey differ con- siderably among themselves. The coals of the P rice M ountain and th e Pułaski fields head th e list and are followed closely in descending o rder by th e coal mined a t E m pire, a t Gunton P ark , and lastly by other coals of the L ittle W alker M ountain and B rushy M ountain fields.
The Valley coal now being m ined should th ere fo re be m arketed as a sem i-anthracite, b u t if properly cleaned it will perhaps be an even m orę a ttra c tiv e fuel fo r some purposes th an th e “d ry ” a n th ra cite of the Penn- sylvania fields.
The coals of th e Reed Creek and Bland fields seem to fali below th e ran k of sem i-anthracite, bu t as all the
samples available fo r analysis consisted of m orę or less w eathered coal they m ay not correctly re p re se n t th e real unweathered coal. I f unw eathered m a te ria ł w ere available analyses m ig h t show th a t th e coal belongs to the same rank as the coal of th e fields to th e south.
Some Bony Coal Qu it e High i n Vo latiles
A t most places in these fields th e coal beds th a t a re mined show a g re a t v ariety of coal, some of it very soft and flaky, some h a rd and bony, and some th a t resem bles black sand. No two operators or even m iners ag ree as to the real n a tu rę of these peculiar kinds of coal or as to w hether they should be classed as coal or as bone.
In order to settle some of these ąuestions sam ples of two of these varieties w ere analyzed.
Sample 94,182 is so-called “sand coal” from th e Mer- rim ac mine, in the P rice M ountain field. T his coal is common in the M errim ac bed w herever it has been mined and prospected. The analysis is r a th e r su rp ris- ing, as the “sand coal” contains m ore volatile m a tte r than the coal in the re s t of th e bed. T hus, a m ine sample which was obtained in a c u t across th e coal bed and which included all except th e distinctly bony layers showed on analysis 9 p er cent of volatile m a tte r and 17.1 p er cent of ash, w hereas the “ sand coal” fro m the same locality showed 22.3 per cent of volatile m a tte r and 25.2 per cent of ash.
The explanation of th e high percentage of volatile m atte r is found in the composition of th e coal. U nder
Proxim ate A nalyses of Coal Samples from the Yalley Fields of Montgomery, Pułaski, W ythe and Bland Counties, Va.
(All analyses m ade b y th e U. S. Bureau of Mines) ,--- Analysis of Sample as Received
N am e of M ine, Prospect, or O perating Lab. Volatile
C om pany Coal Bed No. M oisture M a tte r
Brushy M ountain Field, Montgomery County
Slusser & D o ss... M errim ac 9 4 ,184 4 .8 M . J. Slusser Coal C o ... M errim ac 19,358 1.9 M. J. Slusser Coal C o ... ... M errim ac 22,629 1. 6 M . J. Slusser Coal C o ... M errim ac 22,630 1.9 M . J. Slusser Coal C o ... M errim ac 30,689 2.1 M. J. Slusser Coal C o ... ... M errim ac 30,690 I . 7 D iam ond Coal C o ... M errim ac 93,530 2 .3 D iam ond Coal C o ... M errim ac 93,531 2 .7 P lu n k e tt & W a ll... M errim ac 19,357 2 .5 S eym our Price an d C o ... M errim ac 19,360 4 .7 College M in e ... M errim ac 93,536 2 .4 College M in e ... ... M errim ac 93,537 2. 7 A. D u n p h y Coal C o ... M errim ac 95,621 0 .7 L inkous an d K ip p . . . . ... M errim ac 93,533 2 .9 L inkous an d K ip p ... M errim ac 93,534 2 .7 J. H . K e is te r... Langhorne 93,539 2 .9 S uperior A nthracite Coal C o ... M errim ac 95,615 2 .0
