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By B. W. Dyer

At about 8:30 o'clock on the morning of March 8, 1924, an explosion occurred in the Castle Gate No. 2 Mine of the Utah Fuel Company, Castle Gate, Utah, and 171 men lost their lives. The explosion was caused by the ignition of a comparatively small body of gas and was propagated throughout the mine by fine coal dust which had accumulated on the roof and ribs of the mine and by coal dust made by the explosion itself. Castle Gate No. 2 Mine was one of the best kept mines in the state and it was believed not only by the officials of the Utah Fuel Company, but by all others connected with the coal industry of the state that this was one of the safest mines in the entire state. The state had not been visited by a catastrophe for over twenty years and it was a general belief that the mines were kept in such condition that a catastrophe was almost impossible. During the preceding twenty years new mining officials from other fields had entered the state and seeing that sprinkling as done in Utah was far more elaborate than in most other coal mining sections of the country, caused them to believe that they were keeping their mines in an absolutely safe condition. When coal -mines suffer no mishap during a period of twenty years the general attitude relative to safety may become somewhat lax, not only with the operating officials, but also with the State Inspection Department. However, there were some who were more keen to appreciate the hazards of Utah coal dust and who predicted that if Utah mines were kept only damp but not wet, some day the state would be shocked by the news of a dreadful disaster. In a paper prepared and read before the Salt Lake City Chapter of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers in 1924, Mr. D. Harrington stated: "The writer had his first mining work in Utah mines spending nearly ten years in Utah, starting just after the Scofield explosion in 1900. After having been absent from the state for about eight years upon returning and spending a few days in a few properties, there appeared then to be a definite relaxation as to precautionary methods especially against dust; some of the properties which in 1900 to 1910 would have stopped work if for any reason water was not available for sprinkling purposes, were in 1918 definitely dry in many places, and in some instances there was also definite relaxation as to shooting regulations, some properties with electric shooting systems were allowing firing of certain shots while the men were in the mine. The Utah coal. dusts are too inflammable and explosive to allow of taking any chances and unless up-to-date and carefully maintained, the Utah coal mining world will hear to its dismay, that the very excellent record of the past twenty-three years as to explosions has been shattered. Hence, possibly it was not altogether a complete surprise that such a disaster occurred in Utah, but it was a surprise to many that it occurred in one of the best kept mines in the state and it was that fact that led the coal mining men of Utah to believe that the state coal mining laws should be modified.

Jan 1, 1925

D. HARRINGTON: Owing to lack of funds, the United States Bureau of Mines have made no experiments in the Bruceton mines in the use of mudite. MR. McAULIFFE: I doubt that mudite cam be delivered at fifty cents a ton and that a mile of heading can be treated with mudite for ten dollars. You could not dig a ton of sand out of a sand hank for that money. L. C. CLARE: The tram road leading to Wattis mine crosses a shale bed and it is easy to screen the shale through a %-inch sieve and load it into a mine car. W. J. REID: A slow trip passing through a mudited entry will dislodge practically no dust, a rapid trip will make air disturbance enough to coat the cars with fine dust. MR. PRYDE: We have used mudite on stoppings around a fire in Reliance and for two months thought they were getting good results, but the fire was found to be drawing air and to be spreading. This mudite was smeared over the stoppings with a trowel. After this apparently failed we used dry adobe.

