516 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. September 4, 1914. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ production, and since 1906 the imports have surpassed the exports. From official statistics relating to the Belgian mining industry we extract some particulars in regard to the output of coal, etc., in 1912. The coalfields are now broadly divided into the Southern coalfield, comprising the older basins, and the Northern coalfield, situated in the Campine. In the former coalfield the area of concessions has extended but slightly, there having been an increase in 10 years of only 1,743 hectares, or 1-25 per cent. The researches to the South of the Mons, Centre, and Charleroi basins, however, may in the future be expected to counter- balance the areas abandoned through exhaustion. All the working collieries are situated in the Southern coal- field, and the following statistics relate to them In 1912 there were 126 mines at work and 269 shafts in has been carried on in six of these concessions, viz., Winterslag, Andr6 Dumont-sous-Asch, Les . Liegiois, Beeringen-Courcel, Helchteren, and Ste Barbe; 537 workmen have been engaged, and 10,506,400 fr. have been expended on various preparatory works. Work was commenced in 1908, and so far 25,593,600 fr. have been expended. In 1912, 38 coke oven works were in operation, all, with three exceptions, situated in the provinces of Hainault and Liege. The number of ovens was 2,766, and 3,873 workmen were employed. In the manufac- ture of coke 4,166,400 tons of coal were used, but at many of the ovens imported coal was employed*. The production of metallurgical coke in 1912 amounted to 3,186,780 tons, or 25,830 tons more than in 1911, and the total value was 80,867,400 fr., giving an average value of 25-38 fr. per ton. The following table shows the variations in exports, imports, and consumption during the last nine years : — Excess of Year. < Exports. Tons. Imports. Tons. Total Consumption. Tons. 1904 2,536,910 — 20,228,577 1905 1,668,906 — 20,991,347 1906 541,880 — 22,805,210 1907 351,710 — 23,242,620 1908 457,600 — 22,582,940 1909 135,630 — 23,754,770 1910 — 512,400 . 24,126,460 1911 — 1,584,900 . 24,844,660 1912 — 2,826,302 . 26,081,222 Accidents.—At collieries in 1912, 246 accidents were reported, by which 156 persons lost their lives; of these 202 accidents and 126 deaths occurred below ground, 31 Viesvife fayt/es Seneffe. wangemes Wffiars Ctepei/e -fez Herlamout JR79QB »» »» • «c^ud/ Possible hfnit .of coai Q Single. rvind trig pits Q Oouih. • 7 . a Pits lee a fhn -too metres deep n fits pet tree n 4oo metres • a°° ' Per offnet • Bray ££££R£FC£ Uzmt of the Commune Pt ver or Stream Canal Limit of the Province Fig. 3.—Chart showing the Productive Capacity of Collieries in the Centre and Charleroi Coalfields. operation, and the total production was 22,972,140 tons, or 81,400 tons less than in 1911. The total value of this output was 380,444,300 fr., or 16 fr. 56 c. per ton; this was higher by 1 fr. 80 c. than the average price in 1911. The following table shows the output and average value in the different coalfields :— Coalfield. Production. Average value per ton. r 1912. 1911. 1912. 1911. Hainault : Tons. Tons. Fr. Fr. Mons 4,121.680 .. . 4,667,980 ... 16’23 .. . 14-35 Centre 3,37^,360 .. . 3,430,710 ... 1651 . 14’64 Charleroi 8,487,280 .. . 8,387,410 ... 16-49 .. . 14’69 Total (Hainault) 15,982,320 .. . 16,486,100 ... 16’43 .. .. 14-58 Namur 805,490 .. 804,140 ... 15’21 .. .. 13’53 Liege 6,184,330 .. ,. 5,763,300 ... 17-08 .. .. 15’44 Total 22,972,140 .. .. 23,053,540 ... 16’56 . .. 14’76 The sub-division of the output according to quality in 1912 was as follows :— Average Description. Quantity. value per ton. Tons. Fr. Flenu 2,098,220 . .. 160L Gras 5,691,580 . .. 17-51 Demi-gras 10,044,320 . .. 16’93 Maigres 5,138,020 . ... 