CONSERVATION OF MINERALS OTHER THAN COAL
The discussion of conservation as applied to specific minerals might be extended almost indefinitely; but perhaps enough has been said to indicate the general nature of the field. Before the war careful estimates of world supplies had been made for comparatively few minerals, although these included some of the most important, such as coal, oil, and iron. War conditions required a hasty estimate of world reserves of most of the mineral products. The reader interested in the problem will find an extremely interesting body of literature issued by the various governments on this subject. Of especial interest to the American reader will be the reports of the U. S. Geological Survey and of the Bureau of Mines.
In recent years there has been increasing recognition of the possibilities of conservational saving by concentration, refinement, and even manufacture of mineral commodities at or near the point of origin,—thus lessening the tonnage involved in transportation of the crude products. Limitations of fuel and other conditions often make this procedure difficult; but considerable progress is being made both through private initiative and, especially in international trade, through governmental regulations of great variety.
FOOTNOTES:
[42] Campbell, M. R., The coal fields of the United States: Prof. Paper 100-A, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1917, p. 24.
[43] Final report of the Royal Commission on coal supplies: House of Commons, London, vol. 16, 1905.
[44] Report of the National Conservation Commission: Senate Document No. 676, 60th Congress, 2d session, Govt. Printing Office, Washington, 1909.
[45] Van Hise, C. R., The conservation of natural resources in the United States: Macmillan Co., New York, 1910.
[46] Haas, Frank, The conservation of coal through the employment of better methods of mining: Abstract of paper presented to Pan-American Scientific Congress, Washington, Dec., 1915-Jan., 1916.
[47] Adams, Frank D., Our mineral resources and the problem of their proper conservation: 6th Ann. Rept., Commission of Conservation, Canada, 1915, pp. 52-69.
[48] Chance, H. M., Address before the mine engineering class of the Pennsylvania State College, Quoted by F. W. Gray, The conservation of coal: Bull. 47, Can. Mining Inst., 1916, p. 201.
[49] Loc. cit.
[50] Campbell, M. R., and Parker, E. W., Coal fields of the United States, Papers on the conservation of mineral resources: Bull. 394, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1909, p. 12.
[51] Loc. cit. p. 12.
[52] Smith, George Otis, and Lesher, C. E., The cost of coal: Science, vol. 44, 1916, p. 768.
[53] Loc cit., pp. 768-769.
[54] Loc. cit., p. 771.
[55] Van Hise, Charles R., Coöperation in industry, pp. 7-8, Address given before annual meeting of the National Lumber Manufacturers' Association, Chicago, Illinois, May 31, 1916.
[56] Loc. cit., p. 767.
[57] Stabilization of the bituminous coal industry, Extracts from the award and recommendations of the United States Bituminous Coal Commission, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1920.