Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/485

Rh ACCIDENTS.] MINING 467 this subject have been already given (see COAL, vol. vi. p. 79) ; but the figures below relating to metalliferous Mines classed under the Metalliferous Mines Regulation Act in Great Britain and Ireland. mines prove that the occupation of the metal miner is very little less dangerous. 1 ersons Employed. Number of Deaths from Accidents. Death-rate from Accidents per 1000 persons employed. Under Ground. Above Ground. General Total. Under Ground. Above Ground. Total. Falls of Ground. In Shafts. Miscel laneous. Total. Under Ground. Above Ground. Under Ground and Above Ground. 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 34,036 34,905 34,109 34,095 30,624 28,265 32,045 33,291 33,814 22,325 23,168 23,388 23,300 20,834 18,795 20,863 21,651 21,692 56,361 58,073 57,497 57,395 51,458 47,060 52,908 54,942 55,506 40 32 25 41 27 24 31 36 30 34 35 16 21 19 16 21 22 27 15 33 23 24 23 16 19 32 17 89 100 64 86 69 56 71 90 74 14 19 6 11 8 8 13 9 18 103 119 70 97 77 64 84 99 92 2-61 2-86 1-87 2-52 2-25 1-98 2-21 2-70 2-18 0-62 0-82 0-25 0-47 0-38 0-42 0-62 0-41 083 1-82 2-05 1-21 1-69 1-49 1-36 1-59 1-80 1-65 Total and averages ) for the nine years f 295,184 196,016 491,200 286 211 202 699 106 805 2-37 0-54 1-63 This table l shows that the average accidental mortality of the persons employed underground in metalliferous mines is 2 37 per 1000. During the ten years 1873-1882 the corresponding mor tality at mines under the Coal Mines Act was 2 57, showing a difference of only 20 per 1000 in favour of the metal miner ; and when we take the well-known metalliferous district of Cornwall and Devon we find a death-rate for the ten years mentioned of 2 63 per 1000, which therefore exceeds that of coal mines. Reference to the table shows that more than one-third of the deaths were caused by falls of ground. The actual percentages of the deaths are as follows: falls of ground 35 5, in shafts 26 2, miscellaneous 25 &quot;1, on surface 13 1. The accidents in shafts are due to falls from ladders, cages, and man-engines, ropes and chains breaking, overwinding, and other causes, whilst the miscellaneous accidents include numerous fatalities in connexion with blasting operations. The surface accidents are mostly caused by persons becoming entangled in machinery, and there have been several fatal boiler explosions. In spite, however, of all the dangers to which miners are exposed, they are less likely to be the victims of accident than railway ser vants, among whom the rate of fatal accidents varies from 2 5 per 1000 on passenger traffic lines to 3 - 5 per 1000 on lines possessing a heavy goods traffic. 2 Statistics concerning accidents in mines are published by many foreign countries ; the most minute are those prepared by the Government mining engineers in Prussia. The average annual death-rates per 1000 persons employed below ground and above ground from accidents in mines in Prussia during the fifteen years 1867 to 1881 have been: coal mines 2 952, lignite mines 2 474, metal mines 1 446, other mines 1 693, all the mines together 2 476. In making any comparison between these figures and those we have given for Great Britain, it is necessary to recollect that the mines under the Coal Mines Act include some workings which in Prussia would be classed as metalliferous, and that British mines under the Metalliferous Act include underground stone-quarries. Before concluding the subject of accidents, it is necessary to point out that successful efforts have been made of late years to mitigate their results. In the first place, persons equipped with the Fleuss breathing apparatus can now enter mines after explosions, in spite of the noxious and irrespirable gases, and save lives which would otherwise be sacrificed. 3 Secondly, by means of the instruc tion afforded by classes established by the St John Ambulance Association, miners are learning how best to render first aid to the injured before the arrival of a medical man, and there is no doubt that many valuable lives have been lost in times past for want of this knowledge. Thirdly, a vast amount of good has been done by the establishment of Miners Permanent Relief Societies in different districts, which afford aid to persons disabled by accidents and to the dependent relatives of those who have unfortunately lost their lives by any mining fatality. 16. Useful Minerals produced in Various Parts of the Globe. Great Britain and Ireland. The mineral produce of the United Kingdom for the year 1881 is summed by Mr Robert Hunt 4 as follows : 1 From Reports of H.M. Inspectors of Mines for the year 1882, p. xxxvi. 2 The Rate of Fatal and Non-Fatal Accidents in and about Mines and on Railways, with the Cost of Insurance against such Accidents, by Francis G. P. Nelson, London, 1880. 3 Reports of H.M. Inspectors of Mines for the year 1881, Mr Bell s Report, p. 463. 4 Mineral Statistics of the United Kingdom for 1881, p. ix. Minerals. Quantities. Values. Coal Tons cwts. 154,184,300 i. d. 65,528,327 10 Iron ore 17 446 065 6 6 201 068 6 6 Tin ore 12 898 3 697,444 5 3 Copper ore 52 556 1 190,057 8 7 Lead ore 64 702 5 656 725 Zinc ore 35 527 7 110,043 10 8 Iron pyrites 43 616 14 30 033 6 5 Gold ore lj 18 Silver ore 5 19 358 7 Cobalt and nickel ore 63 14 309 12 8 Manganese 2,884 C.441 5 Wolfram- 54 7 544 1 9 Ochre and umber 7 996 9 12 286 7 Arsenic 6 156 8 45 070 7 6 Fluor spar, &amp;lt;fec 372 14 2S3 10 Clays 2 401 421 1,200,210 Salt 2 298 220 1149110 Barytes 21 313 11 23894 3 10 Sundry minerals, Including ) coprolites, rrpsum, calcspar, &amp;gt; shales, &amp;lt;fec. ) 349,500 The total value of minerals produced in 1881 was 76,201,695, 2s., exclusive of slate, building-stone, limestone, and other stones worked by mines and quarries. The quantity of coal raised in 1882 was 156,499,977 tons. The metals obtained from the ores produced in the United Kingdom in 1881 were Metals. Quantities. Values.

18 Silver, from ore 1,650 360 Silver, from lead , 308 398 67,140 Pig iron tons 8 144 449 20,361,122 Tin 8 615 839,680 Copper.. . 3 875 263,500 Lead 48,567 728,805 Zinc 14 947 252,608 Other metals, estimated 1,275 Total value of metals produced in 1881 22,514,508 The total value of minerals and metals obtained from the mines and other mineral workings of the United Kingdom in 1881 was

Coal 65,528,327 Metals, as above 22,514,508 Minerals, not reduced salt, clays, Ac 2,817,652 90,860,487 From these tables it is evident that coal and iron are by far tht&amp;gt; most important mineral productions of the United Kingdom, as 94 per cent, of the total value is due to these two substances. France. The mineral productions of France 5 for the year 1880 are set forth in the following table: Quantities. Values. Metric Tons. 19,362,000 Francs. 246,687,000 248,000 2.755,000 J 44, 000 1.023,000 2,874,000 14,909,000 133,000 2,114,000 53,000 4,690,000 Rock-salt 333,000 11,814,000 Bay-salt. 367,000 6,719,000 23,514,000 290,711,000 5 Stattstique de I Industrie Minerale et des Ap2)areils d Vapeur en France et en Alyerie, Annee 1880, Paris, 1882, p. 45.