15-02 The reduction in output in 1912 was due to the strike in the Borinage from January 3 to February 21, which affected 25 collieries and 25,800 workmen. In 1911, however, a strike occurred in the Lffige basin, and for the first time the production showed no extension in 1912, whereas formerly it increased fairly consistently at the rate of about 3,000,000 tons per decade. The principal statistics for 1912 are tabulated below : 1912. 1911. Producti on ..........met ric tons Value.........................fr. Value per ton..................fr. Numbers employed below ground ... Daily production per person em- ployed below ground .......tons Numbers employed above and below ground ....................... Average thickness of seam ............m. Yield per square metre ...quintals Production per underground worker (tons) _______......................... Production per worker at the face (tons) •......................... Average daily production per under- ground worker ..........kilogs. Gross wages...................fr. Average net daily wage .........fr. Average cost of production per ton, fr. ,, „ labour „ fr. Net profit or loss per ton .......fr. 22,972,140... 23,053,540 380,444,300...340,278,800 16'56 ... 14*76 105,324.. 103,937 750.. 746 145,670.. 144,054 0’66 0-66 8-76 .. 8-66 218.. 222 927.. 926 750.. 746 210,570,600.. .226,321,600 4’50 .. 4-82 16’22 .. . 14-90 9-16 .. 8’45 + 0 34 .. . --0’14 In 1912 the expenditure in wages constituted 55-31 per cent, of the selling price, whilst profits were 2-06 per cent. Of 126 mines at work, 67 closed the year with a profit (25,873,800 fr.), and 59 with a loss (18,124,700 fr.). The foregoing statistics relate solely to the older coalfields. In the Campine coalfield the number of concessions in 1912 was 10, and the area conceded 31,482 hectares, as in 1911. Work REFERENCE REFERENCE Herchies Hautnage Ghh'n Mons Quaregnon Ciphy Angre Ognettes Monbgntes -sur-Roc. Aths fugues '^f'^>onddge Fame of the Commune Rai/way fl/ver or Stream \ ■ Cana/ _____Limit of the Province _______> •» .» Concession ” actual rvor/s ^x^^Eoss rb/e h'mit of coa/f/e/d -'—-■-Outcrop of the coat/ nreaocrres Fig. 4.—Chart showing the Productive Capacity of Collieries in the Couchant de Mons. There were 61 briquette works in operation in 1912, most of them being in Hainault, giving employment to 1,984 workpeople. The consumption of coal was 2,441,190 tons, and 2,690,610 tons of briquettes were made, valued at 20-07 fr. per ton. The following table shows exports and imports of fuel in 1912 :— Imports. Exports. Tons. Tons. Briquettes ..... 436,908 ... 623,351 Coke ........... 955,393 ... 1,015,534 Coal ........... 8,132,014 ... 5,058,005 If the briquettes and coke are transformed into their equivalents of coal (i.e., 1,307 kilog. of coal = 1 ton of coke, and 907 kilog. of coal = 1 ton of briquettes), it will be seen that the imports in 1912 exceeded the exports by 2,826,802 tons. In that year, it is estimated, the consumption of the country, including the colliery consumption, amounted to 26,081,222 tons, or, elimin- ating the colliery consumption, to 23,824,332 tons. accidents and 20 deaths on the surface, while the remaining 13 accidents, responsible for 10 deaths, occurred at dependent works. The following table shows the death rates for various classes of accident:— Proportion of deaths per 100,000 persons emplojed above and below ground. Cause. (----------*-----------\ Average. 1906-10. 1911. 1912. Falls . .. 3’64 ... 3’88 . .. 4’05 Shaft accidents .... 1’93 ... 2’64 . .. 1’30 Haulage accidents .. .... 1-62 ... 1’87 .. .. 2’06 Various below ground 1T0 ... Ill . .. 0’62 At the surface .... 1’12 ... 1’46 . .. 1’37 Firedamp .... 0’51 ... 0’49 . .. 0’55 — . ■ 1 ■ — — I. ■■■— Total .... 9’92 ... 11’45 . .. 9’95 Taking only the persons emploved below ground, the rates were in 1912, 11-87; 1911, 13-85; 1910, 11-71; 1909, 11-82; 1908, 12-58. In 1912, 59 workmen were