"THE COAL SEAMS."

Otago Witness, Issue 2649, 21 December 1904, Page 66

"THE COAL SEAMS."

"In the.-lower beddings of deep, measures rcisfent pn the- leaee^six- large" and well-, defined coal seams occur. The deepest, or He. 1 seam,, varies between 6ft and 18ft from floor .to- Toof, -the mean of the 22 faces openedvlon< the 205 chains of outcrop contour^..beisljf?Ftloft- 6in. v From outcrop pbservatidX .alt six seams would appear to nip to-the^south-west at an angle of 1 "in 12. On fchfe coal . an adit -6ft by 7ft has been flriven true to the line of dip a distance of feOOft, also a ehoft drive at Waterfall Creek, these show the true angle of dip to be about j 1. in 7, "and from general knowledge of the j Grey coalfield as a whole I would expect £hia rate to -be- maintained throughout your property. At the other collieries the general {all in dip averages about 1 in 4, but the crown of the mountain system forms a roll Dr anti-clinal ridge -in which the dip of the strata is at more moderate \anglee. By the eroding action of the creeks 64 acres of the seam are, lost by denudation, but, as already noted, with direct advantage to Jnining operations. The coal is bright, hard, anthracitous, and as st steam coal is unequalled for evaporative power in the Australasian colonies. The mean of numerous analyses and test* from various parts of 4he" seam show close percentages — of fixed fcarbon 81, hydro-carbons 16, water 1, ash i, and of sulphur traces, varying* between •>02 and .2 of 1 per cent. Its evaporative bower is "10.281b of water per 1b of coal IMaclaurin) — a sufficient , indication of ite ; >alue. In;',the closed cruciMe-the coal from 1 this seam "frits or but, -partially fuses, but the other seams yield a - strong .And .com--Jpact coke or high" metallic lustre! ' The, Knitcrbp of- coal is 1 , of course, rather friable, , the result of ages of , weatherings action, but yrherever driven upon -fhe- seam improvesin. hardness at a very rapid rate. Mr Ciitten's eurvey proves the- seam to underlay 656 acres of the 1000-acre lease; 27.6 cubic feet of coal weigh a ton, and, allowing 3.600 tons per acre for each foot in thickness i>f coal, the approximate quantity contained in the seam on your t property is 16,000,000 tons. The floor where seen is either a very Jiard sandstone or strongly indurated shale. ftThe roof is shale or sandstone, and these features pertain to all six seams. From a mine manager's point of view, floors and loofs are ideal ones, and mining operations ayill require but » very small supply of timber. "No. 2 Seam. "This 6eam, the largest on the property, underlays 847 acres of the lease, and has an average thickness of 18ft. In character, Appearance, analysis, and general mining features it closely resembles No. 1, from (which it is separated by an average approximation of 130 ft vertical height of comjpact, indurated^ siliceous sandstone. In its ESO chains of outcrop contour 26 faces are opened, exposing the coal from floor to roof, and a prospecting adit is driven on the coal kt the head of Ford's Creek. The quantity tof ooal contained in the seam closely ap> iproximates to 25,000,000 of tons. In a mining experience, extending over a quarter of a century, I have never seen a more promising mining proposition than jrhat this seam presents. ""No. 3 Seam. " This seam is separated from No. 2 by j an average approximation of 100 ft thickness bf solid indurated sandstone. The coal is semi-bituminous, situated midway betwe"eh anthracites and the very highest grade of bituminous coal. Its analysis and tests show close approximate percentages of — fixed carbon, 76; hydro-carbons, 22; water, 1; and feh, 1 ; of sulphur there being only a trace. Its evaporative power equals 9.821b. In its outoroji opjitoux of 240 chain.3 the again

is opened out by 12 faces. It underlays 735 acres of the lease, has an average thickness of 9ft, the quantity of coal on the property contained in the seam closely approximating 10,500,000 tons. The coal is bright and hard, and splendidly adapted for steam and general purposes. " No. 4 Seam.. " This seam is separated from No. 3 by an approximate average of 100 ft of indurated sandstone. The coal is very similar in character and appearance to that of No. 3 seam, the average of its analysis percentages being— Fixed carbon, 75.5 ; hydro-car-bons, 22 ; water, 1 ; ash, 1.5 ; and of sulphur a trace. Its evaporative power equals 9.61b. Both coals, make a splendid freeburning coke. In its outcrop contour of 230 chains the seam is opened out in five places, showing an average thickness of sft. The 'seam underlays 607 acres of the lease, its coal contents approximately 5,000,000 tons. "No.^^Seam. " This seam, which averages 10ft in thickness, has been opened in seven faces, and by short prospecting adit in Soldier's Creek in its outcrop, contour of 200 chains. The coal is' a bituminous one of very high grade, showing by analysis and tests 70. 5 per cent. of fixed carbon, 26.5 per cent, of hydrocarbons, 2 per cent, of ash, and 1 per cent. of water, the trace of sulphur being a very small one. Its evaporative power is equal to 9.41b. The seam underlays 481 acres of the lease, its coal contents closely approximating 7,500,000 tons. It is separated from No. 4 seam ' by an approximate average of 100 ft of solid indurated sandstone. "No 6 Seam. " This is a specially hard, high^rade bituminous coal, averaging 10ft 6in in thickness. In 150 chains of outcrop contour it is opened j in seven faces. Tests and analysis show the I coal contains 70»per cent, of fixed carbon, ! 24 per cent, of hydro-carbons, nearly 5 per cent, of ash, 1 per cent, of water, and but an infinitesimal trace of sulphur. In structure, appearance, and composition it closely j resembles seam No. 5, from which it is ! separated, by an average thickness of 200 ft | of solid 'sandstone. Floor and roof are per- ' feet. The seam underlays 228 acres of the lease, its approximate coal contents being 4,000,000 tons.