Little Walker, M ountain Field, P ułaski County
P u łask i A n th racite C oal C o ... M errim ac 19,431 2 .4 P u łask i A n th racite Coal C o ... M errim ac 30,694 1.6 P ułaski A nthracite Coal C o ... M errim ac 94,186 2.1 P u łask i A nthracite Coal C o ... M errim ac 94,187 1.6 C loyd M in e .. . ... M errim ac 20,722 2 .5 E m pire A nthracite Coal C o ... L anghorne 30,695 3.1 E m pire A n th racite Coal C o ... L anghorne 75,888 4 .4 E m p ire A n th racite Coal C o ... L anghorne 75,889 4 8 E m p ire A nthracite Coal C o ... L anghorne 94,189 2 .5 E m p ire A n th racite Coal C o ... L anghorne 94,190 1.6
Price M ountain Field, Montgomery Count >
L y k en s H ill Coal C o ... M errim ac 19,403 1.7 M errim ac A n th racite Coal C o rp ... M errim ac 30,692 3 .6 M errim ac A nthracite Coal C o rp ... M errim ac 94,180 1.4 M errim ac A n th racite Coal C o rp ... M errim ac 94.181 2 .7 M e rrim ac A nthracite Coal C o rp ... M errim ac 94,182 1.6 Brunfield Coal C o ... M errim ac 95,619 2 .5 E u re k a Coal C o ... M errim ac 94,185 3 .8
Pułaski Field, P ułaski County
H igh C a rb o n C oal C o ... M errim ac 94,192 4 .5 M ax Meadows Field, Wythe County
W . B. G u n to n ’s p ro sp ect... 30,696 3 .8 P u łask i Sm okeless Coal C o ... N o. I 93,937 2 .9 P u łask i Smokeless Coal C o ... No. 1 93,938 3. 1 P u łask i Smokeless Coal C o ... N o. 2 95,461 1. 8 M illers C reek p ro sp e c t... 20,721 6.1 W . F o rk Millera C reek p ro sp e c t... N o. 3 93,540 3. I
Reed Creek Field, Wythe County
D r. J . P. G rah am 's p ro sp e c t... .. 95.620 1. 3 C . C. B row n’s p rospect... 93,670 2 .8
B land Field, B land County
T . C. T h om pson’s p ro sp e c t... 95,405 3 .6 H o w ard Stow ers’ p ro sp e c t... 95,406 2 .7
T he form labeled “ pure coal" is only m oisture and ash-free coal.
Is a g rab samDle of duli splint coal. No. 94,182 Is a grab sample
" s a n d coal.” N o. 95,620 is picked coal from a weathered stockpile.
10 0 12 3 12.3 13.5 13.9 14 I 12.7 12 9 12.4 11.5 1 1 8 12.4 12.9 11.7 11.9 12.3 12.7 11.6 13.3
1 2 . 0
11.7
10 8
9.8 10. I 9.7 9.9 9.9 9 .4 9.5 9 .0 9 .7 22.3 8. 8 9.2 8.2 9,4 9.6 9.7 9 .8 l l . l 1 1 4 18 3 20.4 12.0 12.9
Fixed Carbon
69.7 66. 8 68 I 69 8 68 7 69 4 58 7 68.2 67.5 65.4 70 5 68 8 65 2 69 7 67 3 72 0 65 0 63.3 6 1 5 61.9 61.6 63. I 69.9 71.5 71 0
6 8 2
70 0 66.6 67 6 72 6 70. 5 50.9 74.6 69.7 63.9 62 2 63 8 66 6 60 0 49.7 66.2 70 7 53.2 35.2 37.5
Ash Sulphur
15.5 19.0 18 0 14.8 15.3 14 8 26.3 16.2 17 6 18 4 15.3 16 I 21.2 15.7 18 I
1 2 . 8
20 3 22.7 23.6 24.0 25. I 23.6 17 2 14 0 14 5 19.4 18.5 22.3 19.3 17 0 17. I 25.2 14 I 17.3 23.4 24 6 23.7 20 6 28 4 33. I 19.3 9 .7 23.6 49.2 46.9
0 .5 0 .7 0 .5
0 6
0 6 0 .5 0 .5 0 .5 0 .5
0 6
0.8 0 .7 0 .7 0 .5 0 .7 0 .4 1. I 0 .5
0 6
