Search Documents

RMCMl PRESIDENT CHARLES W. MARGOLF on behalf of The RMCMI Board of Directors and Officers invites you and your family to attend The 81st Regular Meeting and Convention of The Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute to be held at Tamarron, Durango, Colorado JUNE 30, JULY 1 AND 2, 1985

Jan 1, 1984

The morning session opened at 9:00 a.m. and was presided over by George A! Nugent, President, Sheridan Wyoming Coal Company, Sheridan, Wyoming. The first speaker was Joseph E. Zatek, Product Specialist, Portable Instruments; Mine Safety Appliances Company, Pitts¬burgh, Pennsylvania. His presentation was illustrated by slides and subject, "Problems of Noise as Applied to Coal Mining." (See Index for printed text of Mr. Zatek's paper.) Mr. Zatek has been with Mine Safety Appliances Company for the, past 14 years) Prior to going with M.S.A. he was Indus!, trial Hygienist for Pennsylvania Department of Health, a position he held for 10 years He attended the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated with a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering. He is a member of Air Pollution Control Association, American Society of Safety Engineers, Instrument Society of America and the American Industrial Hygiene Association. He is certified by the American,' Board of Industrial Hygiene in Compre¬hensive Practice of Industrial Hygiene and also by the Bureau of Mines to be an Instructor in Noise Measurement and Control.

Jan 1, 1971

The Tuesday Morning session opened at 9:00 a.m. and was presided over by Mr. E. C. DeMoss, Vice President, Utah Construction & Mining Company, San Francisco, California. Mr. DeMoss introduced Mr. C. Howard Hardesty, Jr., Senior Vice President, Con¬tinental Oil Company, New York, N. Y. Mr. Hardesty spoke on the "Relationship of Coal to Progress in Oil Industry." Mr. Hardesty was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, 1922. He is an attorney by profession; he attended Mercerburg Academy in 1939 and received a Bachelor of Science degree from Duke University, 1943. He then served three years in the U. S. Navy and returned in 1946 to obtain his LL.B. from West Virginia University in 1949. Mr. Hardesty has had an outstanding professional career which started as a partner of the law firm of Furbee & Hardesty, Fairmont, West Virginia. He subsequently was West Virginia's State Tax Commissioner and President of the West Virginia Bar Association. In 1963 lie became General Counsel of Consolidation Coal Co., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; in 1964 he was made Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel, Consolidation Coal. In 1966 he was elected Executive Vice President of Consol, and, shortly after it was merged with Continental Oil Co., he was made Senior Vice President of Continental. He is married to the former Doris Wilson; they have two children and reside in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Jan 1, 1968

MR. C. M. GODDARD: Mr. Poli invented this little safety switch box. This junction box he has does improve the appearance mentioned in the underground junction boxes used in the foreign countries, where this thing is compulsory. There was some arrangement whereby the attachment could not be made with the switch in. The switch has got to be out of place before they can put the terminals into this box, which avoids all possibilities of short-circuits, except where protected on the inside of this box. In mines that are not gaseous, this is not so essential, but he has invented a very small junction box which probably. could be built for six or eight or ten dollars; if those things are necessary, for the handling of mining machines and their apparatus, takes current off the transmission line, and he has something that would meet that requirement, and I think when it is looked into it will meet the approval of the Bureau of Mines. He had this little box yesterday, and some of the members had looked it over and think, if they will look more favorably into it, they will find something to their advantage. PRESIDENT PRYDE: I think it is a good idea to bring in safety appliances and devices at this meeting. There were two more devices brought in here this morning; one a safety powder flask, and the other a carbide can. We have talked a great deal about permissible powder. It is going to take a little time to change over, and we would have to use the black powder cans. I will leave them in the window, if you care to investigate them.

