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[ ] ALVA L. SMITH RMCMI PRESIDENT 1989-1990 on behalf of the RMCMI Board of Directors and Officers of The Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute cordially invites you and your family to attend the 86th Regular Meeting and Convention to be held June 24, 25 and 26, 1990 at Sheraton Steamboat Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Jan 1, 1989

By J. J. Welch

The thought and practices in the field of accounting in the past two or three years are undergoing far-reaching changes, but more important than this is the changing viewpoint of business managers toward accounting reports and statistics. Accounting is no longer considered a necessary burden of business, for progressive managers and operating officials everywhere look upon it as a service. A service of supplying operating men and executives with information on their affairs which enables closer and more effective supervision, to the end that business may be conducted more satisfactorily and more profitably. This service is the real function of accounting in business management. Of the many treatises on accounting published in recent years, the great majority deal with principles and procedures, and were written purely from the accountant's point of view, thus they appeal, and are of interest, chiefly to accountants. Recently, however, the interest displayed by the operating man, be he president, general manager, superintendent, mine foreman or potential mine executive, calls upon the accounting department to serve him in furnishing him with figures showing the financial position and economic progress daily. In order to effectively render this service the necessary co-operation between management, operating and accounting -forces must exist. Satisfactory services may be developed only on a basis of close contact and pulling together between these departments. It is not a one-man job, the responsibilities necessarily rest on all. This co-operation contemplates:

Jan 1, 1932

[Page Minutes 7 Discussion of L. S. Ickis' Paper 20 City Planning and Landscape Architecture for Western Coal Camps, by S. R. DeBoer 22 Discussion of Thos. Foster's Paper 26 Discussion of Safety Committee Report 30 Discussion of R. L. Hair's Paper 52 Discussion of H. I. Smith's Paper 61 Miscellaneous Discussion 62 Discussion of Thos. A. Stroup's Paper 70]

Jan 1, 1924

By Mike Onsager

Jan 1, 2006

Jan 1, 1942

Jan 1, 1977

By S. W. Farnham

Those who remember the years of patient effort and the slow results obtained in the first introduction of electrical coal cutters and locomotives will, I think, admit that mechanical loading of coal is unquestionably being established at a much more rapid rate than any previous application of machinery to reduce manual labor in mines. There are many operators who consider the progress of the loaders today as slow, but considering the number of years it took to thoroughly establish electrical coal cutters and locomotives, and comparing it with the short time that the mechanical loader has been on the market, and the results that have been obtained today, they will admit, I think, that the progress of the latter is much more rapid. It is about 35 years since the advent of the electrical coal cutter and electric locomotive. Their use has brought about these improved conditions, increased tonnage per mine and other features, which are of assistance to the installation of mechanical loaders. The management and the technical staff in practically all of the American mines are trained in the use of electrical machinery and understand its operation, care and maintenance. . There is frequently, a surplus of electrical power and wiring available to take care of the small requirements of the electrical loader. The mechanical loader, therefore, starts today with the ground prepared for it. Those manufacturing companies who have had years of experience in the design and construction of mining machinery, know in a large measure what to incorporate in their designs to make the parts of the new type of machine effectively strong and to operate with efficiency under the severe conditions encountered in mining service. All these advantages greatly assist the success of a new type of machine such as the mechanical loader. In spite of these advantages, however, there are bound to be some failures. All new types of loaders have to be developed. We hear of some that are a success and some that are set aside. The field of application of each type and its limitations first must be determined by actual operation. The earlier loaders had to be changed and improved in design as weaknesses developed. Not all of the new types of coal loaders have been built by mining machinery manufacturers of long experience, and the lack of experience in this line is responsible for some of the early failures. The coal mining company staffs and also those of the loader companies had to learn what the operating factors were that made mechanical loading a success. The difference in results obtained by loaders in different properties under similar physical conditions indicates that the mine management is a very large, if not the major factor, affecting the efficiency of mechanical loading. Many articles have been written on the question of loading. The subject has been quite fully discussed at recent coal meetings and in the technical press. It is not always as easy or simple a matter to form conclusions as may first appear as to one's own particular loading problem. Mechanical loading is a comparatively new art, and many companies while claiming that loaders are quite successful, do not have an accurate line on the actual saving they are affecting. Many of them have only a few of the factors taken into account in their costs. Many loaders have been generally bought without very careful consideration given to all details and except where extremely favorable conditions prevail, failure resulted. When contemplating the installation of mechanical loading, one naturally desires to select the type of loader that will, fit his mining conditions. The things

Jan 1, 1924

Bowdil Co. Bucyrus-Erie Co. Coal Age Coal Mining Cobre Tire Dresser Construction FMC Corp. T. J. Gundlach Machine Co. Ingersoll-Rand Joy Mfg. Co. K&P Sales Engineers, Inc. Kennametal Lively Mfg. Co. Long Airdox Co. MSA McLanahan Corp. National Mine Service Co. Page Engineering Co. Plateau Supply, Inc. Pyramid Parts Scandura, Inc. TIC Utah International Utah Power & Light Co. Western Energy Co.

