The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1923-11-08
MAKE RAPID PROGRESS
RESTORE FRENCH MINES
AMERICAN ENGINEER FROM BU-
REAU MINES MAKES IN
TERESTlNG REPORT.

remarkable progress has been
acnleVeu IN the reconstruction ol tne
rrench mining industry systematlcal-
~ destroyed IN wartime py Inc IN
Nadlng Germans. according to George
>. Hce. chlet mining engineer Vi tho
Buearu Oh Mines Department vi the
interior Air. hive has just returned
TO TINS country, after completing 4
study, occupying several months. OF
conditions in the mining industries OF
france. Great Britain, Belgium, Ger
many. Poland, ana CzecnosloVallIa.
made at the direction OF Secretary OF
the Interior W ork. AS a result oil the
splendid engineering skill employed in
the restoration work. some OF tine
finest coal-mining plants IN the world
have been constructed in the north
OF France states Mr.. Rice IN a re-
port made to Director II. Foster BAN
OF the Bureau OF Mines Thousands
of miners houses have been built. re-
placing those destroyed These houses
are quite attractive and most OF them
have gardens. which have been re-
deemed from trenched and blasted
ground. Much attention has been
paid to welfare projects. with the re-
suit that the miners of northern
France are undoubtedly better housed
than miners in any other part of the
world. Underground, the mines have
been recovered TO such an extent that
they are producing about 70 per cent
of the normal coal output. When all
of the water has been pumped out
of the mines, the coal production OF
northern France will be greatly in
creased over that of the pre-war
period. Ingenious cementatiOn me-
thods have been employed in the re-
storation of mine shafts in which the
iron Innings had been blasted admit
ting water which flooded the mine.
Liquid oxygen explosives are being
used in France and Ger
many in metal mining and quarrying
operations. This type Of explosive is
not, however, being employed in coal
mines because of the assumed danger
of causing coal dust explosions. Tests
employing liquid oxygen explosives
in quarries and metal mines in the
United States are now being made by
the Bureau Of Mines at Pittsburgh,
Pa. and at other field stations Con
gress having at the last session, ap-
funds for the work.
Owing to the scarcity of timber
various substitutes are being en-
ployed in the different countries for
mine props Steel ropes and steel
arches are being extensively used 10
uphold mine roofs. In Belgium, mine
shafts, in wet. running" ground, are
being largely constructed by the freez-
ing process, in which the ground is
frozen and made easier of excavation
through the medium of refrigerated
brine forced through pipes surround
ing the area to be eXcavated. Shafts
more than 600 feet in depth have been
sunk by this method A great amount
of information bearing directly on
other mining problems forming part
Of the investigative program of the
Bureau of Mines was obtained by Mr.
Rice.
Mr.. Rice reports that the research
agencies of the various European gov
were greatly Interested IN
he experience of the Bureau of Mines
md other scientific bureaus of the
American Government, and were quite
anxious to cooperate in the study Of
different problems AS a representa-
i've Of an American governmental re-
search organization he was given an
extremely cordial reception by the
scientific workers of all countries
listed AS q result of his visit to
england, the British Government has
llready proposed, through the state
Department., that a joint program of
covering various mining
problems, be adopted. This program
would include the exchange of tech
lical information, of materials under
est, of scientific apparatus and pos
IDLY of research personnel. This
roposal has been accepted by Secre-
airy Work.