a—3b

12

wet weather. The floor of the present opencast is now below the level of the old tail-race drain, into which the drainage at times is lifted by a hand-pump. 47. Dunsmuir's Black Stone Hill Pit. —A fair amount of coal for this quiet place is still going out of the pit. The thickness of the seam is about 10ft., and the stripping is from sft. to 6ft. The pit is in good order. 48. Beck and McLean's Pit. —The best of the coal is now in the east end of the pit, in the direction of Mrs. Andrews' pit, which is only a short distance away. The stripping is hard gravel, and about 7ft. deep. The coal is about 30ft. thick, with a band in the centre. The face of coal and stripping is in good order. The drainage is lifted by a horse-whip. 49. Mrs. Andrew s Idaburn Pit, Idaburn. —The open paddock and the walls all round are in splendid order. The stripping just now is 7ft., and the thickness of coal removed is about 20ft., but it is not taken out to the floor of the seam, in consequence of its dipping away from the level on which the pump was fixed some time ago. The pump-well and the drain toward the east end of the paddock will have to be deepened in order to follow the floor of the seam any further. 50. Turnbull's Border Colliery, Idaburn. —This is an opencast, having from 10ft. to 12ft. of coal, and only from lft. to 6ft. of stripping. The coal may be thicker than shown in the face, but is being hewn out to the level of the pump-well. The drainage is pumped out by a Douglas pump, driven by a water-wheel 4ft. in diameter and half a head of water. 51. Dougherty's Gimmerburn Pit, Gimmerburn. —This was J. Knight's old pit. The stripping is from sft. to 6ft., and the thickness of coal removed is about 12ft. The working-face is safe and fairly well kept. A hand-pump is used to keep the pit dry. It requires a half-day's pumping every thirty-six hours to keep the water below floor-level. 52. Archer's Commercial Pit, Kyeburn. —Mr. Archer worked the seam in the flat to the level of the water in the Kyeburn Stream, and then discontinued the work for awhile. He is again back to the old pit in the terrace, and has lately driven a dip-tunnel in the seam from the face of the terrace, following the coal—which is nearly vertical-—for some distance below the old workings, thus leaving a rib of coal overhead to prevent the walls coming together. The coal is not so thick -as it was at a higher level, but it may improve as the work advances. There are only two working-places, and they are in good order. The output at this time of the year is not great. 53. Combes and McCready's Pit, Kyebiorn. —This mine was not being worked at the time of my visit, and Mr. Combes was then from home. I did not go into the pit. Very little coal is being taken out lately. 54. Griffith's Wa.ikerikeri Pit, Clyde. —During the past year a new shaft was sunk close to Marie's boundary, but very little mining was done. The shaft is now closed, and may remain so for some time. This is Holt's old pit. 55. Marie's Dairy Creek Pit, Clyde. —G. Griffiths, who was lately in charge of the Waikerikeri pit, is now assisting J. C. Marie to put his mine in working order, and with a view of getting out coal with him. The upcast shaft was being fixed up, and the incline tunnel had already been put in working order. An air-fan has been built and placed at the mouth of the tunnel ready for work. I went down the tunnel nearly as far as the old workings, where the air had rather an unpleasant odour—an old fire smell. I think there is still fire in some of the old workings in Marie's or Holt's mine. Now that Griffiths has arranged to work in the mine with Marie, I have asked the Commissioner of Crown Lands to stay any action in the matter of cancellation of the lease, which, I understand, was ordered to be done. 56. Eawarau Mine, Bannockburn. —(24/11/94) : I found the dip-drive had not been extended since my previous visit. The principal workings now in hand are on the south side of the mine, where the coal is good, and of a uniform thickness of Bft. The headings run parallel, and generally follow the contour of the floor. Openings from one to the other are made at convenient distances to keep the mine well ventilated. There is no work being done in the top seam, but the air passes from the lower through the upper workings, thus keeping both levels clear. The output of coal at this time of the year is not great, and therefore the miners do not put in full time. The drainage is very light. 57. Goodger and Anderson's Pit. —(24/11/94): This pit was lately owned by Eidland. The tunnel constructed by him has caved in, and that part of the mine has been abandoned. A new dip-drive has, since my previous visit, been put down to the coal on the east of the Bannockburn Stream. The coal is from sft. to 10ft. thick, and dips to the north. From the bottom of the incline the thin part of the seam has been worked out to the outcrop to within 30ft. of the surface, and pillars now only remain. The 10ft. part of the seam is downward from the bottom of the dip-drive, where the drainage is rather too heavy for one horse to hoist it in addition to the coal. The water is said to be 4,000 gallons in the twenty-four hours. To follow the seam down will be a little more costly per ton than it has been. 58. McNulty's Mine, Bannockburn. —(24/11/94) : I did not find any one at the old pit-mouth, which appears to be closed. A new dip-drive is now being put down at a steeper angle to the coal, and is already driven about 54ft. in sandy clay. There are several light sets of timber fixed in position near the surface, and the balance of the drive appears to be dry and hard. A little coal is being got in another place near the outcrop, to keep the customers going till the new dip-tunnel is completed to the coal. 59. O'Brien s Pit, Nevis. —(3o/11/94): It is only quite lately I was made aware of the fact that a coal-mine has been working for some years near the Nevis Township. I therefore visited the spot, but did not find any one there. The seam is very large and stands nearly vertical. It is opened where it crosses a small gully near the river, and a few feet of surface at the outcrop is stripped off by a body of water conveyed to the spot in a race, the gully acting as an outlet-drain and tail-race to carry away the debris to the river. This mine will be included in my list showing the output for 1894.