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The 72nd Regular Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute convened at The Mark Conference Center, Lionshead Village, Vail, Colorado, and was in session at 10:00 a.m. Past President Roy Coulson, President Kemmerer Coal Company, Frontier, Wyoming, called the meeting to order. He introduced Robert W. Wilson, President of the Institute 1975-1976. Bob's biography follows: Born August 20, 1923 in Washington, D.C.; P-47 Fighter Pilot for three years with the U.S. Air Corps, flying 101 missions, Discharged October 1945; Married Barbara J. Polley August 1945 in Golden, Colorado; Moved to Colorado in 1948; Parents of two sons, Alan born in 1948 and Russell (deceased); Now residents of Conifer, Colorado and planning retirement on ranch property in Santa Rita, New Mexico; His education consists of Elementary and High School in Arlington, Va.; Two years at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Va.; B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana 1948; Business-Salesman for K&P, Inc. since 1949, President and Owner since 1968; Representatives for T. J. Gundlach Co., Johnson-March Corp., Ramsey Engineering Co., Omni-Lift, Smoot Company, Sweco, Inc. and FMC-Syntron; Member, RMCMI since 1957, Served as Registration Chairman, Reservation Chairman, Member of the Executive Board and Vice President for Colorado; Member, Society Mining Engineers (AIME), Colorado Mining Association, New Mexico Mining Association, Industries for Jefferson County, and Denver Coal Club.

Jan 1, 1976

PRESIDENT HERRES: Our ses¬sions this afternoon will be on safety. They will be under the direction of Mr. Dan Harrington, who has come here from Washington, D. C., particularly to preside at these meetings. I do not think Mr. Harrington needs any introduction to anyone present. He is a member of both the A. I. M. E., and the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute, and has been for a great many years. The Rocky Mountain District is his old stamping ground. I take pleasure in turning the meeting over to Mr. Harrington. (Ap¬plause.) DAN HARRINGTON (Chief Engineer, Safety Division, U. S. Bureau of Mines, Washington, D. C.): Gentlemen, I suppose you have rather a long program, so there is no necessity for any introductory remarks. Inasmuch as I have rather a long-winded paper of my own, I presume the best thing I can do is to go ahead and read it. Mr. Herres asked me some time ago if I would preside here, and also have a paper, or at least have something to say to the Institute on safety. I thought it best to put whatever I had to say in written form, so I would know exactly what I had said and so I would be able to, if necessary, defend it later on.

Jan 1, 1929

Mr. Robert Von Storch opened the meeting at 9:00 a.m. Mr. Von Storch: As a matter of fact, I am very much surprised to see many of these faces. The way you were acting last night I did not expect to see so many but you are evidently all right, and survived. This morning's session is the ?RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT? theme, and our first speaker- (and we made a little switch) - is Jack Huebler, Associate Director, Research Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, Ill. The switch is because of a projector problem. Jack Huebler was born in Michigan and received degrees in Chemical Engineering and Mathematics from the University of Michigan in 1941. He joined the Surface Combusion Corp. immediately and was with them for 20 years, rising to the head of research. He took leading roles in the invention and development of many heat using processes involving gas chemistry combustion and metallurgy. The now famous Erie Mining Taconite Pellet Process was one of these. He pioneered in gas carburizing and in the preparation and use of prepared atmospheres. He specialized in the heat transfer aspects of many new industrial metal heating processes. He left Surface 5 years ago to join IGT.

Jan 1, 1966

By L. Ross Weber

Gentlemen and guests of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute: This is the thirty-second regular meeting of our Institute, and rather than try to make some extemporaneous remarks, I thought it best to write them out, so I could in that way give them to you, and probably give you a new thought for the future conduct of our Institute. The thirty-first regular meeting of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute was held in Salt Lake City, June 22, 23, and 24, 1932, and due to rapidly changing conditions in the coal industry, subsequent meetings have been postponed from time to time, as many of our members and our Secretary have been tied up with code and labor matters. Since our last meeting, at which was discussed problems of vital interest to all of us, especially the production and marketing of coal safely and economically, and the stabilization of our industry, which has already suffered two years of deplorable conditions, almost two more years have been added to the record, but during the past six months miracles have happened, and an industry which formerly was unable to govern itself, has now, through the aid of our Government, at least learned how to make a proper start in that direction. Whether we like it or not, and whether or not the things being done are in agreement with our various political beliefs, without doubt, we are in a much better position today than prior to this transformation. However, it is a pleasure to all of us to note that safety has not been lost sight of in the interim, and without doubt, as later papers and statistics will substantiate, the period since our last regular meeting has probably shown the most remarkable safety achievement of any period in recent history.