Jan 1, 1925

The Annual Business Meeting of the members of The Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute held during the 83rd Regular Meeting of the Institute was called to order by the president, Bernard Bernstrom at 2:50 p.m. Tuesday, June 30, 1987 in the Janss Auditorium of the Snowmass Conference Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado. Thirty-one were present and a quorum was established. The president outlined the purpose of the meeting was to inform the members of the status of the affairs and activities of the corporation during the preceding year. It was moved by Leon Jeannot, seconded and carried to approve the minutes as published in the 1986 Proceedings. The chair called for reports of the various committees and these reports will by placed on file in the RMCMI Office. Bylaws and Resolutions. Chairman Loren V. Linville reported there were no bylaws revisions. He further reported that the Board had adopted three resolutions: (1) Noting the passing of members since the last convention-Benton Boyd, E. A. Hare, E. S. Moran, Jr. and Edward Prostel. (2) Of appreciation to the Executive Secretary, officers, chairman, Diamond Jubilee chairman and committees and convention committees for an outstanding job in preparing for the 83rd Regular Meeting of the Institute. (3) To recommend to all RMCMI members that, on an individual basis, they each oppose replacing coal fired generation with natural gas generation. Membership. Chairman Leon Jeannot reported that at the beginning of the 1986 fiscal year, there were 881 active or dues-paying members. During the year, 219 members were dropped for a variety of reasons such as non-payment of dues, transfer, employed elsewhere, change of address. Ninety-six new members have been recruited for an active total of 758. In addition there are 55 Life Members, 20 senior members, six scholarship winners and seven supporters for a net total of 846. The budget of RMCMI calls for 1,000 active members and we must address and plan for those short-term prospects as they will certainly impact our membership. A full report is on file in the RMCMI office. Patrons of the Institute. Chairman Ira McKeever reported that only 59 Patrons renewed their support during 1986-87. Program. Chairman Bill Balaz announced that the convention program theme "This is OUR Life", as presented in "Past", "Present" and "Future" segments was very well received. He called for additional helpers another year and suggested that next year's program format be changed to a hard hitting one. Publicity. Chairman Tom Egan reported that of the three newsletters sent members during the year, that the most effective one was the newspaper format one and recommended its use next year. RMCMI hired Bob Jacob who heads his own public relations firm to solicit advertising for the Proceedings on a contract/ commission basis. He attended the convention for this purpose and to solicit business card ads. A full report is on file in the RMCMI office. Scholarship. Chairman Keith McGinnis reported that five of the six scholarship recipients were present at the convention. Each was introduced to the membership at the Tuesday morning Scholarship Breakfast, presented a plaque and responded. The input from each winner was most favorable to the program. Each was appreciative of the many contacts made and the educational seminars and programs. The selection process started in March and was completed in May, except for one university which had difficulty in providing a candidate. It is suggested that the initial contact with the institutions be made in December and completed by April 1. This year, for the first time, three of the six universities were visited for the purpose of interviewing the candidates. They were Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. A very positive feedback was received from these schools and it is recommended that the practice continue. CONVENTION COMMITTEES Convention Arrangements. Doris Finnie presented the following report: As a professional meeting planner, this Diamond Jubilee convention was indeed a great challenge. One meal was added to the package and thus increased the individual cost. Snowmass Resort Association is unique in that they utilize a conference coordinator who acts as the middle man between myself and the usual persons we deal with, like AV personnel, the chef, the banquet director, the steak fry personnel, the Sunday tour etc. so the office had to become creative. For instance, we learned early on we could not deal with the local florists. It cost us lots less to buy our flowers wholesale in Denver, have my husband drive them up and our West Virginia daughter to arrange them! But, finally her floral arrangement class at CSU paid off! This was truly a Finnie family orchestrated convention. Our Lakewood daughter acted as Scholar-

Jan 1, 1987

At 10 a. m., Tuesday, November 12, 1912, the following members of the committee appointed by "Coal Age" to organize a Coal-Mining Institute for the Rocky Mountain region, met in the State Capitol, at Denver, Colo. : E. H. Weitzel W. J. Murray T. H. O'Brien W. B. Williams James Dalrvmple F. W. Whitksiie A. C. Watts David Griffiths The following members of the committee were not present: Frank Manley Allan French H. C. Williams Frank Cameron J. E. Pettit D. W. Brown C. H. Gibbs E. H. Weitzel acted as chairman of the meeting. This committee drew up a form of Constitution and By-Laws, to be recommended to the general meeting to be held on the following day; and, with the exception of two alterations, this Constitution and By-Laws, formulated by the Organization Committee, were accepted as a whole by the general meeting. With the exception of a general discussion of affairs that might be brought out by means of such an institute, no further business was done at this meeting of the Organization Committee, and it was adjourned.

Jan 1, 1913

Mr. Ronald H. Achziger Midwest Rbr & Sply Co 6404 E 39th Ave Denver, CO 80207 Mr. Randy Acre Acre Management POB 130 Florence, CO 81226 Mr. Brian L. Acton Pacific Basin Resources 7901 SouthPark Plaza #205 Littleton, CO 80120 Mr. Laine W. Adair Andalex Resources Inc POB 902 Price, UT 84501 Mr. Joel Allen Knife River Coal Box 39 Beulah, ND 58523

