Developments in Mechanized Mining

MECHANIZATION is being developed to some extent in every coal field in the United States and it is rather difficult to say which State or section of the country has made the greatest advancement. Statistics now being compiled for 1928 will show the tonnage mined, the amount of equipment used in each of the coal-producing States, and the comparative tonnages and percentages of total tonnage mined in each of these States, and will reveal which field is making the greatest advancement as far as quantity of production is concerned. However, while the tonnage figures are of great importance there-are other phases of coal-mine mechanization, such as the types of equipment, the mining methods and coal bed conditions, which are of equal interest. The change from hand-mining practices in all of the various operations from the face to the railroad cars is, perhaps, more indicative than any other one thing of the real progress being made.