Jan 1, 1986

By Lyman Fearn

Men and institutions are what they are largely because of inheritance. Out of the past comes experience that enables men to build more wisely than did preceding generations. The field of possibilities has widened as the horizon of men's vision has been extended. The realization of these possibilities has depended largely on the application of men's natural endowments, brain and brawn, to the problems at hand. In the field of mechanized mining, Wyoming has a greater percentage of men with vision, who have a realization of the possibilities of mechanized mining, than any other state in proportion to tonnage production. With the introduction of mechanized mining systems have come problems that have caused the men who are connected with the safety work much thought. Discussions on mechanical drilling, cutting, loading, conveying, haulage, etc., have come in for their share of the debate. There have been a few attempts made to show that mechanical mining is safer than are the more primitive ways of doing underground work by man power. We also have a number of places in the coal producing States of the United States, where the mechanized systems have been abandoned chiefly on account of the safety element involved bringing about condemnation of the system by State inspection forces. Certain types of scraper systems have been condemned, and some have voiced opposition to long faces. This would lead us to believe that the question is still a debatable one as far as the safety element is concerned. It is only fair that we discuss the operations of mechanical systems and from the results obtained take analysis of conditions as they exist, basing our conclusions from the results obtained.

Jan 1, 1928

The Forty-Sixth Meeting of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining institute convened at the Hotel Colorado, Glenwood Springs, Colorado, June 19, 1950, at 10:00 a. m., G. E. Sorenson, President, presiding. PRESIDENT SORENSON: The meeting will come to order, gentlemen. I note from the program here this morning that you were supposed to have an address by the president. I can assure you, gentlemen, that the president is not going to make an address, so you don't need to squirm in your chairs. I do want to say it's certainly a pleasure to be here. I am sorry that I wasn't here last year. Apparently my absence lent consent, and I think it would be a good warning to every member of the organization to be here for all the meetings for your own protection! It's always a pleasure to be here and meet again with some of our old friends and meet a lot of new ones. It always interests me at these meetings to meet with the rugged individuals that operate the coal industry. They have to be rugged; they couldn't be any other type of men and live in it. I also know that it takes a good rugged man to fight this game nowadays. I feel that the men who operate the coal industry are fighting a battle against socialism. You all know we are the first industry they have their eyes on. If they take over our industry, they will take over everything else.

Jan 1, 1950

[Mr. Scott Aberle Western Energy Co POB 99 Colstrip, MT 59323-0099 Mr. Brian L. Acton Oxbow Carbon & Minerals Inc 1601 Forum Pl-#P2 West Palm Beach, FL 33401 Mr. Laine W. Adair Genwal Resources Inc POB 1420 Huntington, UT 84518-1420 Mr. Thomas D. Aderman The North American Coal Corp 14758 Preston Rd #1100 Dallas, TX 75240-7891]

Jan 1, 1998

By Richard M. Whiting

Thank you very much for that introduction. I spent part of my early career in the coal industry here in Colorado, and I am always happy to return. In such a beautiful setting, it seems out of place to talk about "Improving the Climate". But in our work-a-day worlds, we know the climate for the coal industry is something less than picture perfect. But unlike Mother Nature's climate, there are some things we can do about the climate for coal. Today, I want to talk to you about sonic of the activities that we are engaged in... and that you can support... to improve that climate. A number of challenges and opportunities face our industry. I will try to set the stage for this conference by briefly describing the current climate for coal - which is indeed very challenging. I will then outline some of the steps we are taking to broaden our base to include our allies in the rail and electricity industries and the public at large.

Jan 1, 2000

By J. A. Bullington

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: Some of you men may know who are familiar with what we have been doing in the C. F. & I. the last three years, that we have revamped our entire method of cost accounting from the pit bosses' report through to the final report of the president. The basic ideas involved in our cost system are not ours. They were given us by one of the best management and industrial engineering concerns in the country-at least they have that reputation. All I can do now is to try to pass on to you some of the ideas we have from various sources and the methods we have used in teaching those ideas to our coal men on cost accounting. This will not be a technical paper. I tried to put it in language we could all understand, and I hope I will be talking the same language that you gentlemen talk when you think about the cost of your coal in your own mines. Accounting of all kinds is classed as overhead expense, and as overhead expense we must justify its cost by the service it gives the rest of the organization. That brings us up to the problem of making the cost department pay its own way, just the same as the power plant has to pay its own way, and we have gotten away from the old idea of cost accounting in that it is sufficient within itself. The cost sheets are only so good as they enable the operating man to reduce his costs. The cost sheets are only just so much work for the cost department, and if they do not help the operating man to control his costs, we figure that is so much work wasted. The cost department works for the operating department.