1.6 0 .4 0 .7 0 .5 0 .5 0 .5 0 .3 0 .5 0 .7 0 .3 0 8 1.6 0 7 0 6 0 3 0 .5 2 .3 0 . 6 1.0 1.5
B ritish T herm al
U nits 12.240 12,160 12,340 12,710 12.610 12.850 10,770 12.460 12,360 11,820 12,760 12,470 11,970 12,570 12.230 12,890 11,900 11.310 11,400 11.230 11,170 11,250 12.310 12,520 12.460 11,980 12.240 I 1,570 11.850 12,510 12.110
8,690 12,880 11,990 10,880 10,960 11,200 11.700 10,530 8,950 11,920 13,830 11,330
Analysis of P u re C oal Fuels B ritish R atio
Fixed T herm al F C
C a rb o n U nits VM
87.4 84 4 84.7 83 8 83.2 83 1 82 2 84 0 84.5 85 I 8 5.6 84 7 83.5 85.6 84 9 85 4 83 6 84,5 82 2 83.7 84 0 85.4 87 7 87.5 88 0 87 3 87 7 87 7 87 6 89 0 87 9 69 5 89.5 88 3 88 7 86 9 86 9 87.3
8 6 0
81 7 85 3 79 72
15,350 15.360 15,340 15,260 15,280 15.380 15.080 15.360 15,480 15.380 15,500 15.380 15.330 15.450 15,440 15,290 15.320 15.100 15,240 15.190 15.220 15.220 15.450 15.330 15.450 15.330 15.330 15.220 15.380 15.320 15,110 11,890 15,420 15.190 15.080 15,310 15,270 15.330 15.100 14.720 15.360 15,520 15,410
6.9 5 .4 5.5 5 .2 4.9 4 .94.6
5.3 5.5 5 .7 5.9 5.5 5. 1 5 .9 5 .6 5 8 '5 . 1 5 .5 4 .6
7 .3 6 .9 7.1 7 I 7. I 8 I 7 .3 2 .3 8 5 7 .5 7 .9 6. 6 6 . 6 6 9 6. 1 4 .5 5 .8 3 .9 2.6
No. 95,621 93,670, 95,405 and 95,406 are from old xt so™a-!-.e. affected b y weathering.
Nos. 20,721,
6,660 74 .7 14,090 3 0
7,280 7 4.4 14,460 2 .9
caved prospects, an d th e coal is doubtleas
New River from the Parrott Coal Mine, New River Field, Yirginia
T h e P a r r o t t m in e i s o p e r a t e d b y t h e P u ł a s k i A n t h r a c i t e C o a l C o ., o n t h e N o r f o l k &
W e s t e r n R y . I t is l o c a t e d in t h e M e r r i m a c b ed . t h e s a m e w h i c h is o p e r a t e d b y th e c e l e b r a t e d m in e o f t h a t n a m e . T h e a r e a a c r o s s t h e N e w R i v e r is M o n tg o m e r y C o u n ty .
T h o u g h t h e r i v e r is t h e s a m e , t h i s field , d e s p i te i t s n a m e , is f a r r e m o v e d f r o m th e b e t t e r k n o w n N e w R i v e r c o a l r e g io n o f W e s t V i r g i n ia , w h ic h is o n t h e lo w e r r e a c h e s o f t h i s s a m e r i v e r . T h e m e a s u r e s h e r e a r e f a r o l d e r t h a n t h o s e in t h e W e s t Y i r g i n ia
field , t h e v o l a t i l e c o n t e n t o f t h e c o a l is m u c h lo w e r, a n d t h e c o a l h a s c o n s i d e r a b l y s t e e p e r p itc h e s . T h e d ip v a r i e s f r o m 35 t o 50 d e g ., m a k i n g t h e a r e a o f e x t r a c t a b l e c o a l o n ly a b o u t h a l f a m ile w id e , p r o v id e d t h e d ip c o n t i n u e s t h u s f a r w i t h o u t d im i n u t io n .
the microscope the granules, which resemble g rain s of black sand, w ere seen to be seeds and spores of plants
—the most waxy or fa tty m ateriał th a t is found in coal. This waxy m ateriał gives to the “sand coal” its high content of volatile m atter. Its high content of ash relegates it to the class of bone, and it should be throw n out by th e pickers unless in some way its good m aterials may be utilized and its bad ones elim inated.