Jan 1, 1924

By R. A. Marshall

Much has been written by men connected with the coal mining industry, and mining laws have been enacted for the safety of the men employed in the mines, and for the protection of property connected therewith. It seems almost impossible for anyone to select a subject that has not already been read, discussed and put into effect, especially in the coal mines of Western America. There is, however, a subject of much interest to the mining public, and to which I have given a great deal of study and consideration, and which I believe will be received by this convention, and will be given due consideration in the future in applying it to the safety of the mine,- "Efficiency in Shot Firing." Beginning with 1865, and for a period of 28 years in the state of Colorado, the annual reports of the chief inspectors show that 1159 coal miners were killed in the following manner: Five hundred eighty-two by falls of rock and coal ; 517 by gas and dust explosions; 6o by careless handling of explosives and the shooting of coal by the, individual, miner. It is my firm belief that 75 per cent of these fatal accidents might have been avoided, if a safe and proper shot firing system had been installed, at each and every mine. This may sound unreasonable, but I believe that the blasting of coal by the individual miner, and the use of black powder, squibs and fuse has, in reality, caused the death of many miners, from shock after blasting, the shooting out 'of timbers, and working in powder smoke, which fatal accidents were attributed to falls of rock or coal. These conditions led the people of Colorado, through their representatives of the General Assembly of Colorado, to enact a new coal mining law, and in 1913 this law became effective, containing twelve sections devoted to the subject of Efficiency in the System of Shot Firing. During the period 1913 to 1920, the employment of a shot firer, the use of permissible. powder, and the electric hand battery has resulted in safer mines, safer miners and safer shot firers, and I believe every coal mine in the state should employ first-class, certified shot firers, use permissible powder and fire the shots with an electric hand battery. I believe where gas generates in dangerous quantities, which is generally determined by inspection of the mine, and the daily report, the shooting in. such a mine should be done by electric battery located outside of the mine. Where permissible powder is used, I have seen the shot firer start down the mine with a belt around his waist containing one hundred caps, a safety lamp to test for gas, and an open light to ignite the fuse. Would it not be much safer for the shot firer if he used the electric hand battery? In non-gaseous mines where black powder is used, I have. seen the miners carry fuse into the mine, and shot firers have been known to partly tamp the holes, which was

Jan 1, 1921

RMCMI members were welcomed at 12:30 p.m. by President McKeever. Following the luncheon held at the Conference Center, McKeever introduced Mr. Brooks Mitchell who is President, Human Resources Management, Inc. in Richardson, Texas. His topic was "Perspective on the Last Five Years. " The RMCMI Championship Tennis Tournament was held at the Marriott's Mark courts under the direction of Chairman Alan W. Czarnowsky and his committee members Mary Kay Aisenbrey and Jon Pratt. EVENING Tuesday, June 29, 1982 From 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. a Mini-Banquet was held for the young people of RMCMI members in the East Room of Lionsquare Gore Creek Lodge. The 6:00 p.m. time found RMCMI members gathered for a social hour at Marriott's Mark poolside, The Annual Speechless banquet followed at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference Center. After the dinner, President McKeever introduced the Golf and Tennis Chairmen who announced the prize winners. Robert W. Wilson, Chairman of the Nominating Committee, presented the following slate of officers for 1982-83: President, Vernal Mortensen; Vice Presidents-Colorado, Charles W. Margolf; Montana, Art K. Neill; New Mexico, Robert Diederick; North Dakota, James A. Brown; Utah, Bernard Bernstrom and Wyoming, John T. Goodier. It was moved by Loren V. Linville, seconded and carried that the elective ballot of RMCMI be cast for the officers as nominated. Mr. Wilson advised RMCMI that a successor to Mrs. Whiteside would be selected at a later date by the Committee and Executive Board inasmuch as Mrs. Whiteside's resignation had been received only ten days earlier and there had been no time for interviews. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. MORNING SESSION Wednesday, June 29, 1982 President McKeever called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. in Salon A of the Marriott's Mark. New business included a report of the Auditing Committee and it was moved by Chairman Paul Hronich, seconded and carried that the Financial Report as prepared by the Treasurer, Mrs. Augusta Whiteside, be approved as submitted. The report of the Resolutions Committee was presented by Chairman Ed Ziolkowski who moved that certain resolutions be approved. The motion was seconded, carried and the resolutions follow: 1. RESOLVED, WHEREAS, in the year since the last convention of The Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute, the Institute and the coal industry have suffered the loss, through death, of the services of: John Chrystal Richard R. Fenner G. D. Grayer Albert M. Keenan C. E. Osborn Stanley C. Shubart George Sumers Cal Witmer NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that there be recorded in the minutes of The Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute recognition of the passing of these members, who have so greatly contributed to the advancement of the industry, both nationally and in the Rocky Mountain area, and that a copy of this resolution be sent to the next of kin as evidence of the sincere and deep regard and sympathy of the members of the Institute. 2. RESOLVED, that in recognition of the faithful service to the coal industry generally, and to this Institute in particular, the status of Life Membership in The Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute be hereby conferred upon these members: John T. Leech George C. Lindsay A. George Setter