Jan 1, 1931

By Clifford R. Miercort

When it was announced that the economy grew at an annual rate of 4.7 percent in the Fourth Quarter of 1992, it appeared that our long awaited recovery from recession was here. Unfortunately that much growth proved to be unsustainable, and in the First Quarter of 1993, the number dropped to less than one percent. Today it is clear that the recovery is continuing, but at a very slow rate. One of the Most disturbing statistics during this recovery is that unemployment has not improved as one would expect but has been hovering around 7 percent for over a year, making this recovery a ?jobless? one. In a recent Harvard Business School presentation, a professor reported that the United States has slipped from its leadership position in almost every manufacturing category since World War II. From the production of cars to consumer electronics, we have lost significant world market share to others, most notably Japan and Germany. Obviously this is not new news, but the magnitude of the loss and the number of industries affected was surprising to me. The result has been that our negative balance of payments has soared, and the United States of America now has the dubious distinction of being one of the world's largest debtor nations. It has been common for politicians, and political want-a-be's, to blame all of our trade problems on industry. They say that the moguls of American industry spend too much time seeking short-term gain at the expense of long-term growth. They say that we are interested more in our own perks and economic security than in producing quality products that can compete in the world marketplace. One of the stared goals of the Clinton Administration is the targeting of strategic industries to receive help from the government so they can compete on the world stage more effectively. Personally. I think that is an oxymoron. My experience has been that whenev-

Jan 1, 1993

By E. R. Gibson

It is quite generally conceded that the coal mining industry is among the most progressive in the adoption of modern and efficient equipment and mining methods, but most woefully antiquated in many respects in the matter of systematic accounting. The cause of this condition is problematical, but is usually thought to be due to false economy. We realize that those who do not understand accounts, or like accounting, are inclined to be disdainful of accounts and statistics, and to under-estimate the benefits derived from the expense and labor involved in proper accounting. The business that is run without a proper accounting system is subject to haphazard financing and courts disaster. Furthermore, the operator who disposes of his product without due regard to the requirements of the industry as a whole, as reflected in the cost of doing business, is an unfair competitor. No one will deny that the possible production of coal in the United States is much in excess of the demand. While it is true there is an occasional shortage in certain localities, it is due to temporary abnormal conditions which are overcome in a short period of time, when the mines are again obliged to take idle time, and herein lies the danger, not alone to the operator who neglects to keep informed as to operating costs; but to his competitor as well. While physical conditions and operating methods differ materially, accounting methods must likewise differ in some respects, but irrespective of how the result may be obtained, a true statement of cost is absolutely essential. Daily cost statements may be preferred by some, but have proven unsatisfactory, generally speaking, because of variation in production as well as in both labor and material expense from day to day; therefore, we will confine our attention to a monthly cost statement. To be most effective, operating cost statements should be prepared and submitted to the officers as soon after the close of the month's busi¬ness as possible, to enable them to remedy any defects in the operations that might be discovered by an analysis thereof. Opinions differ materially with respect to the most efficient method of compiling and the distribution of labor and material. The writer believes that a time book which provides space in which to enter the number of hours worked each day of the month by each employe, together with distribution thereof, is the most accurate, simple and complete. This record will show the service performed by an employe each day of the month and the account to which same is properly chargeable. This, of course, refers only to the employe working by the-day or month. While there can be but little said concerning the compiling and distribution of miners' wages, as the weighman's bulletin used almost

Jan 1, 1921

By D. C. Foote

MR. FOOTE: This paper deals with blasting and mechanical loading. The Union Pacific Coal Company does all of its blasting with permissible powder and electric shooting, but this paper deals principally with blasting in connection with mechanical loading. With the introduction of mechanical loading into the coal fields of southern Wyoming one of the main problems to be taken into consideration was the drilling and blasting of the coal. The methods used in blasting coal for hand loading were found to be ill adapted to the mechanical practice, so numerous tests were conducted from time to time to determine a system or systems whereby the coal might be blasted in a form to be easily handled by the loading units. The general practice in blasting coal for hand loading, for example in a room 24 feet wide and seven feet high with an undercut of seven feet, would be to shoot one or two strong breaking shots in the center and one on each rib. While much of the cut would be blasted down in good lump, some coal would be left hanging at the back and ribs. With hand loading, the miners would have time to pull this coal down with a pick between cars and eventually would clean up the place ready for the cutting machine. The loading machine, however, cannot get this coal down and its operation would be delayed while the men were doing the necessary pick work.