Jan 1, 1996

[Participating Scholarship Colleges and Universities 154 ACZ 149 AmerCable,Inc 144 Andalex Resources, Inc 118 Behre Dolbear & Company, Inc 101 Canyon Fuel Company 145 Commercial Testing & Engineering Company 95 Continental Conveyor 148 Cove Shoes 136-137 Crane & Hoist Sales Inc 121 Crested Butte Mountain Resort 134 Cyprus Amax Minerals Company 115 Dakota Coal Company DriltechInc 135 Empire Machinery Company 94 Energy West Mining Company 122 Fluor Daniel 100 GH Hensley Industries 126. 127 Hitachi Construction Machinery (America) Corp 123 Holme, Roberts & Owen 98 Honnen Equipment Company 150 Ingersoll-Rand Company 141 Jennmar Corporation 142 Joy Mining Machinery - A Harnischfeger Industries Company 104 K & P Sales Engineers, Inc 114 Kennecott Energy Company 155 Kerr-McGee Coal Corporation 96 LeTourneau,Inc 160 Long-Airdox Company 112 Magnum Metals, Inc 133 McLanahan Corporation 129 Mine Technik America 124 Mineral Tech 151 Morrison Knudsen Corporation 97 The North American Coal Corporation 130 Northwestern Resources Company 125 P&H MinePro Services 157 Peabody Western Coal Co 131 Phillips Machine Service, Inc Pincock Allen & Holt 120 Powder River Coal Company 107 Pyro-Chem 156 RamseyTechnology, Inc 119 Rust Tractor Company 90 Salt River Project 91 Savage Industries Inc 89 Schroeder Industries 147 Sheraton Steamboat Resort and Conference Center 111 Skelly & Loy 138 Snowmass Village at Aspen 146 Stamler Corporation (An Oldenburg Group Company) 117 Tamarron Hilton Resort 140 TerraMatrix Inc 139 TIC (The Industrial Company of Wyoming, Inc.) 99 Trapper Mining Inc 106 Wagner Equipment Company 116 Weir International Mining Consultants 113 Westech 152 Wheeler Machinery Company 128]

Jan 1, 1997

By Gordon E. Jackson

I read a book the other day called Opportunity 2000. The book, Opportunity 2000, talks about what's going to happen in the next nine or ten years as we propel ourselves through the 1990s into the 219 century. The book, Opportunity 2000, is a futuristic book, somewhat like Megatrends. It said that by the year 2000, baby boomers will be old people, and when you got here before the baby boomers, how does that make you feel? It said that there will be more women in the American work place by the year 2000 than men. The book, Opportunity 2000, discusses diversity. The big challenge for the 1990s is ?diversity?. We'll have the D-word in the 1990s. We had the G-word in the 1980s ? ?global.? Diversity in terms of more immigrants, more minorities, more females into the American work place, but also value systems diversity. We'll have to deal and adapt to four different generational clusters in dealing and interacting with employees and management in the 1990s-value systems diversity. I think there will be five generational clusters that we'll have to deal with. Massey says four. He says we'll still have the old people around, the World War II mentality; those who

Jan 1, 1991

Jan 1, 1961

The Wednesday morning session started with a film "The Greatest Good" presented by the Colorado Mining Association, courtesy of A. George Setter. President Joe Taylor opened the business meeting at 9:30 a.m. He called for a report from the Auditing Committee. The report was read and a motion was made for approval. It was made, seconded and approved. The report from the Resolutions Committee was submitted by Mr. Robert Delaney, Chairman of the committee. It reads as follows: RESOLVED: Whereas, in the year since the last convention of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute, the Institute and the coal mining industry generally have suffered the loss through death of the services of:

Jan 1, 1968

of our good friends and fellow -members: J. R. Gemmill J. J. Walsh J. F. Gieble M. O. Danford John E. Havens J. E. Edgeworth R. S. Rubincam Phil Lloyd E. J. Raddatz who left the world better for their having lived in it.