Jan 1, 1934

The Tuesday Morning session opened at 9:00 a.m. and was presided over by Mr. E. C. DeMoss, Vice President, Utah Construction & Mining Company, San Francisco, California. Mr. DeMoss introduced Mr. C. Howard Hardesty, Jr., Senior Vice President, Con¬tinental Oil Company, New York, N. Y. Mr. Hardesty spoke on the "Relationship of Coal to Progress in Oil Industry." Mr. Hardesty was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, 1922. He is an attorney by profession; he attended Mercerburg Academy in 1939 and received a Bachelor of Science degree from Duke University, 1943. He then served three years in the U. S. Navy and returned in 1946 to obtain his LL.B. from West Virginia University in 1949. Mr. Hardesty has had an outstanding professional career which started as a partner of the law firm of Furbee & Hardesty, Fairmont, West Virginia. He subsequently was West Virginia's State Tax Commissioner and President of the West Virginia Bar Association. In 1963 lie became General Counsel of Consolidation Coal Co., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; in 1964 he was made Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel, Consolidation Coal. In 1966 he was elected Executive Vice President of Consol, and, shortly after it was merged with Continental Oil Co., he was made Senior Vice President of Continental. He is married to the former Doris Wilson; they have two children and reside in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Jan 1, 1968

By G. A. Knox

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: The subject assigned to me would cover a great many pages if it were gone into thoroughly. Therefore. I have just touched on a few of the most important points. I think that everyone engaged in the production of commercial coal understands all about its preparation, but I will set forth my views as to how I believe it is best accomplished. In order to produce the best prepared coal, your first attention should be to the miner at the working face. The most careful system of blasting should be adopted to avoid heavy charging of holes which results in the shattering of the coal. The lump, or any other screened sizes that may be screened from coal that has been improperly shot, are subject to greater degradation in transportation and handling, as well as reducing screened sizes, which results in dissatisfied customers in the first case, and lower realization in the latter.

Jan 1, 1928

Bowdil Co. Bucyrus-Erie Co. Coal Age Coal Mining Cobre Tire Dresser Construction FMC Corp. T. J. Gundlach Machine Co. Ingersoll-Rand Joy Mfg. Co. K&P Sales Engineers, Inc. Kennametal Lively Mfg. Co. Long Airdox Co. MSA McLanahan Corp. National Mine Service Co. Page Engineering Co. Plateau Supply, Inc. Pyramid Parts Scandura, Inc. TIC Utah International Utah Power & Light Co. Western Energy Co.

Jan 1, 1986

The morning session opened at 9:00 a.m. and was presided over by Mr. George A. Nugent, Manager Mining Division, Peter Kiewit Sons' Company, Sheridan, Wyoming. The first speaker was Mr. Jack Huebler, Vice President Research, Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Huebler joined IGT in 1961 as Director of IGT's contract research program, a major part of which is IGT's extensive coal gasification work. He is also an adjunct associate professor at Illinois Institute of Technology, teaching gas utilization. Before joining IGT, Mr. Huebler spent 20 years with Surface Combustion Corporation where he was chief research engineer. He developed, designed, and constructed a wide variety of heat processing equipment and the associated chemical processes and was involved in applied research in heat treating, gas chemistry, and gas-solids reactions. He has carried out extensive research on the heat treating of ferrous metals, oil gasification and gas combustion, and has made major contributions to the development, construction, and operation of large-scale industrial furnace equipment. He received B.S. degrees in 10th chemical engineering and mathematics from the University of Michigan in 1941. He has 60 publications including 15 patents. He is also a world traveler in the field of engineering. Mr. Huebler's subject "Gasification of Western Coals." (See Index for printed text of Mr. Huebler's paper.)

Jan 1, 1972

By Constance Holmes

President Lien presented Mrs. Holmes with the first of speaker appreciation gifts presented by his firm Amax Coal West, Inc. These were books by Rand-McNally entitled The Executive Golfer Guide. Following the coffee break, Clark Moseley presented the first annual Institute Safety Achievement Awards for the safest mines in the eight member state region. The awards were based on: 1. Total man-hours 2. Total number of lost time accidents 3. Incidence rate 4. Number of S&S violations 5. Description of safety program 6. Safety awards received 7. Health and safety training efforts 8. Safety Policies 9. Does the operation take employee suggestions and implement them? 10. Letter(s) of commendation from agencies individuals The awards were judged by the senior/graduate level class of Mine Safety & Health at the Colorado School of Mines under the supervision of professor Edward Hollop. The two handsome traveling trophies were awarded to and accepted by: Surface: Big Sky Mine. Colstrip, Montana Gordon Brannon, Manager of Safety Underground: Skyline Mine, Scofield, Utah Dave Hales. Safety Supervisor and Doug Johnson, General Production [ ]

