The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-04-02
MINERAL WASTE
AMOUNTS TO A
MILLION 4 DAY
According to the Director of
the National Bureau OF
Mines.

IT is a reasonable estimate tnd1 0nS
present waste, IN large measure IN IN
necessary, OF mineral resouI 80
amounts to a national loss OF not less
4fan 81 900 600 a day, says Joseph
A. Holmes, director of the Natloaai
Bureau of Mines.
IN one respect at least consloer
alton of the mineral waste mas 2
basis quite different from the cotl SS'Is
eratfon of agricultural wastes. uE
crops represent an annual producIlo,sn ~
from a reasonably permanent SOL,
our forests may grow again tno
. Ynlrch longer period OF time IS re-
e,,i-eS. ana the soils themselves may
be reproduced from the suDsolls 60
tba rock beneath. But of our min
era1 resources we have only the one
supply. This supply Is to consul l'IL,
cradle extent destroyed in use; a nu
a4 the present increasing rate
which we are using and wasnnB ~
our supply will be either exna u.s. -,
or largely depleted while the haeioN
is yet in it's youth
The most urgent need OF lnves sIt-
CATION and reform Is In connecIlo y,
with the unnecessary waste o. !,
and natural gas that still prevails II
MANI narts of the country. Even
with the limited facilities at It's uls-
nosaI the. bureau has been able dut
Ing the current year to stop waste
IN natural gas valued at not less tn1 -hl
s1O 400. 600. an amount that sA
caeds nv six times the total Cost %
the burea,u's Investigations to aate.
There is urgent need OF enlarseo "a,
IciIities with which to push TINS "ot
more rapidly. A few years &
FrTthar DELAY and this valuaple
source of national wealth viii nave
lbeen wasted-permanently lost
The individual operators in caus-
inc ti,fs waste have followed the-r
ns3uraI bent for temporary gam
The states have permitted this Grim rim
mol waste without protest, fearlhs
that interference might retard devel-
nn1nent VIII the national govern
ment do the same? The saving a.
ready accomplished was the result "
innni1tes and researches that en-
abIed the engineers OF the bureau .l,e -
demonstrate to the oil and gas men
N one of the Oklahoma fields thas
much waste of gas could be prevented
without stopping the drilling Tor Oh.
r. the funds at the disposal OF
the bureau had been large enough "
nroyide for more extended investlsa-
tons and demonstrations, the pre-
yentfon OF waste would nave Deen
rnnch greater. AS it is, however, IN
MANY parts OF the OihidnOiA@h ~
sas fields the waste of natural gas
that still continues Is equivalent 10
sn5 moo 900 or $40, 100000 per an
nm and this waste in all OF the
iii en1 Gas fields of the country new
aogreeates more than 500, 0OOIOOu
nsT anuum OF the total waste OF
gas ii the different oil fields OF the the
country more than eighty per CEN
is believed to be easily preventaD4e.
I INT M O twenty Der
cent II is believed that gasoline may
mo extracted from much of 1t ana
the gas itself turned for some userui
The need for enlarged investiga-
tion Il fIlrther shown by the fact that
in addition to this waste of gas me
I waste of petroleum and especially the
loss OF the lighter oils, In pun :ll y.
7 and storage Is much greater than -
ordinarily supposed. moreover WI III
z injury caused in number OF OIL
fields through the flooding OF oil anu
gas strata hy underground water -
T another phase of the subject calling
urgently for inquiry and invessiga-
tion. o,a5
II is estimated that the proposed
\ Investigations into the waste ioli
and gas would cost from S3O, OUO 70
4 8 4O. 900 per annum. and it IS bsIeF-
Z ed InhI Tie 6GAN Al 8 ~
wealth would be more than nun
dredfold for each dollar expended IN
j such an investigation
The waste in coal mining is an
other drain on our national wealln
which calls for serious and EXTENDED
INQUIRY and investigation. a pre-
nminary estimate, based upon limited
iinouiry and examination Indicates an
] annual waste or loss OF coal IN
4 mining and handling of not less than
4 - q .OOO. 900 tons per annum. rms
represents q loss from our best and
most easily mined Goals and those
nearest our great ceaters OF INDUSTRY
what is needed In connection with the
loss il a thorough underground sur
vey and examination Mt certain care
I fully selected areas IN each OF the
important coal fields OF the country,
with view to determining the exact
con ditfons under which mining OPP
creations take place and the posi- o IL
titles OF adopting less wasteful metn-
DDS. With this large amount OF &C
curate information lad before the
rSubiic it will then be possible to op-
tain the adoption of Tar less waste
full methods OF mining. SUCH an IN
vestigation. thoroughly conducted,
1voni5 cost about $4,000 per annum
FOR three or four years. IT is con-
fidently believed that the results OF
sncb an investigation weuld mean
saving n fuel resources having
x,gluo to the nation of considerably
more than $50 ,o9O,0 900 per annum'
There Is need of similar inYestga-
lions looking to a reduction in the
waste and loss IN the mining, prep
aration and treatment of our metal
liferous ores and metals. when
wastes and losses aggregate in dit
ferent cases from ten to fifty per
cent OF the total yearly production or
such minerals and metals a Few "
these wastes may be regarded as