17

C.—2

Quarry Accidents. The following is a summary of serious accidents during 1924 at quarries under the Stone-quarries Act:

Of the fatal accidents the following is a short description : — On the 11th March a serious accident occurred at the Millburn Lime Company's quarry at Dunback by which two men, David McMillan, aged 25 years, and William Ernest Cox, aged 25 years, lost their lives, and William Mcintosh was seriously injured. A round of five holes was being fired electrically. The warning had been given, and before the shots were actually fired the quarrymanager had seen the workmen take shelter behind a concrete jig-wlieel stand 100 ft. distant from the shots. It appears that before the shots went off five of the men decided to leave the shelter of the jig-stand and go to another shelter further from the shots. Three of the men, McMillan, Cox, and Mcintosh, were out in the open when the shots went off, and were struck by material thrown from the blast, with the result stated above. The jig-stand provided adequate shelter, and the accident was wholly due to the men having left it without the knowledge of the person firing the shot and after the warning had been given. On the 25th November Alexander Brown, aged 69 years, was fatally injured at the Bruce County Council's quarry at Londen's Gully, near Raurekau. The deceased had been working by himself in the quarry, and had evidently slipped from a face about 10 ft. high and fallen on a crowbar which he had been using. The crow-bar entered his right breast and penetrated his lung, with the result that he died before the accident was known to any one. On the 16th December, at Auger's quarry, Penrose, George James Auger, owner and occupier of the quarry, was killed by a blasting accident. The quarry foreman had prepared and lit two shots, and then retired with deceased to a distance of approximately 3| chains from the shot-holes and there waited for the shots to go off. A flying stone from the blast struck deceased on the back, causing injuries from which he died. The charges fired were not heavy, and it was therefore thought that 3| chains was a sufficient distance away for safety.

VII. STATE AID TO MINING. (l.j Subsidized Prospecting. Upon subsidized prospecting operations 105 persons were intermittently employed during the year. The following is a statement showing the results of prospecting operations as reported by the Inspector of Mines.

3— 0. 2,

Number of Accidents. Number of Sufferers. Cause. Fatal. Serious. I Killed. Explosives .. .. .. .. .. .. ' 2 2 3 3 Falls of ground .. .. .. .. .. . . .. j 1 .. 1 Miscellaneous .. . . 1 | . . 1 Totals .. .. .. .. .. 3 j 3 |