The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1914-06-26

SUGGESTED BY
WEST VIRGINIA COAL.
II all the coal mined in West Wiz.
sinia in 1913 had been converted in
1.-The state into coke by the by=product
oven process at the average price in
1912 for that kind Of coke, the yield
TO West Virginia would have been
close to sSOO,O0o,o0O instead Of
s75!OOo,0O0. This is one of the sug-
scstions in the interesting develop
mentsi in the states coal-mining In
dustry last year. For the first time
Mn Its history It mined more than
10, 100000 tons; Sthci actual quantity
beings71,S0S,9S2 tons, and that guam
tity was only. 172.5SSStons less than
the tota1putput Of the United States
in 1880. For the first time III ten
years the average value of the. coal
per ton was greater than 81, the to-
sal value being s71,S72,165, There
was an increase In the state in 1913
over 1912 of 4,522,295 tons, or at
the rate of 6.3 per cent. in quantity,
and of s9,o79,931, or at the rate of
14.5 pei. cent, in value. OF the total
output of coal only 4,Os4,251 tons
were used in the state in making
coke although West Virginia is in
| the center of the field in which is IS
per cent. Of the coal best adaptable
to making cokegfor the iron indus
TRY, buti7, 500 900 tons Of West vir-
ginia coal were made into coke in
ether states. Thus 11,S24,251 tons,
or 1871 per cent, Of the states 1918
production Of coal were converted
into 7,750,O0O tons of coke. or some
thing more than one-sixth of the to-
tai output of coke in the country. As
late as 1887 the whole country was
making less coke than the quantity
made from West Virginia coal in
1913. What of the next twenty.six
years and the part that West Virginia
coal is to plaSinrthe coke-making In
Iustry?
1t has been only twenty-one years
since the beginning of coke making
in by-product ovens in this country.
with plantiofytwelye ovens turning
out 1880 TONS, In 1898 such coke
was but oine-tenth of /. per cent: Of
the total output of 9,477,5SO tons In
the United States. In 1913 the.12;-
T14,70O tons of by-product coke
made wast27.5F per cent. Of the total
output. of 46,311,369 tens, and the
value of all coke produced in 1913
was more than seven times astgreat
'asiin 1898. The experience of TWEEN
ty-one years has demonstrated not
only. that the by-product oven makes
more cokeithans the oid-style beehive
plantsiin proportion to the amount OF
coal used, but that the by-products
are worth more than the coal at the
mine: By-product ovens in 1912
made Ills. 164 tons OF coke, valued
at t$42,6S2,9SO, from 4.767,54S tons
OF coal, valued at sS5, 1858, AGA at the
oyensA Thcer were yielded, however:
in addition 54,491.24S,00O cubic feet
Ct gas, valued at s4;65O,517; 49,
144,o14 pounds of anhydrous am
monia, valued at s4,114,44s;; s5,-
s75,545i pounds of ammonia, suiphate
Tor reduced to equivalent in sIlphate,
luediatls3,649,144; 94.So6 $3.50 gal
Ions ofitar, valued: at $2,s10,s00; 81
50s,4oS gallons OF ammonia liquor,
valued at $735,12O, and other deriya-
tives valued at s610,552-aS total Of
|Sl6,o7o,6s2. That was an average
Of S1.ossfor every ton Of coal used in
thesby-product ovens.
Ifithe.71, 1858 tons Of West yirE
finia coal had been SO consumed in
! s13, the by-products would have had
q value Of s77,013!7oe at the prices
for such in 1912. The coal would
have yielded, on an average, as 3 tons
OF coke for every 100 tons used, or
5s,6s5,663ttons OF coke. Attic price
Of 1912 these would have brought
5000; 191,S46. The total value Of
coke and by=products would have
been $2SS;205, o46, or nearly four
times the amount, actually received
for the coal sold outright orfin the
form of coke; se7,745.s44 for coal
and se,s74.25o for the coke. Tie
average Increase OF 25s cents a ton
for all coke in 1918 over i 912E must
have been reflected in increased
value OF by-product coke so that sew
eral millions OF dollars would have
been added to the total.
! 1t is hardly. necessary to state that
such a desirable result, implying an,
output Of coke In West virginia IL.
100000 tons greater than the actual
OUTPUT ofitbe country this year is tn