HUNTLY MINE.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 197, 20 August 1919, Page 5

HUNTLY MINE.

I • v STILL IDLE. 6 il ' jOWTfiERS DECLAHE PIT TO BE SAFE. CASE FOR THE MEN. EFFECT UPON RAILWAY SUPPLIES. Information from Huntly to-day shows that the Taupiri Colliery Company's Extended mine is still idle, the men declining to resume work until the

'opinion of ;i Government expert is I obtained in regard to the safety of ihe niine. So far as can be ascertained (there appears to l>e no development of ; what the men describe as a creep. I Statements have been issued by the 'company and the men dealing with the ;cruestion of danger, and the position I now is that the men are requiring a I conference with the management after I the expert opinion or a Government I official is obtained. This would imply that the union is requiring an opinion ito supplement that of Mr. Bcnnie, the ] local inspector, who lias already i inspected the workings, and has forwarded his report to Wellington. CASE FOR THE MINERS. St'GOESTED SKAUVCS OFF OF OLD WORKINGS. The point of view of the men i* explained by the official* or" the -Minors' Union. The subsidence in No. 5 had no

connection with the falls in No. G. which were regarded l»y the men as evidence of a subsidence What had occurred above No. i> caused the mon to suspect that a similar movement of the strata would occur above No. ti. Aβ this was under th.- river, it would not be possible to observe any surface indications. The falls in No. 0 brought down llift of overhead formation, and revealed the top eoam of coal. U was also stated that the men's check inspectors "nail observed for pome months signs of a cruKh upon the pillars of coiil left in these working*. A slow eubsidence need not in ordinary oireuniat'anees cause alarm, as. for instance, in the ease of the creep in No. 5 section. The workings below the river represented the weakest link in the chain, because the only outlet from extensive workings was by that road. It was this fact that necessitated the greet*?** raution at the first sign of weakening. BORING TESTS. Regarding the. results ot tests made by boring, the following was given as 1 tile results from bore No. -10, nearest to

i the place complained of: Coarse mini 100 ft. shingle Soft, rire-clay and timber 7ft very tine hajd sand - titt - blue-white chiy (soft) Cft., shingle Hit, blue clay 15ft. ehingle s£t, pap* 7">ft, lire clay lOSft, iron stone (very hard) sft, lireclay 194 ft, coal lft. tire-ciny 6in, coal 15ft, hard etoiK) 3ft, flre-olay 7ft, coal 4ft, lire-clay ift, coal seaiu being worked 4 lit. Jt is claimed that. as the strata between the top M-aJU of coal and the workings had fallen, that seam was now holding up the earth. Aβ the cracKa In Ha-kauoa Street did not chow in the ■ grass, because Uie roots held the surface i earth together, the minora arffiu> that I craoks on the river bank might not bo noticeable. The miners state that if their .apprehensions are borne out by the experts they outsider that portion of the mine, is unworkable. All danger could, however, be obviated if these old workings vrere sealed otf. and ;i new ehaft sunk on the opposite side of th<--1 river. While that would necessitate ■ ' shifting the plant. <he men contend that 1 in the end a gr.-at deal of haulage and r: travelling time would be saved, a« the 3 present faces were about a mile from

the shaft.