Jan 1, 1982

A symposium concerning "The Image of the Coal Industry" was presented at 2:00 p.m. in the Conference center and chaired by Charles W. Margolf, RMCMl Program Chairman and Vice President, Western Coal Development, W. R. Grace & Co. MR. McKEEVER: I'd like to do one thing and that's to introduce our Program Chairman, Charlie Margolf, who will be handling this portion of the program. Charlie and I have been acquainted since late 1973. He has worked together with me on several projects at W. R. Grace here in the west; a dear friend and one that I just want to say thanks to again. I think I have a little token of that appreciation here for Charlie. Here you are Charlie. (present given) I turn the command over to you. Mr. Margolf, a native of State College, Pennsylvania, received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1950 and a Juris Doctor Degree from University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1953. His professional experience has beem as an attorney in the Law Department of Reynolds Metals Company, Richmond, Virginia, where he served as legal counsel to the Geological Department the mining subsidiaries of the parent company both foreign and domestic, the Power Department and the Oil and Gas Division. He was closely associated with Reynolds Mining Corporation's project at Lake DeSmet, Wyoming, from its inception in 1954 and became Manager of the Wyoming Division of Reynolds Mining Corporation when it was established in 1966, holding that position until September 1972 when he joined Cameron Engineers, Inc. of Denver, Colorado as Vice President in charge of its coal, water and environmental activities. Mr. Margolf joined W. R. Grace & Co. in January 1974 as Director of Western Coal Operations. Memberships are held in the Virginia Bar Association, the Wyoming Bar Association, the American Bar Association and its Section of Natural Resources Law, the Wyoming Engineering Society, the Colorado Mining Association, the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute which he has served as vice president for Wyoming, the Society of Mining Engineers of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, the Minerals Information Committee of the Denver Chapter of AIME and the Denver Coal Club which he has served as Chairman of its Board of Directors. He has also been a member of the Montana Coal Council and served as a director, the Wyoming Water Development Association which he has served as a director for industry and as first vice president and the Wyoming Mining Association. He has been reappointed by Governor Lamm to the Governor's Scientific Advisory Council. He was appointed by the Federal Power Commission, Gas Policy Advisory Council, to its Supply- Technical Advisory Task Force - Synthesized Gaseous Hydrocarbon Fuels and served as Vice Chairman of that Task Force. He has been reappointed by the Secretary of the Interior to the Solid Fuels Unit, Department of the Interior, National Defense Executive Reserve. He also serves on the Advisory Council to the Industrial Ecology Institute of the Colorado School of Mines and was recently elected a member of the Board of Directors of ROMCOE (Center for Environmental Problem Solving). Chairman Margolf presented the symposium from the perspective of: ? A local government official - The Honorable Michael Enzi, Mayor of Gillette, Wyoming ? A former state government official - Harris D. Sherman, former Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources ? A representative of a national environmental. organization- Robert Golten, Senior Counsel, National Wildlife Federation ? A representative of the printed news media- Ralph Looney, Editor of The Rocky Mountain News in Denver

Jan 1, 1982

Jan 1, 1986

[Proceedings VOL. II. PART V. CONTENTS PAGE Mine Haulage, by R. A. McAllister-----------------145 Efficiency in Shot Firing, by Robert A. Marshall -- 149 Some Facts About Coal Mining, by Sam Andrews -153 Flexoid Tubing and Its Application to Coal Mines As a Means of Temporary Ventilation, by George A. Brown -161 Longwall Coal Mining, by Thomas Collier ------ 163 Advantages of Having Such Men as Fire Bosses Under State Rather Than Corporation Jurisdiction, by R. S. Morton ---- 165 Longwall Mining, by Parley Potter -------169 DeWatering of the Rouse Mine, by D. A. Stout ---175]

Jan 1, 1921

The Institute thanks the following for their invaluable assistance, not only in assisting of the planning and organizing for the Vail meeting, but also for their tireless effort in transcribing, editing and processing the various speeches for these proceedings: Elizabeth Sturges-Murray Executive Assistant to the President Western Mining Operations W. R. Grace & Co. Jacklyn Grove Office Supervisor Mining Division W. R. Grace & Co Donna Hollister Further, the Institute announces the appointment of Doris G. Finnie as Secretary-Treasurer. Formerly Office Manager of K&P SALES ENGINEERS, INC., Doris has assisted for the past 15 years in registration for RMCMI. The Institute has opened an office at 777 Nile Street - Suite C Golden, CO 8040 1. Phone her at 3031278-1912 with any changes, corrections or suggestions.

