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transport service, 4 hours ; miscellaneous, 1 day 2 hours : Union meetings, 3, days f hour ; no backshift (16th December), 4 hours ; polling day, 2 hours ; cable-line fouled, 6 hours ; aerial ropeway breakdowns, 4 days 6 hours; bus breakdown, 1 hour; mine flooded, 2 days ; fall in main haulage road, 1 day 4 hours ; runaways, 3 hours. Employees. —ln connection with coal-winning, the average number of men employed in and about the mine was 93 men and 2 boys, made up as follows-—Underground : Hewers, 18 ; deputies, shiftmen, and truckers, 35 ; haulage road, 13 ; 2. On the surface : 25 men and 2 boys. • Hewers' Daily Average Earnings.—The coal-hewers' daily earnings were : Gross, £4 15s. Bd. ; net (i.e., after deducting stores explosives), £4 75.. sd. This shows an increase of 15s. 3d. per day on last year's earnings. Daily Output. —The average daily output was 178 tons 18 cwt. and the average daily output per coal-hewer was 11 tons 9 cwt., compared with 140 tons 4 cwt. and 8 tons 12 cwt. for the previous year. The total number of hewer shifts for the year was 3,343. Accidents. —During the year there were no serious accidents and there were 64 minor accidents. Workings. —During the year the Main South Headings were driven a further distance of 2 chains, further development in that direction being discontinued due to the length of the main haulage. The development of No. 3 Panel was completed up to the Cunningham Fault and extraction commenced, the results obtained being excellent. Only two pillars remain to be extracted in this section. No. 4 Rise Panel is in course of development in good quality coal 7 ft. to 8 ft. thick, and a new pair of Main Development Headings have been driven 4 chains to the rise from the Main South Headings towards the Cunningham Fault. The intention is to pick up the seam on the downthrow side. This fault has every appearance of becoming more troublesome, having increased from 2 ft. to 10 ft. in a distance of 8 chains. The V.J. Fault has been crossed by a Dip Heading which has penetrated 100 ft. into the seam on the upthrow side, the throw of the fault at that point being only 4 ft. Further development in this direction has been halted because of the heaved floor in the approaches thereto. A shortage of labour necessary to carry out the brushing-work is hampering the resumption of production in this section. The Main Return Airway was holed through in May, but the use of the new airway was held up due to the necessity of cleaning a further section of 15 chains which was completely blocked by falls and heaved floor. This represented a major operation and was concluded in January with a rocker shovel which greatly expedited the job. The new airway is now in use and has effected a considerable improvement in ventilation. The soft floor has necessitated a very large amount of maintenance work in keeping airways open and will continue to do so in direct proportion to their length. This problem has been accentuated by the difficulty experienced over the last twelve months in obtaining labour. The old West Return Airway required a great deal of attention in order to keep it open until the Main Return was completed. Where possible the permanent air-stoppings have been extended, but a considerable number still remain to be constructed. The centrifugal pump in the West has been withdrawn and is in process of being overhauled and installed in the Barrier Sump with a new 4 in. delivery column which has been laid. A considerable improvement in coping with the mine water in the comingwinter should be expected. A large amount of repair work has been carried out to the aerial ropeway. Various towers have been strengthened, wheels rebushed, &c, and a new tower has been built to replace No. 19 (5 ft. 6 in. higher than the old one). I have, &c, T. Young, District Manager.

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