IC 6793 A Million Tons of Anthracite Mined without a Fatality

"A million tons of coal mined in the Pennsylvania anthracite region without a fatality is a feat of which to be proud and one that deserves the commendation of the entire mining industry. The average production per fatality in this region for 1933 was 206,823 tons, an exceptional record showing the results of an intensive drive made by the Pennsylvania Department of Mines and the anthracite operators and-workers to curtail the high accident rates heretofore prevailing in the region.This paper gives information about a mine with a record five times better than the average which should prove to the industry that mine accidents can be reduced through the proper safety organization and effort. The Pine Hill Coal Co., managed by Weston Dodson & Co., Inc., and located at Minersville, Schuylkill County, Pa., has made such a record at its Oak all colliery by studying its accident experience, realizing the facts, and pursuing a definite safety policy with a view to bettering its accident occurrence.As a direct result of its safety policy this colliery has produced 1,044,000 tons of anthracite without a fatality; within 3 years it has reduced its total accidents from 645 to 105 per year, its compensable accidents from 204 to 45 per year, and its lost-time accidents from 335- to 67 per year. In addition, it has set up a smoothly functioning safety organization that will go fax in aiding in the continuance of this great work of mining anthracite at a lower .cost in human suffering.This circular describes the accident-prevention methods perfected and the results obtained by this colliery in the belief that similar methods will produce essentially similar results at any other colliery where they may be adopted.The writer acknowledges his indebtedness to the officials of the company who furnished him with the details of the safety organization and the data from which this report was prepared. He especially desires to thank Messrs. Stockett, general manager, Wells, general superintendent, Morgan, safety engineer, and Kistler,- statistical department, for their hind assistance.The mine is opened by shafts, slopes, and drifts, a characteristic of minas in the Southern anthracite field. Thirteen different beds of coal are being mined. The thickness of the beds ranges from 3.5 to 16 feet and the pitch from 0 to 900. The roof and floor exhibit the entire range of conditions found in anthracite mines. Table 1 describes the coal seams being worked."