Jan 1, 1982

ACM Equipment Sales Co. ACM/ICM Andalex Resources, Inc. ARCO Coal Company Behre Dolbear & Company, Inc. Coastal State Energy Company Colowyo Coal Co. L.P. Commercial Testing & Engineering Company Continental Conveyor & Equipment Company Crane & Hoist Cyprus Amax Coal Company Dakota Coal Company Driltech Inc. Empire Machinery Energy West Mining Company Fleischli Oil Company Inc. Halbach & Braun Industries Hemscheidt Corporation GH Hensley Industries Ingersoll-Rand Company Jennmar Corporation Joy Technologies, Inc. K & P Sales Engineers, Inc. Kennametal, Inc. Kerr-McGee Coal Corporation LeTourneau,Inc. Long-Airdox Company Magnum Metals, Inc. McLanahan Corporation Morgantown Machine & Hydraulics Morrison Knudsen Corporation National Mining Association The North American Coal Corporation Peabody Coal Company Phillips Machine Services, Inc. Pincock Allen & Holt Powder River Coal Co. Ramsey Technology, Inc. Rust Tractor Company Salt River Project Savage Industries Inc. Stamler Corporation Tamarron Resort TerraMatrix Inc. Texaco Lubricants Company TIC (The Industrial Company Wyoming, Inc.) Trapper Mining Inc. Wagner Equipment Comp any Western Energy Company Wheeler Machinery Company

Jan 1, 1995

The morning session opened at 9:00 a.m. and was presided over by Mr. George A. Nugent, Manager Mining Division, Peter Kiewit Sons' Company, Sheridan, Wyoming. The first speaker was Mr. Jack Huebler, Vice President Research, Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Huebler joined IGT in 1961 as Director of IGT's contract research program, a major part of which is IGT's extensive coal gasification work. He is also an adjunct associate professor at Illinois Institute of Technology, teaching gas utilization. Before joining IGT, Mr. Huebler spent 20 years with Surface Combustion Corporation where he was chief research engineer. He developed, designed, and constructed a wide variety of heat processing equipment and the associated chemical processes and was involved in applied research in heat treating, gas chemistry, and gas-solids reactions. He has carried out extensive research on the heat treating of ferrous metals, oil gasification and gas combustion, and has made major contributions to the development, construction, and operation of large-scale industrial furnace equipment. He received B.S. degrees in 10th chemical engineering and mathematics from the University of Michigan in 1941. He has 60 publications including 15 patents. He is also a world traveler in the field of engineering. Mr. Huebler's subject "Gasification of Western Coals." (See Index for printed text of Mr. Huebler's paper.)

Jan 1, 1972

The 70th Regular Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute convened at the Steamboat Village Inn, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and was in session at 10:00 a.m. The session was called to order by Past President O. F. Lewis. Consultant, Colowyo Coal Co., Denver, Colorado. Mr. Lewis introduced President A. F. Geiger, Manager, Navajo Mine, Utah International, Inc., Fruitland, New Mexico. Following are Mr. Lewis' remarks: Ladies and gentlemen, members of the institute, guests and friends, welcome to Steamboat Springs and the 70th meeting of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute. From all appearances this is our largest meeting and should be the most successful. When I last spoke to you I was President of Colowyo Coal Company and the Rocky Mountain Coal Institute but that has changed. Colowyo Coal Company was acquired last Dec. by W. R. Grace & Co. and operates as Colowyo Coal Company, Division of W. R. Grace & Co. I am confident these people will make a worthwhile contribution to the coal Industry.

Jan 1, 1974

The twenty-eighth regular meeting of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute, which was held jointly with the Utah Section of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, was called to order at eleven o'clock A. M., Monday, March 11, 1929, President Otto Herres presiding. Introductory remarks were made by John M. Boutwell, Chairman of the Utah Section of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, who outlined the intent and purpose of the joint meeting, and its co-operative program. He spoke of the in- creased recognition being given to men in the engineering profession by the public, which has recently been manifested by the election of President Hoover, an engineer of outstanding ability, and the re-election of Governor Dern to the Governorship of the State of Utah. He then introduced Governor Dern, a fellow member, to make the address of welcome. Governor Dern assured the meeting a hearty welcome. He spoke of Utah as one of the important mining states of the Union, particularly in metal mining; the magnitude of Utah as a coal mining state being limited only by its market; of the enormous coal resources of Utah, and the problems of the coal mining industry.

