1168 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. June 6, 1913. LUHRIG COAL AND ORE DRESSING APPLIANCES LTD. Screening Plant and Coal Washery at Binley Colliery. jing/es 'jingles I £ Plan of Surface Arrangements at the Binley Colliery. Pi INLEY COLLIERY, the property of Messrs. Merry & Cuninghame Ltd., comprises an estate of upwards of 3,000 acres, and is situated on the Warwickshire coalfield, some three miles from Coventry. The colliery sidings join up to the London and North-Western Railway main line between Coventry and Brandoii, so that at present Binley is the nearest colliery to the Metropolis. It has, indeed, in the main, been laid out to cater for the requirements of the London market. The screening plant and coal washery were designed and erected by the Luhrig Coal and Ore Dressing Appliances Limited, of London and Glasgow. The vibrating screens are constructed in two sections, oscillating on ash hangers at a speed suitable for classifying the coal into three classes— viz., “large coal,” “cobbles,” and “smalls,” each class passing to its respective table. The large coal goes to a “ Luhrig ” bar picking belt, 100 ft. in length and 4 ft. 6 in. wide, from whence the “ house ” coal or “ best ” is carefully handled and placed into wagons. The “steam” coal or “hards,” a second-class coal, is loaded into separate wagons. The stone and refuse is loaded into an underground trolley for conveyance to the tip. The “ cobbles ” coal, which has been classified by the screen, is carried by conveyor to a bar picking band, where all impurities are eliminated and the clean coal delivered by automatic lowering arm to wagons. The “smalls,” 3in. to Oin., go to a storage hopper of 40 tons capacity, and this class is afterwards treated by the w.et or washing process. The washery is situated adjoining the screening plant, and is on the “ Luhrig ” system. The arrangement consists of a bucket elevator for raising the mixed smalls from the hopper, which is fed by the cross conveyor from the screens, but provision is also made for hydraulically tipping the trucks into the hopper, in the event of the washer standing, when the trucks would be loaded at the screens. The elevator raises the smalls to the top floor of the building, on which is fixed an improved rotary screen having three mantles for classification. This screen is enclosed in sheet-steel casing for retention of dust. The small sizes are there separated into five classes— viz., large nuts (3 in. to l£in.), small nuts (2 in. to l|in.), beans (l|in. to | in.), peas (£in. to |in.), and fine coal or boiler fuel (| in. to 0 in.). The iseveral classes pass by gravity through shutesi'to their respective jigs, each constructed for treatment of its special class, the latter two classes being dealt with in “felspar” jigs, whilst the three former are treated in the coarse grain jigs; in all there are eight compartments in a combined form built on cast iron plates, and fitted with actuating machinery for the agitators, together with valves for inlet of water and outlet of refuse. The special feature of this improved “Luhrig” system lies in its combined form of a rectangular tank and separate compartments for the various classes, allowing all refuse to be collected and elevated by one elevator common to all compartments. The different classes, after elimination of refuse, are carried by water to vibrating screens, where the water is drained off and the “nuts” are sprayed with clean water and delivered to hoppers underneath, and over wagon ways; from thence the products are loaded for despatch. The water from the smudge and peas jigs flows by gravity through a 12 in. main to a “Luhrig” automatic coal recovery tank, 60ft. by 10ft., which is situated at the end of the boiler range. The recovered coal is delivered into a well, from whence it is raised by a self-draining bucket elevator and delivered to a pan conveyor, which travels the length of the boiler range, and is fitted with self-discharging bottom doors. The clear water from the recovery tank is returned by gravitation to the sump of the centrifugal pump, which supplies the washery. It will thus be seen that this system utilises tae same water repeatedly, and limits the quantity of water required for the washing process. The refuse is elevated from the jigs by a bucket elevator, and delivered to an outside storage hopper. The washery system is actuated by a British-Thomson-Houston 100- horse power motor, and the machinery in connection with the recovery tank by a 15-horse power Westinghouse motor, the drive in this instance being by belt through a David Brown reduction gear. The buildings comprise storage hopper for unwashed slack above and below rail level (the latter for facilitating delivery from wagons). The main washery building is of steel structural work, with brick side walls and floors covered with steel i chequered plates. The hoppers are inside the building. The whole arrangement is in a most compact form, and is erected to treat 500 tons per day of eight hours, with ample space in the building for the erection of a second similar unit. The complete installation of the colliery has been under the supervision of Messrs. Merry & Cuninghame’s general manager, Mr. John Hogg, M.E., with the Luhrig Coal and Ore Dressing Appliances Ltd. as engineers.