THE WORLD'S FUEL.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1971, 30 January 1914, Page 4

THE WORLD'S FUEL.

COAL MEASURES STILL VAST. BUT ECONOMY ADVISED. USE OF OIL IN THE NAVY. There is plenty of coal yetl The total reserve of the .world amounts to 7,397,553 million tons, so that supplies are not likely to be exhausted for quito a number of years. Hence those who have been agitated by tlie speculations of scientific men as to the danger of the world's stocks running short may tako fresli heart. < These and a mass of other interesting facts are presented in a singularly attractive way in the "Fuel Number" of "The Times," a supplement of no fewer than 60 pages, issued by the proprietary of that great newspaper on December 1. This mammoth publication leaves nothing remaining to be said about fuel.' Not 'only aro there exhaustive special articles about coal and its mining, distribution, and consumption; but there are many columns devoted to wood and vegetable fuels, -peat, charcoal, petroleum, motor spirit, fuel gases, coal gas, and its manufacture, tlio use of oil in the navy, arid so on—a perfect mine of informative detail about a fascinating subject. Tlio paramount importance of coal, as fuel, notwithstanding the efforts which nave been made to find a substitute for it, remain undisputed. As Mr. D. A. Thomas, formerly M.P. for Cardiff, and an eminent authority on the subject, pointed out in a recent address, tlier total quantity of oil in the world to-day available for fuel purposes is less than 2 per cent, of tlie total production of coal; "and how," ho asked, "is 2 per cent, to tako tie placo of ■ 100 per cent.?"

As is aptly set forth in one of these i articles, a now country usually develops its surface resources, such as agriculI turo, in the first instance, tho development of it.s underground fuel resources following at a later period when these become' necessary in connection with the .manufacturing industries. Tlius in 1875 the conl production of the United States of America was only about 46 million tons, while in Great Britain it amounted to 133 millions. Now the situation is reversed, tho corresponding figures for 1911 being 443 and 272 millions respectively. China, .Canada, and Russia, with their immense coal areas, produco only about. 13, 13, and 23 million tons per annum, and Canada and Russia import (balanco of imports above exports) about twelve and five millions respectively. Tho extent of tho coal fields of Russia is largely a matter of guesswork, and there aro probably many othor areas , throughout tho world where large quantities of coal exist as yet unsuspected. One of tho most interesting' chapters is that which gives tho .estimates of tho quantity of coal in some of the principal countries of the earth. In 1893 calculations made by R. Nasse for the Prussian Government were published, as follow:—

Millions of tons. United States 684,000 Germany 112,000 United Kingdom 398,000 France ;. .18,000 Belgium 15,000 Austria-Hungary 17,000 In 1904 a revised estimato was mado hy Oskar Simmerbach, as follows . Millions of

' ' tons. United l States . 681,000 Germany 415,000 United Kingdom 198,0(l0u, , France • 10,000 '.*• • Belgium 20,000 Austria-Hungary 17,000 Bussia 40,000 , . In this table the figures for the United Kingdom were taken from the report'of the Royal Commission on Coal, 1871, and the figures given by tho Royal Commission on '.Coal Supplies, 1904, namely, 147,000' millions of tons, should be substituted. .. i i "With regard to other countries,- boveral estimates from various sources have been collected by Mr. A. W. Flax, and given iii his edition (the third) of Jevons's "Coal Question." They include: Millions of ' , : .'. tons. . Nova Scotia ■ 7,000 • : . .0 (Official, 1903) ■ ' New South Wales '. 78,198' (C. ii. Wilkinson) ' ■ ■ (130,000) 1 Do ....; ( to ) (150,000) ' . (Prof. David, 1890) Do . 115,846 Queensland' 83,319 (Colliery Guardian, 1002) ; Victoria .. 88,388 (Colliery Guardian, 1Q02) Japan 48,000 (111. Com. on Coal Sup.) China : 350,000 ' (Noali F. Drake) Do-' 630,000 (Engineering, 1905) The'coal resources of tho world were made the principal subjoot of tho International Geological Congress recently ..held at Toronto, and a monograph has been prepared'embodying the results of an inquiry made, on the initiative of the Cgngrcss, by leading geologists of various countries. The conclusion 1 ' reached is that tho total coal reserve of ' the world amounts to 7,397,553 million tons, that of Canada being 1,231,269. million tons, and that of the United States 3,836,057 million tons. These figures throw all previous estimates completely into the shade. , A quantity of information from a volume by Mr. F. Danvers Power is published, relating to tho-coal deposits of Australia. So far as the .resources of New South Wales are concerned, tho data, available are insufficient to.enable an accurato'estimate to be made; but Mr. E. F. Pittman had assumed, as regards the areas of coal in the Palaeozoic coalfields,' which are productive within 4000 ft. of the surface, that tho upper and middle coal . ■ measures cover 15,800 square miles, tho Grota. coal measures in tho northern district 250, and tho Greta coal measures in tho southern district 500, or a total of 16,550 square miles. In 1 their most productive area* tho upper coal measures contain about 40ft. of workable coal, the middle coal moasures about 18ft., and tho Greta coal measures about 20ft. There is, therefore,' a niaxfmum thickness of about 78ft. of workablo coal in tho PermocarboniferoUß rocks. Assuming, however, an average thickness of only 10ft. of workablo coal throughout the whole area of 16,550 square miles, taking 841b. as tho average weight of a cubic foot of the coal, and deducting one-third of tho gross weight for loss in working, the total quantity would be about 115,347 million ions. A comparative table gives the quantity of coal consumed per head per annum in the principal countries of tho world in 1886-90 and in 1911: as follows :— 1886-90. 1911. Ton?. Tons. United Kingdom 3.66 • 4 08 India 0.01 o'.Ol' Canada 0.83 no.i Australia n.78 1.05 Now Zealand 1.04 2.00 Capo of Good Hope 0.09 Natal f [ Oraiigp Free State ? 0.90 Transvaal f I fl-nssift O.OG 0.17 Sweden 0.H2 0.85 Germany 1.18 2.03 Belgium 2.28 3.21 France 0.82 Cti Spain 0.15 0.32 Italy 0.12 0.2" Austria-Hungary 0.29 ? Japan 0.03 0.21 United States .' 2.04 4.54 . The consumption of the United Kingdom consists almost entirelv of home, production, but in 1911 a quantity of 41,000 tons was imported—a small

