June 12, 1914. _________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 1307 IRON. The tone of the market was unenterprising. Pig iron smelters are firm in their quotations, preferring to reduce the output rather than make further concessions. South Staffordshire part-mine realises 50s. to 51s., and Derbyshire brands are stiff at 51s. 6d. to 52s. 6d. As regards Northamptonshire iron, values rule at 47s. 6d. to 49s. The demand for high-grade Staffordshire iron is comparatively good, and the old rates are adhered to. There is some irregularity in the best bar trade, though in exceptional cases makers are well booked forward. The basis remains at <£8 10s. There has been no further falling-off in merchant bars. Good second-class qualities of South Staffordshire command <£6 10s., as compared with <£7 to <£7 5s. for North Staffordshire. Nut and bolt iron varies from <£6 2s. 6d. to <£6 5s., a fair proportion being bought at the former rate in competition with Belgian iron, which can be imported at about =£5 2s. 6d. net. The home quotation is subject to a discount of 2} per cent. There is little animation in the galvanised sheet trade, export business being slow and of meagre dimensions. Some makers refuse to entertain less than <£11, but the bulk of the orders are placed at <£10 15s., and even lower prices are reported. Black sheets are in quiet request at <£7 10s. to <£7 12s. 6d. for singles, with an addition of 2s. 6d. for doubles and 12s. 6d. for lattens. The free hand which has been given to strip makers who acted formerly in combination has had practi- cally no effect on the market. In some cases <£6 2s. 6d. is accepted for big orders, but <£6 5s. is the more general quotation. Foilowing the reduction on the north-east coast, revised prices for steel have been brought into force in this district. Plates and angles have both been reduced 5s., making the price for plates <£6 7s. 6d. for small lots, and <£Q 5s. for lots of 100 tons and upwards, and angles <£5 17s. 6d. and <£6. Hednesford. COAL. The coal trade generally throughout the Cannock Chase district continues quiet, but not unusually so for the time of the year. The collieries are working irregularly, some of them doing very little more than half-time. There is an easier tendency in prices. There is very little change in the house coal trade, and the demand for fuel for manufac- turing purposes is much the same as when last reported. A fair business has been done during the past week at the landsale depdts. ________ ________ Forest of Dean. Lydney. COAL. The steam coal pits of the district continue to make good time, practically all of them managing to keep going full time. The output is well placed, and very little stock is to be noticed. Prices show no change. In the house coal department business is about maintained as recently reported; four days’ work per week about meets the demand. Stocks are about an average for the month of the year. Slacks are well placed, and the price of 6s. 6d. is firm. CONTINENTAL MINING MOTES. _____________________________________ Belgium. At Ceuse du Coury, in the new area to the south of the existing basin in Hainault the Compagnie des Charbonnages Beiges have struck 11 seams, of a total thickness of 11} metres at depths ranging from 578 to 1,115 metres from the surface. Prices at pithead. House coals:— Block Current prices. 16/6 15/6 15/9 14/ 6/6 12/6-13/ 8/ - 8/6 L’st week’s prices. 16/6 15/6 15/9 14/ 6/6 12/6-13/ 8/ -8/6 Last year’s prices. 16/6 15/6 15/9 14/ 10/ 13/6-14/ 10/6-11/ Forest Bubble Nuts Bough slack Steam coal:— Large Small Prices Is. 9d. extra f.o.b. Lydney or Sharpness. __________________ THE BY-PRODUCTS TRADE. Tar Products.—The market is quiet, and there is not very much business passing. Benzols and kindred products are steady. Pitch is dull, and tar the turn easier. As regards creosote and crude carbolic acid there has been a change in favour of sellers. Crystals, however, remain unchanged. Nearest values are:— Benzols, 90’s ............................... Do. 50’s ________.'............................ Do. 90’s North ......................... Do. 50’s North .................... ....................... Toluol ..................................... Carbolic acid, crude (60 per cent.) __....... Do. crystals (40 per cent.) ........ Solvent naphtha (as in quality and package)... Crude ditto (in bulk) ...................... Creosote (for ordinary qualities) ............ Pitch (f.o.b. east coast) .................... Do. (f.a.s. west coast) .................... Tar (ex-works, London) .................... ‘>n to /10| /io /10f 1/ltol/H 33/6 to 34/6 32/6 to 33/6 25/ to 29/ /10 [Benzols, toluol, creosote, solvent naphtha, carbolic acids, usually casks included unless otherwise stated, free on rails at maker's works or usual United Kingdom ports, net. Pitch f.o.b. net.] Sulphate of Ammonia.—Business is flat, and there is not the slightest doubt about prices being lower all round. All the same, there is considerable divergence in quotations according to locality and source of origin. Such unnecessary discrepancy indicates the desirability of the proposals recently discussed in London for framing some system or organisation to promote greater unification in the matter of prices. Closing current prompt prices are :—] London (ordinary makes) .......... <£10/15 ............. Beckton (certain terms).............. <£10 Liverpool ......................... <£10/15 to <£10/16/3 Hull................................ <£10/13/9 Middlesbrough..................... <£10/12/6 to <£10/13/9 Scotch ports ....................... <£10/17/6 to <£11/2^6 Nitrate of soda (ordinary) per cwt. ... 9/10A [Sulphate of ammonia, f.o.b. in bags, less 2J per cent, dis- count; 24 per cent, ammonia, good grey quality; allowance for refraction, nothing for excess.] _______________________ France. Our Paris correspondent says : — There is no news of importanceto register in regard to French coal markets this week. For the reasons I have already stated there is no prospect of a fall in prices. There is to be noted a continued disposition to firmness on the part of the German exporters, who are troubled by higher canal freights, coupled with a scarcity of barges. These difficulties are even causing them loss seeing that their practice is to quote delivered prices, that is to say, c.i.f., with engagements as to regularity of quantities. It may also be calculated that the German coal imported into France has about reached its maximum under the present conditions of transport, and unless these are radically modified—which presents great difficulties—it will be difficult for the exporters to increase any effective extent. Under these considerations the French collieries can well afford to stand pat on their present prices. Colliery shares on the Lille Bourse show a better tendency this week as the oil boom tends to slacken. Among the colliery reports this week is the annual statement of Garvin, which seems to anticipate an increased production for the current year. Coal markets in the Centre and Loire districts are as lively as ever, although they begin to feel the effect of the decreased production. In the St. Etienne basin there are absolutely no stocks on hand now, and things will be worse when the new Labour Laws come into force on July 1, for these districts do not appear to be making any preparation for meeting the reduction of output by some system of speeding up such as the Northern coal owners are contem- plating. In its report the St. Etienne Colliery Company states that the convention regarding wages which was come to on July 10, 1913, and which holds good for three years, is working out at about 50 c. per ton more on their cost of production; while the Pension Law, passed by Parliament on February 25 last, whereby miners may retire on 2 fr. a day after the age of 55, is costing them 70,000 fr. a year. As regards the situation in the metallurgical industries, the outlook is more promising. Favourable influence is felt from the reported German combine in the “ B ” products, that is to say small goods, as well as the possibility of a renewal of the Coal Syndicate. In Belgium there has been a rise in the price of bar iron, and, perhaps, most important the Belgian and German Steel Syndicates have come to an agreement not to lower the prices of half-finished products for the third quarter of this year, notwithstanding the reduc- tion in price of pig iron and coke. For the present, however, the big French iron smelters are distinctly dull. Although they have reduced their output, they are still producing more than the demand requires, while the export business is hardly worth their attention at the present low prices. Thus their stocks are accumulating. In the Centre and Loire districts commercial orders are not coming in so briskly, but armaments are booming. Bailway and transport material is also picking up. Big railway orders are confidently expected, but they will probably be for an extended delivery rate. French shipbuilding has not been so busy for many years. The Colliery Guardian was one of the first journals to mention the acquisition by Messrs. Scheneider, of Le Creusot, of the Paul Girod electro-metallurgical works at Ugines in Savoy. This news is not only