0.—2.

Cambrian Goal-pit.—A fair output was won during the first half of the year, but little has been done there lately. Black-man's Gully Mine.—A small party obtained a coal-prospecting license over this area, and three miners drove a dip to the south, near the prospect drive put in about two years ago. A small petrol-engine was used for haulage, and another for driving a 2 in. centrifugal pump on the surface. No workable area being found, the dip was stopped when 20 yards down. McPherson's Pit. —The seam below the level of the tail-race is still being worked to the east and south. The Pelton wheel and winch used for hauling the trucks from this lower seam have been turned around, so the winchman now stands behind the winch, instead of in front as formerly. The stripping of the upper seam to the north has been continued, and a large quantity of lignite is now exposed there. During the summer months, when water becomes scarce, the output will be maintained from this higher area. Shepherd's Greek Mine.—A steam boiler has been removed from the old mine and is now supplying steam for a Sullivan 7 in. by 6 in. air-compressor. An air-driven hand hammer-drill was tried for coal-cutting, but it proved unsuitable. The crosscut to the south-west met troubled ground. The seam thinned to 6 in. but commenced to thicken again. It was then decided to stop the place for the time being and use it as a sump. A dip is being driven on the north side, and two levels have been broken away to the north. The seam has only 30 ft. of cover in that locality. Cromwell Mine —About the middle of the year a dip was driven at a grade of 1 in 1 in decomposed schist for a distance of 80 ft. As the dip was within 40 yards of disused workings containing an accumulation of water, the miner was notified that either the water in the old workings must be pumped out or advance and flank bores drilled. Since then no work has been done on the lease. Nevis Grossing Pit. —The old opencast pit, which has been worked for many years, has been abandoned, and a new one opened up on a seam about 100 yards to the west of the old pit. This seam is 15 ft. thick, but is of inferior quality. A number of small prospecting-shafts were sunk near the northern boundary of the lease, but no workable coal was found. ParjiVs Goal-pit.—A considerable amount of stripping has been done during the past year, with a hydraulic nozzle, on the west side of this pit, where there is about 15 ft. of gravel overburden. Between the upper seam, 10 ft. thick, and the lower one, of 20 ft., is a stratum of shale about 8 ft. thick. of the gravel from the recent stripping has been allowed to fill up the rectangular pit to a depth of 20 ft., and the remainder has been retained near the pit and not allowed to flow into the creek from which water is diverted into the Mount Ida Water-race. Prospecting at Waikerikeri Greek, near Clyde.—A low-grade lignite outcrops on a hill about four miles north-west of Clyde and near the Waikerikeri Creek. Two shafts, each about 60 ft. in depth, were, sunk, but as no workable seam was found the prospecting ceased. Freeman's Mine. —Four miners are now employed at pillar-extraction—one to the west and three on the east side of the main jig. An area of waste on the west side had to be sealed off, owing to heating. Jubilee Mine. —The main dip in No. 5 section was stopped for several months owing to lack of power, but in August the connection to the Otago Electric-power Board's leads was effected and a three-phase 5 h.p. motor, driving a small Deming pump, was installed in the dip. This enabled them to resume working there, and the dip is now down 10 chains beyond the traffic-road line. The pillars now being formed are larger than those of past years, and the management has been advised, owing to the increased cover as the workings extend to the dip, of the need of still larger pillars being formed. A panel system of work should be adopted, and the main dip is sufficiently advanced for a barrier pillar to be now formed along the strike of the seam. The seam has thickened to ft., of which 2 ft. is kept up for a roof. All places are being driven narrow, but on account of the tender roof several have to be supported by sets. The coal is rather soft on the east side, but in the main dip and the west places it is good hard lignite. The pillaring in No. 6 section is now finished, and work in No. 7 section ceased in September, as the seam became too thin to work. A high percentage of the pillar coal was won, with due regard to the safety of the miners. Willowbank Mine. —The pillaring in the old area was completed in June. The new drive, commenced in 1927, was extended and met the seam 4 chains from the surface. Ten chains down a large downthrow fault was struck, running north and south. The coal in the workings, both north and south, became very soft. The bottom south level, broken off about three yards back from the face of the main drive, is in only 15 yards and is in very soft coal, while the lowest place going north, which is about 2 chains, is also in soft faulty coal. Unless harder and better coal is proven east of the downthrow fault the life of this small mine Will be a very short one, as the available pillars will not last more th'an two years. An electrically driven haulage plant has been installed on the surface, and a small Myers pump, driven by an A.C. motor of 3 h.p., is used underground. An interest has been purchased in land lying between this mine and the Main South Traffic-road. Prospecting will soon commence, and if workable lignite is found there a new level will be driven and the Willowbank Mine plant removed there and a shorter surface jig constructed to the traffic-road. Waronui Mine. —The extraction of the pillars near the main haulage road in the No. 2 mine was completed by the end of the year, and, the pump having been withdrawn, the water is allowed to rise in the lower workings, which is mostly goaf. About 400 ft. south-west of the No. 2 mine entrance a level has been driven to the south from the surface and has holed into a place in the rise section of the No. 2 mine workings. From this level an area of rise coal will be worked. 450 ft. north-west of the No. 2 mine entrance a dip is being driven, at a grade of lins, to the west. It is now 400 ft. down from the surface, and in conglomerate lying at the same inclination as the grade of the dip. From the old upper mine a Lancashire boiler has been removed to a site near the top of the dip. An air-compressor, D.C. dynamo, and haulage-engine have also been installed there. Crichton Mine. —A place being driven to the east from the north level proved a 12| ft. seam above the main seam. Levels going north and south have been driven in this seam. The south level holed into an old level of the Crichton workings, so the natural ventilation is now very good there. Both north and south levels were driven 7 ft. high, so over 5 ft. of coal was left on to support the roof. Ta.ratu Mine. —The output for the past year was produced solely from the pillar-workings in Barclay's section. Unless lost through spontaneous heating, causing the stopping-off of any considerable proportion, they should last another tAvo years. A surveyed road-line traverses the surface over this pillar section. The management has for some time refrained from extracting the remaining pillars under this road-line. An area being pillared near the roadLine showed signs of heating in May, and, after filling away the heated coals for about a fortnight, it had to be sealed off, thus a quantity of pillar coal under the road-line is now lost. The prospect levels, driven south-east and about 10 chains to the west of Barclay's section, met an upthrow fault of at least 40 ft. displacement when about 100 ft. in. Before extending these drives through the fault boreholes will be put down to ascertain the exact amount of displacement of the seam. Tuakitoto Mine.—Prospecting to the east, from a point 10 chains from the commencement of the main level, has proved another very thick seam, above the one worked in the past, with only a few feet of clay between the two seams. The owner intends driving back as far as possible in this seam and parallel with the main level, then, after a proper survey has been made, to extend the main dip haulage-road to connect with this place. Kaituna Mine.—A small output has been produced from the rise portion of the 4-ft.-seam workings. A narrow level was driven to the west about 20 yards and a place broken away to the south. Kaidale Mine.—Early in the year this mine was purchased by a Kaitangata miner, who commenced driving a crosscut to the dip. The dip about ft. high, is down about 300 ft. in clean coal, and. owing to a good coal roof, does not require timbering. Kaibrooic Mine.—A few tons were won early in the year. About a chain down from the entrance a large fall occurred north of the main dip, and heating developed there. Two board stoppings were put up and clayed over in an attempt to seal off the fire, but, as the seam is very shallow there, air is being drawn through the fall and little can be done to combat the fire.

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