University Daily Kansan
Friday, March 8, 1974
3
Kansas Coal Production Dropping
By KENN LOUDEN
Kansan Staff Reporter
Despite higher prices and smaller quantities of oil and natural gas, Kansas
Mike Johnson, director of the industrial safety division of the Kansas Department of Labor, said Wednesday that total production of coal in Kansas was 1,086,012 tons in 1973, a decrease of 227,351 tons since 1969.
Coal production will undergo a sharp drop beginning May 1 when the Pittsburgh & Midway Coal Mining Co., which mines nearly half of Kansas' coal, shuts down.
Frank J. Foresman, director of community relations and civic affairs for Pittsburgh & Midway, said the company had been operating at a loss for the past three years. He said he couldn't give out any financial date, however.
Pittsburgh & Midway, a subsidiary of Gulf Oil, is the largest of the three coal open companies in Kansas and supplies power and public utilities. It employs 90 persons.
"We are hoping to transfer all these people to different locations—possibly Wyoming," Foresman said. "We don't expect to have anyone lose his job."
FORESMAN SAID the primary reason for ending coal production was that the ratio of the overburden to the amount of coal mined is too great. Overburden is dirt and debris that has to be removed to purify the coal.
"For each ton of coal we mine, we have 36 tons of debris. The ratio is 36 to 1, Foresman said. "In contrast to this, the ratio in Wyoming is 1 to 1. Even with the additional freight charge it is cheaper for us in Wyoming and ship it to Kansas."
Foreman said increased gas and oil prices had also made it more expensive to mine coal. He also said the high sulfur content of coal that considered safe by environmentalists.
He said there was no chance that Pitt, shurg & Midway would reopen.
RONALD G. HARDY, chief of mineral resources at the Kansas Geological Survey, was also pessimistic about the future of coal production in Kansas.
"It's really too bad." Hardy said. "Coul production was important in the settling of Kamas, and the industry was important there," he added. The war战, it has declined greatly since then."
He said that when settlers moved to Kansas in the early 19th century, coal was the only source of fuel because Kansas didn't have woods.
'Some cities such as Atchison and tenmworth may never have been settled it'
'I think they will have them.'
"Kansas is no longer a coal consuming state," he said. "There are only four or five
HARDY SAID that despite its increasing price, natural gas had become a cheaper source of energy than coal and that this could be the importance of coal has diminished.
Hardy said that many environmentalists thought that the sulfur content of Kansas caused a fire. But it could be possible the danger to people and animals from the burning of coal that was high in sulfur. President Nixon would like to ease the fire, but it will probably be unsuccessful, he said.
The sulfur content was too high for use in power plants in industrial areas, he said but he wasn't sure whether using the coal for domestic purposes was dangerous.
ACCORDING TO Hardy, Kansas Power & Light and Kansas Gas & Electric have spent over $40 million dollars at a power plant in the Oklahoma City suburb of coal, and the Tennessee Valley Authority
Gasoline... From Page One
received widely varying amounts of gasoline in March if Simon had not stopped them.
New Hampshire, for example, would have only 61.7 per cent of its March, 1972, support and 58.3 per cent registrations; Nebraska would have received 65.9 per cent and Wisconsin 66.8 per cent.
Simon's action increased the supplies of oats to almost $8 per cent of their adji-
tion.
Simon emphasized that the increases were coming from inventories, not from the costs.
Even the six states with more than 100 per cent of their adjusted 1972 supplies were unaffected. They are Alaska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Wyman.
But Simon warned that he would start equalizing the distribution in April, allowing no state to receive more than 95 per cent of its adjusted April. 1972, base supply.
He has said his goal is to bring all state supplies within five per cent of the national budget.
The national average for March would have been 84.3 per cent of the adjusted 1972 base, but the extra allocations increased it to 98.6 per cent with no state below 85 per cent.
Every state is to get more gasoline in March than in February, although some states are not getting it.
Simon's announcement of the March allocations, along with multi-column tabulations, touched off a flurry of arithmetic among the nation's governors as they quickly tried to make sure their states were treated fairly.
Simon said that if they found any discrepancies between their figures and his, or any hardships he had overlooked, his team would have worked with them to resolve such problems.
On the whole, the February and March allocations indicated a pattern of decreasing shortages as the gasoline stocks were tapped.
has also been unsuccessful in its attempts to
remove the sulfur from coal.
"I think the general consensus is that sulfur cannot be removed from coal at a rate that would damage it."