Jan 1, 1929

By Eugene McAuliffe

The labor turn-over at coal mines has long been a fertile subject for parade by complaining coal operators, the question invariably occupying a place of prominence in the list of disabilities that tend to increase the cost of producing coal, adding likewise to the now startling number of accidents that occur in coal mines. This disability, however, is like the weather question, which some humorist once remarked of by saying, "The weather is something we all talk about, but nobody does anything to improve it." Endless compilations covering the shift of employment by coal mine labor have been made and published, and while the actual loss expressed in cents per ton in cost of coal produced has never been determined, the fact remains that such represents a substantial item, taking the mines of the country as a whole. Efficiency engineers who have made studies covering the cost of breaking in and training each new man employed in certain manufacturing industries, fix same as averaging not less than $100.00 per man, and when the character of mine employment is given due consideration, including its ever-present hazards, the difficulty of close personal super- vision of individual employes, and the, at times, almost impossible ability to transmit to men of many diverse nationalities understandable instructions, it is quite safe to say that the cost of securing and breaking in new men for underground mine work will fully equal that suffered by the factory managements. When we speak of mine labor turnover we must necessarily exclude the enforced shifting about of men who are laid off by the closure of mines due to accident or lack of market, con- fining ourselves to the turn-over occasioned by- (a) the dismissal of individual men or groups of men; (b) the voluntary resignation of the individual workman. It is these two methods of severance that the employer and employe alike suffer from; the item "Unclaimed Wages" carried in the accounts of every large coal company illustrative of the "quit this job, get another one" attitude of many workmen, who frequently, when leaving, fail to claim small sums due them, while others, in turn, leave a train of debts, large and small, behind. There is' ample evidence abroad to the effect that many

Jan 1, 1925

WILLIAM P BALAZ RMCMI PRESIDENT 1990-1991 on behalf of the RMCMI Board of Directors and Officers of The Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute cordially invites you and your family to attend the 87th Regular Meeting and Convention to be held June 30, July 1 & 2, 1991 Keystone Resort, Colorado

Jan 1, 1990

PRESIDENT PRYDE: I am sure we have all listened with interest to the presentation of this subject. Anything that promises economy in coal mining today is welcomed by all of us. We will now have a discussion on this paper. If any of you gentlemen want to ask any questions, you may do so. I think we will develop something of interest and along the lines of economy. That is the first consideration of a coal mining man. MR. H. D. RANDALL: It is an interesting fact that in manufacturing we find the greatest economy results from giving a man the simplest possible act to perform, while there is nothing too complicated for a machine. If we want to put up a set screw we find it cheaper to let one man set it up and the other screw it in. The maximum economy is what we are after. Similarly, one of the points of greatest interest which Mr. Ickis has emphasized, is that this automatic equipment not merely dispenses with a manual operator, but also performs certain functions which the operator cannot do. It provides an inherent protection to the apparatus and service not possible under manual operation. We very rarely have cases of failure with these automatic equipments, .and consequently have the advantage not only of having eliminated the operator's salary, but also his mistakes. We have had a large number of these equipments in use for several years, so that their practicality is now thoroughly proven, and the trend of practice now indicates that the automatic idea will be further extended and will become universal for such classes of service. MR. D. C. McKEEHAN (Union Pacific Coal Company) : My notion of an automatic sub-station is one that does not necessarily require new equipment beyond the control equipment; so that any of you that are interested in it can take up with the manufacturers and find out how much it would cost to change any equipment. The greatest point I think is the fact it eliminates the several nationalities from operating the set, either on day shift or night shift. They can so lock the control as to make it impossible for anyone to start or stop it, except the one who has the authority. Another point I do not believe was brought out very clearly: It would be particularly advantageous to people who buy power, and if you could have several sets in parallel, it would allow you to start the shift with one set and cut in the additional sets as the shift progresses. There are various operations that stop at the end of each shift, and-one or two or three sets can be cut out, leaving the load on one set, providing the size of the copper is sufficient to supply all the points of the mine. Another point I want to bring out: In case you have quite a number of sets distributed along transmission line, the switch trips, the operation restores the service, and you may have several hundred-or in case with us, we would have several thousand-K. V. A. of Motor Generator Sets and Rotaries, that would be starting at once, and the switch would automatically trip out again. MR. RANDALL: Another form of control was described as the so-called supervisory control. This control could be started up so the starting would not be synchronous, but could be spread out over a sequence. MR. McKEEHAN: I think that is rather a theoretical consideration for coal miners. They are standing at the controller ready to shut it off unless there is some selective method of starting various sets- MR. RANDALL: I had in mind this supervisory control, one man, a central operator who would determine which station should start and he would take time enough to have his load come on gradually. He would not permit all the installations to come on simultaneously, but come on in succession: MR. McKEEHAN: You misunderstand me. Suppose we had the main switch at Rock Springs, which supplies several camps, and there are several