Jan 1, 1998

The Wednesday morning session was opened by President Stanley Shuhart at 9-30 a.m. He called the Chairman of the Auditing Committee. Kenneth Eaton, to report on the financial statement. Mr. Eaton read the data and asked for its approval. It was made, seconded and approved. John Turner, Chairman of the Resolutions Committee, submitted the following: RESOLVED: Whereas, in the year since the last convention of the Rocky Mountain Coal mining Institute, the Institute and the cool mining industry generally have suffered the loss through death of the services of: Walter M. Bellairs F. V. Colombo, M.D. George R. Delamater J. H. East, Jr. E. W. Felegy Hugo H. Machin Archie M. Morrison George E. Mills Veloy K. Piccioni

Jan 1, 1969

President-elect Bob Wilson opened the business meeting at 9:30 a.m. He called on Shirl C. McArthur to report on the financial statement of the treasurer. He read the data and asked for its approval. A motion was made, seconded and approved. The Resolutions Committee was called upon to make its report. The following resolutions were submitted: (1) RESOLVED: WHEREAS, in the year since the last convention of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute, the Institute and the coal mining industry have suffered the loss through death of the services of: J. S. Besser Harry Brophy Walter E. Burleson A. F. Geiger Wilbur J. Gunther Albert W'. Holmes Harold Levene Larry Littlejohn David H. Michael Carmal Patton Charles M. Schloss Ira R. SigMan

Jan 1, 1975

BHP-Utah International, Inc. Coal Magazine Crane & Hoist Sales, Inc. Cummins Southwest, Inc. Cyprus Coal Company Harnischfeger Corporation Hemscheidt Corporation Jennmar Corporation Joy Technologies, Inc. K&P Sales Engineers, Inc. Kennametal, Inc. Kerr McGee Coal Corporation McLanahan Corporation National Mine Service Company The North American Coal Corporation Peabody Coal Company Pittsburg & Midway Coal Mining Co. Roberts & Schaefer Company Santa Fe Pacific Coal Corporation Southern Pacific Lines Tamarron Resort Utah Power & Light Company Utility Fuel

Jan 1, 1991

By Vern Pfannenstiel

Jan 1, 2005

By Richard M. Whiting

Thank you very much for that introduction. I spent part of my early career in the coal industry here in Colorado, and I am always happy to return. In such a beautiful setting, it seems out of place to talk about "Improving the Climate". But in our work-a-day worlds, we know the climate for the coal industry is something less than picture perfect. But unlike Mother Nature's climate, there are some things we can do about the climate for coal. Today, I want to talk to you about sonic of the activities that we are engaged in... and that you can support... to improve that climate. A number of challenges and opportunities face our industry. I will try to set the stage for this conference by briefly describing the current climate for coal - which is indeed very challenging. I will then outline some of the steps we are taking to broaden our base to include our allies in the rail and electricity industries and the public at large.

Jan 1, 2000

By Bob Burnham

Agenda 1 Overview of forecasting process 2 Review of Pre and Post Recession Forecasts 3 US Demand/Supply Summary 4 Coal Demand by Region 5 Coal Distribution by Census Region 6 Coal Price Outlook 7 Carbon Cases 8 Takeaways

