A NATIONAL ASSET.

Otago Witness, Volume 14, Issue 2648, 14 December 1904, Page 32

A NATIONAL ASSET.

THE PAPAROA COAL COMPANY.

COLOSSAL COLLIERY PROPO-

SITION.

Time and time again has it been asserted by men of special knowledge that the vast mineral wealth of the*eokmy has yet to be exploited, and their assertion must be admitted as a fact by all who give the subject serious thought. The general public of New Zealand are for the most part engaged in pursuits other than mining, and their knowledge of the mineral potentialities of the great mountain systems and unexplofed fields of the colony is necessarily a nebulous one. Even those who are more or less intimately associated with mining^ enterprise give the matter small consideration outside the particular property in which their interests are centred. Fortunately for the future of New Zealand, some of the grit and enterprise that characterised the niining pioneers of the colony still remains with us, and on every mineral field are to be found hardy and adventurous prospectors, who, at tile risk of life and limb, undertake hardship and privation of the most severe nature to wrest from, the zealously-guarded hiding-places of Nature her buried mineral wealth. Now and again are they rewarded — sometimes by a payable reef, sometimes by an alluvial patch, and sometimes by a coal seam of more or less economic value. More of tea than not, however, the find is so far back from the railed and roaded dwellingplaces of man that money sufficient to develop the discovery cannot be obtained ; or circumstances may obtain which, for the time being, militate against profitable markets being found, or do not allow of adequate remuneration for the capital necessary for development. But the prospector knows of outcrops, gossan caps, and suchlike things, and occasionally he is so far fortunate as to raise a small syndicate or company to open up and prove the value of his discovery. In rarer cases, the worth of the find being demonstrated, the capital required for full development is forthcoming, and one and all associated with the enterprise earn a rich and well-deserved reward. A climb to the northern slopes of Mount Davy, and an inspection there of the magnificent estate of the Paparoa Coal Company, will show beyond question the enormous wealth to be won from a proved mining proposition that is destined in the near future to rank among the greatest of Australasian coal suppliers. This is not the random talk of a visionary optimist; it is the strongly-pronounced opinion of clearbrained men of ' business, level-headed mining geologists, engineers, and managers, who have critically inspected this thoroughlyprospected and well-proved property, and have come away impressed with the truth that the- estate is destined •to be an allimporfcant factor not only in the future of New Zealand, but in that of world-wide civilisation. Under circumstances such as these a short description of the coal estate and its prospeots. should prove of interest to many.

THE COALFIELD.

The company's property is situated on Mount Davy, in the Paparoa Ranges, two and a-half miles distant from the town of Blackball. To reach the place from the shipping port of Greymouth, one travels by train to Ngahere, 15 miles distant, and thence by Crawford's well-equipped passenger coach to Blackball, which is three miles west of Ngahere, on the other side of the Grey River. The latter is spanned by a magnificent road and railway bridge, about half a mile long, which has recently been completed in connection with the branch line of railway from Ngahere to Blackball now under construction.

The township, which is the terminus of the new branch railway, is 310 ft above sea level. A pleasant and interesting walk of a oouple of miles, in which tramways, headraces, and claim tracks are largely used as footways, takes one to the foot of the mountain. The elevation at this point is 800 ft, but the grade is very gentle. In'the next quarter of a mile, however, there is a rise of an additional 1200 ft, and the grade is quite perceptible, being about 1 in 1, and the track largely consisting of sapling ladders hanging perpendicularly on cliff faces. At the 2000 ft elevation a short branch track connects with the main tunnel on the company's No. 1, or deepest, coal seam, and a glanoe at the -splendid mineral face opened upon is ample reward for the labour of the climb.

The property consists of a lease of 1000 acres from the Crown, and various other rights and privileges in connection therewith. The coal was discovered by Mr Neilsen some five years ago. Owing to its excellent qualities for gold" mine smithy xise it was worth while carrying the coal on men's backs a distance of five miles over rough mountain ridges. Some time later Mr Neilsen induced Messrs Cutten, Faithful, Nees, and other mining men to inspect the outcrops, with the result that the land was taken up and thoroughly prospected, with results far surpassing the most sanguine expectations of the venturers. To Mr Fred A. Cutten, A.M.I.C.E. (now in London), is largely due the success achieved. For five months, in 1903. he resided on the property with a large staff of men, makinga complete mining survey of the enormous coal deposit?, and devising schemes for their successful working. Subsequently the property has been inspected by various of the Government mine inspectors, many eollieiy managers, and reported on by Mr Daniel, F.G.S., and other mining engineers, either for the company or for other interests. It is generally known that all these gentlemen are unanimously of opinion that for ■quality and quantity of coal the area is unequalled in the Southern Hemisphere.