The M errim ac bed in m any places contains a layer of duli coal th a t resem bles g ray splint. A sample of this m ateriał w as obtained from a car of coal from the mine of th e A. D unphy Coal Co., which is ju s t south of the old College m ine on Toms Creek, n orthw est of Blacksburg.
Sample 95,621 consists of duli splint-like coal, and the analysis shows practically no difference between this sample and one rep resen tin g th e en tire coal bed in the College mine, except th a t the coal from the Dunphy mine contains m ore ash. H ere again the m ateriał should be classed as bone and discarded unless the per- centage of ash can be m aterially reduced.
Th e r m a l Va l u e of Pure Coal High
The table of analyses shows the poor points of the Yalley coal as well as th e good points. The good points include the extrem ely Iow content of sulphur and the high h eatin g value of th e real coal substance expressed in B ritish th erm al u n its under the heading “Analysis of pure coal” in th e table. The strik in g u n iform ity of the ąu an tities in th is column shows th a t even th e pos- sibly w eathered samples would have a h eatin g value comparable w ith the coals of h ig h er ran k were it not fo r th eir large content of ash. A com parison of th e figures in the two columns headed “B ritish therm al u n its ” affords a ready m eans of finding the loss in h eatin g value due to the ash and m o istu re in the coal as mined.
The w orst fe a tu re of th is coal is its high percentage of ash, which in the samples cut in o p erating m ines runs from a m inim um of 14 p er cent to a m axim um of 28 per cent. So high a p ercentage of ash really pro- h ib its its successful m arketing , and o p erato rs m ust m ake m ore vigorous efforts th an they have made here- tofore to reduce th e ash, or else they cannot hope to establish a perm anent tra d e in th e face of keen competi- tion. I t is hardly possible to say w h at ą u a n tity of ash is perm issible, b ut a stro n g effort should be made by
careful picking and w ashing to b rin g th e ą u a n tity w ithin 8 per cent. If such a reduction could be made it would increase th e heating value to about 13,700 B ritish therm al u n its and would provide a domestic fuel th a t need not fe a r com petition in any m arket.
Boiler and Power-House Operation
HE Supervision and M aintenance of Steam -Rais- ing P lan ts,” by Charles A. Suckan, is the title of a new book ju s t published by E rn e st Benn, Ltd., 8 Bou- verie St., E. C. 4, London, England.
In keeping w ith necessity and th e development going on in large power plants tow ard the m ore economic and efficient use of fuel and advanced m ethods in steam raising, th e au tho r of th is book has brou gh t out m any technical and practical phases of the work.
The book begins w ith a section entitled “W orking th e Pow er U nit.” B eginning w ith th e organization of the power plant and describing various types of boilers, the author leads on to th e subject of fuel combustion, which deals w ith different types of furnaces. In p assin g on through different m ethods of firing, m any im p o rtan t details in connection w ith th e power p lan t are ably discussed. P oints on laying out th e power plant, set- tin g up the various stru c tu re s, and th e ir operation and m aintenance are thoroughly practical.
In generał th e book covers th e la te s t practices in boiler and power-house operation and points th e way to improvements and deve!opments fo r th e fu tu rę .
Splices and Tapes
A N IN T E R E S T IN G pam phlet on the sub ject “Splices l and T apes” ju s t issued by the Okonite Co., Passaic, N. J., deals w ith the im portance of a p e rfe c t splice, the im p o rtan t pro p erties of tape and how to recognize these p ro perties and m ake a p e rfe c t splice. The promiscuous purchase of ru b b er and fa b ric tap e is altogether too common a practice. T his is in p a r t due to the fac t th a t th e re is no definite u n d e rsta n d in g as to w hat ąu alities a tape should possess.
The best w irin g job is som etim es spoiled because of
the use of a poor grade of tap e a t th e jo in ts or a m is-
application of tape. F rom th e troubles th a t fre ą u e n tly
resu lt it is a p p a re n t th a t th e difference in cost between
a p erfect and a bad jo in t is h ard ly noticeable.
