(J. 'I.

Freeman's"Mine.-—!Thejhaulage plant, near the railway terminus, was dismantled early in the year, and t.he output is nowjconveved through the low level on the south end of the mine. The pillars are being extracted near the old haulage-road. A little heating was apparent recently in the low-side pillars ; if it increases these pillars can easily be stopped off from the rest of the mine. Jubilee Mine.—The workings on the south side of the main dip, in the lower seam, adjoining and including portion of Messrs. Christie Bros.' area, are now completed. Pillaring has been resumed in the first north level section, and six miners are working there. Two boreholes were put down with a percussive (Keystone) drill—one about 3 chains south of the line of the dip. No coal was met, the borehole, being apparently in a washout, was stopped at 95 ft. In the second borehole, near the eastern boundary, 3 ft. of coal was pierced and a large volume of water met at 128 ft. A new dip has been commenced from the surface going, in an easterly direction. Saddle Hill No. 1 and Walton Park Mines. —All the available coal having been extracted these mines were closed and all entrances filled up early in April. Mosgiel Mine.—A prospect drive was put down by Messrs. Christie Bros, towards the end of the year, between Sneddon's old Mosgiel workings and the East Taieri Mine. After dipping about a dozen yards, at a grade of lin 5, the coal was struck. This drive will command the few remaining acres of unworked coal in this locality. East Taieri Mine. —This is another mine which, after many years' production, has become exhausted. It was closed down on the 6th December after all the available coal near the entrance was extracted. Willowbank Mine.—An air-shaft, 6 ft. by 4 ft., was sunk for a depth of 50 ft., and the natural ventilation was much improved in consequence. All places are driven narrow—about 6 ft. The coal in the upper seam proved very soft, and efforts are now concentrated on the dip, which is being driven to work the bottom seam. If this does not prove profitable to work the mine will be closed down. Harris's (Burnweil) Mine.—The dip drive, which Messrs. Christie Bros, put down, has been continued and a few places broken away on the east side. These are in from 25 to 30 yards, but as the coal thinned rapidly they soon became unprofitable to work. At the face of the dip, which was under water, lam informed, there is only about a foot of clean coal. A shaft has been sunk 60 ft. from the surface, and the mine is now well ventilated. Brighton Mine. —The cloth-brattice separation-doors have been replaced by wooden ones, and the return aiwayr a"ain cleaned up of debris carried in during floods. The stoppings around the heated area are all cool and well attended to. A level is being driven to the west, and a couple of places have been broken away on the north side. These places are narrow, about 7 ft. in width, and only 6 ft. in height, so no timber is needed. Owing to the pitch of the seam water accumulated in them, and they have been stopped until a lower level intersects them. Waronui Mine. —The prospecting dip was continued and a fault of from 1J- ft. to 2 ft. met. The dip was stopped in August, as the coal became too thin to work, being less than 2 ft. in thickness. A crosscut has been driven southwest off the dip to open up a section called No. 5. One place in this section, going south-east, is in good clean coal, 6 ft. to 8 ft. in thickness, but the others are in stony and mushy coal. Two places are still going north-east off the dip, but only a small workable area is anticipated there. A few places are also being worked near the old No. 1 mine workings. These are in good hard coal 7-J ft. thick. A drive is also being put down from the surface to some pillars which remain in the No. I mine. Two boreholes, put down from the surface near a swamp—one 7 chains north-east and the other 9 chains south-east from the face of the prospecting dip—proved disappointing. One borehole was stopped at 136 ft., and the other at 142 ft., no coal being met in either. Grichton Mine. —This mine was worked intermittently during the year. At present the output is being produced from, an outcrop on the west side. A little stripping has been done, and a drive to the north-west will later be driven into this area of coal. The old workings have been fenced off. Taratu Mine.