THE COAL SEAMS.

In order to understand the position the reader is asked to imagine a huge cone-shaped mountain top, 1000 ft in height, rising from a mountain plateau. The illustration 1s not •exactly true to existing conditions, but it serves to describe them. This cone is in reality part ol the very bottom of th© coal measures, or sandstone layers, of the West Coast coal fields. When the whole country was upheaved at an angle of about 20 degrees tliis portion was raised between ,2000 ft and 3000 ft above sea. level. At that time it was a large plain, but the eroding action of countless ages of rains has denuded the plain into a rugged mountain system. Starting from the slate rock which rests upon the granite foundation, we have superimposed, first, a layer of conglomerate or pudding ptone of great thickness, then a layer of hard sandstone.* sa^, 300£fc Jiick.

On this lies a seam of Ihe oldest coal known

— viz., anthracite — 14ft 6in thick ;

then an-

other layer of hard isandsione and another seam of anthracite 18ft thick : and following

up in sequence we find 100 ft layers of eand-

stone and +wo seams of semi-bituminous coal 9ft and sft thick respective^-, and layers of sandstone and two seams of bituminous coal 10ft and 10ft 6in thick respectively — the whole capped by a layer of sandstone of indeterminate thickness. From this crude illustration it will readily be seen that the bottom coal seam of the cone contains more acreage than the one imme-

diately above.; and so on until the summit

of the mountain is reached. Mr Cutten has surveyed all these seams, taken the average

thickness over E0 exposed and opened upon outcrops of coal, and from data supplied by

him and other engineers the coal contents of the estate have been closely calculated. The survey shows actually that the property contains of No.^ 1 seam (the lowest), 936

acres ; of No. 2, 847 acres ; No. -3, 735 acres ; No. 4, 607 acres ; No. 5, 481 acres ; and No. 6 (the highest), 228 acies— or, on the 1000acre lease, a total coal seam area of 3834 acres. The combined thickness of the six

eeams of coal is 63ft, or an average thickness of 10ft 6in of coal over the 3843 acres. Making allowance for the additional acreage •obtained by the coal seams lying at an angle, and knowing that a cubic yard equals about a ton, we arrive at 64 millions of tons as a -rather underestimate of the coal contents of the estate.

NATURE OF THE COAL

The two lower seams are distinctly of the anthracitous order. The hydro-carbons and ■other volatile matters have been expelled by heat and pressure, and the resultant residue partakes in this respect of thecharacter of coke. Anthracite is the lowest in geological order, and is the ultimate product of the conversion of vegetable matter into coal. Owing- to their high percentage of carbon, anthracitous coals have more evaporative po/wer than any other class of icoal. The following list, .showing the percentage analysis of British coals, taken from the "Third Official Report on Ccals Suited to the Steam Navy," compared with the analysis of the Papa~roa coal, should be of interest : —

Welsh Anthracitocjs Coal,

THE ANALYSES.

In the course of his report Professor Maelaurin. Government analyst, says: "When heated in a closed vessel No. 1 sample only frits (fuses) slightly, but all the other samples give good hard cokes. No. 1 and No. la, the latter of which is taken from No. 2 seam, approach an anthracite in composition, while Nos. 2, 3, and 6 hold intermediatepositions between these and Granity mine coal, which contains about 63 per cent, of fixed carbon. As the analysis shows, these coals are of excellent quality, containing only a moderate amount of ash and very little sulphur. The one drawback to their use is their brittleness, which is considerable. If, however, they can be handled without breaking up too much they should prove excellent coals for steam purposes.*' The evaporation power of the coal, worked out bj r Professor Maelaurin by the American formula, is as follows: — No. 1, 10.281b of water; No. la, 10.41b; No. 2, 10.041b; No. 3, 9.831b; No. 6, 9.101b. As the American formula is not used here, we cannot say how these results compare with those obtained by Professor Black, but as the latter were arrived at by actual test they should be better itnderstood by the general reader. It may be mentioned that the samples treated by Professor Maelaurin were all otitcrop coal, and had been subject to generations of weather action. -

Professor Black has reported as follows: — "Very bright coal, splintery fracture, very rich in carbon, splendid steam coal. Will require plenty of air passing through the furnace. Cakes to a weak coke, but the coke will burn freely owing to the small proportion of ash and its friable character. Only a trace of sulphur." The results obtained by Professor Black as to the evaporative power of the Paparoa Company's coal were arrived at by actual tost with Thomson's calorimeter. Only three samples have as yet been tested, but the comparative tables will show that the results were «mrprisingly good, comparing more^ than favourably with the Welsh anthricitous coals, which have a world-wide reputation for steam purposes. Mr D. B. Waters. A.0.5.M., has also analysed the coal, and his report is of the same favourable character.