272 C O A L A G E Vol. 25, No. 8
How Much Ash Is Found in C om m ercial Anthracite?
T e s t o f C oal in M a s s a c h u s e tts Y a r d s D is c lo s e s V a r ia tio n from L o w e s t A sh o f 10.2 per
C e n t t o H ig h e s t o f 46.1 By O. P. Hood
C h ie f M e c h a n ic a l E n g in e e r , U . S. B u r e a u o f M in e s, W a s h i n g t o n , D . C.
T "\U R IN G the past sum m er the U. S. Bureau of Mines took 127 samples of anthracite, each of 1,000 lb., rep resentin g nearly 30,000 tons of such coal in dealers’
yards in seventeen cities in the State of M assachusetts.
There were three objects in view : To discover the average and the variation in the ą u a n tity of ash in an th racite in some easily described a re a ; to dem onstrate stan d ard sam pling methods and to learn som ething about the feasibility of itin e ra n t coal sampling. M assa
chusetts was selected because its principal cities could be visited in a single season. A dem onstration of the standard sam pling of coal seemed necessary in M assa
chusetts because a coal-quality law had been passed in the sta te which had to be adm inistered by persons un- fam iliar w ith the sam pling of coal.
The techniąue of coal sam pling has received th e same careful study th a t has been given to the sam pling of gold and silver ore, and as a m a tte r of fac t the value of coal per ton is g re a te r th an the value of m any such ores as are bought and sold entirely on th e value dis- closed by proper sam pling and analysis. The proper method of sam pling has been approved as an A m erican stan d ard and should be followed. A stan d ard sample m ust contain a t least 1,000 lb. and be selected so as to be thoroughly representative of th e lot under consider- ation.
This m ust be repeatedly crushed, mixed and ąu artered in a prescribed m anner, until th e last ą u a rte r is all finely crushed and weighs about 5 lb. Only in th is way can the chance inclusion or exclusion of a piece of bone coal or slate produce a negligible effect, and the results of resam pling be expected to check fairly well w ith the first sampling. The labor of handling and crushing so much coal, being considerable, is likely to be evaded, but in no other way can a ju s t resu lt be obtained.
Widely varyin g results obtained by different sam plers tend to discredit such work, and ^ o r sam nling s^o-di have no stan din g in the courts. The B ureau samples were all taken in th e prescribed m anner, so th a t they a re represen tativ e of the coal sampled. The Bureau used a smali tru c k eąuipped w ith a coal crusher, ar- ranged to be driven by the tru ck engine. They were taken between July 10 and Nov. 4, 1923. The cities visited and the num ber of samples taken in each are given in the accom panying table.
P L A C E S W H E R E S A M P L E S W E R E T A K E N A N D T H E N U M B E R O F S A M P L E S T A K E N
C ity
B o s to n , M a s s ...
S o m e r v ille , M a s s ...
B r i g h t o n , M a s s ...
J a m a i c a P l a i n , M a ss . C a m b r i d g e . M a s s . . . . S w a m p s c o t t. M a s s . . . . L y n n , M a s s ...
H a v e r h i l l , M a s s ...
B r a d f o r d , M a s s ...
L a w r e n c e , M a s s ...
F a l i R i v e r . M a s s ...
N e w B e d f o r d , M a s s . .
S a m p le s T a k e n
41 4 1 1 3 4 6 1 1 6 5 5
S a m p le s
C ity T a k e n
B r o c k to n , M a s s ., ( O n e P e t r o le u m C o k e ) . . . . 11 W o r c e s te r , M a s s ... 16 S p rin g f ie ld , M a s s ... 10 N o r t h a m p t o n , M a s s . . . . 2 H o ly o k e . M a s s ... 2 P r o v id e n c e , R . I. ( R . I.