Jan 1, 1924

Mr. Shepard's paper was unfortunately delivered extemperaneously so no record is at hand. He spoke most interestingly and at length on the oil shales of Colorado, giving his opinion as to the ultimate outcome of the oil shale industry. He explained his idea that it would be built up of comparatively small plants, each of which would make the crudes, or more exactly would roughly divide the crude into its fractions, piping or shipping the fractions to a Central Refinery, using the residue for fertilizer, as it runs very high in fertilizer salts. He recommended that this plan be taken up by Coal Producers, that they consider the possibility of breaking up coal and selling its more refined products in place of selling raw coal. He spoke at length of the various outlets for products of distillation. Mr. McDermott gave a very interesting talk later on work that is being done in the Northern Colorado field along these lines. Mr. McDermott mentioned the strange fact that coaly materials such as mother of coal appeared to give just as good or better results under distillation than did lignite coal. Messrs. Randall, Howe, Goddard, Danford, and Nash added interesting data covering the use of pulverized fuel, and this data will be collected and offered to the Institute later in the form of a paper. Mr. Young spoke of the use of powdered coal in small units for small plants, mentioning the system now being offered by an Eastern Iron Works for small heating plants.

Jan 1, 1922

By Geo. A. Murphy

MR. ARTHUR E. GIBSON (General Manager, Consumers Mutual Coal Company of Utah) : I suppose the reason I was called upon to read this paper was because I was at the mine for several years, but I have not been there for the past four years and the installation has been put in since I left. This article has been written by my successor-it follows: At the very urgent solicitation of your Secretary I have consented to prepare this paper descriptive of the spiralizing plant which is a part of the new steel tipple recently erected by the Spring Canyon Coal Company to serve its mines at Spring Canyon, Utah. I have been reluctant in giving this consent for two reasons: one of which is an excellent one, and the other isn't any good at all. First,, I find that it takes a long time to become familiar with the eccentricities of spirals-to get wise to their whims and peculiarities, and while this plant has been in operation for a number of months, something new seems to crop up nearly every time I see it, and -it would be impossible to describe all of these things even if I remembered them. The second reason is, purely personal. Among the many things I have learned by attending the sessions of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute is that if a man is not pretty sure of the ground he attempts to cover, he had better keep his mouth shut, because if he isn't right, he is dead sure to be called down by someone. However, as I will not attend the session, this feature will not hurt much, but it will make it necessary for someone else to read the paper and this will make it much better for those who are obliged to listen to it because I don't read English very well. To begin with I will say that what is said in this paper applies only to the plant under discussion as I have had no experience with any other plant. While spirals have been in use for quite a number of years, and there are some large plants in the East, their use has not been general, and I believe the plant at Spring Canyon is the only one in the United States west of the Mississippi River. The details of the plant were worked out by Mr. Thos. R. Stockett, General Manager of the Spring Can= yon Coal Company; it was manufactured by the Anthracite Separation Company of Hazelton, Penn., incorporated in the design and erected by the Link-Belt Company of Chicago, in connection with the balance of the tipple. It consists of five units. Each unit consists of a vertical wood column about 6 inches in diameter, and 9 feet 6 inches in height, around which the spiral is built. It is something like a triple screw conveyor, set vertically, with flights down which the coal and refuse travel by gravity in the process of separation. There are three of these flights, forming a sort of nest but about 7 inches apart, and they make 21 turns around the column in its length. These flights dip toward the column about 27 degrees; they have a uniform pitch downward of 31 degrees; they are 19 inches wide at the top (measured from the column) and taper gradually until they are about 9 inches at the bottom. They are not made with one continuous plate from top to bottom, but are made up of a number of plates. Some of these plates are slightly waved, others have small corrugations in them and still others are perforated with small holes, all of which are intended to accelerate or. retard the movement of the coal and refuse as they pass down, At intervals there are adjustable plates in the flights for the purpose of decreasing the maximum outside;

Jan 1, 1926

Jan 1, 1983