REVIEW OF MINERAL COMMODITIES 
1 Data from mines producing 1,000 tons or more. 
 MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1967126 
 
Table 4.—Employment and injury experience in the mineral industries

Year and industry 
Average 
 
men 
 
working 
 
daily 
Days 
Active 
Man- 
days 
worked 
(thou- 
sands) 
Man- 
hours 
worked 
(thou- 
sands) 
Number of injuries 
 — — Fatal Non- 
fatal 
Injury rates per 
million man-hours 
Fre- Se- 
quency verity 
1966: 
Coal                    
Metal                   
Nonmetal                
Sand and gravel           
Stone                   
 Total 1               1967:~ 
Coal                    
Metal                   
Nonmetal                
Sand and gravel           
Stone                   
 Total 1                   
111 
2,083 
953 
895 
1,580 
183 
289 
263 
263 
264 
20 
603 
251 
236 
417 
161 
4,830 
2,006 
2,078 
3,629 
 5 
 84 
 1 70 
 57 
 2 97 
30.98 3,32717.39 47935.40 3,63327.43 54227.28 4,102 
 
5,622 
271 
1,526 
12,705 
3 313 
24.87 2,058 
 
105 
2,050 
1,030 
775 
1,195 
200 
275 
251 
251 
275 
21 
563 
259 
195 
329 
160 
4,500 
2,073 
1,804 
2,857 
 5 
 51 
 59 
 34 
 77 
31.25 1,06311.33 25128.46 50718.85 25326.95 2,875 
 
5,155 
265 
1,366 
11,394 
 226 
19.83 967 
'  Preliminary. 
1 Data may not add to totals shown because of independent rounding. 
 
 
 
MINERAL FUELS 
 
 Output of petroleum, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and coal, listed
in order of value, contributed 45.1 percent of the entire mineral production
value of the State. Of the mineral fuels, only natural gas gained in value
(8.7 percent); combined value of all fuels was $80.9 million, nearly $6 million
less than that of 1966. The value drop marked the fourth consecutive year
of decrease. As a group, however, mineral fuels regained the lead as the
most important contributor to the value of the State's mineral output. 
 
 Coal (Bituminous) .—Seven coal mines were credited with output of
1,000 tons or more. Two of the mines (strip operations) were in Franklin
and Sebastian Counties and five (two strip and three underground operations)
were in Johnson County. Coal production from Johnson County led with about
105,000 tons; about 73,000 tons was produced in Franklin County; and Sebastian
County was last with about 11,000 tons of coal output. Coal seams mined included
the Charleston, Spadra, and Hartshone beds; thickness of the seams ranged
from 12 to ~8 inches. The underground seams mined were 38 to 42 inches thick.
Value per ton for Arkansas coal ranged from 
$7.16 to $8. Reserves of coal amenable to strip or underground mining methods
are sufficient to sustain a much larger production. Completion of the navigational
facilities on the Arkansas River creating low-cost transportation may result
in increased output. Total coal output was 20 percent less than that recorded
in 1966 because of competition from lower cost coals produced elsewhere.

 
 
Table 5.—Coal (bituminous) production 1 (Thousand short tons and thousand
dollars) 
 
Year 
Quantity 
Value 
1963                 
1964                
1965                
1966                
221 
212 
226 
236 
$1,505 
1,503 
1,643 
1,640 
1967                
189 
1,427 
 Oil and Gas Exploration and Development.—Total number of holes drilled
for oil and gas was 10 percent under 1966 figures. The overall success ratio
was slightly more than 50 percent, up from the 44 percent success ratio in
1966. Five percent of the exploratory wells drilled were completed as producers
of oil or gas. Oil completions decreased