C o a l) ... 6
W e ls h s a m p le s , B o s to n . M a s s ... 2
T o ta l ... 127
The weighted average ash content w as: F o r fu r- nace size, 13.2 per cent; egg, 13.7; stove, 13.7, chest- nut, 16.2; pea, 15.6; rangę, 19; buckw heat No. 1, 18.9 per'cen t. In the 8 sajnples of fu rn ace coal th e lowest ash was 10.5 per cent and th e h ig h est 14.6 p er cen t;
of tw enty-nine samples of egg th e ran g ę was from 10.2 to 17.5 per cent; of 20 samples of stove coal, 11.3 to 15.9 per cent; of 23 samples of chestnut, 10.3 to 46.1 per cent; of 20 samples of pea, 12 to 27.3 per cent;
of 4 samples of rangę, 13.1 to 28 per cent; of 8 samples of No. 1 buckwheat, from 13.6 to 29.5 p er cent.
In the chestnut coal the hig hest six sam ples ra n 46.1, 40.7, 28.3, 25.6, 18 and 16.5 per cent ash. The six clean- est samples ran 10.3, 12.2, 12.9, 13, 13.2 and 13.4 per cent ash.
Some but not all of the high-ash coal had been con- demned by the state au th o rities. Some high-ash coal ' was being mixed in dealers’ y ard s w ith lower ash coal.
The coal producer judges th e quality of the coal by taking a smali sample and by hand s e p a ra tin g it into three piles, one of coal, one of bone and one of slate.
A piece which he guesses has less th an 40 p e r cent ash would be called coal, a piece having from 40 p e r cent to 65 per cent ash would be called bone, and a n y th in g having a larger am ount of unburnable m ate ria ł would be called slate. M ateriał can be found having almost any proportion from a very Iow per cent of a«h to a very Iow per cent of carbonaceous m ateriał. The oper- a to rs’ standards of prep aratio n allow in each size cer- tain percentages of bone and slate, and also a ą u a n tity of finer sizes, b ut it is impossible to tra n s la te th is into the ąuantity of ash allowable. The figures obtained by this survey give an idea of th e actual ą u a n tity of ash in anthracite sent to one d istric t in th e sum m er of 1923, when the opinion of dealers w as th a t th e ą u a lity of the coal in generał was good.
To Clean Carbide Lamp W ithout In jury
By Ch a r les Labbe
The usual m ethod of cleaning spent carbide from a m iner’s acetylene lamp is to ta p the bottom p a rt of the lamp against the shoe and to shake out th e carbide into a waste can, tap p in g the lamp a g a in st th e rim of the can until m ost of its contents are dislodged. A b e tte r way is to provide a steel w ire b ru sh m ade from a piece of i or A-in. w ire rope a foot or less in length. One end is served w ith iron w ire about an inch above th e end, which is then frayed out. The o th er end is w ire wrapped about one-half inch from th e end. The center portion is wrapped w ith tape. The sh o rt stiff end is used to loosen the carbide and the longer end fo r brush- ing it out of the cup of the lamp.
One of the weaknesses of the carbide lam p is not found in its own defect b ut in th e way it is used. It is hammered most woefully by its user. T his swab will save the Container from m any a h a rd rap on its rim , edges and bottom.
Wire Brush for Cleaning Carbide Lamps
dumped*1^5 t0 °* *{eep a t rec e Pta c *e w h ere sp en t carb id e is
• E n g i n e e r i n g & M i r ^ T n n n 1
rrBefo’ de Wah” Mine Yields Curious Relics
Engineers Prowling in Long Abandoned 1844 B ell Property o f W est K entucky Find B uli W heel, P it Cars and Track A li M ade W ithout a N ail or Scrap of M etal— A ncient Ventilation System Works Perfectly
By E . W. Davidson A s s o c i a t e E d i t o r , C o a l A g e
C h ic a g o , 111.
I T IS a b it difficult nowadays to go down into a coal mine of 1844. Yet th re e engineers did ju s t th a t.
They w ere exam ining the old Bell property, n ear Sturgis, Ky., fam ous th re e -q u a rte rs of a century ago, in the course of studies they made p relim in ary to the recent reh a b ilita tio n of the m ines u nd er the present name of th e Bell Coal & N avigation Co. Two hundred and ten fee t of little old s h a ft separated the th ree from coal-m ining days of “befo’ de w ah.” They nego- tiated the distance, tu rn e d tim e back so to speak, and entered a stra n g e m ine co n tain in g ingenious cru dities of long ago which, crude as they are, command respect from good m ining men of today.