Professor Black and Mr P. F. Daniel, F.G.S., of Greymouth, are at present engaged upon a joint exhaustive analysis of the various seams, which will take some tune to complete. We are. howevei 1 , in a position to say that so far as the vrork has progressed the anthricitous coals are giving results equal to those of the world" » best collieries.

THE COMPANY. A small company was originally formed to provide the necessary funds for surveying, prospecting, etc., but now that the property has been proved it is intended to form a larger company in order to raise sufficient money to open out and work the mine. Steps are now in progress for the flotation

of the proposed company, and the directors are very hopeful of being able to raise the required sum in the colony without having recourse to the Home market. The estimates as to the cost of developing the property have been very carefully calculated, and, after liberal allowance has been made for contingencies, it is reckoned that an expenditure of from £50,000 to £60,000 will prove quite sufficient to put the coal on thf> market. It is estimated that the Government railway now under construction will take from 18 months to two years to reach, the stage of completion, and by the time it is finished the mine should be in thorough working order. It is the intention of the company, subject to any modifications that may be suggested by engineers, to connect the mine with the railway at Blackball, either by an incline (as at Denniston) and two miles of railway or by a double incline tramway having a fall of about 1 in 10. Large bin's will probably be erected at the Blackball Railway Station, and the mine tubs discharged direct into them. With regard to shipping the coal, it is suggested that whaleback steam scows be acquired, capable of carrying from 2000 tons to 3000 tons of coal on a depth of from 12ft to 14ft of water. The average depth of water on the> Grey bar, it may be stated, is 21ft. In connection with this scheme large storagebins capable of holding 20,000 tons of coal , could be erected in the ]-rir.cipal harbours . of the colony, so that large ocean-going- / steamers would be able to load direct frjm. I the bins. To facilitate the loading and unI loading of scows and steamers the best American coal-elevating machinery will probably be employed. Matters in connection with the development and working of .the mine will not, however, be definitely settled until permanent mining engineers . are appointed to open up the property.

REPORTS ON THE PROPERTY.

The following is the substance of the report furnished by Mr F. A. Cimen, A.M.LC.E. : — "The sui-face is very rugged, there being numerous high solid spurs, with deep valleys between. Practically the who!© surface is covered with growing timber, comprising rimu, rata, birch, totara, and silver pine, a large portion of which timber is available for building- and niining purposes. There are three permanent streams on the property— Ford's, Soldier's, and Waterfall Creeks. These creeks are available, and will give sufficient water for all boilers, hydraulic brakes, and bin trapdoors. The whole area of the lease is a hard sandstone ■country lying very regularly, rising to the N.W. and dipping to the S.W. Below the coal and sandstone are marls, anjf again below these are hard conglomerates. The coal, of which there are six seams, lies regularly and uniformly between the sandstones, and has been traced outcropping from the N.W._ to S.W. boundaries. These outcrops have in most cases been surveyed and cleared from roof to floor, thicknesses measured,, and heights above sea level recorded. Irt"~ every case where the coal has been bared from roof to floor it shows fine, solid, hard substance. A small area on the N.E. corner of the property is badly tilt-ed and disturbed above the 2600 ft level, but below this level the country is lying quite true to the general rise and dip. This disturbance is no doubt due to the fact that the N.E.- corner of the property is approaching the slate country which shows on the surface some 20 chains to the eastward. The outcrops of coal on the property are nearly all on the S.E. slopes of the ranges, but on following down the S.W. slopes into the Ten and Sevenmile Creaks the seams again outcrop. No. 1 seam is first exposed at a level of :1561ffc above the sea, in Soldier's Creek, and rises towards Ford's Creek to a height of 2332 ft. This seam has been exposed and measured, in numerous places along the contour, and the estimated thickness (10ft 6in) of the seam is aviived at by adding all the measured thicknesses together, and then dividing by the numbers of such measurements. Thearea of the seam is taken from the plotted contour on the plan, and gives 936 acres. This, taken at 10ft 6in, and allowing ou cubic feet of <vol : <i r-oal to the ton, gives-

