Page 9 Advertisements Column 3

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 17 April 1926, Page 9

Ice To Cool Mines :i view to combating the increasing number of cases of apoplexy among those working at great depths in the Rand gold mines, the Village Deep is conducting experiments with ice, writes the Johannesburg correspondent of the Morning Post. The Village Deep mine goes down to the enormous depth of 7200 feet, and the first experiment consisted of sending down blocks of ice to the lowest levels. It was found that by merely placing the blocks at various parts of the workings the temperature was only reduced by one degree, which made practically no difference to the conditions under which the miners work. Then the test was made of melting the ice anil spraying the ice-cold water into the ventilating air. This method has met with considerable success, and an appreciable lowering of the air temperature, which had previously been about 90 degrees, has resulted. The management is hopeful of permanent success, but it will be some weeks before it will be definitely known wncther or not this method of ice water spraying has solved the problem of high mining temperatures. One of the difficulties is that a moist heat causes apoplexy, while a dry heat is conducive to miner’s phthisis. Consequently a happy medium has to be arrived at.