Un c o v e r Mo u t h o f Lo n g Ab a n d o n e d Sh a f t
The th re e m en w ere W. F. Davis, of Belleville, 111., generał su p erin ten d en t of th e new Bell Coal & Navi- gation Co.; J . A. Richmond, of St. Louis, Mo., chief mechanical engineer, and W illiam H erb ert, an engineer of Bessemer, Ala. In th e ir exam ination of th e noted old coal property, fo u r miles southw est of S tu rg is, in w estern K entucky, th ey uncovered th e m outh of the long-abandoned s h a ft— an opening known down th ro u g h local histo ry as M iners’ S h a ft— and decided to e n te r it.
Notb—H e a d p i e c e s h o w s e q u i p m e n t f o r c l e a r i n g t h e w a y f o r a n m s p e c t io n o f t h e m in e . W i t h a t h r e s h e r e n g i n e t o r a i s e s t e a m , w i t h a l i t t l e w i n c h t o o p e r a t e t h e " h o i s t , ” a n d w i t h a p u m p l o w e r e d o n a n i m p r o v i s e d c a g e , M i n e r s ’ S h a f t w a s m o r e o r le s s d e w a t e r e d a n d o p e n e d u p .
A 15-ft. headfram e was bu ilt over th e 4 ft. 6 in. x 12-ft. three-com partm ent hole, a smali w inch was mounted nearby to operate by steam supplied by a tra c - tion engine, and the ad v en tu rers on an im provised cage, made a few experim ental trip s downward.
A good deal of debris had to be cleared out of the bottom, and the hole had to be dew atered by a pump lowered on the cage before the m en finally flickered th e ir candles around th e bottom — th e first lig h ts th a t had penetrated th e re in th e m em ory of any b u t one or two of the oldest se ttle rs in th a t p a rt of the country.
They stepped into a dank dead atm osphere.
T heir first sig h t was of a w ell-preserved bottom of about 4 ft. headroom, w ith clean-cut rib s ex tending up the m ain heading. Evidences of geom etrical exactness m arked everything th ey saw. The rib s of th a t m ain en try ru n n in g back from th e s h a ft w ere as tru e and clean as a carefully concreted e n try of today. The m arks of skilled hand w ork w ere on th e m ine rib s.
Ol d Fu r n a c e Wo r k s “ Fi n e”
Proceeding a sh o rt distance up th e m ain en try , th e
men found a door, long decayed, leading th ro u g h a
breakth ro ug h to th e r ig h t in to a p arallel en try . Fol-
lowing th is back to w ard th e sh a ft, th ey a rriv e d a t th e
old furnace, close to th e s h a ft bottom , w hich once had
ventilated th e m ine. The n ex t step w as to b oard th e
upcast a ir com partm ent of th e s h a ft and erect a Iow
274 C O A L A G E Vol. 25, No. 8
Taking a Coal Sample out of the Mine
T w o o f th e e n g i n e e r s w i t h a h e l p e r a r e s e e n h e r e in o n e o f th e e n t r i e s . W . F . D a v is , th e t h i r d e n g in e e r , m a d e t h e p i c t u r e . M a r k s o f a h a n d d r i ll a r e p l a i n l y to b e se e n s c a r r i n g t h e r ib .
canvas and wood stack on top. Then a fire was kindled in the old furnace w ith some m isgiving as to w hether the inner workings of the m ine were sufficiently open to perm it the furnace to ventilate the place.
“B ut it certainly worked fine,” comments Mr. Rich
mond. “In less than a m inutę th e a ir stream was going strong, and before long we felt satisfied we could go back into the w orkings and see w hat was th ere.”
