Show the coal industry of utah BY 0 H GIBBS utah produced tons of coal during the twelve months ending november 30 1914 tons less than was produced during the preceding twelve months practically the entire output comes from the castle valley coal field in carbon emery and grand counties A small tonnage for local consumption was produced in the coalville Co Cot alville district in summit county and a number of wagon mines operated at scattering points in the state such as the reservation country and in the iron kane county field with these exceptions the entire output came from the castle valley field in carbon emery and grand counties following is a list of principal operating mines of utah showing tonnage produced location of mine and company owning same company utah fuel company utah fuel company utah fuel company utah fuel company utah fuel company U S smelt min alin co cos s coal int U S smelt min co cos s coal int U S smelt min alin co s coal int U S smelt min alin co s coal int independent coal coke company spring canyon coal company cameron coal company standard coal company american fuel company it can be seen from the total tonnage that per cent of the coal mined in utah came from the castle valley coal field this is primarily due to the fact that coal from this region is a very high grade clean bituminous coal which stands transportation handling and weathering well the coal seams mined are thick uniform in quality high in heating value and remark abaly low in ash and sulphur these qualities largely account for the ability of utah coals to enter the markets on the pacific coast and in the northwest although they geologist salt lake city have to be sold at a higher price than competing coals from coast points or foreign countries taking e the tariff off foreign coals has been a very serious handicap for utah in the coast markets hard year for coal dealers the past year has been a trying one in some respects for the coal operators of utah due primarily to a largely increased output capacity both from old mines and through new mines entering the market coupled with edth the demoralizing effect the european war has had on general business especially metal mining the mining companies and smelters shelters sm elters tributary to the utah coal field are large consumers of coal following the curtailment necessary in the copper industry and to a lesser extent in the silver lead a large portion of the market has temporarily been cut off name of mine aline tonnage county castle gate carbon plear clear creek carbon winter quarters carbon utah mine aline carbon sunnyside Sunny side carbon hiawatha carbon black hawk carbon panther carbon Al mohrland emery kenilworth carbon storrs i carbon cameron carbon standard carbon grand nineteen hundred fourteen was the first firs t year in which the limitations of the market for utah coal was seriously felt heretofore c coal oal operators have been more or less hampered during the fall and winter seasons by lack of maximum transportation facilities owing to the completion of the double track detour line over soldier summit by the denver and rio grand railroad company no such difficulties were experienced in the year past and in fact there is little possibility of such a shortage occurring in the future this heretofore annual shortage of railroad cars created with many people a very misleading idea as to i the possibilities of a large utah coal mar inar tj ket it has unquestionably leato led to the open ing and equipping of coal mines far beyond b rf the needs of the present markets for utah f c oal coal and is shown very plainly by the e fact i that the utah mines only worked a an averl age of days during the past year the 1 large increase in the number of operating mines and the increased tonnage from froin old er properties is such that it is safe to say utah mines when worked at full capacity could increase the coal production of the state 50 per cent without any additional equipment or underground development overproduction led to a very strenuous effort on the part of all the operators to widen the market for utah coals especially along the pacific coast and in the northwest As mentioned heretofore the removal of the tariff from coal has had a very detrimental effect on the sales of the utah coals in the cities of the west coast due largely to australian and japanese coals underselling our product new mines and improvements notable developments in the castle valley coal field were the opening and developing of the cameron panther and standard mines all of which have modern up to date plants in addition the in dependent coal coke company built a new steel tipple at kenilworth Kenil worthy and the U S smelting smelling Sm elting refining ning and mining alining coni com banys coal interests installed a new steel tipple at black hawk to handle the product of the black hawk and hiawatha mines the utah fuel company very largely increased the capacity of its castle gate mines where work is rapidly under way to bring the coal production of its mines to a capacity of tons per day at clear creek a very extensive piece of development work has been under way involving the opening of a new mine across a faulted zone from the present mine this work consisted of driving two rock tunnels each 1800 feet in length and the opening of an entirely new coal area on such a scale as to bring the clear creek mine output up to a total of 2000 tons per day labor conditions were tranquil throughout the th utah coal field during the year which emphasizes the fact that utah coal mining companies pay their employees well and that living conditions in the ole camps are good the system of paying the coal mining companies employees twice a month instead of once a month as heretofore ws inaugurated during the year and added adde another advanced movement in the inter est of the men safety precautions another feature which probably has an all important bearing on the favorable attitude of the miners towards the coal companies is that safety precautions taken in uta utah are exceptionally good two features of utah coal mining practice which have a very important bearing on the safety of our mines is the sprinkling system used by all mines in the state and the electric shot firing system controlled from without the mine and used in all mines where there I 1 is s any danger of explosion from gas or dust under this shot firing system every charge in a mine is detonated by throwing a switch at the mine portal after all men have left tho the underground workings there is another very important element in utah coal mining safety that is the hearty cooperation between the state coal mine inspectors office and the operators and the further fact that the state coal mine inspector and his assistants are men thoroughly conversant with coal mining conditions who invariably lend every effort towards increasing the safety of the mines the cooperation of the state mine inspect tor and the operators is reflected in the low accident rate of the utah mines when the extreme thickness of the coal seams is considered record is admirable the liability to accident in a coal seam averaging from fourteen to sixteen feet in thickness is many anany times greater than in the ordinary eastern seams running from four to seven feet in conjunction with the safety first movement the operators have inaugurated and trained first aid teams at the sev eral mines on july the utah fuel company held a first aid contest for its employees at castle gate teams from all its utah mines as well as the somerset mine in colorado competed the ability and speed displayed by the first aid men deserved and received unstinted applause the first prize was a handsome silver loving cup won by the castle gate no 2 mile team of four mien men later in the year a second first aid contest was held under the auspices of the emery carbon county fair association teams from all the mines in castle valley field competed the first prize being again won by the castle gate no 2 mine team of four men the mine operators are in every way endeavoring to encourage the men in taking first aid training along this line concrete underground hospitals are being installed in the mines these hospitals are fitted with every convenience necessary to care for a seriously injured man even in case it be necessary for the doctors to perform a serious operation heretofore it has been necessary to remove an injured man from the underground workings to surface before such surgical work could be performed utah may well point with pride to its excellent coal mining record excellent quality of product produced and the good living conditions of the mining companies employees |