Ch.25New Fuel

“Lignite, you say?”

“Yes. As you mentioned, we couldn’t find any anthracite coal veins… but apparently there’s a significant amount of lignite in an open-pit vein along the eroded coastal area.”

“Hmm…”

An open-pit vein. It referred to a mineral vein exposed on the surface rather than in caves or underground. Most likely, the vein that was originally embedded within rock layers had been exposed due to the erosion and weathering processes prominent in coastal terrain.

“Still, lignite…”

“I’ve heard lignite has lower heat output compared to anthracite and produces more smoke….”

It’s true that lignite, being less carbonized than anthracite, has lower heat output and produces more smoke.

Setting aside other factors, the fact that it produces a lot of smoke made it rather unreliable as fuel, and with its not-so-strong heat output, lignite occupied the position of a “chicken-or-pheasant dilemma” among the spectrum of coal varieties.

Once discovered, it needed to be used, but when actually trying to use it, its low quality often required various treatments that reduced economic viability. With no particular market for it, this coal with such problematic quality was precisely what lignite was.

But we had no other options, and coal is coal regardless of quality. With processes like moisture removal, it could be sufficiently usable for steelmaking.

Of course, it wasn’t suitable as household fuel, but if we needed to use it, lignite could certainly serve its purpose.

“Well, as they say, if you have no teeth, use your gums. We’ll have to make do with what we have. If we keep cutting down forests, it won’t be good for Amurtat either.”

The trees filling the forests served as natural dams storing enormous amounts of water and were champions in preventing soil erosion. Despite planting saplings and fertilizing, no one knew when the reduced forest area from continued logging would come back to haunt us.

“Hmm… I understand. However, since it’s near the coast, we should prevent seawater infiltration…”

“Where exactly is the vein located?”

“It’s about 3km from the shoreline, but that’s close enough for seawater to potentially infiltrate. Being an open-pit vein, seawater won’t flow in immediately, but as we continue mining, eventually water—whether seawater or groundwater—will inevitably collect.”

For miners, groundwater is a despised entity.

Even clean water becomes contaminated with various heavy metals as it passes through mineral veins, making it undrinkable and often causing skin diseases upon contact. Working in tunnels filling with water was not only inefficient but extremely dangerous.

If the ground weakened by groundwater seepage were to collapse, it wasn’t far-fetched to imagine hundreds of unfortunate miners perishing.

“Let’s send miners for now. We need fuel immediately.”

“Understood. We’ll need to send various supplies just in case. Would you authorize that?”

“Of course.”

“I’m deeply grateful for your grace.”

*

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In this place where the fishy smell of the sea stung the nostrils, numerous lignite deposits lay exposed on the surface, awaiting the miners’ touch.

Those who arrived numbered an impressive 3,000 people, but of these, only 500 were miners. The rest were their families, merchants, government officials, or craftsmen who could provide necessary materials locally.

“Sniff sniff… The fishy smell isn’t too bad.”

“That’s a relief. I didn’t want to wear a mask from the start.”

The miners chatted as they began excavating the open-pit vein according to the supervisor’s instructions.

Before long, one side of the vein began to sink, and women started filling baskets with the excavated lignite.

“Bring me some lignite.”

“Here it is, sir.”

“Hmm…”

Squeeze!

Drip! Crack!

When he squeezed the excavated lignite with his gloved hand, the coal compressed and black water dripped through the gaps between his fingers.

“Indeed, it has high moisture content…”

“What should we do, sir? Continue mining?”

The miners looked anxiously at the flowing water as they asked the supervisor.

They knew from experience that if seawater were to burst through while they were mining coal, they would all be dead men.

“Call the craftsmen.”

“Yes, sir.”

The supervisor called for a work stoppage and summoned the craftsmen.

From a distance, several craftsmen with various tools hanging from their aprons came running, their hands not yet blackened with soot.

“You called for us, sir?”

“Yes. Look at this.”

Squeeze!!!

Drip! Drip!

The supervisor once again demonstrated his grip strength, showing the water flowing from the lignite, and the craftsmen’s expressions immediately hardened.

“We need a way to remove this moisture. What should we do?”

“Hmm…”

The craftsmen looked at each other and sighed. Except for cooling water needed to temper iron, water wasn’t a familiar element to craftsmen.

However, being unfamiliar also meant they had ways to overcome it.

“We can make a large piston to compress the lignite.”

“A piston?”

“Yes. Like what’s used to crush grapes. Just make it larger.”

“Ah, I see…”

The supervisor nodded in understanding.

He had seen pistons used to compress grapes when making wine. The idea of applying pressure to extract moisture wasn’t particularly innovative, but sometimes these old-fashioned methods were necessary.

“How large should we make it?”

“Well… Since lignite is certainly harder than grapes, we’d need to either reinforce wood with iron or make it entirely of iron… Judging by the amount of moisture coming out, if we mix in wood, that part will surely rot first.”

“Then it would be best to make it entirely of iron. How large can you make it?”

“Making it large isn’t the difficult part. The challenge is gathering the resources and manpower.”

The craftsmen said this as they began drawing a rough design on the wet ground with twigs.

“First, we dig a hole as deep as the piston’s length.

Then at the very bottom, we install a compression plate with small holes for drainage.

Next, we install a large screw and attach a long lever to turn it, but this lever isn’t turned by people but by animals like oxen or horses.

As the screw moves downward, the pressure plate slowly compresses the lignite below, allowing the moisture to escape.”

“Ohhh….”

As if demonstrating why picture books are more expensive, the oldest craftsman among them explained, and the supervisor’s eyes brightened with understanding.

However, if dozens of such pistons needed to be installed, Amurtat’s finances would surely be strained. Drawing on his experience from various work sites, the supervisor suggested a more economical improvement.

“Your design is certainly helpful, but I see some areas that need refinement.”

“Which parts, sir?”

“The screw method. Setting aside the spiral grooves, creating a screw that thick would take the steelyard months of hard work.

And using animal power doesn’t sit well with me either. The feed for so many animals, the stench from their excrement, and the resulting metal corrosion—how would you handle that?

If rainwater gets in and manure-contaminated water seeps into the lignite, that could be a significant problem.”

“…”

The craftsman couldn’t respond. From his perspective of simply making and selling items, these were side effects he hadn’t considered at all.

“Then what should we do?”

“It’s simple. Abandon the screw and adopt a more efficient pressing stone method.”

“Pressing stone, you say?”

“Yes. Surely you’ve seen heavy objects placed on laundry to remove moisture? Something similar to that.”

“Ah!”

The situation was now reversed. Just as the craftsman had decades of experience in his field, the supervisor had overseen various labor sites for over 40 years. Now, their combined experience of nearly a century was shining through.

“Large stones are easy to obtain. The compression and pressure plates would need to be made of iron, but conversely, that’s all we need to remove moisture from lignite.”

“If necessary, we could also use large, sturdy bags filled with multiple stones.”

“That’s exactly it!”

The supervisor clapped his hands, commending the craftsman.

If more coal could be processed at a lower cost, Amurtat’s steel production would stabilize significantly.

That night, the craftsmen and the supervisor engaged in deep discussions about dehydration devices, and three days later, a letter bearing the supervisor’s seal arrived at Amurtat’s castle.