W ith no map and w ith no knowledge of w hat they m ight see except such suggestions as they had gotten in a hazy description of th e pro p erty by an old neigh- bor, they sta rte d again a t the sh a ft bottom, th is tim e w ith cap lamps as well as candles. The m ain entry and the parallel “D urham e n try ”— so called because local tra d itio n had it th a t m iners from D urham , Eng- land, drove it—ran about 1,800 ft. up an approxim ate 5 per cent grade to a junction w ith m ain cross entries.
According to local history the cross en try on one side led into w orkings operated on shares by Welsh m iners and the other into D urham te rrito ry . These two sets of co-operative coal operators were reputed to have scoffed a t each oth ers’ skill as m iners and to have m aintained such keen rivalry th a t it periodically broke out in free- for-all fights both in the m ine and outside.
Standing a t the junction of the m ain heading w ith the side entries, it was evident to th e th ree explorers of the mine th a t the two entries had been driven by
different types of m iners. The D urham e n try had been sheared on the rig h t and shot from th e left while the Welshmen—w hether they were all left handed or not
—had sheared on the left and shot from the rig h t. The m arks of skillful pick work were plainly seen on one rib of each entry and unm istakable drillhole traces on the opposite side. About 4 ft. of coal had been shot down at each fali.
Not a Na i l or Bit o f Me t a l ,i n Ca r s or Tr a c k
Also standing a t th is junction, amid a collection of most interestin g wooden construction—m ine cars, tracks, slope-hoisting device and w hatnot, all made w ithout a single nail or bit of m etal— it w as easy for the three to get a generał idea of th e m ine’s m ain haul- age. Loads had been b rou gh t in from both headings to the top of the m ain en try by anim al power. Between there and the bottom g rav ity did th e job.
A huge wooden buli wheel was originally m ounted at the top of this 1,800-ft. grade. A single tra c k ran from it down to the shaft, w ith a passing tra c k a t the half- way point. Obviously a load was lowered down the grade while an empty on the opposite end of a rope running around the wheel was draw n up.
The buli wheel is a ra re piece of m echanism — one of
Furnace //////'/ss/s/sS"/' ^ ■//////////-- o '•Durham entry
Bottom Layout of the Old Mine as the Engineers Found It
O ld m in e s , o f w h ic h e x a m p l e s m a y b e f o u n d a t B o s t o n i a , n e a r N e w B e th le h e m , P a ., a n d n e a r S h a w m u t , E l k C o u n t y , in t h e s a m e S ta te b e in g d r i v e n b y m in e w o r k e r s o f s i m i l a r o r i g in t o t h o s e w h o w o r k e d a t M in e r s S h a f t , t h o u g h a t a s l i g h t l y l a t e r d a t e , sh o w r o a d w a y s j u s t a s m e t i c u l o u s l y p e r f e c t a n d t r a c k o f s o m e w h a t s i m i l a r c h a r a c t e r . S t r a p ir o n o n e d g e , h o w e v e r , w a s u s e d a t th e l a t t e r p la c e in p la c e o f w o o d r a i l s . T h is w a s n o t c h e d a n d n o t s p ik e d to t h e tie s .
the rarest, probably, in A m erican coal m ining. Today it reposes cumbrously in the office of W. K. K avanaugh, president of th e Southern Coal, Coke & M ining Co., of
D isplacin g A ir of Civil W a r D ay s
T h e e n g i n e e r s , a n x - i o u s t o e n t e r t h e a n c i e n t m in e , f i r s t b u i 1 1 t h i s l i t t l e ę t a c k o v e r t h e u p - c a s t a i r c o m p a r t - m e n t o f t h e s h a f t , f i r e d u p t h e a n t i - ą u a t e d y e n t i l a t i n g f u r n a c e 210 f t . b e - lo w a n d a w a i t e d r e s u l t s . " I t w o r k e d f in e ,” s a y s “ J a c k ” R ic h m o n d , o n e o f t h e a d v e n t u r e r s .
“ I n a m i n u t ę t h e a i r flo w w a s g o in g s t r o n g . ” S o o n t h e y w a l k e d i n — t h e f l r s t m e n t o i n v a d e t h e p l a c e i n t h e m e m - o r y o f t h e o l d e s t s e t t l e r s .