confirmed, but is attracting considerable attention now. For a. long time the Creusot people have been endeavouring to acquire or to set up an electro-metallurgical plant. Their negotiations in other quarters such at the Hants Fourneaux and Forges d’Allevard, near Grenoble, came to nothing, but they found the Paul Girod works in need of cash, and so susceptible to an offer. The Girod interests are divided into two concerns, specialising in various departments. First the Society Electro-Met al - lurgique Paul Girod, and second the Compagnie des Forges and Acieries Electrique Paul Girod. They have a hydraulic power of 50,000-horse power, and at the present time can produce 75 tons of fine steel per day. It is simply lack, of funds which prevents a much greater development, which will now be found in combination with the Creusot Company. The works specialise in ferro-alloys, chrome, tungsten, etc., and it will permit the Creusot people to develop greatly in the direction of fine steel products. Exports and imports in the first four months of the present year were as follow :— Imports. Exports. unavoidable, and stocks have grown. This, however, is not an unmixed evil, the lack of stocks having proved very inconvenient during the busy period last year. The con- sumption of industrial coals is naturally affected by the depression in the iron industry, and the season is against the house and gas coal trades. In the export market Austria is still holding back, though consignments are large; and the difference is hardly made good by the increased deliveries to Bussian Poland. Business in the north-eastern districts and the capital is being hindered by English competition. In the coke market things are not altogether unsatisfactory, for though the whole output—especially in the small grades— cannot be disposed of, a fair amount is being distributed. Coal Market in South Germany.—The situation remains as it was, business being fairly satisfactory for the time of year. Dealers are beginning to fill up their deplenished stockyards again, though chiefly with grades on which price concessions are ruling for the present. The demand for anthracite nuts and ovoid briquettes is therefore brisk, but that for large bituminous nuts and broken coke is quiet. Industrial consumers are beginning again to take their regular deliveries under contract, except a few mill owners, who have plenty of water power still available. Saar coals sell well, the whole output being disposed of with ease. The new settling price list shows no changes. The Main is now closed to traffic, and shipments are being largely diverted to the Upper Bhine harbours, where stocks are generally low, and fresh supplies will be welcome. Russia. The Governor of Ekaterinoslav has just taken the extra- ordinary step of closing upwards of 50 small collieries in the Gorlovka district in the Donetz region. The pretext is that instead of being worked by the peasant proprietors, the mines in question are being exploited by Jews, who have no right to work coal. About 4,000 workmen are thus rendered idle. The provisions for the railways during 1914 compared with the actual consumption in 1913, are set forth below :— 1913. 1914. Coal:— (l,000pouds). (IJ'OOpouds). Donetz .............. 52,700 ... 50,300 Dombrowa .......... 1,500 ... 3,400 Moscow.............. 1,100 ... 1,400 English...................... 5,000 ... 23,100 Total coal....... 60,300 Briquettes (Donetz) ..... 900 Anthracite ( ,, ) ..... 3,800 Coke ( „ ) ..... 200 78,200 3,700 ______ Tp13. Wl/P 1913. 1914. Tops. Tons. Tons. Tons. Coal _______ 5,986,100 ...6,945,821 ... 483,845 ... 369,835 Coke .. 1,144,900 .. 889,918 ... 88,003 ... 50,306 Briquettes... .... 344,800 ... 406,521 ... 57,702 ... 64,210 The imports included 4,207,969 tons of British coal, as against 3,806,600 tons; 1,384.354 tons of German, coal, as against 953,600 tons; and 1,251,629 tons of Belgian coal, as against 1.123,500 tons last year. Tn April 1,663,094 tons of coal were imported, as against 1.525.700 tons in April 1913. This total included 899,469 tons of British coal (993,200 tons), 392.862 tons of German coal (296,400 tons), and 349,270 tons of Belgian coal (214,700 tons). ________________________ Germany. Ruhr Coal Market.