0,256 tons of coal in this seam, without allowing anything ioi dip and rise. From actual experiment it was found that 27.6cubic feet of coal weighed one ton. 'ihe coal is a fine, hard, bright, black coal, giving a high percentage of total carbon, and i* very low in ash and sulphur. Assays have been made from the surface coal at various points. A short tunnel of 25ft has been, driven on the coal at Waterfall Creek, and in this the coal is very solid, and hard. No. 2 seam is a very large body of similar coal to Jso. 1, and measures up to 231*& thick. This seam has been traced and opened at various points in a similar manner to No. 1, and the same hard, clean,solid? roof and floor were met with. The area, of this seam, from the contours, is 847 acres, and with the estimated average thickness taken at 18ft, this gives 22,137,192 tons of coal. No. 3 seam is of the same class of coal as Nos. 1 and 2, and has been traced and opened in the same manner, the roof and floor rook being the same hard, clean, sandstone. The area of this seam is 735 acres from the contours, while the estimated average thickness is 9ft. This gives 9,60*, 980 tons of coal. No. 4 seam has been, treated by the same methods as the former seams. It is of the same high-class coal, and the enclosing rock is exactly similar. The estimated area is 607 acre 3, and theestimated thickness is sft, giving 4,460,82 ft tons of coal. No. 5 is a strong, bright, hard, bituminous coal, similar to the foregoing. It is exposed in many places, andl at one point on the S slopes of a high, spur ifc is exposed for a distance of 300 ft long by 15ft thick. The area of the seam is estimated at 481 acres, and the thickness at 10ft, thus giving 6,984,120 tons of coal. No. 6 seam is the highest seam on the property, and, at the same time, the hardest coal. It is a bright, beautiful, black, bard coal, and gives good results under as«ay. The area of^ the contour of this seam is taken a-s 228 acres, and the estimated average thickness is lOfb 6in, giving some 3,483,711 tons of coal. Ali the boundaries and seami outcrops have been carefully surveyed by me. and all levels taken by angular instrument. I have been on the property alrnosn continuously for some five months, and have followed and carefully examined all features of the country, contours sof seams and outcrops, in conjunction with the prospector (Mr H. Ncilson). In tho corner of the in-o-pcrty which. i& on die northern slopes or Mount Davey we found large blocks or coal, some sffc oube, lying on the surface, and evidently detached from the scams. This detached coal, although moss-covered to the depth of 2in, was absolutely unaffected by the weather, although it must, from the distance (2*>ooft) above sea level, have been subjected to heavy frosts and

