COAL MINES ISOLATED

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27750, 30 August 1955, Page 4

COAL MINES ISOLATED

creek diverted BY SLIP

PRIVATE COLLIERY . FLOODED (From Our Own Reporter)

GREYMOUTH, August 29. Production was stopped at seven coal mines worked by co-operative parties today after a big slip in the Ten Mile Creek gorge diverted the creek down the road which is the only access to the mines.

One of the mines has been flooded and abandoned, at least temporarily. The other six mines are expected to be isolated most of this week. Miners are using explosives in • an effort to blast,a path through the obstruction in the creek to permit water to return to its normal channel. The slip came from a steep hillside above the northern wall of the gorge, bringing hundreds of tons of rubble into the narrow creek bed.

The only access by vehicles to the seven private mines in the upper gorge area is by a road recently built into the face of the cliff on the southern side of the gorge. Before the road was built the coal was brought out by a tramline. The creek, dammed by the slip, flowed down the road to return to its bed east of the bridge on the main Westport-Greymouth highway. Part of the gorge road has already been badly eroded and sections have been washed out.

Briandale, the lowest lying mine, has been submerged with water flowing down the mine-mouth all weekend. The mine, which is worked by a small party, is one of the oldest in the area and had only limited productive life ahead. For this reason it is now likely to be abandoned. Other mines have not been flooded but cannot be worked until the creek to its channel and the road is Reopened. Men from all mines combined, today in an effort to remove the slip, so far with only limited success. The men are blasting the biggest rocks at key points in the slip, in the hope that the force of the water will sluice away more rubble. Making the job more difficult, the slip is continuing to slide into the creek bed. Almost three inches of rain was recorded in the area at the week-end in common with most other West Coast areas.

Flooded creeks and streams between Kumara and Springfield blocked the Arthur’s Pass route to traffic until late on Sunday evening. So far this month 11J 'inches of rain have‘fallen at Greymouth, which has had only three days without rain.