868

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

October 23, 1914.

obstruction or overhanging weight. The slackness of
the elevator chain, caused by altering the position of
the suspended part, is taken up by another compensating
device.

Discharging in this manner can be effected at a rate

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Fig. 3.—Elevations and Plan of Floating Equipment foe Discharging and Loading
Coal at Rotterdam.



Line. Coal is received at the quay either in barges or
by rail in trucks, and can be dealt with at the rate
of 150 tons per hour. In the former case it is dis-
charged into a hopper, by a transporter bridge with
travelling grab trolleys; it is then raised by a bucket

COAL MINING IN INDIA IN 1913.

The annual report on mines in India for the year 1913
has been compiled on this occasion by Mr. R. R.
Simpson, M.Sc., officiating Chief Inspector of Mines, in
the absence of Mr. G. F. Adams on furlough.

Persons Employed.

During 1913 the average number of persons working
in and about the mines regulated by the Indian Mines
Act was 181,260, of whom 116,492 worked underground
and 64,768 on the surface; 111,946 were adult males,
62,961 were adult females, and 6,353 children under 12
years of age. This is an increase of 16,958 workers, or
10-32 per cent. The increase related chiefly to those
employed in coal mines, whose numbers increased by
11,650.

This increase is practically the same as that in the
number of those working in the coal mines of Bihar and
Bengal, where, in 19l3, 11,196 more persons were
employed than in 1912. There was not much complaint
of labour shortage in the Jharia coalfield, but in the
Raniganj coalfield the difficulty in securing a full com-
plement tends to become more acute yearly. At the
Margherita coal mines in Assam increasing trouble in
obtaining suitable recruits for the labour force is being
experienced. The new recruits are chiefly Nepalese and
Chinese, and their employment renders proper super-
vision extremely difficult, as they have no knowledge of
the local dialects or of Hindi. The same difficulty in
respect of supervision is even more acute in Tavoy,
where practically all the underground mining is done by
Chinese.

At Kaliehedu mica mine in the Nellore district of
Madras the experiment of settling a criminal tribe at the
mine has been made, and their employment is considered
to be a success.

Output of Mineral.

The output of coal again constitutes a record, being
15,486,318 tons. This is an increase of 10-27 per cent,
over the output for 1912, when 14,044,368 tons were

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Fig. 4.—Coal Discharging Transporter of Bunkering Equipment,
Wilhelmina Quay (Rotterdam).





Fig. 5.—Wagon Tippler for Loading into Hopper, at Wilhelmina
Quay (Rotterdam).







I

Fig. 6.-—Telescopic Shoots of Bunkering
Equipment at Wilhelmina Quay, (Rotterdam)



of 400-1,000 tons per hour, including automatic weigh-
ing, and practically without hand trimming being neces-
sary.

Another special equipment to be noted at Rotterdam
is that provided on the quay of the Holland-America

elevator for loading the cars of a ropeway which serve
four elevated hoppers, at different positions along the
quay; then the coal is delivered into the bunkers of the
vessels by means of adjustable telescopic chutes. The
length of the transporter bridge is 223 ft., and it has
an outreach of 60 ft. over the quay side. For rail-
borne coal a truck tip of unusual construction is pro-
vided; this, briefly, consists of a ground level rail bridge
resting in a pit and hinged at one end; the other end
is raised for tipping by a hoisting gear situated in a
cabin elevated on a gantry trestle structure which spans
the rail track; constructed on the bridge, and as part
of it, is a turntable, so that trucks can be run on to the
bridge table and turned for either end or side dischaige
into a hopper, the coal being then delivered in a similar
manner by a vertical bucket elevator and the ropeway
referred to.

It should be mentioned that great steamers, like the
s.s. “ Rotterdam,” of 24,000 tons, receive their bunker
supplies by means of the equipment at this wharf—
Wilhelmina Quay.

It may be of interest to add that, although Rotter-
dam is particularly concerned with the distribution
of German coal, on account of its geographical position
in relation to the Westphalian coalfields, about a quarter
of a million tons per annum are received from the Tyne
ports for bunker supplies, as well as a considerable
tonnage of gas for inland use, and Welsh coal is used
by the Dutch Navy. The difference in price of
North Country and German coal is accounted for by
the fact not only of the lower cost of the latter at the
pits, but freight makes a difference of about 2s. per ton,
the cost from the Tyne being, say, 3s., whereas from
Duisburg by barge the freight amounts to only about Is.
per ton. In addition to the shipment of German coal
at Rotterdam as cargoes and bunkers, a large quantity
is distributed for inland use throughout Holland.

The directors of the London and North-Western Railway
have appointed Mr. L. W. Horne superintendent of the line,
Mr. W. M. Turnbull, of Liverpool, as assistant superinten-
dent. and Mr. E. C. Grindley as indoor assistant to the
superintendent.

raised from the mines. Since 1909, when a decrease of
7 per cent, was recorded, the successive annual increases
have been 0-83, 5-80, 16-56, and 10’27 per cent. The
drop in the rate of increase is probably accounted for by
the restricted raisings consequent on the flooding of
many mines in Bengal and Bihar during the year, when
abnormal floods were experienced in the coalfields. The
loss of output directly due to the floods will probably be
again reflected in the figures for 1914, as many mines
are still suffering from the effects of inundation.
Judging from the present prices of first-class coal in the
market, and from the fact that many coal companies
are contracted forward for long periods at remunerative
rates, the coal industry appears to be in a remarkably
healthy condition.

Of the total output, 14,876,241 tons, or 96'06 per cent.,
were raised in Bihar and Bengal; the percentages in the
previous three years being 94-00, 94-64, and 95-19
respectively. The increase in these two provinces was
1,446,675 tons, or slightly greater than the increase for
the whole of India, which was 1,441,950 tons. The
increase comes mainly from the Jharia coalfield, where
there was an increase of nearly one million tons, or
12-48 per cent.

Owing to the extent to which the deeper lying areas of
the first-class seams of coal are burnt by igneous intru-
sions, as proved by recent sinkings and borings, the
rapid expansion of the output of the Jharia coalfield is
not likely to be maintained in the near future. There
were increases of 7-75 and 10’44 per cent, respectively
in the Raniganj and Giridih coalfields. The output of
the Bokaro-Ramgarh coalfield declined from 5,310 tons
to 2,855 tons. The new extension of the Bengal-Nagpur
Railway is, however, being rapidly pushed forward, and
a large output may be expected from this field within
the next few years.

In the provinces other than Bihar and Bengal the
only decrease in output occurred in Assam, ■ where
270,364 tons were raised. The decrease was 8-85 per
cent., and it was due to scarcity of suitable labour. The
increased percentages in the other provinces were :—
Central Provinces, 0-71 per cent.; Baluchistan, 15-74 per
cent.; Panjab, 32’89 per cent.; and North-West Frontier