Show systematizing OF MINING PRACTICE R R hornor due mainly to conditions brought about by the war the metal mining industry in this country is now passing through one of the most critical stages in its history and is confronted by new problems upon the solution and adjustment of which depends in a large measure its future welfare and prosperity the chief factors contributing to the cost of production are the cost of labor and supplies it is conceded by our leading mine operators managers and engineers that any material reduction in the cost of labor or supplies within possibly the next two or three years cannot be anticipated and it is not thought likely that prewar pre war prices will ever again prevail this being true the mine operator must look in some other direction to effect economics that will lower production costs if this cannot be accomplished it will mean in many instances that mines and metallurgical works will have to be closed and abandoned which will tend to disorganize the entire industry how to lower production costs and still maintain the present high standard of wage is the problem that is engaging the serious attention of mine operators and managers av over er the entire country As a solution to this problem it is thought that the most promising field of investigation vesti gation lies in the direction of systematizing and standardizing mining practice so as to effect economies in the use of both labor and materials in other words to eliminate in so far as possible unproductive effort and waste a and nd thereby secure a maximum of productive results it is not the idea to speed up work or to demand a 9 greater reater effort on the part of the workman but rather so to systematize and standardize the various underground operations that his energy will be directed into more useful and productive channels standardization in speaking of standardization as applied to mining a recent writer on the subject says it points the way to worthwhile worth while mine economics and improved operating efficiency which will go a far to meet the present day demand for lower production costs standardization is not perfection but results show that it is a long and important stride toward that goal it is simply the application of sound common sense to every phase of mining work it aims to ward the elimination of the archaic the wasteful the inefficient and the substitution of principles that have bave stood the acid test of time study and stopwatch stop watch investigation already some of the large mining companies in the west have conducted extensive experiments and research in this direction and the results obtained have furnished conclusive proof of the value of standardization of mining practice and mining equipment for example the phelps dodge corporation under the direction of chas A has made in the past year an exhaustive study of the various underground operations in the companas comp anys mines at bisbee arizona for the purpose of standardizing dard izing the mining practice the results achieved have been most encouraging and show that costs can be lowered even in the face of advancing prices in labor and material method of using shovel more recently G T townsend conducted for the same company at tyrone N M a careful study of shoveling as applied to minin mining 6 mr townsends Town sends tests showed that the majority of the laborers did not know the proper method of using the shovel in spite of the fact that many of them had been shoveling for a living for years by teaching the men correct shoveling methods and by supplying them with shovels of proper weight and size the tonnage in one of the large slopes was raised from 85 tons per man to tons per man an increase or of per cent and at the same time the cost was reduced from 33 cents to 24 cents per ton in the butte district the north butte mining company has so systematized by means of a card system the handling of materials such as timber explosives rails railei pipes etc as to produce a large saving in timber consumption and the use of explosives the saving in powder amounting to approximately 30 per cent as compared with the old time hit or miss system of allowing the miner to use as much powder as lie he pleased it may be seen from the foregoing that standardization of mining practice and equipment and systematization of handling and use of materials offers an unusually promising field for investigation such investigation vesti gation should meet with the approval and cooper co oper hearty support and receive the aaion of the entire mining industry general schedule idea of to give a more comprehensive the scope of the possible investigations the following general schedule is submitted showing some of the principal items affecting the cost of production 1 drilling and blasting 2 distribution and use of supplies 3 handling ore and waste r 4 transportation 5 support 6 drainage 7 ventilation and sanitation lu r 8 lighting and signalling sign alling 9 fire protection and safety 10 type of equipment before any specific line of investigation is planned some of the leading mine operators managers and engineers should be consulted to obtain their council and advice as to the nature and scope of the work to be undertaken and the problems which in their opinion are of the greatest importance drilling and blasting when the study of a specific phase of mining has been decided upon as for example drilling and blasting a clear and comprehensive outline of the work to be undertaken der taken should be furnished the engineer assigned to the investigation the outline should indicate in detail the purpose and scope of the investigation and the kind and character of the information desired thus insuring uniformity in the data collected and prevent waste of time and eff effort art in the collection of data having no direct bearing on the problems being investigated A complete analysis of each step in the operation should be made giving the quantity of labor supplies and power used per ton of ore mined or per ton per man employed where practicable time studies of the various operations should be conducted and the results recorded in appropriate tables and charts also particular attention should be given to special labor saving appliances ances and machines to be accompanied by drawings sketches and photographs finally the results obtained from the study of a specific problem should be published in a uniform series covering a mine group of mines or district as the case may be so that mine managers superintendents and foremen may be able to compare the practice in different districts and thus ascertain how best to improve their own U S bureau of mines reports of investigations |