•nows. The proposed method of working th« mine is on the dip of the coal from N.E. to S.W. The advantages of working on the dip in this property seem to be that a large portion of the coal can be worked by putting in main drives on a dip of about 1 in 12 to the S.E., and that these drives will open to tho air on the south side of the spur in Soldier's Creek Valley, 'and as soon as these drives are through all drainage 'will be by gravitation, while good air will be ensured at the same time. Any risk of fire can be arrested by flooding all dip workings with the drainage water if required. The disadvantage is the having to haul all the coal up the gradient, but the safety figainst fire and automatic drainage will more than counterbalance this item of haulage. It is proposed that a loading bank should be constructed, some 350 ft by 90ft ■wide, practically on tho level of No. 1 seam. From this plat seam No. 1 can be ■worked direct, while seams 2, 3, and 4 can be connected by short transporting wire rope inclines, sending all coal products to the loading bank, which will be fitted with all necessary rails, capstans," sheds, engine, boiler, dynamo, and electric lighting. The loading bank will be connected with wire rope gravitation haulage inclines, with steep gradients, by which it is proposed to send down the full mine- tubs to 5000-tons storage bins, about one mile distant. These bins are again to be connected by a 3.6 ton tramway to the Government railway at Blackball. The inclines will serve to deliver all coal from the mine faces to the bins, and from the ,bins it is proposed to load the Government coal trucks, and convey these loaded trams to Blackball by the company's own locomotive. From Blackball tho Government engines will take on the trams to port of shipment. The locomotive gradient will be about 1 in 26, and, as the Government will most probably object to sending ifcs locomotives on such steep grades, 1 have allowed for the company doing its own "haulage to Blackball. £?o. 1 incline is about 2200 ft in length, and has three gradients. Two of these are very steep — 1 in 1.81 and 1 in 1.46 respectively,— -while the third is 1 in 100. At the head of this incline a powerful hydraulically-controlled brake drum is proposedj capable of brakingf "down about 20 loaded tubs,' or a total load of 25 tons, at a speed of two miles and a-half an hour, which is the rate of travel of the rope. The full tubs give travel to the rope, and return- the empties. On the incline the rope will be 4£in patent plough steel, lapped r*>und the brake drum, and round tne lower sheave, which will have the necessary tension gear, roller pulleys, etc. All tubs will be disconnected from this rope at the terminal sheave, pass along, and be connected on to No. 2 incline rope. No. 2 incline will^be "about 2300 ft long, with "* three gradients, the steepest of which is 1 in.5.1. This incline will also be controlled by a hydraulic brake, but of miich' lighter pattern than No. 1. The rope will be 2^in patent plough steel, and the rate of travel will be two miles and a-half per hour. Terminal sheaves and -tension 'gear will be provided at the lowei* end, the same as at the foot of. No. 1. . Both inclines are estimated to be formed ,t& a width- of 13ft, with the tunnels Hff wide and Bft high. With the ropes' running two miles and a-half an hour, it is. estimated that 100 tons an hour can be delivered with tubs spaced 110 ft apart, each tub carrying 17cwt of coal. From the bins to * the terminus at Blackball the tramway will be .capable of carrying 20-ton locomotives, 3ft 6in gauge, Tunning at a speed not exceeding 25 miles an hour. Two siding roads for resting trams are provided for at ' Blackball. Large storage, bins having a capacity of 5000 tons are allowed for, with five lines of sidings for loading and shunting, the -bins to be fitted with electric light and hydraulioally-moved trapdoors for loading tracks; also capsizing carriages for^tubs. A shop for repairs is provided for at the bins' site, where all repairs €o locomotives, tubs, and other machinery can be effected. It is proposed to do all lighting, pumping, hauling, and coal cutting by electricity, and this is allowed for in the estimate. I estimate the cost "of works necessary for the opening and equipment of niine, N transport, and storage arrangements as follows for an estimated output of from 2400 tons to 3500 tons per day of 24' hours: — Locomotive tramway and two 20-ton locomotives, £8650 ; two rope inclines complete, £23,950; bins and site, £10,267; mine equipment-, £4700; repair shops, £2450; contingencies (10 per cent.), £5000-; surveys and supervision, £2500,— -total, £57,517.*" (To be continued.)

j2 a f- g - tH C^ CO <J So Bbbw Tale .. 59.7S 7.70 1.02 1.50 Thomas's Merthyr .. 90.12 7.35 0.85 1.68 Duffryn" ..88 26 671 1.77 3.26 Nixon' s Merthyr .. .. 90.27 7.28 1.20 1.21 Einea .. .. 88.66 7.09 0.33 <3.96 Bedwas .. .. 80.61 8.55 3.50 6.94 Hills, Plymouth .. 88.49 5.30 0.84 2.39 Aberuare Methyr ..'88.28 7.55 0.91 3.26 Gadly .. .. 88.18 7.61 0.87 5.34 Jlesolveu .. 79.33 6.13 5.07 9.47 77.50 56.53 84.30 79.11 88.10 71.70 82.25 85.83 86.54 53.90 Patent Fuels., Warlic's .. 90.02 5.56 1.62 291 Lyon's 86.36 7.69 1.29 4.66 Wylam's :. 79.91 14.00 1.25 4.84 Bell's .. .. 87.88 6.45 0.71 4.96 Paparoa Company's Coal. Professor Maclaiurm's Analyses. No. 1 Seam .. 90.39 5.38 0.23 4.00 No. 2 Seam . . 91.37 4.06 0.37 4.20 No. 2 Seam. .. 91.19 5.35 0.26 3.20 No. 3 Seam . . 92.41 6.30 0.29 1.00 No. 6 Seam .. 88.07 6.94 0.19 4.80 Professor Black's Mean Analyses. No. 1 Seam . . 92 41 5.79 0.92 1.75 No. 2 Seam . . 9i73 5.50 0.02 1.70 No. 3 Seam .. 91.8". 7.13 0.0-2 1.04 No. 4 Seam . . 91.36 6.84 0.02 1.80 No. 5 Seam .. 89.8-2 8.13 0.03 2.05 83.10 84.25 80.40 76.58 74.80 81.90 82.50 77.80 76.60 72.50