Jan 1, 1934

By George B. Pryde

Dear Sir: Yours of July 23rd, relative to my appointment on the Safety Committee in connection with the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute. As you say in your letter, "The duty of this committee is to draft suggestions as to safer mining practices with the idea of preventing disasters in coal mines." Much has been written and many suggestions made on this same subject, and it is very hard to put up further recommendations than have already been made. The disasters you mention in your letter unquestionably have direct reference to coal mine explosions, which from time to time still occur in this and other countries. As far as our Western mines are concerned, you know that sprinkling and shot firing by electricity have been very extensively carried out. Notwithstanding these precautions; we have had a few rather serious disasters in the past in these mines. I do not care to place any blame or responsibility on the companies having these disasters, but it is a fact that in each and all of them, after careful investigation has been made, that the human element has had more or less bearing on the accidents happening. From most reports that we gain, either directly or indirectly, it is very evident that investigation shows after an explosion that the rules governing one or both of the above safety measures have been somewhat carelessly or negligently carried out. Much has been written and read about rock dust sprinkling, but it is questionable if this method is doing a great deal toward the eliminating of disasters. While it is true it may have the effect of preventing propagation, still I do not believe anyone claims for it a sure preventative against initial explosions. I had occasion not long ago to visit a mine, after an explosion, in which dust barriers were supposed to be hung, and from indications it was quite evident that the dust barriers had been in operation, but they did not prevent the explosion from reaching all open parts of the mine. It is also true that profuse scattering of rock dust throughout a mine would have a beneficial effect, but there is a question arises here as to whether the sprinkling by rock dust or the spraying by water, if available, is the most effective. I am satisfied that if all coal mines are kept well sprinkled and all open workings maintained in a thorough moist condition, that the biggest factor in a coal mine explosion is in this way eliminated. There is no doubt but what the use of permissible powder, particularly if shot by electricity, has had a very marked effect on the number of disasters in mines, and if this method of shooting was energetically carried out there would be a difference in the number of explosions, both minor and Major, all over the country. Some of the recent explosions have taken place where no shooting was being done, but there is no denying the fact that the other ingredient, namely, coal dust, entered in the elements very extensively. We have read and heard of hydraulic cartridges and other patents (substitutes for powder) that were being worked out for the purpose of

Jan 1, 1923

The final session of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute was called to order by retiring President, A. Z. Dimitroff. The report of the Auditing Committee was given by E. C. Horne, Acting Chairman of that committee. Motion was made by Dock Schloss that the report he accepted; seconded and carried. Oren Bridwell, Chairman of the Resolutions Committee, gave the following report: Resolved: That the members of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute in convention assembled, hereby ratify and confirm all official actions of the officers, the Executive Committee and other committees of the Institute between June 29, 1960, and the present time.

Jan 1, 1961

Oren. F. Bridwell: The President declares there is a quorum. Since the minutes of last year's meeting arc published in the Proceedings, unless there is objection, we will dispense with the reading of the minutes. There being no objection the minutes will he dispensed with. Is there a report from the Treasurer? Raymond Venous, Chairman, Auditing Committee: I'd like to submit the report for the Secretary-Treasurer for the previous year. Following is the financial report of the Treasurer from May 21, 1964 to May 24, 1965. (Report submitted) May we say, "Cussie," you keep a very, very nice set of hooks. Thank you. Oren F. Bridwell: You have heard the report of the condition of our treasury. We are solvent, at any rate. You have also heard the report of the Auditing Committee. If we might have a motion that the report of the auditing committee he accepted. Moved, seconded and carried. We'll have a report of the Resolutions Committee. Max A. Robe, Chairman, Resolutions Committee: Ladies and gentlemen, we have four resolutions, which we trust are going to he in the best interests of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute and the coal industry in general.

Jan 1, 1965

By V. O. Murray

Gentlemen: I'm glad to see the crowd that's here this morning, glad to renew acquaintances with many old friends, and if you'll look at the program you'll see a heading there which states that as President I have the honor and pleasure to be here to address the membership of this meeting of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute, this being the 49th regular meeting. The tentative schedule of this gathering lists on the program the "President's Address," and I want to assure you that this will not be an address or a lengthy speech. It's said that a good speaker is one who arises to the occasion and then promptly sits clown, so please be at ease for I intend to sit clown very soon. There are other men here who have spent time writing and preparing papers on subjects that are to come up for discussion at this meeting, which will be, I'm sure, more interesting than what I have to say this morning; so again I'll say, we'll get this part of the program under way promptly.