Jan 1, 2009

By John Bevan

In a discussion of the personal dangers that may arise from mine gases, it is necessary to take into consideration the gases which may result from an underground fire, or a fire in or about the downcast shaft, and the methods of avoiding or minimizing the danger arising therefrom. In all cases of the combustion of carbonaceous material such as coals and timber, carbon dioxide and water vapor are formed. In cases where the air supply is limited, some carbon monoxide is produced, the quantity varying with the readiness with which the oxygen from the air can get into intimate contact with the consuming carbon; in addition to these products there may be produced large volumes of irritating fumes consisting of unconsumed vapors' distilled from the burning material. Apart from the physical distress that may be caused by the irritant action of the fumes, the chief danger to life underground arising from a fire in or about the downcast shaft or intake airways is due to the carbon monoxide which the smoke is almost certain to contain. The physiological effects of this gas have already been discussed in mining papers and ref¬erence should be made to this. The prevention of fires at the surface near to the mouth of the downcast shaft, or in the shaft itself, or at the bottom of the shaft, usually lies outside the duties of the fireboss. An outbreak of fire at such places would, however, immediately foul the air current passing into the mine, and, assuming the men were in the mine, create a situation demanding urgent attention of the fireboss. As a rule, each case of fire creates its own problems, but in all cases the guiding principle should be to restrict the poison-laden 'air to the smallest part of the mine that is practicable, by opening separation doors, or breaking down selected stoppings at the most accessible points near the seat of the fire, so that the gases and smoke may pass directly into the return and so to surface. In the case of a shaft fire it will have the effect of fouling both shafts and in the case of a fire in an intake airway, both roadways leading to the shafts. It requires the use of some judgment. Therefore, in circumstances as to whether men inside the mine should attempt to escape to the shafts or should remain in the mine, and attempt to protect themselves from the poisonous air by suitably short circuiting the air-current and retiring from the main air-ways. In order to make such restraint easier, it is very desirable that all mines should be equipped with telephone communication from all sections of the mine to the surface so that men in the mine may be informed of what is being done at the surface to secure their safety, or instructed as to what they themselves should do. In cases of fire in or about the shafts, the question of the reversal of the air-current will probably arise. Should this be decided on by the management at the surface, the fireboss in the mine may have to give some attention to the effects which this action will have on the circulation of the

Jan 1, 1922

By Wm. Moorhead

Safety Measures Employed at the Dawson Mines Preventive measures for eliminating and localizing explosions is a subject of special interest to Coal Mining operators at the present time. I shall endeavor in this paper to present the practical methods which have been developed at the mines of the Stag Canon Branch of the Phelps-Dodge Corporation, Dawson, New Mexico. Adobe Dusting Adobe is used for practically all dusting on the main haulage roads. It is obtainable in sufficient quantities adjacent to the mines. Loaded into railroad cars by a clam-shell loading crane, and transferred to the mine pit cars at the nearest available point, it is readily distributed along the motor roads by means of the mine locomotives. Of first consideration for adobe dusting is the preparation of the roadway. It is essential that all loose coal and dust be removed, at least to a depth of three or four inches below the top of the rails. The adobe, in a more or less moist condition is unloaded by hand from the pit cars and stored along the previously prepared roadway, to be later scattered to a depth of several inches over the floor, and over the ribs and roof such as is possible by the use of a shovel. The adobe soon loses its moisture and becomes pulverized. Due to the disturbance caused by passing motor trips, men and animals, the dust is effectively scattered along the ribs and roof of the roads. The velocity of the intake air aids materially in sustaining the suspension of this inert matter. Another scheme for distributing the fine dust in use is to chain the top of a pine tree to the rear of the trips, both empty and loaded. Dragging it along the motor roads stirs up the dust and aided by the intake air it is carried for long distances into the workings. The adobe is continually loosened and raked, all rock, coal, etc., being collected in piles and later loaded out in pit cars. One man is employed for each six thousand feet of entry. Dusting Main Return Air-Courses The air-courses are first thoroughly cleaned. All the loose coal and rock is loaded out, the ribs and roof washed down several times. Every five or six hundred feet, the stoppings between the main and return entries are broken through and small doors installed. Blowers are used to force the fine dust into the return air-courses through these openings. Thus suspended the dust travels a considerable distance before it is deposited on the floor, ribs and roof. The material used is chiefly adobe, sun dried, and screened on the outside. A two ton car load of this dust will cover several hundred feet of airway as very little loss occurs, often depositing from 2 to 6 pounds per running foot of entry. Methods of Insertion Blowers are used to force the dust into the main returns. One unit consists of a small Buffalo blower mounted on a truck with a two H. P. motor. A six-inch pipe is attached to the blower and runs the full length of the truck with a projection over the end. A hopper is built over the pipe and connected. Stove pipe or canvas tubing is led from the pipe through door in stopping. When the blower is started dust is fed into the

Jan 1, 1924

PRESIDENT WETZEL: The meeting will come to order. We are pleased to see a few of the more hardy survived last night's-ordeal and are present this morning. The Secretary has some correspondence which he will read. SECRETARY WHITESIDE: Gentlemen, I have a couple of telegrams and a letter which I would like to read to you at this time. First, a telegram addressed to Mr. Wetzel: "Regret greatly necessity canceling my plans to be present at meeting. Appreciate your conveying my best wishes to members for successful and profitable session.

