February 11, 1916. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 267 MINE ACCIDENTS AND UNIFORM RECORDS.* By Albert H. Fay, U.S. Bureau of Mines. (Continued from page 218.J Who is to Blame for Mine Accidents? In all industries there is a certain percentage of acci- dents that are incident to the hazard of the industry, for which there can be no responsibility placed either on the management or on the injured person. Just what this percentage is in the mining industry is not definitely known, but from data compiled from the records of the Department of Mines of the Union of South Africa, it seems to indicate that about one-half of the fatalities at mines are due to the hazard of the industry, that is, “ danger inherent to work or misadventure.” Of the remaining accidents, the responsibility for a certain per- centage can be placed on the miner and the manage- ment. The placing of the responsibility for mine accidents is a delicate question, and depends largely upon the person who is making the report. There is a tendency for human nature to shirk responsibility, and throw the blame on the other party wherever possible. It is diffi- cult to obtain an unbiassed report on accidents unless they are investigated by some disinterested person, and this is not always done. There is carelessness of both the miner and the management; but little data are avail- Table II.—Responsibility of Fatal Accidents in the Union of South Africa/* Responsibility due to 1911. July 1-Dec. 31. 1912. 1913. Summary. Number killed. Number killed. 1 Number killed. Number killed. 1. Danger inherent to work or misadventure 2. Defective plant or material 3. Fault of injured person— Carelessness Ignorance Disobedience of order 4. Fault of management 5. Fault of gangers (foremen) 6. Fault of others 7. Joint fault of 3, 4, 5, 6 Total Total. 303 10 64 10 41 8 41 26 15 Per cent. 58’49 1’93 1235 1’93 7-92 1’54 7’92 5’02 290 Total. 524 47 86 25 73 11 124 59 38 Percent. 53T 4’8 8'7 2’5 7’4 ' 11 12’6 6 0 3’8 Total. 572 41 54 21 53 37 118 63 33 Per cent. 57’/ 4-1 5’5 2 1 5’3 3’7 11’9 6’4 3 3 Total. 1,399 98 204 56 167 56 283 148 86 Per cent. 56’03 3’93 8*17 2’24 6’69 2’24 11’33 5’93 3’44 518 100’00 987 100’00 992 100-* 0 2,497 100’00 * Compiled from the annual reports of the Department of Mines of the Union of South Africa. Table III.-Summary of Men Employed, and Accidents in the Mineral Industry, during a Calendar Year. Branch of mining industry, segregation of employees, and average days operated per year. Mineral mines (days operated Underground................. Open pit mines .......... Surface, shops and yards ... Total Metallurgical plants— Ore dressing (days operated Smelting (days operated ) - Total . Coal mines (days operated Underground................ Open pit mines .... . . Surface, shops and yards . Total Coke ovens (days operated Quarries (days operated Grand total able showing to what extent the personal element, as related to the miner, his co-worker, the mine foreman, superintendent, and others in authority, enters into the causes of accidents. There are many accidents due to inexperience on the part of the miner, his failure to heed orders, a misunderstanding of instructions, and, last, but not least, carelessness of himself or fellow worker. A foreman or superintendent may fail to give proper warn- ing regarding the condition of certain parts of the mine; he may not have inspected certain stopes, rooms, or entries on the day in question; the mine may not be properly equipped, or the operator may neglect to comply with the inspector’s recommendations. There is, there- fore, a personal element on the part of both the operator and the miner that must be considered. Since 1911 the Government inspectors of the Depart- ment of Mines of the Union of South Africa have, after investigating all fatal accidents, tabulated the results, placing the responsibility in seven groups, as shown in the accompanying table. This tabulation (Table II.) represents 2,497 fatalities, which should be thoroughly * From a paper read before the Second Pan-American Scientific Congress, held in Washington, on December 31, 1915. representative of the mining industry, as it includes more than 200,000 employees for a period of 2J years. They represent the Transvaal, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, and Natal mines. The first group shown by the South African inspectors places 56-03 per cent, of the fatalities as pnherent to the work or misadventure. Those fatalities which might be attributed to the mining company are defective plant or material, fault of management, and fault of the fore- man. The summary of these three shows that the operator was responsible for 17-50 per cent, of the fatalities during the period covered. 