—The traffic returns indicate some improvement in the situation, about 1,000 wagons more being sent out daily. On the other hand, there is practically no increase in the requirements of the home market. Indus- trial coals are being neglected owing to the slackness in the iron industry, and the deplorable state of the coke market is necessitating the putting of large quantities of bituminous coals into stock. The exnort trade is affording a welcome outlet for the surplus, and shipments to Holland, Belgium, France, and North-West Germany are increasing.. English competition is not very keen in the latter district, and is negligible in South Germany on account of the high prices asked. The local demand is quieter again, and a consider- able proportion of the up river shipments has been stocked. Coal Market in Upper Silesia.—Although there are no direct indications of improvement, the situation is being viewed more hopefully. Enquiries are also more plentiful, and the waterborne traffic would have increased but for the unfavour- able state of the Oder. The daily output of the pits has scarcely been reduced, though short time is not altogether _____________________________ MINING AMD OTHER MOTES. An explosion of coal gas has occurred in one of the coal bunkers aboard the battleship “ Bellerophon ” at Cromarty. In Philadelphia, where American electricians were recently in conference, Mr. Edison mentioned that he is working on a problem—the derivation of electricity direct from coal. The Great North of Scotland Bailway have just placed with Manning, Wardle and Company Limited, Leeds, an order for two special locomotives for the fish traffic at the new harbour works, Aberdeen. During the nine months ended with March 1914, 15,317,655 tons of coal were exported from the United States, as against 14,397,035 tons in the corresponding period of the previous year; and 599,051 tons of coke, as against 649,941 tons. The totals do not include bunker shipments, which amounted to 5,754,530 tons and 5,377,070 tons in the respec- tive periods. The first ocean liner to traverse the Gatun Lock is the Panama Bailroad steamer “ Alliance,” of 4,000 tons. She was taken through the locks and back as a test of the ability of the electric towing locomotives to handle large vessels. The experiment passed off without a hitch. The time required to get the vessel through was an hour-and-a-half each way. Mr. E. A. Hailwood has been appointed managing director of the firm of Messrs. Ackroyd and Best Limited, the well- known safety lamp makers of Morley. During the period of his managership Mr. Hailwood has brought out over 56 inventions in connection with miners’ safety lamps, re-lighting apparatus, and other apparatus in connection with lamps or machinery for the production of same. The London Gazette contained a notification by the Home Secretary that, pursuant to the Factory and Workshops Act, he has certified the process of casting iron and steel to be dangerous, and that he proposes to make regulations to apply to all factories and workshops in which such process is carried on. The proposed regulations do not apply to the casting of pig iron from blast furnaces, or to the casting of steel ingots. Speaking at Mosbrough, Mr. J. P. Houfton, the mining director of the Bolsover Colliery Company, who is Liberal candidate for the North-East Derbyshire Division, made an important announcement. During the recent contest, he said, it was often thrown at him that he was a coal owner, a capitalist, and, therefore, he was the natural enemy of the working classes, and especially the miners, as he happened to be one of the owners’ representatives on the Minimum Wage Board. He now desired to say that he had resigned every position and every post he held for the owners in Derbyshire and Notts, because he felt he would have to leave himself perfectly free to do anything he could, even against the owners, if he thought it was for the welfare of the men. The 51st annual general meeting of the Institution of Gas Engineers will be held in Liverpool from the 10th to 19th inst. The report of the Befractory Materials Committee and the Ventilation Besearch Committee will be presented. Beports of institution fellowship will also be submitted by Mr. Harold Hartley, M.Sc., on “ The Electrical Condition of a Gold Surface during the Absorption of Gases, and their Catalytic Combustion ” : and by Mr. Harold Hollings. B.Sc., on (a) “Thermal Phenomena in Carbonisation”; (6) “Influence of Bed-hot Coke and Badiant Heat on .the Gaseous Products of Carbonisation,” both by Mr. Hollings and Prof. John W. Cobb, B.Sc. There will be a lecture on “ Purification by Heat : A Century’s Progress and its Lessons,” by Mr. Charles Carpenter, D.Sc.: a paper on “ Calorific Power as a Standard.” by Mr. Jaccmes Abady; on “ The Application of Coke Ovens and ‘ Otto ’ Direct Ammonia. Recovery to Gasworks Requirements,” by .Mr. Georere T. Purves (and “ Lime and Sulphate of Ammonia as Fertilisers and How to Increase their Sale,” by Mr. John West,