1898 - Coalmininghistorypa.org

422 REPORT OP THE BUREAU OF MINES. Off. Doc.all ventilated by fans, and in three of them < oal is hauled by electricmotors. The safety and sanitary condition of these mines is becominji^more satisfactory each year, inasmuch as greater efforts arebeing' made to keep up good drainage and ventilation, v/hich is thesecret of economy in mining, a fact which I am glad to note more ofthe mining people are ascertaining each year.Bens Creek Mines.—About the oldest collieries on the Alleghenymountains are at this ]»()int. Of the live workings only two of themare of long life, the others being nearly worked out, most of theadvancing work being done. All of the miues except one are ventilatedby fans.Lilly Mines.—Four in number, arejill ventilated by fans exceptone, Avhich is a small operation, employing from 25 to 30 men, andnot having a very favorable system of mining for conducting airthrough the workings, the ventilation is Tiot up to the standard.The other three mines have in operation the most improved plansfor conducting air through the workings, and, with fans to produceventilation, are of course in very satisfactory condition as tothe state of the atmosphere in the working quarters, as well as todrainage.At Cresson.—There is but one mine, that being a shaft, which isthe deepest in the district—:5()0 feet—and is now being sunk stilldeeper from the bottom of the air shaft to the lower coal bed, theB, or Miller seam, which is 200 feet below llie bottom of the presentshaft. As will be seen, this will have the great deptJi of 500 feetwhen completed.CJallitzin Mines.—There are located here a slope and a shaft, bothlarge operations, employing over 250 men each inside the workings.They are operated on the most improved plans of hauling, ventilationp.nd drainage, and consequently are in very satisfactory condition.The slope is a comi)lete machine mine, all the digging being doneby machinery driven by electricity, which also does the hauling.The shaft operators contemplate i)utting in the same power.Patton Mines.—In two of the six collieries in operation at or nearthis place, the coal is dug by electric machines, in one by compressedair, while the others aic ])ick mines. Ventilation is ])roducedin three of them by fans and in the rest by furnaces. Thesanitary condition of all is vciy lair, except that some of them havenot split the air ])roi)erly, thereby causing the current in some]*arts of the work to be rather impure, as the splits -mm allowed tocome together l)efore they get to the main return, thus giving some ofthe men imjiure air, although there may be plenty of fresh air passingover them. This evil is being corrected slowly by better systemsof si>litting the air, which I ex])ect soon to see universally adoptedin the district. This criticism can be applied to a few other minesas well.