Jan 1, 1942

[Participating Scholarship Colleges and Universities 154 ACZ 149 AmerCable,Inc 144 Andalex Resources, Inc 118 Behre Dolbear & Company, Inc 101 Canyon Fuel Company 145 Commercial Testing & Engineering Company 95 Continental Conveyor 148 Cove Shoes 136-137 Crane & Hoist Sales Inc 121 Crested Butte Mountain Resort 134 Cyprus Amax Minerals Company 115 Dakota Coal Company DriltechInc 135 Empire Machinery Company 94 Energy West Mining Company 122 Fluor Daniel 100 GH Hensley Industries 126. 127 Hitachi Construction Machinery (America) Corp 123 Holme, Roberts & Owen 98 Honnen Equipment Company 150 Ingersoll-Rand Company 141 Jennmar Corporation 142 Joy Mining Machinery - A Harnischfeger Industries Company 104 K & P Sales Engineers, Inc 114 Kennecott Energy Company 155 Kerr-McGee Coal Corporation 96 LeTourneau,Inc 160 Long-Airdox Company 112 Magnum Metals, Inc 133 McLanahan Corporation 129 Mine Technik America 124 Mineral Tech 151 Morrison Knudsen Corporation 97 The North American Coal Corporation 130 Northwestern Resources Company 125 P&H MinePro Services 157 Peabody Western Coal Co 131 Phillips Machine Service, Inc Pincock Allen & Holt 120 Powder River Coal Company 107 Pyro-Chem 156 RamseyTechnology, Inc 119 Rust Tractor Company 90 Salt River Project 91 Savage Industries Inc 89 Schroeder Industries 147 Sheraton Steamboat Resort and Conference Center 111 Skelly & Loy 138 Snowmass Village at Aspen 146 Stamler Corporation (An Oldenburg Group Company) 117 Tamarron Hilton Resort 140 TerraMatrix Inc 139 TIC (The Industrial Company of Wyoming, Inc.) 99 Trapper Mining Inc 106 Wagner Equipment Company 116 Weir International Mining Consultants 113 Westech 152 Wheeler Machinery Company 128]

Jan 1, 1997

PRESIDENT PRYDE: I am sure we have all listened with interest to the presentation of this subject. Anything that promises economy in coal mining today is welcomed by all of us. We will now have a discussion on this paper. If any of you gentlemen want to ask any questions, you may do so. I think we will develop something of interest and along the lines of economy. That is the first consideration of a coal mining man. MR. H. D. RANDALL: It is an interesting fact that in manufacturing we find the greatest economy results from giving a man the simplest possible act to perform, while there is nothing too complicated for a machine. If we want to put up a set screw we find it cheaper to let one man set it up and the other screw it in. The maximum economy is what we are after. Similarly, one of the points of greatest interest which Mr. Ickis has emphasized, is that this automatic equipment not merely dispenses with a manual operator, but also performs certain functions which the operator cannot do. It provides an inherent protection to the apparatus and service not possible under manual operation. We very rarely have cases of failure with these automatic equipments, .and consequently have the advantage not only of having eliminated the operator's salary, but also his mistakes. We have had a large number of these equipments in use for several years, so that their practicality is now thoroughly proven, and the trend of practice now indicates that the automatic idea will be further extended and will become universal for such classes of service. MR. D. C. McKEEHAN (Union Pacific Coal Company) : My notion of an automatic sub-station is one that does not necessarily require new equipment beyond the control equipment; so that any of you that are interested in it can take up with the manufacturers and find out how much it would cost to change any equipment. The greatest point I think is the fact it eliminates the several nationalities from operating the set, either on day shift or night shift. They can so lock the control as to make it impossible for anyone to start or stop it, except the one who has the authority. Another point I do not believe was brought out very clearly: It would be particularly advantageous to people who buy power, and if you could have several sets in parallel, it would allow you to start the shift with one set and cut in the additional sets as the shift progresses. There are various operations that stop at the end of each shift, and-one or two or three sets can be cut out, leaving the load on one set, providing the size of the copper is sufficient to supply all the points of the mine. Another point I want to bring out: In case you have quite a number of sets distributed along transmission line, the switch trips, the operation restores the service, and you may have several hundred-or in case with us, we would have several thousand-K. V. A. of Motor Generator Sets and Rotaries, that would be starting at once, and the switch would automatically trip out again. MR. RANDALL: Another form of control was described as the so-called supervisory control. This control could be started up so the starting would not be synchronous, but could be spread out over a sequence. MR. McKEEHAN: I think that is rather a theoretical consideration for coal miners. They are standing at the controller ready to shut it off unless there is some selective method of starting various sets- MR. RANDALL: I had in mind this supervisory control, one man, a central operator who would determine which station should start and he would take time enough to have his load come on gradually. He would not permit all the installations to come on simultaneously, but come on in succession: MR. McKEEHAN: You misunderstand me. Suppose we had the main switch at Rock Springs, which supplies several camps, and there are several

Jan 1, 1924