Jan 1, 1929

[Allan, Andrew Thompson Creek Coal & Coal Corp., Glenwood Springs, Colo. Allen, Earl W Mine Safety Appliances, 257 Rio Grand St., Salt Lake City, Utah Allen, Louis B C. F. & I. Corp., P.O. Box 1738, Salt Lake City, Utah Allen, Thomas Chief, State Coal Mine Inspector, Colorado, Argonaut Hotel, Denver Ambler, J.B P.O. Box 591, Denver., Colo. Anderson, A. R Jeffrey Mfg. Co., Columbus, Ohio Anderson, Merlynn D U. S. Fuel Co., Hiawatha, Utah Anderson, Nephi W Books Cliffs Coal Co., Dragerton, Utah Arnston, E. K Standard Oil Co., 4601 West 26th Ave., Denver 12, Colo. Audin. Clement, Jr Paonia,Colo.]

Jan 1, 1957

[Page Minutes 5 The Power Problem of the Coal Mine 8 A. L. Jones. Discussion of A. L. Jones' Paper 13 Why Alternating Current 15 C. E. Drennan. Discussion of C. E. Drennan's Paper 17 Dry Cleaning Coal at Brilliant Mine 26 F. A. Young. The Possible Substitution of Pulverized Coal for Fuel Oil in Smelting Operations in the Southwest 33 T. H. O'Brien. Special Discussion of Paper of T. H. O'Brien by D. C. McClure 35 Discussion of T. H. O'Brien's Paper 40 The Gebo Mine 45 J. C. Rae. Low Temperature Carbonization 52 J. F. McDermott. Safety Discussion 54 Order of Business 57]

Jan 1, 1923

[Andrew Allen Glenwood Springs, Colorado C. S. Allen 211 Utah Oil Building, 10 West Broadway, Salt Lake City 1, Utah Earl W. Allen 257 Rio Grande Street, Salt Lake City, Utah Louis B. Allen 411 Walker Bank Building, Salt Lake City, Utah Thomas Allen State Coal Mine Inspector of Colorado, Argonaut Hotel, Denver, Colorado J. B. Ambler P. O. Box 591, Denver, Colorado Nephi W. Anderson Dragerton, Utah F. F. Argust 270 High Street, Pueblo, Colorado E. K. Arnston : 4601 West 26th Avenue, Denver 12, Colorado Abel Audin Somerset, Colorado Clement Audin, Jr Paonia, Colorado Ralph Andin P. 0. Box 285, Somerset, Colorado ]

Jan 1, 1955

By Arthur P. Sanda

Thank you Clark, for that extraordinary introduction, but Paul Harvey would be disappointed if I didn't tell you ... the rest of the story. It's true that I began my career at the Boston Traveler newspaper, one of the last of the breed that started as an office boy and eventually advanced to staff reporter. However, what the biography doesn't tell you is that after that stellar rise to prominence in the Boston financial community, the afternoon Traveler was merged into the morning Boston Herald, and I was out of a job. Between the Traveler - which I closed - and the Brockton Enterprise - where I helped bring about the first labor strike in the newspaper's 100 year history - for a short period I worked double shifts at a bomb factory where we made beanbag mines for use in Vietnam. That is until the plant blew up one morning between my shifts - my last shift, as you can guess. Incidentally, my job was quality control. Before accepting my first public relations job with Boston Gas Company - and handling the media during that companies longest strike in history - I worked part time as a police officer in the small Massachusetts town of Halifax, during which time I wrecked the town's only patrol car - twice. Having contributed all I could to Boston Gas Company, I moved on to the parent company - Eastern Gas and Fuel Associates - where I was instrumental in closing down the last remaining coke plant in the Northeast in the Bridesburg section of Philadelphia - and got my first exposure to the coal industry - a visit to Eastern's last two coal mines in western Pennsylvania, Culver and Delmont - which were closed a month later. With the coal boom at its apex in the late '70s, the bosses thought it would be safe - and safer for the other subsidiary companies - for me to be given the opportunity to establish a formal public relations department at Eastern Associated Coal Corp. In my 10 years with Eastern Associated, I was able to help take the company from 17 operating mines down to 6, from 8 longwall sections down to 5, and eventually have the entire company sold to Peabody, While at the same time, bringing an end to the coal boom. It was at this point that journalism again beckoned, which coincided with COAL magazine purchasing Coal Age from McGraw Hill Publishing. In my l l years with the magazine, we've taken it from Coal Mining and Processing, to Coal Mining, to just COAL, and back to Coal Age - which is the best thing we ever did - and we've had the company sold ... twice.

Jan 1, 1999