KaWaran Notes. (From Our Own Correspondent.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2516, 4 June 1902, Page 22

KaWaran Notes. (From Our Own Correspondent.)

Winter has started in earnest here, although no severe frosts are being expenenced, yet there is a heavy coating of snow at no altitude ou th-e ranges. The Mpg and Annie dredge will be rrpahinu: for anothe- fortnight, it is expected, but Ihe Upper Magnetic dredge will have finished, and Vii'l restart dredging ou Monday. The Gentle Annie dredge has not yet got on to aay decent ground, as the bottom varies so constantly. Ko sooner is the dredge on to toft reef and good gold than a bar of hard reef crops up, with unsatisfactory results. It 13 to be hoped this state of affairs will soon improve:. Mr Cha.s. RiHston is vigorously pushing on the work of recaulking and relaunching the Grand Junction pontoons. The skids are in position under them, and as soon as the caulking is finished they will be launched. A few more days will ccc them in the water. 'I he telephone wire to connect Gibbston with Arrowtown is rapidly Hearing the former place. The box an in position at the P. 0., and in a short time now will be in use. Mr Fraser, M.H.R., has, been indefatigible in securing this boon, and from the tenor of the last communication from him it only remains to the directors of the four dredges here io sign the usual Government bond, and its extension to Waitiri will be proceeded with. COAL SDPPLT. The growing demand for Gibbston coal by th<» dredges working here, and a report that reached me that the output from the Gibbston pit would l>e limited during the winter through inability to get the coal from the workings to where the waggoners could get it, led me to pay the mine a visit on Thursday morning, and I was completely staggered with surprise at seeing the state of things so different from i v.'iiat I had been led t» exDeot. At 7 &.m.. in.

I company with the manager (Mr JoTm Hodson), by whom I was cordially greeted, we proceeded along a broad dray road which starts from the coach road close to the Gibbston Hotel and goes as far as the coal depot, which is at the terminus of the- tramline lately constructed, and which has only been in use a fortnight tomorrow. The dray road just mentioned is about one mile in length, and has an easy and uniform grade the whole distance. The "tramline was surveyed by Mr G. M. Barr, C.E., and has been most skilfully laid out by him, as he took advantage of good, solid ground, and, with the exception of two or three shallow cuttings, the fine is on the surface the full distance of one mile and a-quarter. The construction and rail-laying was under the personal supervision of Mr John Hodson, and a splendidly-constructed tramline is the result, showing that this gentleman possesses mechanical and engineering skill of no mean order. For instance, in once place the line is carried across a narrow and eieep break necessitating a strong stone wall 120 ft in length, with an average of 9ft in height. The rails are light, but made of the best steel procurable. The rope is 22in, and works on rollers placed equidistant between the rails. There will be 250 of these rollers when all are placed in position. There are a few steepish grades on the line, the steepest being 1 in 2.9, and there is only one curve in the whole length. At this curve, by cleverly placing the rollers perpendicular on the low eide of the line from lft to 2ft a"bove it, the rope swiftly takes the side rollers, although on a steep grade. The trollies in use carry six bags of coal each — that is, half a ton — and fotir only are in use just now, bringing down two tons every trip. Eight trollies will be in use soon, but Mr Hodson is having stronger break power put on before doubling the load to be lowered. The trip takes 15 minutes each way' A telephone office is being erected at the depot to connect with the engine shed, so that a signal can be sent and received that the line is clear, thus reducing the risk of a,n accident to a minimum. It was a novel experience to " Your Own " when, in company with Mr Hodson, I took my jjlace on the front trolley and was whisked up grades as steep as the roof of a house swiftly and smoothly, and snot round the above-mentioned curve without any perceptible jar. A little under a quarter of an hotir brought us to the engine shed, a building 28ft by 26ft, containing the motive power in the shapo of a--powerful engine having 12in cylinders and a 12in stroke, with a- boiler estimated at 30 h.p., with reasonable pressure. The revolving drum on which the rope (of best crucible eteel) works is Gft in diameter, with a width of sft. The boiler is copper-lined, and its furnace burns the slack coal from the mine, which would otherwise be wasted. Close to the shed are a couple of warm, roomy, and substantial huts, built for the use of the miners. It is intended to increase the number of huts soon. The coal mine is situated about 400 yards nearer the Doolan's Creek saddle than the shed, and another three-line rail, called a jig, is all but completed. This will enable the trucks to fetch cut the bags of coal straight from the drive, and thus do away with sledging the coal to the . head of the tramline and prevent double handling.

Equipping ourselves with the necessary miners' lamps we enleied tha mine by a dip, ■which extends a considerable distance before reaching the face, where the miners were at work hewing out the coal, which is of a splendid quality and intensely hard. The seam is of great depth, and has so far been j)roved to be 33ft deep. There are two levels now being worked, one above the other, and as I traversed the different drives, each 6ft high and the same in width, with hard, glistening coal for roof, floor, and sides, the fallacy of there being any dearth of coal in thi3 mine struck me forcibly — 111 fact, the development of the mino is only in its infancy, as a low level adit can be driven fiom the engine shed level, which will tap the coal almost at once at a, depth of five chains below the present lowest level being worked. The strike of the dip is 1 in 3, and to the west. The property consists of 100 acres, containing an unlimited supply of good coal. I was informed that not less than 10,000 tons are 111 sight art the levels now working, so there, is no doubt as to the value of this splendid property to the shareholders. It is only now that the real development of the mine is taking place, firstly by good mnd scientific management, and secondly by means of the tramway, which will enable coal to be delivered at the depot independent of all climatic conditions. It must be borne m mind that the mine is at a fair altitude — in fact, there was 4in of snow there at my visit, — and as previous to the tramway being erected the coal h?.d to be sledged down the hill at an appalling sacrifice of hor&efiesh, and not at all m the vinler when most needed, the present mode of working .presents incalculable bt-nefits and possibilities. A considerable amount of capital has been expended in these improvements, snd at a future date it is intended to extend the tramline down the hill to the Main coach road ; but the directors have visely resolved that the necessary capital for that &hall come out of the profits of the mine. It is cheering to be able to chronicle that even an abnormal fall of snow will not block the line, for Mr riodson has already devised a snow plough to meet that emergency. After a . thorough exploration of the working, and having in view the increasing consumption throughout the district, I am convinced that the Gibbston pit is a splendid property, and that the shareholders are lucky in having a man of Mr John Hodson's calibre as manager. At present there are 15 men all told employed, six of whom are mining coal, and so vast is the deposit in the levels that so far he has had no difficulty in supply the demand that is increasing eveiy day. The coh.l, in mouthsewn bags, is sold at the depot at 20s per ton, 12 bags to the ton.