Show im IN IN IN I 1 a IN ON lot lot lei IN IN IN lei ININ to im lei IN IN lei lei IN IN IN im loll 1011 IN im IN too ON IN 10 1 0 IN 2 Z 11 mint n 0 rn arv r s branal A R r ar I 1 11 oa oa lor lo 10 janeie Jn eie cat cal oa oa II 11 1 9 no subject is of more interest to the capitalists ita lists and of such vital importance for the successful operation of mining enterprises than the curtailing of expenses or the maintenance of a maximum output at a minimum cost how many mines are there throughout the several mining centers of the world that have become monuments to nis mismanagement management and to which the timid I 1 investor n points as an example of what results from incompetent supervision and gross extravagance trava gance on the part of the officials mining is nothing more or less than a business in which the element of chance plays an important pan pair and admitting the possibility of the pin pinching ehing out of an ore body the loss of the vein through faulting and such like difficulties over which one has absolutely no control it behooves the management to exercise the strictest economy in all the branc branches bes of the work the possession of a high grade ore shoot does not warrant extravagance in mining it the announcement made by the governing board of the salt lake stock exchange that they would try to induce the next session of the state legislature to compel all mining companies to publish a full statement of the condition of their mines both physically and finan financially clany is worthy of the support of everyone interested in mining operations it would give confidence to the timid investor and might promote friendly discussion between the several operators and so indirectly be the means of reducing the cost sheets it would probably be of much more value to the profession if itemized statements were forthcoming showing the cost for each operation connected with the mining of a ton of ore to obtain the best results at lowest cost the manager must have competent workmen and the way to make the men proficient is to pay them according to the work they perform it has been my general experience peri ence that when once the tha men are familiar with the working of the contract system results are far more satisfactory both to the employer and employee the miners working on contract learn to think for themselves knowing that mistakes in their work are paid tor for out of their own pockets close observance of the occurrence of minerals and the physical characteristics acte of the rocks Is encouraged and anything that tends to educate the miner to raise a man above the common level of a machine by giving him confidence in himself and interest in his work with a just reward tor for his labors is a step in tho the right direction the operation of the contract system necessitates a little additional work on the part of the mine forerun fore nun and the keeping of a few more books li but this Is more than offset by the knowledge that the men are doing their best without constant watching another advantage is that it does away entirely with a fixed scale of wages thus considerably reducing the possibility ties of strikes and labor complications in germany the coa contract tract system of mining is probably more generally used than in any other country the driving of levels of ore bodies hoisting timbering in fact anything and everything that can possibly be let out on contract IS worked in that way A brief description of the system I 1 adopted in the lead mines of pfaffenberg and iseberg Me Mel anhalt ahalt germany may be of interest to those working similar deposits in this country the vein varied considerably in width but seldom exe exceeded ceded fifty feet in the of the ore bodies or in the driving of a level a ganger is appointed to each gang of men working in the same place he takes the contract and is ra responsible for the work done receiving a little additional pay for the responsibility the bangers are always competent and intelligent miners the greatest care has to be exercised in putting a price on the ground before going 0 underground on irea measuring suring day I 1 would calculate the amount of ground each gang of men should have broken during the month to make reasonable wages let us assume that a fair w wage age is 3 a day referring to the shift book I 1 find that full shifts have been worked by the gang of men during the month the deduction for powder candles fuse etc amounts to say 30 and the bangers gan gers feo fea is 5 the calculation is as follows shifts at 3 deductions 35 required for each man to earn 3 per shift previously measured during the month cubic feet at t 60 cubic feet at 30 total go 90 balance to be made up requiring at the last contract price of the loc per cubic foot 2350 cubic feet to have been excavated since the last measurement the comparison of this figure with the result of the new measurement will fur nizia a guide as to the price to be fixed for the new contract there are three factors in the measurement of a height width and length it often happens that one of these can be considerably altered by a ju judicious niclous glance around on the bope measure up the two which cannot be altered and find what must be measured for the third to give the requisite number of cubic feet this cannot always be done but it acts well in many cases and to a certain extent controls the cost A copy of a sample sheet of the contract book used in germany is given below contra contract axt ct book slope 3 price explosives sh shifts ats 2 dimension 0 money K st per 0 tj q tj 0 9 f S co a i 5 CD n earned asb CD in 0 p S 0 5 M B S li ti month CD CD 0 TO n w P CD B CD remarks CD 6 sm tr cr B 0 0 0 1 B 0 y 55 M per oe o d 0 E p r c R 0 S c 1 I CD 0 shift t 25 ff y 0 0 2 m 0 m m kg kg 5 m pt m m m i cf east 38 january 75 5 40 2 66 96 58 41 j february 50 4 50 70 2 70 62 40 18 march 5 00 50 6 50 2 0 90 5 55 5 42 1761 having measured up wint what has been earned in the previous month it now remains to make a new contract several points have to be taken into consideration such as the condit condition lon of the walls height of nature of vein filling presence of fissures and past exper experience fenee with similar ground on making a contract it is necessary to have the starting point fixed the length is measured elthea faoro a fixed point in one of the walls or from a weighted string suspended from the roof the width is measured by taking the average of say three places from the hanging banging to the foot wall the measure being held at right angles to the dip of the vein the height is more troublesome to measure at a reasonable distance in from the face of the two plugs are inserted one in the hanging and the other in the foot wall A tape Is stretched between anem and at successive intervals of about three feet the distance between the tape and ane conf of the is measured in lines parallel to the walls and noted at the end of the month the tape Is again stretched between the slimp rime two points and the new heights height obtained the average of the differences between the two sets of measurements represents the height to which the has benn ben worked having measured up all the it is a very simple matter to find out each mans earnings and prepare the pay bille billa As aa 1 said before it necessitates a little extra work and a certain amount of 0 care are on the die part of the theman man ager and his assistants but compared with the benefits derived from this system of working this extra trouble is of small amount in the letting of a c it should be understood by the men that the roof and walls are to be kept in a safe condition and that certain lines are to be followed otherwise they will work only such portions of the lode as are easy to bleak and will often disregard the all important point of keeping the safe and so c cd adaner aner the lives of themselves and their fellow workmen in their desire to make big bg wages where very big stops are being worked rhe unit can be made vile the square set I 1 have tried several methods of letting contracts basing the contract on the tonnage n of ore sent to the ore bins per ton of rock broken bercu per chac yard scoped per I 1 linear inear foot of advance in headings and the hole contract system in every case I 1 have found that contracts set on the amount of ground broken bro ken ir in and the linear foot advance in headings have been most satisfactory both to the contractor and to the company for a discuss discussion ibn oi of the operation of the hole contract system see trans american inot min engs vol cl 1 1 page 1005 |