—Shaft section : The temperature outside a concrete stopping, in a cut-through only 16 yards from the main haulage-road, and about 200 ft. from the bottom of the winding-shaft, registered 114° F. on the sth May. Two cylinders, each holding 40 cubic feet of C0 2 , were emptied behind this stopping. Then another reinforcing stopping was built. This was successful for seven months, but on the 2nd January, 1925, a large fall occurred on the main haulage-road, which allowed air to enter the heated area. After endeavouring to beat back the fire for a week the shaft section had to be closed. All machinery and plant that could be recovered—a good deal was lost in the dip workings—was sent to surface. Both winding and return air-shafts are being filled in. Pillars had been worked during the year both north and south of the dip extension. Taratu Mine.—Barclay's section : The pillar section south of the solid workings showed signs of heating on the sth August, so fire-stoppings were built around the area, thus effectually segregating it. A barrier pillar 45 ft. wide has been left in, east of the pillars, and on the north side a narrow barrier, 20 ft. to 40 ft. in width, has also been formed. Ten chains west of the first-mentioned barrier another will be formed, but the width of the panel will depend on the nature of the country met during development. On the west side the places are temporarily stopped, owing to inferior coal in the vicinity of an upthrow fault of about 30 ft. displacement. Development is proceeding in the east and south sections, and the coal continues clean and hard except in one place going south. Owing to an old fire from Barclay's old mine, which was sealed off years ago, breaking through to the outcrop, a good deal of work had to be done to stop off the coal adjacent to the fault, which crosses at the mine-entrance. This was replaced by fine sand and gravel to form an incombustible barrier. Tuakitoto Mine. —A small output, conveyed by motor-lorry to Kaitangata, was produced for the year. Kaituna Mine.—ln the level driven on the east side, and about 3J chains from the crosscut, thick clay partings are showing in the coal. The crosscut, down about 7 chains from the junction, is in good clean coal, and the west side places are also in clean coal, averaging 6|- ft. in thickness. In September the Kaituna Coal Company went into liquidation, and the mine and plant were put up at auction, but passed in without a sale being effected. Mining was again resumed near the end of the year. Wangaloa Mine,.- —No coal mined during the year. Kaidale Mine. —The dip, going north-east, was driven about a chain during the year. It has now entered the south-east corner of the Kaibrook lease, a portion of which has been sublet to permit this dip being continued in a direct line. Bords to the north and south have been broken away and driven a short distance. Kaibrook Mine.—No work was done in the main dip, but another, going to the full dip and in a more northerly direction, was started from the bottom level. This has only been driven a pillar length. Pillars were extracted on the east side. Kaitangata No. 1 Mine. —Owing to the slackness of trade miners on tonnage rates were only employed from May to September, when a section of pillars was worked out in Pimblett's dip. This section was then stopped off. Pillars have also been extracted at the bottom of Stamford's dip, and a section was also sealed off there. North of the stone drive, in No. 3 seam, coal has been proven of good quality, and the levels are now in about 10 chains. A large " roll" was met, running alongside the back level and almost parallel with it. The fourth north heading was driven through this " roll " and good coal again found. The air-shaft was sunk another 140 ft. and down to the 6 ft. seam. On the completion of the sinking the whole of the Barclay's drive section was then sealed off. This section has alwavs been a difficult one to supervise owing to spontaneous heating, and its sealing-off has resulted in a considerable improvement of the mine. Kaitangata Nr.. 2 Mine.—The No. 1 section, m which pillars are being worked, will soon be exhausted. A new dip, going almost due north at a grade of lin3, is being driven from near the bottom of the present dip. This will prove the area north of the fault met in the No. 1 section workings. No. 4 section : A dip has been driven to the north-west into the No. 4a seam, and levels are now being extended northward. They will connect, when driven another eight chains, with the forme - No. 4 section workings, which are of very small extent and in which a fair area appears to remain to be worked. Some of the old south side pillars in the Kaitangata No. 1 Mine are immediately over portion of the former No. 4 section workings. They can probably be extracted through these workings.

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