39

C.—2

Southern Inspection District. Castle Hill Mine, Kaitangata— throughout the mine. Kaitangata No. 1 Mine, Kaitangata- -throughout the mine. Kaitangata No. 2 Mine, Kaitangata- -throughout the mine. Wairaki No. 1 Mine, Ohai —throughout the mine. Birchwood Mine —throughout the mine. New Brighton. Mine, Nightcaps —throughout the mine. Mount Torlesse Mine, Avoca —Dip Section. (c.) List op Mines required by Law to use Safety Lamps, The following is a list of the mines as at the Ist December, 1924, required by law to use safety la'mps : —■ Northern Inspection District. Pukemiro Collieries, Pukemiro —Main North Heading Section (operations suspended). Rotowaro Colliery, Rotowaro —throughout No. 1 Mine. Taupiri Extended Mine, Huntly -throughout the mine, but operations are at present suspended. Glen Afton Colliery, Glen Afton—No. 1 Heading Section. West Coast Inspection District. State Collieries —Morgan Seam. State Collieries —Morgan Low-level Adit. State Collieries —No. 4a Mine. Hilton and Party's Mine. Hunter and Party's Mine. Manderson's and Party's Mine. Paparoa Coal Company's Mine. Millerton Mine. Southern Inspection District. Castle Hill Mine, Kaitangata —throughout each shift. Kaitangata No. 1 Mine, Kaitangata - -throughout each shift. Kaitangata No. 2 Mine, Kaitangata- -throughout each shift. Wairaki No. 1 Mine, Ohai.- —throughout each shift. Birchwood Mine, Ohai —throughout each shift. New Brighton Mine, Nightcaps —throughout each shift. Mount Torlesse Mine (Dip Section), Avoca- -throughout each shift. (d.) Dangerous Occurrences reported. (Regulation 81.) The following is a short account of the more serious of these. A full list is contained in the District Inspectors' reports. Taupiri Extended Mine.—ln December, 1923, consequent on an extensive crushing movement, a serious fire broke out on the west side, and the. whole of that portion of the mine had to be sealed off. At the beginning of the year under review crushing commenced on the north-west sections below No. 5, and these sections had to 6e abandoned. With the restricted area available for working mining could not be continued, and coal-winning ceased early in April. During the three succeeding months a few men were employed in the mine withdrawing plant and materials and preparing for hydraulic filling. A further crushing had developed in the workings off No. 5 heading west off the north-west rope-road, and resulted in a serious fire breaking out there towards the end of July. This fire could not be controlled, and operations were confined to withdrawing what materials were readily available, and a month later the whole mine was sealed off by stoppings in each of the shafts. In this mine an enormous amount of coal has been lost through crushing and subsequent fires, of which a large percentage would have been won had a better method of mining been adopted in the early stages of mining operations. The principal defect was the small size of the pillars left on the first working. Taratu Mine. —In May a serious heating close to the main haulage-road developed in the shaft section, arid all efforts to deal with it effectively failed. The heating became worse towards the end of the year, and finally led to this part of the mine being abandoned after December. Linton Mine. —On the 9th July heating was discovered in some pillared ground, and became an active fire on the following day. With considerable difficulty the fire area was sealed off by a line of five stoppings which prevented its spreading over the rest of the mine. Later on the first line of stoppings was reinforced by a second line of eight brick stoppings, which effectively controlled the fire and secured the safetv of the mine.