'Of the fatal acci- dents, the statistics show that the injured person was responsible for 17-10 per cent, as due to carelessness, ignorance, and disobedience of orders. This is practi- cally the same amount as represented by the manage- ment. In addition to the fault of the injured person, there is also the fault of others, which in the South African reports includes those accidents due to a fellow workman’s carelessness, ignorance, and disobedience of orders, and represents 5-93 per cent. Combining these two would place upon the miner and his associates 23-03 per cent., while the management was responsible for 17-50 per cent. The figures as cited herein represent the mining industry of South Africa, where a large majority of the miners are Kaffirs, and where it would be an easy matter for the inspector to shift the burden of responsibility on the miner. The Kaffirs in their native land are not miners, and have absolutely no knowledge of machinery, electricity, and explosives when they begin work in the mines; yet, these figures show that-less than one-quarter Accidents. Men employed. Fatal. Seriously injured. Time lost, more than 14 days. Slightly injured. Time lost, 1 to 14 days. Permanent disability. Others. Total. Partial. i i 1 — — — of the fatal accidente are due to carelessness and ignor- ance on the part of these uneducated labourers. ‘ While the South African figures show that the mining company is responsible for 17’50 per cent., and the miners -for 23’03 per cent, of -the fatal injuries, yet the personal influence exerted by mining companies whose officials are careful and enforce strict rules and regula- tions, should have a salutary effect on the miners in inducing them to be more careful. A lax management will necessarily have a tendency to breed carelessness among its employees. Legislation and the enactment of compensation laws will make the operator realise the seriousness of the mine accident situation, when fatalities and injuries are to be paid for in legal tender of the realm. The miner must be educated and made to realise the dangers he encounters; he must learn that self-preservation and the safety of his fellow workmen should receive his first attention; he should co-operate with his employer, his associates, and the State mine inspector to the end that the mine hazard may be reduced to ia minimum. “ Co-operation for safety ” should be the watchword of the operator, miner, State inspectors, and all others in any way interested in the mining industry. Uniformity of Mine Accident Reports. In order that the mine accidents of one State or country may be comp arable with another, it is essential that they be collected on the same basis and tabulated with reference to various branches of the mineral industry. Thus, for example, all the coal mine accidents should be tabulated ias belonging to coal mines, and coke oven accidents should be taken care of as an individual item. The accidents at metal mines should be separated from the ore-dressing and smelting plants, although they are frequently included and, in this way, the value of the statistics for each branch of the industry is vitiated to a certain extent. In order that the real hazard of any branch of the mining industry may be determined, it is necessary to eliminate all accidents that are foreign to it, and deal only with those that are incidental to the particular branch under con- sideration. The summary given in the accompanying Table III. shows a brief outline of the mineral industry, separating it into the principal branches. The employees are segre- gated according to the industry, and accidents classi- fied as fatal, permanent total disability, and permanent partial disability, as well as those of a minor character. In arriving at true accident rates, the underground and surface employees should be separated, and the corre- sponding accidents segregated, as shown. The length of time that the mines are in operation is also an important factor, as this has much to do with the time of exposure to the mining risk. Another feature that prevents proper comparison of statistics is the period of time