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5 2 THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN.
DEEP MINING IN BELGIUM.
John Gerrard, H. M. inspector of mine-, in testimony
before the Royal Commission on Coal Supplies,
gave the following account (Col'iery Guardian.
June 16, 1905) of the produits Colliery Flenu,
Mons, Belgium (No. IS pit, Sainte Henriette).
Downcast and drawing shaft, 3,733 feet deep.
from which depth coal is drawn in one lift. The
shaft is elliptical in form. 10 feet by 8 feet 2 inches.
Upcast shaft is round, from surface to 1,968 feet
it is 9 feet 10 inches diameter, the remainder 9
feet in diameter. The seam is called No. 6. and
the section is: Coal. 1 foot 3.74 inches; schist,
7 inches; coal, 1 foot 1.77 inches. Total. 3 feet
0.51 inches (total coal 2 feet 5.51 inches). Inclination,
20 to 25 degrees, 1 in 2.74 to 1 in 2.14. Thirty-three
persons are employed in coal getting, in
day shift only; they work at the face 9 hours, and
get 4% tons per man. or 130 tons per day total
product. A total number of 107 persons is employed
in the day shift, and 113 persons in the
night shift.
The highest temperature (104 degrees F.) was
obtained in the return airway. This contained
3S per cent, humidity. In the last of the working
places tiie temperature was 103 degrees F., and
the percentage of humidity was 43. Traveling
against the air toward the intake, the temperature
lowered gradually.
The rock temperature at 3.773 feet depth was
113 degrees F., and 63.000 cubic feet of air per
minute passed through the mine. Mechanical
ventilator, Rateau fan, 9.18 feet diameter, 55 r. p.
m.; water gauge, 3>i. inches. All the currents
were brisk, the air traveling through the working
places at a velocity of 6 to 9 feet per second.
Water is taken into the mine for the men to drink
in barrels holding 6 1 i> gallons. The men drink
from ij to :; i gal.: in addition, most of the men
take a bottle of tea or coffee.
The winding engines have a pair of high-pressure
cylinders, 43 inches diameter, stroke 6 feet
6 inches, steam pressure 88 pounds. The ropes
are Manila aloe, flat, tapered; at the drum end
15y> inches wide by 1.96 inches thick, at cage
end 8.8 inches wide by 1.14 inches thick. The
total weight of 4,101 feet, inclusive of rope on
drum, is 14 tons; the weight from the pulley about
12'M tons. The cages are four-decked, one tub
The plant of the Scranton Steam Pump Co., recently
damaged by fire, will be rebuilt.
RECENT COAL TRADE PATENTS.
The following recently granted patents of in­
terest to the coal trade, are reported expressly for
THE COAL THAIIE BULLETIN by J. M. Nesbit. patent
attorney, Park building, Pittsburgh, Pa., from
whom printed copies may be procured for 15 cents
each:
Car-handling device, J. V. Schaefer, Chicago, assignor
to the Link-Belt Machinery Co., same place;
797,610.
Core drill, W. S. Smith, Bigrun, Pa.; 797,622.
Coke oven, Franz Pallenberg and F. W. Sandmann.
Dortmund, Germany; 797,703.
Coking furnace, Gustav Wolters, Dortmund, Germany;
798,086.
Mining machine, E. R. Merrill, Columbus, Ohio,
assignor to J. A. Jeffrey, same place; 798,108.
Same, assignor to same, 798,201.
Coal separating machine, W. S. Ayres, Hazleton,
Pa.; 798,315.
Coal screen and slater, Francois Allard, Chatelineau,
Belgium; 798,381.
Coal separating machine, W. S. Ayres, Hazleton,
Pa.; 798,385.
Reel for mine locomotives. Harris Booker, California,
Pa.; 798,389.
Blasting compound, Gustav Dittmar, Washington,
D. G; 798.398.
Mine door. L. L. Logan, Johnstown, Pa.; 798.518.
Coal separator, James Pollock, Wilkes-Barre,
Pa.; 798,622.
Mine gate, N. K. Bowman, North Lawrence, O.;
798,657.
Blasting powder. W. A. Gill. Tarrytown. N. Y.,
assignor to Rendrock Powder Co., New York; 798,-
7S0.
Coal storing and screening apparatus, L. 11.
Hewitt, Cortland, N. Y.; 798,791.
in each deck. Weight of cage 1\'2 tons of 2,240
lbs.; of four empty tubs 15% cwt.: weight of coal
in the four tubs 1.41 tons. Time taken in actual
winding is 2 minutes, or inclusive of changing
tubs 2 : The deepest coal shaft in America is about
1,850 feet. In England one mine is 3,400 feet
deep and there are a number over 2,400
feet. In Belgium the greatest depth attained is
at the Produits colliery, where the shaft is 3,773
feet deep. The experience gained at these depths
proves the possibility of working down to 4,000
feet, and under some conditions of approaching
5,000 feet. Temperature is one of the chief difficulties
in such mining, but hoisting problems will
also arise. The Belgian mine is the deepest in
;i minutes. The guides in the shaft are
the world from which coal is being hoisted.
iron rails.
For the past seven years the average annual increase
in the number of new mines in West Virginia
has been nearly 63.