Sulfur content and environmental restrictions are the biggest dangers to the coal industry in Kansas, according to the other two coal production companies.
Jack Wilkinson, mine superintendent of Wilkinson, Inc., said Kansas was slowly being pushed out of the coal industry because of environmental restrictions.
WILKINSON, INC. is also located near Pittsburg. It employs seven persons and its payroll expenses are $284,000.
Wilkinson said the ratio of overburden to coal was 25 to 1. The coal is sold only for £140 a tonne.
He said the company had managed to continue production, but the rising cost of fuel for machinery and the cost of machine tools making it more difficult to operate.
"Mines should have a priority when it comes to fuel allocations," he said. "The price of coal is not rising to meet the cost of production."
He said that the mining industry was confronted with too many restrictions and that since his coal was primarily for mining, he worry about sulfur content is exaggerated.
"PEOPLE HAVE been burning this coal for years without any problems," Wilkinson said. "No one has ever been affected by the sulfur to my knowledge."
He said that the mining industry had to deal with too many rules and regulations and that the small businessman especially were being hurt.
"Nobody is going to invest a lot of money in a mine when they can't make a profit," he said. "The market is here, but the end is not there, preventing us from making use of it."
John W. Mackie Jr., president of the Clemens Coal Co., agreed that the environmentalists had made it difficult for the coal industry.
The Clermens Coal Co. is located near Pittsburg and employs about 120 people. It is open the entire year and supplies power plants and public utilities.
MACKIE SAID their ratio of overburden to coal was about 30 to 1. He compared this to the coal production in Montana and Wyoming where the ratio is 1 to 1.
"At the moment there is barely enough market for everybody and we are not making any money," he said. "We will soon be able to create a competitive situation and the future looks bad."
He said the company had been running at a loss for the last three years.
Interviews
March 21 - Wright Geophysical Co. Mason & Hanger General Dynamics
Dynamics and Wright Dynamics
March 18- Capital Area Perpetual Services Office, Navy (Chillan). Richard Gateh Air Force Base.
"It's a real touch thing. With the cost of supplies, the rising prices of fuel, mine safety laws and the environmental conditions, we can't make a profit," he said.
CERTAIN MINE safety requirements have made it difficult to operate, he said. He gave an example a restriction that said the company could only use portable equipment powered by fuel inside the rines. Last year, he said, these machines
were powered by electricity and there was no problem.
Now we have to use fuel for these
applications, so a fuel allocation as last year", Mackie said.
Mackie said most safety regulations were very good but at times they were over board.
"we went over board."
"The restrictions on our ability to be related," he said. "The environmental needs need to look at both sides of the problem. If they don't there will be no consequence."
ENDS SATURDAY
"Charities of the Gods"
eve 7 & 9 Sat. Sun at 11, 5, 3, 7
...all it takes is a little Confidence
ROBERT REDFORD nominated BEST ACTOR
The dirty-tricks squad tha
even the regular cops are afraid of!
THE SEVEN-UPS
From the producer of "Bullitt and "The French Connection"
STARTS SUNDAY
Many of his fellow officer's considered him the most dangerous man alive—an hopeful.
AL PACINO
NOMINATED FOR BEST ACTOR
Every Eve, at 7:25 & 9:45
Sat. Sun. Mat. at 2:15
Evenings 7:35 & 9:40
Sat.-Sun. Mat. 2:10
Nominees for 7 Oscars Ryan & Tatum O'Neal
NOW SHOWING
You have to choose between the girl you love and the diploma you've worked for all your life.
Your toughest professor just caught you in his bedroom with his dujh jter.
He's grading your final exam right now.
Good luck.
Jack Leman in his most important dramatic role since "The Days of Wine and Roses"
Moon at 7:20 Tiger at 9:30
Sat, Sun, Mat "M" 9:00 Tat 1:45
ENDS SATURDAY
ITALIAN CONNECTION"
—and R
"The CORCHU DREN"
Bonus Fr. Sat. Box Opens
SLAUGHTER HOTEL 1234
The "Woolworth" sandal from Bare-Trap.
Soft lattigo leather on a wooden wedge. Comfort and style all in one super package. Try a pair—now.
Use Kansan Classified
FRIDAY, MARCH 22. Two performances-8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Advanced tickets $3.OO at KIEF'S and BETTER DAYS In Lawrence, CAPERS CORNER in Kansas City and EARTHSHINE In Topeka. Buy your tickets now before spring break!
Brought to you by THE MUSIC PEOPLE LTD.