Section C. 



PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



33— WASTES IN MINING. 



By Sidney J. Jennings, C.E., M.Am.I.M.E., MT.M.M. 



I have been guided in my choice of a theme for the opening address 

 of Section " C " of the Association, by the desire to find some subject 

 in the Mining Engineering profession which would be of interest, 

 not only to the members of that profession, but also to the followers 

 of the many other branches of scientific enquiry gathered together 

 under that Section. 



If there is one subject more than another that is of universal 

 interest to the men who make applied science their life-work, that 

 subject is Waste. A celebrated French Chemist is credited with 

 the saying that he would take for his share of the world's goods 

 what other men threw away. The spirit underlying this remark, 

 a spirit of unceasin'r investigation into waste products, of continual 

 production of something valuable from substances previously thrown 

 away, has made possible in no small degree the material prosperity 

 and comfort we enjoy in the present stage of civilization. But it 

 seems to me that there are other kinds of waste, even more important, 

 than that of products, and I would like you to consider with me 

 some of these wastes. 



The subject is a very vast one, and I will not pretend to do 

 more than indicate a few heads under which it may be considered. 

 Each one of us can elaborate these heads for himself, and supply 

 illustrations out of his own experience. For my purpose this 

 morning, it will be sufficient to consider briefly the three different 

 kinds of wastes in mining that go to increase the failures in that 

 branch of business. These three kinds of wastes are : — 



First, the waste of thought. 

 Second, the waste of labour. 

 Third, the waste of material. 



I have placed them in this order, because it seems to me the order 

 of their importance, measured by their effects, and also because it is 

 the order of the difficulty of recognizing their presence. It is compara- 

 tively easy to perceive the waste of material. The wasted product 

 does not vanish, but lies there, accusing its creator of ineptitude; 

 it, however, always offers a chance of some use in the future being 

 found for it. The waste of labour can be seen and checked while 

 it takes place, but once having been wasted, it offers no opportunity 

 of being utilized for any other purpose. 



