41

C.—2

(c) List op Mines required by Law to use Safety-lamps. The following is a list of tlie mines as at the Ist December, 1926, required by law to use safety-lamps : — Northern Inspection District. Pukemiro Collieries, Pukemiro —Main north heading section (now abandoned). Rotowaro Colliery, _Rotowa.ro —throughout No. 1 Mine. 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 (Westport Coal Company'*. Dobson Mine (Grey Valley Collieries). 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, Oliai —throughout each shift. New Brighton No. 1 Mine, Ohai —throughout each shift. Linton No. 2 Mine, Ohai. Ohai Coal Company's mine, Ohai. (d) Dangerous Occurrences reported. (Regulation 82.) The following is a short account of the more serious of these. A full list is contained in the District Inspectors' reports. Hikurangi Mine. —On the 20th May the workings of the shaft colliery were flooded by a serious inrush of surface water, which found its way into the mine through fault breaks and cracks extending to the surface from pillared areas underground. The inrush was estimated at 40,000 gallons per hour, and as the pumps had a capacity of only 16,000 gallons per hour the pumps and motors were soon submerged. It was not until September that additional pumping plant was procured and put into operation. The mine was unwatered in November and the workings recovered. The workings, other than those on the east side, were found to be in good order ; on the east side a section that had been badly damaged by a previous fire, the roof had fallen badly in the majority of the bords, and the whole section had to be again sealed off by a new line of stoppings. Millerton Mine. —A serious fire broke out in Evans' section of the Millerton Mine on the 10th June. In spite of strenuous efforts made to check the fire by means of temporary stoppings it advanced rapidly, and only with great difficulty was it prevented from spreading throughout the whole mine. After four sections of the mine and part of another had been lost the management succeeded in staying the advance of the fire. The temporary stoppings were afterwards backed by permanent stoppings of brickwork or concrete. This fire was difficult to deal with, on account of the numerous breaks to the surface over the pillared area ; the thickness of the seam, which was as much as 40 ft. in some parts of the mine; the size of many of the roadways, which in some cases were up to 18 ft. wide and 16 ft. high ; and more especially the fact that no panel system was in operation and no prior taken to rapidly isolate any fire that might occur. As already stated, it was only with great difficulty that the fire was prevented from spreading throughout the whole mine. As it was the fire was not checked till an area of approximately 40 acres was lost, containing something like 1,000,000 tons of coal. It is highly probable that a considerable portion of this area will lie recovered, but some of it is lost for ever. A fire of this magnitude occasions great loss to the company, and is a grave menace to the safety of the mine. To prevent a recurrence the company is taking active steps to block off the mine into small artificial panels by means of concrete stoppings, so that when a fire does occur in one of these panels there will be only two stoppings to build, which can be done expeditiously and safely and without danger to the rest of the mine. Dobson Mine.— A violent gas and coal-dust explosion occurred in the Dobson Mine on the morning of the 3rd December, and occasioned the loss of nine lives. This has been described earlier in this report.

6—C. 2.