15

• OA.

supply of water is available. From the records it appears that this area had been on fire ten or eleven years ago. Fortification Railway and Coal Company, Akatore, Milton (M. Straw, manager). —(1/5/1903): Roadways low; bottom heaving where wet; floor being soft fireclay. A number of crown bars on main road require renewal Return airway blocked by a fall; air passing, but could not get through ourselves. New roadway, to be finished in three shifts, will restore second outlet. Pillars drawn up to thin coal. North side: A nest of pyrites which had been thrown back among refuse was observed to be heating, when it was filled away to outside. (10/10/1903): Creep now settled, roof and floor having met. Present work being prosecuted in the direction of old mine-workings with intention of recovering pillars left in there. Mine in good order. Air excellent, and roadways well kept A bore at 240 ft. became lost owing to collapse in a piece of bad ground where hole not tubed. New bore now being sunk is at 120 ft. in nu exceedingly hard band of ironstone. Adam's Flat Mine, Adam's Flat (J. Reid). —Opencast pit supplying neighbouring farmers with fuel for thresiiing purposes and winter use. Paskell's Pit, Adam's Flat (J. Paskell). —Stripping now too heavy to pay for opencast working, and seam too thin to be remunerative for underground mining. Wallsend Colliery, Lovell's Flat (R. Hewitson). —Opencast pit, formerly of large proportions, but only a moderate local trade doing latterly. Lovell's Flat Colliery, Lovell's Flat (J. Carruthers, manager; R. Glendenning, owner). — (17/3/1903): Pit-head and bank arrangements, which were destroyed by fire, now completely restored, and pit in full working-order again. Air good, and all places well timbered. Coal thinning in dip section, as in north and south sides of work. (23/4/1903): Safety catches fitted to cages, and tested with satisfactory results. Prospecting-bore being sunk eastward of shaft down 100 ft. in clays and gravels. (29/8/1903): Ventilation good, and timber well stt close up to faces. Fire stoppings to rise carefully attended to prevent leakage of " damp." Plan and report-books to date; rules posted. Tuakitoto Colliery, Lovell's Flat (A. Dunlop). —The mine continues to be worked for private use only. Benhar Coal-mine, Stirling (James McLeod, permit). --The dip is being extended in the middle or 6ft. seam; bords broken away north and south. Working-places and drawing-roads in good order. Ventilation fair. A new Tangye pump is being placed in the old upper-seam workings to prevent accumulation of water. The larger proportion of coal-output is consumed on the premises in the manufacture of sanitary ware and fireclay goods, for which purpose about 2,000 tons of fireclay, locally obtained, was used during the year. Mount Wallace Coal-mine, Stirling (James Walls). —Dip drive now 200 ft. to the face. The mine had been flooded during recent wet weather, and operations became retarded in consequence. Taratu Coal Company, Kaitangata (John Irvine, manager).—(24/4/1903) : The colliery is now in good working-order, the natural advantages being such that no mining difficulties have been met with. Drainage and haulage free. Coal-seam thick and strong. Blasting with powder is allowed during working-time, therefore atmosphere occasionally heavily charged with powdersmoke. The manager promised to remedy this. With a view to testing the coal-measures, boring operations had been conducted in the gully east of mine-mouth ; at 130 ft. a coal-soam was struck, said to be 27 ft. in thickness, to which a shaft will be sunk at an early date. Kaitangata Colliery, Kaitangata (Thomas Barclay, mine-manager). —(10/2/1903): North side workings blocked off; McDougall's section nearly finished. Return airways to furnace in good order. The new seam found in stone-drive extension being opened up in readiness for next winter's output. (21/4/1903 —R. S. Jordan, mine-manager): New sump in coal at bottom of incline holds four days' water-growth. Timbering being raised and renewed on main stone drive. Brick Avail stopping cold, having recently been attended to, and packed with dead ashes. The new seam heading at No. 4 fault ran directly into a 19 ft. seam of coal on the seaward side of the fault. A little gas making in south-going level and in top bord off No. 2 heading, otherwise advancing-places clearer than might have been expected in solid coal. McDougall's and north side sections finished, and permanent outer stoppings now ready to go in. The north level will be stopped off in the solid, out-bye Penman's heading. No. 2 dip section : Workings to dip of top level completely stopped off by five ash stoppings 3 ft. to 4 ft. in thickness. (30/4/1903): On the 29th ultimo three sets of timber had fallen in the main stone drive. The roadsmen were clearing the fall, when a slight ignition of gas occurred, A. Morrison, roadsman, being slightly burnt on arms. It was found that the gas was coming from a hole in the floor, where the crust of roof over No. 2 bord, No. 2 dip, being only about 2 ft. in thickness had collapsed, allowing the sets to fall. From this date Mr. Jordan decided to alow safety lamps only in-bye the cabin at foot of main incline haulage-road. (27/6/1903): Work being presently conducted in Nos. 6, 7, 8, and 9 dips and Nos. 1 and 2 headings, new seam. All roadways, airways, and working-places in good order : fire-stoppings continue to be well attended tc. Twenty men on enlarging and repairing airways where necessary. Twenty finger-post notices of second outlet posted in the returns for guidance ot workmen. The 9 ft. diameter Hayes ventilating-fan, latterly in use at Orepuki shale-mine, is bein erected on surface at the upcast air-shaft to replace the furnace hitherto in use, the power of which bad proved inadequate for ventilation of extent of workings now open. Fan to be steam-drven meanwhile, pending erection of electrical generating plant in the main engine-house, when power will be transmitted. (7/8/1903): No. 6 dip and No. 7 dip, 6ft. seam: Drawing pillars and head coal. Nos. 8, 9, and 10 dips and new-seam workings and returns therefrom in good order generally. (30/9/1903): Fan at 180 revolutions, circulating 26.970 cubic feet of air per minute. W.G. 1.3 in. Development-work advancing briskly, forty-two men being engaged ou stonework. Air dull in No. 6 dip pillar workings, the pillars being nearly finished ; plant and men to be drawn and the section stopped off. Ventilation good in Nos. 7, 10, and 11 dip sections, also in