covered. In some cases a fiscal year ending June 30 is used, while in others a year ending in September, October, or November is used. Since many countries already use a calendar-year basis, all figures would be more nearly comparable if they were collected on a calendar-year basis. (To be continued.) OBITUARY. Mr. William Sumner, formerly in business as a coal merchant at Clayton-le-Moors, has passed away at Great Eddlestone. Mr. Henry Stubbs, of 22, Sunderland-street, Macclesfield, who died last week, at the age of 50 years, was a coal agent in the service of Messrs. Nixon and Son, coal merchants. Aid. F. Denning, who had been Mayor of Croydon since November 1913, died on Monday at his residence in South Norwood, in his 52nd year. Deceased had large business interests in the West of England collieries and in shipping. We regret to announce the death of the Bight Hon. Bussell Bea, a former vice-chairman of the Taff Vale Bail way Company, which took place at his residence, Tanhurst, Leith Hill, Surrey, on Saturday last. Deceased was the senior partner in the firm of Messrs. B. and J. H. Bea, of Liverpool, London, Cardiff, and other centres, a well-known firm of coal exporters and ship owners. Since 1910 he had represented South Shields in Parliament. His career had been an active one, and in early life he repre- sented Messrs. Crawshay Brothers Limited, at Liverpool. Last year he was appointed Chairman of the Government Coal Export Committee, which controls the export of coal to foreign countries, but since November last he had been laid up, bis breakdown in health being contributed very largely to by the tremendous work he did for the Government in connection with coal trade matters. In 1906 he was appointed chairman of the Departmental Committee to consider the effect of an Eight Hours Day Bill for miners, and was generally considered the “ father ” of the Eight Hours Act. He was also the chairman of the Liberal Publication Department, of the Joint Committee on Bailway Amalgamation, -and . of the Departmental Committee on Bailway Amalgamation in 1909. He was also a member of the Boy al Commission on Malta. He took a very active part in promoting the scheme of the Taff Vale Bailway Company for extended dock facilities -at Cardiff, and in promoting the Windsor Dock project, -and was one of the principal witnesses on behalf of the scheme. Canadian Mining Institute. — The 18th annual meeting will be held in the city of Ottawa on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, March 1, 2, and 3, 1916. The question of making an application for a Royal Charter will be discussed. Among others, the following papers will be presented for dis- cussion :—“Flotation Processes,’’ by T. A. Rickard; “ Flotation at the Anaconda Mines,” by E. P. Mathewson; “ The Concentration of Molybdenite as Applied to Canadian Ores,” by Henry E. Wood; “ The Flotation of Bornite,” by H. W. Du Bois; “ Some Effects of the War on the Mining and Metallurgical Industries of Canada,” by A. Stansfield; “ Canadian Supplies of Iron and Steel in Relation to Muni- tions of War,” by Thos. Cantley; “ The Coal Resources of Canada, with Special Reference to the Metallurgical Indus- tries,” by J. B. Porter; “ The Coal Situation in Canada,” by W. J. Dick; “ The Magnesite Industry in Canada,” by Howells Frechette; “ Discovery of Phosphate of Lime in the Rocky Mountains,” by Frank D. Adams and W. J. Dick; “ The Zinc Occurrences at Notre-Dame des Anges, Que.,” by J. A. Bancroft; “ Canadian Gold and War in France,” by Adam Shortt (this subject will also be discussed by J. Murray Clark, K.C.); “Rock Crushing Tests at McGill University,” by J. W. Bell; “Some Conditions Affecting Education in Mining and Metallurgy,” by J. C. Gwillim; “Mining Education,” by L. D. Burling; “Mineral Deposits of the Buckingham District,” by Morley E. Wilson; “ Concentration of Ontario Magnetites and the Sintering Thereof,” by an official of the Mines Branch of the Depart- ment of Mines; “Copper Mining in Alaska” (illustrated with coloured lantern slides), by H. W. Du Bois; “ Petrolia, Past and Present,” by J. Stansfield. The annual dinner will be held at the Chateau Laurier on the evening of Thursday, March 2. Arrangements have been made for visits, under the guidance of members of the local committee, to the ore dress- ing laboratory and fuel testing station of the Mines Branch of the Department of Mines ; to the Victoria Museum ; and to the National Gallery.