amount, it is true, but of ominous portent. Incidentally it is mentioned that in the United Kingdom, coal • milling has been made the subject of so nutch legislation that very little room for elasticity now remains, tho modern mining engineer being very much in tho same I position as the arm.v officer bound down !by his military code. A position very much similar has been attained in Australia. That the dangers of coal-iriin-ing are decreasing is shown by the decline in tho death-rate, this fall being most marked ill the case of explosions of fire-damp or coal dust, and shaft accidents. Deaths from boiler explosions used to bo fairly frequent, but Jmve uow been almost eliminated. A great deal of attention has naturally been excited by the experiments <it> the use of liquid fuel for the Navv. Tho advantages derived from tho use''of oil arc so great as to outweigh the question of tost; and summarising the casn for liquid fuel versus cog!, "The Times" points out that as 66 tons of oil are for boiler firing the equivalent of 100 tons of Welsh steam coal, it is evident that if the. coal could be obtained at £1 per ton, the oil would be worth 30s. a ton; whilo, when tho saving in labour, depreciation, and cost of repairs, and the inoreaso in the earning capacity, of tho ship are considered, tho uso of oil might be economical at a far higher price. The cost of fuel oil to-day, however, stands in the neighbourhood of 70s. a ton, and: only the eil steamers able to take in their supplies at the oil ports under the most favoured conditions can afford to us© it for firing. Even if the oil be used in internal combustion engines, Captain Riall Saflkey has shown •that it must be at 425. per ton to hold its own with coal at 18s. per ton. when the latter is used with the best omtyed superheated condeusiftg steam plants all items of expense being taken in account, "From these consideration a.," the article proceeds, "it is clear that only afloat, .where the questions of* labour and space become all-important, has liquid fuel its greatest scope. But those responsible for tho navies, of the world have in the past hesitated to build warships fired only by oil, not only on the score of its high price, but because of uncertainty as to supply, since in the event of failure the ships Would be out of aclion. Only the smaller craft have, therefore, been so fitted, the larger vessels being mostly constructed to burn coal under ordinary conditions, and to use oil as an auriliary when increased speed is desired." But though thoro is plenty of fuel, a warning is given that the stores are circumscribed, and thgt as _ they have been produced under conditions that can nevor exist again, they can never be replenished. Hence, in an articlo discussing tho futitro of fuel, it is urged that coal should bo used, not with the prodigal wastefulness' which has prevailed in the past, but with care and circumspection. Were the uae of • bituminous coal as a domestic fuel made illegal or subjected to a heavy tax and the suppliers of gas at the same time persuaded te. furnish a coke in which enough volatile matter had been Iftft to give easy ignition and bright burning in. an ordinaij grate, gas and coke would be the chief domestic, fuels used,,' the smoko problem would be solved, and a good many years added to the commercial life of the coalfields. It is reckoned also that millions of tofts of ooul 'could be saved every year by tlm substitution of up-to-date toilers and engines for obsolete machinery, and that economy could. bo effected in many other ways now ncglected. Tho possibilities of alcohol as a fiicl aro also discussed.