New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1908-09-02
MECHANICAL SHOVEL
Machine Used In Lead Mines
Does Seven Mems Work.
MAY DlsPLAcE SPADE HANDS
With Compressed Air as the Motive
Power It Is Being Operated Near
Joplin, Mo.-Its Capacity to Be
Greatly increased.

0FSdtty increased.
For years the spade hand in the
lead and zinc mining district has been
king. He has dictated to the boss. he.
has reyeled in the best of wages and
has done just as suited his fancy.
Now there is prospect Of his de-
thronement, and a mechanical shovel
in use at the mine of a lead, zinc and
smelling company at Prosperity, neal
Joplin, Mo-, is the agency that prom
ises the revolution
About year ago Captain r. Thew
Of Lorain, O., visited the mining dis.
trict and conceived the idea for an I'M.
derground mechanical shovel to replace
the cumbrous method of handling ore
dirt in vogue at Prosperity. He had nc
precedent, and the machine now being
tried out at Prosperity, with apparent
success, is the only one of the kind in
the world, says the Kansas City Star
and certainly the only mechanical shov.
Ell working underground.
The shovel is operated by compressed
air, the inventor realizing that to at.
tempt to burn coal in the mine drifts
would be impossible Three engines
are provided, each driven by the com
pressed air conveyed to them through
tubes from above ground. One engine
drives the boom in it's sweeps from side
to side and up and down, one operates
the dipper that picks up the ore dirt
and the third provides traction power
for the machine to enable moving ii
from drift to drift, as needed, and tG
remove it from the danger zone when
blasting is DONE This latter feature is
the one that comes nearest being fail
ure, the design now used being all but
impracticable in moving the ten ton
machine from place to place. A new
idea Is being worked out to overcome
this. =
In appearance the shovel is not I'M
like that used above ground, the most
striking difference being the massive
armor of steel surrounding all but the
boom and the dipper. This is used to
protect the machine from loosened
powders that fall from the roof of the
drift.
In practice the shovel does the work
| OF seven men. In no sense does it re.
| place the "cutters"-men who break
the solid face Of the drifts by dyna.
mite and pick-but the great work OF
moving the shattered dirt, the work
! that has made the spade hand king,
is done by the machine. This. with the
| prospect that the innovation will me-
| cessitate the Introduction Of mules and
tram cars, gives the shovel the position
| Of an invader threatening to revolu.
tionize the methods of mining through.
out the district.
| When the dipper scoops up the bro
ken dirt cut by the ''face men, be.
tween 600 and 700 pounds are handled
at each sweep. Two of the clippers
full make tub Of dirt as it is hoisted
from the mines at Prosperity. The
machine makes about 400 grabs in a
day Of eight hours, or 200 tubs The
loaded tub is pushed by man power
along the drift on a small car sitting
on track. The smallness of the track
capacity and man capacity is a draw.
back
At the shaft the tub is hooked on to
the cable and hoisted out. In order tc
remove the dirt as fast as the shovel is
able to handle it probably larger tracks
and larger trucks, with a wagon hold.
ing a ton or more, will be found neces.
sary, with hosting cage in the shaft
instead of the simple wire rope cable
| now used.
It is this feature that makes the ma.
chine really great menace to the die.
tatorship Of the spade hand" Even.
tually, if the machine proves entirely
successful, the miner sees the installa.
ton Of mine cages the substitution OF
mules to move cars and the elimination
Of the stub rustlers" as well as the
"spade hand" from the operation OF
the mines.