The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1918-09-05

IL last Saturday and left this
morning for Spokane where he
will attend the gold mining confer
ence which convenes in that city to-
day. On his way north Mr. Bell stop
ped off at Butte for several days to
study methods of deep mine ventila-
ton in the great copper camp, with
special reference to their liability
in the solution of the growing prob
lens of mine ventilation in the Coeur
d'Alene district. In conversation with
a representative of the Miner Mr.. Bell
gave most interesting account of his
visit to Butte and the extensive plans
now being carried out for the better
ment of working conditions in the
deep mines.
Ventilation a Big Problem.
Every courtesy was extended to me
and l was afforded every facility by
the management of the Anaconda
their chief ventilating engineer, l i'm
spected seleral of their largest air cir
culating systems said Mr.. Bell.
with natural rock temperatures of
1eO degrees at the bottom of the deep
er workings to contend with, ventila-
tion and fire protection is one of the
big economic problems that the Butte
operators have to contend with.
These natural obstacles to profit :
able deep mining operations at the
big copper camp are being rapidly
subdued and overcome, and a lavish
expenditure of money Is being made to
this end by the Anaconda and other
large companies of Butte through the
medium of electric driven sirocco fan
installations, concrete shaft and sta
tion Innings, and the shifting of power
cables from shafts to parallel vertical
diamond drill holes.
Great Air Capacity.
'"The Anaconda company is now de-
livering million five hundred thous-
and cubic feet of fresh air minute
to its extensive deep underground
workings involving the use of 80 large
type sirocco fans, varying in capacity
up to 10000 cubic feet of air per min
ute. These are supplemented under
ground with 500 smaller type distrib-
uting machines. This company has
orders out at this time for more than
million dollars worth of new fans
and motors of the most modern de-
sign to meet their local conditions and
in the designing Of which the COM
pany's live mechanical department
have effectively participated. 1t is
evident from the great volumes of
fresh air now being delivered at depths
ranging down to 5000 feet vertically
below the surface and exhausted again
through upcast shafts, that with the
fuller completion of present plans and
the proper utilizing of the major in
stallations, that the underground
working conditions will rapidly i'm
prove and that the remarkably per-
sistent ore bodies of the Butte district
from a ventilating standpoint may be
followed to still greater depth.
Adapted to coeur d'Alene Mines.
1.-The Butte mine ventilating system
of circulating fresh air through intri-
cate underground. workings, Is copied
from the big coal mine methods Of the
east, and uses the same type of ma
chimes. 1t is especially adapted to
Coeur d'Alene conditions, and stripped
Of its technical detail and algebraic
verbiage, consists essentially in Its
successful application Of smooth lin
ed main conduits, with plenty OF
blower capacity, plenty Of electric mo-
tor force to push 1t along, and plenty
of substantial air doors to direct Its
equal distribution underground and
exhaustion back to the surface.
There are no natural rock temper
atures in the Coeur d'Alene deer
levels exceeding 80 degrees where
earth penetrations have almost equal
ed those of Butte in some instances
Some local spots of higher tempera
lures than 80 degrees are found here
but occur far above bottom levels and
are doubtless largely due to slow To-
cal earth movement.
Ventilation at the Morning.
A big Improvement has been made
in ventilation conditions at most o.
the big mines Of this district In re-
cent months. This includes the Nor
ming mine at Mullan, where the com.
pany Is now delivering according t.
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