Jan 1, 1953

Business meeting was opened at 9:30 a.m., June 28, 1967. President James Westfield asked that the meeting come to order. "We have some business to be taken care of this morning. First, we will have a report from the Auditing Committee." Mr. W. S. Landers read the report and said that it had been audited and approved and the motion was made and seconded that it be accepted. It was accepted unanimously. (See Index for Treasurer's Report.) The Resolutions Committee Report was read by Mr. Cliff Artis as follows:

Jan 1, 1967

resident Schloss called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. Bob Dean, manager of the Hotel Colorado, gave a brief explanation of hotel policies governing the swimming pool, and also extended an invitation to the Institute to return in 1963, and stated that the dates June 30 through July 3 were available for next year. He also stated that June 28 through July 1 were available for 1964. He felt that holding the convention during the 4th was not good policy, and that dates prior to or following the 4th would make for better attendance. John A. Reeves, chairman of the Resolutions Committee presented the following resolutions: RESOLVED: That the members of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute in convention assembled, hereby ratify and confirm all official actions of the officers, the Executive Committee and other committees of the Institute between June 28, 1961, and the present time.

Jan 1, 1962

By Thos. A. Stroup

From time to time the question of shearing or vertical cutting of rooms and entries especially as an adjunct to the usual horizontal cuts, has cropped up in the literature of coal mining and in the discussions of mining men. Exact and definite data based an thorough tests have usually been lacking however and the present article is written to supply as far as possible this deficiency. The tests given below were made over a period of 90 days in the summer of 1921 and the object was to investigate the general .economics, if any, that might result from the introduction of vertical cutting as a standard practice into the Clear Creek mines. The machine used was the Oldroyd Universal coal cutter and comparative tests were made against the Goodman Straight- face machine and the 35 B Jeffrey Shortwall. The tests however should be held to apply only to the various methods of cutting and not as a study in the relative merits of the various machines. The first series of tests were made in the 2nd East district of No. 3 mine, where only entries were being driven at the time, the tests therefore cover only entry work. The presumption was that the entry width would be 12 feet but the oxerrun in some cases was marked enough to make the work comparable to rooms. The first test made was to determine the time necessary to shear as well as cut the places, and the results were reduced to the time necessary to cut a ton of coal. The time for shearing in the table includes the time necessary to revolve the cutter bar to the vertical position.

Jan 1, 1924

[ADDISON, HERBERT Big Horn Collieries Co., Colo. Bldg., Denver, Colo. ALEXANDER, JOHN 825 So. Gaylord St., Denver, Colo. ALLAN, DAVID Lafayette, Colo. ALLEN, JOHN Ludlow, Colo. ALLEY, GERALD Box 1920, Denver, Colo. ALLISON, ARCHIE Box 562, Walsenburg, Colo. ALLISON, D. S 1331 Roberta St., Salt Lake City, Utah AMBLER, J. B c-o Ambler & Riter, Kearns Bldg., Salt Lake City, Utah ANDERSON, A. E 403 Ideal Bldg., Denver, Colo. ANDERSON, FRANK Crosby, Wyo. ANDREWS, SAM Box 91, Walsenburg, Colo. ANGUS, WILLIAM -o B. W. Snodgrass, 1575 Lafayette St., Denver, Colo. APPERSON, A. B Tramway Bldg., Denver, Colo. ARMSTRONG, C. D 420 U. S. Natl. Bank Bldg., Denver, Colo.]

Jan 1, 1926

President-elect Bob Wilson opened the business meeting at 9:30 a.m. He called on Shirl C. McArthur to report on the financial statement of the treasurer. He read the data and asked for its approval. A motion was made, seconded and approved. The Resolutions Committee was called upon to make its report. The following resolutions were submitted: (1) RESOLVED: WHEREAS, in the year since the last convention of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute, the Institute and the coal mining industry have suffered the loss through death of the services of: J. S. Besser Harry Brophy Walter E. Burleson A. F. Geiger Wilbur J. Gunther Albert W'. Holmes Harold Levene Larry Littlejohn David H. Michael Carmal Patton Charles M. Schloss Ira R. SigMan

Jan 1, 1975

Oren F. Bridwell: We will close out the Institute. The President could not be here. So the Past President of the organization has been asked to take the chair. If there is no objection I will be glad to do so. We will proceed with the meeting. It seems to me we have a quorum. Minutes of last year's meetings are published in the Proceedings. If there is no objection we will dispense with the reading of the minutes. There being none we will dispense with the minutes. The Nominating Committee made its re- port last night. (See list of officers in front of Proceeding.) I move the nominations be closed. Mr. Bridwell: You have heard the motion and second. All in favor say "Aye." (Unanimous.) Motion carried. We will have a report of the Auditing Committee. Mr. Von Storch read the financial statement.

Jan 1, 1966